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FAMOUS DISCOVERERS AND EXPLORERS OF AMERICA
* * * * * *
FAMOUS LEADERS SERIES
Each, one volume, illustrated, $2.00
Except as otherwise noted
BY
CHARLES L. JOHNSTON
FAMOUS INDIAN CHIEFS
FAMOUS SCOUTS
FAMOUS CAVALRY LEADERS
FAMOUS PRIVATEERSMEN
FAMOUS FRONTIERSMEN
FAMOUS DISCOVERERS AND EXPLORERS OF AMERICA
FAMOUS GENERALS OF THE GREAT WAR
FAMOUS AMERICAN ATHLETES
First Series $2.50
FAMOUS AMERICAN ATHLETES
Second Series $2.50
BY
CHARLES LEE LEWIS
FAMOUS AMERICAN NAVAL OFFICERS
BY
EDWIN WILDMAN
FAMOUS LEADERS OF INDUSTRY—_First Series_
FAMOUS LEADERS OF INDUSTRY—_Second Series_
THE FOUNDERS OF AMERICA or, Lives of Great Americans from the
Revolution to the Monroe Doctrine.
THE BUILDERS OF AMERICA or, Lives of Great Americans from the Monroe
Doctrine to the Civil War.
FAMOUS LEADERS OF CHARACTER
(_new revised edition_)
or, Lives of Great Americans from the Civil War to To-day.
BY
TRENTWELL M. WHITE
FAMOUS LEADERS OF INDUSTRY
Third Series $2.50
L. C. PAGE & COMPANY, BOSTON
* * * * * *
[Illustration: AMERIGO VESPUCCI (_see page 45_)]
FAMOUS DISCOVERERS AND EXPLORERS OF AMERICA
Their voyages, battles, and hardships in traversing
and conquering the unknown territories
of a new world
by
CHARLES H. L. JOHNSTON
Author of “Famous Scouts,” “Famous Indian Chiefs,”
“Famous Cavalry Leaders,” “Famous Frontiersmen,”
“Famous Privateersmen,” etc.
Illustrated
[Illustration]
The Page Company
Boston Publishers
Copyright, 1917
By The Page Company
All rights reserved
Made in U. S. A.
Fourth Impression, September, 1928
Fifth Impression, March, 1932
The Colonial Press Inc.,
Clinton, Mass.
_Dedicated_
To the Great Brotherhood of the Clergy
_who, with self-sacrifice, devotion, and lack
of personal profit,
have consecrated their lives to
the education and development of the youths
of all English speaking countries_.
PREFACE
_My Dear Boys_:
It has seemed fitting to include in the FAMOUS LEADERS SERIES this
volume upon the discoverers and explorers, not only of North America,
but also of Central and South America.
It has been impossible to include them all in a volume of this
character; but I have selected the most important, and have omitted
such men as Sebastian Cabot, Jacques Cartier, Sir Francis Drake,
Baffin, Verendrye, Robert Gray, Lewis and Clark, Pike, Franklin,
Frémont, and many others.
This is no new subject. The lives and histories of these discoverers
have been written by many another; but I have endeavored to bring
before you a series of pictures of some of the most noted of these men
of daring and grim determination, and, if I have succeeded in painting
the canvas with colors which are agreeable, then, my dear boys, I shall
feel that the moments occupied in the preparation of these pages have
been well spent.
Believe me,
Yours very affectionately,
CHARLES H. L. JOHNSTON.
Chevy Chase, Maryland.
August, 1917.
_THE VOICE_
_A voice came from the westward, it whispered a message clear,_
_And the dripping fog banks parted as the clarion tones drew near;_
_It spoke of shores untrodden, and it sang of mountains bold,_
_Of shimmering sands in distant lands which were covered with
glittering gold._
_It sang of hemlock forests, where the moose roamed, and the bear,_
_Where the eider bred near the cascade’s head, and the lucivee had his
lair._
_It praised the rushing water falls, it told of the salmon red,_
_Who swam in the spuming ripples by the rushing river’s head._
_It chanted its praise of the languorous days which lay ’neath the
shimmering sun,_
_Of the birch canoe and the Indian, too, who trapped in the forests
dun._
_Yea, it told of the bars of silver, and it whispered of emeralds
green,_
_Of topaz, sapphire, and amethyst, which shone with a dazzling sheen._
_Of warriors red with feathered head, of buffalo, puma, and deer,_
_Of the coral strand in a palm-tree land, and of dizzying mountains
sheer._
_And the voice grew louder and louder, and it fell upon listening
ears,_
_Of the men who had heard strange music which was moistened with
women’s tears._
_Of the men who loved to wander, of the souls who cared to roam,_
_Whose bed was the hemlock’s branches, who rejoiced in the forest’s
gloom._
_Leif the Lucky, Magellan, deLeon and Cortés bold,_
_Cartier, Drake, and Franklin; Pizarro and Baffin, old;_
_Shackleton, Hudson, Roosevelt; brave Peary and gay Champlain,_
_Frémont, Lewis, Balboa; Verendrye, and the Cabots twain;_
_’Twas the voice that called them onward, ’twas the voice that is
calling still,_
AND THE VOICE WILL CALL ’TILL THE END OF IT ALL, AND THE VOICE HAS A
CONQUERING WILL.
