The Milan exchange. (Milan, Gibson County, Tenn.) 1874-1978, 1886-02-27
NORUMBEGA.
The First Land Discovered on the Ameri-
can Continent.

NOIuuuDcBd mas NSNuR'NN @ SOlU VI
mythical place in New England history,
and hitherto it has been pretty unani-
mously located up the Penobscot, where
all sorts of fables have been woven
about it, until if has even come to be
regarded as a sort of sunken city, and |
celebrated accordingly in legendary |
rhyme. The results of some elaborate |
and interesting Investigations made by
Prof. E. N. Hordord, of Cambridge, on |
the subject have been published by the
American Geographical society. Prof
Horsford's attention was attracted to
the matter as a result of the investiga-
tons pursued in studying the Indian
names of Boston, described by him in
the interesting paper read before the
New England Historic Genealogical
society. His careful researches in AL
gonquin philology made for that pur-
pose led him to examine the structure
of large number of Indian geograph-
ical names in New England, including
Norumbega, and this carried him into
line of investigation by which he has
reached two important historical dis
coveries.
First, the site of the landfall of John
Cabot in 1897; second, the site of the
Fort Norumbega of the French, on the
banks of the river bearing the same
name, and of the Indian settlement
near the fort-the agency of Thevet--
and near it the Norumbega of Allie
fonsce, visited in 1859 by the sailor In
gram and his companions of the I'M
fortunate expedition of Sir John Haw-
klns.
The first Prof. Horsford places at
Salem, which is therefore the first point
on the American continent touched BY
Europeans, Columbus having reached
nothing but islands until after that time.
The site of the old French fort is in the
immediate vicinity of Boston, being in
the town of Weston at the point where
Stony brook emptes into Charles river.
Prot. Horsford was led to the conclusion
that this must be the site where the old
fort stood, and therefore concluded to
take look at the locality. He, there
fore, drove out from Cambridge with a
friend through region which he had
never before visited, and of which he
knew nothing. except as indicated on
the maps, and there he indeed found
the remains Of the fort.
The research has involved a great
amount of geographical and historical
rs well as pathological study, valu-
able collection of rare old maps; has
been accumulated, and old unpublished
manuscripts have been examined, some
of which were in the great collections
of the public library at Paris, where
Prof Horsford had copies made for him.
In the present article, Prof. Horsford
simply outlines the direction, method
and results of his studies, proposing to
embody the matter.in more elaborate
shape later on. 1t is held that NOrum-
bega was a name which John Cabot
, brought back with him, and did not be-
stow, but found. 1t was natural that il
should have been inferred by him to be
the particular name of certain locality
o notion which, as Prof Horsford SAYS,
all students alike have inherited, and
which has obscured research in regard
to the landfall from that day to this.
, DR.. Trumbull, the great authority, has
| pointed out that each Indian geograph'
t ical name was descriptive of the place
, to which it was affixed. Therefore the
first thing to be found out was what
| Norumbega means. This is ingeniously
done by tracing the word throughout
3 New England in its various moditica
5 tions in the several Algonquin dialects,
1 and noting the Typographical features
9 of the places to which II is applied. On
9 glancing at the Indian names as he had
/. arranged them in columns against theil
g respective ATTITUDES along the outline as
g given in the chart of the United State.
9 coast survey from the st. Lawrence tC
Q Long Island Sound he remarked strik
t ing peculiarly. The names grew easiei
' of utterance as. one moved south
ward. For instance, Quebec OIL
It the St. Lawrence, became Ahque
= bogue on Long Island. Gas one moved
9 southwark from region where the con
n ditions of living were hard to wher,
r they were less eXacting, from the regioi
}, where life was a perpetual struggle to
g region where there was relative leisure
= where there were more extended manu-
o features (wampum), more commerce
e (furs), more decoratiOn-the name
e became softer-aS they become softer a
n one goes from Norway southwark t
n Italy or Spain"
n Naumkeag, or Nahumbeak, is tn
b ancient Indian name of Salem. 1t frs
d occurs in the record of Captain job
10 Smith, and is the only name between
y the Merrimac and the Charles that q
D all suggests Norumbega. The name
% found to mean water without current
(, and, on the coast, would be applied to
IT bay or harbor. Analysed, Nahum
n beak is found to mean ''divided bay,
4 or "divider of the bay" according as
n is applied to land or water. 1t woul
e. apply to Salem Neck, which divides tn
waters of the North and South river
x locally so-called.
" The description of all the early voy
n ayers. when compared with their chart
70 and their references to tides, latitudel