be exhibited in Spain. They went unwillingly, but, when they endeavored
to escape, were bound to the masts and were forced to join the Spanish
adventurers. So, cruel even in this first expedition to the new world,
just as they were ever afterwards, the Spanish navigators plowed
eastward towards the land of Ferdinand and Isabella. The passage proved
to be a quick one until the twelfth day of February, when the vessels
encountered a fearful storm lasting three days.
The little caravels with their three-cornered sails were slapped around
on the surging billows until all thought that they were lost, and the
sailors swore on bended knee that they would go and pray in their
shirts, and with naked feet, at the monastery of our Lady of Loretto,
if a Kindly Heaven would only put an end to this fearful raging of the
waters. Columbus seems to have given up all hope of ever reaching land,
for he wrote out a description of his voyages, placed it inside a cask,
and hurled it into the sea. This included a request that whoever should
find this document would forward it to the King of Spain.
Luck, however, was with him, and the storm at length abated to such a
degree that the two caravels cast anchor at the island of St. Mary,
one of the Azores. The crew went ashore, and were immediately thrown
into prison; but, after a period of five days, were allowed to leave by
their Portuguese jailors. Again the two caravels headed for Spain, but
again the winds blew vigorously, so that the _Pinta_ was driven into
the Bay of Biscay and the _Nina_ had to take refuge at the mouth of the
Tagus, in Portugal.
Here the Portuguese welcomed the Admiral in a kindly fashion, but he
was anxious to return to Spain, and, as soon as the weather would
permit, the _Nina_ again set sail. Finally, on the fifteenth day of
March, after seven months of navigation, she cast anchor at the port
of Palos, that little harbor from which the man with a great idea had
sailed with a half-hearted and distrusting crew.
Columbus had guessed correctly. A new land did lie far to the westward
across the blue Atlantic, and it was a land where was gold, that which
every Spaniard prized the most. The Genoese mariner had discovered the
islands of San Salvador, Conception, Great Exuma, Long Island, the
Mucaras, Cuba, and San Domingo.
The first man to give him a welcoming pat on the back was the good old
friar Juan Perez.
“You have done well, my good Columbus,” said he. “How glad I am that
I introduced you to the gracious Queen Isabella. You have indeed
fulfilled the dreams that you dreamed in the convent of La Rabida.”
Ferdinand and Isabella were then at Barcelona, and, hearing of the
safe return of Columbus, a message was immediately dispatched to ask
him to come at once to court. The Admiral landed, offered thanks to
God for preserving him in all his trials, and, taking with him the
Indian captives, started on his journey to the residence of his King.
From all parts of the country the Spanish people ran to look at him as
he passed. They threw their hats in their air, shouting: “Long live
Columbus! Long live the discoverer of new countries! All honor to the
Admiral!” He was preceded by a troop of cavalry and a band of music
when he entered Barcelona, and flowers were strewn in his pathway.
Ferdinand and Isabella received him with great pomp at the Deputation.
After hearing his story, told by him with graphic words, all knelt and
chanted the Te Deum. Christopher Columbus was then ennobled by letters
patent, and the King granted him a coat of arms bearing the device:
“To Castile and Leon, Columbus gives a New World.”
The fame of the poor navigator rang throughout all the then civilized
world; the Indians were baptized in the presence of the whole court;
and all tongues gave praise to this poor and unknown sailor who had
dreamed a dream of conquest which had come true.
Strength of purpose and strength of will had won the day. Had the
Genoese mariner given in to discouragement when his half-criminal
sailors grew mutinous and wished to return to Spain after they had
passed the Sargossa Sea, to some one else would have belonged the honor
of the discovery of the West Indies. Had he not used a firm hand in
dealing with them, they would have marooned him on one of the islands
which he discovered and would have left him there to die. Had he not
been sure that he would find what he was after, Queen Isabella would
not have aided him to glory and renown. Great and valiant Sailor, you
should indeed be remembered with reverence, for you knew how to triumph
over doubt and discouragement and your faith was sublime! All honor
then to Christopher Columbus!
* * * * *
The remaining adventures of this gallant soul can be briefly narrated.
