The Discovery of America by Columbus
It is a somewhat remarkable evidence of the rapid progress of nations in modern times that after years of doubt and deliberation the utmost provision which the kingdom of Spain could make for the discovery of a new world was a fleet of three frail vessels which would now be considered scarcely fit for a coasting voyage, and which thousands of individuals might provide at an hour's notice. Only one of these vessels was decked, and the boldness of ignorance alone made so many men willing to dare the risk of crossing an ocean in such crazy craft. One hundred and twenty persons in all took part in the expedition, which set sail from the port of Palos on the 3d of August, 1492. One of the vessels was in distress when they were but three days from port, and the fleet was obliged to put in to the Canary Islands for repair. Here they lay for a month before they were ready to set sail again. While there the admiral learned that three Portuguese caravels were hovering about the islands, and, fearing that the King of Portugal was seeking to stop the expedition, he hastened to put to sea, to escape this first danger to his long-cherished scheme. In continuation of the story of this remarkable voyage we cannot do better than offer the following selection from Irving's "Life and Voyages of Columbus."
EARLY in the morning of the 6th of September, Columbus set sail from the island of Gomera, and now might be said first to strike into the region of discovery, - taking leave of these frontier islands of the Old World, and steering westward for the unknown parts of the Atlantic. For three days, however, a profound calm kept the vessels loitering, with flagging sails, within a short distance of the land. This was a tantalizing delay to Columbus, who was impatient to find himself far out of sight of either land or sail,-which, in the pure atmospheres of these latitudes, may be descried at an immense distance. On the following Sunday, the 9th of September, at day-break, he beheld Ferro, the last of the Canary Islands, about nine leagues distant. This was the island whence the Portuguese caravels had been seen; he was therefore in the very neighborhood of danger. Fortunately, a breeze sprang up with the sun, their sails were once more filled, and in the course of the day the heights of Ferro gradually faded from the horizon.
On losing sight of this last trace of land, the hearts of the crews failed them. They seemed literally to have taken leave of the world. Behind them was everything dear to the heart of man, - country, family, friends, life itself; before them everything was chaos, mystery, and peril. In the perturbation of the moment, they despaired of ever more seeing their homes. Many of the rugged seamen shed tears, and some broke into loud lamentations. The admiral tried in every way to soothe their distress, and to inspire them with his own glorious anticipations. He described to them the magnificent countries to which he was about to conduct them: the islands of the Indian seas teeming with gold and precious stones; the regions of Mangi and Cathay, with their cities of unrivalled wealth and splendor. He promised them land and riches, and everything that could arouse their cupidity or inflame their imaginations, nor were these promises made for purposes of mere deception; he certainly believed that he should realize them all.
Columbus now directed the commanders of the other vessels that in the event of separation they should continue to sail due west-ward, but that after sailing seven hundred leagues they should lie by from midnight to dawn, as he confidently expected to find land at about that distance. That the crews might remain ignorant of the real distance traversed, he kept two reckonings, a private and correct one for himself, and a log-book for general inspection, in which the actual distance sailed was decreased.
On the 13th of September, in the evening, being about two hundred leagues from the island of Ferro, Columbus, for the first time, noticed the variation of the needle, - a phenomenon which had never before been remarked. He perceived, about nightfall, that the needle, instead of pointing to the north star, varied about half a point, or between five and six degrees, to the northwest, and still more on the following morning. Struck with this circumstance, he observed it attentively for three days, and found that the variation increased as he advanced. He at first made no mention of this phenomenon, knowing how ready his people were to take alarm, but it soon attracted the attention of the pilots, and filled them with consternation. It seemed as if the very laws of nature were changing as they advanced, and that they were entering another world, subject to unknown influences. They apprehended that the compass was about to lose its mysterious virtues, and, without this guide, what was to become of them in a vast and trackless ocean?
Columbus succeeding in allaying their apprehensions by an ingenious though incorrect explanation of the cause of the variation of the compass, a phenomenon which, in fact, remains yet unexplained.