1602. attempting to double a point, came suddenly into shoal water, and called the place Point Care. While at anchor here, they Point Care. were visited by the natives. In surveying the coast, they dis Gilbert's Point. Martha's Gosnold's Elizabeth Island in 42° 20'. covered breakers off a point of land, which they named Gilbert's Point; and, passing it on the 19th of May, anchored about a league to the westward of it. On the 21st they discovered an island, which they called Martha's Vineyard. Coming to anchor, Vineyard. two days afterward, at the northwest part of this island, they were visited the next morning by 13 of the natives, with whom they had a friendly traffic. On the 24th they discovered another Dover Cliff. island, which they called Dover Cliff; and the next day came to anchor, a quarter of a mile from the shore, in a large bay, which they called Gosnold's Hope. On the northern side of it was the main; and on the southern, four leagues distant, was a large island, which, in honour of the queen, they called Elizabeth. A little to the northward of this island was a small one, which they called Hill's Hap; and on the opposite northern shore a similar elevation, which they called Hap's Hill. On the 28th they consulted together upon a fit place for a plantation; and concluded to settle on the western part of Elizabeth Island. In this island there is a pond of fresh water, two miles in circumference, in the centre of which is a small rocky islet; and here Here they they began to erect a fort and store house. While the men were occupied in this work, Gosnold crossed the bay in his vessel; went on shore; trafficked amicably with the natives; and, having discovered the mouths of two rivers, returned in five days to the island. In 19 days the fort and store house were finished; but, discontents arising among those who were to have remained in the country, it was concluded, after deliberate consultation, to All return relinquish the design of a settlement; and the whole company to England. returned to England.2 build a fort and house. June 18. 1 Point Care is supposed by Dr. Belknap to be Malebarre, or Sandy Point, forming the southeastern extremity of the county of Barnstable in Massachusetts. Martha's Vineyard was not the island which now bears that name; but a small island, now called No-Man's Land. Dover's Cliff was Gay Head. Gosnold's Hope was Buzzard's Bay. The narrator in Purchas says, it is "one of the stateliest sounds that ever I was in." Elizabeth island was the westernmost of the islands, which now bear the name of Elizabeth Islands. Its Indian name is Cuttyhunk. Belknap, Biog. Art. GOSNOLD. One of the two rivers, discovered by Gosnold, was that near which lay Hap's Hill; and the other, that on the banks of which the town of New Bedford is now built. Coll. Hist. Soc. iv. 234. The two harbours of Apooneganset and Pascamanset. Belknap. 2 Purchas, i. 755; v. 1646-1653. Hubbard, MS. N. Eng. c. 2. Mather, Magnal. b. 1. p. 3. Belknap, Biog. ii. 100-122, where the errors in his own first account of Gosnold [in Amer. Biog. i. 231-239.] are corrected. Harris' Voy. i. 816. Smith, Virg. 16-18. Joselyn, Voy. 152, 157, 243. Prince, Chron. Introd. 1602. Univ. Hist. xxxix. 269, 270. Brit. Emp. i. 254. "The 13th beganne some of our companie that before vowed to stay, to make revolt; whereupon the planters diminishing, all was given over.' Purchas. In 1797, Dr. Belknap with several other gentlemen went to the spot which was selected by to search Sir Walter Raleigh, not abandoning all hope of the Virginia 1602. colony, made one effort more for its discovery and relief. Having purchased and fitted out a bark, he sent, on that benevolent Raleigh enterprise, Samuel Mace, an able mariner of Weymouth, who sail- sends again ed from Weymouth in March; fell on the American coast in about for the Vir the 34th degree of north latitude; spent a month there; proceeded along the coast; but returned home without any thorough attempt to effect the purpose of this voyage.1 ginia col ony. THE discovery, made by Gosnold, was an incitement to farther 1603. adventures. By the persuasion of Mr. Richard Hakluyt, and Voyage of with the leave of Sir Walter Raleigh, the mayor and aldermen, M. Pring. and some of the most considerable merchants of Bristol, raised a stock of £1000, and fitted out a