DAVIS, Carram JOHN, in 1585 made tho first of his three voyages to tho north-west, and discovered the Strait which bears his name. On the eastern side of this wide sea, improperly termed a strait, he discovered and named what has retained his appellative, Cape Desolation ; and on the western shore, Mount Raleigh, Cape 1Valsingham, Exeter Sound, and some other places still bear the names he gave them. In his second voyage, in 1586, he examined the coast on the west side of the strait between Cumberland Island and lat. 661° N. In 1587, not discouraged by his want of success, he made a third voyage, and affirmed that he reached lat. 73° N. He examined the coa.st which he had seen before, gave names to some other places, but made no advance to solvo the problem of the north-west passage. The discoveries which he made in his three voyages proved of great coinmereial im portance, since to him more than any preced ing or subsequent navigator has the whale fishery been indebted.
He was chief pilot in a Dntch mercantile voyage to the Malay principality of Acheen, the north part of Sumatra, and he wrote the story of this adventure. Tho two brothers Houtman were chief commanding officers of the Lion and Lioness ; but one of them was slain, with a large number of his men, by a sudden and insidious attack from the Malays while feasting on board ship, and the other was taken captive. Both ships were then
safely brought back to Holland by Davis, who survived to encounter a similax tragic fate in 1605. He was fifty-five years of ago when he thu.s met with his death, and was on his third voyage to the Straits of Malacca. His second, from February 1601 to September 1603, WM ill the capacity of pilot-major to the Red Dragon, one of the English East India Company's first squadron of vessels, under Captain Sir James Lancaster. The last voyage, which proved fatal to Davis, was made by him as pilot of the Tiger, a vessel fitted out by Sir Edward Michelborne, who personally commanded, as it appears, without regard to the East India Company's exclusive privileges. Michel borne wrote the report given by Purchas. A gang of Japanese pirates, whose vessel lay alongside the Tiger in a harbour off Patana, not far from Singa pore, were imprudently permitted to come aboard for hospitality. Michelborne says that Davis neglected to keep proper guard, or to retnove their weapons ; however that may have been, they attempted to seize the English ship, and in the fighting Davis and other men were killed.—Sir John Ross, N.W. Passage.