VERRAZANO.
In France, as well as other European countries, the wonderful accounts
of the wealth of India and Cathay had been listened to with delight and
surprise, and the king, Francis I., determined to send out some ships
and see if they might not discover the new way to the East that people
had been looking for so long. He thought, too, that he would claim and
settle a part of America, so that the New World should not be entirely
owned by Spain and England. Before this, France had been content with
sending a few fishermen to the northern coasts of America, but they made
no settlements, and, as soon as the fishing season was over, always went
back to France again.
But in 1523 an expedition left France for the purpose of finding a
passage to Cathay, and exploring the coast of America. The expedition
was commanded by Giovanni Verrazano, an Italian. Soon after leaving
France, a tempest came up, and all the ships but one were obliged to
return; but Verrazano, with this one, the Dauphine, went on to the
Madeiras, and leaving that place in January, 1524, sailed boldly across
the Atlantic. After a voyage of over a month, during which time another
very severe storm overtook them, they at last saw land. It is supposed
that this was the coast of Carolina. Fires were blazing all along the
coast as far as the eye could reach, and Verrazano knew by that that the
country was inhabited. He sailed along for many miles, keeping close to
the shore, and was delighted with the new country, which seemed more
beautiful than any he had ever seen before. The shore was covered with
fine white sand, making a beach nearly fifteen feet wide, quite level,
except here and there where the sand was formed into hillocks, which
were covered with strong short grass. Back from the shore were broad
fields, which were kept fresh by the numerous streams that flowed into
the sea, and still farther back stood immense forests, whose great
variety of color charmed the eye. Verrazano was surprised to find here
many kinds of trees that were unknown to him, and said that no words
could describe the beauty of these forests. "Think not," he says, "that
they are like the Crimean forests, or the solitudes of Scythia, or the
rigid coasts of the north, but adorned with palm trees, and cypress, and
laurel, and species unknown to Europe, which breathe forth from afar the
sweetest of odors."
And combined with the aromatic perfume of the pines was the scent of the
violets and roses, and of the beautiful lilies that swung in the lakes,
and everywhere birds were singing, and graceful deer looked with
startled eyes through the leaves of the hanging vines; and the first
impulse of the Frenchmen was to land and enjoy some of the flowers and
fruits of this fair land.
In the meantime the natives had come down to the beach, and stood
looking with wonder on the Frenchmen; but as soon as the seamen rowed
toward the shore the timid Indians fled toward the woods. But the
Frenchmen, by signs and friendly motions, made them understand that they
need not fear, and soon they all came crowding round the seamen with
cries of delight, pointing out at the same time the best place to land.
Verrazano, in turn, was delighted at the appearance of the natives,
whose fine figures, and beautifully ornamented robes, and gayly decked
out hair, placed them above the common savages that the Frenchman
expected to find in the wilds of America. After a pleasant little call
here, Verrazano kept on his way, still going northward, carefully
examining the coasts, and finding everywhere the same luxuriant growth
of trees and flowers. Still, there was no good harbor to be seen; but as
the ship was in need of fresh water he decided to try and land. But this
he found to be impossible, as the waves broke with great force upon the
open beach, making it dangerous for any boat that ventured too near. The
natives stood on the shore watching his efforts, and stretched out their
hands as if inviting him to land, but he was obliged to give up the
attempt and go back to the ship. The natives still continued to make
friendly signs, and Verrazano replied to them as well as he could, and
ordered a sailor to swim ashore with some presents. The man obeyed, and
got near enough to the shore to throw the gifts into the ready hands of
the Indians; but as he turned to swim back to the boat he was
overpowered by the breakers and dashed upon the beach.
The Indians immediately surrounded him, and lifting him up gently,
carried him farther up on the beach, out of the reach of the waves. But
as soon as the man recovered from his faint, and saw where he was, he
began crying loudly for help, and as the natives answered his cries with
louder and shriller ones of their own, Verrazano and his companions
expected to see the unfortunate seaman speedily killed by the savages;
but in this they were mistaken, for the Indians, after they had
sufficiently admired the whiteness and delicacy of his skin, built a
fire, and did all they could to help him out of his trouble. Verrazano
met the same kindness from all the people along the coast; he found them
always ready to offer their friendship, and to be of use whenever they
could. It is sad to think that for all the good he met at their hands he
should allow his men to return evil; but such is the case, for one of
them having kidnapped a little Indian boy, the captain not only allowed
him to be received on the ship, but carried him away to France, and none
of his friends ever heard from him again.
