66

EXPEDITION OF HORE.

Thorne, a wealthy merchant of Bristol, who had long resided at Seville, and had acquired something of the Spanish love of adventure, prevailed upon the king to fit out an expedition of two ships, "to attempt a discovery even to the north pole." The expedition left the Thames on the 20th of May, 1527. All that we know of the result of this voyage is, that one of the ships was cast away on the north of Newfoundland.

In 1536, a voyage of discovery to the north-west parts of America, was projected by a person named Hore, of London; "a man of goodly stature, and of great courage, and given to the studie of cosmographic." It is remarkable, that of one hundred and twenty persons, who accompanied him, thirty were gentlemen of the Inns of Court and Chancery. The voyage was signally disastrous. On their arrival in Newfoundland, they suffered so much from famine, that they were driven to the horrible expedient of cannibalism. At length a French ship arriving on the coast, the adventurers succeeded in capturing it, by stratagem, and returned home. The Frenchmen were indemnified by Henry VIII., who pardoned the violence to which necessity had impelled the English adventurers.

The foreign trade of England in the sixteenth century hardly extended beyond the Flemish towns, Iceland, and a limited fishery on the Banks of Newfoundland. But the presence and counsel of Sebastian Cabot, who was well acquainted with the bold navigations of the Spaniards, opened the views and inflamed the ambition of a people not insensible of their own abilities. When that experienced navigator was appointed Grand Pilot of England, by Edward VI., he was at the same time constituted "Governour of the mysterie and companie of the marchants adventurers for the discovery of regions, dominions, islands, and places unknowen." By his advice, and under his directions, a voyage was undertaken in 1553, for the discovery of a north-east passage to Cathay. Three ships were fitted out for this expedition, of which Sir Hugh Willoughby was appointed captain-general. Richard Chancelor, the pilot-major of the flect, commanded the

WILLOUGHBY'S FLEET DESTROYED.

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Edward Bonadventure. While the ships lay at Greenwich, where the court at that time resided, the mariners received every mark of royal favour which could cheer and encourage men about to embark on a dangerous and important enterprise. But the result of this voyage, which held out such flattering promises, was most disastrous to the gallant Sir Hugh Willoughby and his brave associates, who, with the whole of the merchants, officers, and ship's company, as well as those of the Bona Confidentia, to the number of seventy persons, perished miserably, from the effects of cold and hunger, on a barren and uninhabited part of the eastern coast of Lapland, at the mouth of a river called Arzina, not far from the harbour of Kegor. The ships and the dead bodies of those that perished, were discovered by some Russian fishermen the following year; and from papers found in the admiral's ship, and especially by the date of his will, it appeared that most of the company of the two ships, were alive in January, 1554.

They had entered the river on the 18th of September preceding. No regular journals appear to have been kept in

68

VOYAGE OF FROBISHER.

the ships. That of Sir Hugh Willoughby is extremely meagre, and contains only the following brief reference to their distressed situation:

"Thus remaining in this haven the space of a weeke, seeing the yeere farre spent and also very evill wether, as frost, snow, and haille, as though it had been the deepe of winter, we thought it best to winter there. Wherefore we sent out three men south-south-west, to search if they could find people; who went three dayes' journey, but could find

none.

"After that we sent out four westward, four dayes' journey, which also returned without finding any people. Then sent we three men south-east, three dayes' journey, who in like sorte returned without finding of people or any similitude of habitation."

Richard Chancelor, the pilot of the fleet, was more fortunate in his voyage. He reached Archangel, travelled to Moscow, to visit the sovereign of the country, and by his able agency laid the foundation of that commercial intercourse which has since subsisted between England and Russia.

The efforts made for the discovery of a north-eastern passage to India, though failing in their specific object, were thus crowned with positive though unexpected advantages. Perhaps it was this success which stimulated renewed attempts to find a north-west passage round America to Cathay. Martin Frobisher, a mariner of great courage, experience, and ability, had persuaded himself that the voyage was not only feasible, but of easy execution; and "as it was the only thing of the world that was left yet undone whereby a notable mind might be made famous and fortunate," he persisted for fifteen years, in endeavouring to procure the equipment of the expedition which was the constant object of his hopes and speculations.

At length, in 1576, by the patronage of Dudley, Earl of Warwick, he was enabled to fit out two small vessels, one of thirty-five and the other of thirty tons. As our adventurers passed Greenwich, where the court then resided, Queen

Elizabeth gave them an encouraging farewell, by waving her hand to them from the window. On the 11th of July, Frobisher discovered land, which he supposed to be the Friezeland of Zeno: but the land which he believed to be an island, is evidently the southern part of Greenland. He was compelled by the floating ice to direct his course to the south-west, till he reached Labrador. Sailing to the northward along this coast, he entered a strait in latitude 63° 8', which was afterwards named Sumley's Inlet. The Esquimaux, in their boats or kejaks, were mistaken by our voyagers for porpoises, or some kind of strange fish. With one of these "strange infideles, whose like was never seen, read, nor heard of before,' Frobisher set sail for England, where he arrived on the 2d of October, "highly commended of all men for his great and notable attempt, but specially famous for the great hope he