BIARNES LANDFAl.L. 23 



That the land first seen by Biarne was necessarily so 

 far south as Cape Cod does not, we would venture to 

 submit, follow from the facts we have quoted. Is it not 

 more probable that the country was some portion of 

 Nova Scotia, a land as much "covered with forests" as 

 New England ? 



But Dr. Kohl maintains that the second land which 

 was "well-wooded" was Nova Scotia. In his own 

 words : 



"The second country seen by Biarne must, then, 

 probably have been Nova Scotia, The distance from 

 Nova Scotia to Newfoundland is about three days' sail ; 

 and from Newfoundland to the southern part of Green- 

 land, a Northman navigator, with fresh breezes, might 

 easily sail in four days, and thus Newfoundland was 

 probably the third country discovered by Biarne." 



We should not have the hardihood to criticise Dr. 

 Kohl's statements and conclusions, if we had rtot made 

 two voyages to Labrador, in which we sailed from Cape 

 Cod to Nova Scotia, skirted that coast, approached 

 within a mile of Cape Ray, Newfoundland, and spent a 

 summer on the northern shores of Belle Isle, opposite 

 Newfoundland ; and a second summer in coasting Lab- 

 rador as far north as Hopedale. Hence the general 

 appearances of the Nova Scotian, Newfoundland, and 

 Labrador coasts are, though in a slight degree, to be 

 sure, known to us. 



The records state that the southernmost land seen by 



Biarne was " covered by forests ;" this would apply to 



Nova Scotia as well as to the coast of Massachusetts. It 



is then said that without landing, improving a southwest 



wind and steering northea.st, "he put himself on the 



