^ i^ «« ' ^ «^ i^'C r 4^ tM r ■ •*^^^>i f^ rr-r-r rr- 41 I ^.' .•^■i=:v7 rri^j^'g' ^ Kialto Series, No. IS. Sept., '92. Monthlj'. Sub., $,S.OO. Entered as second-class matter at th» Post Office, Chicajro. * n hristopher (^olumbus AND HIS MONUMENT, Columbia. ¥-■• *► BY J. M. DICKEY. /s ,1 ^ I Rand, McNally & Company, Chicago and New York. CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS AND HIS MONUMENT COLUMBIA. COLUMBUS MONUMENT, PIAZZA ACQUAVERDE, GENOA, ITALY. Sculptor, Signor Lanzio. Dedicated 1862. (See page 141 . i 04^ / Christopher Columbus AND HIS MONUMENT COLUMBIA A Concordance of Choice Tributes to the Great Genoese, His Grand Discovery, and His Greatness of Mind and Purpose. THE TESTIMONY OF ANCIENT AUTHORS, THE TRIBUTES OF MODERN MEN. ADORNED WITH THE SCULPTURES, SCENES, AND PORTRAITS OF THE OLD WORLD AND THE NEW. Compiled by J. M. Dickey. chicago and new york: Rand, McNally &. Company, Publishers. 1892. Copyright, 18(^2, by Rand, McNally & Co. PREFACE. History places in prominence Columbus and America. They are the brightest jewels in her crown. Columbus is a permanent orb in the progress of civilization. From the highest rung of the ladder of fame, he has stepped to the skies. America *' still hangs blossoming in the garden of time, while her penetrating perfume floats all round the world, and intoxicates all other nations with the hope of liberty." If possible, these tributes would add somewhat to the luster of fame which already encircles the Nation and the Man. Many voices here speak for themselves. Six hundred authors and more have written of Columbus or his great discovery. An endless task therefore would it be to attempt to enumerate, much less set out, the thou- sands who have incidtntally, and even encomiastically, referred to him. Equally impossible would it be to hope to include a tithe of their utterances within the limits of any single volume, even were it of colossal proportions. This volume of tributes essays then to be but a concord- ance of some of the most choice and interesting extracts, and, artistically illustrated with statues, scenes, and inscrip- tions, is issued at an appropriate time and place. The compiler desires in this preface to acknowledge his sincere obligations and indebtedness to the many authors and pub- lishers who so courteously and uniformly extended their consents to use copyright matter, and to express an equal sense of gratitude to his friend, Stuart C. Wade, for his valuable assistance in selecting, arranging, and indexing much of the matter herein contained. (5) 6 PREFACE. In one of the galleries of Florence there is a remarkable bust of Brutus, left unfinished by the great sculptor Michael Angelo. Some writer explained the incomplete condition by indicating that the artist abandoned his labor in despair, "overcome by the grandeur of the subject." With similar feeling, this little book is submitted to the admirers of Columbus and Columbia, wherever they may be found. J. M. D. Colorado Springs, Colo., July, 1892. TABLE OF CONTENTS. Page Preface, -..-.-. ^ Table of Contents, 7 List of Illustrations, ----- ^ Life of Columbus, ------ i j-^o Selected letters of Columbus, - - - 41-57 Tributes to Columbus, ----- 61-323 Tributes to Columbia, - . - - 327-384 Index of Authors — Columbus, - - - 385-388 Index of Authors — Columbia, - - 389-390 Index of Head Lines, ----- 391-396 Index of Statuary and Inscriptions, - - 397 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. V The Columbus Statue, Genoa, - - - Frontispiece >^ Columbus at Salamanca, - - - - - 17 vj The De Bry Portrait, 24 4The Embarkation at Palos, ----- 32 n/ Columbus in Chains, ------ ^q ^ Fac-simile of Columbus' letter to the Bank of St. George, Genoa, ------ ^2 ^ Columbus Statue, on Barcelona Monument, - 64 A Columbus Monument, Barcelona, - - - - 81 -^ The Paseo Colon, Barcelona, . - - . ^5 ~^ Columbus Statue, City of Colon, - - - - 113 ■~ Zearing's Head of Columbus, - . . - 120 -^Park's Statue of Columbus, Chicago, - - - 128 ■^ House of Columbus, Genoa, - . - - 14^ ■i The Antonio Moro Portrait, ----- 160 -iToscanelli's Map, - - - - - ' - 177 ' Samartin's Statue of Columbus, Madrid, - - 192 ^ Suiiol's Statue of Columbus, Madrid, - - - 209 ■^ Map of Herrera (Columbus' Historian), - - - 224 ^ Modern Map of the Bahamas, - - . - 241 ^'Map of Columbus' Pilot, ----- 256 ^Columbus Monument, Mexico, - - - - 273 -J Columbus Monument, New York Cit)', - - - 288 ^'^ Bas-relief, New York Monument, - - - 296 -- Bas-relief, New York Monument, - - - 305 -^ Genius of Geography, New York Statue, - - 312 \ Eagle, New York Statue, - - . . . ^20 (9) 10 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. ^ Part of Columbus Statue, New York City, - - 328 -' The Convent of Santa Maria cle la R^bida, - - 337 The Santa Maria Caravel, - - - - - 352 -.The Columbus Fleet, ------ 360 Vanderlvn's Picture of the Landing of Columbus, 369 \ Columbus Monument, Watling's Island, - - 384 Columbus and His Monument Columbia. THE LIFE OF COLUMBUS. Christopher Columbus, the eldest son of Dominico Colombo and Suzanna Fontanarossa, was born at Genoa in 1435 <^^ 1436, the exact date being uncertain. As to his birthplace there can be no legitimate doubt; he says him- self of Genoa, in his will, " Delia sali y en ella naci ' (from there I came, and there was I born), though authori ties, authors, and even poets differ. Some, like Tennyson, having Stay'd the wheels at Cogoletto And drank, and loyally drank, to him. His father was a wool-comber, of some small means, who was living two years after the discovery of the West Indies,' and who removed his business from Genoa to Savona in 1469. Christopher, the eldest son, was sent to the University of Pavia, where he devoted himself to the mathematical and natural sciences, and where he probably received instruc- tion in nautical astronomy from Antonio da Terzago and Stefano di Faenza. On his removal from the university it appears that he worked for some months at his father's trade; but on reaching his fifteenth year he made his choice of life, and became a sailor. Of his apprenticeship, and the first years of his career, no records exist. The whole of his earlier life, indeed, is dubi- ous and conjectural, founded as it is on the half-dozen dark (11) 13 COLUMBUS AND COLUMBIA. and evasive chapters devoted by Hernando, his son and biographer, to the first half-centur}' of his father's times. It seems certain, however, that these unknown years were stormy, laborious, and eventful; "wherever ship has sailed," he writes, "there have I journeyed." He is known, among other places, to have visited England, "Ul- tima Thule " (Iceland), the Guinea Coast, and the Greek Isles; and he appears to have been some time in the service of Rene of Provence, for whom he is recorded to have intercepted and seized a Venetian galley with great bravery and audacity. According to his son, too, he sailed with Colombo el Mozo, a bold sea captain and privateer; and a sea fight under this commander was the means of bringing him ashore in Portugal. Meanwhile, however, he was pre- paring himself for greater achievements by reading and meditating on the works of Ptolemy and Marinus, of Near- chus and Pliny, the Cosmographia of Cardinal Aliaco, the travels of Marco Polo and Mandeville. He mastered all the sciences essential to his calling, learned to draw charts and construct spheres, and thus fitted himself to become' a consummate practical seaman and navigator. In 1470 he arrived at Lisbon, after being wrecked in a sea fight that began off Cape St. Vincent, and escaping to land on a plank. In Portugal he married Felipa Moniz de Perestrello, daughter of Bartollomeu Perestrello, a captain in the service of Prince Henry, called the Navigator, one of the early colonists and the first governor of Porto Santo, an island off Madeira. Columbus visited the island, and employed his tim.e in making maps and charts for a liveli- hood, while he pored over the logs and papers of his deceased father-in-law, and talked with old seamen of their voyages and of the mystery of the Western seas. About this time, too, he seems to have arrived at the conclusion that much of the world remained undiscovered, and step THE LIFE OF COLUMBUS. 13 by step to have conceived tliat desi<^n of reaching Asia by sailing west which was to result in the discovery of Amer- ica. In 1474 we find him expounding his views to Paolo Toscanelli, the Florentine physician and cosmographer, and receiving the heartiest encouragement. These views he supported with three different arguments, derived from natural reasons, from the theories of geog- raphers, and from the reports and traditions of mariners. " He believed the world to be a sphere," says Helps; " he underestimated its size; he overestimated the size of the Asiatic continent. The farther that continent extended to the east, the nearer it came round toward Spain." And he had but to turn from the marvelous propositions of Mande- ville and Aliaco to become the recipient of confidences more marvelous still. The air was full of rumors, and the weird imaginings of many generations of mediaeval navi- gators had taken shape and substance, and appeared bodily to men's eyes. Martin Vicente, a Portuguese pilot, had found, 450 leagues to the westward of Cape St. Vincent, and after a westerly gale of many days' duration, a piece of strange wood, sculptured very artistically, but not with iron. Pedro Correa, his own brother-in-law, had seen another such waif near the Island of Madeira, while the King of Portugal had information of great canes, capable of holding four quarts of wine between joint and joint, which Ilerrera declares the King received, preserved, and showed to Columbus. From the colonists on the Azores Columbus heard of two men being washed up at Flores, "very broad-faced, and differing in aspect from Christians." The transport of all these objects being attributed to the west winds and not to the gulf stream, the existence of which was then totally unsuspected. West of the Azores now and then there hove in sight the mysterious Islands of St. Brandan; and 200 leagues west of the Canaries lay 14 COLUMBUS AND COLUMBIA. somewhere the lost Island of the Seven Cities, that two valiant Genoese had vainly endeavored to discover, and in search of which, yearly, the merchants of Bristol sent expeditions, even before Columbus sailed. In his northern journey, too^ some vague and formless traditions may have reached his ear of the voyages of Biorn and Lief, and of the pleasant coasts of Helleland, Markland, and Vinland that lay toward the setting sun. All were hints and rumors to bid the bold mariner sail westward, and this he at length deter- mined to do. There is also some vague and unreliable tradition as to a Portuguese pilot discovering the Indies previous to Columbus, and on his deathbed revealing the secret to the Genoese explorer. It is at the best but a fanciful tale. The concurrence of some state or sovereign, however, was necessary for the success of this design. The Senate of Genoa had the honor to receive the first offer, and the responsibility of refusing it. Rejected by his native city, the projector turned next to John II. of Portugal. This King had already an open field for discovery and enterprise along the African coast; but he listened to the Genoese, and referred him to the Committee of Council for Geo- graphical Affairs. The council's report was altogether adverse; but the King, who was yet inclined to favor the theory of Columbus, assented to the suggestion of the Bishop of Ceuta that the plan should be carried out in secret, and without Columbus' knowledge, by means of a caravel or light frigate. The caravel was dispatched, but it returned after a brief absence, the sailors having lost heart, and having refused to venture farther. Upon dis- covering this dishonorable transaction, Columbus felt so outraged and indignant that he sent off his brother Bar- tholomew to England with letters for Henry VII., to whom he had communicated his ideas. He himself left Lisbon THE LIFE OF COLUMBUS. 15 for Spain (1484), taking with him his son Diego, the only issue of his marriage with FeHpa Mofiiz. He departed secretly, according to some writers to give the slip to King John, according to others to escape his creditors. In one of his letters Columbus says: "When I came from such a great distance to serve these princes, I abandoned a wife and children, whom, for this cause, I never saw again." The first traces of Columbus at the court of Spain are on May 5, 1487, when an entry in some accounts reads: " Given to-day 3,000 maravedis (about $18) to Cristobal Colomo, a stranger." Three years after (March 20, 1488), a letter was sent by the King to "Christopher Colon, our especial friend," inviting him to return, and assuring him against arrest and proceedings of any kind; but it was then too late. Columbus next betook himself to the south of Spain, and seems to have proposed his plan first to the Duke of Medina Sidonia (who was at first attracted by it, but finally threw it up as visionary and impracticable), and next to the Duke of Medina Cell. The latter gave him great encouragement, entertained him for two years, and even determined to furnish him with the three or four caravels. Finally, how- ever, being deterred by the consideration that the enterprise was too vast for a subject, he turned his guest from the determination he had come to, of making instant applica- tion to the court of France, by writing on his behalf to Queen Isabella; and Columbus repaired to the court at Cordova at her bidding. It was an ill moment for the navigator's fortune. Cas- tille and Leon were in the thick of that struggle which resulted in the final defeat of the Moors; and neither Ferdinand nor Isabella had time to listen. The adventurer was indeed kindly received; he was handed over to the care of Alonzo de Quintanilla, whom he speedily converted into an enthusiastic supporter of his theory. He made 16 COLUMBUS AND COLUMBIA. many other friends, and here met with Beatrix Enriquez, the mother of his second son, Hernando, who was born August 15, 1488. A certain class of writers pretend that Beatrix Enriquez was the lawful wife of Columbus. If so, when he died she would of right have been Vice-Queen Dowager of the Indit-s. Is it likely that $56 would have been the pension settled upon a lady of such rank? Sefior Castelar, than whom theie is no greater living authority, scouts the idea of a legal marriage; and, indeed, it is only a few irresponsible and peculiarly aggressive Catholic writers who have the hardi- hood to advance this more than improbable theory. Mr. Henry Harrisse, a most painstaking critic, thinks that Felipa Moniz died in 1488. She was buried in the Mon astery do Carmo, at Lisbon, and some trace of her may hereafter be found in the archives of the Provedor or Rcl;- istrar of Wills, at Lisbon, when these papers are arranged, as she must have bequeathed a sum to the poor, under the customs then prevailing. From Cordova, Columbus followed the court to Sala- manca, where he was introduced to the notice of the grand cardinal, Pedro Gonzales de Mendoza, "the third King of Spain." The cardinal, while approving the project, thought that it savored strongly of heterodoxy; but an interview with the projector brought. him over, and through his influence Columbus at last got audience of the Kiig. The matter was finally referred, however, to Fernando de Talavera, who, in 1487, summoned a junta of astronomers and cosmographers to confer with Columbus, and examine his design and the arguments by which he supported it. The Dominicans of San Esteban in Salamanca entertained Columbus during the conference. The jurors, who were most of them ecclesiastics, were by no means unprejudiced, nor were they disposed to abandon their pretensions to THE LIFE OF COLUMBUS. 17 knowledge without a struggle. Columbus argued his point, but was overwhelmed with Biblical texts, with quotations from the great divines, with theological objections, and in a short time the junta was adjourned. Seiior Rodriguez Pinilla, the learned Salamantine writer, holds that the first refusal of Columbus' project was made in the official coun- cil at Cordova. In 1489, Columbus, who had been follow- ing the court from place to place (billeted in towns as an officer of the King and gratified from time to time with sums of money toward his expenses), was present at the siege of Malaga. In 1490 the junta decided that his proj- ect was vain and impracticable, and that it did not become their Highnesses to have anything to do with it; and this was confirmed, with some reservation, by their Highnesses themselves, at Seville. Columbus was now in despair. So reduced in circum- stances was he that (according to the eminent Spanish statesman and orator, Emilio Castelar) he was jocularly and universally termed "the stranger with the threadbare coat." He at once betook himself to Huelva, where his brother-in- law resided, with the intention of taking ship to France. He halted, however, at Palos, a little maritime town in Andalusia. At the Monastery of Santa Maria de la Rabida^ he knocked and asked for bread and water 'for his boy Diego, and pres- ently got into conversation with Fray Juan Perez de Mar- chena, the prior, who invited him to take up his quarters in the monastery, and introduced him to Garci Fernandez, a physician and an ardent student of geography. To these good men did Columbus propound his theory and explain his plan. Juan Perez had been the Queen's confessor; he wrote to her and was summoned to her presence, and money was sent to Columbus to bring him once more to ' The monastery has been restored and preserved as a national memorial since 1846. 