known in Europe than each country wanted to secure some share of the
profitable trade which they fancied would soon be opened with India.
Henry VII., King of England, who had refused to listen to Columbus's
plan, now hired a Venetian captain named John Cab´ot, and sent out
an expedition in 1497.
Cabot crossed the Atlantic, and explored what he thought was China,
but what was really part of North America,--probably the coast
of New´foŭnd-land and of the mainland from Labrador to Cape Cod.
Sailing along, he found a beautiful country, saw a bear plunge into
the water to catch fish, and, landing at least once, planted an
English flag upon our soil, thus taking formal possession of it in
the name of England.
The next year his son made a similar journey. Sailing in and out of
every bay, he sought a strait which would take him past these wild
lands to the rich cities of the East, which he fancied were very
near there. Of course he failed to find such a strait between Nova
Scotia and Cape Hat´ter-as, but the English later claimed all this
part of the country, because it had been discovered by the Cabots.
Still, for many years they made no attempt to plant a colony there,
and prized their discovery so little that Henry VII. gave Cabot only
£10 reward for all he had done.
The Portuguese, as we have seen, were very jealous when Columbus
came back from his first journey, saying he had found the road to
India. But while he was away on his third expedition, one of their
captains, Vasco da Gama (vahs´co dah gah´mah), sailing all around
Africa and across the Indian Ocean, reached Cal´i-cut in India. He
came home in 1499, with a rich cargo of silks and spices; and the
Portuguese rejoiced greatly that they were the first to reach India
by sea.
The next year some Portuguese ships, on their way around Africa,
happened to go so far west that they sighted the coast of South
America. Spain and Portugal had by this time drawn a line of
demarcation on the map, agreeing that all lands west of it should
belong to Spain, and all east to Portugal. As the new land was
east of this line, the King of Portugal sent a fleet to explore
it, and thus found it was a great continent. All the lands already
discovered by the Spanish and English were supposed to form part
of Asia; but this land was so far south that it was called the New
World.
The pilot of the Portuguese fleet was a young Italian named
A-mer´i-cus Ves-pu´cius. He took note of all he saw, and wrote an
interesting account of his voyage. This narrative described the
country, and as every one wanted to hear about the new discovery,
it was soon published. A German geographer, reading the account
of Americus, was so delighted with it that he suggested that the
new continent should be named America, in honor of the man who had
explored and described it so well. The name was thus given at first
only to part of South America; but when, years afterwards, it was
found that all the western lands belonged to the same continent, the
whole of the New World was called America. Thus, by an accident,
our country bears the name of Americus, instead of that of
Columbus, its real discoverer, for it was the latter who showed the
way to it, although he believed till his death that he had found
only a new road to Asia.
Many writers claim that the first voyage of Americus to the West was
in 1497, four years before his exploration of South America, and
that he then landed on the American continent, shortly before Cabot,
and more than a year before Columbus reached the mainland. According
to them, Americus was thus the first to reach the continent which
bears his name.
XVI. THE FOUNTAIN OF YOUTH.
The Spaniards, as we have seen, immediately began planting colonies
in the West Indies, and in a few years they took possession of all
the islands, and made the natives their slaves. These poor creatures
were forced to work hard for their new masters, who, thirsting
for gold, made them wash the sands of all their streams, and toil
without ceasing.
The Spaniards in Cuba and Haiti, hearing many tales of the gold to
be found in the west, soon sent out several expeditions. They also
planted a few colonies along the coast of Central America, but at
first these did not thrive.
Among the colonists in Haiti there was a Spaniard named Bal-bo´a. He
was poor but very daring, and wished to join an expedition bound for
the mainland. As he could not pay for his passage, he hid in a cask
and had himself carried on board ship as freight.
When far out at sea Balboa crept out of his hiding place, won the
captain's forgiveness, and soon made so many friends that he became
a leader in the settlement they founded on the Isthmus of Da´ri-en,
or Pan-a-ma´. After a time he learned from the natives that a great
ocean lay on the other side of the ridge of mountains. He therefore
made his way through the tangled underbrush and rank tropical
growth, bidding his men wait at the foot of the mountain, while he
climbed up alone.
