Morning journal and courier., 1891-01-29

Iceland, written fifteen years before his |
of America, an abstract of which |
his son gives us, says: Gin the year 1477, in |
February, I navigated 100 leagues beyond
Thule, the southern part of which is 70
degrees distant beyond the equator and
situated within the line which includes
the west of Ptolemy, but is much more
westardly.
Seneca (61 B. g. being transported with
a rapture, with poetical furie and devil
nation, sung something of it in his Medea:
In after age the time shall come
In which the all devouring foam
Shall lose its proper bound and sheWa
Another continent of view;
Nor frozen Thule shall we see
The utmost parts of tn Earth to be.
But it is folly to think any one knew of
the unknown continent in the time of
Seneca.
name generally given by the ancients to
to them, and according to Pliny,
an island in the northern seas.
But most modern geographers identify
Thule with Iceland. The learned now be-
ieve that Columbus visited Greenland and
that he was unaware that it was part of
the new world which he afterwards dis
covered with so much courage and good
fortune. As we have from Columbus own
pen positive evidence of his having voyaged
there, it is fair to presume that at Iceland
he first conceived the scheme of not fol-
lowing the circuitous track of the North
men, viz: Iceland and Greenland to the
southwest, but of sailing directly westward
from Spain, to the Cathay Japan and
China) Of Marco Polo, who it will be re-
membered hourished centuries before
A. D. 1250-1324.
Columbus successful voyages were fol-
lowed by the Cabots, father and sons, in
the employ of Henry VII; the Cabots also
sailed on the Northmen's well known
track, southwark from Labrador along the
coast of the North American continent,
eve have, however, no evidence of their
land explorations to about the latitude of
turn made a report to the king, which gave
England her claim. Then follows France.
In order to get her share of this
new domain she sent out the navigator
Verrazzanus in 1924, who followed by
Cartier in 1880 sighted the North Ameri-
can continent about the Carolina shore,
coasted northward to Newfoundland and
actually anchored his ship in the waters of
Noremberga, now known to be the bays of
Sandy Hook and Narragansett. Both of
these bays he explored, chartered and took
possession of in the French kings name,
while he called the region New France and
made report to his sovereign.
The celebrated navigator Captain John
de Verrazzano writes his master Francois
Premier, his most serene and Christian
majesty the king of France, concerning the
four ships of the expedition sent out under
his command on the ocean to discover new
lands. He says they were by stress of
weather compelled to seek refuge in Brit
tany (west coast of France) for repairs,
which accomplished he proceeded to the
Portuguese island of Medaria, and setting
sail alone in one of the ships, the ''Dol-
phin," manned with crew of fifty
men, and with provisions for an eight
months cruise, sailed westward with
light 1and pleasant easterly breezes
| trade winds) and reached new country.
which had never before been seen by any
| one, either in ancient or modern times. In
| his report he says:
| cosmographical exposition of our voyage. TAX
| ing our departure on the 18th of january, 1924
| from the Desert Rocks near the island of Me
| daria which lie the extreme verge of the
| west as known to the ancients, on the meridian
Of the Fortunate islands (Ptolemy's line) in the
ward course we had run, when we first made land
a distance Of 1900 leagues 1890 miles reckon
league This distance calculated geometricalls
| upon the usual ratio of the diam-ter to tn,
Se m as an a4c s
grees as the chord of an on the parallel o
land, and 800 degrees as the circumference of thu
eIFsl passing ang through hi
miles correspond to celestial degree, we fin
gisen to b be 1879 miles, which divided BY Sc
makes the length of a degree of longitude in tn
the true measure Upon this basis, 100 leagues
or 800 miles meridional distance, on the parable
sailed to tHe
| known to the ancients. During our voyage W
had no lunar eclipses or like celestial phenome
| mas; we therefore determined our progress froI
the difference of longitude, which we ascertaine
by various instruments, by taking the SUMS a
tttude from H. day to day and by ealculatin
one horizon to another; all these observations,
also the ebb and flow of the sea in all place
were noted in little book 3o which may prov
Gated to your majesty in the hope of promotin
. science.
. My intention in this voyage was to NEE
Cathay, on the extreme coast Of Asia, expecting
| however, to find in the newly discovered Ian
, some obstacle as they have proved to be, yet
l passage to the eastern ocean. 1t was the opno
Of the ancients that oriental Indian ocean
probabilities, but it Is contrary to that Of tt
l
ence; the country which has been discovered
| and which was unknown to the ancients, is al
, being manifestly larger than our Europe, t.
, gether with Africa and perhaps Asia, if we RICH
~ estimate its extent, as shall now be briefly e,
, The S. aniards have Sailed south beyond tt
equator on a, meridian n 20 degrees west Of IL
still found land. Turning about they steere
northward on the same meridian and along tt
! coast to the eighth degree of latitude, near tt
Vest and insnas to ' tne atut
t Of 81 degrees, without finding terminate
as s.
first run west of the Canares make 100 degree
and 50 far vest; they sailed a from the merida
from truth; we did not make this voyage al
. therefore cannot speak from experience; v
D | calculated it economically from the observ
Q tions furnished by many navigators who ha,
made the voyage, and affirm the distance to !
deviations Of the ship from straight course
reason Of contrary winds. hope that we sha
!. | by new voyages to be made on the same coast
8 But to return to ourselves; in the voyage whie
r ton to the 81 degrees we run towards the we
from our point of departure, before we reach Il
land in the Latitude Of "a we have to c9unt 8
400 nearly east along the coast before we reache
the 5oth parallel Of north latitude the poi
Q wards home. Beyond this point the Portuguese
t had already sailed as far north as the Arctic c
Gle, without coming to termination OF the Ian
> Thus adding the degrees Of south latitude e
J. are sc, the sum is 100 and therefore more tha
embraced in the latitude of Africa al
Europe, for the north point Of Norway, which
the 81 Europe is in III north and Il
tremity of Africa, is in IS south and their sum
. only 1O6, and if the breadth of the newly disco
Z cred country corresponds to its extensive ST
T | coast, it doubtless exceeds Asia in size. In tn
a we find that the land forms much larger pc
ton of our globe than the aucients supposed, wi
: maintain, contrary to mathematical reasonin
q that it was less than the water, whereas actu
= | experience proves the reverse, that we judf
much space as tie water, and hope more clea
9 ly and more satisfactorily to point out and e
g plain to your ajeSty the great extent of tn
. new land, or new world of which I have be-
speaking.
j. The continent of Asia and Africa, we know f
o certain, Is Joined to Europe at the north in Nc
: way and Russia which disproves the idea of Il
ancients that all this part had been navigat,
from the Cimbric CherSoneSus (Dardanells) eas
g | ward as far as the Caspian Sea. They also mai
two situated to the east and west of it whit
o seas in fact do not surround either of the tv
}, continents, for, as we have above, the laI
4 | of the southern hemisphere at the latitude of
extends eastwardly an unknown distance al
Is that of the northern, passing the Goth parall,
% turns to the east and has no Termination as his
o as the roth. In short time, hope, we shs
Q have more certain knowledge of these things
IL the aid of your majesty, whom pray Almigh
10 | God to prosper in lasting glory, that we may s.
a | the most important results of this our cosmogr
', ply in the fulfillment of the holy words of II
Il gospel.
ID On board the ship Dolphin in the port of dep
q in Normandy, the Sth day of July, 1924.
~ | Your humble servitor,
JANUS DE vERRAzzANus