CHAPTER III.

THE FIRST VOYAGE.

The commission of Columbus bore date of April 30, 1492. On the same day

was signed a royal requisition on the inhabitants of the town of Palos,

requiring them to furnish at their own expense two caravels for the

expedition. This singular proceeding was in consequence of some offence

which the town had given the king and queen, for which the people had

been condemned to render the service of two vessels for the period of

twelve months, whenever the royal pleasure should call for them. The

vessels moreover were to be armed at the expense of the town. Within

ten days from the sight of the letter the authorities were required

to have the two vessels in complete readiness for the enterprise. The

royal treasury was also further relieved by the fact that they were

required to furnish the money for the wages of the crew during a period

of four months.

Another royal order bearing the same date was of greater importance in

its influence on the character of the expedition. All the magistrates

in the realm were informed that “every person belonging to the crews

of the fleet of said Christopher Columbus” were “exempt from all

hindrance or incommodity either in their persons or goods;” and that

they were “privileged from arrest or detention on account of any

offence or crime which may have been committed by them up to the date

of this instrument, and during the time they may be on the voyage, and

for two months after their return to their homes.”

This remarkable order must have been inspired by the fear that the

requisite crews for the vessels could not readily be obtained. The

special inducements held out to the criminal classes appealed to every

debtor, to every defaulter, and to every criminal. Here was immunity

from the pursuit of justice. Such an order could hardly have failed

to have a powerful influence on the character of the crew. The fleet

became a refuge for runaway criminals and debtors; and accordingly it

was not singular that sailors of respectability were slow to enlist.

Popular opinion at Palos was violently opposed to the expedition.

Though the town was required to furnish two caravels within ten days

after receiving the royal order, weeks passed before the necessary

vessels could be procured. A third ship was provided for out of the

funds furnished for the expedition. Every shipowner refused to lend

his vessel for the enterprise. Another royal order had to be issued,

authorizing Columbus to press the ships and men into the service.

Meanwhile the mariners of Palos held aloof, partly in the belief that

the proposed expedition was simply the work of a monomaniac, and partly

from the fact that the ships had been made a refuge for criminals.

But Juan Parez, the friar whose influence had already made itself so

powerfully felt, was active in persuading men to embark. The Pinzons,

who, it will be remembered, had offered to defray one eighth of the

expense, now came forward to aid the enterprise with their money and

their personal service. Agreeing to take command of two of the vessels,

their wealth and their influence gave a new impulse to the undertaking.

But enlistments went forward very slowly; and even after men had been

enrolled, the least cause of dissatisfaction induced them to desert.

In the putting of the ships in order, the work was so badly done as to

justify the suspicion that a deliberate effort was put forth to make

them unseaworthy.

Though the sovereigns had supposed that ten days would be time enough

to put the fleet in readiness for the voyage, it was with the utmost

difficulty that the work was accomplished in ten weeks. Columbus

had chosen small vessels of less than a hundred tons’ burden each,

believing that they would be better adapted for service along the coast

and in the rivers. It has been estimated that even the longest of them

was only sixty-five feet in length, and not more than twenty feet in

breadth. The “Santa Maria,” commanded by the Admiral himself, was the

only one that was decked midships. The others, the “Pinta” and the

“Nina,” were built high in the prow and stern, that they might the more

easily mount the waves, and were covered only at the ends. The “Pinta”

was commanded by Columbus’s old friend Martin Alonzo Pinzon, while his

brother, Vincente Yañez Pinzon, was captain of the “Nina.” On all

the ships there were a hundred and twenty souls, ninety of them being

mariners.

Harrisse has computed the sum provided for the expedition at 1,640,000

maravedis, or about $3640. Of this amount Santangel, as the agent of

the monarchs, furnished 1,140,000 maravedis, while Columbus, aided

by the Pinzons, provided the remaining five hundred thousand. The

fleet’s contingent contained a notary for drawing up necessary papers,

and a historiographer to put the story in formal order. There was an

interpreter learned in all Asiatic tongues, and a metallurgist to

examine the ores. Though the fleet was equipped with a physician and a

surgeon, it does not appear that it had a priest. The squadron was at

length ready to put to sea. We are told that on the last days before

sailing, everybody in Palos was impressed with the solemnity of the

undertaking. Officers and crew united in going to the church in the

most formal manner and confessing themselves, and after partaking of

the sacrament, in committing themselves to the special guidance and

protection of Heaven. It was an hour before sunrise, on Friday, the 3d

of August, when the ships were cut from their moorings and entered upon

their perilous adventure.

Fortunately we are not without Columbus’s own account of this voyage.

The Admiral kept a diary, which, though it is not now known to be in

existence, was carefully epitomized by Las Casas, and the abstract,

very largely in Columbus’s own words, is preserved. There are also

still in existence the two letters of Columbus by means of which

the great discovery was formally announced to the world. It is to

these three priceless documents that we are chiefly indebted for our

knowledge of the voyage. In the introduction to the diary Columbus

says: “I determined to keep an account of the voyage, and to write

down punctually everything we performed or saw from day to day.” He

also adds: “Moreover, besides describing every night the occurrences

of the day, and every day those of the preceding night, I intend to

draw up a nautical chart which shall contain the several parts of the

ocean and land in their proper situations; and also to compose a book

to represent the whole by pictures, with latitudes and longitudes, on

all which accounts it behooves me to abstain from sleep and make many

efforts in navigation, which things will demand much labour.”

The contemplated geographical work was never written; but the purpose

of the navigator is of interest, as it creates a presumption in favor

of carefulness in the preparation of the diary.

The general course of the fleet was in a southwesterly direction,

the purpose being to touch at the Canary Islands. This intention was

fortunate; for on Monday, the fourth day out, the rudder of the “Pinta”

become loose, and threatened to make a continuance of the voyage

with this vessel impossible. The Admiral suspected that the accident

happened with the connivance of disaffected members of the crew. Many

of the men had shown an uncompromising opposition to the expedition

before setting out, and there could be no doubt that any accident that

would interrupt the voyage would be most welcome. The “Pinta,” however,

was in command of Martin Alonzo Pinzon, an officer of capacity and

courage, to whose faith in the enterprise Columbus had already been

largely indebted while fitting out the fleet and securing the crew. The

skill and vigour of the commander caused the rudder to be put in place;

but it was again unshipped on the following day, and it was necessary

to put into port for repairs.

Owing to delays occasioned by the condition of the “Pinta,” it was not

until the 12th of August that the little fleet reached port in one

of the Canary Islands. Here it was found that the condition of the

disabled caravel was worse than had been supposed. Besides having her

rudder out of order, she was leaky, and the form of her sails seemed

not to be adapted to the perils of an Atlantic voyage. Columbus tried

to find another vessel for which he could effect an exchange; however,

he was not successful, and so it was found necessary to delay the

voyage until the little ship could be put into seaworthy condition. The

rudder was made secure, the form of the sails was changed, and every

practicable precaution was taken to prevent leakage. But it was not

until the 6th of September--more than a month from the day of leaving

the port at Palos--that the fleet was once more ready to sail.

During the stay at the Canaries two or three interesting things

happened. Columbus reports that they “saw a great eruption of flames

from the Peak of Teneriffe, which is a lofty mountain.” But more

important to the matter in hand were the several reports he heard in

regard to the existence of land in the west. The Admiral says he “was

assured by many respectable Spaniards inhabiting the island of Ferro

that they every year saw land to the west of the Canaries,” and also

that “others of Gomera affirmed the same with the like assurances.”

He also makes note of the fact that when he was “in Portugal in 1484

there came a person to the king from the island of Madeira soliciting

a vessel to go in quest of land, which he affirmed he saw every year,

and always of the same appearance.” Still further he says that “he

remembers the same was said by the inhabitants of the Azores, and

described as in a similar direction, and of the same shape and size.”

This interesting delusion, which is supposed to have had its origin in

certain meteoric appearances, had taken a firm hold of the credulity

of the people. The country which they imagined they saw in the west

bore the name of the isle of Brandon, in commemoration of Saint

Brandon, a Benedictine monk of the sixth century, who, it was believed,

spent seven years in the region to which his name was finally given.

