Cabot's previous enterprise. Thus we have (vol. iii. p. 47) the account of three voyages "penned by Master George Best, a gentleman employed in the same voyage," and find (p. 60) that this gentleman was the Lieutenant of the Admiral's ship. There is a copy in the King's Library (title in catalogue Frobisher) of his work as originally published in 1578; and prefixed to it is a long and interesting Dedication to Sir Christopher Hatton, of which no part is found in Hakluyt. Amongst other things he says, "And Sebastian Cabote being an Englishman and born in Brystowe, after he had discovered sundry parts of Newfoundland and attempted the passage to Cataya by the North-West for the King of England, for lack of entertainment here (notwithstanding his good desert) was forced to seek to the King of Spain."

There was another work published during the same year, entitled "A Prayse and Reporte of Master Martin Forbaisher's voyage to Meta Incognita by Thomas Churchyard" (Library of British Museum, title in catalogue Churchyard), in which the writer says, "Gabotha was the first in King Henry VII.'s days that discovered this frozen land, or Seas from Sixty-seven towards the North, and from thence towards the South along the Coast of America to 36° and-a-half, &c. But this Gabotha's labor robs no piece of prayse from Master Forboisher, for Gabotha made but a simple rehearsal of such a soil, but Master Forboisher makes a perfect proof of the mines and profit of the country." It is curious to note, thus early, a disposition on the part of Frobisher's admirers to cast into the shade the enterprise of Cabot. The claim put forth to superior merit-sufficiently idle in itself-must have appeared utterly ridiculous after the worthlessness of the ore had been ascertained, and it seems to have been subsequently thought safer to waive any allusion whatever to him who had gloriously led the way in the career of discovery.

Thus, then, we have the most conclusive evidence of a knowledge of what Cabot had done, and of its direct influence on Frobisher's enterprise. Let us now see what the latter actually accomplished.

The First Expedition left Gravesend, as has been said, on the 12th June, 1576. No interest attaches to its movements until the 11th of August, at which point we take up the nar. rative of the Master of the Gabriel, Christopher Hall (Hakluyt, vol. iii. p. 30)-

"The 11 we found our Latitude to be 63 degr. and 8 minutes, and this day we entered THE STREIGHT.

"The 12 wee set saile towardes an Island, called the Gabriel's Island, which was 10 leagues then from us.

"We espied a Sound, and bare with it, and came to a Sandie Baye, where we came to an anker, the land bearing East-South-east off us, and there we rode at night in 8 fathome water. It floweth there at the South-east Moone. We called at Prior's sownd, being from Gabriel's Island, tenne leagues.

"The 14 we waied, and ranne into another sownd, where we ankered in 8 fathome water, faire sande and black oaze, and there calked our ship, being weake from the wales upward and took in fresh water.

"The 15 day we waied, and sailed to Prior's Bay, being a mile from thence. "The 16 day was calme and rode still without yce, but presently within two houres it was frozen round about the ship, a quarter of an ynch thicke and that day very faire and calme.

"The 17 day we waied, and came to Thomas Williams Island."

"The 18 day we sailed North North West, and ankered again in 23 fathome, and tough oaze, vnder Burchers Island, which is from the former Island, ten leagues.

