USA > Maine > A history of the discovery of Maine > Part 22
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While he was having this friendly communication with
*. See Blunt's " American Coast Pilot," pp. 307, 326, New York, 1857. where these highlands are depicted.
t At least, in the edition of his letter contained in Ramusio.
# Ramusio.
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EXPEDITION OF VERRAZANO, 1524.
them, a sudden squall of contrary wind arose (movendiosi dal mare un impeto contrario di vento), which compelled · him to return speedily to his ship, and even to weigh anchor and sail onward toward the east, greatly regretting to leave this region, which had appeared to him so commodious and delightful.
· This description contains several accounts which make it still more clear, that the bay of New York was the scene of these occurrences.
The multitude of people which came out to see him seems to prove, that he must have been at the mouth of some great river, like the Hudson. For the Indians, from the earliest times, have always crowded around such localities, which were favorable to trade and settlement, just as European planters did afterwards. That excellent berth of his, "pro- tected from the winds," could not have been outside of Sandy Hook ; for there he could not have found such protection. What is called the Outer Harbor of New York is not men- tioned. Verrazano's " bellissimo lago" of three leagues in circumference, can be nothing else than the "Inner Har- bor ; " though even for this, the "three leagues " mentioned are rather a short circuit. If we suppose that he came to an- chor in Gravesend Bay, his " boat sail of half a league," which brought him to that " lake," might be explained as a : passage through the " Narrows," which is not much longer than half a league. Hence it seems to me, thut Gravesend Bay is the most likely place of Verrazano's anchorage in these waters. Still it seems strange that he should feel obliged to leave an anchorage so well protected, and so commodious and delightful a place which he was anxious to explore, from a flaw of wind sweeping over the bay.
From New York Bay Verrazano sailed eastward "along the southern shore of Long Island. IIe followed this direc-
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EXPEDITION OF VERRAZANO, 1524.
tion for about fifty leagues,-the coast always in sight." At the end of the fifty leagues he discovered an island of a tri- angular shape, hilly, covered with trees, and full of people. He gave it the name of the mother of Francis I,* the prin- cess Louise of Savoy ; and must therefore have called it " L'Isle de la Princesse Louise," or something like that. But by a singular mistake, subsequent geographers, supposing the mother of Francis to have been named Claudia (the name of his first wife, daughter of Louis XII. of France), have called it the island " Claudia."
This mistake was first made by Ortelius, who, in 1750, drew on his map of America a "Claudia Island;" which after him was reproduced on all subsequent maps and charts of America. Even Hakluyt repeated and sanctioned this mistake, by writing in a marginal note to his translation of Verrazano's report : " The mother of Francis I. was Clau- dia." ¡ This Claudia, the first wife of Francis I, was by no means a prominent person. She is seldom mentioned in the history of France, and was already dead at the time of Verra- zano's voyage. Louisa, the mother of Francis, was, on the contrary, a very distinguished person, and much beloved by the king. During his absence in Italy, in 1524, she was ap- pointed to be Regent of France. It is therefore probable, that her name, rather than that of a person so obscure as Claudia, would have been selected by Verrazano for this compliment. This island is distinguished as being the only place to which Verrazano gave a name, in his report of his voyage.
Some authors suppose, that this island of " Claudia," or rather " Louisa," is our present little Block Island ; others think, more justly, that it must be Martha's Vineyard, which
* " Batlezzamola in nome della Vostra clarissima genetrice."
t Hakluyt's "Voyages and Navigations," vol. 3, p. 208. London, 1600.
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EXPEDITION OF VERRAZANO, 1524.
agrees much better than Block Island with Verrazano's ac- count of the distance of his " Louisa " from New York, and of the appearance of that island. Fifty French marine leagues (twenty to a degree) running east from New York harbor, carry us beyond Block Island, and indeed a short dis- tance beyond Martha's Vineyard.
The "triangular shape," ascribed by him to Louisa Isl- and, might perhaps be equally applicable to Block Island and to Martha's Vineyard ; but not the account he gives of its size and general appearance.