Belief in the existence of land not very far west of the Canary group

was current in the fifteenth century, and several expeditions were

undertaken, by order of the king of Portugal, for the discovery of this

mystical continent. As yet, however, the repeated failures of these

efforts had not convinced the inhabitants of the islands west of Africa

that land within any possible range of vision from the Canaries had

no existence except in the imaginations of the beholders. The special

connection of this credulity with the expedition of Columbus is in the

influence which it must have had upon the spirits of the crew. While

there was an air of mystery about it that may have been depressing

to certain temperaments, to the mass of the crew it can hardly have

failed to give some encouragement. But at the same time it undoubtedly

provided the way for a depressing reaction when, after days of

fruitless sailing, no land was discovered.

On the morning of the 6th of September the little fleet put out from

the harbour of Gomera and entered again upon its course. A report was

brought by a vessel from the neighbouring island of Ferro that there

were three Portuguese caravels cruising in search of Columbus. This

circumstance was interpreted to mean a hostile intent on the part of

the king of Portugal, owing to the fact that the Admiral had abandoned

his service and resorted to the patronage of Spain. But if the report

was true, the Spanish squadron was successful in evading its enemies.

The course now taken was due west; but owing to a strong head-sea,

progress for several days was very slow.

We have already had occasion to see that Columbus never attached very

great importance to the matter of precision in the statement of fact.

The recent scrutiny to which his writings have been subjected has

revealed so many contradictions and inaccuracies that we are forced

into the belief that he often used words in a very general rather than

in a specific and strictly accurate sense. We shall not infrequently

have occasion to note this habit of mind,--a peculiarity which it

will be necessary to remember if we would form an accurate conclusion

as to the value of his testimony. He seems not to have been without

conscience; but it is not too much to say that whenever there was a

powerful motive for misrepresentation, Columbus did not hesitate to

ask himself whether the end would not justify the means. The modern

ethical standard, which requires absolute truthfulness at all hazards,

did not prevail at the end of the fifteenth century; but it is not

without much regret that even at that period we find one whom we would

gladly rank as a moral hero admitting frankly that he systematically

prevaricated in order to convey a false impression. If, on the one

hand, there are those who will succeed in finding adequate excuse for

the misrepresentation indulged in, on the other it will be hard to find

any one who will regard such misrepresentation as a characteristic of

lofty conscientiousness.

In the journal of September 9 we find this entry:--

“Sailed this day nineteen leagues, and determined to count less

than the true number, that the crew might not be dismayed if the

voyage should prove long.”

On the following day Columbus says,--

“This day and night sailed sixty leagues, at the rate of ten

miles an hour, which are two leagues and a half. Reckoned only

forty-eight leagues, that the crew might not be terrified if they

should be long upon the voyage.”

In the days following, similar entries were made, always with the same

end in view. Interesting evidences of life were often observed. On the

13th of September one of the crew saw a tropical bird, which, it was

believed, never goes farther than twenty-five leagues from land. On

the 16th large patches of weed were found which appeared to have been

recently washed away from land; on account of which the Admiral writes

that “they judged themselves to be near some island;” “the continent,”

continues the narrator, “we shall find farther ahead.” These

indications multiplied from day to day. On the 18th the “Pinta,” which,

notwithstanding her bad condition, was a swift sailer, ran ahead of the

other vessels, the captain having informed the Admiral that he had seen

large flocks of birds toward the west, and that he expected that night

to reach land. Though as yet they had only reached the centre of the

Atlantic, on the 19th the ships were visited by two pelicans,--birds

which, it was said, were not accustomed to go twenty leagues from land.

On the 21st the ocean seemed to be covered with weeds; and the same

day a whale was seen,--“an indication of land,” says the journal, “as

whales always keep near the coast.” The next day a wind sprang up,

whereupon the Admiral observes: “This head-wind was very necessary to

me, for my crew had grown much alarmed, dreading that they never should

meet in these seas with a fair wind to return to Spain.”

On September 25 the disappointing monotony of these indications was

interrupted. At sunset Pinzon called out from his vessel that he saw

land. The Admiral says, when he heard him declare this, he fell down

on his knees and returned thanks to God. Pinzon and his crew repeated

“Gloria in excelsis Deo,” as did the crew of the Admiral. Those on

board the “Nina” ascended the rigging, and all declared that they saw

land. The Admiral judged that the land was distant about twenty-five

leagues. It was not until the afternoon of the 26th that they

discovered that what they had taken for land was nothing but clouds.

As revealed by the journal, the events of each day were much like

those of every other. The most striking feature of the voyage was the

constantly occurring indications of land. After the little fleet passed

mid-ocean there was scarcely a day that did not bring some sign that

beckoned them on. Seaweed abounded, and as a sounding of two hundred

fathoms revealed nothing but a steady undercurrent of the ocean, the

weeds could not have come from the bottom of the sea. At one time a

green rush was found, which, the commanders thought, must have grown in

the open air, with its roots in the soil. At another, a piece of wood

was taken aboard that gave unmistakable signs of having been somewhat

curiously wrought by the hand of man. But the most significant tokens

were the birds. They appeared in considerable numbers almost, if not

quite, every day, many of them known to be unaccustomed to wander for

any very great distance from land. To every thinking man on board the

squadron they seemed to give evidence absolutely unmistakable that they

were not far from land, and that the object of their expedition was

likely to be successful. The birds, moreover, so far as any general

direction of their flying could be regarded as an indication, seemed

to have their home in a southwesterly direction. This fact led the

commander of the “Pinta” to urge the Admiral to change his course.

At first Columbus thought it best, in spite of the course of the

birds, to keep on due west. But at length the indications were so

unmistakable and so persistent that he yielded, and set the rudders for

a southwesterly course. But for this incident, seemingly very trifling

in itself, the fleet, as Humboldt has remarked, would have entered

the Gulf Stream before touching land, and would have been borne to a

landfall somewhere on the coast of the future United States.

Many of the later historians of Columbus, taking the hint from Oviedo,

have given graphic pictures of the way in which the skill and the tact

of the Admiral prevented the crew of the fleet from breaking out into

mutinous revolt and turning the vessels toward home. It has been said

that at one time there was a serious purpose of throwing the Admiral

into the sea, and declaring that he fell overboard while making an

observation; at another, that Columbus found himself compelled to

promise that unless land was discovered within three days, he would

abandon the expedition, turn about, and sail for home. But these

stories must now, for the most part, be regarded as apocryphal. None of

them are mentioned by Columbus himself, nor do they appear in the other

early accounts of the voyage. No hint of mutiny or even of any lack of

due subordination appears in the searching trials of 1513 and 1515,

when every event that could possibly have a bearing upon the methods

of Columbus was brought upon the witness-stand. As a matter of fact,

the voyage was for the most part an uneventful one, save as its placid

progress was occasionally excited by the variations of the compass, an

unusual amount of seaweed, or an unwonted flight of birds. That the

hopes and fears of the crews were alert cannot of course be doubted,

but there is no evidence sufficient to justify the belief that the life

of the Admiral or the advance of the expedition was ever in serious

danger.

In the evening of the 11th of October, Columbus thought that he

discovered a light moving with fitful gleams in the darkness. He called

to him two of his companions, one of whom confirmed his impression,

while the other could not. The journal says that “The Admiral again

perceived it once or twice, appearing like the light of a candle

moving up and down, which some thought an indication of land.” But

evidently Columbus did not regard this as a discovery, for he not only

reminded the crew of the reward of a pension that awaited the one

who should first see land, but he also offered a silk doublet as an

additional inducement to the search. They were still some forty-two

miles from the coast, which lies so low that it could hardly have been

seen at a distance of twenty. It was four hours later that land was

first unmistakably seen in the moonlight, at a distance of about two

leagues. There can be no question that if a light was really seen at

all, it was on a boat at some distance from the shore. A reward of ten

thousand maravedis per year had been promised by the king and queen to

the person on the expedition who should first descry land. Columbus in

his journal admits that land was first seen and announced by Rodrigo

de Triana of the “Pinta” at two o’clock on the morning of October

12th; and it would be a pleasure to record that he subsequently had

sufficient magnanimity to waive his own very absurd claim in favour of

the poor sailor to whom it was so justly due. But after his return he

set up the demand for himself; and to him it was promptly adjudged and

paid by the king and queen. It is said that the poor sailor, thinking

himself ignobly defrauded, renounced Christianity and went to live

among the Mohammedans, whom he regarded as a juster people.

It was then on Friday, October 12, that the fleet first came to land

upon an island which the natives called Guanahani. Early in the

morning Columbus and the brothers Pinzon and the notary entered a

boat with the royal standard and made for the shore. The rest of the

crews immediately followed. As soon as they had landed, the requisite

formalities were performed, and witnesses were summoned to note that,

before all others, Columbus took possession of the island for the king

and queen, his sovereigns. He gave it the name of San Salvador.

