The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1886-02-26
NoRuMBEoA.

listened with smile of happiness
Chicago Tribune.
NoRUMBEGA. .
The First Land Discovered ON the Ameri
can Continent.
Norumbega has occupied . sort o.
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 q sort of sunken city. and
celebrated accordingly in lego ndary
rhyme. The results Of some elaborate
and interesting investigations made by
Prof. E. N. Horsford, of Cambridge, on
the subject have been published by the
American Geographical society. Prof.
HOrsfOrd's attention was attracted to
the matter as result of the investiga-
tions 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
a 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 Ale
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 bv
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 ut the point where
Stony brook empties into Charles river.
Prof. HOrsfOrd was led to the conclusion
that this must be the site where the old
fort stood, and therefore concluded to
take look ut the locality. He, there
fore. drove out from Cambridge with a
friend through a 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
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
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 it
should have been inferred by him to be
the particular name of a certain locality
a 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-
cal name was descriptive of the place
to which it was affixed. Therefore the
first thing to be found out was what
means. This is ingeniously
done by tracing the word throughout
New England in its various mOdifica-
lions in the several Algonquin dialects,
and noting the typographical features
Of the places to which it is applied On
glancing at the Indian names as he had
them in columns against their
ATTITUDES along the outline as
given in the chart of the United States
coast survey from the St. Lawrence to
Long Island Sound he remarked a strik-
ng popularity. The names grew easier
IF utterance as one moved south
ward. For instance, Quebec on
he St. Lawrence, became Ahque-
oogue on Long Island. LAS one moved
southwark from region where the con-
litions of living were hard to where
hey were less exacting, from the region
where life was a perpetual struggle to a
'egiOn where there was relative leisure;
where there were more extended manu-
actures (wampum), more commerce
furs), more decOration-the names
,ecame softer-as they become softer as
me goes from Norway southwark to
tally or SPAIN"
Naumkeag, or Nahumbeak, is the
ncient Indian name of Salem. It first
'ccurs in the record of Captain John
ninth, and is the only name between
he Merrimac and the Charles that at
II suggests Norumbega. The name is
ound to mean water without current,
nd, on the coast, would be applied to q
ay or harbor. Analysed, Nahum
'eak is found to mean divided bay,"
r ''divider of the bay" according as it |
) applied to land or water. 1t would |
pply to Salem Neck, which divides the
Iaters of the North and South rivers
,cally so-called.
The description of all the early voy-
gers, when compared with their charts
nd their references to tides, ATTITUDES,
to-. all point to this place as the landfall
John Cabot, whose sailing directions
Iere naturally followed by those who
anne after him.
1t is known that the early French
oyagers all established trading town
n these shores, where beaver and other
lrs were found in great abundance.
nd all the descriptions thereof accorded
18th the point on Charles river above
lentioned, and which appears to be
Dnfirmed by Prof. HOrsford's remarka-
lie discovery of the remains of the old