545 Segghende: dit weer sal hier nimmermeer vergaen—saying, this weather will never more pass away here. ↑
548 Maer elck ontsach sich den schipper dat te kennen te gheven—but each was reluctant to make the skipper acquainted with it. ↑
549 Vermidts dat hy hem hadde laten verluyden dat hy begeerde te wachten—because he had given them to understand that he desired to wait. ↑
552 The corrected calculation, with declination + 17° 44′,9 and refraction 12′,2, will give 75° 47′,9. If the sun’s lower edge was observed, 16′ will, in this instance, have to be added to the latitude, which thereby becomes 76° 3′,9. ↑
558 Sprack Willem Barentzoon den schipper aen wat der ghesellen goeden raedt was—William Barentsz told the skipper what the crew thought was best (to be done). ↑
559 De schuijt ende bock—the boat and yawl. Heemskerck’s first thought, as supercargo, evidently was to save, if possible, the ship and property entrusted to him by the owner; and by waiting till the fine weather came and the sea was open, he hoped to be able to do this. ↑
566 Oft eens tijdt quam dat wy wech comen mochten—if the time should ever come when we might get away. ↑
569 Die dan wederom ghetoghen van de ghenomen hoochte—which then being taken from the observed height. This error in the original text is corrected in the translation. ↑
570 The declination here given (correctly 20° 46′,5) is that of the 24th May; that of the 25th being 20° 57′,6. The amended calculation for both days will be as follows:—
| May 24th | May 25th. | |||||
| Observed altitude of sun | 34° | 46′,0 | 34° | 46′,0 | ||
| Refraction | - | 1′,4 | - | 1′,4 | ||
| —————— | —————— | |||||
| 34° | 44′,6 | 34° | 44′,6 | |||
| Sun’s declination | + | 20° | 46′,5 | + | 20° | 57′,6 |
| —————— | —————— | |||||
| Complement φ | 13° | 58′,1 | 13° | 47′,0 | ||
| —————— | —————— | |||||
| φ | 76° | 1′,9 | 76° | 13′,0 | ||
| —————— | —————— | |||||
| Or, allowing for the sun’s semi-diameter | 75° | 45′,9 | 75° | 57′,0 | ||
Regarding the several observations of stars as well as of the sun (except [180]those of March 20th, April 2nd and 18th, and May 24th, which are uncertain), as being all equally good, subject only to correction for refraction and amended declination, the result will be 75° 57′,5. Or, assuming that the sun’s lower edge was observed in every case, but not allowed for (and the observations of the stars leave little room for doubting that such must have been the case), and taking the sun’s semi-diameter at 16′, and including also the observations of the two stars, we have 75° 49′,5. In either case the latitude will be rather to the south than to the north of the 76th parallel. But, as all the latter observations of the sun were made under an erroneous impression, and evidently with a desire that they should correspond with what was believed to be the truth, the safest plan will be to content ourselves with the observations of the two stars and the first observation of the sun on February 19th, the result of which will be:—
| γ | Orionis | 75° | 43′,0 |
| α | Tauri | 75° | 47′,9 |
| ☉ | 75° | 44′,1 | |
| —————— | |||
| 135 | |||
| —————— | |||
| Which gives exactly | 75° | 45′ as the latitude of the spot. | |
574 Eenigh loopende wandt ende trosgens ende anders meer—some running rigging, ropes, and various other things. ↑
575 Nae de schuyt ghegaen om die ontrent het huijs te vertimmeren—went to the boat, in order to repair it near the house. ↑
576 Burghers—burgesses, citizens; that is to say, they must consider Novaya Zemlya as their place of permanent residence. ↑
587 Also dat hem dit bequam als de hont de worst—so that it agreed with her as the sausage did with the dog. This homely Dutch proverb has already been explained in page 106, note 5. ↑
591 Geep. A well known fish (Belone vulgaris, Cuvier), which is called in English by a variety of trivial names:—gar-fish, gane-fish, sea-pike, mackerel-guide, mackerel-guard, green-bone, horn-fish, horn-back, horn-beak, horn-bill, gore-bill, long-nose, sea-needle. Considerable quantities are brought to the London markets in the spring from the Kent and Sussex coasts. In Holland they are now only used as bait for other fish. See Yarrell, History of British Fishes, vol. i, p. 393. ↑
595 Maecktense met een spiegel, om also bequamer te zijn inde zee te ghebruijcken—made it with a square stern, in order that it might be a better sea-boat. ↑
596 Ende maecktense also vaerdich opt bequaemste dat men mocht—and so got it ready in the fittest manner in their power. ↑
597 Swaert (now written zwaarden), lee-boards or whiskers. These are the boards still seen on the sides of Dutch flat-bottomed vessels, which serve to keep them steady, and to prevent them from drifting to leeward, when sailing with a side wind, or lying to. ↑
599 Ende maeckten daer presentinghen over om van een zee waters beschermt te zijn—and placed tarpaulings over them, to protect them (the goods) from the sea-water. ↑
602 Dat men noch effenwel onse handen daer aen mochten slaen—so that we could likewise grasp them with our hands. ↑
603 Om de buydenningen [buijkdenningen] in den bock ende schuyte te maecken—to make the bottom-boards (ceiling) of the yawl and boat. ↑
606 So mede als wy altemet int ys beset mochten werden—in order that whenever we should be enclosed by the ice. ↑
607 Met bylen, houweelen ende allerley ghereetschap—with hatchets, pick-axes, and all sorts of implements. ↑
609 Met houwen, smyten, schoppen, graven ende wechwerpen—with chopping, throwing, pushing, digging, and clearing away. ↑
612 Ende besloten doen onderlinghen metten gemeenen maets—and they then resolved jointly with the ship’s company. ↑
614 Ende heeft Willem Barentsz. te voren een cleijn cedelken gheschreven, ende in een muskets mate ghedaen—and William Barentsz had previously written a small scroll, and placed it in a bandoleer. ↑
620 Daer wy alle naersticheyt toe deden, om die so veel te berghen alst moghelijck was—of which we took every care to preserve as much as was possible. ↑
622 Soetemelcx kaes—in modern Dutch, zoetemelksche kaas—lit. sweet-milk cheese. This is the ordinary Dutch cheese, well known in England, and which on a former occasion (page 124, note 11) was described as koyenkaas. It is the produce principally of North Holland. ↑
629 Daerome hebbe ic met Willem Barentsz. de hoogh-bootsman ende ander officie luyden met alle ander gasten—therefore I, with William Barentsz. (and), the chief-boatswain and other officers, with the rest of the crew. At first sight it might appear that William Barentsz. is described as “hoogh-bootsman”. This is evidently the idea of the translator, though he takes on himself to paraphrase the term by “our pilot”. But the statement on the 20th June (page 198), that the chief-boatswain came on board the boat in which William Barentsz. was, just before the latter’s death, clearly proves that two different persons are here intended: so that, in order to avoid ambiguity, a conjunction, or at least a comma, should be inserted between the two. From the list of the ship’s company given in page 193, it may be safely inferred that the “chief-boatswain”, or first mate, as we should now call him, was Pieter Pieterszoon Vos. It is he, most probably, who on the 28th August, 1596 (page 100) is called “the other pilot”. ↑