Part 3 (1/2)
In the voyage which we made by order of your Majesty, in addition to the 92 degrees we ran towards the west from our point of departure, before we reached land in the lat.i.tude of 34, we have to count 300 leagues which we ran northeastwardly, and 400 nearly east along the coast before WE REACHED THE 50TH PARALLEL OF NORTH LAt.i.tUDE, THE POINT WHERE WE TURNED OUR COURSE FROM THE Sh.o.r.e TOWARDS HOME. BEYOND THIS POINT THE PORTUGUESE HAD ALREADY SAILED AS FAR NORTH AS THE ARCTIC CIRCLE, WITHOUT COMING TO THE TERMINATION OF THE LAND.
VERSION OF RAMUSIO, Narrative.
Navigando fra levante & tramontana per spatio di leghe 150, PERVENIMO PROPINQUI ALLA TERRA EGE PER IL Pa.s.sATO TREVORONO I BRETTONI, QUALE STA IN GRADI 50 & havendo horamai consumati tutti li nostri armeggi & vettovaglie, havendo scoperto leghe 700, & piu di nuova terra, fortnitoci di acque & legue, deliberammo tornare in Francia.
Cosmography omitted.
Translation Narrative.
Sayling northeast for the s.p.a.ce of 150 leagues WE APPROACHED TO THE LANDE THAT IN TIMES PAST WAS DISCOVERED BY THE BRITONS, WHICH IS IN FIFTIE DEGREES. Having now spent all our provision and victuals and having discovered about 700 leagues and more of newe countries, and being furnished with water and wood we concluded to returne into Fraunce.
(Hakluyt, Divers voyages).
(Cogswell, Coll. of N. Y. Hist.
Society, Second series, I.)
Ramusio in omitting the cosmography and confining his version to the narrative would have left the letter without any designation of the northerly limit reached by Verrazzano, had he not transferred to the narrative, the statement of the lat.i.tude attained, namely, the fiftieth degree, from the cosmographical part; which was therefore properly done; though as an editor he should have stated the fact.
But he transcended his duty entirely in a.s.serting, in qualification of the lat.i.tude, what does not appear in the letter, that it was near where the Bretons had formerly made discoveries, and omitting all reference to the Portuguese. The Bretons are not mentioned or even alluded to in either portion of the original letter. The effect of this subst.i.tution therefore is to relieve the original from making a fake claim to the discovery north of Cape Breton, by admitting the discoveries of the Bretons, and making the alleged extent of the Verrazzano discovery, as already remarked, a mistake of nautical observation only. That it was deliberately made, and for that purpose, is shown by his taking the designation of the lat.i.tude from the same sentence in the cosmography as that in which the mention of the Portuguese discoveries occurs, in qualification of the lat.i.tude.
The motive which led Ramusio to make this alteration is found in the discourse of the French captain of Dieppe, in which it is stated that this part of the coast was discovered by the Normands and Bretons and the Portuguese, many years before the Verrazzano voyage.
Ramusio, as he informs us himself, translated that paper from the French into the Italian and published it in the same volume, in conjunction with the Verrazzano letter, which he remodelled. He thus had the contents of both doc.u.ments before him, at the same time, and saw the contradiction between them. They could not both be true. To reconcile them, alterations were necessary; and this change was made in the letter in order to make it conform to the discourse. The fact of his making it, proves that he regarded the letter as advancing an indefensible claim.
It is also to be observed that in adopting the fiftieth parallel as the extent of the discovery in the north, Ramusio obtained the statement from the cosmography, showing that he had that portion of the letter before him; and confirming the conclusion, expressed in a previous section, that his version was composed from the Carli copy of the letter, in which alone the cosmography occurs. Whether this limit was so transposed by him for a purpose or not, may be a question; but the origin of it cannot be disputed.
VI.
IV. THE DESCRIPTION OF THE PEOPLE AND PRODUCTIONS OF THE LAND NOT MADE FROM THE PERSONAL OBSERVATION OF THE WRITER OF THE LETTER. WHAT DISTINCTIVELY BELONGED TO THE NATIVES IS UNNOTICED, AND WHAT IS ORIGINALLY MENTIONED OF THEM IS UNTRUE. FURTHER ALTERATIONS OF THE TEXT BY RAMUSIO.
We are brought now to the observations in reference to the people and productions of the country. The communications which the explorers had with the sh.o.r.e are not represented as having been numerous, or their visits of long duration, the longest having been one of three days, while they were riding at anchor off the coast of North Carolina, and another of fifteen, spent in replenis.h.i.+ng the supplies for their s.h.i.+p, in the harbor in the great bay of Ma.s.sachusetts. These opportunities were however, it seems, sufficient to have enabled them to study the characteristics of the natives and to determine the nature of the vegetation at those places; but the description given of both is very general. Not a single person, sagamore or warrior, or even the boy who was carried away to France, is designated by name, nor any object peculiar to the region by its native appellation. Not an Indian word, by which a locality or a tribe might be traced, occurs in the whole narrative.
