Works of Jules Verne

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THE LIBRARY

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THE UNIVERSITY

OF CALIFORNIA

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GIFT OF

MR. WARREN STURTEVANT

JULES VERNE.

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"The supreme master of imagination."

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EDITED BY

CHARLES F. HORNE, Ph.D.

Professor of English, College of the City of New York;
Author of "The Technique of the Novel," etc.

Vincent Parke and Company
NEW YORK :: :: London

Copyright, 1911,
BY Vincent Parke and Company.

CONTENTS

VOLUME FIFTEEN

FAGB

Introduction 1

The Exploration of the World

The World Outlined 3

Seekers and Traders ..... 97
Scientific Exploration . . • .231

ILI.USTRATIONS
VoiyUMi; Fifteen

PAGB

Jules Verne • • . ■. . . . Frontispiece
Nearchus' Battle with the Sea Monsters . - 96
MuNGO Park 304

Vll

INTRODUCTION TO VOLUME FIFTEEN

j^ >iw N " The Exploration of the World " we have
^ 7 91 ^^^^^ brilliant romancer holding his fancy under
control and speaking for once in simplest
iruthfidness. He who had so thoroughly read
up in geographies and books of travel that he
might make stories from them, was perhaps of all men best
fitted for the task of telling in earnest what real men had
really done in the demarcation of the ivorld. In these vol-
umes there was no need for the writer to create romance.
He had only to appreciate and make visible to others the ro-
mance which already existed in overfiozving measure in the
daring deeds of the great explorers.

The first book of this set, " The World Outlined," was
published in 18/8, but the final volume did not appear until
several years later. Some portions of this history of ex-
ploration had been already prepared and written out for
Americans in masterly fashion, as for instance the life of
Columbus by Washington Irving, the conquests of Mexico
and Peru by Prescott. These have been omitted from the
present edition.

During the intervals of this work Verne was patiently
gathering fresh material for its completion. How seriously
and thoroughly the labor of preparation was undertaken he
himself points out for us. He says: " In order to give this
work all the accuracy possible, I have called in the aid of a
man whom I zvith justice regard as one of the most com-
petent geographers of the present day, M. Gabriel Marcel,
attached to the Bibliotheque Nationale. With the advan-
tage of his acquaintance with several foreign languages
which are unknozun to me, zve have been able to go to the
fountain-head, and to draw all our information from abso-

^ INTRODUCTION

lutely original documents. Readers will, therefore, render
to M. Marcel the credit due to him for his share in a work
which will demonstrate what manner of men the great
travelers have been, from the time of Hanno and Herodotus
down to that of Livingstone and Stanley.'"

The Exploration of the World

BOOK I

The World Outlined

CHAPTER I
celebrated travelers before the christian era

Hanno, 505; Herodotus, 484; Pythias, 340; Nearchus,
326; EuDoxus, 146; Caesar, 100; Strabo, 50

HE first traveler of whom we have any ac-
count in history, is Hanno, who was sent by
the Carthaginian senate to colonize some
parts of the Western coast of Africa. The
account of this expedition was written in the
Carthaginian language and afterwards trans-
lated into Greek. It is known to us now by the name of
the " Periplus of Hanno." At what period this explorer
lived, historians are not agreed, but the most probable ac-
count assigns the date B. c. 505 to his exploration of the
African coast.

Hanno left Carthage with a fleet of sixty vessels of fifty
oars each, carrying 30,000 persons, and provisions for a
long voyage. These emigrants, for so we may call them,
were destined to people the new towns that the Cartha-
ginians hoped to found on the west coast of Libya, or as we
now call it, Africa.

The fleet successfully passed the Pillars of Hercules, the
rocks of Gibraltar and Ceuta which commanded the Strait,
and ventured on the Atlantic, taking a southerly course.
Two days after passing the Straits, Hanno anchored on
the coast, and laid the foundation of the town of Thumia-
terion.

Then he put to sea again, and doubling the cape of Solois,
made fresh discoveries, and advanced to the mouth of a
large African river, where he found a tribe of wandering
shepherds camping on the banks. He only waited to con-
clude a treaty of alliance with them, before continuing his
voyage southward. He next reached the Island of Cerne,

%

4 THE WORLD OUTLINED

situated in a bay, and measuring five stadia in circum-
ference, or as we should say at the present day, nearly 925
yards. According to Hanno's own account, this island
is as far beyond the Pillars of Hercules, as these Pillars are
from Carthage.

They set sail again, and Hanno reached the mouth of the
river Chretes, which forms a sort of natural harbor, but as
they endeavored to explore this river, they were assailed
with showers of stones from the native negro race, inhabit-
ing the surrounding country, and driven back. Hanno
mentions finding large numbers of crocodiles and hippo-
potami in this river. Twelve days after this unsuccessful
expedition, the fleet reached a mountainous region, where
fragrant trees and shrubs abounded, and it then entered a
vast gulf which terminated in a plain. This region ap-
peared quite calm during the day, but after nightfall it
was all illumined with masses of flame, which might have
proceeded from fires lighted by the natives, or from the
natural ignition of the dry grass when the rainy season was
over.

In five days, Hanno doubled the Cape, known as the Hes-
pera Keras ; there, according to his own account, " he heard
the sound of fifes, cymbals, and tambourines, and the clamor
of a multitude of people." The soothsayers, who accom-
panied the party of Carthaginian explorers, counseled flight
from this land of terrors, and, in obedience to their advice,
he set sail again, still taking a southerly course. They ar-
rived at a cape, which, stretching southwards, formed a
gulf, called Notu Keras, and, according to M. D'Avezac,
this gulf must have been the mouth of the river Ouro, which
falls into the Atlantic almost within the Tropic of Cancer.
At the lower end of this gulf, they found an island inhabited
by a vast number of gorillas, which the Carthaginians mis-
took for hairy savages. They contrived to get possession
of three female gorillas, but were obliged to kill them on
account of their great ferocity.

This Notu Keras must have been the extreme limit
reached by the Carthaginian explorers, and though some
historians incline to the belief that they only went to Bo-
jador, which is two degrees North of the tropics, it is more
probable that the former account is the true one, and that
Hanno, finding himself short of provisions, returned north-

TRAVELERS BEFORE CHRISTIAN ERA 5

wards to Carthage, where he had the account of his voyage
engraved in the temple of Baal Moloch.

After Hanno, the most illustrious of ancient travelers,
was Herodotus, who has been called the " Father of His-
tory." It will serve our purpose better if we only speak of
Herodotus as a traveler, not an historian, as we wish to
follow him so far as possible through the countries that he
traversed.

Herodotus was born at Halicarnassus, a town in Asia
Minor, in the year b. c. 484. His family were rich, and
having large commercial transactions they were able to
encourage the taste for explorations which he showed. At
this time there were many different opinions as to the shape
of the earth : the Pythagorean school having even then be-
gun to teach that it must be round. Herodotus took no
part in this discussion, but still young, he left home with a
view of exploring with great care all the then known world,
and especially those parts of it of which there were but few
and uncertain data.

He left Halicarnassus in 464, being then twenty years of
age, and probably directed his steps first to Egypt, visiting
Memphis, Heliopolis, and Thebes. He seems to have spe-
cially turned his attention to the overflow of the banks of
the Nile, and he gives an account of the different opinions
held as to the source of this river, which the Egyptians
worshiped as one of their deities. " When the Nile over-
flows its banks," he says, " you can see nothing but the
towns rising out of the water, and they appear like the
islands in the ^gean Sea." He tells of the religious cere-
monies among the Egyptians, their sacrifices, their ardor
in celebrating the feasts in honor of their goddess Isis,
wdiich took place principally at Busiris (whose ruins may
still be seen near Bushir), and of the veneration paid to both
wild and tame animals, which were looked upon almost as
sacred, and received funeral honors at their death. He de-
picts, in the most faithful colors, the Nile crocodile, its
form, habits, and the way in which it is caught, and the
hippopotamus, the momot, the phoenix, the ibis, and the
serpents that were consecrated to the god Jupiter. Noth-
ing can be more life-like than his accounts of Egyptian
customs, and the notices of their habits, their games, and
their way of embalming the dead. Then we have the his-

(5 THE WORLD OUTLINED

tory of the country from Menes, its first l<ing, 'downwards
to Herodotus's time, and he describes the building of the
Pyramids under Cheops, the Labyrinth that was built a
little above the Lake Moeris (of which the remains were dis-
covered m A. D. 1799), Lake Mceris itself, whose origin he
ascribes to the hand of man, and the two Pyramids which
are situated a little above the lake. He seems to have ad-
mired many of the Egyptian temples, and especially that of
Minerva at Sais, and of Vulcan and Isis at Memphis, and
the colossal monolith that was three years in course of trans-
portation from Elephantina to Sais, though 2,000 men were
employed on the gigantic work.

After having carefully inspected everything of interest
in Egypt, Herodotus went into Libya, little thinking that
the continent he was exploring extended thence to the
tropic of Cancer. He made special inquiries in Libya as
to the number of its inhabitants, who were a simple no-
madic race principally living near the sea-coast, and he
speaks of the Ammonians, who possessed the celebrated
temple of Jupiter Amnion, the remains of which have been
discovered on the northeast side of the Libyan desert, about
300 miles from Cairo. Herodotus furnishes us with
some very valuable information on Libyan customs; he
describes their habits; speaks of the animals that infest
the country, serpents of a prodigious size, lions, elephants,
bears, asps, horned asses (probably the rhinoceros of the
present day), and cynocephali, "animals with no heads,
and whose eyes are placed on their chest," to use his own
expression ; foxes, hyenas, porcupines, wild zarus, panthers,
etc. He winds up his description by saying that the only
two aboriginal nations that inhabit this region are the
Libyans and Ethiopians.

According to Herodotus the Ethiopians were at that
time to be found above Elephantina, but commentators are
induced to doubt if this learned explorer ever really visited
Ethiopia, and if he did not, he may easily have learned
from the Egyptians the details that he gives of its capital,
Meroe, of the worship of Jupiter and Bacchus, and the
longevity of the natives. There can be no doubt, however,
that he set sail for Tyre in PhcEnicia, and that he was much
struck with the beauty of the two magnificent temples of
Hercules. He next visited Tarsus and took advantage of

TRAVELERS BEFORE CHRISTIAN ERA 7

the information gathered on the spot, to write a short his-
tory of Phoenicia, Syria, and Palestine.

We next find that he went southward to Arabia, and
he calls it the Ethiopia of Asia, for he thought the southern
parts of Arabia were the limits of human habitation. He
tells us of the remarkable way in which the Arabs kept
any vow that they might have made ; that their two deities
were Uranius and Bacchus, and of the abundant growth
of myrrh, cinnamon and other spices, and he gives a very
interesting account of their culture and preparation.

We cannot be quite sure which country he next visited,
as he calls it both Assyria and Babylonia, but he gives a
most minute account of the splendid city of Babylon
(which was the home of the monarchs of that country,
after the destruction of Nineveh), and whose ruins are
now only in scattered heaps on either side of the Euphrates,
which flowed a broad, deep, rapid river, dividing the city
into two parts. On one side of the river the fortified pal-
ace of the king stood, and on the other the temple of Jupi-
ter Belus. Herodotus next speaks of the two queens,
Semiramis and Nitocris, telling us of all the means taken
by the latter to increase the prosperity and safety of her
capital, and passing on to speak of the natural products of
the country, the wheat, barley, millet, sesame, the vine, fig-
tree and palm-tree. He winds up with a description of
the costume of the Babylonians, and their customs, espe-
cially that of celebrating their marriages by the public crier.

After exploring Babylonia he went to Persia, and as the
express purpose of his travels was to collect all the informa-
tion he could relating to the lengthy wars that had taken
place between the Persians and Grecians, he was most anx-
ious to visit the spots where the battles had been fought.
He sets out by remarking upon the custom prevalent in
Persia, of not clothing their deities in any human form,
nor erecting temples nor altars where they might be wor-
shiped, but contenting themselves with adoring them on
the tops of the mountains. He notes their domestic hab-
its, their disdain of animal food, their taste for delicacies,
their passion for wine, and their custom of transacting
business of the utmost importance when they had been
drinking to excess; their curiosity as to the habits of other
nations, their love of pleasure, their warlike qualities, their

8 THE WORLD OUTLINED

anxiety for the education of their children, their respect
for the lives of all their fellow-creatures, even of their
slaves, their horror both of debt and lying, and their repug-
nance to the disease of leprosy which they thought proved
that the sufferer " had sinned in some way against the
sun." The India of Herodotus, according to M. Vivien
de St. Martin, only consisted of that part of the country
that is watered by the five rivers of the Punjaub, adjoin-
ing Afghanistan, and this was the region where the young
traveler turned his steps on leaving Persia. He thought
that the population of India was larger than that of any
other country, and he divided it into two classes, the first
having settled habitations, the second leading a nomadic
life. Those who lived in the eastern part of the country
killed their sick and aged people, and ate them, while those
in the north, who were a finer, braver, and more indus-
trious race, employed themselves in collecting the aurifer-
ous sands. India was then the most easterly extremity
of the inhabited world, as he thought, and he observes,
" that the two extremities of the world seem to have shared
nature's best gifts, as Greece enjoyed the most agreeable
temperature possible," and that was his idea of the western
limits of the world.

Media is the next country visited by this indefatigable
traveler, and he gives the history of the Medes, the nation
which was the first to shake off the Assyrian yoke. They
founded the great city of Ecbatana, and surrounded it
with seven concentric walls. They became a separate na-
tion in the reign of Deioces. After crossing the moun-
tains that separate Media from Colchis, the Greek traveler
entered the country, made famous by the valor of Jason,
and studied its manners and customs with the care and at-
tention that were among his most striking characteristics.

Herodotus seems to have been well acquainted with the
geography of the Caspian Sea, for he speaks of it as a sea
" quite by itself " and having no communication with any
other. He considered that it was bounded on the west by
the Caucasian Mountains and on the east by a great plain
inhabitated by the Massagetse, who, both Arian and Dio-
dorus Siculus think, may have been Scythians. These
Massagetse worshiped the Sun as their only deity, and
sacrificed horses in its honor. He speaks here of two

TRAVELERS BEFORE CHRISTIAN ERA 9

large rivers, one of which, the Araxes, would be the Volga,
and the other, that he calls the Ister, must be the Danube.
The traveler then went into Scythia, and he thought that
the Scythians were the different tribes inhabiting the coun-
try that lay between the Danube and the Don, in fact a
considerable portion of European Russia. He found the
barbarous custom of putting out the eyes of their prisoners
was practiced among them, and he notices that they only
wandered from place to place without caring to cultivate
their land. Herodotus relates many of the fables that
make the origin of the Scythian nation so obscure, and in
which Hercules plays a prominent part. He adds a list
of the different tribes that composed the Scythian nation,
but he does not seem to have visited the country lying to
the north of the Euxine, or Black Sea. He gives a minute
description of the habits of these people, and expresses his
admiration for the Pontus Euxinus. The dimensions that
he gives of the Black Sea, the Bosphorus, of the Propontis,
the Palus Mseotis and of the ^gean Sea, are almost ex-
actly the same as those given by geographers of the present
day. He also names the large rivers that flow into these
seas. The Ister or Danube, the Borysthenes or Dnieper,
the Tanais, or Don; and he finishes by relating how the
alliance, and afterwards the union between the Scythians
and Amazons took place, which explains the reason why
the young women of that country are not allowed to marry
before they have killed an enemy and established their char-
acter for valor.

After a short stay in Thrace, during which he was con-
vinced that the Geta^ were the bravest portion of this race,
Herodotus arrived in Greece, which was to be the termina-
tion of his travels, the country where he hoped to collect
the only documents still wanting to complete his history,
and he visited all the spots that had become illustrious by
the great battles fought between the Greeks and Persians.
He gives a minute description of the Pass of Thermopylae,
and of his visit to the plain of Marathon, the battle-field
of Platsea, and his return to Asia Minor, whence he passed
along the coast on which the Greeks had established several
colonies. Herodotus can only have been twenty-eight
years of age when he returned to Halicarnassus in Caria,
for it was in b. c. 456 that he read the history of his tray-

10 THE WORLD OUTLINED

els at the Olympic Games. His country was at that time
oppressed by Lygdamis, and he was exiled to Samos; but
though he soon after rose in arms to overthrow the tyrant,
the ingratitude of his fellow-citizens obliged him to return
into exile. In 444 he took part in the games at the Pan-
theon, and there he read his completed work, which was
received with enthusiasm. Towards the end of his life he
retired to Thurium in Italy, where he died, B. c. 406, leav-
ing behind him the reputation of being the greatest trav-
eler and the most celebrated historian of antiquity.

After Herodotus we must pass over a century and a half,
and only note, in passing, the physician Ctesias, a con-
temporary of Xenophon, who published the account of a
voyage to India that he really never made; and we shall
come in chronological order to Pythias, who was at once
a traveler, geographer, and historian, one of the most cel-
ebrated men of his time. It was about the year b. c. 340
that Pythias set out from the columns of Hercules with a
single vessel, but instead of taking a southerly course like
his Carthaginian predecessors, he went northwards, pass-
ing by the coasts of Iberia and Gaul to the furthest points
which now form the Cape of Finisterre, and then he entered
the English Channel and came upon the English coast — •
the British Isles — of which he was to be the first explorer.
He disembarked at various points on the coast and made
friends with the simple, honest, sober, industrious inhabi-
tants, who traded largely in tin.

Pythias ventured still further north, and went beyond
the Orcades Islands to the furthest point of Scotland, and
he must have reached a very high latitude, for during the
summer the night only lasted two hours. After six days
further sailing, he came to lands which he calls Thule,
probably the Jutland or Norway of the present day, be-
yond which he could not pass, for he says, " there was
neither land, sea, nor air there." He retraced his course,
and changing it slightly, he came to the mouth of the Rhine,
to the country of the Ostians, and, further inland, to
Germany. Thence he visited the mouth of the Tanais,
that is supposed to be the Elbe or the Oder, and he returned
to Marseilles, just a year after leaving his native town.
Pythias, besides being such a brave sailor, was a remark-
ably scientific man; he was the first to discover the influence

TRAVELERS BEFORE CHRISTIAN ERA ii

that the moon exercises oh the tides, and to notice that the
polar star is not situated at the exact spot at which the axis
of the globe is supposed to be.

Some years after the time of Pythias, about b. c. 326,
another Greek traveler made his name famous. This was
Nearchus, a native of Crete, one of Alexander's admirals.
He was charged to visit all the coast of Asia from the
mouth of the Indus to that of the Euphrates. When Alex-
ander first resolved that this expedition should take place,
which had for its object the opening up of a communication
between India and Egypt, he was at the upper part of the
Indus. He furnished Nearchus with a fleet of thirty-
three galleys, of some vessels with two decks, and a great
number of transport ships, and 2,000 men. Nearchus
came down the Indus in about four months, escorted on
either bank of the river by Alexander's armies, and after
spending seven months in exploring the Delta, he set sail
and followed the west line of what we call Beloochistan in
the present day.

He put to sea on the second of October, a month before
the winter winds blow in a direction favorable to his pur-
pose, so that the commencement of his voyage was disas-
trous, and in forty days he had scarcely made eighty miles
in a westerly direction. He touched first at Stura and at
Corestis, which do not seem to answer to any of the now-
existing villages on the coast ; then at the Island of Crocala,
which forms the bay of Caranthia. Beaten back by con-
trary winds, after doubling the cape of Monze, the fleet
took refuge in a natural harbor that its commander thought
that he could fortify as a defence against the attacks of
the barbarous natives, who, even at the present day, keep
up their character as pirates.

After spending twenty-four days in this harbor,
Nearchus put to sea again on the 3d of November. Severe
gales obliged him to keep very near the coast, and he was
obliged to take all possible precautions to defend himself
from the attacks of the ferocious Beloochees, who are de-
scribed by eastern historians " as a barbarous nation, with
long disheveled hair, and long flowing beards, who are
more like bears or satyrs than human beings." Up to this
time, however, no serious disaster had happened to the
fleet, but on the lOth of November in a heavy gale two

12 THE WORLD OUTLINED

galleys and a ship sank. Nearchus then anchored at
Crocala, and there he was met by a ship laden with corn
that Alexander had sent out to him, and he was able to
supply each vessel with provisions for ten days.

After many disasters and a skirmish with some of the
natives, Nearchus reached the extreme point of the land of
the Orites, which is marked in modern geography by Cape
Morant Here, he states in his narrative that the rays of
the sun at mid-day are vertical, and therefore there are
no shadows of any kind; but this is surely a mistake, for at
this time in the Southern hemisphere the sun is in the
Tropic of Capricorn; and, beyond this, his vessels were
always some degrees distant from the Tropic of Cancer,
therefore even in the height of summer this phenomenon
could not have taken place, and we know that his voyage
was in winter.

Circumstances seemed now rather more in his favor;
for the time of the eastern monsoon was over, when he
sailed along the coast which is inhabited by a tribe called
Ichthyophagi, who subsist solely on fish, and from the
failure of all vegetation are obliged to feed even their sheep
upon the same food. The fleet was now becoming very
short of provisions; so after doubling Cape Posmi, Nearchus
took a pilot from those shores on board his own vessel, and
with the wind in their favor they made rapid progress,
finding the country less bare as they advanced, a few scat-
tered trees and shrubs being visible from the shore. They
reached a little town, of the name of which we have no
record, and as they were almost without food Nearchus
surprised and took possession of it, the inhabitants making
but little resistance. Canasida, or Churbar as we call it,
was their next resting-place, and at the present day the
ruins of a town are still visible in the bay. But their corn
was now entirely exhausted, and though they tried suc-
cessively at Canate, Trois, and Dagasira for further sup-
plies, it was all in vain, these miserable little towns not
being able to furnish more than enough for their own con-
sumption. The fleet had neither corn nor meat, and they
could not make up their minds to feed upon the tortoises
that abound in that part of the coast.

Just as they entered the Persian Gulf they encountered
an immense number of whales, and the sailors were so

TRAVELERS BEFORE CHRISTIAN ERA' 13

terrified by their size and number, that they wished to fly;
it was not without much difficulty that Nearchus at last
prevailed upon them to advance boldly, and they soon scat-
tered their formidable enemies.

Having changed their westerly course for a northeasterly
one, they soon came upon fertile shores, and their eyes
were refreshed by the sight of corn-fields and pasture-
lands, interspersed with all kinds of fruit-trees except the
olive. They put into Badis or Jask, and after leaving it
and passing Maceta or Mussendon, they came in sight of
the Persian Gulf, to which Nearchus, following the geog-
raphy of the Arabs, gave the misnomer of the Red Sea.

They sailed up the gulf, and after one halt reached Har-
mozia, which has since given its name to the little island
of Ormuz. There he learned that Alexander's army was
only five days' march from him, and he disembarked at
once, and hastened to meet it. No news of the fleet having
reached the army for twenty-one weeks, they had given up
all hope of seeing it again, and great was Alexander's joy
when Nearchus appeared before him, though the hardships
he had endured had altered him almost beyond recogni-
tion. Alexander ordered games to be celebrated and sac-
rifices offered up to the gods; then Nearchus returned to
Harmozia, as he wished to go as far as Susa with the fleet,
and set sail again, having invoked Jupiter the Deliverer.

He touched at some of the neighboring islands, probably
those of Arek and Kismis, and soon afterwards the vessel
ran aground, but the advancing tide floated them again,
and after passing Bestion, they arrived at the island of
Keish, that is sacred to Mercury and Venus. This was
the boundary-line between Karamania and Persia. As
they advanced along the Persian coast, they visited differ-
ent places, Gillam, Indarabia, Shevou, etc., and at the last-
named was found a quantity of wheat which Alexander
had sent for the use of the explorers.

Some days after this they came to the mouth of the
river Araxes, that separates Persia from Susiana, and
thence they reached a large lake situated in the country
now called Darghestan, and finally anchored near the vil-
lage of Degela, at the mouth of the Euphrates, having
accomplished their project of visiting all the coast lying
between the Euphrates and Indus. Nearchus returned a

14 THE WORLD OUTLINED

second time to Alexander, who rewarded him magnificently,
and placed him in command of his fleet. Alexander's
wish, that the whole of the Arabian coast should be ex-
plored as far as the Red Sea, was never fulfilled, as he
died before the expedition was arranged.

It is said that Nearchus became governor of Lysia and
Pamphylia, but in his leisure time he wrote an account of
his travels, which has unfortunately perished, though npt
before Arian had made a complete analysis of it in his
Historia Indica. It seems probable that Nearchus fell in
the battle of Ipsa, leaving behind him the reputation of
being a very able commander; his voyage may be looked
upon as an event of no small importance in the history of
navigation.

We must not omit to mention a most hazardous attempt
made in b. c. 146, by Eudoxus of Cyzicus, a geographer
living at the court of Euergetes II, to sail round Africa.
He had visited Egypt and the coast of India, when this
far greater project occurred to him, one which was only
accomplished sixteen hundred years later by Vasco de
Gama. Eudoxus fitted out a large vessel and two smaller
ones, and set sail upon the unknown waters of the Atlantic.
How far he took these vessels we do not know, but after
having had communication with some natives, whom he
thought were Ethiopians, he returned to Mauritania.
Thence he went to Tiberia, and made preparations for an-
other attempt to circumnavigate Africa, but whether he
ever set out upon this voyage is not known; in fact some
learned men are even inclined to consider Eudoxus an im-
postor.

We have still to mention two names of illustrious trav-
elers, living before the Christian era; those of Caesar and
Strabo. Csesar, born b. c. 100, was pre-eminently a con-
queror, not an explorer, but we must remember, that in the
year b. c. 58, he undertook the conquest of Gaul, and dur-
ing the ten years that were occupied in this vast enterprise,
he led his victorious Legions to the shores of Great Britain.

As to Strabo, who was born in Cappadocia b. c. 50, he
distinguished himself more as a geographer than a traveler,
but he traveled through the interior of Asia, and visited
Egypt, Greece, and Italy, living many years in Rome, and
dying there in the latter part of the reign of Tiberius.

TRAVELERS BEFORE CHRISTIAN ERA 15

Strabo wrote a geography in seventeen books, of which the
greater part has come down to us, and this work, with that
of Ptolemy, are the two most valuable legacies of ancient
to modern geographers.

CHAPTER II

CELEBRATED TRAVELERS FROM THE FIRST TO THE NINTH

CENTURY

Pausanias, 174; Fa-Hian, 399; Cosmos Indicopleustes,

500; Arculphe, 700; Willibald^ 725;

Soleyman, 851

In the first two centuries of the Christian era, the study
of geography received a great stimulus from the advances
of other branches of science, but travelers, or rather ex-
plorers of new countries were very few in number. Pliny
in the year a. d. 2^, devoted the third, fourth, fifth, and
sixth books of his Natural History to geography, and in
A. D. 50, Hippalus, a clever navigator, discovered the laws
governing the monsoon in the Indian Ocean, and taught
sailors how they might deviate from their usual course, so
as to make these winds subservient to their being able to
go to and return from India in one year. Arian, a Greek
historian, born A. d. 105, wrote an account of the naviga-
tion of the Euxine or Black Sea, and pointed out as nearly
as possible, the countries that had been discovered by ex-
plorers who had lived before his time; and Ptolemy the
Egyptian, about a. d. 175, making use of the writings of
his predecessors, published a celebrated geography, in
which, for the first time, places and cities were marked in
their relative latitude and longitude on a mathematical
plan.

The first traveler of the Christian era, whose name has
been handed down to us, was Pausanias, a Greek writer,
living in Rome in the second century, and whose account
of his travels bears the date of a. d. 175. Pausanias did
for ancient Greece what Joanne, the industrious and clever
Frenchman did for the other countries of Europe, in com-
piling the "Traveler's Guide." His account, a most re-

i6 THE WORLD OUTLINED

liable one on all points, and most exact even in details, was
one upon which travelers of the second century might
safely depend in their journeys through the different parts
of Greece.

Pausanias gives a minute description of Attica, and es-
pecially of Athens and its monuments, tombs, temples, cit-
adel, academy, columns, and of the Areopagus. From
Attica Pausanias went to Corinth, and then explored the
Islands of ^gina and Methana, Sparta, the Island of
Cerigo, Messene, Achaia, Arcadia, Boeotia, and Phocis.
The roads in the provinces and even the streets in the towns,
are mentioned in his narrative, as well as the general char-
acter of the country through which he passed; although we
can scarcely say that he added any fresh discoveries to
those already made, he was one of those careful travelers
whose object was more to obtain exact information, than
to make new discoveries. His narrative has been of the
greatest use to all geographers and writers upon Greece
and the Peloponnesus, and an author of the sixteenth cen-
tury has truly said that this book is " a most ancient and
rare specimen of erudition."

It was about a hundred and thirty years after the Greek
historian, in the fourth century, that a Chinese monk under-
took the exploration of the countries lying to the west of
China. The account of his travels is still extant, and we
may well agree with M. Charton when he says that ** this
is a most valuable work, carrying us beyond our ordinarily
narrow view of western civilization."

Fa-Hian, the traveler, was accompanied by several
monks; wishing to leave China by the west, they crossed
more than one chain of mountains, and reached the coun-
try now called Kantchou, which is not far from the great
wall. They crossed the river Cha-ho, and a desert that
Marco Polo was to explore eight hundred years later.
After seventeen days' march they reached the Lake of
Lobnor in Turkestan. From this point all the countries
that the monks visited were alike as to manners and cus-
toms, the languages alone differing. Being dissatisfied
with the reception that they met with in the country of the
Ourgas, who are not a hospitable people, they took a south-
easterly course towards a desert country, where they had
great difficulty in crossing the rivers; and, after a thirty-

V. XV Verne

THE FIRST TO NINTH CENTURY 17

five days' march, the little caravan reached Tartary in the
kingdom of Khotan, which contained according to Fa-
Hian, " Many times ten thousand holy men." Here they
met with a cordial welcome, and after a residence of three
months were allowed to assist at the " Procession of the
Images," a great feast, in which both Brahmins and
Buddhists join, and all the idols are placed upon magnifi-
cently decorated cars, and paraded through streets strewn
with flowers, amid clouds of incense.

The feast over, the monks left Khotan for Koukonyar,
and after resting there fifteen days, we find them further
south in the Balistan country of the present day, a cold
and mountainous district, where wheat was the only grain
cultivated, and where Fa-Hian found in use the curious
cylinders on which prayers are written, and which are
turned by the faithful with the most extraordinary rapidity.
Thence they went to the eastern part of Afghanistan; it
took them four weeks to cross the mountains, in the midst
of which, and the never-melting snow, they are said to have
found venomous dragons.

On the further side of this rocky chain the travelers
found themselves in Northern India, where the country is
watered by the streams which, further on, form the Sinde
or Indus. After traversing the kingdoms of On-tchang,
Su-ho-to, and Kian-tho-wei, they arrived at Fo-loo-cha,
which must be the town of Peshawur, standing between
Cabul and the Indus, and twenty- four leagues farther west,
they came to the town of Hilo, built on the banks of a
tributary of the river Kabout. In all these towns Fa-Hian
specially notices the feasts and religious ceremonies prac-
ticed in the worship of Fo or Buddha.

When the monks left Kito, they were obliged to cross
the Hindoo-Koosh mountains, lying between Turkestan
and the Gandhara, the cold being so intense that one of
their party sank under it. After enduring great hardships
they reached Banoo, a town that is still standing, and then,
after again crossing the Indus, they entered the Punjaub.
Thence, descending towards the southeast, with a view of
crossing the northern part of the Indian Peninsula, they
reached Mathura, a town in the province of Agra, and
crossing the great salt desert which lies to the east of the
Indus, traveled through a country that Fa-Hian calls "a

ii8 THE WORLD OUTLINED

happy kingdom, where the inhabitants are good and hon-
est, needing neither laws nor magistrates, and indebted
to none for their support; without markets or wine mer-
chants, and Hving happily, with plenty of all that they re-
quired, where the temperature was neither hot nor cold."
This happy kingdom was India. Fa-Hian followed a
southeasterly route, and came to Feroukh-abad, where
Buddha is said to have alighted as he came down from
heaven, the Chinese traveler dwelling much upon the
Buddhist Creed. Thence he visited the town of Kanoji,
standing on the right bank of the Ganges, that he calls
Heng, This is the very center of Buddhism. Wherever
Buddha is supposed to have rested, his followers have
erected high towers in his honor. The travelers visited
the temple of Tchihouan, where for twenty-five years Fo
practiced the most severe mortifications, and where he is
said to have given sight to five hundred blind men.

They set out again, passing Kapila and Goruckpoor, on
the frontier of Nepaul, all made famous by Fo's miracles,
and then reached the celebrated town of Palian-foo, in the
delta of the Ganges, in the kingdom of Magadha. This
was a fertile tract of country inhabited by a civilized, up-
right people, who loved all philosophic researches. After
climbing the peak of Vautour, which stands at the source
of the Dyardanes and Banourah rivers, Fa-Hian descended
the Ganges, visited the temple of Issi-paten that was fre-
quented by magicians and astrologers, reached Benares,
" the kingdom of splendors," and a little lower down, the
town of Tomo-li-ti, situated at the mouth of the river, a
short distance from the site of Calcutta in the present day.

Fa-Hian found a party of merchants just preparing to
put to sea with the intention of going to Ceylon; he sailed
with them, and in fourteen days landed on the shores of the
ancient Taprobana, of which the Greek merchant, Jam-
boulos, had given a curious account some centuries pre-
viously. Here the Chinese monk found all the traditions
and legends regarding the god Fo, and passed two years
in searching ancient manuscripts. He left Ceylon for
Java, where he landed after a rough voyage, in the course
of which, when the sky was overclouded, he says, " we
saw nothing but great waves dashing one against another,
lightning, crocodiles, tortoises, and monsters of the deep."

THE FIRST TO NINTH CENTURY 19

He spent five months in Java, and then set sail for Can-
ton; but the winds were again unfavorable, and after un-
dergoing great hardships he landed at the town of Chan-
toung of the present day; then having spent some time at
Nankin he returned to Fi-an-foo, his native town, after an
absence of eighteen months. Such is the account of Fa-
Hian's travels, which have been well translated by M. Abel
de Remusat, and which give very interesting details of
Indian and Tartar customs, especially those relating to
their religious ceremonies.

The next traveler to the Chinese monk, in chronological
order, is an Egyptian called Cosmos Indicopleustes, a name
that M. Charton renders as " Cosmographic traveler in
India." He lived in the sixth century, and was a mer-
chant of Alexandria, who, on his return from visiting
Ethiopia and part of Asia, entered a monastery.

His narrative is called the " Christian Topography of
the Universe." It gives no details of its author's voy-
ages, but begins with cosmographic discussions, to prove
that the world is square, and enclosed in a great oblong
coffer with all the other planets. This is followed by some
dissertations on the function of the angels, and a descrip-
tion of the dress of the Jewish Priests. Cosmos also gives
the natural history of the animals of India and Ceylon,
and notices the rhinoceros and bufifalo, which can be made
of use for domestic purposes, the giraffe, the wild ox, the
musk 'that is hunted for its " perfumed blood," the unicorn,
■which he considers a real animal and not a myth, the wild
boar, the hippopotamus, the phoca, the dolphin, and the
tortoise. Afterwards, Cosmos describes the pepper-plant,
as a frail and delicate shrub, like the smallest tendrils of
the vine, and the cocoa-tree, whose fruit has a fragrance
** equal to that of a nut."

From the earliest times of the Christian era there has
been a great love for visiting the Holy Land, the cradle of
the new religion. These pilgrimages became more and
more frequent, and we have many names left to us of those
who visited Palestine during the first centuries of Chris-
tianity.

One of these pilgrims, the French Bishop Arculphe,
who lived towards the end of the seventh century, has left
us an account of his travels.

20 THE WORLD OUTLINED

He sets out by giving a topographical description of the
site of Jerusalem, and describes the wall that surrounds
the holy city, then the circular church built over the Holy
Sepulcher, the tomb of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the
stone that closed it, the church dedicated to the Virgin
Mary, the church built upon Calvary, and the basilica of
Constantine on the site of the place v^here the real cross
was found. These various churches are united in one
building, which also encloses the Tomb of Christ, and Cal-
vary, where our Lord was crucified.

Arculphe then descended into the Valley of Jehosha-
phat, which is situated to the east of the city, and contains
the church that covers the tomb of the Virgin; he also saw
that of Absalom, which he calls the Tower of Jehosha-
phat. He describes the Mount of Olives that faces the
city beyond the valley, and he prayed in the cave where
Jesus prayed. He also went to Mount Zion, which stands
outside the town on the south side; he notices the gigantic
fig-tree, on which, according to tradition, Judas Iscariot
hanged himself, and he visited the church of the guest-
chamber, now destroyed.

After making the tour of the city by the Valley of
Siloam, and ascending by the brook Cedron, the bishop
returned to the Mount of Olives, which was covered with
waving wheat and barley, grass and wild flowers, and he
describes the place where Christ ascended from the summit
of the mountain. On this spot a large church has been
built, with three arched porticoes that are not roofed over
or covered in any way, but are open to the sky. "They
have not roofed in this church," says the bishop, " because
it was the place whence our Saviour ascended upon a cloud,
and the space open to heaven allows the prayers of the
faithful to ascend thither. For w'hen -they paved this
church they could not lay the pavement over the place
where our Lord's feet had rested, as, when the stones were
laid upon that spot, the earth, as though impatient of any-
thing not divine resting upon it, threw them up again be-
fore the workmen. Beyond this, the dust bears the im-
press of the divine feet, and though, day by day, the
faithful who visit the spot eflface the marks, they imme-
diately reappear and may be seen perpetually."

After having explored the neighborhood of Bethany in

THE FIRST TO NINTH CENTURY 21

'the midst of the groves of olives, where the grave of Laz-
arus is said to be, and where the church, standing on the
right hand is supposed to mark the spot where our Lord
usually conversed with His disciples, Arculphe went to
Bethlehem, which is a short distance from the holy city.
He describes the birthplace of our Lord, a natural cave,
hollowed out of the rock at the eastern end of the village,
the church, built by St. Helena, the tombs of the three
shepherds, upon whom the heavenly light shone at the
birth of our Saviour, the burial-places of the patriarchs,
Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and that of Rachel, and he
visited the oak of Mamre, under which Abraham received
the visit of the angels. Thence, Arculphe went to Jericho,
or rather the place where the town once stood, whose walls
fell at the sound of Joshua's trumpets. He explored the
place where the children of Israel first rested in the land
of Canaan after crossing the river Jordan, and he speaks
of the church of Galgala, where the twelve stones are
placed, which the children of Israel took from the river
when they entered the promised land. He followed the
course of the Jordan, and found near one of the bends of
the river on the right bank, and among the most beautiful
scenery, about an hour's walk from the Dead Sea, the
place where our Lord was baptized by St. John the Bap-
tist. A cross is placed to mark the spot, but when the
river is swollen, it is covered by the water.

After examining the banks of the Dead Sea and tasting
its brackish water, he viewed the source of the Jordan, at
the foot of Libanus, and explored the greater part of the
Lake of Tiberias, visiting the well where the woman of
Samaria gave our Lord the water He so much needed, see-
ing the fountain in the desert of which St. John the Baptist
drank, and the great plain of Gaza, where our Lord blessed
the five loaves and the two fishes, and fed the multitude.
Next he went down to Capernaum, then visited Naza-
reth, where our Lord spent His childhood, and ended His
journey at Mount Tabor in Galilee.

The bishop's narrative contains both geographical and
historical accounts of other places, beyond those imme-
diately connected with our Lord's life on earth. He vis-
ited the royal city of Damascus, which is watered by four
large rivers. Also Tyre, the chief town of Phoenicia,

22 THE WORLD OUTLINED

joined to it again by the jetty or pier made by the orders
which, though once separated from the mainland, was
of Nabuchodonosor. He speaks of Alexandria, once the
capital of Egypt, which he reached forty days after leaving
Jaffa, and lastly, of Constantinople, where he often visited
the large church in which " the wood of the cross is pre-
served, upon which the Saviour suffered for the salvation
of the human race."

The account of this journey was written by the Abbe de
St. Columban at the dictation of the bishop, and not many
years afterwards the same journey was undertaken by an
English pilgrim, and accomplished in much the same way.
The name of this pilgrim was Willibald, a member of a
rich family living at Southampton, who, on his recovery
from a long illness, dedicated him to God's service. All
his early life was spent in holy exercises in the monastery
of Woltheim; when he was grown up he had the most in-
tense wish to see St. Peter's at Rome, and was so set upon
this, that it induced his father, brother, and young sister
to wish to go there also; they embarked at Southampton!
in the spring of 721, and making their way up the Seine,
they landed at Rouen. We have but few details of the
journey to Rome, but Willibald mentions that after passing
through Cortona and Lucca, at which latter place his father
sank under the fatigue of the journey and died, he reached
Rome in safety with his brother and sister, and passed the
winter there, but they were all in turn attacked with fever.
When Willibald regained his health, he determined to con-
tinue his journey to the Holy Land. He sent his brother
and sister back to Englaud, while he joined some monks
who were going in the same direction as himself. They
went by Terracina and Gaeta to Naples, and set sail for
Reggio in Calabria, and Catania and Syracuse in Sicily,
whence they again embarked, and, after touching at Cos
and Samos, landed at Ephesus in Asia Minor, where they
visited the tombs of St. John the Evangelist, of Mary Mag-
dalene, and of the seven sleepers of Ephesus, that is, severt
Christians martyred in the time of the Emperor Decius.

They made some stay at Patara and at Mitylene, and
then went to Cyprus and Paphos; we next find the party,
seven in number, at Edessa, visiting the tomb of St.
Thomas the Apostle. Here they were arrested as spies.

THE FIRST TO NINTH CENTURY 23

and thrown into prison by the Saracens, but the king, on
the petition of a Spaniard, set them at hberty. As soon
as they were set free they left the town in great haste, and
from that time their route is ahnost the same as that of the
Bishop Arculphe; they visited Damascus, Nazareth, Cana,
where they saw a wonderful amphora on Mount Tabor,
where our Lord was transfigured, and the Lake of Ti-
berias, where St. Peter walked upon the water; Magdala,
where Lazarus and his sister dwelt ; Capernaum, where our
Lord raised to hfe the son of the nobleman; Bethsaida in
Galilee, the native place of St. Peter and St. Andrew;
Chorazin, where our Lord cured those possessed with dev-
ils; Csesarea, and the spot where our Lord was baptized,
as well as Jericho and Jerusalem.

They also went to the Valley of Jehoshaphat, the
Mount of Olives, and to Bethlehem, the scene of the mur-
der of the Linocents by Herod, and Gaza. While they
were at Gaza, Willibald tells us that he suddenly became
blind, while he was in the church of St. Matthias, and only
recovered his sight two months afterwards, as he entered
the church of the Holy Cross at Jerusalem. He went
through the valley of Diospolis or Lydda, ten miles from
Jerusalem, and then went to Tyre and Sidon, and thence
by Libanus, Damascus, Caesarea, and Emmaus, back to
Jerusalem, where the travelers spent the winter.

This was not to be the limit of their explorations, for
we hear of them at Ptolemais, Emesa, Jerusalem, Damas-
cus, and Samaria, where St. John the Baptist is said to
have been buried, and at Tyre, where it must be confessed
that Willibald defrauded the revenue of that time by
smuggling some balsam that was very celebrated, and on
which a duty was levied. On quitting Tyre they went to
Constantinople and lived there for two years before re-
turning by Sicily, Calabria, Naples, and Capua. The
English pilgrim reached the monastery of Monte Cassino,
just ten years after his first setting out on his travels; but
his time of rest had not yet come, as he was appointed to a
bishopric in Franconia by Pope Gregory III. He was
forty-one years of age when he was made bishop, and he
lived forty years afterwards. In 938 he was canonized by
Leo VII.

We will conclude the list of celebrated travelers living

■24 THE WORLD OUTLINED

between the first and ninth centuries, by giving a short
account of Soleyman, a merchant of Bassorah, who, start-
ing from the Persian Gulf, arrived eventually on the shores
of China. This narrative is in two distinct parts, one
written in 851, by Soleyman himself, who was the traveler,
and the other in 878 by a geographer named Abou-Zeyd
Hassan with the view of completing the first Renaud,
the orientalist, is of opinion that this narrative " has thrown
quite a new light on the commercial transactions that ex-
isted in the ninth century between Egypt, Arabia, and the
countries bordering on the Persian Gulf on one side, and
the vast provinces of India and China on the other."

Soleyman, as we have said, started from the Persiari
Gulf after having taken in a good supply of fresh water
at Muscat, and visited first, the second sea, or that of
Oman. He noticed a fish of enormous size, probably a
spermaceti whale, which the seamen endeavored to frighteri
away by ringing a bell, then a shark, in whose stomach
they found a smaller shark, enclosing in its turn one still
smaller, " both alive," says the traveler, which is mani-
festly an exaggeration; then, after describing the remora,
the dactyloptera, and the porpoise, he speaks of the sea
near the Maldive Islands in which he counted an enormous
number of islands; among them he mentions Ceylon by its
Arabian name, with its pearl fisheries; Sumatra, inhabited
by cannibals, and rich in gold mines; Nlcobar, and the
Andaman Islands, Where cannibalism still exists even at
the present day. " This sea," he says, " is subject to fear-
ful water-spouts which wreck the ships and throw on its
shores an immense number of dead fish and sometimes
even large stones. When these tempests are at their height
the sea seethes and boils." Soleyman imagined it to be in-
fested by a sort of monster who preyed upon human beings;
this is thought to have been a kind of dog-fish.

Arrived at Nlcobar, Soleyman traded with the inhabi-
tants, bartering some iron for cocoa-nuts, sugar-cane,
bananas, etc. ; he then crossed the sea, and seems to have
made for Singapore, and northwards by the Gulf of Slam.
Soleyman put into a harbor, near Cape Varella, to revictual
his ships, and thence he went by the China Sea to Jehan-fou
the port of the present town of Tche-Kiang. The re-
mainder of the account of Soleyman's travels, written by

THE FIRST TO NINTH CENTURY 25

A'bou-Zeyd-Hassan, contains a detailed account of the
manners and customs of the Indians and Chinese; but it is
not the traveler himself who is speaking, and we shall find
the same subjects spoken of in a more interesting manner
by later authors.

We must add, in reviewing the discoveries made by
'travelers sixteen centuries before, and nine centuries after,
the Christian era, that from Norway to the extreme boun-
daries of China, taking a line through the Atlantic Ocean,
the Mediterranean Sea, the Red Sea, the Indian Ocean, and
the Sea of China, the immense extent of coast bordering
these seas had been in a great measure visited. Some ex-
plorations had been attempted in the interior of these coun-
tries; for instance, in Egypt as far as Ethiopia, in Asia
Minor to the Caucasus, in India and China; and if these
old travelers may not have quite understood mathematical
precision, as to some of the points they visited, at all events
the manners and customs of the inhabitants, the produc-
tions of the different countries, the mode of trading with
them, and their religious customs, were quite sufficiently
understood. Ships could sail with more safety when the
change of winds was no longer a subject of mere specula-
tion, the caravans could take a more direct route in the in-
terior of the countries, and the great increase of trade
which took place in the middle ages is surely owing to the
facilities afforded by the writings of travelers.

CHAPTER III
celebrated travelers between the tenth and thir-
teenth centuries

Benjamin of Tudela, 1159-1173; Plan de Carpin, or

CaRPINI^ 1 245- 1247; RUBUQUIS,

1253-1254

In the course of the tenth, and at the beginning of the
eleventh centur}^ a considerable amount of ardor for ex-
ploration had arisen in Northern Europe. Some Norwe-
gians and adventurous Gauls had penetrated to the North-
ern seas, and, if we may trust to some accounts, they had
gone as far as the White Sea and visited the country of the

26 THE WORLD OUTLINED

Saraoyedes. Some documents say that Prince Madoc ex-
plored the American continent.

At all events we may be tolerably certain that Iceland
was discovered about a. d. 86 i by some Scandinavian ad-
venturers, and that it was soon after colonized by Nor-
mans. About this same time a Norwegian had taken
refuge on a newly discovered land, and surprised by its
verdure he gave it the name of Greenland.

The communication with this portion of the American
continent was difficult and uncertain, and one geographer
says " it took five years for a vessel to go from Norway to
Greenland, and to return from Greenland to Norway."
Sometimes in severe winters the Northern Ocean was com-
pletely frozen over, and a certain Hollur-Geit, guided by a
goat, was able to cross on foot from Norway to Green-
land. We should keep in mind that the period of which
we are speaking is the time when legends and traditions
were very plentiful, and gained ready credence.

Let us return to well-authenticated facts, and relate the
journey of a Spanish Jew, whose truthfulness is beyond
question.

This Jew was the son of a rabbi of Tudela, a town ill
Navarre, and he was called Benjamin of Tudela. It seems
probable that the object of his voyage was to make a cen-
sus of his brother Jews scattered over the surface of the
globe, but whatever may have been his motive, he spent
thirteen years, from 1160-1173, exploring nearly all the
known world, and his narrative was considered the great
authority on this subject up to the sixteenth century.

Benjamin of Tudela left Barcelona, and traveling by
Tarragona, Gironde, Narbonne, Beziers, Montpellier,
Sunel, Pousquiers, St. Gilles, and Aries, reached Mar-
seilles. Here he visited the two synagogues in the town
and the principal Jews, and then set sail for Genoa, arriv-
ing there in four days. The Genoese were masters of the
sea at that time, and were at war with the people of Pisa,
a brave people, who, like the Genoese, says the traveler,
" owned neither kings nor princes, but only the judges
whom they appointed at their own pleasure."

After visiting Lucca, Benjamin of Tudela went to Rome.
Alexander III. was Pope at that time, and according to
this traveler, he included some Jews among his ministers.

TENTH AND THIRTEENTH CENTURIES 27

Among the monuments of special interest in the eternal
city, he mentions St. Peter's and St. John Lateran, but his
descriptions are not interesting. From Rome by Capua,
and Pozzuoli, then partly inundated, he went to Naples,
where he seems to have seen nothing but the five hundred
Jews living there; then by Salerno, Amalfi, Benevento,
Ascoli, Trani, St. Nicholas of Bari, and Brindisi, he ar-
rived at Otranto, having crossed Italy and yet found noth-
ing interesting to relate of this splendid country.

The list of the places Benjamin of Tudela visited, is
not interesting. From Otranto to Zeitun, his halting-
places were Corfu, the Gulf of Arta, Achelous, an ancient
town in ^tolia, Anatolia in Greece, on the Gulf of Patras,
Patras, Lepanto, Crissa, at the foot of Mount Parnassus,
Corinth, Thebes, whose two thousand Jewish inhabitants
were the best makers of silk and purple in Greece, Negro-
pont and Zeitoun. Here, according to the Spanish trav-
eler, is the boundary-line of Wallachia; he says the Wal-
lachians are as nimble as goats, and come down from the
mountains to pillage the neighboring Greek towns.

Benjamin of Tudela went on to Constantinople by way
of Gardiki, a small township on the Gulf of Volo. He
gives us some details of Constantinople; the Emperor Ern-
manuel Commenus was reigning at that time and lived in
a palace that he had built upon the sea-shore, containing
columns of pure gold and silver, and " the golden throne
studded with precious stones, above which a golden crown
is suspended by a chain of the same precious metal, which
rests upon the monarch's head as he sits upon the throne."
In this crown are many precious stones, and one of price-
less worth ; " so brilliant are they," says this traveler,
"that at night, there is no occasion for any further light
than that thrown back by these jewels." He adds that
there is a large population in the city, and for the number
of merchants from all countries who assemble there, it can
only be compared to Baghdad. The inhabitants are prin-
cipally dressed in embroidered silk robes enriched with
golden fringes, and to see them thus attired and mounted
upon their horses, one would take them for princes, but
they are not brave warriors, and they keep mercenaries
from all nations to fight for them. One regret he ex-
presses, and that is, that there are no Jews left in the city.

28 THE WORLD OUTLINED

I

and that they have all been transported to Galata, near the
entrance of the port, where are nearly two thousand five
hundred of the sects (Rabbinites and Caraites), and among
them many rich merchants and silk manufacturers, but the
Turks have a bitter hatred for them, and treat them with
great severity. Only one of these rich Jews was allowed
to ride on horseback; he was the Emperor's physician, Sol-
omon, the Egyptian. As to the remarkable buildings of
Constantinople, he mentions the Mosque of St. Sophia, in
which the number of altars answers to the number of days
in a year, and the columns and gold and silver candlesticks,
are too numerous to be counted; also the Hippodrome,
which was then the scene of combats between " lions, bears,
tigers, other wild beasts, and even birds."

When Benjamin of Tudela left Constantinople he trav-
eled to Jerusalem. In the holy city, it was but natural that
the Jew could see nothing that would have interested a
Christian visitor. For him, Jerusalem appeared only a
small town, defended by three walls and peopled with Jews,
Syrians, Greeks, Georgians, and Franks of all languages
and nations. He found four hundred horse-soldiers in
the city ready for war at any moment, a great temple in
which is the tomb of " that man," as the Talmud styles our
Saviour, and a house in which the Jews had the privilege
of carrying on the work of dyeing; but they were few in
number, scarcely two hundred, and they lived under the
tower of David at one corner of the city. Outside Jeru-
salem, the traveler mentions the tomb of Absalom, the
sepulcher of Osias, the pool of Siloam, near the brook
Kedron, the valley of Jehoshaphat, and the Mount of
Olives, from whose summit one can see the Dead Sea.
Two leagues from it stands the pillar of Lot's wife, and
the traveler adds, " that though the flocks and herds which
pass this pillar of salt are continually licking it, yet it never
diminishes in size." From Jerusalem, Benjamin of Tu-
dela went to Bethlehem, and inscribed his name on Ra-
chel's tomb, as it was customary for all Jews to do who
passed by it.

The following is his description of Damascus. " It is
a very large and beautiful city, walled round, and outside
the walls for fifteen miles are gardens and orchards, and
of all the surrounding country, this is the most fertile spot.

TENTH AND THIRTEENTH CENTURIES 29

The town stands at the foot of Mount Hermon, whence
rise the two rivers, Abana and Pharpar; the first passes
through the city, and its waters are taken into the larger
houses by means of aqueducts, as well as through the
streets and markets. This town trades with all the world.
The river Pharpar fertilizes the orchards and gardens out-
side the town. There is an Ishmaelitish mosque, called
Goman-Dammesec, meaning the synagogue of Damascus,
and this building has not its equal; it is said to have been
Benhadad's palace, and it contains a glass wall, built ap-
parently by magic. This wall has 365 holes in it, answer-
ing to the days of the year; and each day the sun shines
through one or other of these holes in such a way that the
hour of the day may be known. Inside the palace or
mosque are gold and silver houses, large enough to hold
two or three persons at a time, if they wish to wash or
bathe in them."

After going to Galad and Salkah, which are two days'
journey from Damascus, Benjamin reached Baalbec, the
Heliopolis of the Greeks and Romans, built by Solomon, in
the valley of the Libanus, then to Tadmor, which is Pal-
myra, also built entirely of great stones. Then passing by
Cariatin, he stopped at Hamah, which was partially de-
stroyed by an earthquake in 1157, which overthrew many
of the Syrian towns.

Now comes in the narrative a list of names, which are
of no great interest: we may mention among them, Nine-
veh, whence the traveler returned towards the Euphrates;
and finally that he reached Baghdad, the residence of the
Caliph.

Baghdad was of great interest to the Jewish traveler; he
says it is a large town three miles in circumference, con-
taining a hospital both for Jews and sick people of any
nation. It is the center for learned men, philosophers, and
magicians from all parts of the world. It is the residence
of the Caliph, who at this time was probably Mostaidjed,
whose dominion included western Persia and the banks of
the Tigris. He had a vast palace, standing in a park watered
by a tributary of the Tigris and filled with wild beasts, he
may be taken as a model sovereign on some points ; he was
a good and very trutliful man, kind and considerate to all
with whom he came in contact. He lived on the produce

30 THE WORLD OUTLINED

of his own toil, and made blankets, which, marked with his
own seal, were sold in the market by the princes of his
court, to defray the expense of his living. He only left
his palace once a year, at the feast of Ramadan, when he
went to the mosque near the Bassorah gate, and there act-
ing as Iman, he explained the law to his people. He re-
turned to his palace by a different route which was carefully
guarded all the rest of the year, so that no other passer by
might profane the marks of his footsteps. All the brothers
of the Caliph dwelt in the same palace as he; they
were all treated with much respect, and had the government
of provinces and towns in their hands, the revenues enab-
ling them to pass a pleasant life; only, as they had once re-
belled against their sovereign, they were all fettered with
chains of iron, and had guards mounted before their apart-
ments.

Benjamin of Tudela visited that part of Turkey in Asia
which is watered by the Euphrates and Tigris, and saw the
ruined city of Babylon, passing by what is said to be the fur-
nace into which Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were
thrown, and the tower of Babel, which he describes as fol-
lows. " The tower built by the tribes that were dispersed
is of bricks; its largest ground work must be two miles in
circumference; its length is two hundred and forty cubits.
At every ten cubits there is a passage leading to a spiral
staircase, which goes to the upper part of the building; from
the tower there is a view of the surrounding country for
twenty miles ; but the wrath of God fell upon it and it is now;
only a heap of ruins."

From Babel the traveler went to the Synagogue of
Ezekiel, situated on the Euphrates, a real sanctuary where
believers congregate to read the book written by the prophet.
Then traversing Alkotzonath, Szc, to Sura, once the site of a
celebrated Jewish college, and Shaf jathib, whose synagogue
is built with stones from Jerusalem, and crossing the desert
of Yemen he passed Themar, Tilimar, and Chaibar which
contained a great number of Jewish inhabitants, to Waseth;
and thence to Bassorah on the Tigris, nearly at the end of
the Persian Gulf.

He entered Persia and sojourned at Chuzestan, a large
town, partly in ruins, which the river Tigris divided into
two parts, one rich the other poor, joined by a bridge, ovei:

TENTH AND THIRTEENTH CENTURIES 31

which hung the coffin of Daniel the prophet. He went to
Amaria, which is the boundary of Media, where he says
the impostor David-el-roi appeared, the worker of false
miracles, who is none other than our Lord Jesus Christ, but
called among the Jews of that part by the former name.
Then he went to Hamadan, where the tombs of Mordecai
and Esther are found, and by Dabrestan he reached Ispahan,
the capital of the kingdom, a city measuring twelve miles
in circumference. At this point the narrative of the traveler
becomes somewhat obscure; according to his notes we find
him at Shiraz, then at Samarcand, then at the foot of the
mountains in Thibet. This seems to have been his farthest
point towards the northeast; he must have come back to
Nizapur and Chuzestan on the banks of the Tigris; thence
after a sea voyage of two days, to El-Cachif, an Arabian
town on the Persian Gulf, where the pearl fishery is carried
on. Then, after another voyage of seven days and crossing
the Sea of Oman, he seems to have reached Quilon on the
coast of Malabar.

He was at last in India, the kingdom of the worshipers
of the sun and of the descendants of Cush. Twenty days
after leaving Quilon he was among the fire-worshipers in
Ceylon, and thence, perhaps, he went to China. He thought
this voyage a very perilous one, and says that many vessels
are lost on it, giving the following singular expedient for
averting the danger. " You should take on board with you
several skins of oxen, and, if the wind rises and threatens
the vessel with danger, all who wish to escape envelope
themselves each in a skin, sew up this skin so as to make it
as far as possible water-tight, then throw themselves into
the sea, and flocks of great eagles called griffins, thinking
that they are really oxen, will descend and bear them on
their wings to some mountain or valley, there to devour
their prey. Immediately on reaching land the man will kill
the eagle with his knife, and leaving tl.c skin, will walk
towards the nearest habitation ; " many people," he adds,
** have been saved by this means."

We find Benjamin of Tudela again at Ceylon, then at the
Island of Socotra in the Persian Gulf, and after crossing
the Red Sea he arrives in Abyssinia, which he styles *' the
India that is on terra firma." Thence he goes down the
Nile, crosses the country of Assouan, reaches the town of

32 THE WORLD OUTLINED

Holvan, and by the Sahara, where the sand swallows up
whole caravans, he goes to Zairlah, Kous, Faiotina and
Misraim or Cairo.

From Damietta, the traveler visited several neighboring
towns, then returning there he embarked on board a vessel
and twenty days afterwards landed at Messina. He wished
to continue the census that he was making, so by way of
Rome and Lucca he went to St. Bernard. He mentions
visiting several towns both in Germany and France, where
Jews had settled, and according to Chateaubriand's account,
Benjamin of Tuleda's computation brought the number of
Jews to about 768,165.

In conclusion the traveler speaks of Paris, which he seems
to have visited ; he says, " This great town numbers among
its inhabitants some remarkably learned men, who are un-
equaled for learning by any in the world; they spend all
their time studying law, and at the same time are very hos-
pitable to all strangers, but especially to all their Jewish
brethren." Such is the account of Benjamin of Tudela's
travels; they form an important part of the geographical
science of the middle of the twelfth century.

Next in order of succession we come to the name of Jean
du Plan de Carpin, or as some authors render it simply
Carpini. He was a Franciscan or Gray Friar, born in 1 182,
at Perugia in Italy. It is well known what inroads the Mon-
golians had made under Gengis-Khan, and in 1206 this
chieftain had made Karakorum, an ancient Turkish town,
his capital. This town was a little north of China. His suc-
cessor Ojadai, extended the Mongolian dominion into the
center of China, and, after raising an army of 600,000 men,
he even invaded Europe.

Pope Innocent IV. sent an ambassador to the Tartars,
but he was treated with arrogance ; at the same time he sent
other ambassadors to the Tartars living in Northeastern
Tartary, in the hope of stopping the Mongolian invasion,
and as chief in this mission the Franciscan Carpini was
chosen, being known to be a clever and intelligent diplo-
matist. Carpini was accompanied by Stephen, a Bohemian ;
they set out on the 6th of April, 1245, and went first to
Bohemia, where the king gave them letters to some relations
living in Poland, who he hoped might facilitate their entrance
into Russia. Carpini had no difficulty in reaching the terri-

V. XV Verne

TENTH AND THIRTEENTH CENTURIES 33

tory of the Archduke o£ Russia, and by his advice they
bought beaver and other furs as presents for the Tartar
chiefs. Thus provided, they took a northeasterly route to
Kiev, then the chief town of Russia, and now the seat of
Government of that part, but they traveled in fear of the
Lithuanians, who scoured the country at that time.

The Governor of Kiev advised the Pope's envoys to ex-
change their own for Tartar horses, who were accustomed
to seek for their food under the snow, and thus mounted
they had no difficulty in getting as far as Danilisha. There
they both were attacked by severe illness; when nearly re-
covered they bought a carriage, and in spite of the intense
cold set out again. Arrived at Kaniev, on the Dnieper,
they found themselves in the frontier town of the Mongol
empire, and hence they were conducted to the Tartar camp
by one of the chiefs, whom they had made their friend by
gifts. In the camp they were badly received at first, but
being directed to the Duke of Corrensa, who commanded an
army of 60,000 men forming the advanced guard, this
general sent them with an escort of three Tartars to Prince
Bathy, the next in command to the Emperor himself. Re-
lays of horses were prepared for them on the road, they
traveled night and day, and thus passed through the Comans'
country lying between the Dnieper, the Tanais, the Volga,
and the Yaik, frequently having to cross the frozen rivers,
and finally reaching the court of Prince Bathy on the fron-
tiers of the Comans' country, " As we were being con-
ducted to the prince," says Carpini, " we were told that we
should have to pass between two fires, in order to purify us
from any infection that we might carry, and also to do aw^ay
with any evil designs we might have towards the prince,
which we agreed to do that we might be freed from all
suspicion."

The prince was seated on his throne in the midst of his
courtiers and officers in a magnificent tent made of fine
linen. He had the reputation of being a just and kind ruler
of his people, but very cruel in war, Carpini and Stephen
were placed on the left of the throne, and the papal letters,
translated into a language composed of Tartar and Arabic,
were presented to the prince. He read them attentively and
then dismissed the envoys to their tents, where their only
refreshment was a little porringer full of millet.

34 THE WORLD OUTLINED.

This interview took place on Good Friday, and the next
day Bathy sent for the envoys, and told them they must
go to the Emperor. They set out on Easter day with two
guides; but having lived upon nothing but millet, water,
and salt, the travelers were but little fit for a journey; never-
theless their guides obliged them to travel very quickly,
changing horses five or six time in a day. They passed
through almost a desert country, the Tartars having driven
away nearly all the inhabitants. They came next to the
country of the Kangites to the east of Comania, where there
was a great deficiency of water; in this province the people
were mostly herdsmen, under the hard yoke of the Mon-
golians.

Carpini was traveling from Easter till Ascension Day
through the land of the Kangites, and thence he came into
the Biserium country, or what we call Turkestan in the pres-
ent day; on all sides the eye rested on towns and villages
in ruins. After crossing a chain of mountains the envoys
entered Kara-Katy on the ist of July; here the governor
received them very hospitably, and made his sons and the
principal officers of his court dance before them for their
amusement.

On leaving Kara-Katy the envoys rode for some days
along the banks of a lake lying to the north of the town of
Zeman, which must be, according to M. de Remusat, the
Lake Balkash. There lived Ordu, the eldest of the Tartar
captains, and here Carpini and Stephen took a day's rest be-
fore encountering the cold and mountainous country of the
Maimans, a nomadic people living in tents. After some
days the travelers reached the country of the Mongols, and
on the 22d of July arrived at the place where the Emperor
was, or rather he who was to be Emperor, the election hav-
ing not yet taken place.

This future Emperor was named Cunius; he received the
envoys in a most friendly manner, a letter from Prince
Bathy having explained to him the object of their visit; not
being yet Emperor he could not entertain them nor take any
part in public affairs, but from the time of Ojadai's death,
his widow, the mother of Prince Cunius, had been Regent;
she received the travelers in a purple and white tent capable
of holding 2,000 persons. Carpini gives the following ac-
count of the interview : " When we arrived we saw a large

TENTH AND THIRTEENTH CENTURIES 35

assembly of dukes and princes who had come from all parts
with their attendants, who were on horseback in the neigh-
boring fields and on the hills. The first day they were all
dressed in white and purple, on the second when Cunius
appeared in the tent, in red, on the third day they wore
violet, and on the fourth, scarlet, or crimson. Outside the
tent, in the surrounding palisade were two great gates, by
one of which the Emperor alone might enter; it was un-
guarded, but none dared to enter or leave by it; while the
other, which was the general entrance, was guarded by
soldiers with swords, and bows and arrows; if anyone ap-
proached within the prescribed limits he was beaten, or else
shot to death with arrows. We noticed several horsemen
there, on whose harness cannot have been less than twenty
marks' worth of silver."

A whole month passed away before Cunius was pro-
claimed Emperor, and the envoys were obliged to wait pa-
tiently for this before they could be received by him. Car-
pini turned this leisure time to account by studying the
habits of the people ; he has given much interesting informa-
tion on the subject in his account of his travels.

The country seemed to him to be principally very hilly
and the soil sandy, v/ith but little vegetation. There is
scarce any wood ; but all classes are content with dung for
fuel. Though the country is so bare, sheep seem to do
well. The climate is very changeable; in summer, storms
are very frequent, many fall victims to the vivid lightning,
and the wind is often so strong as even to blow over men
on horseback; during the winter there is no rain, which all
falls in the summer, and then scarcely enough to lay the
dust, while the storms of hail are terrible; during Carpini's
residence in the country they were so severe that once 140
persons were drowned by the melting of the enormous
mass of hail-stones that had fallen. It is a very extensive
country, but miserable beyond expression.

Carpini, who seems to have been a man of great discern-
ment, took a very just idea of the Tartars themselves. He
says: "Their eyes are set very far apart; they have very
high cheek-bones, their noses are small and flat; their eyes
small, and their eye-lashes and eyebrows seem to meet ; they
are of middle height with slender waists, they have small
beards, some wear mustaches, and what are now called im-

Z6 THE WORLD OUTLINED

perials. On the top of the head the hair is shaved off like
monks, and to the width of three fingers between their ears
they also shave off the hair, letting what is between the ton-
sure and the back of the head grow to some length ; in fact
it is as long as a woman's in many cases, and plaited and
tied in two tails behind the ear. They have small feet.
He says there is but little difference perceptible in the dress
of the men and women, all alike wearing long robes trimmed
with fur, and high buckram caps enlarged towards the up-
per part. Their houses are built like tents of rods and
stakes, so that they can be easily taken down and packed
on the beasts of burden. Other large dwellings are some-
times carried whole as they stand, on carts, and thus follow
their owner about the country.

" The Tartars believe in God as the Creator of the uni-
verse and as the Rewarder and Avenger of all, but they
also worship the sun, moon, fire, earth, and water, and idols
made in felt, like human beings. They have little tolera-
tion, and put Michel of Turnigoo and Feodor to death for
not worshiping the sun at midday at the command of Prince
Bathy. They are a superstitious people, believing in en-
chantment and sorcery, and looking upon fire as the purifier
of all things. When one of their chiefs dies he is buried
with a horse saddled and bridled, a table, a dish of meat,
a cup of mare's milk, and a mare and foal.

" The Tartars are most obedient to their chiefs, and are
truthful and not quarrelsome; murders and deeds of violence
are rare, there is very little robbery, and articles of value
are never guarded. They bear great fatigue and hunger
without complaint, as well as heat and cold, singing and
dancing under the most adverse circumstances. They are
much prone to drink to excess; they are very proud and
disdainful to strangers, and have no respect for the lives
of human beings."

Carpini completes his sketch of the Tartar character by
adding that they eat all kinds of animals, dogs, wolves,
foxes, horses, and even sometimes their fellow-creatures.
Their principal beverage is the milk of the mare, sheep,
goat, cow, and camel. They have neither wine, cervisia,
(a beverage composed of grain and herbs), nor mead, but
only intoxicating liquors. They are very dirty in their
habits, scarcely ever washing their porringers, or only do-

TENTH AND THIRTEENTH CENTURIES 37

ing so in their broth; they hardly ever wash their clothes,
more especially " when there is thunder about " ; and they
eat rats, mice, etc., if they are badly off for other food.
The men are not brought up to any manual labor, their
whole occupation consisting in hunting, shooting with bow
and arrows, watching the flocks, and riding. The women
and girls are very athletic and very brave, they prepare
furs and make clothes, drive carts and camels, and as
polygamy is practiced among them, and a man buys as
many wives as he can keep, there are enough women for all
these employments.

Such is the resume of Carpini's observations made dur-
ing his residence at Syra-Orda while he was awaiting the
Emperor's election. Soon he found that the election was
about to take place; he noticed that the courtiers always
sang before Cunius when he came out of his tent, and
bowed down before him with beautiful little wands in their
hands, having small pieces of scarlet wool attached to them.
On a plain about four leagues from Syra-Orda, beside a
stream, a tent was prepared for the Coronation, carpeted
with scarlet, and supported on columns covered with gold.
On St. Bartholomew's day a large concourse of people as-
sembled, each one fell on his knees as he arrived, and re-
mained praying toward the sun; but Carpini and his com-
panions refused to join in this idolatrous worship of the sun.
Then Cunius was placed on the imperial throne, and the
dukes and all the assembled multitudes having done hom-
age to him, he was consecrated.

As soon as this ceremony was over, Carpini and Stephen
were commanded to appear before the Emperor. They
were first searched and then entered the imperial pres-
ence at the same time as other Ambassadors, the bearers
of rich presents; the poor papal envoys had nothing to pre-
sent; whether this had anything to do with the length of
time they had to wait before his Imperial Majesty could
attend to their affairs we do not know; but days passed
slowly by, and they were nearly dying of hunger and
thirst, before they received a summons to appear before
the Secretary of the Emperor, and letters to the Pope were
given to them, ending with these words. " we worship God,
and by His help we shall destroy the whole earth from east
to west."

38 THE WORLD OUTLINED

The envoys had now nothing to wait for, and during the
whole of the winter they traveled across icy deserts.
About May they again arrived at the court of Prince
Bathy, who gave them free passes, and they reached Kiey
about the middle of June, 1247. On the 9th of October
of the same year the Pope made Carpini Bishop of Anti-
vari in Dalmatia, and this celebrated traveler died at Rome
about the year 1251.

Carpini's mission was not of much use, and the Tartars
remained much as they were before, a savage and ferocious
tribe; but six years after his return another monk of the
minor order of Franciscans, named William Rubruquis, of
Belgian origin, was sent to the barbarians who lived in the
country between the Volga and the Don. The object of
this journey was as follows :

St. Louis was waging war against the Saracens of Syria
at this time, and while he was engaging the Infidels, Er-
kalty, a Mongol prince, attacked them on the side nearest
to Persia, and thus caused a diversion that was in favor
of the King of France. The report arose that Prince
Erkalty had become a Christian, and St. Louis, anxious to
prove the truth of it, charged Rubruquis to go into the
prince's own country and there make what observations
he could upon the subject.

In the month of June, 1253, Rubruquis and his compan-
ions embarked for Constantinople. From thence they
reached the mouth of the river Don on the Sea of Azov
where they found a great number of Goths. On their ar-
rival among the Tartars, their reception was at first very
inhospitable, but after presenting the letters with which
they were furnished, Zagathal, the governor of that prov-
ince, gave them wagons, horses, and oxen for their journey.

Thus equipped they set out and were much surprised
next day by meeting a moving village ; that is to say, all the
huts were placed on wagons and were being moved away.
During the ten days that Rubruquis and his companions
were passing through this part of the country they were
very badly treated, and had it not been for their own store
of biscuits, they must have died of starvation. After pass-
ing by the end of the Sea of Azov they went in an easterly
direction and crossed a sandy desert on which neither tree
nor stone was visible. This was the country of the

TENTH AND THIRTEENTH CENTURIES 39

Comans that Carpini had traversed, but in a more northerly
part. Rubruquis left the mountains inhabited by the Cir-
cassians to the south, and after a wearisome journey of.
two months arrived at the camp of Prince Sartach on the
banks of the Volga.

This was the court of the prince, the son of Baatu-Khan;
he had six wives, each of whom possessed a palace of her
own, some houses, and a great number of chariots, some
of them very large, being drawn by a team of twenty-two
oxen harnessed in pairs.

Sartach received the envoys of the King of France very
graciously, and seeing their poverty, he supplied them with
all that they required. They were to be presented to the
prince in their sacerdotal dress, when, bearing on a cushion
a splendid Bible, the gift of the King of France, a Psalter
given by the Queen, a Missal, a crucifix and a censor, they
entered the royal presence, taking good care not to touch
the threshold of the door, which would have been consid-
ered profanation. Once in the royal presence, they sang
the " Salve Regina." After the prince and those of the
princesses who were present at the ceremony had examined
the books, etc., that the monks had brought with them, the
envoys were allowed to retire; it being impossible for Ru-
bruquis to form any opinion as to Sartach's being a Chris-
tian or not; but his work was not yet finished, the prince
having pressed the envoys to go to his father's court.
Rubruquis complied with the request, and crossing the
country lying between the Volga and the Don, they ar-
rived at their destination. There the same ceremonies had
to be gone through as at the court of Prince Sartach. The
monks had to prepare their books, etc., and be presented
to the Khan, who was seated on a large gilded throne, but
not wishing to treat with the envoys himself, he sent them
to Karakorum, to the court of Mangu-Khan.

They crossed the country of the Bashkirs and visited
Kenchat, Talach, passed the Axiartes and reached Equius,
a town of which the position cannot be accurately ascer-
tained in the present day; then by the land of Organum,
by the Lake of Balkash, and the territory of the Uigurs,
they arrived at Karakorum, the capital of the Mongolian
empire, where Carpini had stopped without entering the
town.

40 THE WORLD OUTLINED

This town, says Rubruquis, was surrounded with walls
of earth, and had four gates in the walls. The principal
buildings it contained were two mosques and a Christian
church. While in this city, the monk made many inter-
esting observations on the surrounding people, especially
upon the Tangurs, whose oxen, of a remarkable race, are
no other than the Yaks, so celebrated in Thibet. In speak-
ing of the Thibetans he notices their most extraordinary
custom of eating the bodies of their fathers and mothers,
in order to secure their having an honorable sepulture.

When Rubruquis and his companions reached Karako-
rum, they found that the great khan was not in his capital,
but in one of his palaces which was situated on the further
side of the mountains which rise in the northern part of the
country. They followed him there, and the next day after
their arrival presented themselves before him with bare
feet, according to the Franciscan custom, so securing for
themselves frozen toes. Rubruquis thus describes the in-
terview : " Mangu-Khan is a man of middle height with a
flat nose; he was lying on a couch clad in a robe of bright
fur. Which was speckled like the skin of a sea-calf." He
was surrounded with falcons and other birds. Several
kinds of beverages, arrack punch, fermented mare's milk,
and ball, a kind of mead, were offered to the envoys; but
they refused them all. The khan, less prudent than they,
soon became intoxicated on these drinks, and the audience
had to be ended without any result being arrived at. Ru-
bruquis remained several days at Mangu-Khan's court;
he found there a great number of German and French pris-
oners, mostly employed in making different kinds of arms,
or in working the mines of Bocol. The prisoners were
well treated by the Tartars, and did not complain of their
lot. After several interviews with the great khan, Ru-
bruquis gained permission to leave, and he returned to
Karakorum.

Near this town stood a magnificent palace, belonging to
the khan; it was like a large church with nave and double
aisles; here the sovereign sits at the northern end on a
raised platform, the gentlemen being seated on his right,
and the ladies on his left hand. It is at this palace that
twice every year splendid fetes are given, when all the
nobles of the country are assembled round their sovereign.

TENTH AND THIRTEENTH CENTURIES 41

While at Karakorum, Rubruquls collected many inter-
esting documents relating to the Chinese, their customs,
literature, etc.; then leaving the capital of the Mongols, he
returned by the same route as he had come, as far as As-
trakhan; but there he branched to the south and went to
Syria with a Turkish escort, which was rendered necessary
by the presence of tribes bent on pillage. He visited
Derbend, and went thence by Nakshivan, Erzeroum, Sivas,
Csesarea, and Inconium, to the port of Kertch, whence he
embarked for his own country. His route was much the
same as that of Carpini, but his narrative is less interest-
ing, and the Belgian does not seem to have been gifted
with the spirit of observation which characterized the Italian
monk.

With Carpini and Rubruquis closes the list of celebrated
travelers of the thirteenth century, but we have the brilliant
career of Marco Polo now before us, whose travels ex-
tended over part of the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries.

CHAPTER IV

MARCO POLO, I253-I324

The Genoese and Venetian merchants could not fail to be
much interested in the explorations of the brave travelers
in Central Asia, India, and China, for they saw that these
countries would give them new openings for disposing of
their merchandise. The interests of commerce stimulated
fresh explorations, and it was this motive that actuated two
noble Venetians to leave their homes, and brave all the
fatigue and danger of a perilous journey.

These two Venetians belonged to the family of Polo,
iwhich had come originally from Dalmatia, and, owing to
successful trading, had become so opulent as to be reckoned
among the patrician families of Venice. In 1260 the two
brothers, Niccolo and Matteo, who lived for some years
in Constantinople, where they had established a branch
house, went to the Crimea, with a considerable stock of
precious stones, where their eldest brother, Andrea Polo,
had his place of business. Thence, taking a northeasterly
direction and crossing the country of the Comas, they
reached the camp of Barkai-Khan on the Volga. This

42 THE WORLD OUTLINED

Mongol prince received the two merchants very kindly,
and bought all the jewels they offered him at double their
value.

Niccolo and Matteo remained a year in the Mongoliari
camp, but a war breaking out at this time between Barkai,
and Houlagou, the conqueror of Persia, the two brothers,
not wishing to be in the midst of a country where war was
being waged, went to Bokhara, and there they remained
three years. But when Barkai was vanquished and his
capital taken, the partisans of Houlagou induced the two
Venetians to follow them to the residence of the grand
Khan of Tartary, who was sure to give them a hearty wel-
come. This Kubla'i-Khan, the fourth son of Gengis-Khan,
was Emperor of China, and was then at his summer-palace
in Mongolia, on the frontier of the Chinese empire.

The Venetian merchants set out, and were a whole year
crossing the immense extent of country lying between
Bokhara and the northern limits of China. Kublai-Khan,
was much pleased to receive these strangers from the distant
West. He feted them, and asked, with much eagerness,
for any information that they could give him of what was
happening in Europe, requiring details of the government
of the various kings and emperors, and their methods of
making war; and he then conversed at some length about
the Pope and the state of the Latin Church. Matteo and
Niccolo fortunately spoke the Tartar language fluently, so
they could freely answer all the emperor's questions.

It had occurred to Kubla'i-Khan to send messengers to
the Pope; and he seized the opportunity to beg the two
brothers to act as his ambassadors to his Holiness. The
merchants thankfully accepted his proposal, for they fore-
saw that this new character would be very advantageous to
them. The emperor had some charters drawn up in the
Turkish language, asking the Pope to send a hundred
learned men to convert his people to Christianity; then he
appointed one of his barons named Cogatal to accompany
them, and he charged them to bring him some oil from the
sacred lamp, which is perpetually burning before the tomb
of Christ at Jerusalem.

The two brothers took leave of the Khan, having been
furnished with passports by him, which put both men and
horses at their disposal throughout the empire, and in 1266

MARCO POLO 43

they set out on their journey. Soon the baron Cogatal fell
ill, and the Venetians were obliged to leave him and continue
their journey; but in spite of all the aid that had been given
to them, they were three years in reaching the port of Laias,
in Armenia, now known by the name of Issus. Leaving
this port, they arrived at Acre in 1269, where they heard
of the death of Pope Clement IV., to whom they were sent,
but the legate Theobald lived in Acre and received the
Venetians; learning what was the object of their mission he
begged them to wait for the election of the new Pope.

The brothers had been absent from their country for
fifteen years, so they resolved to return to Venice, and at
Negropont they embarked on board a vessel that was going
direct to their native town.

On landing there, Niccolo was met by news of the death
of his wife, and of the birth of his son, who had been born
shortly after his departure in 1254; this son was the cele-
brated Marco Polo. The two brothers waited at Venice
for the election of the Pope, but at the end of two years,
as it had not taken place, they thought they could no longer
defer their return to the Emperor of the Mongols; accord-
ingly they started for Acre, taking Marco Polo with them,
who could not then have been more than seventeen. At
Acre they had an interview with the legate Theobald, who
authorized them to go to Jerusalem and there to procure
some of the sacred oil. This mission accomplished, the
Venetians returned to Acre and asked the legate to give
them letters to Kublai-Khan, mentioning the death of Pope
Clement IV. ; he complied with their request, and they re-
turned to La'ias or Issus. There, to their great joy, they
learnt that the legate Theobald had just been made Pope
with the title of Gregory X., on the ist of September, 1271.
The newly-elected Pope sent at once for the Venetian en-
voys, and the King of Armenia placed a galley at their dis-
posal to expedite their return to Acre. The Pope received
them with much affection, and gave them letters to the Em-
peror of China; he added two preaching friars, Nicholas of
Vicenza and William of Tripoli, to their party, and gave
them his blessing on their departure. They went back to
Lai'as, but had scarcely arrived before they were made
prisoners by the soldiers of the Mameluke Sultan Bibars,
who was then ravaging Armenia. The two preaching

44 THE WORLD OUTLINED

friars were so discouraged at this outset of the expedition
that they gave up all idea of going to China, and left the
two Venetians and Marco Polo to prosecute the journey
together as best they could.

Here begins what may properly be called Marco Polo's
travels. It is a question if he really visited all the places
that he describes, and it seems probable that he did not; in
fact, in the narrative written at his dictation by Rusticien of
Pisa it is stated " Marco Polo, a wise and noble citizen of
Venice, saw nearly all herein described with his own eyes,
and what he did not see he learnt from the lips of truthful
and credible witnesses; " but we must add that the greater
part of tlie kingdoms and towns spoken of by Marco Polo
he certainly did visit. His travels are too well known to
need repetition here.

CHAPTER Vj

IBN BATUTA, I328-I353

Following in the steps of Marco Polo, a Franciscan
monk traversed the whole of Asia, from the Black Sea to
the extreme limits of China, passing by Trebizond, Mount
Babel, Ararat, and the island of Java; but he was so credu-
lous of all that was told him, and his narrative is so con-
fused, that but little reliance can be placed upon it. It is
the same with the fabulous travels of Jean de Mandeville.
Cooley says of them, " They are so utterly untrue, that they
have not their parallel in any language."

But we find a worthy successor to the Venetian traveler
in an Arabian theologian, named Abdallah El Lawati, better
known by the name of Ibn Batuta. He did for Egypt,
Arabia, Anatolia, Tartary, India, China, Bengal, and
Soudan, what Marco Polo had done for Central Asia, and he
is worthy to be placed in the foremost rank as a brave
traveler and bold explorer. In the year 1324, the 725th
year of the Hegira, he resolved to make a pilgrimage to
Mecca, and starting from Tangier, his native town, he went
first to Alexandria, and thence to Cairo. During his stay
in Egypt he turned his attention to the Nile, and especially
to the Delta; then he tried to sail up the river, but being
stopped by disturbances on the Nubian frontier, he was

IBN BATUTA 45

obliged to return id the mouth of the river, and then set
sail for Asia Minor.

After visiting Gaza, the tombs of Abraham, Isaac, and
Jacbo, Tyre, then strongly fortified and unassailable on
three sides, and Tiberias, which was in ruins, and whose
celebrated baths were completely destroyed, Ibn Batuta was
attracted by the wonders of Lebanon, the center for all
the hermits of that day, who had judiciously chosen one of
the most lovely spots in the whole world wherein to end
their days. Then passing Baalbec, and going on to Da-
mascus, he found the city (in the year 1345) decimated by
the plague. This fearful scourge devoured " 24,000 per-
sons daily," if we may believe his report, and Damascus
would have been depopulated, had not the prayers of all the
people offered up in the mosque containing the stone with
the print of Moses' foot upon it, been heard and answered.
On leaving Damascus, Ibn Batuta went to Mesjid, where he
visited the tomb of Ali, which attracts a large number of
paralytic pilgrims who need only to spend one night in
prayer beside it, to be completely cured. Batuta does not
seem to doubt the authenticity of this miracle, well known
in the East under the title of " the Night of Cure."

From Mesjid, the traveler went to Bussorah, and entered
the kingdom of Ispahan, and then the province of Shiraz,
vv'here he wished to converse with the celebrated worker of
miracles, Magd Oddin. From Shiraz he went to Baghdad,
to Tabriz, then to Medina, where he prayed beside the tomb
of the Prophet, and finally to Mecca, where he remained
three years. It is well known that from Mecca, caravans
are continually starting for the surrounding country, and
it was in company with some of these bold merchants that
Ibn Batuta was able to visit the towns of Yemen. He went
as far as Aden, at the mouth of the Red Sea, and embarked
for Zaila, one of the Abyssinian ports. He was now once
more on African ground, and advanced into the country
of the Berbers, that he might study the manners and cus-
toms of those dirty and repulsive tribes; he found their diet
consisted wholly of fish and camels' flesh. But in the town
of Makdasbu, there was an attempt at comfort and civiliza-
tion, presenting a most agreeable contrast with the sur-
rounding squalor. The inhabitants were very fat, each of
them, to use Ibn's own expression, " eating enough to feed

46 THE WORLD OUTLINED

a convent"; they were very fond of delicacies, such as
plantains boiled in milk, preserved citrons, pods of fresh
pepper, and green ginger.

After seeing all he wished of the country of the Berbers,
chiefly on the coast, he resolved to go to Zanguebar, and
then, crossing the Red Sea and following the coast of
Arabia, he came to Zafar, a town situated upon the Indian
Ocean. The vegetation of this country is most luxuriant,
the betel, cocoa-nut, and incense-trees forming there great
forests; still the traveler pushed on, and came to Ormuz
on the Pe/sian Gulf, and passed through several provinces
of Persia. We find him a second time at Mecca in the
year 1332, three years after he had left it.

But this was only to be a short rest for the traveler, for
now, leaving Asia for Africa, he went to Upper Egypt, a
region but little known, and thence to Cairo. Pie next
visted Syria, making a short stay at Jerusalem and Tripoli,
and thence he visited the Turkomans of Anatolia, where
the " confraternity of young men " gave him a most hearty
.welcome.

After Anatolia, the Arabian narrative speaks of Asia
Minor. Ibn Batuta advanced as far as Erzeroum, where
he was shown an aerolite weighing 620 pounds. Then,
crossing the Black Sea, he visited the Crimea, Kaffa, and
Bulgar, a town of sufficiently high latitude for the unequal
length of day and night to be very marked ; and at last he
reached Astrakhan, at the mouth of the Volga, where the
Khan of Tartary lived during the winter months.

The Princess Bailun, the wife of the khan, and daughter
of the Emperor of Constantinople, was wishing to visit her
father, and it was an opportunity not to be lost by Ibn
Batuta for exploring Turkey in Europe; he gained permis-
sion to accompany the princess, who set out attended by
5,000 men, and followed by a portable mosque, which was
set up at every place where they stayed. The princess's
reception at Constantinople was very magnificent, the bells
being rung with such spirit that he says, " even the horizon
seemed full of the vibration."

The welcome given to the theologian by the princes of the
country was worthy of his fame; he remained in the city
thirty-six days, so that he was able to study it in all its
details.

IBN BATUTA 47

This was a time when communication between the differ-
ent countries was both dangerous and difficult, and Ibn
Batuta was considered a very bold traveler. Egypt, Arabia,
Turkey in Asia, the Caucasian provinces had all in turn
been explored by him. After such hard work he might well
have taken rest and been satisfied with the laurels that he
had gained, for he was without doubt the most celebrated
traveler of the fourteenth century; but his insatiable passion
for traveling remained, and the circle of his explorations
was still to widen considerably.

