[Footnote 9:  Hakluyt, III. 29. quoting P. Martyr, Dec.  III.  Ch. vi.]

[Footnote 10:  The Straits of Gibraltar are in lat. 36 deg.  N. which would bring the discovery of the eastern coast of North America by Cabot, all the way from 67-1/2 deg.  N. beyond Hudsons Bay, to Albemarle Sound on the coast of North Carolina—­E.]

[Footnote 11:  The middle of the island of Cuba is in long. 80 deg.  W. from Greenwich, which would have carried Cabot into the interior of Hudsons Bay, to which there is no appearance of his having penetrated, in the slight notices remaining of his exploratory voyage.—­E.]

[Footnote 12:  We have before seen that he named the country which he discovered, the island of St John, and that he gave the name in this part of the text, baccalaos, to the fish most abundant in those seas, which we name cod.—­E.]

[Footnote 13:  It is probable this applies to the tide of flood setting into the Gulf of St Lawrence or Hudsons Bay or both; which led Cabot to expect a passage through the land to the west—­E.]

SECTION V.

Testimony of Francisco Lopez de Gomara, concerning the discoveries of Sebastian Cabota[14].

Sebastian Cabota, who came out of England into Spain, brought most certain information of the country and people of Baccalaos.  Having a great desire to traffic for spices, like the Portuguese, he fitted out two ships with 300 men, at the cost of Henry VII. of England, and took the way towards Iceland from beyond the Cape of Labradore, until he reached the lat. of 58 deg.  N. and better.  Even in the month of July, the weather was so cold and the ice in such quantities, that he durst not proceed any farther.  The days were so long as to have hardly any night, and what little there was, was very clear.  Being unable to proceed farther on account of the cold, he turned south; and, having refreshed at Baccalaos, he sailed southwards along the coast to the 38 deg. of latitude[15], from whence he returned into England.

[Footnote 14:  Hakluyt, III. 30. quoting Gomara, Gen. Hist. of the W. Indies, Book II.  Ch. iv.]

[Footnote 15:  By this account the progress of Cabot to the south along the eastern coast of North America, reached no farther than coast of Maryland.—­E.]

SECTION VI.

Note respecting the discoveries of Sebastian Cabot; from the latter part of Fabians Chronicle[16].

IN the 13th year of Henry VII. by means of John Cabot, Venetian, who was very expert in cosmography and the construction of sea-charts, that king caused to man and victual a ship at Bristol, to search for an island which Cabot said he well knew to be rich and replenished with valuable commodities.  In which ship, manned and victualled at the kings expence, divers merchants of London adventured small stocks of goods under the charge of the said Venetian.  Along with that ship there went three or four small vessels from Bristol, laden with slight and coarse goods, such as coarse cloth, caps, laces, points, and other trifles.  These vessels departed from Bristol in the beginning of May; but no tidings of them had been received at the time of writing this portion of the chronicle of Fabian.