And where as in the aforesayd wordes Mr Robert Thorne sayth, that he would have the old courses to bee changed, and the new courses (to the north) to be followed: It may plainely be gathered that the former voyage, whereof twise or thrise he maketh mention, wherein it is like that Sir Thomas Pert and Sebastian Cabot were set foorth by the king, was made towards Brazil and the south parts. Moreover it seemeth that Gonzalvo de Oviedo, a famous Spanish writer, alludeth unto the sayde voyage in the beginning of the 13. chapter of the 19. booke of his generall and natural historie of the West Indies, agreeing very well with the time about which Richard Eden writeth that the foresayd voyage was begun. The authors wordes are these, as I finde them translated into Italian by that excellent and famous man Baptista Ramusio20.

In the year 1517, an English rover under the colour of travelling to discover, came with a great shippe unto the parts of Brazill on the coast of the firme land, and from thence he crossed over unto this island of Hispaniola, and arrived near unto the mouth of the haven of this citie of San Domingo, and sent his shipboate full of men on shoare, and demaunded leave to enter into this haven, saying that hee came with marchandise to traffique. But at that very instant the governour of the castle, Francis de Tapia, caused a tire of ordinance to be shot from the castle at the shippe, for she bare in directly with the haven. When the Englishmen sawe this, they withdrew themselves out, and those that were in the shipboate got themselves with all speede on shipboard. And in trueth the warden of the castle committed an oversight: for if the shippe had entered into the haven, the men thereof could not have come on lande without leave both of the citie and of the castle. Therefore the people of the shippe seeing how they were received, sayled toward the Island of St John de Puerto Rico, and entering into the port of St Germaine, the Englishmen parled with those of the towne, requiring victuals and things needful to furnish their ship, and complained of the inhabitants of the city of St Domingo, saying that they came not to doe any harme, but to trade and traffique for their money and merchandise. In this place they had certain victuals, and for recompence they gave and paid them with certain vessels of wrought tinne and other things. And afterwards they departed toward Europe, where it is thought they arrived not, for we never heard any more news of them.

Thus farre proceedeth Gonzalvo de Oviedo, who though it please him to call the captain of this great English ship a rover, yet it appeareth by the Englishmens owne words, that they came to discover, and by their traffique for pewter vessels and other wares at the town of St Germaine in the iland of San Juan de Puerto Rico, it cannot bee denied but they were furnished with wares for honest traffique and exchange. But whosoever is conversant in reading the Portugal and Spanish writers of the East and West Indies, shall commonly finde that they account all other nations for pirats, rovers and theeves, which visite any heathen coast that they have once sayled by or looked on. Howbeit their passionate and ambitious reckoning ought not to bee prejudiciall to other mens chargeable and painefull enterprises and honourable travels in discoverie.

It appears from a certain note or memorandum in the custody of me Richard Hakluyt, taken out of an old ledger-book formerly belonging to Mr Nicholas Thorne senior, a respectable merchant of Bristol, written to his friend and factor Thomas Midnall and his servant William Ballard, at that time residing at San Lucar in Andalusia; that before the year 1526, one Thomas Tison an Englishman had found his way to the West Indies, and resided there as a secret factor for some English merchants, who traded thither in an underhand manner in those days. To this person Mr Nicholas Thorne appears to have sent armour and other articles which are specified in the memorandum or letter above mentioned-This Thomas Tison, so far as I can conjecture, appears to have been a secret factor for Mr Thorne and other English merchants, to transact for them in these remote parts; whence it is probable that some of our merchants carried on a kind of trade to the West Indies even in those ancient times; neither do I see any reason why the Spaniards should debar us from it now.

CHAPTER XII.

THE VOYAGES OF JACQUES CARTIER FROM ST MALOES TO NEWFOUNDLAND AND CANADA, IN THE YEARS 1534 AND 153522

These voyages are to be considered as among the early discoveries of the New World, and are therefore inserted in this place. The only edition of them which we have been able to procure, is that which is inserted in the ancient and curious collection of voyages by Hakluyt, which appears to have been abridged from the original in French, published at Rouen in 8vo 159823of this voyage, the author of the Bibliotheque des Voyages gives the following notice. "So early as the year 1518, the baron De Levi had discovered a portion of Canada, and Jacques Cartier not only added to this first discovery, but visited the whole country with the judgment of a person well instructed in geography and hydrography, as is apparent in the relation of his voyages; which contain an exact and extended description of the coasts, harbours, straits, bays, capes, rivers, and islands which he visited, both in his voyages on the river St Lawrence, and in his excursions by land into the interior of Canada. To this day navigators use most of the names which he affixed to the various parts which he explored with indefatigable industry." In the present edition, the only freedom used is reducing the antiquated language of Hakluyt to the modern standard.-Ed.

The Chevalier de Mouy lord of Meylleraye and vice-admiral of France, having administered the oaths of fidelity to the king, and of obedience to M. Cartier, to the captains, masters, and mariners of the ships employed in this expedition, we left the port of St Maloes on the 20th of April 1534, with two ships of 60 tons, and having sixty-one chosen men. Having prosperous weather, we reached Newfoundland on the 10th of May, making Cape Bonavista, in lat. 48° 30' N24. Owing to the great quantities of ice on the coast, we were obliged to go into port St Catherine 25, which is about five leagues S.S.E. from the harbour of Cape Bonavista, in which we remained ten days waiting fair weather, and employed ourselves in repairing and fitting out our boats.

On the 21st of May we set sail with the wind at west, steering N. and by E. from Cape Bonavista till we came to the Isle of Birds, which we found environed by ice, but broken and cracked in many places. Notwithstanding the ice, our two boats went to the island to take in some birds, which are there in such incredible numbers that no one would believe unless he had seen them. The island is only a league in circuit, and so swarms with birds as if they had been strewed on purpose; yet an hundred times as many are to be seen hovering all around. Some of these are black and white, as large as jays, and having beaks like crows, which lie always on the sea, as they cannot fly to any height on account of the smallness of their wings, which are not larger than the half of ones hand; yet they fly with wonderful swiftness close to the water. We named these birds Aporath, and found them very fat. In less than half an hour we filled two boats with them; so that, besides what we eat fresh, each of our ships salted five or six barrels of them to aid our sea stock. Besides these, there is another and smaller kind, which hovers in the air, all of which gather themselves on the island, and put themselves under the wings of the larger birds. These smaller birds we named Godetz. There was also another kind, which we called Margaulx, considerably larger and entirely white, which bite like dogs. Although this island is 14 leagues from the main26, yet the bears swim off to it to eat the birds, and our men found one there as large as an ordinary cow, and as white as a swan. This monstrous animal leapt into the sea to avoid our men; and upon Whitson Monday, when sailing towards the land, we fell in with it swimming thither as fast almost as we could sail. We pursued in our boats, and caught it by main strength. Its flesh was as good eating as a steer of two years old. On the Wednesday following, the 27th of May, we came to the Bay of the Castles; but, on account of bad weather and the great quantities of ice, we were obliged to anchor in a harbour near the entrance of that bay, which we named Carpunt. We were forced to remain there till the 9th of June, when we departed, intending to proceed beyond Carpunt, which is in lat. 51° N27