232 
THE VOYAGE OF THE VEGA. 
[chap. 
Balthasar Mucheron, Jacob Valcke, and Franciscus 
Maelson. The first intention was to send out only two 
vessels with the view ' of forcing a passage through the sound 
at Yaygats towards the east, hut on the famous geographer 
Plancius representing that the route north of Novaya Zemlya 
was that which would lead most certainly to the desired goal, 
other two were fitted out, so that no fewer than four vessels 
went out in the year 1594 on an exploratory expedition towards 
the north. Of these, two, viz. a large vessel, specially equipped, 
it would appear, for the northern waters, called the Mermrim , 
and commanded by Willem Barents, ^ and a common fishing 
sloop, attempted the way past the northern extremity of Novaya 
Zemlya. The two others, viz. the Bwan of Zeeland, com¬ 
manded by CoRNELis CoRNELisz. Nay, and the Mercurius 
of Enkhuizen, commanded by Brandt Ysbrandtsz. Tetgales. 
were to pass through the sound at Vaygats Island. 
All the four vessels left the Texel on the ^®th June, and 
eighteen days later arrived at Kilduin in Russian Lapland, 
a place where at that time vessels, bound for the White 
Sea, often called. Here the two divisions of the expedition 
parted company. 
Barents sailed to Novaya Zemlya, which was reached on the 
ITh July in 73° 25'; the latitude was determined by measuring 
the altitude of the midnight sun at an island which was called 
Willem’s Island, Barents sailed on along the coast in a 
1 His proper name was Willem Barentszoon ; it was also written Barentz, 
Barendsz, Bernardsson, &c. Barents’ three voyages formed the subject of 
a work by Geeeit de Veee, which was published for the first time in 1598 
at Amsterdam in a Dutch, a Latin, and a French edition. The last- 
mentioned has the following title : Vray Description de Trois Voyopes des 
Mer tres admirahles faicis . . . par les navires d’Hollande & Zelande 
au nord . . . vers les Royaumes de China & Catay^ etc. Afterwards 
this work was frequently reprinted in different languages, both singly and 
in DE Bey’s, Puechas’, and other collections of Travels. See on this point 
P. A. Tiele, Memoire hihliograpliique sur les journaux des navigateurs Neer- 
landais. Amsterdam, 1867. , 
