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in  2010  with  funding  from 

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OLD  SOUTH  LEAFLETS. 


VOLUME    U.J) 

26-50. 


BOSTOK  COLLEGK  U    C  >^  V 
CHESTNUT  HILL,  MAbS. 


BOSTON: 

DIRECTORS    OF   THE   OLD    SOUTH    WORK. 

OLD    SOUTH    MEETING    HOUSE. 


14291 


CONTENTS. 


26.  The  Agreement  of  the  People. 

27.  The  Instrument  of  Government.- 

28.  Cromwell's  First  Speech  to  his  Parliament. 

29.  The  Discovery  of  America,  from  the  Life  of  Columbus 

BY  his  Son,  Ferdinand  Columbus. 

30.  Strabo's  Introduction  to  Geography. 

31.  The  Voyages  to   Vinland,  from  the   Saga   of  Eric  the 

Red. 

32.  Marco  Polo's  Account  of  Japan  and  Java. 

2y    Columbus's  Letter  to  Gabriel  Sanchez,  describing  the 
First  Voyage  and  Discovery. 

34.  Amerigo  Vespucci's  Account  of  his  First  Voyage. 

35.  Cortes's  Account  of  the  City  of  Mexico. 

36.  The   Death    of   De   Soto,   from   the    "Narrative   of   a 

Gentleman  of  Elvas." 

27-  Early  Notices  of  the  Voyages  of  the  Cabots. 

3S.  Henry  Lee's  Funeral  Oration  on  Washington. 

39.  De  Vaca's  Account  of  his  Journey  to  New  Mexico. 

40.  Manasseh  Cutler's  Description  of  Ohio. 

41.  Washington's  Journal  of  his  Tour  to  the  Ohio,  1770. 

42.  Garfield's  Address  on  the   North-west  Territory  and 

the  Western  Reserve. 

43.  George   Rogers    Clark's   Account    of   the    Capture   of 

Vincennes. 

44.  Jefferson's  Life  of  Captain  Meriwether  Lewis. 

45.  Fremont's  Account  of  his  Ascent  of  Fremont's  Peak. 

46.  Father  Marquette  at  Chicago. 

47.  Washington's  Account  of  the  Army  at  Cambridge. 

48.  Bradford's  Memoir  of  Elder  Brewster. 

49.  Bradford's  First  Dialogue. 

50.  WiNTHROP's  "Conclusions  for  the   Plantation    in   New 

England." 


<©iti  J^outli  leaflets* 


General  Series,   No.  26. 


The  Agreement 
of  the  People. 

[January  15,   1648-9.] 


An  Agreement  of  the  people  of  England^  and  the  places  there- 
with incorporated,  for  a  secure  and  present  peace^  upon 
grounds  of  common  right,  freedoni  and  safety. 

Having,  by  our  late  labours  and  hazards,  made  it  appear 
to  the  world  at  how  high  a  rate  we  value  our  just  freedom, 
and  God  having  so  far  owned  our  cause  as  to  deliver  the 
enemies  thereof  into  our  hands,  we  do  now  hold  ourselves 
bound,  in  mutual  duty  to  each  other,  to  take  the  best  care 
we  can  for  the  future,  to  avoid  both  the  danger  of  returning 
into  a  slavish  condition  and  the  chargeable  remedy  of  another 
war  :  for  as  it  cannot  be  imagined  that  so  many  of  our  coun- 
trymen would  have  opposed  us  in  this  quarrel  if  they  had 
understood  their  own  good,  so  may  we  hopefully  promise  to 
ourselves,  that  when  our  common  rights  and  liberties  shall 
be  cleared,  their  endeavours  will  be  disappointed  that  seek  to 
make  themselves  our  masters.  Since  therefore  our  former 
oppressions  and  not-yet-ended  troubles,  have  been  occasioned 
either  by  want  of  frequent  national  meetings  in  council,  or  by 
the  undue  or  unequal  constitution  thereof,  or  by  rendering 
those  meetings  ineffectual,  we  are  fully  agreed  and  resolved, 
God  willing,  to  provide,  that  hereafter  our  Representatives  be 
neither  left  to  an  uncertainty  for  times  nor  be  unequally  con- 
stituted, nor  made  useless  to  the  ends  for  which  they  are 
intended.     In  order  whereunto  we  declare  and  agree. 

First,  that,  to  prevent  the  many  inconveniences  apparently 
arising  from  the  long  continuance  of  the  same  persons  in 
supreme  authority,  this  present  Parliament  end  and  dissolve 
upon,  or  before,  the  last  day  of  April,  1649. 

Secondly,  that  the  people  of  England  (being  at  this  day 
very  unequally  distributed  by  counties,  cities,  and  boroughs, 
foi  the  election  of  their  Representatives)  be  indifferently  pro- 


portioned ;  and,  to  this  end,  that  the  Representaliv^e  of  the 
whole  nation  shall  consist  of  400  persons,  or  not  above ; 
and  in  each  county,  and  the  places  thereto  subjoined,  there 
shall  be  chosen,  to  make  up  the  said  ReiDresentative  at  all 
times,  the  several  numbers  here  mentioned,  viz. : 

Kent,  with  the  Boroughs,  Towns,  and  Parishes  therein,  except  such  as  are 
hereunder  particularly  named,  10 ;  Canterbuiy,\i\\\\  the  Suburbs  adjoin- 
ing and  Liberties  thereof,  2  ;  Rochester,  with  the  Parishes  of  Chatham  and 
Stroud,  I  ;  The  Cinque  Forts  in  Kent  and  Sussex,  viz.  Dover,  Romney, 
Hythe,  Sandwich,  Hastings,  with  the  Towns  of  Rye  and  Winchelsea,  3. 

Sussex,  with  the  J3oroughs,  Towns,  and  Parishes  therein,  except  Chichester, 
8;  Chichester,  with  the  Suburbs  and  Liberties  thereof,  i. 

SouTHAMrTON  CouNTV,  witli  the  Boroughs,  Towns,  and  Parishes  therein, 
except  such  as  are  liereunder  named,  8 ;  Winchester,  with  the  Suburbs  and 
Liberties  thereof,  i  ;  Southampton  Town  and  the  County  thereof,  1. 

Dorsetshire,  with  the  Boroughs,  Towns,  and  Parishes  therein,  except  Dor- 
chester, 7  ;  Dorchester,  I. 

Devonshire,  with  the  Boroughs,  Towns,  and  Parishes  therein,  except  such 
as  are  hereunder  particularly  named,  12;  Exeter,  2;  Plymouth,  2;  Barn- 
staple, I. 

Cornwall,  with  the  Boroughs,  Towns,  and  Parishes  therein,  8. 

Somersetshire,  with  the  Boroughs,  Towns,  and  Parishes  therein,  except 
such  as  are  hereunder  named,  8;  Bristol,  1;    Tainton-Dean,  i. 

Wiltshire,  with  the  I^oroughs,  Towns,  and  Parishes  therein,  exce])t  Salis- 
bury, 7  ;  Salisbury,  I. 

Berkshire,  with  the  Boroughs,  Towns,  and  Parishes  therein,  except  Read- 
ing, 5;  Beading,  I. 

Surrey,  with  the  Boroughs,  Towns,  and  Parishes  therein,  except  South- 
wark,  5  ;  Soiitlnvark,  2. 

Middlesex,  with  the  Boroughs,  Towns,  and  Parishes  therein,  except  such 
as  are  hereunder  named,  4;  London,  8;    Westminster  and  the  Duchy,  2. 

Hertfordshire,  with  the  Boroughs,  Towns,  and  Parishes  therein,  6. 

Buckinghamshire,  with  the  Boroughs,  Towns,  and  Parishes  therein,  6. 

Oxfordshire,  with  the  Boroughs,  Towns,  and  Parishes  therein,  except  such 
as  are  liereunder  named,  4  ;  Oxford  Citv,  2 ;   Oxford  University,  2. 

Gloucestershire,  with  the  Boroughs,  Towns,  and  Parishes  therein,  except 
Gloucester,  7  ;    Gloucester,  2. 

Herefordshire,  with  the  Boroughs,  Towns,  and  Parishes  therein,  except 
Hereford,  4;  Hereford,  i. 

Worcestershire,  with  the  Boroughs,  Towns,  and  Parishes  therein,  exce})t 
Worcester,  4;    Worcester,  2. 

Warwickshire,  with  the  ]]oroughs,  Towns,  and  Parishes  therein,  exce])t 
Coventry,  5;   Coventry,  2. 

NoRTiiAMi'TONSHiRE,  with  the  Boroughs,  Towns,  and  Parishes  therein, 
except  Northampton,  5;   N'orthampton,  i. 

Bedfordshire,  with  the  l)oroughs,  I'owns,  and  I'arishes  therein,  4. 

Cami'.ridgeshire,  with  the  Boroughs,  Towns,  and  Parishes  therein,  except 
such  as  are  hereunder  particularly  named,  4 ;  Cambridge  University,  2  ; 
Cambridge  Toivti,  2. 

Essex,  with  the  Boroughs,  Towns,  and  Parishes  therein,  except  Colchester, 

II  ;  Colchester,  2. 
Suffolk,  with  the  Boroughs,  Towns,  and  Parishes  therein,  except  such  as 
are  hereafter  named,  lo;  Ipstvich,  2;  St.  Edmund's  Bury,  i. 


Norfolk,  with  the  Boroughs,  Town^,  and  Parishes  therein,  except  such  as 
are  hereunder  named,  9;  Narivich,  3;  Lynn,  i  ;    Yaymouth,  i. 

Lincolnshire,  with  the  Boroughs,  Towns,  and  Parishes  tlierein,  except  the 
City  of  Lincohi  and  the  Town  of  Boston,  ir ;  Lincoln,  i  ;  Boston,  i. 

Rutlandshire,  with  the  Boroughs,  Towns,  and  Parishes  therein,  i. 

Huntingdonshire,  with  the  Boroughs,  Towns  and  Parishes  therein,  3. 

Leicestershire,  with  the  Boroughs,  Towns,  and  J^arishes  therein,  except 
Leicester,  5;  I^cicester,  i. 

Nottinohamshire,  with  the  Boroughs,  Tmvns,  and  Parishes  therein,  except 
Nottingham,  4 ;  N'oftino/iatn,  i. 

Derbyshire,  witli  the  Boroughs,  Towns,  and  Parishes  therein,  except  Derby, 
5;  Derby,  i. 

Staffordshire,  with  the  City  of  Lichfield,  the  Boroughs,  Towns,  and  Par- 
ishes therein,  6. 

Shropshire,  with  the  Boroughs.  Towns,  and  Parishes  therein,  except  Shrews- 
bury, 6;   Shrewsbury,  i. 

Cheshire,  with  tlie  Boroughs,  Towns,  and  Parishes  therein,  except  Chester, 
5 ;    Chester,  2. 

Lancashire,  wnth  the  Boroughs,  Towns,  and  Parishes  therein,  except  Man 
Chester,  6;   Manchester  and  the  Parish,  I. 

"^^opkshire,  with  the  Boroughs,  Towns,  and  Parishes  therein,  except  such 
B  are  hereafter  named,  15  ;  York  City  and  the  County  thereof,  3;  Kingston 
upon  Hnll  and  the  County  thereof,  i  ;   Leeds  Tozvn  and  Parish,  i . 

Durham  County  Palatine,  with  the  Boroughs,  Towns,  and  Parishes 
therein,  except  Durham  and  Gateside,  3;  Durham  City,  i. 

Northumberland,  with  the  Boroughs,  Towns,  and  Parishes  therein,  except 
such  as  are  hereunder  named,  3 ;  N'ewcastle  iipon  Tyne  and  the  County 
thereof,  with  Gateside,  2  ;  Berrvick,  i . 

Cumberland,  with  the  Boroughs,  Towns,  and  Parishes  tlierein,  3. 

Westmoreland,  with  the  Boroughs,  Towns  and  Parishes  therein,  2. 


Wales. 

Anglesea,  with  the  Parishes  therein 
Brecknock,  with  the  Boroughs  and  Parishes  therein 
Cardigan,  with  the  Boroughs  and  Parishes  therein 
Carmarthen,  v\ith  the  Boroughs  and  Parishes  therein 
Carnarvon,  with  the  Boroughs  and  Parishes  therein 
Denbigh,  with  the  Boroughs  and  Parishes  therein 
Flint,  with  the  Boroughs. and  Parishes  therein 
Monmouth,  with  the  Boroughs  and  Parishes  therein 
Glamorgan,  witli  the  Boroughs  and  Parishes  therein 
Merioneth,  wdth  the  Boroughs  and  Parishes  therein 
Montgomery,  with  the  Boroughs  and  Parishes  therein 
Radnor,  with  the  Boroughs  and  Parishes  therein  . 
Pembroke,  with  the  Boroughs,  Towns,  and  Parishes  therein 


Provided,  that  the  first  or  second  Representative  may,  if 
they  see  cause,  assign  the  remainder  of  the  400  representers, 
not  hereby  assigned,  or  so  many  of  them  as  they  shall  see 
cause  for,  unto  such  counties  as  shall  appear  in  this  present 
distribution  to  have  less  than  their  due  proportion.  Provided 
also,  that  where  any  city  or  borough,  to  which  one  representer 
or  more   is  assigned,  shall  be  found  in  a   due  proportion,  not 


competent  alone  to  elect  a  representer,  or  the  number  of  rep- 
resenters  assigned  thereto,  it  is  left  to  future  Representatives 
to  assign  such  a  number  of  parishes  or  villages  near  adjoining 
to  such  city  or  borough,  to  be  joined  therewith  in  the  elec- 
tions, or  may  make  the  same  proportionable. 

Thirdly.  That  the  people  do,  of  course,  choose  themselves 
a  Representative  once  in  two  years,  and  shall  meet  for  that 
purpose  upon  the  first  Thursday  in  every  second  May,  by 
eleven  in  the  morning;  and  the  Representatives  so  chosen 
to  meet  upon  the  second  Thursday  in  the  June  following, 
at  the  usual  place  in  Westminster,  or  such  other  place  as, 
by  the  foregoing  Representative,  or  the  Council  of  State  in 
the  interval,  shall  be,  from  time  to  time,  appointed  and  pub- 
lished to  the  people,  at  the  least  twenty  days  before  the 
time  of  election :  and  to  continue  their  sessions  there,  or 
elsewhere,  until  the  second  Thursday  in  December  follow- 
ing, unless  they  shall  adjourn  or  dissolve  themselves  sooner; 
but  not  to  continue  longer.  The  election  of  the  first  Rep- 
resentative to  be  on  the  first  Thursday  in  May,  1649;  and 
that,  and  all  future  elections,  to  be  according  to  the  rules 
prescribed  for  the  same  purpose  in  this  Agreement,  viz. 
I.  That  the  electors  in  every  division  shall  be  natives  or 
denizens  of  England;  not  persons  receiving  alms,  but  such 
as  are  assessed  ordinarily  towards  the  relief  of  the  poor ;  no 
servants  to,  and  receiving  wages  from,  any  particular  person  ; 
and  in  all  elections,  except  for  the  Universities,  they  shall 
be  men  of  twenty-one  years  of  age,  or  upwards,  and  house- 
keepers, dwelling  within  the  division  for  which  the  election 
is :  provided,  that  (until  the  end  of  seven  years  next  ensuing 
the  time  herein  limited  for  the  end  of  this  present  Parlia- 
ment) no  person  shall  be  admitted  to,  or  have  any  hand  or 
voice  in,  such  elections,  who  hath  adhered  unto  or  assisted 
the  King  against  the  Parliament  in  any  of  the  late  wars 
or  insurrections  ;  or  who  shall  make  or  join  in,  or  abet,  any 
forcible  opposition  against  this  Agreement.  2.  That  such 
persons,  and  such  only,  may  be  elected  to  be  of  the  Rep- 
resentative, who,  by  the  rule  aforesaid,  are  to  have  voice 
in  elections  in  one  place  or  other.  Provided,  that  of  those 
none  shall  be  eligible  for  the  first  or  second  Representa- 
tive, who  have  not  voluntarily  assisted  the  Parliament  against 
the  King,  either  in  person  before  the  14th  of  June,  1645, 
or  else  in  money,  plate,  horse,  or  arms,  lent  upon  the  Propo- 
sitions, before  the  end  of  May,  1643;  ^^  ^^'^  ha.ve  joined 
in,    or   abbetted,    the    treasonable   engagement   in   London,  in 


5 

1647 ;  0^  who  declared  or  engaged  themselves  for  a  ces- 
sation of  arms  with  the  Scots  that  invaded  this  nation 
the  last  summer ;  or  for  compliance  with  the  actors  in  any 
insurrections  of  the  same  summer ;  or  with  the  Prince  of 
Wales,  or  his  accomplices,  in  the  revolted  fleet.  Provided 
also,  that  such  persons  as,  by  the  rules  in  the  preceding 
Article,  are  not  capable  of  electing  until  the  end  of  seven 
years,  shall  not  be  capable  to  be  elected  until  the  end  of 
fourteen  years  next  ensuing.  And  we  desire  and  recom- 
mend it  to  all  men,  that,  in  all  times,  the  persons  to  be 
chosen  for  this  great  trust  may  be  men  of  courage,  fearing 
God  and  hating  covetousness ;  and  that  our  Representatives 
would  make  the  best  provisions  for  that  end.  3.  That  who- 
ever, by  the  rules  in  the  two  preceding  Articles,  are  incapable 
of  electing,  or  to  be  elected,  shall  presume  to  vote  in,  or 
be  present  at,  such  election  for  the  first  or  second  Repre- 
sentative ;  or,  being  elected,  shall  presume  to  sit  or  vote 
in  either  of  the  said  Representatives,  shall  incur  the  pain  of 
confiscation  of  the  moiety  of  his  estate,  to  the  use  of  the 
public,  in  case  he  have  any  visible  estate  to  the  value  of 
;^5o,  and  if  he  has  not  such  an  estate,  then  shall  incur  the 
paui  of  imprisonment  for  three  months.  And  if  any  person 
shall  forcibly  oppose,  molest  or  hinder  the  people,  capable 
of  electing  as  aforesaid,  in  their  quiet  and  free  election  of 
representers,  for  the  first  Representative,  then  each  person 
so  offending  shall  incur  the  penalty  of  confiscation  of  his 
whole  estate,  both  real  and  personal;  and,  if  he  has  not  an 
estate  to  the  value  of  ;!^5o,  shall  suffer  imprisonment  during 
one  whole  year  without  bail  or  mainprize.  Provided,  that 
the  offender  in  each  such  case  be  convicted  within  three 
months  next  after  the  committing  of  his  offence,  and  the  first 
Representative  is  to  make  further  provision  for  the  avoid- 
ing of  these  evils  in  future  elections.  4.  That  to  the  end  all 
officers  of  state  may  be  certainly  accountable,  and  no  fac- 
tion made  to  maintain  corrupt  interests,  no  member  of  a 
Council  of  State,  nor  any  officer  of  any  salary-forces  in  army 
or  garrison,  nor  any  treasurer  or  receiver  of  public  money, 
shall,  while  such,  be  elected  to  be  of  a  Representative  :  and 
in  case  any  such  election  shall  be,  the  same  to  be  void. 
And  in  case  any  lawyer  shall  be  chosen  into  any  Represent- 
ative or  Council  of  State,  then  he  shall  be  incapable  of 
practice  as  a  lawyer  during  that  trust.  5.  For  the  more 
convenient  election  of  Representatives,  each  county,  wherein 
more  than  three  representers  are  to  be  chosen,  with  the  town 


corporate  and  cities,  if  there  be  any,  lying  within  the  com- 
pass thereof,  to  whicli  no  representers  are  herein  assigned, 
shall  be  divided  by  a  due  proportion  into  so  many,  and 
such  parts,  as  each  part  may  elect  two,  and  no  part  above 
three  representers.  For  the  setting  forth  of  which  divisions, 
and  the  ascertaining  of  other  circumstances  hereafter  expressed, 
so  as  to  make  the  elections  less  subject  to  confusion  or 
mistake,  in  order  to  the  next  Representative,  Thomas  Lord 
Grey  of  Groby,  Sir  John  Danvers,  Sir  Henry  Holcroft,  knights; 
Moses  Wall,  gentleman ;  Samuel  Moyer,  John  Langley,  Wm. 
Hawkins,  Abraham  Babington,  Daniel  Taylor,  Mark  Hilsley, 
Rd.  Price,  and  Col.  John  White,  citizens  of  London,  or  any 
five  or  more  of  them,  are  intrusted  to  nominate  and  appoint, 
under  their  hands  and  seals,  three  or  more  fit  persons 
in  each  county,  and  in  each  city  and  borough,  to  which 
one  representer  or  more  is  assigned,  to  be  as  Commission- 
ers for  the  ends  aforesaid,  in  the  respective  counties,  cities 
and  boroughs ;  and,  by  like  writing  under  their  hands  and 
seals,  shall  certify  into  the  Parliament  Records,  before  the 
nth  of  February  next,  the  names  of  the  Commissioners  so 
appointed  for  the  respective  counties,  cities  and  boroughs, 
which  Commissioners,  or  any  three  or  more  of  them,  for 
the  respective  counties,  cities  and  boroughs,  shall  before  the 
end  of  February  next,  by  writing  under  their  hands  and 
seals,  appoint  two  fit  and  faithful  persons,  or  more,  in  each 
hundred,  lathe  or  wapentake,  within  the  respective  counties, 
and  in  each  ward  within  the  City  of  London,  to  take  care  for 
the  orderly  taking  of  all  voluntary  subscriptions  to  this  Agree- 
ment, by  fit  persons  to  be  employed  for  that  purpose  in  every 
parish ;  who  are  to  return  the  subscription  so  taken  to  the 
persons  that  employed  them,  keeping  a  transcript  thereof  to 
themselves ;  and  those  persons,  keeping  like  transcripts,  to 
return  the  original  subscriptions  to  the  respective  Commis- 
sioners by  whom  they  were  appointed,  at,  or  before,  the 
14th  day  of  April  next,  to  be  registered  and  kept  in  the 
chief  court  within  the  respective  cities  and  boroughs.  And 
the  said  Commissio.ners,  or  any  three  or  more  of  them,  for 
the  several  counties,  cities  and  boroughs,  respectively,  shall, 
where  more  than  three  representers  are  to  be  chosen,  divide 
such  counties,  as  also  the  City  of  London,  into  so  many,  and 
such  parts  as  are  aforementioned,  and  shall  set  forth  the 
bounds  of  such  divisions  ;  and  shall,  in  every  county,  city 
and  borough,  where  any  representers  are  to  be  chosen,  and 
in  every  such  division  as  aforesaid  within  the  City  of  London, 


and  within  the  several  counties  so  divided,  respectively, 
appoint  one  place  certain  wherein  the  people  shall  meet  for 
the  choice  of  the  representers ;  and  some  one  fit  person, 
or  more,  inhabiting  within  each  borough,  city,  county  or 
division,  respectively,  to  be  present  at  the  time  and  place  of 
election,  in  the  nature  of  Sheriffs,  to  regulate  the  elections ; 
and  by  poll,  or  otherwise,  clearly  to  distinguish  and  judge 
thereof,  and  to  make  return  of  the  person  or  persons  elected, 
as  is  hereafter  expressed ;  and  shall  likewise,  in  writing 
under  their  hands  and  seals,  make  certificates  of  the  several 
divisions,  with  the  bounds  thereof,  by  them  set  forth,  and 
of  the  certain  places  of  meeting,  and  persons,  in  the  nature 
of  Sheriff,  appointed  in  them  respectively  as  aforesaid;  and 
cause  such  certificates  to  be  returned  into  the  Parliament 
Records  before  the  end  of  April  next ;  and  before  that  time 
shall  also  cause  the  same  to  be  published  in  every  parish 
within  the  counties,  cities  and  boroughs  respectively ;  and 
shall  in  every  such  parish  likewise  nominate  and  appoint, 
by  warrant  under  their  hands  and  seals,  one  trusty  person, 
or  more,  inhabiting  therein,  to  make  a  true  list  of  all  the 
persons  within  their  respective  parishes,  who,  according  to 
the  rules  aforegoing,  are  to  have  voice  in  the  elections;  and 
expressing  who  amongst  them  are,  by  the  same  rules,  capa- 
ble of  being  elected ;  and  such  list,  with  the  said  warrant, 
to  bring  in  and  return,  at  the  time  and  place  of  election, 
unto  the  person  appointed  in  the  nature  of  Sheriff,  as  afore- 
said, for  that  borough,  city,  county  or  division  respectively; 
which  person  so  appointed  as  Sheriff,  being  present  at  the 
time  and  place  of  election ;  or,  in  case  of  his  absence,  by 
the  space  of  one  hour  after  the  time  limited  for  the  peoples' 
meeting,  then  any  person  present  that  is  eligible,  as  afore- 
said, whom  the  people  then  and  there  assembled  shall  choose 
for  that  end,  shall  receive  and  keep  the  said  lists  and  admit 
the  persons  therein  contained,  or  so  many  of  them  as  are 
present,  unto  a  free  vote  in  the  said  election ;  and,  having 
first  caused  this  Agreement  to  be  publicly  read  in  the  audi- 
ence of  the  people,  shall  proceed  unto,  and  regulate  and  keep 
peace  and  order  in  the  elections ;  and,  by  poll  or  otherwise, 
openly  distinguish  and  judge  of  the  same ;  and  thereof,  by 
certificate  or  writing  under  the  hands  and  seals  of  himself,  and 
six  or  more  of  the  electors,  nominating  the  person  or  persons 
duly  elected,  shall  make  a  true  return  into  the  Parliament 
Records  within  twenty-one  days  after  the  election,  under  pain 
for  default  thereof,  or,  for  making  any  false  return,  to  forfeit 


8 

;^ioo  to  the  public  use  ;  and  also  cause  indentures  to  be  made, 
and  unchangeably  sealed  and  delivered,  between  himself  and 
six  or  more  of  the  said  electors,  on  the  one  part,  and  the  per- 
sons, or  each  person,  elected  severally,  on  the  other  part,  ex- 
pressing their  election  of  him  as  a  representer  of  them  accord- 
ing to  this  Agreement,  and  his  acceptance  of  that  trust,  and 
his  promise  accordingly  to  perform  the  same  with  faithfuhiess, 
to  the  best  of  his  understanding  and  ability,  for  the  glory  of 
God  and  good  of  the  people.  This  course  is  to  hold  for  the 
first  Representative,  which  is  to  provide  for  the  ascertaining  of 
these  circumstances  in  order  to  future  Representatives. 

Fourthly.  That  150  members  at  least  be  always  presen,' 
in  each  sitting  of  the  Representative,  at  the  passing  of  any  law 
or  doing  of  any  act  whereby  the  people  are  to  be  bound  ;  sav- 
ing, that  the  number  of  sixty  may  make  a  House  for  debates 
or  resolutions  that  are  preparatory  thereunto. 

Fifthly.  That  the  Representative  shall,  within  twenty  days 
after  their  first  meeting,  appoint  a  Council  of  State  for  the 
managing  of  public  affairs,  until  the  tenth  day  after  the  meet- 
ing of  the  next  Representative,  unless  that  next  Representative 
think  fit  to  put  an  end  to  that  trust  sooner.  And  the  same 
Council  to  act  and 'proceed  therein,  according  to  such  instruc- 
tions and  limitations  as  the  Representative  shall  give,  and  not 
otherwise. 

Sixthly.  That  in  each  interval  between  biennial  Repre- 
sentatives, the  Council  of  State,  in  case  of  imminent  danger  or 
extreme  necessity,  may  summon  a  Representative  to  be  forth- 
with chosen,  and  to  meet ;  so  as  the  Session  thereof  continue 
not  above  eighty  days  ;  and  so  as  it  dissolve  at  least  fifty  days 
before  the  appointed  time  for  the  next  biennial  Representa- 
tive ;  and  upon  the  fiftieth  day  so  preceding  it  shall  dissolve 
of  course,  if  not  otherwise  dissolved  sooner. 

Seventhly.  That  no  member  of  any  Representative  be 
made  either  receiver,  treasurer,  or  other  officer,  during  that 
employment,  saving  to  be  a  member  of  the  Council  of  State. 

Eighthly.  That  the  Representatives  have,  and  shall  be 
understood  to  have,  the  supreme  trust  in  order  to  the  preserva- 
tion and  government  of  the  whole ;  and  that  their  power  extend, 
without  the  consent  or  concurrence  of  any  other  person  or 
persons,  to  the  erecting  and  abolishing  of  Courts  of  Justice 
and  public  offices,  and  to  the  enacting,  altering,  repealing  and 
declaring  of  laws,  and  the  highest  and  final  judgment,  concern- 
ing all  natural  or  civil  things,  but  not  concerning  things  spirit- 
ual or  evangelical.     Provided  that,  even  in  things  natural  and 


civil,  these  six  particulars  next  following  are,  and  shall  be, 
understood  to  be  excepted  and  reserved  from  our  Representa- 
tives, viz.  I.  We  do  not  empower  them  to  impress  or  constrain 
any  person  to  serve  in  foreign  war,  either  by  sea  or  land,  nor 
for  any  military  service  within  the  kingdom  ;  save  that  they 
may  take  order  for  the  forming,  training,  and  exercising  of  the 
people  in  a  military  way,  to  be  in  readiness  for  resisting  of 
foreign  invasions,  suppressing  of  sudden  insurrections,  or  for 
assisting  in  execution  of  the  laws ;  and  may  take  order  for  the 
employing  and  conducting  of  them  for  those  ends;  provided, 
that,  even  in  such  cases,  none  be  compellable  to  go  out  of  the 
county  he  lives  in,  if  he  procure  another  to  serve  in  his  room. 

2.  That,  after  the  time  herein  limited  for  the  commencement 
of  the  first  Representative,  none  of  the  people  may  be  at  any 
time  questioned  for  anything  said  or  done  in  relation  to  the 
late  wars  or  public  differences,  otherwise  than  in  execution 
or  pursuance  of  the  determinations  of  the  present  House  of 
Commons,  against  such  as  have  adhered  to  the  King,  or  his 
interest,  against  the  people ;  and  saving  that  accomptants  for 
public  moneys  received,  shall  remain  accountable  for  the  same. 

3.  That  no  securities  given,  or  to  be  given,  by  the  public  faith 
of  the  nation,  nor  any  engagements  of  the  public  faith  for  sat- 
isfaction of  debts  and  damages,  shall  be  made  void  or  invalid 
by  the  next  or  any  future  Representatives  ;  except  to  such 
creditors  as  have,  or  shall  have,  justly  forfeited  the  same  :  and 
saving,  that  the  next  Representative  may  confirm  or  make  null, 
in  part  or  in  whole,  all  gifts  of  lands,  moneys,  offices,  or  other- 
wise, made  by  the  present  Parliament  to  any  member  or  attend- 
ant of  either  House.  4.  That,  in  any  laws  hereafter  to  be  made, 
no  person,  by  virtue  of  any  tenure,  grant,  charter,  patent,  degree 
or  birth,  shall  be  privileged  from  subjection  thereto,  or  from 
being  bound  thereby,  as  well  as  others.  5.  That  the  Repre- 
sentative may  not  give  judgment  upon  any  man's  person  or 
estate,  where  no  law  hath  before  provided  ;  some  only  in  call- 
ing to  account  and  punishing  public  officers  for  abusing  or 
failing  in  their  trust.  6.  That  no  Representative  may  in  any 
wise  render  up,  or  give,  or  take  away,  any  of  the  foundations  of 
common  right,  liberty,  and  safety  contained  in  this  Agreement, 
nor  level  men's  estates,  destroy  property,  or  make  all  things 
common ;  and  that,  in  all  matters  of  such  fundamental  con- 
cernment, there  shall  be  a  liberty  to  particular  members  of 
the  said  Representatives  to  enter  their  dissents  from  the  major 
vote. 


lO 

Ninthly.  Concerning  religion,  we  agree  as  followeth  :  — 
I.  It  is  intended  that  the  Christian  ReHgion  be  held  forth  and 
recommended  as  the  public  profession  in  this  nation,  which  we 
desire  may,  by  the  grace  of  God,  be  reformed  to  the  greatest 
purity  in  doctrine,  worship  and  discipline,  according  to  the 
Word  of  God;  the  instructing  the  people  thereunto  in  a  public 
way,  so  it  be  not  compulsive  ;  as  also  the  maintaining  of  able 
teachers  for  that  end,  and  for  the  confutation  or  discovering  of 
heresy,  error,  and  whatsoever  is  contrary  to  sound  doctrine, 
is  allowed  to  be  provided  for  by  our  Representatives ;  the 
maintenance  of  which  teachers  may  be  out  of  a  public  treas- 
ury, and,  we  desire,  not  by  tithes  :  provided,  that  Popery  or 
Prelacy  be  not  held  forth  as  the  public  way  or  profession  in 
this  nation.  2.  That,  to  the  public  profession  so  held  forth, 
none  be  compelled  by  penalties  or  otherwise  ;  but  only  may  be 
endeavoured  to  be  won  by  sound  doctrine,  and  the  example 
of  a  good  conversation.  3.  That  such  as  profess  faith  in  God 
by  Jesus  Christ,  however  differing  in  judgment  from  the  doc- 
trine, worship  or  discipline  publicly  held  forth,  as  aforesaid, 
shall  not  be  restrained  from,  but  shall  be  protected  in,  the 
profession  of  their  faith  and  exercise  of  religion,  according  to 
their  consciences,  in  any  place  except  such  as  shall  be  set 
apart  for  the  public  worship ;  where  we  provide  not  for  them, 
unless  they  have  leave,  so  as  they  abuse  not  this  liberty  to  the 
civil  injury  of  others,  or  to  actual  disturbance  of  the  public 
peace  on  their  parts.  Nevertheless,  it  is  not  intended  to  be 
hereby  provided,  that  this  liberty  shall  necessarily  extend  to 
Popery  or  Prelacy.  4.  That  all  laws,  ordinances,  statutes,  and 
clauses  in  any  law,  statute,  or  ordinance  to  the  contrary  of  the 
liberty  herein  provided  for,  in  the  two  particulars  next  preced- 
ing concerning  religion,  be,  and  are  hereby,  repealed  and  made 
void. 

Tenthly.  It  is  agreed,  that  whosoever  shall,  by  force  of 
arms,  resist  the  orders  of  the  next  or  any  future  Representative 
(except  in  case  where  such  Representative  shall  evidently  ren- 
der up,  or  give,  or  take  away  the  foundations  of  common  right, 
liberty,  and  safety,  contained  in  this  Agreement),  he  shall  forth- 
with, after  his  or  their  such  resistance,  lose  the  benefit  and  pro- 
tection of  the  laws,  and  shall  be  punishable  with  death,  as  an 
enemy  and  traitor  to  the  nation.  Of  the  things  expressed 
in  this  Agreement:  the  certain  ending  of  this  Parliament,  as  in 
the  first  Article  ;  the  equal  or  proportionable  distribution  of  the 
number  of  the  representers  to  be  elected,  as  in  the  second  ; 
the  certainty  of  the  people's  meeting  to  elect  for  Representa- 


II 

tives  biennial,  and  their  freedom  in  elections  ;  with  the  cer- 
tainty of  meeting,  sitting  and  ending  of  Representatives  so 
elected,  which  are  provided  for  in  the  third  Article  ;  as  also 
the  qualifications  of  persons  to  elect  or  be  elected,  as  in  the 
first  and  second  particulars  under  the  third  Article  ;  also  the 
certainty  of  a  number  for  passing  a  law  or  preparatory  debates, 
provided  for  in  the  fourth  Article ;  the  matter  of  the  fifth  Arti- 
cle, concerning  the  Council  of  State,  and  of  the  sixth,  concern- 
ing the  calling,  sitting  and  ending  of  Representatives  extraor- 
dinary ;  also  the  power  of  Representatives  to  be,  as  in  the 
eighth  Article,  and  limited,  as  in  the  six  reserves  next  follow- 
ing the  same:  likewise  the  second  and  third  Particulars  under 
the  ninth  Article  concerning  religion,  and  the  whole  matter  of 
the  tenth  Article  ;  all  these  we  do  account  and  declare  to  be 
fundamental  to  our  common  right,  liberty,  and  safety  :  and 
therefore  do  both  agree  thereunto,  and  resolve  to  maintain  the 
same,  as  God  shall  enable  us.  The  rest  of  the  matters  in  this 
Agreement  we  account  to  be  useful  and  good  for  the  public; 
and  the  particular  circumstances  of  numbers,  times,  and  places, 
expressed  in  die  several  Articles,  we  account  not  fundamental ; 
but  we  find  them  necessary  to  be  here  determined,  for  the 
making  the  Agreement  certain  and  practicable,  and  do  hold 
these  most  convenient  that  are  here  set  dowai ;  and  therefore 
do  positively  agree  thereunto.  By  the  appointment  of  his  Ex- 
cellency the  Lord-General  and  his  General  Council  of  Officers. 

John  Rushworth,  Sec. 


The  Agreement  of  the  People  was  originally  drawn  up  in  October, 
1647.  It  is  here  printed  with  the  subsequent  modifications,  as  presented  to 
the  House  of  Commons  on  January  20.  The  petition  which  accompanied  it 
(Old  Pari.  Hist,  xviii.  516)  was  dated  January  15,  and  that  may  therefore  be 
taken  as  the  date  when  the  Agreement  received  the  final  approbation  of  the 
'■Council  of  the  Officers.  This  document  is  of  the  highest  importance  in 
the  study  of  the  development  of  the  idea  of  a  written  constitution  in  Eng- 
land. See,  in  connection,  the  Instrument  of  Government,  Vane's  "  Healing 
Question,"  the  Charter  of  Massachusetts  Bay,  and  the  Fundamental  Orders 
of  Connecticut  —  all  published  in  this  series  of  Old  South  Leaflets.  See  also 
article  on  "The  Genesis  of  a  Written  Constitution,"  by  William  C.  Morey, 
in  the  Annals  of  the  American  Academy  of  Political  and'Social  Science,  April, 
1891.  Gardiner's  remarks  upon  the  Agreement  of  the  People  are  as 
follows  : 

"On  January  15,  1649,  whilst  the  King's  fate  was  still  in  suspense,  the 
Council  of  the  Army  set  forth  a  document  known  as  the  Agreement  of 
the  People.  It  was' a  sketch  of  a  written  Constitution  for  a  Republican 
Government  based  on  the  Heads  of  the  Proposals  [see  this  paper  in  Gar- 
diner's Constitutional  Doctanents,  page  232],  omitting  everything  that  had 
reference  to  the  King.  The  Heads  of  the  Proposals  had  contemplated  the 
retention  of  the  Royal  authority  in  some  shape  or  another,  and  had  been. 


12 

content  to  look  for  security  to  Acts  of  Parliament,  because,  though  every 
Act  was  capable  of  bemg  repealed,  it  could  not  be  repealed  without  the  con- 
sent both  of  the  King  and  the  Houses,  and  the  Houses  might  be  trusted  to 
refuse  their  consent  to  the  repeal  of  any  Act  which  checked  the  despotism 
of  the  King;  whilst  the  King  could  be  trusted  to  refuse  his  consent  to  the 
repeal  of  any  Act  which  checked  the  despotism  of  the  Houses.  With 
the  disappearance  of  Royalty  the  situation  was  altered.  The  despotism  of 
Parliament  was  the  chief  danger  to  be  feared,  and  there  was  no  possibility 
of  averting  this  by  Acts  of  the  Parliament  itself.  Naturally,  therefore,  arose 
the  idea  of  a  written  Constitution,  which  the  Parliament  itself  would  be 
incompetent  to  violate.  According  to  the  proposed  scheme,  the  existing 
Parliament  was  to  be  dissolved  on  April  30,  1649.  After  this  there  was  to 
be  a  biennial  Parliament  without  a  House  of  Lords,  a  redistribution  of  seats, 
and  a  rating  franchise.  For  seven  years  all  who  had  adhered  to  the  King 
were  to  be  deprived  of  their  votes,  and  during  the  first  and  second  Parlia- 
ments only  those  who  had  by  contributions  or  by  personal  service  assisted 
the  Parliament,  or  who  had  refrained  from  abetting  certain  combinations 
against  Parliament,  were  to  be  capable  of  being  elected,  whilst  those  who 
had  actually  supported  the  King  in  the  war  were  to  be  excluded  for  fourteen 
years.  Further,  no  official  was  to  be  elected.  There  was  to  be  a  Council 
for  "  managing  public  affairs."  Further,  six  particulars  were  set  down  with 
which  Parliament  could  not  meddle,  all  laws  made  on  those  subjects  having 
no  binding  force. 

As  to  religion,  there  was  to  be  a  public  profession  of  the  Christian  reli- 
gion "reformed  to  the  greatest  purity  of  doctrine,"  and  the  clergy  were  to 
be  maintained  "out  of  a  public  treasury,"  but  "not  by  tithes."  This  public 
religion  was  not  to  be  "  Popery  or  Prelacy."  No  one  was  to  be  compelled 
to  conformity,  but  all  religions  which  did  not  create  disturbances  were  to 
be  tolerated.  It  was  not,  however,  to  be  understood  "  that  this  liberty  shall 
necessarily  extend  to  Popery  or  Prelacy,"  a  clause,  the  meaning  of  which  is 
not  clear,  but  whxh  was  probably  intended  to  leave  the  question  open  to 
Parliament  to  decide.  The  Article  on  Religion  was,  like  the  six  reserved 
particulars,  to  be  out  of  the  power  of  Parliament  to  modify  or  repeal. 

The  idea  of  reserving  certain  points  from  Parliamentary  action  was  one 
which  was  subsequently  adopted  in  the  American  Constitution,  with  this 
important  difference,  that  the  American  Constitution  left  a  way  open  by 
which  any  possible  change  could  be  effected  by  consulting  the  nation ;  whilst 
the  Agreement  of  the  People  provided  no  way  in  which  any  change  in  the 
reserved  powers  could  be  made  at  all.  In  short,  the  founders  of  the  Amer- 
ican Constitution  understood  that  it  was  useless  to  attempt  to  bind  a  nation 
in  perpetuity,  whilst  the  English  Council  of  the  Army  either  did  not  under- 
stand it,  or  distrusted  the  nation  too  far  to  make  provision  for  what  they 
knew  must  come  in  time.  .  .  . 

That  the  execution  of  the  King  made  the  difficulties  in  the  way  of  the 
establishment  of  a  Republic  greater  than  they  had  been,  it  is  impossible  to 
deny ;  but  the  main  difficulties  would  have  existed  even  if  the  King  had  been 
deposed  instead  of  executed.  There  are  two  foundations  upon  which  gov- 
ernment must  rest  if  it  is  to  be  secure,  the  traditional  continuity  which  is 
derived  from  the  force  of  habit,  and  the  national  support  which  is  derived 
from  the  force  of  will.  The  Agreement  of  the  People  swept  the  first  aside, 
9.nd  only  trusted  the  latter  to  a  very  limited  extent." 


General  Series,  No.  27. 

The  Instrument 
of  Government. 


December  16,  1653. 


The  government  of  the  Commonwealth  of  England,  Scot- 
land, and  Ireland,  and  the  dominions  thereunto  belonging. 

I.  That  the  supreme  legislative  authority  of  the  Common- 
wealth of  England,  Scotland,  and  Ireland,  and  the  dominions 
thereunto  belonging,  shall  be  and  reside  in  one  person,  and 
the  people  assembled  in  Parliament ;  the  style  of  which  person 
shall  be  the  Lord  Protector  of  the  Commonwealth  of  Engfland, 
Scotland,  and  Ireland. 

II.  That  the  exercise  of  the  chief  magistracy  and  the 
administration  of  the  government  over  the  said  countries  and 
dominions,  and  the  people  thereof,  shall  be  in  the  Lord  Pro- 
tector, assisted  with  a  council,  the  number  whereof  shall  not 
exceed  twentv-one,  nor  be  less  than  thirteen. 

III.  That  all  writs,  processes,  commissions,  patents,  grants, 
and  other  things,  which  now  run  in  the  name  and  style  of  the 
keepers  of  the  liberty  of  England  by  authority  of  Parliament, 
shall  run  in  the  name  and  style  of  the  Lord  Protector,  from 
whom,  for  the  future,  shall  be  derived  all  magistracy  and  hon- 
ours in  these  three  nations  ;  and  have  the  power  of  pardons 
(except  in  case  of  murders  and  treason)  and  benefit  of  all  for- 
feitures for  the  public  use ;  and  shall  govern  the  said  countries 
and  dominions  in  all  things  by  the  advice  of  the  council,  and 
according  to  these  presents  and  the  laws. 

IV.  That  the  Lord  Protector,  the  Parliament  sitting,  shall 
dispose  and  order  the  militia  and  forces,  both  by  sea  and  land, 
for  the  peace  and  good  of  the  three  nations,  by  consent  of 
Parliament;  and  that  the  Lord  Protector,  with  the  advice  and 
consent  of  the  major  part  of  the  council,  shall  dispose  and 
order  the  militia  for  the  ends  aforesaid  in  the  intervals  of 
Parliament. 

V.  That  the  Lord  Protector,  by  the  advice  aforesaid,  shall 
direct  in  all  things  concerning  the  keeping  and  holding  of  a 


good  correspondency  with  foreign  kings,  princes,  and  states ; 
and  also,  with  the  consent  of  the  major  part  of  the  council, 
have  the  power  of  war  and  peace. 

VI.  That  the  laws  shall  not  be  altered,  suspended,  abro- 
gated, or  repealed,  nor  any  new  law  made,  nor  any  tax,  charge, 
or  imposition  laid  upon  the  people,  but  by  common  consent  in 
Parliament,  save  only  as  is  expressed  in  the  thirtieth  article. 

VII.  That  there  shall  be  a  Parliament  summoned  to  meet 
at  Westminster  upon  the  third  day  of  September,  1654,  and 
that  successively  a  Parliament  shall  be  summoned  once  in 
every  third  year,  to  be  accounted  from  the  dissolution  of  the 
present  Parliament. 

VIII.  That  neither  the  Parliament  to  be  next  summoned, 
nor  any  successive  Parliaments,  shall,  during  the  time  of  five 
months,  to  be  accounted  from  the  day  of  their  first  meeting,  be 
adjourned,  prorogued,  or  dissolved,  without  their  own  consent. 

IX.  That  as  well  the  next  as  all  other  successive  Parlia- 
ments, shall  be  summoned  and  elected  in  manner  hereafter 
expressed ;  that  is  to  say,  the  persons  to  be  chosen  within 
England,  Wales,  the  Isles  of  Jersey,  Guernsey,  and  the  town 
of  Berwick-upon-Tweed,  to  sit  and  serve  in  Parliament,  shall 
be,  and  not  exceed,  the  number  of  four  hundred.  The  persons 
to  be  chosen  within  Scotland,  to  sit  and  serve  in  Parliament, 
shall  be,  and  not  exceed,  the  number  of  thirty ;  and  the  persons 
to  be  chosen  to  sit  in  Parliament  for  Ireland  shall  be,  and  not 
exceed,  the  number  of  thirty. 

X.  That  the  persons  to  be  elected  to  sit  in  Parliament 
from  time  to  time,  for  the  several  counties  of  England,  Wales, 
the  Isles  of  Jersey  and  Guernsey,  and  the  town  of  Berwick- 
upon-Tweed,  and  all  places  within  the  same  respectively, 
shall  be  according  to  the  proportions  and  numbers  hereafter 
expressed  :  that  is  to  say, 

Bedfordshire,  5;  Bedford  Town,  i;  Berkshire,  5;  Abingdon,  i;  Read- 
ing, i ;  Buckinghamshire,  5;  Buckingham  Town,  i  ;  Aylesbury,:;  Wy- 
comb,  I  ;  Cambridgeshire,  4;  Cambridge  Town,  i  ;  Cambridge  University,  i ; 
Isle  of  Ely,  2;  Cheshire,  4;  Chester,!;  Cornwall,  8;  Launceston,  i ;  Truro, 
i;  Penryn,  i;  East  Looe  and  West  Looe,  i;  Cumberland,  2;  Carlisle,  i; 
Derbyshire,  4;  Derby  Town,  i ;  Devonshire,  11 ;  Exeter,  2;  Plymouth,  2  ; 
Clifton,  Dartmouth,  Hardness,  i ;  Totnes,  i ;  Barnstable,  i ;  Tiverton,  i  ; 
Honiton,  i;  Dorsetshire,  6;  Dorchester,  i;  Weymouth  and  Melcomb- 
Regis,  i;  Lyme- Regis,  i;  Poole,  i;  Durham,  2;  City  of  Durham,  i;  Es- 
sex, i3;  Maiden,  i;  Colchester,  2;  Gloucestershire,  5;  Gloucester,  2; 
Tewkesbury,  i;  Cirencester,  i;  Herefordshire,  4;  Hereford,!;  Leomin- 
ster, i;  HeVtfordshire,  5;  St.  Alban's,  i;  Hertford,  !;  Huntingdonshire,  3; 
Huntingdon,  !;  Kent,  !!;  Canterbury,  2;  Rochester,  i;  Maidstone,  i; 
Dover,  i ;     Sandwich,  !  ;    Queenborough,  i  ;    Lancashire,  4 ;    Preston,  i ; 


3 

Lancaster,  l  ;  Liverpool,  i ;  Manchester,  i  ;  Leicestershire,  4 ;  Leicester,  2 ; 
Lincohishire,  lo;  Lincoln,  2;  Boston,  i;  Grantham,  i  ;  Stamford,  i;  Great 
Grirrksby,  I ;  Middlesex,  4  ;  London,  6  ;  Westminster,  2  ;  Monmouthshire, 
3;  Norfolk,  10;  Norwich,  2;  Lynn-Regis,  2;  Great  Yarmouth,  2  ;  Northamp- 
tonshire, 6  ;  Peterl^orough,  I  ;  Northampton,:;  Nottinghamshire,  4;  Not- 
tingham, 2 ;  Northumberland,  3 ;  Newcastle-upon-Tyne,  i ;  Berwick,  i  ; 
Oxfordshire,  5;  Oxford  City,  i;  Oxford  University,  i;  Woodstock,  i; 
Rutlandshire,  2;  Shropshire,  4;  Shrewsbury,  2  ;  Bridgnorth,  i  ;  Ludlow,  i  ; 
Staffordshire,  3 ;  Lichfield,  i ;  Stafford,  i;  Newcastle-under-Lyne,  i;  Som- 
ersetshire, II;  Bristol,  2;  Taunton,  2;  Bath,  i;  Wells,  i;  Bridgwater,  i; 
Southamptonshire,  8 ;  Winchester,  i ;  Southampton,  i  ;  Portsmouth,  i  ; 
Isle  of  Wight,  2;  Andover,  i;  Suffolk,  10;  Ipswich,  2;  Bury  St.  Ed- 
munds, 2 ;  Dunwich,  I  ;  Sudbury,  i  ;  Surrey,  6;  Southwark,  2  ;  Guildford, 
i;  Reigate,  i;  Sussex,  9;  Chichester,  i;  Lewes,  i;  East  Grinstead,  i 
Arundel,  i  ;  Rye,  i  ;  Westmoreland,  2  ;  Warwickshire,  4  ;  Coventry,  2 
Warwick,  i;  Wiltshire,  10;  New  Sarum,  2;  Marlborough,  i;  Devizes,  i 
Worcestershire,  5;   Worcester,  2. 

Yorkshire. —  West  Riding,  6;  East  Riding,  4;  North  Riding,  4;  City 
of  York,  2;  Kingston-upon-HuU,  i ;  Beverley,  i  ;  Scarborough,  i  ;  Richmond, 
I ;  Leeds,  i ;   Halifax,  i. 

Wales.  —  Anglesey,  2  ;  Brecknockshire,  2  ;  Cardiganshire,  2  ;  Carmar- 
thenshire, 2  ;  Carnarvonshire,  2  ;  Denbighshire,  2;  Plintshire,  2  ;  Glamor- 
ganshire, 2  ;  Cardiff,!;  Merionethshire,  i ;  Montgomeryshire,  2 ;  Pembroke- 
shire, 2 ;   Haverfordwest,!;   Radnorshire,  2. 

The  distribution  of  the  persons  to  be  chosen  for  Scotland 
and  Ireland,  and  the  several  counties,  cities,  and  places  therein, 
shall  be  according  to  such  proportions  and  number  as  shall  be 
agreed  upon  and  declared  by  the  Lord  Protector  and  the  major 
part  of  the  council,  before  the  sending  forth  writs  of  summons 
for  the  next  Parliament. 

XL  That  the  summons  to  Parliament  shall  be  by  writ 
under  the  Great  Seal  of  England,  directed  to  the  sheriffs  of  the 
several  and  respective  counties,  with  such  alteration  as  may  suit 
with  the  present  government,  to  be  made  by  the  Lord  Protector 
and  his  council,  which  the  Chancellor,  Keeper,  or  Commission- 
ers of  the  Great  Seal  shall  seal,  issue,  and  send  abroad  by  war- 
rant from  the  Lord  Protector.  If  the  Lord  Protector  shall  not 
give  warrant  for  issuing  of  writs  of  summons  for  the  next 
Parliament,  before  the  first  of  June,  1654,  or  for  the  Triennial 
Parliaments,  before  the  first  day  of  August  in  every  third  year, 
to  be  accounted  as  aforesaid  ;  that  then  the  Chancellor,  Keeper, 
or  Commissioners  of  the  Great  Seal  for  the  time  being,  shall, 
without  any  warrant  or  direction,  within  seven  days  after  the 
said  first  day  of  June,  1654,  seal,  issue,  and  send  abroad  writs 
of  summons  (changing  therein  what  is  to  be  changed  as  afore- 
said) to  the  several  and  respective  sheriffs  of  England,  Scot- 
land, and  Ireland,  for  summoning  the  Parliament  to  meet  at 
Westminster,  the  third  day  of  September  next ;  and  shall  like- 


wise,  within  seven  days  after  the  said  first  day  of  August,  in 
every  third  year,  to  be  accounted  from  the  dissolution  of  the 
precedent  Parliament,  seal,  issue,  and  send  forth  abroad  sev- 
eral writs  of  summons  (changing  therein  what  is  to  be  changed) 
as  aforesaid,  for  summoning  the  Parliament  to  meet  at  West- 
minster the  sixth  of  November  in  that  third  year.  That  the 
said  several  and  respective  sheriffs,  shall,  within  ten  days 
after  the  receipt  of  such  writ  as  aforesaid,  cause  the  same  to 
be  proclaimed  and  published  in  every  market-town  within  his 
county  upon  the  market-days  thereof,  between  twelve  and 
three  of  the  clock ;  and  shall  then  also  publish  and  declare 
the  certain  day  of  the  week  and  month,  for  choosing  members 
to  serve  in  Parliament  for  the  body  of  the  said  county,  accord- 
ing to  the  tenor  of  the  said  writ,  which  shall  be  upon  Wednes- 
day five  weeks  after  the  date  of  the  writ ;  and  shall  likewise 
declare  the  place  where  the  election  shall  be  made :  for 
which  purpose  he  shall  appoint  the  most  convenient  place 
for  the  whole  county  to  meet  in ;  and  shall  send  precepts  for 
elections  to  be  made  in  all  and  every  city,  town,  borough,  or 
place  within  his  county,  where  elections  are  to  be  made  by 
virtue  of  these  presents,  to  the  Mayor,  Sheriff,  or  other  head 
officer  of  such  city,  town,  borough,  or  place,  within  three  days 
after  the  receipt  of  such  writ  and  writs ;  which  the  said  Mayors, 
Sheriffs,  and  officers  respectively  are  to  make  publication  of, 
and  of  the  certain  day  for  such  elections  to  be  made  in  the 
said  city,  town,  or  place  aforesaid,  and  to  cause  elections  to 
be  made  accordingly. 

XII.  That  at  the  day  and  place  of  elections,  the  Sheriff 
of  each  county,  and  the  said  Mayors,  Sheriffs,  Bailiffs,  and  other 
head  officers  within  their  cities,  towns,  boroughs,  and  places 
respectively,  shall  take  view  of  the  said  elections,  and  shall 
make  return  into  the  chancery  within  twenty  days  after  the 
said  elections,  of  the  persons  elected  by  the  greater  number 
of  electors,  under  their  hands  and  seals,  between  him  on  the 
one  part,  and  the  electors  on  the  other  part;  wherein  shall 
be  contained,  that  the  persons  elected  shall  not  have  power 
to  alter  the  government  as  it  is  hereby  settled  in  one  single 
person  and  a  Parliament. 

XIII.  That  the  Sheriff,  who  shall  wittingly  and  willingly 
make  any  false  return,  or  neglect  his  duty,  shall  incur  the  pen- 
alty of  2000  marks  of  lawful  English  money;  the  one  moiety 
to  the  Lord  Protector,  and  the  other  moiety  to  such  person  as 
will  sue  for  the  same. 

XIV.  That  all  and  every  person  and  persons,  who  have 


s 

aided,  advised,  assisted,  or  abetted  in  any  war  against  the  Par- 
liament, since  the  first  day  of  January  1641  (unless  they  have 
been  since  in  the  service  of  the  Parliament,  and  given  signal 
testimony  of  their  good  affection  thereunto)  shall  be  disabled 
and  incapable  to  be  elected,  or  to  give  any  vote  in  the  election 
of  any  members  to  serve  in  the  next  Parliament,  or  in  the  three 
succeeding  Triennial  Parliaments. 

XV.  That  all  such,  who  have  advised,  assisted,  or  abetted 
the  rebellion  of  Ireland,  shall  be  disabled  and  incapable  for 
ever  to  be  elected,  or  give  any  vote  in  the  election  of  any 
member  to  serve  in  Parliament ;  as  also  all  such  who  do  or 
shall  profess  the  Roman  Catholic  religion. 

XVI.  That  all  votes  and  elections  given  or  made  con- 
trar}'',  or  not  according  to  these  qualifications,  shall  be  null 
and  void ;  and  if  any  person,  who  is  hereby  made  incapable, 
shall  give  his  vote  for  election  of  members  to  serve  in  Parlia- 
ment, such  person  shall  lose  and  forfeit  one  full  year's  value 
of  his  real  estate,  and  one  full  third  part  of  his  personal 
estate ;  one  moiety  thereof  to  the  Lord  Protector,  and  the  other 
moiety  to  him   or  them  who   shall   sue  for  the   same. 

XVII.  That  the  persons  who  shall  be  elected  to  serve 
in  Parliament,  shall  be  such  (and  no  other  than  such)  as  are 
persons  of  known  integrity,  fearing  God,  and  of  good  conver- 
sation, and  being  of  the  age  of  twenty-one  years. 

XVIII.  That  all  and  every  person  and  persons  seised 
or  possessed  to  his  own  use,  of  any  estate,  real  or  personal, 
to  the  value  of  ^200,  and  not  within  the  aforesaid  exceptions, 
shall  be  capable  to  elect  members  to  serve  in  Parliament  for 
counties. 

XIX.  That  the  Chancellor,  Keeper,  or  Commissioners  of 
the  Great  Sea],  shall  be  sworn  before  they  enter  into  their 
offices,  truly  and  faithfully  to  issue  forth,  and  send  abroad, 
writs  of  summons  to  Parliament,  at  the  times  and  in  the  man- 
ner before  expressed :  and  in  case  of  neglect  or  failure  to 
issue  and  send  abroad  writs  accordingly,  he  or  they  shall  for 
every  such  offence  be  guilty  of  high  treason,  and  suffer  the 
pains  and  penalties  thereof. 

XX.  That  in  case  writs  be  not  issued  out,  as  is  before 
expressed,  but  that  there  be  a  neglect  therein,  fifteen  days 
after  the  time  wherein  the  same  ought  to  be  issued  out  by 
the  Chancellor,  Keeper,  or  Commissioners  of  the  Great  Seal ; 
that  then  the  Parliament  shall,  as  often  as  such  failure  shall 
happen,  assemble  and  be  held  at  Westminster,  in  the  usual 
place,  at   the   times   prefixed,  in    manner   and    by  the    means 


6 

hereafter  expressed ;  that  is  to  say,  that  the  sheriffs  of  the 
several  and  respective  counties,  sheriffdoms,  cities,  boroughs, 
and  places  aforesaid,  within  England,  Wales,  Scotland,  and 
Ireland,  the  Chancellor,  Masters,  and  Scholars  of  the  Univer- 
sities of  Oxford  and  Cambridge,  and  the  Mayor  and  Bailiffs 
of  the  borough  of  Berwick-upon-Tweed,  and  other  places  afore- 
said respectively,  shall  at  the  several  courts  and  places  to  be 
appointed  as  aforesaid,  within  thirty  days  after  the  said  fifteen 
days,  cause  such  members  to  be  chosen  for  their  said  several 
and  respective  counties,  sheriffdoms,  universities,  cities,  bor- 
oughs, and  places  aforesaid,  by  such  persons,  and  in  such  man- 
ner, as  if  several  and  respective  writs  of  summons  to  Parliament 
under  the  Great  Seal  had  issued  and  been  awarded  according 
to  the  tenor  aforesaid :  that  if  the  sheriff,  or  other  persons 
authorized,  shall  neglect  his  or  their  duty  herein,  that  all  and 
every  such  sheriff  and  person  authorized  as  aforesaid,  so 
neglecting  his  or  their  duty,  shall,  for  every  such  offence, 
be  guilty  of  high  treason,  and  shall  suffer  the  pains  and  pen- 
alties thereof. 

XXI.  That  the  clerk,  called  the  clerk  of  the  Common- 
wealth in  Chancery  for  the  time  being,  and  all  others,  who 
shall  afterwards  execute  that  office,  to  whom  the  returns  shall 
be  made,  shall  for  the  next  Parliament,  and  the  two  succeed- 
ing Triennial  Parliaments,  the  next  day  after  such  return,  cer- 
tify the  names  of  the  several  persons  so  returned,  and  of  the 
places  for  which  he  and  they  were  chosen  respectively,  unto 
the  Council ;  who  shall  peruse  the  said  returns,  and  examine 
whether  the  persons  so  elected  and  returned  be  such  as  is 
agreeable  to  the  qualifications,  and  not  disabled  to  be  elected : 
and  that  every  person  and  persons  being  so  duly  elected,  and 
being  approved  of  by  the  major  part  of  the  Council  to  be  per- 
sons not  disabled,  but  qualified  as  aforesaid,  shall  be  esteemed 
a  member  of  Parliament,  and  be  admitted  to  sit  in  Parliament, 
and  not  otherwise. 

XXII.  That  the  persons  so  chosen  and  assembled  in 
manner  aforesaid,  or  any  sixty  of  them,  shall  be,  and  be  deemed 
the  Parliament  of  England,  Scotland,  and  Ireland ;  and  the 
supreme  legislative  power  to  be  and  reside  in  the  Lord  Pro- 
tector and  such  Parliament,  in  manner  herein  expressed. 

XXIII.  That  the  Lord  Protector,  with  the  advice  of  the 
major  part  of  the  Council,  shall  at  any  other  time  than  is 
before  expressed,  when  the  necessities  of  the  State  shall 
require  it,  summon  Parliaments  in  manner  before  expressed, 
which  shall  not  be  adjourned,  prorogued,  or  dissolved  without 


their  own  consent,  during  the  first  three  months  of  their  sit- 
ting. And  in  case  of  future  war  with  any  foreign  State,  a 
Parliament  shall  be  forthwith  summoned  for  their  advice  con- 
cerning the  same. 

XXIV.  That  all  Bills  agreed  unto  by  the  Parliament, 
shall  be  presented  to  the  Lord  Protector  for  his  consent; 
and  in  case  he  shall  not  give  his  consent  thereto  within 
twenty  days  after  they  shall  be  presented  to  him,  or  give  sat- 
isfaction to  the  Parliament  within  the  time  limited,  that  then, 
upon  declaration  of  the  Parliament  that  the  Lord  Protector 
hath  not  consented  nor  given  satisfaction,  such  Bills  shall 
pass  into  and  become  laws,  although  he  shall  not  give  his 
consent  thereunto ;  provided  such  Bills  contain  nothing  in 
them  contrary  to  the  matters  contained  in  these  presents. 

XXV.  That  Henry  Lawrence,  Esq.,  &c.,^  or  any  seven  of 
them,  shall  be  a  Council  for  the  purposes  expressed  in  this 
writing;  and  upon  the  death  or  other  removal  of  any  of  them, 
the  Parliament  shall  nominate  six  persons  of  ability,  integrity, 
and  fearing  God,  for  every  one  that  is  dead  or  removed ;  out 
of  which  the  major  part  of  the  Council  shall  elect  two,  and 
present  them  to  the  Lord  Protector,  of  v/hich  he  shall  elect 
one ;  and  in  case  the  Parliament  shall  not  nominate  within 
twenty  days  after  notice  given  unto  them  thereof,  the  major 
part  of  the  Council  shall  nominate  three  as  aforesaid  to  the 
Lord  Protector,  who  out  of  them  shall  supply  the  vacancy; 
and  until  this  choice  be  made,  the  remaining  part  of  the 
Council  shall  execute  as  fully  in  all  things,  as  if  their  number 
were  full.  And  in  case  of  corruption,  or  other  miscarriage  in 
any  of  the  Council  in  their  trust,  the  Parliament  shall  appoint 
seven  of  their  number,  and  the  Council  six,  who,  together  with 
the  Lord  Chancellor,  Lord  Keeper,  or  Commissioners  of  the 
Great  Seal  for  the  time  being,  shall  have  power  to  hear  and 
determine  such  corruption  and  miscarriage,  and  to  award  and 
inflict  punishment,  as  the  nature  of  the  offence  shall  deserve, 
which  punishment  shall  not  be  pardoned  or  remitted  by  the 
Lord  Protector ;  and,  in  the  interval  of  Parliaments,  the  major 
part  of  the  Council,  with  the  consent  of  the  Lord  Protector, 
may,  for  corruption  or  other  miscarriage  as  aforesaid,  suspend 
any  of  their  number  from  the  exercise  of  their  trust,  if  they 
shall  find  it  just,  until  the  matter  shall  be  heard  and  examined 
as  aforesaid. 

XXVI.  That  the  Lord  Protector  and  the  major  part  of  the 


^  The  names  of  fifteen  members  are  given  here. 


Council  aforesaid  may,  at  any  time  before  the  meeting  of 
the  next  Parliament,  add  to  the  Council  such  persons  as  they 
shall  think  fit,  provided  the  number  of  the  Council  be  not 
made  thereby  to  exceed  twenty-one,  and  the  quorum  to  be 
proportioned  accordingly  by  the  Lord  Protector  and  the  major 
part  of  the  Council. 

XXVII.  That  a  constant  yearly  revenue  shall  be  raised, 
settled,  and  established  for  maintaining  of  10,000  horse  and 
dragoons,  and  20,000  foot,  in  England,  Scotland  and  Ireland, 
for  the  defence  and  security  thereof,  and  also  for  a  convenient 
number  of  ships  for  guarding  of  the  seas;  besides  ;^2oo,ooo 
per  annum  for  defraying  the  other  necessary  charges  of  admin- 
istration of  justice,  and  other  expenses  of  the  Government, 
which  revenue  shall  be  raised  by  the  customs,  and  such  other 
ways  and  means  as  shall  be  agreed  upon  by  the  Lord  Protector 
and  the  Council,  and  shall  not  be  taken  away  or  diminished, 
nor  the  way  agreed  upon  for  raising  the  same  altered,  but  by 
the  consent  of  the  Lord  Protector  and  the  Parliament. 

XXVIII.  That  the  said  yearly  revenue  shall  be  paid 
into  the  public  treasury,  and  shall  be  issued  out  for  the  uses 
aforesaid. 

XXIX.  That  in  case  there  shall  not  be  cause  hereafter 
to  keep  up  so  great  a  defence  both  at  land  or  sea,  but 
that  there  be  an  abatement  made  thereof,  the  money  which 
will  be  saved  thereby  shall  remain  in  bank  for  the  public 
service,  and  not  be  employed  to  any  other  use  but  by  con- 
sent of  Parliament,  or,  in  the  intervals  of  Parliament,  by  the 
Lord  Protector  and  major  part  of  the  Council. 

XXX.  That  the  raising  of  money  for  defraying  the  charge 
of  the  present  extraordinary  forces,  both  at  sea  and  land,  in 
respect  of  the  present  wars,  shall  be  by  consent  of  Parliament, 
and  not  otherwise  :  save  only  that  the  Lord  Protector,  with 
the  consent  of  the  major  part  of  the  Council,  for  preventing  the 
disorders  and  dangers  which  might  otherwise  fall  out  both  by 
sea  and  land,  shall  have  power,  until  the  meeting  of  the  first 
Parliament,  to  raise  money  for  the  purposes  aforesaid ;  and 
also  to  make  laws  and  ordinances  for  the  peace  and  welfare 
of  these  nations  where  it  shall  be  necessar}^,  which  shall  be 
binding  and  in  force,  until  order  shall  be  taken  in  Parliament 
concerning  the  same. 

XXXI.  That  the  lands,  tenements,  rents,  royalties,  juris- 
dictions and  hereditaments  which  remain  yet  unsold  or  undis- 
posed of,  by  Act  or  Ordinance  of  Parliament,  belonging  to 
the  Commonwealth  (except  the  forests  and  chases,  and  the  hon- 


9 

ours  and  manors  belonging  to  the  same ;  the  lands  of  the 
rebels  in  Ireland,  lying  in  the  four  counties  of  Dublin,  Cork, 
Kildare,  and  Carlow ;  the  lands  forfeited  by  the  people  of 
Scotland  in  the  late  wars,  and  also  the  lands  of  Papists  and 
delinquents  in  England  who  have  not  yet  compounded),  shall 
be  vested  in  the  Lord  Protector,  to  hold,  to  him  and  his  suc- 
cessors, Lords  Protectors  of  these  nations,  and  shall  not  be 
alienated  but  by  consent  in  Parliament.  And  all  debts,  fines, 
issues,  amercements,  penalties  and  profits,  certain  and  casual, 
due  to  the  Keepers  of  the  liberties  of  England  by  authority 
of  Parliament,  shall  be  due  to  the  Lord  Protector,  and  be 
payable  into  his  public  receipt,  and  shall  be  recovered  and 
prosecuted  in  his  name. 

XXXII.  That  the  office  of  Lord  Protector  over  these 
nations  shall  be  elective  and  not  hereditary ;  and  upon  the 
death  of  the  Lord  Protector,  another  fit  person  shall  be  forth- 
with elected  to  succeed  him  in  the  Government ;  which  election 
shall  be  by  the  Council,  who,  immediately  upon  the  death  of 
the  Lord  Protector,  shall  assemble  in  the  Chamber  where  they 
usually  sit  in  Council ;  and,  having  given  notice  to  all  their 
members  of  the  cause  of  their  assembling,  shall,  being  thirteen 
at  least  present,  proceed  to  the  election ;  and,  before  they 
depart  the  said  Chamber,  shall  elect  a  fit  person  to  succeed 
in  the  Government,  and  forthwith  cause  proclamation  thereof 
to  be  made  in  all  the  three  nations  as  shall  be  requisite  ; 
and  the  person  that  they,  or  the  major  part  of  them,  shall 
elect  as  aforesaid,  shall  be,  and  shall  be  taken  to  be.  Lord 
Protector  over  these  nations  of  England,  Scotland  and  Ireland, 
and  the  dominions  thereto  belonging.  Provided  that  none  of 
the  children  of  the  late  King,  nor  any  of  his  line  or  family, 
be-  elected  to  be  Lord  Protector  or  other  Chief  Magistrate 
over  these  nations,  or  any  the  dominions  thereto  belonging. 
And  until  the  aforesaid  election  be  past,  the  Council  shall 
take  care  of  the  Government,  and  administer  in  all  things  as 
fully  as  the  Lord  Protector,  or  the  Lord  Protector  and  Council 
are  enabled  to  do. 

XXXIII.  That  Oliver  Cromwell,  Captain-General  of  the 
forces  of  England,  Scotland  and  Ireland,  shall  be,  and  is  hereby 
declared  to  be.  Lord  Protector  of  the  Commonwealth  of  Eng- 
land, Scotland  and  Ireland,  and  the  dominions  thereto  belong- 
ing, for  his  life. 

XXXIV.  That  the  Chancellor,  Keeper  or  Commissioners 
of  the  Great  Seal,  the  Treasurer,  Admiral,  Chief  Governors  of 
Ireland   and   Scotland,   and    the  Chief   Justices    of    both    the 


10 

Benches,  shall  be  chosen  by  the  approbation  of  Parliament; 
and,  in  the  intervals  of  Parliament,  by  the  approbation  of  the 
major  part  of  the  Council,  to  be  afterwards  approved  by 
the  Parliament. 

XXXV.  That  the  Christian  religion,  as  contained  in  the . 
Scriptures,  be  held  forth  and  recommended  as  the  public 
profession  of  these  nations;  and  that,  as  soon  as  may  be,  a  pro- 
vision, less  subject  to  scruple  and  contention,  and  more  certain 
than  the  present,  be  made  for  the  encouragement  and  main- 
tenance of  able  and  painful  teachers,  for  the  instructing  the 
people,  and  for  discovery  and  confutation  of  error,  hereby, 
and  whatever  is  contrary  to  sound  doctrine  ;  and  until  such 
provision  be  made,  the  present  maintenance  shall  not  be  taken 
away  or  impeached. 

XXXVI.  That  to  the  public  profession  held  forth  none 
shall  be  compelled  by  penalties  or  otherwise ;  but  that  endea- 
vours be  used  to  win  them  by  sound  doctrine  and  the  example 
of  a  good  conversation. 

XXXVII.  That  such  as  profess  faith  in  God  by  Jesus 
Christ  (though  differing  in  judgment  from  the  doctrine,  wor- 
ship or  discipline  publicly  held  forth)  shall  not  be  restrained 
from,  but  shall  be  protected  in,  the  profession  of  the  faith  and 
exercise  of  their  religion;  so  as  they  abuse  not  this  liberty 
to  the  civil  injury  of  others  and  to  the  actual  disturbance  of 
the  public  peace  on  their  parts :  provided  this  liberty  be  not 
extended  to  Popery  or  Prelacy,  nor  to  such  as,  under  the  pro- 
fession of  Christ,  hold  forth  and  practice  licentiousness. 

XXXVIII.  That  all  laws,  statutes  and  ordinances,  and 
clauses  in  any  law,  statute  or  ordinance  to  the  contrary  of  the 
aforesaid  liberty,  shall  be  esteemed  as  null  and  void. 

XXXIX.  That  the  Acts  and  Ordinances  of  Parliament 
made  for  the  sale  or  other  disposition  of  the  lands,  rents  and 
hereditaments  of  the  late  King,  Queen,  and  Prince,  of  Arch- 
bishops and  Bishops,  &c..  Deans  and  Chapters,  the  lands  of 
delinquents  and  forest-lands,  or  any  of  them,  or  of  any  other 
lands,  tenements,  rents  and  hereditaments  belonging  to  the 
Commonwealth,  shall  nowise  be  impeached  or  made  invalid, 
but  shall  remain  good  and  firm;  and  that  the  securities  given 
by  Act  and  Ordinance  of  Parliament  for  any  sum  or  sums  of 
money,  by  any  of  the  said  lands,  the  excise,  or  any  other  pub- 
lic revenue ;  and  also  the  securities  given  by  the  public  faith 
of  the  nation,  and  the  engagement  of  the  public  faith  for 
satisfaction  of  debts  and  damages,  shall  remain  firm  and  good, 
and  not  be  made  void  and  invalid  upon  any  pretence 
whatsoever. 


ir 

XL.  That  the  Articles  given  to  or  made  with  the  enemy, 
and  afterwards  confirmed  by  Parliament,  shall  be  performed 
and  made  good  to  the  persons  concerned  therein ;  and  that 
such  appeals  as  were  depending  in  the  last  Parliament  for 
relief  concerning  bills  of  sale  of  delinquent's  estates,  may  be 
heard  and  determined  the  next  Parliament,  any  thing  in  this 
writing  or  otherwise  to  the  contrary  notwithstanding. 

XLI.  That  every  successive  Lord  Protector  over  these 
nations  shall  take  and  subscribe  a  solemn  oath,  in  the  pres- 
ence of  the  Council,  and  such  others  as  they  shall  call  to  them, 
that  he  will  seek  the  peace,  quiet  and  welfare  of  these  nations, 
cause  law  and  justice  to  be  equally  administered ;  and  that 
he  will  not  violate  or  infringe  the  matters  and  things  con- 
tained in  this  writing,  and  in  all  other  things  will,  to  his 
power  and  to  the  best  of  his  understanding,  govern  these 
nations  according  to  the  laws,  statutes  and  customs  thereof. 

XLIL  That  each  person  of  the  Council  shall,  before 
they  enter  upon  their  trust,  take  and  subscribe  an  oath,  that 
they  will  be  true  and  faithful  in  their  trust,  according  to  the 
best  of  their  knowledge ;  and  that  in  the  election  of  every 
successive  Lord  Protector  they  shall  proceed  therein  impartially, 
and  do  nothing  therein  for  any  promise,  fear,  favour  or  reward. 


The  Instrument  of  Government  was  a  constitution  adopted  by  Cromwell  and  his  Coun- 
cil of  Officers  when,  the  Little  Parliament  dissolved  itself  in  December,  1653,  surrendering 
authority  to  Cromwell  as  Lord  Protector.  It  is  therefore  to  be  regarded  as  the  constitutional 
basis  or  definition  of  the  Protectorate  ;  and  under  it  the  reformed  Parliament  met  in  Septem- 
ber, 1654.  This  assembly  proceeded  to  settle  the  government  on  a  Parliamentary  basis,  tak- 
ing the  "Instrument"  as  the  groundwork  of  the  new  constitution,  and  carrying  it  clause  by 
clause.  The  Instrument  of  Government  holds  therefore  not  only  an  important  place  in  Eng- 
lish political  history,  but  in  the  general  history  of  the  development  of  the  idea  of  a  written 
constitution.  The  chief  points  in  which  the  Parliamentary  constitutional  scheme  differed  from 
the  Instrument  of  Government  may  be  best  seen  as  given  in  tabulated  form  by  Gardiner. 
Co>istitutio7ial  Docntnejtts  of  the  Ptiritan  Revolution,  Introduction,  Ix.  Gardiner's  comments 
upon  the  Instrument  of  Government  itself  are  as  follows : 

"The  Instrument  of  Government  was  intended  to  suit  a  Constitutional  Government 
carried  on  by  a  Protector  and  a  single  House.  The  Protector  therefore  stepped  into  the 
place  of  the  King,  and  there  were  therefore  clauses  inserted  to  define  and  check  the  power  of 
the  Protector,  which  may  fitly  be  compared  with  those  of  the  Heads  of  the  Proposals.  The 
main  difference  lay  in  this,  that  the  Heads  of  the  Proposals  were  intended  to  check  a  King 
who,  at  least  for  some  time  to  come,  was  to  be  regarded  as  hostile  to  the  Parliament,  whereas 
the  Instrument  of  Government  was  drawn  up  with  the  sanction  of  the  Protector,  and  there- 
fore took  it  for  granted  that  the  Protector  was  not  to  be  guarded  against  as  a  possible  enemy. 
His  power  however  was  to  be  limited  first  by  his  Council  of  State,  and  secondly  by  Parliament. 

Parliament  was  to  be  elected  and  to  meet,  not  as  according  to  the  Agreement  of  the 
People  [see  Old  South  Leaflets,  No.  26],  once  in  two,  but  once  in  three  years  (§  7),  and  to 
remain  in  session  at  least  five  months  (§  8).  It  was  to  be  elected  in  accordance  with  a  scheme 
for  the  redistribution  of  seats  based  on  that  set  forth  in  the  Agreement  of  the  People  (§  10), 
the  Protector  and  Council  having  leave  to  establish  constituencies  in  Scotland  and  Ireland, 
which  were  now  to  send  members  to  the  Parliament  of  Westminster.  It  was  the  first  attempt 
at  a  Parliamentary  union  between  the  three  countries  carried  out  at  a  time  when  such  a  union 
was  only  possible  because  two  of  the  countries  had  been  conquered  by  one.  Instead  of  the 
old  freehold  franchise,  or  of  the  rating  franchise  of  the  Agreement  of  the  People,  there  was 
the  franchise  in  the  counties  to  be  given  to  the  possessors  of  real  or  personal  estate  to  the 
value  of  ;^2oo  (§  18).  As  nothing  was  said  about  the  boroughs,  the  right  of  election  would 
remain  in  those  who  had  it  under  the  Monarchy,  that  is  to  say,  it  would  vary  according  to  the 


12 

custom  of  each  borough.  In  those  boroughs  in  which  the  corporations  elected,  the  feeling  by 
this  time  wculd  be  likely  to  be  anti-Royalist.  The  disqualification  clauses  were  less  stringently 
drawn  than  in  the  Ageement  of  the  People,  but  all  wlio  had  abetted  the  King  in  the  war  were 
to  be  deprived  of  their  votes  at  the  first  election  and  of  the  right  of  sitting  in  the  first  four 
Parliaments  (§  14).  Those  who  liad  abetted  the  Rebellion  in  Ireland,  or  were  Roman  Catho- 
lics, were  permanently  disqualified  from  sitting  or  voting.  .  .  . 

The  clauses  relating  to  the  power  of  Parliament  in  matters  of  finance  seem  to  have  been 
modelled  on  the  old  notion  that  'the  King  was  to  live  of  his  own '  in  ordinary  times.  A  con- 
stant yearly  revenue  was  to  be  raised  for  supporting  an  army  of  30,000  men  — now  regarded 
as  a  permanent  cliarge  —  and  for  a  fleet  sufficient  to  guard  the  seas  as  well  as  ;^2oo,ooo  for  the 
domestic  administration.  The  total  amount,  and  the  sources  of  the  necessary  taxation,  were 
to  be  settled  by  tlie  Protector  and  Council ;  Parliament  having  no  right  to  diminish  it  without 
the  consent  of  the  Protector  (§  27).  With  respect  to  war  expenses,  they  were  to  be  met  by 
votes  of  Parliament,  except  that  in  the  intervals  of  Parliament  the  Protector  and  Council 
might  raise  money  to  meet  sudden  emergencies  from  war  till  the  Parliament  could  meet  (§  30), 
which  the  Protector  and  Council  were  bound  to  summon  for  an  extraordinary  session  in  such 
an  emergency  (§  23).  .  .  . 

The  functions  of  the  Council  were  of  considerable  importance.  In  all  important  mat- 
ters the  Protector  had  to  act  by  its  advice,  and  when  Parliament  was  not  in  session  it  was  to 
join  him  in  passing  Ordinances  which  were  to  be  obeyed  until  in  the  next  session  Parliament 
either  confirmed  them  or  disallowed  them  (§  30).  On  the  death  of  the  Protector  it  was  the 
Council  which  was  to  elect  his  successor  (§  32).  .  .  . 

The  Instrument  of  Government  suffered  not  only  under  the  vice  of  ignoring  the  prob- 
able necessity  of  its  amendment  in  the  future,  but  also  under  the  vice  of  having  no  support 
either  in  traditional  loyalty  nor  in  national  sanction.  If,  however,  we  pass  over  these  all- 
important  faults,  and  discuss  it  from  the  purely  constitutional  point  of  view,  it  is  impossible 
not  to  be  struck  with  the  ability  of  its  framers,  even  if  we  pronounce  their  work  to  be  not 
entirely  satisfactory.  It  bears  the  stamp  of  an  intention  to  steer  a  middle  course  between  the 
despotism  of  a  'single  person'  and  the  despotism  of  a  'single  House.'  Parliament  had 
supreme  rights  of  legislation,  and  the  Protector  was  not  only  sworn  to  administer  the  law,  but 
every  illegal  act  would  come  before  the  courts  of  law  for  condemnation.  Parliament,  too,  had 
the  right  of  disapproving  the  nominations  to  the  principal  ministerial  offices,  and  of  voting 
money  for  conducting  operations  in  time  of  war.  Where  it  fell  short  of  the  powers  of  mod- 
ern Parliaments  was  in  its  inability  to  control  administrative  acts,  and  in  its  powerlessness  to 
refuse  supplies  for  the  carrying  on  of  the  government  in  time  of  peace.  A  modern  Parlia- 
ment can  exercise  these  powers  with  safety,  because  if  it  uses  them  foolishly  a  government 
can  dissolve  it  and  appeal  to  the  nation,  whereas  Cromwell,  who  was  but  the  head  of  a  party 
in  the  minority,  and  whose  real  strength  rested  on  the  army,  did  not  venture  to  appeal  to  the 
nation  at  large,  or  even  to  appeal  too  frequently  to  the  constituencies  who  were  to  elect  his 
Parliament. 

The  real  constitutional  safeguard  was  intended  to  be  in  the  Council  of  State.  Ulti- 
mately, after  the  death  of  the  Councillors  named  in  the  Instrument,  the  Council  of  State 
would  indirectly  represent  the  Parliament,  as  no  one  would  have  a  place  on  it  whose  name 
had  not  been  one  of  six  presented  by  Parliament.  In  the  Council  of  State,  the  Protector 
would  be  in  much  the  same  position  as  a  modern  Prime  Minister  in  his  Cabinet,  except  that 
each  member  of  the  Council  held  his  position  for  life,  wliereas  a  modern  Prime  Minister  can 
obtain  the  resignation  of  any  member  of  the  Cabinet  with  whom  he  is  in  strong  disagreement. 
On  the  other  hand,  the  greater  part  of  the  members  of  a  modern  Cabinet  are  heads  of  execu- 
tive departments,  and  thus  have  a  certain  independent  position  of  their  own.  In  some 
respects  indeed,  the  relations  between  the  Protector  and  the  Council  were  more  like  those 
between  an  American  President  and  the  Senate  in  executive  session,  than  those  between  an 
English  Prime  Minister  and  the  Cabinet.  The  members  of  the  American  Senate  are  entirely 
independent  of  the  President,  as  the  members  of  the  Council  of  the  Protectorate  were  en- 
tirely independent  of  the  Protector  when  once  they  had  been  chosen.  On  the  other  hand,  the 
two  bodies  differed  in  a  most  important  particular.  The  tendency  of  tlie  American  Senate, 
which  is  never  officially  brought  into  personal  contact  with  the  President,  is  to  be  antagonistic 
to  the  President.  The  tendency  of  the  Council  of  State,  which  was  in  daily  contact  with  the 
Protector,  was  to  work  with  him  instead  of  against  him.  It  was  not,  Iiowever,  in  consequence 
of  its  merits  or  demerits  as  a  constitutional  settlement  tliat  the  Instrument  of  Government 
failed.  It  broke  down  because  the  first  Parliament  summoned  under  it  refused  to  acknowl- 
edge its  binding  force,  and  claimed  to  be  a  constituent  as  well  as  a  legislative  body." 


General  Series,  No.  28. 

Cromwell's 
First  Speech 

TO    THE    LITTLE    PARLIAMENT. 


July  4,  1653. 


Gentlemen  : 

I  suppose  the  Summons  that  hath  been  instrumental  to 
bring  you  hither  gives  you  well  to  understand  the  occasion  of 
your  being  here.  Howbeit,  I  have  something  farther  to  impart 
to  you,  which  is  an  Instrument  drawn-up  by  the  consent  and 
advice  of  the  principal  Officers  of  the  Army ;  which  is  a  little 
(as  we  conceive)  more  significant  than  the  Letter  of  the  Sum- 
mons. We  have  that  here  to  tender  you;  and  somewhat  like- 
wise to  say  farther  for  our  own  exoneration  :^  which  we  hope 
may  be  somewhat  farther  for  your  satisfaction.  And  withal 
seeing  you  sit  here  somewhat  uneasily  by  reason  of  the  scant- 
ness  of  the  room  and  heat  of  the  weather,  I  shall  contract  my- 
self with  respect  thereunto. 

We  have  not  thought  it  amiss  a  little  to  remind  you  of  that 
Series  of  Providences  wherein  the  Lord  hath  appeared,  dispen- 
sing wonderful  things  to  these  Nations  from  the  beginning  of 
our  Troubles  to  this  very  day. 

If  I  should  look  much  backward,  we  might  remind  you  of 
the  state  of  affairs  as  they  were  before  the  Short,  that  is  the 
last,  Parliament,  —  in  what  posture  the  things  of  this  Nation 
then  stood :  but  they  do  so  well,  I  presume,  occur  to  all  your 
memories  and  knowledge,  that  I  shall  not  need  to  look  so  far 
backward.  Nor  yet  to  those  hostile  occasions  which  arose 
between  the  King  that  was  and  the  Parliament^  that  then  fol- 
lowed. And  indeed,  should  I  begin  much  later,  the  things  that 
would  fall  very  necessarily  before  you,  would  rather  be  for  a 
History  than  for  a  verbal  Discourse  at  this  present. 


*  "Exoneration  "  does  not  here  mean  "  excuse,"  but  mere  laying-down 
of  office  with  due  form. 

"^  The  Long  Parliament. 


But  thus  far  we  may  look  back.  You  very  well  know,  it 
pleased  God,  much  about  the  midst  of  this  War,  to  win  now 
(if  I  may  so  say)  the  Forces  of  this  Nation  ;^  and  to  put  them 
into  the  hands  of  other  men  of  other  principles  than  those  that 
did  engage  at  the  first.  By  what  ways  and  means  that  was 
brought  about,  would  ask  more  time  than  is  allotted  me  to  mind 
you  of  it.  Indeed,  there  are  Stories  that  do  recite  those  Trans- 
actions, and  give  you  narratives  of  matters  of  fact :  but  those 
things  wherein  the  life  and  power  of  them  lay ;  those  strange 
windings  and  turnings  of  Providence ;  those  very  great  appear- 
ances of  God,  in  crossing  and  thwarting  the  purposes  of  men, 
that  He  might  raise  up  a  poor  and  contemptible  company  of 
men,^  neither  versed  in  military  affairs,  nor  having  much  natu- 
ral propensity  to  them,  "  into  wonderful  success  —  !"  Simply 
by  their  owning  a  Principle  of  Godliness  and  Religion ;  which 
so  soon  as  //  came  to  be  owned,  and  the  state  of  affairs  put 
upon  the  foot  of  that  account,^  how  God  blessed  them,  further- 
ing all  undertakings,  yet  using  the  most  improbable  and  the 
most  contemptible  and  despicable  means  (for  that  we  shall 
ever  own) :  is  very  well  known  to  you. 

What  the  several  Successes  and  Issues  have  been,  is  not  fit 
to  mention  at  this  time  neither;  —  though  I  confess  I  thought  to 
have  enlarged  myself  upon  that  subject;  forasmuch  as  Consid- 
ering the  works  of  God,  and  the  operations  of  His  hands,  is 
a  principal  part  of  our  duty;  and  a  great  encouragement  to  the 
strengthening  of  our  hands  and  of  our  faith,  for  that  which  is 
behind.'*  And  among  other  ends  which  those  marvellous  Dis- 
pensations have  been  given  us  for,  that's  a  principal  end,  which 
ought  to  be  minded  by  us. 

"Certainly"  in  this  revolution  of  affairs,  as  the  issue  of 
those  Successes  which  God  was  pleased  to  give  to  the  Army, 
and  "to  "  the  Authority  that  then  stood,  there  were  very  great 
things  brought  about  ;  —  besides  those  dints  that  came  upon 
the  Nations^  and  places  where  the  War  itself  was,  very  great 
things  in  Civil  matters  too.  "As  first,"  the  bringing  of  Offend- 
ers to  justice,  —  and  the  Greatest  of  them.  Bringing  of  the 
State  of  this  Government  to  the  name  (at  least)  of  a  Common- 
wealth. Searching  and  sifting  of  all  persons  and  places.  The 
King  removed,  and  brought  to  justice  ;  and  many  great  ones 
with  him.  The  House  of  Peers  laid  aside.  The  House  of 
Commons  itself,  the  representative  of  the  People  of  England, 

^  Self-denying  Ordinance;  beginning  of  1645.  ^  Fairfax's  Army. 

3  Upon  that  footing.  ^  Still  to  come.  ^  England,  Ireland,  Scotland. 


winnowed,  sifted,  and  brought  to  a  handful ;  as  you  very  well 
remember. 

And  truly  God  would  not  rest  there  :  —  for,  by  the  way, 
although  it's  fit  for  us  to  ascribe^  our  failings  and  miscarriages 
to  ourselves, -yet  the  gloriousness  of  the  work  may  well  be 
attributed  to  God  Himself,  and  may  be  called  His  strange 
work.  You  remember  well  that  at  the  Change  of  the  Govern- 
ment there  was  not  an  end  of  our  Troubles,  —  although  in  that 
year  were  such  high  things  transacted  as  indeed  made  it  to  be 
the  most  memorable  year  (I  mean  the  Year  1648)  that  this 
Nation  ever  saw.  So  many  Insurrections,^  Invasions,  secret 
Designs,  open  and  public  Attempts,  all  quashed  in  so  short 
a  time,  and  this  by  the  very  signal  appearance  of  God  Himself; 
which,  I  hope,  we  shall  never  forget!  —  You  know  also,  as  I 
said  before,  that,  as  the  first  effect  of  that  memorable  year  of 
1648  was  to  lay  a  foundation,  by  bringing  Offenders  to  Punish- 
ment, so  it  brought  us  likewise  to  the  Change  of  Government : 
—  although  it  were  worth  the  time  "perhaps,  if  one  had  time," 
to  speak  of  the  carriage  of  some  in  places  of  trust,  in  most  emi- 
nent places  of  trust,  which  was  such  as  (had  not  God  miracu- 
lously appeared)  would  have  frustrated  us  of  the  hopes  of  all 
our  undertakings.  I  mean  by  the  closure  of  the  Treaty  that 
was  endeavoured  with  the  King  ;^  whereby  they  would  have 
put  into  his  hands  all  that  we  had  engaged  for,  and  all  our 
security  should  have  been  a  little  piece  of  Paper !  That  thing 
going  off,  you  very  well  know  how  it  kept  this  Nation  still  in 
broils  by  sea  and  land.  And  yet  what  God  wrought  in  Ireland 
and  Scotland  you  likewise  know ;  until  He  had  finished  these 
Troubles  upon  the  matter, "*  by  His  marvellous  salvation  wrought 
at  Worcester. 

I  confess  to  you,  that  I  am  very  much  troubled  in  my  own 
spirit  that  the  necessity  of  affairs  requires  I  should  be  so  short 
in  those  things :  because,  as  I  told  you,  this  is  the  leanest  part 
of  the  Transactions,  this  mere  historical  Narrative  of  them  ; 
there  being  in  every  particular;  in  the  King's  first  going  from 
the  Parliament,  in  the  pulling-down  of  the  Bishops,  the  House 
of  Peers,  in  every  step  towards  that  Change  of  the  Govern- 
ment, —  I  say  there  is  not  any  one  of  these  things,  thus  re- 

*  "Intitle"  in  orig. 

^  Kent,  St.  Neot's,  Colchester,  Welsh  Poyer  at  Pembroke,  Scotch  Ham- 
ilton at  Preston,  &c.  &c. 

^  Treaty  of  the  Isle  of  Wight,  again  and  again  endeavoured. 

*  Means  "  so  to  speak ;  "  a  common  phrase  of  those  times ;  a  perpetual 
one  with  Clarendon,  for  instance. 


moved  and  reformed,  but  hath  an  evident  print  of  Providence 
set  upon  it,  so  that  he  who  runs  may  read  it.  I  am  sorry  I 
have  not  an  opportunity  to  be  more  particular  on  these  points, 
which  I  principally  designed,  this  day ;  thereby  to  stir-up  your 
hearts  and  mine  to  gratitude  and  confidence. 

I  shall  now  begin  a  little  to  remind  you  of  the  passages 
that  have  been  transacted  since  Worcester.  Coming  from 
whence,  with  the  rest  of  my  fellow  Officers  and  Soldiers,  we 
did  expect,  and  had  some  reasonable  confidence  our  expecta- 
tions would  not  be  frustrated,  That,  having  such  an  history  to 
look  back  unto,  such  a  God,  so  eminently  visible,  even  our 
enemies  confessing  that  "  God  Himself  was  certainly  engaged 
against  them,  else  they  should  never  have  been  disappointed 
in  every  engagement,'*  —  and  that  may  be  used  by  the  way, 
That  if  we  had  but  miscarried  in  the  least, '^  all  our  former  mer- 
cies were  in  danger  to  be  lost :  —  I  say,  coming  up  then,  we  had 
some  confidence  That  the  mercies  God  had  shown,  and  the 
expectations  which  were  upon  our  hearts,  and  upon  the  hearts 
of  all  good  men,  would  have  prompted  those  who  were  in 
Authority  to  do  those  good  things  which  might,  by  honest  men, 
have  been  judged  fit  for  such  a  God,  and  worthy  of  such  mer- 
cies ;  and  indeed  been  a  discharge  of  duty  from  those  to  whom 
all  these  mercies  had  been  shown,  for  the  true  interest  of  this 
Nation!  —  If  I  should  now  labour  to  be  particular  in  enumer- 
ating how  businesses  have  been  transacted  from  that  time  to 
the  Dissolution  of  the  late  Parliament,  indeed  I  should  be 
upon  a  theme  which  would  be  troublesome  to  myself.  For  I 
think  I  may  say  for  myself  and  my  fellow  Officers,  That  we 
have  rather  desired  and  studied  Healing  and  Looking-forward 
than  to  rake  into  sores  and  to  look  backward,  —  to  give  things 
forth  in  those  colours  that  would  not  be  very  pleasing  to  any 
good  eye  to  look  upon.  Only  this  we  shall  say  for  our  own 
vindication,  as  pointing  out  the  ground  for  that  unavoidable 
necessity,  nay  even  that  duty  that  was  incumbent  upon  us,  to 
make  this  last  great  Change.  —  I  think  it  will  not  be  amiss  to 
offer  a  word  or  two  to  that.  As  I  said  before,  we  are  loath 
to  rake  into  businesses,  were  there  not  a  necessity  so  to  do. 

Indeed,  we  may  say  that,  ever  since  the  coming-up  of  my- 
self and  those  Gentlemen  who  have  been  engaged  in  the  mili- 
tary part,  it  hath  been  full  in  our  hearts  and  thoughts.  To  desire 
and  use  all  the  fair  and  lawful  means  we  could  to  have  the 
Nation  reap  the  fruit  of  all  the  blood  and  treasure  that  had 

'  Lost  one  battle  of  these  many. 


5 

been  spent  in  this  Cause  :  and  we  have  had  many  desires,  and 
thirstings  in  our  spirits,  to  find  out  ways  and  means  wherein 
we  might  be  anywise  instrumental  to  help  it  forward.  We  were 
very  tender,  for  a  long  time,  so  much  as  to  petition.  For  some 
of  the  Officers  being  Members ;  and  others  having  very  good 
acquaintance  with,  and  some  relations  to,  divers  Members  of 
Parliament,  —  we  did,  from  time  to  time,  solicit  such  ;  thinking 
if  there  had  been  nobody  to  prompt  them,  nor  call  upon  them, 
these  things  might  have  been  attended  to,  from  ingenuity^  and 
integrity  in  those  that  had  it  in  their  power  to  answer  such 
expectations. 

Truly,  when  we  saw  nothing  would  be  done,  we  did,  as 
we  thought  according  to  our  duty,  a  little,  to  remind  them  by 
a  Petition ;  which  I  suppose  you  have  seen  :  it  was  delivered, 
as  I  remember,  in  August  last.  What  effect  that  had,  is  like- 
wise very  well  known.  The  truth  is,  we  had  no  return  at  all 
for  our  satisfaction,  —  a  few  words  given  us;  the  things  pre- 
sented by  us,  or  the  most  of  them,  we  were  told  "  were  under 
consideration : "  and  those  not  presented  by  us  had  very  little 
or  no  consideration  at  all.  Finding  the  People  dissatisfied  in 
every  corner  of  the  Nation,  and  "  all  men  "  laying  at  our  doors 
the  non-performance  of  these  things,  which  had  been  promised, 
and  were  of  duty  to  be  performed,  —  truly  we  did  then  think 
ourselves  concerned,  if  we  would  (as  becomes  honest  men) 
keep-up  the  reputation  of  honest  men  in  the  world.  And 
therefore  we,  divers  times,  endeavoured  to  obtain  meetings 
with  divers  Members  of  Parliament ;  —  and  we  did  not  begin 
those  till  about  October  last.  And  in  these  meetings  we  did, 
with  all  faithfulness  and  sincerity,  beseech  them  that  they 
would  be  mindful  of  their  duty  to  God  and  men,  in  the  dis- 
charge of  the  trust  reposed  in  them.  I  believe  (as  there  are 
many  gentlemen  here  know),  we  had  at  least  ten  or  twelve 
meetings  ;  most  humbly  begging  and  beseeching  of  them.  That 
by  their  own  means  they  would  bring  forth  those  good  things 
which  had  been  promised  and  expected;  that  so  it  might  appear 
they  did  not  do  them  by  any  suggestion  from  the  Army,  but 
from  their  own  ingenuity :  so  tender  were  we  to  preserve  them 
in  the  reputation  of  the  People.  Having  had  very  many  of 
those  meetings ;  and  declaring  plainly  that  the  issue  would  be 
the  displeasure  and  judgment  of  God,  the  dissatisfaction  of  the 
People,  the  putting  of  "  all "  things  into  a  confusion  :  yet  how 
little  we  prevailed,  we  very  well  know,  and  we  believe  it's  not 
unknown  to  you. 

^  Ingenuousness, 


At  last,  when  indeed  we  saw  that  things  would  not  be  laid 
to  heart,  we  had  a  very  serious  consideration  among  ourselves 
what  other  ways  to  have  recourse  unto ;  and  when  we  grew  to 
more  closer  considerations,  then  they  "  the  Parliament  men  " 
began  to  take  the  Act  for  a  Representative^  to  heart,  and  seemed 
exceeding  willing  to  put  it  on.  And  had  it  been  done  with  in- 
tegrity, there  could  nothing  have  happened  more  welcome  to 
our  judgments  than  that.  But  plainly  the  intention  was,  Not 
to  give  the  People  a  right  of  choice ;  it  would  have  been  but 
a  seeming  right:  that  "semblance"  of  giving  them  a  choice  was 
only  to  recruit  the  House,  the  better  to  perpetuate  themselves. 
And  truly,  having  been,  divers  of  us,  spoken  unto  to  give  way 
hereunto,  to  which  we  made  perpetual  aversions,  indeed  abomi- 
nating the  thoughts  of  it,  —  we  declared  our  judgments  against 
it,  and  our  dissatisfaction  with  it.  And  yet  they  that  would  not 
hear  of  a  Representative  formerly,  when  it  lay  three  years  be- 
fore them,  without  proceeding  one  line,  or  making  any  consid- 
erable progress,  —  I  say,  those  that  would  not  hear  of  this  Bill 
formerly,  did  now,  when  they  saw  us  falling  into  more  closer 
considerations,  make,  instead  of  protracting  their  Bill,  as  much 
preposterous  haste  with  it  on  the  other  side,  and  run  into  that 
"  opposite  "  extremity. 

Finding  that  this  spirit  was  not  according  to  God ;  and 
that  the  whole  weight  of  this  Cause,  —  which  must  needs  be 
very  dear  unto  us  who  had  so  often  adventured  our  lives  for  it, 
and  we  believe  it  was  so  to  you, — did  hang  upon  the  business 
now  in  hand;  and  seeing  plainly  that  there  was  not  here  any 
consideration  to  assert  this  Cause,  or  provide  security  for  //,  but 
only  to  cross  the  troublesome  people  of  the  Army,  who  by  this 
time  were  high  enough  in  their  displeasures  :  Truly,  I  say,  when 
we  saw  all  this,  having  power  in  our  hands,  "  we  could  not  re- 
solve" to  let  such  monstrous  proceedings  go  on,  and  so  to  throw 
away  all  our  liberties  into  the  hands  of  those  whom  we  had 
fought  against ;  we  came,  first,  to  this  conclusion  among  our- 
selves, That  if  we  had  been  fought  out  of  our  liberties  and 
rights,  Necessity  would  have  taught  us  patience ;  but  that  to 
deliver  them  "sluggishly"  up  would  render  us  the  basest  persons 
in  the  world,  and  worthy  to  be  accounted  haters  of  God  and  of 
His  People.  When  it  pleased  God  to  lay  this  close  to  our 
hearts ;  and  indeed  to  show  us  that  the  interest  of  His  People 
was  grown  cheap,  "  that  it  was  "  not  at  all  laid  to  heart,  but  that  if 
things  came  to  real  competition.  His  Cause,  even  among  them- 

^  For  a  New  Parliament  and  Method  of  Election, 


selves,  would  also  in  every  point  go  to  the  ground :  indeed,  this 
did  add  more  considerations  to  us.  That  there  was  a  duty  incum- 
bent upon  us,  "  even  upon  us."  And,  —  I  speak  here  in  the 
presence  of  some  that  were  at  the  closure  of  our  consultations, 
and  as  before  the  Lord,  —  the  thinking  of  an  act  of  violence 
was  to  us  worse  than  any  battle  that  ever  we  were  in,  or  that 
could  be,  to  the  utmost  hazard  of  our  lives :  so  willing  were 
we,  even  very  tender  and  desirous,  if  possible,  that  these  men 
might  quit  their  places  with  honour. 

I  am  the  longer  upon  this ;  because  it  hath  been  in  our 
own  hearts  and  consciences,  justifying  us,  and  hath  never  been 
yet  thoroughly  imparted  to  any ;  and  we  had  rather  begin  with 
you  than  have  done  it  before ;  —  and  do  think  indeed  that  this 
Transaction  is  more  proper  for  a  verbal  communication  than 
to  have  it  put  into  writing.  I  doubt,  he  whose  pen  is  most 
gentle  in  England  would,  in  recording  that,  have  been  tempted, 
whether  he  would  or  no,  to  dip  it  deep  in  anger  and  wrath. 
But  affairs  being  at  this  posture ;  we  seeing  plainly,  even  in 
some  critical  cases,  that  the  Cause  of  the  People  of  God  was 
a  despised  thing;  —  truly  we  did  believe  then  that  the  hands  of 
other  men  "than  these"  must  be  the  hands  to  be  used  for  the 
work.  And  we  thought  then,  it  was  very  high  time  to  look 
about  us,  and  to  be  sensible  of  our  duty. 

If,  I  say,  I  should  take-up  your  time  to  tell  you  what  in- 
stances we  have  to  satisfy  our  judgments  and  consciences.  That 
these  are  not  vain  imaginations,  nor  things  fictitious,  but  which 
fell  within  the  compass  of  our  own  certain  knowledge,  it  would 
bring  me,  I  say,  to  what  I  would  avoid,  to  rake-into  these  things 
too  much.  Only  this.  If  anybody  was  in  competition  for  any 
place  of  real  and  signal  trust,  "  if  any  really  public  interest  was 
at  stake  in  that  Parliament,"  how  hard  and  difficult  a  matter 
was  it  to  get  anything  carried  without  making  parties,  —  with- 
out practices  indeed  unworthy  of  a  Parliament !  When  things 
must  be  carried  so  in  a  Supreme  Authority,  indeed  I  think  it  is 
not  as  it  ought  to  be,  to  say  no  worse  !  —  Then,  when  we  came 
to  other  trials,  as  in  that  case  of  Wales,  "  of  establishing  a 
Preaching  Ministry  in  Wales,"  which,  I  must  confess  for  my 
own  part,  I  set  myself  upon,  —  if  I  should  relate  what  discoun- 
tenance that  business  of  the  poor  People  of  God  there  had 
(who  had  men^  watching  over  them  like  so  many  wolves,  ready 
to  catch  the  lambs  so  soon  as  they  were  brought  forth  into  the 
world) ;  how  signally  that  Business  was  trodden  under  foot  "  in 
Parliament,"   to   the  discountenancing  of   the  Honest  People, 

^  Clergymen  so-called. 


8 

and  the  countenancing  of  the  Malignant  Party,  of  this  Com- 
monwealth— !  I  need  but  say  it  was  so.  For  many  of  you 
know,  and  by  sad  experience  have  felt  it  to  be  so.  And  some- 
body I  hope  will,  at  leisure,  better  impart  to  you  the  state  of 
that  Business  "  of  Wales ;  "  which  really,  to  myself  and  Officers, 
was  as  plain  a  trial  of  their  spirits,  "  the  Parliament's  spirits," 
as  anything,  —  it  being  known  to  many  of  us  that  God  had 
kindled  a  seed  there,^  indeed  hardly  to  be  paralleled  since  the 
Primitive  time.  — 

I  would  these  had  been  all  the  instances  v/e  had !  Find- 
ing, "however,"  which  way  the  spirits  of  men  went,  finding  that 
good  was  never  intended  to  the  People  of  God,  —  I  mean, 
when  I  say  the  People  of  God,  I  mean  the  large  comprehen- 
sion of  them,  under  the  several  Forms  of  Godliness  in  this 
Nation;  —  finding,  I  say,  that  all  tenderness  was  forgotten  to 
the  Good  People  (though  it  was  by  their  hands  and  their  means, 
under  the  blessing  of  God,  that  those  sat  where  they  did),  —  we 
thought  this  very  bad  requital !  I  will  not  say,  they  were  come 
to  an  utter  inability  of  working  Reformation,  —  though  I  might 
say  so  in  regard  to  one  thing :  the  Reformation  of  the  Law,  so 
much  groaned  under  in  the  posture  it  now  is  in.  That  was 
a  thing  we  had  many  good  words  spoken  for ;  but  we  know  that 
many  months  together  were  not  enough  for  the  settling  of  one 
word,  "Incumbrances,"  —  I  say,  finding  that  this  was  the  spirit 
and  complexion  of  men,  —  although  these  were  faults  for  which 
no  man  should  lift-up  his  hand  against  the  Superior  Magistrate ; 
not  simply  for  these  faults  and  failings,  —  yet  when  we  saw  that 
this  "  New  Representative  of  theirs  "  was  meant  to  perpetuate 
men  of  such  spirits ;  nay  when  we  had  it  from  their  own 
mouths,  That  they  could  not  endure  to  hear  of  the  Dissolution 
of  this  Parliament :  we  thought  this  an  high  breach  of  trust. 
If  they  had  been  a  Parliament  never  violence  was  upon,^  sit- 
ting as  free  and  clear  as  any  in  former  ages,  it  was  thought, 
this,  to  be  a  breach  of  trust,  such  as  a  greater  could  not  be. 

And  that  we  might  not  be  in  doubt  about  these  matters ; 
having  had  that  Conference  among  ourselves  which  I  gave  you 
an  account  of,  we  did  desire  one  more,  —  and  indeed  it  was  the 
night  before  the  Dissolution ;  it  had  been  desired  two  or  three 
nights  before  :  we  did  desire  that  we  might  speak  with  some  of 
the  principal  persons  of  the  House.     That  we  might  with  inge- 

^  **  Kindle  "  =  /^//«^<f/;z  (German),  meaning  "give  birth  to,"  "create." 
Occurs  in  Shakspeare. 

^  Had  no  Pride's  Purge,  Apprentice-riot,  or  the  like,  ever  come  upon 
them. 


Tiuity  open  our  hearts  to  them  ;  that  we  might  either  be  con- 
vinced of  the  certainty  of  their  intentions  ;  or  else  that  they 
would  be  pleased  to  hear  our  expedients  to  prevent  these  incon- 
veniences. And  indeed  we  could  not  attain  our  desire  till  the 
night  before  the  Dissolution.  There  is  a  touch  of  this  in  our 
Declaration.^  As  I  said  before,  at  that  time  we  had  often 
desired  it,  and  at  that  time  we  obtained  it :  where  about  Twenty 
of  them  were,  none  of  the  least  in  consideration  for  their  inter- 
est and  ability ;  with  whom  we  desired  some  discourse  upon 
these  things ;  and  had  it.  And  it  pleased  these  Gentlemen, 
who  are  here,  the  Officers  of  the  Army,  to  desire  me  to  offer 
their  sense  for  them,  which  I  did,  and  it  was  shortly  thus  :  We 
told  them  "  the  reason  of  our  desire  to  wait  upon  them  now 
was,  that  we  might  know  from  them.  What  security  lay  in  their 
manner  of  proceeding,  so  hastened,  for  a  New  Representative; 
wherein  they  had  made  a  few  qualifications,  such  as  they  were : 
and  How  the  whole  business  would,  'in  actual  practice,'  be 
executed  :  Of  which  we  had  as  yet  no  account ;  and  yet  we 
had  our  interest,  our  lives,  estates  and  families  therein  con- 
cerned; and,  we  thought  likewise,  the  Honest  People  had 
interest  in  us :  '  How  all  this  was  to  be .'' '  That  so,  if  it  did 
seem  they  meant  to  appear  in  such  honest  and  just  ways  as 
might  be  security  to  the  Honest  Interest,  we  might  therein 
acquiesce  :  or  else  that  they  would  hear  what  we  had  to  offer." 
Indeed,  when  this  desire  was  made,  the  answer  was,  "That 
oothing  would  do  good  for  this  Nation  but  the  continuance 
lof  this  Parliament !  "  We  wondered  we  should  have  such  a 
return.  We  said  little  to  that :  but,  seeing  they  would  not  give 
ius  satisfaction  that  their  ways  were  honourable  and  just,  we 
craved  their  leave  to  make  our  objections.  We  then  told  them, 
That  the  way  they  were  going  in  would  be  impracticable. 
''That"  we  could  not  tell  how  to  send  out  an  Act  with  such 
qualifications  as  to  be  a  rule  for  electing  and  for  being  elected, 
Until  we  first  knew  who  the  persons  were  that  should  be  ad- 
mitted to  elect.  And  above  all,  Whether  any  of  the  qualifica- 
tions reached  "  so  far  as  to  include  "  the  Presbyterian  Party.^ 
And  we  were  bold  to  tell  them,  That  none  of  that  judgment 
who  had  deserted  this  Cause  and  Interest^  should  have  any 
power  therein.  We  did  think  we  should  profess  it,  That  we 
had  as  good  deliver  up  our  Cause  into  the  hands  of  any  as  into 
the  hands  of  those  who  had  deserted  us,  or  who  were  as  neu- 

^  Of  April  22d.  2  "  Presbytery  "  in  orig. 

?  jRojalists,  Hamilton-Invasion  Presbyterians. 


lO 

ters !  For  it's  one  thing  to  love  a  brother,  to  bear  with  and 
love  a  person  of  different  judgment  in  matters  of  religion  ; 
and  another  thing  to  have  anybody  so  far  set  in  the  saddle  on 
that  account,  as  to  have  all  the  rest  of  his  brethren  at  mercy. 

Truly,  Gentlemen,  having  this  discourse  concerning  the 
impracticableness  of  the  thing,  the  bringing-in  of  neuters,  and 
such  as  had  deserted  this  Cause,  whom  we  very  well  knew  ; 
objecting  likewise  how  dangerous  it  would  be  by  drawing  con- 
courses of  people  in  the  several  Counties  (every  person  that 
was  within  the  qualification  or  without)  ;  and  how  did  it  fall 
obvious  tp  us  that  the  power  would  come  into  the  hands  of  men 
who  had  very  little  affection  to  this  Cause  :  the  answer  again 
was  made,  and  that  by  very  eminent  persons,  "That  nothing 
would  save  the  Nation  but  the  continuance  of  this  Parliament." 
This  being  so,  we  humbly  proposed,  —  since  neither  our  coun- 
sels, our  objections  to  their  way  of  proceeding,  nor  their 
answers  to  justify  that,  did  give  us  satisfaction  ;  nor  did  we 
think  they  ever  intended  to  give  us  any,  which  indeed  some 
of  them  have  since  declared  "to  be  the  fact,"  —  we  proposed  to 
them,  I  say,  our  expedient ;  which  was  indeed  this :  That  the 
Government  of  the  Nation  being  in  such  a  condition  as  we  saw, 
and  things  "being"  under  so  much  ill  sense  abroad,  and  likely 
to  end  in  confusion  "  if  we  so  proceeded,"  —  we  desired  they 
would  devolve  the  trust  over  to  some  Well-affected  Men,  such 
as  had  an  interest  in  the  Nation,  and  were  known  to  be  of  good 
affection  to  the  Commonwealth.  Which,  we  told  them,  was  no 
new  thing  when  this  Land  was  under  the  like  hurlyburlies. 
And  we  had  been  labouring  to  get  precedents  "out  of  History" 
to  convince  them  of  it ;  and  it  was  confessed  by  them  it  had 
been  no  new  thing.  This  expedient  we  offered  out  of  the  deep 
sense  we  had  of  the  Cause  of  Christ ;  and  were  answered  so 
as  I  told  you.  That  nothing  would  save  this  Nation  but  the  con- 
tinuance of  that  Parliament.  "  The  continuance  :  "  they  would 
not  "  be  brought  to  "  say  the  perpetuating  of  it,  at  this  time  ;  yet 
we  found  their  endeavours  did  directly  tend  that  way;  they  gave 
us  this  answer,  "  That  the  thing  we  offered  was  of  a  very  high 
nature  and  of  tender  consideration  :  How  would  money  be 
raised.?"  —  and  made  some  other  objections.  We  told  them 
"how ; "  and  that  we  here  offered  an  expedient  five  times  better 
than  that  "  of  theirs,"  for  which  no  reason  was  given,  nor  we 
thought  could  be  given;  —  and  desired  them  that  they  would 
lay  things  seriously  to  heart !  They  told  us.  They  would  take 
time  for  the  consideration  of  these  things  till  tomorrow;  they 
would   sleep   upon   them^    and   consult   some   friends;    "somQ 


II 

friends,"  —  though,  as  I  said,  there  were  about  Twenty-three 
"of  them  here,"  and  not  above  Fifty-three  in  the  House.  And 
at  parting,  two  or  three  of  the  chief  of  them,  one  of  the  chief, 
and  two  or  three  more,  did  tell  us.  That  they  would  endeavour 
to  suspend  farther  proceedings  about  their  Bill  for  a  New  Rep- 
resentative until  they  had  another  conference  with  us.  And 
upon  this  we  had  great  satisfaction  ;  and  had  hope,  if  our 
expedient  could  receive  a  loving  debate,  that  the  next  day 
we  should  have  some  such  issue  thereof  as  would  give  satis- 
faction to  all.'  And  herewith  they  went  away,  "  it "  being  late 
at  night. 

The  next  morning,  we  considering  how  to  order  what  we 
had  farther  to  offer  to  them  in  the  evening,  word  was  brought 
us  that  the  House  was  proceeding  with  all  speed  upon  the  New 
Representative  !  We  could  not  believe  it,  that  such  persons 
would  be  so  unworthy ;  we  remained  there  till  a  second  and 
third  messenger  came,  with  tidings  That  the  House  was  really 
upon  that  business,  and  had  brought  it  near  to  the  issue,  —  and 
with  that  height^  as  was  never  before  exercised ;  leaving  out  all 
things  relating  to  the  due  exercise  of  the  qualifications  (which 
had  appeared  all  along  "  in  it  till  now  ")  ;  and  "  meaning,"  as 
we  heard,  to  pass  it  only  on  paper,  without  engrossing,  for 
the  quicker  despatch  of  it.  —  Thus,  as  we  apprehend,  would  the 
Liberties  of  the  Nation  have  been  thrown  away  into  the  hands 
of  those  who  had  never  fought  for  it.  And  upon  this  we 
thought  it  our  duty  not  to  suffer  it.  —  And  upon  this  the  House 
was  dissolved,  even  when  the  Speaker  was  going  to  put  the 
last  question. 

I  have  tpo  much  troubled  you  with  this  :  but  we  have 
made  this  relation,  that  you  might  know  that  what  hath  been 
done  in  the  Dissolution  of  the  Parliament  was  as  necessary  to 
be  done  as  the  preservation  of  this  Cause.  And  the  necessity 
which  led  us  to  do  that,  hath  brought  us  to  this  "present"  issue. 
Of  exercising  an  extraordinary  way  and  course  to  draw  You 
together  "here; "  upon  this  account,  that  you  are  men  who  know 
the  Lord,  and  have  made  observations  of  His  marvellous  Dis- 
pensations ;  and  may  be  trusted,  as  far  as  men  may  be  trusted, 
with  this  Cause. 

It  remains  now  for  me  to  acquaint  you  "  a  little  "  farther 
with  what  relates  to  your  taking  upon  you  this  great  Business. 

^  "  Hoping  by  conference  to  have  satisfaction  to  all ' '  in  orig, 
^  Violence,  height  of  temper, 


12 

"But  indeed"  that  is  contained  in  the  Paper^  here  in  my  hand, 
which  will  be  offered  presently  to  you  to  read.  But  having 
done  that,  we  have  done  upon  such  ground  of  necessity  as  we 
have  "  now "  declared,  which  was  not  a  feigned  necessity  but 
a  real,  —  "  it  did  behove  us,"  to  the  end  we  might  manifest  to 
the  world  the  singlenesss  of  our  hearts  and  our  integrity  who 
did  these  things,  Not  to  grasp  at  the  power  ourselves,  or  keep  it 
in  military  hands,  no  not  for  a  day ;  but,  as  far  as  God  enabled 
us  with  strength  and  ability,  to  put  it  into  the  hands  of  Proper 
Persons  that  might  be  called  from  the  several  parts  of  the 
Nation.  This  necessity  ;  and  I  hope  we  may  say  for  ourselves, 
this  integrity  of  concluding  to  divest  the  Sword  of  all  power  in 
the  Civil  Administration,  — hath  been  that  that  hath  moved  us 
to  put  You  to  this  trouble  "  of  coming  hither :  "  and  having  done 
that,  truly  we  think  we  cannot,  with  the  discharge  of  our  own 
consciences,  but  offer  somewhat  to  you  on  the  devolving  of  the 
burden  on  your  shoulders.^  It  hath  been  the  practice  of  others 
who  have,  voluntarily  and  out  of  a  sense  of  duty,  divested  them- 
selves, and  devolved  the  Government  into  new  hands ;  I  say,  it 
hath  been  the  practice  of  those  that  have  done  so ;  it  hath  been 
practised,  and  is  very  consonant  to  reason,  To  lay  "  down," 
together  with  their  Authority,  some  Charge  "how  to  employ 
it,"  (as  we  hope  we  have  done),  and  to  press  the  duty  "  of  em- 
ploying it  well : "  concerning  which  we  have  a  word  or  two  to 
offer  you. 

Truly  God  hath  called  you  to  this  Work  by,  I  think,  as 
wonderful  providences  as  ever  passed  upon  the  sons  of  men 
in  so  short  a  time.  And  truly  I  think,  taking  the  argument  of 
necessity,  for  the  Government  must  not  fall ;  taking  the  appear- 
ance of  the  hand  of  God  in  this  thing,  —  "I  think  "  you  would 
have  been  loath  it  should  have  been  resigned  into  the  hands  of 
wicked  men  and  enemies !  I  am  sure,  God  would  not  have  it 
so.  It's  come,  therefore,  to  you  by  the  way  of  necessity;  by 
the  way  of  the  wise  Providence  of  God,  —  through  weak  hands. 
And  therefore,  I  think,  coming  through  our  hands,  though  such 
as  we  are,  it  may  not  be  ill  taken  if  we  do  offer  somewhat  (as 
I  said  before)  as  to  the  discharge  of  the  Trust  which  is  now 
incumbent  upon  you.  And  although  I  seem  to  speak  of  that 
which  may  have  the  face  and  interpretation  of  a  Charge,  it's 
a  very  humble  one  :  and  if  he  that  means  to  be  a  Servant  to 
you,  who  hath  now  called  you  to  the  exercise  of  the  Supreme 

^  An  Indenture  or  Instrument  of  Government,  some  account  of  which 
may  be  found  in  Parliamentary  History,  xx,  175. 

^  *'  J'or  our  own  exoneration  "  in  orig. 


13 

Authority,  discharge  what  he  conceives  to  be  a  duty  to  you,  we 
hope  you  will  take  it  in  good  part. 

And  truly  I  shall  not  hold  you  long  in  it ;  because  I  hope 
it's  written  in  your  hearts  to  approve  yourselves  to  God.  Only 
this  Scripture  I  shall  remember  to  you,  which  hath  been  much 
upon  my  spirit :  Hosea,  xi.  12,  "  Judah  yet  ruleth  with  God  and 
is  faithful  with  the  Saints."  It's  said  before,  that  ''  Ephraim 
compassed  God  about  with  lies,  and  the  house  of  Israel  with 
deceit."  How  God  hath  been  compassed  about  by  fastings  and 
thanksgivings,^  and  other  exercises  and  transactions,  I  think  we 
have  all  cause  to  lament.  Truly  you  are  called  by  God,  "  as 
Judah  was,"  to  "rule  with  Him,"  and  for  Him.  And  you  are 
called  to  be  faithful  with  the  Saints  who  have  been  instrumental 
to  your  call.  "Again,"  Second  Samuel^  xxi.  3,  "He  that  ruleth 
over  men,"  the  Scripture  saith,  "must  be  just,  ruling  in  the 
fear  of  God." 

And  truly  it's  better  to  pi-ay  for  you  than  to  counsel  you  in 
that  matter.  That  you  may  exercise  the  judgment  of  mercy  and 
truth !  It's  better,  I  say,  to  pray  for  you  than  counsel  you ;  to 
ask  wisdom  from  Heaven  for  you ;  which  I  am  confident  many 
thousands  of  Saints  do  this  day,  "  and  "  have  done,  and  will  do, 
through  the  permission  of  God  and  His  assistance.  I  say  it's 
better  to  pray  than  advise :  yet  truly  I  think  of  another  Scrip- 
ture, which  is  very  useful,  though  it  seems  to  be  for  a  common 
application  to  every  man  as  a  Christian,  —  wherein  he  is  coun- 
selled to  ask  wisdom  ;  and  he  is  told  what  that  is.  That's 
"from  Above,"  we  are  told;  it's  "pure,  peaceable,  gentle  and 
easy  to  be  entreated,  full  of  mercy  and  good  fruits ; "  it's 
"without  partiality  and  without  hypocrisy."  Truly  my  thoughts 
run  much  upon  this  place,  that  to  the  execution  of  judgment 
(the  judgment  of  truth,  for  that's  the  judgment)  you  must  have 
wisdom  "from  Above;"  and  that's  " pure."  That  will  teach 
you  to  exercise  the  judgment  of  truth;  it's  "without  partiality." 
Purity,  impartiality,  sincerity :  these  are  the  effects  of  "  wis- 
dom," and  these  will  help  you  to  execute  the  judgment  of 
truth.  And  then  if  God  give  you  hearts  to  be  "easy  to  be 
entreated,"  to  be  "peaceably  spirited,"  to  be  "full  of  good 
fruits,"  bearing  good  fruits  to  the  Nation,  to  men  as  men,  to 
the  People  of  God,  to  all  in  their  several  stations,  —  this  will 
teach  you  to  execute  the  judgment  of  mercy  and  truth.     And  I 

^  There  was  a  Monthly  Fast,  the  last  Wednesday  of  every  Month,  held 
duly  for  about  Seven  Years  till  abolished  after  the  King's  Death.  These 
and  other  occasions  had  been  attended  by  much  that  was  unseemly. 


14 

have  little  more  to  say  to  this.     I  shall  rather  bend  my  prayers 
for  you  in  that  behalf,  as  I  said  ;  and  many  others  will. 

Truly  the  "judgment  of  truth,"  it  will  teach  you  to  be  as 
just  towards  an  Unbeliever  as  towards  a  Believer ;  and  it's  our 
duty  to  do  so.  I  confess  I  have  said  sometimes,  foolishly  it  may 
be:  I  had  rather  miscarry  to  a  Believer  than  an  Unbeliever. 
This  may  seem  a  paradox:  —  but  let's  take  heed  of  doing  that 
which  is  evil  to  either !  Oh,  if  God  fill  your  hearts  with  such 
a  spirit  as  Moses  had,  and  as  Paul  had,  —  which  was  not  a 
spirit  for  Believers  only,  but  for  the  whole  People  !  Moses,  he 
could  die  for  them ;  wish  himself  "  blotted  out  of  God's  Book : " 
Paul  could  wish  himself  "  accursed  for  his  countrymen  after  the 
flesh  :  "  so  full  of  affection  were  their  spirits  unto  all.  And 
truly  this  would  help  you  to  execute  the  judgment  of  truth, 
and  of  mercy  also. 

A  second  thing  is,  To  desire  you  would  be  faithful  with 
the  Saints ;  to  be  touched  with  them.  And  I  hope,  whatever 
others  may  think,  it  may  be  a  matter  to  us  all  of  rejoicing  to 
have  our  hearts  touched  (with  reverence  be  it  spoken)  as  Christ, 
"being  full  of  the  spirit,"  was  "touched  with  our  infirmities," 
that  He  might  be  merciful.  So  should  we  be  ;  we  should  be 
pitiful.  Truly,  this  calls  us  to  be  very  much  touched  with  the 
infirmities  of  the  Saints ;  that  we  may  have  a  respect  unto  all, 
and  be  pitiful  and  tender  towards  all,  though  of  different  judg- 
ments. And  if  I  did  seem  to  speak  something  that  reflected 
on  those  of  the  Presbyterial  judgment,  —  truly  I  think  if  we 
have  not  an  interest  of  love  for  them  too,  we  shalP  hardly 
answer  this  of  being  faithful  to  the  Saints. 

In  my  pilgrimage,  and  some  exercises  I  have  had  abroad, 
I  did  read  that  Scripture  often,  Ferty-first  of  Isaiah;  where 
God  gave  me,  and  some  of  my  fellows,  encouragement  "  as  to  " 
what  He  would  do  there  and  elsewhere ;  which  He  hath  per- 
formed for  us.  He  said,  "  He  would  plant  in  the  wilderness 
the  cedar,  the  shittah-tree,  and  the  myrtle  and  the  oil-tree ;  and 
He  would  set  in  the  desert  the  fir-tree,  and  the  pine-tree,  and 
the  box-tree  together."  For  what  end  will  the  Lord  do  all  this? 
"  That  they  may  see,  and  know,  and  consider,  and  understand 
together.  That  the  hand  of  the  Lord  hath  done  this;  "  —  that  it 
is  He  who  hath  wrought  all  the  salvations  and  deliverances  we 
have  received.  For  what  end  ?  To  see,  and  know,  and  under- 
stand together,  that  He  hath  done  and  wrought  all  this  for  the 
good  of  the  Whole  Flock.  Therefore,  I  beseech  you,  —  but  I 
think  I  need  not,  —  have  a  care  of  the  Whole  Flock !     Love 

1  «  Will  "  in  orig. 


15 

the  sheep,  love  the  lambs  ;  love  all,  tender  all,  cherish  and 
countenance  all,  in  all  things  that  are  good.  And  if  the  poor- 
est Christian,  the  most  mistaken  Christian,  shall  desire  to  live 
peaceably  and  quietly  under  you,  —  I  say,  if  any  shall  desire  but 
to  lead  a  life  of  godliness  and  honesty,  let  him  be  protected. 

I  think  I  need  not  advise,  much  less  press  you,  to  endeav- 
our the  Promoting  of  the  Gospel ;  to  encourage  the  Ministry  ;^ 
such  a  Ministry  and  such  Ministers  as  be  faithful  in  the  Land ; 
upon  whom  the  true  character  is.  Men  that  have  received 
the  Spirit,  which  Christians  will  be  able  to  discover,  and  do 
"  the  will  of ;  "  men  that  "  have  received  Gifts  from  Him  who 
is  ascended  up  on  high,  who  hath  led  captivity  captive,  to  give 
gifts  to  men,"  even  for  this  same  work  of  the  Ministry !  And 
truly  the  Apostle,  speaking  in  another  place,  in  the  Twelfth  of 
the  Romans,  when  he  has  summed-up  all  the  mercies  of  God, 
and  the  goodness  of  God ;  and  discoursed,  in  the  former  Chap- 
ters, of  the  foundations  of  the  Gospel,  and  of  those  things  that 
are  the  subject  of  those  first  Eleven  Chapters,  —  he  beseecheth 
them  to  "present  their  bodies  a  living  sacrifice."  He  beseech- 
eth them  that  they  would  not  esteem  highly  of  themselves,  but 
be  humble  and  sober-minded,  and  not  stretch  themselves  be- 
yond their  line ;  and  also  that  they  would  have  a  care  for  those 
that  "had  received  gifts"  to  the  uses  there  mentioned.  I  speak 
not,  —  I  thank  God  it  is  far  from  my  heart, — for  a  Ministry 
deriving  itself  from  the  Papacy,  and  pretending  to  that  which 
is  so  much  insisted  on,  "Succession."  The  true  Succession  is 
through  the  Spirit  —  given  in  its  measure.  The  Spirit  is  given 
for  that  use,  "  To  make  proper  Speakers-forth  of  God's  eternal 
Truth;"  and  that's  right  Succession.  But  I  need  not  discourse 
of  these  things  to  you ;  who,  I  am  persuaded,  are  taught  of 
God,  much  more  and  in  a  greater  measure  than  myself,  con- 
cerning these  things. 

Indeed  I  have  but  one  word  more  to  say  to  you ;  though 
in  that  perhaps  I  shall  show  my  weakness  :  it's  by  way  of 
encouragement  to  go  on  in  this  Work.  And  give  me  leave 
to  begin  thus.  I  confess  I  never  looked  to  see  such  a  Day  as 
this,  —  it  may  be  nor  you  neither,  —  when  Jesus  Christ  should 
be  so  owned  as  He  is,  this  day,  in  this  Work.  Jesus  Christ  is 
owned  this  day  by  the  Call  of  You ;  and  you  own  Him  by  your 
willingness  to  appear  for  Him.  And  you  manifest  this,  as  far 
as  poor  creatures  may  do,  to  be  a  Day  of  the  Power  of  Christ. 
I  know  you  well  remember  that  Scripture,  "  He  makes  His 
People  willing  in  the  day  of  His  power."     God  manifests  this 

^  Preaching  Clergy, 


i6 

to  be  the  Day  of  the  Power  of  Christ ;  having,  through  so  much 
blood,  and  so  much  trial  as  hath  been  upon  these  Nations, 
made  this  to  be  one  of  the  great  issues  thereof :  To  have  His 
People  called  to  the  Supreme  Authority.  He  makes  this  to  be 
the  greatest  mercy,  next  to  His  own  Son.  God  hath  owned 
His  Son ;  and  He  hath  owned  you,  and  made  you  own  Him. 
I  confess  I  never  looked  to  have  seen  such  a  day ;  I  did  not. — 
Perhaps  you  are  not  known  by  face  to  one  another;  "indeed"  I 
am  confident  you  are  strangers,  coming  from  all  parts  of  the 
Nation  as  you  do :  but  we  shall  tell  you  that  indeed  we  have 
not  allowed  ourselves  the  choice  of  one  person  in  whom  we 
had  not  this  good  hope,  That  there  was  in  him  faith  in  Jesus 
Christ,  and  love  to  all  His  People  and  Saints. 

Thus  God  hath  owned  you  in  the  eyes  of  the  world ; 
and  thus,  by  coming  hither,  you  own  Him :  and,  as  it  is  in 
Isaiah^  xliii.  21,  —  it's  an  high  expression;  and  look  to  your 
own  hearts  whether,  now  or  hereafter,  God  shall  apply  it  to 
you :  "  This  People,"  saith  God,  "  I  have  formed  for  Myself, 
that  they  may  show  forth  my  praise."  I  say,  it's  a  memorable 
passage  ;  and,  1  hope,  not  unfitly  applied  :  the  Lord  apply  it  to 
each  of  your  hearts  !  I  shall  not  descant  upon  the  words  ;  they 
are  plain  :  indeed  you  are  as  like  the  "  forming  of  God  "  as 
ever  people  were.  If  a  man  should  tender  a  Book  to  you  "  to 
swear  you  upon,"  I  dare  appeal  to  all  your  consciences,  Neither 
directly  nor  indirectly  did  you  seek  for  your  coming  hither. 
You  have  been  passive  in  coming  hither;  being  called^  —  and 
indeed  that's  an  active  work,  — "  though  not  on  your  part ! " 
"This  People  have  I  formed  :^^  consider  the  circumstances  by 
which  you  are  "called"  hither;  through  what  strivings,  through 
what  blood  you  are  come  hither,  —  where  neither  you  nor  I, 
nor  no  man  living,  three  months  ago,  had  any  thought  to  have 
seen  such  a  company  taking  upon  them,  or  rather  being  called 
to  take,  the  Supreme  Authority  of  this  Nation  !  Therefore, 
own  your  call !  Indeed,  I  think  it  may  be  truly  said  that  there 
never  was  a  Supreme  Authority  consisting  of  such  a  Body, 
above  One-hundred-and-forty,  I  believe  ;  "never  such  a  Body" 
that  came  into  the  Supreme  Authority  "  before,"  under  such  a 
notion  "  as  this,"  in  such  a  way  of  owning  God,  and  being 
owned  by  Him.  And  therefore  I  may  also  say,  never  such 
a  "  People  "  so  "  formed,"  for  such  a  purpose,  "  were  "  thus 
called  before. 

If  it  were  a  time  to  compare  your  standing  with  "that  of" 
those  that  have  been  "  called  "  by  the  Suffrages  of  the  People  — 
Which  who  can  tell  how  soon  God  may  fit  the  People  for  such 


17 

a  thing  ?  None  can  desire  it  more  than  I !  Would  all  were 
the  Lord's  People ;  as  it  was  said,  "  Would  all  the  Lord's  Peo- 
ple were  Prophets  ! "  I  would  all  were  fit  to  be  called.  It 
ought  to  be  the  longing  of  our  hearts  to  see  men  brought  to 
own  the  Interest  of  Jesus  Christ.  And  give  me  leave  to  say : 
If  I  know  anything  in  the  world,  what  is  there  likelier  to  win 
the  People  to  the  interest  of  Jesus  Christ,  to  the  love  of  God- 
liness (and  therefore  what  stronger  duty  lies  on  you,  being  thus 
called),  than  an  humble  and  godly  conversation  ?  So  that  they 
may  see  "  that "  you  love  them  ;  "  that "  you  lay  yourselves  out, 
time  and  spirits,  for  them  !  Is  not  this  the  likeliest  way  to 
bring  them  to  their  liberties  ?  And  do  not  you,  by  this,  put  it 
upon  God  to  find  out  times  and  seasons  for  you  ;  "  fit  seasons  " 
by  putting  forth  His  Spirit  ?  At  least  you  convince  them  that, 
as  men  fearing  God  have  fought  them  out  of  their  bondage 
under  the  Regal  Power,  so  men  fearing  God  do  now  rule  them 
in  the  fear  of  God,  and  take  care  to  administer  Good  unto 
them.  —  But  this  is  some  digression.  I.  say,  own  your  call ;  for 
it  is  of  God  !  Indeed,  it  is  marvellous,  and  it  hath  been  unpro- 
jected.  It's  not  long  since  either  you  or  we  came  to  know  of 
it.  And  indeed  this  hath  been  the  way  God  dealt  with  us  all 
along,  To  keep  things  from  our  eyes  all  along,  so  that  we  have 
seen  nothing,  in  all  His  dispensations,  long  beforehand ;  — 
which  is  also  a  witness,  in  some  measure,  to  our  integrity. 
I  say,  you  are  called  with  an  high  calling.  And  why  should 
we  be  afraid  to  say  or  think.  That  this  may  be  the  door  to 
usher-in  the  Things  that  God  has  promised  ;  which  have  been 
prophesied  of;  which  He  has  set  the  hearts  of  His  People  to 
wait  for  and  expect  ?  We  know  who  they  are  that  shall  war 
with  the  Lamlf,  "against  His  enemies  :  "  they  shall  be  "  a  peo- 
ple called,  and  chosen  and  faithful."  And  God  hath,  in  a 
Military  way,  —  we  may  speak  it  without  flattering  ourselves, 
and  I  believe  you  know  it,  —  He  hath  appeared  with  them, 
"  with  that  same  '  people,' "  and  for  them ;  and  now  in  these 
Civil  Powers  and  Authorities  "  does  not  He  appear  ?  "  These 
are  not  ill  prognostications  of  the  God  we  wait  for.  Indeed  I 
do  think  somewhat  is  at  the  door  :  we  are  at  the  threshold ;  — 
and  therefore  it  becomes  us  to  lift-up  our  heads,  and  encourage 
ourselves  in  the  Lord.  And  we  have  thought,  some  of  us.  That 
it  is  our  duties  to  endeavour  this  way ;  not  merely  to  look  at 
that  Prophecy  in  Daniel,  "  And  the  Kingdom  shall  not  be 
delivered  to  another  people,"  "  and  passively  wait."  Truly 
God  hath  brought  this  to  your  hands ;  by  the  owning  of  your 
call ;  blessing  the  Military  Power.     The  Lord   hath   directed 


i8 

their  hearts  to  be  instrumental  to  call  you  ;  and  set  it  upon 
our  hearts  to  deliver  over  the  Power  "to  another  people."  — 
But  I  may  appear  to  be  beyond  my  line  here ;  these  things  are 
dark.  Only,  I  desire  my  thoughts^  to  be  exercised  in  these 
things,  and  so  I  hope  are  yours. 

Truly  seeing  things  are  thus,  that  you  are  at  the  edge 
of  the  Promises  and  Prophecies  —  At  least,  if  there  were  nei- 
ther Promise  nor  Prophecy,  yet  you  are  carrying,  on  the  best 
things,  you  are  endeavouring  after  the  best  things ;  and,  as  I 
have  said  elsewhere,  if  I  were  to  choose  any  servant,  the  mean- 
est Officer  for  the  Army  or  the  Commonwealth,  I  would  choose 
a  godly  man  that  hath  principles.  Especially  where  a  trust  is 
to  be  committed.  Because  I  know  where  to  have  a  man  that 
hath  principles.  I  believe  if  any  one  of  you  should  choose 
a  servant,  you  would  do  thus.  And  I  would  all  our  Magis- 
trates were  so  chosen  :  —  this  may  be  done  ;  there  may  be  good 
effects  of  this !  Surely  it's  our  duty  to  choose  men  that  fear 
the  Lord,  and  will  praise  the  Lord :  such  hath  the  Lord 
"  formed  for  Himself ;  "  and  He  expects  no  praises  from  other 
"than  such." 

