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The Awakening of Europe, 27. The Story of Henry Hudson

27. The Story of Henry Hudson

"To achieve what they have undertaken, or else to give reason wherefore it will not be." —HENRY HUDSON.

A Dutch East India Company had been formed, and one of its most daring servants was an Englishman, Henry Hudson. His name can never be forgotten, for it is written large on every map of the world. There is Hudson Bay in North America; Hudson river, on which New York now stands; Hudson Strait,—all of which remind us of one of the bravest and ablest seamen that ever lived. The story of his success in the frozen north, his patient endurance of hardships, and his tragic death in the waters of the bay he himself had discovered, is a thrilling one in the annals of the sea.

Henry Hudson first makes his appearance as a sea-captain in 1607, leaving London with the intention of finding a passage to China by the frozen seas of the north. The merchants of London, in spite of failure, were still bent on finding a northern passage to the lands of spice and gold which were enriching Spain and Portugal. Frobisher and Davis had tried in vain to find a way to the north-west. Other men, notably the Dutchman Barentz and the Englishman Willoughby, had failed to find a passage by the north-east.

Now a bolder scheme arose. Was there a sailor daring enough to sail over the mysterious north pole itself to reach the other side? Yes. Henry Hudson was willing to try. And in a tiny ship, with a scanty crew, he sailed away on his adventurous voyage to the frozen seas. A fortnight later he had reached Greenland. The weather was thick and foggy, and his sails and ropes were soon frozen hard. He tried to sail to the north, but a barrier of ice blocked his way. Sailing along this barrier he reached Spitzbergen. Again and again he tried to find a way through the ice and snow to reach the north pole. But winter was coming on, he had already explored farther north than any one else, and he reluctantly turned homewards. Among other pieces of news, he brought home information of the whales he had seen in the seas about Spitzbergen, thus starting the whale-fishing, which was a great source of wealth to England.

A second expedition failed to discover any possible passage to China, though Hudson reached Nova Zembla and explored that region. The sailors brought back a story of how they had seen a mermaid. She came close to the ship's side, they said, and looked earnestly at them. Then the sea came and overturned her. Her skin was white, and long black hair hung down behind. As she went down they saw her tail, which was like the tail of a porpoise and speckled like a mackerel. The creature they saw was probably a seal, but the idea took the fancy of the poets and story-tellers.

Hudson's third voyage was made in the service of the Dutch East India Company. He left Amsterdam in a ship called the Good Hope, with a crew of mixed English and Dutch. Failing to get farther to the north, Hudson sailed for the shores of North America. Having touched at Newfound-land and seeing "a great fleet of Frenchmen fishing on the bank," he sailed along the coast, partly looking for the English colony of Virginia, partly seeking some passage to the west. While cruising thus he discovered the Hudson river. Here is his own account:

"The sun rose and we saw the land all like broken islands. We then came to a great lake of water, looking like a drowned land. The mouth of that land hath many shoals, and the sea breaketh on them. It is a very good land to fall in with, and a pleasant land to see. At 3 of the clock in the afternoon we came to three great rivers, where we saw many salmons and mullets, very great.

"We found a very good harbour, and went in with our ship. Then we took our nets to fish, and caught ten great mullets and a ray as great as four men could haul into the ship. The people of the country seemed glad of our coming and brought green tobacco. They dress in deer-skins. They have a great store of maize, whereof they make good bread. We now turned into the river. It is a mile broad, and there is high land on both sides." Sailing, rowing, and fishing, anchoring by night to keep a careful watch on the treacherous natives, Hudson went some hundred miles up the great river that was to bear his name—the river on which to-day stands New York, the largest city in America.

He brought home news, too, of an opening to the west, which he wished to explore farther.

