The Three Voyages of William Barents to the Arctic Regions (1594, 1595, and 1596) — John Shaqi
The Three Voyages of William Barents to the Arctic Regions (1594, 1595, and 1596)Veer, Gerrit de
History
The Three Voyages of William Barents to the Arctic Regions (1594, 1595, and 1596)
Veer, Gerrit de
Barentsz, Willem, approximately 1550-1597; Northeast Passage
“Saturday, 9. Strong breeze from the S.W. Sky overcast. 8 o’clock
forenoon we went under sail and coursed south along the land. 6
o’clock in the afternoon, we saw walrus on the ice, boats were
lowered, and we caught two of them; we also saw a house on shore,
which had fallen down. At noon we observed the latitude 76° 12′,
the distance from shore guessed. The house on shore was 16 metres
long by 10 metres broad, and the fir-wood planks, of which it was
composed, were 1½ inches thick by from 14 to 16 inches broad, and
as far as we could make out they were nailed together. The first
things we saw amongst the ruins of the house were two ships’
cooking pans of copper, a crowbar or bar of iron, a gun-barrel, an
alarum, a clock, a chest in which was found several files and other
instruments, many engravings, a flute, and also a few articles of
dress. There were also two other chests, but they were empty, only
filled up with ice, and there was an iron frame over the fire-place
with shifting bar.
“Sunday, 10. Light breeze from the N.W., almost calm, clear sky, we
sailed along the coast S.S.E. In the afternoon we caught two
walrus. 8 o’clock pumped the ship free. During the whole night
calm.
“Monday, 11. Light breeze from the west. Sky overcast. In the
afternoon the wind freshened from the west. We put three reefs in
the mainsail. 8 o’clock pumped the ship free. The whole night gale
from the S.W.
“Tuesday, 12. Gale from the S.W. We are obliged to return to
Ledenaji Bay (Ice Harbour), where, on the evening of the 9th we had
found the ruined house. At noon we anchored in the bay, and went
again on shore and found several things, viz., candlesticks,
tankards with lid of zinc, a sword, a halberd head, two books,
several navigation instruments, an iron chest already quite rusted.
“Wednesday, 13. Gale from the W.N.W. At noon we went under sail,
but as we made a little south the wind shifted to the S.W., and in
order to keep off we had to let go both anchors. Storm with snow. 8
o’clock pumped the ship free. During the night, light breeze.
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