Columbus
and Other Heroes of
American Discovery
┌────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ │
│ Transcriber’s Notes │
│ │
│ │
│ Punctuation has been standardized. │
│ │
│ Characters in small caps have been replaced by all caps. │
│ │
│ Non-printable characteristics have been given the following │
│ Italic text: --> _text_ │
│ │
│ This book was written in a period when many words had │
│ not become standardized in their spelling. Words may have │
│ multiple spelling variations or inconsistent hyphenation in │
│ the text. These have been left unchanged unless indicated │
│ with a Transcriber’s Note. │
│ │
│ The alphabetical order of the Index has been corrected, but │
│ references have not been checked for accuracy. │
│ │
│ The symbol ‘‡’ indicates the description in parenthesis has │
│ been added to an illustration. This may be needed if there │
│ is no caption or if the caption does not describe the image │
│ adequately. │
│ │
│ Transcriber’s Notes are used when making corrections to the │
│ text or to provide additional information for the modern │
│ reader. These notes are identified by ♦♠♥♣ symbols in the │
│ text and are shown immediately below the paragraph in which │
│ they appear. │
└────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
Illustration: CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS.
COLUMBUS
AND OTHER HEROES OF
AMERICAN DISCOVERY
BY
N. D’ANVERS
Illustration: (‡ Colophon)
_COPIOUSLY ILLUSTRATED_
GEORGE ROUTLEDGE AND SONS, LIMITED
NEW YORK: 9 LAFAYETTE PLACE
London and Manchester
Copyright, 1885 and 1893,
By JOSEPH L. BLAMIRE.
The Caxton Press
171, 173 Macdougal Street, New York
AUTHOR’S NOTE.
The present volume is intended to give a general idea of the progress
of exploration in the districts now forming Canada and the United
States, with the general advance of the white man westwards. The
chief authorities consulted in the preparation of the “Heroes of the
Exodus to the West” were the reports to their superiors of the early
Jesuit missionaries; George Bancroft’s “History of the United States;”
Bryant’s “Popular History of the United States;” and Bancroft’s
“Native Races of the Pacific.” But reference has also been made to
the original works of all the great travelers in the districts under
notice; while much valuable geographical information has been culled
from the Journals of the learned Societies both of England and America,
and from Réclus’s “Geógraphie Universelle.”
N. D’ANVERS.
HAMPSTEAD, 1884.
Illustration: (‡ Captain on bridge of sailing ship)
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER I.
America known to the Ancients――The Island of Atlantis
――Scandinavian Emigration――Eric the Red and Gunnbiorn
――Bjarni Herjulfson and Leif the Lucky――Discovery of Vinland
――Thorvald and the Skrællings――A terrible Struggle――An heroic
Amazon――Retreat of the Danes――Return of Freydis to Vinland
――Massacre of Colonists by her Orders――Total Disappearance
of Scandinavian Settlement――Madoc of Wales――The Brothers Zeni
――Marco Polo――Early Life of Columbus――The Astrolabe applied to
Navigation――A Hearing at last――Duplicity of John II.――Columbus
in Poverty and Exile――A generous Prior――Hope and Despair
――Isabella is won over――Full Powers granted to Columbus――The
Start from Saltos――Discontent of Sailors――Variation of Compass
――Mutiny――Land Ahead!――Discovery of the West Indian Islands
――Return to Spain――Second and Third Voyages――Death in Poverty
and Disgrace――Amerigo Vespucci――The Cabots――First Landing in
North America――The Cortereals――Breton Fishermen.
CHAPTER II.
The Spanish in the Gulf of Mexico――Vasco Nuñez de Balboa
concealed in a Cask――His Pardon――Shipwreck and Rescue of
Explorers by Balboa――His Discovery of the Pacific――His Murder
by ♠Anias――Expedition of Ponce de Leon――The Discovery of
Florida and Search for the Fountain of Youth――Leon’s Death
from poisoned Arrows――Discovery of the Mouths of the Pacific
by Francis Garay――Lucas Vasquez de Ayllon in Florida――His
Cruelty to the Natives――Their Retaliation――Verrazano on the
Atlantic coast of North America――The Invasion of Florida by
Pamphilo de Narvaez――His Disappointment, Retreat, and Death
――The Captivity and Escape of four of his Followers――The
Expedition of Hernando de Soto――Meeting with Juan Ortiz――His
romantic Story――An Indian burned alive――A native Princess――At
the foot of the Apalachian Mountains――Southward to Mavilla
――Struggle with Indians――Westward ho! and Discovery of the
Mississippi――De Soto in a new Character――His Death and Burial
in the Mississippi――Escape of his Men under his Successor,
Luis ♦Moscoso de Alvarado――Murder of Louis Cancello, the
Missionary――Expedition of De Luna.
♠ ‘Anias’ used throughout, refers to Peter Arias
♦ ‘Muscoso’ replaced with ‘Moscoso’
CHAPTER III.
Verrazano sent out by Francis I.――Discovery of the Hudson
――Jacques Cartier in Canada, and his Discovery of the St.
Lawrence――Touching Scene at Hochelaga――Foundation of Fort
Charles on the Site of Quebec――Kidnapping of Donnacona and
other Natives, and return to Europe――Death of Indian Captives,
and cold Reception at Hochelaga on the Return of Cartier
without them――Break-up of the Colony and Flight of Cartier
――Arrival of ♦Roberval――Sad Fate of his People――Ribault
and the French Refugees on the River of May――Return home of
Ribault――Assassination of Pierria――Escape of Colonists in
a crazy Pinnace――Their Murder of a Comrade for Food――Their
Rescue by an English Vessel――Laudonnière’s Colony on the May
――Mutiny, and Troubles with the Indians――Famine, and Arrival
of Ribault――Disgrace of Laudonnière――Arrival of Menendez
――Massacre of French Huguenots by Spaniards――Escape of a
little Remnant to Anastasia――Second and third Massacres
――Gallant Bearing of Ribault――Foundation of St. Augustine
――Vengeance of De Gourgues on the Spanish――Murder of
Missionaries in Florida――St. Augustine burned by Drake.
♦ ‘Robeval’ replaced with ‘Roberval’
CHAPTER IV.
Sir Humphrey Gilbert’s unsuccessful Voyages, and Death by
Drowning――Sir Walter Raleigh’s Renewal of his Brother’s
Patent――Grenville and others sent out to Virginia by Raleigh
――First Settlement at Roanoake――Its Abandonment by White
――Birth of Virginia Dare――Search for the lost Colony――Death
of Bartholomew Gilbert――Gosnold’s Expedition――Formation of
the Southern and Northern Companies――Failure of the Latter
to gain a Footing in Maine――Arrival in Chesapeake Bay of
Colonists sent out by the Southern Company――Foundation
of Jamestown――Smith’s Visit to the Potomac――His Captivity
among the Indians and Rescue from Death by Pocahontas――Smith
chosen President――The Coronation of Powhatan――A new Charter
obtained――Emigrants shipwreck――Smith wounded, and compelled
to leave Virginia――Subsequent Troubles――Arrival of Sir Thomas
Gates――The Colony reduced to sixty starving Men and Women
――Jamestown abandoned――Arrival of Lord De La Warre――Return to
Jamestown――Marriage and Death of Pocahontas――Gradual Growth of
Virginia――Terrible Massacre of 1622, and the Results of that
Massacre――Arrival of Lord Baltimore in Jamestown――First
Settlement of Maryland――Father White.
