174 
NORTH POLE. 
try his fuccefs in the difcovery of a north-eafi paflage to 
the Eaft Indies. His crew, on this fecond voyage, was 
increafed to fourteen men. On the zzd of April, 1608, 
he dropped down the river, and on the 3d of June got 
fight of the North Cape ; and it is deferving of remark, 
that, in the courfe of this paflage, he made three obfer- 
vations with a dipping-needle, which he calls the inclina- 
tory ; the firfl, in lat. 64. 52. gave 8i° of inclination ; in 
lat. 67. it was 82°; in lat. 69. 40. the needle inclined 84° j 
and, having flood to the north-eafi till he reached the 
lat. 74. 30. the inclination of the needle was found to be 
86°. In 75. 29. Hudfon firfl fell in with the ice, and at¬ 
tempted to pafs through it; but found it fo thick and 
firm after proceeding four or five leagues, that it was 
thought prudent to return, which was effected with a 
few rubs of the fhip againfl the ice. From the 9th to the 
15th of June, little progrefs was made on account of the 
ice and fog. On the latter day, being then in lat. 75. 7. 
“ one of our company, (fays Hudfon,) looking over- 
boord, faw a mermaid; and, calling up fome of the com- 
panie to fee her, one more came up, and by that time fhee 
was come clofe to the (hip's fide, looking earneitly on the 
men : a little after a fea came and overturned her ; from 
the navill upwards her backe and breads were like a wo¬ 
man’s, (as they fay that faw her,) her body as big as one 
of us; her fkin very white, and long haire hanging downe 
behind, of colour blacke ; in her going downe they faw 
her tayle, which was like the tayle of a porpofle, and 
fpeeckled like a macrell. Their names that f3w her were 
Thomas Hilles and Robert Rayner.” 
On the 19th of June, in lat. 75. 22. Hudfon made an 
obfervation with the dipping-needle, which, if at all cor- 
reft, or nearly fo, would lead to a conclufion that one of 
the magnetic poles was then at no great didance from this 
parallel, fomewhere between Cherry Ifland and Nova 
Zembla; but even now, with all the modern improve¬ 
ments which philofophical indruments have undergone, 
very little dependence can be placed on obfervations 
made at fea, on account of the (hip’s motion, for the in¬ 
clination of the magnetic needle. On the 25th, it is 
dated, that “ the hope of a paffage was gone this way by 
meanes of our neareneffe to Nova Zembla and the abun¬ 
dance of ice.” They landed in Nova Zembla in about lat. 
72.12. and found whalebone and deer’s horns; and the 
party brought on-board two dozen of fowl and fome eggs. 
The fea was full of morfes, whales, and feals. 
Finding little hope ofa paffage between Newland (Spitz- 
bergen) and Nova Zembla, “ my purpofe,” fays Hudfon, 
“ was by the Waygats to paffe by the mouth of the river 
Ob, and to double that way the North Cape of Tartaria, 
or to give reafon wherefore it will not be.” The quan¬ 
tity of morfes, however, induced him to hope that they 
might defray the charge of the voyage; in the mean time 
a party was fent up a large river flowing from the north- 
eaflward, to fee if a paflage could not be found that way 
into a more eaflerly fea ; but, having traced it to one fa¬ 
thom in depth, they returned. “ Generally,” fays Hud¬ 
fon, “ all the land of Nova Zembla that yet wee have 
feene is to a man’s eye a pleafant land ; much mayne 
high land with no fnow on it, looking in fome places 
greene, and deere feeding thereon ; and the hills are partly 
covered with fnow and partly bare.” Hudfon is the only 
navigator that mentions deer on Nova Zembla 5 and he 
-was probably miflaken. He adds, “ it is no marvell that 
there is fo much ice in the fea toward the pole, fo many 
founds and rivers being in the lands of Nova Zembla and 
Newland to ingender it; befides the coafls of Pechora, 
Ruflia, and Greenland, with Lappia, as by proofes I finde 
by my travcll in thefe parts ; by means of which ice I fup- 
pofe there will be no navigable paflage this way.” He 
therefore flood to the weftward, “ being out of hope to 
finde paflage by the north-eaft;” and on the 26th of Au- 
guft, 1608, arrived at Gravefend. 
