, and some pikes, an iron pot, with some meale,
and other things. They stood out of the ice, the shallop being
fast to the sterne of the shippe, and so (when they were nigh out,
for I cannot say they were cleane out) they cut her head fast from
the sterne of our ship, then out with their top sayles, and toward
the east they stood in a cleere sea.

"In the end they took in their top sayles, righted their helme, and
lay under their fore sayle till they had ransacked and searched all
places in the ship. In the hold they found one of the vessels of
meale whole, and the other halfe spent, for wee had but two; wee
found also two firkins of batter, some twentie seven pieces of
porke, halfe a bushell of pease; but in the Masters cabbin we found
two hundred of bisket cakes, a pecke of meale, of beere to the
quantitie of a butt, one with another. Now it was said that the
shallop was come within sight, they let fall the main sayle, and
out with their top sayles, and fly as from an enemy. Then I prayed
them yet to remember themselves; but William Wilson (more than the
rest) would heare of no such matter. Comming nigh the east shore
they cast about, and stood to the west and came to an iland and
anchored.... Heere we lay that night, and the best part of the next
day, in all which time we saw not the shallop, or ever after."

That is the story of Hudson's murder as we get it from his
murderers; and even from Prickett's biased narrative so complete a
case is made out against the mutineers that there is comfort in
knowing that some of them, and the worst of them, came quickly to
their just reward.

XIII

A month later, July 28, a halt was made in the mouth of Hudson's
Strait to search for "fowle" for food on the homeward voyage. There
"savages" were encountered, seemingly of so friendly a nature that
on the day following the first meeting with them a boat's crew--of
which Prickett was one--went ashore unarmed. Then came a sudden
attack. Prickett himself was set upon in the boat--of which, "being
lame," he had been left keeper--by a savage whom he managed to
kill. What happened to the others he thus tells:

"Whiles I was thus assaulted in the boat, our men were set upon on
the shoare. John Thomas and William Wilson had their bowels cut,
and Michael Perse and Henry Greene, being mortally wounded, came
tumbling into the boat together. When Andrew Moter saw this medley,
hee came running downe the rockes and leaped into the s