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
The 2nd of August we harboured ourselves in a very excellent good road,
where with all speed we graved the _Moonlight_, and revictualled her; we
searched this country with our pinnace while the barque was trimming,
which William Eston did: he found all this land to be only islands, with
a sea on the east, a sea on the west, and a sea on the north. In this
place we found it very hot, and we were very much troubled with a fly
which is called mosquito, for they did sting grievously. The people of
this place at our first coming in caught a seal, and, with bladders fast
tied to him sent him in to us with the flood, so as he came right with
our ships, which we took as a friendly present from them.
The 5th of August I went with the two masters and others to the top of a
hill, and by the way William Eston espied three canoes lying under a
rock, and went unto them: there were in them skins, darts, with divers
superstitious toys, whereof we diminished no thing, but left upon every
boat a silk point, a bullet of lead, and a pin. The next day, being the
6th of August, the people came unto us without fear, and did barter with
us for skins, as the other people did: they differ not from the other,
neither in their canoes nor apparel, yet is their pronunciation more
plain than the others, and nothing hollow in the throat. Our miscreant
aboard of us kept himself close, and made show that he would fain have
another companion. Thus being provided, I departed from this land the
12th of August at six of the clock in the morning, where I left the
_Mermaid_ at anchor; the 14th sailing west about 50 leagues we discovered
land, being in latitude 66 degrees 19 minutes: this land is 70 leagues
from the other from whence we came. This 14th day, from nine o'clock at
night till three o'clock in the morning, we anchored by an island of ice
12 leagues off the shore, being moored to the ice.
The 15th day, at three o'clock in the morning, we departed from this land
to the south, and the 18th of August we discovered land north-west from
us in the morning, being a very fair promontory, in latitude 65 degrees,
having no land on the south. Here we had great hope of a through
passage.
This day, at three o'clock in the afternoon, we again discovered land
south-west and by south from us, where at night we were becalmed. The
19th of this month at noon, by observation, we were in 64 degrees 20
minutes. From the 18th day at noon until the 19th at noon, by precise
ordinary care, we had sailed fifteen leagues south and by west, yet by
art and more exact observation we found our course to be south-west, so
that we plainly perceived a great current striking to the west.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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