This Memorandum, Translated Into English, Is As Follows[2].

[Footnote 2:

Id. III. 27.]

SECTION I.

Discovery of Newfoundland by John and Sebastian Cabot in 1497, in the service of Henry VII. of England.

"In the year 1497, John Cabot a Venetian and his son Sebastian, discovered on the 24th of June, about five in the morning, that land to which no person had before ventured to sail, which they named Prima Vista[3], or, first-seen, because as I believe it was the first part seen by them from the sea. The island which is opposite[4] he named St Johns Island, because discovered on the day of St John the Baptist. The inhabitants of this island use the skins and furs of wild beasts for garments, which they hold in as high estimation as we do our finest clothes. In war they use bows and arrows, spears, darts, clubs, and slings. The soil is sterile and yields no useful production; but it abounds in white bears and deer much larger than ours. Its coasts produce vast quantities of large fish, among which are great seals, salmons, soles above a yard in length, and prodigious quantities especially of cod, which are commonly called bacallaos[5]. The hawks, partridges, and eagles of this island are all black."

[Footnote 3: Presuming that this discovery was Newfoundland, a name nearly of the same import, perhaps the land first seen was what is now called Cape Bonavista, in lat. 48 deg. 50' N. long. 62 deg. 32' W. from London. In the text, there is every reason to believe that it is meant to indicate, that Cabot named the island he discovered St Johns, and only the first seen point of land Prima-Vista. - E.]

[Footnote 4: By this phrase is probably to be understood, the island behind this first-seen cape named Prima-Vista. - E.]

[Footnote 5: Vulgari Sermoni, is translated by Hakluyt, in the language of the savages; but we have given it a different sense in the text, that used by Hakluyt having no sufficient warrant in the original. - E.]

Besides the foregoing memorandum on the ancient map, Hakluyt gives the following testimonies respecting the discovery of the northern part of America, by Cabot.

SECTION II.

Discourse by Galeacius Butrigarius, Papal Legate in Spain, respecting the Discoveries in America, by Sebastian Cabot[6].

Do you know how to sail for the Indies towards the northwest, as has been lately done by a Venetian citizen, a valiant man and so learned in all things pertaining to navigation and cosmography, that no one is permitted to sail as pilot to the West Indies who has not received his licence, he being pilot-major of Spain? This person, who resides in the city of Seville, is Sebastian Cabot, a native of Venice, who is most expert in these sciences, and makes excellent sea-charts with his own-hands. Having sought his acquaintance, he entertained us in a friendly manner, showing us many things, and among these a large map of the world containing sundry navigations, both those of the Spaniards and Portuguese.

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