Then comming neither from Afric nor America, they must of necessitie come from Asia by the Noreast or Norwest passages. But it should seme that they came not by the Noreast to double the promontory Tabin, to bee forced through the Scithian Sea, and to haue good passage through the narrow straight of Noua Zemla and neuer to recouer any shore is a matter of great impossibilitie. Therefore it must heedes be concluded that they came by the North partes of America through that discouered sea of 950 leages, and that they were of those people which Francisco Vasques of Coronado discouered, all which premises considered there remaineth no more doubting but that the landes are disioyned and that there is a Nauigable passage by the Norwest, of God for vs alone ordained to our infinite happines and for the euer being glory of her maiestie, for then her stately seate of London should be the storehouse of Europe: the nurse of the world: and the renowne of Nations, in yielding all forraine naturall benifits, by an easie rate, in short time returned vnto vs, and in the fulnes of their natural perfection: by natural participation through the world of all naturall and artificiall benefites, for want whereof at this present the most part liue distressed: and by the excellent comoditie of her seate, the mightines of her trade, with force of shipping thereby arising, and most aboundant accesse and intercourse from all the Kingdomes of the worlde, then should the ydle hand bee scorned and plenty by industry in all this land should be proclamed.
And therefore the passage prooued and the benefites to all most apparant, let vs no longer neglect our happines, but like Christians with grilling and voluntary spirits labour without fainting for this so excellent a benefit.
To prooue by experience that the sea fryseth not.
Hauing sufficiensly prooued that there is a passage without a land impediments to hinder the same, contrary to the first obiection, it nowe resteth that the other supposed impediments bee likewise answered. And firste as touching the frost and fresing of the seas, it is supposed that the frozen zone is not habitable, and seas innauigable by reason of the vehemencie of cold, by the diuine creator allotted to that part of the world, and we are drawn into that absurdity of this opinion by a coniectural reason of the sunnes far distance and long absence vnder the horizon of the greatest parte of that zone, whereby the working power of colde perfourmeth the fulnesse of his nature, not hauing any contrary disposition to hinder the same and when the Sunne by his presence should comfort that parte of the world, his beames are so far remoued from perpendicularitie by reason of his continuall neerenes to the horizon, as that the effectes thereof answere not the violence of the winters cold. And therefore those seas remayne for euer vndissolued. Which if it be so, that the nature of cold can congeale the seas, it is very likely that his first working power, beginneth vpon the vpper face of the waters, and so descending worketh his effect, which if it were, howe then commeth it to passe that shippes sayle by the North cape, to Saint Nicholas fiue degrees or more within the frozen zone, and finde the seas from pester of yse, the farther from the shore the clearer from yse. And myselfe likewise howe coulde I haue sayled to the septentrionall latitude of seuentie fiue degrees, being nine degrees within the frozen zone, betweene two lands where the sea was straightened not fortie leages broade in some places, and thereby restrained from the violent motion and set of the maine occian and yet founde the same Nauigable and free from yse not onely in the midst of the chanell, but also close aborde the estern shore by me name Desolation, and therefore what neede the repetition of authorities from writers, or wrested philosophical reasons, when playne experience maketh the matter so manifest, and yet I deny not but that I haue seene in some part of those seas, tow sortes of yse, in very great quantity, as a kind of yse by seamen name ylands of yse, being very high aboue the water, fortie and fiftie fadomes by estimation and higher, and euery of those haue beene seuen times as much vnder the water, which I haue proued by taking a peece of yse and haue put the same in a vessell of salt water, and still haue found the seuenth part thereof to bee aboue the water, into what forme soeuer I haue reduced the same, and this kind of yse is nothing but snow, which falleth in those great peeces, from the high mountains bordering close vpon the shore depe seas. (For all the sea coastes of Desolation are mountains of equall height with the pike of Tenerif with verye great vallies betweene them) which I haue seene incredible to bee reported, that vpon the toppe of some of these ylls of yse, there haue beene stones of more then one hundreth tonnes wayght, which in his fall, that snowe hath torne from the clyffe, and in falling maketh such an horible noyse as if there were one hundreth canons shot of at one instant, and this kind of yse is verye white, and freshe, and with shore winds is many times beaten far of into the seas, perhaps twentie leages and that is the farthest distance that they haue euer bin seene from the shore. The other kind is called flake yse, blue, very hard and thinne not aboue three fadomes thick at the farthest, and this kinde of yse