Over the question as to the spot where Columbus first landed there

has been much difference of opinion. The narrative of the Admiral

concerning this important part of his voyage, though it has been

preserved entire, is not so free from ambiguities, or so definite

in its positive statements, as to relieve the subject of doubt. The

reckoning of Columbus, moreover, on the matter of longitude and

latitude was not sufficiently accurate to throw much light on the

subject. Accordingly, several of the Bahamas have had their advocates.

The modern San Salvador, or Cat Island, was believed to be the place

of landing by Humboldt and Irving. South of Cat Island lie Watling’s,

Samana, Acklin, and the Grand Turk; and no one of them has been without

its ardent supporters. Recently, however, the most careful students of

the problem have unmistakably drifted toward the belief that the spot

of the landfall should be confidently fixed upon Watling’s Island.

The arguments in favour of this locality were first elaborately

set forth by Captain Becher in a volume published in 1856, and

were followed by Peschel two years later in his “History of Modern

Discovery.” Mr. R. H. Major, a careful student of the subject, was for

many years inclined to favour Turk’s Island; but in 1870 he conceded

that the weight of evidence was in favour of Watling’s. Lieutenant

Murdock of the American navy and Mr. Charles A. Schott of the United

States Coast Survey reached the same conclusion by independent studies

in 1884, as did also Mr. Clements R. Markham in 1889. Finally, and

perhaps most important of all, the Bahamas were visited and this

problem was carefully studied in November of 1890 by the German

explorer Herr Rudolf Cronau, with the result of establishing Watling’s

Island as the site of the landfall beyond any reasonable doubt.

Cronau’s investigations are twofold in their nature: the first point

of his inquiry being devoted to the reasons for thinking Watling’s the

island on which Columbus landed; the second, to establishing the point

at which the landfall took place. Though it is on this last point that

special significance is to be attached to his investigations, it may

not be out of place to give a brief summary of the argument as a whole.

Columbus describes the island as low, covered with abundant and

luxuriant vegetation, and as having a large body of water in the

interior. In one place he speaks of the island as “small,” at another

as “pretty large.” After the first landing, he goes N. N. E. in the

small boats, and soon passes through a narrow entrance into a harbour

“large enough to accommodate the fleets of Christendom.” In this

harbour he discovers an admirable site of a fort, which he describes

with minute care. He says, moreover, that the part of the island

visited is protected by an outlying reef of rocks not far from the

shore. Las Casas, who became very familiar with the islands during the

life of Columbus, and who probably knew where the first landing was

made, states that the form of the island was oblong, or “bean-shaped.”

The length of Watling’s Island is about twelve English miles, the

breadth between four and six. All these characteristics apply to

Watling’s, and in their entirety they apply to no other.

There are, however, certain difficulties in the way of accepting this

theory. The most serious is the fact that the rocks off the northern,

eastern, and southern parts of the island are so formidable as to

offer no safe place for anchorage, and that an approach from none of

these directions could afford the view described by Columbus. It is

in meeting this difficulty that the ingenious theory of Cronau is of

importance. It is in substance as follows.

The journal of Columbus tells us that on Thursday, October 11, the

ships “encountered a heavier sea than they had met with before in the

whole voyage.” It also states that in the course of twenty-four hours

they made the remarkable run of fifty-nine leagues, running at times

“ten miles an hour, at others twelve, at others seven.” In the evening

of the 11th, “from sunset till two hours after midnight,” the average

rate was “twelve miles an hour.” It was at ten o’clock that Columbus

reports that he saw the light, and consequently the vessel must have

advanced forty-eight miles before two o’clock on the morning of the

12th, when land was seen by Triana from the “Pinta.” These facts,

together with the extraordinary length of the run on the 11th, indicate

unmistakably that the roughness of the sea was caused by a strong

easterly wind, for by no other means could so rapid an advance have

been made. At “two o’clock,” says the Admiral, “land was discovered

at a distance of two leagues.” In which direction the land lay is not

indicated. All sails “except the square sail” were taken in, and the

vessels “lay to” till day,--probably about four or five hours. The

supposition of Cronau is that a wind which up to two o’clock carried

them when under full sail twelve miles an hour, must have borne the

ships, when under square sail, at least ten or fifteen miles before

dawn. It would have been impossible in a heavy sea to land on the rocky

coast of the east side; and whatever the advance, it must have been

either on the north or on the south. It seems reasonable to suppose

that the fleet found itself at the break of day west of the island. In

any case, good seamanship required that they should seek anchorage in a

high wind on the lee, or west side; and accordingly, the only natural

course was for them to turn about and approach the island from the

west. On the supposition that this course was pursued, no difficulties

whatever are found in reconciling Columbus’s narrative with the present

condition of the island. At about the middle of the west coast the

locality at present known as Riding Rocks must have presented then,

as it does now, an inviting anchorage. All the features of the coast

as described by Columbus are now easily identified. The sail to the

N. E. E., which under any other hypothesis presents insurmountable

difficulties, is now easily explained. Taking a boat and following

along the same course, Cronau entered the mouth of the harbour, and

readily distinguished all the characteristics described by the Admiral.

If the data given by Columbus afford no very definite clew to the spot

on which the landing took place, his account of what he saw, especially

of the people, is so replete with interest as to justify a quotation of

some length. After describing the formalities of the taking possession

of the island, and noting that the trees seemed very green, that there

were many streams of water and divers sorts of fruits, Columbus gives

the following graphic account of the natives:--

“As I saw that they were very friendly to us, and perceived

that they could be much more easily converted to our holy faith

by gentle means than by force, I presented them with some red

caps, and strings of beads to wear upon the neck, and many other

trifles of small value, wherewith they were much delighted, and

became wonderfully attached to us. Afterwards they came swimming

to the boats, bringing parrots, balls of cotton thread, javelins,

and many other things, which they exchanged for articles we gave

them, such as glass beads and hawk’s bells, which trade was

carried on with the utmost good will. But they seemed on the

whole to me to be a very poor people. They all go completely

naked, even the women, though I saw but one girl. All whom I

saw were young, not above thirty years of age, well made, with

fine shapes and faces; their hair short and coarse like that

of a horse’s tail, combed toward the forehead, except a small

portion which they suffer to hang down behind, and never cut.

Some paint themselves with black, which makes them appear like

those of the Canaries, neither black nor white; others with

white, others with red, and others with such colours as they can

find. Some paint the face, and some the whole body; others only

the eyes, and others the nose. Weapons they have none, nor are

they acquainted with them; for I showed them swords, which they

grasped by the blades, and cut themselves through ignorance. They

have no iron, their javelins being without it, and nothing more

than sticks, though some have fish-bones or other things at the

ends. They are all of a good size and stature, and handsomely

formed. I saw some with scars of wounds upon their bodies, and

demanded by signs the cause of them. They answered me in the

same way, that there came people from the other islands in the

neighbourhood who endeavoured to make prisoners of them, and they

defended themselves. I thought then, and still believe, that

these were from the continent. It appears to me that the people

are ingenious, and would be very good servants; and I am of the

opinion that they would readily become Christians, as they appear

to have no religion. They very quickly learn such words as are

spoken to them. If it please our Lord, I intend at my return to

carry home six of them to your Highnesses, that they may learn

our language. I saw no beasts in the island, nor any sort of

animals except parrots.”

The next three months of this renowned expedition were spent in going

from island to island, in making brief visits to the various places

that seemed to promise any interesting or important revelation, and in

seeking for objects of interest and value. The Admiral was in constant

hope of learning something that would direct him to Cipango. In all

the islands the people were found to speak the same language and to

have the same general characteristics. After visiting and exploring

Long Island and Saometo, which he respectively named Fernandina and

Isabella, he at length, on the 21st day of October, landed on the

northern coast of a large island which the natives called Colba. This

was the modern Cuba. He explored the picturesque region far to the

west, and found it so large that he supposed it to be a continent.

The Indians, however, informed him that it was only an island. As he

perceived neither towns nor villages near the sea-coast, but only

scattered habitations, the people of which fled at his approach, he

sent two of his men into the interior to learn whether the inhabitants

had either king or chief. The men, after an absence of three days,

reported that they found a vast number of settlements built of wood and

straw, with “innumerable people.” Yet they were able to discover no

indications of any kind of government. To the island the name Juana was

given, in honor of Don Juan.

