IN NORTHERN MISTS 



men, women, and! children from the country discovered, which is in the north- 

 west and west, 1800 miglia distant from here. These men resemble gypsies in 

 appearance, build, and stature. They have their faces marked in different 

 places, some with more, others with fewer figures. They are clad in the skins 

 of various animals, but chiefly of otter; their speech is entirely different from 

 any other that has ever been heard in this kingdom, and no one understands it. 

 Their limbs are very shapely, and they have very gentle faces, but their man- 

 ners and gestures are bestial, and like those of savage men. The crew of the 

 caravel believe that the land alluded to is mainland, and that it is joined to the 

 other land which was discovered last year in the north by the other caravels 

 belonging to this majesty, but they were unable to reach it, for the sea was 

 frozen over with the great masses of snow, so that it rose up like land. They 

 also thought that it was connected with the Andil'ii [Antilles], which were dis- 

 covered by the sovereign of Spain, and with the land of Papaga [Brazil], 

 newly found by a ship belonging to this king, on her way to Calcutta. The 

 grounds for this belief are, in the first place, that after having sailed along 

 the coast of the said land for a distance of six hundred miglia and more, they 

 found no end to it; and further because they say they found many very great 

 rivers which there fell into the sea. The second caravel, that of the com- 

 mander [caravella capitania], is expected from day to day, and from it the 

 nature and condition of the aforesaid land will be clearly understood, since it 

 went farther along the coast in order to discover as much of it as possible. 

 This royal majesty has been much rejoiced by this news, for he thinks that this 

 land will be very profitable for his affairs in many respects, but especially be- 

 cause it is so near to this kingdom that it will be easy to obtain in a short 

 time a very great quantity of timber for making ships' masts and yards of, and 

 to get a sufficient supply of male slaves for all kinds of labor, for they say 

 that that country has many inhabitants, and is full of pine trees and other ex- 

 cellent wood. The news in question has rejoiced his majesty so much that he 

 has given orders that the ships are to sail to the said place, and for the in- 

 crease of his Indian fleet, in order to conquer it more quickly, as soon as it is 

 discovered; for it seems that God is with his majesty in his undertakings, and 

 brings all his plans to accomplishment." [Cf. Harrisse, 1883, pp. 209 f.]. 



On October 19, 1501, Pietro Pasqualigo writes to his brothers 

 at Venice : 



" On the 8th of this month there arrived here one of the two caravels which 

 this most serene majesty sent last year to discover lands in the north under 

 Captain Caspar Corterat; and they state that they found land two thousand 

 miglia from here between north-west and west, which before was not known 

 to anyone; along the coast of this land they sailed perhaps six hundred or 

 seven hundred miglia without finding an end to it; therefore they believe that 

 it is a continent which is continuous with another land that was discovered 

 last year in the north [by some other caravels], which caravels could not reach 

 the end of it, because the sea was frozen and there was an infinite quantity of 

 snow. They believed it also on account of the great number of rivers that 



