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1
2
3
1
2
3
4
5
6
TH£
NORTHMEN IN MAINE.
tarn
. ,
¥.
?
f
icuu I^Ufonsirc dt ^aintopc,
DISCCVKKEK OF MASSACm'SRTTS UAV,
IJ4X.
Alfonit ajant Juivy flui dt vingi it vingt am
Par rnilli tt milU miri I'un tt I'auirt Stftunt,
Et fiuvtnt difii I'unt it I'aulri forlunt,
Mt/mti didant lis fani dii goufrii aioyani.
Ore il teurni la I'nili, i la faviur dii vans.
En uni biuriuft routi i nut autri communi.
Et li jour di/iri il vioit dijfus fa hunt
Luiri avic fiui fii rait it li floti f'aliaij/ani.
Lit fiott font lit malint^ (/u mifmi aprit fa mort
1.1 vouldrtiint ajfaillir jufqui didant li fort :
I/ancri^ c^ijt fon fcavoir qui doubli hur rififii .■
Mait li maty ijlivi in figni dt fon now,
EJlivira toutjourt dant li ciil fon rincm
Tant ifuil aura Vhonniur qui plut grand il miriti.
By Melin de Saint-Gelais en I'honneur
d'Allfonfce, 1559.
TIIK
|1[0rtbmett in pauu;
//^^
CRITICAL EXAMINATION
OK
^ VIKWS KXrUKSSKU IN CONNKCTIOX WITU TIIK
ML'HJKCT, «Y im. J. n. KOIII^,
VOLUME I OK THE NEW SERIES OK THE MAINE
HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
TO WHICH AIIE ADDKD
CltlTICISMS ON OTIIElt PORTIONS OP THE WORK,
AND A CHAPTER ON THE
BV THE
Rev. B. F. DeCOSTA,
AUTHOK OP THE I'HE-COMIMBIAN KISCOVEIIY OP AMERICA
BY THE NOKTIIMEN, ETC., ETC.
\4JxV
ALBANY:
JOEL M U N S E L L
1870.
684Z7
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PREFATORY NOTE.
The following papers were prepared with reference to
their publication in one of the leading periodicals ; but
a further consideration of the subject led to the opinion
that a separate presentation would more effectually
secure the object which the author had in view. The
papers are, nevertheless, sent forth nearly in their
original form.
STcyvESANT Park.
New York, September, 1809.
I
S(
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fr
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ni
ai
is
F
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ta
di
TlIK
NORTHMEN IN MAINE.
The new volume of the Maine Historical
Society, containing as it does no less than
twenty-six ancient maps relating to the coast
of America, forms a valuable companion to
the student of history located at a distance
from the large libraries. And yet the vo-
lume is open to serious criticism. One
naturally feels that this is entering upon
an unwelcome task, especially as the author
is a foreigner and a distinguished scholar.
For the talents and attainments of Dr. Kohl
we entertain high admiration, and yet errors
coming from such a source are doubly inju-
rious, and, more than all others, demand refu-
tation. Indeed, it is quite evident from the
distinguished author's laborious efforts to set
6
THE NORTHMEN IN MAINE.
forth the truth of history that he will not
object to the essays of others, even when the
result may displace his own conclusions.
With these remarks, offered to obviate any
possible misunderstanding of the writer's
motives, let us proceed to examine the work
of the latter, especially in its relation to the
Northmen and the State of Maine.
The only expedition of the Northmen
which Dr. Kohl tries to connect with Maine
is that of the distinguished Icelander, Thor-
finn Karlsefne. Let us, therefore, hear what
he says, keeping in mind the fact that Dr.
Kohl and the writer agree perfectly in re-
gard to the locality of the places referred to
in the sagas, accepting Markland as Nova
Scotia, Kialamess as Cape Cod, and so on to
the end. With this preliminary remark, let
us hear what Dr. Kohl says. On page 71 of
his work, he writes as follows of the voyage
of Karlsefne, which was begun in 1007, in-
stead of 1008:
THE NORTHMEN IN MAINE. 7
"From Markland (Nova Scotia), they did
not go out to the open sea, through the broad
part of the Gulf of Maine, as had been done
on the former expeditions ; but they coasted
along a great way ' to the south-west, having
the land always on their starboard ' until they
at length came to Kialarness (Cape Cod)."
This is supplemented bj the remark :
*' Thorfinn and Gudrida, in following this
track, probably wished to jfind the place
where Thorwald had been buried, and his
crosses erected, which they of course knew
were to be found on the coast toward the
north of Cape Cod."
Consequently, he arrives at the conclusion
that : " "We have here the first coasting
voyage of European navigators along the
shores of Maine."
Now it must be observed, first, that this
alleged voyage involved a large departure
from the direct course. The expeditionists
were sailing to Vinland, Massachusetts and
m
8
THE NORTHMEN IN MAINE.
Rhode Island, being in small vessels, with
live stock on board, and everything necessary
to found a colony. This being so, they
would not deviate from their course without
good reason. Dr. Kohl felt this, and hence
suggests a motive for the alleged departure.
He, as already quoted, says that in " follow-
ing this track, Thorfinn wished to find the
place where Thorwald had been buried."
This person was killed four years previous,
but why would they desire to find the spot ?
Thorfinn had just been married, and it is
not very likely that his wife would desire to
take him now on a pilgrimage to her brother-
in-law's grave. Her first husband had en-
deavored to bring home Thorwald's body to
Greenland, yet this expedition did not pro-
pose anything of the kind.
It was also definitely settled that they
should proceed to the spot where Leif had
already built houses in Vinland. There was,
therefore, no reason or propriety in sailing
\n
THE NORTHMEN IN MAINE.
9
first to visit the grave of Thorvvald. Yet
this is the only motive suggested. It is
hardly necessary to say that it was utterly
insufficient.
But now, for the sake of the argument,
supposing Thorfiim had been influenced by
this motive, is it likely that he would have
taken the course alleged? Dr. Kohl says,
that " they of course knew that the crosses
marking Thorwald's grave, were to be found
on the coast towards the north of Cape Cod."
But here he is at variance, not only with
the sagas, but with himself. According to
his own statement, the fight in which Thor-
wald was killed, took place " near the harbor
of Boston," and it is said in the saga that
his body was carried back southward to a
cape and buried ; to this Dr. Kohl necessarily
assents. This cape, " Crossness," was proba-
bly Gurnet Point, Plymouth, as generally
conceded. At all events the burial place
was south of Boston and west of Cape Cod,-
10
THE NORTHMEN IN MAINE.
and yet Dr. Kohl tells us that they " of
courne, knew that the crosses were on the
coast, towards the north of Cape Cod," and
pictures them sailing along- the Maine
shore, with their eyes upon the coast in
search of the crosses of Thorwald. This is
what no sensible man like Thorfinn Karl-
sefne would be guilty of, especially when we
remember Dr. Kohl's own words, where he
says, " they no doubt had some of Thorwald's
former companions on board." These people
well understood that in order to reach the
grave of Thorwald they must sail direct for
Kialarness ae end of Cape Cod, and then
push on to the west. Cape Cod was their
first Jand-fall in seeking Crossness (Gurnet
Point), which being the case, we have no
reason to suppose that they sailed along the
coast of Maine searching for crosses that th^y
h7iew ivere not there.
There is, therefore, nothing in the motive
nrr/ed, or the course aUcged to have been fol-
io
hi
th
oc
cc
m
la
al
tc
h
oi
ti
t
h
I
TllK NOUTIIMEN IN MAINE.
11
I *
lowed, which Iccads to the belief that, " we
have here the first coasting voyage of Euro-
pean navigators along the coast of Maine."
But is there anything in the lanrjuage of
the iiarmtlve which implies that on this
occasion they sailed out of the ordinary
course ?
Dr. Kohl assumes this to be so, yet we
must examine the authority. We quote his
language again : " They coasted along a
great way ' to the south-west, having tJie land
always on their starboard,' until they came
to Kialarness." As authority for this, we
have, in a note, a Danish translation of the
original Icelandic, yet neither this Danish
translation, nor the original, bears out the
English of Dr. Kohl. {Antiq. Amer., p. 139) .
But we must note farther, that he says
Thorfinn sailed south-west a long way " until
they at length came to Kialarness." Much
is made to depend upon the word "until,"
it being required in order to make perfectly
12
TUE NORTHMKN IN MAINE.
sure that they coastod along the shores of
Maine, and thus gave us this " first voyage."
But " until," in the Icelandic is ok. Rafn
in his Danish, gives o<j, and in the Latin i%
simply and. If the Icelandic oh meant
" until," we should require in the Danish
indtif, and in the Latin ufqne. But the
original oJc is plain, and the word used,
" until," is unwarrantable.
It is said, it will be observed, that they
sailed from Markland (Nova Scotia), to the
south-west, having the land " always on the
starboard." And this " always " is needed
in order lo make the expedition appear to be
running down the Maine coast. But the
Icelandic simply says that " the land was on
the right" {La landit a Stjorn), which is
rendered by Rafn, Terra ah dextro navis
latere jacidt. The Danish was before Dr.
Kohl's eyes on his own page, and to exactly
the same effect. Hence, where does he get
the " always " ? It is simply imagined.
THE NORTHMEN IN MAINE.
18
Yet even this is not all, for in Dr. Kohl's
account the several parts of the sentence
are put out of their right relation. A fair
translation would read thus :
" They sailed long southward by the land,
and came to a cape ; the land lay on the
right." This is the order and punctuation
of the original; from which it appears that
they sailed an indefinite distance and came
to a cape; which, being done, they found
that the land then lay upon their right.
This, it will be perceived, is a very different
thing from saying, that they sailed along by
the land to the cape (Cape Cod), with the
land always upon their right. In the latter
case they mmt have followed the shores, and
therefore coasted along the shores of Maine,
while in the former it is not necessary.
But, perhaps, it may be thought that the
language after all fairly bears the construction
placed upon it, when properly translated.
We read : " They sailed long south by the
14
THE NORTHMEN IN MAINE.
land, and came to a cape ; the land lay on
the right." One might say that the land
which " lay on the right," was a part of the
coast that they sailed by, yet the grammati-
cal construction does not require it, while
the elliptical construction of Icelandic narrar
tive will not permit it. Before the words,
" and came to a cape," there should be a full
stop. This would give the sense more
clearly, as noiv, things that we shall yet see to
be perfectly distinct, are loosely run together.
But what is still worse for this interpreta-
tion, is the fact that the interpretation pro-
posed is totaUy unsuited to a description of
a voyage from Nova Scotia down the coast of
Maine ; for, after rounding Cape Sable, they
would be obliged to sail northward, and
cross the bay of Fundy, where they would
lose the land for a long distance, or else cut
clear of the land altogether, and sail west by
north about two hundred miles to the region
of the Kennebec. The language, therefore,
THE NOUTIIMEN IN MAINE.
16
is totally unsuited to meet the wants of this
alleged coasting voyage of Europeans on the
coast of Maine, as the map proves.
It will be perceived that in all that has
gone before I have met Dr. Kohl on his own
ground, and allowed that when Thorfinn
sailed south to Kialarness (Cape Cod), he
started "from Markland " (Nova Scotia).
But there is still another error that lies at
the bottom of all the rest. Dr. Kohl says,
in his haste, that they sailed " from Mark-
land," whereas they did not sail from " Mark-
land."
Let us hear what the saga says. After
mentioning the fact that Thorfinn Karlsefne'S
expedition first touched Helluland (Labra-
dor) , it goes on to say : " Then they sailed
a day and a night in a southerly course, and
came to a land covered with woods, in which
there were many wild beasts. Beyond this
land to the south-east lay an island on which
they slew a bear. They called the island
I
16
THE NORTUMEN IN MAINE.
Bear Island, and the land Markland. Thence
they sailed south long by the land, and
came to a cape ; the land lay on the right
side," etc. {Antiq. Amer., p. 138).
It therefore appears that the last place
touched at was not Markland, but the island,
and that from thence they sailed southward.
And the importance of this correction will
be evident, when we see that the right inter-
pretation of the whole passage depends upon
it. In fact, it gives a new point of departure.
Therefore, where was this island ? The lo-
cation depends upon the part of Nova Scotia
upon which they landed. It is said that it
lay south-west of Markland, and hence it
must have been one of the many islands,
that lie along the coast. And supposing,
as we reasonably may, that they touched
first on or near the northern half of Nova
Scotia, we tfien have a long coast for them to
sail past, after they left the outlying island.
It would not indeed give them the land
TJIE NOKTIIMKX IN .MAINE.
17
"always "on the right " iintil" thoy came
to the cape (Cape Cod), as Dr. Kohl says,
yet we have already shown that nothing
like the equivalent of these words are
to be found in the original. As we have
also observed, the saga is elliptical in its style,
and that the punctuation of the priitUd Ice-
landic text required a period before the words,
" and came to a cape." The simple truth is,
that they sailed, not " from Markland," as
Dr. Kohl so hastily concludes, but from the
isle called " Bear Island," having the coast
of Markland (Nova Scotia), on their right
for a long way ; after which they left it, and
next struck the coast of Cape Cod, leaving
Maine and New Hampshire undiscovered far
on the right. It is therefore perfectly clear
that this, the first alleged coasting voyage
by Europeans on the Maine coast never
took place. Yet lest any one should be dis-
posed to raise a quibble, I will produce
another testimony, by means of which alone,
18
TIIK NOHTIIMIIN IN MAINE.
the question miglit have been settled at the
start; yet it was due to the sulnjeet to vieAV it
IVom every point of view, and hence I have
dehiyed the testimony referred to until now.
The distinguished German, in his discus-
sion of Karlsefne's voyage, has based his
theory upon what is called " The Narrative
of Thorfinn Karlsefne," written in Iceland,
and preserved in the Anut-Matjiictm Collec-
tion. But fortunately we have another
version, contained in the Saga of Eric the
Red, which makes still clearer what the first
narrative may, to some, seem to leave in
doubt. This is called, " The Account of
Thorfinn." It was written in Greenland,
and is of equal value with the other.
In order to set the question in its final
aspect before the reader, we give the passage
from " The Account of Thorfinn," which is
parallel with that already examined. After
stating the departure from Helluland (Nova
Scotia), the language is as follows :
THK NdUTIIMKN IX MAINK.
19
" They ciuno to a land in wliicli tliero
were j^reat woods and many animaln. South-
oast, opposite the land, lay an inland. Here
they found a boar, and called the island Bear
Island. This land where there were woods,
they called Markland. After a voyage of a
day and a night ^ tlietj discamred (or saw),
land, and the}' sailed near the land, and saw
that it was a cape. They kept close to the
shore with the wind on the right (starboard)
side, and left (or had) the land upon the right
side of the ship."
Now by a careful comparison it will be
seen that this version harmonizes com-
pletely with the first, and at the same time"
shows, with greater distinctness, that they
left the land at Nova Scotia, after sailing by
it some time, and saw the land again first
at Cape Cod. Thus this alleged voyage
disappears.
' The long day is here meaut.
20
THE NORTHMEN IN MAINE.
We finally have to notice what Dr. Kohl
has to say about Thorhall, who was in the
expedition of Karlsefne, and who left the
latter at the Rhode Island settlement to go
around Cape Cod. Dr. Kohl falls into error
at the outset, saying that " Thorfinn had
sent to the north from Straumfiord (Buz-
zard's Bay), his man, Thorhall the Hunter."
The truth is, however, that we have no in-
timation of Thorhall being " sent." On the
contrary, this episode appears to have been
against the wishes of Thorfinn.
In summing up the result of Thorhall's
voyage. Dr. Kohl is equally unfortunate, and
says, that he made his exploring expedition
" to the northern parts of Vinland (coast of
Maine)." But the narrative simply s\ys (in
two versions), that Tiiorhall "sjiiled north
to go around Wonder Strand and Kialarness
[Cape Cod], but when he wished to sail
westward [towards Plymouth, Mass.], they
were met by a storm and driven back."
t.1
THE NOUTUMKN IN MAINE.
21
Thus he did not even weather Race Point,
Provincetown, and yet we are told that he
made an expedition to the " coast of Maine,"
(p. 80).
Afterwards, when Thorhall did not return,
having been forced to run for the coast of
Ireland, Thorfinn went in search of him.
This voyage northward, from Rhode Island,
Dr. Kohl also, unluckily, turns into an expe-
dition to Maine, though he does not say how
far they went, only remarking that it " might
have been somewhere in the inner parts of
the gulf of Maine."
Nevertheless we very well know that
Thorfinn did not go near Maine, nor even
far north of Boston. The saga says that he
" sailed northward [from Rhode Island],
past Kialarness, and then westward [to Ply-
mouth shore], and the land was upon their
larboard (left) side." They finally reached
a river, where they anchored, and then went
northward again. Dr. Kohl says we do not
22
THE NORTHMEN IN MAINE.
know how Lnv, but that the point reached
might have lieen " somewhere in the imier
parts of the Gulf of Maine " (p. 7G). Never-
theless his own quotation from the saga inti-
mates, on the contrary, that they know how
far north they went, saying, " all these tracts
to the north wore continuous with those in
the south, and that it was all one and the
same country."
Now this extract shows that there was
something in the physical character of the
country which enabled the Northmen to f r-
ceive its identity with the country of Maine.
Yet, supposing with Dr. Kohl they had
reached the coast of Maine, which lies on the
" inner part " of the " gulf," what is there to
be seen by which they could infer that it
was "all one and the same country " with that
" at Hop " ? Evidently, nothing ; and, there-
fore, the inference of Karlsefne, if made on
the Maine coast, would have had no force.
And yet there was something in the physical
f' I
THE NORTHMEN IN MAINE.
23
character of the country between that and
the pLico where the}^ were, which, like a
thread running through a piece of French
print, being now the eye of a beast, and now
the petal of a rose, was easily recognized.