CHAPTER V.
The French in Maine, and their Settlement at Port Royal――Jesuit
Missionaries at Grand Manan――Destruction of French Colonies
by Argall――John Smith and Thomas Hunt on the Coasts of Maine
――Vines on the Saco River, and Dermer on Long Island――Early
History of the Pilgrim Fathers――Arrival of the _Mayflower_ off
Cape Cod――Preliminary Exploration by Miles Standish――Discovery
of Plymouth Harbor, and first Landing on Plymouth Rock――An
Indian Visitor――Arrival of fresh Emigrants――Complications with
them and with the Indians――An Indian Chief saved by Englishmen
――Indian Plot revealed――Ringleaders slain by Standish――Puritan
Refugees at Cape Ann――Standish sent out against them――Peace
made by Conant――Conant’s Settlement at Salem――The Dorchester
Company――Endicott sent out by it to Massachusetts――Arrival of
Winthrop with 800 Emigrants――Foundation of Boston and other
Towns――Roger Williams expelled from Salem――His Settlement in
Rhode Island, and Foundation of Providence――Visit of Indian
Chief from Connecticut to Boston――Emigration to Connecticut
――John Winthrop appointed Governor――Tearing down of Dutch
Arms, and Foundation of Saybrook Fort――Hooker’s Emigration
to Connecticut, and Foundation of Bradford――Troubles ahead
――Discovery of the Hudson――Fight with Indians――Discovery of
Hudson’s Bay and Death of Hudson――Foundation of New Netherland
Company――Dutch Explorations in Delaware, etc.――West India
Company founded――Settlement of Walloons at Albany――Foundation
of New York――The Swedes on the Delaware――Disputes between them
and the Dutch, and between the Dutch and the English.
CHAPTER VI.
Champlain in Maine――Foundation of Quebec――Discovery of Lakes
Peter and Champlain――Foundation of Montreal――First Navigation
of the Ottawa――Discovery of Lakes Huron and Nipissing――An
Iroquois Execution――Canada taken by the English, and restored
to the French――Death of Champlain――Fathers Brébœuf and Daniel
on Lake Huron――Raymbault and Pigart on Lake Nipissing――Jogues
among the Iroquois――His Murder――Capture, Conversion, and
Execution of one of his Murderers――Terrible Iroquois War
――Father Dreuillette among the Sioux――His Death in the Forest
――Allouez on Lake Superior――Rumors of a great River on the
West――Marquette discovers the Mississippi――Descent of the
River in native Canoes――Arrival in Arkansas――Saved by the
Pipe of Peace――Up the Mississippi to the Illinois――Across
North-eastern Illinois――Death of Marquette on the shores
of Lake Michigan――Expedition of La Salle――Loss of the
_Griffin_――Building of a new Vessel――Discovery of Lake Peoria
――Down the Mississippi to the Sea――Second Expedition of
La Salle――Fruitless Search for the Mouth of the Mississippi
――Wanderings in Texas and New Mexico――Despair――Attempt to walk
back to Canada――Murder in the Jungle――Murder of the Murderers
――The _Coureurs de bois_ in the North-west――Baron La Hontan’s
Trip down the Mississippi――Rumors of the Sea on the West
――Journey of Father Charlevoix.
CHAPTER VII.
Expedition of Diego de Hurtado――Ulloa’s Trip up the Gulf of
California――Da Nizza in Arizona――The Cities of the Plain
――Murder of Dorantes and his Companions――Da Nizza visits
Cibola in Disguise――Expedition of Alarchon and Coronado
――Discovery of the Mouth of the Colorado――Cibola taken by
Coronado――Discovery of the Town of Quivira――Discovery of
Cape Mendocino by Cabrillo――Viscaino’s Trip up the North-west
Coast――Numerous Deaths from Scurvy――Discovery of the Mouth of
the Columbia――Death of Viscaino――Expedition of Juan de Fuca
――Supposed Discovery of Queen Charlotte’s Sound――De Fonte
and Barnardo in the North-western Archipelago――Father Kino
among the Picture-Writers and Sun Worshipers――Discovery of
the Mimbres――Establishment of a Mission on the Gila――Descent
of the Apaches on the Settlements of the Whites――Expulsion
of the Jesuits, and Murder of Natives――Pearl-fishers on the
Californian Coast――The Jesuits expelled from Lower California
――Exodus of Jesuits from Lower to Northern California――First
Colony founded at San Diego――Discovery of the Bay of San
Francisco――Decline of the Power of the Jesuits, and their
gradual Withdrawal from California.
CHAPTER VIII.
Murder of Captains Stone and Oldham――Massacre on Block Island
――Intervention of Roger Williams――The Last Stand of the
Pequods――Emigration of Eaton and Davenport to Connecticut
――Foundation of New Haven――First Settlement of Refugees in
Carolina――Their Lands given to eight Noblemen――Arrival of
Cavaliers and Planters――Misery of the Colonists――Relief at
last――Oglethorpe’s first Settlement in Georgia――His Meeting
with the Indian Chiefs――Pennsylvania granted to Penn――His
Reception in Delaware――His Voyage up the River――Treaty with
the Indians――Foundation of Philadelphia――Rapid Growth of
Pennsylvania――Foundation of Harrisburg――The French and Indian
War――Foundation of Pittsburg――The War of Independence――Freedom
won for the Thirteen Original States of the Union――Declaration
of Independence on the 4th July, 1776.
CHAPTER IX.
D’Iberville’s Arrival at the Mouth of the Mississippi
――Foundation of the first French Fort on the Bay of Biloxi
――English Expedition to the Mississippi――The Mississippi
Scheme――Foundation of New Orleans――Bursting of the Bubble
――Louisiana ceded to England――Boone’s first Trip to Kentucky
――Taken Prisoner by the Indians――Escape――Meeting with his
Brother――Murder of Squire Boone’s Servant――A White Man’s
Skeleton found in the Woods――Hunters on the Ohio and in
Tennessee――First Settlers start for Kentucky――An Indian Ambush
――Retreat――Boone in Despair――Fresh Hope――Boone’s Third Trip
at the Head of a Surveying Party――Purchase of Lands from the
Cherokees――Foundation of Boonesborough――Influx of Emigrants
across the Alleghanies――First Settlement of Tennessee, Ohio,
Illinois, and the South of Michigan――The English supplant the
French in Louisiana――Restriction of the Name of Louisiana to
a small Tract――First English Settlements in Mississippi and
Alabama――Acquisition of Florida――First Spanish and English
Settlements in Texas――Acquisition of California, Arizona, and
New Mexico――Gradual Retreat of the Red Men before the White
Settlers.
CHAPTER X.
The new-born Republic――Pike’s Embarkation on the Mississippi at
Fort Louis――Sledge Journey along the Banks of the Mississippi
――A Chippeway Encampment――A Native Pictorial Record――A Member
of the North-west Company――On Snow-shoes to Leech and Red
Cedar Lakes――A Council of Chippeway Warriors――Back to St.