On leaving Constantinople, Ibn Batuta went again to
Astrakhan, thence crossing the sandy wastes of the present
Turkestan, he arrived at Khovarezen, a large populous town,
then at Bokhara, half destroyed by the armies of Gengis-
Khan. Some time after we hear of him at Samarcand, a
religious town which greatly pleased the learned traveler,
and then at Balkh which he could not reach without cross-
ing the desert of Khorassan. This town was all in ruins
and desolate, for the armies of the barbarians had been
there, and Ibn Batuta could not remain in it, but wished
to go westward to the frontier of Afghanistan. The
mountainous country, near the Hindoo Koosh range, con-
fronted him, but this was no barrier to him, and after great
fatigue, which he bore with equal patience and good-humor,
he reached the important town of Herat.

Following the course of the river Kabul and the frontiers
of Afghanistan, he came to the Sindhu, the modern Indus,
and descended it to its mouth. From the town of Lahore,
he went to Delhi, which great and beautiful city had been
deserted by its inhabitants, who had fled from the Emperor
Mohammed.

This tyrant, who was occasionally both generous and
magnificent, received the Arabian traveler very well, made
him a judge in Delhi, and gave him a grant of land with
some pecuniary advantages that were attached to the post,
but these honors were not to be of any long duration, for
Ibn Batuta being implicated in a pretended conspiracy,
thought it best to give up his place, and make himself a
fakir to escape the Emperor's displeasure. Mohammed,
however, pardoned him, and made him his ambassador to
China.

Fortune again smiled upon the courageous traveler, and

48 THE WORLD OUTLINED

he had now the prospect of seeing iHese distant lands under
exceptionally good and safe circumstances. He was
charged with presents for the Emperor of China, and 2,000
horse-soldiers were given him as an escort.

But Ibn Batuta had not thought of the insurgents v/ho
occupied the surrounding countries; a skirmish took place
between the escort and the Hindoos, and the traveler, being
separated from his companions, was taken prisoner, robbed,
garroted and carried off he knew not whither; but his cour-
age and hopefulness did not forsake him, and he contrived
to escape from the hands of these robbers. After wander-
ing about for seven days, he was received into the house
of a negro, who at length led him back to the emperor's
palace at Delhi.

Mohammed fitted out another expedition, and again ap-
pointed the Arabian traveler as his ambassador. This time
they passed through the enemy's country without molesta-
tion, and by way of Kanoje, Mersa, Gwalior, and Barun,
they reached Malabar. Some time after, they arrived at the
great port of Calicut, an important place which became
afterwards the chief town of Malabar; here they were de-
tained by contrary winds for three months, and made use
of this time to study the Chinese mercantile marine which
frequented this port. Ibn speaks with great admiration of
these junks which are like floating gardens, where ginger
and herbs are grown on deck; they are each like a separate
village, and some merchants were the possessors of a great
number of these junks.

At last the wind changed; Ibn Batuta chose a small junk
well fitted up, to take him to China, and had all his prop-
erty put on board. Thirteen other junks were to receive
the presents sent by the King of Delhi to the Emperor of
China, but during the night a violent storm arose, and all the
vessels sank. Fortunately for Ibn he had remained on
shore to attend the service at tHe mosque, and thus his
piety saved his life, but he had lost everything except " the
carpet which he used at his devotions." After this second
misfortune he could not make up his mind to appear before
the King of Delhi. This catastrophe was enough to weary
the patience of a more long-suffering emperor than Mo-
hammed.

Ibn soon made up his mind what to do. Leaving the

v. XV Verne

IBN BATUTA 49

service of the emperor, and the advantages attaching to the
post of ambassador, he embarked for the Maldive Islands,
which were governed by a woman, and where a large trade
in cocoa was carried on. Here he was again made a judge,
but this was only of short duration, for the vizier became
jealous of his success, and, after marrying three wives, Ibn
was obliged to take refuge in flight. He hoped to reach
the Coromandel coast, but contrary winds drove his vessel
towards Ceylon, where he was very well received, and
gained the king's permission to climb the sacred mountain
of Serendid, or Adam's Peak. His object was to see the
wonderful impression of a foot at the summit, which the
Hindoos call " Buddha's," and the Mahometans '* Adam's,
foot." He pretends, in his narrative, that this impression
measures eleven hands in length, a very different account
from that of an historian of the ninth century, who de-
clared it to be seventy-nine cubits long. This historian
also adds that while one of the feet of our forefather rested
on the mountain, the other was in the Indian ocean.

Ibn Batuta speaks also of large bearded apes, forming a
considerable item in the population of the island, and said to
be under a king of their own, crowned with leaves. We can
give what credit we like to such fables as these, which were
propagated by the credulity of the Hindoos.

From Ceylon, the traveler made his way to the Coroman-
del coast, but not without experiencing some severe storms.
He crossed to the other side of the Indian peninsula, and
again embarked.

But his vessel was seized by pirates, and Ibn Batuta ar-
rived at Calicut almost without clothes, robbed, and worn
put with fatigue. No misfortune could damp his ardor, his
iwas one of those great spirits which seem only invigorated
by trouble and disasters. As soon as he was enabled by the
kindness of some Delhi merchants to resume his travels, he
embarked for the Maldive Islands, went on to Bengal, there
set sail for Sumatra, and disembarked at one of the Nicobar
Islands after a very bad passage which had lasted fifty days.
Fifteen days afterwards he arrived at Sumatra, where the
king gave him a hearty welcome and furnished him with
means to continue his journey to China.

A junk took him in seventy-one days to the port Kailuka,
capital of a country somewhat problematical, of which the

so THE WORLD OUTLINED

brave and handsome inhabitants excelled in making weap-
ons. From Kailuka, Ibn passed into the Chinese prov-
inces, and went first to the splendid town of Zaitem,
probably the present Tsieun-tcheou of the Chinese, a little
to the north of Nankin. He passed through various cities
of this great empire, studying the customs of the people and
admiring everywhere the riches, industry, and civilization
that he found, but he did not get as far as the Great Wall,
which he calls " The obstacle of Gog and Magog." It was
while he was exploring this immense tract of country that
he made a short stay in the city of Tchensi, which is com-
posed of six fortified towns standing together. It hap-
pened that during his wanderings he was able to be present
at the funeral of a khan, who was buried with four slaves,
six of his favorites, and four horses.

In the meanwhile, disturbances had occurred at Zaitem,
which obliged Ibn to leave this town, so he set sail for Su-
matra, and then after touching at Calicut and Ormuz, he
returned to Mecca in 1348, having made the tour of Persia
and Syria.

But the time of rest had not yet come for this indefatig-
able explorer; the following year he revisited his native
place Tangier, and then after traveling in the southern coun-
tries of Europe he returned to Morocco, went to Soudan
and the countries watered by the Niger, crossed the Great
Desert and entered Timbuctoo, thus making a journey which
would have rendered illustrious a less ambitious traveler.

This was to be his last expedition. In 1353, twenty-nine
years after leaving Tangier for the first time, he returned
to Morocco, and settled at Fez. He has earned the reputa-
tion of being the most intrepid explorer of the fourteenth
century, and well merits to be ranked next after Marco
Polo, the illustrious Venetian.

CHAPTER VI

CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS, I436-I506

The year 1492 is an era in geographical annals. It is
the date of the discovery of America. The genius of one
man was fated to complete the terrestrial globe, and to show
the truth of Gagliuffi's saying:

CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS 51

Unus erat mundus ; duo sint, ait iste ; f uere.

The old world was to be entrusted with the moral and
political education of the new. Was it equal to the task,
with its ideas still limited, its tendencies still semi-barbarous,
and its bitter religious animosites? We must leave the an-
swer to these questions to the facts that follow.

Between the explorations of Ibn Batuta and the year
1492, what had taken place? We will give a short sketch
of the geographical enterprise of the intervening years. Ai
considerable impetus had been given to science by the
Arabs (who were soon to be expelled from Spain), and had
spread throughout the peninsula. Toward the end of the
fourteenth century Jean de Bcthencourt, a French noble-
man, conquered the Canary Isles in the name of Spain; and
in all the ports, but more especially in those of Portugal,
there was much talk of the continent of Africa, and the rich
and wonderful countries beyond the sea. " A thousand
anecdotes," says Michelet, " stimulated curiosity, valor and
avarice, everyone wishing to see these mysterious countries
where monsters abounded and gold was scattered over the
surface of the land." A young prince, Don Henry, duke
of Viseu, third son of John I., who was very fond of the
study of astronomy and geography, exercised a considerable
influence over his contemporaries ; it is to him that Portugal
owes her colonial power and wealth and the expeditions so
repeatedly made, which were vividly described, and their
results spoken of as so wonderful, that they may have aided
in awakening Columbus's love of adventure. Don Henry
had an observatory built in the southern part of the province
of Algarve, at Sagres, commanding a most splendid view
over the sea, and seeming as though it must have been
placed there to seek for some unknown land ; he also estab-
lished a naval college, where learned geographers traced
correct maps and taught the use of the mariner's compass.
The young prince surrounded himself with learned men,
and especially gathered all the information he could as to
the possibility of circumnavigating Africa, and thus reach-
ing India. Though he had never taken part in any mari-
time expedition, his encouragement and care for seamen
gave him the soubriquet of " the Navigator," by which name
he is known in history. Two gentlemen belonging to Don
Henry's court, Juan Gonzales Zarco, and Tristram Vaz

52 THE WORLD OUTLINED

Teixeira had passed Cape Nun, the terror of ancient navi-
gators, when they were carried out to sea and passed near
an island to which they gave the name of Porto-Santo.
Sometime afterwards, as they were sailing towards a black
point that remained on the horizon, they came to a large
island covered with splendid forests ; this was Madeira,

In 1433, Cape Bojador, which had for long been such a
difficulty to navigators, was first doubled by the two Portu-
guese sailors, Gillianes and Gonzales Baldaya, who passed
more than forty leagues beyond It.

Encouraged by their example, Antonio Gonzales, and
Nuno Tristram, in 1441, sailed as far as Cape Blanco, *' a
feat," says Faria y Souza, " that is generally looked upon
as being little short of the labors of Hercules," and they
brought back with them to Lisbon some gold dust taken
from the Rio del Ouro. In a second voyage Tristram no-
ticed some of the Cape de Verd Islands, and went as far
south as Sierra Leone. In the course of this expedition,
he bought from some Moors off the coast of Guinea, ten
negroes, whom he took back with him to Lisbon and parted
with for a very high price, they having excited great curi-
osity. This was the origin of the slave-trade in Europe,
which for the next 400 years robbed Africa of so many of
her people, and was a disgrace to humanity.

In 1 44 1, Cada Mosto doubled Cape Verd, and explored
a part of the coast below it. About 1446, the Portuguese,
advancing further into the open sea than their predecessors,
came upon the group of the Azores. From this time all
fear vanished, for the formidable line had been passed, be-
yond which the air was said to scorch like fire; expeditions
succeeded each other without intermission, and each brought
home accounts of newly-discovered regions. It seemed as
if the African continent was really endless, for the further
they advanced towards the south, the further the cape they
sought appeared to recede. Some little time before this.
King John II. had added the title of Seigneur of Guinea to
his other titles, and to the discovery of Congo had been
added fhat of some stars in the southern hemisphere hith-
erto unknown. Diogo Cam, in three successive voyages,
went further south than any preceding navigator, and had
the honor of being the discoverer of the southern point of
the African continent This cape he called Cape Cross, and

CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS 53

here he raised a monument called a padrao or padron in
memory of his discovery, which is -still standing. On his
way back, he visited the King of Congo in his capital, and
took back with him an ambassador and numerous suite of
natives, who were all baptized, and taught the elements of
the Christian religion, which they were to propagate on their
return to Congo.

A short time after Diogo Cam's return in the month of
[August, 1487, three caravels left the Tagus under the com-
mand of Bartholomew Diaz, a gentleman attached to the
king's household, and an old sailor on the Guinea seas. He
had an experienced mariner under him, and the smallest of
the three vessels freighted with provisions, was commanded
by his brother Pedro Diaz. We have no record of the
earlier part of this expedition ; we only know, from Joao de
Barros, to whom we owe nearly all we learn of Portuguese
navigation, that beyond Congo he followed the coast for
some distance, and came to an anchorage that he named
" Das Voltas " on account of the manner in which he had
to tack to reach it, and there he left the smallest of the cara-
vels under the care of nine sailors. After having been de-
tained here five days by stress of weather, Diaz stood out
to sea, and took a southerly course, but for thirteen days
his vessels were tossed hither and thither by the tempest.

As he went further south the temperature fell and the air
became very cold; at last the fury of the elements abated,
and Diaz took an easterly course hoping to sight the land.
After several days had passed, and being in about 42° south
latitude, he anchored in the bay " dos Vaquieros," so named
from the numbers of horned animals and shepherds, who
fled inland at the sight of the two vessels.

At this time Diaz was about 120 miles east of the Cape of
Good Hope, which he had doubled without seeing it. They
then went to Sam Braz (now Mossel) bay, and coasted as
far as Algoa bay and to an island called Da Cruz where
they set up a padrao. But here the crews being much dis-
couraged by the dangers they had passed through, and feel-
ing much the scarcity and bad quality of the provisions,
refused to go any farther. *' Besides," they said, " as the
land is now on our left, let us go back and see the Cape,
which we have doubled wnthout knowing it."

Diaz called a council, and decided that they should go

54 THE WORLD OUTLINED

forwards in a northeasterly direction for two or three days
longer. We owe it to his firmness of purpose that he was
able to reach a river, seventy-five miles from Da Cruz that
he called Rio Infante, but then the crew refusing to go far-
ther, Diaz was obliged to return to Europe. Barros says :
" When Diaz left the pillar that he had erected, it was with
such sorrow and so much bitterness, that it seemed almost
as though he were leaving an exiled son, and especially when
he thought of all the dangers that he and his companions
had passed through, and the long distance which they had
come with only this memorial as a remembrance: it was
indeed painful to break off when the task was but half com-
pleted." At last they saw the Cape of Good Hope, or as
Diaz and his followers called it then, the " Cape of Tor-
ments," in remembrance of all the storms and tempests
they had passed through before they could double it. With
the foresight which so often accompanies genius, John II.
substituted for the " Cape of Torments," the name of the
" Cape of Good Hope," for he saw that now the route to
India was open at last, and his vast plans for the extension
of the commerce and influence of his country were about
to be realized.

On the 24th of August, 1488, Diaz returned to Angra
das Voltas, where he had left his smallest caravel. He
found six of his nine men dead, and the seventh was so
overcome with joy at seeing his companions again that he
died also. No particular incident marked the voyage home;
they reached Lisbon in December, 1488, after staying at
Benin, where they traded, and at La Mina to receive the
money gained by the commerce of the colony.

It is strange but true, that Diaz not only received no
reward of any kind for this voyage which had been so suc-
cessful, but he seemed to be treated rather as though he had
disgraced himself, for he was not employed again for ten
years. More than this the command of the expedition that
was sent to double the caoe which Diaz had discovered, was
given to Vasco da Gama, and Diaz was only to accompany
it to La Mina holding a subordinate position. He was to
hear of the marvelous campaign of his successful rival in
India, and to see what an effect such an event would have
upon the destiny of his country.

He took part in Cabral's expedition which discovered

CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS 55

Brazil, but he had not the pleasure of seeing the shores to
which he had been the pioneer, for the fleet had only just
left the American shore, when a fearful storm arose; four
vessels sank, and among them the one that Diaz com-
manded. It is in allusion to his sad fate that Camoens puts
the following prediction into the mouth of Adamastor, the
spirit of the Cape of Tempests. " I will make a terrible
example of the first fleet that shall pass near these rocks,
and I will wreak my vengeance on him who first comes to
brave me in my dwelling."

In fact it was only in 1497, "laybe five years after the
discovery of America, that the southern point of Africa was
passed by Vasco da Gama, and it may be affirmed that if
this latter had preceded Columbus, the discovery of the
new continent might have been delayed for several cen-
turies. The navigators of this period were very timorous,
and did not dare to sail out into mid-ocean; not liking to
venture upon seas that were but little known, they always
followed the coast-line of Africa, rather than go further
from land. If the Cape of Tempests had been doubled,
the sailors would have gone by this route to India, and none
would have thought of going to the " Land of Spices," that
is to say Asia, by venturing across the Atlantic. Who, in
fact, would have thought of seeking for the east by the
route to the west? But in truth this zvas the great idea of
that day, for Cooley says, " The principal object of Portu-
guese maritime enterprise in the fifteenth century was to
search for a passage to India by the Ocean." The most
learned men had not gone so far as to imagine the existence
of another continent to complete the equilibrium and bal-
ance of the terrestrial globe. The wonderful voyage of
Columbus was thus an inspiration which revolutionized the
world His life and labors should be read in full in the
books devoted to him.

CHAPTER VII

THE CONQUEST OF INDIA AND OF THE SPICE COUNTRIES

At the same time that the King of Portugal, John XL,
despatched Diaz to seek in the south of Africa the route to
the Indies, he ordered two gentlemen of his court to find

56 THE WORLD OUTLINED

out if it would not be possible to attain the same end by an
easier, safer, and more rapid means ; by way of the isthmus
of Suez, the Rea Sea, and the Indian Ocean.

For carrying out such a mission there was needed a clever,
enterprising man, well acquainted wnth the difficulties of a
journey in those regions, and possessing a knowledge of the
Oriental languages, or at the very least, of Arabic. This
agent must be of a versatile disposition, and able to dis-
semble ; capable, in a w^ord, of concealing the real meaning
of projects which aimed at nothing less than withdrawing
all the commerce of Asia from the hands of the Mussulmans
and Arabs, and through them from the Venetians, in order
to enrich Portugal with it.

There was living at this time an experienced navigator,
Pedro de Covilham, who had served with distinction under
Alonzo V. in the war with Castile, and who had made a long
stay in Africa. It was upon him that John II. cast his eye,
and Alonzo de Paiva was given him as a colleague. They
left Lisbon in the month of May, 1487, furnished with de-
tailed instructions, and with a chart drawn according to
Bishop Calsadilla's map of the World, by the help of which
the tour of Africa might be made.

The two travelers reached Alexandria and Cairo, where
they v/ere much gratified at meeting with some Moorish
traders from Fez and Tlemcen, who conducted them to
Tor — the ancient Eziongeber — at the foot of Sinai, where
they were able to procure some valuable information upon
the trade of Calicut. Covilham resolved to take advan-
tage of this fortunate circumstance to visit a country which,
for more than a century, had been regarded by Portugal
with covetous longing, while Paiva set out to penetrate into
those regions then so vaguely designated as Ethiopia, in
quest of the famous Prester John, who, according to old
travelers, reigned over a marvelously rich and fertile coun-
try in Africa. Paiva doubtless perished in his adventurous
enterprise, being never again heard of.

As for Covilham, he traveled to Aden, whence he em-
barked for the Malabar coast. He visited in succession
Cananore, Calicut, and Goa, and collected accurate informa-
tion upon the commerce and productions of the countries
bordering on the Indian Ocean, without arousing the fears
of the Hindoos, who could not suspect that the kind and

THE CONQUEST OF INDIA 57

friendly welcome they accorded to the traveler would bring
about in the future the enthralment and ruin of their coun-
try. Covilham, not considering that he had yet done
enough for his country, quitted India, and went to the east-
ern coast of Africa, where he visited Mozambique, Sofala —
long famous for its gold mines, of which the reputation,
by means of the Arabs, had even reached Europe — and
Zeila, the Avalites partus of the ancients, and the principal
town of the Adel coast, upon the Gulf of Oman, at the
entrance of the Arabian Sea. After a somewhat long stay
in that country, he returned by Aden, then the principal
entrepot of the commerce of the east, went as far as Ormuz,
at the entrance of the Persian Gulf, and then again passing
tjp the Red Sea, he arrived at Cairo.

John II. had sent to Cairo two learned Jews to await the
arrival of Covilham, and to one of these, the Rabbi Abra-
ham Beja, the traveler gave his notes, the itinerary of his
journey, and a map of Africa given to him by a Mussulman,
charging Beja to carry them all to Lisbon with the least
possible delay. For himself, not content with all that he
had done hitherto, and wishing to execute the mission which
death had prevented Pai'va from accomplishing, he went
into Abyssinia, where the " negus " or king, known by the
name of Prester John, flattered by seeing his alliance sought
by one of the most powerful sovereigns of Europe, received
him with the greatest kindness, and gave him a high position
at his court, but to make sure of retaining his services, he
constantly refused him permission to leave the country.
Although he had married there and had some children,
Covilham still longed for his native country, and when, in
1525, a Portuguese embassy, of which Alvares was a mem-
ber, came into Abyssinia, he witnessed the departure of his
countrymen with the deepest regret, and the chaplain of the
expedition has re-echoed his complaints and his grief.

M. Ferdinand Denis says, " By furnishing precise in-
formation upon the possibility of circumnavigating Africa,
by indicating the route to the Indies, by giving more posi-
tive and extended ideas upon the commerce of these coun-
tries, and above all, by describing the gold mines of Sofala,
and so exciting the cupidity of the Portuguese, Covilham
contributed greatly to accelerate the expedition of Gama."

If one may believe an old tradition, which is unsupported

58 THE WORLD OUTLINED

by any authentic document, Gama was descended by an
illegitimate line from Alphonso IIL, King of Portugal. His
father, Estevam Eanez de Gama, grand alcalde of Sines
and of Silves, in the kingdom of Algarve, and commander
of Seizal, occupied a high position at the court of John H.
He enjoyed great reputation as a sailor, so much so, that
just at the moment when his own unexpected death occurred.
King John was thinking of giving Gama the command of
the fleet which he was desirous of sending to the Indies.
By his marriage with Dona Isabella Sodre, daughter of
Juan de Resende, proveditore of the fortifications of San-
tarem, he had several children, and amongst them Vasco,
who first reached India by doubling the Cape of Good Hope,
and Paul, who accompanied him in that memorable expedi-
tion. It is known that Vasco was born at Sines, but the
date of his birth is uncertain; the year 1469 is that generally
given, but besides the fact that if this be the correct date,
Gama would have been very young — not more than eight
and twenty — when the important command of the expedi-
tion to the Indies was confided to him, there was discovered
twenty years ago, amongst the Spanish archives, a safe-
conduct to Tangier granted in 1478 to two persons, Vasco
da Gama and Lemos. It is scarcely probable that such a
passport would have been given to a child of nine years of
age, so that this discovery would appear to carry back the
birth of the celebrated voyager to an earlier date.

It seems that from an early period of his life, Vasco da
Gama was destined to follow the career of a sailor, in which
bis father had distinguished himself. The first historian of
the Indies, Lopez de Castaneda, delights in recalling the fact
that he had signalized himself upon the African seas. At
one time he was ordered to seize all the French ships lying
in the Portuguese ports, in revenge for the capture by
French pirates during a time of peace of a rich Portuguese
galleon returning from Mina. Such a mission would only
have been confided to an active, energetic and well-tried
captain, a clear proof that Gama's valor and cleverness were
highly appreciated by the king.

About this time he married Dona Caterina de Ataide, one
of the highest ladies about the court, and by her he had sev-
eral children, amongst others Estevam da Gama, who be-
came governor of the Indies, and Dom Christovam, who.

THE CONQUEST OF INDIA 59

says Gaucher, by his struggle with Ahmed Guerad in Abys-
sinia, and by his romantic death, deserves to be reckoned
amongst the famous adventurers of the sixteenth century.

All doubt as to the precise date of Gama's first voyage
is now at an end, thanks to the document in the public library
at Oporto, a paper with which Castaileda must have been
acquainted, and of which M. Ferdinand Denis has published
a translation in the Ancient and Modern Travelers of M. E.
Charton. The date may be fixed with certainty for Sat-
urday, the 8th of July, 1497.

This expedition had been long ago determined upon, and
all its details were minutely arranged. It was to be com-
posed of four vessels of medium size, " in order," says Pa-
checo, " that they may enter everywhere and again issue
forth rapidly." They were solidly constructed, and pro-
vided with a triple supply of sails and hawsers ; all the barrels
destined to contain water, oil, or wine had been strengthened
with iron hoops; large provisions of all kinds had been
made, such as flour, wine, vegetables, drugs, and artillery;
the personnel of the expedition consisted of the best sailors,
the cleverest pilots, and the m.ost experienced captains.

Gama, who had received the title of Capitam mor, hoisted
his flag upon the Sam-Gabriel of 120 tons. His brother
Paulo da Gama was on board the Sam-Raphael of 100 tons.
A caravel of 50 tons, the Berrio, so named in memory of
the pilot Berrio, who had sold her to Emmanuel I., was com-
manded by an experienced sailor, Nicolo Coelho, while Pedro
Nunes was the captain of a large barque, laden with pro-
visions and merchandise, destined for exchange with the
natives of the countries which should be visited. Pero de
Alemquer, who had been pilot to Bartholomew Diaz, was
to regulate the course of the vessels. The crews, including
ten criminals who were put on board to be employed on
any dangerous service, amounted to one hundred and sixty
persons. What feeble means these, what almost absurd re-
sources, compared with the grandeur of the mission which
these men were to accomplish !

The voyage was accomplished without any remarkable
incidents, and on the 4th of November, anchors were
dropped upon the African Coast in a bay which received
the name of Santa-Ellena. Eight days were spent there in
shipping wood, and in putting everything in order on board

6o THE WORLD OUTLINED

the vessels. It was there that they saw for tHe first timd
the Bushmen, a miserable and degraded race of people who
fed upon the flesh of sea wolves and whales, as well as
upon roots. The Portuguese carried off some of these
natives, and treated them with kindness. The savages
knew nothing of the value of the merchandise which was
offered to them, they saw the objects for the first time and
were ignorant of tlieir use. Copper was the only thing
which they appeared to prize, wearing in their ears small
chains of that metal. They understood well the use of the
zagayes — a kind of javelin, of which the point is hardened
in the fire — of which three or four of the sailors and even
Gama himself had unpleasant experience, while endeavoring
to rescue from their hands a certain Velloso, a man who had
imprudently ventured into the interior of the country. This
incident has furnished Camoens with one of the most charm-
ing episodes of the Lusiad.

On leaving Santa-Ellena, Pero de Memquer, formerly
pilot to Diaz, declared his belief that they were then ninety
miles from the Cape, but in the uncertainty the fleet stood
off to sea; on the i8th of November the Cape of Good Hope
was seen, and the next day it was doubled by the fleet sail-
ing before the wind. On the 25th the vessels were moored
in the Bay of Sam-Braz, where they remained thirteen days,
during which time the boat which carried the stores was de-
molished, and her cargo divided amongst the three other ves-
sels. During their stay the Portuguese gave the Bushmen
some hawks' bells and other objects, which, to their sur-
prise, were accepted, for in the time of Diaz the negroes
had shown themselves timid and even hostile, and had
thrown stones to prevent the crews from procuring water.
Now they brought oxen and sheep, and to show their pleas-
ure at the visit of the Portuguese, *' they began," says
Nicolas Velho, " to play upon four or five flutes, some set
high, some low, a wonderful harmony for negroes, from
whom one scarcely looks for music. They danced also, as
dance the blacks, and the Capitam mor commanded the
trumpets to sound, and we in our boats danced too, the
Capitam mor himself dancing, as soon as he had returned
amongst us."

What shall we say to this little fete and this mutual ser-
enade between the Portuguese and the negroes? Would

THE CONQUEST OF INDIA 6i

anyone have expected to behold Gama, a grave man, as his
portraits represent him, initiating the negroes into the
charms of the pavane? Unhappily these favorable disposi-
tions were transient, and it was found necessary to have
recourse to some hostile demonstrations by means of re-
peated discharges of artillery.

In this Bay of Sam-Braz Gama erected a padrao, which
was thrown down as soon as he was gone. The fleet soon
passed the Rio Infante, the furthest point reached by Diaz.
Here the ships experienced the effects of a strong current, of
which the violence was neutralized, thanks to a favorable
wind. On the 25th of December, Christmas Day, the coun-
try of Natal was discovered.

The ships had sustained some damage, and fresh water
was needed; it was therefore urgent for them to find some
harbor, whch they succeeded in doing on the loth of Janu-
ary, 1498. The blacks whom the Portuguese saw here upon
landing were people of greater stature than those whom they
had hitherto met with. Their arms were a large bow with
long arrows, and a zagaye tipped with iron. They were
Kaffirs, a race very superior to the Bushmen. Such happy
relations were quickly established with them that Gama
gave the country the name of the Land of the Good People.

'A' little further on, while still sailing up the coast, two
Mussulman traders, one wearing a turban, the other a hood
of green satin, came to visit the Portuguese, with a young
man who, " from what could be understood from their
signs belonged to a very distant country, and who said he
had already seen ships as large as ours." Vasco da Gama
took this as a proof that he was now approaching those In-
dian lands, which had been so long and so eagerly sought.
For this reason he named the river which flowed into the
sea at this place Rio dos Bonis Signaes (River of good
tokens.) Unhappily the first symptoms of scurvy appeared
at this time amongst the crews, and soon there were many
sailors upon the sick list.

On the loth of March the expedition cast anchor before
the Island of Mozambique, where, as Gama learnt through
his Arab interpreters, there were several merchants of Ma-
hometan extraction, who carried on trade with India. Gold
and silver, cloth and spices, pearls and rubies, formed the
staple of their commerce. Gama at the same time was as-

62 THE WORLD OUTLINED

sured that in pursuing the line of the coast, he would find
numerous cities: " Whereat we were so joyful," says Velho
in his naive and valuable narrative, " that we wept for pleas-
ure, praying God to grant us health that we might see all
that which we had so much desired."

The Viceroy Colyytam, who imagined he was dealing
with Mussulmans, came on board several times and was
magnificently entertained; he returned the civility by send-
ing presents, and even furnished Gama with two skillful
pilots, but when some Moorish merchants who had traded
in Europe told him that these foreigners, far from being
Turks, were in reality the worst enemies of the Mahome-
tans, the viceroy, disgusted at his mistake, made prepara-
tions for seizing the Portuguese by treachery, and killing
them. Gama was obliged to point his artillery at the town
and threaten to reduce it to ashes before he could obtain
the water needed for the prosecution of his voyage. Blood
flowed, and Paul da Gama captured two barques, whose rich
cargo was divided amongst the sailors. The ships quitted
this inhospitable town on the 29th of March, and the voyage
continued, a close surveillance being kept over the Arab
pilots, whom Gama was obliged to cause to be flogged.

On the 4th of April the coast v/as seen, and on the 8th
Mombasa or Mombaz was reached, a town, according to
the pilots, inhabited by Christians and Mussulmans. The
fleet dropped anchor outside the harbor, and did not enter
it, notwithstanding the enthusiastic reception given to them.
Already the Portuguese were reckoning upon meeting at
mass the next day with the Christians of the island, when
during the night, the flag-ship was approached by a savra,
having on board a hundred armed men, who endeavored
to enter the ships in a body, which was refused them. The
king of Mombaz was informed of all that had occurred at
Mozambique, but pretending ignorance, he sent presents to
Gama, proposing to him to establish a factory in his capital,
and assuring him that so soon as he should have entered
the port, he might take on board a cargo of spices and aro-
matics. The Capitam mor, suspecting nothing, immedi-
ately sent two men to announce his entry for the morrow ;
already they were weighing anchor when the flag-ship re-
fusing to tack, the anchor was let fall again. In graceful
and poetic fiction, Camoens affirms that it was the Nereids

THE CONQUEST OF INDIA 63

led by Venus, the protectress of the Portuguese, who stayed
their ships when on the point of entering the port. At this
moment all the Moors on board the fleet quitted it simul-
taneously, whilst the Mozambique pilots threw themselves
into the sea.

Two Moors who were put to the question with a drop of
hot oil, confessed that the intention was to take all the Portu-
guese prisoners as soon as they should be inside the harbor.
During the night the Moors endeavored several times to
climb on board and to cut the cables in order to run the
ships aground, but each time they were discovered. Under
these circumstances no prolonged stay was possible at Mom-
baz, but it had been long enough for all those ill of scurvy
to recover their health.

At the distance of four and twenty miles from land, the
fleet captured a barque richly laden with gold, silver, and
provisions. The next day Gama arrived at Melinda, a rich
and flourishing city, whose gilded minarets, sparkling in
the sunshine, and whose mosques of dazzling whiteness,
stood out against a sky of the most intense blue. The re-
ception of the Portuguese at Melinda was at first very cold,
the capture of the barque the evening before being already
known there, but as soon as explanations had been given, the
people became cordial. The king's son came to visit the
admiral, accompanied by a train of courtiers splendidly
dressed, and a choir of musicians, who played upon various
instruments. The greatest astonishment was shown at the
artillery practice, for the invention of gunpowder was not
yet known on the east coast of Africa. A solemn treaty
was made, ratified by oaths upon the Gospel and the Koran,
and cemented by an interchange of presents. From this
moment the ill-will, the treachery, the difficulties of all kinds
which had hitherto beset the expedition, ceased as if by
magic: this must be attributed to the generosity of the King
of Melinda, and to the aid which he furnished to the Portu-
guese.

Faithful to the promise which he had made to Vasco da
Gama, the king sent him a Gujerat pilot named Malemo
Cana, a man well instructed in navigation, understanding
the use of charts, of the compass and the quadrant, who
rendered the most important service to the expedition.
After a stay of nine days the fleet weighed anchor for

64 THE WORLD OUTLINED

Calicut. The coasting plan hitherto pursued was now to be
abandoned, and the time was come when, in rehance upon
the blessing of God, the Portuguese must venture out upon
the wide ocean, without other guide than an unknown
pilot furnished by a king whose kind welcome had not
sufficed to lull to sleep the suspicions of the foreigners.
And yet, thanks to the ability and loyalty of this pilot,
thanks also to the clemency of the sea, and to the wind be-
ing constantly in its favor, the fleet, after a twenty-three
days' voyage, reached the land on the 17th of May, and
the next day anchored at the distance of six miles below
Calicut. The enthusiasm on board was great. At last
they had arrived In those rich and wonderful countries.
Fatigues, dangers, sickness, all were forgotten. The ob-
ject of their long labors was attained! Or rather, it
seemed to be so, for there was still needed the possession
of the treasures and rich productions of India.

Scarcely were the anchors dropped when four boats
came off from the shore, performing evolutions around
the fleet, and apparently inviting the sailors to disembark.
But Gama, rendered cautious by the occurrences at Mo-
zambique and Mombaz, sent on shore one of the criminals
who were on board, to act as a scout ; ordering him to walk
through the town and endeavor to ascertain the temper of
its inhabitants. Surrounded by an inquisitive crowd, as-
sailed by questions to which he could not reply, this man
was conducted to the house of a Moor named Mouga'ida
who spoke Spanish, and to whom he gave a short account
of the voyage of the fleet. Mougai'da returned with him on
board, and his first words on setting foot on the ship were
"Good luck! good luck! quantities of rubies, quantities of
emeralds ! " Whereupon, Mougaida was at once engaged
as interpreter.

The King of Calicut was at this time at a distance of
forty-five miles from his capital, so the Capitam mor de-
spatched two men to announce the arrival of an ambassa-
dor from the King of Portugal, being the bearer of letters
to him from his sovereign. The king at once sent a pilot,
with orders to take the Portuguese ships into the safer
roadstead of Pandarany, and promised to return himself
on the morrow to Calicut; this he did, and ordered his In-
tendant or Catoual to invite Gama to land and open nego-

V. XV Verne

THE CONQUEST OF INDIA 65

tiations. In spite of the supplications of his brother, Paul
da Gama, who represented to him the dangers which he
might incur, and those to which his death would expose
the expedition, the Capitam mor set out for the shore, upon
>vhich an enormous crowd of people were awaiting him.

The idea that they were in the midst of a Christian pop-
ulation was so rooted in the minds of all the members of
the expedition, that Gama, on passing by a pagoda on the
way, entered it to perform his devotions. One of his com-
panions, however, Juan de Saa, noticing the hideous pic-
tures upon the walls, was less credulous, and whilst throw-
ing himself upon his knees, said aloud, " If that be a devil,
I intend nevertheless to adore only the true God ! " A
mental reservation which caused amusement to the ad-
miral.

Near the gates of the town the crowd was even more
closely packed. Gama and his companions, under the
guidance of the Catoual, had some difficulty in reaching
the palace, where the king, who in the narrative is called
the *' Zamorin," was awaiting them with extreme impa-
tience. Ushered into halls splendidl}'- decorated with
silken stuffs and carpets, and in which burned the most
exquisite perfumes, the Portuguese found themselves in
the presence of the Zamorin. He was magnificently at-
tired, and loaded with jewels, the pearls and diamonds
which he wore being of extraordinary size. The king or-
dered refreshments to be served to the strangers, and per-
mitted them to be seated, a peculiar mark of favor in a
country where the sovereign is usually only addressed with
the most lowly prostrations. The Zamorin afterwards
pasesd into another apartment, to hear with his own ears,
as was proudly demanded by Gama, the reasons for the
embassy and the desire felt by the King of Portugal to
conclude a treaty of commerce and alliance with the King
of Calicut. The Zamorin listened to Gama's discourse,
and replied that he should be happy to consider himself the
friend and brother of King Emmanuel, and that he would,
by the aid of Gama, send ambassadors to Portugal.

There are certain proverbs of which the force is not
affected by change of latitude, and the truth of that one
which says, " The days succeed each other and have no
similarity," was proved the next day at Calicut. The en-

66 THE WORLD OUTLINED

thusiasm which had been aroused in the mind of the Za-
morin by the ingenious discourse of Gama, and the hope it
had awakened of the estabHshment of a profitable trade
with Portugal, vanished at the sight of the presents which
were to be given him. "Twelve pieces of striped cloth,
twelve cloaks with scarlet hoods, six hats, and four
branches of coral, accompanied by a box containing six
large basons, a chest of sugar, and four kegs, two filled
with oil, and two with honey," certainly did not constitute
a very magnificent offering. At sight of it, the prime min-
ister laughed, declaring that the poorest merchant from
Mecca brought richer presents, and that the king would
never accept of such ridiculous trifles. After this affront
Gama again visited the Zamorin, but it was only after
long waiting in the midst of a mocking crowd, that he was
admitted to the presence of the king. The latter re-
proached him in a contemptuous manner for having noth-
ing to offer him, while pretending to be the subject of a
rich and powerful king. Gama replied with boldness, and
produced the letters of Emmanuel, which were couched in
flattering terms, and contained a formal promise to send
merchandise to Calicut. The Zamorin, pleased at this
prospect, then inquired with interest about the productions
and resources of Portugal, and gave permission to Gama to
disembark and sell his goods.

But this abrupt change in the humor of the Zamorin was
not at all agreeable to the Moorish and Arab traders, whose
dealings made the prosperity of Calicut. They could not
look on quietly whilst the foreigners were endeavoring for
their own advantage to turn aside the commerce which had
been hitherto entirely in their hands; they resolved, there-
fore, to leave no stone unturned to drive away once for all
these formidable rivals from the shores of India. Their
first care was to gain the ear of the Catoual; then they
painted in the blackest colors these insatiable adventurers,
these bold robbers, whose only object was to spy out the
strength and resources of the town, that they might return
in force to pillage it, and to massacre those who should ven-
ture to oppose their designs.

Upon arriving at the roadstead of Pandarany, Gama
found no boat to take him off to the ships, and was forced
to sleep on shore. The Catoual never left him, continually

THE CONQUEST OF INDIA 67

seeking to prove to him the necessity of bringing the ships
nearer to the land; and when the admiral positively re-
fused to consent to this, he declared him to be his prisoner.
He had very little idea as yet of the firmness of Gama's
character. Some armed boats were sent to surprise the
ships, but the Portuguese, having received secret intelli-
gence from the admiral of all that had happened, were on
their guard, and their enemies dared not use open force.
Gama, still a prisoner, threatened the Catoual with the
anger of the Zamorin, whom he imagined could never
thus have violated the duties of hospitality, but seeing that
his menaces produced no effect, he tried bribery, presenting
the minister with several pieces of stuff, who, thereupon at
once altered his demeanor. " If the Portuguese," said
he, " had but kept the promise they had made to the king,
of disembarking their merchandise, the admiral would long
ago have returned on board his ships." Gama at once
sent an order to bring the goods to land, opened a
shop for their sale, of which the superintendence was
given to Diego Diaz, brother to the discoverer of the Cape
of Good Hope, and was then allowed to go back to his
ships.

The Mussulmen placed obstacles in the way of the sale
of the merchandise by depreciating its value; Gama sent
his agent Diaz to the Zamorin to complain of the perfidy
of the Moors and of the bad treatment to which he had
been subjected, requesting at the same time permission to
move his place of sale to Calicut, where he hoped that the
goods would be more easily disposed of. This request
was favorably received, and friendly relations were main-
tained, in spite of the Moorish intrigues, until the lOth of
August, 1498. On that day Diaz went to announce
Gama's impending departure to the king, reminding him
of his promise to send an embassy to Portugal, and asking
him to allow Gama a specimen of each of the productions
of the country. These were to be paid for on the first
sale of goods which should take place after the departure
of the fleet, it being intended that the employes of the fac-
tory should remain at Calicut during Gama's absence.
The Zamorin, instigated by the Arab traders, not only re-
fused to execute his promise, but demanded the payment
of 600 seraphins as customs' duty, ordering at the same

'68 THE WORLD OUTLINED

time the seizure of the merchandise, and making prisoners
of the men employed in the factory.

Such an outrage, such contempt for the rights of nations,
called for prompt vengeance, but Gama understood the art
of dissimulation; however, on receiving a visit on board
from some rich merchants, he detained them, and sent to
the Zamorin to demand an exchange of prisoners. The
king's reply not being sent w^ithin the time specified by the
admiral, the latter set sail and anchored at the distance of
sixteen miles from Calicut. After another fruitless attack
by the Hindoos, the two agents returned on board, and a
portion of the hostages whom Gama had secured were given
up. Diaz brought back with him a curious letter from
the Zamorin to the king of Portugal. It was written upon
a palm leaf, and shall be quoted in all its strange laconicism,
so different from the usual grandiloquence of the oriental
style :

" Vasco da Gama, a noble of thy palace, is come into my
country which I have permitted. In my kingdom there is
much cinnamon, cloves, and pepper, with many precious
stones, and what I desire from thy country is gold, silver,
coral, and scarlet. Adieu."

On the morrow, Mougaida the Moor of Tunis who had
served as interpreter to the Portuguese, and had been a
great assistance to them in their negotiations with the Za-
morin, came to seek an asylum on board the ships. The
merchandise had not been brought back on the appointed
day, and the Capitam mor now resolved to carry away with
him the men whom he had kept as hostages, but the fleet
was becalmed at several miles distance from Calicut, and
was attacked by twenty armed boats, which were with diffi-
culty kept at a distance by the artillery, until they were
forced by a violent storm to take shelter under the coast.

The admiral was sailing along the coast of the Deccan,
and had permitted some of the sailors to go on shore to
gather fruit and collect cinnamon bark, when he perceived
eight boats, which appeared to be coming towards him.
Gama recalled the men, and sailed forward to meet the
Hindoos, w^ho made the greatest haste to flee from him,
but not without leaving a boat laden with cocoa, and pro-
visions, in the hands of the Portuguese. On arriving at
the Laccadive Archipelago, Gama had the Berrio recalked,

THE CONQUEST OF INDIA 69

and his own ship drawn up on shore for repairs. The
sailors were busy over this work when they were again at-
tacked, but without more success than heretofore. The
next day witnessed the arrival of an individual forty years
of age, dressed in Hindoo style, who began to speak to the
Portuguese in excellent Italian, telling them that he was a
native of Venice, and had been torn from his country
while still young, that he was a Christian, but without the
possibility of practicing his religion. He was in a high
position at the court of the king of the country, who had
sent him to them, to place at their disposal all that the coun-
try contained which could minister to their comfort.
These offers of service, so different from the welcome ac-
corded to them hitherto, excited the suspicions of the
Portuguese, and they were not long in discovering that this
adventurer was in command of the boats which had at-
tacked them the day before. Upon this they had him
scourged until he confessed that he had come to discover
whether it were possible to attack the fleet with advantage,
and he ended by affirming that all the inhabitants of the
sea-shore were in league to destroy the Portuguese. He
was retained on board, the work upon the ships was hur-
ried forward, and as soon as water and provisions had been
taken in, sail was made for a return to Europe.

In consequence of dead calms and contrary winds, the
expedition was three months, all but three days, in reaching
the African coast. During this long voyage the crews
suffered terribly from scurvy, and thirty sailors perished.
In each ship, only seven or eight men were in a condition
to work the vessel, and very often the officers themselves
were forced to lend a hand. " Whence I can affirm," says
Velho, " that if the time in which we sailed across those
seas had been prolonged a fortnight, nobody from hence
would have navigated them after us. . . . And the
captains having held a council upon the matter, it was re-
solved that in case of similar winds catching us again, to
return towards India, there to take refuge." On the 2nd
of February, 1499, the Portuguese found themselves at
last abreast of a great town on the coast of Ajan, called
Magadoxo, distant 300 miles from Mclinda.

Gama, dreading another reception like the one given him
at Mozambique, would not stop here, but while passing

70 THE WORLD OUTLINED

"Wtihin sight of the town, ordered a general discharge of
the guns. A few days afterwards the rich and salubrious
plains of Melinda came in sight, and here they cast anchor.
The king hastened to send off fresh provisions and oranges
for the invalids on board. The reception given by him to
the Portuguese was in every particular most affectionate,
and the friendship which had arisen during Gama's first
visit to Melinda was greatly strengthened. The Sheik of
Melinda sent for the King of Portugal a horn made of
ivory and a number of other presents, entreating Gama at
the same time to receive a young Moor on board his ship,
that through him the king might learn how earnestly he
desired his friendship.

The five days' rest at Melinda was of the greatest bene-
fit to the Portuguese; at its expiration they again set sail.
Soon after passing Mombaz they were obliged to burn the
Sam-Raphael, the crews being too much reduced to be able
to work three ships. They discovered the Island of Zanzi-
bar, anchored in the Bay of Sam-Braz, and on the 20th of
February, a favorable wind enabled them to double the
Cape of Good Hope, when they again found themselves
upon the Atlantic Ocean. The breeze remaining favorable,
helped forward the return of the mariners, and at the end
of twenty-seven days, they had arrived in the neighborhood
of the Island of Santiago. On the 25th of April Nicholas
Coelho, captain of the Berrio, eager to be the first to carry
to Emmanuel the news of the discovery of the Indies, sep-
arated himself from his chief, and without touching, as
had been arranged, at the Cape de Verd Islands, made sail
direct for Portugal, arriving there on the loth of July.

During this time the unfortunate Gama was plunged in
the most profound sorrow, for his brother, Paul da Gama,
who had shared his fatigues and sufferings, and who was
to be a partaker of his glory, seemed to be slowly dying.
At Santiago, Vasco da Gama, now returned to well known
and much frequented seas, gave up the command of his
ships to Joao da Saa, and chartered a fast-sailing caravel,
to hasten as much as possible his beloved invalid's return
to his native country. But all hope was in vain, and the
caravel only arrived at Terceira in time to inter there the
body of the brave and sympathizing Paul da Gama.

Upon his arrival in Portugal, which must have taken

THE CONQUEST OF INDIA! 71

place during the early part of September, the admiral was
received with stately festivals. Of the 160 Portuguese
whom he had taken with him, fifty-five only returned with
him. The loss was great certainly, but what was it com-
pared with the great advantages to be hoped for? The
public realized this, and gave the most enthusiastic recep-
tion to Gama. The King, Emmanuel IL, added to his own
titles that of Lord of the conquests and of the navigation
of Ethiopia, Arabia, Persia, and the Indies; but he allowed
two years to pass before rewarding Gama. He then be-
stowed upon him the title of Admiral of the Indies, and
authorized him to use the prefix of Dom before his name,
a privilege then rarely granted. Also, doubtless to make
Vasco da Gama forget the tardiness with which his serv-
ices had been rewarded, the king gave him 1,000 crowns, a
considerable sum for that period, and also conceded to him
certain privileges in connection with the commerce of the
Indies, which were likely speedily to make his fortune.

On the 9th of March, 1500, a fleet of thirteen vessels left
Rastello, under the command of Pedro Alvares Cabral; on
board, as a volunteer, was Luiz de Camoens, who in his
poem the " Lusiad," was to render illustrious the valor and
adventurous spirit of his countrymen. Cabral belonged to
one of the most illustrious families in Portugal, and mar-
ried Isabel de Castro, first lady in waiting to the Infanta
Dona Maria, daughter of John III. If it be asked whether
Cabral had made himself famous by some important mari-
time discovery, we answer there is no reason to think so,
for in that case the historians would have recorded it. But
it is difficult to believe that he owed to court favor alone
the command of an expedition in which such men as Bar-
tholomew Diaz, Nicholas Coelho the companion of Gama,
and Sancho de Thovar sailed under his orders. Why had
not this mission been confided to Gama, who had been at
home for six months, and whose knowledge of the coun-
tries to be visited and of the manners of their inhabitant?,
seemed to point him out as the fittest man for the service?
Had he not yet recovered from the fatigues of his first
voyage? Or had his grief for the loss of a brother who
had died almost within sight of the coasts of Portugal so
deeply affected him, that he desired to remain in retire-
ment? May it not rather have been that King Emmanuel

^2 THE WORLD OUTLINED

was jealous of the fame of Gama, and did not wisH to give
him the opportunity of increasing his renown? These are
problems which perhaps history may be forever unable to
solve.

It is easy to believe in the realization of those things
which we ardently desire. Emmanuel imagined that the
Zamorin of Calicut would not object to the establishment
of Portuguese shops and factories in his country, and
Cabral, the bearer of presents of such magnificence as to
obliterate the memory of the shabbiness of those offered
by Gama, received orders to obtain from the Zamorin an
interdict, forbidding any Moor to carry on trade in his
capital. The new Capitam mor was in the first place to
visit Melinda, to offer rich presents to its king, and to re-
store to him the Moor who had come to Portugal with
Gama. Sixteen friars were sent out on board the fleet,
charged to carry the knowledge of the Gospel to the dis-
tant countries of Asia.

The fleet had sailed for thirteen days and had passed
the Cape de Verd Islands, when it was discovered that one
of the ships, under the command of Vasco d'Ata'ide, was
no longer in company. The rest of the ships lay to for
some time to await her, but in vain, and the twelve vessels
then continued their navigation upon the open sea, and not,
as had been the manner hitherto, steering simply from cape
to cape along the shores of Africa. Cabral hoped by this
means to avoid the calms in the Gulf of Guinea, which had
proved so great a cause of delay to the preceding expedi-
tions. Perhaps even the Capitam mor, who must, in com-
mon with the rest of his countrymen, have been acquainted
with the discoveries of Christopher Columbus, may have
had the secret hope, by keeping to the west, of arriving at
some region unvisited by the great navigator.

The fact remains, whether it is to be accounted for by a
storm or by some secret design, that the fleet was out of the
right way for doubling the Cape of Good Hope when, on
the 22nd of April, a high mountain was seen, and soon
afterwards a long stretch of coast, which received the name
of Vera Cruz, changed afterwards to that of Santa Cruz.
This was Brazil, and the point where nov/ stands Porto
Seguro. On the 28th, after a skillful reconnaissance of
the coasts had been made by Coelho, the Portuguese sailors

THE CONQUEST OF INDIA 73

landed upon the American shores, and became aware of al
dehcious mildness of temperature, with a luxuriance of
vegetation greatly exceeding anything which they had seen
on the costs of Africa or of Malabar. The natives
formed themselves in groups around the sailors, without
showing the least sign of fear. They were almost naked,
and bore upon the wrist a tame parroquet, after the fashion
in which the gentlemen of Europe carry their hawks or
their gerfalcons.

On Easter Sunday, the 26th of April, a solemn mass was
celebrated on the shore in sight of the Indians, whose si-
lence and attitude of respect excited the admiration of the
Portuguese. On the ist of May a large cross and a padrao
were erected on the shore, and Cabral formally took pos-
session of the country in the name of the King of Portugal.
His first care after this formality was accomplished was
to despatch Gaspard de Lemos to Lisbon, to announce the
dicovery of this rich and fertile country. Lemos took
with him the narrative of the expedition written by Pedro
Vaz de Caminha, and an important astronomical docu-
ment, the work of Master Joao, in which was doubtless
stated the exact situation of the new conquest. Before
setting out for Asia, Cabral put on land two criminals,
whom he ordered to ascertain the resources and riches of
the country, as well as the manners and customs of the in-
habitants. These wise and far-sighted measures speak
much for Cabral's prudence and sagacity.

It was the 2nd of May when the fleet lost sight of Brazil.
All on board, rejoicing over this happy commencement of
the voyage, believed in the prospect of an easy and rapid
success, when the appearance of a brilliant comet on eight
consecutive days struck the ignorant and simple minds of
the sailors with terror; they considered it must be a bad
omen, and for this once events appeared to justify supersti-
tion. A fearful storm arose, waves mountains high broke
over the ships, whilst the wind blew furiously and rain fell
without ceasing. When the sun at length succeeded in
piercing the thick curtain of clouds which almost entirely
intercepted his rays, a horrible scene was disclosed. The
water looked thick and black, large patches of a livid white
color flecked the foaming, crested waves, while during the
night phosphorescent lights, streaking the immense plain

74 THE WORLD OUTLINED

of water, marked out the course of the ships with a train
of fire. For two-and-twenty days, without truce or
mercy, the Portuguese ships were battered by the furious
elements. The terrified sailors were utterly prostrate;
they vainly exhausted their prayers and vows, and obeyed
the orders of their officers only from the force of habit;
from the first day they had given up any hope of their lives
being spared, and only awaited the moment when they
should all be submerged. When light at length returned
and the billows became calm, each crew, thinking them-
selves to be perhaps the sole survivors, looked eagerly over
the sea in search of their companions. Three ships met to-
gether again with a joy which the sad reality soon abated.
Eight vessels were missing, four had been engulfed by a
gigantic water-spout during the last days of the storm.
One of these had been commanded by Bartholomew Diaz,
the discoverer of the Cape of Good Hope; he had been
drowned by these murderous waves, the defenders, accord-
ing to Camoens, of the empire of the east against the na-
tions of the west, who had for so many centuries coveted
her marvelous riches.

During this long series of storms the Cape had been dou-
bled and the fleet was approaching the coast of Africa. On
the 20th of July Mozambique was signaled. The Moors
of this place showed a more agreeable disposition than
they had done when Gama was there, and furnished the
Portuguese with two pilots, who conducted them to Quiloa,
an island famed for the trade in gold-dust which was car-
ried on with Sofala. There Cabral found two of the miss-
ing ships, which had been driven to this island by the wind.
A plot was on foot in Quiloa for a wholesale massacre of
the Europeans, but this was frustrated by a prompt de-
parture from the island, and the ships arrived at Melinda
without any untoward incident. The stay of the fleet in
this port was the occasion of fetes and rejoicings without
number, and soon, revictualed, repaired, and furnished with
excellent pilots, the Portuguese vessels sailed for Calicut,
where they arrived on the 13th of December, 1500.

This time, thanks to the power of their arms as well as to
the richness of the presents offered to the Zamorin, the re-
ception was different, and the versatile prince agreed to all
the demands of Cabral; namely, a monopoly of the trade

THE CONQUEST OF INDIA 75

in aromatics and spicery, and the right of seizure upon all
vessels which should infringe this privilege. For some
time the Moors dissembled their resentment, but when they
had succeeded in thoroughly exasperating the population
against the foreigners, they rushed at a given signal into
the factory which was under the direction of Ayres Correa,
and massacred fifty of the Portuguese, whom they sur-
prised in it. Vengeance for this outrage was not slow;
ten boats moored in the port were taken, pillaged, and
burned before the eyes of the Hindoos, who were powerless
to render opposition; afterwards the town was bombarded,
and was half-buried under its ruins.

When this affair was concluded, Cabral, continuing the
exploration of the Malabar coast, arrived at Cochin, where
the Rajah, a vassal of the Zamorin, hastened to conclude
an alliance with the Portuguese, eagerly seizing this op-
portunity to declare himself independent. Although by
this time his fleet was richly laden, Cabral made a visit to
Cananore, where he entered into a treaty with the Rajah
of the country; then, being impatient to return home, he
set sail for Europe. While coasting along that shore of
Africa, which is washed by the Indian Ocean, he discov-
ered Sofala, a place which had escaped the observation of
Gama. On the 13th of July, 1501, Cabral arrived at Lis-
bon, where he had the joy of finding the two remaining
ships which he had imagined to be lost.

It is pleasant to believe that he received the welcome
merited by the important results obtained in this memor-
able expedition. Although contemporary historians are
silent upon the incidents of his life after his return, recent
research has been rewarded by the discovery of his tomb
at Santarem, and M. Ferdinand Denis has happily proved
that, like Vasco da Gama, he received the title of Doni
as a reward for his glorious deeds.

Whilst he was returning to Europe Alvares Cabral
might have encountered a fleet of four caravels under the
command of Joao da Nova, which King Emmanuel had
despatched to give fresh vigor to the commercial relations
which Cabral had been charged to establish in tlie Indies.
This new expedition doubled the Cape of Good Hope with-
out misadventure, discovered between Mozambique and
Quiloa an unknown island, which was named after the

76 THE WORLD OUTLINED

commander of the fleet, and arrived at Melinda, where Da
Nova was informed of the events which had taken place at
CaHcut. He felt that he had not forces at his disposal suf-
ficient to justify him in going to punish the Zamorin, and
not wishing to endanger the prestige of Portuguese arms by
the risk of a reverse, he steered for Cochin and Cananore,
of which the kings, although tributaries of the Zamorin,
had entered into alliance with Alvares Cabral. Da Nova
had already taken on board i,ooo hundredweights of pep-
per, 50 of ginger, and 450 of cinnamon, when he received
v^^arning that a considerable fleet, coming apparently from
Calicut, was advancing with hostile intentions. If he had
hitherto been more concerned with trade than with war, he
did not the less in these critical circumstances display a
bold and courageous spirit worthy of his predecessors.
He accepted the combat, notwithstanding the apparent su-
periority of the Hindoos, and partly by the skillful arrange-
ments which he made, partly by the power of his guns, he
managed to disperse, to take, or to sink the hostile vessels.
Perhaps Da Nova ought to have profited by the terror
which his victory had spread along the coast, and the tem-
porary exhaustion of the Moorish resources, to strike a
great blow by the taking of Calicut. But we are too far
removed in time from the events, and know too little of
their details, to appreciate with impartiality the reasons
which induced the admiral to return immediately to Europe.
It was durng this latter part of his voyage that Nova dis-
covered the small island of Saint Helena in the midst of
the Atlantic. A curious story attaches to this discovery.
A certain Fernando Lopez had followed Gama to the
Indies; this man, wishing to marry a Hindoo, was forced
for this purpose to renounce Christianity and become a Ma-
hometan. Upon Nova's visit, having had enough either
of his wife or of her religion, he begged to be taken back
to his country, and returned to his old creed. Upon ar-
riving at Saint Helena, Lopez, in obedience to a sudden
idea, which he regarded as an inspiration from on high,
requested to be landed there, in order, as he said, to ex-
piate his detestable apostasy and to atone for it by his de-
votion to humanity. His will appeared so fixed that Da
Nova was forced to consent, and he left him there, having
given him at his request various seeds of fruits and vege-

THE CONQUEST OF INDIA "j^

tables. It must be added that this singular hermit worked
for four years at the clearing and planting of the island
with such success, that ships were soon able to call there
to revictual during their long passage from Europe to the
Cape of Good Hope.

The successive expeditions of Gania, Cabral, and Da
Nova had conclusively proved that an uninterrupted com-
merce must not be reckoned upon, nor a continued ex-
change of merchandise, with the population of the Malabar
Coast, who, while their own independence and liberty were
respected had each time leagued together against the Portu-
guese. That trade with Europeans which they so per-
sistently refused, must be forced upon them, and for that
purpose permanent military establishments must be formed,
capable of overawing the malcontents, and even in case of
necessity of taking possession of the country. But to
whom should such an important mission be entrusted?
The choice could scarcely be doubtful, and Vasco da Gama
was unanimously chosen to take the command of the pow-
erful armament which was in preparation.

Vasco had ten ships under his own immediate command,
while his second brother Stephen da Gama, and his cousin
Vincent Sodrez, had each five ships under his orders, but
they were both to recognize Vasco da Gama as their chief.
The ceremonies which preceded the departure of the fleet
from Lisbon were of a particularly grave and solemn char-
acter. King Emmanuel, followed by the whole court, re-
paired to the cathedral in the midst of an enormous crowd,
and there called down blessings from heaven upon this ex-
pedition, partly religious, partly military, while the Arch-
bishop blessed the banner which was entrusted to Gama.

The admiral's first care was to visit Sofala and Mozam-
bique, towns of which he had had reason to complain in
the course of his first voyage. Being anxious to establish
harbors for refuge, and revictualing of ships, he estab-
lished there merchants' offices, and laid the foundation of
forts. He also levied a heavy tribute upon the Sheik of
Quiloa, and then sailed for the coast of Hindostan. When
Gama had arrived off Calicut, he perceived on the 3rd of
October a vessel of large tonnage, which appeared to him
to be richly laden. It was the Merii bringing back from
Mecca a great number of pilgrims belonging to all the coun-

78 THE WORLD OUTLINED

tries of Asia. Gama attacked the ship without provoca-
tion, captured her and put to death more than three hun-
dred men who were on board. Twenty children alone
were saved and taken to Lisbon, where they were baptized,
and entered the army of Portugal. This frightful massa-
cre, besides being quite in accordance with the ideas of the
period, was calculated according to Gama, to strike terror
into the Hindoo mind; it did nothing of the sort. This
hateful and useless cruelty has left a stain of blood upon'
the hitherto pure fame of the admiral.

As soon as he arrived at Cananore, Gama obtained an
audience of the Rajah, who authorized him to establish a
counting-house, and to build a fort. At the same time a
treaty of alliance, offensive and defensive, was concluded.
After setting the laborers to work, and installing his agent,
the admiral set sail for Calicut, where he intended to sum-
mon the Zamorin to a reckoning for his disloyalty, as well
as for the murder of the Portuguese who had been sur-
prised in the factory. Although the Rajah of Calicut h.ad
been informed of the arrival in the Indies of his formidable
enemies, he had taken no military precautions, and thus,
when Gama presented himself before the town, he was able
to seize some vessels anchored in the port and to make a
hundred prisoners, without encountering any resistance;
afterwards he granted the Zamorin a respite of four days,
in which to make atonement to the Portuguese for the mur-
der of Correa, and to refund the value of the merchandise
which had been stolen on that occasion.

The time specified had scarcely elapsed when the bodies
of fifty of the prisoners were strung up at the yard-arms
of the vessels, where they remained exposed to the view of
the town during the whole day. In the evening the feet
and hands of these expiatory victims were cut off and taken
ashore, with a letter from the admiral, declaring that his
vengeance would not be limited to this execution. Ac-
cordingly, under cover of the night, the broadsides of the
vessels were brought to bear upon the town, which was
bombarded for the space of three days. It will never be
known what was the exact number of the slain, but it
must have been considerable. Without reckoning those
killed by the fire of the cannon and muskets, a great num-
ber of Hindoos v/ere buried beneath the ruins of the build-

THE CONQUEST OF INDIA 79

ings, or perished in the conflagration, which destroyed a
portion of the town of CaHcut. The Rajah had been one
of the first to take flight, and fortunate was it for him that
he had done so, for his palace was amongst the buildings
which were demolished. At length, satisfied with having
transformed this heretofore rich and populous city into a
heap of ruins, and considering his vengeance satiated, and
that the lesson so taught would be profitable, Gama set sail
for Cochin, leaving behind him Vincent Sodrez, with sev-
eral ships, to continue the blockade.

Triumpara, the sovereign of Cochin, informed the ad-
miral that he had been eagerly solicited by the Zamorin to
take advantage of the confidence reposed in him by the
Portuguese, to surprise and seize them, in consequence of
which intelligence, and to reward the integrity of the king
whose loyalty had exposed him to the enmity of the Rajah
of Calicut, Gama, when starting for Lisbon with a valuable
cargo, left with Triumpara ships sufficient to enable him
to await in safety the arrival of another squadron. Dur-
ing Gama's return voyage the only noteworthy incident
that occurred was the defeat of another Malabar fleet.
The admiral arrived in Europe on ine 20th of December,

1503-

Once more the eminent services rendered by this great
man went unrecognized, or rather they were not appre-
ciated as they deserved. Gama, vvho had just laid the
foundations of the colonial empire i-i: Portugal in India,
remained for one and twenty years without employment,
and it was only through the intercession of the Duke of
Braganza, that he obtained the title of Count de Vidi-
gueyra. A too common instance this of ingratitude, but
one which it is never mal a propos to stigmatize as it de-
serves.

Scarcely had 'orama set out for Europe, before the Za-
morin at the instigation of the Mussulmen, who saw their
commercial supremacy more and more compromised, as-
sembled his allies at Pani with the object of attacking the
King of Cochin and of punishing him for the counsel and
assistance which he had given to the Portuguese. Tlie un-
fortunate Rajah's fidelity was now put to a hard proof.
Besieged in his capital by a large force, he saw himself all
at once deprived of the aid of those for whose advantage

8o THE WORLD OUTLINED

he had incurred so great a risk. Sodrez and several of his
captains had deserted the post, where both honor and grati-
tude required them to remain, and if need were, to die in the
discharge of their duty; they forsook Triumpara to go and
cruise in the neighborhood of Ormuz, and at the entrance
to the Red Sea, where they calculated that the annual pil-
grimage to Mecca was likely to ensure them some rich
booty. The Portuguese agent vainly represented to them
the unworthiness of their conduct, they set out in haste,
to escape from these inconvenient reproaches.

The King of Cochin, betrayed by some of the Nairs
'(military nobles) of his palace, who had been gained over
by the Zamorin, soon saw his capital carried by assault,
and was obliged to seek refuge upon an inaccessible rock
in the little Island of Viopia, with those Portuguese who
had remained faithful to him. When he was reduced to
the last extremity, an emissary was sent to him by the
Zamorin, to promise him pardon and oblivion of his of-
fenses if he would give up to him the Portuguese. But
Triumpara, whose fidelity cannot be sufficiently com-
mended, answered, " that the Zamorin might use his rights
of victory ; that he was not ignorant of the perils by which
he was menaced, but that it was not in the power of any
man to make him a traitor and a perjurer." No one
could have made a nobler return than this for the desertion
and cowardice of Sodrez.

Vincent Sodrez had arrived at the Straits of Bab-el-
Mandeb, when a fearful tempest occurred, in which his ship
split upon the rocks, and he and his brother perished. The
survivors regarded this event as a judgment of Providence
for their bad conduct, and they made haste, with all sails
set, to return to Cochin. They were detained by contrary
winds at the Laccadive Islands, and were there joined by
another Portuguese squadron under the command of
Francisco d' Albuquerque, who had sailed from Lisbon al-
most at the same time as his cousin Alfonso d' Albu-
querque the most distinguished captain of the period, who
with the title of Capitam mor had started from Belem at
the beginning of April, 1503.

The arrival of Francisco d'AIbuquerque placed the Por-
tuguese affairs, which had been so gravely compromised
by the criminal conduct of Sodrez, upon a better footing,

V. XV Verne

THE CONQUEST OF INDIA 8i

and at the same time effected the rescue of Triumpara,
their sole and faithful ally. The besiegers fled at the
sight of the Portuguese squadron, without even a show
of resistance, and the Europeans in conjunction with tlie
troops of the King of Cochin ravaged the Malabar Coast.
As a consequence of these events, Triumpara allowed his
allies to construct a second fortress in his dominions, and
authorized an augmentation of the number and importance
of their mercantile houses. This was the moment that
witnessed the arrival of Alphonzo d' Albuquerque, the m^an
destined to be the real creator of the Portuguese Empire
in the Indies. Diaz, Cabral, and Gama, had prepared the
way, but Albuquerque was the leader of large views who
was needed to determine which were the principal towns
that must be seized in order to place the Portuguese domin-
ion upon a solid and lasting basis. Thus every particular
of the history of this man who showed so great a genius
for colonization, is of the deepest interest, and it is well
worth while to record some particulars of his family, his
education, and his early exploits.

Alfonzo dAlboquerque or d' Albuquerque, was born in
1453 ^t Alhandra, eighteen miles from Lisbon. Through
his father Gonzalo d' Albuquerque, the Lord of Villaverde,
he was descended, but illegitimately, from King Diniz; and
through his mother from the Menezez, the great explorers.
Brought up at the court of Alphonzo V., he there received
as liberal and thorough an education as was possible at
the period. He made an especial study of the great writers
of antiquity, whose influence may be traced in the ma-
jesty and accuracy of his own style, and of mathematics
of which he knew as much as could be learned at that time.
After staying for some years at Arzila, an African town
which was under the dominion of Alonzo V., he returned
to Portugal, and was appointed Master of the Horse to
John IL, a prince whose chief anxiety was to extend the
name and power of Portugal beyond the seas. It is evi-
dent that it was to the constant attendance upon the king
imposed upon him by the duties of his office, that Albu-
querque owned the inclination of his mind towards geo-
graphical studies, and his anxious desire to find the means
of giving to his country the Empire of the Indies. He had
already taken part in an expedition sent to the succor of

82 THE WORLD OUTLINED

the King of Naples against an incursion of the Turks, and
in 1489, had been charged with the commission of re-
victuahng and defending the fortress of Graciosa, upon
the coast of Earache.

We must now return from this digression and take up the
history of Albuquerque, from the time of his arrival in India
in 1503. It took him but a few days to become thoroughly
aware of the position of affairs; he perceived that the com-
merce of Portugal must depend upon conquest for its power
of development. But his first enterprise was proportioned
to the feebleness of his resources; he laid siege to Raphelim,
which he wished to make a military station for his coun-
trymen, and then with two ships he undertook a recon-
naissance of the coast of Hindostan. Being attacked quite
unexpectedly both by land and sea, he was on the point of
yielding when the fortunate arrival of his cousin Francisco
turned the combat, and put the Zamorin's troops to flight.
The importance of this victory was considerable; the con-
querors remained masters of an immense booty and quanti-
ties of precious stones, which had the result of stimulating
the Portuguese spirit of covetousness; at the same time it
confirmed Albuquerque in his designs, for the execution of
which the consent of the king was needful, and also more
considerable resources. He therefore set out on his return
to Lisbon, where he arrived in July, 1504.

This same year. King Emmanuel wishing to organize a
regular government in the Indies, had made Tristan da
Cunha his viceroy, but Da Cunha having become tempo-
rarily blind was obliged to resign his power before he had
exercised it. The king's choice next fell upon Francisco
d' Almeida, who set out with his son in 1505. It will be
soon seen what were the means which he considered should
be employed to assure the triumph of his countrymen.

On the 6th of March, 1506, sixteen vessels left Lisbon
under the command of Tristan da Cunha, who had by that
time regained his health. With him went Alphonso Albu-
querque, carrying with him, but unknown to himself, his
patent of Viceory of India. He was ordered not to open the
sealed packet until three years should have expired, when
Almeida would have completed the term of his mission.

This numerous fleet, after having stopped at the Cape de
Verd Islands and discovered Cape St. Augustine in Brazil,

THE CONQUEST OF INDIA 83

steered directly for the unexplored parts of the South ^Kt-
lantic, and went so far south that the old chroniclers assert
that several sailors being too lightly clad died from cold,
while the others were scarcely able to work the ships. In
37° 8' south latitude, and 14° 21' west longitude, Da Cunha
discovered three small uninhabited islands, of which the
largest still bears his name. A storm prevented a landing
there, and so completely dispersed the fleet that the admiral
could not get his vessels together again before he arrived
at Mozambique. In sailing along this African coast he ex-
plored the island of Madagascar or Sam-Lorenzo, which
had just been discovered by Soarez, who was in command
of eight vessels which Almeida was sending back to Europe;
it was not thought advisable to make a settlement upon the
island.

After having wintered at Mozambique, Da Cunha landed
three ambassadors at Melinda, who were to reach Abyssinia
by traveling overland, then he anchored at Brava, which
Coutinho, one of his lieutenants had been unable to subju-
gate. The Portuguese now laid siege to this town, which
resisted bravely but which yielded in the end, thanks to the
courage of the enemy and the perfection of their arms. The
population was massacred without mercy, and the town pil-
laged and burnt. Upon Magadoxo, another town on the
African coast, Cunha tried but in vain, to impose his author-
ity. The strength of the town and the stubborn resolution
shown by the numerous population as well as the approach
of winter forced him to raise the siege. He then turned
his arms against Socotra, at the entrance of the Gulf of
Aden, where he carried the fortress. The whole of the
garrison were put to the sword, the only man spared being
an old blind soldier, who was discovered hidden in a well.
When asked how he had been able to get down there, he
answered : " The blind only see the road which leads to
liberty." At Socotra, the two Portuguese chiefs constructed
the fort of Coco, intended by Albuquerque to command
the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea, by the Strait of Bab-
el-Mandeb, thus cutting one of the lines of communica-
tion with the Indies, which was the most used by the
Venetians.

Here Da Cunha and Albuquerque separated, the former
going to India to obtain a cargo of spices, the latter officially

84 THE WORLD OUTLINED

invested with the title of Capitam mor, and bent on the
reahzation of his vast schemes, setting out on the loth of
August, 1507, for Ormuz, having left his nephew Alfonzo
da Noronha in charge of the new fortress. He took in
succession, and as if to get his hand in for the work, Cala-
yati, where were found immense stores, Curiaty and Mascati,
which he gave up to pillage, fire, and destruction, in order
to avenge a series of acts of treachery easily understood
by those who know the duplicity of these eastern people.
The success which he had just gained at Mascati, important
as it was, did not content Albuquerque. He dreamed of
other and grander projects, of which the execution was,
however, much compromised by the jealousy of the captains
under his orders, and notably of Joao da Nova, who con-
templated abandoning his chief, and whom Albuquerque
was obliged to place under arrest on board his own ship.
After having suppressed these beginnings of disobedience
and rebellion, the Capitam mor reached Orfacati, which was
taken after a vigorous resistance.

It is a curious fact that Albuquerque had long heard Or-
muz spoken of, but that as yet he was ignorant of its posi-
tion. He knew that this town served as an entre 6t for
all the merchandise passing from Asia into Europe. Its
riches and power, the number of its inhabitants and the
beauty of its monuments were at that time celebrated
throughout the East, so much so that there was a common
saying, " If the world be a ring, Ormuz is the precious stone
set in it." Albuquerque had resolved to take this town not
only because in itself it was a prize worth having, but also
because it commanded the whole of the Persian Gulf, which
was the second of the great commercial roads between the
East and West. Without saying anything to the captains
of his fleet, who, without doubt, would have rebelled at
the idea of attacking so strong a town, and the capital of a
powerful empire, Albuquerque gave orders to double Cape
Mussendom, and the fleet soon entered the Strait of Ormuz,
the door of the Persian Gulf, from whence was seen rising
in all its magnificence a busy town built upon a rocky island,
provided with formidable artillery and protected by an army
amounting to not less than from fifteen to twenty thousand
men, while its harbor enclosed a fleet more numerous than
could have been suspected at first sight. At this sight the

THE CONQUEST OF INDIA 85

captains made urgent representations upon the danger that
Albuquerque would run in attacking so well-prepared a
town, and made the most of the plea how very bad an in-
fluence a reverse would exercise. To this discourse Albu-
querque answered, that indeed, " it was a very great ajffair,
but that it was too late to draw back, and that he had greater
need of determination than of good advice."

Scarcely was the anchor dropped before Albuquerque de-
clared his ultimatum. Although the forces under his orders
were very disproportionate in numbers, the Capitam mor
imperiously demanded that Ormuz should recognize the
suzerainty of the King of Portugal and submit to his envoy,
if it did not wish to share the same fate as Mascati. The
king, Seif-Ed-din, who was then reigning over Ormuz, was
still a child, and his Prime Minister, Kodja-Atar, a skillful
and cunning diplomatist, governed in the king's name.
Without denying in principle the pretensions of Albu-
querque, the Prime Minister wished to gain time, to allow
contingents to arrive for the help of the capital; but the ad-
miral, who guessed his object, did not hesitate, after waiting
three days, to attack the formidable fleet at anchor under the
guns of Ormuz, with his five vessels and the Flor de la Mar,
the finest and largest ship of that time. The combat was
bloody and long undecided, but when they saw fortune was
against them the Moors, abandoning their vessels, endeav-
ored to swim on shore. The Portuguese upon this, jumped
into their boats, pursuing the Moors vigorously, and causing
horrible carnage. Albuquerque next directed his efforts
against a large wooden jetty defended by numerous guns
and by archers, whose well-aimed arrows wounded a num-
ber of the Portuguese and the general himself, who, how-
ever, was not hindered thereby from landing and proceeding
to burn the suburbs of the town. Convinced that resistance
would soon be impossible, and that their capital was in dan-
der of being destroyed, the Moors hoisted a flag of truce,
and signed a treaty, by which Seif-Ed-din declared himself
the vassal of King Emmanuel, promised to pay him an an-
nual tribute of 15,000 seraphins or xarafins, and gave to
the conquerors a site for a fortress, which, in spite of the
repugnance and reproaches of the Portuguese captains, was
soon put into a condition of resistance. Unfortunately
some deserters quickly brouglit these unworthy dissensions

86 THE WORLD OUTLINED

to the knowledge of Kodja-Atar, who profited by them to
avoid, under various pretexts, fulfilHng the execution of
the articles of the new treaty. Some days afterwards Joao
da Nova and two other captains, jealous of the successes
of Albuquerque, and trampling in the dust every sentiment
of honor, discipline, and patriotism, left him to go to the
Indies; while Albuquerque was obliged by this cowardly
desertion to withdraw without being able even to guard the
fortress which he had been at so much pains to construct.
He went to Socotra, where the garrison was in need of
help, and then returned to cruise before Ormuz, but think-
ing himself too weak to undertake anything, he retired for
a time to Goa, arriving there at the end of the year 1508.

What had been occurring on the Malabar coast during
this long and adventurous campaign? The answer may be
summed up in a few lines. It will be remembered that
Almeida had set out from Belem in 1505 with a fleet of
twenty-two sail, carrying soldiers to the number of 1,500
men. First he seized Quiloa and then Mombaz, of which
the " cavaliers, as the inhabitants loved to repeat, did not
yield as easily as the chicken hearts of Quiloa." Out of
the enormous booty, which by the fall of this town fell into
the hands of the Portuguese, Almeida only took one arrow
as his share of the spoil, thus giving a rare example of dis-
interestedness. After having stopped at Melinda he went
on to Cochin, where he delivered to the Rajah the golden
crown sent to him by Emmanuel, whilst he himself, with the
presumptuous vanity of which he gave so many proofs, as-
sumed the title of viceroy. Then, after commencing a for-
tress at Sofala, destined to overawe the Mussulmans of that
coast, Almeida and his son, Lorenzo, scoured the Indian
Seas, destroying the Malabar fleets, capturing some trading
vessels, and causing great injury to the enemy, whose ac-
customed commercial raids were thus Intercepted. But for
this cruising warfare a numerous fleet of light vessels was
needed, for there was scarcely any other harbor of refuge
except Cochin upon the Asiatic coast How preferable was
Albuquerque's system of establishing himself in the country
in a permanent manner, by constructing fortresses in all
directions, by seizing upon the most powerful cities, whence
it was easy to branch off Into the interior of the country,
by rendering himself master of the keys of the straits, and

THE CONQUEST OF INDIA 87

thus ensuring with much less risk, and more solidity, the
monopoly of the Indian commerce.

Meantime the victories of Almeida and the conquests of
Albuquerque had much disquieted the Sultan of Egypt.
The abandonment of the Alexandrian route caused a great
diminution in the amount of imposts and dues of customs,
anchorage, and transit, which were laid upon the merchan-
dise of Asia as it passed through his states. Therefore,
with the help of the Venetians, who furnished him with the
wood for ship-building as well as with skillful sailors, he
fitted out a squadron of twelve large ships, which came as
far as Cochin, seeking the fleet of Lorenzo dAlmeida and
defeating it in a bloody combat in which Lorenzo was killed.
If the sorrow of the viceroy were great at this sad news,
at least he did not let it appear outwardly, but set to work
to make all preparations for taking prompt vengeance upon
the Roumis, — an appellation which shows the lasting terror
attaching to the name of the Romans, and commonly used
at this time upon the Malabar coast, for all Mussulman sol-
diers coming from Byzantium. With nineteen sail Al-
meida appeared before the fort where his son had been
killed, and gained a great victory, but one sullied, it must
be confessed, by most frightful cruelties, so much so that
it soon became a common saying: " May the anger of the
Franks fall upon thee as it fell upon Daboul." Not content
with this first success, Almeida, some weeks later, anni-
hilated the combined forces of the Sultan of Egypt, and the
Rajah of Calicut, before Diu. This victory made a pro-
found impression in India, and put an end to the power of
the Mahitmctists of Egypt.

Joao da Nova and the other captains, who had abandoned
Albuquerque before Ormuz, had decided to rejoin Almeida;
they had excused their disobedience by calumnies, in con-
sequence of which a judicial process was about to be insti-
tuted against Albuquerque, when the viceroy received the
news of his being replaced in his office by Albuquerque. At
first Almeida declared that obedience must be rendered to
this sovereign decree, but afterwards influenced by the trai-
tors, who feared that they would be severely punished when;
the power had passed into the hands of Albuquerque, 'he re-
paired to Cochin in the month of March, 1509, with the
fixed determination not to give up the command to his sue-

.88 THE WORLD OUTLINED

cessor. THere were disagreeable and painful disputes be-
tween these two great men, in which all the wrong done was
on the side of Almeida. Albuquerque was about to be
sent to Lisbon with chains on his feet, when a fleet of fifteen
sail entered the harbor, under the command of the grand
Marshal of Portugal, Ferdinand Coutinho. The latter took
the part of the prisoner, whom he immediately released,
notifying again to Almeida the powers held by Albuquerque
from the king, and threatening him with the great anger
of Emmanuel if he refused to obey. Almeida could do noth-
ing but yield, and he then did it nobly. As for Joao da
Nova, the author of these sad misunderstandings, he died
some time afterwards, forsaken by everybody, and had
scarcely anyone to follow him to the grave except the new
viceroy, who thus generously forgot the injuries done to
Alphonzo Albuquerque,

Immediately after the departure of Almeida, the grand
Marshal Coutinho declared that, having come to India with
the intention of destroying Calicut, he intended to turn to
account the absence of the Zamorin from his capital. In
vain the nev/ viceroy endeavored to modify his zeal and in-
duce him to take the wise measures recommended by experi-
ence. Coutinho would listen to nothing, and Albuquerque
was obliged to follow him. Calicut, taken by surprise, was
easily set on fire; but the Portuguese, having lingered to
pillage the Zamorin's palace, were fiercely attacked in rear
by the Nairs, who had succeeded in rallying their troops.
Coutinho, whose impetuous valor led him into the greatest
danger, was killed, and it required all the skill and coolness
of the viceroy to effect a re-embarkation of the troops under
the enemy's fire, and to preserve the soldiers of the King of
Portugal from total destruction.

On his return to Cintagara, a seaport which was a de-
pendency of the King of Narsingue, with whom the Portu-
guese had been able to form an alliance, Albuquerque learnt
that Goa, the capital of a powerful kingdom, was a prey to
political and religious anarchy. Several chiefs were con-
tending there for power. One of them, Melek Cufergugi,
was just on the point of seizing the throne, and it was im-
portant to profit by the circumstances of the moment, and
attack the town before he should have been able to gather
a force capable of resisting the Portuguese. The viceroy

THE CONQUEST OF INDIA 89

perceiveH all tHe importance of this counsel. The situation
of Goa, giving access as it did to the kingdom of Narsingue
and to the Deccan, had already struck him forcibly. He
did not delay, and soon the Portuguese reckoned one con-
quest more. Goa the Golden, a cosmopolitan town, where
were mingled with all the various sects of Islam Parsees, the
worshipers of fire, and even some Christians, submitted to
Albuquerque, and soon became, under a wise and strict gov-
ernment which understood how to conciliate the sympathies
of opposing sects, the capital, the chief fortress, and the
principal seat of trade of the Portuguese empire of the
Indies.

By degrees and with the course of years the knowledge
of these rich countries had increased. Much information
had been gathered together by all those who had plowed
these sunny seas in their gallant vessels, and it was now
known what was the center of production of those spices
which people went so far to seek, and for whose acquisition
they encountered so many perils. It was already several
3-ears since Almeida had founded the first Portuguese fac-
tories in Ceylon, the ancient Taprobane. The Islands of
Sunda, and the Peninsula of Malacca, were now exciting
the desires of King Emmanuel, who had already been sur-
named " the fortunate." He resolved to send a fleet to ex-
plore them, for Albuquerque had enough to do in India
to restrain the vengeful Rajahs, and the Mussulmans — ■<
Moors as they were then called — who were always ready to
shake off the yoke. This new expedition was under the
command of Diego Lopez Sequeira, and according to the
traditional policy of the Moors, was at first amicably re-
ceived at Malacca; but when the suspicions of Lopez Se-
queira had been lulled to sleep by reiterated protestations
of alliance, the whole population suddenly rose against him,
and he was forced to return on board, but not without leav-
ing thirty of his companions in the hands of the Malays.
These events had already happened some time when the
news of the taking of Goa arrived at Malacca. The ben-
clarra, or Minister of Justice, who exercised regal power in
the name of his nephew who was still a child, fearing the
vengeance which the Portuguese would doubtless exact for
his treachery, resolved to pacify them. He went to visit his
prisoners, excused himself to them by swearing that all had

90 THE WORLD OUTLINED

been done unknown to him and against his will, for He de-
sired nothing so much as to see the Portuguese establish
themselves in Malacca; also he was about to order the au-
thors of the treason to be sought out and punished. The pris-
oners naturally gave no credence to these lying declarations,
but profiting by the comparative liberty which was hence-
forth granted to them, they cleverly succeeded in conveying
to Albuquerque some valuable information upon the position
and strength of the town.

Albuquerque with much trouble collected a fleet of nine-
teen men of war, carrying fourteen hundred men, amongst
whom there were only eight hundred Portuguese. This
being the case, ought he to venture in obedience to the wish
of King Emmanuel to steer for Aden, the key of the Red
Sea, which it was important to master in preparation for
opposing the passage of a new squadron, which the Sultan
of Egypt was intending to send to India? Albuquerque
hesitated, when a change in the trade winds occurred which
put an end to his irresolution. In fact, it was impossible
to reach Aden in the teeth of the prevailing wind, while it
was favorable for a descent upon Malacca. This town, at
that time in its full splendor, did rot contain less than lOO,-
Goo inhabitants. If many of the houses were built of
wood, and roofed with the leaves of the palm tree, yet they
were equaled in number by the more important buildings,
such as mosques and towers built of stone, which stretched
out in a long panorama for the distance of three miles. The
ships of India, Chma, and of the Malay kingdoms of the
Sunda Islands, met in its harbor, where numerous vessels
coming from the Malabar coast, the Persian Gulf, the Red
Sea, and the coast of Africa traded in merchandise of all
kinds and of every country.

When the Rajah of Malacca saw the Portuguese fleet ar-
rive in his waters, he felt that it was necessary to appear to
give satisfaction to the foreigners by sacrificing the minister
who had excited their anger and caused their arrival. His
ambassador therefore came to the vicerov to announce the
death of the bendarra, and to find out what were the in-
tentions of the Portuguese. Albuquerque answered by
demanding the prisoners who had remained in the hands of
the Rajah, but the latter, desirous of gaining time to allow
for the expected change in the trade wind, — a change which

THE CONQUEST OF INDIA 91

would force the Portuguese to regain the Malabar coast, or
else would oblige them to remain at Malacca, where he
hoped to be able to exterminate them, — invented a thousand
pretexts for delay, and in the meantime according to the old
narratives, he prepared a battery of 8,000 cannon, and col-
lected troops to the number of 20,000. At length Albu-
querque lost his patience, and ordered some houses and sev-
eral Gujerat vessels to be set on fire, a beginning of execution
which speedily brought about the restoration of the prison-
ers; he then claimed 20,000 crusades as indemnity for the
damage caused to the fleet of Lopez Sequeira, and finally
he demanded to be allowed to build a fortress within the
town itself, which should also serve as a counting-house
for the merchants. This demand could not be complied
with as Albuquerque well knew; but upon the refusal he
resolved to seize the town, fixing upon St. James's day for
the attack. The town was taken quarter by quarter, house
by house, after a truly heroic struggle and a most vigorous
defense, which lasted for nine whole days, notwithstanding
the employment of extraordinary devices, such as elephants
of war, poisoned sabers and arrows, barricades, and skill-
fully concealed troops. An enormous booty was divided
amongst the soldiers, Albuquerque only reserving to him-
self six lions, of gold according to some accounts, of iron
according to others, which he intended for the adornment
of his tomb, to perpetuate the memory of his victory.

The door which gave access to Oceania, and to Upper
Asia, was henceforth open. Many nations unknown till this
time would now have intercourse with Europeans. The
strange manners and fabulous history of many people were
about to be disclosed to the astonished West. A new era
had commenced, and these great results were due to the un-
bridled audacity, and indomitable courage of a nation whose
country was scarcely discernible upon the map of the world !

