The 29 of May in the morning it was reasonable fair [[181]]weather with a west wind; then ten of vs went vnto the scute to bring it to the house to dresse it and make it ready to sayle,[575] but [on coming to it] we found it deepe hidden vnder ye snow, and were faine with great paine and labour to dig it out, but when we had gotten it out of the snow, and thought to draw it to the house, we could not doe it, because we were too weake, wherewith we became wholely out of heart, doubting that we should not be able to goe forwarde with our labour; but the maister encouraging vs bad vs striue to do more then we were able, saying that both our liues and our wellfare consisted therein, and that if we could not get the scute from thence and make it ready, then he said we must dwell there as burgers[576] of Noua Zembla, and make our graues in that place. But there wanted no good will in vs, but onely strength, which made vs for that time to leaue of worke and let the scute lye stil, which was no small greefe unto vs and trouble to thinke what were best for vs to doe. But after noone, being thus comfortlesse come home, wee tooke hearts againe, and determined to tourne the boate[577] that lay by the house with her keale vpwards, and [we began] to amend it [and to heighten the gunwales, so] that it might be ye fitter to carry vs ouer the sea, for we made full account yt we had a long troublesom voiage in hand, wherin we might haue many crosses, and wherin we should not be sufficiently prouided for all things necessarie, although we tooke neuer so much care; and while we were busy about our worke, there came a great[578] beare vnto vs, wherewith we went into our house and stood to watch her in our three dores with harquebushes, and one stood in the chimney with a musket. This beare came boldlyer[579] [[182]]vnto vs than euer any had done before, for she came to the neather[580] step yt went to one of our doores, and the man that stood in the doore saw her not because he lookt towards the other doore, but they that stood within saw her and in great feare called to him, wherewith he turned about, and although he was in a maze he shot at her, and the bullet past cleane through her body, whereupon she ran away. Yet it was a fearfull thing to see, for the beare was almost vpon him before he saw her, so that if the peece had failed to giue fire, (as often times they doe) it had cost him his life, and it may be yt the beare would haue gotten into ye house. The beare being gone somewhat from the house, lay downe, wherewith we went all armed [with guns, muskets, and half-pikes] and killed her outright, and when we had ript open her belly we found a peece of a bucke therein, with haire, skin and all,[581] which not long before she had towrne[582] and deuoured.
The 30 of May it was indifferent faire weather, but very cold and close aire,[583] the wind west; then we began [again with all our men that were fit for it] to set our selues to worke about the boate[584] to amend it, the rest staying in the house to make the sailes and all other things ready that were necessarie for vs. But while we were busie working at our boate, there came [again] a beare vnto vs, wherewith we were forced to leaue worke, but she was shot by our men. Then we brake downe the plankes of the rooffe of our house, to amend our boate withall,[585] and so proceeded in our worke as well as we could; for every man was willing to labour, for we had sore longed for it, and did more then we were able to doe.
The 31 of May it was faire weather, but somewhat colder [[183]]then before, the wind being south-west, whereby the ice draue away, and we wrought hard about our boate; but when [we] were in the chiefest part of worke, there came an other beare, as if they had smelt that we would be gone, and that therefore they desired to tast a peece of some of vs,[586] for that was the third day, one after the other, that they set so fiercely vpon vs; so that we were forced to leaue our worke and goe into the house, and she followed vs, but we stood with our peeces to watch her, and shot three peeces at her, two from our dores and one out of the chimney, which all three hit her, whereby she fared as the dogge did with the pudding;[587] but her death did vs more hurt then her life, for after we ript her belly we drest her liuer and eate it, which in the taste liked vs well, but it made vs all sicke, specially three that were exceeding sicke, and we verily thought that we should haue lost them, for all their skins came of from the foote to the head, but yet they recouered againe, for the which we gave God heartie thankes, for if as then we had lost these three men, it was a hundred to one[588] that we should neuer haue gotten from thence, because we should haue had too few men to draw and lift at our neede.
[June, 1597.]
The 1 of June it was faire [beautiful] weather, and then our men were for the most part sicke with eating the liuer of a[589] beare, as it is said before, whereby that day there was nothing done about the boate; and then there hung a pot still ouer the fire with some of the liuer in it, but the master tooke it and cast it out of the dore, for we had enough of the sawce thereof.[590] That day foure of our men [[184]]that were the best in health went to the ship, to see if there was any thing in it that would serue vs in our voiage, and there found a barrell with geep,[591] which we shared amongst our men, whereof every one had two, and it did vs great pleasure.
The 2 of June, in the morning, it was faire weather with a south-west wind; and then sixe of vs went to see and finde out the best way for vs to bring our boate and our scute to the water side, for as then the ice laie so high and so thicke one vpon the other, that it seemed [almost] unpossible to draw or get our boate and the scute ouer the ice, and the shortest and best way that we could find was straight from the ship to the water side,[592] although it was full of hilles and altogether vneuen and would be great labour and trouble vnto vs, but because of the shortnesse we esteemed it to be the best way for vs.
The 3 of June, in the morning, it was faire cleare [sunny] weather, the wind west; and then we were [again become] somewhat [stronger and] better [of our sickness], and tooke great paines with the boate,[593] that at last we got it ready after we had wrought sixe daies vpon it. About euening it began to blow hard, and therewith the water was very open, which put vs in good comfort that our deliuerance would soone follow, and that we should once get out of that desolate and fearefulle place.
The 4 of June it was faire cleere [sunny] weather and [[185]]indifferent warme;[594] and about ye south-east sun [½ p. 7 A.M.] eleuen of vs went to our scute [on the beach] where it then lay, and drew it to[wards] the ship, at which time the labour seemed lighter vnto vs then it did before when we tooke it in hand and were forced to leaue it off againe. The reason thereof was the opinion that we had that the snow as then lay harder vpon the ground and so was become stronger, and it may be that our courages were better to see that the time gaue vs open water, and that our hope was that we should get from thence; and so three of our men stayd by the scute to build her to our mindes, and for that it was a herring scute, which are made narrow behind, therefore they sawed it [595] they built it also somewhat higher, and drest it vp as well they could.[596] The rest of our men were busy in the house to make all other things ready for our voiage, and that day drew two sleads with victuals and other goods [from the house] vnto the ship, that lay about halfe way betweene the house and the open water, [so] that after they might haue so much ye shorter way to carry the goods vnto ye water side, when we should goe away. At which time al the labour and paines that we tooke seemed light and easie vnto vs, because of the hope that we had to get out of that wild, desart, irkesome, fearefull, and cold country.
The 5 of June it was foule [uncomfortable] weather with great store of haile and snow, the wind west, which made an open water; but as then we could doe nothing without the house, but within we made all things ready, as sailes, oares, [[186]]mastes, sprit, rother, swerd,[597] and all other necessarie things.
The 6 of June in the morning it was faire weather, the wind north-east. Then we went with our carpenters to the ship to build vp our scute, and carried two sleades-full of goods into the ship, both victualles and marchandise, with other things, which we ment to take with vs. After that there rose very foul weather in the south-west, with snow, haile, and [also] raine, which we in long time had not had, whereby the carpenters were forced to leaue their worke and goe home to the house with vs, where also we could not be drie, [for] because we had taken of the deales [from the house], therewith to amend our boate and our scute; there laie but a saile ouer it, which would not hold out the water, and the way that laie full of snow began to be soft, so that we left of our shoes made of rugge and felt[598], and [again] put on our leather shoes.