The voyage of Verrazzano : $b a chapter in the early history of maritime discovery in AmericaMurphy, Henry Cruse
History
The voyage of Verrazzano : $b a chapter in the early history of maritime discovery in America
Murphy, Henry Cruse
America -- Discovery and exploration -- French; Verrazzano, Giovanni da, 1485-1528
called Cape Breton and the cape of the Franciscaine, are northeast
and southwest, and take a quarter of east and west and there is in
the route one hundred and forty leagues. And here makes a cape
called the cape of Noroveregue. This said cape is at forty-five
degrees of the height of the arctic pole. The said coast is all
sandy land, low without any mountain. And along this coast there are
several islands of sand and coast very dangerous, with banks and
rocks. The people of this coast and of Cape Breton are bad people,
powerful, great archers and live on fish and flesh. They speak, as
it were, the same language as those of Canada, and are a great
nation. And those of Cape Breton go and make war upon those of
Newfoundland (Terre neufve), where they fish. On no account would
they save the life of a person when they capture him, if it he not a
child or young girl, and are so cruel that if they find a man
wearing a beard, they cut his limbs off and carry them to their
wives and children, in order to be revenged in that matter. And
there is among them much peltry of all animals. Beyond the cape of
Noroveregue [Cape Sable] descends the river of the said Noroveregue
which is about twenty-five leagues from the cape. The said river is
more than forty leagues broad at its mouth, and extends this width
inward well thirty or forty leagues, and is all full of islands
which enter ten or twelve leagues into the sea, and it is very
dangerous with rocks and reefs. The said river is at forty-two
degrees of the height of the arctic pole. Fifteen leagues within
this river is a city which is called Norombergue, and there are in
it good people and THERE IS MUCH PELTRY OF ALL ANIMALS. The people
of the city are clothed with peltry, wearing mantles of martin. I
suspect the said river enters into the river of Ochelaga, for it is
salt more than forty league inward, according to what is said by the
people of the city. The people use many words, which resemble Latin,
and adore the sun; and are handsome and large men. The land of
Norobregue is tolerably high. On the side on the west of the said
city there are many rocks which run into the sea well fifteen
leagues; and on the side towards the north there is a bay in which
there is a little island which is very subject to tempest and cannot
be inhabited."
Two sketches of the coast by Alfonse accompany this description,
which are here reproduced united in one. The map in Ramusio (III,
fol. 424-5), prepared by Gastaldi, shows the Terra de Nurumbega, of
the same extent as here described, that is, from Cape Breton
westerly to a river running north from the Atlantic and connecting
with the St. Lawrence or river of Hochelaga. Gastaldi, or Gastaldo,
published previously an edition of Ptolemy's Geography (12mo.,
Venice, 1543), in which (map 56), Norumbega is similarly laid down,
without the river running to the St. Lawrence. Norumbega was
therefore a well defined district of country at that time.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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