Richard Hakluyt

“ All which learned men and paineful trauellers haue affirmed with one consent and voice, that America was an Island: and that there lyeth a great Sea betweene it, Cataia, and Grondland, by which any man of our countrey, that will giue the attempt, may with small danger passe to Cataia, the Molluccæ, India, and all other places in the East, in much shorter time, than either the Spaniard, or Portugal doeth, or may doe, from the neerest parte, of any of their countreys within Europe. ”

“ Icebergs are masses of ice rising to a great height above the level of the sea, presenting a singular variety in form and appearance. They are masses broken off from glaciers, or from barrier lines of ice-cliff, and owe their origin to the circumstance of glaciers being in a continual state of progress. Glaciers reach the sea shore in many places in the Arctic regions. ”

“ There are also hares, wolues, fishing beares, and sea foule of sundry sorts.
As the Countrey is barren and vnfertile, so are they rude and of no capacitie to culture the same to any perfection; but are contented by their hunting, fishing, and fouling, with raw flesh and warme blood to satisfie their greedy panches, which is their only glory. ”

“ Neuerthelesse I am assured that below the force of the frost within the earth, the waters haue recourse, and emptie themselues out of sight into the Sea, which through the extremitie of the frost are constrained to doe the same: by which occasion the earth within is kept the warmer, and springs haue their recourse, which is the only nutriment of golde and Minerals within the same.
There is much to be sayd of the commodities of these Countreys, which are couched within the bowels of the earth, which I let passe till more perfect triall be made thereof. ”

“ The people there to plant and to continue are eyther to liue without traffique, or by traffique and by trade of marchandise. If they shall liue without sea traffique, at the first they become naked by want of linnen and woollen, and very miserable by infinite wants that will otherwise ensue, and so will they be forced of themselues to depart, or else easely they will be consumed by the Spanyards, by the Frenchmen, or by the naturall inhabitants of the countrey, and so the enterprise becomes reprochfull to our Nation, and a let to many other good purposes that may be taken in hand. ”

“ When pushed forward into deep water, vast masses are lifted up by their inherent buoyancy, and, broken off at the landward end, are borne away by the winds, or on tides and currents, to parts of the sea far removed from their place of formation. ”

“ But the Moone at anytime of the yeere being in Cancer, hauing North latitude; doth make a full revolution aboue their Horizon, so that sometime they see the Moone about 24. houres togither. Some of our company of the more ignorant sort, thought we might continually haue seene the Sunne and the Moone, had it not bene for two or three high mountaines.
The people are now become so warie, and so circumspect, by reason of their former losses, that by no meines we can apprehend any of them, although wee attempted often in this last voyage. ”

“ But the Sunne is thought to giue no otherwise heat, but by way of Angle in reflection, and not by his neerenesse to the earth: for throughout all Africa, yea in the middest of the middle Zone, and in all other places vpon the tops of mountaines there lyeth continuall snow, which is nearer to the Orbe of the sunne, then the people are in the valley, by so much as the height of these moantaines amount vnto, and yet the Sunne notwithstanding his neerenesse, can not the melt snow for want of conuenient place of reflections. ”

“ And when my father died in that time when newes were brought that Don Christopher Colonus Genuese had discouered the coasts of India, whereof was great talke in all the Court of king Henry the 7, who then raigned, insomuch that all men with great admiration affirmed it to be a thing more diuine then humane, to saile by the West into the East where spices growe, by a way that was neuer knowen before, by this fame and report there increased in my heart a great flame of desire to attempt some notable thing. ”

“ Then you may be assured of a noble marchandize for this Realme, considering that our great trade of clothing doeth require oyle, and weying how deere of late it is become by the vent they haue of that commoditie in the West Indies, and if you finde the wilde Oliue there it may be graffed.
Or if you can find the berrie of Cochenile with which we colour Stammelles, or any Roote, Berrie, Fruite, wood or earth fitte for dying, you winne a notable thing fitte for our state of clothing. This Cochenile is naturall in the West Indies on that firme. ”