The island of Rhodes, near Asia Minor, to which Verra- zano compares his newly-discovered island, is forty-four leagues, or about one hundred and thirty miles, in circumfer- ence. Being a Mediterranean navigator, lie doubtless knew it well from his own observation. It had become famous by the bloody and destructive assaults made upon it by Solyman, the Turkish emperor, only two years before, and would hence have naturally occurred to his thoughts, during his lonely sail along the barbarous shores of North America. He could hardly have thought of comparing that little fisherman's station, " Block Island," which is only four leagues in cir- cumference, with the magnificent island of Rhodes. It is certainly less. difficult to suppose, that he may have been led by some association of ideas to compare it with Martha's Vineyard, which, being sixty statute miles in circumference, comes somewhat nearer to the size of Rhodes. It presents a very agreeable and diversified aspect, and is covered with little ranges of hills interspersed with plains, and has always been well peopled.
Several authors have found difficulty in adopting this opinion regarding Verrazano's "Louisa Island," for the reason, that Martha's Vineyard lies far to the east of the . . entrance of Narraganset Bay, while Verrazano would seem,
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EXPEDITION OF VERRAZANO, 1524.
from his account, not to have entered this bay until after he had passed beyond this island. Verrazano relates, that after having descried his "Louisa Island," he entered another most " beautiful port" fifteen leagues distant. These au- thors have supposed that this fifteen leagues' sail must have been, like the former course, in an eastern direction ; and since, in this direction from Martha's Vineyard, no such " beautiful port" could be reached, they have concluded that Louisa Island must be Block Island, which lies west of Narraganset Bay, and from which this beautiful port could be reached on an eastern course. . They seem not to have considered, that the " fifteen leagues' sail" from " Louisa Island," could as well be in a western direction ; which, indeed, is quite clearly indicated by Verrazano's report. He says : " that he could not anchor and go on shore on Louisa Island, because the wind became contrary" (per contraricta del tempo). A contrary wind, in his situation, was, of course, a wind from the east. It was perhaps an eastern gale which forced him to look out for a harbor. He was beaten back from Martha's Vineyard ; and so quite naturally was carried, by a north-western course, into Narraganset Bay .*
That the "beautiful port" (bellissimo porto) which Ver- razano thus reached after a fifteen leagues' sail toward the north-west from Martha's Vineyard, was Narraganset Bay, and more especially Newport harbor, is evident from the de- scription he gives of this port, and from other circumstances.
This port he represents as situated in the parallel of Rome, 41º 40' N. (in grade 41 e duo terzi). The latitude of New- port is nearly the same, being 41º 30'. Such accurate obser- vation of latitude is seldom found at that time. From this correct statement of the latitude of Newport, and the other
* Mr. J. W. Jones, in a note on p. 64 of his edition of " Divers Voyages," partially adopts this view, though not very decidedly.
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EXPEDITION OF VERRAZANO, 1524.
of Cape Fear before mentioned, we have cause to regret that Verrazano should have given us no other observations of this kind in his narrative.
He says further, that the outlet of the port to the ocean looked toward the south, and that there the harbor was "half a league broad." This is exactly the width and direction of the passage from Newport harbor toward the sea. He also mentions several times a small island near the harbor where his ship was riding (una isoletta vicina alle nave) ; which cor- responds with Goat Island, lying near Newport.
He stayed there a fortnight, providing his vessels with necessaries, and carrying on a friendly intercourse and trade with the Indians. This is the longest stay which Verrazano made at any place on our coast.
He made several excursions into the interior, and gives an accurate description of its appearance, its open and fertile fields, meadows, and groves. He sailed also into the north- ern parts of the bay, and ascertained that it became larger, and was twenty leagues in circumference ; he counted five islands in it, and says that the largest fleets might ride safely between them ; * all which corresponds to existing facts in regard to Newport, and confirms the supposition that this was the spot visited by him.
Verrazano was the first European, after the Northmen, who came to this harbor ; and it is remarkable how perfectly he corroborates their description of the beauty of the country, and the richness of its vines and grapes, which he mentions several times.
* Some writers (for instance Dr. Miller, in the Collections of the New York Historical Society, p. 21, seq., New York, 1811), have thought that it was not the Bay of Narraganset and Newport, but the Bay of New York, which was here meant. I think that it has been shown above, that this view cannot be correct.
