the yse is rather the cause of this cold then the distempreture of the ayre Wherfore if in winter where is aboundance of yse snowe the ayre is so sufferable as that traueling and hunting may be exercised how much rather may wee iudge the seas to be Nauigable and that in the depest of winter where there is neither yse nor snow that may yeld any such damps or cold breathings to the anoiance of such as shall take these interprises in hand And therefore the Sommer in no sort to be feared but some curious witt may obiect that the naturall anoyance of cold is preuented by reason of the trauell of the body with other artificâ—all prouisions to defend the fury therof as alsâ— the whot vapors which the earth may yeld â—hereof experience vrgeth confession but vpon the seas it cannot be sith it is a cold body subiect to yeld great dampes and cold brethinges most offensiue to nature To the which I answere in the vniuersall knowledge of all creatures that God the most glorious incomprehensible and euer being sole creatour of all thinges visible inuisible rationall irrationall momentory and eternall in his diuine prouidence hath made nothing vncommunicabl but hath giuen such order vnto all things whereby euery thing may be tollerable to the next the extremities of ellements consent with their next the ayre is grosse about the earth and water but thinn and hot about the fyre by this prouidence in nature the sea is very salt and salt sayth Plinie yeldeth the fatnes of oyle but oyle by a certayne natiue heate is of propertie agreable to fire the sea then being all of such qualitie by reason of the saltnes therof moueth and stirreth vp generatiue heate c. Whereby the sea hath a working force in the dissolution of yse for things of so great contrariety as heat and cold haue togeather no affinitye in coniunction but that the one must of necessirye auoyde the seas not being able by the â—andes of nature to step backe doth therefore cause the coldnesse of the ayre by reason of his naturall heate to giue place whereby extremities being auoyded the ayre must of necessitie remayne temperate for in nature the ayre is hote and moyst the colde then being but accidentall is the soner auoided and natures wrongs with ease redressed That vnder the Pole is the place of greatest dignitie REason teacheth vs and experience confirmeth the same that the Sun is the onely sufficient cause of heat through the whole world And therefore in such places where the Sunne hath longest continuance the ayre there receâ—eth the greatest impression of heat as also in his absence it is in like fort aflicted with colde And as the heate in all clymates is indurable by the â—ternall ordinance of the creatour so likewise the cold is sufferable by his euerlasting decree for otherwise nature shoulde bee monstrous and his creation wast as it hath beene ydly affirmed by the moste Cosmographicall wryters distinguishing the sphere into fiue zones haue concluded three of them to be wast as vaynely created the buring Zone betweene the two tropikes and the two frozen Zones but experience hauing reprooued the grosenes of that errour it shall be needlesse to say farther therin For although in the burning Zone the sun beames are at such right angles as that by the actuall reuerberation thereof the lower regâ—oâ— of the ayre is greatly by that reflexion warmed yet his equall absence breadeth such mitigacion as that there we find the ayre tolleâ—able and the countries pleasant and fruitfull being populus and well inhabited so likewise vnder the pole being the center of the supposed â—rozen Zone during the time that the Sunne is in the South signes which is from the thirteenth of September vnto the 10. of March it is there more cold then in any place of the world because the Sunne in all that time doth neuer appeare aboue the Horyzon but during the time that the Sunne is in the North signes which is from the tenth of march vnto the thirteenth of September he is in continuall view to all such as posses that place by which his continuall presence he worketh that notable effect as that therby all the force of frising is wholy redressed and vtterly taken away working then and there more actuall then in any other part of the world In which place their continuall day from the Sunne rising to the sunne setting is equall with twenty sixe wekes and fiue dayes after our rate and their night is equall with twenty fiue weekes and three dayes such as we haue so that our whole yeere is withthem but one night and one day a wonderfull difference from al the rest of the world and therefore no doubt but those people haue a wonderfull excellencie and an exceeding prorogatiue aboue all nations of the earth and this which is more to be noted In al other places of the world the absence and presence of the Sun is in equall proportion of time hauing as much night as day but vnder the Pole their artificiall day that is the continuall presence of the Sunne before he sett is nine of our naturall dayes or two hundreth 16. houres longer then is their night whereby it appeareth that they haue the life light and comfort of nature in a higher measure then all the nations of the earth How blessed then may we thinke this nation to be For they are in perpetuall light and neuer know what darkenesse meaneth by the benefit of twylight and full moones as the learned in Astronomy doe very well knowe whiâ—h people if they haue the