Although my first experimental voyage had proved so hazardous, now that
I was better provided for meeting its perils, I became anxious to make
another attempt to circumnavigate the island. The boat that had
belonged to the wrecked ship, from the frequent trips I had made in her
to and from the shore, I could manage as well as if I had been rowing
boats all my life.
With the assistance of Mrs Reichardt, who pulled an oar almost as well
as myself, we could get her along in very good style, even when heavily
laden, and our labours together had taken from her all that timidity
which had deterred her from trusting herself with me, when I first
ventured from the island.
I was, however, very differently circumstanced now, to what I was then.
Instead of a frail cockle-shell, that threatened to be capsized by every
billow that approached it, and that would scarcely hold two persons
comfortably, I was master of a well-built ship's boat, that would hold
half a dozen with ease, and except in very rough weather, was as safe as
any place ashore.
I had repaired the slight damage its timbers had received, and had made
an awning to protect us when rowing, from the heat of the sun; I had
also raised a sail, which would relieve us of a good deal of labour.
When everything was prepared, I urged Mrs Reichardt to accompany me in
a voyage round the island; an excursion I hoped would turn out equally
pleasant and profitable.
I found her very averse to trusting herself farther from shore than was
absolutely necessary. She raised all kinds of objections--prominent
among which were my want of seamanship for managing a boat in the open
sea; the danger that might arise from a sudden squall coming on; her
fear of our getting amongst a shoal of sharks, and the risk we ran of
driving against a projecting rock; but I overruled them all.
I showed her, by taking little trips out to sea, that I could manage the
boat either with the sail or the oars, and assured her that by keeping
close to the island, we could run ashore before danger could reach us;
and that nothing could be easier than our keeping out of the reach of
both rocks and sharks.
I do not think I quite convinced her that her fears were groundless; but
my repeated entreaties, the fineness of the weather, and her dislike to
be again left on the island, whilst I was risking my life at sea,
prevailed, and she promised to join me in this second experiment.
Her forethought, however, was here as fully demonstrated as on other
occasions, for she did not suffer the boat to leave the shore till she
had provided for any accident that might prevent our return the
anticipated time.
A finer day for such a voyage we could not have selected. The sky was
without a cloud, and there was just wind enough for the purpose I
wanted, without any apprehensions of this being increased. I got up the
awning, and spread the sail, and handing Mrs Reichardt to her appointed
seat, we bid farewell to our four-footed and two-footed friends ashore,
that were gazing at us as if they knew they were parting from their only
protectors. I then pushed the boat off, the wind caught the sail, and
she glided rapidly through the deep water.
I let her proceed in this way about a quarter of mile from the island,
and then tacked; the boat, obedient to the position of the sail, altered
her course, and we proceeded at about the same rate, for a considerable
distance.
Mrs Reichardt, notwithstanding her previous fears, could not help
feeling the exhilarating effect of this adventurous voyage. We were
floating, safely and gracefully, upon the billows, with nothing but sea
and sky in every direction but one, where the rugged shores of our
island home gave a bold, yet menacing feature to the view.
My heart seemed to expand with the majestic prospect before me. Never
had mariner, when discovering some prodigious continent, felt a greater
degree of exultation than I experienced when directing my little vessel
over the immense wilderness of waters that spread out before me, till it
joined the line of the horizon.
I sat down by the side of Mrs Reichardt, and allowed the boat to
proceed on its course, either as if it required no directing hand, or
that its present direction was so agreeable, I felt no inclination to
alter it.
"I can easily imagine," said I, "the enthusiasm of such men as Columbus,
whose discovery of America you were relating to me the other day. The
vocation of these early navigators was a glorious one, and, when they
had tracked their way over so many thousand miles of pathless water, and
found themselves in strange seas, expecting the appearance of land,
hitherto unknown to the civilised world, they must have felt the
importance of their mission as discoverers."
"No doubt, Frank," she replied; "and probably, it was this that
supported the great man you have just named, in the severe trials he was
obliged to endure, on the very eve of the discovery that was to render
his name famous to all generations. He had endured intolerable
hardships, the ship had been so long without sight of land, that no one
thought it worth while to look out for it, and he expected that his crew
would mutiny, and insist on returning. At this critical period of his
existence, first one indication of land, and then another, made itself
manifest; the curiosity of the disheartened sailors became excited; hope
revived in the breast of their immortal captain; a man was now induced
to ascend the main-top, and his joyful cry of land woke up the
slumbering spirit of the crew. In this way, a new world was first
presented to the attention of the inhabitants of the old."