Upon a second voyage to the West Indies he found the men whom he had
left behind him had all been murdered by the Indians. After Columbus
had sailed to Spain the Spaniards had stolen some of the Indian women
and had consequently stirred up the wrath of the great chief who lived
in the interior of the island of Hayti, where they had been instructed
to build a fort and live until the return of their companions. A row
of graves under the swaying palm trees showed where once had been
thirty-nine adventurous souls from Palos in Spain.
The Spaniards came over in numbers after this expedition, but, although
they founded a city and attempted to settle in the new world, there
were continual dissensions with the natives; fights; ambuscades;
massacres. The men from Castile were lazy; greedy for gold; cruel to
the natives; and treated them brutally when the poor Indians could not
furnish them with the glittering metal which they so keenly desired.
Then the more rapacious ones turned on Columbus himself, threw him
in irons on one occasion, and continually derided him to the King of
Spain, who, because the Indies did not produce the revenues which he
had expected them to, turned coldly upon the mariner from Palos, and
rather took the part of these malcontents against him. Like all persons
who reach a certain pinnacle of greatness, Columbus could not remain a
popular idol, for all men are human and he had the ambitions of others
to contend with. There were fights with the natives; fights among the
Colonists themselves; fights with the malaria, the yellow fever, and
with other diseases.
Columbus himself fared badly. After the death of good Queen Isabella,
Ferdinand would not aid him in the least. He had saved no money, after
all these adventures, and, as his life drew to a close, had to live by
borrowing. He did not even own a home in Spain, and had to reside at
Inns and at boarding houses. Alone, neglected, miserable, poor, he
finally passed to another and better world, on May the twentieth 1500.
He was seventy years of age.
Buried in the convent of St. Francisco, at Valladolid, Spain, his body
was removed to the monastery of Las Cuevas at Seville, and, still
later, to the cathedral of San Domingo at Hispaniola. But again it was
taken up, and transported by vessel to Havana, Cuba, that rich tropic
isle which the great navigator himself had discovered. Here to-day it
is lying, and the sad spirit of this strange man of destiny hovers over
the richest of all the possessions which Spain held in the West Indies,
until wrested from her feeble grasp by the people of the United States
in the year 1898, and magnanimously presented to the Cuban people
themselves, to govern as they wished.
Could the poor old mariner, as he lay dying at Valladolid, have but
looked forward into the centuries and seen the New World which he had
discovered, he would have indeed been well satisfied. Had he known that
a great Exposition would have been held to his memory and fame, and
could he have guessed that the children of the civilized world would
ever afterwards be taught the history of his life, of his perseverance,
his courage, and his faith, he would indeed have been cheered in those
last cheerless and poverty-stricken days.
In the career of this poor Italian dreamer, studying in every moment of
leisure, asking assistance year after year from crowned heads until he
was fifty-six years of age, in order that he might make his immortal
discoveries, is a lesson to all who feel that their lives have not
been perhaps worth while as they near middle age. The lesson is:—keep
on trying to win, and, even though you may not be appreciated during
your lifetime, history will always give you a proper niche in the
temple of fame. And do not believe that youth is the only time for
adventurous discoveries. Columbus did not sail upon his epoch-making
journey towards the West until after he had reached his fifty-sixth
year. Middle age and perseverance, then, are good aids to place one
within the halls of the immortals.
THE SONG OF THE ISLANDER
O brother, good brother, look out on the bay,
What’s that that is nearing, so long and so gray?
’Tis a palm tree, I’ll warrant, so large and so lean,
That it o’ershadows all palm trees that e’er I have seen.
O brother, good brother, it stops and is still;
White clouds are above it, they beckon and fill;
Two sticks running upward are covered with vines,
And a humming resounds like the wind when it whines.
O brother, good brother, a puff of white smoke
Rolls upward and onward—a voice surely spoke,
’Tis the speech of God Tezcal, he’s calling aloud,
For the rest of the Gods to gather and crowd.
O brother, good brother, what’s that to the rear?
A canoe is approaching, it fills me with fear,
For the white gods are paddling; they dress all in red,
And the skin of their hands looks like that of the dead.
O brother, good brother, bend low and keep still.
See the God in the bow, he is white-haired and ill.
Let us hide in the palms, ere they step on the shore,
Let us watch in the grass ’til this danger is o’er.
