22. John Cabot takes possession of the country for the king of
England.--Cabot went on shore with his son and some of his crew. In
the vast, silent wilderness they set up a large cross. Near to it
they planted two flag-poles, and hoisted the English flag on one and
the flag of Venice,[7] the city where John Cabot had lived in Italy,
on the other. Then they took possession of the land for Henry the
Seventh. It was in this way that the English came to consider that
the eastern coast of North America was their property, although they
did not begin to make settlements here until nearly a hundred years
later.

[Illustration: LANDING OF THE CABOTS.]

[Footnote 7: Venice (Ven'is).]


23. John Cabot and his son return to Bristol.--After sailing about
the Gulf of St. Lawrence without finding the passage through to Asia
for which they were looking, the voyagers returned to England.

The king was so pleased with what John Cabot had discovered that he
made him a handsome present; and when the captain, richly dressed
in silk, appeared in the street, the people of Bristol would "run
after him like mad" and hurrah for the "Great Admiral," as they called
him.


24. What the Cabots carried back to England from America.--The Cabots
carried back to England some Indian traps for catching game and
perhaps some wild turkeys--an American bird the English had then