"It appears to me very unjust," I observed, "that so important a
discovery should have become known to us, not by the name of its
original discoverer, but by that of a subsequent visitor to its shores."
"Undoubtedly," said Mrs Reichardt, "it is apparently unfair that
Americus Vespucius should obtain an honour which Christopher Columbus
alone had deserved. But of the fame which is the natural right of him
whose courage and enterprise procured this unrivalled acquisition, no
one can deprive him. His gigantic discovery may always be known as
America, but the world acknowledges its obligation to Columbus, and
knows little beyond the name of his rival."
"Were the immediate results of so large an addition to geographical
knowledge, as beneficial to the entire human race as they ought to have
been?"
"I do not think they were. The vast continent then thrown open to the
advance of civilisation, may be divided into two portions,--the south
and the north. The former was inhabited by a harmless effeminate race,
who enjoyed many of the refinements of civilisation; their knowledge of
the arts, for instance, as shown to us in the ruins of their cities, was
considerable; they possessed extensive buildings in a bold and ornate
style of architecture; they made a lavish use of the precious metals, of
which the land was extremely rich, and they wore dresses which showed a
certain perfection in the manufacture of textile fabrics, and no slight
degree of taste and art in their formation.
"The Spaniards, who were led to this part of the continent by a desire
to enrich themselves with the gold which the earliest discoverers had
found in the new country in considerable quantities, invaded the
territories of this peaceful people, and, by their superior knowledge of
warlike weapons, and the ignorance of the intentions of their invaders
that prevailed amongst the natives of all ranks, by a series of
massacres, they were enabled, though comparatively but a small force, to
obtain possession of the vast empire that had been established there
from time immemorial, and turn it into a Spanish colony.
"The blood of this harmless race flowed like water; their great Incas or
Emperors were deposed and murdered, their splendid temples plundered of
their riches, their nobles and priests tortured to make them change
their faith, and the great mass of the people became slaves to their
more warlike conquerors. It was in this way the gold of Mexico and Peru
enriched the treasury of Spain; but every ingot had the curse of blood
upon it, and from that time the Spanish power, then at its height, began
to decline in Europe, till it sunk in the scale of nations among the
least important. The colonies revolted from the mother country, and
became independent states; but the curse that followed the infamous
appropriation of the country, seems to cling to the descendants of the
first criminals, and neither government nor people prospers; and it is
evident that all these independent states must in time be absorbed by a
great republic, that has sprung up by peaceable means, as it were at
their side, whilst they were content to be colonies."
"To what republic do you allude?"
"You may remember that I told you that the entire continent was divided
into south and north."
"Exactly."
"The history of the southern portion I have rapidly sketched for you,
that of the northern you will find of a totally different character."
"Pray let me hear it."
"When North America was first discovered, it was found to be inhabited
by a race of savages, divided into several tribes. They had no
manufactures; they had no knowledge of art or science; they lived in the
impenetrable woods in huts, having no pretension to architecture; they
went almost entirely naked, were extremely warlike, and fond of hunting,
and were known to devour the enemies they killed in battle.
"To this barbarous race came a few adventurous men across the stormy
Atlantic, from the distant island of England--"
"Ah, England!" I exclaimed, "that is the country of my parents--that is
the home of my grandfather; let me hear anything you have to say about
England."
Mrs Reichardt smiled at my animation, but proceeded without making any
comment upon what I had said.
"England possessed at this period many adventurous spirits, who were
ready to dare every danger to obtain for their country a share in the
honours which other lands had assumed through the enterprise of their
navigators. By such men different portions of the northern continent of
America were discovered; the fame of these new lands, their wonderful
productiveness and admirable climate, soon spread amongst their
countrymen, and from time to time various ships left the English ports
with small bands of adventurers, who made what were termed settlements
in the country of these savages--not by mercilessly massacring them as
the Spaniards had done in the south, and then plundering them of all
they possessed, but by purchasing certain districts or pieces of land
from the original occupants, which they peacefully cultivated; as their
numbers increased, they multiplied their habitations, and obtained by
barter of the savages fresh accessions of territory."