What therefore teas this feature V This was
nothing less than a mountain rmuje, which is
not hinted at in Dr. Kohl's glaringly false
translation above given. A true translation
would run : " They considered the mountain
rautje that was at Hop, and that which they
now found as all one." The Icelandic word
translated " tracts" by Dr. Kohl is FJoU, the
equivalent of which in Danish is Fjeld-
strteknlng, or mountain range, inadequately
expressed in the Latin monies. Therefore, in
order to learn how far they went, we
have only to ascertain how far the range
beginning at Mount Hope bay (Hop), ex-
tends northward. Any good county map
settles this (question, and reveals the fact
that the range ends in the Milton Blue hills,
24
THE NORTHMEN IN MAINE.
seen from the vicinity of Boston Ilarljor, and
mentioned in Blunt's Coiwt Pilot. Therefore
ilie northward limit of this voyage must he fixed
in the latitude of Boston. Antiq. Amer., p. xxxv.
That Thorfinn and his men were tho-
roughly qualified to give an opinion, appears
from the fact that the summer before, they
had "decided to explore all the mountains
in Hop ; which done," the saga continues,
" they went and passed the third winter in
Straumfiord " (Buzzard's bay) . They also
state in connection with the fact that the
range seen was " all one " with that at Hop,
that it also " appeared to be of equal length
from Straumfiord to both places," a judg-
ment also seen to be tolerably correct, from
Rafn's map, which makes the three points
mentioned nearly the points of a triangle.
The narrative it therefore perfectly consistent
and clear. The river that they entered was
probably near Scituate harbor, and when
they drew northward to the vicinity of
THE NORTHMEN IN MAINE.
25
Boston, Blue Hill range plainly appeared,
and was easily recognized as a part of the
mountain range that they had already ex-
plored by land from the south.
Thus, by a legitimate rendering of the
language of the sagas, the alleged voyages of
the Northmen upon and to the coast of
Maine in the eleventh century totally disap-
pear. If they made any voyages at a later
period, which is not impossible, they left no
record of the fact, and the " first Europeans "
who coasted those shores, must be looked for
elsewhere than among the Northmen.
In conclusion we have to notice several
points not immediately connected with Maine,
which nevertheless serve to how how hastily
the whole subject was disposed of.
Dr. Kohl says (p. 77), " It is not quite
clear, but it appears to me probable,^ that a
1 Elsewhere (p. 4*78), he says, "Their colonies in
America, first in Vinland and Markland, then in (Jreen-
land, declined."
26
THE NORTHMEN IN MAINE.
'I I i
party of his [Karlsefne's] men remained be-
hind and continued the settlement." For
this statement there is no authority what-
ever. When the second summer of his sojourn
in Vinhind came, Karlsefne decided to
abandon the undertaking. The following
year the whole party left. {Antiquitates Ameri-
cana', p. 150). The statements all agree to
this effect, and we have information in re-
gard to the departure of each of the three
ships. Moreover, when Freydis fitted out
her expedition, which took place on the year
of Karlsefne's return, she stipulated with
Leif that she should have the use of the
empty houses in Vinland which he had
built. On the arrival of Freydis she took
possession, and the whole account gives ad-
ditional proof that Karlsefne left none of his
party behind.
A^ain, Dr. Kohl says (p. 83), " This priest
[Bishop Eric], is said to have sailed to Vin-
land for missionary purposes." But by wlumi
THE NORTHMEN IN MAINE,
27
is he " said " to have sailed for this purpose ?
All that we have about this voyage is the
simple statement, that, in the year 1121,
Bishop Eric went to " search " for or " seek
out," Vinland [Aitflqnifates Amerlcaiiai, p.
2G1). From this statement it has been un-
fortunately argued that a settlement existed in
New England at the time, and that Eric went
to superintend ecclesiastical affairs. With this
fancy as a foundation, Prof. Rafn, in his
early enthusiasm, connected the Newport
Mill with the ancient colonists, and indulged
in the belief that the structure in question
was a baptistery. (See Supplement to Antlquir-
tatm Americanai) . This was only a fancy,
as the language of the statement implies that
the knovyledge of V^inland was lost.
Again it said (page 78), that " Freydisa and
her companions got into trouble and disa-
greement, probably about the profits of the
undertaking. They came to arms, and the
two brothers, Ilelge and Finnboa;e, were
'tD^J
28
THE N()IiTlIMP:N JN MAlNK.
slain in a figlit." TJut hero again Dr. Kohl
shows only a portion of the truth. There is
not the slightest grounds for the supposition
that they quarreled about the " profits."
The ill feeling began by Freydis' violation
of the compact that the ships should carry an
equal number of men. Again, on reaching
Vinland there was a quarrel about the pos-
session of the houses, Freydis claiming their
exclusive use. Then, when winter came,
they quarreled in the midst of their games,
which were abandoned. Eventually she
complained to her husband that Fir^boge
and Ilelge had struck and abused her. Ac-
cordingly Thorwald, her husband, went with
his men early one morning to the huts of the
two brothers, seized them and their jompany
in their beds, bound them and led them out
and murdered them. The women of Finn-
boge's party were slain by Freydis herself,
as the humanity of her followers would not
permit them to go farther in this horrible
!>i
THE NOllTIIMEN IN MAINE.
29
butchery. Freydis returned and reported the
brotlicrs and their company lost, and thus
possessed herself of property that was not
rightfully hers (see Pre-Columbian Discovery,
pp. 77-80, and Aiitiquitates Americana;, pp.
05-72).
After failing thus on points where there
is such abundant testimony, it is easy to
understand how he would have obtained a
wrong impression on points that are some-
what critical.
I
THE CHART OF THE ZEXO BROTHERS.
While there is much in the work of Dr.
Kohl that justifies criticism, it is iievortheless
gratifying to find him conceding the authen-
ticity of the chart drawn up by Nicolo and
Antonio Zeno, prior to the year 1400. Yet
something must be said in this connection,
though the discussion does not tend directly
upon the history of Maine.
First we have to regret that in transcribing
this chart, Dr. Kohl has failed to give the
best representation possible. No less than
one-half of the Greenland names have been
dropped altogether, though these are names
that inevitably come under discussion when
the question of authenticity arrives at ^he
crucial point. Concerning those actually
CHART OF THE ZENO HROTIIERS.
31
left, lie ssiys nothing, and refers to the dis-
tinfjuished Polish geographer, L^lewel, for
all the needed information. He does this,
after going over the other portions of the
chart, explaining the names, and demonstrat-
ing their alleged antiquity. He tells us that
the Greenland names are of less interest for
his purpose, but what was the purpose of
the discussion ? Manifestly it was either to
illustrate the history of Maine, or to prove
the authenticity of the chart. If the former,
then the Greenland names were equally per-
tinent with the others ; while if it was the
latter, the discussion of the Greenland names
were far more so. This, it is believed, can
be fully demonstrated, yet Dr. Kohl takes
leave of the subject at this point and refers to
Lelewel. Turning, therefore, to the eminent
Polish writer, what do we find ? Nothing less
than this, that he has really obscured the
subject, with which he does not grapple, not
having made it a study.
32
CHART OF THE ZENO BROTHERS.
The names given by the Zeni in connection
with other portions of the map are names
that probably could not have been obtained
in 1558 (when the map was printed), by a
person engaged in a fabrication ; but those
names connected with the Greenland coast
are names that were less likely to have been
obtained. Hence the peculiar interest.
Again, at the late period refi^rred to, it
was impossible to rightly apply the names in
question. We find that Greenland was first
settled by Icelandic colonists in the year 985,
and that the settlements continued for over
three hundred years, when they died out,
and the knowledge of Greenland was practi-
cally lost. The location of the settlements
even became a matter of doubt. Hence we
find TorfoBUS in his work on Old Green-
land, placing nearly all the towns and
villages on the east coast. In so doing he
acted upon what he and all his colaborers
mistook for the meaning of Bttrdsens Ckrotii-
m
CHART OF TlIK ZENO UltOTHEHS.
33
dc, wliich ;^ivos the best account of the
ancient colonies now extant. Torfiuus pub-
lished his work in 1715, and was followed
by map-makers down to a comparatively
recent period. Indeed, it was no later than
the year 1828 that the Danish government
sent out an expedition to Greenland under
Captain Graah,^ to settle the question con-
cerning the former existence of a colony
on the east coast. J lis researches had the
effect of banishing the last ray of hope that
might h.we been entertained. Wormskiold
was the latest Scandinavian scholar who
seriously advocated the view that the East
Bygd lay on the east coast, where he thought
a remnant of the colony might still exist,
shut in by the ice. But when the Society
of Northern Antiquarians, profiting by ex-
plorations in Greenland, set out upon their
' For convenience sake, the author would refer to the
discussion of the subject in his work on J^ie- Columbian
Discoviri/.
5
34
CHART or THE zeno bhothers.
great work, the modem maps were revised
and both the districts were placed on the
west side, according to Bardsen, a relative
distinction of east and west only being main-
tained, as will be seen by a glance at their
maps published in 18o7. And this consti-
tuted nothing less than a most drihiiKj
confession of the truth of the Zeii.i chart, which
locates the settlements on the west side.
Theodore Thorlacius^ (16G8), innocently mu-
tilated the Greenland section, which was
drawn with a degree of correctness that
would alone go far to vindicate the antiquity
of the work, while Mercator and Ortelius
in constructing their maps took an equal
1 See Torfieus's Gronlavdia Antujua, Havniae, 1715,
where also may be seen the map of Stephanius (1570),
and that of Bishop Gudbrand Torlacius (IGOG). Those
men, like the rest, misunderstood the chronicle of Ivar
Bardsen, owing to the almost complete extinction of geo-
graphical knowledge relating to Greenland. The /eni,
however, were familiar with those regions, as their chart
proves.
CHART OF THE ZENO imOTlIERS.
35
amount of liberty with other portions. Yet
in the end these mutilations were wholly
rejected.
It will thus be seen that the Zeni knew
where the colonies lay, and, notwithstanding
a partial confusion of names, which the
ravages of time increased on the original map,
the fact is clearly demonstrable.
It would have been a strong point gained,
if this map had simply shown that the Ice-
landic colonies of Greenland were not on the
east side. But, in addition to this, it proves
that they were on the west} This is clearly
seen from the fact that of all the names put
on the east side we cannot recognize one tliaV
I Still the light on this point travels slowly. The
American Antiquarian Society, in 18G0, published the
following : " Intercourse with that part of Greenland
which was colonized by the Danes, has been prevented
by ice since the beginning of the fifteenth century," (vol.
IV, p. 269, N. 2). The part alluded to is the east coast.
The Danes, of course, had nothing to do with colonizing
any part of (Jreenland.
36
CHART OF THE ZENO BROTHERS.
anciently belonged to the irest side. Lelewel,
in his invaluable work, Geographie du Moyen
age [torn, iii, p. 98), indeed confounds two
names that appear on the east coast with
names that belong to the west. Yet who-
ever consults that part of his examination
of the Zeni map will perceive that he did not
appreciate the interest that really clusters
around the Greenland names, and failed to
give ther . the attention that they deserved.
His remarks on the Greenland names are
barren of interest. He seeks chiefly to give
the equivalent of Zeno's names in modern
terms, and in so doing falls into a most pal-
pable error. Two names on the east are
Jl. [fiumum) Lande, and jy)\ [promontory)
Hien, one of which he makes identical with
Einersfiord, and the other with Heriulfsness,
while both of those places were located on the
west coast. Why, then, did he make this
interpretation ? Certainly there was notliing
in the names themselves to authorize it. It
CHART OF THE ZENO BROTHERS.
37
was, therefore, simply a mistake, into which
he fell, when giving, in a separate column,
certain modern names whose places generally
correspond with those of the chart.^
It is not proposed in this connection to
examine the names placed by the Zeni on the
west coast. In order to explain all of them
it would be necessary to have access to the
manuscripts containing the various versions
of Bardsen's relation ; and even then the
effort would not be wholly crowned with
success, since in many cases the names have
been so corrupted. All that is now required
is to show that the Zeni located the colonies
on the west coast. This, after the correction
I There is another name put by the Zeni on the east
coast, 2^>'- Munder, which Lelewel defines as Lodmund, the
name of a fiord on the west coast. Yet the same name
WJis often given to several things as well as places. But
it must be remembered there was only one Ericsfiord and
one Ileviulfsness. As Lelewell remarks, Brattahlid and
Garda, very prominent places, do not appear on the map ;
yet other names just as useful for our purpose do appear.
■ g
38 [chart of the zeno hhotiieks.
of Lelewel's mistake, is easily done, as will
appear from a mere glance. We see, among
other things, that they understood what has
required so much modern study to elucidate,
namely : that in sailing to Greenland, the
Icelander passed two Huarfs,^ or turning
points, one being at Cape Farewell and the
other some distance up the east coast ; while
the names of places, as given by Bardsen, are
recognized, Eleste, for instance, among others,
a name that has needlessly been deemed
obscure, but which is nevertheless the rem-
nant of " Henlestate." ^
Everything, therefore, points indisputably
to the antiquity of the Zeni Chart ; for we
must remember again, that in 1558, when the
chart was published, the ancient geography
1 By referring to Zurhi's copy of the map, tliis will be
more apparent, as Lelewel in copying the two names
gets them misspelled. Zurla was, manifestly, the more
careful in handling these two names.
-Sec Sailini/ Directions of Ilawy llmhon, p. 70.
ClIAKT OF THE ZENO I5R0TIIE11S.
89
of GreenLaiid had reached the period of
deepest obscuration, a period that cast its
shadow forward into the next century, when,
in 16C8, Theodore Tliorlacius drew up the
worst chart of Greenland ever offered to the
pu))lic. At no time between 1500 and 1675,
does it appear to have been suspected by Ice-
landic geographers that settlements ever ex-
isted on Greenland's western coast. Hence,
on the charts we find them laying down
localities on the east coast that actually
belonged to the region of Lancaster sound !
Fortunately, ere this period of darkness set
in, and while voyages were often made from
the northern parts of Europe to Greenland,-
the Zeni brothers improved the opportunities
afforded by their journeys to put upon parch-
ment those leading facts which lend to their •
testimony the seal of truth,^ and which en-
' It will of course be understood that tlie writer does
not by any means accept everything stated in the tiarrd-
tu'cs of the Zeni, which both illustrate and obscure
40
CHART OF THE ZENO BROTHERS.
title them to rank among tlie Pre-Columbian
Explorers of America.
Of the value of this map, in its connection
with Maine, little needs to be said. In his
copy, Dr. Kohl has colored Drogeo, which in
one place (p. 105), he suggests as covering
New England, while in another (p. 478), he
says, "' Maine is put down under the name
of Drogeo." A note (p. lOG), also says that
in Lelewel's copy, Drogeo occupies exactly
the locality of the territory of Maine, which
seems to imply that the masses of land
were differently grouped on the map of the
Polish geographer. This is not the case. In
all the copies that have come under the
author's notice, Drogeo is represented on 58°
and 59° north. The lines of latitude, how-
their chart. Like all siiiiihir relations, they will justify
a careful sifting. The contrast between the chart and
the narratives is most notable. The former contains but
a single ftilse feature in its Greenland section, namely :
the monastery of St. Thomas, placed on the coast to the
north of Icelaad.
CHART OF THE ZENO BROTHERS.
41
ever, are of no authority. Remembering this,
still Drogeo is always put in the above lati-
tude, which is ten degrees north of the ex-
treme limit of the territory of Maine.^ The
map, therefore, has no interest in connection
with Maine, as might be said of the two follow-
ing Icelandic maps of the volume. And it
may well be observed in this connection, that
it would be difficult to say when the territory
of Maine first clearly emerges in the old
cartology. It has already been suggested by
one critic,'^ that Cosa's map of 1500 indicates
the coast of Asia instead of Maine, as sup-
posed by Dr. Kohl. Thorne, in his letter to
Henry VIII, urges the same view with regard'
to that region, which he claimed as the India
possessions of the British crown. (See Hak-
I
I
1 Henry Stevens, G. M. U., F. S. A., etc., in " Historical
and Geographical Notes, 1453-1869," p. 19, n.
2 Perhaps, it will be said, that the unrepresented part
was in the locality of Maine, yet the unknown is some-
thing that we cannot speculate about.
G
42
CHART OF THE ZENO BROTHERS.
luyt, vol. I, p. 213, ed. 1598). If Dr. Kohl
is right in his supposed discovery of Cape
Cod on Cosa's map, he is also right with
reference to Maine ; yet the island which he
identifies with Nantucket is on the wrong side
of the cape, which in the eleventh century
doubtless had a small outlying island toward
the east, as indicated by Saga of Karlsefne,
and proved by more recent history, in con-
nection with geological surveys.^ Yet it is
not worth while to appear fanciful, as we
require truth on the chart as well as on the
written page. The map of the Zeni, how-
ever, is authenticated, which would seem
enough, without applying it to Maine.
I See Pre- Columbian Discovery, p. 26, n. The shores
and banks of Georges are probably dead islands that once
lifted themselves above the sea.
THE VOYAGE OF JOHN RUT.
: !•
In the year 1527, an English expedition,
composed of two ships, the Sampson and the
Mary of Guilford, was sent into American
waters. In the course of the voyage, it is
asserted by Dr. Kohl, John Rut, the master
of the Mary of Guilford, visited the shores of
Maine ; and he tells us that in the account of
Hakluyt (vol. iii, p. 129, ed. 1600), we have
"information of the first instance in which
Englishmen are certainly known to have pxit
their feet on these shores."
But upon what is this claim based ? Quot-
ing from Hakluyt, he says that the Mary of
Guilford "returned by the coasts of New
Foundland, Cape Breton and Norumbega,"
often "entering the ports of those regions,
44
THE VOYAGE OF JOHN RUT.
landing men, and examining into the condi-
tion of the country" {Dr. Kohl, p. 283).
Now the oldest reference to Norumbega is
found in the work of Peter Martyr {Dec. vii,
c. 11), which appeared about 1511. It is
next mentioned in a " Discourse of a great
French sea-captain of Dieppe, on the naviga-
tions made to the West Indies, called New
France, from the 40° to the 47° N.," given
in Ramusio (vol. iii, p. 423). This discourse
has been attributed to Pierre Crignon, the
poet, and seems to belong to the year 1539,
from the fact that the writer says that fifteen
years had then elapsed since Verazzano made
his voyage. He tells us that the country
from Cape Breton to Florida is called by the
inhabitants Norumbega.
But, though the application of the name
was thus extensive, it never figured largely
upon the maps. The name appears to have
come in northward from the St. Lawrence.
