NORTH POLE. 
acre of open fea ; but a change of wind difperfed it, and, 
after many difficulties and dangers, and much wailing, 
•they reached Salilbury Ifland on the 5th of July; and on 
the 15th, (till much peftered with ice, and imagining “ a 
thouland times that the ffiip had been beaten to pieces,” 
they got between Nottingham and Digges’s Illands. 
It would be tedious, as well as ufelefs, to follow cap¬ 
tain James in his (low progrefs to the fouth-weftward in 
Hudfon’s Bay. From his own utter ignorance, and that 
of all hands on-board, of the manner of conducting a 
ffiip among ice, (he was almoft conftantly befet, and fre¬ 
quently remained immovable with all her fails fpread. 
It was not to be wondered, therefore, that the people 
began to murmur, and to fancy that they were likely to 
pal's the winter in the mind of fields of ice and (now ; ef- 
pecially as the ill of Auguft had arrived without their 
having made much progrefs to the weftward. On the 
2.9th they fell in with the Charles, under the orders of 
Fox. Shortly after a tremendous gale of wind, accom¬ 
panied with (how and hail, put them into the utmoft 
peril ; the waves broke over the-lhip “ with that tearing- 
violence,” fays James, “ that not I, nor any that were 
then with me, ever law the lea in fuch a breach.” She 
took in the water at both (ides and at both ends ; it ran 
into the hold and into the bread-room ; “ for the fea fo 
continually over-reached us, that we were like Jonas in 
the whale’s belly.” On the izth of September they con¬ 
trived to run the ffiip a-ground again among the rocks on 
the coaft of America, in about the latitude of 52. 30. and, 
conceiving that ffie had now got her “ death’s wound,” 
they threw into the boat lome carpenter’s tools, a barrel 
of bread, a barrel of powder, fome mufkets, matches, 
fiffiing-hooks, and other materials, which they lent alhore, 
“ to prolong a milerable life for a few days.” She drove 
off, however, and was found to be lefs injured than they 
had expeCted. At length, after all manner of perils, they 
came to an illand on the 2d of Odtober, which was called 
by James the Earl of Dauby's IJland, but now known gene¬ 
rally by the name of Charlton Ijlancl, lying in lat. about 32. 
After lome time fpent in determining what to do, and 
in exploring the illand, the fick men wifhed for a hovel 
on-lhore, which was accordingly built, and covered over 
with the mainfail. A few deer- were all that the illand 
feemed at firlt to produce ; but on the winter letting in 
many black foxes made their appearance; in looking for 
which, the gunner’s mate, in croffing a frozen pond, fell 
in, and the ice doling upon him, they faw him no more. 
Before the end of November every thing was covered 
with fro It and (now, and the ffiip appeared to be one great 
mafs of ice. On the zzd the gunner died, “ an honed: 
and a (lout-hearted man.” His leg had been amputated ; 
and, notwithftanding the conftant fire kept up in his cabin, 
s! his plailters would freeze at his wound, and his bottle 
of fack at his head.” The conftant danger to which the 
ffiip was expofed from drift-ice, and foul ground, and 
and perpetual ftorms, determined them to remove all the 
proviiions to the lliort, and quit her altogether, which 
was accordingly done on the 26th of November ; and it 
is ftated, that, when they joined their lick companions 
on-ffiore, “ they could not know us nor we them, by our 
habits and voices, fo frozen we were, faces, hair, and ap¬ 
parel.” A difmal account is given of their nofes, cheeks, 
and lingers, being frozen as white as paper, and of blifters 
being railed as large as walnuts. The well which they 
had dug froze up; and melted fnow-water is pronounced 
to be very unwholefome, either to drink or to drefs vic¬ 
tuals; “ it made us fo Ihort-breath’d that w-e were fcarce 
able to fpeak.” “ All our fack, vinegar, oil, and every 
thing elfe that was liquid, was now frozen as hard as a 
piece of wood, and we cut it with a hatchet; our houfe 
wae all frozen in the inlide, and it froze hard within a 
yard of the fire-fide.” And all this happened before the 
middle of December, and in a latitude not thirty miles to 
the northward of that of London. 
