Young ColumbusYOUNG COLUMBUS.
YOUNG COLUMBUS.
You must remember that at that time no one knew the real shape of the earth; they had no idea that it was round, but supposed it to be a flat plane, with the ocean lying around its edges. What strange things might be found on the other side of the ocean they did not know. Some said that this ocean, which they called the "Sea of Darkness," and which was supposed to stretch away to the end of the world, had many large islands lying in it, one of which had been visited by some bishops who were flying from the Moors, and who built seven large cities there—one for each bishop; but that, having burned their ships, they could not send back any tidings to the world they had left. A great many people believed this, and there were even some ships sent out to try and find the island, but of course they never did.
Another story which they were very fond of telling was, that a giant called Mildum had actually seen in the western sea an island of gold, with walls of crystal, and offered to swim to it with a ship in tow; but a storm came up, and the giant went ashore and died, and no one ever found the golden island.
But there were some things which made it seem as though there really might be land somewhere out in the Atlantic. For instance, Columbus' brother-in-law had seen a piece of curiously carved wood which had been washed ashore in a westerly gale, and an old pilot had picked up a carved paddle very far west of Portugal. These things were very unlike anything that the Europeans had ever seen before, and they of course supposed that they must have been made by some unknown race of men. Then, besides, cane-stalks of tropic growth had been washed on the Madeiras, and great pine-trees on the Azores; and once, strangest thing of all, two drowned men, of different dress and looks from any they had ever known, had been found on the island of Flores. All these had come from the West—that great, curious, unknown West! Can you not imagine how the little children would go down to the shore and look across the sea, and wonder and wonder what lay beyond it? They had heard such strange stories of giants and monsters and cruel beasts, who were said to live away off there out of the sight of land, and it all seemed so curious to them. They could not believe that there was really land out beyond that blue sea, on which sometimes they could not even see a sail. It only looked to them like a great empty stretch of water, and they felt just as you would feel if you looked up to the sky some cloudless day. You would see nothing but the empty blue stretching away and away and away.
Would you not laugh if some one said to you, "Come, let us take a boat and sail away into the sky, and find a new country that some one says is there?"
Well, in those days, almost every one thought it was just as silly to suppose there was land on the other side of the Atlantic.
But there were some people who really believed there was land lying across the great sea, and one of those persons was Columbus.
He was a very wise man, and had learned all that was then known of geography, and he felt sure from many things that the earth was round in shape, and that if he sailed west across the Atlantic, he would come to land. He did not dream of finding a new country, but he thought that the world was much smaller than it really is, and that by sailing westward he would come to India much sooner than by going the usual way.
At that time India was a very important country. Very rare and beautiful things were brought from there, such as silks, gold, pearls, ivory, diamonds, rare woods, and many other costly and useful things. Great companies of men were all the time going and coming overland to and from India, and it took a long time, and was a very expensive way of going. The merchants travelled part of the way on horses and part of the way on camels, and the long caravan would go winding across the desert, and through mountain passes, over the plains, guided by the stars, or resting at night around great fires; and if you could see such a sight now you would think it was a great gypsy camp. Then, oftentimes, people who wished to travel to India, or to the places on the way thither, would join these caravans, as it was much the cheaper and safer way, and so there would be found every kind of people travelling together—Jews, Arabs, Spaniards, Dutch, and many others—all on their way to obtain those wonderful and beautiful things from the East; if you had lived at that time, and had started on a journey to India, it would have been as different from such a journey now as you can imagine. Then, after leaving Europe you would have travelled all the way on the back of a camel; and although these caravans sometimes moved during the day, resting at night, still, much the greater part of the travelling, owing to the heat of the sun, was done in the night-time. About ten o'clock at night you would have heard the sound of the trumpets. This was to tell you that the caravan was about to move on. Then the tents were folded up, the camels loaded with the merchandise, the travellers mounted on their horses or camels, and about midnight, after the third blast from the trumpets, the march would begin. Great kettles of burning pitch would send their flames flashing over the desert, and the men and beasts travelled onward through the night by this ruddy gleam. Sometimes, in the earlier part of the journey, the line of march would lay along the sea, and then the thunder of its waves would be heard mingling with the songs of the slaves and the bells of the camels. Riding across a desert is much like sailing across the sea. There is very little variety. You see the same thing day after day. In sailing, you see the sea and sky, and occasionally a ship's sail; in journeying across a desert you see the sand and sky, sometimes an Arab or two looking wonderingly at the caravan before darting off to their hidden retreats, and more often only the bones of camels and elephants scattered on either side of the route, and dazzling the sight with their white gleam. The only thing that would break in upon the sameness would be the stops at the springs for water and rest, when the sacks of food and wine were unpacked from the camels, and the travellers would alight and stay until the heat of the day was past.
Of course, you little American boys and girls have never travelled in this way, but it was the usual way at that time, and much labor and time and money it cost; and so it was considered that it would be a great gain to the world if people could find a shorter way of going to India, and this was one reason why Columbus wished to see if the world were really round. For, of course, if it were round, India, they said, must be right on the other side of the Atlantic. You see they had no idea that this big America lay in the way between them and India. They thought that, at the most, there were only some large islands there.
And so Columbus thought it all over and decided to try for himself, and see if he could reach India by sailing across the ocean. But he was to have many disappointments before he started off. In the first place, very few people thought as he did about the shape of the earth, and the different countries were unwilling to risk men and money in an undertaking which they were sure would amount to nothing. Columbus tried to obtain help from his own people; first, from the republic of Genoa, then from the republic of Venice, and the court of Portugal, and for seven years he tried to get help from Ferdinand and Isabella, the king and queen of Spain. And at last, after ten years of waiting and seeking, the wished-for help came. Isabella, queen of Spain, listened to Columbus' plans, and liked them so much that she said she would send the expedition out at the expense of her own kingdom of Castile, and, if necessary, would pawn her jewels to get enough of money; but this last she did not have to do.
It was hard work to find sailors willing to go on this long voyage across the unknown seas, and many of the men had to be forced into the service; but after three months' delay the expedition was ready, and on August 3, 1492, the three ships, the Santa Maria, the Pinta, and the Nina, left the port of Palos on the most wonderful voyage that has ever been undertaken—the voyage which ended in the discovery of the great New World.