Hence, in 1556, the pilots told The vet that
THE VOVACE OF JOHN KUT.
45
Norurabega was the "proper country of
Canada" {Cosmof/raphie UniverscUc, 1004).
And we must not fail to notice the fact that
the very map that Crignon's account was
intended to illustrate [Gcistaldis, 1550), re-
stricts the country of Norumbega to Nova
Scotia. Nevertheless it is conceded that the
maps do not tell the whole story of .Norum-
bega, which was taken to include the country
from Cape Breton to Florida. By degrees,
the application of the term was narrowed,
until it came to signify a fabulous city on
Penobscot river, in Maine. Yet what was
the meaning of the term when Hakluyt
wrote ? This is easily ascertained. Dr. Kohl
himself admits the fatal truth, that in Hak-
luyt's day all New England was included in
Norumbega. But more than this. Turning
to the account of Sir Humphrey Gilbert's
expedition, we find one of the members speak-
ing of it as put on foot for " the discovery of
Norumbega." And yet the plan of the voy-
46
THE VOYAGE OF JOHN KUT.
age aimed at a thorough exploration of the
territory from Newfoundland to Florida.
This shows that in 1583, Norumbega still
had a very wide application, while it is
equally certain that Nova Scotia was alwayH
included at the time Ilakluyt wrote. (See
Hakhnji^ vol. in, p. 163 ; also title page of
same volume). It will therefore, be seen,
when Dr. Kohl quotes Ilakluyt as saying
Rut returned to England "by the coasts"
of Norumbega, that he proves nothing, for
we do not hnow viliat part of Nornmbcf/a he
landed upon. Taking the term applied to
New England in general, as Dr. Kohl admits
it was used, there is still no certainty what-
ever that Rut landed in Maine. His own
admission, therefore, in regard to the extent
of Norumbega alone crushes his argument.
But the case becomes still more clear when
we remember what was before stated, that
in Ilakluyt's day the coast north as well as
south of New England was still called Nor-
THE VOVAGE OF JOHN RUT.
47
uinbega, which being the case, it is even still
less reasonable to say that Kut visited Maine,
because he touched at Norumbega. We
could as well argue that a tourist must have
"certainly" visited Maine because he re-
turned to Europe "by the coasts" of the
United States.
We might reasonably rest the argument
here, but it is our duty to disabuse the
reader's mind in regard to the correctness of
Dr. Kohl's quotation, where he says that the
Mary of Guilford " returned by the coasts of
New Foundland, Cape Breton and Norum-
bega." This is not what Hakluyt says.
Indeed, one feels considerable surprise after
comparing the alleged language with that
actually employed. Hakluyt does not say
that they " returned by," but that they
shaped their course " towards " the places in
question. The writer has examined all the
editions of Hakluyt, and the language is
everywhere the same, with the exception that
48
THE VOYAGE OF JOHN RUT.
the first edition (1589), has "Arembec,"
which is the equivalent of Norumbega, Hak-
luyt simply says that after parting from the
Sampson, the Mary of Guilford " shaped her
course towards Cape Breton and the coasts
of Arembec."
The full account stands as follows : " Sail-
ing very far northwestward, one of the ships
was cast away as it entered into a dangerous
gulf, about the great opening between the
north parts of New Foundland, and the
country lately called by her majesty, Meta
Incognita. Whereupon the other ship [Rut's]
shaping her course towards Cape Breton and
the coast of Arembec, and often times put-
ting their men on land to search the state of
those unknown regions."
From this it is clear that Dr. Kohl's quota-
tion is incorrect, and also, that it is extremely
doubtful whether Rut, after all, did more
than to sail " towards " some part of the
country of Arembec, or Norumbega. We
ill 1
THE VOYAGE OF JOHN RUT.
49
might at first, indeed, take it for granted tliat
the phrase " unknown regions," referred to
the shores of Arembec ; yet when the whole
account is more carefully considered, espe-
ciall}' in the light of Purchas's relation, not
yet quoted, we incline to the belief that by
those unknown regions is meant the unfre-
quented parts of Newfoundland adjoining
Meta Incognita. Again, it must also be
remembered, that if it was Arembec that they
landed upon, we have no reason to infer that
they landed in that particular section of
Arembec now called Maine, since they would
strike Arembec when they left Cape Breton,
upon which they could coast for hundreds of
miles before reaching Maine.
But we must now turn to the testimony of
Purchiis, which is later and more full. Ilak-
luyt's account is meagre. He did not even
know the name of ooth the ships, saying
that one was the " Dominus Vobiscum."
Purchas corrects this error, and gives a letter
7
oO
THE VOYAGE 01' JOIIX RUT.
from Eut liimself, who, however, makes no
mention of Arembec or Norumbega. This
letter was addressed to King Henry YIII,
and was written at St. John's, Newfound-
land, August 3, 1527.
He writes, that they first touched at Cape
de Bas Harbor, where they staid ten days
" ordering " the ship and fisliing, after which
they sailed southward to St. John's. Here
they were on the third of August, and Rut
says that as soon as they " have fished " they
would be ready to depart northward toward
Cape de Bas, and so along the coast, still
northward, until they found their consort,
from whence they would go, with all dili-
gence, " to that island tliat we are com-
manded " [Ptm-has, vol in, p. 809).
What their commands were we have no
dilHculty in determining. The expedition
was fitted out to seek a north-west passage.
Neither of the versions of this voyage, there-
fore, afford ground for the statement that
THE VOYAGE OF JOHN HUT.
51
Hut's expedition landed in Maine, which
must be dismissed as a very great mistake.
The coasting " towards " Cape Breton and
Areni])ec appears from Rut's letter to have
ended, before they reached that region, which
all authorities at the time made Arerabec
include, and which is now known as New
Brunswick and Nova Scotia. Rut says that
they first coasted southward to St. John,
Newfoundland, in search of the Sampson,
and announces his intention to sail north-
ward " along the coast till we may meet with
our fellow."
Nor does it appear that Rut afterwards
changed his mind, while we must also note
the fact, communicated in his letter to the
king, that before the separation from his
consort it appears to have been arranged
that, in case of such an event, they were to
rendezvous at " Cape de Sper," and wait six
weeks. The information of Purchas is later,
and makes ])lain what llakluyt left slightly
I ;
THE V^OYAGE OF JOHN RUT.
obscure ; while neither of these writers give
any ground whatsoever, for the hasty asser-
tion of Dr. Kohl, that Rut's company visited
Maine, and were the first Englishmen Avho
certainly set foot on the shores of Maine.
There is another point in this connection
that demands attention. Dr. Kohl not only
sends the Mary of Guilford to Maine, but he
prolongs the voj^age to the West Indies.
First, it must be stated, that Ilerrera (Dec,
11, lib. V, c. 3), tells us of an English vessel
that appeared oft' Porto Rico, in 1519, the
captain reporting, that, in company with
another ship, they had been sent northwar(j
to find a passage to China. In the course of
the voyage, this vessel, at a certain point,
had been separated from her consort by a
storm. They then sailed from this place,
which was full of ice, and reached a warm
sea, afterwards returning to the Bacalaos,
" where they found fifty sail of vessels,
Spanish, French and Portuguese, engaged in
THE VOYAGE OF JOHN KUT.
53
fishing, <and that going on shore to communi-
cate with the natives, the pilot, a native of
Piedmont, was killed ; that they proceed od
afterwards along the coast to Chicora (N
Carolina), and crossed over thence to tne
island of St. Juan (from Porto Rico). The
Spaniards asking them what voyy sought in
these islands, they so id that tl' ^ wished to
explore in order to report t the king of
England and to procure a load of Brazil
wood." And Dr. Kohl, having already con-
cluded that the Mary of Guilford ran down
the American coast, infers that this was the
ship described by Herrera, on account of a
fancied resemblence.^
In order to harmonize the dates, Dr. Kohl,
finding that Oviedo reports an English ship
at Porto Rico in 1527, concludes that Her-
rera was in error in placing his date at 1519,
' Dr. Kohl here does little more than to repeat some
speculations of Biddle (^Li/c of Cabot, p. 1^74), by which
the latter detracted from his valuable work.
■I
■I
54
TJIE VOVAdE OF JOHN UUT.
and infers that both Avrote about the same
ship. His reason for this is threefold. First,
the English autliorities are silent in regard
to an expedition. This is, however, no valid
reason. The English authorities came near
being silent in regard to Hut's ; while there
will never be an end of debate on the alleged
voyage of Cabot in 1517. Second, the im-
probability that "all the alleged circum-
stances" of the two vessels should agree.
To this it must be observed that " all " do
not agree, as any one will see by a compari-
son. Third, Oviedo lived in Porto Rico in
1527. This appears more to the point, yet
if such a story was told at that time, instead
of 1519, why did he not say something
about it ?
The writer is not arguing now to show
that Herrera was not in error, but simply to
prove that Rut did not sail down the coast.
If we were to accept Dr. Kohl's statement,
that the expedition of Rut returned " by the
THE VOYAGE OF JOHN RUT.
55
coasts " of Norumbega, there might be more
reason for the opinion, but as already shown,
Hakhiyt simply says that the Mary of Guil-
ford sailed " towards " Cape Breton and
Arembec, which is not the language that
would have been employed to describe a
voyage to the West Indies.
But something more must be said of the
remarkable " coincidences," which are, how-
ever, shown most forcibly by the lack of
coincidence. Among other things, we have
to note that Herrera says that the captain of
the vessel appearing in Porto Rico, reported
fiftij Spanish, French and Portuguese fishing
vessels, while Rut mentions "eleven saile
of Normans, and one Brittaine, and two
Portugall barkes," And another notable
" coincidence " is found in the fact that while
Rut says that after losing his consort, he
sailed into Cape de Bas, this Englishman
reported that lie sailed away from the region
of ice into a warm (''boiling hot") sea,
Ml
I
56
THE VOYAGE OF JOUN UUT.
i :i'
meaning the Gulf Stream, and afterwards
returned to the Baeallaos, from whence they
turned cuja'm to the south and reached the
West Indies. Of course it is impossible to
recognize in this account the action of Rut
immediately after parting company with the
Sampson. He went to no boiling hot sea,
and yet we read about the argreement of all
the alleged circumstances! From the ac-
count it even appears that Rut had been
separated about a month from the Sampson,
and yet had sailed no farther in the direction
of the Gulf Stream than St. John's, New-
foundland, from whence he tells the king-
he would return northward to Cape de Bas.
It certainly requires some power of imagina-
tion to find a parallel in the two cases.
Another difficulty stands in the way of
Dr. Kohl's theory, which is found in the fact
that there was not sufficient time for the
Mary of Guilford to accomplish what is im-
plied. We find from the date of De Prato's
THE VOYAGE OF JOHN RUT.
57
letter that on August 10, Rut was still at St.
John's when it was his intention to sail
north, find the Sampson, and prosecute the
voyage of north-western discovery. This
they were hound to do ; and Rut speaks of an
arrangement previously proposed to wait at
Cape de Bas six weeks. But supposing thfcy
eventually violated every obligation to their
companions and the king, how soon did they
turn southward? How long were they ex-
ploring on the Maine coast and sailing lei-
surely to the West Indies ? How long were
they naturally detained at Porto Rico?
'• Some time," Dr. Kohl says. How long did it
take them to reach St. Domingo? And
when they were driven back from that place
to Porto Rico again, how long did they stay
trading in the port of St. German ? Then,
finally, how long a time must it have taken
to sail back to England ?
All these points are to be considered ; and
therefore when we learn from Hakluyt that
^ ;:
58
TJIE VOYAGE OF JOHN HUT.
the Mary of G uilford reached England at the
begmninfj of the folloivlruj Octoher, the folly
of supposing this vessel mentioned by Ilcr-
rera was Rut's becomes quite apparent.
There is, however, one more point to be
noticed in this connection. In the quotation
from Herrera we read of a Piedmont pilot
who was in the English ship that appeared
in Porto Rico. And the question has been
asked, Who was this man ? Biddle and
Kohl tell us that this was probably Verra-
zano. The assumption is supported by the
following statements : First, that Verrazano
instead of Thorne as Hakluyt asserts,^ incited
King Henry to send out the expedition ;
second, that Verrazano expressed a desire to
perform another voyage.
It is also stated by Ramusio, though he
does not give any proof, that this navigator
' Dr. Kohl eifcctually disposes of this view in opposing
Hiddle in the matter of Cabot's voyage of 1517. See
Dr. K<M\ Work.
TIIK V()VA(;i': OF JOHN KIT.
59
I
,
(lid go on a voyage after that of 1524. There
was a dateless rumor abroad in Italy, coupled
with the report of the alleged voyage, to the
eft'eet that Verrazano was killed by the
savages and devoured in sight of his friends.
On this foundation, after assuming that the
English vessel described by Ilerrera was the
Mary of Guilford, it is argued that Verrazano
accompanied Rut, and met his fate as stated.
After this one might suppose that suffi-
cient interest had been excited in connection
with Maine. Yet Dr. Kohl, in speaking of
the result of Rut's voyage, says (p. 288),
among various other things : " The Mary of
Guilford not only came in sight of the coast
of Maine, but she also ' oftentimes put her
men on land to search the state of these un-
known regions,'" and that "it is not impro-
bable, that it was on the occasion of this
landing, that the celebrated French navigator,
Verrazano, was killed by the Indians." Else-
where (p. 284), we have Dr. Kohl's inference,
ft
■
0(1
TIIK V()VA(;K of JOHN KIT.
tliut, "if a monument to tlie memory <>r Miis
famous navigator should ever be contem-
plated, this would be the region in which it
should be erected."
But having already demonstrated that
there is not a line or word to show that John
Rut, either probably or " certainly," landed
on the coast of Maine, or even on any part
of Norumbe(/a, it is only necessary to say
again, that this Piedmont pilot met his alleged
death at " the Baccalaos," as Herrera states,
and not in Maine. By Baccalaos, Herrera
could not certainly have meant the coast of
Maine. This place was where the English
captain says he saw fifty sail of fishermen.
The rendezvous of fishermen is indicated by
Rut's letter which was at St. John's. It was
therefore upon the island of Newfoundland
that the pilot was killed, if killed at all ; so
that the suggestion of a monument to Verra-
zano for the Maine coast must be dismissed
to the winds.
THE VOYAGE OF JOHN RUT.
61
As regarrlM the real fate of Verra/aiio, we
have other rumors than tliose given by
liaimisio. According to Barcia, who wrote
the well known Annals of Florida, one Juan
the Florentin (see p. 8), was executed as a
pirate, in the very year when Dr. Kohl ima-
gines that he was devoured by the Indians
of Maine.^ This is the name by which Ver-
' Buckingham Smith, Esq., wlio has recently returned
froui Spaiu, informs me that during his investigations
abroad he found a number of original documents that
relate to the history of the Florentin, which confirm his
own previous convictions. This person, supposed to be
Verrazano, was captured at sea by Biscayans, taken to
Cadiz, tried and convicted, and finally executed (October,
1527), while on his way to intercede for his life with the
king. The place of his execution was at El Pico, the
highest point in New Castile. Mr. Smith also suggests
tliat much material will be found at Paris, whither it
was carried from Spain by Napoleon. Mr. Stevens in his
Xotrsi (p. 36), says of Verrazano: "The Spaniards knew
of his voyages [in 152-4]. They had been watching for
him and had caught him, and in 1527, hanged him."
These strong statements somewhat spoil the tradition of
J'anmsio. It may be said that this disposition of But's
voyage leaves the expedition mentioned by Herrera
,1^
62
THE VOYAGE OF JOHN RUT.
il'
razario was known in Spain, and it has long
been considered probable that he was exe-
cuted for plundering Cortez's ships.
unaccounted for. Yet that is not the fault of the writer.
Besides it is hardly necessary to make any mystery out
of the fact that an English ship appeared in the West
Indies in 1527. Whoever looks closely at the account
of Ilerrera, will see by the number of the crew, her
armament and stores, that it could not have been a
vessel, like the Mary of Guilford, fitted out for a quiet
exploration of the north-west, while both her appointments
and movements indicated a piratical character. Among
the rest is the statement that they had a great abundance
of wines and clothes.
The captain indeed professed to have a commission
from the king of England, and offered to show it to one
of the Spanish officers, who could not read English.
Yet a pirate would not be likely to cruise without some
kind of forged papers for an emergency.
THE VOYAGE OF ANDRE TIIEVET.
The only expedition mentioned in the
whole volume that could possibly be fastened
upon the territory of Maine is the alleged expe-
dition of the monk, Andre Thevet, who claims
to have visited this region in the year 155G.
In introducing this personage, Dr. Kohl
feels that he is favoring the claims of an
exceedingly poor authority, whose work he
rates lower than that of the chart of Ril)ero.
Most critics will place Thevet lower than
the position in which Dr. Kohl leaves him.
Thevet professes to have run the American
coast from Florida to the north of New-found-
land, and yet he does not find anything to
say concerning the country between Florida
and parallel 43° N. ; a fact that aAvakens
I
it
f
64
THE VOYAGE OF ANDRE THEVET.
the liveliest suspicion at the outset, leading
us to ask whether Thevet made the voyage
at all. If this, however, is conceded, then
comes the question in regard to the particu-
lar spot at which he touched. Dr. Kohl
affirms that he landed in Maine, and assigns
the mouth of the Penobscot as the place.
Let us therefore examine the question.
Thevet writes as follows : '' Having left
Florida on the left hand with all its gulfs
and capes, a river presents itself which is one
of the finest rivers in the whole world, which
we call Norumbega, and the aborigines
Agoncy, which is marked on some sea charts
as the Grand river " ( Cosmoyrapliie Uuiver-
selle, vol. II, 1008). He also says that some
pilots would make him believe that " this
country is the proper country of Canada.
But I. told them it was far from the truth, as
this country lies in 43° N."
First, Thevet's knowledge of the location
of Norumbega is defective. The principal
THE VOYAGE OF ANDRE THEVET.
