1(52 NORTH 
being able to get farther to the eafhvard on account of the 
conftant north-eaft and northerly winds, thick weather, 
and abundance of ice; and on the toth of September 
they arrived at Colmagro, where they remained for the 
winter. In 1557 Burough returned to England, and was 
afterwards made comptroller of the royal navy. 
In the mean time, Juan Vafilovich fent, as hisambaffador 
and orator to the court of London, Ofep Napea, who em¬ 
barked on the 20th of July, 1556, on-board the Edward 
Bonaventure, in the Bay of St. Nicholas, or Archangel, 
under the direction of Richard Chancelor, grand pilot, 
and accompanied by three other fhips, the Bona Speranza, 
the Philip and Mary, and the Confidentia. This home¬ 
ward voyage was moll difaltrous. The Confidentia was 
loft on the coaft of Norway, and all hands perilhed ; the 
Bona Speranza wintered at Drontheim, and w'as loft on 
her paflage to England ; and the Edward Bonaventure, 
after being four months at fea, came into Pitlligo Bay, on 
the eaft coaft of Scotland, on the 10th of November, 
1556, and was there wrecked, when, with great difficulty, 
the ambaffador with a few' of his attendants w'ere laved ; 
but Richard Chancelor, the grand pilot, and molt of the 
crew, were drowned. We are told by the writer of this 
unfortunate voyage, that the “ wdiole made and bodie of 
the goods laden in her was, by the rude and ravenous 
people of the country thereunto adjoining, rifled, fpoyled, 
and carried away, to the manifeft lofie and utter deftruc- 
tion of all the lading of the faid fhip.” The ambaffador 
w as conducted to London in great pomp; and the con¬ 
nexion between the two nations was from that time 
drawn clofer every year. 
While this rapid progrefs w'as making in the north-eajl 
both by fea and land, under the aufpices of the company 
of the merchants trading to Ruflia, the queftion of a 
north-ivcjl paflage, round the northern coaft of America to 
Cathaia and the Eaft Indies, was revived with greater ar¬ 
dour than at any former period, and the pens of the moll 
learned men in the nation were employed to prove the 
exiftence, the practicability, and the great advantages, of 
fuch a paflage. Among others, fir Humphrey Gilbert 
and Mr. Richard Willes compofed very learned and in¬ 
genious difcourfes on the fubjeX. That of the former, 
in particular, contains much curious argument in favour 
of fuch a paflage, and was w ell calculated to infufe a fpirit 
of praXical inquiry and difcovery among his countrymen ; 
and, although it appears not to have been printed until the 
year 1576, being that in which Frobifher made his firlt 
voyage, yet, having been written many years before, 
while fir Humphrey was ferving in Ireland, it was un¬ 
doubtedly very well known to the promoters of Frobilher’s 
voyage. See Hakluyt, vol. iii. 
At length, in the year 1576, by the countenance and aflift- 
ance of Dudley earl of Warwick, and a few friends, Fro¬ 
bifher was enabled to fit out two fmall barks, the Gabriel 
of 3 5, and the Michael of 30, tons, together with a pinnace 
of 10 tons. With this little fquadron he prepared to fet 
out on his important expedition ; and on the 8th of June 
palled Greenwich, where the court then was; and queen 
Elizabeth bade them farewell by (baking her hand at them 
out of the window'. On the nth of July they came in 
fight of Fricjland, “ riling like pinnacles of fteeples, and 
all covered with fnow.” This ifland, whole pofition has 
fo greatly puzzled geographers, could not be the Frilland 
of Zeno; but, being in 6i°of latitude, was evidently the 
fouthern part of Greenland. The floating ice obliged 
him to ftand to the fouth-weft till he got fight of Labrador, 
along the coaft of which he then Hood to the weftward ; 
but could neither reach the land nor get foundings on 
account of the ice. Sailing to the northward, he met with 
a great ifland of ice, which fell in pieces, making a noife 
“ as if a great cliffe had fallen into the fea.” After this 
he entered a ftrait in lat. 63. 8. This (trait, to which his 
name was given from being its firft difcoverer, is the 
fame which W'as afterwards named Lumley’s Inlet ; but 
Frobijher's Strait was, for a long time, fuppofed by geo- 
P O L E. 
graphers to have cut off a portion from Old Greenland, 
till Mr. Dalrymple and others (bowed the fallacy of fuch 
a fuppofition. 