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EXPEDITION OF VERRAZANO, 1524.
He left this port on the 5th of May, which is the only date he gives us during his whole survey of our east coast. Allow- ing a fortnight for this stay in Newport, and a few days more for his sail from New York, we may fix the date of his arrival in New York Bay at the middle of April.
From Narraganset Bay, Verrazano coasted a "hundred and fifty leagues " along a country " somewhat higher, with certain mountains." This country, no doubt, is New Eng- land. At first, for about fifty leagues, he found the coast running to the east, "trending afterwards to the north," in the vicinity of Cape Cod. Though he kept, as he says, always in sight of the shore, still his letter affords no indica- tion of any port or harbor made or discovered by him along the coast of New England ; but his description of his sail northward, after having rounded Cape Cod, points unmis- takably to this region.
I here present in full Verrazano's report relating to this territory, because it is the first detailed description of the coast of the Gulf of Maine, which has been given by any Euro- pean traveler. I copy it from the translation of the letter in Ramusio, found in Hakluyt's Voyages, vol. 3, p. 295, London, 1600. The Magliabecchian copy gives it nearly in the same words as Ramusio.
Verrazano's Description of the Coast of the Gulf of Maine.
" Trending afterwards to the north (after Cape Cod), we found another land high, full of thicke woods, the trees there of firres, cipresses and such like as are wont to grow in cold Countreys. The people differ much from the other, and looke how much the former seemed to be curteous and gentle, so much were these full of rudenesse and ill manners, and so barbarous, that by no signes that ever we could make, would we have any kind of traffike with them. They cloth
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themselves with Beares skinnes and Luzernes and Seales and other beastes skinnes. Their food, as farre as we could per- ceive, reparing often to their dwellings, we suppose to be by hunting and fishing, and of certaine fruits, which are a kind of roots, which the earth yeeldeth of her own accord. They have no graine, neithier saw we any kind of signe of tillage, neither is the land for the barrenesse thereof, apt to beare fruit or seed. If at any time we desired by exchange to have any of their commodities, they used to come to the seashore upon certain craggy rocks, and we standing in our boats, they let down with a rope, what it pleased them to give us, crying continually that we should not approache to the land, demand- ing immediately the exchange, taking nothing but knives, fishhookes, and tooles to cut withall, neither did they make any account of our courtesie. And when we had nothing left to exchange with them, when we departed from them, the people showed all signes of discourtesie and disdaine, as were possible for any creature to invent. We were in dispight of them two or three leagues within the land, being in number twenty-five armed men of us. And when we went on shore they shot at us with their bowes, making great outcries, and afterwards fled into the woods.
" We found not in this land anything notable or of impor- tance, saving very great woods and certaine hills ; they may have some mineral matter in them, because we saw many of them have beadstones of Copper hanging at their eares. We departed from thence, keeping our course north-east along the coast, which we found more pleasant champion and without woods, with high mountains within the land. Continuing directly along the coast for the space of fifty leagues, we dis- covered thirty-two Islands, lying all neere the land, being small and pleasant to the view, high, and having many turn- ings and windings betweene them, making many fair harbo-
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EXPEDITION OF VERRAZANO, 1524.
roughs and chanels as they do in the gulfe of Venice, in Scla- vonia and Dalmatia. We had no knowledge or acquaintance with the people : we suppose they are of the same manners and nature as the others are. Sayling North-east for the space of one hundred and fiftie leagues, we approached the land, that in times past was discovered by the Britons, which is in fiftie degrees."
Rounding Cape Cod with a fair and favorable southerly or south-easterly wind,* and keeping the distant country in sight, Verrazano, having crossed the Bay of Massachusetts, must have touched the shore at some place in the inner corner of the Gulf of Maine, probably in the vicinity of Portsmouth, where he appears to have made some stay. Departing thence, he changed his course from a northern to a north-eastern direc- tion along the shore, and soon came in sight of "high moun- tains within the land." These " high mountains" were prob- ably the " White Mountains" of New Hampshire, which were often observed and mentioned by old navigators sailing along our coast. They cannot be seen from the sea near Ports- mouth ; but after this port has been passed, they soon become visible along the coast, from the neighborhood of Saco to the region of the Kennebec. This circumstance makes it nearly certain, that Verrazano touched our coast near Portsmouth, and had there his first landing-place, in his cruise along the coast of the Gulf of Maine.
