118 The Humming Bird. 



Later, on in 1007, came the discoveries of Groenland, Mark- 

 land and Vinland by the Wilting s or Norvegians. Although 

 communications between these places ceased entirely in 1347, 

 it is reasonable to suppose that the followers of Leif, and other 

 Norvegian Navigators, are the founders of these wonderful 

 Cities discovered in Colorado and in New-Mexico, and that 

 later on they reached Mexico, where their influence must 

 have been felt. 



Lastly appears the actual Hero of America, the noble and 

 Illustrious CRISTOBAL DE COLON, Genoese by birth, Spanish. 

 by choice, and American by fate, Discoverer of America under 

 the guidance of the ALMIGHTY. 



The time had come for that discovery to be made, and 

 Columbus was the Selected One. 



Immediately after, Spain, Portugal, France, England, and 

 Holland sent expeditions of discoveries, and the result was 

 the division of this mighty Continent between them. To 

 these countries, must be added Russia and the Republic of 

 Hayti, representative of Africa. 



The resume of all what precedes, and also from my own 

 observations during the many years that I have travelled 

 in that Continent, is that AMERICA is a very old Continent, 

 probably cotemporary with ours, and that its Fauna, 

 including Man, as well as its Flora, is peculiar to it, and 

 consequently American, such being the name by which 

 we actually know that Continent. 



It was populated by the Atlantes, the Egyptians and many 

 other nations of that epoch, thence by the Tartarians and 

 the Chinese, and lastly by the Europeans. 



There is also another possibility : « that the emigration 

 did not take place from Asia to America, but the reverse, 

 and that the Tartarians and Chinese are the descendants of 

 the Americans ». The one is just as possible as the other. 

 I leave this investigation to the learned Americanists. 



Now, we come to a very interesting point concerning the 

 name of America. 



How is it that America having been rediscovered by 

 Christopher Columbus, as it is agreed by all, is known under 

 the name of America instead of Columbia ? It seems ratther 

 an anomaly ! 



According to the old authors the word America is derived 

 from Americo, the christian name of Vespucci, a celebrated, 

 Florentine Navigator, who took the command of four ships 

 fitted by King Ferdinand, sailed for Paria in May 1497, and 

 made a very successful voyage. 



This was two years after the discovery of that country by 

 Columbus. 



In fact, neither Americo Vespucci or any other of the 



