A True Description of Three Voyages by the North-East towards Cathay and China, Undertaken by the Dutch in the Years 1594, 1595, and 1596. …

p. lix-lxii: The introduction has an inventory of the many relics found at the final site of Barents fatal expedition. No 75 includes the following items: A great number of prints from copper engravings, completely frozen together, including some of Goltzius; Pallas, Juno, and Venus, with Bosscher excudit; scenes from the Bible. “The manner of engraving the names of the engravers proves that all these must have been the work of the sixteenth century. It may seem strange that Arctic navigators had prints or engravings on board, but it is not at all so, for Heemskerck and Barendsz intended to go as far as China, when they sailed to the North-East. For that purpose they had merchandise on board, and prints or engravings were often used as such.

Item 76: a folio book bound in leather, and with copper clasps. Two volumes: first is Cronycke van Hollant, Zeelad ende Vrieslant, tot den jare 1517 . The second volume, of which the title is intact, runs: ‘Short and true account of the Government, and the most remarkable facts that occurred in the Country of Holland, Zeeland, and Friesland, by Albert Hendrcksz, anno 1585.” Item 77 is “The Navigation, or the Art of Sailing, by the excellent piote, Pieter de Medina, a Spaniard, etc; with still another new Instruction on the Principal Points of Navigation, by Michel Coignet. ‘t Hantwerpen, anno 1580.” Item 78: “A little book, with parchment cover, in octavo, having the fom of a pocket-book, entitled, ‘The History or Description of the great Empire of China.’ ”

p. 150-51: That euening the sicke man that was amongst vs was very weake, and felt himselfe to be extreame sick, for he had laine long time, and we comforted him as well as we might, and gaue him the best admonition y" we could," but he died not long after midnight.

The 27 of Januarie it was faire cleere weather, with a south-west winde; then in the morning we digd a hole in the snowe, hard by the house, but it was still so extreame cold that we could not stay long at worke, and so we digd by turnes euery a litle while, and then went to the fire, and an other went and supplyed his place, till at last we digd scauen foote depth, where we went to burie the dead man; after that, when we had read certaine chapters and sung some psalmes, we all went out and buried the man; which done, we went in and brake our fasts

p. 151-52: The 28 of January it was faire [clear] weather, with a west wind; then we went out many tymes to exercise our selues, by going, running, casting of the ball (for then we might see a good way from vs), and to refresh our ioynts, for we had long time sitten dull, whereby many of vs were very losse.

p. 155: The 13 of February it was faire cleare weather with a hard west wind, at which time we had more light in our house by burning of lamps, whereby we had meancs to passe the time away by reading and other exercises, which before (when we could not distinguish day from night by reason of the darknesse, and had not lamps continually burning) we could not do,–The 14th of February it was faire cleere weather with a hard west wind before noone, but after noone it was still weather. Then fiue of vs went to the ship to see how it laie, and found the water to encrease in it, but not much.

p. 155: The 13 of February [1597] it was faire cleare weather with a hard west wind, at which time we had more light in our house by burning of lamps, whereby we had meanes to passe the time away by reading and other exercises, which before (when we could not distinguish day from night by reason of the darknesse, and had not lamps continually burning) we could not doe.

p. 198: Claes Adrianson began to be extreme sicke, whereby we percciued that he would not liue long, and the boateson came into our scute and told vs in what case he was, and that he could not long continue aliue; whereupon William Barents spake and said, I thinke I shal not liue long after him; and yet we did not ivdge William Barents to be so sicke, for we sat talking one with the other, and spake of many things, and William lBarents read in my card which I had made touching our voiage, [and we had some discussion about it]; at last he laid away the card and spake vnto me, saying, Gerrit, give me some drinke; and he had no sooner drunke but he was taken with so sodain a qualme, that he turned his eies in his head and died presently, and we had no time to call the maister out of the [other] scute to speake vnto him, and so he died before Claes Adrianson [who died shortly after him]. The death of William Barents put vs in no small discomfort, as being the chiefe guide and onely pilot on whom wc reposed our selues next vnder God; but we could not striue against God, and therefore we must of force be content.