The Portland daily press., 1890-01-29
yEsPUccIuS'S LETTER.
The second Half of the Ancient
travellers Account Of America.
correspondence of the Press. ]

correspondence of the Press.l
NEW YORK, Jan. 23.-In preceding
letter were given brief account of the
life and voyages Of Alberico Vespuccius,
better known as Americas Vespuccius,
and translation of one-half Of his IA
nous letter to Lorenzo de Medici, in
which he describes his discoveries. 1t
contains a concise account OF the two
continents and of the Indian races which
inhabit them.
1t is strange to read that where now
are great civilized cities were less than
four centuries ago populous tribes who
went naked, were cannibals, had neither
lawnor government and hadno religious
ideas whatsoever
The hitherto imprinted half of this
letter is as follows:
Their weapons are bows and arrows,
and when they prepare for war they
cover no part of their bodies for the sake
of protecting them, and to this extent
are like beasts. We, as far as we could,
sought to dissuade them from these de-
PRAYED habits. The women, as l have
said, walk about naked. To us it seemed
wonderful that among these women no
one was seen who showed any bodily de-
formity.
These people live 100 years, are seldom
sick, and if they fall i'll they cure them
selves with herbs and roots. The air in
that country is very mild and excellent,
and, as / was able to learn from the state
ments of the natives, there is never any
pestilence nor any sickness which is due
to foul air, and except they die a violent
death they live long lives. I believe in
that country the south winds are always
blowing, and especially the wind which
we call the east wind, and which is to
them what the north wind is to us. They
are very fond of fishing, and their sea is
full of fish and abounds in every species
of the finny tribe. They are not hunters.
/ think that, since there are many species
of forest animals there, and especially of
lions, bears and numberless serpents, and
other horrid and i'll shaped beasts, and
that everywhere their forests stretch out
long and broad and the trees are Of i'm.
mense size, they do not dare, naked and
without clothing and arms, to expose
themselves to such hazards.
The land of those regions is extremely
fertile and abounds in numerous hills
and mountains, boundless valleys and
mighty rivers, and watered by health
giving fountains; and stretching over it
are vast, dense and scarcely penetrable
forests, filled with every species of wild
beasts. In that country the largest trees
grow up without the need of anybody to
plant them Many of these trees pro-
duce fruit which is pleasant to the taste
and useful to the human body, and some
fruits. indeed, which are the opposite
There are no fruits, however, which re-
semble those among us. Innumerable
varieties of herbs and roots are produced
there, from which they make bread, and
they have the very best relishes and many
seeds. in every respect different from
ours.
None of the metals are found there ex-
cept gold, in which last those regions
abound. We had no opportunity to bring
any of it with us on our first voyage
The natives made this fact known to us,
and used to say to us that in the interior
there was a great supply of gold, and
that it was not valued by them or held
at price. Pearls are abundant. If ]
should desire to recallthe particular ami
mails which are there, and to write con
corning the numerous species thereof
and the multitude of them, the tasl
would be altogether too long and great
and l am certain that our Pliny could
not have touched thousandth part Of
the species Of parrots and other birds
nor yet of the animals which are in the
same regions, with such great diver
sity of appearance and hues that an &C
complished artist would be unable tt
paint them.
All the trees in that country are fra.
grant, and some of them produce either
an oil or some liquor. If their proper.
ties were known to us / do not doubt but
that they would be beneficial to the hu.
man body, and, certainly, if there is an
earthly paradise in any part of the world
do not think that it is very far from
these regions. Their situation is, as
have said, toward the west, in such ;
mild atmosphere that neither chilly win
tiers nor broiling summer heats are fell
there.
The sky and the air are ever seren,
and free from thick clouds; the rains fal
slightly and last only three or four hours
and disappear in the semblance of mist
The heavens are brilliant with magnif
cent consultations and signs, and hav
noticed in it about twenty stars of a
great brightness as we sometimes oh
serve in Venus and Jupiter. observe,
their motions and revolutions, and meas
ured their peripheries and diameters b,
geometrical methods, and discovered
them to be of the greatest magnitude.
perceived in the sky there three stars a
bright IS Campus, two of them very
clear, but the third obscure. The ant
arctic pole is not figured with Grea
Bear and Little Bear, as is our arcti,
pole, nor is there to be seen next to i
any bright star, and among those which
revolve around it in shorter orbit Their
are three which present the appearance
of right angle triangle. Half the pc
riphery of these stars has diameter O
nine and half degrees. When thes
stars rise one of them is perceived OF
the left hand, of white color and consid
cradle magnitude.
After these come two other stars, hal
tho periphery of which has a diamete
of 12l degs., and along with them is seel
another canopus star of white color. T
these succeed six other stars, the mos
beautiful and brilliant among all tn
eight other spheres, which have i'll tn,
face of the armament periphery of ,
diameter of 80 degs. With them zoe
one dark canopus star of an immense
magnitude. They are seen in the Milky
Way.
/ discovered many other very beauti
full stars, the motions of which / careful
ly noted and have graphically described
in my book during my voyage. Hi
most serene highness has the volum
which hope he will restore to me. II
that other hemisphere 1 saw things no
in harmony with the doctrines of phil
osophers. White lightning (St. Elmo
fire) was observed in the middle of tn,
night not only by myself but by all tn,
sailors.
Often have we seen the new moon OF
the day when it was joined to the sun.
On single nights, in that part of tn
sky, innumerable vapors pass to and fir
as well as burning fires.
Now, as have said, we sailed fror
Lisbon, which is distant 39} degs. fror