2 18 COLUMBUS AND COLUMBIA. court. He reached Granada in time to witness the sur- render of the city by the Moors, and negotiations were resumed. Columbus believed in his mission, and stood out for high terms; he asked the rank of admiral at once, the vice-royalty of all he should discover, and a tenth of all the gain, by conquest or by trade. These conditions were rejected, and the negotiations were again interrupted. An interview with Mendoza appears to have followed, but nothing came of it, and in January, 1492, Columbus actu- ally set out for France. At length, however, on the en- treaty of Luis de Santangel, receiver of the ecclesiastical revenues of the crown of Aragon, Isabella was induced to determine on the expedition. A messenger was sent after Columbus, and overtook him at the Bridge of Pinos, about two leagues from Granada. He returned to the camp at Santa Fe, and on April 17, 1492, the agreement between him and their Catholic Majesties was signed and sealed. This agreement being familiarly known in Spanish history as "The Capitulations of Santa Fe." His aims were nothing less than the discovery of the marvelous province of Cipango and the conversion to Christianity of the Grand Khan, to whom he received a royal and curious blank letter of introduction. The town of Palos was, by forced levy, as a punishment for former rebellion, ordered to find him three caravels, and these were soon placed at his disposal. But no crews could be got together, Columbus even offering to throw open the jails and take all criminals and broken men who would serve on the expedition; and had not Juan Perez succeeded in interesting Martin Alonzo Pinzon and Vicente Yafiez Pinzon in the cause, Columbus' departure had been long delayed. At last, however, men, ships, and stores were ready. The expedition consisted of the Gallega, rechris- tened the Santa Maria, a decked ship, with a crew of fifty THE LIFE OF COLUMBUS. 19 men, commanded by the Admiral in person; and of two caravels — the Pinta, with thirty men, under Martin Pinzon, and the Nina, with twenty-four men, under his brother, Vicente Yafiez Pinzon, afterward (1499) the first to cross the line in the American Atlantic. The adventurers numbered 120 souls, and on Friday, August 3, 1492, at 8 in the morning, the little fleet weighed anchor and stood out for the Canary Islands, sailing as it were " into a world unknown — the corner-stone of a nation." Deeply significant was one incident of their first few days' sail. Emilio Castelar tells us that these barks, laden with bright promises for the future, were sighted by other ships, laden with the hatreds and rancors of the past, for it chanced that one of the last vessels transporting into exile the Jews, expelled from Spain by the religious intolerance of which the recently created and odious Tribunal of the Faith was the embodiment, passed by the little fleet bound in search of another world, where creation should be new- born, a haven be afforded to the quickening principle of human liberty, and a temple be reared to the God of enfran- chised and redeemed consciences. An abstract of the Admiral's diary made by the Bishop Las Casas is yet extant; and from it many particulars may be gleaned concerning this first voyage. Three days after the ships had set sail the Pinta lost her rudder. The Admiral was in some alarm, but comforted himself with the reflection that Martin Pinzon was energetic and ready- witted; they had, however, to put in (August 9th) at Ten- eriffe to refit the caravel. On September 6th they weighed anchor once more with all haste, Columbus having been informed that three Portuguese caravels were on the look- out for him. On September 13th the variations of the magnetic needle were for the first time observed;^ and on ' The invention of the mariner's compass is claimed by the Chinese 20 COLUMBUS AND COLUMBIA. the 15th a wonderful meteor fell into the sea at four or five leagues distance. On the i6th they arrived at those vast plains of seaweed called the Sargasso Sea; and thencefor- ward, writes the Admiral, they had most temperate breezes, the sweetness of the mornings being most delightful, the weather like an Andalusian April, and only the song of the nightingale wanting. On the 17th the men began to mur- mur. They were frightened by the strange phenomena of the variations of the compass, but the explanation Colum- bus gave restored their tranquillity. On the i8th they saw many birds and a great ridge of low-lying cloud, and they expected to see land. On the 20th they saw two pelicans, and they were sure the land must be near. In this, how- ever, they were disappointed, and the men began to be afraid and discontented; and thenceforth Columbus, who was keeping all the while a double reckoning — one for the crew and one for himself — had great difficulty in restrain- ing the men from the excesses which they meditated. On the 25th Alonzo Pinzon raised the cry of land, but it proved a false alarm; as did the rumor to the same effect on October 7th, when the Nina hoisted a flag and fired a gun. On the nth the Pinta fished up a cane, a log of wood, a stick wrought with iron, and a board, and the Niila sighted a branch of hawthorne laden with ripe luscious berries, "and with these signs all of them breathed for the Emperor Hong-ti, a grandson of Noah, about 2634 B. C. A compass was brought from China to Queen Elizabeth A. D. 1260 by P. Venutus. By some the invention is ascribed to Marcus Paulus, a Venetian, A. D. 1260. The discovery of the compass was long attributed to Flavio Gioja, a Neapolitan sailor, A. D. 1302, who in reality made improvements on then existing patterns and brought them to the form now used. The variation of the needle was known to the Chinese, being mentioned in the works of the Chinese philosopher Keon-tsoung- chy, who flourished about A. D. mi. The dip of the needle was dis- covered A. 1). 1576 by Robert Normanof London. Time was measured on voyages by the hour-glass. Compare Shakespere: Or four and twenty tunes the pilot's glass Hath told the thievish minutes how they pass. THE LIFE OF COLUMBUS. 21 and were glad." At 8 o'clock on that night, Columbus perceived and pointed out a light ahead,^ Pedro Gutierrez also seeing it; and at 2 in the morning of Friday, October 12, 1492, Rodrigo de Triana, a sailor aboard the Nina, a native of Seville, announced the appearance of what proved to be the New World.* The land sighted was ^ Capt. Parker, in Goldthwaithes Geographical Monthly, argues ably that the myth that a light was seen by Columbus at 8 p. m. of the night of the discovery should be dropped simply as rubbish; it is incredible. More than one hundred men in the three vessels were anxiously looking for signs of land, and two "think" they see a light. To say that Co- lumbus felt sure that he saw a light is to pronounce him an imbecile. For if ahead, he would have stopped; if abeam, stood for it. His log does not say where or in what direction the light was — an important omission — and Columbus rati forty sea miles after he satu this mythical light. We may safely decide that Watling Island, named after a buccaneer or pirate of the seventeenth century, is best supported by investigation as the landfall of Columbus. Cronau, who visited Watling Island in 1890, supposes that Columbus' ships, after making the land, continued on their course, under the reduced sail, at the rate of four or five miles an hour; and at daylight found themselves off the northwest end of the island. Mr. Cronau evidently is not a seafaring man or he would know that no navigator off an unknown island at night would stand on, even at the rate of one mile an hour, ignorant of what shoal or reefs might lie off the end of the island. ■* The following from Las Casas' epitome of the log is all the infor- mation we have concerning the " sighting " of the New World: "Thursday, October 11, 1492. — Navegb al Oitcsudueste, turviero7i mucho mar mas que en todo el viage hahian tcnido. Dcspiics del sol piiesto navegb d sii primer Camitio al Oiteste; andarian doce millas cada hora. A las dos horas despuesde media noche paircio la tierra, de la cual estarian dos legiias. Atnainaron todas las velas y qitedaron con el treo qtie es la vela grande sin bonetas, y pusieroiise a la corda temporizando hasta el dia viernes que llcgaron d iind isleta de las Lticayos qite se llainaba en lengiia de iiidios Gnanahatti." That is: " They steered west-southwest and experienced a much heavier sea than they had had before in the whole voyage. After sunset they resumed their former course west, and sailed twelve miles an hour. At 2 o'clock in the morning the land appeared (was sighted), two leagues off. They lowered all the sails and remained under the storm sail, which is the main sail without bonnets, and hove to, waiting for daylight; and Friday [found they had] arrived at a small island of the Lucayos which the Indians called Guanahani." It will be observed that these are the words of Las Casas, and they were evidently written some years after the event. 22 COLUMBUS AND COLUMBIA. an island called by the Indians Guanahani, and named by Columbus San Salvador.^ The same morning Columbus landed, richly clad, and bearing the royal banner of Spain. He was accompanied by the brothers Pinzon, bearing banners of the Green Cross, a device of his own, and by great part of the crew. When they had all " given thanks to God, kneeling down upon the shore, and kissed the ground with tears of joy, for the great mercy received," the Admiral named the island, and took solemn possession of it for their Catholic Majesties of Castille and Leon. At the same time such of the crews as had shown themselves doubtful and mutinous sought his pardon weeping, and prostrated themselves at his feet. Had Columbus kept the course he laid on leaving Ferrol, says Castelar, his landfall would have been in the Florida of to-day, that is, upon the main continent; but, owing to the deflection suggested by the Pinzons, and tardily accepted by him, it was his hap to strike an island, very fair to look upon, but small and insignificant when compared with the vast island-world in whose waters he was already sailing. Into the details of this voyage, of highest interest as it is, it is impossible to go further. The letter of Columbus, hereinafter printed, gives further and most interesting details. It will be enough to say here that it resulted in the discovery of the islands of Santa Maria del Concepcion, Exuma, Isabella, Juana or Cuba, Bohio, the Cuban Arch- ipelago (named by its finder the Jardin del Rey), the island of Santa Catalina, and that of Espanola, now called Haiti ^ Helps refers to the island as "one of the Bahamas." It has been variously identified with Turks Island, by Navarette (1825); with Cat Island, by Irving (1S28) and Humboldt (1836); with Mayaguara, by Varnhagen (1864); and finally, with greatest show of probability, with Watling Island, by Munoz (1798), supported by Becher (1S56), Peschel (1857), and Major (1871). THE LIFE OF COLUMBUS. 23 or San Domingo. Off the last of these the Santa Maria went aground, owing to the carelessness of the steersman. No lives were lost, but the ship had to be unloaded and abandoned; and Columbus, who was anxious to return to Europe with the news of his achievement, resolved to plant a colony on the island, to build a fort out of the material of the stranded hulk, and to leave the crew. The fort was called La Navidad; forty-three Europeans were placed in charge, including the Governor Diego de Arana; two lieu- tenants, Pedro Gutierrez and Rodrigo de Escobedo; an Irishman named William Ires (?Harris), a native of Gal- way; an Englishman whose name is given as Tallarte de Laj^, * and the remainder being Spaniards. On January i6, 1493, Columbus, who had lost sight of Martin Pinzon, set sail alone in the Nina for the east; and four days afterward the Pinta joined her sister ship off Monte Christo. A storm, however, separated the ves- sels, during which (according to Las Casas) Columbus, fear- ing the vessel would founder, cast his duplicate log-book, which was written on parchment and inclosed in a cake of wax, inside a barrel, into the sea. The log contained a promise of a thousand ducats to the finder on delivering it to the King of Spain. Then a long battle with the trade winds caused great delay, and it was not until February i8th that Columbus reached the Island of Santa Maria in the Azores. Here he was threatened with capture by the Portuguese governor, who could not for some time be brought to recognize his commission. On February 24th, however, he was allowed to proceed, and on March 4lh the Nina dropped anchor off Lisbon. The King of Portu- gal received the Admiral with the highest honors; and on March 13th the Nina put out from the Tagus, and two days afterward, Friday, March 15th, dropped anchor off Palos. * See page 217, post. 24 'cOLUMBUS AND COLUMBIA. The court was at Barcelona, and thither, after dispatch- ing a letter** announcing his arrival, Columbus proceeded in person. He entered the city in a sort of triumphal pro- cession, and was received by their Majesties in full court, and, seated in their presence, related the story of his wan- derings, exhibiting the "rich and strange" spoils of the new-found lands — the gold, the cotton, the parrots, the curious arms, the mysterious plants, the unknown birds and beasts, and the nine Indians he had brought with him for baptism. All his honors and privileges were confirmed to him; the title of Don was conferred on himself and his brothers; he rode at the King's bridle; he was served and saluted as a grandee of Spain. And, greatest honor of all, a new and magnificent escutcheon was blazoned for him (May 4, 1493), whereon the royal castle and lion of Castille and Leon were combined with the four anchors of his own old coat of arms. Nor were their Catholic Highnesses less busy on their own account than on that of their servant. On May 3d and 4th, Alexander VI. granted bulls confirm- ing to the crowns of Castille and Leon all the lands dis- covered,^ or to be discovered, beyond a certain line of demarcation, on the same terms as those on which the Portu- guese held their colonies along the African coast. A new expedition was got in readiness with all possible dispatch to secure and extend the discoveries already made. * The greatest blot on the character of Columbus is contained in this and a succeeding letter. Under the shallow pretense of beneHting the souls of idolaters, he suggested to the Spanish rulers the advisability of shipping the natives to Spain as slaves. He appeals to their cupidity by picturing the revenue to be derived therefrom, and stands convicted in the light of history as the prime author of that blood-drenched rule which exterminated millions of simple aborigines in the West Indian Archipelago. ' The countries which he had discovered were considered as a part of India. In consequence of this notion the name of Indies is given to them by Ferdinand and Isabella in a ratification of their former agree- ment, which was granted to Columbus after his return. — Robertson's " History of America." THE DE BRY PORTRAIT OF COLUMBUS. THE LIFE OF COLUMBUS. 