ship of about 50 tons, called the Speedwell, and a bark of 26 tons, called the Discoverer, under the command of Martin Pring, for the fuller discovery of the northern parts of Virginia. The ship, carrying 30 men and boys, the bark 13 men and a boy, both victualled for eight April 10. months, sailed on the 10th of April from Milford Haven. In Sails. the beginning of June, they fell in with the American coast between the 43d and 44th degrees of north latitude, among a multitude of islands, in the mouth of Penobscot Bay. Ranging the coast to the southwest, and passing the Saco, Kennebunk, York, and Piscataqua rivers, they proceeded into the Bay of Massachusetts. Going on shore, but not finding any sassafras, the collection of which was the chief object of their voyage, they sailed into a large sound, and coasted along the north side of it; but, not satisfied in their expectation, they sailed over it, and came to Gosnold's company on Elizabeth Island, and "had the supreme satisfaction to find the cellar of Gosnold's store house; the stones of which were evidently taken from the neighbouring beach; the rocks of the islet being less moveable, and lying in ledges." Belknap, Biog. ii. 115. In a map, entitled, "The South part of New England, as it is planted this yearée, 1634," inserted in the first edition of Wood's New England Prospect, I find a place near Narraganset Bay, named Old Plymouth; and in the same map the Plymouth, settled in 1620, is denominated New Plymouth. It hence appears, that Gosnold's ephemeral settlement (though not correctly placed in this map) was kept some time in remembrance in New England. Hutchinson [Hist. Mass. i. 1.], speaking of Gosnold's settlement, observes : "This I suppose is what Joselyn, and no other author, calls the first colony of New Plymouth, for he says it was begun in 1602, and near Narraganset Bay." Joselyn's account [Voy. 157.] is: "At the further end of Narraganset Bay by the mouth of the river on the south side thereof, was old Plymouth plantation anno 1602." 1 Purchas, v. 1653. This was the fifth time that Raleigh sent, at his own charges, to the succour of the colony left in Virginia in 1587. "At this last time, to avoid all excuse, hee bought a barke, and hired all the companie for wages by the moneth;" but they "fell fortie leagues to the southwestward of Hataraske, in 34 degrees or thereabout; and having there spent a moneth, when they came along the coast to seeke the people, they did it not, pretending that the extremitie of weather, and losse of some principal ground-tackle, forced and feared them from searching the Port of Hataraske, to which they were sent." Lands his 1603. anchor on the north side. Here they landed at an excellent harbour in a bay, which, in honour of the mayor of Bristol, they called Whitson Bay. Having built a hut, and enclosed it with a barricade, some of them kept constant guard in it, while others were employed in collecting sassafras in the woods. They were where they visited by the natives, whom they treated with kindness. After remaining here seven weeks, the bark was despatched, well freighted with sassafras, for England. Some alarming appearances of hostility on the part of the Indians, soon after the departure of the bark, accelerated the lading and departure of the ship, which sailed from the coast on the 9th of August.1 erect and fortify a hut. May 10. sails for Virginia. Nov. 8. De Monts 46° N. lat: from 40 to Dec. 18. While Pring was employed in this voyage, Bartholomew Gilbert went on a farther discovery to the southern part of Virginia; intending also to search for the lost English colony. Sailing from Plymouth on the 10th of May, in a bark of 50 tons, by the way of the West Indies, he on the 23d of July saw land in about the 40th degree of latitude. Adverse winds preventing him from reaching Chesapeak Bay, at which he aimed, he came to anchor on the 29th about a mile from the shore, and landed with four of his principal men; but every one of them was killed by the natives. The rest of the crew, intimidated by this disaster, weighed anchor, and returned to England.2 Henry IV. of France granted to Pierre du Gast, Sieur de Monts, a gentleman of his bed chamber, a patent of the American territory from the 40th to the 46th degree of north latitude, constituting him lieutenant general of that portion of the country, with power to colonize and to rule it, and to subdue and Christianize its native inhabitants. The king soon after granted him and his associates an exclusive right to the commerce of peltry, in Acadie and the Gulf of St. Lawrence.3 1 Purchas, v. 1654-1656. Belknap, Biog. ii. 123-133. Smith, Virg. 18. Beverly, 17. Stith, 32. Prince, 1603. Brit. Emp. i. Introd. 