ch. xv] Early Voyages to Hudson's Bay 
i35 
bones and frying them in candle-grease. Bylot after 
clearing Hudson Strait shaped a course for Ireland. The 
last bird was in the steep tub when they sighted Dursey 
Island and anchored in Bere Haven. Bylot and Prickett 
hurried up to London to report. They must have told 
some uncommonly clever lies, for no proceedings were 
taken and both were employed again. 
Henry Hudson was a great seaman and an enthusiastic 
discoverer. His two well-conducted voyages in the 
Spitsbergen quadrant led to most important results and 
his discovery of the Hudson River was equally memorable 
in its consequences. In his last fatal voyage he discovered 
Hudson's Bay. He was a great and a good man, though 
not quite on the same plane with Davis and Baffin. 
A younger son of Hudson received employment from 
the East India Company on the ground that " his father 
had perished in the service of his country/' 
Sir Thomas Smith and his colleagues had continued 
their efforts for the supply of funds for Arctic discovery 
during the absence of Hudson, and they bore fruit. 
The promoters sued to be incorporated as a Company to 
be called " The Governor and Company of the Merchants 
of London, Discoverers of the North-west Passage." 
The Common Seal had on one side the royal arms with 
the Company's title round it, on the other three ostrich 
feathers, having Jurat ire per altum across and Tibi 
serviat ultima thule round them. Sir Thomas Smith was 
appointed the first Governor. With him were Sir Dudley 
Digges, Sir Francis Jones, Sir James Lancaster, Sir John 
Wolstenholme, Sir E. Mansell, Sir W. Cockayne, and 
Richard Wyche as Directors ; Sir A. Dawes, Richard 
Hakluyt, the Earls of Salisbury, Southampton, Notting- 
ham, and other nobles and a long list of others, were 
venturers. The date of the Charter was July 26th, 1612. 
Young Prince Henry of Wales took a deep interest in 
the undertaking as is shown by the ostrich feathers on 
the obverse of the seal ; and, in consultation with his 
friend Sir Walter Raleigh, he drafted and signed the 
instructions for the first voyage. He was our Prince 
Henry the Navigator 1 . 
The object of the first voyage of the Company was 
1 Prince Henry died November 6th, 1613, aged 18 years and a half. 
