1S8 ROYAL SOCIETY OF CANADA 



map containing a delineation of any part of the new world. The editor 

 of this edition of Ptolemy was Marcus Bencventanus, who published a 

 commentary with it. Mr. Harrisse, without whom one cannot do any- 

 thing in this inquir}^, gives the following translation of the part referring 

 to this map ^'' : 



" Johannes Ruysch, who, in my opinion, is the most competent geo- 

 " grapher, and the one who has best depicted the world, and upon whom 

 " we rely in this little work, says he has navigated from the southern part 

 " of England to 53° north latitude, and that he has sailed in the latter 

 " parallel as far as the eastern coasts." 



Referring to this, Bishop Howley (p. 20) thinks that 53° is a typo- 

 o-raphical error, but, as Ruysch, like Cabot, said nothing about going to 

 Greenland, there is no reason to assume the existence of an error. 

 We cannot correct his own statement and send him on so circuitous a 

 route to suit a theory of where he ought to have gone. There was in 

 the crew of the '' Matthew " a Burgundian, and Hariisse, Deane, "Winsor 

 and many others believe that Ruysch was the man. These were my 

 reasons for fixing on 53° N. as the point where Cabot turned west. As 

 befoi'e explained, it is not mathematical proof, but it amounts to a very 

 high degree of probability, and, moreover, nothing of so positive a nature 

 can be shown for any other theory. 



9. — Varialion of the Compass. 



Capt. Fox, U.S.K, in his careful study of the "Landfall of Col- 

 umbus," invites " the student to take notice that, notwithstanding the 

 '' observations in regard to the westerly variation, on the 13th, 17th and 

 " 30th of September the admiral did not alter his courses to make true 

 " west, but that he held firmly to west by compass.'" To this I would 

 add the remarks of another scientific navigator and a life long sailor on 

 these northern seas — Samuel Champlain. He wrote: "The early 

 " navigators who sailed to parts of New France on the west, thought 

 " they would not be more astray in going thither than when going to 

 " the Azores, or other places near France, where the variation is almost 

 '• insensible in navigation, and where the i:)ilot8 have no other compass 

 " than those of France set to northeast, and representing the true meri- 

 " dian there. And so, when sailing continually towards the west and 

 " wishing to keep on a certain latitude, they would shape their course 

 " straight towards the west by their compass, thinking they were sailing 

 " on the parallel they wished to go upon, but continuing on in a straight 

 " line and not in a circle, like all parallel lines on the globe. After a 

 " long distance, when in the sight of land, they sometimes found them- 

 " selves three, four or five degrees more southerly than necessary, and 

 " thus they were deceived in their latitude and reckoning." ^ These two 

 sailors will answer those who hold either that variation makes no matter, 



