In about 1390, Nicolo Zeno, a distinguished and rich navigator of Venice, equipped a vessel from his own resources, and set out to make himself acquainted with the least known as well as the unknown countries of the earth. He sailed out from Gibraltar and thence for England and Flanders, but being overtaken by a storm, which continued with the greatest severity for several days, he was driven out of his course, and at length cast upon the shore of an island which he called Friesland, but which is now known to have been one of the Faroe group. He and his crew fortunately gained the shore, but their presence becoming known, a large body of natives armed with bows and lances rushed down from the hills and attacked them. Their hostile intentions were presently restrained, however, by their chief who, ordering them to retire, approached Zeno, and addressed him in Latin. This chief, whose name was Zichmni, proved to be a bold rover from the north, who had defeated the King of Norway in a great battle on the high seas, and then coming to these islands with a fleet of thirteen vessels had established himself there as a ruling prince; and observing at once that Zeno, who was a skillful navigator, might be serviceable to him, Zichmni treated him with the greatest courtesy, and persuaded him to act as pilot to an expedition which he was upon the point of sending to other islands, with the purpose of taking possession of them also. The fleet set sail in due season, and the ambitions of Zichmni were fully realized, but what islands he thus overcame is not a matter of record.

In the following year, upon receipt of a letter from Nicolo, his brother Antonio fitted out a ship and proceeded at once to Friesland, which he reached in due season; and directly afterwards the two accompanied Zichmni in an expedition against the Shetland Islands which were then held by the Norsemen. Their vessels were very rude crafts, only two of which were propelled by oars, and finding that the chief island of the group was so well fortified and defended, they gave over their ambition to possess it and directed their attention against seven of the smaller islands which soon capitulated, on one of which Zichmni built a fort, and leaving it in charge of Nicolo, returned with Antonio to Friesland.

A SURPRISING DISCOVERY IN GREENLAND.

In the succeeding year Nicolo, in pursuance of his original intention to see as much of the world as possible, fitted out three small barks in which he sailed to Greenland. Upon landing on its shores he was surprised to find a monastery and a church, dedicated to St. Thomas, located near an active volcano, which he declares sent forth fire like Vesuvius and �tna. He also makes particular mention of a spring of hot water emanating from the volcano, which the friars conducted to their monastery and used for heating their building, cooking their food, and other like serviceable purposes. By the use of this hot water, which they distributed by means of pipes through the soil, they were enabled to bring into cultivation a considerable parcel of land which would otherwise have been perpetually covered with ice and snow. In this fruitful garden they produced flowers, herbs, and fruits of many kinds, such as are generally to be found only in the high temperature of tropical countries; so that the rude and savage peoples of Greenland, seeing these supposed supernatural effects, regarded the friars as gods, to propitiate whom they made many offerings of chickens, meats, and other things which they were able to procure in that bleak country. After a pleasant stay of some months in Greenland, Nicolo returned to Friesland, where he soon after died from the effects of a cold. Antonio succeeded to the honors which Zichmni had conferred upon his distinguished brother, but though he often made request for permission to return home, the prince would not give his consent, estimating the great value of his services in new enterprises which Zichmni was continually conceiving or putting into execution.

CASTAWAYS ON THE SHORES OF A NEW WORLD.