They jump to the beach, raise a cross-stick on high,
They speak a strange tongue and utter a cry.
O brother, good brother, what’s that shines and gleams?
On their breasts, on their backs,—it glitters and beams.
Let us talk with these strangers, let us speak with these men,
There are hundreds of brothers behind in the glen,
They surely can’t harm us, they come from the sky,
And they smile as they see us. Then let us draw nigh.
* * * * *
O brother, good brother, had I never been near,
These pale-visaged Gods who from Spain traveled here,
I’d be in the forest, not bound to the mast,
As the _Nina_ rolls on and the shore flyeth past.
Good-bye, tropic islands! Good-bye, Salvador!
_My spirit is crushed; my free life is o’er._
_Farewell, beloved palm trees! Farewell and adieu!_
_My home is behind me and fades from my view._
AMERIGO VESPUCCI:
FLORENTINE NAVIGATOR FROM WHOM AMERICA HAS DERIVED ITS NAME.
(1452-1512)
AMERIGO VESPUCCI:
FLORENTINE NAVIGATOR FROM WHOM AMERICA HAS DERIVED ITS NAME.
(1452-1512)
ABOUT the beginning of the thirteenth century a family called Vespucci
established themselves in the City of Florence, Italy. Anastatio
Vespucci was the head of the family in 1451 and lived in a stately
mansion, now occupied as a hospital for the poor, near the gate of the
city known as Porta del Prato. He was Secretary of the Senate, and,
although he lived in a palatial dwelling, had little besides the salary
attached to his high office. Upon March the ninth, 1451, the third
son of this official was born, and, when three days of age, was duly
christened Amerigo. He has since been called Americus.
Almost from his cradle the boy was destined to become a merchant.
Yet he had a good schooling, too, and was educated at a private
institution presided over by his father’s brother, a monk of the
Order of San Marco, who, before the birth of Americus, had become
famous as a teacher of the noble youths of the city. Here the boy was
taught mathematics, astronomy, geography, and the classics. He became
especially interested in geography and was ambitious to excel as a
geographer.
Amerigo, or Americus, seems to have remained a student under the
direction of his uncle for a number of years, yet we have no record of
when it was that he followed the wishes of his father and entered upon
mercantile pursuits. At any rate, he never lost his early interest in
geography. In spite of his days in a counting house, he eagerly studied
maps and charts. He made a collection of them, and, for one map alone,
paid a sum equivalent to five hundred and fifty-five dollars.
Americus had an elder brother, Geralamo, who had left home to seek his
fortune in foreign climes and had established himself in business in
Asia Minor. He became immensely wealthy, and all went well with him,
until one day, while he was at church, thieves broke into his house
and robbed him of all that he possessed. This greatly impoverished the
family, so that Americus determined to leave Florence and journey to
some other country where he could retrieve his brother’s losses. He
selected Spain as the scene of his future labors.
Just as Magellan deserted Portugal for Spain, so, also, Americus felt
that here were fame and fortune awaiting him. Ferdinand and Isabella
were then waging war upon the Moors who held the southern part of the
peninsula, and, as this was regarded as a holy war, many of the young
nobles from surrounding countries were in Spain fighting for the crown
of Castile. The war created a demand for many articles of commerce, so
Americus went to Spain as the agent for one of the Medici, a ruling
family in Florence. At the beginning of the year 1492, when Columbus
made his first journey of exploration to the West Indies, we find
the young Italian associated with one Berardi, who, after the return
of Columbus from his first voyage, was commissioned to furnish and
equip four vessels to be sent to the New World at different intervals.
Vespucci met Columbus, had lengthy conversations with him regarding the
New World, and, from his letters, we can see that he had a very clear
idea that Cuba was not the main land, as Columbus supposed it to be,
but was an island.
Berardi died in December, 1495, and the management of all his affairs
devolved upon the shoulders of Vespucci, who soon wearied of seeking
the favors of fortune and determined to abandon mercantile life for
something, “laudable and stable.” He formed, in fact, a determination
to visit the various parts of the world, a determination which he soon
put into execution.
A navigator, called Ojeda, was about to set sail for the West Indies
with four vessels and we find that Americus became one of his crew.