He was struck there by the more northern aspect of the country. He found " firres and other trees, wont to grow in cold countreys." He found the country not apt to bear fruit
* After having left Narraganset Bay, Verrazano says ( Hakluyt l. c.), that for some time he did not land in any place " because the weather served his turn for sailing." This expression appears to indicate a wind of the description given above.
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or seed, nor anything of importance, saving great woods, for which the State of Maine has always been famous.
And as to the inhabitants, while those in the south had been courteous and gentle, these in the north were rude, ill- mannered, and unfriendly.
In fact, all the inhabitants of this northern country were in a state of irritation and hostility against the white men ; from which I conclude, that the country had been previously visited by Europeans, whose treatment had disaffected the natives. For nearly everywhere in the new world, where Europeans first landed, their reception by the natives was kind, like that experienced by Columbus on his arrival in Guanahani ; while, on the contrary, where the two races had repeatedly come in contact, a hostile disposition was man- ifested, such as Verrazano met with on the coast of Maine.
Newfoundland, Cape Breton, and Nova Scotia, in 1524, had often been visited by the French and Portuguese, from the beginning of the sixteenth century, either in catching fish, or driven by contrary winds; and some of them may have been driven to the coast of Maine, not more than about one hundred leagues distant from their most western fishing- banks.
This is still more probable from another circumstance men- tioned by Verrazano; that whilst the natives of the south did " not care at all for steele or yron" instruments, those in the north were very eager to possess them, and accordingly must have already learned their use. " They would take nothing,'' Verrazano says, " but knives, fish-hooks, and whatever would cut."
European commerce and barter had, therefore, commenced before the time of Verrazano's expedition to this coast.
Departing from his landing-place on the coast of the Gulf of Maine, Verrazano, as he sailed along the shore in a north-
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EXPEDITION OF VERRAZANO, 1524.
east direction, found the country more pleasant. The coast of Maine is still found more diversified and attractive, than the more uniform shores of the south. And its interest is increased by the distant view of high mountains within the land, which, no doubt, as has been said, were the White Mountain range.
From Saco Bay the coast of Maine begins to be broken up into those innumerable headlands, tongues, peninsulas, and islands, which form one of its most characteristic features. Verrazano, as he sailed along, counted thirty-two islands, very pleasant to the view, and having many turnings and windings between them, making many fair harbors and channels. And thinking of his cruise in the Mediterranean, the theatre of his former exploits, compared them very appropriately to the coasts of Dalmatia and Sclavonia in the Adriatic, which have very similar indentations, and are equally full of islands. He does not appear, however, to have landed again; so that it remains doubtful whether he ever trod the territory of Maine. His last landing-place, where, with twenty-five armed men, he went two or three leagues into the interior, having been "in the vicinity of Portsmouth," it is doubtful whether it was upon the soil of New Hampshire or Maine.
The characteristic beauties of the coast of Maine must have made a strong impression upon the mind of Verrazano. For while he speaks of them in high terms and describes them minutely, he has for Nova Scotia, Newfoundland, and the remainder of his voyage, only these few words : "Sailing north-east (from the coast of Maine) for the space of 150 leagues, we approached to the lande that in times past was discovered by the Britons, which is in fiftie degrees. Having now spent all our provisions and victuals, and having discov- ered about seven hundred leagues and more of new Coun- treys, and being furnished with water and wood, we concluded to returne into France."
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EXPEDITION OF VERRAZANO, 1524.
He entered the port of Dieppe early in July, 1524 .* His whole exploring expedition, from Madeira and back, had ac- cordingly lasted but five and a half months, and may be called a most prosperous and rapid excursion.