Yet a fourth time we find Hudson leaving home. This time in an English ship called the Discovery, which brought him safely to the other side of the Atlantic Ocean. It was for the last time. He had intended to strike the coast of America near the Hudson river, but contrary winds and icebergs drove the ship out of her course, through an unknown strait, into a great inland sea. Both of these waters still bear the explorer's name—Hudson Strait and Hudson Bay. Day after day the little ship sailed on, but no opening could be seen by which they could escape from the ice-bound sea which they had unknowingly entered. For three months they tried, but in vain. Then winter overtook them. "The nights were long and cold and the ground was covered with snow." Food was scarce and the sailors grew dissatisfied. The ice broke up at last, and Hudson still hoped to find a passage to the west. But now the sailors rose in mutiny.

"We would rather be hanged at home than starved abroad," they cried drearily. In order to make the food last longer they bound their brave captain and forced him with his son and a few sick men into an open boat. And then, amid that icy sea, far away from friends and home, with no food and no human help, they cast Henry Hudson adrift. At the last moment the carpenter sprang into the drifting boat, resolved to die with his captain rather than desert him. The little boat and its starving crew were never heard of again. Henry Hudson, one of the bravest and most daring of English seamen, must have found a grave in the icy waters of the very inland sea he had discovered.

He had done much. He gave to England the fisheries of Spitzbergen and the fur-trade of Hudson Bay, as well as the vast tract of country between that bay and the Pacific Ocean. He gave to Holland the colony at the mouth of the Hudson river, which they called New Amsterdam, but which under the English became New York, its name to-day.

One more expedition was made some six years later, and then for two hundred years the lonely solitude of those ice-bound regions remained unbroken.

27. The Story of Henry Hudson 27. Die Geschichte von Henry Hudson 27. La historia de Henry Hudson 27. La storia di Henry Hudson 27.ヘンリー・ハドソンの物語 27. 헨리 허드슨의 이야기 27. Het verhaal van Henry Hudson 27. A história de Henry Hudson 27. История Генри Гудзона 27. Історія Генрі Гадсона 27.亨利-哈德逊的故事

"To achieve what they have undertaken, or else to give reason wherefore it will not be." "Das zu erreichen, was sie sich vorgenommen haben, oder aber zu begründen, warum dies nicht geschehen wird." "Per realizzare ciò che hanno intrapreso, o per dare una ragione per cui non lo faranno". —HENRY HUDSON.

A Dutch East India Company had been formed, and one of its most daring servants was an Englishman, Henry Hudson. His name can never be forgotten, for it is written large on every map of the world. There is Hudson Bay in North America; Hudson river, on which New York now stands; Hudson Strait,—all of which remind us of one of the bravest and ablest seamen that ever lived. The story of his success in the frozen north, his patient endurance of hardships, and his tragic death in the waters of the bay he himself had discovered, is a thrilling one in the annals of the sea.

Henry Hudson first makes his appearance as a sea-captain in 1607, leaving London with the intention of finding a passage to China by the frozen seas of the north. Henry Hudson fa la sua prima apparizione come capitano di mare nel 1607, partendo da Londra con l'intenzione di trovare un passaggio per la Cina attraverso i mari ghiacciati del nord. The merchants of London, in spite of failure, were still bent on finding a northern passage to the lands of spice and gold which were enriching Spain and Portugal. I mercanti di Londra, nonostante l'insuccesso, erano ancora decisi a trovare un passaggio settentrionale verso le terre delle spezie e dell'oro che arricchivano Spagna e Portogallo. Frobisher and Davis had tried in vain to find a way to the north-west. Frobisher und Davis hatten vergeblich versucht, einen Weg nach Nordwesten zu finden. Other men, notably the Dutchman Barentz and the Englishman Willoughby, had failed to find a passage by the north-east. Altri uomini, in particolare l'olandese Barentz e l'inglese Willoughby, non erano riusciti a trovare un passaggio da nord-est.

