The Life of Columbus.CHAPTERIII.
Voyage continued—Land discovered—Going ashore—Other discoveries—Columbus shipwrecked—He builds a fort.
Although, as I said, the hopes of the seamen were for a time blasted, and they appeared sad and dispirited, the vessels still continued their westward course. The weather was fine, the sea tranquil and the wind favorable. By and by, new indications of land cheered their hearts. Dolphins were seen playing about the ships, and birds of various kinds hovered round them.
On the 7th of October, several onboard the Santa Maria thought they perceived land. This was made known to the Nina, which being a good sailer, stretched forward with the hope of gaining the reward of thirty crowns. It had been agreed that in case land was discovered by either vessel, a flag should be hoisted at her mast head and a gun fired. Not long after the appearances of land we have mentioned, the signal was given from the Nina. But, as in former instances, this proved a mistake, and the high hopes which were again suddenly excited soon vanished away.
To Columbus himself, it now seemed strange that no land should be made. They had reached a distance from home of more than two thousand miles, and yet the prospect was no brighter than weeks before. At this time, he determined to vary his course for a couple of days south-west. He was induced to do this by the appearance of flocks of birds which were proceeding in that direction.
The prospect still continued to be encouraging, and after the two days, Columbus still pursued the same course. But on the setting in of the third night, the murmurs of the crew were loud and threatening. Finding mild and conciliatory language in vain, Columbus at length assumed a tone of authority, and declared it to be his unalterable intention to persevere until he had attained the object of his search.
On the following day, the indications of land infused new courage into every one’s bosom. Besides several other things, a thorn bush, with berries on it, was picked up; also a board and a cane. The night at length set in. It was a night of deep anxiety to Columbus. His breast was alternately filled with hope and fear. Indications of land were now so strong that he ventured to announce to the crews his firm belief that the time of better things was approaching. “This night,” said he, “I trust land will be found.” He now ordered a double watch on the forecastle, and promised a reward of a doublet, or vest of velvet, in addition to the thirty crowns, to him who should make the important discovery.
That night, no one slept on board; all was animation, all was hope; all watched with interest the most intense. To this general animation there was one exception, and that one was Columbus himself. He took a station on the top of the cabin. He watched in silence the progress of the vessels—a deep anxiety pervaded his soul.
About ten o’clock, he was startled by the glimmer, as he thought, of a distant light. He hesitated—again looked—fancied he saw it—believed that he saw it—yet he might be deceived. In this uncertainty, he spoke to one of the crew, and pointed in the direction of the light, and inquired whether he saw it. The man declared he did. For a time it disappeared, but again and again it was seen by them, and at length was announced to the crew, by several of whom it was also descried. At two o’clock in the morning, (October 12,) the joyful signal was given by a gun from on board the Pinta. A seaman first saw the land. His name was Rodrigo de Triana. When first discovered it was about six miles distant.
Satisfied that the long-sought-for object was found, the sails were furled, and on the bosom of the tranquil deep, the vessels lay in peace, and the crews, with eager impatience, waited for the dawn of day. That at length arrived, and behold, outspread before them, lay a beautiful island!
The feelings of Columbus I shall not attempt to describe. It may well be supposed that his joy was intense. The crews were in transports. They now thronged about Columbus. They embraced him—solicited his forgiveness, and told him only to command, and henceforththey would obey. Preparations were now made to land and to take possession of the country in the name of the king and queen of Spain. This was done with much form and solemn ceremony.
Columbus dressed himself in a suit of scarlet, and as the boats, well manned and armed, proceeded towards the shore, he bore aloft a royal standard. On reaching the shore, Columbus kneeled, and audibly returned thanks to God. All followed his example. This done, Columbus drew his sword, and waving the standard, declared the land to belong to the crown of Spain. He then required all present to take the oath of submission to him as governor of the island.
From the light which Columbus had seen the night preceding, he had concluded that the land, whatever it was, was inhabited. Before landing, he found his conjectures to be true. Numerous bodies of natives were seen running towards the shore, and appeared to be lost in wonder and amazement. While the boats were getting ready, the number of natives collected on the beach, continued to increase. But as the Spaniards drew towards the shore, they fled in great terror to the woods.
But after the landing was effected, finding the Spaniards quite peaceable in their appearance, they began to venture nearer and nearer, until at length, no longer afraid, they came and handled the long beards of their new visitors. They appeared greatly to admire their dress and the whiteness of their skins. They looked upon the Spaniards as the inhabitants of the skies, but they could scarcely imagine how they descended to the earth unless by means of the clouds, or by the assistance of the sails of their vessels, which they seemed to think were wings.