Columbus did not attempt to circumnavigate the island. After coasting

far to the west, and noting carefully the rivers and harbours, he

resolved to retrace his course. From the point where the first landing

was made, he sailed a hundred and seven leagues toward the east, when

he came to a cape from which he reports that he saw another island,

about eighteen leagues away. This was the island now known as San

Domingo, or Hayti, to which Columbus gave the name Hispaniola. Sailing

thither, and skirting along its northern coast, the explorers found it

more beautiful even than any of the others they had seen. The journal

describes the harbours as far more safe and commodious than any to be

found in Christian countries; the rivers were large and noble, the land

was high, with beautiful mountains and lofty ridges covered with a

thousand varieties of beautiful trees that “seemed to reach to heaven.”

Most gratifying of all, they learned from the Indians that there were

“large mines of fine gold.”

It was here that Columbus decided to establish the first permanent

settlement. Through the carelessness of the pilot, however, the

Admiral’s own vessel struck upon a rock off the northwestern coast of

the island, and, finally, in spite of all the efforts of the crew, had

gone to pieces. The assistance rendered by the natives in rescuing

the stores of the wreck afforded touching evidence of their friendly

feeling. The timbers of the ship furnished the material for a structure

that should at once be a storehouse and a fort. It was resolved to

leave provisions for a year, together with seeds and implements for the

cultivation of the soil.

As to the number of the crew that were left at this new settlement,

the authorities do not agree. It is probable, however, that there were

about forty. In the narrative of Columbus, the words are these: “I

have directed that there shall be provided a store of timber for the

construction of the fort, with a provision of bread and wine for more

than a year, seed for planting, the long boat of the ship, a calker, a

carpenter, a gunner, a cooper, and many other persons among the number

of those who have earnestly desired to serve your Highnesses and

oblige me by remaining here, and searching for the gold mine.” As the

wreck and the consequent determination to build a fort and establish a

colony occurred on Christmas Day, the Admiral named the new settlement

“La Navidad.”

The people of the island manifested a most friendly disposition. The

abode of the king was about a league and a half distant from the shoal

where the wreck had taken place. Columbus relates that when the Spanish

messengers informed the cacique of the misfortune, he “shed tears and

despatched all the people of the town with large canoes to unload the

ship.” Again he says that the king, “with his brothers and relations,

came to the shore and took every care that the goods should be brought

safely to land and carefully preserved. From time to time, he sent his

relations to the Admiral, weeping and consoling him, and entreating

him not to be afflicted at his loss, for he would give him all he

had.” The Admiral still further observes that “in no part of Castile

would more strict care have been taken of the goods, that the smallest

trifle be not lost.” And again: “The king ordered several houses to be

cleared for the purpose of storing the goods.” On the following day,

Wednesday, December 26, the Admiral’s journal contains this memorandum:

“At sunrise the king of the country visited the Admiral on board the

‘Nina,’ and with tears in his eyes entreated him not to indulge in

grief, for he would give him all he had; that he had already assigned

the Spaniards on shore two large houses, and, if necessary, would

grant others, and as many canoes as could be used in bringing the goods

and crew to land,--which, in fact, he had done the day before, without

the smallest trifle being purloined.” In forming an opinion of a policy

which in a few years completely annihilated the inhabitants of these

islands, this estimate of their character ought not to be forgotten.

Before leaving this settlement, Columbus took the precaution to give

to the natives an exhibition of the force of fire-arms. A lombard was

loaded and fired against the side of the stranded ship. The shot,

much to the amazement of the natives, passed through the hull of the

vessel, and struck the water on the farther side. He also gave them a

representation of a battle fought by parties of the crew, and conducted

in accordance with Christian methods. This was done, as he informs us,

“to strike terror into the inhabitants and make them friendly to the

Spaniards left behind.”

Having left the settlement in charge of Diego de Arana, and three

others as subordinate officers, and having conferred upon them all

the powers he had himself received from the king and queen, Columbus

prepared to enter upon his homeward voyage. The commander of the

“Pinta,” who, as we shall presently see, had entered upon an exploring

expedition of his own, had now rejoined the Admiral; and on the 4th of

January the two little ships turned their rudders and set sail for home.

In the study of the journal and the letters of Columbus, in so far as

they relate to the first voyage, a number of impressions are strongly,

and, it should perhaps be said, painfully, stamped upon the mind of the

reader.

While the desire of the explorer to Christianize the island was never

lost sight of, he was prevented from any missionary work, not only

by the fact that the expedition was unaccompanied by priests, but

also by the nature of the expedition itself. It was simply a voyage

of discovery; and the movements from one island to another were

necessarily too rapid to admit of anything more than a temporary

impression. Nothing more, therefore, was done to propagate Christianity

than to leave here and there upon the islands the mysterious emblems

of the new faith. The preaching of the Gospel was reserved for future

expeditions.

But the ultimate Christianizing of the natives was only one of the

religious motives that inspired the expedition. For many years

Columbus had entertained the hope that gold might be found in quantity

sufficient to enable the Spanish Government to rescue the Holy

Sepulchre from the possession of infidels. The project inspired him

throughout his life. From these, as well as from personal motives, he

was therefore particularly desirous of finding gold. Nothing is more

painfully obvious in his journal than the power of this pecuniary

motive. The quest for gold lured him on from one island to another,

and from the sea-coast to the interior. He everywhere makes inquiries

for gold, and again and again he hears reports of gold mines; but

his efforts in search of them are always unsuccessful. However, he

never abandons hope. The journal abounds in expression of optimistic

expectation that gold in vast quantities will yet be found, and

that the object of this search will yet be fully realized. But the

gold-bearing mines everywhere eluded him, and indeed the natives appear

to have possessed the precious metal in no more than very trifling

quantities. Still, the hopes of Columbus were kept sanguine to the

last. It was only ten days before the expedition sailed for home

that he entered upon his journal the expression of a most sanguine

expectation. Las Casas tells us that in his journal for December 26th,

Columbus “adds that he hopes to find on his return from Castile a ton

of gold collected by them in trading with the natives, and that they

will have succeeded in discovering the mine and the spices, and all

these in such abundance that before three years the king and queen

may undertake the recovery of the Holy Sepulchre. ‘For I have before

protested to your Highnesses,’ continues Columbus, ‘that the profits

of this enterprise shall be employed in the conquest of Jerusalem, at

which your Highnesses smiled, and said you were pleased, and had the

same inclination.’”

In one of the letters of the Admiral announcing the discovery, known as

the Sanchez Letter, the Admiral writes in still more sanguine terms. He

says: “To sum up the whole, and state briefly the great profits of this

voyage, I am able to promise the acquisition, by a trifling assistance

from their Majesties, of any quantity of gold, drugs, cotton, and

mastick, which last article is found only in the island of Scio; also

any quantity of aloe, and as many slaves for the service of the marine

as their Majesties may stand in need of.”

In the letter written to the royal treasurer, Santangel, Columbus

invariably speaks in terms of similar confidence. “In conclusion,

and to speak only of what I have performed,” says he, “this voyage,

so hastily despatched, will, as their Highnesses may see, enable any

desirable quantity of gold to be obtained, by a very small assistance

afforded me on their part.” On the eve of sailing for Spain, after

referring to the opposition he had received from the clergy and others

about the court, he says: “These last have been the cause that the

royal crown of your Highnesses does not possess this day a hundred

millions of reals more than when I entered your service, from which

time it will be seven years the 20th day of this month of January.”

The reader will hardly fail to observe that these promises, so

comprehensive in their nature, rested upon a very slender foundation.

Very little gold had been seen by the explorers, and the mines had

all baffled their most diligent search. The ardent nature of Columbus

found no difficulty in converting hopes into confident expectations.

How painfully these were destined to be disappointed, we shall have

occasion hereafter to see.

Another matter that is worthy of notice is the general attitude of

Columbus toward his crew and toward the islanders. It may be difficult

to determine how far it was Columbus’s fault; but the fact is

unmistakable that there are no indications of any attachment to him by

any of the members of his crew. His habit of deceiving them in regard

to the distance passed over, and in regard to the needle, is likely

to have occasioned general distrust. Certain it is that Martin Alonzo

Pinzon, the ardent friend whose support at Palos made the expedition

possible, deserted him without warning soon after the fleet reached

the first land. The Admiral himself says, in his journal of November

21st, that Pinzon, “incited by cupidity,” sailed away with the “Pinta”

“without leave of the Admiral,” and that “by his language and action he

occasioned many other troubles.”

