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The crewmembers threatened by polar bears, 25 October 1596

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The crewmembers threatened by polar bears, 25 October 1596

Veer, Gerrit de

In the background, the finished Safe House. The foreground shows how the crew members went to pick up the last supplies from the ship on 25 October, and were approached by three polar bears, who were kept at bay with halberds and by throwing pieces of firewood.

From the Wahrhafftige Relation, the German version of Gerrit de Veer’s journal, published in 1598. (See under ‘documentation’ for details.)

Please contact Rijksmuseum Amsterdam for reuse and copyrights.

Sources and literature

Veer, Gerrit de, Om de Noord: de tochten van Willem Barentsz en Jacob van Heemskerck en de overwintering op Nova Zembla, zoals opgetekend door Gerrit de Veer (1598)

Veer, Gerrit de, Warhafftige Relation. Der dreyen newen unerhörten seltzamen Schiffart so die Holländischen und Seeländischen Schiff....Anno 1594, 1595 und 1596 verricht (NG-1979-564) (1598)