he called Rio de San Salvador; built a small fort 1526. on its banks; and detached some soldiers up the river, under the command of Alvarez Ramon. This officer and some of his people were killed by the natives. Cabot next sailed about thirty leagues up the Paraguay, and built a fort at the mouth of a river, issuing from the mountains of Tucuman, and called it, The Fort Santi Spiritus; but it is generally called by historians, Cabot's Fort. Sending dispatches to the emperor, with the silver that he' had collected, he remained at Paraguay two years; discovered about two hundred leagues on that river; and, leaving Nuno de Lara the command of the Returns to fort Santi Spiritus with one hundred and twenty men, returned to Spain. ' Spain. Previously to this time, Thomas Tison, an Eng- Erglish lishman, had found the way to the West Indies, trade in the 1 Herrera, iii. 381. Harris Voy. i. 272. Charlevoix Paraguay, i. 31 -35- Charlevoix [ibid. 36-39.] tells an affecting story of the fate of this garrison, which, though it has the air of romance, is not incredible. Mangora, prince of the Timbuez (an Indian nation in the neighbourhood of Cabot's fort), becoming enamoured with Lucy Miranda, a Spanish lady, the wife of Sebastian Hurtado, (one of the principal officers of the fort), in order to obtain possession of her, laid a plot for the destruction of the gar rison. Taking advantage of the absence of Hurtado, who was detached with another officer, named Ruiz Moschera, and 50 soldiers, to collect provisions, he placed 4000 men in a marsh, and went with 30 others, loaded with refreshments, to the gates of the fort, which were readily opened for their admittance. Lara, the Spanish governor, in token of gratitude, gave them an entertainment, at the close of which, late at night, Mangora giv ing directions to his attendants to set fire to the magazines of the fort, the 4000 men, at this preconcerted signal, rushed in to the massacre. Most of the Spaniards were killed in their sleep. Lara, though wounded, espying the treacherous prince, made up to him, and ran him through the body, but was intercepted in his flight, and killed. Not a living person was now left in the fort, excepting Miranda, four other women, and as many children, all of whom were tied, and brought before Siripa, the brother and successor of Mangora. At the sight of Miranda, he conceived for her the same passion, which had proved fatal to his brother. On the return of Hurtado, Siripa ordered him to be tied to a tree, and there shot to death with arrows. Miranda, throwing herself at the feet of the tyrant, by her suppliant charms procured her husband's release. The Indian prince indulged them a restricted intercourse; but the boundaries being passed, he instantly condemned Miranda to the flames, and Hurtado to the torturing death, which he had but lately escaped. Moschera now embarked with the poor remnant of his garrison, and Cabot's fort was abandoned, W. Indies English voyage, and was resident there; whence it is conjectured, that the English merchants already carried on a clandestine trade with those parts of America.* 1527. The scheme for discovering a passage to the East Indies by the northwest being resumed in England, May 20, a voyage was made, by the advice of Robert Thorne of Bristol, with two ships, furnished out by king Henry VIII; but it proved disastrous. One of the ships was lost in a dangerous gulf between the to New- northern parts of Newfoundland and the country, foundland, afterward called by queen Elizabeth, Meta Incogni ta. The second ship, after the loss of the first, shaped its course toward Cape Breton3 and the coast of Arambec or Norumbega. The navigators went and Notumbega. 1 Hakluyt, iii. 500. This fact was discovered by Hakluyt in “a certaine note or letter of remembrance, written 1526, by master Nicholas Thorne, a principall marchant of Bristol, unto his friend and factour Tho mas Midnall," then at St. Lucar in Andalusia. It appears, that to the Tison above mentioned Thorne sent armour and other commodities, specified in that letter. "This Thomas Tison," says Hakluyt, " (so farre as I can conjecture) may seeme to have bene some secret factour for M. Thorne and other English marchants in those remote partes; whereby it is prob able that some of our marchants had a kinde of trade to the West Indies even in those ancient times and before also." 12 Gulf of St. Lawrence. Brit. Emp. Introd. p. vii. 3 Forster [Voy. 289.] concludes, that as Cape Breton was called by this name at so early a period, it must have been thus named by Sebastian Cabot in his voyage of 1497. But it is more probable, that it received its frame from the Bretons, of Bretagne in France, who early fished on the neighbouring coast. [See Annals, p. 33.] Forster himself [431.] mentions thie supposition, without stricture. 4 The situation of this coast Forster [Voy. 290.] confesses, is entirely unknown to him; but he "rather supposes it to be the coast of what is now called Nova Scotia, or perhaps of even a more southerly region." Purchas [v. 1632.] says, " Pemptegoet is that place, so famous under the name of Norombega." M. Rene Laudonniere [Hakluyt, i. 305.] says, that the country, discovered by Verrazzano in 1524, extends from 25 to 54 deg. north lat. and in longitude from 210 to 330; and that " the easterne part thereof is called by the late writers, The Land of Norumbega, which beginneth at the Bay of Gamo, which separateth it from the Isle of Canada." Charlevoix [Nouv. France, i. 113.] says, that M. Denys divided all the easfern and northern parts of Canada into four provinces, the first of which reached from Pentagoet to the river of St. John, and was what had before been called Norumbega : « La premiere, depuis Pentagoët, jusqu'à la Riviere de S. Jean il la nomme la Province des Etechemins, & c'est ce qu' on appelloit auparavant la Norimbegue." 1 frequently on shore, and explored those regions, 1528. of P. de Pamphilo de Narvaez, having obtained from Expedition Charles V the indefinite grant of all the lands ly- Narvaez to ing from the river of Palms to the Cape of Florida,” Florida. sailed in March from Cuba with five ships and four hundred men, for the conquest of that country.