WHITE MEN LAND ON THE ISLAND. 89 



saw the shores of Newfoundland were the Northmen, 

 Five hundred years before the time of Cabot these; 

 bold adventurers, led by Lief, son of Eric the Red, 

 sailed from Greenland in search of western lands. 

 Newfoundland lay directly in their course, and ac- 

 cording to their sagas or books on reaching it they, 

 gave it the name of " Helluland," or the land of 

 naked rocks. The daring sailors passed on, however, 

 and made no attempt at forming a settlement. Their 

 adventurous voyage, in which they are said to have 

 reached Rhode Island, took place in 1001. 



WHITE MEN LAND ON THE ISLAND. 



On the second day of May, 1497, a small caravel 

 named the " Matthew," manned by eighteen English 

 sailors and commanded by John Cabot, left the port 

 of Bristol. Cabot was a Venetian by birth and in the 

 service of Henry VII. of England. 



On the twenty-fourth day of June following, hearty 

 English cheers greeted the first sight of the Island of 

 Newfoundland. Thus by right of discovery it be- 

 longed to England ; but it was not until 1583 that the 

 formal possession was taken by Sir Humphrey Gilbert 

 in the name of Queen Elizabeth. This gallant Eng- 

 lish knight had formed the purpose of colonizing the 

 island ; but misfortunes overtook him, and when re- 



