"There is a Power, whose care
Teaches thy way along that pathless coast--
The desert and illimitable air--
Lone wandering, but not lost."
Bryant.
The two or three hours that succeeded, were hours of an extraordinary
and intense interest. The three vessels stood hovering off the dusky
shore, barely keeping at a safe distance, stripped of most of their
canvas, resembling craft that cruised leisurely at a given point,
indifferent to haste or speed. As they occasionally and slowly passed
each other, words of heart-felt congratulation were exchanged; but no
noisy or intemperate exultation was heard on that all-important night.
The sensations excited in the adventurers, by their success, were too
deep and solemn for any such vulgar exhibition of joy; and perhaps there
was not one among them all who did not, at that moment, inwardly confess
his profound submission to, and absolute dependence on a Divine
Providence.
Columbus was silent. Emotions like his seldom find vent in words; but
his heart was overflowing with gratitude and love. He believed himself
to be in the further east, and to have reached that part of the world by
sailing west; and it is natural to suppose that he expected the curtain
of day would rise on some of those scenes of oriental magnificence which
had been so eloquently described by the Polos and other travellers in
those remote and little-known regions. That this or other islands were
inhabited, the little he had seen sufficiently proved; but, as yet, all
the rest was conjecture of the wildest and most uncertain character. The
fragrance of the land, however, was very perceptible in the vessels,
thus affording an opportunity to two of the senses to unite in
establishing their success.
At length the long wished-for day approached, and the eastern sky began
to assume the tints that precede the appearance of the sun. As the light
diffused itself athwart the dark blue ocean, and reached the island, the
outlines of the latter became more and more distinct; then objects
became visible on its surface, trees, glades, rocks, and irregularities,
starting out of the gloom, until the whole picture was drawn in the
gray, solemn colors of morning. Presently the direct rays of the sun
touched it, gilding its prominent points, and throwing others into
shadow. It then became apparent that the discovery was that of an island
of no great extent, well wooded, and of a verdant and pleasant aspect.
The land was low, but possessed an outline sufficiently graceful to
cause it to seem a paradise in the eyes of men who had seriously doubted
whether they were ever to look on solid ground again. The view of his
mother earth is always pleasant to the mariner who has long gazed on
nothing but water and sky; but thrice beautiful did it now seem to men
who not only saw in it their despair cured, but their most brilliant
hopes revived. From the position of the land near him, Columbus did not
doubt that he had passed another island, on which the light had been
seen, and, from his known course, this conjecture has since been
rendered almost certain.
The sun had scarcely risen, when living beings were seen rushing out of
the woods, to gaze in astonishment at the sudden appearance of machines,
that were at first mistaken by the untutored islanders, for messengers
from heaven. Shortly after, Columbus anchored his little fleet, and
landed to take possession in the name of the two sovereigns.
As much state was observed on this occasion as the limited means of the
adventurers would allow. Each vessel sent a boat, with her commander.
The admiral, attired in scarlet, and carrying the royal standard,
proceeded in advance, while Martin Alonzo, and Vicente Yanez Pinzon,
followed, holding banners bearing crosses, the symbol of the expedition,
with letters representing the initials of the two sovereigns, or F. and
Y., for Fernando and Ysabel.
The forms usual to such occasions were observed on reaching the shore.
Columbus took possession, rendered thanks to God for the success of the
expedition, and then began to look about him in order to form some
estimate of the value of his discovery.[3]
[Footnote 3: It is a singular fact that the position and name of the
precise island that was first fallen in with, on this celebrated voyage,
remain to this day, if not a matter of doubt, at least a matter of
discussion. By most persons, some of the best authorities included, it
is believed that the adventurers made Cat Island, as the place is now
called, though the admiral gave it the appellation of San Salvador;
while others contend for what is now termed Turk's Island. The reason
given for the latter opinion is the position of the island, and the
course subsequently steered in order to reach Cuba. Munoz is of opinion
that it was Watling's Island, which lies due east of Cat Island, at the
distance of a degree of longitude, or a few hours' run. As respects
Turk's Island, the facts do not sustain the theory. The course steered,
after quitting the island, was not west, but south-west; and we find
Columbus anxious to get south to reach the island of Cuba, which was
described to him by the natives, and which he believed to be Cipango. No
reason is given by Munoz for his opinion; but Watling's Island does not
answer the description of the great navigator, while it is so placed as
to have lain quite near his course, and was doubtless passed unseen in
the darkness. It is thought the light so often observed by Columbus was
on this island.]
No sooner were the ceremonies observed, than the people crowded round
the admiral, and began to pour out their congratulations for his
success, with their contrition for their own distrust and disaffection.
