NORTH 
character given of him as a feaman by fir Thomas Button, 
did not difcourage the adventurous merchants from fol¬ 
lowing up the profecution of difcoveriesin the north-weft. 
They again fitted out the Difcovery for a fourth voyage 
towards this quarter. Robert Byleth or Bylot, who had 
been employed on the three former voyages, under Hud- 
fon. Button, and Gibbons, was now appointed mafter; 
and William Baffin, by whom the account of the voyage 
is written, his mate and afl’ociate. The crew confifted of 
fourteen men and two boys. With thefe (lender means 
they left the Thames on the 16th of April, 16155 and faw 
Greenland on the eaft fide of Cape Farewell on the 6th 
of May 5 from which time to the 17th, in proceeding weft- 
erly, they were much hampered with ice, and, on that 
day in particular, pafifed many great ifiands of ice, fome 
of which are ftated to be more than two hundred feet 
high above the water. “ This,” fays Baffin, “ I proved 
by one (hortly after, which I found to be 240 foot high ; 
and, if report of fome men be true, which affirms that 
there is but one feventh part of the ice above water, then 
the height of that piece of ice, which I obferved, was 
1680 foote from the top to the bottome.” On the 2.7th 
they law the ifland of Refolution ; on the 31ft they came 
in fight of Button's Ijles ; and the next day (food acrol's, 
and got into a good harbour on the north-weft fide of 
the ifland of Refolution, whofe longitude was afcertained, 
by obfervation, to be 66. 35. W. from London, and 
the variation of the compafs 24. 6. W. Standing to 
the northward, they came to a clufter of ifiands in 
Lumley’s Inlet, to which they gave the name of Savage 
Ijlands ; why, is not very clear, becaufe, though they 
obferved on fome of them many tents and canoes, 
and dogs, they faw no people. On afeending a hill, how¬ 
ever, they clifcovered a large boat on the water with four¬ 
teen people in it. “Among the tents I found,” fays 
Baffin, “a little bagge, in w'hich was a company of little 
images of men ; one the image of a woman with a child 
at her backe ; all the which I brought away.” The dogs, 
to the amount of thirty-five or forty, were moft of them 
muzzled, and are deferibed as a fort of “ mungrele maf- 
tiffes, being of a brinded blacke colour, looking almoft 
like wolves.” Thefedogs draw their fledges over the ice. 
In the narrow paflages between thefe ifiands the (hip 
was frequently fet fall: in the ice, which fometimes en¬ 
tirely choked up thofe ftraits. Here Baffin obferves, that 
he faw the fun and the moon at the fame time, which is 
notunufual in fair weather; and this gave him an oppor¬ 
tunity of making an obfervation fpr the longitude ; juftly 
remarking, that “if obfervations of this kinde, or fome 
other, were made at places farre remote, as at the Cape 
Bona Speranza, Bantam, Japan, Nova Albion, and Ma¬ 
gellan Straits, I fuppofe we fnould have a truer geography 
then we have.” 
The ice atlength opening, afforded an opportunity for 
the (hip to efcape; they next approached Salifbury Ifland, 
a little to the northward of which was a clufter or group, 
to which they gave the name of Mill Ijlands, from the 
grinding of one mafs of ice againft the other. The lati¬ 
tude of the main ifland of this group was obferved to lie 
in 64°. In the narrow founds made by thefe ifiands, the 
ice running one way, and the current the other, the 
fhip was frequently in the utmoft danger; “but God,” 
fays Baffin, “ which is ftill ftrouger than either ice or 
.ftreame, prefervedus and ourfhippe from any harmeat all.” 
They continued advancing (lowly to the north-weft ward; 
and, finding the flood coming down from the northward, 
they were “ put in great comfort and hope of a paflage in 
this place,” on which account the mafter called the cape 
or headland Cape Comfort ; and the hope was increaled 
by finding the depth of 140 fathoms not a league from 
the fhore. The lat. of this cape is 65. N. and Ion. 85. 20. 
