Forest City press. (Forest City, Potter County, D.T. [S.D.]) 1883-19??, 1913-04-18

7 geography of Ptolemy. When VALID
seenuller communicated his plan to
Rene III. OF Vaudemont, Duke of Lor-
raine. the latter was most enthusiast
tic and set about to procure for the
professor all the texts M documents
that could be of service to him. 1t was
thus that he managed to procure a
copy OF a French translation of the
second letter that Americas Vespucius
wrote about his discovery of the anti
podes and this letter Waldseemuller
appended to a little treatise which
was to serve as an explanation OF the
revised edition of Ptolemy.
Waldseelnuller's treatise was writ
ten In 1907 n printed on the college
press the same year under the title
this work Waldseemuller explains that
a fourth part of the world has been
discovered. a part of the world that
anclents never dreamed of. Americus
called this part the New World be-
cause 1T was unknown to the ancients.
We now call Brazil, and which at that
time also went under the name of
Land OF the Holy Cross" Waldsee-
muller did not call Brazil the New
World" however. but America"
FOR, he says. now that the parts
OF the world nave been more extern
slveiy explored, another fourth part
has been discovered by Americas Yes
pnclus, therefore / do not see what 10
to hinder us from rightly calling it
Amerfgo or America-the land of Amer
lcus, after Its d~iscoverer, Americus Yes
puclus. a man OF sagacious mind. since
both Europe and Asia have gotten
thelr names from women"
AL nrst. however, the name of Amer
ica wes applied. only to what is now
known as Brazil: then it gradually
extended to the whole Of South Amer
ica. and not until seven years later. in
iSz2, DO we find it applied to North
a map of North America was made
1T as separated from Asia.
The theory that Americus had
usurped IN honor due Columbus per-
sisted for some time. ever down to
MODERN times. In fact. man treat
honesty In the middle of the 18th cen
Jury and one caused Emerson to ex-
claim: Strange hat broad America
must wear the name of a thief! Amer
lg" Vespucci, pickle dealer at Seville,
VINO went out in 1899 a subaltern with
lao1eda, n whose highest naval rank
was noatswatn's mate on an expedi-
ton That never sailed. managed in this
lying world to supplant Columbus and
oaptize half of the earth With his own
dishonest name"
But Emerson himself would be the
S1AC OdCh IHOSo WORDS now
that recent discoveries Of manuscripts.
etc, have c%onclusively proved that
Americus Vespucius was not only a re-
markable d~fscoverer, who made three
notable expeditions to the new world
and discovered South America, but that
ne made no attempt to win immortality
by forcing his name upon the Cont.
nent.
Numerous names from time to time
nave peen suggested to replace Amer
ica and the United States. but few
nave any advantages over the present
one. such as Cabotia, for example. or
s~ebastiana or A%lleghania. A Spaniard
VINO thought that the new world should
not be called after anything lower thar
ROYALTY suggested F~er-Isabella. An
other wished to remember the deeds of
by forcing his name upon the CONT
rarolinus.
America probably would have been
discovered some time even if Colum-
bus had not been impressed with the
writing of the Cardian Pierre d'Ailiv
but ono cannot be so sure that presant
day Americans would not be called
ieI-lssabel!lans or Cabotians or Gold
en- Indians II it had not been for Martin
Waldseemuller and the college Of ST
Die. thai is. If he is entitled to having
Inst given this country the name
which is not altogether clear in spite
Of the closely woven story related
above.