[Illustration: Balboa Discovers the South Sea.]
On reaching the top, he gazed southward and beheld a great stretch
of water, which he called the Great South Sea (1513). Falling down
upon his knees, he gave thanks to God, and then made joyful signs to
his followers to come up and join him.
Accompanied by these men, Balboa next went down the opposite slope,
and, reaching the shore, waded out into the ocean, with a flag in
one hand and his drawn sword in the other. Standing thus in the
waters of the Great South Sea, he took possession of it in the name
of Spain, declaring that all the countries it bathed belonged to his
sovereigns.
That same year one of the former companions of Columbus, Pōnce de
Leon, started out from Puerto Rico (pwĕr´tō re´co). Like many other
men of his time, he believed that all the stories he had heard were
true, and that somewhere in the world there was a magic spring
called the Fountain of Youth. He thought that if one drank of its
waters, or bathed in them, one would be sure to become young again,
and as he was rapidly growing old he longed to find and try it.
After vainly seeking the fountain on the newly discovered islands,
he fancied, from what the natives told him, that it might be
situated on the mainland, so he set out in quest of it. On Easter
Sunday (_Pascua florida_), he landed in a beautiful country, which,
in honor of the day, he called Florida. After taking possession of
it for Spain, he began exploring; but although he drank from every
spring, and bathed in every stream, he could not find the Fountain
of Youth, and kept growing older and older.
After several years he made another journey to Florida, to continue
his search, and to make a settlement; but as there were no roads
through the dense forests and treacherous marshes, he and his men
suffered greatly from hunger and heat. Finally Ponce de Leon was
sorely wounded in a fight with the Indians, and his men carried him
back to Cuba. There he died, a wrinkled old man, still regretting
that he had not been able to find the Fountain of Youth. His
friends, who admired his bravery, and often said he was as bold as
his namesake the lion, wrote upon his tomb: "In this sepulcher rest
the bones of a man who was Leon [lion] by name and still more by
nature."
While Ponce de Leon was seeking the magic fountain, some of his
countrymen were exploring the Gulf coast, from Florida to Mexico,
under the leadership of Pineda (pe-nā´da). In 1519, also, a
Portuguese, named Ma-gel´lan, took a Spanish fleet down the coast of
South America. After a time he came to the strait bearing his name,
and, sailing through it, beheld the Great South Sea.
Magellan was such a brave seaman that he steered boldly across this
unknown expanse of water. It was so much smoother than the Atlantic
that he called it the Pacific, or "Peaceful" Ocean, a name which
it has borne ever since, and which suits it much better than the
one given by Balboa. After a journey of a year and a half, Magellan
finally reached the Phil´ip-pĭne Islands, where he was killed in a
fight with the natives.
One of his officers now took command, and went on till he reached
India. Thence, by way of the Cape of Good Hope, he came to Spain,
sailing for the first time all around the globe. Besides proving
that the earth is round, this voyage showed that South America is
separated from India by a great stretch of water. Magellan's journey
took three years, but now, thanks to steamboats and railroads, it
can be made in about two months.
XVII. "THE FATHER OF WATERS."
The year 1519 was eventful for the Spanish. In that year Magellan
started out on his journey around the world, Pineda explored the
Gulf coast, and Cor´tez,--a very brave Spaniard,--landing at Vera
Cruz (vā´rah croos), marched into the country and took Mexico, the
city of a great Indian chief named Mon-te-zu´ma.
Although Cortez had only five hundred men, and the Indians were
very numerous, he soon became master of the whole country, which
belonged to Spain for many a year. The Indians in Mexico were partly
civilized, and the region was rich in gold and precious stones.
Another Spaniard, named Pi-zar´ro, shortly after conquered Pe-ru´,
and owing to the cargoes of gold constantly sent from Mexico, Peru,
and other parts of the newly discovered lands, Spain soon became the
wealthiest country in Europe.
Although the Spaniards were anxious to grow rich, they also wished
to convert the natives. Besides soldiers and colonists, therefore,
every vessel brought out priests to convert the heathen. These men
were very good, and so fearless that they went everywhere, preaching
and teaching with great zeal.