And so Columbus sailed away toward the sun setting. In about a month he reached and passed the Canary Islands, the farthest known land. This was on Sunday, September 6, 1492. And then the voyage really began. The day passed, and, as the sky and the sea grew dark, the sailors became terrified, and when at last night fell, and they lost sight of the land which bordered the great sea of darkness, they wept from fear, and said they should never return to their homes. Columbus had a hard time to quiet their fears, but finally they grew calm and listened to his descriptions of the beautiful country toward which they were sailing. And so they went on, sometimes hopeful and sometimes despairing, and once they made a plot to throw Columbus overboard and then turn the ships about and go home, but happily this was not carried out. As they advanced, the oldest sailors were deceived by frequent signs of land. On the 26th they entered into a region where the air was soft and balmy, and fields of sea-weed began to appear. "This day and the day after," said Columbus, "the air was so mild that it wanted but the song of the nightingales, to make it like the month of April in Andalusia."
One evening, just as the sun was going down there came a cry of "Land!" from the Pinta, which was leading the other ships. Columbus had promised a reward to him who should first see land, and Martin Alonzo Pinzon, who was ahead in the Pinta, now claimed the reward. He said that he saw land in the west; they all looked and saw a dark, cloudy mass about twenty-five leagues away. Columbus and the sailors knelt and sangGloria in Excelsis Deo; but in the morning, when they looked again for the hoped-for land, they saw nothing but the wide sea stretching away as far as the eye could see. The land which Martin Pinzon had seen from the stern of the Pinta had been but a cloud, which had disappeared in the night.
But Columbus sailed on with hope and faith in his heart. Again and again they thought they saw land, and again and again they were disappointed; but at last they saw land-birds flying around, a piece of carved wood was picked up by the Pinta, and the Nina secured a branch of thorn with red berries, which was drifting by, and Columbus felt sure that they were near their journey's end. The men were called to evening prayer, and the vesper hymn to the Virgin floated out over the waves of the Atlantic, the first time probably that a Christian hymn had ever been sung upon that darkening sea. Then Columbus ordered a double watch to be set. "We shall see land in the morning," said he. He spent the entire night on the deck; no one slept; they were all too much excited at the prospect of seeing land. Can you not imagine how rejoiced Columbus must have been to think that at last his long and weary voyage was nearly over, and that he had been right in saying that the world was round, and that there was land across the ocean? Ah! no one can understand how he felt, for no one before or since ever started out on such a voyage as that. A voyage across the great, mysterious, unknown sea, which was supposed to extend to the ends of the earth, and on whose farther borders demons and terrible beasts were thought to live.
At ten o'clock that night Columbus, looking wistfully seaward, saw a light; he called to two of the sailors, one of whom saw the light and one did not. At two o'clock the next morning, being Friday, October 12, 1492, the Pinta fired a gun, the signal for land. Rodrigo Triana, a sailor of the Pinta, was the first who saw the New World. The ships lay to, and all waited impatiently for morning.
The day broke, and the New World lay before them. About six miles away they saw an island thickly covered with trees and with crowds of natives running up and down its shores. At sunrise the small boats were lowered, and Columbus, bearing the royal standard of Castile, and Martin Pinzon and his brother, each bearing a flag with a green cross, were rowed to the shore to the sound of music. Columbus first stepped on the beach, the others followed, and all knelt and kissed the ground with tears and thanks to God. Then Columbus rose, shook out the gorgeous red and gold flag of Spain, and drawing his sword, took possession of the island in the name of the crown of Castile, calling it San Salvador.
The wondering natives looked on in silence; they thought their visitors were gods who had come down from heaven, whereas the Spaniards thought they had never seen a place so much like heaven as this beautiful island. Birds of gorgeous plumage hovered above them, while others made the place sweet with their music. The air was soft and pleasant, and flowers and fruits were abundant. After their long sea voyage they found it a most pleasant spot, and would gladly have remained there for a long time.
But Columbus did not consider that his work of discovery was yet done. Some of the natives, who wore ornaments of gold, told him of a country in the south from which it had come; so Columbus, taking seven of the natives with him, started off to find this land of gold, which he supposed to be Cipango (Japan). He did not find the gold which he sought, but he did find something else—the island of Cuba—which he first thought was Cipango, but afterward concluded it was the mainland of India. He then sailed on, discovering the island of Hayti, which he thought was Ophir, that land of gold from which had been brought the gold and jewels for Solomon's Temple. He called this island Hispaniola, or Little Spain, and, building a fort there of the timbers of the Santa Maria, and leaving in it thirty-nine men, he sailed for Spain, in the Nina, taking with him several natives. Martin Pinzon had in the meantime started off gold-hunting, on his own account, in the Pinta.
During the voyage back to Spain a fearful storm arose, and it was thought that the ship must go down; of course, if this happened the people in Europe would never know what had become of Columbus and his sailors; so he wrote an account of his voyage and discoveries, and, sealing it up in a cask, threw it overboard. But the storm at last ceased and they reached the Azores in safety, where the crew attended mass and gave thanks for their preservation. In March, six months from the time of their sailing, the Nina entered the harbor of Palos. Columbus was received with great honors by Ferdinand and Isabella. He was allowed to sit in their presence while he told the story of his wonderful adventures. The Spanish are a people very fond of romances and tales of daring, but never before had they listened to such a story as this. A story that told them that Spain would forever stand in history as the discoverer of a new world. No fairy tale was so marvellous as this. Aladdin's wonderful lamp and the vale of diamonds in the Arabian Nights were not to be compared to the riches of this new country, where the sands of every river sparkled with gold, where the stones and rocks shone with its glittering light, where the walls of the houses were studded with jewels, and where the poorest native wore ornaments that kings might envy. And in addition to these dazzling splendors they spoke of the mild and healthful climate, of the rare and delicious fruits that grew so abundantly, of the beautiful flowers, of the birds with sweetest songs and the most gorgeous plumage, of the rivers whose waters were health-giving, and of a wonderful fountain which gave immortal youth to all who might drink of it.
And so Columbus had no difficulty in fitting out a second expedition; men were eager to go, eager for gold, and, what was perhaps better, eager for glory; they did not have to be pressed into the service this time. In September, 1493, Columbus sailed from Cadiz with a fleet of seventeen ships and fifteen hundred men. But he had left his good fortune behind him; never again would such bright skies bend above him; never again would he sail under such benignant stars; henceforth his life was to be saddened by disappointment, and made bitter by the envy and hatred of those whom he had served.
