IN NORTHERN MISTS 



first of all, that it is a compass-chart, and that it takes no no- 

 tice of the magnetic variation on the American coast. This ex- 

 plains the fact that, for instance, lines of coast which in reality 

 run from west to south-west, are made to appear on the chart 

 as running from west to east. Furthermore, the latitude of the 

 coast of North America is made too northerly, through coasts 

 which, for instance, lie to the magnetic west of Ireland, being 

 placed on the chart true west of it. In this way Cape Breton 

 (or Cape Race, in Newfoundland) can be brought to about the 

 same latitude as the south of Ireland, whereas in reality it lies 

 nearly 5° farther south. 



The coast marked with five English flags is, of course, 

 the land discovered by Cabot. That La Cosa had a map of 

 this district is further shown by the details, which distinguish 

 it from his delineation of the remainder of the North American 

 coast, but which give it a resemblance to that part of South 

 America which is marked with Spanish flags and of which 

 he had a map. Curiously enough, only part of the English dis- 

 trict has names; we must suppose that this is the coast that 

 Cabot is said to have sailed along. La Cosa's representation of 

 the rest of the North American coast is doubtless guesswork, 

 although it has features which bear a remarkable resemblance 

 to reality; but it is not altogether impossible that he may have 

 had oral or written reports of later voyages, which are unknown 

 to us. 



La Cosa's map is in complete agreement with the state- 

 ments in the letters of Pasqualigo, Soncino, and the two 

 Spanish ambassadors. Soncino says that the country lies four 

 hundred Italian leagues to the west of England, while both 

 Puebla and Ayala say that they believe the distance to be 

 no more than four hundred Spanish leagues. On the other 

 hand, according to Pasqualigo, Cabot said that, at a distance 

 of seven hundred Italian leagues, he had discovered the main- 

 land of the kingdom of the Great Khan, and that he had 

 sailed (i.e., after having sailed?) three hundred leagues along 

 the coast. It has been thought that there is here a disagree- 

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