1576. MARTIN FROBISHER, 83 



presently went on board in the ship's JDoat ; and 

 Frobisher, having given him a bell and a knife, sent 

 him back in the boat with five of the crew, direct- 

 ing them to land him on a rock and not to trust 

 themselves where numbers of his countrymen were 

 assembled on the shore; but they disobeyed his 

 orders and were seized by the natives, together 

 with the boat, and none of them heard of more. 

 A few days afterwards, on returning to the same 

 place, the people were observed to be extremely 

 shy, but Frobislier, having succeeded in drawing 

 one of them alongside by ringing a bell and hold- 

 ing it out, as he stretched out his hand to receive 

 it, " caught the man fast and plucked him with 

 maine force, boate and all, into his barke out of 

 the sea. Whereupon, when he found himselfe in 

 captivity, for very choler and disdaine he bit his 

 tongue in twaine within his mouth, notwithstand- 

 ing he died not thereof, but lived until 1 he came 

 in England, and then he died of cold which he had 

 taken at sea." With this " strange infidele, whose 

 like was never scene, read nor heard of before, and 

 whose language was neither knowen nor under- 

 stood of any," Frobisher set sail for England, and 

 a;rrived at Harwich on the 2d of October, " highly 

 commended of all men for his greate and notable 

 attempt, but speceally famous for the great hope he 

 brought of the passage to Cathaia." 



That hope, however, would probably have died 

 away but for an accidental circumstance which 



Cx 2 



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