A WONDERFUL BOAT VOYAGE. 139 



ice, and through the sea, exposed to all the ordinary dangers of wave and tempest, 

 liable to be crushed at any moment by the grinding ice masses, or swamped by the 

 disintegration of icebergs, constantly having to unload, haul up, and re-launch their 

 boats, and further, exposed to severe cold, wet, fatigue, and famine, as well as to the 

 constant attacks of savage animals. They persevered, for although their hearts often sank 

 within them, it was for dear life, and at length their heroic efforts were rewarded. Some 

 few extracts from the work already so often quoted will give a faint idea of the dangers 

 through which they passed and over which they finally triumphed. 



The boats, sailing in company, left Ice Haven on June 14th, 1597, at first slowly, making 

 their course from one cape or headland to another. At the very start they became entangled 

 in the floating ice, which, however, on the following day was more sparsely scattered. On 

 June 16th they set sail again (having stopped off Cape Desire for the night), and got to the 

 Islands of Orange. There they went on land with two small barrels and a kettle to melt 

 snow, as also to seek for birds and eggs for their sick men. Of the former they only obtained 

 three. "As we came backe againe," says the narrator, "our maister fell into the 

 ice, where he was in great danger of his life, for in that place there ran a great 

 streame ("strong current" is Dr. Beke's translation); but, by God's helpe, he got out 

 againe and came to vs, and there dryed himself e by the fire that we had made, at which 

 fire we drest the birds, and carried them to the scute to our sicke men." Putting to sea 

 again, with a south-east wind and a mizzling rain, they were soon all wet to the 

 skin. Off Ice Point, the most northerly cape or point of Nova Zembla, the skipper called 

 to Barents to ask him how he did, to which he answered, " I still hope to run before we get 

 to Wardhuus." Then he turned to De Veer, and said, " Gerrit, if we are near the Ice Point 

 just lift me up again. I must see that point once more." These were almost the last 

 words of this brave man, who undoubtedly felt at the time that not merely he should 

 never see Ice Point again, but that he was not long for this world. He was dying 

 fast, and his courageous words were meant for his companions' comfort. "Next day/' 

 says the narrator, " when we had broken our fastes, the ice came so frightfully upon vs 

 that it made our haires stand vpright vpon our heades, it was so fearefull to behold; by 

 which meanes we could not make fast our scutes, so that we thought verily that it was 

 a foreshewing of our last end ; for we draue away so hard with the ice, and were so 

 sore prest between a flake of ice, that we thought verily the scutes would burst in a 

 hundredth peeces, which made vs look pittifully one upon the other, for no counsell nor 

 aduise was to be found, but every minute of an houre we saw death before our eies." 

 At last, in desperation, De Veer managed to jump on a piece of ice, and creeping from 

 one to another of the grinding masses, at length secured a rope to one of the hummocks. 

 " And when we had gotten thither," says he, " in all haste we tooke our sicke men out 

 and layd them vpon the ice, laying clothes and other things vnder them, and then tooke 

 all our goods out of the scutes, and so drew them vpon the ice, whereby for that time 

 we were deliuered from that great danger, making account that we had escaped out of 

 death's clawes, as it was most true." 



The boats having been repaired, they were delayed some days by the ice, which shut 

 them in. On June 20th Adrunson " began to be extreme sick," and the boatswain came 



