The 7 of June there blew a great north-east wind, whereby we saw the ice come driuing in againe; but the sunne being south-east [½ p. 7 A.M.] it was faire weather againe, and then the carpenters went to the scute againe to make an end of their worke, and we packed the marchants goods that we ment to take with vs [the best and most valuable goods], and made defences for our selues of the said packes to saue vs from the sea[599] [as we had to carry them] in the open scute.
The 8 of June it was faire weather, and we drew the wares to the ship which we had packed and made ready; and the carpenters [[187]]made ready the scute, so that the same euening it was almost done. The same day all our men went to draw our boate[600] to the ship, and made ropes to draw withall, such as we vse to draw with in scutes,[601] which we cast ouer our shoulders and held fast with all our hands,[602] and so drew both with our hands and our shoulders, which gaue vs more force, and specially the desire and great pleasure we tooke to worke at that time made vs stronger, so that we did more then then at other times we should haue done, for that good will on the one side and hope on the other side encreased our strenght.
The 9 of June it was faire weather with variable windes. Then we washt our shirts and all our linnen against we should be ready to saile away, and the carpenters were still busie to make an end of the boate and the scute.[603]
The 10 of June we carried foure sleades of goods into the ship, the wind then being variable; and at euening it was northerly, and we were busie in the house to make all things ready. The wine that was left we put into litle vessels,[604] that so we might deuide it into both our vessels,[605] and that as we were inclosed by the ice,[606] (which we well knew would happen vnto vs) we might the easelier cast the goods vpon the ice, both out and into the scutes, as time and place serued vs.
The 11 of June it was foule weather and it blew hard north north-west, so that all day we could doe nothing, and we were in great feare least the storme would carry the ice and the ship both away together (which might well haue come to passe); then we should haue beene in greater miserie [[188]]than ever we were, for that our goods, both victualles and others, were then all in the ship; but God prouided so well for vs that it fell not out so unfortunatly.
How we prepared a way whereby we brought our boats and goods to the sea.
The 12 of June it was indifferent faire weather; then we went with hatchets, halberds,[607] shouels and others instruments, to make the way plaine where we should draw the scute and the boate to the water side, along the way that lay full of knobbes and hilles of ice,[608] where we wrought sore with our hatchets and other instruments.[609] And while we were in the chiefest of our worke, there came a great leane beare out of the sea vpon the ice towards vs, which we iudged to come out of Tartaria, for we had [before] seene of them twenty or thirty [80 or 120] miles within the sea; and for that we had no muskets but only one which our surgian[610] carried, I ran in great haste towards the ship to fetch one or two, which the beare perceiuing ran [quickly and boldly] after me, and was very likely to haue ouer taken me, but our company seeing that, left their worke and ran [quickly] after her, which made the beare turn towards them and left me; but when she ran towards them, she was shot into the body by the surgian, and ran away, but because the ice was so uneuen and hilly she could not go farre, but being by vs ouer taken we killed her out right, and smot[611] her teeth out of her head while she was yet liuing.
The 13 of June it was faire weather; then the maister and the carpenters went to the ship, and there made the scute and the boate ready, so that there rested nothing as then but onely to bring it downe to the water side. The maister and those that were with him, seeing that it was open water and a good west wind, came back to the house againe, and there [[189]]he spake vnto William Barents (that had bin long sicke), and shewed him that he thought it good (seeing it was a fit time) to goe from thence, and so willed the company[612] to driue[613] the boate and the scute downe to the water side, and in the name of God to begin our voiage to saile from Noua Zembla. Then William Barents wrote a letter, which he put into a muskets charge[614] and hanged it vp in the chimney, shewing how we[615] came out of Holland to saile to the kingdome of China, and what had happened vnto vs being there on land, with all our crosses, that if any man chanced to come thither, they might know what had happened vnto vs [how we had fared], and how we had bin forced in our extremity to make that house, and had dwelt 10 mounthes therein. And for that we were [now forced] to put to sea in two small open boates and to vndertake a dangerous and aduenterous voiage in hand, the maister [also] wrote two letters, which most of vs subscribed vnto, signifying how we had stayed there vpon the land in great trouble and miserie, in hope that our ship would be freed from the ice and that we should saile away with it againe, and how it fell out to the contrary, and that the ship lay fast in the ice; so that in the end, the time passing away and our victuals beginning to faile vs, we were forced, for the sauing of our owne liues, to leaue[616] the ship and to saile away in our open boates, and so to commit our selues into the hands of God. Which done, he put into each of our scutes a letter,[617] yt if we chanced to loose one another or yt by stormes or any other misaduenture we [[190]]hapened to be cast away, that then by the scute that escaped men might know how we left each other. And so, hauing finished all things as we determined, we drew the boate[618] to the water side and left a man in it, and went and fetcht the scute,[619] and after that eleuen sleads with goods, as victuals and some wine that yet remained, and the marchants goods which we preserued as wel as we could,[620] viz., 6 packs with [the] fine[st] wollen cloth, a chest with linnen, two packets wt ueluet, two smal chests with mony, two drifats[621] with the mens clothes [such as shirts], and other things, 13 barrels of bread, a barrell of cheese,[622] a fletch of bacon, two runlets of oyle, 6 small runlets of wine, two runlets of vinegar, with other packs [and clothes] belonging to ye sailers [and many other things]; so that when they lay altogether upon a heape, a man would haue iudged that they would not haue gone into the scutes. Which being all put into them, we went to the house, and first drew William Barents vpon a slead to the place where our scutes lay, and after that we fetcht Claes Adrianson,[623] both of them hauing bin long sicke. And so we [being] entred into the scutes and deuided our selues into each of them alike, and put into either of them a sicke man, then the maister caused both the scutes to ly close one by the other, and there we subscribed to the letters which he had written [as is above mentioned], the coppie whereof hereafter ensueth. And so committing our selues to the will and mercie of God, with a west north-west wind and an endifferent open water, we set saile and put to sea. [[191]]
The Coppie of their Letter.