238 THE SEARCH FOR THE NORTHWEST PASSAGE 



and very salt and blue, and of unsearchable depth," added nothing 

 to the discovery of the passage beyond the renewed conviction of 

 that day that the way toward the north was without impediment. 



As the discoverer^ or pioneer, of the Baffin's Bay route Davis 

 occupies a place of renown among Arctic navigators. On his final 

 voyage he reached the latitude of 72 degrees north, two hundred 

 and fifty miles farther north than any explorer before him had 

 attained, and discovered a little cape which he named Sanderson 

 Hope. It is in the vicinity of the present Danish colony of Uper- 

 navik. Confident that he had found the long-sought passage to 

 Cathay (China), lie fancied that an open route in that direction 

 lay before him. But he was soon undeceived, finding himself sur- 

 rounded by huge icebergs, to escape which needed all his skill and 

 seamanship. For three days he sought an outlet, but the great bay 

 was everywhere covered with thick ice, and he was forced to put 

 back, reaching England with his battered and leaking ship on the 

 1 5th of September, 1587. 



One more expedition was sent out in the sixteenth century, 

 this being a Dutch enterprise under William Barentz, who sailed 

 north in the European seas, reaching a much higher latitude than 

 that gained by Davis. In his first voyage, in 1594, he attained the 

 latitude of 77 degrees 21 minutes, near Cape Nassau, Nova 

 Zembla, and in 1596 reached the higher latitude of -79 degrees 49 

 minutes, off North Spitzbergen, in the region now known as 

 Barentz Sea. 



We have next to deal with an English explorer, but one best 

 known for his exploits in the Dutch service, the famous Henry 

 Hudson. His reputation, indeed, rests mainly upon his discovery 

 of Hudson River and New York Bay, but he also ranks high among 

 Arctic navigators, making in all four voyages to the icy seas, and 

 sailing due north, northeast and northwest. He was the first whose 

 direct purpose was the discovery of the North Pole, and he made a 

 record of high latitude that was not surpassed during the two 

 centuries following. 



