De Fontemakes no Delay, but immediately proceeds as the Case required; finds an old Man aboard, the Man (as being a great Mechanick might be very useful on such an Expedition) and a Youth, might venture to stay, their Age would plead as to any Severity that might be intended byde Fonte; and through the Fear of which Severity the othersretired into the Woods, where they could manage without being sensible of those Difficulties whichEuropeansapprehend. To leave the Ship without any one aboard,de Fontecould of Course have taken her as being deserted; and by their Retirement into the Woods, his Pursuit of them there would have alarmed theIndians, and more especially if he had attempted any Severity, it might have been fatal to him and his Company, from the Resistance they might have met with, not only from theBostonPeople, but theIndiansassisting them, as they would have considered it as an Insult, an Exercise of Power which they would apprehend he had no Right to use in those Parts, as to a People who were trading with them, and been the Occasion that theSpaniardswould have been no more received as Friends in those Parts.
De Fontehad particularly provided himself with someEnglishmen, who, by a friendly Converse with the People fromBoston, might endeavour to learn their Secrets, and prepare them the better by what they would be instructed to tell them to come to a Compliance with the Admiral's Intentions. The Result of this Affairde Fonteonly mentions; but they would not have staid away so long, would have returned sooner aboard, had they only left the Ship on Account of Trade. Trade was only a secondary Object, the Discovery was the principal, and they would not have staid in one Place, at this Season, had they not been necessitated through a Fear ofde Fonteso to do. It may be supposed theEnglishmenwho were withde Fonte, two of whom were fromCampechy, and the other become Catholick, as he was married to the Master's Daughter, they would not act either with much Sincerity or Truth as to their own Countrymen, but managed with the old Man to bring the Owner, Navigator, and rest of the Crew aboard.
On their return the Navigator of the Ship was the first who waited on the Admiral, and he calls him CaptainShapley, his NameNicholas Shapley, who was famous as a Navigator, for his Knowledge in the Mathematicks and other Branches of Science, that the common People supposed he dealt in the Magick Art, and had the Name given him ofOld Nick, not by the People ofBoston, but by a Set of Libertines as they termed them, and who had separated from the People ofBoston, and gone to live by themselves atPiscatua, where he was settled at aPlace calledKittery, in the Province ofMain; the Name ofKitterygiven by his BrotherAlexander Shapley, to a Tract of Land he had settled on there; and they write the NameShapleyexactly in the Manner in which it is wrote in the Letter. The BrotherAlexanderwas a Cotemporary atOxfordwith CaptainJames, who went on Discovery, and his Acquaintance. The Descendants ofAlexander, a genteel People, were not many Years since living atKittery; butNicholas Shapleyretired toNew London, where he had a Son that was living in the Year one Thousand seven Hundred and fifty-two, a Fisherman. The Family atKitterywere very shy as to giving any Information as to what they knew in this Affair, upon an Application by the Author of these Observations, or looking intoAlexander's Papers, as an officious Person had got beforehand, and discouraged them from giving any Gratification of this Sort, under Pretence, if their Papers were seen, it might give some Insight into a Lawsuit depending between the Branches of the Family, or expected to be commenced; and that there was a great Reward for the Discovery of a North-west Passage, which, if the Account was attained from them they would be intitled to a Part, which by this Means they would be deprived of. Jealousies of this Kind raised by a pretended, at least an ignorant Friend, against the Application of a Stranger, who assured them he was superior to any Trick of that Sort, and would give them any Satisfaction in his Power as they should propose, occasioned a Disappointment. The Son of CaptainNicholas, upon an Application made by the Author likewise, had nothing but his Father's Sea Chest, in which, there were once a great many Papers, and which his Mother, the Wife of CaptainNicholas, made a great Account of; but the Son being an illiterate Man, had made Use of them in the Family as waste Paper. I have mentioned him as illiterate, but he was a well meaning Man, and he had heard his Mother talk something about such an Affair; but I shall not lay a Stress upon the Account he gave, as he may be supposed prompted by the earnest Manner of the Inquiry to give grateful Answers, in Expectation of a Reward. The Number of Settlers in allPiscatua, the Province ofMainincluded, did not at that Time exceed four Hundred People, but is now become a well settled Country; yet there was amongst the antient People aboutKittery, a Tradition of CaptainNicholashaving been on such a Voyage, and as to which, on proper Application to Persons who have Influence, and will make due Inquiry, it appears to me the Publickwill receive a farther Satisfaction than they may at present expect. A considerable Merchant who lived atFalmouthinPiscatua, a Man of Character, no Way biassed for or against a North-west Passage, but as he is since dead, I may take the Liberty to say, married a Daughter of his late Excellency GovernorWeymouth, mentioned an Anecdote respecting his Father, who was a very antient Man: That when the Dispute was between the late GovernorDobbsand CaptainMiddleton, he said, Why do they make such a Fuzz about this Affair, ourOld Nick(meaning CaptainShapley) was through there? And this antient Gentleman had been an Intimate of CaptainShapley's.
