Note 125 — THE THIRD VOYAGE NORTH-WARD TO THE KINGDOMES OF CATHAIA and China, in Anno 1596.

The 15 of August we came to the Island of Orange,125 where we were inclosed with the ice hard by a great peece of ice where we were in great danger to loose our ship, but with great labour and much paine we got to the island, the winde being south-east, whereby we were constrained to turne our ship;126 and while we were busied thereabouts and made much noise, a beare that lay there and slept, awaked and came towards vs to the ship, so that we were forced to leaue our worke about turning of the ship, and to defend our selues against the beare, and shot her into the body, wherewith she ran away to the other side of the island, and swam into the water, and got vp vpon a peece of ice, where shee lay still; but we comming after her to the peece of ice where shee lay, when she saw vs she leapt into the water and swam to the land, but we got betweene her and the land, and stroke her on the head with a hatchet, but as often as we stroke at her with the hatchet, she duckt vnder the water, whereby we had much to do before we could kill her: after she was dead we fleaed her on the land, and tooke the skin on board with vs, and after that turned127 our ship to a great peece of ice, and made it fast thereunto.