220 BAFFIN BAY 



home two thousand tons of mineral and find other 

 mines, if he could, besides taking out a colony of a 

 hundred persons to settle in Meta Incognita, for whom 

 the materials of a wooden house were among the mis- 

 cellaneous cargo. 



The fleet left Harwich on the 31st of May, 1578. A 

 landing was made in the south of Greenland, which 

 Frobisher named West England and took possession 

 of, his point of departure from there being called by 

 him, " from a certain similitude," Charing Cross ! Soon 

 he was among the ice floes. One of the ships was driven 

 on to a floe and sank with some of the materials for the 

 wooden house. Then followed a storm in which most 

 of the ships had a terrible experience. " Some," says 

 Captain Best of the Ann Frances, the chronicler of the 

 voyage, " were so fast shut up and compassed in amongst 

 an infinite number of great countreys and ilands of ise, 

 that they were fayne to submit themselves and their 

 ships to the mercie of the unmercifull ise, and strength- 

 ened the sides of their ships with junckes of cables, 

 beds, masts, planckes, and such like, which being hanged 

 overboord, on the sides of their shippes, mighte the 

 better defend them from the outrageous sway and 

 strokes of the said ise. But as in greatest distresse, 

 men of best value are best to be discerned, so it is 

 greatly worthy commendation and noting with what 

 invincible mind every captayne encouraged his company, 

 and with what incredible labour the paynefull mariners 

 and poore miners (unacquainted with such extremities) 

 to the everlasting renoune of our nation, dyd overcome 

 the brunt of these so great and extreame daungers ; for 

 some, even without boorde uppon the ise, and some 



