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ARCHAEOLOGY, ETC. 1 CABOT^S LANDFALL AND CHART SOME CRITICISMS ANSWERED By MOST REV. ARCHBISHOP O'BRIEN FOR SALE BY J. HOPE & SONS, OTTAWA; THE COPP-CLARK CO.. TORONTO BERNARD QUARITCH, LONDON, ENGLAND 1899 Section 1 1., 189'J. [427] Thans. R. S C V. — Cahof's Ldndfall and CJuirt : Some Criiiriswi:: Answered. Bv ^FosT Kev. ARCiiBTSTior OVnuiKN-. (Head 2(Uli May, ISli'.i.) In tho Presidential Afldrc?.- which I li.id the lionnur of rlclivcrinf^ at the session of the T?oyal Society on June ^ttlu 1R9T, nnd wliich is insortefl in tlie Transactions of that year, I advanced a new arfrnment for locatin.fr tlie hmdfall. and ])roaclied a new theory resrardinfr Caljot's Chart. In hotli cases I submitted proofs based on liistoric evidence as well as on reconfnized canons of interpretation. AVhilst some have found the proofs satisfactory, otliers have qncs- tioned their Ptreno-th. and liavo refused to accept tlieni as conclusive. This is not a cause for surprise or wonder. !Minds arc variously con- stituted : dearly hufrfi-ed theories die hard ; and certain, often uncon- scious, prejudices are difficult to .shake off. When tho calendar was reformed hy Gregory XTII. some nations conld see in it only a cruel device to cheat them out of {qw days of life. There were men, too, who saw its roasonahleness. hut preferred astronomic darkness to light from such a source. Small wonder that a georrrapliical conclusion of mine, at variance with received ideas, should he looked at askance. In tho end, however, it will prevail. The objections l)y Dr. S. E. Dawson in liis paper printed in the same volume of the Transactions as the' address, are the only ones I shall now consider. They are the strongest that have fallen under my notice ; to rebut them will therefore suifice. These objections, ehiclly found in Appendices E and F, may be reduced to three heads, viz : — 1. That the argument from a passage in Da Soncino's letter is valueless. 2. That the Gulf of St. Lawrence was unknown before Cartier's first voyage. 3. That Cavo de Inglaterra on La Cosa's map i& not Cape Chidley but Cape Eace. As briefly as possible eadi objection shall be answered, for not- withstanding Dr. Dawson's contention, I still maintain the question is to be decided by evidence, not by "conjectural lines" of variation of the compass, nor by loading the pages of the Transactions with maps and diagrams which have their use and value in many ways, but which, in deciding the site of the landfall, have only an "academic interest, and are not germane to the question." Evidence is to be sought in 428 KOYAL SOCIETY OF CANADA ^ary, thoyaro woarison,e 'l'-<'rtal,„„. aro not „„Ij. „„„„,,. Cabot ™vt^o'oTV(9~"'vi'z"'''Tr' '"" ""''""'*"1 '"cts rc,.ar,Iing the "'0 Inlands foun.I Wro i^hj '1™"T ™' '""'' ''■"'" England, and "■eso two facts tbe landi „ , '"'"''■•"' '^"S"^-^' Confined to or on the northeastern CW I ^ T, T' P"^' °^ *'"« I^^l^"-^^"^. Breton. Kacl, locanty nd t^?/°""^"™'^' "' °» ^°">» Part of Capa quantity u-as ronuired to 1 '^'"'"P"'™ ^ but as a tliird kno«-n theories' more k^^i^eZr" ^ "''"/' ^ '°='™' '"" "^ mind, able, were elabo^ted i uf e "'and ' T f "" '''^' ""^ °^ '-^ P^^- -to his own satived Soncino's letter tl™,;, "o, T"! ""/'"""" »'«™>''^ "-' I'" the tliird ]i^^''' "-" son for this assertion v t ne ' *^™ ^ reprimanded by Dr. Da,v- When i,„ • ' P'^''°rco we must repeat it. "Hen, however, wo reflect tint At,- rr., ■ ■ «'as a "well defint^ „v,^, i , "™'"' """'^'■'s that Tanais and Dr. Daw on lol it ' ° ^'""" *^"''°'"J »* ^^^i"'" we must eearto n at th,! 7" ".■"'"'" "" """^ ^"'"'^ '='^'''^' The Addre^ t d t tt';^"'":;'""''' "''' " ''^ »°"-^^''- of the landfall by Zt-'l" f 7"° '""" "' ' '=''"' *° "'« """""'« el passe del Tanks'' fLdV "f" '' '^^"'^ "'" P"^'"'" "-a, ably beyond tiie Count yof'TT:S ;"' Dr' D " "^' 1'^ r^" """'''''- translation of the vaj.. "1 ""^ '""^ '"^^ that the «-e have seen fr nslaZ fh.t '"'^ ™™=''-" ^^•' ^'^^S^ to say, Mr. Harrisse nh ltd f"dt'"T"'^""^ »'*-'-«• That o' bevond " i. ti ° ^ *^- ^nsiderably beyond," not '-far oeyond, is the correct rendering of " Passato ■,Li ' , °°' /" pro.:;:;; Tz^rjT^^^j^^^ r^^ - consider sout o it" 'ti:^ T ° "i""" "" '^"'"»" ^■->'" '» Coast would be exchded heTi . 1 " ™^ "'' Newfoundland 1 ^ [o'bi:ikx] CABOrs LANDFALL AND CHART 429 n Cabct must have considered Tanais north of Bristol, as it is so given on Ptolemy's map. Hence, he concludes, the argument would tell against myself. Dr. Dawson fears I underrate the general extent of knowledge of mediaeval cartography. Well, if the authorities he cites in Ai)pendix E, and which he more than endorses, are specimen witnesses, his fears are groundless. We had thought the day was passed, and with it the strange hallucination that warped men's vision, when a writer could suggest that the human mind had been stagnant for long centuries. A noted English writer lias tersely rehuked this mental attitude by saying: — '"Those v;ho speak of the ignorance of the Middle Ages only show their own ignorance of its achievements."' I shall only add to this that it is incomprehensibla how men can think that the Ages which studded Europe with the finest specimens of architecture, filled them with the ■ noblest works of sculpture and paintings, adorned them with exquisite taste and skill, both in mosaic and wood-carving, which pro- duced the greatest poets, witness Dante, Petrarch, Tasso — the most pro- found philosoi)hers and theologians, such as Albertus Magnus, Thomas Aquinas and a score of other schoolmen, learned writers and historians, navigators like Columbus, the Cabots, Amerigo Vespucci, — were char- acterized by mental stagnation. Dr. Dawson waxes mirthful over a certain Cosmas Indicopleustis. I fear he will be obliged to hold his sides (since he finds a case of not very inexcusable ignorance so amusing) when he reads that an