Voyages in Search of The North-West Passage

West and North–West Regions in the year 1577, with a Descr

on this, his second year, for the further discovering of the passage to Cathay and other countries thereunto adjacent, by west and north-west navigations, which passage or way is supposed to be on the north and north-west parts of America, and the said America to be an island environed with the sea, where through our merchants might have course and recourse with their merchandise from these our northernmost parts of Europe, to those Oriental coasts of Asia in much shorter time and with greater benefit than any others, to their no little commodity and profit that do or shall traffic the same. Ou

warn their neighbours of enemies, but by gentle persuasions we reclaimed them to their houses. It seemeth they are often frighted with pirates, or some other enemies, that move them to such sudden fear. Their houses are very simply builded with pebble stone, without any chimneys, the fire being made in the midst thereof. The good man, wife, children, and other of their family, eat and sleep on the one side of the house, and their cattle on the other, very beastly and rudely in respect of civilisation. They are destitute of wood, their fire is turf and cow shardes. They have

so disposed, the fruition of our books, and other pleasures to pass away the time, a thing of no small moment to such as wander in unknown seas and long navigations, especially when both the winds and raging surge

h the fury of great floods, rooted up, and so driven into the sea. Iceland hath almost no other wood nor fuel but such as they take up upon th

at islands of ice of half a mile, some more, some less in compass, showing above the sea thirty or forty f

h, yea unto 70 degrees, show themselves more temperate than this doth. All along this coast ice lieth as a continual bulwark, and so defendeth the country, that those which would land there incur great danger. Our general, three days together, attempted with the ship boat to have gone on shore, which, for that without great danger he could not accomplish, he deferred it until a more convenient time. All along the coast lie very high mountains, covered with

tinent with America, and on the other side, opposite to the same, one other island, called Halles Isle, after the name of the master of the ship, near adjacent to the firm land, supposed continent with Asia. Between the which

te zone, and that some contrary tide, either from the east or west, with main force casteth out that great quantity of ice which cometh f

considering that the sun's elevation surmounteth not twenty-three degrees and thirty minutes), can have power to dissolve such monstrous and hu

d storms, insomuch that it seemed we had changed with winter,

dangers and difficult attempts seemed nothing in respect of his willing mind for the commodity of his prince and country), with two little pinnaces prepared of purpose, passed twi

y would not take at our hands; but being laid on the ground, and the party going away, they came and took up, leaving something of theirs to countervail the same. At the length, two them, leaving their weapons, came down to our general and master, who did the like to them, commanding the company to stay, and went unto them, who,

ship and barques into small portions, if God (who in all necessities hath care upon the infirmity of man) had not provided for this our extremity a sufficient remedy, through the light of the night, whereby we might well discern to flee from such imminent dangers, which we avoided within fourteen bourdes in one watch, the space of four hours. If we had not incurred this danger amongst these monstrous islands of ice, we should

one part of us being almost swallowed up the night before, with cruel Neptune's force, and the rest on shore, taking thought for their greedy paunches how to find the way to Newfoundland; at one moment we were racked with j

ediment, on the 19th July, we entered them; and the 20th thereof our general and master, with great diligence, sought out and sounded the west shore, and found out a fair harbour for the ship

t it would please His Divine Majesty long to continue our Queen, for whom he, and all the rest of our company, in this order took possession of the country; and thirdly, that by our Christian study and endeavour, those barbarous people, trained up in paganry and infidelity, might be reduced to the knowledge of true religion, and to the hope

things needful for our own safeguard to Master Fenton, Master Yorke, and Master Beast, his

ed up stones on high mountains and other places, in token of possession, as likewise to signify unto such as hereafter may c

nd furious seas to encounter withal, but also many monstrous and great i

boats and men ready with hawsers, to knit fast unto such ice which with the ebb and flood were to

had made trial thereof, he departed thence, with two little barques, and men sufficient, to the east shore, being he supposed continent of

and glister in the sun like gold; so likewise doth the sand in the bright

o inches, being broken in the top, where we might perceive it hollow, into which some of our sailors putting spiders they presently

they perceived a fair harbour, and willing to sound the same, at the entrance thereof they espied two tents of seal skins, unto which the captain, our said master, and other company resorted. At the sight of our men the people fled into the mountains; nevertheless, they went to their tents, where, leaving certain trifles of ours as glas

pot (unto whom, in our general's absence, and his lieutenant, Master Beast, all the rest were obedient), went ashore, determining to see if by fair means we

nto the sea. We, parting ourselves into two companies, and compassing a mountain, came suddenly upon them by land, who, espying us, without any tarrying fled to their boats, leaving the most part of their oars

wounds received at our hands. But they, altogether void of humanity, and ignorant what mercy meaneth, in extremities look for no other than death, and perceiving that they should fall into our hands, thus miserably by drowning rather desired death than otherwise to be saved by us. The rest, perceiving their fellows in this distress, fled into the high mountains. Two women, not being so apt to escape as the men were, the one for her age, and th

isposed ourselves, contrary to our inclination, something to be cruel, returned to their tents, and made a spoil of the same, where we found an o