According to some, he was to be one of the principal pilots; according
to others he was to be an agent of the King and Queen, having a voice
in the direction of the ships. On May 10th., 1497, the fleet left
Cadiz, and, after reaching the Canary Islands, sailed so rapidly that,
at the end of twenty-seven days, it came in sight of land. This was the
coast of South America.
The Spaniards anchored and attempted to hold some intercourse with the
natives, but the Indians were very shy and refused to come out to visit
them. So, coasting along the shore, they came upon a village, which,
much to their surprise, was built after the fashion of the city of
Venice, Italy. The houses were placed upon piers in the water, and had
entrances by means of drawbridges, so that the inhabitants, by leaving
the bridges down, could traverse the whole town without difficulty. The
explorers therefore called it Venezuela, a name which has endured to
the present day.
The inhabitants, at first, shut themselves up in their houses and
raised the drawbridges, and, as the ships came nearer, the savages
embarked in their canoes and rowed out to sea. The Spaniards made every
mark of friendship and invited the Indians to come to their ships, but
the brown-skinned natives hastened away, making signs for the Spaniards
to wait where they were, as they would return. They came back, bringing
with them sixteen young girls, who beckoned to them and made signals of
peace. The Castilians were much impressed by this; so much so, in fact,
that their suspicions were not aroused by the sight of numerous natives
who came swimming towards the ships. Suddenly they noticed that some of
the women at the doors of the huts were wailing and tearing their hair,
as if in great distress.
While wondering what this meant, suddenly all the girls sprang from
their canoes, and the Spaniards saw that many men—who had been
heretofore hidden by them—were armed with a bow and arrows. Each
native in the water had a lance in his or her hand. Hardly had the
white men perceived this before they were furiously attacked.
[Illustration: AMERIGO VESPUCCI OFF THE COAST OF VENEZUELA]
The Spaniards vigorously defended themselves with their muskets and
then made a dash for the canoes in their long boats. They overturned
several, killed about twenty of the South Americans, and took two of
the girls and three men prisoners. Many of the natives were wounded.
The Spaniards did not burn the town, but returned to their ships, where
they placed the three men, whom they had captured, in irons. Then they
sailed southward, but, when morning dawned, discovered that the natives
had managed to wiggle out of their irons and had jumped overboard.
Keeping their course continually along the coast, the explorers came
to anchor about eighty miles from this new-world Venice, where they
saw about four thousand persons gathered upon the shore. These set up
a wild yelping, when the Spaniards let down their boats, and fled into
the forest. The white men followed and found a camp where two natives
were engaged in cooking iguanas, an animal which the early discoverers
describe as a serpent. The two cooks fled, of course, but the whites
disturbed nothing in the camp, in order to reassure the natives, and
then leisurely returned to their boats.
Upon the following day these Indians paddled to the ships, and when
they saw the two girl prisoners whom the Spaniards had taken, they
became suddenly very friendly, for these girls belonged to a tribe with
which they were then at war.
“We have only come here for the fishing,” said one of them, a chief.
“We live far back in the country and wish you to journey to see us as
our friends.”
The invitation was received with great satisfaction by the whites.
“They importuned us so much,” says Vespucci in his narrative of these
events, published some years afterwards, “that, having taken counsel,
twenty-three of us Christians concluded to go with them, well prepared,
and with firm resolution to die manfully, if such was to be our fate.”
So, the Spaniards journeyed inland, remained three days at the fishing
camp, and then set out for the interior, where they visited so many
villages that they were nine days on the journey, and their comrades on
board the vessels grew very uneasy about them. The Indians, in fact,
showed them great attention, and when they were about to return to the
ships, insisted upon carrying them along in hammocks, slung upon the
shoulders of strong and willing porters. When the explorers arrived at
the shore, their boats were almost swamped by the numbers of savages
who wished to accompany them, while swarms of natives who could not
get into the boats, swam alongside to the ships. So many came aboard,
that the mariners were quite troubled, fearing that they might make a
sudden and unexpected attack. A cannon was fired off to impress the
natives with the power of the explorers. At the explosion of the piece,
many leaped into the sea, like frogs plunging into a marsh. Those who
remained seemed to be unafraid and took leave of the mariners with many
demonstrations of affection.
