Christopher Columbus and the New World of his discovery : a narrative . 9), p. 459, says : iS 7 were the Guards or Wardensof the Pole that old Thomas Hood said were * of the Spanishword guardare (to beholde), because they are diligently tobe looked unto, in regard of the singular use which theyhave in navigation. Allen further says : * These stars, likethe stars in Charless Wain, were a timepiece to the commonpeople, and even thought worthy of special treatises by navi-gators, as to their use in indicating the hours of the night. In the Safeguard of Saylers (1619) there is a chapteron Howe to
Christopher Columbus and the New World of his discovery : a narrative . 9), p. 459, says : iS 7 were the Guards or Wardensof the Pole that old Thomas Hood said were * of the Spanishword guardare (to beholde), because they are diligently tobe looked unto, in regard of the singular use which theyhave in navigation. Allen further says : * These stars, likethe stars in Charless Wain, were a timepiece to the commonpeople, and even thought worthy of special treatises by navi-gators, as to their use in indicating the hours of the night. In the Safeguard of Saylers (1619) there is a chapteron Howe to knowe the houre of the night by the Guardsby knowing on what point of the compass they shall be atmidnight every fifteenth day throughout the whole yeare ;and in the Arte of Navigation Englished out of theSpanyshe by Richard Eden (1561) an account is givenof an instrument for finding time by the circle describedby the two starres called the Guardians or the mouth ofthe home. Taps Seamans Grammar (1609) also treatsof the Guards. Navigators used a diagram as below :—. R/GHT AfiAt and undoubtedly calculated time at night by the motion of the Guards through the diagram, allowing three hours [ 302 ] THE FIRST VOYAGE between each line. The sun was their clock by day andthe Guards by night. But it was an unreliable clock, usefulto roughly estimate the passage of time, useless to ascertaintime at ship for navigational purposes, and navigators wouldnot have attached such great importance to the Little Bearif it had served merely as an indicator of the passage oftime by night. I am convinced they used it also to esti-mate the relative positions of the Pole Star and Pole, andconsequently the correction to be added to or subtractedfrom the altitude of the star for finding the altitude of thePole and the latitude. The following rough diagram may possibly indicate themethod used :— uBipu9]/\[ aqj uo suBiOd sMoqs siqx
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