CONTENTS
PAGE
PREFACE vii
THE VOICE ix
LEIF ERICSON 1
CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS 15
AMERIGO VESPUCCI 43
JUAN PONCE DE LEON 61
VASCO NUÑEZ DE BALBOA 85
HERNANDO CORTÉS 107
FERDINAND MAGELLAN 185
GIOVANNI VERRAZANO 203
FRANCISCO PIZARRO 217
HERNANDO DE SOTO 249
SAMUEL DE CHAMPLAIN 271
HENRY HUDSON 303
PIERRE ESPRIT RADISSON 337
FATHER MARQUETTE 361
ROBERT DE LA SALLE 383
ROBERT EDWIN PEARY 409
EPILOGUE 427
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
PAGE
Amerigo Vespucci (_See page 45_) _Frontispiece_
Leif Ericson 8
The Landing of Columbus 28
Amerigo Vespucci off the coast of Venezuela 48
Juan Ponce de Leon at the Fountain of Youth 80
Balboa taking possession of the Pacific Ocean in the name
of the King of Spain 97
Capture by Cortés of the City of Mexico 178
The Death of Magellan 200
Giovanni Verrazano 208
Execution of the Inca of Peru 245
De Soto in the Florida Wilderness 256
Champlain in the Indian Battle 285
Henry Hudson in New York Harbor 317
Marquette and Joliet discovering the Mississippi River 369
La Salle at the mouth of the Mississippi River 397
Robert Edwin Peary 413
LEIF ERICSON:
THE FIRST EUROPEAN TO EXPLORE, AND
SETTLE IN, AMERICA.
“_From Greenland’s icy mountains; from Iceland’s rocky shore,_
_We sailed the ship which forged ahead and ruddy oarsmen bore;_
_We found the wild grape growing; we scoured the river’s bed,_
_And chased the moose whose horns were broad, whose blood was rich and
red._
_Our axes felled the wild-wood, our spears the Skraelings slew,_
_We sank their round skin-barges as the cutting North Winds blew,_
_Over the wild waves rolling, back to the fiords of home,_
_We safely came to anchor,—but we’ll never cease to roam._”
Saga of the Vikings, 1000 A. D.
FAMOUS DISCOVERERS AND EXPLORERS OF AMERICA.
LEIF ERICSON:
THE FIRST EUROPEAN TO EXPLORE, AND SETTLE IN, AMERICA.
ON the shore of a great fiord, or estuary of the sea, in the
far northern country of Greenland, stood a little boy. He was
sturdy-limbed, blue-eyed, flaxen-haired, and he was looking out across
the water at a great high-prowed Viking ship which lay bobbing upon the
waves.
He stood there thinking,—thinking, until, as he gazed enraptured upon
the scene before him, a tall, bearded Norwegian came up behind him. He
smiled upon the little boy, and, laying his hand upon his head, said:
“Little one, what are you dreaming about?”
The youthful Norwegian looked around and also smiled.
“Good Lothair,” he answered, “I am thinking of the time when I shall be
able to sail far to the westward, with the older Vikings, and can have
adventures of mine own.”
The other laughed.
“Ah, ha, that time will not be far distant,” said he, benignly. “You
will wax tough and sinewy in this bracing air and by sailing in these
blue fiords. And then, some day, one of the Vikings will want a stout
fellow to man an oar. He will call upon Leif, little Leif. And I’ll
warrant that little Leif will then be ready.”
“I will be.”
“And would you go far to the westward, to the land of the setting sun?”
“Even so.”
“And would you be willing to risk life and limb amidst ice and snow?”
“I’d be glad to do it.”
Lothair laughed loud and long.
“You are a true Viking, my boy. You are, indeed, one of those whom Thor
has smiled upon and whom the Valkyrias would love to assist in battle.
Keep up your spirit, and, some day, you may be famous,—who knows?”
So saying he walked away, still laughing softly to himself.
And the little boy still kept on thinking, thinking, and looking out
upon the great, blue sea which seemed to beckon to him, to nod to him,
and to sigh: “Come on! Come on! I have marvelous things to reveal to
you, little boy.”
The youthful Viking turned around, went back to his home, and kept on
working and sailing, and fishing, and playing, until a time came when
he had waxed great in both strength and in stature, and, as he looked
at himself in the polished surface of his shield he said: “Ah! Now,
indeed, I am a true Viking. I am ready for great things.”
This little boy was the son of Eric the Red, a strong man, and a bad
man, also. Eric’s father lived in Iceland, whither he had been forced
to fly from Norway, for he had killed a man there and he would himself
have been killed, had he not jumped into a boat, rowed to a Viking
ship, and sailed to the westward. And Eric the Red seems to have
inherited the traits of his father, for he, too, killed another. He
had lent some of his furniture to a neighbor who would not restore it.
Eric, therefore, carried off his goods and the other pursued him. They
met, and hot words passed; so they had a struggle and Eric killed the
fellow. He was thus made an outlaw, so he went sailing away to find
some place where he could live in peace, far from his brother Vikings.
He found a land, where he settled,—and called it Greenland, for, said
he, “other Vikings will come here and settle, also, if I give this
place a good name.”
Eric the Red, had two children, of whom one was called Thorstein, and
the other, Leif. The first developed into a thin youth with black hair
and a sallow complexion, but the second was rosy-cheeked, fair-haired,
blue-eyed, and sturdy-limbed. He was, in fact, the little boy to whom
Lothair spoke as he stood upon the banks of the fiord, gazing far into
the distance, determined, some day, to sail towards the West where he
was certain that adventure and treasure, too, perhaps, were waiting for
him.
