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Higginson, Thomas Wentworth, 1823-1911

"Tales of the Enchanted Islands of the Atlantic"

(See J.H. Simpson, "Coronado's March in Search of the Seven Cities of Cibola,"Smithsonian Institution, 1869, pp. 209-340.)The sailor who re-discovered them said that the chief desire of thepeople was to know whether the Moors still held Spain (Gaffarel, "IlesFantastiques," p. 3). In a copy of "Ptolemy" addressed to Pope Urban VI.about 1380, before the alleged visit of the Portuguese, it was stated ofthe people at Antillia that they lived in a Christian manner, and weremost prosperous, "Hie populus christianissime vivit, omnibus divitiisseculi hujus plenus" (D'Avezac, "Nouvelles Annales des voyages," 1845, II.p. 55).It was afterwards held by some that the island of Antillia was identicalwith St. Michael in the Azores, where a certain cluster of stone hutsstill bears the name of Seven Cities, and the same name is associated witha small lake by which they stand. (Humboldt's "Examen Critique," Paris,1837, II. p. 203; Gaffarel, "Iles Fantastiques," p. 3.)XVI. HARALD THE VIKINGThe tales of the Norse explorations of America are now accessible in manyforms, the most convenient of these being in the edition of E. L. Slafter,published by the Prince Society. As to the habits of the Vikings, the mostaccessible authorities are "The Age of the Vikings," by Du Chaillu, and"The Sea Kings of Norway," by Laing.


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