They tried to learn the natives' language, and often questioned the
people about the country. All that they heard they repeated to their
leaders, who, finding there was much gold in the northwest, resolved
to go in search of it. A party headed by Narvaez (nar-vah´eth) set
out, therefore, to explore and conquer the northern coast of the
Gulf of Mexico.
But Narvaez was very unfortunate. While he was inland his ships
sailed on, and when he came back to the shore they were out of
sight. Painfully making his way along through the tangled woods for
many miles, he finally reached the coast again and built a second
fleet. This, however, was wrecked at the mouth of the Mississippi
("The Father of Waters"), where Narvaez was drowned.
Four of the followers of Narvaez, narrowly escaping death, soon
after fell into the hands of the Indians. By pretending to be
magicians, these men made the Indians fear them. They lived eight
years among various savage tribes, wandering all across the
continent to the Gulf of Cal-i-for´ni-a, and finally came back to
Mexico, where their leader, Cabeza de Vaca (cah-bā´sah dā vah´cah),
told their adventures to the Spaniards. He was the first European to
visit the region between the Mississippi and California, and it is
said that he tramped more than ten thousand miles during those eight
years of captivity.
The tales told by Vaca and his companions made the Spaniards long to
visit the country and find the Seven Cities of Cibola (see´bo-lah),
where they fancied they could secure much gold. A priest named
Mar´cōs therefore set out to question and convert the natives.
Taking one of Vaca's companions, a negro servant, as guide, Marcos
wandered on foot into New Mexico, where he saw from afar seven Zuñi
(zoo´nyee) pueblos, or villages.
Hearing from the Indians that these were the Seven Cities of Cibola,
he went back to report what he had seen. A Spaniard named Coronado
(co-ro-nah´tho) now set out with an army of about two hundred and
fifty men. He made his way into the new country, visited the Cibola
pueblos, and hearing wonderful tales of Acoma (ah´co-ma), a city
built in the skies, set out to find it. After many hardships, he and
his little army came into a wide valley, in the center of which rose
a huge rock, with straight sides more than three hundred feet high,
and with a broad flat top of about seventy acres.
On the top of this rock the Indians had built one of their cliff
dwellings, which they reached by narrow rocky stairways. Coronado
visited this strange city, but finding the people poor, and hearing
there was gold farther north, he pressed on, and even came to the
Grand Canyon of the Col-o-ra´do.
While Coronado was thus exploring much of the southwestern part of
our country, another Spaniard, De So´to,--who had helped conquer
Peru,--set out from Cuba with nine vessels and an army of nearly
a thousand men. He landed in Tam´pa Bay, and, searching for gold,
wandered for three years through the forests of Florida, Geor´gi-a,
Al-a-ba´ma, and Mississippi. Often attacked by hostile Indians, and
suffering greatly from hunger and sickness, he nevertheless reached
the Mississippi River, and crossed it near Lower Chick´a-saw Bluffs.
But he could not find the El Do-ra´do, or "Land of Gold," he was
seeking, and after exploring the region between the Missouri and
the Red rivers, and losing many men, he resolved to turn back.
Before long, however, De Soto died of malaria (1541), and the
Spaniards, after secretly burying him, told the Indians he had
gone on a long journey. But when they saw that the savages did not
believe them, and gazed suspiciously at the upturned soil, they
began to fear the Indians would treat De Soto's remains shamefully.
[Illustration: De Soto's First View of the Mississippi.]
In the middle of the night, therefore, they took their dead leader
up out of his grave, and wrapped him in a cloak weighted with sand.
Then, rowing out into the Mississippi, they noiselessly lowered his
body into the middle of the great stream which he had been the first
European to visit since the Spaniards were shipwrecked at its mouth
in 1519.
His little army, after making a desperate attempt to retrace its
way overland, came back to the Mississippi. Here the Spaniards built
huge rafts, and, floating down the stream, reached its mouth at the
end of nineteen days. Then, coasting along the Gulf, they made their
way to a Mexican settlement, where they told the story of all their
adventures during this long search for gold.
XVIII. THE FRENCH IN CANADA.
Columbus had been dead for nearly fifty years, and yet people were
only just beginning to explore that part of the New World which is
occupied by our country. But the coast of South America was quite
well known by this time, and already clearly outlined on maps, while
North America was still a mystery.