Early in the Year before this Voyage Major GeneralGibbonswent with others over toPiscatua, to have a Conference about Church Matters; and Mr.Alexander Shapleywas one on the Part of the Settlers inPiscatua, and who had but returned fromEnglandthe Fall before. At this Meeting, probably, they fixed on the Time and Manner of executing the Design, which they had before concerted. This whole Affair was concerted in an obscure Part, the Affair not known to the People ofBoston, as it was more to the Purpose of those who undertook it to keep it a Secret; and probably MajorGibbonswas more inclined it should be so, as he had before met with two Disappointments. The Characters of the Persons were such, as by whom it is very reasonable to suppose such an Expedition might be undertaken. Mr.Alexander Shapleywas a Merchant, a lively, active, enterprising Man; sufficient to this Purpose hath been said of his Brother: And we may add to the Character of Major GeneralGibbons, it was said of him, that he was much of a Gentleman, a brave, social and friendly Man, had the latter End of the Year 1639 a Commission to be Captain of the Fort, was one of the Council, also concerned in Church Matters, as appears from Records. But during the Time that this Voyage was making, that worthy Pastor ofBostonand great Antiquarian Mr.Prince, who, from a generous Disposition to get at the Truth, used extraordinary Industry in this Affair, by searching the Records in the old Church there in the Year 1752, could not find his Hand set to any Thing, or any Matters relating to Major GeneralGibbons, tho' he found Papers signed by him frequently before, and other Transactions in which he is mentioned to be concerned, also after the Time of this Voyage, and the only Objection that he could find was,that the Wife of Major GeneralGibbonsmust have had a seven Months Child, if he went on such Voyage, as it was a Custom in the Church ofBoston, at that Time, that the Child should be brought to be baptized theSundayafter it was born; and by the Register it appears that this was the Case, according to the Time that it must be supposed he returned.
The Name wasEdward Gibbons; andSeimoris a Mistake of the Translator, not observing that asde Fonterespectfully stilesShapleyCaptain, he would not mention the Owner by his Christian Name only, a fine Gentleman and a Major General, but stiles him agreeable thereto after theSpanishMannerSennor; and this Mistake of the Translator, as to the Name, and not observing that theMajor Generaland the Owner were one and the same Person, shews that the Translator and Editors knew nothing of the Persons mentioned.
What is said of the largest Colony inNew England, called theMaltechusets: The Dominions ofNew Englandconsisted, at that Time, of the Colonies ofPlymouth,Massachusets, andConnecticut, of whichMassachusetswas the largest, asNew Hampshire,Piscatua, and the Province ofMain, were under its Jurisdiction: And it is a little remarkable that the Admiral should call it theMaltechusets; he apprehended it a Mistake, though so exact as to the NamesShapleyandGibbons; seems to have given the Alteration agreeable to his own Ideas, and that it must have Reference toMalta.
The old Man told them the Ship was ofNew England, from the Town calledBoston, which was the only Place where they could fit out properly or conveniently, the Part whereShapleylived consisting only of a few scattered Houses, and as it was very frequent fromBostonto make Voyages to the Northward, their true Design for further Discoveries might remain a Secret to all but themselves.
De Fonte's Address toGibbonsas the Owner, represented so on this Occasion to serve the Purpose, though the Vessel seems to have beenAlexander Shapley's, implies that he understood, or took the Advantage on finding they had been trading with theIndians, that they had two Purposes in their Undertaking, to discover a Passage, and to trade. As to the first,de Fontetells him he had an Order to make aPrize of anyPeople seeking a West or North-west Passage, speaking in general Terms, not of them only, so concealing the Advice he had received as to their particular undertaking of this Discovery; nor could it be peculiarly understood as to the Subjects ofEngland, for theDanesalso, to their immortal Honour, had before attempted the same Discovery; and in Consequence let him know that the Part he was in was of the Dominions of the Crown ofSpain, as his Commission could be of no Force beyond the Extent of that Dominion.De Fonte's Address likewise implied, that as he would consider them only as Traders, that he would not make Prisoners of them on that Account; but expected after this Adventure that others would learn to keep nearer home, for Fear of falling into a like Accident, and meeting not with the same favourable Treatment. Nevertheless he takes effectual Measures to embarrass them on their Return, and obliges them to stay no longer in those Parts, as he takes from them whatde Fontecalls a small Present of Provisions, which he had no Need on, but he knew they might, and as to which, the Affair of Provisions, he gave such an Attention to, through the Course of his Voyage; and though small what he accepted in respect to the Subsistance of those he had with him, yet as the Sequel will shew, was afterwards the Occasion of infinite Distress to theBostonPeople. The Gift in return, which is pompously mentioned at twelve Hundred Pieces of Eight, when we consider the Price Things bore of this Sort where he purchased it, inPeru, as he estimates by Pieces of Eight, the Manner of Valuation in those Parts, would not be toGibbonsa Hundred Pounds Sterling; and the Present to the Seamen must be considered as in lieu of these Provisions; and by this Means of mutual Presents countenanced what was absolutely extorted by Force, as was the Case withShapley, as to his Charts and Journals, which he would not have parted with, but constrained through Fear; and by hisEnglishSeamende Fontecould let them know that the Provisions, Charts, and Journals would be acceptable. He executed his Design in this Manner, that if theBostonPeople returned there could be no proper Foundation for the Court ofEnglandto take Umbrage at his Proceeding.
The Generosity ofde Fonteso exceeding what their Present and the Charts and Journals could be worth, would be considered as to make them some Satisfaction for their Disappointment; for the Fears they hadbeen put into, and their being detained there; the Gift of Wine, might be from a Respect toMajor General Gibbons, as an Officer, whomde Fontestiles modest, tho' he might perceive it to be the Effect of his Uneasiness on being thus intercepted. In all other Respects, what he gave was a Debt which the Crown ofSpainwould pay, would be considered as Money advanced in their Service; a Sum of no Consideration with them, as he had met with these People, procured their Charts by which they got into the Secret, by what Way they had advanced so far, and probably very particular Charts and Journals of the other Voyagers whomGibbonswas acquainted with; and he would endeavour to be furnished with all Materials which he could probably procure before that he set out. It would be greatly commended by the Court ofSpainthe artful Management ofde Fontein distressing these People, and not with a seeming Intention, and giving an absolute Discouragement to other Adventurers, who would be afraid of falling into theSpaniardsHands, whom it would be supposed constantly frequented those Parts.