Many of the men who took ship with him on this second voyage were led to do so from the love of gold, and when they reached the New World and did not find the gold they sought, they grew angry and mutinous and quarrelsome, throwing the blame on Columbus, who, they said, had deceived them. It was not pleasant to govern such a lot of unruly, discontented men; but Columbus was a man who never flinched in the face of danger, no matter of what kind; he kept on his way in spite of the murmurings of his men, and was rewarded by the discovery of the Windward Islands, Jamaica and Porto Rico—then he founded a colony in Hayti, and leaving his brother, Bartolommeó, to govern it, sailed for Spain, reaching Cadiz about three years after his departure from it.
Here he soon cleared himself of the complaints made against him, and silenced those who were jealous of his fame. Once, while sitting at table, a courtier said that, after all, it was not such a great thing to have discovered the new world, any one else could have done it. For answer Columbus asked him to make an egg stand on its end; the courtier tried, but could not do it. Columbus then struck the egg on the table, breaking the shell a little, and then stood it on the table.
"Any one can do that," said the courtier.
"When I have shown you the way," replied Columbus.
The courtier was silent, he knew well what Columbus meant.
And now there was to be still another voyage made. In 1498 Columbus left Spain with six ships, and sailed across the Atlantic, taking a route more southerly than he had before done. This time he discovered the mouth of the Orinoco, which he, still supposing that the country he had discovered to be Asia, thought was the river Gihon, which rose in the garden of Eden. He then skirted along the coast of South America, passing the islands of Trinidad and Margarita, and then turned toward Hispaniola, where he hoped to recruit his health. He found the colony in a sad state, and while trying to restore peace he again became the object of jealousy and malice. A commissioner named Francisco de Bobadilla was sent from Spain to settle the trouble, and his first act was to put Columbus and his brother in chains and send them to Spain.
"Are you taking me to death, Vallejo?" asked Columbus, sadly, when the officer came to lead him from his cell.
The officers of the ships wanted to take off his chains, but Columbus replied, "I will wear them as a memento of the gratitude of princes."
When he arrived in Spain, the people were very indignant at the treatment which he had received; and the king, in order to quiet them, said that he had not ordered Columbus to be put in chains. But the real reason why he had allowed him to be thus insulted was that he was disappointed at finding that the New World, after all, was not rich in gold and silver, and after nine months of waiting Columbus only saw a new governor appointed over Hispaniola, and no notice taken of his injuries. One more voyage and then Columbus' work would be over. In 1502 he received command to sail in search of a passage leading westward from the Gulf of Mexico, which was then supposed to be a sea. He believed he should find a strait somewhere near where the isthmus of Panama now is, and that by passing through this strait he would reach the continent of Asia. On his way out he stopped at his colony at Hispaniola, where he hoped to refit, but was refused permission; he sailed along the south side of the Gulf of Mexico, but did not find the strait for which he was looking, and after much suffering from famine and other hardships, he returned home. Here he lay sick for some months; his old friend Queen Isabella was dead, and King Ferdinand refused to give him any reward for his long and faithful service. He was seventy years old, poor, and in ill health. To quote his own words, he had "no place to go to except an inn, and often with nothing to pay for his food." And so the discoverer of the New World, suffering, neglected, deserted by those he had spent his life in serving, died while repeating the Latin words, "Lord, into thy hands I commend my spirit." They are the last words of a great man; a man who lived a noble life, and who met death as bravely and fearlessly as he met the unknown terrors which lay in his way when he sailed for the first time across the great "sea of darkness." Seven years after his death the people, for very shame's sake, placed a marble tomb over his remains, with the inscription:
"A Castilla y a Leon,Nuevo mondo dió Colon."
"A Castilla y a Leon,Nuevo mondo dió Colon."
"A Castilla y a Leon,
Nuevo mondo dió Colon."
("To Castile and Leon, a new world gave Colon.")
Afterward his remains were taken to St. Domingo and placed in a cathedral in that city. And nearly two hundred years later they were removed with great pomp to the cathedral at Havana, where they rest within sound of the waves of the sea, in that beautiful city, where the air is indeed "like the spring in Andalusia," balmy and soft, perfumed with flowers, and made musical with the songs of birds.
THE CABOTS.
About the time of the discovery of America, there was living-in England an old man, who loved the sea better than anything else in the world. He was not an Englishman, but a Venetian, and many years before he had left his home in beautiful Venice to seek a home in England. The name of this old man was John Cabot, and he was considered one of the greatest sailors living. He had guided his ships among the islands of the Mediterranean, and had sailed up the Atlantic coast to the British Isles, and then, not satisfied, he had gone on into the frozen regions of the North, and had sat by Iceland firesides listening to the tales of the Norsemen and their wonderful voyages across the sea to a New World. And while he listened he thought what a fine thing it would be if he too should sail away some day to visit this strange country; so after returning to England, he asked permission of the king to fit out some ships and go on a voyage of discovery. He had heard of the voyage of Columbus, and he thought that by sailing far to the north he might find new lands as rich and beautiful as those which Columbus had discovered. So about the year 1494, or 1497, he sailed from England, taking with him his son Sebastian.
Very different was their voyage from that of Columbus; keeping ever to the north, the waters of the Atlantic showed them no genial skies, or islands adorned with waving forests and beautiful flowers, but instead, they found fog and mist, cold, chilling winds, and great, glittering icebergs. The first land seen by them was Cape Breton, which they called Prima Vista, meaningfirst seen. They found the country cold and dismal, covered with ice and snow. As this new land was no farther north than England, they were surprised to see instead of green meadows, shady trees, and flowing rivers, only fields of snow, and while they knew the birds were singing in England, they saw here great white bears, which prowled around seeking their prey.
Cabot did not remain long in America, he soon sailed again for England, which he reached three months from the time he had left. His voyage is important, as he was the first European, after the Northmen, to touch themainlandof North America.
On his return he was received with great honor by the king. He went about dressed in silk and velvet, and everywhere great crowds would follow him and point him out as the Great Admiral.
In 1498 Sebastian Cabot sailed with another expedition from England and reached the coast of Labrador. He tried to find a northwest passage to Asia, but the climate was so cold that he gave up the idea and sailed down the coast as far as Virginia, claiming the whole country for the King of England. He made still another voyage and explored Hudson's Bay, but the accounts which he gave of the country were not very pleasing, and no Englishman was willing to leave his own pleasant home to seek another in the New World, and for many, many years after this the English paid little heed to the great continent which Cabot had discovered.