It was in part owing to the religious toleration which Al-
buquerque displayed, a toleration which contrasts strangely
with the cruel fanaticism of the Spaniards, and in part to the
skillful measures which he took, that the prosperity of
Malacca resisted the rude shock wliich it had received. In
the course of a few months no trace remained of the trials
which the town had experienced, except the sight of the
Portuguese banner floating proudly over this great city,

92 THE WORLD OUTLINED

which had now become the head and vanguard of tlie
colonial empire of this people, small in numbers, but rend-
ered great by their courage and their spirit of enterprise.

Great and wonderful as this new conquest might be, it
had not made Albuquerque forget his former projects. If
he had appeared to have renounced them, it was only be-
cause circumstances had not hitherto seemed favorable for
their execution. With that tenacity of determination
which formed the basis of his character, while still at the
southern extremity of the empire which he was founding,
his thoughts were fixed upon the northern part of it, upon
Ormuz, which the jealousy and treachery of his subordinates
had obliged him to abandon at the beginning of his career,
at the very moment when success was about to crown
his persevering efforts; it was Ormuz which tempted him
still.

The fame of his exploits and the terror inspired by his
name had decided Kodja Atar to make some advances to
Albuquerque, to ask for a treaty, and to send the arrears of
the tribute which had been formerly imposed. Although
the viceroy placed no belief on these repeated declarations
of friendship — on that Moorish faith which deserves to be
as notorious as Punic faith, — he nevertheless welcomed
them, whilst waiting for the power to establish his dominion
after a permanent manner in these countries. In 15 13 or
1 5 14 — the exact date is not ascertained — when his fleet and
soldiers were set at liberty by the conquest of Malacca and
the tranquillity of his other possessions, Albuquerque set
sail for the Persian Gulf. Immediately upon his arrival,
although a series of revolutions had changed the govern-
ment of Ormuz and the power was then in the hands of a
usurper named Rais-Nordim or Noureddin, Albuquerque
demanded that the fortress, which had been formerly begun,
should be immediately placed in his hands. After having
it repaired and finished, he took part against the pretender
Rais Named, in the quarrel which was then dividing the
town of Ormuz and preparing it to fall under the dominion
of Persia. He seized upon the town and bestowed it upon
the aspirant who had accepted his conditions beforehand,
and who appeared to Albuquerque to present the most solid
guarantees of submission and fidelity. Besides, it would
not be difficult in the future to make this certain, for Albu-

THE CONQUEST OF INDIA 93

querque left in the new fortress a garrison perfectly able to
bring Rais-Nordim to repentance for the slightest attempt
at revolt, or the least desire of independence.

A well-known anecdote is related of this expedition to
Ormuz, but one which, even from its notoriety, we should
be blamed for omitting. When the King of Persia sent to
Noureddin to demand the tribute which the sovereigns of
Ormuz had been in the habit of paying to him, Albuquerque
gave orders, that a quantity of bullets, cannon-balls and
shells, should be brought from his ships, and showing them
to the ambassadors he told them that such was the coin
in which the King of Portugal was accustomed to pay
tribute. It does not appear that the Persian ambassadors
repeated their demand.

With his usual wisdom, the viceroy did not wound the
feelings of the inhabitants, who speedily returned to the
town. Far from squeezing all he could from them, as his
successors were destined soon to do, he established an up-
right system of government which caused the Portuguese
name to be loved and respected.

At the same time that he was himself accomplishing these
marvelous labors, Albuquerque had desired some of his
lieutenants to explore the unknown regions to which access
had been given by the taking of Malacca. For this pur-
pose he gave to Antonio and Francisco d'Abreu the com-
mand of a small squadron carrying 220 men, with which
they explored the whole of the Sunda Archipelago, Suma-
tra, Java, Anjoam, Simbala, Galam, &c. ; then being not
far from the coast of Australia they sailed back again to
the north and arrived at the Islands of Duro and Amboyna,
which form part of the Molucca group. After having
made a voyage of more than 1,500 miles amongst dangerous
archipelagoes strewn with rocks and coral reefs, and amidst
populations often hostile, and after loading their ships there
with cloves, nutmegs, sandal-wood, mace, and pearls, they
set sail for Malacca in 15 12. This time the veritable land
of spices had been reached, it now only remained to found
establishments there and to take possession of it definitely,
which was not likely to be long postponed.

It has been often remarked that the Tarpeian rock is not
far from the Capitol ; of this Albuquerque was destined to
make experience, and his last days were to be saddened by

94 THE WORLD OUTLINED

unmerited disgrace, the result of calumnies and lies, and
of a skillfully woven plot, which although it succeeded in
temporarily clouding his reputation with King Emmanuel,
has not availed to obscure the glory of this great man in
the eyes of posterity. Already there had been an effort
made to persuade the king that the taking possession of
Goa had been a grave error; its unhealthy climate must, it
was said, decimate the European population in a short time,
but the king, with perfect confidence in the experience and
prudence of his lieutenant, had refused to listen to his
enemies, for which Albuquerque had publicly thanked him,
saying, — " I think more is owing to King Emmanuel for
having defended Goa against the Portuguese, than to myself
for having twice conquered it." But in 15 14 Albuquerque
had asked the king to bestow upon him as a reward for his
services the title of Duke of Goa, and it was this imprudent
step which gave an advantage to his adversaries.

Soarez d'Alber-javia and Diogo Mendez, whom Al-
buquerque had sent as prisoners to Portugal after they had
publicly declared themselves his enemies, had succeeded not
only in clearing themselves from the accusation brought
against them by the viceroy, but in persuading Emmanuel
that he wished to constitute an independent duchy of which
Goa should be the capital, and they ended by obtaining his
disgrace. The news of the appointment of Albergavia to
the post of Captain-General of Cochin, reached Albuquer-
que as he was issuing from the Strait of Ormuz on his re-
turn to the Malabar coast, and at a time when he was suffer-
ing much from disease. " He raised his hands towards
heaven," says M. F. Denis, in his excellent History of Por-
tugal, " and pronounced these few words : Behold I am in
disgrace with the king on account of my love to men, and
with men on account of my love to the king. Turn thee,
old man, to the Church, and prepare to die, for it behoves
thine honor that thou shouldest die, and never hast thou
neglected to do aught which thine honor demands." Where-
upon, being arrived in the roadstead of Goa, Alphonzo Al-
buquerque set in order the affairs of his conscience with
the Church, caused himself to be clad in the dress of the
Order of St. lago of which he was a commander, and then
"on Sunday the i6th of December, an hour before day-
break, he rendered up his soul to God. Thus ended all his

THE CONQUEST OF INDIA 95

labors, without their having ever brought him any satis-
faction."

Albuquerque was buried with great pomp. The soldiers
who had been the faithful companions of his wonderful
adventures, and the witnesses of his manifold tribulations,
disputed amidst their tears for the honor of carrying his
remains to their last resting place, which their commander
had himself chosen. The Hindoos in their grief refused
to believe that he was dead, declaring that he was gone
to command the armies of the sky. A letter of King
Emmanuel has been comparatively lately discovered which
proves that, although he was deceived for a time by the
false reports of the enemies of Albuquerque, he soon dis-
covered his mistake, and rendered him full and entire jus-
tice. Unfortunately this letter of reparation never
reached the unfortunate second Viceroy of the Indies; it
would have sweetened his last moments, whereas he had
the pain of dying in the belief that the sovereign for whose
glory and the increase of whose power he had consecrated
his life, had in the end proved ungrateful towards him.
*' With Albuquerque," says Michelet, " all humanity and
all justice disappeared from amongst the conquerors.
Long years after his death the Indians would repair to
the tomb of the great Albuquerque, to demand justice of
him against the oppressions of his successors."

Many causes may be adduced as bringing about the rapid
decay and dismemberment of that great colonial empire
■with which Albuquerque had enriched his country, and
[which even amidst its ruins has left ineffaceable traces
upon India. AVith Michelet we may cite the distance and
dispersion of the various factories, the smallness of the
popa':tion of Portugal, but little suited to the wide ex-
tension of her establishments, the love of brigandage, and
the exactions of a bad government, but beyond all, that
indomitable national pride which forbaae any mingling
of the victors with the /anquished.

The fall of the colonial empire was hindered for a time
by the influence of two heroic men, the first was Juan de
Castro, who after having had control of untold riches, re-
mained so poor that he had not even the wherewithal to
buy a fowl in his last illness; and the second, Ataide, who
once again gave the corrupt eastern populations an ex-

96 THE WORLD OUTLINED

ample of the most manly virtues, and of the most upright
administration. But after their time the empire began to
drop to pieces, and fell by degrees into the hands of the
Spaniards and the Dutch, who in their turn were unable
to preserve it intact. All passes away, all is changed.
What can be said but to repeat the Spanish saw, in apply-
ing it to the case of empires, " Life is but a dream " ?

V. XV Verne

END OF THE FIRST BOOK

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NEARCHUS' BATTLE WITH THE SEA MONSTERS.

Just as thej entered the Persian Gulf they encountered an immense
number of whales, and the sailors were so terrified by their size and
number, that they wished to fly; it was not without much difficulty that
Nearchus at last prevailed upon them to advance boldly, and they soon
scattered their formidable enemies. — Page 13.

Vol. 15.

'<^^£:-<-<-<--fe.c^7' /f

ii

The Exploration of the World

BOOK II

Seekers and Traders

(The Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries)

Seekers and Traders

(The Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries)

CHAPTER I

THE DISCOVERERS OF CENTRAL AMERICA

HE letters and narratives of Columbus and his
companions, especially those dwelling upon
the large quantity of gold and pearls found
in the recently discovered countries, had in-
flamed the imagination of eager traders, and
of numbers of gentlemen who loved adven-
ture. On the loth of April, 1495, the Spanish government
had issued an order allowing anyone who might wish to
do so, to go and discover new countries; but this privilege
was so much abused, and Columbus complained so bitterly
of its trenching upon established rights, that the permis-
sion was withdrawn on the 2nd of June, 1497, ^^^ ^o^^^
years later it become necessary to repeat the prohibition
with more severe penalties attached to its infringement.
The effect of the royal decree was at once to produce a kind
of general rush to the Indies, and this was favored by
Bishop Fonseca of Badajoz, through whose hands passed all
business connected with the Indies, and of whom Columbus
had had so much reason to complain.

The admiral had but just left San-Lucar on his third
voyage, when four expeditions of discovery were fitted out
almost at the same moment, at the cost of some rich ship-
owners, foremost among whom we find the Pinzons and
Americus Vespucius. The first of these expeditions, which
left the port of Santa Maria on the 20th of May, 1499,
consisted of four vessels, and was commanded by Alonzo
Ojeda. Juan de la Cosa sailed with him as pilot ; Americus
Vespucius was also on board, without any very clearly de-
fined duties, but he would seem to have been astronomer to
the fleet.

99

loo SEEKERS AND TRADERS

Before entering on a brief account of this voyage, we
will glance for a few moments at the three men whom we
have just named; the last of the three especially, plays a
most important part in the discovery of the New World,
which received its name from him,

Ojeda, born at Cuenga about 1465, and brought up in
the household of the Duke of Medina-Celi, had gained his
first experience in arms in the wars against the Moors.
Columbus enrolled him amongst the adventurers whom he
recruited for his second voyage, when Ojeda distinguished
himself alike by his cool courage and his readiness in sur-
mounting all difficulties. What caused his complete rup-
ture with Columbus remains a mystery; it appears still
more inexplicable when we think of the distinguished ser-
vices that Ojeda had rendered, especially in 1495, ^t the
battle of La Vega. All we know is, that on Ojeda's re-
turn to Spain he found shelter and protection with Bishop
Fonseca. It is said even that the Indian minister supplied
him with the journal of the admiral's last voyage, and the
map of the countries which Columbus had discovered.

The first pilot employed by Ojeda was Juan de la Cosa,
born probably at Santona, in the Biscayan country. He
had often sailed along the coast of Africa before accom-
panying Columbus on his first voyage, while in the second
expedition he filled the post of hydrographer {mastro de
hacer cartas).

As specimens of La Cosa's talent in drawing maps may
be mentioned two very curious ones still extant ; one show-
ing all the territory that had been acquired in Africa in
1500, the other on vellum, and enriched with color like the
first, giving the discoveries made by Columbus and his suc-
cessors. The second pilot was Bartholomew Roldan, who
had likewise sailed with Columbus on his voyage to Paria.

As to Americus Vespucius, his duties were not, as we
have said, very clearly defined; he was there to aid in mak-
ing discoveries (per ajutare a discoprire, says the Italian
text of his letter to Soderini). Born at Florence on the
9th of March, 145 1, Amerigo Vespucci belonged to a family
of distinction and wealth. He had made mathematics,
natural philosophy, and astrology (as it was then called)
his special studies. His knowledge of history and litera-
ture, judging from his letters, appears to have been some-

DISCOVERERS OF CENTRAL AMERICA loi

what vague and ill-digested. He left Florence in 1492
without any special aim in view, and went to Spain, where
he occupied himself at first in commercial pursuits. We
hear of him in Seville acting as factor in the powerful trad-
ing house of his fellow countryman, Juanoto Berardi. As
this house had advanced money to Columbus for his second
voyage, it is not unlikely that Vespucius had become ac-
quainted with the admiral at this period of his career. On
Juanoto's death in 1495, Vespucius was placed by his heirs
at the head of the financial department of the house.
.Whether he may have been tired of a situation that he
thought below his powers, or been seized in his turn wath
the fever for making new discoveries, or whether he hoped
to make his fortune rapidly in the new countries reputed
to be so rich ; whatever in short may have been the motive
that actuated him, at least this w'e know, that he joined
Ojeda's expedition in 1499, this fact being so stated in
Ojeda's deposition in the law-suit instituted by the Treas-
ury with the heirs of Columbus.

The flotilla, consisting of four vessels, set sail on the
20th of May from Santa Maria, taking a southwesterly
course, and in twenty-seven days the American continent
was sighted at the place which was named Venezuela, be-
cause the houses being built upon piles reminded the be-
holders of Venice. Ojeda, after some ineffectual attempts
to hold intercourse with the natives, with whom he had
several skirmishes, next saw the Island of Margarita; after
sailing about 250 miles to the east of the river Orinoco he
reached the Gulf of Paria, and entered a bay called the
Bay of Las Perlas, from the natives of that part being em-
ployed in the pearl fisheries.

Guided by the maps of Columbus, Ojeda passed by the
Dragon's Mouth, which separates Trinidad from the con-
tinent, and returned westward to Cape La Vela. Then,
after touching at the Caribbee Islands, where he made a
number of prisoners, whom he hoped to sell for slaves in
Spain, he was obliged to cast anchor at Yaquimo, in His-
paniola, on the 5th of September, 1499.

Columbus, knowing Ojeda's courage and his restless
spirit only too well, feared that he would introduce a new
element of discord into the colony. He therefore despatched
Francesco Roldan with two caravels to inquire into

102 SEEKERS AND TRADERS

his motives in coming to the island, and if necessary to pre-
vent his landing. The admiral's fears were but too well
grounded; Ojeda had scarcely landed before he had an
interview with some of the malcontents, inciting them to a
rising at Xaragua, and to a determination to expel Colum-
bus. After some skirmishes, which had not ended to
Ojeda's advantage, a meeting was arranged for him with
Roldan, Diego d'Escobar, and Juan de la Cosa, when they
prevailed upon him to leave the island. " He took with
him," said Las Casas, " a prodigious cargo of slaves, whom
he sold in the market at Cadiz for enormous sums of
money." He returned to Spain in February, 1500, where
he had been preceded by Americus Vespucius and Roldan
on the 1 8th of October, 1499.

The most southerly point that Ojeda had reached in this
voyage was 4° north latitude, and he had only spent four-
teen weeks on the voyage of discovery, properly so called.
If we appear to have dwelt at some length upon this voy-
age, it is because it was the first one made by Vespucius.
Some authors, Varnhagen for instance, and quite recently,
Mr. H. Major, in his history of Prince Henry the Naviga-
tor, assert that Vespucius's first voyage was in 1497 ^^^
consequently that he must have seen the American con-
tinent before Columbus, but we prefer to follow Humboldt,
who spent so many years in studying the history of the dis-
covery of America, in his opinion that 1499 was the right
date, also M. Ed. Charton and M. Jules Codine, the latter
of whom discussed this question in the Report of the
Geographical Society for 1873 apropos of Mr. Major's
book.

" H it were true," says Voltaire, " that Vespucius had
discovered the American Continent, yet the glory would not
be his; it belongs undoubtedly to the man who had the
genius and courage to undertake the first voyage, to Colum-
bus." As Newton says in his argument with Leibnitz, " the
glory is due only to the inventor." But we agree with M.
Codine when he says, " How can we allow that there was
an expedition in 1497 which resulted in the discovery of
above 2,500 miles of the coast-line of the mainland, when
there is no trace of it left either among the great historians
of that time, or in the legal depositions in connection with
the claims made by the heir of Columbus against the Span-

DISCOVERERS OF CENTRAL AMERICA 103

ish Government, in which the priority of the discoveries of
each leader of an expedition is carefully mentioned, with
the part of the coast explored by each?" Finally, the
authentic documents extracted from the archives of the
Casa de contratacion make it evident that Vespucius was
entrusted with the preparation of the vessels destined for
the third voyage of Columbus at Seville and at San Lucar
from the middle of August, 1497, till the departure of
Columbus on the 30th of May, 1498. The narratives of
the voyages of Vespucius are very diffuse and wanting in
precision and order; the information they give upon the
places he visited is so vague, that it might apply to one part
of the coast as well as to another; as to the localities treated
of, as well as of the companions of Vespucius, there are no
indications given of a nature to aid the historian. Not a
single name is given of any well-known person, and the
dates are contradictory in those famous letters which have
given endless work to commentators. Humboldt says of
them : " There is an element of discord in the most authen-
tic documents relating to the Florentine navigator." We
have given an account of Ojeda's first voyage, which coin-
cides with that of Vespucius according to Humboldt, who
has compared the principal incidents of the two narratives.
Varnhagen asserts that Vespucius, having started on the
loth of May, 1497, entered the Gulf of Honduras on the
loth of June, coasted by Yucatan and Mexico, sailed up
the Mississippi, and at the end of February, 1498, doubled
the Cape of Florida. After anchoring for thirty-seven
days at the mouth of the St. Lawrence, he returned to
Cadiz in October, 1498.

If Vespucius had really made this marvelous voyage,
he would have far outstripped all the navigators of his time,
and would have fully deserved that his name should be given
to the newly-discovered continent, whose coast-line he had
explored for so great a distance. But nothing is less cer-
tain, and Humboldt's opinion has hitherto appeared to the
best writers to offer the largest amount of probability.

Americus Vespucius made three other voyages. Hum-
boldt identifies the first with that of Vincent Yanez Pinzon,
and M. d'Avezac with that of Diego de Lepe (1499-
1500). At the close of this latter year, Giuliano Bar-
tholomeo di Giocondo induced Vespucius to enter the ser-

104 SEEKERS AND TRADERS

vice of Emmanuel, King of Portugal, and he accomplished
two more voyages at the expense of his new master. On
the first of these two voyages, he was no higher in com-
mand than he had been in his earlier ones, and only accom-
panied the expedition as one whose intimate acquaintance
with all nautical matters might prove of service under cer-
tain circumstances. During this voyage the ships coasted
along the American shores from Cape St. Augustine to 52**
cf south latitude. The fourth voyage of Vespucius was
marked by the wreck of the flag-ship off the Island of
Fernando de Noronha, which prevented the other vessels
from continuing their voyage towards Malacca by way of
the Gape of Good Hope, and obliged the crews to land at
All Saints' Bay, in Biazil.

This fourth voyage was unquestionably made with!
Gonzalo Coelho, but we are quite ignorant as to who was
in command on the third voyage. These various expedi-
tions had not tended to enrich Vespucius, while his position
at the Portuguese court was so far from satisfactory that
he determined to re-enter the service of the King of Spain.
By him he was made Piloto Mayor on the 22nd of March,
1508. There were some valuable emoluments attached for
his advantage to this appointment, which enabled him to end
his days, if not as a rich man, at least as one far removed
from want. He died at Seville on the 22nd of February,
1 51 2, with the same conviction as Columbus, that he had
reached the shores of Asia. Americus Vespucius is espe-
cially famous from the New World having been named after
him, instead of being called Columbia, as in all justice it
should have been, but with this Vespucius had nothing to
do. He was for a long time charged, though most un-
justly, with impudence, falsehood, and deceit, it being al-
leged that he wished to veil the glory of Columbus and to
arrogate to himself the honor of a discovery which did not
belong to him. This was an utterly unfounded accusation,
for Vespucius was both loved and esteemed by Columbus
and his contemporaries, and there is nothing in his writ-
ings to justify this calumnious assertion. Seven printed
documents exist which are attributed to Vespucius; they
are — the abridged accounts of his four voyages, two narra-
tives of his third and fourth voyages, in the form of let-
ters, addressed to Lorenzo de Pier Francesco de Medici,

DISCOVERERS OF CENTRAL AMERICA 105

and a letter addressed to the same nobleman, relative to
the Portuguese discoveries in the Indies. These docu-
ments, printed and bound up as small thin volumes, were
soon translated into various languages and distributed
throughout Europe.

It was in the year 1507 that a certain Hylacolymus,
whose real name was Martin Waldtzemuller, first proposed
to give the name of America to the new part of the world.
He did so in a book printed at Saint Die and called Cos-
mographia introductlo. In 1509 a small geographical
treatise appeared at Strasburg adopting the proposal of
Hylacolymus; and in 1520 an edition of Pomponius Mela
was printed at Basle, giving a map of the New World with
the name of America. From this time the number of
works employing the denomination proposed by .Waldtze-
muller increased perpetually.

Some years later, when Waldtzemuller was better in-
formed as to the real discoverer of America and of the
value to be placed upon the voyages of Vespucius, he elimi-
nated from his book all that related to the latter, and sub-
stituted everywhere the name of Columbus for that of
Vespucius, but it was too late, the same error has prevailed
ever since.

As to Vespucius himself, it seems very unlikely that he
was at all aware of the excitement which prevailed in
Europe, nor of what was passing at St. Die. The testi-
mony that has been unanimously borne to his honorable and
upright conduct should surely clear him from the unmerited
accusations which have for too long a time clouded his
memory.

Three other expeditions left Spain almost at the same
time as that of Ojeda. The first of these, consisting of but
one vessel, sailed from Barra Saltez in June, 1499. ■P^^'^
Alonzo Nino, who had served under Columbus in his two
last voyages, was its commander, and he was accompanied
by Christoval Guerra, a merchant of Seville, who prob-
ably defrayed the expenses of the expedition. This voy-
age to the coast of Paria seems to have been dictated more
by the hope of lucrative commerce than by the interests of
science. No new discoveries were made, but the two voy-
agers returned to Spain in April, 1500, bringing with them!
so large a quantity of valuable pearls as to excite the

io6

SEEKERS AND TRADERS

cupidity of their countrymen, who became anxious to try
their own fortunes in the same direction.

The second expedition was commanded by Vincent
Yanez Pinzon, the younger brother of Alonzo Pinzon who
had been captain of the Pinta and had shown so much
jealousy of Columbus, even adopting the following men-
dacious heraldic motto :

A Castilla y a Leon Nuevo Mundo dio Pinzon.

Yanez Pinzon, whose devotion to the admiral equaled his
brother's jealousy, had advanced an eighth part of the
funds required for the expedition of 1492, and had on that
occasion been in command of the Nina.

He set out in December, 1499, with four vessels, of which
only two returned to Palos at the end of September, 1500.
He touched the coast of the newly discovered continent
at a point near the shore visited by Ojeda some months be-
fore, and explored the coast for some 2,400 miles, discover-
ing Cape St. Augustine at 8° 20' south latitude, following
the coast-line in a northwesterly direction to Rio Grande,
which he named Santa-Maria de la Mar duke, and con-
tinuing in the same direction as far as Cape St. Vincent.
Diego de Lepe explored the same coasts with two caravels
from January to June, 1500; there is nothing particular to
record of this voyage beyond the very important observa-
tion that was made on the direction of the coast-line of the
continent starting from Cape St. Augustine. Lepe had
but just returned to Spain when two vessels left Cadiz,
equipped by Rodrigo Bastidas, a wealthy and highly re-
spectable man, with the view of making some fresh dis-
coveries, but above all with the object of collecting as large
a quantity of gold and pearls as possible, for which were to
be bartered glass beads and other worthless trifles. Juan
de la Cosa, whose talents as a navigator were proverbial,
and who knew these coasts well from having explored them,
was really at the head of this expedition. The sailors
went on shore and saw the Rio Sinu, the Gulf of Urabia,
and reached the Puerto del Retrete or de las Escrihanos, in
the Isthmus of Panama. This harbor was not visited by
Columbus till the 26th of November, 1502; it is situated
about seventeen miles from the once celebrated, but now
destroyed town of N ombre de Dios. In fact this expedi-
tion, which had been organized by a merchant, became.

DISCOVERERS OF CENTRAL AMERICA: 107

thanks to Juan de la Cosa, one of the voyages the most
fertile in discoveries; but alas! it came to a sad termination;
the vessels were lost in the Gulf of Xaragua, and Bastidas
and La Cosa were obliged to make their way by land to St.
Domingo. When they arrived there, Bovadilla, the up-
right man and model governor, whose infamous conduct
to Columbus we have already mentioned, had them arrested,
on the plea that they had bought some gold from the In-
dians of Xaragua; he sent them off to Spain, which was
only reached after a fearfully stormy voyage, some of the
vessels being lost on the way.

After this expedition, so fruitful in results, voyages of
discovery became rather less frequent for some years; the
Spaniards being occupied in asserting their supremacy in
the countries in which they had already founded colonies.

The colonization of Hispaniola had commenced in 1493,
when the town of Isabella was built. Two years after-
wards Christopher Columbus had traveled over the island
and had subjugated the poor savages, by means of those
terrible dogs which had been trained to hunt Indians, and
unaccustomed as the natives were to any hard work, he
had forced them to toil in the mines. Both Bovadilla and
Ovando treating the Indians as a herd of cattle, had divided
them among the colonists as slaves. The cruelty with
which this unfortunate people was treated became more and
more unbearable. By means of a despicable ambush,
Ovando seized the Queen of Xaragua and 300 of her prin-
cipal subjects, and at a given signal they were all put to
the sword without there being any crime adduced against
them. " For some years," says Robertson, " the gold
brought into the royal treasury of Spain amounted to about
160,000 pesos, an enormous sum if we take into considera-
tion the great increase in the value of money since the be-
ginning of the sixteenth century." In 151 1 Diego Velasquez
conquered Cuba with 300 men, and here again were enacted
the terrible scenes of bloodshed and pillage which have ren-
dered the Spanish name so sadly notorious. They cut off
the thumbs of the natives, put out their eyes, and poured
boiling oil or melted kad into their wounds, even when they
did not torture them by burning them over a slow fire to ex-
tract from them the secret of the treasures of which they
were believed to be the possessors. It was only natural un-

io8 SEEKERS AND TRADERS

der these circumstances that the population rapidly de-
creased, and the day was not far off when it would be
wholly exterminated. To understand fully the sufferings
of this race thus odiously persecuted, the touching and hor-
rible narrative of Las Casas must be read, himself the in-
defatigable defender of the Indians.

In Cuba, the Cacique Hattuey was made prisoner and
condemned to be burnt. When he was tied to the stake, a
Franciscan monk tried to convert him, promising him that
if he would only embrace the Christian faith, he would be
at once admitted to all the joys of Paradise. " Are there
any Spaniards in that land of happiness and joy of which
you speak?" asked Hattuey. "Yes," replied the monk,
" but only those who have been just and good in their lives."
" The very best among them can have neither justice nor
mercy!" said the poor cacique, "I do not wish to go to
any place where I should meet a single man of that accursed
race."

Does not this fact suffice to paint the degree of exaspera-
tion to which these unfortunate people had been driven?
And these horrors were repeated wherever the Spaniards
set foot ! We will throw a veil over these atrocities prac-
ticed by men who thought themselves civilized, and who pre-
tended that they wished to convert to Christianity, the re-
ligion pre-eminently of love and mercy, a race who were
in reality less savage than themselves.

In 1504 and 1505 four vessels explored the Gulf of
Urabia. This w^as the first voyage in which Juan de la
Cosa had the supreme command. This seems, too, to have
been about the date of Ojeda's third voyage, when he went
to the territory of Coquibacoa, a voyage that certainly was
made, as Humboldt says, but of which we have no clear
account.

In 1509 Juan Diaz de Solis, in concert with Vincent
Yafiez Pinzon, discovered a vast province, since known by
the name of Yucatan.

" Though this expedition was not a very remarkable one
in itself," says Robertson, " it deserves to be noticed as it
led to discoveries of the utmost importance." For the same
reason we must mention the voyage of Diego d'Ocampo,
who being charged to sail round Cuba, was the first to as-
certain the fact that it was a large island, Columbus having

DISCOVERERS OF CENTRAL AMERICA 109

always regarded it as part of the continent. Two years
later Juan Diaz de Solis and Vincent Pinzon, sailing south-
wards towards the equinoctial line, advanced as far as the
40° of south latitude, and found, to their surprise, that the
continent extended on their right hand even to this im-
mense distance. They landed several times, and took for-
mal possession of the country, but could not found any
colonies there, on account of the small resources they had
at their command. The principal result of this voyage was
the more exact knowledge which it gave of the exent of
this part of the globe.

Alonzo de Ojeda, whose adventures we have narrated
above, was the first to think of founding a colony on the
mainland; although he had no means of his own, his cour-
age and enterprising spirit soon gained him associates, who
furnished him with the funds needed for carrying out his
plans.

With the same object Diego de Nicuessa, a rich colonist
of Hispaniola, organized an expedition in 1509. King
Ferdinand, who was always lavish of encouragements which
cost little, gave both Ojeda and Nicuessa honorable titles
and patents of nobility, but not a single coin. He also
divided the newly-discovered continent into two govern-
ments, of which one was to extend from Cape La Vela to
the Gulf of Darien, and the other from the Gulf of Darien
to Cape Gracias a Dios. The first was given to Ojeda, the
second to Nicuessa. These two " conquistadores '' had to
deal with a population far less easy to manage than that
of the Antilles. Determined to resist to the utmost the
invasion of their country, they adopted means of resistance
hitherto unknown to the Spaniards. Thus the strife be-
came deadly. In a single engagement seventy of Ojeda's
companions fell under the arrows of the savages, fearful
weapons steeped in " curare," so fatal a poison that the
slightest wound was followed by death. Nicuessa on his
side, had much difficulty in defending himself, and in spite
of two considerable reinforcements from Cuba, the greater
number of his followers perished during the year from
wounds, fatigue, privations, or sickness. The survivors
founded the small colony of Santa Maria el Antigua upon
the Gulf of Darien, and placed it under the command of
Balboa.

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SEEKERS AND TRADERS

Before we speak of Balboa's wonderful expedition, w6
must notice the discovery of a country that forms the most
northerly side of that arc, cut so deeply into the continent,
and which bears the name of the Gulf of Mexico. In 1502
Juan Ponce de Leon, a member of one of the oldest fam-
ilies in Spain, had arrived in Hispaniola with Ovando.
He had assisted in its subjugation, and in 1508 had con-
quered the island of San Juan de Porto Rico. Having
learnt from the Indians that there existed a fountain in the
island of Bimini which possessed the miraculous power of
restoring youth to all who drank of its waters, Ponce de
Leon resolved to go in search of it. Infirmities must have
been already creeping on him at fifty years of age, or he
would scarcely have felt the need of trying this fountain.
Ponce de Leon equipped three vessels at his own expense,
and set out from St. Germain in Porto Rico on the first of
March, 1512. He went first to the Lucayan Islands, which
he searched in vain, and then to the Bahamas. If he did
not succeed in finding the fountain of youth which he sought
so credulously, at least he had the satisfaction of discover-
ing an apparently fertile tract of country, which he named
Florida, either from his landing there on Palm Sunday,
( Paques-Fleuries), or perhaps from its delightful aspect.
Such a discovery would have contented many a traveler,
but Ponce de Leon went from one island to another, tasting
the water of every stream that he met with, without the
satisfaction of seeing his white hair again becoming black
or his wrinkles disappearing. After spending six months
in this fruitless search, he was tired of playing the dupe,
so giving up the business he returned to Porto Rico on the
5th of October, leaving Perez de Ortubia and the pilot
Antonio de Alaminos to continue the search. Pere Charle-
voix says, " He was the object of great ridicule when he
returned in much suffering, and looking older than when
he set out."

This voyage, so absurd in its motive but so fertile in
its results, might well be considered to be simply imaginary,
were it not vouched for by historians of such high repute
as Peter Martyr, Oviedo, Herrera, and Garcilasso de la
Vega.

Vasco Nuiiez de Balboa, who was fifteen years younger
than Ponce de Leon, had come to America with Bastidas

DISCOVERERS OF CENTRAL AMERICA in

and had settled in Hispaniola. He was only anxious for
a safe refuge from his numerous creditors, being, as were
so many of his fellow countrymen, deeply in debt, in spite
of the rcpartimicnto of Indians which had been allotted to
him. Unfortunately for Balboa a law had been passed for-
bidding any vessels bound for the mainland taking insol-
vent debtors on board, but his ingenuity was equal to this
emergency, for he had himself rolled in an empty barrel
to the vessel which was to carrv Encisco to Darien. The
chief of the expedition had no choice but to receive the
brave adventurer who had joined him in this singular man-
ner, and who never fled except from duns, as he soon proved
on landing. The Spaniards, accustomed to find but little
resistance from the natives of the Antilles, could not sub-
jugate the fierce inhabitants of the mainland. On account
of the dissensions that had arisen among themselves, they
were obliged to take refuge at Santa Maria el Antigua, a
settlement which Balboa, now elected commandant in place
of Encisco, founded in Darien.

If the personal bravery of Balboa, or the ferocity of
Leoncillo, his blood hound — who was more dreaded than
twenty armed men and received the same pay as a soldier, —
could have awed the Indians, Balboa would have also won
their respect by his justice and comparative moderation,
for he allowed no unnecessary cruelty. In the course of
some years he collected a great mass of most useful in-
formation with regard to that El Dorado, that land of
gold, which he was destined never to reach himself, but
the acquisition of which he did much to facilitate for his
successors.

It was in this way that he learnt the existence six suns
away (six days' journey), of another sea, the Pacific Ocea/.,
which washed the shores of Peru, a country where gold
was found in large quantities. Balboa's character, which
was as grand as those of Cortes and Pizarro, but who had
not, as they, the time or opportunity to show the extraor-
dinary qualities which he possessed, felt convinced that this
information was most valuable, and that if he could carry
out such a discovery, it would shed great luster on his
name.

He assembled a body of 190 volunteers, all valiant sol-
diers, and like himself, accustomed to all the chances of

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SEEKERS AND TRADERS

war, as well as acclimatized to the unhealthy effluvia of a
marshy country, where fever, dysentery, and complaints
of the liver were constantly present.

Though the Isthmus of Darien is only sixty miles in
width, it is divided into two parts by a chain of high moun-
tains; at the foot of these the alluvial soil is marvelously
fertile, and the vegetation far more luxuriant than any
European can imagine. It consists of an inextricable mass
of tropical plants, creepers, and ferns, among trees of gi-
gantic size which completely hide the sun, a truly virgin
forest, interspersed here and there with patches of stag-
nant water, where live multitudes of birds, insects, and
animals, never disturbed by the foot of man. A warm,
moist atmosphere exists here which exhausts the strength
and speedily saps the energy of any man, even the most
robust.

With all these obstacles which Nature seemed to have
rejoiced in placing in Balboa's path, there was yet another
no less formidable, and this was the resistance which the
savage inhabitants of this inhospitable shore would offer
to his progress. Balboa set out without caring for the
risk he ran in the event of the guides and native auxiliaries
proving faithless; he was escorted by a thousand Indians
as porters, and accompanied by a troop of those terrible
bloodhounds which had acquired the taste for human flesh
in Hispaniola. i

Of the tribes that he met with on his route, some fled
into the mountains carrying their provisions with them,
and others, taking advantage of the difficulties the land
presented, tried to fight. Balboa marching in the midst
of his men, never sparing himself, sharing in their priva-
tions and rousing their courage, which would have failed
more than once, was able to inspire them with so much en-
thusiasm for the object that was before them, that after
twenty- five days of marching and fighting, they could see
from the top of a mountain that vast Pacific Ocean, of
which, four days later, Balboa, his drawn sword in one
hand and the banner of Castile in the other, took posses-
sion in the name of the King of Spain. The part of the
Pacific Ocean which he had reached is situated to the east
of Panama, and still bears the name of the Gulf of San
Miguel, given to it by Balboa. The information he ob-

V. XV Verne

DISCOVERERS OF CENTRAL AMERICA 113

tained from the neighboring caciques, whom he subju-
gated by force of arms, and from whom he obtained a con-
siderable booty, agreed in every particular with what he
had heard before he set out.

A vast empire lay to the south, they said, " so rich in
gold, that even the commonest instruments were made of
it," where the domestic animals were llamas that had been
tamed and trained to carry heavy burdens, and whose ap-
pearance in the native drawings resembled that of the
camel. These interesting details, and the great quantity
of pearls offered to Balboa, confirmed him in his idea, that
he must have reached the Asiatic countries described by
Marco Polo, and that he could not be far from the empire
of Cipango or Japan, of which the Venetian traveler had
described the marvelous riches which were perpetually daz-
zling the eyes of these avaricious adventurers.

Balboa several times crossed the Isthmus of Darien, and
always in some fresh direction. Humboldt might well say
that this country was better known in the beginning of
the sixteenth century than in his own day. Beyond this
Balboa had launched some vessels built under his orders
on the newly-discovered ocean, and he was preparing a
formidable armament, with which he hoped to conquer
Peru, when he was odiously and judicially murdered by
the orders of Pedrarias Davila, the governor of Darien,
who was jealous of the reputation Balboa had already
gained, and of the glory which would doubtless recom-
pense his bravery if he carried out the expedition which
he had arranged. Thus the conquest of Peru was retarded
by at least twenty-five years, owing to the culpable
jealousy of a man whose name has acquired, by Balboa's
assassination, almost as wretched a celebrity as that of
Erostratus.

If we owe to Balboa the first authentic documents re-
garding Peru, another explorer was destined to furnish
some not less important touching that vast Mexican Em-
pire, which had extended its sway over almost the whole
of Central America. In 15 18, Juan de Grijalva had been
placed in command of a flotilla, consisting of four vessels,
armed by Diego Velasquez, the conqueror of Cuba, which
were destined to collect information upon Yucatan, sighted
the year before by Hernandez de Cordova. Grijalva, ac-

114 SEEKERS AND TRADERS

companied by the pilot Alaminos, who had made the voy-
age to Florida with Ponce de Leon, had two hundred men
imder his command; amongst the volunteers was Bernal
Diaz del Castillo, the clever author of a very interesting
history of the conquest of Mexico.

After thirteen days' sailing, Grijalva reached the Island
of Cozumel on the coast of Yucatan, doubled the Cape of
Cotoche, and entered the Bay of Campeachy. He disem-
barked on the loth of May at Potonchan, of which the
inhabitants defended the town and citadel vigorously, in
spite of their astonishment at the vessels, which they took
for some kind of marine monsters, and their fear of the
pale-faced men who hurled thunderbolts. Fifty-seven
Spaniards were killed in the engagement, and many were
V\^ounded. This warm reception did not encourage Grijalva
10 make any long stay amongst this warlike people. He
set sail again after anchoring for four days, took a west-
terly course along the coast of Mexico, and on the 19th
oi May entered a river named by the natives the Tabasco,
where he soon found himself surrounded by a fleet of fifty
rative boats filled with warriors ready for the conflict, but
I hanks to Grijalva's prudence and the amicable demonstra-
tions which he made, peace was not disturbed,

" We made them understand," writes Bernal Diaz,
" that we were the subjects of a powerful emperor called
Don Carlos, and that it would be greatly to their advan-
tage if they also would acknowledge him as their master.
They replied that they had a sovereign already, and were
at a loss to understand why we, who had only just arrived,
and who knew so little of them, should offer them another
king." This reply was scarcely that of a savage!

In exchange for some worthless European trinkets, the
Spaniards obtained some Yucca bread, copal gum, pieces of
gold worked into the shape of fishes or birds, and gar-
ments made of cotton, which had been woven in the coun-
try. As the natives who had been taken on board at Cape
Cotoche did not perfectly understand the language spoken
by the inhabitants of Tabasco, the stay here was but of
short duration, and the ships again put to sea. They
passed the mouth of the Rio Guatzacoalco, the snowy peaks
of the San Martin mountains being seen in the distance, and
they anchored at the mouth of a river which was called

DISCOVERERS OF CENTRAL AMERICA 115

Rio de las Banderas, from the number of white banners dis-
played by the natives to show their friendly feeling towards
the new comers.

When Grijalva landed, he was received with the same
honor as the Indians paid to their gods; they burnt copal
incense before him, and laid at his feet more than 1,500
piastres' worth of small gold jewels, as well as green pearls
and copper hatchets. After taking formal possession of
the country, the Spaniards landed on an island called Los
Sacrificios Island, from a sort of altar v^'hich they found
there placed at the top of several steps, upon which lay the
bodies of five Indians sacrificed since the preceding even-
ing; their bodies were cut open, their hearts torn out, and
both legs and arms cut off. Leaving this revolting spec-
tacle, they went to another small island, which received the
name of San Juan, being discovered on St. John's Day; to
this they added the word Culua, which they heard used by
the natives of these shores. But Culua was the ancient
name for Mexico, and this Island of San-Juan de Culua is
now known as St. John d'Ulloa.

Grijalva put all the gold which he had collected on board
one of the ships and despatched it to Cuba, while he con-
tinued his exploration of the coast, discovered the Sierras
of Tusta and Tuspa, and collected a large amount of useful
information regarding this populous country; on arriving
at the Rio Paniico, he was attacked by a flotilla of native
vessels, and had much difficulty in defending himself
against their attacks.

This expedition was nearly over, for provisions were
running short, and the vessels were in a very bad state, the
volunteers were many of them sick and wounded, and even
had they been in good health their numbers were too small
to make it safe to leave them among these warlike people,
even under the shelter of fortifications. Besides, the lead-
ers of the expedition no longer acted in concert, so after
repairing the largest of the vessels in the Rio Tonala, where
Bernal Diaz boasts of having sown the first orange-pips
which were ever brought to Mexico, the Spaniards set out
for Santiago in Cuba, where they arrived on the 15th of
November, after a cruise of seven months.

The results obtained from this voyage were consider-
able. For the first time the long line of coast which forms

ii6 SEEKERS AND TRADERS

the peninsula of Yucatan, the Bay of Campeachy, and the
base of the Gulf of Mexico, had been explored continuously
from cape to cape. Not only had it been proved beyond
doubt that Yucatan was not an island as they had believed,
but much and reliable information had been collected with
regard to the existence of the rich and powerful empire of
Mexico. The explorers had been much struck with the
marks of a more advanced civilization than that existing
in the Antilles, with the superiority of the architecture, the
skillful cultivation of the land, the fine texture of the cotton
garments, and the delicacy of finish of the golden ornaments
worn by the Indians. All this combined to increase the
thirst for riches among the Spaniards of Cuba, and to urge
them on like modern Argonauts to the conquest of this
new golden fleece. Cortez and Pizarro led armies to the
conquest of the lands which Grijalva and Balboa had
discovered.

CHAPTER II

THE FIRST VOYAGE ROUND THE WORLD

No one as yet was aware of the Immense size of the con-
tinent discovered by Christopher Columbus. Still was
sought perseveringly on the coast of America — which was
thought to be a collection of several islands — ^the famous
strait which should lead at once to the Pacific Ocean and to
those Spice Islands the possession of which would have
made the fortune of Spain. While Cortereal and Cabot
were seeking for it in the Atlantic Ocean ,and Cortes in the
furthest part of the Gulf of California, while Pizarro was
coasting along Peru, and Valdivia was conquering Chili,
the solution of this problem was found by a Portuguese
in the service of Spain, Ferdinand de Magellan.

The son of a nobleman, Ferdinand de Magellan was born
either at Oporto, at Lisbon, at Villa de Sabrossa, or at Villa
de Figueiro, it is not actually known which; the date of
his birth is unknown, but it took place towards the end of
the fifteenth century. He had been brought up in the
house of King John II., where he received as complete an
education as could then be given him. After having made
mathematics and navigation his special study — for at this
time in Portugal there was an irresistible current which

ROUND THE WORLD 117

drew the whole country towards maritime expeditions and
discoveries — Magellan early embraced a maritime career,
and embarked in 1505 with Almeida, who was on his way
to the Indies. He took part in the sacking of Quiloa, and
in all the events of that campaign. The following year
he accompanied Vaz Pereira to Sofala; then, on returning
to the Malabar coast, we find him assisting Albuquerque
at the taking of Malacca, and bearing himself on that oc-
casion with equal prudence and bravery. He took part in
the expedition sent by Albuquerque about 15 10, to seek for
the famous Spice Islands, under the command of Antonio
de Abreu and of Francisco Serrao, which discovered Banda,
Amboyna, Ternate, and Tidor. During this time Magellan
had landed at the Malaysian Islands, distant 1,800 miles
from Malacca, and in the Archipelago of the Moluccas he
had obtained the circumstantial information which gave
birth in his mind to the idea of the voyage which he was
destined to accomplish later on.

On his return to Portugal, Magellan obtained leave,
though not without difficulty, to search through the royal
archives. He soon became certain that the Moluccas were
situated in the hemisphere which the bull of demarcation
adopted at Tordesillas by the kings of Spain and Portugal,
and confirmed in 1494 by Pope Alexander VI., had given
to Spain.

In virtue of this line of demarcation, which was des-
tined to give rise to so many impassioned debates, all the
countries situated at 360 miles west of the meridian of the
Cape de Verd Islands were to belong to Spain, and all those
lying to the east of the same meridian to Portugal. Magel-
lan was of too active a nature to remain long with out again
taking service; he went next to fight in Africa at Azamor,
a town in Morocco, where he received a slight wound in
his knee, but one which by injuring a nerve made him lame
for the remainder of his life, and obliged him to return to
Portgual. Conscious of the superiority which his the-
oretical and practical knowledge and his services had earned
for him above the herd of courtiers, Magellan naturally
felt more keenly than another would have done the unjust
treatment he received from Emmanuel with regard to cer-
tain complaints laid by the people of Azamor against the
Portuguese officers. King Emmanuel's prejudices soon

li8 SEEKERS AND TRADERS

changed to a real dislike. It showed Itself by the outrag-
eous imputation that Magellan was pretending to suffer
from a wound which was really of no consequence and
was completely cured, that he might escape from accusa-
tions which he could not refute. Such an assertion was a
serious matter for the honor of Magellan, so susceptible
and suspicious; he thereupon came to a desperate determina-
tion which corresponded moreover with the greatness of
the insult which he had received. That no one might be
ignorant of it, he caused it to be legally set forth that he
renounced his rights as a Portuguese citizen, and changed
his nationality, and he then took out letters of naturaliza-
tion in Spain. This was to proclaim, as solemnly as could
possibly be done, that he intended to be looked upon as a
subject of the crown of Castile, to which henceforward he
would consecrate his services and his whole life. This was
a serious determination, as we can see, which no one blamed,
and which even the most severe historians, such as Barros
and Faria y Sousa, have excused.

At the same time as Magellan, the licentiate Rey Faleiro
left Lisbon with his brother Francisco and a merchant
named Christovam de Haro ; the former was a man deeply
versed in cosmographical knowledge, and had equally with
Magellan fallen under Emmanuel's displeasure. Faleiro
had entered into a treaty of partnership with Magellan to
reach the Moluccas by a new way, but one which was not
otherwise specified, and which remained Magellan's secret.
As soon as they arrived in Spain, (151 7), the two part-
ners submitted their project to Charles V., who accepted it
in principle; but there remained the always delicate ques-
tion touching the means for putting it into execution. Hap-
pily, Magellan found in Juan de Aranda, the factor of the
Chamber of Commerce, an enthusiastic partisan of his the-
ories, and one who promised to exert all his influence to
make the enterprise a success. He had an interview ac-
cordingly with the high Chancellor, the Cardinal and Bishop
of Burgos, Fonseca. He set forth with such skill the great
advantage that Spain would derive from the discovery of
a route leading to the very center of the spice production,
and the great prejudice which it would cause to the trade
of Portugal, that an agreement was signed on the 22nd of
March, 15 18. The Emperor undertook to pay all the ex-

ROUND THE WORLD 119

penses of the expedition on condition that the greater part
of the profits should belong to him.

But Magellan had still many obstacles to surmount before
taking to the sea. In the first place there were the remon-
strances of the Portuguese ambassador, Alvaro de Costa,
who, seeing that his endeavors were in vain, even tried to
compass the assassination of Magellan, so says Faria y
Sousa. Then he encountered the ill-will of the employes
of the Casa dc contratacion at Seville, who were jealous of
a stranger being entrusted with the command of such an
important expedition, and envious of the least token of
favor which had been accorded to Magellan and Rey Fa-
leiro, who had been named commanders of the order of
St. James. Charles V. had thus given his consent by a
public act, which seemed to be irrevocable. They tried,
however, to make the Emperor alter his decision by organ-
izing, on the twenty-second of October, 15 18, a disturbance
paid for with Portuguese gold. It broke out on the pre-
text that Magellan, who had just had one of his ships drawn
on shore for repairs and painting, had decorated it with the
Portuguese arms. This last attempt failed miserably, and
three statutes of the 30th of March, and 6th and 30th of
[April, fixed the composition of the crews and named the
staff; while a final official document dated from Barcelona
the 26th of July, 1519, confided the sole command of the
expedition to Magellan.

What had meanwhile been happening to Rey Faleiro?
We cannot exactly sa)^ But this man, who had up to this
time been treated on the same footing as Magellan, and
who had perhaps first conceived the project, now found
himself quite excluded from the command of the expedi-
tion, after some dissensions of which the cause is unknown.
His health, already shaken, received a last shock from this
affront, and poor Rey Faleiro, who had become almost
childish, having returned to Portugal to see his family, was
arrested there, and only released upon the intercession of
Charles V. At last, after having sworn fidelity and hom-
age to the crown of Castile, Magellan received In his turn
the oath of his officers and sailors, and left the port of San
Lucar de Barrameda on the morning of the loth of August,

1519-

But before entering on the narrative of this memorable

I20 SEEKERS AND TRADERS

campaign, we must give a few particulars of the man who
has left us the most complete account of it, Francesco An-
tonio Pigafetta. Born at Venice about 1491, of a noble
family, Pigafetta formed part of the suite of the Ambas-
sador Francesco Chiericalco, sent by Leo X. to Charles V.,
who was then at Barcelona. His attention was no doubt
aroused by the noise which the preparations for the expedi-
tion made at that time in Spain, and he obtained permission
to take part in the voyage. This volunteer proved an ex-
cellent recruit, for he showed himself in every respect as
faithful and intelligent an observer as he was a brave and
courageous companion. He was wounded at the battle of
Zebu, fighting beside Magellan, which prevented him from
being present at the banquet during which so many of his
companions were destined to lose their lives. As to his
I'.arrative, with the exception of some exaggerations of
detail according to the taste of that time, it is exact, and
the greater part of the descriptions which we owe to him
have been verified by modern travelers.

Upon his return to San Lucar on the 6th of September,
1522, after having fulfilled the vow which he had made to
go barefoot to return thanks to Nuesta Scnora de la Vic-
toria, the Lombard (as they called him on board the
Victoria), presented to Charles V., then at Valladolid, a
complete journal of the voyage. When he returned to Italy,
by means of the original as well as some of the supplemen-
tary notes he wrote a longer narrative of the expedition, at
the request of Pope Clement VH. and of Villiers de ITsle
Adam, grand-master of the Knights of Malta. He sent cop-
ies of his work to several distinguished personages, and
notably to Louisa of Savoy, mother of Francis L But she
not understanding, so thinks Harrisse, the very learned au-
thor of the Bibliothcca Americana V etiistissima , the kind of
patois used by Pigafetta, and which resembles a mixture
cf Italian, Venetian, and Spanish, employed a certain
Jacques Antoine Fabre to translate it into French.

Pigafetta died at Venice about 1534, in a house in the
Rue de la Lune, which in 1800 was still to be seen, and
which bore the well-known device, " No rose without a
thorn."

At the same time, not wishing to confine ourselves to
Pigafetta's narrative entirely, we have compared and com-

ROUND THE WORLD 121

pleted it witH that of Maximilian Transylvain, secretary to
Charles V., of which there is an Italian translation in Ra-
musio's valuable collection.

The fleet of Magellan consisted of the Trinidad, of 120
tons' burden, which carried the flag of the commander of
the expedition; the S ant' -Antonio, also of 120 tons, com-
manded by Juan de Carthagena, the second in rank, the
person joined with Magellan, says the official document;
the Conccpcion, of 90 tons, commanded by Caspar de Que-
sada; the famous Victoria, of 85 tons, commanded by Luis
de Mendoza; and lastly the Santiago, of 75 tons, com-
manded by Joao Serrao, called by the Spaniards Serrano.

Four of these captains and nearly all the pilots were
Portuguese. Barbosa and Comez on board the Trinidad,
Luis Alfonzo de Coez and Vasco Callego on the Victoria,
Serrao, Joao Lopez de Carvalho on the Concepcion, Joao
Rodriguez de Moefrapil on the S ant' -Antonio, and Joao Ser-
rao on the Santiago, with twenty-five sailors, formed a total
of thirty-three Portuguese out of the whole body of 237
individuals whose names have all been handed down to us,
and amongst whom are found a considerable number of
Frenchmen.

Of the officers whose names have been mentioned, it is
to be remembered that Duarte Barbosa was brother-in-law
to Magellan and that Estavam Comez, who, by returning
to Seville on the 6th of May, 1521, did not participate in
the conclusion of this memorable voyage, was afterwards
sent by Charles V. to seek for the northwest passage, and
in 1524 sailed along the coast of America from Florida
to Rhode Island, and perhaps as far as Cape Cod.

Nothing could have been better arranged than this ex-
pedition, for the equipment of which the whole resources
of the nautical science of that epoch had been taxed. At
the moment of departure Magellan gave his last orders to
his pilots and captains, and the code of signals which were
to ensure unanimity in maneuvers, and prevent a possible
separation.

On Monday morning, the loth August, 15 19, the fleet
^veighed anchor and sailed down the Cuadalquiver as far
as San Lucar de Barrameda, which forms the port of Se-
ville, where the victualing of the ships was completed, and
it was the 20th of September before they were really off.

122 SEEKERS AND TRADERS

Six days afterwards the fleet anchored at Teneriffe in tHe
Canary Archipelago, where both wood and water were taken
on board. It was on leaving this island that the first symp-
toms appeared of the misunderstanding between Magellan
and Juan de Carthagena which was to prove so fatal to
the expedition. The latter claimed the right to be informed
by the commander-in-chief of the route which he intended
to take, a claim which was at once rejected by Magellan,
who declared that he was not called upon to give any ex-
planation to his subordinate.

After having passed between the Cape de Verd Islands
and Africa, the ships reached the shores of Sierra Leone,
where contrary winds and dead calms detained the fleet for
twenty days.

A painful incident now occurred. During a council
which was held on board the flagship, a sharp dispute arose,
and Juan de Carthagena, who affected to treat the Captain-
general with contempt, having answered him with pride and
insolence, Magellan felt obliged to arrest him with his own
hand, and to have him put in the stocks, an instrument
made of two pieces of wood placed one upon the other and
pierced with holes, in which were placed the legs of the
sailor who was to be punished. The other captains re-
monstrated loudly with Magellan against a punishment
which was too degrading for a superior officer, and Cartha-
gena in consequence was simply put under arrest, and
guarded by one of the captains. To the calms now suc-
ceeded rain, tempest, and heavy squalls, which obliged the
vessels to lie to. During these storms the navigators sev-
eral times witnessed an electric phenomenon of which the
cause was not then known, but which they considered an
undoubted sign of the protection of heaven, and which
even at the present day is known by the name of St. Elmo's
fire. Once past the equinoctial line, they steered for Brazil,
where, on the 13th of December, 15 19, the fleet cast anchor
in the magnificent port of Santa Lucia, now known under
the name of Rio Janeiro. This was not, however, the first
time that this bay had been seen by Europeans, as was long
believed. Since the year 151 1 it had been known under the
name of Bahia do Cabo Frio. It had been visited also, four
years before Magellan's arrival, by Pero Lopez, and seems
to have been frequented since the commencement of the

ROUND THE WORLD 123

sixteentH century by mariners from Dieppe, wHo, inheritors
of the passion for adventurous navigation of their ances-
tors the Northmen, roamed over the world, and founded
small establishments or factories in all directions. Here
the Spanish expedition procured cheaply, in exchange for
looking-glasses, pieces of ribbon, scissors, hawks' bells or
fish hooks, a quantity of provisions, amongst which Piga-
fetta mentions pineapples, sugar-cane, sweet potatoes, fowls,
and the flesh of the Anta, which is thought to be the tapir.

The account given in the same narrative of the manners
of the inhabitants is sufficiently curious to be repeated.
*' The Brazilians are not Christians," he says, " but no more
are they idolators, for they worship nothing; natural in-
stinct is their only law." This is an interesting fact, and
a singular avowal for an Italian of the sixteenth century,
deeply imbued with superstition. " These natives live to a
great age, they go entirely naked, and sleep in cotton nets
called hammocks, suspended by the two ends to beams. As
to their boats, called canoes, each is hollowed out of the
single trunk of a tree and can hold as many as forty men.
They are anthropophagi (cannibals), but only on special
occasions, and scarcely ever eat any but their enemies taken
in battle. Their dress of ceremony is a kind of vest made
of paroquets' feathers, woven together, and so arranged
that the large wing and tail-feathers form a sort of girdle
round their loins, which gives them a whimsical and ri-
diculous appearance."

After remaining thirteen days in this place, the squadron
continued its route to the south, coasting along the shore,
and arrived at 34° 40' of south latitude in a country where
flowed a large river of fresh water. It was the La Plata.
The natives, called Charruas, were so frightened at the sight
cf the vessels that they hastily took refuge in the interior
of the country, carrying with them all their valuables, and
it was impossible to overtake any of them. It was in this
country that four years previously, Juan Diaz de Solis had
been massacred by a tribe of Charruas, armed with that
terrible engine which is still in use at the present day among
the ganchos of the Argentine Republic, the holas, which are
metal balls fastened to the two ends of a long leather thong,
called a lasso.

A little below the estuary of the La Plata, once thought

124 SEEKERS AND TRADERS

to be an arm of the sea opening into the Pacific, the flotilla:
anchored at Port Desire. Here they obtained an ample
supply of penguins for the crews of the five vessels — a bird
which did not make a very delicious meal. Then they an-
chored in 49° 30' in a beautiful harbor, where Magellan
resolved to winter, and which received the name of St.
Julian's Bay. The Spaniards had been two months there,
when one day they perceived a man who seemed to them to
be of gigantic stature. At sight of them he began dancing
and singing and throwing dust upon his head. This was a
Patagonian, who allowed himself without resistance to be
taken on board the vessels. He showed the greatest sur-
prise at all he saw around him, but nothing astonished him
so much as a large steel mirror which was presented to him.
" The giant, who had not the least idea of the use of this
piece of furniture, and who, no doubt, now saw his own
face for the first time, drew back in such terror, that he
threw to the ground four of our people who were behind
him." He was taken back on shore loaded with presents,
and the kind welcome which he had received induced eigh-
teen of his companions, thirteen women and five men, to
come on board. They were tall, and had broad faces,
painted red except the eyes, which were encircled with yel-
low; their hair was whitened with lime, they were wrapped
in enormous fur cloaks, and wore those large leather boots
from which was given to them the name of Large-feet or
Patagonians. Their stature was not, however, so gigantic
as it appeared to our simple narrator, for it varies from
five feet, ten inches to five feet, eight inches, being some-
what above the middle height among Europeans. For arms
they had a short massive bow, and arrows made of reed,
of which the point was formed of a sharp pebble.

The captain, to retain two of these savages whom he
wished to take to Europe, used a stratagem, which we should
characterize as hateful in the present day, but which
had nothing revolting about it for the sixteenth century,
when Indians and negroes were universally considered to
be a kind of brute beasts. Magellan loaded these Indians
with presents, and when he saw them embarrassed with
the quantity, he offered to each of them one of those iron
rings used for chaining captives. They would have de-
sired to carry them away, for they valued iron above every-

ROUND THE WORLD 125

thing, but their hands were full. It was then proposed to
fasten the rings to their legs, to which they agreed without
suspicion. The sailors then closed the rings, so that the
savages found themselves in fetters. Nothing can give an
idea of their fury when they discovered this stratagem,
worthy rather of savages than of civilized men. The cap-
ture of others was attempted, but in vain, and in the chase
one of the Spaniards was wounded by a poisoned arrow,
which caused his death almost instantaneously. Intrepid
hunters, these people wander about perpetually in pursuit
of guanaquis and other game; they are endowed with such
wonderful voracity " that what would suffice for the nour-
ishment of twenty sailors, can scarcely satisfy seven or
eight of them." Magellan, foreseeing that the stay here was
likely to be prolonged, and perceiving that the country only
presented meager resources, gave orders to economize the
provisions, and to put the men on fixed rations, that they
might not experience too great privations before the spring,
when they might reach a country where there was more
game. But the Spaniards, discontented at the sterility of
the place, and at the length and rigor of the winter, began
to murmur. This land seemed to stretch southwards as
far as the Antarctic pole, they said; there did not seem to
be any strait; already several had died from the privations
they had endured; lastly it was time to return to Spain, if
the commander did not wish to see all his men perish in
this place.

Magellan, fully resolved to die, or else to bring the en-
terprise he commanded to a successful issue, replied that the
Emperor had assigned him the course which the voyage
was to take, and he neither could nor would depart from it
under any pretext, and that in consequence, he should go
straight forward to the end of this land, or until he met with
some strait. As to provisions, if they found them insuf-
ficient, his men might add to their rations the produce of
their fishing or hunting. Magellan thought that so firm a
declaration would impose silence on the malcontents, and
that he would hear no more of privations, from which he
suffered equally with his crews. He deceived himself com-
pletely. Certain of the captains, and Juan de Carthagena
in particular, were interested in causing a revolt to break
out. These rebels therefore began by reminding the Span-

126 SEEKERS AND TRADERS

iards of their old animosity against the Portuguese. The
captain-general being one of the latter nation, had never,
according to them, tendered a whole-hearted allegiance to
the Spanish flag. In order to be able to return to his own
country and to gain pardon for what he had done wrong,
he wished to commit some heinous crime, and nothing could
be more advantageous to Portugal than the destruction of
this fine fleet. Instead of leading them to the Archipelago
of the Moluccas, of the riches of which he had boasted to
them, he wished to take them into frozen regions, the dwell-
ing place of eternal snow, where he could easily manage that
they should all perish ; then with the help of the Portuguese
on board the squadron, he would take back to his own coun-
try the vessels which he had seized.

Such were the reports and accusations that the partisans
of Juan de Carthagena, Luis de Mendoza, and Caspar de
Quesada had disseminated among the sailors, when on
Palm Sunday, the ist of April, 1520, Magellan summoned
the captains, officers, and pilots, to hear mass on board his
vessel and to dine with him afterwards. Alvaro de la Mes-
quita, a cousin of the captain-general, accepted this invita-
tion with Antonio de Coca and his officers, but neither
Mendoza nor Quesada, nor Juan de Carthagena, who was
Quesada's prisoner, appeared. The next night the malcon-
tents boarded the Sant'-Antonio with thirty of the men of
the Concepcion, and desired to have La Mesquita given up
to them. The pilot, Juan de Eliorraga, while defending
his captain, received four stabs from a poniard in the arm.
Quesada cried out at the same time, " You will see that this
fool will make our business fail." The three vessels, the
Concepcion, Sant'-Antonio, and Santiago, fell without dif-
ficulty into the hands of the rebels, who reckoned more than
one accomplice among the crews. In spite of this success,
the three captains did not dare openly to attack the com-
mander-in-chief, and sent to him some proposals for a re-
conciliation. Magellan ordered them to come on board the
Trinidad to confer with him; but this they stoutly refused
to do, whereupon Magellan, having no further need of cau-
tion, had the boat seized which had brought him this answer,
and choosing six strong and brave men from amongst his
crew, he sent them on board the Victoria under the com-
mand of the algnazil Espinosa. He carried a letter from

ROUND THE WORLD 127

Magellan to Mendoza enjoining him to come on board the
Trinidad, and when Mendoza smiled in a scornful manner,
Espinosa stabbed him in the throat with a poniard, while
a sailor struck him on the head with a cutlass. While these
events were taking place, another boat, laden with fifteen
armed men, came alongside the Victoria, and took posses-
sion of her without any resistance from the sailors, sur-
prised by the rapidity of the action. On the next day, the
2rd of April, the two other rebel vessels were taken, not
however without bloodshed. Mendoza's body was divided
into quarters, while a clerk read in a loud voice the sentence
that blasted his memory. Three days afterwards, Quesada
was beheaded and cut in pieces by his own servant, who
undertook this sad task to save his own life. As to Cartha-
gena, the righ rank which the royal edict had conferred
upon him in the expedition saved him from death, but with
Gomez de la Reina, the chaplain, he was left behind on the
shore, where some months afterwards he was found by
Estevam Gomez. Forty sailors convicted of rebellion were
pardoned because their services were considered indispen-
sable. After this severe lesson Magellan might well hope
that the mutinous spirit was really subdued.

When the temperature became milder the anchors were
weighed; the squadron put to sea on the 24th of August,
following the coast, and carefully exploring all the gulfs to
find that strait which had been so persistently sought. At
the level of Cape St. Croix, one of the vessels, the Santiago,
Avas lost on the rocks during a violent gale from the east.
Happily both the men and merchandise on board were
saved, and they succeeded also in taking from the wrecked
vessel the rigging and appurtenances of the ship, which they
divided among the four remaining vessels.

At last on the 21st of October, according to Pigafetta,
the 27th of November according to Maximilian Transyl-
vain, the flotilla penetrated by a narrow entrance into a
gulf, at the bottom of which a strait opened, which as they
soon saw passed into the sea to the south. First they called
this the Strait of the Eleven Thousand Virgins, because
this was the day dedicated to them. On each side of the
strait rose high land covered with snow, on which they
saw numerous fires, especially to the left, but they were
unable to obtain any communication with the natives. After

128 SEEKERS AND TRADERS

sailing for twenty-two days across this succession of nar-
row inlets and arms of the sea, in some places three miles
wide, in some twelve, which extends for a distance of 440
miles and has received the name of Magellan's Strait, the
flotilla emerged upon a sea of immense extent and great
depth. The rejoicings were general when at last the sailors
found themselves at the long- wished- for end of their ef-
forts. Henceforward the route was open and Magellan's
clever conjectures were realized.

Nothing is more extraordinary than the navigation of
Magellan upon this ocean, which he called Pacific, because
for four months no storm assailed him upon it. The priva-
tions endured by the crews during this long space of time
were excessive. The biscuit was nothing more than dust
mixed with worms, while the water had become bad and
gave out an unbearable smell. The sailors were obliged to
eat mice and sawdust to prevent themselves from dying of
hunger, and to gnaw all the leather that it was possible to
find. As it was easy to foresee under these circumstances,'
the crews were decimated by scurvy. Nineteen men died, and
thirty were seized with violent pains in their arms and legs,
which caused prolonged sufferings. At last, after having
sailed over more than 12,000 miles without meeting with a
single island, in a sea where so many and such populous
archipelagoes were destined to be discovered, the fleet came
upon two desert and sterile islands, called for that reason
the Unfortunate Islands, but of which the position is indi-
cated in much too contradictory a manner, for it to be pos-
sible to recognize them.

In 12° north latitude and 146° longitude, on Wednesday,
the 6th of March, the navigators discovered successively
three island, at which they greatly desired to stop to re-
cruit, and take in fresh provisions; but the islanders who
came on board stole so many things, without the possibility
of preventing them, that the sailors were obliged to give up
'the idea of remaining there. The natives contrived even
to carry off a long boat. Magellan, indignant at such dar-
ing, made a descent with forty armed men, burned some
houses and boats, and killed seven men. These islanders
had neither chief, king, nor religion. Their heads were
covered with palm leaf hats, they wore beards, and their
hair descended to their waists. Generally of an olive tint,

y. XV Verne

ROUND THE WORLD 129

they thought they embellished themselves by coloring their
teeth black and red, while their bodies were anointed with
cocoanut oil, no doubt in order to protect themselves from
the heat of the sun. Their canoes of curious construction,
carried a very large matting sail, which might have easily
capsized the boat if the precaution had not been taken of
giving a more stable trim by means of a long piece of wood
kept at a certain distance by two poles ; this is what is called
the " balance." These islanders were very industrious, but
had a singular aptitude for stealing, which has gained for
their country the name of the Islands of Thieves (Ladrone
Islands).

On the 1 6th of March was seen, at about 900 miles from
the Ladrones, some high ground; this w'as soon discovered
to be an island which now goes by the name of Samar
Island. There Magellan, resolving to give his exhausted
crews some rest, caused two tents to be pitched on land for
the use of the sick. The natives quickly brought bananas,
palm wine, cocoanuts, and fish; for which mirrors, combs,
bells, and other similar trifles were offered in exchange.
The cocoanut, a tree which is valuable beyond all others,
supplied these natives with their bread, wine, oil, and vine-
gar, and besides they obtained from it their clothing and
the necessary wood for building and roofing in their huts.
The natives soon became familiar w'ith the Spaniards, and
told them that their archipelago produced cloves, cinnamon,
pepper, nutmegs, ginger, maize or Indian corn, and that
even gold was found there. Magellan gave this archipelago
the name of the St. Lazarus Islands, afterwards changed to
that of the Philippines from the name of Philip of Aus-
tria, son of Charles V.

When they were a little restored, the Spaniards put to
sea again, in order to explore the archipelago. They saw
in succession the islands of Cenalo, Huinaugan, Ibusson,
and Abarien, as well as another island called Massava, of
which the king Colambu could make himself understood by
a slave, a native of Sumatra, whom Magellan had taken
to Europe from India, and who by his knowledge of Malay
rendered signal service in several instances. The king
came on board with six or eight of his principal subjects.
He brought with him presents for the captain-general, and
in exchange he received a vest of red and yellow cloth, made

130 SEEKERS AND TRADERS

in Turkish fashion, and a cap of fine scarlet, while mirrors
and knives were given to the members of his suite. The
Spaniards showed him all their firearms and fired some
shots from the cannon in his presence, at which he was
much terrified. " Then Magellan caused one of our num-
ber to be fully armed," says Pigafetta, '' and ordered three
men to give him blows with the sword and stiletto, to show
the king that nothing could wound a man armed in this
manner, which surprised him greatly, and turning to the
interpreter he said to the captain through him, ' that a man
thus armed, could fight against a hundred.' * Yes,' replied
the interpreter, in the name of the commandant, * and each
of the three vessels carries 200 men armed in this manner.' "
The king, astonished by all that he had seen, took leave of
the captain, begging him to send two of his men with him,
to let them see something of the island. Pigafetta was
chosen, and was much satisfied with the welcome that he
received. The king told him " that in this island they found
pieces of gold as large as nuts, and even eggs, mixed with
the earth which they passed through a sieve to find them;
all his vessels and even some of the ornaments of his house
were of this metal. He was very neatly dressed, accord-
ing to the custom of the country, and was the finest man
that I have seen among these people. His black hair fell
upon his shoulders; a silk veil covered his head, and he
wore two rings in his ears. From his waist to his knees,
he was covered with a cotton cloth embroidered in silk.
On each of his teeth there were three spots of gold, ar-
ranged in such a manner that one would have said all his
teeth were fastened together with this metal. He was per-
fumed with storax and benzoin. His skin was painted, but
its natural tint was olive."

On Easter Day, the Europeans went on shore to cele-
brate mass in a kind of little church which they had con-
structed on the sea shore with sails and branches of trees.
An altar had been set up, and during the whole time that
the religious ceremony lasted, the king with a large con-
course of people, listened in silence and imitated all the
motions of the Spaniards. Then a cross having been
planted on a hill with great solemnity, they weighed anchor
and made for the port of Zebu, as being the best for re-
victualing the vessels and trading. They arrived there on

ROUND THE WORLD 131

Sunday, the 7th of April. Magellan sent one of his of-
ficers on shore at once with the interpreter, as ambassador
to the king of Zebu. The envoy explained that the chief
of the squadron was under the orders of the greatest king
in the world. The object of the voyage, he added, was the
wish to pay him a visit, and at the same time to take in
some fresh provisions in exchange for merchandise, and
then to go to the Molucca Islands. Such were the motives
which caused them to tarry in a country where they came
as friends.

"They are welcome," replied the king; "but if they in-
tend to trade they should pay a duty to which all vessels
are subject that enter my port, as did, not four days since,
a junk from Siam, which came to seek for slaves and gold,
to which a Moorish merchant who has remained in this
country can testify."

The Spaniard replied that his master was too great a king
to submit to such an unreasonable demand. They had
come with pacific intentions; but if war were declared, it
would be seen with whom they had to deal.

The king of Zebu, warned by the Moorish merchant, of
the power of those who stood before him, and whom he
took for Portuguese, at length consented to forego his
claims. Moreover the king of Massava, who had continued
to serve as pilot to the Spaniards, so altered the inclinations
of his brother sovereign, that the Spaniards obtained the
exclusive privilege of trading in the island, and a loyal
friendship was sealed between the king of Zebu and Magel-
lan by an exchange of blood which each drew from his right
arm.

From this moment, provisions were brought and cordial
relations established. The nephew of the king came with
a numerous suite to visit Magellan on board his ship, and
the latter took this opportunity to relate to his visitors the
wonderful history of the creation of the world, and of the
redemption of the human race, and to invite him and his
people to become converts to Christianity. They showed
no repugnance to being baptized, and on the 14th of April
the kings of Zebu and Massava, and the Moorish merchant,
with 500 men and as many women received baptism. But
what was only a fashion at first, for it cannot be said that
the natives knew the religion which they embraced or were

132 SEEKERS AND TRADERS

persuaded of its truth, became a real frenzy, after a won-
derful cure had been effected by Magellan. Having learnt
that the father of the king had been ill for two years and
was on the point of death, the captain-general promised,
that if he consented to be baptized and the natives would
burn their idols, he would find himself cured. *' He added
that he was so convinced of what he said," relates Pigafetta
— for it is as well to quote the author verbatim in such a
matter — " that he agreed to lose his head if what he prom-
ised did not happen immediately. We then made a pro-
cession, with all possible pomp, from the place where we
were to the sick man's house, whom we found really in a
very sad state in that he could neither speak nor move. We
baptized him with tw^o of his wives and ten daughters. The
captain asked him directly after his baptism how he found
himself, and he suddenly replied that thanks to our Lord
he was well. We were all witnesses of this miracle. The
captain above all rendered thanks to God for it. He gave
the prince a refreshing drink, and continued to send him
some of it every day till he was quite restored. On the
fifth day the invalid found himself quite cured and got up.
His first care was to have burned, in the presence of the
king and all the people, an idol for which he had great ven-
eration, and which some old women guarded carefully in
his house. He also caused some temples which stood on
the sea shore, and in which the people assembled to eat the
meat consecrated to their old divinities, to be thrown down.
All the inhabitants applauded these acts, and proposed them-
selves to go and destroy all the idols, even those which were
in use in the king's house, crying at the same time ' Vive la
Castille! ' in honor of the king of Spain."

Near to the Island of Zebu is another island called Matan
which had two chiefs, one of whom had recognized the au-
thority of Spain, while the other having energetically re-
sisted it, Magellan resolved to impose it upon him by force.
On Friday, the 26th of April, three long boats left for the
Island of Matan containing sixty men wearing cuirasses
and helmets, and armed with muskets; and thirty balangais
bearing the king of Zebu, his son-in-law, and a number of
warriors.

The Spaniards waited for day and then to the number
of forty-nine leaped into the water, for the boats could not

ROUND THE WORLD 133

approach the land on account of the rocks and shallow wa-
ter. More than 1,500 natives awaited them, and at once
threw themselves upon them, and attacked them in three
troops, both in front and flank. The musketeers and the
crossbow-men fired on the multitude of warriors from a
distance, without doing them much harm, they being pro-
tected by their bucklers. The Spaniards, assailed by
stones, arrows, javelins, and lances, and overwhelmed by
numbers, set fire to some huts to disperse and intimidate
the natives. But these, made more furious by the sight
of the fire, redoubled their efforts, and pressed the Span-
iards on all sides, who had the greatest difficulty in resist-
ing them, when a sad event took place which compromised
the issue of the combat. The natives were not slow in
remarking that all the blows which they directed towards
those parts of their enemies' bodies which were protected
by armor, caused no wounds; they set themselves there-
fore to hurl their arrows and javelins against the lower
part of the body, which was undefended. Magellan,
wounded in the leg by a poisoned arrow, gave the order
for retreat, which begun in good order, soon changed into
such a flight, that seven or eight Spaniards alone remained
at his side. With much difficulty they kept moving back-
wards, fighting as they went, in order to reach the boats.
They were already knee-deep in the water when several
islanders rushed all together upon Magellan, who, w^ounded
in the arm, was unable to draw his sword ; they gave him
such a saber-cut upon his leg that he immediately fell down
in the water, where he was speedily despatched. His re-
maining companions, and among them Pigafetta. everyone
of whom had been hit, hastily regained the boats. Thus
perished tlie illustrious Magellan on the 27th of April,
1521. "He was adorned with every virtue," says Piga-
fetta. " and ever exhibited an unshaken constancy in the
midst of the greatest adversity. At sea he always con-
demned himself to greater privations than the rest of his
crew. Better versed than anyone else in the knowledge
of nautical charts, he was perfect in the art of navigation,
as he proved by making the tour of the world, which none
before him had ventured to do." Pigafetta's funeral
eulogy, though a little hyperbolical, is not untrue in the
main. Magellan had need of singular constancy and per-

134 SEEKERS AND TRADERS

severance to penetrate, despite the fears of his companions,
into regions peopled by the superstitious spirit of the time
with fantastic dangers, Pecuh'ar nautical science was also
necessary to achieve the discovery at the extremity of that
long coast of the strait which so justly bears his name.
He was obliged to give unceasing attention to avoid all
untoward accidents while exploring those unknown parts
without any exact instruments. That one of the vessels
was lost must be imputed to pride and a spirit of revolt
in her own captain, more than to any incapacity or want of
caution in the captain-general. Let us add with our en-
thusiastic narrator, " The glory of Magellan will survive
his death."

Duarte Barbosa, Magellan's brother-in-law, and Juan
Serrano were elected commanders by the Spaniards, who
were destined to meet with further catastrophes. The
slave who had acted as interpreter up to this time had been
slightly wounded during the battle. From the time of his
master's death he had kept aloof, not rendering any further
services to the Spaniards, and remaining extended upon
his mat. After some rather sharp reproofs from Barbosa,
who told him that his master's death did not make him a
free man, he disappeared all at once. He was gone to the
newly-baptized king, to whom he declared that if he could
allure the Spaniards into some trap and then kill them, he
would make himself master of all their provisions and
merchandise. Serrano, Barbosa, and twenty-seven Span-
iards were accordingly invited to a solemn assembly to re-
ceive the presents destined by the king of Zebu for the
Emperor; during the banquet they were attacked unex-
pectedly, and were all massacred except Serrano, who was
led bound to the sea shore, where he besought his compan-
ions to ransom him, for if they did not he would be mur-
dered. But Juan de Carvalho and the others, fearing
that the insurrection would become general, and that they
might be attacked during the negotiations by a numerous
fleet which they would not be able to resist, turned a deaf
car to the unfortunate Serrano's supplications. The
ships set sail and reached the Island of Bohol, which was
not far distant.

When there, thinking that their numbers were too much
reduced to navigate three vessels, they burned the Concep-

ROUND THE WORLD 135

cion, after having transhipped all that was most precious
on board the other vessels. Then, after having coasted
along the Island of Panilongon they stopped at Butuan,
which forms part of Mindanao, a magnificent island, with
numerous ports, and rivers abounding in fish, to the north-
west of which lies the Island of Luzon, the most consid-
erable of the Archipelago. The ships touclied also at
Paloan, where they found pigs, goats, fowls, different
kinds of bananas, cocoa-nuts, sugar-canes, and rice, with
which they provisioned the ships. This was for them, as
Pigafetta expresses it, " a promised land." Among the
things which he thought worthy of notice, the Italian trav-
eler mentions the cocks kept by the natives for fighting ; a
passion which after so many years is still deeply-rooted
amongst the population of the whole Philippine Archipel-
ago. From Paloan, the Spaniards next went to the Island
of Borneo, the center of Malay civilization. From that
time they had no longer to deal with poverty-stricken peo-
ple, but with a rich population, who received them with
magnificence. Their reception by the rajah is sufficiently
curious to warrant a few words being devoted to it. At
the landing-place they found two elephants with silk trap-
pings, who bore the strangers to the house of the governor
of the town, while twelve men carried the presents which
were to be offered to the rajah. From the governor's
house where they slept to the palace of the king, the streets
were kept by armed men. Upon descending from their
elephants the Spaniards were admitted to a room filled
with courtiers. At the end of this room opened another
smaller room, hung with cloth of gold, in which were 300
men of the king's guard armed with poniards. Through
a door they could then see the rajah, sitting by a table
with a little child, chewing betel-nut. Behind him there
were only some women.

Etiquette required that the petition to be made must
pass in succession through the mouths of three nobles, each
of higher rank than the last, before being transmitted, by
means of a hollow cane placed in a hole in the wall, to one
of the principal officers, who submitted it to the king.
Then there was an exchange of presents, after which the
Spanish Ambassadors were conducted back to their vessels
with the same ceremony as on their arrival. The capital

136 SEEKERS AND TRADERS

is built on piles in the sea; so that when the tide rises, the
women who sell provisions go about the town in boats.
On the 29th of July more than 100 canoes surrounded the
two vessels, whilst at the same time some junks weighed
anchor to approach them more nearly. The Spaniards,
fearing to be treacherously attacked, took the initiative and
fired off their artillery, which killed a number of people
in the canoes, upon which the king excused himself, saying
that his fleet had not been directed against them, but against
the Gentiles with whom the Mussulmen had daily combats.

On leaving Borneo the travelers sought for a suitable
spot in which to repair their vessels, which were in such
great need of it that the men were not less than forty-two
days over the work. " The oddest things which I have
found in this island," says Pigafetta, "are the trees of
which all the leaves are animated. These leaves resemble
those of the mulberry, but are not so long; the stalk is
short and pointed, and near the stalk on both sides there
are two feet. If you touch the leaves, they escape; but
when crushed no blood comes from them. I have kept
one of them in a box for nine days; when I opened the
box, the leaf was walking about in it; I believe they must
live upon air." These very curious animals are well
known at the present day, and are commonly called leaf-
flies (nionches-feuille) ; they are of a gray-brown, which
makes them more easily mistaken for dead leaves, which
they exactly resemble in appearance.

It was while in these parts that the Spanish expedition,
which during Magellan's life had preserved its scientific
character, began perceptibly to become piratical. Thus, on
several occasions, junks were seized upon, and their crews
forced by their Spanish captors to pay large ransoms.

The ships next passed by the Archipelago of the Sooloo
Islands, the haunt of Malay pirates, who have even now
only lately submitted to civilized arms; then by Mindanao,
which had been already visited, for it was known that the
eagerly sought-for Moluccas must be in its neighborhood,
whether more or less remote. At last, after having seen
a number of islands, of which the names would not convey
much idea to us, on Wednesday, the 6th of November, the
Spaniards discovered the Archipelago, about which the
Portuguese had related such terrifying fables, and two

ROUND THE WORLD 137

days later they landed at Tidor. Thus the object of the
voyage was attained.

The king came to meet the Spaniards, and invited them
to go on board his canoe. " He was seated under a silk
parasol which covered him entirely. In front of him were
placed one of his sons who carried the royal scepter, two
men who had each a golden vase full of water for washing
the king's hands, and two others holding small gilt boxes
filled with betel." Then the Spaniards made the king
come on board the vessels, where they showed him much
respect, at the sam.e time loading him and those who ac-
companied him with presents, which seemed to them very
precious. " This king is a Moor, that is to say, an Arab,"
Pigafetta affirms; "he is nearly forty-five years of age,
tolerably well made, and with a fine physiognomy. His
clothing- consisted of a very fine shirt, the cuffs of which
were embroidered in gold ; drapery descended from his
waist to his feet; a silk veil (no doubt a turban) covered
his head, and upon this veil there was a garland of flow-
ers. His name is Rajah-sultan Manzor."

The next day, in a long interview which he had with the
Spaniards, Manzor declared his intention of placing him-
self with the Islands of Ternate and Tidor under the pro-
tection of the king of Spain.

A Portuguese named Lorosa had been long settled in the
Moluccas, and to him the Spaniards forwarded a letter,
in the hope that he would betray his country and attach
himself to Spain. They obtained the most curious in-
formation from him with regard to the expeditions which
the king of Portugal had despatched to the Cape of Good
Hope, to the Rio d"e la Plata and to the Moluccas ; but from
various circumstances these latter expeditions had not been
able to take place. He himself had been sixteen years in
this Archipelago; the Portuguese had been installed there
for ten years, but upon this fact they preserved the most
complete silence. When Lorosa saw the Spaniards making
their preparations for departure, he came on board with
his wife and his goods to return to Europe. On the 12th
of November all the merchandise destined for barter was
landed, it being chiefly derived from the four junks which
had been seized in Borneo. Certainly the Spaniards traded
to great advantage, but nevertheless not to so great an ex-

138 SEEKERS AND TRADERS

tent as they might have done, for they were in haste to re-
turn to Spain. Some vessels from Gilolo and Batchian
came also to trade with them, and a few days later they
received a considerable stock of cloves from the king of
Tidor. This king invited them to a great banquet which he
said it was his custom to give when a vessel or junk was
loaded with the first cloves. But the Spaniards, remem-
bering what had happened to them in the Philippines, re-
fused the invitation while presenting compliments and ex-
cuses to the king. When their cargo was completed, they
set sail. Scarcely had the Trinidad put to sea before it
was perceived that she had a serious leak, and the return
to Tidor as fast as possible was unavoidable. The skillful
divers whom the king placed at the disposal of the Spaniards,
were unable to discover the hole, and it became necessary
to partly unload the ship to make the necessary repairs.
The sailors who were on board the Victoria would not
wait for their companions, and the ship's officers seeing
clearly that the Trinidad would not be fit for the voyage
to Spain, decided that she should go to Darien, where her
valuable cargo would be discharged and transported across
the Isthmus to the Atlantic, where a vessel would be sent
to fetch it. But neither the unfortunate vessel nor her
crew was destined ever to return to Spain.

The Trinidad, commanded by the Alguazil Gonzales
Gomez de Espinosa, who had Juan de Carvalho as pilot,
was in so bad a state that after leaving Tidor, she was
obliged to anchor at Ternate, in the port of Talangomi,
where her crew consisting of seventeen men was imme-
diately imprisoned by the Portuguese. The only reply
given to Espinosa's remonstrances was a threat to hang
him to the yard of a vessel; and the unfortunate Alguazil,
after having been transferred to Cochin, was sent to Lis-
bon, where for seven months he remained shut up in the
prison of the Limoeiro with two Spaniards, the sole sur-
vivors of the crew of the Trinidad.

As to the Victoria, she left Tidor richly laden under the
command of Juan Sebastian del Cano, who, after having
been simply a pilot on board one of Magellan's ships, had
taken the command of the Concepcion on the 27th of April,
1 52 1, and who succeeded to Juan Lopez de Carvalho, when
the latter was superseded in his command for incapacity.

I

ROUND THE WORLD 139

The crew of the Victoria was composed of only fifty-three
Europeans and thirteen Indians. Fifty-four Europeans
remained at Tidor on board the Trinidad.

After passing amidst the islands of Caioan, Laigoma,
Sico, Giofi, Cafi, Laboan, Toliman, Batchian, Mata, and
Batu, the Victoria left this latter island to the west, and
steering west-southwest, stopped during the night at the
island of Xulla or Zulla. At thirty miles from thence the
Spaniards anchored at Booro, (the Boero of Bougain-
ville), where the ship was revictualed. They stopped 105
miles further on, at Banda, where mace and nutmegs are
found, then at Solor, where a great trade in white sandal-
wood is carried on. They spent a fortnight there to re-
pair their ship, wliich had suffered much, and there they
laid in an ample provision of wax and pepper; then they
anchored at Timor, where they could only obtain provisions
by retaining by stratagem the chief of the village and his
son, who had come on board the ship. This island was
frequented by junks from Luzon, and by the " praos,"
from Malacca and Java, which traded largely there in
sandal-woodi and pepper. A little further on the Span-
iards touched at Java, where, as it appears, suttee was
practiced at this time, as it has been in India until quite
recently.

Among the stories which Pigafetta relates, without en-
tirely believing them, is one which is most curious. It con-
cerns a gigantic bird the Epyornis, of which the bones and
the enormous eggs were discovered in Madagascar, about
the year 1850. It is an instance proving the caution needed
before rejecting as fictitious many apparently fabulous
legends, but which on examination may prove to possess
a substratum of truth. " To the north of Greater Java,"
says Pigafetta, " in the gulf of China, there is a very large
tree called campanganghi inhabited by certain birds called
garida, which are so large and strong that they can bear
away a buffalo and even an elephant, and carry it as they
fly to the place where the tree pusathaer is." This legend
has been current ever since the ninth century, among the
Persians and Arabs, and this bird plays a wonderful part
in Arabian tales under the name of the roc. It is not sur-
prising, therefore, that Pigafetta found an analogous tra-
dition amongs the Malays.