65
facts in relation to this place are given in the
discussion of the voyage of Rut (p. 44, et seq.),
where it is shown that at the time of Thevet's
.alleged visit the term Norumbega was given
by some to the whole coast as far down as
Florida, though the name never had this
extensive use on the maps. It is significant
that the map of Gastaldi (1550), applies the
name to the coast only as far south as the
present border of New Brunswick. Thevet,
however, says that Norumbega lay in the
forty-third degree, which commences at Ply-
mouth, Massachusetts, and ends at Rye
Beach, New Hampshire. This shows that
his ideas were very crude. Besides it is
evident that the monk intends to represent
his visit as made to a river in that latitude,
so that the supposition that he went to Maine
'On folio 1024 of his Oosmot/rajthi/, Thevet gives the
exact location of the river, which he sets down in lon<^i-
tude 311° 50' and 42° 14' latitude, which varies only
three minutes from the position assigned to the Arnodie,
9
6G
THE VOYAGE OF ANDRE THEVET.
ill y'
on a line north of 44°, does violence to his
own representation.
That Tlievet may have supposed that he
had reached the river in question, is not very
unlikely, yet it has not been shown that
such was actually the case. The latitude
mentioned does not agree with the situation,
the name Agoiicy given as the Indian name
of the Penobscot, is incorrect, while the island,
supposed to be the Fox island, does not answer
to the Fox island. The large Fox is, first
of all, composed of two islands, with a deep
passage through them described by William-
son {Ilistonj of Maine, vol. i, p. 72), as ave-
raging a mile wide, and instead of eight,
it is encompassed by a great many islets,
Williamson, with truth, making the number
innumerable, or too numerous to mention.
while that phice, according to his own statement, must
have been full one huniJrcd and Jiftij inilcn south of Nor-
unibega, this bein<;' the distance the ship was blown, as
will be seen by reference to the following pages.
THE VOYAGE OF AXDRK TFIEVET.
07
The Long Island of Thevot's narrative seems
to agree with the present Tslesboro in its
shape, but instead of four it is ien leagues
in circumference. The " Green mountains,"
described as being near this place, Dr. Kohl
suggests were the Camden hills, yet Ribero,
1527, puts the Green mountains [Montana
Verde), close to the Hudson (San Antonio)
river, while Mercator, three years after the
date of Thevet's alleged voyage (1569), sets
them far south in the same locality. Tlievet
says that this place was also near the " cape
of the isles," which Dr. Kohl suggests may
mean "Cape de Muclia isles." But these
were generally put near the present Camden
hills, though occasionally as far south as
latitude 40°. Still it is very well known
that the " Cape of the Isles " were at that
day distinct from the Cape Muchas isles,
the former being placed a very long way
)iorth of the Long Island, and answering to
the Schoodic Point, which lies opposite the
I
I
68
THE VOYAGE OF ANDRE THEVET.
isle of Mount Desert. There is therefore
little or nothing in the description that can
be confidently applied ; while islands in the
shape of a man's arm, as Thevet puts it, are
everywhere to be found.
No one has before this thought it worth
while to introduce Thevet among the ancient
worthies who visited the coast. His works
have ahvays been well known, but not highly
esteemed. Dr. Kohl's remark (p. 419), that
various writers have copied his description of
Norumbega, must be taken cum (jrano sails.
He indead cites Wytfliet's Ptolemaicce Aug-
mentum (p. 97), yet that author simply
borrows a few lines of general description,
which he turns into Latin, and welds on to
his own remarks, without the slightest recog-
nition of Thevet or his work.
The facts as given by Dr. Kohl, even, do
not inspire confidence in the assertion that
Thevet visited Maine. The indications sug-
gest a more southern point.
THE VOYAGE OF ANDRK TIIEVET,
69
f
But Dr. Kohl does not exhaust the relation
of The vet in its bearings upon this subject,
which is dismissed too soon, after giving so
much as seemed to favor this theory. The
succeeding portions of the narrative are very
suggestive. These portions show that the
monk was in great darkness himself, and
poorly prepared to withstand the pilots, who
told him that tlie place in question was the
country of Canada, instead of Norumbega.
But let us proceed to his narrative.
After reaching the river of Norumbega,
and delaying five days, they set sail, and
went out into the open sea to avoid the shal-
lows and rips. He says, " We had not pro-
ceeded more than fifteen leagues before there
came a contrary east wind, and the sea was so
rough that we were near perishing ; and finally
the gale drove us some fifty leagues from that
place to the mouth of the river Arnodie,
situated between Judi ( JuvcU) and the cape
on the right, where we wen compelled to
I i
70
THE VOYAGE OF ANDRE THEVET.
enter half a league and drop anchor to escape
the storm and the fury of the sea." Here
they were hospitably received and obtained
an abundance of both fresh and salt water
fish, especially of salmon. Where " Arnodie "
lay does not exactly appear ; but suppos-
ing they were at the mouth of the Penobscot
when they set out (of which, be it remem-
bered, we have no proof), the fifteen leagues
first sailed out into the open sea would only
have carried them forty-five miles around to
the outside of Mount Desert. Then came
the eastern gale, which if it had driven them
straight leeward, as was usually the case with
the inferior vessels of those days, they would
inevitably have gone to pieces upon the iron
bound shores of Maine, before driving fifty
miles from the point where the gale struck
them. But, as appears to have been the
case from this narrative, the wind allowed
them to put the head of the ship off" shore,
and keep far enough out at sea to drift wibh-
I
THE VOYAGE OF ANDRE TIIEVET.
71
out touching the land for fifty leagues, or
one hundred and fifty miles. In that case
when they made a harbor, if the account
relates to this coast at all, they must have
come to land somewhere towards Boston bay.^
This, however, places them in an awkward
position to enter upon the course that follows.
We read : " Leaving this river [Arnodie]
and coasting straight along Baccalaos,' we
journeyed and ploughed the sea, as fiir as the
Isle Thevet and thence to the Isles of St.
Croix, of the Bretons and the savages, to the
head of Cape Breton."
And where, according to the monk, was
Baccalaos? This place he distinctly says
' In giving the position of Arnodie on folio 1024, of
his Cosmoi/ntjihi/, Thevet places it in 42° 11' N. If
this is a true account of a genuine voyage, the cape may
h:ive been Cape Cod. But by Cape Cod Dr. Kohl under-
stu.ds Cape Arenas, which Thevet puts in latitude 38° N.
His obscure language is as follows: Luissaitt cestc rioiere
((■ ViiMoliutt (Jr (1ru!t Jil (Ic III par I (h Jidccidoos, f. 1009.
- Thevet here represents himself as sailing on the coast
of Baccalaos.
72
THE VOYAGE OF ANDRE THE VET.
was in 48° 30' N. The name was not applied
to the New England coast, upon which he
must have been sailing, if sailing at all, and,
moreover, he elsewhere appropriates the
whole region under the divisions of Norum-
bega, Angouleme and Acadie. The whole
account shows too much unacquaintance with
the places in question to allow us to place
him definitely on any part of the coast of
Maine.
Thevet is a notoriously poor authority,
and adds a mendacious spirit to an incredu-
lous mind. His works will everywhere
justify the sharpest criticism, and when we
find him saying that his countrymen had
taken possession of this region, and built
a fort, \ong before his own arrival, we are
forced to put the assertion with that to the
effect that the neighboring region to the
north was discovered by the Bretons in 1504,
and that French pilots had a share in the
discovery of South America.
THE VOYAGE OF ANDRE TIIEVET.
i o
Thevet certainly could have had no real
knowledge of the place he endeavors to
doscrihe. Elsewhere we find him speaking
of the gulf full of islands that lies between
Angouleme and Acadie, whereas that gulf,
the present Bay of Fundy, is not so distin-
guished. Thevet had no acquaintance with
the localities, since he had in mind the
islands of the Maine coast, while Angouleme
and Acadie are represented by the modern
New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, Angou-
leme terminating at the mouth of the St.
Croix river. Nor can we fail to notice that
ho both ambitiously manages to have an
island called after his name, and pretends
to have named Angouleme himself in honor
of his birthplace ; but it is the simple truth,
that the name was applied by others long
before.
Thus far we have gone on showing that, in
case this voyage was really made along the
New Eugland coast, we have no authority
10
74
TiiK vdVAnr: or andkk thkvet.
for bolii'ving that he landed in Maine. But
it is now time to considei' whether he made
the vojage at all. His hunj^lin';' and contra-
dictor'- narrative would be suflicient to
banish him trom the coast, but the sketches
of his biographers seem to do more. Dr.
Kohl indeed writes (p. 410), that lie "ap-
pears to have sailed along the coast of North
and South America," and says, "see upon this,
Jticher, OelcJirfen Lexicon, vol. iv, p. 1130."
But nothing more is there conveyed than
that he returned from Brazil in the course of
a year. Dr. Kohl says that Thevet seems to
have sailed these coasts, from language used
in his SiiKjulartfies of Antarctic France, a work
that the monk had the assurance so to style
at a time when the total strength of France
in South America was eighty men confined
on a rock in the harbor of Rio Janeiro.^
Yet Dr. Kohl, or any one else, wouk^ not
l!
Sec Sonthci/'s Brazil, vol. i, p. 172.
THE YOVAriK OK AN'DKK TIIKVKT.
10
wish to ([iioto th« languago refonvd to as
proof. On this point liis hio;j;raphy is pretty
conclusive. Jiicher's work was published in
17')l. Yet in /ilot/ydiikic Ualrermlle,^ (182G—
27). we lind that Tlievet left Havre, France,
July 12, L-")j"). and reached liio Janeiro on
the lOth ov 14tli of the following November.
It is related that he '^ fell sick almost as
soon as he touched the land, and had only
recovered when he reembarkcd for France,
January ol, Io-jO, without having been able
to examine ]5razil, of which he nevertheless
gave a very circumstantial account." There-
fore it was with good reason that Lery began
his work, Navif/afloiils BrazlUam (1586), with
a refutation of the errors and frauds [errores
tie fi'dudefi) of The vet, who had still poorer
grounds for describing Mexico, Florida and
the country beyond latitude 42° N., where
' >See article on Thevet, Div. i, vol. 45, and Sketch of
Ville^agnon, vol. XLix.
76
THE VOYAGE OF ANDRK THEVET.
he did not ^o, as his own miserable account
and the silence ol" his biographers (La Ro-
quette and Weiss) clearly prove.
Dr. Kohl hirasell' confesses (p. 419), that,
" the other rivers, the capes, and islands of
Maine and Nova Scotia, which he incidently
mentions, are not easily identified, and his
observations on them are not of any value."
Indeed they cannot be identified at all, even
where they are not incidentally but speci-
fically mentioned, as they are inextricably
jumbled up with fabulous matters, such as
the Isle of Demons, and the Two Chat-
eaux (which appears to be the beginning of
the fabulous f'iYy of Norumbega?),^ the Exiled
Woman, and the Adveatures of the Nestorian
Bishop.
The most reasonable view, therefore, is that
The vet never made the voyage in question,
but constructed his story from maps and
' 8ce /icsrurliot, by KiToudello. p 4G.
THE VOYAGK OF xYNDKH TIIEVET.
/ /
the relations of others. Tf the ship in which
he took passage thus went out of her course,
Ave should expect to find some proof of it in
Thcvet's biography. Again we see that it
Is unreasonable. In order to roach Florida
(not to say Mexico) , it would be necessary to
sail westward across the South Atlantic about
fort!/-Jire degrees out of the direct course.
And after reaching Florida they are repre-
sented as penetrating towards the neighbor-
hood of Greenland, where for twenty days
(in nndsummer ?), they were tormented by
the frosts, after which they sailed, we know
not where. The object of this alleged voy-
age is not stated, nor have we any particu-
lars of its beginning or termination, though
if it had really been made there would have
becx. no end to the relation of Thevet's
adventures. Hut Thevet himself is almost
sile)it. On no page of his ponderous works
can the investigator show proof of his per-
sonal contact with the North American
7S
THE VOVAGE OF ANDHI'l TIIKVET.
coast; lie tells us llotllin,^• of" value which
others had not told before. The i'resh, glow-
ing recital, that Hows i'roui a niiiid kindling
with the recolle(;tionH of a new world, is
wanting. In a word, this relation of Thevet
appears to he a fraud .
Such is the result of some exiunination ol'
Dr. Kohl's work, so far as it bears directly
upon the history of Maine, to whose annals
it adds so little. During the long period
intervening between the voyages of the
Northmen and the charter of Gilbert, he fails
to show a single European actually stepping
upon the Maine shore. That such there
were we cannot doubt, yet they came and
went, leaving scarcely more than f'ujt-
prints, hastily pressed on the shining sand.
And thus to-day we enter the great libraries
of the old world, search the dusty alcoves of
feudal homes, and delve amid the mouldy
archives of ancient sea-port towns, vainly
endeavoring to illustrate with som'^ fragment
i
THE V()YA(iE OF AXDHE TUEVET.
79
ol' narrative, the rude, but still invaluable,
partisan map we bear. In connection with
the period referred to, Dr. Kohl has not yet
shown one authentic parwjraph to shed light
upon the history of that romantic coast,
which stretches in all its wild, unequaled
beauty, from the E^iscataqua to the St. Croix.
Patient industry may in the future meet with
its reward ; yet wli(jever looks for fresh light
on the history of early Maine, must not only
learn to labor but to loait.
THE
DISCOVERY Of MASSACHUSETTS BAY.
In the foregoing papers the effort has been
made to assign several of the alleged Maine
voyages of Dr. Kohl to their proper place,
and to exhibit something of the process by
which the narratives were drawn into a
wrong connection. It noAv remains, there-
fore, in closing, to give a single example
illustrating the faults of omission.
That there should be anything to say on
this point should not be considered very re-
markable. Yet much time, talent, and money,
has been expended to make the work as com-
plete as possible, and every class of allusion
that came in the way has been garnered up
DISCOYEllY OF MASSACHUSETTS BAY,
81
and brought to lend an interest to the coast
of Maine. The obscurest reference known
to the author has been utihzed and minutely
dwelt upon for the purpose of showing its
relation to a single spot on the New England
coast. The omission referred to is at least
noticeable, especially as the means of inform-
ation in this case were open to all.
It is but just, however, to add that in this
instance Dr. Kohl finds himself in the com-
pany of not only every New England, but
even every national writer, that has under-
taken to treat, either little or much, of the
early voyages to America. All of these
writers fail to notice the voyage which, per-
haps, carried the navigator along the coast
of Maine, while it certainly was extended to
Massachusetts Bay, and formed its first well
autlienticated rediscovery. Even Mr. Palirey
in his cautiously written narrative of early
voj^ages along the New England coast, does
not allude to this occurrence in the slightest
11
I
82
DISCOVERY OF MASSACHUSETTS BAY.
way, even though he enumerates every expe-
dition known to him that could possibly
enhance the interest of liis history of New
England.
But before speaking of the voyage in ques-
tion, let us first notice some things by which
it was preceded.
If the generally received interpretation of
the Icelandic Saiias is correct, the Northmen
of the eleventh centurj^ must be viewed as
the orir/i)t(d European discoverers of Massa-
chusetts bay. To this honor they, indeed,
make no claim, yet their simple narratives
describe such a place, and reveal the fact
that they were familiar with the entire
locality around Avhich Cape Cod throws its
sheltering arm. Thorvald Ericson, in the
spring of 1004, became acquainted with Cape
Cod, where he broke the keel of his vessel,
and afterwards crossed to Plymouth and
sailed along the coast towards Boston, where
he lost his life.
DISCOVEKY OF MASSACHUSETTS BAY.
83
In the year 1008, Thorhall the Hunter,
who was attached to the expedition of Thor-
finn Karlsefne, attempted to sail around Cape
Cod and enter Massachusetts bay, but failed,
and was driven out to sea by a storm.
In the year 1000, Karlsefne himself went
around Cape Cod and sailed along the coast
until, oft' Boston, he raised the Blue Hills,
when he returned to the settlement in Rhode
Island, appearing unwilling to venture up
the coast of New Hampshire and Maine, on
account of the Unipeds, or one-footed men,
fabled to live there ; in which we trace the
equivalent, if not the origin of the Isle of
Demons, in modern times a terror to the
French and Spanish sailors, who declared
that they often distinctly heard terrible cries
and yells of the fiends.
With Karlsefne's voyage, the connection
of the Northmen with the bay in question
comes to an end, so far as the record goes.
fl
» ii
V.
84
DISCOVERY OF MASSACHUSETTS J5AY,
That the Northmen were familiar witli
this bay, is also apparent from the map drawn
by Sigardus Stephtmius in 1570, and given
in Torfanis's fxronland'ia Antlqim. On this
map we have the Promontatiiim Vi/fhaidio',
answering to Cape Cod, and very distinctly
laid down with a bay within, answering well
enongji to Massachusetts bay. The latitude
is placed too far north, yet an error of this
sort might have been expected at a time
time when the draughtsman had no scientific
data for his guidance. Th(> northern end of
the cape he places in 50° North, yet this
part of the map is no more crude than the
Greenland section. On the whole, consider-
ing the means which Stephanius had at hand
for his work, he was quite successful.
Especially does this appear when we compare
this performance with later maps.
Dr. Kohl, while admitting the value of
the map, felt troubled because the cape is
represented on so large a scale, and apolo-
DISCOVERY OF MASSACHUSETTS BAY,
85
gizes for this, on the ground that the pL'ico
made a Large figure in the accounts of the
voyages, and therefore led the draughtsman
to give it this prominence in his sketch.
And this remark sliould doubtk^ss hav^ a
certain weight, though it is perhaps, on the
whok", not needed, as will appear from the
fact that the Cape Cod of to-day is not the
Cape Cod of the eleventh century. This
region has undergone very extensive changes,^
and does not present the area that it once
' The author in his work on Prr-Cnlvmhlan Dmovery
(p. 29), has called attention to this fact, showing from
the Sagas, and from recent investigations, that a large
ishiiid and a piece of land formerly lay off the eastern
shore of Cape Cod, where now is an open .^ea, this view
having the approval of Prof. Agassiz, who considers the
evidence as conclusive as any geological evidence could
well be. Mr. John Doane, born near what Gosnold named
Point Care, testified in 18()4, that '• his father and grand-
father, in fact all his ancestors from the first settlement,
owned the land and the meadows between Isle Nauset
and the main. He says that, within his recollection, Point
Care has worn away kIxhU luilf h mUc. When his grand-
father was a boy, Point Care extended much farther
w
86
DlSrOVEUY OF MASSACHUSETTS BAY.
filled. In GoHiKjld's titne the island and
part of the headland called Point Gilbert
remained ; though in IG80, the Labadist
iiitii the ocean than it did when lie was younj;-. These
arc nut vai;nc and uncertain recollections. Mr. Doane
points to monuments, and the e.xact distance that the
ocean has encroaL'hcd on the land within his recollection
can be ascertained. lie states that fifty years aj^o a
beach extended from the present entrance of \auset
harbor, half a mile north, where the entrance was.