Now a bolder scheme arose. Nun kam ein kühnerer Plan auf. Was there a sailor daring enough to sail over the mysterious north pole itself to reach the other side? Gab es einen Seemann, der so kühn war, den geheimnisvollen Nordpol selbst zu überqueren, um die andere Seite zu erreichen? C'è stato un marinaio abbastanza audace da navigare sopra il misterioso polo nord stesso per raggiungere l'altro lato? Yes. Henry Hudson was willing to try. Henry Hudson era disposto a provarci. And in a tiny ship, with a scanty crew, he sailed away on his adventurous voyage to the frozen seas. Und mit einem winzigen Schiff und einer spärlichen Besatzung segelte er auf seiner abenteuerlichen Reise in die eisigen Meere. A fortnight later he had reached Greenland. Vierzehn Tage später hatte er Grönland erreicht. The weather was thick and foggy, and his sails and ropes were soon frozen hard. Das Wetter war dicht und neblig, und seine Segel und Taue waren bald hart gefroren. Il tempo era denso e nebbioso e le vele e le corde furono presto congelate. He tried to sail to the north, but a barrier of ice blocked his way. Sailing along this barrier he reached Spitzbergen. Entlang dieser Barriere segelnd erreichte er Spitzbergen. Again and again he tried to find a way through the ice and snow to reach the north pole. But winter was coming on, he had already explored farther north than any one else, and he reluctantly turned homewards. Aber der Winter nahte, und er war schon weiter nach Norden vorgedrungen als alle anderen, und so kehrte er nur widerwillig nach Hause zurück. Ma l'inverno si avvicinava, lui aveva già esplorato più a nord di tutti gli altri, e a malincuore tornò a casa. Among other pieces of news, he brought home information of the whales he had seen in the seas about Spitzbergen, thus starting the whale-fishing, which was a great source of wealth to England. Er brachte unter anderem Informationen über die Wale mit nach Hause, die er in den Gewässern um Spitzbergen gesehen hatte, und setzte damit den Walfang in Gang, der für England eine große Quelle des Reichtums darstellte.

A second expedition failed to discover any possible passage to China, though Hudson reached Nova Zembla and explored that region. Eine zweite Expedition konnte keine mögliche Passage nach China entdecken, obwohl Hudson Nova Zembla erreichte und diese Region erforschte. The sailors brought back a story of how they had seen a mermaid. Die Matrosen brachten eine Geschichte mit, wie sie eine Meerjungfrau gesehen hatten. She came close to the ship's side, they said, and looked earnestly at them. Sie sei nahe an die Bordwand herangekommen und habe sie ernsthaft angeschaut. Si è avvicinata al fianco della nave, dicono, e li ha guardati seriamente. Then the sea came and overturned her. Dann kam das Meer und kippte sie um. Her skin was white, and long black hair hung down behind. Ihre Haut war weiß, und ihr langes schwarzes Haar hing nach hinten herunter. As she went down they saw her tail, which was like the tail of a porpoise and speckled like a mackerel. Als sie unterging, sahen sie ihren Schwanz, der wie der Schwanz eines Schweinswals aussah und gesprenkelt war wie eine Makrele. The creature they saw was probably a seal, but the idea took the fancy of the poets and story-tellers. Bei dem Wesen, das sie sahen, handelte es sich wahrscheinlich um eine Robbe, aber die Vorstellung gefiel den Dichtern und Geschichtenerzählern. La creatura che videro era probabilmente una foca, ma l'idea piacque ai poeti e ai narratori.

Hudson's third voyage was made in the service of the Dutch East India Company. Hudsons dritte Reise wurde im Dienste der Niederländischen Ostindien-Kompanie unternommen. He left Amsterdam in a ship called the Good Hope, with a crew of mixed English and Dutch. Failing to get farther to the north, Hudson sailed for the shores of North America. Da es ihm nicht gelang, weiter nach Norden vorzudringen, segelte Hudson zu den Küsten Nordamerikas. Having touched at Newfound-land and seeing "a great fleet of Frenchmen fishing on the bank," he sailed along the coast, partly looking for the English colony of Virginia, partly seeking some passage to the west. Nachdem er Neufundland erreicht hatte und "eine große Flotte von Franzosen am Ufer fischen sah", segelte er an der Küste entlang, teils auf der Suche nach der englischen Kolonie Virginia, teils auf der Suche nach einer Durchfahrt nach Westen. While cruising thus he discovered the Hudson river. Auf dieser Fahrt entdeckte er den Hudson River. Durante la navigazione scoprì il fiume Hudson. Here is his own account:

