The 25 of December, being Christmas day, it was foule wether with a north-west wind; and yet, though it was [very] foule wether, we hard[344] the foxes run ouer our house, wherewith some of our men said it was an ill signe; and while we sate disputing why it should be an ill signe, some of our men made answere that it was an ill signe because we could not take them, to put them into the pot to rost them,[345] for that had been a very good signe for vs.
The 26 of December it was foule wether, the wind north-west, and it was so [extraordinarily] cold that we could not warme vs, although we vsed all the meanes we could, with greate fires, good store of clothes, and with hot stones and billets[346] laid vpon our feete and vpon our bodies as we lay in our cabens;[347] but notwithstanding all this, in the morning our cabens were frozen [white], which made vs behold one the other with sad countenance. But yet we comforted our selues againe as well as we could, that the sunne was then as low as it could goe, and that it now began to come to vs againe,[348] [[135]]and we found it to be true; for that the daies beginning to lengthen the cold began to strengthen, but hope put vs in good comfort and eased our paine.[349]
The 27 of December it was still foule wether with a north-west wind, so that as then we had not beene out in three daies together, nor durst not thrust our heads out of doores; and within the house it was so extreme cold, that as we sate [close] before a great fire, and seemed to burne[350] [our shins] on the fore side, we froze behinde at our backs, and were al white, as the country men[351] vse to be when they come in at the gates of the towne in Holland with their sleads,[352] and haue gone[353] all night.
The 28 of December it was still foule wether, with a west wind, but about euening it began to cleare vp. At which time one of our men made a hole open at one of our doores, and went[354] out to see what news abroad,[355] but found it so hard wether that he stayed not long, and told vs that it had snowed so much that the snow lay higher than our house, and that if he had stayed out longer his eares would undoubtedly haue been frozen off. [[136]]
The 29 of December it was calme wether and a pleasant aire,[356] the wind being southward. That day he whose turne it was opened the doore and dig’d a hole through the snow, where wee went out of the house vpon steps as if it had bin out of a seller,[357] at least seuen or eight steps high, each step a foote from the other. And then we made cleane our springes [or traps] for the foxes, whereof for certain[358] daies we had not taken any; and as we made them cleane, one of our men found a dead fox in one of them that was frozen as hard as a stone, which he brought into the house and thawed it before the fire, and after fleaing it some of our men ate it.
The 30 of December it was foule wether againe, with a storme out of the west and great store of snow, so that all the labour and paine that we had taken the day before, to make steps to go out of our house and to clense our springes,[359] was al in vaine; for it was al couered over wt snow againe higher then it was before.
The 31 of December it was still foule wether with a storme out of the north-west, whereby we were so fast shut vp into the house as if we had beene prisoners, and it was so extreame cold that the fire almost cast no heate; for as we put our feete to the fire, we burnt our hose[360] before we could feele the heate, so that we had [constantly] work inough to do to patch our hose. And, which is more, if we had not sooner smelt then felt them, we should haue burnt them [quite away] ere we had knowne it.
[Anno 1597]
After that, with great cold, danger, and disease,[361] we had brought the[362] yeare vnto an end, we entered into ye yeare of our Lord God 1597, ye beginning whereof was in ye same maner as ye end of anno 1596 had been; for the [[137]]wether continued as cold, foule, [boisterous], and snowy as it was before, so that vpon the first of January we were inclosed in the house, ye wind then being west. At the same time we agreed[363] to share our wine euery man a small measure full, and that but once in two daies. And as we were in great care and feare that it would [still] be long before we should get out from thence, and we [sometimes] hauing but smal hope therein, some of vs spared to drink wine as long as wee could, that if we should stay long there we might drinke it at our neede.
The 2 of January it blew hard, with a west wind and a great storme, with both snow and frost, so that in four or five daies we durst not put our heads out of ye doores; and as then by reason of the great cold we had almost burnt all our wood [that was in the house], notwithstanding we durst not goe out to fetch more wood, because it froze so hard and there was no being without the doore; but seeking about we found some [superfluous] pieces of wood that lay ouer the doore, which we [broke off and] cloue, and withall cloue the blocks[364] whereon we vsed to beate our stock-fish,[365] and so holp our selues so well as we could.