"FLORIDA" ON CANTINO MAP 113 



Now let US consider these facts. There was sup- 

 posed to be a mainland called Juana by Columbus. 

 This land was shaped, as far as known, like a triangle. 

 The southern coast ran east and west. The eastern 

 coast ran to the north. It was twenty-two leagues 

 from the eastern end of the land to Isabella. Es- 

 panola was not mentioned in the ''Informacion y 

 testimonio" in connection with the position of the 

 triangle. 



Turning now to the Cantino map (Fig. 8), we find 

 that these facts are obviously incorporated in it : the 

 coast of the northwestern mainland is shaped like a 

 triangle and the island of Isabella is placed to the 

 east between the mainland and Espaiiola. Cuba 

 does not appear; but on the Waldseemiiller map of 

 1 516," which, judging from shape and names, follows 

 the same source as the Cantino map, we find on the 

 triangular mainland the legend ''Terra de Cuba Asie 

 Partis" (Fig. 13). Here, then, we have the clue that 

 unravels the mystery that is a stumbling block to 

 Harrisse — Columbus and his companions were the 

 unconscious source of the error, though they them- 

 selves could not imaginably have represented the 

 geography of the New World as did Cantino. In 

 short, the error is due to the interpretation put upon 

 the descriptions of Columbus by cartographers who 

 had not been on the ground and who were endeavor- 

 ing to harmonize conflicting data as best they might. 



22 Fischer and von Wieser, op. cit. 



