The Bennington banner. [volume] (Bennington, Vt.) 1858-1894, 1892-10-07
SEBASTIAN oARnT


celebrated in fitting manner the achieve
ments of the great navigator, and the
United States, the Argentine Republic
and a majority of the powers of Europe
have joined with Italy in lending ecdt to
the occasion. Even France took atvan-
tage of the opportunity to send her
Mediterranean squadron to aid i'll tie in
ternational greetings heartily accorded
to Italy. 1t is perhaps fitting, therefore,
at this time to recall that, while Column
bus showed the way, he is not the sole
occupant of the Valhalla of early explor-
ers of America. The Chicago World's
Fair will illustrate four centuries Of de-
velopment and will fittingly record the
exploits of more that one great pioneer
of discovery. The descendants If the
early settlers of North America cannot
afford to let it be forgotten that Sebastian
Cabot deserves place only second to
that of Columbus in the roll of dscov-
erers.
Although we know that he was tie son
of John Cabot, Venetian merchant, and
that he was born in Bristol, England,
about the year 1916, we have NO instruc-
tive details of his life until he was past
his twentieth year. By that tims his
youthful enthusiasm had been fired by
the achievements of Columbus, and in
conjunction with his father he tool part
in the first English expedition To the
New World. Henry VII. had resolved to
embark on the new field of maritime dis
covery, and the Cabots, filled with the
same idea as all the early navigatorI, pro-
posed to sail westward to India. Their
plan was accepted, and on March 5th,
1406, patent was granted to John
Gabote, citizen of Venice, to Lewes,
Sebastian and Santius, sonneS of the said
john" empowering them to seek out,
subdue and occupy at their own charges
all regions which had "been unknown to
all Christians" They were authorized
to set up the royal banner, to POSSESS all
territories discovered as the Kings vas
sails, and to exercises exclusive privileges
of traffic, but they were TO return to
Bristol, and one-fifth of all their gains
was reserved as the property Of the
crown.
OF Lewes and Santius we hear nothing
more, Tut John anG Sebastian sailed from
Bristol in the Matthew in 1896, and ap-
pear to have returned to England imme-
diately after the first discovery. At any
rate, in the privy purse EXPENSES of
Henry VII. payment is recorded OH
August 10th, 1897, "To him who found
New Isle, go" and in an ancient manu-
script it is stated, "This year (149I, on
st. John the Baptist's day, the land of
America was found by the merchants of
Bristowe in a ship of Bristol called the
Matthew, the which said ship departed
from the port of Bristowe the End of
May and came home again 9th August
following" 1t appears almost certain
that Newfoundland was discovered on
this voyage, but it is also probable that
"the land first SEEM" as it is described,
was part of the continent of America.
The original of Cabot's map of 1914 is in
the geographical cabinet of the Imperial
Library at Paris, and ''land first seen" is
shown between the forty-fifth and tiftieth
parallels, with the island of st Juan
within which is plainly the embouehure
of the st. Lawrence. Probably, there
fore, Cabot discovered the coast of Nova
Scotia, and if so, he saw the mainland of
America before Columbus or Amerigo
Vespucci.
Early in the following year second
patent was granted to John Cabot author
izing him to take six English ships, land
them convey the lede to the lande and
isles of late found by the said John" 1t
will be noticed that distinction is
drawn in the patent between ''lande'
and isles" John, however, died, and
Sebastian sailed with five ships, and
seems to have followed the coast to the
of the sixty-seyenth parallel
and probably to have passed into Hud-
sons Bay. His crews were frightened
by the icebergs and broke into mutiny.
Cabot, therefore, altered his course and
examined the coast as far south as lati-
tude thirty eight degrees. He thus ex-
plored the coast line of America for about
l 800 miles. The next year he is said to
have sailed again, but the accounts are
vague. and in 1912 we find him in Seville
waiting to take command of Spanish ex-
petition of discovery. The death of
King Ferdinand, however, put an end to
this project, and Cabot went back to
England, from which he sailed in 1917 on
a voyage to South America,
Cabot appears to have sought the
Spanish service second time, and COM
an expedition which was intend
ed to explore the Pacific. The disaffec-
ton of his officers, however, compelled
him to abandon the plan, and he had to
content himself with examining the
coasts of Brazil and La Plata. Going
back to Europe, he settled in England.
Edward vi. granted him pension, and
if Hakluyt may be believed, created for
him the Office of Great Pilot of England.
Cabot was active in promoting an expe-
dition to Russia, in search of the north
east passage in 1858, and he is believed
to have died in London four years later.
His place of burial is unknown and
nearly all the maps and records that
would shed light on his adventurous
career have disappeared without leaving
a trace. There are no relics that can be
got together as specifically associated
with him; but Bristol, the city of his
birth, is determined to commemorate at
Chicago the discoveries of one of the
most illustrious of her citizens, and is
collecting for the purpose number of
objects of authentic history connected
with the times in which he lived.
Americans can heartily join in the COM
of the man who first explOr-
ed the Atlantic coast of North America.
and who directed toward this continent
that spirit of Anglo-Saxon enterprise
which led to the foundation of the
American Republic.
-Tamhia frat rri ntad noapns cauna mt