Richard Hakluyt

“ Touching the religion of this people, which wee haue founde for want of their language we could not vnderstand neither by signes nor gesture that they had any religion or lawe at all, or that they did acknowledge any first cause or mouer, neither that they worship the heauen or starres the Sunne or Moone or other Planets, and much lesse whether they bee idolaters, neither coulde wee learne whether that they vsed any kinde of Sacrifices or other adorations, neither in their villages haue they any Temples or houses of prayer. ”

“ And for that the people to which wee purpose in this voyage to goe, be no Christians, it were good that the masse of our commodities were alwayes in our owne disposition, and not at the will of others. Therefore it were good that we did seeke out some small Iland in the Scithian Sea, where we might plant, Fortifie, & Staple safely, frõ whẽce (as time should serue) wee might feede those heathen nations with our commodities without cloying them, or without venturing our hole masse in the bowels of their countrey. ”

“ They feede as the other doe aforesaide of pulse whiche doe growe in that countrey with better order of husbandry thẽ in the others. They obserue in their sowing the course of the Moone and the rising of certaine starres, and diuers other customes spoken of by antiquitie. Moreouer, they liue by hunting and fishing, they liue long, and are seldome sicke, and if they chaunce to fall sicke at any time, they heale them selues with fire without any phisition, and they say that they die for very age. ”

“ Thus seated you shall bee least subiecte to annoy of the enemie, so may you by your Nauie within, passe out to all partes of the worlde, and so may the shippes of Englande haue accesse to you to supply all wantes, so may your commodities ba caried away also. This seate is to bee chosen in temperate Climat, in sweete ayre, where you may possesse alwayes sweete water, wood, seacoles, or turfe, with fish, flesh, grayne, fruits, herbes and rootes, or so many of those, as may suffice very necessitie for the life of such as shall plant there. ”

“ If they shall liue without sea trafficke, at the first they become naked by want of linen and wollen, and very miserable by infinite wantes that will otherwise ensue, and so will they be forced of them selues to depart, or els easely they will bee consumed by the Sp. by the Fr. or by the naturall inhabithantes of the countrey, and so the interprice becomes reprochfull to our nation, and a lett to many other good purposes that may be taken in hande.
And by trade of marchandize they can not liue, excepte the sea or the lande there may yeelde commoditie for commoditie. ”

“ Wherefore the Prince who was a great fauourer of valiant men and especially of those that could behaue them selues well at the Sea, caused M. Nicolo to bee brought before him, and after hauing commended him with many honourable speeches, and praysed his great industrie and dexterie of wit, by the which, he acknowledged himselfe to haue receiued an inestimable benefite as the sauing of his Fleete and the winning of many places, he made him Knight,N. Zeno, made knight by Zichmni. ”

“ They feede of the fleshe of wilde beastes & of fish, for where as the warme water falleth into the sea, there is a large and wide hauen, which by reason of the heate of the water, doeth neuer freeze all the winter, by meanes whereof there is suche concourse and flocks of sea foule and such aboundance of fishe, that they take thereof infinite multitudes, whereby they maintayne a great number of people rounde about whiche they keepe in continuale worke, both in building and taking of foules and fishe, and in a thousande other necessarie affaires and busines about the monasterie. ”

“ Nothing is more to be indeuoured with the Inland people then familiaritie. For so may you best discouer al the naturall commodities of their countrey, and also all their wantes, all their strengthes, all their weaknesse, and with whome they are in warre, and with whome considerate in peace and amitie, &c. ”

“ ANd of the ayre may be found vpon that tract temperate, & the soyle yeelding wood, water, land and grasse, and the seas fish, then we may plant on that mayne the offals of our people, as the Portingals doe in Brasil, & so they may in our fishing in our passage, & diuers wayes yeelde commoditie to England by harbouring and vitelling of vs.
And it may bee, that the inland there may yeelde mastes, pitch, tarre, hempe, and all thinges for the Nauie, as plentifully as Eastland doth.
The Ilandes to be noted with their commodities and wantes. ”

“ For as the goodnesse nowe at the first may make your commodities in credit in time to come: So false and sophisticate commodities shall drawe you and all your commodities into contempt and ill opinion. ”

“ The fishers boates are made like vnto a weuers shuttle, taking the skins of fishes, they fashiõ them with the bones of the same fishes, and sowing thẽ together in many doubles they make them so sure and substanciall, that it is miraculous to see, how in tempests they will shut thẽselues close within, and let the sea and winde carrie them, they care not whether, without any feare eyther of breaking of drowning. ”

