ON GAPE BP.ETON. 305 



VIII. Extracts fbom Narratives of Eakly Voyages to Cai'e Bebton. 



(I). Iji Iliikluyl's ' Discourse of Western Plaiiling,' written in 1ÙS4, (vol. viii) reference is made to a visit paid 

 to the coast of Cafo Breton to 1583 by his friend Stephen Bellinger of Rouen, at the expense of the Cardinal de 

 Bourbon. Bellinger found a town of eighty houses, covered with the bark of trees, upon a river's side about a 

 hundred leagues southwest from the aforesaid Capo Breton. He reported that the country was of the temperature 

 of Gascoigue and Lyuyaiin, and places it in Norembeque. It is obvious that he does not know that Cape Breton 

 is an island, for he refers only to the promontory from which it is named. The river of which he speaks may bo 

 St. Mary's, in the present County of Cuysboro, Nova Scotia. 



(2). In 1.594 Sylvester AVyet, a master mariner of Bristol visited the Gulf of St. Lawrence, in the "Grace" of 

 that town, a vessel of thirty-five tons. He anchored first in St. George's Bay, Newfoundland, where he found the 

 wrecks of Biscayan ships, and tlien went on to the island of Anticosti, called Natiscotec by the native Indians, 

 and Assomption by Cartier. As Wyet was the first navigator who describes Cape Breton as an island, the follow- 

 ing extract from his narrative, as given by Hakluyt (xiii. GO) will be read with interest. 



" When we had dispatched onr businesse in this Bay of S. Georgo and stayed there ten dayes, wee departed 

 for the Northern point of the said Bay, vvhicli is nine or ten leagues broade. Then being enformed, that the 

 whales which are deadly wounded in the grand Bay, and yet escape the fisher for a time, are woont vsually to 

 shoot themselves on shore on the Isle of .'Yssuinplion, or Natiscotec, whirli lieth in the very moutli of the great 

 riner that runneth vp to Canada, we shapeil our course oner to that long Lsle of Natiscotec, and wee found the 

 distance of the w ay to tlie Esteruiost ende thereof to be about fourty foure leagues; and it standeth in the latitude 

 of 49. Here wee arriued about llie middest of luiio at the East end, and rode in eigliteene fadome water, in faire 

 wliite sand and very good ankerage, and for tryall beaued a lyne our rbdirde and found wonderful faire and great 

 Cod fish; we wont also seutn of vs on shore and found there exceeding fayre great woods of tell firre trees, and 

 lieard and sawe store of land and sea foules, and sawe the footing of diners lieastes in the sand wlien we were on 

 shore. From the Easter end we went to the Norther side of the Island which we perceiued to be but narrow in 

 respect of the length thereof. And after wee had searched two dayes and a night for the Whales which were 

 Wounded which we hoped to haue found there, and missed of our purpose, we returned bacUe to the Southwarde, 

 and wore witldn one league of the Island of Penguin, which lyetli South from the Eastermost part of Natiscotec 

 Suine twelve leagues. From the Isle of Penguin wee shaped onr cour.-o for Ca|)e de Key and had sight of t he Island 

 of Cape Briton : then returned wee by the Isles of Saint Pedro, ami .so came into the Bay of Placentia, and arriued 

 in the F)astersido thereof some ten leagues vp within the Bay among ttie fishermen of Saint lolm de Lu/, and of 

 Sibiburo and of Biskay, whicli were to tlie numljer of threescores and odde sayles, wliereof eight shippes onely 

 were Spaniardes, of whom we were very well vsed and they wislied heartily for peace between them and vs." 



(3) In 1597 the Hojjewell of London and the Chancowoll of the same port, visited the eastern coast of the 

 present Dominion of Canada under tlie respective commands of Charles Leigh, one of tlie owners, and of Stejihen 

 A'an Herwick, a brotlier of the other owner. They visited the coast of Newfoundland, and then went on to Cape 

 Breton of which they left the following interesting account, given in Hakluyt (viii, G'2) : 



" The 14 of luiie we sent our boat on shore in a groat bay vpon the Isle of Cape Briton for water. The 25 we 

 arriued on the West side of the Isle of Menego, where we left some casUeno shore in a sandy bay, but could not 

 tarry for foule whether. '1 he 26 we cast anker in another liay vpon the maine of Cape Briton. Tlie 27 about 

 tcnno of the clocke in the morning we met with eight men of ttie Chancewell our consort in a shallope ; who told 

 vs that their ship was cast away vpon the maine of Cape Briton, witliin a great bay eigliteene leagues within the 

 Cape, and vpon a rocke within a mile of the shore, vpon the 23 of this moneth about one of the clocke in the after- 

 nooue : and that they had deered their ship from the rocke: but being bilged and full of water, tliey presently 

 did run lier vp into a sandy bay, where she was no sooner come on ground, but presently after there came aboord 

 many shallops with store of French men, who robbed and spoiled all they could lay hands on, jiillaging the poore 

 men euen to tlieir very shirts, and vsing them in sauage manor: whereas they should rather as Christians haue 

 aided them in that distresse. Which newes when we heard, we blessed God, who by his diuiiie prouidence and 

 vnspeakeable mercy had not onely preserued all the men, but brouglit us thither so miraculously to ayd and com- 

 fort them. So presently we put into the road where the Chancewell lay : where was also one ship of Sibiburo, 

 whose men that holpe to pillage the Chancewell were runne away into the woods. But the master thereof which 

 had dealt very honestly with our men stayed in his ship, and came aboord of vs whom we vsed well, not taking 

 any thing from him that was bis, but onely such things as we coulile finde of our owne. And when we had dis- 

 jiatched our busine.sse, we gaue him one good cable, one olde cable and an anker, one shallop with mast, sailes, and 

 other furniture, and other things which belonged to the ship. In recompense whereof he gauo vs two hogsheads 

 of sider, one barrel of peaze, and 25 score of fish. The 29, betimes in the morning we departed from that road 

 toward a great Biskaine, some 7 leagues ofi" of 300 tun whose men dealt most doggedly with the Chancewels 

 company. The same night we ankered at the mouth of the barborow, whore the Biskaine was. The 30 betimes 

 iin the morning we put into the barborow ; and approaching nere their stage, we saw it vncovered, and so suspected 

 the ship to be gone : whereupon we sent our pinnesse on shore with a dozen men. w ho when they came, found 

 great store of lish on shore, but all the men were fled ; neither could they perceiue whether the ship siiould be gone 

 but as they thought to sea. This day about twelue of the clocke we tooke a Sauage's boat which our men jmrsued : 

 btit all the Sauages ran away into the woods, and our men brought their boat on boord. The same day in the 

 afternoone we brought our ship to anker in the barborow : and the same day we tjoke three hogsheads and a 

 lialfe of traine, and some 300 of greene fish. Also in the euening three of the Sanages, wliose boat we had, came 

 vnto vs for their boat; to whom «a gaue coats and kniuos, and restored them their boate again. The next day 

 being the first of luly, the rest of the Sauages came vnto us, among whom was their king, whoso name was Itarey, 

 and their queene to whom also we gave coats and kniues, and other trifles. These Sauages called the barborow 



Sec. II, 1891. 39. 



