"REPORTED MISSING" 49 



with our hearty lances we gave her such a welcome, as that she 

 fell down upon the ground, tumbling up and down, and biting 

 the very snow for anger. Her cub seeing this, by flight escaped 

 us. The weather was now so cold, that longer we were not 

 able to stay abroad; retiring therefore into our tent, we first 

 warm'd ourselves, and then out again to draw the dead bear in 

 unto us. We flayed her, cut her into pieces of a stone weight or 

 thereabouts, which served us for our dinners: and upon this 

 bear we fed some twenty days, for she was very good flesh, and 

 better than our venison. This only mischance we had with her, 

 that upon the eating of her liver our very skins peel'd off: for 

 my own part, I being sick before, by eating of that liver, tho' 

 I lost my skin, yet recovered I my health upon it. She being 

 spent, either we must seek some other meat, or else fall aboard 

 our roast venison in the cask, which we were very loth to do for 

 fear of famishing, if so be that should be thus spent before the 

 fleet came out of England. Amidst these our fears, it pleas' d 

 God to send divers bears unto our tent, some forty at least as 

 we accounted, of which number we kilFd seven : that is to say, 

 the second of March one, the fourth another, and the tenth a 

 wonderful great bear, six foot high at least; all which we flay'd 

 and roasted upon wooden spits (having no better kitchen furni- 

 ture than that, and a frying-pan which we found in the tent.) 

 They were as good savoury meat as any beef could be. Having 

 thus gotten good store of such food, we kept not ourselves now 

 to such straight allowance as before, but eat frequently two or 

 three meals a day, which began to increase strength and ability 

 of body in us.'' 



In March, when the migrating sea fowl returned, and the 

 foxes came out of their burrows, the castaways trapped and ate 

 both fowls and foxes. In May they found eggs to eke out their 

 diet of meat; and on May 25th two ships from Hull came into 

 the sound and let go their anchors. 



The captain of the London fleet, when he arrived, received the 

 eight with greatest kindness and with such care and food that 

 in two weeks they quite recovered their health and strength. 

 But not so Master Mason of the Salutation: "the noble cap- 



