The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1891-11-08

I'D parallel. whereas icoienu stretches from
the cath 10 the 9th. He adds that what CO.
lur,bus snys OF the English at Bristol trading
ut Tho island Of Tile points to Iceland. and so
docs tho other statement that 1T tTile) is west
OF the western verge OF Ptolemy lthat is.
Ptolsmys world mnpl and larGor than Eng
land" This indication Of size could refer to
Iceland only OF all islands In the northern sea-
On tho other side II must DO borne In mind
that Thylo and Iceland are made different
islnhds In the Ptolcmy OF 1440 Another rea-
son for doubling tho reality OF tho voyage to
Iceland Ia tho fact TINT when. In 1902. Column
bus was recounting to Ferdinand and Isabella
tho extent OF hie maritime experience. no
merely averrcd TINT his exploration had
stretched from Guinea OF tho south to Eng
land on tho north.
At tho same time II must b. admitted that
voyage to Iceland being no now thing
Columbus might hn,o looked upon It rs u
nero addendum 10 his voyage to Bristol.
and therefore rofraincd from dwelling on it
with any emphasis 1t Is certain that In his
day. and for long time previously. largo
commerce with Iceland was maintained by
bristol. Even II Columbus was not imrollcd
BY nautical curiosity to Join somo English
trading vessel OH its trip to Iceland. he
could no. hive faicd TO hear at Bristol
not only OF That island but OF Green
lnnd also. communication between which
and Europc Ind only recently ceased. The
conjecture Ia MISC reasonable enough that he
might havo heard Of the discovery OF Vinland.
but as Greenland Mt the tlme was supposed to
be continuation Of Scandinavia. and Einlnnd
was apparently m extension of Greenland.
Columbus would scarcely have been led to
Imagine that tho land of Eric tho Rcd. or
TINT discovered hy his son Loft. Ind any
,.,stl t1,o cfNrn NJ AS
Of which tho Gcnoeso mariner was already
dreaming. There werc other stories current
Mt the timo in Bristol Of voyages which bud
been made westward along the latitude of
England and TO tho northwest 1t Is possible
that Columbus mny have heard these tulcs.
and may from some of thom havo drawn tho
inference that Cathay wns attainablc Ivy snil-
ing in that direction. There was. for instance.
tho story OF Mndoc. q Welsh chicftain. who
was said to havo carried q colony westerly
in tho later years OF tho twelfth century.
1t is also alleged IN the Historic" that
Columbus had received reports that mariners
sailing for ireland had been driven west and
had sighted iand which had been supposed to
DO Tartary Mr.. Winsor also recalls the fact
that the so-callcd island OF Dresil had been
floating about tho Atlantic. usually In the lat
itudo Of Ireland. since tho days when tho
placed II in that sen. and stories OF Its exist
enco resulted ut lator day Il 4SO) in tho send
ing from Bristol Of an expedition OF search. It
is. moreover. conceivable that Columbus night
have heard in Bristol-and probable enough
that he would hear in Iceland. ifhe visited that
island-of the Irish m onks md their followers
who had been found In Iceland by the first
Morse visitors 600 years before. and these ira
ditions perhaps included rumors OF visits to a
country somewhere. which they called Ireland
the Great In Mr.. Winsor's opinion. how
ever. the possible acquisition by Column
bus OF information. partly historical and
partly Legendary. concerning discoveries in
the seas west and northwest OF England. could
have had no direct bearing on his own subse-
quent achievement Wo append the words
with which Mr. Winsor concludes the chapter
allotted to this subject: whether Columbus
landed in Iceland or not and whether the brutt
OF the Morse expeditions struck his ears else
them. when he summoned every supposable
evidence to induce acceptance Of his views
seems to be enough to show Mt lenst that to a
mind. possessed as his was OF the scheme OF
hniing India by the west, the stories OF such
northern wandering offered no suggestion ap-
picabe to his purpose. 1t is. moreover, in
conceivable that Columbus should have taken
q course southwest from the Canaries, II he
had been prompted In any way by tidings Of
land In the northwest"
HI.
1t was rs we know on Friday. Oct IL. 1892
Of the old chronology. thirty three days after
tho little fleet had left the Canaries, and
forty three days since it put out from Palos.
that Columbus landed on small isle called in
the Indian tongue Guanahani. Which Of the
Faha:nas was this! Mr. Winsor replies that
there Is Just enough uncertainty and contra
dction respecting the data and arguments
applied in the solution OF this question
to render 1t probable that men will never
arrive at an agreement as to which island
1t was on which the Europeans first stepped.
There is. 30 far as he can see. no chance
of finding geographical conditions that in
every respect will coincide with the record
Of Columbus as 1t has como down to US. con-
densed by Las Casns. n VIC could depend on
Coumbus's dead reckoning. an obvious
method of solving the problem would
BIO to SEQ for what island the actual
distance from the Canaries would be
nearest to his computed run. Currents
and errors Of the eye. however. throw this sort
OF calculation out OF the question. and Capt.
@. V. Fox. who tried it, found that Cat Island is
81 I, the Grand Turk G24 nautical miles. and
the other supposable points at intermediate
distances out OF the way as compared with his
computation OF the distance run by Columbus.
3.458 Of such miles. San Salvador. or Cat
leland. is tho most northcrly Of tho lnembers
OF tho Bahama group whose pretentions to
having been the landing place Of Columbus
have found defendants. This was tho island
selected by the earliest OF modern innulrers In
the seventeenth md eighteenth centuries. and
II has had In later times the support OF Hum
boldt and also OF Irving for whom Capt. A. s.
Mackenzie Of the United States Navy worked
out the problem. Mr. WInsor points out,
however. that 1t Is too large to have baen
called by Columbus in any alternative way q
small" island. while It doe, not answer the
discoveries description OF being level. having
on 1t an eminence Of 400 feet. 1t lacks, also.
the interior lagoon. which his account OF Qua
nahani calls for. varnhaRen. In 1854. advo-
Gated the claims OF Mariguana but this island
fails TO satisfy the physical conditions In being
without interior water This qualification. on
tho ofher hand helOn0s IN the Drapd Tnrk