notice of theiâ—â—ternitie by the comfortable light of the Gospel then are they blessed and of all nations most blessed Why then doe we neglect the sâ—â—rch of this excellent discouery agaynst which there can be nothing sayd to hinder the same Why doe we refuâ—e to see the dignity of Gods Creation sith it hath pleased his diuine maiestie to place vs the nerest neighbor therunto I know ther is no true englishman y â— can in conscience refuse to be a contributeâ— to procure this so great a hapines to his country whereby not onely the Prince and mightie men of the land shall be highly renowned but also the merchant tradesman and artificet mightily inrichâ—â— And now as touching the last obiection that the want of skill in Naâ—igation with curious iâ—strumentes should be the hinderance or ouer throw of this action I holde that to bee so friuolous as not worth the answering for it is wel knowne that we haue globes in the most excellent perfection of arte and haue the vse of them in as exquisite sort as master Robert Hues in his book of the globes vse lately published hath at large made knowne and for Horizontall paradoxall and great circle sayling I am my selfe a witnesse in the behalfe of many that we are not ignorant of them as lately I haue made knowne in a briefe treatis of Nauigacion naming it the
leagues and that is the farthest distance that they haue euer bin seene from the shore The other kind is called flake yse blue very heard and thinne not aboue three fadomes thick at the farthest and this kinde of yse bordreth close vpon the shore And as the nature of heate with apt vessels deuideth the pure spirit from his grosse partes by the coning practise of distillation so doth the colde in these regions deuide and congeale the fresh water from the salt nere such shores where by the aboundance of freshe riuers the saltnes of the sea is mittigated and not else where for all yse in generall being dissolued is very fresh water so that by the experience of all that haue euer trauelled towardes the North it is well knowne that the sea neuer fryseth but wee know that the sea dissolueth this yse with great speede for in twentie foure houres I haue seene an ylande of yse turne vp and downe as the common phrase is because it hath melted so fast vnder water that the heauior parte hath beene vpwarde which hath beene the cause of his so turning for the heuiest part of all things swiming is by nature downwards and therfore sith the sea is by his heate of power to dissolue yse it is greatly against reason that the same should be frozen so that the congealation of the seas can bée no hinderance to the execution of this passage contrary to the former obiection by late experience reprooued yet if experience wanted in ordenary reason men should not suppose nature to bee monstrous for if all such yse and snowe as congealeth and descendeth in the winter did not by natures benefit dissolue in the sommer but that the cold were more actual theÌ„ the heate that difference of inequallitie bee it neuer so little would by time bread natures ouerthrowe for if the one thousand parte of the yse which in winter is congealed did the next Sommer remayne vndissolued that continual diffrence sithins the worldes creation would not onely haue conuerted all those North seas into yse but would also by continuall accesse of snow haue extended himselfe aboue all the ayers regions by which reason all such exalations as should be drawn from the earth and seas within the temperate zones and by windes driuen into these stiâ—fe regions that moysture was no more to bee hoped for that by dissolution it should haue any returne so that by time the world should be left waterlesse And therefore how ridiculus this imagination of the seas frysing is I refer to the worlds generall opinion That the ayre in colde regions is tollerable ANd now for a full answere of all obiections if the ayre bee prooued tollerable then this most excellent and commodious passage is without al contradiction to be perfourmed And that the ayre is tollerable as well in the winter as in the Sommer is thus prooued The inhabitantes of Moscouia Lapland Swethland Norway and Tartaria omit not to trauel for their commodity in the deepest of winter passing by sleades ouer the yse and congealed snowe being made very slipperie and compact like yse by reason of much wearing and trading hauing the vse of a kind of stag by them called Reen to drawe those their sleades Groynland by me lately named Desolation is likewise inhabited by a people of good stature and tractable conditions it also mayntayneth diuers kinde of foules and beastes as deers foxes hares and other beastes which I haue their seene but knowe not their names and these must trauell for their food in winter and therefore the ayre is not intollerable in the extremest nature of coldnes and for the quality thereof in Sommer by my owne experience I knowe that vpon the shore it is as hot there as it is at the ylls of cape de Verde in which place there is such aboundance of moskeetes a kind of gnat that is in India very offensiue and in great quantitie as that we were strong with them like lepers not beeing able to haue quiet being vpon the shore And vnder the clyfe in the pooles â—â—to which the streames aryse not I haue found salt in great plenty as whyâ—e as the salt of Mayâ— cougeled â—roÌ„ the salt water which y e spring tids bring into those poles which