De Fonteonly mentions the Issue of this Affair, what would be immediately necessary for the Court to know; he mentions no intervening Circumstances, nor what Time there was between their Examination and the Presents, whether he or they sailed first, but it must be supposed they were more than a Day together, and thatde Fontewould see them out of those Parts, as, if they had staid longer, they might probably have supplied themselves well with Provisions, and proceeded further; but as they were circumstanced, they would be put under a Necessity to set out for home, would be glad to leave him the first Opportunity; and asde Fonteseems to be waiting for a Wind, which he had the sixth ofAugust, and it had in the interim been fair for theBostonPeople, they were certainly gone before thatde Fonteset out on his Return.
In the Ecclesiastical History ofNew England, by the ReverendCotton Mather, published atLondonin 1702, in Folio, in his Account of wonderful Sea Deliverances, Book the sixth, isThe wonderful Story of Major Gibbons.
'Among remarkableSea Deliverances, no less than three several Writers have published that wherein MajorEdward Gibbonswas concerned.A Vessel bound fromBostonto some other Parts ofAmerica, was, through the Continuance of contrary Winds, kept so long at Sea, that the People aboard were in extreme straits for Want of Provision, and seeing that nothing here below could afford them any Relief, they looked upwards unto Heaven, in humble and fervent Supplications. The Winds continuing still as they were, one of the Company made a sorrowful Motion that they should, by aLot, single outOneto die, and by Death to satisfy the ravenous Hunger of the rest. After many a doleful and fearful Debate upon this Motion, they came to a Result, thatit must be done! TheLotis cast; one of the Company is taken; but where is the Executioner that shall do the terrible Office upon a poor Innocent? It is a Death now to think who shall act this bloody Part in the Tragedy: But before they fall upon this involuntary and unnatural Execution, they once more went unto their zealousPrayers; and, behold, while they were calling upon God, he answered them, for there leaped a mighty Fish into their Boat, which, to their double Joy, not only quieted their outrageous Hunger, but also gave them some Token of a further Deliverance: However, the Fish is quickly eaten; the horribleFaminereturns, the horrible Distress is renewed; a black Despair again seizes their Spirits: For another Morsel they come to a secondLot, which fell upon another Person; but still they cannot find an Executioner: They once again fall to their importunate Prayers; and, behold, a second Answer from above; a great Bird lights, and fixes itself on the mast; one of the Men spies it, and there it stands until he took it by the Wing with his Hand. This was a secondLife from the Dead. This Fowl, with the Omen of a further Deliverance in it, was a sweet Feast unto them. Still their Disappointments follow them; they can see no Land; they know not where they are: Irresistable Hunger once more pinches them: They have no Hope to be saved but bya third Miracle: They return to anotherLot; but before they go to the Heart-breaking Talk of slaying the Person underDesignation, they repeat their Addresses unto the God of Heaven, their formerFriend in Adversity; and now they look and look again, but there is nothing: Their Devotions are concluded, and nothing appears; yet they hoped, yet they staid, yet they lingered: At last one of them spies a Ship, which put a new Hope and Life into them all: They bear up withtheir Ship; they man their Longboat; they go to board the Vessel, and are admitted. It proves aFrenchPyrate: MajorGibbonsPetitions for a little Bread, and offers all for it; but the Commander was one who had formerly received considerable Kindnesses of MajorGibbonsatBoston, and now replied chearfully, MajorGibbons, not an Hair of you, or your Company, shallperish if it lies in my Power topreserveyou. Accordingly he supplied their Necessities, and they made a comfortable End of their Voyage.'
There are nine other Accounts, in each of which the Places the Persons were bound to are particularly mentioned. In this Account (the Design being only to shew the wonderful Deliverance ofGibbons) Dr.Mathercould not mention the Place to which the Voyage had been made in any other Manner, thanto some other Parts of America, which hath an exact Correspondence with the Voyage in which MajorGibbonswas intercepted byde Fonte; for that Voyage was properly to several Parts, not being to one particular Part ofAmerica; which Parts were, at that Time, nameless. It is said further, that their Misfortune was occasioned by contrary Winds.De Fontehad a fair Wind from the sixth ofAugustto the fifth ofSeptember, and for a longer Time, so contrary to theBostonShip; afterwards they had the Wind again contrary, when they came into the Ocean, being North-west or to Westward of it, as they could see no Land; the Land expected to be seen may be supposed the Land ofNewfoundland, or they were to Eastward and Southward of the Gulph ofSt. Lawrence: And which Account of the Weather is agreeable to the Time of the Year that they were there, the latter End ofSeptember, or Beginning ofOctober, being the Equinoctial Gales. Also as to the Fish which must have been a Sturgeon, which Fish frequently jump into Boats; and shews, as the Boat was out, that they had then moderate Weather, but contrary; though a hard Gale succeeded, as one of the Birds of Passage, which are also then going to Southward, was blown off the Coast and tired, rested on the Mast. Far be it from me to reckon these as mere Accidents, and not the Assistances of the Almighty, but a Relief which the Almighty sent them by Contingencies which are natural: And as to the Ship, which was aFrenchPirate, she had probably come with a fresh Wind out of the Gulph ofSt. Lawrence, and Standing to Eastward ofSablesto clear that Island andNautuchet,for which she had a fair Wind; and it is said the Commander had an Acquaintance with MajorGibbons, and received Favours from him atBoston; but I must add an Anecdote, to shew that there might also be another Reason assigned, which would not be suitable to be published with that Account;Alexander Shapleyhad used to hold a Correspondence with these Kind of Gentry, as is evident from a severe Censure on him on that Account, recorded in the Council Book atBoston. It was aShipthat MajorGibbonswas in when intercepted byde Fonte; and this Account also mentions a Ship. After the Death ofMajor Gibbons, his Family, according to the Account of a very ancient Gentlewoman atBoston, removed toBermuda; which Lady, who was near ninety Years of Age, had some traditional Account of theMajorhaving been such a Voyage to discover a new Way to theEast Indies, and suffered much from the Snow and Ice, went through a great many Hardships, and, she said, she thought it was fromBostonthat he set out. The Persons discovered by Mons.Groseliers, at what he calls anEnglishSettlement, near PortNelson, as it is now termed, wereBenjaminthe Son of CaptainZachary Gillam, and some others, fromBoston, who were the same Year taken toCanada, whose Journal of that Voyage the Author hath seen, and this Circumstance is mentioned in it, which Persons have been mistaken for MajorGibbonsand his Company.
