'^REPORTED MISSING'* 45 



der box, to the land five leagues away for a supply of fresh 

 meat. At nightfall, having killed fourteen "tall and nimble 

 deer," they made camp, intending to resume their hunting 

 in the morning, but by morning a fog had blown in on a 

 southerly wind and floating ice forced the ship offshore. Los- 

 ing sight of the^ship, the eight started along the shore to 

 Green Harbour, where they expected to find another of the 

 three vessels in their fleet, which the Salutation was later to 

 join. The journey took them seventeen days, and when they 

 reached Green Harbour they found that the vessel they sought 

 was gone. 



Throwing overboard their deer, to lighten the shallop, they 

 started in a panic north toward distant Bell Sound, the rendez- 

 vous of the little fleet, there in last resort to regain their ship 

 before she sailed for England; but thick fog came upon them 

 midway, and when the fog had passed they were of two minds 

 in which direction to go. Actually, they had come within two 

 miles of their port — this they learned long afterward — when the 

 most experienced of them all, William Fakely, became convinced 

 that they were going the wrong way and persuaded them to 

 face about. On August 20th, the day appointed for the fleet 

 to sail, the little band was hurrying south, away from the meet- 

 ing place, with all possible haste. 



Having discovered their fearful blunder, they put about once 

 more in a desperate race back to Bell Sound, and encountering 

 fierce headwinds at the mouth of the sound, they sent two men 

 overland to the station. The ships were gone. The eight men 

 were left in Greenland — the Spitzbergen of to-day — without 

 food or extra clothing, or adequate shelter. They had realized 

 the worst fears of the old-time whalemen. 



An incident of a few years before shows, as could nothing 

 else, what a dread of the Arctic winter prevailed in Europe 

 early in the 17th Century. In order to learn if it was possible 

 for human beings to survive the winter, a company of 

 Muscovy merchants, which combined with its Russian trade 

 considerable whaling projects, had got the promise of free par- 

 don for certain criminals who were condemned to death, on the 