Some familiar details are mentioned of Indian manners and customs, which give the account the appearance of truth, but there is nothing in them which may not have been deduced from known narratives of earlier voyages to adjoining parts of America; while much that was peculiar to the country claimed to have been discovered, and of a character to compel observation, is omitted; and some particulars stated which could not have existed.
In its incidents of Indian life it recalls the experiences of Columbus. When the great discoverer first came to the island of Hispaniola it is related, ”they saw certaine men of the Islande who perceiving an unknowen native comming toward them, flocked together and ran into the thicke woodes, as it had bin hares coursed with greyhoundes. Our men pursuing them took only one woman, whom they brought, to the s.h.i.+ps, where filling her with meate and wine, and apparrelling her, they let her depart to her companie.” Also, ”their boates are made only of one tree made hollow with a certain sharpe stone, for they have no yron, and are very long and narrow.” And again, ”when our men went to prayer, and kneeled on their knees, after the manner of the Christians, they did the like also. And after what manner soever they saw them pray to the crosse, they followed them in all poyntes as well as they could.” [Footnote: Peter Martyr, Dec. LL in Eden.]. The Verrazzano letter tells us, in like phrase, that when they landed at the end of fifty leagues from the landfall, ”we found that the people had fled to the woods for fear.
By searching around we discovered in the gra.s.s a very old woman and a young girl of about eighteen or twenty, who had concealed themselves for the same reason. We gave them a part of our provisions, which they accepted with delight, but the girl would not touch any.” At the same place, it is added, ”we saw many of their boats made of one tree, without the aid of stone or iron or other kind of metal.” And to make the parallel complete, the letter a.s.serts of the natives, ”they are very easy to be persuaded and imitated us with earnestness and fervor in all which they saw us do as Christians in our acts of wors.h.i.+p.” While they were taking in their supplies and interchanging civilities with the Indians in the harbor of the great bay, the following scene of royalty is described as having occurred. ”One of the two kings often came with his queen and many gentlemen (gentili uomini) to see us for his amus.e.m.e.nt, but he always stopped at the distance of about two hundred paces, and sent a boat to inform us of his intended visit, saying they would come and see our s.h.i.+p. This was done for safety, and as soon as they had an answer from us, they came off and remained awhile to look around; but on hearing the annoying cries of the sailors, the king sent the queen with her maids (demizelle) in a very light boat to wait near an island, a quarter of a league distant from us while he remained a long time on board.” This hyperbolical description of the visit of the sachem of Cape Cod accompanied by the gentlemen of his household and of his squaw queen with her maids of honor, has its prototype in the visit paid to Bartholomew Columbus, during the absence of his brother, the admiral, by Bechechio the king or cacique of Xacagua and his sister, the queen dowager, Anacoana, who are represented as going to the s.h.i.+p of the Adelantado in two canoes, ”one for himself and certayne of his gentlemen, another for Anacoana and her waiting women.” The astonishment which the natives manifested at the appearance of the Dauphiny and her crew; their admiration of the simple toys and little bells which were offered them by the strangers; their practice of painting their bodies, adorning themselves with the gay plumage of birds, and habiting themselves with the skins of animals, seem all a.n.a.logized, in the same way, from the accounts given by Peter Martyr of the inhabitant of the islands discovered by Columbus, and of the northern regions by Sebastian Cabot. These traits of Indian life and character, therefore, not having been peculiar to the natives of the country described in the letter, and having been already mentioned in earlier accounts of the adjoining parts of America, the description of them here furnishes no proof of originality or of the truth of the letter for that reason.
On the other hand objects which historically belong to the inhabitants of the places declared to have been visited, and characterize them distinctly from those previously discovered, and which were of such a marked character as to have commanded attention, are not mentioned at all. Of this cla.s.s perhaps the most prominent is the wampum, a commodity of such value and use among them that, like gold among the Europeans, it served the double purpose of money and personal adornment. The region of the harbor where the voyagers spent, according to the letter, fifteen days in familiar intercourse with the inhabitants, was its greatest mart, from which it was spread among the tribes, both north and east.
