COLUMBUS 



1501 



COLUMBUS 



that doctrine, and many educated men through 

 all the ages since his time had believed it. The 

 mass of the people, to be sure, still held that 

 the earth was flat, and even those who believed 

 differently had some very curious notions. 

 There could be no inhabitants on the other 

 side of the globe, they contended, because 

 they would be walking head down and would 

 naturally fall off; and it was not safe for a 

 ship to sail down one side of the earth, because 

 it could not possibly get up on the other. But 

 none of these difficulties discouraged Columbus. 

 If the earth was round the countries to the 

 east could certainly be reached by sailing 

 westward, and he was willing to risk his life 

 to prove it. Of the great continent of Amer- 

 ica which lay in his way he knew or dreamed 

 nothing. 



He could not start out on such an expedi- 

 tion as he planned without very substantial 

 aid, and this it seemed impossible to procure. 

 Men laughed at him men who afterward 

 would have given their fortunes to have posed 



THE CONVENT OF LA RABIDA 



The reproduction of this building at the 

 World's Columbian Exposition, Chicago, 1893, 

 made it a familiar object to millions of people. 

 It still stands In the same location in Jackson 

 Park, Chicago, overlooking Lake Michigan, and 

 is used as a sanitarium for sick babies. 



as his patrons. At first he went to Genoa, his 

 native town, and besought wealthy men there 

 to finance his expeditions; then he turned to 

 King John of Portugal, who had been generous 

 to other navigators. Failure met his every 

 effort, however, and in 1484 he went to Spain, 

 to lay his case before Ferdinand and Isabella. 

 His life during the following years presents a 

 pathetic picture. With his little son Diego 

 he journeyed from one Spanish city to another, 

 following the court, and pleading not for him- 

 self but for his great idea. At times, utterly 

 weary, he rested in the monasteries, but he 

 could not remain inactive long. Finally, late 

 in 1491, he decided to leave Spain for France* 

 and was on his way when he stopped at the 



convent of La Rabida. There he made the 

 acquaintance of Juan Perez, who had formerly 

 been Queen Isabella's confessor, and Perez, 

 inspired by the zeal of Columbus, wrote a 

 letter to the queen which resulted in the recall 

 of Columbus. Through the queen's aid 

 according to some accounts, through the sale 

 of her jewels three vessels were fitted out for 

 him. and he was authorized to take possession 

 of all the land he might discover, in the name 

 of Spain. 



America Discovered. On August 3, 1492, 

 Columbus set sail from Palos with his three lit- 

 tle sailing vessels, the Nina, the Pinta and the 

 Santa Maria, the largest of which had a deck 

 length of but 163 feet. It was perhaps the 

 bravest exploit ever undertaken, for he was 

 sailing not along the coast, but straight out 

 into the "Sea of Darkness," as the Atlantic was 

 then called, every minute farther and farther 

 from the only land he really knew. Surely 

 history shows few sublimer figures. His crew 

 were not so confident as was he of the out- 

 come of the voyage; they feared the hid- 

 eous monsters with which they believed the 

 ocean was peopled, and as they sailed week 

 after week with no sign of land, they despaired 

 of ever finding their way back to Europe. 

 According to some accounts they threatened 

 mutiny, but through it all Columbus remained 

 firm and refused to turn back. Joaquin Miller, 

 in his poem Columbus, has shown well the 

 spirit of the man. 



Behind him lay the gray Azores, 

 Behind the Gates of Hercules ; 



Before him not the ghost of shores, 

 Before him only shoreless seas. 



The good mate said : "Now must we pray, 

 For lo ! the very stars are gone. 



Brave Admiral, speak, what shall I say?" 

 "Why, say, 'Sail on ! sail on ! and on !' " 



Finally signs of land began to appear, such as 

 broken branches of trees, and land birds; and 

 on October 12 came the triumph: 



Then, pale and worn, he kept his deck, 



And peered through darkness. Ah, that night 

 Of all dark nights ! And then a speck 



A ligTit ! A light ! A light ! A light ! 

 It grew, a starlit flag unfurled ! 



It grew to be Time's burst of dawn. 

 He gained a world ; he gave that world 



Its grandest lesson : "On ! sail on !" 



Early in the morning they landed on an 

 island which Columbus called San Salvador, 

 now supposed to be the present Watling's 

 Island, one of the Bahamas. This, he felt sure, 

 was not Cipango; neither was Cuba, which he 

 reached later, but he did believe this latter to 