"The English showed themselves a much more humane people than the
Spaniards," I observed. "But did they never come into collision with
the wild natives of the country?"
"Frequently," Mrs Reichardt replied; "but in some measure this was
unavoidable. As new settlers from England landed in the country, they
required more land; but the savages were now not inclined to barter;
they had become jealous of the strangers, and were desirous of driving
them back to their ships before they became too numerous. Acts of
hostility were committed by the savages upon the settlers, which were
often marked by great brutality: this exasperated the latter, who joined
in a warlike association, and notwithstanding their numbers and daring,
drove them further and further from their neighbourhood, till either by
conquest, treaties, or purchase, the Englishmen or their descendants
obtained the greater portion of North America."
"Do they still hold possession of it?" I asked.
"Up to a recent date, the whole of this vast acquisition was a colony in
obedience to the government of England; but a dispute having arisen
between the mother country and the colony, a struggle took place, which
ended in the hatter throwing off all subjection to the laws of England.
The extensive provinces joined together in a union of equal privileges
and powers, which has since gone by the name of the Government of the
United States of North America. This is the great republic to which I
just now alluded, that is gradually absorbing the minor Southern States
into its union, and threatens at no very distant date to spread the
English language and the English race over the whole continent of
America."
"Has England then completely lost the country she colonised?" I
inquired, feeling more and more interested in the subject.
"No, a great portion still remains in her possession," she replied.
"The people preserved their allegiance when their neighbours thought
proper to rise in revolt, and are now in a state of great prosperity,
governed by the laws of England, and supported by her power. The
English possessions in North America form an extensive district. It is,
however, but an inconsiderable fraction of the vast countries still
remaining under the dominion of England. Her territories lie in every
quarter of the globe; indeed the sun never sets upon this immense
empire--an empire with which the conquests of Alexander, and of Caesar,
or the most formidable state that existed in ancient times, cannot for a
moment be compared; and when we bear in mind that in all these various
climates, and in all these far-distant shores, the flag of our country
affords the same protection to the colonist as he would enjoy in his own
land, we may entertain some idea of the vast power that government
possesses which can make itself respected at so many opposite points
from the source whence it emanates."
I was so much interested in this description, that I had neglected to
notice the rate at which the boat was driving through the water. I now
rose with great alacrity to shift the sail, as we had got several miles
from the island, and if I did not take care we might be blown out of
sight of land. I lost no time in putting her on another tack, but we
had not proceeded far in this direction when I found the wind lull, and
presently the sail drooped to the mast, and there was a dead calm.
It became necessary now to take to our oars, and we were presently
pulling with all our strength in the direction of land. This went on
for some time till we were both tired, and I was surprised at the little
progress we had made. We lay on our oars and took some refreshment, and
then pulled with additional vigour; but I began to suspect that we were
receding from the land instead of approaching it, and called Mrs
Reichardt's attention to the fact of the island diminishing in size,
notwithstanding the length of time we had been pulling towards it.
"Ah, Frank," she said, in a melancholy tone of voice, "I have for some
time entertained suspicions that all our strength was being expended in
vain. It is very clear that we have got into a current that is every
moment taking us further out to sea, and if a breeze does not soon
spring up, we shall lose sight of the island, and then heaven only knows
what will become of us."
I shook out the sail, in hopes of its catching sufficient wind to lead
us out of the current, but not a breath of air was stirring. We did not
possess such a thing as a compass; our provisions were only calculated
for a pleasure trip--we had only one small jar of water, and a flask of
spirit, a few biscuits, two large cakes, a chicken, and some dried fish.
The land was rapidly receding; I could only mark its position with
respect to the sun, that now was pouring its burning rays upon our
little bark. If it had not been for the awning, we could not have
endured it; the heat was so oppressive. We had been obliged to give
over rowing, as much from the fatigue it occasioned as from the
hopelessness of our labour.
We now sat with sinking hearts watching the fast-retreating land. It
had become a point--it diminished to a speck, and as it disappeared from
our anxious sight, the sun set in all his glory, and we were drifting at
the mercy of the current we knew not where, with nothing but sky and sea
all around us.