[169]
The death of Sir Humphrey Gilbert.
[Sir Humphrey Gilbert sailed from England for Newfoundland with a fleet of five vessels. The largest of these (two hundred tons), fitted out by Sir Walter Raleigh, soon returned to England; the next in size was lost; and the three others were the ‘golden hind,’ forty tons; the ‘Swallow,’ of the same size; and the ‘Squirrel,’ of only ten tons,— merely a sail-boat. The loss of their largest vessel, or ‘admiral,’ discouraged the crews very much; and they finally insisted on returning, as appears in the narrative which follows. The original account is in Hakluyt's voyages (Edition of 1810), vol. III. p. 199.]Our people lost courage daily after this ill-success, the weather continuing thick and blustering, with increase of cold, winter drawing on, which took from them all hope of amendment, settling an assurance of worse weather to grow upon us every day. The lee-side1 of us lay full of flats and dangers inevitable, if the wind blew hard at south. Some, again, doubted2 we were ingulfed in the Bay of St. Lawrence, the coast full of dangers, and unto us unknown. But, above all, provision waxed scant, and hope of supply was gone with loss of our admiral.3