Sebastian Cabot lived to be an old man, and was always greatly honored by the English. He was called the Great Seaman, and as long as he lived he loved the ocean over whose waters he had sailed to honor and fortune.
AMERICUS VESPUCIUS.
As soon as it became known in Europe that there really was land across the Atlantic, all the nations wished to send ships and men to gather the gold which they supposed to be there. The Spaniards, of course, thought that they had the best right to the new country, but the English and French sent out expeditions, and soon there arose a great quarrel as to whom the New World should belong. One of the most interesting voyages made at that time was that of Americus Vespucius. Like Columbus, he was an Italian, having been born in the beautiful city of Florence, but at the time of the discovery of the western world he was living in Spain. Vespucius sailed across the sea, and in the summer of 1499 (the year after Columbus discovered the Orinoco), he landed on the coast of Venezuela. Here he saw a queer little village which looked as if some children had been trying to build a "make-believe" Venice. The village was built on piles driven into the water, and the houses, which were of such a shape that they looked like big bells, could only be entered by means of drawbridges. Each house had its own bridge, and when the owner wished he could draw the bridge up and no one could get in, and there he was just as safe as a turtle when it shrinks into its shell.
Vespucius landing to chastise the CannibalsVESPUCIUS LANDING TO CHASTISE THE CANNIBALS
VESPUCIUS LANDING TO CHASTISE THE CANNIBALS
Vespucius and his men had never seen anything like it before and looked at the funny little place in astonishment. But as soon as the natives saw the Spaniards, they drew up all their bridges and disappeared; in a few minutes, however, Vespucius saw twenty-two canoes filled with these savages coming toward his boats; as soon as they got near enough they began shooting arrows at the Spaniards, and then Vespucius, seeing that they did not mean to be friendly, ordered the guns to be fired. The Indians were terribly frightened by the noise and smoke of the guns; they had never seen such things before, and very soon they rowed back to the shore, and Vespucius sailed on farther south. When he landed next he found a more friendly tribe of Indians; they were at first afraid of the Spaniards, and ran away when they saw them coming. Vespucius and his men went into the wigwams and found that the Indians had fires burning, upon which young alligators were roasting. By and by the Indians, seeing that the Spaniards meant no harm, came back and treated their guests so kindly that Vespucius stayed there nearly two weeks, visiting, in the meantime, some of their villages which were built back from the sea. The natives grew very fond of him, and hundreds of them followed him back to his ship, but when he ordered the cannon fired they all jumped back into the water and swam away. But Vespucius did not mean to harm them, so he called them back, and then the Indians and Spaniards exchanged presents and Vespucius sailed away. He still kept to the coast of Venezuela, and sailing northwest entered the bay of Cremana. Here he found the natives friendly and remained with them more than a month, and they begged him to help them kill their enemies, who lived on an island in the sea, and who were a very great and powerful tribe, and came every year and took away many of their number whom they killed and ate. Vespucius promised to help them, and taking seven of them with him as guides, he started off for the island.
As soon as the cannibals saw him coming they gathered on the shore ready for fight. They were covered with war-paint and feathers, and armed with arrows, lances and clubs. At first it seemed that the Spaniards would be beaten, as the Indians pressed around them so closely they could not use their swords, but finally the cannibals were driven back. Vespucius then tried to make friends with them, but they would not do so, and after a two days' fight he conquered them, burned their town, and sailed away with two hundred and fifty of them whom he sold for slaves on reaching Spain. This seems a very cruel act now, but in those times it was thought to be quite right to sell captives taken in war, and so Vespucius only did what he thought was perfectly fair.
When Vespucius got back to Spain, he wrote a letter to a friend of his in Florence, giving an account of his voyage and the lands he had visited. This letter was published a year or two afterward, and as it was the first printed account of a visit to themainlandof the New World, it was read with much wonder and interest by the people who wanted to learn all they could of the strange lands beyond the ocean.
No one knows just how it happened that the new country was called America. Some of Vespucius' friends thought that the New World ought to be called after him, but it was well known that the honor of the great discovery belonged to Columbus alone. At any rate it came about that after reading Vespucius' book, people began talking about the land of Americus Vespucius, and finally it came to be called the land of Americus, or America. But although the great country itself is not named after Columbus, yet mountains, rivers, and towns bear his name, and in poetry and songs, the United States, the greatest American country, is often called Columbia; while in South America, one of the principal divisions is called the United States of Colombia. All of which shows that the people of the New World are very ready to honor its great discoverer.
PONCE DE LEON.
Once upon a time there was an old man who had found life so fair a thing that he wished to live forever, and to be forever young. He was born in Spain, and his childhood and youth and early manhood were so happy that when he grew old he was sad and wanted to bring the lost years back. Of course he could not do that; new summers may come and new winters, but the years themselves never come back any more than do the same clouds, or the same sunset, or the same rainbow. But de Leon, for that was the old man's name, did not believe this. When a child he had read many stones and romances in which wonderful things were done. He had all a Spaniard's love for adventure, and he believed there were things on the earth and in the earth which possessed strange power over the life of man. As he grew older he was taught to ride and fence, and many other things which it was considered necessary for a Spanish gentleman to know, but all the time he was dreaming over these marvellous things he had heard. When he became a man he entered the army, and was always a brave soldier, and eager for adventure of every sort. He sailed with Columbus on his second voyage, and afterward was made governor of the island of Porto Rico.
Here in his island home he was not happy, although he had power, and wealth, and fame, for he sighed for the years that were gone, and dreaded the time to come when life would be no longer pleasant, for he was growing old and must die.
