The Northmen, Columbus and Cabot, 985-1503

Monday, August 13, at the rising of the moon, he weighed anchor from where he was, and came towards the Cape of Lapa, which is Paria, in order to go to the north by the mouth ca...

At sunrise the Admiral weighed the anchor, with little wind, and turned her head N.W. to get clear of the reef, by another channel wider than the one by which he entered, which,...

The three men who had been sent by the Admiral with the woman returned at 3 o'clock in the morning, not having gone with her to the village, because the distance appeared to be...

The Admiral then determined to return to the ship and wait the return of the two men he had sent, intending to depart and seek for those lands, if his envoys brought some good n...

"At ten o'clock I arrived here, off this islet, and anchored, as well as the caravels. After breakfast I went on shore, and found only one house, in which there was no one, and...

Thursday, July 19, there was such intense and ardent heat that they thought the men and ships would burn, but as our Lord at sight of the afflictions which He gives is accustome...

I should have much desired to free myself from this affair had it been honorable towards my Queen to do so. The support of Our Lord and of Her Highness made me persevere; and to...

Navigating yesterday, with little wind, from Santo Tome to Punta Santa, and being a league from it, at about eleven o'clock at night the Admiral went down to get some sleep, for...

"At dawn I ordered the ship's boat and the boats of the caravels to be got ready, and I went along the coast of the island and to the N.N.E., to see the other side, which was on...

This day and night they made over 55 leagues, the Admiral only counting 48. In all these days the sea was very smooth, like the river at Seville. This day Martin Alonso, with th...

He was comforted, on the other hand, by the mercies of God in having vouchsafed him such a victory, in the discoveries he had made, and in that God had complied with all his des...

The joy of the people was so great, that it was wonderful to hear their cries and exclamations of pleasure; and they had good reason to be delighted; for they had become so wear...

He sailed to a small port Monday, August 6, five leagues from whence he went out and saw people, and then a canoe with four men came to the caravel which was nearest the land an...

_Thorstein Ericsson dies in the Western Settlement._--In the meantime it had come to pass in Greenland, that Thorstein of Ericsfirth had married, and taken to wife Gudrid, Thorb...

By reason of the continuance of an easterly wind the Admiral did not leave this port. He arranged to visit a very beautiful headland a quarter of a league to the S.E. of the anc...

[311-2] The myrobolan is an East Indian fruit with a stone, of the prune genus. Crude or preserved myrobolans were a more important article of commerce in the Middle Ages than n...

_The Saga of Eric the Red, also called the Saga of Thorfinn Karlsefni and Snorri Thorbrandsson._[14-2]--Olaf was the name of a warrior-king, who was called Olaf the White. He wa...

SIR: As I know that you will have pleasure from the great victory which our Lord hath given me in my voyage, I write you this, by which you shall know that in thirty-three days...

_A Brief History of Eric the Red._[45-2]--There was a man named Thorvald, a son of Osvald, Ulf's son, Eyxna-Thori's son. Thorvald and Eric the Red, his son, left Jaederen [in No...

[78-2] It is a remarkable fact that nothing is said in this patent of discovering a route to the Indies. It is often said that the sole purpose of Columbus was to discover such...

The Admiral here says that the caravels were making much water, which entered by the keel; and he complains of the caulkers at Palos, who caulked the vessels very badly, and ran...

In the month of January the mouth of the river was entirely closed up,[403-1] and in April the vessels were so eaten by the shipworm,[403-2] that they could scarcely be kept abo...

All this passed through the interpretation of two of the Indians who had gone to Spain in the last voyage, and who were the sole survivors of seven who had embarked with us; fiv...

[375-2] A mark was eight ounces or two-thirds of a Troy pound. Here it is probably the silver mark as a measure of value, which was about $3.25. If the word is used as a measure...

It so happened, that a bull,[37-2] which belonged to Karlsefni and his people, ran out from the woods, bellowing loudly. This so terrified the Skrellings, that they sped out to...

[218-1] The mermaids [Spanish, "sirens"] of Columbus are the _manatis_, or sea-cows, of the Caribbean Sea and great South American rivers. They are now scarcely ever seen out at...

To-day the Admiral took leave of the king, who entrusted him with some messages to the Sovereigns, and always treating him with much friendliness.[255-1] He departed after dinne...

Moreover he[67-2] spoke of an island in that ocean[67-3] discovered by many, which is called Vinland, for the reason that vines grow wild there, which yield the best of wine. Mo...

[405-3] Cuba. According to Ferdinand Columbus the course was as follows: The Admiral followed the coast of the isthmus eastward beyond El Retrete to a place he named Marmoro (ne...

This day Martin Alonso Pinzon parted company with the caravel _Pinta_, in disobedience to and against the wish of the Admiral, and out of avarice, thinking that an Indian who ha...

At sunrise they entered a port between the island of Santo Tomas and the Cabo de Carabata,[188-5] and anchored. This port is very beautiful, and would hold all the ships in Chri...

[134-3] Rather, "The text here is corrupt." Las Casas, I. 324, gives the same figures and adds, "yet I think the text is erroneous." Navarrete says the quadrants of that period...

Who could believe, that a poor foreigner would have risen against your Highnesses, in such a place, without any motive or argument on his side; without even the assistance of an...

[319-2] This clause is probably an explanatory remark by Las Casas. It is misleading. The war in Naples growing out of the invasion of Italy by Charles VIII. of France, in which...

At this time there began to be much talk about a voyage of exploration to that country which Leif had discovered. The leader of this expedition was Thorstein Ericsson, who was a...

2. FACSIMILE OF THE FIRST PAGE OF THE FOLIO (FIRST) EDITION OF THE SPANISH TEXT OF COLUMBUS'S LETTER, DATED FEBRUARY 15, 1493, TO SANTANGEL, DESCRIBING HIS FIRST VOYAGE. From th...

The landfall of John Cabot has been the subject of prolonged discussion. Labrador, Newfoundland, and Cape Breton are the principal places advocated. Of late years, owing to the...

Greenland, Norse colonists, 10; discovery, 17; explored, 17; named, 17; colonization, 17; Thorbiorn in Western Settlement, 20-23; introduction of Christianity, 23-26; sickness i...

There are great numbers of small snakes, and some lizards, but not many; for the Indians consider them as great a luxury as we do pheasants; they are of the same size as ours, b...

Likewise, that no settler be allowed to go and gather gold unless with a permit from the governor or mayor of the town in which he lives, to be given only upon his promising und...

Transcriber's Note: A number of typographical errors in the original text have been maintained in the current version of this book. A complete list is found at the end of the text.

Voyages, Gunnbiorn, 16, 46; Eric the Red, 16-17, 45-46; Leif Ericson, 25, 50-54; Thorstein Ericson, 26-27; Biarni Herjulfson, 47-49; Thorvald, 54-56; Thorfinn Karlsefni, 31-42,...