"The sun rose and we saw the land all like broken islands. "Die Sonne ging auf und wir sahen das Land wie zerbrochene Inseln. We then came to a great lake of water, looking like a drowned land. Dann kamen wir an einen großen See mit Wasser, der wie ein ertrunkenes Land aussah. The mouth of that land hath many shoals, and the sea breaketh on them. Die Mündung dieses Landes hat viele Untiefen, und das Meer bricht an ihnen. La bocca di quella terra ha molti banchi e il mare si infrange su di essi. A boca daquela terra tem muitos cardumes, e o mar quebra sobre eles. It is a very good land to fall in with, and a pleasant land to see. Es ist ein sehr gutes Land, in das man sich verlieben kann, und ein angenehmes Land zum Anschauen. È una terra molto bella da conoscere e piacevole da vedere. At 3 of the clock in the afternoon we came to three great rivers, where we saw many salmons and mullets, very great. Um 3 Uhr nachmittags kamen wir an drei große Flüsse, wo wir viele Lachse und Meeräschen sahen, sehr groß. Alle 3 del pomeriggio siamo arrivati a tre grandi fiumi, dove abbiamo visto molti salmoni e triglie, molto grandi. Om 3 uur 's middags kwamen we bij drie grote rivieren, waar we veel zalmen en harders zagen, heel groot.

"We found a very good harbour, and went in with our ship. "Wir fanden einen sehr guten Hafen und fuhren mit unserem Schiff hinein. "Trovammo un ottimo porto ed entrammo con la nostra nave. Then we took our nets to fish, and caught ten great mullets and a ray as great as four men could haul into the ship. Dann nahmen wir unsere Netze zum Fischen und fingen zehn große Meeräschen und einen Rochen, der so groß war, dass vier Männer ihn ins Schiff ziehen konnten. Poi prendemmo le reti per pescare e catturammo dieci grossi cefali e una razza grande quanto quattro uomini potevano portare in nave. The people of the country seemed glad of our coming and brought green tobacco. Die Menschen auf dem Land schienen sich über unser Kommen zu freuen und brachten grünen Tabak mit. They dress in deer-skins. Sie kleiden sich in Hirschfelle. They have a great store of maize, whereof they make good bread. Sie haben einen großen Vorrat an Mais, aus dem sie gutes Brot backen. We now turned into the river. Wir bogen nun in den Fluss ein. It is a mile broad, and there is high land on both sides." Sie ist eine Meile breit, und auf beiden Seiten gibt es hohes Land." Sailing, rowing, and fishing, anchoring by night to keep a careful watch on the treacherous natives, Hudson went some hundred miles up the great river that was to bear his name—the river on which to-day stands New York, the largest city in America. Er segelte, ruderte und fischte, ankerte bei Nacht, um die verräterischen Eingeborenen im Auge zu behalten, und fuhr einige hundert Meilen den großen Fluss hinauf, der seinen Namen tragen sollte - den Fluss, an dem heute New York liegt, die größte Stadt Amerikas.

He brought home news, too, of an opening to the west, which he wished to explore farther. Er brachte auch die Nachricht von einer Öffnung im Westen mit, die er weiter erkunden wollte.