V/. of London. “ But this our fudaine comfort,” fays 
Baffin, “was as foone quailed;” for, having palled the 
cape, the land was obferved to ftretch away to the north- 
eaftward; and the farther they proceeded north, the 
POLE. 375 
fhoaler was the water, and the more the fea peflered with 
ice. Having, therefore, reached the lat. 65. 26. N. and 
Ion. 86. 10. W. the inafter concluded they were in a great 
bay; “and fo tacked and turned the fhippes head home¬ 
wards, without any farther fearch.” 
Coaftingthe land, therefore, to the fouthward, they fell 
in with a number of morfes, and called the point oppofite, 
Sea-hoije Point; pafled Nottingham’s Ifle, near whicli 
they remained till the 27th of July, obferving the fet of 
the tides, the time of high water, See. and taking in bal¬ 
lad. From thence they proceeded between Salifbury and 
Nottingham Ifiands. The mafter, however, was not quite 
fatisfied in giving up the point fo foon, and ftood back 
again to Sea-horfe Point; but the trending of the land 
gave no hopes of a paffage that way, and they again ftood 
to the fouth-eaftward to Digges’s Ifiands, where they 
killed about feventy fowls, which are called wi/locks ;and 
it is obferved they might have killed many thoufands, 
thefe birds frequenting thofe ifiands in incredible multi¬ 
tudes. On the 5th of Auguft they pafled Refolution 
Ifland, and on the 7th of September came to anchor in 
Plymouth Sound; all the crew living, having only three 
or four fick, all of whom fpeedily recovered. 
Next year the little bark called the Difcovery was fitted 
out for a fifth voyage in fearch of a north-weft paflage. 
It was chartered by the fame adventurers, who, we are 
now told, were, “the Right Worfliipful Sir Thomas 
Smith, Knight, Sir Dudley Digges, Knight, Mafter John 
Wolftenholme, Efquire, Mafter Alderman Jones, with 
fome others.” Robert Bylot was again appointed mafter, 
and William Baffin pilot. The inftrudtions given for 
their guidance have the merit of being clear, diftincf, and 
brief: “ For your courfe you rauft make all poflible hafte 
to the Cape Defolation ; and from thence you, William 
Baffin as pilot, keep along the coaft of Greenland and up 
Fretum Davis, until you come toward the height of 80 
degrees, if the land will give you leave. Then for feare 
of inbaying, by keeping too northerly a courfe, fhape 
your courfe weft and foutherly, fo farre as you (hall thinke 
it convenient, till you come to the latitude of 60 degrees; 
then dirett your courfe to fall with the land of Yedzo 
(Jeddo) about that height, leaving your farther fayling 
fouthward to your owne difcretion, according as the 
time of the year and windes will give you leave; although 
our defires be, if your voyage prove fo profperous that 
you may have the year before you, that you goe fo farre 
foutherly as that you may touch the north part of Japan, 
from whence or from Yedzo, if you can fo compafie it 
without danger, we would have you to bring home one 
of the men of the countrey; and fo, God bleffing you, 
with all expedition to make your return home againe.” 
Purchas, vol. iii. p. 842. 
On the 26th of March, 1616, the Difcovery, with 
feventeen perfons on-board, fet fail from Gravefend ; bur, 
the weather being boifterous, they were compelled tofeek. 
fhelter, firft in Dartmouth and then in Plymouth. They 
got away from the latter place on the 19th of April, a.pri, 
“ after a good paflage, the firft land we faw was in Fretum 
Davis, on the coaft of Greenland, in latitude of 65. 20.” 
They proceeded northerly,without obftrudtion, to latitude 
70. 20. and anchored in a fair found near the London 
Coaft of Davis. The natives all ran away, leaving their 
dogs behind them. Here the (mail rife of the tide, being 
only eight or nine feet, gave Baffin “ fome diflike of the 
paflage.” On the 30th of May they reached Hope San- 
derfon, the extreme point of Davis’s progrefs, lying be¬ 
tween 7a 0 and 73 0 , and fell in with much ice, which on 
the ift of June they got clear of, and, the wind being 
contrary, put in among a clufter of ifiands ; but on the 
natives feeing their fhip they fled away, leaving theirtents 
behind. They found feveral women, however, who had 
hidden themfelves among the rocks, fome of them young 
and others old, one of the latter being from her appear¬ 
ance little lefs than fourfeore. To this group they gave 
the name of Women's Ijlands ; the latitude of that neareft 
l vdiich 