One of the men who accompanied Eric, the murderer, to Greenland was
named Herjulf. This bold and daring adventurer had a son named Bjarni,
who roved the seas over, in search of adventure, for many, many years.
Finally, in 986, he came home to Iceland in order to drink the Yuletide
ale with his father. Finding that his parent had gone away, he weighed
anchor and started after him to Greenland, but he encountered foggy
weather, and thus sailed for many days by guess work, without seeing
either the sun or the stars. When, at length, he sighted land, it was a
shore without mountains. He saw, through the misty murk, only a small
height covered with dense woods. So, without stopping in order to make
explorations, he turned his prow to the north and kept on. He knew that
this was not Greenland, and, so we may think it strange that he did not
stop to examine the rugged coastline.
The sky was now fair and a brisk breeze was astern, so, after scudding
along for nine or ten days, Bjarni saw the icy crags of Greenland
looming up before him, and, after some further searching, found his way
to his father’s house. He had more than once sighted a heavily timbered
shore-line, to the west, while steering for home, and, when he told of
it, great curiosity was excited amongst the Norsemen.
Little Leif had now grown to be a man of size and strength. He had made
many a journey to Norway, and, when there, in the year 998, found that
Roman missionary priests were preaching up and down the land, and had
converted the King, Olaf Tryggbesson, who had formerly worshiped the
Gods Thor and Odin. Leif, himself, became a Christian and was baptized,
so, when he returned to Greenland, he took several priests with him,
who converted many of the people. Old Eric the Red, however, preferred
to worship in the way of his fathers, and continued to believe in the
mystical Valhalla, or hall of departed spirits, where the dead Vikings
were supposed to drink huge cups of ale while feasting with their gods.
Upon a bright, warm day in the year 1000 A. D., a great Viking ship
lay calmly upon the waters of the bay before the town of Bratthalid in
Greenland, and on shore all was bustle and confusion. Leif Ericson,
in fact, had determined to sail far to the westward, even as he had
dreamed of doing when a little boy; and so, with thirty staunch
adventurers, he was preparing to load his ship with sufficient
provisions to last for the journey to that strange country of which
Bjarni had brought news. It took several weeks to gather provisions
and men, but at length everything was ready. The sail was hoisted, the
great oaken oars were dipped into the water, and the sharp bow of the
Viking ship was turned toward the open sea. “Huzzah! Huzzah!” shouted
the Norsemen. “Huzzah!”
The Viking ship, which had a huge dragon’s head at the prow, was such
a tiny affair, when compared with the massive ocean liners of to-day,
that one can well imagine how she must have been tossed about by the
great, surging waves; but she kept on and on, ever steering westward,
until a land was discovered which seemed to be filled with flat
stones, so they called it Helluland, or flat-stone land. This was the
Newfoundland of our maps, to-day.
Leaving this behind them, the Vikings kept on steering southward and
westward, until they saw a low-lying and heavily wooded shore. This was
Nova Scotia, and they coasted along it, for many days, occasionally
coming to anchor in one of the deep bays, and heaving overboard their
fishing lines, so as to catch some of the many fish which seemed to
abound in these waters.
They sailed on towards the south, and at last reached a place where a
beautiful river flowed through a sort of an inland lake into the sea.
Many islands were near the mouth of this stream, and, as salmon seemed
to abound in the waters of this blue and clear-flowing estuary of the
Atlantic, Leif decided that this was a good place in which to spend the
winter. So down went the anchor, the Viking ship was moored near the
shore, and the men scrambled to the beach in order to erect huts in
which to spend the cold season. Thus the dream of the little boy, as he
had stood upon the shore of Greenland, years before, had come true, and
Leif had reached a new world, to which he had been led by his daring
and his love of adventure.
You see, that, although it was long supposed that Columbus was the
first white man from Europe to ever set his foot upon the shore of
America, such is not the case.
The real discoverer of America, of whom we have any definite record,
was Bjarni, the son of Herjulf, who, in the midst of fog and murk,
coasted along the shore of Nova Scotia in 986 A. D.
[Illustration: LEIF ERICSON
(_From the statue at Boston, Mass._)]
And the first European to make a settlement upon the shores of the
new world was Leif Ericson, who sailed into that blue, salmon-filled
river which flows “through a lake into the sea.” So, if you look
along the coast of New England, and try to find a river which answers
this description, you will, I think, find but one. This is the river
Charles, which, emptying into the Charles River Basin—a huge lake, if
you wish—flows into the blue Atlantic. And, if you search the shore
upon the Cambridge side near the hospital, you will find, to-day, the
cellars of four houses,—the houses, no doubt, which Leif and his men
erected in the year 1000 A. D.
The Vikings built their huts, caught many salmon, and journeyed inland,
where they found a profusion of wild grapes, so many, in fact, that
they dried a great mass of them, loaded them into the hold, and called
this land Vinland, the Good. They also found a race of people living in
this country, who were ferocious in aspect, with ugly hair, big eyes,
and broad cheeks. They were clad in the skins of the beaver, the lynx
and the fox, and their weapons were bows and arrows, slings, and stone
hatchets. As they screeched dismally when about to attack in battle,
the Vikings called them Skraelings, or Screechers. It is apparent that
the Skraelings were more like the Esquimaux, than like the Indians
found by Columbus.