enlightened Englishman wrote, and a first class English Quarterly published, a very few years before the introduction of railways, that the idea of travelling on -an iron road, by steam, at the rate of ten miles an hour, was as absurd as the proposition to go from the arsenal to Woolwich on a Congreve rocket. On account of the neglect of, or contempt for medineval literature, human progress has lost at least a century. The solid foundations, and many feet of shapely walls, of the temple of human knowledge had been built by the Ancients and their successors of the Middle Ages. Instead of continuing i\'v work, men of these latter centuries started to build anew. The many superficial, fanciful and shifting theories of our day prove that the foundations of the new temple have been laid on sand. That vague ideas of the whereabouts of Tanais existed, and still exist, may be granted. But I shall prove that before, during and after Cabot's time, the Venetians, Genoese, Milanese and Italians in general, knew Tanais as a definitely located State or Country in Europe. Cer- tainly as a distinct tribe the Tanaitae of Ptolemy did not exist, but the country remained and was known as Tana, though not always men- 430 KOYAL SOCIKTV OF C ANA DA tinned l)v tliaf mi>i,, \ . • -^-o.r,,,.::";;,,^::;,:;^::-'-:----™a „„ >ii"nih- in tho nrhv-nlh .■,.„iurv .,„ I ■-■If-pmornins com- ■•---PfotoJ n.r n Ion,- tina I si t '"''""'■' '^"''■"- '"" ""v Cnhof, dn- Tirr ^ "™''"""-" '^"'•""'*""- ^'"^ tins «s after Tannis : (Fi>. 1). -Lan.i.t.r nn ciiAirr ■|:\\>. I;. S. C. l.s'.tK 4.* i )M Ptolemy. [o'brien] CABOT'S LANDFALL AND CHART ri!A\s. l^ s. c, isi)!> (Op. p. 4!i0.1 Fici. 1. — FnoM I*roLEMV. »* [o'brien] CABOT'S LANDFALL AND CIIARr 431 f We see here again tliat it was not merelv to a city he was accred- itee! as Ambassador, but to a country or State, the various parts of winch he visited. Whilst it is quite true that the vast tract of fertile land between the Volga on the east and the Dnieper on the west, and running north lo Russia was practically in the hands of tlie Tartar^ who roamed over it at pleasure, yet .a portion of it was still known as Tanais. This is apparent from the words of our author, not only in tlie passage just quote"., lout in several others. Speaking of a horde of Tartars who passed )ear the city, he twice uses the expression, "fiunie dclla Tana," which cannot be translated "the river Tanais,'^ but '-the river of the Country of Tanais." He says also this horde came "before the plain, or country of Tanais," (avanii il Campo ddla Tana,") and "it went or passed before this plain in eight different groups." A^-ain when tlie chijf of tlie horde had encamped near the citv, our auUior was asked by the authorities to be the bearer of presents "to him. We are told it was customary to give a novena of presents, or nine different articles. These were duly taken forth and presented to the chief by our author who "recommended to liim the coimtry together with the people," (H raccomandai la terra insicme col popolo"). The land of Tanais was still, in the estimation of its people, a distinct portion of the plains of Tartary. The city was walled and had a beautiful tower over its gateway. Its civil head was styled, as in Rome of old, Consul. It was as it had long been, and as it continued to be for more than one hundred years, a busy mart, where buyers and sellers from Italy, the Grecian Islands,' Russia, Persia and even Egypt met and exchanged commodities. The search for buried treasure is not peculiar to moderns. Our author tried his hand at it. A summary of his narrative on this point will reveal to us how thoroughly well known Tanais was to the Venetians and many others. He tells us there wore many sepulchral mounds around Tan lis. In the time that Messer Tietro Lando (evidently an Italian) was Consul, a man named Gulbedin came from Cairo where he had heard from a Tartiir woman that a great treasure was buried in one of these mounds, the whereabouts of which she made known to him. For two years he dug, then died before he had reached the treasure. On the night of the feast of St. Catherine (35th Nov.) 1437, seven mer- chants, Francisco Corharo, CathariL Contarini, Giovan Barbarigo, Gio- van da Valle, Moise Bon, Bartolomeo Rosso and our author, (several of whom were Venetians and all Italians), were together in the house of Bartolemeo Rosso, "a citizen of Venice," and talking over this in- cident of Gulbedin, they made an agreement to hire a hundred and 432 ROYAL SOCIKTY OF CANADA twenty men and make an attempt to find the treasure. This little 7Z„\'T" T."r°' "' '■='" °" "^^ ^""^'^ "' "'^ ^'y- Thus, previ- ous to 1-137 an Italian, presumably a Venetian, for our author supposes us readers know all about the faet, had been its civic ruler : a man sh ri " r T ^^'™,"---S »»' 'here a woman from Tanais: thu" „ V "'^'"''""■'' '«'«'™" tl'ose two places. Then, in the house on l^^Z im" "' ^"""' """ "-''"" ""^'""'^ '^^"^"^ "^^ riverr'T 7'''^"^^™^ " Tanais at the mouth of the Don (or Tanais mer) and also "a plam of Tanais" (il Campo ddla Tcna), both well known to Hje Venetians and Genoese, and both in the Europe of that ml Jr If' ?"'™" ■''''*' ' "^ '^""P" g'"^ l'°«' ">e w-estern and eastern mouths of the Tanais as the eastern boundary of " Euro- "11,?""