1

1

Indian of Loranbec: Source of the Illustration in the Historire Naturelle de Indes known as the Drake Manuscript

Jules Janick

Histoire Naturelle des Indies, an anonymous French work written and illustrated between 1586 and early 1600s is a mysterious work (Schwerdt, 1928; Lestringant, 1994; Klinkenborg, 1996; Janick, in press). It has been published in facsimile by the Pierpont Morgan Library as The Drake Manuscript (1996) and can be accessed on line. The suggestion has been made that the Histoire anonymous author (HA) accompanied Sir Francis Drake on some of his voyages to the New World although this assertion has it’s doubters (Sugden, 1990), p. 200-201. The evidence for HA accompanying Drake is circumstantial but there were Frenchmen accompanying Drake. Francis P[r?]etty who accompanied Drake’s 1677-1580 circumnavigation voyage described himself as “a gentleman of Picardy.” The French translator in his preface of dedication to a Baron de Courtomer, mentions that the Baron informed him that one of his tenants had been with Drake during his voyages (Schwerdt, 1928; Wallis, 198p.128). Furthermore a number of French men were picked up during his voyages as well be discussed below. In addition, many references in the text of the manuscript involve places where Drake visited, sacked, or burned. Furthermore, there are two direct references to Drake in the manuscript.

The first mention of Drake in the manuscript is in a caption accompanying illustrations of the South Seas (Fig 1, f.44). The illustration shows a canoe labeled Cacique, an Algonguin word meaning Chief, being rowed by 22 men carrying a seated leader “from the South Seas from an island called Gilolo where Francis Drake an English man had is ship cleaned to make it ready for his voyage of the South Sea.” Indeed, Drake was in the vicinity at the end of his circumnavigation voyaged of 1577-1560, and was greeted by Babu, the Sultan of Ternate, near Gilolo but the drawing of the boat in the manuscript does not resemble the royal canoes of the Sultan. Clearly the drawing is a fabrication and the text likely represents hearsay information.

The second mention of Drake is in the test associated with an illustration (f.90) (Fig. 2) entitled Hinde de Loranbec (Indian of Loranbec):

These Indians dressed in skins are extremely skillful in battle on account of their strength, as the English could tell fighting under Sir Francis Drake in 1586 when they attempted to conquer this land, but were forced to weigh anchor and retreat because of the resistance they encountered. Its location is between Florida and Terre Neuve [Newfoundland] at36 ½ latitude.”

Note that the text mentions, Drake, an Indian battle, the year 1586, and a location at 36.5°N. This location is critical since Roanoke Island in North Carolina (lat. 55°85’) is where Drake

2

2

picked up 105 colonists, mostly soldiers, and including the artist John White, the scientist Thomas Harriot, and the captain Ralph Lane, who was the leader in the second of the ill-fated expeditions to the colony established under patent by Sir Walter Raleigh in 1584.. However, there was no battle there when Drake arrived, although there was a skirmish near St. Augustine a week earlier. The Indian of Loranbec illustration based on “36 ½ latitude” presumably refers to Roanoke although Klinkenborg, (1996) mentions that he might be of the “Cusabo tribe of South Carolina.

Where is Lorenbec?

The origin of the word Loranbac is an enigma. The word Loran is presumably of Algonquin origin (Bourinot, 1897). There are now two small sea villages in Cape Breton now called Big Lorraine and Little Loraine (or Little Loran). Loranbec had an Algonguiin and French association in the 16th century. There was a Port of Loranbac or Noranbeque, a little harbor on the eastern shore of Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, possibly a corruption of Lorumbega which since Verrazzano’s time referred to Northeastern North America (Quinn, 1964). The French pirate and explorer Jean Francois Roberval (1500-1560) once had the title Lord of Norumbega, Viceroy and Lieutenant-General in Canada. Roberal, as Darke years later, pillaged Cartagena in 1544 after his ill-fated Canadian venture. The use of the name Lorenbac suggests that HA had some knowledge of Roberval and perhaps associated the name with members of the Algonguin-speaking Indians of the northeast including the Roanoke area.

Was HA on Drakes 1585-1586 Voyage to the West Indies?

The answer to this question hinges on the relationship of the Indian of Loranbec image and the Indians at Roanoke. If the Indian of Loranbec drawn by HA is from Roanoke this would be convincing evidence that he accompanied Drake on at least part of the 1585-1586 expedition. There is a way to determine this. The Indians of Roanoke were well illustrated by John White who was there from 1585-1586 and from July 22 to August 27, 1587. A comparison of the drawings could shed some light on this issue.