The Vikings spent a peaceful winter in Vinland and had no difficulty
with the Skraelings, who left them alone. The Norsemen felled a
great many trees and loaded their ship with lumber, with dried fish
and grapes. Spring at last came and the ice and snow melted in the
deep forests, the gray geese began to fly northward, and the robins
chanted a melodious welcome from the budding thickets. The followers
of Leif deserted their huts, clambered aboard their low-lying vessel,
and, singing a song of thanksgiving, turned her prow towards the blue
Atlantic. They coasted past the islands at the harbor-mouth, and,
driven by a stout breeze, were soon careening over the waves upon their
journey to Greenland.
But adventures were not entirely over, for, upon the way home, a dark
spot appeared upon the horizon, and, upon sailing up to it, Leif and
his seamen discovered a boat-load of sailors. These poor fellows had
been out in a large vessel, but she had foundered, and had gone to the
bottom in a squall. The castaways were rescued, were taken aboard the
home-going Viking ship, and were carried along to Bratthalid, where
Leif and his followers received a royal welcome, and great interest was
taken in the story of their adventures. Leif was christened Leif the
Lucky, and by that name he was to be known forever afterwards.
The daring navigator never again sailed to the pine-clad coast of
Vinland, but other Norsemen made the journey and some left their bones
to bleach upon the shores of New England. Thus in 1002, when Eric
the Red died, and Leif the Lucky succeeded to his Earldom, Thorstein
(Leif’s brother) decided to explore the new-found country. So, with
thirty or more men, he sailed to the westward, found the huts which
the first adventurers had erected, and had the pleasure of spending the
winter there. These voyagers stayed here for several years, for, in the
Spring of 1004, while some of the party were exploring, the ship was
driven ashore in a storm, near a ness, or cape. They put a new keel
into their damaged vessel and stuck the old one into the sand, calling
the place Kjalarness, or Keel Cape. The cape was undoubtedly near the
end of Cape Cod.
Thorstein was subsequently slain in a battle with the Skraelings, but
his men returned to Greenland, bringing lumber, dried fish, and many
tales of this wonderful country; so that other Vikings longed to go and
explore. Thus, in the summer of 1011, two ships set sail for Vinland,
one with Leif’s brother and sister, Thorwald and Freydis, and a crew
of thirty men; the other with two brothers, Helgi and Finnibogi, and a
crew of thirty-five. There were also a number of women.
Helgi and Finnibogi were the first to arrive at the huts which Leif had
constructed, and had taken possession of them, when Freydis, arriving
soon afterwards, ordered them to leave. Bad blood arose, and Freydis
one day complained that Helgi had given her evil words and had struck
her. She told Thorwald that he should avenge this insult, and taunted
him so mercilessly, that, unable to bear her jeering words any longer,
he was aroused to a deed of blood. Surrounded by his followers, he
made a night attack upon the huts of Helgi and Finnibogi, seized and
bound all the occupants, and killed them with cold steel. The peaceful
shores of the river Charles witnessed such a murder as has never
occurred again.
In 1012 the survivors sailed for Greenland in the vessel of the
murdered brothers, which was the larger of the two. The evil woman,
Freydis, who had caused all this trouble, pretended that the other
party had been left in Vinland, and that ships had merely been
exchanged. She threatened her men, that, if any told on her, they would
be murdered, but words were let fall which came to the ears of Leif the
Lucky. Three of those who had just returned were put to the torture,
until they told the whole story of murder and death in the peaceful
country of Vinland.
Leif was greatly affected by the news, but said with great show of
magnanimity: “I have no heart to punish my wicked sister Freydis as
she deserves. But this I do say to Freydis and Thorwald,—that their
posterity will never thrive.”
“And”—says an old Viking—“so it went that no one thought anything but
evil of them from that time on.”
This is the last that we hear of Leif the Lucky. That little
rosy-cheeked boy, who dreamed that one day he would be a great
adventurer, had accomplished his purpose. He had found a new country,
he had lived to see it explored by other Vikings, and he had opened the
eyes of Europeans to the fact that, far away there was a land which was
richer in furs and in timber than anything which they had about them.
The citizens of Boston, Massachusetts, have erected a bronze statue to
this navigator, upon Commonwealth Avenue; where, with hand shading
his keen eyes, the staunch Norwegian is going out upon the Charles
River;—that river, upon the banks of which in the year 1000 A. D.,
he and his followers spent a peaceful winter in the land of the
Skraelings, the beaver, the bear, and the pink-fleshed salmon. Skoal,
then, to Leif the Lucky! And remember that it was he, and not Columbus,
who first trod upon the shores of America as an adventurer from the
European world.
VINLAND
’Neath the scent of the green hemlock forests, near the sands of the
storm-driven sea,
Lies a land which is good, filled with balsamy wood, and a voice there
is calling to me;
There the grapes grow in reddening clusters, there the salmon jump
clear of the falls,
And in crystalline splendor, the moon, in November, shines bright, as
the lynx caterwauls.
From Moosehead the wild loon is screaming, from Rangely the trout
jumps at play;
And from Kathadyn’s bold peak, comes the osprey’s fierce shriek, while
the brown bear creeps near to its prey.
Oh! that is the land for the Vikings; yea, that is the kingdom of
rest;
In the rude deer-skin boats, the warrior gloats, as the strangers
press on to the West.
There is thunder for Thor and for Odin; there is silver for Tyr and
Brogé,
In Jotunheim’s palace, there is envy and malice; but nothing but love
far away:
Come, Vikings, hoist up your rude anchors! Come, seamen, row hard, as
ye should!
And steer to the West, where there’s peace and there’s rest; steer
straightway to Vinland the Good.
CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS:
RE-DISCOVERER OF AMERICA, WHO GAVE
A NEW CONTINENT TO THE WORLD.
(1436-1506)
_Great man, whose courage led you o’er_
_The ocean’s unknown length,_
_A thousand voices thankfully_
_Proclaim your power and strength._
_The treasures of the tropic isles,_
_You found, but failed to gain._
_The honor that was due, was lost,_
_You saw your subjects slain._
_Your plans for empire sailed away,_
_Undone by other wills;_
_And left but glorious memories,_
_Which every seaman thrills._
CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS:
RE-DISCOVERER OF AMERICA, WHO GAVE A NEW CONTINENT TO THE WORLD.
(1436-1506)
THE good and genial friar Juan Perez was working, one day, in front
of the convent of La Rabida, which had been dedicated to Santa Maria
de Rabida, near the pleasant city of Palos, in Spain. It was a lonely
place, built upon beetling cliffs which overhung the blue ocean. The
friar, with his brown cassock tucked up around his fat legs, was busily
engaged in hoeing some beans, when he saw a man standing at the little
wicket gate which was between himself and the roadway. The man was
thin, care-worn, and cadaverous-looking. His hair was quite gray and he
held a small boy by the hand.
“Kind priest,” said he, “I am faint with hunger.”
The good friar dropped his hoe and stood there smiling; for he had a
warm heart, and the little boy, whom the stranger held by the hand, was
very wistful.
“In God’s name, my poor fellow,” said Juan Perez, “come into the
convent with me, and I will give you all that you wish, for I see that
you are faint with hunger. And the little boy is surely very ill.”
So the white-haired man and the little boy went into the convent
of Santa Maria de Rabida, and there the priest fell into a long
conversation with this traveler. He found out that the wanderer was
named Christopher Columbus and that he had been born in Genoa, in
Italy. The little boy was his son, Ferdinand.
The priest was a man of great learning and had been confessor to the
Queen of Spain. He soon perceived that this Christopher Columbus was a
man of considerable learning, also, and found out that he had been a
sailor ever since he had been a boy of fourteen. Charmed and delighted
with the conversation of this penniless mariner, he asked him to remain
as a guest at the convent, for he saw that, within the lean body of
this white-haired sailor, burned a spirit of adventure which was like a
beacon light.
“Had I the money, the ships, and the men,” said Columbus, “I could
discover a new country lying far to the west. But, you see, I am a
pauper.”
“Yes,” replied the good priest. “But I have powerful friends who
have both money and ships. These will doubtless help you in your
contemplated voyage. Stay with me for a few days. I will call them
hither, so that you can discuss this matter with them.”
Columbus was glad to have this prelate listen to his schemes for
sailing far to the westward, for he had been endeavoring, for a long
time, to get some one to give him the necessary financial assistance,
so that he could fit out ships both with provisions and with men. In
a day or two a physician arrived. He was a learned fellow, and his
name was Garcia Fernandez. He was accompanied by a wealthy navigator,
called Martin Alonzo Pinzon, who listened to the schemes of Columbus
with great enthusiasm.
“I, myself, will lend you money for this voyage westward,” said he.
“And I will go in person upon this hazardous undertaking.”
The good priest, Juan Perez, had become most enthusiastic over the
scheme.
“Wait until I write to our gracious Queen Isabella,” said he. “She, I
know, will aid you in your contemplated journey. Be of good cheer, for
she is the best of sovereigns, and cannot allow a Frenchman to have the
honor of any discoveries in the West.”
Christopher Columbus was quite willing to have this done, for he was
sure that, could he but gain access to the ear of the great Queen, she,
herself would see the righteousness of his cause and aid and abet in
that which filled him with zeal and enthusiasm. So he waited patiently
at the convent while a letter was dispatched to the kind-hearted
Isabella, carried to the court by one Sebastian Rodriguez, a pilot
of Lepe, and a man of considerable prominence. The Queen was at the
military camp of Santa Fé, where she was directing her troops against
the city of Granada, which was held by the Moors.
Fourteen days went by, and, at last, Rodriquez returned to the heights
of Palos.
“The Queen is much interested in your mariner friend, Columbus,” said
he to Juan Perez. “She wishes greatly to add to the glory of Spain, and
requests that you allow this sailor to travel to her military camp.
But first she wishes to talk with you, good priest.”
The friar was delighted. Quickly saddling his mule, he was soon
upon his way to Santa Fé, where he was received with kindness and
consideration. The Queen had a friend and companion called the
Marchioness Moya who urged her to give aid to Columbus and thus bring
much renown and glory both to herself and Spain. “This fellow has a
great idea,” she said. “Surely you will allow him, in the name of
Spain, to find out what lies far to the westward.”
Isabella was feeling particularly happy, just then, for her troops had
nearly captured the city of Granada and the hated Moors were about to
be driven from the soil of Spain. So she gave a great deal of money
to the priest from Palos, in order that Christopher Columbus could
buy a mule and sufficient clothing to appear at court. With smiles of
satisfaction the good friar returned to the convent at La Rabida and
the first link in the chain which led to the discovery of the West
Indies by those of white complexion, had been forged.
The time had come when the schemes of western exploration, which for
years had lain dormant in the breast of this penniless man from Genoa,
were about to be put into execution. Columbus was now light-hearted,
even merry, and, leaving his little son to the care of the good monks
of Palos, he mounted a mule and journeyed to Santa Fé, accompanied by
his friend Juan Perez.
