Columbus returns to Palos--Assisted by the Prior of La Rabida--The
Pinzons agree to join him--Difficulty of obtaining ships and men--At
length three vessels fitted out--Sails in the _Santa Maria_, with the
_Pinta_ and _Nina_, on 3rd August, 1492--Terrors and mutinous
disposition of the crews--Reaches the Canary Islands--Narrowly escapes
from a Portuguese squadron seat to capture him--Alarm of the crews
increases--The squadron sails smoothly on--Columbus keeps two logs to
deceive the seamen--Signs of land--Seaweed--Flights of birds--Birds
pitch on the ship--Frequent changes in the tempers of the crews--
Westerly course long held--Course altered to south-west--Pinzon fancies
he sees land--Disappointment--Columbus sees lights at night--Morning
dawns--San Salvador discovered--Natives seen--Columbus lands--Wonder of
the natives--Proceeds in search of Cipango--Other islands visited, and
gold looked for in vain--Friendly reception by the natives--Supplies
brought off--Search for Saometo--Cuba discovered 20th October, 1492--
Calls it Juana--Believes it to be the mainland of India--Sends envoys
into the interior--Their favourable report of the fertility of the
country--A storm--Deserted by Martin Pinzon in the _Pinta_--First view
of Hispaniola--A native girl captured--Set free--Returns with large
numbers of her countrymen--Arcadian simplicity of the natives.
Columbus hastened to Palos, where he was received as the guest of Fray
Juan Perez, the worthy Prior of the convent of Rabida. The whole
squadron with which the two sovereigns proposed to carry out their grand
undertaking was to consist only of three small vessels. Two of these,
by a royal decree, were to be furnished by Palos, the other by Columbus
himself or his friends.
The morning after his arrival, Columbus, accompanied by the Prior,
proceeded to the church of Saint George in Palos, where the authorities
and principal inhabitants had been ordered to attend. Here the royal
order was read by a notary public, commanding them to have two caravels
ready for sea in ten days, they and their crews to be placed at the
disposal of Columbus. He himself was empowered to procure and fit out a
third vessel.
Orders were likewise read, addressed to the public authorities, and the
people of all ranks and conditions in the maritime borders of Andalusia,
commanding them to furnish supplies and assistance of all kinds for
fitting out the caravels.
When, however, the nature of the service was explained, the owners of
vessels refused to furnish them, and the seamen shrank from sailing into
the wilderness of the ocean.
Several weeks elapsed, and not a vessel had been procured. The
sovereigns therefore issued further orders, directing the magistrates to
press into the service any caravel they might select, and to compel the
masters and crews to sail with Columbus in whatever direction he should
be sent.
Notwithstanding this nothing was done, until at length Martin Alonzo
Pinzon, with his brother, Vincente Yanez Pinzon--both navigators of
great courage and ability, and owners of vessels--undertook to sail on
the expedition, and furnish one of the caravels required. Two others
were pressed by the magistrates under the arbitrary mandate of the
sovereigns.
The owners of one of the vessels, the _Pinta_, threw all possible
obstacles in the way of her being fitted out. The caulkers performed
their work in an imperfect manner, and even some of the seamen who had
at first volunteered repented of their hardihood, and others deserted.
The example of the Pinzons at length overcame all opposition, and the
three vessels, two of them known as caravels, not superior to the
coasting craft of more modern days, were got ready by the beginning of
August.
Columbus hoisted his flag on board the largest, the _Santa Maria_; the
second, the _Pinta_, was commanded by Martin Alonzo Pinzon, accompanied
by his brother Francisco Martin as pilot; and the third, the _Nina_, was
commanded by Vincente Yafiez Pinzon. The other three pilots were Sancho
Raiz, Pedro Alonzo Nino, and Bartolomeo Roldan.
Roderigo Sanches was inspector-general of the armament, and Diego de
Arana chief alguazil. Roderigo de Escobar went as royal notary. In
all, one hundred and twenty persons.
Columbus and his followers, having solemnly taken the communion, went on
board their ships. Believing that their friends were going to certain
death, the inhabitants of Paios looked on with gloomy apprehensions,
which greatly affected the minds of the crew.
