IN NORTHERN MISTS 



mately as given on p. 308/ we shall then get a map in its 

 main outlines as here represented. The southern point of 

 Greenland comes in about 62° 20', or the same as on the 

 Cantino map, and Cape Race comes still farther to the north 

 than on it. The distance from Lisbon to Greenland is almost 

 exactly the same on both maps, and this seems to point to 

 remarkable capabilities of sailing by log and compass, while, 

 on the other hand, astronomical observations were probably 

 not used. The distance between Lisbon and Newfoundland 

 (Terra del Rey de portuguall) is on the Cantino map a little 

 longer than reality,^ and the southern end of the latter is 

 brought so far to the south that it would correspond to an 

 average variation of about 4° west, instead of 10°, during the 

 voyage from Lisbon. Newfoundland, accordingly, comes farther 

 west in relation to Greenland and its southern end farther 

 south than it should do on a map constructed like this one. 

 But we do not know whether the course from which the position 

 of Newfoundland is laid down was taken as going directly to 

 that country from Lisbon; perhaps, for instance, it went first 

 up into the ice off Greenland, and in that case a greater error 

 is natural. If we lay down the West Indian Islands (and Flor- 

 ida) on our sketch-map according to the same method, we shall 

 get them in a similar position to that of the Cantino map, except 

 that there they have a far too northerly latitude, and the dis- 

 tance from Lisbon is much too great ; but this is due to the Span- 

 ish maps which served as authorities ; for we know that even Co- 

 lumbus was guilty of gross errors in his determination of lati- 

 tude,3 and on La Cosa's map they lie for the most part to the 

 north of the tropic. 



1 Owing to the compass-error varying in the course of the voyage, the 

 courses sailed will be more nearly parts of a great circle. 



2 According to the scale of the Cantino map, this distance is about 2250 

 miglia, but according to Pasqualigo's letters it should be 1800 or 2000, and ac- 

 cording to Cantino's letter 2800 miglia. 



3 This is not the place to discuss what is represented by the coast of the 

 mainland to the west of Cuba on the Cantino map, whether the east coast of 

 Asia, taken from Toscanelli's mappamundi (or a source like Behaim's globe), 

 372 