Louis――New Expedition organized――The Osage Captives――Along
the Arkansas――Arrival at the Head-waters of the Mississippi
――Search for the Red River of the South――The Rio del Norte
mistaken for it――The Explorers taken Prisoners by the
Spaniards――Journey across Texas to Natchitoches――Lewis and
Clarke embark on the Missouri at St. Louis――The Mouth of
the Platte, or Nebraska――Among the Sioux――Difficulty with
Indians at the Great Bend――The Mouth of the Yellowstone River
――Encounters with White and Brown Bears――The two Forks of the
Missouri――Long Hesitation as to which to follow――Lewis solves
the Problem by the Discovery of the Great Falls――Terrible
Storm, and Narrow Escape of Clarke――The Gates of the Rocky
Mountains――Across the Mountains and Discovery of the Source
of the Missouri――Search for Shoshones――Three Indian Women
surprised――In the Shoshone Camp――Vain Attempt to reach the
Source of the Columbia――On the Summit of the Rocky Mountain
Range――Down the Pacific Slope to the lower Course of the
Columbia――Construction of Canoes――Down the Columbia to the
Great Falls――Successful Navigation of them――In the Great
Narrows――The Sea at last――Winter among the Flatheads――Home
again.
CHAPTER XI.
Discovery of Behring Straits――Cook and Meares――Rescue from
Starvation――Encounter with Natives――Vancouver on the Western
Coast――Gray’s supposed Discovery of the Columbia――Coxe’s
Survey of Hudson’s Bay――James in Distress in Hudson’s Bay
――Foundation of the Hudson’s Bay Company――Discovery of
Rupert’s River――Disputes with the French――Knight’s Voyage
and his terrible Fate――Discovery of Relics of Knight and his
Comrades――Moore and Smith in Hudson’s Bay――Cession of Canada
to England, and its Results――Heroes of the Transition Time
――Hearne’s Discovery of Athabasca Lake and the Coppermine
River――Massacre of Esquimaux――Discovery of the Arctic Ocean
――Result to Geographical Science of that Discovery――Hearne’s
Return to Hudson’s Bay――The Indian Exile wrestled for
――Enthusiasm of the Company――The Rise of the North-west
Company――Mackenzie’s Journey to the Slave Lake, and Discovery
of the Slave, Athabasca, or Mackenzie River――His Voyage to
Great Bear Lake――Return to Fort ♦Chipewyan――Journey across
Country to the North Pacific――The Work of all Explorers united
by his last Trip.
♦ ‘Chippewyan’ replaced with ‘Chipewyan’
CHAPTER XII.
The Pacific Fur Company――Voyage of the _Tonquin_――Foundation
of Astoria――Massacre on the _Tonquin_――Terrible Revenge――The
great Small-pox Chief――Start of the Land Expedition――An
Ambush――Unexpected Rescue――Treachery of an Interpreter――Among
the Crow Indians――The Black Mountains――The invisible Lords
of the Mountain――Arrival on the Banks of the Mad River
――Across Country to the Henry River――Construction of Canoes
――Embarkation on the Henry――A Canadian drowned――The Lion
Caldron――Across Country again――Among the Akai-chies――News
of the Astorians――Threatened Attack of the Natives――Arrival
on the Banks of the Columbia――Along the River to Indian
Encampment――News of Tragedy on the _Tonquin_――Down the
Columbia to Astoria.
CHAPTER XIII.
Cass’s Voyage up the Mississippi――Long and James on the Platte,
or Nebraska――Discovery of the two Sources of the Platte――Among
the Mountain Passes――Eating of poisonous Berries――Meeting with
a Bear――Ascent of Pike’s Peak――Search for Head-waters of the
Arkansas――The Canadian taken for the Arkansas, and followed
to its Junction with the latter River――Start of new Expedition
from the Ohio――Cannibalism among the Natives――The Apostle of
the Indians――Across the Prairies to Lake Michigan――Through
Illinois to the Mississippi――Up the Mississippi to the
Minnesota――The Head-waters of the Minnesota――The primal Home
of the Red River of the North, the St. Lawrence, etc.――Up
the Red River to Lake Winnipeg――From Lake Winnipeg to the
Lake of the Woods, and thence across Country to Lake Superior
――Schoolcraft’s Ascent of the Mississippi, and Discovery of
its actual Source.
CHAPTER XIV.
Wilkes’ Survey of the Western Coast――Fremont’s Ascent of the
Kansas――Encounter with Arapaho Warriors――Arrival at Fort
Laramie――A threatening Letter――Fremont’s Reply――On the Sweet
Water River――Discovery of Mountain Lake and Fremont’s Peak――A
winged Messenger――Back to Fort Laramie――To the Rocky Mountains
again――On the Banks of the Bear River――Discovery of the Great
Salt Lake――Embarkation on the Lake――Sudden Change in the
Character of its Waters――From the Salt Lake through the Great
Basin to Fort Hall and thence to the Columbia River――Attempt
to return Home by a New Route――Lost in the Wilderness
――Discovery of Lake Tlamath――Search for an Opening in the
Mountains――Discovery of Pyramid Lake――Meeting with Snake
Indians――Hunger――Salmon discovered in a River flowing into
the Lake――News of White Men on the South――All Hope of reaching
United States abandoned――Fremont resolves to cross the Sierra
Nevada――First Peak scaled――Meeting with Indians――A Gap in
the Mountains discovered at last――Ascent of the Californian
Mountain――Opening a Path through the Snow――A terrible
Prophecy――Flight of Guide――First Sight of Seaboard Range of
Mountains――Intense Excitement――Down the Eastern Slopes of the
Californian Mountain to the Banks of the Sacramento――Arrival
at Sutter’s Fort――Back to St. Louis by way of the South Pass
――Fremont’s third and last Journey.
CHAPTER XV.
Early History of the Mormons――Murder of Smith――Expulsion
from Illinois――Across the frozen Mississippi――Through the
Wilderness――Summons to the War――Young Men sent to the Aid
of the Republic――Arrival on the Shores of the Great Salt
Lake――Building of Salt Lake City――Expedition of Stansbury
――California ceded to the States――Discovery of Gold near
Sutter’s Fort――World-wide Excitement――Rush of 30,000 Emigrants
Westward――Terror of Indians at Approach of the White Men
――Sufferings in the Mountains――Jealousy of Settlers――Prairies
set on Fire――Survivors of the 30,000 rescued by White Men from
California.
CHAPTER XVI.
Cozens’ Start from Merilla――First Encounter with Apaches,
and Murder of Laws――A Bear Hunt――To the Ruins of Le Gran
♦Quivera――Two Mules stolen――Back again to Merilla――Cozens
and Cochise, an Apache Chief――Cochise offers to act as Guide
to the Encampment of his Warriors――The great Mirage known as
Greenhorn’s Lake――A Chaos of Rocks and Precipices――Following
an Indian Trail――Down the Ravine to the Apache Valley――First
Sight of Apache Village with Huts built on truncated Mounds
――Excitement among the Apaches――Cochise explains Cozens’
Presence――Eager Welcome――Arrival of Magnus Colorado, the great
Scalper――Trying Interview between Magnus and Cozens――Eternal
Friendship sworn――A blood-stained Baby’s Frock――Scalp Dance
and its attendant Horrors――Back again to Mexico――Second and
third Trips to the North――With Jim Davis the Emigrant’s Friend,
to the Navajoe Country――Ascent of the Sierra Madre――Encounter
with a Panther――In the Zuni Valley among the blue-eyed Indians
――Ruins of Zuni――Encounter with Navajoes――Jim Davis’s Story
――Re-capture of stolen Cattle――A fall of Three Hundred Feet
――Marvelous Preservation of Cozens――Nursed by the Zunis
――Murder of Stewart’s Family by Apaches――Escape of Stewart to
Zuni――His Death of a broken Heart――Return of Cozens to Mexico.
