Translator's note: Words or short phrases not in the original text, but helpful to understanding, are added within [square brackets]. More extensive explanatory comments by the translator are presented within [bold square brackets]. The word mémoire, used frequently in this text, has the meaning "an explanatory text written to assert an idea." The best single word in modern English corresponding to this concept might be "essay".
New Maps of the Discoveries of Admiral De Fonte and other Spanish, Portuguese, English, Dutch, French, and Russian Mariners who have Sailed the North Seas, Including Their Commentaries.
[This mémoire] includes the history of their travels, by land and sea, in the northern regions of the world, descriptions of their routes, excerpts from marine journals, astronomical observations, and additional writings that can contribute to the advancement of knowledge in the field of exploration; with a description of the countries explored, the history and mores of their inhabitants, the types of trade possible, etc.
By Mr. [Joseph Nicolas] De L’Isle, Professor of Mathematics at the Royal College, member of the Royal Academies of Sciences in Paris, London, Berlin, Stockholm, Uppsala, and the [Royal] Institute of Bologna; also named as the first Professor of Astronomy at the Imperial Academy of Saint Petersburg.
Paris, 1753
[In later years a new age will come in which the Ocean shall relax its hold over the Earth, and a vast land shall lie open to view, and Tethys shall reveal a new world, and Thule will no longer be the last country on earth.]
Seneca, in Medea, Act 2
[In this passage from the play Medea, Seneca seems to prophesize the discovery of the “New World.”]
In writing this work, it was not my purpose to address the objections of others regarding the legitimacy of Admiral de Fonte’s voyage, or to discuss the apparent flaws and contradictions associated with it. Nevertheless, I believe that those individuals seeking only the truth, and offering their doubts in good faith and without prejudice, will find satisfaction in the information provided in these first mémoires and those to follow. However, if additional questions arise, in areas not sufficiently addressed here, they will be addressed in future articles provided the questions are well-founded and made in good faith. I am also ready to change my opinion, if it can be shown that I have been mistaken in any way.
PROLOGUE [A partial translation of this section may be found in, A Letter from a Russian Sea-Officer …, London, 1754, printed for A. Linde and sold by J. Robinson.]
Fifteen years ago [in 1738] I published, at [St.] Petersburg, a first volume of mémoires, documenting the history and intellectual progress in the fields of astronomy, geography and physics. Since then, that work might have been considerably lengthened, had I not been more interested in gathering additional material than the publication of what I already had. I was then, as always, after my arrival in Russia, deeply occupied, by order of [the Royal] Court, in gathering mémoires that could be useful in establishing a solid and complete geographical understanding of this vast empire, for the use of that nation. My brother, [Louis De L’Isle] de la Croyére, who was granted permission to accompany me into Russia, obtained orders to visit the most northern parts of that government, [a
On returning to Paris, my first task was to organize all the information I had gathered about the large expanse of still unknown lands lying between Asia and America in the North Pacific Ocean. The map of these lands, that I presented to this [Royal] Academy [of Sciences] during its public assembly on April 8th, 1750, appeared to be very well received.
These new discoveries seemed useful, as they showed a way to reach the North Pacific Ocean from both the northeast and northwest, which is currently of interest to everyone. For this reason, I was asked to publish this map and the mémoire that accompanies it, in which I give a summary of an account of the Russian voyages, in their quest for a course to America, and this is what I present to the reader. I also thought that the curious and intelligent would also enjoy the circumstantial narrative of Admiral de Fonte’s* discoveries, [information that I received] from a manuscript sent to me from England fourteen years ago. [I have used the information from it] to fill in the geographical gaps between the Russian discoveries and those more recently made in Hudson Bay and other northern regions of America, through which [explorers have sought] a passage to the Pacific Ocean.
*Footnote: The name de Fonte is Portuguese, and is the same as Fuente in Spanish. In the manuscript of the Admiral’s account that I received from London in 1739, his name was always spelled de Fonte, as it is in other books printed in England. I therefore thought it best to keep that spelling.
Shortly after returning to Paris from Russia, I submitted to Mr. [Philippe] Buache [who was the husband of the author’s step-sister], First Geographer to the King and a member of this same Royal Academy of Sciences, that part of my mémoires pertaining to geography, and left him to draw up a map to include the account of Admiral de Fonte’s voyage. It was his manuscript map that I later presented to the Academy of Sciences when I read my mémoires to them. After that, Mr. Buache had this map engraved. I realized later, as did many others, that his map was not quite in agreement with the Admiral’s account. It could be that his account was not quite detailed and precise enough in some places; or maybe some mistakes were made in the manuscript or the copies made from it; or misunderstandings could also have occurred in the translation from Spanish to English, and then again from English to French. Whatever the case, I had to redraw the map, making it as close as I could to correctly reflecting the account of Admiral de Fonte.
It is this map that I present here, as map 1 in a collection of several [four].
All these maps will be drawn, as closely as possible, to the same scale and laid down on the same projection that seems to me the most appropriate. I will explain in a future, separate article, the characteristics and advantages of this particular projection.
This first map of this work is drawn to the same scale and with the same projection as that used in the map that Mr. Buache engraved. The only difference is that on this map I have excluded much of Eastern Tartary and Siberia on [the left] side and most of North America on [the right] side, as they have little to do with the discoveries made by Admiral de Fonte and the Russians. It is these areas of discovery that I will focus on in the last three maps.
I will start this collection of mémoires with this first and most interesting map and with an abridged version of the discoveries made by the Russians and Admiral de Fonte. All this was included as part of a speech I read to the [Royal] Academy [of Sciences] during its public assembly on April 8th, 1750.
The latest edition of this letter is inserted into an English work regarding the last voyage to Hudson Bay in 1746 and 1747 in search of a Northwest Passage. [This was done] by the ship California, commanded by Captain Francis Smith. This work was written by the clerk or secretary of that vessel and it has been translated into French, but this translation has yet to be made public. [The work discussed here is titled, An Account of a Voyage for The Discovery of a North-West Passage by Hudson’s Streight to the Western and Southern Ocean of America, Performed in the Year 1746 and 1747, in the Ship California, Captain Francis Smith, Commander; by the Clerk [secretary] of the California.]
In addition to writing a detailed account of this last voyage, the author [Theodorus Swaine Drage or Charles Swaine] added many notes about this letter, his own as well as those of previous editors of that same letter. [Drage] also drew a small map of the countries discovered by Admiral de Fonte, to remedy the lack of same in the Admiral’s initial letter.
Even though [Drage’s] map was somewhat carelessly drawn, as he did not represent all that the Admiral’s letter mentions, I have included [my version of] it here. It has been reduced to the same scale and projection as my map 1, to allow for easier comparison. It is map 2 of this work.
In addition to the translation of Admiral de Fonte’s letter, I have also included [Drage’s] notes that explain his map, as well as adding my own notes, and those of others. These notes may be useful in proving the authenticity of Admiral de Fonte’s voyage, as some have disputed it, because [this written account appeared so long after the fact] and because the voyage itself appeared so difficult.
These notes will demonstrate the importance of the discoveries by Admiral de Fonte and the Russians in finding the Northwest Passage to the Pacific Ocean.
The Western Sea is known to be a specific sea located west of Canada, north of New Mexico, and south of the lands discovered by Admiral de Fonte. Information
Among the manuscripts left after his death, I found several maps on which that sea was represented in different forms, changing its appearance as my brother learned more about it through additional readings. Among those maps, I found one of North America, dated 1695, on which the Western Sea presented [my brother’s] beliefs [regarding its geography] at that time.
I found another copy of this same map, drawn more precisely than the first, on which the Western Sea was similarly represented. I thought it would be pleasing [for my readers] to see my brother’s progressing concepts regarding this Western Sea. For this reason, I have had part of my brother’s [more precise] map engraved, showing that sea and the lands surrounding it, [including] Canada, Louisiana, New Mexico, and California. This map [map 3] helps one understand what my brother knew about this sea, locating it in relation to these other lands and showing the various routes that lead to it. This map also shows all the places named in my brother’s mémoire, written to prove the existence of this sea.
I found several copies of this mémoire among my brother’s papers. They were of varying length, depending on his purpose for them. These had been presented to various ministers and individuals of importance, hoping it would encourage them to new voyages within Canada, or elsewhere, in search of that sea. As my brother died before he could publish this mémoire and before the existence of this sea could be fully confirmed, I have had it printed from a neatly hand written copy, the one presented to the Minister of Naval Affairs [Secretary of the Navy].
This copy, of which there are really two, is kept at the Depository of Naval Maps and
I will note here, for historical purposes, that my brother represented this Western Sea on a manuscript terrestrial globe, that he had the honor to present to Chancellor [Louis] Boucherat, [First Officer of the Crown, Count of Compans and Minister of Justice.] Upon the death of Mr. Boucherat, in Paris, on September 2, 1699, Mr. Jean-Baptiste Nolin, who was then Geographer to His Royal Highness, the King’s only brother, found that manuscript globe and used it to create a new wall map of the World, on several sheets, that he published in 1700.
As my brother [Guillaume] had, at that time, already published his first [printed] maps, on which he had changed the geography of almost the entire world to a more perfect representation [but without a Western Sea in North America], he easily noticed that Mr. Nolin had copied these new corrections onto his own new map of the World [e.g. as represented on Guillaume’s] first engraved maps and on his manuscript globe presented to Mr. Boucherat, on which the Western Sea was represented and as shown on map 3 presented in this mémoire. My brother was forced to sue Mr. Nolin for plagiarism. On July 19, 1706, the King’s Council of State ruled in my brother’s favor and Mr. Nolin’s plates were confiscated and [partially] destroyed. [Guillaume De l’Isle was also allowed to confiscate any of the maps already printed from these plates.]
I only mention this in case any readers saw examples of this map of the World and noted on it the Western Sea represented in a similar manner to my map 3, copied from my brother’s manuscripts, that he was the real author. This [particular] World map [by Mr. Nolin] is no longer easily found, many having been destroyed, as I just mentioned, six years after it was first published. I inform those curious to see it, that there is a copy among the Maps and Engravings in the King’s
For those that enjoy small anecdotes regarding the history of geography, I will add that Mr. Nolin’s [edited 1708] World map also had a different projection from his first. The first map used the usual stereographic projection for World maps [the projection of a sphere onto a plane], in which the eye is supposed to be on the surface of the globe, at either pole of the prime meridian [that is, the earth is projected stereographically into an Eastern and Western Hemisphere.] In his second map, Mr. Nolin, instead, uses Mr. [Philippe] de la Hire’s projection, in which the eye is raised above the earth’s surface by about 7/10 of its radius, in order to make the degrees of the Equator and some other circles almost equal to each other; [that is, in his “globular projection,” the eye is not at the pole of a sphere but on the radius produced through the pole, at a distance outside the sphere.] This does not happen in the usual stereographic projection, in which these circles are very unequal, the smaller ones being next to the center of each hemisphere.
Similarly, it is also easy to see, on Mr. Nolin’s second World map [of 1708] that the Western Sea has been significantly changed from my brother’s presentation; I will not discuss how later geographers have represented this same sea. Here I am only offering, to the reader, my brother [Guillaume’s] thoughts, with some additional information I have learned that he did not know or did not fully use.
After a general explanation regarding these four maps, the discoveries made by Admiral de Fonte and the Russians, and the Western Sea, I will next examine in more detail, the geography of North America and North Asia. I will represent these two large areas of the Earth on several different maps, on a scale large
Primarily for the opportunity to explain these maps, I will present, as announced in the title of this mémoire, the history of travels, both by land and sea, which provided the information for these areas. I will include routes of navigation, excerpts from navigational journals, astronomical observations and other geographical remarks that provided the knowledge to draw these maps and these are, so to speak, their supporting documents.
This same approach to geography should be the rule for those wishing to publish new maps. It would be best not to publish new maps of countries already delineated, unless new information becomes available or a better understanding is found from existing information.
This said, I would like to see of new authors that they have an excellent working knowledge of all the sources used in drawing their maps. They should also search for new information in their readings or make better use of information already available. It should not be difficult for authors of new maps to show these qualities. Future authors should document their geographical information by giving a detailed history of how they composed their maps, mentioning their sources, both old and new, and their reasoning in giving preference to the information they used over that which they did not.
If they have new reports of previously unknown observations before them, they should publish them and show how these new reports have confirmed or disproved information previously published.
This approach would be the best in lending credibility to their new maps, making their maps most useful to the art of geography. This approach not only provides
I will not pretend to have found and retained the knowledge from every mémoire and geographical essay ever written regarding the lands described on my maps. My research on this subject only started when Peter the Great called me to Russia, to establish the formal study of Geography and Astronomy there; and, I only really started working on the geography of this vast empire when my brother [Guillaume], the geographer, died, on January 25, 1726. My original plan, in accordance with the wishes of Peter the Great, was to gather all existing geographical mémoires located in Russia and obtain new ones to send to my brother so that he might study and write about them. On his death, just one year after that of Peter the Great, I had to do this myself, using various sources. Because at that time, I had many other duties and distractions, and, because of various other difficulties, I can only offer to the reader what time allowed me to write on this subject in the course of my twenty one years in Russia.
As for the geographical information I collected that was not related to the geography of Russia, they were of two separate types: that information I found in Russia itself, regarding its neighboring countries, and, that information which pertained to more distant lands, like North America. I only started to study this second type of information upon my return to France, as I had less interest in that information while I was in Russia and because I had found until then, only a few of these type mémoires. Since returning to France, I have found these very helpful in clarifying [information regarding] the strait between Asia and America in the North Pacific Ocean. During this same time, I have studied all the geological information concerning North America available to me.
During this endeavor, my brother’s [Guillaume’s] mémoires and manuscript maps
Within this collection [of mémoires, I have chosen to publish only] those maps and observations that are either new or truly useful to the geography on this subject. In the mémoires to follow, I will not limit myself to just geography. I want to keep to my original plan, from fifteen years ago, when I published my first volume in St. Petersburg, Memoirs to Serve the History and Progress of Astronomy, Geography and Physics. Provided I live long enough and receive the needed support, I will next write on my gathered information on the astronomy and physics regarding the history of Russia, its neighbors and its dependences, etc.
