Chapter XIII: Part 13

September 16, rather more moderate; set the main-top-sail; squally, with rain; a confused sea from west-north-west. At five in the afternoon soundings from five to twelve, from twenty-seven to thirty-two and thirty-four fathoms, fine brown sand, black specks, fresh gales, and cloudy. At eight took in first and second reefs of top-sails; at eleven at night close reefed the main and fore-top-sail, and handed the mizen; fresh gales, and cloudy weather. At four in the morning shoaled water to twenty-two fathoms; brown sand and broken shells. At five saw several sail to north-west; fired, and brought one of them to. At eight shook the first and second reefs out of the top-sail; hove down upon a sloop, which came from Gravesend; took on board the master, as a pilot to carry the ship through Yarmouth Roads; put on board one man in his room, and ordered his vessel to follow us. Stood to the southward.

September 17, fresh breezes, and cloudy weather; kept the lead going every half hour; found our sounding from ten to twelve fathoms, fine brown sand. At six in the afternoon fresh gales; close reefed the main-top-sail; soundings from ten to sixteen fathom; broken shells and large stones. At seven close reefed the main-top-sail; kept a light in the poop-lanthorn for the sloop. At ten strong gales; handed the top-sails; laid her to under the main-sail; handed the fore-sail. At eleven at night got into five fathom; but deepened to eight, nine, and ten fathom, brown sand. Lost sight of the fishing vessel; fired several guns, and made a signal in the mizen-shroud. On setting the fore-top-sail stacil, it blew to pieces; bent a new one. A violent gale of wind; shipped a great quantity of water. At four rather moderate; set the fore-sail. At midnight set close; reefed top-sails. At half past six tacked; at seven saw the fishing vessel; bore down and spoke with her, who had split her main-sail in the night. At ten saw the land bearing south-west by west, and south and by west. At eleven being clear and moderate weather, shook all the reefs out of the top-sails, and set the top-gallant-sail; saw Cromer light-house, bearing south 55 degrees west, distance five leagues.

September 19, fresh breezes and clear weather; bent the sheet-cable, and hauled a range of the best and small bower-cables; bent both buoy ropes and buoys to the anchor. At five light breezes and fair; tacked and stood to the southward. At six tacked and stood to the north-west. Cramer north-west and by north four miles; light breezes, and pleasant weather; handed in top-gallant-sails, and handed the main-sail. At seven in the evening, to our great joy, saw Yarmouth Church, bearing south-west. At ten at night came to anchor with the best bower in twelve fathom, fine sand and clay; veered out to half a cable, and handed all the sails. Winterstone Ness lights bore south and by west four miles. At two in the morning fresh breezes and cloudy. At half past four weighed, and made sail. Employed in working from Winterstone Ness lights, to Yarmouth Roads, making several tacks. At seven in the morning set top-gallant-sails; at nine came to an anchor in Yarmouth Road, with best bower in seven fathoms water; sand and clay. Yarmouth church south fifteen west, distance two miles. Came on board a pilot to carry the ship to the Nore.

September 20, fresh breezes and clear weather; sent down top-gallant-yards, and got every thing clear for striking tokens. At five in the afternoon moored the ship. Yarmouth church west-south-west two miles.

September 21, fresh gales and cloudy, with frequent rain. At four in the afternoon sent down top-gallant-mast. At eight in the morning sent the long-boat on shore for water. We were this day visited by several of the inhabitants of Norwich and Yarmouth, who were genteelly entertained by the officers, but we could get no intelligence of the Commodore.

September 23, dark cloudy weather. At six in the evening swayed up the top-mast, and lower yards; the wind veered to north-west, we prepared to unmoor. Fresh gales, with frequent flashes of lightning. At seven in the morning set on top-gallant-mast, and began to unmoor. At eight veered away upon the best bower, and took up the small bower-anchor. At nine weighed and made sail. At ten got up the top-gallant-yards, in company with several ships.

Saturday 25, at five came to an anchor in eleven fathoms. Orford light-house east by south four miles. This day some religious books were distributed among the sailors, which had been sent on board by some pious person for their particular perusal.