Within this beach his father owned ten acres of salt
meadows, on which, he for several years assisted him in
cutting- and rakinj;' the hay. Now where that beach was
there are three or four fathoms of water, and where the
meadows were is a sand bar on which the waves continu-
ally break, and make Nauset harbor difficult of access.
Within his memory, the north beach connected with
Eastham shore, has extended south one mile, and the
whole beach has moved inward about its width, say one
fourth of a mile." Mr. Doane also testifies that in the
middle of Isle Nauset there was a rocky piece of land
known as Slut's liush, and that he had formerly picked
berries there. This spit now lies some distance from
shore in deep water, where the fisherman often tangles
his lines among the roots of old trees that still renniin,
multitudes of which have come ashore during heavy
gales. Furthermore, " Beyond Slut's Bush, about three
miles from the shore, there is a similar ledge called
DISrOVEUV OF MASSAnirSETTS BAY. S7
IJi'otlircn, according to the first volume of
the Long Ishind Historical Society (p. 377),
say : " Cape Cod is a clean cojist, where
Tk'riali's lodjio, probably formed in precisoly tho same
uianiicr as Slut's Bush is known to have been formed."
Mr. Otis also says : •' We have historical and circum-
stantial evidence, that Point (lilbert existed in 1G()2; it
united with the main land at Junies head near Chatham
lijihts. From James head, on its south shore, it extended
nine miles on an cast by south course to its eastern ter-
minus, afterwards known as Webb's island, situate where
('rabl)'s ledne now is. ('ape ("are was worn away by the
i:radual abrasion of the waves. Over Point Gilbert the
sea, during a violent gale, swept, carrying away long
sections in a single day." lie adds, Morse states lUuiver.
Gro;/., r, 317, ed., 1793], " that Webb's island at one
time contained fifteen acres of rocky land covered with
wood, from which the early inhabitants of Xantueket
procured fuel. The process which has been described as
having occurred at Slut's Bush ledge also occurred at
Crabb and island ledges; the stumps and roots of trees
were carried down by the superincumbent rocks. Mr.
floshua Y. Bearse, who resided many years at Manamoit
point, and has all his life been familiar with the shoals
and ledges near Chatham, informs me that it is very
difficult to obtain an anchor lost near either of these
ledges ; the sweeps used catch against the rocks and stumps
at the bottom ; that in repeated instances he has pulled up
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88 DISCOVERY OF MASSACHUSETTS BAY.
there are no islands, rocks or banks." They
also add what was not at all true half a
century before, not wholly true at the time
they wrote, namely : " therefore all such laid
stumps of trees from the bottom where the wiiter is four
fathoms deep. He also states that after the violent gale
in 1851, durin<i wliieh the sea broke over Nauset beach,
* * sweeping away banks of earth twenty feet
high, cutting channels therein five fathoms deep, moving
the sea to its very bottom, and tearing up old stumps
which had been there more than a century. Mr. Hearse
states that more than one hundred of these drifted during
that gale to the shore at Manamoit beach ; and that he
picked them up for I'ucl. A part of these stumps bore
the mark of the axe, but the greater part were broken or
rotted off." Mnr-ii. llixt. and Gen. Rr(/lster, 18G4, p. 43.
The foregoing shows what has been wn.i -'lit by the
ravages of the sea during the last two and a half centuries,
and gives some ground for inference in regard to what
must have been effected by the same agent between the
time of the Northmen and the voyage of Uosnold. The
whole region is composed of what the geologist calls
drift, or sand and gravel, easily carried away by the waves.
Everything goes to prove that the sea around (Jape Cod
was once nearly filled up by this formation Nantucket
and Martha's V^ineyard were once connected, and may
have been a part of the system which included the island.s
that rose above the sea where the shoals of Georges now
DISCOYERY OP M ASS Ariir SETTS BAY,
89
down on the cliarts of tho great reef of
Malobarro and otherwise is false." The old
maps/ though made on poor information, are
nevertheless right, so far as they go in indi-
iippear. Point (Jilbert and otlier outlyinj^ portions of the
land that have more recently disappeared had imr/ii
(•(iin])ip,sed of rock and elay which enabled thoin to resist
the force of the waves for a much lonjrer period than the
parts not thus protected. We see an illuf<tration of the
same thinu'. at IIij:;hlaMd Light to-day, where tlic well
known Clay I'ounds stand forth to buttress the sandy cliffs
rapidly washing away, and which will one day disippear,
and leave a point of land extending into the sea.
Tt may be mentioned in this connection, that the truth
of Verazzano's relation has been questioned, because he
passes Cape Cod without recognizing its remarkable
features, or noticing the shoals of Creorges. If the fore-
going facts had been borne in mind, the objection would
not probably have been urged, as we do not know that
any shoals were in existence at that place in 1524. This
is very likely the well known history of the famous Good-
win Sands repeated in America. On the whole, therefore,
the old map of ■'^"teplianius needs hardly to be apologized
for, on account of the large area which it gives to the
promontory of Vinland, or Cape Cod.
' At the present time the material being taken by the
sea from Cape Cod is said to be transported to the north-
ward, where a shoal is now ttu'ming.
12
■I
I
DO DISCOVERY OF MASSACHUSETTS BAY.
eating the islandH and the shoals east of
Cape Cod which have been scoured awjiy.
Visscher's map is of particidar interest in this
connection.
At what time Cape Cod appears in the
cartology of the seventeenth century, it
would perhaps be difficult to determine. So
remarkable a region should, on all just prin-
ciples, have made some figure in the French,
Spanish and Portuguese maps of the previous
century, yet we are left in doubt whether
Cape St. Mary, on Ruscelli's map of 1501, and
Cape de Arenas, found on earlier maps, really
refer to Cape Cod or not.
That this region was often coasted by
navigators of diflerent nations, there can of
course be no doubt, yet it is very plumply
declared in Folsom's History of Saco and
Biddeford (p. 9), that "that the discovery
of New England may justly be ascribed to
Bartholomew Gosnold, an enterprising and
intelligent navigator, who, in the year 1602,
DISCOVERY OF MASSACIIl'SETTS BAY.
91
performed a voyage to this part of North
Aniorica, before unknown to the civilized
world."
Coming down to a more recent date, we
find Barry, in his Huttory of Zfiissachusefts
(p. 9), declaring that " the first English
voyage resulted in the discovery of Massachu-
setts." This is supplemented by a note on
the same page, whf-e it is said, " The shores
of Massachusetts may have been, and doubt-
less were, seen before this time ; but the dis-
covery of Gosnold is the first we are able to
luithenticate by that species of evidence
which rises above mere conjecture or strong
probability." That this is an error will
shortly appear.
Mr. Palfrey is more cautious, and after
alluding to the Northmen, to Madoc, the
Zeni, Cortereal, Skolnus, the Cabots, Veraz-
zano, Gomez, and Gilbert, he properly men-
tions Gosnold, Brereton, and three others,
tis '' the first Englishmen known to have set
i
D2 DISCOVERY OF MASSACHUSETTS BAY.
foot upon the soil of Massachusetts." {H'uitoi'y
of New Eiujland, p. 71). Mr. Drake, how-
ever, in his painstaking History of Boston
(p. 12), says, with k'ss precision, that Gos-
nold was " the first of any nation who had
reached any part of the United States,
except Verrazani." Dr. Kohl and the Maine
writers are therefore no worse ofl* than the
historians of Massachusetts.
But it is now time to speak of the voyage
alluded to at the outset as overlooked by all
American writers. The person to whom we
are indebted for this voyage was Jean All-
fonsce of Saintonge, who in the year 1542,
went out to Canada as the pilot of Roberval's
expedition, and who mentions his voyage to
the southward in a work which he composed
with the aid of an assistant, and left substan-
tially finished at his death. The original
manuscript is now in the Imperial Library
at Paris. Several professed copies of this
work have appeared in print, yet they are
DISCOVEKY OF MASSACHUSETTS BAY.
93
represented as imperfect abstracts. One of
these, a quarto volume, appeared in 1550,
under the title of The Adventurous Yoymjea of
Captain Jan Al/once Saintomjeoia. A second
edition appeared in 1578, and a third is men-
tioned of 1598.
M. Davezac, in his brief article on All-
fonsce, which will be given before closing the
subject, says that Margry intended to include
it in his volume then (1857) under prepara-
tion. It does not, however, appear in his
Xai'lf/ations Francoises (18G7) except in ex-
tracts. And among these will be found the
following :
" Ces terres tiennent h, la Tarfarie, et pense
que ce se soit le haul de VAsie selon la rondeur
du monde. Et pour ce il seroit lx)n avoir uug
navire petit de soixante et dix tonneaux pour
descoucrir la coste de la Fleuride, car fay cste
a line haye jwKjues a 42 degres, entre Norem-
heijue et la Fleuride, mais nay pas veu du tout
94
DISCOVERY OF MASSACHUSETTS HAY.
le fond et ne 8gay pits all ^>a**e plus avant.'^
(Navigations Frangaises et La ESvolution Mari-
time Du XIV au XVP Sikh, p. 323, ed.
1867).^
This rendered into English stands as
follows : •
" These lands reach to Tartary, and, I
think that it is the end of Asia, according tc
the roundness of the world. And for this
purpose it w^ould be well to have a small
vessel of seventy tons in order to discover the
coast of Florida, for I have been at a bay as
far as forty-two degrees, between Norumbega
and Florida, but I have not seen the end, and
I do not know whether it extends any farther."
Margry quotes this passage, however, with
reference not to shedding light upon Massa-
chusetts history, but to illustrate Allfonsce's
' I have to acknowledge uiy obligations to J. Carson
Brevoort, Esq., president of tiie Long Island Historical
Society, for pointing out this extract in iMargry, referring
tothevoyageofAUfonsce, likewise for frequent suggestions,
r
DISCOVERY OF MASSACHUSETTS I$AY.
95
i
belief of a north-west passage to India, as the
French captain also thought that the Sague-
nay river might likewise lead to the Pacific or
to Cathay. Margry did not perceive the really
great point of interest in connection with the
extract, as his studies do not lead him to
investigate such points of local history.
Nevertheless we see very clearly that All-
Ibnsce, in the voyage alluded to, discovered
Massachusetts bay, which lies in the latitude
mentioned. This navigator followed a sea-
faring life for many years, and was a most
experienced and careful pilot, whose compu-
tations could be depended upon. Such was
the value of his services, that they were
coveted by the Portuguese, under whose flag
he sailed for a time, which has led historical
students of that nation to claim him as a
fellow countryman. Allfonsce sailed down
and the use of most valuable, and otherwise inaccessible,
works, which tl»e author has had occat^ion to consult from
time to time.
96 DISCOVERY OP MASSACHUSETTS BAY.
the coast past Nova Scotia, and then, per-
haps, shaped his course westward to the
shores of Maine. The latter is, at present,
conjecture, for he may have pursued a south-
ward course on leaving Nova Scotia, as the
Northmen and many others did, and next
sighted Cape Cod, or the coast of New Hamp-
shire. That he discovered Cape Cod, must
be regarded as certain, and likewise the oppo-
site cape, now called Cape Ann ; otherwise
he could not have known that the water in
question was a bay. Whether he landed or
not, he does not say, yet this is very probable.
Still he distinctly declares that he did not
sail to the end of it, and therefore was unable
to say whether it extended through the con-
tinent to India or not.
Until some earlier claimant is brought
forward, to Jean Allfonsce must be awarded
the modern discovery of Massachusetts bay,
hitherto unanimously assigned to Bartholo-
mew Gosnold in his voyage of 1602. The
DISCOVERY OP MASSACHUSETTS BAY.
97
proof is not founded upon anything shadowy
or doubtful, but is scientific and circum-
stantial.
That the students of Massachusetts history
should have overlooked the account of this
voyage, is noticeable from the fact that for
more than two centuries and a half they
could have read the account in English ;
obscurely packed away within the dusky
tomes of Hakluyt, but surely there, in the
end of the article headed :
" Here foUoweth the course from Belle Me,
Carpont, and the Grand Biiy in Newfoiuid-
huid vp the riuer of Canada for the space of
230 leagues, obserued by John Alphonse of
Xanctoir/ne, chiefe Pilote to Momieur Rober-
nal, 1542."
The language of Ilakluyt runs as follows :
%\)t\t (aiibei^ (i)C oiicr ai]aiiift Xiu-taiic, aiib 3
hnibt not but tljat tf;cij ftrctcfj toiuarb 5l[ia,
accorbiiuj to tfjc romibiicffe of t(jc lurrlb. 51iib
t()crefove it lucuc i^oob to Ijaiic a [mad I'ljippc of
!
98 DISCOVEUY OF MASSACUUSETTS UAV.
70 UuuKis to bifcouci: tl)c coiift of ^Jfeio Jsrniicc
oil tf)c biufc fibc of Aloribn: for 3 ()auc bene (\i a
33ni) (i^ fiU'iT lU^ 42 benrcci^ betiuccnc *!)lonnnbci]n
nub ?S'(oribn, nub C> Ijouc not fciu'd)cb tl)c cube,
iinb 5 fiioiu not loljctfjci' it paffc t()i'oiirt().
{Ihklunt, vol. Ill, p. 239, t'd. 1000).
This narrative of Jean AlUbiisce was, per-
haps, extracted by llakluyt from one of the
mutilated versions of his Avork already alluded
to, and was placed thus early within the
reach of English-reading students, by Avhom it
has uniformly been overlooked, which shows
how little Ilakluyt's work is really read.^
It will be perceived by a comparison of Hak-
luyt's version with the copy made from the
' The same remark also applies to Purchas. So long
ago as the date of the publication of Middle's Ctihot, that
author essayed, by a reference to Purchas, to stop the
complaints of such men as Dr. Jjardner and the Edin-
burgh encyclopaedists, who lamented that nothing was
known of the voyage of John Kut (1527). except what
was told in Hakluyt. Yet, so far as that point was con-
cerned, lUddle used his ink very much in vain, since a
'H
DISCOVERY OF MASSACHUSETTS HAT.
99
orifrinal manuscript, that the Englishman is
vi'vy faulty, as Allfonsce says nothing about
*' the coast of New France on the ])ack side
oi' Florida," a remark having no applicahility
to the case.'
si: irt time a<^o a well known, industrious, and l.ijjlily
ri'sppctaltlc New V i<rland writer, treated the suljact of
Itut's voya<j;e in the utter unconsciousness of the fact
tliat Purchas had jfivcu a hiter and more correct version.
See fintr, p. .50.
' If we had the whole work of Allfonsce at hand with
which to conipare the "extract j!;iven hy Haklu^t. we
should prohably find many errors of the same 1 ind.
MarL'ry, in his Ndvii/ntionit Franrahrit (p. 326), exhibits
one of a most ridiculous character. Ilakluyt write i on
till' sMUie piire already quotod from (239) as follows:
" 3^i> tbc nature of tl)c ch'mate tbc \a\m tomarc .^c^c*
hiivi arc ftill better ant better, ant more frui'tfull. ?Int
tblc* lant v^ fit for %ic\C[,t^ ant 'Pearei?. 9lnt .'^ tbinfc
tbat iioltf ant ftUter a^lll be fount here, aecorttng asS tl)e
)5coplc of the rountre» fai)/'
Here Ilakluyt mangles Allfonscc's words so as to m ike
him say that Ji<jk fjrew in Canada, and chanj^es Peru
( Prron) into pears ; whereas A.llfonsce, as JIargry testi-
fies, simply meant to say that the land of the " Fig Tree "
oxtended northward to this region. By the Fig Tree
was meaut a cape uf Yiicnfan. It will therefore be seen
100 DISCOVERY OF MASSACHUSETTS BAY.
Dr. Kohl refers to Jean Allfonsce in his
work (p. 344), in connection with the voy-
ages of Cartier, and says that Ilakhiyt gives
"excellent sailing directions for the gulf and
river of St. Lawrence made by this navigator,"
all the while unconscious of the fact that he
actually gave a notice of a voyage down the
New England coast to Massachusetts ba}'^,
worth infinitely more for his purpose than
any reference that he has given. Indeed,
this is the only positive account, in the
original statement, that we now know of a
! I
thcit Ilakluyt's version cannot be trusted at all, and that
it is very likely that with these " excellent sailing direc-
tions," as Dr. Kohl styles them, the sailor would be liable
to come to grief. The original work, in the Imperial
Library at Paris, no doubt deserves the commendation.
M. Davezac says that he has seen a perfect copy made
by Margry with his own hand, which at one time the
latter intended to publish in full. The original language
of Allfonsce stands thus : " Leu terrcs allant vera Iloche-
laga sont de beaucoup metlhnres et plus chauhlcs que
ccUes (la Canada et ticnt cefta terre de Ilochclaga an F!<juitr
et au PeroUy en laquelle abonde or et argent."
DISCOVERY OF MASSACHUSETTS BAT. 101
voyage to any particular spot on the New
England coast during that long period inter-
vening between the days of the Northmen
and the date of the charter of Gilbert, a
period that Dr. Kohl has vainly endeavored
to make interesting in connection with the
coast of Maine. After reciting unreal visits
to the coast of Maine by the Northmen, John
Rut, Verrazano,^ Tlievet and others, it is
surprising to find Jean Allfonsce left out of
the account.^ This we must conclude was
' The reference here is, of course, to the alleged visit
of Verrazano in 1527, in company with Rut, at a time
when the Florentin had probably been executed. Con-
ceding, as tlie author is free to, the voyage made by that
navigator on the American coast, in 1524, we still know
nothing of the particular regions seen after leaving the
harbor of New York, or, perhaps, I should add, the
hiir])or of Newport also. The mention of islands would
seem to indicate an acquaintance with the jNIaine coast
derived either from personal observation or the relations
of others.