These topics will be covered over several volumes, in follow up to this mémoire. As I will not claim to have exhausted all the information regarding these subjects, or to have avoided every mistake, I will continue to call these works, mémoires; and I will not use any other organizing principle beyond that indicated by the titles of the various parts of this work.
Read in the public Assembly of the Royal Academy of Sciences on April 8, 1750, by Mr. [Joseph Nicolas] De l’Isle, a member of this same Academy.
[This section and the De Fonte letter that follows it had been previously printed, almost identically, in Bibliotheque Raisonnée Des Ouvrages des Savans de L’Europe, Tome 49, part 2, pp. 321-343, Amsterdam, 1752. Additionally, an English translation of this section may be found in, A Letter From a Russian Sea Officer …, London, 1754, printed for A. Linde, and sold by J. Robinson.]
Among the unknown lands and seas, there are none more useful to discover than those located in the North Pacific Ocean. For now over 250 years, the English and Dutch, [in hopes of] improving their lucrative trade with the East Indies, have diligently sought to find the shortest route there, be that by the northeast along the northern coasts of Tartary, or northwest, by crossing the straits discovered north of North America; but we all know the lack of progress made in both these approaches. To the northeast, the best English and Dutch mariners have only reached lands slightly to the northeast of New Zemlya and that only with great difficulty; and we learn from the last voyage to Hudson Bay that the English, who persist in believing they can reach the Pacific through this bay, have been unable to find the outlet leading to it; and if they did find [such and outlet] , they would still be 500 leagues from the closest known coast of the Pacific and without any certain knowledge whether that distance is covered by land or sea.
In northeast Asia, there are no less than 700 leagues from the eastern coast of New Zemlya to Asia’s eastern terminus at the [Arctic Sea] and, beyond this, nearly 800 leagues to Japan. Additionally, the unexplored area of the Pacific Ocean between Japan and California extends about 1200 leagues.
I will not discuss, in detail, all the steps made by Peter the Great to establish the geography of his Empire before I arrived in Russia. Here it will be sufficient to report on his efforts to establish the boundaries of northeast Tartary, and specifically, whether it approached or reached America. His choice for this task was [Captain Vitus] Bering, an expert Danish sailor. Towards the end of this great Emperor’s life, in late January of 1725, Mr. Bering received such orders, which were then confirmed during the Senate assembly on February 5
It took Captain Bering five years to complete his explorations because, not only did he and his crew have to travel overland to the distant eastern end of Asia, but also they had to take with them almost everything required to build two ships capable of the sea voyage he had orders to perform. [Captain Bering] felt he had fulfilled these orders when, after sailing northeast along the eastern coast of Asia from a harbor of Kamchatka [located at 56 degrees North latitude], he saw the coast turn to the northwest and the sea open to the north and east at latitude 67.5 degrees [North] latitude, and further learning from the local people of Kamchatka the additional information that a ship had arrived there from the Lena River [a north flowing river of eastern Siberia] 50 to 60 years ago.
[Captain Bering’s] expedition served to determine, more exactly than before, the position and extent of the eastern coast of Asia, from this harbor of Kamchatka, in the latitude of 56 degrees [North latitude], to the place [Captain Bering] had penetrated [67½ degrees North latitude]. He noticed only three small islands along his route, all near the coast. Having learned, on his return to the harbor of Kamchatka, that there was a land to the east that could be seen when the weather was clear and calm, [Captain Bering] decided he would try to go there. After repairing damages to his ship, caused by a previous storm, he sailed to the east, but this second attempt was fruitless. After sailing 40 leagues, without any land being sighted, his ship was
After returning to [St.] Petersburg, [Captain Bering] told me, in person, several things that were not in his official report. [These included the information that,] while sailing along the eastern coast of Asia from 50 to 60 degrees [North] latitude, he noted a number of indications that there must be land to his east. They were: 1. on sailing away from the coast of Kamchatka, he found shallow depths and low waves that are more characteristic of straits or arms of the sea and very different than the high waves one encounters when sailing on coasts exposed to a sea of great extent. 2. He found broken pines and other uprooted trees that did not grow in Kamchatka, brought to its shores from the east by winds. 3. The local inhabitants [of Kamchatka] said that an eastern wind brought ice to their shores in two or three days, whereas it took four or five days of western winds to take them to the north. 4. Certain birds came from the east routinely each year and, after spending several months on the coast of Asia, routinely returned from where they came.
[Captain Bering] and his lieutenant both observed two lunar eclipses in Kamchatka (1728 and 1729), which then allowed me to determine the longitude at that eastern extremities of Asia; with the precision which the nature of these observations made by seamen, and with their own instrument, would allow; but these first determinations have since been confirmed by very precise observations of Jupiter’s moons, made in that same region by my brother, de la Croyére, and additionally by some Russians experienced in making such observations and equipped with suitable instruments.
Having attained from [Captain Bering’s] map, journal and initial information regarding the longitude of the Kamchatka region, I used these nearly twenty years ago to draw my own map representing that eastern extremity of Asia, across from the coast of North America, in order to show what still remained to be discovered between these two vast areas of the world. In 1731, I had the honor of
In this mémoire, I proposed three routes [of the North Pacific], so as to discover what remained unknown. The first of these routes went south from Kamchatka straight to Japan, which was not to be done without crossing the land of Yesso [probably the northern island of Japan, Hokkaido], or rather, by sailing through the passages that separate it from State’s Island [State Land] and Company Land [after the Dutch East Indian Company; sometimes called De Gama Land], both discovered by the Dutch over one hundred years ago. By this route, one would discover all that lay to the north of the Land of Jesso that is currently unknown, [including] the extent of the coast there and the straits between that land and East Tartary. The second route went directly east from Kamchatka to the coast of America, north of California. Finally, my third suggested route was to explore [north of the second route] those lands to the east of Kamchatka [between 50 and 60 degrees North latitude] where [Captain Bering] had seen signs of land on his first voyage.
These explorations were organized as I have indicated and [Captain Bering] was commissioned to lead the third route just explained. He left on his voyage in 1741 [on the ship St. Paul], but he had not traveled very far when he was caught in a fierce storm that did not allow him to maintain his easterly course. His boat was eventually washed up onto a desert island at 54 degrees [North] latitude, not far from the harbor of Avatcha [also known as Awatska Bay and the Harbor of St. Peter and St. Paul] from which he had left. This was the end of [Captain Bering’s] voyage and his life, as he died there, in despair and sorrow, along with most of his crew. After significant hardship, the few who escaped did so by building a small boat from the wreckage of their ship. That island is now named [Bering’s Island]. [Other sources state that Bering sailed with Alexei Tschirikow, but they were inadvertently separated, and only then did they sail separately. This truncated version of Bering’s voyage does not give justice to its extent or discoveries. Perhaps J. N. De l’Isle lacked information or, alternatively, wished to minimize Captain Bering’s contribution and thus emphasize those of his brother.]
A German [possibly Danish] named [Martin Petrovich] Spanberg captained the ship [St. Michael of the Archangel] that sailed in search of Japan. He left the harbor of Kamchatka in June of 1739, and travelled south, with a favorable wind, for sixteen days. [Dates sometimes differ between sources. This is because some countries were still using the Julian Calendar, while others had switched to the Gregorian Calendar.] He coursed through several islands [the Kuril Islands], at about 36 to 37 degrees of North latitude, having traveled a distance of about 20 degrees of latitude. There he believed he had reached the coast of Japan where it is said he was well received. [Sailing north], he also reached Japan at 39-
As to the third and principle route, that went east from Kamchatka to America, a Russian captain named Alexei Tschirikow [also spelled Chirikov; in the original spelled Tchirikow] was placed in charge. He had been Captain [Bering’s] lieutenant on their first voyage. My brother [Louis De L’Isle de la Croyére], an astronomer of this Academy [the Royal Academy of Sciences, Paris], went with him [on the ship, St. Peter] to help with the route and to take exact astronomical observations at any point where they could land. They left from the harbor in Kamchatka, named Avatcha, also known as the Port of St. Peter and St. Paul, on June 15, 1741. The latitude of that harbor was observed by my brother de la Croyére to be 53 degrees and 1 minute [North] latitude, and its distance from the meridian of Paris was 156-157 degrees [East] longitude. This longitude was checked by astronomical measures of Jupiter’s moons.
On the 26
Having reached this location on the 26
After considerable progress in their return, on the 20
During this voyage by Captain Tschirikow and my brother, lasting more than 3 months, most of the crew developed scurvy and died. [Other sources state that of the 70 sailors, 21 died.] My brother and the Captain both developed scurvy as well. After a thirteen day illness, my brother died from it on October 22, about one hour after reaching the port of Avatcha, from which they had left four months earlier. Captain Tschirikow, himself also very ill, did recover, as well as several of his crew. This is all that happened during this third and final Russian voyage of discovery.
On the coast of the Eastern Sea, across from Kamchatka, there is a port called Okhora or Okhotskoy Ostrog [its modern spelling is Okhotskoi Ostrog]. [It is here that the three ships for these explorations were built.] It lies at 59 degrees 22 minutes [North] latitude and 141 degrees [East] longitude from the meridian of Paris. From here, people leave for Kamchatka and neighboring lands. This is where Captain Bering left his ship after his first voyage. In 1731, some Russians tried their luck at exploration and followed the same route that Captain Bering had taken two years earlier. They had better success than he and, traveling further, discovered more of America. After reaching as far as Captain Bering had explored, his "non plus ultra" so to speak, they headed directly east, first finding an island, and then a large land. On their arrival, a man came to them in a small boat, similar to those used by the people of Greenland. [These Russians] desired to know what country this was, but all they could gather from him was that he lived on a very large continent where many furs could be found. They then sailed south along the coast for two days but could find no place to land. They were
To these discoveries of the Russians in the north Pacific I should add those made over eight years along the coast of the Icy Sea [Arctic or Glacial Sea], from Archangel [in northwest Russia] to the River Kovima [Kolyma] [in northeast Russia], but they have gone no further. Therefore, I noted on my second map [this second manuscript map presented to the Academy in 1750 was later published by Buache as, Carte Des Nouvelles Decouvertes au Nord de la Mer Sud, June, 1752 and the one the author had to correct and present in these mémoires as his map 1], only those locations on the coast of the Icy Sea that they discovered, up to this river, according to their observations. The rest of the coast to the east was estimated, using some additional information from voyages taken by other Russians in smaller boats, along this coast to Kamchatka. [Finally], I also noted a large expanse of land discovered in 1723 in the northern reaches of the Icy Sea, at 75 degrees [North] latitude.
As I previously mentioned, while I was in Russia busily investigating these northern lands, I was fortunate enough to be informed of the discoveries of Admiral de Fonte in the Pacific Ocean, in his search for a Northwest Passage, through a manuscript of the Admiral’s voyage. I have not made use of this information until returning to France because I needed time to compare its information with that from my brother Louis De l’Isle de la Croyére’s voyage.
This Admiral Bartholomew de Fonte was then Admiral of New Spain and later was named Prince of Chile, etc. His account relates that the Spanish Court had been informed about the British voyages to Hudson Bay in search of a Northwest Passage [to the Pacific]. [De Fonte] received orders from the King of Spain, as well as the Viceroys of New Spain and Peru, to search for this passage from the Pacific side. His four ships [Man of Wars] left from the port of Lima on the 3rd of April, 1640. While traveling north, they stopped near the Mexican port of Realejo [El Realejo] and obtained four long launches, good sailing boats, built specifically for use while [the larger ships are] lying at anchor. After the Admiral reached Cape Blanco [then known as the northern most point of California], he then traveled an additional 456 leagues to the north-northwest until he reached a river that he named Rio de los Reyes. Of this distance, 260 leagues were through an area of many winding canals, forming an archipelago that Admiral de Fonte named the Archipelago of San Lazare [Lazaro]. I will omit for now,
The lands and seas discovered by Admiral de Fonte fill the spaces undiscovered by the Russian explorations and reach not only as far as the known lands to the north, near Hudson and Baffin Bays, but also to the known lands of western Canada and northern New Mexico and California. I believe I owed it to this assembly to share his discoveries because its information will be of great help in discovering a Northwest Passage to the Pacific. I felt obliged to lay before this Society the foundation on which this map is formed, the details of which must be reserved for more intimate meetings.
[An English translation of this section can be found in, A Letter From a Russian Sea Officer …, London, 1754, printed for A. Linde, and sold by J. Robinson.]
The Viceroys of New Spain and Peru, having been advised by the Court in Spain, of various English attempts to find such a passage, both during the Reigns of Queen Elizabeth and King James, as well as in the second, third and fourth years of King Charles (by Captain Hudson and Captain James) and also in his fourteenth year (1639 A.D.) by some industrious mariners from Boston, in New England, I, Admiral Bartholomew de Fonte, received orders from Spain and the above mentioned Viceroys to equip four ships of force [war ships]. Once readied, we put to sea on the 3’rd of April, 1640, from the Callao [Port] of Lima; I Admiral de Fonte in the Ship St. Spiritus [Holy Ghost], the Vice-Admiral Don Diego Peñalosa [Pennelossa in the English translations], in the Ship St. Lucia, Pedro Bernardo, in the Ship Rosaire, and Philip de Ronquillo in the King Phillip. [Müller and De l’Isle have Pedro Bernardo in their text. De l’Isle has Bernarda on his map 1. Wagner and Drage both have Pedro de Bernarda in their text.]
On the 7
On the 10
On the 16
It is at El Realejo that the Spanish build their large ships in New Spain. Near there one can find an abundance of hard wood, a reddish cedar, etc., suitable for building ships. Here we bought four Shallops [long launches] with sails. These are built expressly to be used with sail or oars while the larger ships lay at anchor. Each was 32 feet long and weighed about twelve tons.