This  being  so,  truly  it  puts  me  in  mind  of  another  Scrip- 
ture, that  famous  Psalm,  Sixty  eighth  Psalm  ;  which  indeed  is  a 
glorious  Prophecy,  I  am  persuaded,  of  the  Gospel  Churches,  — 
it  may  be,  of  the  Jews  also.  There  it  prophesies  that  "  He  will 
bring  His  People  again  from  the  depths  of  the  Sea,  as  once  He 
led  Israel  through  the  Red  Sea."  And  it  may  be,  as  some 
think,  God  will  bring  the  Jews  home  to  their  station  "from 
the  isles  of  the  sea,"  and  answer  their  expectations  "  as  from  the 
depths  of  the  sea."  But,  "  at  all  events,"  sure  I  am,  when  the 
Lord  shall  set-up  the  glory  of  the  Gospel  Church,  it  shall  be 
a  gathering  of  people  as  "out  of  deep  waters,"  "out  of  the  mul- 
titude of  waters : "  such  are  His  People,  drawn  out  of  the  multi- 
tudes, of  the  Nations  and  People  of  this  world.  —  And  truly  that 
Psalm  is  very  glorious  in  many  other  parts  of  it :  When  He 
gathers  them,  "  great  was  the  company  "  of  them  that  publish 
His  word.  "  Kings  of  Armies  did  flee  apace,  and  she  that  tar- 
ried at  home  divided  the  spoil ;  "  and  "Although  ye  have  lain 
among  the  pots,  yet  shall  ye  be  as  the  wings  of  a  dove,  covered 
with  silver,  and  her  feathers  with  yellow  gold."  And  indeed 
the  triumph  of  that  Psalm  is  exceeding  high  and  great;  and 
God  is  accomplishing  it.  And  the  close  of  it,  —  that  closeth 
with  my  heart,  and  I  do  not  doubt  with  yours,  "The  Lord 
shakes  the  hills    and    mountains,  and   they  reel."      And  God 

^  "  Senses  "  in  orig. 


19 

hath  a  Hill  too  ;  "  an  high  Hill  as  the  Hill  of  Bashan :  and  the 
chariots  of  God  are  twenty-thousand,  even  thousands  of  Angels, 
and  God  will  dwell  upon  this  Hill  for  ever! " 

I  am  sorry  I  have  troubled  you,  in  such  a  place  of  heat  as 
this  is,  so  long.  All  I  have  to  say,  in  my  own  name,  and  that 
of  my  fellow  Officers  who  have  joined  with  me  in  this  work,  is : 
That  we  shall  commend  you  to  the  grace  of  God,  to  the  guid- 
ance of  His  Spirit :  "  That "  having  thus  far  served  you,  or 
rather  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  "  in  regard  to  you,"  we  shall  be 
ready  in  our  stations,  according  as  the  Providence  of  God  shall 
lead  us,  to  be  subservient  to  the  "farther"  work  of  God,  and 
to  that  Authority  which  we  shall  reckon  God  hath  set  over  us. 
And  though  we  have  no  formal  thing  to  present  you  with,  to 
which  the  hands,  or  visible  expressions,  of  the  Officers  and 
Soldiers  of  the  three  Nations  of  England,  Scotland  and  Ireland 
"  are  set ;  "  yet  we  may  say  of  them,  and  we  may  say  also  with 
confidence  for  our  brethren  at  Sea,  —  with  whom  neither  in 
Scotland,  Ireland,  nor  at  Sea,  hath  there  been  any  artifice  used 
to  persuade  their  consents  to  this  work,  —  that  nevertheless  their 
consents  have  flowed  in  to  us  from  all  parts,  beyond  our  expec- 
tations :  and  we  may  with  all  confidence  say,  that  as  we  have 
their  approbation  and  full  consent  to  the  other  work,  so  you 
have  their  hearts  and  affections  unto  this.^  And  not  only 
theirs  :  we  have  very  many  Papers  from  the  Churches  of  Christ 
throughout  the  Nation ;  wonderfully  both  approving  what  hath 
been  done  in  removing  of  obstacles,  and  approving  what  we 
have  done  in  this  very  thing.  And  having  said  this,  we  shall 
trouble  you  no  more.  But  if  you  will  be  pleased  that  this 
Instrument  be  read  to  you,  which  I  have  signed  by  the  advice 
of  the  Council  of  Officers,  —  we  shall  then  leave  you  to  your 
own  thoughts  and  the  guidance  of  God;  to  dispose  of  your- 
selves for  a  farther  meeting,  as  you  shall  see  cause. 

I  have  only  this  to  add.  The  affairs  of  the  Nation  lying  on 
our  hands  to  be  taken  care  of ;  and  we  knowing  that  both  the 
Affairs  at  Sea,  the  Armies  in  Ireland  and  Scotland,  and  the  pro- 
viding of  things  for  the  preventing  of  inconveniences,  and  the 
answering  of  emergencies,  did  require  that  there  should  be  no 
Interruption,  but  that  care  ought  to  be  taken  for  these  things; 
and  foreseeing  likewise  that  before  you  could  digest  yourselves 
into  such  a  method,  both  for  place,  time  and  other  circum- 
stances, as  you  shall  please  to  proceed  in,  some  time  would  be 
required,  —  which  the  Commonwealth  could  not  bear  in  respect 

^  "  Other  work  "  means  dissolving  the  old  Parliament ;  "  this  "  Is  assem- 
bling of  you,  "this  very  tiling." 


20 

to  the  managing  of  things :  I  have,  within  a  week  "  past,"  set- 
up a  Council  of  State,  to  whom  the  managing  of  affairs  is  com- 
mitted. Who,  I  may  say,  very  voluntarily  and  freely,  before 
they  see  how  the  issue  of  things  will  be,  have  engaged  them- 
selves in  business  ;  eight  or  nine  of  them  being  Members  of 
the  House  that  late  was.  —  I  say  I  did  exercise  that  power 
which,  I  thought,  was  devolved  upon  me  at  that  time ;  to  the 
end  affairs  might  not  have  any  interval  "or  interruption."  And 
now  when  you  are  met,  it  will  ask  some  time  for  the  settling  of 
your  affairs  and  your  way.  And,  "  on  the  other  hand,"  a  day 
cannot  be  lost,  "or  left  vacant,"  but  they  must  be  in  continual 
Council  till  you  take  farther  order.  So  that  the  whole  matter 
of  their  consideration  also  which  regards  them  is  at  your  dis- 
posal, as  you  shall  see  cause.  And  therefore  I  thought  it  my 
duty  to  acquaint  you  with  thus  much,  to  prevent  distractions  in 
your  way:  That  things  have  been  thus  ordered;  that  your  affairs 
will  "  not  stop,  but "  go  on,  "  in  the  meanwhile,"  —  till  you  see 
cause  to  alter  this  Council ;  they  having  no  authority  or  contin- 
uance of  sitting,  except  simply  until  you  take  farther  order. 


What  is  usually  called  the  Little  Parliament,  or  derisively  Barebones's  Parliament, 
was  the  assembly  convened  by  Cromwell  after  the  expulsion  of  the  Rump  Parliament,  to  pro- 
vide for  "  the  peace,  safety  and  good  government  of  this  Commonwealth."  "  Its  work  was, 
in  fact,  to  be  that  of  a  constituent  assembly,  paving  the  way  for  a  Parliament  on  a  really 
national  basis."  It  met  on  the  4th  of  July,  1653,  and  Cromwell,  "standing  by  the  window 
opposite  to  the  middle  of  the  table,  and  as  many  of  the  officers  of  the  army  as  the  room  could 
well  contain,  some  on  his  right  hand,  and  others  on  his  left,  and  about  liim,"  made  the  speech 
printed  in  the  present  leaflet.  It  is  remarkable  as  the  first  full  public  expression  of  his  views 
as  to  the  proper  settlement  of  the  government.  It  is  here  printed  as  given  by  Carlyle,  cor- 
rected from  contemporaneous  reports  by  different  hands,  in  various  editions.  The  passages 
included  in  quotation  marks  are  those  where  the  text  is  in  some  doubt. 

By  the  instrument  which  convoked  this  convention,  provision  had  been  made  that  its 
authority  should  be  transferred  in  fifteen  months  to  another  assembly  elected  according  to 
its  directions.  In  December,  1653,  however,  the  assembly,  after  various  dissensions,  dissolved 
itself,  surrendering  its  authority  to  Cromwell  as  Lord  Protector ;  and  Cromwell,  on  Decem- 
ber 16,  announced  his  intention  of  ruling  according  to  a  constitutional  document  known  as  the 
Instrument  of  Government,  which  was  adopted  by  the  Council  of  Officers  (see  this  document. 
Old  South  Leaflets,  No.  27).  The  first  Parliament  on  the  new  basis  met  at  Westminster  in 
September,  1654.  See  Carlyle's  remarks  upon  the  Little  Parliament  and  Cromwell's  First 
Speech,  in  his  "  Cromwell's  Letters  and  Speeches." 


Publi- 


#lb  J^outf)  %tai\tt^. 


General  Series,  No.  29. 


The  Discovery 
of  America. 


FROM    THE    LIFE    OF    COLUMBUS,    BY    PUS    SON, 
FERDINAND    COLUMBUS. 

All  the  conditions  which  the  admiral  demanded  beins: 
conceded  by  their  CathoHc  majesties,  he  set  out  from  Granada 
on  the  2ist  May  1492,  for  Palos,  where  he  was  to  fit  out  the 
ships  for  his  intended  expedition.  That  town  was  bound  to 
serve  the  crown  for  three  months  with  two  caravels,  which  were 
ordered  to  be  given  to  Columbus  ;  and  he  fitted  out  these  and 
a  third  vessel  with  all  care  and  diligence.  The  ship  in  which 
he  personally  embarked  was  called  the  St.  Mary ;  the  second 
vessel  named  the  Pinta,  was  commanded  by  Martin  Alonzo 
Pinzon ;  and  the  third  named  the  Nina,  which  had  square  sails, 
was  under  the  command  of  Vincent  Yanez  Pinzon,  the  brother 
of  Alonzo,  both  of  whom  were  inhabitants  of  Palos.  Being 
furnished  with  all  necessaries,  and  having  90  men  to  navigate 
the  three  vessels,  Columbus  set  sail  from  Palos  on  the  3d  of 
August   1492,  shaping  his  course  directly  for  the  Canaries. 

During  this  voyage,  and  indeed  in  all  the  /our  voyages 
which  he  made  from  Spain  to  the  West  Indies,  the  admiral 
was  very  careful  to  keep  an  exact  journal  of  every  occurrence 
which  took  place ;  always  specifying  what  winds  blew,  how  far 
he  sailed  with  each  particular  wind,  what  currents  were  found, 
and  every  thing  that  was  seen  by  the  way,  whether  birds,  fishes, 
or  any  other  thing.  Although  to  note  all  these  particulars  with 
a  minute  relation  of  every  thing  that  happened,  shewing  what 
impressions  and  effects  answered  to  the  course  and  aspect  of 
the  stars,  and  the  differences  between  the  seas  which  he  sailed 
and  those  of  our  countries,  might  all  be  useful;  yet  as  I  con- 
ceive that  the  relation  of  these  particulars  might  now  be  tire- 
some to  the  reader,  I  shall  only  give  an  account  of  what 
appears  to  me  necessary  and  convenient  to  be  known. 

On  Saturday  the  4th  of  August,  the  next  day  after  sailing 


from  Palos,  the  rudder  of  the  Pinta  broke  loose.  The  admiral 
strongly  suspected  that  this  was  occasioned  by  the  contrivance 
of  the  master  on  purpose  to  avoid  proceeding  on  the  voyage, 
which  he  had  endeavoured  to  do  before  they  left  Spain,  and  he 
therefore  ranged  up  along  side  of  the  disabled  vessel  to  give 
every  assistance  in  his  power,  but  the  wind  blew  so  hard  that 
he  was  unable  to  afford  any  aid.  Pinzon,  however,  being  an 
experienced  seaman,  soon  made  a  temporary  repair  by  means 
of  ropes,  and  they  proceeded  on  their  voyage.  But  on  the 
following  Tuesday,  the  weather  becoming  rough  and  boisterous, 
the  fastenings  gave  way,  and  the  squadron  was  obliged  to  lay 
to  for  some  time  to  renew  the  repairs.  From  this  misfortune 
of  twice  breaking  the  rudder,  a  superstitious  person  might  have 
foreboded  the  future  disobedience  of  Pinzon  to  the  admiral ; 
as  through  his  malice  the  Pin'^a  twice  separated  from  the  squad- 
ron, as  shall  be  afterwards  related.  Having  applied  the  best 
remedy  they  could  to  the  disabled  state  of  the  rudder,  the 
squadron  continued  its  voyage,  and  came  in  sight  of  the  Cana- 
ries at  day-break  of  Thursday  the  9th  of  August ;  but  owing 
to  contrary  winds,  they  were  unable  to  come  to  anchor  at 
Gran  Canaria  until  the  12th.  The  admiral  left  Pinzon  at  Gran 
Canaria  to  endeavour  to  procure  another  vessel  instead  of  that 
which  was  disabled,  and  went  himself  with  the  Nina  on  the 
same  errand  to  Gomera. 

The  admiral  arrived  at  Gomera  on  Sunday  the  12th  of 
August,  and  sent  a  boat  on  shore  to  inquire  if  any  vessel  could 
be  procured  there  for  his  purpose.  The  boat  returned  next 
morning,  and  brought  intelligence  that  no  vessel  was  then  at 
that  island,  but  that  Dona  Beatrix  de  Bobadilla,  the  propriatrix 
of  the  island,  was  then  at  Gran  Canaria  in  a  hired  vessel  of  40 
tons  belonging  to  one  Gradeuna  of  Seville,  which  would  prob- 
ably suit  his  purpose  and  might  perhaps  be  got.  He  therefore 
determined  to  await  the  arrival  of  that  vessel  at  Gomera,  be- 
lieving that  Pinzon  might  have  secured  a  vessel  for  himself  at 
Gran  Canaria,  if  he  had  not  been  able  to  repair  his  own.  After 
waiting  two  days,  he  dispatched  one  of  his  people  in  a  bark 
which  was  bound  from  Gomera  to  Gran  Canaria,  to  acquaint 
Pinzon  where  he  lay,  and  to  assist  him  in  repairing  and  fixing 
the  rudder.  Having  waited  a  considerable  time  for  an  answer 
to  his  letter,  he  sailed  with  the  two  vessels  from  Gomera  on  the 
23d  of  August  for  Gran  Canaria,  and  fell  in  with  the  bark  on 
the  following  day,  which  had  been  detained  all  that  time  on  its 
voyage  by  contrary  winds.  He  now  took  his  man  from  the 
bark,  and  sailing  in  the  night  past  the  island  of  Teneriffe,  the 


people  were  much  astonished  at  observing  flames  bursting  out 
of  the  lofty  mountain  called  El  Pico,  or  the  peak  of  Teneriffe. 
On  this  occasion  the  admiral  was  at  great  pains  to  explain 
the  nature  of  this  phenomenon  to  the  people,  by  instancing  the 
example  of  Etna  and  several  other  known  volcanoes. 

Passing  by  Teneriffe,  they  arrived  at  Gran  Canaria  on 
Saturday  the  25th  August ;  and  found  that  Pinzon  had  only 
got  in  there  the  day  before.  From  him  the  admiral  was  in- 
formed that  Dona  Beatrix  had  sailed  for  Gomera  on  the  20th 
with  the  vessel  which  he  was  so  anxious  to  obtain.  His  offi- 
cers were  much  troubled  at  the  disappointment ;  but  he,  who 
always  endeavoured  to  make  the  best  of  every  occurrence, 
observed  to  them  that  since  it  had  not  pleased  God  that  they 
should  get  this  vessel  it  was  perhaps  better  for  them ;  as  they 
might  have  encountered  much  opposition  in  pressing  it  into 
the  service,  and  might  have  lost  a  great  deal  of  time  in  ship- 
ping and  unshipping  the  goods.  Wherefore,  lest  he  might 
again  miss  it  if  he  returned  to  Gomera,  he  resolved  to  make 
a  new  rudder  for  the  Pinta  at  Gran  Canaria,  and  ordered  the 
square  sails  of  the  Nina  to  be  changed  to  round  ones,  like 
those  of  the  other  two  vessels,  that  she  might  be  able  to 
accompany  them  with  less  danger  and  agitation. 

The  vessels  being  all  refitted,  the  admiral  weighed  anchor 
from  Gran  Canaria  on  Saturday  the  first  of  September,  and 
arrived  next  day  at  Gomera,  where  four  days  were  employed 
in  completing  their  stores  of  provisions  and  of  wood  and 
water.  On  the  morning  of  Thursday  the  sixth  of  September, 
1492,  the  admiral  took  his  departure  from  Gomera,  and  com- 
menced his  great  undertaking  by  standing  directly  westwards, 
but  made  very  slow  progress  at  first  on  account  of  calms.  On 
Sunday  the  ninth  of  September,  about  day-break,  they  were 
nine  leagues  west  of  the  island  of  Ferro.  Now  losing  sight 
of  land  and  stretching  out  into  utterly  unknown  seas,  many  of 
the  people  expressed  their  anxiety  and  fear  that  it  might  be 
long  before  they  should  see  land  again;  but  the  admiral  used 
every  endeavour  to  comfort  them  with  the  assurance  of  soon 
finding  the  land  he  was  in  search  of,  and  raised  their  hopes 
of  acquiring  wealth  and  honour  by  the  discovery.  To  lessen 
the  fear  which  they  entertained  of  the  length  of  way  they  had 
to  sail,  he  gave  out  that  they  had  only  proceeded  fifteen  leagues 
that  day,  wdien  the  actual  distance  sailed  was  eighteen ;  and  to 
induce  the  people  to  believe  that  they  were  not  so  far  from 
Spain  as  they  really  were,  he    resolved   to  keep  considerably 


short  in  his  reckoning  during  the  whole  voyage,  though  he  care- 
fully recorded  the  true  reckoning  every  day  in  private. 

On  'Wednesday  the  twelfth  September,  having  got  to  about 
150  leagues  west  of  Ferro,  they  discovered  a  large  trunk  of  a 
tree,  sufficient  to  have  been  the  mast  of  a  vessel  of  120  tons, 
and  which  seemed  to  have  been  a  long  time  in  the  water.  At 
this  distance  from  Ferro,  and  for  somewhat  farther  on,  the  cur- 
rent was  found  to  set  strongly  to  the  north-east.  Next  day, 
when  they  had  run  fifty  leagues  farther  westwards,  the  needle 
was  observed  to  vary  half  a  point  to  the  eastward  of  north,  and 
next  morning  the  variation  was  a  whole  point  east.  This  varia- 
tion of  the  compass  had  never  been  before  observed,  and  there- 
fore the  admiral  was  much  surprised  at  the  phenomenon,  and 
concluded  that  the  needle  did  not  actually  point  towards  the 
polar  star,  but  to  some  other  fixed  point.  Three  days  after- 
wards, when  almost  100  leagues  farther  west,  he  was  still  more 
astonished  at  the  irregularity  of  the  variation ;  for  having  ob- 
served the  needle  to  vary  a  whole  point  to  the  eastwards  at 
night,  it  pointed  directly  northwards  in  the  morning.  On  the 
night  of  Saturday  the  fifteenth  of  September,  being  then  almost 
300  leagues  west  of  Ferro,  they  saw  a  prodigious  flash  of  light, 
or  fire  ball,  drop  from  the  sky  into  the  sea,  at  four  or  five  leagues 
distance  from  the  ships  towards  the  south-west.  The  weather 
was  then  quite  fair  and  serene  like  April,  the  sea  perfectly  calm, 
the  wind  favourable  from  the  north-east,  and  the  current  setting 
to  the  north-east.  The  people  in  the  Nina  told  the  admiral 
that  they  had  seen  the  day  before  a  heron,  and  another  bird 
which  they  called  Raho-de-junco.  These  were  the  first  birds 
which  had  been  seen  during  the  voyage,  and  w^ere  considered  as 
indications  of  approaching  land.  But  they  were  more  agreeably 
surprised  next  day,  Sunday  sixteenth  September,  by  seeing  great 
abundance  of  yellowish  green  sea  weeds,  which  appeared  as  if 
newly  washed  away  from  some  rock  or  island.  Next  day  the  sea 
weed  was  seen  in  much  greater  quantity,  and  a  small  live  lobster 
was  observed  among  the  weeds :  from  this  circumstance  many 
affirmed  that  they  were  certainly  near  the  land.  The  sea  water 
was  afterwards  noticed  to  be  only  half  so  salt  as  before  ;  and 
great  numbers  of  tunny  fish  were  seen  swimming  about,  some 
of  which  came  so  near  the  vessel,  that  one  was  killed  by  a 
bearded  iron.  Being  now  360  leagues  west  from  Ferro,  an- 
other of  the  birds  called  rabo-de-junco  was  seen.  On  Tues- 
day the  eighteenth  September,  Martin  Alonzo  Pinzon,  who  had 
gone  a-head  of  the  admiral  in  the  Pinta,  which  was  an  excel- 
lent sailer,  lay  to  for  the    admiral  to  come  up,  and  told  him 


5 

that  he  had  seen  a  great  number  of  birds  fly  away  westwards, 
for  which  reason  he  was  in  great  hopes  to  see  land  that  night; 
Pinzon  even  thought  that  he  saw  land  that  night  about  fifteen 
leagues  distant  to  the  northwards,  which  appeared  very  black 
and  covered  with  clouds.  All  the  people  would  have  per- 
suaded the  admiral  to  try  for  land  in  that  direction  ;  but, 
being  certainly  assured  that  it  was  not  land,  and  having  not 
yet  reached  the  distance  at  which  he  expected  to  find  the  land, 
he  w^ould  not  consent  to  lose  time  in  altering  his  course  in  that 
direction.  But  as  the  wind  now  freshened,  he  gave  orders  to 
take  in  the  top-sails  at  night,  having  now  sailed  eleven  days 
before  the  wind  due  westwards  with  all  their  sails  up. 

All  the  people  in  the  squadron  being  utterly  unacquainted 
with  the  seas  they  now  traversed,  fearful  of  their  danger  at  such 
unusual  distance  from  any  relief,  and  seeing  nothing  around 
but  sky  and  water,  began  to  mutter  among  themselves,  and 
anxiously  observed  every  appearance.  On  the  nineteenth  Sep- 
tember, a  kind  of  sea-gull  called  A/cafraz  flew  over  the  admiral's 
ship,  and  several  others  were  seen  in  the  afternoon  of  that  day, 
and  as  the  admiral  conceived  that  these  birds  would  not  fly  far 
from  land,  he  entertained  hopes  of  soon  seeing  what  he  was  in 
quest  of.  He  therefore  ordered  a  line  of  200  fathoms  to  be 
tried,  but  without  finding  any  bottom.  The  current  was  now 
found  to  set  to  the  south-west. 

On  Thursday  the  twentieth  of  September,  two  alcatrazes 
came  near  the  ship  about  two  hours  before  noon,  and  soon 
afterwards  a  third.  On  this  day  likewise  they  took  a  bird  re- 
sembling a  heron,  of  a  black  colour  with  a  white  tuft  on  its 
head,  and  having  webbed  feet  like  a  duck.  Abundance  of 
weeds  were  seen  floating  in  the  sea,  and  one  small  fish  was 
taken.  About  evening  three  land  birds  settled  on  the  rigging 
of  the  ship  and  began  to  sing.  These  flew  away  at  day-break, 
which  was  considered  a  strong  indication  of  approaching  the 
land,  as  these  little  birds  could  not  have  come  from  any  far 
distant  country ;  whereas  the  other  large  fowls,  being  used  to 
water,  might  much  better  go  far  from  land.  The  same  day  an 
alcatraz  was  seen. 

Friday  the  twenty-first  another  alcatraz  and  a  rabo-de- 
junco  were  seen,  and  vast  quantities  of  weeds  as  far  as  the 
eye  could  carry  towards  the  north.  These  appearances  were 
sometimes  a  comfort  to  the  people,  giving  them  hopes  of  near- 
ing  the  wished-for  land ;  while  at  other  times  the  weeds  were 
so  thick  as  in  some  measure  to  impede  the  progress  of  the 
vessels,  and  to  occasion  terror  lest  what  is  fabulously  reported 


of  St.  Amaro  in  the  frozen  sea,  might  happen  to  them,  that 
they  might  be  so  enveloped  in  the  weeds  as  to  be  unable  to 
move  backwards  or  forwards ;  wherefore  they  steered  away 
from  those  shoals  of  weeds  as  much  as  they  could. 

Next  day,  being  Saturday  the  twenty-second  September, 
they  saw  a  whale  and  several  small  birds.  The  wind  now  veered 
to  the  south-west,  sometimes  more  and  sometimes  less  to  the 
westwards  ;  and  though  this  was  adverse  to  the  direction  of 
their  proposed  voyage,  the  admiral  to  comfort  the  people 
alleged  that  this  was  a  favourable  circumstance  ;  because 
among  other  causes  of  fear,  they  had  formerly  said  they  should 
never  have  a  wind  to  carry  them  back  to  Spain,  as  it  had 
always  blown  from  the  east  ever  since  they  left  Ferro.  They 
still  continued,  however,  to  murmur,  alleging  that  this  south- 
west wind  was  by  no  means  a  settled  one,  and  as  it  never  blew 
strong  enough  to  swell  the  sea,  it  would  not  serve  to  carry  them 
back  again  through  so  great  an  extent  of  sea  as  they  had  now 
passed  over.  In  sjDite  of  every  argument  used  by  the  admiral, 
assuring  them  that  the  alterations  in  the  wind  were  occasioned 
by  the  vicinity  of  the  land,  by  which  likewise  the  waves  were 
prevented  from  rising  to  any  height,  they  were  still  dissatisfied 
and  terrified. 

On  Sunday  the  twenty-third  of  September,  a  brisk  gale 
sprung  up  W.  N.  W.  with  a  rolling  sea,  such  as  the  people 
had  wished  for.  Three  hours  before  noon  a  turtle-dove  was' 
observed  to  fly  over  the  ship ;  towards  evening  an  alcatraz,  a 
river  fowl,  and  several  white  birds  were  seen  flying  about,  and 
some  crabs  were  observed  among  the  weeds.  Next  day  an- 
other alcatraz  was  seen  and  several  small  birds  which  came 
from  the  west.  Numbers  of  small  fishes  were  seen  swimming 
about,  some  of  which  were  struck  with  harpoons,  as  they  would 
not  bite  at  the  hook. 

The  more  that  the  tokens  mentioned  above  were  observed, 
and  found  not  to  be  followed  by  the  so  anxiously  looked-for 
land,  the  more  the  people  became  fearful  of  the  event,  and 
entered  into  cabals  against  the  admiral,  who  they  said  was 
desirous  to  make  himself  a  great  lord  at  the  expence  of  their 
danger.  They  represented  that  they  had  already  sufficiently 
performed  their  duty  in  adventuring  farther  from  land  and  all 
possibility  of  succour  than  had  ever  been  done  before,  and 
that  they  ought  not  to  proceed  on  the  voyage  to  their  mani- 
fest destruction.  If  they  did  they  would  soon  have  reason  to 
repent  their  temerity,  as  provisions  would  soon  fall  short,  the 
ships  were  already  faulty  and  would  soon  fail,  and  it  would  be 


extremely  difficult  to  get  back  so  far  as  they  had  already  gone. 
None  could  condemn  them  in  their  own  opinion  for  now  turn- 
ing back,  but  all  must  consider  them  as  brave  men  for  having 
gone  upon  such  an  enterprize  and  venturing  so  far.  That  the 
admiral  was  a  foreigner  who  had  no  favour  at  court;  and  as  so 
many  wise  and  learned  men  had  already  condemned  his  opin- 
ions and  enterprize  as  visionary  and  impossible,  there  would 
be  none  to  favour  or  defend  him,  and  they  were  sure  to  find 
more  credit  if  they  accused  him  of  ignorance  and  mismanage- 
ment than  he  would  do,  whatsoever  he  might  now  say  for  him- 
self against  them.  Some  even  proceeded  so  far  as  to  propose, 
in  case  the  admiral  should  refuse  to  acquiesce  in  their  pro- 
posals, that  they  might  make  a  short  end  of  all  disputes  by 
throwing  him  overboard ;  after  which  they  could  give  out  that 
he  had  fallen  over  while  making  his  observations,  and  no  one 
would  ever  think  of  inquiring  into  the  truth.  They  thus  went 
on  day  after  day,  muttering,  complaining,  and  consulting  to- 
gether; and  though  the  admiral  was  not  fully  aware  of  the 
extent  of  their  cabals,  he  was  not  entirely  without  apprehen- 
sions of  their  inconstancy  in  the  present  trying  situation,  and 
of  their  evil  intentions  towards  him.  He  therefore  exerted 
himself  to  the  utmost  to  quiet  their  apprehensions  and  to  sup- 
press their  evil  design,  sometimes  using  fair  words,  and  at 
other  times  fully  resolved  to  expose  his  life  rather  than  aban- 
don the  enterprize  ;  he  put  them  in  mind  of  the  due  punish- 
ment they  would  subject  themselves  to  if  they  obstructed  the 
voyage.  To  confirm  their  hopes,  he  recapitulated  all  the  favour- 
able signs  and  indications  which  had  been  lately  observed, 
assuring  them  that  they  might  soon  expect  to  see  the  land. 
But  they,  who  were  ever  attentive  to  these  tokens,  thought 
every  hour  a  year  in  their  anxiety  to  see  the  wished-for  land. 
On  Tuesday  the  twenty-fifth  of  September  near  sun-set,  as 
the  admiral  was  discoursing  with  Pinzon,  whose  ship  was  then 
very  near,  Pinzon  suddenly  called  out,  "  Land  !  land.  Sir !  let 
not  my  good  news  miscarry ; "  and  pointed  out  a  large  mass 
in  the  S.  W.  about  twenty-five  leagues  distant,  which  seemed 
very  like  an  island.  This  was  so  pleasing  to  the  people,  that 
they  returned  thanks  to  God  for  the  pleasing  discovery;  and, 
although  the  admiral  was  by  no  means  satisfied  of  the  truth  of 
Pinzon's  observation,  yet  to  please  the  men,  and  that  they  might 
not  obstruct  the  voyage,  he  altered  his  course  and  stood  in  that 
direction  a  great  part  of  the  night.  Next  morning,  the  twenty- 
sixth,  they  had  the  mortification  to  find  the  supposed  land  was 
only  composed  of  clouds,  which  often  put  on  the  appearance 


8 

of  distant  land ;  and,  to  their  great  dissatisfaction,  the  stems  of 
the  ships  were  again  turned  directly  westwards,  as  they  always 
were  unless  when  hindered  by  the  wind.  Continuing  their 
course,  and  still  attentively  watching  for  signs  of  land,  they 
saw  this  day  an  alcatraz,  a  rabo-de-junco,  and  other  birds  as 
formerly  mentioned. 

On  Thursday  the  twenty-seventh  of  September  they  saw 
another  alcatraz  coming  from  the  westwards  and  flying  towards 
the  east,  and  great  numbers  of  fish  were  seen  with  gilt  backs, 
one  of  which  they  struck  with  a  harpoon.  A  rabo-de-junco 
likewise  flew  past ;  the  currents  for  some  of  the  last  days  were 
not  so  regular  as  before,  but  changed  with  the  tide,  and  the 
weeds  were  not  nearly  so  abundant. 

On  Friday  the  twenty-eighth  all  the  vessels  took  some  of 
the  fishes  with  gilt  backs;  and  on  Saturday  the  twenty-ninth 
they  saw  a  rabo-de-junco,  which,  although  a  sea-fowl,  never 
rests  on  the  waves,  but  always  flies  in  the  air,  pursuing  tJie 
alcatrazes.  Many  of  these  birds  are  said  to  frequent  the  Cape 
de  Verd  islands.  They  soon  afterwards  saw  two  other  alca- 
trazes, and  great  numbers  of  flying-fishes.  These  last  are 
about  a  span  long,  and  have  two  little  membranous  wings 
like  those  of  a  bat,  by  means  of  which  they  fly  about  a  pike- 
length  high  from  the  water  and  a  musket-shot  in  length,  and 
sometimes  drop  upon  the  ships.  In  the  afternoon  of  this  day 
they  saw  abundance  of  weeds  lying  in  length  north  and  south, 
and  three  alcatrazes  pursued  by  a  rabo-de-junco. 

On  the  morning  of  Sunday  the  thirtieth  of  September  four 
rabo-de-j uncos  came  to  the  ship;  and  from  so  many  of  them 
coming  together  it  was  thought  the  land  could  not  be  far  dis- 
tant, especially  as  four  alcatrazes  followed  soon  afterwards. 
Great  quantities  of  weeds  were  seen  in  a  line  stretching  from 
W.  N.  W.  to  E.  N.  E.  and  a  great  number  of  the  fishes  which 
are  called  Emperadores,  which  have  a  very  hard  skin  and  are 
not  fit  to  eat.  Though  the  admiral  paid  every  attention  to 
these  indications,  he  never  neglected  those  in  the  heavens,  and 
carefully  observed  the  course  of  the  stars.  He  was  now  greatly 
surprised  to  notice  at  this  time  that  the  Charles  7vam  or  Ursa 
Major  constellation  appeared  at  night  in  the  west,  and  was 
N.  E.  in  the  morning :  He  thence  concluded  that  their  whole 
night's  course  was  only  nine  hours,  or  so  many  parts  in  twenty- 
four  of  a  great  circle ;  and  this  he  observed  to  be  the  case 
regularly  every  night.  It  was  likewise  noticed  that  the  com- 
pass varied  a  whole  point  to  the  N.  W.  at  nightfall,  and  came 


due  north  every  morning  at  day-break.  As  this  unheard-of 
circumstance  confounded  and  perplexed  the  pilots,  who  appre- 
hended danger  in  these  strange  regions  and  at  such  unusual 
distance  from  home,  the  admiral  endeavoured  to  calm  their 
fears  by  assigning  a  cause  for  this  wonderful  phenomenon  :  He 
alleged  that  it  was  occasioned  by  the  polar  star  making  a  cir- 
cuit round  the  pole,  by  which  they  were  not  a  little  satisfied. 

Soon  after  sunrise  on  Monday  the  first  of  October,  an  alca- 
traz  came  to  the  ship,  and  two  more  about  ten  in  the  morning, 
and  long  streams  of  weeds  floated  from  east  to  west.  That  morn- 
ing the  pilot  of  the  admiral's  ship  said  that  they  were  now  578 
leagues  west  from  the  island  of  Ferro.  In  his  public  account 
the  admiral  said  they  were  584  leagues  to  the  west ;  but  in  his 
private  journal  he  made  the  real  distance  707  leagues,  or  129 
more  than  was  reckoned  by  the  pilot.  The  other  two  ships 
differed  much  in  their  computation  from  each  other  and  from 
the  admiral's  pilot.  The  pilot  of  Nina  in  the  afternoon  of  the 
Wednesday  following  said  they  had  only  sailed  540  leagues,  and 
the  pilot  of  the  Pinta  reckoned  634.  Thus  they  were  all  much 
short  of  the  truth ;  but  the  admiral  winked  at  the  gross  mistake, 
that  the  men,  not  thinking  themselves  so  far  from  home,  might 
be  the  less  dejected. 

The  next  day,  being  Tuesday  the  second  of  October,  they 
saw  abundance  of  fish,  caught  one  small  tunny,  and  saw  a  white 
bird  with  many  other  small  birds,  and  the  weeds  appeared  much 
withered  and  ahnost  fallen  to  powder.  Next  day,  seeing  no 
birds,  they  suspected  that  they  had  passed  between  some  islands 
on  both  hands,  and  had  slipped  through  without  seeing  them,  as 
they  guessed  that  the  many  birds  which  they  had  seen  might 
have  been  passing  from  one  island  to  another.  On  this  account 
they  were  very  earnest  to  have  the  course  altered  one  way  or 
the  other,  in  quest  of  these  imaginary  lands.  But  the  admiral, 
unwilling  to  lose  the  advantage  of  the  fair  wind  which  carried 
him  due  west,  which  he  accounted  his  surest  course,  and  afraid 
to  lessen  his  reputation  by  deviating  from  course  to  course  in 
search  of  land,  which  he  always  affirmed  that  he  well  knew 
where  to  find,  refused  his  consent  to  any  change.  On  this  the 
people  were  again  ready  to  mutiny,  and  resumed  their  murmurs 
and  cabals  against  him.  But  it  pleased  God  to  aid  his  author- 
ity by  fresh  indications  of  land. 

On  Thursday  the  fourth  of  October,  in  the  afternoon,  above 
forty  sparrows  together  and  two  alcatrazes  flew  so  near  the  ship 
that  a  seaman  killed  one  of  them  with  a  stone.  Several  other 
birds  were  seen  at  this  time,  and  many  flying-fish  fell  into  the 


10 

ships.  Next  day  there  came  a  rabo-de-junco  and  an  alcatraz 
from  the  westwards,  and  many  sparrows  were  seen.  About  sun- 
rise on  Sunday  the  seventh  of  October,  some  signs  of  land 
appeared  to  the  westwards,  but  being  imperfect  no  person  would 
mention  the  circumstance.  This  was  owing  to  fear  of  losing  the 
reward  of  thirty  crowns  yearly  for  life  which  had  been  promised 
by  their  Catholic  majesties  to  whoever  should  first  discover  land  ; 
and  to  prevent  them  from  calling  out  land,  land,  at  every  turn 
without  just  cause,  it  was  made  a  condition  that  whoever  said  he 
saw  land  should  lose  the  reward  if  it  were  not  made  out  in  three 
days,  even  if  he  should  afterwards  actually  prove  the  first  dis- 
coverer. All  on  board  the  admiral's  ship  being  thus  forewarned, 
were  exceedingly  careful  not  to  cry  out  land  upon  uncertain 
tokens  ;  but  those  in  the  Nina,  which  sailed  better  and  always 
kept  ahead',  believing  that  they  certainly  saw  land,  fired  a  gun 
and  hung  out  their  colours  in  token  of  the  discovery ;  but  the 
farther  they  sailed  the  more  the  joyful  appearance  lessened,  till 
at  last  it  vanished  away.  But  they  soon  afterwards  derived 
much  comfort  by  observing  great  flights  of  large  fowl  and  others 
of  small  birds  going  from  the  west  towards  the  south-west. 

Being  now  at  a  vast  distance  from  Spain,  and  well  assured 
that  such  small  birds  would  not  go  far  from  land,  the  admiral 
now  altered  his  course  from  due  west  which  had  been  hith- 
erto, and  steered  to  the  south-west.  He  assigned  as  a  reason 
for  now  changing  his  course,  although  deviating  little  from  his 
original  design,  that  he  followed  the  example  of  the  Portuguese, 
who  had  discovered  most  of  their  islands  by  attending  to  the 
flight  of  birds,  and  because  these  they  now  saw  flew  almost 
uniformly  in  one  direction.  He  said  likewise  that  he  had 
always  expected  to  discover  land  about  the  situation  in  which 
they  now  were,  having  often  told  them  that  he  must  not  look  to 
find  land  until  they  should  get  750  leagues  to  the  westwards  of 
the  Canaries ;  about  which  distance  he  expected  to  fall  in  with 
Hispaniola  which  he  then  called  Cipango;  and  there  is  no  doubt 
that  he  would  have  found  this  island  by  his  direct  course,  if  it 
had  not  been  that  it  was  reported  to  extend  from  north  to  south. 
Owing  therefore  to  his  not  having  inclined  more  to  the  south 
he  had  missed  that  and  others  of  the  Caribbee  islands  whither 
those  birds  were  now  bending  their  flight,  and  which  had  been 
for  some  time  upon  his  larboard  hand.  It  was  from  being  so 
near  the  land  that  they  continually  saw  such  great  numbers  of 
birds  ;  and  on  Monday  the  eighth  of  October  twelve  singing 
birds  of  various  colours  came  to  the  ship,  and  after  flying  round 
it  for  a  short  time  held  on  their  way.     Many  other  birds  were 


II 

seen  from  the  ship  flying  towards  the  south-west,  and  that  same 
night  great  numbers  of  large  fowl  were  seen,  and  flocks  of  small 
birds  proceeding  from  the  northwards,  and  all  going  to  the 
south-west.  In  the  morning  a  jay  was  seen,  with  an  alcatraz, 
several  ducks,  and  many  small  birds,  all  flying  the  same  way 
with  the  others,  and  the  air  was  perceived  to  be  fresh  and  odor- 
iferous as  it  is  at  Seville  in  the  month  of  April.  But  the  people 
were  now  so  eager  to  see  land  and  had  been  so  often  dis- 
appointed, that  they  ceased  to  give  faith  to  these  continual 
indications ;  insomuch  that  on  Wednesday  the  tenth,  although 
abundance  of  birds  were  continually  passing  both  by  day  and 
night,  they  never  ceased  to  complain.  The  admiral  ujDbraided 
their  want  of  resolution,  and  declared  that  they  must  persist  in 
their  endeavours  to  discover  the  Indies,  for  which  he  and  they 
had  been  sent  out  by  their  Catholic  majesties. 

It  would  have  been  impossible  for  the  admiral  to  have 
much  longer  withstood  the  numbers  which  now  opposed  him ; 
but  it  pleased  God  that,  in  the  afternoon  of  Thursday  the  elev- 
enth of  October,  such  manifest  tokens  of  being  near  the  land 
appeared,  that  the  men  took  courage  and  rejoiced  at  their  good 
fortune  as  much  as  they  had  been  before  distressed.  From  the 
admiral's  ship  a  green  rush  was  seen  to  float  past,  and  one  of 
those  green  fish  which  never  go  far  from  the  rocks.  The  people 
in  the  Pinta  saw  a  cane  and  a  staff  in  the  water,  and  took  up 
another  staff  very  curiously  carved,  and  a  small  board,  and  great 
plenty  of  weeds  were  seen  which  seemed  to  have  been  recently 
torn  from  the  rocks.  Those  of  the  Nina,  besides  similar  signs 
of  land,  saw  a  branch  of  a  thorn  full  of  red  berries,  which 
seemed  to  have  been  newly  torn  from  the  tree.  From  all  these 
indications  the  admiral  was  convinced  that  he  now  drew  near  to 
the  land,  and  after  the  evening  prayers  he  made  a  speech  to  the 
men,  in  which  he  reminded  them  of  the  mercy  of  God  in  having 
brought  them  so  long  a  voyage  with  such  favourable  weather, 
and  in  comforting  them  with  so  many  tokens  of  a  successful 
issue  to  their  enterprize,  which  were  now  every  day  becoming 
plainer  and  less  equivocal.  He  besought  them  to  be  exceed- 
ingly watchful  during  the  night,  as  they  well  knew  that  in  the 
first  article  of  the  instructions  which  he  had  given  to  all  the 
three  ships  before  leaving  the  Canaries,  they  were  enjoined, 
when  they  should  have  sailed  700  leagues  west  without  dis- 
covering land,  to  lay  to  every  night,  from  midnight  till  day- 
break. And,  as  he  had  very  confident  hopes  of  discovering 
land  that  night,  he  required  every  one  to  keep  watch  at  their 
quarters ;  and,  besides  the  gratuity  of  thirty  crowns  a-year  for 


12 

life,  which  had  been  graciously  promised  by  their  sovereigns  to 
him  that  first  saw  the  land,  he  engaged  to  give  the  fortunate 
discoverer  a  velvet  doublet  from  himself. 

After  this,  as  the  admiral  was  in  his  cabin  about  ten  o'clock 
at  night,  he  saw  a  light  on  shore ;  but  it  was  so  unsteady  that 
he  could  not  certainly  affirm  that  it  came  from  land.  He  called 
to  one  Peter  Gutierres  and  desired  him  to  try  if  he  could  per- 
ceive the  same  light,  who  said  he  did ;  but  one  Roderick  San- 
chez of  Segovia,  on  being  desired  to  look  the  same  way  could 
not  see  it,  because  he  was  not  up  time  enough,  as  neither  the 
admiral  nor  Gutierres  could  see  it  again  above  once  or  twice 
for  a  short  space,  which  made  them  judge  it  to  proceed  from  a 
candle  or  torch  belonging  to  some  fishermart^or  traveller,  who 
lifted  it  up  occasionally  and  lowered  it  again,  or  perhaps  from 
people  going  from  one  house  to  another,  because  it  appeared 
and  vanished  again  so  suddenly.  Being  now  very  much  on 
their  guard,  they  still  held  on  their  course  until  about  two  in 
the  morning  of  Friday  the  twelfth  of  October,  when  the  Pinta 
which  was  always  far  a-head,  owing  to  her  superior  sailing,  made 
the  signal  of  seeing  land,  which  was  first  discovered  by  Rod- 
erick de  Triana  at  about  two  leagues  from  the  ship.  But  the 
thirty  crowns  a-year  were  afterwards  granted  to  the  admiral, 
who  had  seen  the  light  in  the  midst  of  darkness,  a  type  of  the 
spiritual  light  which  he  was  the  hapjDy  means  of  spreading  in 
these  dark  regions  of  error.  Being  now  so  near  land,  all  the 
ships  lay  to;  every  one  thinking  it  long  till  daylight,  that  they 
might  enjoy  the  sight  they  had  so  long  and  anxiously  desired. 

When  daylight  appeared,  the  newly  discovered  land  was 
perceived  to  consist  of  a  flat  island  fifteen  leagues  in  length, 
without  any  hills,  all  covered  with  trees,  and  having  a  great  lake 
in  the  middle.  The  island  was  inhabited  by  great  abundance 
of  people,  who  ran  down  to  the  shore  filled  with  wonder  and 
admiration  at  the  sight  of  the  ships,  which  they  conceived  to  be 
some  unknown  animals.  The  Christians  were  not  less  curious 
to  know  what  kind  of  people  they  had  fallen  in  with,  and  the 
curiosity  on  both  sides  was  soon  satisfied,  as  the  ships  soon 
came  to  anchor.  The  admiral  went  on  shore  with  his  boat  well 
armed,  and  having  the  royal  standard  of  Castile  and  Leon  dis- 
played, accompanied  by  the  commanders  of  the  other  two  ves- 
sels, each  in  his  own  boat,  carrying  the  particular  colours  which 
had  been  allotted  for  the  enterprize,  which  were  white  with  a 
green  cross  and  the  letter  F.  on  one  side  and  on  the  other  the 
names  of  Ferdinand  and  Isabella  crowned. 

The  whole  company  kneeled  on  the  shore  and  kissed  the 


13 

ground  for  joy,  returning  God  thanks  for  the  great  mercy  they 
had  experienced  during  their  long  voyage  through  seas  hitherto 
unpassed,  and  their  now  happy  discovery  of  an  unknown  land. 
The  admiral  then  stood  up,  and  took  formal  possession  in  the 
usual  words  for  their  Catholic  majesties  of  this  island,  to  which 
he  gave  the  name  of  St.  Salvador.  All  the  Christians  present 
admitted  Columbus  to  the  authority  and  dignity  of  admiral  and 
viceroy,  pursuant  to  the  commission  which  he  had  received  to 
that  effect,  and  all  made  oath  to  obey  him  as  the  legitimate 
representative  of  their  Catholic  majesties,  with  such  expressions 
of  joy  and  acknowledgment  as  became  their  mighty  success ; 
and  they  all  implored  his  forgiveness  of  the  many  affronts  he 
had  received  from  them  through  their  fears  and  want  of  confi- 
dence. Numbers  of  the  Indians  or  natives  of  the  island  were 
present  at  these  ceremonies ;  and  perceiving  them  to  be  peace- 
able, quiet,  and  simple  people,  the  admiral  distributed  several 
presents  among  them.  To  some  he  gave  red  caps,  and  to  others 
strings  of  glass  beads,  which  they  hung  about  their  necks,  and 
various  other  things  of  small  value,  which  they  valued  as  if  they 
had  been  jewels  of  high  price. 

After  the  ceremonies,  the  admiral  went  off  in  his  boat,  and 
the  Indians  followed  him  even  to  the  ships,  some  by  swimming 
and  others  in  their  canoes,  carrying  parrots,  clews  of  spun  cot- 
ton yarn,  javelins,  and  other  such  trifling  articles,  to  barter  for 
glass  beads,  bells,  and  other  things  of  small  value.  Like  people 
in  the  original  simplicity  of  nature,  they  were  all  naked,  and 
even  a  woman  who  was  among  them  was  entirely  destitute  of 
clothing.  Most  of  them  were  young,  seemingly  not  above  thirty 
years  of  age  ;  of  a  good  stature,  with  very  thick  black  lank  hair, 
mostly  cut  short  above  their  ears,  though  some  had  it  down  to 
their  shoulders,  tied  up  with  a  string  about  their  head  like 
women's  tresses.  Their  countenances  were  mild  and  agreeable 
and  their  features  good ;  but  their  foreheads  were  too  high, 
which  gave  them  rather  a  wild  appearance.  They  were  of  a 
middle  stature,  jDlump,  and  well  shaped,  but  of  an  olive  com- 
plexion, like  the  inhabitants  of  the  Canaries,  or  sunburnt  peas- 
ants. Some  were  painted  with  black,  others  with  white,  and 
others  again  with  red;  in  some  the  whole  body  was  painted, 
in  others  only  the  face,  and  some  only  the  nose  and  eyes.  They 
had  no  weapons  like  those  of  Europe,  neither  had  they  any 
knowledge  of  such ;  for  when  our  people  shewed  them  a  naked 
sword,  they  ignorantly  grasped  it  by  the  edge.  Neither  had  they 
any  knowledge  of  iron  ;  as  their  javelins  were  merely  constructed 
of  wood,  having  their  points  hardened  in  the  fire,  and  armed 


H 

with  a  piece  of  fish-bone.  Some  of  them  had  scars  of  wounds 
on  different  parts,  and  being  asked  by  signs  how  these  had  been 
got,  they  answered  by  signs  that  people  from  other  islands  came 
to  take  them  away,  and  that  they  had  been  wounded  in  their 
own  defence.  They  seemed  ingenious  and  of  a  voluble  tongue  ; 
as  they  readily  repeated  such  words  as  they  once  heard.  There 
were  no  kind  of  animals  among  them  excepting  parrots,  which 
they  carried  to  barter  with  the  Christians  among  the  articles 
already  mentioned,  and  in  this  trade  they  continued  on  board 
the  ships  till  night,  when  they  all  returned  to  the  shore. 

In  the  morning  of  the  next  day,  being  the  13th  of  October, 
many  of  the  natives  returned  on  board  the  ships  in  their  boats 
or  canoes,  which  were  all  of  one  piece  hollowed  like  a  tray  from 
the  trunk  of  a  tree  ;  some  of  these  were  so  large  as  to  contain 
forty  or  forty-five  men,  while  others  were  so  small  as  only  to 
hold  one  person,  with  many  intermediate  sizes  between  these 
extremes.  These  they  worked  along  with  paddles  formed  like 
a  baker's  peel  or  the  implement  which  is  used  in  dressing  hemp. 
These  oars  or  paddles  were  not  fixed  by  pins  to  the  sides  of  the 
canoes  like  ours ;  but  were  dipped  into  the  water  and  pulled 
backwards  as  if  digging.  Their  canoes  are  so  light  and  art- 
fully constructed,  that  if  overset  they  soon  turn  them  right 
again  by  swimming;  and  they  empty  out  the  water  by  throwing 
them  from  side  to  side  like  a  weaver's  shuttle,  and  when  half 
emptied  they  lade  out  the  rest  with  dried  calabashes  cut  in  two, 
which  they  carry  for  that  purpose. 

This  second  day  the  natives,  as  said  before,  brought  various 
articles  to  barter  for  such  small  things  as  they  could  procure  in 
exchange.  Jewels  or  metals  of  any  kind  were  not  seen  among 
them,  except  some  small  plates  of  gold  which  hung  from  their 
nostrils ;  and  on  being  questioned  from  whence  they  procured 
the  gold,  they  answered  by  signs  that  they  had  it  from  the 
south,  where  there  was  a  king  who  possessed  abundance  of 
pieces  and  vessels  of  gold ;  and  they  made  our  people  to 
understand  that  there  were  many  other  islands  and  large  coun- 
tries to  the  south  and  south-west.  They  were  very  covetous  to 
get  possession  of  any  thing  which  belonged  to  the  Christians, 
and  being  themselves  very  poor,  with  nothing  of  value  to  give 
in  exchange,  as  soon  as  they  got  on  board,  if  they  could  lay 
hold  of  any  thing  which  struck  their  fancy,  though  it  were  only 
a  piece  of  a  broken  glazed  earthen  dish  or  porringer,  they 
leaped  with  it  into  the  sea  and  swam  on  shore  with  their  prize. 
If  they  brought  any  thing  on  board  they  would  barter  it  for 
any  thing  whatever  belonging  to  our  people,  even  for  a  piece  of 


IS 

broken  glass ;  insomuch  that  some  gave  sixteen  large  clews  of 
well  spun  cotton  yarn,  weighing  twenty-five  pounds,  for  three 
small  pieces  of  Portuguese  brass  coin  not  worth  a  farthing. 
Their  liberality  in  dealing  did  not  proceed  from  their  putting 
any  great  value  on  the  things  themselves  which  they  received 
from  our  people  in  return,  but  because  they  valued  them  as 
belonging  to  the  Christians,  whom  they  believed  certainly  to 
have  come  down  from  Heaven,  and  they  therefore  earnestly 
desired  to  have  something  from  them  as  a  memorial.  In  this 
manner  all  this  day  was  spent,  and  the  islanders  as  before  went 
all  on  shore  at  night. 


Ferdinand  Columbus  was  born  three  or  four  years  before  his  father 
sailed  on  his  first  voyage.  In  1502,  when  thirteen  years  old,  he  accom- 
panied his  father  on  his  fourth  voyage ;  and  he  is  said  to  have  made  two 
other  voyages  to  the  New  World.  His  later  years  were  passed  in  attend- 
ance upon  Charles  V  on  his  travels  and  in  literary  pursuits.  He  died  at 
Seville  in  1539.  He  bequeathed  his  library,  consisting  of  about  twenty 
thousand  volumes  in  print  and  manuscript,  to  the  cathedral,  and  about  four 
thousand  of  the  volumes  still  remain  there.  His  life  of  his  father  appeared 
in  Italian  at  Venice  in  1571.  The  history  of  the  original  manuscript  is 
involved  in  obscurity,  and  in  this  latest  time  the  authenticity  of  the  work 
has  been  called  in  question  by  the  French  critic,  Henri  Harrisse,  but  on 
grounds  which  do  not  seem  to  be  adequate  in  the  face  of  the  long-accepted 
belief.  A  full  account  of  the  controversy,  by  Justin  Winsor,  may  be  found 
in  connection  with  the  chapter  on  Columbus  in  the  second  volume  of  the 
Narrative  and  Critical  History  of  America.  The  student  is  referred  to 
this  chapter  for  a  thorough  discussion  of  the  whole  literature  concerning 
Columbus  and  the  discovery  of  America ;  special  attention  is  directed  to 
those  books  which  show  how  the  knowledge  of  the  New  World  affected 
Europe.  See  also  Mr.  Winsor's  separate  volume  on  Christopher  Columbus: 
An  Exarninaiion  of  the  Historical  and  Geographical  Conditions  iinder  which 
the  Western  Continent  was  disclosed  to  Europe,  zuith  an  inquiry  into  the  per- 
sonal history  of  Cristoval  Colon. 

There  is  an  account  by  Columbus  himself  of  his  first  voyage,  in  a  letter 
to  Sanchez,  the  Spanish  treasurer;  and  this  with  other  valuable  papers  may 
be  seen  in  the  Select  Letters  of  Columbics,  edited  by  Major.  More  impor- 
tant is  the  account  of  the  first  voyage,  by  Las  Casas,  abridged  from  the 
Journal  of  Columbus,  which  is  lost.  This  abridgment  was  discovered  by 
Navarete  and  printed  in  1825  ;  and  there  is  an  English  translation  by  Sam- 
uel Kettell.  Las  Casas  says  that  for  a  while  he  follows  the  very  words  of 
Columbus. 

The  principal  life  of  Columbus  in  English  is  the  well-known  work  of 


i6 

Irving,  which  contains  in  its  appendix  many  valuable  original  documents, 
as  well  as  discussions  of  several  such  interesting  subjects  as  the  explorations 
of  Marco  Polo  and  their  influence  on  Columbus,  and  the  voyages  of  the 
Northmen.  Many  of  the  young  people  will  prefer  to  read  the  new  and 
briefer  life  of  Columbus,  by  Edward  Everett  Hale;  and  they  will  be  inter- 
ested in  the  chapters  on  Columbus  in  Iligginson's  Young  Folks'  Book  of 
American  Explorers  and  Jules  Verne's  Exploration  of  the  World.  There  is 
a  life  of  Columbus  by  Arthur  Helps;  and  the  valuable  biography  by  the 
Italian  Tarducci  has  recently  been  translated.  The  new  work  by  John 
Fiske,  just  ready,  on  The  Discovery  and  Spanish  Conquest  of  A?nerica,  covers 
this  whole  period  in  a  thorough  and  most  attractive  manner. 

The  selection  in  the  present  leaflet  is  taken  from  the  biography  by 
Ferdinand  Columbus,  as  given  in  Kerr's  Voyages,  vol.  iii.  Here  also  may 
be  found  Herrera's  early  account  of  Columbus,  so  highly  praised  by  Irving, 
Prescott,  and  Ticknor. 

OLD    SOUTH  LEAFLETS,  GENERAL   SERIES. 

These  Leaflets,  issued  by  the  Directors  of  the  Old  South  Studies  in 
History,  are  largely  reproductions  of  important  original  papers,  accom- 
panied by  historical  and  bibliographical  notes.  They  consist,  on  an  average, 
of  sixteen  pages,  and  are  sold  at  the  low  price  of  five  cents  a  copy,  or  three 
dollars  per  hundred.  The  Old  South  work  is  a  work  for  the  education  of 
the  people,  and  especially  the  education  of  our  young  people,  in  American 
history  and  politics,  and  its  promoters  believe  that  few  things  can  contribute 
better  to  this  end  than  the  wide  circulation  of  such  Leaflets  as  these.  The 
aim  is  to  bring  important  original  documents  within  easy  reach  of  everybody. 
It  is  hoped  that  professors  in  our  colleges  and  teachers  everywhere  will  wel- 
come them  for  use  in  their  classes,  and  that  they  may  meet  the  needs  of  the 
societies  of  young  men  and  women  now  hapi^ily  being  organized  in  so  many 
places  for  historical  and  political  studies.  There  are  at  present  28  leaflets 
in  this  general  series,  and  others  will  rapidly  follow.  The  following  are  the 
titles  of  those  now  ready  : 

No.  I.  The  Constitution  of  the  United  States.  2.  The  Articles  of 
Confederation.  3.  The  Declaration  of  Independence.  4.  Washington's 
Farewell  Address.  5.  Magna  Charta.  6.  Vane's  "  Healing  Question." 
7.  Charter  of  Massachusetts  Bay,  1629.  8.  Fundamental  Orders  of  Connecti- 
cut, 1638.  9.  Franklin's  Plan  of  Union,  1754.  10.  Washington's  Inaugurals. 
II.  Lincoln's  Inaugurals  and  Emancipation  Proclamation.  12.  The  Federal- 
ist, Nos.  I  and  2.  13.  The  Ordinance  of  1787.  14.  The  Constitution  of 
Ohio.*  15.  Washington's  Letter  to  the  Governors  of  the  States,  1783. 
16.  Washington's  Letter  to  Benjamin  Harrison,  1784.  17.  Verrazzano's 
Voyage,  1524.  18.  The  Swiss  Constitution.*  19.  The  Bill  of  Rights,  1689. 
20.  Coronado's  Letter  to  Mendoza,  1540.  21.  Eliot's  Brief  Narrative  of 
Work  among  the  Indians,  1670.  22.  Wheelock's  Narrative  of  the  Founding 
of  his  Indian  School,  1762.  23.  The  Petition  of  Rights,  1628.  24.  The 
Grand  Remonstrance.  25.  The  Scottish  National  Covenants.  26.  The 
Agreement  of  the  People.  27.  The  Instrument  of  Government.  28.  Crom- 
well's First  Speech  to  his  Parliament. 

♦-Double'  'im'fl'ibw  s," 


GENERAL   SERIES,  No.  30. 

Strabo's 

Introduction   to 

Geography 


THE    FIRST    CHAPTER    OF    STRABO  S    GEOGRAPHY. 

1.  If  the  scientific  investigation  of  any  subject  be  the  proper 
avocation  of  the  philosopher,  Geography,  the  science  of  which 
we  propose  to  treat,  is  certainly  entitled  to  a  high  place ;  and 
this  is  evident  from  many  considerations.  They  who  first  vent- 
ured to  handle  the  matter  were  distinguished  men.  Homer, 
Anaximander  the  Milesian,  and  Hecataeus  (his  fellow-citizen 
according  to  Eratosthenes),  Democritus,  Eudoxus,  Dicsarchus, 
Ephorus,  with  many  others,  and  after  these  Eratosthenes,  Po- 
lybius,  and  Posidonius,  all  of  them  philosophers. 

Nor  is  the  great  learning,  through  which  alone  this  subject 
can  be  approached,  possessed  by  any  but  a  person  acquainted 
with  both  human  and  divine  things,  and  these  attainments  con- 
stitute what  is  called  philosophy.  In  addition  to  its  vast  im- 
portance in  regard  to  social  life,  and  the  art  of  government, 
Geography  unfolds  to  us  the  celestial  phenomena,  acquaints  us 
with  the  occupants  of  the  land  and  ocean,  and  the  vegetation, 
fruits,  and  peculiarities  of  the  various  quarters  of  the  earth,  a 
knowledge  of  which  marks  him  who  cultivates  it  as  a  man 
earnest  in  the  great  problem  of  life  and  happiness. 

2.  Admitting  this,  let  us  examine  more  in  detail  the  points 
we  have  advanced. 

And,  first  [we  maintain],  that  both  we  and  our  predecessors, 
amongst  whom  is  Hipparchus,  do  justly  regard  Homer  as  the 
founder  of  geographical  science,  for  he  not  only  excelled  all, 
ancient  as  well  as  modern,  in  the  sublimity  of  his  poetry,  but 
also  in  his  experience  of  social  life.  Thus  it  was  that  he  not 
only  exerted  himself  to  become  familiar  with  as  many  historic 
facts  as  possible,  and  transmit  them  to  posterity,  but  also  with 


the  various  regions  of  the  inhabited  land  and  sea,  some  inti- 
mately, others  in  a  more  general  manner.  For  otherwise  he 
would  not  have  reached  the  utmost  limits  of  the  earth,  travers- 
ing it  in  his  imagination. 

3.  First,  he  stated  that  the  earth  was  entirely  encompassed 
by  the  ocean,  as  in  truth  it  is;  afterwards  he  described  the 
countries,  specifying  some  by  name,  others  more  generally  by 
various  indications,  explicitly  defining  Libya,  Ethiopia,  the 
Sidonians,  and  the  Erembi  (by  which  latter  are  probably  in- 
tended the  Troglodyte  Arabians) ;  and  alluding  to  those  farther 
east  and  west  as  the  lands  washed  by  the  ocean,  for  in  ocean 
he  believed  both  the  sun  and  constellations  to  rise  and  set. 

*'  Now  from  the  gently  swelling  flood  profound 
The  sun  arising,  with  his  earliest  rays, 
In  his  ascent  to  heaven  smote  on  the  fields." 

"  And  now  the  radiant  sun  in  ocean  sank, 
Dragging  night  after  him  o'er  all  the  earth." 

The  stars  also  he  describes  as  bathed  in  the  ocean. 

4.  He  portrays  the  happiness  of  the  people  of  the  West,  and 
the  salubrity  of  their  climate,  having  no  doubt  heard  of  the 
abundance  of  Iberia,  which  had  attracted  the  arms  of  Her- 
cules, afterwards  of  the  Phoenicians,  who  acquired  there  an 
extended  rule,  and  finally  of  the  Romans.  There  the  airs  of 
Zephyr  breathe,  there  the  poet  feigned  the  fields  of  Elysium, 
when  he  tells  us  Menelaus  was  sent  thither  by  the  gods; 

"Thee  the  gods 
Have  destined  to  the  blest  Elysian  isles, 
Earth's  utmost  boundaries.     Rhadamanthus  there 
Forever  reigns,  and  there  the  human  kind 
Enjoy  the  easiest  life  ;  no  snow  is  there, 
No  biting  winter,  and  no  drenching  shower, 
But  Zephyr  always  gently  from  the  sea 
Breathes  on  them,  to  refresh  the  happy  race." 

5.  The  Isles  of  the  Blest  are  on  the  extreme  west  of  Mauru- 
sia,  near  where  its  shore  runs  parallel  to  the  opposite  coast  of 
Spain ;  and  it  is  clear  he  considered  these  regions  also  Blest, 
from  their  contiguity  to  the  Islands. 

6.  He  tells  us,  also,  that  the  Ethiopians  are  far  removed,  and 
bounded  by  the  ocean  :  far  removed, — 

"  The  Ethiopians,  utmost  of  mankind, 
These  eastward  situate,  those  toward  the  west." 

Nor  was  he  mistaken  in  calling  them  separated  into  two  di- 
visions, as  we  shall  presently  show :  and  next  to  the  ocean, — 


"  For  to  the  banks  of  the  Oceanus, 
Where  Ethiopia  holds  a  feast  to  Jove, 
He  journey'd  yesterday." 

Speaking  of  the  Bear,  he  implies  that  the  most  northern  part  of 
the  earth  is  bounded  by  the  ocean  :  — 

"  Only  star  of  these  denied 
To  slake  his  beams  in  Ocean's  briny  baths." 

Now,  by  the  "  Bear "  and  the  "  Wain  "  he  means  the  Arctic 
Circle  ;  otherwise  he  would  never  have  said,  "  It  alo?ie  is  de- 
prived of  the  baths  of  the  ocean,"  when  such  an  infinity  of 
stars  is  to  be  seen  continually  revolving  in  that  part  of  the 
hemisphere.  Let  no  one  any  longer  blame  his  ignorance  for 
being  merely  acquainted  with  one  Bear,  when  there  are  two. 
It  is  probable  that  the  second  was  not  considered  a  constella- 
tion until,  on  the  Phoenicians  specially  designating  it,  and  em- 
ploying it  in  navigation,  it  became  known  as  one  to  the  Greeks. 
Such  is  the  case  with  the  Hair  of  Berenice,  and  Canopus, 
whose  names  are  but  of  yesterday ;  and,  as  Aratus  remarks, 
there  are  numbers  which  have  not  yet  received  any  designa- 
tion. Crates,  therefore,  is  mistaken  when,  endeavoring  to 
amend  what  is  correct,  he  reads  the  verse  thus  : 

Oto5  8'  aiJifJiop6<s  ian  Aoerpwv, 
replacing  0177  by  oto?,  with  a  view  to  make  the  adjective  agree 
with  the  Arctic  Circle,  which  is  masculine ;  instead  of  the 
Arctic  Constellation,  which  is  feminine.  The  expression  of 
Heraclitus  is  far  more  preferable  and  Homeric,  who  thus  figu- 
ratively describes  the  Arctic  Circle  as  the  Bear, —  "The  Bear 
is  the  limit  of  the  dawn  and  of  the  evening,  and  from  the  re- 
gion of  the  Bear  we  have  fine  weather."  Now  it  is  not  the 
constellation  of  the  Bear,  but  the  Arctic  Circle,  which  is  the 
limit  of  the  rising  and  the  setting  stars. 

By  the  Bear,  then,  which  he  elsewhere  calls  the  Wain,  and 
describes  as  pursuing  Orion,  Homer  means  us  to  understand 
the  Arctic  Circle ;  and  by  the  ocean,  that  horizon  into  which, 
and  out  of  which,  the  stars  rise  and  set.  When  he  says  that 
the  Bear  turns  round  and  is  deprived  of  the  ocean,  he  was  aware 
that  the  Arctic  Circle  [alv/ays]  extended  to  the  sign  opposite 
the  most  northern  point  of  the  horizon.  Adapting  the  words 
of  the  poet  to  this  view,  by  that  part  of  the  earth  nearest  to  the 
ocean  we  must  understand  the  horizon,  and  by  the  Arctic 
Circle  that  which  extends  to  the  signs  which  seem  to  our  senses 
to  touch  in  succession  the  most  northern  point  of  the  horizon. 
Thus,  according  to  him,  this  portion  of  the  earth  is  washed  by 


the  ocean.  With  the  nations  of  the  North  he  was  well  ac- 
quainted, although  he  does  not  mention  them  by  name,  and  in- 
deed at  the  present  day  there  is  no  regular  title  by  which  they 
are  all  distinguished.  He  informs  us  of  their  mode  of  life,  de- 
scribing them  as  "wanderers,"  "noble  milkers  of  mares,"  "liv- 
ing on  cheese/'  and  "without  wealth." 

7.  In  the  following  speech  of  Juno,  he  states  that  the  ocean 
surrounds  the  earth  :  — 

"  For  to  the  green  earth's  utmost  bounds  I  go 
To  visit  there  the  parent  of  the  gods, 
Oceanus." 

Does  he  not  here  assert  that  ocean  bounds  all  its  extremities, 
and  does  it  not  surround  these  extremities  ?  Again,  in  the 
HoplopcEia^  he  places  the  ocean  in  a  circle  round  the  border 
of  Achilles'  shield.  Another  proof  of  the  extent  of  his  knowl- 
edge is  his  acquaintance  with  the  ebb  and  flow  of  the  sea,  call- 
ing it  "  the  ebbing  ocean."     Again, 

"  Each  day  she  thrice  disgorges,  and  again 
Thrice  drinks,  insatiate,  the  deluge  down." 

The  assertion  of  thrice,  instead  of  twice,  is  either  an  error  of 
the  author  or  a  blunder  of  the  scribe,  but  the  phenomenon  is 
the  same,  and  the  expression  soft-flowing  has  reference  to  the 
flood-tide,  which  has  a  gentle  swell,  and  does  not  flow  with  a 
full  rush.  Posidonius  believes  that  where  Homer  describes  the 
rocks  as  at  one  time  covered  with  the  waves,  and  at  another 
left  bare,  and  when  he  compares  the  ocean  to  a  river,  he  alludes 
to  the  flow  of  the  ocean.  The  first  supposition  is  correct,  but 
for  the  second  there  is  no  ground ,  inasmuch  as  there  can  be  no 
comparison  between  the  flov/,  much  less  the  ebb,  of  the  sea  and 
the  current  of  a  river.  There  is  more  probability  in  the  expla- 
nation of  Crates,  that  Homer  describes  the  whole  ocean  as 
deep-flowing,  ebbing,  and  also  calls  it  a  river,  and  that  he  also 
describes  a  part  of  the  ocean  as  a  river,  and  the  flow  of  a  river ; 
and  that  he  is  speaking  of  a  part,  and  not  the  whole,  when  he 
thus  writes :  — 

"  When  down  the  smooth  Oceanus  impelled 
By  prosperous  gales,  my  galley,  once  again, 
Cleaving  the  billows  of  the  spacious  deep, 
Had  reach'd  the  ^asan  isle." 

He  does  not,  however,  mean  the  whole,  but  the  flow  of  the 
river  in  the  ocean,  which  forms  but  a  part  of  the  ocean.  Crates 
says  he  speaks  of  an  estuary  or  gulf,  extending  from  the  winter 
tropic  toward  the  south  pole.     Now,  any  one  quitting  this  might 


5 

still  be  in  the  ocean ;  but  for  a  person  to  leave  the  whole,  and 
still  to  be  in  the  whole,  is  an  impossibility.  But  Homer  says 
that,  leaving  the  flow  of  the  river,  the  ship  entered  on  the  waves 
of  the  sea,  which  is  the  same  as  the  ocean.  If  you  take  it  other- 
wise, you  make  him  say  that,  departing  from  the  ocean,  he  came 
to  the  ocean.     But  this  requires  further  discussion. 

8.  Perception  and  experience  alike  inform  us  that  the  earth 
we  inhabit  is  an  island,  since,  wherever  men  have  approached 
the  termination  of  the  land,  the  sea,  which  we  designate  ocean, 
has  been  met  with ;  and  reason  assures  us  of  the  similarity  of 
those  places  which  our  senses  have  not  been  permitted  to  sur- 
vey. For  in  the  east  the  land  occupied  by  the  Indians,  and  in 
the  west  by  the  Iberians  and  Maurusians,  is  wholly  encom- 
passed [by  water],  and  so  is  the  greater  part  on  the  south  and 
north.  And  as  to  v/hat  remains  as  yet  unexplored  by  us,  be- 
cause navigators,  sailing  from  opposite  points,  have  not  hitherto 
fallen  in  with  each  other,  it  is  not  much,  as  any  one  may  see 
who  will  compare  the  distances  between  those  places  with 
which  w^e  are  already  acquainted.  Nor  is  it  likely  that  the 
Atlantic  Ocean  is  divided  into  two  seas  by  narrow  isthmuses 
so  placed  as  to  prevent  circumnavigation :  how  much  more 
probable  that  it  is  confluent  and  uninterrupted  !  Those  w^ho 
have  returned  from  an  attempt  to  circumnavigate  the  earth  do 
not  say  they  have  been  prevented  from  continuing  their  voyage 
by  any  opposing  continent, —  for  the  sea  remained  perfectly 
open, —  but  through  want  of  resolution  and  the  scarcity  of 
provision.  This  theory,  too,  accords  better  with  the  ebb  and 
flow  of  the  ocean;  for  the  phenomenon,  both  in  the  increase 
and  diminution,  is  everywhere  identical,  or  at  all  events  has 
but  little  difference,  as  if  produced  by  the  agitation  of  one  sea 
and  resulting  from  one  cause. 

9.  We  must  not  credit  Hipparchus,  who  combats  this  opinion, 
denying  that  the  ocean  is  everywhere  similarly  affected  ;  or  that, 
even  if  it  were,  it  would  not  follow  that  the  Atlantic  flowed  in  a 
circle,  and  thus  continually  returned  into  itself.  Seleucus,  the 
Babylonian,  is  his  authority  for  this  assertion.  For  a  further 
investigation  of  the  ocean  and  its  tides  w^e  refer  to  Posidonius 
and  Athenodorus,  who  have  fully  discussed  this  subject :  we 
will  now  only  remark  that  this  view  agrees  better  with  the  uni- 
formity of  the  phenomenon ;  and  that  the  greater  the  amount 
of  moisture  surrounding  the  earth,  the  easier  would  the 
heavenly  bodies  be  supplied  Vv^ith  vapors  from  thence. 

10.  Homer,  besides  the  boundaries  of  the  earth,  which  he  fully 
describes,  was  likewise  well  acquainted  with  the  Mediterranean. 


Starting  from  the  Pillars,  this  sea  is  encompassed  by  Libya, 
Egypt,  and  Phoenicia,  then  by  the  coasts  opposite  Cyprus,  the 
Solymi,  Lycia,  and  Caria,  and  then  by  the  shore  which  stretches 
between  Mycale  and  Troas,  and  the  adjacent  islands,  every  one 
of  which  he  mentions,  as  well  as  those  of  the  Propontis  and  the 
Euxine,  as  far  as  Colchis,  and  the  locality  of  Jason's  expedition. 
Furthermore,  he  was  acquainted  with  the  Cimmerian  Bosphorus, 
having  known  the  Cimmerians,  and  that  not  merely  by  name, 
but  as  being  familiar  with  themselves.  About  this  time,  or  a 
little  before,  they  had  ravaged  the  whole  country,  from  the  Bos- 
phorus to  Ionia.  Their  climate  he  characterizes  as  dismal,  in 
the  following  lines  :  — 

*'  With  clouds  and  darkness  veiled,  on  whom  the  sun 
Deigns  not  to  look  with  his  beam-darting  eye, 

But  sad  night  canopies  the  woful  race." 

He  must  also  have  been  acquainted  with  the  Ister,  since  he 
speaks  of  the  Mysians,  a  Thracian  race,  dwelling  on  the  banks 
of  the  Ister.  He  knew  also  the  whole  Thracian  coast  adjacent 
thereto,  as  far  as  the  Peneus  ;  for  he  mentions  individually 
the  Pseonians,  Athos,  the  Axius,  and  the  neighboring  islands. 
From  hence  to  Thesprotis  is  the  Grecian  shore,  with  the  whole 
of  which  he  was  acquainted.  He  was  besides  familiar  with  the 
whole  of  Italy,  and  speaks  of  Temese  and  the  Sicilians,  as  well 
as  the  whole  of  Spain  and  its  fertility,  as  we  have  said  before. 
If  he  omits  various  intermediate  places,  this  must  be  pardoned; 
for  even  the  compiler  of  a  Geography  overlooks  numerous  de- 
tails. We  must  forgive  him,  too,  for  intermingling  fabulous 
narrative  with  his  historical  and  instructive  work.  This  should 
not  be  complained  of :  nevertheless,  what  Eratosthenes  says  is 
false,  that  the  poets  aim  at  amusement,  not  instruction,  since 
those  who  have  treated  upon  the  subject  most  profoundly  re- 
gard poesy  in  the  light  of  a  primitive  philosophy.  But  we  shall 
refute  Eratosthenes  more  at  length,  when  we  have  occasion 
again  to  speak  of  Homer. 

II.  What  we  have  already  advanced  is  sufficient  to  prove 
that  poet  the  father  of  geography.  Those  who  followed  in  his 
track  are  also  well  known  as  great  men  and  true  philosophers. 
The  two  immediately  succeeding  Homer,  according  to  Eratos- 
thenes, were  Anaximander,  the  disciple  and  fellow-citizen  of 
Thales,  and  Hecatseus  the  Milesian.  Anaximander  was  the 
first  to  publish  a  geographical  chart.  Hecalasus  left  a  work  [on 
the  same  subject],  which  we  can  identify  as  his  by  means  of  his 
other  writings. 


12.  Many  have  testified  to  the  amount  of  knowledge  which 
this  subject  requires ;  and  Hipparchus,  in  his  Strictures  on 
Eratosthenes,  well  observes  "  that  no  one  can  become  really 
proficient  in  geography,  either  as  a  private  individual  or  as 
a  professor,  without  an  acquaintance  with  astronomy,  and 
a  knowledge  of  eclipses.  For  instance,  no  one  could  tell 
whether  Alexandria  in  Egypt  were  north  or  south  of  Babylon, 
nor  yet  the  intervening  distance,  without  observing  the  latitudes. 
Again,  the  only  means  we  possess  of  becoming  acquainted  with 
the  longitudes  of  different  places  is  afforded  by  the  eclipses  of 
the  sun  and  moon."     Such  are  the  very  words  of  Hipparchus. 

13.  Every  one  who  undertakes  to  give  an  accurate  descrip- 
tion of  a  place  should  be  particular  to  add  its  astronomical 
and  geometrical  relations,  explaining  carefully  its  extent,  dis- 
tance, degrees  of  latitude,  and  "climate."  Even  a  builder 
before  constructing  a  house,  or  an  architect  before  laying  out 
a  city,  would  take  these  things  into  consideration  :  much  more 
should  he  who  examines  the  whole  earth;  for  such  things  in 
a  peculiar  manner  belong  to  him.  In  small  distances  a  little 
deviation  north  or  south  does  not  signify,  but  when  it  is  the 
whole  circle  of  the  earth,  the  north  extends  to  the  furthest  con- 
fines of  Scythia,  or  Keltica,  and  the  south  to  the  extremities  of 
Ethiopia :  there  is  a  wide  difference  here.  The  case  is  the 
same,  should  we  inhabit  India  or  Spain,  one  in  the  east,  the 
other  far  west,  and,  as  we  are  aware,  the  antipodes  to  each 
other. 

14.  The  [motions]  of  the  sun  and  stars  and  the  centripetal 
force  meet  us  on  the  very  threshold  of  such  subjects,  and  com- 
pel us  to  the  study  of  astronomy,  and  the  observation  of  such 
phenomena  as  each  of  us  may  notice ;  in  which,  too,  very  con- 
siderable differences  appear,  according  to  the  various  points  of 
observation.  How  could  any  one  undertake  to  write  accurately 
and  with  propriety  on  the  differences  of  the  various  parts  of  the 
earth,  who  was  ignorant  of  these  matters  ?  and  although,  if  the 
undertaking  were  of  a  popular  character,  it  might  not  be  advis- 
able to  enter  thoroughly  into  detail,  still  we  should  endeavor  to 
include  everything  which  could  be  comprehended  by  the  gen- 
eral reader. 

15.  He  who  has  thus  elevated  his  mind,  will  he  be  satisfied 
with  anything  less  than  the  whole  world }  If,  in  his  anxiety 
accurately  to  portray  the  inhabited  earth,  he  has  dared  to 
survey  heaven,  and  make  use  thereof  for  purposes  of  instruc- 
tion, would  it  not  seem  childish,  were  he  to  refrain  from  examin- 
ing the  whole  earth,  of  which  the  inhabited  is  but  a  part, —  its 


8 

size,  its  features,  and  its  position  in  the  universe :  whether 
other  portions  are  inhabited  besides  those  on  which  we  dwell, 
and,  if  so,  their  amount  ?  What  is  the  extent  of  the  regions 
not  peopled?  what  their  peculiarities,  and  the  cause  of  their 
remaining  as  they  are  ?  Thus  it  appears  that  the  knowledge 
of  geography  is  connected  with  meteorology  and  geometry, 
that  it  unites  the  things  of  earth  to  the  things  of  heaven,  as 
though  they  were  nearly  allied  and  not  separated. 

"  As  far  as  heaven  from  earth." 

1 6.  To  the  various  subjects  which  it  embraces  let  us  add 
natural  history,  or  the  history  of  the  animals,  plants,  and  other 
dirfferent  productions  of  the  earth  and  sea,  whether  serviceable 
or  useless,  and  my  original  statement  will,  I  think,  carry  perfect 
conviction  with  it. 

That  he  who  should  undertake  this  work  would  be  a  bene- 
factor to  mankind,  reason  and  the  voice  of  antiquity  agree. 
The  poets  feign  that  they  were  the  wisest  heroes  who  travelled 
and  wandered  most  in  foreign  climes ,  and  to  be  familiar  with 
many  countries,  and  the  disposition  of  the  inhabitants,  is, 
according  to  them,  of  vast  importance.  Nestor  prides  himself 
on  having  associated  with  the  Lapithae,  to  whom  he  went, 
"having  been  invited  thither  from  the  Apian  land  afar." 

So  does  Menelaus  :  — 

"Cyprus,  Phoenicia,  Sidon,  and  the  shores 
Of  Egypt,  roaming  witnout  hope  I  reach'd ; 
In  distant  Ethiopia  thence  arrived. 
And  Libya,  where  the  lambs  their  foreheads  show 
With  budding  horns  defended  soon  as  yean'd." 

Adding  as  a  peculiarity  of  the  country, 

"  There  thrice  within  the  year  the  flocks  produce." 

And  of  Egypt :  "  Where  the  sustaining  earth  is  most  prolific." 
And  Thebes, 

"  The  city  with  an  hundred  gates, 
"Whence  twenty  thousand  chariots  rush  to  war." 

Such  information  greatly  enlarges  our  sphere  of  knowledge, 
by  informing  us  of  the  nature  of  the  country,  its  botanical  and 
zoological  peculiarities.  To  these  should  be  added  its  marine 
history ;  for  we  are  in  a  certain  sense  amphibious,  not  exclu- 
sively connected  with  the  land,  but  with  the  sea  as  well.  Her- 
cules, on  account  of  his  vast  experience  and  observation,  was 
described  as  "  skilled  in  mighty  works." 

All  that  we  have  previously  stated  is  confirmed  both  by  the 


testimony  of  antiquity  and  by  reason.  One  consideration,  hov/- 
ever,  appears  to  bear  in  a  peculiar  manner  on  the  case  in 
point :  viz.,  the  importance  of  geography  in  a  political  view. 
For  the  sea  and  the  earth  in  which  we  dwell  furnish  theatres 
for  action ;  limited,  for  limited  actions ;  vast,  for  grander 
deeds ;  but  that  which  contains  them  all,  and  is  the  scene  of 
the  greatest  undertakings,  constitutes  what  we  term  the  habit- 
able earth ;  and  they  are  the  greatest  generals  who,  subduing 
nations  and  kingdoms  under  one  sceptre,  and  one  political 
administration,  have  acquired  dominion  over  land  and  sea.  It 
is  clear,  then,  that  geography  is  essential  to  all  the  transactions 
of  the  statesman,  informing  us,  as  it  does,  of  the  position  of  the 
continents,  seas,  and  oceans  of  the  whole  habitable  earth.  In- 
formation of  especial  interest  to  those  who  are  concerned  to 
know  the  exact  truth  of  such  particulars,  and  whether  the  places 
have  been  explored  or  not;  for  government  will  certainly  be 
better  administered  where  the  size  and  position  of  the  country, 
its  own  peculiarities,  and  those  of  the  surrounding  districts,  are 
understood.  Forasmuch  as  there  are  many  sovereigns  who 
rule  in  different  regions,  and  some  stretch  their  dominion  over 
others'  territories,  and  undertake  the  government  of  different 
nations  and  kingdoms,  and  thus  enlarge  the  extent  of  their  do- 
minion, it  is  not  possible  that  either  themselves,  nor  yet  writers 
on  geography,  should  be  equally  acquainted  with  the  whole, 
but  tO  both  there  is  a  great  deal  more  or  less  known.  Indeed, 
were  the  whole  earth  under  one  government  and  one  adminis- 
tration, it  is  hardly  possible  that  we  should  be  informed  of 
every  locality  in  an  equal  degree ;  for  even  then  we  should  be 
most  acquainted  with  the  places  nearest  us :  and,  after  all,  it 
is  better  that  we  should  have  a  more  perfect  description  of 
these,  since,  on  account  of  their  proximity,  there  is  greater 
need  for  it.  We  see  there  is  no  reason  to  be  surprised  that 
there  should  be  one  chorographer  for  the  Indians,  another  for 
the  Ethiopians,  and  a  third  for  the  Greeks  and  Romans.  What 
use  would  it  be  to  the  Indians  if  a  geographer  should  thus 
describe  Boeotia  to  them,  in  the  words  of  Homer  ?  — 

"  The  dwellers  on  the  rocks 
Of  Aulis  follow'd,  with  the  hardy  clans 
Of  Hyria,  Schcenus,  Scolus." 

To  us  this  is  of  value,  while  to  be  acquainted  with  the  Indies 
and  their  various  territorial  divisions  would  be  useless,  as  it 
could  lead  to  no  advantage,  which  is  the  only  criterion  of  the 
worth  of  such  knowledge. 

17.  Even  if  we  descend  to  the  consideration  of  such  trivial 


lO 

matters  as  hunting,  the  case  is  still  the  same  ;  for  he  will  be 
most  successful  in  the  chase  who  is  acquainted  with  the  size 
and  nature  of  the  wood,  and  one  familiar  with  the  locality 
will  be  the  most  competent  to  superintend  an  encampment, 
an  ambush,  or  a  march.  But  it  is  in  great  undertakings  that 
the  truth  shines  out  in  all  its  brilliancy ;  for  here,  while  the 
success  resulting  from  knowledge  is  grand,  the  consequences 
of  ignorance  are  disastrous.  The  fleet  of  Agamemnon,  for  in- 
stance, ravaging  Mysia,  as  if  it  had  been  the  Trojan  territory, 
was  compelled  to  a  shameful  retreat.  Likewise  the  Persians 
and  Libyans,  supposing  certain  straits  to  be  impassable,  were 
very  near  falling  into  great  perils,  and  have  left  behind  them 
memorials  of  their  ignorance;  the  former  a  monument  to  Sal- 
ganeus  on  the  Euripus,  near  Chalcis,  whom  the  Persians  slew, 
for,  as  they  thought,  falsely  conducting  their  fleet  from  the 
Gulf  of  Malea  to  the  Euripus ;  and  the  latter  to  the  memory  of 
Pelorus,  who  was  executed  on  a  like  occasion.  At  the  time  of 
the  expedition  of  Xerxes  the  coasts  of  Greece  were  covered 
with  wrecks,  and  the  emigrations  from  ^Eolia  and  Ionia  furnish 
numerous  instances  of  the  same  calamity.  On  the  other  hand, 
matters  have  come  to  a  prosperous  termination,  when  judi- 
ciously directed  by  a  knowledge  of  the  locality.  Thus  it  was 
at  the  pass  of  Thermopylae  that  Ephialtes  is  reported  to  have 
pointed  out  to  the  Persians  a  pathway  over  the  mountains,  and 
so  placed  the  band  of  Leonidas  at  their  mercy,  and  opened  to 
the  Barbarians  a  passage  into  Pylas.  But,  passing  over  ancient 
occurrences,  we  think  that  the  late  expeditions  of  the  Romans 
against  the  Parthians  furnish  an  excellent  example,  where,  as  in 
those  against  the  Germans  and  Kelts,  the  Barbarians,  taking 
advantage  of  their  situation,  [carried  on  the  war]  in  marshes, 
woods,  and  pathless  deserts,  deceiving  the  ignorant  enemy  as  to 
the  position  of  different  places,  and  concealing  the  roads  and 
the  means  of  obtaining  food  and  necessaries. 

i8.  As  we  have  said,  this  science  has  an  especial  reference 
to  the  occupations  and  requirements  of  statesmen,  with  whom 
also  political  and  ethical  philosophy  is  mainly  concerned ;  and 
here  is  an  evidence.  We  distinguish  the  different  kinds  of  civil 
government  by  the  office  of  their  chief  men,  denominating  one 
government  a  monarchy,  or  kingdom,  another  an  aristocracy,  a 
third  a  democracy ;  for  so  many  we  consider  are  the  forms  of 
government,  and  we  designate  them  by  these  names,  because 
from  them  they  derive  their  primary  characteristic.  For  the 
laws  which  emanate  from  the  sovereign,  from  the  aristocracy, 
and  from  the  people,  all  are  different.     The  law  is,  in  fact,  a  type 


1 1 

of  the  form  of  government.  It  is  on  this  account  that  some 
define  right  to  be  the  interest  of  the  strongest.  If,  therefore, 
political  philosophy  is  advantageous  to  the  ruler,  and  geography 
in  the  actual  government  of  the  country,  this  latter  seems  to 
possess  some  little  superiority.  This  superiority  is  most  observ- 
able in  real  service. 

19.  But  even  the  theoretical  portion  of  geography  is  by  no 
means  contemptible.  On  the  one  hand,  it  embraces  the  arts, 
mathematics,  and  natural  science ;  on  the  other,  history  and 
fable.  Not  that  this  latter  can  have  any  distinct  advantage : 
for  instance,  if  any  one  should  relate  to  us  the  wanderings  of 
Ulysses,  Menelaus,  and  Jason,  he  would  not  seem  to  have 
added  directly  to  our  fund  of  practical  knowledge  thereby 
(which  is  the  only  thing  men  of  the  world  are  interested  in) 
unless  he  should  convey  useful  examples  of  what  those  wan- 
derers were  compelled  to  suffer,  and  at  the  same  time  afford 
matter  of  rational  amusement  to  those  who  interest  themselves 
in  the  places  which  gave  birth  to  such  fables.  Practical  men 
interest  themselves  in  these  pursuits,  since  they  are  at  once 
commendable,  and  afford  them  pleasure,  but  yet  not  to  any 
great  extent.  In  this  class,  too,  will  be  found  those  whose 
main  object  in  life  is  pleasure  and  respectability;  but  these 
by  no  means  constitute  the  majority  of  mankind,  who  naturally 
prefer  that  which  holds  out  some  direct  advantage.  The  geog- 
rapher should  therefore  chiefly  devote  himself  to  what  is  prac- 
tically important.  He  should  follow  the  same  rule  in  regard  to 
history  and  the  mathematics,  selecting  always  that  which  is 
most  useful,  most  intelligible,  and  most  authentic. 

20.  Geometry  and  astronomy,  as  we  before  remarked,  seem 
absolutely  indispensable  in  this  science.  This,  in  fact,  is  evi- 
dent, that  without  some  such  assistance  it  would  be  impossible 
to  be  accurately  acquainted  with  the  configuration  of  the  earth, 
its  climata,  dimensions,  and  the  like  information. 

As  the  size  of  the  earth  has  been  demonstrated  by  other 
writers,  we  shall  here  take  for  granted  and  receive  as  accurate 
what  they  have  advanced.  We  shall  also  assume  that  the  earth 
is  spheroidal,  that  its  surface  is  likewise  spheroidal,  and,  above 
all,  that  bodies  have  a  tendency  towards  its  centre,  which  latter 
point  is  clear  to  the  perception  of  the  most  average  understand- 
ing. However,  we  may  show  summarily  that  the  earth  is  sphe- 
roidal from  the  consideration  that  all  things  however  distant 
tend  to  its  centre,  and  that  every  body  is  attracted  towards  its 
centre  of  gravity :  this  is  more  distinctly  proved  from  'observa- 
tions of  the  sea  and  sky,  for  here  the  evidence  of  the  senses, 


12 

and  common  observation,  is  alone  requisite.  The  convexity  of 
the  sea  is  a  further  proof  of  this  to  those  who  have  sailed ;  for 
they  cannot  perceive  lights  at  a  distance  when  placed  at  the 
same  level  as  their  eyes,  but,  if  raised  on  high,  they  at  once  be- 
come perceptible  to  vision,  though  at  the  same  time  further 
removed.  So,  when  the  eye  is  raised,  it  sees  what  before  was 
utterly  imperceptible.     Homer  speaks  of  this  when  he  says, 

'*  Lifted  up  on  the  vast  wave,  he  quickly  beheld  afar." 

Sailors,  as  they  approach  their  destination,  behold  the  shore 
continually  raising  itself  to  their  view ;  and  objects  which  had 
at  first  seemed  low  begin  to  elevate  themselves.  Our  gnomons, 
also,  are,  among  other  things,  evidence  of  the  revolution  of  the 
heavenly  bodies ;  and  common  sense  at  once  shows  us  that,  if 
the  depth  of  the  earth  were  infinite,  such  a  revolution  could  not 
take  place. 

Every  information  respecting  the  climata  is  contained  in  the 
"  Treatises  on  Positions." 

2  1.  Now  there  are  some  facts  which  we  take  to  be  estab- 
lished ;  namely,  those  with  which  every  politician  and  general 
should  be  familiar.  For  on  no  account  should  they  be  so  unin- 
formed as  to  the  heavens  and  the  position  of  the  earth  that 
when  they  are  in  strange  countries,  where  some  of  the  heavenly 
phenomena  wear  a  different  aspect  to  what  they  have  been  ac- 
customed, they  should  be  in  a  consternation,  and  exclaim, 

"  Neither  west 
Know  we,  nor  east,  where  rises  or  where  sets 
The  all-enlightening  sun." 

Still,  we  do  not  expect  that  they  should  be  such  thorough  mas- 
ters of  the  subject  as  to  know  what  stars  rise  and  set  together 
for  the  different  quarters  of  the  earth  ;  those  which  have  the 
same  meridian  line,  the  elevation  of  the  poles,  the  signs  which 
are  in  the  zenith,  with  all  the  various  phenomena  which  differ 
as  well  in  appearance  as  reality  with  the  variations  of  the 
horizon  and  arctic  circle.  With  some  of  these  matters,  unless 
as  philosophical  pursuits,  they  should  not  burden  themselves  at 
all ;  others  they  must  take  for  granted  without  searching  into 
their  causes.  This  must  be  left  to  the  care  of  the  philosopher ; 
the  statesman  can  have  no  leisure,  or  very  little,  for  such  pur- 
suits. Those  who,  through  carelessness  and  ignorance,  are  not 
familiar  with  the  globe  and  the  circles  traced  upon  it,  some 
parallel  to  each  other,  some  at  right  angles  to  the  former, 
others,  again,  in  an  oblique  direction  ;  nor  yet  with  the  position 
of  the  tropics,  equator,  and  zodiac  (that  circle  through  which 


13 

the  sun  travels  in  his  course,  and  by  which  we  reckon  the 
changes  of  season  and  the  winds), —  such  persons  we  caution 
against  the  perusal  of  our  work.  For  if  a  man  is  neither  prop- 
erly acquainted  with  these  things,  nor  with  the  variations  of  the 
horizon  and  arctic  circle,  and  such  similar  elements  of  mathe- 
matics, how  can  he  comprehend  the  matters  treated  of  here? 
So  for  one  who  does  not  know  a  right  line  from  a  curve,  nor  yet 
a  circle,  nor  a  plane  or  spherical  surface,  nor  the  seven  stars  in 
the  firmament  composing  the  Great  Bear,  and  such  like,  our 
work  is  entirely  useless,  at  least  for  the  present.  Unless  he 
first  acquires  such  information,  he  is  utterly  incompetent  to  the 
study  of  geography.  So  those  who  have  written  the  works  en- 
titled "  On  Ports,"  "  Voyages  round  the  World,"  have  per- 
formed their  task  imperfectly,  since  they  have  omitted  to  sup- 
ply the  requisite  information  from  mathematics  and  astronomy. 

22.  The  present  undertaking  is  composed  in  a  lucid  style, 
suitable  alike  to  the  statesman  and  the  general  reader,  after 
the  fashion  of  my  History.  By  a  statesman  we  do  not  intend 
an  illiterate  person,  but  one  who  has  gone  through  the  course 
of  a  liberal  and  philosophical  education.  For  a  man  who  has 
bestowed  no  attention  on  virtue  or  intelligence,  nor  what  con- 
stitutes them,  must  be  incompetent  either  to  blame  or  praise, 
still  less  to  decide  what  actions  are  worthy  to  be  placed  on 
record. 

23.  Having  already  compiled  our  Historical  Memoirs,  which, 
as  we  conceive,  are  a  valuable  addition  both  to  political  and 
moral  philosophy,  we  have  now  determined  to  follow  it  up  with 
the  present  work,  which  has  been  prepared  on  the  same  system 
as  the  former,  and  for  the  same  class  of  readers,  but  more 
particularly  for  those  who  are  in  high  stations  of  life.  And 
as  our  former  production  contains  only  the  most  striking  events 
in  the  lives  of  distinguished  m^en,  omitting  trifling  and  unim- 
portant incidents,  so  here  it  will  be  proper  to  dismiss  small 
and  doubtful  particulars,  and  merely  call  attention  to  great  and 
remarkable  transactions,  such  in  fact  as  are  useful,  memorable, 
and  entertaining.  In  the  colossal  works  of  the  sculptor  we  do 
not  descend  into  a  minute  examination  of  particulars,  but  look 
principally  for  perfection  in  the  general  ensemble.  This  is  the 
only  method  of  criticism  applicable  to  the  present  work.  Its 
proportions,  so  to  speak,  are  colossal ;  it  deals  in  the  general- 
ities and  main  outlines  of  things,  except  now  and  then,  when 
some  minor  detail  can  be  selected,  calculated  to  be  serviceable 
to  the  seeker  after  knowledge  or  the  man  of  business. 

We  now  think  we  have  demonstrated  that  our  presenr  under- 


15 

taking  is  one  that  requires  great  care,  and  is  well  worthy  of  a 
philosopher. 

Strabo,  the  most  famous  geographer  of  ancient  times,  Jived  just  at  the 
beginning  of  our  era.  He  was  born  at  Amasea  in  Pontus,  about  sixty  years 
before  the  birth  of  Christ,  and  died,  probably  at  Rome,  about  twenty-five 
years  after  the  birth  of  Christ, —  that  is,  just  as  Christ  was  beginning  his 
public  ministry.  He  lived,  therefore,  during  the  reign  at  Rome  of  Julius 
Ccesar,  Augustus,  and  Tiberius.  His  earliest  writings  were  two  historical 
works  now  lost.  Plutarch  calls  him  "the  philosopher,"  and  quotes  his 
Memoirs.  But  his  great  work  is  his  Geography.  There  had  been  Greek 
geographers  before  Strabo,  and  Eratosthenes  is  considered  by  some  scholars 
an  even  greater  geographer  than  Strabo ;  but  Strabo's  work  is  the  most 
comprehensive  that  had  been  attempted  up  to  his  time,  giving  a  survey  of 
the  whole  world  as  then  known.  His  work,  as  Humboldt  remarked,  "  sur- 
passes all  the  geographical  writings  of  antiquity,  both  in  grandeur  of  plan 
and  in  the  abundance  and  variety  of  its  materials."  Strabo  was  a  great 
traveller,  although  he  had  of  course  seen  but  a  comparatively  small  portion 
of  the  regions  he  describes,  and  necessarily  relies  on  other  travellers  and 
writers.  He  had  a  passionate  love  for  Homer,  as  appears  from  the  passage 
given  in  the  present  leaflet,  and  accepted  fully  the  Homeric  geography. 
Towards  Herodotus,  on  the  other  hand,  he  is  very  unjust,  and  his  slight 
regard  for  the  accounts  of  Herodotus  betrays  him  into  mistakes.  He  refers 
to  Caesar's  Commentaries  once,  and  evidently  made  further  use  of  them. 
He  designed  his  work,  he  tells  us,  largely  for  the  statesman ;  and  his  obser- 
vations upon  the  people,  productions,  and  political  conditions  of  the  dif- 
ferent countries  are  therefore  especially  full. 

Strabo's  Geography  consists  of  seventeen  books.  The  first  two  form 
a  general  introduction,  the  next  ten  deal  with  Europe,  the  four  following 
with  Asia,  and  the  last  with  Africa.  His  discussions,  in  his  introduction,  of 
the  changes  in  the  earth's  surface  effected  by  earthquakes  and  otherwise 
are  praised  by  Sir  Charles  Lyell  and  others  for  the  soundness  of  their  geo- 
logical theories.  He  denies  the  existence  of  Thule,  making  Ireland  (lerne), 
which  he  places  north  of  Britain,  the  farthest  land  in  that  direction.  He 
regards  the  Caspian  Sea  as  opening  into  the  Northern  Ocean,  here  follow- 
ing Patrocles.  Of  Eastern  Asia  and  Northern  Africa  of  course  he  knows 
but  little.  He  held  the  earth  to  be  spherical,  and  placed  in  the  centre  of 
the  universe.  His  illustrations  of  the  spheroidal  form  of  the  earth  are  the 
same  as  in  our  own  school  geographies.  The  earth's  circumference  he  makes 
25,200  geographical  miles.  He  gives  directions  for  making  a  plane  map  of 
the  world,  as  a  globe  of  sufiicient  size  is  so  cumbrous.  The  most  famous 
passage  in  his  book  is  that  (Book  I.,  chap,  iv.,  §  6)  in  which  he  conjectures 
that,  as  the  inhabited  world  was  only  one-third  of  the  globe's  circumference, 
there  might  be  two  or  more  continents  besides  that  then  known.  "  It  is 
quite  possible,"  are  his  words,  "  that  in  the  temperate  zone  there  may  be 
two  or  even  more  habitable  earths,  especially  near  the  circle  of  latitude 
which  is  drawn  through  Athens  and  the  Atlantic  Ocean." 

There  is  an  English  translation  of  Strabo's  Geography,  in  three  vol- 
umes, in  Bohn's  Library.  The  student  should  also  read  the  article  on 
Strabo  in  the  Encyclopsedia  Britannica.  The  more  thorough  student  will 
consult  Bunbury's  great  History  of  Ancient  Geography :  the  account  of 
Strabo  and  his  work  is  in  the  second  volume  of  this  work.  The  work  is 
full  of  most  valuable  maps  of  the  world,  according  to  Eratosthenes, 
Ptolemy,  and  others,  including  the  map  reproduced  in  the  present  leaflet. 


i6 

In  the  Narrative  and  Critical  History  of  America,  vol.  i.,  there  is  a 
valuable  chapter  on  "  The  Geographical  Knowledge  of  the  Ancients  consid- 
ered in  Relation  to  the  Discovery  of  America,"  by  William  H.  Tillinghast, 
which  should  have  special  attention. 

On  the  whole,  it  is  remarkable  how  little  geographical  science  was 
extended  between  the  time  of  Strabo  and  the  time  of  Columbus,  although 
the  travels  of  Marco  Polo  and  the  explorations  of  the  Portuguese  naviga- 
tors were,  of  course,  most  important.  The  name  of  Ptolemy,  who  lived 
about  one  hundred  and  fifty  years  after  Christ,  was  still  the  dominant  name 
in  geographv  in  the  fifteenth  century.  The  student  is  referred  to  the  allu- 
sions to  Ptolemy  and  the  other  early  geographers  down  to  Toscanelli,  who 
corresponded  with  Columbus  and  furnished  him  with  the  map  of  the  world 
which  he  carried  with  him  on  his  voyage,  in  the  first  volume  of  Fiske's 
Discove?y  of  America,  pp.  263,  etc.  This  work  of  Mr.  Fiske's  covers  the 
whole  period  treated  in  the  Old  South  lectures  for  1892,  in  a  most  interest- 
ing and  thorough  manner;  and  it  is  especially  commended  for  reading  in 
connection  with  the  subject. 


OLD    SOUTH   LEAFLETS,    GENERAL   SERIES. 

These  Leaflets,  issued  by  the  Directors  of  the  Old  South  Studies  in 
History,  are  largely  reproductions  of  important  original  papers,  accompa- 
nied by  historical  and  bibliographical  notes.  They  consist,  on  an  average, 
of  sixteen  pages,  and  are  sold  at  the  low  price  of  five  cents  a  copy,  or  three 
dollars  per  hundred.  The  Old  South  work  is  a  work  for  the  education  of 
the  people,  and  especially  the  education  of  our  young  people  in  American 
history  and  politics  ;  and  its  promoters  believe  that  few  things  can  contribute 
better  to  this  end  than  the  wide  circulation  of  such  Leaflets  as  these.  The 
aim  is  to  bring  important  original  documents  within  easy  reach  of  everybody. 
It  is  hoped  that  professors  in  our  colleges  and  teachers  everywhere  will  wel- 
come them  for  use  in  their  class'es,  and  that  they  may  meet  the  needs  of  the 
societies  of  young  men  and  women  now  happily  being  organized  in  so  many 
places  for  historical  and  political  studies.  There  are  at  present  28  leaflets 
in  this  general  series,  and  others  will  rapidly  follow.  The  following  are  the 
titles  of  those  now  ready  : 

No.  I.  The  Constitution  of  the  United  States.  2.  The  Articles  of 
Confederation.  3.  The  Declaration  of  Independence.  4.  Washington's 
Farewell  Address.  5.  Magna  Charta.  6.  Vane's  "  Healing  Question." 
7,  Charter  of  Massachusetts  Bay,  1629.  8.  Fundamental  Orders  of  Connect- 
icut, 1638.  9.  Franklin's  Plan  of  Union,  1754.  10.  Washington's  Inaugu- 
rals. II.  Lincoln's  Inaugurals  and  Emancipation  Proclamation.  12.  The 
Federalist,  Nos.  i  and  2.  13.  The  Ordinance  of  1787.  14.  The  Constitu- 
tion of  Ohio.*  15.  Washington's  Letter  to  the  Governors  of  the  States, 
1783.  16.  Washington's  Letter  to  Benjamin  Plarrison,  1784.  17.  Verraz- 
zano's  Voyage,  1524.  18.  The  Swiss  Constitution.*  19.  The  Bill  of  Rights, 
1689.  20.  Coronado's  Letter  to  Mendoza,  1540.  21.  Eliot's  Brief  Narra- 
tive of  Work  among  the  Indians,  1670.  22.  Wheelock's  Narrative  of  the 
Founding  of  his  Indian  School,  1762.  23.  The  Petition  of  Rights,  1628. 
24.  The  Grand  Remonstrance.     2^.  The  Scottish  National  Covenants.     26. 


GENERAL  SERIES,  No.  31. 

The  Voyages  to 
Vinland. 


From  the  Saga  of  Eric  the  Red. 


LEIF    THE    LUCKY    BAPTIZED. 

After  that  sixteen  winters  had  lapsed,  from  the  time  when 
Eric  the  Red-  went  to  colonize  Greenland,  Leif,  Eric's  son, 
sailed  out  from  Greenland  to  Norway.  He  arrived  in  Dron- 
theim  in  the  autumn,  when  King  Olaf  Tryggvason  was  come 
down  from  the  North,  out  of  Halagoland.  Leif  put  into 
Nidaros  with  his  ship,  and  set  out  at  once  to  visit  the  king. 
King  Olaf  expounded  the  faith  to  him,  as  he  did  to  other 
heathen  men  who  came  to  visit  him.  It  proved  easy  for  the 
king  to  persuade  Leif,  and  he  was  accordingly  baptized,  to- 
gether with  all  of  his  shipmates.  Leif  remained  throughout  the 
winter  with  the  king,  by  whom  he  w^as  well  entertained. 

BIARNI    GOES    IN    QUEST    OF    GREENLAND. 

Heriulf  was  a  son  of  Bard  Heriulfsson.  He  was  a  kinsman 
of  Ingolf,  the  first  colonist.  Ingolf  allotted  land  to  Heriulf 
between  Vag  and  Reykianess,  and  he  dwelt  at  first  at  Drep- 
stokk.  Heriulfs  wife's  name  was  Thorgerd,  and  their  son, 
whose  name  was  Biarni,  was  a  most  promising  man.  He 
formed  an  inclination  for  voyaging  while  he  was  still  young, 
and  he  prospered  both  in  property  and  public  esteem.  It  was 
his  custom  to  pass  his  winters  alternately  abroad  and  with  his 
father.  Biarni  soon  became  the  owner  of  a  trading-ship ;  and 
during  the  last  winter  that  he  spent  in  Norway  [his  father] 
Heriulf  determined  to  accompany  Eric  on  his  voyage  to  Green- 
land, and  made  his  preparations  to  give  up  his  farm.  Upon 
the  ship  with  Heriulf  was  a  Christian  man  from  the  Hebrides, 


he  it  was  who  composed  the  Sea-Roller's  Song,  which  contains 

this  stave : 

"  Mine  adventure  to  the  Meek  One, 

Monk-heart-searcher,  I  commit  now ; 
He,  who  heaven's  halls  doth  govern. 
Hold  the  hawk's-seat  ever  o'er  me  !  " 

Heriulf  settled  at  Heriulfsness,  and  was  a  most  distinguished 
man.  Eric  the  Red  dwelt  at  Brattahlid,  where  he  was  held  in 
the  highest  esteem,  and  all  men  paid  him  homage.  These 
were  Eric's  children :  Leif,  Thorvald,  and  Thorstein,  and  a 
daughter  whose  name  was  Freydis ;  she  was  wedded  to  a  man 
named  Thorvard,  and  they  dwelt  at  Gardar,  where  the  episco- 
pal seat  now  is.  She  was  a  very  haughty  woman,  while  Thor- 
vard was  a  man  of  little  force  of  character,  and  Freydis  had 
been  wedded  to  him  chiefly  because  of  his  wealth.  At  that 
time  the  people  of  Greenland  were  heathen. 

Biarni  arrived  with  his  ship  at  Eyrar  [in  Iceland]  in  the  sum- 
mer of  the  same  year,  in  the  spring  of  which  his  father  had 
sailed  away.  Biarni  was  much  surprised  when  he  heard  this 
news,  and  would  not  discharge  his  cargo.  His  shipmates  in- 
quired of  him  what  he  intended  to  do,  and  he  replied  that  it 
was  his  purpose  to  keep  to  his  custom,  and  make  his  home  for 
the  winter  with  his  father ;  "  and  I  will  take  the  ship  to  Green- 
land, if  you  will  bear  me  company."  They  all  replied  that  they 
would  abide  by  his  decision.  Then  said  Biarni,  "Our  voyage 
must  be  regarded  as  foolhardy,  seeing  that  no  one  of  us  has 
ever  been  in  the  Greenland  Sea."  Nevertheless,  they  put  out 
to  sea  when  they  were  equipped  for  the  voyage,  and  sailed  for 
three  days,  until  the  land  was  hidden  by  the  water,  and  then 
the  fair  wind  died  out,  and  north  winds  arose,  and  fogs,  and 
they  knew  not  whither  they  were  drifting,  and  thus  it  lasted  for 
many  "  doegr."  Then  they  saw  the  sun  again,  and  were  able  to 
determine  the  quarters  of  the  heavens ;  they  hoisted  sail,  and 
sailed  that  "doegr"  through  before  they  saw  land.  They  dis- 
cussed among  themselves  what  land  it  could  be,  and  Biarni 
said  that  he  did  not  believe  that  it  could  be  Greenland.  They 
asked  whether  he  wished  to  sail  to  this  land  or  not.  "  It  is  my 
counsel "  [said  he]  "  to  sail  close  to  the  land."  They  did  so, 
and  soon  saw  that  the  land  was  level,  and  covered  with  woods, 
and  that  there  were  small  hillocks  upon  it.  They  left  the  land 
on  their  larboard,  and  let  the  sheet  turn  toward  the  land.  They 
sailed  for  two  "doegr"  before  they  saw  another  land.  They 
asked  whether  Biarni  thought  this  was  Greenland  yet.  He  re- 
plied that  he  did  not  think  this  any  more  like  Greenland  than 


the  former,  "because  in  Greenland  there  are  said  to  be  many- 
great  ice  mountains."  They  soon  approached  this  land,  and 
saw  that  it  was  a  flat  and  wooded  country.  The  fair  wind 
failed  them  then,  and  the  crew  took  counsel  together,  and  con- 
cluded that  it  would  be  wise  to  land  there,  but  Biarni  would  not 
consent  to  this.  They  alleged  that  they  were  in  need  of  both 
wood  and  water.  "Ye  have  no  lack  of  either  of  these,"  says 
Biarni, — a  course,  forsooth,  which  won  him  blame  among  his 
shipmates.  He  bade  them  hoist  sail,  which  they  did,  and  turn- 
ing the  prow  from  the  land  they  sailed  out  upon  the  high  seas, 
with  south-westerly  gales,  for  three  "  doegr,"  when  they  saw  the 
third  land ;  this  land  was  high  and  mountainous,  with  ice  moun- 
tains upon  it.  They  asked  Biarni  then  whether  he  v/ould  land 
there,  and  he  replied  that  he  was  not  disposed  to  do  so,  "  be- 
cause this  land  does  not  appear  to  me  to  offer  any  attractions." 
Nor  did  they  lower  their  sail,  but  held  their  course  off  the  land, 
and  saw  that  it  was  an  island.  They  left  this  land  astern,  and 
held  out  to  sea  with  the  same  fair  wind.  The  wind  waxed 
amain,  and  Biarni  directed  them  to  reef,  and  not  to  sail  at  a 
speed  unbefitting  their  ship  and  rigging.  They  sailed  now  for 
four  "doegr,"  when  they  saw  the  fourth  land.  Again  they  asked 
Biarni  whether  he  thought  this  could  be  Greenland  or  not. 
Biarni  answers,  "  This  is  likest  Greenland,  according  to  that 
which  has  been  reported  to  me  concerning  it,  and  here  we  will 
steer  to  the  land."  They  directed  their  course  thither,  and 
landed  in  the  evening,  below  a  cape  upon  which  there  was  a 
boat,  and  there,  upon  this  cape,  dwelt  Heriulf,  Biarni's  father, 
whence  the  cape  took  its  name,  and  was  afterward  called  Heri- 
ulfsness.  Biarni  now  went  to  his  father,  gave  up  his  voyaging, 
and  remained  with  his  father  while  Heriulf  lived,  and  continued 
to  live  there  after  his  father. 

HERE    BEGINS    THE    BRIEF    HISTORY    OF    THE    GREENLAInIDERS. 

Next  to  this  is  now  to  be  told  how  Biarni  Heriulfsson  came 
out  from  Greenland  on  a  visit  to  Earl  Eric,  by  whom  he  was 
well  received.  Biarni  gave  an  account  of  his  travels  [upon  the 
occasion]  when  he  saw  the  lands,  and  the  people  thought  that 
he  had  been  lacking  in  enterprise,  since  he  had  no  report  to 
give  concerning  these  countries ;  and  the  fact  brought  him  re- 
proach. Biarni  v/as  appointed  one  of  the  Earl's  men,  and  went 
out  to  Greenland  the  following  summer.  There  was  now  much 
talk  about  voyages  of  discovery.  Leif,  the  son  of  Eric  the  Red, 
of  Brattahlid,  visited  Biarni  Heriulfsson  and  bought  a  ship  of 


him,  and  collected  a  crew,  until  they  formed  altogether  a  com- 
pany of  thirty-five  men.  Leif  invited  his  father,  Eric,  to  be- 
come the  leader  of  the  expedition,  but  Eric  declined,  saying 
that  he  was  then  stricken  in  years,  and  adding  that  he  was  less 
able  to  endure  the  exposure  of  sea  life  than  he  had  been.  Leif 
replied  that  he  would  nevertheless  be  the  one  who  would  be 
most  apt  to  bring  good  luck,  and  Eric  yielded  to  Leif's  solicita- 
tion, and  rode  from  home  when  they  were  ready  to  sail.  When 
he  was  but  a  short  distance  from  the  ship,  the  horse  which  Eric 
was  riding  stumbled,  and  he  was  thrown  from  his  back  and 
wounded  his  foot,  whereupon  he  exclaimed,  "  It  is  not  designed 
for  me  to  discover  more  lands  than  the  one  in  which  we  are 
now  living,  nor  can  we  now  continue  longer  together."  Eric 
returned  home  to  Brattahlid,  and  Leif  pursued  his  way  to  the 
ship  with  his  companions,  thirty-five  men.  One  of  the  company 
was  a  German,  named  Tyrker.  They  put  the  ship  in  order; 
and,  when  they  were  ready,  they  sailed  out  to  sea,  and  found 
first  that  land  which  Biarni  and  his  shipmates  found  last.  They 
sailed  up  to  the  land,  and  cast  anchor,  and  launched  a  boat,  and 
went  ashore,  and  saw  no  grass  there.  Great  ice  mountains  lay 
inland  back  from  the  sea,  and  it  was  as  a  [tableland  of]  flat  rock 
all  the  way  from  the  sea  to  the  ice  mountains  ;  and  the  country 
seemed  to  them  to  be  entirely  devoid  of  good  qualities.  Then 
said  Leif,  "  It  has  not  come  to  pass  with  us  in  regard  to  this 
land  as  with  Biarni,  that  we  have  not  gone  upon  it.  To  this 
country  I  will  now  give  a  name,  and  call  it  Helluland."  They 
returned  to  the  ship,  put  out  to  sea,  and  found  a  second  land. 
They  sailed  again  to  the  land,  and  came  to  anchor,  and  launched 
the  boat,  and  went  ashore.  This  was  a  level  wooded  land; 
and  there  were  broad  stretches  of  white  sand  where  they 
went,  and  the  land  was  level  by  the  sea.  Then  said  Leif, 
"This  land  shall  have  a  name  after  its  nature ;  and  we  will  call 
it  Markland."  They  returned  to  the  ship  forthwith,  and  sailed 
away  upon  the  main  with  north-east  winds,  and  were  out  two 
*'doegr"  before  they  sighted  land.  They  sailed  toward  this 
land,  and  came  to  an  island  which  lay  to  the  northward  off  the 
land.  There  they  went  ashore  and  looked  about  them,  the 
weather  being  fine,  and  they  observed  that  there  was  dew  upon 
the  grass,  and  it  so  happened  that  they  touched  the  dew  with 
their  hands,  and  touched  their  hands  to  their  mouths,  and  it 
seemed  to  them  that  they  had  never  before  tasted  anything  so 
sweet  as  this.  They  went  aboard  their  ship  again  and  sailed 
into  a  certain  sound,  which  lay  between  the  island  and  a  cape, 
which  jutted  out  from  the  land  on  the  north,  and  they  stood  in 


5 

westering  past  the  cape.  At  ebb-tide  there  were  broad  reaches 
of  shallow  water  there,  and  they  ran  their  ship  aground  there, 
and  it  was  a  long  distance  from  the  ship  to  the  ocean ;  yet  were 
they  so  anxious  to  go  ashore  that  they  could  not  wait  until  the 
tide  should  rise  under  their  ship,  but  hastened  to  the  land, 
where  a  certain  river  flows  out  from  a  lake.  As  soon  as  the 
tide  rose  beneath  their  ship,  however,  they  took  the  boat  and 
rowed  to  the  ship,  which  they  conveyed  up  the  river,  and  so  into 
the  lake,  where  they  cast  anchor  and  carried  their  hammocks 
ashore  from  the  ship,  and  built  themselves  booths  there.  They 
afterward  determined  to  establish  themselves  there  for  the 
winter,  and  they  accordingly  built  a  large  house.  There  was 
no  lack  of  salmon  there  either  in  the  river  or  in  the  lake,  and 
larger  salmon  than  they  had  ever  seen  before.  The  country 
thereabouts  seemed  to  be  possessed  of  such  good  qualities  that 
cattle  would  need  no  fodder  there  during  the  winters.  There 
was  no  frost  there  in  the  winters,  and  the  grass  withered  but 
little.  The  days  and  nights  there  were  of  more  nearly  equal 
length  than  in  Greenland  or  Iceland.  On  the  shortest  day  of 
winter,  the  sun  was  up  between  "eyktarstad"  and  "dagmal- 
astad."  When  they  had  completed  their  house,  Leif  said  to  his 
companions,  "  I  propose  now  to  divide  our  company  into  two 
groups,  and  to  set  about  an  exploration  of  the  country.  One-half 
of  our  party  shall  remain  at  home  at  the  house,  while  the  other 
half  shall  investigate  the  land ;  and  they  must  not  go  beyond 
a  point  from  which  they  can  return  home  the  same  evening,  and 
are  not  to  separate  [from  each  other].  Thus  they  did  for 
a  time.  Leif,  himself,  by  turns  joined  the  exploring  party,  or 
remained  behind  at  the  house.  Leif  was  a  large  and  powerful 
man,  and  of  a  most  imposing  bearing, —  a  man  of  sagacity,  and 
a  very  just  man  in  all  things. 

LEIF    THE    LUCKY    FINDS    MEN    UPON    A    SKERRY   AT    SEA. 

It  was  discovered  one  evening  that  one  of  their  company  was 
missing  ;  and  this  proved  to  be  Tyrker,  the  German.  Leif  was 
sorely  troubled  by  this,  for  Tyrker  had  lived  with  Leif  and  his 
father  for  a  long  time,  and  had  been  very  devoted  to  Leif  when 
he  was  a  child.  Leif  severely  reprimanded  his  companions, 
and  prepared  to  go  in  search  of  him,  taking  twelve  men  with 
him.  They  had  proceeded  but  a  short  distance  from  the  house, 
when  they  were  met  by  Tyrker,  whom  they  received  most  cor- 
dially. Leif  observed  at  once  that  his  foster-father  was  in  lively 
spirits.     Tyrker  had  a  prominent  forehead,  restless  eyes,  small 


features,  was  diminutive  in  stature,  and  rather  a  sorry-looking 
individual  withal,  but  was,  nevertheless,  a  most  capable  handi- 
craftsman. Leif  addressed  him,  and  asked,  "Wherefore  art 
thou  so  belated,  foster-father  mine,  and  astray  from  the 
others  ? ''  In  the  beginning  Tyrker  spoke  for  some  time  in 
German,  rolling  his  eyes  and  grinning,  and  they  could  not 
understand  him;  but  after  a  time  he  addressed  them  in  the 
Northern  tongue :  "  I  did  not  go  much  further  \than  you], 
and  yet  I  have  something  of  novelty  to  relate.  I  have  found 
vines  and  grapes."  "Is  this  indeed  true,  foster-father  ? "  said 
Leif.  "  Of  a  certainty  it  is  true,"  quoth  he,  "  for  I  was  born 
where  there  is  no  lack  of  either  grapes  or  vines."  They 
slept  the  night  through,  and  on  the  morrow  Leif  said  to 
his  shipmates,  "  We  will  now  divide  our  labors,  and  each  day 
will  either  gather  grapes  or  cut  vines  and  fell  trees,  so  as  to 
obtain  a  cargo  of  these  for  my  ship."  They  acted  upon  this 
advice,  and  it  is  said  that  their  after-boat  was  filled  with  grapes. 
A  cargo  sufficient  for  the  ship  was  cut,  and  when  the  spring 
came  they  made  their  ship  ready,  and  sailed  away;  and  from 
its  products  Leif  gave  the  land  a  name,  and  called  it  Wineland. 
They  sailed  out  to  sea,  and  had  fair  winds  until  they  sighted 
Greenland  and  the  fells  below  the  glaciers.  Then  one  of  the 
men  spoke  up  and  said,  "  Why  do  you  steer  the  ship  so  much 
into  the  wind  ? "  Leif  answers  :  "  I  have  my  mind  upon  my 
steering,  but  on  other  matters  as  well.  Do  ye  not  see  anything 
out  of  the  common  ? "  They  replied  that  they  saw  nothing 
strange.  "  I  do  not  know,"  says  Leif,  "  whether  it  is  a  ship  or 
a  skerry  that  I  see."  Now  they  saw  it,  and  said  that  it  must  be 
a  skerry ;  but  he  was  so  much  keener  of  sight  than  they  that 
he  was  able  to  discern  men  upon  the  skerry.  "  I  think  it  best 
to  tack,"  says  Leif,  "  so  that  we  may  draw  near  to  them,  that 
we  may  be  able  to  rerider  them  assistance  if  they  should  stand 
in  need  of  it ;  and,  if  they  should  not  be  peaceably  disposed,  we 
shall  still  have  better  command  of  the  situation  than  they." 
They  approached  the  skerry,  and,  lowering  their  sail,  cast 
anchor,  and  launched  a  second  small  boat,  which  they  had 
brought  with  them.  Tyrker  inquired  who  was  the  leader  of 
the  party.  He  replied  that  his  name  was  Thori,  and  that  he 
was  a  Norseman;  "but  what  is  thy  name.?"  Leif  gave  his 
name.  "  Art  thou  a  son  of  Eric  the  Red  of  Brattahlid .?  "  says 
he.  Leif  responded  that  he  was.  "  It  is  now  my  wish,"  says 
Leif,  "to  take  you  all  into  my  ship,  and  likewise  so  much  of 
your  possessions  as  the  ship  will  hold."  This  offer  was  ac- 
cepted,   and    [with    their   ship]  thus  laden   they  held   away  to 


Ericsfirth,  and  sailed  until  they  arrived  at  Brattahlid.  Having 
discharged  the  cargo,  Leif  invited  Thori,  with  his  wife,  Gudrid, 
and  three  others,  to  make  their  home  with  him,  and  procured 
quarters  for  the  other  members  of  the  crew,  both  for  his  own 
and  Thori's  men.  Leif  rescued  fifteen  persons  from  the  skerry. 
He  was  afterwards  called  Leif  the  Lucky.  Leif  had  now 
goodly  store  both  of  property  and  honor.  There  was  serious 
illness  that  winter  in  Thori's  party,  and  Thori  and  a  great  num- 
ber of  his  people  died.  Eric  the  Red  also  died  that  winter. 
There  was  now  much  talk  about  Leif's  Wineland  journey;  and 
his  brother,  Thorvald,  held  that  the  country  had  not  been  sufh- 
ciently  explored.  Thereupon  Leif  said  to  Thorvald,  "  If  it  be 
thy  will,  brother,  thou  mayest  go  to  Wineland  with  my  ship ; 
but  I  wish  the  ship  first  to  fetch  the  wood  which  Thori  had 
upon  the  skerry."     And  so  it  was  done. 

THORVALD    GOES    TO    WINELAND. 

Now  Thorvald,  with  the  advice  of  his  brother,  Leif,  prepared 
to  make  this  voyage  with  thirty  men.  They  put  their  ship  in 
order,  and  sailed  out  to  sea ;  and  there  is  no  account  of  their 
voyage  before  their  arrival  at  Leifs-booths  in  Wineland.  They 
laid  up  their  ship  there,  and  remained  there  quietly  during  the 
winter,  supplying  themselves  with  food  by  fishing.  In  the 
spring,  however,  Thorvald  said  that  they  should  put  their  ship  in 
order,  and  that  a  few  men  should  take  the  after-boat,  and  pro- 
ceed along  the  western  coast,  and  explore  [the  region]  there- 
abouts during  the  summer.  They  found  it  a  fair,  well-wooded 
country.  It  was  but  a  short  distance  from  the  woods  to  the  sea, 
and  [there  were]  white  sands,  as  well  as  great  numbers  of 
islands  and  shallows.  They  found  neither  dwelling  of  man  nor 
lair  of  beast ;  but  in  one  of  the  westerly  islands  they  found  a 
wooden  building  for  the  shelter  of  grain.  Tiiey  found  no  other 
trace  of  human  handiwork;  and  they  turned  back,  and  arrived 
at  Leifs-booths  in  the  autumn.  The  following  summer  Thor- 
vald set  out  toward  the  east  with  the  ship,  and  along  the  north- 
ern coast.  They  were  met  by  a  high  wind  off  a  certain  prom- 
ontory, and  were  driven  ashore  there,  and  damaged  the  keel  of 
their  ship,  and  were  compelled  to  remain  there  for  a  long  time 
and  repair  the  injury  to  their  vessel.  Then  said  Thorvald  to 
his  companions,  "I  propose  that  we  raise  the  keel  upon  this 
cape,  and  call  it  Keelness  "  ;  and  so  they  did.  Then  they  sailed 
away  to  the  eastward  off  the  land  and  into  the  mouth  of  the 
adjoining  firth  and  to  a  headland,  which  projected  into  the  sea 


8 

there,  and  which  was  entirely  covered  with  woods.  They  found 
an  anchorage  for  their  ship,  and  put  out  the  gangway  to  the 
land ;  and  Thorvald  and  all  of  his  companions  went  ashore. 
"It  is  a  fair  region  here,"  said  he;  "and  here  I  should  like 
to  make  my  home."  They  then  returned  to  the  ship,  and  dis- 
covered on  the  sands,  in  beyond  the  headland,  three  mounds : 
they  went  up  to  these,  and  saw  that  they  were  three  skin 
canoes  with  three  men  under  each.  They  thereupon  di- 
vided their  party,  and  succeeded  in  seizing  all  of  the  men  but 
one,  who  escaped  with  his  canoe.  They  killed  the  eight  men, 
and  then  ascended  the  headland  again,  and  looked  about  them, 
and  discovered  within  the  firth  certain  hillocks,  which  they  con- 
cluded must  be  habitations.  They  were  then  so  overpowered 
with  sleep  that  they  could  not  keep  awake,  and  all  fell  into  a 
[heavy]  slumber  from  which  they  were  awakened  by  the  sound 
of  a  cry  uttered  above  them ;  and  the  words  of  the  cry  were 
these :  "  Awake,  Thorvald,  thou  and  all  thy  company,  if  thou 
wouldst  save  thy  life ;  and  board  thy  ship  with  all  thy  men,  and 
sail  with  all  speed  from  the  land ! "  A  countless  number  of 
skin  canoes  then  advanced  toward  them  from  the  inner  part  of 
the  firth,  whereupon  Thorvald  exclaimed,  "We  must  put  out 
the  war-boards  on  both  sides  of  the  ship,  and  defend  ourselves 
to  the  best  of  our  ability,  but  offer  little  attack."  This  they 
did ;  and  the  Skrellings,  after  they  had  shot  at  them  for  a  time, 
fled  precipitately,  each  as  best  he  could.  Thorvald  then 
inquired  of  his  men  whether  any  of  them  had  been  wounded, 
and  they  informed  him  that  no  one  of  them  had  received  a 
wound.  "  I  have  been  wounded  in  my  arm-pit,"  says  he.  "  An 
arrow  flew  in  between  the  gunwale  and  the  shield,  below  my 
arm.  Here  is  the  shaft,  and  it  will  bring  me  to  my  end.  I 
counsel  you  now  to  retrace  your  way  with  the  utmost  speed. 
But  me  ye  shall  convey  to  that  headland  which  seemed  to  me 
to  offer  so  pleasant  a  dwelling-place  :  thus  it  may  be  fulfilled 
that  the  truth  sprang  to  my  lips  when  I  expressed  the  wish  to 
abide  there  for  a  time.  Ye  shall  bury  me  there,  and  place  a 
cross  at  my  head,  and  another  at  my  feet,  and  call  it  Crossness 
forever  after."  At  that  time  Christianity  had  obtained  in 
Greenland :  Eric  the  Red  died,  however,  before  [the  introduc- 
tion of]  Christianity. 

Thorvald  died ;  and,  when  they  had  carried  out  his  injunc- 
tions, they  took  their  departure,  and  rejoined  their  companions, 
and  they  told  each  other  of  the  experiences  which  had  befallen 
them.  They  remained  there  during  the  winter,  and  gathered 
grapes  and  wood  with  which  to  freight  the  ship.     In  the  follow- 


ing  spring  they  returned  to  Greenland,  and  arrived  with  their 
ship  in  Ericsfirth,  where  they  were  able  to  recount  great  tidings 
to  Leif. 

THORSTEIN    ERICSSON    DIES    IN    THE    WESTERN    SETTLEMENT. 

In  the  mean  time  it  had  come  to  pass  in  Greenland  that  Thor- 
stein  of  Ericsfirth  had  married,  and  taken  to  wife  Gudrid,  Thor- 
brion's  daughter,  [she]  who  had  been  the  spouse  of  Thori  East- 
man, as  has  been  already  related.  Now  Thorstein  Ericsson, 
being  minded  to  make  the  voyage  to  Wineland  after  the  body  of 
his  brother,  Thorvald,  equipped  the  same  ship,  and  selected  a 
crew  of  twenty-five  men  of  good  size  and  strength,  and  taking 
with  him  his  wife,  Gudrid,  when  all  was  in  readiness,  they  sailed 
out  into  the  open  ocean,  and  out  of  sight  of  land.  They  were 
driven  hither  and  thither  over  the  sea  all  that  summer,  and  lost 
all  reckoning;  and  at  the  end  of  the  first  week  of  winter  they 
made  the  land  at  Lysufirth  in  Greenland,  in  the  Western  settle- 
ment. Thorstein  set  out  in  search  of  quarters  for  his  crew,  and 
succeeded  in  procuring  homes  for  all  of  his  shipmates ;  but  he 
and  his  wife  were  unprovided  for,  and  remained  together  upon 
the  ship  for  two  or  more  days.  At  this  time  Christianity  was 
still  in  its  infancy  in  Greenland.  [Here  follows  the  account  of 
Thorstein's  sickness  and  death  in  the  winter.]  .  .  .  When  he  had 
thus  spoken,  Thorstein  sank  back  again ;  and  his  body  was  laid 
out  for  burial,  and  borne  to  the  ship.  Thorstein,  the  master, 
faithfully  performed  all  his  promises  to  Gudrid.  He  sold  his 
lands  and  live  stock  in  the  spring,  and  accompanied  Gudrid  to 
the  ship,  with  all  his  possessions.  He  put  the  ship  in  order,  pro- 
cured a  crew,  and  then  sailed  for  Ericsfirth.  The  bodies  of 
the  dead  were  now  buried  at  the  church ;  and  Gudrid  then  went 
home  to  Leif  at  Brattahlid,  while  Thorstein  the  Swarthy  made 
a  home  for  himself  on  Ericsfirth,  and  remained  there  as  long  as 
he  lived,  and  was  looked  upon  as  a  very  superior  man. 

OF  THE  WINELAND  VOYAGES  OF    THORFINN  AND  HIS  COMPANIONS. 

That  same  summer  a  ship  came  from  Norway  to  Greenland. 
The  skipper's  name  was  Thorfinn  Karlsefni.  He  was  a  son  of 
Thord  Horsehead,  and  a  grandson  of  Snorri,  the  son  of  Thord 
of  Hofdi.  Thorfinn  Karlsefni,  who  was  a  very  wealthy  man, 
passed  the  winter  at  Brattahlid  with  Leif  Ericsson.  He  very 
soon  set  his  heart  upon  Gudrid,  and  sought  her  hand  in  mar- 
riage. She  referred  him  to  Leif  for  her  answer,  and  was  subse- 
quently betrothed  to  him ;  and  their  marriage  was  celebrated 
that  same  winter.     A  renewed  discussion  arose  concerning  a 


lO 

Wineland  voyage ;  and  the  folk  urged  Karlsefni  to  make  the 
venture,  Gudrid  joining  with  the  others.  He  determined  to  un- 
dertake the  voyage,  and  assembled  a  company  of  sixty  men  and 
five  women,  and  entered  into  an  agreement  with  his  shipmates 
that  they  should  each  share  equally  in  all  the  spoils  of  the 
enterprise.  They  took  with  them  all  kinds  of  cattle,  as  it  was 
their  intention  to  settle  the  country,  if  they  could.  Karlsefni 
asked  Leif  for  the  house  in  Wineland;  and  he  replied  that  he 
would  lend  it,  but  not  give  it.  They  sailed  out  to  sea  with  the 
ship,  and  arrived  safe  and  sound  at  Leifs-booths,  and  carried 
their  hammocks  ashore  there.  They  were  soon  provided  with 
an  abundant  and  goodly  supply  of  food ;  for  a  whale  of  good 
size  and  quality  was  driven  ashore  there,  and  they  secured  it, 
and  flensed  it,  and  had  then  no  lack  of  provisions.  The  cattle 
were  turned  out  upon  the  land,  and  the  males  soon  became  very 
restless  and  vicious  :  they  had  brought  a  bull  with  them.  Karl- 
sefni caused  trees  to  be  felled  and  to  be  hewed  into  timbers 
wherewith  to  load  his  ship,  and  the  wood  was  placed  upon  a 
cliff  to  dry.  They  gathered  somewhat  of  all  of  the  valuable 
products  of  the  land, —  grapes,  and  all  kinds  of  game  and  fish, 
and  other  good  things.  In  the  summer  succeeding  the  first 
winter  Skrellings  were  discovered.  A  great  troop  of  men  came 
forth  from  out  the  woods.  The  cattle  were  hard  by,  and  the 
bull  began  to  bellow  and  roar  with  a  great  noise,  whereat  the 
Skrellings  were  frightened,  and  ran  away  with  their  packs, 
w^herein  were  gray  furs,  sables,  and  all  kinds  of  peltries.  They 
fled  towards  Karlsefni's  dwelling,  and  sought  to  effect  an 
entrance  into  the  house  ;  but  Karlsefni  caused  the  doors  to  be 
defended  [against  them].  Neither  [people]  could  understand 
the  other's  language.  The  Skrellings  put  down  their  bundles 
then,  and  loosed  them,  and  offered  their  wares  [for  barter],  and 
were  especially  anxious  to  exchange  these  for  weapons  :  but 
Karlsefni  forbade  his  men  to  sell  their  weapons,  and,  taking 
counsel  with  himself,  he  bade  the  women  carry  out  milk  to  the 
Skrellings,  which  they  no  sooner  saw  than  they  wanted  to  buy 
it,  and  nothing  else.  Now  the  outcome  of  the  Skrellings'  trad- 
ing was  that  they  carried  their  wares  away  in  their  stomachs, 
while  they  left  their  packs  and  peltries  behind  with  Karlsefni 
and  his  companions,  and,  having  accomplished  this  [exchange], 
they  went  away.  Now  it  is  to  be  told  that  Karlsefni  caused  a 
strong  wooden  palisade  to  be  constructed  and  set  up  around 
the  house.  It  was  at  this  time  that  Gudrid,  Karlsefni's  wife, 
gave  birth  to  a  male  child,  and  the  boy  was  called  Snorri.  In 
the  early  part  of  the  second  winter  the  Skrellings  came  to  them 


II 

again,  and  these  were  now  much  more  numerous  than  before, 
and  brought  with  them  the  same  wares  as  at  first.  Then  said 
Karlsefni  to  the  women,  "  Do  ye  carry  out  now  the  same  food 
which  proved  so  profitable  before,  and  nought  else."  When 
they  saw  this,  they  cast  their  packs  in  over  the  palisade. 
Gudrid  was  sitting  within,  in  the  doorway,  beside  the  cradle  of 
her  infant  son,  Snorri,  when  a  shadow  fell  upon  the  door,  and  a 
woman  in  a  black  namkirtle  entered.  She  was  short  in  stature, 
and  wore  a  fillet  about  her  head ;  her  hair  was  of  a  light  chest- 
nut color,  and  she  was  pale  of  hue,  and  so  big-eyed  that 
never  before  had  eyes  so  large  been  seen  in  a  human  skull. 
She  went  up  to  where  Gudrid  was  seated,  and  said,  "  What  is 
thy  name.'"'  "My  name  is  Gudrid,  but  what  is  thy  name?'' 
"  My  name  is  Gudrid,"  says  she.  The  housewife  Gudrid  mo- 
tioned her  with  her  hand  to  a  seat  beside  her ;  but  it  so  hap- 
pened that  at  that  very  instant  Gudrid  heard  a  great  crash, 
whereupon  the  woman  vanished,  and  at  that  same  moment  one 
of  the  Skrellings,  who  had  tried  to  seize  their  weapons,  was 
killed  by  one  of  Karlsefni's  followers.  At  this  the  Skrellings 
fled  precipitately,  leaving  their  garments  and  wares  behind  them ; 
and  not  a  soul,  save  Gudrid  alone,  beheld  this  woman.  "Now 
we  must  needs  take  counsel  together,"  says  Karlsefni ;  "for  that 
I  believe  they  will  visit  us  a  third  time  in  great  numbers,  and 
attack  us.  Let  us  now  adopt  this  plan.  Ten  of  our  number 
shall  go  out  upon  the  cape,  and  show  themselves  there ;  while 
the  remainder  of  our  company  shall  go  into  the  woods  and  hew 
a  clearing  for  our  cattle,  when  the  troop  approaches  from  the 
forest.  We  will  also  take  our  bull,  and  let  him  go  in  advance 
of  us."  The  lie  of  the  land  was  such  that  the  proposed  meet- 
ing-place had  the  lake  upon  the  one  side  and  the  forest  upon 
the  other.  Karlsefni's  advice  was  now  carried  into  execution. 
The  Skrellings  advanced  to  the  spot  which  Karlsefni  had 
selected  for  the  encounter ;  and  a  battle  was  fought  there,  in 
which  great  numbers  of  the  band  of  the  Skrellings  were  slain, 
There  was  one  man  among  the  Skrellings,  of  large  size  and  fine 
bearing,  whom  Karlsefni  concluded  must  be  their  chief.  One 
of  the  Skrellings  picked  up  an  axe ;  and,  having  looked  at  it  for 
a  time,  he  brandished  it  about  one  of  his  companions,  and 
hewed  at  him,  and  on  the  instant  the  man  fell  dead.  There- 
upon the  big  man  seized  the  axe ;  and,  after  examining  it  for 
a  moment,  he  hurled  it  as  far  as  he  could  out  into  the  sea. 
Then  they  fled  helter  skelter  into  the  woods,  and  thus  their  in- 
tercourse came  to  an  end.  Karlsefni  and  his  party  remained 
there  throughout  the  winter ;    but  in  the  spring  Karlsefni  an- 


12 

nounces  that  he  is  not  minded  to  remain  there  longer,  but  will 
return  to  Greenland.  They  now  made  ready  for  the  voyage, 
and  carried  away  with  them  much  booty  in  vines  and  grapes 
and  peltries.  They  sailed  out  upon  the  high  seas,  and  brought 
their  ohip  safely  to  Ericsfirth,  where  they  remained  during  the 
winter. 