The Merchant Adventurers, who had fet forth the two 
preceding voyages, appear now to have given up all hope 
of finding a paflage either by the north pole or the north- 
eafi ; but Hudfon was probably more fanguine in his ex¬ 
pectations; for we now find him employed by the Dutch 
in a voyage of difcovery. The account of this voyage, 
written by Robert Ivet of Limehoufe, is very long, and 
very uninterefling, at lead fo far as it relates to northern 
difcovery. In fadl, one fcarcely can form any notion, 
from the perufal of it, what could originally have been its 
principal objedl. He firfl doubles the North Cape, as if 
proceeding in quefl of a north-eafi paflage; but prefently, 
without any reafon being afligned, we find him turning 
back to the weftward, palling the Feroe-iflands, and pro¬ 
ceeding to Newfoundland ; from thence he diredls Jjis 
courfe down the coaft of America, as far as Charleftown, 
then back again to Cape Cod ; and, finally, difcovers 
Hudfon 1 s River, which he enters, and on‘which the Dutch 
afterwards founded a fettlement. 
Next year the public attention of the Britifli nation 
was again turned to the north-wejhvarcl. Sir John Wol- 
ftenholm, fir Dudley Digges, and fome others, were fo 
thoroughly perfuaded of the exiftence of a north-weft 
paflage, that they fitted out a veflel at their own expenfe, 
and gave the command of her to Henry Hudfon, whofe 
character had long been eftablifhed as an experienced and 
enterprifing feaman. Of this voyage, which terminated 
fo fatally to the brave commander, we have only a very 
meagre account, as lead of that part of it which is laid to 
have been written by Hudfon himfelf; enough, however, 
to (how that he pafled through the (trait into the medi¬ 
terranean fea, improperly enough called a bay, both of 
which bear his name. The fhip appropriated for this fer- 
vice was the Difcovery, of 55 tons, victualled only, as it 
would appear, for fix months. She left the river on the 
17th of April, 1610, and on the 9th of June arrived off 
the entrance of Frobifher’s Strait; but, on account of the 
ice and contrary winds, was compelled to ply to the weft¬ 
ward for nearly a month, when, on the 6th of July, (he 
reached fome rocks and iflands, which Hudfon named tire 
Ifles of God's Mercies. Still plying to the weftward, Hud¬ 
fon obferved more land, in latitude 61. 24. to which he 
gave the name of Dejire Provoked. On the 25th more 
land was feen, and named Magna Britannia, the fhip 
being then in 625. On the 2d of Auguft, they had fight 
of a fair headland, to which was given the name of Salif- 
bury's Foreland; and failing from thence weft-fouth-weft 
fourteen leagues, and then feven leagues farther, they 
found themfelves in the mouth of a great ftrait, in which 
they had no bottom at 100 fathoms. This ftrait is formed 
by the north-weft point of Labrador, which was named 
by Hudfon Cape Woljlenholm, and a duller of iflands to 
the north-weftward of it, the neareft headland of which 
he named Cape Digges. From hence the land was found 
to trend to the fouthward, and a large' fea opened out.— 
Here Hudfon’s brief remarks end ; and the account of the 
remaining part of this unfortunate voyage is given by 
one Abacuk Pricket, on whofe narrative very little de¬ 
pendence ought, perhaps, to be placed ; as to the difco- 
veries made after Hudfon’s death, it is perfectly ufelefs. 
He fcarcely gives a date, diftance, or latitude; and his 
account of the mutinous proceedings of the crewmuft be 
received with caution, and indeed creates no little fuf- 
picion as to its veracity, from his connection with the 
mutineers, and his being permitted to remain with them 
in the fhip. 
Such as it is, however, it furnifhes an awful example of 
the wretched condition to which mutiny and difobedience 
to lawful command on-board a fhip at fea never fail to 
bring the unhappy men who are guilty of this crime. 
Pricket fays, that Hudfon, being befet with ice, and al- 
moft defpairing whether he fhould ever get free from it 5 
brought out his card, and fhowed the (hip’s company 
that he had entered the ftrait above a hundred leagues 
farther than any Englifhman had been before; and there¬ 
fore left it to their choice whether they were difpofed to 
proceed j on which fome were of one mind and fome of 
another. 