But the conduct of Pinzon was even to Columbus something of a mystery;

for elsewhere in his journal he “confesses himself unable to learn the

cause of the unfavorable disposition which this man had manifested

toward him throughout the voyage.” Elsewhere the Admiral says Pinzon

“was actuated solely by haughtiness and cupidity in abandoning him.”

Again he says that both of the Pinzon brothers “had a party attached to

them, the whole of whom had displayed great haughtiness and avarice,

disobeying his commands, regardless of the honours he had conferred

upon them.”

It is evident that Columbus was quite devoid of tact in the management

of men; for the bitterness that at a later period manifested itself

could not otherwise be accounted for.

Toward the natives Columbus seems not to have been actuated by any

motives of cruelty. He is not to be harshly judged, moreover, if his

methods were simply those of the fifteenth rather than those of the

nineteenth century. But human nature is ever essentially the same,

and it is therefore easy to understand the history of the change

that rapidly came over the spirit of the natives. Immediately after

he arrived at the islands, Columbus took a number of the natives by

force, and kept them upon the ship. On the 12th day of November he

writes: “Yesterday a canoe came to the ship with six young men; five

of them came on board, whom I ordered to be detained, in order to have

them with me. I then sent ashore to one of the houses and took seven

women and three children; this I did that the Indians might tolerate

their captivity better with their company.” In the same connection the

Admiral adds: “These women will be of great help to us in acquiring

their language, which is the same throughout all these countries, the

inhabitants keeping up a communication among the islands by means of

their canoes.” Again, on the 14th of January, only two days before

taking final leave, Las Casas says that, “wishing to make prisoners

of some Indians, he intended to despatch a boat in the night to visit

their houses for this purpose; but the wind blowing strong from the

east and northeast occasioned a rough sea, which prevented it.” On the

following day he says: “There came four young Indians on board the

caravel, where they gave so good an account to the Admiral of the

island to the east that he determined to take them along with him.”

It is impossible to reflect upon this habit of the Admiral without

realizing that, however friendly and hospitable the natives had shown

themselves at first, the impression soon made upon their minds must

have been one of the utmost repugnance and enmity. To indulge in

any other supposition would be to suppose that the natives were not

human beings. The captives seem for the most part to have been kindly

treated, and they may not have manifested an unconquerable aversion

to their captivity; but this unscrupulous policy of kidnapping the

natives whenever opportunity offered, could not have been otherwise

than disastrous to all friendly relations. It is impossible to conceive

that the islanders were so devoid of all human sensibilities as to see

with indifference their husbands and wives, their sons and daughters,

stolen from them for the gratification of the lust and the cupidity of

their visitors. Nor, aside from all moral considerations, on the part

of the wisest historian of the time was there any failure to understand

the disastrous consequences of such a policy. Las Casas was fully alive

to all the political significance of this course of action. While this

great moralist, whose nobility of character raises him far above all

the other public men of his time, fully acquits Columbus of any wrong

intent, he does not hesitate to indict him for initiating a policy

that was the cause of all the crimes and disasters that ensued. The

right to kidnap was of course resented by the natives. The consequence

was a war of extermination. The sad fate of the colony of La Navidad

can never be fully understood, for reasons which in due time we shall

see; but it would have been strange indeed if men, endowed with even

the feeblest attributes of human nature, had not been desirous of

exterminating a race actuated by such a policy. The words of Las

Casas are at once so judicious and so just that they ought not to be

abridged. After speaking of the ardent desire of Columbus to bring

as much profit as possible to Ferdinand and Isabella, he uses these

admirable words:--

“For this cause the Admiral thought and watched and worked for

nothing more than to contrive that there might come advantage

and income to the sovereigns.... Ignoring that which ought not

to be ignored concerning divine and natural right and the right

judgment of reason, he introduced and commenced to establish such

principles and to sow such seeds that there originated and grew

from them such a deadly and pestilential herb, and one which

produced such deep roots, that it has been sufficient to destroy

and devastate all these Indies, without human power sufficing to

impede or intercept such great and irreparable evils.”

And then, with a charming discrimination and charity, the same

benignant author continues,--

“I do not doubt that if the Admiral had believed there would

succeed such pernicious detriment as did succeed, and had known

as much of the primary and secondary conclusions of natural and

divine right as he knew of cosmography and other human doctrines,

he would never have dared to introduce or establish a thing

which was to produce such calamitous evils; for no one can say

that he was not a good and Christian man.”

The course taken by Columbus does not show that he was exceptionally

immoral; for morality is at least so conventional as to be entitled

to be judged in the light of the age under consideration. But his

course does show that he was not above the moral debasement of the

age in which he lived, on the one hand, and, on the other, that

he was destitute, not only of the characteristics of what we call

statesmanship, but also of ordinary tact and good judgment. Nothing

could have been easier than by a judicious use of rewards and

inducements to persuade a sufficient number of the natives to accompany

the fleet in a most friendly spirit. Either this was not perceived,

or it was not desired. In either case, the whole history is a sad

commentary on the management of the Admiral.

In spite of the popular superstition, Columbus did not hesitate to

set sail for home on Friday. It had been on Friday that he left

Palos; on Friday that he left the Canaries; and now on Friday, the

4th of January, he took leave of the colony at La Navidad and ordered

the pilots to set the rudder for home. On the 9th day of January

they proceeded thirty-six leagues, as far as Punta Roxa, or Red

Point, where the Admiral records that they found tortoises as big as

bucklers, and where also he saw three mermaids that raised themselves

far above the water. Of the latter the Admiral has the frankness to

say that although they had something like a human face, they were

not so handsome as they are painted. Two days later Columbus came to

a mountain covered with snow, which he named Monte de Plata; and, a

little beyond, after passing a succession of capes, which were duly

named, he came to a vast bay in which he determined to remain to

observe the conjunction that was to be seen on the 17th. Here for the

first time he found men with bows and arrows, and not only bought a bow

and some arrows, but learned from one of the natives that the Caribs

were to the eastward, and that gold was to be found on an island not

far away, which he called the island of St. John. Bernaldez says that

“in the islands of these Caribs, as well as in the neighbouring ones,

there is gold in incalculable quantity, cotton in vast abundance, and

especially spices, such as pepper, which is four times as strong and

pungent as the pepper that we use in Spain.”

It soon became evident that these people were of a less pacific nature

than the other islanders whom Columbus had met. A band of fifty-five

of the natives, armed with bows and arrows and swords of hard wood, as

well as heavy spears, attempted to seize seven of the Spaniards. An

altercation ensued. Two of the Indians were wounded, whereupon they all

fled, leaving their arms behind them. The incident is worthy of note

from the fact that it was the only time during this expedition that the

Spaniards and the natives came to blows. The breach was easily healed,

however, for on the following day the Indians returned as though

nothing had happened, and a complete reconciliation took place. The

Admiral gave the native king a red cap, and the next day “the king sent

his gold crown and provisions.”

On the 15th, Columbus entered the port of a little island where there

were good salt pits. The soil, the woods, and the plains convinced

him that at last he had come to the island of Cipango. Perhaps he was

confirmed in this impression by the current reports that the gold

mines of Cibao were not far distant. On the next day the Spaniards

discovered the caravel “Pinta” sailing toward them. Twenty days

before, Pinzon, apparently moved by a resistless ambition, had gone

off on an independent cruise. Columbus now received the excuse of the

captain,--that he acted under necessity; and though he thought it by no

means satisfactory, he was willing to condone the offence.

The Admiral now decided to sail directly for Spain; and accordingly the

Spaniards prepared at once to leave the bay, which they called De las

Flechas, or the Bay of Arrows. When they had advanced about sixteen

leagues, the Indians pointed to the island of St. John, which, they

said, was the home of the Caribs, or cannibals. Columbus did not think

it wise, however, to delay for further investigation or inquiry. Sails

were set, and the prows of the two little ships were turned toward

home. It was on the 16th of January that the last of the Bahamas passed

to the rearward out of sight.

During several days the navigators had no adverse fortune. The killing

of a tunny-fish and a shark afforded a welcome addition to their

larder, as they were now reduced to bread and wine. The “Pinta” soon

proved to be in poor condition for the voyage, as her mizzen-mast was

out of order and could carry but little sail. The sea was calm and the

course was east by northeast until February 4, when it was changed to

east. On the 10th the pilots and the captains took observations to

determine their bearings, but with very unsatisfactory results. The

imperfect condition of the science of navigation was well illustrated

by the fact that their reckonings differed by a hundred and fifty

leagues.