Most people still fancied that North America was only a narrow strip
of land, like Central America. They also thought that somewhere
north of the Gulf of Mexico there must be a strait, by means of
which it would be easy to pass into the Pacific Ocean, and thereby
reach India without taking the long journey all around South America.
The navigators who visited the coast of North America in search of
this strait, spoke, on their return, of the great quantities of
fish they had seen. Even the Cabots had found many fish there. Now,
all the Christian people in western Europe were Roman Catholics in
those days, and so ate fish instead of meat on fast days, which were
so many that they took up about one third of the time. Fish was
therefore in great demand.
As the rivers did not supply enough, fishing soon became a paying
trade for those who lived by the sea; and because many fish were
found on the coasts of Brit´ta-ny, in France, the Bret´on fishermen
did a good business. Still, when they heard of great schools of
codfish on the Banks of Newfoundland, which could be caught and
salted very easily, these bold fishermen were anxious to secure
them. They therefore began to make fishing trips across the
Atlantic, and before long gave their name to Cape Breton.
France and Spain often waged costly wars, and seeing that the
Spaniards received much gold from the New World, the French longed
to have some of it, too. Their king, therefore, said that he had as
good a right to any undiscovered land as the Spaniards, and that the
latter should not be allowed to keep the New World all to themselves.
Next, he sent out an expedition under Verrazano (ver-rah-tsah´no),
who explored the coast of North America from what is now North
Car-o-li´na to Newfoundland. Some historians say that this captain
finally fell into the hands of cannibal Indians, who devoured him in
the sight of his helpless crew; but others declare that Verrazano
was caught by the Spaniards during a war with France, and hanged as
a pirate.
The French were not discouraged, however. A few years after the
death of Verrazano they sent out another expedition, in charge
of Cartier (car-tyā´). After sailing nearly all the way around
Newfoundland, this explorer, in 1534, came to the mainland, set up a
huge wooden cross, and took possession of the country, in the name
of France. The next year he came back, and, sailing up the St.
Lawrence River, gave it that name because it was Saint Lawrence's
day in the calendar. He visited the place where Que-bec´ now stands,
and went on up the stream until he came to an Indian village,
composed of several long houses surrounded by a palisade.
[Illustration: Niagara Falls.]
Near this village there was a hill which Cartier climbed, and when
his eyes rested upon the beautiful view at his feet, he exclaimed
that this was truly a Mont-re-al´, or royal mountain. A city built
some time after on this very spot still bears the name he gave the
place.
After spending a short time on the St. Lawrence, Cartier went
back to France, taking several Indians with him. Some of these
savages died, and when Cartier returned without them, and tried to
establish a colony, he had trouble with their relatives. Cartier
gave the name of Can´a-da to part of the country, and in talking
with the Indians learned that far inland there was a huge waterfall,
whose roar could be heard many miles away. Indeed, some of the
Indians called it Ni-ag´a-ra, which in English means "The Thunder of
Waters."
Although Cartier longed to see this wonder, he had no time to visit
it, and as the climate proved too cold for his men, he went back to
France, saying it would not be possible to plant a colony so far
north. For the next few years, therefore, the French had only a few
trading posts along the St. Lawrence River, where the Indians came
at certain times to exchange the furs of the animals they had killed
for the beads and trinkets they loved so well.
XIX. FRENCH AND SPANISH QUARRELS.
Twenty years passed by before the French again attempted to plant
a colony in America--twenty very eventful years for France and for
all western Europe. The people, who, as you have heard, had all
been Roman Catholics for centuries, now began to divide. Some of
them refused to obey the pope, and wanted to worship in a somewhat
different way. In France these people were called Hu´gue-nots, and
among them was a nobleman named Coligny (co-leen´ye).
Seeing that the Huguenots were much disliked in their own country,
Coligny proposed that they should go to the New World and found a
colony where they could worship as they pleased without offending
any one. As Cartier said the climate was too cold in Canada,
Coligny sent the Huguenots farther south, in charge of Laudonnière
(lo-do-ne-ār´) and Ribault (re-bo´).