And then he heard such a wonderful story, that while he listened, it seemed as if the years of his childhood came back and smiled upon him. Among the natives of Porto Rico it was believed that somewhere among the Bahama Islands there was a fountain of eternal youth; and that whoever should bathe in this fountain, and drink of its waters, would find his lost youth again and be forever young. The Spaniards believed this story as well as the Indians, and when de Leon heard it he determined to go in search of the wonderful fountain. As he was very rich, this was not a hard thing to do; he bought three ships and fitted them out with men, and started off. He sailed for some time among the Bahamas, looking for the magic fountain, and one day, Easter Sunday, March 27, 1512, he came in sight of an unknown shore. He thought he had discovered another island more beautiful than any of the rest. Never before had he seen anything so delightful as this new land; the ground was covered with the most gorgeous flowers, and above, great trees spread out their green boughs and waved them in the soft air, and sweet-voiced birds sang among the fragrant blossoms. It seemed as if he had sailed into a world where there was nothing but beauty, the native home of bird and blossom, the land of eternal summer. De Leon named the new country Florida, partly because he discovered it on Easter Sunday, which is called by the Spaniards Pascua Florida (flowery Easter), and partly because it was indeed a Land of Flowers. After a few days he landed a little north of the place where the city of St. Augustine now stands, and took possession of the country in the name of the King of Spain. He then began again his search for the wonderful fountain, feeling sure that here where the flowers forever bloomed, and the birds ceased not to sing, he should drink the waters of immortal youth. But though he wandered through the forest, sailed up the silent, shady rivers, and searched eagerly along the coasts, never, save in his dreams, did he hear the music of the fountain, or see its waters shining in the sunlight.
He returned to Porto Rico, and the king made him governor of the new country and sent him back there to found a colony. But when he landed he found that the Indians were all ready for war; there was a dreadful battle, many of the Spaniards were killed, and the rest had to go back to the ships for safety. De Leon himself was mortally wounded by a poisoned arrow, and was taken to Cuba, where he died; and although many people still believed that the wonderful fountain would some day be found, it never was, for the flowers that close at night will open again in the morning, and the little stream that starts from the mountain and goes down to the sea, will have its waters carried back by the clouds to the mountains again, but the years that we leave behind us come not again, they have gone away forever with the daisies and buttercups and violets that shone in the meadow last year.
VASCO NUNEZ DE BALBOA, THE DISCOVERER OF THE PACIFIC OCEAN.
Among the many adventurers who found their way to the New World after its discovery was one named Balboa. He was a very bold, brave man, always ready for adventure and eager for gold and fame, as were all the Spaniards of that time. But Nunez de Balboa, besides being bold and brave, was also very cruel when he had the chance, and sometimes dishonest. Whenever he could he robbed the Indians of their gold, and often cruelly murdered them; and if he thought he could steal from his fellow-soldiers and friends, he was ready to do that, too. So, altogether, he was a man not very much liked among the people with whom he lived in Hispaniola, and because of this, and also because he owed a great deal of money that he did not wish to pay, he thought it would be a fine thing to run away and let his friends get back the money they had lent him as best they might.
There were always ships touching and leaving Hispaniola, and Balboa thought nothing would be easier than to go on one of these ships some fine day and sail away to some new place where he would have better chances for borrowing and stealing than where he was so well known. But he found it much harder to get away from Hispaniola than he had thought. Either he had no money to pay for his passage, or the captain would not take such a troublesome character on his ship, or the people whom he owed would not let him go without their money, or all three of these reasons together, for at any rate at the last moment he slipped on board a vessel that was just going to sail, and hid himself in a big empty cask, and had to lie there hardly daring to breathe lest he should be heard and put on shore again. But every one was busy trying to get the ship under way, and no one thought of looking into empty casks to see if there were men hiding there, and it was not until they were far, far from land that Balboa ventured to put his trembling head out of the cask and look fearfully around. All the sailors and passengers crowded around, very much surprised to see a man's head sticking out of what they had supposed to be an empty cask, and the captain was very angry indeed at the cheat that had been practised upon him, and vowed he would stop the ship at the first desert island he came to and put Balboa ashore and leave him there to starve to death.
And then the bold runaway quite lost his brave heart and fell upon his knees and begged with tears that the captain would not treat him so cruelly, quite forgetting that he himself had often done things just as cruel, and the captain, moved by the wretched man's tears and prayers, or perhaps because there was no desert island in sight, or even a passing ship that might be hailed to take the runaway back, said that he might finish the voyage with them. Balboa thanked the captain and promised good behavior, but in his heart he was very angry because of the threat to put him on a desert island, and determined to be revenged on the captain if possible.
Balboa in Search of the unknown SeaBALBOA IN SEARCH OF THE UNKNOWN SEA.
BALBOA IN SEARCH OF THE UNKNOWN SEA.
Before very long his chance came. A terrible storm came up and the vessel was dashed to pieces upon a strange coast. Encisco, the captain, felt very glad now that he had kept Balboa on the ship, for, although the country was unknown to the captain and his crew, it was not unknown to Balboa. He had been there before, and said that he knew of an Indian village not far away, where they could find food and shelter. Encisco was very glad to hear this, and they all started off under the leadership of Balboa to find the river Darien, on which the Indian village stood.
They had been wrecked on the coast of Darien, and although neither Encisco nor any of his men had ever been there before, yet other Spaniards had, and had treated the natives cruelly and unjustly, as was their usual way of dealing with them. So when Encisco and his followers tried to march through this strange country they found it very hard work, as the natives attacked them at all times, day and night, killing some, wounding others, and keeping them all from getting food. But Balboa was a skilful leader and knew how to deal with Indians, and after a time they reached the village, though weary and foot-sore and almost starved.
Balboa's boldness made him very much admired by some of the shipwrecked sailors, and soon a large party of them, attracted by his stories of bravery and adventure, declared that they would much rather have him for a captain than Encisco. This was just what Balboa wanted, and as his party grew larger and larger, and Encisco's friends fewer and fewer, Balboa at last declared that Encisco should no longer govern the little colony, as he himself was much more fit to be governor. Most of the party agreed to this, and so Balboa became governor, and a very cruel, bloody tyrant he proved. All the Indians around feared and hated him, and even his own men could not love him, and only respected his courage.
One day the son of an Indian chief came to Balboa and told him that some days' journey away there lay a great sea, and on the other side of it a country so rich that the people ate and drank out of gold and silver dishes. The Spaniards in those days were ready to believe anything that the Indians said, and if Balboa had heard that the new sea was full of golden islands, and that the clouds rained diamonds and rubies into its depths, and that its waves threw pearls and corals on its beach, he would almost have believed it all; and when he heard this wonderful news he immediately gathered his men together and started off to find the new sea.
Again they had to fight tribe after tribe of Indians, who constantly tried to make them turn back, but the Spaniards pushed on, and after a hard journey, which took them quite across the Isthmus of Darien, came one day to a high mountain, from whose top the guide said the great sea could be seen.
