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1993.XI.
HUDSON’S VOYAGE IN 1609.
EXTRACT
FROM
"Verhael van de eerste Schip-vaert der Hollandsche ende Zeeusche Schepeit
door’t Way-Gat by Noorden, Noorwegen, Moscovien, ende Tartarien
OM, NA DE CONINCKRYCKEN CATHAY ENDE CHINA : &C. &C. .* *T AMSTERDAM,
voor Joost Hartgers, &c. 1648, in 4°.”
TRANSMITTED TO THE
N. Y. HISTORICAL SOCIETY, BY DR. M. F. A. CAMPBELL, AT THE HAGUE.
TRANSLATED BY
J. ROMEYN BRODHEAD.NOTE .
Mr. Campbell, the Deputy Librarian at the Hague, one of the Correspond-
ing Members of the New York Historical Society, has just sent me, for communi-
cation to the Society, an interesting extract from a small quarto volume in Dutch,
recently purchased for the Royal Library, entitled, “ Verhael van de eerste Schip-
vaert der Hollandsche ende Zeeusche Schepen door ’t Way-Gat by Noorden,
Noorwegen, Moscovien, ende Tartarien orn, na de Coninckrycken Cathay ende
China: fyc., cf-c.: *t Amsterdam, voor Joost Hartgers,	i648, in 4to.”
This extract, which contains a condensed and hitherto unnoticed account of
Henry Hudson’s voyage of discovery in 1609,1 have translated from the Dutch
as literally as possible—preferring faithfulness to elegance—and trust that it may
be thought worthy a place in the " Collections” of the Society. It will be in-
teresting to compare this extract with the Journal of Hudson’s voyage, kept by
Robert Juet, given at page 320 of the First Volume of the Second Series of our
Collections.
J. ROMEYN BRODHEAD.
London, 7th November, 1848.
EXTRACT*
[After giving details of the three expeditions despatched
under the direction of William Barentsen, to discover a
northern passage to Asia, the Narrative continues, (on page
40,) as follows:—]
This* and all the former expeditions not having yet prov-
ed successful, the Directors of the chartered East India Com-
pany therefore, in the last of March, 1609, again despatched,
for the purpose of exploring the passage to China by the
north-east or north-west, the skilful and experienced Eng-
lish pilot, Henry Hudson, with a fly-boat well provided, and
manned with twenty men, as well English as Netherlanders,
as is to be seen by the sequel.
This Henry Hudson sailed from the Texel on the 6th of
April, 1609. He doubled the Cape of Norway on the 5th of
May, and held his course towards Nova Zembla, along the
North Coast; but he found the sea there so full of ice, as he
♦ The expedition of 1596.Hudson’s voyage in 1609.
36SP
had found it the year before, that they were obliged to aban-
don all hope for that year. Whereupon, on account of the
cold, which some [of the crew] who had been in the East
Indies could ill endure, they began to dispute among them-
selves, being Englishmen and Netherlander; upon which
the schipper Hudson proposed to them two things: the first
was, to proceed on the latitude of 40 degrees to the coast of
America, being chiefly moved to this by the letters and
charts which one captain Smith had sent him from Virginia,
whereby he pointed out to him a sea by which they could
sail round their southern colony on the north side, and from
thence go to a westerly sea; the which, had it been so,
(whereas experience proves the contrary,) would have been
a very advantageous thing, and a short way by which to
go to the Indies.
The other proposal was to seek the way through Davis’
Straits ; the which they generally agreed to ; and then they
sailed thitherwards on the 14 th of May, and arrived with a
good wind at the Island of Faro, on the last of May. They
remained there only twenty-four hours, to take in fresh wa-
ter, and then departing they sailed on ’till the 18th of July,
up to the coast of New7- France, in latitude 44 degrees, where
they were obliged to put in to procure a new fore-mast,
(having lost their [original] one) which they obtained there’
and rigged. They found this region very excellent for fish-
ing for cod, as well as for trafficking in good hides and furs or
peltries, which could be procured there for a trifle. But
the ship’s company lived on bad terms with the natives of
the land, taking their things by violence; on account of
which they quarrelled among one another, the English fear-
ing that they were outnumbered and were the weakest ^
and therefore they were afraid to pursue the exploration
any further. So they sailed from there on the 26th of Jufyr
and kept the sea until the 3d of August, when they made
the land in 42 degrees. From there they sailed on further
’till the 12th of August, and made the land again in the lati-
tude of 37 degrees and three quarters. From thence they
kept along the coast until they got to 40 degrees and three
quarters, where they found a good inlet between two head-
lands,* into which they sailed on the 12th of September, [it
being] as beautiful a river as one could find, [“ een alsoo^
schoonen Riviere als men konde vinden”~\ wide and deep, and
with good anchor ground. They finally got up to latitude
* “ The Narrows,” in Manhattan Harbour,370
Hudson’s voyage itf 1609*
42 degrees forty minutes with their large vessel. Then
their ship’s boat went higher up the river. At the mouth
of the river they found the inhabitants crafty and warlike^
but inland on the frontier, \in ’t uyterste,~\ they found a friend-
ly and civil people, who had plenty of provisions, and an
abundance of skins and peltries, martins, foxes, and many
other commodities, birds, fruits, and even white and red
grapes; and they traded civilly with the [ship’s] folks, and
brought all kinds of things with them. As they had now
been about fifty miles* high up the river, they came back
on the 4th of October, and put to sea again. More would
have been accomplished had there been good-will amongst
the ship’s company, and had not the deficiency of some ne-
cessaries also hindered such [a result.] At sea they debated
among themselves, and were of various opinions. The un-
der-schipper, a Netherlander, was of the opinion to go to
winter at Terra Nova, and to explore the North West Pas-
sage by Davis’ Straits. The schipper Hudson was against
this, who feared his mutinous crew, because they had late-
ly threatened him savagely, and also that through the cold
of the winter they might be entirely used up, and then they
must return. Many of the crew were weak and sickly, but
no one yet spoke of going home to Holland except the schip-
per, which afterwards gave rise to comment. He therefore
proposed to go to Ireland and winter; to which they all
assented. Then at last they came to Dartmouth in Eng-
land, on the 7th of November ; from whence they gave their
masters, the Directors in Holland, an account of their voy-
age, making the proposal that they would be willing to, go
and visit the North West, provided that 1500 guilders in
money, [and] more if necessary, should be appropriated, be-
sides their wages, and what they had already in the vessel.
Then Hudson wanted to have six or seven of his crew
changed, making up the number to twenty men, &c.; and
that they should set sail from Dartmouth about the first of
March, so as to be in the North West against the end of
March, and there to spend the month of April, and half of
May, in killing whales and wild beasts in the neighborhood
of the Island of Panar; and then to go to the North West
and spend the time there ’till the middle of September, and
from thence to return to Holland by the north-east of Scot-
land.
* About 150 English miles.