FREYDIS  CAUSES  THE  BROTHERS  TO  BE  PUT  TO  DEATH. 

There  was  now  much  talk  anew  about  a  Wineland  voyage, 
for  this  was  reckoned  both  a  profitable  and  an  honorable  en- 
terprise. The  same  summer  that  Karlsefni  arrived  from  Wine- 
land  a  ship  from  Norway  arrived  in  Greenland.  This  ship  was 
commanded  by  two  brothers,  Helgi  and  Finnbogi,  who  passed 
the  winter  in  Greenland.  They  were  descended  from  an  Ice- 
landic family  of  the  East-firths.  It  is  now  to  be  added  that 
Freydis,  Eric's  daughter,  set  out  from  her  home  at  Gardar,  and 
waited  upon  the  brothers,  Helgi  and  Finnbogi,  and  invited 
them  to  sail  with  their  vessel  to  Wineland,  and  to  share  with 
her  equally  all  of  the  good  things  which  they  might  succeed  in 
obtaining  there.  To  this  they  agreed,  and  she  departed  thence 
to  visit  her  brother,  Leif,  and  ask  him  to  give  her  the  house 
which  he  had  caused  to  be  erected  in  Wineland ;  but  he  made 
her  the  same  answer  [as  that  which  he  had  given  Karlsefni], 
saying  that  he  would  lend  the  house,  but  not  give  it.  It  was 
stipulated  between  Karlsefni  and  Freydis  that  each  should 
have  on  ship-board  thirty  able-bodied  men,  besides  the  women  ; 
but  Freydis  immediately  violated  this  compact  by  concealing 
five  men  more  [than  this  number],  and  this  the  brothers  did 
not  discover  before  they  arrived  in  Wineland.  They  now  put 
out  to  sea,  having  agreed  beforehand  that  they  would  sail  in 
company,  if  possible,  and,  although  they  were  not  far  apart 
from  each  other,  the  brothers  arrived  somewhat  in  advance,  and 
carried  their  belongings  up  to  Leif's  house.  Now,  when  Frey- 
dis arrived,  her  ship  was  discharged  and  the  baggage  carried 
up  to  the  house,  whereupon  Freydis  exclaimed,  "  Why  did  you 
carry  your  baggage  in  here  ?  "  "  Since  we  believed,"  said  they, 
"that  all  promises  made  to  us  would  be  kept."  "It  was  to  me 
that  Leif  loaned  the  house,"  says  she,  "and  not  to  you." 
Whereupon  Helgi  exclaimed,  "We  brothers  cannot  hope  to 
rival  thee  in  wrong  dealing."  They  thereupon  carried  their 
baggage  forth,  and  built  a  hut,  above  the  sea,  on  the  bank  of 
the  lake,  and  put  all  in  order  about  it;  while  Freydis  caused 
wood  to  be  felled,  with  which  to  load  her  ship.  The  winter 
now  set  in,  and  the  brothers  suggested  that  they  should  amuse 


13 

themselves  by  playing  games.  This  they  did  for  a  time,  until 
the  folk  began  to  disagree,  when  dissensions  arose  between 
them,  and  the  games  came  to  an  end,  and  the  visits  between 
the  houses  ceased ;  and  thus  it  continued  far  into  the  winter. 
One  morning  early  Freydis  arose  from  her  bed  and  dressed 
herself,  but  did  not  put  on  her  shoes  and  stockings.  A  heavy 
dew  had  fallen,  and  she  took  her  husband's  cloak,  and  wrapped 
it  about  her,  and  then  walked  to  the  brothers'  house,  and  up  to 
the  door,  which  had  been  only  partly  closed  by  one  of  the  men, 
who  had  gone  out  a  short  time  before.  She  pushed  the  door 
open,  and  stood  silently  in  the  doorway  for  a  time.  Finnbogi, 
who  was  lying  on  the  innermost  side  of  the  room,  was  awake, 
and  said,  "  What  dost  thou  wish  here,  Freydis  .''  "  She  answers, 
*'  I  wish  thee  to  rise  and  go  out  with  me,  for  I  would  speak  with 
thee."  He  did  so ;  and  they  walked  to  a  tree,  which  lay  close 
by  the  wall  of  the  house,  and  seated  themselves  upon  it. 
"  How  art  thou  pleased  here  ?  "  says  she.  He  answers,  "  I  am 
well  pleased  with  the  fruitfulness  of  the  land ;  but  I  am  ill 
content  with  the  breach  which  has  come  between  us,  for,  me- 
thinks,  there  has  been  no  cause  for  it."  ''  It  is  even  as  thou 
sayest,"  says  she,  "and  so  it  seems  to  me;  but  my  errand  to 
thee  is  that  I  wish  to  exchange  ships  with  you  brothers,  for 
that  ye  have  a  larger  ship  than  I,  and  I  wish  to  depart  from 
here."  "  To  this  I  must  accede,"  says  he,  "  if  it  is  thy  pleas- 
ure." Therewith  they  parted ;  and  she  returned  home  and 
Finnbogi  to  his  bed.  She  climbed  up  into  bed,  and  awakened 
Thorvard  with  her  cold  feet ;  and  he  asked  her  why  she  was  so 
cold  and  wet.  She  answered  with  great  passion  :  "  I  have  been 
to  the  brothers,"  says  she,  "  to  try  to  buy  their  ship,  for  I  wished 
to  have  a  larger  vessel ;  but  they  received  my  overtures  so  ill 
that  they  struck  me  and  handled  me  very  roughly ;  what  time 
thou,  poor  wretch,  wilt  neither  avenge  my  shame  nor  thy  own ; 
and  I  find,  perforce,  that  I  am  no  longer  in  Greenland.  More- 
over I  shall  part  from  thee  unless  thou  wreakest  vengeance  for 
this."  And  now  he  could  stand  her  taunts  no  longer,  and  or- 
dered the  men  to  rise  at  once  and  take  their  weapons;  and  this 
they  did.  And  they  then  proceeded  directly  to  the  house  of  the 
brothers,  and  entered  it  while  the  folk  were  asleep,  and  seized 
and  bound  them,  and  led  each  one  out  when  he  was  bound ; 
and,  as  they  came  out,  Freydis  caused  each  one  to  be  slain.  In 
this  wise  all  of  the  men  were  put  to  death,  and  only  the  women 
were  left;  and  these  no  one  would  kill.  At  this  Freydis  ex- 
claimed, "  Hand  me  an  axe."  This  was  done ;  and  she  fell 
upon   the   five   women,   and    left   them    dead.     They   returned 


14 

home  after  this  dreadful  deed;  and  it  was  very  evident  that 
Freydis  was  well  content  with  her  work.  She  addressed  her 
companions,  saying,  "  If  it  be  ordained  for  us  to  come  again  to 
Greenland,  I  shall  contrive  the  death  of  any  man  who  shall 
speak  of  these  events.  We  must  give  it  out  that  we  left  them 
living  here  when  we  came  away."  Early  in  the  spring  they 
equipped  the  ship  which  had  belonged  to  the  brothers,  and 
freighted  it  with  all  of  the  products  of  the  land  which  they 
could  obtain,  and  which  the  ship  would  carry.  Then  they  put 
out  to  sea,  and  after  a  prosperous  voyage  arrived  with  their 
ship  in  Ericsfirth  early  in  the  summer.  Karlsefni  was  there, 
with  his  ship  all  ready  to  sail,  and  was  awaiting  a  fair  wind ; 
and  people  say  that  a  ship  richer  laden  than  that  which  he 
commanded  never  left  Greenland. 

Concerning  Freydis. 

Freydis  now  went  to  her  home,  since  it  had  remained  un- 
harmed during  her  absence.  She  bestowed  liberal  gifts  upon 
all  of  her  companions,  for  she  was  anxious  to  screen  her  guilt. 
She  now  established  herself  at  her  home ;  but  her  companions 
were  not  all  so  close-mouthed  concerning  their  misdeeds  and 
wickedness  that  rumors  did  not  get  abroad  at  last.  These 
finally  reached  her  brother,  Leif,  and  he  thought  it  a  most 
shameful  story.  He  thereupon  took  three  of  the  men,  who  had 
been  of  Freydis'  party,  and  forced  them  all  at  the  same  time  to 
a  confession  of  the  affair,  and  their  stories  entirely  agreed.  "  I 
have  no  heart,"  says  Leif,  **  to  punish  my  sister,  Freydis,  as  she 
deserves,  but  this  I  predict  of  them,  that  there  is  little  prosper- 
ity in  store  for  their  offspring."  Hence  it  came  to  pass  that 
no  one  from  that  time  forward  thought  them  worthy  of  aught 
but  evil.  It  now  remains  to  take  up  the  story  from  the  time 
when  Karlsefni  made  his  ship  ready,  and  sailed  out  to  sea.  He 
had  a  successful  voyage,  and  arrived  in  Norway  safe  and  sound. 
He  remained  there  during  the  winter,  and  sold  his  wares ;  and 
both  he  and  his  wife  were  received  with  great  favor  by  the 
most  distinguished  men  of  Norway.  The  following  spring  he 
put  his  ship  in  order  for  the  voyage  to  Iceland ;  and  when  all 
his  preparations  had  been  made,  and  his  ship  was  lying  at  the 
wharf,  awaiting  favorable  winds,  there  came  to  him  a  South- 
erner, a  native  of  Bremen  in  the  Saxonland,  who  wished  to 
buy  his  "  house-neat."  "  I  do  not  wish  to  sell  it,"  says  he.  "  I 
will  give  thee  half  a  '  mork '  in  gold  for  it,"  says  the  Southerner. 
This  Karlsefni  thought  a  good  offer,  and  accordingly  closed  the 
bargain.     The  Southerner  went  his  way  with  the  "house-neat," 


15 

and  Karlsefni  knew  not  what  wood  it  was,  but  it  was  "mosur," 
come  from  Wineland. 

Karlsefni  sailed  away,  and  arrived  with  his  ship  in  the  north 
of  Iceland,  in  Skagafirth.  His  vessel  was  beached  there  during 
the  winter,  and  in  the  spring  he  bought  Glaumboeiar-land,  and 
made  his  home  there,  and  dwelt  there  as  long  as  he  lived,  and 
was  a  man  of  the  greatest  prominence.  From  him  and  his  wife, 
Gudrid,  a  numerous  and  goodly  lineage  is  descended.  After 
Karlsefni's  death  Gudrid,  together  with  her  son  Snorri,  who 
was  born  in  Wineland,  took  charge  of  the  farmstead ;  and,  when 
Snorri  was  married,  Gudrid  went  abroad,  and  made  a  pilgrim- 
age to  the  South,  after  which  she  returned  again  to  the  home 
of  her  son  Snorri,  who  had  caused  a  church  to  be  built  at 
Glaumboer.  Gudrid  then  took  the  veil  and  became  an  anchorite, 
and  lived  there  the  rest  of  her  days.  Snorri  had  a  son,  named 
Thorgeir,  who  was  the  father  of  Ingveld,  the  mother  of  Bishop 
Brand.  Hallfrid  was  the  name  of  the  daughter  of  Snorri,  Karl- 
sefni's son :  she  was  the  mother  of  Runolf,  Bishop  Thorlak's 
father.  Biorn  was  the  name  of  [another]  son  of  Karlsefni  and 
Gudrid :  he  was  the  father  of  Thorunn,  the  mother  of  Bishop 
Biorn.  Many  men  are  descended  from  Karlsefni,  and  he  has 
been  blessed  with  a  numerous  and  famous  posterity ;  and  of  all 
men  Karlsefni  has  given  the  most  exact  accounts  of  all  these 
voyages,  of  which  something  has  now  been  recounted. 


The  famous  Saga  cf  Eric  the  Red,  which  gives  the  original  accounts 
of  the  Northmen's  voyages  to  Vinland,  exists  in  two  different  versions,  that 
known  as  the  Hatcks-bok,  written  by  Hauk  Erlendsson  between  1305  and 
1334,  and  that  made  about  13S7  by  the  priest  Jon  Thordharson,  contained 
in  the  compilation  known  as  the  Flaicyar-tok,  or  "  Flat  Island  Book."  Jon 
used  parts  of  the  original  saga,  and  added  a  considerable  amount  of  material 
concerning  the  Vinland  voyages  derived  from  other  sources,  to  us  unknown. 
It  is  this  second  version  which  is  reproduced,  almost  in  its  entirety,  in  the 
present  leaflet. 

The  Vinland  voyages  belong  to  about  the  year  1000.  These  Icelandic 
chronicles  belong  therefore  to  a  date  three  centuries  later.  They  were 
doubtless  based  upon  earlier  writings  which  had  come  down  from  the  times 
of  Leif  and  Thorfinn,  subject  to  the  various  influences  which  affected  simi- 
lar writings  at  that  period,  the  world  over.  An  interesting  and  valuable  con- 
firmation of  the  simple  fact  of  the  visit  of  the  Northmen  to  "  Vinland  "  is  given 
us  by  Adam  of  Bremen,  who  visited  Denmark  between  1047  and  1073,  when 
the  voyages  would  have  been  within  the  memory  of  living  men  and  natural 
subjects  of  conversation.  In  speaking  of  the  Scandinavian  countries,  in  his 
book,  Adam  describes  the  colonies  in  Iceland  and  Greenland,  and  says  that 
there  is  another  country  or  island  beyond,  called  Vinland,  on  account  of  the 
wild  grapes  that  grow  there.  He  says  that  corn  also  grows  in  Vinland  with- 
out cultivation ;  and,  thinking  this  may  seem  strange  to  European  readers, 


i6 

he  adds  that  his  statement  is  based  upon  "trustworthy  reports  of  the 
Danes." 

The  great  work  of  Professor  Charles  Christian  Rafn,  of  Copenhagen, 
Antiqititates  Aviericancc,  published  in  1837,  first  brought  these  Icelandic 
sagas  prominently  before  modern  scholars.  Professor  Rafn's  work  was 
most  elaborate  and  thorough,  and  very  little  in  the  way  of  new  material  has 
been  given  us  since  his  time,  although  his  theories  and  the  general  subject 
of  the  Northmen's  voyages  and  the  whereabouts  of  Vinland  have  been  dis- 
cussed in  numberless  volumes  during  the  fifty  years  since  he  wrote.  Per- 
haps the  most  valuable  work  is  that  by  Arthur  Middleton  Reeves,  a  young 
American  scholar,  whose  untimely  death  in  a  recent  railroad  disaster  is  so 
deeply  to  be  deplored.  The  title  of  Mr.  Reeves's  work  is  The  Finding  of 
Wineland  the  Good:  The  History  of  the  Icelandic  Discovery  of  America. 
(London,  1890).  This  work  contains  phototype  plates  of  the  original  Ice- 
landic veilums,  English  translations  of  the  two  sagas,  and  very  thorough 
historical  accounts  and  critical  discussions.  The  present  leaflet  makes  use 
of  Mr.  Reeves's  translation.  De  Costa's  Pre-Columbian  Discovery  of  Amer- 
ica by  the  Northmen  and  Slafter's  Voyages  of  the  Northmen  to  A7nerica  are 
earlier  works  of  high  authority,  going  over  the  same  ground  and  also  con- 
taining translations  of  the  sagas.  Dr.  Slafter's  book  has  an  added  value 
from  its  critical  accounts  of  ail  the  important  works  on  the  subject  which 
had  appeared  up  to  that  time  (1877).  A  completer  bibliography,  now  ac- 
cessible, is  that  by  Justin  Winsor,  appended  to  his  chapter  on  "  Pre-Colum- 
bian Explorations  "  in  the  Narrative  and  Critical  History  of  America^  vol.  i. 

The  best  popular  account  of  the  Norsemen  and  their  voyages  is  that  by 
Mr.  Fiske,  in  his  Discovery  of  America,  vol.  i.  chap  ii.  Mr.  Fiske  is  refreshingly 
sound  and  sane  in  his  treatment  of  the  whole  subject,  which  with  so  many 
writers  has  been  a  field  for  the  wildest  speculations.  He  shows  the  absurd- 
ity of  the  earlier  writers  who  used  to  associate  the  Old  Mill  at  Newport 
and  the  inscriptions  on  the  Dighton  rock  with  the  Northmen,  and  the 
slight  grounds  on  which,  at  the  present  time,  enthusiasts  like  Professor 
Horsford  have  attempted  to  determine  details  so  exactly  as  to  claim  that 
Leif  Erikson  settled  on  the  banks  of  Charles  River.  "On  the  whole," 
concludes  Mr.  Fiske,  "we  may  say  with  some  confidence  that  the  place 
described  by  our  chroniclers  as  Vinland  was  situated  somewhere  between 
Point  Judith  and  Cape  Breton;  possibly  we  may  narrow  our  limits,  and  say 
that  it  was  somewhere  between  Cape  Cod  and  Cape  Ann.  But  the  latter 
conclusion  is  much  less  secure  than  the  former.  In  such  a  case  as  this,  the 
more  we  narrow  our  limits,  the  greater  our  liability  to  error." 

It  should  be  said  that  many  scholarly  investigators  hold  that  all  the  con- 
ditions of  the  descriptions  of  Vinland  in  the  sagas  are  met  by  the  shores  of 
Labrador  and  Newfoundland,  although  the  weight  of  opinion  is  in  favor  of 
the  New  England  coast.  The  accounts  themselves  make  any  exacter  deter- 
mination impossible;  and  no  genuine  Norse  remains  have  ever  been  dis- 
covered in  Nf  w  England. 

The  claim  that  Columbus  knew  of  these  discoveries  of  the  Northmen  or 
that  he  was  influenced  by  them  has  never  been  made  out,  and  is  quite  im- 
probable. He  simply  set  out  to  find  a  western  route  to  Asia.  The  course 
of  his  voyage  was  not  such  as  he  would  have  taken,  had  he  had  in  mind  the 
Vinland  of  the  Northmen;  and  he  made  no  mention  of  Vinland  while 
exhausting  every  possible  argument  in  favor  of  his  expedition  at  the  Span- 
ish court.  Had  he  known  of  it,  he  certainly  would  have  mentioned  it;  for, 
as  Colonel  Higginson  so  well  says  (see  his  excellent  chapter  on  the  North- 
men in  his  Larger  History  of  the  United  States),  for  the  purpose  of  his  argu- 
ment, "an  ounce  of  Vinland  would  have  been  worth  a  pound  of  cosmog- 
raphy." 


#Iti  M>tynt^  Heaflet^. 


No.  32. 


Marco  Polo's 

Account  of 

Japan  and  Java. 


Description  of  the  Island  of  Chipangu,  and  the  Great 
Kaan's  Despatch  of  a  Host  against  it. 

Chipangu  is  an  island  toward  the  east  in  the  high  seas,  1,500 
miles  distant  from  the  continent ;  and  a  very  great  island  it  is. 

The  people  are  white,  civilized,  and  well-favored.  They  are 
idolaters,  and  are  dependent  on  nobody.  And  I  can  tell  you 
the  quantity  of  gold  they  have  is  endless ;  for  they  find  it  in 
their  own  islands  [and  the  king  does  not  allow  it  to  be 
exported.  Moreover],  few  merchants  visit  the  country  because 
it  is  so  far  from  the  main  land,  and  thus  it  comes  to  pass  that 
their  gold  is  abundant  beyond  all  measure. 

I  will  tell  you  a  wonderful  thing  about  the  Palace  of  the  Lord 
of  that  island.  You  must  know  that  he  hath  a  great  palace 
which  is  entirely  roofed  with  fine  gold,  just  as  our  churches  are 
roofed  with  lead,  insomuch  that  it  would  scarcely  be  possible 
to  estimate  its  value.  Moreover,  all  the  pavement  of  the 
palace,  and  the  floors  of  its  chambers,  are  entirely  of  gold,  in 
plates  like  slabs  of  stone,  a  good  two  fingers  thick;  and  the 
windows  also  are  of  gold,  so  that  altogether  the  richness  of  this 
palace  is  past  all  bounds  and  all  belief. 

They  have  also  pearls  in  abundance,  which  are  of  a  rose 
color,  but  fine,  big,  and  round,  and  quite  as  valuable  as  the 
white  ones.  [In  this  island  some  of  the  dead  are  buried,  and 
others  are  burned.  When  a  body  is  burned,  they  put  one  of 
these  pearls  in  the  mouth,  for  such  is  their  custom.]  They 
have  also  quantities  of  other  precious  stones. 

Cublay,  the  Grand  Kaan,  who  now  reigneth,  having  heard 
much  of  the  immense  wealth  that  was  in  this  island,  formed  a 
plan  to  get  possession  of  it.  For  this  purpose  he  sent  two  of 
his  barons  with  a  great  navy,  and  a  great  force  of  horse  and 
foot.     These  barons  were  able  and  valiant  men,  one  of  them 


called  Abacan  and  the  other  Vonsainchin,  and  they  weighed 
with  all  their  company  from  the  ports  of  Zayton  and  Kinsay, 
and  put  out  to  sea.  They  sailed  until  they  reached  the  island 
aforesaid,  and  there  they  landed,  and  occupied  the  open  coun- 
try and  the  villages,  but  did  not  succeed  in  getting  possession 
of  any  city  or  castle.  And  so  a  disaster  befell  them,  as  I  shall 
now  relate. 

You  must  know  that  there  was  much  ill-will  between  those 
two  barons,  so  that  one  would  do  nothing  to  help  the  other. 
And  it  came  to  pass  that  there  arose  a  north  wind  which  blew 
with  great  fury,  and  caused  great  damage  along  the  coasts  of 
that  island,  for  its  harbors  were  few.  It  blew  so  hard  that  the 
Great  Kaan's  fleet  could  not  stand  against  it.  And,  when  the 
chiefs  saw  that,  they  came  to  the  conclusion  that,  if  the  ships 
remained  where  they  were,  the  whole  navy  would  perish.  So 
they  all  got  on  board  and  made  sail  to  leave  the  country.  But, 
when  they  had  gone  about  four  miles,  they  came  to  a  small 
island,  on  which  they  were  driven  ashore  in  spite  of  all  they 
could  do ;  and  a  great  part  of  the  fleet  was  wrecked,  and  a 
great  multitude  of  the  force  perished,  so  that  there  escaped 
only  some  30,000  men,  who  took  refuge  on  this  island. 

These  held  themselves  for  dead  men,  for  they  were  without 
food,  and  knew  not  what  to  do,  and  they  were  in  great  despair 
when  they  saw  that  such  of  the  ships  as  had  escaped  the  storm 
were  making  full  sail  for  their  own  country,  without  the  slight- 
est sign  of  turning  back  to  help  them.  And  this  was  because 
of  the  bitter  hatred  between  the  two  barons  in  command  of 
the  force ;  for  the  baron  who  escaped  never  showed  the  slight- 
est desire  to  return  to  his  colleague  who  was  left  upon  the 
island  in  the  way  you  have  heard,  though  he  might  easily  have 
done  so  after  the  storm  ceased,  and  it  endured  not  long.  He 
did  nothing  of  the  kind,  however,  but  made  straight  for  home. 
And  you  must  know  that  the  island  to  which  the  soldiers  had 
escaped  was  uninhabited :  there  was  not  a  creature  upon  it 
but  themselves. 

Now  we  will  tell  you  what  befell  those  who  escaped  on  the 
fleet,  and  also  those  who  were  left  upon  the  island. 

What  further   came   of    the   Great   Kaan's    Expedition 

AGAINST    ChIPANGU. 

YoTi  see  those  who  were  left  upon  the  island,  some  30,000 
souls,  as  I  have  said,  did  hold  themselves  for  dead  men,  for 
they  saw  no  possible  means  of  escape.     And  when  the  king  of 


the  great  island  got  news  how  the  one  part  of  the  expedition 
had  saved  themselves  upon  that  isle,  and  the  other  part  was 
scattered  and  fled,  he  was  right  glad  thereat ;  and  he  gathered 
together  all  the  ships  of  his  territory  and  proceeded  with  them, 
the  sea  now  being  calm,  to  the  little  isle,  and  landed  his  troops 
all  round  it.  And  when  the  Tartars  saw  them  thus  arrive,  and 
the  whole  force  landed,  without  any  guard  having  been  left  on 
board  the  ships  (the  act  of  men  very  little  acquainted  with  such 
work),  they  had  the  sagacity  to  feign  flight.  [Now  the  island 
was  very  high  in  the  middle,  and,  while  the  enemy  were  hasten- 
ing after  them  by  one  road,  they  fetched  a  compass  by  another, 
and]  in  this  way  managed  to  reach  the  enemy's  ships  and  to 
get  aboard  of  them.  This  they  did  easily  enough,  for  they 
encountered  no  opposition. 

Once  they  were  on  board,  they  got  under  way  immediately 
for  the  great  island,  and  landed  there,  carrying  with  them  the 
standards  and  banners  of  the  king  of  the  island ;  and  in  this 
wise  they  advanced  to  the  capital.  The  garrison  of  the  city, 
suspecting  nothing  wrong,  when  they  saw  their  own  banners 
advancing,  supposed  that  it  was  their  own  host  returning,  and 
so  gave  them  admittance.  The  Tartars  as  soon  as  they  had 
got  in  seized  all  the  bulwarks,  and  drove  out  all  who  were  in 
the  place  except  the  pretty  women,  and  these  they  kept  for 
themselves.  In  this  way  the  Great  Kaan's  people  got  posses- 
sion of  the  city. 

When  the  king  of  the  great  island  and  his  army  perceived 
that  both  fleet  and  city  were  lost,  they  were  greatly  cast  down  : 
howbeit,  they  got  away  to  the  great  island  on  board  some  of 
the  ships  which  had  not  been  carried  off.  And  the  king  then 
gathered  all  his  host  to  the  siege  of  the  city,  and  invested  it  so 
straitly  that  no  one  could  go  in  or  come  out.  Those  who  were 
within  held  the  place  for  seven  months,  and  strove  by  all  means 
to  send  word  to  the  Great  Kaan ;  but  it  was  all  in  vain,  they 
never  could  get  the  intelligence  carried  to  him.  So,  when  they 
saw  they  could  hold  out  no  longer,  they  gave  themselves  up 
on  condition  that  their  lives  should  be  spared,  but  still  that 
they  should  never  quit  the  island.  And  this  befell  in  the  year 
of  our  Lord  1279.  The  Great  Kaan  ordered  the  baron  who 
had  fled  so  disgracefully  to  lose  his  head.  And  afterward  he 
caused  the  other  also,  who  had  been  left  on  the  island,  to  be 
put  to  death,  for  he  had  never  behaved  as  a  good  soldier  ought 
to  do. 

But  I  must  tell  you  a  wonderful  thing  that  I  had  forgotten, 
which  happened  on  this  expedition. 


You  see,  at  the  beginning  of  the  affair,  when  the  Kaan's 
people  had  landed  on  the  great  island  and  occupied  the  open 
country,  as  I  told  you,  they  stormed  a  tower  belonging  to  some 
of  the  islanders  who  refused  to  surrender,  and  they  cut  off  the 
heads  of  all  the  garrison  except  eight :  on  these  eight  they 
found  it  impossible  to  inflict  any  wound.  Now  this  was  by 
virtue  of  certain  stones  which  they  had  in  their  arms,  inserted 
between  the  skin  and  the  flesh,  with  such  skill  as  not  to  show 
at  all  externally.  And  the  charm  and  virtue  of  these  stones 
was  such  that  those  who  wore  them  could  never  perish  by  steel. 
So,  when  the  barons  learned  this,  they  ordered  the  men  to  be 
beaten  to  death  with  clubs.  And  after  their  death  the  stones 
were  extracted  from  the  bodies  of  all,  and  were  greatly  prized. 
But  now  let  us  have  done  with  that  matter,  and  return  to  our 
subject. 

Concerning  the  Fashion  of  the  Idols. 

Now  you  must  know  that  the  idols  of  Cathay,  and  of  Manzi, 
and  of  this  island,  are  all  of  the  same  class.  And  in  this 
island,  as  well  as  elsewhere,  there  be  some  of  the  idols  that 
have  the  head  of  an  ox,  some  that  have  the  head  of  a  pig,  some 
of  a  dog,  some  of  a  sheep,  and  some  of  divers  other  kinds. 
And  some  of  them  have  four  heads,  while  some  have  three,  one 
growing  out  of  either  shoulder.  There  are  also  some  that  have 
four  hands,  some  ten,  some  a  thousand.  And  they  do  put 
more  faith  in  those  idols  that  have  a  thousand  hands  than  in 
any  of  the  others.  And  when  any  Christian  asks  them  why 
they  make  their  idols  in  so  many  different  guises,  and  not  all 
alike,  they  reply  that  just  so  their  forefathers  were  wont  to 
have  them  made,  and  just  so  they  will  leave  them  to  their  chil- 
dren, and  these  to  the  after  generations.  And  so  they  will  be 
handed  down  for  ever.  And  you  must  understand  that  the 
deeds  ascribed  to  these  idols  are  such  a  parcel  of  devilries  as 
it  is  best  not  to  tell.  So  let  us  have  done  with  the  idols,  and 
speak  of  other  things. 

But  I  must  tell  you  one  thing  still  concerning  that  island 
(and  'tis  the  same  with  the  other  Indian  islands),  that,  if  the 
natives  take  prisoner  an  enemy  who  cannot  pay  a  ransom,  he 
who  hath  the  prisoner  summons  all  his  friends  and  relations, 
and  they  put  the  prisoner  to  death,  and  then  they  cook  him 
and  eat  him,  and  they  say  there  is  no  meat  in  the  world  so 
good.  But  now  we  will  have  done  with  that  island  and  speak 
of  something  else. 


5 

You  must  know  the  sea  in  which  lie  the  islands  of  those 
parts  is  called  the  Sea  of  Chin,  which  is  as  much  as  to  say 
"The  Sea  over  against  Manzi."  For,  in  the  language  of  those 
isles,  when  they  say  Chin,  'tis  Manzi  they  mean.  And  I  tell 
you  with  regard  to  that  Eastern  Sea  of  Chin,  according  to  what 
is  said  by  the  experienced  pilots  and  mariners  of  those  parts 
there  be  7,459  islands  in  the  waters  frequented  by  the  said 
mariners ;  and  that  is  how  they  know  the  fact,  for  their  whole 
life  is  spent  in  navigating  that  sea.  And  there  is  not  one  of 
those  islands  but  produces  valuable  and  odorous  woods  like 
the  lignaloe,  aye,  and  better,  too  ;  and  they  produce  also  a  great 
variety  of  spices.  For  example,  in  those  islands  grows  pepper 
as  white  as  snow,  as  well  as  the  black  in  great  quantities.  In 
fact,  the  riches  of  those  islands  is  something  wonderful, 
whether  in  gold  or  precious  stones,  or  in  all  manner  of  spicery ; 
but  they  lie  so  far  off  from  the  main  land  that  it  is  hard  to  get 
to  them.  And,  when  the  ships  of  Zayton  and  Kinsay  do  voyage 
thither,  they  make  vast  profits  by  their  venture. 

It  takes  them  a  whole  year  for  the  voyage,  going  in  winter 
and  returning  in  summer.  For  in  that  sea  there  are  but  two 
winds  that  blow,  the  one  that  carries  them  outward  and  the 
other  that  brings  them  homeward ;  and  the  one  of  these  winds 
blows  all  the  winter,  and  the  other  all  the  summer.  And  you 
must  know  these  regions  are  so  far  from  India  that  it  takes  a 
long  time  also  for  the  voyage  thence. 

Though  that  sea  is  called  the  Sea  of  Chin,  as  I  have  told 
you,  yet  it  is  part  of  the  Ocean  Sea  all  the  same.  But  just  as 
in  these  parts  people  talk  of  the  Sea  of  England  and  the  Sea  of 
Rochelle,  so  in  those  countries  they  speak  of  the  Sea  of  Chin 
and  the  Sea  of  India,  and  so  on,  though  they  all  are  but  parts 
of  the  ocean. 

Now  let  us  have  done  with  that  region,  which  is  very  inacces- 
sible and  out  of  the  way.  Moreover,  Messer  Marco  Polo 
never  was  there.  And  let  me  tell  you  the  Great  Kaan  has 
nothing  to  do  with  them,  nor  do  they  render  him  any  tribute 
or  service. 

Concerning  the  Great  Island  of  Java. 

When  you  sail  from  Chamba,  1,500  miles  in  a  course  between 
south  and  south-east,  you  come  to  a  great  island  called  Java. 
And  the  experienced  mariners  of  those  islands,  who  know  the 
matter  well,  say  that  it  is  the  greatest  island  in  the  world,  and 
has  a  compass  of  more  than  3,000  miles.     It  is  subject  to  a 


great  king,  and  tributary  to  no  one  else  in  the  world.  The 
people  are  idolaters.  The  island  is  of  surpassing  wealth,  pro- 
ducing black  pepper,  nutmegs,  spikenard,  galingale,  cubebs, 
cloves,  and  all  other  kinds  of  spices. 

This  island  is  also  frequented  by  a  vast  amount  of  shipping, 
and  by  merchants  who  buy  and  sell  costly  goods  from  which 
they  reap  great  profit.  Indeed,  the  treasure  of  this  island  is  so 
great  as  to  be  past  telling.  And  I  can  assure  you  the  Great 
Kaan  never  could  get  possession  of  this  island  on  account  of 
its  great  distance  and  the  great  expense  of  an  expedition 
thither.  The  merchants  of  Zayton  and  Manzi  draw  annually 
great  returns  from  this  country. 

Concerning  the  Island   of    Java   the   Less.     The    King- 
doms OF  Ferlec  and  Basma. 

When  you  leave  the  island  of  Pentam  and  sail  about  loo 
miles,  you  reach  the  island  of  Java  the  Less.  For  all  its  name 
'tis  none  so  small  but  that  it  has  a  compass  of  two  thousand 
miles  or  more.     Now  I  will  tell  you  all  about  this  Island. 

You  see  there  are  upon  it  eight  kingdoms  and  eight  crowned 
kings.  The  people  are  all  idolaters,  and  every  kingdom  has  a 
language  of  its  own.  The  island  hath  great  abundance  of 
treasure,  with  costly  spices,  lignaloes  and  spikenard  and  many 
others  that  never  come  into  our  parts. 

Now  I  am  going  to  tell  you  all  about  these  eight  kingdoms, 
or  at  least  the  greater  part  of  them.  But  let  me  premise  one 
marvellous  thing,  and  that  is  the  fact  that  this  Island  lies  so 
far  to  the  south  that  the  North  Star,  little  or  much,  is  never  to 
be  seen ! 

Now  let  us  resume  our  subject,  and  first  I  will  tell  you  of 
the  kingdom  of  Ferlec. 

This  kingdom,  you  must  know,  is  so  much  frequented  by  the 
Saracen  merchants  that  they  have  converted  the  natives  to  the 
Law  of  Mahommet — I  mean  the  townspeople  only,  for  the 
hill-people  live  for  all  the  world  like  beasts,  and  eat  human 
flesh,  as  well  as  all  other  kinds  of  flesh,  clean  or  unclean. 
And  they  worship  this,  that,  and  the  other  thing ;  for  in  fact 
the  first  thing  that  they  see  on  rising  in  the  morning,  that  they 
do  worship  for  the  rest  of  the  day. 

Having  told  you  of  the  kingdom  of  Ferlec,  I  will  now  tell  of 
another  which  is  called  Basma. 

When  you  quit  the  kingdom  of  Ferlec,  you  enter  upon  that  of 
Basma.     This  also  is  an  independent  kingdom,  and  the  people 


have  a  language  of  their  own  ;  but  they  are  just  like  beasts, 
without  laws  or  religion.  They  call  themselves  subjects  of  the 
Great  Kaan,  but  they  pay  him  no  tribute ;  indeed  they  are  so 
far  away  that  his  men  could  not  go  thither.  Still  all  these 
islanders  declare  themselves  to  be  his  subjects,  and  sometimes 
they  send  him  curiosities  as  presents.  There  are  wild  ele- 
phants in  the  country,  and  numerous  unicorns,  which  are  very 
nearly  as  big.  They  have  hair  like  that  of  a  buffalo,  feet  like 
those  of  an  elephant,  and  a  horn  in  the  middle  of  the  forehead, 
which  is  black  and  very  thick.  They  do  no  mischief,  however, 
with  the  horn,  but  with  the  tongue  alone  ;  for  this  is  covered  all 
over  with  long  and  strong  prickles  [and  when  savage  with  any 
one  they  crush  him  under  their  knees  and  then  rasp  him  with 
their  tongue].  The  head  resembles  that  of  a  wild  boar,  and 
they  carry  it  ever  bent  towards  the  ground.  They  delight 
much  to  abide  in  mire  and  mud.  'Tis  a  passing  ugly  beast  to 
look  upon,  and  is  not  in  the  least  like  that  which  our  stories 
tell  of ;  in  fact,  'tis  altogether  different  from  what  we  fancied. 
There  are  also  monkeys  here  in  great  numbers  and  of  sun- 
dry kinds ;  and  goshawks  as  black  as  crows.  These  are  very 
large  birds,  and  capital  for  fowling. 

I  may  tell  you  moreover  that,  when  people  bring  home  pyg- 
mies which  they  allege  to  come  from  India,  'tis  all  a  lie  and  a 
cheat.  For  those  little  men,  as  they  call  them,  are  manu- 
factured on  this  island,  and  I  will  tell  you  how.  You  see  there 
is  on  the  island  a  kind  of  monkey  which  is  very  small,  and  has 
a  face  just  like  a  man's.  They  take  these,  and  pluck  out  all 
the  hair  except  the  hair  of  the  beard  and  on  the  breast,  and 
then  they  dry  them  and  stuff  them  and  daub  them  with  saffron 
and  other  things  until  they  look  like  men.  But  you  see  it  is  all 
a  cheat ;  for  nowhere  in  India  nor  anywhere  else  in  the  world 
were  there  ever  men  seen  so  small  as  these  pretended  pygmies. 

Now  I  will  say  no  more  of  the  kingdom  of  Basma,  but  tell 
you  of  the  others  in  succession. 


"Great  princes,  emperors  and  kings,  dukes  and  marquises,  counts, 
knights  and  burgesses,  and  people  of  all  degrees  who  desire  to  get  knowl- 
edge of  the  various  races  of  mankind  and  of  the  diversities  of  the  sundry 
regions  of  the  world,  take  this  book  and  cause  it  to  be  read  to  you.  For  ye 
shall  find  therein  all  kinds  of  wonderful  things,  and  the  divers  histories  of 
the  Great  Hermenia,  and  of  Persia,  and  of  the  Land  of  the  Tartars,  and  of 
India,  and  of  many  another  country  of  which  our  book  doth  speak,  particu- 
larly and  in  regular  succession,  according  to  the  description  of  Messer 
Marco  Polo,  a  wise  and  noble  citizen  of  Venice,  as  he  saw  them  with  his 
own  eyes.    Some  things  there  be  indeed  therein  which  he  beheld  not ;  but 


these  he  heard  from  men  of  credit  and  veracity.  And  we  shall  set  down 
things  seen  as  seen,  and  things  heard  as  heard  only,  so  that  no  jot  of  false- 
hood may  mar  the  truth  of  our  book,  and  that  all  who  shall  read  it,  or  hear 
it  read,  may  put  full  faith  in  the  truth  of  all  its  contents.  For  let  me  tell 
you  that  since  our  Lord  God  did  mould  with  his  hands  our  first  father 
Adam,  even  until  this  day,  never  hath  there  been  Christian,  or  Pagan,  or 
Tartar,  or  Indian,  or  any  man  of  any  nation,  who  in  his  own  person  hath 
had  so  much  knowledge  and  experience  of  the  world  and  its  wonders  as 
hath  had  this  Messer  Marco.  And  for  that  reason  he  bethought  himself  that 
it  would  be  a  very  great  pity  did  he  not  cause  to  be  put  in  writing  all  the  great 
marvels  that  he  had  seen,  or  on  sure  information  heard  of,  so  that  other 
people  who  had  not  these  advantages  might,  by  his  book,  get  such  knowl- 
edge. And  I  may  tell  you  that  in  acquiring  this  knowledge  he  spent  in 
those  various  parts  of  the  world  good  six-and-twenty  years.  Now,  being 
thereafter  an  inmate  of  the  prison  at  Genoa,  he  caused  Messer  Rusticiano, 
of  Pisa,  who  was  in  the  said  prison  likewise,  to  reduce  the  whole  to  writing ; 
and  this  befell  in  the  year  1298  from  the  birth  of  Jesus." 

Such  is  the  prologue  to  The  Book  of  Ser  Marco  Polo,  the  Venetian,  con- 
cerning the  Kingdoms  and  Marvels  of  the  East, —  the  most  famous  book  of 
travels  ever  written.  Marco  Polo  lived  just  two  centuries  before  Columbus. 
He  was  born  at  Venice  in  1254,  started  upon  his  remarkable  travels  to 
China  and  the  East,  in  company  with  his  father  and  uncle,  when  he  was 
twenty  years  old,  remained  for  years  in  the  service  of  the  Emperor  of  China 
at  Pekia  and  elsewhere,  returned  to  Venice  in  1295,  was  writing  his  book 
at  Genoa  just  two  hundred  years  before  Columbus  (in  1498)  touched  the 
American  continent,  and  died  at  Venice  probably  in  .the  year  1324.  His 
will,  executed  in  that  year,  contains,  among  other  provisions,  the  following: 
"I  release  Peter  the  Tartar,  my  servant,  from  all  bondage,  as  completely  as 
I  pray  God  to  release  mine  own  soul  from  all  sin  and  guilt." 

The  student  who  wishes  to  learn  everything  that  is  to  be  learned  about 
Marco  Polo  will  read  his  book  in  the  great  two-volume  edition  translated 
and  edited  by  Colonel  Yule,  with  an  invaluable  mass  of  maps,  notes  and 
illustrations.  There  are  other  English  editions  of  Marco  Polo,  by  Marsden, 
Wright,  and  Murray,  which  may  be  found  in  the  libraries;  and  there  are 
two  capital  books  about  Marco  Polo  for  young  people,  by  Thomas  W.  Knox 
and  George  M.  Towle.  One  of  the  subjects  proposed  for  the  Old  South 
essays  in  1891  was  "  Marco  Polo's  Explorations  in  Asia,  and  their  Influence 
upon  Columbus " ;  and  the  first  prize  essay  upon  this  subject,  by  Miss 
Helen  P.  Margesson,  is  printed  in  the  New  England  Magazine  for  August, 
1892.  This  is  especially  commended  to  the  young  people  of  the  Old  South. 
They  can  learn  still  more  of  the  influence  of  Marco  Polo  upon  Columbus 
from  the  accounts  in  the  first  volume  of  Fiske's  Discovery  of  America.  The 
map  of  the  world  prepared  for  Columbus  by  Toscanelli,  and  carried  by 
Columbus  on  his  voyage,  was  based  upon  the  accounts  of  the  eastern  coast 
of  Asia  and  the  adjacent  islands  given  by  Polo.  Columbus  in  the  West 
Indies  always  supposed  that  he  was  among  the  East  Indies,  or  on  the 
coast  of  Japan  (Chipangu),  described  in  Polo's  book.  The  brief  chapters 
about  Japan  and  Java,  and  a  portion  of  the  account  of  Sumatra  (which  Polo 
calls  Java  the  Less),  are  given  in  the  present  leaflet. 


PUBLISHED  BY 

THE  DIRECTORS  OF  THE  OLD  SOUTH  WORK, 

Old  South  Meeting  House,  Boston. 


GENERAL   SERIES,  No.  33. 

Columbus's 

Letter  to  Gabriel 

Sanchez. 


A  letter  of  Christopher  Colom,  to  who??i  our  age  is  much  indebted^ 
about  the  7'ecently  discovered  islands  of  India  beyond  the  Ga?iges  ; 
i7i  search  of  which  he  had  been  se?it  eight  months  before  under 
the  auspices  and  at  the  expense  of  the  most  invincible  Ferdiiiand^ 
King  of  the  Spains ;  sent  to  the  illustrious  Lord  Raphael 
Sanxis,  Treasurer  of  the  same  most  serene  Ki?ig, —  which  Ali- 
ander  de  Cosco,  a  noble  and  learned  gejitleman,  has  translated 
from  the  Spanish  language  into  the  Latin,  April  29,  1493,  in 
the  First  year  of  the  Poiitificate  of  Alexaiider  the  Sixth. 

As  I  know  that  it  will  afford  you  pleasure  that  I  have 
brought  my  undertaking  to  a  successful  result,  I  have  deter- 
mined to  write  you  this  letter  to  inform  you  of  everything  that 
has  been  done  and  discovered  in  this  voyage  of  mine. 

On  the  thirty-third  day  after  leaving  Cadiz  I  came  into  the 
Indian  Sea,  where  I  discovered  many  islands  inhabited  by 
numerous  people.  I  took  possession  of  all  of  them  for  our 
most  fortunate  King  by  making  public  proclamation  and  unfurl- 
ing his  standard,  no  one  making  any  resistance.  To  the  first 
of  them  I  have  given  the  name  of  our  blessed  Saviour,  trusting 
in  whose  aid  I  had  reached  this  and  all  the  rest ;  but  the 
Indians  call  it  Guanahani.  To  each  of  the  others  also  I  gave 
a  new  name,  ordering  one  to  be  called  Sancta  Maria  de  Con- 
cepcion,  another  Fernandina,  another  Hysabella,  another  Jo- 
hana ;  and  so  with  all  the  rest.  As  soon  as  we  reached  the 
island  which  I  have  just  said  was  called  Johana,  I  sailed  along 
its  coast  some  considerable  distance  toward  the  west,  and 
found  it  to  be  so  large,  without  any  apparent  end,  that  I  be- 
lieved it  was  not  an  island,  but  a  continent,  a  province  of 
Cathay.     But  I  saw  neither  towns  nor  cities  lying  on  the  sea- 


board,  only  some  villages  and  country  farms,  with  whose 
inhabitants  I  could  not  get  speech,  because  they  fled  as  soon 
as  they  beheld  us.  I  continued  on,  supposing  I  should  come 
upon  some  city  or  country  houses.  At  last,  finding  that  no 
discoveries  rewarded  our  further  progress,  and  that  this  course 
was  leading  us  toward  the  north,  which  I  was  desirous  of 
avoiding,  as  it  was  now  winter  in  these  regions,  and  it  had 
always  been  my  intention  to  proceed  southwards,  and  the 
winds  also  were  favorable  to  such  desires,  I  concluded  not  to 
attempt  any  other  adventures ;  so,  turning  back,  I  came  again 
to  a  certain  harbor,  which  I  had  remarked.  From  there  I  sent 
two  of  our  men  into  the  country  to  learn  whether  there  was 
any  king  or  cities  in  that  land.  They  journeyed  for  three 
days,  and  found  innumerable  people  and  habitations,  but 
small  and  having  no  fixed  government,  on  which  account  they 
returned.  Meanwhile  I  had  learned  from  some  Indians  whom 
I  had  seized  at  this  place,  that  this  country  was  really  an 
island.  Consequently,  I  continued  along  toward  the  east,  as 
much  as  322  miles,  always  hugging  the  shore,  where  was  the 
very  extremity  of  the  island.  From  there  I  saw  another  island 
to  the  eastwards,  distant  54  miles  from  this  Johana,  which  I 
named  Hispana,  and  proceeded  to  it,  and  directed  my  course 
for  564  miles  east  by  north  as  it  were,  just  as  I  had  done  at 
Johana. 

The  island  called  Johana,  as  well  as  the  others  in  its  neigh- 
borhood, is  exceedingly  fertile.  It  has  numerous  harbors  on 
all  sides,  very  safe  and  wide,  above  comparison  with  any  I 
have  ever  seen.  Through  it  flow  many  very  broad  and  health- 
giving  rivers ;  and  there  are  in  it  numerous  very  lofty  moun- 
tains. All  these  islands  are  very  beautiful,  and  of  quite 
different  shapes,  easy  to  be  traversed,  and  full  of  the  greatest 
variety  of  trees  reaching  to  the  stars.  I  think  these  never  lose 
their  leaves,  as  I  saw  them  looking  as  green  and  lovely  as  they 
are  wont  to  be  in  the  month  of  May  in  Spain.  Some  of  them 
were  in  leaf,  and  some  in  fruit ;  each  flourishing  in  the  condi- 
tion its  nature  required.  The  nightingale  was  singing  and 
various  other  little  birds,  when  I  was  rambling  among  them 
in  the  month  of  November.  There  are  also  in  the  island 
called  Johana  seven  or  eight  kinds  of  palms,  which  as  readily 
surpass  ours  in  height  and  beauty  as  do  all  the  other  trees, 
herbs,  and  fruits.  There  are  also  wonderful  pine-woods,  fields, 
and  extensive  meadows,  birds  of  various  kinds,  and  honey, 
and  all  the  different  metals  except  iron. 


In  the  island,  which  I  have  said  before  was  called  Hispana, 
there  are  very  lofty  and  beautiful  mountains,  great  farms, 
groves  and  fields,  most  fertile  both  for  cultivation  and  for 
pasturage,  and  well  adapted  for  constructing  buildings.  The 
convenience  of  the  harbors  in  this  island,  and  the  excellence  of 
the  rivers,  in  volume  and  salubrity,  surpass  human  belief,  un- 
less one  should  see  them.  In  it  the  trees,  pasture-lands,  and 
fruits  differ  much  from  those  of  Johana.  Besides,  this  Hispana 
abounds  in  various  kinds  of  spices,  gold,  and  metals.  The 
inhabitants  of  both  sexes  of  this  and  of  all  the  other  islands 
I  have  seen,  or  of  which  I  have  any  knowledge,  always  go  as 
naked  as  they  came  into  the  world,  except  that  some  of  the 
women  cover  parts  of  their  bodies  with  leaves  or  branches,  or 
a  veil  of  cotton,  which  they  prepare  themselves  for  this  purpose. 
They  are  all,  as  I  said  before,  unprovided  with  any  sort  of  iron, 
and  they  are  destitute  of  arms,  which  are  entirely  unknown  to 
them,  and  for  which  they  are  not  adapted ;  not  on  account  of 
any  bodily  deformity,  for  they  are  well  made,  but  because  they 
are  timid  and  full  of  terror.  They  carry,  however,  canes  dried 
in  the  sun  in  place  of  weapons,  upon  whose  roots  they  fix  a 
wooden  shaft,  dried  and  sharpened  to  a  point.  But  they  never 
dare  to  make  use  of  these,  for  it  has  often  happened,  when  I 
have  sent  two  or  three  of  my  men  to  some  of  their  villages  to 
speak  with  the  inhabitants,  that  a  crowd  of  Indians  has  sallied 
forth ;  but,  when  they  saw  our  men  approaching,  they  speedily 
took  to  flight,  parents  abandoning  their  children,  and  children 
their  parents.  This  happened  not  because  any  loss  or  injury 
had  been  inflicted  upon  any  of  them.  On  the  contrary,  I  gave 
whatever  I  had,  cloth  and  many  other  things,  to  whomsoever  I 
approached,  or  with  whom  I  could  get  speech,  without  any 
return  being  made  to  me ;  but  they  are  by  nature  fearful  and 
timid.  But,  when  they  see  that  they  are  safe,  and  all  fear  is 
banished,  they  are  very  guileless  and  b43nest,  and  very  liberal 
of  all  they  have.  No  one  refuses  the  asker  anything  that  he 
possesses ;  on  the  contrary,  they  themselves  invite  us  to  ask 
for  it.  They  manifest  the  greatest  affection  toward  all  of  us, 
exchanging  valuable  things  for  trifles,  content  Avith  the  very 
least  thing  or  nothing  at  all.  But  I  forbade  giving  them  a  very 
trifling  thing  and  of  no  value,  such  as  bits  of  plates,  dishes,  or 
glass,  also  nails  and  straps ;  although  it  seemed  to  them,  if 
they  could  get  such,  that  they  had  acquired  the  most  beautiful 
jewels  in  the  world.  For  it  chanced  that  a  sailor  received  for 
a  single  strap  as  much  weight  of  gold  as  three  gold  solidi ;  and 
so    others   for    other   things    of   less  price,  especially  for  new 


blancas,  and  for  some  gold  coins,  for  which  they  gave  whatever 
the  seller  asked ;  for  instance,  an  ounce  and  a  half  or  two 
ounces  of  gold,  or  thirty  or  forty  pounds  of  cotton,  with  which 
they  were  already  familiar.  So,  too,  for  pieces  of  hoops,  jugs, 
jars,  and  pots  they  bartered  cotton  and  gold  like  beasts.  This 
I  forbade,  because  it  was  plainly  unjust ;  and  I  gave  them 
many  beautiful  and  pleasing  things,  which  I  had  brought  with 
me,  for  no  return  whatever,  in  order  to  win  their  affection,  and 
that  they  might  become  Christians  and  inclined  to  love  our 
King  and  Queen  and  Princes  and  all  the  people  of  Spain,  and 
that  they  might  be  eager  to  search  for  and  gather  and  give  to 
us  what  they  abound  in  and  we  greatly  need. 

They  do  not  practise  idolatry ;  on  the  contrary,  they  believe 
that  all  strength,  all  power,  in  short,  all  blessings,  are  from 
Heaven,  and  that  I  have  come  down  from  there  with  these 
ships  and  sailors ;  and  in  this  spirit  was  I  received  everywhere, 
after  they  had  got  over  their  fear.  They  are  neither  lazy  nor 
awkward,  but,  on  the  contrary,  are  of  an  excellent  and  acute 
understanding.  Those  who  have  sailed  these  seas  give  excel- 
lent accounts  of  everything ;  but  they  have  never  seen  men 
wearing  clothes,  or  ships  like  ours. 

As  soon  as  I  had  come  into  this  sea,  I  took  by  force  some 
Indians  from  the  first  island,  in  order  that  they  might  learn 
from  us,  and  at  the  same  time  tell  us  what  they  knew  about 
affairs  in  these  regions.  This  succeeded  admirably;  for  in  a 
short  time  we  understood  them  and  they  us  both  by  gesture 
and  signs  and  words,  and  they  were  of  great  service  to  us. 
They  are  coming  now  with  me,  and  have  always  believed  that 
I  have  come  from  heaven,  notwithstanding  the  long  time  they 
have  been,  and  still  remain,  with  us.  They  were  the  first  who 
told  this  wherever  we  went,  one  calling  to  another,  with  a  loud 
voice,  "  Come,  come,  you  will  see  men  from  heaven."  Where- 
upon both  women  and  men,  children  and  adults,  young  and 
old,  laying  aside  the  fear  they  had  felt  a  little  before,  flocked 
eagerly  to  see  us,  a  great  crowd  thronging  about  our  steps, 
some  bringing  food,  and  others  drink,  with  greatest  love  and 
incredible  good  will. 

In  each  island  are  many  boats  made  of  solid  wood;  though, 
narrow,  yet  in  length  and  shape  similar  to  our  two-bankers, 
but  swifter  in  motion,  and  managed  by  oars  only.  Some  of 
them  are  large,  some  small,  and  some  of  medium  size ;  but 
most  are  larger  than  a  two-banker  rowed  by  eighteen  oars. 
With  these  they  sail  to  all  the  islands,  which  are  innumerable ; 
engaging  in  traffic  and  commerce  with  each  other.     I  saw  some 


5 

of  these  biremes,  or  boats,  which  carried  seventy  or  eighty 
rowers.-  In  all  these  islands  there  is  no  difference  in  the  ap- 
pearance of  the  inhabitants,  and  none  in  their  customs  and 
language,  so  that  all  understand  one  another.  This  is  a  cir- 
cumstance most  favorable  for  what  I  believe  our  most  serene 
King  especially  desires,  that  is,  their  conversion  to  the  holy 
faith  of  Christ ;  for  which,  indeed,  so  far  as  I  could  understand, 
they  are  very  ready  and  prone. 

I  have  told  already  how  I  sailed  in  a  straight  course  along 
the  island  of  Johana  from  west  to  east  322  miles.  From  this 
voyage  and  the  extent  of  my  journeyings  I  can  say  that  this 
Johana  is  larger  than  England  and  Scotland  together.  For 
beyond  the  aforesaid  322  miles,  in  that  portion  which  looks 
toward  the  west,  there  are  two  more  provinces,  which  I  did 
not  visit.  One  of  them  the  Indians  called  Anan,  and  its  in- 
habitants are  born  with  tails.  These  provinces  extend  180 
miles,  as  I  learned  from  the  Indians,  whom  I  am  bringing  with 
me,  and  who  are  well  acquainted  with  all  these  islands. 

The  distance  around  Hispana  is  greater  than  all  Spain  from 
Colonia  to  Fontarabia  ;  as  is  readily  proved,  because  its  fourth 
side,  which  I  myself  traversed  in  a  straight  course  from  west 
to  east,  stretches  540  miles.  This  island  is  to  be  coveted,  and 
not  to  be  despised  when  acquired.  As  I  have  already  taken 
possession  of  all  the  others,  as  I  have  said,  for  our  most  invin- 
cible King,  and  the  rule  over  them  is  entirely  committed  to  the 
said  King,  so  in  this  one  I  have  taken  special  possession  of  a 
certain  large  town,  in  a  most  convenient  spot,  well  suited  for 
all  profit  and  commerce,  to  which  I  have  given  the  name  of  the 
Nativity  of  our  Lord;  and  there  I  ordered  a  fort  to  be  built 
forthwith,  which  ought  to  be  finished  now.  In  it  I  left  as 
many  men  as  seemed  necessary,  with  all  kinds  of  arms,  and 
provisions  sufficient  for  more  than  a  year ;  also  a  caravel  and 
men  to  build  others,  skilled  not  only  in  this  trade,  but  in  others. 
I  secured  for  them  good  will  and  remarkable  friendship  of  the 
king  of  the  island ;  for  these  people  are  very  affectionate  and 
kind,  so  much  so  that  the  aforesaid  king  took  a  pride  in 
my  being  called  his  brother.  Although  they  should  change 
their  minds,  and  wish  to  harm  those  who  have  remained  in  the 
fort,  they  cannot,  because  they  are  without  arms,  go  naked, 
and  are  too  timid ;  so  that,  in  truth,  those  who  hold  the  afore- 
said fort  can  lay  waste  the  whole  of  that  island,  without  any 
danger  to  themselves,  provided  they  do  not  violate  the  rules 
and  instructions  I  have  given  them. 

In  all  these  islands,  as  I  understand,  every  man  is  satisfied 


with  only  one  wife,  except  the  princes  or  kings,  who  are  per- 
mitted to  have  20.  The  women  appear  to  work  more  than  the 
men,  but  I  could  not  well  understand  whether  they  have 
private  property  or  not ;  for  I  saw  that  what  every  one  had 
was  shared  with  the  others,  especially  meals,  provisions,  and 
such  things.  I  found  among  them  no  monsters,  as  very  many 
expected,  but  men  of  great  deference  and  kind  ;  nor  are  they 
black  like  the  Ethiopians,  but  they  have  long,  straight  hair. 
They  do  not  dwell  where  the  rays  of  the  sun  have  most  power, 
although  the  sun's  heat  is  very  great  there,  as  this  region  is 
twenty-six  degrees  distant  from  the  equinoctial  line.  From 
the  summits  of  the  mountains  there  comes  great  cold,  but  the 
Indians  mitigate  it  by  being  inured  to  the  weather,  and  by  the 
help  of  very  hot  food,  which  they  consume  frequently  and  in 
immoderate  quantities. 

I  saw  no  monsters,  neither  did  I  hear  accounts  of  any  such 
except  in  an  island  called  Charis,  the  second  as  one  crosses 
over  from  Spain  to  India,  which  is  inhabited  by  a  certain  race 
regarded  by  their  neighbors  as  very  ferocious.  They  eat  human 
flesh,  and  make  use  of  several  kinds  of  boats  by  which  they 
cross  over  to  all  the  Indian  islands,  and  plunder  and  carry  off 
whatever  they  can.  But  they  differ  in  no  respect  from  the 
others  except  in  wearing  their  hair  long  after  the  fashion  of 
women.  They  make  use  of  bows  and  arrows  made  of  reeds, 
having  pointed  shafts  fastened  to  the  thicker  portion,  as  we 
have  before  described.  For  this  reason  they  are  considered  to 
be  ferocious,  and  the  other  Indians  consequently  are  terribly 
afraid  of  them  ;  but  I  consider  them  of  no  more  account  than 
the  others.  They  have  intercourse  with  certain  women  who 
dwell  alone  upon  the  island  of  Mateurin,  the  first  as  one 
crosses  from  Spain  to  India,  These  women  follow  none  of  the 
usual  occupations  of  their  sex ;  but  they  use  bows  and  arrows 
like  those  of  their  husbands,  which  I  have  described,  and  pro- 
tect themselves  with  plates  of  copper,  which  is  found  in  the 
greatest  abundance  among  them. 

I  was  informed  that  there  is  another  island  larger  than  the 
aforesaid  Hispana,  whose  inhabitants  have  no  hair  ;  and  that 
there  is  a  greater  abundance  of  gold  in  it  than  in  any  of  the 
others.  Some  of  the  inhabitants  of  these  islands  and  of  the  others 
I  have  seen  I  am  bringing  over  with  me  to  bear  testimony  to 
what  I  have  reported.  Finally,  to  sum  up  in  a  few  words  the 
chief  results  and  advantages  of  our  departure  and  speedy  re- 
turn, I  make  this  promise  to  our  most  invincible  Sovereigns, 
that,  if  I  am  supported  by  some  little  assistance  from  them,  I 


will  give  them  as  much  gold  as  they  have  need  of,  and  in  addi- 
tion spices,  cotton,  and  mastic,  which  is  found  only  in  Chios, 
and  as  much  aloes-wood,  and  as  many  heathen  slaves  as  their 
Majesties  may  choose  to  demand ;  besides  these,  rhubarb  and 
other  kinds  of  drugs,  which  I  think  the  men  I  left  in  the  fort 
before  alluded  to  have  already  discovered,  or  will  do  so  ;  as  I 
have  myself  delayed  nowhere  longer  than  the  winds  compelled 
me,  except  while  I  was  providing  for  the  construction  of  a  fort 
in  the  city  of  Nativity,  and  for  making  all  things  safe. 

Although  these  matters  are  very  wonderful  and  unheard  of, 
they  would  have  been  much  more  so  if  ships  to  a  reasonable 
amount  had  been  furnished  me.  But  what  has  been  accom- 
plished is  great  and  wonderful,  and  not  at  all  proportionate  to 
my  deserts,  but  to  the  sacred  Christian  faith,  and  to  the  piety 
and  religion  of  our  Sovereigns.  For  what  the  mind  of  man 
could  not  compass,  the  spirit  of  God  has  granted  to  mortals. 
For  God  is  wont  to  listen  to  his  servants  who  love  his  precepts, 
even  in  impossibilities,  as  has  happened  to  me  in  the  present 
instance,  who  have  accomplished  what  human  strength  has 
hitherto  never  attained.  For,  if  any  one  has  written  or  told 
anything  about  these  islands,  all  have  done  so  either  obscurely 
or  by  guesswork,  so  that  it  has  almost  seemed  to  be  fabulous. 

Therefore  let  King  and  Queen  and  Princes,  and  their  most 
fortunate  realms,  and  all  other  Christian  provinces,  let  us  all 
return  thanks  to  our  Lord  and  Saviour  Jesus  Christ,  who  has 
bestowed  so  great  a  victory  and  reward  upon  us ;  let  there  be 
processions  and  solemn  sacrifices  prepared  ;  let  the  churches 
be  decked  with  festal  boughs  ;  let  Christ  rejoice  upon  earth  as 
he  rejoices  in  heaven,  as  he  foresees  that  so  many  souls  of  so 
many  people  heretofore  lost  are  to  be  saved ;  and  let  us  be 
glad  not  only  for  the  exaltation  of  our  faith,  but  also  for  the 
increase  of  temporal  prosperity,  in  which  not  only  Spain,  but  all 
Christendom  is  about  to  share. 

As  these  things  have  been  accomplished,  so  have  they  been 
briefly  narrated.     Farewell. 

CHRISTOPHER    COLOM, 

Admiral  of  the  Ocean  Fleet. 
Lisbon,  March  14th. 

AN    EPIGRAM. 

R.  L.  de  Corbaria,  Bishop  of  Montepeloso,  to  the  most  in- 
vincible King  of  Spain. 

Now  no  land  need  be  added  to  the  triumphs  of  Spain, 
For  the  world  was  too  small  for  power  so  great ; 


8 

Now  a  region  far  hidden  beneath  the  eastern  waves 

Will  add  to  thy  titles,  O  great  lord  of  the  Baetis, 
Wherefore  to  Columbus,  its  discoverer,  must  deservedly  be  paid 

Thanks  ;  but  greater  be  rendered  to  God  most  high, 
Who  is  preparing  new  realms  to  be  conquered  by  thee  and  by  himself. 

It  is  best  for  thee  to  be  at  the  same  time  brave  and  pious. 


Columbus  was  a  very  voluminous  writer.  Ninety-seven  pieces  of  writing 
by  him,  memoirs,  relations,  or  letters,  exist,  or  are  known  to  have  existed. 
Sixty-four  of  these  writings  we  possess  in  their  entirety,  including  twenty- 
three  in  his  own  handwriting,  all  of  which  have  been  published.  The  com- 
pletest  accounts  of  these  various  writings  are  those  by  Justin  Winsor  in  the 
first  chapter  of  his  book  on  Columbus  and  in  the  Narrative  and  Critical  His- 
tory of  America,  vol.  ii.,  to  which  the  student  is  referred. 

In  February,  1493,  while  off  the  Azores,  on  his  return  voyage,  Colum- 
bus wrote  an  account  of  his  voyage  and  discoveries,  in  a  letter,  intended  for 
the  eyes  of  Ferdinand  and  Isabella,  addressed  to  Luis  de  Santangel,  the 
treasurer  of  Aragon,  who  had  been  his  warm  friend  and  helped  fit  out  the 
expedition.  This  letter,  which  was  printed  at  Barcelona  immediately  after 
Columbus's  arrival  in  Spain,  may  be  found  in  English  in  the  volumes  ed- 
ited by  Major  and  Kettell,  and  also  in  the  "Amei'ican  History  Leaflets," 
edited  by  Professor  Hart  and  Professor  Channing.  At  almost  the  same 
time  with  his  letter  to  Santangel,  Columbus  wrote  another  account,  substan- 
tially the  same,  to  Gabriel  Sanchez  (in  some  copies,  including  the  Boston 
Public  Library  copy,  improperly  called  Raphael  Sanxis),  another  officer  of  the 
royal  treasury.  Several  editions  of  this  letter,  translated  into  Latin  by  a 
certain  Leander  de  Cosco,  were  published  at  Rome,  at  Paris,  and  elsewhere, 
in  the  course  of  the  year  1493.  ^^^^  ^^^  ^^  Rome  editions  was  printed 
by  Stephen  Plannck.  Only  five  copies  of  this  edition  are  now  known  to 
exist, —  two  in  the  British  Museum,  one  in  the  Royal  Library  at  Munich, 
one  in  the  collection  of  Mr.  Brayton  Ives  in  New  York,  and  one  in  the 
Boston  Public  Library.  The  trustees  of  the  Public  Library  have  repro- 
duced this  latter  in  fac-simile  by  the  heliotype  process  (it  can  be  pur- 
chased at  the  library  for  fifty  cents),  with  a  bibliographical  note  and 
translation  by  Henry  W.  Haynes ;  and  this  translation  is  given,  by  the 
kind  consent  of  the  trustees,  in  the  present  leaflet.  Another  translation 
by  R.  H.  Major,  from  a  different  Latin  text,  may  be  found  in  his  volume  of 
the  Select  Letters  by  Columbus. 

There  is  an  English  translation  by  Samuel  Kettell  of  Las  Casas's  ac- 
count of  the  first  voyage,  abridged  from  the  Journal  of  Columbus,  which  is 
lost.  Las  Casas  says  that  for  a  while  he  follows  the  very  words  of  Colum- 
bus. The  account  of  the  discovery,  from  the  Life  of  Columbus  by  his  son, 
Ferdinand  Columbus,  is  given  in  the  series  of  Old  South  Leaflets  for  1891, 
No.  8. 

The  popular  lives  of  Columbus  in  English  have  been  those  by  Irving 
and  Arthur  Helps.  In  the  present  year  the  learned  biography  by  Justin 
Winsor,  a  mine  of  information  concerning  the  original  authorities,  and 
the  brilliant  work  by  John  Fiske  have  appeared,  together  with  two 
briefer  lives  of  Columbus,  by  Prof.  Charles  K.  Adams  and  Frederic  Saun- 
ders. The  valuable  biography  by  the  Italian,  Tarducci,  has  recently  been 
translated.  The  thorough  student  will  give  special  attention  to  the  learned 
and  critical  volumes  upon  Columbus  by  Henry  Harrisse.  The  young  people 
will  enjoy  the  bright  Life  of  Columbus  by  Edward  Everett  Hale. 


GENERAL  SERIES,  No,  34. 

Amerigo  Ves- 
pucci's Account  of 

his  First  Voyage. 


'Letter    of     Amerigo    Vespucci    to    Pier    Soderini,    Gon- 
falonier OF  THE  Republic  of  Florence. 

Magnificent  Lord.  After  humble  reverence  and  due  com- 
mendations, etc.  It  may  be  that  your  Magnificence  will  be 
surprised  by  (^Ais  co7ijunction  of)  my  rashness  and  your  cus- 
tomary I  wisdom,  in  that  I  should  so  absurdly  bestir  myself  to 
write  to  your  Magnificence  the  present  so-prolix  letter  :  knowing 
(as  I  do)  that  your  Magnificence  is  continually  employed  in 
high  councils  and  affairs  concerning  the  good  government  of 
this  sublime  Republic.  And  will  hold  me  not  only  presumptu- 
ous, but  also  idly-meddlesome  in  setting  myself  to  write  things, 
neither  suitable  to  your  station,  nor  entertaining,  and  written  in 
barbarous  style,  and  outside  of  every  canon  of  polite  literature  :  2 
but  my  confidence  which  I  have  in  your  virtues  and  in  the  truth 
of  my  writing,  which  are  things  {that)  are  not  found  written 
neither  by  the  ancients  nor  by  modern  writers,  as  your  Magnifi- 
cence will  in  the  sequel  perceive,  makes  me  bold.3  The  chief 
cause  which  moved  {me)  to  write  to  you,  was  at  the  request  of 
the  present  bearer,  who»is  named  Benvenuto  Benvenuti  our  Flor- 
entine {fellow-citizefi)^  very  much,  as  it  is  proven,  your  Magnifi- 
cence's servant,  and  my  very  good  friend  :  who  happening  to 
be  here  in  this  city  of  Lisbon,  begged  that  I  should  make  com- 
munication to  your  Magnificence  of  the  things  seen  by  me  in 
divers  regions  of  the  world,  by  virtue  of  four  voyages  which  I 
have  made  in  discovery  of  new  lands  :  two  by  order  of  the 
king  of  Castile, 4  King  Don  Ferrando  VI.,  across  the  great  gulf 

1  Varnhagen  suggests  that  tisada  is  a  corruption  of  the  Spanish  osadia  (daring),  but  this 
would  leave  vostra  savidoria  inexplicable. 
'^  Hzimanith. 

3  Here  usato  is  certainly  the  Spai:iish  osado,  or  the  Portuguese  onsado. 

4  This  lack  of  precision  with  regard  to  Ferdinand's  title  maybe  compared  with  similar 
carelessness  on  the  early  maps  which  refer  to  America. 


of  the  Ocean-sea,  towards  the  west :  and  the  other  two  by  com- 
mand of  the  puissant  Kmg  Don  Manuel  King  of  Portugal, 
towards  the  south :  Telling  me  that  your  Magnificence  would 
take  pleasure  thereof,  and  that  herein  he  hoped  to  do  you 
service  :  wherefore  I  set  me  to  do  it :  because  I  am  assured  that 
your  Magnificence  holds  me  in  the  number  of  your  servants, 
remembering  that  in  the  time  of  our  youth  I  was  your  friend, 
and  now  {am  your)  servant :  and  {remembering  our)  going  to 
hear  the  rudiments  of  grammar  under  the  fair  example  and 
instruction  of  the  venerable  monk  friar  of  Saint  Mark  Fra 
Giorgio  Antonio  Vespucci :  whose  counsels  and  teaching  would 
to  God  that  I  had  followed  :  for  as  saith  Petrarch,  I  should  be 
another  man  than  what  I  am.  Howbeit  soever,^  I  grieve  not: 
because  I  have  ever  taken  delight  in  worthy  matters :  and  al- 
though these  trifles  of  mine  may  not  be  suitable  to  your  virtues, 
I  will  say  to  you  as  said  Pliny  to  Maecenas,  you  were  sometime 
wont  to  take  pleasure  in  my  prattlings :  even  though  your  Mag- 
nificence be  continuously  busied  in  public  affairs,  you  will  take 
some  hour  of  relaxation  to  consume  a  little  time  in  frivolous  or 
amusing  things :  and  as  fennel  is  customarily  given  atop  of 
delicious  viands  to  fit  them  for  better  digestion,  so  may  you,  for 
a  relief  from  your  so  heavy  occupations,  order  this  letter  of 
mine  to  be  read:  so  that  they 2  may  withdraw  you  somewhat 
from  the  continual  anxiety  and  assiduous  reflection  upon  public 
affairs  :  and  if  I  shall  be  prolix,  I  crave  pardon, 3  my  Magnificent 
Lord.  Your  Magnificence  shall  know  that  the  motive  of  my 
coming  into  this  realm  of  Spain  was  to  traffic  in  merchandise  : 
and  that  I  pursued  this  intent  about  four  years  :  during  which  I 
saw  and  knew  the  inconstant  shiftings  of  Fortune  :  and  how  she 
kept  changing  those  frail  and  transitory  benefits :  and  how  at  one 
time  she  holds  man  on  the  summit  of  the  wheel,  and  at  another 
time  drives  him  back  from  her,  and  despoils  him  of  what  may  be 
called  his  borrowed  riches  :  so  that,  knowing  the  continuous  toil 
which  man  undergoes  to  win  them,  submitting  himself  to  so 
many  anxieties  and  risks,  I  resolved  to  abandon  trade,  and  to 
fix  my  aim  upon  something  more  praiseworthy  and  stable : 
whence  it  was  that  I  made  preparation  for  going  to  see  part  4  of 
the  world  and  its  wonders :  and  herefor  the  time  and  place 
presented  themselves  most  opportunely  to  me  :  which  was  that 
the  King  Don  Ferrando  of  Castile  being  about  to  despatch  four 

1  Quomodo  cunqtte  sit.     Vespucci  affected  a  little  Latin. 

2  " They  "  for  "  it."  3  Veniam peto. 

4  Parte  is  used  by  Vespucci  as  plural  as  well  as  singular,  and  consequently  this  means 
properly  "  parts  "  or  "  various  parts,"  as  it  appears  in  the  Latin  version. 


ships  to  discover  new  lands  towards  the  west,  I  was  chosen  by 
his  Highness  to  go  in  that  fleet  to  aid  in  making  discovery  :  and 
we  set  out  from  the  port  of  Cadiz  on  the  lo  ^  day  of  May 
1497,  and  took  our  route  through  the  great  gulph  of  the 
Ocean-sea  :  in  which  voyage  we  were  eighteen  months  {engaged)  : 
and  discovered  much  continental  land  and  innumerable  islands, 
and  great  part  of  them  inhabited  :  whereas  there  is  no  mention 
made  by  the  ancient  writers  of  them  :  I  believe,  because  they 
had  no  knowledge  thereof  :  for,  if  I  remember  well,  I  have 
read  in  some  one  (0/  those  writers)  that  he  considered  that  this 
Ocean-sea  was  an  unpeopled  sea :  and  of  this  opinion  was 
Dante  our  poet  in  the  xxvi.  chapter  of  the  Inferno,  where  he 
feigns  the  death  of  Ulysses :  in  which  voyage  I  beheld  things  of 
great  wondrousness,  as  your  Magnificence  shall  understand. 
As  I  said  above,  we  left  the  port  of  Cadiz  four  consort 
ships :  2  and  began  our  voyage  in  direct  course  to  the 
Fortunate  Isles,  which  are  called  to-day  la  graft  Canaria,  which 
are  situated  in  the  Ocean-sea  at  the  extremity  of  the  inhabited 
west,  {and)  set  in  the  third  climate  :  over  which  the  North  Pole 
has  an  elevation  of  27  and  a  half  degrees  3  beyond  their 
horizon  :  4  and  they  are  280  leagues  distant  from  this  city  of 
Lisbon,  by  the  wind  between  mezzo  di  and  libeccio  :  s  where  we 
remained  eight  days,  taking  in  provision  of  water,  and  wood  and 
other  necessary  things  :  and  from  here,  having  said  our  prayers, 
we  weighed  anchor,  and  gave  the  sails  to  the  wind,  beginning 
our  course  to  westward,  taking  one  quarter  by  south-west :  ^  and 
so  we  sailed  on  till  at  the  end  of  37  7  days  we  reached  a  land 
which  we  deemed  to  be  a  continent :  which  is  distant  west- 
wardly  from  the  isles  of  Canary  about  a  thousand  leagues 
beyond  the  inhabited  region  ^  within  the  torrid  zone :  for  we 
found  the  North  Pole  at  an  elevation  of  16  degrees  above  its 
horizon,9  and  {it  was)  westward,  according  to  the  shewing  of 
our  instruments,  75  degrees  from*  the  isles  of  Canary :  whereat 
we  anchored  with  our  ships  a  league  and  a  half  from  land :  and 
we  put  out  our  boats  freighted  with  men  and  arms  :  we  made 
towards  the  land,  and  before  we  reached  it,  had  sight  of  a  great 


of 


IThe  Latin  version  at  the  end  of  the   Cosinographi<z  Introductio  hz.%  "20"  instead 


2  Navi  di  conserva .  3  The  Latin  has  ' '  27%. " 

4 That  is,  which  are  situate  at  27/^  degrees  north  latitude. 

5  South-south-west.     It  is  to  be  remarked  that  Vespucci  always  uses  the  word  wind  to 
signify  the  course  in  which  it  blows,  not  the  quarter  from  which  it  rises. 
G  West  and  a  quarter  by  south-west.  5"  Latin  has  27. 

8  This  phrase  is  merely  equivalent  to  a  repetition  of  from  the  Canaries,  these  islands 
having  been  already  designated  the  extreme  western  limit  of  inhabited  land, 

9  That  is,  16  degrees  north  latitude,. 


number  of  people  who  were  going  along  the  shore :  by  which 
we  were  much  rejoiced  :  and  we  observed  that  they  were  a 
naked  race :  they  shewed  themselves  to  stand  in  fear  of  us  :  I 
believe  (//  was)  because  they  saw  us  clothed  and  of  other 
appearance  {than  their  own)  :  they  all  withdrew  to  a  hill,  and  for 
whatsoever  signals  we  made  to  them  of  peace  and  of  friendliness, 
they  would  not  come  to  parley  with  us:  so  that,  as  the  night 
was  now  coming  on,  and  as  the  ships  were  anchored  in  a 
dangerous  place,  being  on  a  rough  and  shelterless  coast,  we 
decided  to  remove  from  there  the  next  day,  and  to  go  in  search 
of  some  harbour  or  bay,  where  we  might  place  our  ships  in 
safety:  and  we  sailed  with  the  maestrale  wind,^  thus  running 
along  the  coast  with  the  land  ever  in  sight,  continually  in  our 
course  observing  people  along  the  shore :  till  after  having 
navigated  for  two  days,  we  found  a  place  sufficiently  secure  for 
the  ships,  and  anchored  half  a  league  from  land,  on  which  we 
saw  a  very  great  number  of  people  :  and  this  same  day  we  put 
to  land  with  the  boats,  and  sprang  on  shore  full  40  men  in  good 
trim  :  and  still  the  land's  people  appeared  shy  of  converse  with 
us,  and  we  were  unable  to  encourage  them  so  much  as  to  make 
them  come  to  speak  with  us  :  and  this  day  we  laboured  so 
greatly  in  giving  them  of  our  wares,  such  as  rattles  and  mirrors, 
beads,2  spalline,  and  other  trifles,  that  some  of  them  took  con- 
fidence and  came  to  discourse  with  us :  and  after  having  made 
good  friends  with  them,  the  night  coming  on,  we  took  our  leave 
of  them  and  returned  to  the  ships :  and  the  next  day  when  the 
dawn  appeared  we  saw  that  there  were  infinite  numbers  of 
people  upon  the  beach,  and  they  had  their  women  and  children 
with  them :  we  went  ashore,  and  found  that  they  were  all  laden 
with  their  worldly  goods  3  which  are  suchlike  as,  in  its  {^proper) 
place,  shall  be  related :  and  before  we  reached  the  land,  many 
of  them  jumped  into  the  sea  and  came  swimming  to  receive  us 
at  a  bowshot's  length  {from  the  shore),  for  they  are  very  great 
swimmers,  with  as  much  confidence  as  if  they  had  for  a  long 
time  been  acquainted  with  us :  and  we  were  pleased  with  this 
their  confidence.  For  so  much  as  we  learned  of  their  manner 
of  life  and  customs,  it  was  that  they  go  entirely  naked,  as  well 
the  men  as  the  women.  .  .  .  They  are  of  medium  stature,  very 
well  proportioned :  their  flesh  is  of  a   colour  that  verges  into 

1  North-west.     Latin  has  vento  secundum  collem. 

2  The  word  is  cejite,  supposed  to  be  a  misprint  for  conte,  an  Italianised  form  of  the  Span- 
ish ctientas.  Spalline  is  a  word  not  given  in  the  dictionaries.  The  Latin  translator  seems  to 
have  read  the  original  as  certe  cristalline. 

'i Mantenimenti.  The  word  "all"  {tucte)  is  feminine,  and  probably  refers  only  to  the 
women. 


5 

red  like  a  lion's  mane :  and  I  believe  that  if  they  went  clothed, 
they  would  be  as  white  as  we  :  they  have  not  any  hair  upon  the 
body,  except  the  hair  of  the  head  vv'hich  is  long  and  black,  and 
especially  in  the  women,  whom  it  renders  handsome  .  in  aspect 
they  are  not  very  good-looking,  because  they  have  broad  faces, 
so  that  they  would  seem  Tartar-like  :  they  let  no  hair  grow  on 
their  eyebrows,  nor  on  their  eyelids,  nor  elsewhere,  except  the 
hair  of  the  head  :  for  they  hold  hairiness  to  be  a  filthy  thing : 
they  are  very  light  footed  in  walking  and  in  running,  as 
well  the  men  as  the  women  :  so  that  a  woman  recks  nothing 
of  running  a  league  or  two,  as  many  times  we  saw  them 
do  :  and  herein  they  have  a  very  great  advantage  over  us 
Christians  :  they  swim  (with  a7i  experiness)  beyond  all  belief, 
and  the  women  better  than  the  men  :  for  we  have  many  times 
found  and  seen  them  swimming  two  leagues  out  at  sea  with- 
out anything  to  rest  upon.  Their  arms  are  bows  and  arrows 
very  well  made,  save  that  {the  arrows)  are  not  {tipped) 
with  iron  nor  any  other  kind  of  hard  metal :  and  instead 
of  iron  they  put  animals'  or  fishes'  teeth,  or  a  spike  of  tough 
wood,  with  the  point  hardened  by  fire  :  they  are  sure  marksmen, 
for  they  hit  whatever  they  aim  at :  and  in  some  places  the 
women  use  these  bows :  they  have  other  weapons,  such  as  fire- 
hardened  spears,  and  also  clubs  with  knobs,  beautifully  carved. 
Warfare  is  used  amongst  them,  which  they  carry  on  against 
people  not  of  their  own  language,  very  cruelly,  without  granting 
life  to  any  one,  except  {to  7-eserve  him)  for  greater  suffering. 
When  they  go  to  war,  they  take  their  women  with  them,  not 
that  these  may  fight,  but  because  they  carry  behind  them  their 
worldly  goods,  for  a  woman  carries  on  her  back  for  thirty  or 
forty  leagues  a  load  which  no  man  could  bear  :  as  we  have 
many  times  seen  them  do.  They  are  not  accustomed  to  have 
any  Captain,  nor  do  they  go  in  any  ordered  array,  for  every  one 
is  lord  of  himself :  and  the  cause  of  their*wars  is  not  for  lust  of 
dominion,  nor  of  extending  their  frontiers,  nor  for  inordinate 
covetousness,  but  for  some  ancient  enmity  which  in  by-gone 
times  arose '  amongst  them  :  and  when  asked  why  they  made 
war,  they  knew  not  any  other  reason  to  give  than  that  they  did 
so  to  avenge  the  death  of  their  ancestors,  or  of  their  parents : 
these  people  have  neither  King,  nor  Lord,  nor  do  they  yield 
obedience  to  anyone,  for  they  live  in  their  own  liberty:  and 
how  they  be  stirred  up  to  go  to  war  is  {this)  that  when  the 
enemies  have  slain  or  captured  any  of  them,  his  oldest  kinsman 
rises  up  and  goes  about  the  highways  haranguing  them  to  go 

1  The  expression  in  the  original  is  e  stita,  an  error  for  e  suta. 


with  him  and  avenge  the  death  of  such  his  kinsman  :  and  so 
are  they  stirred  up  by  fellow-feeling  :  they  have  no  judicial  sys- 
tem, nor  do  they  punish  the  ill-doer :  nor  does  the  father, 
nor  the  mother  chastise  the  children :  and  marvellously 
{seldom)  or  never  did  we  see  any  dispute  among  them: 
in  their  conversation  they  appear  simple,  and  they  are  very 
cunning  and  acute  in  that  which  concerns  them  :  ^  they  speak 
little  and  in  a  low  tone :  they  use  the  same  articulations  as  we, 
since  they  form  their  utterances  either  with  the  palate,  or  with 
the  teeth,  or  on  the  lips  i^  except  that  they  give  different  names 
to  things.  Many  are  the  varieties  of  tongues  :  for  in  every  loo 
leagues  we  found  a  change  of  language,  so  that  they  are  not 
understandable  each  to  the  other.  The  manner  of  their  living 
is  very  barbarous,  for  they  do  not  eat  at  certain  hours,  and  as 
oftentimes  as  they  will :  and  it  is  not  much  of  a  boon  to  them  that 
the  will  may  come  more  at  midnight  than  by  day,  for  they  eat  at 
all  hours :  3  and  they  eat  upon  the  ground  without  a  table-cloth 
or  any  other  cover,  for  they  have  their  meats  either  in  earthen 
basins  which  they  make  themselves,  or  in  the  halves  of  pump- 
kins :  they  sleep  in  certain  very  large  nettings  made  of  cotton,4 
suspended  in  the  air :  and  although  this  their  {fashion  of)  sleep- 
ing may  seem  uncomfortable,  I  say  that  it  is  sweet  to  sleep 
in  those  (nettings) :  and  we  slept  better  in  them  than  in  the 
counterpanes.  They  are  a  people  smooth  and  clean  of  body, 
because  of  so  continually  washing  themselves  as  they  do.  .  .  . 
Amongst  those  people  we  did  not  learn  that  they  had  any 
law,  nor  can  they  be  called  Moors  nor  Jews,  and  {they  are) 
worse  than  pagans':  because  we  did  not  observe  that  they 
offered  any  sacrifice :  nor  even  5  had  they  a  house  of  prayer : 
their  manner  of  living  I  judge  to  be  Epicurean  :  their  dwell- 
ings are  in  common :  and  their  houses  {are)  made  in  the 
style  of  huts,6  but  strongly  made,  and  constructed  with  very 
large  trees,  and  covered  over  with  palm-leaves,  secure  against 
storms  and  winds  :  and  in  some  places  {they  are)  of  so  great 
breadth  and  length,  that  in  one  single  house  we  found  there  were 
600  souls  :  and  we  saw  a  village  of  only  thirteen  7  houses  where 

1  Che  loro  cuple.  The  Spanish  word  complir,  with  the  sense  of  being  important  or 
suitable. 

2  He  means  that  they  have  no  sounds  in  their  language  unknown  to  European  organs  of 
speech,  all  being  either  palatals  or  dentals  or  labials. 

3The  words  from  "and  it  is  not  much"  down  to  "at  all  hours"  omitted  in  the  Latin. 
I  have  translated  "  et  nofi  si  da  loro  molto''''  zs,  "it  is  not  much  of  a  boon  to  them,"  but 
may  be  "  it  matters  not  much  to  them." 

4  Bamhacia.  ^  Nee  etiam  nan. 

6  Waldseemiiller  has  "  bell-towers,"  having  misread  campane  for  capanne,  huts  or  cabins. 

J"  Latin  has  eight. 


there  were  four  thousand  ^  souls  :  every  eight  or  ten  years  ^ 
they  change  their  habitations  :  and  when  asked  why  they  did 
so  :  {they  said  it  was)  because  of  the  soil  3  which,  from  its  filthi- 
ness,  was  already  unhealthy  and  corrupted,  and  that  it  bred 
aches  in  their  bodies,  which  seemed  to  us  a  good  reason  :  their 
riches  consist  o£  birds'  plumes  of  many  colours,  or  of  rosaries  4 
which  they  make  from  fishbones,  or  of  white  or  green  stones 
which  they  put  in  their  cheeks  and  in  their  lips  and  ears,  and 
of  many  other  things  which  we  in  no  wise  value  :  they  use  no 
trade,  they  neither  buy  nor  sell.  In  fine,  they  live  and  are  con- 
tented with  that  which  nature  gives  them.  The  wealth  that  we 
enjoy  in  this  our  Europe  and  elsewhere,  such  as  gold,  jewels, 
pearls,  and  other  riches,  they  hold  as  nothing :  and  although 
they  have  them  in  their  own  lands,  they  do  not  labour  to  obtain 
them,  nor  do  they  value  them.  They  are  liberal  in  giving,  for 
it  is  rarely  they  deny  you  anything :  and  on  the  other  hand, 
liberal  in  asking,  when  they  shew  themselves  your  friends.  .  .  . 
When  they  die,  they  use  divers  manners  of  obsequies,  and  some 
they  bury  with  water  and  victuals  at  their  heads :  thinking  that 
they  shall  have  {whe?'eof)  to  eat :  they  have  not  nor  do  they 
use  ceremonies  of  torches  5  nor  of  lamentation.  In  some 
other  places,  they  use  the  most  barbarous  and  inhuman 
burial, 6  which  is  that  when  a  suffering  or  infirm  {persori)  is 
as  it  were  at  the  last  pass  of  death,  his  kinsmen  carry  him 
into  a  large  forest,  and  attach  one  of  those  nets,  of  theirs, 
in  which  they  sleep,  to  two  trees,  and  then  put  him  in  it, 
and  dance  around  him  for  a  whole  day  :  and  when  the  night 
comes  on  they  place  at  his  bolster,  water  with  other  victuals, 
so  that  he  may  be  able  to  subsist  for  four  or  six  days:  and 
then  they  leave  him  alone  and  return  to  the  village:  and 
if  the  sick  man  helps  himself,  and  eats,  and  drinks,  and  sur- 
vives, he  returns  to  the  village,  and  his  {friends)  receive  him 
with  ceremony:  but  few  are  they  who  escape:  without  receiv- 
ing any  further  visit  they  die,  and  that  is  their  sepulture :  and 
they  have  many  other  customs  which  for  prolixity  are  not 
related.  They  use  in  their  sicknesses  various  forms  of  medi- 
cines,7  so  different  from  ours  that  we  marvelled  how  any  one 
escaped :  for  many  times  I  saw  that  with  a  man  sick  of  fever, 
when  it  heightened  upon  him,  they  bathed  him  from  head  to 

i  Latin,  ten  thotisand.  2  Latin  has  seven  for  ten. 

^Suolo,  the  ground  or  flooring,  which  Waldseemiiller  absurdly  misread  sole,  the   sun. 
Varnhagen,  no  less  strangely,  translates  it  "  the  atmosphere." 

^ Pater tiostrini.  ^  Lumi,  lights,  tapers,  candles,  as  in  Catholic  ceremonies. 

^Interramento  is  the  word,  but  he  means  only  "funeral  rite." 

7 That  is,  "  medical  treatment." 


8 

foot  with  a  large  quantity  of  cold  water :  then  they  lit  a  great 
fire  around  him,  making  him  turn  and  turn  again  every  two 
hours,  until  they  tired  him  and  left  him  to  sleep,  and  many 
were  (thus)  cured  :  with  this  they  make  use  of  dieting,  for  they 
remain  three  days  without  eating,  and  also  of  blood-letting,  but 
not  from  the  arm,  only  from  the  thighs  and  the  loins  and  the 
calf  of  the  leg :  also  they  provoke  vomiting  with  their  herbs 
which  are  put  into  the  mouth :  and  they  use  many  other 
remedies  which  it  would  be  long  to  relate :  they  are  much 
vitiated  in  the  phlegm  and  in  the  blood  because  of  their  food 
which  consists  chiefly  of  roots  of  herbs,  and  fruits  and  fish : 
they  have  no  seed  of  wheat  nor  other  grain  :  and  for  their  ordi- 
nary use  and  feeding,  they  have  a  root  of  a  tree,  from  which 
they  make  flour,  tolerably  good,  and  they  call  it  luca,  and 
another  which  they  call  Cazabi,  and  another  Ignami :  they  eat 
little  flesh  except  human  flesh :  for  your  Magnificence  must 
know  that  herein  they  are  so  inhuman  that  they  outdo  every 
custom  (even)  of  beasts ;  for  they  eat  all  their  enemies  whom 
they  kill  or  capture,  as  well  females  as  males  with  so  much 
savagery,  that  (merely)  to  relate  it  appears  a  horrible  thing : 
how  much  more  so  to  see  it,  as,  infinite  times  and  in  many 
places,  it  was  my  hap  to  see  it :  and  they  wondered  to  hear 
us  say  that  we  did  not  eat  our  enemies :  and  this  your  Mag- 
nificence may  take  for  certain,  that  their  other  barbarous 
customs  are  such  that  expression  is  too  weak  for  the  reality : 
and  as  in  these  four  voyages  I  have  seen  so  many  things 
diverse  from  our  customs,  I  prepared  to  write  a  common-place- 
book  ^  which  I  name  Le  quattro  Giornate:  in  which  I 
have  set  down  the  greater  part  of  the  things  which  I  saw, 
sufficiently  in  detail,  so  far  as  my  feeble  wit  has  allowed  me : 
which  I  have  not  yet  published,  because  I  have  so  ill  a  taste  for 
my  own  things  that  I  do  not  relish  those  which  I  have  written, 
notwithstanding  that  many  encourage  me  to  publish  it :  therein 
everything  will  be  seen  in  detail :  so  that  I  shall  not  enlarge 
further  in  this  chapter:  as  in  the  course  of  the  letter  we  shall 
come  to  many  other  things  which  are  particular :  let  this  suffice 
for  the  general.  At  this  beginning,  we  saw  nothing  in  the 
land  of  much  profit,  except  some  show  of  gold  :  I  believe  the 
cause  of  it  was  that  we  did  not  know  the  language :  but  in  so 
far  as  concerns  the  situation  and  condition  of  the  land,  it  could 
not  be  better :  we  decided  to  leave  that  place,  and  to  go  further 
on,  continuously  coasting  the  shore  :  upon  which  we  made  fre- 

l  Zibaldone,  miscellany,  ornnhtni-gatheruin. 


quent  descents,  and  held  converse  with  a  great  number  of 
people  :  and  at  the  end  of  some  days  we  went  into  a  harbour 
w^iere  we  underwent  very  great  danger :  and  it  pleased  the 
Holy  Ghost  to  save  us  :  and  it  was  in  this  wise.  We  landed 
in  a  harbour,  where  we  found  a  village  built  like  Venice 
upon  the  water :  there  were  about  44  large  dwellings  in  the 
form  of  huts  erected  upon  very  thick  piles,  ^  and  they  had 
their  doors  or  entrances  in  the  style  of  drawbridges :  and 
from  each  house  one  could  pass  through  all,  by  means  of 
the  drawbridges  which  stretched  from  house  to  house :  and 
when  the  people  thereof  had  seen  us,  they  appeared  to  be 
afraid  of  us,  and  immediately  drew  up  all  the  bridges  :  and 
while  we  were  looking  at  this  strange  action,  we  saw  coming 
across  the  sea  about  22  canoes,  which  are  a  kind  of  boats  of 
theirs,  constructed  from  a  single  tree :  which  came  towards  our 
boats,  as  they  had  been  surprised  by  our  appearance  and 
clothes,  and  kept  wide  of  us:  and  thus  remaining,  we  made 
signals  to  them  that  they  should  approach  us,  encouraging  them 
with  every  token  of  friendliness  :  and  seeing  that  they  did  not 
come,  we  went  to  them,  and  they  did  not  stay  for  us,  but  made 
to  the  land,  and,  by  signs,  told  us  to  wait,  and  that  they  should 
soon  return  :  and  they  went  to  a  hill  in  the  background,^  and 
did  not  delay  long:  when  they  returned,  they  led  with  them  16 
of  their  girls,  and  entered  with  these  into  their  canoes,  and 
came  to  the  boats  :  and  in  each  boat  they  put  4  of  the  girls. 
That  we  marvelled  at  this  behavior  your  Magnificence  can 
imagine  how  much,  and  they  placed  themselves  with  their 
canoes  among  our  boats,  coming  to  speak  with  us :  insomuch 
that  we  deemed  it  a  mark  of  friendliness  :  and  while  thus  en- 
gaged, we  beheld  a  great  number  of  people  advance  swimming 
towards  us  across  the  sea,  who  came  from  the  houses :  and  as 
they  were  drawing  near  to  us  without  any  apprehension :  just  then 
there  appeared  at  the  doors  of  the  houses  certain  old  women, 
uttering  very  loud  cries  and  tearing'  their  hair  to  exhibit  grief : 
whereby  they  made  us  suspicious,  and  we  each  betook  ourselves 
to  arms :  and  instantly  the  girls  whom  we  had  in  the  boats, 
threw  themselves  into  the  sea,  and  the  men  of  the  canoes  drew 
away  from  us,  and  began  with  their  bows  to  shoot  arrows  at 
us :  and  those  who  were  swimming  each  carried  a  lance  held, 
as  covertly. as  they  could,  beneath  the  water:  so  that,  recog- 
nizing  the   treachery,  we   engaged   with   them,  not   merely  to 

1  Waldseemiiller  has  20  instead  of  44,  and  repeats  his  error  of  "  bell-towers  "  for  "  huts." 

2  Varnhagen  says  "went  straight  to  land,"  evidently  mistaking  drieto  {dietro)  for  dricto, 
and  isfnorine  monte. 


lO 

defend  ourselves,  but  to  attack  them  vigorously,  and  we  over- 
turned with  our  boats  many  of  their  almadie  or  canoes,  for 
so  they  call  them,  we  made  a  slaughter  {of  them),  and  they 
all  flung  themselves  into  the  water  to  swim,  leaving  their 
canoes  abandoned,  with  considerable  loss  on  their  side,  they 
went  swimming  away  to  the  shore  :  there  died  of  them  about  15 
or  20,  and  many  were  left  wounded:  and  of  ours  5  were 
wounded,  and  all,  by  the  grace  of  God,  escaped  (death)  :  we 
captured  two  of  the  girls  and  two  men  :  ^  and  we  proceeded  to 
their  houses,  and  entered  therein,  and  in  them  all  we  found 
nothing  else  than  two  old  women  and  a  sick  man :  we  took 
away  from  them  many  things,  but  of  small  value  :  and  we 
would  not  burn  their  houses,  because  it  seemed  to  us  (as  thotigh 
that  would  be)  a  burden  upon  our  conscience  :  and  we  returned 
to  our  boats  with  five  prisoners  :  and  betook  ourselves  to  the 
ships,  and  put  a  pair  of  irons  on  the  feet  of  each  of  the  cap- 
tives, except  the  little  girls :  and  when  the  night  came  on,  the 
two  girls  and  one  of  the  men  fled  away  in  the  most  subtle 
manner  possible :  and  next  day  we  decided  to  quit  that  har- 
bour and  go  further  onwards :  we  proceeded  continuously 
skirting  the  coast,  {until)  we  had  sight  of  another  tribe  distant 
perhaps  some  80  leagues  from  the  former  tribe  :  and  we  found 
them  very  different  in  speech  and  customs :  we  resolved  to 
cast  anchor,  and  went  ashore  with  the  boats,  and  we  saw  on  the 
beach  a  great  number  of  people  amounting  probably  to  4000 
souls :  and  when  we  had  reached  the  shore,  they  did  not  stay 
for  us,  but  betook  themselves  to  flight  through  the  forests, 
abandoning  their  things  :  we  jumped  on  land,  and  took  a  path- 
way that  led  to  the  forest :  and  at  the  distance  of  a  bow-shot 
we  found  their  tents,  where  they  had  made  very  large  fires,  and 
two  {of  them)  were  cooking  their  victuals,  and  roasting  several 
animals,  and  fish  of  many  kinds  :  where  we  saw  that  they  were 
roasting  a  certain  animal  which  seemed  to  be  a  serpent,  save 
that  it  had  no  wings,^  and  was  in  its  appearance  so  loathsome 
that  we  marvelled  much  at  its  savageness :  Thus  went  we  on 
through  their  houses,  or  rather  tents,  and  found  many  of 
those  serpents  alive,  and  they  were  tied  by  the  feet  and  had 
a  cord  around  their  snouts,  so  that  they  could  not  open 
their  mouths,  as  is  done  {in  Europe)  with  mastiff-dogs  so 
that  they  may  not  bite :  they  were  of  such  savage  aspect 
that  none  of  us   dared  to  take   one   away,  thinking  that    they 

1  Two  men :  the  Latin  has  three,  which  agrees  better  with  the  mention  of  five  prisoners, 
a  little  lower  down. 

^Alia,  wings  or  fins.     Vespucci  must  have  been  thinking  of  the  fabulous  dragon. 


II 

were  poisonous :  they  are  of  the  bigness  of  a  kid,  and  in  length 
an  ell  and  a  half :  ^  their  feet  are  long  and  thick,  and  armed 
with  big  claws :  they  have  a  hard  skin,  and  are  of  various 
colours :  they  have  the  muzzle  and  face  of  a  serpent :  and  from 
their  snouts  there  rises  a  crest  like  a  saw  which  extends  along 
the  middle  of  the  back  as  far  as  the  tip  ^  of  the  tail  :  in  fine  we 
deemed  them  to  be  serpents  and  venomous,  and  {nevertheless^ 
those  people^  ate  them  :  we  found  that  they  made  bread  out  of 
little  fishes  which  they  took  from  the  sea,  first  boiling  them, 
{theii)  pounding  them,  and  making  thereof  a  paste,  or  bread, 
and  they  baked  them  on  the  embers :  thus  did  they  eat  them  : 
we  tried  it,  and  found  that  it  was  good :  they  had  so  many 
other  kinds  of  eatables,  and  especially  of  fruits  and  roots,  that 
it  would  be  a  large  matter  to  describe  them  in  detail :  and  see- 
ing that  the  people  did  not  return,  we  decided  not  to  touch 
nor  take  away  anything  of  theirs,  so  as  better  to  reassure  them  : 
and  we  left  in  the  tents  for  them  many  of  our  things,  placed 
where  they  should  see  them,  and  returned  by  night  to  our 
ships  :  and  the  next  day,  when  it  was  light,  we  saw  on  the 
beach  an  infinite  number  of  people :  and  we  landed  :  and 
although  they  appeared  timorous  towards  us,  they  took  cour- 
age nevertheless  to  hold  converse  with  us,  giving  us  whatever 
we  asked  of  them :  and  shewing  themselves  very  friendly 
towards  us,  they  told  us  that  those  were  their  dwellings,  and 
that  they  had  come  hither  for  the  purpose  of  fishing :  and  they 
begged  that  we  would  visit  their  dwellings  and  villages, 
because  they  desired  to  receive  us  as  friends :  and  they  en- 
gaged in  such  friendship  because  of  the  two  captured  men 
whom  we  had  with  us,  as  these  were  their  enemies :  insomuch 
that,  in  view  of  such  importunity  on  their  part,  holding  a 
council,  we  determined  that  28  of  us  Christians  in  good 
array  should  go  with  them,  and  in  the  firm  resolve  to  die 
if  it  should  be  necessary :  and  after  we  had  been  here  some 
three  days,  we  went  with  them  inland  :  and  at  three  leagues 
from  the  coast  we  came  to  a  village  of  many  people  and  few 
houses,  for  there  were  no  more  than  nine  {of  these) :  where  we 
were  received  with  such  and  so  many  barbarous  ceremonies 
that  the  pen  suffices  not  to  write  them  down :  for  there  were 
dances,  and  songs,  and  lamentations  mingled  with  rejoicing, 
and  great  quantities  of  food  ;  and  here  we  remained  the  night : 
.  .  .  and  after  having  been  here  that  night  and  half   the  next 

1  Braccia  e  rnezo.     This  animal  was  the  iguana. 

'^Sommith  in  original,  which  might  mean  the  root  of  the  tail ;  but  the  translation  given 
is  the  correct  one. 


12 

day,  so  great  was  the  number  of  people  who  came  wonder- 
ing to  behold  us  that  they  were  beyond  counting :  and  the 
most  aged  begged  us  to  go  with  them  to  other  villages  which 
were  further  inland,  making  display  of  doing  us  the  greatest 
honour :  wherefore  we  decided  to  go  :  and  it  would  be  impos- 
sible to  tell  you  how  much  honour  they  did  us :  and  we  went  to 
several  villages,  so  that  we  were  nine  days  journeying,  so  that 
our  Christians  who  had  remained  with  the  ships  were  already 
apprehensive  concerning  us:  and  when  we  were  about  i8 
leagues  in  the  interior  of  the  land,  we  resolved  to  return  to  the 
ships  :  and  on  our  way  back,  such  was  the  number  of  people,  as 
well  men  as  women,  that  came  with  us  as  far  as  the  sea,  that 
it  was  a  wondrous  thing :  and  if  any  of  us  became  weary  of  the 
march,  they  carried  us  in  their  nets  very  refreshingly :  and  in 
crossing  the  rivers,  which  are  many  and  very  large,  they  passed 
us  over  by  skilful  means  so  securely  that  we  ran  no  danger 
whatever,  and  many  of  them  came  laden  with  the  things  which 
they  had  given  us,  which  consisted  in  their  sleeping-nets,  and 
very  rich  feathers,  many  bows  and  arrows,  innumerable  popin- 
jays ^  of  divers  colours  :  and  others  brought  with  them  loads  of 
their  household  goods,  and  of  animals :  but  a  greater  marvel 
will  I  tell  you,  that,  when  we  had  to  cross  a  river,  he  deemed 
himself  lucky  who  was  able  to  carry  us  on  his  back :  and  when 
we  reached  the  sea,  our  boats  having  arrived,  we  entered  into 
them:  and  so  great  was  the  struggle  which  they  made  to  get 
into  our  boats,  and  to  come  to  see  our  ships,  that  we  marvelled 
(thereat) :  and  in  our  boats  we  took  as  many  of  them  as  we 
could,  and  made  our  way  to  the  ships,  and  so  many  (others) 
came  swimming  that  we  found  ourselves  embarrassed  in  seeing 
so  many  people  in  the  ships,  for  there  were  over  a  thousand  per- 
sons all  naked  and  unarmed :  they  were  amazed  by  our  (7iauti- 
cal)  gear  and  contrivances,  and  the  size  of  the  ships :  and  with 
them  there  occurred  to  us  a  very  laughable  affair,  which  was 
that  we  decided  to  fire  off  some  of  our  great  guns,^  and  when 
the  explosion  took  place,  most  of  them  through  fear  cast  them- 
selves (into  the  sea)  to  swim,  not  otherwise  than  frogs  on  the 
margins  of  a  pond,  when  they  see  something  that  frightens 
them,  will  jump  into  the  water,  just  so  did  those  people :  and 
those  who  remained  in  the  ships  were  so  terrified  that  we 
regretted  our  action  :  however  we  reassured  them  by  telling 
them  that  with  those  arms  we  slew  our  enemies  :  and  when  they 
had  amused  themselves  in  the  ships  the  whole  day,  we  told 
them  to  go  away  because  we  desired  to  depart  that  night,  and 

"^  Paj>pagalU,  Y>^xxo(\\xev!>.  ^  Ariiglierie. 


13 

so  separating  from  us  with  much  friendship  and  love,  they  went 
away  to  land.  Amongst  that  people  and  in  their  land,  I  knew 
and  beheld  so  many  of  their  customs  and  ways  of  living, 
that  I  do  not  care  to  enlarge  upon  them :  for  Your  Magnifi- 
cence must  knov/  that  in  each  of  my  voyages  I  have  noted 
the  most  wonderful  things,  and  I  have  indited  it  all  in  a 
volume  after  the  manner  of  a  geography :  and  I  intitle  it  Le 
QUATTRO  GiORNATE :  in  which  work  the  things  are  comprised  in 
detail,  and  as  yet  there  is  no  copy  of  it  given  out,  as  it  is  neces- 
sary for  me  to  revise  it.^  This  tand  is  very  populous,  and  full 
of  inhabitants,  and  of  numberless  rivers,  {ancf)  animals  :  few  {of 
wJiicJi)  resemble  ours,  excepting  lions,  panthers,  stags,  pigs, 
goats,  and  deer :  2  and  even  these  have  some  dissimilarities  of 
form  :  they  have  no  horses  nor  mules,  nor,  saving  your  rever- 
ence, asses  nor  dogs,  nor  any  kind  of  sheep  or  oxen :  but  so 
numerous  are  the  other  animals  which  they  have,  and  all  are 
savage,  and  of  none  do  they  make  use  for  their  service,  that  they 
could  not  be  counted.  What  shall  we  say  of  others  {such  as) 
birds  ?  which  are  so  numerous,  and  of  so  many  kinds,  and  of 
such  various-coloured  plumages,  that  it  is  a  marvel  to  behold 
them.  The  soil  is  very  pleasant  and  fruitful,  full  of  immense 
woods  and  forests  :  and  it  is  always  green,  for  the  foliage  never 
drops  off.  The  fruits  are  so  many  that  they  are  numberless 
and  entirely  different  from  ours.  This  land  is  within  the  torrid 
zone,  close  to  or  just  under  the  parallel  described  by  the  Tropic 
of  Cancer :  where  the  pole  of  the  horizon  has  an  elevation  of  23 
degrees,  at  the  extremity  of  the  second  climate.3  Many  tribes 
came  to  see  us,  and  wondered  at  our  faces  and  our  whiteness : 
and  they  asked  us  whence  we  came  :  and  we  gave  them  to 
understand  that  we  had  come  from  heaven,  and  that  we 
were  going  to  see  the  world,  and  they  believed  it.  In  this 
land  we  placed  baptismal  fonts,  and  an  infinite  {immher  of) 
people  were  baptised,  and  they  called  us  in  their  language 
Carabi,  which  means  men  of  great  wisdom.  We  took  our 
departure  from  that  port :  and  the  province  is  called  Lariab : 
and  we  navigated  along  the  coast,  always  in  sight  of  land,  until 
we  had  run  870  leagues  of  it,  still  going  in  the  direction  of  the 
maestrale  {north-west)  making  in  our  course  many  halts,  and 
holding  intercourse  with  many  peoples :  and  in  several  places 

1  Conferirla. 

2 In  the  text  the  colon  follows  "few,"  which  alters  the  sense  considerably,  and  makes 
the  statement  run  thus,  "  Numberless  rivers  and  few  animals:  they  resemble  ours,"  etc.  ;  but 
the  real  intention  is  evidently  better  conveyed  by  adding  the  words  in  parentheses,  and  dis- 
placing the  colon  in  question. 

3  That  is,  23  degrees  north  latitude. 


u 

we  obtained  gold  by  barter  but  not  much  in  quantity,  for  we 
had  done  enough  in  discovering  tlie  land  and  learning  that 
they  had  gold.  We  had  now  been  thirteen  months  on  the  voy- 
age :  and  the  vessels  and  the  tackling  were  already  much  dam- 
aged, and  the  men  worn  out  by  fatigue  :  we  decided  by  general 
council  to  haul  our  ships  on  land  and  examine  them  for  the 
purpose  of  stanching  leaks, ^  as  they  made  much  water,  and  of 
caulking  and  tarring  them  afresh,  and  {theii)  returning  towards 
Spain  :  and  when  we  came  to  this  determination,  we  were  close 
to  a  harbour  the  best  in  the  world  :  into  which  we  entered  with 
our  vessels :  where  we  found  an  immense  number  of  people : 
who  received  us  with  much  friendliness  :  and  on  the  shore  we 
made  a  bastion  ^  with  our  boats  and  with  barrels  and  casks, 
and  our  artillery,  which  commanded  every  point :  3  and  our 
ships  having  been  unloaded  and  lightened, 4  we  drew  them  upon 
land,  and  repaired  them  in  everything  that  was  needful :  and 
the  land's  people  gave  us  very  great  assistance  :  and  continually 
furnished  us  with  their  victuals  :  so  that  in  this  port  we  tasted 
little  of  our  own,  which  suited  our  game  well :  s  for  the  stock  of 
provisions  which  we  had  for  our  return-passage  was  little  and 
of  sorry  kind:  where  (/.^.,  there)  we  remained  37  days  :  and  went 
many  times  to  their  villages  ?  where  they  paid  us  the  greatest 
honour  :  and  (jiow)  desiring  to  depart  upon  our  voyage,  they 
made  complaint  to  us  how  at  certain  times  of  the  year  there 
came  from  over  the  sea  to  this  their  land,  a  race  of  people  very 
cruel,  and  enemies  of  theirs :  and  (who)  by  means  of  treach- 
ery or  of  violence  slew  many  of  them,  and  ate  them :  and 
some  they  made  captives,  and  carried  them  away  to  their 
houses,  or  country :  and  how  they  could  scarcely  contrive  to 
defend  themselves  from  them,  making  signs  to  us  that  (those) 
were  an  island-people  and  lived  out  in  the  sea  about  a  hundred 
leagues  away :  and  so  piteously  did  they  tell  us  this  that  we 
believed  them :  and  we  promised  to  avenge  them  of  so  much 
wrong:  and  they  remained  overjoyed  herewith:  and  many  of 
them  offered  to  come  along  with  us,  but  we  did  not  wish  to 
take  them  for  many  reasons,  save  that  we  took  seven  of  them, 
on  condition  that  they  should  come  (i.e.,  return  home)  afterwards 
in  {their  own)  canoes  because  we  did  not  desire  to  be  obliged 

1  Stancharle  (?  stagitarle). 

2  Fort  or  barricade.     The  Latin  misreads  it  "  a  new  boat." 

3  Che  giocavano  per  tucto. 

A  Allogiate'\'s,%\\\x\&A.  over  by  the  Latin  and  Varnhagen.  I  take  it  to  be  intended  for 
allegiate,  and  this  to  be  an  old  form,  corresponding  to  the  French  alleger,  of  allegerite  or 
alleviate :  lightened,  eased. 

5  Che  ci/eciono  huon  ghioco. 


15 

to  take  them  back  to  their  country:  and  they  were  contented: 
and  so  we  departed  from  those  people,  leaving  them  very 
friendly  towards  us  :  and  having  repaired  our  ships,  and  sailing 
for  seven  days  out  to  sea  between  north-east  and  east :  and  at 
the  end  of  the  seven  days  we  came  upon  the  islands,  which 
were  many,  some  {of  thejii)  inhabited,  and  others  deserted : 
and  we  anchored  at  one  of  them  :  where  we  saw  a  numerous 
people  who  called  it  Iti :  and  having  manned  our  boats  with 
strong  crews,  and  {taken  ammunitioii  for)  three  cannon-shots  in 
each,  we  made  for  land  :  where  we  found  {assembled)  about  ^  400 
men,  and  many  women,  and  all  naked  like  the  former  {peoples). 
They  were  of  good  bodily  presence,  and  seemed  right  warlike 
men  :  for  they  were  armed  with  their  weapons,  which  are  bows, 
arrows,  and  lances  :  and  most  of  them  had  square  wooden 
targets:  and  bore  them  in  such  wise  that  they  did  not  impede 
the  drawing  of  the  bow :  and  when  we  had  come  with  our 
boats  to  about  a  bowshot  of  the  land,  they  all  sprang  into  the 
water  to  shoot  their  arrows  at  us  and  to  prevent  us  from  leap- 
ing upon  shore  :  and  they  all  had  their  bodies  painted  of  vari- 
ous colours,  and  {were)  plumed  with  feathers :  and  the  inter- 
preters ^  who  were  with  us  told  us  that  when  {those)  displayed 
themselves  so  painted  and  plumed,  it  was  to  betoken  that  they 
wanted  to  fight :  and  so  much  did  they  persist  in  preventing  us 
from  landing,  that  we  were  compelled  to  play  with  our  artillery : 
and  when  they  heard  the  explosion,  and  saw  one  of  them  fall 
dead,  they  all  drew  back  to  the  land :  wherefore,  forming  our 
council,  we  resolved  that  42  of  our  men  should  spring  on  shore, 
and,  if  they  waited  for  us,  fight  them :  thus  having  leaped  to 
land  Vv^ith  our  weapons,  they  advanced  towards  us,  and  we 
fought  for  about  an  hour,  for  we  had  but  little  advantage  of  them, 
except  that  our  arbalasters  and  gunners  killed  some  of  them, 
and  they  wounded  certain  of  our  men  :  and  this  was  because 
they  did  not  stand  to  receive  us  within  reach  of  lance-thrust  or 
sword-blow :  and  so  much  vigour  did  we  put  forth  at  last,  that 
we  came  to  sword-play,  and  when  they  tasted  our  weapons, 
they  betook  themselves  to  flight  through  the  mountains  and  the 
forests,  and  left  us  conquerors  of  the  field  with  many  of  them 
dead  and  a  good  number  wounded  :  and  for  that  day  we  took 
no  other  pains  to  pursue  them,  because  we  were  very  weary,  and 
we  returned  to  our  ships,  with  so  much  gladness  on  the  part  of 
the  seven  men  who  had  come  with  us  that  they  could  not  con- 
tain themselves  {for  Joy)  :  and  when  the  next  day  arrived,  we 
beheld  coming  across  the  land  a  great  number  of  people,  with 

^Alpie  di  400.  ~  Le  Ibtgne,  a  Portuguese  Idiom. 


i6 

signals  of  battle,  continually  sounding  horns,  and  various  other 
instruments  which  they  use  in  their  wars  :  and  all  {of  them) 
painted  and  feathered,  so  that  it  was  a  very  strange  sight  to 
behold  them :  wherefore  all  the  ships  held  council,  and  it  was 
resolved  that  since  this  people  desired  hostility  with  us,  we 
should  proceed  to  encounter  them  and  try  by  every  means  to 
make  them  friends  :  in  case  they  would  not  have  our  friendship, 
that  we  should  treat  them  as  foes,  and  so  many  of  them  as  we 
might  be  able  to  capture  should  all  be  our  slaves :  and  having 
armed  ourselves  as  best  we  could,  we  advanced  towards  the 
shore,  and  they  sought  not  to  hinder  us  from  landing,  I  believe 
from  fear  of  the  cannons:  and  we  jumped  on  land,  57  men  in 
four  squadrons,  each  one  {co7isisting  of)  a  captain  and  his  com- 
pany :  and  we  came  to  blows  with  them  :  and  after  a  long  battle 
{i7i  which)  many  of  them  {were)  slain,  we  put  them  to  flight,  and 
pursued  them  to  a  village,  having  made  about  250  of  them  cap- 
tives, arid  we  burnt  the  village,  and  returned  to  our  ships  with 
victory  and  250  prisoners,^  leaving  many  of  them  dead  and 
wounded,  and  of  ours  there  were  no  more  than  one  killed, 
and  22  wounded,  who  all  escaped  (i.e.,  recovered),  God  be 
thanked.  We  arranged  our  departure,  and  seven  men,  of 
whom  five  were  wounded,  took  an  island-canoe,  and  with 
seven  prisoners  that  we  gave  them,  four  women  and  three  men, 
returned  to  their  (pw?i)  country  full  of  gladness,  wondering 
at  our  strength :  and  we  thereon  made  sail  for  Spain  with 
222  captive  slaves:  and  reached  the  port  of  Calls  (Cadiz)  on 
the  i5.th  day  of  October,  1498,  where  we  were  well  received  and 
sold  our  slaves.  Such  is  what  befell  me,  most  noteworthy,  in 
this  my  first  voyage. 

IVarnhagen  thought  we  ought  to  read  "25"  (not  250),  like  the  Latin  version,  and  to  cor- 
rect the  figures  "  222  "  lower  down  into  "22  "  in  both  the  text  and  the  Latin.  But  he  was  in 
error,  having  omitted  to  observe  that  the  figures  "250"  occur  twice.  He  evidently  looked 
more  on  the  Latin  than  the  text.  Besides,  a  capture  of  only  25  savages  would  be  very  little 
indeed  for  the  European  force  lo  make,  whether  we  reckon  it  at  57  men  or  228  men,  as  he 
and  the  Latin  read  it  (four  squadrons,  each  of  57  men,  with  its  captain),  especially  when  they 
had  entered  into  hostilities  with  the  express  intention  of  making  captives.  (He  afterwards 
corrected  himself.; 


17 


Geographical   Summary  of  Vespucci's  First  Voyage  by  the 
English  Translator  of  Vespucci's  Letter. 

First  Voyage  or  Expedition  of  King  Ferdinand  {fotir  ships,  probably 
under  the  command  of  Vincente  Yahez  Pinzon  and  Juan  Diaz 
de  Solis^  with  Juafi  de  la  Cos  a  as  Pilot). 

1497. 

May  10.  Started  from  Cadiz. 
May  20-28.  Reached  the  Canary  Islands,  where  they  stayed  for 
eight  days. 
July  4.  Reached   the   coast   of    Honduras   thirty-seven   days 
later,    at    16   degrees   north   latitude,   as   Vespucci 
says,  but  probably  near  Cape  Gracias  a  Dios  (or 
about    15   degrees   north    latitude),   on    a    difficult 
coast,  whicli  he  thought  lay  JS  degrees  west  of  the 
Canaries.     It  is  really  not  much  over  6y  degrees. 
July  6.  Advanced  north-west,  and  harboured  two  days  later 
in  a  safe  anchorage  (?  near  Cape  Cameron,  or  some- 
where in  the  Bay  of  Honduras).     From  Vespucci's 
long  and   elaborate  description  of  the  people  and 
their  customs,  the  fleet  must  have  remained  some 
considerable  time  on  this  coast. 
?  August  6.  Advancing  again   north-west,   as   he   thought   (really 
north  and  by  east),  they  coasted  Yucatan,  changing 
their  course  according  to  the  configuration  of  the 
shore,  and  frequently  landing,  until  they  reached  a 
harbour,  in  which  there  was  a  village  seated,  "  like 
Venice,"  on  the  water.     This   must   have  been  in 
?Sept.  10.       Campeachy  Bay,  a  little  north  of  Tabasco  (about 
18^   degrees  north  latitude).     After   some   fighting 
with   the    Indians,  they   went   onwards    next   day, 
coasting  west  and  north-west  for  about  400  miles 
?  Sept.  30.       [he  says  about  80  leagues,  or  320  miles],  and  reached 
the   province    of    Lariab   (?    Tampico,   in   Mexico), 
23   degrees    north    latitude,   where   they  found    a 
friendly  race  of   Indians,   who   were   cooking   and 
eating  iguanas  (which  Vespucci  describes  as  wing- 
less serpents,  and  which  the  sailors  supposed  to  be 
poisonous).     The  Spaniards  baptised  many  of  these 
people,   and   were    themselves    designated    Carabi 
(which   he   says    means   wise  men).     Vespucci  and 
others  travelled  into  the  interior,  and  from  his  de- 
tails they  must  have  been  a  month  at  this  place. 
?  Nov.  I.  Starting  again  north-west,  they  coasted  the  shore  for 
870  leagues  [naturally,  although  he  does  not  say 
so,   changing  the    course   according    as    the    land 
1498.  trended],  frequently  touching  on  land,  and   at  the 

April  30.       end  of  April  [after  having  passed  along  the  coasts 
of  Mexico  and  Louisiana,  they  reached  Cape  Sable, 


i8 


1498. 


?  June  30. 


?  August  6. 
?  August  13. 

?  August  15. 


i.e.^  Cabo  do  ffiin  de  AbrW].  Turning  the  cape,  they 
advanced  northward,  and  anchored  in  a  fine  large 
bay,  the  utmost  northern  limit  of  their  voyage. 
This  was  presumably  the  Cabo  del  Mar  Usiano 
(probably  Cape  Hatteras,  in  North  Carolina,  35 
degrees  north  latitude),  where  they  stopped  thirty- 
seven  days,  refitting  their  vessels  for  the  home 
voyage.  The  natives  were  very  friendly,  and  asked 
the  Spaniards  to  protect  them  from  a  tribe  which 
frequently  came  from  islands  across  the  sea  to 
plunder  and  slay.  The  Christians  took  seven  of 
the  Indians  with  them  as  guides  to  the  islands,  and 
sailed  east  and  by  north-east  [infra  greco  e  levante. 
Qu(zre^  error  for  infra  siroco  e  levante^  or  east  and 
by  south-east?],  for  about  100  leagues  across  the 
ocean,  reaching  after  seven  days'  sail,  an  archipelago 
partly  inhabited,  on  the  chief  island  of  which, 
named  Ity,  they  had  severe  fighting,  which  ended 
by  their  carrying  away  250  prisoners.  They  then 
sent  the  seven  Indians  back,  making  them  a  present 
of  seven  prisoners,  and  sailed  for  Spain,  reaching 
Cadiz  on  October  15,  1498. 


Ity.—  The  island  of  Ity  is  a  problem  which  Varnhagen  has  solved,  but  not  very  satisfac- 
torily, by  assuming  that  it  referred  to  the  Bermudas,  and  that  the  expedition  sailed  thither 
from  Cape  Canaveral.  This  would  explain  the  direction,  but  not  the  distance  (of  loo  leagues, 
equal  to  400  miles),  and  we  can  hardly  suppose  that  the  Indian  boatmen  would  have  ventured 
much  farther  than  100  leagues  across  the  ocean.  The  distance  is  reduced  to  about  200  leagues, 
but  the  direction  is  altered  if  we  suppose  that  they  started  from  Cape  Hatteras ;  while  it  be- 
comes too  enormous,  although  the  direction  would  then  be  right,  if  we  assume  that  they  went 
from  Cape  Canaveral.  However,  the  difficulty  is  cleared  if  we  suppose  that  the  word  greco 
is,  as  suggested  by  Varnhagen,  a  typographical  error  for  siroco,  in  which  case  we  might  take 
it  for  granted  that  Vespucci  sailed  from  Cape  Hatteras  to  the  Bermudas, —  twenty-four  years 
earlier  than  the  supposed  first  discovery  of  those  islands.  In  any  case,  Vespucci's  measurements 
and  compass  were  at  fault ;  but  when  we  examine  the  map  in  the  Strasburg  Ptolemy  of  15 13, 
derived,  like  that  in  the  Rome  Ptolemy  of  1508,  from  the  Charta  marina  P orUigallensium 
of  1504,  it  is  impossible  to  resist  the  conviction  that  Cape  Hatteras  was  the  Cabo  del  Mar 
Usiano  under  which  were  inscribed  the  words  "  Hucusque  naves  Ferdinandi  Regis  Hispaniae 
pervenerunt."  The  map  seems,  in  fact,  to  derive  in  almost  every  way  from  Vespucci  himself, 
its  northern  limit  on  the  American  side  being  evidently  identical  with  the  northern  limit  of 
his  first  voyage,  and  its  South  American  coast,  on  the  other  hand,  being  plainly  traced  from 
the  record  of  his  second,  third,  and  fourth  voyages,  with  the  only  exception  that  it  does  not 
show  his  discovery  of  the  island  of  South  Georgia.  What  makes  this  more  striking  is  the 
mixture  of  languages  in  the  1513  map,  the  point  of  Florida  being  marked  with  a  Portuguese 
name  (C.  do  ffim  de  Abril),  Cape  St.  Bonaventura  with  an  Italian  name,  and  the  rest  in 
Spanish  chiefly,  with  a  few  in  Latin.  It  appears  very  probable  that  the  Charta  marina  was 
Vespucci's  own  map. 


19 

"  The  only  intelligent  modern  treatise  on  the  life  and  voyages  of  Amer- 
icus  Vespucius,"  says  Mr.  Fiske,  in  his  Discovery  of  A7ne7'ica  (vol.  ii.  jd.  26), 
"is  Varnhagen's  collection  of  monographs  —  Amerigo  Vespucci:  son  car  act  ere, 
ses  ecrits  {nihne  les  tnoins  authentiques),  sa  vie  et  ses  navigations,  Lima,  1865; 
Le premier  voyage  de  Amerigo  Vespucci  d^fiyiitiveinent  expliqtie  dans  ses  details, 
Vienna,  1S69  ;  Nouvelles  recherches  siir  les  dernier s  voyages  dii  7tavigateur  jio- 
rentin,  et  le  reste  des  documents  et  eclaircissements  sur  hn,  Vienna,  1869  5  Postface 
atix  trois  livraisons  sur  Amerigo  Vespucci,  Vienna,  1870;  Ainda  Amerigo  Ves- 
pzicci :  novos  estudos  e  achegas  especialmente  em,  favor  da  interpretacao  dada  a  sua 
la  viage??z  em  1497-9S,  Vienna,  1874.  These  are  usually  bound  together  in  one 
small  folio  volume.  Sometimes  the  French  monographs  are  found  together 
without  the  Portuguese  monograph.  Varnhagen's  book  has  made  every- 
thing else  antiquated,  and  no  one  who  has  not  mastered  it  in  all  its  details 
is  entitled  to  speak  about  Vespucius.  In  the  English  language  there  is  no 
good  book  on  the  subject.  The  defence  by  Lester  and  Foster  {Life  and 
Voyages  of  Atnericiis  Vespucius,  New  York,  1S46)  had  some  good  points  for 
its  time,  but  is  now  utterly  antiquated  and  worse  than  useless.  The  chapter 
by  the  late  Sydney  Howard  Gay,  in  Winsor's  Narrative  and  Critical  History, 
vol.  ii.  chap,  ii.,  is  quite  unworthy  of  its  place  in  that  excellent  work,  but  its 
defects  are  to  some  extent  atoned  for  by  the  editor's  critical  notes."  The 
student  is  referred  to  these  notes  by  Mr.  Winsor  for  an  account  of  all  the 
literature  concerning  Vespucius. 

It  is  true  that  there  is  no  other  person  who  played  a  part  in  the  discovery 
and  early  exploration  of  the  New  World,  concerning  whose  work  we  have 
been  compelled  to  make  so  radical  a  change  in  our  estimate  by  the  results 
of  modern  investigation  as  in  the  case  of  Vespucius  ;  and  the  early  books  are 
therefore  all  to  be  used  guardedly.  The  book  by  Lester  and  Foster,  re- 
ferred to  by  Mr.  Fiske,  the  value  of  which  is  now  impaired  by  the  new 
understanding  of  Vespucius's  first  voyage,  is  a  conscientious  and  scholarly 
work,  and  still  of  great  use  for  the  sake  of  the  translations  it  contains  of 
Vespucius's  letters  both  to  Soderini  and  Lorenzo  de'  Medici  (a  cousin  of 
Lorenzo  the  Magnificent)  concerning  his  various  voyages. 

But,  if  we  have  no  good  special  modern  work  on  Vespucius  in  English, 
—  it  is  to  be  hoped  that  some  scholar  will  be  prompted  to  translate  Varn- 
hagen  at  this  time, —  we  can  rejoice  that  Mr.  Fiske  himself  has  made  his 
treatment  of  Vespucius,  in  his  Discovery  of  America  (vol.  ii.  pp.  23-164; 
see  also  remarks  in  preface),  so  full  and  thorough.  This  is  perhaps  the 
most  original  and  most  valuable  portion  of  his  whole  work.  It  is  the  first 
popular  and  comprehensive  presentation  in  English  of  the  results  of  Varn- 
hagen's researches  ;  and,  as  Mr.  Fiske  himself  rightly  observes,  the  general 
argument  of  Varnhagen  is  in  many  points  strongly  re-enforced.  It  is  impos- 
sible, after  a  careful  reading  of  this  argument,  with  Vespucius's  account  of 
his  first  voyage  cleared  from  the  absurd  suspicions  v/hich  became  attached 
to  it,  and  with  the  Cantino  map  in  hand,  to  resist  the  conclusion  that  Ves- 
pucius first  (1497)  touched  the  mainland  of  the  New  World,  and  that  on 
that  first  voyage  he  skirted  not  the  "  Pearl  Coast  "  of  South  America,  but 
the  coast  of  the  present  United  States ;  and  it  seems  not  improbable  that 
"the  finest  harbor  in  the  world "  from  which  he  set  sail  on  his  return  voyage 
to  Spain  was  what  we  know  as  Hampton  Roads. 

We  feel,  as  we  read  of  the  discoveries  of  Americus  Vespucius  in  this 
new  light,  that  there  is  far  better  reason  than  used  to  appear  why  this 
western  continent  should  bear  the  name  Atnerica:  a  persistent  justice  has 
been  unconsciously  but  fatally  at  work  in  it  these  four  centuries.  It  was 
Vespucius  who  first  used  the  term  New  World  [novtis  mundus)  with  reference 
to  this  continent.    This  was  in  a  letter  to  Lorenzo  de'  Medici,  in  1503.     He 


20 

was  speaking  only  of  the  new  countries  visited  on  his  third  voyage  beyond 
the  river  La  Plata.  It  was  in  1507  that  the  first  suggestion  of  the  name 
America  for  this  "  new  world  "  appeared  in  the  little  treatise  by  Waldsee- 
miiller,  published  at  Saint-Die.  "But  now,"  says  Waldseemliller,  "these 
parts  [that  is,  Europe,  Asia,  and  Africa]  have  been  more  extensively  ex- 
plored, and  another  fourth  part  has  been  discovered  by  Americus  Vespucius 
(as  will  appear  in  what  follows) :  wherefore  I  do  not  see  what  is  rightly  to 
hinder  us  from  calling  it  Amerige  or  America,  i.e.^  the  land  of  Americus, 
after  its  discoverer  Americus,  a  man  of  sagacious  mind,  since  both  Europe 
and  Asia  have  got  their  names  from  women.  Its  situation  and  the  manners 
and  customs  of  its  people  will  be  clearly  understood  from  the  twice  two  voy- 
ages of  Americus  which  follow."  The  name  America  was  at  first  applied 
only  to  that  "  new  world  "  which  lay  in  what  we  call  South  America.  The 
process  of  its  extension  to  the  whole  continent,  by  successive  map-makers, 
as  discovery  went  on,  was  a  natural  and  easy  one, —  but  one  well  worth  the 
careful  attention  of  the  student,  as  it  teaches  many  lessons  necessary  to  re- 
member in  connection  with  those  times. 

Vespucius's  letters  to  Soderini  concerning  his  first  four  voyages  were 
originally  published  in  Italian  at  Florence  in  1 505-6 ;  and  various  Latin  edi- 
tions followed.  Mr.  Quaritch,  the  London  publisher,  in  1885,  published  a 
fac-simile  reproduction  of  the  original  Italian  edition.  Fifty  copies  of  this 
reproduction  were  printed,  and  one  of  these  is  in  the  Boston  Public 
Library.  At  the  same  time  he  published  a  careful  English  translation  (by 
"M.  K.")  with  valuable  notes;  and  it  is  from  this  that  the  account  of  the 
first  voyage  given  in  the  present  leaflet  is  taken. 


GENERAL    SERIES,  No.  35. 

Cortes's 

Account  of  the 

City  of  Mexico. 

From  his  Second  Letter  to  the  Emperor  Charles  V. 


In  order,  most  potent  Sire,  to  convey  to  your  Majesty  a  just 
conception  of  the  great  extent  of  this  noble  city  of  Temixtitan, 
and  of  the  many  rare  and  wonderful  objects  it  contains ;  of  the 
government  and  dominions  of  Muteczuma,*  the  sovereign ;  of 
the  religious  rites  and  customs  that  prevail,  and  the  order  that 
exists  in  this  as  well  as  other  cities  appertaining  to  his 
realm :  it  would  require  the  labor  of  many  accomplished 
writers,  and  much  time  for  the  completion  of  the  task.  I  shall 
not  be  able  to  relate  an  hundredth  part  of  what  xould .  be  told 
respecting  these  matters;  but  I  will  endeavor  to  describe,  in 
the  best  manner  in  my  power,  what  I  have  myself  seen ;  and 
imperfectly  as  I  may  succeed  in  the  attempt,  I  am  fully  aware 
that  the  account  will  appear  so  wonderful  as  to  be  deemed 
scarcely  worthy  of  credit ;  since  even  we  who  have  seen  these 
things  with  our  own  eyes,  are  yet  so  amazed  as  to  be  unable  to 
comprehend  their  reality.  But  your  Majesty  may  be  assured 
that  if  there  is  any  fault  in  my  relation,  either  in  regard  to  the 
present  subject,  or  to  any  other  matters  of  which  I  shall  give 
your  Majesty  an  account,  it  will  arise  from  too  great  brevity 
rather  than  extravagance  or  prolixity  in  the  details  ;  and  it 
seems  to  me  but  just  to  my  Prince  and  Sovereign  to  declare 
the  truth  in  the  clearest  manner,  without  saying  any  thing  that 
would  detract  from  it,  or  add  to  it. 

Before  I  begin  to  describe  this  great  city  and  the  others 
already  mentioned,  it  may  be  well  for  the  better  understanding 
of  the  subject  to  say  something  of  the  configuration  of  Mex- 

*  This  is  the  way  in  which  Cortes  always  spells  the  emperor's  name. 


ico,*  in  which  they  are  situated,  it  being  the  principal  seat  of 
Muteczuma's  power.  This  Province  is  in  the  form  of  a  circle, 
surrounded  on  all  sides  by  lofty  and  rugged  mountains;  its 
level  surface  comprises  an  area  of  about  seventy  leagues  in  cir- 
cumference, including  two  lakes,  that  overspread  nearly  the 
whole  valley,  being  navigated  by  boats  more  than  fifty  leagues 
round.  One  of  these  lakes  contains  fresh,  and  the  other,  which 
is  the  larger  of  the  two,  salt  water.  On  one  side  of  the  lakes, 
in  the  middle  of  the  valley,  a  range  of  highlands  divides  them 
from  one  another,  with  the  exception  of  a  narrow  strait  which 
lies  between  the  highlands  and  the  lofty  sierras.  This  strait  is 
a  bow-shot  wide,  and  connects  the  two  lakes ;  and  by  this 
means  a  trade  is  carried  on  between  the  cities  and  other 
settlements  on  the  lakes  in  canoes  without  the  necessity  of 
travelling  by  land.  As  the  salt  lake  rises  and  falls  with  its 
tides  like  the  sea,  during  the  time  of  high  water  it  pours  into 
the  other  lake  with  the  rapidity  of  a  powerful  stream ;  and  on 
the  other  hand,  when  the  tide  has  ebbed,  the  water  runs  from 
the  fresh  into  the  salt  lake.     • 

This  great  city  of  Temixtitan  [Mexico]  is  situated  in  this 
salt  lake,  and  from  the  main  land  to  the  denser  parts  of  it,  by 
whichever  route  one  chooses  to  enter,  the  distance  is  two 
leagues.  There  are  four  avenues  or  entrances  to  the  city,  all 
of  which  are  formed  by  artificial  causeways,  two  spears'  length 
in  width.  The  city  is  as  large  as  Seville  or  Cordova;  its 
streets,  I  speak  of  the  principal  ones,  are  very  wide  and 
straight ;  some  of  these,  and  all  the  inferior  ones,  are  half  land 
and  half  water,  and  are  navigated  by  canoes.  All  the  streets 
at  intervals  have  openings,  through  which  the  water  flows, 
crossing  from  one  street  to  another;  and  at  these  openings, 
some  of  which  are  very  wide,  there  are  also  very  wide  bridges, 
composed  of  large  pieces  of  timber,  of  great  strength  and  well 
put  together;  on  many  of  these  bridges  ten  horses  can  go 
abreast.  Foreseeing  that  if  the  inhabitants  of  this  city  should 
prove  treacherous,  they  would  possess  great  advantages  from 
the  manner  in  which  the  city  is  constructed,  since  by  removing 
the  bridges  at  the  entrances,  and  abandoning  the  place,  they 
could  leave  us  to  perish  by  famine  without  our  being  able  to 
reach  the  main  land  —  as  soon  as  I  had  entered  it,  I  made 
great  haste  to  build  four  brigantines,  which  were  soon  finished, 
and  were  large  enough  to  take  ashore  three  hundred  men  and 
the  horses,  whenever  it  should  become  necessary. 