Balboa ordered all his men to stay below, while he climbed up the mountain alone, as he wished to be the first Spaniard to look upon the great ocean that so many brave adventurers had tried to find. So Balboa went alone up on the mountain peak, and, looking down on the other side, saw a vast body of water stretching away and away. The Indian's story had been true. Here was a great new ocean that no European had ever looked upon before. Balboa looked north and south and west, and saw only this blue sea, shining and peaceful, as if its waves had gone to sleep.
Balboa knelt down on the mountain-top and thanked God that he had been permitted to make this great discovery, and then he beckoned to his followers, who came rushing up and stood looking in wonder at the great sight beneath them.
The men piled up heaps of stone in token that they had taken possession of the country and ocean, and as they went down the slopes of the mountain, Balboa carved the name of Ferdinand upon the trunks of trees. Then twelve men were sent on ahead to find the shortest path to the shore, and Balboa, cruel as ever, gave orders that all the natives they should meet should be tortured and killed unless they would tell them where their stores of gold were hidden. The twelve men went on, and reaching the shore, saw two Indian canoes that had been washed up on the beach by the waves, and as the tide crept up and floated them off, two of the men—Alonzo Martin and Blaze de Atienza—stepped into them, thus being the first Spaniards to sail upon the new ocean which Balboa had named the South Sea. A few days after, Balboa arrived at the shore, and wading into the water, waved his sword solemnly, and took possession of all the great ocean, and the islands that might be in it, and the countries that bordered it, in the name of the King of Spain, and vowed to defend them against all other European adventurers.
This was in the year 1513, one year after the discovery of Florida. And so Spain claimed the Pacific as well as the Atlantic coast of North America.
The news of this great discovery at once made Balboa famous. All over Europe men talked of the bold man who had been the means of adding still more glory to the Spanish name, and as a reward for his services, the king made him Adelantado, or chief ruler, over all the great sea he had discovered.
But among the Spaniards in Darien, Balboa was very much feared, and now that he was in such great favor at the Spanish court, every one dreaded that he would be more cruel and heartless than before, because he had so much more power. And besides, his companions were jealous of his fame, and thought that the honor of discovering the South Sea belonged quite as much to them as to him, quite forgetting that but for his courage and perseverance they would have turned back long before the sea came in sight.
The man who disliked and feared Balboa the most was Peter Anias, the Governor of Darien, and about five years after the great discovery, he managed to get Balboa into his power, and ordered him to be beheaded.
This was done, and thus perished one of the greatest of the Spanish discoverers.
CABECA DE VACA.
And now that Florida had been discovered, and the great South Sea added to the possessions of the Spanish crown, it was thought it would be a wise thing to settle as much of the New World as possible, so that when all its treasures were found they would already be in the hands of the Spaniards and there would be no trouble about it. And so many expeditions were sent out from Spain. These expeditions always had two objects in view. First, to get what gold and silver might be found in America, and second, to find a short passage to the East. People had never given up believing that there must be a short way of getting from the eastern coast of America to India, and ship after ship was sent to seek the strait which was supposed to lead across the continent. For, important as the discovery of a new world seemed, it was considered just as important to find a short way to the East, and when once the passage was found, to sail through it with Spanish ships and make its wealth a part of Spain. Very wonderful stories were told of the countries in the East—of Cathay, and Mangi, and Cipango—which had been visited by the great traveller, Marco Polo, and the man who could find the shortest way thither, would, of all men, receive the highest honor from the King of Spain. And so every one who sailed from Spain looked first toward America and then beyond it to the East. And no wonder, for these countries were richer than Mexico and Peru, more fertile than Florida, and more beautiful than Fairyland itself. There was nothing in the world that one might want that could not be found within the borders of these lands. For ages and ages this kingdom had been ruled by the great race of Kublai Khan, and these monarchs had no other thought than to make their kingdom the most beautiful and glorious of the whole earth. They had built great cities, and strong forts, and extensive highways; it was said that within the Province of Mangi alone were twelve thousand cities, all within a short distance of one another. Chief of these cities was Quinsai, which covered a hundred miles of ground. On one side of it was a river, and on another side a lake, and through it flowed clear, winding streams spanned by twelve thousand beautiful bridges, which were so lofty that ships passed under them with ease. The streets were wide and bordered with palm trees, and fragrant flowers bloomed all the year round in the gardens and parks. All the dwellings were of marble, and the temples and palaces were ornamented with precious stones. Warehouses of stone stood in different parts of the city, filled with costly merchandise, silks and velvets, and cloth of gold, and all manner of rare articles made of gold and silver and mother-of-pearl, curiously and beautifully beaten and engraved. And crystal fountains kept the air pure and fresh, and great birds with gold and silver wings flew lazily from tree to tree, and one could not tell whether the city was more beautiful by day, when the sun shone down upon it and brightened the marble roofs and charming gardens, or by night, when the moon and stars were reflected in the lakes and rivers, and when the fountains glistened white in the moonlight, and the great squares and lofty palaces were illumined with a million crystal lamps.
Most beautiful of all the palaces was that of the king, which stood in the centre of the city on a hill overlooking all the country round. It was so large that it covered ten acres, and its wide, lofty corridors, beautified with groups of magnolia and palm, seemed like magnificent avenues stretching from one palace to another.
Within the enclosure were groves of pine and oak and many rare trees, and gardens filled with choicest flowers, and lakes on which swans floated, and in whose waters rainbow-hued fishes darted hither and thither. The palace itself was of the purest white marble, its roof was wrought in gold and supported by hundreds of pillars of pure gold, wonderfully adorned in azure arabesque, and having the capitals studded with precious stones; and all the air was sweet with perfumed fountains, and everywhere it was continual summer from the abundance of flowers and the songs of birds.
And the king and all his people enjoyed their beautiful city as much as possible, for they were so rich they had to work very little, and spent the greater part of every day in pleasant amusements. At any hour one might see pleasure parties on the lakes and rivers, which were always covered with gilded boats, and barges with silken awnings, under which tables were prepared for banquets. And everywhere through the city were scattered inviting bowers, where the people sat when tired with walking, and watched the long procession of elegant chariots, luxuriously fitted up with cushions of silks and velvet and drawn by richly caparisoned horses. And besides these every-day amusements there were a great many days held sacred to the gods, when there were great feasts lasting ten or twelve days, and when ten thousand guests were entertained at a time.