The little squadron set sail from Palos half an hour before sunrise on
the 3rd of August, 1492, and steered a course for the Canary Islands.
Columbus had prepared a chart by which to sail. On this he drew the
coasts of Europe and Africa, from the south of Ireland to the end of
Guinea, and opposite to them, on the other side of the Atlantic, the
extremity of Asia, or rather India, as it was then called. Between them
he placed the island of Cipango or Japan, which, according to Marco
Polo, lay one thousand five hundred miles from the Atlantic coast. This
island Columbus placed where Florida really exists. Though he saw his
hopes of commencing the expedition realised, he had good reason to fear
that his crews might at any moment insist on returning.
On the third day after sailing, it was discovered that the rudder of the
_Pinta_ was broken and unslung, probably a trick of her owners. The
wind was blowing so strongly at the time that he could not render
assistance, but Martin Alonzo Pinzon, being an able seaman, succeeded in
securing it temporarily with ropes.
As the _Pinta_ also leaked, Columbus put into the Canaries on the
morning of the 9th of August, and was detained there three weeks, trying
to obtain a better vessel. None being found, the lateen sails of the
_Pinta_ were altered into square sails. While here the crews were
frightened by seeing flames burst out of the lofty peak of Teneriffe.
Shortly after a vessel arrived from Ferro, which reported that three
Portuguese caravels were watching to capture the squadron of Columbus,
who, suspecting that the King of Portugal had formed a hostile plan in
revenge for his having embarked in the service of Spain, immediately put
to sea and stood away from the coast. He was now striking off from the
frontier islands of the Old World into the region of discovery. For
three days the squadron was detained by a calm. On the 9th of September
he saw Ferro, the most western of the Canary Islands, where the
Portuguese were said to be waiting for him, about nine leagues distant.
At length, a breeze filling the sails of his ships, he was able to stand
on his course, as he hoped, free of all danger. Chaos, mystery, and
peril were before them. The hearts of his crew sank as they lost sight
of land, and many of the seamen broke into loud lamentations. The
Admiral tried to soothe their distress, and to inspire them with his own
glorious anticipations by describing to them the magnificence of the
countries to which he was about to conduct them, and the wealth and
glory which would be theirs.
He now issued orders to the commanders of the other vessels that, in the
event of separation, they should continue directly westward; but that,
after sailing seven hundred leagues, they should lay by from midnight to
daylight, as about that distance he confidently expected to find land.
As he foresaw the farther they sailed the more their vague terrors would
increase, to deceive them, he kept two logs; one correct, retained for
his own government, and the other open to general inspection, from which
a certain number of leagues were daily subtracted from the sailing of
the ships.
The crews, though no faint-hearted fellows, had not as yet learned to
place confidence in him. The slightest thing alarmed them. When about
one hundred and fifty leagues west of Ferro, they picked up part of the
mast of a large vessel, and the crews fancied that she must have been
wrecked drifting ominously to the entrance of those unknown seas.
About nightfall, on the 13th of September, he for the first time noticed
the variation of the needle, which, instead of pointing to the north
star, varied about half a point. He remarked that this variation of the
needle increased as he advanced. He quieted the alarm of his pilots,
when they observed this, by assuring them that the variation was not
caused by any fallacy in the compass, but by the movement of the north
star itself, which, like the other heavenly bodies, described a circle
round the pole.
The explanation appeared so highly plausible and ingenious that it was
readily received. On the 14th of September they believed that they were
near land, from seeing a heron and a tropical bird, neither of which
were supposed to venture far out to sea.
The following night the mariners were awestruck by beholding a meteor of
great brilliancy--a common phenomenon in those latitudes. With a
favourable breeze, day after day, the squadron was wafted on, so that it
was unnecessary to shift a single sail.
They now began to observe patches of weeds drifting from the west, which
increased in size as they advanced. These, together with a white
tropical bird which never sleeps on the water, made Columbus hope that
he was approaching some island; for, as he had come but three hundred
and sixty leagues since leaving the Canary Islands, he supposed the
mainland still to be far off.
