JOHN DAVIS ad. 



,587. 

 found it to trend towards the West, I still followed the 

 leading therof in the same height, and after fifty or sixtie 

 leagues it fayled and lay directly North, which I still 

 followed, and in thirtie leagues sayling upon the West 

 side of this coast by me named Desolation, we were past 

 al the yce and found many greene & pleasant Isles 

 bordering upon the shore, but the hils of the maine 

 were still covered with great quantities of snow, I brought 

 my ship among those Isles and there mored to refresh 

 our selves in our weary travell, in the latitude of sixtie 

 foure degrees or there about. The people of the 

 countrey having espyed our shippes came downe unto 

 us in their Canoas, & holding up their right hand to the 

 Sunne and crying Yliaout, would strike their breasts : we 

 doing the like the people came aboard our shippes, men 

 of good stature, unbearded, small eyed and of tractable 

 conditions, by whome as signes would permit, we under- 

 stood that towards the North and West there was a great 

 sea, and using the people with kindenes in giving them 

 nayles and knives which of all things they most desired, 

 we departed, and finding the sea free from yce supposing 

 our selves to be past al daunger we shaped our course 

 Westnorthwest thinking thereby to passe for China, but 

 in the latitude of sixtie sixe degrees we fell with another 

 shore, and there found another passage of twenty leagues 

 broad directly West into the same, which we supposed to 

 be our hoped straight, we entered into the same thirty 

 or fortie leagues, rinding it neither to wyden nor 

 streighten, then considering that the yeere was spent 

 (for this was the fine of August) not knowing the length 

 of the straight and dangers thereof, we tooke it our best 

 course to returne with notice of our good successe for 

 this small time of search. And so returning in a sharpe 

 fret of Westerly windes the 29. of September we arived 

 at Dartmouth. And acquainting master Secretary Wal- 

 singham with the rest of the honourable and worshipfull 

 adventurers of all our proceedings, I was appointed againe 

 the second yere to search the bottome of this straight, 



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