140 SEEKERS AND TRADERS

After leaving greater Java, the Victoria rounded the
peninsula of Malacca, which had been subjugated to Por-
tugal by the great Albuquerque ten years before. When
once the Victoria had left the shores of Malacca, Sebastian
del Cano took great care to avoid the coast of Zanguebar,
where the Portuguese had been established since the be-
ginning of the century. He kept to the open sea as far as
42° south latitude, and for nine weeks he was obliged to
keep the sails furled, on account of the constant west and
northwest winds, which ended in a fearful storm. To keep
to this course required great perseverance on the part of
the captain, with a settled desire on his part to carry his
enterprise to a successful issue. The vessel had several
leaks, and a number of the sailors demanded an anchorage
at Mozambique, for the provisions which were not salted
having become bad, the crew had only rice and water for
food and drink. At last on the 6th of May, the Cape of
Tempests was doubled and a favorable issue to the voyage
might be hoped for. Nevertheless, many vexatious ac-
cidents still awaited the navigator. In two months, twenty-
one men, Europeans and Indians, died from privations,
and if on the 9th of July they had not landed at Santiago,
one of the Cape de Verd Islands, the whole crew would
have died of hunger. As this archipelago belonged to
Portugal, the sailors took care to say that they came from
America, and carefully concealed the route which they
had discovered. But one of the sailors having had the im-
prudence to say that the Victoria was the only vessel of
Magellan's squadron which had returned to Europe, the
Portuguese immediately seized the crew of a long-boat,
and prepared to attack the Spanish vessel. However, Del
Cano on board his vessel was watching all the movements
of the Portuguese, and suspecting, by the preparations
which he saw, that there was an intention of seizing the
Victoria, he set sail, leaving thirteen men of his crew in
the hands of the Portuguese. Maximilian Transylvain
assigns a different motive from the one given by Pigafetta,
for the anchorage at the Cape de Verd Islands. He asserts
that the fatigued state of the crew, who were reduced by
privations, and who in spite of everything had not ceased
to work the pumps, had decided the captain to stop and buy
some slaves to aid them in this work. Having no money

ROUND THE WORLD 141

the Spaniards would have paid with some of their spices,
which would have opened the eyes of the Portuguese.

" To see if our journals were correctly kept," says Piga-
fetta, " we inquired on shore what day of the week it was.
They replied that it was Thursday, which surprised us, be-
cause according to our journals it was as yet only Wednes-
day. We could not be persuaded that we had made the
mistake of a day; I was more astonished myself than the
others were, because having always been sufficiently well
to keep my journal, I had uninterruptedly marked the days
of the week, and the course of the months. We learned
afterwards, that there was no error in our calculation, for
having always traveled towards the west, following the
course of the sun, and having returned to the same point,
we must have gained twenty- four hours upon those who
had remained stationary; one has only need of reflection
to be convinced of this fact."

Sebastian del Cano rapidly made the coast of Africa,
and on the 6th of September entered the Bay of San Lucar
de Barrameda, with a crew of seventeen men, almost all
of whom were ill. Two days later he anchored before the
mole at Seville, after having accomplished a complete cir-
cuit of the world.

As soon as he arrived, Sebastian del Cano went to Val-
ladolid, where the court was, and received from Charles
V. the welcome which was merited after so many difficul-
ties had been courageously overcome. The bold mariner
received permission to take as his armorial bearings, a globe
with this motto, Primus circitmdedisti me, and he also re-
ceived a pension of 500 ducats.

The rich freiglit of the Victoria decided the Emperor to
send a second fleet to the Moluccas. The supreme com-
mand of it was not, however, given to Sebastian del Cano;
it was reserved for the commander Garcia de Loaisa. whose
only claim to it was his grand name. However, after the
death of the chief of the expedition, which happened as
soon as the fleet had passed the Strait of Magellan, Del
Cano found himself invested with the command, but he
did not hold it long, for he died six days afterwards. As
for the ship Victoria, she was long preserved in the port of
Seville, but in spite of all the care that was taken of her,
she at length fell to pieces from old age.

CHAPTER III

THE POLAR EXPEDITIONS AND THE SEARCH FOR THE NORTH-
WEST PASSAGE

Pytheas had opened up the road to the north to the
Scandinavians by discovering Iceland (the famous Thule)'
and the Cronian Ocean, of which the mud, the shallow wa-
ter, and the ice render the navigation dangerous, and where
the nights are as light as twilight. The traditions of the
voyages undertaken by the ancients to the Orkneys, the
Faroe Islands, and even to Iceland, were treasured up
among the Irish monks, who were learned men, and them-
selves bold mariners, as their successive establishments in
these archipelagos clearly prove. They were also the pilots
of the Northmen, a name given generally to the Scandi-
navian pirates, both Danish and Norwegian, who rendered
themselves so formidable to the whole of Europe during
the Middle Ages. But if all the information that we owe
to the ancients, both Greeks and Romans, with regard to
these hyperborean countries be extremely vague and so to
speak fabulous, it is not so with that which concerns the
adventurous enterprises of the " Men of the North." The
Sagas, as the Icelandic and Danish songs are called, are
extremely precise, and the numerous data which we owe to
them are daily confirmed by the archaeological discoveries
made in America, Greenland, Iceland, Norway, and Den-
mark. This is a source of valuable information which was
long unknown and unexplored, and of which we owe the
revelation to the learned Dane, C. C. Rafn, who has furn-
ished us with authentic facts of the greatest interests bear-
ing on the pre-Cloumbian discovery of America.

Norway was poor and encumbered with population.
Hence arose the necessity for a permanent emigration,
which should allow a considerable portion of the inhabi-
tants to seek in more favored regions the nourishment
which a frozen soil denied them. When they had found
some country rich enough to yield them an abundant spoil,
they then returned to their own land, and set out the fol-
lowing spring accompanied by all those who could be en-
ticed either by the love of lucre, the desire for an easy life,
or by the thirst for strife. Intrepid hunters and fisher-
men, accustomed to a dangerous navigation, between the
continent and the mass of islands which border it and ap-

142

THE POLAR EXPEDITIONS 143

pear to defend it against the assaults of the ocean, and
across the narrow, deep fiords, which seem as though they
were cut into the soil itself by some gigantic sword, they
set out in those oak vessels, the sight of which made the
people tremble who lived on the shores of the North Sea
and British Channel. Sometimes decked, these vessels,
long or short, large or small, were usually terminated in
front by a spur of enormous size, above which the prow
sometimes rose to a great height, taking the form of an S.
The hallrisiningar, for so they call the graphic representa-
tions so often met with on the rocks of Sweden and Nor-
way, enable us to picture to ourselves these swift vessels,
which could carry a considerable crew. Such was the
Long-serpent of Olaf Tryggvason, which had thirty-two
benches of rowers and held ninety men, Canute's vessel,
which carried sixty, and the two vessels of Olaf the Saint,
which carried sometimes 200 men. The Sea-kings, as they
often called these adventurers, lived on the ocean, never
settling on shore, passing from the pillage of a castle to
the burning of an abbey, devastating the coast of France,
ascending rivers, especially the Seine, as far as Paris, sail-
ing over the Mediterranean as far as Constantinople, es-
tablishing themselves later in Sicily, and leaving traces of
their incursions or their sojourn in all the regions of the
known world.

Piracy, far from being, as at the present day, an act fall-
ing under the ban of the law, was not only encou'-aged in
that barbarous or half-civilized society, but was celebrated
in the songs of the Skalds, who reserved their most enthusi-
astic eulogies for celebrating chivalrous struggles, adven-
turous privateering, and all exhibitions of strength. From
the eighth century, these formidable sea-rovers frequented
the groups of the Orkney, the Hebrides, the Shetland, and
Faroe Islands, where they met with the Irish monks, who
had settled themselves there nearly a century earlier, to in-
struct the idolatrous population.

In 861 a Norwegian pirate, named Naddod, was carried
by a storm towards an island covered with snow, which he
named Snoland (land of snow), a name changed later to
that of Iceland (land of ice). There again the Northmen
found the Irish monks under the name of Papis, in the can-
tons of Papeya and Papili.

144 SEEKERS AND TRADERS

Ingolf installed himself some years afterwards in the
country, and founded Reijkiavik, In 885 the triumph of
Harold Haarfager, who had just subjugated the whole of
Norway by force of arms, brought a considerable number
of malcontents to Iceland. They established there the re-
publican form of government, which had just been over-
thrown in their own country, and which subsisted till 1261,
the epoch when Iceland passed under the dominion of the
kings of Norway.

When established in Iceland, these bold fellows, lovers
of adventure and of long hunts in pursuit of seals and
walrus, retained their wandering habits and pursued their
bold plans in the west, where only three years after the ar-
rival of Ingolf, Guunbjorn discovered the snowy peaks of
the mountains of Greenland. Five years later, Eric the
Red, banished from Iceland for murder, rediscovered the
land in latitude 64° north, of which Guunbjorn had caught
a glimpse. The sterility of this ice-bound coast made him
decide to seek a milder climate with a more open country,
and one producing more game, in the south. So he rounded
Cape Farewell at the extremity of Greenland, established
himself on the west coast, and built some vast dwellings for
lumself and his companions, of which M. Jorgensen has dis-
covered the ruins. This country was probably worthy at
that period of the name of Green-Land (Groenland) which
the Northmen gave to it, but the annual and great increase
of the glaciers, has rendered it since that epoch a land of
desolation.

Eric returned to Iceland to seek his friends, and in the
same year that he returned to Brattahalida ( for so he called
his settlement), fourteen vessels laden with emigrants came
to join him. It was a veritable exodus. These events took
place in the year 1000. As quickly as the resources of the
country allowed of it, the population of Greenland in-
creased, and in 1121, Gardar, the capital of the country, be-
came the seat of a bishopric, which existed until after the
discovery of the Antilles by Christopher Columbus.

In 986 Bjarn Heriulfson, who had come from Norway
to Iceland to spend the winter with his father, learnt that
the latter had joined Eric the Red in Greenland. Without
hesitation, the young man again put to sea, seeking at hap-
hazard for a country of which he did not even know the

V. XV Verne

THE POLAR EXPEDITIONS 1145

exact situation, and was swept by currents to coasts which
we think must have been those of Newfoundland or Lab-
rador.

He ended, however, by reaching Greenland, where
Eric, the powerful Norwegian jarl, reproached him for not
having examined with more care countries of which he
owed his knowledge to a happy accident of the sea.

Eric had sent his son Leif to the Norwegian court, so
close at this time was the connection between the metropolis
and the colonies. The king, who had been converted to
Christianity, had just despatched a mission to Iceland
charged to overthrow the worship of Odin. He committed
to Leif's care some priests who were to instruct the Green-
landers ; but scarcely had the young adventurer returned to
his own country, when he left the holy men to work out
the accomplishment of their difficult task and hearing of the
discovery made by Bjarn, he fitted out his vessels and went
to seek for the lands which had been only imperfectly seen.
He landed first on a desolate and stony plain, to which he
gave the name of Helhiland, and which we have no hesitation
in recognizing as Newfoundland, and afterwards on a flat
sandy shore behind which rose an immense screen of dark
forests, cheered by the songs of innumerable birds. A
third time he put to sea and steering towards the south he
arrived at the Bay of Rhode Island, where the mild climate
and the river teeming with salmon induced him to settle,
and where he constructed vast buildings of planks, which he
called Leifsbudir (Leif's house). Then he sent some of
his companions to explore the country, and they returned
with the good news that the wild vine grows in the country,
to which it owes the name of Vinland. In the spring of
the year looi, Leif, having laded his ship with skins, grapes,
wood, and other productions of the country, set out for
Greenland; he had made the valuable observation that the
shortest day in Vinland lasted nine hours, which places the
site of Leifsbudir at 41° 24' 10". This fortunate voyage
and the salvage of a Norwegian vessel carrying fifteen men,
gained for Leif the surname of the Fortunate.

This expedition made a great stir, and the account of the
wonders of the country in which Leif had settled, induced
his brother Thorvald to set out with thirty men. After
passing the winter at Leifsbudir, Thorvald explored the

146 SEEKERS AND TRADERS

coasts to the south, returning in the autumn to Vinland,
and in the following year, 1004, he sailed along the coast to
the north of Leifsbudir. During this return voyage, the
Northmen met with the Esquimaux for the first time, and
without any provocation, slaughtered them without mercy.
The following night they found themselves all at once sur-
rounded by a numerous flotilla of Kayacs, from which came
a cloud of arrows. Thorvald alone, the chief of the expedi-
tion, was mortally wounded; he was buried by his com-
panions on a promontory, to which they gave the name of
the promontory of the Cross.

Now, in the Gulf of Boston in the eighteenth century, a
tomb of masonry was discovered, in which, with the bones,
was found a sword-hilt of iron. The Indians not being
acquainted with this metal, it could not be one of their skele-
tons; it was not either, the remains of one of the Europeans
who had landed after the fifteenth century, for their swords
had not this very characteristic form. This tomb has been
thought to be that of a Scandinavian, and we venture to
say, that of Thorvald, son of Eric the Red.

In the spring of 1007, three vessels carrying 160 men
and some cattle, left Eriksfjord; the object in view was the
foundation of a permanent colony. The emigrants after
sighting Helluland, Markland, and Vinland, landed on an
island, upon which they constructed some barracks and be-
gan the work of cultivation. But they must either have laid
their plans badly, or have been wanting in foresight, for the
winter found them witihout provisions, and they suffered
cruelly from hunger. They had, however, the good sense
to regain the continent, where in comparative ease, they
could await the end of the winter.

At the beginning of 1008, they set out to seek for Leifs-
budir, and settled themselves at Mount-Hope Bay, on the
opposite shore to the old settlement of Leif. There, for the
first time, some intercourse was held with the natives, called
Skrellings in the sagas, and whom, from the manner in
which they are portrayed, it is easy to recognize as Esqui-
maux. The first meeting was peaceable, and barter was
carried on with them until the day when the desire of the
Esquimaux to acquire iron hatchets, always prudently re-
fused them by the Northmen, drove them to acts of aggres-
sion, which decided the new comers, after three years of

THE POLAR EXPEDITIONS 147

residence, to return to their own country, which they did
without leaving behind them any lasting trace of their stay
in the country.

Having now said a few words upon the travels and settle-
ments of the Northmen in Labrador, Vinland, and the more
southern countries, we must return to the north. The
colonists first founded in the neighborhood of Cape Fare-
well, had not been slow in stretching along the western coast,
w^hich at this period was infinitely less desolate than it is at
the present day, as far as northern latitudes, which were not
again reached until our own day. Thus at this time they
caught seals, walrus, and whales in the bay of Disco ; there
were 190 towns counted then in Westerbygd and eighty-six
in Esterbygd, while at the present day, there are far fewer
Danish settlements on these icy shores. These towns were
probably only inconsiderable groups of those houses in stone
and wood, of which so many ruins have been found from
Cape Farewell, as far as Upernavik in about 'J2° 50'. At
the same time numerous runic inscriptions, which have now
been deciphered, have given a degree of absolute certainty
to facts so long unknown. But how many of these vestiges
of the past still remain to be discovered ! how many of these
valuable evidences of the bravery and spirit of enterprise
of the Scandinavian race are forever buried under the
glaciers!

We have also obtained evidence that Christianity had
been brought into America, and especially into Greenland.
To this country, according to the instructions of Pope
Gregory IV., there were pastoral visits made to strengthen
the newly-converted Northmen in the faith, and to evan-
gelize the Esquimaux and the Indian tribes. Besides this,
M. Riant in 1865, has proved incontrovertibly that the
Crusades were preached in Greenland in the bishopric of
Gardar, as well as in the islands and neighboring lands, and
that up to 141 8, Greenland paid to the Holy See tithes and
St. Peter's pence, which for that year consisted of 2,600
pounds of walrus tusks.

The Norwegian colonies owe their downfall and ruin to
various causes : to the very rapid extension of the glaciers,
— Hayes has proved that the glacier of Friar John moves at
the rate of about thirty-three yards annually; — to the bad
policy of the mother country, which prevented the recruit-

148 SEEKERS AND TRADERS

ing of the colonies ; to the black plague, which decimated the
population of Greenland from 1347 to 1351; lastly, to the
depredations of the pirates, who ravaged these already en-
feebled countries in 1418, and in whom some have thought
they recognized certain inhabitants of the Orkney and
Faroe Islands, of which we are now about to speak.

One of the companions of William the Conqueror, named
Saint-Clair or Sinclair, not thinking that the portion of the
conquered country allotted to him was proportioned to his
merits, went to try his luck in Scotland, where he was not
long in rising to fortune and honors. In the latter half of
the fourteenth century, the Orkney Islands passed into the
hands of his descendants.

About 1390, a certain Nicolo Zeno, a member of one of
the most ancient and noble Venetian families, who had fitted
out a vessel at his own expense, to visit England and
Flanders as a matter of curiosity, was v^^recked in the
archipelago of the Orkneys whither he had been driven by a
storm. He was about to be massacred by the Inhabitants,
when the Earl, Henry Sinclair, took him under his protec-
tion. The history of this wreck, and the adventures and
discoveries which followed it, published in the collection of
Ramusio had been written by Antonio Zeno, says Clements
Markham, the learned geographer, in his " Threshold of the
Unknown Region." Unfortunately one of his descendants
named Nicolo Zeno, born in 1515, when a boy, not knowing
the value of these papers, tore them up, "but some of the
letters surviving, he was able from them subsequently to
compile the narrative as we now have it, and which was
printed in Venice in 1558. There was also found in the
palace an old map, rotten with age, illustrative of his voy-
ages. Of this he made a copy, unluckily supplying from his
own reading of the narrative what he thought was requisite
for its illustration. By doing this in a blundering way, un-
aided by the geographical knowledge which enables us to
see where he goes astray, he threw the whole of the geog-
raphy which he derived from the narrative into the most
lamentable confusion, while those parts of the map which
are not thus sophisticated, and which are consequently orig-
inal, present an accuracy far in advance by many genera-
tions of the geography even of Nicolo Zeno's time, and con-
firm in a notable manner the site of the old Greenland

THE POLAR EXPEDITIONS 149

colony. In these facts we have not only the solution of all
the discussions which have arisen on the subject, but the
most indisputable proof of the authenticity of the narrative;
for it is clear that Nicolo Zeno, junior, could not himself
have been the ingenious concocter of a story the straightfor-
ward truth of which he could thus ignorantly distort upon
the face of the map."

The name of Zichmni, in which writers of the present
day, and chief among them Mr. H. Major, who has rescued
these facts from the domain of fable, recognize the name of
Sinclair — appears to be in fact only applicable to this earl
of the Orkneys.

At this time the seas of the north of Europe were in-
fected by Scandinavian pirates. Sinclair, who had rec-
ognized in Zeno a clever mariner, attached him to himself,
and with him conquered the country of Frisland, the haunt
of pirates, who ravaged all the north of Scotland. In the
maps at the end of the fifteenth and beginning of the six-
teenth century this name is applied to the archipelago of the
Faroe Islands, a reasonable indication, for Buache has rec-
ognized in the present names of the harbors and islands of
this archipelago a considerable number of those given by
Zeno; finally the facts which we owe to the Venetian nav-
igator about the waters, — abounding in fish and dangerous
from shallows, — which divide this archipelago, are still true
at the present day.

Satisfied with his position, Zeno wrote to his brother
Antonio to come and join him. While Sinclair was con-
quering the Faroe Islands, the Norwegian pirates desolated
the Shetland Islands, then called Eastland. Nicolo set sail
to give them battle, but was himself obliged to flee before
their fleet, much more numerous than his own, and to take
refuge on a small island on the coast of Iceland.

After wintering in this place Zeno must have landed the
following year on the eastern coast of Greenland at 69°
north latitude, in a place " where was a monastery of the
order of preaching friars, and a church dedicated to St.
Thomas. The cells were warmed by a natural spring of
hot water, which the monks used to prepare their food and
to bake their bread. The monks had also gardens covered
over in the winter season, and warmed by the same means,
so that they were able to produce flowers, fruits, and herbs

150 SEEKERS AND TRADERS

as well as if they had lived in a mild climate." There
would seem to be some confirmation of these narratives in
the fact that between the years 1828- 1830 a captain of the
Danish navy met with a population of 600 individuals at
69° north latitude, of a purely European type.

But these adventurous travels in countries of which the
climate was so different from that of Venice, proved fatal
to Zeno, who died in a short time after his return to Fris-
land.

An old sailor, who had returned with the Venetian, and
who said he had been for many long years a prisoner in
the countries of the extreme west, gave to Sinclair such
precise and tempting details of the fertility and extent of
these regions, that the latter resolved to attempt their con-
quest with Antonio Zeno who had rejoined his brother.
But the inhabitants showed themselves everywhere so
hostile, and opposed such resistance to the strangers land-
ing, that Sinclair after a long and dangerous voyage was
obliged to return to Frisland.

These are all the details that have been left to us, and
they make us deeply regret the loss of those that Antonio
should have furnished in his letters to his father Carlo, on
the subject of the countries which Forster and Malto-Brun
have thought may be identified with Newfoundland.

Joao Vaz Cortereal was the natural son of a gentleman
named Vasco Annes da Costa, who had received the
soubriquet of Cortereal from the King of Portugal, on ac-
count of the magnificence of his house and followers. De-
voted like so many other gentlemen of this period to sea-
faring adventure, Joao Vaz had carried off in Gallicia a
young girl named Maria de Abarca, w^ho became his wife.
After having been gentleman-usher to the Infante don
Fernando, he was sent by the king to the North Atlantic,
with Alvaro Martins Homem. The two navigators saw an
island known from this time by the name of Terra dos
Bacalhaos — the land of cod-fish — which must really have
been Newfoundland. The date of this discovery is approx-
imately fixed by the fact that on their return, they landed
at Terceira and finding the captainship vacant by the death
of Jacome de Bruges, they went to ask for it from the In-
fanta Dona Brites, the widow of the Infante Don Fer-
nando; she bestowed it upon them on condition that they

THE POLAR EXPEDITIONS 151

would divide it between them, a fact which is confirmed by
a deed of gift dated from Evora the 2d of April, 1464.
Though one cannot guarantee the authenticity of this dis-
covery of America, it is nevertheless an ascertained fact
that Cortereal's voyage must have been signalized by some
extraordinary event; donations of such importance as this
were only made to those who had rendered some great serv-
ice to the crown.

When Vaz Cortereal was settled at Terceira from 1490 to
1497, he caused a fine palace to be built in the town of
Angra, where he lived with his three children. His third
son, Gaspard, after having been in the service of King Em-
manuel, when the latter was only Duke de Beja had felt
himself attracted while still young to the enterprises of dis-
covery which had rendered his father illustrious. By an
act dated from Cintra the 12th of March, 1500, King Em-
manuel made a gift to Gaspard Cortereal of any islands or
terra firma which he might discover, and the king added this
valuable information, that " already and at other times he
had sought for them on his own account and at his own
expense."

For Gaspard Cortereal this was not his first essay. Prob-
ably, his researches may have been directed to the parts
where his father had discovered the Island of Cod. At his
own expense, although with the assistance of the king, Gas-
pard Cortereal fitted out two vessels at the commencement
of the summer of 1500, and after having touched at Ter-
ceira, he sailed towards the northwest. His first discovery
was of a land of which the fertile and verdant aspect seems
to have charmed him. This was Canada. He saw there
a great river bearing ice along with it on its course — the St.
Lawrence — which some of his companions mistook for an
arm of the sea, and to which he gave the name of Rio
Nevada. " Its volume is so considerable that it is not prob-
able that this country is an island, besides, it must be com-
pletely covered with a very thick coating of snow to produce
such a stream of water."

The houses in this country were of wood and covered
with skins and furs. The inhabitants were unacquainted
with iron, but used swords made of sharpened stones, and
their arrows w^ere tipped with fish-bones or stones. Tall
and well-made, their faces and bodies were painted in differ-

152 SEEKERS AND TRADERS

enf colors according to taste, they wore golden and copper
bracelets, and dressed themselves in garments of fur. Cor-
tereal pursued his voyage and arrived at the Cape of
Bacalhaos, " fishes v^^hich are found in such great quantities
upon this coast that they hinder the advance of the caravels."
Then he followed the shore for a stretch of 600 miles, from
56° to 60°, or even more, naming the islands, the rivers, and
the gulfs that he met with, as is proved by Terra do Lab-
rador, Bahia de Conceicao, etc., and landing and holding in-
tercourse with the natives. Severe cold, and a veritable
river of gigantic blocks of ice prevented the expedition from
going farther north, and it returned to Portugal bringing
back with it fifty-seven natives. The very year of his re-
turn, on the 15th of May, 1501, Gaspard Cortereal, in pur-
suance of an order of the 15th of April, received provisions,
and left Lisbon in the hope of extending the field of his dis-
coveries. But from this time he is never again mentioned.
Michael Cortereal, his brother, who was the first gentleman
usher to the king, then requested and obtained permission to
go and seek his brother, and to pursue his enterprise. By
an act of the 15th of January, 1502, a deed of gift con-
veyed to him the half of the terra firma and islands which
his brother might have discovered. Setting out on the loth
of May of this year with three vessels, Michael Cortereal
reached Newfoundland, where he divided his little
squadron, so that each of the vessels might explore the
coasts separately, while he fixed the place of rendezvous.
But at the time fixed, he did not reappear, and the two other
vessels, after waiting for him till the 20th of August, set
out on their return to Portugal.

In 1503, the king sent two caravels to try to obtain news
of the two brothers, but the search was in vain, and they
returned without having acquired any information. When
Vasco Annes, the last of the brothers Cortereal, who was
captain and governor of the Islands of St. George and Ter-
ceria, and alcaide mor of the town of Tavilla, became ac-
quainted with these sad events, he resolved to fit out a vessel
at his own cost, and to go and search for his brothers. The
king, however, would not allow him to go, fearing to lose
the last of this race of good servants.

Upon the maps of this period, Canada is often indicated
by the name of Terra dos Cortereales, a name which is

THE POLAR EXPEDITIONS 153

sometimes extended much further south, embracing a great
part of North America.

All that concerns John and Sebastian Cabot has been until
recently shrouded by a mist which is not even now com-
pletely dissipated. It is at least certain that John Cabot
founded an important mercantile house at Bristol. His
son Sebastian acquired an inclination for the sea, studied
navigation, as far as it was then knowm, and made some ex-
cursions on the sea, to render himself as familiar with the
practice of this art, as he already was with its theory. " For
seven years past," says the Spanish Ambassador in a de-
spatch of the 25th of July, 1498, speaking of an expedition
commanded by Cabot, " the people of Bristol have fitted out
two, three, or four caravels every year, to go in search of
the Island of Brazil, and of the Seven Cities, according to
the ideas of the Genoese." At this time the whole of
Europe resounded with the fame of the discoveries of Co-
lumbus. " It awoke in me," says Sebastian Cabot, in a
narrative preserved by Ramusio, " a great desire and a kind
of ardor in my heart to do myself also something famous,
and knowing by examining the globe, that if I sailed by the
west wind I should reach India more rapidly, I at once made
my project known to His Majesty, who was much satisfied
with it." The king to whom Cabot addressed himself was
the same Henry VII. who some years before had refused all
support to Christopher Columbus. It is evident that he re-
ceived with favor the project which John and Sebastian
Cabot had just submitted to him; and though Sebastian, in
the fragment which we have just quoted, attributes to him-
self alone all the honor of the project, it is not less true that
his father was the promoter of the enterprise.

In 1497 John Cabot set out at the beginning of summer.
After having sighted the Terra Bona-vista, as he called
America, he followed the coast, perceiving to his great dis-
appointment that it barred the road to the west. " Then,
sailing along it to make sure if I could not find some pass-
age, I could not perceive any, and having advanced as far
as 56°, and seeing that at this point the land turned to-
wards the east, I despaired of finding any passage, and I
put about to examine the coast in this direction towards the
equinoctial line, always with the same object of finding a
passage to the Indies, and in the end, I reached the country

154 SEEKERS AND TRADERS

now called Florida, where as provisions were beginning to
run short, I resolved to return to England." This narra-
tive, of which we have given the commencement above, was
related by Sebastian Cabot to Fracastor, forty or fifty years
after the event. Also, is it not astonishing that Cabot
mixes up in it two perfectly distinct voyages, one of 1494,
and that of 1497? Let us add some reflections on this
narrative. The first land seen was, without doubt, the
North Cape, the northern extremity of the island of Cape
Breton, and the island which is opposite to it is that of
Prince Edward, long known by the name of St. John's
Island. Cabot probably penetrated into the estuary of the
St. Lawrence, which he took for an arm of the sea, near to
the place where Quebec now stands, and coasted along the
northern shore of the gulf, so that he did not see the coast
of Labrador stretching away in the east. He took New-
foundland for an archipelago, and continued his course to
the south, not doubtless, as far as Florida as he states him-
self, the time occupied by the voyage making it impossible
that he can have descended so low, but as far as Chesapeake
Bay. These were the countries which the Spaniards after-
wards called " Terra de Estevam Gomez."

On the 3d of February, 1498, King Henry VIL signed at
Westminster some new letters patent. He empowered John
Cabot or his representative, — being duly authorized — to
take in English ports six vessels of 200 tons' burden, and
to procure all that should be required for their equipment,
at the same price as if it were for the crown. He was
allowed to take on board such master-mariners, pages, and
other subjects as might of their own accord wish to go, and
pass with him to the recently discovered land and islands.
John Cabot bore the expense of the equipment of two vessels,
and three others were fitted out at the cost of the merchants
of Bristol.

In all probability it was death — a sudden and unexpected
death — which prevented John Cabot from taking the com-
mand of this expedition. His son Sebastian then assumed
the direction of the fleet, which carried 300 men and provi-
sions for a year. After having sighted land at 45**,
Sebastian Cabot followed the coast as far as 58°, perhaps
even higher, but then it became so cold, and although it was
the month of July, there was so much floating ice about,

THE POLAR EXPEDITIONS 155

that it would have been impossible to go farther north-
wards. The days were very long, and the nights exces-
sively light, an interesting detail by which to fix the latitude
reached, for we know that below the 60th parallel of lati-
tude the longest days are eighteen hours. These various
reasons made Sebastian Cabot decide to put about, and he
touched at the Bacalhaos Islands, of which the inhabitants,
who were clothed in the skins of animals, were armed with
bow and arrows, lance, javelin, and wooden sword. The
navigators here caught a great number of cod-fish; they
were even so numerous, says an old narrative, that they
hindered ships from advancing. After having sailed along
the coast of America as far as 38°, Cabot set out for Eng-
land, where he arrived at the beginning of autumn. This
voyage had indeed a threefold object, that of discovery,
commerce, and colonization, as is shown by the number of
vessels which took part in it and the strength of the crews.
Nevertheless it does not appear that Cabot landed anyone,
or that he made any attempts at forming a settlement, either
in Labrador, or in Hudson's Bay — which he was destined to
explore more completely in 151 7, in the reign of Henry
VIII. — or even to the south of the Bacalhaos, known by the
general name of Newfoundland. At the close of this ex-
pedition, which was almost entirely unproductive, we lose
sight of Sebastian Cabot, if not completely, at least so as to
be insufficiently informed about his deeds and voyages un-
til 1 51 7. The traveler Ojeda, whose various enterprises
we have related above, had left Spain in the month of May,
1499. We know that in this voyage he met with an Eng-
lishman at Caquibaco, on the coast of America. Can this
have been Cabot? Nothing has come to light to enable us
to settle tliis point; but we may believe that Cabot did not
remain idle, and that he would be likely to undertake some
fresh expedition : what we do know is, that in spite of the
solemn engagements that he had made with Cabot, the King
of England granted certain privileges of trading in the
countries which he had discovered, to the Portuguese and
to the merchants of Bristol. This ungenerous manner of
recognizing his services wounded the navigator, and decided
him to accept the offers which had been made to him on
different occasions, to enter the Spanish service. From the
death of Vespucius, which happened in 1512, Cabot was the

156 SEEKERS AND TRADERS

navigator held in most renown. To attach him to himself,
Ferdinand wrote on the 13th of September, 1512, to Lord
WilloLighby, commander in chief of the troops which had
been transported to Italy, to treat with the Venetian
navigator.

As soon as he arrived in Castille, Cabot received the
rank of captain, by an edict dated the 20th of October,
1 5 12, with a salary of 5,000 maravedis. Seville was fixed
upon for his residence, until an opportunity might arise of
turning his talents and experience to account. There was
a plan on foot for his taking the command of a very im-
portant expedition, when Ferdinand the Catholic died, on
the 23d of January, 15 16. Cabot returned at once to Eng-
land, having probably obtained leave of absence. Eden
tells us that the following year Cabot was appointed with
Sir Thomas Pert to the command of a fleet which was to
reach China by the northwest. On the nth of June, he was
in Hudson's Bay at 67^° of latitude; the sea free from ice
spread itself out before him so far that he reckoned upon
success in his enterprise, when the faintheartedness of his
companion, together with the cowardice and mutinous spirit
of the crews, who refused to go any further, obliged him to
return to England. In his Theatriim orbis terrarum,
OrteHus traces the shape of Hudson's Bay as it really is; he
even indicates at its northern extremity a strait leading
northwards. How can the geographer have attained to
such exactness? "Who," says Mr. Nicholls, "can have
given him the information set forth in his map, if not
Cabot?"

On his return to England, Cabot found the country
ravaged by a horrible plague, which put a stop even to com-
mercial transactions. Soon, either because the time of his
leave had expired, or that he wished to escape from the
pestilence, or that he was recalled to Spain, the Venetian
navigator returned to that country. In 1518, on the 5th of
February, Cabot was made pilot-major, with a salary which,
added to that which he already had, made a total of 125,000
maravedis, say, 300 ducats. He did not actually exercise
the functions of his office till Charles V. returned from Eng-
land. His principal duty consisted in examining pilots, who
were not allowed to go to the Indies until after having
passed this examination.

- THE POLAR EXPEDITIONS 157

This epoch was by no means favorable to great maritime
expeditions. The struggle between France and Spain ab-
sorbed all the resources both in men and. money, of these
two countries — Cabot too, who seems to have adopted
science for his fatherland, much more than any particular
country, made some overtures to Contarini, the Ambassador
of Venice, to take service on board the fleets of the Re-
public; but when the favorable answer of the Council of
Ten arrived, he had other projects in his head, and did not
carry his attempt any further.

In the month of April, 1524, Cabot presided at a confer-
ence of mariners and cosmographers, which met at Badajoz,
to discuss the question whether the Moluccas belonged, ac-
cording to the celebrated treaty of Tordesillas, to Spain or
Portugal. On the 31st of May, it was decided that the
Moluccas were within the Spanish waters, by 20°. Perhaps
this resolution of the junta of which Cabot was president,
and which again placed in the hands of Spain a great part
of the spice trade, was not without its influence upon the
resolutions of the council of the Indies, However this may
be, in the month of September of the same year Cabot was
authorized to take the command of three vessels of 100
tons, and a small caravel, carrying together 150 men, with
the title of captain-general.

The declared aim of this voyage was to pass through the
Strait of Magellan, carefully to explore the western coast of
America, and to reach the Moluccas, where they would take
in on their return a cargo of spices. The month of August,
1525, had been fixed upon as the date of departure, but
the intrigues of Portugal succeeded in delaying it until
April, 1526.

Different circumstances seem from this moment to have
augured ill for the voyage. Cabot had only a nominal au-
thority, and the association of merchants who had defrayed
the expenses of the equipment not accepting him willingly
as chief, had found means to oppose all the plans of the
Venetian sailor. Thus it was that in place of the man
whom he had appointed as second in command, another was
imposed upon him, and that instructions destined to be un-
sealed when at sea were delivered to each captain. They
contained this absurd arrangement, that in case of the death
of the captain-general, eleven individuals were to succeed

158 SEEKERS AND TRADERS

him each in his turn. Was not this an encouragement given
to assassination?

Scarcely was the fleet out of sight of land, when discon-
tent appeared. The rumor spread that the captain-general
was not equal to his task; then as they saw that these
calumnies did not affect him, they pretended that the flotilla
was already short of provisions. The mutiny broke out as
soon as land was reached, but Cabot was not the man to
allow himself to be annihilated by it; he had suffered too
much from Sir Thomas Pert's cowardice to bear such an
insult. In order to nip the evil in the bud, he had the
mutinous captains seized, and notwithstanding their reputa-
tion and the brilliancy of their past services, he made them
get into a boat, and abandoned them on the shore. Four
months afterwards they had the good luck to be picked up
by a Portuguese expedition, which seems to have had orders
to thwart the plans of Cabot.

The Venetian navigator then penetrated into the Rio de la
Plata, the exploration of which had been commenced by his
predecessor the Pilot-major de Solis. The expedition was
not then composed of more than two vessels, one having
been lost during the voyage. Cabot sailed up the Argent
River, and discovered an island which he called Francis
Gabriel, and upon which he built the fort of San Salvador,
entrusting the command of it to Antonio de Grajeda.
Cabot had the keel removed from one of his caravels, and
with it, being towed by his small boats, entered the Parana,
built a new fort at the confluence of the Carcarama and
Terceiro, and after having thus secured his line of retreat
he pursued the course of these rivers farther into the in-
terior. Arriving at the confluence of the Parana and Para-
guay, he followed the second, the direction of which agreed
best with his project of reaching the region of the west
where silver was to be obtained. But it was not long be-
fore the aspect of the country changed, and the attitude of
the inhabitants altered also. Until now, they had collected
in crowds, astonished at the sight of the vessels; but upon
the cultivated shores of the Paraguay they courageously op-
posed the stranger's landing, and three Spaniards having
tried to knock down the fruit from a palm-tree, a struggle
took place, in which 300 natives lost their lives. This vic-
tory had disabled twenty-five Spaniards. It was too much

THE POLAR EXPEDITIONS 159

for Cabot, who rapidly removed his wounded to the fort of
San Spirito and retired, still presenting a bold front to the
enemy.

Cabot had already sent two of his companions to the
Emperor, to acquaint him with the attempt at revolt of the
captains, to explain to him the motives which obliged him
to modify the course mailed out for his voyage, and to re-
quest aid from him, both in men and provisions. The an-
swer arrived at last. The Emperor approved of what Cabot
had done, and ordered him to colonize the country in which
he had just made a settlement, but did not send him either
one man or a single maravedi. Cabot tried to procure the
resources which he needed in the country, and caused some
attempts at cultivation to be commenced. At the same
time, to keep his troops in exercise, he reduced the neighbor-
ing nations to obedience, had some forts built, and again
sailing up the Paraguay he reached Potosi, and the water-
courses of the Andes which feed the basin of the Atlantic.
At last he prepared to enter Peru, from whence came the
gold and silver which he had seen in the possession of the
natives ; but it needed more troops than he could muster, to
attempt the conquest of this vast region. The Emperor,
however, was quite unable to send him any. His Euro-
pean wars absorbed all his resources, the Cortes refused to
vote new subsidies and the Moluccas had just been pledged
to Portugal. In this state of affairs, after having occupied
the country for five years, and waited all this time for the
assistance which never came, Cabot decided to evacuate a
part of his settlements, and he returned with some of his
people to Spain. The rest, amounting to 120, men who
were left to guard the fort of San Spirito, after many vicis-
situdes which cannot be related here, perished by the hands
of the Indians, or were obliged to take refuge in the
Portuguese settlements on the coast of Brazil. It is to
the horses imported by Cabot that is due the wonderful
race of wild horses which may be seen in large troops on
the pampas of La Plata at the present day; this was the
only result of the expedition.

Some time after his return to Spain, Cabot resigned his
office, and went to Bristol, where he settled about 1548, that
is to say at the beginning of the reign of Edward VI.
What were the motives of this fresh change? Was Cabot

i6o SEEKERS AND TRADERS

discontented at having been left to his own resources dur-
ing his expedition? Was he hurt at the manner in which
his services were recompensed? It is impossible to say.
But Charles V. took advantage of Cabot's departure to de-
prive him of his pension, which Edward VI. hastened to
replace, causing him to receive 250 marks annually, about
116/. and a fraction, which was a considerable sum for that
period.

At this period, we may almost say there was no trade in
England. All commerce was in the hands of the Hanseatic
towns, Antwerp, Hamburg, Bremen, etc. These companies
of merchants had, on various occasions, obtained consider-
able reductions in import duties, and had ended by monop-
olizing the English trade. Cabot held that Englishmen
possessed as good qualifications as these merchants for be-
coming manufacturers, and that the already powerful navy
which England possessed might assist marvelously in the
export of the products of the soil and of the manufactures.
What was the use of having recourse to strangers when
people could do their own business? If they had been un-
able up to this time to reach Cathay and India by the north-
west, might they not endeavor to reach it by the northeast.
And if they did not succeed, would they not find in this di-
rection more commercial, and more civilized people than the
miserable Esquimaux on the coast of Labrador and New-
foundland?

Cabot assembled some leading London merchants, laid
his projects before them, and formed them into an associa-
tion, of which on the 14th of December, 1 551, he was named
president for life. At the same time he exerted himself
most vigorously with the king, and having made him under-
stand the wrong which the monopoly enjoyed by strangers
did to his own subjects, he obtained its abolition on the 23d
of February, 1551, and inaugurated the practice of free
trade.

The Association of English Merchants, under the name
of " Merchant Adventurers," hastened to have some vessels
built, adapted to the difficulties to be encountered in the
navigation of the Arctic regions. The first improvement
which the English marine owed to Cabot was the sheathing
of the keels, which he had seen done in Spain, but which
had not hitherto been practiced in England.

V. XV Verne

THE POLAR EXPEDITIONS i6i

A flotilla of three vessels was assembled at Deptford.
They were the Biiona-Spcranza, of which the command was
given to Sir Hugh Willoughby, a brave gentleman who had
earned a high reputation in war; the Biiona-Confidencia,
Captain Cornil Durforth; and the Bonavcntiire, Captain
Richard Chancellor, a clever sailor, and a particular friend
of Cabot's; he received the title of pilot-major. The sail-
ing-master of the Bonaventuve was Stephen Burrough, an
accomplished mariner, who was destined to make numerous
voyages in the North seas, and later to become pilot in
chief for England.

Although age and his important duties prevented Cabot
from placing himself at the head of the expedition, he
wished at least, to preside over all the details of the equip-
ment. He himself wrote out the instructions, which have
been preserved, and which prove the prudence and skill of
this distinguished navigator. He there recommends the use
of the log-line, an instrument intended to measure the speed
of the vessel, and he desires that the journal of the events
happening at sea may be kept with regularity, and that all
information as to the character, manners, habits, and re-
sources of the people visited, and the productions of the
country, may be recorded in writing. The sailors were to
offer no violence to the natives, but to act towards them
with courtesy. All blasphemy and swearing was to be
punished with severity, and also drunkenness. The reli-
gious exercises are prescribed, prayers are to be said morn-
ing and evening, and the Holy Scriptures are to be read once
in the day. Cabot ends by recommending union and con-
cord above all, and reminds the captains of the greatness of
their enterprise, and the honor which they might hope to
gain; finally he promises them to add his prayers to theirs
for the success of their common work.

The squadron set sail on the 20th of May, 1558, in pres-
ence of the court assembled at Greenwich, amid an im-
mense concourse of people, after fetes and rejoicings, at
which the king, who was ill, could not be present. Near
the Loffoden Islands, on the coast of Norway at the bearing
of Wardhous, the squadron was separated from the Bona-
ventiire. Carried away by the storm, Willoughby's two
vessels touched, without doubt, at Nova Zembla, and were
forced by the ice to return southwards. On the i8th of

i62 SEEKERS AND TRADERS

September, they entered the port formed by the mouth of
the River Arzina in East Lapland. Some time afterwards,
the Buona-C onfidencia, separated from Willoughby by a
fresh tempest, returned to England. As to the latter, some
Russian fishermen found his vessel the following year, in
the midst of the ice. The whole crew had died of cold.
This, at least, is what we are led to suppose from the jour-
nal kept by the unfortunate Willoughby up to the month of
January, 1554.

Chancellor, after having waited in vain for his two con-
sorts at the rendezvous which had been agreed upon in case
of separation, thought they must have outsailed him, and
rounding the North Cape, he entered a vast gulf which was
none other than the White Sea; he then landed at the mouth
of the Dwina, near the monastery of St. Nicholas, on the
spot upon which the town of Archangel was soon to stand.
The inhabitants of these desolate places told him that the
country was under the dominion of the Grand Duke of
Russia. Chancellor resolved at once to go to Moscow, in
spite of the enormous distance which separated him from it.
The Czar then on the throne was Ivan IV. Wassiliewitch,
called the Terrible. For some time before this, the Rus-
sians had shaken off the Tartar yoke, and Ivan had united
all the petty rival principalities in one body politic, of which
the power was already becoming considerable. The situa-
tion of Russia, exclusively continental, far from any fre-
quented sea, isolated from the rest of Europe, of which it
did not yet form part, so much were its habits and manners
still Asiatic, promised success to Chancellor.

The Czar, who up to this time, had not been able to
procure European merchandise, except by way of Poland,
and who wished to gain access to the German seas, saw with
pleasure the attempts of the English to establish a trade
which would be beneficial to both parties. He not only
received Chancellor courteously, but he made him most ad-
vantageous offers, granted him great privileges and encour-
aged him, by the kindness of his reception, to repeat his
voyage. Chancellor sold his merchandise to great advan-
tage, and after taking on board another cargo of furs, of
seal and whale oils, copper, and other products, returned to
England, carrying a letter from the Czar. The advantages
which the Company of Merchant Adventurers had derived

THE POLAR EXPEDITIONS 163

from this first voyage, encouraged them to attempt a second.
So Chancellor, the following year, made a fresh voyage to
Archangel, and took two of the Company's agents to Russia,
who concluded an advantageous treaty with the Czar. Then
he set out again for England with an ambassador and his
suite, sent by Ivan to Great Britain. Of the four vessels
which composed the flotilla, one was lost on the coast of
Norway, another as it left Drontheim, and the Bonavenfure,
on board of which were Chancellor and the ambassador,
foundered in the Bay of Pitsligo, on the east coast of Scot-
land on the loth of November, 1556, Chancellor was
drowned in the wreck, being less fortunate than the Mus-
covite ambassador, who had the good luck to escape; but
the presents and merchandise which he was carrying to
England were lost.

Such was the commencement of the Anglo-Russian Com-
pany. A goodly number of expeditions succeeded each
other in those parts, but it would be beside our purpose to
give an account of them. Let us now return to Cabot.

It was in 1554 that Queen Mary of England was married
to Philip II., King of Spain. When the latter came to Eng-
land he showed himself very ill-disposed towards Cabot,
who had abandoned the service of Spain, and who, at this
very moment was procuring for England a commerce which
would soon immensely increase the maritime power of an
already formidable country. Thus we are not surprised to
learn that eight days after the landing of the King of Spain,
Cabot was forced to resign his office and his pension, both
of which had been bestowed upon him for life by Edward
VI. Worthington was nominated in his place. Mr.
Nicholls thinks that this dishonorable man, who had had
some quarrels with the law, had a secret mission to seize
among Cabot's plans, maps, instructions, and projects, those
which could be of use to Spain. The fact is that all these
documents are now lost.

At the end of this period, history completely loses sight
of the old mariner. The same mystery which hangs over
his birth, also envelopes the place and date of his death.
His immense discoveries, his cosmographical works, his
study of the variations of the magnetic needle, his wisdom,
his humane disposition, and his honorable conduct, place
Sebastian Cabot in the foremost rank among discoverers.

l64 SEEKERS AND TRADERS

A figure lost in the shadow and vagueness of legends until
our own day, Cabot owes it to his biographers, to Biddle,
D'Avezac, and Nicholls, that he is now better known, more
highly appreciated, and for the first time really placed in the
light.

POLAR EXPEDITIONS

From 1492 to 1524, France had stood aloof, officially at
least, from enterprises of discovery and colonization. But
Francis I. could not look on quietly while the power of his
rival Charles V. received a large addition by the conquest
of Mexico. He therefore ordered John Verrazzano, a
Venetian who was in his service, to make a voyage of ex-
ploration. We will pause here for a short time, although
the various places may have already been visited on several
occasions, because for the first time the banner of France
floats over the shores of the New World. This exploration
besides, was to prepare the way for those of Jacques Cartier
and of Champlain in Canada, as well as for the unlucky ex-
periments in colonization of Jean Ribaut, and of Laudon-
niere, the sanguinary voyage of reprisals of Gourgues, and
Villegagnon's attempt at a settlement in Brazil.

We possess no biographical details with regard to Ver-
razzano. Under what circumstances did he enter the ser-
vice of France .P What was his title to the command of
such an expedition? Nothing is known of the Venetian
traveler, for all we possess of his writings is the Italian
translation of his report to Francis I. published in the col-
lection of Ramusio. The French translation of this Italian
translation exists in an abridged form in Lescarbot's work
on New France and in the Histoire des Voyages.

Having set out with four vessels to make discoveries in the
ocean, says Verrazzano in a letter written from Dieppe to
Francis I. on the 8th July, 1524, he was forced by a storm
to take refuge in Brittany with two of his vessels, the
Dauphine and the Normande, there to repair damages.
Thence he set sail for the coast of Spain, where he seems
to have given chase to some Spanish vessels. We see him
leave with the Dauphine alone on the 17th of January, 1524,
a small inhabited island in the neighborhood of Madeira,
and launch himself upon the ocean with a crew of fifty men.

THE POLAR EXPEDITIONS 165

well furnished with provisions and ammunition for an eight
months' voyage.

Twenty-five days later he has made 1,500 miles to the
west, when he is assailed by a fearful storm; and twenty-
five days afterwards, that is to say on the 8th or 9th of
March, having made about 1,200 miles, he discovers land at
30° north latitude, which he thought had never been pre-
viously explored. " When we arrived, it seemed to us to
be very low, but on approaching within a quarter of a
league we saw by the great fires which were lighted along
the harbors and borders of the sea, that it was inhabited, and
in taking trouble to find a harbor in which to land and make
acquaintance with the country, we sailed more than 150
miles in vain, so that seeing the coast trended ever south-
wards, we decided to turn back again." The Frenchmen
finding a favorable landing-place, perceived a number of
natives who came towards them, but who fled away when
they saw them land. Soon recalled by the friendly signs
and demonstrations of the French, they showed great sur-
prise at their clothes, their faces, and the whiteness of their
skin. The natives were entirely naked, except that the
middle of the body was covered with sable-skins, hung from
a narrow girdle of prettily woven grasses, and ornamented
with tails of other animals, which fell to their knees. Some
wore crowns of bird's feathers. " They have brown skins,"
says the narrative, "and are exactly like the Saracens;
their hair is black, not very long, and tied at the back of the
head in the form of a small tail. Their limbs are well pro-
portioned, they are of middle height, although a little taller!
than ourselves, and have no other defect beyond their faces
being rather broad ; they are not strong, but they are agile,
and some of the greatest and quickest runners in the world."

This land lies at 34°. It is therefore the part of the
United States which now goes by the name of Carolina.
The air there is pure and salubrious, the climate temperate,
the sea is entirely without rocks, and in spite of the want
of harbors it is not unfavorable for navigators.

During the whole month of March the French sailed
along the cast, w^iich seemed to them to be inhabited by a
numerous population. The want of water forced them to
land several times, and they perceived that the savages were
most pleased with mirrors, bells, knives, and sheets of

i66 SEEKERS AND TRADERS

paper. One day they sent a long-boat ashore with twenty-
five men in it. A young sailor jumped into the water " be-
cause he could not land on account of the waves and cur-
rents, in order to give some small articles to these people,
and having thrown them to them from a distance because he
was distrustful of the natives, he was cast violently on shore
by the waves. The Indians seeing him in this condition, take
him and carry him far away from the sea, to the great dis-
may of the poor sailor, who expected they were about to
sacrifice him. Having placed him at the foot of a little
hill, in the full blaze of the sun, they stripped him quite
naked and wondered at the whiteness of his skin ; then light-
ing a large fire they made him come to it and recover his
strength, and it was then that the poor young man, as well
as those who were in the boat, thought that the Indians
were about to massacre and immolate him, roasting his flesh
in this large brazier and then eating their victim, as do the
cannibals. But it happened quite differently; for having
shown a desire to return to the boat they reconducted him
to the edge of the sea, and having kissed him very lovingly,
they retired to a hill to see him re-enter the boat"

Continuing to follow the shore northwards for more than
150 miles, the Frenchmen reached a land which seemed to
them more beautiful, being covered with thick woods. Into
these forests, twenty men penetrated for more than six miles
and only returned to the shore from the fear of losing them-
selves. In this walk, having met two women, one young
and the other old, with some children, they seized one of
the latter who might be about eight years old, with the idea
of taking him away to France; but they could not do the
same with the young woman, who began to cry with all her
might, calling for aid from her compatriots, who were hid-
den in the wood. In this place the savages were whiter
than any of those hitherto met with; they snared birds and
used a bow of very hard wood, and arrows tipped with fish-
bones. Their canoes, twenty feet long and four feet wide,
were hollowed by fire out of a trunk of a tree. Wild vines
abounded and climbed over the trees in long festoons as
they do in Lombardy. With a little cultivation they would
no doubt produce excellent wine — " for the fruit is sweet
and pleasant like ours, and we thought that the natives were
not insensible to it, for in all directions where these vines

THE POLAR EXPEDITIONS 167

grew, they had taken care to cut away the branches of the
surrounding trees so that the fruit might ripen." Wild
roses, lihes, violets, and all kinds of odoriferous plants and
flowers, new to the Eurpoeans, carpeted the ground every-
where, and filled the air with sweet perfumes.

After remaining for three days in this enchanting place,
the Frenchmen continued to follow the coast northwards,
sailing by day and casting anchor at night. As the land
trended towards the east, they went 150 miles further in
that direction, and discovered an island of triangular shape
about thirty miles distant from the continent, similar in size
to the Island of Rhodes, and upon which they bestowed the
name of the mother of Francis I., Louisa of Savoy. Then
they reached another island forty-five miles off, which
possessed a magnificent harbor and of which the inhabitants
came in crowds to visit the strange vessels. Two kings,
especially, were of fine stature and great beauty. They
were dressed in deer-skins, with the head bare, the hair
carried back and tied in a tuft, and they wore on the neck
a large chain ornamented with colored stones. This was
the most remarkable nation which they had until now met
with. " The women are graceful," says the narrative pub-
lished by Ramusio. " Some wore the skins of the lynx on
their arms; their head was ornamented with their plaited
hair and long plaits hung down on both sides of the chest;
others had headdresses which recalled those of the Egyptian
and Syrian women ; only the elderly women, and those who
were married, wore pendants in their ears of worked copper.
This land is situated on the same parallel as Rome, in 41*
40', but its climate is much colder.

On the 5th of May, Verrazzano left this port and sailed
along the sea shore for 450 miles. At last he reached a
country of which the inhabitants resembled but little any
of those whom he had hitherto met with. They were so
wild that it was impossible to carry on any trade with them,
or any sustained intercourse. What they appeared to
esteem above everything else were fish-hooks, knives, and
all articles in metal, attaching no value to all the trifling
baubles which up to this time had served for barter.
Twenty-five armed men landed and advanced from four
to six miles into the interior of the country. They were
received by the natives with flights of arrows, after which

1 68

SEEKERS AND TRADERS

the latter retired into the immense forests which appeared
to cover the whole country.

One hundred and fifty miles further on spreads out a vast
archipelago composed of thirty-two islands, all near the land,
separated by narrow canals, v/hich reminded the Venetian
navigator of the archipelagos which in the Adriatic border
the costs of Sclavonia and Dalmatia. At length, 450 miles
further on, in latitude 50°, the French came to lands which
had been previously discovered by the Bretons. Finding
themselves then short of provisions, and having recon-
noitered the coast of America for a distance of 2,100 miles,
they returned to France, and disembarked safely at Dieppe
in the month of July, 1524.

Some historians relate that Verrazzano was made prisoner
by the savages who inhabit the coast of Labrador, and was
eaten by them. A fact which is simply impossible, since he
addressed from Dieppe to Francis I. the account of his voy-
age which we have just abridged. Besides, the Indians of
these regions were not anthropophagi. Certain authors,
but we have not been able to discover on the authority of
what documents, nor under what circumstances this hap-
pened, relate that Verrazzano having fallen into the power
of the Spainards, had been taken to Spain and there hanged.
It is wiser to admit that we know nothing certain about Ver-
razzano, and that we are totally ignorant what rewards his
long voyage procured for him. Perhaps when some learned
man shall have looked through our archives (of which the
abstract and inventory are far from being finished), he may
recover some new documents ; but for the present we must
confine ourselves to the narrative of Ramusio.

Some years later, Jacques Cartier set out first to seek for
the northwest passage, but was led instead to take posses-
sion of the country and lay the foundations of the colony of
Canada.

In England a similar movement had begun, set on foot
by the writings of Sir Humphrey Gilbert and of Richard
Wills. They ended by persuading public opinion that it was
not more difficult to find this northern passage than it had
been to discover the Strait of Magellan. One of the most
ardent partizans of this search v^^as a bold sailor, called
Martin Frobisher, who after having many times applied to
rich ship-owners, at last found in Ambrose Dudley, Earl of

THE POLAR EXPEDITIONS 169

Warwick, the favorite of Queen Elizabeth, a patron, whose
pecuniary help enabled him to equip a pinnace and two poor
barks of from twenty to twenty-five ton's burden. It was
with means thus feeble, that the intrepid navigator went to
encounter the ice in localities which had never been visited
since the time of the Northmen. Setting out from Deptford
on the 8th of June, 1576, he sighted the south of Greenland,
which he took for the Frisland of Zeno. Soon stopped by
the ice, he was obliged to return to Labrador without being
able to land there, and he entered Hudson's Straits. After
having coasted along Savage and Resolution Islands, he
entered a strait whch has received his name, but which is also
called by some geographers, Lunley's inlet. He landed at
Cumberland, took possession of the country in the name of
Queen Elizabeth, and entered into some relations with the
natives. The cold increased rapidly, and he was obliged to
return to England. Frobisher only brought back some
rather vague scientific and geographical details about the
countries which he had visited ; he received, however, a most
flattering welcome when he showed a heavy black stone in
which a little gold was found. At once all imaginations
w^ere on fire. Several lords and the Queen herself con-
tributed to the expense of a new armament, consisting of a
vessels of 200 tons, with a crew of 100 men, and two smaller
barks, which carried six months' provision both for war and
for nourishment. Frobisher had some experienced sailors
— Fenton, York, George Best, and C. Hall, under his com-
mand. On the 31st of May, 1577, the expedition set sail,
and soon sighted Greenland, of which the mountains were
covered with snow, and the shores defended by a rampart of
ice. The weather was bad. Exceedingly dense fogs, — as
thick as pease-soup, said the English sailors, — islands of ice
a mile and a half in circumference, floating mountains which
were sunk seventy or eighty fathoms in the sea, such were
the obstacles which prevented Frobisher from reaching, be-
fore the 9th of August, the strait which he had discovered
during his previous campaign. The English took possession
of the country, and pursued both upon land and sea some
poor Esquimaux, who, wounded " in this encounter, jumped
in despair from the top of the rocks into the sea," says
Forster in his Voyages in the North, " which would not have
happened if they had shown themselves more submissive.

170 SEEKERS AND TRADERS

or if we could have made them understand that we were not
their enemies." A great quantity of stones similar to that
which had been brought to England were soon discovered.
They were of gold marcasite, and 200 tons of this substance
was soon collected. In their delight, the English sailors set
up a memorial column on a peak to which they gave the name
of Warwick Mount, and performed solemn acts of thanks-
giving. Frobisher afterwards went ninety miles further
on in the same strait, as far as a small island, which received
the name of Smith's Island. There the English found two
women, of whom they took one with her child, but left the
other on account of her extreme ugliness. Suspecting, so
much did superstition and ignorance flourish at this time,
that this woman had cloven feet, they made her take the
coverings off her feet, to satisfy themselves that they really
were made like their own. Frobisher, now perceiving that
the cold was increasing, and wishing to place the treasures
which he thought he had collected, in a place of safety, re-
solved to give up for the present any further search for the
northwest passage. He then set sail for England, where he
arrived at the end of September, after weathering a storm
which dispersed his fleet. The man, woman, and child who
had been carried off were presented to the Queen. It is
said with regard to them, that the man, seeing at Bristol
Frobisher's trumpeter on horseback wished to imitate him,
and mounted with his face turned towards the tail of the
animal. These savages were the objects of much curiosity,
and obtained permission from the Queen to shoot all kinds
of birds, even swans, on the Thames, a thing which was for-
bidden to everyone else under the most severe penalties.
They did not long survive, and died before the child was
fifteen months old.

People were not slow in discovering that the stones
brought back by Frobisher really contained gold. The na-
tion, but above all the higher classes, were immediately
seized with a fever bordering on delirium. They had found
a Peru, an Eldorado. Queen Elizabeth, in spite of her prac-
tical good sense, yielded to the current. She resolved to
build a fort in the newly discovered country, to which she
gave the name of Meta incognita, (unknown boundary) and
to leave there, with 100 men as garrison, under the com-
mand of Captains Fenton, Best, and Philpot, three vessels

THE POLAR EXPEDITIONS 171

which should take in a cargo of the auriferous stones.
These 100 men were carefully chosen; there were bakers,
carpenters, masons, gold-refiners, and others belonging to
all the various handicrafts. The fleet was composed of
fifteen vessels, which set sail from Harwich on the 31st of
May, 1578. Twenty days later the western coasts of Fris-
land were discovered. Whales played round the vessels in
innumerable troops. It is related even that one of the ves-
sels propelled by a favorable wand, struck against a whale
wnth such force that the violence of the shock stopped the
ship at once, and that the whale after uttering a loud cry,
made a spring out of the water and then was suddenly
swallowed up. Two days later, the fleet met with a dead
w^hale which they thought must be the one struck by the
Salamander. When Frobisher came to the entrance of the
strait which has received his name, he found it blocked up
with floating ice. " The barque Dennis, 100 tons," says the
old account of George Best, " received such a shock from
an iceberg that she sank in sight of the whole fleet. Fol-
lowing upon this catastrophe, a sudden and horrible tem-
pest arose from the southeast, the vessels were surrounded
on all sides by the ice; they left much of it, between which
they could pass, behind them, and found still more before
them through which it was impossible for them to penetrate.
Certain ships, either having found a place less blocked with
ice, or one where it was possible to proceed, furled sails and
drifted; of the others, several stopped and cast their anchors
upon a great island of ice. The latter were so rapidly en-
closed by an infinite number of islets of ice and fragments
of icebergs, that the English were obliged to resign them-
selves and their ships to the mercy of tlie ice, and to protect
the ships with cables, cushions, mats, boards, and all kinds
of articles which were suspended to the sides, in order to
defend them from the fearful shocks and blow^s of the ice."
Frobisher himself was thrown out of his course. Finding
the impossibility of rallying his squadron, he sailed along
the west coast of Greenland, as far as the strait which w^as
soon to be called Davis's Strait, and penetrated as far as
the Countess of Warwick Bay. When he had repaired his
vessels with the wood which was to have been used in the
building of a dwelling, he loaded the ships with 500 tons
of stones similar to those which he had already brought

172 SEEKERS AND TRADERS

home. Judging the season to be then too far advanced, and
considering also that the provisions had been either con-
sumed, or lost in the Dennis, that the wood for building had
been used for repairing the vessels, and having lost 40 men,
he set out on his return to England on the 31st of August.
Tempests and storms accompanied him to the shores of his
own country. The results of his expedition were almost
none as to discoveries, and the stones, which he had put on
board in the midst of so many dangers, were valueless.

This was the last Arctic voyage in which Frobisher took
part. In 1585 we meet with him again as vice-admiral,
under Drake; in 1588 he distinguished himself against the
Invincible Armada; in 1590 he was with Sir Walter
Raleigh's fleet on the coast of Spain ; finally in a descent on
the coast of France, he was so seriously wounded that he
had only time to bring his squadron back to Portsmouth
before he died. If Frobisher's voyages had only gain for
their motive, we must put this down not to the navigator
himself, but to the passions of the period, and it is not the
less true that in difficult circumstances, and with means the
insufficiency of which makes us smile, he gave proof of
courage, talent, and perseverance. To Frobisher is due, in
one word, the glory of having shown the route to his
countrymen, and of having made the first discoveries in the
localities where the English name was destined to render
itself illustrious.

If it became necessary to abandon the hope of finding in
these circumpolar regions countries in which gold abounded
as it did in Peru, this was no ground for not continuing to
seek there for a passage to China ; an opinion supported by
very skillful sailors, and one which found many adherents
among the merchants of London. By the aid of several
high personages, two ships vv^ere equipped; the Sunshine,
of fifty tons' burden and carrying a crew of twenty-three
in number, and the Moonshine, of thirty-five tons. They
quitted Portsmouth on the 7th of June, 1585, under the com-
mand of John Davis.

Davis discovered tlie entrance of the strait which received
his name, and was obliged to cross immense fields of drift-
ing ice, after having reassured his crew, who were frightened
while in the midst of a dense fog, by the dash of the ice-
bergs, and the splitting of the blocks of ice. On the 20th

THE POLAR EXPEDITIONS 173

July, Davis discovered the Land of Desolation, but with-
out being able to disembark upon it. Nine days later he en-
tered Gilbert Bay, where he found a peaceable population,
who gave him sealskins and furs in exchange for some
trifling articles. These natives, some days afterwards,
arrived in such numbers, that there was not less than
thirty-seven canoes around Davis's vessels. In this place,
the navigator perceived an enormous quantity of drift
wood, amongst which he mentions an entire tree, which
could not have been less than sixty feet in length.
On the 6th of August, he cast anchor in a fine
bay called Tottness; near a mountain of the color of
gold, which received the name of Raleigh, at the same time,
he gave the names of Dyer and Walsingham to two capes
of that land of Cumberland.

During eleven days, Davis still sailed northwards on a
very open sea, free from ice, and of which the water had the
color of the Ocean. Already he believed himself at the
entrance of the sea, which communicated with the Pacific,
when all at once the weather changed, and became so foggy,
that he was forced to return to Yarmouth, where he landed
on the 30th of September.

Davis had the skill to make the owners of his ships par-
take in the hope which he had conceived. Thus on the 7th
of May (1586), he set out again with the two ships which
had made the previous voyage. To them were added the
Mermaid of 120 tons, and the pinnace North Star. When,
on the 25th of June, he arrived at the southern point of
Greenland, Davis despatched the Sunshine and the North
Star towards the north, in order to search for a passage
upon the eastern coast, whilst he pursued the same route as
in the preceding year, and penetrated into the strait whicli
bears his name as far as 69°. But there was a much greater
quantity of ice this year, and on the 17th of July, the ex-
pedition fell in with an " icefield " of such extent that It
took thirteen days to coast along it. The wind after passing
over this icy plain was so cold, that the rigging and sails
were frozen, and the sailors refused to go any further. It
was needful, therefore, to descend again to the east-south-
east. There Davis explored the land of Cumberland, without
finding the strait he was seeking, and after a skirmish with
the Esquimaux, in which three of his men were killed, and

174 SEEKERS AND TRADERS

two wounded, he set out on the 19th of September, on his
return to England.

Although once more his researches had not been crowned
with success, Davis still had good hope, as is witnessed by a
letter, which he wrote to the Company, in which he said
that he had reduced the existence of the passage to a species
of certainty. Foreseeing, however, that he would have more
trouble in obtaining the despatch of a new expedition, he
added that the expenses of the enterprise would be fully
covered by the profit arising from the fishery of walrus,
seals, and whales, which were so numerous in those parts,
that they appeared to have there established their head-
quarters. On the 15th of May, 1587, he set sail with the
Sunshine, the Elisabeth of Dartmouth, and the Helen of
London. This time he went farther north than he had ever
done before, and reached 72° 12', that is to say, nearly the
latitude of Upernavik, and he described Cape Henderson's
Hope. Stopped by the ice, and forced to retrace his way,
he sailed in Frobisher's Strait, and after having crossed a
large gulf, he arrived, in 61° 10' latitude, in sight of a cape
to which he gave the name of Chudleigh. This cape is a
part of the Labrador coast, and forms the southern entrance
to Hudson's Bay. After coasting along the American
shores as far as 52°, Davis set out for England, which he
reached on the 15th of September.

Although the solution of the problem had not been found,
yet nevertheless, precious results had been obtained, but re-
sults to which people at that period did not attach any great
value. Nearly the half of Baffin's Bay had been explored,
and clear ideas had been obtained of its shores, and of the
people inhabiting them. These were considerable acquisi-
tions, from a geographical point of view, but they were
scarcely those which would greatly affect the merchants of
the city. In consequence, the attempts at finding a north-
west passage were abandoned by the English for a some-
what long period.

A new nation was just come into existence. The Dutch,
while scarcely delivered from the Spanish yoke, inaugurated
that commercial policy, which was destined to make the
greatness and prosperity of their country, by the successive
despatch of several expeditions to seek for a way to China
by the northeast; the same project formerly conceived by

THE POLAR EXPEDITIONS 175

Sebastian Cabot, which had given to England the Russian
trade. With their practical instinct, the Dutch had ac-
quainted themselves with English navigation. They had
even established factories at Kola, and at Archangel, but
they wished to proceed further in their search for new mar-
kets. The Sea of Kara appearing to them too difficult, they
resolved, acting on the advice of the cosmographer Plancius,
to try a new way by the north of Nova Zembla. The mer-
chants of Amsterdam applied therefore, to an experienced
sailor, William Barentz, born in the island of Terschelling,
near the Texel. This navigator set out from the Texel in
1594, on board the Mercure, doubled the North Cape, saw
the island of Waigatz, and found himself, on the 4th of
July, in sight of the coast of Nova Zembla, in latitude 73°
25'. He sailed along the coast, doubled Cape Nassau on
the loth of July, and three days later he came in contact
with the ice. Until the 3rd of August, he attempted to
open a passage through the pack, testing the mass of ice on
various sides, going up as far as the Orange Islands at the
northwestern extremity of Nova Zembla, sailing over 1,700
miles of ground, and putting his ship about no less than
eighty-one times. We do not imagine that any navigator
had hitherto displayed such perseverance. Let us add that
he turned this long cruise to account, to fix astronomically,
and with remarkable accuracy, the latitude of various points.
At last, wearied with the fruitless boxing about along the
edge of the pack, the crew cried for mercy, and it became
necessary to return to the Texel.

The results obtained were judged so important, that the
following year, the Dutch States-General entrusted to Jacob
van Heemskerke, the command of a fleet of seven vessels,
of which Barentz was named chief pilot. After touching
at various points upon the coasts of Nova Zembla and of
Asia, this squadron was forced by the pack to go back with-
out having made any important discovery, and it returned to
Holland on the i8th of September.

As a general rule governments do not possess as much
perseverance as do private individuals. The large fleet of
the year 1595 had cost a great sum of money, and had pro-
duced no results ; this was sufficient to discourage the States-
General. The merchants of Amsterdam, therefore, sub-
stituting private enterprise for the action of the govern-

176 SEEKERS AND TRADERS

ment, which merely promised a reward to the man who
should first discover the northeast passage — fitted out two
vessels, of which the command was given to Heemskerke
and to Jan Corneliszoon Rijp, while Barentz, who had only
the title of pilot, was virtually the leader of the expedition.
The historian of the voyage, Gerrit de Veer, was also on
board as second mate.

The Dutchmen sailed from Amsterdam on the loth of
May, 1596, passed by the Shetland and Faroe Islands, and
on the 5th of June, saw the first masses of ice, " whereat we
were much amazed, believing at first that they were white
swans." They soon arrived to the south of Spitzbergen,
at Bear Island, upon which they landed on the nth of June.
They collected there a great number of sea-gulls' eggs, and
after much trouble killed at some distance inland a white
bear, destined to give its name to the land which Barentz
had just discovered. On the 19th of June, they disembarked
upon some far-spreading land, which they took to be a
part of Greenland, and to which on account of the sharp-
pointed mountains, they gave the name of Spitzbergen; of
this they explored a considerable portion of the western
coast. Forced by the Polar pack to go southwards again to
Bear Island, they separated there from Rijp, who was once
more to endeavor to find a way by the north. On the nth
of July, Heemskerke and Barentz were in the parts of Cape
Kanin, and five days later they had reached the western
coast of Nova Zembla, which was called Willoughby's Land.
They then altered their course, and again going northwards,
they arrived on the 19th at the Island of Crosses, where the
ice, which was still attached to the shore, barred their pas-
sage. They remained in this place until the 4th of August,
and two days later they doubled Cape Nassau. After sev-
eral changes of course, which it would take too long to re-
late, they reached the Orange Islands at the northern ex-
tremity of Nova Zembla. They began to descend the east-
ern coast, but were soon obliged to enter a harbor, where
they found themselves completely blocked in by the pack-
ice, and in which " they were forced in great cold, poverty,
misery, and grief, to stay all the winter," This was on the
26th of August. " On the 30th the masses of ice began to
pile themselves one upon another against the ship, with
snow falling. The ship was lifted up and surrounded in

V. XV Veme

THE POLAR EXPEDITIONS 177

such a manner, that all that was about her and around her
began to crack and spht. It seemed as if the ship must
break into a thousand pieces, a thing most terrible to see
and to hear, and fit to make one's hair stand on end. The
ship was afterwards in equal danger, when the ice fonned
beneath, raising her and bearing her up as though she had
been lifted by some instrument." Soon the ship cracked
to such a degree, that prudence dictated the debarkation of
some of the provisions, sails, gunpowder, lead, the arque-
buses as well as other arms, and the erection of a tent or hut,
in which the men might be sheltered from the snow and
from any attacks by bears. Some days later, some sailors
who had advanced from four to six miles inland, found
near a river of fresh water, a quantity of drift-wood; they
discovered there also the traces of wild goats and of rein-
deer. On the nth of September, seeing that the bay was
filled with enormous blocks of ice piled one upon the other,
and welded together, the Dutchmen perceived that they
would be obhged to winter in this place, and resolved, " in
order to be better defended against the cold, and armed
against the wild beasts," to build a house there, which might
be able to contain them all, while they would leave to itself
the ship, which became each day less safe and comfortable.
Fortunately, they found upon the shore whole trees, coming
doubtless from Siberia, and driven here by the current, and
in such quantity that they sufficed not only for the construc-
tion of their habitation, but also for firewood throughout the
winter.

Never yet had any European wintered in these regions,
in the midst of that slothful and immovable sea. which ac-
cording to the very false expressions used by Tacitus, forms
the girdle of the world, and in which is heard the uproar
caused by the rising of the sun. The Dutchmen, therefore,
were unable to picture to themselves the sufferings which
threatened them. They bore them, however, with admir-
able patience, without a single murmur, and without the
least want of discipline or attempt at mutiny. The con-
duct of these brave seamen, quite ignorant of what so ap-
parantly dark a future might have in reserve for them, who
with wonderful faith had " placed their affairs in the hands
of God," may be always proposed as an example even to
the sailors of the present day. It may well be said that they

178 SEEKERS AND TRADERS

had really in their heart the cos triples of which Horace
speaks. It was owing to the skill, knowledge, and foresight
of their leader Barentz, as much as to their own spirit of
obedience, that the Dutch sailors ever came forth from Nova
Zembla, which threatened to be their tomb, and again saw
the shores of their own country.

The bears, which were extremely numerous at that peiiod
of the year, made frequent visits to the crew. More than
one was killed, but the Dutchmen contented themselves with
skinning them for the sake of their fur, and did not eat them,
probably because they believed the flesh to be unwholesome.
It would have been, however, a considerable addition to
their food, and would have saved them from using their
salted meat, and thus they might longer have escaped the
attacks of scurvy. But that we may not anticipate, let us
continue to follow the journal of Gerrit de Veer.

On the 23rd September, the carpenter died, and was in-
terred the next day in the cleft of a mountain, it being im-
possible to put a spade into the ground, on account of the
severity of the frost. The following days were devoted
to the transport of drift-wood and the building of the house.
To cover it in, it was necessary to demolish the fore and aft
cabins of the ship; the roof was put on, on the 2nd October,
and a piece of frozen snow was set up like a May pole. On
the 31st September, there was a strong wind from the north-
west, and as far as the eye could reach, the sea was entirely
open and without ice. " But we remained as though taken
and arrested in the ice, and the ship was raised full two or
three feet upon the ice, and we could imagine nothing else
but that the water must be frozen quite to the bottom, al-
though it was three fathoms and a half in depth."

On the 1 2th October, they began to sleep in the house,
although it was not completed. On the 21st, the greater
part of the provisions, furniture, and everything which might
be wanted was withdrawn from the ship, for they felt certain
that the sun was about to disappear. A chimney was fixed
in the center of the roof, inside a Dutch clock was hung up,
bed-places were formed along the walls, and a wine-cask
was converted into a bath, for the surgeon had wisely pre-
scribed to the men frequent bathing as a preservative of
health. The quantity of snow which fell during this winter,
was really marvelous. The house disappeared entirely be-

THE POLAR EXPEDITIONS 179

neath this thick covering, whicH, however, sensibly raised
the temperature within. Every time that they wished to
go forth, the Dutclimen were obHged to hollow out a long
corridor beneath the snow. Each night they first heard the
bears, and then the foxes, which walked upon the top of
the dwelling, and tried to tear off some planks from the roof,
that they might get into the house. So the sailors were ac-
customed to climb into the chimney, whence, as from a
watch-tower, they could shoot the animals and drive them
off. They had manufactured a great number of snares,
into which fell numibers of blue foxes, the valuable fur of
which served as a protection against cold, while their flesh
enabled the sailors to economize their provisions. Always
cheerful and good tempered, they bore equally well the ennui
of the long polar night, and the severity of the cold, which
was so extreme, that during two or three days, when they
had not been able to keep so large a fire as usual, on account
of the smoke being driven back again by the wind, it froze
so hard in the house, that the walls and the floor were
covered with ice to the depth of two flngers, even in the cots
where these poor people were sleeping. It was necessary to
thaw the sherry, when it was served out, as was done every
two days, at the rate of half a pint.

" On the 7th of December, the rough weather continued,
with a violent storm coming from the northeast, which pro-
duced horrible cold. We knew no means of guarding our-
selves against it, and while we were consulting together,
what we could do for the best, one of our men in this ex-
treme necessity proposed to make use of the coal which we
had brought from the ship into our house, and to make a
fire of it, because it burns with great heat and lasts a long
time. In the evening we lighted a large fire of this coal,
which threw out a great heat, but we did not provide against
what might happen, for as the heat revived us completely,
we tried to retain it for a long time. To this end we
thought it well to stop up all the doors and the chimney, to
keep in the delightful warmth. And thus, each went to
repose in his cot, and animated by the acquired warmth, we
discoursed long together. But in the end. we were seized
with a giddiness I'n the head, some, however, more than
others ; this was first perceived to be the case with one of our
men who was ill, and who for this reason had less power

i8o SEEKERS AND TRADERS

of resistance. And we also ourselves were sensible of a
great pain which attacked us, so that several of the bravest
came out of their cots and began by unstopping the chimney,
and afterwards opening the door. But the man who opened
the door fainted, and fell senseless upon the snow, on per-
ceiving which, I ran to him and found him lying on the
ground in a fainting fit. I went in haste to seek for some
vinegar, and with it I rubbed his face until he recovered from
his swoon. Afterwards, when we were somewhat restored,
the captain gave to each a little wine, in order to comfort
our hearts. . . ."

"On the nth, the weather continued fine, but so ex-
tremely cold, that no one who had not felt it could imagine
it; even our shoes, frozen to our feet, were as hard as horn,
and inside they were covered with ice in such a manner
that we could no longer use them. The garments which we
wore were quite white with frost and ice."

On Christmas Day, the 25th December, the weather was
as rough as on the preceding days. The foxes made havoc
upon the house, which one of the sailors declared to be a
bad omen, and upon being asked why he said so, answered,
"Because we can not put them in a pot, or on the spit, which
would have been a good omen."

If the year 1596 had closed with excessive cold, the com-
mencement of 1597 was not more agreeable. Most violent
storms of snow, and hard frost prevented the Dutchmen
from leaving the house. They celebrated Twelfth Night
with gaiety, as is related in the simple and touching narra-
tive of Gerrit de Veer. " For this purpose, we besought
the captain to allow us a little diversion in the midst of
our sufferings, and to let us use a part of the wine which
was destined to be served out to us every other day. Hav-
ing two pounds of flour we made some pancakes with oil,
and each one brought a white biscuit, which we soaked in
the wine and eat. And it seemed to us that we were in our
own country, and amongst our relations and friends ; and we
were as much diverted as if a banquet had been given in our
honor, so much did we relish our entertainment. We also
made a Twelfth-Night king, by means of paper, and our
master gunner was king of Nova Zembla, which is a country
enclosed between two seas, and of the great length of six
hundred miles."

THE POLAR EXPEDITIONS i8i

After the 21st January, the foxes became less numerous,
the bears reappeared, and daylight began to increase, which
enabled the Dutchmen, who had been so long confined to
the house, to go out a little. On the 24th, one of the sailors,
who had been long ill, died, and was buried in the snow at
some distance from the house. On the 28th, the weather
being very fine, the men all went out, walking about, running
for exercise, and playing at bowls, to take off the stiffness
of their limbs, for they were extremly weak, and nearly all
suffering from scurvy. They were so much enfeebled that
they were obliged to go to work several times before they
could carry to their house the wood which was needful. At
length in the first days of March, after several tempests and
driving snowstorms, they were able to verify the fact that
there was no ice in the sea. Nevertheless, the weather was
still rough and the cold glacial. It was not feasible as yet
to put to sea again, the rather because the ship was still em-
bedded in the ice. On the 15th of April, the sailors paid a
visit to her and found her in fairly good condition.

At the beginning of May the men became somewhat im-
patient, and asked Barentz if he were not soon intending to
make the necessary preparations for departure. But
Barentz answered that he must wait until the end of the
month, and then, if it should be impossible to set the ship
free, he would take measures to prepare the long-boats and
the launch, and to render them fit for a sea voyage. On
the 20th of the month the preparations for departure com-
menced ; with what joy and ardor it is easy to imagine. The
launch was repaired, the sails were mended, and both boats
were dragged to the sea, and provisions put on board Then,
seeing that the water was free, and that a strong wind was
blowing, Heemskerke went to seek Barentz, who had been
long ill, and declared to him " that it seemed good to him to
set out from thence, and in God's name to commence the
voyage and abandon Nova Zembla."

" William Barentz had before this written a paper setting
forth how we had started from Holland to go towards the
kingdom of China, and all that had happened, in order that,
if by chance, some one should come after us, it might be
known what had befallen us. This note he enclosed in the
case of a musket which he hung up in the chimney."

On the 13th June, 1597, the Dutchmen abandoned the

i82 SEEKERS AND TRADERS

ship, which had not stirred from her icy prison, and com-
mending themselves to the protection of God, the two open
boats put to sea. They reached the Orange Islands, and
again descended the western coast of Nova Zembla in the
midst of ceaselessly recurring dangers.

" On the 20th of June Nicholas Andrieu became very
weak, and we saw clearly that he would soon expire. The
lieutenant of the governor came on board our launch, and
told us that Nicholas Andrieu was very much indisposed,
and that it was very evident that his days would soon end.
Upon which, William Barcntz said, ' It appears to me that
my life also will be very short.' We did not imagine that
Barentz was so ill, for we were chatting together, and Wil-
liam Barentz was looking at the little chart which I had made
of our voyage, and we had various discourses together. Fin-
ally he laid down the chart, and said to me, ' Gerard, give me
something to drink.' After he had drunk, such weakness
supervened that his eyes turned in his head, and he died so
suddenly that we had not time to call the captain, who was
in the other boat. This death of William Barentz saddened
us greatly, seeing that he was our principal leader, and our
sole pilot, In whom we had placed our whole trust. But we
could not oppose the will of God, and this thought quieted
us a little." Thus died the illustrious Barentz, like his suc-
cessors Franklin and Hall, in the midst of his discoveries.
In the measured and sober words of the short funeral ora-
tion of Gerrit de Veer may be perceived the affection, sym-
pathy, and confidence which this brave sailor had been able
to inspire in his unfortunate companions. Barentz is one
of the glories of Holland, so prolific in brave and skillful
navigators.

After having been forced several times to haul the boats
out of the water when they were on the point of being
crushed between the blocks of ice ; after having seen on var-
ious occasions the sea open, and again close before them;
after having suffered both from thirst and hunger, the
Dutchmen reached Cape Nassau. One day, being obliged
to draw up the long-boat, which was in danger of being stove
in upon an iceberg, the sailors lost a part of their provisions
and were all deluged with water, for the ice broke away
under their feet. In the midst of so much misery they some-
times met with good windfalls. Thus, when they were

THE POLAR EXPEDITIONS 183

upon the ice on the Island of Crosses they found there
seventy eggs of the mountain-duck. " But they did not
know what they should put them in to carry them. At length
one man took off his breeches, tying them together by
the ends, and having put the eggs into them, they carried
them on a pike between two, while the third man carried the
musket. The eggs were very welcome, and we ate them
like lords." From the 19th July, the Dutchmen sailed over
a sea, which, if not altogether free from ice, was at least
clear of those great fields of ice which had given them so
much trouble to avoid. On the 28th July, when entering
the Gulf of St. Lawrence, they met with two Russian ves-
sels, which at first they dared not approach. But when they
saw the sailors come to them unarmed and with friendly
demonstrations, they put aside all fear, the rather as they
recognized in the Russians some people whom they had met
wuth the year before in the neighborhood of Waigatz. The
Dutchmen received son.'^ assistance from them, and then
continued their voyage, still keeping along the coast of Nova
Zembla, and as close in shore as the ice would allow. Upon
one occasion when they landed, they discovered the cochlearia
(scurvy-grass), a plant of which the leaves and seeds form
one of the most powerful of known antiscorbutics. They
ate them, therefore, by handfuls, and immediately ex-
perienced great relief. Their provisions were, however,
nearly exhausted; they had only a little bread remaining
and scarcely any meat. They decided therefore tc take to
the open sea, in order to shorten the distance which separated
them from the coast of Russia, where they hoped to fall in
with some fishermen's boats, from which they might obtain
assistance. In this hope they were not deceived, although
they had still many trials to undergo. The Russians were
much touched by their misfortunes, and consented on several
occasions to bestow provisions upon them, which prevented
the Dutch sailors from dying of hunger. In consequence
of a thick fog the two boats were separated from each other,
and did not come together again until some distance beyond
Cape Kanin on the further side of the White Sea, at Kildyn
Island, where some fishermen informed the Dutchmen that
at Kola there were three ships belonging to their nation,
which were ready to put to sea on their return to their own
country. They therefore despatched thither one of their

1 84 SEEKERS AND TRADERS

men accompanied by a Laplander, who returned three days
afterwards with a letter signed Jan Rijp. Great was the
astonishment of the Dutch at the sight of this signature.
It was only on comparing the letter just received with sev-
eral others which Heemskerke had in his possession, that
they were convinced that it really came from the captain,
who had accompanied them the preceding year. Some days
later, on the 30th September, Rijp himself arrived with a
boat laden with provisions, to seek them out and take them
to the Kola River, in which his ship was at anchor.

Rijp was greatly astonished at all that they related to him,
and at the terrible voyage of nearly 1,200 miles which they
had made, and which had not taken less than 104 days —
namely, from the 13th June to the 25th September. Some
days of repose accompanied by wholesome and abundant
food sufficed to clear off the last remains of scurvy, and to
refresh the sailors after their fatigues. On the 17th Sep-
tember, Jan Rijp left the Kola River, and on the ist Novem-
ber the Dutch crew arrived at Amsterdam. " We had on,"
says Gerrit de Veer, " the same garments which we wore in
Nova Zembla, having on our heads caps of white fox-skin,
and we repaired to the house of Peter Hasselaer, who had
been one of the guardians of the town of Amsterdam charged'
with presiding over the fitting out of the two ships of Jan
Rijp and of our own captain. Arrived at this house, in
the midst of general astonishment, because that we had been
long thought to be dead, and this report had been spread
throughout the town, the news of our arrival reached the
palace of the prince, where there were then at table the
Chancellor, and the Ambassador of the high and mighty
King of Denmark and Norway, of the Goths and the Van-
dals. We were then brought before them by M. I'Ecoutets
and two lords of the town, and we gave to the said lord
Ambassador, and to their lordships the burgomasters, a nar-
rative of our voyage. Afterwards each of us retired to his
own house."

The spot where the unfortunate Barentz and his com-
panions had wintered was not revisited until 1871, nearly
three hundred years after their time. The first to double
the northern point of Nova Zembla, Barentz had remained
alone in the achievement until this period. On the 7th
September, 1871, the Norwegian Captain, Elling Carlsen,

THE POLAR EXPEDITIONS 185

well known by his numerous voyages in the North Sea and
the Frozen Ocean, arrived at the ice haven of Barentz, and
on the 9th he discovered the house which had sheltered the
Dutchmen. It was in such a wonderful state of preservation
that it seemed to have been built but a day, and everything
was found in the same position as at the departure of the
shipwrecked crew. Bears, foxes, and other creatures in-
habitating these inhospitable regions had alone visited the
spot. Around the house were standing some large
puncheons and there were heaps of seal, bear, and walrus
bones. Inside, everything was in its place.. Amongst the
household utensils, the arms, and the various objects brought
away by Captain Carlsen, we may mention two copper cook-
ing-pans, some goblets, gun-barrels, augers and chisels, a
pair of boots, nineteen cartridge-cases, of which some were
still filled with powder, the clock, a flute, some locks and
padlocks, twenty-six pewter candlesticks, some fragments
of engravings, and three books in Dutch, one of which, the
last edition of Mendoza's " History of China " shows the
goal which Barentz sought in this expedition, and a
" Manual of Navigation " proves the care taken by the pilot
to keep himself well up in all professional matters.