25 After several delays the fleet weighed anchor on Septem- ber 25th and steered westward. It consisted of three great carracks (galleons) and fourteen caravels (light frig- ates), having on board about 1,500 men, besides the ani- mals and materials necessary for colonization. Twelve missionaries accompanied the expedition, under the orders of Bernardo Boyle, a Benedictine friar; and Columbus had been directed (May 29, 1493) to endeavor by all means in his power to christianize the inhabitants of the islands, to make them presents, and to " honor them much," while all under him were commanded to treat them " well and lov- ingly," under pain of severe punishment. On October 13th the ships, which had put in at the Canaries, left Ferrol, and so early as Sunday, November 3d, after a single storm, " by the goodness of God and the wise management of the Admiral," land was sighted to the west, which was named Dominica. Northward from this new-found island the isles of Maria Galante and Guadaloupe were discovered and named ; and on the northwestern course to La Navidad, those of Montserrat, Antigua, San Martin, and Santa Cruz were sighted, and the island now called Puerto Rico was touched at, hurriedly explored, and named San Juan. On Novem- ber 22d Columbus came in sight of Espanola, and, sailing eastward to La Navidad, found the fort burned and the colony dispersed. He decided on building a second fort, and, coasting on forty miles east of Cape Haytien, he pitched on a spot, where he founded the city and settle- ment of Isabella. It is remarkable that the first notice of India rubber on record is given by Herrera, who, in the second voyage of Columbus, observed that the natives of Haiti "played a game with balls made of the gum of a tree." The character in which Columbus had appeared had till now been that of the greatest of mariners; but from this 26 COLUMBUS AND COLUMBIA. point forward his claims to supremacy are embarrassed and complicated with the long series of failures, vexations, miseries, insults, that have rendered his career as a planter of colonies and as a ruler of men most pitiful and remark- able. The climate of Navidad proved unhealthy; the colonists were greedy of gold, impatient of control, and as proud, ignorant, and mutinous as Spaniards could be; and Colum- bus, whose inclinations drew him westward, was doubtless glad to escape the worry and anxiety of his post, and to avail himself of the instructions of his sovereigns as to further discoveries. In January, 1494, he sent home, by Antonio de Torres, that dispatch to their Catholic High- nesses by which he may be said to have founded the West Indian slave trade. He founded the mining camp of San Tomaso in the gold country; and on April 24, 1494, hav- ing nominated a council of regency under his brother Diego, and appointed Pedro de Margarite his captain-gen- eral, he put again to sea. After following the southern shore of Cuba for some days, he steered southward, and discovered the Island of Jamaica, which he named Santi- ago. He then resumed his exploration of the Cuban coast, threading his way through a labyrinth of islets supposed to be the Morant Keys, which he named the Garden of the Queen, and after coasting westward for many days he became convinced that he had discovered the mainland, and called Perez de I,una, the notary, to draw up a docu- ment attesting his discovery (June 12, 1494), which was afterward taken round and signed, in presence of four witnesses, by the masters, mariners, and seamen of his three caravels, the Niila, the Cadera, and the San Juan. He then stood to the southeast and sighted the Island of Evangelista; and after many days of difficulties and anxie- ties he touched at and named the Island La Mona. Thence THE LIFE OF COLUMBUS. 27 he had intended to sail eastward and complete the survey of the Carribean Archipelago. But he was exhausted by the terrible wear and tear of mind and body he had under- gone (he says himself that on this expedition he was three- and-thirty days almost without any sleep), and on the day following his departure from La Mona he fell into a lethargy that deprived him of sense and memory, and had well nigh proved fatal to life. At last, on September 29th, the little fleet dropped anchor off Isabella, and in his new city the great Admiral lay sick for five months. The colony was in a sad plight. Everyone was discon- tented, and many were sick, for the climate was unhealthy and there was nothing to eat. Margarite and Boyle had quitted Espaiiola for Spain; but ere his departure the former, in his capacity as captain-general, had done much to outrage and alienate the Indians. The strongest meas- ures were necessary to undo this mischief; and, backed by' his brother Bartholomew, a bold and skillful mariner, and a soldier of courage and resource, who had been with Diaz in his voyage around the Cape of Good Hope, Columbus proceeded to reduce the natives under Spanish sway.* Alonzo de Ojeda succeeded, by a brilliant coup de main, in capturing the Cacique Caonabo, and the rest submitted. Five ship-loads of Indians were sent off to Seville (June 24, 1495) to be sold as slaves; and a tribute was imposed upon their fellows, which must be looked upon as the origin of that system of repartimientos or encomiendas which was afterward to work such cruel mischief among the conquered. But the tide of court favor seemed to have turned against Columbus. In October, 1495, Juan Aguada arrived at Isabella, with an open commission from * The will of Diego Mendez, one of Columbus' most trusted followers, states that the Governor of Xaragua in seven months burned and hanged eighty-four chiefs, including the Queen of San Domingo. 28 COLUMBUS AND COLUMBIA. their Catholic Majesties, to inquire into the circumstances of his rule; and much interest and recrimination followed. Columbus found that there was no time to be lost in returning home; he appointed his brother Bartholomew "adelantado" of the island, and on March lo, 1496, he quitted Espanola in the Nina. The vessel, after a pro- tracted and perilous voyage, reached Cadiz on June 11, 1496. The Admiral landed in great dejection, wearing the costume of a Franciscan. Reassured, however, by the reception of his sovereigns, he asked at once for eight ships more, two to be sent to the colony with supplies and six to be put under his orders for new discoveries. The request was not immediately granted, as the Spanish ex- chequer was not then well supplied. But principally owing to the interest of the Queen, an agreement was come to similar to that of 1492, which was now confirmed. By this royal patent, moreover, a tract of land in Espanola, of fifty leagues by twenty, was made over to him. He was offered a dukedom or a marquisate at his pleasure; for three years he was to receive an eighth of the gross and a tenth of the net profits on each voyage, the right of creating a mayorazgo or perpetual entail of titles and estates was granted him, and on June 24th his two sons were received into Isabella's service as pages. Meanwhile, however, the preparing of the fleet proceeded slowly, and it was not till May 30, 1498, that he and his six ships set sail. From San Lucar he steered for Gomera, in the Canaries, and thence dispatched three of his ships to San Domingo. He next proceeded to the Cape Verde Islands, which he quitted on July 4th. On the 31st of the same month, being greatly in need of water, and fearing that no land lay west- ward as they had hoped, Columbus had turned his ship's head north, when Alonzo Perez, a mariner of Huelva, saw land about fifteen leagues to the southwest. It was crowned THE LIFE OF COLUMBUS. 29 with three hilltops, and so, when the sailors had sung the Salve Regina, the Admiral named it Trinidad, which name it yet bears. On Wednesday, August ist, he beheld for the first time, in the mainland of South America, the continent he had sought so long. It seemed to him but an insignificant island, and he called it Zeta. Sailing westward, next day he saw the Gulf of Paria, which was named by him the Golfo de la Belena, and was borne into it — an immense risk — on the ridge of breakers formed by the meeting with the sea of the great rivers that empty themselves, all swollen with rain, into the ocean. For many days he coasted the continent, esteeming as islands the several projections he saw and naming them accordingly; nor was it until he had' looked on and considered the immense volume of fresh water poured out through the embouchure of the river now called the Orinoco, that he concluded that the so-called archipelago must be in very deed a great continent. Unfortunately at this time he was suffering intolerably from gout and ophthalmia; his ships were crazy; and he was anxious to inspect the infant colony whence he had been absent so long. And so, after touching at and naming the Island of Margarita, he bore away to the northeast, and on August 30th the fleet dropped anchor off Isabella. He found that affairs had not prospered well in his absence. By the vigor and activity of the adelantado, the whole island had been reduced under Spanish sway, but at the expense of the colonists. Under the leadership of a certain Roldan, a bold and unprincipled adventurer, they had risen in revolt, and Columbus had to compromise matters in order to restore peace. Roldan retained his office; such of his followers as chose to remain in the island were gratified with repartiiitientos of land and labor; and some fifteen, choosing to return to Spain, were enriched with a number of 30 COLUMBUS AND COLUMBIA. slaves, and sent home in two ships, which sailed in the early part of October, 1499. Five ship-loads of Indians had been deported to Spain some little time before. On arrival of these living cargoes at Seville, the Queen, the stanch and steady friend of Co- lumbus, was moved with compassion and indignation. No one, she declared, had authorized him to dispose of her vassals in any such manner; and proclamations at Seville, Granada, and other chief places ordered (June 20, 1499) the instant liberation and return of all the last gang of Indians. In addition to this, the ex-colonists had become incensed against Columbus and his brothers. They were wont to parade their grievances in the very court-yards of the Alhambra; to surround the King, when he came forth, with complaints and reclamations; to in- sult the discoverer's young sons with shouts and jeers. There was no doubt that the colony itself, whatever the cause, had not prospered so well as might have been de- sired. Historians do not hesitate to aver that Columbus' over- colored and unreliable statements as to the amount of gold to be found there were the chief causes of discontent. And, on the whole, it is not surprising that Ferdinand, whose support to Columbus had never been very hearty, should about this time have determined to suspend him. Accordingly, on March 21, 1499, Francisco de Bobadilla was ordered to " ascertain what persons had raised them- selves against justice in the Island of Espafiola, and to proceed against them according to law." On May 21st the government of the island was conferred on him, and he was accredited with an order that all arms and fortresses should be handed over to him; and on May 26th he received a letter, for delivery to Columbus, stating that the bearer would "speak certain things to him " on the part of their Highnesses, and praying him to "give faith and ere- THE LIFE OF COLUMBUS. 31 dence, and to act accordingly." Bobadilla left Spain in July, 1500, and landed in Espauola in October. Columbus, meanwhile, had restored such tranquillity as was possible in his government. With Roldan's help he had beaten off an attempt on the island by the adventurer Ojeda, his old lieutenant; the Indians were being collected into villages and christianized. Gold mining was actively and profitably pursued; in three years, he calculated, the royal revenues might be raised to an average of 60,000,000 reals. The arrival of Bobadilla, however, on August 23, 1500, speedily changed this state of affairs into a greater and more pitiable confusion than the island had ever before witnessed. On landing, he took possession of the Admiral's house, and summoned him and his brothers before him. Accusations of severity, of injustice, of venality even, were poured down on their heads, and Columbus anticipated nothing less than a shameful death. Bobadilla put all three in irons, and shipped them off to Spain. Andreas Martin, captain of the caravel in which the illus- trious prisoners sailed, still retained a proper sense of the honor and respect due to Columbus, and would have removed the fetters; but to this Columbus would not consent. He would wear them until their Highnesses, by whose order they had been affixed, should order their removal; and he would keep them afterward "as relics and memorials of the reward of his services." He did so. His son Hernando "saw them always hanging in his cabinet, and he requested that when he died they might be buried with him." Whether this last wish was complied with is not known. A heart-broken and indignant letter from Columbus to Doiia Juana de la Torres, the governess of the infant Don Juan, arrived at court before the dispatch of Bobadilla. It was read to the Queen, and its tidings were confirmed by communications from Alonso de Villejo and the alcaide of 32 COLUMBUS AND COLUMBIA. Cadiz. There was a great movement of indignation; the tide of popular and royal feeling turned once more in the Admi- ral's favor. He received a large sum to defray his expenses; and when he appeared at court, on December 17th, he was no longer in irons and disgrace, but richly appareled and surrounded with friends. He was received with all honor and distinction. The Queen is said to have been moved to tears by the narration of his story. Their Majesties not only repudiated Bobadilla's proceedings, but declined to inquire into the charges that he at the same time brought against his prisoners, and promised Columbus compensation for his losses and satisfaction for his wrongs. A new gov- ernor, Nicolas de Ovando, was appointed in Bobadilla's room, and left San Lucar on February 18, 1502, with a fleet of thirty ships. The latter was to be impeached and sent home. The Admiral's property was to be restored and a fresh start was to be made in the conduct of colonial affairs. Thus ended Columbus' history as viceroy and governor of the new Indies, which he had presented to the country of his adoption. His hour of rest, however, was not yet come. Ever anxious to serve their Catholic Highnesses, " and particu- larly the Queen," he had determined to find a strait through which he might penetrate westward into Portuguese Asia. After the usual inevitable delays his prayers were granted, and on May 9, 1502, with four caravels and 150 men, he weighed anchor from Cadiz and sailed on his fourth and last great voyage. He first betook himself to the relief of the Portuguese fort of Arzilla, which had been besieged by the Moors, but the siege had been raised voluntarily before he arrived. He put to sea westward once more, and on June 13th discovered the Island of Martinique. He had received positive instructions from his sovereigns on no account to touch at Espanola, but his largest caravel 3 O tn m 9 o 3D > H H > ■ r o THE LIFE OF COLUMBUS. 33 was greatly in need of repairs, and he iiad no choice but to abandon her or disobey orders. He preferred the latter alternative, and sent a boat ashore to Ovando, asking for a new ship and for permission to enter the harbor to weather a hurricane which he saw was coming on. But his re- quests were refused, and he coasted the island, casting anchor under lee of the land. Here he weathered the storm, which drove the other caravels out to sea and anni- hilated the homeward-bound fleet, the richest till then that had been sent from Espanola. Roldan and Bobadilla per- ished with others of the Admiral's enemies; and Hernando Colon, who accompanied his father on this voyage, wrote, long years afterward, " I am satisfied it was the hand of God, for had they arrived in Spain they had never been punished as their crimes deserved, but rather been favored and preferred." After recruiting his flotilla at Azua, Columbus put in at Jaquimo and refitted his four vessels, and on July 14, 1502, he steered for Jamaica. For nine weeks the ships wan- dered painfully among the keys and shoals he had named the Garden of the Queen, and only an opportune easterly wind prevented the crews from open mutiny. The first land sighted was the Islet of Guanaja, about forty miles to the east of the coast of Honduras. Here he got news from an old Indian of a rich and vast country lying to the eastward, which he at once concluded must be the long- sought-for empire of the Grand Khan. Steering along the coast of Honduras great hardships were endured, but nothing approaching his ideal was discovered. On Sep- tember 13th Cape Gracias-S,-Dios was sighted. The men had become clamorous and insubordinate; not until De- cember 5th, however, would he tack about and retrace his course. It now became his intention to plant a colony on the River Veragua, which was afterward to give his 3 34 COLUMBUS AND COLUMBIA, descendants a title of nobility; but he had hardly put about when he was caught in a storm which lasted eight days, wrenched and strained his crazy, worm-eaten ships severely, and finally, on the Epiphany, blew him into an embouchure, which he named Bethlehem. Gold was very plentiful in this place, and here he determined to found his settlement. By the end of March, 1503, a number of huts had been run up, and in these the adelantado, with eighty men, was to remain, while Columbus returned to Spain for men and supplies. Quarrels, however, arose with the natives, the adelantado made an attempt to seize on the person of the cacique and failed, and before Colum- bus could leave the coast he had to abandon a caravel to take the settlers on board, and to relinquish the enterprise. Steering eastward he left a second caravel at Porto Bello, and on May 31st he bore northward for Cuba, where he obtained supplies from the natives. From Cuba he bore up for Jamaica, and there, in the harbor of Santa Gloria, now St. Anne's Bay, he ran his ships aground in a small inlet called Don Christopher's Cove. The expedition was received with the greatest kindness by the natives, and here Columbus remained upward of a year awaitmg the return of his lieutenant Diego Mendez, whom he had dispatched to Ovando for assistance. During his critical sojourn here the Admiral suffered much from disease and from the lawlessness of his followers, whose misconduct had alienated the natives, and provoked them to withhold their accustomed supplies, until he dex- terously worked upon their superstitions by prognosticating an eclipse. Two vessels having at last arrived for their relief from Mendez and Ovando, Columbus set sail for Spain, after a tempestuous voyage landing once more at Seville on September 7, 1504. As he was too ill to go to court, his son Diego was sent THE LIFE OF COLUMBUS. 