Sunday 26. At six in the evening came to with the best bower in seven fathoms water; Balsey church west by south. At two in the morning weighed, and came to sail; Harwich lights north-west by west. To their great surprise, saw the Race Horse at anchor. Hoisted out the cutter, and Capt. Lutwidge waited on the Commodore, from whom he learnt, that in the storm of the twelfth they had all their boats washed over-board; and, to ease the ship, were obliged to heave all their guns over-board, except two. Came to anchor; Harwich church north-west.

Monday 27, at two in the afternoon weighed, and came to sail in company with the Race Horse. At eight in the evening came to in the Swin. At five in the morning weighed, in company as before. Turning up the Swin at half past nine, came to; Whitaker Beacon north-north-east one mile.

Tuesday 28, fresh breezes and cloudy weather. At half past three weighed, and came to sail. At half past six came to with the best bower in six fathom water; Shoe Beacon north-west. At half past five weighed, and came to sail. Working to windward at eleven in the forenoon, the Commodore’s boat came on board, with orders to proceed to Deptford. At noon came to at the Nore with the best bower.

Wednesday 29, light breezes and fair weather. At half past five weighed, and made sail. Employed in working up the river. At half past ten came to with the best bower in the gallions, in three fathoms water. Woolwich church north by south one half east. At noon a hoy came along-side for the gunner’s stores.

Thursday 30, employed most of the afternoon in getting out the guns, and gunner’s stores. At nine in the evening weighed, and came to sail. At ten run foul of a large transport, and carried away the lar-board mizen-shrouds, and part of the channel. At one in the morning came to anchor at Deptford. Warped along-side the Bedford Hulk, and moored. At six unbent the sails, and began to unrig.

Thus ended a voyage, which seems to have determined the question so much agitated concerning the navigation to the north pole, and proved what Captain Wood had before asserted, that no passage would ever be found practicable in that direction.

From the quantities of ice which that navigator met with in latitude 76 north, longitude [missing number] east, he concluded indeed erroneously, that the 80th degree would bound the passage towards the poles, and that from thence the polar region was either a continued continent of solid ice, or that land filled up the intermediate space.

It has been found, however, that those seas are navigable as far as between the eighty-first and eighty-second degrees of latitude; and it may possibly happen, that in some future years, they may be found navigable a degree or two farther: but it may now with certainty be concluded, that a course under the pole can never be pursued for the purpose of commerce.

We have already shewn incontestibly, that the north sea communicates with the eastern sea, and that the passage to China and Japan may be performed with difficulty by a north-east course, by watching the opportunity, when a few days in the year the north sea is open. But who would think of exposing a ship’s company to the hazard of being frozen to death in a tedious, uncertain, and dangerous passage, when a safe, certain, and, one may say, speedy passage at all times lies open before them.

From Behring’s discoveries to the east of Japan, and from the continent he there met with, there seems reason to believe, that the land seen by Commodore Phipps to the eastward of the Seven Islands, might be a continuation of that continent. In that case it is not improbable, but that either that continent may join to the western part of America, or that it may extend southward, and form a part of that continent so much sought after in the southern hemisphere.

A small premium of two or three thousand pounds secured by Parliament, to be paid to the owner or owners of any Greenland fishing ship, that should be fortunate enough to discover such a continent to the eastward or northward of the _Seven Islands_, might possibly have a better effect, than many expensive expeditions fitted out solely for the purposes of such discovery. This, by a trading nation, were it only to improve the science of geography, would surely be well bestowed.

It is true, indeed, that the reward secured by parliament for the discovery of a north-west passage, has not yet been attended with that success, with which the promoters of the bill had flattered themselves and the public, from the liberal spirit with which it was granted.

The Hudson’s Bay Company, though bound by their charter to further and promote the discovery, were generally suspected, from interested motives, to oppose and discourage every attempt to accomplish it. And Captain Middleton, who in 1740 was sent in a king’s ship upon that service, returning without success, was publicly charged with having received a bribe of five thousand pounds to defeat the undertaking, and by his report to discourage any farther attempts in pursuit of it. This charge was strongly supported, and generally credited. And Mr. Dobbs, by whose interest Captain Middleton was employed, had the address to prevail with the then ministry, to preclude any future scheme of private corruption, by promoting the public reward already mentioned.