2 The reference to the voyage of Maldonado is in
general torms, like the statement of the voyage of Cabot
and others along the American coast. Dr. Kohl remarks :
:
102 DISCOVERT OF MASSACHUSETTS BAY.
because he was unacquainted with his achiev-
raent.
It would be very gratifying if we were
able to fix the precise date of this voyage,
yet this is impossible. AUfonsce mentions
the subject in the most modest manner, little
dreaming that his excursion down the coast
was of any consequence at all, unless, indeed,
the bay mentioned should prove to be an
opening through the continent. His general
account of this region in which his voyage is
" The principal account of this voyage is given by
Garcilaso de '.i Vega, who says that Maldonado, in 1540,
having explored the coast of the Gulf of ^lexico for his
absent chief without success, extended his search in
154:1, with his companion, Gomez Arias, along the
eastern coast as far as the country of Bacallaos" (p.
410). He also says : " That this expedition in 1541, ' as
far as the IJacallaos,' must have involved a thorough search
of our coast, may also be inferred from the circumstance,
that Maldonado, in 1542-1543, returned directly to the
gulf, visiting again our east coast" (p. 410). lie would,
therefore, have us believe that Maldonado went to Maine,
yet of this wo have no account, nor do we know what
region is meant by the writer.
mm
DISCOVERY OF MASSACHUSETTS BAY. 103
mentioned, was written in 1542, though we
do not know in what month. And since we
do not hear anything of a voyage prior to
this, made as the pilot of Roberval, we natu-
rally ask if it was made in the summer of
this year.
We find that the expedition left Rochelle
April 16, 1042, and arrived at St. John's,
Newfoundland, June 8th, where they re-
mained until the close of the month before
proceeding to Quebec. Ten or twelve days
would have been ample for such an excursion
with one of the vessels, yet it is not men-
tioned, though the next year they made an
effort to explore the Saguenay. It is also
told, though not in the relation of Hakluyt,
which gives the account of Roberval's expe-
dition, that AUfonsce was sent to seek a
north-west passage. Charlevoix testifies on
this point, and Father Leclerc mentions it
wth equal explicitness. Says the latter, as
(juoted by Margry [Navigations Fran gaises, p.
104 DISCOVERY OF MASSACHUSETTS BAY.
321). "The Sire Roberval writes that he
undertook some considerable voyages to the
Saguenay, and severil other rivers. It was
he who sent Allfonsce, a very expert pilot
{pilote tres-expert) of Saintonge, to Labrador
in order to find a passage to the East Indies,
as was hoped. But not being able to carry
out his design, on account of the mountains
of ice that stopped his passage, he was obliged
to return to M. de Roberval wuth only this
advantage, of having discovered the passage
which is between the isle of the New-land
and the great Land of the North by the 52d
degree."
This northern voyage is not mentioned by
Ilakluyt, though he speaks of the Saguenay
expedition. When, therefore, did this expe-
dition to the north of Labrador take place ?
This question is asked, for the reasOn that it
has a bearing upon the main point being con-
sidered, namely, the voyage to Massachusetts
bay.
DISCOVERY OF MASSACHUSETTS BAT. 105
Now we may regard it as certain that Rober-
val did not send Allfonsce on this voyage at a
time when he had but one vessel left, for he
would need a ship for his own safety ; and
yet after the autumn of 1542 he was left
with a single ship, as at that time he dis-
patched two of his three ships to France.
Tlierelbre it follows, that the voyage in
search of a passage beyond Labrador was
made in the summer of 1542, when three
^•hips were ready for employment. This
being so, it is reasonable to infer that, failing
in his trip around Labrador, Jean Allfonsce
may then, if not while the expedition delayed
at St. John's, in June, have run down the
coast to latitude forty-two, where he found
himself at last locked within the outreaching
capes that stand on either side of the mouth
of Massachusetts bay.
Here then wf have two occasions during
the summer of 1542, when he might easily
have made the voyage ; and since we hear
14
lOG DISCOVERY OF MASSACHUSETTS BAY.
of no other voyage made by him to the
northern part of this continent, it is reason-
able to infer that the discovery was made in
the year alluded to.
Why he did not push on to the bottom of
the bay is not told. lie would probably
have done so, however, if some exigency had
not prevented, as was the case with Verra-
zano, when, in 1624, he was driven away by
the violence of the wind from the bay of
New York.
At all events it is certain that this voyage
was made during some visit to the region of
the St. Lawrence, and that up to the year
1542 he had never run the American coast
beyond latitude 42' N.
The supposition that he had sailed to the
north prior to his voyage with Roberval is
also, at the same time, perfectly reasonable,
and the fact no such voyage is mentioned
is nothing whatever against the perform-
ance. We learn from Melin Saint-Gelais
DISCOVERT OF MASSACHUSETTS BAI. 107
that Allfonsce followed the sea for forty-
one years ; ' an 1 since his death took
place in 1549, at the least we have a period
of thirty-four years devoted to maritime life
prior to 1542. Nevertheless, in the absence
of positive proof, Ave may be allowed to assign
the summer of 1542 as the date of the dis-
covery of Massachusetts bay.
Of the general actions of Allfonsce while
ill the expedition of Roberval, we have no
account, though Ilakluyt (vol. iii, p. 240, ed.
IGOO), says : " There is a pardon to be scene
for the pardoning of Monsieur de saine terre.
Lieutenant of the sayd Monsieur de Roherual
giuen in Canada in presence of the sayde
John Alphonse"
Of the events in the life of Jean Allfonsce
we know but little, nor is this so remarkable,
considering the fact that he lived in an age
when one of his patrons, the Prince Pen-
' Diivczac makes the time forty-eight yeara.
108 DISCOVERY OF MASSACHUSETTS BAT.
tagruel, was largely lost to sight, and is
now, even, scarcely remembered, except by
antiquarians. The date of his birth is not
given, though we learn the place of his na-
tivity from the wretched edition of his Hi/-
droijraphy, published in 1559. Indeed,
Margry remarks [NavUjatioiis Frangaises, p.
226), that this is the only thing of value in
the book, which, otherwise, might just as well
have never been printed. The village of
Saintonge, in the canton of Cognac, in France,
enjoys the honor, though Portuguese writers
have claimed him for their nation, in whose
ships he served for a time in voyages to Brazil.
In 1528, we find him in a prison of Poi-
tiers, where he was confined by royal orders,
because, as .dleged, he presumed to carry
himself with as much haughtiness as the
king. His death must have taken place
some time between 1547 and 1549.
The Hydrography of Allfonsce also shows
the most convincing proofs of his origin. In
DISCOVERY OF MASSACHUSETTS BAY. 109
the course of his work, he reveals the national
pride by extolling beautiful France above all
the countries of the earth, representing that
country as the home of all elegance and great-
ness, and as specially renowned for science,
literature, enterprise, commerce and art.
His eulogist, Melin Saint-Gelais,* was also
a Frenchman, and the friend of Marot and
Rabelais. His poem of fourteen lines, in
praise of the renowned pilot, stands in the
original, and very imperfect, abridgement of
his work.
' Melln (Je Snlnt-Gclais was the son of the bishop of
Aiigouleuie, a man of some distinction both as a poet
and an ecclesiastic. The date of his birth is not given,
tliDUgh it is stated that he was educated at Padua and
Poitiers, and became an ecclesiastic. He cultivated lite-
rature to a large extent, and joined Rabelais in his oppo-
sition to the poet llonsard at the court of King Henry
II of France. Eventually his feelings changed, and he
became a warmly attached friend to Kousard. Saint-
Gelais wrote both in Latin and French, and is known as
tlie author of elegies, satires, epigrams, sonnets and epistles.
lie died in 1559.
110 DISCOVERY OF MASSACHUSETTS BAY.
The high character of Jean Allfonsce as a
pilot and a hydrographer is conceded ; and,
while his works are not free from faults, it is
clear that he was conversant with the nau-
tical knowledge of his times, and that he was
fully abreast of the very best pilots as
respects all things connected with his pro-
fession.
As already intimated, he was a man of
lofty spirit, and, while ardently attached to
his native land, he did not fear to compare
the government of China with that to which
he was subject, and to declare that, in respect
to its power to confer happiness, it was not
behind the institutions of France ; an opinion
that leads his sincere admirer and apprecia-
tive critic, Pierre Margry, to suggest that he
had seen Utopia. But perhaps M. Margry is
a monarcJiist.
Had Allfonsce lived in our own day, he
would have been an ardent assertor of the
rights of the people against the claims of the
DISCOVERT OF MASSACHUSETTS BAY. Ill
crown ; and, for ought wo know, his visit to
the prison of Poitiers may have been occa-
sioned as much by the inilexibility of his
principles as by the haughtiness of his spirit.
At all events it appears that Jean Allfonsce
was in advance of the people of his nation,
and that he openly declared himself in favor
(if an aristocratic republic like that of Venice
in the grand old days when her free senators
sat in princely state, and sent forth stern
decrees from their lordly hall. Nor is it
altogether an unhappy circumstance that the
first recorded visit to the shores of liberty-
loving Massachusetts should have been made
by a mariner of this lofty stamp, and a pilot
of the Prince Pentagruel.
Whether the course of Jean Allfonsce
carried him to the coast of Maine we cannot
say, yet this is altogether very likely. But if
so, we at present have no knowledge of the
fact, and thus Maine is left again without the
coveted mention. Yet light may come.
; !
112 DISCOVERY OF MASSACHUSETTS BAY.
We have now, in closing, to give a notice
of Jean Allfbnsce in connection with the
unworthy abridgments of liis work, an ac-
count of which will nevertheless prove both
of interest and value to bibliographers. Pro-
bably not a single copy of either of the works
mentioned has found its way to America.
M. Margry, it appears, has not yet carried
into execution his plan by which, as M.
Davezac intimates in the following article,
the w^ork of Allfonsce was to appear entire.
What he has given is, nevertheless, lar more
valuable than anything produced before.
The article referred to by M. Davezac,
appears in Bulletin du GeotjrapJiie, 1857, tome
II, p. oU
We give it entire.
Jean Allfonsce de Saintonge.
" It has occurred more than once to the
Portuguese nation to claim historically as its
own those men whom the exclusive and
jealous policy of this people had formerly
DISCOVERY OF MASSACHUSETTS HAY. 113
tried to retain or call into its sorvico, on
account of tho exporionce they had aec^iiirof^
in voyages to foroij^n hinds. This, it seems
to us, has been the case witii the Spaniard,
.hull D'uiz de Sol'm, of Astnrian origin, and
declared a native of Lebrija, even by tbose
who had tJie means of becoming the best in-
formed.
■' Thus it has been with the Frenchman,
Jean Allefonsce (thus he wrote his name)
(le Saintoiige, the excellent pilot whom
Koberval had with him in his expedition to
Canada, which left Rochelle April 16, 1542.
and was brought back to France two years
afterwards by Jacques Cartier.^ llakluyt
' This hardly gives a right view of the case. Ro-
Ittirvai's expedition was brmight back by ('artier, and
by the knight bimsolf. Cartier's expedition was a
fxirl of Iloberval's whicli was dispatched tlie year before,
as Koberval was not then ready to sail himself. Cartier
was second in couunand, and in June, of 15 12, he was
returning with his ships to France from Canada, where
lit' hud passed a winter, and met Roberval in the harbor
15
Il4 DISCOVERY OF MASSACHUSETTS BAY.
has preserved ' An excellent Ruttier showing
the course from Bell-Isle, Carpont and the
Grand Bay up the river of Canada for the
space of 230 leagues, observed by John Al-
phonse, of Xanctoigne, chiefe pilote to Mon-
sieure iioberval, 1542.'
of St. John's, Newfoundland, and endeavored to persuade
him to return to France, on account of the dangers and
the hopelessness of the expedition. Failing in this, he
inglorioiisly s*^ole out of the harbor in the night, and
sailed for France. Roberval, on the contrary, pushed
forward about the close of the month up the St. Law-
rence and wintered at Quebec, returning to France with
his last r mainiug ship in the autumn of 1544. It is
told that, in 1547, he attempted another expedition,
and perished by shipwreck with all his company.
This is the way Hakluyt put > it, but other accounts
make it appear that Cartier came out in 1543, and in
1544 took back to France some remnant of his expedition.
Mr. Shea observes in ^ s Charlevoix (vol I, p. 129),
that his own author, like Champlain, Le Clerq and
others, seem to have been unacquainted with Hakluyt's
account. Most of the works on Canada are more or less
confused so far as regards the expedition of Roberval.
This shows again how important statements in writers of
his class may long lie unnoticed and, practically, unknown.
DISCOVERY OF MASSACHUSETTS BAY. 115
''Futher Charlevoix, whose veracity is
usually held in moderate esteem, in his Ilis-
tory of New France, says, in a passage, the
exactness of which in other respects may be
acknowledged, that Roberval 'sent one of
his pilots named Alphonse, born in Portugal,
according to sorue, and in Gallica according
to others, to seek above Newfoundland a way
to the East Indies.'
" This nationalit}'^, beyond the Pyrenees,
might have been based thoughtlessly on the
name Xanctoigne, printed in Hakluyt, and
which might have been taken for that of the
Spanish city of Santona, a little port on the
coast of Asturies, instead of recognizing in
the same, as is proper, not, indeed, the
French province of Saintonge as is commonly
supposed, but a village or district [payus) of
the same name near Cognac.
"A sure and precise indication of the
French origin of our pilot is afforded in a
little work presenting a general portulani of
I
IIG DISCOVERY OF MASSACIIi:SETTS BAY.
the then known world, published for the firs'
time by Jean de Marnef, to whom Mellin do
Saint-Gelais had remitted a copy thereof,
difficult to be had since the death of the
skillful mariner, as a preliminary advertise-
ment of the publisher makes it known printed
on the back of the frontispiece. The work
has for a title Les Yoycujes Avautureux ihi
Capltalne Jan AJfonce SainctoiKjeois. It is a
little volume in quarto numbering sixty-eight
leaves, without date, having appended thereto
several pages of ciphers of tables of the de-
clension of the sun, put in by order of Oliver
Bisselin, ' and the printing thereof finished
by the end of the month of April, in the
year 1550.' On the verso of the sixty-eighth
and last leaf, is to be read this epilogue :
' End of the present book, composed and
ordered by Jan Alphonce, an experienced
pilot in the things narrated in this book, a
native of the country of Xainctonge, near
the city of Cognac. Done at the request of
DISCOVERY OP MASSACHUSETTS BAY. 117
Vincent Ayniard, merchant of the country of
Piedmont, Maugis Vumenot, merchant of
lloiilleur, writing for him.'
" This hist mention reveals, to all appear-
ances, the real author of this abridged and
unfaithful edition, which through error, Bru-
net ascribes to Saint-Gelais himself. This is
not the only inadvertency of the learned
bibliographer. He seemed to find in the
preliminary .advertisement of Jan de Marnef
to the Reader, the certain indication that
Mellin de Saint-Gelais was still living at the
unexpressed date of the earliest edition, and
he concludes thereupon that this edition is
anterior to October, 1558, the time of the
death of the Saintongeois poet. It was
suificient, however, to read the following
page, which faces a sonnet signed Sc. de S. M.
(evidently Scevole de Salnt-Marthe) , addressed
particularly To the Shade of Saingelais, to
be assured, on the contrary, of the exactness
of the date of 1559, which is to be found at
118 DISCOVERY OF MASSACHUSETTS BAY.
the end of the annexed tables devoted to
Bisselin. It is true that certain copies showed
on the back of the frontispiece, instead of the
advertisement of Marnef, the royal privilege,
dated March 7, 1557, but it is immediately
followed by the mention, 'printing finished
May, 2, 1559.' There can remain no doubt
on this point.
"Besides the original edition in quarto,
which we have just pointed out, there exists
another of the same size, brought out at
Rouen in 1578, by Thomas Mallard, having
also the tables of Bisselin, but without the
pieces of verse in honor of AUefonsce, which
are to be seen at the head of the first edition.
Still another edition of Paris, 1598, octavo, is
mentioned.
" M. Leon Oenrln who in his Navigateurs
Frangais has given a notice of Allephonsce de
Saintongeois, has inserted in the same a gene-
ral analysis of the volume.
jW^JlLi^
jj
DISCOVERT OF MASSACHUSETTS BAY. 119
" Les Voyages Avantureux de Jan Alfonce,
written by Maugis Vumenot, no more
than the Excellent ruttier, translated by
Richard Hakluyt, can be considered as good
specimens of the original work of this pilot,
preserved in manuscript in the Imperial Li-
brary at Paris, and which has already been
pointed out by Antoine de Leon Plnello in his
Oriental and Occidental Library, a sort of
bibliographical work, to be used with caution,
but full of useful information. This manu-
script forms a volume in folio, entitled Cos-
mofjraphie, and is dedicated to King Francis
I. It presents a text quite extensive, in
which it intercalates the successive draughts
of the coasts that are described therein. M.
Pierre Margry, who intends to comprise it
in the collection of documents which he is
preparing, to be called Les Origines Histori-
ques de la France d'outre-mer, and who has
shown us a copy of the same entirely in his
own hand, has ground for declaring that
120 DISCOVERY OE MASSACHUSETTS BAY.
the edition of Mawjia Vumenot is only a
worthless abridgement; and the fragment
translated by Ilakluyt, is disfigured through-
out by the most singular mistakes.
" The original volume ends with the fol-
lowing epilogue : ' End of the Cosmography
made and composed by us, Jehan Allefonsce
and Paulin Secalart, captains and pilots of
vessels residing in the city of Rochelle, in
the Saint Jehan des Pretz street, opposite the
church of the said Saint Jehan, the 24th day
of the month of November, the year 1545,
finished by me, Paulin Secalart, cosmographer
of Ilonfleur, desiring to do service to your
Royal Majesty, which will be the end of the
present book 1545.'
" One may conjecture from these indica-
tions that Jehan Allefon.sce, who wrote his Cos-
mograpliy in 1544, after forty-eight years of
navigation, with the assistance of a secretary,
a pilot like himself, Paulin Secalart, poor and
loyal, was overtaken by death before having
DISCOVERY OF MASSACHUSETTS BAY. 121
put the last touch to his work, and that this
very PauUn Secalart of Hontieur, finished it
alone, the twenty-fourth of November in the
very house where they stayed together in
Rochelle.