*  Cortes  applies  this  name  to  the  Province  in  which  the  city,  called  by  him  Temixtitan, 
more  properly  Tenochtitlan,  but  now  Mexico,  was  situated. 


This  city  has  many  public  squares,  in  which  are  situated  the 
markets  and  other  places  for  buying  and  selling.  There  is  one 
square  twice  as  large  as  that  of  the  city  of  Salamanca,  sur- 
rounded by  porticoes,  where  are  daily  assembled  more 
than  sixty  thousand  souls,  engaged  in  buying  and  selling ;  and 
where  are  found  all  kinds  of  merchandise  that  the  world 
affords,  embracing  the  necessaries  of  life,  as  for  instance 
articles  of  food,  as  well  as  jewels  of  gold  and  silver,  lead,  brass, 
copper,  tin,  precious  stones,  bones,  shells,  snails,  and  feathers. 
There  are  also  exposed  for  sale  wrought  and  unwrought  stone, 
bricks  burnt  and  unburnt,  timber  hewn  and  unhewn,  of  differ- 
ent sorts.  There  is  a  street  for  game,  where  every  variety  of 
birds  found  in  the  country  are  sold,  as  fowls,  partridges,  quails, 
wild  ducks,  fly-catchers,  widgeons,  turtle-doves,  pigeons,  reed- 
birds,  parrots,  sparrows,  eagles,  hawks,  owls,  and  kestrels ; 
they  sell  likewise  the  skins  of  some  birds  of  prey,  with  their 
feathers,  head,  beak,  and  claws.  There  are  also  sold  rabbits, 
hares,  deer,  and  little  dogs,  which  are  raised  for  eating.  There 
is  also  an  herb  street,  where  may  be  obtained  all  sorts  of  roots 
and  medicinal  herbs  that  the  country  affords.  There  are 
apothecaries'  shops,  where  prepared  medicines,  liquids,  oint- 
ments, and  plasters  are  sold ;  barbers'  shops,  where  they  wash 
and  shave  the  head ;  and  restaurateurs,  that  furnish  food  and 
drink  at  a  certain  price.  There  is  also  a  class  of  men  like 
those  called  in  Castile  porters,  for  carrying  burthens.  Wood 
and  coal  are  seen  in  abundance,  and  brasiers  of  earthenware 
for  burning  coals ;  mats  of  various  kinds  for  beds,  others  of  a 
lighter  sort  for  seats,  and  for  halls  and  bedrooms.  There  are 
all  kinds  of  green  vegetables,  especially  onions,  leeks,  garlic, 
watercresses,  nasturtium,  borage,  sorrel,  artichokes,  and  golden 
thistle ;  fruits  also  of  numerous  descriptions,  amongst  which 
are  cherries  and  plums,  similar  to  those  in  Spain ;  honey  and 
wax  from  bees,  and  from  the  stalks  of  maize,  which  are  as 
sweet  as  the  sugar-cane ;  honey  is  also  extracted  from  the 
plant  called  maguey,*  which  is  superior  to  sweet  or  new  wine ; 
from  the  same  plant  they  extract  sugar  and  wine,  which  they 
also  sell.  Different  kinds  of  cotton  thread  of  all  colors  in 
skeins  are  exposed  for  sale  in  one  quarter  of  the  market,  which 
has  the  appearance  of  the  silk-market  at  Granada,  although  the 
former  is  supplied  more  abundantly.  Painters'  colors,  as 
numerous  as  can  be  found  in  Spain,  and  as  fine  shades ;  deer- 
skins   dressed   and  undressed,  dyed  different  colors ;  earthen- 

*This  is  the  plant  known  in  this  country  under  the  name  of  the  Century  Plant,  which  is 
still  much  cultivated  in  Mexico  for  the  purposes  mentioned  by  Cortes.  It  usually  flowers 
when  eight  or  ten  years  old.  .        _      ^  _ 


ware  of  a  large  size  and  excellent  quality ;  large  and  small  jars, 
jugs,  pots,  bricks,  and  an  endless  variety  of  vessels,  all  made 
of  fine  clay,  and  all  or  most  of  them  glazed  and  painted ; 
maize,  or  Indian  corn,  in  the  grain  and  in  the  form  of  bread, 
preferred  in  the  grain  for  its  flavor  to  that  of  the  other  islands 
and  terra-firma ;  pates  of  birds  and  fish ;  great  quantities  of 
fish,  fresh,  salt,  cooked  and  uncooked ;  the  eggs  of  hens,  geese, 
and  of  all  the  other  birds  I  have  mentioned,  in  great  abun- 
dance, and  cakes  made  of  eggs  ;  finally,  every  thing  that  can  be 
found  throughout  the  whole  country  is  sold  in  the  markets, 
comprising  articles  so  numerous  that  to  avoid  prolixity,  and  be- 
cause their  names  are  not  retained  in  my  memory,  or  are  un- 
known to  me,  I  shall  not  attempt  to  enumerate  them.  Every 
kind  of  merchandise  is  sold  in  a  particular  street  or  quarter 
assigned  to  it  exclusively,  and  thus  the  best  order  is  preserved. 
They  sell  every  thing  by  number  or  measure ;  at  least  so  far 
we  have  not  observed  them  to  sell  any  thing  by  weight.  There 
is  a  building  in  the  great  square  that  is  used  as  an  audience 
house,  where  ten  or  twelve  persons,  who  are  magistrates,  sit 
and  decide  all  controversies  that  arise  in  the  market,  and  order 
delinquents  to  be  punished.  In  the  same  square  there  are 
other  persons  who  go  constantly  about  among  the  people  observ- 
ing what  is  sold,  and  the  measures  used  in  selling ;  and  they 
have  been  seen  to  break  measures  that  were  not  true. 

This  great  city  contains  a  large  number  of  temples,*  or 
houses  for  their  idols,  very  handsome  edifices,  which  are 
situated  in  the  different  districts  and  the  suburbs;  in  the 
principal  ones  religious  persons  of  each  particular  sect  are  con- 
stantly residing,  for  whose  use  beside  the  houses  containing 
the  idols  there  are  other  convenient  habitations.  All  these 
persons  dress  in  black,  and  never  cut  or  comb  their  hair  from 
the  time  they  enter  the  priesthood  until  they  leave  it ;  and  all 
the  sons  of  the  principal  inhabitants,  both  nobles  and  respect- 
able citizens,  are  placed  in  the  temples  and  wear  the  same 
dress  from  the  age  of  seven  or  eight  years  until  they  are  taken 
out  to  be  married ;  which  occurs  more  frequently  with  the  first- 
born who  inherit  estates  than  with  the  others.  The  priests  are 
debarred  from  female  society,  nor  is  any  woman  permitted  to 
enter  the  religious  houses.  They  also  abstain  from  eating  cer- 
tain kinds  of  food,  more  at  some  seasons  of  the  year  than 
others.  Among  these  temples  there  is  one  which  far  surpasses 
all  the  rest,  whose  grandeur  of  architectural  details  no  human 

*The  original  has  the  word  mezguitas,  mosques ;  but,  as  that  term  is  applied  in  English 
exclusively  to  Mahometan  places  of  worship,  one  of  more  general  application  is  used  in  the 
translation. 


5 

tongue  is  able  to  describe ;  for  within  its  precincts,  surrounded 
by  a  lofty  wall,  there  is  room  enough  for  a  town  of  five  hundred 
families.  Around  the  interior  of  this  enclosure  there  are 
handsome  edifices,  containing  large  halls  and  corridors,  in 
which  the  religious  persons  attached  to  the  temple  reside. 
There  are  full  forty  towers,  which  are  lofty  and  well  built,  the 
largest  of  which  has  fifty  steps  leading  to  its  main  body,  and  is 
higher  than  the  tower  of  the  principal  church  at  Seville.  The 
stone  and  wood  of  which  they  are  constructed  are  so  well 
wrought  in  every  part,  that  nothing  could  be  better  done,  for 
the  interior  of  the  chapels  containing  the  idols  consists  of 
curious  imagery,  wrought  in  stone,  with  plaster  ceilings,  and 
wood-work  carved  in  relief,  and  painted  with  figures  of  mon- 
sters and  other  objects.  All  these  towers  are  the  burial  places 
of  the  nobles,  and  every  chapel  in  them  is  dedicated  to  a  par- 
ticular idol,  to  which  they  pay  their  devotions. 

There  are  three  halls  in  this  grand  temple,  which  contain 
the  principal  idols  ;  these  are  of  wonderful  extent  and  height, 
and  admirable  workmanship,  adorned  with  figures  sculptured 
in  stone  and  wood ;  leading  from  the  halls  are  chapels  with 
very  small  doors,  to  which  the  light  is  not  admitted,  nor  are 
any  persons  except  the  priests,  and  not  all  of  them.  In  these 
chapels  are  the  images  of  idols,  although,  as  I  have  before  said, 
many  of  them  are  also  found  on  the  outside ;  the  principal 
ones,  in  which  the  people  have  greatest  faith  and  confidence, 
I  precipitated  from  their  pedestals,  and  cast  them  down 
the  steps  of  the  temple,  purifying  the  chapels  in  which  they 
had  stood,  as  they  were  all  polluted  with  human  blood,  shed  in 
the  sacrifices.  In  the  place  of  these  I  put  images  of  Our 
Lady  and  the  Saints,  which  excited  not  a  little  feeling  in 
Muteczuma  and  the  inhabitants,  who  at  first  remonstrated,  de- 
claring that  if  my  proceedings  were  known  throughout  the 
country,  the  people  would  rise  against  me ;  for  they  believed 
that  their  idols  bestowed  on  them  all  temporal  good,  and  if 
they  permitted  them  to  be  ill-treated,  they  would  be  angry  and 
withhold  their  gifts,  and  by  this  means  the  people  would  be  de- 
prived of  the  fruits  of  the  earth  and  perish  with  famine.  I 
answered,  through  the  interpreters,  that  they  were  deceived  in 
expecting  any  favors  from  idols,  the  work  of  their  own  hands, 
formed  of  unclean  things ;  and  that  they  must  learn  there  was 
but  one  God,  the  universal  Lord  of  all,  who  had  created  the 
heavens  and  earth,  and  all  things  else,  and  had  made  them  and 
us ;  that  he  was  without  beginning  and  immortal,  and  they 
were  bound  to  adore  and  believe  him,  and  no  other  creature  or 


thing.  I  said  every  thing  to  them  I  could  to  divert  them  from 
tlieir  idolatries,  and  draw  them  to  a  knowledge  of  God  our 
Lord.  Muteczuma  replied,  the  others  assenting  to  what  he 
said,  "That  they  had  already  informed  me  they  were  not  the 
aborigines  of  the  country,  but  that  their  ancestors  had  emi- 
grated to  it  many  years  ago  ;  and  they  fully  believed  that  after 
so  long  an  absence  from  their  native  land,  they  might  have 
fallen  into  some  errors ;  that  I  having  more  recently  arrived 
must  know  better  than  themselves  what  they  ought  to  believe  ; 
and  that  if  I  would  instruct  them  in  these  matters,  and  make 
them  understand  the  true  faith,  they  would  follow  my  direc- 
tions, as  being  for  the  best."  Afterwards,  Muteczuma  and 
many  of  the  principal  citizens  remained  with  me  until  I  had  re- 
moved the  idols,  purified  the  chapels,  and  placed  the  images 
in  them,  manifesting  apparent  pleasure ;  and  I  forbade  them 
sacrificing  human  beings  to  their  idols,  as  they  had  been  accus- 
tomed to  do ;  because,  besides  being  abhorrent  in  the  sight  of 
God,  your  sacred  Majesty  had  prohibited  it  by  law,  and  com- 
manded to  put  to  death  whoever  should  take  the  life  of  an- 
other. Thus,  from  that  time,  they  refrained  from  the  practice, 
and  during  the  whole  period  of  my  abode  in  that  city,  they 
were  never  seen  to  kill  or  sacrifice  a  human  being. 

The  figures  of  the  idols  in  which  these  people  believe  surpass 
in  stature  a  person  of  more  than  the  ordinary  size  ;  some  of 
them  are  composed  of  a  mass  of  seeds  and  leguminous  plants, 
such  as  are  used  for  food,  ground  and  mixed  together,  and 
kneaded  with  the  blood  of  human  hearts  taken  from  the  breasts 
of  living  persons,  from  which  a  paste  is  formed  in  a  sufiicient 
quantity  to  form  large  statues.  When  these  are  completed 
they  make  them  offerings  of  the  hearts  of  other  victims,  which 
they  sacrifice  to  them,  and  besmear  their  faces  with  the  blood. 
For  every  thing  they  have  an  idol,  consecrated  by  the  use  of 
the  nations  that  in  ancient  times  honored  the  same  gods. 
Thus  they  have  an  idol  that  they  petition  for  victory  in  war ; 
another  for  success  in  their  labors ;  and  so  for  everything  in 
which  they  seek  or  desire  prosperity,  they  have  their  idols, 
which  they  honor  and  serve. 

This  noble  city  contains  many  fine  and  magnificent  houses ; 
which  may  be  accounted  for  from  the  fact,  that  all  the  nobility 
of  the  country,  who  are  the  vassals  of  Muteczuma,  have  houses 
in  the  city,  in  which  they  reside  a  certain  part  of  the  year ; 
and  besides,  there  are  numerous  wealthy  citizens  who  also 
possess  fine  houses.  All  these  persons,  in  addition  to  the 
large  and    spacious    apartments   for    ordinary   purposes,    have 


others,  both  upper  and  lower,  that  contain  conservatories  of 
flowers.  Along  one  of  these  causeways  that  lead  into  the  city 
are  laid  two  pipes,  constructed  of  masonry,  each  of  which  is 
two  paces  in  width,  and  about  five  feet  in  height.  An  abun- 
dant supply  of  excellent  water,  forming  a  volume  equal  in  bulk 
to  the  human  body,  is  conveyed  by  one  of  these  pipes,  and  dis- 
tributed about  the  city,  where  it  is  used  by  the  inhabitants  for 
drinking  and  other  purposes.  The  other  pipe,  in  the  mean 
time,  is  kept  empty  until  the  former  requires  to  be  cleansed, 
when  the  water  is  let  into  it  and  continues  to  be  used  till  the 
cleansing  is  finished.  As  the  water  is  necessarily  carried 
over  bridges  on  account  of  the  salt  water  crossing  its  route, 
reservoirs  resembling  canals  are  constructed  on  the  bridges, 
through  which  the  fresh  v/ater  is  conveyed.  These  reservoirs 
are  of  the  breadth  of  the  body  of  an  ox,  and  of  the  same 
length  as  the  bridges.  The  whole  city  is  thus  served  with 
water,  which  they  carry  in  canoes  through  all  the  streets  for 
sale,  taking  it  from  the  aqueduct  in  the  following  manner  :  the 
canoes  pass  under  the  bridges  on  which  the  reservoirs  are 
placed,  when  men  stationed  above  fill  them  with  water,  for  which 
service  they  are  paid.  At  all  the  entrances  of  the  city,  and 
in  those  parts  where  the  canoes  are  discharged,  that  is,  where 
the  greatest  quantity  of  provisions  is  brought  in,  huts  are 
erected,  and  persons  stationed  as  guards,  who  receive  a  certum 
quid  of  every  thing  that  enters.  I  know  not  whether  the 
sovereign  receives  this  duty  or  the  city,  as  I  have  not  yet  been 
informed ;  but  I  believe  that  it  appertains  to  the  sovereign,  as 
in  the  markets  of  other  provinces  a  tax  is  collected  for  the 
benefit  of  their  cacique.  In  all  the  markets  and  public  places 
of  this  city  are  seen  daily  many  laborers  and  persons  of  various 
employments  waiting  for  some  one  to  hire  them.  The  inhabi- 
tants of  this  city  pay  a  greater  regard  to  style  in  their  mode  of 
living,  and  are  more  attentive  to  elegance  of  dress  and  polite- 
ness of  manners  than  those  of  the  other  provinces  and  cities  ; 
since,  as  the  Cacique  "^  Muteczuma  has  his  residence  in  the 
capital,  and  all  the  nobility,  his  vassals,  are  in  the  constant 
habit  of  meeting  there,  a  general  courtesy  of  demeanor  neces- 
sarily prevails.  But  not  to  be  prolix  in  describing  what  relates 
to  the  affairs  of  this  great  city,  although  it  is  with  difficulty  I  re- 

*The  title  invariably  given  to  Muteczuma  (or  Montezuma)  in  these  Despatches  is  simply 
Senor,  in  its  sense  of  Lord,  or  (to  use  an  Indian  word)  Cacique;  which  is  also  given  to  the 
chiefs  or  governors  of  districts  or  provinces,  whether  independent  or  feudatories.  The  title  of 
Emperador  (Emperor),  now  generally  applied  to  the  Mexican  ruler,  is  never  conferred  on  him 
by  Cortes,  nor  any  other  implying  royalty,  although  in  the  beginning  of  this  Despatch  he  as- 
sures Charles  V.  that  the  country  is  extensive  enough  to  constitute  an  empire. 


8 

frain  from  proceeding,  I  will  say  no  more  than  that  the  manners 
of  the  people,  as  shown  in  their  intercourse  with  one  another, 
are  marked  by  as  great  an  attention  to  the  proprieties  of  life  as 
in  Spain,  and  good  order  is  equally  well  observed;  and  con- 
sidering that  they  are  a  barbarous  people,  without  the  knowl- 
edge of  God,  having  no  intercourse  with  civilized  nations,  these 
traits  of  character  are  worthy  of  admiration. 

In  regard  to  the  domestic  appointments  of  Muteczuma,  and 
the  wonderful  grandeur  and  state  that  he  maintains,  there  is  so 
much  to  be  told,  that  I  assure  your  Highness  I  know  not 
where  to  begin  my  relation,  so  as  to  be  able  to  finish  any 
part  of  it.  For,  as  I  have  already  stated,  what  can  be  more 
wonderful  than  that  a  barbarous  monarch,  as  he  is,  should 
have  every  object  found  in  his  dominions  imitated  in  gold, 
silver,  precious  stones,  and  feathers ;  the  gold  and  silver  being 
wrought  so  naturally  as  not  to  be  surpassed  by  any  smith  -in  the 
world  ;  the  stone  work  executed  with  such  perfection  that  it  is 
difficult  to  conceive  what  instruments  could  have  been  used; 
and  the  feather  work  superior  to  the  finest  productions  in  wax 
or  embroidery.  The  extent  of  Muteczuma's  dominions  has 
not  been  ascertained,  since  to  whatever  point  he  despatched  his 
messengers,  even  two  hundred  leagues  from  his  capital,  his 
commands  were  obeyed,  although  some  of  his  provinces  were 
in  the  midst  of  countries  with  which  he  was  at  war.  But  as 
nearly  as  I  have  been  able  to  learn,  his  territories  are  equal  in 
extent  to  Spain  itself,  for  he  sent  messengers  to  the  inhabitants 
of  a  city  called  Cumatan  (requiring  them  to  become  subjects 
of  your  Majesty),  which  is  sixty  leagues  beyond  that  part  of 
Putunchan  watered  b}^  the  river  Grijalva,  and  two  hundred  and 
thirty  leagues  distant  from  the  great  city ;  and  I  sent  some  of 
our  people  a  distance  of  one  hundred  and  fifty  leagues  in  the 
same  direction.  All  the  principal  chiefs  of  these  provinces, 
especially  those  in  the  vicinity  of  the  capital,  reside,  as  I  have 
already  stated,  the  greater  part  of  the  year  in  that  great  city, 
and  all  or  mxost  of  them  have  their  oldest  sons  in  the  service  of 
Muteczuma.  There  are  fortified  places  in  all  the  provinces, 
garrisoned  with  his  own  men,  where  are  also  stationed  his 
governors  and  collectors  of  the  rents  and  tribute,  rendered  him 
by  every  province ;  and  an  account  is  kept  of  what  each  is 
obliged  to  pay,  as  they  have  characters  and  figures  made  on 
paper  that  are  used  for  this  purpose.  Each  province  renders  a 
tribute  of  its  own  peculiar  productions,  so  that  the  sovereign 
receives  a  great  variety  of  articles  from  different  quarters.  No 
prince  was  ever  more  feared  by  his  subjects,  both  in  his   pres- 


ence  and  absence.  He  possessed  out  of  the  city  as  well  as 
within  numerous  villas,  each  of  which  had  its  peculiar  sources 
of  amusement,  and  all  were  constructed  in  the  best  possible 
manner  for  the  use  of  a  great  prince  and  lord.  Within  the 
city  his  palaces  were  so  wonderful  that  it  is  hardly  possible  to 
describe  their  beauty  and  extent :  I  can  only  say  that  in  Spain 
there  is  nothing  equal  to  them. 

There  was  one  palace  somewhat  inferior  to  the  rest,  attached 
to  which  was  a  beautiful  garden  with  balconies  extending  over 
it,  supported  by  marble  columns,  and  having  a  floor  formed  of 
jasper  elegantly  inlaid.  There  were  apartments  in  this  palace 
sufficient  to  lodge  two  princes  of  the  highest  rank  with  their 
retinues.  There  were  likewise  belonging  to  it  ten  pools  of 
water,  in  which  were  kept  the  different  species  of  water  birds 
found  in  this  country,  of  which  there  is  a  great  variety,  all  of 
which  are  domesticated  ;  for  the  sea  birds  there  were  pools  of 
salt  water,  and  for  the  river  birds,  of  fresh  water.  The  water 
is  let  oft'  at  certain  times  to  keep  it  pure,  and  is  replenished  by 
means  of  pipes.  Each  species  of  bird  is  supplied  with  the 
food  natural  to  it,  which  it  feeds  upon  when  wild.  Thus  lish 
is  siven  to  the  birds  that  usuallv  eat  it ;  worms,  maize,  and  the 
finer  seeds,  to  such  as  prefer  them.  And  I  assure  your  High- 
ness, that  to  the  birds  accustomed  to  eat  fish  there  is  given  the 
enormous  quantity  of  ten  arrobas"*  every  day,  taken  in  the  salt 
lake.  The  emperor  has  three  hundred  men  whose  sole  employ- 
ment is  to  take  care  of  these  birds ;  and  there  are  others  whose 
only  business  is  to  attend  to  the  birds  that  are  in  bad  health. 

Over  the  pools  for  the  birds  there  are  corridors  and  galleries, 
to  which  Muteczuma  resorts,  and  from  which  he  can  look  out 
and  amuse  himself  wdth  the  sight  of  them.  There  is  an  apart- 
ment in  the  same  palace  in  which  are  men,  women  and  chil- 
dren, v\'hose  faces,  bodies,  hair,  eyebrows,  and  eyelashes  are 
white  from  their  birth.  The  emperor  has  another  very  beauti- 
ful palace,  with  a  large  court-yard,  paved  with  handsome  flags, 
in  the  style  of  a  chess-board.  There  are  also  cages,  about 
nine  feet  in  height  and  six  paces  square,  each  of  which  was 
half  covered  with  a  roof  of  tiles,  and  the  other  half  had  over  it 
a  wooden  grate,  skilfully  made.  Every  cage  contained  a  bird  of 
prey,  of  all  the  species  found  in  Spain,  from  the  kestrel  to  the 
eagle,  and  many  unknown  there.  There  was  a  great  number 
of  each  kind;  and  in  the  covered  part  of  the  cages  there  was  a 
perch,  and  another  on  the  outside  of  the  grating,  the  former  of 
which  the  birds  used  in  the  night  time,  and  when  it  rained  ; 

*Two  hundred  and  fifty  pounds  weight. 


10 

and  the  other  enabled  them  to  enjoy  the  sun  and  air.  To  all 
these  birds  fowls  were  daily  given  for  food,  and  nothing  else. 
There  were  in  the  same  palace  several  large  halls  on  the 
ground  floor,  filled  with  immense  cages  built  of  heavy  pieces  of 
timber,  well  put  together,  in  all  or  most  of  which  were  kept 
lions,  tigers,  wolves,  foxes,  and  a  variety  of  animals  of  the  cat 
kind,  in  great  numbers,  which  were  also  fed  on  fowls.  The 
care  of  these  animals  and  birds  was  assigned  to  three  hundred 
men.  There  was  another  palace  that  contained  a  number  of 
men  and  women  of  monstrous  size,  and  also  dwarfs,  and 
crooked  and  ill-formed  persons,  each  of  which  had  their 
separate  apartments.  These  also  had  their  respective  keepers. 
As  to  the  other  remarkable  things  that  the  emperor  had  in  his 
city  for  his  amusement,  I  can  only  say  that  they  were  numerous 
and  of  various  kinds. 

He  was  served  in  the  following  manner.  Every  day  as  soon 
as  it  was  light,  six  hundred  nobles  and  men  of  rank  were  in 
attendance  at  the  palace,  who  either  sat,  or  walked  about  the 
halls  and  galleries,  and  passed  their  time  in  conversation,  but 
without  entering  the  apartment  where  his  person  was.  The 
servants  and  attendants  of  these  nobles  remained  in  thecourt- 
yards,  of  which  there  were  two  or  three  of  great  extent,  and  in 
the  adjoining  street,  which  was  also  very  spacious. .  They  all 
remained  in  attendance  from  morning  till  night ;  and  when  his 
meals  were  served,  the  nobles  were  likewise  served  with  equal 
profusion,  and  their  servants  and  secretaries  also  had  their 
allowance.  Daily  his  larder  and  wine-cellar  were  open  to  all 
who  wished  to  eat  and  drink.  The  meals  were  served  by  three 
or  four  hundred  youths,  who  brought  on  an  infinite  variety  of 
dishes ;  indeed,  whenever  he  dined  or  supped,  the  table  was 
loaded  with  every  kind  of  flesh,  fish,  fruits,  and  vegetables  that 
the  country  produced.  As  the  climate  is  cold,  they  put  a 
chafing-dish  with  live  coals  under  every  plate  and  dish,  to  keep 
them  warm.  The  meals  were  served  in  a  large  hall,  in  which 
Muteczuma  was  accustomed  to  eat,  and  the  dishes  quite  filled 
the  room,  which  was  covered  with  mats  and  kept  very  clean. 
He  sat  on  a  small  cushion  curiously  wrought  of  leather.  Dur- 
ing the  meals  there  were  present,  at  a  little  distance  from  him, 
five  or  six  elderly  caciques,  to  whom  he  presented  some  of  the 
food.  And  there  was  constantly  in  attendance  one  of  the  ser- 
vants, who  arranged  and  handed  the  dishes,  and  who  received 
from  others  whatever  was  wanted  for  the  supply  of  the  table. 
Both  at  the  beginning  and  end  of  every  meal,  they  furnished 
water  for  the  hands ;  and  the  napkins  used  on  these  occasions 


II 

were  never  used  a  second  time ;  this  was  the  case  also  with  the 
plates  and  dishes,  which  were  not  brought  again,  but  new 
ones  in  place  of  them ;  it  was  the  same  also  with  the  chafing- 
dishes.  He  is  also  dressed  every  day  in  four  different  suits, 
entirely  new,  which  he  never  wears  a  second  time.  None  of 
the  caciques  who  enter  his  palace  have  their  feet  covered,  and 
when  those  for  whom  he  sends  enter  his  presence,  they  incline 
their  heads  and  look  down,  bending  their  bodies ;  and  when 
they  address  him,  they  do  not  look  him  in  the  face ;  this  arises 
from  excessive  modesty  and  reverence.  I  am  satisfied  that  it 
proceeds  from  respect,  since  certain  caciques  reproved  the 
Spaniards  for  their  boldness  in  addressing  me,  saying  that  it 
showed  a  want  of  becoming  deference.  Whenever  Muteczuma 
appeared  in  public,  which  was  seldom  the  case,  all  those  who 
accompanied  him,  or  whom  he  accidentally  met  in  the  streets, 
turned  away  without  looking  towards  him,  and  others  pros- 
trated themselves  until  he  had  passed.  One  of  the  nobles 
always  preceded  him  on  these  occasions,  carrying  three 
slender  rods  erect,  which  I  suppose  was  to  give  notice  of  the 
approach  of  his  person.  And  when  they  descended  from  the 
litters,  he  took  one  of  them  in  his  hand,  and  held  it  until  he 
reached  the  place  where  he  was  going.  So  many  and  various 
were  the  ceremonies  and  customs  observed  by  those  in  the  ser- 
vice of  Muteczuma,  that  more  space  than  I  can  spare  would  be 
required  for  the  details,  as  well  as  a  better  memory  than  I 
have  to  recollect  them ;  since  no  sultan  or  other  infidel  lord,  of 
whom  any  knowledge  now  exists,  ever  had  so  much  ceremonial 
in  their  courts. 


Cortes's  own  Letters  or  Despatches  to  the  Emperor  Charles  V.  furnish 
us  the  most  interesting  and  important  material  for  the  study  of  the  con- 
quest of  Mexico.  These  letters  were  written  in  the  very  midst  of  the  events 
and  scenes  described,  and  were  published  (all  at  least  after  the  First  Letter, 
of  which  no  trace  has  been  found)  as  they  were  received  in  Spain.  Of  the 
First  Letter  Cortes  speaks  as  follows  in  the  opening  of  the  Second  :  "  By  a 
ship  that  I  despatched  from  this  New  Spain  of  your  Sacred  Majesty,  on  the 
i6th  of  July,  in  the  year  15 19,  I  transmitted  to  your  Highness  a  very  full 
and  particular  report  of  what  had  occurred  from  the  time  of  my  arrival  in 
this  country  to  that  date,  which  I  sent  by  the  hands  of  Alonso  Hernandez 
Puertocarrero  and  Francisco  de  Montejo,  deputies  of  La  Rica  Villa  de  la 
Vera  Cruz,  the  town  I  had  founded  in  your  Majesty's  name.  Since  that 
time,  from  want  of  opportunity  and  being  constantly  engaged  in  making 
conquests  and  establishing  peace,  having  no  ships,  nor  any  intelligence  from 
the  one  I  had  sent,  or  the  deputies,  I  have  not  been  able  till  now  to  give 
your  Majesty  a  further  account  of  our  operations."    The  Second  Letter  was 


12 

written  Oct.  30,  1520,  and  printed  at  Seville  in  1522.  It  describes  the  march 
from  Vera  Cruz  to  the  City  of  Mexico,  the  meeting  with  Montezuma,  the 
entrance  into  Mexico,  and  the  expulsion  after  the  battle  in  the  city  and  the 
death  of  Montezuma.  The  account  of  the  City  of  Mexico  (or  Temixtitan) 
given  in  the  present  leaflet  occupies  about  one-tenth  of  this  Second  Letter. 
The  Third  Letter,  dated  May  15,  1522,  is  devoted  chiefly  to  the  siege  and 
conquest  of  the  city.  The  Fourth  Letter  describes  the  measures  takeni  by 
Cortes  to  bring  the  whole  country  into  subjection.  The  Fifth  Letter  con- 
tains an  account  of  his  expedition  to  Honduras.  The  Second,  Third,  and 
Fourth  Letters  have  been  translated  into  English  by  George  Folsom,  and 
published  in  a  single  volume  entitled  The  Despatches  of  Hernando  Cortes: 
it  is  from  this  translation  that  the  chapter  given  in  the  present  leaflet  is 
taken.  There  is  a  translation  of  the  Fifth  Letter  among  the  publications 
of  the  Ilakluyt  Society. 

Besides  the  Letters  of  Cortes,  we  have  as  an  original  authority  of  the 
highest  value  the  history  of  the  Conquest  by  Bernal  Diaz,  who  was  with 
Cortes  throughout.  These  memoirs  have  been  translated  into  English  by 
J.  I.  Lockhart.  A  work  only  second  in  value  to  this  is  the  history  by 
Gomara,  who  was  the  chaplain  of  Cortes  after  his  return  to  Spain,  and  in 
close  relations  with  him  and  his  companions  for  many  years.  Prescott's 
notes  upon  these  two  writers,  in  the  appendix  to  the  second  volume  of  his 
History  of  the  Conquest  of  Mexico,  may  be  read.  Prescott's  work  and  Sir 
Arthur  Helps's  Life  of  Cortes  are  the  popular  modern  books  upon  the  sub- 
ject. Fiske  devote ■5  a  chapter  to  the  subject  in  his  Discovery  of  America 
(vol.  ii,  chap,  viii.),  and  there  is  no  better  brief  account.  The  more  thor- 
ough student  will  read  the  chapter  by  Winsor  in  the  Narrative  and  Critical 
History  of  America,  vol.  ii.:  the  bibliographical  notes  appended  to  this  are 
exhaustive,  and  the  reproductions  of  old  portraits,  plans,  etc.,  which  accom- 
pany it  are  of  great  interest  and  value.  All  the  works  referred  to  contain 
valuable  accounts  of  the  ancient  Mexican  civilization. 


lb  ^nntl)  %tafltt^. 

GENERAL   SERIES,  No.  36. 


The  Death 
of  De  Soto. 


From  the  "Narrative  of  the  Gentleman  of  Elvas." 


•The  next  day  being  Wednesday,  the  2gia  of  March  [1542], 
the  Governor  came  to  Nilco ;  he  lodged  with  all  his  men  in  the 
cacique's  town,  which  stood  in  a  plain  field,  which  was  in- 
habited for  the  space  of  a  quarter  of  a  league :  and  within  a 
league  and  half  a  league  were  other  very  great  towns,  wherein  was 
great  store  of  maize,  of  French  beans,  of  walnuts,  and  prunes. 
This  was  the  best  inhabited  country  that  was  seen  in  Florida^ 
and  had  most  store  of  maize,  except  Coga  and  Apalache.  There 
came  to  the  camp  an  Indian  accompanied  with  others,  and  in 
the  cacique's  name  gave  the  Governor  a  mantle  of  martens' 
skins,  and  a  cordon  of  pearls.  The  Governor  gave  him  a  few 
small  margarites,  which  are  certain  beads  much  esteemed  in 
Peru^  and  other  things,  wherewith  he  was  very  well  contented. 
He  promised  to  return  within  two  days,  but  never  came  again  : 
but  on  the  contrary  the  Indians  came  by  night  in  canoes,  and 
carried  away  all  the  maize  they  could,  and  -made  them  cabins 
on  the  other  side  of  the  river  in  the  thickest  of  the  wood,  because 
they  might  flee  if  we  should  go  to  seek  them.  The  Governor, 
seeing  he  came  not  at  the  time  appointed,  commanded  an  am- 
bush to  be  laid  about  certain  store-houses  near  the  lake,  whither 
the  Indians  came  for  maize :  v/here  they  took  two  Indians,  who 
told  the  Governor,  that  he  which  came  to  visit  him  was  not  the 
cacique,  but  was  sent  by  him  under  pretence  to  spy  whether  the 
Christians  were  careless,  and  whether  they  determined  to  settle 
in  that  country  or  to  go  forward.  Presently  the  Governor  sent 
a  captain  with  footmen  and  horsemen  over  the  river ;  and  in 
their  passage  they  were  descried  of  the  Indians,  and  therefore 
he  could  take  but  ten  or  twelve  men  and  women,  with  whom  he 
returned  to  the  camp.  This  river,  which  passed  by  Nilco^  was 
that  which  passed  by  Cay  as  and  Aufiamque,  and  fell  into  Jiio 


Grande,  or  the  Great  River,  which  passed  by  Pachaha  and 
Aquixo  near  unto  the  province  of  Guachoya :  and  the  lord 
thereof  came  up  the  river  in  canoes  to  make  war  with  him  of 
Nilco.  On  his  behalf  there  came  an  Indian  to  the  Governor, 
and  said  unto  him  that  he  was  his  servant,  and  prayed  him  so 
to  hold  him,  and  that  within  two  days  he  would  come  to  kiss  his 
lordship's  hands  :  and  at  the  time  appointed  he  came  with  some 
of  his  principal  Indians,  which  accompanied  him,  and  with 
words  of  great  offers  and  courtesy  he  gave  the  Governor  a 
present  of  many  mantles  and  deers'  skins.  The  Governor  gave 
him  some  other  things  in  recompense,  and  honored  him  much. 
He  asked  what  towns  there  were  down  the  river.  He  an- 
swered that  he  knew  none  other  but  his  own  :  and  on  the  other 
side  of  the  river  the  province  of  a  cacique  called  Quigalta.  So 
he  took  his  leave  of  the  Governor  and  went  to  his  own  town. 
Within  a  few  days  the  Governor  determined  to  go  to  Guachoya^ 
to  learn  there  whether  the  sea  were  near,  or  whether  there  were 
any  habitation  near,  where  he  might  relieve  his  company,  while 
the  brigantines  were  making,  which  he  meant  to  send  to  the 
land  of  the  Christians.  As  he  passed  the  river  Nilco,  there  came 
in  canoes  Indians  of  Guachoya  up  the  stream,  and  when  they 
saw  him,  supposing  that  he  came  to  seek  them  to  do  them  some 
hurt,  they  returned  down  the  river,  and  informed  the  cacique 
thereof  :  who  with  all  his  people,  spoiling  the  town  of  all  that 
they  could  carry  away,  passed  that  night  over  to  the  other  side 
of  the  Rio  Grande,  or  the  Great  River.  The  Governor  sent  a 
captain  with  fifty  men  in  six  canoes  down  the  river,  and  went 
himself  by  land  with  the  rest.  He  came  to  Guachoya  upon  Sun- 
day, the  17th  of  April.  He  lodged  in  the  town  of  the  cacique, 
which  was  enclosed  about,  and  seated  a  crossbow  shot  distant 
from  the  river.  Here  the  river  is  called  Tamaliseu,  and  in  JVilco 
Tapatu,  and  in  Coga  Mico,  and  in  the  port  or  mouth  Ri. 

As  soon  as  the  Governor  came  t®  Guachoya,  he  sent  Johji 
Danusco  with  as  many  men  as  could  go  in  the  canoes  up  the 
river.  For  when  they  came  down  from  Nilco,  they  saw  on  the 
other  side  of  the  river  new  cabins  made.  John  Danusco  went  and 
brought  the  canoes  laden  with  maize,  French  beans,  prunes,  and 
many  loaves  made  of  the  substance  of  prunes.  That  day  came 
an  Indian  to  the  Governor  from  the  Cacique  of  Guachoya,  and 
said  that  his  lord  would  come  the  next  day.  The  next  day 
they  saw  many  canoes  come  up  the  river,  and  on  the  other  side 
of  the  Great  River  they  assembled  together  in  the  space  of  an 
hour.  #They  consulted  whether  they  should  come  or  not ;  and 
at  length  concluded  to  come,  and  crossed  the  river.     In  them 


came  the  Cacique  of  Guachoya^  and  brought  with  him  many 
Indians,  with  great  store  of  fish,  dogs,  deers'  skins,  and  mantles ; 
and  as  soon  as  they  landed,  they  went  to  the  lodging  of  the 
Governor,  and  presented  him  their  gifts,  and  the  cacique 
uttered  these  words  :  — 

"  Mighty  and  excellent  lord,  I  beseech  your  lordship  to 
pardon  me  the  error  which  I  committed  in  absenting  myself, 
and  not  tarrying  in  this  town  to  have  received  and  served  your 
lordship  ;  since,  to  obtain  this  opportunity  of  time  was,  and  is 
as  much  as  a  great  victory  to  me.  But  I  feared  that  which  I 
needed  not  to  have  feared,  and  so  did  that  which  was  not  rea- 
son to  do.  But  as  haste  maketh  waste,  and  I  removed  without 
deliberation;  so,  as  soon  as  I  thought  on  it,  I  determined  not 
to  follow  the  opinion  of  the  foolish,  which  is  to  continue  in 
their  error;  but  to  imitate  the  wise  and  discreet,  in  changing 
my  counsel,  and  so  I  came  to  see  what  your  lordship  will  com- 
mand me  to  do,  that  I  may  serve  you  in  all  things  that  are  in 
my  power." 

The  Governor  received  him  with  much  joy,  and  gave  him 
thanks  for  his  present  and  offer.  He  asked  him,  whether 
he  had  any  notice  of  the  sea.  He  answered  no,  nor  of  any 
towns  down  the  river  on  that  side ;  save  that  two  leagues  from 
thence  was  one  town  of  a  principal  Indian,  a  subject  of  his; 
and  on  the  other  side  of  the  river,  three  days'  journey  from 
thence  down  the  river,  was  the  province  of  Quigalta,  which  was 
the  greatest  lord  that  was  in  that  country !  The  Governor 
thought  that  the  cacique  lied  unto  him,  to  rid  him  out  of  his 
own  towns,  and  sent  Johfi  Danusco  with  eight  horsemen  down 
the  river,  to  see  what  habitation  there  was,  and  to  inform  him- 
self, if  there  were  any  notice  of  the  sea.  He  travelled  eight 
days,  and  at  his  return  he  said,  that  in  all  that  time  he  was  not 
able  to  go  above  fourteen  or  fifteen  leagues,  because  of  the 
great  creeks  that  came  out  of  the  river,  and  groves  of  canes, 
and  thick  woods  that  were  along  the  banks  of  the  river,  and 
that  he  had  found  no  habitation.  The  Governor  fell  into 
great  dumps  to  see  how  hard  it  was  to  get  to  the  sea ;  and 
worse,  because  his  men  and  horses  every  day  diminished,  being 
without  succor  to  sustain  themselves  in  the  country:  and  with 
that  thought  he  fell  sick.  But  before  he  took  his  bed  he  sent 
an  Indian  to  the  Cacique  of  Quigalta  to  tell  him  that  he  was 
the  child  of  the  sun,  and  that  all  the  way  that  he  came  all  men 
obeyed  and  served  him,  that  he  requested  him  to  accept  of  his 
friendship  and  come  unto  him,  for  he  would  be  very  glad  to 
see  him  ;  and  in  sign  of  love  and  obedience  to  bring  something 


with  him  of  that  which  in  his  country  was  most  esteemed.  The 
cacique  answered  by  the  same  Indian : 

"  That  whereas  he  said  he  was  the  child  of  the  sun,  if  he 
would  dry  up  the  river  he  would  believe  him  ;  and  touching  the 
rest,  that  he  was  wont  to  visit  none ;  but  rather  that  all  those  of 
whom  he  had  notice  did  visit  him,  served,  obeyed,  and  paid  him 
tributes  willingly  or  perforce ;  therefore,  if  he  desired  to  see 
him,  it  were  best  he  should  come  thither ;  that  if  he  came  in 
peace,  he  would  receive  him  with  special  good  will ;  and  if  in 
war,  in  like  manner  he  would  attend  him  in  the  town  where  he 
was,  and  that  for  him  or  any  other  he  would  not  shrink  one 
foot  back," 

By  that  time  the  Indian  returned  with  this  answer,  the 
Governor  had  betaken  himself  to  bed,  being  evil  handled  with 
fevers,  and  was  much  aggrieved  that  he  was  not  in  case  to  pass 
presently  the  river  and  to  seek  him,  to  see  if  he  could  abate 
that  pride  of  his,  considering  the  river  went  now  very  strongly 
in  those  parts ;  for  it  w^as  near  half  a  league  broad,  and  sixteen 
fathoms  deep,  and  very  furious,  and  ran  with  a  great  current ; 
and  on  both  sides  there  were  many  Indians,  and  his  power  was 
not  now  so  great,  but  that  he  had  need  to  help  himself  rather 
by  slights  than  by  force.  The  Indians  of  Guachoya  came  every 
day  with  fish  in  such  numbers,  that  the  town  was  full  of  them. 
The  cacique  said,  that  on  a  certain  night  he  of  Quigalta  would 
come  to  give  battle  to  the  Governor.  Which  the  Governor  im- 
agined that  he  had  devised,  to  drive  him  out  of  his  country,  and 
commanded  him  to  be  put  in  hold  :  and  that  night  and  all  the  rest, 
there  was  good  watch  kept  He  asked  him  wherefore  Quigalta 
came  not  ?  He  said  that  he  came,  but  that  he  saw  him  prepared, 
and  therefore  durst  not  give  the  attempt :  and  he  was  earnest 
with  him  to  send  his  captains  over  the  river,  and  that  he  would 
aid  him  with  many  men  to  set  upon  Qitigalta.  The  Governor 
told  him  that  as  soon  as  he  was  recovered,  himself  would  seek 
him  out.  And  seeing  how  many  Indians  came  daily  to  the 
town,  and  what  store  of  people  was  in  that  country,  fearing  they 
should  all  conspire  together  and  plot  some  treason  against  him ; 
and  because  the  town  had  some  open  gaps  which  were  not 
made  an  end  of  inclosing,  besides  the  gates  which  they  went  in 
and  out  by :  because  the  Indians  should  not  think  he  feared 
them,  he  let  them  all  alone  unrepaired ;  and  commanded  the 
horsemen  to  be  appointed  to  them,  and  to  the  gates :  and  all 
night  the  horsemen  went  the  round  ;  and  two  and  two  of  every 
squadron  rode  about,  and  visited  the  scouts  that  were  without 
the  town  in  their  standings  by  the  passages,  and  the  crossbow- 


men  that  kept  the  canoes  in  the  river.  And  because  the 
Indians  should  stand  in  fear  of  them,  he  determined  to  send  a 
captain  to  Nilco^  for  those  of  Guachoya  had  told  him  that  it  was 
inhabited  ;  that  by  using  them  cruelly,  neither  the  one  nor  the 
other  should  presume  to  assail  him ;  and  he  sent  Nunez  de  Touar 
with  fifteen  horsemen,  2iX\dJohn  de  Guzman  captain  of  the  foot- 
men, with  his  company  in  canoes  up  the  river.  The  Cacique  of 
Guachoya  sent  for  many  canoes  and  many  warlike  Indians  to  go 
with  the  Christians :  and  the  captain  of  the  Christians,  called 
Nunez  de  Touar,  went  by  land  with  his  horsemen,  and  two 
leagues  before  he  came  to  Niko  he  stayed  iox  John  de  Guzman, 
and  in  that  place  they  passed  the  river  by  night :  the  horsemen 
came  first,  and  in  the  morning  by  break  of  day  in  sight  of  the 
town  they  lighted  upon  a  spy  ;  which  as  soon  as  he  perceived 
the  Christians,  crying  out  amain  fled  to  the  town  to  give  warn- 
ing. Nunez  de  Touar  and  his  company  made  such  speed,  that 
before  the  Indians  of  the  town  could  fully  come  out,  they  were 
upon  them :  it  was  champaign  ground  that  was  inhabited,  which 
was  about  a  quarter  of  a  league.  There  were  about  five  or  six 
thousand  people  in  the  town ;  and,  as  many  people  came  out  of 
the  houses,  and  fled  from  one  house  to  another,  and  many  Ind- 
ians came  flocking  together  from  all  parts,  there  was  never  a 
horseman  that  was  not  alone  among  many.  The  captain  had 
commanded  that  they  should  not  spare  the  life  of  any  male. 
Their  disorder  was  so  great,  that  there  was  no  Indian  that  shot 
an  arrow  at  any  Christian.  The  shrieks  of  women  and  children 
were  so  great,  that  they  made  the  ears  deaf  of  those  that 
followed  them.  There  were  slain  a  hundred  Indians,  little 
more  or  less :  and  many  were  wounded  with  great  wounds, 
whom  they  suffered  to  escape  to  strike  a  terror  in  the  rest  that 
were  not  there.  There  were  some  so  cruel  and  butcherlike, 
that  they  killed  old  and  young,  and  all  that  they  met,  though 
they  made  no  resistance  ;  and  those  which  presumed  of  them- 
selves for  their  valor,  and  were  taken  for  such,  broke  through 
the  Indians,  bearing  down  many  with  their  stirrups  and  breasts 
of  their  horses ;  and  some  they  wounded  with  their  lances,  and 
so  let  them  go :  and  when  they  saw  any  youth  or  woman  they 
took  them,  and  delivered  them  to  the  footmen.  These  men's 
sins  by  God's  permission  lighted  on  their  own  heads ;  who,  be- 
cause they  would  seem  valiant,  became  cruel  j  showing  them- 
selves extreme  cowards  in  the  sight  of  all  men  when  as  most 
need  of  valor  was  required,  and  afterwards  they  came  to  a 
shameful  death.  Of  the  Indians  of  Niko  were  taken  prisoners 
fourscore  women  and  children,  and  much  spoil.     The  Indians 


of  Guachoya  kept  back  before  they  came  at  the  town,  and 
stayed  without,  beholding  the  success  of  the  Christians  with  the 
men  of  Nilco.  And  when  they  saw  them  put  to  flight,  and  the 
horsemen  busy  in  killing  of  them,  they  hastened  to  the  houses 
to  rob,  and  filled  their  canoes  with  the  spoil  of  the  goods ;  and 
returned  to  Guachoya  before  the  Christians ;  and  wondering 
much  at  the  sharp  dealing  which  they  had  seen  them  use  toward 
the  Indians  of  Nilco,  they  told  their  cacique  all  that  had  passed 
with  great  astonishment. 

The  Governor  felt  in  himself  that  the  hour  approached 
wherein  he  was  to  leave  this  present  life,  and  called  for  the 
king's  officers,  captains,  and  principal  persons,  to  whom  he 
made  a  speech,  saying  :  — 

"  That  now  he  was  to  go  to  give  an  account  before  the 
presence  of  God  of  all  his  life  past :  and  since  it  pleased  him 
to  take  him  in  such  a  time,  and  that  the  time  was  come  that  he 
knew  his  death,  that  he  his  most  unworthy  servant  did  yield 
him  many  thanks  therefor;  and  desired  all  that  were  present 
and  absent  (whom  he  confessed  himself  to  be  much  beholding 
unto  for  their  singular  virtues,  love  and  loyalty,  which  himself 
had  well  tried  in  the  travels  which  they  had  suffered,  which  al- 
ways in  his  mind  he  did  hope  to  satisfy  and  reward,  when  it 
should  please  God  to  give  him  rest,  with  more  prosperity  of  his 
estate),  that  they  would  pray  to  God  for  him,  that  for  his  mercy 
he  would  forgive  him  his  sins,  and  receive  his  soul  into  eternal 
glory  :  and  that  they  would  quit  and  free  him  of  the  charge 
which  he  had  over  them,  and  ought  unto  them  all,  and  that  they 
would  pardon  him  for  some  wrongs  which  they  might  have  re- 
ceived of  him.  And  to  avoid  some  division,  which  upon  his 
death  might  fall  out  upon  the  choice  of  his  successor,  he  re- 
quested them  to  elect  a  principal  person,  and  able  to  govern,  of 
whom  all  should  like  well ;  and  when  he  was  elected,  they 
should  swear  before  him  to  obey  him  :  and  that  he  would  thank 
them  very  much  in  so  doing;  because  the  grief  that  he  had 
would  somewhat  be  assuaged,  and  the  pain  that  he  felt,  because 
he  left  them  in  so  great  confusion,  to  wit,  in  leaving  them  in  a 
strange  country,  where  they  knew  not  where  they  were." 

Baltasar  de  Gallegos  answered  in  the  name  of  all  the  rest. 
And  first  of  all  comforting  him,  he  set  before  his  eyes  how  short 
the  life  of  this  world  was,  and  with  how  many  troubles  and 
miseries  it  is  accompanied,  and  how  God  showed  him  a  singular 
favor  which  soonest  left  it :  telling  him  many  other  things  fit 
for  such  a  time.  And  for  the  last  point,  that  since  it  pleased 
God  to  take  him  to  himself,  although  his  death  did  justly  grieve 


them  much,  yet  as  well  he,  as  all  the  rest,  ought  of  necessity  to 
conform  themselves  to  the  will  of  God.  And  touching  the 
Governor  which  he  commanded  they  should  elect,  he  besought 
him,  that  it  would  please  his  lordship  to  name  him  which  he 
thought  fit,  and  him  they  would  obey.  And  presently  he 
named  Luyis  de  Moscoso  de  Alvarado^  his  captain-general.  And 
presently  he  was  sworn  by  all  that  were  present,  and  elected  foi 
governor.  The  next  day  being  the  21st  of  May,  1542,  de- 
parted out  of  this  life,  the  valorous,  virtuous,  and  valiant 
Captain,  Don  Fernando  de  Soto,  Governor  of  Cuba,  and  Ade- 
lantado  of  Florida:  whom  fortune  advanced,  as  it  useth  to 
do  others,  that  he  might  have  the  higher  fall.  He  departed  in 
such  a  place,  and  at  such  a  time,  as  in  his  sickness  he  had  but 
little  comfort :  and  the  danger  wherein  all  his  people  were  of 
perishing  in  that  country,  which  appeared  before  their  eyes,  was 
cause  sufficient  why  every  one  of  them  had  need  of  comfort, 
and  why  they  did  not  visit  nor  accompany  him  as  they  ought  to 
have  done.  Luys  de  Moscoso  determined  to  conceal  his  death 
from  the  Indians,  because  Ferdi?iando  de  Soto  had  made  them 
believe  that  the  Christians  were  immortal ;  and  also  because 
they  took  him  to  be  hardy,  wise,  and  valiant :  and  if  they  should 
know  that  he  was  dead,  they  would  be  bold  to  set  upon  the 
Christians,  though  they  lived  peaceably  by  them.  In  regard  of 
their  disposition,  and  because  they  were  nothing  constant,  and 
believed  all  that  was  told  them,  the  Adelantado  made  them  be- 
lieve, that  he  knew  some  things  that  passed  in  secret  among 
themselves,  without  their  knowledge,  how,  or  in  what  manner 
he  came  by  them :  and  that  the  figure  which  appeared  in  a 
glass,  which  he  showed  them,  did  tell  him  whatsoever  they  prac- 
ticed and  went  about :  and  therefore  neither  in  word  nor  deed 
durst  they  attempt  anything  that  might  be  prejudicial  unto  him. 
As  soon  as  he  was  dead,  Luys  de  Moscoso  commanded  to  put 
him  secretly  in  the  house,  where  he  remained  three  days ;  and 
moving  him  from  thence,  commanded  him  to  be  buried  in  the 
night  at  one  of  the  gates  of  the  town  within  the  wall.  And  as  the 
Indians  had  seen  him  sick,  and  missed  him,  so  did  they  suspect 
what  might  be.  And  passing  by  the  place  Where  he  was  buried, 
seeing  the  earth  moved,  they  looked  and  spake  one  to  another. 
Luys  de  Moscoso  understanding  of  it,  commanded  him  to  be 
taken  up  by  night,  and  to  cast  a  great  deal  of  sand  into  the 
mantles,  wherein  he  was  wound  up,  wherein  he  was  carried  in  a 
canoe,  and  thrown  into  the  midst  of  the  river.  The  Cacique  of 
Guachoya  inquired  for  him,  demanding  what  was  become  of 
his  brother  and  lord,  the  Governor,     Luys  de  Moscoso  told  him 


8 

that  he  was  gone  to  heaven,  as  many  other  times  he  did  :  and 
because  he  was  to  stay  there  certain  days  he  had  left  him  in  his 
place.  The  cacique  thought  with  himself  that  he  was  dead  j 
and  commanded  two  young  and  well-proportioned  Indians  to  be 
brought  thither;  and  said,  that  the  use  of  that  country  was, 
when  any  lord  died,  to  kill  Indians  to  wait  upon  hinf,  and  serve 
him  by  the  way,  and  for  that  purpose  by  his  commandment 
were  those  come  thither  :  and  prayed  Luys  de  Moscoso  to  com- 
mand them  to  be  beheaded,  that  they  might  attend  and  serve 
his  lord  and  brother.  Luys  de  Moscoso  told  him,  that  the  Gov- 
ernor was  not  dead,  but  gone  to  heaven,  and  that  of  his  own 
Christian  soldiers  he  had  taken  such  as  he  needed  to  serve 
him,  and  prayed  him  to  command  those  Indians  to  be  loosed, 
and  not  to  use  any  such  bad  custom  from  thenceforth  :  straight- 
way he  commanded  them  to  be  loosed,  and  to  get  them  home 
to  their  houses.  And  one  of  them  would  not  go  ;  saying,  that 
he  would  not  serve  him,  that  without  desert  had  judged  him 
to  death,  but  that  he  would  serve  him  as  long  as  he  lived,  which 
had  saved,  his  life. 

Luys  de  Moscoso  caused  all  the  goods  of  the  Governor  to  be 
sold  at  an  outcry :  to  wit,  two  men  slaves  and  two  women 
slaves,  and  three  horses,  and  seven  hundred  hogs.  For  every 
slave  or  horse,  they  gave  two  or  three  thousand  ducats :  which 
were  to  be  paid  at  the  first  melting  of  gold  or  silver,  or  at  the 
division  of  their  portion  of  inheritance.  And  they  entered 
into  bonds,  though  in  the  country  there  was  not  wherewith,  to 
pay  it  within  a  year  after,  and  put  in  sureties  for  the  same. 
Such  as  in  Spaifi  had  no  goods  to  bind,  gave  two  hundred 
ducats  for  a  hog,  giving  assurance  after  the  same  manner. 
Those  which  had  any  goods  in  Spain  bought  with  more  fear, 
and  bought  the  less.  From  that  time  forward,  most  of  the 
company  had  swine,  and  brought  them  up,  and  fed  upon  them ; 
and  observed  Fridays  and  Saturdays,  and  the  evenings  of 
feasts,  which  before  they  did  not.  For  some  times  in  two  or 
three  months  they  did  eat  no  flesh,  and  whensoever  they  could 
come  by  it,  they  did  eat  it. 

Some  were  glad  of  the  death  of  Don  Ferdinando  de  Soto,  hold- 
ing for  certain  that  Luys  de  Moscoso  (which  was  given  to  his 
ease),  would  rather  desire  to  be  among  the  Christians  at  rest, 
than  to  continue  the  labors  of  the  war  in  subduing  and  dis- 
covering of  countries ;  whereof  they  were  already  weary,  seeing 
the  small  profit  that  ensued  thereof.  The  Governor  commanded 
the  captains  and  principal  persons  to  meet  to  consult  and  deter- 
mine what  they  should  do.     And  being  informed  what  peopled 


habitation  was  round  about,  he  understood  that  to  the  west  the 
country  was  most  inhabited,  and  that  down  the  river  beyond 
Quigaita  was  uninhabited,  and  had  little  store  of  food.  He  de- 
sired them  all,  that  every  one  would  give  his  opinion  in  writing, 
and  set  his  hand  to  it:  that  they  might  resolve  by  general  con- 
sent, whether  they  should  go  down  the  river,  or  enter  into  the 
main  land.  All  were  of  opinion,  that  it  was  best  to  go  by  land 
toward  the  west,  because  Niieva  Espana  was  that  way ;  holding 
the  voyage  by  sea  more  dangerous,  and  of  greater  hazard,  be- 
cause they  could  make  no  ship  of  any  strength  to  abide  a 
storm,  neither  had  they  master,  nor  pilot,  compass,  nor  chart, 
neither  knew  they  how  far  the  sea  was  off,  nor  had  any  notice 
of  it ;  nor  whether  the  river  did  make  any  great  turning  into  the 
land,  or  had  any  great  fall  from  the  rocks,  where  all  of  them 
might  be  cast  away.  And  some  which  had  seen  the  sea-chart 
did  find,  that  from  the  place  where  they  were  by  the  sea-coast 
to  Nueva  Espana  might  be  four  hundred  leagues,  little  more  or 
less ;  and  said,  that  though  they  went  somewhat  about  by  land 
in  seeking  a  peopled  country,  if  some  great  wilderness  which 
they  could  not  pass  did  hinder  them,  by  spending  that  summer 
in  travel,  finding  provision  to  pass  the  winter  in  some  peopled 
country,  that  the  next  summer  after  they  might  come  to  some 
Christian  land,  and  that  it  might  fortune  in  their  travel  by  land 
to  find  some  rich  country,  where  they  might  do  themselves 
good.  The  Governor,  although  he  desired  to  get  out  of  Elorida 
in  shorter  time,  seeing  the  inconveniences  they  laid  before  him, 
in  travelling  by  sea,  determined  to  follow  that  which  seemed 
good  to  them  all.  On  Monday,  the  fifth  day  of  June,  he  de- 
parted from  Guachoya.  The  cacique  gave  him  a  guide  to 
Chagiiate^  and  stayed  at  home  in  his  own  town.  They  passed 
through  a  province  called  Catalte:  and  having  passed  a  wilder- 
ness of  six  days'  journey,  the  twentieth  day  of  the  month  he 
came  to  Chaguate.  The  cacique  of  this  province  had  visited 
the  Governer  Don  Eerdifiando  de  Soto  at  Aidiamque^  whither  he 
brought  him  presents  of  skins,  and  mantles,  and  salt.  And  a 
day  before  Luys  de  Moscoso  came  to  his  town,  we  lost  a  Chris- 
tian that  was  sick ;  which  he  suspected  that  the  Indians  had 
slain.  He  sent  the  cacique  word,  that  he  should  command  his 
people  to  seek  him  up,  and  sent  him  unto  him,  and  that  he 
would  hold  him,  as  he  did,  for  his  friend:  and  if  he  did  not, 
that  neither  he,  nor  his,  should  escape  his  hands,  and  that  he 
would  set  his  country  on  fire.  Presently  the  cacique  came  unto 
him,  and  brought  a  great  present  of  mantles  and  skins,  and  the 
Christian  that  was  lost,  and  made  this  speech  following  : 


lO 

*' Right  excellent  lord,  I  would  not  deserve  that  conceit 
which  you  had  of  me,  for  all  the  treasure  of  the  world.  What 
enforced  me  to  go  to  visit  and  serve  the  excellent  Lord  Gov- 
ernor your  father  in  Atitiamque,  which  you  should  have  remem- 
bered, where  I  offered  myself  with  all  loyalty,  faith  and  love, 
during  my  life  to  serve  and  obey  him  ?  What  then  could  be  the 
cause,  I  having  received  favors  of  him,  and  neither  you  nor  he 
having  done  me  any  wrong,  that  should  move  me  to  do  the 
thing  which  I  ought  not  ?  Believe  this  of  me,  that  neither 
wrong,  nor  any  worldly  interest,  was  able  to  make  me  to 
have  done  it,  nor  shall  be  able  to  blind  me.  But  as  in  this  life 
it  is  a  natural  course,  that  after  one  pleasure  many  sorrows  do 
follow  :  so  by  your  indignation,  fortune  would  moderate  the 
joy,  which  my  heart  conceiveth  with  your  presence ;  and  that  I 
should  err,  where  I  thought  surest  to  have  hit  the  mark  ;  in 
harboring  this  Christian  which  was  lost,  and  using  him  in  such 
manner,  as  he  may  tell  himself,  thinking  that  herein  I  did  you 
service,  with  purpose  to  deliver  him  unto  you  in  Chaguate,  and 
to  serve  you  to  the  uttermost  of  my  power.  If  I  deserve  punish- 
ment for  this,  I  will  receive  it  at  your  hands,  as  from  my  lord, 
as  if  it  were  a  favor.  For  the  love  which  I  did  bear  to  the  ex- 
cellent Governor,  and  which  I  bear  to  you,  hath  no  limit.  And 
like  as  you  give  me  chastisement,  so  will  you  also  show  me 
favor.  And  that  which  now  I  crave  of  you  is  this,  to  declare 
your  will  unto  me,  and  those  things  wherein  I  may  be  able  to 
do  you  the  most  and  best  service." 

The  Governor  answered  him,  that  because  he  did  not  find  him 
in  that  town,  he  was  incensed  against  him,  thinking  he  had 
absented  himself,  as  others  had  done  :  but  seeing  he  now  knew 
his  loyalty  and  love,  he  would  always  hold  him  as  a  brother, 
and  favor  him  with  all  his  affairs.  The  cacique  went  with  him 
to  the  town  where  he  resided,  which  was  a  day's  journey  from 
thence. 


The  passage  given  in  the  present  leaflet  is  taken  from  what  is  usually  re- 
ferred to  in  English  as  the  Narrative  of  the  Gentleman  of  Elvas.  This  is  an 
account  of  the  expedition  of  De  Soto,  written  by  one  of  the  Spaniards  who 
accompanied  him,  and  first  printed  in  1557  at  Evora.  The  Gentleman  of 
Elvas  is  supposed  by  some  to  be  Alvaro  Fernandez;  but  this  is  a  matter  of 
doubt.  The  first  English  translation  —  which  is  that  used  for  the  present 
leaflet  —  was  made  by  Hakluyt,  who  printed  it  in  London  in  1609,  under  the 
title  Virginia  richly  valued  by  the  Description  of  the  Mainland  of  Florida,  her 
next  Neighbor,  and  again  in  161 1  as  The  worthy e  ajtd  famous  Historie  of  the 
Travailles,  Discovery  ajtd  Co7iquest  of  Terra  Florida.  The  161 1  edition  was 
reprinted  by  the  Hakluyt  Society  in  1851,  edited  by  William  B.  Rye,  and  is 


II 

included  in  Force's  Tracts  (vol.  iv.)  and  in  French's  Historical  Collections  of 
Louisiana  (vol.  ii.).  In  1866  Mr.  Buckingham  Smith  published  translations 
of  the  narratives  of  the  Gentleman  of  Elvas  and  of  Biedma,  in  the  fifth 
volume  of  the  Bradford  Club  Series,  under  the  title  of  Narratives  of  the 
Career  of  Hernando  de  Soto  in  the  Conquest  of  Florida,  as  told  by  a  Knight  of 
Elvas  and  in  a  Relation  [presented  1 544]  by  Luys  Hernandez  de  Biedma. 

This  briefer  original  Spanish  account  by  Biedma  long  remained  in  manu- 
script in  the  archives  at  Seville,  and  was  first  published  in  a  French  version 
in  1841 ;  and  trom  this  William  B.  Rye  translated  it  for  the  volume  already 
referred  to  published  by  the  Hakluyt  Society  in  1851,  which  included  Hak- 
luyt's  version  of  the  Elvas  narrative.  An  abridgment  of  this  also  appears 
in  French's  Historical  Collections  of  Louisiana  (vol.  ii.). 

A  third  original  account  of  De  Soto's  expedition  is  the  Florida  del  Ynca  of 
La  Vega,  written  forty  years  after  De  Soto's  death.  It  is  based  upon  con- 
versations with  a  Spanish  noble  who  had  accompanied  De  Soto,  and  the 
written  reports  of  two  common  soldiers ;  but  its  spirit  of  exaggeration  has 
brought  it  into  discredit  with  many  historical  scholars.  An  English  version 
of  it  is  embodied  in  Bernard  Shipp's  History  of  Hernando  de  Soto  and 
Florida. 

Still  another  account  of  the  expedition  is  the  official  report  which  Rodrigo 
Ranjel,  the  secretary  of  De  Soto,  based  upon  his  diary  kept  on  the  march; 
but  this  account  is  incomplete,  and  there  is  no  English  version  of  it.  There 
is  a  letter  of  De  Soto,  dated  July  9,  1539,  describing  his  voyage  and  land- 
ing, which  was  translated  and  published  by  Buckingham  Smith  in  1854. 
A  version  of  this  letter  may  also  be  found  in  French's  Historical  Collections 
of  Louisiana,  vol.  ii. 

Further  information  concerning  the  works  upon  De  Soto  and  the  other  ex- 
plorers of  Florida  may  be  found  in  the  notes  appended  by  John  Gilmary 
Shea  to  his  valuable  chapter  on  Ancient  Florida,  in  the  Narrative  and 
Critical  History  of  America,  vol.  ii.  The  question  of  De  Soto's  route  is  here 
fully  discussed,  with  the  aid  of  valuable  old  maps. 


OLD    SOUTH   LEAFLETS,    GENERAL   SERIES. 

These  Leaflets,  issued  by  the  Directors  of  the  Old  South  Studies  in 
History,  are  largely  reproductions  of  important  original  papers,  accompa- 
nied by  historical  and  bibliographical  notes.  They  consist,  on  an  average, 
of  sixteen  pages,  and  are  sold  at  the  low  price  of  five  cents  a  copy,  or  three 
dollars  per  hundred.  The  Old  South  work  is  a  work  for  the  education  of 
the  people,  and  especially  the  education  of  our  young  people  in  American 
history  and  politics  ;  and  its  promoters  believe  that  few  things  can  contribute 
better  to  this  end  than  the  wide  circulation  of  such  Leaflets  as  these.  The 
aim  is  to  bring  important  original  documents  Vv'ithin  easy  reach  of  everybody. 
It  is  hoped  that  professors  in  our  colleges  and  teachers  everywhere  will  wel- 
come them  for  use  in  their  classes,  and  that  they  may  meet  the  needs  of  the 
societies  of  young  men  and  women  now  happily  being  organized  in  so  many 
places  for  historical  and  poUtical  studies.  There  are  at  present  28  leaflets 
in  this  general  series,  and  others  will  rapidly  follow.  The  following  are  the 
titles  of  those  now  ready  : 

No.  I.  The  Constitution  of  the  United  States.  2.  The  Articles  of 
Confederation.      3.  The   Declaration  of  Independence.      4-    Washington's 


12 

Farewell  Address,  5.  Magna  Charta,  6.  Vane's  *'  Healing  Question." 
7.  Charter  of  Massachusetts  Bay,  1629.  8.  Fundamental  Orders  of  Connect- 
icut, 1638.  9.  Franklin's  Plan  of  Union,  1754.  10.  Washington's  Inaugu- 
rals. II.  Lincoln's  Inaugurals  and  Emancipation  Proclamation.  12.  The 
Federalist,  Nos.  i  and  2.  13.  The  Ordinance  of  1787.  14.  The  Constitu- 
tion of  Ohio.*  15.  Washington's  Letter  to  the  Governors  of  the  States, 
1783.  16.  Washington's  Letter  to  Benjamin  Harrison,  1784.  17.  Verraz- 
zano's  Voyage,  1524.  18.  The  Swiss  Constitution.*  19.  The  Bill  of  Rights, 
1689.  20.  Coronado's  Letter  to  Mendoza,  1540.  21.  Eliot's  Brief  Narra- 
tive of  Work  among  the  Indians,  1670.  22.  Wheelock's  Narrative  of  the 
Founding  of  his  Indian  School,  1762.  23.  The  Petition  of  Rights,  1628. 
24.  The  Grand  Remonstrance.  25.  The  Scottish  National  Covenants.  26. 
The  Agreement  of  the  People.     27.  The  Instrument  of  Government.     28. 


I 


GENERAL   SERIES,  No.  37. 

The  Voyages 
of    the    Cabots. 


From  Hakluyt's  "Principal  Navigations,  Voyages  and 
Discoveries  of  the  English  Nation." 


The  Letters  patents  of  King  Henry  the  seuenth  granted 
vnto  lohn  Cabot  and  his  three  sonnes,  Lewis,  Sebastian, 
and  Sancius  for  the  discouerie  of  new  and  vnknowen 
lands. 

HEnry,  by  the  grace  of  God,  king  of  England  and  France, 
and  lord  of  Ireland,  to  all  to  whom  these  presents  shall  come, 
Greeting. 

Be  it  knowen  that  we  haue  giuen  and  granted,  and  by  these 
presents  do  giue  and  grant  for  vs  and  our  heires,  to  our  wel- 
beloued  lohn  Cabot  citizen  of  Venice,  to  Lewis,  Sebastian,  and 
Santius,  sonnes  of  the  sayd  lohn,  and  to  the  heires  of  them,  and 
euery  of  them,  and  their  deputies,  full  and  free  authority,  leaue, 
and  power  to  saile  to  all  parts,  countreys,  and  seas  of  the  East, 
of  the  West,  and  of  the  North,  vnder  our  banners  and  ensignes, 
with  fiue  ships  of  what  burthen  or  quantity  soeuer  they  be, 
and  as  many  mariners  or  men  as  they  will  haue  with  them  in 
the  sayd  ships,  vpon  their  owne  proper  costs  and  charges,  to 
seeke  out,  discouer,  and  finde  whatsoeuer  isles,  countreys, 
regions  or  prouinces  of  the  heathen  and  infidels  whatsoeuer 
they  be,  and  in  what  part  of  the  world  soeuer  they  be,  which  be- 
fore this  time  haue  bene  vnknowen  to  all  Christians :  we  haue 
granted  to  them,  and  also  to  euery  of  them,  the  heires  of  them, 
and  euery  of  them,  and  their  deputies,  and  haue  giuen  them 
licence  to  set  vp  our  banners  and  ensignes  in  euery  village, 
towne,  castle,  isle,  or  maine  land  of  them  newly  found.  And 
that  the  aforesayd  lohn  and  his  sonnes,  or  their  heires  and 
assi.gn.es  may  subdue,  occupy  and   possesse   all   such   townes, 


cities,  castles  and  isles  of  them  found,  which  they  can  subdue, 
occupy  and  possesse,  as  our  vassals,  and  lieutenants,  getting 
vnto  vs  the  rule,  title,  and  iurisdiction  of  the  same  villages, 
townes,  castles,  &  firme  land  so  found.  Yet  so  that  the  afore- 
sayd  lohn,  and  his  sonnes  and  heires,  and  their  deputies,  be 
holden  and  bounden  of  all  the  fruits,  profits,  gaines,  and  com- 
modities growing  of  such  nauigation,  for  euery  their  voyage,  as 
often  as  they  shall  arriue  at  our  port  of  BristoU  (at  the  which 
port  they  shall  be  bound  and  holden  onely  to  arriue)  all  maner 
of  necessary  costs  and  charges  by  them  made,  being  deducted, 
to  pay  vnto  vs  in  wares  or  money  the  fift  part  of  the  capitall 
gaine  so  gotten.  We  giuing  and  granting  vnto  them  and  to 
their  heires  and  deputies,  that  they  shall  be  free  from  all  paying 
of  customes  of  all  and  singular  such  merchandize  as  they  shall 
bring  with  them  from  those  places  so  newly  found.  And  more- 
ouer,  we  haue  giuen  and  granted  to  them,  their  heires  and  depu- 
ties, that  all  the  firme  lands,  isles,  villages,  townes,  castles  and 
places  whatsoeuer  they  be  that  they  shall  chance  to  finde,  may 
not  of  any  other  of  our  subiects  be  frequented  or  visited  without 
the  licence  of  the  aforesayd  lohn  and  his  sonnes,  and  their 
deputies,  vnder  paine  of  forfeiture  aswell  of  their  shippes  as  of 
all  and  singuler  goods  of  all  them  that  shall  presume  to  saile  to 
those  places  so  found.  Willing,  and  most  straightly  command- 
ing all  and  singuler  our  subiects  aswell  on  land  as  on  sea,  to 
giue  good  assistance  to  the  aforesayd  lohn  and  his  sonnes  and 
deputies,  and  that  as  well  in  arming  and  furnishing  their  ships 
or  vessels,  as  in  prouision  of  food,  and  in  buying  of  victuals  for 
their  money,  and  all  other  things  by  them  to  be  prouided  neces- 
sary for  the  sayd  nauigation,  they  do  giue  them  all  their  helpe 
and  fauour.  In  witnesse  whereof  we  haue  caused  to  be  made 
these  our  Letters  patents.  Witnesse  our  selfe  at  Westminster 
the  fift  day  of  March,  in  the  eleuenth  yeere  of  our  reigne. 

Billa  signata  anno  13  Henrici  septimi. 

THe  king  vpon  the  third  day  of  February,  in  the  13  yeere  of 
his  reigne,  gaue  licence  to  lohn  Cabot  to  take  sixe  English  ships 
in  any  hauen  or  hauens  of  the  realme  of  England,  being  of  the 
burden  of  200  tunnes,  or  vnder,  with  all  necessary  furniture, 
and  to  take  also  into  the  said  ships  all  such  masters,  mariners, 
and  subiects  of  the  king  as  willingly  will  go  with  him,  &c. 

An  extract  taken  out  of  the  map  of  Sebastian  Cabot,  cut  by 
Clement  Adams,  concerning  his  discouery  of  the  West 
Indies,  which  is  to  be  seene  in  her  Maiesties  priuie  gal- 


lerie  at  Westminster,   and  in  many  other    ancient  mer- 
chants houses. 

IN  the  yeere  of  our  Lord  1497  lohn  Cabot  a  Venetian,  and 
his  Sonne  Sebastian  (with  an  English  fleet  set  out  from  Bristol!) 
discoured  that  land  which  no  man  before' that  time  had  attempted, 
on  the  24  of  June,  about  fiue  of  the  clocke  early  in  the  morning. 
This  land  he  called  Prima  vista,  that  is  to  say,  First  seene, 
because  as  I  suppose  it  was  that  part  whereof  they  had  the 
first  sight  from  sea.  That  Island  which  lieth  out  before  the 
land,  he  called  the  Island  of  S.  lohn  vpon  this  occasion,  as  I 
thinke,  because  it  was  discouered  vpon  the  day  of  lohn  the 
Baptist.  The  inhabitants  of  this  Island  vse  to  weare  beasts 
skinnes,  and  haue  them  in  as  great  estimation  as  we  haue  our 
finest  garments.  In  their  warres  they  vse  bowes,  arrowes,  pikes, 
darts,  woodden  clubs,  and  slings.  The  soile  is  barren  in  some 
places,  &  yeeldeth  little  fruit,  but  it  is  full  of  white  beares,  and 
stagges  farre  greater  than  ours.  It  yeeldeth  plenty  of  fish,  and 
those  very  great,  as  scales,  and  those  which  commonly  we  call 
salmons:  there  are  soles  also  aboue  a  yard  in  length:  but 
especially  there  is  great  abundance  of  that  kinde  of  fish  which 
the  Sauages  call  baccalaos.  In  the  same  Island  also  there 
breed  hauks,  but  they  are  so  blacke  that  they  are  very  like  to 
rauens,  as  also  their  partridges,  and  egles,  which  are  in  like  sort 
blacke. 

A  discourse  of  Sebastian  Cabot  touching  his  discouery  of 
part  of  the  West  India  out  of  England  in  the  time  of 
king  Henry  the  seuenth,  vsed  to  Galeacius  Butrigarius 
the  Popes  Legate  in  Spaine,  and  reported  by  the  sayd 
Legate  in  this  sort. 

DOe  you  not  vnderstand  sayd  he  (speaking  to  certaine 
Gentlemen  of  Venice)  how  to  passe  to  India  toward  the  North- 
west, as  did  of  late  a  citizen  of  Venice,  so  valiant  a  man,  and  so 
well  practised  in  all  things  pertaining  to  nauigations,  and  the 
science  of  Cosmographie,  that  at  this  present  he  hath  not  his 
like  in  Spaine,  insomuch  that  for  his  vertues  he  is  preferred 
aboue  all  other  pilots  that  saile  to  the  West  Indies,  who  may 
not  passe  thither  without  his  licence,  and  is  therefore  called 
Piloto  mayor,  that  is,  the  grand  Pilot.  And  when  we  sayd  that 
we  knew  him  not,  he  proceeded,  saying,  that  being  certaine 
yeres  in  the  city  of  Siuil,  and  desirous  to  haue  some  knowledge 
of  the  nauigations  of  the  Spanyards,  it  was  tolde  him  that  there 
was  in  the  city  a  valiant  man,  a  Venetian  borne  named  Sebastian 
Cabot,  who  had  the  charge    of  those  things,  being  an  expert 


man  in  that  science,  and  one  that  coulde  make  Gardes  for  the 
Sea  with  his  owne  hand,  and  by  this  report,  seeking  his  acquaint- 
ance, hee  found  him  a  very  gentle  person,  who  intertained  him 
friendly,  and  shewed  him  many  things,  and  among  other  a  large 
Mappe  of  the  world,  with  certaine  particuler  Nauigations,  as 
well  of  the  Portugals,  as  of  the  Spaniards,  and  that  he  spake 
further  vnto  him  to  this  effect. 

When  my  father  departed  from  Venice  many  yeeres  since  to 
dwell  in  England,  to  follow  the  trade  of  marchandises,  hee  tooke 
mee  with  him  to  the  citie  of  London,  while  I  was  very  yong,  yet 
hauing  neuerthelesse  some  knowledge  of  letters  of  humanitie, 
and  of  the  Sphere.  And  when  my  father  died  in  that  time  when 
newes  were  brought  that  Don  Christopher  Colonus  Genuese 
had  discouered  the  coasts  of  India,  whereof  was  great  talke  in 
all  the  Gourt  of  king  Henry  the  7.  who  then  raigned,  insomuch 
that  all  men  with  great  admiration  affirmed  it  to  be  a  thing  more 
diuine  than  humane,  to  saile  by  the  West  into  the  East  where 
spices  growe,  by  a  way  that  was  neuer  knowen  before,  by  this 
fame  and  report  there  increased  in  my  heart  a  great  flame  of 
desire  to  attempt  some  notable  thing.  And  vnderstanding  by 
reason  of  the  Sphere,  that  if  I  should  saile  by  way  of  the  North- 
west, I  should  by  a  shorter  tract  come  into  India,  I  thereupon 
caused  the  King  to  be  aduertised  of  my  deuise,  who  imme- 
diately commanded  two  Garuels  to  bee  furnished  with  all  things 
appertayning  to  the  voyage,  which  was  as  farre  as  I  remember  in 
the  yeere  1496.  in  the  beginning  of  Sommer.  I  began  therefore 
to  saile  toward  the  Northwest,  not  thinking  to  finde  any  other 
land  than  that  of  Gathay,  &  from  thence  to  turne  toward  India, 
but  after  certaine  dayes  I  found  that  the  land  ranne  towards  the 
North,  which  was  to  mee  a  great  displeasure.  Neuerthelesse, 
sayling  along  by  the  coast  to  see  if  I  could  finde  any  gulfe  that 
turned,  I  found  the  lande  still  continent  to  the  56.  degree  vnder 
our  Pole.  And  seeing  that  there  the  coast  turned  toward  the 
East,  despairing  to  finde  the  passage,  I  turned  backe  againe, 
and  sailed  downe  by  the  coast  of  that  land  toward  the  Equinoc- 
tiall  (euer  with  intent  to  finde  the  saide  passage  to  India)  and 
came  to  that  part  of  this  firme  lande  which  is  nowe  called  Florida, 
where  my  victuals  failing,  I  departed  from  thence  and  returned 
into  England,  where  I  found  great  tumults  among  the  people, 
and  preparation  for  warres  in  Scotland  :  by  reason  whereof 
there  was  no  more  consideration  had  to  this  voyage. 

Whereupon  I  went  into  Spaine  to  the  Gatholique  king,  and 
Queene  Elizabeth,  which  being  aduertised  what  I  had  done, 
intertained  me,  and  at  their  charges  furnished  certaine  ships, 


5 

wherewith  they  caused  me  to  saile  to  discouer  the  coastes  of 
Brazile,  where  I  found  an  exceeding  great  and  large  riuer  named 
at  this  present  Rio  de  la  plata,  that  is,  the  riuer  of  siluer,  into 
the  which  I  sailed  and  followed  it  into  the  firme  land,  more 
than  sixe  score  leagues,  finding  it  euery  where  very  faire,  and 
inhabited  with  infinite  people,  which  with  admiration  came 
running  dayly  to  our  ships.  Into  this  Riuer  runne  so  many 
other  riuers,  that  it  is  in  maner  incredible. 

After  this  I  made  many  other  voyages,  which  I  nowe  pretermit, 
and  waxing  olde,  I  giue  myselfe  to  rest  from  such  trauels,  be- 
cause there  are  nowe  many  yong  and  lustie  Pilots  and  Mariners 
of  good  experience,  by  whose  forwardnesse  I  doe  reioyce  in  the 
fruit  of  my  labours,  and  rest  with  the  charge  of  this  office,  as 
you  see. 

The  foresaide  Baptista  Ramusius  in  his  preface  to  the 
thirde  volume  of  the  Nauigations,  writeth  thus  of  Sebas- 
tian Cabot. 

IN  the  latter  part  of  this  volume  are  put  certaine  relations  of 
lohn  de  Vararzana,  Florentine,  and  of  a  great  captaine  a 
Frenchman,  and  the  two  voyages  of  laques  Cartier,  a  Briton, 
who  sailed  vnto  the  land  situate  in  50.  degrees  of  latitude  to  the 
North,  which  is  called  New  France,  which  landes  hitherto  are 
not  thoroughly  knowen,  whether  they  doe  ioyne  with  the  firme 
lande  of  Florida  and  Nona  Hispania,  or  whether  they  bee  sepa- 
rated and  diuided  all  by  the  Sea  as  Hands  :  and  whether  that 
by  that  w^ay  one  may  goe  by  Sea  vnto  the  country  of  Cathaia. 
As  many  yeeres  past  it  was  written  vnto  race  by  Sebastian 
Cabota  our  Countrey  man  a  Venetian,  a  man  of  great  expe- 
rience, and  very  rare  in  the  art  of  Nauigation,  and  the  knowledge 
of  Cosmographie,  who  sailed  along  and  beyond  this  lande  of 
New  France,  at  the  charges  of  King  Henry  the  seuenth  king  of 
England  :  and  he  aduertised  mee,  that  hauing  sailed  a  long  time 
West  and  by  North,  beyond  those  Hands  vnto  the  Latitude  of  67. 
degrees  and  an  halfe,  vnder  the  North  pole,  and  at  the  11  day 
of  lune  finding  still  the  open  Sea  without  any  maner  of  impedi- 
ment, he  thought  verily  by  that  way  to  haue  passed  on  still  the 
way  to  Cathaia,  which  is  in  the  East,  and  would  haue  done  it,  if 
the  mutinie  of  the  shipmaster  and  Mariners  had  not  hindered 
him  and  made  him  to  returne  homev\/ards  from  that  place.  But 
it  seemeth  that  God  doeth  yet  still  reserue  this  great  enterprise 
for  some  great  prince  to  discouer  this  voyage  of  Cathaia  by  this 
way,  which  for  the  bringing  of  the  Spiceries  from  India  into 
Europe,  were  the  most  easy  and  shortest  of  all  other   wayes 


hitherto  found  out.  And  surely  this  enterprise  would  be  the 
most  glorious,  and  of  most  importance  of  ail  other  that  can  be 
imagined  to  make  his  name  great,  and  fame  immortall,  to  all 
ages  to  come,  farre  more  then  can  be  done  by  any  of  all  these 
great  troubles  and  warres  which  dayly  are  used  in  Europe 
among  the  miserable  Christian  people. 

Another  testimonie  of  the  voyage  of  Sebastian  Cabot  to  the 
West  and  Northwest,  taken  out  of  the  sixt  Chapter  of 
the  third  Decade  of  Peter  Martyr  of  Angleria. 

THese  North  Seas  haue  bene  searched  by  one  Sebastian 
Cabot,  a  Venetian  borne,  whom  being  yet  but  in  maner  an 
infant,  his  parents  carried  with  them  into  England,  hauing 
occasion  to  resort  thither  for  trade  of  marchandise,  as  is  the 
maner  of  the  Venetians  to  leaue  no  part  of  the  world  vnsearched 
to  obtaine  riches.  Hee  therefore  furnished  two  ships  in  Eng- 
land at  his  owne  charges,  and  first  with  300  men  directed  his 
course  so  farre  towards  the  North  pole,  that  euen  in  the  moneth 
of  luly  he  found  monstrous  heapes  of  ice  swimming  on  the  sea, 
and  in  maner  continuall  day  light,  yet  saw  he  the  land  in  that 
tract  free  from  ice,  which  had  bene  molten  by  the  heat  of  the 
Sunne.  Thus  seeing  such  heapes  of  yce  before  him,  hee  was 
enforced  to  turne  his  sailes  and  follow  the  West,  so  coasting  still 
by  the  shore,  that  hee  was  thereby  brought  so  farre  into  the 
South,  by  reason  of  the  land  bending  so  much  Southwards,  that 
it  was  there  almost  equal  in  latitude,  with  the  sea  Fretum  Her- 
culeum,  hauing  the  Northpole  eleuate  in  maner  in  the  same 
degree.  He  sailed  likewise  in  this  tract  so  farre  towards  the 
West,  that  hee  had  the  Island  of  Cuba  on  his  left  hand,  in  maner 
in  the  same  degree  of  longitude.  As  hee  traueiled  by  the 
coastes  of  this  great  land,  (which  he  named  Baccalaos)  he  saith 
that  hee  found  the  like  course  of  the  waters  toward  the  West,  but 
the  same  to  runne  more  softly  and  gently  than  the  swift  waters 
which  the  Spaniards  found  in  their  Nauigations  Southwards. 
Wherefore  it  is  not  onely  more  like  to  be  true,  but  ought  also  of 
necessitie  to  be  concluded  that  betweene  both  the  lands  hitherto 
vnknowen,  there  should  be  certaine  great  open  places  whereby 
the  waters  should  thus  continually  passe  from  the  East  vnto  the 
West :  which  waters  I  suppose  to  be  driuen  about  the  globe  of 
the  earth  by  the  uncessant  mouing  and  impulsion  of  the  heauens, 
and  not  to  bee  swallowed  vp  and  cast  vp  againe  by  the  breath- 
ing of  Demogorgon,  as  some  haue  imagined,  because  they  see 
the  seas  by  increase  and  decrease  to  ebbe  and  flowe.  Sebastian 
Cabot  himselfe  named  those  lands  Baccalaos,  because  that  in 


the  Seas  thereabout  hee  found  so  great  multitudes  of  certaine 
bigge  fishes  much  Hke  vnto  Tunies,  (which  the  inhabitants  call 
Baccalaos)  that  they  sometimes  stayed  his  shippes.  He  found 
also  the  people  of  those  regions  couered  with  beastes  skinnes, 
yet  not  without  the  vse  of  reason.  He  also  saieth  there  is  great 
plentie  of  Beares  in  those  regions  which  vse  to  eate  fish :  for 
plunging  themselves  in  y^  water,  where  they  perceiue  a  multi- 
tude of  these  fishes  to  lie,  they  fasten  their  clawes  in  their 
scales,  and  so  draw  them  to  land  and  eate  them,  so  (as  he  saith) 
the  Beares  being  thus  satisfied  with  fish,  are  not  noisome  to 
men.  Hee  declareth  further,  that  in  many  places  of  these 
Regions  he  saw  great  plentie  of  Copper  among  the  inhabitants. 
Cabot  is  my  very  friend,  whom  I  vse  familiarly,  and  delight  to 
haue  him  sometimes  keepe  mee  company  in  mine  owne  house. 
For  being  called  out  of  England  by  the  commandement  of  the 
Catholique  King  of  Castile,  after  the  death  of  King  Henry  the 
seuenth  of  that  name  King  of  England,  he  was  made  one  of  our 
council  and  Assistants,  as  touching  the  affaires  of  the  new 
Indies,  looking  for  ships  dayly  to  be  furnished  for  him  to  dis- 
couer  this  hid  secret  of  Nature. 

The  testimonie  of  Francis  Lopez  de  Gomara  a  Spaniard,  in 
the  fourth  Chapter  of  the  second  Booke  of  his  generall 
history  of  the  West  Indies  concerning  the  first  discouerie 
of  a  great  part  of  the  West  Indies,  to  wit,  from  58.  to  38. 
degrees  of  latitude,  by  Sebastian  Cabota  out  of  England. 

HE  which  brought  most  certaine  newes  of  the  countrey  & 
people  of  Baccalaos,  saith  Gomara,  was  Sebastian  Cabote  a 
Venetian,  which  rigged  vp  two  ships  at  the  cost  of  K.  Henry 
the  7.  of  England,  hauing  great  desire  to  trafiique  for  the  spices 
as  the  Portingals  did.  He  carried  with  him  300.  men,  and 
tooke  the  way  towards  Island  from  beyond  the  Cape  of  La- 
brador, vntill  he  found  himselfe  in  58.  degrees  and  better.  He 
made  relation  that  in  the  moneth  of  luly  it  was  so  cold,  and  the 
ice  so  great,  that  hee  durst  not  passe  any  further :  that  the 
days  were  very  long,  in  a  maner  without  any  night,  and  for  that 
short  night  that  they  had,  it  was  very  cleare.  Cabot  feeling  the 
cold,  turned  towards  the  West,  refreshing  himselfe  at  Baccalaos: 
and  afterwards  he  sayled  along  the  coast  vnto  ;^S.  degrees,  and 
from  thence  he  shaped  his  course  to  returne  into  England. 

A  note  of  Sebastian  Cabots  first  discouerie  of  part  of  the 
Indies   taken  out  of  the  latter  part   of  Robert  Fabians 


8 

Chronicle  not  hitherto  printed,  which  is  in  the  custodie 
of  M.  lohn  Stow  a  diligent  preseruer  of  Antiquities. 

IN  the  13.  yeere  of  K.  Henry  the  7.  (by  meanes  of  one  lohn 
Cabot  a  Venetian  which  made  himselfe  very  expert  and  cunning 
in  knowledge  of  the  circuit  of  the  world  and  Hands  of  the  same, 
as  by  a  Sea  card  and  other  demonstrations  reasonable  he 
shewed)  the  King  caused  to  man  and  victuall  a  ship  at  Bristow, 
to  search  for  an  Island,  which  he  said  hee  knew  well  was  rich, 
and  replenished  with  great  commodities:  Which  shippe  thus 
manned  and  victualled  at  the  kings  cos^,  diuers  Marchants  of 
London  ventured  in  her  small  stocks,  being  in  her  as  chiefe 
patron  the  said  Venetian.  And  in  the  company  of  the  said 
ship,  sailed  also  out  of  Bristow  three  or  foure  small  ships  fraught 
with  sleight  and  grosse  marchandizes,  as  course  cloth,  caps, 
laces,  points  &  other  trifles.  And  so  departed  from  Bristow  in 
the  beginning  of  May,  of  whom  in  this  Maiors  time  returned  no 
tidings. 

Of  three  Sauages  which  Cabot  brought  home  and  presented 
vnto  the  King  in  the  foureteenth  yere  of  his  reigne,  men- 
tioned by  the  foresaid  Robert  Fabian. 

THis  yeere  also  were  brought  vnto  the  king  three  men  taken 
in  the  Newfound  Island  that  before  I  spake  of,  in  William  Pur- 
chas  time  being  Maior  :  These  were  clothed  in  beasts  skins,  & 
did  eate  raw  flesh,  and  spake  such  speach  that  no  man  could 
vnderstand  them,  and  in  their  demeanour  like  to  bruite  beastes, 
whom  the  King  kept  a  time  after.  Of  the  which  vpon  two 
yeeres  after,  I  saw  two  apparelled  after  the  maner  of  English- 
men in  Westminster  pallace,  which  that  time  I  could  not  dis- 
cerne  from  Englishmen,  til  I  was  learned  what  they  were,  but 
as  for  speach,  I  heard  none  of  them  vtter  one  word. 

A  briefe  extract  concerning  the  discouerie  of  Newfound- 
land, taken  out  of  the  booke  of  M.  Robert  Thorne,  to 
Doctor  Leigh,  &c. 

I  Reason,  that  as  some  sicknesses  are  hereditarie,  so  this 
inclination  or  desire  of  this  discouery  I  inherited  from  my 
father,  which  with  another  marchant  of  Bristol  named  Hugh 
Eliot,  were  the  discouerers  of  the  Newfound-lands  ;  of  the  which 
there  is  no  doubt  (as  nowe  plainely  appeareth)  if  the  mariners 
would  then  haue  bene  ruled,  and  followed  their  Pilots  minde, 
but  the  lands  of  the  West  Indies,  from  whence  all  the  golde 
Cometh,  had  bene  ours  ;  for  all  is  one  coast  as  by  the  Card 
appeareth,  and  is  aforesaid. 


The  large  pension  granted  by  K.  Edward  the  6.  to  Sebas- 
tian Cabota,  constituting  him  grand  Pilot  of  England. 

EDward  the  sixt  by  the  grace  of  God,  King  of  England, 
France  and  Ireland,  defender  of  the  faith,  to  all  Christian 
people  to  whom  these  presents  shall  come,  sendeth  greeting. 
Know  yee  that  we,  in  consideration  of  the  good  and  acceptable 
seruice  done,  and  to  be  done,  vnto  vs  by  our  beloued  seruant 
Sebastian  Cabota,  of  our  speciall  grace,  certaine  knowledge, 
meere  motion,  and  by  the  aduice  and  counsel  of  our  most 
honourable  vncle  Edward  duke  of  Somerset  gouernour  of  our 
person,  and  Protector  of  our  kingdomes,  dominions,  and  sub- 
iects,  and  of  the  rest  of  our  Counsaile,  haue  giuen  &  granted, 
and  by  these  presents  do  giue  and  graunt  to  the  said  Sebastian 
Cabota,  a  certaine  annuitie,  or  yerely  reuenue  of  one  hundreth, 
three-score  &  sixe  pounds,  thirteene  shillings  foure  pence  ster- 
ling, to  haue,  enioy,  and  yerely  receiue  the  aforesaid  annuitie, 
or  yerely  reuenue,  to  the  foresaid  Sebastian  Cabota  during  his 
natural  life,  out  of  our  Treasurie  at  the  receit  of  our  Exchequer 
at  Westminster,  at  the  hands  of  our  Treasurers  &  paymasters, 
there  remayning  for  the  time  being,  at  the  feasts  of  the  Annun- 
tiation  of  the  blessed  Virgin  Mary,  the  Natiuitie  of  S.  lohn 
Baptist,  S.  Michael  y^  Archangel,  &  the  Natiuitie  of  our  Lord, 
to  be  paid  by  equal  portions. 

And  further,  of  our  more  speciall  grace,  and  by  the  aduise 
and  consent  aforesaide  wee  doe  giue,  and  by  these  presents  doe 
graunt  vnto  the  aforesaide  Sebastian  Cabota,  so  many,  and  so 
great  summes  of  money  as  the  saide  annuitie  or  yeerely  reuenue 
of  an  hundreth,  three-score  and  sixe  pounds,  thirteene  shillings 
4.  pence,  doeth  amount  and  rise  vnto  from  the  feast  of  S. 
Michael  the  Archangel  last  past  vnto  this  present  time,  to  be 
had  and  receiued  by  the  aforesaid  Sebastian  Cabota,  and  his 
assignees  out  of  our  aforesaid  Treasurie,  at  the  handes  of  our 
aforesaide  Treasurers,  and  officers  of  our  Exchequer  of  our  free 
gift  without  accompt,  or  any  thing  else  therefore  to  be  yeelded, 
payed,  or  made,  to  vs,  our  heires  or  successours,  forasmuch  as 
herein  expresse  mention  is  made  to  the  contrary. 

In  witnesse  whereof  we  haue  caused  these  our  Letters  to  be 
made  patents :  Witnesse  the  King  at  Westminster  the  sixt  day 
of  lanuarie,  in  the  second  yeere  of  his  raigne.  The  yeere  of 
our  Lord  1548. 


lO 

"  Sometimes  in  Wagner's  musical  dramas  the  introduction  of  a  few 
notes  from  some  leading  melody  foretells  the  inevitable  catastrophe 
toward  which  the  action  is  moving,  as  when  in  Lohengrin's  bridal 
chamber  the  well-known  sound  of  the  distant  Grail  motive  steals 
suddenly  upon  the  ear,  and  the  heart  of  the  rapt  listener  is  smitten 
with  a  sense  of  impending  doom.  So  in  the  drama  of  maritime  dis- 
covery^ as  glimpses  of  new  worlds  were  beginning  to  reward  the  en- 
terprising crowns  of  Spain  and  Portugal,  for  a  moment  there  came 
from  the  North  a  few  brief  notes  fraught  with  ominous  portent.  The 
power  for  whom  destiny  had  reserved  the  world  empire  of  which 
these  Southern  nations  —  so  noble  in  aim,  so  mistaken  in  policy  — 
were  dreaming  stretched  forth  her  hand  in  quiet  disregard  of  papal 
bulls,  and  laid  it  upon  the  western  shore  of  the  ocean.  It  was  only 
for  a  moment,  and  long  years  were  to  pass  before  the  consequences 
were  developed.  But  in  truth  the  first  fateful  note  that  heralded  the 
coming  English  supremacy  was  sounded  when  John  Cabot's  tiny 
craft  sailed  out  from  the  Bristol  channel  on  a  bright  May  morning  of 
1497." — John  Fiske,  The  Discovery  of  America. 

The  slight  contemporary  mention,  which  is  all  that  we  have  of  the 
voyages  of  the  Cabots  in  1497  and  1498,  does  not  enable  us  to  deter- 
mine with  precision  the  parts  of  the  North  American  coast  that  were 
visited.  We  know  that  a  chart  of  the  first  voyage  was  made  ;  for  both 
the  Spanish  envoys,  Puebla  and  Ayala,  writing  between  August  24, 
1497,  and  July  25,  1498,  mentioned  having  seen  such  a  chart,  and 
from  an  inspection  of  it  they  concluded  that  the  distance  run  did  not 
exceed  400  leagues.  The  Venetian  merchant,  Pasqualigo,  gave  the 
distance  more  correctly  as  700  leagues,  and  added  that  Cabot  fol- 
lowed the  coast  of  the  "  territory  of  the  Grand  Khan "  for  300 
leagues,  and  in  returning  saw  two  islands  to  starboard.  An  early 
tradition  fixed  upon  the  coast  of  Labrador  as  the  region  first  visited, 
and  until  lately  this  has  been  the  prevailing  opinion. 

The  chart  seen  by  the  Spanish  ministers  in  London  is  unfortu- 
nately lost.  But  a  map  engraved  in  Germany  or  Flanders  in  1544  or 
later,  and  said  to  be  after  a  drawing  by  Sebastian  Cabot,  has  at  the 
north  of  what  we  call  the  island  of  Cape  Breton  the  legend  '■'■  prima 
tierra  vista,''''  i.e.  '■'•  first  land  see?i  "y  and  in  this  connection  there  is  a 
marginal  inscription,  Spanish  and  Latin,  saying,  "This  country  was 
discovered  by  John  Cabot,  a  Venetian,  and  Sebastian  Cabot,  his 
son,  in  the  year  of  our  Saviour  Jesus  Christ  m.  cccc.  xciiii  *  on  the 
24th  day  of  June  in  the  morning,  which  country  they  called  priina 
tierra  vista,  and  a  large  island  near  by  they  named  St.  John  because 
they  discovered  it  on  the  same  day."  Starting  from  this  information, 
it  has  been  supposed  that  the  navigators,  passing  this  St.  John,  which 
we  call  Prince  Edward  Island,  coasted  around  the  Gulf  of  St.  Law- 
rence and  passed  out  through  the  Strait  of  Belle  Isle.  The  two 
islands  seen  on  the  starboard  would  then  be  points  on  the  northern 

*This  date  is  wrong.    The  first  two  letters  after  xc  should  be  joiii-ed   together  at  the 
bottom,  making  a  v. 


II 

coast  of  Newfoundland,  and  a  considerable  part  of  Pasqualigo's  300 
leagues  of  coasting  would  thus  be  accounted  for.  But  inasmuch  as 
the  "  Matthew  "  had  returned  to  Bristol  by  the  first  of  August,  it  may 
be  doubted  whether  so  long  a  route  could  have  been  traversed  within 
five  weeks. 

If  we  could  be  sure  that  the  map  of  1544  in  its  present  shape  and 
with  all  its  legends  emanated  from  Sebastian  Cabot,  and  was  drawn 
with  the  aid  of  charts  made  at  the  time  of  discovery,  its  authority 
would  be  very  high  indeed.  But  there  are  some  reasons  for  sup- 
posing it  to  have  been  amended  or  "touched  up  "  by  the  engraver; 
and  it  is  evidently  compiled  from  charts  made  later  than  1536,  for  it 
shows  the  results  of  Jacques  Cartier's  explorations  in  the  Gulf  of  St. 
Lawrence.  Its  statement  as  to  the  first  landfoll  is,  moreover,  in  con- 
flict with  the  testimony  of  the  merchant  Robert  Thorne,  of  Bristol,  in 
1527,  and  with  that  of  two  maps  made  at  Seville  in  1527  and  1529, 
according  to  which  the  ''prima  tierra  vista  "  was  somewhere  on  the 
coast  of  Labrador.  It  must  be  remembered,  too,  that  John  Cabot 
was  instructed  to  take  northerly  and  westerly  courses,  not  southerly; 
and  an  important  despatch  from  Raimondo  de  Soncino,  in  London,  to 
the  Duke  of  Milan,  dated  December  18,  1497,  describes  his  course  in 
accordance  with  these  instructions.  It  is  perfectly  definite  and 
altogether  probable.  According  to  this  account  Cabot  sailed  from 
Bristol  in  a  small  ship,  manned  by  eighteen  persons,  and,  having 
cleared  the  western  shores  of  Ireland,  turned  northward,  after  a  few 
days  headed  for  Asia,  and'stood  mainly  west  till  he  reached  "Terra 
Firma,"  where  he  planted  the  royal  standard,  and  forthwith  returned 
to  England.  In  other  words,  he  followed  the  common  custom  in 
those  days  of  first  running  to  a  chosen  parallel,  and  then  following 
that  parallel  to  the  point  of  destination.  Such  a  course  could  hardly 
have  landed  him  anywhere  save  on  the  coast  of  Labrador.  Supposing 
his  return  voyage  simply  to  have  reversed  this  course,  running  south- 
easterly to  the  latitude  of  the  English  channel  and  then  sailing  due 
east,  he  may  easily  have  coasted  300  leagues  with  land  to  starboard 
before  finally  bearing  away  from  Cape  Race.  This  view  is  in  har- 
mony with  the  fact  that  on  the  desolate  coasts  passed  he  saw  no 
Indians  or  other  human  beings.  He  noticed  the  abundance  of  cod- 
fish, however,  in  the  waters  about  Newfoundland,  and  declared  that 
the  English  would  no  longer  need  to  go  to  Iceland  for  their  fish.  Our 
informant  adds  that  Master  John,  being  foreign-born  and  poor,  would 
have  been  set  down  as  a  liar,  had  not  his  crew,  who  were  mostly 
Bristol  men,  confirmed  everything  he  said. —  Fiske. 


John  Cabot,  like  Columbus  a  native  of  Genoa,  moved  to  England  with 
his  family  from  Venice,  which  had  been  his  home  for  fifteen  years,  about 
1490,  and  settled  at  Bristol.  He  may  have  been  among  those  who  were 
influenced  at  that  time  by  the  arguments  of  Bartholomew  Columbus.  Ex- 
cited by  the  news  of  the  first  voyage  of  Columbus,  he  sailed  from  Bristol 
with  a  crew  of  eighteen  men,  probably  accompanied  by  his  son  Sebastian, 


12 

in  a  ship  named  the  Matthew  or  Matthews^  early  in  May,  1497,  and  discov- 
ered what  he  supposed  to  be  the  Chinese  coast,  but  what  was  tlie  coast  of 
Labrador  or  Newfoundland,  on  the  24th  of  June.  This  was  the  first  dis- 
covery of  America  by  any  navigators  sailing  under  English  authority.  It 
has  been  supposed  that  John  Cabot  died  on  a  second  expedition,  which 
sailed  from  Bristol  the  next  year,  leaving  the  command  to  his  son  Sebastian, 
who  may  have  conducted  a  third  expedition  in  1501  or  1503. 

There  is  much  that  is  obscure  concerning  the  Cabots  and  their  voyages. 
The  best  modern  work  upon  the  subject  is  tid^rxisst's  Jean  et  Sebasiien  Cabot, 
published  in  Paris  in  1882,  but  not  yet  translated  into  English.  Biddle's 
Sebastia7t  Cabot  should  be  consulted  by  the  student.  Mr.  Fiske's  account,  in 
his  Discovery  of  America,  is  brief,  but  clear  and  critical.  The  most  impor- 
tant discussion  in  English  of  the  voyages  of  the  Cabots  is  that  by  Charles 
Deane,  in  the  Narrative  and  C^-itical  History  of  America,  vol.  iii.  The  bib- 
liographical notes  accompanying  this  are  very  thorough,  forming  a  complete 
guide  to  everything  that  is  to  be  learned  concerning  the  Cabots. 

The  volume  by  Richard  Hakluyt  on  The  Principal  Navigations,  Voy- 
ages, and  Discoveries  of  the  English  Nation,  containing  the  principal  early 
notices  of  the  Cabots,  reprinted  in  the  present  leaflet,  was  published  in 
London  in  1589,  several  of  the  same  notices  having  previously  appeared  in 
his  Divers  Voyages  touching  the  Discovery  of  America,  published  in  1582.  In 
Richard  Eden's  Decades  of  the  Newe  World,  published  in  1555,  there  had, 
however,  appeared  accounts  of  the  Cabot  voyages,  the  first  in  English  which 
have  come  down  to  us.  Richard  Eden  knew  Sebastian  Cabot,  who  was 
living  in  England  at  the  time  he  wrote.  Most  of  the  early  accounts  of  the 
Cabots,  with  careful  historical  notes,  may  be  found  in  Kerr's  Voyages  and 
Travels,  vol.  vi.  All  of  these  old  accounts  are  to  be  read  with  great  care, 
and  the  student  should  refer  to  the  narratives  of  Mr.  Deane  and  Mr.  Fiske 
for  corrections  of  many  of  their  palpable  mistakes.  Thus  the  discourse  to 
Butrigarius  ascribed  to  Sebastian  Cabot,  given  by  Ramusio,  places  the 
death  of  John  Cabot  in  1496,  and  makes  Sebastian  himself  conduct  the  first 
expedition  in  that  year.  It  also  makes  the  purpose  of  the  voyage  of  1498 
the  discovery  of  a  "  north-west  passage "  to  Asia,  whereas  the  idea  of  a 
north-west  passage  through  or  around  America  to  Asia  did  not  enter  men's 
minds  for  a  quarter  of  a  century  after  that.  The  passage  which  Hakluyt 
cites  from  Stow's  Chronicles  does  not  mention  John  Cabot,  as  Hakluyt 
makes  it,  but  begins  :  "  This  year  one  Sebastian  Gabato,  a  Genoa's  son,  born 
in  Bristow,"  etc.  Here,  however,  the  change  by  Hakluyt  is  in  the  interest 
of  truth. 


lb  J^oiitl)  Seaflet^e 


General  Series,  No.  38, 


Funeral  Oration 


By    major    general    HENRY    LEE. 


Delivered  before  the  Two  Houses  of  Congress,  December  26, 

1799. 

In  obedience  to  your  will,  I  rife,  your  humble  organ,  with 
the  hope  of  executing  a  part  of  the  fyftem  of  public  mourning 
which  you  have  been  pleafed  to  adopt,  commemorative  of  the 
death  of  the  moft  illuffcrious  and  mofl  beloved  perfonage  this 
country  has  ever  produced;  and  which,  while  it  tranfmits  to 
pofterity  your  fenfe  of  the  awful  event,  faintly  reprefents  your 
knowledge  of  the  confummate  excellence  you  fo  cordially 
honour. 

Defperate,  indeed,  is  any  attempt  on  earth  to  meet  corre- 
fpondently  this  difpenfation  of  Heaven  ;  for,  while  with  pious 
refignation  we  fubmit  to  the  will  of  an  all-gracious  Providence, 
we  can  never  ceafe  lamenting,  in  our  finite  view  of  Omnipotent 
Wifdom,  the  heart-rending  privation  for  which  our  nation  weeps. 
When  the  civilized  world  Ihakes  to  its  centre ;  v/hen  every  mo- 
ment gives  birth  to  ffcrange  and  momentous  changes  ;  when  our 
peaceful  quarter  of  the  globe,  exempt  as  it  happily  has  been 
from  any  fliare  in  the  flaughter  of  the  human  race,  may  yet  be 
compelled  to  abandon  her  pacific  policy,  and  to  rifle  the  doleful 
cafualties  of  war;  what  limit  is  there  to  the  extent  of  our  lofs? 
None  within  the  reach  of  my  words  to  exprefs ;  none  which 
your  feelings  will  not  difavow. 

The  founder  of  our  federate  republic  —  our  bulwark  in  v/ar, 
our  guide  in  peace,  is  no  more  !  O  that  this  were  but  queftion- 
able  !  Hope,  the  comforter  of  the  wretched,  would  pour  into 
our  agonizing  hearts  its  balmy  dew.    But,  alas  !  there  is  no  hope 


for  us ;  our  Wafhington  is  removed  forever !  Poffeffing  the 
ffcouteft  frame  and  pureft  mind,  he  had  paffed  nearly  to  his  fixty- 
eighth  year  in  the  enjoyment  of  high  heaUh,  when,  habituated 
by  his  care  of  us  to  negle6t  himfelf,  a  flight  cold,  difregarded, 
became  inconvenient  on  Friday,  oppreffive  on  Saturday,  and, 
defying  every  medical  interpofition,  before  the  morning  of  Sun- 
day put  an  end  to  the  befc  of  men.  An  end,  did  I  fay  ?  His 
fame  furvives !  bounded  only  by  the  limits  of  the  earth,  and  by 
the  extent  of  the  human  mind.  He  furvives  in  our  hearts  —  in 
the  growing  knowledge  of  our  children  —  in  the  affe6tion  of  the 
good  throughout  the  world.  And  when  our  monuments  fliall  be 
done  away ;  when  nations  now  exifting  fhall  be  no  more ;  when 
even  our  young  and  far-fpreading  empire  fliall  have  perifhed ; 
ftill  will  our  Wafliington's  glory  unfaded  fliine,  and  die  not, 
until  love  of  virtue  ceafe  on  earth,  or  earth  itfelf  fmks  into 
chaos ! 

How,  my  fellow-citizens,  fliall  I  fmgle  to  your  grateful  hearts 
his  pre-eminent  worth  ?  Where  fliall  I  begin,  in  opening  to 
your  view  a  chara6ter  throughout  fublime  ?  Shall  I  fpeak  of  his 
warlike  achievements,  all  fpringing  from  obedience  to  his  coun- 
try's will,  all  dire6ted  to  his  country's  good.? 

Will  you  go  with  me  to  the  banks  of  the  Monongahela,  to 
fee  your  youthful  Wafhington  fupporting,  in  the  difmal  hour  of 
Indian  vi6lory,  the  ill-fated  Braddock,  and  faving,  by  his  judg- 
ment and  by  his  valour,  the  remains  of  a  defeated  army,  preffed 
by  the  conquering  favage  foe  ?  or  when,  oppreffed  America  nobly 
refolving  to  rifk  her  all  in  defence  of  her  violated  rights,  he  was 
elevated  by  the  unanimous  voice  of  Congrefs  to  the  command 
of  her  armies .?  Will  you  follow  him  to  the  high  grounds  of 
Bofton,  where,  to  an  undifciplined,  courageous  and  virtuous 
yeomanry,  his  prefence  gave  the  ffcability  of  fyftem,  and  infufed 
the  invincibility  of  love  of  country  ?  Or  fliall  I  carry  you  to 
the  painful  fcenes  of  Long-Ifland,  York-Ifiand  and  New-Jerfey, 
when,  combating  fuperior  and  gallant  armies,  aided  by  powerful 
fleets,  and  led  by  chiefs  high  in  the  roll  of  fame,  he  flood  the 
bulwark  of  our  fafety,  undifmayed  by  difafter,  unchanged  by 
change  of  fortune.''  Or  will  you  view  him  in  the  precarious 
fields  of  Trenton,  where  deep  gloom,  unnerving  every  arm, 
reigned  triumphant  through  our  thinned,  worn  down,  unaided 
ranks  —  himfelf  unmoved?  Dreadful  was  the  night.  It  was 
about  this  time  of  winter.  The  ftorm  raged.  The  Delaware, 
rolling  furioufly  with  floating  ice,  forbade  the  approach  of  man. 
Wafhington,  felf-colle6ted,  viewed  the  tremendous  fcene.     His 


country  called.  Unappalled  by  furrounding  dangers,  he  paffed 
to  the  hoftile  ihore  ;  he  fought ;  he  conquered.  The  morning  fun 
cheered  the  American  world.  Our  country  rofe  on  the  event; 
and  her  dauntlefs  Chief,  purfuing  his  blow,  completed  in  the 
lawns  of  Princeton  what  his  vaft  foul  had  conceived  on  the 
fliores  of  Delaware. 

Thence  to  the  ftrong  grounds  of  Morriftown  he  led  his  fmall 
but  gallant  band ;  and  through  an  eventful  winter,  by  the  high 
efforts  of  his  genius,  whofe  matchlefs  force  was  meafurable  only 
by  the  growth  of  difhculties,  he  held  in  check  formidable  hoftile 
legions,  condu6ted  by  a  chief  experienced  in  the  art  of  war,  and 
famed  for  his  valour  on  the  ever  memorable  heights  of  Abraham, 
where  fell  Wolfe,  Montcalm,  and  lince,  our  much  lamented 
Montgomery;  all  covered  with  glory.  In  this  fortunate  inter- 
val, produced  by  his  mafterly  condu6l,  our  fathers,  ourfelves, 
animated  by  his  refiftlefs  example,  rallied  around  our  country's 
ftandard,  and  continued  to  follow  her  beloved  Chief  through  the 
various  and  trying  fcenes  to  which  the  deffcinies  of  our  Union 
led. 

Who  is  there  that  has  forgotten  the  vales  of  Brandywine, 
the  fields  of  Germantown,  or  the  plains  of  Monmouth.''  Every 
where  prefent,  wants  of  every  kind  obftru(5ting,  numerous  and 
valiant  armies  encountering,  himfelf  a  hoft,  he  affuaged  our  fuf- 
ferings,  limited  our  privations,  and  upheld  our  tottering  republic. 
Shall  I  difplay  to  you  the  fpread  of  the  fire  of  his  foul,  by  re- 
hearfmg  the  praifes  of  the  hero  of  Saratoga,  and  his  much  loved 
compeer  of  the  Carolinas  ?  No ;  our  Wafhington  wears  not 
borrowed  glory.  To  Gates,  to  Greene,  he  gave  without  referve 
the  applaufe  due  to  their  eminent  merit;  and  long  may  the 
chiefs  of  Saratoga  and  of  Eutaws  receive  the  grateful  refpe(5t 
of  a  grateful  people. 

Moving  in  his  own  orbit,  he  imparted  heat  and  light  to  his 
moft  diftant  fatellites ;  and  combining  the  phyfical  and  moral 
force  of  all  within  his  fphere,  with  irrefiftible  weight  he  took  his 
courfe,  commiferating  folly,  difdaining  vice,  difmaying  treafon, 
and  invigorating  def pendency;  until  the  aufpicious  hour  arrived, 
when,  united  with  the  intrepid  forces  of  a  potent  and  magnani- 
mous ally,  he  brought  to  fubmiffion  the  fmce  conqueror  of 
India ;  thus  finifliing  his  long  career  of  military  glory  with  a 
luflre  correfponding  to  his  great  name,  and,  in  this  his  laft  a6t 
of  war,  affixing  the  feal  of  fate  to  our  nation's  birth. 

To  the  horrid  din  of  battle  fweet  peace  fucceeded ;  and  our 
virtuous  Chief,  mindful  only  of  the  common  good,  in  a  moment 


4 

tempting  perfonal  aggrandizement,  huflied  the  difcontents  of 
growing  fedition,  and,  furrendering  his  power  into  the  hands 
from  which  he  had  received  it,  converted  his  fword  into  a 
ploughfliare  ;  teaching  an  admiring  world  that  to  be  truly  great 
you  muft  be  truly  good. 

Were  I  to  ftop  here,  the  pi6lure  would  be  incomplete,  and 
the  tafk  impofed  unfiniflied.  Great  as  was  our  Wafhington  in 
war,  and  as  much  as  did  that  greatnefs  contribute  to  produce 
the  American  republic,  it  is  not  in  war  alone  his  pre-eminence 
ftands  confpicuous.  His  various  talents,  combining  all  the 
capacities  of  a  ftatefman  with  thofe  of  a  foldier,  fitted  him  alike 
to  guide  the  councils  and  the  armies  of  our  nation.  Scarcely 
had  he  reited  from  his  martial  toils,  while  his  invaluable  parental 
advice  was  ftill  founding  in  our  ears,  when  he,  who  had  been 
our  fliield  and  our  fword,  was  called  forth  to  a6t  a  lefs  fplendid, 
but  more  important  part. 

Poffeffing  a  clear  and  penetrating  mind,  a  ftrong  and  found 
judgment,  calmnefs  and  temper  for  deliberation,  with  invincible 
firmnefs  and  perfeverance  in  refolutions  maturely  formed  ;  draw- 
ing information  from  all ;  a6ting  from  himfejf,  with  incorruptible 
integrity  and  unvarying  patriotifm ;  his  own  fuperiority  and  the 
public  confidence  alike  marked  him  as  the  man  defigned  by 
Heaven  to  lead  in  the  great  political  as  well  as  military  events 
which  have  diftinguiflied  the  era  of  his  life. 

The  finger  of  an  over-ruling  Providence,  pointing  at  Wafh- 
ington, was  neither  miftaken  nor  unobferved,  when,  to  realize 
the  vaft  hopes  to  which  our  revolution  had  given  birth,  a  change 
of  political  fyftem  became  indifpenfable. 

How  novel,  how  grand  the  fpe6tacle !  Independent  States 
ftretched  over  an  immenfe  territory,  and  known  only  by  common 
difficulty,  clinging  to  their  union  as  the  rock  of  their  fafety; 
deciding,  by  frank  comparifon  of  their  relative  condition,  to  rear 
on  that  rock,  under  the  guidance  of  reafon,  a  common  govern- 
ment, through  whofe  commanding  prote6tion,  liberty  and  order, 
with  their  long  train  of  bleffings,  fliould  be  fafe  to  themf elves, 
and  the  fure  inheritance  of  their  pofterity. 

This  arduous  tafk  devolved  on  citizens  fele6led  by  the 
people,  from  knowledge  of  their  wifdom  and  confidence  in 
their  virtue.  In  this  auguft  affembly  of  fages  and  of  patriots, 
Wafiiington  of  courfe  was  found ;  and,  as  if  acknowledged  to 
be  moft  wife  where  all  were  wife,  with  one  voice  he  was  de- 
clared their  Chief.  How  well  he  merited  this  rare  diftinftion, 
how  faithful  were  the  labours  of  himfelf  and  his  compatriots,  the 


s 

work  of  their  hands,  and  our  union,  ftrength  and  profperity,  the 
fruits  of  that  work,  beft  atteffc. 

But  to  have  effentially  aided  in  prefenting  to  his  country 
this  confummation  of  her  hopes,  neither  fatisfied  the  claims  of 
his  fellow-citizens  on  his  talents,  nor  thofe  duties  which  the 
poffeffion  of  thofe  talents  impofed.  Heaven  had  not  infufed 
into  his  mind  fuch  an  uncommon  fhare  of  its  ethereal  fpirit  to 
remain  unemployed,  nor  beflowed  on  him  his  genius  unaccom- 
panied with  the  correfponding  duty  of  devoting  it  to  the  com-  - 
mon  good.  To  have  framed  a  Conftitution,  was  fliewing  only, 
without  realizing,  the  general  happinefs.  This  great  work  re- 
mained to  be  done ;  and  America,  fteadfaft  in  her  preference, 
with  one  voice  fummoned  her  beloved  Wafhington,  unpra6tifed 
as  he  was  in  the  duties  of  civil  adminiftration,  to  execute  this 
lafl  a6t  in  the  completion  of  the  national  felicity.  Obedient  to 
her  call,  he  affumed  the  high  office  with  that  felf-diftruffc  pecul- 
iar to  his  innate  modefty,  the  conftant  attendant  of  pre-eminent 
virtue.  What  was  the  burft  of  joy  through  our  anxious  land  on 
this  exhilarating  event  is  known  to  us  all.  The  aged,  the 
young,  the  brave,  the  fair,  rivalled  each  other  in  demonftrations 
of  their  gratitude ;  and  this  high-wrought,  delightful  fcene  was 
heightened  in  its  effe6l  by  the  fingular  conteft  between  the 
zeal  of  the  beftovvers  and  the  avoidance  of  the  receiver  of 
the  honours  bellowed. 

Commencing  his  adminiftration,  what  heart  is  not  charmed 
with  the  recollection  of  the  pure  and  wife  principles  announced 
by  himfelf,  as  the  bafis  of  his  political  life  ?  He  beft  under- 
ftood  the  indiffoluble  union  between  virtue  and  happinefs,  be- 
tween duty  and  advantage,  between  the  genuine  maxims  of  an 
honeft  and  magnanimous  policy,  and  the  folid  rewards  of  pub- 
lic profperity  and  individual  felicity.  Watching  with  an  equal 
and  comprehenfive  eye  over  this  great  affemblage  of  communi- 
ties and  interefts,  he  laid  the  foundations  of  our  national  policy 
in  the  unerring,  immutable  principles  of  morality,  bafed  on 
religion,  exemplifying  the  pre- eminence  of  a  free  government 
by  all  the  attributes  which  win  the  affections  of  its  citizens,  or 
command  the  refpe6t  of  the  world. 

"  O  fortunatos  nimium,  fua  fi  bona  norint !  " 

Leading  through  the  complicated  difficulties  produced  by 
previous  obligations  and  conflicting  interefts,  feconded  by  fuc- 
ceeding  Houfes  of  Congrefs,  enlightened  and  patriotic,  he  fur- 


mounted  all  original  obftruction,  and  brightened  the  path  of 
our  national  felicity. 

The  prefidential  term  expiring,  his  folicitude  to  exchange 
exaltation  for  humility  returned  with  a  force  increafed  with 
increafe  of  age ;  and  he  had  prepared  his  Farewell  Addrefs  to 
his  countrymen,  proclaiming  his  intention,  when  the  united 
interpofition  of  all  around  him,  enforced  by  the  eventful  prof- 
pe6ls  of  the  epoch,  produced  a  further  facrifice  of  inclination 
to  duty.  The  ele6tion  of  Prefident  followed ;  and  Washington, 
by  the  unanimous  vote  of  the  nation,  was  called  to  refume  the 
Chief  Magiftracy.  What  a  wonderful  fixture  of  confidence  ! 
Which  attra6ls  moft  our  admiration,  a  people  fo  corredt,  or  a 
citizen  combining  an  affemblage  of  talents  forbidding  rivalry, 
and  ftifling  even  envy  itfelf  ?  Such  a  nation  ought  to  be  happy; 
fuch  a  Chief  muft  be  for  ever  revered. 

War,  long  menaced  by  the  Indian  tribes,  now  broke  out; 
and  the  terrible  confli(5l,  deluging  Europe  with  blood,  began  to 
Ihed  its  baneful  influence  over  our  happy  land.  To  the  firft, 
out-ftretching  his  invincible  arm,  under  the  orders  of  the  gallant 
Wayne,  the  American  eagle  foared  triumphant  through  diftant 
forefts.  Peace  followed  vi6tory ;  and  the  melioration  of  the  con- 
dition of  the  enemy  followed  peace.  Godlike  virtue  !  which 
uplifts  even  the  fubdued  favage. 

To  the  fecond  he  oppofed  himfelf.  New  and  delicate  was 
the  conjunfture,  and  great  was  the  ftake.  Soon  did  his  pene- 
trating mind  difcern  and  feize  the  only  courfe,  continuing  to  us 
all  the  felicity  enjoyed.  He  iffued  his  proclamation  of  neutral- 
ity. This  index  to  his  whole  fubfequent  condu6t  was  fan6tioned 
by  the  approbation  of  both  Houfes  of  Congrefs,  and  by  the 
approving  voice  of  the  people. 

To  this  fublime  policy  he  inviolably  adhered,  unmoved  by 
foreign  intruflon,  unfliaken  by  domeflic  turbulence. 

"  Juflum  et  tenacem  propoiiti  virum, 
Non  civium  ardor  prava  jubentium, 
Non  vultus  inftantis  tyranni, 
Mente  quatit  folida." 

Maintaining  his  pacific  fyftem  at  the  expenfe  of  no  duty, 
America,  faithful  to  herfelf,  and  unftained  in  her  honour,  con- 
tinued to  enjoy  the  delights  of  peace,  while  affli6led  Europe 
mourns  in  every  quarter  under  the  accumulated  miferies  of  an 
unexampled  war ;  miferies  in  which  our  happy  country  muft 
have  fhared,  had  not  our  pre-eminent  Wafhington  been  as  firm 
in  council  as  he  was  brave  in  the  field. 


7 

Purfuing  fteadfaftly  his  courfe,  he  held  fafe  the  public  happi- 
nefs,  preventing  foreign  war,  and  quelling  internal  difcord,  till 
the  revolving  period  of  a  third  election  approached,  when  he 
executed  his  interrupted,  but  inextinguifliable  defire  of  returning 
to  the  humble  walks  of  private  life. 

The  promulgation  of  his  fixed  refolution  flopped  the  anxious 
wiflies  of  an  affe6fionate  people  from  adding  a  third  unanimous 
teftimonial  of  their  unabated  confidence  in  the  man  fo  Ions: 
enthroned  in  their  hearts.  When  before  was  affe6tion  like  this 
exhibited  on  earth  ?  Turn  over  the  records  of  ancient  Greece ; 
review  the  annals  of  mighty  Rome ;  examine  the  volumes  of 
modern  Europe  —  you  fearch  in  vain.  America  and  her  Wafli- 
ington  only  afford  the  dignified  exemplification. 

The  illuftrious  perfonage  called  by  the  national  voice  in 
fucceffion  to  the  arduous  office  of  guiding  a  free  people  had  new 
difficulties  to  encounter.  The  amicable  effort  of  fettling:  our 
difficulties  with  France,  begun  by  Waffiington,  and  purfued  by 
his  fucceffor  in  virtue  as  in  ftation,  proving  abortive,  America 
took  meafures  of  felf-defence.  No  fooner  was  the  public  mind 
roufed  by  a  profpe6t  of  danger,  than  every  eye  was  turned  to 
the  friend  of  all,  though  fecluded  from  public  view,  and  grey 
in  public  fervice.  The  virtuous  veteran,  following  his  plough, 
received  the  unexpe6led  fummons  with  mingled  emotions  of 
indignation  at  the  unmerited  ill  treatment  of  his  country,  and 
of  a  determination  once  more  to  rifk  his  all  in  her  defence. 

The  annunciation  of  thefe  feelings  in  his  affefting  letter  to 
the  Prefident,  accepting  the  command  of  the  army,  concludes 
his  official  condu6l. 

Firft  in  war,  firft  in  peace,  and  firft  in  the  hearts  of  his 
countrymen,  he  was  fecond  to  none  in  the  humble  and  endear- 
ing fcenes  of  private  life.  Pious,  juft,  humane,  temperate  and 
fmcere ;  uniform,  dignified  and  commanding,  his  example  was 
as  edifying  to  all  around  him,  as  were  the  effe6ls  of  that  example 
lalting. 

To  his  equals  he  was  condefcending,  to  his  inferiors  kind, 
and  to  the  dear  obje6l  of  his  affections  exemplarily  tender. 
Corre6t  throughout,  vice  fliuddered  in  his  prefence,  and  virtue 
always  felt  his  foftering  hand.  The  purity  of  his  private  char- 
3.6ter  gave  effulgence  to  his  public  virtues. 

His  laft  fcene  comported  with  the  whole  tenor  of  his  life. 
Although  in  extreme  pain,  not  a  ligh,  not  a  groan  efcaped  him  ; 
and  with  undifturbed  ferenity  he  clofed  his  well-fpent  life. 
Such  was  the  man  America  has  loft !  Such  was  the  man  for 
whom  our  nation  mourns  ! 


Methinks  I  fee  his  auguft  image,  and  hear,  falling  from  his 
venerable  lips,  thefe  deep  finking  words  : 

"  Cease,  Sons  of  America,  lamenting  our  feparation.  Go  on, 
and  confirm  by  your  wifdom  the  fruits  of  our  joint  councils, 
joint  efforts,  and  common  dangers.  Reverence  religion ;  diffufe 
knowledge  throughout  your  land ;  patronize  the  arts  and 
fciences ;  let  liberty  and  order  be  infeparable  companions ; 
control  party  fpirit,  the  bane  of  free  government ;  obferve  good 
faith  to,  and  cultivate  peace  with  all  nations;  fliut  up  every 
avenue  to  foreign  influence ;  contra6f  rather  than  extend 
national  connexion;  rely  on  yourfelves  only:  be  American  in 
thought  and  deed.  Thus  will  you  give  immortality  to  that 
union,  which  was  the  conftant  obje6t  of  my  terreftrial  labours : 
thus  will  you  preferve  undiffcurbed  to  the  lateft  poflerity  the 
felicity  of  a  people  to  me  moft  dear;  and  thus  will  you  fupply 
(if  my  happinefs  is  now  aught  to  you)  the  only  vacancy  in  the 
round  of  pure  blifs  high  Heaven  beftows." 


So  short  was  Washington's  illness  that,  at  the  seat  of  government,  the 
intelligence  of  his  death  preceded  that  of  his  indisposition.  It  was  first 
communicated  by  a  passenger  in  the  stage  to  an  acquaintance  whom  he  met 
in  the  street,  and  the  report  quickly  reached  the  house  of  representatives 
which  was  then  in  session.  The  utmost  dismay  and  affliction  was  displayed 
for  a  few  minutes ;  after  which  a  member  stated  in  his  place  the  melancholy 
information  which  had  been  received.  This  information  he  said  was  not 
certain,  but  there  was  too  much  reason  to  believe  it  true. 

"After  receiving  intelligence,"  he  added,  "of  a  national  calamity  so 
heavy  and  afflicting  the  house  of  representatives  can  be  but  ill  fitted  for 
public  business."  He  therefore  moved  an  adjournment.  Both  houses 
adjourned  until  the  next  day. 

On  the  succeeding  day,  as  soon  as  the  orders  were  read,  the  same 
member  addressed  the  chair  in  the  following  terms  : 

"The  melancholy  event  which  was  yesterday  announced  with  doubt, 
has  been  rendered  but  too  certain.  Our  Washington  is  no  more  !  the  hero, 
the  patriot,  and  the  sage  of  America  —  the  man  on  whom,  in  times  of  dan- 
ger, every  eye  was  turned,  and  all  hopes  were  placed  —  lives  now  only  in  his 
own  great  actions,  and  in  the  hearts  of  an  affectionate  and  afflicted  people. 

"  If,  sir,  it  had  even  not  been  usual  openly  to  testify  respect  for  the 
memory  of  those  whom  heaven  has  selected  as  its  instruments  for  dispensing 
good  to  man,  yet,  such  has  been  the  uncommon  worth,  and  such  the  ex- 
traordinary incidents  which  have  marked  the  life  of  him  whose  loss  we  all 
deplore,  that  the  whole  American  nation,  impelled  by  the  same  feelings, 


would  call,  with  one  voice,  for  a  public  manifestation  of  that  sorrow  which 
is  so  deep  and  so  universal. 

"  More  than  any  other  individual,  and  as  much  as  to  one  individual 
was  possible,  has  he  contributed  to  found  this  our  wide  spreading  empire, 
and  to  give  to  the  western  world  independence  and  freedom. 

"  Having  effected  the  great  object  for  which  he  was  placed  at  the  head 
of  our  armies,  we  have  seen  him  convert  the  swoid  into  the  ploughshare, 
and  sink  the  soldier  into  the  citizen. 

"  When  the  debility  of  our  federal  system  had  become  manifest,  and 
the  bonds  which  connected  this  vast  continent  were  dissolving,  we  have  seen 
him  the  chief  of  those  patriots  who  formed  for  us  a  constitution,  which,  by 
preserving  the  union,  will,  I  trust,  substantiate  and  perpetuate  those  bless- 
ings which  our  revolution  had  promised  to  bestow. 

"  In  obedience  to  the  general  voice  of  his  country  calling  him  to  pre- 
side over  a  great  people,  we  have  seen  him  once  more  quit  the  retirement 
he  loved,  and,  in  a  season  more  stormy  and  tempestuous  than  war  itself, 
with  calm  and  wise  determination,  pursue  the  true  interests  of  the  nation, 
and  contribute,  more  than  any  other  could  contribute,  to  the  establishment 
of  that  system  of  policy,  which  will,  I  trust,  yet  preserve  our  peace,  our 
honour,  and  our  independence. 

"  Having  been  twice  unanimously  chosen  the  chief  magistrate  of  a  free 
people,  we  have  seen  him,  at  a  time  when  his  re-election  with  universal 
suffrage  could  not  be  doubted,  afford  to  the  world  a  rare  instance  of  mod- 
eration, by  withdrawing  from  his  high  station  to  the  peaceful  walks  of 
private  life. 

"  However  the  public  confidence  may  change,  and  the  public  affections 
fluctuate  with  respect  to  others,  with  respect  to  him,  they  have,  in  war  and 
in  peace,  in  public  and  in  private  life,  been  as  steady  as  his  own  firm  mind, 
and  as  constant  as  his  own  exalted  virtues. 

"Let  us  then,  Mr.  Speaker,  pay  the  last  tribute  of  respect  and  affection 
to  our  departed  friend.  Let  the  grand  council  of  the  nation  display  those 
sentiments  which  the  nation  feels.  For  this  purpose  I  hold  in  my  hand 
some  resolutions  which  I  take  the  liberty  of  offering  to  the  house." 

The  resolutions,^  after  a  preamble  stating  the  death  of  General  Wash- 
ington, were  in  the  following  terms  : 

"  Resolved,  that  this  house  will  wait  on  the  President  in  condolence  of 
this  mournful  event. 

"  Resolved,  that  the  speaker's  chair  be  shrouded  with  black,  and  that 
the  members  and  officers  of  the  house  wear  black  during  the  session. 


^  These  resolutions  were  prepared  by  General  Lee,  who  happening  not  to  be  in  his  place 
when  the' melancholy  intelligence  was  received  and  first  mentioned  in  the  house,  placed  them 
in  the  hands  of  the  member  who  moved  them. 


lO 

"  Resolved,  that  a  committee,  in  conjunction  with  one  from  the  senate, 
be  appointed  to  consider  on  the  most  suitable  manner  of  paying  honour  to 
the  memory  of  the  man  first  in  war,  first  in  peace,  and  first  in  the  hearts  of 
his  fellow- citizens."  ^ 

Immediately  after  the  passage  of  these  resolutions,  a  written  message 
was  received  from  the  President,  accompanying  a  letter  from  Mr.  Lear, 
which  he  said,  "will  inform  you  that  it  had  pleased  Divine  Providence  to 
remove  from  this  life  our  excellent  fellow-citizen,  George  Washington,  by 
the  purity  of  his  life,  and  a  long  series  of  services  to  his  country,  rendered 
illustrious  through  the  world.  It  remains  for  an  affectionate  and  grateful 
people,  in  whose  hearts  he  can  never  die,  to  pay  suitable  honour  to  his 
memory." 

To  the  speaker  and  members  of  the  house  of  representatives  who 
waited  on  him  in  pursuance  of  the  resolution  which  had  been  mentioned,  he 
expressed  the  same  deep-felt  and  affectionate  respect  "  for  the  most  illus- 
trious and  beloved  personage  America  had  ever  produced." 

The  senate,  on  this  melancholy  occasion,  addressed  to  the  President  the 
following  letter : 

"  The  senate  of  the  United  States  respectfully  take  leave,  sir,  to  express 
to  you  their  deep  regret  for  the  loss  their  country  sustains  in  the  death  of 
General  George  Washington. 

"  This  event,  so  distressing  to  all  our  fellow- citizens,  must  be  peculiarly 
heavy  to  you  who  have  long  been  associated  with  him  in  deeds  of  patriotism. 
Permit  us,  sir,  to  mingle  our  tears  with  yours.  On  this  occasion  it  is  manly 
to  weep.  To  lose  such  a  man,  at  such  a  crisis,  is  no  common  calamity  to 
the  world.  Our  country  mourns  a  father.  The  Almighty  disposer  of  hu- 
man events  has  taken  from  us  our  greatest  benefactor  and  ornament.  It 
becomes  us  to  submit  with  reverence  to  Him  who  '  maketh  darkness  his 
pavilion.' 

"  With  patriotic  pride  we  review  the  life  of  our  Washington,  and  com- 
pare him  with  those  of  other  countries  who  have  been  preeminent  in  fame. 
Ancient  and  modern  names  are  diminished  before  him.  Greatness  and  guilt 
have  too  often  been  allied  ;  but  his  fame  is  whiter  than  it  is  brilliant.  The 
destroyers  of  nations  stood  abashed  at  the  majesty  of  his  virtues.  It  re- 
proved the  intemperance  of  their  ambition,  and  darkened  the  splendour  of 
victory.  The  scene  is  closed  —  and  we  are  no  longer  anxious  lest  misfortune 
should  sully  his  glory;  he  has  traveled  on  to  the  end  of  his  journey,  and 
carried  with  him  an  increasing  weight  of  honour  ;  he  has  deposited  it  safely 
where  misfortune  cannot  tarnish  it ;  where  malice  cannot  blast  it.    Favoured 


'^  Coimtrymen  is  the  word  given,  instead  oi  fellow-citizen,  in  Benton's  Abridgment  of 
Congressional  Debates,  and  in  Gales  and  Seaton's  Aniials  of  Congress.  It  is  also  the  word 
used  by  General  Lee  in  his  eulogy.     This  is  the  first  use  of  this  famous  expression.  — Editor. 


