[s. H. DAWSON] THE VOYAGES OF THE CABOTS 195 



understood by many persons because, in the books, an extract only can 

 be given. That portion alone is shown which represents the eastern part 

 of the continent of North America, and the majority of readers think 

 that they have before them a complete map of what is now the eastern 

 part of Canada and the United States, made as such by Sebastian Cabot. 

 They are, indeed, told that it is a mappemonde, and, sometimes, that it is 

 a planisphere, but often do not stop to think what these words mean. I 

 am forlunately now, by permission of the Hon. Sydney Fisher, minister 

 of agriculture and statistics, able to reproduce the whole map from a 

 photographic negative procured by the Dominion archivist from Paris, and 

 it will be seen to be a map of the world on an elliptical projection. No 

 one knows what this map is better than Mr. Harrisse. He has no miscon- 

 ception about it, but, just as another Cabotian scholar held a brief against 

 the father, he would seem to hold a brief against the son, and he draws 

 a bitter indictment against Sebastian for barefaced plagiarism in con- 

 structing this map. 



Now, consider what the map is ; it is a map of the whole world, with 

 geographical notes and remarks selected from all sources, ancient and 

 modern. Suppose a publisher to-day makes a map, does he not draw from 

 all sources as far as the copjaight law permits ? Whoever made the map 

 of 1544 did what Stanford, and Johnston, and Bartholomew are doing 

 every day now. Jacques Cai'tier's maps were then accessible and con- 

 tained the latest information, and they, as a matter of course, were made 

 use of. Every map-maker is, and must be, a plagiarist. If Cabot had 

 made an original map out of his own head, then there would be good 

 ground for calling him a liar. Suppose he did copy Cartier for New France ; 

 he copied others for other places — copied from the maps of the sailora 

 who sailed there. A map is not, like a poem, spun out of one's own 

 brains, but every one adopts from and improves on its predecessor. Cabot 

 is by some, most unfairly, held to assert that all the North American 

 geography laid down on this map is covered by the claim in legend No. 

 8. We say Columbus discovered America, and so he did ; but he did not 

 discover the Mississippi. This map says that the Cabots discovered the 

 Baccalaos, and so they did ; but it does not claim that they discovered 

 the Saguenay, though laid down on this map under a barbarous distor- 

 tion of Jacques Cartier's name. All Cartier's names are there twisted up 

 in translations from French into Spanish and Portuguese by some one 

 who, apparently, understood none of these languages, but compiled the 

 information from maps of all these nations. Legend No. 8 refers to the 

 number on the map. It is 3 there, by a palpable error ; for, as it has 

 been often shown, the map is carelessly engraved, but the heading identi- 

 fies the reference. The spot on the coast of the region in question first 

 discovered is marked, in the same characters as the rest of the map. 

 Prima tierra vista (not terra), and we are informed in the legends when 



