FROBISHEITS THIRD VOYAGE 221 



within boorde, uppon the sides of their shippes, having 

 poles, pikes, peeces of timber and ores in their hands, 

 stood almost day and night, without any reste, bearing 

 off' the force, and breaking the sway of the ise, with 

 suche incredible payne and perill that it was wonderful! 

 to behold, which otherwise no doubt had striken quite 

 through and through the sides of their shippes, not- 

 withstanding our former provision ; for planckes of 

 timber, of more than three ynches thick, and other 

 things of greater force and bignesse, by the surging of 

 the sea and billow, with the ise were shevered and cutte 

 in sunder at the sides of oure ships, that it will seeme 

 more than credible to be reported of. And yet (that 

 which is more) it is faythfully and playnely to be proved, 

 and that by many substantiall witnesses, that our 

 shippes, even those of greatest burdens, with the 

 meeting of contrary waves of the sea, were heaved up 

 betweene ilandes of ise a foote welneere out of the sea 

 above their watermarke, having their knees and timbers 

 within boorde both bowed and broken therewith." 



To add to the difficulties of the voyage Frobisher 

 lost his way, and entered what he called the Mistaken 

 Streight now designated Hudson Strait through 

 which he might have found his way to Cathay, had he 

 been so minded ; but recognising that he was on the 

 wrong road he returned and reached his mining district 

 at the end of July. While the ore was being gathered 

 in, Best ventured into the upper part of Frobisher Bay 

 as far as the Gabriel Islands the only exploring work 

 that was done and early in September the fleet de- 

 parted on the homeward voyage. 



Frobisher had left one unmistakable indication of 