The breeze was soft and steady, the water smooth. The crews were in
high spirits, and every seaman was on the look-out, for a pension of ten
thousand maravedis had been promised to him who should first discover
land.
Alonzo Pinzon in the _Pinta_ took the lead. On the afternoon of the
13th of September he hailed the Admiral, saying that from the flight of
numerous birds and the appearance of the northern horizon, he thought
there was land in that direction; but Columbus replied that it was
merely a deception of the clouds, and would not alter his course.
The following day there were drizzling showers, and two boobies flew on
board the _Santa Maria_, birds which seldom wander more than twenty
leagues from land. Sounding, however, no bottom was found. Unwilling
to waste the present fair breeze, he resolved, whatever others thought,
to keep one bold course until the coast of India was reached.
Notwithstanding, even the favourable breeze began to frighten the
seamen, who imagined that the wind in those regions might always blow
from the east, and if so, would prevent their return to Spain.
Not long after the wind shifted to the south-west, and restored their
courage, proving to them that the wind did not always prevail from the
east. Several small birds also visited the ships, singing as they
perched on the rigging, thus showing that they were not exhausted by
their flight. Again the squadron passed among numerous patches of
seaweed, and the crews, ever ready to take alarm, having heard that
ships were sometimes frozen in by ice, fancied that they might be fixed
in the same manner, until they were caught by the nipping hand of
winter.
Then they took it into their heads that the water was growing shoaler,
and expressed their fears that they might run on some sand-banks and be
lost. Then a whale was seen, which creature Columbus assured them never
went far from land. Notwithstanding, they became uneasy at the calmness
of the weather, declaring that as the prevailing winds were from the
east, and had not power to disturb the torpid stillness of the ocean,
there was the risk of perishing amidst stagnant and shoreless waters,
and being prevented by contrary winds from ever returning to Spain.
Next a swell got up, which showed that their terrors caused by the calm
were imaginary. Notwithstanding this, and the favourable signs which
increased his confidence, he feared that after all, breaking into
mutiny, they would compel him to return.
The sailors fancied that their ships were too weak for so long a voyage,
and held secret consultations, exciting each other's discontent. They
had gone farther than any one before had done. Who could blame them,
should they, consulting their safety, turn back?
Columbus, though aware of the mutinous disposition of his crew,
maintained a serene and steady countenance, using gentle words with
some, stimulating the pride and avarice of others, and threatening the
refractory.
On the 25th of September the wind again became favourable, and the
squadron resumed its westerly course. Pinzon now, on examining the
chart, supposed that they must be approaching Cipango. Columbus desired
to have it returned, and it was thrown on board at the end of a line.
While Columbus and his pilot were studying it, they heard a shout, and
looking up saw Pinzon standing at the stern of the _Pinta_, crying,
"Land! land! Senor, I claim my reward!"
There was indeed an appearance of land to the south-west. Columbus and
the other officers threw themselves on their knees, and returned thanks
to God. The seamen, mounting the rigging, strained their eyes in the
direction pointed out, but the morning light put an end to their hopes.
Again with dejected hearts they proceeded, the sea, as before, tranquil,
the breeze propitious, and the weather mild and delightful. In a day or
two more weeds were seen floating from east to west, but no birds were
visible. The people again expressed their fears that they had passed
between two islands; but after the lapse of another day the ships were
visited by numberless birds, and various indications of land became more
numerous. Full of hope, the seamen ascended the rigging, and were
continually crying out that they saw land.
Columbus put a stop to these false alarms, declaring that should any one
assert that they saw land, and it was not discovered within three days,
he should forfeit all claim to the reward.
Pinzon now proposed that they should steer south-west, but Columbus
persisted in keeping a westerly course. On the 7th of October, at
sunrise, several of the Admiral's crew fancied that they saw land; the
_Nina_ pressing forward, a flag was run up at her masthead, and a gun
was fired,--the preconcerted signal for land.
The captain and his crew were mistaken notwithstanding. The clouds
which had deceived them melted away. The crews again became dejected.
But once more flocks of field birds were seen flying through the air to
the south-west, and Columbus, having already run the distance at the
termination of which he had expected to find the island of Cipango,
fancied he might have missed it. He therefore altered his course to the
south-west.