?';^ -^'"f '"^ ''""■''"" **"' "^ "'^' Tanais is between the mo hs of the r,ver ' et infer ostia est Tanais Civitas) it was clearly m Europe. The plam of Tanais" was on the west of the western There were many fishing establishments around Tanais; our author had two one forty miles up l,e river at Bosfagaz, which must have ompkyed many men for we incidentally learn it had "three machines for grmdmg salt." Another Venetian, Da Vallc, had an establishment auout, but we arc not told who owned them br,s,. tHKle was kept up between Tanais, Venice and Genoa. Wine frmts and 0,1 were brought from Italy, and fish, furs and other articles taken back. And the volume of commerce had been much greater provmu,sly Our author speaking of Git^eban (now Astrakan) on tl JreaT;nl ' " f 't'T '""' '"'""""" ''^ '^-""'^^ " '-^ »-" great and famoi,s, for all the spices and silks that now go to Soria came ,hce tl r "r "'"', '""' °'" "'' >""" "' Tumen to Tanais, to which ore- id ^^^"""1"'°™ T' ''' "■ ^^™° '^^s^ g«"«y^ "> -""y off the aforc,a,d spaces and sdks." He also adds that in those davs neither the Venetians nor any other cis-marino nation traded at Soria As a commercial centre, therefore, Tanais had been frequented by' Italian' ships and traders for centuries. A short description of the various places on each side of the sea of Azov out to the Black Sea, is given. Finally he went to Venice overland, crossing from Tanais to Gitrachan (Astrakan) up the VoLa hrough Russia to Moscow, on to Poland and Germany to Frankforl ibis woubl be about 14.53. He narrates that, being in a shop on the o'bbien] CABOT'S LANDFALL AND CHART 438 J?ialto in 1455, he saw two Tartars who were held as slaves by the owner of the shop. He complained to the authorities who, after investiga- tion, set the men free. Our author took them to his house and kept them until "the ships were leaving for Tanais," when he sent them home. These were really the Tanais line of ships for the words are. " Col partir delle navi della Tana io U maiidai a casa." Trade between Venice and Tanais was still brisk in 1455. At that time John Cabot was an able-bodied seaman, and it is more than probable he commanded 'a ship of the Tanaian line. Some of the leading merchants of Venice were interested in the traffic, as the names of the "seven merchants" who met at Tanais in 1437 disclose. The trip therefore to that place was both profitable and adventurous. Who can doubt that Cabot made it more than once. We may add that from the first ages of the Christian era Tanais Tvas an Episcopal See. Although for centuries no Bishop has resided m It, If is still " Titular one. In 182? Bishop Fraser was consecrated with the title of Bishop of Tanais, and appointed Vicar Apostolic of Nova Scotia. Incidentally our author refers to a Friar of the Order of St. Fran- cis, showing that a monastery of that Order existed at Tanais in 1438. I do not know when this interesting booklet first appeared. There IS positive internal evidence that it was not written until, at least, thirty-five years after an event which took place in 1438. As our author returned from a long sojourn in Persia, an account of which is also published, in the year 1473, and as he must then have been verging on 70, it is probable the story of his voyages appeared in 1474 or 1475*! Notwithstanding the blighting influence of Turkish rule which destroyed the trade of Capha and other ports, Tanais remained a great commercial centre for at least one hundred years after its capture. The Venetians and Turks frequently fought, but they exchanged commodi- ties more frequently. Gerardus Metcator in his description of "Taurica Chersonesus," written before 1569 for his great Atlas, speaking of Tanais, wliich the " Ruthenians call Azac," says :— « It is a noble°em- porium to which merchants from various parts" of the world sail, where there is free access for everyone, free permission to buy and sell." ''Estque nobile emporium, ad quod mercatores ex diversis Orhis partibus commeant, uU cinque liber patet accessus, libera emhndendi et vendendi facultas." Evidently it was the real "open door'^ of which we have lately heard so much. The Tartars and Turks, as Mercator insinuates, had a superabund- ance of fish of which they rarely partook, and were very well pleased 434 nOYAL SOCIETY OF CANADA to trado them off with the Latins. lie also tells us that the Pahis Maeotus of Ptolemy was called l)y various names by different nations ; by the Italians it was named '-'The Sea of Tanais/' (Italis, mar della Tana). In view of all those facts it is not rash to conclude that before, dur- ing and after Cabot's time, the city, river and country of Tanais were well known, to Italians at least, as definite localities in Europe, bor- dering on what was then called Asia. Also, that it was most natural a A^enetian captain, speaking to an Italian about his discovery, should take that great trading centre so well known to both, as a standard of latitude. Now, as to the latitude of Tanais, and the blunder into which Dr. Dawson thinks I fell, the blame for which he kindly throws upon the person who consulted Ptolemy for me, a few words must be said. I fell into no blunder, and I consulted Ptolemy myself, not in a hurry, net with noisy surroundings, but in the quiet of my study. Among "many treasures St. Mary's College Library, Halifax, has a Ptolemy, Mercators great 'atlas, Jodocus Ilondius' edition, and Bleau's very rare and beauti- ful works. In the Address, it was, I thonght, made clef r that I used Ptolemy only for the purpose of showing the location, oi the Tanaita}. After having done this the Address said :— " If now ive look on the map," viz :— the map anyone might have before him, not Ptolemy's, "we shall see that the Don begins its great bend at the fiftieth degree." The latitude of Bristol too is given as it appears on modern maps. I did this because I knew the human mind had not been inactive during the Middle Ages, and that Ptolemy's latitudes had been frequently cor- rected, and that places in America would be as much too high as were those in Europe in Cabot's time. Dr. Dawson assu. that Cabot could have consulted only two editions of Ptolemy, that of 1478 and another of 1490. Why might he not have had a copy of the Latin version by Boe-^hius, although several centuries old ? Or why might he not have had a copy of that of Nicholas Cardinal de Ciisa (Cusanus) of about 1464 ? Mercator had one, as he testifies in the preface to his corrections of Ptolemy. There wete