In high northern or southern latitudes, solid clear ice melted affords good fresh water, the first runnings being thrown away as contaminated by adhering sea water.  White cellular ice is quite unfit for the purpose, being strongly impregnated with salt.  In future articles of our work, several opportunities will occur in which these two expedients for supplying ships with fresh water will be amply detailed.  But on the present opportunity, it seemed proper to mention these easy and effectual expedients for preserving the health and lives of seamen, when in want of fresh water by the ordinary means.—­Ed.

SECTION XII.

A Voyage to Guinea and the Cape de Verd Islands in 1566, by George Fenner[292]

Three ships were employed on this voyage, the admiral, called the Castle of Comfort, George Fenner general[293] of the expedition, and William Bats master; the May-Flower, vice-admiral, William Courtise master; the George, John Heiwood captain, and John Smith of Hampton master; besides a small pinnace.  Walter Wren, the writer of the narrative, belonged to the George.

[Footnote 292:  Hakluyt, II. 533.  Astley, I. 185.]

[Footnote 293:  This general was probably head factor—­E.]

We departed from Plymouth on the 10th December 1566, and were abreast of Ushant on the 12th.  On the 15th we got sight of Cape Finister, and lost company of our admiral that night, for which reason we sailed along the coast of Portugal, hoping our admiral might be before us.  Meeting a French ship on the 18th and getting no intelligence of our admiral, we made sail for the Canaries, and fell in with the island of Tenerife on the 28th, where we came to anchor in a small bay, at which there were three or four small houses, about a league from the town of Santa Cruz.  In this island there is a marvellous high hill called the Peak, and although it is in lat. 28 deg.  N. where the air is as warm in January as it is in England at midsummer, the top of this hill, to which no man has ever been known to ascend, is seldom free from snow even in the middle of summer.  On the 3d January 1567, we departed from this place, going round the western point of the island, about 12 or 14 leagues from Santa Cruz, and came into a bay right over against the house of one Pedro de Souza, where we came to anchor on the 5th, and heard that our admiral had been there at anchor seven days before us, and had gone thence to the island of Gomera, to which place we followed him, and coming to anchor on the 6th over against the town of Gomera, we found our admiral at anchor to our great mutual satisfaction.  We found here Edward Cooke in a tall ship, and a ship of the coppersmiths of London, which had been treacherously seized by the Portuguese in the bay of Santa Cruz on the coast of Barbary, or Morocco, which ship we left there all spoiled.  At this place we bought 14 buts of wine for sea stores, at 15 ducats a but, which had been offered to us at Santa Cruz for 8, 9, or 10 ducats.  The 9th we went to another bay about three leagues off, where we took in fresh water; and on the 10th we sailed for Cape Blanco on the coast of Africa.