On the 26
[Here the text, previously in the first person, slips into the third person!] The master informed Admiral de Fonte that 200 leagues north of [Cabo San Lucas], a current from the north met a current from the south. The Master also told the Admiral that he was sure that it [California] must be an island. Upon hearing this, Don Diego Peñalosa, the nephew of Don Louis de Haro, then the Prime Minister of Spain, a young nobleman with significant knowledge and skills in the disciplines of cosmography and navigation, decided to undertake the task of discovering whether California was an island or not; for at that time it was not known if it was an island or a peninsula. Don Diego took with him, his ship and crew, the Master and his ship and crew hired at Salagua, and the four long launches they bought at [El] Realejo.
The Admiral, with the other three ships, sailed from the islands of Chamilli on the 10
On the 22
After sending Captain Bernardo to explore the lands to the north and east of the Sea of Tartary, the Admiral sailed up another very navigable river that he called Rio de los Reyes. The river coursed generally to the northeast but he had to adjust sail several times for sixty leagues [meaning the course was not directly northeast]. At low tide he found this navigable channel to be at least four fathoms deep. The depth of the water during the tide is about the same in both this river, and another, he named the Haro River. The Rio de los Reyes is twenty four feet deep during both the full moon and the new moon. On the Haro River [that is north of the Rio de los Reyes] when the moon is in the south southeast the depth of the tide is 22½ feet at both full and new moons. The Admiral had two Jesuit priests with him on his voyage; one of these had gone with Captain Bernardo. They both had previously been on a mission at 66 degrees [North] latitude [for two years] and had made very interesting observations there.
Admiral de Fonte received a letter from Captain Bernardo, dated June 27
On the 1
On the 14
On the 17
On the 30
By the 6
On the 20
A short while later, I received a second letter from Captain Bernardo dated from Minhauset, stating that he had reach the harbor of Arena, about twenty miles up the Rio de los Reyes, on August 29
The map will show all this more clearly.
This is the end of Admiral de Fonte’s letter.
On Admiral de Fonte’s Letter and Discoveries
As soon as I published a French translation of Admiral de Fonte’s letter, some were surprised by its new information and others thought his voyage a fabrication because it had to be translated from English [and not from an original Spanish manuscript]. But not everyone felt that way. The Admiral’s letter first appeared in 1708, in the April and May [but June] editions of an English journal titled, [Monthly Miscellany or] Memoirs for the Curious. [In 1749, Arthur Dobbs wrote that the editor or contributor, James Petiver, had obtained the manuscript in Lisbon.] Several English mariners, interested in these discoveries, researched the Admiral’s deeds in America and felt this voyage probably did occur as he described it. Of course, it would have been more convincing for all if the original Spanish journal had been published. One explanation for this may be that the Spanish Court, at the time of this voyage, may have wanted this information to remain secret for political reasons. Because the original [Spanish] journal was not published and because de Fonte’s letter has not been found in Spain over the last two years, some have concluded that it never really existed and that this letter
The English, having more trust and good faith in their nation, did not rush to condemn de Fonte’s letter, but rather searched for evidence in America that would either confirm or discredit this supposed voyage of the Admiral. At the beginning of his letter Admiral de Fonte said that “The Viceroys of New Spain and Peru, having been advised by the Court in Spain, of several British attempts to find such a passage, both during the Reigns of Queen Elizabeth, King James, and in the second, third and forth years of King Charles (by Captain Hudson and Captain James) as well as in his fourteenth year [1639 -1640], by some industrious navigators from Boston, in New England …”, etc.
[This sentence shows] how well informed the Spanish were about England’s efforts to find a passage from the northwest to the Pacific. That was until the ill- fated journey of Captain [Thomas] James who, in 1631, was forced to winter on Charleston [Charlton] Island at 52 degrees [North] latitude [on the west coast of Hudson Bay], having no means to protect his crew from the harsh weather. That unfortunate voyage was so discouraging to the English that for many years thereafter they planned no further explorations with ships leaving from England. Instead, it was mostly merchants and traders from the English colonies, most often from Boston, in the colony of Matechusets [Massachusetts], which attempted such voyages. It was thought that they had a better chance of success. According to the Admiral’s letter, a man named Seymour Gibbons [Wagner and Drage have Scimor Gibbons], then the Major General of Matechusets [Massachusetts], outfitted a ship and gave its command to a Captain Shapely. That ship and its ten crew members left Boston in 1639. The ship passed through Hudson Strait and made its way to the western extent of Hudson Bay. There, Admiral de Fonte met them in the following year [1640]. De Fonte had taken the Pacific route to this passage that, until then, was unknown, as no one from England had found a passage to the Pacific through the northwest. This was only revealed to the English when Admiral de Fonte’s letter was published. In An Account of the Counties Adjoining to Hudson Bay, published
[Of historical interest, John Adams and Benjamin Franklin had a conversation in regard to this topic! In Paris, on January 24, 1783, Franklin told Adams about the de Fonte voyage. He also stated that he had once had a conversation with a Mr. Prince who told him there was a Captain Chapelet of Charlestown, Massachusetts. There was also a Gibbons, but not a Seymour Gibbons. Franklin thought that there may have been an error in translation and that in the original “Spanish text” it may have been Señor Gibbons, not Seymour Gibbons. Other sources state the name was Edward Gibbons. Both Increase Mather and Cotton Mather have written about Edward Gibbons. Apparently he was the Captain of the fort at Boston 1635-1636, Magistrate of Boston from about 1639-1646 and Major General in 1649. The true owner of the ship may have been Alexander Shapley, the brother of Nicholas Shapley.]
No one knows what happened to this ship from Boston after its meeting with the Admiral, not in England or in America. Dobbs thought it may have been captured by the Eskimos, as it only had a crew of 12 or 13 men. [Swaine Drage], the author of the California’s voyage, the vessel commanded by Captain Smith, for the discovery of a Northwest Passage in 1746 and 1747 and published in English, London, 1749, in 2 volumes, suspected that someone knew of six crew members of Captain Shapely [vessel] and agreed with the thoughts of Mr. [Nicolas] Jeremie. According to Mr. Jeremie, in his [Twenty Years of York Factory, 1694-1714]; Jeremie’s Account of Hudson Strait and Bay [1720], reported in Recueil de Voyages au Nord [Collection of Travels to the North, by Jean Bernard], vol. 5, p. 408 [some of the crew of Shapely’s ship] might be those six English seamen found by Mr. [Medard Chouart Des] Groseiliers [Groseilliers] [co-founder of the Hudson Bay Company] at the mouth of the Nelson River, now called the Bourbon River. Jeremie reports that these six seamen had been left behind by a ship from the city of Boston, in New England. He further explained how this happened. Their ship had arrived late [in the season] and laid anchor at the mouth of the Bourbon River. The captain then sent a launch with 5 [per text] men aboard, to find a place to winter. That night, the cold was so intense that it brought ice down the river, which forced the ship away from the shore, and no one knows what happened to that ship thereafter. The California writer [Drage] adds that if it were known in what year Des Groseiliers reached Hudson Bay, it would be easier to postulate what happened. Shapely’s crew probably met with bad weather in Hudson Bay, usually starting around the end of August, and chose to winter there rather than returning straight to Boston. [He also adds that] the same wind that helped de Fonte back to Conasset would have hurt Shapely in his attempt to sail to Boston.
In Histoire et Description Generale de la Nouvelle France [History and General Description of New France, Paris, 1744], its author, Reverend Father Charlevoix, repeats Mr. Jeremie’s information about the six English sailors left behind by a ship from Boston. The Reverend Father states the date of the encounter of these
The latest report of English exploration of Hudson Bay (undertaken by Captain Moore in the Ketch Dobbs, from 1746-1747) was written by Mr. Henry Ellis (London, 1748). He is of the same mind, that the information regarding Admiral de Fonte’s journey and Captain Shapely’s ship from Boston was quite believable. (See the English edition of this work, published in London, 1748, p. 70.)
I have no difficulty in addressing the major concern regarding the validity of Admiral de Fonte’s letter. That concern is, that despite vigorous searching for two years, no one has been able to find the original manuscript archived in Spain. As I mentioned before, that could be due to the measures that Spain itself took to suppress this information when it first became available. Purchas tells us of a similar experience (vol. 3, p. 844) [some references state p. 849] that the King of Portugal ordered the destruction of a Portuguese report, published in 1567. This report described a journey taken by Martin Chacke [or Chaque] 12 years earlier [in 1555], during which he found a route from the Portuguese Indies [a large group of ports around current day India] to Newfoundland through the North Sea [at 59 degrees North latitude]. Thomas Cowles, an English Pilot, confirmed this story in an affidavit [signed in 1579]. Before it was suppressed, he had seen this Portuguese report and heard it read aloud by the author himself.
There are several similar examples of discoveries made by the Spanish that they then wished kept secret from other nations. The measures taken at those times were such that the Spanish themselves are now ignorant of what they once knew. Today, try as they may to retrieve this same information, even under order of their King, they cannot do this. Meanwhile, other nations have retained and
In future mémoires I hope to prove more specifically and irrefutably that the majority of Admiral de Fonte’s letter is authentic. For now, I will only mention the following excerpt from a letter written in Aranjuez [Spain] on June 18, 1753, by Mr. Antonio de Ulloa [a Spanish naval officer]. In it, he answers questions posed by Misters Bouguer and le Monnier regarding Admiral de Fuente’s letter. This inquisitive and skillful Spanish officer told them that when he was the captain of the war ship, the Rose, on the Pacific Ocean, in the year 1742, he had on board with him a former seaman and now lieutenant named Don Manuel Morel, who showed him a manuscript. De Ulloa confessed that he had forgotten the name of the author, but he thinks it may have been Bartholomew de Fuentes. The author of the manuscript reported that he was sent by the Viceroy, who then ruled Peru, to the north of California. His orders were to discover whether there was a passage between the North Sea and the Pacific Ocean. When he reached a specific latitude (that de Ulloa could not remember) having found no such passage, he returned to the Callao [Port] of Lima, [Peru]. De Ulloa also added that he once had a copy of that report but lost it when it was taken from him by the English as he was returning from America.
Maybe someday that report that was taken from Mr. de Ulloa will be translated and published in England, yet no one will know of it in Spain or America, and, it will be ignored, just like Admiral de Fonte’s letter, the object of these remarks.
What I have just written about Mr. de Ulloa’s letter is similar to what he said to me in person three years ago in Paris. However, at that time, he was positive that the report he had seen and had made a copy of in Peru was indeed written by
As previously noted, Admiral de Fonte’s letter was first printed In England in 1708, within the periodical, [Monthly Miscellany or] Memoirs for the Curious, without knowledge of from where it came. Later, Mr. [Arthur] Dobbs had it reprinted in his Account of the Countries Adjoining to Hudson’s Bay [London, 1744]; and finally, a third edition included in An Account of a Voyage for The Discovery of a North-West Passage by Hudson’s Streight to the Western and Southern Ocean of America. Performed in the Year 1746 and 1747, in the Ship California, Captain Francis Smith [Commander; by the Clerk, secretary [Swaine Drage] of the
[Drage] also notes that his [the third] edition of the Admiral’s letter is mainly taken from the Dobbs’ edition, which made a few changes to the 1708 edition, cutting some information pertaining to California, because he thought it unimportant, and changing some of the text from the first to the third person.
As for the manuscript I received from England fourteen years ago, it is longer than the second and third editions. My manuscript appears to be the same as the manuscript used for the first printed edition [of 1708]. The Englishman who brought it to my attention was Lord [George] Forbes, now Earl of Granard. It appears he chose to send me a copy of the original manuscript, rather than a copy of a printed version.
I want to note here that Mr. Dobbs believed that a passage did exist from Hudson Bay to the Pacific Ocean and for that reason had Admiral de Fonte’s letter reprinted, adding a few remarks to that effect. [Drage’s] edition of the letter also has additional remarks added. I have studied all of these notes and compared the second and third editions with my own English manuscript. All three of the letters are similar. The few difficulties they offer are really nothing more than simple mistakes, easily discovered and corrected. These should not diminish our trust in the authenticity of this letter.
In presenting this new translation of Admiral de Fonte’s letter, given here, I will not discuss, in detail, the errors I made in my first translation [into French] of the English manuscript that I did immediately after receiving it in Russia, before I
To start, there are some simple errors with the Admiral’s report of his route from his departure point the Callao de Lima [Port of Lima] to California. In brief, some of the latitudes he mentions are slightly different from those we now know. This is not surprising considering the accuracy of latitudes at the time in which he traveled. Further, he only approximated latitudes in his report, using mostly round figures. This is also true when the Admiral discussed direction of sail and distances. He seems to have been satisfied with approximations. Some mistakes could have been copying or printing errors. These are easy to spot and correct.
As to the more important errors in this report, [there are four]. The first was noticed by most readers of my first translation. It occurs at the very beginning of the text, where it says that on April 7th the fleet reached St. Helena, 200 leagues to the north of Guayaquil Bay. This is an error in translation, caused by the omission of a comma in the manuscript. As written, it appears to say that the 200 leagues refer to the distance between St Helena and Guayaquil Bay. In reality, these 200 leagues are the distance between St. Helena and his point of departure, Callao de Lima. This text has been corrected in this current edition. Of note, the [Drage] edition of the Admiral’s letter does not include a reference to these 200 leagues. [The second error] is similar to the first. A bit further in his report, where it says that the ships dropped anchor at the mouth of the St. Jago River, 80 leagues north northwest and 25 leagues east and a bit south, here one should understand that the 25 leagues refer to the distance and direction to Cape St. Francis [San Francisco]; but the 80 leagues are to Cape St. Helena. [Also to this last point], it appears that the copier of my manuscript made an error here. He incorrectly wrote north northwest. Instead, he should have written north northeast.