CHAPTER IV

VOYAGES OF ADVENTURE AND PRIVATEERING WARFARE

A VERY poor cottage at Tavistock in Devonshire was the
birthplace, in 1540, of Francis Drake, who was destined to
gain millons by his indomitable courage, which, however,
he lost with as much facility as he had obtained them.
Edmund Drake, his father, was one of those clergy who de-
vote themselves to the education of the people. His pov-
erty was only equalled by the respect which was felt for
his character. Burdened with a family as he was, the father
of Francis Drake found himself obliged from necessity to
allow his son to embrace the maritime profession, for which
he had an ardent longing, and to serve as cabin-boy on
board a coasting vessel which traded with Holland. In-
dustrious, active, self-reliant, and saving, the young Francis
Drake had soon acquired all the theoretical knowledge
needed for the direction of a vessel. When he had realized

186 SEEKERS AND TRADERS

a small sum, which was increased by the sale of a vessel
bequeathed to him by his first master, he made more ex-
tended voyages; he visited the Bay of Biscay and the Gulf
of Guinea, and laid out all his capital in purchasing a cargo
which he hoped to sell in the West Indies. But no sooner
had he arrived at Rio de la Hacha, than both ship and cargo
were confiscated, we know not under what frivolous pre-
text. All the remonstrances of Drake, who thus saw him-
self ruined, were useless. He vowed to avenge himself for
such a piece of injustice, and he kept his word.

In 1567, two years after this adventure, a small fleet of
six vessels, of which the largest was of 700 tons' burden,
left Plymouth with the sanction of the Queen, to make an
expedition to the coasts of Mexico. Drake was in command
of a ship of fifty tons. At first starting they captured some
negroes on the Cape de Verd Islands, a sort of rehearsal
of what was destined to take place in Mexico. Then they
besieged La Mina, where some more negroes were taken,
which they sold at the Antilles. Hawkins, doubtless by
the advice of Drake, captured the town of Rio de la Hacha;
after which he reached St. Jean d'Ulloa, having encoun-
tered a fearful storm. But the harbor contained a numerous,
fleet, and was defended by formidable artillery. The Eng-
lish fleet was defeated, and Drake had much difficulty in
regaining the English coast in January, 1568.

Drake afterwards made two expeditions to the West In-
dies for the purpose of studying the country. When he
considered himself to have acquired the necessary informa-
tion, he fitted out two vessels at his own expense : the Swan,
of twenty-five tons, commanded by his brother John, and
the Pasha of Plymouth, of seventy tons. The two vessels
had as crew seventy-three jack-tars, who could be thor-
oughly depended on. From July, 1572, to August, 1573,
sometimes alone, sometimes in concert with a certain Cap-
tain Rawse, Drake made a lucrative cruise upon the coasts
of the Gulf of Darien, attacked the towns of Vera Cruz
and of Nombre de Dios, and obtained considerable spoil.
Unfortunately these enterprises were not carried out with-
out much cruelty and many acts of violence which would
make men of the present day blush. But we will not dwell
upon the scenes of piracy and barbarity which are only too
frequently met with in the sixteenth century.

VOYAGES OF ADVENTURE 187

After assisting in the suppression of the rebellion in Ire-
land, Drake, whose name was beginning to be well known,
was presented to Queen Elizabeth. He laid before her his
project of going to ravage the western coasts of South
America, by passing through the Strait of Magellan, and he
obtained, with the title of admiral, a fleet of six vessels,
on board of which were 160 picked sailors.

Francis Drake started from Plymouth on the 15th Nov-
ember, 1577. He had some intercourse with the Moors of
Mogador, of which he had no reason to boast, made some
captures of small importance before arriving at the Cape
de Verd Islands, where he took in fresh provisions, and then
was fifty-six days in crossing the Atlantic and reaching the
coast of Brazil, which he followed as far as the estuary of
La Plata, where he laid in a supply of water. He after-
wards arrived at Seal Bay in Patagonia, where he traded
with the natives, and killed a great number of penguins and
sea-wolves for the nourishment of his crew . On the 3rd
June, Drake reached the harbour of St. Julian, where he
found a gibbet erected of yore by Magellan for the punish-
ment of some rebellious members of his crew. Drake, in
his turn, chose this spot to rid himself of one of his cap-
tains, named Doughty, who had been long accused of trea-
son and underhand dealing, and who on several occasions
had separated himself from the fleet. Some sailors having
confessed that he had solicited them to join with him in
frustrating the voyage. Doughty was convicted of the crimes
of rebellion, and of tampering with the sailors, and accord-
ing to the laws of England, he was condemned by a court
martial to be beheaded. This sentence was immediately
executed, although Doughty until the last moment vehe-
mently declared his innocence. Was his guilt thoroughly
proved? If Drake were accused upon his return to Eng-
land — in spite of the moderation which he always evinced
towards his men, — of having taken advantage of the oppor-
tunity to get rid of a rival whom he dreaded, it is difficult
to conceive that the forty judges who pronounced the sen-
tence should have concerted together to further the secret
designs of their admiral and condemn an innocent man.

On the 20th of August, the fleet, now reduced to three
vessels — two of the ships having been so much damaged
that they were at once destroyed by the admiral — entered

i88 SEEKERS AND TRADERS

the strait, which had not been traversed since the time of
Magellan. Although he met with fine harbors, Drake found
that it was difficult to anchor in them, on account both of
the depth of the water close to the shore, and of the violence
of the wind, which, blowing as it did in sudden squalls,
rendered navigation dangerous. During a storm which was
encountered at the point where the strait opens into the
Pacific, Drake beheld one of his ships founder, while his
last companion was separated from him a few days after-
wards, nor did he see her again until the end of the cam-
paign. Driven by the currents to the south of the strait
as far as 55° 40', Drake had now only his own vessel; but
by the injury which he did to the Spaniards, he showed
what ravages he would have committed if he had had still
under his command the fleet with which he left England.
During a descent upon the island of Mocha, the English
had two men killed and several wounded, while Drake him-
self, hit by two arrows on the head, found himself utterly
unable to punish the Indians for their perfidy. In the har-
bor of Valparaiso he captured a vessel richly laden with
the wines of Chili, and with ingots of gold valued at 37,000
ducats; afterwards he pillaged the town, which had been
precipitately abandoned by its inhabitants. At Coquimbo,
the people were forewarned of his approach, so that he found
there a strong force, which obliged him to re-embark.
At Arica he plundered three small vessels, in one of which
he found fifty-seven bars of silver valued at 2,006/. In the
harbor of Lima, where were moored twelve ships or barks,
the booty was considerable. But what most rejoiced the
heart of Drake was to learn that a galleon named the Caga-
fuego, very richly laden, was sailing towards Paraca. He im-
mediately went in pursuit, capturing on the way a bark carry-
ing 80 lbs. of gold, which would be worth 14,080 French
crowns, and in the latitude of San Francisco he seized with-
out any difficulty the Cagafuego, in which he found 80 lbs.
weight of gold. This caused the Spanish pilot to say, laugh-
ing, " Captain, our ship ought no longer to be called Caga-
fuego (spit-fire), but rather Caga-Plata (spit money), it is
yours which should be named Caga-Fuego." After making
some other captures more or less valuable, upon the Peru-
vian coast, Drake, learning that a considerable fleet was be-
ing prepared to oppose him, thought it time to return to

VOYAGES OF ADVENTURE 189

England. For this, there were three different routes open
to him: he might again pass the Strait of Magellan, or he
might cross the Southern Sea, and doubling the Cape of
Good Hope might so return to the Atlantic Ocean, or he
could sail up the coast of China and return by the Frozen
Sea and the North Cape. It was this last alternative, as
being the safest of the three, which was adopted by Drake.
He therefore put out to sea, reached the 38° of north lati-
tude, and landed on the shore of the Bay of San Francisco,
which had been discovered three years previously by Bodega.

The details given by Drake of his reception by the na-
tives, are curious enough : " When we arrived, the savages
manifested great admiration at the sight of us, and thinking
that we were gods, they received us with great humanity and
reverence. As long as we remained, they continued to
come and visit us, sometimes bringing us beautiful plumes
made of feathers of divers colors, and sometimes petun
(tobacco) which is a herb in general use among the In-
dians. But before presenting these things to us, they
stopped at a little distance, in a spot where we had pitched
our tents. Then they made a long discourse after the man-
ner of a harangue, and when they had finished, they laid
aside their bows and arrows in that place, and approached
us to offer their presents."

" The first time they came their women remained in the
same place, and scratched and tore the skin and flesh of
their cheeks, lamenting themselves in a wonderful manner,
whereat we were much astonished. But we have since
learnt that it was a kind of sacrifice which they offered to
us."

The facts given by Drake with regard to the Indians of
California are almost the only ones which he furnishes upon
the manners and customs of the nations which he visited.
We would draw the reader's attention here, to that custom
of long harangues which the traveler especially remarks, just
as Cartier had observed upon it forty years earlier, and
which is so noticeable amongst the Canadian Indians at the
present day. Drake did not advance farther north and gave
up his project of returning by the Frozen Sea. When he
again set sail, it was to descend towards the Line, to reach
the Moluccas, and to return to England by the Cape of
Good Hope. As this part of the voyage deals with countries

IQO SEEKERS AND TRADERS

already known, and as the observations made by Drake are
neither numerous nor novel, our narrative here shall be
brief.

On the 13th of October, 1579, Drake arrived in latitude
8° north, at a group of islands of which the inhabitants had
their ears much lengthened by the weight of the ornaments
suspended to them; their nails were allowed to grow, and
appeared to serve as defensive weapons, while their teeth,
" black as ship's pitch," contractd this color from the use of
the betel-nut. After resting for a time, Drake passed by
the Philippines, and on the 14th of November arrived at
Ternate. The king of this island came alongside, with four
canoes bearing his principal officers dressed in their state
costumes. After an interchange of vicilities and presents, the
English received some rice, sugar-canes, fowls, figo, cloves,
and sago. On the morrow, some of the sailors who had
landed, were present at a council. " When the king arrived,
a rich umbrella or parasol all embroidered in gold was
borne before him. He was dressed after the fashion of his
country, but with extreme magnificence, for he was envel-
oped from the shoulders with a long cloak of cloth of gold
reaching to the ground. He wore as an ornament upon the
head, a kind of turban made of the same stuff, all worked in
fine gold and enriched with jewels and tufts. On his neck
there hung a fine gold chain many times doubled, and
formed of broad links. On his fingers, he had six rings of
very valuable stones, and his feet were encased in shoes of
morocco leather."

After remaining some time in the country to refresh his
crew, Drake again put to sea, but his ship on the 9th of
January, 1 580, struck on a rock, and to float her oflf it was
necessary to throw overboard eight pieces of ordnance and
a large quantity of provisions. A month later, Drake arrived
at Baratena Island where he repaired his ship. This island
afforded much silver, gold, copper, sulphur, spices, lemons,
cucumbers, cocoa-nuts, and other delicious fruits. " We
loaded our vessels abundantly with these, being able to
certify that since our departure from England we have not
visited any place where we have found more comforts in the
way of food and fresh provisions than in this island and
that of Ternate."

After quitting this richly endowed island, Drake landed

VOYAGES OF ADVENTURE 1911

at Greater Java, where he was very warmly welcomed by
the five kings amongst whom the island was partitioned,
and by the inhabitants. " These people are of a fine degree
of corpulence, they are great connoisseurs in arms, with
which they are well provided, such as swords, daggers, and
bucklers, and all these arms are made with much art."
Drake had been some little time at Java when he learnt that
not far distant there was a powerful fleet at anchor, which
he suspected must belong to Spain ; to avoid it he put to sea
in all haste. He doubled the Cape of Good Hope during
the first days of June, and after stopping at Sierra Leone
to take in water, he entered Plymouth Harbour on the 3rd
November, 1580, after an absence of three years all but a
few days.

The reception which awaited him in England was at first
extremely cold. His having fallen by surprise both upon
Spanish towns and ships, at a time when the two nations
were at peace, rightly caused him to be regarded by a portion
of society as a pirate, who tramples under foot the rights of
nations. For five months the Queen herself, under the pres-
sure of diplomatic proprieties, pretended to be ignorant of
his return. But at the end of that time, either because cir-
cumstances had altered, or because she did not wish to show
herself any longer severe towards the skillful sailor, she
repaired to Deptford where Drake's ship was moored, went
on board, and conferred the honor of knighthood upon the
navigator.

From this period Drake's part as a discoverer is ended,
and his after-life as a warrior and as the implacable enemy
of the Spaniards does not concern us. Loaded with honors,
and invested with important commands, Drake died at sea-
on the 28th January, 1596, during an expedition against
the Spaniards.

To him pertains the honor of having been the second to
pass through the Strait of Magellan, and to have visited
Terra del Fuego as far as the parts about Cape Horn.
He also ascended the coast of North America to a point
higher than any of his predecessors had attained, and he
discovered several islands and archipelagos. Being a very
clever navigator, he made the transit through the Strait of
Magellan with great rapidity. If there are but very few
discoveries due to him, this is probably either because he

192 SEEKERS AND TRADERS

neglected to record them in his journal, or because he often
mentions them in so inaccurate a manner that it is scarcely
possible to recognize the places. It was he who inaugurated
that privateering warfare by which the English, and later
on the Dutch, were destined to inflict much injury upon the
Spaniards. And the large profits accruing to him from it,
encouraged his contemporaries, and gave birth in their minds
to the love for long and hazardous voyages.

One year after the return of the companions of Barentz,
two ships, the Mauritius and the H endrik-Fredrik , with two
yachts, the Eendracht and Esperance, having on board a
crew of 248 men, quitted Amsterdam on the 2nd July, 1598.
The commander-in-chief of this squadron was Oliver de
Noort, a man at that time about thirty or thereabouts, and
well known as having made several long cruising voyages.
His second in command and vice-admiral was Jacob Claaz
d'Ulpenda, and as pilot there was a certain Melis, a skillful
sailor of English origin. This expedition, fitted out by the
merchants of Amsterdam with the concurrence and aid of
the States-General of Holland, had a double purpose; at
once commercial and military. Formerly the Dutch had
contented themselves with fetching from Portugal the mer-
chandise which they distributed by means of their coasting
vessels throughout Europe; but now they were reduced to
the necessity of going to seek the commodities in the scene
of their production. For this object, De Noort was to show
his countrymen the route inaugurated by Magellan, and on
the way to inflict as much injury as he could upon the Span-
iards and Portuguese. At this period Philip II., whose yoke
the Dutch had shaken off, and who had just added Portugal
to his possessions, had forbidden his subjects to have any
commercial intercourse with the rebels of the Low Coun-
tries.. It was thus a necessity for Holland if she did not
wish to be ruined, and as a consequence, to fall anew under
Spanish rule, to open up for herself a road to the Spice
Islands. The route which was the least frequented by the
enemy's ships was that by the Strait of Magellan, and this
was the one which De Noort was ordered to follow.

After touching at Goree, the Dutch anchored in the Gulf
of Guinea, at the Island do Principe. Here the Portuguese
pretended to give a friendly welcome to the men who went
on shore, but they took advantage of a favorable opportunity,

V. XV Verne

VOYAGES OF ADVENTURE 193

to fall upon and massacre them without mercy. It was a
sorrowful commencement for a campaign, a sad presage
which was destined not to remain unfulfilled. De Noort,
who was furious over this foul play, landed from his ships
120 men; but he found the Portuguese so well entrenched,
that after a brisk skirmish in which seventeen more of his
men were either killed or wounded, he was obliged to weigh
anchor without having been able to avenge the wicked and
cowardly perfidy to which his brother and twelve of his
companions had fallen victims. On the 25th December, one
of the pilots named Jan Volkers, was abandoned on the
African coast as a punishment for his disloyal intrigues,
for endeavoring to foment a spirit of despondency amongst
the crews, and for his well-proven rebellion. On the 5th
January, the island of Annobon, situated in the Gulf of
Guinea, a little below the Line, was sighted, and the course
of the ships was changed for crossing the Atlantic. De
Noort had scarcely cast anchor in the Bay of Rio Janeiro
before he sent some sailors on shore to obtain water and
buy provisions from the natives; but the Portuguese op-
posed the landing, and killed eleven men. Afterwards, re-
pulsed from the coast of Brazil by the Portuguese and the
natives, driven back by contrary winds, having made vain ef-
forts to reach the island of St. Helena, where they had hoped
to obtain the provisions of which they were in the most
pressing want, the Dutchmen, deprived of their pilot, toss at
random upon the ocean. They land upon the desert islands
of Martin Vaz, again reach the coast of Brazil at Rio Doce,
which they mistake for Ascension Island, and are finally
obliged to winter in the desert island of Santa Clara. The
putting into port at this place was marked by several dis-
agreeable events. The flag-ship struck upon a rock with so
much violence that had the sea been a little rougher, she must
have been lost. There were also some bloody and barbarous
executions of mutinous sailors, notably that of a poor man
who having wounded a pilot with a knife thrust, was con-
demned to have his hand nailed to the mainmast. The in-
valids, of whom there were many on board the fleet, were
brought on shore, and nearly all were cured by the end of
a fortnight. From the 2nd to the 21st of June, De Noort
remained on this island, which was not more than three miles
from the mainland. But before putting to sea he was

194 SEEKERS AND TRADERS

obliged to burn the Eendracht, as he had not sufficient men
to work her. It was not until the 20th December, after hav-
ing been tried by many storms, that he was able to cast an-
chor in Port Desire, where the crew killed in a few days a
quantity of dog-fish and sea-lions, as well as more than
five thousand penguins, " The general landed," says the
French translation of De Noort's narrative, published by De
Bry, " with a party of armed men, but they saw nobody,
only some graves placed on high situations among the rocks,
in which the people bury their dead, putting upon the grave
a great quantity of stones, all painted red, having besides
adorned the graves with darts, plumes of feathers, and other
singular articles which they use as arms."

The Dutch saw also, but at too great a distance to shoot
them, buffalos, stags, and ostriches, and from a single nest
they obtained ten ostrich eggs. Captain Jacob Jansz Huy de
Cooper, died during the stay at this place, and was interred
at Port Desire. One the 23d of November, the fleet entered
the Strait of Magellan. During a visit to the shore three
Dutchmen were killed by some Patagonians, and their death
was avenged by the massacre of a whole tribe of Enoos.
The long navigation through the narrows and the lakes of
the Strait of Magellan was signalized by the meeting with
two Dutch ships, under the command of Sebald de Weerdt,
who had wintered not far from the Bay of Mauritius, and
by the abandoning of Vice-admiral Claaz, who, as it would
appear, had been several times guilty of insubordination.
Are not these acts, which we see so frequently committed by
English, Dutch, and Spanish navigators, a true sign of the
times? A deed which we should regard noAV-a-days as one
of terrible barbarity seemed, doubtless, a relatively mild
punishment in the eyes of men so accustomed to set but little
value upon human life. Nevertheless, could anything be
more cruel than to abandon a man in a desert country, with-
out arms and without provisions, to put him on shore in a
country peopled by ferocious cannibals, prepared to make a
repast on his flesh; what was it but condemning him to a
horrible death?

On the 29th of February, 1600, De Noort, after having
been ninety-nine days in passing through the strait, came out
on to the Pacific Ocean. A fortnight later, a storm separated
him from the Hendrik Fredrik, which was never again heard

VOYAGES OF ADVENTURE 195

of. As for De Noort, who had now with him only one
yacht besides his own vessel, he cast anchor at the island of
Mocha, and, unlike the experience of his predecessors, he
was very well received by the natives. Afterwards he sailed
along the coast of Chili, where he was able to obtain provi-
sions in abundance in exchange for Nuremberg knives,
hatchets, shirts, hats, and other articles of no great value.
After ravaging, plundering, and burning several towns on
the Peruvian coast, after sinking all the vessels that he met
with, and amassing a considerable booty, De Noort, hearing
that a squadron commanded by the brother of the viceroy,
Don Luis de Velasco, had been sent in pursuit of him;
judged it time to make for the Ladrone Islands, where he
anchored on the i6th of September. " The inhabitants
came around our ship with more than 200 canoes, there
being three, four, or five men in each canoe, crying out all
together: * Hierro, hierro ' (iron, iron), which is greatly in
request amongst them. They are as much at home in the
water as upon land, and are very clever divers, as we per-
ceived when we threw five pieces of iron into the sea, which
a single man went to search for." De Noort could testify
unfortunately, that these islands well deserved their name.
The islanders tried even to drag the nails out of the ship,
and carried off everything upon which they could lay their
hands. One of them, having succeeded in climbing along a
part of the rigging, had the audacity to enter a cabin and
seize upon a sword, with which he threw himself into the
sea.

On the 14th October following, De Noort traversed the
Philippine Archipelago, where he made several descents, and
burnt, plundered, or sunk a number of Spanish or Por-
tuguese vessels, and some Chinese junks. While cruising in
the Strait of Manilla he was attacked by two large Spanish
vessels, and in the battle which followed the Dutch had five
men killed, and twenty-five wounded and lost their brigan-
tine, which was captured with her crew of twenty-five men.
The Spaniards lost more than 200 men, for their flag-ship
caught fire and sank. Far from picking up the wounded and'
the able-bodied men, who were trying to save themselves by
swimming, the Dutch, " making way with sails set on the
foremast, across the heads which were to be seen in the
water, pierced some with lances, and also discharged their

196 SEEKERS AND TRADERS

cannon over them." After this bloody and fruitless victory,
De Noort went to recruit at Borneo, captured a rich cargo
of spices at Java, and having doubled the Cape of Good
Hope, landed at Rotterdam on the 26th of August, having
only one ship and forty-eight men remaining. If the mer-
chants who had defrayed the expenses of the expedition ap-
proved of the conduct of De Noort, who brought back a
cargo which more than reimbursed them for their enpendi-
ture, and who had taught his countrymen the way to the
Indies, it behoves us, while extolling his qualities as a sailor,
to take great exception to the manner in which he exercised
the command, and to mete out sever blame for the barbar-
ity which has left a stain of blood upon the first Dutch
voyage of circumnavigation.

CHAPTER V

MISSIONARIES AND SETTLERS

The seventeenth century has a distinctive character of its
own, differing from that of the preceding century in the fact
that nearly all the great discoveries had been already made,
and that the work of this whole period consists almost ex-
clusively in perfecting the information already acquired. It
contrasts equally with the century which succeeded it, be-
cause scientific methods were not yet applied by astronomers
and sailors, as they were 100 years later. It appears in fact,
that the narratives of the first explorers — who were only
able, so to speak, to obtain a glimpse of the regions which
they traversed while waging their wars, — may have in some
degree exercised a baneful influence upon the public mind.
Curiosity, in the narrowest sense of the word, was carried
to an extreme. Men traveled over the world to gain an
idea of the manners and customs of each nation, of the pro-
ductions and manufactures of each country, but there was
no real study. They behold, curiosity is satisfied, and they
pass on. The observations made do not penetrate beneath
the surface, and the great object appears to be to visit, as
rapidly as may be, all the regions which the sixteenth cen-
tury has brought to light.

Besides, the abundance of the wealth diffused on a sud-
den over the whole of Europe had caused an economic crisis.

1

MISSIONARIES AND SETTLERS 197,

Commerce, like industry, was transformed and altered.
New ways were opened, new wants created, luxury in-
creased, and the eagerness to make a fortune rapidly by
.speculation turned the heads of many. If Venice from a
commercial point of view was dead, the Dutch constituted
themselves, to use a happy expression of M. Leroy-Beaulieu,
*' the carriers and agents of Europe," and the English were
preparing to lay the foundations of their vast colonial em-
pire.

To the merchants succeed the missionaries. They alight
in large numbers upon the newly discovered countries,
preaching the Gospel, civilizing the barbarous nations, study-
ing and describing the country. The development of Apos-
tolic zeal is one of the dominant features of the seventeenth:
century, and it behoves us to recognize all that geography
and historic science owe to these devoted, learned, and un-
assuming men. The traveler only passes through a coun-
try, the missionary dwells in it. The latter has evidently
much greater facilities for acquiring an intimate knowledge
of the history and civilization of the nations which he
studies. It is, therefore, very natural that we should owe to
them narratives of journeys, descriptions, and histories,
which are still consulted with advantage, and which have
served as a basis for later works.

If there be any country to which these reflections more
particularly apply, it is to Africa, and especially to Abys-
sinia. How much of this vast triangular contintnt of
Africa was known in the seventeenth century? Nothing
but the coasts, it will be said. A mistake. From the earli-
est times the two branches of the Nile, the Astapus and the
Bahr-el-Abiad, had been known to the ancients. They had
even advanced — if the lists of countries and nations discov-
ered at Karnak by M. Mariette may be believed — as far as
the great lakes of the interior. In the twelfth century, the
Arab geographer Edrisi writes an excellent description of
Africa for Roger II. of Sicily, and confirms these data.
Later on, Cadamosto and Ibn Batuta travel over Africa,
and the latter goes as far as Timbuctoo. Marco Polo af-
firms that Africa is only united to Asia by the Isthmus of
Suez, and he visits Madagascar. Lastly, when the Portu-
guese, led by Vasco da Gama, have completed the circum-
navigation of Africa, some of them remain in Abyssinia,

figS SEEKERS AND TRADERS

and in a short time diplomatic relations are established be-
tween that country and Portugal. We have already said
something of Francesco Alvarez; in his train several Portu-
guese missionaries settle in the country, amongst whom must
be named Fathers Paez and Lobo.

Father Paez left Goa in 1588 to preach Christianity upon
the eastern coast of North Africa. After long and sad
mishaps, he landed at Massowah in Abyssinia, traversed the
country, and in 161 8 pushed on as far as the sources of the
Blue Nile, — a discovery the authenticity of which Bruce was
hereafter to dispute, but of which the narrative differs only
in some unimportant particulars from that of the Scotch
traveler. In 1604, Paez, arrived at the court of the king
Za Denghel, had preached with such success that he had
converted the king and all his court. He had even acquired
so great an influence over the Abyssinian monarch, that the
latter, in writing to the Pope and to the King of Spain to
offer them his friendship, asked them to send him men fitted
to teach his people.

Father Geronimo Lobo landed in Abyssinia with Alfonzo
Meneses, patriarch of Ethiopia, in 1625. But times were
greatly changed. The king converted by Paez had been
murdered, and bis successor, who had summoned the Portu-
guese missionaries, died after a short time. A violent re-
vulsion of feeling ensued against the Christians, and the
missionaries were driven away, imprisoned, or given up
to the Turks. Lobo was charged with the mission of ob-
taining the sum necessary for the ransom of his companions.
After many wanderings, which led him to Brazil, Cartha-
gena, Cadiz, and Seville, to Lisbon and to Rome, where he
gave the Pope and the King of Spain numerous and ac-
curate details upon the Church of Ethiopia and the manners
of the inhabitants, he made a last journey in India, and re-
turned to Lisbon to die, in 1678.

Christianity had been introduced into the Congo, upon the
Atlantic coast, in 1489, the year of its discovery by the
Portuguese. At first Dominicans were sent; but as they
made scarce any progress, the Pope, with the consent of the
King of Portugal, despatchel thither some Italian Capuchins.
These were Carli de Placenza in 1667, Giovanni Antonio
Cavazzi, from 1654 to 1668, afterwards Antonio Zucchelli
and Gradisca, from 1696 to 1704. We mention these mis-

MISSIONARIES AND SETTLERS 199

sionaries particularly because they published accounts of
their journeys. Cavazzi explored in succession Angola, the
country of Matamba, and the islands of Coanza and Loana.
In the ardor of his apostolic zeal, he could devise no better
means of converting the blacks than by burning their idols,
Rebuking the kings for the time-honored custom of polyg-
amy, and subjecting to torture, or to being torn with whips,
those who relapsed into idolatry. Notwithstanding all this,
he gained considerable ascendancy over the natives, which,
a it had been well directed, might have produced very use-
ful results in the development of civilization and the progress
of religion. The same reproach is due also to Father Zuc-
chelli and to the other missionaries in Congo. The narra-
tive of Cava«zi, published at Rome in 1687, asserted that
Portuguese influence extended from 200 to 300 miles from
the coast, and that in the interior there existed a very im-
portant town, known by the name of San Salvador.

At the close of the fourteenth century Pigafetta published
the account of the journey of Duarte Lopez, ambassador
from the King of Congo to the Courts of Rome and Lisbon.
A map which accompanies this narrative presents to us a
Lake Zambre, in the very place occupied by Lake Tangan-
yika, and more to the west. Lake Acque Lunda, from whence
issued the Congo River; south of the equator two lakes are
indicated, one the Lake of the Nile, the other, more to the
east, bears the name of Colue; they appear to be the Albert
and the Victoria Nyanza. This most curious information
was rejected by the geographers of the nineteenth century,
>vho left blank the whole interior of Africa.

Upon the west coast of Africa at the mouth of the Sene-
gal, the French had established settlements which, under
the skillful administration of Andrew Brue, speedily received
considerable extension. Brue, Commandant for the King
and Director-general of the Royal French Company upon the
Senegal Coast and in other parts of 'Africa — so ran his of-
ficial title — although he may be little known, and the article
which treats of him may be one of the most curtailed in the
great collections of biography, deserves to occupy one of
the most prominent positions among colonizers and explor-
ers. Not content with extending the colony as far as its
present limits, he explored countries which have been only
lately revisited by Lieutenant Mage, or which have not

200 SEEKERS AND TRADERS

been visited at all since Brue's time. He carried the French
outposts eastwards above the junction of the Senegal and
the Faleme, northwards as far as Arguin, and southwards
as far as the island of Bissao. He explored in the interior
Galam and Bambouk, so rich in gold, and collected the
earliest documents concerning the Pouls, Peuls or Fouls,
the Yoloffs and the Mussulmen, who coming from the
north, attempted the religious conquest of all the black na-
tions of the country. The information thus collected by
Brue about the history and migrations of these various peo-
ple is of the greatest value, affording clear light, even in
the present day, to the geographer and the historian.

Of Indo-China and Thibet the only information which
reached Europe during the whole of the seventeenth century
was due to the missionaries. Such names as Father Alex-
andre de Rhodes, Ant. d'Andrada, Avril, Benedict Goes,
may not be passed over in silence. In their 'Annual Letters
is to be found a quantity of information, which even in
the present day retains a real interest, as concerning regions
so long closed against Europeans. In Cochin China and
Tonkin, Father Tachard devoted himself to astronomical ob-
servations, of which the result was to prove by the most con-
clusive evidence the great errors in the longitudes given by
Ptolemy. This called the attention of the learned world to
the necessity of a reform in the graphic representation of
the countries of the extreme east, and for attaining this end,
to the absolute need of close observations made by specially
qualified scientific men, or by navigators familiar with as-
tronomical calculations. The country which especially at-
tracted the missionaries was China, that enormous and pop-
ulous empire, which ever since the arrival of Europeans in
India, had persevered with the greatest strictness in the ab-
surd policy of abstention from any intercourse whatsoever
with foreigners. It was not until the close of the sixteenth
century that the missionaries obtained the permission, so
often demanded before in vain, to penetrate into the Middle
Empire. Their knowledge of mathematics and astronomy
facilitated their settlement and enabled them to gather, as
well from the ancient annals of the country, as during their
journeys, a prodigious quantity of most valuable informa-
tion concerning the history, ethnography, and geography of
the Celestial Empire. Fathers Mendoza, Ricci, Trigault,

MISSIONARIES AND SETTLERS 201

Visdelou, Lecomte, Verbiest, Navarrete, Schall, an'd Mar-
tini, deserve especial mention for having carried to China
the arts and sciences of Europe, while they diffused in the
west the first accurate and precise information upon the un-
progressive civilization of the Flowery Land.

CHAPTER VI

MERCHANTS AND TOURISTS

The Dutch were not slow in perceiving the weakness and
decadence of the Portuguese power in Asia. They felt
with how much ease a clever and prudent nation might in
a short time become possessed of the whole commerce of
the extreme east. After a considerable number of private
expeditions and voyages of reconnaissance they had founded
in 1602 that celebrated Company of the Indies which was
destined to raise to so high a pitch the wealth and prosperity
of the metropolis. Equally in its strife with the Portuguese
as in its dealing with the natives, the company pursued a
very skillful policy of moderation. Far from founding col-
onies, or repairing and occupying the fortresses which they
took from the Portuguese, the Dutch bore themselves as
simple traders, exclusively occupied with their commerce.
They avoided building any fortified factory, except at the
intersection of the great commercial roads. Thus they were
able in a short time to seize all the carrying trade between
India, China, Japan, and Oceania. The one fault commit-
ted by the all-powerful company w^as the concentrating in
its own liands a monopoly of the trade in spices. It drove
away the foreigners who had settled in the Moluccas or in
the Islands of Sunda, or who came thither to obtain a cargo
of spices; it even went the length, in order to raise the
price of this valuable commodity, of proscribing the cultiva-
tion of certain spices in a large number of the islands, and
of forbidding, under pain of death, the exportation and sale
of seeds and cuttings of the spice-producing trees. In a
few years the Dutch were established in Java, Sumatra,
Borneo, the Moluccas, and at the Cape of Good Hope, har-
bors the best placed for ships returning to Europe.

It was at this time that a rich merchant of Amsterdam,
Jacob Lemaire, in concert with a skillful mariner, named

202 SEEKERS AND TRADERS

.William Cornelius Schouten, conceived a project for reach-
ing the Indies by a new route. The Dutch States-General
had in fact forbidden any subject of the United Provinces,
not in the pay of the Company of the Indies, from going
to the Spice Islands by way of the Cape of Good Hope or
of the Strait of Magellan. Schouten, according to some,
Lemaire, according to others, had formed the idea of elud-
ing this interdict by seeking a passage to the south of Magel-
lan's Strait. This much is certain, that Lemaire bore one-
half of the expense of the expedition, while Schouten, by
the aid of several merchants whose names have been handed
down to us, and v/ho filled the chief offices in the town of
Hoorn, provided the other half. They fitted out the Con-
corde, a vessel of 360 tons, and a yacht, carrying together
a crew of sixty-five men, and twenty-nine cannon. This
was certainly an equipment but little in accordance with the
magnitude of the enterprise. But Schouten was a skillful
mariner, the crew had been carefully chosen, and the vessels
were abundantly furnished with provisions and spare rig-
ging. Lemaire was commissioner, and Schouten the captain
of the ship. The destination was kept secret, and officers
and crew entered into an unlimited engagement to go wher-
ever they might be led. On the 25th June, 161 5, eleven
days after quitting the Texel, and when there was no longer
anything to be feared from indiscretion, the crews were as-
sembled to listen to the reading of an order which ran as
follows : " The two vessels would seek another passage than
that of Magellan, by which to enter the South Sea, and to
discover there certain southern countries, in the hope of
obtaining enormous profits from them, and if heaven should
not favor this design, they would repair by means of the
same sea to the East Indies." This declaration was received
with enthusiasm by the whole crew, who were animated, like
all Dutchmen of that period, with a love for great discov-
eries.

The route then usually pursued for reaching South Amer-
ica — as may perhaps have been already observed — followed
the African coasts as far as below the equator. The Con-
corde did not try to deviate from it; she reached the shores
of Brazil, Patagonia, and Port Desire, at 300 miles to the
north of the Strait of Magellan, but was for several days
hindered by storms from entering the harbor. The yacht

MERCHANTS AND TOURISTS 203

even remained for the space of one whole tide, aground and
lying on her side, but high water set her afloat again ; only
for a short time however, for whilst some repairs were being
done to her keel, her rigging took fire, and she was con-
sumed in spite of the energetic efforts of the two crews.
On the 13th January, 161 6, Lemaire and Schouten arrived
at the Sebaldine Islands, discovered by Sebald de Weerdt,
and followed the coast of Terra del Fuego at a short dis-
tance from land. The coast ran east-quarter-southeast,
and was skirted by high mountains covered with snow. On
the 24th of January at midday, they sighted its extreme
point, but eastward stretched some more land, which also
appeared to be of great elevation. The distance between
these two islands, according to the general opinion, appeared
to be about twenty-four miles, and Schouten entered the
strait which divided them. It was so encumbered with
whales that the ship was obliged to tack more than once to
avoid them. The island to the east received the name of
Staten Island, and that to the west the name of Maurice of
Nassau.

Twenty-four hours after entering this strait, which re-
ceived the name of Lemaire, the ship emerged from it, and
to an archipelago of small islands situated to starboard was
given the name of Barne veldt, in honor of the Grand Pen-
sionary of Holland. In 58° Lemaire doubled Cape Horn —
so named in remembrance of the town where the expedition
had been fitted out — and entered the South Sea. Lemaire
afterwards went northwards as far as the parallel of the Juan
Fernandez Islands, where he judged it wise to stop, in order
to recruit his men who were suffering from scurvy. As
Magellan had done, Lemaire and Schouten passed without
perceiving them amongst the principal Polynesian archipel-
agoes, and cast anchor on the loth April, at the island of
Dogs, where it was only possible to procure a little fresh
water and some herbs.

When they were thoroughly rested from their fatigues
and cured of scurvy, the Dutch went to Batavia, arriving
there on the 23rd October, 161 6, only thirteen months after
quitting the Texel, and having lost only thirteen men during
the long voyage. But the Company of the Indies did not
at all understand their privileges being infringed upon, and
a possibility discovered of reaching the colonies by a way

204 SEEKERS AND TRADERS

not foreseen in the letters patent which had been granted
to the company at the time of its estabHshment. The gov-
ernor caused the Concorde to be seized, and arrested her of-
ficers and sailors, whom he sent off to Holland, there to
be tried. Poor Lemaire, who had expected a totally differ-
ent recompense for his toils and fatigues, and for the dis-
coveries which he had made, could not bear up under the
blow which had fallen so unexpectedly upon him; he fell ill
of grief and died in the latitude of the island of Mauritius.
As for Schouten, he appears not to have been molested upon
his return to his own country, and to have made several
voyages to the Indies, which were not distinguished by any
fresh discovery. He was rturning to Europe in 1625, when
he was forced by bad weather to enter Antongil Bay, upon
the east coast of Madagascar, where he died.

Such was the history of this important expedition, which
by means of Strait Lemaire opened up a shorter and less
dangerous route than that by Magellan's Strait, an expedi-
tion signalized by several discoveries in Oceania, and by a
more attentive exploration of points already seen by Span-
ish or Portuguese navigators. But it is often a matter of
difficulty to settle with accuracy to which of these nations
the discovery of certain islands, countries, or archipelagoes
in the neighborhood of Australia, may be due.

Since we are speaking of the Dutch, we shall put the
chronological order of discoveries a little on one side, that
:We may relate the expeditions of Jan Abel Tasman. What
was the early history of Tasman, by what concurrence of
circumstances did he embrace the profession of a sailor, by
what means did he acquire the nautical skill and science of
which he gave so many proofs, and which conducted him
to his important discoveries? From ignorance we cannot
answer these questions ; all we know of his biography com-
mences with his departure from Batavia on 2nd June, 1639.
After passing the Philippines, he would seem during this
first voyage to have visited in company with Matthew Quast
the Bonin Islands, then known by the fantastic title of " the
Gold and Silver Islands."

In a second expedition, composed of two vessels of which
he had the chief command, and which sailed from Batavia
on the 14th of August, 1642, he reached the Mauritius on
the 5th September, and afterwards sailed to the southeast,

MERCHANTS AND TOURISTS 205

seeking for the Australian Continent. On the 24th No-
vember in latiude 42° 25' south, he discovered land, to which
he gave the name of Van-Diemen, after the Governor of the
Sunda Islands, but which is now with much greater justice
called Tasmania. He anchored there in Fredrik Hendrik
Bay, and ascertained that the country was inhabited, al-
though he could not see a single native.

After following this coast for a certain time, he sailed
eastwards, with the intention of afterwards making once
more for the north, to reach the Solomon Archipelago. On
the 13th December, in latitude 42° 10', he came in sight of
a mountainous country which he followed towards the north,
until the i8th December, when he cast anchor in a bay; but
even the boldest of the savages whom he met with there,
did not approach the ship within a stone's throw. Their
voices were rough, their stature tall, their color brown in-
clining to yellow, and their black hair, which was nearly as
long as that of the Japanese, was worn drawn up to the
crown of the head. On the morrow they summoned cour-
age to go on board one of the vessels and carry on traffic
by means of barter. Tasman, upon seeing these pacific dis-
positions, despatched a boat for the purpose of obtaining a
more accurate knowledge of the shore. Of the sailors who
manned it, three were killed without provocation by the
natives, while the others escaped by swimming, and were
picked up by the ships' boats, but by the time they were in
readiness to fire upon the assailants, these had disappeared.
The spot where this sad event happened, received the name
of Assassins' (Moordenaars) Bay. Tasman, who felt con-
vinced that he could not carry on any intercourse with such
fierce people, weighed anchor and sailed up the coast as far
as its extreme point, which he named Cape Maria Van-Die-
men, in honor of his " lady," for a legend states that having
had the audacity to pretend to the hand of the daughter of
the governor of the East Indies, the latter had sent him to
sea with two dilapidated ships, the Heemskerke and the
Zeechcn.

The land thus discovered received the name of Staaten
Land, soon changed into that of New Zealand. On the
2ist January, 1643, Tasman discovered the islands of Am-
sterdam and Rotterdam, upon which he found a great quan-
tity of pigs, fowls, and fruit. On the 6th February, the

2o6 SEEKERS AND TRADERS

ships entered an archipelago, consisting of a score of islands,
which were called Prince William Islands, and after sighting
Anthong-Java, Tasman followed the coast of New Guinea
from Cape Santa Maria, passed by the various points previ-
ously discovered by Lemaire and Schouten, and anchored
off Batavia on the 15th June following, after a ten months*
voyage.

In a second expedition, Tasman, in obedience to his orders
dated 1664, was to visit Van Diemen's Land, and to make
a careful examination of the western coast of New Guinea,
as far as 17° south latitude, in order to ascertain whether
that island belonged to the Australian continent. It does
not appear that Tasman carried out this programme, but the
loss of his journals causes complete uncertainty as to the
route which he followed, and the discoveries which he may
have made. From this time there is no record of the events
which marked the close of his career, nor of the place and
date of his death.

It behoves us now to say a few words about some trav-
elers who explored some unfrequented countries, and fur-
nished their contemporaries with more exact knowledge of a
world until then almost unknown. The first of these trav-
elers is Frangois Pyrard, of Laval. Having embarked in
1 601 on board a St. Malo ship to go to the Indies to trade,
he was wrecked in the Maldive Archipelago. These islets
or atolls (detached coral reefs), to the number of at least
12,000, descend into the Indian Ocean from Cape Comorin
as far as the equator. The worthy Pyrard relates his ship-
wreck, the flight of a portion of his companions in captivity
in the archipelago, and his long sojourn of seven years upon
the Maldive Islands, a stay rendered almost agreeable by
the pains which he took to acquire the native language. He
had plenty of time to learn the manners, customs, religion,
and industries of the inhabitants, as well as to study the pro-
ductions and climate of the country. Thus his narrative is
filled with details of all kinds, and had retained its attractions
until recent years, because travelers do not voluntarily fre-
quent this unhealthy archipelago, the isolated situation of
which had kept away foreigners and conquerors. Pyrard's
narrative therefore, is still instructive and agreeable reading.

In 1607, a fleet was sent to the Maldives by the King of
Bengal, in order to carry off the 100 or 120 cannon which

MERCHANTS AND TOURISTS 207

the Maldive sovereign owed to the wreck of numerous Por-
tuguese vessels. Pyrard, notwithstanding all the liberty al-
lowed him, and that he had become a landholder, was
desirous to behold his beloved Brittany once more. He
therefore eagerly embraced this opportunity of quitting the
Archipelago with the three companions who out of the
whole crew alone remained with him. But the eventful
travels of Pyrard were not yet concluded. Taken first to
Ceylon, he was carried afterwards to Bengal, and endeav-
ored to reach Cochin. Before reaching this town he was
captured by the Portuguese and carried prisoner to Cochin ;
he afterwards fell ill and was nursed in the Hospital of Goa
which he only quitted to serve for two years as a soldier,
at the end of which time he was again thrown into prison,
and it was not until 161 1, that he was able to revisit the good
town of Laval. After so many trials, Pyrard must doubt-
less have felt the need of repose, and we are justified in-
imagining, from the silence of history as to the close of his
life, that he was privileged at length to find happiness.

While the honest burgess Frangois Pyrard, was, so to
speak, in spite of himself, and from having indulged the
desire of making a fortune too rapidly, launched into ad-
ventures in which he had to pass much of his life, circum-
stances of a different and romantic kind caused Pietro della
Valle to determine upon traveling. Descendant of an an-
cient and noble family, he is by turns a soldier of the Pope,
and a sailor chasing Barbary corsairs. Upon his return to
Rome he finds that a rival, profiting by his absence, has taken
his place with a young girl whom he was to have married.
So great a misfortune demands an heroic remedy, and Delia
Valle makes a vow of pilgrimage to the Holy Scpulcher.
But if, as saith the proverb, there is no road which does not
lead to Rome, so there is no circuit so long as not to lead to
Jerusalem, and of this Della Valle was to make proof. He
embarks at Venice in 1614, passes thirteen months at Con-
stantinople, reaches Alexandria by sea, afterwards Cairo,
and joins a caravan which at length brings him to Jerusalem.
But while en route, Della Valle had no doubt imbibed a taste
for a traveler's life, for he visits in succession Baghdad,
Damascus, Aleppo, and even pushes on as far as the ruins of
Babylon. We must believe that Della Valle was marked
put as an easy prey to love, for upon his return he becomes

2o8 SEEKERS AND TRADERS

enamored of a young Christian woman of Mardin, of won-
drous beauty, whom he marries. One would imagine that
here at length is fixed the destiny of this indefatigable trav-
eler. Nothing of the kind. Delia Valle contrives to ac-
company the Shah in his war against the Turks, and to
traverse during four consecutive years the provinces of Iran.
He quits Ispahan in 1621, loses his wife in the month of
December of the same year, causes her to be embalmed, and
has her coffin carried about in his train for your years longer,
which he devotes to exploring Ormuz, the western coasts
of India, the Persian Gulf, Aleppo, and Syria, landing at
length at Naples in 1626.

The countries which this singular character visited, urged
on as he was by an extraordinary enthusiasm, are described
by him in a shrewd, gay, and natural style, and even with
some degree of fidelity. But he inaugurates the pleiad of
amateur, curious, and commercial travelers. He is the first
of that prolific race of tourists who each year encumber geo-
graphical literature with numerous volumes, from which the
savant finds nothing to glean beyond meager details.

Tavernier is a specimen of insatiable curiosity. At two
and twenty he has traversed France, England, the Low
Countries, Germany, Switzerland, Poland, Hungary, and
Italy. Then when Europe no longer offers any food for
his curiosity, he starts for Constantinople, where he remains
for a year, and then arrives in Persia, where the opportu-
nity and

" Quelque diable, aussi, le poussant,"

he sets to work to purchase carpets, stuffs, precious stones,
and those thousand trifles of which lovers of curiosities
soon became passionately fond, and for which they were
ready to pay fabulous sums. The profit which Tavernier
realized from his cargo induced him to resume his travels.
But like a wise and prudent man, before starting he learnt
from a jeweler the art of knowing precious stones. During
four successive journeys from 1638 to 1663, he traveled
over Persia, the Mogul Empire, the Indies as far as the
frontier of China, and the Islands of Sunda. Dazzled by
the immense fortune which his traffic had obtained for him,
Tavernier would play the lord, and soon saw himself on the

V. XV Verne

MERCHANTS AND TOURISTS 209

verge of ruin, which he hoped to avert by sending one of
his nephews to the east with a considerable venture, but in-
stead, his ruin was consummated by this young man, who,
judging it best to appropriate the goods which had been con-
fided to him, settled down at Ispahan. Tavernier, who was
a well-educated man, made a number of interesting ob-
servations upon the history, manners and customs, of the
countries which he visited. His narrative certainly con-
tributed to give his contemporaries a much more correct
idea of the countries of the east than they previously
possessed.

All travelers during the reign of Louis XIV. take the
route to the East Indies, whatever may be the end they have
in view. Africa is entirely deserted, and if America be the
theater of any real exploration, it is carried out without
aid from government.

Whilst Tavernier was accomplishing his last and distant
excursions, a distinguished archaeologist, Jean de Thevenot,
nephew of Melchisedec Thevenot — a learned man to whom
we owe an interesting series of travels — journeyed through
Europe, and visited Malta, Constantinople, Egypt, Tunis,
and Italy. He brought back in 1661 an important collection
of medals and monumental inscriptions, recognized nowa-
days as so important a help to the historian and the philolo-
gist. In 1664, he set out anew for the Levant, and visited
Persia, Bassorah, Surat, and India, where he saw Masuli-
patam, Burhampur, Aurungabad, and Golconda. But the
fatigues which he had experienced prevented his return to
Europe, and he died in Armenia in 1667. The success of
his narratives was considerable, and was well deserved by
the care and exactitude of a traveler whose scientific attain^
ments in history, geography, and mathematics, far surpassed
the average level of his contemporaries.

We must now speak of the amiable Bernier, the *' pretty
philosopher," as he was entitled in his polite circle, in which
were found Ninon and La Fontaine, Madame de la Sabliere,
St. Evremont, and Chapelle, without reckoning many other
good and gay spirits, refractories from the stiff solemnity
which then weighed upon the entourage of Louis XIV. Ber-
nier could not escape from the fashion of traveling. After
having taken a rapid survey of Syria and Egypt, he resided
for twelve years in India, where his good knowledge of

2IO SEEKERS AND TRADERS

medicine conciliated the favor of Aurimg-Zebe, and gave
him the opportunity of beholding in detail, and with profit,
an empire then in the full bloom of its prosperity.

To the south of Hindostan, Ceylon had more than one
surprise in reserve for its explorers. Robert Knox, taken
prisoner by the natives, owed to this sad circumstance his
long residence in the country and the collection of the first
authentic documents relating to the forests and the savage
natives of Ceylon, the Dutch, with a commercial jealousy
which they were not singular in evincing, having until now
kept secret all the information which had come to light con-
cerning an island of which they were endeavoring to make
a colony.

Another merchant, Jean Chardin, the son of a rich Paris-
ian jeweler, jealous of the successes of Tavernier, desired,
like him, to make his fortune by trading in diamonds. The
countries which attract these merchants are those of which
the fame for wealth and prosperity is become proverbial;
these are Persia and India, where rich costumes sparkle with
jewels and gold, and where there are mines of diamonds of
a fabulous size. The moment is well chosen for visiting
these countries. Thanks to the Mogul Emperors, civiliza-
tion and art have been developed ; mosques, palaces, temples
have been built, and towns have risen suddenly. Their
taste — that curious taste, so distinctly characterized, so dif-
ferent from our own — is displayed in the construction of gi-
gantic edifices, quite as much as in jewelry and goldsmith's
work, and in the manufacture of those costly trifles of which
the east was beginning to be passionately fond. Like a wise
man, Chardin takes a partner, as good a connoisseur as him-
self. At first Chardin only traversed Persia In order to
reach Ormuz and to embark for the Indies. The following
year he returns to Ispahan, and applies himself to learn the
language of the country, in order to be able to transact busi-
ness directly and without any intermediary agent. He has
the good fortune to please the Shah, Abbas II. From that
time his fortune is made, for it is at once genteel and also
the part of a prudent courtier to employ the same purveyor
as his sovereign. But Chardin had another merit besides
that of making a fortune. He was able to collect so con-
siderable a mass of information concerning the government,
manners, creeds, customs, towns, and populations of Persia,

MERCHANTS AND TOURISTS 21 1

that his narrative has remained to our own days the vade-
mecum of the traveler. This guide is so much the more
precious because Chardin took care to engage at Constan-
tinople a clever draughtsman named Grelot, by whom were
reproduced the monuments, cities, scenes, costumes, and
ceremonies which so well portray what Chardin called, " the
every day of a people."

When Chardin returned to France in 1670, the Revoca-
tion of the Edict of Nantes, with the barbarous persecutions
which resulted from it, had chased from their country great
numbers of artisans, who, taking refuge in foreign coun-
tries, enriched them with our arts and manufactures. Char-
din, being a Protestant, clearly perceived that his religion
would hinder him from attaining *' to what are termed hon-
ors and advancement." As, to use his own words, " one is
not free to believe what one will," he resolved to return
to the Indies, " where, without being urged to a change of
religion," he could not fail of attaining an honorable posi-
tion. Thus liberty of conscience was at that period greater
in Persia than in France. Such an assertion on the part
of a man who had made the comparison, is but little flatter-
ing to the grandson of Henry IV.

This time, however, Chardin did not follow the same
route as before. He passed by Smyrna and Constantinople,
and from thence, crossing the Black Sea, he landed in the
Crimea, in the garb of a religious. Whilst passing through
the region of the Caucasus he had the opportunity of study-
ing the Abkasians and Circassians. He afterwards pene-
trated into Mingrelia, where he was robbed of his goods and
papers, and of a portion of the jewels which he was taking
back to Europe. He could not have escaped himself had it
not been for the devotion to him of the theatines, from
whom he had received hospitality, but he escaped only to
fall into the hands of the Turks, who, in their turn, accepted
a ransom for him. After further misadventures he arrived
at Tiflis on the 17th of December, 1672, and as Georgia
was then governed by a prince who was a tributary of the
Shah of Persia, it was easy for Chardin to reach Erivan,
Tauriz, and finally Ispahan.

After a stay of four years in Persia, and a concluding
journey to India, during which he realized a considerable
fortune, Chardin returned to Europe and settled in England,

212 SEEKERS AND TRADERS

his own country, on account of his religion, being forbidden
ground to him.

The journal of his travels forms a large work, in which
everything that concerns Persia is especially developed. The
long stay he made in the country and his intimate acquain-
tance with the highest personages of the state enabled him
to collect numerous and authentic documents. It may fairly
be said that in this way Persia was better known in the
seventeenth century than it was lOO years later.

The countries which Chardin had just explored were vis-
ited again some years later by a Dutch painter, Cornelius de
Bruyn, or Le Brun. The great value of his work consists
in the beauty and accuracy of the drawings which illustrate
it, for as far as the text is concerned, it contains nothing
which was not known before, except in what relates to the
Samoyedes, whom he was the first to visit.

We must now speak of the Westphalian, Kgempfer, almost
a naturalized Swede in consequence of his long sojourn in
Scandinavian countries. He refused the brilliant position
which was there offered him in order to accompany as sec-
retary, an ambassador who was going to Moscow. He was
thus enabled to see the principal cities of Russia, a country
which at that period had scarcely entered upon the path of
western civilization; afterwards he went to Persia, where
he quitted the Ambassador Fabricius, in order to enter the
service of the Dutch Company of the Indies, and to con-
tinue his travels. He thus visited in the first place Per-
sepolis, Shiraz, Ormuz upon the Persian Gulf, where he was
extremely ill, and whence he embarked in 1688 for the East
Indies. Arabia Felix, India, the Malabar Coast, Ceylon,
Java, Sumatra, and Japan were afterwards all visited by
him. The object of these journeys was exclusively scien-
tific. Ksempfer was a physician, but was more especially
devoted to the various branches of natural history, and col-
lected, described, drew, or dried, a considerable number of
plants then unknown in Europe, gave new information upon
their use in medicine or manufactures, and collected an im-
mense herbarium, which is now preserved with the greater
part of his manuscripts in the British Museum in London.
But the most interesting portion of his narrative, now-a-
days indeed quite obsolete and very incomplete since the
country has been opened up to our scientific men, — was for

MERCHANTS AND TOURISTS 213

a long time that relating to Japan. He had contrived to
procure books treating of the history, literature, and learning
of the country, when he had failed in obtaining from cer-
tain personages to whom he had rendered himself very ac-
ceptable, information which was not usually imparted to
foreigners.

To conclude, if all the travelers of whom he have just
spoken are not strictly speaking discoverers, if they do not
explore countries unknown before, they all have, in various
degrees and according to their ability or their studies, the
merit of having rendered the countries which they visited
better known. Besides they were able to banish to the
domain of fable, many of the tales which others less learned
had naively accepted, and which had for long become so
completely public property that nobody dreamed of disput-
ing them.

Thanks to these travelers, something is known of the
history of the east, the migrations of nations began to be
dimly suspected, and accounts to be given of the changes in
those great empires of which the very existence had been
long problematical.

CHAPTER VH

THE POLE AND AMERICA

Although the attempts to find a passage by the north-
west had been abandoned by the English for twenty years,
they had not, however, given up the idea of seeking by that
way, for a passage which was only to be discovered in our
own days, and of which the absolute impracticability was
then to be ascertained. A clever sailor, Henry Hudson, of
whom Ellis says, " that never did anyone better understand
the seafaring profession, that his courage was equal to any
emergency, and that his application was indefatigable," con-
cluded an agreement with a company of merchants to
search for the passage by the northwest. On the ist of
May, 1607, he sailed from Gravesend in the Hopezvell, a
craft about the size of one of the smallest of modern col-
lier brigs, and having on board a crew of twelve men ; and
on the 13th of June, reached the eastern coast of Green-
land at "^2,°, and gave it a name answering to the hopes he

214 SEEKERS AND TRADERS

entertained, in calling it Cape Hold with Hope. The
weather here was finer and less cold than it had been ten
degrees southwards. By the 27th of June, Hudson had
advanced 5° more to the north, but on the 2nd of July, by
one of the sudden changes which so frequently occur in
those countries, the cold became severe. The sea, how-
ever, remained free, the air was still, and drift wood floated
about in large quantity. On the 14th of the same month,
in 33° 23', the master's mate and the boatswain of the ves-
sel landed upon a shore which formed the northern part
of Spitzbergen. Traces of musk oxen, and foxes, great
abundance of aquatic birds, two streams of fresh water,
one of them being warm, proved to our navigators that it
was possible to live in these extreme latitudes at this pe-
riod of the year. Hudson, who had re-embarked without
delay, found himself arrested at the height of 82°, by thick
pack ice, which he endeavored in vain to penetrate or sail
round. He was compelled to return to England, where he
arrived on September 15th, after having discovered an
island, which is probably that of Jan Mayen. The route
followed in this first voyage having had no result towards
the north, Hudson would try another, and accordingly set
sail on April 21st in the following year, and advanced be-
tween Spitzbergen and Nova Zembla; but he could only
follow for a certain distance the coast of that vast land,
without being able to attain as high an elevation as he had
wished. The failure of this second attempt was more com-
plete than that of the voyage of 1607. In consequence, the
English Company, which had defrayed the expenses of
both attempts, declined to proceed further. This was
doubtless the reason which decided Hudson to take service
in Holland.

The Company of Amsterdam gave him, in 1609, the
command of a vessel, with which he set sail from the Texel
at the beginning of the year. Having doubled the North
Cape, he advanced along the coasts of Nova Zembla; but
his crew, composed of English and Dutch, who had made
voyages to the East Indies, were soon disheartened by the
cold and ice. Hudson found himself forced to change his
route, and to propose to his sailors, who were in open
mutiny, to seek for a passage, either by Davis's Strait, or
Jhe coasts of Virginia, where, according to the information

THE POLE AND AMERICA 215

of Captain Smith, who had frequently visited them, an
outlet must surely be found. The choice of this crew, lit-
tle accustomed to discipline, could not be doubtful. In
order not to render the outlay of the Company completely
abortive, Hudson was obliged to make for the Faroe Is-
lands, to descend southward as low as 44°, and to search on
the coast of America for the strait, of the existence of
>vhicli he had been assured. On July i8th, he disembarked
on the continent, in order to replace his foremast, which
had been broken in a storm; and he took the opportunity
of bartering furs with the natives. But his undisciplined
sailors, having by their exactions roused the indignation of
the poor and peaceable natives, compelled him again to set
sail. He continued to follow the coast until August 3rd,
and then landed a second time. At 40° 30', he discovered
a great bay which he explored in a canoe for more than
150 miles. In the meantime, his provisions began to run
short, and it was impossible to procure supplies on land. The
crew, which appears to have imposed its wishes on its cap-
tain during this whole voyage, assembled; some proposed
to winter in Newfoundland, in order to resume the search
for the passage in the following year; others wished to
make for Ireland. This latter proposition was adopted;
but when they approached the shores of Great Britain,
the land proved so attractive to his men, that Hudson
w^as obliged, on November 7th, to cast anchor at Dart-
mouth.

The following year, 16 10, notwithstanding all the morti-
fications which he had experienced, Hudson tried to renew
his engagement with the Dutch company. But the terms
which they named as the price of their concurrence com-
pelled him to renounce the project, and induced him to
submit to the requirements of the English Company. This
company imposed on Hudson as a condition, that he should
carry on board, rather as an assistant than as a subor-
dinate, a clever seaman, named Coleburne, in whom they
had full confidence. It is easy to understand how morti-
fying this condition was to Hudson. Accordingly, he
took the earliest opportunity of ridding himself of the
superintendent who had been imposed upon him. He had
not yet left the Thames when he sent Coleburne back to
shore with a letter for the Company, in which he endeav-

2i6 SEEKERS AND TRADERS

pred to palliate and justify this certainly very strange pro-
ceeding.

Towards the end of May, when the ship had cast an-
thor in one of the ports of the island, the crew formed on
the subject of Coleburne, its first conspiracy, which was
repressed without difficulty, and when Hudson quitted the
island on June ist, he had re-established his authority.
After having passed Frobisher's Strait, he sighted the land
of Desolation of Davis, entered the strait which has re-
ceived his name, and speedily penetrated into a wide bay,
the entire western coast of which he examined until the
beginning of September. At this epoch, one of the in-
ferior officers, continuing to excite revolt against his chief,
was superseded; but this act of justice only exasperated
the sailors. In the early part of November, Hudson, hav-
ing arrived at the extremity of the bay, sought for an ap-
propriate spot to winter in, and having soon found one,
drew up the ship on dry land. It is difficult to understand
such a resolution. On the one hand, Hudson had left
England with provisions for six months only, which had
already been largely reduced, and he could scarcely reckon,
considering the barrenness of the country, upon procuring
a further supply of nourishment; on the other, the crew
had exhibited such numerous signs of mutiny, that he
could hardly rely upon its discipline and good will. Nev-
ertheless, although the English were often obliged to con-
tent themselves with scanty rations, they did not, owing
to the arrival of great numbers of birds, pass a very dis-
tressing winter. But, on the return of spring, as soon as
the ship was prepared to resume her route to England,
Hudson found that his fate was decided. He made his
arrangements accordingly, distributed to each his share
of biscuit, paid the wages due, and awaited the course of
events. He had not long to wait. The conspirators
seized their captain, his son, a volunteer, the carpenter, and
five sailors, put them on board a boat, without arms, pro-
visions, or instruments and abandoned them to the mercy
of the ocean. The culprits reached England again but
not all; two were killed in an encounter with the Indians,
another died of sickness, while the others were sorely tried
by famine. Eventually, no prosecution was commenced
against them. Only, the Company, in 1674, procured em-

THE POLE AND AMERICA 217

ployment, on board a vessel, for the son of Henry Hudson,
" lost in the discovery of the Northwest," the son being
entirely destitute of resources.

The expeditions of Hudson were followed by those of.
Button and of Gibbons, to whom we owe, if not new dis-
coveries, important observations on the tides, the variation
of the weather and the temperature, and on a number of
natural phenomena.

In 161 5, the English Company entrusted to Byleth, who
had taken part in the last voyages, the command of a vessel
of fifty tons. Her name, the Discovery, was of good
augury. She carried, as pilot, the famous William Baffin,
whose renown has eclipsed that of his captain. Setting
sail from England on April 13th, the English explorers
sighted Cape Farewell by the 6th of May, passed from the
Island of Desolation to the Savage Islands, where they met
with a great number of natives, and ascended northwest-
ward as high as 64°. On July loth, land appeared on the
starboard, and the tide flowed from the north ; from which
they conceived so much hope for the passage sought for,
that they gave to the cape, discovered on this spot, the name
of Comfort. It was probably Cape Walsingham, for they
ascertained, after doubling it, that the land inclined to-
wards the northeast, and the east. It was at the entry of
Davis's Strait, that their discoveries came to an end for
this year. They returned to Plymouth on September 9th,
without having lost a single man.

So strong were the hopes entertained by Byleth and
Baffin, that they obtained permission to put to sea again in
the same vessel the following year. On May 14th, 1616,
after a voyage in which nothing worthy of remark oc-
curred, the two captains penetrated into Davis's Strait,
sighted Cape Henderson's Hope, the extreme point for-
merly reached by Davis, and ascended as high as y2° 40'
to the Women's Island, thus named after some Esquimaux
females whom tlicy met with. On June 12th, Byleth and
Baffin were forced by the ice to enter a bay on the coast.
Some Esquimaux brought them a great quantity of horns,
without doubt tusks of walruses, or horns of musk oxen;
from which they named the bay Horn Sound. After re-
maining some days in this place, they were able to put to
sea again. On setting out from 75° 40', they encountered

2i8 SEEKERS AND TRADERS

'a vast expanse of water free from ice, and penetrated,
rwithout much danger, beyond the 78° of latitude, to the
entrance of the strait, which prolonged northwards the
immense bay which they had just traversed, and which
received the name of Baffin. Then turning to the west,
and afterwards to the southwest, Byleth and Baffin dis-
covered the Carey Islands, Jones Strait, Coburg Island,
and Lancaster Strait, and afterwards they descended along
the entire western shore of Baffin's Bay as far as Cumber-
land Land. Despairing then of being able to carry his
discoveries further, Byleth, who had several men among
his crew afflicted with scurvy, found himself obliged to
return to the shores of England, where he disembarked at
Dover, on August 30th.

If this expedition terminated again in failure, in the sense
that the northwest passage was not discovered, the results
obtained were nevertheless considerable. Byleth and Baffin
had prodigiously increased the knowledge of the seas and
coasts in the quarters of Greenland. The captain and the
pilot, in writing to the Director of the Company, assured
him that the bay which they had visited was an excellent
spot for fishing, in which thousands of whales, seals, and
walruses, disported themselves. The event could not be
long in amply proving the correctness of this information.

Let us now descend again upon the coast of America,
as far as Canada, and see what had happened since the
time of Jacques Cartier. This latter, we may remember,
had made an attempt at colonization, which had not pro-
duced any important results. Nevertheless, some French-
men had remained in the country, had married there, and
founded families of colonists. From time to time, they
received reinforcements brought by fishing vessels from
Dieppe or St. Malo. But it was difficult to establish a cur-
rent of emigration. It was under these circumstances that
a gentleman, named Samuel de Champlain, a veteran of
the wars of Henry IV., and who, for two years and a half,
had frequented the East Indies, was engaged by the Com-
mander of Chastes with the Sieur de Pontgrave, to continue
the discoveries of Jacques Cartier, and to choose the situ-
ations most favorable for the establishment of towns and
centers of population. This is not the place for us to con-
sider the manner in which Champlain understood the busi-

THE POLE AND AMERICA 219

ness of a colonizer, nor his great services, which might
well entitle him to be called the father of Canada. We
will, therefore, advisedly leave this aspect of his under-
taking, not the least brilliant, in order simply to occupy
ourselves with the discoveries which he effected in the
interior of the continent.

Setting sail from Honfleur, on March 15th, 1603, the
two chiefs of the enterprise first ascended the St. Lawrence,
as far as the harbor of Tadoussac, 240 miles from its
mouth. They were welcomed by the populations, which
had, however, " neither faith, nor law, and lived without
God, and without religion, like brute beasts." At this
place they quitted their ships, which could not have ad-
vanced further without danger, and reached in a boat the
Fall of St. Louis, where Jacques Cartier had been stopped;
they even penetrated a little into the interior, and then re-
turned to France, where Champlain printed a narrative of
the voyage for the king.

Henry IV. resolved to continue the enterprise. In the
meantime M. de Chastes having died, his privilege was
transferred to M. de Monts, with the title of Vice-admiral
and Governor of Acadia. Champlain accompanied M. de
Monts to Canada, and passed three whole years, whether
in aiding by his counsels and his exertions the efforts of
colonization, or in exploring the coasts of Acadia, the bear-
ings of which he took beyond Cape Cod, or in makirg ex-
cursions into the interior and visiting the savage tribes
which it was important to conciliate. In 1607, after a
new voyage to France to recruit colonists Champlain re-
turned again to New France, and founded, in 1608, a town
which was to become Quebec. The following year was
devoted to again ascending the St. Lawrence, and ascer-
taining its course. On board of a pirogue, with two com-
panions only, Champlain penetrated, with some Algon-
quins, to the Iroquois, and remained conqueror in a great
battle fought on the borders of a lake which has received
his name; he then descended the river Richelieu, as far as
the St. Lawrence. In 16 10, he made a fresh incursion into
the territory of the Iroquois, at the head of his allies, the
Algonquins, whom he had the greatest possible difficulty
in making observe the European discipline. In this cam-
paign he employed instruments of warfare which greatly

220 SEEKERS AND TRADERS

'astonished the savages, and easily secured him the victory.
For the attack of a village, he constructed a cavalier of
wood, which 200 of the most powerful men " carried be-
fore this village to within a pike's length, and displayed
three arquebusiers well protected from the arrows and
stones which might be shot or launched at them." A little
later, we see him exploring the river Ottawa, and advanc-
ing, in the north of the continent, to within 225 miles of
Hudson's Bay. After having fortified Montreal, in 161 5,
he twice ascended the Ottawa, explored Lake Huron, and
arrived by land at Lake Ontario, which he crossed.

It is very difficult to divide into two parts a life so occu-
pied as Champlain's All his excursions, all his recon-
naissances, had but one object, the development of the work
to which he had consecrated his existence. Thus detached
from what gives them their interest, they appear to us un-
important; and yet if the colonial policy of Louis XIV.
and his successor had been different, we should possess in
America a colony which assuredly would not yield in pros-
perity to the United States. Notwithstanding our aban-
donment, Canada has preserved a fervent love for the
mother country.

We must now leap over a period of forty years, to ar-
rive at Robert Cavelier de la Salle. During this time, the
French establishments have acquired some importance in
Canada, and have extended themselves over a great part of
North America. Our hunters and trappers scour the
woods, and bring, every year, with their load of furs, new
information respecting the interior of the continent. In
this latter task they are powerfully seconded by the mission-
aries, in the first rank of whom we must place Father
Marquette, whom the extent of his voyages on the great
lakes and as far as the Mississippi marks out for special
acknowledgment. Two men, besides, deserve to be men-
tioned for the encouragements and facilities which they
afforded to the explorers, viz., M. de Frontenac, Governor
of New France, and Talon, intendant of justice and police.
In 1678 there arrived in Canada, without any settled pur-
pose, a young man named Cavelier de la Salle. " He was
born at Rouen," says Father Charlevoix, " of a family in
easy circumstances ; but having passed some years with the
Jesuits, he had had no share in the inheritance of his par-

THE POLE AND AMERICA 221

ents. He had a cultivated mind, he wished to distinguish
himself, and he felt within himself sufficient genius and
courage to ensure success. In reality, he was not defi-
cient in resolution to enter upon, nor in perseverance to
follow up, an undertaking, nor in firmness in contending
against obstacles, nor in resource to repair his losses; but
he knew not how to make himself loved, nor how to man-
age those of whom he stood in need, and when he had
attained authority, he exercised it with harshness and arro-
gance. With such defects he could not be happy, and in
fact he was not"

Father Charlevoix's portrait appears to us somewhat too
black, and he does not seem to estimate at its true value the
great discovery which we owe to Cavelier de la Salle; a
discovery, which has nothing like it, we do not say equal
to it, except that of the river Amazon, by Orellana, in the six-
teenth century, and that of the Congo, by Stanley, in the
nineteenth. However this may be, no sooner had he arrived
in the country, than he set himself, with extraordinary ap-
plication, to study the native idioms, and to associate with
the savages in order to render himself familiar with their
manners and habits. At the same time he gathered from
the trappers a mass of information on the situation of the
rivers and lakes. He communicated his projects of ex-
ploration to M. de Frontenac, who encouraged him, and
gave him the command of a fort constructed at the outlet
of the lake into the St. Lawrence. In the meantime, one
Jolyet arrived at Quebec. He brought the news that in
company with Father Marquette and four other persons,
he had reached a great river called the Mississippi, flowing
towards the south. Cavelier de la Salle very soon under-
stood what advantage might be derived from an artery of
this importance, especially if the Mississippi had, as he
believed, its mouth in the Gulf of Mexico. By the lakes
and the Illinois, an affluent of the Mississippi, it was easy
to effect a communication between the St. Lawrence, and
the Sea of the Antilles. What marvelous profit would
France derive from this discovery! La Salle explained
the project which he had conceived to the Count of Fron-
tenac, and obtained from him very pressing letters of
recommendation to the Minister of Marine. On arriving
in France, La Salle learned the death of Colbert; but he

222 SEEKERS AND TRADERS

remitted to his son, the Marquis of Seignelay, who had
succeeded him, the despatches of which he was the bearer.
This project, which appeared to rest upon soHd founda-
tions, could not fail to please a young minister. Accord-
ingly, Seignelay presented La Salle to the king, who caused
letters of nobility to be prepared for him, granted him the
Seignory of Catarocouy, and the government of the fort
which he had built, with the monopoly of commerce in
the countries which he might discover.

La Salle had also found means to procure the patronage
of the Prince de Conti, who asked him to take with him the
Chevalier Tonti, son of the inventor of the Tontine, in
whom he felt an interest. He was for La Salle a precious
acquisition. Tonti, who had made a campaign in Sicily,
where his hand had been carried off by the explosion of a
grenade, was a brave and skillful officer, who always
showed himself extremely devoted.

La Salle and Tonti embarked at Rochelle, on July 14th,
1678, carrying with them about thirty men, workmen and
soldiers, and a Recollet (monk). Father Hennepin, who
accompanied them in all their voyages.

Then La Salle, being conscious that the execution of his
project required more considerable resources than those
which were at his disposal, constructed a boat upon the
Lake Erie, and devoted a whole year to scouring the coun-
try, visiting the Indians, and carrying on an active trade
in furs, which he stored in his fort of Niagara, while Tonti
pursued the same course in other directions. 'At length,
towards the middle of August, of the year 1679, his boat,
the Griffon, being prepared for sailing, he embarked on the
Lake Erie, with thirty men, and three Fathers, Recollets,
for Machillimackinac. In crossing the lakes St. Clair and
Huron, he experienced a violent storm, which caused the
desertion of some of his people, whom, however, Tonti
brought back to him. La Salle arrived at Machillimack-
inac, and very soon entered the Green Bay. But during
this time his creditors at Quebec had sold all that he pos-
sessed, and the Griffon, which he had despatched, laden
with furs, to the fort of Niagara, was either lost or pil-
laged by the Indians; wliich of these took place has never
been precisely ascertained. For himself, although the de-
parture of the Griffon had displeased his companions, he

THE POLE AND AMERICA 2231

continued his route, and reached the river St. Joseph,
where he found an encampment of Miamis, and where
Tonti speedily rejoined him. Their first care was to con-
struct a fort on this spot. Then they crossed the dividing
hue of the water between the basin of the great lakes, and
that of the Mississippi ; they subsequently reached the river
of the Illinois, an affluent on the left of that great river.
With his small band of followers, upon whose fidelity he
could not entirely depend, the situation of La Salle was
critical, in the midst of an unknown country, and among
a powerful nation, the Illinois, who, at first allies of
France, had been prejudiced and excited against us by the
Iroquois and the English, jealous of the progress of the
Canadian colony.

Nevertheless, it was necessary, at all costs, to attach to
himself these Indians, who, from their situation, were able
to hinder all communication between La Salle and Canada.
In order to strike their imagination, Cavelier de la Salle
proceeds to their encampment, where more than 3,000 men
are assembled. He has but twenty men, but he traverses
their village haughtily, and stops at some distance. The
Illinois, who have not yet declared war, are surprised.
They advance towards him, and overwhelm him with pa-
cific demonstrations. So versatile is the spirit of the sav-
ages! Such an impression does every mark of courage
make upon them! Without delay, La Salle takes advan-
tage of their friendly dispositions, and erects upon the very
site of their camp, a small fort, which he calls Crevecoeur,
in allusion to the troubles which he has already experienced.
There he leaves Tonti with all his people, and he himself,
anxious about the fate of the Griffon, returns with three
Frenchmen and one Indian, to the fort of Catarocouy, sep-
arated by 500 leagues from Crevecoeur. Before setting
out, he had detached with Father Hennepin, one of his
companions named Dacan, on a mission to reascend the
Mississippi, beyond the river of the Illinois, and if possible,
to its source. " These two travelers," says Father Charle-
voix, " set out from the fort of Crevecoeur. on February
28th, and having entered the Mississippi, ascended it as
far as 46° of north latitude. There they were stopped by
a considerable waterfall, extending quite across the river,
to which Father Hennepin gave the name of St. Anthony;

224 SEEKERS AND TRADERS

of Padua. Then they fell, I know not by what mischance,
into the hands of the Sioux, who kept them for a long time
prisoners."

On his journey back to Catarocouy, La Salle, having dis-
covered a new site appropriate to the construction of a fort,
summoned Tonti thither, who immediately set to work,
while La Salle continued his route. This is Fort St. Louis.
On his arrival at Catarocouy, La Salle learned news which
would have broken down a man of a less hardy tempera-
ment. Not only had the Griffon, on board of which he
had furs of the value of 10,000 crowns, been lost, but a
vessel which was bringing him from France a cargo worth
880/. had been shipwrecked, and his enemies had spread
a report of his death. Having no further business at
Catarocouy, and having proved by his presence that the
reports of his disappearance were all false, he arrived again
at the fort of Crevecceur, where he was much astonished to
find no one.

This is what had happened. While the Chevalier Tonti
was employed in the construction of Fort St. Louis, the
garrison of Fort Crevecoeur had mutinied, had pillaged the
magazines, had done the same at Fort Miami, and then fled
to Machillimackinac. Tonti, almost alone in face of the
Illinois, who were roused against him by the depredations
of his men, and judging that he could not resist in his fort
of Crevecoeur, had left it on September nth, 1680, with
the five Frenchmen who composed his garrison, and had re-
tired as far as the bay of the Lake Michigan. After hav-
ing placed a garrison at Crevecoeur and at Fort St. Louis,
La Salle came to Machillimackinac, where he rejoined
Tonti, and together they set out again from thence towards
the end of August for Catarocouy, whence they embarked
on the Lake Erie with fifty-five persons, on August 28th,
1 68 1. After a journey of 240 miles along the frozen
river of the Illinois, they reached Fort Crevecoeur, where
the water, free from ice, permitted the use of their canoes.
On February 6th, 1682, La Salle arrived at the confluence
of the Illinois and the Mississippi. He descended the river,
sighted the mouth of the Missouri, and that of the Ohio,
where he raised a fort, penetrated into the country of the
Arkansas, of which he took possession in the name of
France, crossed the country of the Natchez, with whom he

V. XV Verne

•rv.. ^-r, "I" ' ;

THE POLE AND AMERICA 225

made a treaty of friendship, and finally passed out into
the Gulf of Mexico on April 9th, after a navigation of
1,050 miles in a mere bark. The anticipations so skill-
fully conceived by Cavelier de la Salle, were realized. He
immediately took formal possession of the country, to
which he gave the name of Louisiana, and called the im-
mense river which he had just discovered the St. Louis.

La Salle's return to Canada occupied not less than one
year and a half. There is no ground for astonishment,
when all the obstacles scattered in his path are considered.
What energy, what strength of mind were requisite in one
of the greatest travelers of whom France has reason to be
proud, to succeed in such an enterprise!

Unhappily, a man, otherwise well intentioned, but who
allowed himself to be prejudiced against La Salle by his
numerous enemies, M. Lefevre de la Barre, who had suc-
ceeded M. de Frontenac as governor of Canada, wrote to
the Minister of Marine, that the discoveries of La Salle
were not to be regarded as of much importance. " This
traveler," he said, " was actually, with about twenty
French vagabonds and savages, at the extremity of the
bay, where he played the part of sovereign, plundered and
ransomed those of his own nation, exposed the people to
the incursions of the Iroquois, and covered all these acts
of violence with the pretext of the permission, which he
had from His Majesty, to carry on commerce alone in the
countries which he might be able to discover."

Cavelier de la Salle could not allow himself to remain
exposed to these calumnious imputations. On the one
side, honor prompted him to return to France to exculpate
himself; on the other, he would not leave others to reap
the profit of his discoveries. He set out, therefore, and
received from Seignelay a kindly welcome. The minister
had not been much influenced by the letters of M. de la
Barre; he was aware that men could not accomplish great
achievements without wounding much self-love, nor with-
out making numerous enemies. La Salle took the oppor-
tunity to explain to him his project of discovering the
mouth of the Mississippi by sea, in order to open a way
for French vessels, and to found an establishment there.
The minister entered into these views, and gave him a com-
mission which placed Frenchmen and savages under his

226 SEEKERS AND TRADERS

orders, from Fort St. Louis to the sea. At the same time'
the commandant of the squadron which was to transport
him to America, was to be under his authority, and to fur-
nish him on his disembarkation with all the succors which
he might require, provided that nothing was done to the
prejudice of the king. Four vessels, one of them a frigate
of forty guns, commanded by M. de Beaujeu were to carry
280 persons, including the crews, to the mouth of the
Mississippi, to form the nucleus of the new colony. Sol-
diers and artisans had been very badly chosen, as was per-
ceived when too late, and no one knew his business. Set-
ting sail from La Rochelle, on July 24th, 1684, the little
squadron was almost immediately obliged to return to port,
the bowsprit of the frigate having broken suddenly in the
very finest weather. This inexplicable accident was the
commencement of misunderstanding between M. de Beau-
jeu and M. de la Salle. The former could scarcely be
pleased to see himself subordinated to a private individual,
and did not forgive Cavelier this. Nothing however would
have been more easy than to decline the command. La
Salle had not the gentleness of manner and the politeness
necessary to conciliate his companions. The disagreement
did but gather force during the voyage by reason of the
obstacles raised by M. de Beaujeu to the rapidity and
secrecy of the expedition. The annoyances of La Salle
had indeed become so great when he arrived at St. Do-
mingo, that he fell seriously ill. He recovered, however,
and the expedition set sail again on November 25th. A
month later, it was off Florida ; but, as " La Salle had been
assured that in the Gulf of Mexico, all the currents bore
eastwards, he did not doubt that the mouth of the Missis-
sippi must be far to the west; an error which was the
source of all his misfortunes."

La Salle then steered to the west, and passed by, without
perceiving it, without deigning even to attend to certain
signs which he was asked to observe, the mouth of the
Mississippi. When he perceived his mistake, and en-
treated M. de Beaujeu to turn back, the latter would no
longer consent. Lat Salle, seeing that he could make no
impression upon the contradictory mind of his companion,
decided to disembark his men and his provisions in the Bay]
of St. Bernard. Yet, in this very last act, Beaujeu mani-

THE POLE AND AMERICA 227

fested an amount of culpable ill-will, which did as little
honor to his judgment as to his patriotism. Not only was
he unwilling to land all the provisions, under the pretext
that certain of them being at the bottom of the hold, he
had no time to change his stowage, but further he gave
shelter on board his own ship to the master and crew of
the transport, laden with the stores, utensils, and imple-
ments necessary for a new establishment, people whom
everything seems to convict of having purposely cast their
vessel upon shore. At the same time, a number of sav-
ages took advantage of the disorder caused by the ship-
wreck of the transport, to plunder everything on which
they could lay their hands. Nevertheless, La Salle, who
had the talent of never appearing depressed by misfortune,
and who found in his own genius resources adapted to the
circumstances of the case, ordered the works of the estab-
lishment to be begun. In order to give courage to his com-
panions, he more than once took part with his own hands
in the work; but very slow progress was made, in conse-
quence of the ignorance of the workmen. Struck with the
resemblance of the language and habits of the Indians of
these parts to those of the Mississippi, La Salle was very
soon persuaded that he was not far distant from that river,
and made several excursions in order to approach it. But,
if he found a country beautiful and fertile, he did not make
progress towards what he was in search of. He returned
each time to the fort more gloomy and more harsh ; and this
was not the way to restore calm to spirits embittered by
sufferings and the inutility of their efforts. Grain had
been sown; but scarcely any came up for want of rain, and
what had sprung up was soon laid waste by the savages
and the deer. The hunters who wandered far from the
camp were massacred by the Indians, and sickness found
an easy prey in men overwhelmed with ennui, disappoint-
ment, and misery. In a short time, the number of the
colonists fell to thirty-seven. At length. La Salle resolved
to try a last effort to reach the Mississippi, and in descend-
ing the river to seek help from the nations with which he
had made alliance. He set out on January 12th, 1687,
with his brother, his two nephews, two missionaries, and
twelve colonists. He was approaching the country of the
Shawnees, when, in consequence of an altercation between

228 SEEKERS AND TRADERS

one of his nephews and three of his companions, these lat-
ter assassinated the young man and his servant during their
sleep, and resolved immediately to do the same with the;
chief of the enterprise. De la Salle, uneasy at not seeing
his nephew return, set out to seek him on the morning of
the 19th, with Father Anastase. The assassins, seeing
him approach, lay in ambush in a thicket, and one of them
shot him in the head, and stretched him on the ground stark
dead. Thus perished Cavelier de la Salle, " a man of a
capacity," says Father Charlevoix, " of a largeness of
mind, of a courage and firmness of soul, which might have
led him to the achievement of something great, if with so
many great qualities, he had known how to master his
gloomy and atrabilious disposition, and to soften the sever-
ity or rather the harshness of his nature. . . ." Many
calumnies had been spread abroad against him; but it is
necessary so much the more to be on our guard against all
these malevolent reports " as it is only too common to ex-
aggerate the defects of the unfortunate, to impute to them
even some which they had not, especially when they have
given occasion for their misfortune, and have not known
how to make themselves beloved. What is sadder for the
memory of this celebrated man, is that he has been re-
gretted by few persons, and that the ill-success of his un-
dertakings — only of his last — has given him the air of an
adventurer, among those who judge only by appearances.
Unhappily, these are usually the most numerous, and in
some degree the voice of the public."

We have but little to add to these last wise words. La
Salle knew not how to obtain pardon for his first success.
We have related subsequently by what concurrences of
circumstances his second enterprise miscarried. He died,
the victim it may be said, of the jealousy and malevolence
of the Chevalier de Beaujeu. It is to this slight cause
that we owe the failure to found in America a powerful
colony, which would very soon have been found in a con-
dition to compete with the English establishments.

Thus then, at the end of the seventeenth century, a great
part of the new world was known. In North America,
Canada, the shores of the Atlantic and of the Gulf of
Mexico, the valley of the Mississippi, the coasts of Cali-
fornia and of New Mexico, were discovered or colonized.

THE POLE AND AMERICA 229

'AH the central part of the continent, from Rio del Norte,
as far as Terra Firma, was subject, at least nominally, to
the Spaniards. In the south, the savannahs and the forests
of Brazil, the pampas of the Argentine, and the interior
of Patagonia, escaped the observation of the explorers, as
they were destined to do for a long time yet

In Africa, the long line of coasts, which are washed by
the Atlantic and the Indian Oceans, had been patiently fol-
lowed and observed by navigators. At some points only,
colonists and missionaries had tried to penetrate the mys-
tery of this vast continent. Senegal, Congo, the valley
of the Nile, and Abyssinia, were all that were known with
some degree of detail and of certainty.

If many of the countries of Asia, surveyed by the trav-
elers of the middle ages, had not been revisited since that
epoch, we had carefully explored the whole anterior part
of that continent. India had been revealed to us, we had
even founded some establishments there, China had been
touched by our missionaries and Japan, that famous Ci-
pango which had exercised so great an attraction for our
travelers of the preceding age, was at length known to us.
Only Siberia and the whole northeast angle of Asia had
■escaped our investigations, and it was not yet known
whether America was not connected with Asia, a mystery
which was before long to be cleared up.

In Oceania, a number of archipelagos, of islands and
separate islets, remained still to be discovered, but the is-
lands of Sunda were colonized, the coasts of Australia
and of New Zealand had been partially revealed, and the
existence of that great continent, which, according to Tas-
man, extended from Terra del Fuego to New Zealand,
began to be doubted; but it still required the long and care-
ful researches of Cook to banish definitely into the domain
of fable a chimera so long cherished.

Geography was on the point of transforming itself.
The great discoveries made in astronomy were about to be
applied to geography. The labors of Fernel and above
all of Picard, upon the measure of a terrestrial degree be-
tween Paris and Amiens, had made it clear that the globe
is not a sphere, but a spheroid, that is to say, a ball flat-
tened at the poles and swollen at the equator, and thus
were found at one stroke the form and the dimensions of

230 SEEKERS AND TRADERS

the world which we inhabit. At length the labors of
Picard, continued by La Hire and Cassini, were completed
at the commencement of the following century. The as-
tronomical observations, rendered possible by the calcula-
tion of the satellites of Jupiter, enabled us to rectify our
maps. If this rectification had been already effected with
regard to certain places, it became indispensable when the
number of points of which the astronomical position had
been observed, had been considerably increased; and this
was to be the work of the next century. At the same
time, historical geography was more studied; it began to
take for its foundation the study of inscriptions, and
archaeology was about to become one of the most useful
instruments of comparative geography.

In a word, the seventeenth century is an epoch of transi-
tion and of progress; it seeks and it finds the powerful
means which its successor, the eighteenth century, was desr
tined to put into operation. The era of the sciences has
already opened, and with it the modern world commences.