The French colonists, landing in the New World, called the country
Carolina, in honor of their king, Charles, and they also gave
this name to their fort. But they soon lacked food and became
discouraged. As the vessel in which they had come had sailed away,
they built a new ship and set out for France. At sea, lack of
provisions soon brought them to such desperate straits that they
drew lots and ate one of their number. In fact, had they not been
taken prisoners by an English ship, it is very likely they would all
have died of hunger.
Two years later another French settlement of the same name was made
in Florida, on the St. Johns River. As soon as the colonists were
comfortably settled, Ribault went off to punish some Spaniards for
attacking his fleet in time of peace. But while he was away the
Spaniards came by land to surprise the Huguenot settlement.
Now, you must know that the Spaniards were ardent Roman Catholics,
and believed that all Huguenots were very wicked people. Besides,
they hated the French, with whom they had often been at war, and
claimed Florida as their own land because Ponce de Leon had visited
it first. They were so sure, therefore, that they were doing right
by killing the French Huguenots, that when the massacre was all
over, their leader, Menendez (mā-nen´deth) put up a sign on a tree
near by, saying that he had slain the colonists, not because they
were Frenchmen, but because they were not good Catholics. This
done, Menendez went back to the colony of St. Au´gus-tine, which he
had founded two years before (1565) in Florida. This is the oldest
city on the mainland of the United States, and it still proudly
bears the name given by Menendez, its Spanish founder.
[Illustration: Old Spanish Mission at St. Augustine.]
The news of the massacre of the Huguenot colonists was received
with great indignation in France. As the king would take no steps
to avenge it, a nobleman named De Gourgues (goorg) fitted out an
expedition at his own expense, and attacked the Spaniards on the
St. Johns. He came upon them unawares, and killed them all, as
they had murdered the Huguenots at the same place. Then he placed
a sign above the heads of the men he had hanged, saying they had
been executed, not because they were Spaniards, but because they
were pirates and murderers. De Gourgues then sailed away, for the
Spaniards had so strong a fort at St. Augustine that the French had
given up all hope of settling in Florida.
Four years after founding St. Augustine, the Spaniards planted
the colony of San Diego in California, which, however, was soon
abandoned. Their next colony was started many years later at Santa
Fé (fā´), in New Mexico, and thence many priests went out to build
mission stations in the West and convert the Indians.
The present city of Santa Fé, the oldest town in the western United
States, was founded in 1598 by a Spaniard named Oñate (ōn-yah´tā),
who had married the granddaughter of Cortez, conqueror of Mexico.
This Oñate had helped the Spaniards conquer Peru. He was a very
brave man, and hearing about the "Sky City" of Acoma, he resolved
to visit it. About fifty years after Coronado, therefore, he came
within sight of the strange town perched upon a rock.
The Indians, who by this time had learned to fear and hate the
Spaniards, thought this would be a good chance to kill their
greatest foe. So they invited Oñate up into their city, and showed
him their cisterns and granaries. Then, taking him to the top of
one of their great houses, they bade him step down through an open
trapdoor into a dark chamber.
Oñate, suspecting treachery, refused to enter, and it was well for
him that he did so, for a number of armed Indians were lurking there
in the darkness, ready to kill the Spaniards as soon as they set
foot in the apartment.
XX. THE SKY CITY.
Although Oñate cleverly escaped being murdered by the Indians in
Acoma, another Spanish captain, Zaldivar (thahl-de´var), was less
fortunate, a short time after. He and half his force imprudently
ventured up on the rock; but instead of staying together, as Oñate's
troops had done, they scattered to view the strange place. The
Indians took advantage of this to pounce upon their unsuspecting
guests, at a given signal, and began killing them.
The Spaniards, clad in armor, defended themselves heroically; but
many fell, and the last five were driven to the very edge of the
rock and forced to jump down. But, strange to relate, only one of
these men was killed. The others fell into a heap of fine sand,
which the wind had piled up against the base of the great rock.
These men were promptly rescued by their comrades, who, knowing this
attempt would be followed by a general attack upon all the missions,
hastened back to warn Oñate of his peril. After taking immediate
measures to protect the priests, Oñate sent a force of seventy men,
under Zaldivar's brother, to punish the people of Acoma.