Barentz, as already observed, in the same voyage discovered Cherry Island, which was by him called Bear Island; but changed its appellation in 1603, when it was discovered by a ship belonging to Sir Francis Cherry of London.
The English began the whale fishery at Spitzbergen immediately after its discovery by Barentz. The nation soon became sensible of the advantages to be derived from this trade, and Parliament gave premiums to the different adventurers. They had a formidable rival to contend with in the Dutch, who long were successful competitors with the English in this traffic[23].
In Spitzbergen as well as in Jan Mayen, sailors have been frequently left till winter, from the same motives, and have generally met with the same fate; some, however, have been more fortunate, and have braved all the rigours of this inhospitable climate. In 1630, eight Englishmen were left here by accident, and, overcoming all the difficulties they were exposed to, by their ingenuity, were next summer found in good health. In 1743, four Russians were left here, and were not relieved till 1749, when three of the number were found alive, who had exhausted, as Pennant observes, all the ingenious contrivances related of Robinson Crusoe.
It is now time to continue the account of the remainder of our voyage, together with the whale-fishing, the great object for which voyages are made to this country.
Having made fast to an Iceberg on the 13th, as before remarked, near the south-west promontory of Cross Bay, we continued in that situation during the 14th, making all the necessary preparations for the fishing, and on the 15th we sailed about ten leagues from the shore in a westerly direction, making about one point towards the south. It blew this day a brisk gale from the east, which was intolerably cold; the wind at that time passes over large fields of ice, and in that climate, is comparatively as noxious as it is in Britain. During a fresh easterly breeze, I have found the cold in the cabin so intense, that, notwithstanding we had a good fire and warm clothing, I have been obliged to put on furred gloves to enable me to hold a book. We this day killed several seals, and might have got many more, but they are not of much use unless the vessel be fitted out for their fishing only. This day we made fast to a large iceberg, and the latitude, by observation, was nearly 79°.
16th, We were almost encompassed by ice, and remained in the same situation as before.
17th, Remarkably warm. The men were forced to strip in warping the ship, sallying, &c. In warping, the men move from side to side in the boats, to break the bay ice, and, in sallying, they run from the one side of the vessel to the other, according to the motion, and the command of the person who takes the lead; this facilitates the motion of the ship through the ice. The thermometer this day stood at 41° in the cabin without fire. Being exposed to the sun on deck, it got up to 66°, where it remained stationary. On being hung in the shade, it fell to the freezing point.
18th, Continued forcing our way slowly through bay ice; almost no wind. In sultry days, and, indeed, in all weathers, navigators are much harassed in those seas by the fogs; they, however, chiefly occur towards the latter end of summer. They are excessively dense, and at a distance are frequently mistaken for land. In winter, when the cold is intense, a vapour called fog smoke frequently arises from the chinks of the ice, which is so acrid as to excoriate the face and hands of those who approach it. We this day observed a fog bank, a little to the north-east, which at first we mistook for Hackluyt’s Headland, from which, however, we were then at a considerable distance. The edges of these fog banks are so well defined, that the most experienced sailors often fall into such mistakes.
20th, Latitude by observation 79° 50´. Sea clear of ice, with a smart easterly breeze. In this parallel of latitude we ran 12° to the west in eighteen hours. This will not appear surprising on considering that a degree of longitude in this parallel is little more than ten miles.
21st, Fell in with a dead fish. This whale had been killed for a considerable time, and was entirely covered with Mallemukkes, and other voracious birds. At a distance it resembled a floating mass of feathers, but on our approaching it, we were almost stunned by the quarrelling noise of these Harpies. We brought it alongside and stripped it of its remaining blubber.