END OF THE SECOND BOOK

The Exploration of the World

BOOK III

Scientific Exploration

(The Eighteenth Century)

Scientific Exploration

(The Eighteenth Century)
CHAPTER I

ASTRONOMERS AND CARTOGRAPHERS

r* "S^ EFORE we enter upon a recital of the great
T% \ expeditions of the eighteenth century, we shall
J) • do well to chronicle the immense progress
■^ made during that period by the sciences. They
rectified a crowd of prejudices and established
a solid basis for the labors of astronomers and
geographers. If we refer solely to the matter before us,
they radically modified cartography, and ensured for navi-
gation a security hitherto unknown.

Although Galileo had observed the eclipses of Jupiter's
satellites as early as 1610, his important discovery had been
rendered useless by the indifference of governments, the
inadequacy of instruments, and the mistakes committed by
his followers.

In 1660 Jean Dominique Cassini published his "Tables
of the Satellites of Jupiter," which induced Colbert to send
for him the following year, and which obtained for him the
superintendence of the Paris Observatory.

In the month of July, 1671, Philippe de la Hire went to
Uraniborg in the Island of Huen, to take observations for
the situation of Tycho Brahe's Observatory. In that spot
he calculated with the assistance of Cassini's Tables, and
with an exactitude never before obtained, the difference be-
tween the longitudes of Paris and Uraniborg.

The Academy of Sciences sent the astronomer Jean
Richter the same year to Cayenne, to study the parallaxes
of the sun and moon, and to determine the distance of Mars
and Venus from the earth. This voyage, which was entirely
successful was attended with unforeseen consequences, and
resulted in inquiries shortly after entered into as to the shape
of the earth. Richter noticed that the pendulum lost two
minutes, twenty-eight seconds at Cayenne, which proved

233

234 SCIENTIFIC EXPLORATION

that the momentum was less at this place than at Paris.
From this fact, Newton and Huyghens deduced the flat-
ness of the globe at the poles.

Shortly afterwards, however, the computation of a ter-
restrial degree given by Abbe Picard, and the determination
of the meridional arc, arrived at by the Cassinis, father and
son, led scientific men to an entirely different result, and
induced them to consider the earth an elliptical figure, elon-
gated towards the polar regions. Passionate discussions
arose from this decision, and in them originated immense
undertakings, from which astronomical and mathematical
geography profited.

Picard undertook to estimate the space contained between
the parallels of Amiens and Malvoisine, which comprises a
degree and a third. The Academy, however, decided that
a more exact result could be obtained by the calculation of
a greater distance, and determined to portion out the entire
length of France, from north to south, in degrees. For
this purpose, they selected the meridian line which passes
the Paris Observatory. This gigantic trigonometrical un-
dertaking was commenced twenty years before the end of
the seventeenth century, was interrupted, and recommenced,
and finally finished towards 1 720.

At the same time Louis XIV., urged by Colbert, gave
orders for the preparation of a map of France. Men of
science undertook voyages from 1679 to 1682, and by as-
tronomical observations found the position of the coasts on
the ocean and the Mediterranean. But even these under-
takings, Picard's computation of the meridional arc, the cal-
culations which determined the latitude and longitude of
certain large cities in France, and a map which gave the
environs of Paris in detail with geometrical exactitude, were
still insufficient data for a map of France. As in the meas-
urement of the meridional arc, the only course to adopt
was to cover the whole extent of the country with a network
of triangles. Such was the basis of the large map of France
which justly bears the name of Cassini.

The result of the earlier observations of Cassini and La
Hire was to restrict France within much narrower limits
than had hitherto been assigned to her.

Desborough Cooley in his History of Voyages, says:

"They deprived her (France) of several degrees of

ASTRONOMERS AND CARTOGRAPHERS 235

longitude in the length of her western coast, from Brittany
to the Bay of Biscay, And in the same way retrenched
about half a degree from Languedoc and La Provence.
These alterations gave rise to a ' bon-mot.' Louis the XIV.,
in complimenting the Academicians upon their return, re-
marked : * I am sorry to see, gentlemen, that your journey
has cost me a good part of my kingdom! ' "

So far, however, cartographers had ignored the correc-
tions made by astronomers. In the middle of the seven-
teenth century, Peiresc and Gassendi had corrected upon the
maps of the Mediterranean a difference of " five hundred "
miles of distance between Marseilles and Alexandria. This
important rectification was set aside as non-existent until
the hydrographer, Jean Matthieu de Chazelles, who had as-
sisted Cassini in his labors, was sent to the Levant to draw
tip a coast chart for the Mediterranean.

" It was sufficiently clear," say the Memoirs of the Acad-
emy of Sciences, that the maps unduly extended the conti-
nents of Europe, Africa, and America, and narrowed the
Pacific Ocean between Asia and Europe.

These errors had caused singular mistakes.

During M. de Chaumont's voyage, when he went as
Louis XIV.'s ambassador to Siam, the pilots, trusting
to their charts, were mistaken, in their calculations
and both in going and in returning went a good deal
further than they imagined. In proceeding frcm the
Cape of Good Hope to the Island of Java they imagined
themselves a long way from the Strait of Sunda, when in
reality they were more than sixty leagues beyond it. And
they were forced to put back for two days with a favorable
wind to enter it. In the same way upon their return voyage
from the Cape of Good Hope to France, they found them-
selves at the island of Flores, the most western of the
Azores, when they conceived themselves to be at least a
hundred and fifty leagues eastward of it. They were obliged
to navigate for twelve days in an easterly direction in order
to reach the French coast.

William Delisle was the first to construct new maps, and
to make use of modern discoveries. He arbitrarily rejected
all that had been done before his time. His enthusiasm was
so great that he had entirely carried out his project at the
age of twenty-five. His brother, Joseph Nicolas, who

236 SCIENTIFIC EXPLORATION

taught astronomy in Russia, sent William materials for his
maps. At the same time his younger brother, Delisle de la
Ceyere, visited the coast of the Arctic Ocean, and astro-
nomically fixed the position of the most important points.
He embarked on board De Behring's vessel and died at
Kamtchatka. That was the work of the three Delisles, but to
William belongs the glory of having revolutionized ge-
ography.

" He succeeded," says Cooley, " in reconciling ancient and
modern computations, and in collecting an immense mass of
documents. Instead of limiting his corrections to any one
quarter of the earth, he directed them to the entire globe.
By this means he earned the right to be considered the
founder of modern geography.

Peter the Great, on his way to Paris, paid a tribute to
his merit by visiting him, and placing at his disposal all the
information he himself possessed of the geography of Rus-
sia.

We must now speak of two important expeditions, which!
ought to have settled the animated discussion as to the shape
of the earth. The Academy of Sciences had despatched a
mission to America, to compute the arc of the meridian at
the equator.

It was decided to entrust a similar expedition to the north
to Maupertuis. The expedition embarked in a vessel
equipped at Dunkerque. In addition to Maupertuis, it com-
prised De Clairaut, Camus, and Lemonnier, Academicians,
Albey Outhier, canon of Bayeux, a secretary named Som-
mereux, a draughtsman, Herbelot, and the scientific Swedish
astronomer, Celsius.

When the King of Sweden received the members of the
mission at Stockholm, he said to them, " I have been in many
bloody battles, but I should prefer finding myself in the
midst of the most sanguinary, rather than join your ex-
pedition."

Certainly, it was not likely to prove a party of pleasure.
The learned adventurers were to be tested by difficulties of
every kind, by continued privation, by excessive cold. But
what comparison can be made between their sufferings, and
the agonies, the trials and the dangers which were to be en-
countered by the Arctic explorers, Ross, Parry, Hall, Payer,
and many others.

ASTRONOMERS AND CARTOGRAPHERS 237

Damlron in his Eulogy of Maupertuis, says : " The Houses
at Tornea, north of the Gulf of Bothnia, almost in the Arctic
Circle, are hidden under the snow. When one goes out,
the air seems to pierce the lungs, the increasing degrees of
frost are proclaimed by the incessant crackling of the wood,
of which most of the houses are built. From the solitude
which reigns in the streets, one might fancy that the inhab-
itants of the town were dead. At every step one meets
mutilated figures, people who have lost arms or legs from
the terrible severity of the temperature. And yet, the trav-
elers did not intend pausing at Tornea."

Nowadays these portions of the globe are better known,
and the region of the Arctic climate thoroughly appreciated,
which makes it easier to estimate the difficulties the inquirers
encountered.

They commenced their operations in July, 1736. Beyond
Tornea they found only uninhabited regions. They were
obliged to rely upon their own resources for scaling the
mountains, where they placed the signals intended to form
the uninterrupted series of triangles. Divided into two
parties in order thus to obtain two measurements instead of
one, and thereby also to diminish the chance of mistakes, the
adventurous savants, after inconceivable hairbreadth escapes,
of which an account can be found in the Memoirs of the
Academy of Sciences for 1737, and after incredible efforts,
decided that the length of the meridian circle, comprised be-
tween the parallels of Tornea and Kittis was 55,023 fathoms
and a half. Thus below the Polar circle, the meridian de-
gree comprised a thousand fathoms more than Cassini had
imagined, and the terrestrial degree exceeded by 377 fath-
oms the length which Picard has reckoned it between Paris
and Amiens,

The result, therefore, of this discovery (a result long re-
pudiated by the Cassinis, both father and son), was that
the earth was considerably flattened at the poles.

Meantime the mission dispatched by the Academy to Peru
proceeded with analogous operations. It consisted of La
Condamine, Bouguer, and Godin, three Academicians,
Joseph de Jussieu, Governor of the Medical College, who
undertook the botanical branch, Seniergues, a surgeon,
Godin des Odonais, a clock-maker, and a draughtsman.
They started from La Rochelle, on the i6th of May, 1635.

238 SCIENTIFIC EXPLORATION

Upon reaching St. Domingo, they took several astronom-
ical observations, and continued by way of Porto Bello, and
Carthagena. Crossing the Isthmus of Panama, they disem-
barked at Manta in Peru, upon the 9th of March, 1736.

Arrived there, Bouguer and Condamine parted from their
companions, studied the rapidity of the pendulum, and finally
reached Quito by different routes. Condamine pursued his
way along the coast, as far as Rio de las Esmeraldas, and
drew the map of the entire country, which he traversed with
such infinite toil. Bouguer went southwards towards Guay-
aquil, passing through marshy forests, and reaching Caracol
at the foot of the Cordillera range of the Andes, which he
was a week in crossing. This route had been previously
taken by Alvarado, when seventy of his followers perished;
amongst them, the three Spaniards who had attempted to
penetrate to the interior. Bouguer reached Quito on the
loth of June. At that time this city contained between
thirty and forty thousand inhabitants, and boasted of an
episcopal president of the Assembly, and numbers of re-
ligious communities, besides two colleges.

Living there was cheap, with the exception of foreign
merchandises, which realized exorbitant prices, so much so
indeed, that a glass goblet fetched from eighteen to twenty
francs.

The adventurers scaled the Pichincha, a mountain near
Quito the eruptions from which had more than once been
fatal to the inhabitants, but they were not slow in discover-
ing that they could not succeed in carrying their implements
to the summit of the mountains, and that they must be satis-
fied with placing the signals upon the hills.

" An extraordinary phenomena may be witnessed almost
every day upon the summit of these mountains," said Bou-
guer in the account he read before the Academy of Sciences,
" which is probably as old as the world itself, but what it
appeared was never witnessed by anyone before us. We
first remarked it when we were altogether upon a mountain
called Pamba Marca. A cloud in which we had been en-
veloped, and which dispersed, allowed us a view of the rising
sun, which was very brilliant. The cloud passed on, it was
scarcely removed thirty paces when each of us distinguished
his own shadow reflected above him, and saw only his own,
because the cloud presented a broken surface.

ASTRONOMERS AND CARTOGRAPHERS 239

"The short distance allowed ns fully to recognize eacH
part of the shadow ; we distinguished the arms, the legs, the
head, but we were most amazed at finding that the latter was
surrounded by a glory, or aureole formed of two or three
small concentric crowns of a very bright color, containing
the same variety of hues as the rainbow, red being the outer
one. The spaces between the circles were equal, the last
circle the weakest, and in the far distance, we perceived one
large white one, which surrounded the whole. It produced
the effect of a transfiguration upon the spectator."

The instruments employed by these scholars were not as
accurate as more modern ones, and varied with changes of
temperature, in consequence of which, they were forced to
proceed most carefully, and with most minute accuracy, lest
small errors accumulating should end by leading to greater
ones. Thus, in their trigonometrical surveys Bouguer and
his associates never calculated the third angle by the ob-
servation of the two first, but always observed all three.

Having calculated the number of fathoms contained in the
extent of country surveyed, the next point was to discover
what part this was of the earth's circumference, which could
only be ascertained by means of astronomical observations.

After numerous obstacles, which it is impossible to give in
detail, after curious discoveries, as for example, the attrac-
tion exercised on the pendulum by mountains, the French
inquirers arrived at conclusions which fully confirmed the
result of the expedition to Lapland. They did not all return
to France at the same time.

Jussieu continued his search after facts in natural history,
and La Condamine decided to return by way of the Amazon
River, making an important voyage.

CHAPTER n

ENGLISH PRIVATEERS

The war of the Spanish succession was at its height,
when some privateers of Bristol determined to fit out ships
to attack the Spanish vessels, in the Pacific Ocean, and to
devastate the coasts of South America. The two vessels
chosen, the Duke and Duchess, under Captains Rogers and
Courtenay, were carefully equipped, and stocked witK

240 SCIENTIFIC EXPLORATION

everything necessary for so long a voyage, the famous
Dampier, who had acquired a great reputation by his dar-
ing adventures and piracies, did not disdain to accept the
title of chief pilot, and although this trip was richer in ma-
terial results than in geographical discoveries, the account
of it contains a few curious particulars worthy of preser-
vation.

The Duke and Duchess set sail from the Royal Port of
Bristol on the 2nd of April, 1708. To begin with, we may
note one interesting fact. Throughout the voyage a reg-
ister was at the service of the crew, in which all the inci-
dents of the voyage were to be noted, so that the slightest
errors, and the most insignificant oversights could be recti-
fied before the facts of the case faded from memory.

Nothing of note occurred on this voyage till the 22nd of
December, when the Falkland Islands, previously noticed
by few navigators, were discovered. Rogers did not land
on them, but contented himself with observing that the
coast, although less precipitous, resembled that of Port-
land. " All the hills," he added, " with their well-wooded
and gradually sloping sides, appeared fertile, and the shore
is not wanting in good harbors."

Now these islands do not possess a single tree, and the
good harbors, as we shall presently see, are anything but
numerous, so we can judge of the exactitude of the obser-
vations made by Rogers. Navigators have done well not
to trust to them.

After passing this archipelago the two vessels steered
due south, and penetrated as far as south lat. 60° 58'.
Here, there was no night, the cold was intense, and the sea
so rough that the Duchess sustained a few injuries. The
chief officers of the two vessels assembled in council, agreed
that it would be better not to attempt to go further south,
and the course was changed for the west. On the 15th of
January, 1709, Cape Horn is said to have been doubled,
and the southern ocean entered.

Up to this date the position of the island of Juan Fer-
nandez, was differently given on nearly all maps, and Wood
Rogers, who intended to harbor there, take in water, and
get a little fresh meat, came upon it almost unawares.

On the ist of February, he embarked in a little boat to
try and find an anchorage. Whilst his people were await-

W. XV Verne

m

ENGLISH PRIVATEERS 241

ing his return, a large fire was noticed on shore. Had
some Spanish or French vessels cast anchor here? Would
it be necessary to fight for the water and food required?
Every preparation was made during the night, but in the
morning no ship was in sight. Conjectures were already
being hazarded as to whether the enemy had retired, when
the end was put to all surmises by the return of the boat,
bringing in it a man clad in goatskins, whose personal
appearance was yet more savage than his garments.

It was a Scotch mariner, Alexander Selkirk by name,
who in consequence of a quarrel with the captain of his
ship, had been left on this desert island four years and a
half before. The fire which had attracted notice had been
lighted by him. During his stay on the island of Juan
Fernandez, Selkirk had seen many vessels pass, but only
two, both Spanish, had cast anchor. Discovered by the
sailors, Selkirk had been fired upon, and only escaped death
by the agility with which he managed to climb into a tree
and hide.

He told how he had been put ashore with his clothes,
his bed, a pound of powder, some bullets, a little tobacco,
a hatchet, a knife, a kettle, a Bible, with a few other devo-
tional books, his nautical instruments and books. Poor
Selkirk provided for his wants as best he could, but during
the first few months he had great difficulty in conquering
the sadness and mastering the horror consequent upon his
terrible loneliness. He built two huts of willow, which he
covered with a sort of rush, and lined with the skins of the
goats he killed to satisfy his hunger, so long as his ammuni-
tion lasted. When it was likely to fail, he managed to
strike a light by rubbing two pieces of pimento wood to-
gether. When he had quite exhausted his ammunition, he
caught the goats as they ran, his agility had become so
great by dint of constant exercise, that he scoured the
w^oods, rocks, and hills, with a perfectly incredible speed.
We had sufficient proof of his skill, when he went hunting
with us. He outran and exhausted our best hunters, and
an excellent dog which we had on board ; he easily caught
the goats, and brought them to us on his back. He him-
self related to us, that one day he chased his prey so eagerly
to the edge of a precipice, which was concealed by bushes,
that they rolled over and over together, until they reached

24^ SCIENTIFIC EXPLORATION

the bottom. He lost consciousness through that fall, and
upon discovering that the goat lay under him quite dead,
after remaining where he was for twenty-four hours, he
with the utmost difficulty succeeded in crawling to his
cabin, which was about a mile distant; and he was unable
to walk again for six days.

This deserted wretch managed to season his food with
the turnips sown by the crew of a ship, with cabbages,
capsicums, and allspice. When his clothes and shoes were
worn out, a process which occupied but a short time, he
ingeniously constructed new ones of goatskin, sewing them
together with a nail, which served him as a needle. When
his knife was useless, he constructed a new one from the
cask-hoops he found on the shore. He had so far lost
the use of speech, that he could only make himself under-
stood by an effort. Rogers took him on board, and ap-
pointed him boatswain's mate.

Selkirk was not the first sailor abandoned upon the is-
land of Juan Fernandez. Sharp and other buccaneers
have related that the sole survivor of a crew of a vessel
wrecked on this coast, lived there for five years, until he
was rescued by another ship.

Upon the 14th of February, the Duke and Duchess left
Juan Fernandez, and commenced their operations against
the Spaniards. Rogers seized Guayaquil, for which he
obtained a large ransom, and captured several vessels,
which, however, provided him with more prisoners than
money.

This part of his voyage concerns us but little, and a few
particulars only are interesting, as, for instance, his men-
tion of a monkey in the Gorgus Island, who was so lazy,
that he was nicknamed the Sluggard, and of the inhabi-
tants of Tecamez, who repulsed the new comers with pois-
oned arrows, and guns. He also speaks of the Galapagos
Islands, situated two degrees of northern latitude. Ac-
cording to Rogers, this cluster of islands was numerous,
but out of them all one only provided fresh water. Tur-
tle-doves existed there in great quantities, and tortoises,
and sea-turtles, of an extraordinary size abounded, thence
the name given by the Spaniards to this group.

Sea-dogs also were common; one of them had the temer-
ity to attack Rogers. "I was walking along the shore''

ENGLISH PRIVATEERS 243

he says, " when it left the water, his jaws gaping, as
quickly and ferociously as a dog escaping from his chain.
Three times he attacked me, I plunged my pike into his
breast, and each time I inflicted such a wound that he fled
howling horribly. Finally, turning towards me, he stopped
to growl and show his fangs. Scarcely twenty-four hours
earlier, one of my crew had narrowly escaped being de-
voured by a monster of the same family."

In December, Rogers repaired to Puerto Seguro, upon
the Californian coast, with a Manilla galleon, which he had
seized. Many of his men penetrated to the interior; he
found large forest trees, but not the slightest appearance
of culture, although smoke indicated the existence of in-
habitants.

The Duke and Duchess left Porto Segura on the 12th
of January, 1710, and reached the island of Guaham, of
the Mariannes, in the course of two months. Here they
revictualed, and passing by the Straits of Boutan and
Saleyer, reached Batavia. After a necessary delay at the
latter place, and at the Cape of Good Hope, Rogers cast
anchor in the Downs upon the ist of October.

In spite of Rogers's reticence with regard to the im-
mense riches he brought with him, a good idea of their ex-
tent may be gathered from the account of ingots, vessels
of silver and gold, and pearls, with which he delighted the
shipowners.

We now come to our account of Admiral Anson's voy-
age, which almost belongs to the category of naval war-
fare, but with it we may close the list of piratical expedi-
tions, which dishonored the victors without ruining the
vanquished. And if he brought no new acquisition to
geography, his account teems with judicious observations,
and interesting remarks about a country then little known.

The merit of them, however, if we are to believe Nich-
ols's literary anecdotes, rests rather with Benjamin Rob-
ins, than, as the title would appear to indicate, with the
chaplain of the expedition, Richard Walter. George Ap-
son was born in Staffordshire in 1697. ^^ "^'^^ already
well known as a clever and fortunate captain, when in 1739
ho was offered the command of a squadron. It consisted
of the Centurion, 60 guns, the Gloucester and Severe, each
50 guns, t^le Pearl, 40 guns, the Wager, 28 guns. To it

244 SCIENTIFIC EXPLORATION

were attached also the sloop Trial, and two transports car-
rying food and ammunition. In addition to the crew of
1,460, a reinforcement of 470 marines was added to the
fleet.

Leaving England on the i8th of September, 1740, the
expedition proceeded by way of Madeira, past the island
of St. Catharine, along the Brazilian coast, by St. Julian
Harbor, and finally crossed the Strait of Lemaire.

" Terrible," said the narrative, " as the aspect of Terra
del Fuego may be, that of Staten Island is more horrible
still. It consists of a series of inaccessible rocks, crowned
with sharp points. Prodigiously high, they are covered
with eternal snow, and edged with precipices. In short, it
is impossible to conceive anything more deserted, or more
wild than this region."

Scarcely had the last vessels of the squadron filed
through the strait, than a series of heavy gales, squalls, and
storms, caused the oldest sailors to vow that all they had
hitherto known of tempests were nothing in comparison.
This fearful experience lasted seven weeks without inter-
mission. The vessels sustained great damage, many men
were swept away by the waves, numbers destroyed by ill-
nesses occasioned by the exposure to constant damp, and
want of sufficient nourishment.

Two of the vessels, the Severe and the Pearl, were en-
gulfed, and four others were lost sight of. Anson was
unable to reach Valdivia, the rendezvous he had selected
in case of separation; carried far to the north, he could
only arrest his course at Juan Fernandez, which he reached
upon the 9th of June.

The Centurion had the greatest need of rest. She had
lost eighty of her crew, her supply of water had failed,
and the sailors were so weakened by scurvy, that ten only
of the remaining number were available for the watch.
The other vessels, in an equally bad plight, were not long
in regaining her.

The first care was to restore the exhausted crews, and
to repair the worst injuries sustained by the vessels. An-
son sent the sick on shore and installed them in a sheltered
hospital In the open air, then putting himself at the head
of the most enterprising sailors, he scoured the entire is-
land, and thoroughly examined its roads and shores. The

ENGLISH PRIVATEERS 245

best anchorage, according to his report, was in Cumber-
land Bay. The southeastern portion of Juan Fernandez,
a httle island scarcely five leagues by two in extent, is
dry, rocky, treeless; the ground lies low, and is level in
comparison with the northern portion. It produces water-
cresses, purslain, sorrels, turnips, and Sicilian radishes in
abundance, as well as oats and clover. Anson sowed car-
rots and lettuces, and planted plums, apricots, and peaches.
He soon discovered that the number of goats, left by the
buccaneers, and which had multiplied marvelously, had'
since decreased.

The Spaniards, eager to deprive their enemies of this
valuable resource, had let loose a quantity of famished dogs
upon the island, who chased the goats, and devoured so
many of them, that, at the time of Anson's visit, scarcely
two hundred remained. The Commodore, for so Anson
is always called in the narrative of this voyage, reconnoi-
tered the Island of Mas a Fuero, which is only twenty-five
leagues west of Juan Fernandez. Smaller than the latter,
it is more wooded, better watered, and possesses more
goats.

At the beginning of December, the crews were suffi-
ciently recovered for Anson to put into execution his pro-
jected attack upon the Spaniards. He commenced by
seizing several ships laden with precious merchandise and
ingots, and then set fire to the city of Paita. Upon this
occasion the Spaniards estimated their loss at one and a
half million piastres.

Anson then proceeded to Ouibo Bay, near Panama, to
lie in wait for the galleon which, every year, transported
the treasures of the Philippine Islands to Acapulco.
There, although the English met with no inhabitants in the
miserable huts, they found heaps of shells and beautiful
mother of pearl left there during the summer months by
the fishermen of Panama.

After a fruitless cruise, Anson determined to burn three
of the Spanish vessels which he had seized and equipped.
Distributing the crews and cargo upon the Centurion and
the Gloucester, the only two vessels remaining to him, he
decided upon the 6th of May, 1742, to make for China,
where he hoped to find reinforcements and supplies.

But this voyage, which he expected to accomplish in

246 SCIENTIFIC EXPLORATION

sixty days, took him fully four months. After a violent
gale, the Gloucester, having all but foundered, and her
crew being too reduced to work her, was burned. Her
cargo of silver, and her supplies were trans-shipped to the
Centurion, which alone remained of all that magnificent
fleet which two years earlier had set sail from England!

Thrown out of his course, far to the north, Anson dis-
covered on the 26th of August, the Isles of Atanacan and
Serigan, and the following day those of Saypan, Tinian,
and Agnigan, which form a part of the Marianne Archi-
pelago.

A Spaniard, a sergeant, whom he captured in a small
bark in these seas, told him that the island of Tinian was
inhabited, and abounded with cattle, fowls, and excellent
fruits, such as oranges, lemons, limes, bread fruit, etc.
Nowhere could the Centurion have found a more welcome
port for her exhausted crew, now numbering only seventy-
one men, worn out by privation and illness, the only sur-
vivors of the 2,000 sailors who had manned the fleet at its
departure.

Even here Anson was not altogether free from anxiety.
It was true that his ships were repaired, but many of his men
remained on land to recover their strength, and but a small
number of able-bodied seamen remained on board with him.
The roadstead being lined with coral, great precautions were
necessary to save the cables from being cut, but in spite of
them, at new moon, a sudden tempest arose and broke the
ship loose. The anchors held well, but the hawsers gave
way, and the Centurion was carried out to sea. The thunder
growled ceaselessly, and the rain fell with such violence
that the signals of distress which were given by the crew
were not even heard. Anson, most of his officers, and a
large part of the crew, numbering one hundred and thirteen
persons, remained on land and found themselves deprived of
the only means they possessed of leaving Tinian. Their
despair was great, their consternation inexpressible. But
Anson, with his energy and endless resources, soon roused
his companions from their despair! One vessel, that which
they had captured from the Spaniards, still remained to
them, and it occured to them to lengthen it, until it could
contain them all with the necessary provisions for a voyage
to China. However, after nineteen days, the Centurion re-

ENGLISH PRIVATEERS 247

turned, and the English, embarking in her upon the 21st of
October, were not long in reaching Macao, putting into a
friendly and civilized port for the first time since their de-
parture from England, two years before.

" Macao," says Anson, " formerly rich, well populated,
and capable of self-defense against the Chinese Government,
is greatly shorn of its ancient splendor! Although still in-
habited by the Portuguese and ruled by a Governor, nomi-
nated by the King of Portugal, it is at the mercy of the
Chinese, who can starve the inhabitants, or take possession
of it, for which reasons the Portuguese Governor is very
careful not to offend them."

Anson was forced to write an imperious letter to the
Chinese Governor, before he could obtain permission to buy,
even at high prices, the provisions and stores he required.
He then publicly announced his intention of leaving for
Batavia and set sail on the 19th of April, 1743. But, in-
stead of steering for the Dutch possessions, he directed his
course towards the Philippine Islands, where, for several
days, he awaited the arrival of the galleon returning from
Acapulco, laden with the proceeds of the sale of her rich
cargo. These vessels usually carried forty-four guns, and
were manned by a crew of over 500 men. Anson had only
200 sailors, of whom thirty were but lads, but this dispropor-
tion did not deter him, for he had the expectation of rich
booty, and the cupidity of his men was sufficient guarantee
of their courage.

" Why," asked Anson one day of his steward, " why do
you no longer give us mutton for dinner? Have we eaten
all the sheep we bought in China.? "

" Pray excuse me, Commodore," replied the steward,
" but I am reserving the only two which remain for the Cap-
tain of the galleon."

No one, not even the steward, doubted of success ! A'nson
iwell understood how to secure it, and the efficiency of his
men compensated for their reduced numbers. The struggle
was hot, the straw mats which filled the rigging of the
galleon took fire and the flames rose as high as the mizzen
mast. The Spaniards found the double enemies too much !
After a sharp contest of two hours, during which sixty-seven
of their men were killed and eighty-four wounded, they sur-
rendered.

248 SCIENTIFIC EXPLORATION

It was a rich prize, 1,313,842 "pieces of eight," and
35,682 ounces of ingot silver, with other merchandise of
little value in comparison with the money. This booty,
added to others, amounted to nearly 400,000/, without taking
into account the vessels, goods, etc., of the Spaniards which
the English squadron had burnt or destroyed, and which
could not be reckoned at less than 600,000/.

Anson convoyed his prize to thje Canton River, where he
sold it much below its value, for 6,000 piastres. He left on
the loth of December, and reached Spithead on the 15th of
June, 1744, after an absence of three years and nine months.
He made a triumphal entry into London. The half-million
of money, which was the result of his numerous prizes, was
conveyed through the city in thirty-two chariots, to the sound
of trumpets and beating of drums and amidst the shouts
of the people.

The money was divided between himself, his officers, and
men; the king himself could not claim a share. Anson was
created rear-admiral shortly after his return, and received
important commands.

CHAPTER III ' "

CAPTAIN cook's PREDECESSORS

As early as 1669, Roggewein the elder had petitioned the
Dutch West India Company for three armed vessels, in order
to prosecute his discoveries in the Pacific Ocean. His pro-
ject was favorably received, but a coolness in the relations
between Spain and Holland forced the Batavian government
to relinquish the expedition for a time. Upon his death-
bed Roggewein forced from his son Jacob a promise to carry
the plan he had conceived into execution.

Circumstances, over which he had no control, for a long
time hindered the fulfillment of his promise. It was only
after several voyages in the Indian seas, after having even
been judge in the Batavian Justice Court, that at length
Jacob Roggewein w^as in a position to take the necessary
steps with the West India Company. We have no means
of finding out Roggewein's age in 1721, or of ascertaining
what wxre his claims to the command of an expedition of
discovery. Most biographical dictionaries honor him with

CAPTAIN COOK'S PREDECESSORS 249

but a slight mention, perhaps of a couple of lines, and
Fleurieu, in his learned and exhaustive account of the Dutch
navigator, was unable to find out anything certain about him.

Moreover, the narrative of the voyage was written not by
Roggewein, but by a German named Behrens. We may,
therefore, with some justice, attribute the obscurities and
contradictions of the particulars given, and their general
want of accuracy, rather to the narrator than to the navi-
gator. It even appears sometimes (and this is far from im-
probable), that Roggewein was ignorant of the voyages and
discoveries of his predecessors and contemporaries.

Upon the 21st of August, 1721, three vessels set sail from
Texel, under his command. They were, the Eagle of 36
guns, and with a crew of in men, the Tienhoven of 28
guns and 100 men, Captain James Bauman, and the galley
^African of 14 guns and a creAv of 60 men. Captain Henry
Rosenthal. Their voyage across the Atlantic afforded no
particulars of interest. Touching at Rio, Roggewein went
in search of an island which he named Auke's Magdeland,
and which would appear to be the same as the Archipelago of
the Falkland, unless indeed it was South Georgia. Although
these islands were then well known, it would appear that
the Dutch knew little of their whereabouts, as after vainly
seeking the Falkland Isles, they set to work to look for the
island St. Louis, belonging to the French, apparently quite
unaware that they belonged to the same group.

After discovering, or rather noticing an island below the
parallel of the Straits of Magellan, about twenty-four
leagues from the American continent, of two hundred
leagues in circumference, which he named South Belgium,
Roggewein passed through the Straits of Lemaire, or pos-
sibly was carried by the current to 623/2° of southern lati-
tude. Finally, he regained the coast of Chili; and cast
anchor opposite the island of Mocha, which he found de-
serted. He afterwards reached Juan Fernandez, where he
met with the Tienhoven, from which he had been separated
since the 21st of December. The vessels left this harbor
before the end of March, and steered to the west-north-west,
in search of the land discovered by Davis between 27° and
28° south. After a search of several days, Roggewein
sighted an island upon the 6th of April, 1722, which he
named Easter Island.

I

250 SCIENTIFIC EXPLORATION

A violent storm of wind drove Roggewein frorn his
anchorage on the eastern side of the island, and obliged him
to make for the west-north-west. He traversed the sea
called Mativaise by Schouten, and having sailed eight hun-
dred leagues from Easter Island, fell in with what he took to
be the Isle of Dogs, so called by Schouten. Roggewein
named it Carlshoff, a name which it still retains.

Roggewein continued to sail between the 15th and i6th
degrees, and was not long in finding himself " all of a sud-
den " in the midst of islands which were half submerged.

" As we approached them," says Behrens, " we saw an
immense number of canoes navigating the coasts, and we
concluded that the islands were well populated. Upon near-
ing the land we discovered that it consisted of a mass of dif-
ferent islands, situated close the one to the other, and we
were insensibly drawn in amongst them. We began to fear
that we should be unable to extricate ourselves. The ad-
miral sent one of the pilots up to the look-out to ascertain
how we could get free of them."

" We owed our safety to the calm that prevailed. The
slightest movement of the water would have run our ships
upon the rocks, without the possibility of assistance reaching
us. As it was, we got away without any accident worth
mentioning. These islands are six in number, all very
pleasant, and taken together may extend some thirty leagues.

They are situated twenty-five leagues westward of the
Pernicious Islands, We named them the Labyrinth, be-
cause we could only leave them by a circuitous route."

After navigating for three days in a westerly direction,
the Dutch caught sight of a beautiful island. Cocoa-nuts,
palm-trees, and luxuriant verdure testified to its fertility.
But finding it impossible to anchor there, the officers and
crews were obliged to visit it in well-armed detachments.

Here the Dutch needlessly shed the blood of an inoffensive
population which had awaited them upon the shore, and
iwhose only fault consisted in their numbers. After this
execution, worthy rather of barbarians than of civilized men,
they endeavored to persuade the natives to return, by offer-
ing presents to the chiefs, and by deceitful protestations of
friendship. But they were not to be deceived, and having
enticed the sailors into the interior, the inhabitants rushed
upon them and attacked them with stones. Although a

i

CAPTAIN COOK'S PREDECESSORS 251

volley of bullets stretched a number upon the ground, they
still bravely persisted in attacking the strangers, and forced
them to re-embark, carrying with them their dead and
wounded.

In spite of their losses, the Dutch called this island, in
memory of the refreshment they had enjoyed there, Recrea-
tion Island. Roggewein gives its situation as below the
sixth parallel, but his longitude is so incorrect, that it is im-
possible to depend upon it.

After having encountered the islands which Roggewein
believed to be Cocoa and Traitor Islands, already visited by
Schouten and Lemaire, and which Fleurieu, imagining them
to be a Dutch discovery, named Roggewein Islands; after
having caught sight of Tienhoven and Groningue Islands,
which were believed by Pingre to be identical with Santa
Cruz of Mendana, the expedition finally reached the coast of
New Ireland. Here the discoverers perpetrated new
massacres. From thence they went to the shores of New
Guinea, and after crossing the Moluccas, cast anchor at
Batavia.

There their fellow-countrymen, less humane than many of
the tribes they had visited, confiscated the two vessels, im-
prisoned the officers and sailors indiscriminately, and sent
them to Europe to take their trial. They had committed the
unpardonable crime of having entered countries belonging to
the East India Company, whilst they themselves were in the
employ of the West India Company. The result was a trial,
and the East India Company was compelled to restore all
that it had appropriated, and to pay heavy damages.

The English explorer. Commodore John Byron, born on
the 8th of November, 1723, showed an enthusiastic love of
seafaring life, and at the age of seventeen offered his serv-
ices upon one of the vessels that formed Admiral Anson's
squadron, when it was sent out for the destruction of Span-
ish settlements upon the Pacific coast. We have already
given an account of the troubles which befell this expedi-
tion before the incredible fortune which distinguished its last
exploits.

The vessel upon which Byron embarked was the Wager.
It was wrecked in passing through the Straits of Magellan,
and the crew being taken prisoners by the Spaniards, were
sent to Chili. After a captivity which lasted at least three

252 SCIENTIFIC EXPLORATION

years, Byron effected his escape, and was rescued by a vessel
from St. Malo, which took him to Europe. He returned
at once to service, and distinguished himself in various en-
counters during the war with France. Doubtless it was the
recollection of his first voyage round the world, so disas-
trously interrupted, which procured for him the distinction
conferred upon him by the British government in 1764. He
was appointed to command an expedition for exploring the
South Atlantic Ocean.

The vessels entrusted to him were carefully armed. The
Dauphin was a sixth-rate man-of-war, and carried 24 guns,
150 sailors, 3 lieutenants, and 37 petty officers. The Tamar
was a sloop of 16 guns, and 90 sailors, 3 heutenants, 2^ petty
officers, commanded by Captain Mouat.

The start was not fortunate. The expedition left the
Downs upon the 21st of June, but the Daiipin grounded be-
fore leaving the Thames, and was obliged to put into Ply-
mouth for repairs. Upon the 3d of July, anchor was finally
weighed, and ten days later, Byron put in at Funchal in the
Island of Madeira for refreshments. He was forced to
halt again at Cape Verd Islands, to take in water, that with
which he was supplied having become rapidly wasted.

Nothing further occurred to interrupt the voyage, until
the two English vessels sighted Cape Frio. The tropical
heat, and constant rains, had struck down a large propor-
tion of the crew, hence the urgent need of rest and of fresh
victuals which they experienced.

These they hoped to find at Rio de Janeiro, where they ar-
rived on the 1 2th December. Byron was warmly welcomed
by the viceroy, and thus describes his first interview : " When
I made my visit, I was received in the greatest state,
about sixty officers were drawn up by the palace. The guard
was under arms. They were fine, well-drilled men. His
Excellency accompanied by the nobility received me on the
staircase. Fifteen salutes from the neighboring fort hon-
ored my arrival. We then entered the audience-chamber,
and after a conversation of a quarter of an hour, I took my
leave, and was conducted back with the same ceremonies."

The insupportable heat experienced by the crew shortened
their stay at Rio. Upon the i6th of October, anchor was
weighed, but it was five days before a land breeze allowed
the vessels to gain the open sea.

CAPTAIN COOK'S PREDECESSORS 253

Until the 29th of October no incident occurred in their
passage. Upon that date sudden and violent squalls suc-
ceeded each other and culminated in a fearful tempest, the
violence of which was so great that the Commodore ordered
four guns to be thrown overboard, to avoid foundering. In
the morning the weather moderated somewhat, but it was as
cold as in England at the same time of year, although in this
quarter of the globe the month of November answers to the
month of May. As the wind continued to drive the vessel
eastward, Byron began to think that he should experience
great difficulty in avoiding the coast of Patagonia.

The following days were not much more favorable. After
such a troublesome voyage, we may guess how gladly Byron
reached Penguin Island and Port Desire on the 24th of
November.

The English sailors landed and upon advancing into the
interior, met only with a desert country, and sandy hills,
without a single tree. They found no game, but they saw a
few guanacos too far off for a shot; they were, however, able
to catch some large hares, which were not difficult to secure.
The seals and sea birds, however, furnished food for an en-
tire fleet.

Badly situated and badly sheltered, Port Desire offered the
further inconvenience that only brackish water could be pro-
cured there. Not a trace of inhabitants was to be found!
A long stay in this place being useless and dangerous, Byron
started in search of Pepys Island on the 25th.

The position of this island was most uncertain. Halley
placed it 80° east of the continent. Cowley, the only person
who asserted that he had seen it declared it was about 47°
latitude, S., but did not fix its longitude. Here then was an
interesting problem to solve.

After having explored to the N., to the S., and to the E.,
Byron, satisfied that this island was imaginary, set sail for
the Sebaldines, in haste to reach the first possible port where
he could obtain food and water, of which he had pressing
need. A storm overtook him, during which the waves were
so terrific, that Byron declared he had never seen them
equaled, even when he doubled Cape Horn with Admiral
Anson. This danger surmounted, he recognized Cape Vir-
gin, which forms the northern entrance to the Straits of
Magellan.

254 SCIENTIFIC EXPLORATION

As soon as his crew were completely recovered from their
fatigue and the ships well provisioned, the Commodore, on
the 5th of January, 1765, resumed his search for the Falk-
land Islands. Seven days later, he discovered a land in
which he fancied he recognized the Islands of Sebald de
Wert, but upon nearing them he found that what he had
taken for three islands, was, in reality, but one, which ex-
tended far south. He had no remaining doubt that he had
found the group marked upon the charts of the time as New;
Ireland, 51° south latitude, and 63°, 32' west longitude.

First of all, Byron steered clear of them, fearing to be
thrown upon a coast with which he was unacquainted, and
after this summary bearing, a detachment was selected to
skirt the coast as closely as possible, and look for a safe and
commodious harbor — which was soon met with. It re-
ceived the name of Port Egmont, in honor of Earl Egmont,
First Lord of the Admiralty.

"I did not expect," says Byron, " that it would be possible
to find so good a harbor. The depth was excellent, the
supply of water easy; all the ships of England might be
anchored there in shelter from winds.

" Geese, ducks, and teal abounded to such an extent, that
the sailors were tired of eating them. Want of wood was
general, with the exception of some trunks of trees which
floated by the shore, and which were apparently brought
here from the Strait of Magellan.

" The wild sorrel and celery, both excellent anti-scorbutics,
were to be found in abundance. Sea-calves and seals, as
well as penguins, were so numerous that it was impossible
to walk upon the strand without seeing them rush away in
herds. Animals resembling wolves, but more like foxes in
shape, with the exception of their height and tails, several
times attacked the sailors, who had great difficulty in de-
fending themselves. It would be no easy task to guess how
they came here, distant as the country is from any other
continent, — by at least a hundred leagues; or to imagine
where they found shelter, in a country barren of vegetation,
producing only rushes, sword-grasses, and not a single tree."

After having named a number of rocks, islets, and capes,
Byron left Port Egmont on the 27th of January, and set sail
for Port Desire, which he reached nine days later. There
he found the Florida — a transport vessel, which had brought

CAPTAIN COOK'S PREDECESSORS 255

from England the provisions and necessary appliances for
his long voyage.

But this anchorage was too dangerous. The Florida and
the Tamar w^ere in too bad a condition to be equal to the long
operation of transhipment. Byron therefore sailed through
the Strait of Magellan, and landed at Port Famine.

Until the 26th of April, the day upon which they found
Mas-a-Fuero, belonging to the Juan Fernandez group, Byron
had sailed to the N. W. He hastened to disembark several
sailors, who after obtaining water and wood, chased wild
goats, which they found better flavored than venison in
England.

During their stay in this port, a singular fact occurred.
A violent surf broke over the shore, and prevented the shore-
boats from reaching the strand. Although he was provided
with a life-belt, one of the sailors, who could not swim, re-
fused to jump into the sea to reach the boat. Threatened
with being left alone on the island, he still persistently re-
fused to venture, when one of his companions cleverly en-
circled his waist with a cord, in which he had made a running
knot, and one end of which was made fast to the boat.
When he reached the vessel, Hawksworth's narrative relates,
that the unfortunate fellow had swallowed so much water
that he appeared lifeless. He was accordingly hung up by
the heels, whereupon he soon regained his senses, and the
next day was completely restored. But in spite of this truly
(wonderful recovery, we can hardly venture to recommend
this course of treatment to humane rescue societies.

Leaving here, Byron entered the Pacific, with the inten-
tion of seeking Davis Land, now known as Easter Island,
which was placed by geographers in 27° 30', a hundred
leagues westward of the American coast. Eight days were
devoted to this search. Having found nothing after this
cruise, which he was unable to prolong, Byron, following
his intention of visiting Solomon group, steered for the
northwest. Upon the 22d of May scurvy broke out on
board the vessels, and quickly made alarming havoc.

On the 8th of June he found a new land, long, flat, covered
with cocoa-nut trees. In its midst was a lake with a little
islet. This feature alone was indicative of the madreporic
formation of the soil, simple deposit, which was not yet, but
y^hich in time would become, an island. The boat sent to

256 SCIENTIFIC EXPLORATION

sound met in every direction with a coast as steep as a wall.

Meanwhile the natives made hostile demonstrations. Two
men entered the boat. One stole a sailor's waistcoat, an-
other put out his hand for the quartermaster's cocked hat,
but not knowing how to deal with it, pulled it towards him,
instead of lifting it up, which gave the quartermaster an op-
portunity of interfering with his intention. Two large
pirogues, each manned by thirty paddlers, showed an inten-
tion of attacking the vessels, but the latter immediately
chased them. Just as they were running ashore a struggle
ensued, and the English, all but overwhelmed by numbers,
were forced to use their arms. Three or four natives were
killed.

Next day, the sailors and such of the sick as could leave
their hammocks landed. The natives, intimidated by the
lesson they had received in the evening, remained in conceal-
ment, whilst the English picked cocoa-nut, and gathered
anti-scorbutic plants. These timely refreshments were so
useful that in a few days there was not a sick man on board.

Parrots, rarely beautiful, and tame doves, and several
kinds of unknown birds composed the fauna of the island,
which received the name of King George — that which was
discovered afterwards was called Prince of Wales' Island.
All these lands belonged to the Pomotou group, which is also
known as the Low Islands, a very suitable name for this
archipelago.

On the 2 1 St again a new chain of islands surrounded by
breakers was sighted. Byron did not attempt a thorough in-
vestigation of these, as to do so he would have incurred risks
out of proportion to the benefit to be gained. He called
them the Dangerous Islands.

Six days later, Duke of York Island was discovered. The
English found no inhabitants, but carried off two hundred
cocoa-nuts, which appeared to them of inestimable value.

A little farther, in latitude i° i8' south longitude, 173**
46' west, a desert island received the name of Byron; it was
situated eastward of the Gilbert group.

The heat was overwhelming, and the sailors, weakened
by their long voyage and want of proper food, in addition to
the putrid water they had been forced to drink, were almost
all attacked by dysentery.

At length, on the 28th of July, Byron joyfully recognized

V. XV Verne

CAPTAIN COOK'S PREDECESSORS 257

Saypan and Tinian Islands, which form part of the Marianne
or Ladrone Islands, and he prepared to anchor in the very
spot where Lord Anson had cast anchor with the Centurion.
Tents were immediately prepared for the sufferers from
scurvy. Almost all the sailors had been attacked by this
terrible disease, many even had been at the point of death.
The captain undertook to explore the dense wood which
extended to the very edge of the shore, in search of the
lovely country so enthusiastically described in the account
written by Lord Anson's chaplain. How far were these
enchanting descriptions from the truth ! Impenetrable for-
ests met him on every side, overgrown plants, briars, and
tangled shrubs, at every step caught and tore his clothes.
At the same time the explorers were attacked and stung by
clouds of mosquitoes. Game was scarce and wild, the water
detestable, the roadstead was never more dangerous than at
this season.

The halt was made, therefore, under unfortunate auspices.
Still, in the end, limes, bitter oranges, cocoa-nuts, bread-
fruits, guavas, and others were found. But although these
productions were beneficial to the invalids, who were shortly
restored to vigor, the malarious atmosphere caused such
violent fever that two sailors succumbed to it. In addition,
the rain fell unceasingly and the heat was overpowering.
Byron says that he never experienced such terrific heat, even
in his visits to the coast of Guinea, the East Indies, or St.
Thomas Island, which is immediately below the equator.

After a stay of nine weeks, the two ships, amply provi-
sioned, left the port of Tinian. Byron continued his route
to the north, passed Poulo Condor at a distance and stopped
at Poulo Taya, where he encountered a vessel bearing Dutch
colors, but which was manned entirely by Malays. Reach-
ing Sumatra, he explored the coast and cast anchor at
Batavia, the principal seat of Dutch power in the East Indies,
on the 20th of November.

At this time there were more than one hundred ships, large
and small, in this roadstead, so flourishing was the trade of
the East India Company at this epoch. The town was at the
height of its prosperity. Its large and open thoroughfares,
its admirable canals, bordered by pine-trees, its regular build-
ings, singularly recalled the cities of the Netherlands.
Portuguese, Chinese, English, Dutch, Persians, Moors, and

258 SCIENTIFIC EXPLORATION

Malays, mixed in the streets, and transacted business. Fetes,
receptions, gaities of every kind impressed new comers with
a high idea of the prosperity of the town, and contributed
to make their stay a pleasant one. The sole drawback, and
it was a serious one to crews after so long a voyage, was the
unhealthiness of the locality, where endemic fevers abound.
Byron being aware of this, hurried the embarkation of his
provisions, and set sail after an interval of twelve days.

Short as their stay had been, it had been too long. The
fleet had scarcely reached the strait of the sound, before a
malignant fever broke out among the crew, disabling half
their number, and ending in the death of three sailors.

After forty-eight days' navigation, Byron perceived the
coast of Africa, and cast anchor three days later in Table
Bay. Upon the 9th of May, 1766, the Dauphin anchored in
the Downs, after a voyage round the world which had lasted
for twenty-three months.

This was the most fortunate of all the circumnavigation
voyages undertaken by the English. Up to this date, no
purely scientific voyage had been attempted. If it was less
fruitful of results than had been anticipated, the fault lay not
so much with the captain as with the Lords of the Admiralty.
They were not sufficiently accurate in their instructions, and
had not taken the trouble (as was done in later voyages) of
sending special professors of the various branches of science
with the expedition.

Full justice, however, was paid to Byron. The title of
Admiral was conferred on him, and an important command
in the East Indies was entrusted to him. But we have no
interest in the latter part of his life, which ended in 1786,
and to that, therefore, we need not allude.

The impulse once given, England inaugurated the series of
scientific expeditions which were to prove so fruitful of re-
sults, and to raise her naval reputation to such a height.

Admirable indeed is the training acquired in these voyages
round the world. In them the crew, the officers, and sailors,
are constantly brought face to face with unforeseen difficul-
ties and dangers, which call forth the best qualities of the
sailor, the soldier, and the man ! If France succummed to the
naval superiority of Great Britain during the revolutionary
and imperial wars, was it not fully as much owing to this
stern training of the British seaman, as to the internal dis-

CAPTAIN COOK'S PREDECESSORS 259

sensions which deprived France of the services of the greater
part of her naval staff?

Be this as it may, the English Admiralty, shortly after
Byron's return, organized a new expedition. Their prepara-
tions appear to have been far too hasty. Captain Samuel
Wallis received the command, and hastened the needful prep-
arations on board his ship, the Dauphin. On the 21st of
August (less than a month after receiving his commission),
he joined the sloop Swalloiv and the Prince Frederick in Ply-
mouth Harbor.

The latter was in charge of Lieutenant Brine, the former
was commanded by Philip Carteret. Both were most dis-
tinguished officers who had just returned from the voyage
round the world with Commodore Byron, and whose reputa-
tion was destined to be increased by their second voyage.

The Sivallow, unfortunately, appears to have been quite
unfit for the service demanded of her. Having already been
thirty years in service, her sheathing was very much worn,
and her keel was not studded with nails, which might have
served instead of sheathing to protect her from parasites.
Again the provisions and marketable commodities were so
unequally divided, that the Szvallow received much less than
the Dauphin. Carteret begged in vain for rope yarn, a
forge, and various things which his experience told him
would be indispensable. This rebuff confirmed Carteret in
his notion that he should not get further than the Falkland
Isles, but none the less he took every precaution which his
experience dictated to him.

As soon as the equipment was complete, on the 22d of
April, 1766, the vessels set sail. It did not take Wallis long
to find out that the Sivalloiv was a bad sailer, and that he
might anticipate much trouble during his voyage. How-
ever, no accident happened during the voyage to Madeira,
where the vessels put in to revictual. Upon leaving the port,
the commander supplied Carteret with a copy of his instruc-
tions, and selected Port Famine, in the Strait of Magellan,
as a rendezvous, in case of separation.

On the 8th of December, the coast of Patagonia was at
last visible. Wallis skirted it until he reached Cape Virgin,
where he landed with the armed detachments of the Sivallow
and Prince Frederick. A crowd of natives awaited them
upon the shore, and received with apparent satisfaction the

26o SCIENTIFIC EXPLORATION

knives, scissors, and other trifles v/hich it was usual to dis-
tribute upon such occasions, but they would not part with
guanacos, ostriches, or any other game which were seen in
their possession for any consideration.

On the 17th of December, Wallis signaled the Swallow to
head the squadron for the passage of the Straits of Magellan.

At Port Famine the commander had two tents erected on
shore for the sick, the wood-cutters, and the sailors. Fish
in sufficient quantities for each day's meal, abundance of
celery, and acid fruits similar to cranberries and barberries,
were to be found in this harbor, and in the course of about
a fortnight these remedies completely restored the numerous
sufferers from scurvy. The vessels were repaired and par-
tially calked, the sails were mended, the rigging, which had
been a good deal strained, was overhauled and repaired, and
all was soon ready for sea again.

But Wallis first ordered a large quantity of wood to be cut
and conveyed on board the Prince Frederick, for transport to
the Falkland Isles, where it is not obtainable. At the same
time he had hundreds of young trees carefully dug up, and
the roots covered in their native soil to facilitate their trans-
plantation in Port Egmont, that in taking root — as there was
reason to hope they would — they might supply the barren
archipelago with this precious commodity.

Lastly, the provisions were divided between the Dauphin
and the Sivallow. The former taking sufficient for a year,
the latter for ten months.

We will not enlarge upon the different incidents whicli
befell the two ships in the Straits of Magellan, such as sud-
den gales, tempests and snowstorms, irregular and rapid
currents, heavy seas and fogs, which more than once brought
the vessels within an inch of destruction. The Swallow
especially, was in such a dilapidated condition, that Carteret
besought Wallis to consider his vessel no longer of any use
in the expedition, and to tell him what course should best be
pursued for the public good.

Wallis replied, " The orders of the Admiralty are concise,
and you must conform to them, and accompany the Dauphin
as long as possible. I am aware that the Swallow is a bad
sailer; I will accommodate myself to her speed, and follow
her movements, for it is most important that in case of acci-
dent to one of the ships, the other should be within reach, to

CAPTAIN COOK'S PREDECESSORS 261

give all the assistance in her power." Carteret had nothing
to urge in reply, but he augured badly for the result of the
expedition.

As the ships approached the opening of the straits on the
Pacific side, the weather became abominable. A thick fog,
falls of snow and rain, currents which sent the vessels on to
the breakers, a chopping sea, contributed to detain the nav-
igators in the straits until the loth of April. On that day,
the Dauphin and Sivallow were separated off Cape Pilar, and
could not find each other, Wallis not having fixed a ren-
dezvous in case of separation.

Wallis was scarcely free of the strait, when he set sail
westward in spite of dense fogs, and with high wind and
such a heavy sea, that for weeks together there was not a
dry corner in the ship. The constant exposure to damp en-
gendered cold and severe fevers, to which scurvy shortly
succeeded. Upon reaching 32° south latitude, and 100"
west longitude, the navigator steered due north.

Upon the 6th of June, two islands were discovered amidst
general rejoicings. The ships' boats, well armed and
equipped, reached the shore under command of Lieutenant
Furneaux. A quantity of cocoa-nuts and anti-scorbutic
plants were obtained, but altliough the English found huts
and sheds, they did not meet with a single inhabitant. This
island was discovered on the eve of Whitsunday and hence
received the name Whitsunday. It is situated in 19° 26'
south latitude, and 137° 56' west longitude. Like the fol-
lowing islands, it belongs to the Pomotou group.

Next day, the English endeavored to make overtures to
the inhabitants of another island, but the natives appeared
so ill-disposed and the coast was so steep, that it was im-
possible to land. After tacking about all night, Wallis de-
spatched the boats, with orders not to use violence to the in-
habitants if they could avoid it, or unless absolutely obliged.

As Lieutenant Furneaux approached the land, he was
astonished by the sight of two large pirogues with double
masts, in which the natives were on the eve of embarking.
As soon as they had done so, the English landed, and
searched the island thoroughly. They discovered several
pits full of good water. The soil was firm, sandy, covered
with trees, more especially cocoanut-trees, palm-trees, and
sprinkled with anti-scorbutic plants. The narrative says:

2<52 SCIENTIFIC EXPLORATION

" The natives of this island were of moderate stature.
Their skin was brown, and they had long black hair, strag-
gling over the shoulders. The men were finely formed, and
the women were beautiful. Some coarse material formed
their garment, which was tied round the waist, and appeared
to be intended to be raised round the shoulders. In the af-
ternoon, Wallis sent the lieutenant to procure water and to
take possession of the island in the name of King George
III. It was called Queen Charlotte's Island, in honor of
the English queen."

The Dauphin discovered new land, the same day that she
left Queen Charlotte's Island. It lay to the westward, but
after cruising along the coast, the vessel was unable to find
anchorage. Lying low, it was covered with trees, neither
cocoa-nuts nor inhabitants were to be found, and it evi-
dently was merely a rendezvous for the hunters and fishers
of the neighboring islands. Wallis therefore decided not to
stop. It received the name of Egmont, in honor of Earl
Egmont, then chief Lord of the Admiralty. The following
days brought new discoveries. Gloucester, Cumberland,
William, Henry, and Osnaburgh Islands, were sighted in
succession. Lieutenant Furneaux was able to procure pro-
visions without landing at the last named.

Observing several large pirogues on the beach, he drew
the conclusion that other and perhaps larger islands would
be found at no great distance, where they would probably
find abundant provisions, and to which access might be less
difficult. His prevision was right. As the sun rose upon
the 19th, the English sailors were astonished at finding
themselves surrounded by pirogues of all sizes, having on
board no less than eight hundred natives. After having
consulted together at some distance, a few of the natives
approached, holding in their hands banana branches. They
were on the point of climbing up the vessels, when an absurd
accident interrupted these cordial relations.

One of them had climbed into the gangway when a goat
ran at him. Turning he perceived the strange animal upon
its hind legs preparing to attack him again. Overcome with
terror, he jumped back into the sea, an example quickly
followed by the others.

Recovering from this alarm, they again climbed into the
ship, and brought all their cunning to bear upon petty thefts.

til

CAPTAIN COOK'S PREDECESSORS 263

However, only one officer had his hat stolen. The vessel
all the time was following the coast in search of a fitting
harbor, whilst the boats coasted the shore for soundings.

The English had never found a more picturesque and
attractive country in any of their voyages. On the shore,
the huts of the natives were sheltered by shady woods, in
which flourished graceful clusters of cocoanut-trees. Gradu-
ated chains of hills, with wooded summits, and the silver
sheen of rivers glistening amid the verdure as they found
their w^ay to the sea, added to the beauty of the interior.

The boats sent to take soundings were suddenly sur-
rounded at the entrance of a large bay by a crowd of pi-
rogues. Wallis, to avoid a collision, gave the order for the
discharge from the swivel gun above the natives' heads, but
although the noise terrified them, they still continued their
approach.

The captain accordingly ordered his boats to make for the
shore, and the natives finding themselves disregarded, threw
some sharp stones which wounded a few sailors. But the
captains of the boats replied to this attack by a volley of
bullets, which injured one of them, and was followed by the
flight of the rest.

The Dauphin anchored next day at the mouth of a large
river in tvv^enty fathoms of water. Lieutenant Furneaux
landed at the head of a strong detachment of sailors and
marines, and planting the English flag, took possession of
the island in the name of the King of England, in whose
honor it was named George the Third. The natives called
it Tahiti.

After prostrating themselves, and offering various marks
of repentance, the natives appeared anxious to commence
friendly and honest business with the English, but for-
tunately Wallis, who was detained on board by severe ill-
ness, perceived preparations for a simultaneous attack by
land and sea upon the men sent to find water. The shorter
the struggle the less the loss! Acting upon which principle,
directly the natives came within gunshot range, a few dis-
charges dispersed their fleet.

It was the 27th of July, when Wallis left George III.
Island. After coasting Duke of York Island, he discov-
ered several islands or islets in succession, upon which he
did not touch. For example, Charles Saunders, Lord

264 SCIENTIFIC EXPLORATION

Howe, Scilly, Boscawen, and Keppel Islands, where the
hostile character of the natives, and the difficulty of dis-
embarkation prevented his landing.

Winter was now to begin in the southern region. The
vessel leaked in all directions, the stern especially was much
strained by the rudder. Was it wise, under such circum-
stances, to sail for Cape Horn or the Straits of Magellan?
Would it not be running the risk of certain shipwreck?
Would it not be better to reach Tinian or Batavia, where re-
pairs were possible, and to return to Europe by the Cape of
Good Hope?

Wallis decided upon the latter course. He steered for the
north v/est, and upon the 19th of September, after a voyage
which was too fortunate to supply any incidents, he cast
anchor in the Tinian harbor.

We have already had occasion to mention the localities
which witnessed the completion of the voyage. It is enough
to state that from Batavia, where the crews took the fever,
Wallis proceeded by the Cape, thence to St. Helena, and
finally arrived in the Downs, on the 20th of May, 1768,
after six hundred and thirty-seven days' voyage.

We have related how, on the loth of April, 1767, as the
Dauphin and the Szvallozu entered the Pacific, the former,
carried away by a strong breeze, had lost sight of the latter,
and had been unable to follow her. This separation was
most unfortunate for Captain Carteret. He knew better
than any of his crew the dilapidated condition of his vessel
and the insufficiency of his provisions. In short, he was
well aware that he could only hope to meet the Dauphin in
England, as no plan of operation had been arranged, and
no rendezvous had been named — a grave omission on Wal-
lis's part, who was aware of the condition of his consort.

Nevertheless, Carteret allowed none of his apprehensions
to come to the knowledge of the crew. At first the detest-
able weather experienced by the Szvallow upon the Pacific
Ocean (most misleading name), allowed no time for reflec-
tion. The dangers of the passing moment, in which there
was every prospect of their being engulfed, hid from them
the perils of the future.

Carteret steered for the north, by the coast of Chili.
Upon investigating the quantity of soft water which he had
on board, he found it quite insufficient for the voyage he

CAPTAIN COOK'S PREDECESSORS 265

had undertaken. He determined, therefore, before setting
sail for the west, to take in water at Juan Fernandez, or at
Mas-a-Fuero.

The weather continued wretched. Upon the evening of
the 27th a sudden squall was followed by a rising wind,
which carried the vessel straight to the Cape. The violence
of the storm failed to carry away the masts or to founder
the ship. The tempest continued in all its fury, and the
sails being extremely wet, clung round the masts and rigging
so closely, that it was impossible to work them. Next day
a sudden wave broke the mizzen-mast, just where there was
a flaw in the sail, and submerged the vessel for a few mo-
ments. The storm only abated sufficiently to allow the crew
of the Sivallozv time to recover a little, and to repair the
worst damage; then recommenced, and continued with
violent squalls until the 7th of May. The wind then be-
came favorably, and three days later Juan Fernandez was
reached.

Carteret was not aware that the Spaniards had fortified
this island. He was, therefore, extremely surprised at see-
ing a large number of men upon the shore, and at perceiv-
ing a battery of four pieces on the beach, and a fort, pierced
with twenty embrasures and surmounted by the Spanish
flag, upon a hill.

The rising wind prevented an entrance into Cumberland
Bay, and after cruising about for an entire day, Carteret
was obliged to content himself with reaching Mas-a-Fuero.
But he met the same obstacles, and the surge which broke
upon the shore interfered with his operations, and it was
only with the utmost difficulty that he succeeded in shipping
a few casks of water. Some of the crew, who had been
forced by the state of the sea to remain on land, killed
guinea fowls enough to feed the entire crew. These, with
the exception of some seals and plenty of fish, were the sole
result of a stay, marked by a succession of squalls and
storms, which constantly placed the ship in danger.

Carteret, who, owing to unfavorable winds, had had sev-
eral opportunities of noticing Mas-a-Fuero, corrected many
of the errors in the account of Lord Anson's voyage, and
furnished many details of inestimable use to navigators.

On leaving Mas-a-Fuero, Carteret steered northward in
the hope of meeting the southeastern trade wind. Carried

266 SCIENTIFIC EXPLORATION

'farther than he had counted upon, he determined to seek
St. Ambrose, and St. Fehx Island, or the island of St. Paul.
Now that the Spaniards had taken posession of and fortified
Juan Fernandez, those islands might be of great value to the
English in the event of war.

In spite of all, the voyage was continued by day and night
in a westerly direction until the 2d of July. Upon this day
land was discovered to the north, and on the morrow, Car-
teret was sufficiently close to recognize it. It was only a
great rock five miles in circumference, covered with trees,
which appeared uninhabited, but the swell, so prevalent at
this time of year, prevented the vessel coming alongside.
It was named Pitcairn, after the first discoverer. In these
latitudes, the sailors, previously in good health, felt the first
attacks of scurvy.

Upon the nth, a new land was seen in 2.2° southern lati-
tude, and 145° 34' longitude. It received the name of
Osnaburgh in honor of the king's second son.

Next day Carteret sent an expedition to two more islands,
where neither eatables por water were found. The sailors
caught many birds in their hands, as they were so tame
that they did not fly at the approach of man.

All these islands belonged to the Dangerous group, a long
chain of low islands, clusters of which were the despair of
all navigators, for the few resources they offered. Carteret
thought he recognized Quiros in the land discovered, but
this place, which is called by the natives Tahiti, is situated
more to the north.

Sickness, however, increased daily. The adverse winds,
but especially the damage the ship had sustained, made her
progress very slow. Carteret thought it necessary to fol-
low the route upon which he was most likely to obtain pro-
visions and the needful repairs. " My intention in the
event of my ship being repaired," says Carteret, " was to
continue my voyage to the south upon the return of a favor-
able season, with a view to new discoveries in that quarter
of the world. In fact, I had settled in my own mind, if I
could find a continent where sufficient provisions were pro-
curable, to remain near its coast until the sun had passed
the Equator, then to gain a distant southern latitude and
to proceed westward towards the Cape of Good Hope, and
to return eastward after touching at the Falkland Islands,

CAPTAIN COOK'S PREDECESSORS 267

should it be necessary, and thence to proceed quickly to
Europe."

These laudable intentions show Carteret to have been a
true explorer, rather stimulated than intimidated by danger,
but it proved impossible to carry them into execution.

The trade wind was only met on the i6th, and the
iweather remained detestable. Above all, although Carteret
navigated in the neighborhood of Danger Island, dis-
covered in 1765 by Byron, and by others, he saw no land.

The victuals were now all but consumed or tainted, the
rigging and the sails torn by the tempest, half the crew on
the sick list, when a fresh alarm for the captain arose. A
leak was reported, just below the load water-line ; it was
impossible to stop it, as long as they were in the open sea.
By unexpected good fortune land was seen on the morrow.
Needless to say what cries of delight, what acclamations
followed this discovery. To use Carteret's own compari-
son, the feelings of surprise and comfort experienced by
the crew can only be likened to those of a criminal, who at
the last moment on the scaffold receives a reprieve! It was
Nitendit Island, already discovered by Mendana.

To stay the ravages of disease, it was necessary to pro-
cure provisions at all costs, and this was utterly impossible
in this spot. Carteret weighed anchor on the 17th of Au-
gust, after calling the island Egmont, in honor of the Lord
of the Admiralty, and the bay where he had anchored,
Swallow. Although convinced that it was identical with
the land named Santa Cruz by the Spaniards, the navigator
nevertheless followed the prevailing mania of giving new
appellations to all the places he visited. He then coasted
the shore for a short distance and ascertained that the
population was large. He had much trouble with the
natives and several of his men were killed. These obstacles,
and moreover the impossibility of procuring provisions,
prevented Carteret's reconnoitering the other islands of this
group, upon which he bestowed the name of Queen Char-
lotte.

" The inhabitants of Egmont Isle," he says, " are ex-
tremely agile, active, and vigorous. They appear to live
as well in water as on land, for they are continually jump-
ing from their pirogues into the sea. One of the arrows
which they sent passed through the planks of the boat, and

268 SCIENTIFIC EXPLORATION

dangerously wounded the officer at the poop in the thigh.

" Their arrows are tipped with stone, and we saw no
metal of any kind in their possession. The country in gen-
eral is covered with woods and mountains and interspersed
with a great number of valleys."

On the 1 8th of August, 1767, Carteret left this group
with the intention of regaining Great Britain. He fully
expected to meet with an island on his passage, where he
might be more fortunate. And on the 20th, he actually
did so, discovering a little low island, which he named
Gower, where cocoa-nuts were procurable. Next day he
encountered Simpson and Carteret Islands, and a group of
new islands which he took to be the Ohang Java, discovered
by Tasman; then successively Sir Charles Hardy and
Winchelsea Islands, which he did not consider as be-
longing to the Solomon Archipelago, the Island of St. John,
so called by Schouten, and finally that of New Britain,
which he gained on the 28th of August.

Although all this portion of the narrative of his voyage,
in countries unknown before his time, abounds in precious
details, Carteret, a far more able and zealous navigator than
his predecessors Byron and Wallis, makes excuses for not
having collected more facts.

" The description of the country," he says, " and of its
productions and inhabitants, would have been far more com-
plete and detailed had I not been so weakened and overcome
by the illness to which I had succumbed through the duties
which developed upon me from want of officers. When I
could scarcely drag myself along, I was obliged to take
watch after watch and to share in other labors with my
lieutenant, who was also in a bad state of health."

After leaving St. George's Strait, the route was west-
ward. Carteret discovered several other islands, but illness
for several days prevented his coming on deck, and there-
fore he could not determine their position. He named them
Admiralty Islands, and after two attacks, found himself
forced to employ fire-arms to repulse the natives.

He afterwards reconnoitered Durour and Matty Islands
and the Cuedes, whose inhabitants were quite delighted at
receiving bits of an iron hoop. Carteret affirms, that he
might have bought all the productions of this country for a
few iron instruments. Although they are the neighbors of

CAPTAIN COOK'S PREDECESSORS 269

New Guinea, and of the groups they had just explored,
these natives were not black, but copper colored. They
had very long black hair, regular features, and brilliantly
white teeth. Of medium height, strong and active, they
were cheerful and friendly, and came on board fearlessly.
One of them even asked permission to accompany Carteret
upon his voyage, and in spite of all the representations of
his countrymen and even of the captain, he refused to leave
the Sivallozv. Carteret, meeting with so decided a will,
consented, but the poor Indian, who had received the
name of Joseph Freewill, soon faded away and died at
Celebes.

The vessel then proceeded with so much difficulty that she
only accomplished twenty-eight leagues in fifteen days.
" 111," says Carteret, " weakened, dying, tortured by the
sight of lands which we could not reach, exposed to tem-
pests which we found it impossible to overcome, we were
attacked by a pirate ! "

The latter, hoping to find the English crew asleep, at-
tacked the Swallozv in the middle of the night. But far
from allowing themselves to be cowed by this new danger,
the sailors defended themselves with so much courage and
skill, that they succeeded in foundering the Malay prah.

On the 1 2th of December Carteret sorrowfully perceived
that the western monsoon had commenced. The Sivallow
was in no condition to struggle against this wind and cur-
rent to reach Batavia by the west. He must then content
himself with gaining Macassar, then the principal colony
of the Dutch in the Celebes Islands. When the English
arrived, it was thirty-five weeks since they left the Straits
of Magellan.

Anchor was scarcely cast, when a Dutchman, sent by
the governor, came on board the Sivallozv. He appeared
much alarmed on finding that the vessel belonged to the
English marine service. In the morning, therefore, when
Carteret sent his lieutenant, Mr. Gower, to ask for access to
the port in order to secure provisions for his dying crew,
and to repair his dilapidated ship, and await the return of
the monsoon, not only could he not obtain permission to
land, but the Dutch hastened to collect their forces and arm
their vessels. Finally, after five hours, the governor's re-
ply was brought on board. It was a refusal couched in

270 SCIENTIFIC EXPLORATION

terms as little polite as they were equivocal. The English
were simultaneously forbidden to land at any port under
Dutch government.

All Carteret's representations, his remarks upon the in-
humanity of the refusal, even his hostile demonstrations,
had no other result than the sale of a few provisions, and
permission to proceed to a small neighboring bay.

On the 15th of September, the Swallow, partially refitted,
set sail. She was reinforced with a supplementary num-
ber of English sailors, without which it would have been
impossible to regain Europe. Eighty of her original crew
were dead, and eighty more were so reduced that seven of
their number died before they reached the Cape.

After a stay in this port, a most salutary one for the crew,
which lasted until the 6th of January, 1769, Carteret set
out once more, and a little beyond Ascension Island, at
which he had touched, he met a French vessel. It was
the frigate. La Boudeiise, with which Bougainville had just
been round the world.

On the 20th of March the Swallow anchored in Spithead
roadstead, after thirty-one months of a voyage as painful
as it had been dangerous. All Carteret's nautical ability,
all his sang froid, all his enthusiasm were needed to save so
inefficient a vessel from destruction, and to make important
discoveries, under such conditions. If the perils of the
voyage, add luster to his renown, the shame of such a mis-
erable equipment falls upon the English Admiralty, who,
despising the representations of an able captain, risked his
life and the lives of his crew upon so long a voyage.

CHAPTER IV

BOUGAINVILLE AND COOK

Whilst Wallis completed his voyage round the world,
and Carteret continued his long and hazardous circumnavi-
gation, a French expedition was organized for the pur-
pose of prosecuting new discoveries in the Southern Seas.

Under the old regime, when all was arbitrary, titles, rank,
and places were obtained by interest. It was therefore not
surprising that a military officer, who left the army'scarcely
four years before with the rank of colonel, to enter the

BOUGAINVILLE AND COOK 2711

navy as a captain, should obtain this important command.

Strangely enough, this singular measure was amply justi-
fied, thanks to the talents possessed by the favored recipient.

Louis Antoine de Bougainville was born at Paris, on the
13th of November, 1729. The son of a notary, he was des-
tined for the bar, and was already an advocate. But hav-
ing no taste for his father's profession, he devoted himself
to the sciences, and published a Treatise on the Integral
Calculus, whilst he obtained a commission in the Black
Musqueteers.

Of the three careers he thus entered upon, he entirely
abandoned the two first, slightly neglected the third, for the
sake of a fourth — diplomacy, and finally left it entirely for a
fifth — the naval service. He was destined to die a member
of the senate after a sixth metamorphosis.

His military career was cut short by the peace of 1763.
His active spirit and love of movement rebelled against a
garrison life. He conceived the strange idea of colonizing
the Falkland Islands in the extreme south of South Amer-
ica, and of conveying there free of expense the emigrants
from Canada who had settled in France to escape the
tyrannous yoke of England. Carried away by this idea,
he addressed himself to certain privateers at St. Malo, who,
from the commencement of the century, had been in the
habit of visiting the group, and who had named them
Malouine Islands.

Having gained their confidence, Bougainville brought the
advantages (however problematical) of this colony to the
minister's notice, maintaining that the fortunate situation
of the island would secure a good resting-place for ships
going to the Southern Seas. Having high interest, he ob-
tained the authority he desired, and received his nomination
■as ship-captain.

The colony was beginning to make a show, when the
English settled themselves in Port Egmont, reconnoitered
by Byron. At the same time Captain Macbride attempted
to obtain possession of the colony, on the ground that the
land belonged to the English king, although Byron had not
recognized the Malouines in 1765, and the French had then
been settled there two years.

In the meantime Spain laid claim to it in her turn, as a
dependency of Southern America, England and France

272 SCIENTIFIC EXPLORATION

were equally adverse to a breach of the peace, for the sake
of this archipelago, which was of so little commercial value,
and Bougainville was forced to relinquish his undertaking
on condition that the Spanish Government indemnified him
for his expenses. In addition, he was ordered by the
French Government to facilitate the restoration of the
Malouines to the Spanish Commissioners.

This foolish attempt at colonization was the origin and
ground-work of Bougainville's good fortune, for in order
to make use of the last equipment, the minister ordered
Bougainville to return by the South Sea, and to make dis-
coveries.

In the early days of November, 1766, Bougainville re-
paired to Nantes, where his second in command, M. Duclos-
Guiyot, captain of the fire-ship, and an able and veteran
sailor, who grew gray in the inferior rank because he was
not noble, superintended the equipment of the frigate La
Bondeuse, of twenty-six guns.

Bougainville left the roadstead of Minden at the mouth
of the Loire, on the 15th of November, for the La Plata
river, where he hoped to find two Spanish vessels, the
Esmeralda and the Lichre. But scarcely had the Bondeuse
gained the open sea when a furious tempest arose. The
frigate, the rigging of which was new, sustained such ser-
ious damages that it was necessary to put for repairs into
Brest, which she entered on the 21st November. This ex-
perience sufficed to convince the captain that the Bondeuse
was but little fitted for the voyage he had before him. He
therefore had the masts shortened, and changed his artillery
for less heavy pieces, but in spite of these modifications, the
Bondeuse was not fit for the heavy seas and storms of Cape
Horn. However, the rendezvous with the Spaniards was
arranged, and Bougainville was obliged to put to sea.

As far as La Plata the sea was calm enough to allow of
Bougainville's making many observations on the currents,
a frequent source of the errors made by navigators in their
reckonings. On the 31st of January, La Bondeuse an-
chored in Montevideo Bay, where the two Spanish frigates
had been awaiting her for a month.

Upon the ist of April the restitution of the colony to the
Spaniards was solemnized. Very few French profited by
their king's permission to remain in the Malouines; almost

V. XV Verne

BOUGAINVILLE AND COOK 273

all preferred to embark upon the Spanish frigates upon their
leaving Montevideo. As for Bougainville, he was forced
to await the provisions, which the fly-boat Etoile was to
bring him, and which was to accompany him upon his voy-
age round the world.

Toward the end of November both ships came in sight
of Virgin Cape at the entrance to the Strait of Magellan,
which they hastened to enter. Possession Bay, the first
they met with, is a large space, open to all winds and offer-
ing very bad anchorage. From Virgin Cape to Orange
Cape is about fifteen leagues, and the strait is throughout
seven or eight leagues wide. The first narrow entrance
was easily passed, and anchor cast in Boucault Bay, where
half a score of officers and men landed. They soon made
acquaintance with the Patagonians, and exchanged a few
trifles, precious to the natives, for swansdown and guanaco
skins.

The French reconnoitered several bays, capes, and harbors
at which they touched. They were Bougainville Bay,
where the Etoile was repainted, Port Beau Bassin, Cor-
madiere Bay, off the coast of Terra del Fuego, and Cape
Forward, which forms the most southerly point of the strait
and of Patagonia, Cascade Bay in Terra del Fuego, the
safety, easy anchorage, and facilities for procuring water
and wood of which, render it a most desirable haven for
navigators.

Scarcely had he entered the Pacific when Bougainville, to
his intense surprise, found the winds southerly. He was
therefore obliged to relinquish his intention of reaching
Juan Fernandez.

Bougainville had agreed with M. de la Giraudais, captain
of the Etoile, that if a larger stretch of sea was discovered,
the two vessels should separate, but not lose sight of each
otlier, and that every evening the bugle should recall them
within half a league of each other, so that, in the event of
the Boiideuse encountering danger, the Etoile might avoid
It. Bougainville for some time sought Easter Island In
vain. At last he fell in during the month of March with
the lands and islands erroneously marked upon M. Bellln's
chart as Ouiros Islands. On the 22nd of the same month
he met with four islets, to which he gave the name of
Quatre Facardlns, which belonged to the Dangerous group.

274 SCIENTIFIC EXPLORATION

a set of madreporic islets, low and damp, whidi all naviga-
tors who have visited the Pacific Ocean by way of the
Straits of Magellan appear to have noticed.

A little further, discovery was made of a fertile island
inhabited by entirely naked savages, who were armed with
long spears, which they brandished with menacing gestures,
and thus it obtained the name of Lancers Island.

We need not refer to what we have already repeatedly
said of the nature of these islands, the difficulty of access
to them, their wild and inhospitable inhabitants. Cook calls
this very Lancers Island, Thrum Cape, and the island of
La Harpe, which Bougainville found on the 24th, is identical
Vv'ith Cook's Bow Island.

The captain, knowing that Roggewein had nearly per-
ished in these latitudes, and thinking the interest of their
exploration not worth the risk to be run, proceeded south-
ward and soon lost sight of this immense archipelago, which
extends in length 500 leagues, and contains at least sixty
islands or groups.

Upon the 2nd of April Bougainville perceived a high and
steep mountain, to which he gave the name of La Boudeuse.
It was Maitea Island, already called La Dezana by Quiros.
On the 4th at sunrise the vessel reached Tahiti, a long island
consisting of two peninsulas, united by a tongue of land no
more than a mile in width. It was here that Wallis had
encamped.

More than 100 pirogues hastened to surround the two
vessels. They were laden with cocoa-nuts and many de-
licious fruits which were readily exchanged for all sorts of
trifles.

When night fell, the shore was illuminated by a thousand
fires, to which the crew responded by throwing rockets.

" The appearance of this shore," says Bougainville,
" raised like an amphitheatre, offered a most attractive pic-
ture. Although the mountains are high, the land nowhere
shows its nakedness, being covered with wood. We could
scarcely credit our sight, when we perceived a peak,
covered with trees, which rose above the level of the moun-
tains in the southern portion of the island. It appeared
only thirty fathoms in diameter, and decreased in size at its
summit. At a distance it might have been taken for an
immense pyramid, adorned with foliage by a clever decora-

BOUGAINVILLE AND COOK 275

tor. The least elevated portions of the country are inter-
sected by fields and groves. And the entire length of the
coast, upon the shore below the higher level, is a stretch of
low land, unbroken and covered by plantations. There,
amid the bananas, cocoa-nut and other fruit-trees we saw
the huts of the natives."

Upon the morning of the 6th, after three days devoted
to tacking about and reconnoitering the coast in search of a
roadstead, Bougainville decided to cast anchor in the bay
he had seen the first day of his arrival.

" The number of pirogues round our vessel," he says,
" was so great, that we had immense trouble in making way
through the crowd and noise. All approached crying
' Tayo,' friend, and offering a thousand marks of friend-
ship. The pirogues were full of women, who might vie
with most Europeans in pleasant features, and who certainly
excelled them in beauty of form."

Bougainville's cook managed to escape, in spite of all
prohibitions, and gained the shore. But he had no sooner
landed, than he was surrounded by a vast crowd, who en-
tirely undressed him to investigate his body. Not knowing
what they were going to do with him, he thought himself
lost, when the natives restored his clothes, and conducted
him to the vessel more dead than alive. Bougainville
wished to reprimand him, but the poor fellow assured him,
that however he might threaten him, he could never equal
the terrors of his visit on shore.

As soon as the ship could heave to, Bougainville landed
with some of his ofticers to reconnoiter the watering-place.
An enormous crowd immediately surrounded him, and ex-
amined him with great curiosity, all the time crying " Tayo!
Tayo!" One of the natives received them in his house,
and served them with fruits, grilled fish, and water. As
they regained the shore, a native of fine appearance, lying
under a tree, offered them a share of the shade.

" We accepted it," says Bougainville, " and the man at once
bent towards us, and in a gentle way, sung, to the sound of
a flute which another Indian blew with his nose, a song
which was no doubt anacreontic. It was a charming scene,
worthy of the pencil of Boucher. Four natives came with
great confidence to sup and sleep on board. We had the
flute, bassoon, and violin played for them, and treated them

2y(i SCIENTIFIC EXPLORATION

to fireworks composed of rockets and serpents. This dis-
play excited both surprise and fear."

Before giving further extracts from Bougainville's nar-
rative it appears apropos to warn the reader not to accept
these descriptions au pied de la Icttre. The fertile imagina-
tion of the narrator embellished everything. Not content
with the ravishing scenes under his eyes, the picturesque
reality is not enough for him, and he adds new delights to
the picture, which only overload it. He does this almost
unconsciously. None the less, his descriptions should be
received with great caution.

At eight o'clock on the i6th of April, Bougainville was
about ten leagues north of Tahiti, when he perceived land
to windward. Although it had the appearance of three
islands, it was in reality but one. It was named Oumaita
after Aotourou. The captain, not thinking it wise to stop
there, steered so as to avoid the Pernicious Islands, of which
Roggewein's disaster had made him afraid. During the
remainder of the month of April the weather was fine, with
little wind.

On the 3rd of May, Bougainville bore down towards a
new land, which he had just discovered, and was not long
in finding others on the same day. The coasts of the larg-
est one were steep; in point of fact, it was simply a moun-
tain covered with trees to its summit, with neither valley
nor sea coast. Some fires were seen there, cabins built un-
der the shade of the cocoanut-trees, and some thirty men
running on the shore. In the evening, several pirogues
approached the vessels, and after a little natural hesitation,
exchanges commenced. The natives demanded pieces of
red cloth in exchange for cocoa-nuts, yams, and far less
beautiful stuffs than those of the Tahitans! they disdain-
fully refused iron, nails, and earrings, which had been so
appreciated elsewhere in the Bourbon Archipelago, as
Bougainville had named the Tahitan group. The natives
had their breasts and thighs painted dark blue; they wore
no beards; their hair was drawn into tufts on the top of
their heads.

Next day, fresh islands belonging to the archipelago were
seen. The natives, who appeared very savage, would not
approach the vessels.

As fresh victuals diminished, scurvy again began to ap-

BOUGAINVILLE AND COOK 2Tj

pear. It was necessary to think of putting into a port
again. On the 22nd and the following days of the same
month, Pentecost Island, Aurora and Leper Islands, which
belong to the archipelago of New Hebrides, were recon-
noitered. They had been discovered by Quiros in 1606.
The landing appearing easy, the captain determined to send
an expedition on shore, which would bring back cocoanuts
and other anti-scorbutic fruits. Bougainville joined them
during the day. The sailors cut wood, and the natives
aided in shipping it. But in spite of this apparent good
feeling, the natives were still distrustful, and carried their
weapons in their hands. Those who possessed none, held
large stones, all ready to throw.

As soon as the boats were laden with fruit and wood,
Bougainville re-embarked his men. The natives then ap-
proached in great numbers, and discharged a shower of
arrows, lances, and javelins, some even entered the water,
the better to aim at the French. Several gunshots, fired
into the air, having no effect, a well-directed general volley
soon put the natives to flight.

A few days later, a boat seeking anchorage upon the
coast of the Leper Islands, was in danger of attack. Two
arrows aimed at them served as a pretext for the first dis-
charge, which was speedily followed by a fire so well di-
rected, that Bougainville believed his crew in danger. The
number of victims was very large; the natives uttered pierc-
ing cries as they fled to the woods. It was a regulai mas-
sacre. The captain, uneasy at the prolonged firing, sent
another boat to the help of the first, when he saw it doubling
a point. He therefore signaled for their return. " I took
measures," he said, " that we should never again be dishon-
ored by such an abuse of our superior forces."

The easy abuse of their powers by captains is truly sad!
The mania for destroying life needlessly, even without any
object, raises one's indignation ! To whatever nation ex-
plorers belong we find them guilty of the same acts. The
reproach, therefore, belongs not to a particular nation, but
to humanity at large. Having obtained the commodities
he needed, Bougainville regained the sea.

It would appear that the navigator aimed at making many
discoveries, for he only reconnoitered the lands he found
very superficially and hastily, and of all the charts which ac-

278 SCIENTIFIC EXPLORATION

company the narrative, and there are many of them, not
one gives an entire archipelago, or settles the various ques-
tions to which a new discovery gives rise. Captain Cook
did not proceed in this way. His explorations, always con-
ducted with care, and with rare perseverance, are for that
very reason far superior in value to those of the French
explorer.

The lands which the French now encountered, were no
other than St. Esprit, Mallicolo, and St. Bartholomew, and
the islets belonging to the latter. Although he was per-
fectly aware that these islands were identical with the
Ticrra del Espiritu Santo of Quiros, Bougainville could not
refrain from bestowing a new name upon them, and called
them the Archipelago des " Grandes Cyclades," to which,
however, the name of New Hebrides has been given in
preference.

Whilst Bougainville was in these latitudes certain busi-
ness matters required his presence on board the Etoile, and
he there found out a singular fact, which had already been
largely discussed by his crew. M. de Commerson had a
servant named Barre. Indefatigable, intelligent, and al-
ready an experienced botanist, Barre had been seen taking
an active part in the herborising excursions, carrying boxes,
provisions, the weapons, and books of plants, with endur-
ance which obtained from the botanist, the nickname of his
beast of burden. For some time past Barre had been sup-
posed to be a woman. His smooth face, the tone of his
voice, his reserve, and certain other signs, appeared to jus-
tify the supposition, when on arriving at Tahiti suspicions
were changed into certainty. M. de Commerson landed
to botanize, and according to custom Barre followed him
with the boxes, when he was surrounded by natives, who,
exclaiming that it w^as a woman, were disposed to verify
their opinion. A midshipman, M. Bommand, had the great-
est trouble in rescuing her from the natives, and escorting
her back to the ship. When Bougainville visited the Etoile,
he received Barre's confession. In tears, the assistant bot-
anist confessed her sex, and excused herself for having de-
ceived her master, by presenting herself in man's clothes,
at the very moment of embarkation. Having no family,
and having been ruined by a law-suit, this girl had donned
man's clothes to insure respect. She was aware, before

BOUGAINVILLE AND COOK 279

she embarked, that she was going on a voyage round the
world, and the prospect, far from frightening her, only
confirmed her in her resolution.