'We arrived at the RiverParmentiersthe 11th ofAugust86 Leagues, and was on the South Side LakeBelleon board our Ships the 16th ofAugust, before the fine TownConosset, where we found all Things well, and the honest Natives ofConossethad, in our Absence, treated our People with great Humanity, and Capt.de Ronquilloanswered their Civility and Justice.'
We have been before told, that the Admiral went sixty Leagues upLos Reyes, which I take to be the whole Distance between the Entrance ofLos ReyestoConossetin LakeBelle; and if we transpose the above Words, 'arrived atParmentiersthe eleventh ofAugust, and was on the South Side LakeBelleeighty-six Leagues on board our Ships the sixteenth ofAugust,' then we have the Distances respecting every Part ofde Fonte's Course thro' Land, fromLos ReyestoConossetsixty Leagues, fromConossetto Lakede Fonteeighty-six Leagues, from the Entrance of Lakede Fonteto the Streight ofRonquilloone Hundred and sixty Leagues, from the Entrance of the Streight ofRonquilloto the Sea thirty-six Leagues. The Time thatde Fontewas passing down the River ofParmentiers, and the Time he took to return, are equal, which is plainly owing to his being obliged to wait the Tides for getting over the Falls both Ways. The sixth ofJulythey had entered the Lakede Fonte, and by the fifteenth were through the Streights ofRonquillo, and at theIndianTown the seventeenth, so they were eleven Days from their Entrance into the Lakede Fonte; but in their return the same Way only five, favoured by a strong Current which the Wind occasioned to set into the Lake, and having as much Wind as they could fly before, and now came directly back; whereas in their Passage out they had made some Delays. The Course toConossetbeing nearest North-east, I compute it to be in Lat. 56 Deg. Long. 118° 2´ fromLondon. The Entrance of Lakede Fonte(supposing the Course of the RiverParmentiersand fromConossetEast North East) in Lat. 59° 4´. Long. 113°. The Entrance of the Streights ofRonquilloEast North East, in Lat. 61 Deg. 8 Min. Long. 98 Deg. 48 Min. the Course through the Streights to enter the Sea North by East, such Entrance to be in Lat. 62 Deg. 48 Min. Long. 98 Deg. 2 Min. which Course must be consistent withde Fonte's Account that a strong Current set in, as by this Course such Current must be accelerated, if it set to the Southward, by the Wind from the Northward, or if it was from the Southward, would be opposed in going to the Northward.
De Fonteproceeds to give an Account of the good Estate in which he found all Things on his Return; mentions the Honesty and Humanity of the Natives, and the prudent Conduct of CaptainRonquillo, who answered their Civility and Justice. For they had, during the Time ofde Fonte's Absence, procured, by dealing with the Natives, Store of good Provisions to salt, Venison, Fish; also one Hundred Hogsheads ofIndianMaiz; besides the Service this would be of on their Return, procured pursuant tode Fonte's Order, it employed the People, with the other necessary Work about the Ships after so long a Run, and kept them from brangling with the Natives. The Natives were also employed to their Interest, which preserved them in good Humour; and a Justice in dealing preserved their Friendship.
'The 20th ofAugustanIndianbrought me a Letter toConosset, on the LakeBelle, from CaptainBernarda, dated the 11th ofAugust, where he sent me Word he was returned from his cold Expedition, and did assure me there was no Communication out of theSpanishorAtlantickSea, byDavisStreight; for the Natives had conducted one of his Seamen to the Head ofDavisStreight, which terminated in a fresh Lake, of about 30 Mile in Circumference, in the 80th Degree of North Latitude; and that there was prodigious Mountains North of it, besides the North-west from that Lake the Ice was so fixed, that from the Shore to 100 Fathom of Water, for ought he knew from the Creation; for Mankind knew little of the wonderful Works of God, near the North and South Poles: He writ further, that he had sailed fromBassetIsland North East, and East North East, and North East and by East, to the 79th Degree of Latitude, and the Land trended North, and the Ice rested on the Land.'
The OrdersBernardareceived were to sail up a River North and North East, North and North West, which River I suppose to have emptied itself near toLos Reyesinto the South-east Part of theSouth Sea; and it is not uncommon, inAmerica, that two great Rivers should have their Entrances contiguous to each other; and I supposeConabasset, afterwards calledBasset, to be in Lat. 58 Deg. 10 Min. to the Westward ofLos Reyesin Long. 122 Deg. 9 Min. fromLondon. The Course up the RiverHaroNorth 14 Deg. West; and asConossetis laid down in Lat. 56 Deg. Long. 118 Deg. 2 Min. the Distance fromBassettoConossetis one Hundred and seventy-seven Miles; the Course North 46 Deg. West. The Letter by the first Messenger was dated the 27th ofJune, and is received the fourth Day, as he could not come a direct Course, we may suppose he travelled fifty Miles a Day, which is an extraordinary Allowance, the greatest Part by Water, and Light most of the Night. We know he would go Part by Water in LakeBelle, and LakeBelleissuing its Waters both byLos Reyesand the RiverParmentiers, must receive some considerable Influx of Waters by which it is formed, as well as to give a constant Supply of the Waters that issue from it, and which must be principally or only from the Northward, for it cannot be supposed to receive its Waters from the Southward, and discharge them there again, and which the Messengerwould make Use of as soon as possible, and come down Stream. The second Messenger, who is expresly mentioned to be anIndian, is nine Days a coming. ButBernardamentions nothing as to his Ship or People in this Account, only says he is returned from his cold Expedition, therefore probably he sent away theIndianas soon as he could after he entered the River, which ran into theTartarianSea, in Lat. 61. If this was the Case, we may suppose that the Waters which came into the LakeBellehead a great Way up in the Country.