bordreth close vpon the shore. And as the nature of heate with apt vessels diuideth the pure spirit from his grosse partes by the coning practice of distillation: so doth the colde in these regions deuide and congeale the fresh water from the salt, nere such shores where by the aboundance of freshe rivers, the saltnes of the sea is mittigated, and not else where, for all yse in general beeing dissolued is very fresh water, so that by the experience of all that haue euer trauelled towardes the North it is well knowne that the sea neuer fryseth, but wee know that the sea dissolueth this yse with great speede, for in twentie foure houres I haue seen an ylande of yse turne vp and downe, as the common phrase is, because it hath melted so fast vnder water that the heauier parte hathe beene vpwarde, which hath beene the cause of his so turning, for the heuiest part of all things swiming is by nature downwards, and therefore sith the sea is by his heate of power to dissolue yse, it is greatly against reason that the same should be frozen, so that the congealation of the seas can bee no hinderance to the execution of this passage, contrary to the former obiection, by late experience reprooued, yet if experience wanted in ordenary reason men should not suppose nature to bee monstrous, for if all such yse and snowe as congealeth and descendeth in the winter did not by natures benefit dissolue in the sommer, but that the cold were more actual then the heate, that difference of inequalitie bee it neuer so little would by time bread natures ouerthrowe, for if the one thousand parte of the yse which in winter is congealed, did the next sommer remayne vndissolued, that continual difference sithins the worldes creation, would not onely haue conuerted all those North Seas into yse, but would also by continuall accesse of snow haue extended himselfe aboue all the ayers regions by which reason all such exalations as should be drawn from the earth and seas within the temperate zones and by windes driuen into these stiffe regions, that moysture was no more to bee hoped for that by dissolution it should haue any returne, so that by time the world should be left waterlesse. And therefore how ridiculous this imagination of the seas frysing is, I refer to the worlds generall opinion.
That the ayre in colde regions is tollerable.
And now for a full answer of all obiections, if the ayre bee proued tollerable then this most excellent and commodious passage is without al contradiction to be perfourmed. And that the ayre is tollerable as well in the winter as in the Sommer is thus proued. The inhabitantes of Moscouia, Lapland, Swethland, Norway and Tartaria omit not to trauel for their commodity: in the deepest of winter, passing by sleades ouer the yse and congealed snowe being made very slipperie and compact like yse by reason of much wearing and trading, hauing the vse of a kind of stag by them called Reen to drawe those their sleades.
Groynland (by me lately named Desolation) is likewise inhabited by a people of good stature and tractable conditions, it also mayntayneth diuers kinde of foules and beastes which I haue their seene, but know not their names, and these must trauell for their food in winter, and therefore the ayre is not intolerable in the extremest nature of coldnes: and for the quality thereof in Sommer by my owne experience I knowe that vpon the shore it is as hot there as it is at the ylls of cape de Verde in which place there is such aboundance of moskeetes, (a kind of gnat that is in India very offensiue and in great quantitie) as that we were stong with them like lepers, not beeing able to haue quiet being vpon the shore.
And vnder the clyfe in the pooles vnto which the streames aryse not, I haue found salt in great plenty as whyte as the salt of Mayo congeled from the salt water which the spryng tyds bring into those poles, which could not be but by the benefit of a noble heat, of which salt I brought with me and gaue to master Secretory Walsingham and to master Sanderson, as a rare thing to be found in those parts and farther the same was of an extraordenary saltnes. And therefore it is an idle dreame that the ayre should there be insufferable, for ourselues haue with the water of those seas made salt, because we desired to know whether the benefit of the sunne were the cause of this cogulation, what better confirmation then can there be then this.
Island is likewise inhabited and yeldeth haukes in great store, as falcons, Ierfalcons, lanardes and sparrow haukes, rauens, crowes, beares, hares and foxes, with horses and other kinde of cattell, vpon which coast in August and September the yse is vtterly dissolued, all which the premises are certainly verified by such as trade thither from Lubec, Hambro, Amsterdam and England yerely, then why should wee dread this fayned distemperature: from cold regions come our most costly furres as sables beeing esteemed for a principall ornament and the beastes that yeld us those furres are chiefly hunted in the winter, how grieuous then shall we thinke the winter to be, or howe insufferable the ayre, where this little tender beast liueth so well, and where the hunters may search the dennes and hauntes of such beastes through the woods and snow.
Vpsaliensis affirmeth that he hath felt the Sommer nights in Gotland scarcely tollerable for heate, whereas in Rome he hath felt them cold.