160 



HISTORY OF THE SEA. 



Thus far the route had lain over the beaten track between the 

 continent and the Canaries, along the coast of Africa. As they 

 now launched into the open sea, and as the Peak of Teneriffe 

 sank under the horizon behind them, the heart of Columbus beat 

 high with joy, while the courage of his officers and men died 

 away within them. The Admiral kept two logs, one for himself 

 and one for the crew, the latter scoring a distance less than that 

 which they had really made, and thus keeping them in ignorance 

 of their actual distance from home. His course was to the 

 southwest. The sky, the stars, the horizon, the water, changed 

 visibly as they advanced. Familiar constellations disappeared, 

 others took their place. On the 13th of September, Columbus 

 observed a strange and fearful phenomenon. The needle, which 

 till then had been infallible, swerved from the Polar star, and 

 tremblingly diverged to the northwest. The next day this 

 variation was still more marked. Columbus took every pre- 

 caution to conceal a discovery so discouraging from the fleet, 

 and one which alarmed even him. The water now became more 

 limpid, the climate more bland, and the sky more transparent. 

 There was a delicate haze in the air, and a fragrance peculiar to 

 the sea in the fresh breeze. Aquatic plants, apparently newly 

 detached from the rocks or the bed of the ocean, floated upon the 

 waves. For the first time in the history of the world, the tranquil 

 beauties and the solemn splendors of the tropical Atlantic were 

 passing before the gaze of human beings. According to the journal 

 of Columbus, " nothing was wanting in the scene except the song 

 of the nightingale to remind him of Andalusia in April." 



The proximity of land seemed often to be indicated by the 

 odor with which the winds were laden, by the abundance of 

 marine plants, and the presence of birds. Columbus would not 

 alter his course, as he did not wish to abate the confidence of 

 his men in his own belief that land was to be found by steering 

 west. The floating vegetation now became so abundant that it 

 retarded the passage of the vessels. The sailors became seriously 