The calm monotony of the voyage was broken on the 13th. All night they

laboured with a high wind and furious sea. On the next day the storm

increased, “the waves crossing and dashing against one another, so that

the vessel was overwhelmed.” In the following night the two little

ships made signals by lights as long as one could see the other. At

sunrise the wind increased, and the sea became more and more terrible.

The “Pinta” was nowhere to be seen, and the Admiral thought her lost.

The journal records that he ordered lots to be cast for one of them to

go on a pilgrimage to St. Mary of Guadaloupe, and carry a wax taper of

five pounds weight, and that he caused them all to take oath that the

one on whom the lot fell should make the pilgrimage. For this purpose

as many peas were put into a hat as there were persons on board, one of

the peas being marked with a cross. The first person to put his hand

in the hat was the Admiral, and he drew the crossed pea. Two other

lots were taken, one of these also falling to Columbus. They then made

a vow to go in procession in penitential garments to the first church

dedicated to Our Lady which they might meet with on arriving at land,

and there pay their devotions.

But notwithstanding these vows the danger continued to increase. Lack

of ballast was partially supplied by filling with sea-water such casks

as they could make available. It is easy to conjecture what the anxiety

of the Admiral must have been. One of the vessels had been lost in the

Indies; the “Pinta” had also probably perished; and now the fury of

the hurricane was such as to make it extremely improbable that even

the “Nina” would survive. In such a calamitous event no word of the

discovery would ever reach Europe, and all the worst conjectures of the

opponents of the expedition would seem to have been fulfilled.

As a possible means of preventing so disastrous a result, Columbus

wrote upon parchment an account of the voyage and of the discoveries

he had made, and after rolling it up in waxed cloth, well tied, and

putting it into a large wooden cask, he threw it into the sea. Another

he placed upon the deck of the vessel, in order that in case all upon

the vessel should be lost, there might be a chance that the results of

the voyage might still be made known.

At sunrise of the 15th, land was discovered, which some thought to be

Madeira, and others the rock of Cintra, near Lisbon. According to the

Admiral’s reckoning, however, they were nearer the Azores. But the

power of the storm was still so great that it was not until the morning

of the 18th that they were able to come to an anchorage, and to find

that they were in the group of the Azores, at the island of St. Mary.

Columbus now sent a half of the crew on shore to fulfil their vows,

intending on their return to go himself with the other half, for the

same purpose. But the first company of pilgrims were set upon by the

Portuguese and taken prisoners. An attempt, though unsuccessful, was

also made to capture the Admiral. A severe altercation occurred, in

which the captain of the island ordered the Admiral on shore, and the

Admiral in turn displayed his commission and threatened the island with

devastation. It was not until the 22d that the parleyings came to an

end and the captured portion of the crew was restored.

Though for a few days the weather was propitious, on the 27th another

storm came on, which continued for several days. On the 3d day of

March a violent squall struck the vessel and split all the sails.

They were again in such imminent danger that another pilgrimage was

promised, and the crew all made a vow to fast on bread and water on the

first Saturday after their landing. Having lost its sails, the vessel

was now driven under bare poles before the wind. Through the night

Columbus says that the “Nina” was kept afloat “with infinite labor and

apprehension.” But at the dawn of the 4th of March the Spaniards found

they were off the rock of Cintra. Though from what had occurred, the

Admiral entertained a strong distrust of the Portuguese Government,

there was no alternative but to run into the port for shelter.

In view of his experience during the returning voyage, Columbus can

hardly have been surprised to learn from some of the oldest mariners

of the place that so tempestuous a winter had never been known. He

received numerous congratulations on what was regarded as a miraculous

preservation.

Immediately on reaching the port the Admiral made formal announcement

of his discoveries. A courier was despatched to the king and queen of

Spain with the tidings. To the king of Portugal a letter was also sent

requesting permission and authority to land at Lisbon, as a report

that his vessel was laden with treasure had spread abroad and gave

him a feeling of insecurity at the mouth of the Tagus, where he was

surrounded by needy and unscrupulous adventurers. Accompanying this

request was the assurance that the vessel had not visited any of the

Portuguese colonies, but had come from Cipango and India, which he had

discovered in the course of his westward voyage.

For some days after his arrival Columbus seemed to be in some danger.

For nearly a century Lisbon had derived its highest glory from maritime

discovery, and it was therefore not singular that the advent of a

vessel with such tidings should have filled the people with wonder

and surprise. From morning till night the little ship was thronged

with visitors piqued with curiosity. On the day after his arrival, the

captain of a large Portuguese man-of-war summoned Columbus on board

his ship to give an account of himself and his voyage. The explorer

replied that he held a commission as admiral from the sovereigns of

Spain, and, as such, he must refuse to leave his vessel, or to send

any one in his place. This attitude of lofty dignity was successful.

The Portuguese commander visited the caravel with sound of drums and

trumpets, and made the most generous offers of protection and service.

On the 8th of March Columbus received an invitation to visit the king

at Valparaiso. Complying with this invitation, he received a friendly

greeting. King John did not scruple to say that in his opinion,

according to the articles stipulated with the Spanish monarchs, the new

discovery belonged to him rather than to Castile.

This claim was not without some show of reason. In the time of the

Crusades the doctrine had been promulgated and generally accepted that

Christian princes had a right to invade and seize upon the territories

of infidels under the plea of defeating the enemies of Christ and of

extending the sway of the Church. What particular Christian monarch was

to have the right to a given territory was to be determined by papal

decision. Under this authority Pope Martin V. conceded to the Crown of

Portugal all the lands that might be discovered between Cape Bojador

and the Indies. This concession was formally consented to and ratified

by Spain and Portugal in the treaty of 1479. Though it was evident

that the intent of the treaty only related to such lands as might be

discovered in a passage to the Indies by an easterly course, there

was no verbal limitation, and therefore it can hardly be regarded as

singular that the Portuguese monarch should now claim that it included

within its provisions any lands that might be discovered in even a

westerly voyage.

But it is evident that Columbus regarded this question as one to be

determined by the monarchs themselves rather than by any discussion

between his royal host and himself. Accordingly, he was content merely

to observe that he had not been aware of the agreement to which

allusion had been made, and that when setting out on his voyage, he

had received explicit instructions not to interfere with any of the

Portuguese settlements.

Perhaps the only importance to be attached to this visit to the

Portuguese port is the fact that by it Columbus was made fully aware

that the king of Portugal intended to contest the rights of Spain to

the newly discovered lands. The claim of the king was eagerly taken up

and seconded by his courtiers, some of whom were the very men who, ten

years before, had advised against giving Columbus the assistance he

needed, and consequently were piqued at the success that had finally

crowned his efforts. They assured the monarch that the new lands,

even if they were not the identical ones that had been reached by the

Portuguese navigators who had sailed toward the east, were at least so

near them as to make an independent title invalid. From one absurdity

they went on to another, until they reached the conclusion that the

claims of the discoverer were absurd and preposterous, and that they

were entitled to no consideration whatever. Spanish and Portuguese

historians agree that the king’s advisers even went so far as to

propose the assassination of the Admiral, in order to prevent any

future complications.

It is to the credit of the monarch that, notwithstanding these ignoble

proposals of his ministers, he treated Columbus with distinguished

personal consideration. The hospitality extended was scarcely less than

princely, and on the departure of the navigator the king gave him a

royal escort that was commanded to show him every kindness. On his way

back to Lisbon the Admiral accepted an invitation to visit the queen

at the monastery of Villa Franca, where he regaled her with a glowing

and circumstantial account of the expedition and the islands he had

discovered.

It must not be supposed, however, that the king was ingenuous. On

the contrary, he listened with favour to some of the more subtle and

sinister suggestions of his courtiers. The proposal that met with most

countenance was the advice that they should fit out a strong fleet at

once, and despatch it under command of one of the foremost captains

of the Portuguese service, to take possession of the newly discovered

country before a second Spanish expedition could reach its destination.

After thus passing nine days within the domain of Portugal, Columbus

hoisted anchor on the 13th of March, and reached the port of Palos on

Friday, the 15th, where he was received with great demonstrations of

joy.

By the people of this little Spanish port the expedition had been

regarded as chimerical and desperate. But the crews had formed no very

small portion of the able-bodied men of the town. Many, therefore, had

given up their friends as abandoned to the mysterious horrors with

which credulity had always peopled the unknown seas. But now, many of

their friends had not only returned, but they brought back accounts

of the discovery of a new world. The bells were rung, the shops were

closed, business of all kinds was suspended, a solemn procession

was formed, and wherever Columbus was observed, he was hailed with

acclamations.