II 

of  heaven,  he  departed  without  exhibiting  the  weakness  of  humanity ; 
magnanimous  in  death,  the  darkness  of  tlie  grave  could  not  obscure  his 
brightness. 

"Such  was  the  man  whom  we  deplore.  Thanks  to  God,  his  glory  is 
consummated.  Washington  yet  lives  on  earth  in  his  spotless  example  — 
his  spirit  is  in  heaven. 

"  Let  his  countrymen  consecrate  the  memory  of  the  heroic  general,  the 
patriotic  statesman,  and  the  virtuous  sage;  let  them  teach  their  children 
never  to  forget  that  the  fruits  of  his  labours  and  his  example  are  their 
inheritmice.'''' 

To  this  address  the  President  returned  the  following  answer:  "I  re- 
ceive, with  the  most  respectful  and  affectionate  sentiments,  in  this  impres- 
sive address,  the  obliging  expressions  of  your  regret  for  the  loss  our  country 
has  sustained  in  the  death  of  her  most  esteemed,  beloved,  and  admired 
citizen. 

"In  the  multitude  of  my  thoughts  and  recollections  on  this  melancholy 
event,  you  will  permit  me  to  say  that  I  have  seen  him  in  the  days  of  adversity, 
in  some  of  the  scenes  of  his  deepest  distress  and  most  trying  perplexities. 
I  have  also  attended  him  in  his  highest  elevation  and  most  prosperous 
felicity,  with  uniform  admiration  of  his  wisdom,  moderation,  and  constancy. 

"  Among  all  our  original  associates  in  that  memorable  league  of  this  con- 
tinent in  1774,  which  first  expressed  the  Sovereign  will  of  a  Free  Nation 
in  America,  he  was  the  only  one  remaining  in  the  general  government. 
Although  with  a  constitution  more  enfeebled  than  his,  at  an  age  when  he 
thought  it  necessary  to  prepare  for  retirement,  I  feel  myself  alone,  bereaved 
of  my  last  brother;  yet  I  derive  a  strong  consolation  from  the  unan'mous 
disposition  which  appears  in  all  ages  and  classes  to  mingle  their  sorrows  with 
mine  on  this  common  calamity  to  the  world. 

"  The  life  of  our  Washington  cannot  suffer  by  a  comparison  with  those 
of  other  countries  who  have  been  most  celebrated  and  exalted  by  fame. 
The  attributes  and  decorations  of  royalty  could  only  have  served  to  eclipse 
the  majesty  of  those  virtues  which  made  him,  from  being  a  modest  citizen^  a 
more  resplendent  luminary.  Misfortune,  had  he  lived,  could  hereafter  have 
sullied  his  glory  only  with  those  superficial  minds  who,  believing  that  char- 
acters and  actions  are  marked  by  success  alone,  rarely  deserve  to  enjoy  it. 
Malice  could  never  blast  his  honour,  and  Envy  made  hmi  a  singular  excep- 
tion to  her  universal  rule.  For  himself  he  had  lived  long  enough  to  life  and 
to  glory  —  for  his  fellow- citizens,  if  their  prayers  could  have  been  answered, 
he  would  have  been  immortal ;  for  me,  his  departure  is  at  a  most  unfortunate 
moment.  Trusting,  however,  in  the  wise  and  righteous  dominion  of  Provi- 
dence over  the  passions  of  men,  and  the  results  of  their  councils  and  actions 
as  well  as  over  their  lives  nothing  remains  for  me  but  humble  resignation. 

"  His  example  is  now  complete ;   and  it  will  teach  wisdom  and  virtue 


12 

to  magistrates,  citizens,  and  men,  not  only  in  the  present  age,  but  in  future 
generations,  as  long  as  our  history  shall  be  read.  If  a  Trajan  found  a  Pliny, 
a  Marcus  Aurelius  can  never  want  biographers,  eulogists,  or  historians." 

The  joint  committee  which  had  been  appointed  to  devise  the  mode  by 
which  the  nation  should  express  its  feelings  on  this  melancholy  occasion,  re- 
ported the  following  resolutions  : 

*'  That  a  marble  monument  be  erected  by  the  United  States  at  the  city 
of  Washington,  and  that  the  family  of  General  Washington  be  requested  to 
permit  his  body  to  be  deposited  under  it;  and  that  the  monument  be  so 
designed  as  to  commemorate  the  great  events  of  his  military  and  political 
life. 

"That  there  be  a  funeral  procession  from  congress  hall  to  the  German 
Lutheran  church,  in  memory  of  General  Washington,  on  Thursday,  the  26th 
instant,  and  that  an  oration  be  prepared  at  the  request  of  congress,  to  be 
delivered  before  both  houses  on  that  day;  and  that  the  president  of  the  sen- 
ate, and  speaker  of  the  house  of  representatives,  be  desired  to  request  one 
of  the  members  of  congress  to  prepare  and  deliver  the  same. 

'*  That  it  be  recommended  to  the  people  of  the  United  States  to  wear 
crape  on  the  left  arm  as  a  mourning  for  thirty  days. 

"That  the  President  of  the  United  States  be  requested  to  direct  a  copy 
of  these  resolutions  to  be  transmitted  to  Mrs.  Washington,  assuring  her  of  the 
profound  respect  congress  will  ever  bear  to  her  person  and  character,  of  their 
condolence  on  the  late  affecting  dispensation  of  Providence,  and  entreating 
her  assent  to  the  interment  of  the  remains  of  General  Washington  in  the 
manner  expressed  in  the  first  resolution. 

"That  the  President  be  requested  to  issue  his  proclamation,  notifying  to 
the  people  throughout  the  United  States  the  recommendation  contained  in 
the  third  resolution," 

These  resolutions  passed  both  houses  unanimously,  and  those  which 
would  admit  of  immediate  execution  were  carried  into  effect.  The  whole 
nation  appeared  in  mourning.  The  funeral  procession  was  grand  and  solemn, 
and  the  eloquent  oration,  which  was  delivered  on  the  occasion  by  General 
Lee,  was  heard  with  profound  attention  and  with  deep  interest. 

Throughout  the  United  States  similar  marks  of  affliction  were  exhib- 
ited. In  every  part  of  the  continent  funeral  orations  were  delivered,  and 
the  best  talents  of  the  nation  were  devoted  to  an  expression  of  the  nation's 
grief.  —  MarshaW s  Life  of  Washington. 


General  Series,  No.  39. 

De  Vaca's 
Journey 

to  New  Mexico 


1535-63- 

From  Cabeza  De  Vaca's  Relation. 


We  told  these  people  that  we  desired  to  go  where  the  sun 
sets ;  and  they  said  inhabitants  in  that  direction  were  remote. 
We  commanded  them  to  send  and  make  known  our  coming ; 
but  they  strove  to  excuse  themselves  the  best  they  could,  the 
people  being  their  enemies,  and  they  did  not  wish  to  go  to 
them.  Not  daring  to  disobey,  however,  they  sent  two  women, 
one  of  their  own,  the  other  a  captive  from  that  people ;  for  the 
women  can  negotiate  even  though  there  be  w^ar.  We  followed 
them,  and  stopped  at  a  place  where  we  agreed  to  wait.  They 
tarried  five  days ;  and  the  Indians  said  they  could  not  have 
found  anybody. 

We  told  them  to  conduct  us  towards  the  north  ;  and  they 
answered,  as  before,  that  except  afar  off  there  were  no  people 
in  that  direction,  and  nothing  to  eat,  nor  could  water  be  found. 
Notwithstanding  all  this,  we  persisted,  and  said  we  desired  to 
go  in  that  course.  They  still  tried  to  excuse  themselves  in  the 
best  manner  possible.  At  this  we  became  offended,  and  one 
night  1  went  out  to  sleep  in  the  woods  apart  from  them ;  but 
directly  they  came  to  where  I  was,  and  remained  all  night 
without  sleep,  talking  to  me  in  great  fear,  telling  me  how  ter- 
rified they  were,  beseeching  us  to  be  no  longer  angry,  and  said 
that  they  would  lead  us  in  the  direction  it  was  our  wish  to  go, 
though  they  knew  they  should  die  on  the  way. 

Whilst  we  still  feigned  to  be  displeased  lest  their  fright 
should  leave  them,  a  remarkable  circumstance  happened,  which 
was  that  on  the  same  day  many  of  the  Indians  became  ill, 
and  the  next  day  eight  men  died.  Abroad  in  the  country, 
wheresoever  this  became  known,  there  was    such    dread  that 


it  seemed  as  if  the  inhabitants  would  die  of  fear  at  sight  of  us. 
They  besought  us  not  to  remain  angered,  nor  require  that 
more  of  them  should  die.  They  believed  we  caused  their 
death  by  only  willing  it,  when  in  truth  it  gave  us  so  much  pain 
that  it  could  not  be  greater ;  for,  beyond  their  loss,  we  feared 
they  might  all  die,  or  abandon  us  of  fright,  and  that  other 
people  thenceforward  would  do  the  same,  seeing  what  had 
come  to  these.  We  prayed  to  God,  our  Lord,  to  relieve  them ; 
and  from  that  time  the  sick  began  to  get  better. 

We  witnessed  one  thing  with  great  admiration,  that  the 
parents,  brothers,  and  wives  of  those  who  died  had  great  sym- 
pathy for  them  in  their  suffering ;  but,  when  dead,  they  showed 
no  feeling,  neither  did  they  weep  nor  speak  among  themselves, 
make  any  signs,  nor  dare  approach  the  bodies  until  we  com- 
manded these  to  be  taken  to  burial. 

While  we  were  among  these  people,  which  was  more  than 
fifteen  days,  we  saw  no  one  speak  to  another,  nor  did  we  see 
an  infant  smile:  the  only  one  that  cried  they  took  off  to  a 
distance,  and  with  the  sharp  teeth  of  a  rat  they  scratched  it 
from  the  shoulders  down  nearly  to  the  end  of  the  legs.  Seeing 
this  cruelty,  and  offended  at  it,  I  asked  why  they  did  so  :  they 
said  for  chastisement,  because  the  child  had  wept  in  my  pres- 
ence. These  terrors  they  imparted  to  all  those  who  had  lately 
come  to  know  us,  that  they  might  give  us  whatever  they  had ; 
for  they  knew  we  kept  nothing,  and  would  relinquish  all  to 
them.  This  people  were  the  most  obedient  we  had  found  in 
all  the  land,  the  best  conditioned,  and,  in  general,  comely. 

The  sick  having  recovered,  and  three  days  having  passed 
since  we  came  to  the  place,  the  women  whom  we  sent  away 
returned,  and  said  they  had  found  very  few  people ;  nearly  all 
had  gone  for  cattle,  being  then  in  the  season.  We  ordered 
the  convalescent  to  remain  and  the  well  to  go  with  us,  and 
that  at  the  end  of  two  days'  journey  those  women  should  go 
with  two  of  our  number  to  fetch  up  the  people,  and  bring  them 
on  the  road  to  receive  us.  Consequently,  the  next  morning 
the  most  robust  started  with  us. 

At  the  end  of  three  days'  travel  we  stopped,  and  the  next 
day  Alonzo  del  Castillo  set  out  with  Estevanico  the  negro,  tak- 
ing the  two  women  as  guides.  She  that  was  the  captive  led 
them  to  the  river  which  ran  between  some  ridges,  where  was  a 
town  at  which  her  father  lived ;  and  these  habitations  were  the 
first  seen,  having  the  appearance  and  structure  of  houses. 

Here  Castillo  and  Estevanico  arrived,  and,  after  talking  with 
the  Indians,  Castillo  returned  at  the  end  of  three  days  to  the 


spot  where  he  had  left  us,  and  brought  five  or  six  of  the  people. 
He  told  us  he  had  found  fixed  dwellings  of  civilization,  that  the 
inhabitants  lived  on  beans  and  pumpkins,  and  that  he  had  seen 
maize.  This  news  the  most  of  anything  delighted  us,  and  for 
it  we  gave  infinite  thanks  to  our  Lord.  Castillo  told  us  the 
negro  was  coming  with  all  the  population  to  wait  for  us  in  the 
road  not  far  off.  Accordingly  w^e  left,  and,  having  travelled  a 
league  and  a  half,  we  met  the  negro  and  the  people  coming  to 
receive  us.  They  gave  us  beans,  many  pumpkins,  calabashes, 
blankets  of  cowhide  and  other  things.  As  this  people  and 
those  who  came  wdth  us  were  enemies,  and  spoke  not  each 
other's  language,  we  discharged  the  latter,  giving  them  what  we 
received,  and  we  departed  with  the  others.  Six  leagues  from 
there,  as  the  night  set  in  we  arrived  at  the  houses,  where  great 
festivities  were  made  over  us.  We  remained  one  day,  and  the 
next  set  out  with  these  Indians.  They  took  us  to  the  settled 
habitations  of  others,  who  lived  upon  the  same  food. 

From  that  place  onward  was  another  usage.  Those  who 
knew  of  our  approach  did  not  come  out  to  receive  us  on  the 
road  as  the  others  had  done,  but  we  found  them  in  their  houses, 
and  they  had  made  others  for  our  reception.  They  were  all 
seated  with  their  faces  turned  to  the  wall,  their  heads  down,  the 
hair  brought  before  their  eyes,  and  their  property  placed  in  a 
heap  in  the  middle  of  the  house.  From  this  place  they  began 
to  give  us  many  blankets  of  skin ;  and  they  had  nothing  they 
did  not  bestow.  They  have  the  finest  persons  of  any  people 
we  saw,  of  the  greatest  activity  and  strength,  who  best  under- 
stood us  and  intelligently  answered  our  inquiries.  We  called 
them  the  Cow  nation,  because  most  of  the  cattle  killed  are 
slaughtered  in  their  neighborhood,  and  along  up  that  river  for 
over  fifty  leagues  they  destroy  great  numbers. 

They  go  entirely  naked  after  the  manner  of  the  first  we  saw. 
The  women  are  dressed  with  deer  skin,  and  some  few  men, 
mostly  the  aged,  who  are  incapable  of  fighting.  The  country 
is  very  populous.  We  asked  how  it  was  they  did  not  plant 
maize.  They  answ^ered  it  was  that  they  might  not  lose  what 
they  should  put  in  the  ground ;  that  the  rains  had  failed  for  two 
years  in  succession,  and  the  seasons  were  so  dry  the  seed  had 
everywhere  been  taken  by  the  moles,  and  they  could  not  vent- 
ure to  plant  again  until  after  water  had  fallen  copiously.  They 
begged  us  to  tell  the  sky  to  rain,  and  to  pray  for  it,  and  we  said 
we  would  do  so.  We  also  desired  to  know  whence  they  got  the 
maize,  and  they  told  us  from  where  the  sun  goes  down ;  there  it 
grew  throughout  the  region,  and  the  nearest  was  by  that  path. 


Since  they  did  not  wish  to  go  thither,  we  asked  by  what  direc- 
tion we  might  best  proceed,  and  bade  them  inform  us  concerning 
the  way  ;  they  said  the  path  was  along  up  by  that  river  towards 
the  nortli,  for  otherwise  in  a  journey  of  seventeen  days  we 
should  find  nothing  to  eat,  except  a  fruit  they  call  chacan,  that 
is  ground  between  stones,  and  even  then  it  could  with  difficulty 
be  eaten  for  its  dryness  and  pungency, —  which  was  true.  They 
showed  it  to  us  there,  and  we  could  not  eat  it.  They  informed 
us  also  that,  whilst  we  travelled  by  the  river  upward,  we  should 
all  the  way  pass  through  a  people  that  were  their  enemies,  who 
spoke  their  tongue,  and,  though  they  had  nothing  to  give  us  to 
eat,  they  would  receive  us  with  the  best  good  will,  and  present 
us  with  mantles  of  cotton,  hides,  and  other  articles  of  their 
wealth.  Still  it  appeared  to  them  we  ought  by  no  means  to 
take  that  course. 

Doubting  what  it  would  be  best  to  do,  and  which  way  we 
should  choose  for  suitableness  and  support,  we  remained  two 
days  with  these  Indians,  who  gave  us  beans  and  pumpkins  for 
our  subsistence.  Their  method  of  cooking  is  so  new  that  for 
its  strangeness  I  desire  to  speak  of  it ;  thus  it  may  be  seen  and 
remarked  how  curious  and  diversified  are  the  contrivances  and 
ingenuity  of  the  human  family.  Not  having  discovered  the  use 
of  pipkins,  to  boil  what  they  would  eat,  they  fill  the  half  of  a 
large  calabash  with  water,  and  throw  on  the  fire  many  stones 
of  such  as  are  most  convenient  and  readily  take  the  heat. 
When  hot,  they  are  taken  up  with  tongs  of  sticks  and  dropped 
into  the  calabash  until  the  water  in  it  boils  from  the  fervor  of 
the  stones.  Then  whatever  is  to  be  cooked  is  put  in,  and  until 
it  is  done  they  continue  taking  out  cooled  stones  and  throwing 
in  hot  ones.     Thus  they  boil  their  food. 

OF    OUR    TAKING   THE    WAY    TO    THE    MAIZE. 

Two  days  being  spent  while  we  tarried,  we  resolved  to  go  in 
search  of  the  maize.  We  did  not  wish  to  follow  the  path  lead- 
ing to  where  the  cattle  are,  because  it  is  towards  the  north,  and 
for  us  very  circuitous,  since  we  ever  held  it  certain  that  going 
towards  the  sunset  we  must  find  what  we  desired. 

Thus  we  took  our  way,  and  traversed  all  the  country  until 
coming  out  at  the  South  sea.  Nor  was  the  dread  we  had  of 
the  sharp  hunger  through  which  we  should  have  to  pass  (as  in 
verity  we  did,  throughout  the  seventeen  days'  journey  of  which 
the  natives  spoke)  sufficient  to  hinder  us.  During  all  that  time, 
in  ascending  by  the  river,  they  gave  us  many  coverings  of  cow- 


s 

hide  ;  but  we  did  not  eat  of  the  fruit.  Our  sustenance  each 
day  was  about  a  handful  of  deer-suet,  which  we  had  a  long 
time  been  used  to  saving  for  such  trials.  Thus  we  passed  the 
entire  journey  of  seventeen  days,  and  at  the  close  we  crossed 
the  river  and  travelled  other  seventeen  days. 

As  the  sun  went  down,  upon  some  plains  that  lie  between 
chains  of  very  great  mountains,  we  found  a  people  who  for  the 
third  part  of  the  year  eat  nothing  but  the  powder  of  straw,  and, 
that  being  the  season  when  we  passed,  we  also  had  to  eat  of  it, 
until  reaching  permanent  habitations,  where  was  abundance  of 
maize  brought  together.  They  gave  us  a  large  quantity  in  grain 
and  flour,  pumpkins,  beans,  and  shawls  of  cotton.  With  all 
these  we  loaded  our  guides,  who  went  back  the  happiest  creat- 
ures on  earth.  We  gave  thanks  to  God,  our  Lord,  for  having 
brought  us  where  we  had  found  so  much  food. 

Some  houses  are  of  earth,  the  rest  all  of  cane  mats.  From 
this  point  we  marched  through  more  than  a  hundred  leagues  of 
country,  and  continually  found  settled  domicils,  with  plenty  of 
maize  and  beans.  The  people  gave  us  many  deer  and  cotton 
shawls  better  than  those  of  New  Spain,  many  beads  and  certain 
corals  found  on  the  South  sea,  and  fine  turquoises  that  come 
from  the  North.  Indeed  they  gave  us  every  thing  they  had. 
To  me  they  gave  five  emeralds  made  into  arrow-heads,  which 
they  use  at  their  singing  and  dancing.  They  appeared  to  be 
very  precious.  I  asked  whence  they  got  these  ;  and  they  said 
the  stones  were  brought  from  some  lofty  mountains  that  stand 
towards  the  north,  where  were  populous  towns  and  very  large 
houses,  and  that  they  were  purchased  with  plumes  and  the 
feathers  of  parrots. 

Among  this  people  the  women  are  treated  with  more  decorum 
than  in  any  part  of  the  Indias  we  had  visited.  They  wear  a 
shirt  of  cotton  that  falls  as  low  as  the  knee,  and  over  it  half 
sleeves  with  skirts  reaching  to  the  ground,  made  of  dressed 
deer  skin.  It  opens  in  front  and  is  brought  close  with  straps 
of  leather.  They  soap  this  with  a  certain  root  that  cleanses 
well,  by  which  they  are  enabled  to  keep  it  becomingly.  Shoes 
are  worn.  The  people  all  came  to  us  that  we  should  touch  and 
bless  them,  they  being  very  urgent,  which  we  could  accomplish 
only  with  great  labor,  for  sick  and  v/ell  all  wished  to  go  with  a 
benediction. 

These  Indians  ever  accompanied  us  until  they  delivered  us 
to  others ;  and  all  held  full  faith  in  our  coming  from  heaven. 
While  travelling,  we  went  without  food  all  day  until  night,  and 
we  ate  so  little  as  to  astonish  them.     We  never  felt  exhaustion, 


neither  were  we  in  fact  at  all  weary,  so  inured  were  we  to  hard- 
ship. We  possessed  great  influence  and  authorit}^ :  to  preserve 
both,  we  seldom  talked  with  them.  The  negro  was  in  constant 
conversation ;  he  informed  himself  about  the  ways  we  wished 
to  take,  of  the  towns  there  were,  and  the  matters  we  desired  to 
know. 

We  passed  through  many  and  dissimilar  tongues.  Our  Lord 
granted  us  favor  with  the  people  who  spoke  them,  for  they  al- 
ways understood  us,  and  we  them.  We  questioned  them,  and 
received  their  answers  by  signs,  just  as  if  they  spoke  our  lan- 
guage and  we  theirs ;  for,  although  we  knew  six  languages,  we 
could  not  everywhere  avail  ourselves  of  them,  there  being  a 
thousand  differences. 

Throughout  all  these  countries  the  people  who  were  at  war 
immediately  made  friends,  that  they  might  come  to  meet  us, 
and  bring  what  they  possessed.  In  this  way  we  left  all  the  land 
at  peace,  and  we  taught  all  the  inhabitants  by  signs,  which  they 
understood,  that  in  heaven  was  a  Man  we  called  God,  who  had 
created  the  sky  and  the  earth;  him  we  worshipped  and  had  for 
our  master;  that  we  did  what  he  commanded  and  from  his 
hand  came  all  good ;  and  would  they  do  as  we  did,  all  would  be 
well  with  them.  So  ready  of  apprehension  we  found  them 
that,  could  we  have  had  the  use  of  language  by  which  to  make 
ourselves  perfectly  understood,  we  should  have  left  them  all 
Christians.  Thus  much  we  gave  them  to  understand  the  best 
we  could.  And  afterward,  when  the  sun  rose,  they  opened  their 
hands  together  with  loud  shouting  towards  the  heavens,  and 
then  drew  them  down  all  over  their  bodies.  They  did  the  same 
again  when  the  sun  went  down.  They  are  a  people  of  good 
condition  and  substance,  capable  in  any  pursuit. 

THE    INDIANS    GIVE    US    THE    HEARTS    OF    DEER. 

In  the  town  where  the  emeralds  were  presented  to  us  the 
people  gave  Dorantes  over  six  hundred  open  hearts  of  deer. 
They  ever  keep  a  good  supply  of  them  for  food,  and  we  called 
the  place  Pueblo  de  los  Corazones.  It  is  the  entrance  into 
many  provinces  on  the  South  sea.  They  who  go  to  look  for 
them,  and  do  not  enter  there,  will  be  lost.  On  the  coast  is  no 
maize  :  the  inhabitants  eat  the  powder  of  rush  and  of  straw, 
and  fish  that  is  caught  in  the  sea  from  rafts,  not  having  canoes. 
With  grass  and  straw  the  women  cover  their  nudity.  They  are 
a  timid  and  dejected  people. 

We  think  that  near  the  coast  by  way  of  those  towns  through 


7 

which  we  came  are  more  than  a  thousand  leagues  of  inhabited 
country,  plentiful  of  subsistence.  Three  times  the  year  it  is 
planted  with  maize  and  beans.  Deer  are  of  three  kinds ;  one 
the  size  of  the  young  steer  of  Spain.  There  are  innumerable 
houses,  such  as  are  called  bahios.  They  have  poison  from  a 
certain  tree  the  size  of  the  apple.  For  effect  no  more  is  neces- 
sary than  to  pluck  the  fruit  and  moisten  the  arrow  with  it,  or,  if 
there  be  no  fruit,  to  break  a  twig  and  with  the  milk  do  the  like. 
The  tree  is  abundant  and  so  deadly  that,  if  the  leaves  be  bruised 
and  steeped  in  some  neighboring  water,  the  deer  and  other  ani- 
mals drinking  it  soon  burst. 

We  were  in  this  town  three  days.  A  day's  journey  farther 
was  another  town,  at  which  the  rain  fell  heavily  while  we  were 
there,  and  the  river  became  so  swollen  we  could  not  cross  it, 
which  detained  us  fifteen  days.  In  this  time  Castillo  saw  the 
buckle  of  a  sword-belt  on  the  neck  of  an  Indian  and  stitched 
to  it  the  nail  of  a  horseshoe.  He  took  them,  and  we  asked  the 
native  what  they  were :  he  answered  that  they  came  from 
heaven.  We  questioned  him  further,  as  to  who  had  brought 
them  thence :  they  all  responded  that  certain  men  who  wore 
beards  like  us  had  come  from  heaven  and  arrived  at  that  river, 
bringing  horses,  lances,  and  swords,  and  that  they  had  lanced 
two  Indians.  In  a  manner  of  the  utmost  indifference  we  could 
feign,  we  asked  them  what  had  become  of  those  men.  They 
answered  us  that  they  had  gone  to  sea,  putting  their  lances 
beneath  the  water,  and  going  themselves  also  under  the  water ; 
afterwards  that  they  were  seen  on  the  surface  going  towards  the 
sunset.  For  this  we  gave  many  thanks  to  God  our  Lord.  We 
had  before  despaired  of  ever  hearing  more  of  Christians.  Even 
yet  we  were  left  in  great  doubt  and  anxiety,  thinking  those  peo- 
ple were  merely  persons  who  had  come  by  sea  on  discoveries. 
However,  as  we  had  now  such  exact  information,  we  made 
greater  speed,  and,  as  we  advanced  on  our  way,  the  news  of  the 
Christians  continually  grew.  We  told  the  natives  that  we  were 
going  in  search  of  that  people,  to  order  them  not  to  kill  nor 
make  slaves  of  them,  nor  take  them  from  their  lands,  nor  do 
other  injustice.     Of  this  the  Indians  were  very  glad. 

We  passed  through  many  territories  and  found  them  all  va- 
cant :  their  inhabitants  wandered  fleeing  among  the  mountains, 
without  daring  to  have  houses  or  till  the  earth  for  fear  of  Chris- 
tians. The  sight  was  one  of  infinite  pain  to  us,  a  land  very 
fertile  and  beautiful,  abounding  in  springs  and  streams,  the 
hamlets  deserted  and  burned,  the  people  thin  and  weak,  all  flee- 
ing or  in  concealment.     As  they  did  not  plant,  they  appeased 


8 

their  keen  hunger  by  eating  roots  and  the  bark  of  trees.  We 
bore  a  share  in  the  famine  along  the  whole  way ;  for  poorly 
could  these  unfortunates  provide  for  us,  themselves  being  so 
reduced  they  looked  as  though  they  would  willingly  die.  They 
brought  shawls  of  those  they  had  concealed  because  of  the 
Christians,  presenting  them  to  us ;  and  they  related  how  the 
Christians  at  other  times  had  come  through  the  land,  destroying 
and  burning  the  towns,  carrying  away  half  the  men,  and  all  the 
women  and  the  boys,  while  those  who  had  been  able  to  escape 
were  wandering  about  fugitives.  We  found  them  so  alarmed 
they  dared  not  remain  anywhere.  They  would  not  nor  could 
they  till  the  earth,  but  preferred  to  die  rather  than  live  in  dread 
of  such  cruel^  usage  as  they  received.  Although  these  showed 
themselves  greatly  delighted  with  us,  we  feared  that  on  our  ar- 
rival among  those  who  held  the  frontier,  and  fought  against  the 
Christians,  they  would  treat  us  badly,  and  revenge  upon  us  the 
conduct  of  their  enemies ;  but,  when  God  our  Lord  was  pleased 
to  bring  us  there,  they  began  to  dread  and  respect  us  as  the 
others  had  done,  and  even  somewhat  more,  at  which  we  no  little 
wondered.  Thence  it  may  at  once  be  seen  that,  to  bring  all 
these  people  to  be  Christians  and  to  the  obedience  of  the  Im- 
perial Majesty,  they  must  be  won  by  kindness,  which  is  a  way 
certain,  and  no  other  is. 

They  took  us  to  a  town  on  the  edge  of  a  range  of  mountains, 
to  which  the  ascent  is  over  difficult  crags.  We  found  many 
people  there  collected  out  of  fear  of  the  Christians.  They  re- 
ceived us  well,  and  presented  us  all  they  had.  They  gave  us 
more  than  two  thousand  back-loads  of  maize,  which  we  gave  to 
the  distressed  and  hungered  beings  who  guided  us  to  that  place. 
The  next  day  we  despatched  four  messengers  through  the  coun- 
try, as  we  were  accustomed  to  do,  that  they  should  call  together 
all  the  rest  of  the  Indians  at  a  town  distant  three  days'  march. 
We  set  out  the  day  after  with  all  the  people.  The  tracks  of  the 
Christians  and  marks  where  they  slept  were  continually  seen. 
At  mid-day  we  met  our  messengers,  who  told  us  they  had  found 
no  Indians,  that  they  were  roving  and  hiding  in  the  forests, 
fleeing  that  the  Christians  might  not  kill  nor  make  them  slaves; 
the  night  before  they  had  observed  the  Christians  from  behind 
trees,  and  discovered  what  they  were  about,  carrying  away  many 
people  in  chains. 

Those  who  came  with  us  were  alarmed  at  this  intelligence ; 
some  returned  to  spread  the  news  over  the  land  that  the  Chris- 
tians were  coming ;  and  many  more  would  have  followed,  had 
we  not  forbidden  it  and  told  them  to  cast  aside  their  fear,  when 


9 

they  reassured  themselves  and  were  well  content.  At  the  time 
we  had  Indians  with  us  belonging  a  hundred  leagues  behind, 
and  we  were  in  no  condition  to  discharge  them,  that  they  might 
return  to  their  homes.  To  encourage  them,  we  stayed  there  that 
night ;  the  day  after  \ve  marched  and  slept  on  the  road.  The 
following  day  those  whom  we  had  sent  forward  as  messengers 
guided  us  to  the  place  where  they  had  seen  Christians.  We 
arrived  in  the  afternoon,  and  saw  at  once  that  they  told  the 
truth.  We  perceived  that  the  persons  were  mounted,  by  the 
stakes  to  which  the  horses  had  been  tied. 

From  this  spot,  called  the  river  Petutan,  to  the  river  to  which 
Diego  de  Guzman  came,  where  we  heard  of  Christians,  may  be 
as  many  as  eighty  leagues ;  thence  to  the  town  where  the  rains 
overtook  us,  twelve  leagues,  and  that  is  twelve  leagues  from  the 
South  sea.  Throughout  this  region,  wheresoever  the  mountains 
extend,  we  saw  clear  traces  of  gold  and  lead,  iron,  copper,  and 
other  metals.  Where  the  settled  habitations  are,  the  climate 
is  hot;  even  in  January  the  weather  is  very  warm.  Thence 
toward  the  meridian,  the  country  unoccupied  to  the  North  sea 
is  unhappy  and  sterile.  There  we  underwent  great  and  incred- 
ible hunger.  Those  who  inhabit  and  wander  over  it  are  a  race 
of  evil  inclination  and  most  cruel  customs.  The  people  of  the 
fixed  residences  and  those  beyond  regard  silver  and  gold  with 
indifference,  nor  can  they  conceive  of  any  use  for  them. 

WE    SEE    TRACES    OF    CHRISTIANS. 

When  we  saw  sure  signs  of  Christians,  and  heard  how  near 
we  were  to  them,  we  gave  thanks  to  God  our  Lord  for  having 
chosen  to  bring  us  out  of  a  captivity  so  melancholy  and 
wretched.  The  delight  w^e  felt  let  each  one  conjecture,  when 
he  shall  remember  the  length  of  time  we  were  in  that  country, 
the  suffering  and  perils  we  underwent.  That  night  I  entreated 
my  companions  that  one  of  them  should  go  back  three  days' 
journey  after  the  Christians  who  were  moving  about  over  the 
country,  where  we  had  given  assurance  of  protection.  Neither 
of  them  received  this  proposal  well,  excusing  themselves  be- 
cause of  weariness  and  exhaustion ;  and  although  either  might 
have  done  better  than  I,  being  more  youthful  and  athletic,  yet 
seeing  their  unwillingness,  the  next  morning  I  took  the  negro 
with  eleven  Indians,  and,  following  the  Christians  by  their  trail, 
I  travelled  ten  leagues,  passing  three  villages,  at  which  they  had 
slept. 

The  day  after  I  overtook  four  of  them  on  horseback,  who 


lO 

were  astonished  at  the  signt  of  me,  so  strangely  habited  as  I 
was,  and  in  company  with  Indians.  They  stood  staring  at  me 
a  length  of  time,  so  confounded  that  they  neither  hailed  me  nor 
drew  near  to  make  an  inquiry.  I  bade  them  take  me  to  their 
chief :  accordingly  we  went  together  half  a  league  to  the  place 
where  was  Diego  de  Alcaraz,  their  captain. 

After  we  had  conversed,  he  stated  to  me  that  he  was  com- 
pletely undone ;  he  had  not  been  able  in  a  long  time  to  take 
any  Indians  ;  he  knew  not  which  way  to  turn,  and  his  men  had 
well  begun  to  experience  hunger  and  fatigue.  I  told  him  of 
Castillo  and  Dorantes,  who  were  behind,  ten  leagues  off,  with  a 
multitude  that  conducted  us.  He  thereupon  sent  three  cavalry 
to  them,  with  fifty  of  the  Indians  who  accompanied  him.  The 
negro  returned  to  guide  them,  while  I  remained.  I  asked  the 
Christians  to  give  me  a  certificate  of  the  year,  month,  and  day 
I  arrived  there,  and  of  the  manner  of  my  coming,  which  they 
accordingly  did.  From  this  river  to  the  town  of  the  Christians, 
named  San  Miguel,  within  the  government  of  the  province 
called  New  Galicia,  are  thirty  leagues. 

OF    SENDING    FOR    THE    CHRISTIANS. 

Five  days  having  elapsed,  Andres  Dorantes  and  Alonzo  del 
Castillo  arrived  with  those  who  had  been  sent  after  them. 
They  brought  more  than  six  hundred  persons  of  that  commu- 
nity, whom  the  Christians  had  driven  into  the  forests,  and  who 
had  wandered  in  concealment  over  the  land.  Those  who  ac- 
companied us  so  far  had  drawn  them  out,  and  given  them  to 
the  Christians,  who  thereupon  dismissed  all  the  others  they  had 
brought  with  them.  Upon  their  coming  to  where  I  was,  Alcaraz 
begged  that  we  would  summon  the  people  of  the  towns  on  the 
margin  of  the  river,  who  straggled  about  under  cover  of  the 
woods,  and  order  them  to  fetch  us  something  to  eat.  This  last 
was  unnecessary,  the  Indians  being  ever  diligent  to  bring  us  all 
they  could.  Directly  we  sent  our  messengers  to  call  them,  when 
there  came  six  hundred  souls,  bringing  us  all  the  maize  in  their 
possession.  They  fetched  it  in  certain  pots,  closed  with  clay, 
which  they  had  concealed  in  the  earth.  They  brought  us  what- 
ever else  they  had ;  but  we,  wishing  only  to  have  the  provision, 
gave  the  rest  to  the  Christians,  that  they  might  divide  among 
themselves.  After  this  we  had  many  high  words  with  them ; 
for  they  wished  to  make  slaves  of  the  Indians  we  brought. 

In  consequence  of  the  dispute,  we  left  at  our  departure  many 
bows  of  Turkish  shape  we  had  along  with  us  and  many  pouches. 


II 

The  five  arrows  with  the  points  of  emerald  were  forgotten 
among  others,  and  we  lost  them.  We  gave  the  Christians  a 
store  of  robes  of  cowhide  and  other  things  we  brought.  We 
found  it  difficult  to  induce  the  Indians  to  return  to  their  dwell- 
ings, to  feel  no  apprehension  and  plant  maize.  They  were  will- 
ing to  do  nothing  until  they  had  gone  with  us  and  delivered  us 
into  the  hands  of  other  Indians,  as  had  been  the  custom ;  for, 
if  they  returned  without  doing  so,  they  were  afraid  they  should 
die,  and,  going  with  us,  they  feared  neither  Christians  nor  lances. 
Our  countrymen  became  jealous  at  this,  and  caused  their  inter- 
preter to  tell  the  Indians  that  we  were  of  them,  and  for  a  long 
time  we  had  been  lost ;  that  they  were  the  lords  of  the  land 
who  must  be  obeyed  and  served,  while  we  were  persons  of  mean 
condition  and  small  force.  The  Indians  cared  little  or  nothing 
for  what  was  told  them ;  and  conversing  among  themselves  said 
the  Christians  lied :  that  we  had  come  whence  the  sun  rises, 
and  they  whence  it  goes  down  ;  we  healed  the  sick,  they  killed 
the  sound  ;  that  we  had  come  naked  and  barefooted,  while  they 
had  arrived  in  clothing  and  on  horses  with  lances  ;  that  we  were 
not  covetous  of  anything,  but  all  that  was  given  to  us  we  di- 
rectly turned  to  give,  remaining  with  nothing ;  that  the  others 
had  the  only  purpose  to  rob  whomsoever  they  found,  bestowing 
nothing  on  any  one. 

In  this  way  they  spoke  of  all  matters  respecting  us,  which 
they  enhanced  by  contrast  with  matters  concerning  the  others, 
delivering  their  response  through  the  interpreter  of  the  Span- 
iards. To  other  Indians  they  made  this  known  by  means  of 
one  among  them  through  whom  they  understood  us.  Those 
who  speak  that  tongue  we  discriminately  call  Primahaitu,  which 
is  like  saying  Vasconyados.  We  found  it  in  use  over  more  than 
four  hundred  leagues  of  our  travel,  without  another  over  that 
whole  extent.  Even  to  the  last,  I  could  not  convince  the  Ind- 
ians that  we  were  of  the  Christians  ;  and  only  with  great  effort 
and  solicitation  we  got  them  to  go  back  to  their  residences. 
We  ordered  them  to  put  away  apprehension,  establish  their 
towns,  plant  and  cultivate  the  soil. 

From  abandonment  the  country  had  already  grown  up  thickly 
in  trees.  It  is,  no  doubt,  the  best  in  all  these  Indias,  the  most 
prolific  and  plenteous  in  provisions.  Three  times  in  the  year  it 
is  planted.  It  produces  great  variety  of  fruit,  has  beautiful 
rivers,  with  many  other  good  waters.  There  are  ores  with  clear 
traces  of  gold  and  silver.  The  people  are  well  disposed  :  they 
serve  such  Christians  as  are  their  friends,  with  great  good  will. 
They  are  comely,  much  more  so  than  the  Mexicans.  Indeed, 
the  land  needs  no  circumstance  to  make  it  blessed. 


12 

The  Indians,  at  taking  their  leave,  told  us  they  would  do  what 
we  commanded,  and  would  build  their  towns,  if  the  Christians 
would  suffer  them;  and  this  I  say  and  affirm  most  positively, 
that,  if  they  have  not  done  so,  it  is  the  fault  of  the  Christians. 

After  we  had  dismissed  the  Indians  in  peace,  and  thanked 
them  for  the  toil  they  had  supported  with  us,  the  Christians 
with  subtlety  sent  us  on  our  way  under  charge  of  Zeburos,  an 
Alcalde,  attended  by  two  men.  They  took  us  through  forests 
and  solitudes,  to  hinder  us  from  intercourse  with  the  natives, 
that  we  mi^ht  neither  witness  nor  have  knowledge  of  the  act 
they  would  commit.  It  is  but  an  instance  of  how  frequently 
men  are  mistaken  in  their  aims;  we  set  about  to  preserve  the 
liberty  of  the  Indians  and  thought  we  had  secured  it,  but  the 
contrary  appeared ;  for  the  Christians  had  arranged  to  go  and 
spring  upon  those  we  had  sent  away  in  peace  and  confidence. 
They  executed  their  plan  as  they  had  designed,  taking  us  through 
the  woods,  wherein  for  two  days  we  were  lost,  without  water 
and  without  way.  Seven  of  our  men  died  of  thirst,  and  we  all 
thought  to  have  perished.  Many  friendly  to  the  Christians  in 
their  company  were  unable  to  reach  the  place  where  we  got 
water  the  second  night,  until  the  noon  of  next  day.  We  trav- 
elled twenty-five  leagues,  little  more  or  less,  and  reached  a  town 
of  friendly  Indians.  The  Alcalde  left  us  there,  and  went  on 
three  leagues  farther  to  a  town  called  Culiagan  where  was  Mel- 
chior  Diaz,  principal  Alcalde  and  Captain  of  the  Province. 

THE    CHIEF    ALCALDE    RECEIVES    US    KINDLY    THE    NIGHT 

WE    ARRIVE. 

The  Alcalde  Mayor  knew  of  the  expedition,  and,  hearing  of 
our  return,  he  immediately  left  that  night  and  came  to  where 
we  were.  He  wept  with  us,  giving  praises  to  God  our  Lord  for 
having  extended  over  us  so  great  care.  He  comforted  and 
entertained  us  hospitably.  In  behalf  of  the  Governor,  Nuno 
de  Guzman  and  himself,  he  tendered  all  that  he  had,  and  the 
service  in  his  power.  He  showed  much  regret  for  the  seizure, 
and  the  injustice  we  had  received  from  Alcaraz  and  others. 
We  were  sure,  had  he  been  present,  what  was  done  to  the  Ind- 
ians and  to  us  would  never  have  occurred. 

The  night  being  passed,  we  set  out  the  next  day  for  Anhacan 
The  chief  Alcalde  besought  us  to  tarry  there,  since  by  so  doing 
we  could  be  of  eminent  service  to  God  and  your  Majesty;  the 
deserted  land  was  without  tillage  and  everywhere  badly  wasted, 
the   Indians  were  fleeing  and   concealing  themselves   in   the 


13 

thickets,  unwilling  to  occupy  their  towns  ;  we  were  to  send  and 
call  them,  commanding  them  in  behalf  of  God  and  the  King, 
to  return  to  live  in  the  vales  and  cultivate  the  soil. 

To  us  this  appeared  difficult  to  effect.  We  had  brought  no 
native  of  our  own,  nor  of  those  who  accompanied  us  according 
to  custom,  intelligent  in  these  affairs.  At  last  we  made  the 
attempt  with  two  captives,  brought  from  that  country,  who  were 
with  the  Christians  we  first  overtook.  They  had  seen  the  peo- 
ple who  conducted  us,  and  learned  from  them  the  great  author- 
ity and  command  we  carried  and  exercised  throughout  those 
parts,  the  wonders  we  had  worked,  the  sick  we  had  cured,  and 
the  many  things  besides  we  had  done.  We  ordered  that  they, 
with  others  of  the  town,  should  go  together  to  summon  the 
hostile  natives  among  the  mountains  and  of  the  river  Petachan, 
where  we  had  found  the  Christians,  and  say  to  them  they  must 
come  to  us,  that  we  wished  to  speak  with  them.  For  the  pro- 
tection of  the  messengers,  and  as  a  token  to  the  others  of  our 
will,  we  gave  them  a  gourd  of  those  we  were  accustomed  to 
bear  in  our  hands,  which  had  been  our  principal  insignia  and 
evidence  of  rank,  and  with  this  they  went  away. 

The  Indians  were  gone  seven  days,  and  returned  with  three 
chiefs  of  those  revolted  among  the  ridges,  who  brought  with 
them  fifteen  men,  and  presented  us  beads,  turquoises,  and 
feathers.  The  messengers  said  they  had  not  found  the  people 
of  the  river  where  we  appeared,  the  Christians  having  again 
made  them  run  away  into  the  mountains.  Melchior  Diaz  told 
the  interpreter  to  speak  to  the  natives  for  us ;  to  say  to  them 
we  came  in  the  name  of  God,  w^ho  is  in  heaven ;  that  we  had 
travelled  about  the  world  many  years,  telling  all  the  people  we 
found  that  they  should  believe  in  God  and  serve  him ;  for  he 
was  the  master  of  all  things  on  the  earth,  benefiting  and  re- 
warding the  virtuous,  and  to  the  bad  giving  perpetual  punish- 
ment of  fire ;  that,  when  the  good  die,  he  takes  them  to  heaven, 
where  none  ever  die,  nor  feel  cold,  nor  hunger,  nor  thirst,  nor 
any  inconvenience  whatsoever,  but  the  greatest  enjoyment  pos- 
sible to  conceive ;  that  those  who  will  not  believe  in  him,  nor 
obey  his  commands,  he  casts  beneath  the  earth  into  the  com- 
pany of  demons,  and  into  a  great  fire  which  is  never  to  go  out, 
but  always  torment ;  that,  over  this,  if  they  desired  to  be  Chris- 
tians and  serve  God  in  the  way  we  required,  the  Christians 
would  cherish  them  as  brothers  and  behave  towards  them  very 
kindly ;  that  we  would  command  they  give  no  offence  nor  take 
them  from  their  territories,  but  be  their  great  friends.  If  the 
Indians  did  not  do  this,  the  Christians  would  treat  them  very 
hardly,  carrying  them  away  as  slaves  into  other  lands. 


14 

They  answered  through  the  interpreter  that  they  would  be 
true  Christians  and  serve  God.  Being  asked  to  whom  they 
sacrifice  and  offer  worship,  from  whom  they  ask  rain  for  their 
corn-fields  and  health  for  themselves,  they  answered  of  a  man 
that  is  in  heaven.  We  inquired  of  them  his  name,  and  they 
told  us  Aguar ;  and  they  believed  he  created  the  whole  world, 
and  the  things  in  it.  We  returned  to  question  them  as  to  how 
they  knew  this ;  they  answered  their  fathers  and  grandfathers 
had  told  them,  that  from  distant  time  had  come  their  knowledge, 
and  they  knew  the  rain  and  all  good  things  were  sent  to  them 
by  him.  We  told  them  that  the  name  of  him  of  whom  they 
spoke  we  called  Dios ;  and  if  they  would  call  him  so,  and 
would  worship  him  as  we  directed,  they  would  find  their  wel- 
fare. They  responded  that  they  well  understood,  and  would 
do  as  we  said.  We  ordered  them  to  come  down  from  the 
mountains  in  confidence  and  peace,  inhabit  the  whole  country 
and  construct  their  houses :  among  these  they  should  build  one 
for  God,  at  its  entrance  place  a  cross  like  that  which  we  had 
there  present ;  and,  when  Christians  came  among  them,  they 
should  go  out  to  receive  them  with  crosses  in  their  hands, 
without  bows  or  any  arms,  and  take  them  to  their  dwellings, 
giving  of  what  they  have  to  eat,  and  the  Christians  would  do 
them  no  injury,  but  be  their  friends ;  and  the  Indians  told  us 
they  would  do  as  we  had  commanded. 

The  Captain  having  given  them  shawls  and  entertained  them, 
they  returned,  taking  the  two  captives  who  had  been  used  as 
emissaries.  This  occurrence  took  place  before  the  Notary,  in 
the  presence  of  many  witnesses. 

OF    BUILDING    CHURCHES    IN    THAT    LAND. 

As  soon  as  these  Indians  went  back,  all  those  of  that  prov- 
ince who  were  friendly  to  the  Christians,  and  had  heard  of  us, 
came  to  visit  us,  bringing  beads  and  feathers.  We  commanded 
them  to  build  churches  and  put  crosses  in  them :  to  that  time 
none  had  been  raised ;  and  we  made  them  bring  their  principal 
men  to  be  baptized. 

Then  the  Captain  made  a  covenant  with  God,  not  to  invade 
nor  consent  to  invasion,  nor  to  enslave  any  of  that  country  and 
people,  to  whom  we  had  guaranteed  safety ;  that  this  he  would 
enforce  and  defend  until  your  Majesty  and  the  Governor  Nuno 
de  Guzman,  or  the  Viceroy  in  your  name,  should  direct  what 
would  be  most  for  the  service  of  God  and  your  Highness. 

When  the  children  had  been  baptized,  we  departed  for  the 


15 

town  of  San  Miguel.  So  soon  as  we  arrived,  April  i,  1536, 
came  Indians,  who  told  us  many  people  had  come  down  from 
the  mountains  and  were  living  in  the  vales  ;  that  they  had  made 
churches  and  crosses,  doing  all  we  had  required.  Each  day 
we  heard  how  these  things  were  advancing  to  a  full  improve- 
ment. 

Fifteen  days  of  our  residence  having  passed,  Alcaraz  got 
back  with  the  Christians  from  the  incursion,  and  they  related 
to  the  Captain  the  manner  in  which  the  Indians  had  come  down 
and  peopled  the  plain ;  that  the  towns  were  inhabited  which 
•had  been  tenantless  and  deserted,  the  residents,  coming  out  to 
receive  them  with  crosses  in  their  hands,  had  taken  them  to 
their  houses,  giving  of  what  they  had,  and  the  Christians  had 
slept  among  them  over  night.  They  were  surprised  at  a  thing 
so  novel ;  but,  as  the  natives  said  they  had  been  assured  of 
safety,  it  was  ordered  that  they  should  not  be  harmed,  and  the 
Christians  took  friendly  leave  of  them. 


Among  all  the  thrilling  adventures  of  the  early  Spanish  explorers  of 
America,  none  was  more  remarkable  than  the  journey  of  Cabeza  de  Vaca, 
in  1535-36,  from  the  shores  of  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  through  the  present 
states  of  Texas  and  New  Mexico,  to  the  province  of  Culiacan  in  Mexico. 

The  success  of  Cortes  in  Mexico  fired  the  minds  of  many  Spanish  advent- 
urers; and  among  those  affected  by  visions  of  empires  farther  north  was 
Panfilo  de  Narvaez,  who  had  been  defeated  by  Cortes,  whom  he  was  sent 
to  supersede.  Charles  V.  gave  him  a  patent  covering  the  country  on  the 
Gulf  of  Mexico  from  Rio  de  Palmas  to  Florida.  Sailing  from  Spain  in 
1527,  he  reached  the  Florida  coast,  at  the  present  Apalache  Bay,  after 
severe  losses,  with  four  vessels  and  four  hundred  men,  in  April,  1528.  With 
three  hundred  men,  Narvaez  struck  inland,  ordering  the  vessels  to  follow 
the  coast  westward.  After  great  sufferings  during  three  months,  Narvaez 
and  his  men  returned  to  the  coast,  but  found  no  signs  of  the  vessels.  Two 
months  were  spent  in  building  five  boats,  in  which  the  survivors  embarked 
and  coasted  along  westward,  landing  occasionally  for  food  and  water,  but 
finding  the  natives  fierce.  On  the  31st  of  October  they  came  to  "abroad 
river,  pouring  into  the  Gulf  such  a  volume  of  water  that  it  freshened  the 
brine  so  that  they  were  able  to  drink  it."  But  the  current  was  too  much  for 
their  small  boats.  Narvaez  and  many  others  were  lost.  Three  boats  were 
thrown  on  the  coast  of  western  Louisiana  or  eastern  Texas.  Many  of  the 
men  fell  victims  to  the  savages  or  to  disease  and  starvation.  Some  were 
enslaved  by  the  Indians.  Alvar  Nunez  Cabeza  de  Vaca,  the  treasurer  of 
the  expedition,  was  held  six  years  among  the  Mariames,  finally  escaping 
with  two  companions,  Castillo  arid  Dorantes,  and  a  negro  slave,  Estevan. 
After  spending  eight  months  with  a  tribe  further  inland,  they  pushed  on, 
northward  and  westward,  surmounting  incredible  hardships,  finally  coming 
upon  some  Spanish  explorers  on  the  river  Petatlan,  and  on  the  ist  of  April, 
1536,  reaching  the  town  of  San  Miguel  in  Sinaloa,  in  the  north-western  part 
of  Mexico. 


i6 

Returning  to  Spain,  De  Vaca  published  a  Relacion  of  his  travels  and 
adventures,  at  Zamora,  in  1 542  ;  and  this  was  several  times  reprinted  in  Spain. 
An  Italian  translation  was  included  by  Ramusio  in  his  Collection  in  1559. 
There  was  an  early  English  paraphrase  by  Purchas;  but  the  first  critical 
and  complete  English  rendering  was  that  by  Mr.  Buckingham  Smith  in 
1851.  A  revised  edition,  with  valuable  notes,  was  published  in  187 1 ;  and 
from  this  the  present  leaflet  is  made  up,  taken  from  chapters  xxx.-xxxvi.  of 
the  Relation. 

De  Vaca  and  his  companions  were  the  first  Europeans  to  tread  the  soil 
of  New  Mexico.  Their  accounts  of  having  fallen  in  with  civilized  peoples 
and  "  populous  towns  with  very  large  houses,"  confirming,  as  they  seemed 
to,  the  information  brought  to  Guzman  six  years  before  by  the  Indian  from 
the  north,  were  largely  the  incentives  to  the  expeditions  of  Coronado  and 
the  other  Spaniards,  who  scoured  Arizona  and  New  Mexico  in  search  of  the 
Seven  Cities  of  Cibola.  Estevan,  the  Barbary  negro,  who  had  come  with 
De  Vaca  on  his  long  wanderings,  accompanied  the  first  expedition  set 
on  foot  by  Mendoza  in  1 539,  under  Fray  Marcos.  See  Coronado's  Letter 
to  Mendoza  and  the  accompanying  notes,  Old  South  Leaflet,  No.  20.  See 
the  chapter  on  Ancient  Florida,  by  John  G.  Shea,  and  the  bibliographical 
notes  to  the  same,  in  the  Narrative  and  Critical  History  of  America,  vol.  ii., 
and  the  chapter  on  the  Early  Explorations  of  New  Mexico,  by  Henry  W. 
Haynes,  in  the  same  volume.  "Notwithstanding  the  vivid  interest  that 
will  always  attach  to  De  Vaca's  thrilling  story  of  adventure  and  suffering," 
says  Mr.  Haynes,  "the  indications  given  in  it  of  the  routes  by  which  he 
journeyed,  and  of  the  places  and  peoples  he  visited,  are  practically  of  far 
too  vague  a  character  to  enable  them  to  be  satisfactorily  identified,  even 
if  we  feel  warranted  in  placing  implicit  confidence  in  the  author's  veracity." 
H.  H.  Bancroft,  in  his  volume  on  the  North  Mexican  States, —  vol.  x.  of 
his  History  of  the  Pacific  States, —  gives  a  map  (p.  67)  of  De  Vaca's  route 
as  he  conceives  it.  There  is  much  in  this  volume,  as  well  as  in  vol.  xii.  of 
the  same  work,  on  Arizona  and  New  Mexico,  which  should  be  referred  to 
by  the  student  of  the  Spanish  occupation  of  the  South-west.  In  Prince's 
valuable  Historical  Sketches  of  New  Mexico  there  is  a  chapter  on  De  Vaca, 
with  (p.  89)  a  careful  attempt  to  trace  his  route.  Davis's  Conqzcest  of  New 
Mexico  tells  the  story  of  all  the  early  explorers,  including  De  Vaca,  based 
on  the  original  documents,  of  which  he  gives  a  useful  list  in  his  preface. 
Frank  W.  Blackmar's  Spanish  Institutions  of  the  South-west  is  one  of  the 
valuable  Johns  Hopkins  publications.  Chapter  x.,  on  the  Spanish  Occupa- 
tion of  Arizona,  New  Mexico  and  Texas,  is  especially  worthy  of  attention 
in  this  connection.  Bandelier,  in  this  latest  time,  has  given  most  critical 
attention  to  the  Spanish  writings  upon  the  exploration  of  the  South-west; 
and  his  various  contributions  to  the  Papers  of  the  Archaeological  Institute 
of  America,  as  well  as  to  the  Journal  of  American  Ethnology  and  Arch(z- 
ology,  will  be  consulted  by  the  careful  student.  There  is  a  Story  of  New 
Mexico  for  young  people,  by  H.  O.  Ladd,  in  the  "  Story  of  the  States  " 
series;  and  Henry  Kingsley  devotes  a  chapter  to  De  Vaca  in  his  Tales  of 
Old  Travel. 


(©ID  ^outfj  %tailtt^. 


General  Series,   No.  40. 


Description 
of  Ohio. 


By  Manasseh  Cutler. 


An  Explanation  of  the  Map  which  Delineates  that  Part  of  the 
Federal  Lands  Comprehended  between  Pennsylvania  West 
Line,  THE  Rivers  Ohio  and  Scioto,  and  Lake  Erie;  Confirmed 
TO  THE  United  States  by  Sundry  Tribes  of  Indians,  in  the 
Treaties  of  1784  and  1786,  and  Now  Ready  for  Settlement. 
Salem  :  Printed  by  Dabney  and  Cushing,  MDCCLXXXVII. 

New  York,  October  28,  1787. 

Having  attentively  perused  the  following  pamphlet^  describing 
part  of  the  western  territory  of  the  United  States,  I  do  certify, 
that  the  facts  therein  related,  respecting  the  fertility  of  the  soil,  pro- 
ductions, and  gejieral  advantages  of  settle7ne?it,  etc.,  are  judicious, 
just,  and  true,  and  correspond  with  observations  made  by  me  dur- 
ing ?ny  residence  of  upward  of  ten  years  in  that  cotcntry, 

Thomas  Hutchins, 

Geographer  of  the  United  States. 
AN    EXPLANATION,    ETC. 

The  great  river  Ohio  is  formed  by  the  confluence  of  Monon- 
gahela  and  the  Alleghany,  in  the  State  of  Pennsylvania,  about 
290  miles  west  of  the  city  of  Philadelphia,  and  about  20  miles 
east  of  the  western  line  of  that  State.  In  the  common  travel- 
ing road,  the  former  distance  is  computed  at  320  miles;  and, 
by  the  windings  and  oblique  direction  of  the  Ohio,  the  latter 
is  reckoned  about  42.  These  two  sources  of  the  Ohio  are 
large,  navigable  streams ;  the  former,  flowing  from  the  south- 
east, leaves  but  30  miles  portage  from  the  navigable  waters  of 
the  Potomac,  in  Virginia ;  the  latter  opens  a  passage  from  the 
north-east,  and  rises  not  far  from  the  head-waters  of  the  Sus- 


quehanna.  The  State  of  Pennsylvania  has  already  adopted 
the  plan  of  opening  a  navigation  from  the  Alleghany  River  to 
the  city  of  Philadelphia,  through  the  Susquehanna  and  the 
Delaware.  In  this  route  there  will  be  a  portage  of  only  24 
miles. 

On  the  junction  of  these  rivers,  or  at  the  head  of  the  Ohio, 
stands  Fort  Pitt,  which  gives  name  to  the  town  of  Pittsburgh, 
a  flourishing  settlement  in  the  vicinity  of  the  fortress.  From 
this  place,  the  Ohio  takes  a  south-western  course  of  1,188 
miles,  including  its  various  windings,  and  discharges  itself 
into  the  Mississippi,  having  passed  a  prodigious  length  of  de- 
lightful and  fertile  country,  and  received  the  tribute  of  a  large 
number  of  navigable  streams.  The  Muskingum,  the  Hock- 
hocking,  the  Scioto,  the  Miami,  and  the  Wabash  from  the 
north-west,  the  Kenhawa,  the  Kentucky,  the  Buffaloe,  the 
Shawanee,  and  the  Cherokee  from  the  south-east,  all  navigable 
from  100  to  900  miles,  discharge  themselves  into  the  Ohio; 
and  yet  the  Ohio  itself  forms  but  an  inconsiderable  part  of 
that  vast  variety  of  congregated  streams  which  visit  the  ocean 
through  the  channel  of  the  Mississippi. 

The  Ohio,  from  Pennsylvania  to  the  Mississippi,  divides  the 
State  of  Virginia  from  the  Federal  lands,  or  the  lands  which 
do  not  fall  within  the  limits  of  any  particular  State.  These 
extend  westward  to  the  Mississippi  and  northward  to  the 
boundary  of  the  United  States,  excepting  only  the  Connecticut 
reserve,  which  is  a  narrow  strip  of  land,  bordering  on  the 
south  of  Lake  Erie,  and  stretching  120  miles  west  of  the 
western  limit  of  Pennsylvania.  But  a  small  proportion  of 
these  lands  is  as  yet  purchased  of  the  natives,  and  to  be  dis- 
posed of  by  Congress.  Beginning  on  the  meridian  line,  which 
forms  the  western  boundary  of  Pennsylvania,  they  have  sur- 
veyed and  laid  off  seven  ranges  of  townships.  As  a  north 
and  south  line  strikes  the  Ohio  in  a  very  oblique  direction, 
the  termination  of  the  seventh  range  falls  upon  that  river  9 
miles  above  the  Muskingum,  which  is  the  first  large  river 
that  falls  into  the  Ohio.  It  forms  this  junction  at  172  miles 
below  Fort  Pitt,  including  the  windings  of  the  Ohio,  though 
in  a  direct  line  it  is  but  90  miles.  The  lands  in  which  the 
Indian  title  is  extinguished,  and  which  are  now  purchasing 
under  the  United  States,  are  bounded  as  before  described  on 
the  east,  by  the  Great  Miami  on  the  west,  by  the  Ohio  on  the 
south,  and  extend  near  to  the  head-waters  of  the  Muskingum 
and  Scioto  on  the  north.  The  Muskingum  is  a  gentle  river, 
confined  by  banks  so  high  as  to  prevent  its  overflowing.     It  is 


250  yards  wide  at  its  confluence  with  the  Ohio,  and  navigable 
by  large  batteaux  and  barges  to  the  Three  Legs ;  and,  by 
small  ones,  to  the  lake  at  its  head.  From  thence,  by  a  port- 
age of  about  one  mile,  a  communication  is  opened  to  Lake 
Erie,  through  the  Cayahoga,  which  is  a  stream  of  great  utility, 
navigable  the  whole  length,  without  any  obstruction  from  falls. 
From  Lake  Erie,  the  avenue  is  well  known  to  the  Hudson,  in 
the  State  of  New  York.  The  most  considerable  portage  in 
this  route  is  at  the  fall  of  Niagara,  which  interrupts  the  com- 
munication between  the  Lakes  Erie  and  Ontario.  From  the 
latter,  you  pass  through  the  river  Oswego,  the  Oneyda  Lake, 
Wood's  Creek,  and  find  a  short  portage  into  the  MohaAvk,  and 
another,  occasioned  by  a  fall  near  the  confluence  of  the  Mo- 
hawk and  the  Hudson,  at  Albany.- 

The  Hockhocking  resembles  the  Muskingum,  though  some- 
what inferior  in  size.  It  is  navigable  for  large  boats  about  70 
miles,  and  for  small  ones  much  farther.  On  the  banks  of  this 
very  useful  stream  are  found  inexhaustible  quarries  of  free- 
stone, large  beds  of  iron  ore,  and  some  rich  mines  of  lead. 
Coal  mines  and  salt  springs  are  frequent  in  the  neighborhood 
of  this  stream,  as  they  are  in  every  part  of  the  western  terri- 
tory. The  salt  that  may  be  obtained  from  these  springs  will 
afford  an  inexhaustible  store  of  that  necessary  article.  Beds 
of  white  and  blue  clay,  of  an  excellent  quality,  are  likewise 
found  here,  suitable  for  the  manufacture  of  glass,  crockery, 
and  other  earthenwares.  Red  bole  and  many  other  useful 
fossils  have  been  observed  on  the  branches  of  this  river. 

The  Scioto  is  a  larger  river  than  either  of  the  preceding, 
and  opens  a  more  extensive  navigation.  It  is  passable  for 
large  barges  for  200  miles,  with  a  portage  of  only  4  miles  to 
the  Sandusky,  a  good,  navigable  stream,  that  falls  into  the  Lake 
Erie.  Through  the  Sandusky  and  Scioto  lies  the  most  com- 
mon pass  from  Canada  to  the  Ohio  and  Mississippi,  one  of  the 
most  extensive  and  useful  communications  that  are  to  be 
found  in  any  country. 

Prodigious  extensions  of  territory  are  here  connected ;  and, 
from  the  rapidity  with  which  the  western  parts  of  Canada, 
Lake  Erie,  and  the  Kentucky  countries  are  settling,  we  may 
anticipate  an  immense  intercourse  between  them.  The  lands 
on  the  borders  of  these  middle  streams,  from  this  circumstance 
alone,  aside  from  their  natural  fertility,  must  be  rendered 
vastly  valuable.  There  is  no  doubt  but  flour,  corn,  flax,  hemp, 
etc.,  raised  for  exportation  in  that  great  country  between  the 
Lakes  Huron  and  Ontario,  will  find  an  easier  outlet  through 


Lake  Erie  and  these  rivers  than  in  any  other  direction.  The 
Ohio  merchant  can  give  a  higher  price  than  those  of  Quebec 
for  these  commodities,  as  they  may  be  transported  from  the 
former  to  Florida  and  tlie  West  India  Islands  with  less  ex- 
pense, risk,  and  insurance  than  the  latter ;  while  the  expense 
from  the  place  of  growth  to  the  Ohio  will  not  be  one-fourth 
of  what  it  would  be  to  Quebec,  and  much  less  than  even  to 
the  Oneyda  Lake.  The  stream  of  Scioto  is  gentle,  nowhere 
broken  by  falls.  At  some  places,  in  the  spring  of  the  year,  it 
overflows  its  banks,  providing  for  large  natural  rice  planta- 
tions. Salt  springs,  coal  mines,  white  and  blue  clay  and  free- 
stone, abound  in  the  country  adjoining  this  river.  The  undis- 
tinguishing  terms  of  admiration,  that  are  commonly  used  in 
speaking  of  the  natural  fertility  of  the  country  on  the  western 
waters  of  the  United  States,  would  render  it  difficult,  without 
accurate  attention  in  the  surveys,  to  ascribe  a  preference  to 
any  particular  part,  or  to  give  a  just  description  of  the  terri- 
tory under  consideration,  without  the  hazard  of  being  sus- 
pected of  exaggeration.  But  in  this  we  have  the  united  opin- 
ion of  the  Geographer,  the  Surveyors,  and  every  traveler  that 
has  been  intimately  acquainted  with  the  country,  and  marked 
every  natural  object  with  the  most  scrupulous  exactness, — ^that 
no  part  of  the  federal  territory  unites  so  many  advantages,  in 
point  of  health,  fertility,  variety  of  production,  and  foreign 
intercourse,  as  that  tract  which  stretches  from  the  Muskingum 
to  the  Scioto  and  the  Great  Miami  Rivers. 

Colonel  Gordon,  in  his  journal,  speaking  of  a  much  larger 
range  of  country,  in  which  this  is  included  and  makes  unques- 
tionably the  finest  part,  has  the  following  observation :  "  The 
country  on  the  Ohio  is  everywhere  pleasant,  with  large  level 
spots  of  rich  land,  and  remarkably  healthy.  One  general 
remark  of  this  nature  will  serve  for  the  whole  tract  of  the 
globe  comprehended  between  the  western  skirts  of  the  Alle- 
ghany mountains ;  thence  running  south-westerly  to  the  dis- 
tance of  500  miles  to  the  Ohio  falls  ;  then  crossing  them  north- 
erly to  the  heads  of  the  rivers  that  empty  themselves  into  the 
Ohio;  then  east  along  the  ridge  that  separates  the  lakes  and 
Ohio's  streams  to  French  creek.  This  country  may,  from  a 
proper  knowledge,  be  affirmed  to  be  the  most  healthy,  the  most 
pleasant,  the  most  commodious  and  most  fertile  spot  on  earth, 
known  to  the  European  people." 

The  lands  that  feed  the  various  streams  above  mentioned, 
which  fall  into  the  Ohio,  are  now  more  accurately  known,  and 
may  be   described  with  confidence   and   precision.     They  are 


5 

interspersed  with  all  the  variety  of  soil  which  conduces  to 
pleasantness  of  situation,  and  lays  the  foundation  for  the  wealth 
of  an  agricultural  and  manufacturing  people.  Large  level 
bottoms,  or  natural  meadows,  from  20  to  50  miles  in  circuit, 
are  every- where  found  bordering  the  rivers  and  variegating  the 
country  in  the  interior  parts.  These  afford  as  rich  a  soil  as 
can  be  imagined,  and  may  be  reduced  to  proper  cultivation 
with  very  little  labor.  It  is  said  that  in  many  of  these  bottoms 
a  man  may  clear  an  acre  a  day,  lit  for  planting  with  Indian 
corn ;  there  being  no  under-wood,  and  the  trees  growing  high 
and  large,  but  not  thick  together,  need  nothing  but  girdling. 
The  prevailing  growth  of  timber  and  the  more  useful  trees  are 
maple  or  sugar-tree,  sycamore,  black  and  white  mulberry,  black 
and  white  walnut,  butternut,  chestnut,  white,  black,  Spanish, 
and  chestnut  oaks,  hickory,  cherry,  buckwood,  honey  locust, 
elm,  horse  chestnut,  cucumber  tree,  lynn  tree,  gum  tree,  iron 
wood,  ash,  aspin,  sassafras,  crab-apple  tree,  pawpaw  or  custard 
apple,  a  variety  of  plum  trees,  wine-bark  spice,  and  leather- 
wood  bushes.  General  Parsons  measured  a  black-walnut  tree, 
near  the  Muskingum,  whose  circumference,  at  5  feet  from  the 
ground,  was  22  feet.  A  sycamore,  near  the  same  place,  meas- 
ured 44  feet  in  circumference,  at  some  distance  from  the  ground. 
White  and  black  oak,  and  chestnut,  with  most  of  the  above- 
mentioned  timbers,  grow  large  and  plenty  upon  the  high 
grounds.  Both  the  high  and  low  lands  produce  vast  quantities 
of  natural  grapes  of  various  kinds,  of  which  the  settlers  uni- 
versally may  make  a  sufficiency  for  their  own  consumption  of 
rich  red  wine.  It  is  asserted  in  the  old  settlement  of  St. 
Vincent's,  where  they  have  had  opportunity  to  try  it,  that  age 
will  render  this  wine  preferable  to  most  of  the  European  wines. 
Cotton  is  the  natural  production  of  this  country,  and  grows  in 
great  perfection. 

The  sugar  maple  is  a  most  valuable  tree  for  an  inland  coun- 
try. Any  number  of  inhabitants  may  be  forever  supplied  with 
a  sufficiency  of  sugar  by  preserving  a  few  trees  for  the  use 
of  each  famxily.  A  tree  will  yield  about  ten  pounds  of  sugar 
a  year,  and  the  labor  is  very  trifling.  The  sap  is  extracted  in 
the  months  of  February  and  March,  and  granulated,  by  the 
simple  operation  of  boiling,  to  a  sugar  equal  in  flavor  and 
whiteness  to  the  best  Muscovado. 

Springs  of  excellent  water  abound  in  every  part  of  this  terri- 
tory ;  and  small  and  large  streams,  for  mills  and  other  purposes, 
are  actually  interspersed,  as  if  by  art,  that  there  be  no  defi- 
ciency in  any  of  the  conveniences  of  life. 


Very  little  waste  land  is  to  be  found  in  any  part  of  the  tract 
of  country  comprehended  in  the  map  which  accompanies  this. 
There  are  no  swamps,  and,  though  the  hills  are  frequent,  they 
are  gentle  and  swelling,  nowhere  high  nor  incapable  of  tillage, 
They  are  of  a  deep,  rich  soil,  covered  with  a  heavy  growth  of 
timber,  and  well  adapted  to  the  production  of  wheat,  rye,  in- 
digo, tobacco,  etc. 

The  communications  between  this  country  and  the  sea  will 
be  principally  in  the  four  following  directions  : 

1.  The  route  through  the  Scioto  and  Muskingum  to  Lake 
Erie,  and  so  to  the  river  Hudson,  which  has  been  already  de- 
scribed. 

2.  The  passage  up  the  Ohio  and  Monongahela  to  the  port- 
age above  mentioned,  which  leads  to  the  navigable  waters  of 
the  Potomac.  This  portage  is  30  miles,  and  will  probably  be 
rendered  much  less  by  the  execution  of  the  plans  now  on  foot 
for  opening  the  navigation  of  those  waters. 

3.  The  great  Kenhawa,  which  falls  into  the  Ohio  from  the 
Virginia  shore  between  the  Hockhocking  and  the  Scioto,  opens 
an  extensive  navigation  from  the  south-east,  and  leaves  but  18 
miles  portage  from  the  navigable  waters  of  James  River,  in 
Virginia.  This  communication,  for  the  country  between  Mus- 
kingum and  Scioto,  will  probably  be  more  used  than  any  other 
for  the  exportation  of  manufactures  and  other  light,  valuable 
articles,  and  especially  for  the  importation  of  foreign  commodi- 
ties, which  may  be  brought  from  the  Chesapeake  to  the  Ohio 
much  cheaper  than  they  are  now  carried  from  Philadelphia  to 
Carlisle  and  the  other  thick-settled  back  counties  of  Pennsyl- 
vania. 

4.  But  the  current  down  the  Ohio  and  the  Mississippi,  for 
heavy  articles  that  suit  the  Florida  and  West  India  markets, 
such  as  corn,  flour,  beef,  lumber,  etc.,  will  be  more  frequently 
loaded  than  any  streams  on  earth.  The  distance  from  the 
Scioto  to  the  Mississippi  is  800  miles ;  from  thence  to  the  sea 
it  is  900.  This  whole  course  is  easily  run  in  15  days,  and  the 
passage  up  those  rivers  is  not  so  difficult  as  has  usually  been 
represented.  It  is  found  by  late  experiments  that  sails  are 
used  to  great  advantage  against  the  current  of  the  Ohio,  and 
it  is  worthy  of  observation  that,  in  all  probability,  steamboats 
will  be  found  to  do  infinite  service  in  all  our  extensive  river 
navigation. 

Such  is  the  state  of  facts  relative  to  the  natural  advantages 
of  the  territory  described  in  the  annexed  map.  As  far  as  ob- 
servations in  passing  the  rivers  and  the  transitory  remarks  of 


7 

travelers  will  justify  an  opinion,  the  lands  further  down,  and 
in  other  parts  of  the  unappropriated  country,  are  not  equal,  in 
point  of  soil  and  other  local  advantages,  to  the  tract  which  is 
here  described.  This,  however,  can  not  be  accurately  deter- 
mined, as  the  present  situation  of  these  countries  will  not  admit 
of  that  minute  inspection  which  has  been  bestowed  on  the  one 
under  consideration. 

It  is  a  happy  circumstance  that  the  Ohio  Company  are  about 
to  commence  the  settlement  of  this  country  in  so  regular  and 
judicious  a  manner.  It  will  serve  as  a  wise  model  for  the  fut- 
ure settlement  of  all  the  federal  lands;  at  the  same  time  that,^ 
by  beginning  so  near  the  western  limit  of  Pennsylvania,  it  will 
be  a  continuation  of  the  old  settlements,  leaving  no  vacant 
lands  exposed  to  be  seized  by  such  lawless  banditti  as  usually 
infest  the  frontiers  of  countries  distant  from  the  seat  of  govern- 
ment. 

The  design  of  Congress  and  of  the  settlers  is  that  the  settle- 
ments shall  proceed  regularly  down  the  Ohio  and  northward 
to  Lake  Erie.  And  it  is  probable  that  not  many  years  will 
elapse  before  the  whole  country  above  Miami  will  be  brought 
to  that  degree  of  cultivation  which  will  exhibit  all  its  latent 
beauties,  and  justify  those  descriptions  of  travelers  which  have 
so  often  made  it  the  garden  of  the  world,  the  seat  of  wealth, 
and  the  center  of  a  great  empire. 

To  the  philosopher  and  the  politician,  on  viewing  this  de- 
lightful part  of  the  federal  territory,  under  the  prospect  of  an 
immediate  and  systematic  settlement,  the  following  observa- 
tions will  naturally  occur. 

First.  The  toils  of  agriculture  will  here  be  rewarded  v/ith  a 
greater  variety  of  valuable  productions  than  in  any  part  of 
America.  The  advantages  of  almost  every  climate  are  here 
blended  together ;  every  considerable  commodity,  that  is  cul- 
tivated in  any  part  of  the  United  States,  is  here  produced  in 
the  greatest  plenty  and  perfection.  The  high  dry  lands  are 
of  a  deep,  rich  soil,  producing  in  abundance  wheat,  rye,  Ind- 
ian corn,  buckwheat,  oats,  barley,  flax,  hemp,  tobacco,  indigo, 
silk,  wine,  and  cotton.  The  tobacco  is  of  a  quality  superior 
to  that  of  Virginia ;  and  the  crops  of  wheat  are  larger  than  in 
any  other  part  of  America.  The  common .  growth  of  Indian 
corn  is  from  60  to  80  bushels  to  the  acre.  The  low  lands  are 
well  suited  to  the  production  of  nearly  all  the  above  articles, 
except  wheat. 

Where  the  large  bottoms  are  interspersed  with  small  streams, 
they  are  well  adapted  to  the  growth  of  rice,  which  may  be  pro- 


duced  in  any  quantities.  The  borders  of  the  large  streams 
do  not  generally  admit  of  this  crop,  as  very  few  of  them  over- 
flow their  banks.  But  the  scarcity  of  natural  rice  swamps  is 
amply  compensated  by  the  remarkable  healthfulness  of  the 
whole  country,  it  being  entirely  free  from  stagnant  waters.  It 
is  found,  in  this  country,  that  stagnant  waters  are  by  no  means 
necessary  to  the  growth  of  the  rice ;  the  common  rich  bottoms 
produce  this  crop  in  as  great  perfection  as  the  best  rice  swamps 
of  the  Southern  States.  Hops  are  the  natural  production  of 
this  country,  as  are  peaches,  plums,  pears,  apples,  melons,  and 
.almost  every  fruit  of  the  temperate  zone. 

No  country  is  better  stocked  with  wild  game  of  every  kind. 
Innumerable  herds  of  deer,  elk,  buff  aloe,  and  bear,  are  shel- 
tered in  the  groves,  and  fed  in  the  extensive  bottoms  that 
every-where  abound  —  an  unquestionable  proof  of  the  great 
fertility  of  the  soil.  Turkeys,  geese,  ducks,  swans,  teal,  pheas- 
ants, partridges,  etc.,  are,  from  observation,  believed  to  be  in 
greater  plenty  here  than  the  tame  poultry  are  in  any  part  of 
the  old  settlements  of  America. 

The  rivers  are  well  stored  with  fish  of  various  kinds,  and 
many  of  them  of  an  excellent  quality.  They  are  generally 
large,  though  of  different  sizes.  The  cat-fish,  which  is  the 
largest,  and  of  a  delicious  flavor,  weighs  from  30  to  80  pounds. 
Provisions  will,  for  many  years,  find  a  ready  market  on  any 
of  these  rivers ;  as  settlers  are  constantly  coming  in  from  all 
parts  of  the  world,  and  must  be  supplied  by  purchase,  for  one 
year  at  least,  with  many  articles. 

Second.  From  its  situation  and  productions,  no  country  is  so 
well  calculated  for  the  establishment  of  manufactures  of  various 
kinds.  Provisions  will  be  forever  plenty  and  cheap.  The  raw 
materials  for  fabricating  most  of  the  articles  of  clothing  and 
dress  are  and  will  be  the  luxuriant  production  of  this  country. 
Though  silk,  cotton,  and  flax  are  valuable  in  themselves,  yet, 
by  being  wrought  into  the  various  articles  of  use  and  ornament, 
the  expense  of  transportation  is  proportionably  lessened.  The 
United  States,  and  perhaps  other  countries,  will  be  supplied 
from  these  interior  parts  of  America. 

Ship-building  will  be  a  capital  branch  of  business  on  the 
Ohio  and  its  confluent  streams.  The  Ohio,  when  at  the  lowest, 
admits  of  four  fathom  of  water,  from  the  mouth  of  the  Mus- 
kingum to  its  confluence  with  the  Mississippi,  except  at  the 
rapids,  which,  at  such  times,  interrupt  the  navigation  for  about 
one  mile.  The  descent  in  that  distance  is  only  15  feet;  and 
the  channel,  which  is  250  yards  wide,  has  at  no  time  less  than 


5  feet  of  water.  In  freshes  the  water  rises  30  feet;  and  boats 
are  not  only  rowed  against  the  stream,  but  ascend  the  rapids 
by  means  of  their  sails  only.  It  is  the  opinion  of  the  Geog- 
rapher, and  others  who  have  viewed  the  spot,  that,  by  cutting 
a  canal  a  little  more  than  half  a  mile  on  the  south  side  of  the 
river,  which  is  low  meadow  ground,  the  rapids  may  be  avoided, 
and  the  navigation  made  free  at  all  seasons  of  the  year. 
Hemp,  timber,  and  iron  will  be  plenty  and  good ;  and  the  high 
freshes,  from  February  to  April,  and  frequently  in  October 
and  November,  will  bear  a  vessel  of  any  burden  over  the 
rapids,  in  their  present  state,  and  out  to  sea. 

The  following  observations,  by  an  English  engineer  who  had  ex- 
plored the  western  country,  were  addressed  to  the  Earl  of  Hills- 
borough in  the  year  1770,  when  Secretary  of  State  for  the  North 
American  department  —  at  a  time  when  we  were  British  colonies,  and 
our  country  considered  only  as  the  handmaid  to  Great  Britain,  in 
furnishing  raw  materials  for  their  manufactures. 

"No  part  of  North  America  will  require  less  encouragement  for 
the  production  of  naval  stores  and  raw  materials  for  manufactories 
in  Europe,  and  for  supplying  the  West  India  islands  with  lumber, 
provisions,  etc.,  than  the  country  of  the  Ohio,  and  for  the  following 
reasons : 

*'  I.  The  lands  are  excellent,  the  climate  temperate  ;  the  native 
grapes,  silk-worms,  and  mulberry  trees,  abound  everywhere;  hemp, 
hops,  and  rye  grow  spontaneously  in  the  valleys  and  low  lands ;  lead 
andiron  ore  are  plenty  in  the  hills;  salt  springs  are  innumerable;, 
and  no  soil  is  better  adapted  to  the  culture  of  tobacco,  flax,  and 
cotton  than  that  of  the  Ohio. 

"  2.  The  country  is  well  watered  by  several  navigable  rivers^  com- 
municating with  each  other,  by  which,  and  a  short  land  carriage,  the 
produce  of  the  lands  of  the  Ohio  can,  even  now,  be  sent  cheaper  to 
the  sea-port  town  of  Alexandria,  on  the  River  Potow^mac  —  where 
General  Braddock's  transports  landed  his  troops  —  than  any  kind  of 
merchandise  is  sent  from  Northampton  to  London. 

"3.  The  river  Ohio  is,  at  all  seasons  of  the  year,  navigable  with 
large  boats ;  and  from  the  month  of  February  to  April  large  ships 
may  be  built  on  the  Ohio  and  sent  to  sea,  laden  with  hemp,  iron,  flax, 
silk,  tobacco,  cotton,  potash,  etc. 

"4.  Flour,  corn,  beef,  ship-plank,  and  other  useful  articles  can  be 
sent  down  the  stream  of  Ohio  to  West  Florida,  and  from  thence  to 
the  West  India  Islands,  much  cheaper,  and  in  better  order,  than 
from  New  York  or  Philadelphia  to  those  islands. 

"  5.  Hemp,  tobacco,  iron,  and  such  bulky  articles  may  be  sent 
down  the  stream  of  Ohio  to  the  sea,  at  least  50  per  cent,  cheaper 
than  these  articles  were  ever  carried  by  a  land  carriage  of  only  60 
miles  in  Pennsylvania,  where  wagonage  is  cheaper  than  in  any  other 
part  of  North  America. 

"6.  The  expense  of  transporting  European  manufactures  from  the 
sea  to  the  Ohio  will  not  be  so  much  as  is  now  paid,  and  ever  must 


lO 

be  paid,  to  a  great  part  of  the  counties  of  Pennsylvania,  Virginia, 
and  Maryland.  Whenever  the  farmers  or  merchants  of  Ohio  shall 
properly  understand  the  business  of  transportation,  they  will  build 
schooners,  sloops,  etc.,  on  the  Ohio,  suitable  for  the  West  India  or 
European  markets ;  or,  by  having  black  walnut,  cherry  tree,  oak, 
etc.,  properly  sawed  for  foreign  markets,  and  formed  into  rafts,  in  the 
manner  that  is  now  done  in  Pennsylvania,  and  thereon  stow  their 
hemp,  iron,  tobacco,  etc.,  and  proceed  with  them  to  New  Orleans. 

"  It  may  not,  perhaps,  be  amiss  to  observe,  that  large  quantities  of 
flour  are  made  in  the  western  counties  of  Pennsylvania,  and  sent, 
by  an  expensive  land  carriage,  to  the  city  of  Philadelphia;  and  from 
thence  shipped  to  South  Carolina  and  East  and  West  Florida,  there 
being  little  or  no  wheat  raised  in  these  provinces.  The  River  Ohio 
seems  kindly  designed,  by  nature,  as  the  channel  through  which  the 
two  Floridas  may  be  supplied  with  flour,  not  only  for  their  own 
consumption,  but  also  for  carrying  on  an  extensive  commerce  with 
Jamaica  and  the  Spanish  settlements  in  the  Bay  of  Mexico.  Mill- 
stones, in  abundance,  are  to  be  obtained  in  the  hills  near  the  Ohio; 
and  the  country  is  every-where  well  watered  with  large  and  constant 
springs  and  streams  for  grist  and  other  mills.  The  passage  from 
Philadelphia  to  Pensacola  is  seldom  made  in  less  than  a  month;  and 
60  shillings  sterling  per  ton  freight  (consisting  of  16  barrels)  is  usually 
paid  for  flour,  etc.,  thither.  Boats,  carrying  500  or  1,000  barrels  of 
flour,  may  go  in  about  the  same  time  from  Pittsburgh  as  from  Phila- 
delphia to  Pensacola,  and  for  half  the  above  freight.  The  Ohio  mer- 
chants could  deliver  flour,  etc.,  there  in  much  better  order  than  from 
Philadelphia,  and  without  incurring  the  damage  and  delay  of  the  sea, 
and  charges  of  insurance,  etc.,  as  from  thence  to  Pensacola.  This 
is  not  mere  speculation;  for  it  is  a  fact  that  about  the  year  1746  there 
was  a  scarcity  of  provisions  at  New  Orleans,  and  the  French  settle- 
ments at  the  Illinois,  small  as  they  then  were,  sent  thither,  in  one 
winter,  upward  of  eight  hundred  thousand  weight  of  flour." 

If,  instead  of  furnishing  other  nations  with  raw  materials,  com- 
panies of  manufacturers  from  Europe  could  be  introduced  and  estab- 
lished in  this  inviting  situation,  under  the  superintendence  of  men  of 
property,  it  would  occasion  an  immense  addition  of  men  and  wealth 
to  these  new  settlements,  and  serve  as  a  beneficial  example  of  econ- 
omy to  many  parts  of  the  United  States. 

Third.  In  the  late  ordinance  of  Congress  for  disposing  of  the 
western  lands,  as  far  down  as  the  River  Scioto,  the  provision  that 
is  made  for  schools  and  the  endowment  of  an  university  looks  with 
a  most  favorable  aspect  upon  the  settlement,  and  furnishes  the  pre- 
sentiment that,  by  a  proper  attention  to  the  subject  of  education, 
under  these  advantages,  the  field  of  science  may  be  greatly  enlarged, 
and  the  acquisition  of  useful  knowledge  placed  upon  a  more  respect- 
able footing  here  than  in  any  other  part  of  the  world.  Besides  the 
opportunity  of  opening  a  new  and  unexplored  region  for  the  range 
of  natural  history,  botany,  and  the  medical  science,  there  will  be  one 
advantage  which  no  other  part  of  the  earth  can  boast,  and  which 
probably  will  never  again  occur  —  that,  in  order  to  begin  rights  there 


II 

will  be  no  wrong  habits  to  combat,  and  no  inveterate  systems  to 
overturn — ^  there  is  no  rubbish  to  remove,  before  you  can  lay  the 
foundation.  The  first  settlement  will  embosom  many  men  of  the 
most  liberal  minds  —  well  versed  in  the  world,  in  business,  and  every 
useful  science.  Could  the  necessary  apparatus  be  procured,  and 
funds  immediately  established,  for  founding  a  university  on  a  liberal 
plan,  that  professors  might  be  active  in  their  various  researches  and 
employments  —  even  now,  in  the  infancy  of  the  settlement,  a  proper 
use  might  be  made  of  an  advantage  which  will  never  be  repeated. 

Many  political  benefits  would  immediately  result  to  the  United 
States  from  such  an  early  institution  in  that  part  of  the  country. 
The  people  in  the  Kentucky  and  Illinois  countries  are  rapidly  in- 
creasing. Their  distance  from  the  old  States  will  prevent  their  send- 
ing their  children  thither  for  instruction;  from  the  want  of  which 
they  are  in  danger  of  losing  all  their  habits  of  government,  and 
allegiance  to  the  United  States.  But,  on  seeing  examples  of  govern- 
ment, science,  and  regular  industry  follow  them  into  the  neighbor- 
hood of  their  own  country,  they  would  favor  their  children  with  these 
advantages,  and  revive  the  ideas  of  order,  citizenship,  and  the  useful 
sciences.  This  attention,  from  these  neighboring  people,  would 
increase  the  wealth  and  population  of  the  new  proposed  settlement. 

Fourth.  In  the  ordinance  of  Congress,  for  the  government  of  the 
territory  north-west  of  the  Ohio,  it  is  provided  that,  after  the  said 
territory  acquires  a  certain  degree  of  population,  it  shall  be  divided 
into  States.  The  Eastern  State  that  is  thus  provided  to  be  made  is 
bounded  on  the  Great  Miami  on  the  west  and  by  the  Pennsylvania 
line  on  the  east.  .The  centre  of  this  State  will  fall  between  the 
Scioto  and  the  Hockhocking.  At  the  mouth  of  one  of  these  rivers 
will  probably  be  the  seat  of  government  for  the  State.  And,  if  we 
may  indulge  the  sublime  contemplation  of  beholding  the  whole  terri- 
tory of  the  United  States  settled  by  an  enlightened  people,  and  con- 
tinued under  one  extended  government,  on  the  river  Ohio,  and  not 
far  from  this  spot,  will  be  the  seat  of  empire  for  the  whole  dominion. 
This  is  central  to  the  whole;  it  will  best  accommodate  every  part;  it 
is  the  most  pleasant,  and  probably  the  most  healthful.  Altho'  it  is 
an  object  of  importance  that  Congress  should  soon  fix  on  a  seat  of 
government,  yet,  in  the  present  state  of  the  country,  it  is  presumed, 
it  will  not  be  thought  best  that  such  a  seat  be  considered  as  immov- 
ably fixed.  To  take  the  range  of  the  Alleghany  Mountains  from 
north  to  south,  it  is  probable  twenty  years  will  not  elapse  before 
there  will  be  more  people  on  the  western  than  on  the  eastern  waters 
of  the  United  States.  The  settlers  ought  even  now  to  have  it  in 
view,  that  government  will  forever  accommodate  them  as  much  as 
their  brethren  on  the  east.  This  may  be  necessary  to  prevent  their 
forming  schemes  of  independence,  seeking  other  connections,  and 
providing  for  their  separate  convenience.  As  it  is  the  most  exalted 
and  benevolent  object  of  legislation  that  ever  was  aimed  at,  to  unite 
such  an  amazingly  extensive  people,  and  make  them  happy,  under 
one  jurisdiction,  every  act  of  Congress  under  the  new  Constitution, 
by  looking  forward  to  this  object,  will,  we  trust,  inculcate  and  famil- 


12 

iarize  the  idea.  They  will,  no  doubt,  at  an  early  period,  make  a 
reservation  or  purchase  of  a  suitable  tract  of  land  for  a  federal  town 
that  will  be  central  to  the  whole,  and  give  some  public  intimation  of 
such  intention  to  transfer  the  seat  of  government,  on  the  occurrence 
of  certain  events,  such  as  comparative  population,  etc.  This  would 
render  such  transfer  easily  practicable,  by  preventing  the  occasion  of 
uneasiness  in  the  old  states,  while  it  would  not  appear  to  be  the 
result  of  danger,  or  the  prospect  of  revolt,  in  the  new. 


"We  are  accustomed  to  praise  the  lawgivers  of  antiquity;  we  help  to 
perpetuate  the  fame  of  Solon  and  Lycurgus ;  but  I  doubt  whether  one 
single  law  of  any  lawgiver,  ancient  or  modern,  has  produced  effects  of  more 
distinct,  marked,  and  lasting  character  than  the  Ordinance  of  1787."  So 
said  Daniel  Webster ;  and  Senator  Hoar  said  in  his  centennial  address  at 
Marietta:  "The  Ordinance  of  1787  belongs  with  the  Declaration  of  Inde- 
pendence and  the  Constitution.  It  is  one  of  the  three  title-deeds  of  American 
constitutional  liberty."  The  Ordinance  of  1787  is  printed  in  the  Old  South 
Leaflets,  No.  13;  and  the  notes  which  are  there  appended  give  a  careful  his- 
tory and  analysis  of  this  great  law,  which  forever  prohibited  slavery  from  the 
North-west.  Every  student  is  advised  to  procure  and  carefully  study  that 
leaflet.  The  part  taken  by  Massachusetts  men  —  Ruf us  King,  Nathan  Dane, 
Rufus  Putnam,  and  others  —  in  securing  the  passage  of  the  Ordinance  was 
very  conspicuous.  No  man  did  more  to  secure  its  passage  in  proper  form, 
or  to  secure  the  settlement  of  Ohio  and  the  West  by  the  best  men,  with 
the  best  institutions,  than  Rev.  Manasseh  Cutler,  the  famous  minister  of 
Ipswich,  Mass.  Mr.  Cutler  had  been  a  chaplain  in  the  army  during  the 
war.  He  was  one  of  the  ablest  scientific  men  of  his  time,  second  only  to 
Franklin  in  America.  From  1801  till  1805  he  was  a  meinber  of  Congress 
from  Massachusetts.  It  was  he  who  drafted  the  Ordinance  of  1787  for 
Nathan  Dane  in  its  amended  form,  inserting  the  great  clauses  relating  to 
religion,  education,  and  slavery ;  and  it  is  right  to  say  that  his  influence  was 
greater  than  that  of  any  other  in  effecting  its  adoption  —  making  its  adop- 
tion a  condition  of  the  purchase  of  federal  lands  by  the  Ohio  Company  in 
Massachusetts,  which  was  proposing  settlements  in  the  West.  Upon  its 
adoption  he  published  at  Salem  the  description  of  the  Western  country 
reprinted  in  the  present  leaflet,  commending  that  country  to  the  people  of 
New  England.  This  tract  is  notable  as  one  of  the  first  important  papers 
urging  emigration  from  New  England  to  the  West,  which,  then  beginning, 
has  gone  on  so  steadily  for  a  century,  affecting  the  character  of  the  whole 
country.  The  closing  portions  of  the  tract,  touching  the  social  and  political 
aspects  of  the  new  West,  are  especially  commended  to  the  attention  of  the 
student.     Dr.  Cutler  himself  visited  Marietta  in  1788. 

See  the  Life,  Journal s^  and  Correspondence  of  Rev.  Manasseh  Cutler ,  espe- 
cially Chap.  VIII.  of  Vol.  I.,  on  the  Influence  of  Dr.  Cutler  in  the  Formation 
of  the  Ordinance  of  1787,  and  the  history  of  the  Ordinance,  Vol.  II.,  Appen- 
dix D.  This  life  of  Dr.  Cutler  altogether  is  an  invaluable  picture  of  the 
times,  as  Dr.  Cutler  was  the  friend  and  correspondent  of  the  most  important 
and  interesting  men  in  America  and  in  close  touch  with  all  significant  polit- 
ical and  scientific  movements. 

See,  also,  in  addition  to  the  books  mentioned  in  the  Leaflet  on  the  Ordi- 
nance of  1787,  the  new  histories   of   Ohio  and  Indiana  in  the  "  Ameriran 


#Iti  J)0Utf)  Ktafltt^. 


General  Series,  No.  41. 


Washington's 

Tour 
to  the   Ohio. 


From  his  Journal  of  a  Tour  to  the  Ohio  River  in  1770. 


October  I'jth. —  Dr.  Craik  and  myself,  with  Captain  Crawford 
and  others,  arrived  at  Fort  Pitt,  distant  from  the  Crossing  forty- 
three  and  a  half  measured  miles.  In  riding  this  distance  we 
passed  over  a  great  deal  of  exceedingly  fine  land,  (chiefly  white- 
oak,)  especially  from  Seveigley's  Creek  to  Turtle  Creek,  but 
the  whole  broken ;  resembling,  (as  I  think  all  the  lands  in  this 
country  do,)  the  Loudoun  lands  for  hills.  We  lodged  in  what 
is  called  the  town,  distant  about  three  hundred  yards  from  the 
fort,  at  one  Mr.  Semple's  who  keeps  a  very  good  house  of 
public  entertainment.  These  houses,  which  are  built  of  logs, 
and  ranged  into  streets,  are  on  the  Monongahela,  and  I  sup- 
pose may  be  about  twenty  in  number,  and  inhabited  by  Indian 
traders,  &c.  The  fort  is  built  on  the  point  between  the  rivers 
Allegany  and  Monongahela,  but  not  so  near  the  pitch  of  it  as 
Fort  Duquesne  stood.  It  is  five-sided  and  regular,  two  of 
which  next  the  land  are  of  brick ;  the  others  stockade.  A 
moat  encompasses  it.  The  garrison  consists  of  two  companies 
of  Royal  Irish,  commanded  by  Captain  Edmonson. 

i^th. —  Dined  in  the  Fort  with  Colonel  Croghan  and  the 
officers  of  the  garrison ;  supped  there  also,  meeting  with  great 
civility  from  the  gentlemen,  and  engaged  to  dine  with  Colonel 
Croghan  the  next  day  at  his  seat,  about  four  miles  up  the  Alle- 
gany. 

i()th. —  Received  a  message  from  Colonel  Croghan,  that  the 
White  Mingo  and  other  chiefs  of  the  Six  Nations  had  something 
to  say  to  me,  and  desiring  that  I  should  be  at  his  house  about 
eleven   (where  they  were  to  meet),  I  went  up  and  received  a 


speech,  with  a  string  of  wampum  from  the  White  Mingo,  to  the 
following  effect. 

"That  I  was  a  person  whom  some  of  them  remember  to  have 
seen,  when  I  was  sent  on  an  embassy  to  the  French,  and  most 
of  them  had  heard  of,  they  were  come  to  bid  me  welcome  to 
this  country,  and  to  desire  that  the  people  of  Virginia  would 
consider  them  as  friends  and  brothers,  linked  together  in  one 
chain ;  that  I  would  inform  the  governor,  that  it  was  their  wish 
to  live  in  peace  and  harmony  with  the  white  people,  and  that 
though  there  had  been  some  unhappy  differences  between  them 
and  the  people  upon  our  frontiers,  they  were  all  made  up,  and 
they  hoped  forgotten ;  and  concluded  with  saying,  that  their 
brothers  of  Virginia  did  not  come  among  them  and  trade  as  the 
inhabitants  of  the  other  provinces  did,  from  whence  they  were 
afraid  that  we  did  not  look  upon  them  with  so  friendly  an  eye 
as  they  could  wish." 

To  this  I  answered,  (after  thanking  them  for  their  friendly 
welcome,)  that  all  the  injuries  and  affronts,  that  had  passed  on 
either  side,  were  now  totally  forgotten,  and  that  I  was  sure 
nothing  was  more  wished  and  desired  by  the  people  of  Virginia, 
than  to  live  in  the  strictest  friendship  with  them ;  that  the  Vir- 
ginians were  a  people  not  so  much  engaged  in  trade^  as  the 
Pennsylvanians,  &ca.,  which  was  the  reason  of  their  not  being 
so  frequently  among  them ;  but  that  it  was  possible  they  might 
for  the  time  to  come  have  stricter  connexions  with  them,  and 
that  I  would  acquaint  the  governor  with  their  desires. 

After  dinner  at  Colonel  Croghan's  we  returned  to  Pittsburg, 
Colonel  Croghan  with  us,  who  intended  to  accompany  us  part 
of  the  way  down  the  river,  having  engaged  an  Indian  called  the 
Pheasant,  and  one  Joseph  Nicholson  an  interpreter,  to  attend 
us  the  whole  voyage ;  also  a  young  Indian  warrior. 

2oth. —  We  embarked  in  a  large  canoe,  with  sufficient  store 
of  provisions  and  necessaries,  and  the  following  persons,  (be- 
sides Dr.  Craik  and  myself,)  to  wit:  —  Captain  Crawford, 
Joseph  Nicholson,  Robert  Bell,  William  Harrison,  Charles 
Morgan,  and  Daniel  Rendon,  a  boy  of  Captain  Crawford's,  and 
the  Indians,  who  were  in  a  canoe  by  themselves.  From  Fort 
Pitt  we  sent  our  horses  and  boys  back  to  Captain  Crawford's, 
with  orders  to  meet  us  there  again  the  14th  day  of  November. 
Colonel  Croghan,  Lieutenant  Hamilton,  and  Mr.  Magee,  set 
out  with  us.  At  two  we  dined  at  Mr.  Magee's,  and  encamped 
ten  miles  below,  and  four  above  the  Logstown.  We  passed 
several  large  islands,  which  appeared  to  [be]  very  good,  as  the 
bottoms  also  did  on  each  side  of  the  river  alternately ;  the  hills 


on  one  side  being  opposite  to  the  bottoms  on  the  other,  which 
seem  generally  to  be  about  three  or  four  hundred  yards  wide, 
and  so  vice  versa. 

2\st. —  Left  our  encampment  about  six  o'clock,  and  break- 
fasted at  the  Logstown,  where  we  parted  with  Colonel  Croghan 
and  company  about  nine  o'clock.  At  eleven  we  came  to  the 
mouth  of  the  Big  Beaver  Creek,  opposite  to  which  is  a  good 
situation  for  a  house,  and  above  it,  on  the  same  side,  (that  is 
the  west,)  there  appears  to  be  a  body  of  fine  land.  About  five 
miles  lower  down,  on  the  east  side,  comes  in  Raccoon  Creek, 
at  the  mouth  of  which  and  up  it  appears  to  be  a  body  of  good 
land  also.  All  the  land  between  this  creek  and  the  Mononga- 
hela,  and  for  fifteen  miles  back,  is  claimed  by  Colonel  Croghan 
under  a  purchase  from  the  Indians,  (and  which  sale  he  says  is 
confirmed  by  his  Majesty.)  On  this  creek,  where  the  branches 
thereof  interlock  with  the  waters  of  Shirtees  Creek,  there  is, 
according  to  Colonel  Croghan's  account,  a  body  of  fine,  rich, 
level  land.  This  tract  he  wants  to  sell,  and  offers  it  at  five 
pounds  sterling  per  hundred  acres,  with  an  exemption  of  quit- 
rents  for  twenty  years ;  after  which,  to  be  subject  to  the  pay- 
ment of  four  shillings  and  two  pence  sterling  per  hundred  \ 
provided  he  can  sell  it  in  ten-thousand-acre  lots.  Note :  the 
unsettled  state  of  this  country  renders  any  purchase  dangerous. 
From  Raccoon  Creek  to  Little  Beaver  Creek  appears  to  me  to 
be  little  short  of  ten  miles,  and  about  three  miles  below  this  we 
encamped ;  after  hiding  a  barrel  of  biscuit  in  an  island  (in 
sight)  to  lighten  our  canoe. 

I'zd. —  As  it  began  to  snow  about  midnight,  and  continued 
pretty  steadily  at  it,  it  was  about  half  after  seven  before  we 
left  our  encampment.  At  the  distance  of  about  eight  miles  we 
came  to  the  mouth  of  Yellow  Creek,  (to  the  west)  opposite  to, 
or  rather  belov/  which,  appears  to  be  a  long  bottom  of  very 
good  land,  and  the  ascent  to  the  hills  apparently  gradual. 
There  is  another  pretty  large  bottom  of  very  good  land  about 
two  or  three  miles  above  this.  About  eleven  or  twelve  miles 
from  this,  and  just  above  what  is  called  the  Long  Island  (which 
though  so  distinguished  is  not  very  remarkable  for  length, 
breadth,  or  goodness),  comes  in  on  the  east  side  the  river  a 
small  creek,  or  run,  the  name  of  which  I  could  not  learn ;  and 
a  mile  or  two  below  the  island,  on  the  west  side,  comes  in  Big 
Stony  Creek  (not  larger  in  appearance  than  the  other),  on 
neither  of  which  does  there  seem  to  be  any  large  bottoms  or 
bodies  of  good  land.  About  seven  miles  from  the  last  men- 
tioned creek,  twenty-eight  from  our  last  encampment,  and  about 


seventy-five  from  Pittsburg,  we  came  to  the  Mingo  Town,  sit- 
uate on  the  west  side  the  river,  a  little  above  the  Cross  Creeks. 
This  place  contains  about  twenty  cabins,  and  seventy  inhab- 
itants of  the  Six  Nations.  Had  we  set  off  early,  and  kept  con- 
stantly at  it,  we  might  have  reached  lower  than  this  place  to-day ; 
as  the  water  in  many  places  run  pretty  swift,  in  general  more  so 
than  yesterday.  The  river  from  Fort  Pitt  to  the  Logstown  has 
some  ugly  rifts  and  shoals,  which  we  found  somewhat  difficult 
to  pass,  whether  from  our  inexperience  of  the  channel,  or  not, 
I  cannot  undertake  to  say.  From  the  Logstown  to  the  mouth 
of  Little  Beaver  Creek  is  much  the  same  kind  of  water;  that 
is,  rapid  in  some  places,  gliding  gently  along  in  others,  and 
quite  still  in  many.  The  water  from  Little  Beaver  Creek  to  the 
Mingo  Town,  in  general,  is  swifter  than  we  found  it  the  preced- 
ing day,  and  without  any  shallows ;  there  being  some  one  part 
or  another  always  deep,  which  is  a  natural  consequence,  as  the 
river  in  all  the  distance  from  Fort  Pitt  to  this  town  has  not 
widened  at  all,  nor  doth  the  bottoms  appear  to  be  any  larger. 
The  hills  which  come  close  to  the  river  opposite  to  each  bottom 
are  steep ;  and  on  the  side  in  view,  in  many  places,  rocky  and 
cragged ;  but  said  to  abound  in  good  land  on  the  tops.  These 
are  not  a  range  of  hills,  but  broken  and  cut  in  two,  as  if  there 
were  frequent  watercourses  running  through,  (which  however 
we  did  not  perceive  to  be  the  case,  consequently  they  must  be 
small  if  any.)  The  river  along  down  abounds  in  wild  geese, 
and  several  kinds  of  ducks,  but  in  no  great  quantity.  We 
killed  five  wild  turkeys  to  day.  Upon  our  arrival  at  the  Mingo 
Town,  we  received  the  disagreeable  news  of  two  traders  being 
killed  at  a  town  called  the  Grape- Vine  Town,  thirty-eight  miles 
below  this  ;  which  caused  us  to  hesitate  whether  we  should 
proceed,  or  wait  for  further  intelligence. 

23^. —  Several  imperfect  accounts  coming  in,  agreeing  that 
only  one  person  was  killed,  and  the  Indians  not  supposing  it  to 
be  done  by  their  people,  we  resolved  to  pursue  our  passage, 
till  we  could  get  some  more  distinct  account  of  this  transaction. 
Accordingly  about  two  o'clock  we  set  out  with  the  two  Indians, 
who  were  to  accompany  us,  in  our  canoe,  and  in  about  four 
miles  came  to  the  mouth  of  a  creek  called  Sculp  Creek  on  the 
east  side,  at  the  mouth  of  which  is  a  bottom  of  very  good  land, 
as  I  am  told  there  likewise  is  up  it.  The  Cross  Creeks,  (as 
they  are  called,)  are  not  large ;  that  on  the  west  side  is  biggest. 
At  the  Mingo  Town  we  found  and  left  sixty  &  odd  warriors  of 
the  Six  Nations,  going  to  the  Cherokee  country  to  proceed  to 
war  against  the  Catawbas.     About  ten  miles  below  the  town, 


5 

we  came  to  two  other  cross  creeks ;  that  on  the  .west  side 
largest,  but  not  big,  and  called  by  Nicholson,  French  Creek. 
About  three  miles,  or  a  little  better  below  this,  at  the  lower  point 
of  some  islands,  which  stand  contiguous  to  each  other,  we  were 
told  by  the  Indians  with  us  that  three  men  from  Virginia  (by 
Virginians  they  mean  all  the  people  settled  upon  Redstone, 
&c.)  had  marked  the  land  from  hence  all  the  way  to  Red- 
stone; that  there  was  a  body  of  exceeding  fine  land  lying  about 
this  place,  and  up  opposite  to  the  Mingo  Town,  as  also  down 
to  the  mouth  of  Fishing  Creek.     At  this  place  we  encamped. 

2\th. —  We  left  our  encampment  before  sunrise,  and  about 
six  miles  below  it  we  came  to  the  mouth  of  a  pretty  smart 
creek,  coming  in  to  the  eastward,  called  by  the  Indians  Split 
Island  Creek,  from  its  running  in  against  an  island.  On  this 
creek  there  is  the  appearance  of  good  land  a  distance  up  it. 
Six  miles  below  this  again  we  came  to  another  creek  on  the 
west  side,  called  by  Nicholson,  Wheeling;  and  about  a  mile 
lower  down  appears  to  be  another  small  water  coming  in  on  the 
east  side,  which  I  remark,  because  of  the  scarcity  of  them,  and 
to  show  how  badly  furnished  this  country  is  with  mill-seats. 
Two  or  three  miles  below  this  again  is  another  run  on  the  west 
side,  up  which  is  a  near  way  by  land  t6  the  Mingo  Town ;  and 
about  four  miles  lower,  comes  in  another  on  the  east,  at  which 
place  is  a  path  leading  to  the  settlement  at  Red-stone.  About 
a  mile  and  a  half  below  this  again,  comes  in  the  Pipe  Creek,  so 
called  by  the  Indians  from  a  stone,  which  is  found  here,  out  of 
which  they  make  pipes.  Opposite  to  this,  that  is,  on  the  east 
side,  is  a  bottom  of  exceeding  rich  land ;  but  as  it  seems  to 
lie  low,  I  am  apprehensive  that  it  is  subject  to  be  overflowed. 
This  bottom  ends  where  the  effects  of  a  hurricane  appear,  by 
the  destruction  and  havoc  among  the  trees.  Two  or  three 
miles  below  the  Pipe  Creek  is  a  pretty  large  creek  on  the  west 
side,  called  by  Nicholson  Fox-Grape-Vine,  by  others  Captema 
Creek,  on  which,  eight  miles  up,  is  the  town  called  the  Grape- 
vine Town;  and  at  the  mouth  of  it  is  the  place  where  it  was 
said  the  traders  lived,  and  the  one  was  killed.  To  this  place 
we  came  about  three  o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  and  finding 
nobody  there,  we  agreed  to  camp ;  that  Nicholson  and  one  of 
the  Indians  might  go  up  to  the  town,  and  inquire  into  the  truth 
of  the  report  concerning  the  murder. 

25//^. —  About  seven  o'clock,  Nicholson  and  the  Indian  re- 
turned; they  found  nobody  at  the  town  but  two  old  Indian 
women  (the  men  being  a  hunting) ;  from  these  they  learnt  that 
the  trader  was  not  killed,  but  drowned  in  attempting  to  ford  the 


Ohio ;  and  that  only  one  boy,  belonging  to  the  traders,  was  in 
these  parLs ;  the  trader,  (father  to  him)  being  gone  for  horses 
to  take  home  their  skins.  About  half  an  hour  after  seven  we 
set  out  from  our  encampment ;  around  which  and  up  the  creek 
is  a  body  of  fine  land.  In  our  passage  down  to  this  we  see 
innumerable  quantities  of  turkeys,  and  many  deer  watering  and 
browsing  on  the  shore-side,  some  of  which  we  killed.  Neither 
yesterday  nor  the  day  before  did  we  pass  any  rifts,  or  very 
rapid  water,  the  river  gliding  gently  along;  nor  did  we  perceive 
any  alteration  in  the  general  face  of  the  country,  except  that 
the  bottoms  seemed  to  be  getting  a  little  longer  and  wider,  as 
the  bends  of  the  river  grew  larger. 

About  five  miles  from  the  Vine  Creek  comes  in  a  very  large 
creek  to  the  eastward,  called  by  the  Indians  Cut  Creek,  from  a 
town  or  tribe  of  Indians,,  which  they  say  was  cut  off  entirely 
in  a  very  bloody  battle  between  them  and  the  Six  Nations. 
This  creek  empties  just  at  the  lower  end  of  an  island,  and  is 
seventy  or  eighty  yards  wide ;  and  I  fancy  it  is  the  creek  com- 
monly called  by  the  people  of  Red-stone  &c  Wheeling.  It 
extends,  according  to  the  Indians'  account,  a  great  way,  and 
interlocks  with  the  branches  of  Split-Island  Creek ;  abounding 
in  very  fine  bottoms,  and  exceeding  good  land.  Just  below 
this,  on  the  west  side,  comes  in  a  small  run ;  and  about  five 
miles  below  it,  on  the  west  side  also,  another  middling  large 
creek  empties,  called  by  the  Indians  Broken-Timber  Creek; 
so  named  from  the  timber  that  is  destroyed  on  it  by  a  hurri- 
cane ;  on  the  head  of  this  was  a  town  of  the  Delawares,  which 
is  now  left.  Two  miles  lower  down,  on  the  same  side,  is 
another  creek  smaller  than  the  last,  and  bearing,  (according  to 
the  Indians,)  the  same  name.  Opposite  to  these  two  creeks, 
(on  the  east  side,)  appears  to  be  a  large  bottom  of  good  land. 
About  two  miles  below  the  last  mentioned  creek,  on  the  east 
side,  and  at  the  end  of  the  bottom  aforementioned,  comes  in 
a  small  creek  or  large  run.  Seven  miles  from  this  comes  .in 
Muddy  Creek,  on  the  east  side  of  the  river,  a  pretty  large  creek, 
and  heads  up  against  and  with  some  of  the  waters  of  Mononga- 
hela,  (according  to  the  Indians'  account,)  and  contains  some 
bottoms  of  very  good  land ;  but  in  general  the  hills  are  steep, 
and  country  broken  about  it.  At  the  mouth  of  this  creek  is  the 
largest  flat  I  have  seen  upon  the  river;  the  bottom  extending 
two  or  three  miles  up  the  river  above  it,  and  a  mile  below ; 
tho  it  does  not  seem  to  be  of  the  richest  kind  and  yet  is  ex- 
ceeding good  upon  the  whole,  if  it  be  not  too  low  and  subject 
to  freshets.     About  half  way  in  the  long  reach  we  encamped, 


7 

opposite  to  the  beginning  of  a  bottom  on  the  east  side  of  the 
river.  At  this  place  we  threw  out  some  lines  at  night  and 
found  a  catfish,  of  the  size  of  our  largest  river  cats,  hooked  to 
it  in  the  morning,  though  it  was  of  the  smallest  kind  here.  We 
found  no  rifts  in  this  day's  passage,  but  pretty  swift  water  in 
some  places,  and  still  in  others.  We  found  the  bottoms  in- 
creased in  size,  both  as  to  length  and  breadth,  and  the  river 
more  choked  up  with  fallen  trees,  and  the  bottom  of  the  river 
next  the  shores  rather  more  muddy,  but  in  general  stony,  as  it 
has  been  all  the  way  down. 

2.^th. —  Left  our  encampment  at  half  an  hour  after  six  o'clock, 
and  passed  a  small  run  on  the  west  side  about  four  miles  lower. 
At  the  lower  end  of  the  long  reach,  and  for  some  distance  up  it, 
on  the  east  side,  is  a  large  bottom,  but  low,  and  covered  with 
beech  near  the  river-shore,  which  is  no  indication  of  good  land. 
The  long  reach  is  a  straight  course  of  the  river  for  about 
eighteen  or  twenty  miles,  which  appears  the  more  extraordinary 
as  the  Ohio  in  general  is  remarkably  crooked.  There  are  sev- 
eral islands  in  this  reach,  some  containing  an  hundred  or  more 
acres  of  land ;  but  all  I  apprehend  liable  to  be  overflowed. 

At  the  end  of  this  reach  we  found  one  Martin  and  Lindsay, 
two  traders,  and  from  them  learnt,  that  the  person  drowned 
was  one  Philips,  attempting,  in  company  with  Rogers,  another 
Indian  trader,  to  swim  the  river  with  their  horses  at  an  im- 
proper place ;  Rogers  himself  narrowly  escaping.  Five  miles 
lower  down  comes  in  a  large  creek  from  the  east,  right  against 
an  island  of  good  land,  at  least  a  mile  or  two  in  length.  At 
the  mouth  of  this  creek  (the  name  of  which  I  could  not  learn, 
except  that  it  was  called  by  some  Bull's  Creek,  from  one  Bull 
that  hunted  on  it)  is  a  bottom  of  good  land,  though  rather  too 
much  mixed  with  beech.  Opposite  to  this  island  the  Indians 
showed  us  a  buffalo's  path,  the  tracks  of  which  we  see.  Five 
or  six  miles  below  the  last  mentioned  creek  we  came  to  the 
Three  Islands  before  which  we  observed  a  small  run  on  each 
side  coming  in.  Below  these  islands  is  a  large  body  of  flat 
land,  with  a  watercourse  running  through  it  on  the  east  side, 
and  the  hills  back  neither  so  high  nor  steep  in  appearance,  as 
they  are  up  the  river.  On  the  other  hand,  the  bottoms  do  not 
appear  so  rich,  though  much  longer  and  wider.  The  bottom 
last  mentioned  is  upon  a  straight  reach  of  the  river,  I  suppose 
six  or  eight  miles  in  length,  at  the  lower  end  of  which  on  the 
east  side  comes  in  a  pretty  large  run  from  the  size  of  the  mouth. 
About  this,  above,  below  and  back,  there  seems  to  be  a  very 
large  body  of  flat  land  with  some  little  risings  in  it. 


8 

About  twelve  miles  below  the  Three  Islands  we  encamped, 
just  above  the  mouth  of  a  creek,  which  appears  pretty  large  at 
the  mouth,  and  just  above  an  island.  All  the  lands  from  a 
little  below  the  creek,  which  I  have  distinguished  by  the  name 
of  Bull  Creek,  appear  to  be  level,  with  some  small  hillocks 
intermixed,  as  far  as  we  could  see  into  the  country.  We  met 
with  no  rifts  to-day,  but  some  pretty  strong  water;  upon  the 
whole  tolerable  gentle.  The  sides  of  the  river  were  a  good 
deal  incommoded  with  old  trees,  which  impeded  our  passage 
a  little.  This  day  proved  clear  and  pleasant;  the  only  day 
since  the  i8th  that  it  did  not  rain  or  snow,  or  threaten  the  one 
or  other. 

27M. —  Left  our  encampment  a  quarter  before  seven;  and 
after  passing  the  creek  near  which  we  lay,  and  another  much 
the  same  size  and  on  the  same  side,  (west)  also  an  island  about 
two  miles  in  length,  (but  not  wide,)  we  came  to  the  mouth  of 
Muskingum,  distant  from  our  encampment  about  four  miles. 
This  river  is  about  one  hundred  and  fifty  yards  wide  at  the 
mouth ;  it  runs  out  in  a  gentle  current  and  clear  stream,  and 
is  navigable  a  great  way  into  the  country  for  canoes.  From 
Muskingum  to  the  Little  Kanhawa  is  about  thirteen  miles. 
This  is  about  as  wide  at  the  mouth  as  the  Muskingum,  but  the 
water  much  deeper.  It  runs  up  towards  the  inhabitants  of 
Monongahela,  and,  according  to  the  Indians'  account,  forks 
about  forty  or  fifty  miles  up  it,  and  the  ridge  between  the  two 
prongs  leads  directly  to  the  settlement.  To  this  fork,  and 
above,  the  water  is  navigable  for  canoes.  On  the  upper  side 
of  this  river  there  appears  to  be  a  bottom  of  exceeding  rich 
land,  and  the  country  from  hence  quite  up  to  the  Three  Islands 
level  and  in  appearance  fine.  The  Ohio  running  round  it  in 
the  nature  of  a  horse-shoe  forms  a  neck  of  flat  land,  which, 
added  to  that  running  up  the  second  long  reach  (aforemen- 
tioned,) cannot  contain  less  than  fifty  thousand  acres  in  view. 

About  six  or  seven  miles  below  the  mouth  of  the  Little  Ken- 
hawa,  we  came  to  a  small  creek  on  the  west  side,  which  the 
Indians  called  Little  Hockhocking ;  but  before  we  did  this,  we 
passed  another  small  creek  on  the  same  side  near  the  mouth  of 
that  river,  and  a  cluster  of  islands  afterwards.  The  lands  for 
two  or  three  miles  below  the  mouth  of  the  Kenhawa  on  both 
sides  of  the  Ohio  appear  broken  and  indifferent;  but  opposite 
to  the  Little  Hockhocking  there  is  a  bottom  of  exceeding  good 
land,  through  which  there  runs  a  small  watercourse.  I  suppose 
there  may  be,  of  this  bottom  and  flat  land  together,  two  or  three 
thousand  acres.     The  lower  end  of  this  bottom  is  opposite  to 


a  small  island,  which  I  dare  say  little  of  it  is  to  be  seen  when 
the  river  is  high.  About  eight  miles  below  Little  Hockhocking 
we  encamped  opposite  to  the  mouth  of  the  Great  Hockhocking, 
which,  though  so  called,  is  not  a  large  water ;  though  the  Ind- 
ians say  canoes  can  go  up  it  forty  or  fifty  miles.  Since  we  left 
the  Little  Kenhawa  the  lands  appear  neither  so  level  nor  so 
good.  The  bends  of  the  river  and  bottoms  are  longer,  indeed, 
but  not  so  rich  as  in  the  upper  part  of  the  river. 

2%th. —  Left  our  encampment  about  seven  o'clock.  Two 
miles  below,  a  small  run  comes  in,  on  the  east  side,  through 
a  piece  of  land  that  has  a  very  good  appearance,  the  bottom 
beginning  above  our  encampment,  and  continuing  in  appear- 
ance wide  for  four  miles  down,  to  a  place  where  there  comes 
in  a  small  run,  and  to  the  hills,  where  we  found  Kiashuta  and 
his  hunting  party  encamped.  Here  we  were  under  a  necessity 
of  paying  our  compliments,  as  this  person  was  one  of  the  Six 
Nation  chiefs,  and  the  head  of  them  upon  this  river.  In  the 
person  of  Kiashuta  I  found  an  old  acquaintance,  he  being  one 
of  the  Indians  that  went  to  the  French  in  1753.  He  expressed 
a  satisfaction  at  seeing  me,  and  treated  us  with  great  kindness, 
giving  us  a  quarter  of  very  fine  buffalo.  He  insisted  upon  our 
spending  that  night  with  him,  and,  in  order  to  retard  us  as  little 
as  possible,  moves  his  camp  down  the  river  about  6  miles  just 
below  the  mouth  of  the  creek,  the  name  of  which  I  could  not 
learn,  it  not  being  large.  At  this  place  we  all  encamped. 
After  much  counselling  the  over  night,  they  all  came  to  my 
fire  the  next  morning  with  great  formality ;  when  Kiashuta, 
rehearsing  what  had  passed  between  me  and  the  Sachems  at 
Colonel  Croghan's,  thanked  me  for  saying,  that  peace  and 
friendship  were  the  wish  of  the  people  of  Virginia,  (with  them) 
and  for  recommending  it  to  the  traders  to  deal  with  them  upon 
a  fair  and  equitable  footing ;  and  then  again  expressed  their 
desire  of  having  a  trade  opened  with  Virginia,  and  that  the 
governor  thereof  might  not  only  be  made  acquainted  therewith, 
but  of  their  friendly  disposition  towards  the  white  people. 
This  I  promised  to  do. 

29M. —  The  tedious  ceremony,  which  the  Indians  observe  in 
their  counsellings  and  speeches,  detained  us  till  nine  o'clock. 
Opposite  to  the  creek,  just  below  which  we  encamped,  is  a 
pretty  long  bottom,  and  I  believe  tolerably  wide  j  but  about 
eight  or  nine  miles  below  the  aforementioned  creek,  and  just 
below  a  pavement  of  rocks  on  the  west  side,  comes  in  a  creek, 
with  fallen  timber  at  the  mouth,  on  which  the  Indians  say  there 
are  wide   bottoms  and  good  land.     The  river  bottoms  above, 


lO 

for  some"  distance,  are  very  good,  and  continue  for  near  half 
a  mile  below  the  creek.  The  pavement  of  rocks  is  only  to  be 
seen  at  low  water.  About  a  mile  or  a  little  better  below  the 
mouth  of  the  creek  there  is  another  pavement  of  rocks  on  the 
east  side,  in  a  kind  of  sedgy  ground.  On  this  creek  many 
buffaloes  are  according  to  the  Indians'  account.  Six  miles 
below  this  comes  in  a  small  creek  on  the  west  side,  at  the  end 
of  a  small,  naked  island,  and  just  above  another  pavement  of 
rocks.  This  creek  comes  thro  a  bottom  of  fine  land,  and  oppo- 
site to  it,  (on  the  east  side  of  the  river,)  appears  to  be  a  large 
bottom  of  very  fine  land  also.  At  this  place  begins  what  they 
call  the  Great  Bend.  Five  miles  below,  this,  again  on  the  east 
side,  comes  in  (about  200  yards  above  a  little  stream  or  gut) 
another  creek,  which  is  just  below  an  island,  on  the  upper  point 
of  which  are  some  dead  standing  trees,  and  a  parcel  of  white- 
bodied  sycamores ;  in  the  mouth  of  this  creek  lies  a  sycamore 
blown  down  by  the  wind.  From  hence  an  east  line  may  be  run 
three  or  four  miles;  thence  a  north  line. till  it  strikes  the  river, 
which  I  apprehend  would  include  about  three  or  four  thousand 
acres  of  exceeding  valuable  land.  At  the  mouth  of  this  creek 
which  is  three  or  four  miles  above  two  islands  (at  the  lower  end 
of  the  last  is  a  rapid,  and  the  point  of  the  bend)  is  the  warrior's 
path  to  the  Cherokee  country.  For  two  miles  and  a  half  below 
this  the  Ohio  runs  a  north-east  course,  and  finishes  what  they 
call  the  Great  Bend.  Two  miles  and  a  half  below  this  we 
encamped.  ... 

November  1st. —  A  little  before  eight  o'clock  we  set  off  with 
our  canoe  up  the  river,  to  discover  what  kinds  of  lands  lay 
upon  the  Kenhawa.  The  land  on  both  sides  this  river  just 
at  the  mouth  is  very  fine ;  but  on  the  east  side,  when  you  get 
towards  the  hills,  (which  I  judge  to  be  about  six  or  seven  hun- 
dred yards  from  the  river,)  it  appears  to  be  wet,  and  better 
adapted  for  meadow  than  tillage.  This  bottom  continues  up 
the  east  side  for  about  two  miles ;  and  by  going  up  the  Ohio 
a  good  tract  might  be  got  of  bottom  land,  including  the  old 
Shawnee  Town,  which  is  about  three  miles  up  the  Ohio,  just 
above  the  mouth  of  a  creek,  where  the  aforementioned  bottom 
ends  on  the  east  side  the  Kenhawa,  which  extends  up  it  at 
least  fifty  miles  by  the  Indians'  account  and  of  great  width  (to 
be  ascertained  as  we  come  down) ;  in  many  places  very  rich, 
in  others  somewhat  wet  and  pondy;  fit  for  meadow,  but  upon 
the  whole  exceeding  valuable,  as  the  land  after  you  get  out  of 
the  rich  bottom  is  very  good  for  grain,  tho'  not  rich.  We 
judged  we  went  up  this  river  about  ten  miles  to-day.     Op  the 


II 

east  side  appear  to  be  the  same  good  bottoms,  but  small, 
neither  long  nor  wide,  and  the  hills  back  of  them  rather  steep 
and  poor. 

2d. —  We  proceeded  up  the  river  with  the  canoe  about  four 
miles  farther,  and  then  encamped,  and  went  a  hunting ;  killed 
five  buffaloes  and  wounded  some  others,  three  deer,  &c.  This 
country  abounds  in  buffaloes  and  wild  game  of  all  kinds ;  as 
also  in  all  kinds  of  wild  fowl,  there  being  in  the  bottoms  a  great 
many  small,  grassy  ponds,  or  lakes,  which  are  full  of  swans, 
geese,  and  ducks  of  different  kinds.  Some  of  our  people  went 
up  the  river  four  or  five  miles  higher,  and  found  the  same  kind 
of  bottom  on  the  west  side  ;  and  we  were  told  by  the  Indians, 
that  it  continued  to  the  falls,  which  they  judged  to  be  fifty  or 
sixty  miles  higher  up.  .  .  . 

i^th. —  There  is  very  little  difference  in  the  general  width  of 
the  river  from  Fort  Pitt  to  the  Kenhawa;  but  in  the  depth 
I  believe  the  odds  are  considerably  in  favor  of  the  lower  parts, 
as  we  found  no  shallows  below  the  Mingo  Town,  except  in  one 
or  two  places  where  the  river  was  broad,  and  there,  I  do  not 
know  but  there  might  have  been  a  deep  channel  in  some  part 
of  it.  Every  here  and  there  are  islands,  some  larger  and  some 
smaller,  which,  operating  in  the  nature  of  locks,  or  steps,  occa- 
sion pretty  still  water  above,  but  for  the  most  part  strong  and 
rapid  water  alongside  of  them.  However  there  is  none  of  these 
so  swift  but  that  a  vessel  may  be  rowed  or  set  up  with  poles. 
When  the  river  is  in  its  natural  state,  large  canoes,  that  will 
carry  five  or  six  thousand  weight  or  more,  may  be  worked 
against  stream  by  four  hands,  twenty  or  twenty-five  miles  a 
day ;  and  down,  a  good  deal  more.  The  Indians,  who  are  very 
dexterous  (even  their  women)  in  the  management  of  canoes, 
have  their  hunting-camps  and  cabins  all  along  the  river,  for 
the  convenience  of  transporting  their  skins  by  water  to  market. 
In  the  fall,  so  soon  as  the  hunting-season  comes  on,  they  set 
out  with  their  families  for  this  purpose ;  and  in  hunting  will 
move  their  camps  from  place  to  place,  till  by  the  spring  they 
get  two  or  three  hundred  or  more  miles  from  their  towns; 
then  beaver  catch  it  in  their  way  up,  which  frequently  brings 
them  into  the  month  of  May,  when  the  women  are  employed  in 
planting,  the  men  at  market,  and  in  idleness,  till  the  Fall  again, 
when  they  pursue  the  same  course.  During  the  summer 
months  they  live  a  poor  and  perishing  life. 

The  Indians  who  reside  upon  the  Ohio,  (the  upper  parts  of 
it  at  least,)  are  composed  of  Shawnees,  Delawares,  and  some 
of  the  Mingoes,  who,  getting  but  little  part  of  the  consideration 


12 

that  was  given  for  the  lands  eastward  of  the  Ohio,  view  the 
settlement  of  the  people  upon  this  river  with  an  uneasy  and 
jealous  eye,  and  do  not  scruple  to  say,  that  they  must  be  com- 
pensated for  their  right  if  the  people  settle  thereon,  notwith- 
standing the  cession  of  the  Six  Nations  thereto.  On  the  other 
hand,  the  people  from  Virginia  and  elsewhere  are  exploring  and 
marking  all  the  lands  that  are  valuable,  not  only  on  Redstone 
and  other  waters  of  the  Monongahela,  but  along  down  the  Ohio 
as  low  as  the  Little  Kenhawa;  and  by  next  summer  I  suppose 
will  get  to  the  Great  Kenhawa  at  least.  How  difficult  it  may 
be  to  contend  with  these  people  afterwards  is  easy  to  be  judged, 
from  every  day's  experience  of  lands  actually  settled,  supposing 
these  to  be  made ;  than  which  nothing  is  more  probable,  if  the 
Indians  permit  them,  from  the  disposition  of  the  people  at 
present. 

Washington's  interest  in  the  West  began  when  he  was  hardly  out  of 
boyhood,  and  was  employed  to  survey  lands  for  Lord  Fairfax  among  the 
Alieghanies.  In  1749  his  brothers,  Lawrence  and  Augustine  Washington, 
became  members  and  Lawrence  the  chief  manager  of  the  Ohio  Company, 
formed  in  Virginia  that  year  for  the  colonization  of  the  Ohio  country, —  the 
first  scheme  for  the  settlement  of  the  West  by  Englishmen.  His  Journal  of 
a  Tour  to  the  Ohio  in  1753,  published  after  his  visit  to  the  French  posts  on 
the  Alleghany,  and  his  letters  at  the  time,  show  how  deeply  he  realized  the 
importance  of  the  struggle  between  France  and  England  for  the  possession 
of  the  great  West.  No  other  Virginian  took  so  important  a  part  in  that 
struggle.  At  the  close  of  the  French  war  he  received  5,000  acres  on  the 
Ohio,  his  claim  as  an  officer  for  services  in  the  war;  and  he  possessed  him- 
self of  other  claims  to  so  large  an  extent  that  at  one  time  he  controlled  over 
60,000  acres  on  the  Ohio,  at  the  outbreak  of  the  Revolution  being  probably 
the  largest  owner  of  western  lands  in  America.  See  the  Washmgton-  Crawford  Letters  Con- 
cerning JVestertt  Lands,  edited  by  C.  W.  Butterfield.  Crawford  was  the  surveyor  employed 
by  Washington  on  the  Ohio.  Washington's  Journal  of  his  own  tour  to  the  Ohio  in  1770,  to 
inspect  these  lands, —  about  half  of  which  is  published  in  the_  present  leaflet, —  is  remarkable 
for  its  careful  studies  of  the  condition  and  prospects  of  this  part  of  the  western  country. 
This  journey  down  the  Ohio  took  him  past  the  mouth  of  the  Muskingum  and  the  place  where 
Rufus  Putnam  and  the  men  from  New  England,  less  than  twenty  years  later,  were  to  found 
Marietta.  Earlier  in  this  same  year,  1770,  Washington  had  corresponded  with  Jefferson 
about  the  opening  up  of  the  Potomac  and  a  connection  with  the  Ohio,  as  "  the  channel  of 
conveyance  of  the  extensive  and  valuable  tradr-  of.  a  rising  empire";  and  this  was  the  first 
subject  of  his  thought  upon  the  close  of  the  Revolution.  He  explored  the  Mohawk  route  to 
the  West.  He  exolored  the  head  waters  of  the  Potomac  and  the  Ohio,  travelling  nearly  you 
miles  on  horseback,  making  careful  maps.  He  wrote  a  remarkable  letter  to  Benjamin  Har- 
rison, the  governor  of  Virginia,  urging  the  opening  of  lines  of  communication  with  the  West. 
See  this  letter  and  the  historical  notes  in  Old  South  Leaflet.  No.  16  He  became  the  pres- 
ident of  the  Potomac  Company,  organized  in  1785  for  establishing  connections  with  the 
West.  See  Pickell's  A  New  Chapter  in  the  Early  Life  of  Washington  for  a  full  account 
of  this,  and  Washington's  letters  to  Jefferson,  Lee,  and  others  on  the  importance  of  open- 
ing up  the  West  and  binding  the  sections  of  the  country  firmly  together,  which  latter  point 
he  strongly  emphasized  in  his  Farewell  Address.  For  his  interest  in  the  Ordinance  of  1787 
and  his  services  in  behalf  of  Gen.  Rufus  Putnam  and  the  Ohio  Company  in  the  settletnent 
of  Marietta  and  the  organization  of  the  North-west  territory,  see  the  Life,  Joiirnals,  and 
Correspondence  of  Rev.  Ma7iasseh  Cutler  and  the  St.  Clair  Papers.  The  whole  history  of 
Washington's  interest  in  the  opening  of  the  West  forms  one  of  the  most  importaat  chantp.-c 
of  his  life. 


(©t^  ^outl)  Eeaftct^. 


General  Series,  No.  42 


The  North-west 

Territory  and 
Western  Reserve 

By  James  A.  Garfield. 

Address  before  the  Historical  Society  of  Geaiiga   County,  Ohio, 
September  16,   1873. 


From  the  historian's  standpoint,  our  country  is  peculiarly 
and  exceptionally  fortunate.  The  origin  of  nearly  all  great 
nations,  ancient  and  modern,  is  shrouded  in  fable  or  tradition- 
ary legend.  The  story  of  the  founding  of  Rome  by  the  wolf- 
nursed  brothers,  Romulus  and  Remus,  has  long  been  classed 
among  the  myths  of  history;  and  the  more  modern  story  of 
Hengist  and  Horsa  leading  the  Saxons  to  England  is  almost 
equally  legendary.  The  origin  of  Paris  can  never  be  known. 
Its  foundation  was  laid  long  before  Gaul  had  written  records. 
But  the  settlement,  civilization,  and  political  institutions  of  our 
country  can  be  traced  from  their  first  hour  by  the  clear  light 
of  history.  It  is  true  that  over  this  continent  hangs  an  impene- 
trable veil  of  tradition,  mystery,  and  silence.  But  it  is  the  tradi- 
tion of  races  fast  passing  away;  the  mystery  of  a  still  earlier 
race,  which  flourished  and  perished  long  before  its  discovery 
by  the  Europeans.  The  story  of  the  Mound-builders  can  never 
be  told.  The  fate  of  the  Indian  tribes  will  soon  be  a  half- 
forgotten  tale.  But  the  history  of  European  civilization  and 
institutions  on  this  continent  can  be  traced  with  precision  and 
fullness,  unless  we  become  forgetful  of  the  past,  and  neglect  to 
save  and  perpetuate  its  precious  memorials. 

In  discussing  the  scope  of  historical  study  in  reference  to 
our  country,  I  will  call  attention  to  a  few  general  facts  concern- 
ing its  discovery  and  settlement. 

First. —  The  Romantic  Period  of  Discovery  on  this  Con- 
tinent. 

There  can  scarcely  be  found  in  the  realms  of  romance  anv- 
thing  more  fascinating  than  the  records  of  discovery  and  ad- 


venture  during  the  two  centuries  that  followed  the  landing  of 
Columbus  on  the  soil  of  the  New  World.  The  greed  for  gold  ; 
the  passion  for  adventure ;  the  spirit  of  chivalry ;  the  enthusi- 
asm and  fanaticism  of  religion, —  all  conspired  to  throw  into 
America  the  hardiest  and  most  daring  spirits  of  Europe,  and 
made  the  vast  wilderness  of  the  New  World  the  theatre  of  the 
imost  stirring  achievements  that  history  has  recorded. 

Early  in  the  sixteenth  century,  Spain,  turning  from  the  con- 
quest of  Granada  and  her  triumph  over  the  Moors,  followed 
her  golden  dreams  of  the  New  World  with  the  same  spirit  that 
in  an  earlier  day  animated  her  Crusaders.  In  1528  Ponce  de 
Leon  began  his  search  for  the  fountain  of  perpetual  youth,  the 
tradition  of  which  he  had  learned  among  the  natives  of  the 
West  Indies,  He  discovered  the  low-lying  coasts  of  Florida, 
and  explored  its  interior.  Instead  of  the  fountain  of  youth,  he 
found  his  grave  among  its  everglades. 

A  few  years  later  De  Soto,  who  had  accompanied  Pizarro  in 
the  conquest  of  Peru,  landed  in  Florida  with  a  gallant  array  of 
knights  and  nobles,  and  commenced  his  explorations  through 
the  western  wilderness.  In  1541  he  reached  the  banks  of  the 
Mississippi  River,  and,  crossing  it,  pushed  his  discoveries  west- 
ward over  the  great  plains;  but,  finding  neither  the  gold  nor 
the  South  Sea  of  his  dreams,  he  returned  to  be  buried  in  the 
waters  of  the  great  river  he  had  discovered. 

While  England  was  more  leisurely  exploring  the  bays  and 
rivers  of  the  Atlantic  coast,  and  searching  for  gold  and  peltry, 
the  chevaliers  and  priests  of  France  were  chasing  their  dreams 
in  the  North,  searching  for  a  passage  to  China,  and  the  realms  of 
Far  Cathay,  and  telling  the  mystery  of  the  Cross  to  the  Indian 
tribes  of  the  far  West.  Coasting  northward,  her  bold  naviga- 
tors discovered  the  mouth  of  the  St.  Lawrence;  and  in  1525 
Cartier  sailed  up  its  broad  current  to  the  rocky  heights  of 
Quebec,  and  to  the  rapids  above  Montreal,  which  were  after- 
wards named  La  Chine,  in  derision  of  the  belief  that  the  ad- 
venturers were  about  to  find  China. 

In  1609  Champlain  pushed  above  the  rapids,  and  discovered 
the  beautiful  lake  that  bears  his  name.  In  1615  Priest  La 
Caron  pushed  northward  and  westward  through  the  wilderness, 
and  discovered  Lake  Huron. 