35 thither in his place, to look after his interests and transact his business. Letter after letter followed the young man from Seville, one by the hands of Amerigo Vespucci. A license to ride on mule-back was granted him on February 23, 1505;" and in the following May he was removed to the court at Segovia, and thence again to Valladolid. On the landing of Philip and Juan at Corufia (April 25, 1506), although " much oppressed with the gout and troubled to see himself put by his rights," he is known to have sent the adelantado to pay them his duty and to assure them that he was yet able to do them extraordinary service. The last documentary note of him is contained in a codicil to the will of 1498, made at Valladolid on May 19, 1506; the principal portion is said, however, to have been signed at Segovia on August 25, 1506. By this the old will is confirmed; the mayorazgo is bequeathed to his son Diego and his heirs male; failing these to Hernando, his second son, and failing these to the heirs male of Bartholomew. ^ Owing to the difficulty in securing animals for the cavalry in Spain (about A. D. 1505), an edict had been published by the King forbidding the use of mules in traveling, except by royal permission. While Columbus was in Seville he wished to make a journey to the court, then sitting at Granada, to plead his own cause. Cardinal Mendoza placed his litter at the disposal of the Admiral, but he pre- ferred a mule, and wrote to Diego, asking him to petition the King for the privilege of using one. The request was granted in the following curious document: Decree granting to Don Cristoval Colon permission to ride on a mule, saddled and bridled, through any part of these Kingdoms. The King: As I am informed that you, Cristoval Colon, the Admiral, are in poor bodily health, owing to certain diseases which you had or have, and that you can not ride on horse-back without injury to your health; therefore, conceding this to your advanced age, I, by these presents, grant you leave to ride on a mule, saddled and bridled, through whatever parts of these kingdoms or realms you wish and choose, not- withstanding the law which I issued thereto; and I command the sub- jects of all parts of these kingdoms and realms not to offer you any impediment or allow any to be offered to you, under penalty of ten thou- sand maravedi in behalf of the treasury, of whoever does the contrary. Given in the City of Toro, February 23, 1505. 36 COLUMBUS AND COLUMBIA. Only in the event of the extinction of the male line, direct or collateral, is it to descend to the females of the family; and those into whose hands it may fall are never to dimin- ish it, but always to increase and ennoble it by all means possible. The head of the house is to sign himself " The Admiral." A tenth of the annual income is to be set aside yearly for distribution among the poor relations of the house. A chapel is founded and endowed for the saying of masses. Beatrix Enriquez is left to the care of the young Admiral in most grateful terms. Among other legacies is one of " half a mark of silver to a Jew who used to live at the gate of the Jewry in Lisbon." The codicil was written and signed with the Admiral's own hand. Next day (May 20, 1506) he died. The body of Columbus was buried in the parish church of Santa Maria de la Antigua in Valladolid. It was trans- ferred in 15 13 to the Cartuja de las Cuevas, near Seville, where on the monument was inscribed that laconic but pregnant tribute: A Castilla y a Leon, Nuevo in undo did Colon. (To Castiile and Leon, Columbus gave a new world.) Here the bones of Diego, the second Admiral, were also laid. Exhumed in 1536, the bodies of both father and son were taken over sea to Espafiola (San Domingo), and in- terred in the cathedral. Li 1795-96, on the cession of that island to the French, the august relics were re-exhumed, and were transferred with great state and solemnity to the cathe- dral of Havana, where, it is claimed, they yet remain. The male issue of the Admiral became extinct with the third generation, and the estates and titles passed by marriage to a scion of the house of Braganca. " In person, Columbus was tall and shapely, long-faced and aquiline, white-eyed and auburn-haired, and beauti- THE LIFE OF COLUMBUS. 37 fully complexioned. At thirty his hair was quite gray. He was temperate in eating and drinking and in dress, and so strict in religious matters, that for fasting and saying all the divine office he might be thought possessed in some religious order." His piety, as his son has noted, was earnest and unwavering; it entered into and colored alike his action and his speech; he tries his pen in a Latin distich of prayer; his signature is a mystical pietistic device.^" He was pre-eminently fitted for the task he created for himself. Through deceit and opprobrium and disdain he pushed on toward the consummation of his desire; and when the hour for action came, the man was not found wanting. Within the last seven years research and discovery have thrown some doubt upon two very important particulars regarding Columbus. One of these is the identity of the island which was his first discovery in the New World; the other, the final resting-place of his remains. There is no doubt whatever that Columbus died in Valladolid, and that his remains were interred in the church of the Carthusian Monastery at Seville, nor that, some time between the years 1537 and 1540, in accordance with a request made in his will, they were removed to the Island of Espafiola (Santo Domingo). In 1795, when Spain ceded to France her portion of the island, Spanish officials obtained permission to remove to the cathedral at Havana the ashes of the discoverer of America. There seems to be a question whether the remains which were then removed were those of Columbus or his son Don Diego. "> .s. .s. s .s. X M Y Xpo FERENS. Columbus' Cipher. — The interpretation of the seven-lettered cipher, accepting the smaller letters of the second line as the final ones of the words, seems to be Ser7'atr-iiu\ Xristus, Maria, Yosephus. The name Christopher appears in the last line. 38 COLUMBUS AND COLUMBIA. In 1877, during the progress of certain work in the cathedral at Santo Domingo, a crypt was disclosed on one side of the altar, and within it was found a metallic coffin which contained human remains. The coffin bore the fol- lowing inscription: "The Admiral Don Luis Colon, Duke of Veragua, Marquis of Jamaica," referring, undoubtedly, to the grandson of Columbus. The archbishop Senor Roque Cocchia then took up the search, and upon the other side of the altar were found two crypts, one empty, from which had been taken the remains sent to Havana, and the other containing a metallic case. The case bore the inscription: " D. de la A Per Ate," which was inter- preted to mean: " Descubridor de la America, Primer Almirante" (Discoverer of America, the First Admiral). The box was then opened, and on the inside of the cover were the words: " Illtre y Esdo Varon, Dn Cristoval Colon" — Illustrissime y Esclarecido Varon Don Cristoval Colon (Illustrious and renowned man, Don Christopher Columbus). On the two ends and on the front were the letters, ^'C. C. A." — Cristoval Colon, Almirante (Christopher Columbus, Admiral). The box contained bones and bone-dust, a small bit of the skull, a leaden ball, and a silver plate two inches long. On one side of the plate was inscribed: Ua. pie. de los rtos del pmr. alte D. Cristoval Colon Dcsr. (Urna perteneciente de los restos del Primer Almirante Don Cristoval Colon, Descubridor — Urn containing the remains of the First Admiral Don Chris- topher Columbus, Discoverer.) On the other side was: " U. Cristoval Colon" (The coffin of Christopher Columbus). These discoveries have been certified to by the arch- bishop Roque Cocchia, and by others, including Don Emil- THE LIFE OF COLUMBUS. 39 iana Tejera, a well-known citizen. The Royal Academy of History at Madrid, however, challenged the foregoing statements and declared that the remains of Columbus were elsewhere than at Havana. Tejera and the archbishop have since published replies affirming the accuracy of their discovery." Regarding the identity of the island first seen by Colum- bus, Capt. G. V. Fox, in a paper published by the U. S. Coast Survey in 1882, discusses and reviews the evidence, and draws a different conclusion and inference from that heretofore commonly accepted. His paper is based upon the original journals and log-book of Columbus, which were published in 1790 by Don M. F. Navarrete, from a manu- script of Bishop Las Casas, the contemporary and friend of Columbus, found in the archives of the Duke del Infanta. In this the exact words of the Admiral's diary are repro- '" See Washington Irving, Life and Voyages of Columbus, London, 1831; Humboldt, Examen Critique de I'Histoire de la Geographic du Nouveau Continent, Paris, 1836; Sportorno, Codice Diplomatico Colom- bo-Americano, Genoa, 1823; Hernan Colon, Vita dell' Ammiraglio, 1571; (English translation in vol. xi of Churchill's Voyages and Travels, third edition, London, 1744; Spanish, 1745); Prescott, History of Ferdi- nand and Isabella. London, 1870; Major, Select Letters of Columbus, Hakluyt Society London, 1847, and " On the Landfall of Columbus," in Journal of Royal Geographical Society for 1871; Sir Arthur Helps, Life of Columbus, London, i86S; Navarrete, Coleccion de Viages y Des- cubrimientos desde Fines del Siglo XV., Madrid, 1825; Ticknor, History of Spanish Literature, London, 1S63. See also Pietro Martire d'Anghiera. Opus Epistolarum 1530, and De Rebus Oceanicis et de Orbe Novo, 151 1; Cjomora, in Historiadores Prim- itives de Indias, vol. xxii of Rivadaneyra's collection; Oveido y Valdes, Cronica de las Indias, Salamanca. 1547; Ramusio, Raccolta delle Navi- gatione et viaggi iii, Venetia, 1575; Henera de Tordesillas, Historia de las Indias Occidentales, 1601, Antonio Leon Pinelo, Epitome de la ISib- lioteca Oriental y Occidental, Madrid, 1623, Munoz, Historia del Nuevo Mundo, Madrid 1793, Cancellieri, Notizia di Christoforo Colombo, i8og; Bossi, Vita di Christoforo Colombo, 18 rg. Charlevoix, Histoire de San Domingo; Lamartine, Christoph Colomb, Paris, 1862 (Spanish transla- tion, 1865); Crompton, Life of Columbus, London, 1859; Voyages and Discoveries of Columbus, sixth edition, London, 1857; H. R. St. John, Life of Columbus, London, 1850. 40 COLUMBUS AND COLUMBIA. duced by Las Casas, extending from the nth to the 29th of October, the landing being on the 12th. From the description the diary gives, and from a projection of a voyage of Columbus before and after landing, Capt. Fox concludes that the island discovered was neither Grand Turk's, Mariguana, Watling's, nor Cat Island (Guanahani), but Samana, lat. 23 deg. 05 min., N.; long. 75 deg. 35 min., W. If we accept the carefully drawn deductions of Capt. Fox there is reason to believe that the island discovered was Samana. SELECTED LETTERS OF COLUMBUS. Translation of the letter of Christopher Columbus offer- ing his services to King Ferdinand of Spain: Most Serene Prince: I have been engaged in navigating from my youth. J have voyaged 07i the seas for nearly forty years. I have visited all known quarters of the world and have con- versed with a great number of learned men — with ecclesiastics, with seculars^ with Latins, with Greeks, with Moors, and with persons of all sorts of religions. I have acquired some knoivledge of navigation, of astronomy, and of geometry. I am sufficiently expert in designing the chart of the earth to place the cities, the rivers, and the mountains where they are situated. I have applied myself to the study of works on cosmography, on history, and on philosophy. I feel myself at present strongly urged to undertake the discovery of the Indies; and I come to your Highjiess to supplicate you to favor my enterprise. I doubt not that those who hear it will turti it into ridicule; but if your Highness will give me the means of executing it, whatever the obstacles may be I hope to be able to make it succeed}" Translation of a letter written by Christopher Columbus from the court of Queen Isabella at Barcelona to Padre Juan Perez de Marchena, a Franciscan monk, Prior of the Convent of Santa Maria de la Rabida, Huelva, Spain (Date, 1492): Our Lord God has heard the prayers of His serva?its. The ivise and virtuous Isabel, touched by the grace of Heaven, has kindly listened to this poor man's words. All has turned out '^ This letter received no answer. (41) 43 COLUMBUS AND COLUMBIA. well. I have read to them our plan, it has been accepted, and I have been called to the court to state the proper means for carrying out the designs of Providence. My courage swifus in a sea of consolation, and my spirit rises in praise to God. Coffie as soon as you can; the Queen looks for you, and I much more than she. I commend myself to the prayers of my dear sons and you. The grace of God be 7vith you, and may our Lady of Rdbida bless you. COLUMBUS' OWN ACCOUNT OF HIS GREAT DISCOVERY. Translation of a letter sent by Columbus to Luis de Santangel, Chancellor of the Exchequer of Aragon, respect- ing the islands found in the Indies; inclosing another for their Highnesses (Ferdinand and Isabella). R. H. Major, F. S. A., Keeper of the Department of Maps and Charts in the British Museum and Honorary Secretary of the Royal Geographical Society of England, states that the peculiar value of the following letter, descriptive of the first important voyage of Columbus, is that the events described are from the pen of him to whom the events occurred. In it we have laid before us, as it were from Columbus' own mouth, a clear statement of his opinions and conjectures on what were to him great cosmical riddles — riddles which have since been solved mainly through the light which his illustrious deeds have shed upon the field of our observation: Sir: Believing that you will take pleasure in hearing of the great success which our Lord has granted me in my voyage, I write you this letter, whereby you will learn how in thirty - three ^^ days' time I reached the Lndies with the fleet which the most illustrious King and Queen, our Sovereigns, gave to tne, where L found very many islands thickly peopled, of all which L took possession, without resistance, for their Highnesses, by proclamation inade and zvith the royal standard unfurled. To '' Columbus left the Canary Isles September Sth, made the land Octo- ber 11th- thirty-three days. SELECTED LETTERS OF COLUMBUS. 