The court was at Barcelona. The Admiral at once despatched a letter to

the king and queen, announcing his arrival, and informing them that he

would await their orders at Seville. Before he departed from Palos,

however, an event of great interest occurred. On the very evening of

the arrival of Columbus, and while the bells of triumph were still

ringing, the “Pinta,” commanded by Martin Alonzo Pinzon, entered the

river. The two little vessels had parted company in the terrible storm

off the Azores; and each, supposing that the other was lost, by a

singular coincidence now, on the same day, reached the port from which

they had together set out more than six months before.

The connection of Martin Alonzo Pinzon with the first voyage of

Columbus is a subject which has received more or less of the attention

of every historian of that remarkable event. Unfortunately, the ending

of his career was one that threw an indelible stain upon the credit

of his name. The concluding facts of his life may be briefly stated.

After parting from the “Nina,” the “Pinta,” driven by the storm far to

the north, and finding its way with infinite difficulty into the Bay

of Biscay, took refuge in the port of Bayonne. Pinzon seems to have

deemed it safe to presume that the “Nina” and all its crew had been

lost. Accordingly, he wrote to the monarchs of Spain, announcing the

discoveries he had made, and asking permission to wait upon the court

and give the particulars in person. As soon as the storm abated, he

set out for the port of Palos, evidently anticipating a triumphant

entry; but when, on nearing the harbour, he beheld the ship of the

Admiral, and heard the joyful acclamations with which Columbus had been

received, his heart must have failed him. It is said that he feared

to go ashore, lest Columbus should put him under arrest for having

deserted him on the coast of Cuba,--at least he landed privately, and

kept out of sight till the Admiral had taken his departure for the

Spanish court. Deeply dejected, and broken in health, he betook himself

to his home, to await the answer to the letter he had written to the

king and queen. At length the answer came. It was reproachful in tone,

and even forbade the appearance of Pinzon at court. This seemed to

complete the humiliation of the old sailor, for he sank rapidly into a

species of despair, and a few days later died, the victim of chagrin.

Nevertheless the services that Pinzon rendered to the expedition

ought not to go unrecognized. As we have already seen, his generosity

had enabled Columbus to offer to defray one eighth of the expense of

the expedition. More important still, at the moment when it seemed

impossible to recruit, or even conscript, a crew, it was no other than

Martin Alonzo Pinzon that came forward as the earnest and successful

champion of the expedition. He had been a navigator of distinction,

and his wealth, his social rank, and his experience gave him an

influence that withstood the tide of prejudice and made the securing

of a crew possible. He not only offered to give the enterprise his

moral and pecuniary support, but he gave proof of the integrity of his

declarations by offering to command one of the vessels in person, while

his brother was to command another. It cannot be denied that these

were great and important services, without which it would have been

far more difficult, if not, indeed, impossible, to put the expedition

into sailing condition. But the extent of these services seems to have

poisoned his mind in regard to his relations to his chief. During the

voyage there were symptoms of an insubordinate spirit. The commission

under which the fleet sailed gave to Columbus unquestionable authority;

but Pinzon chafed under his restraints, and no sooner had they reached

the coast of Cuba than he deserted his commander and undertook a voyage

of discovery of his own. The sequel unfortunately showed that in

spirit he was not above ignoring entirely the work of Columbus, and

arrogating to himself the credit of the discovery.

Columbus, on the other hand, received in answer to his letter of

announcement a most gracious reply from the Spanish sovereigns. That he

was held in high favour, was shown by the simple form of the letter,

which addressed him as “Don Christopher Columbus, our Admiral of the

Ocean Sea, and Viceroy and Governor of the Islands discovered in the

Indies.” The letter expressed the great satisfaction of the monarchs

with his achievement, and requested him not only to repair immediately

to court, but also to inform them by return of courier what was to

be done on their part to prepare the way immediately for a second

expedition. Columbus lost no time in complying with their commands. He

sent a memorandum of the ships, munitions, and men needed, and taking

the six Indians and various curiosities he had brought with him, set

out for an audience at Barcelona.

The fame of the discovery had been noised abroad, and even grossly

exaggerated reports of the wonderful curiosities brought back had

obtained currency. The people, therefore, everywhere thronged into the

streets to get sight of Columbus and of his Indians, as they made the

long journey from Palos to the court.

On reaching Barcelona the Admiral found that every preparation had

been made to receive him with the most imposing ceremonials. It has

been customary to compare his entrance into the city with a Roman

triumph. Certainly there was not a little to justify such a comparison.

The Indians, painted and decorated in savage fashion, birds and

animals of unknown species, rare plants supposed to possess great

healing qualities, Indian coronets, bracelets, and other decorations

of gold,--all these were paraded and displayed in order to convey an

idea of the importance and the wealth of the newly discovered country.

At the rear of the train, Columbus, on horseback, was escorted by a

brilliant cavalcade of Spanish hidalgos.

The sovereigns had determined to receive him with a stately ceremony

worthy of his discovery. Upon a throne specially set up for the purpose

the king and queen, with Prince Juan at their side, and surrounded

with noble lords and ladies, awaited his coming into their presence.

Columbus, also surrounded with a brilliant retinue, entered the hall

and approached the throne. Las Casas, who was present, tells us

that the Admiral was stately and commanding in person, and that the

modest smile that played upon his countenance showed that “he enjoyed

the state and glory in which he came.” Though he was probably only

forty-eight years of age, his prematurely gray hairs had already given

him a venerable appearance. The sovereigns had made it evident that

they desired to bestow upon him the admiration and gratitude of the

nation. As he approached, they arose and saluted him as if receiving

a person of the highest rank. When he was about to kneel, for the

purpose of kissing the hands of the sovereigns, in accordance with

the conventional ceremonies of that proud court, they ordered him in

the most gracious manner to arise, and then to seat himself in their

presence.

At their bidding, Columbus then proceeded to give an account of his

voyage and of his discoveries. The authorities agree that this was done

in a sedate and discreet manner, though it is difficult to avoid the

conviction that the Admiral promised for the future far more than was

warranted by anything that had as yet been discovered. But the thought

was never absent from his mind that the islands were just off the coast

of Asia, and that they were not far from all the wealth of Cipango and

Cathay. With this belief he did not hesitate to assure their Majesties

that what he had already discovered was but a harbinger of incalculable

wealth, and that by further explorations whole nations and peoples

would be brought to the true faith.

The contemporaneous historians tell us that at the conclusion of this

account the sovereigns were so affected that their eyes filled with

tears of gratitude, and that they fell upon their knees and poured

forth their thanks to God for the great blessing of this discovery. The

_Te Deum_ was sung by the choir of the chapel, and Las Casas remarks

that it seemed as if “in that hour they communicated with celestial

delights.”

It is not strange that in this mood the monarchs were ready, not only

to continue, but even to extend the authority already bestowed upon

Columbus. Accordingly, they confirmed the grants made at Santa Fé the

year before, they granted him the royal arms of Castile and Leon, and

for his sake they conferred special honours on his brothers Bartholomew

and Diego. Columbus in turn committed himself to great things in the

future. His ordinary religious fervour seems to have been greatly

reinforced by the ceremonies of the day. In his desire to promote the

conquest of the Holy Sepulchre he now went so far as to make a solemn

vow that for this purpose he would furnish within seven years an army

consisting of four thousand horse and fifty thousand foot, and that

he would also provide a similar force within the next five years that

should follow.

It was unquestionably a weakness of Columbus that he was always prone

to promise more than he could fulfil. This is perhaps the besetting

fault of very fervid natures. But the consequences are often far

reaching. Columbus thus prepared the way, or at least gave the

opportunity, for virulent criticism and even hostility. Not a few

of the old nobility had been piqued by the honours conferred upon a

parvenu and a foreigner. All such were ready to organize an attack if

the new favourite should show any weakness or fail to fulfil any of his

promises. This important element in the situation should prepare us to

understand much of what is to follow.

In all affairs of international interest in the fifteenth century the

Roman pontiff played a conspicuous part. There were unusual reasons why

a formal announcement to the Pope of the success of Columbus should be

made without delay. Such announcement was prompted, not only by the

importance of the discovery, but also by the religious motive that

formed so large an element in the purpose of the discoverer. But there

was an additional reason. As we have already seen, the king of Portugal

had hinted that the newly discovered lands, in view of the treaty of

1479, would be found to belong to himself rather than to the monarchs

of Castile and Aragon. The Pope was the international mediator in all

questions of this kind. The Spanish sovereigns accordingly determined

to turn to the Pope without delay.