The scene has often been described as a proof of the waywardness and
inconstancy of human judgments; the being who had so lately been scowled
on as a reckless and selfish adventurer, being now regarded as little
less than a God. The admiral was no more elated by this adulation, than
he had been intimidated by the previous dissatisfaction, maintaining his
calmness of exterior and gravity of demeanor, with those who pressed
around him, though a close observer might have detected the gleaming of
triumph in his eye, and the glow of inward rapture on his cheek.
"These honest people are as inconstant in their apprehensions, as they
are extreme in their rejoicings," said Columbus to Luis, when liberated
a little from the throng; "yesterday they would have cast me into the
sea, and to-day they are much disposed to forget God, himself, in his
unworthy creature. Dost not see, that the men who gave us most concern,
on account of their discontent, are now the loudest in their applause?"
"This is but nature, Senor; fear flying from panic to exultation. These
knaves fancy they are praising you, when they are, in truth, rejoicing
in their own escape from some unknown but dreaded evil. Our friends
Sancho and Pepe seem not to be thus overwhelmed, for while the last is
gathering flowers from this shore of India, the first seems to be
looking about him with commendable coolness, as if he might be
calculating the latitude and longitude of the Great Khan's doblas."
Columbus smiled, and, accompanied by Luis, he drew nearer to the two men
mentioned, who were a little apart from the rest of the group. Sancho
was standing with his hands thrust into the bosom of his doublet,
regarding the scene with the coolness of a philosopher, and toward him
the admiral first directed his steps.
"How is this, Sancho of the ship-yard-gate?" said the great navigator;
"thou lookest on this glorious scene as coolly as thou wouldst regard a
street in Moguer, or a field in Andalusia?"
"Senor Don Almirante, the same hand made both. This is not the first
island on which I have landed; nor are yonder naked savages the first
men I have seen who were not dressed in scarlet doublets."
"But hast thou no feeling for success--no gratitude to God for this vast
discovery? Reflect, my friend, we are on the confines of Asia, and yet
have we come here by holding a western course."
"That the last is true, Senor, I will swear myself, having held the
tiller in mine own hands no small part of the way. Do you think, Senor
Don Almirante, that we have come far enough in this direction to have
got to the back side of the earth, or to stand, as it might be, under
the very feet of Spain?"
"By no means. The realms of the Great Khan will scarcely occupy the
position you mean."
"Then, Senor, what will there be to prevent the doblas of that country
from falling off into the air, leaving us our journey for our pains?"
"The same power that will prevent our caravels from dropping out of the
sea, and the water itself from following. These things depend on natural
laws, my friend, and nature is a legislator that will be respected."
"It is all Moorish to me," returned Sancho, rubbing his eye-brows. "Here
we are, of a verity, if not actually beneath the feet of Spain,
standing, as it might be, on the side of the house; and yet I find no
more difficulty in keeping on an even keel, than I did in Moguer--by
Santa Clara! less, in some particulars, good solid Xeres wine being far
less plenty here than there."
"Thou art no Moor, Sancho, although thy father's name be a secret. And
thou, Pepe, what dost thou find in those flowers to draw thy attention
so early from all these wonders?"
"Senor, I gather them for Monica. A female hath a more delicate feeling
than a man, and she will be glad to see with what sort of ornaments God
hath adorned the Indies."
"Dost thou fancy, Pepe, that thy love can keep those flowers in bloom,
until the good caravel shall recross the Atlantic?" demanded Luis,
laughing.
"Who knoweth, Senor Gutierrez? A warm heart maketh a thriving nursery.
You would do well, too, if you prefer any Castilian lady to all others,
to bethink you of her beauty, and gather some of these rare plants to
deck her hair."
Columbus now turned away, the natives seeming disposed to approach the
strangers, while Luis remained near the young sailor, who still
continued to collect the plants of the tropics. In a minute our hero was
similarly employed; and long ere the admiral and the wondering islanders
had commenced their first parley, he had arranged a gorgeous _bouquet_,
which he already fancied in the glossy dark hair of Mercedes.
The events of a public nature that followed, are too familiar to every
intelligent reader to need repetition here. After passing a short time
at San Salvador, Columbus proceeded to other islands, led on by
curiosity, and guided by real or fancied reports of the natives, until
the 28th, when he reached that of Cuba. Here he imagined, for a time,
that he had found the continent, and he continued coasting it, first in
a north-westerly, and then in a south-easterly direction, for near a
month. Familiarity with the novel scenes that offered soon lessened
their influence, and the inbred feelings of avarice and ambition began
to resume their sway in the bosoms of several of those who had been
foremost in manifesting their submission to the admiral, when the
discovery of land so triumphantly proved the justice of his theories,
and the weakness of their own misgivings. Among others who thus came
under the influence of their nature, was Martin Alonzo Pinzon, who,
finding himself almost entirely excluded from the society of the young
Count of Llera, in whose eyes he perceived he filled but a very
subordinate place, fell back on his own local importance, and began to
envy Columbus a glory that he now fancied he might have secured for
himself. Hot words had passed between the admiral and himself, on more
than one occasion, before the land was made, and every day something new
occurred to increase the coldness between them.