The Spaniards had now been thirteen months at sea, so their thoughts
turned towards home. It was therefore decided to careen their vessels
on the beach, in order to calk and pitch them anew, as they leaked
badly, and then they would return to Spain. The Castilians made a
breastwork of their boats and their casks, and placed their artillery
so that it would play upon any enemies who might advance; then, having
unloaded and lightened their ships, they hauled them on land to make
much needed repairs.
No attack was made by the natives. Instead of this the South Americans
brought them food, begging them to assist them in punishing a very
cruel tribe of people who came to their country, every year, from the
sea, and killed many of their warriors. They afterwards would eat
them. Against these enemies they said that they were unable to defend
themselves. When the Spaniards promised to march against the cannibals,
no words could express their gratitude. Many wished to go with them,
but the whites wisely rejected such offers, permitting only seven to
accompany them.
The Spaniards sailed in a northeasterly direction for seven days, and
then came upon some islands, many of which were peopled. They cast
anchor before one of them and lowered the boats; but, as they did so,
they saw about four hundred men and women gather on the beach; the men
armed with bows, arrows, and lances, their naked bodies painted with
various colors. As the Castilians approached to within bowshot of the
shore, the savages sent a flight of arrows at them in an effort to
prevent them from landing.
The cannon were therefore loaded and fired. As some of the Indians
fell dead, the rest retreated. The Castilians, with a cheer, hastily
landed and fell upon the savages, who put up a stiff fight. The battle
raged for about two hours without a decisive victory upon either side;
some of the Indians were killed and some of the whites were injured.
At last, tired out, the explorers were glad enough to return to their
vessels.
Next day the Spaniards landed again, and, under the leadership of
Vespucci, had a bloody battle with the cannibals. The natives were at
length badly worsted, were driven to their village, and this was burned
to the ground. Only one of the explorers was killed, while twenty-two
were wounded. Many of the Indians were burned in the ruins of their
thatched huts.
Well satisfied with the outcome of this affair, the mariners now
set sail for Spain, with the plaudits of the savages, whom they had
assisted, ringing in their ears. They arrived in October, 1498, after
an absence of about nineteen months, and were well received by the King
and Queen, for they brought considerable gold, jewels, and skins of
strange beasts and birds. Vespucci was highly pleased; he had been the
first to visit the shore of South America and had really done something
great in exploration,—his dream for many years.
Shortly after his return, a second expedition was prepared for a
journey to this new-found country, headed by one Ojeda, a Spaniard of
some wealth and influence. A fleet of four vessels was equipped, and
the latter part of the Spring of 1499 saw them ready for sea. The
reputation of Vespucci as a geographer was such as to make him the
very man needed for this particular voyage, and, although at first
disinclined to leave home at so early a date, he finally yielded to the
entreaties of Ojeda, and joined the party.
They set sail from Cadiz in May, 1499, and twenty-four days later saw
land. The shore was low and so densely covered with small aromatic
trees that the explorers concluded to return to their ships and try
some other spot. After coasting along in a southerly direction they
came to the mouth of a great river, and, having manned their boats with
twenty well-armed adventurers, entered the stream and ascended it for
more than fifty miles. But the land was as low, up-stream, as it was at
the mouth, so the reconnoitering party floated down-stream to the fleet
again. Anchors were raised, the ships stood out to sea, and, sailing in
a southerly direction, encountered the great equatorial current which
sweeps along the coast of Brazil.
“We could scarcely make any headway against it,” says Amerigo, in his
description of this journey published some years later. “Seeing that
we made no progress, or but very little, and also seeing the danger
to which we were exposed, we determined to turn our prows to the
northwest.”
Ten degrees north of the equator, the explorers again saw land, and,
drawing nearer, found that this was an island. Many of the inhabitants
were gathered upon the shore; but, when the pale-faced strangers
landed, they took fright and ran into the woods. Fortunately two were
captured and acted as envoys, so, after a time, the rest allowed the
Spaniards to approach and speak with them. They were cannibals, eating
the bodies of all those whom they killed or captured in war, and had
the heads and bones of those who had been eaten piled up in a big heap.
Much disgusted at what they had seen, the Spaniards sailed away.