In  1635  th^  Jesuit  missionaries  founded  the  Mission  St. 
Mary.  In  1654  another  priest  had  entered  the  wilderness  of 
Northern  New  York,  and  found  the  salt  springs  of  Onondaga. 
In  1659-1660  French  traders  and  priests  passed  the  winter  on 
Lake  Superior,  and  established  missions  along  its  shores. 


Among  the  earlier  discoverers,  no  name  shines  out  with  more 
brilliancy  than  that  of  the  Chevalier  La  Salle.  The  story  of 
his  explorations  can  scarcely  be  equalled  in  romantic  interest 
by  any  of  the  stirring  tales  of  the  Crusaders.  Born  of  a  proud 
and  wealthy  family  in  the  north  of  France,  he  was  destined  for 
the  service  of  the  Church  and  of  the  Jesuit  Order.  But  his  rest- 
less spirit,  fired  with  the  love  of  adventure,  broke  away  from 
the  ecclesiastical  restraints  to  confront  the  dangers  of  the  New 
World,  and  to  extend  the  empire  of  Louis  XIV.  From  the  best 
evidence  accessible,  it  appears  that  he  was  the  first  white  man 
that  saw  the  Ohio  River.  At  twenty-six  years  of  age,  we  find 
him  with  a  small  party,  near  the  western  extremity  of  Lake 
Ontario,  boldly  entering  the  domain  of  the  dreaded  Iroquois, 
travelling  southward  and  westward  through  the  wintry  wilder- 
ness until  he  reached  a  branch  of  the  Ohio,  probably  the 
Alleghany.  He  followed  it  to  the  main  stream,  and  descended 
that,  until  in  the  winter  of  1669  and  1670  he  reached  the  Falls 
of  the  Ohio,  near  the  present  site  of  Louisville.  His  com- 
panions refusing  to  go  further,  he  returned  to  Quebec,  and  pre- 
pared for  still  greater  undertakings. 

In  the  mean  time  the  Jesuit  missionaries  had  been  pushing 
their  discoveries  on  the  Northern  Lake.  In  1673  Joliet  and 
Marquette  started  from  Green  Bay,  dragging  their  canoes  up 
the  rapids  of  Fox  River ;  crossed  Lake  Winnebago ;  found 
Indian  guides  to  conduct  them  to  the  waters  of  the  Wisconsin ; 
descended  that  stream  to  the  westward,  and  on  the  i6th 
of  June  reached  the  Mississippi  near  the  spot  where  now 
stands  the  city  of  Prairie  du  Chien.  To-morrow  will  be  the 
two  hundredth  anniversary  of  that  discovery.  One  hundred 
and  thirty-two  years  before  that  time  De  Soto  had  seen  the 
same  river  more  than  a  thousand  miles  below ;  but  during  that 
interval  it  is  not  known  that  any  white  man  had  looked  upon  its 
waters. 

Turning  southward,  these  brave  priests  descended  the  great 
river,  amid  the  awful  solitudes.  The  stories  of  demons  and 
monsters  of  the  wilderness  which  abounded  among  the  Indian 
tribes  did  not  deter  them  from  pushing  their  discoveries. 
They  continued  their  journey  southward  to  the  mouth  of  the 
Arkansas  River,  telling  as  best  they  could  the  story  of  the 
Cross  to  the  wild  tribes  along  the  shores.  Returning  from 
the  Kaskaskias  and  travelling  thence  to  Lake  Michigan,  they 
reached  Green  Bay  at  the  end  of  September,  1673,  having  on 
their  journey  paddled  their  canoes  more  than  twenty-five  hun- 
dred miles.     Marquette  remained  to  establish  missions  among 


the  Indians,  and  to  die,  three  years  later,  on  the  western  shore 
of  Lake  Michigan,  while  Joliet  returned  to  Quebec  to  report  his 
discoveries. 

In  the  mean  time  Count  Frontenac,  a  noble  of  France,  had 
been  made  Governor  of  Canada,  and  found  in  La  Salle  a  fit 
counsellor  and  assistant  in  his  vast  schemes  of  discovery.  La 
Salle  was  sent  to  France,  to  enlist  the  Court  and  the  Ministers 
of  Louis;  and  in  1677-1678  returned  to  Canada,  with  full 
power  under  Frontenac  to  carry  forward  his  grand  enterprises. 
He  had  developed  three  great  purposes :  first,  to  realize  the 
old  plan  of  Champlain,  the  finding  of  a  pathway  to  China 
across  the  American  Continent ;  second,  to  occupy  and  de- 
velop the  regions  of  the  Northern  Lakes ;  and,  third,  to  de- 
scend the  Mississippi  and  establish  a  fortified  post  at  its 
mouth,  thus  securing  an  outlet  for  the  trade  of  the  interior  and 
checking  the  progress  of  Spain  on  the  Gulf  of  Mexico. 

In  pursuance  of  this  plan,  we  find  La  Salle  and  his  compan- 
ions, in  January,  1679,  dragging  their  cannon  and  materials  for 
ship-building  around  the  Falls  of  Niagara,  and  laying  the  keel 
of  a  vessel  two  leagues  above  the  cataract,  at  the  mouth  of 
Cayuga  Creek.  She  was  a  schooner  of  forty-five  tons'  burden, 
and  was  named  "The  Griffin."  On  the  7th  of  August,  1679, 
with  an  armament  of  five  cannon,  and  a  crew  and  company  of 
thirty-four  men,  she  started  on  her  voyage  up  Lake  Erie,  the 
first  sail  ever  spread  over  the  waters  of  our  lake.  On  the 
fourth  day  she  entered  Detroit  River ;  and,  after  encountering 
a  terrible  storm  on  Lake  Huron,  passed  the  straits  and  reached 
Green  Bay  early  in  September.  A  few  weeks  later  she  started 
back  for  Niagara,  laden  with  furs,  and  was  never  heard  from. 

While  awaiting  the  supplies  which  "  The  Griffin "  was  ex- 
pected to  bring,  La  Salle  explored  Lake  Michigan  to  its  south- 
ern extremity,  ascended  the  St.  Joseph,  crossed  the  portage  to 
the  Kankakee,  descended  the  Illinois,  and,  landing  at  an  Ind- 
ian village  on  the  site  of  the  present  village  of  Utica,  111.,  cele- 
brated mass  on  New  Year's  Day,  1680,  Before  the  winter  was 
ended  he  became  certain  that  "  The  Griffin  "  was  lost.  But, 
undaunted  by  his  disasters,  on  the  3d  of  March,  with  five  com- 
panions, he  began  the  incredible  feat  of  making  the  journey  to 
Quebec  on  foot,  in  the  dead  of  winter.  This  he  accomplished. 
He  reorganized  his  expedition,  conquered  every  difficulty,  and 
on  the  2ist  of  December,  1681,  with  a  party  of  fifty-four  French- 
men and  friendly  Indians,  set  out  for  the  present  site  of  Chi- 
cago, and  by  way  of  the  Illinois  River  reached  the  Mississippi 
Feb.  6,  1682.     He   descended  its  stream,  and  on  the  9th  of 


5 

April,  1682,  standing  on  the  shores  of  the  Gulf  of  Mexico, 
solemnly  proclaimed  to  his  companions  and  to  the  wilderness 
that,  in  the  name  of  Louis  the  Great,  he  took  possession  of  the 
Great  Valley  watered  by  the  Mississippi  River.  He  set  up  a 
column,  and  inscribed  upon  it  the  arms  of  France,  and  named 
the  country  Louisiana.  Upon  this  act  rested  the  claim  of 
France  to  the  vast  region  stretching  from  the  Alleghany  to  the 
Rocky  Mountains,  from  the  Rio  Grande  and  the  Gulf  to  the 
farthest  springs  of  the  Missouri. 

I  will  not  follow  further  the  career  of  the  great  explorers. 
Enough  has  been  said  to  exhibit  the  spirit  and  character  of 
their  work.  I  would  I  were  able  to  inspire  the  young  men  of 
this  country  with  a  desire  to  read  the  history  of  these  stirring 
days  of  discovery  that  opened  up  to  Europe  the  mysteries  of 
this  New  World. 

As  Irving  has  well  said  of  their  work :  "  It  was  poetry  put  into 
action ;  it  was  the  knight-errantry  of  the  Old  World  carried  into 
the  depths  of  the  American  wilderness.  The  personal  advent- 
ures j  the  feats  of  individual  prowess ;  the  picturesque  descrip- 
tions of  steel-clad  cavaliers,  with  lance  and  helm  and  prancing 
steed,  glittering  through  the  wilderness  of  Florida,  Georgia, 
Alabama,  and  the  prairies  of  the  Far  West, —  would  seem  to  us 
mere  fictions  of  romance,  did  they  not  come  to  us  in  the  matter- 
of-fact  narratives  of  those  who  were  eye-witnesses,  and  who  re- 
corded minute  memoranda  of  every  incident." 

Second. — -The  Struggle  for  National  Dominion. 

I  next  invite  your  attention  to  the  less  stirring  but  not  less 
important  struggle  for  the  possession  of  the  New  World,  which 
succeeded  the  period  of  discovery. 

At  the  beginning  of  the  eighteenth  century  North  America 
was  claimed  mainly  by  three  great  powers.  Spain  held  posses- 
sion of  Mexico,  and  a  belt  reaching  eastward  to  the  Atlantic, 
and  northward  to  the  southern  line  of  Georgia,  except  a  portion 
near  the  mouth  of  the  Mississippi  held  by  the  French.  Eng- 
land held  from  the  Spanish  line  on  the  south  to  the  North- 
ern Lakes  and  the  St.  Lawrence,  and  westward  to  the  Alle- 
ghanies.  France  held  all  north  of  the  lakes  and  west  of  the 
AUeghanies,  and  southward  to  the  possessions  of  Spain.  Some 
of  the  boundary  lines  were  but  vaguely  defined,  others  were 
disputed;   but  the  general  outlines  were  as  stated. 

Besides  the  struggle  for  national  possession,  the  religious  ele- 
ment entered  largely  into  the  contest.  It  was  a  struggle  be- 
tween the  Catholic  and  Protestant  faiths.  The  Protestant  col- 
onies of  England  were  enveloped  on  three  sides  by  the  vigor- 


ous  and  perfectly  organized  Catholic  powers  of  France  and 
Spain. 

Indeed,  at  an  early  date,  by  the  Bull  of  Pope  Alexander  VI. 
all  America  had  been  given  to  the  Spaniards.  But  France, 
with  a  zeal  equal  to  that  of  Spain,  had  entered  the  list  to  con- 
test for  the  prize.  So  far  as  the  religious  struggle  was  con- 
cerned, the  efforts  of  France  and  Spain  were  resisted  only  by 
the  Protestants  of  the  Atlantic  coast. 

The  main  chain  of  the  Alleghanies  was  supposed  to  be  im- 
passable until  1 7 14,  when  Governor  Spottswood,  of  Virginia, 
led  an  expedition  to  discover  a  pass  to  the  great  valley  beyond. 
He  found  one  somewhere  near  the  western  boundary  of  Vir- 
ginia and  by  it  descended  to  the  Ohio.  On  his  return  he 
established  the  " Transmontane  Order,"  or  "Knights  of  the 
Golden  Horse-shoe."  On  the  sandy  plains  of  Eastern  Vir- 
ginia horse-shoes  were  rarely  used,  but,  in  climbing  the  moun- 
tains, he  had  found  them  necessary,  and,  on  creating  his  com- 
panions knights  of  this  new  Order,  he  gave  to  each  a  golden 
horse-shoe,  inscribed  with  the  motto,-— 

"  Sic  jurat  trans  cendere  montes,''^ 

He  represented  to  the  British  Ministry  the  great  importance 
of  planting  settlements  in  the  western  valley ;  and,  with  the 
foresight  of  a  statesman,  pointed  out  the  danger  of  allowing 
the  French  the  undispute;d  possession  of  that  rich  region. 

The  progress  of  England  had  been  slower,  but  more  certain 
than  that  of  her  great  rival.  While  the  French  were  estab- 
lishing trading  posts  at  points  widely  remote  from  each  other, 
along  the  lakes  and  the  Mississippi,  and  in  the  wilderness  of 
Ohio,  Indiana,  and  Illinois,  the  English  were  slowly  but  firmly 
planting  their  settlements  on  the  Atlantic  slope,  and  preparing 
to  contest  for  the  rich  prize  of  the  Great  West.  They  pos- 
sessed one  great  advantage  over  their  French  rivals.  They  had 
cultivated  the  friendship  of  the  Iroquois  Confederacy,  the  most 
powerful  combination  of  Indian  tribes  known  to  the  New 
World.  That  Confederacy  held  possession  of  the  southern 
shores  of  Lakes  Ontario  and  Erie  ;  and  their  hostility  to  the 
French  had  confined  the  settlements  of  that  people  mainly  to 
the  northern  shores. 

During  the  first  half  of  the  eighteenth  century  many  treaties 
were  made  by  the  English  with  these  confederated  tribes,  and 
some  valuable  grants  of  land  were  obtained  on  the  eastern 
slope  of  the  Mississippi  Valley. 


7 

About  the  middle  of  that  century  the  British  Government 
began  to  recognize  the  wisdom  of  Governor  Spottswood,  and 
perceived  that  an  empire  was  soon  to  be  saved  or  lost. 

In  1748  a  company  was  organized  by  Thomas  Lee  and 
Lawrence  and  Augustine  Washington,  under  the  name  of 
"The  Ohio  Company,"  and  received  a  royal  grant  of  one-half 
million  acres  of  land  in  the  valley  of  the  Ohio.  In  175 1  a 
British  trading-post  was  established  on  the  Big  Miami;  but 
in  the  following  year  it  was  destroyed  by  the  French.  Many 
similar  efforts  of  the  English  colonists  were  resisted  by  the 
French;  and  during  the  years  175 1-2-3  i^  became  manifest 
that  a  great  struggle  was  imminent  between  the  French  and  the 
English  for  the  possession  of  the  West.  The  British  Ministers 
were  too  much  absorbed  in  intrigues  at  home  to  appreciate  the 
importance  of  this  contest ;  and  they  did  but  little  more  than 
to  permit  the  colonies  to  protect  their  rights  in  the  Valley  of 
the  Ohio. 

In  1753  the  Ohio  Company  had  opened  a  road,  by  "Will's 
Creek,"  into  the  western  valley,  and  were  preparing  to  locate 
their  colony.  At  the  same  time  the  French  had  sent  a  force  to 
occupy  and  hold  the  line  of  the  Ohio.  As  the  Ohio  Company 
was  under  the  especial  protection  of  Virginia,  the  Governor 
of  that  colony  determined  to  send  a  messenger  to  the  com- 
mander of  the  French  forces,  and  demand  the  reason  for  in- 
vading the  British  dominions.  For  this  purpose  he  selected 
George  Washington,  then  twenty-one  years  of  age,  who,  with  six 
assistants,  set  out  from  Williamsburg,  Va.,  in  the  middle  of 
November,  for  the  waters  of  the  Ohio  and  the  lakes.  After 
a  journey  of  nine  days  through  sleet  and  snow,  he  reached  the 
Ohio  at  the  junction  of  the  Alleghany  and  the  Monongahela; 
and  his  quick  eye  seemed  to  foresee  the  destiny  of  the  place. 
"I  spent  some  time,"  said  he,  "in  viewing  the  rivers.  The 
land  in  the  fork  has  the  absolute  command  of  both."  On  this 
spot  Fort  Pitt  was  afterwards  built,  and  still  later  the  city  of 
Pittsburg. 

As  Bancroft  has  said,  "  After  creating  in  imagination  a  for- 
tress and  city,  his  party  swam  across  the  Alleghany,  wrapped 
their  blankets  around  them  for  the  night  on  the  north-west 
bank."  Proceeding  down  the  Ohio  to  Logstown,  he  held  a 
council  with  the  Shawnees  and  the  Delawares,  who  promised 
to  secure  the  aid  of  the  Six  Nations  in  resisting  the  French. 
He  then  proceeded  to  the  French  posts  at  Venango  and  Fort 
Le  Boeuf  (the  latter  fifteen  miles  from  Lake  Erie),  and  warned 
the   commanders   that  the  rights  of   Virginia  must  not  be  in- 


8 

vaded.  He  received  for  his  answer  that  the  French  would 
seize  every  Englishman  in  the  Ohio  Valley. 

Returning  to  Virginia  in  January,  1754,  he  reported  to  the 
Governor,  and  immediate  preparations  were  made  by  the  col- 
onists to  maintain  their  rights  in  the  West,  and  resist  the  incur- 
sions of  the  French.  In  this  movement  originated  the  first 
military  union  among  the  English  colonists. 

Although  peace  existed  between  France  and  England,  for- 
midable preparations  were  made  by  the  latter  to  repel  encroach- 
ments on  the  frontier,  from  Ohio  to  the  Gulf  of  St.  Lawrence. 
Braddock  was  sent  to  America,  and  in  1755,  at  Alexandria,  Va., 
he  planned  four  expeditions  against  the  French. 

It  is  not  necessary  to  speak  in  detail  of  the  war  that  followed. 
After  Braddock's  defeat  near  the  forks  of  the  Ohio,  which 
occurred  on  the  9th  of  July,  1755,  England  herself  took  ac- 
tive measures  for  prosecuting  the  war. 

On  the  25th  of  November,  1758,  Forbes  captured  Fort 
DuQuesne,  which  thus  passed  into  the  possession  of  the  Eng- 
lish, and  was  named  Fort  Pitt,  in  honor  of  the  great  Minister. 

In  1759  Quebec  was  captured  by  General  Wolfe;  and  the 
same  year  Niagara  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  English. 

In  1760  an  English  force,  under  Major  Rogers,  moved  west- 
ward from  Niagara,  to  occupy  the  French  posts  on  the  Upper 
Lakes.  They  coasted  along  the  south  shore  of  Erie,  the  first 
English-speaking  people  that  sailed  its  waters.  Near  the  mouih 
of  the  Grand  River  they  met  in  council  the  chiefs  of  the  great 
warrior  Pontiac.  A  few  weeks  later  they  took  possession  of 
Detroit.  "  Thus,"  says  Mr.  Bancroft,  "  was  Michigan  won  by 
Great  Britain,  though  not  for  itself.  There  were  those  who 
foresaw  that  the  acquisition  of  Canada  was  the  prelude  of 
American  Independence." 

Late  in  December  Rogers  returned  to  the  Maumee ;  and, 
setting  out  from  the  point  where  Sandusky  City  now  stands, 
crossed  the  Huron  River  to  the  northern  branch  of  White 
Woman's  River,  and  passing  thence  by  the  English  village  of 
Beaverstown,  and  up  the  Ohio,  reached  Fort  Pitt  on  the  23d 
of  January,  1761,  just  a  month  after  he  left  Detroit. 

Under  the  leadership  of  Pitt,  England  was  finally  trium- 
phant in  this  great  struggle ;  and  by  the  Treaty  of  Paris,  of 
Feb.  10,  1763,  she  acquired  Canada  and  all  the  territory  east 
of  the  Mississippi  River,  and  southward  to  the  Spanish  Ter- 
ritory, excepting  New  Orleans  and  the  island  on  which  it  is 
situated. 

During  the  twelve  years  which  followed  the  Treaty  of  Paris 


the  English  colonists  were  pushing  their  settlements  into  the 
newly  acquired  territory ;  but  they  encountered  the  opposition 
of  the  Six  Nations  and  their  allies,  who  made  fruitless  efforts 
to  capture  the  British  posts, —  Detroit,  Niagara,  and  Fort  Pitt. 

At  length,  in  1768,  Sir  William  Johnson  concluded  a  treaty 
at  Fort  Stanwix  with  these  tribes,  by  which  all  the  lands  south 
of  the  Ohio  and  the  Alleghany  were  sold  to  the  British,  the  Ind- 
ians to  remain  in  undisturbed  possession  of  the  territory  north 
and  west  of  those  rivers.  New  companies  were  organized  to 
occupy  the  territory  thus  obtained. 

"Among  the  foremost  speculators  in  Western  lands  at  that 
time,"  says  the  author  of  "  Annals  of  the  West,"  "  was  George 
Washington."  In  1769  he  was  one  of  the  signers  of  a  peti- 
tion to  the  king  for  a  grant  of  two  and  a  half  millions  acres  in 
the  West.  In  1770  he  crossed  the  mountains  and  descended 
the  Ohio  to  the  mouth  of  the  Great  Kanawha,  to  locate  the  ten 
thousand  acres  to  which  he  was  entitled  for  services  in  the 
French  War. 

Virginians  planted  settlements  in  Kentucky ;  and  pioneers 
from  all  the  colonies  began  to  occupy  the  frontiers,  from  the 
Alleghany  to  the  Tennessee. 

Third. —  The  War  of  the  Revolution,  and  its  Relations  to  the 
West. 

How  came  the  Thirteen  Colonies  to  possess  the  Valley  of 
the  Mississippi  ?  The  object  of  their  struggle  was  indepen- 
dence, and  yet  by  the  Treaty  of  Peace  in  1783  not  only  was 
the  independence  of  the  Thirteen  Colonies  conceded,  but 
there  was  granted  to  the  new  Republic  a  western  territory, 
bounded  by  the  Northern  Lakes,  the  Mississippi,  and  the 
French  and  Spanish  possessions. 

How  did  these  hills  and  valleys  become  a  part  of  the  United 
States  ?  It  is  true  that  by  virtue  of  royal  charters  several  of 
the  colonies  set  up  claims  extending  to  the  "  South  Sea."  The 
knowledge  which  the  English  possessed  of  the  geography  of  this 
countFy,  at  that  time,  is  illustrated  by  the  fact  that  Captain 
John  Smith  was  commissioned  to  sail  up  the  Chickahominy, 
and  find  a  passage  to  China !  But  the  claims  of  the  colonies 
were  too  vague  to  be  of  any  consequence  in  determining  the 
boundaries  of  the  two  governments.  Virginia  had  indeed  ex- 
tended her  settlements  into  the  region  south  of  the  Ohio  River, 
and  during  the  Revolution  had  annexed  that  country  to  the  Old 
Dominion,  calling  it  the  County  of  Kentucky.  But  previous  to 
the  Revolution  the  colonies  had  taken  no  such  action  in  refer- 
ence to  the  territory  north-west  of  the  Ohio. 


lO 

The  cession  of  that  great  Territory,  under  the  treaty  of  1783, 
was  due  mainly  to  the  foresight,  the  courage,  and  the  endurance 
of  one  man,  who  never  received  from  his  country  any  adequate 
recognition  for  his  great  service.  That  man  was  George 
Rogers  Clark ;  and  it  is  worth  your  while  to  consider  the  work 
he  accomplished.  Born  in  Virginia,  he  was  in  early  life  a  sur- 
veyor, and  afterward  served  in  Lord  Dunmore's  War.  In  1776 
he  settled  in  Kentucky,  and  was,  in  fact,  the  founder  of  that 
commonwealth.  As  the  war  of  the  Revolution  progressed,  he 
saw  that  the  pioneers  west  of  the  Alleghanies  were  threatened 
by  two  formidable  dangers  :  first,  by  the  Indians,  many  of  whom 
had  joined  the  standard  of  Great  Britain;  and,  second,  by  the 
success  of  the  war  itself.  For,  should  the  colonies  obtain  their 
independence  while  the  British  held  possession  of  the  Missis- 
sippi Valley,  the  Alleghanies  would  be  the  western  boundary  of 
the  new  Republic,  and  the  pioneers  of  the  West  would  remain 
subject  to  Great  Britain. 

Inspired  by  these  views,  he  made  two  journeys  to  Virginia  to 
represent  the  case  to  the  authorities  of  that  colony.  Failing 
to  impress  the  House  of  Burgesses  with  the  importance  of 
warding  off  these  dangers,  he  appealed  to  the  Governor,  Patrick 
Henry,  and  received  from  him  authority  to  enlist  seven  compa- 
nies to  go  to  Kentucky  subject  to  his  orders,  and  serve  for 
three  months  after  their  arrival  in  the  West.  This  was  a  public 
commission. 

Another  document,  bearing  date  Williamsburg,  Jan.  2,  1778, 
was  a  secret  commission,  \yhich  authorized  him,  in  the  name 
of  Virginia,  to  capture  the  military  posts  held  by  the  British 
in  the  North-west.  Armed  with  this  authority,  he  proceeded 
to  Pittsburg,  where  he  obtained  ammunition,  and  floated  it 
down  the  river  to  Kentucky,  succeeded  in  enlisting  seven 
companies  of  pioneers,  and  in  the  month  of  June,  1778,  com- 
menced his  march  through  the  untrodden  wilderness  to  the 
region  of  the  Illinois.  With  a  daring  that  is  scarcely  equalled 
in  the  annals  of  war,  he  captured  the  garrisons  of  Kaskaskia, 
St.  Vincent,  and  Cahokia,  and  sent  his  prisoners  to  the  Gov- 
ernor of  Virginia,  and  by  his  energy  and  skill  won  over  the 
French  inhabitants  of  that  region  to  the  American  cause. 

In  October,  1778,  the  House  of  Burgesses  passed  an  act 
declaring  that  "  all  the  citizens  of  the  Commonwealth  of  Vir- 
ginia, who  are  already  settled  there,  or  shall  hereafter  be 
settled  on  the  west  side  of  the  Ohio,  shall  be  included  in  the 
District  of  Kentucky,  which  shall  be  called  Illinois  County." 
In  other  words,  George  Rogers  Clark  conquered  the  Territory 


II 

of  the  North-west  in  the  name  of  Virginia,  and  the  flag  of  the 
Republic  covered  it  at  the  close  of  the  war. 

In  negotiating  the  Treaty  of  Peace  at  Paris,  in  1783,  the 
British  commissioners  insisted  on  the  Ohio  River  as  the  north- 
western boundary  of  the  United  States ;  and  it  was  found  that 
the  only  tenable  ground  on  which  the  American  commissioners 
relied,  to  sustain  our  claim  to  the  Lakes  and  the  Mississippi  as 
the  boundary,  was  the  fact  that  George  Rogers  Clark  had  con- 
quered the  country,  and  Virginia  was  in  undisputed  possession 
of  it  at  the  cessation  of  hostilities. 

In  his  "Notes  on  the  Early  Settlement  of  the  North-west 
Territory,"  Judge  Burnet  says,  "That  fact  [the  capture  of  the 
British  posts]  was  confirmed  and  admitted,  and  was  the  chief 
ground  on  which  the  British  commissioners  reluctantly  aban- 
doned their  claim." 

It  is  a  stain  upon  the  honor  of  our  country  that  such  a  man 
—  the  leader  of  pioneers  who  made  the  first  lodgment  on  the 
site  now  occupied  by  Louisville,  who  was  in  fact  the  founder 
of  the  State  of  Kentucky,  and  who  by  his  personal  foresight 
and  energy  gave  nine  great  States  to  the  Republic  —  was 
allowed  to  sink  under  a  load  of  debt  incurred  for  the  honor 
and  glory  of  his  country. 

In  1799  Judge  Burnet  rode  some  ten  or  twelve  miles  from 
Louisville  into  the  country  to  visit  this  veteran  hero.  He  says 
he  was  induced  to  make  this  visit  by  the  veneration  he  enter- 
tained for  Clark's  military  talents  and  services. 

"  He  had,"  says  Burnet,  "  the  appearance  of  a  man  born  to 
command,  and  fitted  by  nature  for  his  destiny.  There  was  a 
gravity  and  solemnity  in  his  demeanor  resembling  that  which 
so  eminently  distinguished  the  venerated  Father  of  his  Country. 
A  person  familiar  with  the  lives  and  character  of  the  military 
veterans  of  Rome,  in  the  days  of  her  greatest  power,  might 
readily  have  selected  this  remarkable  ma?i  as  a  specimen  of  the 
model  he  had  formed  of  them  in  his  own  mind ;  but  he  was 
rapidly  falling  a  victim  to  his  extreme  sensibility,  and  to  the 
ingratitude  of  his  native  State,  under  whose  banner  he  had 
fought  bravely  and  with  great  success. 

"The  time  will  certainly  come  when  the  enlightened  and 
magnanimous  citizens  of  Louisville  will  remember  the  debt  of 
gratitude  they  owe  the  memory  of  that  distinguished  man.  He 
was  the  leader  of  the  pioneers  who  made  the  first  lodgment  on 
the  site  now  covered  by  their  rich  and  splendid  city.  He  was 
its  protector  during  the  years  of  its  infancy,  and  in  the  period 
of  its  greatest  danger.     Yet  the  traveller,  who  had  read  of  his 


12 

achievements,  admired  his  character,  and  visited  the  theatre  of 
his  brilliant  deeds,  discovers  nothing  indicating  the  place  where 
his  remains  are  deposited,  and  where  he  can  go  and  pay  a  trib- 
ute of  respect  to  the  memory  of  the  departed  and  gallant  hero." 

This  eulogy  of  Judge  Burnet  is  fully  warranted  by  the  facts 
of  history.  There  is  preserved  in  the  War  Department  at 
Washington  a  portrait  of  Clark,  which  gives  unmistakable  evi- 
dence of  a  character  of  rare  grasp  and  power.  No  one  can 
look  upon  that  remarkable  face  without  knowing  that  the  origi- 
nal was  a  man  of  unusual  force. 

Fourth. —  Organization  and  Settlement  of  the  North-west 
Territory. 

Soon  after  the  close  of  the  Revolution  our  Western  country 
was  divided  into  three  territories, —  the  Territory  of  the  Mis- 
sissippi, the  Territory  south  of  the  Ohio,  and  the  Territory 
north-west  of  the  Ohio.  For  the  purposes  of  this  address  I 
shall  consider  only  the  organization  and  settlement  of  the 
latter. 

It  would  be  difficult  to  find  any  country  so  covered  with  con- 
flicting claims  of  title  as  the  territory  of  the  North-west.  Sev- 
eral States,  still  asserting  the  validity  of  their  royal  charters,  set 
up  claims  more  or  less  definite  to  portions  of  this  Territory. 
First, —  by  royal  charter  of  1662,  confirming  a  council  charter 
of  1630,  Connecticut  claimed  a  strip  of  land  bounded  on  the 
east  by  the  Narragansett  River,  north  by  Massachusetts,  south 
by  Long  Island  Sound,  and  extending  westward  between  the 
parallels  of  41  degrees  and  42  degrees  2  minutes  north  latitude, 
to  the  mythical  "South  Sea."  Second, —  New  York,  by  her 
charter  of  16 14,  claimed  a  territory  marked  by  definite  bound- 
aries, lying  across  the  boundaries  of  the  Connecticut  charter. 
Third, —  by  the  grant  to  William  Penn,  in  1664,  Pennsylvania 
claimed  a  territory  overlapping  part  of  the  territory  of  both 
these  colonies.  Fourth, —  the  charter  of  Massachusetts  also  con- 
flicted with  some  of  the  claims  above  mentioned.  Fifth, —  Vir- 
ginia claimed  the  whole  of  the  North-west  Territory  by  right  of 
conquest,  and  in  1779,  by  an  act  of  her  Legislature,  annexed 
it  as  a  county.  Sixth, —  several  grants  had  been  made  of  spe- 
cial tracts  to  incorporated  companies  by  the  different  States. 
And,  finally,  the  whole  Territory  of  the  North-west  was  claimed 
by  the  Indians  as  their  own. 

The  claims  of  New  York,  Massachusetts,  and  part  of  the 
claim  of  Pennsylvania  had  been  settled  before  the  war  by  royal 
commissioners  :  the  others  were  still  unadjusted.  It  became 
evident  that  no  satisfactory  settlement  could  be  made  except 


by  Congress.  That  body  urged  the  several  States  to  make 
a  cession  of  the  lands  they  claimed,  and  thus  enable  the  Gen- 
eral Government  to  open  the  North-vi^est  for  settlement. 

On  the  I  St  of  March,  1784,  Thomas  Jefferson,  Samuel  Hardy, 
Arthur  Lee,  and  James  Monroe,  delegates  in  Congress,  executed 
a  deed  of  cession  in  the  name  of  Virginia,  by  which  they  trans- 
ferred to  the  United  States  the  title  of  Virginia  to  the  North- 
west Territory,  but  reserving  to  that  State  one  hundred  and 
fifty  thousand  acres  of  land  which  Virginia  had  promised  to 
George  Rogers  Clark,  and  to  the  officers  and  soldiers  who  with 
him  captured  the  British  posts  in  the  West.  Also,  another 
tract  of  land  between  the  Scioto  and  Little  Miami,  to  enable 
Virginia  to  pay  her  promised  bounties  to  her  officers  and 
soldiers  of  the  Revolutionary  army. 

On  the  27th  of  October,  1784,  a  treaty  was  made  at 
Fort  Stanwix  (now  Rome,  N.Y.)  with  the  Six  Nations,  by 
which  these  tribes  ceded  to  the  United  States  their  vague 
claims  to  the  lands  north  and  west  of  the  Ohio.  On  the  31st  of 
January,  1785,  a  treaty  was  made  at  Fort  Mcintosh  (now  the 
town  of  Beaver,  Pa.)  with  the  four  Western  tribes,  the  Wyan- 
dottes,  the  Delawares,  the  Chippewas,  and  the  Tawas,  by  which 
all  their  lands  in  the  North-west  Territory  were  ceded  to  the 
United  States,  except  that  portion  bounded  by  a  line  from  the 
mouth  of  the  Cuyahoga  up  that  river  to  the  portage  between 
the  Cuyahoga  and  Tuscarawas,  thence  down  that  branch 
to  the  mouth  of  Sandy,  thence  westwardly  to  the  portage  of 
the  Big  Miami,  which  runs  into  the  Ohio,  thence  along  the 
portage  to  the  Great  Miami  or  Maumee,  and  down  the  south- 
east side  of  the  river  to  its  mouth,  thence  along  the  shore  of 
Lake  Erie  to  the  mouth  of  the  Cuyahoga.  The  territory  thus 
described  was  to  be  forever  the  exclusive  possession  of  these 
Indians. 

In  1788  a  settlement  was  made  at  Marietta,  and  soon  after 
other  settlements  were  begun.  But  the  Indians  were  dissatis- 
fied, and,  by  the  intrigues  of  their  late  allies,  the  British,  a  sav- 
age and  bloody  war  ensued,  which  delayed  for  several  years  the 
settlement  of  the  State.  The  campaign  of  General  Harmar  in 
1790  was  only  a  partial  success.  In  the  following  year  a  more 
formidable  force  was  placed  under  the  command  of  General 
St.  Clair,  who  suffered  a  disastrous  and  overwhelming  defeat  on 
the  4th  of  November  of  that  year,  near  the  head-waters  of  the 
Wabash. 

It  was  evident  that  nothing  but  a  war  so  decisive  as  to  break 
the  power  of  the  Western  tribes  could  make  the  settlement  of 


14 

Ohio  possible.  There  are  but  few  things  in  the  career  of 
George  Washington  that  so  strikingly  illustrate  his  sagacity 
and  prudence  as  the  policy  he  pursued  in  reference  to  this  sub- 
ject. He  made  preparations  for  organizing  an  army  of  five 
thousand  men,  appointed  General  Wayne  to  the  command  of 
a  special  force,  and  early  in  1792  drafted  detailed  instructions 
for  giving  it  special  discipline  to  fit  it  for  Indian  warfare. 
During  that  and  the  following  year  he  exhausted  every  means 
to  secure  the  peace  of  the  West  by  treaties  with  the  tribes. 

But  agents  of  England  and  Spain  were  busy  in  intrigues  with 
the  Indians  in  hopes  of  recovering  a  portion  of  the  great  empire 
they  had  lost  by  the  treaty  of  1783.  So  far  were  the  efforts  of 
England  carried  that  a  British  force  was  sent  to  the  rapids  of 
the  Maumee,  where  they  built  a  fort,  and  inspired  the  Indians 
with  the  hope  that  the  British  would  join  them  in  fighting  the 
forces  of  the  United  States. 

All  efforts  to  make  a  peaceable  settlement  on  any  other 
basis  than  the  abandonment  on  the  part  of  the  United  States 
of  all  territory  north  of  the  Ohio  having  failed,  General  Wayne 
proceeded  with  that  wonderful  vigor  which  had  made  him 
famous  on  so  many  fields  of  the  Revolution,  and  on  the  20th 
of  August,  1794,  defeated  the  Indians  and  their  allies  on  the 
banks  of  the  Maumee,  and  completely  broke  the  power  of  their 
confederation. 

On  the  3d  of  August,  1795,  General  Wayne  concluded  at 
Greenville  a  treaty  of  lasting  peace  with  these  tribes  and  thus 
opened  the  State  to  settlement.  In  this  treaty  there  was  re- 
served to  the  Indians  the  same  territory  west  of  the  Cuyahoga 
as  described  in  the  treaty  of  Fort  Mcintosh  of  1785. 

Fifth. —  Settlement  of  the  Western  Reserve. 

I  have  now  noticed  briefly  the  adjustment  of  the  several 
claims  to  the  North-western  Territory,  excepting  that  of  Con- 
necticut. It  has  already  been  seen  that  Connecticut  claimed 
a  strip  westward  from  the  Narragansett  River  to  the  Mis- 
sissippi, between  the  parallels  of  41  degrees  and  42  degrees 
2  minutes ;  but  that  portion  of  her  claim  which  crossed  the 
territory  of  New  York  and  Pennsylvania  had  been  extinguished 
by  adjustment.  Her  claim  to  the  territory  west  of  Pennsyl- 
vania was  unsettled  until  Sept.  14,  1786,  when  she  ceded  it  all 
to  the  United  States,  except  that  portion  lying  between  the 
parallels  above  named  and  a  line  one  hundred  and  twenty  miles 
west  of  the  western  line  of  Pennsylvania  and  parallel  with  it. 
This  tract  of  country  was  about  the  size  of  the  present  State, 
and  was  called  ''  New  Connecticut." 


15 

In  May,  1792,  the  Legislature  of  Connecticut  granted  to 
those  of  her  citizens  whose  property  had  been  burned  or  other- 
wise spoliated  by  the  British  during  the  war  of  the  Revolution 
half  a  million  of  acres  from  the  west  end  of  the  reserve.  These 
were  called  "  The  Fire  Lands." 

On  the  5th  of  September,  1795,  Connecticut  executed  a  deed 
to  John  Caldwell,  Jonathan  Brace,  and  John  Morgan,  trustees 
for  the  Connecticut  Land  Company,  for  three  million  acres  of 
the  reserve  lying  west  of  Pennsylvania  for  $1,200,000,  or  at  the 
rate  of  40  cents  per  acre.  The  State  gave  only  a  quit-claim 
deed,  transferring  only  such  title  as  she  possessed,  and  leaving 
all  the  remaining  Indian  titles  to  the  reserve,  to  be  extinguished 
by  the  purchasers  themselves.  With  the  exception  of  a  few 
hundred  acres  previously  sold  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  Salt 
Spring  tract  on  the  Mahoning,  all  titles  to  lands  on  the  reserve 
east  of  "The  Fire  Lands"  rest  on  this  quit-claim  deed  of  Con- 
necticut to  the  three  trustees,  who  were  all  living  as  late  as 
1836,  and  joined  in  making  deeds  to  the  lands  on  the  reserve. 

On  the  same  day  that  the  trust  deed  was  made  articles  of 
association  were  signed  by  the  proprietors,  providing  for  the 
government  of  the  company.  The  management  of  its  affairs 
was  intrusted  to  seven  directors.  They  determined  to  extin- 
guish the  Indian  title,  and  survey  their  land  into  townships 
five  miles  square.  Moses  Cleaveland,  one  of  the  directors,  was 
made  General  Agent;  Augustus  Porter,  Principal  Surveyor; 
and  Seth  Pease,  Astronomer  and  Surveyor.  To  these  were 
added  four  assistant  surveyors,  a  commissary,  a  physician  and 
thirty-seven  other  employees.  This  party  assembled  at  Schen- 
ectady, N.Y.,  in  the  spring  of  1796,  and  prepared  for  their 
expedition. 

It  is  interesting  to  follow  them  on  their  way  to  the  Re- 
serve. They  ascended  the  Mohawk  River  in  bateaux,  passing 
through  Little  Falls,  and  from  the  present  city  of  Rome 
took  their  boats  and  stores  across  into  Wood  Creek.  Passing 
down  the  stream,  they  crossed  the  Oneida  Lake,  thence  down 
the  Oswego  to  Lake  Ontario,  coasting  along  the  lake  to  Niag- 
ara. After  encountering  innumerable  hardships,  the  party 
reached  Buffalo  on  the  17th  of  June,  where  they  met  "Red 
Jacket,'  and  the  principal  chiefs  of  the  Six  Nations,  and  on 
the  23d  of  that  month  completed  a  contract  with  those  chiefs, 
by  which  they  purchased  all  the  rights  of  those  Indians  to  the 
lands  on  the  Reserve,  for  five  hundred  pounds,  New  York  cur- 
rency, to  be  paid  in  goods  to  the  Western  Indians,  and  two 
beef  cattle  and  one  hundred  gallons  of  whiskey  to  the  Eastern 
Indians,  besides  gifts  and  provisions  to  all  of  them. 


i6 

Setting  out  from  Buffalo  on  the  27th  of  June,  they  coasted 
along  the  shore  of  the  lake,  some  of  the  party  in  boats  and 
others  marching  along  the  banks. 

In  the  journal  of  Seth  Pease,  published  in  Whittlesey's 
History  of  Cleveland,  I  find  the  following  :  — 

"Monday,  July  4,  1796. —  We  that  came  by  land  arrived  at 
the  confines  of  New  Connecticut,  and  gave  three  cheers  pre- 
cisely at  5  o'clock  P.M.  We  then  proceeded  to  Conneaut,  at 
five  hours  thirty  minutes,  our  boats  got  on  an  hour  after ;  we 
pitched  our  tents  on  the  east  side." 

In  the  journal  of  General  Cleaveland  is  the  following  entry : 

"On  this  Creek  (' Conneaugh '),  in  New  Connecticut  Land, 
July  4,  1796,  under  General  Moses  Cleaveland,  the  surveyors 
and  men  sent  by  the  Connecticut  Land  Company  to  survey  and 
settle  the  Connecticut  Reserve,  vi^ere  the  first  English  people 
who  took  possession  of  it. 

.  .  .  "We  gave  three  cheers  and  christened  the  place  Fort 
Independence ;  and,  after  many  difficulties,  perplexities  and 
hardships  were  surmounted,  and  we  were  on  the  good  and  prom- 
ised land,  felt  that  a  just  tribute  of  respect  to  the  day  ought  to 
be  paid.  There  were  in  all,  including  women  and  children,  fifty 
in  number.  The  men,  under  Captain  Tinker,  ranged  them- 
selves on  the  beach  and  fired  a  Federal  salute  of  fifteen  rounds, 
and  then  the  sixteenth  in  honor  of  New  Connecticut.  Drank 
several  toasts.  .  .  .  Closed  with  three  cheers.  Drank  several 
pails  of  grog.     Supped  and  retired  in  good  order." 

Three  days  afterward  General  Cleaveland  held  a  council  with 
Paqua,  Chief  of  the  Massasagas,  whose  village  was  at  Conneaut 
Creek.  The  friendship  of  these  Indians  was  purchased  by  a 
few  trinkets  and  twenty-five  dollars'  worth  of  whiskey. 

A  cabin  was  erected  on  the  bank  of  Conneaut  Creek ;  and, 
in  honor  of  the  commissary  of  the  expedition,  was  called  "  Stow 
Castle."  At  this  time  the  white  inhabitants  west  of  the  Genesee 
River  and  along  the  coasts  of  the  lakes  were  as  follows  :  the 
garrison  at  Niagara,  two  families  at  Lewistown,  one  at  Buffalo, 
one  at  Cleveland,  and  one  at  Sandusky.  There  were  no  other 
families  east  of  Detroit;  and,  with  the  exception  of  a  few  ad- 
venturers at  the  Salt  Springs  of  the  Mahoning,  the  interior  of 
New  Connecticut  was  an  unbroken  wilderness. 

The  work  of  surveying  was  commenced  at  once.  One  party 
went  southward  on  the  Pennsylvania  line  to  find  the  41st  par- 
allel, and  began  the  survey;  another,  under  General  Cleave- 
land, coasted  along  the  lake  to  the  mouth  of  the  Cuyahoga, 
which  they  reached  on  the    2 2d  of  July,  and   there  laid   the 


foundation  of  the  chief  city  of  the  Reserve.  A  large  portion  of 
the  survey  was  made  during  that  season,  and  the  work  was 
completed  in  the  following  year. 

By  the  close  of  the  year  1800  there  were  thirty-two  settle-, 
ments  on  the  Reserve,  though  as  yet  no  organization  of  govern- 
ment had  been  established.  But  the  pioneers  were  a  people 
who  had  been  trained  in  the  principles  and  practices  of  civil 
order;  and  these  were  transplanted  to  their  new  home.  In 
New  Connecticut  there  was  but  little  of  that  lawlessness  which 
so  often  characterizes  the  people  of  a  new  country.  In  many 
instances,  a  township  organization  was  completed  and  their 
minister  chosen  before  the  pioneers  left  home.  Thus  they 
planted  the  institutions  and  opinions  of  Old  Connecticut  in  their 
new  wilderness  homes. 

There  are  townships  on  this  Western  Reserve  which  are  more 
thoroughly  New  England  in  character  and  spirit  than  most  of 
the  towns  of  the  New  England  of  to-day.  Cut  off  as  they 
were  from  the  metropolitan  life  that  had  gradually  been  mould- 
ing and  changing  the  spirit  of  New  England,  they  preserved 
here  in  the  wilderness  the  characteristics  of  New  England,  as 
it  was  when  they  left  it  at  the  beginning  of  the  century.  This 
has  given  to  the  people  of  the  Western  Reserve  those  strongly 
marked  qualities  which  have  always  distinguished  them. 

For  a  long  time  it  was  difficult  to  ascertain  the  political  and 
legal  status  of  the  settlers  on  the  Reserve.  The  State  of  Con- 
necticut did  not  assume  jurisdiction  over  its  people,  because 
that  State  had  parted  with  her  claim  to  the  soil. 

By  a  proclamation  of  Governor  St.  Clair,  in  1788,  Washing- 
ton County  had  been  organized,  having  its  limits  extended 
westward  to  the  Scioto  and  northward  to  the  mouth  of  the 
Cuyahoga,  with  Marietta  as  the  county  seat.  These  limits  in- 
cluded a  portion  of  the  Western  Reserve.  But  the  Connecti- 
cut settlers  did  not  consider  this  a  practical  government,  and 
most  of  them  doubted  its  legality. 

By  the  end  of  the  century  seven  counties,  Washington, 
Hamilton,  Ross,  Wayne,  Adams,  Jefferson,  and  Knox,  had 
been  created,  but  none  of  them  were  of  any  practical  service 
to  the  settlers  on  the  -Reserve.  No  magistrate  had  been  ap- 
pointed for  that  portion  of  the  country,  no  civil  process  was 
established,  and  no  mode  existed  of  making  legal  conveyances. 

But  in  the  year  1800  the  State  of  Connecticut,  by  act  of 
her  Legislature,  transferred  to  the  National  Government  all 
her  claim  to  civil  jurisdiction.  Congress  assumed  the  politi- 
cal control,  and  the  President  conveyed  by  patent  the  fee  of 


i8 

the  soil  to  the  Government  of  the  State  for  the  use  of  the 
grantees  and  the  parties  claiming  under  them.  Whereupon, 
in  pursuance  of  this  authority,  on  the  226.  of  September,  1800, 
Governor  St.  Clair  issued  a  proclamation  establishing  the 
county  of  Trumbull,  to  include  within  its  boundaries  the  "  Fire 
Lands  "  and  adjacent  islands,  and  ordered  an  election  to  be 
held  at  Warren,  its  county  seat,  on  the  second  Tuesday  of 
October.  At  that  election  forty-two  votes  were  cast,  of  which 
General  Edward  Paine  received  thirty-eight,  and  was  thus 
elected  a  member  of  the  Territorial  Legislature.  All  the  early 
deeds  on  the  Reserve  are  preserved  in  the  records  of  Trumbull 
County. 

A  treaty  was  held  at  Fort  Industry  on  the  4th  of  July,  1805, 
between  the  Commissioners  of  the  Connecticut  Land  Company 
and  the  Indians,  by  which  all  the  lands  in  the  Reserve  west  of 
the  Cuyahoga,  belonging  to  the  Indians,  were  ceded  to  the  Con- 
necticut Company. 

Geauga  was  the  second  county  of  the  Reserve.  It  was  cre- 
ated by  an  act  of  the  Legislature,  Dec.  31,  1805  ;  and  by  a 
subsequent  act  its  boundaries  were  made  to  include  the  pres- 
ent territory  of  Cuyahoga  County  as  far  west  as  the  Fourteenth 
Range. 

Portage  County  was  established  on  the  loth  of  February, 
1807  ;  and  on  the  i6th  of  June,  1810,  the  act  establishing  Cuy- 
ahoga County  went  into  operation.  By  that  act  all  of  Geauga 
west  of  the  Ninth  Range  was  made  a  part  of  Cuyahoga  County. 

Ashtabula  County  was  established  on  the  2 2d  of  January, 
1811. 

A  considerable  number  of  Indians  remained  on  the  Western 
Reserve  until  the  breaking  out  of  the  War  of  18 12.  Most  of 
the  Canadian  tribes  took  up  arms  against  the  United  States 
in  that  struggle,  and  a  portion  of  the  Indians  of  the  Western 
Reserve  joined  their  Canadian  brethren.  At  the  close  of  that 
war  occasional  bands  of  these  Indians  returned  to  their  old 
haunts  on  the  Cuyahoga  and  the  Mahoning;  but  the  inhabi- 
tants of  the  Reserve  soon  made  them  understand  that  they 
were  unwelcome  visitors  after  the  part  they  had  taken  against 
us.  Thus  the  War  of  18 12  substantially  cleared  the  Reserve  of 
its  Indian  inhabitants. 

In  this  brief  survey  I  have  attempted  to  indicate  the  gen- 
eral character  of  the  leading  events  connected  with  the  dis- 
covery and  settlement  of  our  country.  I  cannot,  on  this 
occasion,  further  pursue  the  history  of  the  settlement  and  build- 
ing up  of  the  counties  and  townships  of  the  Western  Reserve. 


19 

I  have  already  noticed  the  peculiar  character  of  the  people  who 
converted  this  wilderness  into  the  land  of  happy  homes  which 
we  now  behold  on  every  hand.  But  I  desire  to  call  the  atten- 
tion of  the  young  men  and  women  who  hear  me  to  the  duty 
they  owe  to  themselves  and  their  ancestors  to  study  carefully 
and  reverently  the  history  of  the  great  work  which  has  been 
accomplished  in  this  New  Connecticut. 

The  pioneers  who  first  broke  ground  here  accomplished  a 
work  unlike  that  which  will  fall  to  the  lot  of  any  succeeding 
generation.  The  hardships  they  endured,  the  obstacles  they 
encountered,  the  life  they  led,  the  peculiar  qualities  they 
needed  in  their  undertakings,  and  the  traits  of  character  devel- 
oped by  their  works  stand  alone  in  our  history.  The  genera- 
tion that  knew  these  first  pioneers  is  fast  passing  away.  But 
there  are  sitting  in  this  audience  to-day  a  few  men  and  women 
whose  memories  date  back  to  the  early  settlement.  Here  sits 
a  gentleman  near  me  who  is  older  than  the  Western  Reserve. 
He  remembers  a  time  when  the  axe  of  the  Connecticut  pioneer 
had  never  awakened  the  echoes  of  the  wilderness  here.  How 
strange  and  wonderful  a  transformation  has  taken  place  since 
he  was  a  child !  It  is  our  sacred  duty  to  rescue  from  oblivion 
the  stirring  recollections  of  such  men,  and  preserve  them  as 
memorials  of  the  past,  as  lessons  for  our  own  inspiration  and 
the  instruction  of  those  who  shall  come  after  us. 

The  materials  for  a  history  of  this  Reserve  are  rich  and  abun- 
dant. Its  pioneers  were  not  ignorant  and  thoughtless  advent- 
urers, but  men  of  established  character,  whose  opinions  on  civil 
and  religious  liberty  had  grown  with  their  growth  and  become 
the  settled  convictions  of  their  maturer  years.  Both  here  and 
in  Connecticut  the  family  records,  lournals,  and  letters,  which 
are  preserved  in  hundreds  of  families,  if  brought  out  and  ar- 
ranged in  order,  would  throw  a  flood  of  light  on  every  page  of 
our  history.  Even  the  brief  notice  which  informed  the  citizens 
of  this  county  that  a  meeting  was  to  be  held  here  today  to 
organize  a  Pioneer  Society  has  called  this  great  audience  to- 
gether, and  they  have  brought  with  them  many  rich  historical 
memorials.  They  have  brought  old  colonial  commissions 
given  to  early  Connecticut  soldiers  of  the  Revolution,  who  be- 
came pioneers  of  the  Reserve  and  whose  children  are  here 
to-day.  They  have  brought  church  and  other  records  which 
date  back  to  the  beginning  of  these  settlements.  They  have 
shown  us  implements  of  industry  which  the  pioneers  brought  in 
with  them,  many  of  which  have  been  superseded  by  the  superior 
mechanical  contrivances  of  our  time.     Some  of  these   imple- 


20 

ments  are  symbols  of  the  spirit  and  character  of  the  pioneers  of 
the  Reserve.  Here  is  a  broad-axe  brought  from  Connecticut 
by  John  Ford,  father  of  the  late  governor  of  Ohio ;  and  we  are 
told  that  the  first  work  done  with  this  axe  by  that  sturdy  old 
pioneer,  after  he  had  finished  a  few  cabins  for  the  families  that 
came  with  him,  was  to  hew  out  the  timbers  for  an  academy,  the 
Burton  Academy,  to  which  so  many  of  our  older  men  owe  the 
foundation  of  their  education,  and  from  which  sprang  the  West- 
ern Reserve  College. 

These  pioneers  knew  well  that  the  three  great  forces  which 
constitute  the  strength  and  glory  of  a  free  government  are  the 
family,  the  school,  and  the  church.  These  three  they  planted 
here,  and  they  nourished  and  cherished  them  with  an  energy 
and  devotion  scarcely  equalled  in  any  other  quarter  of  the 
world.  On  this  height  were  planted  in  the  wilderness  the  sym- 
bols of  this  trinity  of  powers ;  and  here,  let  us  hope,  may  be 
maintained  forever  the  ancient  faith  of  our  fathers  in  the  sanc- 
tity of  the  home,  the  intelligence  of  the  school,  and  the  faithful- 
ness of  the  church.  Where  these  three  combine  in  prosperous 
union,  the  safety  and  prosperity  of  the  nation  are  assured.  The 
glory  of  our  country  can  never  be  dimmed  while  these  three 
lights  are  kept  shining  with  an  undimmed  lustre. 


The  best  single  work  on  the  North-west  Territory  is  Hinsdale's  The  Old 
North-west.  See  the  histories  of  Ohio  and  Indiana  in  the  "American  Com- 
monwealths "  Series,  and  Hildreth's  Pioneer  History.  The  chapter  on 
Territorial  Acquisitions  and  Divisions,  by  Justin  Winsor  and  Edward 
Channing,  in  the  appendix  to  Vol.  VII.  of  the  Narrative  and  Critical  His- 
tory of  A7nerica,  contains  very  much  that  is  valuable  upon  this  subject. 
There  is  a  History  of  the  Western  Reserve,  by  W.  S.  Kennedy;  and  Harvey 
Rice's  Sketches  of  Western  Reserve  Life  should  be  read  in  connection. 
Whittlesey's  Early  History  of  Cleveland  is  a  scholarly  and  thorough  work, 
covering  in  great  part  the  general  early  history  of  the  Reserve.  The  West- 
ern Reserve  Historical  Society  at  Cleveland  has  published  many  valuable 
tracts  relating  to  the  history  of  the  Reserve.  General  Garfield's  address, 
given  in  the  present  leaflet,  was  originally  published  in  this  series.  See  the 
lives  of  Garfield,  Benjamin  F.  Wade,  and  Joshua  R.  Giddings  for  the  noble 
part  taken  by  the  Western  Reserve  in  the  anti-slavery  conflict. 


O^Iti  ^outli  aeaflet^. 


General  Series,  No.  43. 


The  Capture  of 

Vincennes. 

1779. 

BY  GEORGE  ROGERS  CLARK. 


From  General  Clark's  Memoirs. 

"  Everything  being  ready,  on  the  5th  of  February,  after 
receiving  a  lecture  and  absolution  from  the  priest,  we  crossed 
the  Kaskaskia  River  with  one  hundred  and  seventy  men, 
marched  about  three  miles  and  encamped,  where  we  lay  until 
the  [7th],  and  set  out.  The  weather  wet  (but  fortunately  not 
cold  for  the  season)  and  a  great  part  of  the  plains  under 
water  several  inches  deep.  It  was  difficult  and  very  fatiguing 
marching.  My  object  was  now  to  keep  the  men  in  spirits.  I 
suffered  them  to  shoot  game  on  all  occasions,  and  feast  on  it 
like  Indian  war-dancers,  each  company  by  turns  inviting  the 
others  to  their  feasts,  which  was  the  case  every  night,  as  the 
company  that  was  to  give  the  feast  was  always  supplied  with 
horses  to  lay  up  a  sufficient  store  of  wild  meat  in  the  course 
of  the  day,  myself  and  principal  officers  putting  on  the  woods- 
men, shouting  now  and  then,  and  running  as  much  through 
the  mud  and  water  as  any  of  them.  Thus,  insensibly,  without 
a  murmur,  were  those  men  led  on  to  the  banks  of  the  Little 
Wabash,  which  we  reached  on  the  13th,  through  incredible 
difficulties,  far  surpassing  anything  that  any  of  us  had  ever 
experienced.  Frequently  the  diversions  of  the  night  wore  off 
the  thoughts  of  the  preceding  day.  We  formed  a  camp  on  a 
height  which  we  found  on  the  bank  of  the  river,  and  suffered 
our  troops  to  amuse  themselves.  I  viewed  this  sheet  of  water 
for  some  time  with  distrust ;  but,  accusing  myself  of  doubting, 
I  immediately  set  to  work,  without  holding  any  consultation 
about  it,  or  suffering  anybody  else  to  do  so  in  my  presence ; 
ordered  a  pirogue  to  be  built  immediately,  and  acted  as  though 
crossing  the  water  would  be  only  a  piece  of  diversion.  As  but 
few  could  work  at  the  pirogue  at  a  time,  pains  were  taken  to 
find  diversion  for  the  rest  to  keep  them  in  high  spirits.  .  .  . 


In  the  evening  of  the  14th,  our  vessel  was  finished,  manned, 
and  sent  to  explore  the  drowned  lands  on  the  opposite  side  of 
the  Little  Wabash,  with  private  instructions  what  report  to 
make,  and,  if  possible,  to  find  some  spot  of  dry  land.  They 
found  about  half  an  acre,  and  marked  the  trees  from  thence 
back  to  the  camp,  and  made  a  very  favorable  report. 

"Fortunately,  the  15th  happened  to  be  a  warm,  moist  day 
for  the  season.  The  channel  of  the  river  where  we  lay  was 
about  thirty  yards  wide.  A  scaffold  was  built  on  the  opposite 
shore  (which  was  about  three  feet  under  water),  and  our  bag- 
gage ferried  across,  and  put  on  it.  Our  horses  swam  across, 
and  received  their  loads  at  the  scaffold,  by  which  time  the 
troops  were  also  brought  across,  and  we  began  our  march 
through  the  water.  .  .  . 

"  By  evening  we  found  ourselves  encamped  on  a  pretty  height, 
in  high  spirits,  each  party  laughing  at  the  other,  in  consequence 
of  something  that  had  happened  in  the  course  of  this  ferrying 
business,  as  they  called  it.  A  little  antic  drummer  afforded 
them  great  diversion  by  floating  on  his  drum,  etc.  All  this 
was  greatly  encouraged ;  and  they  really  began  to  think  them- 
selves superior  to  other  men,  and  that  neither  the  rivers  nor 
the  seasons  could  stop  their  progress.  Their  whole  conversation 
now  was  concerning  what  they  would  do  when  they  got  about 
the  enemy.  They  now  began  to  view  the  main  Wabash  as  a 
creek,  and  made  no  doubt  but  such  men  as  they  were  could 
find  a  way  to  cross  it.  They  wound  themselves  up  to  such  a 
pitch  that  they  soon  took  Post  Vincennes,  divided  the  spoil, 
and  before  bedtime  were  far  advanced  on  their  route  to  De- 
troit. All  this  was,  no  doubt,  pleasing  to  those  of  us  who  had 
more  serious  thoughts.  .  .  .  We  were  now  convinced  that  the 
whole  of  the  low  country  on  the  Wabash  was  drowned,  and 
that  the  enemy  could  easily  get  to  us,  if  they  discovered  us, 
and  wished  to  risk  an  action ;  if  they  did  not,  we  made  no 
doubt  of  crossing  the  river  by  some  means  or-  other.  Even  if 
Captain  Rogers,  with  our  galley,  did  not  get  to  his  station 
agreeable  to  his  appointment,  we  flattered  ourselves  that  all 
would  be  well,  and  marched  on  in  high  spirits.  .  .  . 

"  The  last  day's  march  through  the  water  was  far  superior  to 
anything  the  Frenchmen  had  an  idea  of.  They  were  backward 
in  speaking;  said  that  the  nearest  land  to  us  was  a  small 
league  called  the  Sugar  Camp,  on  the  bank  of  the  [river  ?]  A 
canoe  was  sent  off,  and  returned  without  finding  that  we  could 
pass.  I  went  in  her  myself,  and  sounded  the  water ;  found  it 
deep  as  to  my  neck.     I  returned  with  a  design  to  have  the  men 


transported  on  board  the  canoes  to  the  Sugar  Camp,  which  I 
knew  would  spend  the  whole  day  and  ensuing  night,  as  the 
vessels  would  pass  slowly  through  the  bushes.  The  loss  of  so 
much  time,  to  men  half-starved,  was  a  matter  of  consequence. 
I  would  have  given  now  a  great  deal  for  a  day's  provision  or 
for  one  of  our  horses.  I  returned  but  slowly  to  the  troops, 
giving  myself  time  to  think.  On  our  arrival,  all  ran  to  hear 
what  was  the  report.  Every  eye  was  fixed  on  me.  I  unfortu- 
nately spoke  in  a  serious  manner  to  one  of  the  officers.  The 
whole  were  alarmed  without  knowing  what  I  said.  I  viewed 
their  confusion  for  about  one  minute,  whispered  to  those  near 
me  to  do  as  I  did :  immediately  put  some  water  in  my  hand, 
poured  on  powder,  blackened  my  face,  gave  the  war-whoop,  and 
marched  into  the  water  without  saying  a  word.  The  party 
gazed,  and  fell  in,  one  after  another,  without  saying  a  word, 
like  a  flock  of  sheep.  I  ordered  those  near  me  to  begin  a 
favorite  song  of  theirs.  It  soon  passed  through  the  line,  and 
the  whole  went  on  cheerfully.  I  now  intended  to  have  them 
transported  across  the  deepest  part  of  the  water ;  but,  when 
about  waist  deep,  one  of  the  men  informed  me  that  he  thought 
he  felt  a  path.  We  examined,  and  found  it  so,  and  concluded 
that  it  kept  on  the  highest  ground,  which  it  did ;  and,  by 
taking  pains  to  follow  it,  we  got  to  the  Sugar  Camp  without 
the  least  difficulty,  where  there  was  about  half  an  acre  of  dry 
ground,  at  least  not  under  water,  where  we  took  up  our  lodg- 
ing. The  Frenchmen  that  we  had  taken  on  the  river  appeared 
to  be  uneasy  at  our  situation.  They  begged  that  they  might 
be  permitted  to  go  in  the  two  canoes  to  town  in  the  night. 
They  said  that  they  would  bring  from  their  own  houses  pro- 
visions, without  a  possibility  of  any  persons  knowing  it ;  that 
some  of  our  men  should  go  with  them  as  a  surety  of  their 
good  conduct ;  that  it  was  impossible  we  could  march  from 
that  place  till  the  water  fell,  for  the  plain  was  too  deep  to 
march.  Some  of  the  [officers  ?]  believed  that  it  might  be  done. 
I  would  not  suffer  it.  I  never  could  well  account  for  this  piece 
of  obstinacy,  and  give  satisfactory  reasons  to  myself  or  any- 
body else  why  I  denied  a  proposition  apparently  so  easy  to 
execute  and  of  so  much  advantage ;  but  something  seemed  to 
tell  me  that  it  should  not  be  done,  and  it  was  not  done. 

"The  most  of  the  weather  that  we  had  on  this  march  was 
moist  and  warm  for  the  season.  This  was  the  coldest  night 
we  had.  The  ice,  in  the  morning,  was  from  one-half  to  three- 
quarters  of  an  inch  thick  near  the  shores  and  in  still  water. 
The   morning  was  the  finest  we  had  on  our  march.     A  little 


after  sunrise  I  lectured  the  whole.  What  I  said  to  them  I 
forget,  but  it  may  be  easily  imagined  by  a  person  that  could 
possess  my  affections  for  them  at  that  time.  I  concluded  by 
informing  them  that  passing  the  plain  that  was  then  in  full 
view  and  reaching  the  opposite  woods  would  put  an  end  to 
their  fatigue,  that  in  a  few  hours  they  would  have  a  sight  of 
their  long-wished-for  object,  and  immediately  stepped  into  the 
water  without  waiting  for  any  reply.  A  huzza  took  place.  As 
we  generally  marched  through  the  water  in  a  line,  before  the 
third  entered  I  halted,  and  called  to  Major  Bowman,  ordering 
him  to  fall  in  the  rear  with  twenty-five  men,  and  put  to  death 
any  man  who  refused  to  march,  as  we  wished  to  have  no  such 
person  among  us.  The  whole  gave  a  cry  of  approbation,  and 
on  we  went.  This  was  the  most  trying  of  all  the  difficulties 
we  had  experienced.  I  generally  kept  fifteen  or  twenty  of  the 
strongest  men  next  myself,  and  judged  from  my  own  feelings 
what  must  be  that  of  others.  Getting  about  the  middle  of  the 
plain,  the  water  about  mid-deep,  I  found  myself  sensibly  fail- 
ing ;  and,  as  there  were  no  trees  nor  bushes  for  the  men  to  sup- 
port themselves  by,  I  feared  that  many  of  the  most  weak  would 
be  drowned.  I  ordered  the  canoes  to  make  the  land,  discharge 
their  loading,  and  play  backward  and  forward  with  all  dili- 
gence, and  pick  up  the  men  ;  and,  to  encourage  the  party,  sent 
some  of  the  strongest  men  forward,  with  orders,  when  they  got 
to  a  certain  distance,  to  pass  the  word  back  that  the  water  was 
getting  shallow,  and  when  getting  near  the  woods  to  cry  out, 
'  Land  ! '  This  stratagem  had  its  desired  effect.  The  men,  en- 
couraged by  it,  exerted  themselves  almost  beyond  their  abili- 
ties ;  the  weak  holding  by  the  stronger.  .  .  .  The  water  never 
got  shallower,  but  continued  deepening.  Getting  to  the  woods, 
where  the  men  expected  land,  the  water  was  up  to  my  shoul- 
ders ;  but  gaining  the  woods  was  of  great  consequence.  All  the 
low  men  and  the  weakly  hung  to  the  trees,  and  floated  on  the 
old  logs  until  they  were  taken  off  by  the  canoes.  The  strong 
and  tall  got  ashore  and  built  fires.  Many  would  reach  the 
shore,  and  fall  with  their  bodies  half  in  the  water,  not  being 
able  to  support  themselves  without  it. 

"This  was  a  delightful  dry  spot  of  ground  of  about  ten 
acres.  We  soon  found  that  the  fires  answered  no  purpose, 
but  that  two  strong  men  taking  a  weaker  one  by  the  arms  was 
the  only  way  to  recover  him ;  and,  being  a  delightful  day,  it 
soon  did.  But,  fortunately,  as  if  designed  by  Providence,  a 
canoe  of  Indian  squaws  and  children  was  coming  up  to  town, 
and  took  through  part  of   this  plain  as   a  nigh  way.     It  was 


5 

discovered  by  our  canoes  as  they  were  out  after  the  men. 
They  gave  chase,  and  took  the  Indian  canoe,  on  board  of  which 
was  near  half  a  quarter  of  a  buffalo,  some  corn,  tallow,  kettles, 
etc.  This  was  a  grand  prize,  and  was  invaluable.  Broth  was 
immediately  made,  and  served  out  to  the  most  weakly  with 
great  care.  Most  of  the  whole  got  a  little ;  but  a  great  many 
gave  their  part  to  the  weakly,  jocosely  saying  something  cheer- 
ing to  their  comrades.  This  little  refreshment  and  fine 
weather  by  the  afternoon  gave  new  life  to  the  whole.  Crossing 
a  narrow  deep  lake  in  the  canoes,  and  marching  some  distance, 
we  came  to  a  copse  of  timber  called  the  Warrior's  Island. 
We  were  now  in  full  view  of  the  fort  and  town,  not  a  shrub 
between  us,  at  about  two  miles'  distance.  Every  man  now 
feasted  his  eyes,  and  forgot  that  he  had  suffered  anything,  say- 
ing that  all  that  had  passed  was  owing  to  good  policy  and 
nothing  but  what  a  man  could  bear ;  and  that  a  soldier  had  no 
right  to  think,  etc., —  passing  from  one  extreme  to  another, 
which  is  common  in  such  cases.  It  was  now  we  had  to  display 
our  abilities.  The  plain  between  us  and  the  town  was  not  a 
perfect  level.  The  sunken  grounds  were  covered  with  water 
full  of  ducks.  We  observed  several  men  out  on  horseback, 
shooting  them,  within  a  half  mile  of  us,  and  sent  out  as  many 
of  our  active  young  Frenchmen  to  decoy  and  take  one  of  these 
men  prisoner  in  such  a  manner  as  not  to  alarm  the  others, 
which  they  did.  The  information  we  got  from  this  person  was 
similar  to  that  which  we  got  from  those  we  took  on  the  river, 
except  that  of  the  British  having  that  evening  completed  the 
wall  of  the  fort,  and  that  there  were  a  good  many  Indians  in 
town. 

"Our  situation  was  now  truly  critical, —  no  possibility  of 
retreating  in  case  of  defeat,  and  in  full  view  of  a  town  that 
had,  at  this  time,  upward  of  six  hundred  men  in  it, —  troops, 
inhabitants,  and  Indians.  The  crew  of  the  galley,  though  not 
fifty  men,  would  have  been  now  a  re-enforcement  of  immense 
magnitude  to  our  little  army  (if  I  may  so  call  it),  but  we 
would  not  think  of  them.  We  were  now  in  the  situation  that 
I  had  labored  to  get  ourselves  in.  The  idea  of  being  made 
prisoner  was  foreign  to  almost  every  man,  as  they  expected 
nothing  but  torture  from  the  savages,  if  they  fell  into  their 
hands.  Our  fate  was  now  to  be  determined,  probably  in  a  few 
hours.  We  knew  that  nothing  but  the  most  daring  conduct 
would  insure  success.  I  knew  that  a  number  of  the  inhabi- 
tants wished  us  well,  that  many  were  lukewarm  to  the  interest 
of  either,  and  I  also  learned  that  the  grand  chief,  the  Tobacco's 


son,  had  but  a  few  days  before  openly  declared,  in  council  with 
the  British,  that  he  was  a  brother  and  friend  to  the  Big  Knives. 
These  were  favorable  circumstances ;  and,  as  there  was  but 
little  probability  of  our  remaining  until  dark  undiscovered,  I 
determined  to  begin  the  career  immediately,  and  wrote  the 
following  placard  to  the  inhabitants  :  — 

" '  To  THE  Inhabitants  of  Post  Vincennes  : 

"  '  Ge7itlemen, —  Being  now  within  two  miles  of  your  village, 
with  my  army,  determined  to  take  your  fort  this  night,  and 
not  being  willing  to  surprise  you,  I  take  this  method  to  request 
such  of  you  as  are  true  citizens  and  willing  to  enjoy  the  liberty 
I  bring  you  to  remain  still  in  your  houses ;  and  those,  if  any 
there  be,  that  are  friends  to  the  king  will  instantly  repair  to 
the  fort,  and  join  the  hair-buyer  general,  and  fight  like  men. 
And,  if  any  such  as  do  not  go  to  the  fort  shall  be  discovered 
afterward,  they  may  depend  on  severe  punishment.  On  the 
contrary,  those  who  are  true  friends  to  liberty  may  depend  on 
being  well  treated ;  and  I  once  more  request  them  to  keep  out 
of  the  streets.  For  every  one  I  find  in  arms  on  my  arrival  I 
shall  treat  him  as  an  enemy. 

"'(Signed)  G.   R.  CLARK.' 

"  I  had  various  ideas  on  the  supposed  results  of  this  letter. 
I  knew  that  it  could  do  us  no  damage,  but  that  it  would  cause 
the  lukewarm  to  be  decided,  encourage  our  friends,  and  aston- 
ish our  enemies.  .  .  .  We  anxiously  viewed  this  messenger 
until  he  entered  the  town,  and  in  a  few  minutes  could  discover 
by  our  glasses  some  stir  in  every  street  that  we  could  penetrate 
into,  and  great  numbers  running  or  riding  out  into  the  com- 
mons, we  supposed,  to  view  us,  which  was  the  case.  But  what 
surprised  us  was  that  nothing  had  yet  happened  that  had  the 
appearance  of  the  garrison  being  alarmed, —  no  drum  nor  gun. 
We  began  to  suppose  that  the  information  we  got  from  our 
prisoners  was  false,  and  that  the  enemy  already  knew  of  us, 
and  were  prepared.  ...  A  little  before  sunset  we  moved,  and 
displayed  ourselves  in  full  view  of  the  town,  crowds  gazing 
at  us.  We  were  plunging  ourselves  into  certain  destruction 
or  success.  There  was  no  midway  thought  of.  We  had  but 
little  to  say  to  our  men,  except  inculcating  an  idea  of  the 
necessity  of  obedience,  etc.  We  knew  they  did  not  want  en- 
couraging, and  that  anything  might  be  attempted  with  them 
that  was  possible  for  such  a  number, —  perfectly  cool,   under 


7 

proper  subordination,  pleased  with  the  prospect  before  them, 
and  much  attached  to  their  officers.  They  all  declared  that 
they  were  convinced  that  an  implicit  obedience  to  orders  was 
the  only  thing  that  would  insure  success,  and  hoped  that  no 
mercy  would  be  shown  the  person  that  should  violate  them. 
Such  language  as  this  from  soldiers  to  persons  in  our  station 
must  have  been  exceedingly  agreeable.  We  moved  on  slowly 
in  full  view  of  the  town ;  but,  as  it  was  a  point  of  some  con- 
sequence to  us  to  make  ourselves  appear  as  formidable,  we, 
in  leaving  the  covert  that  we  were  in,  marched  and  counter- 
marched in  such  a  manner  that  we  appeared  numerous.  In 
raising  volunteers  in  the  Illinois,  every  person  that  set  about 
the  business  had  a  set  of  colors  given  him,  which  they  brought 
with  them  to  the  amount  of  ten  or  twelve  pairs.  These  were 
displayed  to  the  best  advantage;  and,  as  the  low  plain  we 
marched  through  was  not  a  perfect  level,  but  had  frequent 
risings  in  it  seven  or  eight  feet  higher  than  the  common 
level  (which  was  covered  with  water),  and  as  these  risings 
generally  run  in  an  oblique  direction  to  the  town,  we  took  the 
advantage  of  one  of  them,  marching  through  the  water  under 
it,  which  completely  prevented  our  being  numbered.  But  our 
colors  showed  considerably  above  the  heights,  as  they  were 
fixed  on  long  poles  procured  for  the  purpose,  and  at  a  distance 
made  no  despicable  appearance ;  and,  as  our  young  Frenchmen 
had,  while  we  lay  on  the  Warrior's  Island,  decoyed  and  taken 
several  fowlers  with  their  horses,  officers  were  mounted  on 
these  horses,  and  rode  about,  more  completely  to  deceive  the 
enemy.  In  this  manner  we  moved,  and  directed  our  march  in 
such  a  way  as  to  suffer  it  to  be  dark  before  we  had  advanced 
more  than  half-way  to  the  town.  We  then  suddenly  altered 
our  direction,  and  crossed  ponds  where  they  could  not  have 
suspected  us,  and  about  eight  o'clock  gained  the  heights  back 
of  the  town.  As  there  was  yet  no  hostile  appearance,  we  were 
impatient  to  have  the  cause  unriddled.  Lieutenant  Bayley  was 
ordered,  with  fourteen  men,  to  march  and  fire  on  the  fort. 
The  main  body  moved  in  a  different  direction,  and  took  pos- 
session of  the  strongest  part  of  the  town. 

"  The  firing  now  commenced  on  the  fort,  but  they  did  not 
believe  it  was  an  enemy  until  one  of  their  men  was  shot  down 
through  a  port,  as  drunken  Indians  frequently  saluted  the  fort 
after  night.  The  drums  now  sounded,  and  the  business  fairly 
commenced  on  both  sides.  Re-enforcements  were  sent  to  the 
attack  of  the  garrison,  while  other  arrangements  were  making 
in   town.  .  .  ,  We  now  found   that   the  garrison   had  known 


8 

nothing  of  us  ;  that,  having  finished  the  fort  that  evening,  they 
had  amused  themselves  at  different  games,  and  had  just  re- 
tired before  my  letter  arrived,  as  it  was  near  roll-call.  The 
placard  being  made  public,  many  of  the  inhabitants  were  afraid 
to  show  themselves  out  of  the  houses  for  fear  of  giving  offence, 
and  not  one  dare  give  information.  Our  friends  flew  to  the 
commons  and  other  convenient  places  to  view  the  pleasing 
sight.  This  was  observed  from  the  garrison,  and  the  reason 
asked,  but  a  satisfactory  excuse  was  given ;  and,  as  a  part  of 
the  town  lay  between  our  line  of  march  and  the  garrison,  we 
could  not  be  seen  by  the  sentinels  on  the  walls.  Captain  W. 
Shannon  and  another  being  some  time  before  taken  prisoners 
by  one  of  their  [scouting  parties],  and  that  evening  brought  in, 
the  party  had  discovered  at  the  Sugar  Camp  some  signs  of  us. 
They  supposed  it  to  be  a  party  of  observation  that  intended 
to  land  on  the  height  some  distance  below  the  town.  Captain 
Lamotte  was  sent  to  intercept  them.  It  was  at  him  the  people 
said  they  were  looking,  when  they  were  asked  the  reason  of 
their  unusual  stir.  Several  suspected  persons  had  been  taken 
to  the  garrison;  among  them  was  Mr.  Moses  Henry.  Mrs. 
Henry  went,  under  the  pretense  of  carrying  him  provisions, 
and  whispered  him  the  news  and  what  she  had  seen.  Mr. 
Henry  conveyed  it  to  the  rest  of  his  fellow-prisoners,  which 
gave  them  much  pleasure,  particularly  Captain  Helm,  who 
amused  himself  very  much  during  the  siege,  and,  I  believe,  did 
m.uch  damage. 

"  Ammunition  was  scarce  with  us,  as  the  most  of  our  stores 
had  been  put  on  board  of  the  galley.  Though  her  crew  was 
but  few,  such  a  re-enforcement  to  us  at  this  time  would  have 
been  invaluable  in  many  instances.  But,  fortunately,  at  the 
time  of  its  being  reported  that  the  whole  of  the  goods  in  the 
town  were  to  be  taken  for  the  king's  use  (for  which  the  owners 
were  to  receive  bills).  Colonel  Legras,  Major  Bosseron,  and 
others  had  buried  the  greatest  part  of  their  powder  and  ball. 
This  was  immediately  produced,  and  we  found  ourselves  well 
supplied  by  those  gentlemen. 

"  The  Tobacco's  son,  being  in  town  with  a  number  of  war- 
riors, immediately  mustered  them,  and  let  us  know  that  he 
wished  to  join  us,  saying  that  by  the  morning  he  would  have 
a  hundred  men.  He  received  for  answer  that  we  thanked  him 
for  his  friendly  disposition ;  and,  as  we  were  sufficiently  strong 
ourselves,  we  wished  him  to  desist,  and  that  we  would  counsel 
on  the  subject  in  the  morning ;  and,  as  we  knew  that  there 
were  a  number  of  Indians  in  and  near  the  town  that  were  our 


enemies,  some  confusion  might  happen  if  our  men  should  mix 
in  the  dark,  but  hoped  that  we  might  be  favored  with  his 
counsel  and  company  during  the  night,  which  was  agreeable 
to  him. 

"  The  garrison  was  soon  completely  surrounded,  and  the 
firing  continued  without  intermission  (except  about  fifteen 
minutes  a  little  before  day)  until  about  nine  o'clock  the  fol- 
lowing morning.  It  was  kept  up  by  the  whole  of  the  troops, 
joined  by  a  few  of  the  young  men  of  the  town,  who  got  per- 
mission, except  fifty  men  kept  as  a  reserve.  ...  I  had  made 
myself  fully  acquainted  with  the  situation  of  the  fort  and 
town  and  the  parts  relative  to  each.  The  cannon  of  the  gar- 
rison was  on  the  upper  floors  of  strong  blockhouses  at  each 
angle  of  the  fort,  eleven  feet  above  the  surface,  and  the  ports 
so  badly  cut  that  many  of  our  troops  lay  under  the  fire  of 
them  within  twenty  or  thirty  yards  of  the  walls.  They  did  no 
damage,  except  to  the  buildings  of  the  town,  some  of  which 
they  much  shattered ;  and  their  musketry,  in  the  dark,  em- 
ployed against  woodsmen  covered  by  houses,  palings,  ditches, 
the  banks  of  the  river,  etc.,  was  but  of  little  avail,  and  did  no 
injury  to  us  except  wounding  a  man  or  two.  As  we  could  not 
afford  to  lose  men,  great  care  was  taken  to  preserve  them  suf- 
ficiently covered,  and  to  keep  up  a  hot  fire  in  order  to  intimi- 
date the  enemy  as  well  as  to  destroy  them.  The  embrasures 
of  their  cannon  were  frequently  shut,  for  our  riflemen,  finding 
the  true  direction  of  them,  would  pour  in  such  volleys  when 
they  were  opened  that  the  men  could  not  stand  to  the  guns. 
Seven  or  eight  of  them  in  a  short  time  got  cut  down.  Our 
troops  would  frequently  abuse  the  enemy,  in  order  to  aggra- 
vate them  to  open  their  ports  and  fire  their  cannon,  that  they 
might  have  the  pleasure  of  cutting  them  down  with  their 
rifles,  fifty  of  which,  perhaps,  would  be  levelled  the  moment 
the  port  flew  open ;  and  I  believe  that,  if  they  had  stood  at 
their  artillery,  the  greater  part  of  them  would  have  been  de- 
stroyed in  the  course  of  the  night,  as  the  greater  part  of  our 
men  lay  within  thirty  yards  of  the  walls,  and  in  a  few  hours 
were  covered  equally  to  those  within  the  walls,  and  much  more 
experienced  in  that  mode  of  fighting.  .  .  .  Sometimes  an 
irregular  fire,  as  hot  as  possible,  was  kept  up  from  different 
directions  for  a  few  minutes,  and  then  only  a  continual  scatter- 
ing fire  at  the  ports  as  usual ;  and  a  great  noise  and  laughter 
immediately  commenced  in  different  parts  of  the  town,  by  the 
reserved  parties,  as  if  they  had  only  fired  on  the  fort  a  few 
minutes  for  amusement,  and  as  if  those  continually  firing  at  the 


lO 

fort  were  only  regularly  relieved.  Conduct  similar  to  this  kept 
the  garrison  constantly  alarmed.  They  did  not  know  what 
moment  they  might  be  stormed  or  [blown  up  ?],  as  they  could 
plainly  discover  that  we  had  flung  up  some  entrenchments 
across  the  streets,  and  appeared  to  be  frequently  very  busy 
under  the  bank  of  the  river,  which  was  within  thirty  feet 
of  the  walls.  The  situation  of  the  magazine  we  knew  well. 
Captain  Bowman  began  some  works  in  order  to  blow  it  up,  in 
case  our  artillery  should  arrive ;  but,  as  we  knew  that  we  were 
daily  liable  to  be  overpowered  by  the  numerous  bands  of  Ind- 
ians on  the  river,  in  case  they  had  again  joined  the  enemy  (the 
certainty  of  which  we  were  unacquainted  with),  we  resolved 
to  lose  no  time,  but  to  get  the  fort  in  our  possession  as  soon 
as  possible.  If  the  vessel  did  not  arrive  before  the  ensuing 
night,  we  resolved  to  undermine  the  fort,  and  fixed  on  the 
spot  and  plan  of  executing  this  work,  which  we  intended  to 
commence  the  next  day. 

"  The  Indians  of  different  tribes  that  were  inimical  had  left 
the  town  and  neighborhood.  Captain  Lamotte  continued  to 
hover  about  it,  in  order,  if  possible,  to  make  his  way  good  into 
the  fort.  Parties  attempted  in  vain  to  surprise  him.  A  few 
of  his  party  were  taken,  one  of  which  was  Maisonville,  a 
famous  Indian  partisan.  Two  lads  that  captured  him  tied 
him  to  a  post  in  the  street,  and  fought  from  behind  him  as  a 
breastwork,  supposing  that  the  enemy  would  not  fire  at  them 
for  fear  of  killing  him,  as  he  would  alarm  them  by  his  voice. 
The  lads  were  ordered,  by  an  officer  who  discovered  them  at 
their  amusement,  to  untie  their  prisoner,  and  take  him  off  to 
the  guard,  which  they  did,  but  were  so  inhuman  as  to  take  part 
of  his  scalp  on  the  way.  There  happened  to  him  no  other 
damage.  As  almost  the  whole  of  the  persons  who  were  most 
active  in  the  department  of  Detroit  were  either  in  the  fort  or 
with  Captain  Lamotte,  I  got  extremely  uneasy  for  fear  that 
he  would  not  fall  into  our  power,  knowing  that  he  would  go 
off,  if  he  could  not  get  into  the  fort  in  the  course  of  the  night. 
Finding  that,  without  some  unforeseen  accident,  the  fort  must 
inevitably  be  ours,  and  that  a  re-enforcement  of  twenty  men, 
although  considerable  to  them,  would  not  be  of  great  moment 
to  us  in  the  present  situation  of  affairs,  and  knowing  that  we 
had  weakened  them  by  killing  or  wounding  many  of  their 
gunners,  after  some  deliberation,  we  concluded  to  risk  the  re-en- 
forcement in  preference  of  his  going  again  among  the  Indians. 
The  garrison  had  at  least  a  month's  provisions ;  and,  if  they 
could  hold  out,  in  the  course  of  that  time  he   might   do  us 


II 

much  damage.  A  little  before  day  the  troops  were  withdrawn 
from  their  positions  about  the  fort,  except  a  few  parties  of 
observation,  and  the  firing  totally  ceased.  Orders  were  given, 
in  case  of  Lamotte's  approach,  not  to  alarm  or  fire  on  him 
without  a  certainty  of  killing  or  taking  the  whole.  In  less 
than  a  quarter  of  an  hour,  he  passed  within  ten  feet  of  an 
officer  and  a  party  that  lay  concealed.  Ladders  were  flung 
over  to  them ;  and,  as  they  mounted  them,  our  party  shouted. 
Many  of  them  fell  from  the  top  of  the  walls, —  some  within, 
and  others  back ;  but,  as  they  were  not  fired  on,  they  all  got 
over,  much  to  the  joy  of  their  friends.  But,  on  considering 
the  matter,  they  must  have  been  convinced  that  it  was  a 
scheme  of  ours  to  let  them  in,  and  that  we  were  so  strong  as 
to  care  but  little  about  them  or  the  manner  of  their  getting 
into  the  garrison.  .  .  .  The  firing  immediately  commenced 
on  both  sides  with  double  vigor ;  and  I  believe  that  more  noise 
could  not  have  been  made  by  the  same  number  of  men.  Their 
shouts  could  not  be  heard  for  the  firearms ;  but  a  continual 
blaze  was  kept  around  the  garrison,  without  much  being  done, 
until  about  daybreak,  when  our  troops  were  drawn  off  to  posts 
prepared  for  them,  about  sixty  or  seventy  yards  from  the  fort. 
A  loophole  then  could  scarcely  be  darkened  but  a  rifle-ball 
would  pass  through  it.  To  have  stood  to  their  cannon  would 
have  destroyed  their  men,  without  a  probability  of  doing  much 
service.  Our  situation  was  nearly  similar.  It  would  have  been 
imprudent  in  either  party  to  have  wasted  their  men,  without 
some  decisive  stroke  required  it. 

"  Thus  the  attack  continued  until  about  nine  o'clock  on  the 
morning  of  the  24th.  Learning  that  the  two  prisoners  they 
had  brought  in  the  day  before  had  a  considerable  number  of 
letters  with  them,  I  supposed  it  an  express  that  we  expected 
about  this  time,  which  I  knew  to  be  of  the  greatest  moment 
to  us,  as  we  had  not  received  one  since  our  arrival  in  the 
country;  and,  not  being  fully  acquainted  with  the  character 
of  our  enemy,  we  were  doubtful  that  those  papers  might  be 
destroyed,  to  prevent  which  I  sent  a  flag  [with  a  letter]  de- 
manding the  garrison." 

The  following  is  a  copy  of  the  letter  which  was  addressed 
by  Colonel  Clark  to  Lieutenant-governor  Hamilton  on  this 
occasion:  — 

"  .S/r, —  In  order  to  save  yourself  from  the  impending  storm 
that  now  threatens  you,  I  order  you  immediately  to  surrender 


12 

yourself,  Avith  all  your  garrison,  stores,  etc.  For,  if  I  am 
obliged  to  storm,  you  may  depend  on  such  treatment  as  is 
justly  due  to  a  murderer.  Beware  of  destroying  stores  of  any 
kind  or  any  papers  or  letters  that  are  in  your  possession,  or 
hurting  one  house  in  town ;  for,  by  heavens  !  if  you  do,  there 
shall  be  no  mercy  shown  you. 

"(Signed)  G.    R.    CLARK." 

The  British  commandant  immediately  returned  the  following 
answer :  — 

"Lieutenant-governor  Hamilton  begs  leave  to  acquaint 
Colonel  Clark  that  he  and  his  garrison  are  not  disposed  to 
be  awed  into  any  action  unworthy  British  subjects." 

"The  firing  then,"  says  Clark,  "commenced  warmly  for  a 
considerable  time ;  and  we  were  obliged  to  be  careful  in  pre- 
venting our  men  from  exposing  themselves  too  much,  as  they 
were  now  much  animated,  having  been  refreshed  during  the 
flag.  They  frequently  mentioned  their  wishes  to  storm  the 
place,  and  put  an  end  to  the  business  at  once.  .  .  .  The  firing 
was  heavy  through  every  crack  that  could  be  discovered  in 
any  part  of  the  fort.  Several  of  the  garrison  got  wounded, 
and  no  possibility  of  standing  near  the  embrasures.  Toward 
the  evening  a  flag  appeared  with  the  following  proposals  :  — 

" '  Lieutenant-governor  Hamilton  proposes  to  Colonel  Clark 
a  truce  for  three  days,  during  which  time  he  promises  there 
shall  be  no  defensive  works  carried  on  in  the  garrison,  on  con- 
dition that  Colonel  Clark  shall  observe,  on  his  part,  a  like 
cessation  of  any  defensive  work, —  that  is,  he  wishes  to  confer 
with  Colonel  Clark  as  soon  as  can  be,  and  promises  that  what- 
ever may  pass  between  them  two  and  another  person  mutually 
agreed  upon  to  be  present  shall  remain  secret  till  matters  be 
finished,  as  he  wishes  that,  whatever  the  result  of  the  confer- 
ence may  be,  it  may  tend  to  the  honor  and  credit  of  each  party. 
If  Colonel  Clark  makes  a  difhculty  of  coming  into  the  fort, 
Lieutenant-governor  Hamilton  will  speak  to  him  by  the  gate. 

"'(Signed)  HENRY   HAMILTON. 

"'24TH  February,  1779.' 

"  I  was  at  a  great  loss  to  conceive  what  reason  Lieutenant- 
governor  Hamilton  could  have  for  wishing  a  truce  of  three 
days  on  such  terms  as  he  proposed.     Numbers  said  it  was  a 


scheme  to  get  me  into  their  possession.  I  had  a  different 
opinion  and  no  idea  of  his  possessing  such  sentiments,  as  an 
act  of  that  kind  would  infallibly  ruin  him.  Although  we  had 
the  greatest  reason  to  expect  a  re-enforcement  in  less  than  three 
days,  that  would  at  once  put  an  end  to  the  siege,  I  yet  did  not 
think  it  prudent  to  agree  to  the  proposals,  and  sent  the  follow- 
ing answer :  — 

"  '  Colonel  Clark's  compliments  to  Lieutenant-governor  Ham- 
ilton, and  begs  leave  to  inform  him  that  he  will  not  agree  to 
any  terms  other  than  Mr.  Hamilton's  surrendering  himself  and 
garrison  prisoners  at  discretion.  If  Mr.  Hamilton  is  desirous 
of  a  conference  with  Colonel  Clark,  he  will  meet  him  at  the 
church  with  Captain  Helm. 

"'(Signed)  G.  R.  C. 

'•'February  24TH,  1779.' 

"We  met  at  the  church,  about  eighty  yards  from  the  fort. 
Lieutenant-governor  Hamilton,  Major  Hay,  superintendent 
of  Indian  affairs.  Captain  Helm,  their  prisoner,  Major  Bowman, 
and  myself.  The  conference  began.  Hamilton  produced  terms 
of  capitulation,  signed,  that  contained  various  articles,  one  of 
which  was  that  the  garrison  should  be  surrendered  on  their 
being  permitted  to  go  to  Pensacola  on  parole.  After  deliber- 
ating on  every  article,  I  rejected  the  whole.  He  then  wished 
that  I  would  make  some  proposition.  I  told  him  that  I  had 
no  other  to  make  than  what  I  had  already  made, —  that  of  his 
surrendering  as  prisoners  at  discretion.  I  said  that  his  troops 
had  behaved  with  spirit ;  that  they  could  not  suppose  that  they 
would  be  worse  treated  in  consequence  of  it ;  that,  if  he  chose 
to  comply  with  the  demand,  though  hard,  perhaps  the  sooner 
the  better ;  that  it  was  in  vain  to  make  any  proposition  to  me  ; 
that  he,  by  this  time,  must  be  sensible  that  the  garrison 
would  fall;  that  both  of  us  must  [view?]  all  blood  spilt  for 
the  future  by  the  garrison  as  murder;  that  my  troops  were 
already  impatient,  and  called  aloud  for  permission  to  tear  down 
and  storm  the  fort.  If  such  a  step  was  taken,  many,  of  course, 
would  be  cut  down;  and  the  result  of  an  enraged  body  of 
woodsmen  breaking  in  must  be  obvious  to  him.  It  would  be 
out  of  the  power  of  an  American  officer  to  save  a  single  man. 
Various  altercation  took  place  for  a  considerable  time.  Cap- 
tain Helm  attempted  to  moderate  our  fixed  determination. 
I  told   him   he  was   a  British  prisoner ;  and  it  was    doubtful 


14 

whether  or  not  he  could,  with  propriety,  speak  on  the  subject. 
Hamilton  then  said  that  Captain  Helm  was  from  that  moment 
liberated,  and  might  use  his  pleasure.  I  informed  the  Captain 
that  I  would  not  receive  him  on  such  terms ;  that  he  must 
return  to  the  garrison,  and  await  his  fate.  I  then  told  Lieu- 
tenant-governor Hamilton  that  hostilities  should  not  commence 
until  five  minutes  after  the  drums  gave  the  alarm.  We  took 
our  leave,  and  parted  but  a  few  steps,  when  Hamilton  stopped, 
and  politely  asked  me  if  I  would  be  so  kind  as  to  give  him  my 
reasons  for  refusing  the  garrison  any  other  terms  than  those 
I  had  offered.  I  told  him  I  had  no  objections  in  giving  him 
my  real  reasons,  which  were  simply  these :  that  I  knew  the 
greater  part  of  the  principal  Indian  partisans  of  Detroit  were 
with  him ;  that  I  wanted  an  excuse  to  put  them  to  death  or 
otherwise  treat  them  as  I  thought  proper;  that  the  cries  of 
the  widows  and  the  fatherless  on  the  frontiers,  which  they  had 
occasioned,  now  required  their  blood  from  my  hand ;  and  that 
I  did  not  choose  to  be  so  timorous  as  to  disobey  the  absolute 
commands  of  their  authority,  which  I  looked  upon  to  be  next 
to  divine;  that  I  would  rather  lose  fifty  men  than  not  to  em- 
power myself  to  execute  this  piece  of  business  with  propriety ; 
that,  if  he  chose  to  risk  the  massacre  of  his  garrison  for  their 
sakes,  it  was  his  own  pleasure ;  and  that  I  might,  perhaps,  take 
it  into  my  head  to  send  for  some  of  those  widows  to  see  it 
executed.  Major  Hay  paying  great  attention,  I  had  observed 
a  kind  of  distrust  in  his  countenance,  which  in  a  great  measure 
influenced  my  conversation  during  this  time.  On  my  conclud- 
ing, '  Pray,  sir,'  said  he,  '  who  is  it  that  you  call  Indian  parti- 
sans?' 'Sir,'  I  replied,  'I  take  Major  Hay  to  be  one  of  the 
principal.'  I  never  saw  a  man  in  the  moment  of  execution  so 
struck  as  he  appeared  to  be, —  pale  and  trembling,  scarcely  able 
to  stand.  Hamilton  blushed,  and,  I  observed,  w^as  much 
affected  at  his  behavior.  Major  Bowman's  countenance  suffi- 
ciently explained  his  disdain  for  the  one  and  his  sorrow  for  the 
other.  .  .  .  Some  moments  elapsed  without  a  word  pass- 
ing on  either  side.  From  that  moment  my  resolutions  changed 
respecting  Hamilton's  situation.  I  told  him  that  we  would 
return  to  our  respective  posts;  that  I  would  reconsider  the 
matter,  and  let  him  know  the  result.  No  offensive  measures 
should  be  taken  in  the  meantime.  Agreed  to  ;  and  we  parted. 
What  had  passed  being  made  known  to  our  officers,  it  was 
agreed  that  we  should  moderate  our  resolutions." 

In   the   course   of   the  afternoon  of   the  24th  the  following 
articles  were  signed,  and  the  garrison  capitulated  :  — 


15 

"  I.  Lieutenant-governor  Hamilton  engages  to  deliver  up 
to  Colonel  Clark  Fort  Sackville,  as  it  is  at  present,  with  all 
the  stores,  etc. 

''II.  The  garrison  are  to  deliver  themselves  as  prisoners  of 
war,  and  march  out  with  their  arms  and  accouterments,  etc. 

"III.  The  garrison  to  be  delivered  up  at  ten  o'clock 
to-morrow. 

"  IV.  Three  days  time  to  be  allowed  the  garrison  to  settle 
their  accounts  with  the  inhabitants  and  traders  of  this  place. 

"  V.  The  officers  of  the  garrison  to  be  allowed  their  neces- 
sary baggage,  etc. 

"Signed  at  Post  St.  Vincent  [Vincennes]  24th  of  February, 
1779. 

"  Agreed  for  the  following  reasons :  the  remoteness  from 
succor ;  the  state  and  quantity  of  provisions,  etc.  -,  unanimity 
of  officers  and  men  in  its  expediency ;  the  honorable  terms 
allowed ;    and,  lastly,  the  confidence  in  a  generous  enemy. 

"(Signed)  HENRY   HAMILTON, 

"  Lieut-gov.  and  Superintendent^ 

"The  business  being  now  nearly  at  an  end,  troops  were 
posted  in  several  strong  houses  around  the  garrison  and 
patroled  during  the  night  to  prevent  any  deception  that  might 
be  attempted.  The  remainder  on  duty  lay  on  their  arms,  and 
for  the  first  time  for  many  days  past  got  some  rest.  .  .  .  Dur- 
ing the  siege,  I  got  only  one  man  wounded.  Not  being  able 
to  lose  many,  I  made  them  secure  themselves  well.  Seven 
were  badly  wounded  in  the  fort  through  ports.  .  .  .  Almost 
every  man  had  conceived  a  favorable  opinion  of  Lieutenant- 
governor  Hamilton, —  I  believe  what  affected  myself  made 
some  impression  on  the  whole ;  and  I  was  happy  to  find  that 
he  never  deviated,  while  he  stayed  with  us,  from  that  dignity 
of  conduct  that  became  an  officer  in  his  situation.  The  morn- 
ing of  the  25th  approaching,  arrangements  were  made  for 
receiving  the  garrison  [which  consisted  of  seventy-nine  men], 
and  about  ten  o'clock  it  was  delivered  in  form ;  and  every- 
thing was  immediately  arranged  to  the  best  advantage." 


The  conquest  of  the  country  north  of  the  Ohio  River  by  George  Rogers 
Clark  in  1778-9  was  one  of  the  most  heroic  episodes  of  the  period  of  the 
Revolution,  and  one  of  the  most  important  in  its  consequences.  It  was 
because,  owing   to  this   conquest,  the   country  between  the  Ohio  and  the 


i6 

Mississippi  was  actually  held  by  us,  under  military  and  civil  rule,  at  the 
close  of  the  war,  that  it  was  possible  for  us  to  secure,  in  the  Treaty  of  Paris, 
the  concession  of  the  Mississippi  instead  of  the  Ohio  as  our  western 
boundary.  It  has  been  properly  said  that,  "  with  respect  to  the  magnitude 
of  its  design,  the  valor  and  perseverance  with  which  it  was  carried  out,  and 
the  momentous  results  which  were  produced  by  it,  Clark's  expedition  stands 
without  a  parallel  in  the  early  annals  of  the  valley  of  the  Mississippi." 

Clark  was  a  young  Virginian  who  had  settled  in  Kentucky  in  1775,  had 
secured  the  organization  of  Kentucky  as  a  county  of  Virginia,  and  been  the 
leader  in  the  defence  of  the  frontier.  The  Kentucky  and  Illinois  country 
suffered  greatly  during  the  early  years  of  the  war  from  Indian  depredations. 
Clark  saw  clearly  that  the  sources  of  these  depredations  were  the  British 
posts  of  Detroit,  Vincennes  on  the  Wabash,  and  Kaskaskia  on  the  Missis- 
sippi ;  and  he  went  to  Virginia  and  laid  before  Patrick  Henry,  then  Gover- 
nor of  Virginia,  a  scheme  for  the  conquest  of  the  North-west,  the  boldness 
of  which  at  once  enlisted  the  interest  and  co-operation  of  Henry,  Jefferson, 
and  other  influential  men.  With  his  little  army  of  one  hundred  and  fifty 
men,  he  surprised  and  captured  Kaskaskia  on  the  night  of  July  4,  1778,  did 
much  by  wise  diplomacy  to  attach  the  French  and  Indians  to  the  American 
cause,  and  in  February,  1779,  marched  upon  Vincennes.  The  hardships  of 
that  march  of  one  hundred  and  sixty-six  miles  were  almost  incredible.  In 
that  great  era  of  brave  deeds  there  was  no  braver  deed  than  this.  A  por- 
tion of  Clark's  own  account  of  the  march  and  the  capture  of  Vincennes, 
taken  from  his  Memoirs,  composed  at  the  special  request  of  Jefferson  and 
Madison,  is  given  in  the  present  leaflet.  The  weakness  of  his  force  alone 
prevented  Clark  from  moving  on  Detroit.  The  county  of  Illinois  was 
established  by  the  General  Assembly  of  Virginia,  covering  all  the  territory ; 
and  this  remained  under  the  actual  control  of  Virginia  at  the  close  of  the 
war  and  when  the  Treaty  of  Paris  was  under  consideration.  "  The  arms  of 
Clark  had  settled  the  question  of  possession  and  civil  as  well  as  military 
rule  of  this  great  territory,  which  now  holds  so  many  millions  of  people. 
These  prominent  facts  were  before  the  British  minister  and  before  the 
world.  He  could  not  say  that  this  part  of  the  land  was  in  the  power  of 
England  any  more  than  Virginia  herself  was  after  the  battle  of  Yorktown, 
and  he  was  too  accurate  a  jurist  to  yield  to  any  claim  of  Spain  or  to  hear 
the  objections  of  France." 

The  last  years  of  this  great  man's  life  were  spent  in  solitude  and  poverty 
near  Louisville.  He  felt  keenly  the  ingratitude  of  the  republic ;  and,  when 
late  in  his  life  the  State  of  Virginia  sent  him  a  sword,  he  exclaimed  to  the 
committee :  "  When  Virginia  needed  a  sword,  I  gave  her  one.  She  sends 
me  now  a  toy.  I  want  bread!"  —  thrust  the  sword  into  the  ground,  and 
broke  it  with  his  crutch. 

John  Reynolds  called  George  Rogers  Clark  "the  Washington  of  the 
West,"  and  John  Randolph  styled  him  "the  Hannibal  of  the  West."  See 
chapter  entitled  "The  Hannibal  of  the  West,"  in  Dunn's  Indiatia,  in  the 
"American  Commonwealths"  series,  for  the  best  brief  account  of  Clark's 
exploits.  W.  F.  Poole's  chapter  on  "The  West,"  in  the  sixth  volume  of  the 
Na7'rative  and  Critical  History  of  America,  contains  an  invaluable  mass 
of  material  concerning  Clark  and  his  work.  A  good  biography  of  Clark 
is  a  desideratum.  The  memoirs,  from  which  the  present  leaflet  is  taken, 
are  printed  in  Dillon's  History  of  Indiana.  A  letter  from  Clark  to  George 
Mason,  covering  his  Vincennes  campaign,  has  been  published  under  the  title 
of  Clark's  Campaign  in  the  Illinois  (Cincinnati,  1869). 


General  Series,  No.  44. 

Captain 

Meriwether 

Lewis. 


By  Thomas  Jefferson. 


MoNTiCELLO,  Aug.  18,  1813. 

Sir, —  In  compliance  with  the  request  conveyed  in  your  letter 
of  May  25,  I  have  endeavoured  to  obtain,  from  the  relations 
and  friends  of  the  late  Governor  X-ewis,  information  of  such 
incidents  of  his  life  as  might  be  not  unacceptable  to  those 
who  may  read  the  narrative  of  his  western  discoveries.  The 
ordinary  occurrences  of  a  private  life,  and  those,  also,  while 
acting  in  a  subordinate  sphere  in  the  army  in  a  time  of  peace, 
are  not  deemed  sufficiently  interesting  to  occupy  the  public 
attention ;  but  a  general  account  of  his  parentage,  with  such 
smaller  incidents  as  marked  his  early  character,  are  briefly 
noted,  and  to  these  are  added,  as  being  peculiarly  within  my 
own  knowledge,  whatever  related  to  the  public  mission,  of 
which  an  account  is  now  to  be  published.  The  result  of  my 
inquiries  and  recollections  shall  now  be  offered,  to  be  enlarged 
or  abridged  as  you  may  think  best,  or  other^vise  to  be  used 
with  the  materials  you  may  have  collected  from  other  sources. 

Meriwether  Lewis,  late  governor  of  Louisiana,  was  born 
on  the  eighteenth  of  August,  1774,  near  the  town  of  Char- 
lottesville, in  the  county  of  Albemarle,  in  Virginia,  of  one  of 
the  distinguished  families  of  that  state.  John  Lewis,  one 
of  his  father's  uncles,  was  a  member  of  the  king's  council 
before  the  revolution.  Another  of  them.  Fielding  Lewis, 
married  a  sister  of  General  Washington.  His  father,  William 
Lewis,  was  the  youngest  of  five  sons  of  Colonel  Robert  Lewis, 
of  Albemarle,  the  fourth  of  whom,  Charles,  was  one  of  the 
early  patriots  who  stepped  forward  in  the  commencement  of 


the  revolution,  and  commanded  one  of  the  regiments  first 
raised  in  Virginia,  and  placed  on  continental  establishment. 
Happily  situated  at  home,  with  a  wife  and  young  family,  and 
a  fortune  placing  him  at  ease,  he  left  all  to  aid  in  the  libera- 
tion of  his  country  from  foreign  usurpations,  then  first  unmask- 
ing their  ultimate  end  and  aim.  His  good  sense,  integrity, 
bravery,  enterprise,  and  remarkable  bodily  powers  marked 
him  as  an  officer  of  great  promise ;  but  he  unfortunately  died 
early  in  the  revolution.  Nicholas  Lewis,  the  second  of  his 
father's  brothers,  commanded  a  regiment  of  militia  in  the  suc- 
cessful expedition  of  1776  against  the  Cherokee  Indians,  who, 
seduced  by  the  agents  of  the  British  government  to  take  up 
the  hatchet  against  us,  had  committed  great  havoc  on  our 
southern  frontier  by  murdering  and  scalping  helpless  women 
and  children,  according  to  their  cruel  and  cowardly  principles 
of  warfare.  The  chastisement  they  then  received  closed  the 
history  of  their  wars,  and  prepared  them  for  receiving  the  ele- 
ments of  civilization,  which,  zealously  inculcated  by  the  pres- 
ent government  of  the  United  States,  have  rendered  them  an 
industrious,  peaceable,  and  happy  people.  This  member  of 
the  family  of  Lewises,  whose  bravery  was  so  usefully  proved 
on  this  occasion,  was  endeared  to  all  who  knew  him  by  his 
inflexible  probity,  courteous  disposition,  benevolent  heart,  and 
engaging  modesty  and  manners.  He  was  the  umpire  of  all 
the  private  differences  of  his  county, —  selected  always  by 
both  parties.  He  was  also  the  guardian  of  Meriwether  Lewis, 
of  whom  we  are  now  to  speak,  and  who  had  lost  his  father  at 
an  early  age.  He  continued  some  years  under  the  fostering 
care  of  a  tender  mother  of  the  respectable  family  of  Meri- 
wethers  of  the  same  county,  and  was  remarkable  even  in 
infancy  for  enterprise,  boldness,  and  discretion.  When  only 
eight  years  of  age,  he  habitually  went  out,  in  the  dead  of  night, 
alone  with  his  dogs,  into  the  forest,  to  hunt  the  raccoon  and 
opossum,  which,  seeking  their  food  in  the  night,  can  then  only 
be  taken.  In  this  exercise,  no  season  or  circumstance  could 
obstruct  his  purpose, —  plunging  through  the  winter's  snows 
and  frozen  streams  in  pursuit  of  his  object.  At  thirteen  he 
was  put  to  the  Latin  school,  and  continued  at  that  until  eigh- 
teen, when  he  returned  to  his  mother,  and  entered  on  the  cares 
of  his  farm,  having,  as  well  as  a  younger  brother,  been  left  by 
his  father  with  a  competency  for  all  the  correct  and  comforta- 
ble purposes  of  temperate  life.  His  talent  for  observation, 
which  had  led  him  to  an  accurate  knowledge  of  the  plants 
and  animals  of  his  own  country,  would  have  distinguished  him 


as  a  farmer ;  but,  at  the  age  of  twenty,  yielding  to  the  ardour 
of  youth  and  a  passion  for  more  dazzling  pursuits,  he  engaged 
as  a  volunteer  in  the  body  of  militia  which  were  called  out  by 
General  Washington  on  occasion  of  the  discontents  produced 
by  the  excise  taxes  in  the  western  parts  of  the  United  States, 
and  from  that  situation  he  was  removed  to  the  regular  service 
as  a  lieutenant  in  the  line.  At  twenty-three  he  was  promoted 
to  a  captaincy ;  and,  always  attracting  the  first  attention  where 
punctuality  and  fidelity  were  requisite,  he  was  appointed  pay- 
master to  his  regiment.  About  this  time  a  circumstance 
occurred  which,  leading  to  the  transaction  which  is  the  subject 
of  this  book,  will  justify  a  recurrence  to  its  original  idea. 
While  I  resided  in  Paris,  John  Ledyard,  of  Connecticut,  ar- 
rived there,  well  known  in  the  United  States  for  energy  of 
body  and  mind.  He  had  accompanied  Captain  Cook  on  his 
voyage  to  the  Pacific  ocean,  and  distinguished  himself  on  that 
voyage  by  his  intrepidity.  Being  of  a  roaming  disposition, 
he  was  now  panting  for  some  new  enterprise.  His  immediate 
object  at  Paris  was  to  engage  a  mercantile  company  in  the 
fur-trade  of  the  western  coast  of  America,  in  which,  however, 
he  failed.  I  then  proposed  to  him  to  go  by  land  to  Kam- 
schatka,  cross  in  some  of  the  Russian  vessels  to  Nootka  Sound, 
fall  down  into  the  latitude  of  the  Missouri,  and  penetrate  to, 
and  through,  that  to  the  United  States.  He  eagerly  seized 
the  idea,  and  only  asked  to  be  assured  of  the  permission  of  the 
Russian  government.  I  interested  in  obtaining  that  M.  de 
Simoulin,  minister  plenipotentiary  of  the  empress  at  Paris,  but 
more  especially  the  Baron  de  Grimm,  minister  plenipotentiary 
of  Saxe-Gotha,  her  more  special  agent  and  correspondent 
there  in  matters  not  immediately  diplomatic.  Her  permission 
was  obtained,  and  an  assurance  of  protection  while  the  course 
of  the  voyage  should  be  through  her  territories.  Ledyard  set 
out  from  Paris,  and  arrived  at  St.  Petersburgh  after  the  em- 
press had  left  that  place  to  pass  the  winter,  I  think,  at  Moscow. 
His  finances  not  permitting  him  to  make  unnecessary  stay  at 
St.  Petersburgh,  he  left  it  with  a  passport  from  one  of  the 
ministers,  and  at  two  hundred  miles  from  Kamschatka  was 
obliged  to  take  up  his  winter  quarters.  He  was  preparing,  in 
the  spring,  to  resume  his  journey,  when  he  was  arrested  by  an 
ofiicer  of  the  empress,  who  by  this  time  had  changed  her  mind, 
and  forbidden  his  proceeding.  He  was  put  into  a  close  car- 
riage, and  conveyed  day  and  night,  without  ever  stopping,  till 
they  reached  Poland,  where  he  was  set  down  and  left  to  him- 
self.    The  fatigue  of  this  journey  broke  down  his  constitution  ; 


and,  when  he  returned  to  Paris,  his  bodily  strength  was  much 
impaired.  His  mind,  however,  remained  firm ;  and  he  after 
this  undertook  the  journey  to  Egypt.  I  received  a  letter  from 
him,  full  of  sanguine  hopes,  dated  at  Cairo,  the  fifteenth  of 
November,  1788,  the  day  before  he  was  to  set  out  for  the 
head  of  the  Nile,  on  which  day,  however,  he  ended  his  career 
and  life ;  and  thus  failed  the  first  attempt  to  explore  the  west- 
ern part  of  our  northern  continent. 

In  1792  I  proposed  to  the  American  Philosophical  Society 
that  we  should  set  on  foot  a  subscription  to  engage  some  com- 
petent person  to  explore  that  region  in  the  opposite  direction ; 
that  is,  by  ascending  the  Missouri,  crossing  the  Stony  moun- 
tains, and  descending  the  nearest  river  to  the  Pacific.  Captain 
Lewis,  being  then  stationed  at  Charlottesville,  on  the  recruiting 
service,  warmly  solicited  me  to  obtain  for  him  the  execution 
of  that  object.  I  told  him  it  was  proposed  that  the  person 
engaged  should  be  attended  by  a  single  companion  only,  to 
avoid  exciting  alarm  among  the  Indians.  This  did  not  deter 
him;  but  Mr.  Andre  Michaux,  a  professed  botanist,  author  of 
the  Flora  Boreali-Americana,  and  of  the  Histoire  des  Chesnes 
d'Amerique,  offering  his  services,  they  were  accepted.  He 
received  his  instructions ;  and,  when  he  had  reached  Ken- 
tucky in  the  prosecution  of  his  journey,  he  was  overtaken  by 
an  order  from  the  minister  of  France,  then  at  Philadelphia, 
to  relinquish  the  expedition,  and  to  pursue  elsewhere  the 
botanical  inquiries  on  which  he  was  employed  by  that  govern- 
ment ;  and  thus  failed  the  second  attempt  for  exploring  that 
region. 

In  1803  the  act  for  establishing  trading  houses  with  the 
Indian  tribes  being  about  to  expire,  some  modifications  of  it 
were  recommended  to  congress  by  a  confidential  message  of 
January  i8th,  and  an  extension  of  its  views  to  the  Indians 
on  the  Missouri.  In  order  to  prepare  the  way,  the  message 
proposed  the  sending  an  exploring  party  to  trace  the  Missouri 
to  its  source,  to  cross  the  Highlands,  and  follow  the  best 
water-communication  which  offered  itself  from  thence  to  the 
Pacific  ocean.  Congress  approved  the  proposition,  and  voted 
a  sum  of  money  for  carrying  it  into  execution.  Captain  Lewis, 
who  had  then  been  near  two  years  with  me  as  private  secre- 
tary, immediately  renewed  his  solicitations  to  have  the  direc- 
tion of  the  party.  I  had  now  had  opportunities  of  knowing 
him  intimately.  Of  courage  undaunted  ;  possessing  a  firmness 
and  perseverance  of  purpose  which  nothing  but  impossibilities 
could  divert  from  its  direction ;    careful  as  a  father  of   those 


5 

committed  to  his  charge,  yet  steady  in  the  maintenance  of 
order  and  discipline ;  intimate  with  the  Indian  character,  cus- 
toms, and  principles  ;  habituated  to  the  hunting  life ;  guarded, 
by  exact  observation  of  the  vegetables  and  animals  of  his  own 
country,  against  losing  time  in  the  description  of  objects 
already  possessed  ;  honest,  disinterested,  liberal,  of  sound  un- 
derstanding, and  a  fidelity  to  truth  so  scrupulous  that  what- 
ever he  should  report  would  be  as  certain  as  if  seen  by  our- 
selves,—  with  all  these  qualifications,  as  if  selected  and  im- 
planted by  nature  in  one  body  for  this  express  purpose,  I 
could  have  no  hesitation  in  confiding  the  enterprise  to  him. 
To  fill  up  the  measure  desired,  he  wanted  nothing  but  a  greater 
familiarity  with  the  technical  language  of  the  natural  sciences 
and  readiness  in  the  astronomical  observations  necessary  for 
the  geography  of  his  route.  To  acquire  these  he  repaired 
immediately  to  Philadelphia,  and  placed  himself  under  the 
tutorage  of  the  distinguished  professors  of  that  place,  who, 
with  a  zeal  and  emulation  enkindled  by  an  ardent  devotion  to 
science,  communicated  to  him  freely  the  information  requisite 
for  the  purposes  of  the  journey.  While  attending,  too,  at 
Lancaster,  the  fabrication  of  the  arms  with  which  he  chose 
that  his  men  should  be  provided,  he  had  the  benefit  of  daily 
communication  with  Mr.  Andrew  EUicot,  whose  experience  in 
astronomical  observation,  and  practice  of  it  in  the  woods, 
enabled  him  to  apprise  captain  Lewis  of  the  wants  and  diffi- 
culties he  would  encounter,  and  of  the  substitutes  and  re- 
sources offered  by  a  woodland  and  uninhabited  country. 

Deeming  it  necessary  he  should  have  some  person  with  him 
of  known  competence  to  the  direction  of  the  enterprise,  in  the 
event  of  accident  to  himself,  he  proposed  William  Clarke, 
brother  of  general  George  Rogers  Clarke,  who  was  approved, 
and,  with  that  view,  received  a  commission  of  captain. 

In  April,  1803,  a  draught  of  his  instructions  was  sent  to 
captain  Lewis,  and  on  the  twentieth  of  June  they  were  signed 
in  the  following  form  : 

"  To  Meriwether  Lewis,  esquire,  captain  of  the  first  regiment 
of  infantry  of  the  United  Stales  of  America  : 

"  Your  situation  as  secretary  of  the  president  of  the  United 
States  has  made  you  acquainted  with  the  objects  of  my  con- 
fidential message  of  January  18,  1803,  to  the  legislature ;  you 
have  seen  the  act  they  passed,  which,  though  expressed  in  gen- 
eral terms,  was  meant  to  sanction  those  objects,  and  you  are 
appointed  to  carry  them  into  execution. 


"  Instruments  for  ascertaining,  by  celestial  observations,  the 
geography  of  the  country  through  which  you  will  pass  have 
been  already  provided.  Light  articles  for  barter  and  presents 
among  the  Indians,  arms  for  your  attendants,  say  for  from  ten 
to  twelve  men,  boats,  tents,  and  other  travelling  apparatus, 
with  ammunition,  medicine,  surgical  instruments,  and  provi- 
sions, you  will  have  prepared,  with  such  aids  as  the  secretary 
at  war  can  yield  in  his  department;  and  from  him  also  you 
will  receive  authority  to  engage  among  our  troops,  by  volun- 
tary agreement,  the  number  of  attendants  abovementioned, 
over  whom  you,  as  their  commanding  officer,  are  invested  with 
all  the  powers  the  laws  give  in  such  a  case. 

"  As  your  movements  while  within  the  limits  of  the  United 
States  will  be  better  directed  by  occasional  communications, 
adapted  to  circumstances  as  they  arise,  they  will  not  be  noticed 
here.  What  follows  will  respect  your  proceedings  after  your 
departure  from  the  United  States. 

''Your  mission  has  been  communicated  to  the  ministers 
here  from  France,  Spain,  and  Great  Britain,  and  through  them 
to  their  governments,  and  such  assurances  given  them  as  to 
its  objects  as  we  trust  will  satisfy  them.  The  country  of  Lou- 
isiana having  been  ceded  by  Spain  to  P'rance,  the  passport  you 
have  from  the  minister  of  France,  the  representative  of  the 
present  sovereign  of  the  country,  will  be  a  protection  with  all 
its  subjects ;  and  that  from  the  minister  of  England  will  entitle 
you  to  the  friendly  aid  of  any  traders  of  that  allegiance  with 
whom  you  may  happen  to  meet. 

"  The  object  of  your  mission  is  to  explore  the  Missouri 
river,  and  such  principal  streams  of  it  as,  by  its  course  and 
communication  with  the  waters  of  the  Pacific  ocean,  whether 
the  Columbia,  Oregan,  Colorado,  or  any  other  river,  may  offer 
the  most  direct  and  practicable  water-communication  across 
the  continent  for  the  purposes  of  commerce. 

"  Beginning  at  the  mouth  of  the  Missouri,  you  will  take 
observations  of  latitude  and  longitude  at  all  remarkable  points 
on  the  river,  and  especially  at  the  mouths  of  rivers,  at  rapids, 
at  islands,  and  other  places  and  objects  distinguished  by  such 
natural  marks  and  characters,  of  a  durable  kind,  as  that  they 
may  with  certainty  be  recognized  hereafter.  The  courses  of 
the  river  between  these  points  of  observation  may  be  supplied 
by  the  compass,  the  log-line,  and  by  time,  corrected  by  the 
observations  themselves.  The  variations  of  the  needle,  too,  in 
different  places  should  be  noticed. 

"The  interesting  points  of  the  portage  between  the  heads 


7 

of  the  Missouri,  and  of  the  water  offering  the  best  communica- 
tion with  the  Pacific  ocean,  should  also  be  fixed  by  observa- 
tion, and  the  course  of  that  water  to  the  ocean  in  the  same 
manner  as  that  of  the  Missouri. 

"  Your  observations  are  to  be  taken  with  great  pains  and 
accuracy ;  to  be  entered  distinctly  and  intelligibly  for  others 
as  well  as  yourself ;  to  comprehend  all  the  elements  necessary, 
with  the  aid  of  the  usual  tables,  to  fix  the  latitude  and  longi- 
tude of  the  places  at  which  they  were  taken ;  and  are  to  be 
rendered  to  the  war-ofhce,  for  the  purpose  of  having  the  cal- 
culations made  concurrently  by  proper  persons  within  the 
United  States.  Several  copies  of  these,  as  well  as  of  your 
other  notes,  should  be  made  at  leisure  times,  and  put  into  the 
care  of  the  most  trustworthy  of  your  attendants  to  guard,  by 
multiplying  them,  against  the  accidental  losses  to  which  they 
will  be  exposed.  A  further  guard  would  be  that  one  of  these 
copies  be  on  the  cuticular  membranes  of  the  paper-birch,  as 
less  liable  to  injury  from  damp  than  common  paper. 

"The  commerce  which  may  be  carried  on  with  the  people 
inhabiting  the  line  you  will  pursue  renders  a  knowledge  of 
those  people  important.  You  will  therefore  endeavour  to  make 
yourself  acquainted,  as  far  as  a  diligent  pursuit  of  your  journey 
shall  admit,  with  the  names  of  the  nations  and  their  numbers ; 

"The  extent  and  limits  of  their  possessions; 

"  Their  relations  with  other  tribes  or  nations ; 

"Their  language,  traditions,  monuments  ; 

"  Their  ordinary  occupations  in  agriculture,  fishing,  hunting, 
war,  arts,  and  the  implements  for  these ; 

"  Their  food,  clothing,  and  domestic  accommodations  ; 

"  The  diseases  prevalent  among  them,  and  the  remedies  they 
use ; 

"  Moral  and  physical  circumstances  which  distinguish  them 
from  the  tribes  we  know ; 

"  Peculiarities  in  their  laws,  customs,  and  dispositions  ; 

"And  articles  of  commerce  they  may  need  or  furnish,  and 
to  what  extent. 

"And,  considering  the  interest  which  every  nation  has  in 
extending  and  strengthening  the  authority  of  reason  and  justice 
among  the  people  around  them,  it  will  be  useful  to  acquire 
what  knowledge  you  can  of  the  state  of  morality,  religion,  and 
information  among  them,  as  it  may  better  enable  those  who 
may  endeavour  to  civilize  and  instruct  them  to  adapt  their 
measures  to  the  existing  notions  and  practices  of  those  on 
whom  they  are  to  operate. 


8 

"Other  objects  worthy  of  notice  will  be  — 

"  The  soil  and  face  of  the  country,  its  growth  and  vegetable 
productions,  especially  those  not  of  the  United  States ; 

"  The  animals  of  the  country  generally,  and  epecially  those 
not  known  in  the  United  States  ; 

"The  remains  and  accounts  of  any  which  may  be  deemed 
rare  or  extinct ; 

"The  mineral  productions  of  every  kind,  but  more  particu- 
larly metals,  lime-stone,  pit-coal,  and  saltpetre,  salines  and 
mineral  waters,  noting  the  temperature  of  the  last,  and  such 
circumstances  as  may  indicate  their  character  ; 

"  Volcanic  appearances ; 

"  Climate  as  characterized  by  the  thermometer,  by  the  pro- 
portion of  rainy,  cloudy,  and  clear  days  ;  by  lightning,  hail, 
snow,  ice ;  by  the  access  and  recess  of  frost ;  by  the  winds 
prevailing  at  different  seasons ;  the  dates  at  which  particular 
plants  put  forth  or  lose  their  flower  or  leaf;  times  of  appear- 
ance of  particular  birds,  reptiles,  or  insects. 

"Although  your  route  will  be  along  the  channel  of  the  Mis- 
souri, yet  you  will  endeavour  to  inform  yourself,  by  inquiry, 
of  the  character  and  extent  of  the  country  watered  by  its 
branches,  and  especially  on  its  southern  side.  The  North 
river,  or  Rio  Bravo,  which  runs  into  the  gulf  of  Mexico,  and 
the  North  river,  or  Rio  Colorado,  which  runs  into  the  gulf  of 
California,  are  understood  to  be  the  principal  streams  heading 
opposite  to  the  waters  of  the  Missouri,  and  running  south- 
wardly. Whether  the  dividing  grounds  between  the  Missouri 
and  them  are  mountains  or  flat  lands,  what  are  their  distance 
from  the  Missouri,  the  character  of  the  intermediate  country, 
and  the  people  inhabiting  it,  are  worthy  of  particular  inquiry. 
The  northern  waters  of  the  Missouri  are  less  to  be  inquired 
after,  because  they  have  been  ascertained  to  a  considerable 
degree,  and  are  still  in  a  course  of  ascertainment  by  English 
traders  and  travellers ;  but,  if  you  can  learn  any  thing  certain 
of  the  most  northern  source  of  the  Mississippi,  and  of  its 
position  relatively  to  the  Lake  of  the  Woods,  it  will  be  inter- 
esting to  us.  Some  account,  too,  of  the  path  of  the  Canadian 
traders  from  the  Mississippi,  at  the  mouth  of  the  Ouisconsing 
to  where  it  strikes  the  Missouri,  and  of  the  soil  and  rivers  in 
its  course,  is  desirable. 

"  In  all  your  intercourse  with  the  natives,  treat  them  in  the 
most  friendly  and  conciliatory  manner  which  their  own  conduct 
will  admit ;  allay  all  jealousies  as  to  the  object  of  your  jour- 
ney ;    satisfy  them  of   its  innocence ;   make  them  acquainted 


with  the  position,  extent,  character,  peaceable  and  commer- 
cial dispositions  of  the  United  States,  of  our  wish  to  be 
neighborly,  friendly,  and  useful  to  them,  and  of  our  disposi- 
tions to  a  commercial  intercourse  with  them ;  confer  with  them 
on  the  points  most  convenient  as  mutual  emporiums  and  the 
articles  of  most  desirable  interchange  for  them  and  us.  If  a 
few  of  their  influential  chiefs,  within  practicable  distance,  wish 
to  visit  us,  arrange  such  a  visit  with  them,  and  furnish  them 
with  authority  to  call  on  our  officers  on  their  entering  the 
United  States,  to  have  them  conveyed  to  this  place  at  the 
public  expense.  If  any  of  them  should  wish  to  have  some  of 
their  young  people  brought  up  with  us,  and  taught  such  arts 
as  may  be  useful  to  them,  we  will  receive,  instruct,  and  take 
care  of  them.  Such  a  mission,  whether  of  influential  chiefs 
or  of  young  people,  would  give  some  security  to  your  own 
party.  Carry  with  you  some  matter  of  the  kine-pox,  inform 
those  of  them  with  whom  you  may  be  of  its  efficacy  as  a  pre- 
servative from  the  small-pox,  and  instruct  and  encourage  them 
in  the  use  of  it.  This  may  be  especially  done  wherever  you 
winter. 

"As  it  is  impossible  for  us  to  foresee  in  what  manner  you 
will  be  received  by  those  people,  whether  with  hospitality  or 
hostility,  so  is  it  impossible  to  prescribe  the  exact  degree  of 
perseverance  with  which  you  are  to  pursue  your  journey.  We 
value  too  much  the  lives  of  citizens  to  offer  them  to  probable 
destruction.  Your  numbers  will  be  sufficient  to  secure  you 
against  the  unauthorized  opposition  of  individuals  or  of  small 
parties;  but,  if  a  superior  force,  authorized  or  not  authorized 
by  a  nation,  should  be  arrayed  against  your  further  passage, 
and  inflexibly  determined  to  arrest  it,  you  must  decline  its 
further  pursuit  and  return.  In  the  loss  of  yourselves  v/e 
should  lose  also  the  information  you  will  have  acquired.  By 
returning  safely  with  that,  you  may  enable  us  to  renew  the  essay 
with  better  calculated  means.  To  your  own  discretion,  there- 
fore, must  be  left  the  degree  of  danger  you  may  risk  and  the 
point  at  which  you  should  decline,  only  saying,  we  wish  you  to 
err  on  the  side  of  your  safety,  and  to  bring  back  your  party 
safe,  even  if  it  be  with  less  information. 

"As  far  up  the  Missouri  as  the  white  settlements  extend, 
an  intercourse  will  probably  be  found  to  exist  between  them 
and  the  Spanish  posts  of  St.  Louis  opposite  Cahokia,  or  St. 
Genevieve  opposite  Kaskaskia.  From  still  further  up  the 
river  the  traders  may  furnish  a  conveyance  for  letters.  Beyond 
that  you  may  perhaps  be  able  to  engage  Indians  to  bring  let- 


lO 


ters  for  the  government  to  Cahokia  or  Kaskaskia,  on  promis- 
ing that  they  shall  there  receive  such  special  compensation  as 
you  shall  have  stipulated  with  them.  Avail  yourself  of  these 
means  to  communicate  to  us,  at  seasonable  intervals,  a  copy  of 
your  journal,  notes,  and  observations  of  every  kind,  putting 
into  cypher  whatever  might  do  injury  if  betrayed. 

"  wShould  you  reach  the  Pacific  ocean,  inform  yourself  of  the 
circumstances  which  may  decide  whether  the  furs  of  those 
parts  may  not  be  collected  as  advantageously  at  the  head  of  the 
Missouri  (convenient  as  is  supposed  to  the  waters  of  the  Col- 
orado and  Oregan  or  Columbia)  as  at  Nootka  Sound,  or  any 
other  point  of  that  coast ;  and  that  trade  be  consequently  con- 
ducted through  the  Missouri  and  United  States  more  benefi- 
cially than  by  the  circumnavigation  now  practised. 

"  On  your  arrival  on  that  coast,  endeavour  to  learn  if  there 
be  any  port  within  your  reach  frequented  by  the  sea  vessels  of 
any  nation,  and  to  send  two  of  your  trusty  people  back  by  sea, 
in  such  way  as  shall  appear  practicable,  with  a  copy  of  your 
notes ;  and  should  you  be  of  opinion  that  the  return  of  your 
party  by  the  way  they  went  will  be  imminently  dangerous,  then 
ship  the  whole,  and  return  by  sea,  by  the  way  either  of  Cape 
Horn  or  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  as  you  shall  be  able.  As 
you  will  be  without  money,  clothes,  or  provisions,  you  must 
endeavour  to  use  the  credit  of  the  United  States  to  obtain 
them,  for  which  purpose  open  letters  of  credit  shall  be  fur- 
nished you,  authorizing  you  to  draw  on  the  executive  of  the 
United  States,  or  any  of  its  officers,  in  any  part  of  the  world, 
on  which  draughts  can  be  disposed  of,  and  to  apply  with  our 
recommendations  to  the  consuls,  agents,  merchants,  or  citizens 
of  any  nation  with  which  we  have  intercourse,  assuring  them, 
in  our  name,  that  any  aids  they  may  furnish  you  shall  be  hon- 
orably repaid,  and  on  demand.  Our  consuls,  Thomas  Hewes, 
at  Batavia,  in  Java,  William  Buchanan,  in  the  Isles  of  France 
and  Bourbon,  and  John  Elmslie,  at  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope, 
will  be  able  to  supply  your  necessities  by  draughts  on  us. 

"  Should  you  find  it  safe  to  return  by  the  way  you  go,  after 
sending  two  of  your  party  round  by  sea,  or  with  your  whole 
party,  if  no  conveyance  by  sea  can  be  found,  do  so,  making 
such  observations  on  your  return  as  may  serve  to  supply,  cor- 
rect, or  confirm  those  made  on  your  outward  journey. 

*'  On  re-entering  the  United  States  and  reaching  a  place  of 
safety,  discharge  any  of  your  attendants  who  may  desire  and 
deserve  it,  procuring  for  them  immediate  payment  of  all  ar- 
rears of  pay  and  clothing  which  may  have  incurred  since  their 


II 

departure,  and  assure  them  that  they  shall  be  recommended 
to  the  Hberality  of  the  legislature  for  the  grant  of  a  soldier's 
portion  of  land  each,  as  proposed  in  my  message  to  congress, 
and  repair  yourself,  with  your  papers,  to  the  seat  of  govern- 
ment. 

"  To  provide,  on  the  accident  of  your  death,  against  anarchy, 
dispersion,  and  the  consequent  danger  to  your  party,  and  total 
failure  of  the  enterprise,  you  are  hereby  authorized,  by  any 
instrument  signed  and  written  in  your  own  hand,  to  name  the 
person  among  them  who  shall  succeed  to  the  command  on 
your  decease,  and  by  like  instruments  to  change  the  nomina- 
tion, from  time  to  time,  as  further  experience  of  the  characters 
accompanying  you  shall  point  out  superior  fitness ;  and  all  the 
powers  and  authorities  given  to  yourself  are,  in  the  event  of 
your  death,  transferred  to,  and  vested  in  the  successor  so 
named,  with  further  power  to  him  and  his  successors,  in  like 
manner  to  name  each  his  successor,  who,  on  the  death  of  his 
predecessor,  shall  be  invested  with  all  the  powers  and  author- 
ities given  to  yourself.  Given  under  my  hand  at  the  city  of 
Washington,  this  twentieth  day  of  June,  1803. 

"Thomas  Jefferson, 

"  President  of  the  United  States  of  AmericaP 

While  these  things  were  going  on  here,  the  country  of  Lou- 
isiana, lately  ceded  by  Spain  to  France,  had  been  the  subject 
of  negociation  at  Paris  between  us  and  this  last  power,  and  had 
actually  been  transferred  to  us  by  treaties  executed  at  Paris  on 
the  thirtieth  of  April.  This  information,  received  about  the 
first  day  of  July,,  increased  infinitely  the  interest  we  felt  in 
the  expedition,  and  lessened  the  apprehensions  of  interruption 
from  other  powers.  Every  thing  in  this  quarter  being  now  pre- 
pared, Captain  Lewis  left  Washington  on  the  fifth  of  July,  1803, 
and  proceeded  to  Pittsburg,  where  other  articles  had  been 
ordered  to  be  provided  for  him.  The  men,  too,  were  to  be 
selected  from  the  military  stations  on  the  Ohio.  Delays  of 
preparation,  difficulties  of  navigation  down  the  Ohio,  and 
other  untoward  obstructions,  retarded  his  arrival  at  Cahokia 
until  the  season  was  so  far  advanced  as  to  render  it  prudent 
to  suspend  his  entering  the  Missouri  before  the  ice  should 
break  up    in  the  succeeding  spring. 

From  this  time  his  journal,  now  published,  will  give  the 
history  of  his  journey  to  and  from  the  Pacific  ocean,  until  his 
return  to  St.  Louis  on  the  twenty-third  of   September,   1806. 


12 

Never  did  a  similar  event  excite  more  joy  through  the  United 
States.  The  humblest  of  its  citizens  had  taken  a  lively  inter- 
est in  the  issue  of  this  journey,  and  looked  forward  with  im- 
patience for  the  information  it  would  furnish.  Their  anxieties, 
too,  for  the  safety  of  the  corps  had  been  kept  in  a  state  of 
excitement  by  lugubrious  rumours,  circulated  from  time  to  time 
on  uncertain  authorities,  and  uncontradicted  by  letters  or  other 
direct  information,  from  the  time  they  had  left  the  Mandan 
towns,  on  their  ascent  up  the  river  in  April  of  the  preceding 
year,  1805,  until  their  actual  return  to  St.  Louis. 

It  was  the  middle  of  February,  1807,  before  Captain  Lewis, 
with  his  companion  Captain  Clarke,  reached  the  city  of  Wash- 
ington, where  congress  was  then  in  session.  That  body 
granted  to  the  two  chiefs  and  their  followers  the  donation  of 
lands  which  they  had  been  encouraged  to  expect  in  reward 
of  their  toil  and  dangers.  Captain  Lewis  was  soon  after 
appointed  governor  of  Louisiana,  and  Captain  Clarke  a  gen- 
eral of  its  militia,  and  agent  of  the  United  States  for  Indian 
affairs  in  that  department. 

A  considerable  time  intervened  before  the  governor's  arrival 
at  St.  Louis.  He  found  the  territory  distracted  by  feuds  and 
contentions  among  the  officers  of  the  government,  and  the 
people  themselves  divided  by  these  into  factions  and  parties. 
He  determined  at  once  to  take  no  side  with  either,  but  to  use 
every  endeavour  to  conciliate  and  harmonize  them.  The  even- 
handed  justice  he  administered  to  all  soon  established  a  re- 
spect for  his  person  and  authority ;  and  perseverance  and  time 
wore  down  animosities,  and  reunited  the  citizens  again  into  one 
family. 