could not be but by the benefit of a notable heat of which fâ—le I brought with me and gaue to master Secretory Walsingham and to master Sanderson as a rare thing to be found in those parts and farther the same was of an extraordenary saltnes And therefore it is an idle dreame that the ayre should there be insufferable for our selues haue with the water of those seas made salt because we desired to know whether the benifit of the sunne were the cause of this coagulation what better confirmation then can there be then this Island is likewise inhabited and yeldeth haukes in great store as falcons Ierfalcoâ—s lanardes and sparrow haukes rauens crowes beares hares and foxes with horses and other kinde of cattell vpon which coast in August and September the yse is vtterly dissolued all which the premises are certainly verified by such as vse trade thither from Lubec Hambro Amsterdam England yerely then why should wee dread this fayned distempreture From cold regions come our most costly fures as sables beeing estemed for a principall ornament and the beastes that yeld vs those furrs are chiefely hunted in the winter how grieuous then shall we thinke the winter to be or howe insuâ—â—erable the ayre where this little tender beast liueth so well and where the hunters may search the dennâ—s and hauntes of such beastes through the woods and snow Vpsaliensiâ— affirmeth that he hath felt the Sommer nights in gotland scarcely tollerable for heate whereas in rome hee hath felâ— them cold The mountaynes of Norway and Swethland are fruitefull of metalls in which siluer aâ—d copper are conâ—oct and molten in veines which may scarcely bee done with fornaces by which reason also the vapors and hot exhalations pearcing the earth and the waters and through both those natures breathing forth into the ayre tempereth the quantitie thereof making it tollerable as wyttâ—es the huge bigues of whales in those seas with the strength of body and long life of such beastes as liue one the land which thing could not bee except all thinges were there comodiously nourished by the benefit of the heauen and the ayre for nothing that in time of increase is hindred by any iniury or that is euill seed all the time it liueth can prosper well Also it is a thing vndoubtedly knowne by experience that vpon the coastes of newfounde land at such time as the yse remayneth vndissolued vpon those shores the wind being esterly comming from the seas causeth very sharpe colde and yet the same is sufferable but comming from the shore yt presently yeldeth â—eat aboÌ„ndaÌ„tly according to y e true nature of the scituatioÌ„ of y â— place wherby it plâ—â—nely appeareth that the very breth of
landes are by no small distance seperated And after that Syr Frauncis was entred into the South seas he coasted all the Westerne shores of America vntill he came into the Septentrionall latitude of forty eight degrees being on the backe syde of newfound land And from thence shaping his course towardes Asia found by his trauells that the Ills of Molucca are distant from America more then two hundreth leages howe then â—an Asia and Africa be conioyned and make one continent to hinâ—es the passage the men yet liuing that can reproue the same but this conceipt is the baâ—â—ard of ignorance borne through the fornication of the malitious multitude that onely desâ—râ— to hinâ—er when themselues can doe no good Now their onely resteth the North partes of America vpon which coast my selfe haue had 〈◊〉 expâ—rience of any in our age for 〈◊〉 I 〈◊〉 thâ—t wayes imployed for the discouery of this notable passage by the honerable care and some charge of Syr Frauncis Walsingham knight principal secretory to her maiestie with whom diuers noble men and worshipfull merchantes of London ioyned in purse and willingnes for the furtherance of that attempt but when his honour died the voyage was frindles and mens mindes alienated from aduenturing therein In my first voyage not experienced of the nature of those clymattes and hauing no direction either by Chart Globe or other certayne relation in what altitude that passage was to bee searched I shaped a Northerly course and so sought the same towards the South and in that my Northerly course I fell vpon the shore which in ancient time was called Groynland fiue hundred leagues distant from the durseys West Nor West Northerly the land being very high and full of mightie mountaines all couered with snow no viewe of wood grasse or earth to be seene and the shore two leages of into the sea so full of yse as that no shipping cold by any meanes come neere the same The lothsome vewe of the shore and Irksome noyse of the yse was such as that it bred strange conceipts amoÌ„g vs so that we supposed the place to be wast voyd of any sencible or vegitable creatures wherupoÌ„ I called the same desolation so coasting this shore towardes the South in the latitude of sixtie degrees I found it to trend towardes the west I still followed the leading thereof in the same height and after fiftie or sixtie leages it fayled and lay directly North which I still followed and in thirtie leages sayling vpon the West side of this coast by me named desolation we were past all the yse and found many greene and plesant Ills bordering vpon the shore but the mountains of the maine were still couered with great quantities of snowe I brought my shippe among those ylls and there mored to refreshe our