Voyages in Search of the North-West PassageHakluyt, Richard
History
Voyages in Search of the North-West Passage
Hakluyt, Richard
Arctic regions -- Discovery and exploration; Northwest Passage; Voyages and travels
Thus sailing along the coast, at the last we saw a place somewhat void of
ice, where our general (accompanied with certain other) went ashore,
where they saw certain tents made of beasts' skins, and boats much like
unto theirs of Meta Incognita. The tents were furnished with flesh,
fish, skins, and other trifles: amongst the which was found a box of
nails, whereby we did conjecture that they had either artificers amongst
them, or else a traffic with some other nation. The men ran away, so
that we could have no conference or communication with them. Our general
(because he would have them no more to flee, but rather encouraged to
stay through his courteous dealing) gave commandment that his men should
take nothing away with them, saving only a couple of white dogs, for
which he left pins, points, knives, and other trifling things, and
departed, without taking or hurting anything, and so came aboard, and
hoisted sails and passed forwards.
But being scarce out of the sight thereof, there fell such a fog and
hideous mist that we could not see one another; whereupon we struck our
drums, and sounded our trumpets to the end we might keep together; and so
continued all that day and night, till the next day, that the mist brake
up; so that we might easily perceive all the ships thus sailing together
all that day, until the next day, being the 22nd of the same, on which
day we saw an infinite number of ice, from the which we cast about to
shun the danger thereof.
But one of our small barques named the _Michael_, whose captain was
Master Kinderslie, the master, Bartholomew Bull, lost our company,
insomuch that we could not obtain the sight of her many days after, of
whom I mean to speak further anon, when occasion shall be ministered, and
opportunity served. Thus we continued on our course until the 2nd of
July, on which day we fell with the Queen's Foreland, where we saw so
much ice, that we thought it impossible to get into the straits, yet at
the last we gave the adventure, and entered the ice.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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