“ This is the lande of Checere whereof some haue written, & which many haue gone about to find out, for y͏ͤ great riches they perceiued by some Indians to be founde there. It is set vnder so good a climate, that none of our men (though wee were there in the hotest time of the yeere, the sunne entring into Cancer) , were troubled with any sicknesses. The people there liue long and in great health and strength, so that the aged men goe without staues, and are able to goe and runne like the youngest of them, who onely are knowen to be olde by the wrinckles in their face, and decay of sight. ”

“ One speciall cause is, for that it is compassed with the Sea: by reason thereof it seemes, this notwithstanding, their desires and noble courages haue been most commonly like vnto others: and with marueilous great labours, costes and perilles, they haue trauelled and passed the Seas making warre not onely with kings and dominions nigh neighbours, but also with them of farre countries, and so hath wonne and conquered many riche and faire Dominions, and amplified this your Graces Realme with great victorie and glory. ”

“ The beastes in these parts are much wilder thẽ in our Europe, by reason they are continually chased and hunted. Wee sawe many of their boates made of one tree 20. foote long, and 4. foote broade, which are not made with Iron, or stone, or any other kinde of metal, (because that in all this countrie for the space of 200 leagues whiche we ranne, wee neuer sawe one stone of any sort) : they help themselues with fyre, burning so much of the tree as is sufficient for the hollownesse of the boate, the like they doe in making the sterne and the foreparte vntill it be fitte to saile vpon the sea. ”

“ And for the possessing of mines of golde, of siluer, copper, quicksiluer, or of any suche precious thing, the wantes of diuers of those needfull thinges may be supplied from some other place by sea, & c.
The people there to plant and to continue are eyther to liue without trafficke, or by trafficke and by trade of marchandize. ”

“ Wherefore we determined to stay in some safe harborough, and see if we might speak once againe with the Islander, but our determination was frustrate, for the people more like vnto beastes than men, stood continually in armes wͭ intent to beat vs backe, if we should come on lande. Wherfore Zichmni seeing hee coulde not preuaile and thought if hee shoulde haue perseuered and followed obstinately his purpose, their victuals would haue failed them, hee departed with a faire winde and sailed sixe dayes to the Westwards,Zichmni departed from Icaria Westwards. ”

“ When the frost and snowe is great, they heate their houses in maner before said, and will by letting in the water or opening the windowes, temper the heate and colde at their pleasure. In y͏ͤ buildings of the monastery they vse no other matter but that which is ministered vnto them by the fire, for they take the burning stones, that are cast out as it weere sparkles or ceindres at the firie mouth of the hill, and when they are most enflamed, cast water vpon them, wherby they are dissolued and become excellẽt white lime and so tough that being contriued in building it lasteth for euer. ”

“ Whiche thing that our nation may more speedily & happily performe, there is no better meane in my simple iudgemẽt then the increase of knowledge in the arte of nauigation, & breading of skilfulnesse in the sea men: whiche Charles the Emperour and the king of Spaine that nowe is wisely considering haue in their Contractation house in SiuillThe cõtractatiõ house at Siuill. ”

“ They are a very fierce people, they make cruell warres one with another, and eate one an other, they haue gouernours and certayne lawes verye diuers amongest them selues. But the farther to the South westwardes, the more cuility there is, the ayre being somewhat temperat, so that there they haue Cities, and temples to Idolls, wherein they sacrifice men and afterwardes eate them, they haue there some knowledge and vse of gold and siluer. ”

“ This much concerning Sebastian Gabotes discouerie may suffice for a present cast: but shortly, God willing, shall come out in print all his owne mappes & discourses drawne and written by himselfe, which are in the custodie of the worshipfull master Williã Worthington one of her Maiesties Pensioners,William Worthington Pensioner. who (because so worthie monumentes shoulde not be buried in perpetuall obliuion) is very willing to suffer them to be ouerseene and published in as good order as may bee, to the encouragement and benefite of our Countriemen. ”

“ But because wee rode at Ancker in a place well fensed from the winde, wee woulde not venture our selues without knowledge of the place, and wee passed vp with our boate onely into the sayde Riuer, and sawe the Countrey very wel peopled. The people are almost like vnto the others, and clad with the fethers of foules of diuers colours, they came towardes vs very cherefully, making great showtes of admiration, shewing vs where we might come to lande most safely with our boate. ”

“ Wherefore some of our companie rowing to land with oares, returned and brought vs word to our great comforte, that they had founde a very good Countrie and a better harborough, vpon which newes wee towed our ships & amal Barkes to land, and being entred into the harborough, wee sawe a farre of a great mountaine, yͭ cast forth smoke, which gaue vs good hope that we shoulde finde some inhabitantes in y͏ͤ Iland, neither would Zichmni rest, although it were a great way of, but send a 100. ”