This granted, we see that Barendsz’s true track does not go north along the east coast, as Dr. Beke believes, but runs up along the west side of the land. Dr. Beke and Dr. Petermann have supposed Barendsz to have sailed up the east side, and to have circumnavigated the largest island in the group. This is not possible, for then Barendsz would have known it to be an island, and therefore could never have thought it to be a part of Greenland. The track as Dr. Petermann lays it down, has, up to the present day, never been followed by any known ship, although in the last ten years many attempts have been made.
One of the most successful of these voyages was that of Captain Nilsen, a Norwegian, who, in the remarkably favourable season of 1872, with his schooner De Freia, pushed as far as 79° 20′ N. latitude, the farthest point yet attained, on the east coast of Spitsbergen, coming from the south. Arriving at the very entrance of Hinlopen Strait, Captain Nilsen was prevented by impenetrable pack-ice from entering that strait, and had, after sighting Cape Torell, to retrace his steps.
The question whether Barendsz went north along the west or along the east coast of Spitsbergen, has been fully treated by Mr. P. A. Tiele, archivaris at Leyden, who has also demonstrated that the ship’s track, laid down in the chart of J. Hondius, “Tabula [[xxvi]]Geographica” of the year 1598,[8] has been printed after a drawing of William Barendsz himself.
With the extract from the log of Barendsz in our hand, and following the chart, we believe the true track of Barendsz’s third voyage to have been as follows:—
On the 18th of May, 1596, the two ships left the Netherlands, and arrived on the 10th of June at Bear Island; from whence they departed on the 13th, shaping their course in a north-westerly direction.
In the evening of the 14th, or in the morning of the 15th, they fancied they saw land.[9]
On the 15th they made more easting, till at the beginning of the first watch, when they began to steer again more north. On this course they made, till noon of the 16th, 84 nautical miles. The weather was foggy, and prevented their seeing any land towards the east. There they encountered ice, and sailed along the edge of it as much as the wind allowed, and late on the 17th they saw high land, entirely covered with snow.
Till noon of the 20th they continued, in latitude about 80°, to sail along that land, when they had the western point of the land S.S.W., only 20 miles. Continuing to sail S.S.W. and S.W. ¼ S., they passed two bays, which both stretched into the land towards [[xxvii]]the south.[10] In the evening of that day they made a fresh effort towards the N.W., but were again hindered by the ice from pushing further north, and had to return, anchoring on the evening of the 21st close under the land, in 18 fathoms, sandy bottom, surrounded by several rocks, of which one was split, “very good to recognise”.[11]
On the 22nd they inspected, with one of their boats, the north-westerly point of the land, which they found to be only islands with many good anchorages.[12]
The following day they went out of the bay, and, the weather being very clear, they saw the coast stretching in a southerly direction, and found at midnight the latitude to be 79° 34′. In the evening they again made a vain effort to push farther in a more westerly direction.