l899-'00 TRANSACTIONS 37 



arms of British and Boer on South African veldt and daal and 

 boschveldt shall have passed into history, will, I believe, be deem- 

 ed wonderful though unsuccessful displays of energ}^ — is also one 

 of Devon's treasured sons. 



John Davis, one of the greatest navigators, was associated 

 with Sir Walter Raleigh and Adrian Gilbert in a charter granted 

 them by Queen Elizabeth in 1584 for "the discovery of a new 

 North West passage to China. ' ' Their interest in the enterprise 

 was awakened b}'^ a book on the possibility of the discovery of a 

 new North West passage written by Sir Humphrey Gilbert. 

 William Sanderson, who had married Raleigh's niece, supplied the 

 greater part of the needed funds. On June 7th, 1585, their ex- 

 pedition left the Devonshire port of Dartmouth. It consisted of 

 two barks, the Sunshine of London (50 tons) and the Moonshine 

 of Dartmouth (35) tons). They were determined to have some 

 sort of shine to keep them company and a very good resolve it is, 

 not only on Arctic vo}- agings but in all life's daily round. 



On July 20th, writes John Janes, merchant-servant to the 

 worshipful Master William Sanderson, "as we sailed along the 

 coast (of Greenland) "the fogge brake up and we discovered the 

 land which was the most deformed, rocky and mountainous land 

 that we ever saw. The first sight whereof did shewe as if it had 

 been in forme of a sugar loafe standing to our sight above the 

 cloudes, for that it did shewe over the fogge like a white lifte 

 (rift) in the sky, the tops altogether covered with snowe and the 

 shore beset with 3^ce (ice) a league off in the sea making such 

 urksome noise as that it seemed to be the true patterne of desola- 

 tion and after the same our captain named it the Land of 

 Desolation." 



In accordance with a not uncomiiion experience this place- 

 name is now applied not to the whole region but to one particular 

 spot, a headland called Cape Desolation. 



On the 6th August, Janes writes " Anchored in a vers' fair 

 rode under a very brave mountain the cliffs whereof were as 

 orient as gold. This mount was named Mount Raleigh. The 

 rode wherein our ships came to an anker was called Totness Rode. 

 The sound w^hich did compass the mount was named Exeter Sound. 

 The foreland towards the north was named Cape Dyer and that 

 towards the south was named Cape Walsingham." 