The preamble to the act will state this matter in the true light it lets forth, “That whereas the discovery of a north-west passage through Hudson’s Streight to the western ocean would be of great benefit and advantage to this kingdom, and that it would be of great advantage to the adventurers to attempt the same, if a public reward was given to such persons as should make a perfect discovery of the said passage; it is therefore enacted, that if any ships or vessels belonging to his majesty’s subjects shall find out and sail through any passage by sea between Hudson’s bay and the western ocean of America, the owners of such ships or vessels shall be entitled to receive as a reward for such discovery the sum of TWENTY-THOUSAND POUNDS.” And as a farther encouragement to prosecute this discovery, and to prevent obstructions from interested persons, it was enacted, “that all persons, subjects of his Majesty, residing in any place where the said adventurers may come in the prosecution of this discovery, shall give the said adventurers all assistance, and shall no way obstruct, molest, or refuse the said adventurers reasonable succour in any distress they may fall into in the prosecution of this discovery.”

Such was the encouragement, and such the liberal reward that was and is secured by parliament to the fortunate discoverers of a north-west passage to the great pacific ocean; a passage which, it is generally believed, would open a trade with nations on the northern continent of America, wholly unknown to the maritime powers of Europe, and supposed, from their situation, to abound in commodities equally rare and precious with those of any other country under the sun.

The fair prospect of acquiring fame by enlarging commerce, the hope of obtaining the parliamentary reward, and the desire of exposing the dis-ingenuity of Captain Middleton, were incitements sufficient to prevail with Mr. Dobbs to sollicit the equipment of two ships for another voyage, which he made not the least doubt would find out the passage so long sought for in vain, and by the advantages attending the discovery, exceed the most sanguine expectations of the adventurers.

The command of this expedition was given to Captain Ellis, who, on the 31st of May, 1746, passed Yarmouth in the Dobb’s Galley, accompanied by the California Sloop, and convoyed to the north sea by the Loo man of war. But in proportion as Mr. Dobbs had flattered the avarice of the adventurers who were to share in the reward, and had elated himself with the thoughts of triumphing over the disgrace of Captain Middleton, so it happened, that when the ships returned without having effected any one thing of consequence, the chagrin of the former for having advanced their money on a visionary project, and the mortification of the latter in not being able to support his charge, were increased by every circumstance that could aggravate the disappointment. Captain Middleton now triumphed in his turn, and no ship from England has since been induced to undertake the voyage, notwithstanding the greatness of the reward.

It is now, however, believed, that Government have in contemplation another voyage to the north, to which that of Captain Phipps was only the prelude; but there is reason to conclude, from what has already been said of these latter attempts, and from the ill success of former undertakings, that the discovery of a north-west passage is not the sole object in view. The figure of the earth, the phenomena of the winds, the variation of the compass, and the attraction of the magnet, are points yet unsettled, of infinite importance to navigation; and it is not impossible, but that a more careful examination of the polar regions may lead to the solution of problems, that have hitherto baffled the enquiries of the ablest navigators.

A very slender acquaintance with the difficulties and hardships attending northern discoveries, will fully account for our knowledge of the countries surrounding the pole being still very imperfect. A brief recapitulation of the sufferings of those to whom we are most indebted for our information, will not, we hope, be thought an improper conclusion to a voyage solely undertaken with a view to enlarge it.

The first who conceived the idea of exploring the northern regions was Sebastian Cabbot. That enterprizing navigator, long before Magellan thought of a passage to the pacific ocean by the south-west, had made two voyages, with a view to direct his course to the same sea by the north-west. In these voyages, he discovered Newfoundland, the coast of the Esquimeaux Indians, and had penetrated as far as the 64th degree of latitude, when a mutiny among his men, or rather an obstinate refusal to proceed any further, obliged him to return; yet he died in the persuasion that a passage in that direction certainly existed, and that he should have found it but for the opposition of his crew.

