THE FATEFUL STONE 217 



into the bay, thinking it to be a strait with Asia on 

 the right hand and America on the left. He landed 

 at what he called Butcher's Island, saw " mightie deere 

 which ramie ?,t him and hardly he escaped with his 

 life in a narrow way where he was faine to use defence 

 and policie," and from a hill-top " perceived a number 

 of small things fleeting in the sea afarre off whyche 

 hee supposed to be porposes or scales or some kind of 

 strange fishe but coming nearer he discovered them to 

 be men in small boates made of leather," who only just 

 failed in capturing his boat before he reached it. Subse- 

 quent conferences with the Eskimos ended in his losing 

 the boat with five men who had gone ashore to trade ; 

 and finally, having lifted single-handed one of the 

 interesting natives, kayak and all, into the Gabriel, he 

 made sail for home. 



When Lock went aboard on the ship's arrival there 

 were no riches from Cathay, nothing worth mention- 

 ing beyond the Eskimo who soon died the kayak 

 and paddle, and " the fyrste thynge found in the new 

 land," the black stone. He carried away the stone, 

 after chipping off a few fragments for the friends 

 around, and after a week or two's consideration sent 

 some of it to the Mint to be assayed. The report was 

 not as he expected ; the " saymaster " was of opinion 

 that it was marcasite, that is, iron pyrites. Not satisfied, 

 Lock sent some to another expert, who also said it was 

 pyrites. Then he tried a third man, who could find no 

 gold in it. And then lie tried a fourth this time an 

 Italian who gave him the answer he wanted: "A very 

 little powder of gold came thereout." 



Lock sent him some more, telling him frankly that 