43 the first island that I found I gave the name of San Salvador ^^ in retnembrance of His High Majesty, who hath marvelously brought all these things to pass; the Indians call it Giianahani. To the second island I gave the name of Santa Maria de Con- cepcio/i; the third I called Fernandina\ the fourth, Isabella; the fifth, Juana; and so to each one I gave a new naitie. When I reached Juana, I follotved its coast to the westward, and found it so large that I thought it must be the mainland, — the province of Cathay; and as I found neither toiuns nor villages on the sea-coast, but only a few hamlets, tvith the inhabitants of ivhich I could not hold conversation because they all inwiediately fled, I kept on the same route, thittking that I could not fail to light upon some large cities and towns. At length, after proceeding of many leagues and finding that nothing new presented itself, and that the coast was leading me northward {which I wished to avoid, because winter had already set in, and it was my intention to move southward; and because, moreover, the tvinds ivere contrary), I resolved not to 7iiait for a change in the weather, but returned to a certain harbor which I had remarked, and from tvhich I sent two men ashore to ascertain whether there 7c>as any king or large cities in that part. They journeyed for three days and found countless small hamlets with numberless inhabitants, but rvith nothing like order; they therefore returned. In the meantime I had learned from some other Indians whom I had seized that this land was certainly an island; accordingly, I folloived the coast eastttiard for a distance of lo'j leagues, where it ejided in a cape. From this cape I saw another island to the east- ward, at a distance of eighteen leagues from the former, to which I gave the name of '■'■La Espanola." Thither I went, and followed its northern coast to the eastward {just as I had done with the coast of Juana) \ i^ full leagues due east. This island like all the others is extraordinarily large, and this one '^Watling's Island. 44 COLUMBUS AND COLUMBIA. extremely so. In it are many seaports., with which none that I know in Christendom can bear comparison, so good and capacious that it is wonder to see. The lands are high., and there are many very lofty mountains icith which the island of Cetefrey can not be compared. They are all most beautiful., of a thousand dijferent shapes., accessible, atid covered with trees of a thoicsand kinds, of such great height that they Si emed to reach the skies. I am told that the trees never lose their foliage, and I can well understand it, for I observed that they were as green and luxuriant as in Spain in the month of May. Some were in bloom, others bearing fruit, and others otherwise, according to their nature. The nightingale was singing as well as other birds of a thousand different kinds; and that in November, the month in zvhich I myself was roaming amongst them. There are pahti trees of six or eight kinds, wonderful in their beautiful variety; but this is the case ivith all the other trees and fruits and grasses; trees, plants, or fruits filed us with admiration. It contains extraordinary pine groves and very extensive plains. There is also honey, a great vai-iety of birds, and ??iany different kinds of fruits. In the interior there are many mines of metals and a population innumerable. Espariola is a wonder. Its mountains and plains, and meadoivs and f elds, are so beautiful and rich for planting and sowing, and rearing cattle of all kinds, and for building towns and villages. The harbors on the coast, and the ?iumber and size and wholesomcness of the rivers, most of them bearing gold, surpass anything that would be believed by one tvho had not seen them. There is a great difference betiveen the trees, fruits, and plants of this island and those of Juana. In this island there are many spices and extensive mines of gold and other metals. The inhabitants of this and of all the other islands I have found or gained intelligence of , both men and women, go as 7iaked as they were born, with the exception that some of the women cover one part only tuith a single leaf of grass or ivith SELECTED LETTERS OF COLUMBUS. 45 apiece of cotton made for that piirpose. They have neither iron nor steel nor arms, nor are they competent to use them ^ not that they are not well-formed and of handsome stature, but because they are timid to a surprising degree. Their only arms are reeds, cut in the seeding time, ^* to which they fasten small sharpened sticks, and even these they dare not use; for on sev- eral occasions it has happened that I have sent ashore ttuo or three men to some village to hold a parley, and the people have come out in countless numbers, but as soon as they saw our men approach, would flee with such precipitation that a father would not even stop to protect his son; and this not because any harm had been done to any of them, for from the first, zuherever I went and got speech with them, I gave them of all that I had, such as cloth and many other things, without receiving a?iything in return; but they are, as I have described, incurably timid. It is true that when they are reassured and throtvn off this fear they are guileless, and so liberal of all they have that no one would believe it who had not seen it. They never refuse anything that they possess luhen it is asked of them; on the con- trary, they offer it themselves, and they exhibit so much loving kindness that they would even give their hearts; and, whether it be something of value or of little worth that is offered to them, they are satisfied. I forbade that worthless things, such as pieces of broken porringers and broken glass, and ends of straps, should be given to them; although, when they succeeded in obtaining them, they thought they possessed the finest feivel in the world. It was ascertained that a sailor received for a leather strap a piece of gold weighing two castellanos ^* and a half, and others received for other objects, of far less value, much more. For neiv blancas^^ they would give all they had, '^ These canes are probably the flowering stems of large grasses, simi- lar to the bamboo or to the arimdinaria used by the natives of Guiana for blowing arrows. '* An old Spanish coin, equal to the fiftieth part of a mark of gold. '■" Small copper coins, equal to about the quarter of a farthing. 46 COLUMBUS AND COLUMBIA. whether it was two or three castellanos in gold or one or two arrobas ^* of spun cotton. They took even bits of the broken hoops of the wine barrels., and gave, like fools, all that they possessed in exchange, insomuch that J thought it was wrong and forbade it. I gave away a thousand good and pretty articles which I had brought with me in order to win their affection; and that they might be led to become Christians, and be well inclined to love and serve their Highnesses and the luhole Spanish tuition, and that they might aid us by giving us things of which we stand in need, but which they possess in abundance. They are not acquainted with any kind of worsJiip, and are not idolaters; but believe that all power and, indeed, all good things are in heaven; a?id they are firmly convinced that I, with my vessels and creivs, came from heaven, and with this belief received me at every place at which I touched, after they had overcome their apprehension. And this does not spring froin ignorance, for they are very intelligent, and navigate all these seas, and relate everything to us, so that it is astonishing what a good account they are able to give of everything ; but they have never seen men with clothes I c 5 c z 5 < Q. LO £ O "g 1- "5 LO U z 3; < :g I o o 2 >. -> lO 'c 3 ^ §> s 0) Q- 3 £ o _] o E ''^ - V o ^-' -^ Li. _>* o 1 z o CC D «~ 1- c U ■^ oc £ u I 15 H > > '. ^ i i SELECTED LETTERS OF COLUMBUS. 49 monsters, as many imagined j but, on the contrary, the whole race is well formed, nor are they black as in Guinea, but their hair IS flowing, for they do not dwell in that part where the force of the sun's rays is too poiverful. It is true that the sun has very great power there, for the country is distant only twenty-six degrees from the equinoctial line. In the islands where there are high mountains, the cold this tvinter was very . great, but they endure it, not only from being habituated to it but by eating meat with a variety of excessively hot spices is to savages, I did not even hear of any, except at an island which lies the second in one's way coming to the Indies?'' It is inhabited by a race which is regarded throughout these islands as extremely ferocious, and eaters of human flesh. These possess many canoes, in which they visit all the Indian islands, and rob and plunder whatever they can. They are no worse formed than the rest, except that they are in the habit of wearing their hair long, like women, and use bows and arrows made of reeds with a small stick at the end, for want of iron, which they do not possess. They are ferocious amongst these exceedingly timid people; but I think no more of them than of the rest These are they which have intercourse with the zoomen of Matenino,'' the first island one comes to on the way from Spain to the Indies, and in ivhich there are no men. These women employ themselves in no labor suitable to their sex, but use boivs and arrows made of reeds like those above described, and arm and cover themselves with plates of copper, of which metal they have a great quantity. They assure trie that there is another island larger than Espanola in which the inhabitants have no hair. It is extremely rich in gold; and I bring with me Indians taken from these different islands, who will testify to all these things. Finally andspeaki?ig only of what has taken place in this voyage, which "" Dominica. *' Martinique. 4 50 COLUMBUS AND COLUMBIA. lus been so hasty, their Highnesses may see that I shall give them all the gold they require, if they will give me but a very little assistance; spices also, and cotton, as much as their High- nesses shall command to be shippe .■ . and mastic— hitherto found^ only in Greece, in the Island of Chios, and which the Signoria^'' sells at its own price— as much as their Highnesses shall com- mand to be shipped; lign aloes, as much as their Highnesses shall command to be shipped; slaves, as many of these idolaters as their Highnesses shall command to be shipped. I think I have also found rhubarb and cinnamon, and J shall find a thousand other valuable things by means of the men that I have left behind me, for I tarried at no point so long as the wind allowed me to proceed, except in the town of Navidad, where I took the necessary precautions for the security and settlement of the men I had left there. Much more I would have done if my vessels had been in as good a condition as by rights they ought to have been. This is much, and praised be the eternal God, our Lord, who gives to ail those who walk in his ways victory over things which seem impossible; of which this is signally one, for, although others have spoken or written con- cer7iing these countries, it was all mere conjecture, as no one could say that he had seen them— it amounting only to this, that those who heard listened the more, and re .-/■- /t/irxl . / ^^/^- r/o "-'Va Vo.'; v;, ^*i, w, f? >A ;''•■ h^cjt /■ V' /V (^^ (C^ v-/a^/- ?>i^);)cV' 3(t >tA,y(i Dated April 2, 1502. ^tiMUA. (See page 52,; SELECTED LETTERS OF COLUMBUS. 53 ■not, take at least the ivill for the deed. I beg of you to enter- tain regard for the son I haiw recommended to you. Mr. Nicolo de Oderigo knoivs more about my own affairs than I do myself, and I have sent him the transcripts of my privileges attd letters for safe keeping. I should be glad if you could see them. My lords, the King and Queen, endeavor to honor me more tha?i ever. May the Holy Trinity preserve your 7ioble persons and increase the most magnificent House {of St. George). Done in Sevilla on the second day of April, 1502. The Chief Admiral of the Ocean, Vice-Roy and Governor-General of the islands and continent of Asia, and the Indies of my lords, the King At all events, the popularity of Columbus lasted scarcely six months, as deceptions commenced with the first letters that were sent from Hispan- iola, and they never ceased whilst he was living. In fact, it is only between April 20, 1493, which is the date of his arrival in Barcelona, and the 2oth of May following, when he left that city to embark for the second expedition (during the short space of six weeks), that his portrait might have been painted; although it was not then a Spanish notion, by any means. Neither Boabdil nor Gonzalvo de Cordova, whose exploits were certainly much more admired by the Spaniards than those of Colum- bus, were honored in that form during their lifetime. Even the portraits of Ferdinand and Isabella, although attributed to Antonio del Rincon, are only fancy pictures of the close of the sixteenth century. The popularity of Columbus was short-lived because he led the Spanish nation to believe that gold was plentiful and easily obtained in Cuba and Hispaniola, whilst the Spaniards who, seduced by his enthusiastic descrip- tions, crossed the Atlantic in search of wealth, found nothing but suffer- ings and poverty. Those who managed to return home arrived in Spain absolutely destitute. They were noblemen, who clamored at the court and all over the country, charging "the stranger" with having deceived them. (Historia de los Reyes Catolicos, cap. Ixxxv, f. 188; Las Casas, lib. i, cap. cxxii, vol. ii, p. 176; Andres Bernaldez, cap. cxxxi, vol. ii, p. 77.) It was not under such circumstances that Spaniards would have caused his portrait to be painted. The oldest effigy of Columbus known (a rough wood-cut in Jovius, illustrium virorum vitce, Florentise, 1549, folio), was made at least forty years after his death, and in Italy, where he never returned after leaving it as a poor and unknown artizan. Let it be enough for us to know that he was above the medium height, robust, with sandy hair, a face elongated, flushed and freckled, vivid light gray eyes, the nose shaped like the beak of an eagle, and that he always was dressed like a monk. (Bernaldez, Oviedo, Las Casas, and the author of the Libretto, all eye-witnesses.) — H. Harrisse's " Columbus, and the Bank of St. George, in Genoa." 64 COLUMBUS AND COLUMBIA. aiid Queen, their Captain-General of the sea, and of their Council. ''S.A.S." "X. M. vr ''Xpo. Ferens."^^ HIS PATIENCE AND NOBILITY OF MIND UNDER SUFFERING AND IN THE MIDST OF UNDESERVED INDIGNITIES. The reply of Columbus to Andreas Martin, captain of the caravel conveying him a prisoner to Spain, upon an offer to remove his fetters: Since the King has cotnmanded that I should obey his Gov- ernor, he shall find me as obedient in this as I have been to all his other orders; nothing but his command shall release me. If twelve years' hardship and fatigue; if continual dangers and frequent famine; if the ocean first opened, and five times passed and repassed, to add a new world, abounding with wealth, to the Spanish monarchy; and if an infirm and premature old age, brought on by these services, deserve these chains as a reward, it is very fit I should wear them to Spain, and keep them by me as memorials to the end of my life. From a letter to the King and Queen: This country {the Bahamas) excels all others as far as the day surpasses the night in splendor; the natives love their neighbors as themselves; their conversation is the siueetest imaginable, and their faces are always smiling. So gentle *' What strikes the paleographer, when studying the handwriting of Christopher Columbus, is the boldness of the penmanship. You can see at a glance that he was a very rapid caligrapher, and one accustomed to write a great deal. This certainly was his reputation. The numberless memoirs, petitions, and letters which flew from his pen gave even rise to jokes and bywords. Francesillo de Zuniga, Charles V.'s jester, in one of his jocular epistles exclaims: "I hope to God that Gutierrez will always have all the paper he wants, for he writes more than Ptolemy and I'.ian Columbus, the discoverer of the Indies." — Harrisse. II SELECTED LETTERS OF COLUMBUS. 