The Indian of Loranbec illustration by HA is of a warrior ready to load an arrow perhaps at a comical bird perched on a limb (Fig. 2, 3A). The somewhat humorous situation indicates that the drawing was not made from life. The figure is dressed in an off-the-shoulder fringed tunic with red beads on the bottom and the text indicates it is made of skins. He wears an earring. He shins are painted with a zig-zag design and his back of his neck shows evidence of a painted symbol. He holds a quiver of arrows attached to his shoulder with a strap. His hair is short with a pony tail.

3

3

The artist John White painted a number of watercolors of the Indians at Roanoke two of which, An Indian Chief (Fig. 3B) and An Old Man of Pomeiock (Fig. 3C) show similarities to the Indian of Loranbec. Many of the watercolors of White, including these two portraits were engraved by Theodore de Bry and subsequently published in 1590 to illustrate Harriot’s 1588 report of the Roanoke colony entitled A briefe and true report of the new foundland of Virginia. However the Indian Chief engraving was reconfigured to include a front and a back view and the Old Man image was subtly altered, especially the hair (Fig. 3D).

The Indian of Loranbec figure and the two paintings of White along with the corresponding engravings of De Bry which are presented in mirror image, are scaled to the same size in Fig. 3. A comparison of the images suggest that all are related and that the Loranbec Indian image of HA is a composite of the Indian Chief (especially the back image of the engraving) and the Old Man as follows:

Stance: The Loranbec Indian image resembles the back image of the Chief engraved by de Bry. Note the muscular calves. However the right arm instead of being on the hip has been clumsily altered to hold the bow.

Body painting. The back view of the Loranbec image shows red painting on the neck and some type of painting on the calves. Both are obvious in the de Bry back view.

Adornments. The Lorenbec Indian image shows a dangling round earring. The Chief watercolor also has a smaller dangling round earing which has been modified in the engraving to be round with three beads. The Old Man is without earrings. The Loranbac Indian image is without a wrist strap in contrast to the watercolor of the Chief who has a wrist strap on the left hand which is found in the engraving. The Old Man’s left wrist is obscured in the painting and engraving.

Hair style. The hair style of the Loranbec Indian closely resembles the painting of the Chief and the Old Man and all show a pigtail. The engraver has changed the hairstyle of the Old Man into a version we would now call a modified “apache” style. The Chief images show three feathers in the hair which are absent in the Lorenbec image.

Clothing. The Lorenbec Indian image shows an off-the-shoulder tunic ending above the knee. The Chief watercolor image wears a fringed, apron like wrap, gathered at the waist leaving the buttocks exposed which is apparent in the back view of the engraving. The Old Man has an off-the-shoulder fringed tunic ending below the knee. It would appear that the Loranbec image has combined and modified the two tunics, adding the beaded fringed hem.

Bow and quiver The bow of the Loranbac image is smaller than the Chief’s. The position of the the quiver, carried on the left side of all figures is very similar in all images.

I conclude that the Loranbec Indian image is a composite of the chief and the Old Man and is based principally on the engraving. Figure 3E reconstructs the Lorenbec image by combining

4

4

versions of the White painting and De Bry engraving. It appears then, that HA’s painting is an Indian of Roanoke area, but in view of the resemblance to the engravings of “White’s watercolors there is no convincing evidence that HA drew it from life.

Relation between HA, John White, and Jacques Le Moyne.

The artist Jacques Le Moyne de Morgues (1533-1588) sailed on the disastrous Jean Ribault expedition to Florida in 1564-1565 and drew scenes of the life of the Tinucua Indians where most of the colony was murdered by the Spanish. However Le Moyne escaped destruction and eventually returned to London and died there. Apparently his paintings or drawing were made from memory when he returned to London. which.= with one exception were all lost. The paintings or drawings were were used by the engraver Theodore de Bry to illustrate his famous Latin work Florida. Le Moyne and John White met in London in 1585 and were apparently friends since both copied each other’s work. Examples include a butterfly of White found in Le Moyne’s paintings, Indians of Le Moyne reflected in White’s watercolors, and similar figures of ancient Picts of England by both Le Moyne and White (Miller, 2000; Birch, 2009). It is intriguing that some images of HA have echoes of both Le Moyne and White’s work. This is evidence that HA was aware of Le Moyne and White directly or through De Bry’s engravings. Similarities between works of HA with White, and Le Moyne are as follows:

1. Women bathing. The bathing image (f.119) echo White’s drawing of an Indian woman and child and the reversed engraving of Le Moyne woman swimming with her children (Fig. 4).

2. Killing sequence. The brutal killing sequence (f.85) of Indians of Ihona (Guiana?) is very similar to the execution scene of Le Moyne (Fig. 5).