“ For if it be so that you may let in the salt sea water, not mixed with the fresh into flats, where the sunne is of the heate that it is at Rochel, in the Bay of Portugal, or in Spaine, then may you procure a man of skill, and so you haue wonne one noble commoditie for the fishing, and for trade of marchandize by making of Salt. ”

“ The ayre vpon land is indifferent cleare, but at Sea towards the East there is nothing els but perpetuall mists, and in the Sea it selfe, about the Banke (for so they call the place where they find ground fourty leagues distant from the shore, and where they beginne to fish) there is no day without raine. When we haue serued, and supplied our necessitie in this place, we purpose by the helpe of God to passe towards the South, with so much the more hope every day, by how much the greater the things are, that are reported of those Countreys, which we go to discouer. ”

“ In the South parts we found no inhabitants, which by all likelihood haue abandoned those coastes, the same being so much frequented by Christians: But in the North are sauages altogether harmelesse. Touching the commodities of this countrie, seruing either for sustentation of inhabitants, or for maintenance of traffique, there are and may be made diuers: so that it seemeth Nature hath recompenced that only defect and incommodities of some sharpe cold, by many benefits: [Sidenote: Fish of sea and fresh water.] ”

“ Betweene Frisland and the Straights we had one great storme, wherein the Michaell was somewhat in danger, hauing her Stirrage broken, and her toppe Mastes blowen ouer boord, and being not past 50 leagues short of the Straights by our account, we stroke sayle and lay a hull, fearing the continuance of the storme, the winde being at the Northeast, and hauing lost companie of the Barkes in that flaw of winde, we happily met againe the seuenteenth day of Iuly, hauing the euening before seene diuers Ilands of fleeting yce, which gaue an argument that we were not farre from land. ”

“ They feede of the flesh of wilde foule and of fish: for wheras 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 such concourse and flocks of sea foule and such abundance of fish, that they take thereof infinite multitudes, whereby they maintaine a great number of people round about, which they kepe in continuall worke, both in building and taking of foules and fish, and in a thousand other necessarie affaires and busines about the Monasterie. ”

“ And being there landed, they espied certaine tents and people of that countrey, which were (as they iudge) in all sorts, very like those of Meta Incognita, as by their apparell, and other things which we found in their tents, appeared.
The Sauage and simple people so soone as they perceiued our men comming towards them (supposing there had bene no other world but theirs) fled fearefully away, as men much amazed at so strange a sight, and creatures of humane shape, so farre in apparell, complexion, and other things different from themselues. ”

“ There is great likelihood of Earthquakes or thunder: for that there are huge and monstrous mountaines, whose greatest substance are stones, and those stones so shaken with some extraordinarie meanes that one is separated from another, which is discordant from all other Quarries.
[Sidenote: No riuers, but such as the Sunne doth cause to come of Snow.] There are no riuers or running springs, but such as through the heate of the Sunne, with such water as decendeth from the mountaines and hilles, whereon great drifts of snow do lie, are engendred. ”

“ Leaue giuen, not without charge to deale fauourably, they came aboord the fisherman, whom they rifled of tackle, sailes, cables, victuals, and the men of their apparell: not sparing by torture (winding cords about their heads) to draw out else what they thought good. This done with expedition (like men skilfull in such mischiefe) as they tooke their cocke boate to go aboord their own ship, it was ouerwhelmed in the sea, and certaine of these men were drowned: the rest were preserued euen by those silly soules whom they had before spoyled, who saued and deliuered them aboord the Swallow. ”

“ The loftiest range of mountains, the Long Range, has a few summits of more than 2000 feet, but the elevations of the island rarely exceed 1500 feet. Lakes are very numerous. The mines are very valuable, and Newfoundland now ranks as the sixth copper-producing country in the world. ”