selues in our wearie trauell in the latitude of sixtie foure degrees or there about The people of the Country hauing espyed our shipps came down vnto vs in their Canoes holding vp their right hand to the Sunne and crying Yliaout would stricke their brestes we doing the like the people came aborde our shippes men of good stature vnbearded small eyed and of tractable conditions by whom as signe would permit we vnderstoode that towardes the North and West there was a great sea and vsing the people with kindnesse in geuing them nayles and knifes which of all things they most desired we departed and finding the sea free from yse supposing our selues to be past all daunger we shaped our course West Nor West thinking thereby to passe for China but in the latitude of sixtie sixe degrees wee fell with an other shore and there founde an other passage of 20. leages broade directly West into the same which we supposed to bee our hoped strayght we intered into the same thirty or fortie leages finding it neither to wyden nor straighten then considering that the yeere was spent for this was in the fyue of August and not knowing the length of this straight and dangers thereof we tooke it our best course to retourne with notice of our good successe for this small time of search And so retourning in a sharpe fret of Westerly windes the 29. of September we ariued at Dartmouth And acquainting master Secretory with the rest of the honorable and worshipfull aduenturers of all our procedinges I was appointed againe the seconde yeere to search the bottome of this straight because by all likelihood it was the place and passage by vs laboured for In this second attempt the merchants of Exeter and other places of the West became aduenturers in the action so that being sufficiently furnished for sixe monthes and hauing direction to search this straightes vntill we found the same to fall into an other sea vpon the West side of this part of America we should agayne retourne for then it was not to be doubted but shiping with trade might safely bee conueied to China and the parts of Asia We departed from Dartmouth ariuing vnto the south part of y e cost of desolatioÌ„ costed y â— same vpon his west shore to the lat of 66. degres and there ancored among the ylls bordering vpon the same where wee refreshed our selues the people of this place came likewise vnto vs by whome I vnderstood through their signes that towardes the North the 〈◊〉 was large At this place the chiefe shipe whervpon I trusted called the Mermayd of Dartmouth found many occasions of disconteÌ„tment and being vnwilling to proceede she there forsâ—oke me Then considering howe I had giuen my fayth and most constant promise to my worshipfull good friend master William Sanderson who of all men was the greatest aduenturer in that action and tooke such care for the perfourmance thereof that hee hath to my knowledge at one time disbursed as much money as any fiue others whatsoeuer out of his owne purse when some of the company haue bin slacke in giuing in their aduenture And also knowing that I should lose the fauour of master Secretory if I should shrinke from his direction in one small barke of thirty toâ—â—es whereof Master Sanderson was owner alone without farther comfort or company I proceeded on my voyage and ariuing vnto this straights followed the same eightie leages vntill I came among many ylandes where the water did eb and flowe sixe fadome vpright and where there had beene great trade of people to make trayne But by such thinges as there we found wee knewe that they were not Xpians of Europe that vsed that trade in fine by seaching with our boate wee founde small hope to passe any farther that way and therfore retourning againe recouered the sea and so coasted the shore towardes the South and in so doing for it was to late to search towardes the North wee founde an other great inlett neere fortie leages broade where the water entred in with violent swiftnes this we likewise thought might be a passage for no doubt but the North partes of America are all
we be thus blinded seeing our enemies to posses the fruites of our blessednes and yet will not perceiue the same But I hope the eternall maiestie of God the sole disposer of all thinges will also make this to appeare in his good time Cornelius Nepos recyteth that when Quintus Metellus Caesar was proconsull for the Romanes in Fraunce the king of Sweuia gaue him certayne Indians which sayling out of India for merchandize were by tempest driuen vpon the coastes of Germany a matter very strange that Indians in the fury of stormes should ariue vpon that coast it resteth nowe carefully to consider by what winde they were so driuen if they had beene of any parte of Africa how could they escape the ylls of cape Verd or the ylles of Canaria the coastes of Spayne Fraunce Ireland or England to ariue as they did but it was neuer knowne that any the natyues of Afric or Ethiopia haue vsed shippings Therefore they could not bee of that parte of the worlde for in that distance sayling they would haue beene starued if no other shore had giuen them relefe And that they were not of America is verye manifest for vpon all the Est parte of that continent beeing now thereby discouered it hath not at any time beene perceiued that those people were euer accustomed to any order of shiping which appeareth by the ariuall of Colon vpon those coastes for they had his