In the month of January, 1632, James determined the 
183 
latitude of his winter-quarters to be 51. 52. and afcribes 
the great difference between this and a former obfervation 
to the effects of refraction ; and, as a proof of it, the dilc 
of the fun, when near the horizon, appeared to be twice 
as long as it was broad ; and by obfervations it was found 
that, owing to the refractive power of the atmolphere, 
the fun role full twenty minutes before, and let twenty 
minutes after, the regular time. And on two nights, in 
particular, he obferved more liars in the firmament, by 
tivo-thirds, than he had ever feen before. In February 
the fcurvy began to make its appearance among the crCw, 
exhibiting the nfual fymptoms of weaknefs, fwelled legs, 
fore mouths, black turgid gums, and teeth loofe in the 
jaw. As thefpring advanced, the cold increafed; and ft 
is remarked, that the people found it “ more mortifying 
cold to wade through the water in the beginning of June 
than in December.” 
Towards the middle of April they began to clear away 
the ice out of their ffiip, and to lee what could be made 
of her. In the hold they found fome beer and wine 
which had not been frozen, and which was a great com¬ 
fort to the lick, whole condition is defcribed as being 
molt deplorable. The death of the carpenter was a 
great interruption to their proceedings, but they con¬ 
trived to fupply his place by one or two who could 
handle a tool. At length, on the ill of July, all was 
ready for a ftart; the Ihip’s colours were hoifted on the 
poop and in the main-top, and the following day they 
made fail ; but fuch was the captain’s predilection for 
the (bore and ffioal-water, that even at this advanced 
feafon of the year, and in the low latitude of 52 0 , the 
ffiip “ did lb (trike againft the ice, that her fore-part 
would crack again, and make our cook and others run 
up all amazed, and think the (hip had been beaten all 
to pieces.” Captain James, indeed, contrived, in the 
whole of his northern paffage, to be hampered with ice 
daily, and almoft hourly ; lo that it took them from 
the 2d of July to the 24th of Auguft to run over 75 de¬ 
grees of latitude. On this day they faw Nottingham 
Illand, where the whole fea was covered with ice. On 
the 26th he alked his officers for their counfel and advice, 
in what manner he Ihould proceed; who gave in ivriting. 
their unanimous opinion that he Ihould repair home¬ 
wards ; an opinion which was accordingly adopted, and 
on the 23d of October he arrived in Briltol roads. 
The lapfe of forty years nearly, without any attempt 
being made for the dilcovery of a paffage into the South 
Seas, either by the north-ealt or the north-well, is the 
ftrongeft proof of the light in which the voyages of Fox 
and James had been conlidered ; and that all further at¬ 
tempts were looked upon as hopelefs. The French, after 
poffeffing themlelves of Canada, crofted over the land to 
the (hores of Hudfon’s Bay. Among the firlt was one 
M. de Grofleliez, a bold and enterpriling man, wdio, feeing 
the advantage that might be derived to the French fet- 
tlements in North America by poflefting themlelves of 
the ports and harbours of Hudfon’s Bay, prevailed on 
fome of his countrymen at Quebec to fit out a ffiip for 
the purpofe of exploring the coafts of that bay, in 
which he proceeded himlelf. Having landed late in the 
fealbn on the weftern lide of the bay, near to Nel- 
fon’s River, and having explored the country bordering 
on that river, he departed for Canada, leaving his nephew 
Chouart with five men to winter there; but, fome dis¬ 
agreement arifing between him and his employers, he 
lent over his brother-in-law to France, to lay before the 
government a reprefentation of the advantages which 
might be derived from an eftablilhment on the coaft of 
Hudfon’s Bay. The project, however, was treated as vi- 
fionary; but fo ftrongly convinced was Grofleliez of its 
great utility, that he let out himfelf for Paris, where lie 
met with no better fuccefs than his brother-in-law lin'd- 
done. The only reafon affigned for this indifference of 
the French government to form any eftablilhment on 
the lliores of Hudfon’s Bay, is the difmal account given 