" She will be the first woman who has been round the
world," says Bougainville, " and I must do her the justice
to admit that she has conducted herself with the most
scrupulous discretion. She is neither ugly nor pretty, and
at most is only twenty-six or twenty-seven years old. It
must be admitted that had the two vessels suffered ship-
wreck upon a desert island, it would have been a singular
experience for Barre."

The expedition lost sight of land on the 29th of May.
The route was directed westward. On the 4th of June, a
very dangerous rock, so slightly above water that at two
leagues' distant it was not visible from the look-out, was
discovered in latitude 15° 50', and 148° 10' longitude. The
constant recurrence of breakers, trunks of trees in large
quantities, fruits and sea wrack, and the smoothness of the
sea, all indicated the neighborhood of extensive land to
the southeast. It was New Holland. Bougainville deter-
mined to leave these dangerous latitudes, where he was
likely to meet with nothing but barren lands, and a sea
strewn with rocks and full of shallows. There were other
urgent reasons for changing the route, provisions were get-
ting low, the salt meat was so tainted that the rats caught
on board were eaten in preference. Bread enough for two
months, and vegetables for forty days alone remained All
clamored for a return to the north.

From thence Bougainville penetrated to the Molucca
Archipelago, where he reckoned upon finding the fresh pro-
visions requisite for the forty-five sufferers from scurvy on
board.

In absolute ignorance of the events which had occurred
in Europe since he left it, Bougainville would not run the
risk of visiting a colony in which he was not the strongest
power. The small Dutch establishment, Boeton or Bourou
Island, suited him perfectly, all the more that provisions
were easily obtained there. The crew received orders to
enter the Gulf of Cajeti with the greatest delight. No one
on board had escaped scurvy, and half the crew, Bougain-
ville says, were quite unfit for duty.

" The victuals remaining to us were so tainted and ill-

28o SCIENTIFIC EXPLORATION

smelling, that the worst moments of ouf sad days were
those when we were obliged to partake of such disgusting
and unwholesome viands."

: Scarcely had the Boudeuse and the Etoile cast anchor,
than the resident governor sent two soldiers to inquire of
the French captain what reason he could assign for stopping
at this place, when he must be aware that entrance was per-
mitted to the ships of the India Company only. Bougain-
ville immediately sent an officer to explain that hunger and
sickness forced him to enter the first port which presented
itself in his route. Also, that he would leave Boeton as
soon as he had received the aid of which he had urgent
need. The resident at once sent him the order of the Gov-
ernor of Amboyna, which expressly forbade his receiving
any strange ship in his harbor, and begged Bougainville to
make a written declaration of the reason for his putting into
port, in order that he might prove to his superior that he
had not infringed his orders except under paramount neces-
sity.

As soon as Bougainville had signed a certificate to this
effect, cordiality was established with the Dutch. The resi-
dent entertained the officers at his own table, and a contract
was concluded for provisions and fresh meat. Bread gave
place to rice, the usual food of the Dutch, and fresh vege-
tables, which are not usually cultivated in the Island, were
provided for the crews by the resident, who obtained them
from the Company's gardens. It would have been desir-
able for the re-establishment of the health of the crew, that
the stay at this port could have been prolonged, but the end
of the monsoon warned Bougainville to set out for Batavia.

The captain left Boeton on the 7th of September, con-
vinced that navigation in the Molucca Archipelago was not
so difficult as it suited the Dutch to affirm. As for trust-
ing to French charts, they were of no use, being more quali-
fied to mislead vessels than to guide them.

Bougainville therefore directed his course through the
Straits of Button and Saleyer; a route which, though com-
monly used by the Dutch, is but little known to other na-
tions. The narrative therefore carefully describes, with
mention of every cape, the course he took. iWe will not
dwell upon this part of the voyage, although it is very in-
structive, and on that account interesting to seafaring men.

BOUGAINVILLE AND COOK 281

On the 28th of September, ten months and a half after
leaving Montevideo, the Etiole and the Boudense arrived
at Batavia, one of the finest colonies in the world. After
touching at the Isle of France, the Cape of Good Hope, and
Ascension Island, near which he met Carteret, Bougainville
entered St. Malo on the i6th of February, 1769, having
lost only seven men, in the two years and four months
which had elapsed since he left Nantes.

Following Bougainville's circumnavigation came Captain
Cook's three remarkable voyages, which should be read
in the original account. The excellent journals kept by this
great explorer cleared away the mystery of the Pacific,
supplying the world with full knowledge of those count-
less islands.

CHAPTER V

AFRICAN EXPLORERS

An Englishman named Thomas SHaw, a chaplain in Al-
geria, had profited by his twelve years' stay in Barbary to
gather together a rich collection of natural curiosities,
medals, inscriptions, and various objects of interest. Al-
though he himself never visited the southern portion of
Algeria, he availed himself of the facts he was able to ob-
tain from well-informed travelers, who imparted to him a
mass of information concerning the little known and
scarcely visited country. He published a book in two large
quarto volumes, which embraced the whole of ancient Nu-
midia.

It was rather the work of a learned man than the account
of a traveler, and it must be admitted that the learning is
occasionally ill-directed. But in spite of its shortcomings
as a geographical history, it had a large value at the time of
its publication, and no one could have been better situated
than Shaw for collecting such an enormous mass of ma-
terial.

The following extract may give an idea of the style of
the work :

" The chief manufacture of the Kabyles and Arabs is
the making ' hykes,' as they call their blankets. The women
alone are employed in this work; like Andromache and
Penelope of old, they do not use the shuttle, but weave

282 SCIENTIFIC EXPLORATION

every thread of the woof with their fingers. The usual
size of a hyke is six yards long and five or six feet broad,
serving the Kabyle and Arab as a complete dress during
the day, and as a covering for the bed at night. It is a
loose but troublesome garment, as it is often disarranged
and slips down, so that the person who wears it is every
moment obliged to tuck it up and rearrange it. This shows
the great use there is of a girdle whenever men are in active
employment, and explains the force of the Scripture in-
junction of having our loins girded. The method of wear-
ing this garment, with the use it is at other times put to as
bed covering, makes it probable that it is similar to if not
identical with the peplus of the ancients. It is likewise
probable that the loose garment flung over the shoulder, the
toga of the Romans, was of this kind, as the drapery of
statues is arranged very much in the same manner as the
Arab hyke."

It is unnecessary to linger over this work, which has little
interest for us. We shall do better to turn our attention
to the journey of Frederic Conrad Horneman to Fezzan.

This young German offered his services to the Africati
Society of London, and, having satisfied the authorities of
his knowledge of medicine and acquaintance with the Arabic
language, he was engaged, and furnished with letters of
introduction, safe-conducts, and unlimited credit.

Leaving London in July, 1797, he went first to Paris.
Lalande introduced him to the Institute, and presented him
with his " Memoire sur I'Afrique," and Broussonet gave
him an introduction to a Turk from whom he obtained let-
ters of recommendation to certain Cairo merchants who
carried on business in the interior of Africa.

During his stay at Cairo, Horneman devoted himsdf toi
perfecting his knowledge of Arabic, and studying the man-
ners and customs of the natives. We must not omit to
mention that the traveler had been presented by Monge and
Berthollet to Napoleon Bonaparte, who was then in com-
mand of the French forces in Egypt. From him he re-
ceived a cordial welcome, and Bonaparte placed all the
resources of the country at his service.

As the safer method of traveling, Horneman resolved to
disguise himself as a Mohammedan merchant. He quickly
learned a few prayers, and adopted a style of dress likely;

AFRICAN EXPLORERS 2831

to impose upon unsuspecting people. He then started, ac-
companied by a fellow-countryman named Joseph Fren-
denburg, who had been a Mussulman for more than twelve
years, had already made three pilgrimages to Mecca, and
was perfectly familiar with the various Turkish and Arabic
dialects. He was to act as Horneman's interpreter.

On the 5th of September, 1798, the traveler left Cairo
with a caravan, and visited the famous oasis of Jupiter
Ammon or Siwah, situated in the desert on the east of
Egypt. It is a small independent state, which acknowledges
the Sultan, but is exempt from paying tribute. The town
of Siwah is surrounded by several villages, at distances of
a mile or two. It is built upon a rock in which the inhab-
itants have hollowed recesses for their dwellings. The
streets are so narrow and intricate that a stranger cannot
possibly find his way among them.

This oasis is of considerable extent. The most fertile
portion comprises a well-watered valley, about fifty miles
in circumference, which is productive of corn and edible
vegetables. Dates of an excellent flavor are its most valu-
able export.

Horneman was anxious to explore some ruins which he
had noticed, for he could obtain little information from the
natives. But every time he penetrated to any distance in
the ruins, he was followed by a number of the inhabitants,
who prevented him from examining anything in detail.
One of the Arabs said to him, " You must still be a Chris-
tian at heart, or you would not so often visit the works of
the infidels."

This remark put a speedy end to Horneman's further
explorations. As far as his superficial examination enabled
him to judge, it was really the oasis of Ammon, and the
ruins appeared to him to be of Egyptian origin.

The immense number of catacombs in the neighborhood
of the town, especially on the hill overlooking it, indicate
a dense population in ancient times. The traveler endeav-
ored vainly to obtain a perfect head from one of these burial
places. Amongst the skulls he procured, he found no cer-
tain proof that they had been filled with resin. He met
with many fragments of clothing, but they were all in such
a state of decay that it was impossible to decide upon their
origin or use.

284 SCIENTIFIC EXPLORATION

After a stay of eight days in this place, Horneman
crossed the mountains which surrounded the oasis of Siwah,
and directed his steps towards Schiatah. So far no mis-
fortune had interrupted his progress. But at Schiatah he
was denounced as a Christian and a spy. Horneman cleverly
saved his Hfe by boldly reading out a passage in the Koran
which he had in his possession. Unfortunately, his inter-
preter, expecting that his baggage would be searched, had
burned the collection of fragments of mummies, the botan-
ical specimens, the journal containing the account of the
journey, and all the books. This loss was quite irreparable.

A little further on, the caravan reached Augila, a town
mentioned by Herodotus, who places it some ten days' jour-
ney from the oasis of Amnion. This accords with the tes-
timony given by Horneman, who reached it in nine days'
forced march. At Augila a number of merchants from
Bengasi, Merote, and Mokamba had joined the caravan,
amounting altogether to no less than a hundred and twenty
persons. After a long journey over a sandy desert, the
caravan entered a country interspersed with hills and
ravines, where they found trees and grass at intervals. This
was the desert of Harutsch. It was necessary to cross It
in order to reach Temissa, a town of little note, built upon
a hill, and surrounded by a high wall. At Zuila the Fezzan
country was entered. The usual ceremonies, with inter-
minable compliments and congratulations, were repeated at
the entrance to every town. The Arabs appear to lay great
stress upon these salutations, little trustworthy as they are,
and travelers constantly express surprise at their frequent
recurrence.

Upon the 17th of November, the caravan halted at Mur-
zuk, the capital of Fezzan. It was the end of the journey.
Horneman says that the greatest length of the cultivated
portion of Fezzan is about three hundred miles from north
to south, but to this must be added the mountainous region
of Harutsch on the east, and the various deserts north and
west. The climate is never pleasant; in summer the heat
is terrible, and when the wind blows from the south, it is
all but insupportable, even to the natives, and in winter the
north wind is so cold that they are obliged to have recourse
to fires.

The produce of the country consists principally of dates

AFRICAN EXPLORERS 285

and vegetables. Miirzuk is the chief market; there are col-
lected the products of Cario, Bengazi, Tripoli, Ghadames,
Ghat, and the Soudan. Among the articles of commerce
are male and female slaves, ostrich feathers, skins of wild
beasts, and gold dust or nuggets. Bornu produces copper,
Cairo silks, calicoes, woolen garments, imitation coral,
bracelets, and Indian manufactures. Firearms, sabers,
and knives are imported by the merchants of Tripoli and
Ghadames.

The Fezzan country is ruled by a sultan desecended from
the scherifs, whose power is limitless, but who, neverthe-
less, pays a tribute of four thousand dollars to the Bey of
Tripoli. Horneman, without giving the grounds of his cal-
culation, informs us that the population amounts to seventy-
five thousand inhabitants, all of whom profess Mohammed-
anism.

Horneman's narrative gives a few more details of the
manners and customs of the people. He ends his report
to the African Society by saying that he proposes visiting
Fezzan again in the hope of obtaining new facts.

We learn, further, that Frendenburg, Horneman's faith-
ful associate, died at Murzuk. Attacked by a violent fever,
Horneman was forced to remain much longer than he de-
sired in that town. While still only partially recovered, he
went to Tripoli for change and rest, hoping there to meet
with Europeans. Upon the ist of December, 1799, he re-
turned to Murzuk, and left it finally with a caravan upon
the 7th of April, 1800. He was irresistibly attracted to-
wards Bornu, and perished in that country, which was to
claim so many victims.

During the eighteenth century, Africa was literally be-
sieged by travelers. Explorers endeavored to penetrate into
it from every side. More than one succeeded in reaching
the interior, only to meet with repulse or death. The dis-
covery of the secrets of this mysterious continent was re-
served for our own age, when the unexpected fertility of
its resources has astonished the civilized world.

The facts relating to the coast of Senegal needed con-
firmation, but the French superiority was no longer undis-
puted. The English, with their earnest and enterprising
character, were convinced of its importance in the develop-
ment of their commerce, and determined upon its explora-

286 SCIENTIFIC EXPLORATION

tion. But before proceeding to the narrative of the ad-
ventures of Major Houghton and Mungo Park, we will
devote a small space to the record of the work done by the
French naturalist, Michael Adanson.

Devoted from early youth to the study of natural history,
Adanson wished to become famous by the discovery of new
species. It was hopeless to dream of obtaining them in
Europe, and, in spite of opposition, Adanson selected Sene-
gal as the field of his labors. He says, in a manuscript let-
ter, that he chose it because it was the most difficult to
explore of all European settlements, and, being the hottest,
most unhealthy, and most dangerous, was the least known
by naturalists. Certainly a choice founded upon such rea-
soning gave proof of rare courage and ambition.

It is true that Adanson was by no means the first nat-
uralist to encounter similar dangers, but he was the first to
undertake them, with so much enthusiasm, at his own cost,
and without hope of reward. Upon his return, he had not
sufficient money to pay for the publication of his account
of the discoveries he had made.

Embarking upon the 3rd of March, 1749, on board the
Chevalier Marin, commanded by D'Apres de Mannevillette,
he touched at Santa Cruz, Teneriffe, and disembarked at
the mouth of the Senegal, which he took to be the Niger of
ancient geographers. During nearly five years he was en-
gaged in exploring the colony in every direction, visiting in
turn Podor, Portudal, Albreda, and the mouth of the Gam-
bia. With increasing perseverance, he collected a rich har-
vest of facts in the animal, vegetable, and mineral kingdoms.

To him is due the first exact account of a gigantic tree
called the Baobab, which is often called Adansonia after
him; of the habits of the grasshoppers, which form the chief
food of certain wild tribes; of the white ants, and the dwell-
ings they construct; and of a certain kind of oyster, which
attach themselves to trees at the mouth of the Gambia. He
says:

" The natives have not the difficulty one might anticipate
in catching them; they simply cut off the bough to which
they cling. They often cluster to the number of over two
hundred on one branch, and if there are several branches,
they form a bunch of oysters such as a man could scarcely
carry."

AFRICAN EXPLORERS 287

In spite of the interest of these and similar discoveries,
there are few new facts for the geographer to learn. A<
few words about the Yolofs and Mandingoes comprise all
there is to learn. If we followed Adanson throughout his
explorations, we should gain little fresh information.

The same cannot be said of the expedition of which we
are about to give some account. Major Houghton, cap-
tain in the 69th regiment, and English Governor of the
Fort of Goree, had been familiar from his youth, part of
which was passed with the English Embassy in Morocco,
with the manners and customs of the Moors and the negroes
of Senegambia. In 1790 he proposed to the African So-
ciety to explore the course of the Niger, penetrate as far as
Timbuctoo and Houssa, and return by way of the Sahara.
The carrying out of this bold plan met with but one obstacle,
but that was almost sufficient to upset it.

Houghton left England upon the i6th of October, 1790,
and anchored in Jillifree harbor, at the mouth of the Gam-
bia, upon the loth of November. Well received by the
King of Barra, he followed the course of the Gambia to a
distance of three hundred leagues, traversed the remainder
of Senegambia, and reached Gonda Konda in Yanvi.

Walknaer, in his History of Voyages, says, " He pur-
chased a negro, a horse, and five asses, and prepared to
proceed with the merchandise which was to pay his expenses
to Mendana, the capital of the little kingdom of Woolli.
Fortunately his slight knowledge of the Mandingo language
enabled him to understand a negress who was speaking of
a plot against him. The merchants trading on the river,
imagining commerce to be his sole object, and fearing that
he might compete with them, had determined upon his death.

" In order to avoid the threatened danger, he thought it
wise to deviate from the usual route, and, accordingly,
crossed the river with his asses, and reached the northern
shore in the kingdom of Cantor."

Houghton then crossed the river a second time, and en-
tered the kingdom of Woolli. He at once sent a messenger
to the king, bearing presents, and asking for protection.
He was cordially received, and the traveler was welcomed
to Mendana, the capital, which he describes as an important
town, situated in the midst of a fertile country, in which
many herds of cattle graze.

288 SCIENTIFIC EXPLORATION

Houghton was justified in anticipating a successful issue
to his voyage; everything appeared to presage it, when an
event occurred which was the first blow to his hopes. A
hut next that in which he slept took fire, and the whole town
was soon in flames. His interpreter, who had made several
attempts to rob him, seized this opportunity, and fled with
a horse and three asses.

Still the King of Woolli continued his protection of the
traveler, and loaded him v^'ith presents, precious not on
account of their value, but as signs of the good-will which
they demonstrated. This friend of the Europeans was
named Djata. Humane, intelligent, and good-hearted, he
wished the English to establish a factory in his kingdom.

Houghton, in a letter to his wife, says:

" Captain Littleton, during a stay of four years here, has
amassed a considerable fortune. He possesses several ships
which trade up and down the river. At any time one can
obtain, for the merest trifle, gold, ivory, wax, and slaves.
Poultry, sheep, eggs, butter, milk, honey, and fish are ex-
tremely abundant, and for ten pounds sterling a large fam-
ily might be maintained in luxury. The soil is dry the air
very healthy; and the King of Woolli told me that no white
man had ever died at Fataconda."

Houghton then followed the Faleme river as far as Ca-
cullo, which in D'Anville's map is called Cacoulon, and
whilst in Bambouk gleaned a few facts about the Djoliba
river, which runs through the interior of the Soudan. The
direction of this river he ascertained to be southward as far
as Djeneh, then west by east to Timbuctoo — facts which
were later confirmed by Mungo Park. The traveler was
cordially received by the King of Bambouk, who provided
him with a guide to Timbuctoo, and with cowries to pay
his expenses during the journey. It was hoped that Hough-
ton would reach the Niger without accident, when a note,
written in pencil and half effaced, reached Dr. Laidley. It
was dated from Simbing, and stated that the traveler had
been robbed of his baggage, but that he was prosecuting
his journey to Timbuctoo. This was followed by accounts
from various sources, which gave rise to a suspicion that
Houghton had been assassinated in Bambara. His fate was
imcertain until it was discovered by Mungo Park.

Walknaer says :

V. XV Verne

AFRICAN EXPLORERS 289

" Simbing, where Houghton wrote the last words ever
received from him, is a Httle walled town on the frontier
of the kingdom of Ludamar. Here he was abandoned by
his negro servants, who were unwilling to accompany him
to the country of the Moors. Still he continued his route,
and, after surmounting many obstacles, he advanced to the
north, and endeavored to cross the kingdom of Ludamar.
Finally he reached Yaouri, and made the acquaintance of
several merchants, on their way to sell salt at Tischet, a
town situated near the marshes of the great desert, and six
days' journey north of Yaouri. Then, by bribing the mer-
chants with a gun and a little tobacco, he persuaded them to
conduct him to Tischet. All this would lead us to suppose
that the Moors deceived him, either as to the route he should
have followed, or as to the state of the country between
Yaouri and Timbuctoo.

"After two days' march, Houghton, finding himself de-
ceived, wished to return to Yaouri. The Moors robbed him
of all he possessed, and fled. He was forced to reach
Yaouri on foot. Did he die of hunger, or was he assassi-
nated by the Moors? This has never been rightly deter-
mined, but the spot where he perished was pointed out to
Mungo Park."

The loss of Houghton's journals, containing the observa-
tions made during his journey, deprived science of the result
of all his fatigue and devotion. To ascertain what he ac-
complished, one must have recourse to the Proceedings of
the 'African Society. At this time Mungo Park, a young
Scotch surgeon, who had just returned from a voyage to
the East Indies on board the Worcester, learnt that the
African Society were anxious to find an explorer willing to
penetrate to the interior of the country watered by the Gam-
bia. Mungo Park, who had long wished to acquaint him-
self with the productions of the country, and the manners
and customs of the inhabitants, offered his services. He
was not deterred by the apprehension that his predecessor,
Houghton, had probably perished.

At once accepted by the Society, Mungo Park hastened
his preparations, and left Portsmouth upon the 22nd of
May, 1795. He was furnished with introductions to Dr.
Laidley, and a credit of two hundred pounds sterling. Land-
ing at Jillifree, at the mouth of the Gambia, in the kingdom

2go SCIENTIFIC EXPLORATION

of Barra, and following the river, he reached Pisania, an
Enghsh factory belonging to Dr. Laidley. He directed his
attention first to acquiring a knowledge of the Mandingo
language, which was most generally used, and in collecting
the facts most likely to be useful in the execution of his
plans.

His stay here enabled him to obtain more accurate in-
formation than his predecessors with regard to the Feloups,
the Yolofs, and Foulahs, and the Mandingoes. The Fe-
loups are morose, quarrelsome, and vindictive, but faithful
and courageous. The Yolofs are a powerful and warlike
nation, with very black skins. Except in color and speech,
they resemble the Mandingoes, who are gentle and sociable.
Tall and well-made, their women are, comparatively speak-
ing, pretty. Lastly, the Foulahs, who are the lightest in
color, seem much attached to a pastoral and agricultural
life. The greater part of these populations are Moham-
medans, and practice polygamy.

Upon the 2nd of December, Mungo Park, accompanied
by two negro interpreters, and with a small quantity of bag-
gage, started for the interior. He first reached the small
kingdom of Woolli, the capital of which, Medina, comprises
a thousand houses. He then proceeded to Kolor, a con-
siderable town, and, after two days' march across a desert,
entered the kingdom of Bondou. The natives are Foulahs,
professing the Mohammedan religion; they carry on a brisk
trade in ivory, w^hen they are not engaged in agriculture.

The traveler soon reached the Faleme river, the bed of
which, near its source in the mountains of Dalaba, is very;
auriferous. He was received by the king at Fataconda, the
capital of Bondou, and had great difficulty in convincing
him that he traveled from curiosity. His interview with!
the wives of the monarch is thus described. Mungo Park
says :

" I had scarcely entered the court, when I was surrounded
by the entire seraglio. Some begged me for physic, some:
for amber, and all were most desirous of trying the great
African specific of blood-letting. They are ten or twelve
in number, most of them young and handsome, wearing on'
their heads ornaments of gold or pieces of amber. They
rallied me a good deal upon different subjects, particularly
upon the whiteness of my skin and the length of my nose.

AFRICAN EXPLORERS 291

They insisted that both were artificial. The first, they
vSaid, was produced, when I was an infant, by dipping me
in milk, and they insisted that my nose had been pinched
every day till it had acquired its present unsightly and un-
natural conformation."

Leaving Bondou by the north, Mungo Park entered Ka-
jaaga, called by the French Galam. The climate of this
picturesque country, watered by the Senegal, is far healthier
than that of districts nearer the coast. The natives call
themselves Serawoullis, and are called Seracolets by the
French. The color of their skin is jet black, and in this
respect they are scarcely distinguishable from the Yolofs.

Mungo Park says : " The Serawoullis are habitually a
trading people. They formerly carried on a great com-
merce with the French in gold dust and slaves, and still
often supply the British factories on the Gambia with slaves.
They are famous for the skill and honesty with which they
do business."

At Joag, Mungo Park was relieved of half his property
by the envoys of the king, under pretence of making him
pay for the right to pass through his kingdom. Fortunately;
for him, the nephew of Demba-Jego-Jalla, King of Kasson,
who was about to return to his country, took him under his
protection. They reached Gongadi, where there are ex-
tensive date plantations, together, and thence proceeded to
Samia, on the shores of the Senegal, on the frontiers of
Kasson.

The first town met with in this kingdom was that of
Tiesie, which was reached by Mungo Park on the 31st of
December. Well received by the natives, who sold him the
provisions he needed at a reasonable price, the traveler
was subjected by the brother and nephew of the king to
endless indignities.

Leaving this town upon the loth of January, 1796,
Mungo Park reached Kouniakari, the capital of Kasson — •
a fertile, rich, and well-populated country, which can place
forty thousand men under arms. The king, full of kindly
feeling for the traveler, wished him to remain in his king-
dom as long as the wars between Kasson and Kajaaga
lasted. It was more than probable that the countries of
Kaarta and Bambara, which Mungo Park wished to visit,
would be drawn into it. The advice of the king to remain

292 SCIENTIFIC EXPLORATION

was prudent, and Park had soon reason enough to regret
not having followed it.

But, impatient to reach the interior, the traveler would
not listen, and entered the level and sandy plains of Kaarta.
He met crowds of natives on the journey who were flying to
Kasson to escape the horrors of war. But even this did
not deter him; he continued his journey until he reached
the capital of Kaarta, which is situated in a fertile and open
plain.

He was kindly received by the king, Daisy Kourabari,
who endeavored to dissuade him from entering Bambara,
and, finding all his arguments useless, advised him to avoid
passing through the midst of the fray, by entering the king-
dom of Ludamar, inhabited by Moors. From thence he
could proceed to Bambara.

During his journey Mungo Park noticed negroes who
fed principally upon a sort of bread made from the berries
of the lotus, which tasted not unlike gingerbread. This
plant, the rhamnus lotus, is indigenous in Senegambia, Ni-
gritia, and Tunis.

" So," says Mungo Park, " there can be little doubt of
this fruit being the lotus mentioned by Pliny as the food of
the Lybian Lotophagi. I have tasted lotus bread, and think
that an army may very easily have been fed with it, as is
said by Pliny to have been done in Lybia. The taste of
the bread is so sweet and agreeable, that the soldiers would
not be likely to complain of it."

On the 22nd February, Mungo Park reached Jarra, a
considerable town, with houses built of stone, inhabited by
negroes from the south who had placed themselves under
the protection of the Moors, to w^hom they paid considerable
tribute. From Ali, King of Ludamar, the traveler obtained
permission to travel in safety through his dominions. But,
in spite of this safe-conduct, Park was almost entirely
despoiled by the fanatical Moors of Djeneh. At Sampaka
and Dalli, large towns, and at Samea, a small village pleas-
antly situated, he was so cordially welcomed that he already
saw himself in fancy arrived in the interior of Africa, when
a troop of soldiers appeared, who led him to Benown, the
camp of King AH.

" Ali," says Mungo Park, " was sitting upon a black'
morocco cushion, clipping a few hairs on his upper lip —

AFRICAN EXPLORERS 293

a female attendant holding a looking glass before him. He
was an old man of Arab race, with a long white beard, and
he looked sullen and angry. He surveyed me with atten-
tion, and inquired of the Moors if I could speak Arabic.
Being answered in the negative, he appeared surprised, and
continued silent. The surrounding attendants, and espe-
cially ladies, were much more inquisitive. They asked a
thousand questions, inspected every part of my apparel,
searched my pockets, and obliged me to unbutton my waist-
coat to display the whiteness of my skin. They even
counted my toes and fingers, as if they doubted whether I
was in truth a human being."

An unprotected stranger, a Christian, and accounted a
spy, Mungo Park was a victim to the insolence, ferocity,
and fanaticism of the Moors. He was spared neither in-
sults, outrages, nor blows. They attempted to make a bar-
ber of him, but his awkwardness in cutting the hairy face
of the king's son exempted him from this degrading occu-
pation. During his captivity he collected many particulars
regarding Tinibuctoo, which is so difficult of access to Eu-
ropeans, and was the bourne of all early African explorers.

" Houssa," a scherif told him, " is the largest town I
have ever seen. Walet is larger than Timbuctoo, but as it
is farther from the Niger, and its principal trade is in salt,
few strangers are met there. From Benown to Walet is a
distance of six days' journey. No important town is passed
between the two, and the traveler depends for sustenance
upon the milk procurable from Arabs, whose flocks and
herds graze about the wells and springs. The road leads
for two days through a sandy desert, where not a drop of
water is to be had."

It takes eleven days to go from Walet to Timbuctoo, but
water is not so scarce on this journey, which is generally
made upon oxen. At Timbuctoo there are a number of
Jews who speak Arabic, and use the same forms of prayer
as the Moors.

The events of the war decided AH to proceed to Jarra.
Mungo Park, who had succeeded in making friends with
the sultan's favorite, Fatima, obtained permission to accom-
pany the king. The traveler hoped, by nearing the scene
of action, to manage to escape. As it happened, the King
of Kaarta, Daisy Kourabari, soon after marched against

294 SCIENTIFIC EXPLORATIpN

the town of Jarra. The larger number of inhabitants fled,
and Mungo Park did the same.

He soon found means to get away, but his interpreter
refused to accompany him. He w^as forced to start for
Bambara alone, and destitute of resources.

The first town he came to was Wawra, which properly
belongs to Kaarta, but was then paying tribute to Mansong,
King of Bambara. Mungo Parks says :

" Upon the morning of the 7th of July, as I was about to
depart, my landlord, with a great deal of diffidence, begged
me to give him a lock of my hair. He had been told, he
said, that white men's hair made a saphic (talisman) that
would give the possessor all the knowledge of the white
man. I had never before heard of so simple a mode of
education, but I at once complied with the request; and my
landlord's thirst for learning was so great that he cut and
pulled at my hair till he had cropped one side of my head
pretty closely, and would have done the same with the other
had I not signified my disapprobation, assuring him that I
wished to reserve some of this precious material for a future
occasion."

First Gallon and then Mourja, a large town, famous for
its trade in salt, were passed, after fatigues and incredible
privations. Upon nearing Sego, Mungo Park at last per-
ceived the Djoliba. " Looking forward," he says, " I saw,
with infinite pleasure, the great object of my mission — the
long-sought- for, majestic Niger, glittering in the morning
sun, as broad as the Thames at Westminster, and flowing
to the eastward. I hastened to the brink, and, having drunk
of the water, lifted up my fervent thanks in prayer to the
Great Ruler of all things for having thus far crowned my
endeavors with success.

" The fact of the Niger flowing towards the east did not,
however, excite my surprise; for, although I had left Europe
in great hesitation on this subject, and rather believed it
ran in the contrary direction, I had made frequent inquiries
during my progress, and had received from negroes of dif-
ferent nations such clear and decisive assurances that its
course was towards the rising sun as scarce left any
doubt in my mind, more especially as I knew that Major
Houghton had collected similar information in a similar
manner.

AFRICAN EXPLORERS 295

" Sego, the capital of Bambara, at which I had now ar-
rived, consists, properly speaking, of four distinct towns;
two on the northern bank of the river called Sego Korro
and Sego Boo, and two on the southern bank, called Sego
Sou Korro and Sego See Korro. They are all surrounded
with high mud walls; the houses are built of clay, of a
square form, with flat roofs; some of them have two stories,
and many of them are whitewashed. Besides these build-
ings, Moorish mosques are seen in every quarter, and the
streets, though narrow, are broad enough for every practical
purpose in a country where wheel carriages are unknown.
From the best information I could obtain, I have reason to
believe that Sego contains altogether about thirty thousand
inhabitants. Tlie king of Bambara resides permanently at
Sego See Korro; he employs a great many slaves in con-
veying people over the river; and the money they take,
though the fare is only ten cowries for each person,
furnishes a considerable revenue to the king in the course
of a year."

By advice of the Moors, the king refused to receive the
traveler, and forbade him to remain in his capital, where he
could not have protected him from ill-treatment. However,
to divest his refusal of all appearance of ill-will, he sent him
a bag containing 5,000 cowries, of the value of about a
pound sterling, to buy provisions. The messenger sent by
the king was to serve as guide as far as Sansanding. Pro-
test and anger were alike impossible ; Mungo Park could do
nothing but follow the orders sent. Before reaching San-
sanding, he was present at the harvest of vegetable butter,
which is the produce of a tree called Shea.

" These trees," says the narrative, " grow in great abund-
ance all over this part of Bambara. They are not planted
by the natives, but are found growing naturally in the
woods; and, in clearing land for cultivation, every tree is
cut down but the shea. The tree itself very much resembles
the American oak; the fruit — from the kernel of which,
after it has been dried in the sun, the butter is prepared by
boiling in water — has somewhat the appearance of a Span-
ish olive. The kernel is imbedded in a sweet pulp, under a
thin green rind, and the butter produced from it, besides the
advantage of keeping a whole year without salt, is whiter,
firmer, and, to my palate, of a richer flavor than the best

296 SCIENTIFIC EXPLORATION

butter I ever tasted from cows' milk. It is a chief article
of the inland commerce of these districts."

Sansanding, a town containing from eight to ten thou-
sand inhabitants, is a market-place much frequented by the
Moors, who bring glassware from the Mediterranean forts,
which they exchange for gold-dust and cotton. Mungo
Park was not able to remain at this place, for the impor-
tunities of the natives and the perfidious insinuations of the
Moors warned him to continue his route. His horse was
so worn out by fatigue and privation that he felt obliged
to embark on the river Djoliba or Niger.

At Mourzan, a fishing village upon the northern bank
of the river, everything combined to induce Park to relin-
quish his enterprise. The further he advanced to the east-
ward down the river, the more he placed himself in the
power of the Moors. The rainy season had commenced,
and it would soon be impossible to travel otherwise than by
boat. Mungo Park was now so poor that he could not even
hire a boat; he was forced to rely upon public charity.

To advance^ further under these circumstances was not
only to risk his life, but to place the results of all his fatigues
and efforts in jeopardy. To return to Gambia was scarcely
less perilous; to do so he must traverse hundreds of miles
on foot through hostile countries. Still the hope of return-
ing home might sustain his courage.

" Before leaving Silla," says the traveler, " I thought it
incumbent on me to collect from the Moorish and negro
traders all the information I could concerning the further
course of the Niger eastward, and the situation and extent
of the kingdoms in its neighborhood.

" Two days' journey eastward of Silla is the town of
Djenneh, which is situated on a small island in the river,
and is said to contain as many inhabitants as Sego itself, or
any other town in Bambara. At a distance of two days'
more, the river widens and forms a considerable lake, called
Dibby (or the dark lake), concerning the extent of which,
all I could learn was that, in crossing it from east to west,
the canoes lose sight of land for one whole day. From this
lake the water issues in many different streams, which finally
become two branches, one flowing to the northeast, the other
to the east; but these branches join at Kabra, which is one
day's journey to the south of Timbuctoo, and is the port or

AFRICAN EXPLORERS 297

shipping-place of that city. The tract of land between the
two streams is called Timbala, and is inhabited by negroes.
The whole distance by land from Djenneh to Timbuctoo is
twelve days' journey. Northeast of Masena is the kingdom
of Timbuctoo, the great object of European research, the
capital of the kingdom being one of the principal marts for
the extensive commerce which the Moors carry on with the
negroes. The hope of acquiring wealth in this pursuit, and
zeal for propagating their religion, have filled this extensive
city with Moors. The king himself and all the chief officers
of his court are Moors, and are said to be more intolerant
and severe in their principles than any other of the Moorish
tribes in this part of Africa."

Mungo Park was then forced to retrace his steps, and that
through a country devastated by inundation and heavy rains.
He passed through Mourzan, Kea, and Modibon, where he
regained his horse; Nyara, Sansanding, Samea, and Sai,
which is surrounded by a deep moat, and protected by high
walls with square towers ; Jabbea, a large town, from which
he perceived high mountain ranges, and Taffara, where he
was received with little hospitality.

At the village of Souha, Park begged a handful of grain
of a " Dooty," who answered that he had nothing to give
away.

" Whilst I was examining the face of this inhospitable
old man, and endeavoring to find out the cause of the sullen
discontent w^hich was visible in his eye, he called to a slave
who was working in the corn-field at a little distance, and
ordered him to bring his spade with him. The Dooty then
told him to dig a hole in the ground, pointing to a spot at no
great distance. The slave with his spade began to dig in
the earth, and the Dooty, who appeared to be a man of very
fretful disposition, kept muttering to himself until the pit
was almost finished, when he repeatedly pronounced the
word ankatod (good for nothing), jankra lemen (a regular
plague), which expressions I thought applied to myself.
As the pit had very much the appearance of a grave, I
thought it prudent to mount my horse, and was about to
decamp when the slave, who had gone before to the village,
returned with the corpse of a boy about nine or ten years
of age. quite naked. The negro carried the body by an
arm and leg, and threw It into the pit with a savage indiffer-

298 SCIENTIFIC EXPORATION

ence such as I had never seen. As he covered the body with
earth, the Dooty kept repeating naphiila attemata (money
lost), whence I conckided the boy had been his slave."

Mungo Park left Koulikorro, where he had obtained food
by writing saphics or talismans for the natives, upon the
2 1 St of August, and reached Bammakoa, where a large salt-
market is held. From an eminence near the town he per-
ceived a high m.ountain range in the kingdom of Kong,
whose ruler had a more numerous army than the King of
Bambara.

Once more robbed by brigands of all he possessed, the un-
fortunate traveler found himself, in the rainy season, alone
in a vast desert, five leagues from the nearest European
settlement, and for the moment gave way to despair. But
his courage soon revived; and reaching the town of
Sibidoulou, his horse and clothes, which had been stolen
from him by Foulah robbers, were restored to him by the
mansa, or chief. Kamalia, or Karfa Taura advised him
to await the cessation of the rainy season, and then to pro-
ceed to Gambia with a caravan of slaves. Worn out, desti-
tute, attacked by fever, which for five months kept him pros-
trate, Mungo Park had no choice but to remain in this place.
Upon the 19th of April the caravan set out. We can
readily imagine the joy experienced by Mungo Park when
all was ready. Crossing the desert of Jallonka, and pass-
ing first the principal branch of the Senegal river, and then
the Faleme, the caravan finally reached the shores of the
Gambia, and on the 12th of June, 1797, Mungo Park once
more arrived at Pisania, where he was warmly welcomed
by Dr. Laidley, who had despaired of ever seeing him again.
The traveler returned to England upon the 226. of Sep-
tember. So great was the impatience with which an ac-
count of his discoveries, certainly the most important in
this part of Africa, was awaited, that the African Society
allowed him to publish for his own profit an abridged ac-
count of his adventures.

He had collected more facts as to the geography, man-
ners, and customs of the country than all preceding travel-
ers; he had determined the position of the sources of the
Senegal and Gambia, and surveyed the course of the Niger
or Djoliba — which he proved to run eastwards, whilst the
Gambia flowed to the west.

AFRICAN EXPLORERS 299

Thus a point, which up to this time had been disputed by
geographers, was definitely settled, It was no longer pos-
sible to confound the three rivers, as the French geographer
Delisle had done, in 1707, when he represented the Niger as
running eastward from Bornu, and flowing into the river
Senegal on the west. He himself, however, had admitted
and corrected this error, in his later maps of 1722 and
1727, no doubt on account of the facts ascertained by
Andre Brue, governor of Senegal.

Houghton, indeed, had learned much from the natives
of the course of the Niger through the Mandingo country,
and of the relative positions of Sego, Djenneh, and Tim-
buctoo; but it was reserved for Mungo Park to fix posi-
tively, from personal knowledge, the position of the two
first-named towns, and to furnish circumstantial details of
the country, and the tribes who inhabit it.

Public opinion was unanimous as to the importance of
the great traveler's exploration, and keenly appreciative of
the courage, skill, and honesty exhibited by him.

A short time later, the English government offered Mungo
Park the conduct of an expedition to the interior of Aus-
tralia; but he refused it.

In 1804, however, the African Society determined to
complete the survey of the Niger, and proposed to Mungo
Park, the command of a new expedition for its exploration.
This time the great traveler did not refuse, and upon the
30th of January, 1805, he left England. Two months later
he landed at Goree.

He was accompanied by his brother-in-law, Anderson, a
surgeon, by George Scott, a draughtsman, and by thirty-
five artillery-men. He was authorized to enroll as many
soldiers as he liked in his service, and was provided with
a credit of five hundred pounds.

" These resources," says Walcknaer, " so vast in compari-
son with those furnished by the African Society, were, to
our thinking, partly the cause of his loss. The rapacious
demands of the African kings grew in proportion to the
riches they supposed our traveler to possess; and the efifort
to meet the enormous drain made upon him, was in great
part the cause of the catastrophe which brought the expedi-
tion to an end."

Four carpenters, one officer and thirty-five artillery-men.

30O SCIENTIFIC EXPLORATION

and a Mandingo merchant named Isaac, who was to act as
guide, with the leaders of the expedition already mentioned,
composed an imposing caravan. Mungo Park left Cayee
upon the 27th of April, 1805, and reached Pisania the next
day. From this place, ten years earlier, he had started upon
his first exploration. Taking an easterly direction, he fol-
lowed his former route as far as Bambaku, upon the shores
of the Niger. When he arrived at this place, the number of
Europeans was already reduced to six soldiers and a car-
penter; the remainder had succumbed to fatigue, or the
fevers incidental to the inundations. The exactions of the
various petty chiefs through whose domains the expedition
passed had considerably diminished the stock of mer-
chandise.

Mungo Park was now guilty of an act of grave im-
prudence. Remarking that trade was very active at San-
sanding, a town containing eleven thousand inhabitants, and
that beads, indigo, antimony, rings, bracelets, and other
articles not likely to be spoiled in the transit to England,
were freely exhibited for sale, " he opened," says
Walcknaer, " a large shop, which he stocked with European
merchandise, for sale wholesale and retail; and probably the
large profits he made excited the envy of the merchants.
The natives of Djenneh, the Moors, and merchants of San-
sanding, joined with those of Sego in offering, in the pres-
ence of Modibinne, to give the King of Mansong a larger
and more valuable quantity of merchandise than he had re-
ceived from the English traveler, if he would seize his
baggage, and then kill him, or send him out of Bambara.
But in spite of his knowledge of this fact, Mungo Park
still kept his shop open, and he received, as the proceeds of
one single day's business, 25,756 pieces of money, or
cowries."

Upon the 28th of October Anderson expired, after four
months' illness, and Mungo Park found himself once more
alone in the heart of Africa. The King of Mansong had
accorded him permission to build a boat, which would enable
him to explore the Niger.

Naming his craft the Djoliha, he fixed upon the i6th of
November for his departure.

Here his journal ends, with details on the riverside
populations, and on the geography of the countries he was

AFRICAN EXPLORERS 301

the first to discover. This journal, when it reached Europe,
v/as published, imperfect as it was, as soon as the sad fact
was realized that the writer had perished in the waters of
the Djoliba. It contained in reality no new discovery, but
it was recognized as useful to geographical science. Mungo
Park had determined the astronomical position of the more
important towns, and thereby furnished material for a map
of Senegambia. The perfecting of this map was entrusted
to Arrowsmith, who stated in an advertisement, that, finding
wide differences between the positions of the towns as shown
in the journal by each day's travel and that furnished by the
astronomical observations, it was impossible to reconcile
them; but that, in accordance with the latter, he had been
obliged to place the route followed by Mungo Park in his
first voyage farther north.

It was reserved for the Frenchman Walcknaer to discover
a curious discrepancy in Mungo Park's journal. This was
a singular error upon the part of the traveler, which neither
the English editor nor the French translator (whose work
was badly performed) had discovered. Mungo Park in his
diary records events as happening upon the 31st of April.
As everyone knows that that month has only thirty days, it
followed that during the course of his journey the traveler
had made a mistake of a whole day, reckoning in his calcula-
tions from the evening instead of the morning. Hence im-
portant rectifications were necessary in Arrowsmith's map;
but none the less, when once Mungo Park's error is rec-
ognized, it is evident that to him we owe the first faithful
map of Senegambia.

Although the facts that reached the English Govern-
ment allowed no room for doubt as to the fate of the trav-
eler, a rumor that white men had been seen in the interior
of Africa induced the Governor of Senegal to fit out an ex-
pedition. The command was entrusted to the negro mer-
chant Isaac, Mungo Park's guide, who had faithfully deliv-
ered the traveler's journal to the English authorities. We
need not linger over the account of this expedition, but
merely relate that which concerns the last days of Mungo
Park.

At Sansanding, Isaac encountered AmadI Fatouma, the
native who was with Park on the Djoliba wheii he perished,
and from him he obtained the following recital:

302 SCIENTIFIC EXPLORATION

" We embarked at Sansanding, and in two days reached
Silla, the spot where Mungo Park completed his first jour-
ney.

"After two days' navigation we reached Djenneh. In
passing Dibby, three boats, filled with negroes armed with
lances and arrows, but without firearms, approached us.
We had passed successively Racbara and Timbuctoo, when
we were pursued by these boats, which we repulsed with
difficulty, and only after killing several natives. At
Gourouma we were attacked by seven boats, but succeeded
in repulsing them. Constant skirmishes ensued, with heavy
loss to the blacks, until we reached Kaffo, where we re-
mained for a day. We then proceeded down the river as
far as Carmusse, and anchored oflf Gournou. Next day we
perceived a Moorish detachment, who allowed us to
pass.

" We then entered the country of Houssa. Next day we
reached Yaouri, and sent Amadi Fatouma into the town,
with presents for the chief and to purchase food. The
negro, before accepting the presents, inquired if the white
traveler intended to revisit his country. Mungo Park, to
whom the question was reported, replied that he should
never return."

It is supposed that these words brought about his death.
The negro chief, once convinced that he should not see
Mungo Park again, determined to keep the presents in-
tended for his king.

Meantime, Amadi Fatouma reached the king's residence,
at some distance from the river. The prince, warned of
the presence of the white men, sent an army next day to the
small village of Boussa, on the river side. When the
Djoliba appeared it was assailed by a shower of stones and
arrows. Park threw his baggage into the river, and jumped
in with his companions. All perished.

Thus miserably died the first Englishman who had navi-
gated the Djoliba and visited Timbuctoo. Many efforts
were made in the same direction, but almost all were destined
to fail.

At the end of the eighteenth century, two of Linnasus's
best pupils explored the south of Africa in the interests of
natural history. Sparrman undertook to search for ani-
mals, and Thunberg for plants. The account of Sparr-

AFRICAN EXPLORERS 303

man's expedition, which, as we have said, was interrupted
by his voyage in Oceania, after Cook's expedition, was the
first to appear. It was translated into French by Le Tour-
neur. In his preface, which is still allowed to stand, Le
Tourneur deplored the loss of the learned explorer, who he
said had died during a voyage to the Gold Coast. Just as
the work was published, Sparrman reappeared, to the great
astonishment of Le Tourneur.

Sparrman had reached Africa upon the 30th of April,
1772, and landed at the Cape of Good Hope. At this time
the town was only two miles across each way, including the
gardens and plantations adjoining it on one side. The
streets were wide, planted with oaks, and the houses were
white, or, to Sparrman's surprise, painted green.

His object in visiting the Cape was to act as tutor to the
children of a M. Kerste; but upon his arrival in Cape Town,
he found that his employer was absent at his winter resi-
dence in False Bay. When the spring came round, Sparr-
man accompanied Kerste to Alphen, a property which he
possessed near Constance. The naturalist availed himself
of the opportunity to make many excursions in the neigh-
borhood, and attempt the somewhat dangerous ascent of the
Table Mountain. By these means he became acquainted
with the manners and customs of the Boers, and their treat-
ment of their slaves. The violence of the latter was so
great that the inhabitants of the town were obliged to sleep
with locked doors, and provided with firearms close at hand.

Nearly all over the colony a rough hospitality ensured a
certain welcome for the traveler. Sparrman relates several
curious experiences of his own.

" I arrived one evening," he says, " at the dwelling of a
farmer named Van der Spooei, a widower, born in Africa,
and father of the proprietor of the Red Constance, or the
Old Constance.

" Making believe not to see me approach, he remained
stationary in the entry of his house. As I approached him,
he offered his hand, still without attempting to come for-
ward, and said, * Good-day ! You are welcome ! How are
you? Who are you? A glass of wine perhaps? or a pipe?
Will you partake of something? ' I answered his questions
laconically, and accepted his offers in the same style as they
were offered. His daughter, a well-made girl of some

304 SCIENTIFIC EXPLORATION

fourteen or fifteen years of age, brought in dinner, whicH
consisted of a fine breast of lamb, stewed with carrots. The
meal over, she offered me tea so pleasantly that I was quite
puzzled whether to admire the dinner or my charming
hostess the most. Both father and daughter showed the
greatest kindness and good will. I spoke to my host several
times, in hopes of breaking his silence; but his replies were
brief; and I observed that he only once commenced a con-
versation himself, when he pressed me to remain over night
in his house. I bid him farewell, deeply impressed with his
hospitality."

Sparrman undertook several similar expeditions, among
others, one to Hout Bay and Paarl, in which he had fre-
quent occasion to notice the exaggerations to be met with in
the narrative of Kolbe, his predecessor.

He intended to continue his explorations during the win-
ter, and projected a journey into the interior, when the fine
season should return. When the frigates commanded by
Captain Cook, the Resolution and Adventure, arrived at the
Cape, Forster invited the young Swedish naturalist to ac-
company him ; and Sparrman was thus enabled to visit New
Zealand, Van Diemen's Land, New Holland, Otaheite,
Terra del Fuego, the Antarctic Regions, and New Georgia,
before his return to the Cape, where he landed on the 22d
of March, 1775.

His first care upon his return was to organize his expedi-
tion to the interior ; and in order to add to his available re-
sources he practiced medicine and surgery during the winter.
A cargo of corn, medicine, knives, tinder-boxes, and spirits
for the preservation of specimens was collected, and packed
in an immense wagon, drawn by five yoke of oxen.

Sparrman says :

" The conductor of this cart needs dexterity, not only in
his management of the animals, but in the use of the whip
of African drivers. These instruments are about fifteen
feet long, with a thong of the same or greater length, and a
tongue of white leather almost three feet long. The driver
holds this formidable instrument in both hands, and from
his seat in front of the wagon can reach the foremost oxen
with it. He distributes his cuts unceasingly, well under-
standing how and where to distribute them in such a manner
that the hide of the animals feels the whip."

V. XV Verne

■> r .

vi Will. 1 spoke to my he
" -nee; but his

severaJ
and Paari, ,111

ions,

MU!^GO,P^RK. .

At this time'Mii^fe^^V^?\l^iySge^2liat,U>g|o(^/^h(>^
ret<irn6d:frqm: a voyage toVi.th'e.East-' Indfesf;' an board the Worcester,
learnt that the African Society VCTe anxious t^./find an explorer willing
to penetrate to the interior Q.f fhe' country watered by the Gambia.
Mlingo Park, who had long wished to acquaint himself with the pro-
ductions of the country, and the nianners and customs of the inhabitants,
offered his services. .He was not deterred by the apprehension that his
prjt^ecessor, ric^u^hton.; had" probably perished.— Page 289.

■ /.ea'and, ^ an iJienj^n s I .■ ilar

Terra del

during the winter.
,.and

and puCivi:u

ds de?

1 in the use

' Hi}, ii

Vol. 1.5. ,

nent
cuts

I -

.uiiiier

AFRICAN EXPLORERS 305

Sparrman was to accompany the wagon on horseback,
and was accompanied by a young colonist, named Immel-
man, who wished to penetrate into the interior for recrea-
tion. They started upon the 25th of July, 1775. After
passing Rent River, scaling the Hottentot Holland Kloof,
and crossing the Palmite, they entered a desert country, in-
terspersed with plains, mountains, and valleys, without
water, but frequented by antelopes of various kinds, with
zebras and ostriches.

Sparrman soon reached the warm mineral baths at the
foot of the Zwartberg, which, at that time, were much fre-
quented, the company having built a house near the moun-
tains. At this point the explorer was joined by young Im-
melman, and together they started for Zwellendam, which
they reached upon the 2d of September. We will give a
few of the facts they collected about the inhabitants.

The Hottentots are as tall as Europeans, their hands and
feet are small, and their color a brownish yellow. They
have not the thick lips of the Kaffirs and natives of Mozam-
bique. Their hair is black and woolly, curly, but not thick.
They rub the entire body with fat and soot. A Hottentot
who paints himself looks less naked, and more complete, so
to say, than one who only rubs himself with grease. Hence
the saying, " A Hottentot without paint, is like a shoe with-
out blacking."

These natives usually wear a cloak called karos, made of
sheep's skin, with the wool turned inwards. The women
arrange it with a long point, which forms a sort of hood, in
which they place their children. Both men and women
wear leather rings upon their arms and legs — a custom,
which gave rise to the fable that this race rolled puddings
round their limbs, to feed, on from time to time. They
also wear copper and iron rings, but these ornaments are
less common.

The kraal, or Hottentot village, is a collection of huts in
a circle, all very similar, and of the shape of beehives. The
doors, which are in the center, are so low that they can only
be entered on the knees. The hearth is in the middle of
the hut, and the roof has no hole for the escape of the
smoke.

The Hottentots must not be confounded with the Bush-
men. The latter live only for hunting and robbery; their

3o6 SCIENTIFIC EXPLORATION

skill in throwing poisoned arrows, their courage, and the
wildness of their lives, render them invincible.

At Zwellendam, Sparrman saw the quagga, a species of
horse, like a zebra in shape, but with shorter ears.

The explorer next visited Mossel Bay, a harbor little used,
as it is too much exposed to the west winds ; and thence he
proceeded to the country of the Houtniquas, or, as Burchell's
map calls them, the Antiniquas. This woody country ap-
peared fertile, and the colonists established there are pros-
perous. Sparrman met with most of the quadrupeds of
Africa in this district, such as elephants, leopards, lions,
tiger cats, hyenas, monkeys, hares, antelopes, and gazelles.

We will not attempt to follow Sparrman to all the small
settlements he visited. An enumeration of the streams,
kraals, or villages he passed would convey no information to
the reader. Rather let us gather from his narratives a few
curious and novel details concerning two creatures which
he describes, the sheep of the Cape, and the " honey-guide."

" When a sheep is to be killed," he says, " the very leanest
of the flock is selected. It would be impossible to use the
others for food. Their tails are of a triangular shape, and
are often a foot and a half long, and occasionally six inches
thick in the upper part. One of these tails will weigh eight
or twelve pounds, and they consist principally of delicate
fat, which some persons eat with bread instead of butter.
It is used in the preparation of food, and sometimes to make
candles."

After describing the two-horned rhinoceros, hitherto un-
known, the gnu — an animal in form something between the
horse and the ox — the gazelle, the baboon, and the hippopot-
amus, the habits of whch were previously imperfectly
known, Sparrman describes a curious bird, of great service
to the natives, which he calls the honey-guide.

" This bird," he says, " is remarkable neither in size nor
color. At first sight it would be taken for a common
sparrow, but it is a little larger than that bird, of a some-
what lighter color, with a small yellow spot on each shoulder,
and dashes of white in the wings and tail.

" In its own interests, this bird leads the natives to the
bees' nests, for it is very fond of honey, and it knows that
whenever a nest is destroyed, a little honey will be spilled, or
left behind, as a recompense for its services.

AFRICAN EXPLORERS 307

" It seems to grow hungry in the morning and evening.
In any case, it is then that it leaves its nest, and by its pierc-
ing cries attracts the attention of the Hottentots or the
colonists. The cries are almost always answered by the ap-
pearance of natives or settlers, when the bird, repeating its
call unceasingly, slowly flies from place to place towards the
spot where the bees have made their home. Arrived at the
nest, whether it be in the cleft of a rock, in a hollow tree,
or in some underground cavity, the guide hovers about it
for a few seconds, and then perches hard by, and remains a
silent and hidden spectator of the pillage, in which he hopes
subsequently to have his share. Of this phenomenon I have
myself twice been a witness."

On the I2th of April, 1776, on his way back to the Cape,
Sparrman heard that a large lake, the only one in the colony,
had been discovered to the north of the Schneuwberg dis-
trict. A little later, the traveler got back to the Cape, and
embarked for Europe with the numerous natural history col-
lections he had made.

About the same time, between 1772- 1775, Thunberg, the
Swede, whom Sparrman had met at the Cape, made three
successive journeys in the interior of Africa. They were
not, any more than Sparrman's, actual journeys of discov-
ery ; and we owe the acquisition of no new geographical fact
to Thunberg. He did not make a vast number of interesting
observations on the birds of the Cape, and he also ascer-
tained a few interesting details respecting the various races
of the interior, which turned out to be far more fertile than
was at first supposed.

Thunberg was followed in the same latitudes by an Eng-
lish officer, Lieutenant William Paterson, whose chief aim
was to collect plants and other objects of natural history.
He penetrated a little farther north than the Orange River,
and into Kaffraria a good deal further east than Fish
River.

To him we owe the first notice of the giraffe; and his narra-
tive is rich in important observations on the natural history,
structure, and inhabitants of the country.

It is a curious fact that the Europeans attracted to South
Africa by zeal for geographical discovery, were far less
numerous than those whose motive was love of natural his-
tory. We have already mentioned Sparrman, Thunberg,

3o8 SCIENTIFIC EXPLORATION

and Paterson. To this list we must now add the name of
the ornithologist Le Vaillant.

Born at Paramaribo, in Dutch Guiana, of French parents,
who traded in birds, Le Vaillant visited Europe with them
as a mere child, and traversed Holland, Germany, Lorraine,
and the Vosges, on his way to Paris. It will readily be un-
derstood that this wandering life awoke in him a taste for
traveling; and his passion for birds, early excited by the
examination of private and public collections, made him
eager to enrich science by descriptions and drawings of un-
known species.

Now what country would afford the richest ornithological
harvest? The districts near the Cape had been explored by
botanists, and by a scientific man who had made quadrupeds
his chief study; but no one had as yet traversed them to
collect birds.

Le Vaillant arrived at the Cape on the 29th of March,
1 781, after the loss of his vessel in an explosion, with noth-
ing but the clothes he wore, ten ducats, and his gun.

Others w^ould have been disheartened, but Le Vaillant did
not despair of extricating himself from his painful position.
Confident in his skill with the gun and the bow, in his
strength and agility, as well as in his skill in preparing the
skins of animals, and in stuffing birds so that their plumage
should retain all its original gloss, the naturalist had soon
opened relations with the wealthiest collectors of the Cape.

One of these, an official named Boers, provided Le Vail-
lant with every requisite for a successful journey, including
carts, oxen, provisions, objects for barter, and horses. Even
servants and guides were appointed, free of cost, to the
explorer. The kind of researches to which Le Vaillant in-
tended to devote himself influenced his mode of traveling.
Instead of seeking frequented and beaten tracks, he tried to
avoid them, and to penetrate into districts neglected by
Europeans, hoping in them to meet with birds unknown to
science. !As a result he may be said always to have taken
nature by surprise, coming into contact with natives whose
manners had not yet been modified by intercourse with
whites; so that the information he gives us brings savage
life, as it really is, more vividly before us than anything told
us by his predecessors or successors. The only mistake
made by Le Vaillant was the entrusting of the translation

I

AFRICAN EXPLORERS 309

of his notes to a young man who modified them to suit his
own notions. Far from taking the scrupulous care to be
exact which distinguishes modern editors, he exaggerated
facts; and, dwelling too much on the personal qualities of
the traveler, he gave to the narrative of the journey a boast-
ful tone very prejudicial to it.

After three months' stay at the Cape and in its neighbor-
hood, Le Vaillant started, on the i8th December, 1781, for
a first journey eastwards, and in Kafifraria. His equipment
this time consisted of thirty oxen — ten for each of his two
wagons, and ten as reserve — three horses, nine dogs, and
five Hottentots.

Le Vaillant first crossed the Dutch districts already ex-
plored by Sparrman, where he met with vast herds of zebras,
antelopes, and ostriches, arriving in due course at Zwellen-
dam, where he bought some oxen, a cart, and a cock — the
last serving as an alarm-clock throughout the journey. An-
other animal was also of great use to him. This was a
monkey he had tamed, and promoted to the post, alike use-
ful and honorable, of taster — no one being allowed to touch
any fruit or root unknown to the Hottentots till Master
Rees had given his verdict upon it.

Rees was also employed as a sentinel; and his senses,
sharpened by use and the struggle for life, exceeded in deli-
cacy those of the most subtle Redskin. He it was who
warned the dogs of the approach of danger. If a snake
approached, or a troop of monkeys were disporting them-
selves in a neighboring thicket, Rees's terror and his shrieks
quickly revealed the presence of a disturbing element.

From Zwellendam, which he left on the 12th of January,
1782, Le Vaillant made his way eastwards, at some little
distance from the sea. He pitched his camp on the banks
of the Columbia (Duywen Hock) river and made many
very successful hunting excursions in a district rich in game,
finally reaching Mossel Bay, where the howls of innumer-
able hyenas frightened the oxen.

A little farther on he entered the country of the Hout-
niquas, a Hottentot name signifying men filled with honey.
Here not a step could be taken without coming upon swarms
of bees. Flowers sprang np beneath the feet of the travel-
ers; the air was heavy with their perfume; their varied
colors lent such enchantment to the scene that some of the

3IO SCIENTIFIC EXPLORATION

servants would have liked to halt. Le Vaillant, however,
hastened to press on. The whole of this district, down to
the sea, is occupied by colonists, who breed cattle, make but-
ter, cultivate timber, and collect honey, sending their mer-
chandise to the Cape for sale.

A little beyond the last post of the company, Le Vaillant,
having entered a district peopled by thousands of " turacos,"
and other rare birds, pitched his hunting camp ; but his plans
were terribly upset by the continuous fall of heavy rains,
the result of which was to reduce the travelers to great straits
for want of food.

After many a sudden change of fortune and many hunt-
ing adventures, an account of which would be very amusing,
though beyond the scope of our narrative, Le Vaillant
reached Mossel Bay. Here, with what delight we can easily
imagine, he found letters from France awaiting him. One
excursion after another was now made in various directions,
until Kaffraria was entered. It was difficult to open rela-
tions with its people, who sedulously avoided the whites,
having suffered the loss of many men and much cattle at
their hands. Moreover the Tamboukis had taken advan-
tage of their critical position to invade Kaffraria and commit
numerous depredations, whilst the Bosjemans hunted them
down unmercifully. Without firearms, and attacked on so
many sides at once, the Kaffirs were driven to hiding them-
selves and were retiring northwards.

As matters stood it was useless to attempt to penetrate
into the mountainous districts of Kaffraria, and Le Vaillant
retraced his steps. He then visited the Schneuwberg moun-
tains, the Karroo desert and the shores of the Buffalo River,
returning to the Cape on the 2d of April, 1783.

The results of this long campaign were important. Le
Vaillant obtained some decided information about the
Gonaquas, a numerous race which must not be confounded
with the Hottentots properly so called, but are probably the
offspring of their inter-marriage with the Kaffirs. With
regard to the Hottentots themselves, the information col-
lected by Le Vaillant agrees on almost every point with that
obtained by Sparrman.

" The Kaffirs seen by Le Vaillant," says Walcknaer,
" were most of them taller than either the Hottentots or the
Gonaquas. They have neither the retiring jaws nor promi-

AFRICAN EXPLORERS 311

nent cheek bones which are so repulsive in the Hottentots,
but are less noticeable in the Gonaquas, neither have they
the broad flat faces and thick lips o£ their neighbors the
negroes of Mozambique. Their faces, on the contrary, are
round, their noses fairly prominent, and their teeth the
whitest and most regular of any people in the world. Their
complexion is of a clear dark brown ; and, but for this one
characteristic, says Le Vaillant, any Kaffir woman would
be considered very pretty, even beside a European."

During Le Vaillant's sixteen months of absence, the as-
pect of the Cape had completely changed. When the trav-
eler left he admired the modest bearing of the Dutch women;
on his return he found them thinking only of amusement
and dress. Ostrich feathers were so much in vogue that
they had to be imported from Europe and Asia. All those
brought by our traveler were quickly bought up. The birds
which he had sent to the colony on every possible oppor-
tunity now amounted to one thousand and twenty-four
specimens; and Mr. Boers's house, where they were kept,
was converted into a regular natural history museum.

Le Vaillant's journey had been so successful that he could
not but wish to begin another. Although his friend Boers
had returned to Europe, he was able, with the aid of the
many other friends he had made, to collect the materials for
a fresh trip. On the 15th of June, 1783, he started at the
'head of a caravan numbering nineteen persons.

We shall not, of course, follow the traveler in his hunting
excursions ; all we need to know is that he succeeded in mak-
ing a collection of marvelous birds, that he introduced the
first giraffe to Europe, and that he traversed the whole of
the vast space between the tropic of Capricorn on the west
and the 14th meridian on the east. He returned to the
Cape in 1 784, he embarked for Europe, and arrived at Paris
early in January, 1785.

The first native people met with by Le Vaillant in his
second voyage were the Little Namaquas, a race but very
little known, and who soon died out — the more readily that
they occupied a barren country, subject to constant attacks
from the Bosjemans. Although of fair height, they are
inferior in appearance to the Kaffirs and Namaquas, to
whose customs theirs bear a great resemblance.

The Caminouquas, or Comeinacquas, of whom Le Vail-

312 SCIENTIFIC EXPLORATION

lant gives many particulars, exceed them in height. He
says:

" They appear taller even than the Gonaquas, although
possibly they are not so in reality; but the illusion is sus-
tained by their small bones, delicate and emaciated appear-
ance, and slender limbs. The long mantle of light material
which hangs from the shoulder to the ground adds to their
height. They look like drawn out men. Lighter in color
than the Cape natives, they have better features than the
other Hottentot tribes, owing to the fact that their noses are
less flat and their cheek bones less prominent."

Of all the races visited by Le Vaillant, the most peculiar
and most ancient was that of the Houzonanas, a tribe which
had not been met with by any other northern traveler; but
they appear identical with the Bechuanas, although the part
of the country assigned to them does not coincide with that
which they are known to have occupied for many years.

" The Houzonanas," says the narrative, " are small in
stature, the tallest being scarcely five feet four in height.
These small beings are perfectly proportioned, and are sur-
prisingly strong and active. They have an imposing air of
boldness." Le Vaillant considers them the best endowed
mentally, and the strongest physically, of all the savage races
he has met with. In face they resemble the Hottentots, but
they have rounder chins, and they are far less black. They
have curly hair, so short that Le Vaillant at first imagined
it to be shaven.

One striking peculiarity of the Houzonanas is a large
mass of flesh upon the back of the women, which forms a
natural saddle, and oscillates strangely with every movement
of the body. Le Vaillant describes a woman whom he saw
with her child about three years old, who was perched upon
his feet behind her, like a footman behind a cabriolet.

We will pass over the traveler's description of the appear-
ance and custoVns of these various races, many of which are
now extinct, or incorporated in some more powerful tribe.
Although by no means the least curious portion of his narra-
tive, the details are so exaggerated that we prefer to omit
them.

Upon the eastern coast of Africa, a Portuguese traveler,
named Francisco Jose de Lacerda y Almeida, left Mozam-
bique in 1797, to explore the interior. The account of this

AFRICAN EXPLORERS 313

expedition to a place which has only lately been revisited,
would be of great interest; but unfortunately, so far as we
know, his journal has not been published. His name is
often quoted by geographers, and they appear to know what
countries he visited; but in France, at least, no lengthened
notice of this geographer exists which would furnish the
details of his exploration. A very few words will convey
all that we have been able to collect of the history of a man
who made most important discoveries, and whose name has
most unfairly been forgotten.

Lacerda, the date and place of whose birth are unknown,
was an engineer, and he was professionally engaged in
settling the boundary of the frontier between the Spanish
and Portuguese possessions in South America. Whilst
thus employed, he collected a mass of interesting particulars
of the province of Mato Grosso, which are given in the
Rivesta trimcnsal do Brazil. We cannot tell what circum-
stances led him, after this successful expedition, to the
Portuguese possessions in Africa; nor is it easy to imagine
his motive for crossing South Africa from the eastern shore
to the kingdom of Loanda. It is however certain that he
left the well-known town of Tete in 1797, in command of
an important caravan bound for the States of Cazembe.

This country was governed by a king as renowned for his
benevolence and humanity as for his bravery. He inhabited
a town called Lunda, which was two miles in extent, and
situated upon the eastern shore of the lake called Mofo. It
would have been interesting to compare these localities with
those that we know of in the same parallels to-day; but the
lack of details obliges us to desist, merely observing that the
word Lunda was well-known to Portuguese travelers. As
regards Cazembe, there is no longer any question as to its
position.

Well received by the king, Lacerda remained some twelve
days with him, and then proceeded upon his journey. Un-
fortunately, when a day or two's march from Lunda he suc-
cumbed to fatigue and the unhealthiness of the climate.

The native king collected the traveler's notes and jour-
nals, and ordered them to be sent with his remains to
Mozambique. But unfortunately the caravan entrusted with
these precious memorials was attacked, and the remains of
the unfortunate Lacerda were left in the heart of Africa.

314 SCIENTIFIC EXPLORATION

His notes were brought to Europe by a nephew, who had
accompanied the expedition.

We now come to the account of the expeditions under-
taken in the east of Africa, foremost amongst which is that
of the well-known traveler Bruce. A Scotchman by birth,
like so many other African explorers, James Bruce was
brought up for the bar; but the sedentary nature of his oc-
cupation had little charm for him, and he embraced an op-
portunity of entering commercial life. His wife died a few
years after their marriage, and Bruce started for Spain,
where he employed his leisure in studying Arabic monu-
ments. He wished to publish a detailed account of those
in the Escorial, but the Spanish Government refused him the
necessary permission.

Returning to England, Bruce began to study Eastern
languages, and more especially the Ethiopian, which at that
time was known only through the imperfect works of
Ludolf. One day Lord Halifax half jestingly proposed to
him an exploration of the sources of the Nile. Bruce en-
tered enthusiastically into the subject, and set to work to
realize it. He overcame every objection, conquered every
difficulty, and in June, 1768, left England for the shores of
the Mediterranean. Bruce hurriedly visited some of the
islands of the Archipelago, Syria, and Egypt. Leaving
Djedda he proceeded to Mecca, Lobheia, and arrived at
Massowah upon the 19th September, 1760. He had taken
care to obtain a firman from the Sultan, and also letters
from the Bey of Cairo, and the Sheriff of Mecca. This
was fortunate, for the Nawab, or governor, did all in his
power to prevent his entering Abyssinia, and endeavored to
make him pay heavily with presents. Abyssinia had been
■explored by Portuguese missionaries, thanks to whose zeal
some information about the country had been obtained,
although far less accurate in detail than that which we owe
to Bruce. Although his veracity has often been ques-
tioned, succeeding travelers have confirmed his many asser-
tions.

From Massowah to Adowa the road rises gradually, and
passes over the mountains which separate Tigre from the
shores of the Red Sea.

Adowa was not originally the capital of Tigre. A manu-
facture of a coarse cotton cloth which circulates as current

AFRICAN EXPLORERS 315

money in Abyssinia was established there. The soil in the
neighborhood is deep enough for the cultivation of corn.

" In these districts," says Bruce, " there are three har-
vests a year. The first seeds are sown in July and August,
when the rain flows abundantly. In the same season they
sow ' tocusso,' ' teff,' and barley. About the 20th of
November they reap the first barley, then the wheat, and
last of all the ' teff.' In some of these they sow immediately
upon the same ground without any manure, barley, which
they reap in February, and then often sow * teff,' but more
frequently a kind of vetch or pea, called Shimbra; these are
cut down before the first rains, which are in April; yet
with all the advantages of a triple harvest, which requires
neither manure nor any expensive processes, the farmer in
Abyssinia is always very poor."

At Fremona, not far from Adowa, are the ruins of a
Jesuit convent, resembling rather a fort than the abode of
men of peace. Two days' journey further on, one comes
to the ruins of Axum, the ancient capital of Abyssinia. " In
one square," says Bruce, " which I apprehend to have been
the center of the town, there are forty obelisks, none of
which have any hieroglyphics on them. The two first have
fallen down, but a third a little smaller than them is still
standing. They are all hewn from one block of granite,
and on the top of that which is standing there is a patera,
exceedingly well engraved in the Greek style.

"After passing the convent of Abba Pantaleon, called in
Abyssinia Mantillas, and the small obelisk on a rock above,
we follow a path cut in a mountain of very red marble, hav-
ing on the left a marble wall forming a parapet about five
feet high. At intervals solid pedestals rise from this wall,
bearing every token of having served to support colosasl
statues of Sirius, the barking Anubis, or the Dog star. One
hundred and thirty-three of these pedestals with the marks
just mentioned are still in their places, but only two figures
of the dog were recognizable when I was there; these, how-
ever, though much mutilated, were evidently Egyptian.

" There are also pedestals supporting the figures of the
Sphinx. Two magnificent flights of steps, several hundred
feet long, all of granite, exceedingly well finished, and still
in their places, arc the only remains of a magnificent temple.
In an angle of this platform where the temple stood, is the

3i6 SCIENTIFIC EXPLORATION

present small church of Axum. This church is a mean,
small building, very ill kept and full of pigeons' dung." It
was near Axum that Bruce saw three soldiers cut from a
living cow a steak for their midday meal.

In his account of their method of cutting the steak Bruce
says : " The skin which had covered the flesh that was cut
away was left intact, and was fastened to the correspond-
ing part by little wooden skewers serving as pins. Whether
they put anything between the skin and the wounded flesh
I do not know, but they soon covered the wound with mud.
They then forced the animal to rise, and drove it on before
them, to furnish them, no doubt, with another meal when
they should join their companions in the evening."

From Tigre, Bruce passed into the province of Sire,
which derives its name from its capital, a town considerably
larger than Axum, but constantly a prey to putrid fevers.
Near it flows the Takazze, the ancient Siris, with its poison-
ous waters bordered by majestic trees.

In the province of Samen, situated amongst the unhealthy
and broiling Waldubba Mountains, and where many monks
had retired to pray and do penance, Bruce stayed only long
enough to rest his beasts of burden, for the country was not
only haunted by lions and hyenas, and infested by large
black ants, which destroyed part of his baggage, but also
torn with civil war; so that foreigners were anything but
safe. This made him most anxious to reach Gondar, but
when he arrived typhoid fever was raging fiercely. His
knowledge of medicine was very useful to him, and pro-
cured him a situation under the governor, which was most
advantageous to him, as it rendered him free to scour the
country in all directions, at the head of a body of soldiers.
By these means he acquired a mass of valuable information
upon the government, manners, and customs of the country,
and the chief events of its history, which combined to make
his work the most important hitherto published about
Abyssinia.

It was in the course of one of these excursions that Bruce
discovered the sources of the Blue Nile, which he took to
be the true Nile. Arrived at the church of St. Michael, at
Geesh, where the river is only four paces wide, and some
four inches deep, Bruce became convinced that its sources
must be in the neighborhood, although his guide assured

AFRICAN EXPLORERS 317

him that he must cross a mountain before he found them.
The traveler was not to be deceived.

" ' Come ! come ! ' " said Bruce, " ' no more words. It is
already late; lead me to Geesh and the sources of the Nile,
and show me the mountain that separates us from it.' He
then made me go round to the south of the church, and com-
ing out of the grove of cedars surrounding it, ' This is the
mountain,' he said, looking maliciously up into my face,
' that when you were on the other side of it, was between
you and the fountains of the Nile ; there is no other. Look at
that green hillock in the center of that marsh. It is there
that the two fountains of the Nile are to be found. Geesh
is at the top of the rock, where you see those very green
trees. If you go to the fountains, pull off your shoes as
you did the other day, for these people are all Pagans, and
they believe in nothing that you believe, but only in the Nile,
to which they pray every day as if it were God, as you per-
haps invoke it yourself.' I took off my shoes, and rushed
down the hill towards the little green island, which was
about two hundred yards distant. The whole of the side of
the hill was carpeted with flowers, the large roots of which
protruded above the surface of the ground; and as I was
looking down, and noticing that the skin w^as peeling oft' the
bulbs, I had two very severe falls before I reached the edge
of the marsh; but at last I approached the island with its
green sod. It was in the form of an altar, and apparently
of artificial construction. I was in rapture as I gazed upon
the principal fountain which rises in the middle of it. It is
easier to imagine than to describe what I felt at that moment,
standing opposite the sources which had baffled the genius
and courage of the most celebrated men for three thousand
years."

Bruce's narrative contains many other curious observa-
tions, but we must now pass on to his account of Lake
Tzana.

" Lake Tzana," according to his narrative, " is by far the
largest sheet of water known in these regions. Its extent,
however, has been greatly exaggerated. Its greatest
breadth from Dingleber to Lamgue. i. e. from east to west,
is thirty-five miles, but it decreases greatly at each end, and
in some parts is not above ten miles broad. Its greatest
length is forty-nine miles from north to south, measured

3i8 SCIENTIFIC EXPLORATION

from Bab-Baha to a point a trifle to the S. W.^/^W. of the
spot where the Nile, after flowing through the lake with an
ever perceptible current, bends towards Dara in the Allati
territory. In the dry season, from October to March, the
lake decreases greatly; but when the rains have swollen the
rivers, which unite at this place like the spokes of a wheel at
the nave, the lake rises, and overflows a portion of the plain.
If the Abyssinians, great liars at all times, are to be believed,
there are forty- five islands in Lake Tzana; but this number
may be safely reduced to eleven. The largest is named
Dek, Daka, or Daga; the next in size are Halimoon, on the
Gondar side of the lake, Briguida, on the Gorgora side, and
Galila, beyond Briguida. All these islands were formerly
used as prisons for Abyssinian chieftains, or as retreats by
such as were dissatisfied at court, or wished to secure their
valuables in troubled times."

And now having visited Abyssinia with Bruce, let us re-
turn to the north.

Some light was now being thrown upon the ancient
civilization of Egypt. The archaeological expedition of
Pococke, Norden, Niebuhr, Volney, and Savary had been
published in succession, and the Egyptian Society was at
work upon the publication of its large and magnificent work.
The number of travelers increased daily, and amongst
others W. G. Browne determined to visit the land of the
Pharaohs.

From his work we learn much alike of the monuments
and ruins which make this country so interesting, and of the
customs of its inhabitants. The portion of the work relat-
ing to Darfur is entirely new, no Europeans having pre-
viously explored it. Browne attained a high place among
travelers by his discovery that the Bahr-el-Abiad is the true
Nile, and because he endeavored not indeed to discover its
source, that he could scarcely hope to do, but to ascertain
its latitude and course.

Arriving in Egypt upon the lOth of January, 1792,
Browne set out upon his first expedition to Siwah, and dis-
covered, as Horneman did later, the oasis of Jupiter
Ammon. He had little more opportunity than his succes-
sor for exploring the catacombs and ruins, where he saw
many skulls and human remains.

" The ruins of Siwah," he says, " resembled too much

AFRICAN EXPLORERS 319

those of Upper Egypt to leave any doubt that the buildings
to which they belonged were built by the same race of men.
The figures of Isis and Anubis are easily recognizable on
them, and the proportions of their architectural works,
though smaller, are the same as those of the Egyptian
temples.

" The rocks I noticed in the neighborhood of Siwah were
of the sandstone formation, bearing no relation whatever to
the stones of these ruins; so that I should think that the
materials for these buildings can not have been obtained on
the spot. The people of Siwah have preserved no credible
traditions respecting these objects. They merely imagined
them to contain treasures, and to be frequented by
demons."

After leaving Siwah, Browne made various excursions
in Egypt, and then settled in Cairo, where he studied Arabic.
He left this town upon the loth of September, 1792, and
visited in succession Kaw, Achmin, Gergeh, Dendera, Kazr,
Thebes, Assouan, Kosseir, Memphis, Suez, and Mount
Sinai ; then wishing to enter Abyssinia, but convinced that
he could not do so by way of Massowah, he left Assiut for
Darfur, with a Soudan caravan, in May, 1793. The cara-
van halted upon its way to Darfur at the different towns
of Aine, Dizeh, Charyeh, Bulak, Scheb, Selinceh, Leghea,
and Ber-el-Malha.

Being taken ill at Soueini, Browne was detained there,
and only reached El-Fascher after a long delay. Here his
annoyances and the exactions levied recommenced, and he
could not succeed in obtaining an interview with the Sultan.
He was forced to spend the winter at Cobbeh, awaiting his
restoration to health, which only took place in the summer
of 1794. This time of forced inaction was not. however,
wasted by the traveler; he acquainted himself with the man-
ners and dialects of Darfur. Upon the return of summer,
Browne repaired to El-Fascher, and recommenced his ap-
plications for admittance to the Sultan. They were at-
tended with the same unsuccessful results, until a crown-
ing act of injustice at length procured for him the interview
he had so long solicited in vain.

" I found," he says, " the monarch Abd-el-Raschman
seated on his throne under a lofty wooden canopy, of Syriaia
and Indian stuffs indiscriminately mixed. The floor in

320 SCIENTIFIC EXPLORATION

front of the throne was spread with small Turkey carpets.
The meleks (officers of the court) were seated at some little
distance off on the right and left, and behind them stood a
line of guards, wearing caps ornamented in front with a
small copper plate and a black ostrich feather. Each bore
a spear in his right hand, and a shield of hippopotamus-
hide on the left arm. Their only clothing was a cotton
shirt, of the manufacture of the country. Behind the
throne were fourteen or fifteen eunuchs, clothed in rich
stuffs of various kinds and all manner of colors. The space
in front was filled with petitioners and spectators, to the
number of more than fifteen hundred. A kind of hired
eulogist stood on the monarch's left hand, crying out at the
top of his voice during the whole ceremony, ' See the
buffalo, the son of a buffalo, the powerful Sultan Abd-el-
Raschman El-rashid. May God protect thy life, O master,
may God assist thee and render thee victorious.' "

The Sultan promised justice to Browne, and put the mat-
ter into the hands of the meleks, but he only obtained res-
titution of a sixth of that of which he had been robbed.

The traveler had merely entered Darfur to cross it. He
found it would be no easy task to leave it, and that in any
case he must give up the idea of prosecuting his exploration;
he says: ♦

" On the nth of December, 1795 (after a delay of three
months), I accompanied the chatib (one of the principal
officers of the country) to the monarch's presence. I
shortly stated what I required, and the chatib seconded me,
though not with the zeal that I might have wished. To my
demand for permission to travel no answer was returned,
and the iniquitous despot, who had received from me no
less than the value of about 750 piastres in goods, conde-
scended to give me twenty meagre oxen, worth about 120
piastres. The state of my purse would not permit me to re-
fuse even this mean return, and I bade adieu to El-Fascher
as I hoped forever."

Browne was not able to leave Darfur till the spring of
1796, when he joined the caravan which was about to return
to Egypt.

The town of Cobbeh, although not the resort of the mer-
chants, must be considered the capital of Darfur. It is
more than two miles in length, but is extremely narrow,

V. XV Verne

AFRICAN EXPLORERS 321

each house stands In a field surrounded by a palisade, an^
between each there is a plot of fallow land.

The plain in which the town is situated runs W. S. W.,
to a distance of some twenty miles. Almost all the in-
habitants are merchants, who trade with Egypt. Their
number may be estimated at six thousand, the larger pro-
portion being slaves. The entire population of Darfur
can not exceed two hundred thousand, but Browne only
arrived at this calculation by estimating the number of re-^
cruits raised for the war with Kordofan.

" The inhabitants of Darfur," says the narrative, " are
of various races. Some, chiefly fakeers or priests and
traders, come from the west, and there are a good many
Arabs, none of whom are permanent residents. They are
of various tribes; the greater number lead a wandering life
on the frontiers, where they pasture their camels, oxen, and
horses. They are not in such complete dependence on the
Sultan as always to contribute to his forces in war, or to
pay him tribute in time of peace."

After the Arabs come the people of Zeghawa, which once
formed a distinct kingdom, whose chief could put a thou-
sand horsemen in the field. The Zeghawas speak a differ-
ent dialect from the people of Fur. We must also include
the people of Bego or Dageou, who are now subject to Dar-
fur, but are the issue of a tribe which formerly ruled the
country.

The natives of Darfur are inured to hunger and thirst,
but they indulge freely in an intoxicating liquor called
Bonzza or Merisse. Thieving, lying, and dishonesty, with
their accompanying vices, prevail largely among them.

" In buying and selling the parent glories in deceiving the
son, and the son the parent, and atrocious frauds are com-
mitted in the name of God and of the Prophet.

" Polygamy, which it is well known is tolerated by their
religion, is indulged in to excess by the people of Darfur.
When Sultan Teraub went to war with Korodofan, he took
in his retinue five hundred women, leaving as many in his
palace. This may at first sight seem ridiculous, but it must
be remembered that these women had to grind corn, draw
water, dress food, and perform all the domestic work for
a large number of people, so that there was plenty for them
to do."

Z22 SCIENTIFIC EXPLORATION

Browne's narrative contains many medical observations
of interest, and gives valuable advice as to the mode of
traveling in Africa, with particulars of the animals, fish,
metals, and plants of Darfur. We do not give them here,
because they do not contain anything of special interest for
us.

CHAPTER VI

ASIA AND ITS INHABITANTS

[At the end of the seventeenth century, a traveler name^
Nicolas Witzen had explored eastern and northern Tartary,
and in 1692 published a curious narrative of his journey.
This work, which was in Dutch, and was not translated into
any other European language, did not win for its author the
recognition he deserved. A second edition, illustrated with
engravings which were meritorious rather from their
fidelity to nature than their artistic merit, was issued in
1705, and in 1785 the remaining copies of this issue w^ere
collected, and appeared under a new title. But it attracted
little notice, as by this time further and more curious par-
ticulars had been obtained.

From the day that the Jesuits first entered the Celestial
Empire, they had collected every possible fact with regard
to the customs of this immense country, which previous to
their stay there had been known only through the extrava-
gant tales of Marco Polo. Although China is the country;
of stagnation, and customs and fashion always remain much
the same in it, the many events which had taken place made
it desirable to obtain more exact particulars of a nation with
whom Europeans might possibly enter into advantageous
friendly relations.

The Jesuits published the result of these investigations in
the rare work entitled " Lettres Edifiantes," which was re-
vised and supplemented by a zealous member of their order.
Father Du Halde. It would be useless to attempt any re-
production of this immense work, for which a volume
would be required, and it is the less necessary as at this day
we have fuller and more complete details of the country
than are to be found even in the learned father's book. To
the Jesuits also belong the merit of many important as-
tronomical observations, facts concerning natural history.

M

ASIA AND ITS INHABITANTS 323

and the compilation of maps, which were till quite lately
authorities on remote districts of the country consulted
with advantages.

Towards the end of the eighteenth century, Abbe Grosier,
of the order of St. Louis du Louvre, published in an
abridged form, a new description of China and Tartary.
He made use of the work of his predecessor, Du Halde, and
at the same time rectified and added to it. After an ac-
count of the fifteen provinces of China and Tartary, with
the tributary States, such as Corea, Tonking, Cochin China,
and Thibet, the author devotes several chapters to the popu-
lation and natural history of China, whilst he reviews the
government, religion, manners, literature, science, and art
of the Chinese.

Towards the end of the eighteenth century, the English
Government, being desirous of entering into commercial
relations with China, sent an Envoy-extraordinary to that
country named George Macartney.

This diplomatist had already visited the courts of Europe
and Russia, had been governor of the English Antilles and
Madras, and Governor General of India.

He had acquired in the course of his travels in such varied
climates, and amid such diverse peoples, a profound knowl-
edge of human nature. His narrative of his voyages is
rich in facts and observations calculated to give Europeans
a true idea of the Chinese character.

Personal accounts of travel are always more interesting
than anonymous ones.

Although the great / is generally hateful, it is not so in
travels, where the assertion / have been there, / have done
such or such a thing, carries weight, and gives interest to
the narrative.

Macartney and his suite sailed in a squadron consisting
of three vessels, the Lion, the Hindustan, and the Jackal,
which left Portsmouth on the 26t]i September, 1792.

After a few necessary delays at Rio-de- Janeiro, St. Paul
and Amsterdam Islands, where some seal-hunters were seen,
at Batavia, and Bantam, in Java, and at Poulo Condere,
the vessels cast anchor off Turon (Han San) in Cochin
China, a vast harbor, of which only a very bad chart was
then in existence.

The arrival of the English was at first a cause of un-

324 SCIENTIFIC EXPLORATION

easiness to the natives of Cochin China. But when they
were once informed of the motives which had brought the
Enghsh to their country, they sent an ambassador of high
rank on board with presents for Macartney, who was
shortly afterwards invited to a banquet at the governor's,
followed by a dramatic entertainment. During the short
stay many notes were taken of the manners and customs
of the people, unfortunately too hurriedly to admit of ac-
curacy.

As soon as the sick had recovered and fresh provisions
had been obtained the vessels set sail. A short stay was
made at the Ladrone Islands, and the squadron then en-
tered the Strait of Formosa, where it encountered stormy
weather, and took refuge in Chusan Harbor. During this
stay the map of this archipelago was rectified and an op-
portunity was taken to visit Tinghai, where the English ex-
cited as much curiosity as they felt themselves at the sight
of the many things which were new to them.

Many of the facts which surprised them are familiar to
us, the appearance of the houses, the markets and dress of
the Chinese, the small feet of the women, and many other
particulars to which we need not refer. We will only
allude to the account of the method employed by them iri
cultivating dwarf trees.

