No
Remarkable Star Was Found Near The South Pole, By Which To Ascertain The
Southern Ordinal Point, Or To Estimate The Latitude.
Instead of an
antarctic polar star, two clusters of small stars were observed, having
a small space between them,
In which were two stars of inconsiderable
size and lustre, which seemed to be at no great distance from the pole,
by the smallness of the circle they described in their diurnal course.
When at the distance of 20 deg. from the south pole, they saw a high island
to which they gave the name of Cipangue; and at 15 deg. another equally
high, which they named Sinnodit.[4] They sailed in one gulf; or
stretch of sea, at least 4000 leagues, and made their longitude, by
estimation or reckoning, 120 deg. W. from the place of their original
departure. By this time they drew near the equinoctial line, and having
got beyond that into 13 deg. N. latitude, they made for the cape called
Cottigare by old geographers; but missing it in that old account of
its latitude, they understood afterwards that it is in the latitude of
12 deg. N.[5]
[Footnote 4: The text is evidently here erroneous, as Magellan entered
the Pacific Ocean in lat. 47 deg. S. and there is not the smallest reason to
suspect he had been forced into the latitudes of 70 deg. and 75 deg. S. Instead
therefore of the south pole, we ought probably to understand the
equator. As these two islands were uninhabited, the names given them
must have been imposed by Magellan or his associates.
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