3. Healing. The healing image with tobacco smoke resonates (f.92) with the healing images of Le Moyne’s Florida Indians. Both display tobacco and the stretched out patients (Fig. 6).

4. Cooking images. There are similarities of fish grilling = (f.113) and one of White’s watercolors and the engraving (Fig. 7).

5. Food and animal images. There are common foods and animals portrayed by HA and White. These include tortoise, flying fish, plantain, pineapple, and mamey (Fig. 8).

Conclusions

The evidence above indicates that the HA artist must have been aware of the De Bry engravings of White and Le Moyne and likely saw the actual paintings of White and perhaps Le Moyne. The fact that many of HA illustrations are closer to the mirror image of DeBry’s engravings is evidence that he actually knew the actual drawings although the mirror image may have been created by tracing.

5

5

If the artist accompanied Drake on his 1585-1586 voyage he would have accompanied White from Roanoke to Plymouth. Since Le Moyne was a friend of White they all may have been aware of each other in London from 1586 to 1588. The suggestion has been made (Janick, in press) that HA could have been one of the Frenchman rescued or impressed by Drake at Cartagena in 1586 (Keeler, 1981; Sugden, 1990) on his way to Roanoke. It should be noted that Drake also set free 18 or 19 Frenchman in Santo Domingo (Keeler, 19981, p.244) and rescued Frenchmen from prison in St. Augustine just before arriving in Roanoke (Quinn, 1985, p.133). Drake arrived with at least eight ships of the Carolina coast approaching Roanoke but if HA was on board Drake’s 400 ton flagship Elizaberth Bonnaventure (http://www.nps.gov/fora/forteachers/ships-of-the-roanoke-voyages.htm) he certainly would not have landed with Drake and select officers who braved the shallows in a smaller boat to confer with Ralph Lyon at Roanoke. I conclude that the picture of the Indian of Loranbec by HA offers no evidence that the artist was actually ashore at Roanoke but he could have on board one of the ships in the area, most likely Drake’s flagship. The mention of a battle of the Loranbec Indians may be explained by confusion with the skirmish at St. Augustine. The mention of 36 1/2 degrees by HA is clear evidence that was aware of the Roanoke rescue.

HA does not seem to be entirely truthful since many drawings associated with Drake are fabricated. These include the illustrations of Gilolo, the picture of the volcano at Fogue Island in Cape Verde, and pictures associated the Lima (sheep rather than llamas are portrayed). It seems likely that details about these voyages could have been picked up from scuttlebutt of the crew assuming HA was on board.

The preponderance of drawing of HA show Taino images based on the dwelling structures, use of a drill for making fire, wooden canoes, and balance poles (see Rouse 1992, Fig. 5). However, similar structures may have been existed around Cartegena (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cartagena,_Colombia).The detail in the Nombre de Dios paintings (f.97-97v) and the preponderance of reference to locations in Colombia (Janick, in press, Table 3) suggest that the artist was familiar with parts of the Spanish Main from Panama to the Quajiri Peninsular. The suggestion that HA could be been picked up in Cartegena by Drake (Janick, in press) has the virtue of explaining the possible relationship of White, Le Moyne, and De Bry; information aboaut the Spanish Main, and the presence of bits of information about Drake’s various voyages that could have been picked from Drake’s crew.

Who was HA? Perhaps we will never know but it is certain that this person was associated with John White, Jacques Le Moyne, and Theodore De Bry in some way. By the standards of Occam’s Razor, the simplest explanation is that HA knew about Roanoke through the report of Harriot published by De Bry in 1590 illustrated with engravings of White watercolors and was aware of Le Moyne through the De Bry’s Latin work Florida published in 1589. However, Harriots report does not mention the latitude of Roanoke and also does not contain the paintings of flora and fauna of White that duplicate paintings of the Histoire Naturelle des Indes. HA could have also known details of the circumnavigation voyage of Drake through the book of

6

6

Francis Pretty (1580) also published in French, although this is unlikely since this Pretty‘s report does not mention Gilolo in the South Seas part of the circumnavigation voyage of Drake. HA had knowledge of key details of various Drake’s voyages including the tantalizing 36 1/2 degrees mentioned in the caption concerning the Indian of Loranbec. The possibility that HA was picked up at Cartagena by Drake, in 1586, accompanied Drake to Roanoke and England, and was personally familiar with White and De Moyne in London is intriguing. This could explain HA’s deep familiarity of Indian culture, details of Spanish smelting and mining (perhaps around Panama and Columbia) ,and a detailed knowledge of the Nombre de Dios harbor in Panama. He shows some intriguing details such as penis sheaths and the names of the Indian devil. He is clearly no naturist or trained artist but he is an intelligent and compassionate person although a bit of a faker and plagiarist of images. I would have liked to know him.

