[s. B. DAWSON] 



THE VOYAGES OF THE CABOTS 



23 



Cape Breton is not separated. Tlie coast-line is continuous from the 

 prima vista far to the southwest. 



Tlie following is a cut of the outline of a recent map of the same 

 portion of the coast, reduced by photography to bring it as near as 

 possible to the same scale as the map of 1544. 



Outline of the Acadian Coast. 



APPENDIX D. 



Juan de La Co sa" s Map. 



So much importance has been given in the present papei-, as well as 

 in the monograph to which it forms a sequel, to the map of La Cosa that 

 it is desirable to collect the chief notices of the map and its author and 

 present them in a condensed form. 



Juan de La Cosa was born about the year 1460, at Santona (Puerto 

 de Santa Maria) a seaport in the north of SjJain, eighteen miles east of 

 the better known Santander, and near to the border of the Basque 

 provinces — a part of Spain noted for its hardy and daring sailors 

 and, at that time, the centre of the whaling tleet then extending their 

 voyages farther and farther into the hidden mysteries of the western 

 ocean. The natural career of a Spaniard born on that coast at that 

 period was upon the ocean, and La Cosa made voyages along the west 

 coast of Africa in the tracks of the Portuguese discoverers, as well as to 

 Flanders and the north of Europe. In this way he became the captain 

 and owner of a good vessel, the " Santa Maria." of 100 tons burden. 



When Columbus was preparing his expedition for the discovery of 

 the new world he found, at Palos, the vessel of La Cosa and chartei-ed it, 

 hoisting upon it his own flag as admiral, for it was the largest of his three 

 ships, and engaging its owner to go with him as master. The ship was 

 lost on the island of Hispaniola and Columbus in his private journal 

 throws blame on La Cosa but, as the ship was La Cosa's property, he can 

 scarcely have had any object in wrecking it and the admiral was, beyond 

 doubt, a little jealous of those who might be supposed to share the credit 

 of his achievements. Dr. Justin Winsor, in his life of Columbus, may be 

 consulted on this point, and it is not necessary here to enter into the 

 minor defects of a man so great as Columbus. It is sufficient to say that,, 

 whatever he wrote in his private diary, he made no public complaint and 

 that the Spanish sovereigns re-imbursed La Cosa for the vessel he had 

 lost and if any blame had attached to him that certainly would not have 

 been done. On the contrary, so highly was his skill as a navigator rated 

 that Columbus urged him to go with him in 1494 on his second voyage 