shipping in such wonderfull admiration that they supposed him and his companie to haue descended from heauen so rare strang a thing was shiping in their eyes Therefore those Indians could not bee of America safely to bee driuen vpon the chastes of Germany the distance and impedimentes well considered Then comming neither from Afric nor America they must of necessitie come from Asia by the Noreast or Norwest passages But it should seme that they came not by the Noreast to double the promontory Tabin to bee forced through the scithiaÌ„ sea and to haue good passage through the narrow straight of Noua Zemla neuer to recouer any shore is a matter of great imposibilitie Therefore it must needes be concluded that they came by the North partes of America through that discouered sea of 950. leages and that they were of those people which Francisco Vasques of Coronado discouered all which premises considered there remaineth no more doubting but that the landes are disioyned and that there is a Nauigable passage by the Norwest of God for vs alone ordained to our infinite happines and for the euer being glory of her maiestie for then her stately seate of London should be the storehouse of Europe the nurse of the world and the renowne of nations in yelding all forraine naturall benefits by an easie rate in short time returned vnto vs and in y e fulnes of their natural perfection by natural participatioÌ„ through the world of all naturall and artificiall benefites for want whereof at this present the most part liue distressed and by the excellent comoditie of her seate the mightines of her trade with force of shipping thereby arising and most aboundant accesse and intercourse from all the kingdomes of the worlde then should the ydle hand bee scorned and plenty by industry in all this land should be proclamed And therefore the passage procued and the benefites to all most apparant let vs no longer neglect our hapines but like christians with willing and voluntary spirits labour without fainting for this so excellent a benefit To prooue by experience that the sea fryseth not HAuing sufficiently prooued that there is a passage without any land impediments to hinder the same contrary to the first obiection it nowe resteth that the other supposed impedimentes hee likewise answered And firste as touching the frost and fresing of the seas it is supposed that the frozen Zone is not habitable and seas innauigable by reason of the vehemencie of cold by the diuine creator allotted to y e part of the world we are drawn into y e absurdity of this opinioÌ„ by a coniectural reason of the sunnes far distance and long absence vnder the Horyzon of the greatest parte of that Zone whereby the working power of colde perfourmeth the fulnesse of his nature not hauing any contrary disposition to hinder the same and when the Sunne by his presence should comfort that parte of the world his beames are so far remoued from perpendicularitie by reason of his continuall ueerenes to the Horizon 〈◊〉 that the effectes thereof answere not the violence of the winters cold And therefore those seas remayne for euer vndissolued Which if it be so that the nature of cold can congeale the seas it is very likely that his first working power beginneth vpon the vpper face of the waters and so descending worketh his effect which if it were howe then commeth it to passe that shippes sayle by the North cape to Saint Nicholas fiue degrees or more within the frozen Zone and finde the seas free from pester of yse the farther from the shore the clearer from yse And my selfe likewise howe could I haue sayled to the septentrionall latitude of seuentie fiue degrees beeing nine degrees within the frozen Zone betwene two lands where the sea was straightned not fortie leages broâ—de in some places and thereby restrained from the violent motion and set of the maine occiâ—â— anâ— yet founde the same Nauigable and free from yse not onely in the middest of the chanell but also close aborde the estern shore by me 〈◊〉 Desolation and therefore what neede the repetition of authoritics from writers or wrested Philosophical reasons when playne experience maketh the matter so manifest and yet I deny not but that I haue seene in some part of those seas tow sortes of yse in very great quantity as a kind of yse by seamen named ylaâ—â—s of yse being very high aboue the water forty and fiftie fadomes by estimation and higher and â—uery of those haue beene seuen times as much vnder the water which I haue proued by taking a â—eece of yse and haue put the fame in a vessell of salt water and still haue found the seuenth part thereof to bee aboue the water into what â—orme soeuer I haue reduced the same and this kind of yse is nothing but snow which falleth in thâ—se great peeces from the high mountains bordering close vpon the shore depe seas For all the sea coastes of Desolatoin are mountains of equall height with the Pike of Tenerif with verye great vallies betweene them which I haue seene incredible to bee reported that vpon the toppe of some of these ylls of yse there haue beene stones of more then one huâ—â—reth â—â—mes wayght which in his fall that snowe hath torne from the clyffs and in falling maketh such an horible noyse as if their were one hundreth canons shot of at one instant and this kinde of yse is verye white and freshe and with shore winds is many times beaton far of into the seas perhaps twentie