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jewels to provide the necessary supplies. Columbus was created Admiral of the Ocean in all the islands and
continents he might discover; two little ships were made ready, and it seemed as though the dream of his life
might be fulfilled. The explorer was now forty-six; his red hair had become grey with waiting and watching
for the possibility of realising his great scheme.
[Illustration: THE PARTING OF COLUMBUS WITH FERDINAND AND ISABELLA, 3RD AUGUST
1492. From De Bry's account of the Voyages to India, 1601.]
CHAPTER XXII 84
At last the preparations were complete. The Santa Maria was to lead the way with the Admiral on board; she
was but one hundred tons' burden, with a high poop and a forecastle. It had been difficult enough to find a
crew; men were shy about venturing with this stranger from Genoa on unknown seas, and it was a motley
party that finally took service under Columbus. The second ship, the Pinta, was but half the size of the
flagship; she had a crew of eighteen and was the fastest sailer of the little squadron, while the third, the Nina
of forty tons, also carried eighteen men.
[Illustration: COLUMBUS'S SHIP, THE SANTA MARIA. From a woodcut of 1493 supposed to be after a
drawing by Columbus himself.]
On 3rd August 1492 the little fleet sailed forth from Spain on a quest more perilous perhaps than any yet on
record. No longer could they sail along with a coast always in sight; day after day and night after night they
must sail on an unknown sea in search of an unknown land. No one ever expected to see them again. It has
well been said that, "looking back at all that has grown out of it in the four centuries that have elapsed, we
now know that the sailing of those three little boats over the bar was, since the Fall of Rome, the most
momentous event in the world's history." The ships steered for the Canary Islands, and it was not till 9th
September that the last land faded from the eyes of that daring little company.
[Illustration: THE BEST PORTRAIT OF COLUMBUS. From the original painting (by an unknown artist) in
the Naval Museum at Madrid.]
Something of a panic among the sailors ensued when they realised their helpless position; some even burst
into tears, begging to be taken home. The days passed on. By the 16th they had come within the influence of
the trade winds.
"The weather was like April," says Columbus in his journal. Still westward they sailed, eagerly looking for
signs of land. Now they see two pelicans, "an indication that land was near," now a large dark cloud to the
north, another "sign that land is near."
As the days pass on, their hopes die away and "the temper of the crews was getting uglier and uglier as the
three little vessels forged westward through the blue weed-strewn waters." On 9th October hope revives; all
night they hear birds passing through the still air.
On the evening of the 11th a light was seen glimmering in the distance; from the high stern deck of the Santa
Maria it could be plainly seen, and when the sun rose on that memorable morning the low shores of land a
few miles distant could be plainly seen. "Seabirds are wheeling overhead heedless of the intruders, but on the
shore human beings are assembling to watch the strange birds which now spread their wings and sail towards
the island.
"The Pinta leads and her crew are raising the 'Te Deum.' The crews of the Santa Maria and the Nina join in
the solemn chant and many rough men brush away tears. Columbus, the two Pinzons, and some of the men
step into the cutter and row to the shore." Columbus, fully armed under his scarlet cloak, sprang ashore, the
unclothed natives fleeing away at sight of the first white man who had ever stepped on their shores. Then,
unfurling the royal standard of Spain and setting up a large cross, the great navigator fell on his knees and
gave thanks to God for this triumphant ending to his perilous voyage. He named the island San Salvador and
formally took possession of it for Spain. It was one of the Bahama group, and is now known as Watling Island
(British).
"Thus was the mighty enterprise achieved, mighty in its conception, still more important in its results."
But Columbus thought he had discovered the Indies, a new route to the east and the Cathay of Marco Polo. He
had done more than this; he had discovered another continent. He had sailed over three thousand miles
CHAPTER XXII 85
without seeing land, a feat unparalleled in the former history of discovery.
He made friends with the natives, who resembled those of the Canary Islands. "I believe they would easily
become Christians," wrote Columbus. "If it please our Lord at the time of my departure, I will take six from [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

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