Bernardahad Directions, after he left LakeValasco, to sail one Hundred and forty Leagues West, and then four Hundred and thirty Leagues North East by East to seventy-seven Degrees of Latitude.Bernarda, in his Letter of the 27th ofJuneobserves, there was a River eighty Leagues in Length, not comprehended in his Instructions or Orders, and emptied itself in theTartarianSea; and says, in his Letter of the 11th ofAugust, that he sailed from the IslandBassetNorth-east; with that Course, when he entered theTartarianSea, in Latitude 61, his Longitude would be 116 Deg. he then begins the Coursede Fontedirected him, one Hundred and forty Leagues East North East; and he mentions on his Return he had steered that Course, keeping the Land aboard. So thatWestand the Land trendingNorth East, are Mistakes in the Publication inApril; but the mentioning how the Land trended, shews he was then entering the Sea; for to talk of Land, with respect to a River, is absurd; and with the Course and Distance he steered would be in Lat. 63 Deg. 39 Min. and Long. 110 Deg. fromLondon: Then he steers four Hundred and thirty-six Leagues North East and by East, and that brings him into Latitude 79 Deg. Long. 87 Deg. fromLondon. But the Land trending North, and with Ice, which would be dangerous for thePeriagos; and as the Land trended North, where he was appearing to him to be the nearest Part he could attain to to go to the Head ofDavisStreight; and as to the Distance over Land, and the Propriety of sending a Messenger, theIndianswould inform him; he sends a Seaman over with anIndianto take a Survey of the Head of such Streights, by us calledBaffin's Bay; which Name was not at that Time generally received. Which Seaman reports, that it terminated in the eightieth Degree of Latitude, in a Lake of about thirty Miles in Circumference, with prodigious Mountains North of it, which indeed formed that Lake,or is a Sound, as that of SirJames Lancasterand ofAlderman Jones; and along the Shore, from the Lake North-west, the Ice was fixed, lying a great Distance out, which was very consistent with there being no Inlets there, the Waters from which would have set it off. The Distance that theIndianand Sailor travelled would not exceed fifty Miles; and their mentioning the high Mountains to Northward imply, that they were in a more level Country where they were to take this View. Light all Night, the Snow off the Ground, and the Heighth of Summer there. It is no vain Conjecture to suppose that the Journey was practicable, even if performed all the Way by Land, and much easier, which is not the least improbable, if they had an Opportunity of making Part of it by Water.Bernardaproceeding thus far in theTartarianSea, and entering in Latitude 61, is no Way contradictory to theRussianDiscoveries; and by theTartarianSea is meant, the Sea which washes the Northern Coasts ofTartary, and is supposed to extend round the Pole. Those Discoveries are agreeable to theJapaneseMap, as to the North-east Parts ofAsia, and North-west Parts ofAmerica, brought over byKemper, and in which Map there is expressed a Branch of theTartarianSea or Gulph, extending to the Southward, agreeable to this Account ofde Fonte. Who calls it, with respect toAsia, the North and East Part of theTartarianSea. Which compared with whatde Fontesays, as to sailing down the River to the North-east Part of theSouth Sea, these Expressions cast a mutual Light on each other, and that theArchipelagus of Saint Lazarusis a Gulph or Branch of the Sea, in the like Manner.
Places which are in one and the same Latitude, have not an equal Degree of Heat or Cold, or are equally fertile or barren, the Difference in these Respects chiefly consists in their Situation. The Country ofLabrador, which is to Eastward ofHudson'sBay, in Latitude 56, almost as high a Latitude as PortNelson, is a Country capable of being improved by Agriculture, and would supply all the Necessaries of Life, though intermixed with rugged and craggy Mountains. The Winter's not so severe as in the more Southern Parts ofHudson'sBay, as the Earth is not froze there, as it is in the same and lower Latitudes about that Bay: Also People have wintered in theLabrador, wearing only their usual Cloathing: Therefore drawing a Parallel between PortNelsonandConosset, as to the Infertility of one, therefore the other being in thesame Latitude, could not produce Maiz to supplyRonquillo, is an Objection which hath no Foundation in it. The higher the Latitude the quicker is the Vegetation; and asIndian CornorMaizmay be planted and gathered in three Months in lower Latitudes, it may be in an equal or less Time in higher Latitudes, in a good Soil. As to PortNelson, orYork Fort, inHudson'sBay, it is a low Country through which two large Rivers pass, with the Bay in Front, and nothing is certainly known of the more inland Parts.
The physical Obstacles that are produced against our giving Credit to this Account ofde Fonte, from the Depth of the Falls at the Entrance of LakeBellein the RiverParmentiers, and from the RiverBernardapassed up, are, from not understanding what is expressed by the Word Falls amongst theAmericans. They mean by a Fall wherever there is the least Declivity of the Water; and the Fall of thirty-two Feet in the RiverParmentiers, doth not mean a perpendicular Fall, as the Objector would have it understood, however ridiculous to suppose it, but eight gradual Descents, from the Beginning of which to the Extremity of the last there was a Difference of thirty-two Feet, and which became level or even at the Time of high Water.
