THE CABOTS.
About the time of the discovery of America, there was living-in England
an old man, who loved the sea better than anything else in the world. He
was not an Englishman, but a Venetian, and many years before he had left
his home in beautiful Venice to seek a home in England. The name of this
old man was John Cabot, and he was considered one of the greatest
sailors living. He had guided his ships among the islands of the
Mediterranean, and had sailed up the Atlantic coast to the British
Isles, and then, not satisfied, he had gone on into the frozen regions
of the North, and had sat by Iceland firesides listening to the tales of
the Norsemen and their wonderful voyages across the sea to a New World.
And while he listened he thought what a fine thing it would be if he too
should sail away some day to visit this strange country; so after
returning to England, he asked permission of the king to fit out some
ships and go on a voyage of discovery. He had heard of the voyage of
Columbus, and he thought that by sailing far to the north he might find
new lands as rich and beautiful as those which Columbus had discovered.
So about the year 1494, or 1497, he sailed from England, taking with him
his son Sebastian.
Very different was their voyage from that of Columbus; keeping ever to
the north, the waters of the Atlantic showed them no genial skies, or
islands adorned with waving forests and beautiful flowers, but instead,
they found fog and mist, cold, chilling winds, and great, glittering
icebergs. The first land seen by them was Cape Breton, which they called
Prima Vista, meaning _first seen_. They found the country cold and
dismal, covered with ice and snow. As this new land was no farther north
than England, they were surprised to see instead of green meadows, shady
trees, and flowing rivers, only fields of snow, and while they knew the
birds were singing in England, they saw here great white bears, which
prowled around seeking their prey.
Cabot did not remain long in America, he soon sailed again for England,
which he reached three months from the time he had left. His voyage is
important, as he was the first European, after the Northmen, to touch
the _mainland_ of North America.
On his return he was received with great honor by the king. He went
about dressed in silk and velvet, and everywhere great crowds would
follow him and point him out as the Great Admiral.
In 1498 Sebastian Cabot sailed with another expedition from England and
reached the coast of Labrador. He tried to find a northwest passage to
Asia, but the climate was so cold that he gave up the idea and sailed
down the coast as far as Virginia, claiming the whole country for the
King of England. He made still another voyage and explored Hudson's Bay,
but the accounts which he gave of the country were not very pleasing,
and no Englishman was willing to leave his own pleasant home to seek
another in the New World, and for many, many years after this the
English paid little heed to the great continent which Cabot had
discovered.
Sebastian Cabot lived to be an old man, and was always greatly honored
by the English. He was called the Great Seaman, and as long as he lived
he loved the ocean over whose waters he had sailed to honor and
fortune.