It was a propitious moment. The Moorish leader had just handed over
the keys of the city of Granada to Queen Isabella, who, mounted
upon her horse and surrounded by a retinue of ladies-in-waiting and
courtiers, joyfully received the keys, as evidence that the Moors were
at last driven from the soil of Spain. Columbus soon was admitted to
her presence and there told of his desire to sail westward toward the
setting sun.
“But,” said he, “if this voyage is a success, I must be made Admiral
and Viceroy over the countries which I discover, and must also receive
one-tenth of the revenues which come from these lands, either from
trade or from agriculture.”
These terms did not suit the Queen’s counselors.
“It would be degrading to exalt an ordinary man to such high position,”
said Talavera, the Queen’s foremost advisor. “The demands of this
threadbare navigator are absurd.”
More moderate terms were offered to Columbus, but he declined them.
“Good-by, Your Majesty,” said he. “I will go to France, where the King
will perhaps give me more advantageous offerings than you care to
present.”
So the good man mounted his mule—the very one which the Queen had
presented him with—but he did not seem to mind using it, and, turning
his back on Santa Fé, and the convent of La Rabida, he started for the
Pyrenees Mountains in order to journey to France.
As soon as he had gone the Queen began to feel sorry that she had
allowed him to depart. Her friends gathered around her and had a good
deal to say.
“What an opportunity you are losing to enhance the glory of Spain,”
said several. “What a chance to make your own name forever great. If I
were you, I would call this navigator back to court before he arrives
upon the soil of France.”
Her husband, King Ferdinand, looked coldly upon the project, for his
treasury had been exhausted by the fighting with the Moors and he did
not wish to spend any more money, just then. But the Queen had many
jewels which she could pledge in order to raise money for ships and for
supplies.
“Ferdinand,” said she to her husband, “if you do not care to undertake
this enterprise for the glory of the crown of Castile, I myself, will
do so, and I will give all of my jewels as security for a loan to the
navigator Columbus.”
A courier was sent post haste after the sailor from Genoa, who was then
ambling along upon his mule and was crossing the bridge of Pinos, some
six miles from Granada.
“The Queen has changed her mind towards you,” said the courier who had
been sent to find the poor navigator. “Come back! You will now have
funds with which to go upon your journey.”
Columbus hesitated a moment, for he feared that this was a lie, but,
convinced of the truth of the statement, he turned about and whipped up
his mule. They trotted along joyfully towards Santa Fé.
The Queen was now in a pleasant humor. Columbus was given all that he
had asked for, but he was required to bear one-eighth of the expense of
the journey. Papers to this effect were drawn up and signed on April
the seventeenth, 1492, and, a month later, the joyful navigator set
out for Palos in order to get ready the ships and provisions for the
long-hoped-for voyage of discovery.
By the terms of the agreement between himself and the King and Queen
he was to be called Viceroy and Governor of the new provinces which he
wished to conquer in the rich territories of Asia, the country which
he thought to be in the far west. He was to receive one-tenth of the
pearls, precious stones, gold, silver, spices, and merchandise of
whatever kind, which might be taken by his followers in the kingdoms
which he expected to take possession of. Good terms these! Let us see
how he fared!
Three caravels were now equipped for the journey at the port of Palos.
It was difficult to find sailors to man them with. All were frightened
at the enterprise and shuddered when they thought of a long sail into
the unknown West. But the King said that he would pardon all those
who had criminal charges hanging over them, should they join the
expedition. In this way a sufficient number of sailors were secured.
The three ships were called the _Gallega_, the _Pinta_, and the _Nina_.
The first was to be the flagship of Columbus, so he changed her name to
the _Santa Maria_, as he was of a religious turn of mind. The _Pinta_
was commanded by Martin Pinzon, and the _Nina_ by his two brothers,
Francis and Vincent.
On Friday, August 30th, 1492, the caravels headed out to sea and
started upon this voyage of discovery. One hundred and twenty sailors
had been secured, most of them with criminal records, so it was not to
be expected that the Admiral, as Columbus was now called, would have an
easy time with them. Some, in fact, were so anxious not to go that they
purposely unshipped the rudder of the _Pinta_, when only a day from
port, and the vessel had to be steered for the Canary Isles in order to
repair the damage. Finally, after a three weeks’ delay, during which
another rudder was made, the expedition again hoisted canvas and headed
for the blue horizon of the west. The hearts of the Spanish sailors now
failed them and many cried like little children, for they were fearful
of what lay before them; some, indeed, even thinking that they would
come to a great hole and fall in. As for Columbus, he tried to comfort
them with the prospect of gold and precious stones in India and Cathay
which he was sure that they would discover.
“On, on, my men,” said he. “On, and let us all be enriched by the
treasures which we will soon come upon!”
But the ignorant sailors were constantly anxious and distrustful.
The bellying sails carried the three caravels ever to the westward.
They sailed through vast masses of sea-weed on which small fish and
crabs were hanging, and the sailors feared that they would be stranded
upon this mass of vegetation. But when they threw lines into the
water these did not touch the bottom, so they knew that they could go
forward. The three vessels, in fact, were plowing through the Sargossa
Sea, eight hundred miles from the Canary Isles. This is a mass of
tangled sea-weed over two miles in depth, so it is no wonder that the
lines did not touch anything when they let them down.
Now birds began to fly around the caravels, such as gannets and
sea-swallows.
“Land must surely be near,” cried many. “We have now been six weeks
upon the water and Asia must certainly be before us.”
But, in spite of the birds and the floating sea-weed, the boats kept on
and on and still no land came to view.