As the ships advanced the signs of land increased: a heron, a pelican,
and a duck were seen bound in the same direction. Branches of trees,
and grass, fresh and green, were observed. The crews, however,
believing these to be mere delusions for leading them on to destruction,
insisted on abandoning the voyage.
Columbus sternly resisted their importunities, and the following day a
branch of thorn, with berries on it, and a staff artificially carved,
with other articles, were picked up, showing that land must be close at
hand.
All gloom and mutiny now gave way to sanguine expectations, and Columbus
promised a doublet of velvet, in addition to the pension to be given by
the sovereign, to whosoever should first see the longed-for shore.
As he walked the high poop of his ship at night, his eye continually
ranging along the horizon, he thought he saw a light glimmering at a
great distance. Fearing that his hopes might deceive him, he
successively called up two of his officers. They both saw it,
apparently proceeding from a torch in the bark of a fisherman, or held
in the hand of some person on shore, borne up as he walked.
So uncertain were these gleams that few attached any importance to them.
The ships continued their course until two in the morning, when Rodrigo
de Triana, a seaman on board the _Pinta_, descried land at two leagues
ahead. A gun was fired from the _Santa Maria_, to give the joyful news.
When all doubt on the subject was banished the ships lay to.
Who can picture the thoughts and feelings of Columbus, as he walked the
deck, impatiently waiting for dawn, which was to show him clearly the
long-sought-for land, with, as he hoped, its spicy groves, its
glittering temples, its gilded cities, and all the splendour of Oriental
civilisation!
As the dawn of the 12th of October, 1492, increased, Columbus first
observed one of the outlying islands of the New World. It was several
leagues in extent, level, and covered with trees, and populated, for the
naked inhabitants were seen running from all parts to the shore, and
gazing with astonishment at the ships. The anchors being dropped, the
boats manned, he, richly attired in scarlet and holding the royal
standard, accompanied by the Pinzons in their own boats, approached the
shore.
On landing he threw himself on his knees, and kissing the earth,
returned thanks to God, the rest following his example. He then,
drawing his sword, took possession of the island, which he named San
Salvador, in the names of the sovereigns of Castile. The crews now
thronged round the Admiral, some embracing him, others kissing his
hands, expressing their joy; the most mutinous becoming the most
enthusiastic and devoted.
The natives, who had at first fled, supposing the ships monsters which
had risen from the deep, recovering their fears, now timidly advanced,
lost in admiration at the shining armour and splendid dresses of the
Spaniards, and their complexions and beards, at once recognising the
Admiral as the commander of the strangers.
Columbus, pleased with their gentleness, suffered them to scrutinise
him, and won them by his benignity. The natives were equally objects of
curiosity to the Spaniards. They were naked, painted all over with a
variety of colours and designs. Their complexion was tawny, and they
were destitute of beards; their hair not crisp, like that of negroes,
but straight and coarse; their features were agreeable; their stature
moderate and well shaped; their foreheads lofty, and their eyes
remarkably fine.
As Columbus supposed that he had landed on an island at the extremity of
India, he called the natives Indians, as the inhabitants of the New
World have ever since been denominated. Their only arms were lances
pointed with the teeth or bones of fishes. There was no iron seen, and
so ignorant were the natives of its properties, that one of them took a
drawn sword by the edge, not aware that it would cut.
Columbus, to win their confidence, distributed among them coloured caps,
hawks' bells, and glass beads, with which they were highly pleased,
allowing the Spaniards unmolested to walk about the groves examining the
beautiful trees, the shrubs, fruits, and flowers, all so strange to
them.
The next morning canoes of all sizes, formed out of single trees, came
off, some holding one man, some forty or fifty, who managed them with
great dexterity.
They readily accepted toys and trinkets, which, supposing them to be
brought from heaven, possessed a supernatural virtue in their eyes. The
only things they had to give in return were parrots and balls of
cotton-yarn, besides cassava cakes, formed from the flour of a root
called yuca, which they cultivated in their fields. The Spaniards, who
were eagerly looking out for gold, were delighted to obtain some small
ornaments of that metal in exchange for beads and hawks' bells. As it
was a royal monopoly, Columbus forbade any traffic in it, as he did also
in cotton, reserving to the crown all trade in it.