Governor  Lewis  had,  from  early  life,  been  subject  to  hypo- 
chondriac affections.  It  was  a  constitutional  disposition  in  all 
the  nearer  branches  of  the  family  of  his  name,  and  was  more 
immediately  inherited  by  him  from  his  father.  They  had  not, 
however,  been  so  strong  as  to  give  uneasiness  to  his  family. 
While  he  lived  with  me  in  Washington,  I  observed  at  times 
sensible  depressions  of  mind ;  but,  knowing  their  constitu- 
tional source,  I  estimated  their  course  by  what  I  had  seen  in 
the  family.  During  his  western  expedition  the  constant  exer- 
tion which  that  required  of  all  the  faculties  of  body  and  mind 
suspended  these  distressing  affections ;  but,  after  his  establish- 
ment at  St.  Louis  in  sedentary  occupations,  they  returned 
upon  him  with  redoubled  vigour,  and  began  seriously  to  alarm 
his  friends.  He  was  in  a  paroxysm  of  one  of  these  when  his 
affairs   rendered   it  necessary  for  him  to  go  to  Washington. 


f3 

He  proceeded  to  the  Chickasaw  Bluffs,  where  he  arrived  on 
the  sixteenth  of  September,  1809,  with  a  view  of  continuing 
his  journey  thence  by  water.  Mr.  Neely,  agent  of  the  United 
States  with  the  Chickasaw  Indians,  arriving  there  two  days 
after,  found  him  extremely  indisposed,  and  betraying  at  times 
some  symptoms  of  a  derangement  of  mind.  The  rumours  of  a 
war  with  England,  and  apprehensions  that  he  might  lose  the 
papers  he  was  bringing  on,  among  which  were  the  vouchers  of 
his  public  accounts,  and  the  journals  and  papers  of  his  western 
expedition,  induced  him  here  to  change  his  mind,  and  to  take 
his  course  by  land  through  the  Chickasaw  country.  Although 
he  appeared  somewhat  relieved,  Mr.  Neely  kindly  determined 
to  accompany  and  watch  over  him.  Unfortunately,  at  their 
encampment,  after  having  passed  the  Tennessee  one  day's 
journey,  they  lost  two  horses,  which  obliging  Mr.  Neely  to 
halt  for  their  recovery,  the  governor  proceeded,  under  a  prom- 
ise to  wait  for  him  at  the  house  of  the  first  white  inhabitant 
on  his  road.  He  stopped  at  the  house  of  a  Mr.  Grinder,  who 
not  being  at  home,  his  wife,  alarmed  at  the  symptoms  of 
derangement  she  discovered,  gave  him  up  the  house,  and  re- 
tired to  rest  herself  in  an  out-house,  the  governor's  and  Neely's 
servants  lodging  in  another.  About  three  o'clock  in  the  night 
he  did  the  deed  which  plunged  his  friends  into  affliction,  and 
deprived  his  country  of  one  of  her  most  valued  citizens,  whose 
valour  and  intelligence  would  have  been  now  employed  in 
avenging  the  wrongs  of  his  countr}^,  and  in  emulating  by  land 
the  splendid  deeds  which  have  honoured  her  arms  on  the 
ocean.  It  lost,  too,  to  the  nation  the  benefit  of  receiving  from 
his  own  hand  the  narrative  now  offered  them  of  his  sufferings 
and  successes,  in  endeavouring  to  extend  for  them  the  boun- 
daries of  science,  and  to  present  to  their  knowledge  that  vast 
and  fertile  country  which  their  sons  are  destined  to  fill  with 
arts,  with  science,  with  freedom  and  happiness. 

To  this  melancholy  close  of  the  life  of  one  whom  posterity 
will  declare  not  to  have  lived  in  vain,  I  have  only  to  add  that 
all  the  facts  I  have  stated  are  either  known  to  myself  or  com- 
municated by  his  family  or  others,  for  whose  truth  I  have  no 
hesitation  to  make  myself  responsible ;  and  I  conclude  with 
tendering  you  the  assurances  of  my  respect  and  consideration. 

TH.  JEFFERSON. 
Mr.  Paul  Allen,  Philadelphia. 


14 


LEWIS    AND     CLARKE    AT     THE    SOURCES    OF     THE    MISSOURI    AND 

THE    COLUMBIA. 

Extract  from  their  Journal. 

Monday,  August  12  [1805].  This  morning  as  soon  as  it  was 
light  Captain  Lewis  sent  Drewyer  to  reconnoitre,  if  possible, 
the  route  of  the  Indians.  In  about  an  hour  and  a  half  he  re- 
turned, after  following  the  tracks  of  the  horse  which  we  had 
lost  yesterday  to  the  mountains,  where  they  ascended  and  were 
no  longer  visible.  Captain  Lewis  now  decided  on  making  the 
circuit  along  the  foot  of  the  mountains  which  formed  the  cove, 
expecting  by  that  means  to  find  a  road  across  them,  and  ac- 
cordingly sent  Drewyer  on  one  side  and  Shields  on  the  other. 
In  this  way  they  crossed  four  small  rivulets  near  each  other, 
on  which  were  some  bowers  or  conical  lodges  of  willow  brush, 
which  seemed  to  have  been  made  recently.  From  the  manner 
in  which  the  ground  in  the  neighbourhood  was  torn  up  the  Ind- 
ians appeared  to  have  been  gathering  roots  ;  but  Captain  Lewis 
could  not  discover  what  particular  plant  they  were  searching 
for,  nor  could  he  find  any  fresh  track  till  at  the  distance  of  four 
miles  from  his  camp  he  met  a  large  plain  Indian  road  which 
came  into  the  cove  from  the  north-east,  and  wound  along  the 
foot  of  the  mountains  to  the  south-west,  approaching  obliquely 
the  main  stream  he  had  left  yesterday.  Down  this  road  he 
now  went  towards  the  south-west.  At  the  distance  of  five  miles 
it  crossed  a  large  run  or  creek,  which  is  a  principal  branch  of 
the  main  stream  into  which  it  falls,  just  above  the  high  cliffs 
or  gates  observed  yesterday,  and  which  they  now  saw  below 
them.  Here  they  halted,  and  breakfasted  on  the  last  of  the 
deer,  keeping  a  small  piece  of  pork  in  reserve  against  accident. 
They  then  continued  through  the  low  bottom  along  the  main 
stream  near  the  foot  of  the  mountains  on  their  right.  For  the 
first  five  miles  the  valley  continues  towards  the  south-west  from 
two  to  three  miles  in  width.  Then  the  main  stream,  which 
had  received  two  small  branches  from  the  left  in  the  valley, 
turns  abruptly  to  the  west  through  a  narrow  bottom  between 
the  mountains.  The  road  was  still  plain,  and,  as  it  led  them 
directly  on  towards  the  mountain,  the  stream  gradually  became 
smaller  till,  after  going  two  miles,  it  had  so  greatly  diminished 
in  width  that  one  of  the  men  in  a  fit  of  enthusiasm,  with  one 
foot  on  each  side  of  the  river,  thanked  God  that  he  had  lived 
to  bestride  the  Missouri.  As  they  went  along,  their  hopes  of 
soon  seeing  the  waters  of  the  Columbia  arose  almost  to  pain- 


15 

ful  anxiety,  when  after  four  miles  from  the  last  abrupt  turn  of 
the  river  they  reached  a  small  gap  formed  by  the  high  moun- 
tains which  recede  on  each  side,  leaving  room  for  the  Indian 
road.  From  the  foot  of  one  of  the  lowest  of  these  mountains, 
which  rises  with  a  gentle  ascent  of  about  half  a  mile,  issues  the 
remotest  water  of  the  Missouri.  They  had  now  reached  the 
hidden  sources  of  that  river,  which  had  never  yet  been  seen  by 
civilized  man  ;  and,  as  they  quenched  their  thirst  at  the  chaste 
and  icy  fountain,  as  they  sat  down  by  the  brink  of  that  little 
rivulet,  which  yielded  its  distant  and  modest  tribute  to  the 
parent  ocean,  they  felt  themselves  rewarded  for  all  their 
labours  and  all  their  difficulties.  They  left  reluctantly  this 
interesting  spot,  and,  pursuing  the  Indian  road  through  the  in- 
terval of  the  hills,  arrived  at  the  top  of  a  ridge,  from  which 
they  saw  high  mountains  partially  covered  with  snow  still  to 
the  west  of  them.  The  ridge  on  which  they  stood  formed  the 
dividing  line  between  the  waters  of  the  Atlantic  and  Pacific 
Oceans.  They  followed  a  descent  much  steeper  than  that  on 
the  eastern  side,  and  at  the  distance  of  three-quarters  of  a  mile 
reached  a  handsome  bold  creek  of  cold,  clear  water  running  to 
the  westward.  They  stopped  to  taste  for  the  first  time  the 
waters  of  the  Columbia ;  and  after  a  few  minutes  followed  the 
road  across  steep  hills  and  low  hollows  till  they  reached  a 
spring  on  the  side  of  a  mountain.  Here  they  found  a  sufficient 
quantity  of  dry  willow  brush  for  fuel,  and  therefore  halted  for 
the  night ;  and,  having  killed  nothing  in  the  course  of  the  day, 
supped  on  their  last  piece  of  pork,  and  trusted  to  fortune  for 
some  other  food  to  mix  with  a  little  flour  and  parched  meal, 
which  was  all  that  now  remained  of  their  provisions.  Before 
reaching  the  fountain  of  the  Missouri,  they  saw  several  large 
hawks  nearly  black,  and  some  of  the  heath  cocks :  these  last 
have  a  long  pointed  tail,  and  are  of  a  uniform  dark  brown 
colour,  much  larger  than  the  common  dunghill  fowl,  and  simi- 
lar in  habits  and  the  mode  of  flying  to  the  grouse  or  prairie 
hen.  Drewyer  also  wounded  at  the  distance  of  one  hundred 
and  thirty  yards  an  animal  which  we  had  not  yet  seen,  but 
which,  after  falling,  recovered  itself  and  escaped.  It  seemed 
to  be  of  the  fox  kind,  rather  larger  than  the  small  wolf  of  the 
plains,  and  with  a  skin  in  which  black,  reddish  brown,  and 
yellow  were  curiously  intermixed.  On  the  creek  of  the  Colum- 
bia they  found  a  species  of  currant  which  does  not  grow  as  high 
as  that  of  the  Missouri,  though  it  is  more  branching,  and  its 
leaf,  the  under-disk  of  which  is  covered  with  a  hairy  pubescence, 
is  twice  as  large.     The  fruit  is  of  the  ordinary  size  and  shape 


i6 

of  the  currant,  and  supported  in  the  usual  manner,  but  is  of  a 
deep  purple  colour,  acid,  and  of  a  very  inferior  flavour. 

We  proceeded  on  in  the  boats,  but,  as  the  river  was  very 
shallow  and  rapid,  the  navigation  is  extremely  difficult,  and 
the  men  who  are  almost  constantly  in  the  water  are  getting 
feeble  and  sore,  and  so  much  worn  down  by  fatigue  that  th^y 
are  very  anxious  to  commence  travelling  by  land.  We  went 
along  the  main  channel  which  is  on  the  right  side ;  and,  after 
passing  nine  bends  in  that  direction,  three  islands  and  a  num- 
ber of  bayous,  reached  at  the  distance  of  five  and  a  half  miles 
the  upper  point  of  a  large  island.  At  noon  there  was  a  storm 
of  thunder,  which  continued  about  half  an  hour,  after  which  we 
proceeded ;  but,  as  it  was  necessary  to  drag  the  canoes  over  the 
shoals  and  rapids,  made  but  little  progress.  On  leaving  the 
island,  we  passed  a  number  of  short  bends,  several  bayous,  and 
one  run  of  water  on  the  right  side ;  and,  having  gone  by  four 
small  and  two  large  islands,  encamped  on  a  smooth  plain  to 
the  left  near  a  few  cottonwood-trees.  Our  journey  by  water 
was  just  twelve  miles,  and  four  in  a  direct  line.  The  hunters 
supplied  us  with  three  deer  and  a  fawn. 


The  famous  expedition  of  Lewis  and  Clarke,  1804-6,  was  the  first  of  the 
many  expeditions  sent  out  during  the  century  for  the  exploration  of  the 
Rocky  Mountains.  This  expedition  was  sent  upon  the  recommendation  of 
Jefferson,  at  that  time  President.  Captain  Lewis  had  been  Jefferson's 
private  secretary;  Captain  Clarke  was  a  brother  of  the  famous  George 
Rogers  Clarke.  Their  company  consisted  of  about  thirty  men,  half  of  them 
soldiers.  In  the  spring  of  1804  they  began  to  ascend  the  Missouri.  They 
passed  the  winter  among  the  Mandans,  moved  forward  again  early  the  next 
April,  reached  the  sources  of  the  Missouri  in  August,  travelled  through  the 
mountains,  in  October  embarked  on  one  of  the  branches  of  the  Columbia, 
and  on  November  1 5  reached  the  Pacific  at  the  mouth  of  that  great  river, 
having  travelled  over  4,000  miles.  Turning  back  the  next  spring,  March, 
1806,  they  reached  St.  Louis  in  September,  after  an  absence  of  two  years 
and  four  months. 

The  literature  of  the  Lewis  and  Clarke  expedition  is  very  large,  especially 
in  the  way  of  government  publications.  A  full  account  of  this  literature  may 
be  found  in  the  chapter  on  "  Territorial  Acquisitions,"  in  the  Narrative  and 
Critical  History  of  America,  vol.  vii.  The  principal  popular  work  is  the 
well-known  History  of  the  Expedition  under  the  Command  of  Captains  Lewis 
and  Clarke,  in  two  volumes,  published  in  1 814.  This  work  was  begun  by 
Lewis,  and  after  his  suicide  was  carried  on  by  Nicholas  Biddle,  with  the  aid 
of  Clarke  and  the  use  of  the  journals  of  various  officers.  The  whole  was  revised  by  Paul 
Allen ;  and  Jefferson  furnished  the  memoir  of  Captain  Lewis  which  is  reprinted  in  the 
present  leaflet.  This  is  doubly  valuable,  as  embodying  Jefferson's  original  instructions  to 
Lewis,  showing  the  remarkable  comprehensiveness  and  wisdom  of  Jefferson's  views  concern- 
ing the  expedition,  which  was  to  give  our  people  their  first  authentic,  scientific  knowledge 
of  the  Rocky  Mountain  country. 

The  best  brief  account  of  Lewis  and  Clarke's  expedition  is  in  H.  H.  Bancroft's  History 
of  the  Pacific  States,  vol.  xxiii.,  which  also  contains  accounts  of   later  expeditions.     The 


#1^  .-§DUti[}  %taiUt^. 


General  Series,  No.  45. 


First  Ascent 

of  Fremont's 

Peak 

From  Fremont's  Journal  of  his  First  Expedition. 


August  10  [1842].— The  air  at  sunrise  is  clear  and  pure, 
and  the  morning  extremely  cold,  but  beautiful.  A  lofty  snow 
peak  of  the  mountain  is  glittering  in  the  first  rays  of  the  sun, 
which  has  not  yet  reached  us.  The  long  mountain  wall  to  the 
east,  rising  two  thousand  feet  abruptly  from  the  plain,  behind 
which  we  see  the  peaks,  is  still  dark,  and  cuts  clear  against  the 
glowing  sky.  A  fog,  just  risen  from  the  river,  lies  along  the 
base  of  the  mountain.  A  little  before  sunrise,  the  thermometer 
was  at  35°,  and  at  sunrise  33°.  Water  froze  last  night,  and 
fires  are  very  comfortable.  The  scenery  becomes  hourly  more 
interesting  and  grand,  and  the  view  here  is  truly  magnificent; 
but,  indeed,  it  needs  something  to  repay  the  long  prairie  jour- 
ney of  a  thousand  miles.  The  sun  has  just  shot  above  the 
wall,  and  makes  a  magical  change.  The  whole  valley  is  glow- 
ing and  bright,  and  all  the  mountain  peaks  are  gleaming  like 
silver.  Though  these  snow  mountains  are  not  the  Alps,  they 
have  their  own  character  of  grandeur  and  magnificence,  and 
will  doubtless  find  pens  and  pencils  to  do  them  justice.  In  the 
scene  before  us,  we  feel  how  much  v/ood  improves  Si  view. 
The  pines  on  the  mountain  seemed  to  give  it  much  additional 
beauty.  I  was  agreeably  disappointed  in  the  character  of  the 
streams  on  this  side  the  ridge.  Instead  of  the  creeks,  which 
description  had  led  me  to  expect,  I  find  bold,  broad  streams, 
with  three  or  four  feet  water,  and  a  rapid  current.  The  fork 
on  which  we  are  encamped  is  upwards  of  a  hundred  feet  wide, 
timbered  with  groves  or  thickets  of  the  low  willow.  We  were 
now  approaching  the  loftiest  part  of  the  Wind  River  chain; 
and  I  left  the  valley  a  few  miles  from  our  encampment, 
intending  to  penetrate  the  mountains,  as  far  as  possible,  with 


the  whole  party.  We  were  soon  involved  in  very  broken 
ground,  among  long  ridges  covered  with  fragments  of  granite. 
Winding  our  way  up  a  long  ravine,  we  came  unexpectedly  in 
view  of  a  most  beautiful  lake,  set  like  a  gem  in  the  mountains. 
The  sheet  of  water  lay  transversely  across  the  direction  we 
had  been  pursuing;  and,  descending  the  steep,  rocky  ridge, 
where  it  was  necessary  to  lead  our  horses,  we  followed  its 
banks  to  the  southern  extremity.  Here  a  view  of  the  utmost 
magnificence  and  grandeur  burst  upon  our  eyes.  With  nothing 
between  us  and  their  feet  to  lessen  the  effect  of  the  whole 
height,  a  grand  bed  of  snow-capped  mountains  rose  before  us, 
pile  upon  pile,  glowing  in  the  bright  light  of  an  August  day. 
Immediately  below  them  lay  the  lake,  between  two  ridges,  cov- 
ered with  dark  pines,  which  swept  down  from  the  main  chain 
to  the  spot  where  we  stood.  Here,  where  the  lake  glittered  in 
the  open  sunlight,  its  banks  of  yellow  sand  and  the  light  foli- 
age of  aspen  groves  contrasted  well  with  the  gloomy  pines. 
"  Never  before,"  said  Mr.  Preuss,  "  in  this  country  or  in  Europe, 
have  I  seen  such  magnificent,  grand  rocks."  I  was  so  much 
pleased  with  the  beauty  of  the  place  that  I  determined  to  make 
the  main  camp  here,  where  our  animals  would  find  good  pastur- 
age, and  explore  the  mountains  with  a  small  party  of  men. 
Proceeding  a  little  further,  we  came  suddenly  upon  the  outlet 
of  the  lake,  where  it  found  its  way  through  a  narrow  passage 
between  low  hills.  Dark  pines,  which  overhung  the  stream, 
and  masses  of  rock,  where  the  water  foamed  along,  gave  it 
much  romantic  beauty.  Where  we  crossed,  which  was  immedi- 
ately at  the  outlet,  it  is  two  hundred  and  fifty  feet  wide,  and  so 
deep  that  with  difficulty  we  were  able  to  ford  it.  Its  bed  was 
an  accumulation  of  rocks,  boulders,  and  broad  slabs,  and  large 
angular  fragments,  among  which  the  animals  fell  repeatedly. 

The  current  was  very  swift,  and  the  water  cold  and  of  a 
crystal  purity.  In  crossing  this  stream,  I  met  with  a  great 
misfortune  in  having  my  barometer  broken.  It  was  the  only 
one.  A  great  part  of  the  interest  of  the  journey  for  me  was  in 
the  exploration  of  these  mountains,  of  which  so  much  had  been 
said  that  was  doubtful  and  contradictory;  and  now  their  snowy 
peaks  rose  majestically  before  me,  and  the  only  means  of 
giving  them  authentically  to  science,  the  object  of  my  anxious 
solicitude  by  night  and  day,  was  destroyed.  We  had  brought 
this  barometer  in  safety  a  thousand  miles,  and  broke  it  almost 
among  the  snow  of  the  mountains.  The  loss  was  felt  by  the 
whole  camp.  All  had  seen  my  anxiety,  and  aided  me  in  pre- 
serving it.     The  height  of  these  mountains,  considered  by  the 


hunters  and  traders  the  highest  in  the  whole  range,  had  been 
a  theme  of  constant  discussion  among  them ;  and  all  had 
looked  forward  with  pleasure  to  the  moment  when  the  instru- 
ment, which  they  believed  to  be  true  as  the  sun,  should  stand 
upon  the  summits  and  decide  their  disputes.  Their  grief  was 
only  inferior  to  my  own. 

This  lake  is  about  three  miles  long  and  of  very  irregular 
width  and  apparently  great  depth,  and  is  the  head  water  of  the 
third  New  Fork,  a  tributary  to  Green  River,  the  Colorado  of 
the  West.  On  the  map  and  in  the  narrative  I  have  called  it 
Mountain  Lake.  I  encamped  on  the  north  side,  about  three 
hundred  and  fifty  yards  from  the  outlet.  This  was  the  most 
western  point  at  which  I  obtained  astronomical  observations, 
by  which  this  place,  called  Bernier's  encampment,  is  made  in 
iTo'^  08'  03"  west  longitude  from  Greenwich,  and  latitude  43° 
49'  49".  The  mountain  peaks,  as  laid  down,  were  fixed  by 
bearings  from  this  and  other  astronomical  points.  We  had 
no  other  compass  than  the  small  ones  used  in  sketching  the 
country ;  but  from  an  azimuth,  in  which  one  of  them  was  used, 
the  variation  of  the  compass  is  18°  east.  The  correction  made 
in  our  field  work  by  the  astronomical  observations  indicates 
that  this  is  a  very  correct  observation. 

As  soon  as  the  camp  was  formed,  I  set  about  endeavoring 
to  repair  my  barometer.  As  I  have  already  said,  this  was  a 
standard  cistern  barometer,  of  Troughton's  construction.  The 
glass  cistern  had  been  broken  about  midway;  but,  as  the  in- 
strument had  been  kept  in  a  proper  position,  no  air  had  found 
its  way  into  the  tube,  the  end  of  which  had  always  remained 
covered.  I  had  with  me  a  number  of  vials  of  tolerably  thick 
glass,  some  of  which  were  of  the  same  diameter  as  the  cistern, 
and  I  spent  the  day  in  slowly  working  on  these,  endeavoring  to 
cut  them  of  the  requisite  length ;  but,  as  my  instrument  was 
a  very  rough  file,  I  invariably  broke  them.  A  groove  was  cut 
in  one  of  the  trees,  where  the  barometer  was  placed  during  the 
night,  to  be  out  of  the  way  of  any  possible  danger;  and  in  the 
morning  I  commenced  again.  Among  the  powder  horns  in 
the  camp,  I  found  one  which  was  very  transparent,  so  that  its 
contents  could  be  almost  as  plainly  seen  as  through  glass. 
This  I  boiled  and  stretched  on  a  piece  of  wood  to  the  requisite 
diameter,  and  scraped  it  very  thin,  in  order  to  increase  to  the 
utmost  its  transparency.  I  then  secured  it  firmly  in  its  place 
on  the  instrument  with  strong  glue  made  from  a  buffalo,  and 
filled  it  with  mercury  properly  heated.  A  piece  of  skin,  which 
had  covered  one  of  the  vials,  furnished  a  good  pocket,  which 


was  well  secured  with  strong  thread  and  glue;  and  then  the 
brass  cover  was  screwed  to  its  place.  The  instrument  was  left 
some  time  to  dry ;  and,  when  I  reversed  it,  a  few  hours  after, 
I  had  the  satisfaction  to  find  it  in  perfect  order,  its  indications 
being  about  the  same  as  on  the  other  side  of  the  lake  before  it 
had  been  broken.  Our  success  in  this  little  incident  diffused 
pleasure  throughout  the  camp ;  and  we  immediately  set  about 
our  preparations  for  ascending  the  mountains* 

As  will  be  seen,  on  reference  to  a  map,  on  this  short  moun- 
tain chain  are  the  head  waters  of  four  great  rivers  of  the  conti- 
nent,—  namely,  the  Colorado,  Columbia,  Missouri,  and  Platte 
Rivers.  It  had  been  my  design,  after  having  ascended  the 
mountains,  to  continue  our  route  on  the  western  side  of  the 
range,  and,  crossing  through  a  pass  at  the  north-western  end  of 
the  chain,  about  thirty  miles  from  our  present  camp,  return 
along  the  eastern  slope  across  the  heads  of  the  Yellowstone 
River,  and  join  on  the  line  to  our  station  of  August  7,  immedi- 
ately at  the  foot  of  the  ridge.  In  this  way,  I  should  be  enabled 
to  include  the  whole  chain  and  its  numerous  waters  in  my 
survey ;  but  various  considerations  induced  me,  very  reluctantly, 
to  abandon  this  plan. 

I  was  desirous  to  keep  strictly  within  the  scope  of  my  instruc- 
tions ;  and  it  would  have  required  ten  or  fifteen  additional  days 
for  the  accomplishment  of  this  object.  Our  animals  had  be- 
come very  much  worn  out  with  the  length  of  the  journey ;  game 
was  very  scarce ;  and,  though  it  does  not  appear  in  the  course 
of  the  narrative  (as  I  have  avoided  dwelling  upon  trifling  inci- 
dents not  connected  with  the  objects  of  the  expedition),  the 
spirits  of  the  men  had  been  much  exhausted  by  the  hardships 
and  privations  to  which  they  had  been  subjected.  Our  provi- 
sions had  well-nigh  all  disappeared.  Bread  had  been  long  out 
of  the  question  ;  and  of  all  our  stock  we  had  remaining  two  or 
three  pounds  of  coffee  and  a  small  quantity  of  macaroni, 
which  had  been  husbanded  with  great  care  for  the  mountain 
expedition  we  were  about  to  undertake.  Our  daily  meal  con- 
sisted of  dry  buffalo  meat  cooked  in  tallow ;  and,  as  we  had 
not  dried  this  with  Indian  skill,  part  of  it  was  spoiled,  and 
what  remained  of  good  was  as  hard  as  wood,  having  much  the 
taste  and  appearance  of  so  many  pieces  of  bark.  Even  of  this, 
our  stock  was  rapidly  diminishing  in  a  camp  which  was  capable 
of  consuming  two  buffaloes  in  every  twenty-four  hours.  These 
animals  had  entirely  disappeared,  and  it  was  not  probable  that 
we  should  fall  in  with  them  again  until  we  returned  to  the 
Sweet  Water. 


Our  arrangements  for  the  ascent  were  rapidly  completed. 
We  were  in  a  hostile  country,  which  rendered  the  greatest 
vigilance  and  circumspection  necessary.  The  pass  at  the  north 
end  of  the  mountain  was  generally  infested  by  Blackfeet ;  and 
immediately  opposite  was  one  of  their  forts,  on  the  edge  of  a 
little  thicket,  two  or  three  hundred  feet  from  our  encampment. 
We  were  posted  in  a  grove  of  beech,  on  the  margin  of  the  lake, 
and  a  few  hundred  feet  long,  with  a  narrow  prairillon  on  the 
inner  side,  bordered  by  the  rocky  ridge.  In  the  upper  end  of 
this  grove  we  cleared  a  circular  space  about  forty  feet  in 
diameter,  and  with  the  felled  timber  and  interwoven  branches 
surrounded  it  with  a  breastwork  five  feet  in  height.  A  gap  was 
left  for  a  gate  on  the  inner  side,  by  which  the  animals  were  to 
be  driven  in  and  secured,  while  the  men  slept  around  the  little 
work.  It  was  half  hidden  by  the  foliage,  and,  garrisoned  by 
twelve  resolute  men,  would  have  set  at  defiance  any  band  of 
savages  which  might  chance  to  discover  them  in  the  interval 
of  our  absence.  Fifteen  of  the  best  mules,  with  fourteen  men, 
were  selected  for  the  mountain  party.  Our  provisions  consisted 
of  dried  meat  for  two  days,  with  our  little  stock  of  coffee  and 
some  macaroni.  In  addition  to  the  barometer  and  a  ther- 
mometer I  took  with  me  a  sextant  and  spy-glass,  and  we  had, 
of  course,  our  compasses.  In  charge  of  the  camp  I  left  Brenier, 
one  of  my  most  trustworthy  men,  who  possessed  the  most  deter- 
mined courage. 

August  12. —  Early  in  the  morning  we  left  the  camp,  fifteen 
in  number,  well  armed,  of  course,  and  mounted  on  our  best 
mules.  A  pack  animal  carried  our  provisions,  with  a  coffee- 
pot and  kettle  and  three  or  four  tin  cups.  Every  man  had  a 
blanket  strapped  over  his  saddle,  to  serve  for  his  bed,  and  the 
instruments  were  carried  by  turns  on  their  backs.  We  entered 
directly  on  rough  and  rocky  ground,  and,  just  after  crossing  the 
ridge,  had  the  good  fortune  to  shoot  an  antelope.  We  heard 
the  roar,  and  had  a  glimpse  of  a  waterfall  as  we  rode  along ; 
and,  crossing  in  our  way  two  fine  streams,  tributary  to  the  Col- 
orado, in  about  two  hours'  ride  we  reached  the  top  of  the  first 
row  or  range  of  the  mountains.  Here,  again,  a  view  of  the 
most  romantic  beauty  met  our  eyes.  It  seemed  as  if,  from  the 
vast  expanse  of  uninteresting  prairie  we  had  passed  over,  Nat- 
ure had  collected  all  her  beauties  together  in  one  chosen  place. 
We  were  overlooking  a  deep  valley,  which  was  entirely  occupied 
by  three  lakes,  and  from  the  brink  the  surrounding  ridges  rose 
precipitously  five  hundred  and  a  thousand  feet,  covered  with 
the  dark  green  of  the  balsam  pine,  relieved  on  the  border  of 


the  lake  with  the  light  foliage  of  the  aspen.  They  all  com- 
municated with  each  other ;  and  the  green  of  the  waters,  com- 
mon to  mountain  lakes  of  great  depth,  showed  that  it  would 
be  impossible  to  cross  them.  The  surprise  manifested  by  our 
guides  when  these  impassable  obstacles  suddenly  barred  our 
progress  proved  that  they  were  among  the  hidden  treasures  of 
the  place,  unknown  even  to  the  wandering  trappers  of  the 
region.  Descending  the  hill,  we  proceeded  to  make  our  way 
along  the  margin  to  the  southern  extremity.  A  narrow  strip 
of  angular  fragments  of  rock  sometimes  afforded  a  rough  path- 
way for  our  mules;  but  generally  we  rode  along  the  shelving 
side,  occasionally  scrambling  up,  at  a  considerable  risk  of 
tumbling  back  into  the  lake. 

The  slope  was  frequently  60°.  The  pines  grew  densely  to- 
gether, and  the  ground  was  covered  with  the  branches  and 
trunks  of  trees.  The  air  was  fragrant  with  the  odor  of  the 
pines;  and  I  realized  this  delightful  morning  the  pleasure  of 
breathing  that  mountain  air  which  makes  a  constant  theme 
of  the  hunter's  praise,  and  which  now  made  us  feel  as  if  we 
had  all  been  drinking  some  exhilarating  gas.  The  depths  of 
this  unexplored  forest  were  a  place  to  delight  the  heart  of  a 
botanist.  There  was  a  rich  undergrowth  of  plants  and  numer- 
ous gay-colored  flowers  in  brilliant  bloom.  We  reached  the 
outlet  at  length,  where  some  freshly  barked  willows  that  lay  in 
the  water  showed  that  beaver  had  been  recently  at  work. 
There  were  some  small  brown  squirrels  jumping  about  in  the 
pines  and  a  couple  of  large  mallard  ducks  swimming  about  in 
the  stream. 

The  hills  on  this  southern  end  were  low,  and  the  lake  looked 
like  a  mimic  sea  as  the  waves  broke  on  the  sandy  beach  in  the 
force  of  a  strong  breeze.  There  was  a  pretty  open  spot,  with 
fine  grass  for  our  mules ;  and  we  made  our  noon  halt  on  the 
beach,  under  the  shade  of  some  large  hemlocks.  We  resumed 
our  journey  after  a  halt  of  about  an  hour,  making  our  way  up 
the  ridge  on  the  western  side  of  the  lake.  In  search  of 
smoother  ground,  we  rode  a  little  inland,  and,  passing  through 
groves  of  aspen,  soon  found  ourselves  again  among  the  pines. 
Emerging  from  these,  we  struck  the  summit  of  the  ridge  above 
the  upper  end  of  the  lake. 

We  had  reached  a  very  elevated  point;  and  in  the  valley 
below  and  among  the  hills  were  a  number  of  lakes  at  different 
levels,  some  two  or  three  hundred  feet  above  others,  with  which 
they  communicated  by  foaming  torrents.  Even  to  our  great 
height,  the  roar  of  the  cataracts  came  up;  and  we  could  see 


them  leaping  down  in  lines  of  snowy  foam.  From  this  scene 
of  busy  waters,  Vv^e  turned  abruptly  into  the  stillness  of  a  forest, 
where  we  rode  among  the  open  bolls  of  the  pines  over  a  lawn 
of  verdant  grass,  having  strikingly  the  air  of  cultivated  grounds. 
This  led  us,  after  a  time,  among  masses  of  rock,  which  had  no 
vegetable  earth  but  in  hollows  and  crevices,  though  still  the 
pine  forest  continued.  Toward  evening  we  reached  a  defile, 
or  rather  a  hole  in  the  mountains,  entirely  shut  in  by  dark  pine- 
covered  rocks. 

A  small  stream,  with  a  scarcely  perceptible  current,  flowed 
through  a  level  bottom  of  perhaps  eighty  yards'  width,  where 
the  grass  was  saturated  with  water.  Into  this  the  mules  were 
turned,  and  were  neither  hobbled  nor  picketed  during  the  night, 
as  the  fine  pasturage  took  away  all  temptation  to  stray ;  and  we 
made  our  bivouac  in  the  pines.  The  surrounding  masses  were 
all  of  granite.  While  supper  was  being  prepared,  I  set  out 
on  an  excursion  in  the  neighborhood,  accompanied  by  one  of 
my  men.  We  wandered  about  among  the  crags  and  ravines 
until  dark,  richly  repaid  for  our  walk  by  a  fine  collection  of 
plants,  many  of  them  in  full  bloom.  Ascending  a  peak  to  find 
the  place  of  our  camp,  we  saw  that  the  little  defile  in  which  we 
lay  communicated  with  the  long  green  valley  of  some  stream, 
which,  here  locked  up  in  the  mountains,  far  away  to  the  south, 
found  its  way  in  a  dense  forest  to  the  plains. 

Looking  along  its  upward  course,  it  seemed  to  conduct  by  a 
smooth  gradual  slope  directly  toward  the  peak,  which,  from  long 
consultation  as  we  approached  the  mountain,  we  had  decided  to 
be  the  highest  of  the  range.  Pleased  with  the  discovery  of  so 
fine  a  road  for  the  next  day,  we  hastened  down  to  the  camp, 
where  we  arrived  just  in  time  for  supper.  Our  table  service 
was  rather  scant ;  and  we  held  the  meat  in  our  hands,  and  clean 
rocks  made  good  plates  on  which  we  spread  our  macaroni. 
Among  all  the  strange  places  on  which  we  had  occasion  to 
encamp  during  our  long  journey,  none  have  left  so  vivid  an 
impression  on  my  mind  as  the  camp  of  this  evening.  The  dis- 
order of  the  masses  which  surrounded  us,  the  little  hole  through 
which  we  saw  the  stars  overhead,  the  dark  pines  where  we  slept, 
and  the  rocks  lit  up  with  the  glow  of  our  fires  made  a  night 
picture  of  very  wild  beauty. 

August  13. —  The  morning  was  bright  and  pleasant,  just  cool 
enough  to  make  exercise  agreeable  j  and  we  soon  entered  the 
defile  I  had  seen  the  preceding  day.  It  was  smoothly  carpeted 
with  a  soft  grass  and  scattered  over  with  groups  of  flowers,  of 
which  yellow  was  the  predominant  color.     Sometimes  we  were 


forced  by  an  occasional  difficult  pass  to  pick  our  way  on  a 
narrow  ledge  along  the  side  of  the  defile,  and  the  mules  were 
frequently  on  their  knees ;  but  these  obstructions  were  rare, 
and  we  journeyed  on  in  the  sweet  morning  air,  delighted  at  our 
good  fortune  in  having  found  such  a  beautiful  entrance  to  the 
mountains.  This  road  continued  for  about  three  miles,  when 
we  suddenly  reached  its  termination  in  one  of  the  grand  views 
which  at  every  turn  meet  the  traveller  in  this  magnificent 
region.  Here  the  defile  up  which  we  had  travelled  opened  out 
into  a  small  lawn,  where,  in  a  little  lake,  the  stream  had  its 
source. 

There  were  some  fine  asters  in  bloom,  but  all  the  flowering 
plants  appeared  to  seek  the  shelter  of  the  rocks  and  to  be  of 
lower  growth  than  below,  as  if  they  loved  the  warmth  of  the 
soil,  and  kept  out  of  the  way  of  the  winds.  Immediately  at  our 
feet  a  precipitous  descent  led  to  a  confusion  of  defiles,  and 
before  us  rose  the  mountains  as  we  have  represented  them  in 
the  annexed  view.  It  is  not  by  the  splendor  of  far-off  views, 
which  have  lent  such  a  glory  to  the  Alps,  that  these  impress 
the  mind,  but  by  a  gigantic  disorder  of  enormous  masses  and 
a  savage  sublimity  of  naked  rock  in  wonderful  contrast  with 
innumerable  green  spots  of  a  rich  floral  beauty  shut  up  in  their 
stern  recesses.  Their  wildness  seems  well  suited  to  the  char- 
acter of  the  people  who  inhabit  the  country. 

I  determined  to  leave  our  animals  here  and  make  the  rest 
of  our  way  on  foot.  The  peak  appeared  so  near  that  there  was 
no  doubt  of  our  returning  before  night ;  and  a  few  men  were 
left  in  charge  of  the  mules,  with  our  provisions  and  blankets. 
We  took  with  us  nothing  but  our  arms  and  instruments,  and, 
as  the  day  had  become  warm,  the  greater  part  left  our  coats. 
Having  made  an  early  dinner,  we  started  again.  We  were 
soon  involved  in  the  most  ragged  precipices,  nearing  the 
central  chain  very  slowly,  and  rising  but  little.  The  first  ridge 
hid  a  succession  of  others ;  and  when,  with  great  fatigue  and 
difficulty,  we  had  climbed  up  five  hundred  feet,  it  was  but  to 
make  an  equal  descent  on  the  other  side.  All  these  interven- 
ing places  were  filled  with  small  deep  lakes,  which  met  the  eye 
in  every  direction,  descending  from  one  level  to  another,  some- 
times under  bridges  formed  by  huge  fragments  of  granite, 
beneath  which  was  heard  the  roar  of  the  water.  These  con- 
stantly obstructed  our  path,  forcing  us  to  make  long  detours, 
frequently  obliged  to  retrace  our  steps,  and  frequently  falling 
among  the  rocks.  Maxwell  was  precipitated  toward  the  face 
of  a  precipice,  and  saved  himself  from  going  over  by  throwing 


himself  flat  on  the  ground.  We  clambered  on,  always  expect- 
ing with  every  ridge  that  we  crossed  to  reach  the  foot  of  the 
peaks,  and  always  disappointed,  until  about  four  o'clock,  when, 
pretty  well  worn  out,  we  reached  the  shore  of  a  little  lake  in 
which  there  was  a  rocky  island,  and  from  which  we  obtained 
the  view  given  in  the  frontispiece.  We  remained  here  a  short 
time  to  rest,  and  continued  on  around  the  lake,  which  had  in 
some  places  a  beach  of  white  sand,  and  in  others  was  bound 
with  rocks,  over  which  the  way  was  difficult  and  dangerous,  as 
the  water  from  innumerable  springs  made  them  very  slippery. 

By  the  time  we  had  reached  the  further  side  of  the  lake,  we 
found  ourselves  all  exceedingly  fatigued,  and,  much  to  the  sat- 
isfaction of  the  whole  party,  we  encamped.  The  spot  we  had 
chosen  was  a  broad,  flat  rock,  in  some  measure  protected  from 
the  winds  by  the  surrounding  crags,  and  the  trunks  of  fallen  pines 
afforded  us  bright  fires.  Near  by  was  a  foaming  torrent  which 
tumbled  into  the  little  lake  about  one  hundred  and  fifty  feet 
below  us,  and  which,  by  way  of  distinction,  we  have  called 
Island  Lake.  We  had  reached  the  upper  limit  of  the  piney 
region ;  as  above  this  point  no  tree  was  to  be  seen,  and  patches 
of  snow  lay  everywhere  around  us  on  the  cold  sides  of  the  rocks. 
The  flora  of  the  region  we  had  traversed  since  leaving  our 
mules  was  extremely  rich,  and  among  the  characteristic  plants 
the  scarlet  flowers  of  the  Dodecatheon  dentatiim  everywhere  met 
the  eye  in  great  abundance.  A  small  green  ravine,  on  the 
edge  of  which  we  were  encamped,  was  filled  with  a  profusion 
of  alpine  plants  in  brilliant  bloom.  From  barometrical  obser- 
vations made  during  our  three  days'  sojourn  at  this  place,  its 
elevation  above  the  Gulf  of  Mexico  is  10,000  feet.  During  the 
day  we  had  seen  no  sign  of  animal  life ;  but  among  the  rocks 
here  we  heard  what  was  supposed  to  be  the  bleat  of  a  young 
goat,  which  we  searched  for  with  hungry  activity,  and  found  to 
proceed  from  a  small  animal  of  a  gray  color,  with  short  ears 
and  no  tail, —  probably  the  Siberian  squirrel.  We  saw  a  con- 
siderable number  of  them,  and,  with  the  exception  of  a  small 
bird  like  a  sparrow,  it  is  the  only  inhabitant  of  this  elevated 
part  of  the  mountains.  On  our  return  we  saw  below  this  lake 
large  flocks  of  the  mountain  goat.  We  had  nothing  to  eat  to- 
night. Lajeunesse  with  several  others  took  their  guns  and 
sallied  out  in  search  of  a  goat,  but  returned  unsuccessful.  At 
sunset  the  barometer  stood  at  20.522,  the  attached  thermometer 
50°.  Here  we  had  the  misfortune  to  break  our  thermometer, 
having  now  only  that  attached  to  the  barometer.  I  was  taken 
ill  shortly  after  we  had  encamped,  and  continued  so  until  late 


10 

in  the  night,  with  violent  headache  and  vomiting.  This  was 
probably  caused  by  the  excessive  fatigue  I  had  undergone  and 
want  of  food,  and  perhaps  also  in  some  measure  by  the  rarity 
of  the  air.  The  night  was  cold,  as  a  violent  gale  from  the 
north  had  sprung  up  at  sunset,  which  entirely  blew  away  the 
heat  of  the  fires.  The  cold  and  our  granite  beds  had  not  been 
favorable  to  sleep,  and  we  were  glad  to  see  the  face  of  the  sun 
in  the  morning.  Not  being  delayed  by  any  preparation  for 
breakfast,  we  set  out  immediately. 

On  every  side  as  we  advanced  was  heard  the  roar  of  waters 
and  of  a  torrent,  which  we  followed  up  a  short  distance  until  it 
expanded  into  a  lake  about  one  mile  in  length.  On  the  north- 
ern side  of  the  lake  was  a  bank  of  ice,  or  rather  of  snow  covered 
with  a  crust  of  ice.  Carson  had  been  our  guide  into  the  moun- 
tains, and  agreeably  to  his  advice  we  left  this  little  -valley  and 
took  to  the  ridges  again,  which  we  found  extremely  broken  and 
where  we  were  again  involved  among  precipices.  Here  were 
ice  fields ;  among  which  we  were  all  dispersed,  seeking  each  the 
best  path  to  ascend  the  peak.  Mr.  Preuss  attempted  to  walk 
along  the  upper  edge  of  one  of  these  fields,  which  sloped  away 
at  an  angle  of  about  twenty  degrees ;  but  his  feet  slipped  from 
under  him,  and  he  went  plunging  down  the  plane  A  few  hun- 
dred feet  below,  at  the  bottom,  were  some  fragments  of  sharp 
rock,  on  which  he  landed,  and,  though  he  turned  a  couple  of 
somersets,  fortunately  received  no  injury  beyond  a  few  bruises. 
Two  of  the  men,  Clement  Lambert  and  Descoteaux,  had  been 
taken  ill,  and  lay  down  on  the  rocks  a  short  distance  below ; 
and  at  this  point  I  was  attacked  with  headache  and  giddiness, 
accompanied  by  vomiting,  as  on  the  day  before.  Finding  my- 
self unable  to  proceed,  I  sent  the  barometer  over  to  Mr,  Preuss, 
who  was  in  a  gap  two  or  three  hundred  yards  distant,  desiring 
him  to  reach  the  peak,  if  possible,  and  take  an  observation  there. 
He  found  himself  unable  to  proceed  further  in  that  direction, 
and  took  an  observation  vdiere  the  barometer  stood  at  19.401, 
attached  thermometer  50°  in  the  gap.  Carson,  who  had  gone 
over  to  him,  succeeded  in  reaching  one  of  the  snowy  summits 
of  the  main  ridge,  whence  he  saw  the  peak  towards  which  all 
our  efforts  had  been  directed  towering  eight  or  ten  hundred 
feet  into  the  air  above  him.  In  the  mean  time,  finding  myself 
grow  rather  worse  than  better,  and  doubtful  how  far  my  strength 
would  carry  me,  I  sent  Basil  Lajeunesse  with  four  men  back 
to  the  place  where  the  mules  had  been  left. 

We  were  now  better  acquainted  with  the  topography  of  the 
country ;  and  I  directed  him  to  bring  back  with  him,  if  it  were 


II 

in  any  way  possible,  four  or  five  mules,  with  provisions  and 
blankets.  With  me  were  Maxwell  and  Ayer ;  and,  after  we  had 
remained  nearly  an  hour  on  the  rock,  it  became  so  unpleasantly 
cold,  though  the  day  was  bright,  that  we  set  out  on  our  return 
to  the  camp,  at  which  we  all  arrived  safely,  straggling  in  one 
after  the  other.  I  continued  ill  during  the  afternoon,  but  be- 
came better  towards  sundown,  when  my  recovery  was  completed 
by  the  appearance  of  Basil  and  four  men,  all  mounted.  The 
men  who  had  gone  with  him  had  been  too  much  fatigued  to 
return,  and  were  relieved  by  those  in  charge  of  the  horses ;  but 
in  his  powers  of  endurance  Basil  resembled  more  a  mountain 
goat  than  a  man.  They  brought  blankets  and  provisions,  and 
we  enjoyed  well  our  dried  meat  and  a  cup  of  good  coffee.  We 
rolled  ourselves  up  in  our  blankets,  and,  with  our  feet  turned 
to  a  blazing  fire,  slept  soundly  until  morning. 

August  15. —  It  had  been  supposed  that  we  had  finished  with 
the  mountains ;  and  the  evening  before  it  had  been  arranged 
that  Carson  should  set  out  at  daylight,  and  return  to  breakfast 
at  the  Camp  of  the  Mules,  taking  with  him  all  but  four  or  five 
men,  who  were  to  stay  with  me  and  bring  back  the  mules  and 
instruments.  Accordingly,  at  the  break  of  day  they  set  out. 
With  Mr.  Preuss  and  myself  remained  Basil  Lajeunesse,  Cle- 
ment Lambert,  Janisse,  and  Descoteaux.  When  we  had 
secured  strength  for  the  day  by  a  hearty  breakfast,  we  covered 
what  remained,  which  was  enough  for  one  meal,  with  rocks,  in 
order  that  it  might  be  safe  from  any  marauding  bird,  and, 
saddling  our  mules,  turned  our  faces  once  more  towards  the 
peaks.  This  time  we  determined  to  proceed  quietly  and  cau- 
tiously, deliberately  resolved  to  accomplish  our  object,  if  it 
were  within  the  compass  of  human  means.  We  were  of  opinion 
that  a  long  defile  which  lay  to  the  left  of  yesterday's  route 
would  lead  us  to  the  foot  of  the  main  peak.  Our  mules  had 
been  refreshed  by  the  fine  grass  in  the  little  ravine  at  the  island 
camp,  and  we  intended  to  ride  up  the  defile  as  far  as  possible, 
in  order  to  husband  our  strength  for  the  main  ascent.  Though 
this  was  a  fine  passage,  still  it  was  a  defile  of  the  most  rugged 
mountains  known,  and  we  had  many  a  rough  and  steep  slippery 
place  to  cross  before  reaching  the  end.  In  this  place  the  sun 
rarely  shone.  Snow  lay  along  the  border  of  the  small  stream 
which  flowed  through  it,  and  occasional  icy  passages  made  the 
footing  of  the  mules  very  insecure ;  and  the  rocks  and  ground 
were  moist  with  the  trickling  waters  in  this  spring  of  mighty 
rivers.  We  soon  had  the  satisfaction  to  find  ourselves  riding 
along  the  huge  wall  which   forms  the  central  summits  of  the 


12 

chain.  There  at  last  it  rose  by  our  sides,  a  nearly  perpendicu- 
lar wall  of  granite,  terminating  2,000  to  3,000  feet  above  our 
heads  in  a  serrated  line  of  broken,  jagged  cones.  We  rode  on 
until  we  came  almost  immediately  below  the  main  peak,  which 
I  denominated  the  Snow  Peak,  as  it  exhibited  more  snow  to 
the  eye  than  any  of  the  neighboring  summits.  Here  were  three 
small  lakes  of  a  green  color,  each  of  perhaps  a  thousand  yards 
in  diameter,  and  apparently  very  deep.  These  lay  in  a  kind  of 
chasm ;  and,  according  to  the  barometer,  we  had  attained  but 
a  few  hundred  feet  above  the  Island  Lake.  The  barometer  here 
stood  at  20.450,  attached  thermometer  70°. 

We  managed  to  get  our  mules  up  to  a  little  bench  about  a 
hundred  feet  above  the  lakes,  where  there  was  a  patch  of  good 
grass,  and  turned  them  loose  to  graze.  During  our  rough  ride 
to  this  place,  they  had  exhibited  a  wonderful  surefootedness. 
Parts  of  the  defile  were  filled  with  angular,  sharp  fragments  of 
rock, —  three  or  four  and  eight  or  ten  feet  cube, —  and  among 
these  they  had  worked  their  way,  leaping  from  one  narrow  point 
to  another,  rarely  making  a  false  step,  and  giving  us  no  occasion 
to  dismount.  Having  divested  ourselves  of  every  unnecessary 
encumbrance,  we  commenced  the  ascent.  This  time,  like  ex- 
perienced travellers,  we  did  not  press  ourselves,  but  climbed 
leisurely,  sitting  down  so  soon  as  we  found  breath  beginning  to 
fail.  At  intervals  we  reached  places  where  a  number  of  springs 
gushed  from  the  rocks,  and  about  1,800  feet  above  the  lakes 
came  to  the  snow  line.  From  this  point  our  progress  was  un- 
interrupted climbing.  Hitherto  I  had  worn  a  pair  of  thick 
moccasins,  with  soles  of  parfleche;  but  here  I  put  on  a  light 
thin  pair,  which  I  had  brought  for  the  purpose,  as  now  the  use 
of  our  toes  became  necessary  to  a  further  advance.  I  availed 
myself  of  a  sort  of  comb  of  the  mountain,  which  stood  against 
the  wall  like  a  buttress,  and  which  the  wind  and  the  solar  radi- 
ation, joined  to  the  steepness  of  the  smooth  rock,  had  kept 
almost  entirely  free  from  snow.  Up  this  I  made  my  way 
rapidly.  Our  cautious  method  of  advancing  in  the  outset  had 
spared  my  strength ;  and,  with  the  exception  of  a  slight  disposi- 
tion to  headache,  I  felt  no  remains  of  yesterday's  illness.  In 
a  few  minutes  we  reached  a  point  where  the  buttress  was  over- 
hanging, and  there  was  no  other  way  of  surmounting  the  diffi- 
culty than  by  passing  around  one  side  of  it,  which  was  the  face 
of  a  vertical  precipice  of  several  hundred  feet. 

Putting  hands  and  feet  in  the  crevices  between  the  blocks, 
I  succeeded  in  getting  over  it,  and,  when  I  reached  the  top, 
found  my  companions  in  a  small  valley  below.     Descending 


13 

to  them,  we  continued  climbing,  and  in  a  short  time  reached 
the  crest.  I  sprang  upon  the  summit,  and  another  step  would 
have  precipitated  me  into  an  immense  snow  field  five  hundred 
feet  below.  To  the  edge  of  this  field  was  a  sheer  icy  precipice  ; 
and  then,  with  a  gradual  fall,  the  field  sloped  off  for  about  a 
mile,  until  it  struck  the  foot  of  another  lower  ridge.  I  stood  on 
a  narrow  crest,  about  three  feet  in  width,  with  an  inclination  of 
about  20°  N.  51°  E.  As  soon  as  I  had  gratified  the  first  feel- 
ings of  curiosity,  I  descended,  and  each  man  ascended  in  his 
turn ;  for  I  would  only  allow  one  at  a  time  to  mount  the  un- 
stable and  precarious  slab,  which  it  seemed  a  breath  would  hurl 
into  the  abyss  below.  We  mounted  the  barometer  in  the  snow 
of  the  summit,  and,  fixing  a  ramrod  in  a  crevice,  unfurled  the 
national  flag  to  wave  in  the  breeze  where  never  flag  waved 
before.  During  our  morning's  ascent  we  had  met  no  sign  of 
animal  life  except  the  small,  sparrow-like  bird  already  men- 
tioned. A  stillness  the  most  profound  and  a  terrible  solitude 
forced  themselves  constantly  on  the  mind  as  the  great  features 
of  the  place.  Here  on  the  summit  where  the  stillness  was  ab- 
solute, unbroken  by  any  sound,  and  the  solitude  complete,  we 
thought  ourselves  beyond  the  region  of  animated  life ;  but, 
while  we  were  sitting  on  the  rock,  a  solitary  bee  {bromiis^  the 
humble  bee)  came  winging  his  flight  from  the  eastern  valley,  and 
lit  on  the  knee  of  one  of  the  men. 

It  was  a  strange  place  —  the  icy  rock  and  the  highest  peak  of 
the  Rocky  Mountains  —  for  a  lover  of  warm  sunshine  and 
flowers ;  and  we  pleased  ourselves  with  the  idea  that  he  was 
the  first  of  his  species  to  cross  the  mountain  barrier,  a  solitary 
pioneer  to  foretell  the  advance  of  civilization.  I  believe  that 
a  moment's  thought  would  have  made  us  let  him  continue  his 
way  unharmed;  but  we  carried  out  the  law  of  this  country, 
where  all  animated  nature  seems  at  war,  and,  seizing  him  imme- 
diately, put  him  in  at  least  a  fit  place, —  in  the  leaves  of  a  large 
book,  among  the  flowers  we  had  collected  on  our  way.  The 
barometer  stood  at  18.293,  the  attached  thermometer  at  44°, 
giving  for  the  elevation  of  this  summit  13.570  feet  above  the 
Gulf  of  Mexico,  which  may  be  called  the  highest  flight  of  the 
bee.  It  is  certainly  the  highest  known  flight  of  that  insect. 
From  the  description  given  by  Mackenzie  of  the  mountains 
where  he  crossed  them  with  that  of  a  French  officer  still 
farther  to  the  north  and  Colonel  Long's  measurements  to  the 
south,  joined  to  the  opinion  of  the  oldest  traders  of  the  country, 
it  is  presumed  that  this  is  the  highest  peak  of  the  Rocky  Moun- 
tains.    The    day  was    sunny  and   bright,  but    a  slight  shining 


14 

mist  hung  over  the  lower  plains,  which  interfered  with  our  view 
of  the  surrounding  country.  On  one  side  we  overlooked  in- 
numerable lakes  and  streams,  the  spring  of  the  Colorado  of  the 
Gulf  of  California ;  and  on  the  other  was  the  Wind  River 
Valley,  where  were  the  heads  of  the  Yellowstone  branch  of 
the  Missouri.  Far  to  the  north  we  just  could  discover  the 
snowy  heads  of  the  Trois  Tefons,  where  were  the  sources  of 
the  Missouri  and  Columbia  Rivers ;  and  at  the  southern  ex- 
tremity of  the  ridge  the  peaks  were  plainly  visible,  among  which 
were  some  of  the  springs  of  the  Nebraska  or  Platte  River. 
Around  us  the  whole  scene  had  one  main  striking  feature, 
which  was  that  of  terrible  convulsion.  Parallel  to  its  length, 
the  ridge  was  split  into  chasms  and  fissures,  between  which 
rose  the  thin,  lofty  walls,  terminated  with  slender  minarets  and 
columns,  which  is  correctly  represented  in  the  view  from  the 
camp  on  Island  Lake.  According  to  the  barometer,  the  little 
crest  of  the  wall  on  which  we  stood  was  three  thousand  five 
hundred  and  seventy  feet  above  that  place  and  two  thousand 
seven  hundred  and  eighty  above  the  little  lakes  at  the  bottom, 
immediately  at  our  feet.  Our  camp  at  the  Two  Hills  (an  astro- 
nomical station)  bore  south  3°  east,  which  with  a  bearing  after- 
ward obtained  from  a  fixed  position  enabled  us  to  locate  the 
peak.  The  bearing  of  the  Trois  Tetons  was  north  50°  west,  and 
the  direction  of  the  central  ridge  of  the  Wind  River  Mountains 
south  39°  east.  The  summit  rock  was  gneiss,  succeeded  by 
sienitic  gneiss.  Sienite  and  feldspar  succeeded  in  our  descent 
to  the  snow  line,  where  we  found  a  feldspathic  granite.  I  had 
remarked  that  the  noise  produced  by  the  explosion  of  our  pis- 
tols had  the  usual  degree  of  loudness,  but  was  not  in  the  least 
prolonged,  expiring  almost  instantaneously.  Having  now  made 
what  observations  our  means  afforded,  we  proceeded  to  de- 
scend. We  had  accomplished  an  object  of  laudable  ambition, 
and  beyond  the  strict  order  of  our  instructions.  We  had 
climbed  the  loftiest  peak  of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  and  looked 
down  upon  the  snow  a  thousand  feet  below,  and,  standing 
where  never  human  foot  had  stood  before,  felt  the  exultation  of 
first  explorers.  It  was  about  two  o'clock  when  we  left  the  sum- 
mit ;  and,  when  we  reached  the  bottom,  the  sun  had  already 
sunk  behind  the  wall,  and  the  day  was  drawing  to  a  close.  It 
would  have  been  pleasant  to  have  lingered  here  and  on  the  sum- 
mit longer ;  but  we  hurried  away  as  rapidly  as  the  ground  would 
permit,  for  it  was  an  object  to  regain  our  party  as  soon  as  possible 
not  knowing  what  accident  the  next  hour  might  bring  forth. 

We  reached  our  deposit  of  provisions  at  nightfall.     Here  was 
not  the  inn  which  awaits  the  tired  traveller  on  his  return  from 


15 


Mont  Blanc,  or  the  orange  groves  of  South  America,  with  their 
refreshing  juices  and  soft,  fragrant  air ;  but  we  found  our  little 
cache  of  dried  meat  and  coffee  undisturbed.  Though  the  moon 
was  bright,  the  road  was  full  of  precipices,  and  the  fatigue  of 
the  day  had  been  great.  We  therefore  abandoned  the  idea  of 
rejoining  our  friends,  and  lay  down  on  the  rock,  and  in  spite 
of  the  cold  slept  soundly. 


The  Great  Salt  Lake. 

From  Fremont's  Journal  of  his  Second  Expedition. 

The  cHffs  and  masses  of  rock  along  the  shore  were  whitened  by  an 
incrustation  of  salt  where  the  waves  dashed  up  against  them ;  and 
the  evaporating  water,  which  had  been  left  in  holes  and  hollows  on 
the  surface  of  the  rocks,  was  covered  with  a  crust  of  salt  about  one- 
eighth  of  an  inch  in  thickness.  It  appeared  strange  that  in  the  midst 
of  this  grand  reservoir  one  of  our  greatest  wants  lately  had  been  salt. 
Exposed  to  be  more  perfectly  dried  in  the  sun,  this  became  very 
white  and  fine,  having  the  usual  flavor  of  very  excellent  common  salt, 
without  any  foreign  taste ;  but  only  a  little  was  collected  for  present 
use,  as  there  was  in  it  a  number  of  small  black  insects.  Carrying 
with  us  the  barometer  and  other  instruments,  in  the  afternoon  we 
ascended  to  the  highest  point  of  the  island, —  a  bare,  rocky  peak,  800 
feet  above  the  lake.  Standing  on  the  summit,  we  enjoyed  an  ex- 
tended view  of  the  lake,  enclosed  in  a  basin  of  rugged  mountains, 
which  sometimes  left  marshy  flats  and  extensive  bottoms  between 
them  and  the  shore,  and  in  other  places  came  directly  down  into  the 
water  with  bold  and  precipitous  bluffs.  Following  with  our  glasses 
the  irregular  shores,  we  searched  for  some  indications  of  a  communi- 
cation with  other  bodies  of  water  or  the  entrance  of  other  rivers ;  but 
the  distance  was  so  great  that  we  could  make  out  nothing  with  cer- 
tainty. To  the  southward,  several  peninsula  mountains,  3,000  or 
4,000  feet  high,  entered  the  lake,  appearing,  so  far  as  the  distance 
and  our  position  enabled  us  to  determine,  to  be  connected  by  flats 
and  low  ridges  with  the  mountains  in  the  rear.  At  the  season  of 
high  waters  in  the  spring  it  is  probable  that  all  the  marshes  and  low 
grounds  are  overflowed,  and  the  surface  of  the  lake  considerably 
greater.  In  several  places  the  view  was  of  unlimited  extent, —  here 
and  there  a  rocky  islet  appearing  above  the  water  at  a  great  dis- 
tance; and  beyond  everything  was  vague  and  undefined.  As  we 
looked  over  the  vast  expanse  of  water  spread  out  beneath  us,  and 
strained  our  eyes  along  the  silent  shores  over  which  hung  so  much 
doubt  and  certainty,  and  which  were  so  full  of  interest  to  us,  I  could 
hardly  repress  the  almost  irresistible  desire  to  continue  our  explora- 
tion ;  but  the  lengthening  snow  on  the  mountains  was  a  plain  indica- 
tion of  the  advancing  season,  and  our  frail  linen  boat  appeared  so 
insecure  that  I  was  unwilhng  to  trust  our  lives  to  the  uncertainties  of 


i6 

the  lake,  I  therefore  unwillingly  resolved  to  terminate  our  survey 
here,  and  remain  satisfied  for  the  present  with  what  we  had  been  able 
to  add  to  the  unknown  geography  of  the  region.  We  felt  pleasure  also 
in  remembering  that  we  were  the  first  who,  in  the  traditionary  annals 
of  the  country,  had  visited  the  islands,  and  broken,  with  the  cheerful 
sound  of  human  voices,  the  long  solitude  of  the  place. 


Save  Lewis  and  Clarke  alone,  there  is  no  name  in  the  annals  of  the 
exploration  of  the  jRocky  Mountains  so  brilliant  or  noteworthy  as  that  of 
John  C.  Fremont.  In  1842,  when  not  yet  thirty  years  old,  Fremont,  then  a 
lieutenant  in  the  corps  of  topographical  engineers,  projected  a  geographical 
survey  of  the  entire  territory  of  the  United  States,  from  the  Missouri  River 
to  the  Pacific  Ocean.  He  left  Washington  May  2,  1842,  under  the  direc- 
tions of  the  War  Department,  to  explore  the  Rocky  Mountains,  and  particu- 
larly to  examine  the  South  Pass.  He  accomplished  his  task  in  four  months, 
exploring  the  Wind  River  Mountains  and  ascending  their  highest  point, 
since  known  as  Fremont's  Peak.  His  report,  a  passage  from  which  is 
given  in  the  present  leaflet,  attracted  great  attention  both  in  this  country  and 
in  Europe.  In  May,  1843,  ^^  set  out  with  thirty-nine  men  on  a  much  more 
comprehensive  expedition.  In  September,  after  travelling  more  than  1,700 
miles,  he  came  in  sight  of  the  Great  Salt  Lake,  of  which  very  inaccurate 
notions  had  obtained  until  his  time.  His  accounts  had  an  important  influ- 
ence in  promoting  the  settlement  of  Utah  and  the  Pacific  States.  He  pro- 
ceeded north  to  the  Columbia  River,  which  he  followed  to  its  mouth.  He 
returned  to  the  upper  Colorado  and  thence  pushed  his  way  over  the  moun- 
tains, through  the  snows,  enduring  terrible  hardships,  to  the  Sacramento 
Valley  in  California.  In  March,  1844,  he  turned  southward,  then  crossed 
the  Sierras,  and  returned  by  the  way  of  Salt  Lake  to  Kansas,  which  he 
reached  after  an  absence  of  fourteen  months.  In  1845  ^^  ^^^  ^^^  ^^  ^  third 
expedition,  to  explore  California  and  Oregon.  On  July  4,  1846,  he  was 
elected  governor  of  California  by  the  American  settlers,  and  became  involved 
in  troubles  which  led  to  his  leaving  the  army.  In  1848  he  started  on  a 
fourth  expedition,  at  his  own  expense,  this  time  to  find  a  southern  route  to 
California.  He  now  settled  in  California,  and  in  1849  was  elected  one  of 
the  two  senators  to  represent  the  new  State  in  the  United  States  Senate. 
In  1853,  after  a  year  in  Europe,  he  fitted  out  a  fifth  exploring  expedition  for 
California,  in  which  his  party  suffered  terrible  privations,  for  fifty  days  living 
on  horse-flesh,  and  for  forty-eight  hours  at  a  time  being  without  food  of 
any  kind.  His  name  had  now  become  prominent  in  politics,  on  account  of 
his  opposition  to  the  extension  of  slavery;  and  in  1856  he  became  the  first 
Republican  candidate  for  the  Presidency. 

See  Fremont's  Report  of  the  Exploring  Expedition  to  the  Rocky  Mountains^ 
1842,  and  to  Oregon  and  North  California,  1843-44;  also  his  Memoirs  of  my 
Ltfe  (1887),  and  the  Lives  of  Fremont  by  Bigelow  and  others. 


#iti  ^Duti)  ntaiitt^. 


General  Series,  No.  46. 


Father 

Marquette  at 

Chicago. 

From    Marquette  s    Narrative    and    Dablon's   Relation. 


After  a  month's  navigation  down  the  Mississippi,  from  the 
42d  to  below  the  34th  degree,  and  after  having  published  the 
gospel  as  well  as  I  could  to  the  nations  I  had  met,  we  left 
the  village  of  Akamsea  on  the  17th  of  July,  [1673]  to  retrace  our 
steps.  We  accordingly  ascended  the  Mississippi,  which  gave  us 
great  trouble  to  stem  its  currents.  We  left  it  indeed,  about  the 
38th  degree,  to  enter  another  river  which  greatly  shortened 
our  way,  and  brought  us,  with  little  trouble,  to  the  lake  of  the 
Ilinois.* 

We  had  seen  nothing  like  this  river  for  the  fertility  of  the 
land,  its  prairies,  woods,  wild  cattle,  stag,  deer,  wildcats,  bus- 
tards, swans,  ducks,  parrots,  and  even  beaver,  its  many  little 
lakes  and  rivers.  That  on  which  we  sailed  is  broad,  deep,  and 
gentle  for  sixty-five  leagues.  During  the  spring  and  part  of  the 
summer  the  only  portage  is  half  a  league. 

We  found  there  an  Ilinois  town  called  Kaskaskia,  composed 
of  seventy-four  cabins.  They  received  us  well,  and  compelled 
me  to  promise  to  return  and  instruct  them.  One  of  the  chiefs 
of  this  tribe,  with  his  young  men,  escorted  us  to  the  Ilinois 
Lake,  whence  at  last  we  returned  in  the  close  of  September  to 
the  Bay  of  the  Fetid,  whence  we  had  set  out  in  the  beginning 
of  June. 

Had  all  this  voyage  caused  but  the  salvation  of  a  single  soul, 
I  should  deem  all  my  fatigue  well  repaid ;  and  this  I  have 
reason    to  think,  for,  when  I  was  returning,  I  passed  by  the 

*  Lake  Michigan  was  so  called  for  a  long  time,  probably  from  the  fact  that  through 
it  lay  the  direct  route  to  the  Ilinois  villages,  which  Father  Marquette  was  now  the  first  to 
visit.  Marest  erroneously  treats  the  name  as  a  mistake  of  geographers,  and  is  one  of  the 
firstto  call  it  Michigan.  The  river  which  Marquette  now  ascended  has  been  more  fortunate : 
it  still  bears  the  name  of  Ilinois. —  SAea. 


Indians  of  Peoria.*  I  was  three  days  announcing  the  faith  in 
all  their  cabins,  after  which,  as  we  were  embarking,  they 
brought  me  on  the  water's  edge  a  dying  child,  which  I  bap- 
tized a  little  before  it  expired,  by  an  admirable  Providence  for 
the  salvation  of  that  innocent  soul. 


Father  James  Marquette,  having  promised  the  Ilinois,  called 
Kaskaskia,  to  return  among  them  to  teach  them  our  mysteries, 
had  great  difificulty  in  keeping  his  word.  The  great  hardships 
of  his  first  voyage  had  brought  on  a  dysentery,  and  had  so 
enfeebled  him  that  he  lost  all  hope  of  undertaking  a  second 
voyage.  Yet,  his  malady  having  given  way  and  almost  ceased 
toward  the  close  of  summer  in  the  following  year,  he  obtained 
permission  of  his  superiors  to  return  to  the  Ilinois  to  found  that 
noble  mission.t 


*  Unfortunately,  he  does  not  tell  us  where  he  met  these  roving  Peorians,  who  thus 
enabled  him  to  keep  his  promise  to  resist  them.  As  they  have  left  their  name  on  the  Ilinois 
River,  he  may  have  found  them  there,  below  the  Kaskaskias,  who,  no  less  erratic,  left  their 
name  to  a  more  southerly  river  and  to  a  town  at  its  mouth  on  the  Mississippi.  It  must,  then, 
be  borne  in  mind  that  Marquette's  Peoria  and  his  and  AUouez's  town  of  Kaskaskia  are  quite 
different  from  the  present  places  of  the  name  in  situation.  The  Ilinois  seemed  to  have 
formed  a  link  between  the  wandering  Algonquin  and  the  fixed  Iroquois.  They  had  villages 
like  the  latter ;  and,  though  they  roved  like  the  former,  they  roved  in  villages. —  Shea. 

t  By  his  last  journal  we  learn  that  Father  Marquette  was  detained  at  the  mission  of  Saint 
Francis  Xavier  in  Green  Bay  during  the  whole  summer  of  1674.  Recovering  in  September, 
he  drew  up  and  sent  to  his  superiors  copies  of  his  journal  down  the  Mississippi,  and,  having 
received  orders  to  repair  to  the  Ilinois,  set  out  on  the  25th  of  October  with  two  men  named 

Pierre  Porteret  and  Jacques .     They  crossed  the  peninsula  which  forms  the  eastern  side 

of  Green  Bay,  and  began  to  coast  along  the  shore  of  Lake  Michigan,  accompanied  by  some 
Ilinois  and  Pottawatomies.  They  advanced  but  slowly  by  land  and  water,  frequently  arrested 
by  the  state  of  the  lake.  On  the  23d  of  November  the  good  missionary  was  again  seized  by 
his  malady ;  but  he  pushed  on,  and  by  the  4th  of  December  had  reached  the  Chicago,  which 
connects  by  portage  with  the  Ilinois.  But  the  river  was  now  frozen ;  and,  though  they  at- 
tempted to  proceed,  the  pious  missionary  submitted  to  the  necessity,  and  deprived  even  of 
the  consolation  of  saying  mass  on  his  patronal  feast,  the  Immaculate  Conception,  resolved  at 
last,  on  the  14th,  to  winter  at  the  portage,  as  his  illness  increased.  His  Indian  companions 
now  left  him ;  and,  though  aided  by  some  French  traders,  he  suffered  much  during  the  follow- 
ing months.  Of  this,  however,  he  says  nothing.  "The  Blessed  Virgin  Immaculate,"  says 
his  journal,  "has  taken  such  care  of  us  during  our  wandering  that  we  have  never  wanted 
food;  we  have  lived  very  comfortably;  my  illness  not  having  prevented  my  saying  mass 
every  day."  How  little  can  we  realize  the  faith  and  self-denial  which  could  give  so  pleasant 
a  face  to  a  winter  passed  by  a  dying  man  in  a  cabin  open  to  the  winds.  The  Ilinois,  aware  of 
his  presence  so  near  them,  sent  indeed;  but  so  gross  were  their  ideas  of  his  object  that  they 
asked  the  dying  missionary  for  powder  and  goods.  "  I  have  come  to  instruct  you,  and 
speak  to  you  of  the  prayer,"  was  his  answer.  "Powder  I  have  not:  we  come  to  spread 
peace  through  the  land,  and  I  do  not  wish  to  see  you  at  war  with  the  Miamis."  As  for 
goods,  he  could  but  encourage  the  French  to  continue  their  trade.  Despairing  at  last  of 
human  remedies,  the  missionary  and  his  two  pious  companions  began  a  novena,  or  nine  days' 
devotion,  to  the  Blessed  Virgin  Immaculate.  From  its  close  he  began  to  gain  strength,  and, 
when  the  freshet  compelled  them  to  remove  their  cabin,  on  the  29th  of  March  he  set  out 
again  on  his  long  interrupted  voyage,  the  river  being  now  open.  His  last  entry  is  of  the 
6th  of  April,  when  the  wind  and  cold  compelled  them  to  halt.  He  never  found  time  to 
continue  his  journal ;  and  his  last  words  are  a  playful  allusion  to  the  hardships  undergone 
by  the  traders,  in  which  he  sympathized,  while  insensible  of  his  own. —  Shea. 


He  set  out  for  this  purpose  in  the  month  of  November,  1674, 
from  the  Bay  of  the  Fetid,  with  two  men,  one  of  whom  had 
already  made  that  voyage  with  him.  During  a  month's  naviga- 
tion on  the  Ilinois  Lake  he  was  pretty  well ;  but,  as  soon  as 
the  snow  began  to  fall,  he  was  again  seized  with  the  dysentery, 
which  forced  him  to  stop  in  the  river  which  leads  to  the  Ilinois. 
There  they  raised  a  cabin,  and  spent  the  winter  in  such  want 
of  every  comfort  that  his  illness  constantly  increased.  He  felt 
that  God  had  granted  him  the  grace  he  had  so  often  asked, 
and  he  even  plainly  told  his  companions  so,  assuring  them  that 
he  would  die  of  that  illness  and  on  that  voyage.  To  prepare 
his  soul  for  its  departure,  he  began  that  rude  wintering  by  the 
exercises  of  Saint  Ignatius,  which,  in  spite  of  his  great  bodily 
weakness,  he  performed  with  deep  sentiments  of  devotion  and 
great  heavenly  consolation ;  and  then  spent  the  rest  of  his  time 
in  colloquies  with  all  heaven,  having  no  more  intercourse  with 
earth  amid  these  deserts,  except  with  his  two  companions, 
whom  he  confessed  and  communicated  twice  a  week,  and  ex- 
horted as  much  as  his  strength  allowed.  Some  time  after 
Christmas,  in  order  to  obtain  the  grace  not  to  die  without 
having  taken  possession  of  his  beloved  mission,  he  invited  his 
companions  to  make  a  novena  in  honor  of  the  Immaculate 
Conception  of  the  Blessed  Virgin.  Contrary  to  all  human 
expectation,  he  was  heard,  and,  recovering,  found  himself  able 
to  proceed  to  the  Ilinois  town  as  soon  as  navigation  was  free. 
This  he  accomplished  in  great  joy,  setting  out  on  the  29th  of 
March.  He  was  eleven  days  on  the  way,  where  he  had  ample 
matter  for  suffering,  both  from  his  still  sickly  state  and  from 
the  severity  and  inclemency  of  the  weather. 

Having  at  last  reached  the  town  on  the  8th  of  April,  he  was 
received  there  as  an  angel  from  heaven ;  and  after  having  sev- 
eral times  assembled  the  chiefs  of  the  nation  with  all  the  old 
men  {anciens),  to  sow  in  their  minds  the  first  seed  of  the 
gospel,  after  carrying  his  instructions  into  the  cabins,  which 
were  always  filled  with  crowds  of  people,  he  resolved  to  speak 
to  all  publicly  in  general  assembly,  which  he  convoked  in  the 
open  fields,  the  cabins  being  too  small  for  the  meeting.  A 
beautiful  prairie  near  the  town  was  chosen  for  the  great  coun- 
cil. It  was  adorned  in  the  fashion  of  the  country,  being  spread 
with  mats  and  bear-skins ;  and  the  father,  having  hung  on  cords 
some  pieces  of  India  taffety,  attached  to  them  four  large  pict- 
ures of  the  Blessed  Virgin,  which  were  thus  visible  on  all  sides. 
The  auditory  was  composed  of  five  hundred  chiefs  and  old  men, 
seated  in  a  circle  around  the  father,  while  the  youth  stood  with- 


4 

out  to  the  number  of  fifteen  hundred,  not  counting  women  and 
children  who  are  very  numerous,  the  town  being  composed  of 
five  or  six  hundred  fires. 

The  father  spoke  to  all  this  gathering,  and  addressed  them 
ten  words  by  ten  presents  which  he  made  them;  he  explained 
to  them  the  principal  mysteries  of  our  religion,  and  the  end  for 
which  he  had  come  to  their  country ;  and  especially  he  preached 
to  them  Christ  crucified,  for  it  was  the  very  eve  of  the  great  day 
on  which  he  died  on  the  cross  for  them,  as  well  as  for  the  rest 
of  men.     He  then  said  mass. 

Three  days  after,  on  Easter  Sunday,  things  being  arranged 
in  the  same  manner  as  on  Thursday,  he  celebrated  the  holy 
mysteries  for  the  second  time ;  and  by  these  two  sacrifices,  the 
first  ever  offered  there  to  God,  he  took  possession  of  that  land 
in  the  name  of  Jesus  Christ,  and  gave  this  mission  the  name  of 
the  Immaculate  Conception  of  the  Blessed  Virgin. 

He  was  listened  to  with  universal  joy  and  approbation  by  all 
this  people,  who  earnestly  besought  him  to  return  as  soon  as 
possible  among  them,  since  his  malady  obliged  him  to  leave 
them.  The  father,  on  his  part,  showed  them  the  affection  he 
bore  them,  his  satisfaction  at  their  conduct,  and  gave  his  word 
that  he  or  some  other  of  our  fathers  would  return  to  con- 
tinue this  mission  so  happily  begun.  This  promise  he  repeated 
again  and  again,  on  parting  with  them  to  begin  his  journey. 
He  set  out  amid  such  marks  of  friendship  from  these  good 
people  that  they  escorted  him  with  pomp  more  than  thirty 
leagues  of  the  way,  contending  with  one  another  for  the  honor 
of  carrying  his  little  baggage. 


After  the  Ilinois  had  taken  leave  of  the  father,  filled  with 
a  great  idea  of  the  gospel,  he  continued  his  voyage,  and  soon 
after  reached  the  Ilinois  Lake,  on  which  he  had  nearly  a  hun- 
dred leagues  to  make  by  an  unknown  route,  because  he  was 
obliged  to  take  the  southern  [eastern]  side  of  the  lake,  having 
gone  thither  by  the  northern  [western].  His  strength,  however, 
failed  so  much  that  his  men  despaired  of  being  able  to  carry 
him  alive  to  their  journey's  end ;  for,  in  fact,  he  became  so 
weak  and  exhausted  that  he  could  no  longer  help  himself,  nor 
even  stir,  and  had  to  be  handled  and  carried  like  a  child. 

He  nevertheless  maintained  in  this  state  an  admirable  equa- 
nimity, joy,  and  gentleness,  consoling  his  beloved  companions 
and  encouraging  them  to  suffer  courageously  all  the  hardships 
of  the  way,  assuring  them  that  our  Lord  would  not  forsake 


5 

them  when  he  was  gone.  During  this  navigation  he  began  to 
prepare  more  particularly  for  death,  passing  his  time  in  collo- 
quies with  our  Lord,  with  His  holy  mother,  with  his  angel- 
guardian,  or  with  all  heaven.  He  was  often  heard  pronouncing 
these  words  :  "  I  believe  that  my  Redeemer  liveth,"  or  "  Mary, 
mother  of  grace,  mother  of  God,  remember  me."  Besides  a 
spiritual  reading  made  for  him  every  day,  he  toward  the  close 
asked  them  to  read  him  his  meditation  on  the  preparation  of 
death,  which  he  carried  about  him.  He  recited  his  breviary 
every  day;  and,  although  he  was  so  low  that  both  sight  and 
strength  had  greatly  failed,  he  did  not  omit  it  till  the  last  day 
of  his  life,  when  his  companions  induced  him  to  cease,  as  it  was 
shortening  his  days. 

A  week  before  his  death  he  had  the  precaution  to  bless  some 
holy  water,  to  serve  him  during  the  rest  of  his  illness,  in  his 
agony,  and  at  his  burial ;  and  he  instructed  his  companions  how 
to  use  it. 

The  eve  of  his  death,  which  was  a  Friday,  he  told  them,  all 
radiant  with  joy,  that  it  would  take  place  on  the  morrow.  Dur- 
ing the  whole  day  he  conversed  with  them  about  the  manner  of 
his  burial,  the  way  in  which  he  should  be  laid  out,  the  place  to 
be  selected  for  his  interment;  he  told  them  how  to  arrange  his 
hands,  feet,  and  face,  and  directed  them  to  raise  a  cross  over 
his  grave.  He  even  went  so  far  as  to  enjoin  them,  only  three 
hours  before  he  expired,  to  take  his  chapel-bell,  as  soon  as  he 
was  dead,  and  ring  it  while  they  carried  him  to  the  grave.  Of 
all  this  he  spoke  so  calmly  and  collectedly  that  you  would  have 
thought  that  he  spoke  of  the  death  and  burial  of  another,  and 
not  of  his  own. 

^  Thus  did  he  speak  with  them'  as  they  sailed  along  the  lake, 
till,  perceiving  the  mouth  of  a  river  with  an  eminence  on  the 
bank  which  he  thought  suited  for  his  burial,  he  told  them  that 
it  was  the  place  of  his  last  repose.  They  wished,  however,  to 
pass  on,  as  the  weather  permitted  it  and  the  day  was  not  far 
advanced ;  but  God  raised  a  contrary  wind  which  obliged  them 
to  return  and  enter  the  river  pointed  out  by  Father  Marquette. 

They  then  carried  him  ashore,  kindled  a  little  fire,  and 
raised  for  him  a  wretched  bark  cabin,  where  they  laid  him  as 
little  uncomfortably  as  they  could ;  but  they  were  so  overcome 
by  sadness  that,  as  they  afterward  said,  they  did  not  know  what 
they  were  doing. 

The  father  being  thus  stretched  on  the  shore,  like  Saint 
Francis  Xavier,  as  he  had  always  so  ardently  desired,  and  left 
alone  amid  those  forests, —  for  his  companions  were  engaged  in 


unloading, —  he  had  leisure  to  repeat  all  the  acts  in  which 
he  had  employed  himself  during  the  preceding  days. 

When  his  dear  companions  afterward  came  up  all  dejected, 
he  consoled  them,  and  gave  them  hopes  that  God  would  take 
care  of  them  after  his  death  in  those  new  and  unknown  coun- 
tries. He  gave  them  his  last  instructions,  thanked  them  for 
all  the  charity  they  had  shown  him  during  the  voyage,  begged 
their  pardon  for  the  trouble  he  had  given  them,  and  directed 
them  also  to  ask  pardon  in  his  name  of  all  our  fathers  and 
brothers  in  the  Ottawa  country,  and  then  disposed  them  to 
receive  the  sacrament  of  penance,  which  he  administered  to 
them  for  the  last  time.  He  also  gave  them  a  paper  on  which 
he  had  written  all  his  faults  since  his  last  confession,  to  be 
given  to  his  superior  to  oblige  him  to  pray  more  earnestly  for 
him.  In  fine,  he  promised  not  to  forget  them  in  heaven  ;  and, 
as  he  was  very  kind-hearted  and  knew  them  to  be  worn  out 
with  the  toil  of  the  preceding  days,  he  bade  them  go  and  take 
a  little  rest,  assuring  them  that  his  hour  was  not  yet  so  near 
but  that  he  would  wake  them  when  it  was  time,  as  in  fact  he 
did  two  or  three  hours  after,  calling  them  when  about  to  enter 
his  agony. 

When  they  came  near,  he  embraced  them  for  the  last  time, 
while  they  melted  in  tears  at  his  feet  He  then  asked  for  the 
holy  water  and  his  reliquary,  and,  taking  off  his  crucifix,  which 
he  wore  around  his  neck,  he  placed  it  in  the  hands  of  one,  ask- 
ing him  to  hold  it  constantly  opposite  him,  raised  before  his 
eyes.  Then,  feeling  that  he  had  but  a  little  time  to  live,  he  made 
a  last  effort,  clasped  his  hands ;  and,  with  his  eyes  fixed  sweetly 
on  his  crucifix,  he  pronounced  aloud  his  profession  of  faith,  and 
thanked  the  Divine  Majesty  for  the  immense  grace  he  did  him 
in  allowing  him  to  die  in  the  society  of  Jesus, —  to  die  in  it  as  a 
missionary  of  Jesus  Christ,  and,  above  all,  to  die  in  it,  as  he  had 
always  asked,  in  a  wretched  cabin  amid  the  forests,  destitute  of 
all  human  aid. 

On  this  he  became  silent,  conversing  inwardly  with  God ; 
yet  from  time  to  time  words  escaped  him  :  "  Sustinuit  anima 
mea  in  verba  ejus,"  or  "  Mater  Dei,  memento  mei,"  which  were 
the  last  words  he  uttered  before  entering  on  his  agony,  which 
was  very  calm  and  gentle. 

He  had  prayed  his  companions  to  remind  him,  when  they 
saw  him  about  to  expire,  to  pronounce  frequently  the  names 
of  Jesus  and  Mary.  When  he  could  not  do  it  himself,  they  did 
it  for  him  ;  and,  when  they  thought  him  about  to  pass,  one  cried 
aloud,  Jesus  Maria,  which  he  several  times  repeated  distinctly, 


and  then,  as  if  at  those  sacred  names  something  had  appeared 
to  him,  he  suddenly  raised  his  eyes  above  his  crucifix,  fixing 
them  apparently  on  some  object  which  he  seemed  to  regard 
with  pleasure,  and  thus  with  a  countenance  all  radiant  with 
smiles  he  expired  without  a  struggle,  as  gently  as  if  he  had 
sunk  into  a  quiet  sleep. 

His  two  poor  companions,  after  shedding  many  tears  over 
his  body,  and  having  laid  it  out  as  he  had  directed,  carried  it 
devoutly  to  the  grave,  ringing  the  bell  according  to  his  injunc- 
tion, and  raised  a  large  cross  near  it  to  serve  as  a  mark  for 
passers-by. 


Father  Marquette  at  Chicago. 

From  an  Article  07i  '■'■  Early  Visitors  to  Chicago,^''  in  the  New  Eng- 
land Magazine  for  April,  1 892,  by  Edward  G.  Masoft, 
President  of  the  Chicago  Historical  Society. 

It  is  customary  to  speak  of  Chicago  as  a  comparatively  new 
place,  but  it  assumes  a  respectable  antiquity  when  we  remember 
that  it  was  known  to  white  men  more  than  two  hundred  years 
ago.  Those  who  saw  it  then  were  so  regardless  of  the  curiosity 
of  posterity  as  to  leave  but  scanty  mementoes  of  their  presence. 
Could  any  one  of  them  have  imagined  that  he  was  standing  on 
the  site  of  a  city  destined  to  be  the  second  in  size  in  our  land, 
that  upon  the  marsh  and  sand  bank  which  lay  before  him  was 
to  rise  the  metropolis  of  the  Great  West,  we  may  be  sure  that 
he  would  have  taken  pains  to  let  us  know  of  his  being  at  the 
very  beginning  of  human  association  with  this  portion  of  the 
earth's  surface,  and  to  ask  us,  for  that  reason,  to  hold  his  name 
in  remembrance. 

We  cannot  possibly  identify  the  earliest  visitor  to  Chicago, 
but  high  authority  is  inclined  to  hold  that  the  first  civilized 
man  who  crossed  the  Chicago  Portage  was  the  dauntless 
pioneer,  Rene  Robert  Cavelier  Sieur  de  la  Salle.  We  know 
that  two  years  of  his  life  in  America  are  involved  in  obscurity  \ 
and  his  own  journal  and  maps  relating  to  this  period,  though 
in  the  possession  of  one  of  his  relatives  a  century  later,  have 
disappeared.  But  an  anonymous  manuscript  exists  purporting 
to  contain  an  account  of  his  explorations  during  these  years, 
related  by  La  Salle  himself.  This  states  that  in  167 1  La  Salle 
set  forth  on  Lake  Erie,  crossed  Lake  Huron,  passed  the  Straits 
of  Mackinac  and  La  Baye  des  Puants,  which  we  call  Green 
Bay,  and  discovered  an  incomparably  larger  bay,  which  doubt- 


8 

less  was  the  southern  part  of  Lake  Michigan.  At  its  foot 
towards  the  west  he  found  "  a  very  good  port,"  and  at  the  end 
of  this  a  stream  going  from  the  east  to  the  west.  This  port, 
it  is  thought  by  Francis  Parkman,  whose  opinion  is  of  the 
utmost  weight,  may  have  been  the  entrance  to  the  Chicago 
River,  and  the  stream  the  Des  Plaines  branch  of  the  Illinois. 
If  this  manuscript  is  correct.  La  Salle  was  at  the  site  of  Chicago 
two  years  before  Joliet  and  Marquette.  He  was  the  real  dis- 
coverer of  the  Great  West,  for  he  planned  its  occupation  and 
began  its  settlement ;  and  he  alone  of  the  men  of  his  time 
appreciated  its  boundless  possibilities,  and  with  prophetic  eye 
saw  in  the  future  its  wide  area  peopled  by  his  own  race.  It 
seems  very  fitting  that  a  city  which  is  the  incarnation  of  the 
energy,  the  courage,  and  the  enterprise  which  animated  his 
iron  frame  should  begin  its  annals  with  the  splendid  name  of 
La  Salle. 

Assuming,  then,  that  he  was  the  first,  the  next  visitors  to 
Chicago,  who  are  usually  spoken  of  as  the  earliest,  were  Louis 
Jolliet,  usually  written  Joliet,  and  Jacques  (James)  Marquette. 
Returning  from  their  famous  journey  on  the  Mississippi  River, 
they  doubtless  crossed  the  portage  from  the  Des  Plaines  River 
to  the  south  branch,  and  went  by  way  of  the  Chicago  River  to 
Lake  Michigan,  and  along  its  western  shore  to  the  present 
Green  Bay,  in  the  late  summer  or  early  fall  of  the  year  1673. 
Father  Marquette  in  his  narrative  of  this  journey  mentions  the 
river  —  that  is,  the  Illinois  —  which  brought  them  with  little 
trouble  to  the  Lake  of  Illinois  (now  Lake  Michigan).  He  says, 
"  We  have  seen  nothing  like  this  river  for  the  fertility  of  its  land, 
its  prairies,  woods,  wild  cattle,  stag,  deer,  wild-cats,  bustards, 
swans,  ducks,  parrots,  and  even  beaver,  its  many  little  lakes 
and  rivers."  He  speaks  of  the  portage  of  half  a  league  and  of. 
the  escort  which  one  of  the  native  chiefs  gave  them  to  the 
Lake  of  the  Illinois.  These  friendly  Indian  hosts  accompanied 
Joliet  and  Marquette  from  the  town  of  Kaskaskia,  which  was 
situated  on  the  broad  meadow  opposite  Starved  Rock,  or,  as 
some  think,  nearer  to  the  present  town  of  Joliet,  and  probably 
bade  them  good-by  upon  what  is  now  the  Chicago  River. 

It  is  curious  to  notice  that  Joliet,  who  was  the  leader  of  the 
party  and  especially  charged  by  the  government  with  the  dis- 
covery of  the  great  river,  has  had  less  of  the  resulting  honor 
than  Marquette,  though  the  larger  part  was  rightfully  his  share. 
Marquette  himself  says  :  — 


Comte  de  Frontenac,  our  governor,  and  Mr.  Talon,  then  our  intendant, 
selected  for  the  enterprise  the  Sieur  Joliyet,  whom  they  deemed  competent 
for  so  great  a  design,  wishing  to  see  Father  Marquette  accompany  him. 
They  were  not  mistaken  in  their  choice  of  the  Sieur  Jolliet;  for  he  was  a 
young  man  born  in  the  country,  and  endowed  with  every  quality  that  could 
be  desired  in  such  an  enterprise.  He  possessed  experience  and  a  knowledge 
of  the  languages  of  the  Ottawa  Country,  where  he  had  spent  several  years; 
he  had  the  tact  and  prudence  so  necessary  for  the  success  of  a  voyage 
equally  dangerous  and  difficult ;  and,  lastly,  he  had  courage  to  fear  nothing 
where  all  is  to  be  feared. 

Joliet's  failure  to  receive  his  due  meed  of  fame  results  entirely 
from  the  fact  that  Marquette's  narrative  of  their  voyage  was 
preserved;  while  all  of  Joliet's  papers,  including  his  carefully 
prepared  report  to  his  government,  and  a  very  exact  map,  were 
lost  by  the  upsetting  of  his  canoe  in  the  rapids  above  Montreal, 
when  he  had  almost  completed  his  return  trip. 

Joliet  prepared  from  recollection  an  account  of  his  voyage, 
and  sketched  a  map,  both  of  which  Frontenac  sent  to  France. 
This  map,  and  perhaps  others  from  his  hand,  have  recently 
come  to  light;  and  we  have  also  a  statement  prepared  by 
Father  Claude  Dablon,  Superior  General  of  the  Jesuit  Missions 
in  America,  from  information  furnished  him  by  Joliet,  who 
speaks  in  it  as  enthusiastically  as  did  Father  Marquette  about 
the  Illinois  River,  which,  he  says,  "is  large  and  deep,  full  of 
barbels  and  sturgeon ;  game  is  found  in  abundance  on  its 
banks ;  the  wild  cattle,  cows,  stags,  turkeys,  appear  more  there 
than  elsewhere.  .  .  .  There  are  prairies  there  six,  ten,  and  twenty 
leagues  long,  and  three  wide,  surrounded  by  forests  of  equal 
extent,  beyond  which  the  prairies  begin  again."  Certainly,  no 
State  in  the  Union  has  received  more  complimentary  mention 
from  its  first  visitors  than  Illinois. 

It  further  appears  from  this  statement  that  either  Joliet  or 
Father  Dablon  himself,  but  probably  the  former,  was  the  first 
to  suggest  a  ship  canal  from  Lake  Michigan  to  the  Illinois 
River.  For  the  good  father,  in  his  remarks  upon  the  utility  of 
Joliet's  discovery,  says  :  — 

A  very  important  advantage  (of  it),  and  which  some  will  perhaps  find  it 
hard  to  credit,  is  that  we  can  quite  easily  go  to  Florida  in  boats,  and  by  a  very 
good  navigation.  There  would  be  but  one  canal  to  make  by  cutting  only 
one-half  a  league  of  prairie  to  pass  from  the  lake  of  the  Illinois  (Michigan) 
into  St.  Louis  River  (Des  Plaines).  The  route  to  be  taken  is  this:  the  bark 
should  be  built  in  Lake  Erie  which  is  near  Lake  Ontario ;  it  would  pass 
easily  from  Lake  Erie  to  Lake  Huron,  from  which  it  would  enter  the  Lake 
of  the  Illinois.  At  the  extremity  of  this  lake  would  be  the  cut  or  canal  of 
which  I  have  spoken  to  have  a  passage  to  St.  Louis  River,  which  empties 
into  the  Mississippi.  The  bark  having  thus  entered  this  river  would  sail 
easily  to  the  Gulf  of  Mexico. 


lO 

If  ever  the  proposed  ship  canal  from  Lake  Michigan  to  the 
Illinois  River  is  constructed,  it  will  not  be  amiss  to  associate 
with  it  the  name  of  the  first  projector  of  such  a  work,  Louis 
Joliet. 

Count  Frontenac  wrote  the  French  government  in  1674  that 
Joliet  left  with  the  missionaries  at  Sault  Ste.  Marie  copies  of 
his  journals.  "These,"  he  says,  "we  cannot  get  before  next 
year";  and  Father  Dablon,  speaking  of  the  loss  of  Joliet's 
narrative  and  map,  says,  "  Father  Marquette  kept  a  copy  of 
that  which  has  been  lost."  Thus  far  neither  of  these  copies 
has  come  to  light,  but  I  do  not  despair  of  the  finding  of  one 
or  both.  The  joy  of  the  discovery  is,  I  trust,  reserved  for  some 
ardent  antiquarian,  who  will  eagerly  unroll  the  time-stained 
pages  and  find  in  them  something  more  than  we  now  know  of 
the  Chicago  of  1673.  Perhaps  he  will  thus  reveal  the  names  of 
the  five  other  French  men  who  accompanied  Joliet  and  Mar- 
quette through  their  entire  voyage,  and  were  with  them  here, 
and  one  of  whom  revisited  Chicago  with  Marquette  in  the  fol- 
lowing year.  Of  these  five  men  we  know  nothing  more,  save 
that  it  is  probable  that  one  of  them  was  a  victim  of  the  catas- 
trophe at  the  Sault  Ste.  Louis,  just  by  La  Salle's  old  seignory 
of  La  Chine,  which  put  such  a  luckless  ending  to  this  otherwise 
successful  exploration.  We  may  be  proud  to  inscribe  the  name 
of  Louis  Joliet  upon  the  muster-roll  of  the  early  visitors  to 
Chicago,  for  he  would  have  been  no  mean  citizen  of  any  city. 

History  accords  to  the  brave  young  priest  Marquette  the 
right  to  be  called  the  earliest  resident  of  Chicago,  because  of 
his  dreary  encampment  by  the  banks  of  the  Chicago  River  in 
the  winters  of  1674-75  on  his  second  journey  to  the  Illinois. 
He  was  attended  by  two  faithful  French  voyageurs,  Pierre  Por- 

teret  and  Jacques ,  whose  last  name  is  unknown.     Father 

Dablon  says  that  one  of  these  men,  but  does  not  tell  us  which, 
was  with  Marquette  on  his  former  voyage.  I  am  aware  that 
South  Chicago,  Evanston,  and  possibly  other  places,  are  in- 
clined to  dispute  with  Chicago  the  honor  of  this  visit  from 
Marquette ;  but  Chicago  will  not  yield  to  any  of  them  her  first 
City  Father,  without  a  struggle. 

An  attempt  has  been  made  to  show,  from  Marquette's  journal 
of  his  journey,  that  he  wintered  upon  the  Calumet  River,  and 
not  upon  the  Chicago.  We  learn  from  this  document  that  he  set 
out  from  the  Mission  of  St.  Francis,  which  was  on  the  site  of 
the  town  of  Green  Bay,  October  25,  1674,  crossed  the  portage 
from  Sturgeon  Bay  to  Lake  Michigan,  and  followed  its  western 
shore  southward ;  and  after  various  detentions,  on  December  4, 


II 

he  says:  "We  startea  well  to  reach  Portage  River,  which  was 
frozen  half  a  foot  thick.  There  was  more  snow  there  than  any- 
where else."  To  identify  Portage  River  with  the  Calumet,  it  is 
necessary  to  assume  that  Marquette  spent  nine  days  in  going 
from  the  Chicago  River  to  the  Calumet,  a  distance  of  twelve 
miles,  or  an  average  of  one  and  one-third  miles  per  day ;  while,  up 
to  his  arrival  at  the  Chicago  River,  he  had  travelled  at  the  rate  of 
seven  miles  a  day,  including  all  delays.  It  is  also  necessary  to 
assume  that  he  made  a  portage  between  the  Grand  Calumet, 
and  the  Little  Calumet,  where  there  is  no  portage  now,  and 
went  up  the  Little  Calumet  to  Stony  Brook,  near  the  present 
town  of  Blue  Island,  then  up  Stony  Brook,  and  by  way  of 
the  "  Sag  "  to  the  Des  Plaines, —  a  route  which,  so  far  as  known, 
has  never  been  followed  by  any  other  traveller,  is  not  laid  down 
on  any  map,  and  there  is  no  evidence  of  its  use  at  any  time. 
I  should  except,  perhaps,  an  account  in  the  possession  of  the 
Chicago  Historical  Society  of  the  ruins  of  an  old  fort,  on  the 
line  of  the  "  Sag  "  in  the  town  of  Palos,  in  Cook  County,  from 
which  it  has  been  argued  that  this  must  have  been  a  French 
fort,  that  the  French  would  not  have  had  a  fort  except  upon  a 
stream,  that  a  stream  is  of  no  use  unless  it  is  navigable,  and 
that  Father  Marquette  was  the  best  man  to  navigate  it,  and 
therefore  did  so.  I  cannot  accept  the  argument;  but  I  am 
greatly  interested  in  the  fort,  and  should  be  glad  some  day  to 
lead  an  exploring  party  in  search  of  it.  To  my  mind,  the  most 
convincing  proof  that  the  Chicago  River  is  the  Portage  River 
of  Marquette  and  Joliet  is  the  account  which  the  latter  gives  in 
Dablon's  statement  that  the  cutting  of  half  a  league  of  prairie, 
but  a  little  over  a  mile,  would  enable  a  bark  to  pass  from  Lake 
Michigan  to  the  Des  Plaines  River.  This  could  not  be  true  of 
the  route  by  the  Calumet,  Stony  Brook,  and  the  "  Sag,"  where 
a  twelve-mile  canal  would  be  necessary  for  a  small  vessel  to 
pass,  and  is  applicable  only  to  the  short  portage  between  the 
South  Branch  and  the  Des  Plaines,  which  must  therefore  have 
been  the  route  followed  by  Joliet  and  by  Marquette  on  his 
second  journey. 

It  was  the  Chicago  River,  therefore,  over  whose  frozen  sur- 
face the  valiant  missionary  toiled  on  that  bleak  December  day. 
It  was  on  its  banks  that  he  penned  that  journal,  which  doubt- 
less was  the  first  literary  production  ever  written  in  Chicago, 
and  which  gives  us  such  a  picture  of  the  unselfishness,  the  hero- 
ism, and  the  sanctity  of  that  lovely  soul.  We  cannot  give  up 
Father  Marquette;  for  his  association  with  Chicago's  site  is 
amongst  the  most  precious  of  its  early  memories.     The  feeling 


12 


that  he  in  some  measure  belongs  to  Chicago  lends  a  new 
interest  to  that  brief  but  beautiful  life  which  began  in  1637  in 
the  little  city  of  Laon,  in  Northern  France,  and  ended  in  1675 
on  the  eastern  shore  of  Lake  Michigan. 


Father  Marquette's  Narrative  of  his  Voyages  and  Discoveries  in  the 
Valley  of  the  Mississippi,  from  which  the  passage  in  the  present  leaflet  is 
taken,  is  given  entire  in  John  G.  Shea's  Discovery  and  Exploration  of  the 
Mississippi  Valley.  This  narrative  was  prepared  for  publication  in  1678  by 
Father  Claude  Dablon,  Superior  of  the  missions  of  the  Society  of  Jesus 
in  Canada,  who  added  the  account  of  Marquette's  second  voyage,  death,  and 
burial.  The  unfinished  letter  of  Father  Marquette  to  Father  Dablon,  con- 
taining a  journal  of  his  last  visit  to  the  Illinois,  is  given  (in  the  original 
French)  in  the  appendix  to  Shea's  work.  Marquette's  account  of  his  dis- 
covery of  the  Mississippi,  taken  from  the  same  work  as  the  present  leaflet, 
was  given  in  one  of  the  leaflets  (No.  2)  of  the  Old  South  series  for  1889. 
There  are  very  full  notices  of  Marquette  and  the  writings  concerning  him  in 
the  Narrative  and  Critical  History  of  America,  vol.  iv.  There  is  a  biography 
in  Sparks's  series  of  American  Biographies ;  and  a  full  and  graphic  account 
in  Parkman's  Discovery  of  the  Great  West. 


OLD   SOUTH   LEAFLETS  —  GENERAL   SERIES. 

No.  1.  The  Constitution  of  the  United  States.  2.  The  Articles  of  Confederation. 
3.  The  Declaration  of  Independence.  4.  Washington's  Farewell  Address.  5.  Magna 
Charta.  6.  Vane's  "  Healing  Question."  7.  Charter  of  Massachusetts  Bay,  1629. 
8.  Fundamental  Orders  of  Connecticut,  1638.  9.  Franklin's  Plan  of  Union,  1754. 
10.  Washington's  Inaugurals.  11.  Lincoln's  Inaugurals  and  Emancipation  Proclamation. 
12.  The  Federalist,  Nos.  i  and  2.  13.  The  Ordinance  of  1787.  14.  The  Constitution  of 
Ohio.  15.  Washington's  Circular  Letter  to  the  Governors  of  the  States,  1783.  16.  Wash- 
ington's Letter  to  Benjamin  Harrison,  1784.  17.  Verrazzano's  Voyage.  18.  The  Swiss 
Constitution.  19.  The  Bill  of  Rights,  1689.  20.  Coronado's  Letter  to  Mendoza,  1540. 
21.  Eliot's  Narrative,  1670.  22.  Wheelock's  Narrative,  1762.  23.  The  Petition  of 
Rights,  1628.  24.  The  Grand  Remonstrance,  164 1.  25.  The  Scottish  National  Covenant, 
1638.  26.  The  Agreement  of  the  People,  1648-49.  27.  The  Instrument  of  Government, 
1653.  28.  Cromwell's  First  Speech,  1653.  29.  The  Discovery  of  America,  from  the  Life 
of  Columbus  by  his  son,  Ferdinand  Columbus.  30.  Strabo's  Introduction  to  Geography. 
31.  The  Voyages  to  Vinland,  from  the  Saga  of  Eric  the  Red.  32.  Marco  Polo's  Account 
of  Japan  and  Java.  33.  Columbus's  Letter  to  Gabriel  Sanches,  describing  the  First 
Voyage  and  Discovery.  34.  Americus  Vespucius's  Account  of  his  First  Voyage.  36. 
Cortes's  Account  of  the  City  of  Mexico.  36.  The  Death  of  De  Soto,  from  the  "  Narrative 
of  a  Gentleman  of  Elvas."  37.  Early  Notices  of  the  Voyages  of  the  Cabots.  38.  Henry 
Lee's  Funeral  Oration  on  Washington.  39.  Cabeza  de  Vaca's  Relation  of  his  Journey  to 
New  Mexico,  1535.  40.  Manasseh  Cutler's  Description  of  Ohio,  1787.  41.  Washington's 
Journal  of  his  Tour  to  the  Ohio,  1770.  42.  Garfieid's  Address  on  the  North-west  Territory 
and  the  Western  Reserve.  43.  George  Rogers  Clark's  Account  of  the  Capture  of  Vin- 
cennes,  1779.  44.  Jefferson's  Life  of  Captain  Meriwether  Lewis.  46.  Fremont's  Account 
of  his  Ascent  of  Fremont's  Peak.     46.     Marquette  at  Chicago,  1673. 

Price,  5  cents  a  copy,  or  $3.00  per  hundred.  Nos.  14  and  18,  6  cents  a  copy,  or  ^^4.00  per 
hundred. 


#Iti  ^outf)  %tafltt^ 


General  Series,  No.  47. 


Washington  at 
Cambridge. 


Washington's  Letter  to  the  President  of  Congress,  on  his  Arrival 
AT  Cambridge  to  take  Command  of  the  Army. 


Camp  at  Cambridge  July  10,  1775. 
Sir, 

I  arrived  safe  at  this  Place  on  the  3d  inst.,  after  a  Journey 
attended  with  a  good  deal  of  Fatigue,  and  retarded  by  neces- 
sary Attentions  to  the  successive  Civilities  which  accompanied 
me  in  my  whole  Rout.  Upon  my  arrival,  I  immediately 
visited  the  several  Posts  occupied  by  our  Troops,  and  as  soon 
as  the  Weather  permitted,  reconnoitred  those  of  the  Enemy. 
I  found  the  latter  strongly  entrench'd  on  Bunker's  Hill  about 
a  Mile  from  Charlestown,  and  advanced  about  half  a  Mile 
from  the  Place  of  the  last  Action,  with  their  Gentries  extended 
about  150  Yards  on  this  side  of  the  narrowest  Part  of  the  Neck 
leading  from  this  Place  to  Charlestown ;  3  floating  Batteries 
lay  in  Mystick  River,  near  their  camp;  and  one  20  Gun  Ship 
below  the  Ferry  Place  between  Boston  and  Charlestown. 
They  have  also  a  Battery  on  Copse  Hill,  on  the  Boston  side, 
which  much  annoyed  our  Troops  in  the  late  attack.  Upon 
the  Neck,  they  are  also  deeply  entrenched  and  strongly  forti- 
fied. Their  advanced  Guards  'till  last  Saturday  morning,  occu- 
pied Brown's  Houses,  about  a  mile  from  Roxbury  Meeting 
House  and  20  roods  from  their  Lines  :  But  at  that  Time  a 
Party  from  General  Thomas's  Camp  surprized  the  Guard, 
drove  them  in  and  burnt  the  houses.  The  Bulk  of  their  Army 
commanded  by  Genl.  Howe,  lays  on  Bunker's  Hill,  and  the 
Remainder  on  Roxbury  Neck,  except  the  Light  Horse,  and  a 
few  Men  in  the  Town  of  Boston.  On  our  side  we  have  thrown 
up  Intrenchments  on  Winter  and  Prospect  Hills,  the  Enemies 
camp  in  full  View  at  the  Distance  of  little  more  than  a  Mile. 
Such  intermediate  Points,  as  would  admit  a  Landing,  I  have 


since  my  arrival  taken  care  to  strengthen,  down  to  Sewall's 
Farm,  where  a  strong  Entrenchment  has  been  thrown  up.  At 
Roxbury  General  Thomas  has  thrown  up  a  strong  Work  on 
the  Hill,  about  200  Yards  above  the  Meeting  House  which 
with  the  Broken-ness  of  the  Ground  and  great  Number  of 
Rocks  has  made  that  Pass  very  secure.  The  Troops  raised 
in  New  Hampshire,  with  a  Regiment  from  Rhode  Island 
occupy  Winter  Hill.  A  Part  of  those  from  Connecticut  under 
General  Puttnam  are  on  Prospect  Hill.  The  Troops  in  this 
Town  are  intirely  of  the  Massachusetts  :  The  Remainder  of  the 
Rhode  Island  Men,  are  at  Sewall's  Farm :  Two  Regiments  of 
Connecticut  and  9  of  the  Massachusetts  are  at  Roxbury.  The 
Residue  of  the  Army,  to  the  Number  of  about  700,  are  posted 
in  several  small  Towns  along  the  Coast,  to  prevent  the  Depre- 
dations of  the  Enemy  :  Upon  the  whole,  I  think  myself  author- 
ized to  say,  that  considering  the  great  Extent  of  Line,  and*  the 
nature  of  the  Ground  we  are  as  well  secured  as  could  be  ex- 
pected in  so  short  a  Time  and  under  the  Disadvantages  Ave 
labour.  These  consist  in  a  Want  of  Engineers  to  construct 
proper  Works  and  direct  the  men,  a  Want  of  Tools,  and  a  suffi- 
cient Number  of  Men  to  man  the  Works  in  Case  of  an  attack. 
You  will  observe  by  the  Proceedings  of  the  Council  of  War, 
which  I  have  the  Honor  to  enclose,  that  it  is  our  unanimous 
Opinion  to  hold  and  defend  these  W^orks  as  long  as  possible. 
The  Discouragement  it  would  give  the  Men  and  its  contrary 
Effects  on  the  ministerial  Troops,  thus  to  abandon  our  Incamp- 
ment  in  their  Face,  form'd  with  so  much  Labor,  added  to  the 
certain  Destruction  of  a  considerable  and  valuable  Extent  of 
Country,  and  our  Uncertainty  of  finding  a  Place  in  all  Respects 
so  capable  of  making  a  stand,  are  leading  Reasons  for  this 
Determination :  at  the  same  Time  we  are  very  sensible  of  the 
Difficulties  which  attend  the  Defence  of  Lines  of  so  great 
extent,  and  the  Dangers  which  may  ensue  from  such  a  Division 
of  the  Army. 

My  earnest  Wishes  to  comply  with  the  Instructions  of  the 
Congress  in  making  an  early  and  complete  Return  of  the  State 
of  the  Army,  has  led  into  an  involuntary  Delay  in  addressing 
you,  which  has  given  me  much  Concern.  Having  given  orders 
for  this  Purpose  immediately  on  my  Arrival,  and  unapprized 
of  the  imperfect  Obedience  which  had  been  paid  to  those  of 
the  like  Nature  from  General  Ward,  I  was  led  from  Day  to 
Day  to  expect  they  would  come  in,  and  therefore  detained  the 
Messenger.  They  are  not  now  so  complete  as  I  could  wish, 
but  much  Allowance  is  to  be  made  for  Inexperience  in  Forms, 


and  a  Liberty  which  has  been  taken  (not  given)  on  this  sub- 
ject. These  Reasons  I  flatter  myself  will  no  longer  exist,  and 
of  Consequence  more  Regularity  and  exactness  in  future  pre- 
vail. This,  with  a  necessary  attention  to  the  Lines,  the  Move- 
ments of  the  Ministerial  Troops,  and  our  immediate  Security, 
must  be  my  Apology,  which  I  beg  you  lay  before  the  Congress 
with  the  utmost  Duty  and  Respect. 

We  labor  under  great  Disadvantages  for  Want  of  Tents,  for 
tho'  they  have  been  help'd  out  by  a  Collection  of  now  useless 
sails  from  the  Sea  Port  Towns,  the  Number  is  yet  far  short  of 
our  Necessities.  The  Colleges  and  Houses  of  this  Town  are 
necessarily  occupied  by  the  Troops  which  affords  another 
Reason  for  keeping  our  present  Situation :  But  I  most  sin- 
cerely wish  the  whole  Army  was  properly  provided  to  take  the 
Field,  as  I  am  well  assured,  that  besides  greater  Expedition 
and  Activity  in  case  of  Alarm,  it  would  highly  conduce  to 
Health  and  discipline.  As  Materials  are  not  to  be  had  here, 
I  would  beg  leave  to  recommend  the  procuring  a  farther  supply 
from  Philadelphia  as  soon  as  possible. 

I  should  be  extremely  deficient  in  Gratitude,  as  well  as  Jus- 
tice, if  I  did  not  take  the  first  opportunity  to  acknowledge  the 
Readiness  and  Attention  which  the  provincial  Congress  and 
different  Committees  have  shewn  to  make  every  Thing  as  con- 
venient and  agreeable  as  possible  :  but  there  is  a  vital  and 
inherent  Principle  of  Delay  incompatible  with  military  service 
in  transacting  Business  thro'  such  numerous  and  different 
Channels.  I  esteem  it  therefore  my  Duty  to  represent  the  In- 
convenience that  must  unavoidably  ensue  from  a  dependence 
on  a  Number  of  Persons  for  supplies,  and  submit  it  to  the 
Consideration  of  the  Congress  whether  the  publick  Service 
will  not  be  best  promoted  by  appointing  a  Commissary  Gen- 
eral for  these  purposes.  We  have  a  striking  Instance  of  the 
Preference  of  such  a  mode  in  the  Establishment  of  Connecti- 
cut, as  their  Troops  are  extremely  well  provided  under  the 
Direction  of  Mr.  Trumbull,  and  he  has  at  different  Times 
assisted  others  with  various  Articles.  Should  my  Sentiments 
happily  coincide  wnth  those  of  your  Honors,  on  this  subject, 
I  beg  leave  to  recommend  Mr.  Trumbull  as  a  very  proper 
Person  for  this  Department.  In  the  Arrangement  of  Troops 
collected  under  such  Circumstances,  and  upon  the  Spur  of 
immediate  Necessity  several  Appointments  are  omitted,  which 
appear  to  be  indispensably  necessary  for  the  good  Government 
of  the  Army,  particularly  a  Quartermaster  General,  a  Com- 
missary of  Musters  and  a  Commissary  of  Artillery.     These    I 


must  Earnestly  recommend  to  the  Notice  and  Provision  of  the 
Congress. 

I  find  myself  already  much  embarrassed  for  Want  of  a  Mili- 
tary Chest ;  these  embarrassments  will  increase  every  day : 
I  must  therefore  request  that  Money  may  be  forwarded  as  soon 
as  Possible.  The  want  of  this  most  necessary  Article,  will  I 
fear  produce  great  Inconveniences  if  not  prevented  by  an  early 
Attention.  I  find  the  Army  in  general,  and  the  Troops  raised 
in  Massachusetts  in  particular,  very  deficient  in  necessary 
Cloathing.  Upon  Inquiry  there  appears  no  Probability  of 
obtaining  any  supplies  in  this  Quarter.  And  the  best  Con- 
sideration of  this  Matter  I  am  able  to  form,  I  am  of  Opinion 
that  a  Number  of  hunting  Shirts  not  less  than  10,000,  would  in 
a  great  Degree  remove  this  Difficulty  in  the  cheapest  and 
quickest  manner.  I  know  nothing  in  a  speculative  View  more 
trivial,  yet  if  put  in  Practice  would  have  a  happier  Tendency 
to  unite  the  Men,  and  abolish  those  Provincial  Distinctions 
which  lead  to  Jealousy  and  Dissatisfaction.  In  a  former  part 
of  this  Letter  I  mentioned  the  want  of  Engineers ;  I  can  hardly 
express  the  Disappointment  I  have  experienced  on  this  Sub- 
ject. The  Skill  of  those  we  have,  being  very  imperfect  and 
confined  to  the  mere  manual  Exercise  of  Cannon  :  Whereas  — 
the  War  in  which  we  are  engaged  requires  a  Knowledge  com- 
prehending the  Duties  of  the  Field  and  Fortifications.  If  any 
Persons  thus  qualified  are  to  be  found  in  the  Southern  Col- 
onies, it  would  be  of  great  publick  Service  to  forward  them 
with  all  expedition.  Upon  the  Article  of  Ammunition  I  must 
re-echo  the  former  Complaints  on  this  Subject :  We  are  so 
exceedingly  destitute,  that  our  Artillery  will  be  of  little  Use 
without  a  supply  both  large  and  seasonable :  What  we  have 
must  be  reserved  for  the  small  Arms,  and  that  managed  with 
the  utmost  Frugality. 

I  am  sorry  to  observe  that  the  Appointments  of  the  General 
Officers  in  the  Province  of  Massachusetts  Bay  have  by  no 
Means  corresponded  with  the  Judgement  and  Wishes  of  either 
the  civil  or  Military.  The  great  Dissatisfaction  expressed  on 
this  Subject  and  the  apparent  Danger  of  throwing  the  Army 
into  the  utmost  Disorder,  together  with  the  strong  Representa- 
tions of  the  Provincial  Congress,  have  induced  me  to  retain 
the  Commissions  in  my  Hands  untill  the  Pleasure  of  the  Con- 
gress should  be  farther  known,  (except  General  Puttnam's 
which  was  given  the  Day  I  came  into  Camp  and  before  I  was 
apprized  of  these  Uneasinesses.)  In  such  a  Step  I  must  beg 
the  Congress  will  do  me  the  Justice  I  believe,  that  I  have  been 


5 

actuated  solely  by  a  Regard  to  the  publick  Good.  I  have  not, 
nor  could  have  any  private  Attachments ;  every  Gentleman  in 
Appointment,  was  an  intire  Stranger  to  me  but  from  Character. 
I  must  therefore  rely  upon  the  Candor  of  the  Congress  for 
their  favorable  Construction  of  my  Conduct  in  this  Particular. 
General  Spencer  was  so  much  disgusted  at  the  preference 
given  to  General  Puttnam  that  he  left  the  Army  without  visit- 
ing me,  or  making  known  his  Intentions  in  any  respect.  Gen- 
eral Pomroy  had  also  retired  before  my  Arrival,  occasioned  (as 
is  said)  by  some  Disappointment  from  the  Provincial  Congress. 
General  Thomas  is  much  esteemed  and  earnestly  desired  to 
continue  in  the  service :  and  as  far  as  my  Opportunities  have 
enabled  me  to  judge  I  must  join  in  the  general  opinion  that 
he  is  an  able  good  Officer  and  his  Resignation  would  be  a 
publick  Loss.  The  postponing  him  to  Pomroy  and  Heath 
whom  he  has  commanded  would  make  his  Continuance  very 
difficult,  and  probably  operate  on  his  Mind,  as  the  like  Circum- 
stance has  done  on  that  of  Spencer. 

The  State  of  the  Army  you  will  find  ascertained  with  toler- 
able Precision  in  the  Returns  which  accompany  this  Letter. 
Upon  finding  the  Number  of  men  to  fall  so  far  short  of  the 
Establishment,  and  below  all  Expectation,  I  immediately  called 
a  Council  of  the  general  Officers,  whose  opinion  as  to  the  mode 
of  filling  up  the  Regiments,  and  providing  for  the  present 
Exigency,  I  have. the  Honor  of  inclosing  together  with  the 
best  Judgment  we  are  able  to  form  of  the  ministerial  Troops. 
From  the  Number  of  Boys,  Deserters,  and  Negroes  which  have 
been  inlisted  in  the  troops  of  this  Province,  I  entertain  some 
doubts  whether  the  number  required  can  be  raised  here ;  and 
all  the  General  Officers  agree  that  no  Dependance  can  be  put 
on  the  militia  for  a  Continuance  in  Camp,  or  Regularity  and 
Discipline  during  the  short  Time  they  may  stay.  This  un- 
happy and  devoted  Province  has  been  so  long  in  a  State  of 
Anarchy,  and  the  Yoke  of  ministerial  Oppression  been  laid 
so  heavily  on  it  that  great  Allowances  are  to  be  made  for 
Troops  raised  under  such  Circumstances  :  The  Deficiency  of 
Numbers,  Discipline  and  Stores  can  only  lead  to  this  Conclu- 
sion, that  their  Spirit  has  exceeded  their  Strength.  But  at  the 
same  Time  I  would  humbly  submit  to  the  consideration  of 
the  Congress,  the  Propriety  of  making  some  farther  Provision 
of  Men  from  the  other  Colonies.  If  these  Regiments  should 
be  completed  to  their  Establishment,  the  Dismission  of  those 
unfit  for  Duty  on  account  of  their  Age  and  Character  would 
occasion  a  considerable  Reduction,  and  at  all  events  they  have 


been  inlisted  upon  such  Terms,  that  they  may  be  disbanded 
when  other  Troops  arrive :  But  should  my  apprehensions  be 
reaUzed,  and  the  Regiments  here  not  filled  up,  the  publick 
Cause  would  suffer  by  an  absolute  Dependance  upon  so  doubt- 
ful an  Event,  unless  some  Provision  is  made  against  such  a 
Disappointment. 

It  requires  no  military  Skill  to  judge  of  the  Difficulty  of 
introducing  proper  Discipline  and  Subordination  into  an  Army 
while  we  have  the  Enemy  in  View,  and  are  in  daily  Expecta- 
tion of  an  Attack,  but  it  is  of  so  much  Importance  that  every 
Effort  will  be  made  which  Time  and  Circumstance  will  admit. 
In  the  mean  Time  I  have  a  sincere  Pleasure  in  observing  that 
there  are  Materials  for  a  good  Army,  a  great  number  of  able 
bodied  Men,  active  zealous  in  the  Cause  and  of  unquestionable 
courage. 

I  am  now  Sir,  to  acknowledge  the  Receipt  of  your  Favor  of 
the  28th  Inst,  inclosing  the  Resolutions  of  the  Congress  of 
the  27th  ult.  and  a  Copy  of  a  Letter  from  the  Committee 
of  Albany,  to  all  which  I  shall  pay  due  Attention. 

General  Gates  and  Sullivan  have  both  arrived  in  good 
Health.  My  best  Abilities  are  at  all  Times  devoted  to  the 
Service  of  my  Country,  but  I  feel  the  Weight  Importance  and 
variety  of  my  present  Duties  too  sensibly,  not  to  wish  a  more 
immediate  and  frequent  Communication  with  the  Congress. 
I  fear  it  may  often  happen  in  the  Course  of  our  present  Oper- 
ations, that  I  shall  need  that  Assistance  and  Direction  from 
them  which  Time  and  Distance  wall  not  allow  me  to  receive. 

Since  writing  the  above,  I  have  also  to  acknowledge  your 
Favour  of  the  4th  Inst,  by  Fessenden,  and  the  Receipt  of  the 
Commission  and  Articles  of  War.  The  Former  are  yet  800 
short  of  the  number  required,  this  deficiency  you  will  please 
supply  as  soon  as  you  conveniently  can.  Among  the  other 
Returns,  I  have  also  sent  one  of  our  killed,  wounded  and  miss- 
ing in  the  late  Action,  but  have  been  able  to  procure  no  certain 
Account  of  the  Loss  of  the  ministerial  Troops,  my  best  Intelli- 
gence fixes  it  at  about  500  killed  and  6  or  700  wounded;  but 
it  is  no  more  than  Conjecture,  the  utmost  Pains  being  taken  on 
their  side  to  conceal  it. 

P.S.  Having  ordered  the  commanding  Officer  to  give  me 
the  earliest  Intelligence  of  every  Motion  of  the  Enemy,  by 
Land  or  Water,  discoverable  from  the  Heighths  of  his  Camp, 
I  this  inst.,  as  I  was  closing  my  Letter  received  the  enclosed 
from  the  Brigade  Major.  The  Design  of  this  Manoeuvre  I 
know  not,  perhaps  it  may  be  to  make  a  Descent  some  where 


along  the  Coast ;  it  may  be  for  New  York,  or  it  may  be  prac- 
tised as  a  Deception  on  Us.  I  thought  it  not  improper  how- 
ever to  mention  the  matter  to  you.  I  have  done  the  same 
to  the  commanding  Officer  at  New  York,  and  I  shall  let  it 
be  known  to  the  Committee  of  Safety  here,  so  that  the  Intelli- 
gence may  be  communicated  as  they  shall  think  best  along 
the  Sea  Coast  of  this  Government. 


On  the  15th  of  June,  1775,  Washington  was  appointed  commander-in- 
chief  of  the  American  army  by  the  Continental  Congress  at  Philadelphia, 
of  which  he  was  a  member.  He  arrived  in  Cambridge  on  the  2d  of  July, 
after  a  journey  of  eleven  days ;  and  on  the  next  day,  under  the  great  elm 
which  still  stands  by  Cambridge  Common,  he  took  command  of  the  army. 

On  June  24  the  Provincial  Congress  of  Massachusetts  appointed  a  com- 
mittee to  consider  the  steps  "proper  to  be  taken  for  receiving  General 
Washington  with  proper  respect,  and  to  provide  a  house  for  him  accord- 
ingly." The  report  was  made  on  the  25th,  but  was  not  perfected  until  the 
next  day.  ^^ Resolved,  that  Doct.  Benjamin  Church  and  Mr.  Moses  Gill, 
be  a  committee  to  repair  to  Springfield,  there  to  receive  Generals  Washing- 
ton and  Lee,  with  every  mark  of  respect  due  to  their  exalted  characters  and 
stations;  to  provide  proper  escorts  for  them,  from  thence,  to  the  army 
before  Boston,  and  the  house  provided  for  their  reception  at  Cambridge; 
and  to  make  suitable  provision  for  them,  in  manner  following,  viz. :  by  a 
number  of  gentlemen  of  this  colony  from  Springfield  to  Brookfieldj  and  by 
another  company  raised  in  that  neighborhood,  from  there  to  Worcester ;  and 
by  another  company,  there  provided,  from  thence  to  Marlborough;  and 
from  thence,  by  the  troop  of  horse  to  that  place,  to  the  army  aforesaid; 
and  [to  make  suitable  provision  for]  their  company  at  the  several  stages  on 
the  road,  and  to  receive  the  bills  of  expenses  at  the  several  inns,  where  it 
may  be  convenient  for  them  to  stop  for  refreshment,  to  examine  them,  and 
make  report  of  the  several  sums  expended  at  each  of  them,  for  that  purpose, 
that  orders  may  be  taken  by  the  Congress  for  the  payment  of  them ;  and 
all  inn-keepers  are  hereby  directed  to  make  provision  agreeably  to  the 
requests  made  by  the  said  committee :  and  that  General  Ward  be  notified 
of  the  appointment  of  General  Washington,  as  commander  in  chief  of  the 
American  forces,  and  of  the  expectation  we  have,  of  his  speedy  arrival  with 
Major  General  Lee,  that  he,  with  the  generals  of  the  forces  of  the  other 
colonies,  may  give  such  orders  for  their  honorable  reception,  as  may  accord 
with  the  rules  and  circumstances  of  the  army,  and  the  respect  due  to  their 
rank,  without,  however,  any  expense  of  powder,  and  without  taking  the 
troops  off  from  the  necessary  attention  to  their  duty,  at  this  crisis  of  our 
affairs." 

The  appointment  of  Washington  was  soon  known  in  the  camp  at  Cam- 
bridge, and  preparations  were  made  to  receive  him.  On  the  26th  of  June 
the  Provincial  Congress  had  ordered  that  the  "  President's  [of  the  College] 
house  in  Cambridge,  excepting  one  room  reserved  for  the  president  for  his 
own  use,  be  taken,  cleared,  prepared  and  furnished,  for  the  reception  of 
General  Washington  and  General  Lee."  On  June  29,  the  word  of  parole 
in  Cambridge  Camp  was  Washington,  and  of  countersign,  Virginia.  July 
I  St  the  Congress  directed  the  committee  in  whose  charge  the  orders  respect- 
ing the  house  had  been  placed  to  "purchase  what  things  are  necessary  that 


8 

they  cannot  hire,"  a  matter  of  some  delay  and  difficulty,  as  on  the  5th  the 
same  committee  was  ordered  to  "  complete  the  business."  General  Wash- 
ington arrived  in  Cambridge  on  Sunday,  July  2,  about  two  o'clock  in  the 
afternoon.  The  first  of  the  general  orders  issued  is  dated  July  3.  On 
the  5th  the  Provincial  Congress  appointed  some  of  its  members  to  confer 
with  Washington  "on  the  subject  of  furnishing  his  table  and  know  what 
he  expects  relative  thereto."  Some  question  may  have  been  raised  on  the 
general  acceptableness  of  the  President's  house  for  Washington's  purposes, 
as  on  the  6th  the  Congress  directed  the  Committee  of  Safety  to  "desire 
General  Washington  to  let  them  know  if  there  is  any  house  at  Cambridge 
that  would  be  more  agreeable  to  him  and  General  Lee  than  that  in  which 
they  now  are ;  and  in  that  case  the  said  Committee  are  directed  to  procure 
such  house  and  put  it  in  proper  order  for  their  reception."  The  general 
thought  a  change  expedient,  and  on  the  8th  the  Committee  of  Safety 
directed  that  the  house  of  John  Vassall,  subsequently  known  as  the 
"  Craigie  house,"  belonging  to  a  refugee  loyalist,  should  be  immediately  put 
in  a  proper  condition  for  the  reception  of  his  excellency  and  his  attendants. 
The  student  is  referred  to  further  notes  in  Ford's  edition  of  Washing- 
ton's Writings,  vol.  iii. ;  also  to  the  Proceedings  of  the  Massachusetts  Histor- 
ical Society^  September,  1872. 


OLD   SOUTH   LEAFLETS,   GENERAL   SERIES. 


No.  I.  The  Constitution  of  the  United  States.  2.  The  Articles  of  Con- 
federation. 3.  The  Declaration  of  Independence.  4.  Washington's  Fare- 
well Address.  5.  Magna  Charta.  6.  Vane's  "  Healing  Question."  7. 
Charter  of  Massachusetts  Bay,  1629.  8.  Fundamental  Orders  of  Connect- 
icut, 1638.  9.  Franklin's  Plan  of  Union,  1754.  10.  Washington's  In- 
augurals. II.  Lincoln's  Inaugurals  and  Emancipation  Proclamation.  12. 
The  Federalist,  Nos.  i  and  2.  13.  The  Ordinance  of  1787.  14.  The  Con- 
stitution of  Ohio.  15.  Washington's  Circular  Letter  to  the  Governors  of 
the  States,  1783.  16.  Washington's  Letter  to  Benjamin  Harrison,  1784.  17. 
Verrazzano's  Voyage.  18.  The  Swiss  Constitution.  19.  The  Bill  of  Rights, 
1689.  20.  Coronado's  Letter  to  Mendoza,  1540.  21.  John  Eliot's  Brief 
Narrative  of  Work  among  the  Indians,  1670.  22.  Wheelock's  Narrative  of 
the  Founding  of  his  Indian  School,  1762.  23.  The  Petition  of  Right,  1628. 
24.  The  Grand  Remonstrance,  1641.  25.  The  Scottish  National  Covenants. 
26.  The  Agreement  of  the  People,  1648-9.  27.  The  Instrument  of  Govern- 
ment, 1653.  28.  Cromwell's  First  Speech  to  his  Parliament,  1653.  29.  The 
Discovery  of  America,  from  the  Life  of  Columbus  by  his  son,  Ferdinand 
Columbus.  30.  Strabo's  Introduction  to  Geography.  31.  The  Voyages  to  Vinland,  from 
the  Saga  of  Eric  the  Red.  32.  Marco  Polo's  Account  of  Japan  and  Java.  33.  Columbus's 
Letter  to  Gabriel  Sanches.  describing  the  First  Voyage  and  Discovery.  34.  Americus  Ves- 
pucius's  Account  of  his  First  Voyage.  35.  Cortes's  Account  of  the  City  of  Mexico.  36. 
The  Death  of  De  Soto,  from  the  "Narrative  of  a  Gentleman  of  Elvas."  37.  Early  Notices 
of  the  Voyages  of  the  Cabots.  38.  General  Henry  Lee's  Funeral  Oration  on  Washington, 
I799'  39*  Cabeza  De  Vaca's  Relation  of  his  Journey  across  Texas  and  New^  Mexico  in 
ii^SS-  40  Manasseh  Cutler's  Description  of  Ohio,  1787.  41.  Washington's  Journal  of  his 
Tour  to  the  Ohio  River  in  1770.  42.  Gen,  Garfield's  Address  on  the  Organization  of  the 
North-west  Territory  and  the   Settlement  of    the  Western   Reserve.    43.   George  Rogers 


#lti  ^outl)  Jleaflct^. 


No.  48. 


Bradford's 

Memoir   of 

Elder   Brewster. 

From  Bradford's  History  of  Plymouth  Plantation. 


I  am  to  begine  this  year  [1643]  whith  that  which  was  a  mater 
of  great  saddnes  and  mouring  unto  them  all.  Aboute  y^  18. 
of  Aprill  dyed  their  Reve^  Elder,  and  my  dear  &  loving  friend, 
M''.  William  Brewster ;  a  man  that  had  done  and  suffered  much 
for  ye  Lord  Jesus  and  y^  gospells  sake,  and  had  bore  his  parte 
in  well  and  woe  with  this  poore  persecuted  church  above  36. 
years  in  England,  Holand,  and  in  this  wilderness,  and  done 
y-  Lord  &  them  faithful!  service  in  his  place  &  calling.  And 
notwithstanding  y^  many  troubls  and  sorrows  he  passed  throw 
the  Lord  upheld  him  to  a  great  age.  He  was  nere  fourskore 
years  of  age  (if  not  all  out)  when  he  dyed.  He  had  this 
blesing  added  by  y^  Lord  to  all  ye  rest,  to  dye  in  his  bed,  in 
peace,  amongst  y^  mids  of  his  freinds,  who  mourned  &  wepte 
over  him,  and  ministered  what  help  &  comforte  they  could  unto 
him,  and  he  againe  recomforted  them  whilst  he  could.  His 
sicknes  was  not  long,  and  till  y^  last  day  thereof  he  did  not 
v/holy  keepe  his  bed.  His  speech  continued  till  somewhat  more 
then  halfe  a  day,  &  then  failed  him  ;  and  aboute  9.  or  10.  a 
clock  that  eving  he  dyed,  without  any  pangs  at  all.  A  few 
howers  before,  he  drew  his  breath  shorte,  and  some  few  minuts 
before  his  last,  he  drew  his  breath  long,  as  a  man  falen  into  a 
sound  slepe,  without  any  pangs  or  gaspings,  and  so  sweetly 
departed  this  life  unto  a  better. 

I  would  now  demand  of  any,  what  he  was  y^  worse  for  any 
former  sufferings  ?  What  doe  I  say,  worse  ?  Nay,  sure  he  was 
ye  better,  and  they  now  added  to  his  honour.  It  is  a  manifest 
token  (saith  ye  Apostle,  2.  Thes  :  i.  5,  6,  7.)  of  y''  righeous  judg- 
7ne7ite  of  God y^  ye  may  he  cotmted  worthy  of  y^  kingdome  of  God, 
for  which  ye  allso  suffer ;  seeing  it  is  a  righteous  thing  with   God 


to  reconipence  tribulation  to  them  y  trouble  you :  a?id  to  you  who 
are  troubled^  rest  with  us,  whe7i  y^  Lord  Jesus  shall  be  j-evealed 
from  heaven,  with  his  mighty  angels,  i.  Pet.  4.  14.  If  you  be 
reproached  for  y^  name  of  Christ,  hapy  are  ye^for  y^  spirite  of  glory 
and  of  God  resteth  upon  you.  What  though  he  wanted  y<^  riches 
and  pleasurs  of  y*^  world  in  this  life,  and  pompous  monuments 
at  his  funurall?  yet  y^  memoriall  of  y^  just  shall  be  blessed, 
when  ye  name  of  y^  wicked  shall  rott  ''with  their  marble  monu- 
ments).    Pro  :   10.  7. 