Columbus, himself, never lost his confidence in the ultimate success of
the journey.
“My men,” said he, “land will eventually be sighted. You must bolster
up your hearts and have great courage, for we will soon view the coast
of Asia, where lives the mighty Khan.”
And, each evening, he made the sailors chant a hymn to the Virgin.
Cheered by the words of this heroic man, the Spaniards gained renewed
hope and eagerly scanned the horizon for some signs of palm trees or
tropic vegetation.
Before the expedition had set out, King Ferdinand had promised a reward
of 10,000 maravédis, or 400 pounds sterling ($2,000), to the sailor
who first discovered land. So, do you wonder that the mariners eagerly
scanned the blue distance for a dark line of earth!
As the ships drowsed along with a gentle easterly wind in their rear,
numerous large birds, petrels, man-of-war birds and damiers, flying in
couples, were a sign that land must certainly be near, for otherwise
how could these feathered sea-farers breed and lay their eggs? On, on,
the mariners drifted, the sailors eager, depressed, even mutinous, but
the courage of Columbus never wavered.
The month of October had now arrived and the Admiral announced to
his crews that the ships had traveled 1,272 miles to the westward.
In reality, they had sailed 2,100 miles; but Columbus hid the truth
from his followers, for he knew them to be on the point of mutiny,
and, should they learn how far they were from home, they would wish to
return. On October the seventh the crews were much excited by hearing
several musketry discharges from the _Nina_, the commander of which
thought that he had discovered land. But this was an illusion; what
he took to be land was but a patch of sea-weed, bobbing on the glassy
waves.
A number of parroquets went flying by in a southwesterly direction,
and, thinking that they were doubtless winging their way towards their
homes, the Admiral was requested to steer more towards the south. This
he did, and it is well that he so traveled, for, had the vessels kept
due westward, they would doubtless have run aground upon the great
Bahama Bank and would have been destroyed.
But why did not land appear?
Each evening the sun dipped down behind an interminable horizon of
water. Sea-weed floated past, birds flew around upon every side, and
still no land came to view. The Spaniards began to murmur loudly
against Columbus.
“He is a Genoese, a foreigner,” said some. “What does he care for
Spaniards! He has enticed us from our own country only to drown us all.
One thrust of a poniard and he will be out of the way forever!”
The Admiral heard of these remarks and knew that his sailors plotted
his destruction, but his spirit never faltered, and, as the men still
worked the ships, he kept courageously onward.
The eleventh of October had now come, and, as the bold navigator was
looking over the side of the _Santa Maria_, he noticed a reed, still
green, floating upon the top of a wave. His heart beat faster, for
he realized that land must certainly be in the offing. Almost at the
same time the men on board the _Nina_ perceived the branch of a thorny
tree, covered with blossoms, which bobbed upon the sprawling waves.
All rejoiced exceedingly, for they knew that the coast of some strange
country must be near. Night fell over the sea, and Columbus took up
his position on the foremost part of his vessel, where he could watch
until morning. About ten o’clock he thought that he saw a light in
the distance and called to a sailor, Pedro Guitierrez, a chamberlain
in the King’s service, who confirmed it. Once or twice, after this,
the Admiral again saw the light, which looked as if some person were
carrying a flambeau on shore, or in a boat, tossed by the waves.
Columbus spent a restless night. When morning broke, a sailor called
Rodrigo de Triana, saw land from the deck of the _Pinta_, and a thrill
of joy and thanksgiving ran through every heart. It was only two miles
away, and the vessels quickly headed towards the low-lying shore.
Every one eagerly crowded forward, with shouts and cries of joy, as the
three caravels drew nearer and nearer to the sandy beach. The vessels
anchored, and, crowding into the boats, Columbus, with his followers,
rowed towards the breaking combers. All were eager to set foot upon the
new-found territory.
Columbus had on a scarlet coat; and in one hand he held a cross, in
the other a sword. When he reached the beach he knelt upon one knee
and kissed the soil, while one of his followers held over his head the
royal banner of gold, embroidered with crowns and with an F and I, the
initials of Kind Ferdinand and Queen Isabella. He gave thanks to God;
while all his crew of malcontents joined him in singing the Te Deum.
His sailors gathered about him, embracing him with fervor, and begging
his forgiveness for their mutinous spirit.
At this moment some naked savages appeared from behind the tropic
foliage and came timidly towards the Spaniards. None of the men
appeared to be over thirty years of age, and the women, too, were
young. They were well made, their figures handsome, and their faces
agreeable. Their hair, as coarse as the tail of a horse, hung down in
front as far as their eyebrows, while behind it formed a long mass
which was apparently never cut.
As they approached, the Spaniards greeted them kindly, and, when the
voyageurs showed them their swords, the poor natives seized them in
their hands so that they cut their fingers.
[Illustration: THE LANDING OF COLUMBUS]
The Spaniards roamed about for some time, glad indeed to stretch their
legs, and then jumped into their long boats, in order to go back to the
ships. Several of the natives plunged into the water and swam after
them, crying out with apparent pleasure. Next day they came in crowds
around the vessels, paddling themselves in enormous canoes shaped from
the trunks of trees and guided by means of broad paddles, like a snow
shovel. Several of the islanders wore little plates of gold hanging
from their nostrils, which interested the Spaniards more than anything
else. “Where did you get this?” they signaled to the chattering
Indians. The natives pointed towards the south, when they understood
what the mariners wished to know, and this made the voyageurs eager to
get away, for gold was ever that which has lured the Spaniard onward.