* Landing at Florida, he marched to Apalache, a vil- April 12. lage, consisting of forty cottages, where he arrived on the fifth of June. Having lost many of his men by the natives, who harassed the troops on their march, and with whom they had one sharp engagement, he was obliged to direct his course toward the sea. Sailing to the westward, he was lost with many others, in a violent storm, about the middle of November; and the enterprise was frustrated.* 1 Hakluyt, i. 517; ii. 129. Robertson, book ix. 23. Forster, 289. Biblioth. Americ. Anno 1527. Hakluyt informs us, that Master Robert Thorne, " a notable member and ornament of his country," exhorted the king with "very waightie and substantiall reasons, to set forth a discoverie even to the North pole ;" that " this his motion took present effect;" and that " a Canon of S. Paul in London, which was a great mathemati cian, and a man indued with wealth, did much advance the action, and went therein himself in person." The imperfection of the account of that voyage Hakluyt ascribes to " the negligence of the writers of those times, who should have used more care in preserving the memories of the wor thie acts of our nation." 2. He sailed from St. Lucar to Cuba 16 June, 1527, with 600 men, but he left more than 140 at St. Domingo. Purchas, v. 1499. His commis sion authorised him to conquer and govern the Provinces within the pres scribed limits. Ibid. 3" Small low cottages, so built by reason of continuall tempests." Purehas, i. 774. 4 Purchas, i. 769; and v. 1499-1528, where there is an entire account of this voyage, as also in Harris Voy. i. 790—805. Univ. Hist. xl. 381; xli. 469. Herrera, iii. 418; iv. 27, 28; v. 91-105. Charlevoix Nouv. France, i. p. xix. Venegas California, i. 142. Prince Chron. Introd. 87. From the bay of Santa Cruz, where they landed, to the place of their em barkation 22 September, it is computed, that they marched above 800 miles. Narvaez is supposed to have been lost near the mouth of the Missisippi. His people, with great difficulty, provided a kind of boats, to cross the rivers in their way, making their ropes of horse hair, and their Pizarro, having made very extensive discoveries in Peru,' went to Spain, by agreement of the joint adventurers, to ask a commission from Charles V, for the conquest and government of that country; and, on giving information to the emperor of his discoveries and purposes, and presenting his request, was appointed governor, captain general, and adelantado of all the country, which he had discovered, with supreme authority." 1529. Cortes, having gone to Spain the preceding year,3 now signed an instrument, which had also the signature of the empress of Spain, by which he obliged himself to send ships at his own expense, for the discovery of countries and lands in the South Sea. 4 sails of the soldiers' shirts. In conclusion, 15 only were left alive, 4 of whom, after suffering almost incredible miseries, arrived 8 years afterward at Mexico. The bay of Pensacola is said, by the Spaniards, to have been discovered in this expedition by Narvaez, who landed there. Ibid. 1 See A. D. 1525. He was absent three years on these discoveries, and returned to Panama about the end of 1527. Herrera, iv. 6. Charlevoix [Nouv. France, i. p. xix.] says, he discovered about 200 leagues of the Peruvian coast, even to the port of Santo beyond the district of Quito. The sickliness of those regions, and the hardships of the adventurers, may be inferred from the extraordinary mortality, that prevailed among them. Pizarro carried out 112 men, Almagro 70. In less than nine months 130 of these died. Few fell by the sword; most of them perished by diseases. Robertson, iii. Note II. 2 Vega, 435. 3 He went to Castile in great pomp, carrying 250,000 marks of gold and silver, and was honourably received by the emperor, who conferred on him the vale of Atrisco in New Spain, with new titles, and extended powers. Herrera, iv. 22-26. Harris Voy. i. 272. Venegas California, i. 133. 4 Venegas, i. 133. Cortes had, in 1527, sent Saavedra with three ships from New Spain, to find a passage that way to the Moluccas. One of the ships arrived safely at these islands, and returned the same way back to Panama this year (1529), laden with spices. This voyage prepar ed the Spaniards to possess themselves of the Philippine Islands, in the In dian seas, which they hold to this day. Anderson, Hist. Commerce, . 51. Harris Voy. i. 272. 1530. with Brasil. William Hawkins of Plymouth having commen- English ine eed a friendly intercourse with the natives of Bra- tercourse sil, one of the kings of that country voluntarily accompanied him to England, where he was introduced to Henry VIII at Whitehall." I 1531. Spain. Pizarro, returning from Spain, landed at Nom- Pizarro rebre de Dios, marched across the isthmus of Pana- turns from ma; and joining Almagro and Luque, these three enterprising associates, by the utmost efforts of their combined interests, fitted out three small vessels, with one hundred and eighty soldiers. With this contemptible armament Pizarro sailed, to invade a February. great empire. Landing at the bay of St. Matthew, invasion of he advanced toward the south along the sea cost; Peru. and, after various disasters, reached the province of Coaque, and surprised and plundered the principal settlement. Continuing his march along the coast, he attacked the natives with such violence, as compelled them either to retire into the interior country, or to submit to the conqueror; and met with little resistance, until he attacked the island of Puna, in the bay of Guayquil, whose inhabitants defended themselves with such obstinate valour, that he spent six months in their reduction. He next proceeded to Tumbez, where he remained several months. 1 Hakluyt, i. 520. Purchas, v. 1179."-at the sight of whome," says Hakluyt," the king and all the nobilitie did not a little marveile, and not without cause for in his cheekes were holes made according to their sav age manner, and therein small bones were planted, standing an inch out from the said holes, which in his own countrey was reputed for a great braverie. He had also another hole in his nether lippe, wherein was set a precious stone about the bignesse of a pease. All his apparell, behaviour and gesture, were very strange to the beholders." The change of air and diet so affected him, that on his return with Hawkins he died at sea. Ibid. 2 Robertson, iii. book vi, |