♦ ‘Quivara’ replaced with ‘Quivera’
CHAPTER XVII.
Crisis in British America――Consolidation of its various Parts
into one great Colony――Decay of the Hudson’s Bay Company
――Establishment of an International Boundary Line――Journey of
Palliser――Admission of British Columbia to the Dominion, and
Conditions of that Admission――Surveys for Railway――Fleming’s
Expeditions――Dispute between the British Government and the
United States――Joint-Commission sent out to determine the
Boundary Line――Results obtained by it.
HEROES OF AMERICAN DISCOVERY.
CHAPTER I.
COLUMBUS, HIS PREDECESSORS AND HIS IMMEDIATE SUCCESSORS.
Illustration: (‡ Old sailing ship)
ALTHOUGH the discovery of America used to be dated from the voyage of
Columbus to the West Indies in 1492, there can be little doubt that
this great hero was by no means the first explorer of our era to visit
the New World. The existence of land to the west of the Pillars of
Hercules was even known to the ancients. Frequent mention is made
by Greek and Roman authors of islands on the West, especially of the
fair Atlantis, concerning which Plato gives many details, declaring
it to have been of vast extent and great beauty, but to have been
swallowed up by the sea in pre-historic times. Some modern authors
are of opinion that the Canaries are the only existing remains of
this Atlantis; others that the so-called island was in reality the
mainland of America. Leaving this question to those now studying it
with the aid of the recent discoveries in the New World, we pass on
to find trustworthy accounts in the old sagas――of which the principal,
recently discovered in an Icelandic monastery, are preserved in
the Royal Library at Copenhagen――of the presence of Danish settlers
in Greenland as early as 982 A.D. These were led thither by the
great Eric the Red, who is supposed, however, merely to have acted
on information left behind by an early settler of Iceland, named
Gunnbiorn, a century before. Gunnbiorn was the true discoverer
of Greenland, which he had sighted――though not visited――naming it
Hvidsaerk, or the “White Shirt,” because of the perpetual covering
of snow worn by its highlands.
Illustration: THE GLACIERS OF GREENLAND.
In a voyage from Iceland to Greenland, four years after the visit of
Eric the Red to the latter country, a Danish navigator named Bjarni
Herjulfson was driven far out of his course to the South, and saw land
stretching away on the West; but he returned home without making any
exploration of the new territories, for which, says tradition, “he
was greatly blamed.” His reports, however, of what he had seen, led
to the fitting out and heading of a far more important expedition by
Leif the Lucky, who, making direct for the most southerly point gained
by his predecessors, reached the modern Newfoundland, which he called
Helluland, and, landing, found it to be “a country without grass, and
covered with snow and ice.”
From Helluland, Leif sailed to the present Nova Scotia, which he named
“Markland,” or woodland, because of its extensive forests; and thence
he is said to have been driven by a contrary wind on to the coast of
New England, but on what part of that coast there is no evidence to
show, although it is generally agreed to have been in about N. lat.
41° 24′, a little to the north of Rhode Island. Excursions inland
revealed the newly-discovered district to be rich in vines and timber;
and loading his vessel with grapes and wood, Leif made haste to return
home with his trophies, giving such glowing accounts of his adventures
on his arrival, that a short time later his brother Thorvald started
with a crew of thirty men for the land of promise.
Thorvald is supposed on this trip to have coasted along the shores of
Connecticut, Rhode Island, and Long Island, and in the ensuing year,
1004, to have sailed as far north as Cape Cod (N. lat. 42° 5′, W. long.
70° 10′), where he was wrecked in a violent storm. His vessel was not,
however, materially damaged, and having repaired it, he coasted along
the present Massachusetts till he came to what is now the harbor of
Boston. There he landed, and wandering to and fro in the beautiful
scenery with his men, he for the first time came upon some natives,
probably Esquimaux, who were resting peaceably beneath their quaint
skin-boats.
With the cruelty characteristic of the wild sea-kings of the North,
Thorvald at once gave the signal for attack. The poor Skrællings, as
he dubbed the natives, were quickly overpowered. One only escaped, and
the others were foully murdered. No wonder that this was the beginning
of the end of Thorvald’s enterprise. That very night, as he and his
followers were sleeping peacefully, untroubled by any remorse for their
evil deeds, they were roused by the war-whoop of the Skrællings, come
at the bidding of the one survivor to avenge his comrades.
The white men took refuge in their ship, and all escaped unhurt except
Thorvald himself, who received a wound in the side, from which he
shortly afterward died. He was buried within sight of the Atlantic, on
what is now Massachusetts Bay, and his sorrowing followers returned home
with the terrible tidings in the ensuing spring.
Undaunted by the fate of his brother, another son of Eric, Thorstein
by name, set out for Vinland in 1005, but he failed to find it, and
returned home, stricken with mortal sickness, in the same year. On
his deathbed, however, he prophesied that his widow, Gudrid, would
marry again, and hinted that a great career of discovery and conquest
was before her future children. He was right in the first part at
least of his speech, for two years later we find Gudrid, as the wife
of a sturdy Icelander named Karlsefne, forming part of the largest
expedition yet sent out from Greenland to Vinland――an expedition
consisting of no less than three ships, and one hundred and forty men
and women.
That an important colony was founded by the new adventurers there
appears no reason to doubt, although it is impossible to fix its exact
locality. Booths were erected, stores were laid in for the winter, and
amicable relations were opened with the Skrællings, who came in great
numbers, first to stare at the intruders, and then to trade with them,
exchanging valuable furs for red cloth, etc.
A slight and almost ludicrous incident was the first thing to break up
what had appeared to be the beginning of a long course of successful
colonization. A bull belonging to one of the leaders of the expedition
rushed suddenly among the buyers and sellers, so terrifying the
natives, who had never before seen an animal of that description, that
they fled to their kayaks, or skin-boats, in the greatest confusion,
returning some weeks later in greatly increased numbers, and armed
with bows and arrows, to revenge themselves for what they took to be
an intentional insult.
Fierce indeed was the struggle in which they were now involved, and,
overwhelmed by superior numbers, the colonists seemed likely to be
exterminated, when the tide was turned by the courage of Freydis, a
daughter of Eric the Red, who, imbued with the brave spirit of her
father, suddenly faced the savages, and brandishing a sword which she
had taken from a dead warrior of her own race, she invited the enemy
to come and slay her if they would, even tearing open her dress to
make clear her meaning.
The Skrællings, perhaps taking these strange gestures for the signs
of superhuman agency, gazed for a moment in awe-struck silence at the
lonely figure standing thus unprotected among the slain, and then,
with cries as wild and weird in the ears of the Northmen as those of
their champions to the natives, they one and all turned and fled.
