Instead of quelling the dissension, as many captains of the era would have done (Sir Francis Drake lopped a man's head off under similar circumstances), Hudson decided to be reasonable. He went to his cabin and emerged carrying a large chart, which he set up in view of the crew. Patiently, he explained what he knew about their course and their objectives.

When Hudson had finished, the ``town meeting'' broke down into a general, wordy argument. One man remarked that if he had a hundred pounds, he would give ninety of them to be back in England. Up spoke carpenter Staffe, who said he wouldn't give ten pounds to be home. The statement was effective. The meeting broke up. Hudson was free to sail on.

All through July the Discovery picked her way along the 450 -- mile long strait, avoiding ice and rocky islands. On August 3, two massive headlands reared out of the mists -- great gateways never before, so far as Hudson knew, seen by Europeans. To starboard was a cape a thousand feet high, patched with ice and snow, populated by thousands of screaming sea birds. To port was a point 200 feet high rising behind to a precipice of 2000 feet. Hudson named the capes Digges and Wolstenholme, for two of his backers.

Hudson pointed the Discovery down the east coast of the newly discovered sea (now called Hudson Bay), confident he was on his way to the warm waters of the Pacific. After three weeks' swift sailing, however, the ship entered an area of shallow marshes and river deltas. The ship halted. The great ``sea to the westwards'' was a dead end.