22 ROYAL SOCIETY OF CANADA 



The fourth volume of the " Proceedings of the Literary and His- 

 torical Society of Quebec," however, contains a paper by Mr. Samuel 

 Eobertson, read before the Society in 1841 by Dr. Morrin, which has 

 misled many succeeding writers. ]\Ir. Robertson was a resident on 

 the Labrador coast, at Sparr Point, a place not now in the " Admiralty 

 Sailing Directions." His residence imparted a factitious value to his 

 opinion; but the "traditions of the coast," of which his paper is the 

 embodiment are for the most part as mythical as the Sieur de Combes' 

 narrative. It could not well be other^vise; for to those isolated on 

 the coast of Labrador no access to original authorities or records was 

 possible and stories grew and changed as they passed by repetition; 

 moreover, no real tradition from generation to generation was possible^ 

 for there was no continuity of settlement. 



Mr. Eobertson held very positive opinions about the priority of 

 Basque discoveries. In his opinion, " One Labradore, a Basque whaler 

 " from the Kingdom of Navarre, in Spain, did penetrate through the 

 " straits of Belle-Isle as far as Labradore Bay some time about the 

 " middle of the 15th Century, and eventually the whole coast took the 

 " name from that bay and harbour." He fortifies this with the utterly 

 groundless statement that : " In all the early voyages, as of Cabot, etc., 

 " the Basques are always mentioned as met with ; and the Basque vessel, 

 " found on the coast of Newfoundland, by Cabot on his first voyage is 

 " clear evidence of their prior acquaintance with the northern shores of 

 "America." Then passing ^to philolog}^ he adds: "I shall say nothing 

 " of the vocabulary of Basque names found throughout the Gulf prov- 

 '■ ince, of which Quebec and Canada are not the least remarkable." Not 

 only Basques, but Irish, Welsh and Bretons, he thinks, antedated the 

 French and this he illustrates by the fact that, " when Cartier was com- 

 " missioned in 1532 to make discoveries in Canada he made application 

 " for pilots among the Bretons." He was apparently not aware that 

 Cartier was himself a Breton and his expedition sailed from a Breton 

 port. 



Upon the subject of the Canadian Brest, moreover, the "' tradition 

 of the coast " is most seriously astray, for Brest and Bradore are taken 

 to be the same, whereas it is certain that they were different places. 

 The " tradition " is that Brest was founded one hundred years before 

 Quebec, and ]\Ir. Eobertson has no doubt of the fact because the ruins 

 he r-^porlb as existing indicate that there were, at least, two hundred 

 houses, besides stores, built of wood, and that there was a population 

 of at least one thousand in winter and doubtless thrice that in sum- 

 mer. The city was at the height of its prosperity about A.D. 1600, 

 that is eight years before Quebec was founded. In support of this he 



