314 HUDSON HONORED IN NEW YORK 



Hudson first appears in history on April 19, 1607, when, with his i6-yeaf- 

 old son, John, and ten mariners he sailed from England as captain of the Mus- 

 covy company's little sixty-two ton ship, Hopewell. There is the modest object 

 of his voyage as set forth in his own notes : 



"To discover the North Pole and to sail across it to China or India." 



The voyage was probably of Hudson's own choosing. For all his known 

 life he was a slave of one idea — and that idea a wrong one. He believed that 

 he could reach the orient through a sea passage somewhere in the frozen 

 north. This would mean a short cut for Europe's trade with the east. To 

 discover the supposed north passage Hudson devoted all his powers and risked 

 his life. The really great discoveries which he blundered upon while searching 

 for this passage he did not seem to consider especially valuable. 



Sailing on the Hopewell in April, 1607, he scored a ''farthest north" record, 

 penetrating to within 10 degrees of the North Pole and discovering Spitzber- 

 gen. But the icepack and cross currents at last drove him back. He returned 

 to England without having found the long-sought passage across the pole to 

 the orient. But in 1608 he was ready for another search. Again, in the Mus- 

 covy company's service, he sought the mythical passage. This time he sailed 

 eastward to Nova Zembla, and again was turned back. Here is a queer ex- 

 tract from Hudson's notebook for this voyage : 



"On this day (June 15, 1608), one of our company, looking overboard, 

 saw a mermaid. She was close to the ship's side, looking earnestly upward." 



Hudson's two unsuccessful voyages in quest of the passage across the pole 

 disgusted the Muscovy company with that sort of exploration. They turned 

 their attention to whaling. Hudson as an explorer was out of a job. Then, 

 when luck seemed at its worst, came the chance of his life — a chance that made 

 him immortal. 



The Dutch East India company had been making so much money that a 75 

 per cent, dividend had been declared. Some of the company's directors sug- 

 gested that a small part of the surplus cash be used for fitting up an expedition 

 to hunt for the "north passage." It was a gamble, and to the thrifty Dutch 

 looked for big commercial results. They sent for Hudson and offered him 

 command of the venture. 



He was ordered to set out in the eighty-ton Half Moon, with a crew of 

 twenty men, and to "proceed In search of a northwest passage around the 

 northern extremity of Nova Zembla to India." For his services, according 

 to a contract's terms, Hudson was to receive $320, "as well for his outfit as 

 for the support of his wife and children." The contract adds : "In case he do 



