of the past month of January, with fifty men, furnished with provisions, arms, and other martial instruments, and naval stores for eight months. Sailing westwardly, an easterly wind blowing pleasantly and moderately, we ran in twenty-five days Soo leagues. On the fourteenth of February (il di 14 Febbrajo), we encountered a storm as severe as any one navigating ever experienced, from which were enabled

with divine help and goodness to escape, to the praise of the glorious and fortunate name of the ship, which endured the violent waves of the sea, and we pursued our voyage, continuing toward the west, holding a little to the north. In twenty-five more days (in venti cinque altri giorni), we ran 400 other leagues, when there appeared a new land, never before seen by men in ancient or modern times.

"At first it seemed to be somewhat low. On approaching it within a quarter of a league, we saw by the large fires made on the shore that it was inhabited. We observed that the coast trended toward the south, and we inspected it to discover some harbor which we might enter with the ship to examine the nature of the land, but for fifty leagues along it we could not find a convenient haven where we could safely stay. Seeing

'In Verrazzano's geographical explanation of the voyage, he assigns 62} miles to a degree and 4 miles to a marine league. According to this data, 155 marine leagues equal a degree. On Thevet's map of the fourth part of the world, printed in 1575, is a scale of leagues which shows that a marine league was double the length of a French league. With this information it is easy to ascertain the length of a degree in French leagues of Verrazzano's day; 311, according to his explanation, equalling a degree. Columbus made 50 miles equal an equinoctial degree and 60 miles equal to 15 leagues. Pigafetta assigned 17 leagues to a degree. "The land-league is three miles," he says, "the sea-league is four." The modern nautical league is one-twentieth of a degree, or three equatorial miles or 3.45785 statute miles. A sea-mile, according to the United States standard, is equal to 1.152664 common statute or land-miles. One degree of longitude at the equator is equal to 69. 160 land-miles. A French geographical league, according to Verrazzano's reckoning, equals 2 land-miles of the United States standard.

the coast continued to run toward the south, we determined to turn and go back to the north, where we found the same want of harbors as we ascended the coast."

The New Land (Nuova Terra), discovered by Verrazzano, was first seen by him on the tenth of March, (old style,) being that part of the coast of the continent now included in the present territory of North Carolina, north of Cape Fear,' on the thirty-fourth parallel of north latitude. It appears that Verrazzano had thought of finding land on his way to the Indies, for he says: "My intention in this voyage was to reach Cathay, on the extreme coast of Asia, expecting, however, to find in the newly discovered land some such obstacle as I found."

"Ordering a boat to carry us ashore, we beheld," says Verrazzano, "many people who had collected on the beach. Seeing us approaching, they fled. Some, however, turned and gazed at us with much curiosity. Assuring them by various signs, a number came near, manifesting great delight in scrutinizing the peculiarities of our clothing, figure, and whiteness. They indicated by signs where we could most easily land with the boat, and proffered us some of their food. What we were able to learn of their life and customs while on land, I will briefly relate to your majesty.

"They go nearly naked, wearing only about the loins some skins of small animals similar to the martens. A girdle of woven grass encircles the body, to which they fasten the tails of animals, which hang down as far as the knees. nude, as is also the head. in like manner made of the

All the rest of the body is Some of them wear drapery feathers of birds. The color

Cape Fear is in 33° 48′ north latitude.

of these people is black (neri), not very different from that of the Ethiopians. Their hair is black and thick, but not very long; it is worn tied back upon the head in the form of a little tail. In person they are of good proportion, of middle-stature, a little above our own, broad across the breast, strong in the arms, and wellformed in the legs and other parts of the body; the only exception to their good looks is that they have broad faces, but not all of them, for we saw many who had sharp ones, with large black eyes and a fixed expression. They are not very strong in body, but acute in mind, active and swift of foot as far as we could perceive by observation. They greatly resemble in these two last particulars the people of the East, especially those of the remote regions. We were not able to learn much concerning their habits on account of our short stay on land and the distance of our ship from the shore."

Verrazzano designated his first landing-place on the coast of the New Land by calling it Diepa, the Italian form of the French name Dieppe, that of the port from which he had sailed to make discoveries in the western hemisphere. Visconte de Maiollo, on his map of the world made in 1527, places the name Diepa on the coast of Francesca, a little north of Terra Florida."

Describing his next place of anchorage, Verrazzano says: "We found not far from this people another, whose mode of life we judged to be similar to that of

The translation of Verrazzano's letter by Joseph G. Cogswell, contained in the New York Historical Society's collections, second series, vol. i. pp. 3754, will be followed hereafter, except when a better rendering may be presented.

' Vide section of Maiollo map in the cover-pocket. The scale of latitudes on the margin of this part of the map has been appended to indicate the position given to places by Visconte de Maiollo. A similar scale is engraved on another part of the rare map.

the former. The whole shore is covered with fine sand about fifteen feet deep, rising in the form of little hills about fifty paces broad. Ascending farther, we found several arms of the sea which, entering through inlets, washed the shore on each side as the coast trends. An extensive country appears, rising somewhat above the level of the sandy beach in beautiful fields and broad plains, covered with immense forests, more or less dense, the foliage of the trees being of various colors, too attractive and charming to be described. I do not believe that these are like the Hercynian forest, or the rough solitudes of Scythia, or the northern regions full of vines and trees, but growing with palms,' laurels, cypresses, and other varieties of trees unknown in Europe, which exhale a very sweet fragrance a great distance. We could not examine them closely for the reasons already mentioned, and not on account of any difficulty in traversing the woods, which, on the contrary, are easily penetrated.

"As the Orient stretches around to this country,' I do not think that it is devoid of the same kind of drugs and aromatic liquors, nor of other resources as gold and the like, which the color of the earth indicated. The country abounds with many animals as deer, stags, hares, and the like. It is plentifully supplied with lakes and ponds of running water, and with a great variety of birds, fit and useful for every kind of pleasant and delightful sport. This land lies in 34°.

'Palmetto trees.

It was not until 1728 that this conception of the navigator was disproved. Then Vitus Behring discovered the strait which divides the two continents. The distance between East Cape in Asia and Cape Prince of Wales on the continent of America is forty-five miles.

"Nè pensiamo participando dello oriente per la circumferenza sieno senza qualche drogheria o liquore aromatico, et altre divitie oro ed altro del quale colore la terra tutta tende."