I  should  say  something  of  his  life,  if  to  say  a  litle  were  not 
worse  then  to  be  silent.  But  I  cannot  wholy  forbear,  though 
hapily  more  may  be  done  hereafter.  After  he  had  attained 
some  learning,  viz.  y^  knowledg  of  y^  Latine  tongue,  &  some 
insight  in  y^  Greeke,  and  spent  some  small  time  at  Cambridge, 
and  then  being  first  seasoned  with  y^  seeds  of  grace  and  vertue, 
he  went  to  y^  Courte,  and  served  that  religious  and  godly  gentl- 
man,  M^  Davison,  diverce  years,  when  he  was  Secretary  of 
State  ;  who  found  him  so  discreete  and  faithfull  as  he  trusted 
him  above  all  other  that  were  aboute  him,  and  only  imployed 
him  in  all  matters  of  greatest  trust  and  secrecie.  He  esteemed 
him  rather  as  a  sonne  then  a  servante,  and  for  his  wisdom  & 
godlines  (in  private)  he  would  converse  with  him  more  like  a 
freind  &  familier  then  a  maister.  He  attended  his  m^.  when  he 
was  sente  in  ambassage  by  the  Queene  into  y^  Low-Countries, 
in  ye  Earle  of  Leicesters  time,  as  for  other  waighty  affaires  of 
state,  so  to  receive  possession  of  the  cautionary  townes,  and  in 
token  &  signe  thereof  the  keyes  of  Flushing  being  delivered  to 
him,  in  her  ma^i^  name,  he  kepte  them  some  time,  and  comitted 
them  to  this  his  servante,  who  kept  them  under  his  pilow,  on 
which  he  slepte  y^  first  night.  And,  at  his  returne,  y^  States 
honoured  him  with  a  gould  chaine,  and  his  maister  comitted  it 
to  him,  and  comanded  him  to  wear  it  when  they  arrived  in  Eng- 
land, as  they  ridd  thorrow  the  country,  till  they  came  to  y^ 
Courte.  He  afterwards  remained  with  him  till  his  troubles, 
that  he  was  put  from  his  place  aboute  y^  death  of  y^  Queene  of 
Scots ;  and  some  good  time  after,  doeing  him  manie  faithfull 
offices  of  servise  in  y^  time  of  his  troubles.  Afterwards  he 
wente  and  lived  in  y^  country,  in  good  esteeme  amongst  his 
freinds  and  y^  gentle-men  of  those  parts,  espetially  the  godly  & 
religious.  He  did  much  good  in  y^  countrie  wher  he  lived,  in 
promoting  and  furthering  religion,  not  only  by  his  practiss  & 
example,  and  provocking  and  incouraging  of  others,  but  by 
procuring  of  good  preachers  to  ye  places  theraboute,  and  draw- 
ing on  of  others  to  assiste  &  help  forward  in  such  a  worke  ;  he 


him  selfe  most  comonly  deepest  in  y^  charge,  &  some  times 
above  his  abillitie.  And  in  this  state  he  continued  many  years, 
doeing  y^  best  good  he  could,  and  walking  according  to  y^  light 
he  saw,  till  y^  Lord  revelled  further  unto  him.  And  in  y^  end, 
by  ye  drrany  of  y®  bishops  against  godly  preachers  &  people,  in 
silenceing  the  one  &  persecuting  y^  other,  he  and  many  more  of 
those  times  begane  to  looke  further  into  things,  and  to  see  into 
y^  unlawfuUnes  of  their  callings,  and  y^  burthen  of  many  anti- 
christian  corruptions,  which  both  he  and  they  endeavored  to 
cast  of ;  as  y^y  allso  did,  as  in  y^  begining  of  this  treatis  is  to 
be  scene.  After  they  were  joyned  togither  in  comunion,  he 
was  a  spetiall  stay  &  help  unto  them.  They  ordinarily  mett  at 
his  house  on  y^  Lords  day,  (which  was  a  manor  of  y^  bishops,) 
and  with  great  love  he  entertained  them  when  they  came,  mak- 
ing provission  for  them  to  his  great  charge."^  He  was  y^  cheefe 
of  those  that  were  taken  at  Boston,  and  suffered  y^  greatest 
loss;  and  of  y^  seven  that  were  kept  longst  in  prison,  and  after 
bound  over  to  y^  assises.  Affter  he  came  into  Holland  he 
suffered  much  hardship,  after  he  had  spente  y^  most  of  his 
means,  haveing  a  great  charge,  and  many  children ;  and,  in 
regard  of  his  former  breeding  &  course  of  life,  not  so  fitt  for 
many  imployments  as  others  were,  espetially  such  as  were 
toylesume  &  laborious.  But  yet  he  ever  bore  his  condition  with 
much  cherfullnes  and  contentation.  Towards  y^  later  parte  of 
those  12.  years  spente  in  Holland,  his  outward  condition  was 
mended,  and  he  lived  well  &  plentifully;  for  he  fell  into  a  way 
(by  reason  he  had  y^  Latine  tongue)  to  teach  many  students, 
who  had  a  disire  to  lerne  y^  English  tongue,  to  teach  them 
English ;  and  by  his  method  they  quickly  attained  it  with  great 
facilitie  ;  for  he  drew  rules  to  lerne  it  by,  after  y^  Latine  maner  j 
and  many  gentlemen,  both  Danes  &  Germans,  resorted  to  him, 
as  they  had  time  from  other  studies,  some  of  them  being  great 
mens  sones.  He  also  had  means  to  set  up  printing,  (by  y^  help 
of  some  freinds),  and  so  had  imploymente  inoughg,  and  by 
reason  of  many  books  which  would  not  be  alowed  to  be  printed 
in  England,  they  might  have  had  more  then  they  could  doe. 
But  now  removeing  into  this  countrie,  all  these  things  were  laid 
aside  againe,  and  a  new  course  of  living  must  be  framed  unto; 
in  which  he  was  no  way  unwilling  to  take  his  parte,  and  to  bear 
his  burthen  with  y^  rest,  living  many  times  without  bread,  or 
corne,  many  months  together,  having  many  times  nothing  but 

*  In  Morton's  copy  there  is  added  after  charge:  "and  continued  so  to  do  whilst  they 
could  stay  in  England.  And  when  they  were  to  remove  out  of  the  country,  he  was  one  of 
the  first  in  all  adventure?,  and  forwardest  in  any."     Young,  p.  465. 


fish,  and  often  wanting  that  also  ;  and  drunke  nothing  but  water 
for  many  years  togeather,  yea,  till  within  5.  or  6.  years  of  his 
death.  And  yet  he  lived  (by  y^  blessing  of  God)  in  health  till 
very  old  age.  And  besides  yt,  he  would  labour  with  his  hands 
m  ye  feilds  as  long  as  he  was  able;  yet  when  the  church  had  no 
other  minister,  he  taught  twise  every  Saboth,  and  y*  both 
powerfully  and  profitably,  to  y^  great  contentment  of  y«  hearers, 
and  their  comfortable  edification;  yea,  many  were  brought  to 
God  by  his  ministrie.  He  did  more  in  this  behalfe  in  a  year, 
then  many  that  have  their  hundreds  a  year  doe  in  all  their  lives. 
For  his  personal!  abilities,  he  was  qualified  above  many ;  he 
was  wise  and  discreete  and  well  spoken,  having  a  grave  & 
deliberate  utterance,  of  a  very  cherfuU  spirite,  very  sociable  & 
pleasante  amongst  his  freinds,  of  an  humble  and  modest  mind, 
of  a  peaceable  disposition,  under  vallewing  him  self  &  his  owne 
abilities,  and  some  time  over  valewing  others ;  inoffencive  and 
inocente  in  his  life  &  conversation,  w^h  gained  him  y^  love  of 
those  without,  as  well  as  those  within ;  yet  he  would  tell  them 
plainely  of  their  faults  &  evills,  both  publickly  &  privatly,  but 
in  such  a  maner  as  usually  was  well  taken  from  him.  He  was 
tender  harted,  and  compassionate  of  such  as  were  in  miserie, 
but  espetialy  of  such  as  had  been  of  good  estate  and  ranke,  and 
were  fallen  unto  want  &  poverty,  either  for  goodnes  &  religions 
sake,  or  by  y^  injury  &  oppression  of  others ;  he  would  say,  of 
all  men  these  deserved  to  be  pitied  most.  And  none  did  more 
offend  &  displease  him  then  such  as  would  hautily  and  proudly 
carry  &  lift  up  themselves,  being  rise  from  nothing,  and  haveing 
litle  els  in  them  to  comend  them  but  a  few  fine  cloaths,  or  a 
litle  riches  more  then  others.  In  teaching,  he  was  very  moving 
&  stirring  of  affections,  also  very  plaine  &  distincte  in  what  he 
taught ;  by  which  means  he  became  y^  more  profitable  to  y^ 
hearers.  He  had  a  singuler  good  gift  in  prayer,  both  publick 
&  private,  in  ripping  up  y^  hart  &  conscience  before  God,  in  y^ 
humble  confession  of  sinne,  and  begging  y^  mercies  of  God  in 
Christ  for  y^  pardon  Of  y^  same.  He  always  thought  it  were 
better  for  ministers  to  pray  oftener,  and  devide  their  prears, 
then  be  longe  &  tedious  in  y^  same  (excepte  upon  sollemne  & 
spetiall  occations,  as  in  days  of  humiliation  &  y^  like).  His 
reason  was,  that  y^  harte  &  spirits  of  all,  espetialy  y^  weake, 
could  hardly  continue  &  stand  bente  (as  it  were)  so  long 
towards  God,  as  they  ought  to  doe  in  yt  duty,  without  flagging 
and  falling  of.  For  y^  govermente  of  y^  church,  (which  was 
most  proper  to  his  office,)  he  was  carfull  to  preserve  good 
order  in  y^  same,  and  to  preserve  puritie,  both  in  y^  doctrine  & 


5 

comunion  of  y^  same  ;  and  to  supress  any  errour  or  contention 
that  might  begine  to  rise  up  amongst  them ;  and  accordingly 
God  gave  good  success  to  his  indeavors  herein  all  his  days,  and 
he  saw  y^  fruite  of  his  labours  in  that  behalfe.  But  I  must 
breake  of,  having  only  thus  touched  a  few,  as  it  were,  heads  of 
things. 

I  cannot  but  here  take  occasion,  not  only  to  mention,  but 
greatly  to  admire  y^  marvelous  providence  of  God,  that  notwith- 
standing ye  many  changes  and  hardships  that  these  people 
wente  throwgh,  and  y^  many  enemies  they  had  and  difficulties 
they  mette  with  all,  that  so  many  of  them  should  live  to  very 
olde  age  !  It  was  not  only  this  reve*^  mans  condition,  (for  one 
swallow  maks  no  summer,  as  they  say,)  but  many  more  of  them 
did  ye  like,  some  dying  aboute  and  before  this  time,  and  many 
still  living,  who  attained  to  60.  years  of  age,  and  to  65.  diverse 
to  70.  and  above,  and  some  nere  80.  as  he  did.  It  must  needs 
be  more  then  ordinarie,  and  above  naturall  reason,  that  so  it 
should  be  ;  for  it  is  found  in  experience,  that  chaing  of  aeir, 
famine,  or  unholsome  foode,  much  drinking  of  water,  sorrows  & 
troubls,  cS^c,  all  of  them  are  enimies  to  health,  causes  of  many 
diseaces,  consumers  of  naturall  vigoure  and  y^  bodys  of  men, 
and  shortners  of  life.  And  yet  of  all  these  things  they  had  a 
large  parte,  and  suffered  deeply  in  y^  same.  They  wente  from 
England  to  Holand,  wher  they  found  both  worse  air  and  dyet 
then  that  they  came  from ;  from  thence  (induring  a  long  im- 
prisonmente,  as  it  were,  in  y^  ships  at  sea)  into  New-England  ; 
and  how  it  hath  been  with  them  hear  hath  allready  beene 
showne ;  and  what  crosses,  troubls,  fears,  wants,  and  sorrowes 
they  have  been  lyable  unto,  is  easie  to  conjecture;  so  as  in 
some  sorte  they  may  say  with  y^  Apostle,  2.  Cor:  11.  26,  27. 
they  were  in  joufneings  often,  in  perils  of  waters,  in  per  ills  of 
robers,  in  perills  of  their  owne  nation,  in  perils  among  y^  heathen, 
in  perills  t7i  y^  willderties,  in  perills  in  y^  sea,  in  perills  among  false 
oreethern  ;  in  weari?tes  6^  painfidlnes,  in  watching  often,  in  hunger 
and  thirst,  infasti7ig  often,  in  could  and  nakednes.  What  was  it 
.  then  that  upheld  them  ?  It  was  Gods  vissitation  that  preserved 
their  spirits.  Job  10.  12.  Thou  hast  given  me  life  and  grace, 
and  thy  vissitation  hath  preserved  my  spirite.  He  that  upheld  y^ 
Apostle  upheld  them.  They  were  persecuted,  but  not  forsaken, 
cast  downe,  but  perished  not.  2.  Cor:  4.  g.  As  unknoweji,  and 
yet  knowen  ;  as  dying,  and  behold  we  live;  as  chastened,  and  yett 
7iot  kiled.  2.  Cor:  6.  9.  God,  it  seems,  would  have  all  men  to 
behold  and  observe  such  mercies  and  works  of  his  providence 
as  these  are  towards  his  people,  that  they  in  like  cases  might  be 


6 

incouraged  to  depend  upon  God  in  their  trials,  &  also  blese  his  name  when 
they  see  his  goodnes  towards  others.  Man  lives  not  by  bread  only,  Deut: 
8.  3.  It  is  not  by  good  &  dainty  fare,  by  peace,  &  rest,  and  harts  ease,  in 
injoying  y^  contentments  and  good  things  of  this  world  only,  that  preserves 
health  and  prolongs  life.  God  in  such  examples  would  have  y*^  world  see 
&  behold  that  he  can  doe  it  without  them;  and  if  y^  world  will  shut  ther 
eyes,  and  take  no  notice  thereof,  yet  he  would  have  his  people  to  see  and 
consider  it.  Daniell  could  be  better  liking  with  pulse  then  others  were  with 
y^  kings  dainties.  Jaacob,  though  he  v/ente  from  one  nation  to  another 
people,  and  passed  thorow  famine,  fears,  &  many  afflictions,  yet  he  lived 
till  old  age,  and  dyed  sweetly,  &  rested  in  y'^  Lord,  as  infinite  others  of  Gods 
servants  have  done,  and  still  shall  doe,  (through  Gods  godnes,)  notwith- 
standing all  y^  malice  of  their  enemies;  w/zen  y'^  branch  of  y'^  wicked  shall 
be  cut  of  before  his  day,  Job.  15.  32.  and  y*^  bloody  and  deceitfull  men  shall 
not  live  oitt  halfe  their  days.     Psa  :   55.  23. 


ELDER   BREWSTER'S   LIBRARY. 

Taking  advantage  of  the  vagueness  of  Entry  No.  318  (a  ^'■bundle  of 
small  books  and  papers  "),  it  may  be  said  that  there  were  no  fewer  than 
400  separate  books  in  this  library  at  the  time  of  Elder  Brewster's  decease; 
as  many  as  393  being  separately  and  distinctly  catalogued, —  four  of  which 
had  second  volumes,  making  397  in  all,  besides  the  "  bundle  "  aforesaid. 

Of  these  —  throwing  out  thirty,  the  size  of  which  remains  undesignated, 
and  sixteen,  which  I  have  thus  far  failed  to  identify  —  we  have,  in  size, 
as  follows:    Folios,  48;    Quartos,   177;    Octavos  et  infra,  121. 

As  to  language  they  divide  as  follows:  in  Latin,  62;  in  English,  302. 

As  to  subject,  without  being  specially  exact  in  cases  where  a  given 
volume  would  classify  almost  equally  well  under  more  than  one  head, 
I  find:  Expository,  98;  Doctrinal,  63;  Practical  religious,  69;  Historical, 
24;  Ecclesiastical,  36;  Philosophical,  6;  Poetical,  14;  Miscellaneous,  54. 
I  seem  to  find  thirteen  duplicates,  suggesting  the  question  whether  it  may 
not  have  been  possible  that  this  library  —  certainly  one  of  extraordinary 
size  and  quality  in  those  days  to  be  collected  and  owned  by  a  single  mem- 
ber of  such  a  church,  in  such  a  primitive  community  and  colony  —  had  at 
least  some  small  relation  to  the  general  wants,  and  may  not  have  been 
intended,  in  part,  for  the  general  use. 

To  me,  however,  the  most  sicnificant  fact  about  the  library  is  connected 
with  the  date  of  publication  of  a  considerable  portion  of  its  constituent 
volumes.  I  am  ready  to  concede  all  that  may  reasonably  be  claimed  to 
the  credit  of  uncertainties.  I  may,  in  a  few  instances,  have  mistaken  one 
tjook  for  another  of  nearly  the  same  title.  Or  volumes  which  I  have  only 
been  able  to  trace  in  late  dates  may  possibly,  in  rare  cases,  have  existed  in 
earlier  editions,  to  some  one  of  which  the  Elder's  copy  may  have  belonged. 
But,  making  all  just  allowance  for  every  such  source  of  error,  I  am  still 
prepared  to  submit  that  the  evidence  of  the  dates  of  these  works  throws  an 
extraordinary  and  very  interesting  light  upon  Elder  Brewster's  character 
as  a  man  of  books,  and  upon  the  Old  Colony  in  its  first  generation  as  a 
place  of  books. 

Mr.  Brewster  could  not,  of  course,  have  brought  over  with  him  in  the 
"Mayflower"  any  vflume  of  a  date  later  than  August,  1620.  Of  the  whole 
393,  I  throw  out,  as  being  of  unknown  date,  or  as  being  unrecognized  alto- 
gether, 23,  leaving  370.  Of  these  281 — or  roughly  75  per  cent.  —  bear 
date  in  or  before  1620,  and  89  —  ur  very  nearly  25  per  cent.  —  bear   date 


7 

after  1620.  Or,  to  take  the  trouble  to  arrange  them  exactly, —  it  being 
remembered  that  a  perfect  assurance  of  accuracy  is  lacking  in  the  case  of 
six  or  seven, —  we  have  them  printed  and  issued  as  follows,  namely;  in 
1621,  8;  in  1622,  10;  in  1623,  5;  in  1624,  6;  in  1625,  13;  in  1626,  i;  in 
1627,  6;  in  1628,  2;  in  1629,  4;  in  1630,  2;  in  1631,  4;  in  1632,  4;  in  1633, 
4;  in  1634,  4;  in  1635,  2;  in  1636,  3;  in  1637,  3;  in  1638,  5;  in  1640,  i;  in 
1641,  i;  in  1643,  I-  This  gives  us  the  remarkable  fact  that  in  only  two 
of  the  years  which  the  Elder  spent  in  Plymouth  before  his  last  —  namely, 
1639  and  1642  —  did  he  fail  to  avail  himself  of  some  of  the  freshest  literature 
of  the  fatherland. 

A  few  words  ought  to  be  devoted  to  the  general  character  of  this  collec- 
tion. It  contained  four  books  by  John  Robinson ;  and  eleven,  printed  in 
Leyden,  by  Mr.  Brewster  himself.  It  needs  not  be  said  that  it  was  a  solid 
one,  in  more  senses  than  one.  Whoever  undertook,  whether  by  land  or 
water,  to  transport  its  forty-eight  folios  and  one  hundred  and  seventy-seven 
quartos  —  to  say  nothing  of  the  one  hundred  and  twenty-one  of  smaller 
size  —  from  Plymouth  to  the  Elder's  suburban  residence  in  Duxbury,  must 
have  found  it,  for  wain  or  wherry,  a  heavy  job. 

As  I  have  intimated,  it  was  most  largely  an  expository  collection.  Now, 
the  great  and  regnant  fact  about  the  Plymouth  Colonists  was  that  they 
believed  the  Bible  to  be  God's  book  for  man's  guidance,  and  that  man's 
first  duty  is  to  understand,  that  he  may  be  obedient  to  it.  In  their  day  it 
had  not  long  been  a  common  thing  for  common  men  to  have  a  Bible,  and 
to  feel  that  they  had  any  personal  duty  of  studying,  that  they  might  practise 
its  precepts.  Hence  the  great  function  of  the  pulpit  in  those  days  was  felt 
to  be  to  explain  to  the  people  the  Word  of  God. 

It  might  therefore  be  assumed  that  Elder  Brewster  —  upon  whom,  in 
the  failure  of  "  Mr.  Crabe  "  to  accompany  the  expedition,  devolved,  in  the- 
ory as  well  as  oractice,  at  first,  and  in  practice  largely  for  many  years,  the 
care  of  the  pulpit  —  would  not  fail  to  supply  himself  with  the  necessary- 
helps  of  an  exegetical  character.  We  accordingly  find  in  this  collection,  as 
follows,  namely:  Commentaries  upon  the  whole  Bible,  2;  upon  the  whole 
New  Testament,  6 ;  upon  the  Four  Gospels,  3 ;  upon  the  Pentateuch,  i ; 
upon  the  Prophets,  generally,  i ;  upon  Genesis,  3 ;  upon  Joshua,  i ;  upon 
Judges,  I ;  upon  i  Samuel,  i  ;  upon  the  Psalms,  8 ;  upon  Proverbs,  i ;  upon 
Ecclesiastes,  3 ;  upon  the  Song  of  Solomon,  i ;  upon  Isaiah,  4 ;  upon  Jere- 
miah, I  ;  upon  Lamentations,  2 ;  upon  Ezekiel,  i ;  upon  Daniel,  3 ;  upon 
Hosea,  i ;  upon  Matthew,  i  ;  upon  Luke,  i  ;  upon  the  Gospel  of  John,  i ; 
upon  the  Epistle  to  the  Romans,  5 ;  upon  i  Corinthians,  3 ;  upon  2  Corin- 
thians, I  ;  upon  Ephesians,  2 ;  upon  Colossians,  i ;  upon  i  Thessalonians, 
I  ;  upon  2  Thessalonians,  i ;  upon  2  Timothy,  i ;  upon  Titus,  i  ;  upon 
Hebrews,  i ;  upon  James,  i ;  upon  i  Peter,  i ;  upon  i  John,  i ;  apon  Jude, 
I  ;  upon  the  Apocalypse,  2 ;  upon  brief  special  passages,  26.  There  was 
also  Cotton's  Concordance,  in  two  folio  volumes. 

It  is  my  strong  impression  that  it  is  very  doubtful  whether,  for  its  first 
quarter-century,  New  England  anywhere  else  had  so  rich  a  collection  of 
exegetical  literature  as  this.  Nor  did  the  Elder  depend,  by  any  means, 
wholly  upon  the  judgment  of  others  as  to  what  the  Word  of  God  meant. 
He  had  a  Hebrew  grammar,  with  Morelius's  Latin,  Greek,  and  English 
dictionary,  and  Buxtorf's  Hebrew  and  Chaldee  Lexicon, —  tools  which  he 
had  learned  to  handle  at   Peterhouse. 

That  the  Elder  did  not,  however,  confine  himself  wholly  to  the  ruts  of 
theology,  is  suggested  in  that  he  took  pains  to  have  at  his  hand  in  the 
Plymouth  woods  Lambert  of  Avenna's  treatise  "  Of  the  Wyll  of  Man " ; 
"  Les  Six  Livres  de  la  Republique  "  of  the  great  French  jurist  Jean  Bodin, 
in  Knolles's  English  as  "The  Six  Bookes  of  a  Commonweale  ";  Sir  Thomas 


8 

Smith's  " Common welth  of  England  &  maner  of  Government  thereof"; 
Lord  Bacon's  "Twoo  Bookes,  of  the  proficience  and  advancement  of 
Learning,  divine  and  humane";  his  "  Apologie,  in  certaine  Imputations 
concerning  the  late  Earle  of  Essex  " ;  and  his  "  Declaration  of  the  Practices 
and  Treasons  of  the  Earle  of  Essex";  "The  Problemes  of  Aristotle"; 
"  The  Princeps  of  Macchiavelli " ;  Geffray  Mynshul's  "  Essayes  and  Char- 
acters of  a  Prison,  and  Prisoners";  vv^ith  Sir  Walter  Raleigh's  "  Prerogative 
of  Parliaments  in  England."  And  it  is  interesting  to  note  how,  for  natural 
science  and  practical  needs,  he  brought  with  him  —  for,  by  their  dates,  he 
could  have  brought  them  with  him  —  Keckerman's  "  Systema  Geographi- 
cum " ;  Archb.  Abbot's  "  Briefe  Description  of  the  whole  world";  John 
Smith's  "Description  of  New  England";  the  "NewHerball"  of  Rembert 
Dodoens  ;  Rathbone's  "  Surveyor  "  ;  and  John  Norden's  "  Surveyor's  Dia- 
logue .  .  .  very  profitable  for  all  men  to  peruse,  that  have  to  do  with  the 
revenues  of  land,  or  occupation  thereof";  Standish's  "New  Directions  .  .  . 
for  the  increasing  of  Timber  and  Firewood,  with  the  least  waste  and  losse 
of  ground";  De  Serres's  "Perfect  use  of  Silkwormes  and  their  benefit"; 
and  Bedford's  "  Sulficiencie  of  English  Medicines  for  the  cure  of  all  diseases 
cured  with  Medicine." 

In  poetry  this  collection  cannot  be  called  strong.  It  had  the  fulsome 
and  clumsy  Latin  strains  in  which  the  Rev.  Dr.  Francis  Herring  celebrated 
the  gracious  advent  of  King  James ;  and  it  had  Ainsworth's  amazing 
Psalmody,  and  Henoch  Clapham's  still  more  astounding  verse,  "A  Briefe 
of  the  Biiale."  In  W.  Hornby's  "Scourge  of  Drunkennes"  (in  verse)  I  im- 
agine that  this  library  had  the  seed  of  what  is  commonly  now  called  Temper- 
ance literature.  It  looks  a  little  as  if  it  had  one  tragedy  called  "  Messalina"; 
and,  with  two  or  three  ballads  and  broadsides,  it  had  Braithwait's  "Descrip- 
tion [in  verse]  of  a  Good  Wife,"  and  a  couple  of  volumes  of  George  Wither, 
one  of  which  had  that  motto,  "  nee  habeo,  nee  careo,  nee  euro,"  to  which 
John  Winthrop  referred  in  his  letter  to  Sir  William  Springe  (Life  and 
Letters,  i.  396),  where  he  called  Wither  "  our  modern  spirit  of  poetry." 

In  the  line  of  exceedingly  miscellaneous,  it  had  Thomas  Lupton's 
"Thousand  Notable  Things  of  sundrie  sorts.  Whereof  some  are  wonder- 
full,  some  strange,  some  pleasant,  divers  necessary,  a  great  sort  profitable, 
and  many  verie  precious,"  etc. 

I  have  not  discovered  among  these  books  a  single  volume  identical  with 
either  of  the  nine-and-thirty  which  (Life,  ii.  438)  Governor  Winthrop  pre- 
sented to  Harvard  College  on  its  first  Commencement  in  1642. —  Rev. 
Henry  M.  Dexter,  Proceedings  of  the  Massachusetts  Historical  Society,  1889. 


Unlike  John  Robinson,  with  whom  he  might  dispute  or  share  the  honor  of  being  called 
the  father  of  the  Pilgrim  Fathers,  Elder  Brewster  left  no  writings  behind  him ;  and  there 
is  no  other  man  of  equal  prominence  among  the  founders  of  New  England  of  whom  his 
contemporaries  have  told  us  so  little.  The  brief  memoir  by  Bradford,  here  reprinted,  is  all 
we  have.  There  is  no  biography  in  Mather's  Magnalia,  where  we  should  expect  it.  In 
1857  Rev.  A^hbel  Steele  wrote  a  life  of  Brewster,  under  the  titl«  of  "The  Chief  of  the 
Pilgrims,"  which  brings  together  all  the  existing  material.  A  list  of  the  books  in  Brewster's 
library  is  on  the  records  of  inventories  at  Plymouth.  A  copy  of  this  by  Justin  Winsor,  with 
observations  upon  Brewster's  autographs  and  the  books  published  by  him  at  Leyden, 
appears  in  the  Proceedings  of  the  Massachusetts  Historical  Society,  18S7.  The  same, 
with  full  descriptions  and  with  the  notes  reprinted  in  this  leaflet,  by  Rev.  Henry  M.  Dexter, 
appears  in  the  Proceedings,  i88g.  See  copy  of  letter  by  Sir  John  Stanhope,  postmaster- 
general  of  England,  to  Sir  William  Davison,  Aug.  22,  1590,  relating  to  Brewster's  appoint- 
ment as  postmaster  of  Scrooby,  in  the  Proceedings  of  the  Massachusetts  Historical  Society, 
1871.  In  Rev.  S.  E.  Merrick's  "Some  Heretics  of  Yesterday"  there  is  an  essay  on 
Brewster. 

PUBLISHED    BY    THE    DIRECTORS    OF    THE    OLD    SOUTH    WORK,    OLD    SOUTH  ^ 


■ 


<9ltx  J>outf)  aieaflet^. 


No.  49. 


Governor  Brad- 
ford's First 
Dialogue. 


A  DIALOGUE,  OR  THE  SUM  OF  A  CONFERENCE  BETWEEN  SOME 
YOUNG  MEN  BORN  IN  NEW  ENGLAND  AND  SUNDRY  ANCIENT 
MEN  THAT  CAME  OUT  OF  HOLLAND  AND  OLD  ENGLAND, 
ANNO    DOMINI    1648.* 

Young  men. —  Gentlemen,  you  were  pleased  to  appoint  us  this 
time  to  confer  with  you,  and  to  propound  such  questions  as 
might  give  us  satisfaction  in  some  things  wherein  we  are  igno- 
rant, or  at  least  further  light  to  some  things  that  are  more 
obscure  unto  us.  Our  first  request  therefore  is,  to  know  your 
minds  concerning  the  true  and  simple  meaning  of  those  of  T/ie 
Separation^  as  they  are  termed,  when  they  say  the  Church  of 
England  is  no  Church,  or  no  true  Church. 

Ancient  men. —  For  answer  hereunto,  first,  you  must  know  that 
they  speak  of  it  as  it  then  was  under  the  hierarchical  prelacy, 
which  since  have  been  put  down  by  the  State,  and  not  as  it  is 
now  unsettled. 

2.  They  nowhere  say,  that  we  remember,  that  they  are  no 
Church.  At  least,  they  are  not  so  to  be  understood;  for  they 
often  say  the  contrary. 

3.  When  they  say  it  is  no  true  Church  of  Christ,  they  do  not 
at  all  mean  as  they  are  the  elect  of  God,  or  a  part  of  the 
Catholic  Church,  or  of  the  mystical  body  of  Christ,  or  visible 
Christians  professing  faith  and  holiness  (as  most  men  under- 
stand the  church) ;  for  which  purpose  hear  what  Mr.  Robinson 
in  his  Apology,  page  53.  "If  by  the  Church,"  saith  he,  "be 
understood  the  Catholic  Church,  dispersed  upon  the  face  of  the 
whole  earth,  we  do  willingly  acknowledge  that  a  singular  part 
thereof,  and  the  same  visible  and  conspicuous,  is  to  be  found 
in  the  land,  and  with  it  do  profess  and  practise,  what  in  us  lies, 

*That  is,  the  Dialogue  was  held  or  written  in  1648. 


communion  in  all  things  in  themselves  lawful,  and  done  in  right 
order." 

4.  Therefore  they  mean  it  is  not  a  true  church  as  it  is  a 
National  Church,  combined  together  of  all  in  the  land  promis- 
cuously under  the  hierarchical  government  of  archbishops,  their 
courts  and  canons,  so  far  differing  from  the  primitive  pattern  in 
the  Gospel. 

Young  men. —  Wherein  do  they  differ  then  from  the  judgment 
or  practice  of  our  churches  here  in  New  England  ? 

Ancient  men.— Truly,  for  matter  of  practice,  nothing  at  all 
that  is  in  any  thing  material ;  these  being  rather  more  strict 
and  rigid  in  some  proceedings  about  admission  of  members, 
and  things  of  such  nature,  than  the  other;  and  for  matter  of 
judgment,  it  is  more,  as  we  conceive,  in  words  and  terms,  than 
matter  of  any  great  substance ;  for  the  churches  and  chief  of 
the  ministers  here  hold  that  the  National  Church,  so  constituted 
and  governed  as  before  is  said,  is  not  allowable  according  to 
the  primitive  order  of  the  Gospel;  but  that  there  are  some 
parish  assemblies  that  are  true  churches  by  virtue  of  an  implicit 
covenant  amongst  themselves,  in  which  regard  the  Church  of 
England  may  be  held  and  called  a  true  church. 

Where  any  such  are  evident,  we  suppose  the  other  will  not 
disagree  about  an  implicit  covenant,  if  they  mean  by  an  implicit 
covenant  that  which  hath  the  substance  of  a  covenant  in  it 
some  way  discernible,  though  it  be  not  so  formal  or  orderly  as 
it  should  be.  But  such  an  implicit  [covenant]  as  is  no  way 
explicit  is  no  better  than  a  Popish  implicit  faith  (as  some  of 
us  conceive)  and  a  mere  fiction,  or  as  that  which  should  be  a 
marriage  covenant  which  is  no  way  explicit. 

Young  men. —  Wherein  standeth  the  difference  between  the 
rigid  Brownists  and  Separatists  and  others,  as  we  observe  our 
ministers  in  their  writings  and  sermons  to  distinguish  them  1 

Ancient  men. —  The  name  of  Brownists  is  but  a  nickname,  as 
Puritan  and  Huguenot,  &c.,  and  therefore  they  do  not  amiss  to 
decline  the  odium  of  it  in  what  they  may.  But  by  the  rigidness 
of  Separation  they  do  not  so  much  mean  the  difference,  for  our 
churches  here  in  New  England  do  the  same  thing  under  the 
name  of  secession  from  the  corruptions  found  amongst  them,  as 
the  other  did  under  the  name  or  term  of  separation  from  them. 
Only  this  declines  the  odium  the  better.  See  Reverend  Mr. 
Cotton's  Answer  to  Mr.  Baylie,  page  the  14th. 

That  some  which  were  termed  Separatists,  out  of  some  mis- 
take and  heat  of  zeal,  forbore  communion  in  lawful  things  with 
other  godly  persons,  as  prayer  and  hearing  of  the  word,  may  be 


seen  in  what  that  worthy  man,  Mr.  Robinson,  hath  published  in 
dislike  thereof. 

Young  me7t. —  We  are  well  satisfied  in  what  you  have  said. 
But  they  differ  also  about  synods. 

Ancient  meti. —  It  is  true  we  do  not  know  that  ever  they  had 
any  solemn  Synodical  Assembly.  And  the  reason  may  be,  that 
those  in  England  living  dispersed  and  ^  could  not  meet  in  their 
ordinary  meetings  without  danger,  much  less  in  synods. 
Neither  in  Holland,  where  they  might  have  more  liberty,  were 
they  of  any  considerable  number,  being  but  those  two  churches, 
that  of  Amsterdam  and  that  of  Leyden.  Yet  some  of  us  know 
that  the  church  [of  Leyden]  sent  messengers  to  those  of  Am- 
sterdam, at  the  request  of  some  of  the  chief  of  them,  both  elders 
and  brethren,  when  in  their  dissensions  they  had  deposed  Mr. 
Ainsworth  and  some  other  both  of  their  elders  and  brethren, 
Mr.  Robinson  being  the  chief  of  the  messengers  sent;  which 
had  that  good  effect,  as  that  they  revoked  the  said  deposition, 
and  confessed  their  rashness  and  error,  and  lived  together  in 
peace  some  good  time  after.  But  when  the  churches  want 
neither  peace  nor  light  to  exercise  the  power  which  the  Lord 
hath  given  them,  Christ  doth  not  direct  them  to  gather  into 
synods  or  classical  meetings,  for  removing  of  known  offences 
either  in  doctrine  or  manners ;  but  only  sendeth  to  the  pastors 
or  presbyters  of  each  church  to  reform  within  themselves  what 
is  amongst  them.  "A  plain  pattern,"  saith  Mr.  Cotton  in  his 
Answer  to  Mr.  Baylie,  page  95,  "in  case  of  public  offences 
tolerated  in  neighbour  churches,  not  forthwith  to  gather  into  a 
synod  or  classical  meeting,  for  redress  thereof,  but  by  letters 
and  messengers  to  admonish  one  another  of  what  is  behooveful ; 
unless  upon  such  admonition  they  refuse  to  hearken  to  the 
wholesome  counsel  of  their  brethren."  And  of  this  matter  Mr. 
Robinson  thus  writeth  in  his  book,_y^i"^.  page  200,  "The  officers 
of  one  or  many  churches  may  meet  together  to  discuss  and  con- 
sider of  matters  for  the  good  of  the  church  or  churches,  and  so 
be  called  a  Church  Synod,  or  the  like,  so  they  infringe  no  order 
of  Christ  or  liberty  of  the  brethren ;  "  not  differing  herein  from 
Mr.  Davenport  and  the  principal  of  our  ministers. 

Young  men. —  But  they  seem  to  differ  about  the  exercise  of 
prophecy,  that  is,  that  men  out  of  office,  having  gifts,  may  upon 
occasion  edify  the  church  publicly  and  openly,  and  applying  the 
Scriptures ;  which  seems  to  be  a  new  practice. 

Aiicient men. —  It  doth  but  seem  so;  as  many  things  else  do 
that  have   by  usurpation  grown  out  of  use.     But  that  it  hath 

*  Here  something  seems  to  have  been  omitted. 


been  an  ancient  practice  of  the  people  of  God,  besides  the 
grounds  of  Scripture,  we  will  give  an  instance  or  two.  We  find 
in  the  ancient  Ecclesiastical  History  of  Eusebius,  lib.  vi.  cap. 
19,  how  Demetrius,  bishop  of  Alexandria,  being  pricked  with 
envy  against  Origen,  complaineth  in  his  letters  that  there  was 
never  such  a  practice  heard  of,  nor  no  precedent  to  be  found, 
that  laymen  in  presence  of  bishops  have  taught  in  the  church ; 
but  is  thus  answered  by  the  bishop  of  Jerusalem  and  the  bishop 
of  Cesarea :  "We  know  not,"  say  they,  "why  he  reporteth  a 
manifest  untruth,  whenas  there  may  be  found  such  as  in  open 
assemblies  have  taught  the  people  ;  yea,  whenas  there  were 
present  learned  men  that  could  profit  the  people,  and  moreover 
holy  bishops,  who  at  that  time  exhorted  them  to  preach.  For 
example,  at  Laranda  Euelpis  was  requested  of  Neon,  at  Iconium 
Paulinus  was  requested  by  Celsus,  at  Synada  Theodorus  was 
requested  by  Atticus,  who  were  godly  brethren,  &c." 

The  second  instance  is  out  of  Speed's  Cloud  of  Witnesses, 
page  71.  Saith  he,  "  Rambam  or  Maymon  records,  that  in  the 
synagogues,  first,  only  a  Levite  must  offer  sacrifice ;  secondly, 
but  any  in  Israel  might  expound  the  law ;  thirdly,  the  ex- 
pounder must  be  an  eminent  man,  and  must  have  leave  from 
the  master  of  the  synagogue ;  and  so  contends  that  Christ.  Luke 
iv.  16,  taught  as  any  of  Israel  might  have  done  as  well  as  the 
Levites ;  and  the  like  did  Paul  and  Barnabas,  Acts  xiii.  15." 

If  any  out  of  weakness  have  abused  at  any  time  their  liberty, 
it  is  their  personal  faulting,  as  sometimes  weak  ministers  may 
their  office,  and  yet  the  ordinance  good  and  lawful. 

And  the  chief  of  our  ministers  in  New  England  agree  therein. 
See  Mr.  Cotton's  Answer  to  Baylie,  page  the  27th,  2d  part. 
"Though  neither  all,"  saith  he,  "nor  most  of  the  brethren  of  a 
church  have  ordinarily  received  a  gift  of  public  prophesying,  or 
preaching,  yet  in  defect  of  public  ministry,  it  is  not  an  unheard 
of  novelty  that  God  should  enlarge  private  men  with  public 
gifts,  and*  to  dispense  them  to  edification;  for  we  read  that 
when  the  church  at  Jerusalem  were  all  scattered  abroad,  except 
the  Apostles,  yet  they  that  were  scattered  went  every  where 
preaching  the  word." 

Mr.  Robinson  also,  in  his  Apology,  page  45,  chapter  8,  to 
take  off  the  aspersion  charged  on  them,  as  if  all  the  members 
of  a  church  were  to  prophesy  publicly,  answers,  "  It  comes 
within  the  compass  but  of  a  few  of  the  multitude,  haply  two  or 
three  in  a  church,  so  to  do  ;  and  touching  prophecy,"  saith  he, 
"we  think  the  very  same  that  the  Synod. held  at  Embden,  1571, 

*  Some  word  is  here  omitted. 


5 

hath  decreed  in  these  words  :  '  First,  in  all  churches,  whether 
but  springing  up,  or  grown  to  some  ripeness,  let  the  order  of 
prophecy  be  observed,  according  to  Paul's  institution.  Sec- 
ondly, into  the  fellowship  of  this  work  are  to  be  admitted  not 
only  the  ministers,  but  the  teachers  too,  as  also  of  the  elders 
and  deacons,  yea,  even  of  the  multitude,  which  are  willing  to 
confer  their  gift  received  of  God  to  the  common  utility  of  the 
church ;  but  so  as  they  first  be  allowed  by  the  judgment  of  the 
ministers  and  others.'  So  we  believe  and  practise  with  the 
Belgic  churches,  &c."  See  more  in  the  immediate  following 
page. 

Young  men. —  We  cannot  but  marvel  that  in  so  few  years 
there  should  be  so  grea|  a  change,  that  they  who  were  so  hotly 
persecuted  by  the  prelates,  and  also  opposed  by  the  better  sort 
of  ministers,  not  only  Mr.  Gifford,  Mr.  Bernard,  and  other  such 
like,  but  many  of  the  most  eminent  both  for  learning  and  godli- 
ness, and  yet  now  not  only  these  famous  men  and  churches  in 
New  England  so  fully  to  close  with  them  in  practice,  but  all  the 
godly  party  in  the  land  to  stand  for  the  same  way,  under  the 
new  name  of  Independents,  put  upon  them. 

Ancient  men. —  It  is  the  Lord's  doing,  and  it  ought  to  be  mar- 
vellous in  our  eyes ;  and  the  rather,  because  Mr.  Bernard,  in 
his  book,  made  their  small  increase  in  a  few  years  one  and  the 
chief  argument  against  the  way  itself.  To  which  Mr.  Robinson 
answered,  that  "  Religion  is  not  always  sown  and  reaped  in  one 
age ;  and  that  John  Huss  and  Jerome  of  Prague  finished  their 
testimony  a  hundred  years  before  Luther,  and  Wickliff  well  nigh 
as  long  before  them,  and  yet  neither  the  one  nor  the  other  with 
the  like  success  as  Luther.  And  yet,"  saith  he,  "  many  are 
already  gathered  into  the  kingdom  of  Christ;  and  the  nearness 
of  many  more  throughout  the  whole  land  (for  the  regions  are 
white  unto  the  harvest)  doth  promise  within  less  than  a  hun- 
dred years,  if  our  sins  and  theirs  make  not  us  and  them  un- 
worthy of  this  mercy,  a  very  plenteous  harvest "  (^jfustif.  folio 
62) ;  as  if  he  had  prophesied  of  these  times.  Yea,  some  of  us 
have  often  heard  him  say  that  "even  those  ministers  and  other 
godly  persons  that  did  then  most  sharply  oppose  them,  if  they 
might  come  to  be  from  under  the  bishops,  and  live  in  a  place  of 
rest  and  peace,  where  they  might  comfortably  subsist,  they 
would  practise  the  same  things  which  they  now  did."  And 
truly,  many  of  us  have  seen  this  abundantly  verified,  not  only 
in  these  latter  times,  but  formerly. 

Doctor  Ames  was  estranged  from  and  opposed  Mr.  Robinson; 
and  yet  afterwards  there  was  loving  compliance  and  near  agree- 


ment  between  them  ;  and,  which  is  more  strange,  Mr.  Johnson 
himself,  who  was  afterwards  pastor  of  the  church  of  God  at 
Amsterdam,  was  a  preacher  to  the  company  of  English  of  the 
Staple  at  Middleburg,  in  Zealand,  and  had  great  and  certain 
maintenance  allowed  him  by  them,  and  was  highly  respected  of 
them,  and  so  zealous  against  this  way  as  that  [when]  Mr, 
Barrow's  and  Mr.  Greenwood's  Refutation  of  Gilford  was  pri- 
vately in  printing  in  this  city,  he  not  only  was  a  means  to  dis- 
cover it,  but  was  made  the  ambassador's  instrument  to  intercept 
them  at  the  press,  and  see  them  burnt ;  the  which  charge  he 
did  so  well  perform,  as  he  let  them  go  on  until  they  were 
wholly  finished,  and  then  surprised  the  whole  impression,  not 
suffering  any  to  escape ;  and  then,  by  the  magistrates'  au- 
thority, caused  them  all  to  be  openly  burnt,  himself  standing  by 
until  they  were  all  consumed  to  ashes.  Only  he  took  up  two 
of  them,  one  to  keep  in  his  own  study,  that  he  might  see  their 
errors,  and  the  other  to  bestow  on  a  special  friend  for  the  like 
use.  But  mark  the  sequel.  When  he  had  done  this  work,  he 
went  home,  and  being  set  down  in  his  study,  he  began  to  turn 
over  some  pages  of  this  book,  and  superficially  to  read  some 
things  here  and  there,  as  his  fancy  led  him.  At  length  he  met 
with  something  that  began  to  work  upon  his  spirit,  which  so 
wrought  with  him  as  drew  him  to  this  resolution,  seriously  to 
read  over  the  whole  book :  the  which  he  did  once  and  again. 
In  the  end  he  was  so  taken,  and  his  conscience  was  troubled 
so,  as  he  could  have  no  rest  in  himself  until  he  crossed  the 
seas  and  came  to  London  to  confer  with  the  authors,  who  were 
then  in  prison,  and  shortly  after  executed.  After  which  con- 
ference he  was  so  satisfied  and  confirmed  in  the  truth,  as  he 
never  returned  to  his  place  any  more  at  Middleburg,  but 
adjoined  himself  to  their  society  at  London,  and  was  afterwards 
committed  to  prison,  and  then  banished ;  and  in  conclusion 
coming  to  live  at  Amsterdam,  he  caused  the  same  books,  which 
he  had  been  an  instrument  to  burn,  to  be  new  printed  and  set 
out  at  his  own  charge.  And  some  of  us  here  present  testify 
this  to  be  a  true  relation,  which  we  heard  from  his  own  mouth 
before  many  witnesses. 

You7tg  men. —  We  have  seen  a  book  of  Mr.  Robert  Baylie's,  a 
Scotchman,  wherein  he  seemeth  to  take  notice  of  the  spreading 
of  the  truth  under  the  notion  of  error,  and  casts  all  the  dis- 
graces he  can  on  it,  and  ranks  it  with  others  the  foulest  errors 
of  the  time,  and  endeavours  to  show  how  like  a  small  spark  it 
revived  out  of  the  ashes,  and  was  brought  from  Leyden  over 
the    seas   into   New  England,  and  there  nourished  with  much 


7 

silence  until  it  spread  to  other  places  in  the  country,  and  by 
eminent  hands  from  thence  into  Old  England. 

Ancient  men. — -As  we  dare  say  Mr.  Baylie  intends  no  honor 
to  the  persons  by  what  he  says,  either  to  those  here  or  from 
whence  they  came,  so  are  they  far  from  seeking  any  to  them- 
selves, but  rather  are  ashamed  that  their  weak  working  hath 
brought  no  more  glory  to  God ;  and  if  in  any  thing  God  hath 
made  any  of  them  instruments  for  the  good  of  his  people  in  any 
measure,  they  desire  he  only  may  have  the  glory.  And  whereas 
Mr.  Baylie  affirmeth  that,  however  it  was,  in  a  few  years  the 
most  who  settled  in  the  land  did  agree  to  model  themselves 
after  Mr.  Robinson's  pattern,  we  agree  with  reverend  Mr. 
Cotton,  that  "there  was  no  agreement  by  any  solemn  or 
common  consultation  ;  but  that  it  is  true  they  did,  as  if  they 
had  agreed,  by  the  same  spirit  of  truth  and  unity,  set  up,  by 
the  help  of  Christ,  the  same  model  of  churches,  one  like  to 
another ;  and  if  they  of  Plymouth  have  helped  any  of  th  first 
comers  in  their  theory,  by  hearing  and  discerning  their  prac- 
tices, therein  the  Scripture  is  fulfilled  that  the  kingdom  of 
heaven  is  like  unto  leaven  which  a  woman  took  and  hid  in  three 
measures  of  meal  until  all  was  leavened."  Answer  to  Mn 
Baylie,  page  17. 

Young  men. —  We  desire  to  know  how  many  have  been  put  to 
death  for  this  cause,  and  what  manner  of  persons  they  were, 
and  what  occasions  were  taken  against  them  by  bringing  them 
to  their  end. 

Ancient  men. —  We  know  certainly  of  six  that  were  publicly- 
executed,  besides  such  as  died  in  prisons;  Mr.  Henry  Barrow, 
Mr.  Greenwood  (these  suffered  at  Tyburn) ;  Mr.  Penry  at  St, 
Thomas  Waterings,  by  London  ;  Mr.  William  Dennis,  at  Thet- 
ford,  in  Norfolk;  two  others  at  St.  Edmund's,  in  Suffolk,  whose 
names  were  Copping  and  Elias  [Thacker].  These  two  last 
mentioned  were  condemned  by  cruel  Judge  Popham,  whose 
countenance  and  carriage  was  very  rough  and  severe  toward 
them,  with  many  sharp  menaces.  But  God  gave  them  courage 
to  bear  it,  and  to  make  this  answer : 

"  My  Lord,  your  face  we  fear  not, 
And  for  your  threats  we  care  not, 
And  to  come  to  your  read  service,  we  dare  not." 

These   two   last   named  were   put   to   death   for  dispersing  of 
books. 

For   Mr.  Dennis,  he  was  a   godly  man,  and   faithful  in  his 


8 

place ;  but  what  occasion  was  taken  against  him,  we  know  not, 
more  than  the  common  cause. 

For  Mr.  Penry,  how  unjustly  he  was  charged,  himself  hath 
made  manifest  to  the  world  in  his  books,  and  that  Declaration 
which  he  made  a  little  before  his  suffering;  all  which  are  extant 
in  print,  with  some  of  his  godly  letters. 

As  for  Mr.  Barrow  and  Mr.  Greenwood,  it  also  appears  by 
their  own  writings  how  those  statutes  formerly  made  against  the 
Papists  were  wrested  against  them,  arid  they  condemned  there- 
upon ;  as  may  be  seen  by  their  Examinations. 

Young  men. —  But  these  were  rigid  Brownists,  and  lie  under 
much  aspersion,  and  their  names  much  blemished  and  be- 
clouded, not  only  by  enemies,  but  even  by  godly  and  very 
reverend  men. 

Ancient  men. —  They  can  no  more  justly  be  called  Brownists, 
than  the  disciples  might  have  been  called  Judasites ;  for  they 
did  as  much  abhor  Brown's  apostasy,  and  profane  course,  and 
his  defection,  as  the  disciples  and  other  Christians  did  Judas's 
treachery. 

And  for  their  rigid  and  roughness  of  spirit,  as  some  of  them, 
especially  Mr.  Barrow,  is  taxed,  it  may  be  considered  they  were 
very  rigidly  and  roughly  dealt  with,  not  only  by  the  Lord's 
enemies  and  their  enemies,  but  by  some  godly  persons  of  those 
times,  differing  in  opinions  from  them  ;  which  makes  some  of 
us  call  to  mind  what  one  Doctor  Taylor  hath  written  in  a  late 
book  in  these  stirring  times.  "  Such  an  eminent  man,"  saith 
he,  "hath  had  the  good  hap  to  be  reputed  orthodox  by  pos- 
terity, and  did  condemn  such  a  man  of  such  an  opinion,  and  yet 
himself  erred  in  as  considerable  matters ;  but  meeting  with 
better  neighbours  in  his  life-time,  and  a  more  charitable  pos- 
terity after  his  death,  hath  his  memory  preserved  in  honor; 
and  the  other's  name  suffers  without  cause."  Of  which  he 
gives  instances  in  his  book  entitled  The  Liberty  of  Prophesying, 
page  33  and  following. 

We  refer  you  to  Mr.  Robinson's  Answer  to  Mr.  Bernard, 
where  he  charges  him  with  blasphemy,  railing,  scoffing,  &c. 
*'  For  Mr.  Barrow,"  saith  Mr.  Robinson,  "  as  I  say  with  Mr. 
Ainsworth,  that  I  will  not  justify  all  the  words  of  another  man, 
nor  yet  mine  own,  so  say  I  also  with  Mr.  Smith,  that  because  I 
know  not  by  what  particular  motion  of  the  Spirit  he  was  guided 
to  write  in  those  phrases,  I  dare  not  censure  him  as  you  do ; 
especially  considering  with  what  fiery  zeal  the  Lord  hath  fur- 
nished such  his  servants  at  all  times,  as  he  hath  stirred  up 
for   special    reformation.     Let   the   example   of    Luther   alone 


suffice,  whom  into  what  terms  his  zeal  carried,  his  writings 
testify;  and  yet  both  in  him  and  in  Mr.  Barrow  there  might  be 
with  true  spiritual  zeal  fleshly  indignation  mingled."  Answer  to 
Mr.  Bernard,  folio  84. 

And  further  in  page  86  he  saith,  that  "such  harsh  terms 
wherewith  he  entertains  such  persons  and  things  in  the  church 
as  carry  with  them  most  appearance  of  holiness,  they  are  to  be 
interpreted  according  to  his  meaning,  with  this  distinction,  that 
Mr.  Barrow  speaks  not  of  these  persons  and  things  simply,  but 
in  a  respect,  and  so  and  so  considered ;  and  so  no  one  term 
given  by  Mr.  Barrow  but  may,  at  the  least,  be  tolerated." 

You7ig  men. —  But  divers  reverend  men  have  expressed  con- 
cerning this  matter  that  God  is  not  wont  to  make  choice  of  men 
infamous  for  gross  sins  and  vices  before  their  calling,  to  make 
them  any  instruments  of  reformation  after  their  calling,  and 
proceed  to  declare  that  Mr.  Barrow  was  a  great  gamester  and 
a  dicer  when  he  lived  in  court,  and  getting  much  by  play, 
would  boast  of  loose  spending  it  with  courtesans,  &c. 

Ancient  men. —  Truly,  with  due  respect  to  such  reverend  men 
be  it  spoken,  those  things  might  well  have  been  spared  from 
putting  in  print,  especially  so  long  after  his  death,  when  not 
only  he,  but  all  his  friends  are  taken  out  of  the  world,  that 
might  vindicate  his  name.  That  he  was  tainted  with  vices  at 
the  court  before  his  conversion  and  calling,  it  is  not  very 
strange ;  and  if  he  had  lived  and  died  in  that  condition,  it  is 
like  he  might  have  gone  out  of  the  world  without  any  public 
brand  on  his  name,  and  have  passed  for  a  tolerable  Christian 
and  member  of  the  church.  He  had  hurt  enough  done  him, 
whilst  he  lived,  by  evil  and  cruel  enemies;  why  should  godly 
men  be  prejudicated  to  him  after  his  death  in  his  name  .-*  Was 
not  the  Apostle  Paul  a  persecutor  of  God's  saints  unto  death? 
And  doth  not  the  same  Apostle,  speaking  of  scandalous  and 
lascivious  per^sons,  say,  "And  such  were  some  of  you;  but  ye 
are  washed,  but  ye  are  sanctified,  but  ye  are  justified  in  the 
name  of  the  Lord  Jesus  and  by  the  spirit  of  our  God." 

And  if  histories  deceive  us  not,  was  not  Cyprian  a  magician 
before  his  conversion,  and  Augustine  a  Manichaean .?  And 
when  it  was  said  unto  him  in  the  voice  he  heard,  Tolle  et  iege, 
he  was  directed  to  that  place  of  Scripture,  "Not  in  gluttony 
and  drunkenness,  nor  in  chambering  and  wantonness,  nor  in 
strife  and  envying;  but  put  ye  on  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and 
take  no  thought  for  the  flesh,  to  fulfil  the  lusts  of  it."  By 
which  it  may  seem  that  if  God  do  not  make  choice  of  such 
men  as  have  been  infamous  for  gross  vices  before  their  calling, 


lO 

yet  sometimes  he  is  wont  to  do  it,  and  is  free  to  choose  whom 
he  pleaseth  for  notable  instruments  for  his  own  work.  As  for 
other  things  that  have  been  spoken  of  him  and  Mr.  Greenwood 
and  Mr.  Penry,  we  leave  them  as  they  are.  But  some  of  us 
have  reason  to  think  there  are  some  mistakes  in  the  relations 
of  those  things.  Only  we  shall  add  other  public  testimonies 
concerning  them  from  witnesses  of  very  worthy  credit,  which 
are  also  in  print. 

First,  from  Mr.  Phillips.  A  famous  and  godly  preacher, 
having  heard  and  seen  Mr.  Barrow's  holy  speeches  and  prepa- 
rations for  death,  said,  "  Barrow,  Barrow,  my  soul  be  with 
thine  ! "  The  same  author  also  reports,  that  Queen  Elizabeth 
asked  learned  Doctor  Reynolds  what  he  thought  of  those  two 
men,  Mr.  Barrow  and  Mr.  Greenwood ;  and  he  answered  her 
Majesty  that  it  could  not  avail  any  thing  to  show  his  judgment 
concerning  them,  seeing  they  were  put  to  death ;  and  being 
loath  to  speak  his  mind  further,  her  Majesty  charged  him  upon 
his  allegiance  to  speak.  Whereupon  he  answered,  that  he  was 
persuaded,  if  they  had  lived,  they  would  have  been  two  as 
worthy  instruments  for  the  church  of  God,  as  have  been  raised 
up  in  this  age.  Her  Majesty  sighed,  and  said  no  more.  But 
after  that,  riding  to  a  park  by  the  place  where  they  were  exe- 
cuted, and  being  willing  to  take  further  information  concerning 
them,  demanded  of  the  right  honorable  the  Earl  of  Cumber- 
land, that  was  present  when  they  suffered,  what  end  they  made. 
He  answered,  "  a  vfery  godly  end,  and  prayed  for  your  Majesty, 
and  the  State,"  &c.  We  may  also  add  what  some  of  us  have 
heard  by  credible  information,  that  the  Queen  demanded  of  the 
Archbishop  what  he  thought  of  them  in  his  conscience.  He 
answered  "  he  thought  they  were  the  servants  of  God,  but  dan- 
gerous to  the  State."  "Alas!"  said  she,  "shall  we  put  the 
servants  of  God  to  death?  "  And  this  was  the  true  cause  why 
no  more  of  them  were  put  to  death  in  her  days. 

Young  men. —  Did  any  of  you  know  Mr.  Barrow?  if  we  may 
be  so  bold  to  ask,  for  we  would  willingly  know  what  [was]  his 
life  and  conversation  ;  because  some,  we  perceive,  have  him  in 
precious  esteem,  and  others  can  scarce  name  him  without  some 
note  of  obloquy  and  dislike. 

Ancient  men. —  We  have  not  seen  his  person  ;  but  some  of  us 
have  been  well  acquainted  with  those  that  knew  him  familiarly 
both  before  and  after  his  conversion  ;  and  one  of  us  hath  had 
conference  with  one  that  was  his  domestic  servant,  and  tended 
upon  him  both  before  and  some  while  after  the  same. 

He  was  a  gentleman  of  good  worth,  and  a  flourishing  courtier 


II 

in  his  time,  and,  as  appears  in  his  own  answers  to  the  Arch- 
bishop and  Doctor  Cousens,  he  was  some  time  a  student  at 
Cambridge  and  the  Inns  of  Court,  and  accomplished  with 
strong  parts. 

We  have  heard  his  conversion  to  be  on  this  wise.  Walking 
in  London  one  Lord's  day  with  one  of  his  companions,  he 
heard  a  preacher  at  his  sermon  very  loud,  as  they  passed  by 
the  church.  Upon  which  Mr.  Barrow  said  unto  his  consort, 
"  Let  us  go  in  and  hear  what  this  man  saith  that  is  thus  ear- 
nest." "  Tush,"  said  the  other,  "  what !  shall  we  go  to  hear  a 
man  talk } "  &c.  But  in  he  went  and  sat  down.  And  the 
minister  was  vehement  in  reproving  sin,  and  sharply  applied 
the  judgments  of  God  against  the  same;  and,  it  should  seem, 
touched  him  to  the  quick  in  such  things  as  he  was  guilty  of,  so 
as  God  set  it  home  to  his  soul,  and  began  to  work  his  repent- 
ance and  conversion  thereby.  For  he  was  so  stricken  as  he 
could  not  be  quiet,  until  by  conference  with  godly  men  and 
further  hearing  of  the  word,  with  diligent  reading  and  medita- 
tion, God  brought  peace  to  his  soul  and  conscience,  after  much 
humiliation  of  heart  and  reformation  of  life ;  so  as  he  left  the 
court,  and  retired  himself  to  a  private  life,  some  time  in  the 
country  and  some  time  in  the  city,  giving  himself  to  study  and 
reading  of  the  Scriptures  and  other  good  works  very  diligently. 
And  being  missed  at  court  by  his  consorts  and  acquaintance, 
it  was  quickly  bruited  abroad  that  Barrow  was  turned  Puritan. 
What  his  course  was  afterwards,  his  writings  show,  as  also  his 
sufferings  and  conference  with  men  of  all  sorts  do  declare, 
until  his  life  was  taken  from  him. 

And  thus  much  we  can  further  affirm,  from  those  that  well 
knew  him,  that  he  was  very  comfortable  to  the  poor  and  those 
in  distress  in  their  sufferings ;  and  when  he  saw  he  must  die,  he 
gave  a  stock  for  the  relief  of  the  poor  of  the  church,  which  was 
a  good  help  to  them  in  their  banished  condition  afterwards. 
Yea,  and  that  which  some  will  hardly  believe,  he  did  much  per- 
suade them  to  peace,  and  composed  many  differences  that  were 
grown  amongst  them  whilst  he  lived,  and  would  have,  it  is  like, 
prevented  more  that  after  fell  out,  if  he  had  continued. 

Young  men, —  We  thank  you  for  your  pains.  We  hope  it  will 
extend  further  than  our  satisfaction.  We  cannot  but  marvel 
that  such  a  man  should  be  by  so  many  aspersed. 

Ancient  men. —  It  is  not  much  to  be  marvelled  at ;  for  he  was 
most  plain  in  discovering  the  cruelty,  fraud,  and  hypocrisy  of 
the  enemies  of  the  truth,  and  searching  into  the  corruptions  of 
the  time,  which  made  him  abhorred  of  them ;  and  peradventure 


12 

something  too  harsh  against  the  haltings  of  divers  of  the 
preachers  and  professors  that  he  had  to  deal  with  in  those 
times,  who  out  of  fear  or  weakness  did  not  come  so  close  up  to 
the  truth  in  their  practice  as  their  doctrines  and  grounds 
seemed  to  hold  forth.  Which  makes  us  remember  what  was 
the  answer  of  Erasmus  to  the  Duke  of  Saxony,  when  h6  asked 
his  opinion  whether  Luther  had  erred.  He  answered,  "his 
opinions  were  good,  but  wished  he  would  moderate  his  style, 
which  stirred  him  up  the  more  enemies,  no  doubt." 

Young  men. —  We  find  in  the  writings  of  some  such  who  were 
very  eminent  in  their  times  for  piety  and  learning,  that  those 
of  the  Separation  found  more  favor  in  our  native  country  than 
those  who  were  reproached  by  the  name  of  Puritans;  and  after 
much  discourse  thereabouts,  come  to  this  conclusion,  that  no 
comparison  will  hold  from  the  Separatists  to  them  in  their  suf- 
ferings but  a  minori;  and  then  they  go  on  and  say,  what  a 
compulsory  banishment  has  been  put  upon  those  blessed  and 
glorious  lights,  Mr.  Cartwright,  Mr.  Parker,  Doctor  Ames,  &c. 

Ancie7tt  men. —  Far  be  it  from  any  of  us  to  detract  from  or  to 
extenuate  the  sufferings  of  any  of  the  servants  of  God,  much 
less  from  those  worthies  forenamed,  or  any  others  afterwards 
mentioned.  Yet,  under  favor,  we  crave  pardon  if  we  cannot 
consent  to  the  judgment  of  such  eminent  ones  for  piety  and 
learning  above  hinted.  We  doubt  not,  but  do  easily  grant,  that 
the  sufferings  of  those  reproached  by  the  name  of  Puritans 
were  great,  especially  some  of  them,  and  were  better  known  to 
those  pious  and  learned  [men]  first  above  intimated,  than  the 
sufferings  of  those  that  are  reproached  by  the  name  of  Brown- 
ists  and  Separatists.  But  we  shall  give  you  some  mstances, 
and  leave  it  to  you  and  some  others  to  consider  of. 

1.  Though  no  more  were  publicly  executed,  yet  sundry  more 
were  condemned,  and  brought  to  the  gallows,  and  ascended  the 
ladder,  not  knowing  but  they  should  die,  and  have  been  re- 
prieved, and  after  banished ;  some  of  which  we  have  known 
and  often  spoken  with. 

2.  Others  have  not  only  been  forced  into  voluntary  banish- 
ment, by  great  numbers,  to  avoid  further  cruelty,  but  divers, 
after  long  and  sore  imprisonment,  have  been  forced  to  abjure 
the  land  by  oath,  never  to  return  without  leave.  In  anno  1604 
four  persons  at  once  were  forced  to  do  so  at  a  public  Sessions 
in  London,  or  else  upon  refusal  they  were  to  be  hanged.  This 
their  abjuration  was  done  on  the  statute  of  the  35  of  Queen 
Elizabeth.     Some  of  these  we  have  also  known. 

3.  We  find  mention  in  a  printed  book  of  seventeen  or  eigh- 


13 

teen  that  have  died  in  several  prisons  in  London  in  six  years' 
time  before  the  year  1592,  besides  what  have  been  in  other 
pans  of  the  land,  and  since  that  time,  perishing  by  cold,  hunger, 
or  noisomeness  of  the  prison. 

4.  In  the  same  year  we  find  a  lamentable  petition,  now  in 
print,  of  sixty  persons  committed  unbailable  to  several  prisons 
in  London,  as  Newgate,  the  Gatehouse,  Clink,  &c.,  being  made 
close  prisoners,  allowing  them  neither  meat,  drink,  nor  lodging, 
nor  suffering  any  whose  hearts  the  Lord  would  stir  up  for  their 
relief,  to  have  any  access  unto  them  ;  so  as  they  complain  that 
no  felons,  traitors,  nor  murderers  in  the  land  were  thus  dealt 
with  ;  and  so  after  many  other  grievous  complaints  conclude 
with  these  words  :  "  We  crave  for  all  of  us  but  the  liberty  either 
to  die  openly,  or  to  live  openly  in  the  land  of  our  nativity.  If 
we  deserve  death,  it  beseemeth  the  majesty  of  justice  not  to  see 
us  closely  murdered,  yea  starved  to  death  with  hunger  and 
cold,  and  stifled  in  loathsome  dungeons.  If  we  be  guiltless,  we 
crave  but  the  benefit  of  our  innocence,  viz.  that  we  may  have 
peace  to  serve  our  God  and  our  Prince  in  the  place  of  the 
sepulchres  of  our  fathers." 

And  what  numbers  since  those,  who  have  been  put  unto 
compulsory  banishment  and  other  hard  sufferings,  as  loss  of 
goods,  friends,  and  long  and  hard  imprisonments,  under  which 
many  have  died, —  it  is  so  well  known,  that  it  would  make  up 
a  volume  to  rehearse  them,  and  would  not  only  equalize  but  far 
exceed  the  number  of  those  godly  called  Puritans  that  have 
suffered.  Suppose  they  were  but  few  of  them  ministers  that 
suffered,  as  above  expressed ;  yet  their  sorrows  might  be  as 
great,  and  their  wants  more,  and  their  souls  as  much  afflicted, 
because  more  contemned  and  neglected  of  men. 

But  some  have  said  they  were  excommunicated ;  and  that 
was  no  great  matter  as  excommunications  went  in  those  days. 
So  were  these^  not  only  while  they  were  living,  but  some  of 
them  many  times  after  they  were  dead  ;  and  as  some  of  the 
other  were  imprisoned,  so  were  more  of  these.  But  it  is  further 
said,  all  of  them  were  deprived  of  their  ministry ;  and  so  were 
these  of  their  livelihood  and  maintenance,  although  they  had 
no  offices  to  lose.  But  those  remained  still  in  the  land,  and 
were  succoured  and  sheltered  by  good  people  in  a  competent 
wise,  the  most  of  them,  and  sundry  of  them  lived  as  well,  as 
may  easily  be  proved,  if  not  better,  than  if  they  had  enjoyed 
their  benefices ;  whereas  the  other  were,  a  great  number  of 
them,  forced  to  fly  into  foreign  lands  for  shelter,  or  else  might 
have  perished   in  prisons ;    and  these  poor  creatures  endured. 


14 

many  of  them,  such  hardships  (as  is  well  known  to  some  of  us) 
as  makes  our  hearts  still  ache  to  remember. 

We  some  of  us  knew  Mr.  Parker,  Dr.  Ames,  and  Mr.  Jacob 
in  Holland,  when  they  sojourned  for  a  time  in  Leyden ;  and 
all  three  boarded  together  and  had  their  victuals  dressed  by 
some  of  our  acquaintance,  and  then  they  lived  comfortable, 
and  then  they  were  provided  for  as  became  their  persons.  And 
after  Mr.  Jacob  returned,  and  Mr.  Parker  was  at  Amsterdam, 
where  he  printed  some  of  his  books,  and  Mr.  Ames  disposed 
of  himself  to  other  places,  it  was  not  worse  with  him  ;  and  some 
of  us  well  know  how  it  fared  then  with  many  precious  Chris- 
tians in  divers  times  and  places.  To  speak  the  truth,  the  pro- 
fessors in  England,  though  many  of  them  suffered  much  at  the 
hands  of  the  prelates,  yet  they  had  a  great  advantage  of  the 
Separatists ;  for  the  Separatists  had  not  only  the  prelates  and 
their  faction  to  encounter  with  (and  what  hard  measure  they 
met  with  at  their  hands,  above  the  other,  doth  sufficiently  ap- 
pear by  what  is  before  declared),  but  also  they  must  endure  the 
frowns,  and  many  times  the  sharp  invectives,  of  the  forward 
ministers  against  them,  both  in  public  and  private ,  and  what 
influence  they  had  upon  the  spirits  of  the  people,  is  well  enough 
known  also ;  by  reason  hereof  the  ministers  in  foreign  countries 
did  look  awry  at  them  when  they  would  give  help  and  counte- 
nance to  the  other. 

Young  men. —  Indeed,  it  seems  they  have  sometimes  suffered 
much  hardness  in  the  Low  Countries,  if  that  be  true  that  is  re- 
ported of  such  a  man  as  Mr.  Ainsworth,  that  he  should  live  for 
some  time  with  nine  pence  a  week.  To  which  is  replied  by 
another,  that  if  people  suffered  him  to  live  on  nine  pence  a 
week,  with  roots  boiled,  either  the  people  were  grown  extreme 
low  in  estate,  or  the  growth  of  their  godliness  was  come  to  a 
very  low  ebb. 

Ancient  men. —  The  truth  is,  their  condition  for  the  most  part 
was  for  some  time  very  low  and  hard.  It  was  with  them  as,  if 
it  should  be  related,  would  hardly  be  believed.  And  no  mar- 
v^el.  For  many  of  them  had  lain  long  in  prisons,  and  then  were 
banished  into  Newfoundland,  where  they  were  abused,  and  at 
last  came  into  the  Low  Countries,  and  wanting  money,  trades, 
friends  or  acquaintances,  and  languages  to  help  themselves, 
how  could  it  be  otherwise  ?  The  report  of  Mr.  Ainsworth  was 
near  those  times,  when  he  was  newly  come  out  of  Ireland  with 
others  poor,  and  being  a  single  young  man  and  very  studious, 
was  content  with  a  little.  And  yet,  to  take  off  the  aspersion 
from  the  people  in  that  particular,  the  chief  and  true  reason 


15 

thereof  is  mistaken ;  for  he  was  a  very  modest  and  bashful 
man,  and  concealed  his  wants  from  others,  until  some  suspected 
how  it  was  with  him,  and  pressed  him  to  see  how  it  was ;  and 
after  it  was  known,  such  as  were  able  mended  his  condition ; 
and  when  he  was  married  afterwards,  he  and  his  family  were 
comfortably  provided  for.  But  we  have  said  enough  of  these 
things.  They  had  few  friends  to  comfort  them,  nor  any  arm  of 
flesh  to  support  them ;  and  if  in  some  things  they  were  too 
rigid,  they  are  rather  to  be  pitied,  considering  their  times  and 
sufferings,  than  to  be  blasted  with  reproach  to  posterity. 

Young  men. —  Was  that  Brown  that  fell  away  and  made  apos- 
tasy, the  first  inventor  and  beginner  of  this  v/ay  ? 

Ancient  men. —  No,  verily;  lor,  as  one  answers  this  question 
very  well  in  a  printed  book,  almost  forty  years  ago,  that  the 
prophets,  apostles,  and  evangelists  have  in  their  authentic  writ- 
ings laid  down  the  ground  thereof;  and  upon  that  ground  is 
their  building  reared  up  and  surely  settled.  Moreover,  many 
of  the  martyrs,  both  former  and  latter,  have  maintained  it,  as  is 
to  be  seen  in  The  Acts  and  Monuments  of  the  Church.  Also, 
in  the  days  of  Queen  Elizabeth  there  was  a  separated  church, 
whereof  Mr.  Fitts  was  pastor,  and  another  before  that  in  the 
time  of  Queen  Mary,  of  which  Mr.  Rough  was  pastor  or 
teacher,  and  Cudbert  Simpson  a  deacon,  who  exercised 
amongst  themselves,  as  other  ordinances,  so  church  censures, 
as  excommunication,  etc.,  and  professed  and  practised  that 
cause  before  Mr.  Brown  wrote  for  it.  But  he  being  one  that 
afterwards  wrote  for  it,  they  that  first  hatched  the  name  of 
Puritans  and  bestowed  it  on  the  godly  professors  that  desired 
reformation,  they  likewise  out  of  the  same  storehouse  would 
needs  bestow  this  new  livery  upon  others  that  never  would  own 
it,  nor  had  reason  so  to  do.  Mr.  Cotton,  likewise,  in  his 
Answer  to  Mr.  Baylie,  page  fourth,  shows  how  in  the  year  1567 
there  were  a  hundred  persons  who  refused  the  common  liturgy, 
and  the  congregations  attending  thereunto,  and  used  prayers 
and  preaching  and  the  sacraments  amongst  themselves,  whereof 
fourteen  or  fifteen  were  sent  to  prison,  of  whom  the  chiefest 
were  Mr.  Smith,  Mr.  Nixon,  James  Ireland,  Robert  Hawkins, 
Thomas  Rowland,  and  Richard  Morecroft ;  and  these  pleaded 
their  separation  before  the  Lord  Mayor,  Bishop  Sands,  and 
other  commissioners  on  June  20,  1567,  about  eighty  years  ago, 
being  many  years  before  Brown.  Divers  other  instances  might 
be  given. 

Young  men. —  But  if  we  mistake  not,  Mr.  Brown  is  accounted 
by  some  of  good  note  to  be  the  inventor  of  that  way  which  is 


i6 

called  Brown  ism,  from  whom  the  sect  took  its  name.  More- 
over, it  is  said  by  such  of  note  as  aforesaid,  that  it  is  not  God's 
usual  manner  of  dealing  to  leave  any  of  the  first  publishers  or 
restorers  of  any  truth  of  his  to  such  fearful  apostasy. 

Ancient  me7t. —  Possibly  this  speech  might  arise  from  a 
common  received  opinion.  But  reverend  Mr.  Cotton,  in  his 
Answer  to  Mr.  Baylie,  saith  "the  backsliding  of  Brown  from 
that  way  of  Separation  is  a  just  reason  why  the  Separatists  may 
disclaim  denomination  from  him,  and  refuse  to  be  called 
Brownists,  after  his  name ;  and  to  speak  with  reason,"  saith 
he,  "if  any  be  justly  to  be  called  Brownists,  it  is  only  such  as 
revolt  from  Separation  to  formality,  and  from  thence  to  pro- 
faneness,"     Page  5. 

To  which  we  may  add,  that  it  is  very  injurious  to  call  those 
after  his  name,  whose  person  they  never  knew,  and  whose  writ- 
ings few  if  any  of  them  ever  saw,  and  whose  errors  and  back- 
slidings  they  have  constantly  borne  witness  against;  and  what 
truths  they  have  received  have  been  from  the  light  of  God's 
sacred  word,  conveyed  by  other  godly  instruments  unto  them ; 
though  Brown  may  sometimes  have  professed  some  of  the  same 
things,  and  now  fallen  from  the  same,  as  many  others  have 
done. 

Young  men. —  Seeing  we  have  presumed  thus  far  to  inquire 
into  these  ancienter  times  of  you,  and  of  the  sufferings  of  the 
aforesaid  persons,  we  would  likewise  entreat  you,  though  never 
so  briefly,  to  tell  us  something  of  the  persons  and  carriages  of 
other  eminent  men  about  those  times,  or  immediately  after,  as 
Mr.  Francis  Johnson,  Mr.  Henry  Ainsworth,  Mr.  John  Smith, 
Mr.  John  Robinson,  Mr.  Richard  Clifton. 

Ancient  men. —  Here  are  some  in  the  company  that  knew 
them  all  familiarly,  whom  we  shall  desire  to  satisfy  your  re- 
quest. 

Those  answered.  We  shall  do  it  most  willingly ;  for  we  can- 
not but  honor  the  memory  of  the  men  for  the  good  that  not 
only  many  others  but  we  ourselves  have  received  by  them  and 
their  ministry;  for  we  have  heard  them  all,  and  lived  under 
the  ministry  of  divers  of  them  for  some  years.  We  shall  there- 
fore speak  of  them  in  order  briefly. 

Mr.  Johnson,  of  whom  something  was  spoken  before,  was 
pastor  of  the  church  of  God  at  Amsterdam.  A  very  grave  man 
he  was,  and  an  able  teacher,  and  was  the  most  solemn  in  all 
his  administrations  that  we  have  seen  any,  and  especially  in 
dispensing  the  seals  of  the  covenant,  both  baptism  and  the 
Lord's  supper.     And  a  good  disputant  he  was.     We  heard  Mr. 


Smith  upon  occasion  say,  that  he  was  persuaded  no  men  living 
were  able  to  maintain  a  cause  against  those  two  men,  meaning 
Mr.  Johnson  and  Mr.  Ainsworth,  if  they  had  not  the  truth  on 
their  side.  He,  by  reason  of  many  dissensions  that  fell  out  in 
the  church,  and  the  subtilty  of  one  of  the  elders  of  the  same, 
came  after  many  years  to  alter  his  judgment  about  the  govern- 
ment of  the  church,  and  his  practice  thereupon,  which  caused 
a  division  amongst  them.  But  he  lived  not  many  years  after, 
and  died  at  Amsterdam  after  his  return  from  Embden. 

Young  men. —  But  he  is  much  spoken  against  for  excommuni- 
cating his  brother  and  his  own  father,  and  maintaining  his 
wife's  cause,  who  was  by  his  brother  and  others  reproved  for 
her  pride  in  apparel. 

A7tcient  men. —  Himself  hath  often  made  his  own  defence,  and 
others  for  him.  The  church  did,  after  long  patience  towards 
them  and  much  pains  taken  with  them,  excommunicate  them 
for  their  unreasonable  and  endless  opposition,  and  such  things 
as  did  accompany  the  same ;  and  such  was  the  justice  thereof, 
as  he  could  not  but  consent  thereto.  In  our  time  his  wife  was 
a  grave  matron,  and  very  modest  both  in  her  apparel  and  all 
her  demeanour,  ready  to  any  good  works  in  her  place,  and 
helpful  to  many,  especially  the  poor,  and  an  ornament  to  his 
calling.  She  was  a  young  widow  when  he  married  her,  and  had 
been  a  merchant's  wife,  by  whom  he  had  a  good  estate,  and 
was  a  godly  woman  ;  and  because  she  wore  such  apparel  as 
she  had  been  formerly  used  to,  which  were  neither  excessive 
nor  immodest,  for  their  chiefest  exceptions  were  against  her 
wearing  of  some  whalebone  m  the  bodice  and  sleeves  of  her 
gown,  corked  shoes,  and  other  such  like  things  as  the  citizens 
of  her  rank  then  used  to  wear.  And  although,  for  offence  sake, 
she  and  he  were  willing  to  reform  the  fashions  of  them  so  far 
as  might  be  without  spoiling  of  their  garments,  yet  it  would  not 
content  them  except  they  came  full  up  to  their  size.  Such  was 
the  strictness  or  rigidness  (as  now  the  term  goes)  of  some  in  those 
times,  as  we  can  by  experience  and  of  our  own  knowledge  show 
in  other  instances.     We  shall  for  brevity  sake  only  show  one. 

We  were  in  the  company  of  a  godly  man  that  had  been  a 
long  time  prisoner  at  Norwich  for  this  cause,  and  was  by  Judge 
Cooke  set  at  liberty.  After  going  into  the  country  he  visited 
his  friends,  and  returning  that  way  again  to  go  into  the  Low 
Countries  by  ship  at  Yarmouth,  and  so  desired  some  of  us  to 
turn  in  with  him  to  the  house  of  an  ancient  woman  in  the  city, 
who  had  been  very  kind  and  helpful  to  him  in  his  sufferings. 
She  knowing  his  voice  made  him  very  welcome,  and  those  with 


i8 

him.  But  after  some  time  of  their  entertamment,  being  ready 
to  depart,  she  came  up  to  him  and  felt  of  his  band  (for  her  eyes 
were  dim  with  age),  and  perceiving  it  was  something  stiffened 
with  starch,  she  was  mucli  displeased,  and  reproved  him  very 
sharply,  fearing  God  would  not  prosper  his  journey.  Yet  the 
man  was  a  plain  countryman,  clad  in  gray  russet,  without  either 
welt  or  guard  (as  the  proverb  is),  and  the  band  he  wore  scarce 
worth  threepence,  made  of  their  own  homespinning ;  and  he 
was  godly  and  humble  as  he  was  plain.  What  would  such  pro- 
fessors, if  they  were  now  living,  say  to  the  excess  of  our  times  ? 
Mr.  Henry  Ainsworth,  a  man  of  a  thousand,  was  teacher 
of  this  church  at  Amsterdam  at  the  same  time  when  Mr.  John- 
son was  pastor.  Two  worthy  men  they  were  and  of  excellent 
parts.  He  continued  constant  in  his  judgment  and  practice 
unto  his  end  in  those  things  about  the  church  government,  from 
which  Mr.  Johnson  swerved  and  fell.  He  ever  maintained 
good  correspondence  with  Mr.  Robinson  at  Leyden,  and  would 
consult  with  him  in  all  matters  of  weight,  both  in  their  differ- 
ences and  afterwards.  A  very  learned  man  he  was,  and  a  close 
student,  which  much  impaired  his  health.  We  have  heard 
some,  eminent  in  the  knowledge  of  the  tongues,  of  the  univer- 
sity of  Leyden,  say  that  they  thought  he  had  not  his  better  for 
the  Hebrew  tongue  in  the  university,  nor  scarce  in  Europe. 
He  was  a  man  very  modest,  amiable,  and  sociable  in  his  ordi- 
nary course  and  carriage,  of  an  innocent  and  unblamable  life 
and  conversation,  of  a  meek  spirit,  and  a  calm  temper,  void  of 
passion  and  not  easily  provoked.  And  yet  he  would  be  some- 
thing smart  in  his  style  to  his  opposers  in  his  public  writings ; 
at  which  we  that  have  seen  his  constant  carriage,  both  in  public 
disputes  and  the  managing  of  all  church  affairs,  and  such  like 
occurrences,  have  sometimes  marvelled.  He  had  an  excellent 
gift  of  teaching  and  opening  the  Scriptures ;  and  things  did 
flow  from  him  with  that  facility,  plainness,  and  sweetness,  as 
did  much  affect  the  hearers.  He  was  powerful  and  profound 
in  doctrine,  although  his  voice  was  not  strong ;  and  had  this 
excellency  above  many,  that  he  was  most  ready  and  pregnant 
in  the  Scriptures,  as  if  the  book  of  God  had  been  written  in  his 
heart;  being  as  ready  in  his  quotations,  without  tossing  and 
turning  his  book,  as  if  they  had  lain  open  before  his  eyes,  and 
seldom  missing  a  word  m  the  citing  of  any  place,  teaching  not 
only  the  word  and  doctrine  of  God,  but  in  the  words  of  God, 
and  for  the  most  part  in  a  continued  phrase  and  words  of 
Scripture.  He  used  great  dexterity,  and  was  ready  in  compar- 
ing Scripture  with  Scripture,  one  with  another.     In  a  word,  the 


19 

times  and  place  in  which  he  lived  were  not  worthy  of  such  a 
man. 

Young  men.' —  But  we  find  that  he  is  taxed,  in  a  book  writ  by 
George  Johnson,  with  apostasy  and  to  be  a  man-pleaser,  etc. 

Ancient  men. —  Who  can  escape  the  scourge  o£  tongues  ? 
Christ  himself  could  not  do  it  when  he  was  here  upon  earth, 
although  there  was  no  guile  found  in  his  mouth ,  nor  Moses, 
although  he  was  the  meekest  man  in  the  earth.  For  man-pleas- 
ing, they  that  tax  him  [do  it]  because  he  concurred  agamst 
their  violent  and  endless  dissensions  about  the  former  matters. 
And  for  his  apostasy,  this  was  all  the  matter.  When  he  was  a 
young  man,  before  he  came  out  of  England,  he  at  the  persua- 
sion of  some  of  his  godly  friends  went  once  or  twice  to  hear 
a  godly  minister  preach ;  and  this  was  the  great  matter  of 
apostasy,  for  which  those  violent  men  thought  him  worthy  to  be 
deposed  from  his  place,  and  for  which  they  thus  charge  him. 
And  truly  herein  they  may  worthily  bear  the  name  of  rigid,  etc. 

Mr.  John  Smith  was  an  eminent  man  m  his  time,  and 
a  good  preacher,  and  of  other  good  parts ,  but  his  incon 
stancy,  and  unstable  judgment,  and  being  so  suddenly  carried 
away  with  things,  did  soon  overthrow  him.  Yet  we  have  some 
of  us  heard  him  use  this  speech;  "Truly,"  said  he,  ■  we  being 
now  come  into  a  place  of  liberty,  are  in  great  danger^  if  we 
look  not  well  to  our  ways ,  for  we  are  like  men  set  upon  the 
ice,  and  therefore  may  easily  slide  and  fall.  '  But  in  this  ex- 
ample It  appears  it  is  an  easier  matter  to  give  good  counsel 
than  to  follow  it,  to  foresee  danger  than  to  prevent  it  ;  which 
made  the  prophet  to  say,  '  O  Lord,  the  way  of  man  is  not  in 
himself,  neither  is  it  in  man  to  walk  and  to  direct  his  steps." 
He  was  some  timiC  pastor  to  a  company  of  honest  and  godly 
men  which  came  with  him  out  of  England,  and  pitched  at 
Amsterdam.  He  first  fell  into  some  errors  about  the  Script- 
ures, and  so  into  some  opposition  with  Mr.  Johnson,  who  had 
been  his  tutor,  and  the  church  there.  But  he  was  convinced 
of  them  by  the  pains  and  faithfulness  of  Mr,  Johnson  and  Mr. 
Ainsworth,  and  revoked  them ;  but  afterwards  was  drawn  away 
by  some  of  the  Dutch  Anabaptists,  who  finding  him  to  be  a 
good  scholar  and  unsettled,  they  easily  misled  the  most  of  his 
people,  and  other  of  them  scattered  away.  He  lived  not  many 
years  after,  but  died  there  of  a  consumption,  to  which  he  was 
inclined  before  he  came  out  of  England.  His  and  his  people's 
condition  may  be  an  object  of  pity  for  after  times. 

Mr.  John  Robinson  was  pastor  of  that  famous  church  of 
Leyden,  in  Holland ;    a  man  not  easily  to  be  paralleled  for  all 


20 

things,  whose  singular  virtues  we  shall  not  take  upon  us  here 
to  describe.  Neither  need  we,  for  they  so  well  are  known  both 
by  friends  and  enemies.  As  he  was  a  man  learned  and  of 
solid  judgment,  and  of  a  quick  and  sharp  wit,  so  was  he  also  of 
a  tender  conscience,  and  very  sincere  in  all  his  ways,  a  hater 
of  hypocrisy  and  dissimulation,  and  would  be  very  plain  with 
his  best  friends.  He  was  very  courteous,  affable,  and  sociable 
in  his  conversation,  and  towards  his  own  people  especially. 
He  was  an  acute  and  expert  disputant,  very  quick  and  ready, 
and  had  much  bickering  with  the  Arminians,  who  stood  more 
in  fear  of  him  than  any  of  the  university.  He  was  never  satis- 
fied in  himself  until  he  had  searched  any  cause  or  argument  he 
had  to  deal  in  thoroughly  and  to  the  bottom  ;  and  we  have 
heard  him  sometimes  say  to  his  familiars  that  many  times,  both 
in  writing  and  disputation,  he  knew  he  had  sufficiently  answered 
others,  but  many  times  not  himself;  and  was  ever  desirous  of 
any  light,  and  the  more  able,  learned,  and  holy  the  persons 
were,  the  more  he  desired  to  confer  and  reason  with  them. 
He  was  very  profitable  in  his  ministry  and  comfortable  to  his 
people.  He  was  much  beloved  of  them,  and  as  loving  was  he 
unto  them,  and  entirely  sought  their  good  for  soul  and  body. 
In  a  word,  he  was  much  esteemed  and  reverenced  of  all  that 
knew  him,  and  his  abilities  [were  acknowledged]  both  of  friends 
and  strangers.  But  we  resolved  to  be  brief  in  this  matter,  leav- 
ing you  to  better  and  more  large  information  herein  from 
others. 

Mr.  Richard  Clifton  was  a  grave  and  fatherly  old  man 
when  he  came  first  into  Holland,  having  a  great  white  beard ; 
and  pity  it  was  that  such  a  reverend  old  man  should  be  forced 
to  leave  his  country,  and  at  those  years  to  go  into  exile.  But 
it  was  his  lot;  and  he  bore  it  patiently.  Much  good  had  he 
done  in  the  country  where  he  lived,  and  converted  many  to 
God  by  his  faithful  and  painful  ministry,  both  in  preaching  and 
catechizing.  Sound  and  orthodox  he  always  was,  and  so  con- 
tinued to  his  end.  He  belonged  to  the  church  at  Leyden ; 
but  being  settled  at  Amsterdam,  and  thus  aged,  he  was  loath  to 
remove  any  more ;  and  so  when  they  removed,  he  was  dis- 
missed to  them  there,  and  there  remained  until  he  died.  Thus 
have  we  briefly  satisfied  your  desire. 

Young  men. —  We  are  very  thankful  to  you  for  your  pains. 
We  perceive  God  raiseth  up  excellent  instruments  in  all  ages  to 
carry  on  his  own  work ;  and  the  best  of  men  have  their  failings 
sometimes,  as  we  see  in  these  our  times,  and  that  there  is  no 
new  thing  under  the  sun.     But  before  we  end  this  matter,  we 


21 

desire  you  would  say  something  of  those  two  churches  that 
were  so  long  in  exile,  of  whose  guides  we  have  already  heard. 

Ancient  men. —  Truly  there  were  in  them  many  worthy  men  j 
and  if  you  had  seen  them  in  their  beauty  and  order,  as  we  have 
done,  you  would  have  been  much  affected  therewith,  we  dare 
say.  At  Amsterdam,  before  their  division  and  breach,  they 
were  about  three  hundred  communicants,  and  they  had  for  their 
pastor  and  teacher  those  two  eminent  men  before  named,  and 
in  our  time  four  grave  men  for  ruling  elders,  and  three  able  and 
godly  men  for  deacons,  one  ancient  widow  for  a  deaconess, 
who  did  them  service  many  years,  though  she  was  sixty  years 
of  age  when  she  was  chosen.  She  honored  her  place  and  was 
an  ornament  to  the  congregation.  She  usually  sat  in  a  conven- 
ient place  in  the  congregation,  with  a  little  birchen  rod  in  her 
hand,  and  kept  little  children  in  great  awe  from  disturbing  the 
congregation.  She  did  frequently  visit  the  sick  and  'weak,  es- 
pecially women,  and,  as  there  was  need,  called  out  maids  and 
young  women  to  watch  and  do  them  other  helps  as  their  neces- 
sity did  require ;  and  if  they  were  poor,  she  would  gather  relief 
for  them  of  those  that  were  able,  or  acquaint  the  deacons  ;  and 
she  was  obeyed  as  a  mother  in  Israel  and  an  officer  of  Christ. 

And  for  the  church  of  Leyden,  they  were  sometimes  not 
much  fewer  in  number,  nor  at  all  inferior  in  able  men,  though 
they  had  not  so  many  officers  as  the  other ;  for  they  had  but 
one  ruling  elder  with  their  pastor,  a  man  well  approved  and  of 
great  integrity ;  also  they  had  three  able  men  for  deacons. 
And  that  which  was  a  crown  unto  them,  they  lived  together  in 
love  and  peace  all  their  days,  without  any  considerable  differ- 
ences or  any  disturbance  that  grew  thereby,  but  such  as  was 
easily  healed  in  love ;  and  so  they  continued  imtil  with  mutual 
consent  they  removed  into  New  England.  And  what  their  con- 
dition hath  been  since,  some  of  you  that  are  of  their  children 
do  see  and  can  tell.  Many  worthy  and  able  men  there  were  in 
both  places,  who  lived  and  died  in  obscurity  in  respect  of  the 
world,  as  private  Christians,  yet  were  they  precious  in  the  eyes 
of  the  Lord,  and  also  in  the  eyes  of  such  as  knew  them,  whose 
virtues  we  with  such  of  you  as  are  their  children  do  follow  and 
imitate. 

Young  men.—  If  we  may  not  be  tedious,  we  would  request  to 
know  one  thing  more.  It  is  commonly  said  that  those  of  the 
Separation  hold  none  to  be  true  churches  but  their  own,  and 
condemn  all  the  churches  in  the  world  besides ;  which  lieth  as 
a  foul  blot  upon  them,  yea  even  on  some  here  in  New  England, 
except  they  can  remove  it. 


22 

Ancient  men. —  It  is  a  manifest  slander  laid  upon  them  ;  for 
they  hold  all  the  Reformed  Churches  to  be  true  churches,  and 
even  the  most  rigid  of  them  have  ever  done  so,  as  appears  by 
their  Apologies  and  other  writings ;  and  we  ourselves  some  of 
us  know  of  much  intercommunion  that  divers  have  held  with 
them  reciprocally,  not  only  with  the  Dutch  and  French,  but 
even  with  the  Scotch,  who  are  not  of  the  best  mould,  yea  and 
with  the  Lutherans  also ;  and  we  believe  they  have  gone  as  far 
herein,  both  in  judgment  and  practice,  as  any  of  the  churches 
in  New  England  do  or  can  do,  to  deal  faithfully  and  bear  wit- 
ness against  their  corruptions. 

Having  thus  far  satisfied  all  your  demands,  we  shall  here 
break  off  this  conference  for  this  time,  desiring  the  Lord  to 
make  you  to  grow  up  in  grace  and  wisdom  and  the  true  fear  of 
God,  that  in  all  faithfulness  and  humility  you  may  serve  him  in 
your  generations. 

Young  men. —  Gentlemen,  we  humbly  thank  you  for  your 
pains  with  us  and  respect  unto  us,  and  do  further  crave  that 
upon  any  fit  occasions  we  may  have  access  unto  you  for  any 
further  information,  and  herewith  do  humbly  take  our  leave. 


The  Pilgrims'  Arrival  at  Cape  Cod. 
From  Bradford' s  History. 

Being  thus  arived  in  a  good  harbor  and  brought  safe  to  land, 
they  fell  upon  their  knees  &  blessed  y^  God  of  heaven,  who 
had  brought  them  over  y^  vast  &  furious  ocean,  and  delivered 
them  from  all  y^  periles  &  miseries  thereof,  againe  to  set  their 
feete  on  y^  firme  and  stable  earth,  their  proper  elemente.  And 
no  marvell  if  they  were  thus  joyefull,  seeing  wise  Seneca  was  so 
affected  with  sailing  a  few  miles  on  y^  coast  of  his  owne  Italy ; 
as  he  affirmed,  that  he  had  rather  remaine  twentie  years  on  his 
way  by  land,  then  pass  by  sea  to  any  place  in  a  short  time  ;  so 
tedious  &  dreadful!  was  y^  same  unto  him. 

But  hear  I  cannot  but  stay  and  make  a  pause,  and  stand  half 
amased  at  this  poore  peoples  presente  condition ;  and  so  I 
thinke  will  the  reader  too,  when  he  well  considers  y^  same. 
Being  thus  passed  y^  vast  ocean,  and  a  sea  of  troubles  before 
in  their  preparation  (as  may  be  remembered  by  y*  which  wente 
before),  they  had  now  no  freinds  to  wellcome  them,  nor  inns 
to  entertaine  or  refre^^h  their  weatherbeaten  bodys,  no  houses 
or  much  less  townes  to  repaire  too,  to  seeke  for  succoure.     It  is 


23 

recorded  in  scripture  as  a  mercie  to  y^  apostle  &  his  ship- 
wraked  company,  yt  the  barbarians  shewed  them  no  smale 
kindnes  in  refreshing  them,  but  these  savage  barbarians,  when 
they  mette  with  them  (as  after  will  appeare)  were  readier 
to  fill  their  sids  full  of  arrows  then  otherwise.  And  for  ye  sea- 
son it  was  winter,  and  they  that  know  y^  winters  of  y*  cuntrie 
know  them  to  be  sharp  &  violent,  &  subjecte  to  cruell  &  feirce 
stormes,  deangerous  to  travill  to  known  places,  much  more  to 
serch  an  unknown  coast.  Besids,  what  could  they  see  but  a 
hidious  &  desolate  wildernes,  full  of  wild  beasts  &  willd  men  ? 
and  what  multituds  ther  might  be  of  them  they  knew  not. 
Nether  could  they,  as  it  were,  goe  up  to  y^  tope  of  Pisgah,  to 
vew  from  this  willdernes  a  more  goodly  cuntrie  to  feed  their 
hops;  for  which  way  soever  they  turned  their  eys  (save  upward 
to  ye  heavens)  they  could  have  litle  solace  or  content  in  re- 
specte  of  any  outward  objects.  For  sumer  being  done,  all 
things  stand  upon  them  with  a  wetherbeaten  face ;  and  y^ 
whole  countrie,  full  of  woods  &  thickets,  represented  a  wild  & 
savage  heiw.  If  they  looked  behind  them,  ther  was  ye  mighty 
ocean  which  they  had  passed,  and  was  now  as  a  maine  barr  & 
goulfe  to  seperate  them  from  all  ye  civill  parts  of  ye  world.  If 
it  be  said  they  had  a  ship  to  sucour  them,  it  is  trew ;  but  what 
heard  they  daly  from  ye  m^.  &  company  ?  but  y*  with  speede 
they  should  looke  out  a  place  with  their  shallop,  wher  they 
would  be  at  some  near  distance  ;  for  ye  season  was  shuch  as 
he  would  not  stirr  from  thence  till  a  safe  harbor  was  dis- 
covered by  them  wher  they  would  be,  and  he  might  goe  with- 
out danger ;  and  that  victells  consumed  apace,  but  he  must 
&  would  keepe  sufficient  for  them  selves  &  their  returne. 
Yea,  it  was  muttered  by  some,  that  if  they  gott  not  a  place  in 
time,  they  would  turne  them  &  their  goods  ashore  &  leave 
them.  Let  it  also  be  considred  what  weake  hopes  of  supply  & 
succoure  they  left  behinde  them,  yt  might  bear  up  their  minds 
in  this  sade  condition  and  trialls  they  were  under;  and  they 
could  not  but  be  very  smale.  It  is  true,  indeed,  ye  affections 
&  love  of  their  brethren  at  Leyden  was  cordiall  &  entire  towards 
them,  but  they  had  litle  power  to  help  them,  or  them  selves; 
and  how  ye  case  stode  betweene  them  &  ye  marchants  at  their 
coming  away,  hath  allready  been  declared.  What  could  now 
sustaine  them  but  ye  spirite  of  God  &  his  grace  ?  May  not  & 
ought  not  the  children  of  these  fathers  rightly  say :  Our faithers 
were  Englishmen  which  came  over  this  great  ocean,  and  were  ready 
to  perish  in  this  willdernes  ;  but  they  cried  tinto  y^  Lord,  and  he 
heard  their  voyce,  and  looked  on  their  adversitie,   &'c.     Let  them 


24 

therefore  praise  y^  Lord^  because  he  is  good,  &>  his  mercies  endure 
for  ever.  Yea,  let  them  which  have  been  redeemed  of  y^  Lord, 
shew  how  he  hath  delivered  them  from  y^  hand  of  y^  oppressour. 
When  they  wandered  in  y^  deserte  willdernes  out  of  y^  way^  and 
foicnd  no  citie  to  dwell  in,  both  hungrie,  (S>»  thirstie,  their  sowle  was 
overwhelmed  in  them.  Let  them  confess  before  y^  Lord  his  loving 
kindnes,  and  his  wonderfull  works  before  y^  sons  of  men. 


William  Bradford,  the  great  governor  of  the  Plymouth  colony,  was  born  at  Austerfield. 
a  little  village  in  Yorkshire,  in  1688,  the  same  j'ear  (the  year  of  the  Spanish  Armada)  that 
John  Winthrop,  the  great  governor  of  the  Massachusetts  colony,  was  born  at  Groton,  in 
Suffolk.  While  yet  a  youth,  he  became  a  member  of  Brewster's  little  congregation  at 
Scrooby,  near  by;  and  in  1608  he  escaped  with  the  others  to  Holland,  and  became  a  leading 
member  of  the  church  at  Levden,  t:\king  an  active  part  in  the  removal  to  New  England  in 
1620.  Upon  Carver's  death,  in  1621,  he  was  elected  to  succeed  him  as  governor;  and  he 
continued  to  hold  this  office,  with  two  slight  breaks,  to  the  time  of  his  death,  in  1657. 

No  other  person  understood  so  well  the  history  of  the  Plymouth  colony.  It  is  therefore 
singularly  fortunate  that  he  became  the  colony's  historian, —  as,  similarly,  Gov.  Winthrop 
became  the  historian  of  the  Massachusetts  colony.  His  "  History  of  the  Plymouth  Planta- 
tion "  may  properly  be  called  our  New  England  Old  Testament, —  ihe  Genesis,  Exodus, 
Joshua,  and  Judges  of  the  Plymouth  settlement.  The  remarkable  story  of  the  loss  of  the 
MS.  from  the  Old  South  Meeting-house,  where  it  was  preserved  in  the  Prince  Library,  at 
the  time  of  the  British  Evacuation  of  Boston,  and  its  discovery  in  the  Bishop  of  London's 
library  at  Fulham  in  1855,  has  been  told  by  Charles  Deane  in  his  introduction  to  the  volume, 
published  by  the  Massachusetts  Historical  Society,  and  in  the  Proceedings  of  the  Society, 
1S55  and  1882;  also,  more  fully,  by  Justin  Winsor,  in  the  Proceedings  for  1882.  It  is  an 
interesting  fact  that  the  third  volume  of  Winthrop's  History,  long  lost,  was  found,  in  1816, 
in  the  tower  of  the  Old  South  Meeting-house,  where,  like  Bradford's  History,  it  had  been 
kept  in  Prince's  New  England  Library. 

Bradford's  Letter  Book,  containing  copies  of  important  letters  addressed  to  him,  was 
lost,  like  his  History.  Fragments  were  rescued  in  a  grocer's  shop  in  Halifax,  and  printed 
in  the  Mass.  Hist.  Soc.  Collections,  iii.,  and  in  Young's  Chronicles.  In  vol.  iii.  of  the 
Collections  may  be  found  his  "  Account  of  New  England  in  Verse."  His  "  Word  to  Bos- 
ton "  and  "Word  to  New  England"  appear  in  vol.  xxvii.  of  the  same:  and  two  others  of 
his  poems  in  the  Proceedings  for  1870, —  *' Some  Observations  of  God's  Merciful  Dealings 
with  us  in  this  Wilderness,"  and  "A  Word  to  New  Plymouth."  A  little  piece  called  "  Epi- 
taph um  Meum"was  printed  by  Morton  in  his  Memorial.  Bradford's  letters  to  Winthrop 
are  printed  in  the  Mass.  Hist.  Soc.  Collections,  4th  series,  vol.  vi. 

In  conjunction  with  Edward  Winslow,  Bradford  wrote  "A  Diary  of  Occurrences,"  cov- 
ering the  first  year  of  the  colony,  which  may  be  found  in  the  Mass.  Hist.  Soc.  Collections, 
viii.  and  xix. 

Bradford's  First  Dialogue,  given  in  the  present  leaflet,  was  first  printed  in  1648.  It  was 
copied  by  Morton  in  the  records  of  the  Plymouth  Church,  and  thence  reprinted  by  Young 
in  his  "Chronicles  of  the  Pilgrim  Fathers,"  in  1841.  It  is  of  the  highest  historical  value, 
giving  fuller  accounts  than  we  have  elsewhere  of  many  of  the  first  English  Independents. 
Bradford's  Second  Dialogue  is  lost.  Deane  says,  "  I  have  never  seen  it,  nor  any  reference 
to  it."  The  Third  Dialogue,  "Concerning  the  Church  and  the  Government  thereof,"  was 
published  in  the  Proceedings  of  the  Mass.  Hist.  Soc  for  1870,  with  an  important  historical 
introduction  by  Charles  Deane. 

Mather  included  a  biography  of  Bradford  in  his  Magnalia.  This  was  reprinted  in  the 
first  series  of  Old  South  Leaflets. 


PUBLISHED    BY    THE    DIRECTORS    OF    THE    OLD    SOUTH    WORK,    OLD    SOUTH 

MEETING-HOUSE,    BOSTON. 


<©Iti  ^out{)  %taflttg. 


No. 


50. 


Winthrop's 
Conclusions 


FOR    THE    PLANTATION    IN    NEW 
ENGLAND. 


The  grounds  of  settling  a  plantation  i?i  new  England. 

First,  The  ppagacon  of  the  gospell  to  the  Indians.  Wherein 
first  the  importance  of  the  worke  tendinge  to  the  inlargment  of 
the  Kingdome  of  Jesus  Christ  &  winning  them  out  of  the 
snare  of  the  Divell  &  converting  others  of  them  by  their  meanes. 

Secondly,  The  possibility  of  attaineing  it,  God  haveinge  by  his 
word  manifested  his  will  for  the  spreadinge  of  the  Gospell  to  all 
Nations,  and  intercourse  of  Trade  havinge  openned  a  passage, 
&  made  a  waie  for  comerce  w*?"  the  East  &  West  Indies  and 
divers  platacons  of  the  Dutch  &  English  being  settled  in  sev^'all 
parts  of  those  countryes  &  the  ill  condicons  of  the  tymes  being 
likely  to  furnish  those  plantacons  w*'^  better  members  then  usu- 
ally have  undertaken  that  worke  in  former  tymes. 

The  Consideracon  of  our  owne  Condi- 
con  like  unto  theires  in  tymes  past. 

The  advantages  and  benefitts  wee  may 
receive  from  those  pa""'^  challenginge 
the  rendringe  of  spirituall  things  for 
their  Temporal!. 

The  Dilligence  of  the  Papists  in  ppa- 
gatinge  their  Religion  and  supsticon 
&  enlarginge  the  kingdome  of  Anti- 
christ thereby  w^^  all  the  manifest 
hazards  of  their  psons  &  depe  en- 
gagem*f  of  their  estates. 

2.  Ground.  Charitie  to  our  neighbo"  impoverished  by  decay 
of  Trade  and  lefte  destitute  of  hope  of  imployment  in  tyme  to 


Thirdly  for  motives 


come,  who  may  comforttably  be  sustayned  by  their  labo^?  & 
endeavo''.^  in  this  Country  yeilding  them  sufficient  matter  of  im- 
ployment  &  meanes  of  recompence,  as,  corne  both  of  oT  kindes 
w*:^  prosper  well  in  those  pa'"?'  &  of  the  country  w*^.^  is  farr  better 
for  use  then  o"".'  &  maye  be  sett  yearly  after  our  graines  are 
sowne,  &  consequently  w*^out  hinderance  of  our  ordinary  course 
of  husbandrie. 

Fishes,    Sturgion,   Salmon,    MuUett,    Bas, 

Codd,  Lobsters,  Eeles. 

Fowle,  as,  Turkic,  Feasant,  Partridg,  Goose, 
fliy  .   -,   .  .    .     JDuck,  Teal,   and  Deare,  w^.^  if    the  were 

„  r         <  p^served  from  the  spoyle  of  Wolves  (w*'.'^  is 

not  impossible  would  soone  abound  there 

more,  then  sheep  in  this   Kingdome,  the 

Does  bringinge  after  the  first  2  fawnes  att 

a  birth  att  least. 

3*^^^  The  possibility  of  Breedinge  of  Kine  w*".^  growe  to  a  farr 
greater  bulke  of  body  in  that  country  then  w'^  us,  in  this  King- 
dome,  secondly,  of  Goates  w''.'^  may  easily  be  Transported  w^^ 
small  charge.  3*^!^  Swine  w*^.^  breed  in  great  numb"".^  by  reason 
of  the  abundan^<2;2ce  of  Acornes  growndnutts,  4-^  Wall-nutts,  & 
clummes,  4}?  Trade  of  Furres  which  may  be  Brought  out  of  that 
Continent  to  the  valew  of  30000^^  p  ann  at  least  besides  moose 
&  Deare  skinnes,  feathers  &c.,  5'^  fishing  a  knowen  &  staple 
Commoditie.  6^^  possibilitie  of  makeinge  Salt,  the  Country 
lieinge  in  equall  height  w^^  Biskie.     y^?  plantinge  of  vines. 

8^7  makeinge  pitch,  Tarr,  Pottashes  &  sope  ashes. 

g^7  Cuttinge  of  masts. 

lo^?"  makeing  of  Iron,  what  other  mines  there  are  we  know 
nott. 

1 1^?  some  woods  fitt  for  dying,  others  for  Phisicall  uses,  as, 
SarzaDcrilla  Sassafras  &c. 

12.  Silke  grasse. 

13.  Hemp  &  flax  for  w''.^  the  soyle  is  very  fitt. 

3  Ground.  The  Danger  &  extremities  of  the  p'^sent  estate  of 
the  Churches  both  in  forraigne  p""?^  &c. 

The  meanes  of  effecting  this  wo?'ke. 

First  The  Raysinge  of  a  sufficient  stocke  to  the  valew  of 
loooo^  by  the  adventurers  of  such  voluntary  psons  as  God 
shalbe  pleased  for  the  former  weightie  ends  to  move  to  the 
forwardinge  of  y^  worke  wherew*^  might  be  transported  200 
Carpenters,  Masons,  Smithes,  Coopers,  Turners,  Brickbunrners, 


Potters,  Husbandmen,  Fowlers, /by  whose  labours  in  3  yeares 
Vingnerons,  Saltmakers  fisher- \ space  maybe  pvided  at  least 
men  and  other  laborers,  100  <  for  a  thousand  psons  dwellings 
Kine  &  Bulls,  25  Horse  &i&  meane  of  lively  hood  be- 
Mares.  \sides. 

2  or  3000*^  stocke  will  remaine  of  loooo^^  for  Trade. 

Secondly  The  Free  adventures  of  pticular  psons  of  whom 
many  wilbe  readie  to  ingage  their  psons  and  estates  for  further- 
inge  this  designe. 

Some  generall  conclusions  showing  that  a  jpson  imployed  heer  in 
publicke  service  may  yett  be  transplanted  for  the  ppagatzon  of  the 
Gospell  in  N.  E. 

1.  It  is  granted  by  all  that  this  intended  plantacon  is  a  worke 
both  lawfull  &  honorable. 

2.  It  must  be  advanced  by  psons  guifted  for  such  a  worke. 

3.  Every  one  that  is  fitt  hath  nott  a  minde  to  the  worke  & 
noe  bond  of  conscience  cann  ordinarilie  be  imposed  uppon  him 
that  hath  noe  desire  to  itt. 

4.  The  service  of  raysinge  or  upholdinge  a  pticular  church  is 
to  be  p^ferred  before  the  Comfort  of  some  pte  of  a  Church 
alreadie  established. 

5.  The  memb"  of  that  Church  male  in  tyme  be  of  better  use 
to  their  mother  church  heer,  then  those  whome  she  shall  kepe 
still  in  her  owne  bosome,  When  the  woman  in  the  Rev.  12 
was  psecuted  by  the  Dragon,  &  forced  to  flie  into  the  wildernes 
her  Sonne  was  taken  upp  into  heaven  (when  it  might  seeme 
shee  had  greatest  need  of  him)  to  be  reserved  there  for  future 
service. 

6.  The  exercise  of  an  office  of  lesse  consequence  for  God  & 
for  his  Church  (whereinto  any  is  put  by  ordinary  calling)  male 
be  lefte  uppon  the  like  call  to  some  other  office  of  greater  con- 
sequence especially  where  there  followes  noe  violacon  of  the 
rule  of  righteousnes  &  that  the  difference  is  such  betweene  the 
execution  of  an  ordinary  place  of  Magistry  in  this  land  &  the 
supportacon  of  this  plantation  is  easy  to  be  determined. 

7.  It  may  be  instanced  in  divers  psons  both  magistrates  and 
Mininist^^  who  (sometimes  for  private  respects)  have  forsaken 
the  place  where  the  have  been  setled,  to  good  use,  &  their 
changes  aproved  &  blessed. 

8.  The  takeing  off  a  Scandall  from  a  whole  Church  &  Relig- 
ion it  self  is  to  be  p'ferred  before  the  good  of  any  pticular 
Church,  it  is  a  reproach  to  our  Religion  that  when  we  professe 
an  Intention  of  Convertinge  those  Indians  we  send  nott  psons 


meett  for  such  a  worke  but  such  only  as  wee  cann  well  spare  & 
most  Comonly  those  that  are  a  burden  to  our  selves,  while  the 
Papists  out  of  a  false  zeale  to  draw  them  to  their  supsticon 
sticke  not  to  imploy  their  most  able  and  usefull  instruments. 

9.  Our  approved  practise  in  matters  of  like  Nature  must  be  a 
rule  in  this,  in  all  Forraigne  expedicons  wee  imploy  of  our  best 
statesmen  &  wee  grudge  not  to  want  their  service  heer  (though 
never  soe  usefull)  while  the  are  in  such  imploym*  for  the  good 
of  the  Churches. 

Perticular  C outsider  aeons  in  the  case  of  y.  W, 

First  It  is  com  to  that  issue  as  the  successe  of  the  plantation 
depends  uppon  his  goeing  for  the  chiefe  supporters  (uppon 
whom  the  rest  depends)  will  not  stirr  w*^out  him. 

2}^.  His  meanes  heer  are  soe  shortened  (now  3.  of  his  sonnes 
being  com  to  age  have  drawen  awaie  the  one  half  of  his  estate) 
as  he  shall  not  be  able  to  continue  in  that  place  &  imployment 
where  he  now  is,  his  ordinary  charg  being  still  as  great  almost 
as  when  his  meanes  was  double. 

3^Jy  He  acknowledgeth  a  satisfactory  callinge  outward  from 
some  of  the  cheife  of  the  plantacon  inward  by  the  inclination 
of  his  owne  hart  to  the  worke  &  both  approved  by  godly  & 
juditious  divines  (whereof  some  have  the  most  interest  in  him) 
&  there  is  in  this  the  like  immediate  call  from  the  Kinge,  as 
was  to  his  former  imployment. 

4^f  If  he  lett  pass  this  opportunitie,  That  talent  w*^.^  God  hath 
bestowed  uppon  him  for  publicke  service  is  like  to  be  buried. 

5.  His  wife  &  such  of  his  Children  as  are  at  yeares  and  dis- 
cretion are  voluntarily  disposed  to  the  same  course. 

Reasons  to  be  considered  for  fustifieinge  the  undertakers  of  the 
intended  plantacon  in  New  England  &>  for  encouraging  such 
whose  harts  God  shall  move  to  yoyne  w^^  them  in  it. 

Firsts  It  wilbe  a  service  to  the  Church  of  great  consequence 
to  carry  the  Gospell  into  those  p*.^  of  the  world,  to  help  on  the 
cominge  in  of  fulnesse  of  the  Gentiles  and  to  rayse  a  Bulworke 
against  the  kingdome  of  Antichrist,  w*'.^  the  Jesuites  labour  to 
rear  up  in  those  parts. 

2.  All  other  Churches  of  Europe  are  brought  to  desolacon 
and  o^  sinnes  for  w*^.^  the  lord  beginns  already  to  frowne  uppo 
us,  doe  threaten  us  fearfully,  &  who  knowes  but  that  god  hath 
provided  this  place  to  be  a  refuge  for  many  whom  he  meanes 
to  save  out  of  the  generall  callamitie,  and  seeinge  the  Church 


5 

hath  no  place  lefte  to  flie  into  but  the  wildernesse  what  better 
worke  cann  there  be,  then  to  goe  before  &  provide  Tabernacles, 
and  food  for  her,  against  she  cometh  thither. 

3.  This  land  growes  weary  of  her  Inhabitants,  soe  as  man 
whoe  is  y®  most  pretious  of  all  creatures  is  heer  more  vile  & 
base  then  the  Earth  we  Tread  uppon,  &  of  lesse  price  among 
us,  then  a  horse  or  a  sheep,  masters  are  forced  by  authoritie  to 
entertaine  servants,  parents  to  maintaine  their  owne  children, 
All  Townes  complaine  of  the  burthen  of  their  poore  though  we 
have  taken  up  many  unnecessary,  yea  unlawfull  trades  to  main- 
teaine  them.  And  we  use  the  authoritie  of  the  law  to  hinder 
the  increase  of  people  as  urging  the  execucon  of  the  State 
against  Cottages  &  Inmates  &  thus  it  is  come  to  passe  that 
children,  servants  &  neighbo"  (especially  if  the  be  poore)  are 
counted  the  greatest  burthen  w*^.^  if  things  were  right  it  would 
be  the  cheifest  earthly  blessinge. 

4.  The  whole  earth  is  the  lords  Garden  &  he  hath  given  it  to 
the  sonnes  of  men,  w*.^  a  generall  Condicon,  Gen :  1.  28.  In- 
crease &  multiply,  replenish  the  earth  &  subdue  it,  w*^.'^  was 
againe  renewed  to  Noah,  the  end  is  Double  morall  &  naturall 
that  man  might  injoy  the  fruites  of  the  earth  &  god  might  have 
his  due  glory  from  the  creature,  why  then  should  we  stand  hear 
striveing  for  places  of  habitation,  (many  men  spending  as  much 
labo^  &  cost  to  recover  or  keep  somtymes  a  Acre  or  two  of  land 
as  would  pcure  them  many  hundred  as  good  or  better  ih  an 
other  country)  and  in  ye  mean  tyme  suffer  a  whole  Continent, 
as  fruitfull  &  convenient  for  the  use  of  man  to  lie  waste  w**^out 
any  improvement. 

5.  We  are  growne  to  that  height  of  intemperance  in  all 
excesse  of  riot,  as  noe  mans  estate  almost  will  suffice  to  keep 
saile  w*^  his  equalls,  &  he  who  failes  herein  must  live  in  scorne 
&  contempt,  hence  it  comes  that  all  arts  &  trades  are  carried 
in  that  deceiptfuU  &  unrighteous  course,  as  it  is  almost  im- 
possible for  a  good  &  upright  man  to  maintaine  his  charge  and 
live  comfortably  in  any  of  them. 

6.  The  fountaines  of  learning  &  religion  are  soe  corrupted 
(as  beside  the  unsupportable  charge  of  the  educacon)  most 
Children  (even  the  best  witts  &  fairest  hopes)  are  pverted  cor- 
rupted and  utterly  overthrowen,  by  the  multitude  of  evill 
examples  and  the  licentious  gov^m!  of  those  Seminaries,  where 
men  straine  at  Gnats,  &  swallow  Camells,  use  all  severity  for 
maintenance  of  cappes,-  &  other  accomplements  but  suffer  all 
Ruffian-like  fashion  &  disorder  in  manners  to  passe  uncon- 
trowled. 


7-  What  cann  be  a  better  worke  &  more  hono^^^®  &  worthy 
a  Christian  then  to  help  rayse  &  support  a  pticular  church 
while  it  is  in  the  infancy,  &  to  Joyne  his  forces  w*^  such  a  com- 
pany of  faithful]  people  as  by  a  tymely  assistance  may  growe 
stronge  and  prosper,  and  for  want  of  it  may  be  put  to  great 
hazard,  if  not  wholely  ruined. 

8.  If  any  such  whoe  are  knowen  to  be  godly  &  live  in  wealth 
and  prosperity  here  shall  forsake  all  this  to  joyne  themselves  to 
this  church  &  to  runn  a  hazard  w*^  them  of  a  hard  &  meane 
condicon  it  wilbe  an  example  of  great  use  both  for  removeing 
the  scandall  of  wordly  &  sinister  respects  w*^^  is  cast  uppon  the 
adventurers  to  give  more  life  to  the  faith  of  Gods  people  in 
their  prayers  for  the  plantacon  &  to  encourage  other  to  joyne 
the  more  willingly  in  it. 

9.  It  appeares  to  be  a  worke  of  god,  for  the  good  of  his 
church  in  that  he  hath  disposed  the  harts  of  soe  many  of  his 
wise  &  faithfull  servants  (both  ministers  &  others)  not  only  to 
approve  of  the  enterprise  but  to  interest  themselves  in  it,  som 
in  their  psons  &  estates,  others  by  their  serious  advise  &  helpe 
otherwise  :  And  all  by  their  prayers  for  the  welfare  of  it,  Amos 
3.  The  lord  revealeth  his  Secretfs  to  his  servants  the  Prophets, 
it  is  likely  he  hath  some  great  worke  in  hand  w°^  he  hath 
revealed  to  his  prophets  among  us,  whom  he  hath  stirred  upp 
to  encourage  his  servants  to  this  plantation  for  he  doth  not  use 
to"^  seduce  his  people  by  his  owne  Prophets,  but  comitts  that 
office  to  the  ministery  of  false  prophets  and  lyinge  spirits. 

Divers  objections  w'^!^  have  been  made  against  this  plantacon  w*^ 
their  answeares  and  resolucons. 

Ob:  I  :  We  have  noe  warrant  to  enter  uppon  that  land  w*;^ 
hath  been  soe  long  possessed  by  others. 

Answ:  i  :  That  w*^"^  lies  comon  &  hath  never  been  replen- 
ished or  subdued  is  free  to  any  that  will  possesse  and  improve 
it,  for  god  hath  given  to  the  sonnes  of  men  a  double  right  to 
the  earth,  there  is  a  naturall  right  &  a  Civill  right  the  first 
right  was  naturall  when  men  held  the  earth  in  common  every 
man  soweing,  and  feeding  where  he  pleased  :  and  then  as  men 
and  the  cattle  increased  they  appropriated  certaine  pcells  of 
ground  by  enclosing,  and  peculier  manurance,  and  this  in  tyme 
gave  them  a  Civill  right,  such  was  the  right  w'^.'^  Ephron  the 
Hittite  had  in  the  feild  of  Mackpelah  wherein  Abraham  could 
not  bury  a  dead  corps  w%ut  leave,  though  for  the  out  parts  of 
the  Country  w*".^  lay  common  he  dwelt  uppon  them,  &  tooke  the 
fruit  of  them  att  his  pleasure,  the  like  did  Jacob  w*^^  fedd  his 


cattle  as  bold  in  Hamors  land  (for  he  is  sayd  to  be  the  lord  of 
the  Country)  and  other  places  where  he  came  as  y®  native  in- 
habitants themselves  &  that  in  those  times  &  places  men 
accoumpted  nothing  their  ovvne  but  that  w*:^  they  had  appro- 
priated by  their  owne  industry,  appeares  plainly  by  this  that 
Abimelecks  servants  in  their  ovvne  Countrey  when  they  oft  con- 
tended w*^  Isaacks  servants  about  wells  w°^  they  hadd  digged 
yett  never  strove  for  the  land  wherein  they  were,  Soe  likewise 
between  Jacob  &  Laban  he  would  not  take  a  kidd  of  Labans 
w^'^out  his  speciall  contract,  but  he  makes  noe  bargaine  w**'  him 
for  the  land  where  they  feed,  and  it  is  very  pbable  if  the 
countrey  had  not  been  as  free  for  Jacob  as  for  Laban,  that 
covetous  wrecth  would  have  made  his  advantage  of  it,  &  have 
upbrayded  Jacob  w*^  it,  as  he  did  w*^  his  cattle,  And  for  the 
Natives  in  New  England  they  inclose  noe  land  neither  have 
any  setled  habitation  nor  any  tame  cattle  to  improve  the  land 
by,  &  soe  have  noe  other  but  a  naturall  right  to  those  countries 
Soe  as  if  wee  leave  them  sufficient  for  their  use  wee  may  law- 
fully take  the  rest,  there  being  more  then  enough  for  them 
&  us. 

2<ily  We  shall  come  in  w*^  the  good  leave  of  the  Natives,  who 
finde  benefitt  already  by  our  neighbourhood  &  learne  of  us  to 
improve  pt  to  more  use,  then  before  they  could  doe  the  whole^ 
&  by  this  meanes  wee  come  in  by  valuable  purchase  :  for  they 
hav  of  us  that  w*^^  will  yeild  them  more  benefitt  then  all  the 
land  w^.'^  wee  have  from  them. 

3*^1^  God  hath  consumed  the  Natives  w*^  a  great  plague  in 
those  pts  soe  as  there  be  few  in-habitants  left. 

Objec.  2.  It  wilbe  a  great  wrong  to  our  church  to  take  awaie 
the  good  people  &  we  shall  lay  it  the  more  open  to  the  judg- 
ment feared. 

Answ :  i.  The  departinge  of  good  people  from  a  country 
doth  not  cause  a  judgment  but  forshew  it,  w^^  maie  occasion 
such  as  remaine  to  turne  from  their  evill  waies  that  they  may 
prevent  it,  or  to  take  some  other  course  that  they  may  es- 
cape it. 

2*^}^  Such  as  goe  away  are  of  noe  observation  in  respects  of 
those  whoe  remaine  &  they  are  likely  to  doe  more  good  there 
then  heer,  &  since  Christ's  tyme  the  church  is  to  be  considered 
as  universall  w*^out  distinction  of  countries,  soe  as  he  who 
doeth  good  in  any  once  place,  serves  the  church  in  all  places 
in  regard  of  the  unitie. 

3*^^^  It  is  the  revealed  will  of  god  that  the  gospell  should  be 
preached  to  all  nations,  and  though  we  know  not  whether  those 


Barbarians  will  receive  it  at  first  or  not,  yett  it  is  a  good  worke 
to  serve  gods  pvidence  in  offering  it  to  them,  &  this  is  fittest  to 
be  done  by  gods  owne  servants  for  god  shall  have  glory  by  it, 
though  they  refuse  it,  &  there  is  good  hope  that  the  posterity 
shall  by  this  meanes  be  gathered  into  Christ's  Sheepfold. 

Ob:  3.  We  have  feared  a  judgment  a  great  while,  but  yett 
wee  are  safe  it  were  better  therefor  to  stay  till  it  come,  &  either 
wee  may  file  then  or  if  we  be  overtaken  in  it,  we  may  well  con- 
tent our  selves  to  suffer  w*.^  such  a  church  as  ours  is. 

Answ :  It  is  likely  this  consideracon  made  the  churches  be- 
yond the  seas,  as,  the  Palatinate,  Rochell  &c.  to  sitt  still  at 
home  &  not  to  looke  out  for  shelter  while  they  might  have 
found  it,  but  the  woefull  spectacle  of  their  ruine,  may  teach  us 
more  wisedome,  to  avoyd  the  plage  when  it  is  foreseen,  &  not 
to  tarry  as  they  did  till  it  overtake  us,  if  they  were  now  at 
their  former  liberty,  we  might  be  sure  they  would  take  other 
courses  for  their  saftie  &  though  half  of  them  had  miscarried  in 
their  escape,  yett  hadd  it  not  be  soe  miserable  to  themselves 
nor  scandalous  to  religion  as  this  desperate  bakeslidinge,  & 
abjuringe  the  truth,  w*''^  many  of  the  Antient  pfesso"  among 
them,  &  the  whole  posteritie  w*^*^  remaine,  are  now  plaged  into. 

Ob:  4.  The  ill  successe  of  other  plantacons  may  tell  us 
what  wilbecome  of  this. 

Aftsw:  I.  None  of  the  former  susteyned  any  great  damage, 
but  Virginia  which  happened  through  their  owne  sloth  & 
securitie. 

2.  The  argum*  is  not  good,  for  thus  it  stands,  some  planta- 
cons have  miscarried  therefore  we  should  not  make  any,  it 
consists  in  pticulars  &  soe  concludes  nothinge,  we  might  as 
well  reason  thus,  many  houses  have  been  burnt  by  Kilnes, 
therefore  we  should  use  none,  many  shipps  have  been  cast 
away,  therefore  we  should  content  our  selves  w*^  our  home 
commodities,  &  not  adventure  mens  lives  at  Sea  for  those 
things  w*^^  wee  might  live  w*^out,  some  men  have  been  undone 
by  being  advanced  to  great  places  therefore  we  should  refuse 
our  p^'ferment,  &c. 

3.  The  fruite  of  any  publicke  designe  is  not  to  be  discerned 
by  the  imediate  successe,  it  may  appear  in  tyme  that  former 
plantacons  were  all  to  good  use. 

4.  There  were  great  and  fundamental!  errors  in  the  former 
are  like  to  be  avoyded  in  this,  for  first  their  maine  end  was 


w 


ch 


Carnall  &  not  Religious,  secondly  they  used  unfitt  instruments 
a  multitude  of  rude  &  misgov^ned  psons,  the  very  scumme  of 
the  people,  thirdly  they  did  not  establish  a  right  forme  of 
^goverment. 


Ob :  5.  It  is  attended  w*^  many  &  great  difficulties. 

Answ :  Soe  is  every  good  accon,  the  iieathen  could  say 
Ardua  virtutis  via.  x\nd  they  way  of  gods  kingdome  (The 
best  way  in  the  world)  is  accompanied  w*^  most  difficulties, 
Straight  is  the  gate  &  narrow  is  the  way  that  leadeth  to  life^ 
againe  the  difficulties  are  noe  other  then  such  as  many  dayly 
meet  w*^  and  such  as  god  hath  brought  others  well  through 
them. 

Ob :  6.  It  is  a  work  above  the  power  of  the  undertakers. 

Answ :  i.  The  welfare  of  any  body  consists  not  soe  much  in 
quantity  as  in  due  pportion  &  disposicon  of  p*^^  &  wee  see 
other  plantacons  have  subsisted  divers  years  &  prospered  from 
weake  meanes. 

2.  It  is  noe  wonder  for  great  things  may  arise  from  weake 
contemptable  beginnings,  it  hath  been  oft  seen  in  kingedomes 
&  states  &  may  as  well  hold  in  towns  &  plantacons.  The 
Waldenses  were  scattered  into  the  Alpes  &  mountaines  of 
Piedmont,  by  small  companies,  but  they  became  famous 
churches  whereof  some  remaine  to  this  day  &  it  is  certaine  that 
the  Turkes,  Venetians  &  other  states  were  very  weake  in  there 
beginninge. 

Ob :  7.  The  country  affords  noe  naturall  fortifications. 

Answ :  Noe  more  did  Holland  &  many  other  places  w°^  had 
greater  enemies  &  nearer  at  hand  &  God  doth  use  to  place  his 
people  in  the  middest  of  perills  that  they  may  trust  in  him  and 
not  in  outward  means  &  saftie,  soe  when  he  would  chuse  a 
place  to  plant  his  beloved  people  in  he  seateth  them  not  in  an 
Ileland  or  other  place  fortified  by  nature,  but  in  a  plaine 
country  besett  w*^  potent  and  bitter  enemies  round  about,  yett 
soe  long  as  they  served  him  &  trusted  in  his  help  they  were 
safe.  Soe  the  Apostle  Paule  saith  of  him  self  &  his  fellow 
labourers  that  they  were  compassed  w*^  dangers  one  every  side, 
&  were  daily  under  the  sentence  of  death  that  they  might  learne 
to  trust  in  the  liveinge  God. 

Ob :  8.  The  place  affordeth  noe  comfortable  meanes  to  the 
first  planto^^  &  our  breedinge  heer  at  home  have  made  us  unfitt 
for  the  hardshipp  we  are  like  to  indure. 

Answ :  i.  Noe  place  of  it  self  hath  afforded  sufiicient  to  the 
first  inhabitants,  such  things  as  we  stand  in  need  of  are  usually 
supplied  by  gods  blessing  uppon  the  wisedome  &  Industrie  of 
man  &  what  soever  wee  stand  in  need  of  is  treasured  in  the 
earth,  by  the  Creato^  &  is  to  be  fetched  thence  by  the  sweat  of 
o^  Browes. 

2.  Wee  must  learne  w*^  Paule  to  want,  as  well  as  to  abound, 


lO 

if  we  have  food  &  raiment  (w*^^  are  there  to  be  had)  we  ought 
to  be  contented,  the  difference  in  the  quallity  may  a  Ktle  dis- 
please us  but  it  cannot  hurt  us. 

3.  It  may  be  by  this  meanes  God  will  bringe  us  to  repent  of 
our  former  intemperance,  &  soe  cure  us  of  that  disease,  w^^ 
sends  many  amongst  us  untimelie  to  their  graves  and  others  to 
hell,  soe  he  carried  the  Israelits  into  the  wildernesse  &  made 
them  forgett  the  flesh  potts  of  Egypt,  w'^.^  was  sorie  pinch  to 
them  att  first  but  he  disposed  to  their  good  in  th'end.  Deutron. 
30.  3.  16. 

Ob :  9.  We  must  looke  to  be  p^'served  by  miracle  if  we  sub- 
sist &  soe  we  shall  tempt  God. 

Answ :  I.  They  who  walke  under  ordinarie  meanes  of  saftie 
&  supplie  doe  not  tempt  God,  but  such  will  be  our  condicon  in 
this  plantacon  therefore  &c. :  The  pposicon  cannot  be  denied, 
the  assumption  we  prove  thus,  that  place  is  as  much  secur'd 
from  ordinary  dangers,  as  many  hundred  places  in  the  civill 
p*f  of  the  world,  &  we  shall  have  asmuch  pvision  before  hand, 
as  such  townes  doe  use  to  pvide  ag?  a  seige  or  dearth,  &  suffi- 
cient meanes  for  raysinge  a  succeeding  store  against  that  is 
spent,  if  it  be  denied  that  wee  shalbe  as  secure  as  other  places, 
we  answeare  that  many  of  o"^  sea  Townes,  &  such  as  are  upon 
the  confines  of  enemies  countries  in  the  continent,  lye  more 
upon  &  neerest  to  danger  then  we  shall,  &  though  such  townes 
have  somtymes  been  burnt  or  spoyled,  yett  men  tempt  not  God 
to  dwell  still  in  them,  &  though  many  houses  in  the  country 
amongst  us  lye  open  to  theeves  &  robbers  (as  many  have  found 
by  sadd  experience)  yett  noe  man  will  say  that  those  w''^ 
dwell  in  such  places  must  be  p^'served  by  miracle. 

2.  Though  miracles  be  now  ceased,  yett  men  may  expect 
more  then  ordinary  blessinge  from  god  uppon  all  lawfull 
meanes,  where  the  worke  is  the  lords,  &  he  is  sought  in  it 
accordinge  to  his  will,  for  it  is  usuall  w*^  him  to  increase  or 
weaken  the  strength  of  the  meanes  as  he  is  pleased  or  dis- 
pleased w*^  the  instrum*.'  &  the  action,  else  we  must  conclude 
that  god  hath  left  the  gov^'m*  of  the  world,  &  comitted  all  power 
to  the  creature,  that  the  successe  of  all  things  should  wholly 
depend  upon  the  second  causes. 

3.  Wee  appeale  to  the  judment  of  the  Souldiers  if  500  men 
may  not  in  on  moneth  rayse  a  fortificacon,  w^^  w*^  sufficient 
munition  &  victuall  they  may  make  good  against  3000  for 
many  monethes,  &  yett  w%ut  miracle. 

4.  We  demand  an  instance  if  any  Prince  or  state  hath  raised 
3000  souldiers  &  victualled  for  6  or  8  monethes  w*^  shipping  & 


1 1 

munition  answeareable  to  invade  a  place  soe  farr  distant  as 
this  is  from  any  forraigne  enemy  &  where  they  must  runn  a 
hazard  of  repulse  &  noe  bootie  or  just  title  of  Sov^aignty  to 
allure  them. 

Ob:  ID.  If  it  succeed  ill,  it  will  raise  a  scandall  uppon  o' 
pfession. 

Answ :  It  is  noe  Rule  in  Philosophy  (much  lesse  in  Divinitie) 
to  judg  the  accon  by  the  successe,  the  enterprise  of  the  Israelits 
against  Benjamen  succeeded  ill  twice,  yett  the  accon  was  good 
&  pspered  in  the  end.  The  Earle  of  Begiers  in  France  &  the 
Earle  of  Tholouse  miscarried  in  the  defence  of  a  just  cause  of 
Religion  &  their  hereditary  right,  against  the  unjust  violence  of 
y^  Earle  Montford  &  the  Popes  Legate,  the  Duke  of  Saxony  & 
the  Lantgrave  had  ill  successe  of  the  Gospell  against  Charles 
the  5.  wherein  the  Duke  &  his  children  lost  their  whole  in- 
heritance to  this  day.  The  King  of  Denmarke  &  other  princes 
of  the  union  had  ill  successe  in  the  defence  of  the  Pallattinate 
&  the  libtie  of  Germany  yett  the  pfession  suffered  not  w*^  their 
psons,  except  it  were  w'^  the  adversaries  of  Religion,  &  soe  it 
was  noe  Scandall  given. 


"The  dissolution  of  the  Parliament  of  1629  marked  the  darkest  hour  of 
Protestantism,  whether  in  England  or  in  the  world  at  large.  But  it  was  in 
the  hour  of  despair  that  the  Puritans  won  their  noblest  triumph.  They 
'  turned,'  to  use  Canning's  words  in  a  far  truer  and  grander  sense  than  that 
which  he  gave  to  them, —  they 'turned  to  the  New  World  to  redress  the 
balance  of  the  Old.'  It  was  during  the  years  of  tyranny  which  followed  the 
close  of  the  third  Parliament  of  Charles  that  the  great  Puritan  emigration 
founded  the  States  of  New  England.  .  .  .  From  the  moment  of  the  establish- 
ment of  the  little  company  of  the  '  Pilgrim  Fathers '  at  Plymouth,  the  eyes 
of  the  English  Puritans  were  fixed  on  the  little  Puritan  settlement  in  North 
America.  The  sanction  of  the  crown  was  necessary  to  raise  it  into  a  colony. 
Eight  days  before  announcing  his  resolve  to  govern  henceforth  without  Par- 
liaments, Charles  granted  the  charter  which  established  the  colony  of  Massa- 
chusetts, and  by  the  Puritans  at  large  the  grant  was  at  once  regarded  as  a 
Providential  call.  Out  of  the  failure  of  their  great  constitutional  struggle, 
and  the  pressing  danger  to  godliness  in  England,  rose  the  dream  of  a  land 
in  the  West  where  religion  and  liberty  could  find  a  safe  and  lasting  home. 
The  third  Parliament  of  Charles  was  hardly  dissolved  when  '  conclusions ' 
for  the  establishment  of  a  great  colony  on  the  other  side  of  the  Atlantic 
were  circulating  among  gentry  and  traders,  and  descriptions  of  the  new 
country  of  Massachusetts  were  talked  over  in  every  Puritan  household."  — 
Greenes  History  of  the  E}iglish  People. 


Five  different  copies  of  the  famous  "  Conclusions "_  or  "Considerations"  for  plant- 
ing New  England,  the  authorship  of  which  is  ascribed  to  John  Winthrop,  are  now  known  to 
historical  scholars:  i.  The  copy  printed  by  Hutchinson  among  the  Higginson  Papers,  and 
reprinted  by  Young  in  his  "Chronicles  of  Massachusetts."     2.  The  copy  in  more  extended 


12 

form,  from  Governor  Winthrop's  manuscripts,  printed  in  "The  Life  and  Letters  of  John 
Winthrop."  3.  The  rough  draft  of  the  last,  found  among  the  Winthrop  papers,  and  printed, 
with  interesting  notes  by  Robert  C.  Winthrop,  in  the  Massachusetts  Hisiorical  Society  Pro- 
ceedings, 1872.  4.  The  copy  indorsed  "White  of  Dorchester,  his  instructions  for  the  planta- 
tion of  New  England,"  obtained  thirty  or  more  years  ago  from  the  State  Paper  Office  in 
London  by  Hon.  Robert  C.  Winthrop,  presented  by  him  to  the  Massachusetts  Historical 
Society,  and  printed  in  the  Society's  Proceedings  for  1865.  5.  The  copy  sent  to  the 
Massachusetts  Historical  Society  by  the  Earl  of  St.  Germans,  from  the  papers  of  Sir  John 
Eliot,  and  printed  in  the  same  volume  of  the  Society's  Proceedings,  with  valuable  historical 
notes  by  Hon.  Robert  C.  Wmthrop. 

The  last  copy  is  that  which  is  printed  in  the  present  leaflet,  not  only  because  it  is  less  ac- 
cessible to  the  general  reader  than  the  first  two,  but  also  and  chiefly  because  of  its  peculiar 
historical  interest.  The  original  manuscript  of  this  document  is  in  the  handwriting  of  Sir 
John  Eliot.  Copies  of  the  paper  were  sent  to  various  friends  of  the  proposed  Massachusetts 
colony,  for  their  consideration.  A  copy  was  clearly  sent  to  Eliot  in  the  Tower,  and  he,  while 
a  prisoner  there,  prepared  a  copy  with  his  own  hand  for  his  friend  John  Hampden ;  for  this 
manuscript  is  indorsed  by  Eliot,  "The  project  for  New  England,  ffor  Mr.  Hampden,"  and 
there  is  among  the  Eliot  papers  a  letter  from  John  Hampden,  dated  December  8  [1629], 
copied  entire  in  the  Massachusetts  Historical  Society's  Proceedings,  1865,  in  which  Hampdeii 
says,  "  ye  paper  of  considerations  concerning  ye  plantation  might  be  very  safely  conveyed 
to  mee  by  this  hand  &  after  transcribing  should  be  as  safely  returned  if  you  vouchsafe  to 
senditmee." 

Concerning  these  various  copies  of  the  "Conclusions,"  Mr.  Winthrop  says:  "They  all 
differ  more  or  less  from  each  other,  not  only  in  spelling,  but  in  substance.  But  all  had  evi- 
dently a  common  original;  and  the  rough  drafts  found  among  Governor  Winthrop's  papers 
leave  little  room  for  doubt  that  the  original  was  prepared  by  him.  That  the  copy  which  was 
transcribed  by  Sir  John  Eliot  came  directly  or  indirectly  from  Winthrop  would  seem  to  be  put 
beyond  a  question  by  the  fact  that  it  includes  the  '  Particular  Consideracons  of  J.  W.,'  being 
Winthrop's  private  memorandum  of  the  views  which  were  applicable  to  himself  personally. 
This  copy,  however,  contains  a  preamble  which  has  not  been  found  among  Winthrop's 
papers,  and  which  may,  perhaps,  have  come  from  Eliot's  own  hand."  To  substantially  the 
same  effect  writes  John  Forster;  "I  can  hardly  doubt  that,  whatever  additions  or  amend- 
ments it  may  have  received  in  transcription  as  it  passed  from  hand  to  hand,  the  substance 
of  this  (as  of  the  other  papers  which  constitute  the  various  Reasons,  Considerations,  and 
Conclusions)  had  been  derived  in  the  first  instance  from  Winthrop  himself.  At  the  same 
time  it  would  hardly  present  itself  wholly  in  Sir  John's  handwriting,  as  it  does,  if  he  had  not 
himself  taken  some  part  in  its  production  as  we  now  see  it ;  and  the  tone  of  the  communica- 
tion between  him  and  Hampden  goes  far  to  imply  this." 

Governor  Winthrop  was  not  only  a  great  governor  and  leader:  he  was  also  the  great  his- 
torian of  the  Massachusetts  colony.  His  "History  of  New  England"  performs  the  same 
service  for  the  Bay  colony  which  Governor  Bradford's  history  performs  for  the  Plymouth 
colony.  It  begins  "Anno  Domini,  1630,  March  29,  Easter  Monday,"  with  the  Governor 
"  riding  at  the  Cowes,  near  the  Isle  of  Wight,  in  the  Arbella,"  just  weighin<  anchor  for  New 
England,  and  comes  down  almost  to  the  time  of  his  death,  in  1649.  See  account  of  the  dis- 
covery of  the  manuscript  of  the  third  volume,  long  lost,  in  the  tower  of  the  Old  South  Meet- 
ing-house in  1816,  in  Massachusetts  Historical  Society's  Collections,  2d  series,  vol.  _  iv. 
"The  Life  and  Letters  of  John  Winthrop,"  by  Robert  C.  Winthrop,  is  a  thorough  biog- 
raphy. There  is  a  brief  popular  life  by  Rev.  Joseph  H.  Twichell.  See  also  the  various 
volumes  of  Winthrop  Letters  published  by  the  Massachusetts  Historical  Society. 


PUBLISHED    BY    THE    DIRECTORS    OF    THE    OLD    SOUTH    WORK,    OLD    SOUTH 

MEETING-HOUSE,   BOSTON. 


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DATE  DUE 


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