WhatBernardasays as to his cold Expedition, a Person used to the Climate ofPerumight justly say so, of the Nights and Evenings and Mornings, at that Time of the Year, in the Latitude of seventy-nine, though temperate in Latitude fifty-six; and the whole Disposition of the Country, the immense high Lands, their barren and desert Aspect, in Places their Summits covered with perpetual Snow, the Ice fixed to the Shores, Sheets of floating Ice in the Waters, the immense Islands, frequently seeing Whales, Sea-horse, and a great Variety of the Inhabitants of those Waters, which do not frequent the Southern Parts: The Whole a Scene so different from the Verdure and Delights of the Plains aboutLima, and from the pleasing Views that present themselves on running along the Coasts ofPeru,Bernardamight well be affected with such Scene as to express himself, that Mankind knew little of the wonderful Works of God, especially near the North and the South Poles. But he was not so ignorant as to report, that he saw Mountains of Ice on the Land, as well as in the Sea, though he might see them forming betweenPoints of Land, which jetted out into the Sea; and such a Column of Ice would appear to him as something very curious.
That these Parts were inhabited does not appear, for it was a Native ofConibassetthat conducted the Seaman over the Land; and, at that Season of the Year, the fresh Waters are thawed, no Snow on the low and level Lands, only on the extreme Summits of the Hills.
What is objected as to the Affability of the Inhabitants, that it is not consistent with the Character of theIndians. Hospitality is the Characteristick of theIndianstowards Strangers, until such Time as they are prejudiced from some ill Treatment; and by the Account given by SirFrancis Drake, as to theIndiansofCalifornia, and by theSpaniardswho surveyed the Western Coasts, and the Islands lying off, they are represented in general as a kind, tractable People, and of a docile Temper.
As to the Dispatch used byIndiansin carrying Expresses, or their Runners as they term them, to carry Messages from one Nation to another, they will gird themselves up with the Rhind of Trees, and keep going incessantly great Distances with a surprising Agility Night and Day, taking little either of Sleep or other Refreshments, and keep a direct Course, and in the Night steer either by the Moon or Stars. Nor is there any Thing miraculous in these Journeys, which the Expresses performed, either as to Distance or as to Time, especially as they passed through a Country abounding with Waters, and which Country being inhabited they could be supplied with Canoes, or they would find Floats at the Places where they usually pass the Waters.
Bernardameetingde Fonteat a Port up the RiverRio los Reyes, shews he had Persons aboard who could direct him there, therefore must have been previously there; and they can be supposed to be no other than the Jesuits, which is a further Proof of the Jesuits having been before in these Parts. It was consistent that the Ships should join and return home together. From whereBernardacame to with his Ship was one Hundred and twenty Miles toConosset: His Letter from thence was dated the 29th ofAugust, andde Fontesailed the second ofSeptember: It may be supposed the Letter came to Hand the first ofSeptember, which isfour Days, and the Express had now all the Way by Water, and mostly against Stream.De Fonte, to shew that he had preserved the Affection of the Natives, mentions that he was accompanied with them; and they were of Assistance to him in the Pilotage down the River.De Fonteadds, he had sent a Chart with the Letter, which is misunderstood, as if such Chart had come to the Hands of the Editors;which will make this much more demonstrative, were Words added by them; but it was usual in all the Naval Expeditions to have Persons aboard whom they calledCosmographers, to take Draughts of Places, and compose their Charts, and at that Time a very reputable Employment.
Miguel Venegas, aMexicanJesuit, published atMadridin 1758, a Natural and Civil History ofCalifornia; a Translation of which was published inLondonin 1759, in two Volumes; and Vol. i. P. 185, says, 'To this Æra (the last Voyage he mentions was in 1636) belongs the Contents of a Paper published atLondon, under the Title of the Narrative ofBartholomew de Fuentes, Commander in Chief of the Navy inNew SpainandPeru, and President ofChili, giving an Account of the most remarkable Transactions and Adventures in this Voyage, for the Discovery of a Passage from theSouth Sea, to that of the North in the Northern Hemisphere, by Order of the Viceroy ofPeruin the Year 1640. This Writing contains several Accounts relating toCalifornia; but without entering into long Disputes, let it suffice to say, that little Credit is to be given to this Narrative. For the same Reason we have before omitted the Accounts of Voyages made from theSouth Seato the North round beyondCalifornia, and those of a contrary Direction, of which an Account is given by CaptainSeixasandLobero, inTheatro Naval, inSpanishandFrench; and particularly of thatSpaniardwho is supposed, in three Months, to have come fromPuerto de NavidadandCabo CorientestoLisbon. These and other Accounts dispersed in different Books, we designedly omit, as they want the necessary Authenticity.'
This Work was published with a Design to induce the Court ofSpainto a further Conquest of, an intire Reduction of, and the full settling ofCalifornia, as of the utmost Importance to Religion and the State; and one of the Arguments is, for their immediate putting what he recommendsin Execution, the repeated Attempts of theEnglishto find a Passage into theSouth Sea. And observes, 'Should they one Day succeed in this, why may not theEnglishcome down through their Conquests, and even make themselves Masters ofNew Mexico,&c.' which implies, that he did not look on such an Attempt as void of all Hopes of Success; and he again says, 'Whoever is acquainted with the present Disposition of theEnglishNation, and has heard with what Zeal and Ardour the Project for a North-west Passage has been espoused by many considerable Persons, will be convinced that the Scheme is not romantick, and it would not be surprizing if the Execution of it should one Day come under Deliberation.' Thus artfully hints, should the Scheme come under Deliberation, the Event would be to be feared; and though he ascribes his Opinion of its not being romantick, is, to many considerable Persons having espoused the Scheme, yet he tacitly applies to their own Knowledge, to what the Court ofSpainknows as to this Passage. He then proceeds, 'If this should ever happen,' the Deliberation, 'what would be the Condition of our Possessions?' The Deliberation would, from Consequences that would follow on such a Deliberation, endanger our Possessions.