The next, who, prepossessed with the same notion, undertook a voyage for discoveries towards the north, was Sir Martin Forbisher. He discovered Greenland, and in the latitude of 62 deg. north, passed a streight, which, though it still holds a place in our maps, has never been found navigable since. He made two other voyages, discovered many bays and capes, to which he gave names, but returned without attaining the principal object of his voyage, though, like his predecessor, he asserted the certainty of its existence to his latest hour.

To him succeeded Sir Humphry Gilbert, who in 1583 traversed the coast of Labradore, entered the mouth of the great river St. Laurence, and, surrounding the island of Newfoundland, laid the foundation of the cod fishery, which has been prosecuted with immense advantage to his country ever since.

The rapid progress of discoveries in the southern hemisphere, which about this time were attended with vast profit to the adventurers, re-animated cotemporary navigators to prosecute, with more ardour than ever, their enterprizes towards the north. The more the pacific ocean became known, the firmer the belief prevailed, that a passage into it by way of the north must certainly exist, and that whoever could discover it, would not only immortalize his name, but enrich his country.

The merchants of that time were no less eager to embark their money, than the navigators were to hazard their persons in any new project, where the hope of gain appeared to be well founded. A company therefore of wealthy persons in London agreed to join a company of merchants in the west, and to fit out two ships for the discovery of a passage, which all agreed was practicable, though none could tell readily where to find it. To the command of this expedition Captain John Davis was strongly recommended as an able navigator, and of a bold and enterprising spirit. Accordingly, on the 7th of June, 1585, he set sail from Dartmouth, in the Sunshine of fifty tons, and accompanied by the Moonshine of thirty-five tons, having on board both vessels forty-two hardy seamen. On the 19th of July they were alarmed by a mighty roaring, which was the more terrible, as the fog was so thick, that they could not see each other at a ship’s length. It proved only the crackling of the islands of ice, which was not then very well understood. On the breaking up of the fog they discovered land, which, from its horrid appearance, they named _the land of desolation_. On the 24th they were in 64 deg. 15 min. north, the sea open and the weather moderate. In this latitude they discovered land, and conversed with the natives, who appeared to be a harmless hospitable people, polite in their manners, neatly habited, and not ill-favoured. These friendly people, observing that the English admired their furs, went up in the country to bring down more, with which they traded with much simplicity. To an adjoining hill Davis gave the name of Mount Raleigh, from which he took his departure on the 8th of August, and on the 11th doubled the southernmost cape in view, to which he gave the name of the _Cape of God’s Mercy_, and entered a streight, which bears the name of the Discoverer to this day. In this streight he sailed sixty leagues, and on the 14th went on shore, and found evident signs of human inhabitants, being met by a pack of dogs (twenty in number) that expressed their joy, as if their masters had been returned after an interval of absence. One of those had on a leathern collar. The Captain was highly pleased with the promising appearance of the new streights, and consulting with the master, agreed to report, upon their return home, that they had found the wished-for passage to the western sea.

The weather changing from temperate to excessive cold, on the 20th it was resolved to set sail for England. On the 12th of September they fell in with the land of Desolation, and on the 30th of the same month entered the port of Dartmouth, without the loss of a man.

The account Captain Davis gave to his owners was so well received, that other merchants were desirous of joining in a second expedition, and accordingly he was again employed, and furnished with a much greater force.

On the 7th of May he sailed from Dartmouth in the Mermaid, of 120 tons, in company with the Sunshine and Moonshine as before, and an additional pinnace of thirteen tons, called the North Star.

In the latitude of 60 degrees north Captain Davis divided his force, ordering the Sunshine and North Star to seek a passage between Greenland and Iceland, while the Mermaid and Moonshine continued their course to the streight as before. In the latitude of 64 degrees, and longitude 58 deg. 30 min. north from London, they fell again in with the land, and met the same people with whom they had traded the former year. Overjoyed to meet, they renewed their acquaintance, and while the English was preparing a pinnace to facilitate their discoveries, the natives came in numbers to carry on trade. As soon as the pinnace was fitted for sea, Captain Davis dispatched her to examine the inlets on the coast, and to trace their course up the main land; but that was productive of no essential discovery.