It forms no part of this work to dwell on the events that followed, as
the adventurers proceeded from island to island, port to port, and river
to river. It was soon apparent that very important discoveries had been
made; and the adventurers were led on day by day, pursuing their
investigations, and following directions that were ill comprehended, but
which, it was fancied, pointed to mines of gold. Everywhere they met
with a gorgeous and bountiful nature, scenery that fascinated the eye,
and a climate that soothed the senses; but, as yet, man was found living
in the simplest condition of the savage state. The delusion of being in
the Indies was general, and every intimation that fell from those
untutored beings, whether by word or sign, was supposed to have some
reference to the riches of the east. All believed that, if not
absolutely within the kingdom of the Great Khan, they were at least on
its confines. Under such circumstances, when each day actually produced
new scenes, promising still greater novelties, few bethought them of
Spain, unless it were in connection with the glory of returning to her,
successful and triumphant. Even Luis dwelt less intently in his thoughts
on Mercedes, suffering her image, beautiful as it was, to be momentarily
supplanted by the unusual spectacles that arose before his physical
sight in such constant and unwearied succession. Little substantial,
beyond the fertile soil and genial climate, offered, it is true, in the
way of realizing all the bright expectations of the adventurers in
connection with pecuniary advantages; but each moment was fraught with
hope, and no one knew what a day would bring forth.
Two agents were at length sent into the interior to make discoveries,
and Columbus profited by the occasion to careen his vessels. About the
time this mission was expected to return, Luis sallied forth with a
party of armed men to meet it, Sancho making one of his escort. The
ambassadors were met on their way back at a short day's march from the
vessels, accompanied by a few of the natives, who were following with
intense curiosity, expecting at each moment to see their unknown
visitors take their flight toward heaven. A short halt was made for the
purpose of refreshing themselves, after the two parties had joined; and
Sancho, as reckless of danger on the land as on the ocean, stalked into
a village that lay near the halting place. Here he endeavored to make
himself as agreeable to the inhabitants as one of his appearance very
well could, by means of signs. Sancho figured in this little hamlet
under some such advantages as those that are enjoyed in the country by a
great man from town; the spectators not being, as yet, sufficiently
sophisticated to distinguish between the cut of a doublet and the manner
of wearing it, as between a clown and a noble. He had not been many
minutes playing the grandee among these simple beings, when they seemed
desirous of offering to him some mark of particular distinction.
Presently, a man appeared, holding certain dark-looking and dried
leaves, which he held out to the hero of the moment in a deferential
manner, as a Turk would offer his dried sweet-meats, or an American his
cake. Sancho was about to accept the present, though he would greatly
have preferred a dobla, of which he had not seen any since the last
received from the admiral, when a forward movement was made by most of
the Cubans, who humbly, and with emphasis, uttered the word
"tobacco"--"tobacco." On this hint, the person who held forth the
offering drew back, repeated the same word in an apologizing manner, and
set about making what, it was now plain was termed a "tobacco," in the
language of that country. This was soon effected, by rolling up the
leaves in the form of a rude segar, when a "tobacco," duly manufactured,
was offered to the seaman. Sancho took the present, nodded his head
condescendingly, repeated the words himself, in the best manner he
could, and thrust the "tobacco" into his pocket. This movement evidently
excited some surprise among the spectators, but, after a little
consultation, one of them lighted an end of a roll, applied the other to
his mouth, and began to puff forth volumes of a fragrant light smoke,
not only to his own infinite satisfaction, but seemingly to that of all
around him. Sancho attempted an imitation, which resulted, as is common
with the tyro in this accomplishment, in his reeling back to his party
with the pallid countenance of an opium-chewer, and a nausea that he had
not experienced since the day he first ventured beyond the bar of
Saltes, to issue on the troubled surface of the Atlantic.
This little scene might be termed the introduction of the well-known
American weed into civilized society, the misapprehension of the
Spaniards, touching the appellation, transferring the name of the roll
to the plant itself. Thus did Sancho, of the ship-yard-gate, become the
first Christian tobacco smoker, an accomplishment in which he was so
soon afterward rivalled by some of the greatest men of his age, and
which has extended down to our own times.
On the return of his agents, Columbus again sailed, pushing his way
along the north shore of Cuba. While struggling against the trades, with
a view to get to the eastward, he found the wind too fresh, and
determined to bear up for a favorite haven in the island of Cuba, that
he had named Puerto del Principe. With this view a signal was made to
call the Pinta down, that vessel being far to windward; and, as night
was near, lights were carried in order to enable Martin Alonzo to close
with his commander. The next morning, at the dawn of day, when Columbus
came on deck, he cast a glance around him, and beheld the Nina, hove-to
under his lee, but no signs of the other caravel.