The Dauphine went on up the coast, turning in now and then to explore, a
little way, the many bays and rivers which it passed, and reached, one
pleasant day, what is now known as the Bay of New York. Leaving his
ship, Verrazano took a boat and sailed into the inner bay, approaching
the island on which New York City now stands. This was the most
beautiful spot that the voyagers had yet seen. All around stretched the
wooded heights of New Jersey and Long Island, and the great river coming
from the north seemed to promise a fair passage to some far distant
land. The natives came thronging down on the beach from both shores,
and, from their friendly tones and signs, seemed to offer a welcome; but
before Verrazano could go very far into the "beautiful lake," as he
called the harbor, he was compelled by the rising of the wind to put
back to the ship and sail on. But his visit is interesting, because he
was probably the first white man who had visited the beautiful harbor
which to-day is known as one of the greatest commercial ports in the
world.
And now the course was changed, and the Dauphine sailed east through
Long Island Sound until Narragansett Bay was entered, and then a
northerly course was taken, and the harbor of Newport reached. Verrazano
describes the country as very fair and pleasant, and indeed it must have
appeared so, with its fields of blossoming trees and miles of stately
forests. Before the boat touched the shore, the natives flocked down to
the beach, and thirty canoes surrounded the vessel, all filled with the
wondering Indians. At first they did not come very near, but sat at some
distance from the ship, silently admiring the white-skinned strangers
before them; and then they suddenly gave a long shout of welcome, and
began to come near to the ship and take the gifts of beads and bells
and knives that the seamen threw out to them, and finally their last
fear vanished and they entered the ship. Here, as farther south,
Verrazano was struck with the fine faces and figures of the natives.
Among them were two kings, the elder one about forty years of age. He
was dressed in a robe of deer-skins beautifully embroidered, and wore
around his neck a chain of gold set with large stones of various colors.
His head was bare, but his hair was carefully arranged, tied behind, and
ornamented with pearls and feathers. The younger king, who was about
twenty-four, was dressed in the same way, and all the warriors who
accompanied them wore deer-skins highly ornamented and polished. The
women did not approach the vessel, but remained at a distance, seated in
the canoes; but Verrazano saw that they were fine-looking, and modest in
behavior, and that they too wore the finely-dressed skins of the deer,
and had their hair arranged in a variety of ornamental braids. The hair
of the older women was arranged very much like that of the women of
Egypt and Syria, and the married women were distinguished by ear-rings
of certain, peculiar form.
Verrazano stayed here some fifteen days, pleasantly entertained by the
natives, and finding them always friendly and trustful. He made several
trips up the bay, and examined the shores closely in search of gold and
silver, which he found the natives thought much less of than they did of
the brass rings and strings of beads that he bestowed upon them. But
evidently the bay did not lead to Cathay, and no precious metals were
found on its borders, and so Verrazano got the Dauphine under way again,
and taking affectionate leave of the Indians, sailed out into the
Atlantic and up the coast toward Maine. And now the country changed very
much in appearance, and the natives were less friendly. There were no
beautiful palm-trees, or delicate blossoms of apple and peach, and in
place of green fields and sunny meadows, were only sand and rocks. The
natives would not come near the ships or let the Frenchmen land, and the
trading was all done by means of a long cord stretching from the ship
to the shore, and over which the articles were passed, the natives
retreating hurriedly to the woods as soon as the bargains were made. But
Verrazano landed in spite of the opposition of the Indians, and went
several miles into the country. He found that the huts were poorer than
those at Narragansett Bay, which were made of split logs and nicely
thatched, and that the country was poorer, too, than any he had seen
yet. When he started back to the ship the natives followed his party,
shooting arrows at them, and showing their anger by fierce, wild cries.
But the Frenchmen reached the ship in safety, and were soon sailing
away, still northward, and soon reached the shores of Maine, whose
outlying islands, Verrazano said, reminded him of some portions of the
Adriatic. And then, being short of provisions, and knowing that the
whole wide sea lay between him and France, he turned the Dauphine
homeward, having explored the Atlantic coast, from the Carolinas to
Maine, more carefully than any other navigator had yet done. When he
returned to France he gave it as his opinion that the passage to Cathay
did not lie through the New World, and stated that America was very much
larger than Europeans had hitherto believed. His voyage is considered
important because of the good idea he gave of the eastern coast of
America, and because he corrected the wrong belief that the New World
was as small as other navigators had declared.
But he could not make them believe that there was no passage to Cathay
through the fair provinces of the New World: that beautiful dream was
not dispelled for many a long year after Verrazano and his bold crew had
become old and gray.