THREE GREAT DISCOVERERS
VERY likely some of the readers of this book have asked their fathers or
mothers how Spain came to own the islands of Cuba and Porto Rico, whose
people they treated so badly that the United States had to go to war a
few years ago and take these islands from Spain. Of course, you all know
how the battleship _Maine_ was blown up in the harbor of the city of
Havana, and nearly all its brave sailors went to the bottom and were
drowned. That was one reason why we went to war. If you should ask me
that question, I would say that these were some of the islands which
Columbus found, when he sailed into those sunny seas four centuries ago.
They were settled by Spaniards, who killed off all their people and have
lived on them ever since. There they have raised sugar cane, and
tobacco, and coffee, and also oranges and bananas and all kinds of fine
fruits.
They might have kept on owning these islands and raising these fruits
for many years to come, if they had not been so cruel to the people that
they rose against them, and with the help of the United States
Government the islands were taken from Spain.
When Columbus told the nobles and people of Spain of his wonderful
discovery, and showed them the plants and animals, the gold and other
things, he had found on these far-off islands, it made a great
excitement in that country.
You know how the finding of gold in Alaska has sent thousands of our own
people to that cold country after the shining yellow metal. In the same
way the gold which Columbus brought back sent thousands of Spaniards
across the wide seas to the warm and beautiful islands of which the
great sailor told them, where they hoped to find gold like stones in our
streets.
Dozens of ships soon set sail from Spain, carrying thousands of people
to the fair lands of the west, from which they expected to come back
laden with riches. At the same time two daring sailors from England,
John Cabot and his son Sebastian, crossed the ocean farther north, and
found land where the Northmen had found it five hundred years before. In
the seas into which the Cabots sailed, great fish were so plentiful that
the ships could hardly sail through them, and bears swam out in the
water and caught the fish in their mouths. That was certainly a queer
way of fishing.
When the Cabots came back and told what they had seen, you may be sure
the daring fishermen of Europe did not stay long at home. Soon numbers
of their stout little vessels were crossing the ocean, and most of them
came back so full of great codfish that the water almost ran over their
decks.
Do you not think these fishermen were wiser than the Spaniards, who went
everywhere seeking for gold, and finding very little of it? Gold is only
good to buy food and other things; but if these can be had without
buying they are better still. At any rate, the hardy fishermen thought
so, and they were more lucky in finding fish than the Spaniards were in
finding gold.
Thus the years passed on, and more and more Spaniards came to the
islands of Cuba and Hispaniola (which is now known as Hayti or San
Domingo). And some of them soon began to sail farther west in search of
new lands. Columbus, in his last voyage, reached the coasts of South
America and Central America and other Spanish ships followed to those
new shores.
I might tell you many wonderful things about these daring men. One of
them was named Balboa, whose story you will be glad to hear, for it is
full of strange events. This man had gone to the island of Hispaniola to
make his fortune, but he found there only bad fortune. He had to work on
a farm, and in time he became so poor and owed so much money that it
seemed as if he could never get out of debt. In fact he was in sad
straits.
No doubt the people who had lent him money often asked him to pay it
back again, and Balboa, who got into a worse state every day, at length
took an odd way to rid himself of his troubles. A ship was about to set
sail for the west, and the poor debtor managed to get carried aboard it
in a barrel. This barrel came from his farm and was supposed to contain
provisions, and it was not till they were far away from land that it was
opened and a living man was found in it instead of salt beef or pork.
When the captain saw him he was much astonished. He had paid for a
barrel of provisions, and he found something which he could not well
eat. He grew so angry at being cheated that he threatened to leave
Balboa on a desert island, but the poor fellow got on his knees and
begged so hard for his life that the captain at length forgave him. But
he made him work to pay his way, and very likely used the rope's end to
stir him up.
Of course you have learned from your geographies where the Isthmus of
Darien (now called Panama) is, that narrow strip of land that is like a
string tying together the great continents of North and South America.
It was to the town of Darien, on this isthmus, that the ship made its
way, and here Balboa made a surprising discovery. Some of the Indian
chiefs told him of a mighty ocean which lay on the other side of the
isthmus, and that beyond that ocean was the wonderful land of gold which
the Spaniards wished to find.
What would you have done if you had been in Balboa's place, and wanted
gold to pay your debts? Some of you, I think, would have done what he
did. You would have made your way into the thick forest and climbed the
rugged mountains of the isthmus, until, like Balboa, you got to the top
of the highest peak. And, like him, you would have been filled with joy
when you saw in the far distance the vast Pacific ocean, its waves
glittering in the summer sun.
