Chap. VIII. during the Reign of §$een Elizabeth*

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* 577 -

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they only studied how to destroy theEnglijh. Forbijher , this Year, did notrun above thirty Leagues up theStreight,and beyond Queen Elizabeth's Foreland ,There seems, however, to be someContradiction in these Relations; Forhow could they find, at thirty Leaguesup the Streight, the Apparel of theirMen, whom they lost thirty Leagueshigher, unless we will suppose the Sa-vages carried them thirty Leagues, ormore, to murder them, or, at least, asHackluyt imagines, carried some of theirCloths so far.

The Winter drawing on, he depart-ed, the four and twentieth of August,and returned into England, having load-ed his Vessels with a Sort of shiningSand, and black Stones, which the Re-finers had called, and he imagined tobe Gold-Ore ; But he happened to bedeceived. Fie arrived at Milford-haven,on the twentieth of September. In theirReturn Home their two Barks were se-parated from them : But they afterwardsarrived safe in England, one, Bristol, andthe other at Tarmouth ; And for Men,they lost but two during the wholeVoyage, one of which, the Master ofthe Gabriel, was drowned.

T11 u s far our Englijh Historians, letus now hear what a Foreigner fays of thisVoyage. (Captain John Monck’s Descrip-tion of Old and New Greenland, writtenoriginally in EUgh German.)

In the Year J 577. (he should havesaid 1576. for he is now speaking of thefirst Voyage) Martin Forbijher, an Eng-lijhman, made the first Discovery of thatCountry, which is now called NewGreenland ; He just got a Sight of it;But by Reason of the vast Quantities ofIce, and the approaching Winter, notbeing able to reach the Shoaf, was forc-ed to return Home, where he gave anAccount of his Voyage to Queen Eliza-beth, who then sway’d the Scepter inEngland.

This great Queen sent him the nextfollowing Spring, with three other Ships,to pursue the former Design, when he gotsafely to Greenland : But the Inhabitants,at the Approach of the Englijh, leavingtheir Huts, retired among the Rocks,from whence several precipitated them-selves into the Sea.

T h b Ergltjh, after they had in vainendeavoured to mollify these Savages,went to their Huts, which were Tents,wade of the Skins of Sea-Calves andWhales, fixed to strong Poles, and

sew’d together with the Sinews of Beasts; 1 §77.They had an opening towards the Southand West, but were closely and veryartificially joined together to the Fastand North, the better to defend them-selves against the Coldness of thoseWinds. They met with no living Crea-ture there, except an old Woman, witha Child in her Hand, which they tookfrom her, and she made a most miserableOutcry, for the Loss of it.

From thence they failed along theCoast, where they saw a Sea-monster’sHead above Water, with a Horn aboutthree or four Foot long. They landedagain, and found the Surface of theEarth rocky, but very good Groundbeneath it. They also met with greatStore of glittering Sand, like Gold, ofwhich they took three Hundred Tunsalong with them*

They used their utmost Endeavoursto enter into Discourse with the Savages,who seemingly shewed no great A ver-sion to them, and gave them to under- ^ un st lH S c fstand, by certain Signs, that if they ,U SaVag ' S 'would row up higher in the River, theirExpectation should be answered. Ac-cordingly, Martin Forbijher got into aBoat, with some Soldiers, and, havingordered his Ships to follow him, wentup the River; and feing a great Num-ber of the Savages posted among theRocks, he did not think fit to exposehimself, by approaching too near theBanks. At last, three among them,who appeared somewhat better thanthe Rest, having made a Signal for himto Land, he resolved to do it, all theRest being at a considerable Distance ;

But his Boat scarce touched the Bank otthe River, when the Savages began toappear in great Numbers, which madehim soon take to the Stream again. Ne-vertheless, the Savages endeavoured topersuade them by Signs to come ashoar,throwing to them some raw Flesh ; Butfinding the Englijh mistrustful, they re-solved to draw them thither by the fol-lowing Stratagem. They laid one oftheir Men upon the Bank, who pretend-ing to be lame, they supposed the Eng-lijh would come to take him, whilstthey pretended to be retired at a fartherDistance, being all out of Sight, behindthe adjacent Rocks. The Englisto, be-ing aware of their Design, dischargeda Gun at him, which made him soon ‘ Their s / r Nrecover his Legs; And theSavages, com- ^Sntld,ing to his Aid, pelted the Englist 1, intheir Boat, with Stones and Arrows:

2 U But