Note 785 — THE THIRD VOYAGE NORTH-WARD TO THE KINGDOMES OF CATHAIA and China, in Anno 1596.
Reading edition
The 11 of July in the morning as we sate fast vpon the ice, the sunne being north-east, there came a great beare out of the water running towards vs, but we watcht for her with three muskets, and when she came within 30 paces of vs we shot all the three muskets at her and killed her outright, so that she stirred not a foote, and we might see the fat run out at the holes of her skinne, that was shot in with the muskets, swimme vpon the water like oyle; and [she] so driving785 dead upon the water, we went vpon a flake of ice to her, and putting a rope about her neck drew her vp vpon the ice and smit out her teeth; at which time we measured her body, and found it to be eight foote thick.786 Then we had a west wind with a close787 weather; but when the sunne was south it began to cleere vp; then three of our men went to the island that lay before vs, and being there they saw the Crosse Island788 lying west-ward from them, and went thither to see if that sommer there had been any Russian there, and went thither vpon the fast ice that lay between the two islands; and being in the island, they could not percieue that any man had beene in it since we were there. There they got 70 [burrow-ducks’789] egges, but when they had them they knew not wherein to carry them; at last one of them put off his breeches, and tying them fast below, they carried them betweene two of them, and the third bare the musket; and so [they] came to vs againe, after they had been twelue hours out, which put vs in no small feare to think what was become of them. They told vs that they had many times gone vp to the knees in water vpon the ice betweene both the islands, and it was at least 6 [24] miles to and fro that they had gone, which made vs wonder how they could indure it, seeing we were all so weake. With the egges that they had brought we were al wel comforted, and fared like lords, so that we found some reliefe in our great misery,790 and then we shared our last wine amongst us, whereof euery one had three glasses.791