Don Cortezinformed the King, by a Letter of the 15th ofOctober1524, that he was building two Ships, to get a Knowledge of the Coast yet undiscovered between the River ofPanacoandFlorida, and from thence to the Northern Coast of the said Country ofFlorida, as far as theBaccaloo, 'It being certain, as he expresses himself, that on that Coast is a Streight running into theSouth Sea'—'God grant that the Squadron may compass the End for which it is designed, namely, to discover the Streight, which I am fully persuaded they will do, because in the Royal Concerns of your Majesty nothing can be concealed; and no Diligence or Necessaries shall be wanting in me to effect it.' Again, 'I hereby inform your Majesty, that by the Intelligence I have received of the Countries on the upper Coast of the sending the Ships along, it will be attended with great Advantage to me, and no less to your Majesty. But acquainted as I am with your Majesty's Desire of knowing this Streight, and likewise of the great Service it would be to your Royal Crown.' Vol. i. P. 130.
Agreeable to this Letter several Attempts were made by Sea to discover whetherFloridawas Part of the Continent, or separated by a Streight; but whetherCortezpursued his Design by searching betweenFloridaalong the Coast ofBaccaloos,Newfoundland, and theTerra de Labrador, for a Streight, by which there was a Passage from theNorthto theSouth Seais uncertain.Floridacomprehended the Country from the Cape ofLabradorto the Capede los Martires, or ofMartyrs, opposite to the Island ofCuba. From thence to the Streights ofMagellanwas calledPeruan Part.
The King ofPortugal, with a View of finding a shorter Passage to those Parts of theIndies, which he had discovered, than by the Cape ofGood Hope, sent, in the Year fifteen Hundred,Gasper de Corte Realto the North ofAmerica, who landed on theTerra de Labrador; also gave his Name to a Promontory on that Coast which he calledPromonterium Corteriale. The Name ofLabradorimplies a fertile Country, and given in Distinction from the high barren mountainous Country to Northward, whichGasperdiscovered in Latitude sixty, and to the Southward of it. But this Distinction seems to have been soon lost, and the Name ofLabradoris now given to the whole Coast.
From the Knowledge we have of these Parts we may conclude, that thePromonterium Corterialewas what we at present nameCape Chidley, and the Islandsde Demonios, whereGasperlost a Vessel, those Islands now namedButton's Islands; and it wasHudson's Streights to which he gave the Name of the River of theThree Brothers, though the Reason of his giving that Name is not known to us.
We may perceive from this Account ofGasper's Voyage, who did not proceed to Westward to make a Passage, but coasted down the main Land, the Accounts of their being aPortuguesewho made a Voyage through the Streights ofAnian, calling a Promontory after his NamePromonterium Corteriale, hath had some Foundation in Truth; and in what is said byFrisius, an antient Geographer, calling it the Streights ofThree Brothers, orAnian(which that Word imports) because three Brothers had passed through a Streight from theNorthto theSouth Sea. It is also apparent that the Name ofAnianwas first given byGasperCorterialis(for some particular Reason unknown to us) to that Part, which is nowHudson's Streights. Though in Time this became a proper Name to express a Streight by which there is a Passage from theNorthto theSouth Sea, and is contended for to be the proper Name of the Streight that dividesAsiafromAmerica, by which there is a Communication with theTartarianandSouthern Ocean. After a Discovery of these Coasts had been made to Northward, the following Year the King ofPortugalsentAmericus Vespusinoto Southward, to discover the Land there.
Cortez's Designs seem to have their Foundation in these Expeditions of thePortuguese; but it was not until after the Year 1513, that theSouth Seawas discovered, and thePortuguezehad discovered theMoluccas, that the finding a Streight to the Northward, by which a Passage might be made to theSouth Sea, became a Matter of particular Attention, and was the first and principal Object ofCortez's Attention after he had become Master of the Capital ofMexicoin 1521; and this Opinion of a Passage to Northward continued during the Reign ofCharlesthe Fifth. Who in the Year 1524 sent fromOld Spainto discover a Passage to theMoluccasby the North ofAmerica, without Success; butEsteven Gomez, who was sent on that Expedition, brought someIndianshome with him. Then in the Year 1526Charlesthe Fifth wrote toCortez, in Answer to his Letters, and orders him to send the Ships atZacapilato discover a Passage fromNew Spainto theMoluccas.
From this Time, the Year 1526, the Opinion of there being a Streight was generally received, though on what Foundation does not appear. It was certainly on some better Reason thanGasper's Discoveries; and a Consideration of the Importance such a Passage would be of to the King ofSpainwith respect to theSpiceIslands. It is not consistent with the Characters of the EmperorCharlesthe Fifth, and ofCortez, when there were so many other solid Projects to pursue and this was preferred, to suppose that they should go, at that Time, on a meer visionary Scheme.
The same Opinion of a Passage to Northward prevailed in the Time ofPhilipthe Second, and in the Year 1596 he sent Orders to the ViceroyofMexicofor discovering and making Settlements in proper Parts ofCalifornia, and one Reason assigned was, 'There was much Talk about the Streight ofAnian, through which theSouth Seawas said to communicate with that of theNorth, nearNewfoundland; and should theEnglishfind out a practicable Passage on that Side, our Dominions, which then included allPortuguese India, would be no longer secure, all the Coast fromAcapulcotoCuliacanbeing quite defenceless, and fromCuliacanNorthward, not one single Settlement was made on the whole Coast.' Hist. Cal. V. i. P. 163. That now not only the Opinion of there being a Streight prevailed, but it was also fixed as to the Part, and had the Name ofAnian.
