Part 9 (1/2)
The 25th of this month we departed from sight of this land at six of the clock in the morning, directing our course to the north-westward, hoping in G.o.d's mercy to find our desired pa.s.sage, and so continued above four days.
The 29th of July we discovered land in 64 degrees 15 minutes of lat.i.tude, bearing north-east from us. The wind being contrary to go to the north-westward, we bear in with this land to take some view of it, being utterly void of the pester of ice, and very temperate. Coming near the coast we found many fair sounds and good roads for s.h.i.+pping, and many great inlets into the land, whereby we judged this land to be a great number of islands standing together. Here, having moored our barque in good order, we went on sh.o.r.e upon a small island to seek for water and wood. Upon this island we did perceive that there had been people, for we found a small shoe and pieces of leather sewed with sinews and a piece of fur, and wool like to beaver. Then we went upon another island on the other side of our s.h.i.+ps, and the captain, the master, and I, being got up to the top of a high rock, the people of the country having espied us made a lamentable noise, as we thought, with great outcries and screechings; we, hearing them, thought it had been the howling of wolves.
At last I halloed again, and they likewise cried; then we, perceiving where they stood--some on the sh.o.r.e, and one rowing in a canoe about a small island fast by them--we made a great noise, partly to allure them to us and partly to warn our company of them. Whereupon Master Bruton and the master of his s.h.i.+p, with others of their company, made great haste towards us, and brought our musicians with them from our s.h.i.+p, purposing either by force to rescue us, if needs should so require, or with courtesy to allure the people. When they came unto us we caused our musicians to play, ourselves dancing and making many signs of friends.h.i.+p.
At length there came ten canoes from the other islands, and two of them came so near the sh.o.r.e where we were that they talked with us, the other being in their boats a pretty way off. Their p.r.o.nunciation was very hollow through the throat, and their speech such as we could not understand, only we allured them by friendly embracings and signs of courtesy. At length one of them, pointing up to the sun with his hand, would presently strike his breast so hard that we might hear the blow.
This he did many times before he would any way trust us. Then John Ellis, the master of the _Moons.h.i.+ne_, was appointed to use his best policy to gain their friends.h.i.+p, who shook his breast and pointed to the sun after their order, which when he had divers times done they began to trust him, and one of them came on sh.o.r.e, to whom we threw our caps, stockings, and gloves, and such other things as then we had about us, playing with our music, and making signs of joy, and dancing. So the night coming we bade them farewell, and went aboard our barques.
The next morning, being the 30th of July, there came thirty-seven canoes rowing by our s.h.i.+ps calling to us to come on sh.o.r.e; we not making any great haste unto them, one of them went up to the top of the rock, and leaped and danced as they had done the day before, showing us a seal skin, and another thing made like a timbrel, which he did beat upon with a stick, making a noise like a small drum. Whereupon we manned our boats and came to them, they all staying in their canoes. We came to the water's side, where they were, and after we had sworn by the sun after their fas.h.i.+on they did trust us. So I shook hands with one of them, and he kissed my hand, and we were very familiar with them. We were in so great credit with them upon this single acquaintance that we could have anything they had. We bought five canoes of them; we bought their clothes from their backs, which were all made of seal skins and birds'
skins; their buskins, their hose, their gloves, all being commonly sewed and well dressed, so that we were fully persuaded that they have divers artificers among them. We had a pair of buskins of them full of fine wool like beaver. Their apparel for heat was made of birds' skins with their feathers on them. We saw among them leather dressed like glover's leather, and thick thongs like white leather of good length. We had of their darts and oars, and found in them that they would by no means displease us, but would give us whatsoever we asked of them, and would be satisfied with whatsoever we gave them. They took great care one of another, for when we had bought their boats then two other would come, and carry him away between them that had sold us his. They are a very tractable people, void of craft or double dealing, and easy to be brought to any civility or good order, but we judged them to be idolaters, and to wors.h.i.+p the sun.
During the time of our abode among these islands we found reasonable quant.i.ty of wood, both fir, spruce, and juniper; which, whether it came floating any great distance to these places where we found it, or whether it grew in some great islands near the same place by us not yet discovered, we know not. But we judge that it groweth there farther into the land than we were, because the people had great store of darts and oars which they made none account of, but gave them to us for small trifles as points and pieces of paper. We saw about this coast marvellous great abundance of seals sculling together like sculls of small fish. We found no fresh water among these islands, but only snow-water, whereof we found great pools. The cliffs were all of such ore as Master Frobisher brought from Meta Incognita. We had divers shewes of study or Moscovie gla.s.s, s.h.i.+ning not altogether unlike to crystal. We found an herb growing upon the rocks whose fruit was sweet, full of red juice, and the ripe ones were like currants. We found also birch and willow growing like shrubs low to the ground. These people have great store of furs as we judged. They made shows unto us the 30th of this present, which was the second time of our being with them, after they perceived we would have skins and furs, that they would go into the country and come again the next day with such things as they had; but this night the wind coming fair the captain and the master would by no means detract the purpose our discovery. And so the last of this month, about four of the clock in the morning, in G.o.d's name we set sail, and were all that day becalmed upon the coast.
The 1st of August we had a fair wind, and so proceeded towards the north-west for our discovery.
The 6th of August we discovered land in 66 degrees 40 minutes of lat.i.tude altogether void from the pester of ice; we anch.o.r.ed in a very fair road, under a very brave mount, the cliffs whereof were as orient as gold.