Yet a fourth time we find Hudson leaving home. Ein viertes Mal verlässt Hudson sein Zuhause. This time in an English ship called the Discovery, which brought him safely to the other side of the Atlantic Ocean. Diesmal mit einem englischen Schiff namens Discovery, das ihn sicher auf die andere Seite des Atlantiks brachte. It was for the last time. He had intended to strike the coast of America near the Hudson river, but contrary winds and icebergs drove the ship out of her course, through an unknown strait, into a great inland sea. Er wollte die amerikanische Küste in der Nähe des Hudson River anlaufen, aber Gegenwind und Eisberge trieben das Schiff vom Kurs ab und durch eine unbekannte Meerenge in ein großes Binnenmeer. Both of these waters still bear the explorer's name—Hudson Strait and Hudson Bay. Beide Gewässer tragen noch heute den Namen des Entdeckers - Hudson Strait und Hudson Bay. Day after day the little ship sailed on, but no opening could be seen by which they could escape from the ice-bound sea which they had unknowingly entered. Tag für Tag segelte das kleine Schiff weiter, aber es war keine Öffnung zu sehen, durch die sie dem eisigen Meer, in das sie unwissentlich geraten waren, entkommen konnten. For three months they tried, but in vain. Drei Monate lang versuchten sie es, aber vergeblich. Then winter overtook them. Dann brach der Winter über sie herein. "The nights were long and cold and the ground was covered with snow." "Die Nächte waren lang und kalt, und der Boden war mit Schnee bedeckt. Food was scarce and the sailors grew dissatisfied. Das Essen war knapp und die Matrosen wurden unzufrieden. The ice broke up at last, and Hudson still hoped to find a passage to the west. Endlich brach das Eis auf, und Hudson hoffte immer noch, eine Passage nach Westen zu finden. But now the sailors rose in mutiny. Doch nun erhoben sich die Matrosen zur Meuterei.

"We would rather be hanged at home than starved abroad," they cried drearily. "Wir würden lieber zu Hause gehängt werden, als im Ausland zu verhungern", riefen sie traurig. In order to make the food last longer they bound their brave captain and forced him with his son and a few sick men into an open boat. Um die Lebensmittel länger haltbar zu machen, fesselten sie ihren tapferen Kapitän und zwangen ihn mit seinem Sohn und einigen kranken Männern in ein offenes Boot. And then, amid that icy sea, far away from friends and home, with no food and no human help, they cast Henry Hudson adrift. Und dann, inmitten der eisigen See, weit weg von Freunden und Heimat, ohne Nahrung und ohne menschliche Hilfe, ließen sie Henry Hudson treiben. At the last moment the carpenter sprang into the drifting boat, resolved to die with his captain rather than desert him. Im letzten Moment sprang der Zimmermann in das treibende Boot, entschlossen, lieber mit seinem Kapitän zu sterben, als ihn zu verlassen. The little boat and its starving crew were never heard of again. Man hörte nie wieder etwas von dem kleinen Boot und seiner hungernden Besatzung. Henry Hudson, one of the bravest and most daring of English seamen, must have found a grave in the icy waters of the very inland sea he had discovered. Henry Hudson, einer der mutigsten und kühnsten englischen Seefahrer, muss sein Grab im eisigen Wasser des Binnenmeeres gefunden haben, das er entdeckt hatte.

He had done much. Er hatte viel getan. He gave to England the fisheries of Spitzbergen and the fur-trade of Hudson Bay, as well as the vast tract of country between that bay and the Pacific Ocean. Er überließ England die Fischerei in Spitzbergen und den Pelzhandel in der Hudson Bay sowie das riesige Gebiet zwischen dieser Bucht und dem Pazifischen Ozean. He gave to Holland the colony at the mouth of the Hudson river, which they called New Amsterdam, but which under the English became New York, its name to-day. Er schenkte Holland die Kolonie an der Mündung des Hudson, die sie New Amsterdam nannten, die aber unter den Engländern zu New York wurde, wie sie heute heißt.

One more expedition was made some six years later, and then for two hundred years the lonely solitude of those ice-bound regions remained unbroken. Eine weitere Expedition wurde etwa sechs Jahre später unternommen, und dann blieb die einsame Einsamkeit dieser eisigen Regionen zweihundert Jahre lang ungebrochen. Un'altra spedizione fu compiuta circa sei anni dopo, e per duecento anni la solitudine di quelle regioni coperte dai ghiacci rimase inalterata.