And the health and comfort of the people were provided for as well as their amusement, for there were elegant marble baths, and a number of fine hospitals for the care of the sick, and a wonderful system of lighting the houses and palaces, so that the night seemed almost turned into day again, and a well-trained fire-department, always ready to act at any moment, and in fact, everything that could be done to make the people healthy and happy, and to protect their lives and property, was done. And all the children went to school in the public parks and gardens, for in that beautiful climate it never rained or was cold, and so there was no need of school-houses, and the boys and girls studied botany, and geology, and astronomy out of doors, and no doubt found it very pleasant.
And Marco Polo, summing up his description of the wonderful place, says, "And this city, for the excellence thereof, hath the name of the city of Heaven; for in the world there is not the like, or a place in which are found so many pleasures, that a man would think he were in Paradise."
And all the other countries ruled by the great Khan were as rich as Mangi. In Armenia were tens of thousands of beautiful cities filled with works of art, and out in the open country were wonderful hot springs which cured all manner of diseases, and on the top of one of the high mountains Noah's ark still rested. And Cathay also held many rich towns. Among them, Cambalu, where the king had a marble palace with a roof of gold, as in Quinsai. And here, ten thousand soldiers guarded the palace, and the royal stables, wherein stood five thousand elephants. Great public roads led out from Cambalu to all the other cities in the empire, and along these roads were stationed post-houses where the king's messengers could find rest and refreshment, and where there were elegant apartments in which the king himself might rest when on his journey through the empire. All the king's errands were done by swift messengers, who ran from one post-house to another. These messengers wore belts from which hung gold and silver bells, and as soon as one station was reached, the letters and messages were given to another messenger and carried on to the next station, and so on, the tinkling of the bells notifying the waiting messenger to be in readiness. And so, not a moment was lost; the messengers ran swiftly over the fine roads, scarcely noticing, in their haste, the beautiful scenery or the many works of art that adorned the way, which led through deep, shady forests, and wide, pleasant meadows, and over the numerous rivers and canals, spanned by lofty bridges built of rare stone and costly marble, and ornamented with rows of polished columns and great stone lions, and curiously graven images of gods, and men, and animals.
The roads extended from one great city to another, joining the most distant places together, and the Khan spent a summer in one place and a winter in another, and every city tried to outshine the rest. In the summer months the Khan spent much of his time in his palace at Ciandu, which was as magnificent as Cambalu. Here the palace extended over sixteen miles, and ten thousand white horses stood in the king's stables.
All this country was guarded by soldiers, who were like the sands of the sea for number, and the great generals were held in such esteem by the king that they were allowed to live in the most magnificent style. They all sat in golden chairs, and rode on milk-white horses, and travelled in gorgeous chariots, or in beautiful barges with silk and velvet awnings to keep off the heat of the sun. And so mighty was the Khan, and so great were his generals, that all the other countries round were very glad to live peaceably, and try in every way to please such a powerful monarch. The riches of this country were beyond description; mountains of turquoises reached to the clouds; the lakes were full of pearls; everywhere were gold and silver mines; the rivers sparkled with gold, and the valleys were rich in diamonds. And everywhere, too, there was an abundance of choice fruits and nuts, and rare spices which grew in the gardens all the year round, so there was no lack of them summer or winter. And the people dressed in the richest stuffs, silk and velvet, and cloth of gold, embroidered with pearls and turquoises and diamonds.
And in Cipango, too, which lay east of Mangi, out in the sea, could be found the same magnificence. Here were palaces and temples, with roofs covered with golden plates and floors paved with gold and silver, and here also the people were rich and prosperous and happy.
And when the news of all this wealth reached Europe it was at once determined to seek those far lands, and, if possible, to bring the gold and pearls and diamonds to Spain and France, and other European countries, and many expeditions were sent out; but none of them ever reached Cathay, for all the American Continent and the great Pacific Ocean lay in the way, and the short passage to the East was never seen except in the dreams of some daring adventurers. But it was years and years before men gave up searching for it. France and Spain sent many men to look for it, and if they did not find Cathay they at least found many curious and wonderful things in America, and so it came about, after a while, that America itself was pretty well known, and many attempts were made to settle it. Spain tried very hard to establish her colonies in the New World, and expedition after expedition was sent across the sea. With one of these expeditions sailed Cabeca de Vaca, a Spanish nobleman, and his account of the trials and misfortunes of the settlers shows how very difficult it was to establish a Spanish colony in America.
The expedition was commanded by Narvaez, who landed his men at Tampa Bay, two days before Easter, 1528. They immediately determined to leave the coast and go into the interior of the country in search of gold, although De Vaca tried very hard to persuade the captain to remain near the ships. But here the Indians were not friendly, and the country farther away was said to be rich in gold; and so a short time after landing, a part of them started off to find the gold region which the Indians said was up in the Appalachian Mountains. But they found travelling through this strange country very hard work. Soon after their arrival at Tampa Bay they had angered the Indians by burning the bodies of some chiefs that they had found in a little village, and the natives now tried in every way to show their hatred. They refused to act as guides, and the Spaniards had to toil through swamps and rivers and forests, often losing their way and always in danger of attack from the Indians. At length their food gave out, and then they had to depend upon the fruit that could be found, and so at last, when they reached the little Indian village of Apalachen, they were quite heart-sick, and glad to find shelter and rest. They found no one in the village excepting women and children; all the men had fled to the woods. The village was built in the midst of a great swamp, and although it held some maize and other provisions, they soon found there was no gold there, and that all their long journey had been in vain. And then, too, the Indians kept lurking around, and not only attacked them and burned the wigwams in which they were living, but made it very unsafe for the Spaniards to leave shelter at all. A man could not lead his horse to water without being in danger of death, and as this kept growing worse and worse, they decided to leave Apalachen and go back to the sea. But many days and nights passed, and the sea seemed as far off as ever. They were without food, and had to depend upon getting maize from the Indians, and as this could only be done by force, many battles were fought and many lives were lost, and besides this trouble many fell sick and died from starvation and hardship. But, hard as it was to go on, it would have been harder still to remain, for that would mean certain death at the hands of the Indians; so they toiled on, discouraged and hopeless, and at the end of fifteen days found themselves at last at the sea-coast. But it was not Tampa Bay, and no Spanish ships appeared in sight on which they might embark and sail back to Spain again. And the men, quite worn out, laid down on the sands in despair, and doubted if they should ever see their homes and friends again.