" This stunted vegetation," says Macartney, " seems to
be highly appreciated in China, for specimens of it are
found in all the larger houses. It is an art peculiar to the
Chinese, and the gardener's skill consists in knowing how
to produce it. Independently of satisfaction of triumph-
ing over a difficulty, he has the advantage of introducing
into rooms plants whose natural size would have precluded
such a possibility.

" The following is the method employed in China for
the production of dwarfed trees. The trunk of a tree of
which it is desired to obtain a dwarfed specimen, is covered
as nearly as possible where it separates into branches with
clay or mould, over which is placed a linen or cotton cover-
ing constantly kept damp. This mould is sometimes left
on for a whole year, and throughout that time the wood it
covers throws out tender, root-like fibres. Then the por-
tions of the trunk from which issue these fibres, with the
branch immediately above them, are carefully separated

ASIA AND ITS INHABITANTS 325

from the tree and placed in fresh mould, where the shoots
soon develop into real roots, whilst the branch forms the
stem of a plant which is in a manner metamorphosed. This
operation neither destroys nor alters the productive
faculties of the branch which is separated from the parent
tree. When it bears fruit or flowers it does so as plenti-
fully as when it was upon the original stem. The ex-
tremities of the branches intended to be dwarfed are al-
ways pulled off, which precludes the possibility of their
growing tall, and forces them to throw out shoots and
lateral branches. These shoots are tied with wire, and
assume the form the gardener chooses. When it is de-
sired to give an aged appearance to the tree, it is constantly
moistened with theriaca or treacle, which attracts to it mul-
titudes of ants, who not content with devouring the sweet-
meat, attack the bark of the tree, and eat it away in such
a manner as to produce the desired effect."

Upon leaving Chusan, the squadron entered the Yellow
Sea, never before navigated by an European vessel. The
river Hoang-Ho flows into it, and it is from the immense
quantity of yellow mud brought down by it in its long and
tortuous course that the sea derives its name.

The English vessels cast anchor in Ten-chou-Fou Bay,
and thence entered the gulf of Pekin, and halted outside the
bar of Pei-Ho. There being only three or four feet of
water on this bar at low tide, the vessels could not
cross it.

The mandarins appointed by the government to receive
the English ambassador, arrived shortly after, bringing
numerous presents; whilst the gifts intended for the em-
peror were placed in junks, and Macartney went on board
a yacht which had been prepared for him.

The first town reached was Takoo. where Macartney
recived a visit from the viceroy of the province and the
principal mandarin. Both were men of venerable and
dignified aspect, polite and attentive, and entirely free from
obsequiousness.

" It has been rightly said." remarks Macartney, " that a
people are as they are made, and the English had continual
proof of this truth in the effect produced upon the Chinese
character by the fear of the iron power that ruled them.
Apart from this fear they were cheerful and confiding, but

326 SCIENTIFIC EXPLORATION

in the presence of their rulers they appeared most timid
and embarrassed."

In ascending the Pei-Ho towards Pekin, the course was
retarded by the many windings of the river. The country
through which they passed was highly cultivated, with
houses and villages at intervals upon the banks of the river
or inland, alternating with cemeteries and pyramids of bags
of salt, producing a charming and ever varying landscape.
.When night approached, lanterns of every hue, fastened to
the masts and rigging of the yachts, produced the fantastic
effect of many-colored lights.

Tien Tsing signifies " heavenly spot," and the town
owes this name to its agreeable climate and clear blue sky,
and the fertility of its neighborhood. In this place, the
ambassador was received by the viceroy and a legate sent
by the emperor. From them Macartney learned that the
emperor was at his summer palace in Tartary, and that
the anniversary of his birthday was to be celebrated there
upon the 13th of September. The ambassador and his
suite were therefore to go up by water as far as Tong
Schou, about a dozen miles from Pekin, and thence pro-
ceed by land to Zhe Hoi, where the emperor awaited them.
The presents might be sent on afterwards. Although the
first intimation was pleasant, the latter was singularly dis-
agreeable to Macartney, for the presents consisted for the
most part of delicate instruments, which had been taken to
pieces for safety and packed separately. The legate would
not consent to their being left where they would be free
from danger of being disturbed. Macartney was obliged
to obtain the intervention of the viceroy for the protection
of these proofs of the genius and knowledge of Europe.

The cortege reached Tien Tsing, a town which appeared
as long as London, and contained not less than seven hun-
dred thousand inhabitants. A vast crowd assembled on the
banks of the river to see the English pass, and the river
swarmed with junks teeming with natives.

The houses in this city are built of blue with a few red
bricks, some are two stories high, but that is unusual. Here
the English saw the employment of those carriages with
sails which had long been considered fabulous. They con-
sist of two barrows made of bamboo, with one large wheel
between them.

ASIA AND ITS INHABITANTS 327

.When there is not sufficient wind to propel the carriage,
says the narrative, it is drawn by one man, while another
pushes behind and keeps it steady. When the wind is
favorable, the sail, which is a mat attached to two sticks
placed upon either side of the carriage, renders the help
of the man in front unnecessary.

The banks of the Pei-Ho are in many parts protected by
breast-works of granite, to arrest inundation, and here and
there dikes, also of granite, provided with a sluice, by means
of which water is conveyed to the fields below. The coun-
try, although well cultivated, was often devastated by
famines, following upon inundations, or resulting from the
ravages of locusts.

Thus far, the cortege had been sailing through the im-
mense alluvial plain of Pe-tche-Li. Not until the fourth
day after leaving Tien Tsing was the blue outline of moun-
tains perceived on the horizon. Pekin was now in sight;
and on the 6th of August, 1793, the yachts anchored within
two miles of the capital, and half a mile from Tong-Chow-
Fow.

In order to leave the presents which could not be taken
to Zhe Hoi, at the palace, called " The garden of eternal
spring," it was necessary to land. The inhabitants of
Tong-Chow-Fow, who were already greatly excited by the
appearance of the English, were still more amazed at the
first sight of a negro servant. His skin, his jet black color,
his woolly hair, and all the distinguishing marks of his race,
iwere absolutely novel in this part of China. The people
could not remember seeing anything at all like him before.
Some of them even doubted If he could be a human being
at all, and the children cried out in fear that it was a black
devil. But his good humor soon reconciled them to his
appearance, and they became accustomed to look upon him
[without fear or displeasure.

The English were especially surprised at seeing upon a
iwall the sketch of a lunar eclipse which was to take place in
a few days. They ascertained among other facts, that
silver Is an article of commerce with the Chinese, for they
have no coined money, but use ingots bearing only a sign,
indicative of their weight. The English were struck with
the extraordinary resemblance between the religious cere-
monies of Fo and those of the Christians.

"i^

8 SCIENTIFIC EXPLORATION

Macartney states that certain authors maintain that the
apostle Thomas visited China; while the Missionary Tre-
more contends, that this is merely a fiction palmed upon the
Jesuits by the devil himself.

Ninety small carriages, forty-four wheelbarrows, more
than two hundred horses, and over three thousand men,
were employed in the transport of the presents of the
British government to the emperor. Macartney and three
of his suite accompanied the convoy in palanquins. An
enormous crowd followed them. The English ambassador
was greeted at the gates of Pekin by volleys of artillery.
Once beyond the fortifications, he found himself in a wide
unpaved street, with houses on either side, one or two
stories high. Across the street extended a wooden
triumphal arch in three partitions, each with a lofty and
highly decorated roof.

The embassy afforded ample material for the tales which
at this time filled the imagination of the people. It was
declared that the presents brought for the emperor consisted
of everything that was rare in other countries and unknown
in China. It was gravely asserted that among the animals,
there was an elephant not larger than a monkey, but as
fierce as a lion, and a cock which was fed upon coal.
Everything which came from England was supposed to
differ from anything hitherto seen in Pekin, and to possess
the very opposite qualities to those usual to it.

The wall of the imperial palace was at once recognized
by its yellow color. Through the gate were seen artificial
hills, lakes and rivers, with small islets, and fantastic build-
ings amidst the trees.

At the end of a street terminating at the northern wall
of the city, was a vast edifice of considerable height, which
contained an enormous bell. The English explored the
town in various directions, and on the whole were not
favorably impressed. They concluded that a Chinaman
visiting London, with its bridges and innumerable ships,
its squares and monuments, would carry away a better idea
of the importance of the capital of Great Britain than they
could do of Pekin.

Upon their arrival at the palace, where the presents for
the emperor were to be displayed, the governor discussed
with Macartney the best way to arrange and display them.

ASIA AND ITS INHABITANTS 329

They were finally placed in a large and well-decorated hall,
which at the time contained nothing but a throne and a few
vases of old china.

It is unnecessary to enter upon the interminable negotia-
tions which rose out of the resolve of the Chinese, that
Macartney should prostrate himself before the emperor;
which humiliating proposition they had prepared for by the
inscription placed upon the yachts and carriages of the
embassy, " Ambassador bringing tribute from England."

It is in Pekin that the field is situated which the em-
peror, in accordance with ancient custom, sows every spring.
Here, too, is to be found the " Temple of the Earth," to
which the sovereign resorts at the summer solstice, to ac-
knowledge the astral power which lightens the world, and to
give thanks for its beneficent influence.

Pekin is merely the seat of the Imperial government in
China, and has neither shipping, manufactures, nor
trade.

Macartney computes the number of inhabitants at three
millions. The one-storied houses in the town appear in-
sufiicient for so large a population, but a single house ac-
commodates three generations. This density of the popula-
tion is the result of the early ages at which marriages are
contracted. These hasty unions are often brought about
from prudential motives by the Chinese, the children, and
especially the sons, being responsible for the care of their
parents.

The embassy left Pekin on the 2nd of September, 1793,
Macartney, traveling in a post-chaise, probably the first
carriage of the kind which ever entered Tartary.

As the distance from Pekin increased, the road ascended
and the soil became more sandy, and contained less and less
clay and black earth. Shortly afterwards, vast plains,
planted with tobacco, were crossed. Macartney imagines
tobacco to be indigenous, and not imported from America,
and thinks that the habit of smoking was spontaneous in
Asia.

The English soon noticed that as the soil became more
and more barren, the population decreased. At the same
time the Tartar element became larger and larger, and the
difference between the manners of the Chinese and their
conquerors was less marked.

tl

330 SCIENTIFIC EXPLORATION

Upon the fifth day of the journey, the far-famed Great
(Wall was seen.

" The first glance at this fortified wall," says Macartney,

is enough to give an impression of an enterprise of sur-
prising grandeur. It ascends the highest mountains to their
yery loftiest peaks, it goes down into the deepest valleys,
crossing rivers on sustaining arches, and with its breadth
often doubled and trebled to increase its strength whilst at
intervals of about a hundred paces rise towers or strong
bastions. It is difficult to understand how the materials
for this wall were brought to and used in places apparently
inaccessible, and it is impossible sufficiently to admire the
skill brought to bear upon the task. One of the loftiest
mountains over which the wall passes has been ascertained
to be no less than 5,225 feet high.

" This fortification — for the simple word * wall ' gives
no just idea of the wonderful structure — is said to be 1,500
miles long, but it is not quite finished. The fifteen hundred
miles was the extent of the frontier which separates
colonized China from the various Tartar tribes. Such
barriers as these would not suffice in modern times for
nations at war.

" Many of the lesser works in the interior of this grand
rampart have yielded to the effects of time, and fallen into
ruins ; others have been repaired ; but the principal wall ap-
pears throughout to have been built with such care and skill
as never to have needed repairs. It has now been pre-
served more than two thousand years, and appears as little
susceptible of injury as the rocks which nature herself has
planted between China and Tartary."

Beyond the wall nature seems to proclaim the entrance
into a country; the temperature is colder, the roads are more
rugged, and the mountains are less wooded. The num-
ber of sufferers from goiter in the Tartar valleys is very
considerable, and according to the estimate given by Dr.
Gillan, physician to the embassy, comprises a sixth of the
population. The portion of Tartary in which this malady
rages is not unlike many of the cantons of Switzerland and
Savoy.

The valley of Zhe Hoi, where the emperor possesses a
summer palace and garden, was at length reached. This
residence is called " The abode of pleasant freshness," and

ASIA AND ITS INHABITANTS 331

the park surrounding it is named the " Garden of innumer-
able trees." The embassy was received with mihtary hon-
ors, amid an immense crowd of people, many of whom
were dressed in yellow. These were inferior lamas or
monks of the order of Fo, to which the emperor also be-
longed.

The disputes as to prostration before the emperor begun
in Pekin were continued here. At last Tchien Lung con-
sented to content himself with the respectful salutation with
[which English nobles are accustomed to greet their own
sovereign. The reception accordingly took place, with every
imaginable pomp and ceremony.

The narrative says :

" Shortly after daybreak the sound of many instruments,
and the confused voices of distant crowds, announced the
approach of the emperor. He soon appeared, issuing from
behind a high mountain, bordered with trees, as if from a
sacred grove, and preceded by a number of men who pro-
claimed his virtues and power in loud voices. He was
seated in a chair carried by sixteen men; his guards, the
officers of his household, standard and umbrella bearers;
and musicians accompanied him. He was clothed in a robe
of somber-colored silk, and wore a velvet cap, very similar
in shape to that of Scotch mountaineers. A large pearl was
conspicuous on his forehead, and was the only jewel or
ornament he wore."

Upon entering the tent, the emperor mounted the steps
of the throne, which he alone is allowed to ascend. The first
minister, Ho Choo-Tang, and two of the chief officers of
his household, remained near, and never addressed him but
in a kneeling position. When the princes of royal blood,
the tributary princes, and state officers, were in their places,
the president of the customs conducted Macartney within a
foot of the left-hand side of the throne, which in the
Chinese court is considered the place of honor. The am-
bassador was accompanied by the minister plenipotentiary,
and followed by his page and interpreter.

Macartney, in accordance with the instructions given him
by the president, raised above his head the magnificent
square golden box studded with diamonds, which contained
the King of England's letter to the emperor. Then mount-
ing the few steps leading to the throne, he bowed the knee.

332 SCIENTIFIC EXPLORATION

and, with a short prefatory compHment, presented the box
to his Imperial Majesty. The Chinese monarch received
it graciously, and said, as he placed it on one side, " That he
experienced much satisfaction at the token of esteem and
friendship offered by his Britannic Majesty in sending to
him an embassy with a letter and rich gifts; that, for his
part, he had the like friendly feelings towards the King of
Great Britain, and he hoped the same harmony would al-
ways continue between their respective subjects."

After a few moments of private conversation with the
ambassador, the emperor presented gifts to him and to the
minister plenipotentiary. They were then conducted to
cushions, in front of which were tables covered with a num-
ber of vessels containing meat and fruits. The emperor
also partook of these, and continued to overwhelm the am-
bassadors with expressions of regard and esteem which had
a great effect in raising the English in the estimation of the
Chinese public. Macartney and his suite were later invited
to visit the gardens of Zhe Hoi. During their walk in the
grounds, the English met the emperor, who stopped to re-
ceive their respectful salutations, and order his first minis-
ter, who was looked upon as little less than a vice-emperor,
and several other grandees to accompany them.

The Chinese conducted the English over a portion of
the grounds laid out as pleasure-gardens, which formed
only a small portion of the vast enclosure. The rest is
sacred to the use of the women of the imperial family, and
was as rigorously closed to the Chinese ministers as to the
English embassy.

Macartney was then led through a fertile valley, in which
there were many trees, chiefly willows of enormous size.
Grass grows abundantly between the trees, and its luxuri-
ance is not diminished by cattle or interfered with by mow-
ing. Arriving upon the shores of an irregular lake, of
vast extent, the whole party embarked in yachts, and pro-
ceeded to a bridge which is thrown across the narrowest
part of the lake, and beyond which it appeared to stretch
away indefinitely.

Upon the 17th of September Macartney and his suite
were present at a ceremony which took place upon the an-
niversary of the emperor's birthday. Upon the morrow
and following days splendid fetes succeeded each other.

ASIA AND ITS INHABITANTS 333

Tchlen Lung participating in them with great zest. Dancers
on the tight-rope, tumblers, conjurors (of unrivaled skill),
and wrestlers, performed in succession. The natives of
various portions of the empire appeared in their distinctive
costumes and exhibited the different productions of their
provinces. Music and dancing were succeeded by fire-
works, which were very effective, although they were let
off in daylight.

The narrative says :

" Several of the designs were novel to the English. One
of them I will describe. A large box was raised to a great
height, and the bottom being removed as if by accident, an
immense number of paper lamps fell from it. When they
left the box they were all neatly folded; but in falling they
opened by degrees and sprung one out of the other. Each
then assumed a regular form, and suddenly a beautifully
colored light appeared. The Chinese seemed to understand
the art of shaping the fireworks at their fancy. On either
side of the large boxes were smaller ones, which opened
in a similar manner, letting fall burning torches, of differ-
ent shapes, as brilliant as burnished copper, and flashing like
lightning at each movement of the wind. The display
ended with the eruption of an artificial volcano."

It is the usual custom for the Emperor of China to con-
clude his birthday festivities by hunting in the forests of
Tartary ; but in the present case advancing age rendered that
diversion unwise, and his Majesty decided to return to
Pekin, the English embassy being invited to precede him
thither.

Macartney, however, felt that it was time to terminate
his mission. In the first place, it was not customary for
ambassadors to reside long at the Chinese court; and in the
second, the fact that the Chinese emperor defrayed the ex-
penses of the embassy naturally induced him to curtail his
stay. In a short time he received from Tchien Lung the
reply to the letter of the King of England, and the presents
intended for the English monarch, as well as a number for
the members of his suite. This Macartney rightly inter-
preted as his conge!

The English went back to Tong Chou Fou by way of the
imperial canal. Upon this trip they saw the famous bird
" Leutze," fishing for its master. It is a species of cormor-

334 SCIENTIFIC EXPLORATION

ant, and is so well trained that it is unnecessary to place
either a cord or ring round its neck to prevent it from swal-
lowing any of its prey.

" Upon every boat or raft there are ten or twelve of these
birds, ready to plunge the instant they receive a sign from
their masters. It is curious to see them catch enormous
fish, and carry them in their beaks."

Macartney mentions a singular manner of catching wild
ducks and other water-birds. Empty jars and calabashes
are allowed to float upon the water for several days, until
the birds are accustomed to the sight of them. A' man then
enters the water, places one of the jars upon his head, and
advancing gently, seizes the feet of any bird which allows
him to come near enough; he rapidly immerses it in the
water to choke it, and then noiselessly continues his search
until his bag is full.

The embassy visited Canton and Macao, and thence re-
turned to England. We need not dwell upon the return
voyage.

We must now consider that portion of Asia which may-
be called the interior. The first traveler to be noticed is
Volney.

Everyone knows, by repute at least, his book on Ruins;
but his account of his adventures in Egypt and Syria far
surpasses it. There is nothing exaggerated in the latter;
it is written in a quiet, precise manner, and is one of the
most instructive of books. The members of the Egyptian
Expedition refer to it as containing exact statements as to
climate, the productions of the soil, and the manners of the
inhabitants.

Volney prepared himself most carefully for the journey,
which was a great undertaking for him. He determined to
leave nothing to chance, and upon reaching Syria he realized
that he could not possibly acquire the knowledge of the
country he desired unless he first made himself acquainted
with the language of the people. He therefore retired to
the monastery of Mar-Hannd, in Libya, and devoted him-
self to the study of Arabic.

Later on, in order to learn something of the life led by
the wandering tribes of the Arabian desert, he joined com-
pany with a sheik, and accustomed himself to the use of a
lance, and to live on horseback, thus qualifying himself to

ASIA AND ITS INHABITANTS 335

accompany the tribes on their excursions. Under their pro-
tection he visited the ruins of Palmyra and Baalbec, cities
of the dead, known to us only by name.

" His style of writing," says La Beuve, " is free from ex-
aggeration, and marked by singular exactness and propri-
ety. When, for example, he wishes to illustrate the
quality of the Egyptian soil, and in what respect it differs
from that of Africa, he speaks of * this black, light, greasy
earth,' which is brought up and deposited by the Nile.
When he wishes to describe the warm winds of the desert,
with their dry heat, he compares them * to the impression
which one receives upon opening a fierce oven to t^ke out
the bread;' according to his description, speaking of the
fitful winds, he says * they are not merely laden with fog,
but gritty and powdery, and in reality full of fine dust,
which penetrates everything;' and of the sun, he says it
* presents to view but an obscured disk.' "

If such an expression may be used in speaking of a rigid
statement of facts, Volney attained to true beauty of ex-
pression — to an actual physical beauty, so to speak, recalling
the touch of Hippocrates in his " De Aere, Aquis et Locis."
Although no geographical discoveries can be imputed to
him, we must none the less recognize in him one of the first
travelers who had a true conception of the importance of
their task. His aim was always to give a true impression
of the places he visited; and this in itself was no small merit,
at a time when other explorers did not hesitate to enliven
their narratives with imaginary details, with no recognition
whatever of their true responsibility.

The Abbe Barthelemy, who in 1788 was to publish his
"Voyage du jeune Anacharsis," was already exercising a
good deal of influence on public taste, by his popularity in:
society and position as a man of science, and drawing special
attention to Greece and the neighboring countries. It was
evidently whilst attending his lessons that De Choiseul im-
bibed his love for history and archaeology.

Nominated ambassador at Constantinople, De Choiseul
determined to profit by the leisure he enjoyed in traveling
as an artist and archaeologist through the Greece of Homer
and Herodotus. Such a journey was the very thing to'
complete the education of the young ambassador, who was
only twenty- four years of age, and if he knew himself, could!

336 SCIENTIFIC EXPLORATION

not be said to have any acquaintance with the ways of the
world.

Sensible of his shortcomings, he surrounded himself with
learned and scientific men, amongst them the Abbe
Barthelemy, the Greek scholar, Ansse de Villoison, the poet
Delille, the sculptor Fauvel, and the painter Cassas. In
fact, in his "Picturesque History of Greece" he himself
merely plays the role of Maecenas.

M. de Choiseul Gouffier engaged as private secretary a
professor, the Abbe Jean-Baptiste Le Chevalier, who spoke
Greek fluently. The latter, after a journey to London,
where M. de Choiseul's business detained him long enough
for him to learn English, went to Italy, and was detained at
Venice by severe illness for seven months. After this he
joined M. de Choiseul Goufifier at Constantinople.

Le Chevalier occupied himself principally with the site of
Troy. Well versed in the Iliad, he sought for, and believed
he identified, the various localities mentioned in the Homeric
poem.

His able geographical and historical book at once pro-
voked plentiful criticism. Upon the one side learned men,
such as Bryant, declared the discoveries made by Choiseul
to be illusory, for the reason that Troy, and as a matter of
course, the Ten Years Siege, existed only in the imagination
of the Greek poet; whilst others, and principally the English
portion of his critics, adopted his conclusions. The whole
question was almost forgotten, when the discoveries made
quite recently by Schliemann reopened the discussion.

Guillaume-Antoine Olivier, who traversed the greater
portion of the Western hemisphere, at the end of the last
century, had a strange career. Employed by Berthier de
Sauvigny to translate a statistical paper on Paris, he lost
his patron and the payment for his labors in the first out-
burst of the Revolution. Wishing to employ his talent for
natural history away from Paris, he was nominated, by the
minister Roland, to a mission to the distant and little-
known portions of the Ottoman Empire. A naturalist,
named Bruguere was associated with him.

The two friends left Paris at the end of 1792, and were
delayed for four months at Versailles, until a suitable ship
was found for them.

They only reached Constantinople at the end of the fol-

V. XV Verne

ASIA AND ITS INHABITANTS 337

lowing May, carrying letters relating to their mission to M.
de Semonville. But this ambassador had been recalled, and
his successor, M. de Sainte Croix, had heard nothing of their
undertaking. What was the best thing to do whilst await-
ing the reply to the inquiries sent to Paris by M. de Sainte
Croix?

The two friends could not remain inactive. They there-
fore decided to visit the shores of Asia Minor, and some
islands in the Egyptian Archipelago.

The French minister had excellent reasons for not supply-
ing them with much money, and their own resources being
limited, they were unable to do more than make a flying
yisit to these interesting countries.

Upon their return to Constantinople they found a new
ambassador, named Verninac, who had received instruc-
tions to send them to Persia, where they were to endeavor
to awaken the sympathy of the government of France, and
to induce it to declare war against Russia.

At this time the most deplorable anarchy reigned in
Persia. Usurpers succeeded each other upon the throne,
to the great detriment of the welfare of the inhabitants.
,War was going on in Khorassan at the time that Olivier
and Bruguere arrived. An opportunity occurred for them
to join the shah in a country as yet unvisited by any Euro-
pean; but unfortunately Bruguere was in such bad health
that they were not only forced to lose the chance, but were
detained for four months in an obscure village buried
amongst the mountains.

In September, 1 796, Mehemet returned to Teheran. His
first act was to order a hundred Russian sailors whom he
had taken prisoners on the Caspian Sea, to be put to death,
and their limbs to be nailed outside his palace walls — a dis-
gusting trophy worthy of the butcher tyrant.

The following year Mehemet Ali was assassinated, and
his nephew, Fehtah-Ali Shah, succeeded him, after a short
struggle.

It is difficult for Olivier to discharge his mission with
this constant change of reigning sovereigns. He was
forced to renew his negotiations with each succeeding
prince. Finally, the travelers, realizing the impossibility
of obtaining anything definite under such circumstances, re-
turned to Europe, and left the question of alliance between

338 SCIENTIFIC EXPLORATION

France and Persia to a more favorable season. THey
stopped upon their homeward journey at Baghdad, Ispahan,
Aleppo, Cyprus, and Constantinople.

Although this journey had been fruitless as regarded
diplomacy, and had contributed no new discoveries to geog-
raphy, Cuvier, in his eulogy of Olivier, assures us that,
so far as natural history was concerned, much had been
achieved. This may be the better credited, as OHvier was
elected to the Institute as the successor to Daubenton.

Cuvier, in academic style, says that the narrative of the
voyage published, in three quarto volumes, was warmly re-
ceived by the public.

" It has been said," he continues, " that it might have been
of greater interest if the censor had not eliminated certain
portions; but allusions were found throughout the whole
volume, which were inadmissible, as it does not do to say
all we know, especially of Thamas Kouli Khan.

" M. Olivier had no greater regard for his assertions than
for his fortune; he quietly omitted all that he was told to
leave out, and restricted himself to a quiet and simple ac-
count of what he had seen."

A journey from Persia to Russia is not difficult ; and was
less so in the eighteenth century than to-day. As a mat-
ter of fact, Russia only became an European power in the
days of Peter the Great. Until the reign of that monarch
she had been in every particular — manners, customs, and
inhabitants — Asiatic. With Peter the Great and Cather-
ine II., however, commerce revived, high roads were made,
the navy was created, and the various tribes became united
into one nation.

The empire was vast from the first, and conquest has
added to its extent. Peter the Great ordered the compila-
tion of charts, sent expeditions round the coast to collect
particulars as to the climate, productions, and races of the
different provinces of his empire; and at length he sent
Behring upon the voyage which resulted in the discovery
of the straits bearing his name.

The example of the great emperor was followed by his
successor, Catherine II. She attracted learned men to her
court, and corresponded with the savants of the whole
world. She succeeded in impressing the nations with a
favorable idea of her subjects. Interest and curiosity were

ASIA AND ITS INHABITANTS 339

awakened, and the eyes of western Europe were fixed upon
Russia. It became recognized that a great nation was aris-
ing, and many doubts were entertained as to the result
upon European interests. Prussia had already changed the
balance of power in Europe, by her victories under Fred-
erick II. ; Russia possessed resources of her own, not only
in men, but in silver and riches of every kind — still un-
known or untested.

Thus it came to pass that publications concerning that
country possessed an attraction for politicians, and those in-
terested in the welfare of their country, as well as for the
scientific men to whom descriptions of manners and customs
foreign to their experience were always welcome.

No work had hitherto excelled that of the naturalist
Pallas, which was translated into French between 1788-
1793. It was a narrative of a journey across several prov-
inces of the Russian empire. Its success was well deserved.

Peter Simon Pallas was a German naturalist, who had
been summoned to St. Petersburg by Catherine II. in 1668,
and elected by her a member of the Academy of Sciences.
She understood the art of enlisting men in her service by
her favors. Pallas, in acknowledgment of them, published
his account of fossil remains in Siberia. England and
France had just sent expeditions to observe the transit of
Venus. Russia, not to be behindhand, despatched a party
of learned men, of whom Pallas was one, to Siberia.

Seven astronomers and geometers, five naturalists, and
a large number of pupils, made up the party, which was
thoroughly to explore the whole of the vast territory.

For six whole years Pallas devoted himself to the suc-
cessive explorations of Orenburg upon the Jaik, the ren-
dezvous of the nomad tribes who wander upon the shores
of the Caspian Sea; Gouriel, which is situated upon the bor-
ders of the great lake which is now drying up; the Ural
Mountains, with their numberless iron mines; Tobolsk, the
capital of Siberia; the province of Koliwan, upon the north-
ern slopes of the Atlas; Krasnojarsk, upon the Jenissei;,
and the immense lake of Bakali, and Daouria, on the fron-
tiers of China. He also visited Astrakan; the Caucasus,
with its varied and interesting inhabitants; and finally, he
explored the Don, returning to St. Petersburg on the 30th
of July, 1774.

340 SCIENTIFIC EXPLORATION

It may well be believed that Pallas was no ordinary trav-
eler. He was not merely a naturalist; he was interested
in everything that affects humanity; geography, history,
politics, commerce, religion, science, art, all occupied his
attention ; and it is impossible to read his narrative without
admiring his enlightened patriotism, or without recognizing
the penetration of the sovereign who understood the art of
securing his services.

When his narrative was once arranged, written, and pub-
lished, Pallas had no idea of contenting himself with the
laurels he had gained. Work was his recreation, and he
found occupation in assisting in the compilation of a map
of Russia.

His natural inclinations led him to the study of botany,
and by his works upon that subject he obtained a distinctive
place among Russian naturalists.

One of his later undertakings was a description of south-
ern Russia, a physical and topographical account of the
province of Taurius — a work which, originally published in
French, was afterwards translated into English and German.

Delighted with this country, which he had visited in 1793-
94, he desired to settle there. The empress bestowed some
of the crown lands upon him, and he transported his family
to Simpheropol.

Pallas profited by the opportunity to undertake a new
journey in the northern provinces of the empire, the Steppes
of the Volga, and the countries which border the Caspian
Sea as far as the Caucasus. He then explored the Crimea.
He had seen parts of the country twenty years before, and
he now found great changes. Although he complains of
the devastation of the forests, he commends the increase
of agricultural districts, and the centers of industries which
had been created. The Crimea is known to be consider-
ably improved since that time — it is impossible to foresee
what it may yet become.

Enthusiastic though he was at first in his admiration of
this province, Pallas was exposed to every kind of treach-
ery on the part of the Tartars. His wife died in the
Crimea; and finally, disgusted with the country and its in-
habitants, he returned to Breton to end his days. He died
there on the 8th of September, 181 1.

He left two important works, from which naturalists,

ASIA AND ITS INHABITANTS 341

geographers, statesmen, and merchants, were able to gather
much trustworthy information upon countries then but httle
known, and the commodities and resources of which were
destined to have a large influence over European markets.

CHAPTER VII

THE TWO AMERICAS

We have more than once had occasion to speak of ex-
peditions for the survey of the coasts of America. We
have told of the attempts of Fernando Cortes and of the
voyages and explorations of Drake, Cook, La Perouse, and
Marchand. It will be well now to go back for a time, and
with Fleurieu sum up the series of voyages along the west-
ern coast of America, to the close of the eighteenth century.

In 1537, Cortes with Francisco de Ulloa, discovered the
huge peninsula of California, and sailed over the greater
part of the long and narrow strait now known as the Ver-
milion Sea.

He was succeeded by Vasquez Coronado and Francisco
Alarcon, who — the former by sea, and the latter by land —
devoted themselves to seeking the channel which was er-
roneously supposed to connect the Atlantic and Pacific.
They did not, however, penetrate beyond 36° N. lat.

Two years later, in 1542, the Portuguese Rodrique de
Cabrillo, reached 44° north latitude, where the intense cold,
sickness, want of provisions, and the bad state of his vessel,
compelled him to turn back. He made no actual discovery,
but he ascertained that, from Port Natividad to the furthest
point reached by him, the coast line was unbroken. The
channel of communication seemed to recede before all ex-
plorers.

The little success met with appears to have discouraged
the Spaniards, for at this time they retired from the ranks
of the explorers. It was an Englishman, Drake, who,
after having sailed along the western coast as far as the
Straits of Magellan, and devastated the Spanish possessions,
reached the forty-eighth degree, explored the whole coast,
and, returning the same way, gave to the vast districts in-
cluded within ten degrees the name of New Albion.

Next came, in 1592, the greatly fabulous voyage of Juan

342 SCIENTIFIC EXPLORATION

de Fuca, who claimed to have found the long-sought Strait
of Anian, when he had but found the channel dividing
Vancouver's Island from the mainland.

In 1602 Viscaino laid the foundations of Port Monterey
in California, and forty years later took place that much
contested voyage of Admiral De Fuente, or De Fonte ac-
cording ac one reckons him a Spaniard or a Portuguese,
which has been the text of so many learned discussions and
ingenious suppositions. To him we owe the discovery of
the Archipelago of St. Lazarus above Vancouver's Island;
but all that he says about the lakes and large towns he
claims to have visited must be relegated to the realms of
romance, as well as his assertion that he discovered a com-
munication between the two oceans.

In the eighteenth century the assertions of travelers were
no longer blindly accepted. They were examined and
sifted, those parts only being believed which accorded with
the well-authenticated accounts of others. Bauch, Delisle,
and above all Fleurieu, inaugurated the prolific literature of
historical criticism, and we have every reason to be grateful
to them.

The Russians, as we know, had greatly extended the field
of their knowledge, and there was every reason to suppose
that their hunters and Cossacks would soon reach America,
if, as was then believed, the two continents were connected
in the north. But from such unprofessional travelers no
trustworthy scientific details could be expected.

A few years before his death the Emperor Peter I. drew
up, with his own hands, a plan of an expedition, with in-
structions to its members, which he had long had in view,
for ascertaining whether Asia and America are united, or
separated by a strait.

The arsenal and forts of Kamtchatka being unable to
supply the necessary men, stores, etc., captains, sailors,
equipment, and provisions, had to be imported from Europe.

Vitus Behring, a Dane, and Alexis Tschirikow, a Rus-
sian, who had both given many a proof of skill and knowl-
edge, were appointed to the command of the expedition,
which consisted of two vessels built at Kamtchatka. They
were not ready to put to sea until July 20th, 1720. Steering
northeast along the coast of Asia, of which he never for
a moment lost sight of, Behring discovered, on the 15th Au-

THE TWO AMERICAS 343

gust, in 67° 18' north latitude, a cape beyond which the coast
stretched away westwards.

In this first voyage Behring did not apparently see the
coast of America, though he probably passed through the
strait to which posterity has given his name. The fabulous
strait of Anian gave place to Behring Straits. A second
voyage made by the same explorers the following year was
iwithout results.

Not until June 4th, 1741, were Behring and Tschirikow
in a position to start again. This time they meant to bear
to the east after reaching 50° north latitude till they should
come to the coast of America; but the two vessels were sep-
arated in a gale of wind on the 28th August, and were un-
able to find each other again throughout the trip. On the
1 8th July, Behring discerned the American continent in
58° 28' north latitude and the succeeding days were devoted
to the survey of the vast bay between Capes St. Elias and St.
Hermogenes.

Behring spent the whole of August in sailing about the
islands known as the Schumagin archipelago, off the penin-
sula of Alaska; and after a struggle, lasting until the 24th
September, with contrary winds, he sighted the most south-
erly cape of the peninsula, and discovered part of the Aleu-
tian group.

Exhausted by long illness, however, the explorer was now
no longer able to direct the course of his vessel, and could
not prevent her from running aground on the little island
bearing his name. There, on the 8th December, 1741, this
brave man and skillful explorer perished miserably.

The remnant of his crew who survived the fatigues and
privations of winter in this desolate spot, succeeded in mak-
ing a large sloop of the remains of the vessel, in which they
returned to Kamtchatka.

Meanwhile Tschirikow, after waiting for his superior of-
ficer until the 25th June, made land between 55° 56' north
latitude, where he lost two boats with their crews, without
being able to find out what had become of them.

The way was now open, and adventurers, merchants,
and naval officers eagerly rushed in, directing their efforts
carefully to the Aleutian Islands and the peninsula of
Alaska.

The expeditions sent out by the English, and the progress

344 SCIENTIFIC EXPLORATION

made by the Russians, had, however, aroused tHe jealousy
and anxiety of the Spanish, who feared lest their rivals
should establish themselves in a country nominally belong-
ing to Spain, though she owned not a single colony in it.

The Viceroy of Mexico now remembered the discovery
of an excellent port by Viscaino, and resolved to found a
*' presidio " there. Two expeditions started simultaneously,
the one by land, under Don Caspar de Partola, the other
by sea, consisting of two packets, the San Carlos and San
Antonio, and after a year's search found again the harbor
of Monterery, alluded to by Viscaino.

After this expedition the Spanish continued the explora-
tion of the Calif ornian coast. The most celebrated voy-
ages were those of Don Juan de Ayala and of La Bodega,
which took place in 1775, and resulted in the discovery of
Cape Engano and Guadalupe Bay. Next to these rank the
expeditions of Arteaga and Maurelle.

We have already related what was done by Cook, La
Perouse, and Marchand, so we can pass on to say a few
words on the expeditions of Vancouver. This officer, who
had accompanied Cook on his second and third voyage, "was
naturally appointed to the command of the expedition sent
out by the English government with a view to settling the
disputes with the Spanish government as to Nootka Sound.

George Vancouver was commissioned to obtain from the
Spanish authorities the formal cession of this great har-
bor, of such vast importance to the fur trad€. He was
then to survey the whole of the northwest coast, from 30**
north latitude to Cook's River in 61° north latitude. Lastly,
he was to give special attention to the Straits of De Fuca
and the bay explored in 1749 by the Washington.

The two vessels, the Discovery of 340 tons, and the
Chatham of 135 — the latter under the command of Cap-
tain Broughton — left Falmouth on the ist of April, 1791.
After touching at Teneriffe, Simon Bay, and the Cape of
Good Hope, Vancouver steered southwards, sighted St.
Paul's Island, and sailed towards New Holland, between
the routes taken by Dampier and Marion, and through lati-
tudes which had not yet been traversed. On the 27th Sep-
tember was sighted part of the coast of New Holland, end-
ing in abrupt and precipitous cliffs, to which the name of
Cape Chatham was given. As many of his crew were down

THE TWO AMERICAS 345

with dysentery, Vancouver decided to anchor in the first
harbor he came to, to get water, wood, and above all pro-
visions, of which he stood sorely in need. Port George III.
was the first reached, where ducks, curlews, swans, fish,
and oysters abounded; but no communication could be
opened with the natives, although a recently abandoned vil-
lage of some twenty huts was seen.

We need not follow Vancouver In his cruise along the
southwest coast of Holland, as we shall learn nothing new
from it.

On the 28th November Van Diemen's Land was doubled,
and on the 2nd December the coast of New Zealand was
reached and anchor cast by the two vessels in Dusky Bay.
Here Vancouver completed the survey left unfinished by
Cook. A gale soon separated the Discovery from the
Chatham, which was found again in Matavai Bay, Tahiti.
During the voyage there from Dusky Bay, Vancouver dis-
covered some rocky islands, which he called the Snares, and
a large island named Oparra, whilst Captain Broughton
had discovered Chatham Island, on the east of New Zeal-
and. The incidents of the stay at Tahiti resemble those
of Cook's story too closely for repetition.

On the 24th January the two vessels started for the
Sandwich Islands, and stopped for a short time off Owyhee,
Waohoo, and Otto way. Since the murder of Cook many
changes had taken place in this archipelago. English and
American vessels now sometimes visited it to take whales,
or trade in furs, and their captains had given the natives a
taste for brandy and firearms. Quarrels between the petty
chiefs had become more frequent, the most complete anar-
chy prevailed everywhere, and the number of inhabitants
was already greatly diminished.

On the 17th March, 1792, Vancouver left the Sandwich
Islands and steered for America, of which he soon sighted
the part called by Drake New Albion. Here he almost im-
mediately met Captain Grey, who was supposed to have
penetrated, in the Washington, into De Fuca Strait, and
discovered a vast sea. Grey at once disavowed the discov-
eries with which he was so generously credited, explaining
that he had only sailed fifty miles up the strait, which runs
from east to west till it reaches a spot where, according to
some natives, it veers to the north and disappears.

346 SCIENTIFIC EXPLORATION

Vancouver in his turn entered De Fuca Strait, and recog-
nized Discovery Port, Admiralty Entry, Birch Bay, Desola-
tion Sound, Johnston Strait, and Broughton Archipelago.
Before reaching the northern extremity of this long arm
of the sea, he met two small Spanish vessels under the com-
mand of Quadra. The two captains compared notes, and
gave their names to the chief island of the large group
known collectively as New Georgia.

Vancouver next visited Nootka Sound and the Columbia
River, whence he sailed to San Francisco, off which he an-
chored. It will be understood that it is impossible to fol-
low the details of the minute survey of the vast stretch of
coast between Cape Mendogino and Port Conclusion, in
north latitude 56° 3/, which required no less than three
successive trips.

" Now," says the great navigator, " that we have achieved
the chief aim of the king in ordering this voyage, I flatter
myself that our very detailed survey of the northwest coast
of America will dispel all doubts, and do away with all
erroneous opinions as to a northwest passage ; surely no one
will now believe in there being a communication between
the North Pacific and the interior of the American conti-
nent in the part traversed by us."

Leaving Nootka, to survey the coast of South America
before returning to Europe, Vancouver touched at the small
Cocoanut Island — which, as we have already observed, lit-
tle deserves its name — cast anchor off Valparaiso, doubled
Cape Horn, took in water at St. Helena, and re-entei"ed the
Thames on the 12th September, 1795.

The fatigue incidental to this long expedition had so un-
dermined the health of the explorer that he died in May,
1798, leaving the account of his voyage to be finished by
his brother.

Throughout the arduous survey, occupying four years,
of 900 miles of coast, the Discovery and Chatham lost but
two men. It will be seen from this how apt a pupil of
Cook the great navigator was ; and we do not know whether
most to admire in Vancouver his care for his sailors and
humanity to the natives, or the wonderful nautical skill he
displayed in this dangerous cruise.

While explorers thus succeeded each other on the west-
ern coast of America, colonists were not idle inland. Al-

THE TWO AMERICAS 347

ready established on the borders of the Atlantic, where a
series of states had been founded from Florida to Canada,
the white men were now rapidly forcing their way west-
wards. Trappers, and coureurs des bois, as the French
hunters were called, had discovered vast tracts of land suit-
able for cultivation, and many English squatters had already
taken root, not, however, without numerous conflicts with
the original owners of the soil, whom they daily tried to
drive into the interior. Emigrants were soon attracted in
large numbers by the fertility of a virgin soil, and the more
liberal constitution of the various states.

Their number increased to such an extent, that at the
end of the seventeenth century the heirs of Lord Baltimore
estimated the produce of the sale of their lands at three
thousand pounds; and in the middle of the following cen-
tury, 1750, the successors of William Penn also made a
profit ten times as great as the original price of their prop-
erty. Yet emigration was even then not sufficiently rapid,
and convicts were introduced. Maryland numbered 1,981
in 1750. Many scandalous abuses also resulted from the
compulsory signing by new comers of agreements they did
not understand.

Although the lands bought of the Indians were far from
being all occupied, the English colonists continued to push
their way inland, at the risk of encounters with the legiti-
mate owners of the soil.

In the north the Hudson's Bay Company, holding a
monopoly of the fur trade, were always on the lookout for
new hunting grounds, for those originally explored were
soon exhausted. Their trappers made their way far into
the western wilds, and gained valuable information from
the Indians whom they pressed into their service, and taught
to get drunk. By this means the existence of a river flow-
ing northwards, past some copper mines, from which some
natives brought fine specimens to Fort Prince of Wales, was
ascertained. The company at once, i. e., in 1769, decided
to send out an expedition, to the command of which they
appointed Samuel Hearn.

For a journey to the Arctic regions, where provisions
are difficult to obtain, and the cold is intense, a few well-
seasoned men are required, who can endure the fatigue of
an arduous march over snow, and bear up against hunger.

348 SCIENTIFIC EXPLORATION

Hearn took with him only two whites, and a few Indians
on whom he could depend.

In spite of the great skill of the guides, who knew the
country, and were familiar with the habits of the game
it contained, provisions soon failed. Two hundred miles
from Fort Prince of Wales the Indians abandoned Hearn
and his two companions, who were obliged to retrace their
steps.

The chief of the expedition, however, was a rough sailor,
accustomed to privations, so he was not discouraged. If
he had failed the first time, there was no reason why a sec-
ond attempt should not succeed.

In March, 1770, Hearn started again to try and cross
the unknown districts. This time he was alone with five
Indians, for he had noticed that the inability of the whites
to endure fatigue excited the contempt of the natives. He
had penetrated 500 miles when the severity of the weather
compelled him to wait for a less severe temperature. He
had had a terrible experience. At one time, to have, in-
deed, more game than can be eaten; but more often to
have no food whatever, and be compelled for a week at a
time to gnaw old leather, pick bones which had been thrown
aside, or to seek, often in vain, for a few berries on the
trees; and lastly, to endure fearful cold — such is the life
of an explorer in these Arctic regions.

Hearn started once more in April, wandered about the
woods until August, and had arranged to spend the winter
with an Indian tribe which had received him well, when an
accident which deprived him of his quadrant compelled him
to continue his journey.

Privations, miseries, and disappointments, had not
quenched the ardor of Hearn's indomitable spirit. He
started again on the 7th December, and penetrating west-
wards below the 60th parallel north latitude, he came to a
river. Here he built a canoe, and went in it down the
stream, which flowed into an innumerable series of large
and small lakes. Finally, on the 13th July, 1 771, he reached
the Coppermine River. The Indians with him now de-
clared that they had been for some weeks in the country
of the Esquimaux, and that they meant to massacre all
they should meet of that hated race.

" Coming," says Hearn, " upon a party of Esquimaux

THE TWO AMERICAS 349

asleep in their tents, the Indians fell upon them suddenly,
and I was compelled to witness the massacre of the poor
creatures."

Of twenty individuals, not one escaped the sanguinary
rage of the Indians ; and they put to death with indescrib-
able tortures an old woman who had in the first instance
eluded them.

"After this horrible carnage," says Hearn, "iwe sat
down on the grass, and made a good dinner off fresh sal-

mon."

Here the river widened considerably. Had Hearn ar-
rived at its mouth? The water was still quite sweet. There
were, however, signs of a tide on the shores, and a number
of seals were disporting themselves in the water. A quan-
tity of whale blubber was found in the tents of the Esqui-
maux. Everything in fact combined to prove that the sea
was near. Hearn seized his telescope, and saw stretching
before him a huge sheet of water, dotted with islands.
There was no longer any doubt; it was the sea!

On the 30th June Hearn got back to the English posts,
after an absence of no less than a year and five months.

The company recognized the immense service just ren-
dered by Hearn, by appointing him Governor of Fort Prince
of Wales. During his expedition to Hudson's Bay, La Pe-
rouse visited this post, and there found the journal of Sam-
uel Hearn's expedition. The French navigator returned it,
on condition that he would publish it. We do not know
why its appearance in accordance with the promise given
by the English traveler to the French sailor was delayed
until 1795.

Not until the close of the eighteenth century did the im-
mense chain of lakes, rivers, and portages become known,
which, emanating from Lake Superior, receive all the waters
flowing from the Rocky Mountains, and divert them to the
Arctic Ocean. It was to the brothers Frobisher, fur trad-
ers, and to a Mr. Pond, who reached Athabasca, that their
discovery is partially due.

Thanks to their efforts, traveling in these parts became
less difficult. One explorer succeeded another, posts were
established, and the country was opened to all comers. Soon
after a rumor was spread of the discovery of a large river
flowing in a northwesterly direction.

350 SCIENTIFIC EXPLORATION

It was Alexander Mackenzie who gave his name to it.
Starting on the 3rd June, 1789, from Fort Chippewyan,
on the southern shores of the Lake of the Hills, accom-
panied by a few Canadians, and several Indians who had
been with Samuel Hearn, he reached 67° 45' north latitude,
where he heard that the sea was not far off on the east, but
that he was even nearer to it on the west. It was evident
that he was quite close to the northwestern extremity of
America.

On the I2th July, Mackenzie reached a large sheet of
shallow water covered with ice, which he could not believe
to be the sea, though no land could be seen on the horizon.
It was, however, the Northern Ocean, as he became assured
when he saw the water rising, although the wind was not
violent. The tide was coming in! The traveler then
gained an island at a little distance from the shore, from
which he saw several whales gamboling in the water. He
therefore named the island, which is situated in north lati-
tude 69° 11', Whale Island. On the 12th September the
expedition safely returned to Fort Chippewyan.

Three years later Mackenzie, whose thirst for discovery
was unslaked, ascended Peace River, which rises in the
Rocky Mountains. In 1793, after forcing his way across
this rugged chain, he made out on the other side the Ta-
coutche-Tesse River, which flows in a southwesterly direc-
tion. In the midst of dangers and privations more easily
imagined than described, Mackenzie descended this river to
its mouth, below Prince of Wales Island. There, he wrote
with a mixture of grease and vermilion, the following la-
conic but eloquent inscription on a wall of rock : " Alex-
ander Mackenzie, come from Canada overland, July 22nd,
1 793-" O^^ ^he 24th August he re-entered Fort Chip-
pewyan.

In South America no scientific expedition took place dur-
ing the first half of the eighteenth century. We have now
only to speak of Condamine. We have already told of his
discoveries in America, explaining how when the work was
done he had allowed Bougner to return to Europe, and left
Jussieu to continue the collection of unknown plants and
animals which was to enrich science, whilst he himself went
down the Amazon to its mouth.

" Condamine," says Maury in his Hist owe de I'Academie

THE TWO AMERICAS 351

des Sciences, "may be called the Humboldt of the eigh-
teenth century. An intellectual and scientific man, he gave
proof in this memorable expedition of an heroic devotion
to the progress of knowledge. The funds granted to him
by the king for his expedition were not sufficient; he added
100,000 livres from his private purse; and the fatigue and
suffering he underwent led to the loss of his ears and legs.
The victim of his enthusiasm for science, on his return
home was met w^ith nothing but ridicule and sarcasm from
a public who could not understand a martyr who aimed at
winning anything but Heaven. In him was recognized, not
the indefatigable explorer who had braved so many dan-
gers, but the infirm and deaf M. de Condamine, who al-
ways held his ear-trumpet in his hand. Content, however,
with the recognition of his fellow-savants, to which Buffon
gave such eloquent expression in his reply to the address
at his reception at the French Academy, Condamine con-
soled himself by composing songs; and maintained until his
death, which was hastened by all he had undergone, the
zeal for information on all subjects, even torture, which
led him to question the executioner on the scaffold of
Damiens."

Few travelers before Condamine had had an opportunity
of penetrating into Brazil. The learned explorer hoped,
therefore, to render his journey useful by making a map
of the course of the river, and putting down all his observa-
tions on the singular costumes worn by the natives of that
little frequented country.

After Orellana, whose adventurous trip we have related,
Pedro de Ursua was sent in 1559 by the Viceroy of Peru
to seek for Lake Parima and the El Dorado. He was mur-
dered by a rebel soldier, who committed all manner of out-
rages on his way down the river, and finished his course by
being abandoned on Trinity Island.

Efforts of this kind did not throw much light on the
course of the river. The Portuguese were more fortunate.
In 1636 and 1637 Pedro Texeira with forty-seven canoes,
and a large number of Spaniards and Indians, followed the
Amazon as far as the junction of its tributary, the Napo,
and then ascended, first it, and afterwards the Coca, to
within thirty miles of Quito, which he reached with a few
men.

352 SCIENTIFIC EXPLORATION

The map drawn up by Sanson after this trip, and as a
matter of course copied by all geographers, was extremely
defective, and until 1717 there was no other. At that time
the copy of a map drawn up by Father Fritz, a German
missionary, came out in Volume xii. of the Lettres Edifi-
antes, a valuable publication, containing a multitude of in-
teresting historical and geographical facts. In this map it
was shown that the Napo is not the true source of the
Amazon, and that the latter, under the name of the Mara-
non, issues from Lake Guanuco, thirty leagues east of Lima.
The lower portion of the course of the river was badly
drawn, as Father Fritz was too ill w'hen he went down it
to observe closely.

Leaving Tarqui, five leagues from Cuenca, on the nth
May, 1743, Condamine passed Zaruma, a town once famous
for its gold mines, and having crossed several rivers on the
hanging bridges, which look like huge hammocks slung
from one side to the other, reached Loxa, four degrees
from the line, and 400 fathoms lower than Quito. Here
he noticed a remarkable difference of temperature, and
found the mountains to be mere hills compared with those
of Quito.

Between Loxa and Jaen de Bracamoros the last but-
tresses of the Andes are crossed. In this district rain falls
every day throughout the year, so that a long stay cannot
be made there. The whole country has declined greatly
from its former prosperity. Loyola, Valladolid, Jaen, and
the greater number of the Peruvian towns at a distance
from the sea, and the main road between Carthagena and
Lima, were in Condamine's tim^e little more than hamlets.
Yet forests of cocoanut trees grow all around Jaen, the
natives thinking no more of them than they do of the gold
dust brought down by their rivers.

Condamine embarked on the Chincipe, wider here than
the Seine at Paris, and went down it as far as its junction
with the Marafion, beyond which the latter river becomes
navigable, although its course is broken by a number of
falls and rapids, and in many places narrows till it is but
twenty fathoms wide. The most celebrated of these nar-
rows is the pongo, or gate, of Manseriche, in the heart of
the Cordillera, where the Amazon has hewn for itself a
bed only fifty-five fathoms wide, with all but perpendicular

V. XV Verne

THE TWO AMERICAS 353

sides. Condamine, attended by only a single negro, met
with an almost unparalleled adventure on a raft in this
pongo.

" The stream," he says, " the height of which had di-
minished twenty-five feet in thirty-six hours, continued to
decrease in volume. In the middle of the night, part of a
large branch of a tree caught between the woodwork of my
boat, penetrating further and further as the latter sunk with
the water, so that if I had not been awake and on guard at
the time, I should have found myself hanging from a tree,
on my raft. The least of the evils threatening me would
have been the loss of my journals and notebooks, the fruit
of eight years of work. Fortunately, I eventually found
means to free my raft, and float it again."

In the midst of the woods near the ruined town of Santi-
ago, where Condamine arrived on the loth July, lived tlie
Xibaro Indians, who had been for a century in revolt against
the Spaniards, who tried to force them to labor in the
gold mines.

Beyond the pongo of Manseriche a new world was en-
tered, a perfect ocean of fresh water — a labyrinth of lakes,
rivers, and channels, set in an impenetrable forest. Al-
though he had lived in the open air for more than seven
years, Condamine was struck dumb by this novel spectacle
of water and trees only, with nothing else besides. Leav-
ing Borja on the 14th July, the traveler soon passed the
mouth of the Morona, which comes dowm from the volcano
of Sangay, the ashes from which are sometimes flung be-
yond Guayaquil. He next passed the three mouths of the
Pastaca, a river at this time so much swollen that the width
of no one of its mouths could be estimated.

On the 19th of the same month Condamine reached
Laguna, where Pedro Maldonado, governor of the province
of Esmeraldas, who had come down the Pastaca, had been
waiting for him for six weeks. At this time Laguna was
a large community, of some thousand Indians capable of
bearing arms, who recognized the authority of the mission-
aries of the different tribes.

" In making a map of the course of the Amazon," says
Condamine, *' I provided myself with a resource against
the ennui of a quiet voyage with nothing to break the monot-
ony of the scenery, though that scenery was new to me.

354 SCIENTIFIC EXPLORx\TION

My attention was continually on the strain as, compass and
watch in hand, I noted the deflexions in the course of the
river, the time occupied in passing from one bend to an-
other, the variations in the breadth of its bed and in that
of the mouths of its tributaries, the angle formed by the
latter at the confluence, the position and size of the islands,
and above all the rate of the current and that of the canoe.
Now on land and now in the canoe, employing various
modes of measurement, which it would be superfluous to
explain here, every instant was occupied. I often sounded,
and measured geometrically the breadth of the river and
that of its tributaries. I took the height of the sun at the
meridian every day, and I noted its amplitude at its rising
and setting, wherever I went."

On the 25th July, after having passed the TIgre River,
Condamine came to a new mission station, that of a tribe
called Yameos, recently rescued from the woods by the
Fathers. Their language is difficult to learn, and their
mode of pronouncing it extraordinary. Some of their
words are nine or ten syllables long, and yet they can only
count up to three. They use a kind of pea-shooter with
great skill, firing from it small arrows tipped with a poison
which causes instantaneous death.

The following day the explorer passed the mouth of the
Ucayale, one of the most important of the tributaries of
the Marafion, and which might even be its source. Beyond
it the main stream widens sensibly.

Condamine reached on the 27th the mission station of
the Omaguas, formerly a powerful nation, whose dwelling
extended along the banks of the Amazon for a distance of
200 leagues below the Napo. Originally strangers in the
land, they are supposed to have come down some river ris-
ing in Granada, and to have fled from the Spanish yoke.
The word Omagua means flat-head in Peruvian, and these
people have the singular custom of squeezing the foreheads
of new-born babies between two flat pieces of wood, to
make them, as they say, resemble the full moon. They
also use two curious plants, the floripondio and the curupa,
[which makes them drunk for twenty-four hours, and causes
.very wonderful dreams. So that opium and hatchich have
their counterparts in Peru.

Cinchona, ipecacuanha, simaruba, sarsaparilla, guaiacum,

THE TWO AMERICAS 355

cocoa, and vanilla grow on the banks of the Maranon, as
does also a kind of india rubber, of which the natives make
bottles, boots, and syringes, which, according to Conda-
mine, require no piston. They are of the shape of hollow
pears, and are pierced at the end with a little hole, into
which a pipe is fitted. This contrivance is much used by
the Omaguas ; and when a fete is given, the host, as a mat-
ter of politeness, always presents one to each of his guests,
who use them before any ceremonial banquet.

Changing boats at San Joaquin, Condamine arrived at the
mouth of Napo in time to witness, during the night of the
31st July or the ist August, the emersion of the first satel-
lite of Jupiter, so that he was able to determine exactly the
latitude and longitude of the spot — a valuable observation,
from which all other positions on the journey could be cal-
culated.

Pevas, which was reached the next day, is the last of the
Spanish missions on the Marafion. The Indians collected
there were neither all of the same race nor all converts to
Christianity. They still wore bone ornaments in the nos-
trils and the lips, and had their cheeks riddled with holes,
in which were fixed the feathers of birds of every color.

St. Paul is the first Portuguese mission. There the river
is no less than 900 fathoms wide, and often rises in violent
storms. The traveler was agreeably surprised to find the
Indian women possessed of pet birds, locks, iron keys,
needles, looking glasses, and other European utensils, pro-
cured at Para in exchange for cocoa. The native canoes
are much more convenient than those used by the Indians
of the Spanish possessions. They are in fact regular little
brigantines, sixty feet long by seven wide, manned by forty
oarsmen.

Between St. Paul and Coarl several large and beautiful
rivers flow into the Amazon. On the south the Yutay,
Yuruca, Tefe, and Coari; on the north the Putumayo and
Yupura. On the shores of the last named river lives a
cannibal race. Here Texeira set up a barrier, on the 26th
June, 1639, which was to mark the frontier between the
district in which the Brazilian and Peruvian languages re-
spectively were to be used in dealing with the Indians.

Purus River and the Rio Negro, connecting the Orinoco
iwith the Amazon, the banks dotted with Portuguese mis^

356 SCIENTIFIC EXPLORATION

sions under the direction of the monks of Mount Carmel,
were successively surveyed. The first reliable information
on the important geographical fact of the communication
between the two great rivers, is to be found in the works of
Condamine, and his sagacious comments on the journeys of
the missionaries who preceded him. It was in these lati-
tudes that the golden lake of Parime and the fabulous town
of Manoa del Dorado are said to have been situated. Here,
too, lived the Manaos Indians, who so long resisted the
Portuguese.

Now were passed successively the mouth of the Madera
River — so called onaccountof the quantity of timber which
drifts down from it, the port of Pauxis — ^beyond which the
Maranon takes the name of the Amazon, and where the tide
begins to be felt, although the sea is more than 200 miles
distant — and the fortress of Topayos, at the mouth of a
river coming down from the mines of Brazil, on the borders
of which live the Tupinambas.

Not until September did the mountains come in sight on
the north — quite a novel spectacle, since for two months
Condamine had not seen a single hill. They were the first
buttresses of the Guiana chain.

On the 6th September, opposite Fort Paru, Condamine
left the Amazon, and passed by a natural canal to the Xingu
River, called by Father D'Acunha the Paramaribo. The
port of Curupa was then reached, and lastly Para, a large
town, with regular streets and houses of rough or hewn
stone. To complete his map, the explorer was obliged to
visit the mouth of the Amazon, where he embarked for
Cayenne, arriving there on the 20th February, 1774.

This long voyage had the most important results. For
the first time the course of the Amazon had been laid down
in a thoroughly scientific manner, and the connection be-
tween it and the Orinoco ascertained. Moreover Conda-
mine had collected a vast number of interesting observations
on natural history, physical geography, astronomy, and the
new science of anthropology, which was then in its earliest
infancy.

We have now to relate the travels of a man who rec-
ognized, better than any one else had done, the connection
between geography and the other physical sciences. We
allude to Alexander von Humboldt. To him is due the

THE TWO AMERICAS 357

credit of having opened to travelers this fertile source of
knowledge.

Born at Berlin, in 1759, Humboldt's earliest studies were
carried on under Campe, the well-known editor of many
volumes of travels. Endowed with a great taste for botany,
Humboldt made friends at the university of Gottingen with
Forster the younger, who had just made the tour of the
w^orld with Captain Cook. This friendship, and the en-
thusiastic accounts given of his adventures by Forster,
probably did much to rouse in Humboldt a longing to travel.
He took the lead in the study of geology, botany, chemistry,
and animal magnetism; and to perfect himself in the various
sciences, he visited England, Holland, Italy, and Switzer-
land. In 1797, after the death of his mother, who ob-
jected to his leaving Europe, he went to Paris, where he
became acquainted with Aime Bonpland, a young botanist,
iwith whom he at once agreed to go on several exploring
expeditions.

It had been arranged that Humboldt should accompany
Captain Baudin, but the delay in the starting of his expedi-
tion exhausted the young enthusiast's patience, and he went
to Marseilles with the intention of joining the French army
in Egypt. For two whole months he waited for the sailing
of the frigate which was to take him; and, weary of inac-
tion, he went to Spain with his friend Bonpland, in the
hope of obtaining permission to visit the Spanish possessions
in America.

This was no easy matter, but Humboldt was a man of
rare perseverance. He was thoroughly well-informed, he
had first-rate introductions, and he was, moreover, already
becoming known. In spite, therefore, of the extreme re-
luctance of the government, he was at last authorized to
explore the Spanish colonies, and take any astronomical or
geodesic observations he chose.

The two friends left Corunna on the 5th of June, 1 799,
and reached the Canaries thirteen days later. Of course,
as naturalists they were in duty bound not to land at
Teneriffe without ascending the Peak.

" Scarcely any naturalist," says Humboldt in a letter to
La Metterie, " who, like myself, has passed through to the
Indies, has had time to do more than go to the foot of this
colossal volcano, and admire the delightful gardens of

358 SCIENTIFIC EXPLORATION

Orotava. Fortunately for me our frigate, the Pizarro,
stopped for six days, I examined in detail the layers of
(Which the peak of Teyde is composed. We slept in the
moonlight at a height of 1,200 fathoms. At two o'clock
in the morning we started for the summit, where we arrived'
at eight o'clock, in spite of the violent wind, the great heat
of the ground, which burnt our boots, and the intense coldj
of the atmosphere. I will tell you nothing about the magnif-
icent view, which included the volcanic islands of Lancerote,
Canaria, and Gomera, at our feet; the desert, twenty leagues
square, strewn with pumice-stone and lava, and without in-
sects or birds, separating us from thickets of laurel-trees
and heaths; or of the vineyards studded with palms, banana,
and dragon-trees, the roots of which are washed by the
waves. We went into the very crater itself. It is not
more than forty or sixty feet deep. The summit is 1,904
fathoms above the sea-level, as estimated by Borda in a
very careful geometric measurement. . . . The crater of
the Peak — that is to say, of the summit — has been inactive
for several centuries, lava flowing from the sides only.
The crater, however, provides an enormous quantity of
sulphur and sulphate of iron."

In July, Humboldt and Bonpland arrived at Cumana, iii
that part of America known as Terra Firma. Here they
spent some weeks in examining the traces left by the great
earthquake of 1797. They then determined the position
of Cumana, which was placed a degree and a half too far
north on all the maps — an error due to the fact of the cur-
rent bearing to the north near La Trinidad, having deceived
all travelers. In December, 1799, Humboldt wrote from
Caracas to the astronomer Lalande :

" I have just completed an intensely interesting journey in
the interior of Paria, in the Cordillera of Cocolar, Tumeri,
and Guiri. I had two or three mules loaded with instru-
ments, dried plants, etc. We penetrated to the Capuchin
mission, which had never been visited by any naturalist.
We discovered a great number of new plants, chiefly vari-
eties of palms; and we are about to start for the Orinoco,
and propose pushing on from it perhaps to San Carlos on
the Rio Negro, beyond the equator. We have dried more
than 1,600 plants, and described more than 500 birds, picked
up numberless shells and insects, and I have made some

THE TWO AMERICAS 359

fifty drawings. I think that is pretty well in four months,
considering the broiling heat of this zone."

During this first trip Humboldt visited the Chayma and
Guarauno Missions. He also climbed to the summit of the
Tumiriquiri, and went down into the Guacharo cavern, the
entrance to which, framed as it is with the most luxuriant
vegetation, is truly magnificent. From it issues a consider-
able river, and its dim recesses echo to the gloomy notes of
birds. It is the Acheron of the Chayma Indians, for, ac-
cording to their mythology and that of the natives of
Orinoco, the souls of the dead go to this cavern. To go
down into the Guacharo signifies in their language to die.

The Indians go into the Guacharo cavern once a year, in
the middle of summer, and destroy the greater number of
the nests in it with long poles. At this time many thou-
sands of birds die a violent death, and the old inhabitants
of the cave hover above the heads of the Indians with pierc-
ing cries, as if they would defend their broods.

The young birds which fall to the ground are opened on
the spot. Their peritoneum is covered with a thick layer of
fat, extending from the abdomen to the anus, and forming
a kind of cushion betw^een the legs. At the time called at
Caripe the oil harvest, the Indians build themselves huts of
palm leaves outside the cavern, and then light fires of brush-
wood, over which they hang clay pots filled with the fat of
the young birds recently killed. This fat, known under the
name of the Guacharo oil or butter, is half-liquid, trans-
parent, without smell, and so pure that it can be kept a year
without turning rancid.

Humboldt continues : " We passed fifteen days in the
Caripe valley, situated at a height of 952 Castilian varas
above the sea-level, and inhabited by naked Indians. We
saw some black monkeys with red beards. We had the
satisfaction of being treated with the greatest kindness by
the Capuchin monks and the missionaries living amongst
these semi-barbarous people."

From the Caripe valley the two travelers went back to
Cumana by way of the Santa Maria Mountains and the
Catuaro missions, and on the 21st of November they ar-
rived — having come by sea — at Caracas, a town situated in
the midst of a valley rich in cocoa, cotton, and coffee, yet
with a European climate.

S6o SCIENTIFIC EXPLORATION

Humboldt turned his stay at Caracas to account by study-
ing the Hght of the stars of the southern hemisphere, for
he had noticed that several, notably the Altar, the Feet of
the Centaur, and others, seemed to have changed since the
time of La Caille.

At the same time he put his collections in order, despatch-
ing part of them to Europe, and most thoroughly examined
some rocks, with a view to ascertaining of what materials
the earth's crust was here composed.

After having explored the neighborhood of Caracas, and
ascended the Silla, which, although close to the town, had
never been scaled by any native, Humboldt and Bonpland
went to Valencia, along the shores of a lake called Tacarigua
by the Indians, and exceeding in size that of Neufchatel in
Switzerland. Nothing could give any idea of the richness
and variety of the vegetation. But the interest of the lake
consists not only in its picturesque and romantic beauty;
the gradual decrease in the volume of its waters attracted
the attention of Humboldt, who attributed it to the reckless
cutting down of the forests in its neighborhood, resulting in
the exhaustion of its sources.

Near this lake Humboldt received proof of the truth of
the accounts he had heard of an extraordinary tree, the
palo de la vaca, or cow-tree, which yields a balsamic and
very nutritive milk, drawn off from incisions made in the
bark.

The most arduous part of the trip began at Porto Caballo,
at the entrance to the llanos, or perfectly flat plains stretch-
ing between the hills of the coast and the Orinoco valley.

" I am not sure," says Humboldt, " that the first sight o£
the llanos is not as surprising as that of the Andes."

Nothing in fact could be more striking than this sea of
grass, from which whirls of dust rise up continually, al-
though not a breath of wind is felt at Calabozo, in the center
of this vast plain. Humboldt first tested the power of the
gymnotus, or electric eel, large numbers of which are met
with in all the tributaries of the Orinoco. The Indians,
who were afraid of exposing themselves to the electric dis-
charge of these singular creatures, proposed sending some
horses into the marsh containing them.

" The extraordinary noise made by the shoes of the
horses," says Humboldt, " made the eels come out of the

THE TWO AMERICAS 361

ooze and prepare for battle. The yellowisH livid gymnoti,
resembling serpents, swam on the top of the water, and
squeezed themselves under the bodies of the quadrupeds
which had disturbed them. The struggle which ensued be-
tween animals so differently constituted presented a very
striking spectacle. The Indians, armed with harpoons and
long canes, surrounded the pond on every side, and even
climbed into the trees, the branches of which stretched
horizontally over the water. Their wild cries, as they
brandished their long sticks, prevented the horses from
running away and getting back to the shores of the pond;
whilst the eels, driven mad by the noise, defended them-
selves by repeated discharges from their electric batteries.
For a long time they appeared victorious, and some horses
succumbed to the violence of the repeated shocks which
they received upon their vital organs from every side.
They were stunned, and sank beneath the water.

" Others, panting for breath, with manes erect, and wild
eyes full of the keenest suffering, tried to fly from the
scene, but the merciless Indians drove them back into the
water. A very few, who succeded in eluding the vigilance
of the guards, regained the bank, stumbling at every step,
and lay down upon the sands, exhausted with fatigue, every
limb paralyzed from the electric shocks received from the
eels.

" I never remember receiving a more terrible shock from
a Leyden jar than I did from a gymnotus on which I ac-
cidentally trod just after it came out of the water."

The astronomic position of Calabozo having been deter-
mined, Humboldt and Bonpland resumed their journey to
the Orinoco. The Uriticu, with its numerous and ferocious
crocodiles, and the Apure, one of the tributaries of the
Orinoco, the banks of which are covered with a luxuriant
vegetation such as is only met with in the tropics, were suc-
cessively crossed or descended.

The latter stream is flanked on either side by thick hedges,
with openings here and there, through which boars, tigers,
and other wild animals, made their way to quench their
thirst. When the shades of night shut in the forest, so si-
lent by day, it resounds with the cries of birds and the howl-
ing or roaring of beasts of prey, vying with each other as to
[which shall make the most noise.

362 SCIENTIFIC EXPLORATION

While the Uriticu is inhabited by fierce crocodiles, the
lApure is the home of a small fish called the " carabito,"
which attacks bathers with great fury, often biting out large
pieces of flesh. It is only four or five inches long, but more
formidable than the largest crocodile, and the waters it fre-
quents are carefully avoided by the Indians, in spite of their
fondness for bathing, and the relief it affords them, per-
secuted as they are by ants and mosquitos.

Our travelers went down the Orinoco as far as the Temi,
which is connected by a short portage with the Cano-
Pimichino, a tributary of the Rio Negro.

The banks of the Temi, and the adjacent forests, are
often inundated, and then the Indians make waterways, two
or three feet wide, between the trees. Nothing could be
more quaint or imposing than floating amongst the gigantic
growths, beneath their green foliage. Sometimes, three or
four hundred leagues inland, the traveler comes upon a troop
of fresh-water dolphins, spouting up water and compressed
air in the manner which has gained for them the name of
blowers.

It took four days to transport the canoes from the Tenir
to the Cano-Pimichino, as a path had to be cleared with
axes.

The Pimichino flows into the Rio Negro, which is in its
turn a tributary of the Amazon.

Humboldt and Bonpland went down the Rio Negro as
far as San Carols, and then up the Casiquiaro, an Important
branch of the Orinoco, which connects it with the Rio-
Negro. The shores of the Casiquiaro are inhabited by the
Ydapaminores, who live entirely on smoked ants.

Lastly, the travelers went up the Orinoco nearly to its
source, at the foot of the Duida volcano, where their further
progress was stopped by the hostility of the Guaharibos and
the Guaica Indians, who were skillful marksmen with the
bow and arrow. Here was discovered the famous El
Dorado lake, with its floating islets of talc.

Thus was finally solved the problem of the junction of the
Orinoco and the Marafion, which takes place on the borders
of the Spanish and Portuguese territories, two degrees above
the equator.

The two travelers then floated with the current down the
Orinoco, traversing by this means five hundred leagues in

THE TWO AMERICAS 363

twenty-five days, after which they halted for three weeks at
Angostura, to tide over the time of the great heat, when
fever is prevalent, regaining Cumana in October, 1800.

" My health," says Humboldt, " was proof against the
fatigue of a journey of more than 1,300 leagues, but my
poor comrade Bonpland, was, immediately on his return,
seized with fever and sickness, which nearly proved fatal.
A constitution of exceptional vigor is necessary to enable a
traveler to bear the fatigue, privations, and interruptions of
every kind with which he has to contend in these unhealthy
districts, with impunity. We were constantly surrounded
by voracious tigers and crocodiles, stung by venomous mos-
quitos and ants, with no food for three months but water,
bananas, fish, and tapioca, now crossing the territory of the
earth-eating Otomaques, now wandering through the des-
olate regions below the equator, where not a human creature
is seen for 130 leagues. Few indeed are those who survive
such perils and such exertions, fewer still are those who,
having surmounted them, have sufficient courage and
strength to encounter them a second time."

We have seen what an important geographical discovery
rewarded the perseverance of the explorers who had com-
pleted the examination of the whole of the district north of
the Amazon, between Popayan and the mountains of French
Guiana. The results obtained in other branches of science
were no less novel and important.

Humboldt had discovered that there exists amongst the
Indians of the Upper Orinoco and the Rio Negro a race
with extremely fair complexions, differing entirely from the
natives of the coast. He also noticed the curious tribe of
the Otomaques.

" These people," he says, " who disfigure their bodies
with hideous paintings, eat nothing but loam for some three
months, when the height of the Orinoco cuts them off from
the turtles which form their ordinary food. Some monks
say they mix earth with the fat of crocodiles' tails, but this
is a very false assertion. We saw provisions made of un-
adulterated earth, prepared only by slow roasting and moist-
ening with water."

Amongst the most curious of the discoveries made by
Humboldt, we must mention that of the *' curare," the
virulent poison which he saw manufactured by the Catara-

364 SCIENTIFIC EXPLORATION

peni and Maquiritare Indians, and a specimen of which he
sent to the Institute with the " dapiche," a variety of Indian
rubber hitherto unknown, being the gum which exudes
spontaneously from the roots of the trees known as " jacio "
and " cucurma," and dries underground.

Humboldt concluded his first journey by the exploration
of the southern districts of San Domingo and Jamaica, and
by a short stay in Cuba, where he and his companions made
several experiments with a view to facilitating the making
of sugar, surveyed the coast of the island, and took some
astronomical observations.

These occupations were Interrupted by the news of the
starting of Captain Baudin, who, it was said, was to double
Cape Horn and examine the coasts of Chili and Peru.
Humboldt, who had promised to join the expedition, at once
left Cuba, and crossed South America, arriving on the coast
of Peru in time, as he thought, to receive the French nav-
igator. Although Humboldt had throughout his long jour-
ney worked with a view to timing his arrival in the Peruvian
capital to meet Baudin, it was only when he reached Quito
that he ascertained that the new expedition was making for
the Pacific by way of the Cape of Good Hope.

In May, 1801, Humboldt, still accompanied by the faith-
ful Bonpland, embarked at Cartagena, whence he proposed
going first to Santa Fe de Bogota, and then to the lofty
plains of Quito. To avoid the great heat the travelers spent
some time at the pretty village of Turbaco, situated on the
heights overlooking the coast, where they made the neces-
sary preparations for their journey. In one of their ex-
cursions In the neighborhood they visited a very strange
region, of which their Indian guides had often spoken under
the name of Volcanltos.

This is a volcanic district, set in a forest of palms, and of
the tree called " tola," about two miles to the east of Tur-
baco. According to a legend, the country was at one time
one vast collection of burning mountains, but the fire was
quenched by a saint, who merely poured a few drops of holy
water upon it.

In the center of an extensive plain Humboldt came upon
some twenty cones of grayish clay, about twenty-five feet
high, the mouths of which were full of water. As the
travelers approached a hollow; sound was heard, succeeded

THE TWO AMERICAS 365

in a few minutes by the escape of a great quantity of gas.
According to the Indians these phenomena had recurred for
many years.

Humboldt noticed that the gas which issues from these
small volcanoes was a far purer azote than could then be
obtained by chemical laboratories.

Santa Fe is situated in a valley 8,600 feet above the sea-
level. Shut in on every side by lofty mountains, this valley
appears to have been formerly a large lake. The Rio-
Bogota which receives all the waters of the valley, has
forced a passage for itself near the Tequendama farm, on
the southwest of Santa Fe, beyond which it leaves the plain
by a narrow channel and flows into the Magdalena basin.
As a natural consequence, were this passage blocked, the
whole plain of Bogota would be inundated and the ancient
lake restored. There exists amongst the Indians a legend
similar to that connected with Roland's Pass in the
Pyrenees, telling how one of their heroes split open the
rocks and drained dry the valley of Bogota, after which,
content with his exploit, he retired to the sacred town of
Eraca, where he did penance for 2,000 years, inflicting upon
himself the greatest torture.

The cataract of Tequendama, although not the largest in
the world, yet affords a very beautiful sight. When swol-
len by the addition of all the waters of the valley, the river,
a little above the Falls, is 175 feet wide, but on entering the
defile which appears to have been made by an earthquake,
it is not more than forty feet in breadth. The abyss into
which it flings itself, is no less than 600 feet deep. Above
this vast precipice constantly rises a dense cloud of foam,
which, falling again almost immediately, is said to con-
tribute greatly to the fertility of the valley.

Nothing could be more striking than the contrast between
the valley of the Rio Bogota and that of the Magdalena:
the one with the climate and productions of Europe, the
corn, the oaks and other trees of our native land; the other
with palms, sugar-canes, and all the growths of the tropics.
One of the most interesting of the natural curiosities met
with by our travelers on the trip, was the bridge of Jcononzo,
which they crossed in September, 1801. At the bottom of
one of the contracted ravines, known as " canons," peculiar
to the Andes, a little stream, the Rio Suma Paz, has forced

366 SCIENTIFIC EXPLORATION

for itself a narrow channel. To cross this river would be im-
possible, had not nature herself provided two bridges, one
above the other, which are justly considered marvels of
the country.

Three blocks of rock detached from one of the mountains
by the earthquake which produced this mighty fissure, have
so fallen as to balance each other and form a natural arch,
to which access is obtained by a path along the precipice.
In the center of this bridge there is an opening through
which the traveler may gaze down into the infinite depth of
the abyss, at the bottom of which rolls the torrent, its ter-
rible roar mingled with the incessant screaming of thousands
of birds. Sixty feet above this bridge is a second, fifty
feet long by forty wide, and not more than eight feet thick
in the middle. To serve as a parapet, the natives have made
a slender balustrade of reeds along the edges of this second
bridge, from which the traveler can obtain a fine view of
the magnificent scene beneath him.

The heavy rain and bad roads made the journey to Quito
very exhausting, but for all that Humboldt and Bonpland
only halted there for an absolutely necessary rest, quickly
pressing on for the Magdalena valley, and the magnificent
forests clothing the sides of the Trinidiu in the Central
Andes.

This mountain is considered one of the most difficult to
cross in the whole chain. Even when the weather is favor-
able, twelve days, at least, are necessary for traversing the
forests, in which not a human creature is seen and no food
can be obtained. The highest point is 1,200 feet above the
sea-level, and the path leading up to it is in many parts only
one foot wide. The traveler is generally carried, bound to
a chair in a sitting posture, on the back of a native, as a
porter carries a trunk.

" We preferred to go on foot," says Humboldt in a letter
to his brother, " and the weather being very fine we were
only seventeen days in these solitudes, where not a trace is
to be seen of any inhabitant. The night is passed in tem-
porary huts made of the leaves of the heliconia, brought on
purpose. On the western slopes of the Andes marshes have
to be crossed, into which one sinks up to the knees ; and the
weather having changed when we reached them, it rained in
torrents for the last few days. Our boots rotted on our

THE TWO AMERICAS 367

feet, and we reached Carthago with naked and bleeding feet,
but enriched with a fine collection of new plants.

" From Carthago we went to Popayan by way of Btiga,
crossing the fine Cauca valley, and skirting along the moun-
tain of Choca, with the plantina-mines for which it is
famous.

"We spent October, 1801, at Popayan, whence we made
excursions to the basaltic mountains of Julusuito and the
craters of the Purace volcano, which discharge hydro-
sulphuric steam and porphyritic granite with a terrible
noise. . . .

" The greatest difficulties were met with in going from
Popayan to Quito. We had to pass the Pasto Paramos,
and that in the rainy season, which had now set in. A
* paramo' in the Andes is a district some 1,700 or 2,000
fathoms high, where vegetation ceases, and the cold is
piercing.

" We went from Popayan to Almager and thence to
Pasto, at the foot of a terrible volcano, by way of the fearful
precipices forming the ascent to the summit of the Cor-
dillera, thus avoiding the heat of the Patia valley, where one
night will often bring on the fever known as the Calenfura
de Patia, lasting three or four months."

The province of Pasto consists entirely of a frozen
plateau almost too lofty for any vegetation to thrive on it,
surrounded by volcanoes and sulphur-mines from which
spiral columns of smoke are perpetually issuing. The in-
habitants have no food but batatas, and when they run short
they are obliged to live upon a little tree called " achupalla,"
for which they have to contend with the bear of the Andes.
After being wet through night and day for two months,
and being all but drowned in a sudden flood, accompanied
by an earthquake near the town of Jbarra, Humboldt and
Bonpland arrived on the 6th of January, 1801, at Quito,
where they were received in cordial and princely style by
the Marquis of Selva-Alegre.

Quito is a fine town, but the intense cold and the barren-
mountains surrounding it make it a gloomy place to stay in.
Since the great earthquake of the 4th of February, 1797, the
temperature has considerably decreased, and Bouguer, who
registered it at an average of from 15" to 16" would be
surprised to find it varying from 4° to 10" Reaumur. Coto-

368 SCIENTIFIC EXPLORATION

paxi and Pinchincha, Antisana and IlHnaza, the various
craters of one subterranean fire, were all examined by the
travelers, a fortnight being devoted to each.

Humboldt twice reached the edge of the Pinchincha
crater, never before seen except by Condamine.

" I made my first trip," he says, " accompanied only by
an Indian. Condamine had approached the crater by the
lower part of its edge which was covered with snow, and in
this first attempt I followed his example. But we nearly
perished. The Indian sank to the breast in a crevasse, and
we found to our horror that we were walking on a bridge
of frozen snow, for a little in advance of us there were
some holes through which we could see the light. With-
out knowing it we were in fact on the vaults belonging to
the crater itself. Startled, but not discouraged, I changed
my plan. From the outer rim of the crater, flung as it were
upon the abyss, rise three peaks, three rocks, which are not
covered with snow, because the steam from the volcano
prevents the water from freezing. I climbed upon one of
these rocks and on the top of it found a stone attached on
one side only to the rock and undermined beneath, so as to
protrude like a balcony over the precipice. This stone was
but about twelve feet long by six broad, and is terribly
shaken by the frequent earthquakes, of which we counted
eighteen in less than thirty minutes. To examine the depths
of the crater thoroughly we lay on our faces, and I do not
think imagination could conceive anything drearier, more
gloomy, or more awful than what we saw. The crater con-
sists of a circular hole nearly a league in circumference, the
jagged edges of which are surrounded by snow. The in-
terior is of pitchy blackness, but so vast is the gulf that the
summits of several mountains situated in it can be made out
at a depth of some 300 fathoms, so only fancy where their
bases must be ! "

" I have no doubt that the bottom of the crater must be
on a level with the town of Quito. Condamine found this
volcano extinct and covered with snow, but we had to take
the bad news to the inhabitants of the capital that the neigh-
boring burning mountain is really active."

Humboldt ascended the volcano of Antisana to a height
of 2,773 fathoms, but could go no further, as the cold was
so intense that the blood started from the lips, eyes, and

y. XV Verne

THE TWO AMERICAS 369

gums of the travelers. It was impossible to reach the crater
of Cotopaxi.

On the 9th June, 1802, Humboldt, accompanied by Bon-
pland, started from Quito to examine Chimborazo and
Tungurunga. The peak of the latter fell in during the
earthquake of 1797, and Humboldt found its height to be
but 2,531 fathoms, whilst in Condamine's time it was 2,620
fathoms.

From Quito the travelers went to the Amazon by way of
Lactacunga, Ambato and Rio-Bamba situated in the prov-
ince laid waste by the earthquake of 1797, when 40,000
inhabitants were swallowed up by water and mud. Going
down the Andes, Humboldt and his companions had an op-
portunity of admiring the remains of the Yega road, leading
from Cusco to Assuay, and known as the Inca's road. It
was built entirely of hewn stones, and was very straight. It
might have been taken for one of the best Roman roads.
In the same neighborhood are the ruins of a palace of the
Inca Fupayupangi, described by Condamine in the minutes
of the Berlin Academy.

After a stay of ten days at Cuenga, Humboldt entered the
province of Jaen, surveyed the Marafion as far as the Rio
Napo, and with the aid of the astronomical observations he
iwas able to make, supplemented Condamine's map. On the
23d October, 1802, Humboldt entered Lima, where he suc-
cessfully observed the transit of Mercury.

After spending a month in that capital he started for
Guayaquil, whence he went by sea to Acapulco in Spanish
America.

The vast number of notes collected by Humboldt during
the year he spent in Mexico, and which led to the publication
of his Essay on Spanish America, would, after what we
have said of his previous proceedings, be enough to prove, if
proof were needed, what a passion he had for knowledge,
how indomitable was his energy and how immense his power
of work.

At one and the same time he was studying the antiquities
and the history of Mexico, the character, customs, and lan-
guage of its people, and taking observations in natural his-
tory, physical geography, chemistry, astronomy, and topog-
raphy.

The Tasco, Moran, and Guanajuato mines, which yield a

370 SCIENTIFIC EXPLORATION

profit of several million piastres per annum, first attracted
the attention of Humboldt, who had early studied geology.
He then examined the Jerullo volcano, which, although
situated in the center of an immense plain thirty-six leagues
from the sea, and more than forty from any volcano, dis-
charged earth on the 29th September, 1759, and formed a
mountain of cinders and clay 1,700 feet high.

In Mexico the travelers were able to obtain everything
necessary to the arrangement of the immense collections
they had accumulated, to classify and compare the observa-
tions each had taken, and to prepare their geographical map
for publication.

Finally, in January, 1804, they left Acapulco to examine
the eastern slopes of the Cordilleras, and to take the dimen-
sions of the two lofty Puebla volcanoes.

" Popocatepelt," says Desborough Cooly, " is always ac-
tive, although nothing but smoke and ashes have issued from
its crater for centuries. It is not only 2,000 feet higher
than the loftiest mountains of Europe, but is also the loftiest
mountain in Spanish America," In spite of the great quan-
tity of snow which had recently fallen, Humboldt accom-
plished the ascent of the Cofre, 1,300 feet higher than the
peak of Tenerjfife, obtaining from its summit, an extensive
and varied view, embracing the Puebla plain and the eastern
slopes of the Mexican Cordilleras, clothed with thick forests
of " liquidambar," tree-ferns and sensitive plants. The
travelers were able to make out the port of Vera Cruz, the
castle of San Juan d'Ulloa and the sea shore.

This mountain owes its name of Cofre to a naked rock of
pyramidal form which rises like a tower from its summit at
a height of 500 feet.

After this last trip Humboldt went down to Vera Cruz,
and having fortunately escaped the yellow fever then deci-
mating the population, he set sail for Cuba, where he had
left the greater part of his collection, going thence to Phila-
delphia. There he remained a few weeks to make a cursory
study of the political constitution of the United States, re-
turning to Europe in August, 1804.

The results of Humboldt's travels were such, that he may
be justly called the discoverer of Equinoctial America, which
before his time had been explored without becoming really
known, while many of its innumerable riches were abso-

THE TWO AMERICAS 371

lutely ignored. It must be fully acknowledged that no
traveler ever before did so much as Humboldt for physical
geography and its kindred sciences. He was the very ideal
of a traveler, and the world is indebted to him for important
generalizations concerning magnetism and climate; whose
results are plainly seen in the isothermal lines of niodern
maps. The writings of Humboldt marked an era in the
science of geography, and have led to many further re-
searches.

THE END

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