There was a third important error in my first translation of Admiral de Fonte’s
These are the main errors found in [the various editions of] Admiral de Fonte’s report when discussing his voyage [from the Port of Lima] to California. As one can see, these are all [simple] misunderstandings or [minor] errors of translation and copying. These should not dissuade us from believing that Admiral de Fonte traveled this route and documented correctly where he had been.
It is unfortunate that Admiral de Fonte’s report does not mention the findings of his captain, Diego Peñalosa, who left the Admiral to discover whether California was or was not an island. The Admiral
One finds confirmation of the hypothesis that California is sometimes an island and at other times a peninsula in Captain Moore’s journey to Hudson Bay in 1746. In the French translation of this journey (vol. 2, p. 216-7) the following account is given. A traveler who had recently arrived from a Dutch colony in the East Indies, either for exploration or plunder, having been shipwrecked on the northern coast of California, observed there that the land was both an island and a peninsula, as the narrow isthmus that connects it to the continent was submerged at high tide.
I have now reached that part of the Admiral’s letter where he starts to present his own discoveries, finding lands unknown before his voyage. But before entering into this discussion, I want to first correct two printing errors in the latest translation of de Fonte’s letter that, until now, had escaped me. Both are on a single line. First, Cape Abel’s latitude was 20 degrees [North] latitude. Instead it should be 26 degrees [North] latitude, as stated in my manuscript, its French translation and the [1708] printed copy. Second, the word “leagues” after the number 160 was omitted. There is also a third
The next correction concerns the long passage of Admiral de Fonte from Cape Abel, 866 leagues to the north northwest, passing [Cape Blanco] and arriving at a river he called Rio de los Reyes at 53 degrees [North] latitude.
[Drage], the secretary on Captain Smith’s ship to Hudson Bay, thought that the direction documented for the Admiral’s 410 league journey from Port Abel to [Cape Blanco] is correct. However, he also believed, with good reason, that the 456 leagues from [Cape Blanco] to the [entrance of the] Rio de los Reyes could not have occurred all in the same direction. [Rather, he sailed easterly from the coast] 260 leagues, meandering between islands in the [San Lorenzo] Archipelago [before reaching the entrance of the Rio de los Reyes] at 53 degrees [North] latitude. He showed all this on a small map, [similar to] map 2 of this mémoire.
As for my map [map 1], I have given the continent north of California, from [Cape Blanco] to the entrance of the [San Lorenzo] Archipelago, the same direction [north northwest] and an extent of 198 leagues, as recorded by the Admiral. The entrance to [San Lorenzo Archipelago must be] at 50 degrees [North] latitude, using the Admiral’s distances. I believe that the continent changes direction there, turning to the east. This forced the Admiral to sail easterly, through the meandering canals of the [San Lorenzo] Archipelago an additional 260 leagues, until he reached [the entrance of] the Rio de los Reyes at latitude 53 degrees [North] latitude. [These figures add up to 458, not 456.]
To continue to draw all of the geographical information about the lands the Admiral explored, one must compare what he says about the same places on different pages. For example, he says (page 22) the Admiral sailed down the Rio de los Reyes that courses to the northeast, changing course with the direction of the wind over a distance of 60 leagues; later he then says (page 23) that the harbor of Arena is located 20 leagues from the mouth of that same river;
The Admiral later reached a native village called Conasset, located on the southern shore of a lake that he called Lake Belle. It was in this pleasant place that earlier the two Jesuit priests had spent a mission of two years. Later, the Admiral adds that within this lake is a very good harbor protected by a beautiful island that faces the village of Conasset. Therefore, I have placed on my map 1, that village and that island as the Admiral described it, on Lake Belle.
At the end of the Admiral’s letter, he mentions another native village in that same area named Minhauset, located on the Rio de los Reyes. I placed it on my map 1 between Conasset and Arena harbor because three days after leaving Conasset, on his return voyage, he anchored there, before continuing down the river to Arena Harbor.
During the description of these geographical details that I have just shared, I have omitted mentioning the depths and currents of the waters and tides. I plan to write a separate article on these later. During the five days between July 1 and July 6, the Admiral crossed Lake Belle and coursed the Parmentiers River, from Conasset to the entrance of Lake De Fonte, into which the Parmentiers River flows (page 23). He did this with the larger sailing launches, as he had left his two ships on Lake Belle. At this point, the Admiral does not mention how many leagues he traveled or the direction of sail. However, on his return to Lake Belle he did state that there were 86 leagues between the first cascade on the Parmentiers River and the southern shore of Lake Belle. The Admiral sailed this same route again during the 5 days between August 11 and August 16 (page 25). He does not mention the direction of sail on either of these trips. I have guessed that it was mostly
Some of Lake Belle’s waters flow into the Rio de los Reyes and others flow into the Parmentiers River. This indicates a large current from the north that I have noted [on map 1]. That current probably comes from Lake Bernardo, but may also be from Lake Velasco. Whatever its origin, one can understand why the Admiral did not mention it. He only mentioned what he found. The Admiral went directly from the Rio de los Reyes to the Parmentiers River as he knew from Mr. Parmentiers’ description that it was the quickest route to meet with Captain Shapely’s ship, which had left Boston the year before. [Here De l’Isle states as fact something which the Admiral would have no way of knowing.]
The Admiral entered Lake De Fonte on July 6th. He noted that the size of the lake was 160 leagues long and 60 leagues wide and that its length ran from east northeast to west southwest. He also added that within that lake there were
On July 14
It is at this time that Admiral de Fonte ends his discoveries at their most advanced point. On the 17
All this brings the Admiral close to Hudson Bay, just south of Wager Bay. It is quite likely that this ship from Boston was there in search of a passage to the [North Pacific]. The author of the [map similar to] map 2 [Drage] placed the Ronquillo Strait at 62 degrees [North] latitude. He wrote next to it that this is where the Admiral met Captain Shapely. [Drage] did not place Hudson Bay on his map. As placing it on his map helps to better understand where this ship from Boston was found, I have added this to his map [in the right upper corner], in a lighter hand. In his notes, [Drage] explained that his map was not drawn with precise distances and locations, and he only drew them to show that the Ronquillo Sea [sic] is just behind [west] of Hudson Bay and likely close to its western shore. He added that all this makes the Admiral’s encounter quite believable. Additionally, [Drage] makes the case that because these bodies of water are so close to each other, they must have some sort of communication between them, even though it has not yet been discovered.
Mr. Dobbs, in his Description of the Lands Surrounding the Hudson Bay, thinks that the English ship from Boston may have come through an outlet near Whale Cove in Hudson Bay, at 62.5 degrees [North] latitude. This is quite possible as Captain Moore’s report about the journey to Hudson Bay in 1746 and 1747 (vol. 1, p. 118), notes that a man named Wilson had been sent by the Hudson Bay Company to trade with the locals. Wilson told Churchill [possibly John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough and sometime governor of the Hudson Bay Company] that he had explored the islands near Whale Cove and found that the Cove’s opening became wider to the southwest, eventually becoming so wide that one cannot see land on either side.
For myself, when I realized that the end of Ronquillo Lake, where the Admiral had
In these notes, I have, until now, separated the information that Admiral de Fonte gave us about the lands he explored from that information received from Captain Pedro Bernardo, whom he sent to explore the northeastern part of the Sea of Tartary [North Pacific]. I will now comment on that Captain’s findings. Bernardo commanded the war ship, Rosary; but he said (see page 22) that on his way to explore, he acquired for a specific part of his journey, three native long launches called periagos, in their language. These are made by connecting two large logs and are about 50 to 60 feet long.
Captain Bernardo left the Admiral on June 22nd, at which time he was ordered to explore a beautiful river with deep waters and a gentle current. He found the depth of this river to vary between 4 and 8 fathoms. It first coursed north, then to the north northwest and northwest, where he then entered a lake with many islands and a well populated peninsula. He named it Lake Valasco. Here he left his ship [and continued the rest of his explorations in the three periagos].
Soon after this description in his letter (ibid. p. 22), the Admiral mentions a river he called the Haro River [after Don Louis de Haro, favorite in the King’s confidence and Prime Minister of Spain]. This could be the river he asked Bernardo to explore, but this is unsure because he mentions nothing more about it except to say that the depth of this river during the tides is about the same as that of the Rio de los Reyes (ibid p. 22). As the Admiral sent Captain Bernardo to explore this other river just before he entered the Rio de los Reyes, one can assume that the mouths of these two rivers are fairly close to each other; the Haro River being [north and] west of the Rio de los Reyes. For this reason, I have placed the mouth of the Haro River at 56 degrees [North] latitude. As previously mentioned, the direction of sail on that river was northerly.
On June 27
This second exploration of Captain Bernardo went [from Lake Valasco] to Basset Island and then beyond. [On my map 1] I continued Lake Bernardo to 79 degrees [North] latitude. At the western end of Baffin Bay, just below 80 degrees [North] latitude, I placed a small lake to represent the freshwater lake where one of Captain Bernardo’s sailors was taken. I also noted the icy mountains he saw to the north. That which Captain Bernardo called “the head of Davis Strait” is probably the [northwest] end of Baffin Bay because one enters Baffin Bay from the Davis Strait. As for Basset Island, because Bernardo never indicates its location, I have guessed at its location on my map 1. I prefer to do that then not noting it at all.
That is all I have to say about my map 1 that shows the lands discovered by Admiral de Fonte and his captains. Just as it was noted, the farthest place that the Admiral reached was Ronquillo Straits, where he met the ship from Boston, close to Hudson Bay, near Wager Bay. Also note that the farthest place that Captain Bernardo reached was close to Baffin Bay, near Alderman Jonas [Jones] Strait [named after a patron of Arctic exploration]. Admiral de Fonte appears to give an inappropriate conclusion to his report, when he stated there is no passage to the Pacific Ocean through what is called the Northwest Passage. The same can be said of Captain Bernardo’s conclusion. He said there was no communication through the Davis Strait. [These appear to be poor conclusions] because we know people who have sailed to the western end of Baffin Bay, where the straits of Alderman Jonas
Now, I would like to discuss how the discoveries of Admiral de Fonte compare with those of the Russians. The most eastern point reached by Captain [Tchirikow] and my brother [Louis De l’Isle de la Croyére] is that same coast by the mouths of the Haro and Bernardo Rivers.
After obtaining additional information last year, I joined the [coast of the] Bernardo River to a long [northwest] coast [of North America] that turns over the most northeast point of Asia, leaving between the two a large passage of about 100 leagues wide, through which the North Tartary Sea or the Glacial Sea communicates with the Pacific Ocean.
I learned at this same time that the western end of this long coast had been seen from the east from afar by Mr. Spanberg as early as 1728, when he was Captain [Bering’s] lieutenant on their first voyage. [The previously mentioned] Russian voyage of 1731 came even closer to it. I now know that the Russians routinely travel to this coast and bring back beautiful furs. These Russian traders are the ones who most likely have information about the location and extent of these new lands. But to get exact longitudes and latitudes, we would need the Court of Russia to send qualified pilots and astronomers.
Such discoveries would be extremely important because they would assure that these vast lands I have drawn on my map 1, as described in Admiral de Fonte’s letter, truly exist. These same voyages would also put an end to the uncertainty as to their exact locations and extent, as the information in the Admiral de Fonte’s brief letter was lacking in many details.
One hopes that the Court of Russia will complete the exploration of the great island one hundred leagues east of Kamchatka and seen on my map 1 between 51 degrees and 59 degrees [North] latitude. Captain Bering first discovered it in 1726, as I reported in my mémoire presented to the [Royal] Academy [of Sciences] on April 8th, 1750 (see p. 13). My brother De La Croyére was on Captain [Tchirikow’s] ship when it sailed close to that island on September 20
Another discovery that seems relegated to the Russians is the northern coast of the land seen by Don Juan de Gama while on his way from China to New Spain. As far as I know, [João] Teixiera, Cosmographer for the King of Portugal, first noted that land on a marine chart in 1649. The original manuscript was found in a Portuguese carrack [a three or four masted sailing ship] by Mr. de la Grande-Maison, who captained ships exploring the Angola coast for the King of Portugal for 4 or 5 years. The map was then obtained by [Melchisédec or Melchisédech] Thevenot, who had it engraved to the same size and similar likeness as the original. This engraved likeness was then inserted into the second part of Thevenot’s Relations de divers Voyages Curieux, published in Paris, 1664.
Teixeira only showed the southern coast of this land [Juan de Gama Land] on his map, also noting some islands to its west. But while I was in London, in 1724, I saw the Japanese maps that Sir Hans Sloane [a prominent Irish physician] had purchased from the Kempfer heirs [from the nephew of Engelbert Kaempfer, a German physician and naturalist, who, among many things, wrote a history of Japan and collected maps of Japan]. A few of these maps were sent to me in St. Petersburg several years later. These maps had a fairly large island drawn on them. Given its location on the maps, it could only be Juan de Gama Land. With the additional information from these Japanese maps, I was able to easily represent the northern shore of this land as well as some smaller islands to its east, as seen on my map 1. At a later date, in an additional mémoire, I will give more details on these topics and give additional information on the specific places represented on my new map.
One of the innovations on my map 1 is the new outline given to the Mer de l’Ouest [Western Sea or Sea of the West]. It was discovered and explored in 1592 by Jean [Juan] de Fuca. [Note: De Fuca never used the term, Western Sea or Sea of the West and the statement here appears to be one of the earliest associations between De Fuca’s voyage and the Western Sea.] I have previously represented this sea on the manuscript map that I presented to the [Royal] Academy [of Sciences] when I read my mémoire during their public assembly on April 8
As I just mentioned, this [Juan] de Fuca [also known as Apostolos Valerianos] was first to discover and explore this sea. He was a Greek, born on the island of Cephalonia. He had been a pilot in the service of the Spanish Court for thirty years when his galleon was attacked and plundered at Cap. St. Lucas [Cabo San Lucas], California, on November 9, 1587, by the English captain, Thomas Candisch [Cavendish]. This occurred as De Fuca was returning [to New Spain] from the Philippine Islands and China. [He personally lost 60,000 ducats at that time.]