Misled by the accounts he had read in Marco Polo's works, he was from
the first persuaded that he had arrived at the islands lying opposite
Cathay in the Chinese seas, and that the country to the south, which he
understood from the natives abounded in gold, must be the famous island
of Cipango.
San Salvador, where he first landed, still retains its name, though
called by the English from its shape Cat Island. It is one of the great
cluster of the Lucayos or Bahama Islands. Coasting round it in the
boats, the Admiral visited various spots, and had friendly intercourse
with the natives, to whom he gave glass beads and other trifles.
He landed at another place, where there were six Indian huts surrounded
by groves and gardens as beautiful as those of Castile.
At last the sailors, wearied with their exertions, returned to the
ships, carrying seven Indians, that they might, by acquiring the Spanish
language, serve as interpreters. Taking in a supply of wood and water,
the squadron sailed the same evening to the south, where the Admiral
expected to discover Cipango. As the Indians told him there were
upwards of a hundred islands in the neighbourhood, he was confirmed in
his belief that they must be those described by Marco Polo, abounding
with gold, silver, drugs, and spices.
Several other islands were visited, but the explorers looked in vain for
bracelets and anklets of gold. One day, just as the ships were about to
make sail, one of the San Salvador Indians on board the _Nina_, plunging
overboard, swam to a large canoe which had come near. A boat was sent
in chase, but the Indians in their light canoe escaped, and reaching the
island fled to the woods. Shortly afterwards a canoe, having on board a
single native, coming near, he was captured and brought to Columbus,
who, treating him with kindness won his heart; his canoe was also
restored to him, and that taken by the _Nina_ was set at liberty.
Soon afterwards, while traversing the channel between two islands, when
about midway another Indian in his canoe was overtaken, a string of
glass beads round his neck, showing that he had come from San Salvador.
Columbus, admiring his hardihood, had him and his canoe taken on board,
when he was treated with great kindness, bread and honey being given him
to eat. It was too late to select a spot through the transparent sea
for anchoring, and the ship lay to until the morning, while the Indian
voyager, with all his effects and loaded with presents, was allowed to
depart.
Next day the natives came off, bringing fruits, and roots, and pure
water. They were treated in the same way as the former had been. Their
huts, which were formed of tall poles and branches neatly interwoven
with palm-leaves of a circular form, were visited. They were clean and
neat, and generally sheltered under wide-spreading trees. For beds they
had nets of cotton extended between two posts, which they called
hammocks, a name since generally adopted by seamen.
Columbus, as he sailed round the island, found a magnificent harbour,
sufficient to hold a hundred ships. He was delighted with the beauty of
the scenery, the shady groves, the fruits, the herbs and flowers,--all
differing so greatly from those of Spain. Everywhere the natives
received their visitors as superior beings, and gladly conducted them to
the coolest springs, and assisted them in rolling their casks to the
boats. To the last island visited by Columbus he gave the name of
Fernandina. Sailing thence on the 19th of October, he steered in quest
of a large island called Saometo, where, misled by his guides, he
expected to find the sovereign of the surrounding islands, habited in
rich clothes and jewels and gold, possessed of great treasures, a large
city, and a gold-mine. Neither were found; but the voyagers were
delighted with the balmy air, the beautiful scenery, the graceful trees,
the vast flocks of parrots and other birds of gorgeous plumage, and the
fish, which rivalled them in the brilliancy of their colours. No
animals were seen, with the exception of a dog which never barked, a
species of rabbit, and numerous lizards and iguanas.
Columbus was as much misled by his own fervent imagination as by not
comprehending the accounts given him by the natives. He proposed that
his stay at those islands should depend upon the quantity of gold,
spices, precious stones, and other objects of Oriental trade which he
should find there. After this he intended to proceed to the mainland of
India, which he calculated was within ten days' sail, and there, after
visiting some of its magnificent capitals described by Marco Polo, he
would deliver the letters of the sovereigns to the Grand Khan, with
whose reply he would return triumphantly to Spain.