Here was glory; here was fortune. The poor debtor had become a great
discoverer. Before his eyes spread a mighty ocean, its waves beating on
the shore. He hurried with his men down the mountain sides to this
shining sea, and raised on its shores the great banner of Spain. And
soon after he set sail on its waters for Peru, the land of gold. But he
did not get very far, for the stormy weather drove him back.
Poor Balboa! he was to win fame, but not fortune, and his debts were
never to be paid. A jealous Spanish governor seized him, condemned him
as a traitor, and had his head cut off in the market place. And so ended
Balboa's dream of gold and glory. I could tell you of other wonderful
adventures in these new lands. There is the story of Cortez, who found
the great kingdom of Mexico, and conquered it with a few hundred
Spaniards in armor of steel. And there is the story of Pizarro, who
sailed to Peru, Balboa's land of gold, and won it for Spain, and sent
home tons of silver and gold. But these stories have nothing to do with
the history of the United States, so we must pass them by and go back to
the early days of the country in which we dwell.
The first Spaniard to set foot on what is now the United States was an
old man named Ponce de Leon, who was governor of Porto Rico. If he had
lived until now he would have been on our soil while on that island, for
it now belongs to the United States. But no one had dreamed of our great
republic four hundred years ago.
At that time there was a fable which many believed, which said that
somewhere in Asia was a wonderful Fountain of Youth. It was thought that
everybody who bathed in its waters would grow young again. An old man in
a moment would become as fresh and strong as a boy. De Leon wanted youth
more than he did gold, and like all men at that time he thought the land
he was in was part of Asia, and might contain the Fountain of Youth. He
asked the Indians if they knew of such a magic spring. The red men, who
wanted to get rid of the Spaniards, by whom they had been cruelly
treated, pointed to the northwest.
So, in the year 1513, old Ponce de Leon took ship and sailed away in
search of the magic spring. And not many days passed before, on Easter
Sunday, he saw before him a land so bright with flowers that he named it
"Flowery Easter." It is still called Florida, the Spanish word for
"flowery."
I am sure none of my young readers believe in such a Fountain of Youth,
and that none of you would have hunted for it as old De Leon did. Up and
down that flowery land he wandered, seeking its wonderful waters. He
found many sparkling springs, and eagerly drank of and bathed in their
cool, liquid waves, but out of them all he came with white hair and
wrinkled face. In the end he gave up the search, and sailed away, a sad
old man. Some years afterwards he came back again. But this time the
Indians fought with the white men, and De Leon was struck with an arrow,
and hurt so badly that he soon died. So he found death instead of youth.
Many people go to Florida in our own days in search of health, but Ponce
de Leon is the only man who ever went there to find the magical Fountain
of Youth.
About twenty-five years afterwards another Spaniard came to Florida. It
was gold and glory he was after, not youth. This man, Fernando de Soto,
had been in Peru with Pizarro, and helped him to conquer that land of
gold. He now hoped to find a rich empire for himself in the north.
So with nine ships and six hundred brave young men he sailed away from
his native land. They were a gay and hopeful band, while their bright
banners floated proudly from the mastheads, and waved in the western
winds. Little did they dream of what a terrible fate lay before them.
I think you will say that De Soto deserved a bad fate when I tell you
that he brought bloodhounds to hunt the poor Indians, and chains to
fasten on their hands and feet. That was the way the Spaniards often
treated the poor red men. He brought also two hundred horses for his
armed men to ride, and a drove of hogs to serve them for fresh meat. And
in the ships were great iron chests, which he hoped to take back full of
gold and other precious things.
For two long years De Soto and his band traveled through the country,
fighting Indians, burning their houses and robbing them of their food.
But the Indians were brave warriors, and in one terrible battle the
Spaniards lost eighty of their horses and many of their men.
In vain De Soto sought for gold and glory. Not an ounce of the yellow
metal was found; no mighty empire was reached. He did make one great
discovery, that of the vast Mississippi River. But he never got home to
tell of it, for he died on its banks, worn out with his battles and
marches, and was buried under its waters. His men built boats and
floated down the great river to the Gulf of Mexico. Here, at length,
they found Spanish settlements. But of that brave and gallant band half
were dead, and the rest were so nearly starved that they were like
living skeletons.
We must not forget that humble Italian traveler and explorer, Amerigo
Vespucci, who in 1499, saw the part of South America where lies the
island of Trinidad. He afterwards reached the coast of Brazil. Some
years later, when maps were made of the country he had visited, some one
called it _America_. In later years this name was used for the whole
continent. So what should have been called Columbia came to be called
America.