60 
A VOYAGE TO SPITZBERGEN 
A Breife Discription of the Country of Greenland , otherwise called 
King lames his New Land. 
Greenland is a conntrie beareing from England northward, 
nearest upon the pointe of the compasse, north-and-by-east. 
The southmost parte of it is distant from the Arctique Circle 
10 degr. northwards ; namelie, in the latitude of T6 degr. 30 
minutes. This country hath bene discouered by the English 
almost to the parallel of 83 degr.; w ch is but 7 degr. eleuation 
distant from the North Pole, and therfore but 140 leagues 
from that point upon the superficies of the earth or water 
(whither it be) where the Pole shal be our zenith, and the 
A^quinoctiall our horizon. 
In the latitude of 79 degr. (where wee made the greatest 
parte of our voyage this yeare), the sunne, when he entereth 
into the 1 degr. of Cancer, — makeing the longest daie and 
shortest night to all places betweene the ^Equator and the 
Polar Circle, — is in his meridional altitude, or greatest dis¬ 
tance from the horizon, 34 degr. 30 minutes high, and, at the 
time of his comeing to the north, is still apparent aboue 
the horizon, 12 degr. 30 minutes. 
Variacon of the The compasse varieth in this place from the true 
compasse, w. mei qqi an? or ]i ne 0 f no rth and south, neare 20 degr.; 
the north end of the needle inclineing so much towards the 
west. 
The nature and condition of this country of Greenland is 
verie much different from the name it hath; for I think ther 
is no place in the world yett knowen and discouered is lesse 
green then it. For, when we first ariued ther, — w ch was on 
the 30 th of Maye, -— the ground was all couered w th snowe, 
both the mountaines and the lowe land, saue onelie some 
fewe spotts that were full of flatt stones, wheron ther grewe 
a certaine white mosse, w ch , as it seemes, the deare doe feed 