Such was his idea when, leaving the Bahamas, he went in quest of the
island of Cuba, of which he had been told.
Touching at various islands, having crossed the Bahama bank, he came in
sight of Cuba on the morning of the 28th of October. He was struck as
he approached by its lofty mountains, its far-stretching headlands, its
plains and valleys, and noble rivers.
He anchored in a beautiful stream, the banks overhung with trees. Here
landing, he took possession of the island, giving it the name of Juana,
in honour of Prince Juan, and the river that of San Salvador. Going on
shore in search of the inhabitants, he found only two abandoned huts,
containing a few nets, hooks, and harpoons of bone, showing that the
owners were mere savages.
Again he was delighted with the scenery, and the vast flights of birds
of gorgeous plumage, parrots, woodpeckers, and humming-birds flitting
among the trees, and sucking honey from the flowers. He fancied too,
from the smell of the woods, that he perceived the fragrance of Oriental
spices. He discovered also shells of the kind of oysters which produce
pearls.
Having experienced since his arrival soft and genial weather, he
concluded that a perpetual serenity reigned over those happy seas.
Though the inhabitants had fled, he remarked that their dwellings were
better built than those he had hitherto seen, being clean in the
extreme; and as he discovered a few rude statues and wooden masks
ingeniously carved, he supposed that these signs of civilisation would
go on increasing as he advanced towards _terra firma_. He fancied that
the inhabitants had fled, mistaking his armament for one of those
scouring expeditions sent by the Grand Khan to make prisoners and
slaves. He, however, with the assistance of his Indian friends,
succeeded in calming the fears of the natives, who came off in sixteen
canoes, bringing cotton-yarn and other simple articles of traffic. He
forbade, however, all trading for anything but gold, that the natives
might be tempted to produce the real riches of their country.
Again misled by his guides, he was induced to believe that a powerful
chief lived in the interior of the country, and two of his officers were
therefore dispatched, carrying presents and specimens of spices and
drugs, to ascertain whether such productions were to be found there.
They were directed also to obtain all the information they could
respecting it.
While his envoys were absent he had his ships careened and repaired.
During this time reports were brought him of the existence of
cinnamon-trees, nutmegs, and rhubarb; and his native friends, when he
showed them gold and pearls, declared that there were people in an
island called Bohio who wore such things round their necks, arms, and
ankles.
The return of the envoys was eagerly looked forward to, but their report
when they appeared quickly disabused the Admiral's mind. After
travelling about twelve leagues they arrived at a village of about fifty
houses, containing a thousand inhabitants, who had received them with
every mark of respect, looking upon them as beings of a superior order.
The villagers, however, were as little advanced in civilisation as those
on the coast, nor was gold, cinnamon, nor pepper to be found among them,
although they said such things existed far off to the south-west.
On their return with some of the inhabitants, the Spaniards were
surprised to see them roll up the dried leaves of a plant which they
called "tobacco," and smoke it with a satisfaction which the voyagers
could not comprehend, as it appeared to them an unsavoury nauseous
indulgence, little dreaming what determined smokers their descendants
would become. The envoys described the country as fertile in the
extreme, the fields produced pepper, sweet potatoes, maize, pulse, and
yuca, while the trees were laden with tempting fruits of delicious
flavour. There was also a vast quantity of cotton,--some just growing,
some in full growth,--while the houses were stored with it partly
wrought into yarn and nets.
Columbus was, by the misapprehension of terms, led into many errors.
Bohio, meaning simply "a house," and therefore signifying a populous
island, was frequently applied to Hispaniola. His great object,
however, was to reach some civilised country of the East with which he
might establish commercial relations, and carry home its Oriental
merchandise as a rich trophy of his discovery. Besides Bohio, he had
heard of another island called Babique, of which he now sailed in
search, hoping that it might prove some civilised island on the coast of
Asia. Shortly afterwards he altered his course east-south-east,
following back the direction of the coast, and thus did not discover his
mistake in supposing Cuba to be a part of _terra firma_, an error in
which he continued to the day of his death.
