COLUMBUS, CHRISTOPHER 



139 



mil green trees; the birds in rich plumage, and 

 rdnre of the fields, render this country, 

 most serene princes, of such marvelous beauty 

 t hat it surpasses all others in charms and graces 

 as tin- i lay doth the night in luster." 



.Meantime the Indians were always talking uf 

 tin- riches <>f an island which they pointed out, 

 and. sailing in search of it, on Dec. 12 Columbus 

 arrived at Santo Domingo, and, finding a good 

 harbor, he took possession with the usual cere- 

 monies, including the planting of a cross. He 

 coa.-le<l around the shores of Hispaniola, as he 

 had done about those of Cuba, trading with the 

 nat ives for food, but seeking especially for knowl- 

 edge of the country and of its resources, and 

 every now and then being rewarded by gold. 



On Christmas eve Columbus set sail from Port 

 Concepcion, in Santo Domingo, to visit a friendly 

 chieftain, for by this time he had had much in- 

 tercourse with the natives. The sea was calm as 

 glass, the wind just filling the sails gently, and 

 an exploring party had reported no rocks or 

 shoals. Columbus, worn out with several nights 

 of vigilance, left, the steersman at the helm. No 

 sooner were the admiral's eyes closed than the 

 watch, including the steersman, who gave the 

 helm in charge of a boy, were also wrapped in 

 .slumber. They were waked by the boy's cry for 

 help, and Columbus was the first on deck. The 

 current had swept the. vessel among breakers, 

 and she was soon a wreck. 



After this accident the seamen pointed out to 

 Columbus the distress and danger that would 

 attend the voyage if the company of two vessels 

 attempted to return in one, and many of them 

 begged to be left in Hispaniola. This caused 

 Columbus to conceive the idea of establishing a 

 colony. Wood from the wrecked vessel fur- 

 nished material for a fortress, which they imme- 

 diately set about building. This was in Colum- 

 bus's mind more as a means of maintaining 

 discipline among the Spaniards than as defense 

 against the natives, who had shown themselves 

 so gentle. Already the license felt among the 

 men since the shipwreck to wander about and 

 plunder had shown itself. When the fort of 

 the Nativity was finished, there were many 

 volunteers to remain in it until Columbus 

 should return from a visit to Spain, where he 

 was anxious to carry the great news, in which 

 he thought that already the deserting command- 

 er might have preceded him. Arrangements 

 were made for the care of the colony, and men 

 of various trades, a ship's boat, seeds of many 

 kinds, and an ample supply of trinkets for In- 

 dian traffic, were left with them, all being 

 placed in charge of men whom the admiral 

 deemed most suitable. They were to collect 

 gold, precious stones, and cotton from the na- 

 tives. 



On Jan. 4, 1493, Columbus set sail for the 

 return voyage, and on the following day the 

 " Pinta" was seen from their masthead. As 

 Columbus was then beating against adverse 

 wind, he turned and, signaling the "Pinta" to 

 follow, sought safe anchorage. Pinzon's excuse 

 that the absence was unintentional was accepted, 

 although not believed. The vessel was his own. 

 Many of the mariners on both ships were his 

 relatives or retainers, and Columbus was not in 

 a position to rebuke the conduct as he thought 



it merited, although he learned Inter that Pin- 

 y.on had gone in search of an island described by 

 Indians as full of gold, had failed to find it, but 

 for three weeks had been trading with the In- 

 dians for a large quantity of gold, half of which 

 he kept, ami the other half ne divided among 

 his men. He had stolen four Indian men and 

 two girls, to sell as slaves in Spain. Columbus 

 also learned that Pinzon had been on Santo Do- 

 mingo when the wreck occurred, news of which 

 he had received from Indians. The gold gath- 

 ered on this expedition Columbus did not inter- 

 fere with ; but he compelled the return of the 

 six natives, a move which evoked much con- 

 temptuous conduct from the angry commander. 

 Before passing out to sea Columbus landed on 

 another island, where he found a much more 

 warlike race. The trade winds that had proved 

 so friendly to his outward voyage were, as the 

 sailors feared, hard enemies to fight on the re- 

 turn. The expedition made little progress, and 

 the " Pinta," which Pinzon had neglected to re- 

 pair while in port, sailed so badly, even in a 

 favorable wind, that many delays were caused 

 by waiting on its movements. A whole month 

 was spent in beating about before they passed 

 out of the influence of the trades. Columbus 

 then took a straight course for Spain. Great 

 disputes arose among the pilots as to their 

 whereabouts. Columbus kept his own counsel, 

 entirely willing to be the only one whose clear 

 vision and careful study had taught him the 

 true path to the New World. By referring to 

 his minute notes, he believed himself to be off the 

 Azores when the pilots were looking for the 

 Madeiras. On Feb. 12 a tempest of terrific vio- 

 lence burst upon the vessels. Columbus kept as 

 much as possible to the northeast, arid signaled 

 that course to the " Pinta " : but her weak fore- 

 mast made her unmanageable, and she was soon 

 lost to sight, scudding before the gale. Despair 

 fell upon the almost helpless crew. Their leak- 

 ing and crazy vessel was the plaything of waves 

 such as they had never seen. Columbus ordered 

 as many beans as there were persons on board to 

 be put into a cup, one of them having a cross 

 cut upon it, and every man vowed that, should 

 he draw the marked bean, he would make a pil- 

 grimage to Santa Maria de Guadalupe, bearing 

 a wax taper of 5 pounds weight. 1 he first to 

 put in his hand was Columbus, and the lot fell 

 upon him. Another lot was prepared, in which 

 Heaven was propitiated bv the promise of a pil- 

 grimage to Our Lady of Loretto, and the bean 

 was drawn by a seaman, whose expenses the ad- 

 miral assured him he would pay. A third lot, 

 cast for a pilgrimage to Santa Clara de Moguer, 

 to perform solemn mass, and to watch all night 

 in the chapel, fell again to Columbus. The 

 tempest continued to rage, and the men made 

 a solemn vow that, should they reach land, they 

 would go in procession, barefooted and in their 

 shirts, to offer up prayers and thanksgivings in 

 some church at the shrine of Mary. Besides 

 these, each man bound himself separately to of- 

 fer to his favorite saint. They still tossed help- 

 less in the storm ; and at length Columbus 

 caused the casks, which were now emptied of the 

 drinking water taken for the voyage, to lie filled 

 with sea water, which gave a measure of relief 

 by steadying the vessel somewhat. Of his feel- 