The terrible slaughter among their men had, however, so disgusted the
leaders of the colony, that they soon afterwards returned to Greenland;
and, but for the ambition of Freydis, the history of the Scandinavian
colonies in North America would have ended then and there. Unable
to forget her triumph, and eager for yet further distinction, this
remarkable woman did not rest until she had organized a new expedition,
which, under the leadership of two brothers named Helgi and Finnbogi,
set sail in 1011, and, landing in Vinland without molestation from the
natives, took possession of the booths erected by their predecessors.
All seemed likely to go well, when the overbearing conduct of Freydis,
who was not one to shine in the peaceful work of colonization, led to
dissensions among the explorers. By a crafty artifice she managed to
pick a quarrel with the two brothers, and, with the co-operation of
her husband, Thorvard――who, though naturally a mild and inoffensive
man, appears to have been entirely under the control of his
stronger-minded wife――she succeeded in effecting their massacre,
and that of all who were inimical to her supremacy. The survivors,
terror-struck by the fate of their companions, yielded without a
struggle to the rule of Freydis, who, first binding them all by an
oath never to tell of her conduct at home, set them at work to cut
timber and collect the curiosities and valuables of the country. Then,
when she had acquired enough to insure her wealth for the remainder
of her life, she embarked for Greenland with the little remnant of the
original party. The Icelandic sagas, already referred to, tell how the
iniquity of Freydis gradually leaked out, and how, though she herself
escaped unpunished, her sins were visited upon her children.
With her return home the attempts at American colonization by the
Northmen appear to have ceased, but tradition tells of many a trip
by contemporary adventurers of other nationalities; for, between the
fitful excursions from Greenland――which, as we have seen, left no
real or permanent impress on the people or districts visited――and the
well-organized expedition of modern times, we hear of Arab sailors
of the 12th century having sighted land in the unknown Western Ocean,
graphically called, from its real and imaginary horrors, the Sea of
Darkness; and of a voyage made in 1170 by Madoc, son of the Prince of
North Wales, who, after sailing for many weeks away from his native
land, came to a country, supposed to have been the modern Virginia,
differing in every respect from any European land.
Certain travelers of the 17th century tell of white men speaking the
Welsh tongue having been met with among the Indians far away in the
West, lending some slight semblance of veracity to the tradition that
a colony was indeed founded by the Welsh; but in the absence of all
confirmatory documents, we are compelled to reserve judgment on the
subject, passing on to the better authenticated story of the voyage
of the brothers Zeni of Venice, who, between 1388 and 1404, are
said to have visited Greenland and Nova Scotia, and to have long
resided as the guest of its king in an island called Frisland, the
position――indeed the very existence――of which has never been fully
proved, although some authorities are of opinion that it was really
only one of the Faroe Islands. However that maybe, many legends were
long current in Venice of the intercourse with the unknown Frisland
and islands further west, one of which, called Estotiland, is supposed
to have been Newfoundland. Hints, too, are scattered up and down old
chronicles, of wandering fishermen sailing southward from Estotiland
having come to a country answering in the descriptions given of it to
Mexico; the Chinese, Malays, and Polynesians are said to have reached
the American coasts; and, to conclude our summary of lore relating
to the oldest of the continents, Picigano’s map, which is dated 1367,
gives indications of a western continent named Antilles, and a yet
older map shows an island where Newfoundland ought to be.
Whether America was or was not visited from Europe or from Asia before
the time of Columbus, however, the barbarism in which European society
was sunk in medieval times prevented any recognition of the true
significance of the details of adventures given by returned mariners;
and their voyages thus fail to form any real link between the America
of the middle ages and that of the present day. If, therefore, we
would point out the true precursor of the first hero of discovery in
the West, we shall find him, not in the wild Northmen bent on pillage
and bloodshed, nor in the brothers Zeni of legend and romance, but in
that grand central figure of the scientific annals of the 13th century,
Marco Polo, whose book, revealing the existence of vast empires in the
East, did much to stimulate the enthusiasm, not only of Columbus, but
also of Bartholomew Diaz, Vasco da Gama, and other early heroes of
travel, thus indirectly leading to the discovery alike of the Cape of
Good Hope and of America.
Although Columbus never set foot on the Northern half of the American
continent, with which alone we have, strictly speaking, now to do,
no record of travel in any part of the New World would appear to us
complete without some account of his first voyage, and of what led
to that voyage. For there can be no doubt that, but for the noble
steadfastness of purpose which resulted in the achievement of one
discovery while its author was bent on another, the revelation of the
existence of a quarter of the globe larger than Europe and Asia put
together, and which was destined to be the scene of much of the most
stirring history of modern times, would have been indefinitely
postponed.
Illustration: CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS.
Of the early life of Christopher Columbus little is known with any
certainty. He is supposed, however, to have been born about 1435,
and, as the son of a poor wool-comber of Genoa, to have enjoyed few
educational advantages, although, fortunately for him, what little
teaching he received seems to have tended to foster his peculiar
genius. According to his own account, preserved in the _Historia del
Amirante_, he began his maritime career at fourteen, after a brief
sojourn at the University of Pavia, enduring great hardships as a
sailor employed in the half-commercial, half-nautical cruises of the
roving ships which, in the latter part of the 15th century, haunted
the Mediterranean and the coasts beyond the Straits of Gibraltar.
In 1459 we hear of a certain “handy sea-captain” named Colombo taking
part as a private adventurer in an expedition sent out by John of
Genoa against Naples; and in 1470 we find the same sea-captain――now
in the prime of life――settling in Lisbon, and by his marriage with the
daughter of Palestrello, the discoverer of Porto Santo, coming into
possession of many valuable charts and journals, the study of which
is said to have first suggested to him the existence of land to the
westward, which land, however, he from first to last erroneously
supposed to be, not a new continent, but a continuation of the eastern
shores of Asia.
Whether our hero drew his inspiration from one author or another,
or, as appears more likely, was led up to the conception of his great
design by the spirit of the age in which he lived, affects but little
the historical fact that it was about 1474, when the enlightened
efforts of Prince Henry of Portugal had ushered in a new era of
geographical research, that Columbus first enunciated his belief that
there was land in the western part of the ocean; that it could be
reached; that it was fertile; and, lastly, that it was inhabited――a
belief which was shortly afterward converted into a design for seeking
a _western_ route to India, although eighteen long years elapsed
before the first step was taken in the realization of a scheme so
totally opposed to all the preconceived notions of cosmographers.
In voyage after voyage made by Columbus in the succeeding years to
the Azores, the Canaries, and the coasts of Guinea, then the limits
of navigation to the westward, the future discoverer became more and
more fully convinced that, with the necessary time and means at his
disposal, he might convert his dream into a waking reality; but, alas!
all his attempts to obtain a hearing for his scheme from those who
were in a position to forward it were met by scorn and ridicule.
The first ray of hope to break upon the despair of Columbus at this
ill-success was the invention――or, to be more strictly accurate,
the application to navigation――of the astrolabe, the precursor of
the modern quadrant, by Martin Behaim, and by Roderigo and Joseph,
physicians in the employ of John II. of Portugal. Armed with it and
the mariner’s compass, as defensive weapons, the nautical explorer
needed no longer to fear trusting himself on the trackless paths of
the ocean; and, Columbus, full of new hope, asked for and obtained
an interview with John II. in 1482 or 1483. We can imagine with
what eagerness our hero pleaded his cause, and with what patience
he explained every detail of his scheme, winning at last a consent,
though but a reluctant one, that his proposition should be referred
to a “learned junto, charged with all matters relating to maritime
discovery,” to which title we may add the saving clause, “of which
they were cognizant;” for the minds of king and council alike were set,
not on the pushing of discovery westwards, but on further efforts to
find a new route to India on the East, and to ascertain the locality
of the empire of the fabulous monarch, Prester John.