These inhabitants were naked,—their color was of a copper hue. They had no beards, and the hair of their heads was straight and coarse. They were all painted, and in a manner which was hideous. They appeared to be well shaped, had fine eyes, and in their dispositions were very gentle. Columbus took every possible means to secure their friendship. He distributed among them numerous small presents, such as beads, bells, &c.
Having spent some time in examining the island, Columbus made preparations to leave it. He gave it the name of San Salvador. By the natives it was called Guanahani. In the maps of the present day it goes by the name of Cat Island. This island belongs to a cluster, known by the name of Bahamas, of which some say there are five hundred belonging to the group. The southern limit of San Salvador is in twenty-four degrees north latitude.
Leaving San Salvador, Columbus proceeded to visit several other islands lying in the neighborhood. He found them all inhabited by people strongly resembling the natives of Guanahani. The Spaniards everywhere inquired, by signs, for gold and precious stones; but they were uniformly given to understand, that to find these in abundance, they must go farther south.
On the 28th of October, Columbus discovered the large island of Cuba. The Spaniards were everywhere delighted with the appearance of the islands. The groves were covered with the richest foliage; flowers of endless beauty and variety were sending forth their fragrance upon the surrounding air; birds of the most brilliant plumage were sporting on the wing; and insects of every hue were playing in the sunbeams. All appeared, to the weary navigators, like an earthly paradise. Gold was now the great object of their search. This only was wanting, and their joy would have been complete. But in respect to this,they were disappointed. Leaving Cuba, Columbus coasted southerly, but finding the wind unpropitious, he ordered the vessels to return to Cuba. On the following morning, however, the Pinta was nowhere to be seen. What was the meaning of this? Columbus was satisfied that no misfortune had befallen her. She must have deserted. But why? Was she about to return to Spain to rob him of the honor to which he was entitled? At first, it was his purpose to pursue her; but at length he thought better of it, and proceeded to make still farther examination of the coast of Cuba.
Having spent some time longer near its shores, he stretched southward, and soon after discovered the large island of Hispaniola. On the coast of this, a most unfortunate occurrence took place. On Christmas eve, as his vessel was in a calm and smooth sea, and proceeding before a gentle breeze, Columbus retired to rest. Shortly after he had lain down, the helmsman entrusted the pilotage of the ship to a boy, and with the rest of the crew, was soon asleep. In the meanwhile, the vessel fell into a current, and before any on board were aware of the danger, she was driving rapidly upon a sand bank.
The noise of the breakers alarmed the boy, who now called for assistance. Columbus was soon on deck, and was followed by the crew. A boat was got in readiness, and the crew ordered to carry out an anchor to a distance, with the hope of warping the vessel into deeper water. Too much alarmed to attend to the directions of Columbus, the men in the boat, instead of casting the anchor, rowed off half a league to the Nina for assistance. But assistance came too late. The vessel was firmly fixed upon the bank. All efforts to save her were in vain.
Columbus and his men took refuge on board the Nina, and on the following day, went on shore, which was only about a league and a half distant. Here they were treated with great kindness by Guacanagari, an old chief, and his subjects, and they found considerable quantities of gold in possession of the Indians. The Spaniards spent some time at this place, being at a loss what course to adopt. The Santa Maria was now wrecked, and the Pinta had not been heard from. The Nina was a small vessel, and many of her crew were fearful that she might be lost on her return.
In these circumstances, and with these fears, several of the crew begged Columbus to allow them to remain on the island. After a little reflection, and finding the natives to be friendly, he consented that a certain number should remain. For their comfort and security, he determined to erect a fort from the materials furnished by the Santa Maria. Accordingly she was broken up, conveyed to land, and the fort commenced.
While this was in progress, some Indians arrived from the eastern part of the island, with the news that a large vessel was in that neighborhood. This was joyful intelligence to Columbus. It could be no other than the Pinta. He immediately despatched one of his men, with several natives, to ascertain the truth of the report. At the end of three days, the messengers returned, but they had obtained no intelligence to confirm the report. Notwithstanding this, it was still believed that the Pinta had been seen, and some hopes were indulged that she might yet be fallen in with.
The completion of the fort was now hastened. It was called La Navidad, or The Nativity. This being finished, Columbus felt himself under the necessity of discontinuing his voyage of discovery and of returning to Spain. It might be that the Pinta had been shipwrecked. Sailing in an unexplored sea, amidst islands, would greatly endanger thesafety of the Nina. He concluded it wise, therefore, to hasten his departure before any accident should occur, which might forever put it out of his power to return, and thus conceal the important discoveries he had made, from the sovereigns of Spain and the people of Europe.