Captain [Cavendish] had entered the South Sea [Pacific Ocean] through the Straits of Magellan and then caused the Spanish as much harm as he could, by sacking their towns and ships and then burning them; just as Francis Drake had done 10 years earlier. The Spanish were worried that the English might also try to enter the Pacific through a Northwest Passage. The Spanish themselves had sought this strait to the north for several years; in order to fortify it, thereby protecting themselves by defending the passage and preventing its use by the English.
[A short time before 1592,] [Juan] de Fuca had been the pilot for three ships, with a hundred soldiers, sent [for that purpose] by the Viceroy of Peru. But that trip failed because the soldiers mutinied. The Viceroy sent de Fuca out again in 1592, this time with only one small Caravel and with only sailors aboard. [Another source states that there was also a second, smaller ship called a pinnance.] He sailed along the coasts of New Spain and California and reached 47 degrees [North] latitude. There he found that the land turned to the northeast and that there was a broad outlet of Sea along the coast between 47 and 48 degrees [North] latitude. On entering that outlet, he sailed for more than twenty days. He discovered that the land turned first northwest, northeast and north, then also east
He neared the land on several occasions and saw natives dressed in skins; their land was very fertile, much like in New Spain. He thought it might be rich in gold, silver, [pearls, and other things.] The strait through which he entered was forty leagues wide and the rest of the sea was wider in all directions. He sailed until he believed he had reached the North Sea, at which point he believed he had accomplished the task given to him. He therefore decided to sail back as he was not armed. He feared he would not be able to defend himself against hostile natives he might meet. He then sailed homeward to New Spain and reached Acapulco in the year 1592, hopeful he would receive a large reward from the Viceroy for his discoveries.
Indeed, on his return to Mexico, he was warmly received by the Viceroy and was promised a large reward; but after waiting for two years, and receiving nothing, the Viceroy told him to go to Spain, where he would receive his reward in Spain from the King himself; and so he did.
[Arriving in Spain], he was equally well received by the King of Spain, as he had been by the Viceroy of Mexico, but only rewarded with words. He awaited his reward for a long time, but received nothing. Eventually, he secretly left Spain, and traveled through Italy to return to his family, people, and country. When in Venice, he met with an English navigator, named Michael Lock [Lok], in April of 1596. [Lok] convinced him to service the Court of Queen Elizabeth and help guide the English to the sea he had discovered. Various events delayed this plan for six years, at which time [Juan] de Fuca died in his homeland. All this is attested to by [Lok] himself in a [1625] collection of English travels by [Samuel] Purchas; Vol. 3, p. 849 [-851].
Because of this information [in de Fuca’s story], I drew the northern passage from the Pacific Ocean into the Mer de l’Ouest [Sea of the West or Western Sea], between 47 and 48 degrees [North] latitude; as can be seen on map 1 [of this mémoire], which I prepared here [in Paris] and that I had engraved in September of last year [1752]. Because [of the latitudes] of the lands discovered by Admiral de Fonte, I could not place the
I will now explain why I think we should represent, as I did, a southern entrance to the Western Sea at 43 degrees [North] latitude.
In the book La Monarquia Indiana, written in Spanish by the Franciscan monk Juan de Torquemada, vol. 5, chapter 45, [c. 1615. In this chapter, Torquemada gives an abridged version of Father Antonio de la Ascension’s account of Sebastian Vizcaino’s voyage to the north of California.], it says that King Philip II of Spain was determined to explore the coast of California after learning that several foreigners had passed from the Northern Sea into the Pacific Ocean through the Strait of Anian, which is north of Cape Mendocin [Mendocino], and that they had seen a large village there, etc.
Cape [Mendocino], at about 42 degrees [North] latitude, was named in honor of Don Antonio de Mendoza, the first Viceroy of New Spain. It was first discovered [in 1542] by three Spanish Galleons, returning from the Philippines. The Viceroy received information from the ships on this return voyage that the coast from that cape to the port to La Navidad, a harbor on the west coast of New Spain at 19.5 degrees [North] latitude, appeared to be all land. This was the report the Viceroy received from these three Galleons. The Viceroy then ordered that this coast should be explored in more detail, up to Cape [Mendocino]; but those ships could not go further north than Cape San Jago, now called Cape Magdelaine [Magdalena], at 25 degrees [North] latitude because, once reaching there, they met with a northwest wind which was completely opposed to [any further exploration north.]
Later [about 1601], in the time of the ninth Viceroy of New Spain, Don Gaspar de Zuniga Acevedo [y Fonseca, the fifth] and Count of Monterey, the Spanish Court [King Philip III] ordered the exploration of this California coast to be resumed. This Viceroy had three ships prepared [for this undertaking]. He named as Admiral, Captain Toribio Gomez de Corvan, a trustworthy man of experience. As Captain
From here, one of the ships, (the Almiranta), left and went back to New Spain. The other two continued north until January 19
On the existence of a Sea West of Canada and the Mississippi [River]
By G. [Guillaume] De l’Isle, [member of] The Royal Academy of Sciences [Paris]
[This mémoire was written by Guillaume De l’Isle in the early 1700’s.]
Our late King, Louis the XIV, always said that his heart felt desire was the exploration of Western New France [Canada]. I believe that it would be useful to the state [of France] to shed some light on [this topic] by sharing what I know about it. I want to prove that there is a sea in those parts and that through that sea one can hope to reach the great Pacific Ocean. This would open a route to China and Japan for France, something we have searched for these many years.
As the proof of my proposal hinges on the location of Quivira, I must first establish the position of that town. For that purpose, I will assume that New Mexico is indeed where all the maps show it. If there was any doubt about its location, it is easy to show that everyone places it north of New Spain.
Accepting that supposition, then Quivira should be at about the same longitude. [Antonio de] Herrera places it east of New Mexico, as does [Alonso de] Benavides, who spent several years there. Benavides adds that in order to get to Quivira, one must pass through the lands of the Apaches Vaqueros, the Buffalo Indians, who live on very large plains [filled with buffalo]. However, when describing the route to Quivira taken by [Francisco] Vazquez [de] Coronado, [Francisco Lopez de] Gomara had him marching north and he locates it at about 40 degrees [North] latitude. As Gomara writes in a more detailed manner, I have trusted his opinion.
After these references, we should not stop to consider the few maps that locate
This sea that I am trying to prove exists, is close to Quivira. I don’t believe that this sea’s existence is debatable because, as Gomara reports, the Spanish saw it on their way to Quivira, even seeing ships from its coast. Writing about the travels of Vazquez Coronado, Jean de Laet stated that the inhabitants of Cibola, located a little to the west of New Mexico, obtain hides eight days journey from where they live. [Giovanni Battista] Ramusio also mentions this same thing and adds that the plains where they obtain these hides are located by a sea, undoubtedly the same sea on which Quivira is located.
In his book, Hercules Siculus, [Giovanni Battista] Niccolosi also places a sea north of New Mexico and places Quivira on that sea. I don’t know which documents he used but I’m told that that he had access to the mémoires sent to the [Sacred] Congregation of Propaganda [of the Faith].
It appears the reason this sea is not well known to the other nations of Europe, is that the Spanish sought to keep it a secret. However, the English learned of its existence. [Samuel] Purchas wrote that the natives from the southwest of Virginia told them about it and an Englishman named Derner went in search of it. The [Jesuit] Relations from New France [Canada] of 1640 confirmed this fact. In that year, the French captured an Englishman at Kinibeki [Kennebec], Arcadia. He told them that it was possible to go to New Mexico by a sea to its north and that he had been searching along the coast for two years, looking for a river or lake that would take him to natives better informed about that sea.
You might ask me how such a sea could be that close to New France without the French people living there knowing about it. I would answer that they have heard stories about it for some time, but through negligence or certain difficulties, they have been prevented from clarifying these stories.
The Relation of 1641 discusses the elders of a neutral nation, neighbors of the Huron's, who know a people to the west, where they go to war. Those people live close to a sea where they fish for a type of oyster, whose shell they use to make what they call porcelain.
In the Relation dated 1659-1660, one reads that the natives who live at the western most end of Lake Superior say that they have sea around them on three sides, north, west, and south. That sea to their west can only be the one I describe.
In the Relation dated 1669-1670, Father Marquette, who was then at the Ottawa Mission, mentions that in the land of the Assiniboine [warriors of the rock], who live 15 to 20 days west of St. Spirit Point, there is a great river that flows to this Mer de l’Ouest [Western Sea or Sea of the West]. A native also told him that when he stood at the mouth of that river, he saw four ships.
In that same Relation, Father Dablon, the Father Superior of the Ottawa Mission, also mentions that great river descending to the Western Sea and the native seeing four ships. He added that the river that takes one to the Western Sea is eight days from the mission. According to the natives, it comes and goes into their land, which is their way of saying the river ebbs and flows. [According to Father Dablon,] this sea is only two hundred leagues west of the Ottawa Mission and this information comes from various natives, whose statements all agree.
As to the Nadouessis [Nadouessioux], now called Sioux, they also knew about this Western Sea. In the Relation of 1666 they related that they live almost at the end of the world. To their west live a people called the Karezi, but beyond these
Those who have more recently explored the Mississippi River [Mr. Joliet, Father Marquette, and Mr. de la Salle] have also spoken of this sea. Mr. Joliet, sent by Mr. de Frontenac to explore [the Mississippi] in 1673, presented [to Mr. de Frontenac], on his return, a map and I have a copy of it. He wrote on his map that one could travel to this sea by taking one of the great rivers that flow into the Mississippi from the west. He said that 20 days [journey by foot] west of the Mississippi River, there is a native nation that trades with another people for hatchets. Mr. Joliet stated that if he had arrived [at a spot along the Mississippi] two days earlier, he could have talked to the people who brought four of these hatchets.
Father Marquette, who I have spoken of and who accompanied Mr. Joliet on that exploration, provides more details on their route. He said in the Relation that the natives assured him that after five or six days of travel up the Osage River, also called the Missouri, you find a beautiful prairie and, on crossing it to the northwest for 20 or 30 leagues, one finds a small but navigable river. From there this river flows to the southwest for 12 to 15 leagues at which point it flows into a small lake. From that lake, a much larger river flows west and into the sea. That sea must be the sea of which I speak [the Sea of the West].
When Mr. de la Salle continued the exploration of the Mississippi River, he brought with him two Franciscan priests, Father Zenobe and Father Hennepin. Both of them wrote about that sea. Father Zenobe reported that the natives assured Mr. de la Salle that the Osage or Missouri River is formed from many other rivers and is well populated with many villages and by many nations. The river flows through fields and prairies with large oxen [bison] and beaver to hunt. The river is navigable until reaching a mountain. All the other rivers that form the Osage flow from this mountain. Beyond that mountain is a sea on which great ships sail.
I also have a copy of a manuscript map by Mr. de Louvigny (a former Commander of troops in Canada) drawn from his own personal knowledge and that of several other Frenchmen who had traveled with La Salle. He drew on this map a river that he called the River of the West. He said that it coursed the length of the Spanish territory, and beyond that into the sea.
I have learned from Mr. Le Sueur, who lived with the Sioux for many years, that the Panis people live on the shore of a lake, and from that lake flows a great river called the Meschasipi [Hennepin’s name for the Mississippi; also called the Colbert River by the French at that time] that flows to the west. No one knows where it ends. It appears that this river is the one Father Marquette spoke about, that flows to the sea. That sea cannot be far because Mr. le Sueur told me that then the Sioux travel 15 days to the west to wage war against other nations, that they find in that land fortresses on the coast of a sea. In these fortresses, they see people like us (in fancy clothing) that sell knives unlike ours.
Finally, the history of the Illinois people says that they once lived by the Western Sea, but were chased from there by their enemies.
Please do not tell me, as many people believe, that this sea could be the Vermilion [Red] Sea of California [now called the Sea of Cortez] and that is where the River of the West ends. They can only speak in this way because they have not studied the distances involved and the written reports. Mr. de la Salle himself once believed that the Mississippi River flowed into the Sea of California and Mr. Joliet thought it was people from California that sold the hatchets I just
These are the reasons for my belief that there is a sea west of the Mississippi River, not far from natives we already know. It is true that most of the information we have regarding this sea comes from the reports of natives. However, it seems very unlikely that so many different people, in different times and places, would collude to deceive us, with nothing to gain from this deception.
We must now decide whether that sea could be of any use to the French nation. I believe that this is un-doubtable, if indeed that sea communicates with the great Pacific Ocean. I also believe that fact is undeniable if one considers the great ships that were seen on it. Those ships could not be merely native canoes.
The Englishman I mentioned earlier, named Derner, went looking for this sea, after learning that foreign ships had arrived there [at Quivira] laden with trade goods; vases and utensils, all of a kind uncommon among the Native Americans. I believe those ships came from Japan or another oriental country and that perhaps they were tossed that way by a storm. Gomara says that the ships seen by the Spanish at Quivira had golden yards and silver bows. These ships were laden with merchandise and thought to have been from Cathay or China. The previously mentioned Nipissiriniens said that some of the items brought by these foreigners were hatchets shaped like partridge tails and bottoms with attached shoes, as flexible as a glove, which they traded for furs. These foreigners had no hair, either on their heads or as beards, and therefore the natives called them “peeled heads.” After hearing what the natives had to say about the French, these foreigners said they would like to meet us.
Father Hennepin said that Mr. de la Salle’s greatest hope was to find the Pacific Ocean. Finally, it seems to me that to find this Sea [of the West] would bring
It would be wise to decide what route to take in order to assure a successful exploration. I think that if we started in Canada, that the Missouri River would be the best route, especially if we contacted the Aouia [that live there], who Mr. de Louvigny says, know a native nation that trades on that sea. We should also seek help from the Panis [Pawnees], who at the time of Mr. Le Sueur’s expedition, lived at the source of the River of the West.