55 and so affectionate are they that I siuear to your Highness there is no better people in the world. From the same: The fish rival the birds in tropical brilliaficy of color, the scales of some of them glancing back the rays of light like precious stones, as they sported about the ships and flashed gleams of gold and silver through the clear ivater. Speech of a West Indian chief to Columbus, on his arrival in Cuba: Whether you are divinities or mortal men, ice knoiv not. Yoti have come into these coujitries luith a force, against which, were we inclined to resist, it would be folly. We are all there- fore at your mercy; but if you are men, subject to mortality like ourselves, you ca7i not be unapprised that after this life there is another, wherein a very different portion is allotted to good and bad men. If therefore you expect to die, and believe, with us, that every one is to be rewarded in a future state according to his conduct in the present, you will do no hurt to those who do none to you. SHIPWRECK AND MARRIAGE. From the "Life of Columbus," by his son Hernando: / say, that whilst the Admiral sailed with the aforesaid ^^ Columbus the Younger," which was a long time, it fell out that, understanding the before-mentioned four great Venetian galleys were coming from Flanders, they 2ve/it out to seek, and found thetn beyond Lisbon, about Cape St. Vincent, which is in Portugal, where, falling to blows, they fought furiously and grappled, beating ofie another fro7n vessel to vessel with the utmost rage, snaking use not only of their weapons but artificial fireworks; so that after they had fought from morning until evening, and abundajice were killed on both sides, theAdfniral's ship took fire, as did a great Venetian galley, which, being fast 56 COLUMBUS AND COLUMBIA. grappled together with iron hooks and chains used to this pur- pose by seafaring men, could neither of them be relieved because of the confusion there was among them and the fright of the fire, which in a short time was so increased that there was tio other remedy but for all that could to leap into the water, so to die sooner, rather than bear the torture of the fire. But the Admiral being an excellent swinwier, a?id seeing himself tivo leagues or a little farther from land, layifig hold of an oar, 7uhich good fortnne offered him, and, sometimes rest- ing upon it, sometimes swimming, it pleased God, who had pre- served him for greater ends, to give him strength to get to shore, but so tired a?td spent with the water that he had much ado to recover himself. And because it was 7iot far from Lis- bon, where he knerv there tvere many Ge?ioeses, his countrymen, he luent atvay thither as fast as he could, where, being knoum by them, he was so courteously received and entertained that he set up house and married a wife in that city. And forasmuch as he behaved himself honorably, and was a man of comely presence, and did nothing but what was Just, it happened that a lady whose name was Dona Felipa Moniz, of a good family, and pensioner in the Monastery of All Saints, ivhither the Admiral used to go to mass, was so taken with him that she became his wife. PUT NOT YOUR TRUST IN PRINCES. From a letter of Christopher Columbus to Ferdinand and Isabella: Such is my fate that tiventy years of set-vice, through which I passed with so much toil and danger, have profited me noth- ing; a?id at this day J do not possess a roof in Spain that I can call my 07vn. If I tvish to eat or sleep, I have nowhere to go but to the inn or tavern, and I seldom have tvherewith to pay the bill. I have not a hair upon me that is not gray; my body is infirm; and all that was left me, as well as to my brothers. SELECTED LETTERS OF COLUMI US. 57 has oeen taken away and sold, even to the frock that I wore, to my great dishonor. I implore your Highnesses to forgive my complaints. I am indeed in as ruined a condition as I have related. Hitherto I have wept over others; may Heaven now have mercy tipon me, and 7/iay the earth weep for me. THE SELF-SACRIFICE AND DEVOTION OF COLUMBUS. From Columbus' own account of his discovery: Such is my plan; if it be dangerous to execute, I am no mere theorist who would leave to another the prospect of perishing in carrying it out, but am ready to sacrifice my I fie as an example to the world in doing so. Ifi I do not reach the shores ofi Asia by sea, it will be because the Atlantic has other boundaries in the west, and these boundaries I will discover. THE TRUST OF COLUMBUS. From a letter of Columbus to a friend: For me to contetid fior the contrary, would be to contend with the wind. I have done all that I could do. I leave the rest to God, whom I have ever fiound propitious to me in my necessities. SIGNATURE OF COLUMBUS. S. - - - - i. e. - - - Servidor S. A. S. - - - - - Sus Altezas Sac r as X. M. Y. Jesus Maria Ysabel Xpo. FERENS Christo-pher El Abnirante . . . . . El Almirante. In English: Servant — of their Sacred Highnesses — Jesus, Mary, and Isabella — Christopher — The Admiral. — Becher. the last words of columbus. Lord, into thy hands I commend my spirit. Columbus and Columbia. COLUMBUS. Look up, look forth, and on. There's light in the dawning sky. The clouds are parting, the night is gone. Prepare for the work of the day. — Bayard Taylor. A Cast ilia y Leon, Nuevo miindo did Colon. To Castille and Leon Columbus gave a New World. Inscription upon Hernando Columbus' tomb, in the pavement of the cathedral at Seville, Spain. Also upon the Columbus Monument in the Paseo de Recoletos, Madrid. COLUMBUS. REVERENCE AND WONDER. John Adams, American lawyer and statesman, second President of the United States. Bom at Braintree (now Quincy), Norfoliv County, Mass., October ig, 1735. President, Marcli 4, 1797 — March 4, 1801. Died at Braintree July 4, 1826. I always consider the discovery of America, with rever- ence and wonder, as the opening of a grand scene and design in Providence, for the illumination of the ignorant and the emancipation of the slavish part of mankind all over the earth. THE GREATNESS OF COLUMBUS. William Livingston Alden, an American author. Born in Massa- chusetts October 9,1837. From his '" Life of Columbus " (1882), published by Messrs. Henry Holt & Co., New York City. Whatever flaws there may have been in the man, he was of a finer clay than his fellows, for he could dream dreams that their dull imaginations could not conceive. He belonged to the same land which gave birth to Garibaldi, and, like the Great Captain, the Great Admiral lived in a high, pure atmosphere of splendid visions, far removed from and above his fellow-men. The greatness of Colum- bus can not be argued away. The glow of his enthusiasm kindles our own even at the long distance of four hundred years, and his heroic figure looms grander through succes- sive centuries. ANCIENT ANCHORS. Two anchors that Columbus carried in his ships are exhibited at the World's Fair. The anchors were found by Columbian Commissioner Ober near two old wells at San 63 COLUMBUS AND COLUMBIA. Salvador. He had photographs and accurate models made. These reproductions were sent to Paris, where expert anti- quarians pronounced them to be fifteenth century anchors, and undoubtedly those lost by Columbus in his wreck of¥ San Salvador. One of these has been presented to the United States and the other is loaned to the Fair. COLUMBUS AND THE CONVENT OF LA rXbIDA. (anonymous.) It was at the door of the convent of La Rabida that Columbus, disappointed and down-hearted, asked for food and shelter for himself and his child. It was here that he found an asylum for a few years while he developed his plans, and prepared the arguments whicli he submitted to the council at Salamanca. It was in one of the rooms of this convent that he met the Dominican monks in debate, and it was here also that he conferred with Alonzo Pinzon, who afterward commanded one of the vessels of his fleet. In this convent Columbus lived while he was making preparations for his voyage, and on the morning that he sailed from Palos he attended himself the little chapel. There is no building in the world so closely identified with his discovery as this. THE EARNESTNESS OF COLUMBUS. (anonymous.) Look at Christopher Columbus. Consider the dishearten- ing difficulties and vexatious delays he had to encounter; the doubts of the skeptical, the sneers of the learned, the cavils of the cautious, and the opposition, or at least the indifference, of nearly all. And then the dangers of an untried, unexplored ocean. Is it by any means probable he would have persevered had he not possessed that earnest enthusiasm which was characteristic of the great COLUMBUS. 63 discoverer? What mind can conceive or tongue can tell the great results which have followed, and will continue to follow in all coming time, from what this single individual accomplished? A new continent has been discovered; nations planted whose wealth and power already begin to eclipse those of the Old World, and whose empires stretch far away beneath the setting sun. Institutions of learning, liberty, and religion have been established on the broad basis of equal rights to all. It is true, America might have been discovered by what we call some fortunate accident. But, in all probability, it would have remained unknown for centuries, had not some earnest man, like Columbus, arisen, whose adventurous spirit would be roused, rather than repressed, by .difficulty and danger. EACH THE COLUMBUS OF HIS OWN SOUL. (anonymous.) Every man has within himself a continent of undiscov- ered character. Happy is he who acts the Columbus to his own soul. A SUPERIOR SOUL. (CLADERA. SPANISH.) His soul was superior to the age in which he lived. For him was reserved the great enterprise of traversing that sea which had given rise to so many fables, and of deciph- ering the mystery of his time. COLUMBUS DARED THE MAIN. Samuel Rogers. (See post, page 275.) When first Columbus dared the Western main. Spanned the broad gulf, and gave a world to Spain, How thrilled his soul with tumult of delight, When through the silence of the sleepless night Burst shouts of triumph. 64 COLUMBUS AND COLUMBIA. TIIK WORM) A SKAMAN's HAND CONFERRKD. J.K.l.owKi.L. (See /i'j/, page 204.) Joy, joy for Spain! a seaman's hand confers These glorious gifts, for a new world is hers. But where is he, that light whose radiance glows, 'J'he loadstone of succeeding mariners? Behold him crushed beneath o'ermastering woes — Hopeless, heart-broken, chained, abandoned to his foes. THE RIDICULE WITH WHICH THE VIEWS OF COLUMBUS WERE RECEIVED. John J. Anderson, American historical writer. Born in New York, 1821. From his " History of the United States" (1S87). It is recorded that " Columbus had to beg his way from court to court to offer to princes the discovery of a world." Genoa was appealed to again, then the appeal was made to Venice. Not a word of encouragement came from either. Columbus next tried Spain. His theory was examined by a council of men who were supposed to be very wise about geography and navigation. The theory and its author were ridiculed. Said one of the wise men: " Is there any one so foolish as to believe that there are people living on the other side of the earth with their feet opposite to ours? people who walk with their heels upward and their heads hanging down?" His idea was that the earth was flat like a plate. THE GEOGRAPHY OF THE ANCIENTS. From the third of a series of articles by the Hon. Elliott Anthony. Associate Judge of the Circuit Court of Cook County, Chicago, in the Chicago Mail. Bancroft, the historian, says that nearly three centuries before the Christian era, Aristotle, following the lessons of the Pythagoreans, had taught that the earth is a sphere "V. *^, .^': ^'* I y^lti^.JX~ • " , STATUE OF COLUMBUS ON THE BARCELONA MONUMENT, (See page 81.) COLUMBUS. 65 and that the water which bounds Europe on the west washes the eastern shores of Asia. Instructed by him, the Spaniard, Seneca, beUeved that a ship, with a fair wind, could sail from Spain to the Indies in a few days. The opinion was revived in the Middle Ages by Averroes, the Arab commentator of Aristotle. Science and observation assisted to confirm it; and poets of ancient and of more recent times had foretold that empires beyond the ocean would one day be revealed to the daring navigator. The genial country of Dante and Buonarotti gave birth to Christopher Columbus, by whom these lessons were so received and weighed that he gained the glory of fulfilling the prophecy. Accounts of the navigation from the eastern coast of Africa to Arabia had reached the western kingdoms of Europe, and adventurous Venetians, returning from travels beyond the Ganges, had filled the world with dazzling descriptions of the wealth of China, as well as marvelous reports of the outlying island empire of Japan. It began to be believed that the continent of Asia stretched over far more than a hemisphere, and that the remaining distance around the globe was comparatively short. Yet from the early part of the fifteenth century the navigators of Portu- gal had directed their explorations to the coast of Africa; and when they had ascertained that the torrid zone is habit- able, even under the equator, the discovery of the islands of Madeira and the Azores could not divert them from the purpose of turning the southern capes of that continent and steering past them to the land of spices, which prom- ised untold wealth to the merchants of Europe, new domin- ions to its princes, and heathen nations to the religion of the cross. Before the year 1474, and perhaps as early as 1470, Columbus was attracted to Lisbon, which was then the great center of maritime adventure. He came to insist 5 66 COLUMBUS AND COLUMBIA. with immovable resoluteness that l he shortest route to the Indies lay across the Atlantic. By the words of Aristotle, received through Averroes, and by letters from Toscanelli, the venerable cosmographer of Florence — who had drawn a map of the world, with Eastern Asia rising over against Europe — he was riveted in his faith and lived only in the idea of laying open the western path to the Indies. After more than ten years of vain solicitations in Portu- gal, he left the banks of the Tagus to seek aid of Ferdi- nand and Isabella, rich in nautical experience, having watched the stars at sea from the latitude of Iceland to near the equator atElmina. Though yet longer baffled by the skepticism which knew not how to comprehend the clear- ness of his conception, or the mystic trances which sus- tained his inflexibility of purpose, or the unfailing greatness of his soul, he lost nothing of his devotedness to the sublime office to which he held himself elected from his infancy by the promises of God. When, half resolved to withdraw from Spain, traveling on foot, he knocked at the gate of the monastery of La Rabida, at Palos, to crave the needed charity of food and shelter for himself and his little son, whom he led by the hand, the destitute and neglected sea- man, in his naked poverty, was still the promiser of king- doms, holding firmly in his grasp " the key of the ocean sea;" claiming, as it were from Heaven, the Indies as his own, and "dividing them as he pleased." It was then that through the prior of the convent his holy confidence found support in Isabella, the Queen ofCastille; and in 1492, with three poor vessels, of which the largest only was decked, embarking from Palos for the Indies by way of the west, Columbus gave a new world to Castille and Leon, "the like of which was never done by any man in ancient or in later times." The jubilee of this great discovery is at hand, and now ill COLUMBUS. 67 after the lapse of 400 years, as we look back over the vast ranges of human history, there is nothing in the order of Providence which can compare in interest with the condi- tion of the American continent as it lay upon the surface of the globe, a hemisphere unknown to the rest of the world. There stretched the iron chain of its mountain barriers, not yet the boundary of political communities; there rolled its mighty rivers unprofitably to the sea; there spread out the measureless, but as yet wasteful, fertility of its uncultivated fields; there towered the gloomy majesty of its unsubdued primeval forests; there glittered in the secret caves of the earth the priceless treasures of its unsunned gold, and, more than all that pertains to material wealth, there existed the undeveloped capacity of 100 embryo states of an imperial confederacy of republics, the future abode of intelligent millions, unrevealed as yet to the "ear- nest" but unconscious "expectation" of the elder families of man, darkly hidden by the impenetrable veil of waters. There is, to my mind, says Everett, an overwhelming sad- ness in this long insulation of America from the brother- hood of humanity, not inappropriately reflected in the melancholy expression of the native races. The boldest keels of Phoenicia and Carthage had not approached its shores. From the footsteps of the ancient nations along the highways of time and fortune — the embat- tled millions of the old Asiatic despotisms, the iron phalanx of Macedonia, the living, crushing machinery of the Roman legion which ground the world to powder, the heavy tramp of barbarous nations from " the populous north" — not the faintest echo had aroused the slumbering West in the cradle of her existence. Not a thrill of sympathy had shot across the Atlantic from the heroic adventure, the intellectual and artistic vitality, the convulsive struggles for freedom, 68 COLUMBUS AND COLUMBIA. the calamitous downfalls of empire, and the strange new regenerations which fill the pages of ancient and mediaeval history. Alike when the oriental myriads, Assyr- ian, Chaldean, Median, Persian, Bactrian, from the snows of Syria to the Gulf of Ormus, from the Halys to the Indus, poured like a deluge upon Greece and beat them- selves to idle foam on the sea-girt rock of Salamis and the lowly plain of Marathon; when all the kingdoms of the earth went down with her own liberties in Rome's imperial maelstrom of blood and fire, and when the banded powers of the west, beneath the ensign of the cross, as the pendu- lum of conquest swung backward, marched in scarcely intermitted procession for three centuries to the subjuga- tion of Palestine, the American continent lay undiscovered, lonely and waste. That mighty action and reaction upon each other of Europe and America, the grand systole and diastole of the heart of nations, and which now constitutes so much of the organized life of bot«h, had not yet begun to pulsate. The unconscious child and heir of the ages lay wrapped in the mantle of futurity upon the broad and nurturing bosom of divine Providence, and slumbered serenely like the infant Uanae through the storms of fifty centuries. THE DARK AGES BEFORE COLUMBUS. From the writings of Saint Augustine, the most noted of the Latin fathers. Born at Tagasta, Numidia, November 13, A. D. 354; died at Hippo, August 28, A D. 430. (This passage was relied on by the ecclesiastical opponents of Columbus to show the heter- odoxy of his project.) They do not see that even if the earth were round it would not follow that the part directly opposite is not cov- ered with water. Besides, supposing it not to be so, what necessity is there that it should be inhabited, since the COLUMBUS. 