John's Day, in 1497, John Cabot landed somewhere on the
coast of America. He called the land Prima Tierra Vista or First
Land Seen, and because of the day upon which it was found he called
an island near to it St. John's Isle.
We cannot tell exactly where Cabot east anchor: it may have been
at Cape Breton or somewhere on the coast of Labrador. But wherever
it was that he landed he there set up a great cross and unfurled
the flag of England, claiming the land for King Henry.
When Cabot set out he was full of the ideas of Columbus. He had hoped
to find himself on the coast of Asia and in the land of gold and
spices. Now he knew himself mistaken. He did not see any natives,
but he knew the land was inhabited, for he found notched trees,
snares for wild animals and other signs of habitation which he took
home.
He had found no "golden cities," he had had speech with no stately
potentate. Yet he was not utterly disappointed. For the country he
had found seemed to him fair and fertile, and the quantities of
fish which swarmed in the seas amazed both himself and his men. They
had no need of lines or even of nets. They had but to let down a
basket weighted with a stone and draw it up again to have all the
fish they wanted.
Cabot stayed but a short time in the new-found land. He would fain
have stayed longer and explored further, but he feared lest his
provisions would give out, and so regretfully he turned homeward.
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