[On the other hand], if we started from the mouth of the Mississippi, we should then seek help from the Cenis people. [It was in their lands that La Salle was murdered and some of his men stayed with the Indians.] At the time of Mr. d’Iberville’s exploration, there were Spaniards living among them. Some of these were white, others mulatto. All of them had been forced to leave Quivira by the natives. The Spanish also say that the natives we call the Chomans [the Spanish call them Xumanes, as noted on Guillaume De l’Isle’s map of North America, published in 1700] also live close to Quivira or are a colony of that city. They could also provide us with additional information.
As to the distance between Quivira and New Mexico, I can’t determine it exactly because authors differ on this point. That said, I believe they are separated by 80 to 90 leagues. These distances are based on the time it took Vasquez Coronado to travel between them.
Finally, I believe the Sea of the West communicates with the Pacific Ocean through a strait at about 43 degrees [North] latitude close to [Cape Blanco], the most northern cape of California. At least that is what Juan de Torquemada says when describing the Spanish discovery of that cape.
He reports that the Count of Monterey, Viceroy of Mexico, sent ships to explore the coast of California. The frigate captained by Martin de Aguilar was separated by storm from the others and became the first to sail north of Cape [Mendocino]. About 30 leagues north of this cape, at about 43 degrees [North] latitude, he discovered another cape he named [Cape Blanco]. Beyond that cape, the coast turned to the east. [Just north of that cape] he discovered a safe and navigable entrance [to the land]. Juan de Torquemada further states that Martin de Aguilar
We have just reviewed the evidence contained within my brother’s mémoire, from about 1700 and including map 4, to prove the existence of a sea north of California and New Mexico. He called it the Mer de l’Ouest [Sea of the West or Western Sea], to distinguish it from the Pacific Ocean, with which it communicates through an outlet north of [Cape Blanco]. This channel was discovered by Martin de Aguilar. My brother did not record this on his map, but that is what has been written on most engraved maps since that time. The Sea of the West, however, is never represented on those maps. [This statement is not entirely true, as it was occasionally found on printed maps between 1700 and 1752.]
As for map 3, I carefully [reproduced it in a smaller format] from a [manuscript] map my brother created in 1695, showing all of North America.
The differences between map 3 and map 4 are easily seen. On map 3 [Cape Blanco], located north of [Cape Mendocino], is not shown, nor is the Strait of Martin de Aguilar. Additionally, the south coast of the Sea of the West is not completed to the coast of California. [These all appear on Map 4.]
All this makes me conclude that in the time between creating those two maps, my brother had learned about [Cape Blanco] and the Strait of Martin de Aguilar. Additionally, he had begun to form an opinion on the location of the southern coast of the Sea of the West, from [Cape Blanco] to its terminus to the east. This coast extends 45 degrees of longitude, as measured on map 3.
As for the northern coast of the Sea of the West, my brother [Guillaume] left it uncharted on both map 3 and 4. He did, however, place a few settlements at 50 degrees [North] latitude and 250 degrees [East] longitude [see map 3]. These natives
Therefore, the northern coast of the Sea of the West cannot be placed above 50 degrees [North] latitude, and that is where I placed it on my map [map 1] using as a guide the area now occupied by Admiral de Fonte’s discoveries.
On map 3, my brother placed an outlet at 50 degrees [North] latitude and 247 degrees [East] longitude. It appears that my brother believed that the Strait of Anian [should be placed there], however I have been unable to find the evidence he had to support this or what sea he might of meant, other than the Sea of the West, when he wrote on this map that after serious consideration, one could postulate that at this place the Strait of Anian connects two seas. Perhaps he was here referring to a connection between the Sea of the West and the North Sea, through the channel he left undetermined, but heading north of Hudson Bay, to the place he marked “ne ultra,” at 65 degrees [North] latitude. In any case, these are only conjectures for which I have not found solid support, and therefore I will not dwell on them. For his part, my brother found these conjectures sound enough to place the Strait of Anian there. In future articles I will discuss the history of the Strait of Anian, the evidence brought forward by those who believed in its existence, the differences in opinion they had and those who placed it on their maps. For now, I will only add this. Mr. Nolin copied my brother’s geography onto his world map [of 1700] (p. 6) from the manuscript globe given to Chancellor Boucherat, on which he clearly showed the Sea of the West. He also completed both north and
Here I will end my explanations of map 3, as drawn by my brother [Guillaume]. In the future, I plan to detail and confirm the reasons my brother had for believing in the existence of the Sea of the West with additional sources of information. These reasons were discussed only in general in his mémoires, just presented. I plan to detail the history of more recent discoveries made west of Canada and north of New Mexico. In revealing relations and observations yet unpublished, I will not only prove the existence of the Sea of the West, distinct from the Pacific Ocean, but also determine, more exactly, its location and expanse.
We will then have a complete explanation as to why my brother’s 1695 map of North America, copied here as map 3, was drawn in that manner.
END
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NOTICE
New Maps of the Discoveries of Admiral De Fonte, and other Spanish, Portuguese, English, Dutch, French and Russian Mariners in the North Seas
place called] Archangel, in order to better determine, by astronomical observation, [the location] of this distant extremity of the Empire. Some years later, he undertook, in a similar manner, travel to other parts of Russia and Siberia and to the furthest eastern extremities [of this Empire]. There, at the most eastern harbor of Kamchatka [spelled, in the original, Kamtchatka], [the harbor was Avatcha], and from there [by ship] to explore the area between Asia and America in the Southern Sea [Mer du Sud, in the original; subsequently translated here as Pacific or North Pacific Ocean]. I was awaiting the completion of his travels and observations, in order to add them to the information I already had and continued gathering from other sources, and even other countries, when I learned the sad news of his death while returning from America, within sight of the very harbor from which he had left. Then, I needed time to obtain, examine and understand my brother’s papers. It is for these reasons that I waited until my return to France before publishing this sequel to my [first] mémoires; having promised there to produce a map of the new discoveries from the information produced by my brother’s voyage and that of Captain Bering [spelled, in the original, Beering] would provide.
I have also reproduced Admiral de Fonte’s Letter in its French translation. Earlier printing errors and errors of translation have now been eliminated, after comparing my English manuscript with the other editions done in England.
regarding this sea is extremely important in the search for an inland passage to the Pacific. For this reason, I will publish all that I have learned about it in a separate article [of this mémoire.] In it, I will relate all the accounts and additional information my late [half] brother [Guillaume De l’Isle], the Geographer, had gathered, in order to prove its existence, a fact that he never doubted, even though he never placed it on any of his printed maps.
Plans. My brother had added to this particular mémoire, a small map, in order to make it easier to understand. I have had this map engraved, even though it was only very general in detail. It is map 4 in this collection [of articles,] and it is the only map that I felt unnecessary to reduce to the scale and projection of the others. It is an exact copy of the map my brother traced for his mémoire, both in size and shape.
Library along with an example of the new [1708] World map that Mr. Nolin had re-engraved on the same copper plates that my brother was kind enough to return to him, after all things geographical had been removed from them. It is easy to see the imperfections of Mr. Nolin’s [1708] World map, after he could no longer use my brother’s geographical corrections.
enough to show all their known details. All these maps will be on a similar scale and projection, no matter how large or small the area they represent.
better maps, but also provides solid information to those wishing to draw future maps of those same areas.
were of significant help. These were given to me in 1747. As would be expected, it took some time to research and organize all of this information and to ascertain what information was missing from it. I confess that I had not previously read the major authors of these works, whose writings my brother knew so well that he had only left brief notes for his own use. Because of this, I first had to gather these writings. This was made more difficult because, in the confusion after my brother’s death, many of his books were dispersed to different individuals and these same books were not always available in other libraries. For all these reasons, I was delayed until now in publishing these findings concerning the geography of Russia, northern Asia and America. All this also explains why I am not as knowledgeable on the topics as those learned scholars who have made the study of geography their lifetime work, with probably more talent than my own.
This vast unknown space on our globe is of great interest. I will relate to this assembly, the discoveries of all the lands and seas it contains, the knowledge of which I acquired [not only] during my long stay in Russia, [but also] since my return to France.
th, eight days after the Emperor’s death, and ratified by the Empress Catherine, who thought it incumbent on her to second the views of the late Emperor, her illustrious spouse.
again hit by a storm from the east-northeast, and this entirely contrary wind brought him quickly back to the same harbor from which he left, and no further attempts were made to reach this supposed land.
presenting my map [with a mémoire] to Empress Anne and the ruling Senate; hoping to encourage the Russians to undertake additional voyages of discovery. It had that effect: this same Princess ordered that a new voyage should be undertaken in accordance with the mémoire I had written.
40 degrees [North] latitude, the northern part of that land, where he landed. [From there he] explored as far as Matsmey [Hokkaido], a major port and one of the most southern points of Yesso, but Captain Spanberg did not go ashore.
th of July, after 41 days at sea, they sighted land that they thought was the American coast, at 55 degrees, 36 minutes [North] latitude. From Avatcha, they had traveled 62 degrees of longitude, and therefore were at 218 degrees [East] longitude from the Meridian of Paris. Cape Blanco, which is located at the most northwest extremes known for California, is located at 43 degrees [North] latitude and 232 degrees [East] longitude from the Meridian of Paris. Thus, Captain Tschirikow and my brother had traveled to 14 degrees of longitude west of Cape Blanco and 12 ½ degrees of latitude north of Cape Blanco. No known explorer was known to have been there before them. This is also as far to the east as they sailed.
th of July, Captain Tschirikow tacked [north and west] in an attempt to get closer to the shore; however, he was unable to get closer than one league. Therefore after attempting this for 8 days, instead he sent ten armed men and a good pilot [Abraham Dementiew] in a ship’s boat, but lost sight of them after they reached land. No one saw them again, despite the ship remaining in the area and searching for them for the whole month of August. [Other sources state Tschirikow started his return to Russia much earlier than this.] Finally, as Captain Tschirikow was losing hope of ever finding them, and as the season was becoming dangerous for storms, he decided to turn back. On his way, he saw distant lands for several days, which I have noted on my map.
th of September, they approached a mountainous coast covered with grass, but with no trees. They could not land there because of reefs near the coast, but upon entering a gulf, they saw native people, and several of these came to them, each in a small boat similar to those used by Eskimos and those from Greenland. Their language could not be understood. The latitude of this gulf was noted to be 51 degrees 12 minutes [North] latitude and the difference in longitude from that gulf to the harbor of Avatcha, where they returned, was noted to be about 12 degrees.
then caught by a storm that brought them, despite their desires, to the coast of Kamchatka and they then returned to where they had departed.
for the sake of brevity, the details of the rest of the Admiral’s report. The map I present is a good representation of the large lakes, the islands and the rivers discovered and named by him during that voyage. I will note that the Admiral and the Captains of the other ships he commanded separated, taking different routes in order to increase the number of lands discovered. With their large ships, they entered several of the large lakes noted on my map. With the use of the smaller ship’s boats, the Admiral himself reached a lake very close to Hudson Bay, his larger ship unable to progress because of cascades. There he met with a British ship from Boston [that had arrived from the east]. Additionally, one of the Admiral’s captains explored lands and seas above 80 degrees [North] latitude, where he found very high mountains of ice.
A letter written by Admiral Bartholomew de Fonte, then Admiral of New Spain and Peru, and now Prince of Chile, in which he gives an account of the most important material in his journal, from the Port of Lima Peru, on his discoveries to find if there was a North West Passage from the Atlantic Ocean into the South and Tartary Seas [the Pacific and North Pacific Ocean].
th of April, at five in the evening, after sailing 200 leagues, we dropped anchor at St. Helena, at two degrees [South] latitude, on the north side of Gayaquil [Guayaquil] Bay, within its cape. There each ship’s company took in a large quantity of Bitumen, commonly called Tar, dark and greenish in color, and an excellent remedy against scurvy [a disease caused by a deficiency of vitamin C in the diet] and dropsy [edema]. It is also useful for tarring ship hulls, but we procured it as a medicine. It comes boiling out of the earth and is plentiful there.
th, we crossed the equator within sight of Cabo del Passao [Pasao], and on
the 11th reached Cabo San Francisco at 1 degree 7 minutes [North] latitude. We anchored there at the mouth of the St. Jago [Yago] River, 80 leagues north-northeast of Cape St. Helena, and 25 leagues to the east and a bit south of Cabo San Francisco. There we threw our nets and caught an abundance of good fish. Several members from each ship’s company went ashore and killed a large number of wild goats and pigs that are numerous there. Others bought, from the natives, twenty dozen turkey hens and cocks, some ducks and lots of very good fruit. All this occurred in a village on the left side of the St Jago River, two Spanish leagues (six and one half miles) from the coast. Smaller sea vessels can navigate this river for fourteen Spanish leagues, to the southeast, almost half way to the beautiful and very rich town of Quito, at 22 minutes [South] latitude.
th of April, we sailed from the St. Jago River for the port and town of [El] Realejo [Nicaragua], approximately 320 leagues to the west-northwest, located at about 11 Degrees and 14 minutes [North] latitude, with Mount St. Miguel [El Salvador] on our left and Point Casamina [Camvina] on our right. This is a very safe port and is protected from the sea by the islands of Ampallo and Mangreza, both well populated with natives and well cultivated, as well as three other islands. [El] Realejo [Raleo, in English accounts] is only four miles overland from the head of Lake Nicaragua that flows into the North Sea at 12 degrees [North] latitude near a group of islands called either the Islas del Grano or Islas de las Perlas, which means the Islands of Corn or the Islands of Pearls.