The council to whose judgment the scheme of Columbus was submitted
consisted of the Roderigo and Joseph already mentioned, and of
the king’s confessor, Diego Ortiz de Cazadilla, Bishop of Ceuta,
who condemned it without hesitation. The king, however, feeling
perhaps not altogether convinced by the arguments adduced against it,
privately sent out a vessel to test the route mapped out by Columbus,
obtaining no result except that of driving the greatest man of the age
away from his court, disgusted with the duplicity which, while openly
discrediting their author, could thus seek to use his plans.
Illustration: COLUMBUS BEFORE THE COUNCIL.
The ignorant pilots commissioned to work out the route conceived
by the master-mind of the great mariner, returned to Lisbon without
venturing beyond the beaten track; and in the ensuing year Columbus
secretly left Lisbon, taking with him his young son Diego. We all
know the story of his scornful reception at the court of Genoa, and
of his arrival, after long wanderings to and fro, footsore, hungry
and disheartened, at the gate of La Rabida, a Franciscan convent in
Andalusia, to beg a little bread and water for his starving child.
This simple and pathetic request formed the turning-point of
Columbus’s career. The prior of the convent, Don Juan Perez de
Marchina, whose name deserves to be immortalized in every record of
the discovery of the New World, was passing at the moment; and, struck
by the manly and dignified bearing of the “beggar,” he approached, and
asked whence he came and whither he was going.
Illustration: COLUMBUS AT A CONVENT DOOR.
Columbus, now used to rebuffs, was touched by the kindly interest
shown in his forlorn condition, and soon told the whole story of his
woes, his dreams of geographical discovery, his conviction that they
would some day be realized, if not by himself, and so forth.
The prior, surprised at a reply of so unusual a character from a
wayfarer in circumstances so reduced, invited Columbus to be his guest;
and, anxious to obtain confirmation for his belief in the genius of
his visitor, he sent for his friend, Garcia Fernandez, to whom we are
indebted for our knowledge of the circumstances of this portion of our
story.
Fernandez, having listened to all that Columbus had to say, was as
completely won over as Marchina had been; and, after many conferences
at the convent, our hero, no longer in rags, started for the Spanish
court, armed with strong letters of recommendation to the then
reigning Ferdinand and Isabella. This was in 1486, when the war with
the Moors was absorbing alike the energies and the resources of the
kingdom; and it is not much wonder that Columbus could at first obtain
no encouragement for the prosecution of a scheme of maritime discovery.
He was kindly received, however, and in the repeated absences of the
sovereigns, who headed their armies in person, he won the ear first
of one and then of another influential dignitary of the court, and in
1491, five long years after his first arrival, he obtained a promise
from Ferdinand, that, as soon as the war was over, he and his queen
“would have time and inclination to treat with him about what he had
offered.”
A chilling message truly to one who had wasted the best years of
his life “about what he had offered;” and Columbus, more truly
disheartened by it than by the absolute silence of the sender, went
back to his old friend at the convent of La Rabida, resolved to sever
finally his connection with Spain. It is of this sad period of his
history that the Laureate represents him as saying, long afterwards――
“No guess-work! I was certain of my goal;
Some thought it heresy, but that would not hold.
King David called the heavens a hide, a tent
Spread over earth, and so this earth was flat;
Some cited old Lactantius; could it be
That trees grew downward, rain fell upward, men
Walked like the fly on ceilings? and, besides,
The great Augustine wrote that none could breathe
Within the zone of heat; so might there be
Two Adams, two mankinds, and that was clean
Against God’s word: thus was I beaten back,
And chiefly to my sorrow by the Church,
And thought to turn my face from Spain, appeal
Once more to France or England.”
But once more Perez and Fernandez cheered his drooping spirits. They
would not hear of his deserting their country; yet another effort
should be made to secure to it the glory of sending out the great
hero of the age on what they were convinced would be a brilliant and
successful enterprise.
With a skill which came of a full heart and a mind not easily to be
turned from its purpose, the aged monk pressed his plea, urging the
soured Columbus to give Spain another chance; and, observing that
his eyes were turning toward France, whose king had sent him a most
cordial letter, the Father Guardian did not fail to remind him how
that fickle country had forsaken, in the hour of direst need, one of
the most daring and noble of her children, Joan of Arc.
Illustration: PEREZ ON HIS WAY TO SANTA FÉ.
Such arguments slowly made way――the more surely, that the Father
quoted several proofs that men of influence were beginning to interest
themselves in the undertaking of Columbus. The explorer, therefore,
at last consented to wait the issue of a letter which was now sent
by Don Perez to the Spanish court, addressed, not to the King, but
to the Queen. The answer, which speedily arrived, was cheering beyond
all expectation; and, as it contained an invitation to the writer of
the epistle to visit her, the old Prior of the convent of La Rabida at
once saddled his mule, and, strong in the faith of his mission, passed
fearlessly through the country inhabited by the Moors, whence he soon
reached Santa Fé, where Ferdinand and Isabella were.
Perez lost no time in presenting himself to the Queen, and the result
of the interview was fitly expressed in the message, full of holy
thankfulness, which he sent to Columbus the same day――“I came, I
saw, God conquered.” The Queen graciously expressed her wish to see
the hero himself, and she gave orders that he should be provided
with funds sufficient to pay the expenses attendant upon his journey,
and upon his appearing before her. In 1492, the would-be discoverer
arrived at Grenada, and presented himself at court, being just in time
to find himself a witness of the final overthrow of the Moorish power,
and the humiliation of Boabdil, the last of the Moorish kings.
Silent and reserved among the rejoicing and shouting multitudes,
sympathizing perhaps more keenly with the broken-hearted Boabdil than
with his conquerors, Columbus still bided his time; and so soon as
the excitement of victory had a little subsided, he was admitted to an
audience with the sovereigns. It was now decided that Columbus should
put his scheme to a practical test; but fresh difficulties arose in
consequence of the “princely conditions” to which alone the humble
and poorly-clad adventurer would agree. Not content with the tardy
recognition given to the grandeur of his enterprise, he demanded that
he should be “invested with the titles and privileges of Admiral and
Viceroy over the countries he should discover, with one-tenth of all
gains, either by trade or conquest.”
Once more the fate of the New World, which had been, so to speak,
unconsciously waiting all this time for the arrival of its discoverer,
hung in the balance. Courtiers clamored at the insolence of the sorry
fellow who wished to be set above their illustrious heads; and the
King looked coldly on, unwilling to break his word, yet anxious to
get the matter settled or dropped, that he might give the attention
so sorely needed to his kingdom, drained as were its resources by the
long wars.
Illustration: ISABELLA.
But now Isabella, true to the renown she had won by a long course of
noble and disinterested conduct, seemed to have been suddenly inspired
with a belief in the great mission of Columbus. That hero had again
determined to leave Spain, and, as the story goes, was already on the
way to Cordova, whence he intended embarking for France, when, at a
meeting of the junto discussing the scheme, the Queen exclaimed――“_I_
undertake the enterprise for my own crown of Castile, and will pledge
my jewels to raise the necessary funds.”