" In his long maritime career, Captain
Jean Allefonsce sailed in Portuguese vessels,
having in particular commanded a vessel
belonging to Edoimrd de Paz. He had na-
turally received from the ship owners, as a
nickname, the national designation oi Francez^
which M. de Vaimhar/en has taken for his Por-
tuguese family name, in speaking of the royal
letters of safe-conduct in favor of the s-aid
' Joannis Affotisi Francez qui erat expertus in
viwjiisad Brasiliarias insulas,' whom they tried
to recall, and to whom was promised that he
should not be sought again or prosecuted by
virtue of the laws framed against those mar-
iners who abandoned Portugal to take service
in foreign countries, or who abandoned,
10
i
122 niSOOVERY OF MASSACHUSETTS BAY.
without leave, the Portuguese possessions in
America.
" When calling to mind with what savage
rigor the Portuguese government of that time
dealt with the foreigners who dared to violate
what it called its exclusive rights by con-
quest, one easily conceives that letters of
safe-conduct were indispensable for foreigners
as well as natives who consented to return to
Portugal. Offers of this nature do not by
any means imply a denial of the Spanish
nationality of Solis, nor the French nation-
ality of AUefonsce."
T.
sions in
; savage
lat time
) violate
by con-
tters of
reigners
eturn to
not by
Spanish
nation-
APPENDIX.
auti
ami
pres
AlK
hist
mat
has
Anh
II
His
to /
affe^
has
posi
tati(
A
vece.
and
autl
very
thoc
A P 1' E N D I X .
T.
l'ii<i;c 5. — III tlie chapter on the Northmen the
author has taken Dr. Kohl on his own ground,
and considered the force of each particular ex-
prei^sioii with referetice to the points at issue.
And in this use of the language of the Sagas their
historic character is conceded. Still, the right to
make such a use of the language of the narratives
has been questioned b}' a writer in the North
American Revkio for July, 1869.
It will be remembered that Mr. Bancroft, in his
History, took the position that the Sagas relating
to America were mythological in form, and thus
affected to dispose of them very cheaply. He
has probably regretted it many times since, as the
position in question is so unfavorable to a repu-
tation for candor.
And now the writer referred to comes in a
recent number of the Revieto above-mentioned,
and, in the course of a long article upon the
author's work entitled The. Pre-Columbian Disco-
very of America by tlhc No) hmen^ sets forward a new
theory which gives the Sagas a poetical origin.
iS
i-ji;
APPENDIX.
Wliilo scoiitiiii^ Mr. IJaiicrol't'rt inytlioloifii.'al
view, tlio critic u(loi)t.s one of iiis own which in
but little hotter, and which seeks to take away
the plain historical character of the writings in
question. His rather novel view is, that the
8aga8 originally existed in the form of popular
ballads, which were afterwards reduced to prose,
and consequently are not to be used as they have
been by Dr. Kohl and the author; and as in fact
the best authorities are accustomed to use thorn.
Ilia manner of proceeding is as follows: Turn-
ing to the Ilehnskringla, or 7%e Sca-Khujs of
Norway, by Snorre Sturleson, ho thinks that he
finds evidence there that that work was largely
composed from ballads and old songs. Having
settled this, he repairs to the Sagas relating to
America, and claims to find the same characteris-
tics in their construction.
He errs, however, at the outset ; for his declara-
tion that the Heimskringla was largely com-
posed of songs is flatly denied by the most
competent authority; while, if his assumption
\oere true, he would not be justified in applying
the same rule to the American Sagas, which,
internally, show no signs of a lyrical origin, any
more than the Landnama, which is the equivalent
of the Dooms-day Book, and yet contains poetical
fragments. A ballad incorporated in an Icelandic
Saga affords no more evidence of its poetic origin
APPENDIX.
127
tliaii rtoino scrap of song quoted in an American
liistory.
It is very gratifying to observe what general
accei»tance the Sagas have ah-eady gained, as well
us to notice the ease with which such objections
liiive always been i)rushe(l away, especially when
HUii[)ortod by the hand-book learning of the critic
ill the North American Ueclew.
II.
Page 06. — Having expressed the belief that
Tlievct gave the wrong Indian name of the river
Norumbega, I here state the authority. The ori-
ginal may be seen on page 403 of Lescarbot's
Nouvdle France, ed. 1()12. The following is from
EroiidGlle's translation (ed. 1609, page 46) :
"Therefore without alleaging that, wliich the
first writers (Spaniards and Portingals) hauesaid,
I will recite that which is in the last booke, in-
titled The Universal Historie of the West Indies,
Printed at Douay the lastyeere 1607, in the place
where he speaketh of Noromhega : For in report-
ing this, I shall haue also said that which the
tirst haue written, from whom they haue had it.
" Moreouer, towards the N'orth (saith the Au-
thor, after he had spoken of Virginia) " is Norom-
hega, which is known well enough by reason of
a faire towne, and a great riuer, though it is not
found from whence it hath his name : for the
;i
128
APPENDIX.
Barbarians doe call it Aggimcia: at the mouth of
this river is an Island very fit for fishing. The
region that goeth along the sea doth abound in
fish, and toward !N'evv France there ia a great
number of wilde beasts, and is verie commodious
for hunting; the inhabitance doe line in the same
maner as they of New France." If this beautifull
Towne hath ever beene ir' nature, I faine would
know who hath pulled it doune: For there is but
cabanes here and th'cre made with pearkes, and
couered with barkes of trees, or with skinnes,
and both the river and the place inhabited is
called Peniptegoet, and not Agguncia. The riuer
(sauing the tide) is scarce as the riuer of Oyse.
And there can be no great riuer on that coast,
because there are not lands sufficient to produce
them, by reason of the great riuer of Oinada
which runneth like this coast, and is not foure-
score leagues distant from that place in crossing
the lands, which from elsewhere received manie
riuers falling from those parts which are toward
Noromhega : At the entrie whereof, it is so far
from hauing but one Island, that rather the num-
ber thereof is almost infinite, for as much as this
riuer enlarging it selfe like the Greek Lambda
A, the mouth whereof is all full of isles, whereof
there is one of them lying very farre oft' (and the
foremost) in the sea [Mt. Desert ?] which is high
and remarkable aboue the others."
i
APPENDIX.
129
This name, Agguiicia, therefore came from the
Spaniards and Portuguese, from whom the author
([uoted by Lescarbot took it. This author was
Wytfliet, whose edition of Ptolemaicce Auc/mentum
of 1007, contains an account of the West Indies.
0!i page 68 I have allowed that Wytfliet copied
11 few lines from Thevet, but that concession was
based upon the edition of his work published in
1603. The edition of 1607, however, is more full,
and shows distinctly that Wytfliet, as Lescarbot
indicates, quoted from early Spanish and Portu-
guese writers. From this source Thevet was sup-
plied with his own false information. Than this
nothing need be more clear. Thevet was also
probably acquainted with the abstracts of Allfon-
sce's work at the time he published his Cosmo-
graphie. The monk was also the personal friend
of Cartier, Roberval, and Rabelais; the latter
being, in turn, the friend of the eulogist of Allfon-
sce, if not of Allfonsce himself. With such
friends at command, Thevet could easily have
written on the subject of Norumbega : yet he
had no excuse for writing so poorly.
m.
Page 78. — In the paper on Thevet I have dealt
with him only as he appears in his Cosmographie ;
yet it must be remembered that his Antarctic
17
4
180
APPENDIX.
France covers the same alleged voyage along the
-American coast to Labrador. This w^ork was
published in 1558, but it differs from the first
mentioned, inasmuch as it has nothing to say
about Norumbega, of which region Thevet at
that time knew nothing. And still, according to
his Cosmofjraphie, published in 1675, he made a
voyage to the coast of Norumbega in 1556. It is
therefore plain thai his account was derived from
the relations of others, to which he found access
at a later time. These accounts were by those
writers to whom Lescarbot alludes.
Whoever takes up his Antarctic France wi'
jierceive that Thevet appears to be describing an
imaginary tour to a great extent, and that he
employs his peculiar method in order to excite
interest.
After leaving Brazil, he takes the reader to the
coast of Mexico, and then in imagination, sends
him through the straits of Darien to Peru,
not knowing that a ship would there encounter
the firm land. After describing Peru, he returns
to Florida, and, in order to prolong his voyage
to Labrador, invents an "unfavorable wind."
This takes him to every part of the nortli, except
Norumbega, of which he then knew nothing.
In a word, it is as absurd to suppose from
Thevet's accounts that he visited Maine, as to
argue that he visited Africa, Quebec and Peru.
APPENDIX.
131
rv.
Page 81. — It is very curious that in Charle-
voix we find an account of Unipeds. After stat-
ing the story related by a St. Malo captain to the
effect that the well known Indian Donnacona told
him that he once went on a voyage to a country
where he saw men with but " one leg and thigh,"
ho says :
"It is, moreover, very strange that the story of
one-legged men should be renewed quite recently
by a young Esquimaux girl, captured in 1717,
and brought to Mr. De Courtemanche, on the
coast of Labrador, where she still was in 1720,
when I reached Quebec * * Also she
said that among her countrymen there was an-
other kind of men, who had only one leg, one
thigh, and a very large foot, two hands on the
same arm, a broad body, a flat head, small eyes,
scarcely any nose, and a small mouth ; and that
they were always in a bad humor." Shea's Charle-
voix, vol. I, p. 124-25.
V.
Page 99. — Misrepresentationsof AUfonsce have
already been pointed out, but it is proper here to
cite Lcscarbot, and explain the origin of his views,
which have done the French captain some harm,
in the estimation of those not couversaut with the
.32
APPENDIX.
facts of the case. In Evoiidelle (page 47) we
read as follows :
" True it is that a sea Captaine, named lohn
Affonse, o( A^aintoiu/c, in the relationof his adven-
turous voiages, hath written, that hauing passed
Saint lohn's Hand (which I take for the same
that I haue called heeretofore the Isle oi Bacaillos)
"the coast turneth to the West, and West South-
west, as far as the riuer of Norumbergu, newly
discovered (saith he) by the Portugais and Span-
iards, which is in 30 degrees : adding that this
riuer hath, at the entrie thereof many lies, bankes
and rockes, and that fifteen or twenty leagues
within it is built a great towne where the people
be small and blackish like them of the Indies,
and are clothed with skinnes whereof they haue
abundance of all sorts. Item that the bank of
NewFoundliuid endeth there : and that tlie riuer
being passed, the coast turneth to the West and
West Northwest, aboue 250 leagues towards a
countrie where there is both townes and castels."
But I see very little or no truth at all in all the
discourses of this man ; and well may he call his
voiges adventurous, not for him, who was never
in the hundreth part of the places he describeth
(at least it is easy so to thinke) but for those that
will follow the wais which he willeth mariners
to follow. For if the said riuer of Norombega be
in thirty degrees, it must needs be in Florida,
APPENDIX.
133
wliich is contrarie to all of them that have ever
written of it, and to the verie truth itselfe." {Les-
carboCs Nouvdle France, p. 495). Now this might
at first seem conclusive, yet we must remember
that it is not Allfonsce that he quotes from but
the travesty upon his Hydrography, worked up
with spicy additions, and alterations after his
death. The removal of Norumbega to the lati-
tude of 30° N., is only equaled by Ilakluyt's
blunder by which he makes the pilot speak of
the region of St. Lawrence as a country produc-
mgfigs.
But if Allfonsce had actually written in this way
in regard to Norumbega and the region in gene-
ral, he certainly would have been entitled to no
credit; yet it must be remembered that Lescar-
bot really knew nothing of this navigatoi', who is
not at all responsible for the " Adventurous
Voyages " passed off under his name. The ex-
tract given from his Hydrography, on page 93,
shows that he limits the southern border of N^or-
urabega to about latitude 42° N., and therefore
the statement of the Adventurous Voyages, which
puts the river in latitude 30° N., is not his.
This statement of the compiler is equaled only
by the blunder of Hakluyt (see ante, p. 99), who
transports the fig tree from Yucatan to the banks
of the St. Lawrence.
I
%' ;
134
APPENDIX.
And it is a very noticeable fact that the Que-
bec Literary and Historical Society has per-
petuated the blunders ofHakluyt, by turning his
translation back into French. Hence on page
86 of Voyages da Dhcoiwerter au Canada^ we find
that country spoken of as follows: et cetle terre
peut produire des Flgucs et des Poires.
While these things stand on record it will be
idle for any one to attempt to impeach Jean All-
fonsce, especially in his latitudes, as his perfect
knowledge of the astrolabe rendered his calcu-
lations every way worthy of trust.
VI.
Page 102. — The voyage of Maldonado is here
referred to in the note, and it is interesting to
observe in that connection that the ideas of the
Spaniards were often very confused on the sub-
ject of Baccalaos. In the French edition of Go-
mera (1569, page 49), we read :
" There is a large tract of land that projects
itself pointwise into the sea, which tract is called
Baccaleos. Its greatest altitude is forty-four and
a half degrees."
VII.
Page 111. — The author expected ere this, to
have received a copy of Allfonsce's work, made
from the original manuscript, which probably
APPENDIX.
135
shows the extent of his observations on the New
England coast. That he visited Maine appears
not unlikely, for the reason that some knowledge
of the physical characteristics of Penobscot bay
is attributed to him in the extract by Lescarbot.
We also find a good reason why he should
have visited the entire New England coast, in
the fact that Roberval was entitled to this whole
region by the terms of his patent. One of the
titles conferred upon him by the king of France
was "Lord of Norumbega." Mr. Parkman, in
his Pioneers of New France (p. 197), disputes this,
and cites a copy of Roberval's commission, made
from the original, which does not allude to it,
and suggests that the titles were invented by
Charlevoix " for the sake of their bearing on the
boundary disputes with England in his own day."
But he is very properly reminded by Mr. Shea,
in his Charlevoix (p. 129), that he has confounded
the commission, with patent. The latter is given in
full by Lescarbot (p. 397, ed. 1618).
Roberval was, according to the royal authoritj^
" Lord of Norurabega," and thus the priority of all
English patents of the New England coast is tech-
nically quashed. AUfonsce in visiting the coast
probably had reference to his employer's interests.
Yet, while we are certain that he visited Massa-
chusetts bay, we cannot just now positively affirm
anything more. '
136
APPENDIX.
VIII.
Page 113. — Tlie proof of Cartier's fourth voy-
age is not so clear as might be wished. Nor does
it show that Cartior performed any otlier office
than that of a messenger. So far as the account
goes, Roberval may have had a ship with him, in
which he returned without receiving any aid
from Cartier. We learn of this matter from the
accounts of the difficulties that occurred in the
way of settlement between the two leaders after
their return, when Francis the First appointed
Robert Legoupil arbiter of the case. Ferland
says in his Cours d'Hisloire (p. 45) that
" According to Lescarbot, Francis I, unable to
send the aid solicited, and desiring to employ
Roberval in the army, conveyed his will to him
through Jacques Cartier, who was ordered to
undertake a fourth voyage to Canada, to bring
back to France the wretched renniarits of the
colony. Official documents inform us that this
voyage lasted eight months."
The documents upon which he bases his opir
nion are those contained in the publication of the
Quebec Literary and Historical Society for 1862.
Alluding to Cartier, they speak of " Eight months
that he has been to return and bring the said
Roberval in the said Canada." And again, of
*' havina: set out in the fall of 1543 on his fourth
APPENDIX.
137
voyage Cartiev would have wintered in Canada,
and would have left it at the end of April or in
the heginning of May, 1544." Thevet reports
that lioberval was murdered in Paris.
IX.
Page 113. — According to the Quebec Literary
and Historical Society's publications, 18G2 (p.
113), M. Manet, author of Biographic des Malouins
CMbrcs, holds :
" That Koberval after restoring his fort sent
Jean Alphonse de Xaintonge north of New
Foundland to seek a passage to the Indies [see
ante p. 104.] The latter ran up as far as 52° N., and
went no farther. We are not told how long he
was engaged on this voyage, but we may conjec-
ture that he found de Roberval no longer in Ca-
nada, inasmuch as he makes a report to Jacques
Cartier."
On this the Quebec editor remarks :
"If the Pilot John Alphonse made a report of
his discoveries to Cartier, it must have been on a
fourth voyage made by the latter in the summer
of 1543, or after his return to Brittany."
But in regard to this report by Allfonsce to
Cartier we at present know nothing ; while on
page, 105 we have already shown that the voyage
to the north must, with good reason, have been
18
I
138
APPENDIX.
made in the summer of 1542, as after that time
Roberval could luive had no ship to spare. M.
Manet's remark, that, on his return, Allfonsee
found Roberval gone, therefore, has no foundation,
and indicates that M. Manet really knew nothing
about the matter. At least he gives no authority
for his opinion, which leaves us to infer that he
had none to give.
In connection with this subject, a point brought
forward in the volume devoted to the Popham
Celebration may be properly noticed. Mr. Se-
wall says:
"Monhegan, signifying an island of the main,
earliest appears in the panorama of the historic
scene of English life and enterprise on New Eng-
land shores. Pedro Menedez, Governor of Flo-
rida, in dispatches forwarded by him to the
Court of Spain, [1588] tells Philip U, ' that in
July of the year, the English were inhabiting an
island in latitude 43°, eight leagues from the
land, where the Indians were very numerous.'
It was the story of ' Carlos Morea, a Spaniard,
who had learned the facts in London and com-
municated them to Menedez.' There can hardly
be a doubt that Monhegan Island was the spot
occupied by these English dwellers in the New
^n
APPENDIX.
139
World. Indeed it was only in August, three
yc'jirrf before, tlmt near this spot, the largest ship
of Sir Humphrey Gilbert struck."
Tiie author of the above was led into error by
mistaking the language of Bancroft, who puts
the place of the shipwreck not south of "the lati-
tude of Wiscasset," without giving the longitude.
Gilbert's first ship was lost on the Isle of Sable,
east of Xova Scotia. (See Ilakluyt, vol. iii, p.