"The 19 day in the morning, being calme, and no winde, the Captaine and I too ke our boate, with eight men in her, to row us ashore, to see if there were there any people, or no, and going to the top of the Island, we had sight of seven boates, which came rowing from the East side, toward that Island: whereupon we returned aboored againe: at length we sent our boate with five men in her, to see whither they rowed, and so with a white cloth brought one of their boates with their men along the shoare, rowing after our boate, till such time as they sawe our Ship, and then they rowed ashoare: then I went on shoare myself, and gave every of them a threadden point, and brought one of them aboored of me, where he did eate and drinke, and then carried him ashore againe. Whereupon all the rest came aboored with their boates, being nineteen persons, and they spake, but we understoode them not. They be like to Tartars, with long blacke haire, broad faces, and flatte noses, and tawnie in color, wearing scale skins, and so doe the women, not differing in the fashion, but the women are marked in the face with blewe streekes downe the cheekes, and round about the eyes. Their boates are made all of seales skinnes, with a keele of wood within the skin: the proportion of them is like a Spanish Shallop, save only they be flat in the bottome, and sharpe at both ends. "The twentieth day we waied, and went to the East side of this Island, and I and the Captaine, with foure men more went on shoare, and there we sawe their houses, and the people espying vs, came rowing towards our boate: whereupon we plied toward our boate; and wee being in our boate and they ashore, they called to us, and we rowed to them, and one of their company came into our boate, and we

carried him aboard, and gave him a Bell and a knife: so the Captaine and I willed five of our men to set him a shoare at a rocke, and not among the company, which they came from, but their wilfulness was such, that they would goe to them, and so were taken themselves, and our boate lost.

"The next day in the morning, we stoode in neere the shoare, and shotte off a fanconet, and sounded our Trumpet, but we could heare nothing of our men: this Sound we called the Five Men Sound, and plyed out of it, but ankered againe in thirtie fathome, and oaze, and riding there all night, in the morning, the snowe lay a foote thicke upon our hatches.

"The 22 day in the morning we wayed, and went againe to the place where we lost our men, and our boate. We had sight of fourteen boates, and some came neere to us, but we could learne nothing of our men: among the rest, we enticed, one boate to our ships side, with a Bell, and in giving him the Bell, we tooke him, and his boate, and so kept him, and so rowed down to Thomas Williams Island, and there ankered all night.

"The 26 day we waied, to come homeward and by 12 of the clocke at noone, we were thwart of Trumpets Island.”

Such was the result of Frobisher's Only Voyage, having in view the discovery of a North-West Passage!

It is seen, at once, that he got entangled with the land by keeping, at the outset, too far North. Cabot had said, that the Strait was between the 61st and 64th degree of latitude; and Ramusio tells us, from the navigator's Letter, and Sir Humphrey Gilbert and Lord Bacon from his card, that the course he took was "very far Westward, with a quarter of the North on the North side of Terra de Labrador." Frobisher's reasons for disregarding facts which must have been known to him, can only be conjectured. One motive may have been a puerile ambition to strike out a new route. We learn from Best, (Hakluyt, vol. iii. p. 58) "This place he named after his name, Frobisher's Strait, like as Magellanus at the SouthWest end of the World, having discovered the passage to the South Sea, and called the same Straits Magellan's Straits." A more indulgent explanation is suggested by recollecting the account which he gave (Hakluyt, vol. iii. p. 129) of the fate of one of the English ships engaged in the attempt at discovery in 1527. Frobisher understood that the vessel had been "cast away as it entered into a dangerous gulf about the great opening between the North parts of Newfoundland and the country lately called by her Majesty Meta Incognita." (Ib.) It is not improbable that he may have been induced by a dread of

the fate of his predecessor absurdly to commence his examination on the very verge of the limit fixed by Cabot, without the least reference to the course pursued by that Navigator which had conducted him from 61° at the commencement of the Strait to 64° at its termination. The precise extent to which Frobisher threaded his way amongst rocks and islands is not given by Hall, but is stated by Best, (Hakluyt, p. 58) at fifty leagues, and again (p. 59) at sixty leagues.