This mount was named Mount Raleigh; the road where our s.h.i.+ps lay at anchor was called Totnes Road; the sound which did compa.s.s the mount was named Exeter Sound; the foreland towards the north was called Dier's Cape; the foreland towards the south was named Cape Walsingham. So soon as we were come to an anchor in Totnes Road under Mount Raleigh we espied four white bears at the foot of the mount. We, supposing them to be goats or wolves, manned our boats and went towards them, but when we came near the sh.o.r.e we found them to be white bears of a monstrous bigness; we, being desirous of fresh victual and the sport, began to a.s.sault them, and I being on land, one of them came down the hill right against me. My piece was charged with hail-shot and a bullet; I discharged my piece and shot him in the neck; he roared a little, and took the water straight, making small account of his hurt. Then we followed him with our boat, and killed him with boars' spears, and two more that night. We found nothing in their maws, but we judged by their dung that they fed upon gra.s.s, because it appeared in all respects like the dung of a horse, wherein we might very plainly see the very straws.
The 7th we went on sh.o.r.e to another bear, which lay all night upon the top of an island under Mount Raleigh, and when we came up to him he lay fast asleep. I levelled at his head, and the stone of my piece gave no fire; with that he looked up and laid down his head again; then I shot, being charged with two bullets, and struck him in the head; he, being but amazed, fell backwards, whereupon we ran all upon him with boar spears and thrust him in the body, yet for all that he gripped away our boar spears and went towards the water, and as he was going down he came back again. Then our master shot his boar spear and struck him in the head, and made him to take the water, and swim into a cove fast by, where we killed him and brought him aboard. The breadth of his fore foot from one side to the other was fourteen inches over. They were very fat, so as we were constrained to cast the fat away. We saw a raven upon Mount Raleigh. We found withies, also, growing low like shrubs, and flowers like primroses in the said place. The coast is very mountainous, altogether without wood, gra.s.s, or earth, and is only huge mountains of stone, but the bravest stone that ever we saw. The air was very moderate in this country.
The 8th we departed from Mount Raleigh, coasting along the sh.o.r.e which lieth south-south-west and east-north-east.
The 9th our men fell in dislike of their allowance because it was so small as they thought. Whereupon we made a new proportion, every mess, being five to a mess, should have four pound of bread a day, twelve wine quarts of beer, six new land fishes, and the flesh days a gin of pease more; so we restrained them from their b.u.t.ter and cheese.
The 11th we came to the most southerly cape of this land, which we named the Cape of G.o.d's Mercy, as being the place of our first entrance for the discovery. The weather being very foggy we coasted this north land; at length when it brake up we perceived that we were shot into a very fair entrance or pa.s.sage, being in some places twenty leagues broad and in some thirty, altogether void of any pester of ice, the weather very tolerable, and the water of the very colour, nature, and quality of the main ocean, which gave us the greater hope of our pa.s.sage. Having sailed north-west sixty leagues in this entrance, we discovered certain islands standing in the midst thereof, having open pa.s.sages on both sides.
Whereupon our s.h.i.+ps divided themselves, the one sailing on the north side, the other on the south side of the said isles, where we stayed five days, having the wind at south-east, very foggy, and foul weather.
The 14th we went on sh.o.r.e and found signs of people, for we found stones laid up together like a wall, and saw the skull of a man or a woman.
The 15th we heard dogs howl on the sh.o.r.e, which we thought had been wolves, and therefore we went on sh.o.r.e to kill them. When we came on land the dogs came presently to our boat very gently, yet we thought they came to prey upon us, and therefore we shot at them and killed two, and about the neck of one of them we found a leathern collar, whereupon we thought them to be tame dogs. There were twenty dogs like mastiffs, with p.r.i.c.ked ears and long bushed tails; we found a bone in the pizels of their dogs. Then we went farther and found two sleds made like ours in England. The one was made of fir, spruce, and oaken boards, sawn like inch boards; the other was made all of whalebone, and there hung on the tops of the sleds three heads of beasts which they had killed. We saw here larks, ravens, and partridges.
The 17th we went on sh.o.r.e, and in a little thing made like an oven with stones I found many small trifles, as a small canoe made of wood, a piece of wood made like an image, a bird made of bone, beads having small holes in one end of them to hang about their necks, and other small things.
The coast was very barbarous, without wood or gra.s.s. The rocks were very fair, like marble, full of veins of divers colours. We found a seal which was killed not long before, being flayed and hid under stones.
Our captain and master searched still for probabilities of the pa.s.sage, and first found that this place was all islands with great sounds pa.s.sing between them.
Secondly, the water remained of one colour with the main ocean without altering.
Thirdly, we saw to the west of those isles three or four whales in a scull, which they judged to come from a westerly sea, because to the eastward we saw not any whale.
Also, as we were rowing into a very great sound lying south-west from whence these whales came, upon the sudden there came a violent countercheck of a tide from the south-west against the flood which we came with, not knowing from whence it was maintained.
Fifthly, in sailing 20 leagues within the mouth of this entrance we had sounding in 90 fathoms, fair, grey, oozy sand, and the farther we run into the westwards the deeper was the water, so that hard aboard the sh.o.r.e among these isles we could not have ground in 330 fathoms.
Lastly, it did ebb and flow six or seven fathom up and down, the flood coming from divers parts, so as we could not perceive the chief maintenance thereof.
The 18th and 19th our captain and master determined what was best to do, both for the safe guard of their credits and satisfy of the adventurers, and resolved if the weather brake up to make further search.
The 20th, the wind came directly against us, so they altered their purpose, and reasoned both for proceeding and returning.
The 21st, the wind being north-west, we departed from these islands, and as we coasted the south sh.o.r.e we saw many fair sounds, whereby we were persuaded that it was no firm land but islands.