But after a little while their courage came back, and they tried to think of some way of getting back to the ships or of reaching some Spanish settlement. It was impossible to think of travelling by land, and at length they decided that they would have to make boats and put out to sea with them. But how hard it seemed to undertake boat-making without tools and materials! It was thought impossible at first to do more than make some large rafts, but by and by they discovered that their spurs and cross-bows and stirrups could be beaten out into nails and axes and saws and other tools, and that cordage could be made from the manes and tails of the horses, and that the seams could be caulked with palmetto fibre and pitched with pine rosin; and, in fact, with time and patience, they managed to build five very good boats, living in the meantime on horse flesh and shell-fish and the maize which they could get from the Indians. When at last they were ready to start, forty of the men had already died of sickness and hunger besides those that had been killed by the Indians. They kept along the coast for some weeks, hoping to reach a Spanish settlement on the western coast of the Gulf of Mexico, but they could not find this place, and as it was not safe to land anywhere else on account of the Indians, they had a most wretched voyage, suffering from cold and hunger and drenched with rain, and finally separated from one another by a fearful storm which drove the boats far apart.
De Vaca's boat was thrown upon an island, and so hard was it to get it off again into the sea that the men had to take off their clothing and wade into the water to dig the boat out of the sand, and in doing this many of them lost their lives; for no sooner did the boat touch the water than it was upset in the surf, and not only were some of the men drowned, but everything in the boat was lost, and De Vaca and his friends found themselves on this strange island with no boat or food or clothing. But, as it happened, the Indians on this island were kind and pitiful. They built fires to warm the sufferers and gave them food, and when after a few days, they were joined by some men from the other boats, they found that their sufferings had been no worse than their friends', for all had met with the same hard fate. They stayed here many months, and one after another of the company died, until only De Vaca and three others were left.
These four remained many years among the Indians, wandering from one tribe to another, always trying to hear of some Spanish settlement where they might meet friends. Sometimes the Indians were kind to them, but oftener they were treated very cruelly. Several times it happened that they were taken captive and held as slaves, and then their lives would have been most miserable, had it not been that the Indians grew to respect them because they knew so many things that they themselves were ignorant of. De Vaca and his companions really thought that they had the power of curing disease by making the sign of the cross, or repeatingpater nosters, and, as in some cases the sick got well, the Indians grew to reverence the white men and hold them in great esteem. But De Vaca and his friends could not grow fond enough of the Indians to be willing to remain among them. Their thoughts were always with the land of their birth, and so they pushed on through the unknown country, living on roots and nuts and the fruit of the prickly pear, suffering from the cold and heat, from which they had no clothing to protect them, and always in danger of death from hostile Indians. In this way they travelled through forests and swamps, across prairies and deserts, over mountains and rivers, for six years, and at last their courage was rewarded. They came one day to the sea, and they found there a Spanish settlement. Their countrymen, who had come there for gold and emeralds, received them with great kindness, and listened with wonder to the story of their wanderings. De Vaca learned that they were now on the coast of the Gulf of California, and that they had travelled from Tampa Bay, through the country bordering on the Gulf of Mexico, and through Mexico itself to the sea coast on the other side, having passed over more territory in North America than any other travellers had yet done.
De Vaca and his three friends returned to Spain as speedily as possible, where they were received as heroes of adventure, whose romantic story passed from place to place, and instead of discouraging others, only made them the more eager to visit those strange lands themselves, for every one felt sure that if he had been in De Vaca's place he would surely have discovered the gold and silver and precious stones that were supposed to be hidden away in the everglades of Florida, or in the mountains of Apalachen, or in the rivers and valleys of Mexico.
HERNANDO CORTEZ AND THE CONQUEST OF MEXICO.
High on the table-land of Mexico there was once a beautiful city which was built partly around the shores of a lake and partly on islands within the lake. It had broad streets and fine buildings, and its temples were among the most beautiful in the world, the principal one, that which was devoted to the worship of the sun, being ornamented with gold and silver and precious stones; here and there were great public squares around which splendid temples were built, and in the centre of the city in one of these great squares stood the temple of the god of war. The people who lived in this city were Aztecs, a tribe of Indians very different from those of the Atlantic coast. They worshipped the sun and the moon, and, above all, they worshipped the terrible god of war, in whose honor they burned the bodies of the enemies they captured in battle. The temples were attended by priests, who were held in great honor by the people, and in every temple there were little boys who were being trained to the priesthood. On great festival days the priests and boys and all the people would form a grand procession and march all around the city, singing and playing on instruments. The lake on which the city was built was one of the finest in the world, and the Aztecs were fond of building floating gardens on its waters; these gardens were very beautiful, with flowers of all kinds, and vegetables were also cultivated in them. The palaces of the king and nobles were built of stone and of great size, and very elegant, being ornamented sometimes with gold and silver. The Aztecs were a very powerful people, and all the nations around them were afraid of them and acknowledged the Aztec king as theirs; and everywhere from the Pacific to the Gulf of Mexico were great roads leading from the city down to the coasts, so that the king could send messages at any time from one part of his kingdom to another; all over the country outside the city were great fields, where cotton, corn, wheat, sugar, coffee, and other things were raised. The Aztecs did not dress in skins, as did the Indians farther north, but they wove cotton into cloth and made garments of that. They also had a written language and wrote their history down in books. The name of the king was Montezuma, and all his people loved and worshipped him as a god, and when he looked over the city and saw the turrets and spires of the palaces and temples glittering in the sunlight, and the floating gardens, filling the lakes with beauty and fragrance, and the fields rich with harvest, and the green forests, stretching away to the base of the great volcano whose snowy peak shone in the golden light of the sun, he felt that his was, indeed, a great and fair kingdom, beautiful and strong and happy.
But the riches of this great city had been heard of across the sea, and the Spaniards, as ever eager for gold, resolved to make its wealth their own. So an army was sent from Cuba to conquer Mexico, and Hernando Cortez was made its leader. Cortez was a brave soldier, but a cruel and treacherous man. In the year 1519 he landed his troops at Tabasco on the southern coast of Mexico; he found the natives prepared for war, but they were soon glad to fly from the Spaniards, leaving many of their number killed. Cortez then went on to Vera Cruz, where Montezuma had sent messengers to meet him; these messengers brought with them magnificent presents of gold and jewels which they gave to the Spaniards, at the same time trying to persuade them to go away from their country. But Cortez would not go away; he said he was going to the City of Mexico to see Montezuma himself, as the King of Spain had ordered him to do, and for fear his soldiers would not go with him, he burned all his ships so they could not go back to Cuba if they wanted to.