164, ed. 1600.)
As regards the other point, we see, by referring
to the full relation, that it was simply a sailor's
report, and undoubtedly grew out of the accounts
of Sir Humphrey Gilbert's voyage and the at-
tempts that preceded it. Besides, we have no
further report on the subject, though Menedez
says that he had already sent a ship to reconnoitre
the coast as far as San Juan, in latitude 39° N.,
and promises to write again should anything be-
come known. He speaks as follows :
" There is a sailor, Carlos Morea, who says it
ig certain that, in the island of San Juan, near the
Baenllaos, the English have a settlement; for two
years ago, being in London, a vessel arrived there,
on which came a friend of his, who told him
positively that they were inhabiting an island, in
forty-three degrees of latitude, eight leagues from
the main land ; that there were great numbers
of Indians there, of which he also feels certain.
I
1
i .1
140
APPENDIX.
I will inform your majesty how it. is in the man-
ner stated."
It ma}' also be added that the sailor himself
appears uncertain of his latitude, by seeming to
make the island in question that of San Jiian.
(See Sailing Directions of Henry Hudson, p. 47).
Note also that the Spanish used "Baccaleos"
loosely ; that Monhegan is ten miles, instead of
eight leagues from the land. The sailor probably
meant Nantucket. Mr. Buckingham Smith ori-
ginally translated the statement, but framed no
theory on the subject.
I N D E X
7;j.
Artiiiisi, JoiinniH, 12t, m-v
Alllonscc.
A^rjissiz, 80 //.
AfiKiinciii, m, 128.
A<j()iicy, CA, (')('».
Allctbnscc, Hue Allfonsco.
Allf'onsco, sonnet to, Frontis-
[liccc ; i)ilot of llobcrval, 93 ;
went to Canada, 03, 113 ; his
Hydrography, 93, 93, 108;
vi(nv8 of north-west jjassage,
94 ; sailed under tlie Portu-
{juese, 95 ; discovered Mas-
sachusetts bay, 90, 105 ;
voyayo to the nortli, 105 ;
time at sea, 107 ; jdace of
birth, 108 ; in prison, 108 ;
tin)(! of death, 108 ; his eu-
loffist, 109 ; hifyh character,
110; in advance of his
times. 111 ; biojjraphy of,
113 ; claimed by the Portu-
jjuese, 113 ; his Rnttier, 114,
119 ; French orijjin, 115 ;
Avantureux voyajjes, 116,
119 ; date of Hydrography,
118 ; Cosmofrraphy, 119,
120; place of death, 130;
sailed in Portuguese vessels,
131 ; left Portuguese ser-
vice, 121 ; 97, 98, 99, 100, 101,
103, 103, 139, 131, 133, 134,
137.
Alphonso, John, 97, 107, see
AlHouHce.
American Anticjuarian Society,
35 /(.
Angoulenie, 73, 73.
Angouleme, the bishoj) of,
109 n.
Annals of Florida, 01.
Antarctic France, Singulari-
ties of, 74, 130.
Antiijuitates American.T, (juot-
ed, 11, 15, 16,20,37.
A])pendix, 133.
Arembec, 49, 50, 51, see No-
rumbega.
Arias, Gomez, 103 n.
Arnoe-Maguean Collection, 18.
Arnodie, 69, 70, 71.
Asia, 41, 97.
Asturies, 115.
Atlantic, the south, 70.
Aymard, Vincent, 117.
Baccalaos, 53, 00, 71, 103 n,
134, 139, 140.
Bancroft, Mr., 135, 139.
Barcia, 01.
Bardsen, chronicle of, 32, 34,
37, 38.
Barry, his history, 91.
Bay of Fundy, 14, 73.
Bear Island, 15, 17, 19.
Bear killed, 1.5.
Bearse, Mr. J. Y., 87 n, 88 n.
142
INDEX.
Belle IhIc, 97.
Bcriiili's ledgo, 87 n.
BuUllo, 53 n, 58 n, 98 n.
Biographio Univorsello, 74.
Bishoj) Eric, 26, 27.
Bissclin, Oliver, 116, 118.
Blue Hills, 83.
Blunt's Coast Pilot, 24.
Boston, 9, 21, 24
Boston Harbor, 24, 25.
Brattahlid, 37 n.
Brazil, 108, 130.
Brereton, 91.
Bretons, 72.
Brovoort, J. Carson, 94 n.
Brunei, 117.
Buzzard's Bay, 20, 24.
Bvpfd, East, of Greenland, 33,
'35.
Cabot, 54, 58 n, 101.
Cabots, the, 91.
Camden Hills, 67.
Canada, 64, 69, 97, 128.
Cape Ann, 96.
Cape Arenas, 71 11, 90.
Cape Breton, 42, 45, 47, 49, 51,
55, 71.
Cape Cod, 6, 7, 9, 10, 13, 15,
17, 19, 20, 42, 71 rt, 82, 84,
85, 85 a, 87, 89 n, 90, 96.
Cape de Bas, 50, 50, 57.
Cape De Bas Harbor, 50.
Cape de Muclia isles, 67.
Cape de Sper, 51.
Cape Farewell, 38.
Cape of the Isles, 67.
Capci Sable, 14.
Cape St. Mary, 90.
Carpont, 97.
Cartier, Jacques, 100, 113, 129,
136.
Cathay, 95.
Charlevoix, Pere, 103, 115, 135.
Chatham, 87 n.
Chicora, 53.
China, 53.
Clav Pounds, 89 n.
Co{,rnac, 105, 115, 110.
Cosa, ma)) of, 41, 42.
Cosmograpl'ie Universelle, 45,
64.
Courtmanciie, 131.
Crabb's ledge, 87 n.
Crignon, Pierre, 44, 45.
Crosses, Thorvald's, 9, 10.
Crossness, 9.
Cortereal, 91.
Cortez, 62.
Danes, 35 n.
Danish government, expcdi
tion of, 33.
Darien, 130.
Davezac, M., 93, 100, 112.
De Prato, 56.
Di(!i)pe, 44.
Discovery, north-western, 57.
Doane, Mr. John, 85 ;i, 86.
Dominus Vobiscum, 49.
Donnacona, 131.
Drake, his history of Boston,
92.
Drogeo, 40, 41.
East Indies, 104, 115.
Eastham, 86 n.
Edouard du Paz, 121.
Eint;r8fiord, 36.
El Pico, 61 11.
Eleste, 38.
England, 57, 58.
England, King of, 62, 11.
English ship, 53, 62.
Englishmen, first in Maine,
52
Eric, Saga of, 18.
Ericsfiord, 37.
Ericson, Thorvald, 83.
Erondelle, 132.
Euro])eans, first on coast of
Maine, 25.
Explorations in Greenland, 33.
Explorers of America, 40.
INDEX.
143
Forlftiid, 130.
Fi>; TrtM', D!) n.
Fiiiiibocr(., 37, 28.
FiSll, 3;i
Fisliing vessels, 50, 55.
Fji'ld, 23.
Florida, 45, 49. 63, 64, 75, 77,
!I4. 08, !)i), 133.
Fluviiiin liiindo, 36.
Folsoiii, liis History, 90.
Fox Island, 66.
France, 105.
Francis I, 136.
French Pilots, 73.
Freydis, 20, 27, 28.
(inrda, 37 n.
(lastaldi, 45, 65.
(tcnrin, M. Leon, 118.
(ieoffraphie. Bulletin of, 112.
Georges, sliouls of, 42, 88 n,
Hi) n, 90.
Gilbert, Sir Humphrey, 45,
78,91,101,139.
Goodwin Sands, 89, 7i.
Gosnold, 85 n, 80, 88 n, 90,
91, 96.
Graah, Captain, Expedition of,
33.
Grand Bay, 97.
Grand River, 64.
Green Mountains, 67.
Greenland, 8 ; names of, 30,
31,33; settled, 33; lost, 32,
34, 35 n, 38, 39, 77, 84.
Groulandia Antiqua, 84.
Gudrida, 7.
GulfofMaine, 7, 21, 22.
Gulf Stream, 56.
Gurnet Point, 9, 10.
Hakluyt, 41,42, 46, 47, 48, 51,
57, 58, 97, 98, 99, 100, 103,
107. 113, 115, 119, 120, 133,
139.
Havre, 75.
Ileiniskringla, 120.
Ilelffe, 27, 28.
Helluland, 15, 18.
Henlestatt!, 38.
Henry VIII, 41.
Heriulfsness, 36, 37, n.
Ilerrera, 52, 54, 58, 59.
IIier,36.
Highland Light, 89, n.
Honfleur, 120.
Hop, 22, 23, 24.
Iluarfs, 38.
Hudson, Henry, 140 ; Sailing
Directions of, 38 n.
Hudson river, 67.
Iceland, 21.
Imperial Library of Paris, 92.
Indians, 61.
Island, 15, 17,19.
Isle Nauset, 85 n.
Isle of Demons, 76, 83.
Isle of St. Croix, 71.
Isle Thevet, 71.
Isl(!sboro, 67.
Italy, 59.
James Head, 87 n.
Jocher, his Lexicon, 74, 75.
Juan Florentin, 01.
Judi, 69.
Karlsefno, Thorfinn, 6, 7, 8, 9,
10, 15, 18. 20, 22, 26, 43, 83.
Kennebec, 14.
Kialarness, 6, 7, 10, 1 1 , 15. 20, 21 .
King Henry VIII, 50, 58.
Kohl, Dr. J. H., 5, 6, 7, 9, 10,
11,12,15,17,18,20,21, 22,
23, 25, 26, 28, 30, 31, 40, 42,
45, 48, 53, .53, 56, 63, 74, 78,
79, 81, 84, 92, 101, 125.
Labadists, 86, 130.
Labrador, 15, 104, 105.
Lancaster Sound, 39.
Landnama, 126.
Lardner, Dr., 98 n.
144
INDEX.
La Hoquette, 76.
Lcbrija, 113.
Le Olore, 103.
Legoupil, Robert, 136.
Leif, 8.
Lolcwoll, 31 ; his Moyn-ii Age,
36, 37, 38, 40.
Lery, his Brazil, 75.
Lescarbot, 127, 129, 135, 136.
Lodmundfiord, 37, n.
Long Island, 66, 67.
Long Island Historical Soci-
ety of, 87, 94, n.
liorcl of Norumbega, 135.
MacDonald, 134.
Madoc,91.
Maine, 10, 11, 13, 13, 14. 15,
17, 20, 102 11 ; expedition to,
21 ; country of, 22, 25, 40, 41,
83, 111.
Maine Historical Society, 5.
Maldonado, 101.
Malebarre. 89.
Mallard, Thomas, 118.
Manamoit point, 87 n, 88 n.
Manet, M., 137.
Mai)8, of Cape Cod, 89 ; Span-
ish and Portuguese, 90 ; Ice-
landic, 41 ; Cosa's, 41.
Margry, M. Pierre, 93, 94, 95,
99 «, 100, 103, 110, 112. 119.
Markland, 6, 7, 12, 15, 16, 17,
25 n.
Marnef, Jean de, 110, 118.
Marot, 109.
Martha's Vineyard, 88 h.
Martyr, Peter, 44.
Marv of (iuilford, 42, 47, 48,
52, 53, 55, 50, 58, 59, 62.
Massachusetts Bay, 100, 104 ;
discovery of, 80 ; by the
Northmen ; by Karlsefne,
83 ; shown by map of Steph-
aniiis, 84, 92 ; by Allfonsce,
92, 95 ; date of his disco-
very, 107.
Massacre by Froydis, 28.
Menedez, Pedro, 138.
Mercator, 34, 67.
Mela Incognita, 48.
Mexico, 72, 77, 130.
Milton Blue Hills, 23, 25.
Monhegan, Isle of, 138.
Montana Verde, 67.
Monument to Verrazano, 60.
Morea, Carlos, 138, 139.
Morse, his Gazetteer, 87 n.
Mount Desert, 08, 70, 128.
Mount Ho])e Bay, 23.
Munder, 37 n.
Nantucket, 42, 87, 88, 140.
Nauset Beach, 80 /*.
Nanset Harbor, 57 n.
Nestorian bishop, 76
New Brunswji'k, 51, 65, 73.
New Castile, 61 //,.
New England, 27, 40, 45, 46,
72, 81 : coast, 100.
New Foundland, 42, 40, 47,
48, 49, 50, 51, 00, 63, 103,
115, 132.
New France, 44, 98, 99.
New Hampshire, 17.
New Hami)8hire, 65.
New-land, 104.
Newport, 101 n.
Newport Mill, 27.
New York, 101 /;.
New York, bay of, 106.
North American Review, 125.
North Carolina, 53.
Normans, 55.
Northern Antitjuarians, 33.
Nortlmien, the, 22, 82, 84, 101,
126.
North-west passage, 50.
Norumbega, 42, 44, 45, 46, 47,
48, 49, 60, 65, 76, 98, 127,
130, 132, 135.
Nova Scotia, 0, 7, 13, 13, 14,
16, 17, 18, 19, 45, 46, 57,
96.
INDEX.
145
Ortclius, 34.
Ovii^lo, n'i], u4.
Ovsf, the river,
128.
Pftlf.'ey, his History, 81, 91.
Pnrliimin, IIJ.*).
PcinptcgoL't, 138.
Pfii()l)S(-()t riviT, 45, G4, 06, 70.
Pcutatfriiel, the Priuce, 107,
111.
Pcni, i;50.
Pie.lni()iit,i)ilotof,r);i,r)8.00,117.
I'iiu'lh), Aiitoine du Lijon, 119.
I'imtc, 02 II.
i'isciitaiiiia, 79.
Plymouth, 9, 20, 21, 82.
I'nliit Ciirc, 8i) //, 87 //.
Point ()ill)i'rt,8(!, 87 «, 89 7J.
Poiti.'rs, 108, 111.
Pirto Hico, 52, 54, 55, 57, 58.
I'ortujrnl, 122.
Provincctown, 21.
Piirclias, 49, 51.
Pyrcni'cs, the, 115.
Quobi'c, 103, 132 ; Literary So-
ciety oi; 134, 130.
KalKilais, 109, 129.
Hace Point, 21.
Kain, 12, 24,27.
Haimisio, 44, 58, 01.
«ho(le Island, 7, 20, 21.
Rihero, 03.
Pio Janerio, 74.
PolxTval, 97, 103, 104, 105, 100,
113,114,115, 129, 135, 103.
Koclielh', 103, 113.
Honsard. tlie poet, 119 n.
Pom-n, 118.
Piiscelli, 90.
Hut, Jolin, 42, 47, 51,52,54,
50, 57, 59, 00, 05, 98 n, 101.
live Beach, G5.
Satfa, 21,25, 42, 82, 120.
Sajruenay, 95, 103.
19
Saine Terre, M., 107.
Sainjjelais, tlio Shade of, 117.
St. Croix, 73, 79.
St. Domingo, 57.
Saint-CJelais, Mollin de, 100,
109 ft, 117.
St. Gorman, 57.
Saint Johan dcs Pretz street,
120.
St. John's, 50. 55, 50, 57, 60,
103, 105.
St. Juan, 53.
St. Lawrence, 40, 100, 106.
St. Malo, 131.
Saint Marthe, Scovoh- de, 117.
St. Tliomas, 40 ii.
Saintonnfe, province of, 115.
Saintongeois, i)oet, 117.
Sampscm, tlie, 42, 48, 51, 50,
57.
San Antonio, 07.
San Juan, 139.
Santona, 115.
Schoodic Point, 07.
Sea-Kln}fs of Norway, 120.
Sccalart, Paulin, 120,121.
Sewall, Mr., 138.
Shua, 131, 135.
Situate Harbor, 24.
Sliolnus, 91.
Slut's Bush, 80, 87.
Smith, Buckinjxhnm, 01 ri, 140.
Soils, Jean Diaz de, 113, 122.
South America. 72, 74.
Southey, his Brazil, 74, w.
Spain, 02.
Si)aniards, 53
Stepl inius, Sigurdus, his
inais 84, 89 a.
Stevens, Mr., 41, 01.
Straumflord, 20, 24.
Sturleson, Snorre, 120.
Surveys, geolojrical, 42.
Tartary, 94, 97.
Thevet, .\ndre, 03, 04, 05. 00,
07, 08, 72, 78, 101. 127, 129.
i
I
\i
14G
INDEX.
Torfipus, work on Old Oreon-
lanrl, 32, 33, 34.
Tliorfinn, account of, 18 ; nar-
rative of, 18, 24.
Thorhall, 20. 21, 83.
Thorlacius, Theodore, 34, 39.
Thomo, 41,r)8.
Tliorvald, 8, i), 28.
Two Chateaux, 76.
Fnipeds, 83, 131.
United States, 47.
Utopia, 110.
Varnhajfen, M. do, 121.
Vcfra, Garcilaso do la, 102 n.
Venice, 111.
Verra, 11, 100.
Verrazano, 58, 59, 61, 89 n,
101.
Villejjapfnon, 75 n.
Vinland, 7, 8, 20, 25 n, 26, 27,
28, 89.
Visscher's map, 90.
Voyage of John Rut, 42.
Vumenot, Maugis, 117,
120.
119,
Wel)l)'B Island, 87 «.
Weirs, 76.
West Indies, 44, 55, 56. 62.
Williamson's History of Maine,
66.
Wonderstrand, 20.
Woomskiold, 33.
Wytfliet's Ptolemaicfc Aug-
mcntum, 68, 129.
Yucatan, 99 n, 132.
Zem,the,32; map of, 32,34«,,
35, 36, 37, 38, 42, 91.
Zeno, Antonio, 30, 39.
Zeno Brothers, 30.
Zeno, Nicolo, 30.
Zuria, 38.
ERRATA.
Pagfl 12. line seven, for imitlf. rend itidtil ; for iitf/ve, rend i
Vti'^e ;w. line ton. for to rif//itli/ fiiijily^ read, to apjily rightly.
I'u{j;e (W, note, (ar clothes, wad ciulhs.
I'age 80, line twelve, for has, read have.
I'uge 8S, note, for Mass., reud N. H!.
vtqiie.
i
«'
42.
117, 119,
)G. 62.
of Maine,
cm AufT-
32, 34 n,
1.
I
^le.