Columbus named the island San Salvador, and believed that he had
arrived upon the coast of Asia. The place was beautiful. Gray and
yellow parroquets chattered and screamed from the trees, and brilliant
tropic birds fluttered before them, as the Spaniards explored the
interior. A small lake was in the center of the island, but there
was no sign of gold or of gold mines. So the voyageurs turned away,
disgusted, and determined to sail southward where the natives told them
was a mighty monarch who possessed great vessels of gold, and immense
riches.
The next morning, at day-break, Columbus gave orders to have the ships
prepared for sea and all set sail towards the south, coasting along
the western side of the island, while the natives, running down to the
shore, offered the Spaniards water and cassava bread, made from the
root of a plant called the “yucca.” The Admiral landed upon the coast
at different points and carried off some of the natives, so that he
might exhibit them in Spain. Poor, ignorant islanders! Little did they
guess that soon the white-skinned strangers would tear them from their
country in order to sell them as slaves.
The Spaniards were really among the West Indies; but Columbus still had
the idea that he was near China, the home of the mighty Khan, stories
of whose wealth and possessions had already been brought to Spain. So,
after the three caravels had left the island of Cuba, two emissaries
were dispatched into the interior in order to take presents to the
Khan. They soon returned, telling of the peaceful natives, beautiful
groves of palm trees, but of no signs of the Asiatic potentate. They
reported that both the native men and women smoked tobacco by means
of a forked pipe, and that they had cotton houses made in the form of
tents.
The crews now began to grow restless. They had come to find Asia or
India, where were great hoards of gold. Instead of this they had found
merely some tropic islands, populated by a race of naked savages who
had no great treasures and knew nothing of gold mines. The Admiral
sailed onward and kept discovering other islands, in all of which he
found many articles of gold, but no particularly great city or town
with riches and treasure. And there were no signs of the mighty Khan of
Asia.
While exploring the coast of an island called Hayti, a young chief
visited the caravels, attended by two hundred subjects. He spoke
little, but gave the Admiral a curious belt and two pieces of gold, for
which Columbus, in return, presented him with a piece of cloth, several
amber beads, colored shoes, and a flask of orange water. In the evening
the native was sent on shore with great ceremony and a salute was fired
in his honor, which both surprised and interested him.
A short time after this a still greater chief, named Guacanagari,
sent a messenger to the Admiral requesting him to come to his part of
the island. The ships were therefore turned in the direction of this
chief’s home, and had sailed within a mile of his residence, when the
_Santa Maria_ ran upon a sand bank and quickly went to pieces. When
news of this was brought to the native ruler, he sent his followers to
unload the vessel and guard the contents, and his family to cheer the
Spanish navigator and to assure him that everything which he possessed
was at his disposal. All of the Spaniards went on board the _Nina_ and
were later entertained by the prince. So well, indeed, did Columbus
like this island that he determined to erect a fort upon the coast,
and to leave there a certain number of men with a year’s provisions of
bread, wine, and seed, also the long boat of the _Santa Maria_.
As a matter of fact the Spaniards were now eager to return to Spain,
for, although they had discovered a new territory, they had not found
the great quantities of gold. As for the mighty Khan, he was certainly
not in the vicinity of these tropic isles, with their green paroquets
screaming from the waving branches of the palm trees, and their naked
savages with soft voices and hollowed canoes. The majority of the
seamen thought that they had done quite sufficient exploring and were
certainly ready to return to the bullfights and the crooked streets of
old Seville.
“Back to Spain,” they said to Columbus. “Back to Spain and let other
adventurers come here if they wish. We have found the way for them. Let
them explore and develop this territory.”
Columbus was quite ready to set sail across the Atlantic, for he had
found a new country for the Spanish Crown, and had added many square
miles of territory to the possessions of King Ferdinand and Queen
Isabella. It was now the month of January; the skies were blue and
the weather was balmy; so all seemed propitious for a safe and speedy
passage. Leaving thirty-nine men to garrison a fortress which he
ordered to be constructed, and to search for gold until he could come
back again from Spain, and naming one Rodrigo de Escovedo as their
commander, the Admiral boarded the _Nina_, and, after fighting a mimic
sham battle with his men, in order to amuse the Indians, he turned the
prow of the little vessel toward the rising sun. The _Pinta_, under the
command of Martin Pinzon, had been cruising to the south for some days;
but she now returned, with the news that, although the natives had told
of a great island to the south where there was much gold, none existed.
The sailors were much distressed in mind, for they had certainly
expected to find a quantity of gold and treasure in this tropic country.
It was now the seventh day of January and the boats lay to, in order
to stop a leak which had sprung in the hold of the _Nina_. Columbus
profited by the delay and explored a wide river which flowed from the
base of a high mountain, called Monti Christi by some of the crew. The
Admiral found the banks of this stream were full of gold-dust—so much,
in fact, that he named it the Golden River. In spite of this discovery
the Spanish sailors were still anxious to return and began to murmur
against the authority of Columbus. Thus, on the ninth day of January,
the two caravels set sail, and, steering towards the southeast, skirted
the coast, en route for Spain.
As they swung lazily along, the natives sometimes followed them in
their canoes. One day they began to shoot at the sailors with their
arrows, so that discharge of musketry had to be resorted to, in order
to drive them away. Two or three of the islanders were killed in this
little affair, and thus, for the first time, the blood of an Indian
flowed beneath the hand of a European.