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ROM the teftimories of travellers and historians, there are ftrong reafons to believe that the ancient Britons landed on the Continent of America nearly 300 years before Behaim or Columbus; to that if a first discovery gives a right of poffeffion, the whole Continent belongs to the ancient Britons.

I cannot, in Giraldus, find any thing upon the subject. He flourished about the time when this fuppofed discovery was made; that is, during the reigns of Henry the II Richard the I. and John, kings of England. The first account that I can find of the difcovery of America by the Britons is in an hiftory of Wales written by Caradoc of Liancaryan, Glamorganfhire, in the British language, tranflated into English by Humphry Llwyd, and published by Dr David Powel in the year 1584.

This narrative bears the ftrongest feniblance of truth, for it is plain, natural, and fimple. It fays, that on the death of Owen Gwynedd, Prince of North Wales, about the year 1169, feveral of his children contended for his dominions; that Madog, one of his fons, perceiving his native country engaged, or on the eve of being engaged, in a civil war, thought it beft to try his fortune in fome foreign climes. Leaving North Wales in a very unfettled ftate, he failed with a few fhips which he had fitted up and manned for that purpose to the weftward, leaving Ireland to the north. He came at length to an unknown country, where most things appeared to him new and uncultomary, and the manners of the natives far different from what he had feen in Europe. Madog having viewed the fertility and pleafantnels of the country, left the B VOL. XIV. No. 79.

moft part of those he had taken with him behind, (Sir Thomas Herbert says that the number he left behind was 120,) and returned to North Wales. Upon his arrival, he defcribed to his friends what a fair and extenfive land he had met with, void of any inhabitants, whilft they employed themselves, and all their skill to fupplant one another, for only a ragged portion of rocks and mountains. Accordingly, having prevailed with confiderable numbers to accompany him to that country, he failed back with ten fhips, and bid adieu to his native land.

The next account I have met with of this event is in Hakluyt.

"After the death of Owen Gwynedd, his fonnes fell at debate who fhould inherit after him, for the eldest fonne born in matrim ny, Edward or Jorwerth Drwidion (Drwyndwn) was counted unmeet to govern because of the maime upon his face, and Howel that took upon him the rule, was a base fonne, begotten upon an Irish woman. Therefore David, another fonne, gathered all the power he could, and came againft Howel, and fighting with him, flew him, and afterwards enjoyed quietly the whole lands of North Wales, until his brother Jorwerth's fonne came to age.

Madoc, another of Owen Gwyneth's fonnes, left the land in contention be twixt his brethren, and prepared certain fhips with men and munition, and fought adventures by feas, failing weft, and leaving the coaft of Ireland fo far north, that he came to a land unknown, where he faw many ftrange things.

This land must needs be fome parts of the countrey of which the Spanyards affirm themselves to be the first finders fince Hanno's time: whereupon it is manifeft that that countrey

was

was by Britons discovered long before Columbus led any Spanyards thither.

Of the voyage and return of this Madoc, there be many fables framed, as the common people do ufe in diftance of place and length of time, rather to augment than to diminish, but fure it is, there he was. And after he had returned home, and declared the pleafant and fruitful countries that he had feen, without inhabitants; and upon the contrary, for what barren and wild ground his brethren and nephews did murther one another, he prepared a number of fhips, and got with him fuch men and women as were defirous to live in quietness, and taking leave of his friends, took his journey thitherwards again.

Therefore it is fuppofed that he and his people inhabited part of thofe countries; for it appeareth by Francis Lopez de Gomara that in Acuzamil, and other places, the people honoured the Crofs. Whereby it may be gathered that Chriftians had been there before the coming of the Spanyards; but because this people were not many, they followed the manner of the land which they came to, and the language they found there.

This Madoc arriving in that weft ern countrey, unto the which he came in the year 1170, left most of his people there, and returning back for more of his own nation, acquaintance, and friends, to inhabit that fair and large countrey, went thi her again with ten failes, as I find noted by Gutun Owen. I am of opinion that the land whereunto he came was fome part of the Weft Indies."

Another writer who alludes to Madog's voyage is the author of a book entitled a brief defcription of the whole world," edit. 5th.-London, Printed for John Marriott, 1620.

"I am not ignorant that fome who make too much of vain fhews, and of the British antiquities, have given out to the world, and written fome things

to that pnrpose, that Arthur, foma time King of Britain, had both knowledge of thofe parts (the New World) and fome dominion in them; for they find (as fome report) that King Arthur had under his government many islands and great countries towards the north and weft, which one of fome fpecial note hath interpreted to figui fy America, and the northern parts thereof, and thereupon have gone about to entitle the Queen of England (Elizabeth) to be the Soveraigne of thefe provinces by right of defcent from King Arthur. But the wisdom of our ftate has been fuch as to ne glect that opinion, imagining it to be grounded upon fabulous foundations, as many things are that are afferted of King Arthur. Only this doth convey fome fhew with it, that, now fome hundred years, there was a knight of Wales, who, with fhipping, and fome pretty company, did go to discover thefe parts, whereof, as there is fome record of reasonable credit among the monuments of Wales, fo there is nothing which giveth pregnant fhew thereunto, that in the late navigations of fome of our Menta Norumbega, and fome other northern parts of America, they found fome tokens of civility and Chriftian religion; but especially they do meet with fome words of the Wolfh language, as that a bird with a white head fhould be called Penguinn, and other fuch like; yet becaufe we have now invincible certainty thereof, and if any thing were done, it was only in the northern and worfe part, and the intercourfe between Wales and thofe parts in the fpace of 700 years, was not continued, but quite filenced, we may go forward with that opinion that thefe Western Indies were no way known to former ages."

