178 BISHOP HOWLEY ON 



five points. Anyone at all acquainted with the question in hand, will admit that this at once 

 etFectually disposes of the claims of either St. Paul's or Cape iN'orth to be considered the Cap 

 Lorraine of Cartier. It is absolutely impossible to admit that Cartier could make so great 

 an error in the compass. But it will be objected : How could he see the coast of Newfound- 

 land from such a distance ? It is 90 miles from Bryon Island. Before this objection can have 

 any weight, we should know exactly where Cartier was when he saw the land. He certainly 

 was not at Bryon Island, for if he were he could not see either Cape I^orth or St. Faul's 

 which are 65 miles distant, no more than he could see Cape Ray. He had left Bryon and 

 sailed some distance towards the southeast when he saw this land. The land about Cape 

 Ray is over 2,000 feet high, and can be seen in fine weather from 16 to 18 leagues — 54 miles 

 — (Bayfield). Cartier immediately adds " we ranged this land about 2| leagues, in making 

 which route we saw three high isles {haultes isles or, as the other MSS. have it, " three other 

 isles," aultres) which lay towards the Araynes." 



There is a transposition of events here, which causes much confusion. It will be 

 remembered that the Araynes, is Cartier's name for the Magdalen group. It would appear 

 from the order in which he relates the events, that {a) he saw the land to the southeast, (h) 

 he ranged it 2J leagues, (c) while making this range he saw three isles at the Araynes. Now 

 whether we speak of St. Paul's, Cape North, or Cape Ray, this would be unmeaning. Hence 

 the true sequence of events is this. On leaving Bryon (June 1st) they sailed some distance 

 towards the southeast and saw a high land in that direction. While going towards it from 

 Bryon {not while ranging it) they saw three high islands towards the Araynes, that is to the 

 starboard or westward of them. These were Allright Islands (420 ft. high), Entry Island 

 (580 feet) and Amherst Island (550 feet) or Grindstone (550 feet) of the group of the Mag- 

 dalens or the Araynes. It seems that they turned back a little on their course to examine 

 these islands and then, the Relation Originale says, " after having found out these things we 

 returned towards the cape of the said land, i. e. the high land to the southeast. There is a 

 clause here in the Paris manuscript which is not in the Relation Originale. It is the only case 

 in which I allude to these other manuscripts because as a general rule they do not add any- 

 thing new to the Relation Originale, or if they do, instead of explaining they onlj- obscure it. 

 In this place, however, they seem to suppl}' an evident omission in the Relation. They say 

 that after having seen these three high isles at the Araynes and also found that these said 

 Araynes, (the Magdalen group) were islands, and that the said land (viz., the high land to 

 the southeast which first appeared like an island) "is a main land {ferre unie et certaine) lying 

 northwest." It was only after this final survey that he became convinced that the Mag- 

 dalens were a group of islands and not main land. "We now come to consider this land to 

 the southeast. It was not an island but terre unie et certaine, therefore not the Island of St. 

 Paul's which is a rock out in the gulf. It showed itself in two or three capes wonderfully 

 high with a great depth of water, and a tremendous current. Whoever has seen the head- 

 land of Cape Raj-, probably one of the most remarkable in the world, cannot but recognize 

 the exactness of Cartier's description. These wonderfully high " Sugar-loaves," more 

 correctly p3M'amids, are oft-shoots of the same Long Range of the Grandies Mountains 

 mentioned above. I have seen a sketch of these hills taken on the spot this past summer, 

 but they are to be found on all charts, and in the work of Mr. Field, on the laying of the 

 Atlantic cable. The following description of this remarkable Cape is taken from the New- 

 foundland " Sailing Directions : " " The land of the cape is ver^' remarkable. Three miles 