Though the natives attended them with an obsequious diligence, yet on their kindling a fire in their manner, and using some strange ceremonies, Captain Davis supposing them to be using idolatrous sorceries, first thrust the priest into the smoke, and then encouraged his men to tread out the flame, and to spurn the reeking coals into the sea. Unable to bear the insult, the natives for the first time began to shew resentment. They seized the boat from the stern of the Moonshine, cut the cable belonging to the Mermaid, made prize of the implements that lay upon the shore, and, in short, declared open hostilities against the aggressors, who in return discharged their artillery among them, which instantly dispersed them.

No civilities, however, that could be shewn them, after the indignity offered to their priest, could ever after reconcile them, and the year following they found an opportunity to take a severe revenge. In the mean time one of them being made prisoner, was taken on board the Mermaid; who, after recovering his fright, trimmed up his darts, repaired his fishing tackle, picked okam, and set his hand to any thing he was set about; and, after a time, became a very pleasant companion on board.

On the 17th of July, in latitude 63 degrees 8 min. north, they fell in with a continent of ice, very high, like land, with bays and capes, and, till they examined it closely, could not be convinced that it was a mere congelation. They coasted it till the 30th, when the weather became so tempestuous and foggy, and withal so cold, that the shrouds, ropes, and sails were frozen and glazed with ice; and the men, who the year before found the sea open and the weather temperate, became so dispirited, that in an orderly manner they addressed their Commander, and intreated him to consider their present situation, to have regard to his own life, and the preservation of theirs; and not, through boldness and an indiscreet zeal for a hopeless discovery, leave their widows and fatherless children to blacken his memory with bitter curses. Moved with their pitiable representation, he discharged the Mermaid with those who were most desirous of returning home, and proceeded in the Moonshine to prosecute his voyage. Changing his course to recover the opposite shore on the 1st of August, in latitude 66 deg. 33 min. north, and longitude 70 degrees west, he discovered land, without either ice or snow. On the 2d they cast anchor in a fine road, and in a day or two were visited by the natives, who came to traffic. On the 14th they set sail to the westward, and on the 16th changed their course to the southward. On the 18th they discovered a high promontory to the north-west, which having no land to the south, recovered their hopes of a free passage.

On doubling the Cape, they found the land trending away to the south in broken islands, and coasting along till they arrived at a fine opening, in latitude 57 degrees, they sailed ten leagues, with woods and lawns on each side, abounding with deer and game of every kind. Here they staid till the 1st of September, and then set sail, coasting along to the northward, where they were again flattered with the hopes of a passage, by observing a strong current rushing in between two lands to the westward, which they were very desirous of approaching, but the wind blew directly against them.

On the 6th, returning to their former station, five of the crew fell into an ambuscade; for having ventured on shore unarmed in their boat, they were suddenly assaulted from the woods, two of them killed upon the spot, two grievously wounded, and the fifth made his escape by swimming, with an arrow sticking in his arm. The same evening a furious storm arose, which lasted till the 10th, in which time they in a manner unrigged their ship, and were about to cut away her masts by the board, the cable of their sheet anchor parted, and they every moment expected to be dashed upon the rocks, and to be made a prey by the savage cannibals of the country; but the storm abating, and the sea growing calm, they recovered their anchor on the 11th, and made sail for England.

About the beginning of October they arrived at Dartmouth, where they found the Sunshine, but the North Star having parted company in a hard gale on the coast of Greenland, was never more heard of.

This undaunted mariner had yet the courage to undertake a third voyage, and then sailed as far as the 73d degree of north latitude, but being deserted by his companions, was forced to return in great distress to his old port. Upon his return he wrote a letter to his patron, assuring him, that he had found an open sea in latitude 73 degrees north, and a streight forty leagues broad, and concluded from thence that the passage was most certain.

