Note 624 — THE THIRD VOYAGE NORTH-WARD TO THE KINGDOMES OF CATHAIA and China, in Anno 1596.

Hauing till this day stayd for the time and opportunity, in hope to get our ship loose, and now are cleane out of hope thereof,624 for that it lyeth fast shut vp and inclosed in the ice, and in the last625 of March and the first626 of April the ice did so mightily gather together in great hils, that we could not deuise627 how to get our scute and boate into the water and628 where to find a conuenient place for it. And for that it seemed almost impossible to get the ship out of the ice, therefore I and William Barents our pilot,629 and other the officers and company of sailors thereunto belonging, considering with our selues which would be the best course for vs to saue our owne liues and some wares belonging to the marchants, we could find no better meanes then to mend our boate and scute, and to prouide our selues as well as we could of all things necessarie, that being ready we might not loose or ouerslip any fit time and opportunity that God should send vs; for that it stood us vpon630 to take the fittest time, otherwise we should surely haue perished with hunger and cold, which as yet is to be feared will goe hard inough with vs, for that there are three or foure of vs that are not able to stirre to doe any thinge,631 and the best and strongest of us are so weake with the great cold and diseases that we haue so long time endured, that we haue but halfe a mans strength; and it is to be feared that it will rather be worse then better, in regard of the long voiage that we haue in hand, and our bread wil not last vs longer then to the end of the mounth of August, and it may easily fal out, that the voiage being contrary and crosse vnto vs, that before that time we shall not be able to get to any land, where we may procure any victuals or other prouisions for our selues, as we haue hitherto done our best;632 therefore we thought it our best course not to stay any longer here, for by nature we are bound to seeke our owne good and securities. And so we determined hereupon, and haue vnder written this present letter with our owne hands,633 vpon the first of June 1597. And while vpon the same day we were ready and had a west wind [with an easy breeze] and an indifferent open sea, we did in Gods name prepare our selues and entred into our voiage, the ship lying as fast as euer it did inclosed in the ice, notwithstanding that while we were making ready to be gon, we had great wind out of the west, north, and north-west, and yet find no alteration nor bettering in the weather, and therefore in the last extremity we left it.634 [Dated] vpon the 13 of June [and signed by] Jacob Hemskerke, Peter Peterson Vos, Mr. Hans Vos,635 Laurence Willinsō, Peter Cornelison, Iohn Remarson, William Barēts, Gerrat de Veer, Leonard Hendrickson, Iacob Ionson Scheadam, Iacob Ionsō Sterrenburg.636