After he went back to England he heard the great news from Spain. A man named Columbus had done just what Cabot thought possible. He had reached the east by sailing west.
"It is truly wonderful," said the people. It was the talk of the whole country. John Cabot was as much excited as everyone else. He asked the king of England to send him on a voyage to the newly-found country. The king thought:
"The Spaniards should not be the only ones to bring back the riches of India. We must have a share of their good fortune."
He was quite willing, therefore, to send John Cabot, who was a wise man and a good sailor. Cabot's son went with him on the voyage.
They came to the mainland of North America, but they were much farther north than Columbus had ever been. It was quite cold and the place looked bare and lonesome.
They saw no Indians, but there were some fishnets lying about near the shore. These nets being there showed that probably people were not far away.
"What great numbers of fish there are in these waters," exclaimed Cabot. "I never in my life before saw so many. 'The Land of the Codfish' is a good name for this country."
He did not stay long, for food was becoming scarce. So the ship soon started on the homeward voyage. When they reached England the sailors told wonderful stories about the "Land of the Codfish." They said:
"The waters were so thick with fish that the ship sometimes could not move as fast as it otherwise would. One thing amused us very much. It was the strange sight of bears fishing! The great creatures swam out into the water and caught the fish in their paws. Sometimes the fish were so large that they fought hard to get away, but the bears nearly always won the battle."