CAETIER'S COURSE. 169 



a custom then in vogue, and for many years afterwards. "\Ve know that for twn centuries 

 after the discovery of America the search for the western passage to Cathay was prosecuted 

 with unremitting zeal. To this we owe the names of Cape Spear in NewfoundUind (on the 

 okl Italian maps, C. Spera) and Point Spear on Labrador, Bay Despair (cT Espoir) on the 

 south coast of Newfoundland, Bonne Espérance on Labrador, etc. But in this they were 

 only imitating the example of the Portuguese Vasco da Gama, who first passed the form- 

 idable South Cape of Africa on the 29th N'ovember, 1497, and gave it the name of Good 

 Hope, as he sped oft' under a free sheet for India. 



Cartier spent from the 3rd till the 12th of July exploring this Grand Bay in the vain 

 hope of finding the passage to the west. And he was not satisfied till he had penetrated to 

 the very bottom, or head of it, when at last he gave up all hope. {Easmes crDignoissance dii 

 font de la dite baye ; etans certains qu'il n'y abuoict passaige.) 



He next explored Gaspè Bay where he was kept till the 25th of July by Ijad weather. 

 On that day, Saturday, he sailed across the mouth of the great passage, the object of all his 

 search, and went over to the southwest shore of Anticosti. It seems incredible that he 

 should have done this, but not only does he clearly state it, but he gives the reason. ""We 

 sailed to the east-northeast because the land from the said river (Gaspë) was all ranged 

 around [rengée) making a bay in the form of a semi-circle of which we saw the whole coast 

 from our ships." It is quite unfair then on the part of M. De Cazes to speak of this as a 

 " pretension or presumption of Professor Ganong," whatever way we try to explain the fact ; 

 it is too clearly stated by Cartier to be doubted for a moment. So sure was Cartier that the 

 land of Hongedo (Gaspè) was joined to that of Anticosti, that when, on the following year 

 (1535) the Indians told him that Anticosti was an island, and that on the other (west) side 

 of it, viz., that place which he thought was land-locked, was the great passage to Canada he 

 would not believe them. Nor was he satisfied on this point till he personally proved the 

 truth of it ; which he did on his return voyage (1536) by passing through. "Which pas- 

 sage," he there adds, " was not previously discovered." Professor Ganong supposes him to 

 have been deceived by fog banks. I have myself (as every one must who has passed this 

 place) seen the wonderful mirage eftects of the fog, sometimes taking the appearance of elift's 

 and hillocks of land ; vessels seeming to be divided into several parts, some portions of them 

 appearing in the sky, or reversed, or upside down, and so forth. Xo lUiulit Cartier was 

 deceived by some of these false appearances. 



He ranged around the south coast of Anticosti, calling its south point Cape Louis, in 

 honour of Saint Louis, king of France, it being discovered on his feast day (July 28th). 

 Cartier gives the latitude of this cape as 49° 15' or 49J°, which is only about ten minutes 

 out. This is one of the two places in which the Belation Originale gives the longitude. It 

 gives 12>Y" {soixante et treize degrez et demy). The only two places in which the MS. of 

 the Relation Originale gives the longitude are at Cape St. Louis (south point of Anticosti) 

 and in Baye de Chaleur. In all other places a blank is left for the longitude. The point 

 Cape Loys is easily fixed, but it is not so easy to tell what part of Bay Chaleur is intended. 



The words of the manuscript are : " The middle of the said bay (Chaleur) is in Ixxiij 



degrees of longitude " (Le jxtrmy de ladite baye;. This may be considered either in relation 

 to the mouth of the bay, meaning half way across the mouth or entrance, or it may be con- 

 sidered as half way between the mouth, or entrance, and the head or bottom of the bay. 

 There is a diflerence of one degree of longitude between these two positions. Again, if we 



Sec. II., 1894. 22. 



