[s. E, DAWSON] THE VOYAGES OF THE CABOTS 1S9 



or that it is about the same now as it was in 1492. The discussion con- 

 cerning the landfall of Columbus was carried on chiefly by sailors, who 

 knew what an essential condition the variation of the compass is in all 

 nautical questions. It is amazing that any one should consider it to be 

 merely of " academic interest " and " not germane " to the question. 



Strange though it may appear, 1 find myself compelled to explain 

 that by " variation " I mean " declination," and that the two words are 

 sjmonymous. " Variation " is the nautical word, and is exclusively used 

 on the charts and in the books published by the British Admiralty — it 

 is, therefore, sutficient for my use, and I do not pi-esume to improve upon 

 it. " Dip," as called by mariners, or sometimes by others " inclination " is a 

 very different phenomenon, and we have in this discussion nothing to do 

 with it. It was solely " variation " with which Sebastian Cabot concerned 

 himself, and which he affected to have discovered. That is clearlj^ evi- 

 dent in Legend No. 17 on his map, and is elementary in the literature of 

 the question. The sluggishness of the needle in high latitudes had, as 1 

 pointed out in my first paper, been noticed and was recorded on Euysch's 

 map, but the minds of all the great sailors were intent solely iijjon dis- 

 covering a series of magnetic meridians, distinguishable by the variation 

 of the needle, and available as a sure indication of longitude. It was 

 not until 1543 that the phenomenon of "dip" first attracted atten- 

 tion, and in 1547, Affaytato dedicated to Pope Paul HI. a little treatise 

 on the newly observed property or "descent" of the needle to the pole. 

 The discovery was afterwards claimed, in 1576, by Eobert Norman, who 

 first introduced the "dipping needle," all of which goes to show the 

 erroneousness of statements to the effect that Cabot claimed only to have 

 discovered the dip of the needle, and that by "declination " he meant, or 

 anybody else meant, " dip." That such a statement was ever made is 

 not the least among the eccentricities of this discussion. 



It must be evident to those who have given this question long and 

 serious study, with the view solely of arriving as nearly to the truth as 

 the evidence will permit, that the range of magnetic variation on the 

 Atlantic in 1492-1500 must be an important factor in any conclu.sion as 

 to the course of these voyages. In my first paper I endeavoured to form 

 a reasoned opinion about it, and, as the subject is highlj' technical, I 

 followed the guidance of the accomplished officers of the U. S. Geodetic 

 Survey, whose calculations I found ready to my hand. As might have 

 been expected, Sir Clements Markham and Mr. Harrisse recognized at 

 once the relevancy of the principle of my remarks. The former did not 

 think that the variation assumed would carr^^ Cabot clear of Cape Eace 

 and the latter essayed to demonstrate, by mathematical formula?, the 

 fallacy^- not only of my reasoning, but, strange to say, of the facts. In 

 calculating the course, Sir Clements started out west at a point farther 

 north, Blacksod bay in lat. 54° ; but Mr. Harrisse adopted a different 



