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tinning, abont midnight fell stark e calmc, whcrcnpon wc, 

 unwilling to lose our first opportunity, departed towards 

 Bottle Cove, betwixt hope and feare of finding the ships 

 there ; whither comming the two-and-twentieth, and finding 

 the ships departed, Ave, having neither Pilot, Plat, nor Com- 

 passe for our directors to the Eastward, found ourselves (God 

 he knowcth) to have little hope of any delivery out of that 

 apparent danger. Our feares increased upon us, even whilst 

 we consulted whether it were safest for us either to goe or 

 stay. If goe, then thought wee upon the dangers in sayling, 

 by reason of the much yce in the way, as also of the diificul- 

 tie in finding the place when wee should come thereabouts. 

 If we resolved still to remaine at Bell Sownd, then wee 

 thought that no other thing could be looked for but a miser- 

 able and a pining death, seeing there appeared no possibility 

 of inhabiting there, or to endure so long, so darksome, and 

 so bitter a winter. 



And thus were our thoughts at that time distracted, thus 

 were our feares increased ; nor were they causeless feares 

 altogether. Well wee knew that neither Christian or Hea- 

 then people had ever before inhabited those desolate and 

 untemperate Clymates. This also, to increase our feares, had 

 wee certainly heard, how that the merchants having in form- 

 er times much desired, and that with proffer of great rewards 

 for the hazarding of their lives, and of sufficient furniture 

 and of provision of all things that might be thought necessary 

 for such an undertaking, to any that would adventure to 

 winter in those parts ; could never yet finde any so hardy as 

 to expose their lives unto so hazardous an undertaking : yea, 

 notwithstanding these proffers had beene made both unto 

 Mariners of good experience and of noble resolutions, and 

 also unto divers other bold spirits, yet had the action of win- 

 tering in those parts never by any beene hitherto undertaken. 

 This also had we heard, how that the company of Muscovie 

 Merchants, having once procured the reprive of some male- 



