Note 678 — THE THIRD VOYAGE NORTH-WARD TO THE KINGDOMES OF CATHAIA and China, in Anno 1596.

The 23 of June we sailed still forward west and by south till the sunne was south-east, and got to the Trust Point,678 which is distant from the Ice Point 25 [100] miles, and then could go noe further because the ice laie so hard and so close together; and yet it was faire weather. The same day we tooke the hight of the sunne with the astralabium and also with our astronomicall ring, and found his hight to be 37 degrees, and his declination 23 degrees and 30 minutes, which taken from the hight aforesaid, there rested 13 degrees and 30 minutes, which substracted out of 90 degrees, the hight of the Pole was 76 degrees and 30 minutes.679 And it was faire sunne-shine weather, and yet it was not so strong as to melt the snow that we might haue water to drink; so that we set all our tin platers and other things680 full of snow [in the sun] to melt, and so molt it [by the reflection of the sun, so that we had water to drink]; and [we also] put snow into our mouthes, to melt it downe into our throates;681 but all was not enough, so that we were compelled to endure great thirst.