Literature Cited

Brochard, M.J. and J.P. Chambon. 1991. La localixation du Peck manuscript. Bibliotheque d’Humanisme et Renaissance, t.LIII, fasc.2.:405-414. NOT CITED YET

The Drake Manuscript. 1996. (Facsimile). André Deutsch Limited. London.

Klinkenborg, Verlyn. 1996. Introduction. p.xv-xxii. In: The Drake manuscript. André Deutsch Lilmited, London.

Birch, S. 2009.Through an artist’s eye: Observation on aspects of copying in two groups of work by John White . 1585-90. P. 85-96. In: K. Aloan (ed.). English Visions: American Voices. British Museum Research Publ.. 172, London.

Bourinot, J.C. 1897.The makers of the Dominion of Canada. The Canadian Magazine X:. p.139)-

Janick, J. 2012? Crops in 16th century America: Revelations from the Drake Manuscript. Chronica Horticulturae (in Press.).

Keeler, M. F. 1981. The Leicester journal. p.169. In: Sir Francis Drake’s West Indian Voyage 1585-86. The Hakluyt Society, London.

Lessa, W.Q. 1984.Drake in the South Seas. p.60-77. In; N. J. A. Thrower (ed.). Sir Francis Drake and the famous voyage, 1577-1580. Univ. of California Press, Berkeley. (See 5.7, p. 22)

Lestringart, F. 1994, Le Drake manuscript de la P. Moran library. Un document exceptionnel en marge des “nouveaux horizons francais”. L’Homme 130, avr.jun XXXIV(3)93-104.

Miller, L. 2000. Roanoke Solving the mystery of the lost colony. Penguin Books, New York.

Francis Pretty. 1580. Sir Francis Drake’s Famous Voyage Round the World, 1580 http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/1580Pretty-drake.asp/

7

7

Quinn, D. B. Set Fair for Roanoke: voyages and colonies, 1584-1606. Norrth Carolina Press, Chapel Hill and London.

Quinn, P.H. and D. B. 1963. American drawings of John White, 1577-1590. Univ. of North Carolina Press.

Sugden, J. 1990. Sir Francis Drake. Henry Holt, and Company, New York.Footnote 2, p. 200-201)

Schwerdt, C.F.G.R. 1928. Sir Francis Drake. A Journal of an unusual kind, containing 199 coloured drawings made during an early voyage of discovery to America [circa 1586]. p.321-326. In: Hunting hawking shooting illustrated in catalogue or books manuscript prints and drawings. Vol II. Privately printed for the author, Waterlow & Sons, Limited, London.

White, John. 1587. Journal. p. 155-166. In: S. Lorant, (ed.).. The new World: The first pictures of America. Duell, Sloan & Pearce, New York. (1946).

8

8

Figures

Fig. 1. Images of Malucca, 1580. A. Canoe reported to be near Gilolo in The Drake Manuscript f.44. B. Royal canoe from Ternate from Valentin, 1724 (Lessa, 1984).

Fig. 2. Indian of Loranbec from the Histoire Naturelle des Indes.

9

9

Fig. 3. The Indian of Lorenbec compared to the portraits of John White at Roanoke: (A). The Indian of Roanoke. (B.) John White’s image of Indian of Roanoke (Chief). (C). John White’s Image of Indian Elder (Old Man of Pomieock), (D) The double portrait of the Chief (entitled A Weroans [Prince or Chieftain, of Virginia) engraved by Theordore de Bry (1599) shown in mirror image. (E) The Old Man) engraved by de Bry in mirror image. Note that the initials T.B. in the engraving indicate that Theodoe de Bry made he engravings himself. (F) Reconstructed image of the Indian of Loranbec based on Images of White.

Fig. 4 Women and children. (A) Woman and children bathing from the Drake Manuscript; (B) Floridian Women and Child by John White; (C) Floridian women and children crossing a to an island by Jackes De Moyne.

10

10

Fig. 5 Indians of Ionia [Guiana?] in Drake Manuscript (left) compared to sleeping sentinel execution image of Jacques Le Moyne.

Fig. 6. Healing. (Left). Indians healing an arrow wound with smoke from tobacco from the Drake Manuscript. (Right) Healing of Floridi Indians by Jacques Le Moyne.

Fig. 7.Grilling fish: (A) image from the Drake Manuscripts (B) image from John White, (C) reversed De Bry engraving.

11

11

Fig. 8. Flora and fauna from the Drake manuscript compared to watercolors of John White: (A) tortoise, (B) flying fish, (C) plantain, (D) pineapple, and (E) mamey.