From this period till the year 1610 we find no farther attempts made to revive this discovery; but in that year Mr. Henry Hudson, one of the most celebrated mariners of his time, was prevailed upon to undertake a voyage that was purposely set on foot to make trial of his skill. He sailed April the 7th, 1610, steering directly to Davis’s Streights, he there changed his course to the westward, and struck out a new track that no mariner had ever sailed before, which led him through the streight that still bears his name into the great bay that bounds the American continent on the north-east, and seems to communicate by various openings with the north sea. Here he continued traversing for almost three months in search of a passage to the westward, but finding himself embayed, he stood to the south, intending to winter in the mildest latitude the Bay would admit; accordingly, he is said to have wintered in latitude 52 degrees north, longitude 80 degrees west, where on the 1st of November his ship was frozen in, and being scantily provided with provisions, the crew mutinied, and in the end most barbarously contrived, as the writer expresses it, to turn the Captain, the carpenter, and all the sick men out of the ship, who were never more heard of. After which the leaders of the mutiny determined to make the best of their way for England; but in their passage home not a few perished, and those who survived suffered unspeakable misery.

But notwithstanding this disaster, and that it was certainly known that the Captain and all who were left behind were either drowned, starved, or murdered, the progress he had made in the discovery encouraged others to follow his track.

The next who adventured was Captain Button, a man of great abilities, courage, and experience. Patronized by Henry, Prince of Wales, he sailed in 1611, and having passed Hudson’s Streights, pursued a different track from that of Captain Hudson, leaving his discoveries to the south, and shaping his course to the north-west.

After sailing more then two hundred leagues, he fell in with a large continent, which, from its mountainous appearance, he named New Wales; but finding no passage to the westward, he followed the direction of the land to the southward, till he arrived at Port Nelson, where he wintered in 63 deg. 30 min. north; but, though he kept three fires in his ship constantly burning, and his company killed incredible numbers of white partridges and other wild fowl, yet many of his men perished by the severity of the cold, which in that climate was almost insupportable.

In 1615 Captain William Baffin undertook the examination of the extremity of that sea into which Davis’s Streights opened a passage, and he so far succeeded, as to determine its extent, and to discover an outlet marked in our maps, by the name of Sir Thomas Smith’s Sound, which is probably the only communication between our northern bays and the great pacific ocean, which nature has provided, in order to maintain a general circulation, without which it is hardly possible to conceive, that the equipoise of the globe could for a moment be preserved.

In 1619 Captain John Munk, at the instance of his Danish Majesty, undertook this discovery, and arrived safe at Cape Farewell, where, though the tackle of the ship was so frozen and full of isicles, that the mariners could not handle the ropes, yet next day it was so hot, that they were forced to work in their shirts. He entered Hudson’s Streight in the month of July, and was forced to winter in latitude 63 degrees 20 min. north, on an island that still retains his name; but the hardships he endured almost exceed belief. In May, 1620, he found himself alone in a cave dug in the earth, scarce alive, and almost morally certain, that all his mariners were dead. As soon as the weather would permit he crawled forth, and found, of all his crew, only two left. By removing the snow, they found some fresh herbs underneath, and by eating them, recovered from the scurvy. Unable to navigate their ships, they abandoned her to the savages, and, by a wonderful providence, got safe to Norway in the Pinnace. Being a man of uncommon resolution, he was still sollicitous to perfect a discovery, which had baffled the researches of so many able navigators, and to acquire glory, by accomplishing that which they had failed to attain. He asserted the existence of such a passage so confidently, and laid down the method of finding it so plausibly, that he had persuaded the merchants of Norway to raise a joint stock to defray the expences of a second voyage; but applying to the King for his permission and protection, and relating to him his own sufferings, and those of his companions in his former voyage, his Majesty told him, he had already been the death of too many of his subjects, and wondered at his presumption to seek to murder more. To which Monk gave a quick reply, which provoked the King to strike him over his stomach with his cane. Whether the severity of the blow, or the sense of the indignity was the occasion, is not certain; but he quitted the royal presence with marks of strong resentment, and returning to his chamber, refused assistance, and three days after breathed his last.

Capt. Luke Fox and Capt. James were the next who professedly engaged in this discovery; the first in a King’s frigate, victualled for eighteen months; the other in a small vessel of seventy tons, built at Bristol on purpose; victualled and equipped by private adventurers.