69 Scriptures, in the first place, the fulfilled prophecies of which attest the truth thereof for the past, can not be sus- pected of telling tales; and, in the second place, it is really too absurd to say that men could ever cross such an immense ocean to implant in those parts a sprig of the family of the first man. THE LEGEND OF COLUMBUS. Joanna BaiLLIE, a noted Scottish poetess. Born at Bothwell, Scotland, 1762; died at Hampstead, near London, February 23, 1851. From " The Legend of Columbus." Is there a man that, from some lofty steep. Views in his wide survey the boundless deep, When its vast waters, lined with sun and shade. Wave beyond wave, in serried distance, fade? COLUMBUS THE CONQUEROR. No kingly conqueror, since time began The long career of ages, hath to man A scope so ample given for trade's bold range Or caused on earth's wide stage such rapid, mighty change. — Ibid. THE EXAMPLE OF COLUMBUS. Some ardent youth, perhaps, ere from his home He launch his venturous bark, will hither come. Read fondly o'er and o'er his graven name, With feelings keenly touched, with heart aflame; Till, wrapped in fancy's wild delusive dream. Times past and long forgotten, present seem. To his charmed ear the east wind, rising shrill. Seems through the hero's shroud to whistle still. The clock's deep pendulum swinging through the blast Sounds like the rocking of his lofty mast; While fitful gusts rave like his clam'rous band. 70 COLUMBUS AND COLUMBIA. Mixed with the accents of his high command. Slowly the stripling quits the pensive scene, And burns and sighs and weeps to be what he has been. Oh, who shall lightly say that fame Is nothing but an empty name? Whilst in that sound there is a charm The nerves to brace, the heart to warm, As, thinking of the mighty dead, The young from slothful couch will start, And vow, with lifted hands outspread, Like them to act a noble part. Oh, who shall lightly say that fame Is nothing but an empty name? When but for those, our mighty dead. All ages past a blank would be, Sunk in oblivion's murky bed, A desert bare, a shipless sea! They are the distant objects seen, The lofty marks of what hath been. — Ibid. PALOS THE DEPARTURE. On Palos' shore, whose crowded strand Bore priests and nobles of the land. And rustic hinds and townsmen trim, And harnessed soldiers stern and grim, And lowly maids and dames of pride, And infants by their mother's side — The boldest seaman stood that e'er Did bark or ship through tempest steer; And wise as bold, and good as wise; The magnet of a thousand eyes. That on his form and features cast. COLUMBUS. 71 His noble mien and simple guise, In wonder seemed to look their last. A form which conscious worth is gracing, A face where hope, the lines effacing Of thought and care, bestowed, in truth, To the quick eyes' imperfect tracing The look and air of youth. The signal given, with hasty strides The sailors line their ships' dark sides. Their anchors weighed, and from the shore Each stately vessel slowly bore. High o'er the deep and shadowed flood. Upon his deck their leader stood, And turned him to departed land, And bowed his head and waved his hand. And then, along the crowded strand, A sound of many sounds combined. That waxed and waved upon the wind, Burst like heaven's thunder, deep and grand; A lengthened peal, which paused, and then Renewed, like that which loathly parts. Oft on the ear returned again, The impulse of a thousand hearts. But as the lengthened shouts subside, Distincter accents strike the ear. Wafting across the current wide Heart-uttered words of parting cheer: " Oh, shall we ever see again Those gallant souls across the main? God keep the brave! God be their guide! God bear them safe through storm and tide! Their sails with favoring breezes swell! O brave Columbus, fare thee well! " — Ibid. 72 COLUMBUS AND COLUMBIA. THE NAVIGATOR AND THE ISLANDS. Maturin Murray Ballou, American author. Compiler of " Pearls of Tliouglit" and similar works. Born in Boston, Mass., April 14, 1822. From "Due South," published by Houghton, Mifflin & Co., Boston, 1887. The name of Columbus flashes a bright ray over the mental darkness of the period in which he lived, for the world was then but just awakening from the dull sleep of the Middle Ages. The discovery of printing heralded the new birth of the republic of letters, and maritime enter- prise received a vigorous impulse. The shores of the Mediterranean, thoroughly explored and developed, had endowed the Italian states with extraordinary wealth, and built up a very respectable mercantile marine. The Por- tuguese mariners were venturing farther and farther from the peninsula, and traded with many distant ports on the extended coast of Africa. To the west lay what men supposed to be an illimitable ocean, full of mystery, peril, and death. A vague concep- tion that islands hitherto unknown might be met afar off on that strange wilderness of waters was entertained by some minds, but no one thought of venturing in search of them. Columbus alone, regarded merely as a brave and intelligent seaman and pilot, conceived the idea that the earth was spherical, and that the East Indies, the great El Dorado of the century, might be reached by circumnavi- gating the globe. If we picture to ourselves the mental condition of the age and the state of science, we shall find no difficulty in conceiving the scorn and incredulity with which the theory of Columbus was received. We shall not wonder that he was regarded as a madman or a fool; we are not surprised to remember that he encount- ered repulse upon repulse as he journeyed wearily from court to court, and pleaded in vain to the sovereigns of COLUMBUS. 73 Europe for aid to prosecute his great design. The marvel is that when door after door was closed against him, when all ears were deaf to his earnest importunities, when day by day the opposition to his views increased, when, weary and footsore, he was forced to beg a bit of bread and a cup of water for his fainting and famishing boy at the door of a Spanish convent, his reason did not give way, and his great heart did not break with disappointment. THE FIRST AMERICAN MONUMENT TO COLUMBUS. From an article in the Baltimore American. To a patriotic Frenchman and to Baltimore belongs the credit of the erection of the first monument to the memory of Christopher Columbus. This shaft, though unpreten- tious in height and material, is the first ever erected in the "Monumental City" or in the whole United States. The monument was put up on his estate by Charles Francis Adrian le Paulmier, Chevalier d'Amour. The property is now occupied by the Samuel Ready Orphan Aslyum, at North and Hartford avenues. It passed into the hands of the trustees from the executors of the late Zenus Barnum's will. It has ever been a matter of surprise, particularly among tourists, that among the thousand and one monuments which have been put up in the United States to the illus- trious dead, that the daring navigator who first sighted an island which was part of a great continent which 400 years later developed into the first nation of the world, should be so completely and entirely overlooked. It is on record that the only other monument in the world, up to 1863, which has been erected in the honor of Columbus is in Genoa. There is no authoritative account of the construc- tion of the Baltimore moaument. The fact that it was built 74 COLUMBUS AND COLUMBIA. in honor of Columbus is substantial, as the following inscription on the shaft shows: Sacred to the Memory of CHRIS. COLUMBUS, Oct. XII, MDCC Vine. It can be seen that the numerals are engrossed in the old English style, and show eight less than 1800, or 1792, and the date October 12th. The shaft towers among the boughs of a great oak tree which, like itself, has stood the storms and winds of nearly a hundred years. It has seen Baltimore develop from a little colonial town to a great city. The existence of the monument, strange to say, was known to only a few persons until the opening of North Avenue through the Barnum estate about twelve years ago. It looms up about fifty feet, and is attractive. Tradition says that it is built of brick which was brought from England, and covered with mortar or cement. At any rate it is sub- stantial, and likely to stand the ravages of time for many more years. The Samuel Ready estate is on the east side of the Hartford turnpike and fronts on North Avenue. The old-fashioned country house, which was built many years ago, was occupied by the proprietor of Baltimore's famous hostelry, and is still in use. It is occupied by girls who are reared and educated by money left by the philan- thropist Samuel Ready. Forty or fifty years ago the elder David Barnum resided there. In the southeast corner of the beautiful inclosure stands the monument. It is on an elevated terraced plateau. The plaster or cement coating is intact, and the inscription is plain. The shaft is quadrangular in form, sloping from a base six feet six inches in diameter to about two feet and a COLUMBUS. ' 75 half at the top, which is a trifle over fifty feet from the ground. The pedestal comprises a base about thirty inches high, with well-rounded corners of molded brick work. The pedestal proper is five feet six inches in diameter, ten feet in height, and a cornice, ornamental in style, about three feet in height. From this rises a tapering shaft of about twenty-eight feet. The whole is surmounted by a capstone eighteen inches high. Three stories are told about the monument. Here is the first: Among the humble people who have lived in that section for years the legend is that the monu- ment was erected to the memory of a favorite horse owned by the old Frenchman who was the first French consul to the United States. For years it was known as the "Horse Monument," and people with imaginative brains conjured up all sorts of tales, and retailed them ad lib. These stories were generally accepted without much inquiry as to their authenticity. This, however, is the true story: Gen. D' Amour, who was the first representative sent to the colonies from France, was extremely wealthy. He was a member of a society founded to perpetuate the memory of Columbus in his own land. It IS said that Gen D'Amour came to America with Count de Grasse, and after the fall of Yorktown retired to this city, where he remained until he was recalled to France in 1797. His reason for erecting the monument was because of his admiration for Columbus' bravery in the face of apparent failure. Tradition further says that one evening in the year 1792, while he was entertaining a party of guests, the fact that it was then the tri-centennial of the discov- ery of America was the topic of conversation. During the evening it was mentioned incidentally that there was not in this whole country a monument to commemorate the 76 COLUMBUS AND COLUMBIA. deeds of Columbus. Thereupon, Gen. D'Amour is said to have made a solemn vow that this neglect should be imme- diately remedied by the erection of an enduring shaft upon his own estate. He bought the property around where the monument now stands, and lived in grand style, as befitted a man of his wealth and position. He entertained extensively. It is said that Lafayette was dined and feted by the French- man in the old brick house which is still standing behind the mansion. In the year and on the date which marked the 300th anniversary of the discovery of America the monument was unveiled. The newspapers in those days were not enterprising, and the journals published at that time do not mention the fact. Agam, it is said that D'Amour died at the old mansion, and many people believe that his body was interred near the base of the shaft. It is related that about forty years ago two Frenchmen came to this country and laid claims on the property, which had, after the Frenchman's death, passed into other hands. The claim was disputed because of an unsettled mortgage on it, and they failed to prove their title. They tried to dis- cover the burial-place of the former owner. In this they also failed, although large rewards were offered to encourage people to aid them in their search. It is said that an ingen- ious Irishman in the neighborhood undertook to earn the reward, and pointed out a grave in an old Quaker burying- ground close by. The grave was opened and the remains exhumed. Exam- ination proved the bones those of a colored man. Old Mrs. Reilly, who was the wife of famous old Barnum's Hotel hackman Reilly, used to say that some years after the two Frenchmen had departed there came another mysterious Frenchman, who sat beside the monument for weeks, pleading to the then owners for permission to COLUMBUS. 77 dig in a certain spot hard by. He was refused. Nothing daunted, he waited an opportunity and, when the coast was clear, he dug up a stone slab, which he had heard was to be found, and carried away the remains of a pet cat which had been buried there. Frequent inquiries were made of Mr. Samuel H. Tagart, who was the trustee in charge of the estate of Zenus Bar- num, in regard to the old Frenchman. Antiquarians all over the country made application for permission to dig beneath the monument, and to remove the tablet from the face of the shaft. He felt, however, that he could not do it, and refused all requests. Early in the present century the Samuel Ready estate was owned by Thomas Tenant — in those days a wealthy, influential citizen. One of his daughters, now dead, became the wife of Hon. John P. Kennedy. Another daughter, who lived in New York, and who is supposed to be dead, paid a visit in 1878 to the old homestead, and sat beneath the shadow of the Columbus monument. She stated that the shaft has stood in her early girlhood as it stands now. It was often visited by noted Italians and Frenchmen, who seemed to have heard of the existence of the monu- ment in Europe. She repeated the story of the wealthy Frenchman, and told of some of his eccentricities, and said he had put up the monument at a cost of ;^8oo, or $4,000. The old land records of Baltimore town were examined by a representative of the American as far back as 1787. It appears that in that year Daniel Weatherly and his wife, Elizabeth; Samuel Wilson and wife, Hannah; Isaac Pen- nington and Jemima, his wife, and William Askew and Jon- athan Rutter assigned to Rachel Stevenson four lots of ground, comprising the estate known as " Hanson's Woods," " Darley Hall," " Rutter's Discovery," and "Orange." 78 COLUMBUS AND COLUMBIA. Later, in 1787 and 1788, additional lots were received from one Christopher Hughes, and in the following year the entire estate was assigned by Rachel Stevenson to Charles Francis Adrian le Paulmier, Chevalier d'Amour, the French consul, the eccentric Frenchman, and the perpetuator of Columbus' memory in Baltimore. The property remained in his possession up to 1796, when Archibald Campbell purchased it. In the year 1800 James Hindman bought it, and retained possession until 1802, when James Carere took hold. Thomas Tenant pur- chased the estate in 1809. At his death, in 1830, it changed hands several times, and was finally bought by David Barnum, about 1833. At his death, in 1854, the estate passed into the hands of Samuel AV. McClellan, then to Zenus Barnum, and subsequently fell to his heirs, Dr. Zenus Barnum, Arthur C. Barnum, Annie and Maggie Barnum. After much litigation, about four years ago the estate passed into possession of the executors of Samuel Ready's will, and they have turned the once tumbled-down, deserted place into a beautiful spot. All the families mentioned have relatives living in this city now. In all the changes of time and owners, the monument to Columbus has remained intact, showmg that it is always the fittest that survives, and that old things are best. Mr. E. G. Ferine, one of the officers of the Samuel Ready Orphan Asylum, has collected most of the data relating to the monument. THE ITALIAN STATUE. The Italian citizens resident in Baltimore propose to donate a magnificent statue of Columbus to the " Monu- mental City," in commemoration of the 400th anniversary of the discovery of America. COLUMBUS. 