The Second Voyage was prompted by mere cupidity. The incident which stimulated the hopes of the adventurers is thus related, (Hakluyt, vol. iii. p. 59)

"Some of his company brought floures, some greene grasse: and one brought a piece of blacke stone much like a sea cole in colour, which by the waight seemed to be some kinde of metall or minerall. This was a thing of no account in the judgment of the Captaine at the first sight, and yet for novelty it was kept in respect of the place from whence it came. After his arrival in London being demanded of sundry of his friends what thing he had brought them home out of that country, he had nothing left to present them withal but a piece of this blacke stone, and it fortuned a gentlewoman one of the adventurers wives to have a piece thereof, which by chance she threw and burned in the fire, so long that at the length being taken forth, and quenched in a little vinegar, it glistered with a bright marquesset of Golde. Whereupon the matter being called in some question, it was brought to certaine Goldfiners in London to make assay thereof, who gave out that it held Golde, and that very richly for the quantity. Afterwards the same Goldfiners promised great matters thereof if there were any store to be found, and offered themselves to adventure for the searching of those parts from whence the same was brought. Some that had great hope of the matter sought secretly to have a lease at her Majesty's hands of those places, whereby to enjoy the masse of so great a public profit vnto their own private gaines.

"In conclusion, the hope of more of the same Golde ore to be found kindled a greater opinion in the hearts of many to advance the voyage againe. Whereupon preparation was made for a new voyage against the yere following, and the Captaine more especially directed by commission for the searching more of this Golde ore than for the searching any further discovery of the passage."

All the movements of the Expedition had exclusive reference to this new object of pursuit.

"Now had the Generall altered his determination for going any further into the Streites at this time for any further discovery of the passage having taken a man and a woman of that country, which he thought sufficient for the use of language: and also having met with these people here which intercepted his men the last yere (as the apparell and English furniture which was found in their tents, very well declared) he knew it was but a labor lost to seeke them further off, when he had found them there at hand. And considering also the short time he had in hand, he thought it best to bend his whole endeavour for the getting of myne, and to leave the passage further to be discovered hereafter." (Hakluyt, vol. iii. p. 70.)

On the 22nd August, having collected upwards of two hundred tons of ore, they left the Island, whence it had been principally obtained, on their return to England. "We gave a volley of shot for a farewell in honour of the Right Honourable Lady Anne Countess of Warwick, whose name it beareth, and so departed aboard." (Hakluyt, vol. iii. p. 72.) They reached Bristol in October.

The Third Voyage had the same objects in view with the preceding, and we find it remarked at the close, (3 Hakluyt, p. 96) "The people are now become so wary and so circumspect by reason of their former losses, that by no means we can apprehend any of them, although we attempted often in this last voyage. But to say truth we could not bestow any great time in pursuing them because of our great business in lading and other things.

There is little interest in pursuing the details of such an expedition. But one part of the account is too curious not to be noticed. By stress of weather, Frobisher was actually driven to the southward into Hudson's Strait, and yet abandoned the route which he saw plainly before him in order to resume the search for ore.

"The seventh of July as men nothing yet dismayed, we cast about towards the inward, and had sight of land, which rose in form like the Northerland of the Straits, which some of the fleetes, and those not the worst mariners, judged to be the North foreland: however other some were of contrary opinion. But the matter was not well to be discerned by reason of thicke fogge which a long time hung upon the Coast, and the new falling snow which yeerely altereth the shape of the land, and taketh away oftentimes the Mariners markes. And by reason of the darke mists which continued by the space of twentie days together, this doubt grew the greater and the longer perilous. For whereas indeed we thought ourselves to be upon the Northeast side of Frobisher's Straits we were now carried to the Southwestwards of the Queens Foreland, and being deceived by a swift current coming from the Northeast were brought to the Southwestwards of our said course many miles more than we did think possible could come to passe. The cause whereof we have since found, and it shall be at large hereafter declared.” (3 Hakl. 79.)

"The tenth of July the weather still continuing thicke and darke, some of the ships in the fogge lost sight of the Admirall, and the rest of the Fleete, and wondering to and fro with doubtful opinion whether it were best to seeke backe againe to seaward through the great store of yce, or to follow on a doubtful course in a Seas Bay or Straights they knew not, or along a coast, whereof by reason of the darke mistes they could not discerne the dangers if by chance any rocke or broken ground should lie off the place, as commonly in those parts it doth" (p. 80).