Though Verrazano says that he discovered a new country, " which had never been seen by any one, either in ancient or modern times," and though he never mentions either the name of America, which in his time had come into use, or the name of " Occidental Indies," by which the Spaniards at that time called America ; still from the description which he gives of the new country, f it is evident, that he was quite aware of having touched a part of the regions designated by these names. He says that this country, of which he had discovered a part, and of which the Spaniards and Portu- guese had discovered the rest, is so large, that it might well be called another world (un altro mondo), and that even at the beginning of his voyage he " expected to find some such an obstacle," though he did not doubt " that he should pene- trate by some passage to the Eastern Ocean." How far dis- tant he thought this " Eastern Ocean " to be, he does not say, but only that the breadth of his newly discovered coun- try is not ascertained. That he thought himself niuch nearer to the Eastern Ocean and to China, than he really was, is clear from several of his observations. He thought that the savages, whom he saw on our east coast, were, in some of their qualities, " like the people of the east parts of the world, and especially like them of the uttermost parts of China." He thought, also, that " these new countries were not alto- gether destitute of the drugs and spicery, pearls and gold,"
* His report, which he at once sent to the king, is dated "on board the ship Delphin, in the port of Dieppe in Normandy, the 8th of July, 1524."
t In the additional notes to his report found in the Magliabecchisn library. See Cogswell's edition, I. c. p. 65 seq.
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supposed to belong to the eastern world. He hoped that certain information on these points would soon be obtained by new undertakings to the same coasts.
Verrazano's voyage-with that of Gomez, soon to be men- tioned-is to us the most interesting maritime undertaking made to our east coast during the first half of the sixteenth century ; principally, because it is the only one of this period upon which we have a full written report, composed by an eye-witness, himself the well-instructed commander of the ex- pedition. The account is, therefore, invaluable. Still the most precious part of what Verrazano wrote respecting his voyage, has not been preserved, namely, that little book (un libretto) which he says he sent to the king, having noted in it all his observations of longitude and latitude, of the cur- rents, ebb and flood of the sea, and other matters, which he hoped would be serviceable to navigators, and be pro- motive of science .*
Ramusio informs us, t that Verrazano made another voyage to the shores of the new world, where he was killed in a bat- tle with the natives. Though we have no original document in which this is affirmed, still it is probable, for many reas- ons, that a second expedition was really made .;
The first is the statement of Ramusio himself, a contempo- rary and countryman of Verrazano, and who lived among the very men with whom Verrazano, would be in correspond- ence, and who would be likely to know his fate.
Further, the tenor of Verrazano's own report, which is very favorable to the country he had discovered, in respect
* See Mr. Cogswell's edition of Verrazano's letter, l. c. p. 52. t " Discorso," etc., vol. 3, fol. 417 B.
# Mr. G. W. Greene, in his " Life and Voyages of Verrazano " (in North American Review, 1837, p. 304), collects, in a very complete and able man- ner, all the reasons and circumstances which make a second voyage of Verrazano nearly certain.
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EXPEDITION OF VERRAZANO, 1524.
to its nature, its climate and fertility, its general aspect, and even its aboriginal inhabitants, shows an inclination on the part of the author to go out again to these regions, and even to persuade his king to make a settlement there. " In a short time," he repeats once more at the end of his report,* " we shall have, I hope, more certain knowledge of these things, by the aid of your majestie."
Ramusio does not pretend that Verrazano made his second voyage as commander, and in the service of the king of France. The affairs of France and of Francis I. fell into a very confused and desperate state soon after Verrazano's return, and after the battle of Pavia at the beginning of 1525 ; Verrazano may, therefore, have early discovered, that there was no chance for him of employment in France. For this and other reasons it is not unlikely, that, as some have thought, he may after a time have emigrated from France, proceeded to England, and entered the service of Henry VIII ; and that he may have been the "Italian pilot," who is said by Her- rera to have been killed by the Indians on a subsequent English expedition to the east coast of America, of which we shall soon speak. t
But with regard to Verrazano's ultimate fate, the opinions of authors have been very widely different. Some have thought that, not receiving the promotion he had expected in France, he returned to Italy and died there ; others, that he was taken by the Spaniards and hanged as a " corsario " (pirate). #
* See Cogswell, I.c. p. 67.
t This, to a certain degree, is made probable by Mr. Biddle in his Me- moir of Cabot, p. 278 seq.
# This is said by Barcia, Ensayo Chronol. de la Florida, p. 8. Madrid, 1723.
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