208 ROYAL SOCIETY OF CANADA 



or more." The cu&p of Labrador, as he very appropriately calls it, is 

 Cape Chidley, and is a little above sixty degrees north latitude, (60i°). 

 Turning then westward, he struck out bodly for the New Wcj-ld. *We 

 must bear in mind that Cabot's desire and intention was, to strike land 

 as far to the northward as possible, hoping to find a passage thence to 

 Cathay. Hence he would naturally make land first at Cape Farewell in 

 Greenland, at about 400 leagues distant, and thus is verified the state- 

 ment of those writers who tell us that Cabot found his new land at 

 400 leagues. But he did not stop there, he pushed onward another 

 300 leagues till he made his veritable landfall at 700 leagues from 

 Europe. To state where that landfall was, is not the object of the 

 present point of my argument, I am now only showing how illogical 

 it is for Mr. Harrisse to make any comparison between this round-about 

 voyage and the fair and straight voyage home. Having passed the 

 Cape of Farewell, they would after a while be taken in charge by the 

 Arctic current and carried towards the south and westward, in spite 

 of any efforts of theirs to keep towards the northwest. I will return 

 to this point further on. The only conclusion I wish to draw at pre- 

 sent is, that Harrisse's argument is entirely false, and that there is no 

 comparison to be made between the long and straggling voyage out 

 against head winds and many difficulties, of which Soncini says 

 '' avendo errato assai " " having wandered a great deal '' ; and the direct 

 voyage home. 



From the statement of the voyagers after their retoirn, viz., that 

 '' now that we know where to go, we can go there in fifteen 'days," 

 (Soncini), I think that we are justified in believing that they must 

 have made the journey home in that number of days. It was quite 

 possible, it would be a very good passage even at the present day, but 

 it is constantly done. With a very favourable time the voyage is now 

 frequently done in ten days by ordinary sailing vesisels. I 'do not 

 mean to say that Cabot's men were right in thinking that they oould 

 come out agaiin to the new land in fifteen days. That is another 

 matter, and I believe they were mistaken. Theoretically, and consider- 

 ing simply the distance and the average speed of their sihips under 

 favourable circumstances, it could he done. But they were evidently 

 not awaxe of the fact that practically owing to a prevalence of westerly 

 winds, currents, etc., the voyage out, is always nearly twice as long 

 as the voyage home. 



To show that this estimate of fifteen days is not an exaggerated 

 one, but was quite an ordinary average voyage, I may here recall two 

 voyages wihioh took place not very long after the time of Cabot, and 

 of which we have a certain knowledge. I allude to those of Jacques 

 Cartier in 1534 and 1536, about thirty-seven years after Cabot's first 