Some time was spent in cruising about an archipelago of small and
beautiful islands, which has since afforded a lurking-place for
piratical craft.
In attempting to reach the supposed land of Babique, he met with a
contrary gale, which compelled him to put about, when he made signals to
the other vessels to do likewise.
The _Pinta_ did not obey him, and when morning dawned was nowhere to be
seen. This circumstance disturbed Columbus, who had reason to fear that
Pinzon, jealous of his success, intended to prosecute the discovery by
himself, or to return to Spain with an account of the success of the
enterprise.
Finding that Pinzon did not rejoin him, he returned to Cuba, and
continued for several days sailing along the coast. Again and again he
was struck with the magnificence of the scenery and size of the trees,
out of a single trunk of which canoes were formed, capable of holding
one hundred and fifty people. On the 5th of December he reached the
eastern end of Cuba, and then steering large, away from it, he
discovered land to the south-east. On approaching, he saw high
mountains towering above the horizon, and found that it was an island of
great extent, being Hagi or Hispaniola.
Again his native friends exclaimed, "Bohio!"--by which they meant to say
that it was thickly populated, though, as he understood the expression,
that it abounded with gold. He was struck with the unrivalled beauty of
its scenery. On the following day he entered a harbour at the western
end, which he called Saint Nicholas. It was deep and spacious,
surrounded by trees, many of them loaded with fruit.
Sailing again, he entered another harbour, called Port Concepcion, now
known as the Bay of Moustique. Wishing to open an intercourse with the
natives, he sent six well-armed men into the interior. The people fled,
but the sailors captured a young female who was perfectly unclothed,--a
bad omen as to the civilisation of the island,--but an ornament of gold
in her nose gave hope that the precious metal might be found there.
The Admiral soothed her terror by presenting her with beads, brass
rings,--hawks' bells, and other trinkets, and sent her on shore clothed,
accompanied by several of the crew and three Indian interpreters. She
would, however, willingly have remained with the native women she found
on board. The party were afraid of venturing to the village, and,
having set her at liberty, returned to the ship.
The following morning nine well-armed men, with an interpreter from
Cuba, again landed and approached a village containing a thousand
houses, but the inhabitants had fled. The interpreter, however,
overtook them, and telling them that the strangers had descended from
the skies, and went about the world making beautiful presents, they
turned back to the number of a thousand, approaching the Spaniards with
slow and trembling steps, making signs of profound reverence.
While they were conversing another large party of Indians approached,
headed by the husband of the female captive, whom they brought in
triumph on their shoulders. The husband expressed his gratitude for the
magnificent presents bestowed on his wife.
The Indians, now conducting the Spaniards to their houses, set before
them a banquet of cassava bread, fish, roots, and fruits of various
kinds. They presented also numbers of tame parrots, freely offering,
indeed, whatever they possessed.
Delighted as they were with all they saw, the Spaniards still bitterly
complained that they found no signs of riches among the natives. Nature
abundantly supplying all they required, they were without even a
knowledge of artificial wants, and so unbounded was their hospitality,
that they were ready to bestow everything they possessed on their
guests. The fertile earth producing all they required, they preferred
to live in that Arcadian state of simplicity which poets have delighted
to picture. Their fields and gardens were without hedges or divisions
of any sort. They were kind to each other, and required no magistrates
nor laws to keep them in order. Alas! how soon was this happy state of
existence to be destroyed by the cruel, avaricious, and profligate
Spaniards. Unlike their pious, high-minded, and sagacious chief, they
resembled the bloodhounds they were wont to let loose in chase of their
victims.
How different might have been the fate of the islands had such men as
the pilgrim fathers or the enlightened Penn been the first to settle
among them! The bright light of true Christianity might have beamed on
their hearts, with all the advantages of civilisation, and far greater
happiness than they had hitherto enjoyed might have been their lot. No
blame can be attached to Columbus, no slur can be cast on his fair fame.
He had achieved a glorious undertaking in discovering a new world, but
on its inhabitants he had been thus the instrument of bringing the
direst of curses, and, instead of promulgating the faith he professed,
the blackest disgrace on the Christian name.