Illustration: EMBARKATION OF COLUMBUS.
Columbus was at once recalled; and though the pledging of the Queen’s
jewels was not found necessary, she aided him now with all the
energy and enthusiasm of her character. On the 17th April, 1492, the
stipulations granting full powers to Columbus, and conferring on him
and his heirs the honors he had demanded, were signed at the city of
Santa Fé, in the plain of Grenada: and on the 3rd August of the same
year, eighteen years after he first conceived the idea of the voyage,
our hero――all preliminary difficulties over――at last set sail from
the bar of Saltos, near Palos (N. lat. 37° 11′, W. long. 6° 47′),
in command of three vessels――the _Santa Maria_, the _Pinta_, and the
_Niña_, only one of which, the first, and that on which the Admiral
himself embarked, was decked. He was leader of one hundred and twenty
men; but the motley character of his crews, enlisted on compulsion,
and thoroughly imbued with all the superstitions of the age with
regard to the perils of the deep, caused Columbus much embarrassment
from the very first, and he was detained for three weeks at the
Canaries by an “accident”――supposed to have been purposely brought
about――to the rudder of the _Pinta_. It was not until the 6th
September that the actual voyage of discovery can be said to have
commenced. Setting sail that day from the island of Gomera he passed
Ferro, the last of the Canaries, on the 9th.
As the last traces of land faded from the sight of the untutored
mariners, their hearts failed them, and with tears and groans they
entreated their leader to turn back while there was yet time. The
passing of a portion of a wreck on the 11th still further aroused
their fears, and it was all that Columbus could do to induce them
to obey his orders.
On the 13th September a slight but deeply significant incident
occurred. Columbus, watching with eager interest the little
compass――which, surrounded as he was by timid, vacillating
spirits, must have seemed to him his one steadfast, unchangeable
friend――noticed a variation in the needle. To quote the words of
Washington Irving, “he perceived about nightfall that the needle,
instead of pointing to the north star, varied about half a point, or
between five and six degrees, to the north-west, and still more on
the following morning.”
Knowing how greatly this phenomenon would alarm his people, Columbus
at first kept it to himself; but it was soon remarked by the pilots,
and their report sent a fresh thrill of horror through the crews. They
were entering a new world, where the very laws of nature were changing,
and in which even inanimate objects were subject to weird, unearthly
influences.
Calm amid the ever-increasing excitement, Columbus, with greater
ingenuity than penetration, explained away the strange deviation――the
cause of which has not yet been determined, though many great
authorities attribute it to solar influence――by saying that it was
due, not to any fault in the compass itself, but to the alteration of
the position of the north star.
Thus, whether he himself did or did not believe this to be the true
solution of the mystery, did our hero once more calm the terrors of
his men, who were, a little later, further cheered by the sight of a
heron and a water-wagtail, which, as birds supposed never to venture
far out to sea, were looked upon as sure harbingers of land. Next
were seen floating patches of herbs and weeds, which could only, it
was thought, have been washed from river banks, or from rocks by the
sea-shore; and, convinced that their perils were now over, the eager
mariners crowded on deck, each anxious to be the first to catch a
glimpse of the longed-for country; but as day after day passed on,
and no further indications of the end of the voyage were perceived,
all the old fears returned, the men broke out into open mutiny,
and Columbus’s position became critical in the extreme. Even Martin
Alonzo Pinzon, one of the most important members of the squadron,
now questioned the wisdom of the Admiral’s determined adherence to a
western course; and our hero, though still full of the most intense
belief in final success if that course were maintained, was beginning
to doubt whether he should himself achieve more than martyrdom in the
cause he had so much at heart. Matters were at this stage, when, on
the night of the 11th October, 1492, as the weary leader was peering
into the darkness of the horizon from the deck of his vessel, hoping
against hope to make out some indication of land, no matter how vague,
he fancied he saw a light.
Scarcely daring to trust his eyes, he called first one and then
another of the companions of his venture, each of whom confirmed his
opinion. A light of some kind was undoubtedly moving on the distant
waters, but whether it proceeded from some fisherman’s bark, or from
the long-sought land, it was impossible to determine.
Never was daylight more eagerly longed for than then; but, hours
before it came, the suspense of the three watchers on the _Santa
Maria_ was relieved by the booming of a gun from the _Pinta_, the
signal that others also had seen the significant token of the approach
to the promised haven. A little later, the dark outlines of the
shores of an island, relieved against white breakers, were distinctly
made out; and when the dawn of the 12th October, 1492, broke at
last, “a level and beautiful island, several leagues in extent, of
great freshness and verdure, and covered with trees like a continual
orchard,” lay before the eyes of the astonished mariners. Naked
natives were hurrying to and fro, expressing by their gestures their
astonishment at the appearance of the ships; and at once ordering the
boats to be manned. Columbus, scarcely able to restrain his emotion,
started to take possession, in the name of the monarchs of Castile, of
the newly-discovered territory.
No sooner did the hero set foot on shore, than he fell upon his knees,
kissed the ground, and with tears of joy gave thanks to God for thus
enabling him to complete his work. Then rising, his heart doubtless
swelling with exultation, he drew his sword, unfurled the royal banner,
named the island “San Salvador,” and solemnly declared it to be the
property of Ferdinand and Isabella, “calling on all present to take
the oath of obedience to him as Admiral and Viceroy representing the
persons of the sovereigns.”
Although there is some little difference of opinion as to which of the
West Indian islands was thus discovered by Columbus, it is generally
supposed to have been that now called by the English Cat Island,
one of the great Bahama group, and situated in N. lat. 24°, W. long.
74° 30′, of which the native name was Guanahamé. Imagining it to be
situated at the extremity of India, the explorer called its people
Indians, an appellation which has clung to the aborigines of the New
World ever since.
Remaining at Guanahamé only long enough to ascertain the “Indians”
to be a gentle, friendly, simple people, with well-formed figures,
and pleasant, intelligent faces, Columbus again set sail on the 14th
October, and, cruising hither and thither, he discovered several other
islands, including the important Cuba and San Domingo, of all of which
he took possession in the name of his patrons, planting a small colony
on the last named, and meeting everywhere with a cordial welcome from
the “savages,” though his own people gave him a good deal of trouble
by their perpetual rivalries and jealousies.
Among these latter troubles, none perhaps affected the Admiral so
painfully as the desertion of Don Alonzo Pinzon. Pinzon had, in the
days of the discoverer’s despondency, stood toward him as a patron,
and, Spanish patrician as he was, his countenance had been of no mean
value. The very fact also that he consented to serve under Columbus
must have seemed a token of his faithfulness; but they had not long
been out at sea before he showed that subordination was galling to him,
and at last, while Columbus was exploring Cuba, he made his escape
with _La Pinta_, the second in size of the boats which formed the
little fleet. The fact was, that news had come to them of rich lands
to the North-west, and Pinzon, disappointed that his superior would
not steer in that direction, resolved to steal away, and go in search
of a golden empire for himself. But the North-west did as little for
him as it did for many who came after him, and Columbus encountered
him again on the return journey, without the gold of which he had
dreamed, and with his vessel so disabled that it could only reach
the shores of Spain with difficulty. Indeed, had it not been for the
merciful treatment of Columbus, the craven Pinzon would probably have
perished on the waters.