th of April, we set sail from [El] Realejo for the port of Saragua (or Salagua) [also Zuelagua], passing among the islands and shoals of Chamilli [Chamily], and so the Spanish sometimes call the port by that name instead. It is located at 17 degrees 31 minutes [North] latitude and 480 leagues to the west northwest of [El] Realejo. From the town of Salagua, and the nearby town of Compostella [Compestilo],
we hired a [ship’s] master, his vessel, and six seamen accustom to trading for Pearls with the natives on the east side of [the Baja of] California. The natives get these pearls from a reef at 19 degrees [North] latitude beyond Baxos St. Juan, that lies at 24 degrees [North] latitude, and twenty leagues north northeast of Cap S Luc [Cabo San Lucas], the most southeastern point of [the Baja of] California.
th of May, 1640. After sailing 160 leagues to the west northwest and a quarter west, they reached the latitude of Cape Abel, on the west southwest coast of California at 26 degrees [North] latitude. There the winds stiffened and a steady wind arose from the south southeast, lasting from the 26th of May to the 14th of June. Over that time the Admiral sailed a total of 866 leagues north northwest without once lowering the Topsail, 410 leagues from Port Abel to Cape Blanco, and from there 456 leagues to a river he named Rio de los Reyes at 53 degrees [North] latitude. The weather for the whole voyage was quite good. [Before reaching the Rio de los Reyes], the Admiral sailed about 260 leagues through meandering canals and many islands, a place that the Admiral chose to call the Archipelago of San Lazare [Lazaro], as he was the first to discover them. There his ships’ boats always sailed a mile ahead, sounding to find the water’s depth, as well as to find sandbars and rocky shoals.
nd of June, the Admiral dispatched one of his captains, Pedro Bernardo, ordering him to sail up a beautiful river with deep, calm waters. This river coursed generally north with depths of four to eight fathoms. It finally entered a large lake filled with many islands. This lake also had one large peninsula inhabited by many natives, of a friendly and honest disposition. Captain Bernardo named this Lake Valasco and there he left his
large ship. The rivers and lakes were filled with salmon, trout, and very large white perch, some as large as two feet long. He proceeded further using three long Indian launches, called periagos in their language, each about fifty to sixty feet long and made from two large logs. With these he sailed from his ship on Lake Valasco, first 140 leagues to the west and then 436 leagues to the east northeast until he reached 77 degrees [North] latitude.
th, 1640, advising that he had left his ship on Lake Valasco between Bernardo Island and the Conibasset Peninsula, as he felt it a safe mooring. From there he had gone down a river and out of the lake. That river had three cascades within 80 leagues, and then the river flowed into the Sea of Tartary [the North Pacific] at 61 degrees [North] latitude. Bernardo wrote that he had with him 36 natives, and three of their launches, 20 Spanish seamen, and a Jesuit priest. He also stated that the coast there trended to the northeast. They did not lack for food, as the land was rich in three forms of venison and the rivers and sea were full of fish. They had brought bread, salt, oil and brandy with them. The Captain assured the Admiral that he would do his very best and explore all he could. [It seems unlikely that Bernardo could have accomplished all that he states in 5 days.] As for the Admiral, he had reached the Indian village of Conasset, where he had received the letter from Captain Bernardo, on the
southern shore of Lake Belle. It is in this pleasant place that the two Jesuit priests spent two years on their previous mission. The Admiral and his two ships entered the lake on the 22nd of June, an hour before high tide, at a place where the water depth was four or five fathoms and there were no cascades. The general depth of Lake Belle was six or seven fathoms. There was a small cascade at mid-flow, occurring about 75 minutes before high tide. At this time, the water starts flowing slowly into Lake Belle. The Rio de los Reyes has fresh water at Arena Harbor, twenty leagues from its mouth or entrance. This river, like the lake, has an abundance of Salmon, Salmon-Trout, Pike, Perch and Mullets, and two other types of fish that are specific to this river and of delicate taste. Lake Belle also abounds with these same fish, large and tender. Admiral de Fonte says that Mullet fish from this river and lake are better than anywhere else in the world.
st of July, 1640, the Admiral left his ships on Belle Lake, at a very good mooring, protected by a beautiful island, facing the village of Conasset, and [with the ship’s boats] sailed to the Parmentiers River, which is named in honor of Mr. Parmentiers, one of the traveling gentlemen and a judicious and industrious comrade of the Admiral. It is he who wrote a most exact description of everything in and about that river. [Here the text slips back into the first person.] Since entering the source of this river on Belle Lake, we have passed (this is still the Admiral speaking) eight cascades that measured a total of 32 feet, from the source of the river to its issue into Lake Belle. On the 6th of July, we reached the place where this river flows into a large lake, and I named it Lake de Fonte. This lake is 160 leagues long and 60 leagues wide. Its length runs from east northeast to west southwest. Its depth is generally 20 to 30 fathom but in some places it is up to 60 fathoms deep. The lake abounds in the best of Cod and Ling [Hake Fish], very large and well fed. There are several large islands in the lake and ten smaller islands, covered with brush. The moss on these islands grows up to seven feet long and in the winter an animal called Moose (sort of a large deer) as well as other deer like animals nourish themselves on it. There, one also finds an abundance of wild cherries, strawberries, hurtle-berries [blueberries] and wild currents. Additionally, there are many wild fowl, like heath cocks and hens [wood grouse or ruff grouse], partridges, turkeys,
and numerous sea birds, especially to the south of the lake. There is a very large island on the lake, fertile and well populated, with timber of excellent quality, including oak, ash, elm, and fir; all very large and tall.
th of July, we sailed out of the east northeast end of Lake de Fonte; passing into another lake through a strait I named Estricho de Ronquillo [Ronquillo Straits]. It was 34 leagues long and two to three leagues wide and ranged in depth from 20 to 28 fathoms. It took 10 hours to pass through this strait, as we had a stout gale wind and a full tide. As we sailed more easterly, the land became noticeably less fertile, more like that of North and South America above and below the 36th degree of latitude. The western part [Ronquillo Strait] differed from the eastern part of this lake [Lake Ronquillo], not only in fertility, but also in temperature, being at least ten degrees warmer in the west [at the Strait]. This [the phenomena of the land being less fertile and colder as one travels inland from the coast] was noted by the best Spanish explorers during those times between the reigns of Charles V and Philip III and documented by the writings of [Alonso] Álvarez [de Pineda], [José] de Acosta, [Juan de] Mariana, etc.
th of July, we came upon an Indian village where the natives told Mr. Parmentiers, our interpreter, that there was a large ship a short distance ahead, in a place where no large ship have ever been seen before. We sailed on but only found there an elderly man and a young lad. The elderly man had the best knowledge of mechanical mathematics of anyone I had ever met. My second officer and gunner were both Englishmen and both excellent seaman. They had been taken as prisoners at Campeche [by the Spanish there], as well as the master’s son. [They spoke to the elderly man and the youth and then] told me that the ship was from New England and a town named Boston.
th of July, the owner of this ship from Boston and his entire crew came aboard [my ship]. [This statement makes very little sense, as, at this time, the Admiral was sailing in the smaller “ship’s boats”, little more than long launches!] [The navigator of this ship], a Captain Shapely [other sources use Shapley or Chapelet] told me that the ship’s owner was a fine gentleman and Major General of the largest colony in New England, called Matechusets [Massachusetts] [other sources have him as the “Captain” of the Fort of Boston]; judging him as a gentleman, I received the owner as such and told him my orders were to take as a prize any ship seeking a Northwest Passage into the Pacific; but I would look upon them as merchants trading
with the natives for beaver, otter, and other furs and skins. Upon hearing this, the owner of the English ship, [a Mr. Seymour Gibbons], gave me a small present of supplies, of which I had no need, and I gave him my diamond ring, that had cost me 1200 pieces of eight, which that gentleman, out of courtesy, was very reluctant to accept. To Captain Shapely, in exchange for his fine maps and journals, I gave 1000 pieces of eight. I also gave the ship’s owner a quarter cask of fine Peruvian wine. Additionally, twenty pieces of eight were given to each member of [Captain Shapely’s] crew of ten sailors.
th of August, with the help of a current and a strong wind, we reached the first cascade on the Parmentiers River. By the 11th of August we had covered 86 leagues and by the 16th of August we found ourselves once again on the southern coast of Lake Belle, back on board our ships near the beautiful village of Conasset. There we found everything was well. The good natives of Conasset had treated our men very well while we had been away and Captain Ronquillo had done the same in return.
th of August, a native came to me, in Conasset on Lake Belle, bringing me a letter from Captain Bernardo, dated August 11th. It said that the Captain was on his way back from his explorations to the north. The Captain assured me that there was no communication between the Spanish Sea [Pacific Ocean] and the Atlantic Ocean through Davis Strait, as the natives had taken one of his seaman to the head of Davis Strait and he had seen that it ended in a fresh water lake, about thirty miles in circumference, at 80 degrees [North] latitude. North of this lake, he had seen massive mountains. Northwest from that lake the ice stretched from the shore to where the sea was 100 fathoms deep. The seaman thought this ice may have been there from the creation of the world, for man knew little of the wondrous works of God, especially near the North and South Poles. This seaman further added that he had sailed northeast and east-northeast from Basset Island to 79 degrees [North] latitude and that there the land stretched to the north, where he saw glaciers.
th, and from there awaited my further orders. With a good
supply of salted provisions (of venison and fish) that by my orders, Captain Ronquillo had acquired during my absence, and a hundred barrels of native wheat and corn, I set sail on the 2nd of September, 1640; taking with me, a number of the natives from Conasset. On the 5th of September, I laid at anchor on the Rio de los Reyes between Arena and Minhauset. At 8 in the morning, I weighed anchor. Proceeding down that river, I later found myself in the northeast part of the Pacific Ocean. From there I returned home, having found that there was no passage into the Pacific Ocean through that which is called the Northwest Passage.
COMMENTS
[For numerous negative comments regarding this work, see, A Letter From a Russian Sea Officer…, London, 1754, Printed by A Linde, sold by J. Robinson]
and its voyage were merely fabricated by some Englishman; although it is not clear for what purpose an individual would have for doing such a thing. [One only needs an example such as Gulliver’s Travels to answer this question.]
in London, 1744, Sir Arthur Dobbs says (vol. 4, p. 130) that by order of Sir Charles Wager, a search was done in America regarding Captain Shapely. This search found that there was a Captain Shapely [Nicholas Shapley], living in Boston [at that time]. Dobbs added that this information lends credence to Admiral de Fonte’s letter and is [supporting] proof that it was an authentic account.
English with Groseilliers was 1682 (see p. 300 of vol. 2, 12th edition, Paris, 1744). That date is 42 years after the voyage of de Fonte and therefore these sailors mentioned by Mr. Jeremie cannot be those of Captain Shapely’s crew. The only additional information about the English exploration of Hudson Bay given by the Reverend Father was that they sailed from both Boston and England.
conserved some of these mémoires, and can gather enough information from them to recover that same information [that the Spanish now lack]. In future mémoires and by this method, I will gather all the additional information I can find on these lands and prove that they are indeed the way I represented them [on map 1 in this mémoire], gathered from the information in Admiral de Fonte’s letter, per the manuscript I received from England.
Admiral de Fonte. Another person [Mr. de Guignes], as inquisitive and educated as Mr. de Ulloa, and who has also traveled in America and Spain, was asked while he was visiting Paris last year, if he thought that Admiral de Fonte’s letter was a forgery, as many claimed. He answered that it was more useful than people thought and strongly defended its authenticity. He is well known to the Academy of Humanities and has researched Admiral de Fonte’s discoveries and states they are confirmed by the testimonies of Chinese authors (cf. Journal des Scavans [Scholars’ Journal], number 5, Dec. 1752, part 1, p. 812). [This same research was published in the Memoires de L’Academie Royale des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres [Memoirs of the Royal Academy of Inscriptions and Humanities, Vol. 28, p. 503, Paris, 1761.] At a later date, I will review the details of these confirmations of the lands noted by de Fonte’s in the books of Chinese authors and European travelers. For now, I will only give the most credible justifications for the authenticity of Admiral de Fonte’s letter. In future mémoires, I hope to prove its authenticity in more detail and with more rigorous arguments, as much as can be done in these type situations. In any case, rather than debate the impossibility or difficulty in finding Admiral de Fonte’s manuscript in Spain, America, or elsewhere, or list proofs of its authenticity, I believe that it is more useful to include it rather than exclude it, for the sake of advancing geographical knowledge. At the very least, this may stimulate additional research and voyages which is the best way of uncovering the truth. Therefore, I will here share my collective notes on Admiral de Fonte’s letter, as reported in the manuscript I received from England, including comments by Englishmen who believe, as I do, that this letter is authentic.