Captain Fox departed in the spring of 1631, traced all the western bays discovered by former navigators, examined the westermost part of Hudson’s Bay, and returned in 1632. He published a pompous account of his discoveries, which, however, was never much regarded.

On the 3d of May, 1631, Captain James set sail from the Severn’s mouth, and on the 29th of June cleared Hudson’s Streights, where he found himself so pestered with broken ice, as to put it out of his power to prosecute his discoveries to the north-westward, as he had intended; he therefore ordered his master to steer west south-west, and on the 27th of July, after sustaining most dreadful shocks, found his ship enclosed so fast among the ice, that notwithstanding it blew a hard gale, and all sails set, she stirred no more than if she had been in a dry dock. It was now that the men first began to murmur, and the Captain himself was not without his fears, lest they should here be frozen up and obliged to winter in the middle of the sea. By an observation which they made upon the ice, they found that they were in latitude 58 deg. 54 min. north.

On the 5th of next month to their great joy the ice opened, and on the 6th they were again in a clear sea. On the 13th, seeing some breakers a-head, and looffing to clear them, the ship suddenly struck upon the rocks, and received three dreadful shocks, but the swell heaved her over, and on pumping she made no water.

They were now encumbered with rocks, as before they had been with ice, and in the most perilous situation that can be conceived, and so continued two nights and two days, every moment expecting to be dashed to pieces. On the fog’s clearing up they saw land from the north-west to the south-east by east, with rocks and breakers. On the 16th they weighed and made sail, when a storm arose and drove them within sight of Port Nelson. On the 17th they stood to the southward. On the 20th they made land, in latitude 57 degrees north, where they cast anchor, call’d it the Principality of South Wales.

Having weighed, on the 27th they set sail, and in the evening came in sight of higher land.

On the 29th they saw a sail, which proved to be Captain Fox, already mentioned. They spoke together, and, after exchanging mutual civilities, parted.

Captain James kept coasting along the shore to make discoveries, and Captain Fox made the best of his way for England.

The Captain now began to think of a convenient place to winter in. In this attempt they met with so many disasters, that at last having no hope left, they began to prepare themselves to make a good end of a miserable life. On the 19th they lost their shallop, tho’ lashed to the ship by two hawsers, and to their inexpressible grief their boat was almost rendered irreparable.

Winter now began to set in a-pace, the nights long, the days close and foggy, the seas rough, and nothing but shoals and broken land to navigate. Added to all these the men began to sicken, an universal dejection to prevail, and in proportion as their distresses increased, their strength to bear up against them grew less every day.

On the 4th of November, being in latitude 52 degrees north, they fell in with an island, from which they found it impossible to depart. The men were quite worn down with fatigue, the sails so frozen as not to be unfurled, the ropes congealed in the blocks, and the deck knee-deep in snow. In this forlorn condition they built a tent on shore for the sick, and in this tent they kept fires continually burning night and day, but the cold increased so fast, that beer, and even spirits, froze by the fire-side.

The sufferings of the Captain and crew from the latter end of October when they landed, till the 2d of July, when they departed, are hardly to be parelleled.

This was the last voyage that was undertaken for the discovery of a north-west passage, till that of Captain Middleton, already related. From all which, and the opinion of Captain James after his return, there is great reason to conclude, that what we have said of a north-east passage is likewise true of a passage by the north-west, that it most certainly exists, but will never be found practicable for mercantile purposes.

FINIS.

Transcriber’s notes

New original cover art included with this ebook is granted to the public domain.

The illustrations have been moved to appropriate paragraph breaks.

The original text used the long s. This has been changed to the regular s.

The page numbers in the original jump from 272 to 281. There is no text missing.

On supplement page 101 the longitude number is missing in the original.

On supplement page 108 the year in which Captain John Davis set sail from Dartmouth has been corrected from 1685 to 1585.

Obvious typographical errors have been corrected.

Archaic and inconsistent spelling and hyphenation have been retained except for:

(Ship named) Moon-shine or Moonshine, regularised to Moonshine.

(Ship named) Sun-shine or Sunshine, regularised to Sunshine.