Note 242 — THE THIRD VOYAGE NORTH-WARD TO THE KINGDOMES OF CATHAIA and China, in Anno 1596.
Reading edition
The 26 of October we fetcht all things that were necessary for the furnishing of our scute and our boate:242 and when we had laden the last slead, and stood [in the track-ropes] ready to draw it to the house, our maister looked about him and saw three beares behind the ship that were comming towards vs, whereupon he cryed out aloud to feare243 them away, and we presently leaped forth [from the track-ropes] to defend our selues as well as we could. And as good fortune was, there lay two halberds vpon the slead, whereof the master tooke one and I the other, and made resistance against them as well as we could; but the rest of our men ran to saue themselues in the ship, and as they ran one of them fell into a clift of ice,244 which greeued vs much, for we thought verily that the beares would haue ran vnto him to deuoure him; but God defended him, for the beares still made towards the ship after the men yt ran thither to saue themselues. Meane time we and the man that fel into the clift of ice tooke our aduantage, and got into the ship on the other side; which the beares perceiuing, they came fiercely towards vs, that had no other armes to defend vs withall but onely the two halberds, which wee doubting would not be sufficient, wee still gaue them worke to do by throwing billets [of fire-wood] and other things at them, and euery time we threw they ran after them, as a dogge vseth to doe at a stone that is cast at him. Meane time we sent a man down vnder hatches245 [into the caboose] to strike fire, and another to fetch pikes; but wee could get no fire, and so we had no meanes to shoote.246 At the last, as the beares came fiercely vpon vs, we stroke one of them with a halberd vpon the snoute, wherewith she gaue back when shee felt her selfe hurt, and went away, which the other two yt were not so great as she perceiuing, ran away; and we thanked God that wee were so well deliuered from them, and so drew our slead quietly to our house, and there shewed our men what had happened vnto vs.