Within a year after the death of Nicolo, Zichmni proposed dispatching an expedition under Antonio in quest of certain exceedingly rich islands which were represented to lie five hundred leagues to the west. The story of these westerly islands, as related by Antonio in a letter to his brother Carlo (the information being obtained from a fisherman who claims to have visited them), is to this effect: Twenty-six years before, four fishing boats put out to sea from Friesland, but encountering a heavy storm were helplessly driven for many days until at length they were cast upon an island called Estotilan, which they reckoned to lie west of Friesland between one and two thousand miles. One of the boats was wrecked, and six men who survived the disaster reaching shore were taken by the inhabitants and brought to a populous city and there questioned by the King. But being unable to understand their language, the ruler sent for many interpreters from whom one was at length obtained who understood the Latin language, which it happened that one of the fishermen too could speak. By this means a conversation was carried on between the King and the fishermen which was of great advantage to both. The survivors told the King of the country whence they had come, of its wealth and importance, and in turn were kindly invited to remain in the country. There they were treated with great consideration which, induced them to remain on the island for a period of five years, during which time they acquired a thorough knowledge of the language of the new people. One of the fishermen visited different parts of the island, and reported that it was an exceedingly rich country, abounding in all good things; that while it was smaller than Iceland, it was very much more fertile, and in the middle of it was a very high mountain out of which rose four rivers that watered the entire country. This island, as a map drawn by one of the fishermen clearly shows, was Newfoundland. The survivors also represented the inhabitants as an extremely intelligent people, who possessed arts similar to those in use among the nations of Europe; and that they had had intercourse with peoples in Greenland or Iceland was evident from the fact that in the king's library were to be seen many Latin books, these affording additional evidence of the claim that the Catholics had sent priests to instruct the early Norse settlers of that region, whose religious works were printed in that tongue. At the time of the fishermen's visit, the people had still an intercourse with Greenland whence they imported furs, brimstone, and pitch.

CAPTURED AND EATEN BY CANNIBALS.

The King told the fishermen that towards the south there was a great and yet more populous country very rich in gold, that the people there planted corn and made beer, that they lived in pretentious buildings having walls of stone, and that many towns and villages were established on and near the coast. They used small boats with sails, but having no compass, directed their vessels solely by the stars.

The King regarded the fishermen with so much favor, that on one occasion he sent them with twelve boats to the southward to a country which he called Drogio, which, (by consulting this very ancient map) leads to the belief that Drogio was either Massachusetts or North Carolina. The voyage, however, terminated most disastrously, for experiencing contrary weather, the voyagers were at sea for such a length of time that their provisions were quite exhausted, and encountering a storm were at length driven on shore where they were taken by the natives, and all but one cruelly massacred and eaten; for the savages with whom they came in contact were cannibals, and considered human flesh the most savory of meats. The survivor, being an accomplished navigator, was spared in order that the savages might be taught the art of fishing, in which he made himself so valuable to them that he, soon became a bone of contention between the tribe which captured him and hostile neighboring peoples. A war directly followed between the savages of the north and those with whom the survivor was an enforced visitor, and the former prevailing, the captive was taken towards the north where he served his captors until a more powerful tribe captured him again. He dwelt in this region for a period of thirteen years, during which time he was captured no less than twenty-five times by warring chiefs whose sole incentive was to secure the services of the white survivor.

THE AZTECS OF MEXICO.

The people of the lower country were represented as very rude and uncultivated, who went naked, having not even the sense to clothe themselves with the skins of animals which they captured in the chase. They were also extremely fierce, and after a contest with one another, invariably ate the slain. Yet further south of these the survivor represented the climate as temperate and the people as more highly cultivated than any found in the north. "They reside in great cities, and temples dedicated to their idols, in which they sacrifice men and afterward eat them. In these parts they also have knowledge and use both of gold and silver." This description, we may observe in passing, so well suits the Aztecs of Mexico, that we must believe the information which the fisherman derived came directly through an intercourse which the northern tribes had with their more southerly neighbors. The fisherman finally made his escape, and after many delays and dangers, and other threatenings, he reached the country of Drogio, where he was welcomed and kindly received by the chief of the place, who gave him protection for a period of three years. At the end of this time, some boats arrived off the coast, and on landing he solicited and obtained passage on the return voyage to Estotilan from which the boats had come. He acted as interpreter for the crew, and after making several voyages to Greenland, became so rich that he fitted out a vessel and returned to Friesland with an account such as is here reported.

ATTACKED BY THE IRELANDERS.