The pontiff at that time was Alexander VI., who, though he has been

stigmatized as having been guilty of nearly every vice, was not

unmindful of the political significance of his position. Born a

subject of Aragon, he might be supposed to think favourably of the

claims of Spain; but Ferdinand judged his character accurately, and

therefore thought it not wise to trust anything to chance or accident.

Accordingly, he despatched ambassadors to the court of Rome to

announce the new discovery with due formality, and to set forth the

gain that must accrue to the Church from the acquisition of so vast

a new territory. The ambassadors were charged to say that great care

had been taken not to trench upon the possessions that had been ceded

to Portugal. On one further point the instructions of Ferdinand were

characteristic of his great political acumen. He desired to intimate

as delicately as possible, but at the same time with unequivocal

distinctness, that whatever the papal pleasure might be, he should

maintain and defend his newly acquired possessions at all hazards.

This he did by instructing his ambassadors to say that in the opinion

of many learned men it was not necessary that he should obtain the

papal sanction for the title of the newly discovered lands, but that

notwithstanding this fact, as pious and devoted princes, the king and

queen supplicated his Holiness to issue a papal bull conceding the

lands which Columbus had discovered, or hereafter might discover, to

the Crown of Castile.

The news was received by Alexander with great joy; and the request

was the more readily granted because of the favour which the Spanish

sovereigns had recently acquired at Rome by the successful termination

of the terrible conflict with the Moors. Indeed, these new discoveries

appear to have been regarded as in some sense an appropriate reward

for the vigorous prosecution of that crusade against the infidels. A

bull was accordingly issued on the 2d of May, 1493, conceding to the

Spanish sovereigns the same rights and privileges in respect to the

newly discovered lands in the West as had previously been granted to

the king of Portugal in regard to their discoveries in Africa. In order

to prevent the liability of dispute as to jurisdiction, this bull was

accompanied with another to determine a line of demarcation. The pope

established an imaginary line “one hundred leagues west of the Azores

and Cape de Verde Islands,” extending from pole to pole. All lands west

of this line that had not been discovered by some other Christian power

before the preceding Christmas, and that had been or might hereafter be

discovered by Spanish navigators, should belong to the Crown of Spain;

all east of that line, to the Crown of Portugal.

While these negotiations were going on with the Pope, great activity

was displayed in preparation for the next voyage. In order to further

the interests of Spain in the West, what in these days we should

perhaps call a bureau of discovery was now established. This was

placed under the superintendence of Fonseca, archdeacon of Seville,

who afterward received several high ecclesiastical honours, including

the patriarchate of the Indies. He was already a man of position and

influence; but the writers of the time agree that he was possessed

of a worldly spirit, and was devoted to temporal rather than to

spiritual affairs. He seemed, however, to be so well adapted to the

forming and the fitting out of armadas that, notwithstanding his

high ecclesiastical dignities, the monarchs saw fit to keep him in

virtual control of Indian affairs for about thirty years. Though he

had great business abilities, he was capable of intense animosity, and

was by no means above gratifying his private resentments in the most

malignant and vindictive spirit. To assist Fonseca, Francisco Pinelo

was appointed treasurer, and Juan de Soria comptroller. Their office

was fixed at Seville, but the jurisdiction of the company, as we shall

see, extended over a wide territory. Cadiz was made the special port of

entry, with a custom-house for the new branch of maritime service.

The despotic rigour with which affairs were then kept in the hands

of the government is well illustrated by the character of the orders

that were issued. No one was permitted to go to the New World, either

to trade or to form an establishment for other reasons, without an

express license from the sovereigns, from Fonseca, or from Columbus.

A still more despotic spirit was shown in the royal order commanding

that “all ships in the ports of Andalusia, with their captains, pilots,

and crews,” should hold themselves in readiness to serve in the new

expedition. Columbus and Fonseca were authorized to purchase, at their

own price, any vessel that was needed, and, in case of necessity, to

take it by force. They were also authorized to seize the requisite

arms, provisions, and ammunitions “at any place or in any vessel in

which they might be found,” paying therefor such a price as they

themselves might fix upon as fair and just. They were also authorized

to compel, not mariners alone, but officers holding any rank or station

whatsoever, to embark on their fleet, under such conditions and pay

as they might deem reasonable. Finally, all civil authorities were

called upon to render every assistance in expediting the armament, and

were warned not to allow any impediment to be thrown in the way, on

penalty of loss of office and confiscation of estate. To provide the

necessary expenses, the Crown pledged two thirds of the church tithes

and the sequestered property of the Jews, who, by the edict of the

preceding year, had been deprived of their jewels and other possessions

and ordered out of the realm. If, notwithstanding these somewhat ample

resources, there should still be a lack of funds, the treasurer was

authorized to contract a loan. These orders were issued while Columbus

was still at Barcelona, and presumably with his approval.

Under these rigorous instructions, and in view of the popular interest

in the enterprise, preparations for the new voyage went forward without

delay. Fonseca gave himself to the collecting of vessels and their

equipment with great energy. But notwithstanding the great resources

placed at his disposal, the preparation of the fleet necessarily made

slow progress. Confronting these great powers, there were the perpetual

obstacles of human nature and individual interest. Even despotism has

its limitations. So much opposition was found to be in the way of the

practical confiscation of ships and munitions that it was not until the

summer was far gone that the fleet was ready to sail. Columbus had left

Barcelona on the 28th day of May; it was not till the 25th of September

that the fleet were ready to weigh anchor and turn their prows to the

west.

There were special reasons why the Spanish sovereigns desired Columbus

to hasten his departure on the second voyage. A diplomatic controversy

of more than usual subtilty had sprung up between Ferdinand and

Isabella and King John of Portugal. The Portuguese monarch, probably

moved by chagrin as well as by envy, entertained a firm determination

not to abandon his claims to the new discoveries, except from the most

absolute necessity. One of the historians of King John’s reign admits

that this monarch distributed bribes freely among the courtiers of

Ferdinand, and that by this means he had no difficulty in learning

of the secret purposes of the Spanish court. Ambassadors were freely

interchanged for the purpose of settling the questions of jurisdiction

that had been raised. At one time the envoy of Ferdinand was intrusted

with two communications, one of which was friendly, while the other was

stern and imperative in its nature. In case he should find a pacific

disposition on the part of the Portuguese king, he was to deliver the

former; but if he should learn of any hostile intent to seize upon or

disturb the newly discovered lands, he was to present the communication

couched in peremptory terms, forbidding him to undertake any enterprise

of the kind.

The import of both these communications was made known to John by

his spies at the Spanish court. Accordingly, he conducted himself

in such a way as to draw forth only the more pacific despatch. But

notwithstanding this show of courtesy, Ferdinand had little difficulty

in learning that the Portuguese monarch was planning to seize upon

the new possessions before the second expedition of Columbus could

reach its destination. His policy, therefore, was not only to hasten

the preparations of the new expedition, but also to delay as much as

possible by dilatory negotiations the movements of King John. In this

latter purpose his great diplomatic acumen had full scope, and was

entirely successful. He proposed that the question of their respective

rights should be submitted for arbitration. The envoys consumed much

time in passing with great ceremony between the two courts. King John

considered it prudent neither to accept nor to decline this proposition

until he had taken the precaution to make due inquiries of the Pope.

The answer was what, in view of the papal bull above referred to,

might have been expected. The Portuguese ambassador was informed that

his Holiness would adhere to his decision establishing the line of

demarcation at a hundred leagues west of the Azores. Thus Ferdinand

secured a twofold triumph. The Pope had confirmed his title, and time

enough had elapsed to enable the Spanish fleet to reach the disputed

ground before the fleet of King John could be put in readiness to sail.

It remains to be added on this subject that King John, finding himself

defeated in his attempts to gain possession of the newly discovered

territories, now addressed himself to the task of having the line

of demarcation extended farther to the west. In this he was more

successful. After prolonged negotiations, it was finally agreed, and

the agreement was embodied in the treaty of Tordesillas, June 7, 1494,

that the papal line of partition should be moved to three hundred and

seventy leagues west of the Cape de Verde Islands. This treaty remained

in force during the age of discovery, and its importance is attested by

the fact that it prevented all further discussions.