“ Wherefore proceeding on till we came to the East cape, we saw the inhabitants still on the hill tops and by the sea coast keepe with vs, and in making great outcryes and shooting at vs a farre off, they vttered their old spitefull affection towards vs. Wherefore wee determined to stay in some safe harborough, and see if wee might speake once againe with the Islander, but our determination was frustrate: for the people more like vnto beasts then men, stood continually in armes with intent to beat vs back, if we should come on land. ”

“ I Reason, that as some sicknesses are hereditarie, so this inclination or desire of this discouerie I inherited from my father, which with another marchant of Bristol named Hugh Eliot, were the discouerours of the Newfound-lands; of the which there is no doubt (as nowe plainely appeareth) if the mariners would then haue bene ruled, and followed their Pilots minde, but the lands of the West Indies, from whence all the golde cometh, had bene ours; for all is one coast as by the Card appeareth, and is aforesaid. ”

“ The inhabitants are very wittie people, and haue all artes and faculties, as we haue: and it is credible that in time past they haue had trafficke with our men, for he said, that he saw Latin bookes in the kings Librarie, which they at this present do not understand: they haue a peculiar language, and letters or caracters to themselues. They haue mines of all maner of mettals, but especial they abound with gold. They haue their trade in Engroneland, from whence they bring furres, brimstone and pitch and he saith, that to the Southwards, there is a great populous countrey very rich of gold. ”

“ The colde Regions of the world are those, which tending toward the Poles Arctike, and Antarctike, are without the circuite or boundes of the seuen Climates: which assertion agreeable to the opinion of the olde Writers, is found and set out in our authour of the Sphere, Iohannes de Sacrobosco, where hee plainely saith, that without the seuenth Climate, which is bounded by a Parallel passing at fiftie degrees in Latitude, all the habitation beyonde is discommodious and intolerable. ”

“ The countrey is full of little small riuers all the yeere long proceeding from the mountains, ingendred both of snow and raine: few springs that euer I could finde or heare of, except it bee towards the South: in some places or rather in most places great lakes with plentie of fish, the countrey most couered with woods of firre, yet in many places indifferent good grasse, and plentie of Beares euery where, so that you may kill of them as oft as you list: their flesh is as good as yong beefe, and hardly you may know the one from the other if it be poudred but two dayes. ”

“ Nowe to let these merrie tales passe, and to come to earnest matters againe, you shall vnderstand, that Newfoundland is in a temperate Climate, and not so colde as foolish Mariners doe say, who finde it colde sometimes when plentie of Isles of yce lie neere the shore: but vp in the land they shall finde it hotter then in England in many parts of the countrey toward the South. This colde commeth by an accidental meanes, as by the yce that commeth fleeting from the North partes of the worlde, and not by the situation of the countrey, or nature of the Climate. ”

“ So we should not so exhaust our treasure, and so exceedingly inrich our doubtfull friends, as we doe, but should purchase the commodities that we want for halfe the treasure that now wee doe: and should by our owne industries and the benefities of the soyle there cheaply purchase oyles, wines, salt, fruits, pitch, tarre, flaxe, hempe, mastes, boords, fish, golde, siluer, copper, tallow, hides and many commodies: besides if there be no flatts to make salt on, if you haue plentie of wood you may make it in sufficient quantitie for common vses at home there. ”

“ And againe, our night is very short, wherein cold vapours vse to abound, being but sixe or eight houres long, whereas theirs is alwayes twelue houres long, by which two aduantages of long, dayes and short nights, though we want the equalitie of Angle, it commeth to passe that in Sommer our heat here is as great as theirs is there, as hath bene proued by experience, and is nothing dissonant from good reason. ”

“ These people haue great store of furres as we iudge. They made shewes vnto vs the 30 of this present, which was the second time of our being with them, after they perceiued we would haue skinnes and furres, that they would go into the countrey and come againe the next day with such things as they had: but this night the winde comming faire, the captaine and the master would by no meanes detract the purpose of our discouery. And so the last of this moneth about foure of the clocke in the morning in God's name we set saile, and were all that day becalmed vpon the coast. ”