Volume 181301

A general collection of voyages and travels, including the most interesting records of navigators and travellers, from the discovery of America by Columbus, in 1492, to the travels of Lord Valentia / [William Fordyce Mavor].

  • William Fordyce Mavor
Date:
1813
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: A general collection of voyages and travels, including the most interesting records of navigators and travellers, from the discovery of America by Columbus, in 1492, to the travels of Lord Valentia / [William Fordyce Mavor]. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    360/398 page 318
    on shore entire trees with their roots, without their be- ing able to divine from what country they were brought. This circumstance will not appear incredible to those who have taken the pains to inform themselves of what different writers have related on this subject ; who no- tice its frequency, whether on our wintering at Nova Zemla, (not Zembla as we shall prove,) or in lands of other latitudes further towards the north. I break in on my narrative to observe that it should be called not Nova Zembla, but Novoia. or Nova Zém- Ja, which’signifies new earth, or new land, the Russian term conveying both these meanings ; and under this name when spoken of, it is known in Russia. Nothing assisted these sailors during the first year of their exile, so much as a board to which was- fixed a long iron hook, and a nail four or five inches long, and proportionately thick ; as well as another board to which was fastened different old iron work, the sad re- mains 6f some vessel] which had been lost in this wide extended sea, ‘This unexpected aid arrived at a time when they had nearly expended their powder ; when the flesh of the rein-deer which they had s' ot was al- most consumed; and they had no other prospect than that of perishing with hunger. A second piece of good fortune befell them, little less valuable than the: first; they found on the sea shore the root of a fir tree which was nearly in the shape of a bow. Necessity was ever the mother of invention. They took for granted, that by the means of their knife, they should be enabled to fashion this root into a com- plete bow ; and effectively they compassed their pur- pose. | But the difficulty was to find a cord to string it, and arrows to shoot with. They deliberated on this cir- cumstance, and concluded upon making two iron headed spears for defending themselves from the white bears, which are more fierce than the generality of their species; an attack from them being the only mo- | lestation they had to apprehend ; the making of arrows
    digitised image 1
    digitised image 2
    digitised image 3