Wood, describing the Narragansets in 1634, says they ”are the most curious minters of the wampompeage and mowhakes which they forme out of the inmost wreaths of periwinkle shels. The northerne, easterne, and westerne Indians fetch all their coyne from these southern mint- masters. From hence they have most of their curious pendants and bracelets; hence they have their great stone pipes which will hold a quarter of an ounce of tobacco.” And in regard to their practice of ornamentation, he remarks again: ”although they be poore, yet is there in them the sparkes of naturall pride which appeares in their longing desire after many kinde of ornaments, wearing pendants in their eares, as formes of birds, beasts and fishes, carved out of bone, shels, and stone, with long bracelets of their curious wrought wampompeage and mowhackees which they put about their necks and loynes; which they count a rare kinde of decking.” The same writer adds a description of an Indian king of this country in his attire, which is somewhat less fanciful than that in the letter. ”A sagamore with a humberd (humming-bird) in his eare for a pendant, a blackhawke in his occiput for his plume, mowhackees for his gold chaine, good store of wampompeage begirting his loynes, his bow in his hand, his quiver at his back, with six naked Indian spatterlashes at his heeles for his guard, thinkes himselfe little inferiour to the great Cham. [Footnote: New England Prospect, pp.
61, 65-6.] Roger Williams confirms this account of the importance of the wampum among these same Indians. ”They hang,” he states ”these strings of money about their necks and wrists, as also about the necks and wrists of their wives and children. Machequoce, a girdle, which they make curiously of one, two, three, four and five inches thickness and more, of this money, which sometimes to the value of tenpounds and more, they weare about their middle, and a scarfe about their shoulders and b.r.e.a.s.t.s.
The Indians prize not English gold, Nor English, Indians sh.e.l.l: Each in his place will pa.s.se for ought, What ere men buy or sell.”
[Footnote: Key into the Language of America, pp. 149-50.]
Another important article in universal use among the Indians of the main land, north and south, was the tobacco pipe. Tobacco was used by the natives of the West India islands, made up in rolls or cigars; but by the Indians of the continent it was broken up, carried in small bags attached to a girdle round the body, and smoked through clay, stone or copper pipes, sometimes of very elaborate workmans.h.i.+p. Smoking the pipe was of universal use among them, both on ordinary and extraordinary occasions. It was a tender of hospitality to strangers; and a sign of peace and friends.h.i.+p between the nations. [Footnote: For a full and interesting account of the importance of the tobacco-pipe among the Indians of North America, upon cited authorities, we refer the reader to Antiquities of the Southern Indians. By Charles C. Jones Jr., p. 382. (New York, 1873.)] When Captain Waymouth ran along the coast of the great bay of Ma.s.sachusetts, in 1605, he repeatedly encountered this custom. On one occasion the natives came from the sh.o.r.e in three canoes, and Rosier remarks of them: ”they came directly aboord us and brought us tobacco, which we tooke with them IN THEIR PIPE which was made of earth very strong, but blacke and short, containing a great quant.i.ty. When we came at sh.o.a.re they all most kindely entertained us, taking us by the hands, as they had observed we did to them aboord in token of welcome, and brought us to sit downe by their fire, where sat together thirteene of them. They filled their tobacco pipe, which was then the short claw of a lobster, which will hold ten of our pipes full and we dranke of their excellent tobacco, as much as we would with them.” [Footnote: Purchas, IV. 1662.] No notice is taken of this custom, either of tobacco or the pipe in the Verrazzano letter.
The most remarkable omission of all is of the bark canoe. This light and beautiful fabric was peculiar to the Algonkin tribes. It was not found among the southern Indians, much less in the West India islands. Its buoyancy and the beauty of its form were such as to render it an object of particular observation. Though so light as to be capable of being borne on a man's shoulders, it would sometimes carry nine men, and ride with safety over the most stormy sea. It was always from the first a great object of interest with the discoverers of the northerly parts of the coast, which they manifested by taking them back to Europe, as curiosities. Aubert carried one of them to Dieppe in 1508, and Captain Martin Fringe, who was one of the first to visit the sh.o.r.es of Cape Cod, took one, in 1603, thence to Bristol, which he thus describes, as if he saw no other kind.
”Their boats whereof we brought one to Bristoll, were in proportion like a wherrie of the river of Thames, seventeene foot long and foure foot broad, made of the barke of a birch tree, farre exceeding in bignesse those of England: it was sowed together with strong and tough oziers or twigs, and the seames covered over with rozen or turpentine little inferiour in sweetnesse to frankincense, as we made triall by burning a little thereof on the coales at sundry times after our comming home: it was also open like a wherrie, and sharpe at both ends, saving that the beake was a little bending roundly upward. And though it carried nine men standing upright, yet it weighed not at the most, above sixtie pounds in weight, a thing almost incredible in regard of the largenesse and capacitie thereof.