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
Being among them at shore, the 4th of July, one of them, making a long
oration, began to kindle a fire, in this manner: he took a piece of a
board, wherein was a hole half through; unto that hole he puts the end of
a round stick, like unto a bed staff, wetting the end thereof in train,
and in fashion of a turner, with a piece of leather, by his violent
motion doth very speedily produce fire; which done, with turfs he made a
fire, into which, with many words and strange gestures, he put divers
things which we suppose to be a sacrifice. Myself and divers of my
company standing by, they were desirous to have me go into the smoke; I
willed them likewise to stand in the smoke, in which they by no means
would do. I then took one of them, and thrust him into the smoke, and
willed one of my company to tread out the fire, and to spurn it into the
sea, which was done to show them that we did contemn their sorcery.
These people are very simple in all their conversation, but marvellous
thievish, especially for iron, which they have in great account. They
began through our lenity to show their vile nature; they began to cut our
cables; they cut away the _Moonlight's_ boat from her stern; they cut our
cloth where it lay to air, though we did carefully look unto it, they
stole our oars, a calliver, a boat's spear, a sword, with divers other
things, whereat the company and masters being grieved, for our better
security desired me to dissolve this new friendship, and to leave the
company of these thievish miscreants; whereupon there was a calliver shot
among them, and immediately upon the same a falcon, which strange noise
did sore amaze them, so that with speed they departed; notwithstanding,
their simplicity is such, that within ten hours after they came again to
us to entreat peace; which, being promised, we again fell into a great
league. They brought us seal skins and salmon peel, but, seeing iron,
they could in nowise forbear stealing; which, when I perceived it, did
but minister unto me an occasion of laughter to see their simplicity, and
willed that in no case they should be any more hardly used, but that our
own company should be the more vigilant to keep their things, supposing
it to be very hard in so short time to make them know their evils. They
eat all their meat raw, they live most upon fish, they drink salt water,
and eat grass and ice with delight; they are never out of the water, but
live in the nature of fishes, but only when dead sleep taketh them, and
then under a warm rock, laying his boat upon the land, he lieth down to
sleep. Their weapons are all darts, but some of them have bow and arrows
and slings. They make nets to take their fish of the fin of a whale;
they do all their things very artfully, and it should seem that these
simple, thievish islanders have war with those of the main, for many of
them are sore wounded, which wounds they received upon the main land, as
by signs they gave us to understand.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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