The Opinion of a Passage still existed in the Reign ofPhilipthe Third; and the same political Motives induced him to order the Conquest ofCaliforniato be undertaken with all possible Expedition; and one Reason assigned is, 'His Majesty also found among other Papers a Narrative delivered by some Foreigners to his Father, giving an Account of many remarkable Particulars which they saw in that Country, when driven thither by Stress of Weather from the Coast ofNewfoundland; adding, they had passed from theNorth Seato theSouth, by the Streight ofAnian, which lies beyond CapeMendocino; and that they had arrived at a populous and opulent City, walled and well fortified, the Inhabitants living under a regular Policy, and were a sensible and courteous People; with many other Particulars well worth a further Enquiry.' It must be considered this is given us in the History ofCalifornia, V. ii. P. 239, from theMonarchia IndianaofJuan Torquemada, a learnedFranciscan, published atMadridin 1613, and republished in 1723, Vol. i. P. 629, That a Paper of this Sort was found in the Cabinet ofPhilipthe Second, was thought deserving the Attention ofPhilipthe Third. However the Matter of it is represented here, for nothing could be published but what was first perused and altered, so as to make it consistent with the Interest of Holy Church, the State, or good Manners, before it was licensed, such Paper must have contained some material Intelligence as to a Passage; and if is said to have containedsome remarkable Particulars. Neither would the Work have been licensed, if what is related as to their having been such a Paper, had not been true.
Torquemada, Vol. i. P. 20, quotesFrancisco Lopez de Gomara, deemed a careful Writer, and Author of the History of theIndies. Who says the Snowy Mountains are in forty Degrees, and the furthermost Land that is laid down in our Maps; but the Coast runs to the Northward until it comes to form an Island by theLabrador, or as separated fromGreenland; and this Extremity of the Land is five Hundred and ten Leagues in Length.
As to what is said as to the Latitude of forty Degrees in this Quotation fromGomara,Torquemadahath prefixed a Map to his Work,agreeableto that formed by the King's Cosmographers, in which he hath made the most Western and Northern Part of the Land in almost forty-seven Degrees, and then the Land trends to the Eastward, and theSerras Nevadasare represented to extend a great Length along the Coast, and to Latitude 57 Degrees. Mentions, Vol. i. P. 16, the Royal Cosmographers do not insert any Thing in their Charts of the Sea Coasts but what they have upon Oath, or from creditable Persons; and 'They make a Supputation in the Northern Parts of Islands, which do not lie near or contiguous to the Lands ofEurope; as to which Islands, not long since discovered, the one is calledIceland, the otherGreenland, which are the Bounds, Limits, or Marks, that divide the Land of theIndiesfrom any other Part howsoever situated or disposed;' afterwards observes, which Islands are not far from theLabrador; from which it is plain he callsAmericaan Island. And this is agreeable to whatAcostasays, in the Sense which I understand him, thatQuiviraandAnianextend to the Western Extremity ofAmerica; and that the Extremity of the Kingdom ofAnianto the North extends under thePolarorArtickCircle, and, if the Sea did not prevent it, would be found to join the Countries ofTartaryandChina; and the Streight ofAniantakes its Course through the Northern Region, under the Polar Circle, towardsGreenland,Iceland,England, and to the Northern Parts ofSpain. ByGreenlandI understand the Land to Northward, which is the North Part ofHudson's Streights, andCumberlandIsles; and that this Streight should determine here is agreeable to whatCortezsays he would send to search as far as theBaccallaos, (which was a Name given byCabotin 1496) for the Streight by which he expected a Passage from theNorthto theSouth Sea. ByIcelandis meant, as is apparent from a View of such Map hereunto annexed, the Land to Northward of CapeFarewel, or theProper Greenland.Gomaramentions these Islands had not been long discovered. It is apparent from the Map, that they had a very imperfect Account of these Discoveries, which were made byFrobisherandDavis, who also were far from being exact in their Computations of the Longitude.
In this Map prefixed toTorquemada's Work, and here annexed, the Southern Part ofNewfoundlandis laid down in Lat. 55, nine Degrees more to the Northward than it ought to be, for which Reason theLabrador,Greenland, andIceland, are placed much further to Northward than they ought to be placed, and are made to extend beyond the Polar Circle. It is from this Supposition ofNewfoundlandbeing in so high a Latitude thatAcostasays,the Streight of Aniantakes its Course through the Northern Region under the Polar Circle towardsGreenlandandIceland. In the same Map the extremest Point ofCalifornia, answerable to CapeSt. Lucas, is laid down in Longitude 105 Degrees from the Meridian ofFerro, and the Extremity of the Land to Westward a Cape to Northward of CapeFortunes, but to which no Name is given, and in Latitude 47, is placed in 135 Degrees from the Meridian ofFerro; the Difference of Longitude is 30 Degrees. This Map, published byTorquemada, was constructed before the Year 1612, therefore prior to a Map published inHollandin 1619, under the Title ofNova Totius Orbis Descriptio, prefixed to the Voyage ofGeorge Spilbergen, in which the Errors ofTorquemada's Map, as to the Situation ofNewfoundland, and the Places to Northward are corrected; yet great Errors are committed as to the Parts to Westward ofAmerica, making eighty-five Degrees of Longitude between CapeSt. Lucasand the Extremity of the Land to Westward and Northward in Lat. 42; and ninety-five Degrees between CapeSt. Lucasand the Extremity of the Land nearest toAsia. The Reason of this Difference is plain, they both err with respect to those Parts, of which they had not authenticated Accounts.