MARTIN FROBISHER a.d. 



1578. 

 course of the Generall, who led them the way, tooke 

 in their Sayles, and layde it a hull amongst the yce, and 

 so passed over the storme, and had no extremitie at all, 

 but for a short time in the same place. 



Howbeit the other ships which plyed out to Seaward, 

 had an extreme storme for a longer season. And the 

 nature of the place is such, that it is subject diversly 

 to divers windes, according to the sundry situation of 

 the great Alps and mountaines there, every mountaine 

 causing a severall blast, and pirrie, after the maner of 

 a Levant. 



In this storme being the sixe and twentieth of July, 

 there fell so much snow, with such bitter cold aire, that 

 we could not scarce see one another for the same, nor 

 open our eyes to handle our ropes and sayles, the snow Snow in July. 

 being above halfe a foote deepe upon the hatches of 

 our ship, which did so wet thorow our poore Mariners 

 clothes, that hee that had five or sixe shifts of apparell 

 had scarce one drie threed to his backe, which kind of 

 wet and coldnesse, togither with the overlabouring of 

 the poore men amiddest the yce, bred no small sick- 

 nesse amongst the fleete, which somewhat discouraged 

 some of the poore men, who had not experience of the 

 like before, every man perswading himselfe that the 

 winter there must needes be extreme, where they found Extreme win- 

 so unseasonable a Sommer. ter ' 



And yet notwithstanding this cold aire, the Sunne Great heat in 

 many times hath a marvellous force of heate amongst ta ncog ~ 

 those mountaines, insomuch that when there is no 

 breth of winde to bring the colde aire from the dis- 

 persed yce upon us, we shall be wearie of the bloming 

 heate and then sodainely with a perry of winde which inconstant 

 commeth downe from the hollownesse of the hilles, we 

 shall have such a breth of heate brought upon our 

 faces as though we were entred within some bathstove 

 or hote-house, and when the first of the pirry and blast 

 is past, we shall have the winde sodainely a new blow 

 cold againe. 



343 