other sources of information open to Cabot, but before considering them let us argue from Ptolemy. The latitude of the country of Tanais was, of course, for seamen and practically for all others, that of its port. In those days the city was everything, the country a mete ad- junct. The latitude of the "Country of Venice" would be that of the city. The latitude* of the mouth of its harbour is, for seamen, the ^ [o'brien] CABOT'S LANDFALL AND CHART 43S latitude of a city. Tlie course is steered to that point. Now Ptolemy gives the latitude of the western mouth of the Tanais, the one nearer Venice, as 54.10, and that of the mouth of the Bristol Channel as o4 30. Hence, Bristol was above Tanais, and part of the country of Tanais was still lower. But Cabot was not confined to Ptolemy for a knowledge of the latitude of Tanais. We must bear in mind the editions of Ptolemy sought to givd a faithful copy of the original, and carefully excluded corrections. They were not used as manuals of instruction, but only as now for reference in regard to early geography. Bertius' edition of 1618 is a proof of this. No one, I takrcvaik'd. In the same way a certain Vagueness of con- ception regarding the extent of Asia obtained in the Middle Ages, but this no more argues the ignorance of the people, or the lack of interest in geography in the one case than in the other. The study of geography was never neglected. It was prosecuted in the schools of lionie during tlie Empire, when maps were painted on the walls of school rooms and corridors, on which could be seen amongst other things "the rivers of I'ersia and the arid fields of Lybi'a, and tlie united horn-like branches of the llhine, and the many mouths of the Nile." So speaks Eumenius lihetor when addressing the Prefect of Guul. There were portable maps, also, and in the reign of Valen- tinian generals were to provide themselves with detailed maps of the region in which war was to be carried on. The Church succeeded as heir to the knowledge of the lioman schools, and we tind Jioetliius, a most learned mathematician and friend of St. Benedict, cidtivatino- the study of geography with assiduity. Cassiodorus, who founded a monastery in Calabria, urged the monks under him to study geography so that they might know where the places of which they read were situated. Ho recommends the writings of Julius Orator and ]\Lar- cellinus, and the table or ma]) of Dionysius, so that "the eyes might see what the ears had heard.'' Ptolemy is also recommended. We learn from Egiuhard's Life of Charlemagne that, amongst the "treasures of that Monarch were many books and four plates or maps, three of silver, and one of gold. The most costly one had three orbs (presumably the three Continents) joined together, on which was a fine and minute delineation of the whole world." In the annals of the Order of St. Dominic at Colmar, under the 3'ear 13G5, we read :— " I have depicted a map of the world {mappain mundi) on twelve sheets of parchment." There are many facts "in Ecclesiastical History which prove that the knowledge of geography was not so very vague. Not only through- out Europe, but also throughout Asia and Northern Africa, the gospel had been preached during the first few centuries of the Christian era. Bishops were everywhere, and missionaries were going to and fro. Pro- vincial, national and general councils were held. In these latter, 1 •V [rred hich ured d as )ased con- very [<> IIHIKX] CABOT'S LANDFALL AND C\ OT'S LANDFALL AND CflART Tkans. ]{. s. ('., 1 .s<»i» BOX'S LANDFALL AND CHART Thans. I{. y. ('., IK!)!) vl »!% 439 i'\' IK. [o'.BXENj CABOT'S LANDFALL AND CHART pero. 0, China, ,y whi:; th^If^e;'.: L: -^rT^ :',",?" '^°''' '="- of t he Ordpr nf S5f n^,,,- • en i^ttuea. in l^,j<, missionanos China or ttl 1 InT u CiT "fv° ''"''"' ™" °"'"^ *° "-'horn Archbishop 7peki„ L^ r "^^ .^^P"'"'"' •■> l-""»-™" I'^'t'-er, Tn I'iri r ■ n? Anothor Franciscan succewlod him in 1330 do Core, ArohbishTof l^J /f ™- '™' "'"' P»"'™ "> J°''" might be ment™ ned h ,f ff r't"P,"' *^"'"""'"- ^^^"-^ ^""""^ '"«*» «ithst,n!linTnr n ' , '"' '^ """''' '''" '"ffi™ t° ''""V that not- ti™ r^d ""is ;ot^::r: '"'■ """■?" °* '™ -""»""-' "♦>- ^ttcn. «f their reserrch I't^:::;;:; "';;■' '"77^^" ''^ ^"^ O^^-'^'-V tbencodofasnfer«„i,le rff !;■ "'totive reader" will realize doubtless c«,cl,, e th tL "'■'^'"V'.''" '""^^^' "' >">" '"^''"y- "^ »''l nations fa ^p , ,e ".M '""f,""'^'-™"-'' >"'■' kept up between been so ^.X^^HTim::"^''''' "' ^-'"^"""-^ -'"" ™' ''-o .■euoe't7x'pe;ti;:\::ii i;r"f /^ '"i "-^ ^-^ °^ «'■ ^- n.ap prior to th!t date oV^ e ^^^^ *"•-«''- " has sa>ed me the trouble ll ' , .7"°""- I ""S'li say Dr. Daws„n Maggiolo's. M to ky „ '."if,"" "?"""" '"■"' ^--^^""''•s and showed the Gulf ofS 'lu' ""^'"""' ''^ ""^ «"""' '^I"^«'™> ^vbich » photograph^ eopv of ;r""; '"," T" '"'*"" ^^''- ' '-™ »^'-<3 o.i !« s'een l"a gl «-",='-- the new world, nnd as thereon, «r« not Ire ^ti™UsT" H ""'" °"' ""'™"™' ""^'O futod. The map is repM ,ced Lrew Jh %"'\ ™7 ''''''""'' '=™- 1 -lucea n«e«ith. {lig.2.) The Gulf is verv 440 ROYAL SCCIETY OF CANADA make this evident. "' ''''■" "^ "'» Mediterranean will «.e ;e;::;;i:::tte:; z'z;';: x^^^^y r "■'>» ™'"--" came to Quebec in 1642 in .m , ■ , """" ^''-''ssani, S.J, « i,o in New France, s« -"t if/eSl'r""" °^ ^""^ J-"'' Million (New France) in 1304. Tl ey m' d ,e ^ '""'^ P"^=^^^^'™ °' '' If 4, 1534, etc." Fatl,er Irif s7"' TT' *° " '" ''"'' 1-^3, >nto French, in an appendi. siv /hfp' 7 '™''"'"'"' "^''^ ">=<'"""' Lawrence in 1.500, an th t in n06 T n""'° '""^'^ *" «''» S^- ™p of the Gnlf of St. ll'en e ^T^^'T' "' ^™«""-' ™<1'' » irmfleur, trace une Carte du GolU V, f """'' ''"''"'"" <'" I'^duce that map, but who 1^ { n /'"'^^'". >■ Tn,e, we cannot f >-^ani, in 1648, naturally had cce lo """ " "7 '^ ™™'">"' ' known to ns, and he could not have t, '°"°'' °* i"f»™ation nn- whose instance he wrote W,e„ f, , ""^ '"''' '" ""'"'"'-^ "'«^' »t French took posses.,ion Nn "-, " °''°,' '" ''^'^'' "" '^ ^"t^'" "'^ donbt his word. E,„J^^Z h 1 1'". ''" '" '"» »° --^' '» a certain year a cer ain indivi n. J e "'"''*' '" " "°'^ "'»' "> suppose he had good author ^fo tT^' ""P;' '^e Gulf, we must We are now certain the p if , , ^'atement. oi Belle Isle, which ro^^^j'^f^':" ^'^^^ "-ou,h the Straits tho,r ,no„th, at least thirty-five «';,?""' "" °"'^ "^'='™ ""'"^ «t easily believe that Jean Dent entetrd h t '""""'^ ''""^- "^-^ "'„ -Jes to take Dr. Dawson's itrtoedte'' '"''■"' '*™"^ ('°^'y-t"o , That Cabot entered the Gulf unwt,"'T™" ''"'^^^^'^ ^"'i"- P'aced beyond any reasonable d„bti"°i';7" ^'^"'^ '» l^^'' i^ refutation of the arguments tl.ern . ' '^''*''^'- " '^ ^<=areelv a n..aligo andDaSondn" l'<^r^'^P™^Tl/™™ "- i^«-s of Pas- Cartier-s time. The only pr„rf ' l^^f '™' »»' °P«"^<1 "P ""nl t.on utterly ineredible to one 2 k '1 "' '^'" '''">'""' "" ^-or- quonted by Breton and lZ„ ZZ^ '"" *'" '=™^'' "-' '^-» fre- ;"ff« of men conten.porary wi olt "f f"' ""' ^^'>» '^"^^ i" ™t- bay and river of the northern o.^fL^?"'"'^'' "'"^ '°'^t ""^ ™"not pr«,„ee a map which shows the Guff " "''''=' """'^ ''' y» '« "^e o:;ft:rarr:irs::;t,^^^^^^^^^^^^^ « ^^ - -- rcctly located, we n,ay admit H^^ " '' ' '''""'''' "™'-« ""«* viz:-Gasnar Vie^as a'lV ■ii .T ^ 7 '™ '" '"' P^er of 1891, »ro both f irly glli laps o the r°Tf *™'",J^'^*-"">" (^S- 6). They later ones. Dr bZZ " 1 1 ° « 7*f ""^ '"=™™'* ''>^° =-^™l only t«enty ™i,es 1»; ^ott e",": f l"^^"'," '^^«^»'-" <" - position, or howsoever orientuWwi 71 ,""'' '' ""' °' "^ P'°P" even when a m<»n does not show i, * ! ''^ '•™'^' "''='''"''' ="=""'"'y nro said to m.L Z ZfZo ITZ.! "'' 'f """• '^"^^^ »""' Keduce an ordinary chart of the Gnff to .1 ™'^ "Pparently trne. accuracy will be made manifet. '""" "'^ ^""^ "'^'^ ^oneral ^ow let us examine Yiccras' ar>^ i-h^ i- , ^ "the turning Cap' ' tKl""' ^"^^'^1^ --ed C. da Volta, Following the nork s^ore wf ser«l''*T ^""i"" -'» '"e Gulf.' then &y of Islands called RHemosthr °' '''■ ''^'"•""'^'^ 1*^^. Continuing north we fnd ,„ T ' "" °"'"'"=' °' B™°= Bay. Traveea. \his is as s.tcshe a'T'd "?u T ""* ■"^>" «' "^^ water or river leads acres rTaveeaw.thCs°„t' ' " *'"' *''^' ""^ - a cross path, a traject, a la^r He:" 'e ^ C ™"™ .''"™"^' Ti. meaWis ,1^^:^ trthronLtJii^ifrtf T '''■ U.t o„ ™,..,ap,..3 were cogni.nt of ti^^rn^e'ran^lf:: Coprido, that is Ung, or large river ThL ■ » \, " """■'^''^'' '^• A.gust,ne-s. .^e.t we read Tn both n^ C„:; .?; ''T''""-\r '' nver nor a ciiuc it inpnn« ^ in i '-ostaclm. It is neither a long stretch of\e; cTast J 'l!!' " r"'" "°"'' ^°^'' *-" - " rivers. Ileneo we ie !i „f "« JS«q"«maux and little Meoattina the country h^d W " ^ ,i r^Cr;:: o"' '" "^ """ ^'"■'"""^ or Small Buy, This is Wolf «■ ^ ";'"'"'-' <""■ oourse wo find Peg„a l-e a trading post" Th™ L^'^LIri^n ""'";' ""^ '^°™"""^ northern mouth I think of the S T ' °' ^"'^ ^'^'='-' "»^ , unnK, ot the St. Lawrence, as C. da Golfa, the [o'briknJ CABOT'S LANDB'ALL AND CHART 44a ckfu/Pfi}gi fvavrct f $■<*>. we Fig. 5.— Gaspar Viegas, AD. 1534. 4 •it (4 '"""^^ - ^ 01 ^^.^ l; D=^ £--"t some „n!\ , "" ''"""' "•"""•s l,„,I Poi.t , "p ;"" "" ^''o dos F.Kl„ c! """' "" '"■• -°"^^>' y nn(„es. At„„, „,^ m tiie People, m- wliore there ne Tins js a well knon-n fact JV "'"' '"'"""^^ Hic I!aio ,i„ rf, '"0 have E. S. Paulo 4 ?" ""'"''™ '« ^'"1 eerta ^ r ? "'■''■■ catiDff GeorM'. ^"-sinfr along wo find S Pe,Irn v, ''""'^' '^ «3 it often M> J'"""^ -e reaeh Bel"' """' "»'"" "'Ji- of this reading „;m *' s'Sniflcanee of the nn„, " following Gulf hirl Z^ [ '"' "PParent. One „-i]| „ ' , """' ""<> the truth ■It had be, „ oarefuily explored. ''° '"' ^""vineed that the -I iirniiio- riot,- i-n AT Terra de MuUa Gente "1"'"'" ' ""? ""» &"' ^« , ^abited country. 'tk„\rr:f'^°'»-^p-p'o'^ttf;::',,rn^ Kret.schniei-'s man tt\, ^ corresponds to tho P/. /J ^^«. .ap-::!;, bX.:r;r:v"'*'' th?°iS:,t^r-^ Beazj^ayrrdr ">" ''^'« "^^wf ;r- f<„„ . "'""' "f these bays ho ,! ^ t^arfogiapher does not Conception Bay " „t„ „ ,.^ ; "" 'ea^os open lines nml , ■» Point. On Eeh el'f ,: '^'""'"""'g north we reach P '""/"'•=«' '-'o others of th s oi ; T °' ^™" "^ » the so-ca e ^h f """"'' "^'«- the entranc „r ";^7' f^ <^- "« «««.« r P t V?'''' ™' "" Bauld n* ii "'t^ of Bcile Isle «„ J' """'' ™arks ^^-is and P. :i ' *«- out through them. As he made tL . ^ *""' ''" """st have gone he entered Cahot's Strait ant tt"2" 1"" ''"" "'^ """' -'PP- nd nam,ng rivers, he ev ntuallv 1 „ "1, *'': ""'"' «''ore examfninl ""ned ,t „-as the head of the !^eat ,T 1' ^' ^^"'°'^'= »i "scer! «-"es ns of this, as does a so th cT ,? T ^^ "• ^'^ "- /"-^^ Commg down southward he saw L^l t "nf I ""^ ''^'"5 »« ^he gulf " "f the People, and Miramichrwh,^ , ?"''"■• ""'' "™ed it ^iver -teac, of following the c of nIL" -' ""'"" """''■ ^"" for what he could not see viz w„„r, '"'"='' ''e should strike out '"East Point, and then Cte^d ^ t f ' ''^ ""■ '^'^"^' »"'' -""'ong ntmnce should dash do,™ south nTv t"'fi"T?""' '° '"^ ?'-<>"' H rajmchi and Baie de Chaleur L ' . '' '"'"^<'" hack between oallod Straits of Canso be. n) is I i" '"'" "'^' '^ "here the so" "onder when ho discovered that 1^^, "" " <^'''"^^« P"^^>=- Sm H away from a certain point htLtck"'? ""'' '"'" """"^^ »"- erawlmg out by the smallest hok „„ , , """"' he should feel like S ™„s Of Oanso. This is n ttyT.ch' 7' *"" """^ '""' hy th tl.e experience of that adventurouT n I ' "" '"'"" ™»^' have been Gu f, and out hy Canso, as map ^Zf'", "'"" "^ -"^^^ ™"»d t " San Joa is Cape Breton. On the oV r'',' "^ """''' ^"PPo-^g Island everything is plain ^nd hi r -n '"""^' '="'""8 " for P. E ^en of the coast from Ca, f G ^pl f s^' """.' *""' the southwafd North. In view of many s milar dTstlrt ?' " ''"'"^ "^ *» Cape "o«s early map, this nJed n t .