It was this story which induced Zichmni to equip an expedition and send it in quest of the new land, in charge of Antonio. At the last moment before the fleet set sail, however, Zichmni decided to accompany, the expedition himself, so that Antonio was not given the chief command as he had expected. The vessels sailed directly westward, and coming at length to an island named Ledovo, remained there seven days to refresh the crew and furnish the fleet with necessaries. Departing thence under a favorable wind, they made great progress until the fleet was attacked by a great storm which lasted for a period of eight days and destroyed several of the smaller boats. This, however, in no wise discouraged Zichmni, who repaired his battered and scattered fleet as well as possible, and sailed on under a prosperous wind, at last discovering land on the west. The storm had so driven him out of his course that instead of sailing westward, as he had supposed^ he had made the northerly coast, and struck land at Ireland which he called Icarie, supposing it to have been an unknown island. There they were attacked by the savage islanders, who set upon them with such rage that many of the crew were slain, and the fleet was forced to set out immediately to sea to save it from destruction.

Getting the points of the compass again, he sailed westward and then south-west, and discovered land two weeks afterwards; but at what point the historian has not been able to tell us. He found great quantities of fish and sea fowl, and an abundance of birds' eggs, which were highly appreciated by the half famished men, and which were taken in great stores aboard the vessel, thus preparing the expedition for another cruise. Going on shore and exploring the country a short distance, the soldiers who were a part of the expedition, discovered a spring from which issued a substance resembling pitch, and along it a great multitude of people half wild living in caves. Their stature was very small, and they were so timid that at the sight of the soldiers they fled quickly into their holes. The country appeared so favorable, the soil being good and watered by a large river, that Zichmni conceived the idea of fixing his habitation there and founding a city. But to this his people objected, saying they had been subjected to so many fatigues and dangers that their one desire was to return to their own homes, as winter was about to set in, and if delay were now made, they would not be able to reach home before the following summer. Zichmni was nevertheless so determined in his intentions that he retained only such row boats as might be spared from the vessels, and with the few that were willing to remain with him, he set about constructing a habitation, and sent the other ships back to Friesland under Antonio.

AMERICA THE LAND UPON WHICH ZICHMNI SETTLED.

It is related that Zichmni settled near a harbor of his newly discovered island, and explored the whole country, but was unable to find either gold or silver. Nor did he make any considerable progress in the cultivation of the soil. This latter information, however, comes entirely from tradition, as nothing further was ever heard directly from Zichmni, who probably perished, either from cold, or was killed by the hostile savages who were known to occupy the country north of him. Many historians maintain that the island or country upon which Zichmni thus landed was Greenland. But the best evidence obtainable is favorable to the claim that he reached the coast of Labrador; though this would have been hardly possible in a two weeks' sail from Ireland. The reckoning of time by the early explorers was not always exact, and it is probable that the voyage westward lasted considerably more than two weeks. There is no country which answers so well to the description of that upon which Zichmni is said to have landed as Labrador, and certainly in no wise answers to that of Greenland.

It seems to have been characteristic of the pre-Columbian voyagers to call all new lands islands, and every stream of water, however small, was to them a river. In Labrador there are several rivers, and three of considerable size, while the southern part is somewhat mountainous, so that it answers to the description which Antonio gave. As there is no land, not even an island, lying between Ireland and Newfoundland, the conclusion is irresistible that Zichmni landed either on Newfoundland, Anticosti, or Labrador, and his disappearance with the men who remained with him, was no doubt due to causes identical with those which obliterated the Vinland colonists.

We have presented in brief, in the foregoing pages, all the record that is supposed to exist of the important voyages of discovery undertaken previous to that of Columbus, and though the proof appears conclusive that America was discovered and visited many times by different peoples from Europe, hundreds, if not more than two thousand years before the time of Columbus, yet the country had lapsed into a terra incognita, and its re-discovery at the end of the fifteenth century was therefore an event in no wise lessened by the fact that its shores had been visited before. In the one case it was a discovery only to lose, while in the other it was re-discovery to permanently possess, and in the latter the real honor lies.

After the Celebrated voyage of Columbus, discovery went on apace, the ocean became the center of attraction for hundreds of bold spirits, the ambitions of whom were fostered by Spain, Portugal, England, Holland and France, each of which entered upon a race to reach new lands for purposes of acquisition and enrichment at the expense of the poor natives.

A history of the distinguished voyages following after that of Columbus is given in subsequent chapters, from the discovery of San Salvador to the reclamation of all the countries and islands of the Western Hemisphere, together with descriptions of the primitive peoples that occupied them.