Among the openings between the numerous iflands 
hereabouts, they defcried “ a number of fmall things 
floating in the lea afarre off, which the captain fuppofed 
to be porpoifes or feales, or fome kind of llrarige filh 
but on a nearer approach they were difcovered to be men 
in fmall boats covered with (kins. The captain fays, 
“ they be like to Tartars, with long black hair, broad 
faces and flatte nofes, and taunie in colour, wearing feale- 
(kinnes, and fo doe the women, not differing in the fafhion, 
but the women are marked in the face with blewe ftreekes 
downe the cheekes and round about the eyes.” They 
approached the (hips with fome hefitation, and one of the 
natives prefently went on-board in the (hip’s boat; and 
Frobilher, having given him a bell and a knife, fent him 
back in the boat with five of the crew', directing them to 
land him on a rock, and not to trull themfelves where 
numbers of his countrymen were affembled on the (hore; 
but they difobeyed his orders, and were feized by the na¬ 
tives, together with the boat, and none of them heard of 
more. A few days afterwards, on returning to the fame 
place, the people were obferved to be extremely (hy; but 
Frobifher, having fucceeded in drawing one of them 
alongfide by ringing a bell and holding it out, as he 
ftretched out his hand to receive it “ caught the man fall, 
and plucked him with maine force, boate and all, into 
his barke out of the fea. Whereupon, when he found 
himfelfe in captivity, for very choler and difdaine he bit 
his tongue in tw’aine within his mouth ; notwithftanding 
he died not thereof, but lived untill he came in England, 
and then he died of cold which he had taken at fea.” 
With this “ ftrange infidele, w'hofe like was never feene, 
read, nor heard of, before, and whofe language was nei¬ 
ther knowen nor underftood of any,” Frobilher fet fail 
for England, and arrived at Harwich on the 2d of OXober, 
“ highly commended of all men for his greate and nota¬ 
ble attempt, but fpeceally famous for the great hope he 
brought of the paflage to Cathaia.” 
That hope, however, would probably have died away 
but for an accidental circumftance which had been dif- 
regarded during the voyage. Some of the men had 
brought home flow’ers, fome grafs, and one a piece of 
Hone, “ much like to a fea-cole in colour,” merely for 
the fake of the place from whence they came. A piece of 
this black Hone being given to one of the adventurers’ 
wives, by chance (lie threw it into the fire; and, whether 
from accident or curiolity, having quenched it while hot 
with vinegar, “ it gliftered with a bright marqueflet of 
golde.” The noife of this incident was foon lpread 
abroad ; and the (lone was affayed by the “ gold-finers of 
London,” who reported that it contained a confiderable 
quantity of gold. A new' voyage was immediately fet on 
foot for the following year, in which we are told by Mailer 
George Bell, Frobilher’s lieutenant, that “ the captaine 
was fpecialiy direXed by commiflion for the fearching 
more of this gold-ore then for the fearching any further 
difcovery of the paflage.” True DiJ'courfe by Majier George 
Beji ; quoted by Hakluyt, vol. iii. 
Frobilher was now openly countenanced by queen Eli¬ 
zabeth ; and on taking leave had the honour of killing 
her majefty’s hand, who difmiffed him “ with gracious 
countenance and comfortable words.” He was, belides, 
furniftied with “ one tall (hip of her majefties, named the 
Ayde, of nine-fcore tunnes or thereabouts; and two 
other little barkes likewife; the one called the Gabriel, 
whereof Mailer Fenton was captaine ; and the other the 
Michael, whereof Mailer Yorke, a gentleman of my lord 
admiralls, was captaine thefe two veflels were about 
30 tons each. On the 27th of May, having received the 
facrament and prepared themfelves “ as good Chriftians 
towards God, and refolute men for all fortunes,” they 
left Gravefend, and after a long paflage fell in with Frief- 
land in lat. 60. 30. on the 4th of July, the mountains co¬ 
vered 