^ „"": °V'" ^'"" ""^ » -- lunally, if we rend ti,„ " wonder. southeastern shore we fln tir""' "" ""^ ^retschmer map alo„. the l^erlocs, "Bay of the B 1^"' ZT "^r' """ ^ ™»'e * ^, [o'hrien] (Aliors L.WDFALr, AMM Jllarclepar^mafiu. 5«* 'omah Tl)t NoH(,eaU parts of Ao rt/; ^m lOp- p. 447.) Fi(.. T.-Map of Dik(;o Ho.mkx, AJ 15' >rs LWDFAIJ, AM» CIIAKT T[;a\s. K. s. ('. 1 H S',1',1 _ i7 do cruS JWar? oc ^^^anus occi i*. lernitiiia CCXbMMs. Map of Dik(;o IIomkx. A.D. 155H. ———————— fo'ltHlKv] •^■■^- I^ >=.('., I Sit (•>('• |.. 44r.j [o'bimkn] CAUOT'ri KANDIALL AND CIIAKT 447 liad noi sailed through the Straits, and most assuredly the name Cape Breton on the map does not mark any point in Nova Scotia, but is, where it always was, on the island of that n'amo. l']vidontly then San Joa is P. E. Island. We can well understand why Mr. Harrisse should fail to recognize in San Jofa, Cape Breton Island. To still further illustrate these maps, and to show P. E. Island on two others, also Portuguese, of a later date, we reproduce here the map of Diego liomem, loo.*, -.'Ad that of Laz-aro Luis, loG3. Although they both bear witness to a very considerable knowledge of the Gulf, neither shows the Straits of Canso, and both show P. E. Island; Ilomem places it almost in its true position, whilst Luis brings it too far north. But theru CAW be no mistaking it in either case. The shape of Kretschmcr's San Jo'a is retained by Luis thus showing the identity of tlie two. ITomem gives the true shape much more accurately and calls it ille de ISahJocs, a name which still lingers in the De Sable shore and river. The name, judging by any part of its shore, is most 'appropriate to P. E. Island. It is often spoken of as "a sand bank," by those who have seen only the beautiful sandy beaches which form an almost unbroken girdle for the rich loamy soil of the island. We do not thi ik any one will seriously attempt to dispute the clear reading of these maps ; not only does the location proclaim the truth of our contention, but in both cases the Magdalen group is given, as is also St. Paul Island. Luis does not name any of the islands, but he gives the larger Magdalen considerable prominence, and shows the smaller ones. Homem names the larger Magdalen Isia de fenefaus, and several small conventional ones Br ion. To these should be added the Ca])ot map, 1544, which shows "and names P. E. Island St. John. It would be the merest trifling to contend that it is the jNIagdalen group. We ask any one sincerely interested in this question to sit down ([uietly and examine and collate the various maps to vhieh we h'ave referred. We venture to request them to forget the opinions of men of .great name, and to read and judge for themselves how far the ex- jihinations here offered are founded on solid reasons. Could the ex- ]>lorers have mistaken some little creek or inlet on the shores of P. E. Island, or Southern New Brunswick for the head river of the great bay? What point on these shores did they dignify with the title of Big Cape, and Head of the Gulf ? Bear in mind that we know as 'a matter of fact that the "place, or land, and river of the people," was around the r>aie do Ch'aleur. Are we to suppose the map drawers glanced in at the Gulf and then drew a small circle to represent it, putting down r.ames at random ? Surely not. A close study reveals that they prob- 4A8 t 11 I'OYALSOCIEIY OF CANADA «Wy entered bv C-^nn Po « .«oIIo Isle and coasted aro°^ hoT'r "" """"' "''"^ ^t .' I'ined „-as (he l.cad of the bav 1 1 ^'^ ,^»«'-'^n», which they a.ce -y natives, and Min„„icl ' 1 ';,"'" "■= ^^'-'-^ -"-ro thoy saw ' " ''*"' J"^ of Kretschnicr- ..fa, "r '"'°^'='^ <=»ol"sively that ^™, the .avigator passed doj " j,,!": ,"^'7'^ '"' ^'^'>» ^'-'" ""' '"' < npe North. *''•"*" »f ^""rthurahnrland aud -^k^ 1*t-« ^ '"•'•^''""'^^^^'^^'^"oLms. A.D.1503. -f trust no one will tiiin]- u -m ">f""«to local knowledge, the c ' 1^ Tl = °* "'^^«^ "'"1»- A fai 1 ;■;;;;;- ™ ,he „.,, a,:,' „:::';: '':;;;!« "i' °f cows s„pp,ie ' "■llnt.nK should entitle one to s„e tV "'" ''"''■*' «--^a">i"ing ani "•■onnd the (J„lf n,„y ,,„,^ , J^ '^"'- It .s not i„,p,.o|,„,,„ j,,^ ° ^^ ^ ;-.ot a question of'„„,eh i: , "'"Tr"" °' f"'"' ^"■«"' '^>" " Cilice( SIX innn<5 +1,^ T "-""Lt. ijip j„rj J, f , . 'A iuaps, the ear lest nt In^.f , '^^ ^*'' ^^'e have nrn- ^'^i.y iiine 3 ears, i)r or in fu , . '"^"*" and three vear* f)i« ^■eariy show P. K ish.,ld, t,.:: t?:;!;;:;;": j^ -"•• -" ^ "«: 'Ud tJiej tlu t-^ariiost, call it [o'bries] CABOT'S LINDFALL AND CHART 449 St. John. If evidence can settle any question the existence of P. E. Island on early maps, has been put beyond controversy. We might add Mercator's and Hondius' maps to the foregoing. The arguments in the Address which went to show how every fact related by Pasqualigo and Da Soncino proclaimed a landfall within the Gulf, need not be repeated. The criticism of Dr. Dawson does not refute them. lie Iras produced, as he tells us, a "catena" of authorities regarding the climate and soil of Cape Breton. Yes, but no chain is stronger than its weakest link. In this chain the weak link is where the strong one should be, if it is to be of service to his cause. \\e know that John Cabot could not have examined the ground to any extent, he only remained on shore a short time, as we are expressly told. Hence the coast on which he landed must have beon good soil. This is not the case with the soil around about the headland Cape Breton, us Dr. Dawson admits. Hence it could not have been the landfall. It is somewhat surprising that so keen tin observer as Dr. Dawson should fall into the mistake of taking the words "upon the very Cape," in Ilakluyt's account of the voyage of the "Marigold," as meaning the headland Cape Breton. (Trans. 