The next account of Prince Madog's adventures I have met with is in Hornius De Originibus Americanis. Haga Commitis, 1652. What he hath advanced is much the fame,

and

understood what the natives fpoke. The Dutch bade him fpeak to them, and they were thereupon very courteous; they fupplied them with the best things they had, and told Stedman, that they came from a country called Gwynedd, (North Wales) in Prydam (Prydain) fawr, Great Britain. It is fuppofed by Mr Lloyd that this place was fituated between Virginia and Florida. It is farther faid by this Gentleman, that one Oliver Humphreys, a merchant, who died, not long before the date of this letter, told him, that when he lived at Surinam, he spoke with an English privateer or Pirate, who being near Florida a careening his veffel, had learnt, as he thought, the Indian language, which his friend faid was perfect Welfh.or My brother, Mr Lloyd adds, having heard this, (Mr Jones's adventures) and meeting with this Jones at New York, defired him to write it, with his own hand, in his houfe; and to please me and my coufin Thomas Price (of Lianvyllin) he fent me the original. This Jones lived within 12 miles of New York, and was contemporary with me and my brother at Oxford. He was of Jefus College, and called thea Senior Jones by way of diftinction."

The flight of Jones this gentleman fuppofes to have taken place about the time of Bacon's Rebellion in Virginia, and that he was with the Indians a bout the year 1669.

The date of Mr Llyod's letter is Dolobran, 8m 14 D, 4.

Gwyneth, A. D. 1170, and a baf tard having carried it from his lawful fons, one of the latter, called Madog, put to fea for new difcoveries, and failing Weft from Spain, he discovered a new world of wonderfui beauty and fertility. But finding this uninhabited, upon his return, he carried. thither a great number of people from Wales. To this delightful country he made three voyages, according to Hakluyt. The places he difcovered feem to be Virginia, New England, and the adjacent countries. In confirmation of this, Peter Martyr says that the natives of Virginia and Guatimala celebrated the memory of one Madoc as a great and ancient hero, and hence it came to pass that modern travellers have found feverat old British words among the inhabitants of North America; Matec Zunga and Mat Inga as being in ufe among the Guatimallians, in which there is a plain allufion to Madoc, and that with the D foftened into T, according to the Welsh manner of pronunciation. Nay, Bishop Nicolfon feems to believe that the Welsh language makes a confiderable part of feveral of the American tongues. According to a famous British antiquary, the Spaniards borrowed their double L. (LL) from the people of Mexico, who received it from the Welsh ; and the Dutch brought a bird with a white head from the Streights of Magellan, called by the natives Penguin, which word in the Old British (and in modern Britifh) fignifies "white head;" and therefore feems originally to have come from Wales. This muft be allowed an additional argument, to omit others that occur in favour of Madoc's three American expeditions."

Mr Charles Beatty, a miffionary from New York, accompanied by a Mr Duffield, vifited fome inland parts of North America in the year 1766. If I rightly understand his journal, he travelled about 400 or 500 miles, to

the

the South Weft of New York. During his tour he met with feveral perfons who had been among the Indians from their youth, or who had been taken captives by them, and lived with them feveral years. Among others one Benjamin Sutton, who had visited different nations, and had lived many years with them. His account, in Mr Beatty's words, was as follows:

"He, (Benjamin Sutton) informed us, when he was with the Chactaw nation, or tribes of Indians at the Mihip, he went to an Indian town a very confiderable distance from New Orleans, whofe inhabitants were of different complexions; not fo tawny as thofe of the other Indians, and who fpoke Welth. He faid he faw a book among them, which he fuppofed was a Welth Bible, which they carefully kept wrapped up in a skin, but they could not read it, and that he heard fome of these Indians afterwards in the lower Shawanaugh town' fpeak Welsh with one Lewis a Welsh-man, captive there. This Welfh tribe now live on the Weft-side of the Miffilipi river, a great way above New Or

leans.

Levi Hicks-as being among the Indians from his youth, told us he had been, when attending an embaffy in a town of Indians, on the Weftfide of the Miffiffipi river, who talked Welth, (as he was told, for he did not understand them); and, our interpreter Jofeph faw fome Indians whom he fuppofed to be of the fame tribe, who talked Welsh, for he told us fome of the words they faid, which he knew to be Welth, as he had been acquainted with some Welsh people.

a

Correfpondent hereto, I have been informed that many years ago, clergyman went from Britain to Virginia, and having lived fome time there, went from thence to South Carolina; but either because the climate

did not agree with him, or for fome other reafon, refolved to return to Virginia, and accordingly fet out by: land, accompanied by fone other perfons: but travelling thro' the back parts of the country which was very thinly inhabited, fuppofing, very pro-. bably, this was the neareft way, he fell in with a party of Indian warriors going to attack the inhabitants of Virginia, against whom they had declared war.

The Indians, upon examining the clergyman, and finding that he was going to Virginia, looked upon him and his companions as belonging to Virginia, and therefore took them all prifoners, and let them know they muft die. The clergyman in preparation for another world went to pray. er, and being a Welsh-man, prayed in the Welsh language, poffibly because this language was mott familiar to him, or to prevent the Indians underftanding him. One or more of the party of the Indians was much furprifed to hear him pray in their language. Upon this they fpoke to him, and finding that he could understand their speech, they got the fentence of death reverfed; and this happy circumftance was the means of faving his life.

They took him back with them into their country, where he found a tribe whofe native language was Welfh, though the dialect was a little different from his own, which he foon came to understand. They fhewed him a book, which he found to be the bible, but which they could not read; and if I m ftake not, his ability to read it tended to raise their regard for him.

He stayed among them fome time, and endeavoured to inftruct them in the Chriftian Religion. He at length propofed to go back to his own country, and return to them with fome other teachers, who would be able to intract them in their own language ;