21. The place in Massachusetts Bay, where they landed, was named the year before by Gosnold's men, Savage Rock. The large sound into which they next sailed is called in Purchas a 66 great gulf," which, according to Belknap, was the Vineyard Sound. The harbour at which they landed, as described in the Journal in Purchas, "must have been that of Edgar-Town, generally called Old-Town." Note of Peleg Coffin, Esq. in Belknap, Biog. ii. 128. The place where the voyagers cast anchor, is said in Purchas to be "in the latitude of 41 degrees and odd minutes." One of the birch canoes of the natives who visited them was carried home to Bristol, as a curious specimen of their ingenuity. 2 Purchas, v. 1656-1658. Prince, 1603. Stith, 33. 3 Lescarbot, Nouv. France, liv. 1. c. 1. & liv. 4. c. 1. Memoires de L'Amerique, ii. 446, 447. Chalmers, b. 1. 82. Hazard, Coll. i. 45-48, where the patent, in the original French, is inserted entire. An English translation is inserted in Purchas, v. 619, 1620; in Harris' Voy. i. 813; and in Churchill, Voy. viii. 796-798. In Churchill, it is introductory to L'Escarbot's Description of New France. De Monts was a Calvinist; but the king allowed him and his people the exercise of his religion in America. On his part, he engaged to people the country, and to establish the Catholic religion among the natives. Samuel Champlain of Brouage in France sailed up the St. Lawrence; anchored at Tadoussac; and made discoveries in the neighbouring territory.1 2 1603. Two hundred ships were at this period annually engaged in Newfoundthe Newfoundland fishery, and employed at least 10,000 men. land fishElizabeth, queen of England, died, aged 70 years; and was Death of succeeded by James I. ery. Elizabeth. De Monts. Confiscates signol. Port Mut THE SIEUR DE MONTS, taking Champlain as his pilot, and 1604. attended by M. Poutrincourt with a number of volunteer adven- Voyage of turers, embarked with two vessels for America; the one convey- March 7. ing those designed for settlement, the other intended principally for the fur trade.3 Arriving at Acadie, he confiscated an inter- May 6. loping vessel in one of its harbours, which was now called Port a vessel at Rossignol. Coasting thence he arrived at another port, which Port Roshis people named Port Mutton. From this port they coasted the peninsula to the southwest; doubled Cape Sable; and came ton. to anchor in the bay of St. Mary. After 16 days, they proceeded to examine an extensive bay on the west of the peninsula, to which they gave the name of La Baye Françoise. On the Bay Fran eastern side of this bay they discovered a narrow strait, into çoise. which they entered, and soon found themselves in a spacious bason, environed with hills, and bordered with fertile meadows. Poutrincourt was so delighted with this place, that he determined to take his residence here; and, having received a grant of it from De Monts, he called it Port Royal. From Port Royal Port Royalı De Monts sailed farther into the great bay, to visit a copper mine. Champlain in the mean time, in examining this bay pursuant to the instructions of De Monts, came to a great river, Charlevoix, Nouv. France, i. 111, 112. The country described in the patent of 2 Biog. Britan. Art. GILBERT, from Josiah Child's Discourse on Trade. This estimate includes seamen, fishermen, and shoremen. They were accustomed to sail in March, and to return in September; and to spend every winter at home what they acquired in their summer fishery, that is upwards of £100,000. 3 Mem. de l'Amerique "l'un destiné à former un établissement dans les lieux de sa concession... l'autre destiné principalement pour la traite des Pelleteries." Some of the adventurers were Protestants, and some, Catholics. D assembla nombre de Gentils-hommes, et de toutes sortes d'artisans, soldats et autres, tant d'une que d'autre religion, Prestres et Ministres." Champlain, Voy. 43-60. Champlain says, they were one month only in the voyage to Cap de la Héve, which lies several leagues to the eastward of Port Rossignol, in 44 deg. 5 min. After they left this cape, it appears that Champlain parted from De Monts, and went by his order in quest of a place for settlement. 