Satisfied with the results of his first trip, and anxious to obtain
the necessary supplies for the further prosecution of his discoveries,
Columbus set sail for Europe on the 4th January, 1493, arriving at the
bar of Saltos on the 15th March of the same year. Among those who were
on the shore to welcome the returning hero was Don Perez de Marchina,
of whose eager waiting for his home-coming the Marquis de Belloy has
drawn a touching picture in his charming _Life of Columbus_. We see
him for long months spending his spare moments in his observatory,
anxiously watching for the least shadow of a sail upon the horizon.
At last he descries a little vessel making its way toward Saltos, and
he rushes to the harbor, his sudden appearance giving to the people
of the little town the signal that Columbus is at hand. Soon the
discoverer is at the shore, and the arms of his “guide, philosopher
and friend” are the first to embrace him. From Saltos Columbus made
his way to Barcelona, then the residence of the court, where he was
received with all the enthusiasm due to one who had added to the
kingdom a new empire of undetermined extent and apparently boundless
wealth.
More impatient of the delay caused by the rejoicings in his success
than he had been of the impediments thrown in his way when he had been
unable to obtain a hearing for his embryo scheme, Columbus lost no
time in urging on the sovereigns the fitting out of a new expedition,
and, six short months after his return home, we find him leaving Cadiz
with seventeen ships and 1,500 men. This second voyage resulted in the
discovery of the Caribbee Islands and Jamaica.
But in the midst of his work among the West Indian Islands,
the Admiral was recalled home to answer terrible charges――of
untruthfulness in his descriptions of the countries discovered, and of
cruelty to the natives and colonists under his charge――brought against
him by his enemies. Although he succeeded in clearing himself for a
time, to the satisfaction of Ferdinand and Isabella, from the odious
suspicions which had been cast upon him, the rest of his life was one
long struggle with persecution and adversity. From his third voyage,
in which he discovered Trinidad, and landed at Paria, on the coast of
South America, he was sent home in chains. We only linger a moment by
the manacled hero to quote once more from Tennyson’s “Columbus.”
“... You know
The flies at home that ever swarm about,
And cloud the highest heads, and murmur down
Truth in the distance――these outbuzzed me so,
That even our prudent king, our righteous queen――
I prayed them, being so calumniated,
They would commission one of weight and worth
To judge between my slandered self and me――
Fonseca, my main enemy at their court,
They send me out _his_ tool, Bovadilla, one
As ignorant and impolitic as a beast――
Blockish irreverence, brainless greed――who sack’d
My dwelling, seized upon my papers, loos’d
My captives, fee’d the rebels of the crown,
Sold the crown-farms for all but nothing, gave
All but free leave for all to work the mines,
Drove me and my good brothers home in chains;
And gathering ruthless gold――a single piece
Weighed nigh four thousand castillanos――so
They tell me――weigh’d him down into the abysm.
The hurricane of the latitude on him fell,
The seas of our discovering over-roll
Him and his gold; the frailer caravel,
With what was mine, came happily to the shore.
_There_ was a glimmering of God’s hand.”
Illustration: COLUMBUS IN CHAINS.
Soon after the conclusion of his fourth and last voyage, Columbus died
at Valladolid in poverty and disgrace, leaving others――many of whom he
had himself trained to be able navigators――to reap the fruits of his
labors.
One of the first explorers to follow in the track of Columbus was
Amerigo Vespucci, whose name, for some reason not very clearly made
out, was bestowed on the land discovered by his great predecessor. The
work of Amerigo was, however, almost entirely confined to the southern
half of the vast continent called after him, although he is supposed
to have sailed without landing as far north as Chesapeake Bay; and we
therefore pass on to the Cabots, one of whom appears to have been the
first European of modern times to set foot in North America.
Illustration: AMERIGO VESPUCCI.
Illustration: CABOT BEFORE THE COSMOGRAPHERS.
In 1496, Henry VII. of England, intent on finding that short cut to
India which it was so eagerly hoped would open to Europe the commerce
of the East, appointed John Cabot to the command of five vessels,
with orders thoroughly to explore the western portion of the Atlantic
Ocean, and “find whatsoever isles, countries, regions, or provinces
of the heathen and infidels, whatsoever they be, and in what part of
the world soever they be, which before this time have been unknown to
Christians”――a wide commission truly, which was carried out, so far as
we can tell from the masses of conflicting evidence before us, by the
sailing from Bristol, in 1497, of a single ship, the _Matthew_, with
John Cabot as commander, and his three sons, Ludovico, Sebastiano, and
Sanzio, among the subordinate members of the expedition.
Sailing due west, as the most direct mode of carrying out his
instructions, John Cabot came in sight, on the 24th June, 1497, of
the mainland of America; but whether the portion first seen was Cape
Breton, Newfoundland, or Labrador, is undetermined. Without making
any attempt to land, the navigators contented themselves with sailing
along some three hundred leagues of the coast, and returned home to be
received with as much enthusiasm as if they had fulfilled the whole of
their mission, and to be rewarded for finding the “New Isle” with the
munificent sum of £10.
A second and a third voyage appear to have been undertaken by John
Cabot, with no better results than the first; but after his death
――about 1499――his son Sebastian, who had long been endeavoring to
secure the co-operation of Ferdinand of Spain for an extensive scheme
of exploration in the North, came to England, and was appointed by the
reigning monarch to the command of an expedition to Labrador.
Illustration: SEBASTIAN CABOT.
On this trip Sebastian landed several times on different parts of the
north-eastern coast of America, and penetrated as far north as 67½°,
in his vain quest for that _ignis fatuus_ of his day――the North-west
Passage to India; but at last, his provisions failing him, he was
compelled to return to Bristol, bringing with him, as his only
trophies, some of the natives of districts visited.
This undoubted discovery of the mainland of America, the date of
which is variously given by different authorities, important as it in
reality was, led to no very definite results. In 1500, a trip was made
from Portugal to the North-east by a certain Gaspar Cortereal, who,
though nominally in quest of the north-west passage, seems to have
made the acquisition of slaves his main object. He penetrated as far
north as 50°, and landed on the shores of what is now New Brunswick,
naming it Terra de Labrador, or the “land of laborers,” a title
subsequently transferred to a strip of the seaboard further north.
Enticing some fifty-seven of the natives――who are described as “like
gipsies in color, well-made, intelligent, and modest”――on board his
vessels, he returned with them to Portugal, and, having sold them,
started on a new trip shortly afterward, from which he never returned;
but history is silent as to whether he fell a victim to the perils of
the sea or to the vengeance of those he wronged.
In 1502, Miguel Cortereal, a younger brother of the inhuman Gaspar,
started in search of the missing vessel, but he too disappeared,
leaving no trace behind him; and when an expedition, sent out by the
King of Portugal to ascertain the fate of the voyagers, returned with
no tidings of either ship, it was resolved that the fatal latitudes
should henceforth be avoided. For the next few years the north-east
coasts of the western continent were visited by none but certain
venturesome fishermen of Brittany, whose memory still lives in the
name of Cape Breton, but who, thinking only of securing to themselves
the harvest of the new-found seas, added next to nothing to our
geographical knowledge; though John Denys of Honfleur is said to have
explored the whole of the present Gulf of St. Lawrence.
Illustration: INDIAN BOATS.