1897, p. 201). It is safe to say it would be almost a physical impossibility to land on that point. Cer- tainly no one except a drowning man would attempt it, and the crew of the "Marigold" were not in that extremity. The incident related is a strong confirmation of what was said in the Address about Cabot's experience. We must bear in mind that the restriction of the name Cape Breton to the headland so marked on modern maps, was not known in 151J3, in fact it is not generally known to-day. Seventy-live per cent of the inhabitants of Xova Scotia will tell you there is no such Cape. Several well educated gentlemen who live on Cape Breton Island when questioned by me replied there was no Oape Breton except the Island. On early maps, and in the minds of early navigators. Cape Breton stood for all the northern part of the Island, or for Cape Xorth, as s^oii on Vicgas' and Kretschmer's maps. Like Cabot's ship, the "Marigold" had "wandered mucli," and finally made Cape Breton Island, evidently within the Gulf. Of this the description alone leaves no doubt. Some of the crew landed "on the very Cape," then they sailed four leagues to the west, and went asliore for water. Precisely, they landed in St. Lawrence Bay, about four leagues west of Cape North on the Gulf shore, where they found abundance of good water, and where they met Indians. The descrii)tion, too, of the trees and berries is quite applic- able to the country around this bay, but not to the land around the lieadland Cape lireton. Oaks never grew there as can be easily asccr- 430 ROYAL SOCIETY OF CANADA 4 «H read the Addr^.s in eo^ 2! X" •- " '"= ''»"-' ^'-'^t follow the explanation of the mar.s tn J '"■*'■' "■^'^ '=»■■'='"% eome to the conclusion th,^ tTe f-^ ^ M' ''^''' '"' «"- I tl'ink; »^ that P. E. Island is h Wo is td ""■'" "■" '"">'" *'- G"" "nd named St. John ° '"'' "=™ "" '^e 3ith J„ne, Uor '« made, in Dr. Da.sons pa ,er th ' oc 1 "'''''''"" "' ■"■™ «■'-!> is not altogether n„ ti n;d T, oTn °' " P'"^'"« "'''"''- eoashne alone ,v-a,s Cabot's, "the man is tf ^ '•'' ""'' ""^ "°«1>«™ "»■ • Perhaps I should have safd th. °*''""S °^ ^'°=»'^ ™«S"'a- Poscdiy representing the sho o ithe no ?.""' " '°'""^'' Portion sup. Jt seemed, howeve,t that the r" or Tu"" '^"'' "^ ^"^"^ A™^™! »ot made to the map i„ .enen w T ""''"-''""'I ''oforence ,vas that enough. "''"" ""'^ -° th'>t particular part. Of The Address stated tint f'n„„ i j -d joined it to his 4 makt it r """r"' " ""''■ "' ^abofs chart, '"'I -uth. Proofs whiih : z iz:: "' ""*' '''^"'-' »' -■«■ to confute; based on reason and iJt, ," '"""' "" ""^ ''»* "tten.pted v->oed. If the theory «-as novel «,'""' "' *''° ^"^"^ "'^re ad- Dr. Dawson thinks no scale of t t clL7"T," ' ?™ ""' *'»-f^*'i-1- mamtains, no scale was e,„pIo™ To def , , •' '"""'' ''' ''» ^'o'^'r ■compelled to class the d aw'^'s of Jo, fr^ "! """ "' "^ '-P '- «d.ooI boy, but of a toddler in the nurt v t"', '""' ""^^' "»' °t » sense of proportion, else he nev Z , f " ''' '^"'°' '"'" ^"""« o'^jootcd, too. that the basis on wh cb ' '" ''™ » """S"'-"-- " is ;s arbitrary. Son.e might be en e 1 ?""',"" *" "'» ^"■^1" --ests Br. Dawson. I„ his pqx-r publis, ecf i , tf^ ^^ """ "'''"'''"''' ''»' "« locates the southernn.os Eng L ' lTn^""T''""' '°'- ^«"1. ''c cally the same latitude as I do b! tart °"™ ,f ^«™''ie'to in practi- tlus nature one is justilied in assmnl/! 7"" """' '" ^"'""ations of and which the conclusions aften a * "' " ™''^"« Jw^tLosis, Poihcsis, but a fact. Xow s . " "y .17^ " '? "" '""«" "" V- chart, as is n.inutely demonstr tS^ n hrt n""'' '" °™"""""'« *''" reading ,t disappear, the whole and L ''''' "" difficulties in >'«iWe, and islands are fouu „ aX„ ™"°"' ^"''^ '"''^ '"^J" i-'d- '" clainung that we have passed frl h T"" ''°""°"' '"^ "'■<' J^^'iflcd ' ''""' "'" *'taKC of hypothesis to th„i „t ain, it idians 3id. udent 3flllly liink, Gulf, L497, ', on nine cism lern ina- 3up- "ica. was Of irt, •th ed id- id. ly 10 a IG is [o'UHIE.v] CAHOT'.S LANDFALL AXJ) CIIAK'J Tkaxs. i>. s. C, 1899 <32\ J J.y" (f^p. i>. 4r)i.) Fig. 9.— FiioM p TOr-EAfY. T'tAxs. li. s. a, 1899 (Op. p. 451.) [o'llRIE.v] CABOT'S LANDFALL AND CFL^RT 451 actual proof. We ask tliose interested in the question to read carefully tlic arguments in the Address. It may appear at first sight arbitrary, to some, perhaps, reckless, to assert La Cosa tacked on Cabot's chart in a strtiight line, rather that at right angles to his own mn almost their true lat tud 17 ''' ' '' ™"°"^ ^'ands appear placed one. La Trenidat, t ernLC'; 7'^*"''«^ ""^ ''-""arly fo"- >n vain, falls ;„(„ th p !;,•"" •,°'^ "'""' ""^ ^™'>'d search '00, do those two snrall s rolcr rr T ""' ""' ^'"^^'^- «»' "■".anally distinctive, and n Cio^Z^ J''"'"™' '^^''* »- also Wow Cape Chidley. ""^ "°"''e« else except a little «me of which had not been, s fa iZ "'' """^^ "'^^-"' « my mterpretation of those name ,' ' ^'''""-"^y understood, -ill be increased, and impo ant d ue "„ .mT ' ""i ''"" °' ''''"-'edge map, or rather Cabot's p rt of t t„ i '""'"■■ '^" '"^'"" "'e thing which can throw' M. on it sh! °n f '" "' '^"'- ^''-'^ any- prove that some particular Lory wo.^l't'^ 'T'""'' ^^^ ''^ " truth will be worth more to us fn Z ' ,."" '"'^" '™'"''°- '"« - - «s expense, .he Wss'^-rf^ ^ oTlor^oTtolir [o'nniBN] CABOT'S LANDFALL AND CHART 483 as how It was customary to note any natural peculiarity of rock or head- land or hillock along the coast. The same custom prevails to-day as can be seen from reading the " Newfoundland and Labrador Pilot » If It can be shown that several of the words on Cabot's chart indicate sin Jang natural peculiarities similar to those quoted in the Address Irom ai^ old log book, or to those which can be cited from modem sail ag directions, no one will be disposed to make light of the value to be derived from their interpretation. The words are on the chart, placed there either by L. -osa or Cabot. They are more tangible than the variations of unknown -astrolabes, and their meaning of more service m tracing Cabot's course than surmises, based on conjectures, as to the probable effect of those variations. One short paragraph givin^r the tnio