ins of red deer and seal skins, also dogs like unto wolves, but for the most part black, with other t

d there thirteen days, and so the 4th thereof we came to our general on the east shore, and anchored in a fair harbour named An

sfied for this time and also in time to come (if it please God and our prince) to expect a much more benefit out of the bowels of those septentrional parallels, which long time hath concealed itself till at this present, through the wonderful diligence and great danger of our general and others, God

s men whom he lost the year before, with some company with him repaired with the ship boat to commune or sign with them for familiarity, whereunto he is persuaded to bring them. They at the first show mad

d Cacough, and how he was carried on men's shoulders, and a m

gone away, they took up; which likewise they do when they desire anything for change of theirs, laying for that which is left so much as they think will countervail t

land with the boat and sufficient company with him. They seemed very glad, and allured him about a certain point of the land, behind which they might perceive a company of the c

ed by clapping their hands, and being without weapon, and but three in sight, they sought further means to provoke us thereunto. One alone laid flesh on the shore, which we took up with the boat-hook as necessary victuals for the relieving of the man, woman, and child whom we had taken, for that as yet they could not digest our meat; whereby they perceived themselves deceived of their expectation for all their crafty allurements. Yet once again to make, as it were, a full show of their crafty natures and subtle sleights, to the intent thereby to have entrapped and tak

grazed before his face. The counterfeit villain deliverly fled without any impediment at all, and got him to his bow and arrows, and the rest from their lurking holes with t

several times being thus manifest unto us, may plainly show their disposition in other things to be correspondent. We judged tha

tion; their colour is not much unlike the sunburnt c

p with two loops, showing forth on either side of their faces, and the rest faltered upon a knot. Also, some of their women tint their fa

ith blood, and a little water, which they drink. For lack of water, they will eat

ut for necessity's sake, without either salt, oils, or washing, like brute beasts devouring the same. They neither use table, stool, or table-cloth for comeliness: but when they are imbru

the ice and snow, from place to place, as the captain, whom we have, made perfect signs. And when those dogs are not apt for the same use, or when with hung

ogether with the sinews of them. All the fowl which they kill they skin,

when they think to gratify any friendship shown unto them; a great si

er, with the fur side inward, two or three pair on at once, and especially the women. In those hose they put their knives, needles, and other things needful to bear about. They put a

n cold weather or winter they wear the fur side inward, and in

el, houses, bedding, hose, shoes, thread, and sails for their boats, with ma

e, meeting at the top, and the skins sewed together with sinews, and laid thereupon; t

laid over them to withstand the rain, or other weather; the entrance of them being not much unlike an oven's mouth, whereu

a yard, or little more. They are feathered with two feathers, the pen end being cut away, and the feathers laid upon the arrow with the broad side to the wood, insomuch, that they seem, when they are tied on, to have four feathers. They have likewise three sorts of heads to those arrows; one sort of stone or iron, proportioned like to a heart; the secon

ot much unlike our toasting-irons, but longer; these they cast out of an instrument of wood very readily. The other sort is greater tha

he same; the greater sort are not much unlike our wherries, wherein sixteen or twenty men may sit; they have for a sail dressed the guts o

with these said weapons; but in what sort or how

s nor apparel are of such force to withstand the extremity of cold that the country

ch they bring with them, when they have sufficiently hunted and fished, they remove to other places; and when they have sufficiently stored them of such victuals as the co

little instruments, to work their boats, bows, arrows, and darts wit

of whom for exchange they should receive the same. They are g

y find dead (smell it never so filthily), but they will eat it as they find it without any other dressing. A loathsome thing, either to the beholders or the hearers. There is no manner of creeping beast hurtful,

wear bright plates of gold in their for

fs in. There is no wood at all. To be brief, there is nothing fit or profitable for the use of man which that country with root yieldeth or bringeth forth; howbeit there is great quantity of deer, whose skins are like unto asses, their heads or horns do far ex

the same to any perfection; but are contented by their hunting, fishing, and fowling, wi

tains, whose greatest substance are stones, and those stones so shapen with some extraordi

heat of the sun, with such water as descendeth from the mountain

capable to receive the water, that in the summer time, by the operation of the sun, descendeth from great abundance of snow, which continually lieth on the mountains, and hath no passage, sinketh into the earth, and so vanisheth away, without any runnel above the earth, by which occasion or continual standing of the sa

h them full, that at the lowest bank of the same they fall into the next valley, and so continue as fishing ponds, in summer time full of water, and in the winter hard frozen, as

out of sight into the sea, which, through the extremity of the frost, are constrained to do the same; by which occasion, the ear

tries, which are couched within the bowels of the earth,

ain pressed to explore the truth of that which is unexplored, as he hath to his everlasting praise found out

the country, people, and other commodities as are before rehearsed, the 24th thereof we departed there hence: the 17th of September we fell with

great tempest and fog; howbeit, God restored the one to Bristol, and the other making his course by Scotland to Yarmouth. In t

nces of tempests and other accidents incident to seafaring men, which seem not altogether strange, but I let them pass to their reports as men most apt to set forth and declare the same

ed for, do better accord with a new name given by the

after the names of divers noblemen, and other gentlemen his frien