"Have none seen the Pinta?" demanded the admiral, hastily, of Sancho,
who stood at the helm.
"Senor, _I_ did, as long as eyes could see a vessel that was striving to
get out of view. Master Martin Alonzo hath disappeared in the eastern
board, while we have been lying-to, here, in waiting for him to come
down."
Columbus now perceived that he was deserted by the very man who had once
shown so much zeal in his behalf, and who had given, in the act, new
proof of the manner in which friendship vanishes before self-interest
and cupidity. There had been among the adventurers many reports of the
existence of gold mines, obtained from the descriptions of the natives;
and the admiral made no doubt that his insubordinate follower had
profited by the superior sailing of his caravel, to keep the wind, in
the expectation to be the first to reach the Eldorado of their wishes.
As the weather still continued unfavorable, however, the Santa Maria and
the Nina returned to port, where they waited for a change. This
separation occurred on the 21st of November, at which moment the
expedition had not advanced beyond the north coast of Cuba.
From this time until the sixth of the following month, Columbus
continued his examination of this noble island, when he crossed what has
since been termed the "windward passage," and first touched on the
shores of Hayti. All this time, there had been as much communication as
circumstances would allow, with the aborigines, the Spaniards making
friends wherever they went, as a consequence of the humane and prudent
measures of the admiral. It is true that violence had been done, in a
few instances, by seizing half a dozen individuals in order to carry
them to Spain, as offerings to Dona Isabella; but this act was easily
reconcilable to usage in that age, equally on account of the deference
that was paid to the kingly authority, and on the ground that the
seizures were for the good of the captives' souls.
The adventurers were more delighted with the bold, and yet winning
aspect of Hayti, than they had been with even the adjacent island of
Cuba. The inhabitants were found to be handsomer and more civilized than
any they had yet seen, while they retained the gentleness and docility
that had proved so pleasing to the admiral. Gold, also, was seen among
them in considerable quantities; and the Spaniards set on foot a trade
of some extent, in which the usual incentive of civilized man was the
great aim of one side, and hawk's-bells appear to have been the
principal desideratum with the other.
In this manner, and in making hazardous advances along the coast, the
admiral was occupied until the 20th of the month, when he reached a
point that was said to be in the vicinity of the residence of the Great
Cacique of all that portion of the island. This prince, whose name, as
spelt by the Spaniards, was Guacanagari, had many tributary caciques,
and was understood, from the half-intelligible descriptions of his
subjects, to be a monarch that was much beloved. On the 22d, while still
lying in the Bay of Acul, where the vessels had anchored two days
previously, a large canoe was seen entering the haven. It was shortly
after announced to the admiral that this boat contained an ambassador
from the Great Cacique, who brought presents from his master, with a
request that the vessels would move a league or two further east, and
anchor off the town inhabited by the prince himself. The wind preventing
an immediate compliance, a messenger was despatched with a suitable
answer, and the ambassador returned. Fatigued with idleness, anxious to
see more of the interior, and impelled by a constitutional love of
adventure, Luis, who had struck up a hasty friendship with a young man
called Mattinao, who attended the ambassador, asked permission to
accompany him, taking his passage in the canoe. Columbus gave his
consent to this proposal with a good deal of reluctance, the rank and
importance of our hero inducing him to avoid the consequences of any
treachery or accident. The importunity of Luis finally prevailed,
however, and he departed with many injunctions to be discreet, being
frequently admonished of the censure that would await the admiral in the
event of any thing serious occurring. As a precaution, too, Sancho Mundo
was directed to accompany the young man, in this chivalrous adventure,
in the capacity of an esquire.
No weapon more formidable than a blunt arrow having yet been seen in the
hands of the natives, the young Count de Llera declined taking his mail,
going armed only with a trusty sword, the temper of which had been tried
on many a Moorish corslet and helm, in his foot encounters, and
protected by a light buckler. An arquebuse had been put into his hand,
but he refused it, as a weapon unsuited to knightly hands, and as
betraying a distrust that was not merited by the previous conduct of the
natives. Sancho, however, was less scrupulous, and accepted the weapon.
In order, moreover, to divert the attention of his followers from a
concession that the admiral felt to be a departure from his own rigid
laws, Luis and his companions landed, and entered the canoe at a point
concealed from the vessels, in order that their absence might not be
known. It is owing to these circumstances, as well as to the general
mystery that was thrown about the connection of the young grandee with
the expedition, that the occurrences we are about to relate were never
entered by the admiral in his journal, and have consequently escaped the
prying eyes of the various historians who have subsequently collected so
much from that pregnant document.