THE NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. 



287 



times, he was quite as much a pirate as a navigator, and mingled 

 plunder and piety, prayer and pillage, in pretty equal pro- 

 portions, and is to be judged accordingly, he at least made a 

 noble use of the fortune he had acquired, in aiding the queen 

 in her wars with Spain, and in encouraging the construction of 

 public works. He built, with his own resources, an aqueduct 

 twenty miles in length, with which to supply Plymouth with 

 water. He died at sea, while commanding an expedition against 

 the Spanish West India Islands. He wrote no account of his 

 adventures and discoveries. A volume published by Nuno da 

 Sylva, his Portuguese pilot, whose statements were confirmed by 

 the officers, has served as the basis of the various narratives in 

 existence. 



We may briefly allude here to an attempt made in 1585, under 

 the auspices of the English Government, by John Davis, a sea-? 

 man of acknowledged ability, with two ships, — the Sunshine and 

 Moonshine, — to discover the Northwest Passage. After a voyage 

 of six weeks, he saw, in north latitude 60°, a mountainous and 

 ice-bound promontory. It was the southwestern point of Green- 

 land, and he gave it the name of Cape Desolation, which it still 

 retains. He now sailed to the northwest, discovered islands, 

 coasts, and harbors, to which he gave appropriate appellations. 

 He thus was the first to enter the strait which bears his name, 

 and beyond which Baffin, thirty years later, was to discover the 

 vast bay which, in its turn, was to bear his name. Davis made 

 two subsequent voyages to these waters in search of a passage 

 across the continent, but, with the exception of the discovery 

 of Davis' Strait, effected nothing which needs to be chronicled 

 here. This single discovery, however, was one of the utmost 

 importance, as it served to stimulate research and to encourage 

 further effort in this direction. More than two centuries were 

 nevertheless destined to elapse before success was to be attained. 