meaning of those words would be productive of more accurate mtormation, than pages innumerable of suppositions which never pass iroquently do not even reach the stage of hvpothesis. _ Owing to the similarity of early Spanish to the Latin langua-e. It was stated in Appendix C of the Address that La Cosa adopted Spanish or Latin terms. In fact, I believe now all the words were Spanish, but some of them could be called Latin also. Illustrations of their meaning were quoted in Appendix C from cognate languages, a very natural and justifiable course. Now if the meaning, given in tho Address, of Agron, Argair an.l other words on the chart, be correct, we have eight remarkable features of the coast described lor us. It was shown in the Address that by applyincr the scale which locates so well the islands, etc., these eight remarkable features would be approximately located in the vicinity of natural peculiarities described in the "Newfoundland and Labrador Pilot " in words which unmistakably correspond. The force of this argument can be broken only by proving incorrect the meanings given, or by finding a succession of corresponding features elsewhere. A scholar anxious to arrive at the truth should carefully investi- gate every source of information. I do not regret the hours spent in endeavouring to open up this one. Dr. Dawson, howe^'er, does not look upon it as worthy of consideration. The procedure is, he avers, based on tlie hypothesis that La Cosa was a classic scholar. Now, whether La Cosa was, or was not, a classic scholar is scarcely to the point The words are ^here on his map, they were meant to express somethincr. What was It? To what language do they belong ? Encrlish ?> Ger- man? Low Dutch? Spanish? Italian? Latin? Surely it is not on Idle task to attempt to decipher them. To shirk this labour does not appear quite in line with the remarkable industry displayed by Dr 434 ROYAL SOCIETY OF CANADA pawson m fields less profitable. I fear his excuse for inaction, viz., It ^^^ll be necessaiy to cite some authority for La Cosa's classical attainment.^ before discussing his etymologies," will be found disai)- pomting It might satisfy the galleries, but it will not convince the boxes If a man makes usa of compound words which express an in- telligible idea, we have proof, at first hand, that he has a fair knowled-e of their separate meanings, and a deftness in compounding thetn. In this way La Cosa has given testimony to his attainments. We know, moreover, that cartography did not come before "Humanities" in the schools frequented by La Cosa. It is scarcely necessary to add that the "Humanities" were thoroughly classical. The method which I endeavoured to follow in the Address, and which I have continued in this paper, is based on the accepted canons of interpretation. The authenticity and reliability of documents such as Pasqualigo's and Da Soncino's letters, as well as the various testi- monies regarding the highest degree of latitude attained by Cabot on Ills second voyage, were established. From the two first, the landfall was shown to be on the .gulf shore of Cape Breton, and P. E. Island the island seen on the same dciy, and named St. John. This was done by simply talking the words of the text in their plain meaning, down to the minutest detail. When Cabot says he sailed "three hundred leagues" along the coast newly discovered, we do not make it three hundred miles, nor do we accuse the writers of vagueness of meanincr regarding well known localities. W^e show how every detail of these letters is verified in our account of the landfall. So far as I have' seen, no one else has attempted to harmonize those unsuspected testimonies with their theory, no doubt for the very sufficient reason that it cannot be done. It can no longer be held that "the country of Tanais" was an indefinitely located district in Eastern Asia for such men as Cabot Da Soncmo and the Duke of Milan, or in fact for Italians in general m the fifteenth century, neither can it be held that the Gulf of St Dawrence was not opened up before Cartier's time. The proofs brouo-ht forward in this paper settle conclusively these points, and add il" it were needed, additional strength to the conclusions reached in the Address. By pursuing this course we have never found it neeessaiy to make any accusations against either the competency or honesty of our authorities, in order to discount the force of their testimony By orientating Cabot's chart we do not imply, much less assert, that La Cosa was not a celebrated cartographer ; no one will deny the value of Ptolemy's maps, yet even school children will proclaim (I know it from having shown them his Great Britain) that Scotland is misplaced . L [o'brien] CABOT'S LANDFALL AND CHART 458 Great Homer nods occasionally, but he remains Great Homer still. So it is with La Cosa. It is, however, to be borne in mind that his map of 1500 was never reproduced, and was quickly lost sight of in Spain. The glory of having been the first to open up Hudson Straits and Bay belongs to John Cabot. The witnesses quoted in the Address were competent ones, they could not have had any sinister object in view in writing as they did. They set down as a well known fact, not as a sur- mise, or as a debatable question, that Cabot in his search for a northwest passage to the east, penetrated the frozen regions as far as the sixty- seventh degree and a half. The chart, read by the scale given in the Address, confirms their testimony. Indeed, it "is quite probable that it was a copy of this very chart which "hung in the Queen's Majesty's Privie Gallerie at Whitehall," and which Sir Humphrey Gilbort saw, and to which Francis Bacon refers. Thus both by internal and external evidence we prove that our reading of Cabot's chart is correct, and the course of the second voyage is made to depend, like that of the first, on evidence, not conjecture.