A General History and Collection of Voyages and Travels, Vol. 6 | Page 9

a certain note or memorandum in the custody of me
Richard Hakluyt, taken out of an old ledger-book formerly belonging to
Mr Nicholas Thorne senior, a respectable merchant of Bristol, written
to his friend and factor Thomas Midnall and his servant William
Ballard, at that time residing at San Lucar in Andalusia; that before the
year 1526, one Thomas Tison an Englishman had found his way to the
West Indies, and resided there as a secret factor for some English
merchants, who traded thither in an underhand manner in those days.
To this person Mr Nicholas Thorne appears to have sent armour and

other articles which are specified in the memorandum or letter above
mentioned--This Thomas Tison, so far as I can conjecture, appears to
have been a secret factor for Mr Thorne and other English merchants,
to transact for them in these remote parts; whence it is probable that
some of our merchants carried on a kind of trade to the West Indies
even in those ancient times; neither do I see any reason why the
Spaniards should debar us from it now.
[Footnote 22: Hakluyt, III. 595.]

CHAPTER XII
THE VOYAGES OF JACQUES CARTIER FROM ST MALOES TO
NEWFOUNDLAND AND CANADA, IN THE YEARS 1534 AND
1535[23].
INTRODUCTION
These voyages are to be considered as among the early discoveries of
the New World, and are therefore inserted in this place. The only
edition of them which we have been able to procure, is that which is
inserted in the ancient and curious collection of voyages by Hakluyt,
which appears to have been abridged from the original in French,
published at Rouen in 8vo 1598[24]of this voyage, the author of the
Bibliotheque des Voyages gives the following notice. "So early as the
year 1518, the baron De Levi had discovered a portion of Canada, and
Jacques Cartier not only added to this first discovery, but visited the
whole country with the judgment of a person well instructed in
geography and hydrography, as is apparent in the relation of his
voyages; which contain an exact and extended description of the coasts,
harbours, straits, bays, capes, rivers, and islands which he visited, both
in his voyages on the river St Lawrence, and in his excursions by land
into the interior of Canada. To this day navigators use most of the
names which he affixed to the various parts which he explored with
indefatigable industry." In the present edition, the only freedom used is
reducing the antiquated language of Hakluyt to the modern
standard.----Ed.

[Footnote 23: Hakluyt, III. 250.]
[Footnote 24: Bibl. Univ. des Voy. VI. 15.]
SECTION I.
_The first Voyage of Jacques Cartier to Newfoundland and Canada, in_
1534.
The Chevalier de Mouy lord of Meylleraye and vice-admiral of France,
having administered the oaths of fidelity to the king, and of obedience
to M. Cartier, to the captains, masters, and mariners of the ships
employed in this expedition, we left the port of St Maloes on the 20th
of April 1534, with two ships of 60 tons, and having sixty-one chosen
men. Having prosperous weather, we reached Newfoundland on the
10th of May, making Cape Bonavista, in lat. 48° 30' N[25]. Owing to
the great quantities of ice on the coast, we were obliged to go into port
St Catherine [26], which is about five leagues S.S.E. from the harbour
of Cape Bonavista, in which we remained ten days waiting fair weather,
and employed ourselves in repairing and fitting out our boats.
[Footnote 25: In our most recent maps Cape Bonavista is laid down in
lat. 48° 58' N.--E.]
[Footnote 26: Named in English charts Catalina Harbour, in lat. 48° 44'
N.--E.]
On the 21st of May we set sail with the wind at west, steering N. and
by E. from Cape Bonavista till we came to the Isle of Birds, which we
found environed by ice, but broken and cracked in many places.
Notwithstanding the ice, our two boats went to the island to take in
some birds, which are there in such incredible numbers that no one
would believe unless he had seen them. The island is only a league in
circuit, and so swarms with birds as if they had been strewed on
purpose; yet an hundred times as many are to be seen hovering all
around. Some of these are black and white, as large as jays, and having
beaks like crows, which lie always on the sea, as they cannot fly to any
height on account of the smallness of their wings, which are not larger
than the half of ones hand; yet they fly with wonderful swiftness close
to the water. We named these birds Aporath, and found them very fat.
In less than half an hour we filled two boats with them; so that,