California], which appeared in volume 2 of this work, London, 1749. [Drage] states on page 307 of this second volume, that the letter of Admiral de Fonte has the same problem as other articles printed in that journal; it has a large number of errors that were not present in the original manuscript.
could compare the manuscript to the other English editions. I will only briefly mention these mistakes and report on the remarks and notes that were and can be made by referring to my current text.
letter that I found quite defective, which is found at the beginning of page 20. After they reached the port and village of Saragua or Salagua, close to Compestella, [my first translation] said that they hired the master of a ship and its six seamen who bought pearls east of California. These pearls came from a reef at 19 degrees of latitude further north than St. John Reef at 24 degrees [North] latitude. The reef from which they obtained the pearls is said to be 20 degrees north northeast of Cape St. Luc [Cabo San Lucas] the most southeast point of [the Baja of] California. This would be a literal translation of my manuscript copy. But the last English edition of the Admiral’s letter, [Drage’s], mentions that the reef where the pearls are found is at 29 degrees [North] latitude and that this reef is north of St. John Reef that is located at 24 degrees [North] latitude. The author of that third edition [Drage] also notes an error in the distance between [Cabo San Lucas] and the pearl reef. If you place [Cabo San Lucas] at 22 degrees 25 minutes [North] latitude, as he does, and St. John Reef at 24 degrees [North] latitude, there is a difference of more than 1½ degrees latitude, or about 20 leagues [e.g. the 20 leagues mentioned is in reference to the distance between these two points, not the distance between Cabo San Lucas and the pearl reef.] However, all of this discussion is fairly pointless because geographers do not agree on the latitude of St. John Harbor. Additionally, The Admiral never went there. One final error is noted in this section of the letter, both in the [first] printed copy and in my manuscript. Where it states that St. John Reef is located north northeast of [Cabo St. Lucas], it should read north northwest, as we know that the eastern coast of [the Baja of] California and the Red Sea [Sea of Cortez] trend in that direction.
had stated that this was unknown at that time. This young gentleman was recommended to the Admiral because of his expertise in cosmography and navigation. [On his search], he had with him, his ship, the four launches purchased at [El] Realejo, and the master with his seamen hired at Salagua, who were very familiar with the [Sea of Cortez]. They must have explored all of this sea, but de Fonte chose not to inform the court of their findings in his report. [Note: The court of Spain had released an edict in 1746, 7 years before De l’Isle’s mémoire, that California was not an island.] The Admiral only states that he had learned from the master hired at Salagua that 200 leagues north of [Cabo San Lucas] a current from the north met a current from the south, and the master was sure that this meant that California was an island. In future articles, when I specifically discuss California, I will attempt to compensate for the Admiral’s silence. At that time I will discuss whether California is an island, [a peninsula], or whether it may be both, as it could be that at times it is a peninsula, and at other times an island, due to tides in the Western Sea, which I have located north of California. Because the Red Sea [Sea of Cortez] is only 200 leagues long, the place where the north current meets the south current is well inside this sea and therefore this north current can only be caused by a large sea north of California.
error in my manuscript and in the printed copy [of 1708]. The California coast from Cape Abel is noted as trending west southwest. We know that [in that area] the western coast of California trends to the west northwest. All [three of] these errors have been corrected in the new translation [or edition] presented [in this mémoire].
he says the same thing at the end of page 25. While discussing one of his officers, Captain Bernardo, who the Admiral sent for discoveries elsewhere, that after having done that, [Captain Bernardo] arrived at the Harbor of Arena, 20 leagues from the mouth of the Rio de los Reyes: these statements are why I have placed [on map 1], the Harbor of Arena on that same river, 20 leagues from its mouth.
northeast on their outward sail, as the Rio de los Reyes trends approximately in that direction and because the length of Lake de Fonte runs east-northeast to west-southwest (page 24). For these reasons, I gave both the Parmentiers River and Lake Belle a direction of northeast and divided the 86 leagues equally between them [approximating their individual lengths at 43 leagues.] The author [Drage] of the map on which I modeled my map 2 did this same thing (see map 2). However, he placed the small island that faces Conasset in the middle of Lake Belle. Admiral de Fonte’s letter places it to the south of the lake. Other details not included on Drage's original map are as follows. It does not note the small cascade, within Lake Belle, at half-flow (page 23). It does not note the eight cascades in the Parmentiers River that measured a total of 32 feet in height from its source on Lake Belle, nor does it show the flow of the Parmentiers River, on leaving Lake Belle (see ibid.). I have noted all of these on my map 1. I have also shown the direction of flow of the Parmentiers River with a small arrow.
several large islands and ten smaller ones. The very largest island was very fertile and well populated. I have assumed that the Admiral sailed the length of the lake to the east-northeast and [on map 1] I have drawn the number of islands mentioned by him. The author of [the map similar to] map 2 [Drage] has pictured this lake in a similar manner, but he drew none of these islands on his map.
th, the Admiral sailed from the east-northeast end of Lake De Fonte into a body of water he named Ronquillo Strait that was 34 leagues long and 2 or 3 leagues wide. [At the end of this strait, the width widened and Admiral de Fonte called this Lake Ronquillo.] With a brisk wind and a helpful tide, the Admiral passed through that strait in 10 hours. Although the Admiral does not mention the direction of sail, he later mentions that as they sailed east, the weather became noticeably worse. From this statement, one can assume that Ronquillo Strait [and Ronquillo Lake] trends more or less east, and that is why I have made it 34 leagues in length [in that direction on map 1].
th of July, he arrives at an Indian village [on the shores of Lake Ronquillo], where the locals told Mr. Parmentiers, the Admiral’s interpreter, that there was a large ship just ahead of them in a place where no large ship had ever been seen before and they sailed toward that ship on that same day, the 17th. [Here much of the text from the previous paragraph is repeated.] On this date, they could not have been far from the end of Lake Ronquillo and the native village when they found the English ship. This was the farthest point of Admiral de Fonte’s journey. If he had given details regarding his route to the English ship or if he had placed the native village more precisely in relation to Lake Ronquillo, I could have been more precise about his route on my map [1]. Without that information, I could only assume that the village was on the shore of Lake
Ronquillo, at about 65 degrees [North] latitude.
traveled his furthest, and where he met with the English ship, was located at 65 degrees [North] latitude, near Wager Bay and another inlet between Cape Mackkey [Mac Key] and Cape Tomptson [Thompson], I decided [to put on map 1] passages between these two bays and Lake Ronquillo, as if I knew for sure that these passages were there. This will only be truly known when the English overcome the obstacles they met in 1746 and 1747, find those inlets and then pass through them.
As the Admiral’s letter does not mention how far Bernardo sailed on this river before reaching Lake Valasco [named after the family of Valasco in Spain; the family of Don Louis de Haro], I can only guess its length.
nd, five days after leaving Admiral de Fonte, Captain Bernardo wrote him to say that he had left his ship on Lake Valasco, between Bernardo Island and the Conibasset Peninsula [the harbor of Conibasset], and [in the Indian long launches] followed a river out of that lake. This new river had three cascades over its 80 leagues length and then flowed into the Sea of Tartary [North Pacific] at 61 degrees [North] Latitude. Bernardo wrote that he had with him a Jesuit priest, 36 natives and 20 Spanish seamen. He also wrote that the coast stretched to the northeast [On map 1, the coast at the mouth of this river stretches on the north side of the river to the southwest and on the south side of the river to the southeast.] As Captain Bernardo wrote his letter only five days after receiving his orders, and during that 5 days had explored the Haro river and part of Lake Valasco, left his ship at the Harbor of Conibasset, and from there had descended another river which left the lake and that had 3 cascades over a distance of 80 leagues, etc., one can assume that he could not have gone very far into the Sea of Tartary [North Pacific] or far from this river that flows into it. Therefore, this northeast coast he mentions must have been close to that river. That is why I have drawn that coast in that way on my map 1. I named that river after Captain Bernardo, who discovered it. I also gave his name to the great lake that he explored for 436 leagues, to the east-northeast [of Lake Valasco], up to 77 degrees [North] latitude. I kept the name Valasco for the lake that Bernardo explored first. It was 140 leagues in length and west of Lake Bernardo. It is also where he left his ship, between Bernardo Island and Conibasset Peninsula, before going down the Bernardo River (see p. 22). The rest of Captain Bernardo’s journey is summarized in a letter he wrote to the Admiral on the 11th of August. In that letter he wrote that he was on his way back from exploring the north and he was sure that there was no communication between the Spanish Sea [Pacific Ocean] and the Atlantic Oceans through the Davis Strait. He wrote this because some natives had taken one of his sailors to the
head of Davis Strait and this sailor saw that it ended in a freshwater lake, about 30 miles in circumference, at 80 degrees [North] latitude. There he saw impressive mountains to the north and to the northwest of the lake. [From there] the ice stretched out to where the sea was 100 fathoms deep. He thought that that ice may have been there since the creation of the World, as man knows little of God’s admirable works, especially at the North and South Poles. Bernardo added that he had sailed from Basset Island to the northeast and east northeast up to 79 degrees [North] latitude, and there he saw the land trending to the north and glaciers on the land (p. 25).
[Jones] and James Lancaster [another Arctic explorer] are located.
th, 1741. There they saw natives in small boats similar to those used by the Greenlanders and
Eskimos. That great island is probably 100 to 150 leagues long, as its coast was visible to Captain [Tchirikow] and my brother for several days before they reached it on their return voyage from America. They located it at 51 degrees 12 minutes [North] latitude, and about 12 degrees of longitude east of Avatcha Harbor, where their journey ended.
th, 1750. That representation was done in the same manner that Mr. Buache had it engraved on his map, “Maps of the
New Discoveries, etc.” [Apparently Buache also drew the manuscript map for De l’Isle.] However, on Mr. Buache’s map, the lands discovered by Admiral de Fonte were all placed about ten degrees too far to the north and therefore placed the northern coast of the Western Sea at 60 degrees [North] latitude, while on my new map I have placed this same coast at 52½ degrees [North] latitude. But before explaining the reasons for these changes in shape and expanse, I will discuss the history of its discovery and the proofs documenting its existence and location.
southeast. There he found that the sea was much broader than at its outlet and he passed several islands within it. De Fuca noted especially, one island at the northwest point of the outlet, a very high rock, like a pillar.
northern coast of the Western Sea higher than 52 or 53 degrees [North] latitude and so that is where I have placed it. I will explain in further articles why I presented the Western Sea in the way I did on my map [one], both in its eastern and southern aspects, when I discuss the discoveries made by land in the western parts of Canada and Louisiana and the northern parts of California and New Mexico.
General of the expedition, he named General Sebastian Vizcaino because he knew these lands the best, having been there in the past, [employed in the conquest and pacification of California since 1594]. Without getting into the details of their voyage, I will only mention here that the ships they used were named: the Capitana or San Diego [other sources use the name Santiago], the Almirante or Saint Thomas, and the Trois Rois [a frigate]. They left Acapulco for Cape [Mendocino] on the 5th of May, 1602. I will not mention what happened on their way as these details will be discussed in an article devoted to California. Suffice it to say that on December 16th they reached a good harbor that they named Monterey between 38 and 39 degrees [North] latitude.
th, when the Capitana reached a cape at 42 degrees [North] latitude. It was named Cap blanc de S. Sebastien [Cabo Blanco de San Sebastian] because it was located near snow-covered mountains [and because it was first seen on the eve of St. Sebastian.]. This cape is a bit north of Cape [Mendocino], located at 41.5 degrees [North] latitude. The Capitana went no further than [Cabo Blanco] and from there sailed back to Acapulco. The frigate [Trois Rois] reached 43 degrees [North] latitude on January 19th, where they found that the coast turned northeast. Its captain, Ensign Martin de Aquilar, saw at that latitude a navigable river, or strait, with tree covered banks. He tried to enter it but was unable to do so because the river’s current was too strong. As the weather was poor and the temperature very cold, he then sailed back to Acapulco. I believe that this opening belonged to the Western Sea and I have no hesitation in showing it so on my map 1, as an outlet of that sea into the Pacific Ocean. That was the furthest north that these three ships sailed because the Count of Monterey had instructed them to go no further. That is why Martin de Aguilar turned back at that latitude and because many of his men were ill [with scurvy].
That entrance discovered by Martin de Aguilar at 43 degrees [North] latitude, was the last information that my brother Guillaume, the geographer, received regarding the north of California. One can see this information on his “General Map of America,” published in 1722. He ends the north coast of California at [Cabo Blanco de San Sebastian] at 43 degrees [North] latitude. Above that, he has the coast turn northeast, as described by Juan de Torquemada. However, to show the entrance discovered by Martin de Aguilar, my brother placed a small piece of coastline at 45 degrees [North] latitude, thus forming a much larger entrance than is described in [de Torquemada’s] Relations. As mentioned in my prologue (see p. 5), I found in the papers and manuscript maps left behind by my brother Guillaume, the information he knew about the Western Sea, as early as 1595 [should be 1695]. I had promised in the prologue, to publish my brother’s mémoire, proving the existence of that sea. It is the next article in this publication. I have chosen to place it before the article regarding the progress made by the French and the Spanish in those lands, mentioned, in general, by my brother in the following mémoire.
Quivira north and west of California. [Samuel] Purchas states that these maps are worthless and Quivira is not placed correctly on them. That statement is confirmed by the Count of Peñalosa [Diego Dionisio de Peñalosa Briceno y Berduga], once Viceroy of Mexico, who wrote that Quivira was north of New Mexico and that it was in error to place it west, in California.
The [Jesuit] Relations from New France of 1632 mentions that once a year the Nipissiriniens trade with a people living a month’s journey away. Another people also come to trade there and they arrive by sea on large ships.
people, the land ends and there is only a great lake with stinking water. That is what the natives say when talking about a [salt water] sea.
After returning to England, and from there to Holland, Father Hennepin, by order of William III, then King of England, and his Secretary of State, wrote a history of these discoveries. He said that if they wanted him to go back to these lands he would find a passage from Louisiana to the Pacific Ocean, along rivers [west] of the Mississippi, capable of carrying large ships. He confessed he was eager to make this discovery because it would be one of the most wonderful and memorial discoveries anyone could make.
mentioned. But there must be more than 400 leagues from the River of the West to the Sea of California, so one should understand that it could not be the [Sea of California] that the natives talk about nor is it people from California with which they trade.
great advantages [to the French] with time and experience. That [possibility] alone should be enough to explore for it, in order to confirm or deny these conjectures.
thought this entrance was the mouth of a large river, but [I believe that] it is in fact a large sea channel that leads to the city of Quivira. The captain tried to enter the channel with his frigate, but the current was against him and he did not want to disobey his orders [which were to sail only as far north as Cape Mendocino], and so he turned back to Mexico.
live about 500 leagues west of the [Nadouessi] and are allied with them. Between these two nations and slightly to their north, my brother places the comment that there are vast fields and prairies to the west and northwest of the Nadouessi. We can therefore surmise that there is land between these two nations and consequently, the northern coast of the Sea of the West stretches from the [Nadouessi] to this other nation. Although my brother did not name this nation on map three, one can infer that they must be the Karezi that he mentions in his mémoire (see p. 53).
south shorelines of this sea and completed the Strait of Anian to Hudson Bay. Perhaps he did this because that is how my brother depicted it on his manuscript globe. I have been unable to verify this because, despite all my efforts, I was unable to recover that globe from the Chancellor’s family.