70 A rctic and A nt arctic Exploration [part i 
of the island of Terschelling, an accomplished seaman 
and pilot. He had translated the sailing directions of 
Ivar Bardsen the Greenlander 1 , and the journal of 
Arthur Pet ; showing the close' attention he had paid 
to the former history of northern enterprise. Barentsz 
understood the science of navigation, and was an ex- 
cellent observer. 
The three vessels, with Cornelis Nai as Admiral, 
sailed from the Texel on the 4th June, 1594. On the 
29th Barentsz parted company to pursue his more 
northern route, while Nai and Tetgales shaped a course for 
Waigatz. It was agreed that, if they had to return, 
they were to wait for each other until September at 
Kildin, on the coast of Lapland. 
Barentsz came in sight of Novaya Zemlya in 73 0 25' N. 
on July 4th, and, proceeding northwards along the coast, 
passed Cape Nassau in 76 0 20' N. on the 10th. Here the 
land turns nearly due east, with many glaciers, and hills 
rising to 2000 feet behind them. Off the coast are the 
two Orange Islands, each about half a mile long, with 
precipitous sides and flat summits about 100 feet above 
the sea. Hitherto Barentsz had been in a fairly open 
sea, but on rounding Cape Nassau he was stopped by 
floes of ice. He persevered in an attempt to pass through 
them for some days, but on the 3rd of August he was 
obliged to begin the homeward voyage. Between Cape 
Nassau and the Orange Islands Barentsz had put his 
ship about no less than 81 times, and had sailed over 
1546 miles including all the tacks. On the 15th of 
August he reached Matthew Island on the south coast 
of Novaya Zemlya, where he met Nai and Tetgales. 
They had passed through Pet Strait, and had gone for 
a short distance into the Kara Sea. All three vessels 
returned to Holland in September. The narrative of 
his first voyage was written by Barentsz himself. 
A well-known traveller and writer, Jan Huygen van 
Linschoten, sailed with Tetgales in the Enkhuizen ship. 
Linschoten was born at Haarlem in 1563. At the age 
of 16 he joined his brothers, who were merchants at 
Seville. He went thence to Lisbon, and obtaining a place 
in the suite of the Archbishop of Goa sailed for India 
1 Found by Purchas among the papers of Hakluyt, v. ante, p. 51. 
