XXXVI 
INTRODUCTION. 
his approach, he became alarmed, tacked about, 
and returned to Denmark. On his arrival, he 
attributed this extraordinary circumstance, mag¬ 
nified no doubt, by his fears, to his vessel having 
been stopped in its course by “ loadstone rocks 
hidden in the sea.” The true cause, however, 
of Heinson’s not appearing to near the land when 
sailing with a fair wind towards it, was owing, I 
apprehend, to the deceptive character of the land, 
as to distance, some examples of which are no¬ 
ticed in the ensuing pages. 
About the same period, Martin Frobisher made 
three voyages towards the north-west, under the 
auspices of Queen Elizabeth. He discovered 
Meta Incognita,—a strait called by his name,— 
and several other unimportant places; but the ac¬ 
counts of his voyages arc so vague, that it is not 
satisfactorily made out whether these lands and 
inlets were on the coast of Greenland, or on that 
ot Labrador. The search after gold-ore, of which 
some is said to have been found on the first voy¬ 
age, seems to have been a leading object in the 
last two voyages of Frobisher. 