16 VOL. I. St. John's river. 1604. which he called St. John. From this river he coasted the bay southwesterly 20 leagues, and came to an island in the middle of a river. De Monts, on his arrival, built a fort, and passed the winter on this island, which he called St. Croix. This situation proving very inconvenient, be, the ensuing spring, removed his settlement over the Baye Françoise to Port Royal. This was the first settlement in Acadie [Nova Scotia]; and was begun four years before the first settlement was made in Canada.2 Builds a fort at St. Croix, and winters there. 1605. KING JAMES having recently made peace with Spain, and the Voyage of passion for the discovery of a Northwest passage being now in its full vigour, a ship was sent out with a view to this discovery, G. Wey mouth. 1 Lescarbot, liv. 4. c. 2-8. Churchill, Voy. iii. 798-815. Purchas, i. 751, 752; v. 1620-1626. Champlain, 42–44. Charlevoix, Nouv. France, i. 115, & Fastes Chron. 28. Memoires de l'Amerique, i. 33, 34; Mem. concernant l'Acadie, where the removal to Port Royal is" en 1605." Harris' Voy. 813815. Belknap, Biog. Art. DE MONTS. Univ. Hist. xxxix. 411. Minot, Mass. i. 127. Port Rossignol was named from a Frenchman, who was trading there with the Indians without license; for which reason his ship and cargo were seized. Charlevoix. The harbour is on the southest side of Nova Scotia, and is now called Liverpool. Belknap. Port Mutton was so called, because a sheep leaped overboard there, and was drowned. Lescarbot. La Baye Françoise is now called, The Bay of Fundy. Port Royal is now called Annapolis. The copper mine was a high rock, on a promontory, between two bays [Menis]. Belknap. The coasting of Champlain, S. W. was along the coast of the Etechemins. "The people that be from St. John's river to Kinnibeki (wherein are comprised the rivers of St. Croix and Norombega) are called Etechemins." Lescarbot. The river St. John was called by the natives Oaygondy. Champlain. The French did not now sail 50 leagues up this river, as Dr. Belknap seems to have supposed, but in 1608. Purchas, v. 1622. The river, named by the natives Scoodick, in which the island St. Croix lies, is also called St. Croix; and, being part of the boundary between the territory of the United States and the British Province of New Brunswick, it has become a stream of great importance. After the treaty of 1783, by which the river St. Croix was made a boundary, it became a question, which was the real St. Croix; whether the river, known by the name of Scoodick, or that known by the name of Magaguadavick. It has, however, been satisfactorily determined, by Commissioners appointed for that purpose, that the Scoodick is the river, originally named St. Croix; and the line has been settled accordingly. Professor (afterwards President) Webber, who accompanied the Commissioners in 1798, informed me, that they found an island in this river, corresponding to the French descriptions of the island St. Croix, and, near the upper end of it, the remains of a very ancient fortification, overgrown with large trees; that the foundation stones were traced to a considerable extent; and that bricks (a specimen of which he showed me) were found there. These remains were, undoubtedly, the reliques of De Monts' fortification.-It is a confirmatory circumstance, that clay is known to have been found and used there, at the first settlement. Lescarbot says, M. de Poutrincourt, when at Port Royal in 1606, caused great quantities of bricks to be made, with which he made an open furnace. 2" Ce fut en 1604 que les François s'établirent en Acadie, quatre ans avant d'avoir eleve la plus petite cabane dans le Canada." Precis sur l'Amerique, 56. -De Monts returned to France in September 1605. Champlain stayed at St. Croix and Port Royal four years. Lescarbot says: "In this port [Port Royal] we dwelt three years after this voyage.' In 1607, Henry IV. confirmed to Poutrincourt the gift which De Monts had made to him of Port Royal:-" en l'an 1607 le feu Roy Henry le grand luy ratifica et confirma ce don." Champlain. See NOTE XIX. |