79 COLUMBUS — THE FULFILLER OF PROPHECY. Ge(1Rge Bancroft, Ph. D., LL D., D. C. L., America's premier histo- rian. Born at Worcester, Mass . October 3, 1800; died January 17, 1891. From " The History of the United States." Imagination had conceived the idea that vast inhabited regions lay unexplored in the west; and poets had declared that empires beyond the ocean would one day be revealed to the daring navigator. But Columbus deserves the undivided glory of having realized that belief. The writers of to-day are disposed to consider Magellan's voyage a greater feat than that of Columbus. I can not agree with them. Magellan was doubtless a remarkable man, and a very bold man. But when he crossed the Pacific Ocean he knew he must come to land at last; whereas Columbus, whatever he may have heard concern- ing lands to the west, or whatever his theories may have led him to expect, must still have been in a state of uncer- tainty—to say nothing of the superstitious fears of his companions, and probably his own. ********* The enterprise of Columbus, the most memorable mari- time enterprise in the history of the world, formed between Europe and America the communication which will never cease. The story of the colonization of America by North- men rests on narratives mythological in form and obscure in meaning; ancient, yet not contemporary. The intrepid mariners who colonized Greenland could easily have extended their voyages to Labrador and have explored the coasts to the south of it. No clear historic evidence establishes the natural probability that they accomplished the passage; and no vestige of their presence on our continent has been found. 80 COLUMBUS AND COLUMBIA. Nearly three centuries before the Christian era, Aristotle, following the lessons of the Pythagoreans, had taught that the earth is a sphere, and that the water which bounds Europe on the west washes the eastern shores of Asia. Instructed by him, the Spaniard Seneca believed that a ship, with a fair wind, could sail from Spain to the Indies in the space of a very few days. The opinion was revived in the Mid- dle Ages by Averroes, the Arab commentator of Aristotle; science and observation assisted to confirm it; and poets of ancient and of more recent times had foretold that empires beyond the ocean would one day be revealed to the daring navigator. The genial country of Dante and Buonarotti gave birth to Christopher Columbus, by whom these lessons were so received and weighed that he gained the glory of fulfilling the prophecy. COLUMBUS THE MARINER. Hubert IIcnvE Bancroft, an American historian. Born at Granville, Ohio, 1S32. As a mariner and discoverer Columbus had no superior; as a colonist and governor he proved himself a failure. Had he been less pretentious and grasping, his latter days would have been more peaceful. Discovery was his infat- uation; but he lacked practical judgment, and he brought upon himself a series of calamities. A COLUMBUS BANK NOTE. Since the Postofifice Department has decided to issue a set of stamps in honor of Columbus, it has been suggested that a Columbus bank note would also be in good taste at this time. Chief Meredith, of the Bureau of Engraving and Printing, originated the latter idea and will lay it before Secretary Foster when he returns to his desk at the Treas- COLUMBUS MONUMENT, PASEO COLON, BARCELONA, SPAIN. Dedicated May 2, 1888. (See page 81 .) COLUMBUS. 81 ury. Issuing a whole set of Columbian notes would involve not only a great deal of preparation but cost as well, and hence it is proposed to choose one of the smaller denomi- nations, probably the $i note, for the change. There is an engraving of Columbus in the bureau made by Burt, who was considered the finest vignette engraver in the country. It is a full-face portrait, representing Columbus with a smooth face and wearing a brigandish-looking hat. THE BARCELONA STATUE. The historic Muralla del Mar (sea wall) of Barcelona has been effaced during the progress of harbor improvements, and its place supplied by a wide and handsome quay, which forms a delightful promenade, is planted with palms, and has been officially named the Paseo de Colon (Columbus Promenade). Here, at the foot of the Rambla in the Plaza de la Paz, is a marble statue of Columbus. This magnificent monument, erected in honor of the great Genoese mariner, was unveiled on May 2, 1888, in the presence of the Queen Regent, King Alfonzo XIII. of Spain, and the royal family; Senor Sagasta, President of the Council of Ministers, the chief Alcalde of Barcelona, many other Spanish notables, and the officers of the many European and American men-of-war then in the port of Barcelona. It was dedicated amid the thunders of more than 5,000 guns and the salutes of battalions of brave seamen. The ceremony was such and so imposing as to be without a parallel in the history of any other part of the world. The following ships of war, at anchor in the harbor of Barcelona, boomed out their homage to the First Admiral of the Shadowy Sea, and, landing detachments of officers, seamen, and marines, took part in the inauguration cere- monies. 6 82 COLUMBUS AND COLUMBIA. American — United States steamship Winnebago. Austrian — The imperial steamships Tegethoff, Custozz, Prinz Eugen, Kaiser Max, Kaiser John of Austria, Meteor, Panther, and Leopard. British — H. M. S. Alexandra, Dreadnought, Colossus, Thunderer, and Phaeton, and torpedo boats 99, 100, loi, and 108. Dutch — The Johann Wilhelm Friso. French — The Colbert, Duperre, Courbet, Devastation, Redoubtable, Indomptable, Milan, Condor, Falcon, the dispatch boat Coulevrine, and six torpedo boats. German — The imperial vessel Kaiser. Italian — The royal vessels Etna, Salta, Goito, Vesuvius, Archimedes, Tripoli, Folgore, Castellfidardo, Lepanto, and Italia. Portuguese — The Vasco da Gama. Russian — The Vestruch and Zabiaca. Spanish — The Numancia, Navarra, Gerona, Castilla, Blanca, Destructor, Pilar, and Pil^s. DESCRIPTION OF THE MONUMENT. The monument was cast in the workshops of A. Wohlge- muth, engineer and constructor of Barcelona, and was made in eight pieces, the base weighing 3 1^ tons. The first section, 22^ tons; the second, 24^ tons; the third, 23-^ tons; the fourth, 23^ tons; the capital, 29^ tons; the templete, 13^ tons; the globe, 15^ tons; the bronze ornaments, \Ty\ tons; the statue of Columbus, 41 tons; the pedestal of the column,. 31^ tons; the total weight of bronze employed in the column being 210-^ tons; its height, 198 feet. The total cost of the monument amounted to 1,000,000 pesetas. Of these, 350,000 were collected by public sub- scription, and the remaining 650,000 pesetas were con- tributed by the city of Barcelona. COLUMBUS. 83 The monument is 198 feet in height, and is ascended by means of an hydraulic elevator; five or six persons have room to stand on the platform. On the side facing the sea there opens a staircase of a single flight, which leads to a small resting room richly ornamented, and lit by a skylight, which contains the elevator. The grand and beautiful city of Barcelona, the busiest center of industry, commerce, and shipping, and mart of the arts and sciences, is not likely to leave in oblivion he who enriched the Old World with a new one, opening new arteries of trade which immensely augmented its renowned commercial existence; and less is it likely to forget that the citizens of Barcelona who were contemporaneous with Columbus were among the first to greet the unknown mariner when he returned from Amer- ica, for the first time, with the enthusiasm which his colossal discovery evoked. If for this alone, in one of her most charming squares, in full view of the ocean whose bounds the immortal sailor fixed and discovered, they have raised his statue upon a monument higher than the most celebrated ones of the earth. This statue, constructed under the supervision of the artist Don Cayetano Buigas, is composed of a base one meter in height and twenty meters wide, and of three sections. The first part is a circular section, eighteen meters in diameter, ten feet in height; it is composed of carved stone with interspersed bas-reliefs in bronze, repre- senting episodes in the life of Columbus. The second story takes the form of a cross, and is of the height of thirty-three feet, being of carved stone decorated with bronzes. On the arms of the cross are four female figures, representing Catalonia, Aragon, Castille, and Leon, and in the angles of the same are figures of Father Boyle, Santangel, Margarite and Ferrer de Blanes. On the sides of the cross are grouped eight medallions of 84 COLUMBUS AND COLUMBIA. bronze, on which are placed the busts of Isabella I., Ferdinand V., Father Juan Flores, Andres de Cabrera, Padre Juan de la Marchena, the Marchioness of Moya, Martin Pinzon, and his brother, Vicente Yafiez Pinzon. This section upholds the third part of the monument, which takes the form of an immense globe, on top of which stands the statue of Columbus, a noble conception of a great artist, grandly pointing toward the conquered con- fines of the Mysterious Sea.^*^ LEGEND OF A WESTERN LAND. Rev. Sabine Baring-Gould, vicar of Looe Trenchard, Devonshire, England. Born at Exeter, England, 1834. An antiquarian, archaeological and historical writer, no mean poet, and a nov- elist. From his " Curious Myths of the Middle Ages." According to a Keltic legend, in former days there lived in Skerr a Druid of renown. He sat with his face to the west on the shore, his eye following the declining sun, and he blamed the careless billows which tumbled between him and the distant Isle of Green. One day, as he sat musing on a rock, a storm arose on the sea; a cloud, under whose squally skirts the foaming waters tossed, rushed suddenly into the bay, and from its dark womb emerged a boat with white sails bent to the wind and banks of gleaming oars on either side. But it was destitute of mariners, itself seeming to live and move. An unusual terror seized on the aged Druid; he heard a voice call, " Arise, and see the Green Isle of those who have passed away! " Then he entered the vessel. Immediately the wind shifted, the cloud enveloped him, and in the bosom of the vapor he ^* For the above interesting particulars, and for the artistic illustration of this beautiful statue, the compiler desires to record his sincere obliga- tions to the courteous kindness of Mr. William G. Williams of Ruther- ford, N. J. COLUMBUS. 85 sailed away. Seven days gleamed on him through the mist; on the eighth, the waves rolled violently, the vessel pitched, and darkness thickened around him, when sud- denly he heard a cry, "The Isle! the Isle!" The clouds parted before him, the waves abated, the wind died away, and the vessel rushed into dazzling light. Before his eyes lay the Isle of the Departed, basking in golden light. Its hills sloped green and tufted with beauteous trees to the shore, the mountain tops were enveloped in bright and transparent clouds, from which gushed limpid streams, which, wandering down the steep hill-sides with pleasant harp-like murmur emptied themselves into the twinkling blue bays. The valleys were open and free to the ocean; trees loaded with leaves, which scarcely waved to the light breeze, were scattered on the green declivities and rising ground; all was calm and bright; the pure sun of autumn shone from his blue sky on the fields; he hastened not to the west for repose, nor was he seen to rise in the east, but hung as a golden lamp, ever illumining the Fortunate Isles. LEGEND OF A WESTERN ISLAND. There is a Phoenician legend that a large island was dis- covered in the Atlantic Ocean, beyond the Pillars of Her- cules, several days' sail from the coast of Africa. This island abounded in all manner of riches. The soil was exceedingly fertile; the scenery was diversified by rivers, mountains, and forests. It was the custom of the inhab- itants to retire during the summer to magnificent country houses, which stood in the midst of beautiful gardens. Fish and game were found in great abundance, the climate was delicious, and the trees bore fruit at all seasons of the year.— /<^/^. 86 COLUMBUS AND COLUMBIA. COLUMBUS AN IDEAL COMMANDER. Joel Barlow, American poet, patriot, and politician. Born at Read- ing, Conn., 1755; died near Cracow, in Poland, 1812 From the introduction to " Columbiad " (1S07). Every talent requisite for governing, soothing, and tem- pering the passions of men is conspicuous in the conduct of Columbus on the occasion of the mutiny of his crew. The dignity and affability of his manners, his surprising knowledge and experience in naval affairs, his unwearied and minute attention to the duties of his command, gave him a great ascendancy over the minds of his men, and inspired that degree of confidence which would have main- tained his authority in almost any circumstances. man's INGRATITUDE. Long had the sage, the first who dared to brave The unknown dangers of the western wave; Who taught mankind where future empires lay In these confines of descending day; With cares o'erwhelmed, in life's distressing gloom, Wish'd from a thankless world a peaceful tomb, While kings and nations, envious of his name, Enjoyed his toils and triumphed o'er his fame, And gave the chief, from promised empire hurl'd, Chains for a crown, a prison for a world. — Barlow^ " Columbus " (1787). ( "ONLY THE ACTIONS OF THE JUST." Ages unborn shall bless the happy day When thy bold streamers steer'd the trackless way. O'er these delightful realms thy sons shall tread. And following millions trace the path you led. Behold yon isles, where first the flag unfurled COLUMBUS. 87 Waved peaceful triumph o'er the new-found world. Where, aw'd to silence, savage bands gave place, And hail'd with joy the sun-descended race. — Barloiv,'^ The Vision of Columbus," a poem in nine books (1787). QUEEN Isabella's death. Truth leaves the world and Isabella dies. —Ibid. COLUMBUS CHAINS HIS CROWN. I sing the mariner who first unfurl'd An eastern banner o'er the western world. And taught mankind where future empires lay In these fair confines of descending day; Who swayed a moment, with vicarious power, Iberia's scepter on the new-found shore; Then saw the paths his virtuous steps had trod Pursued by avarice and defiled with blood; The tribes he fostered with paternal toil Snatched from his hand and slaughtered for their spoil. Slaves, kings, adventurers, envious of his name, Enjoyed his labors and purloined his fame, And gave the viceroy, from his high seat hurl'd. Chains for a crown, a prison for a world. — Barlow, The " Columbiad," Book i; lines 1-14. PROPHETIC VISIONS URGED COLUMBUS ON. The bliss of unborn nations warm'd his breast, Repaid his toils, and sooth'd his soul to rest; Thus o'er thy subject wave shall thou behold Far happier realms their future charms unfold. In nobler pomp another Pisgah rise, 88 COLUMBUS AND COLUMBIA. Beneath whose foot thy new-found Canaan lies. There, rapt in vision, hail my favorite clime And taste the blessings of remotest time. — Barlow, The "Columbiad," Book i; lines 176-184. COLUMBUS, THE PATHFINDER OF THE SHADOWY SEA. He opened calm the universal cause To give each realm its limit and its laws, Bid the last breath of tired contention cease, And bind all regions in the leagues of peace. To yon bright borders of Atlantic day His swelling pinions led the trackless way, And taught mankind such useful deeds to dare, To trace new seas and happy nations rear; Till by fraternal hands their sails unfurled Have waved at last in union o'er the world. —Ibid. RELIGIOUS OBJECT OF COLUMBUS. J. J. Barry, M. D., " Life of Columbus." The first object of the discovery, disengaged from every human consideration, was the glorification of the Redeemer and the extension of His Church. THE NOBILITY OF COLUMBUS IN ADVERSITY. The accumulations of his reverses exceed human pro- portions. His misfortunes almost surpass his glory. Still this man does not murmur. He accuses, he curses nobody; and does not regret that he was born. The people of ancient times would never have conceived this type of a hero. Christianity alone, whose creation he was, can com- prehend him. * * * The example of Columbus shows that nobody can completely obtain here below the objects COLUMBUS. 89 of his desires. The man who doubled the known space of the earth was not able to attain his object; he proposed to himself much more than he realized. — Ibid. COLUMBUS BELL. The congregation of the little colored church at Haley- ville, m Cumberland County, N. J., contributes an interest- ing historical relic to the World's Fair. It is the bell that has for years called them to church. In the year 1445, the bell, it is said, hung in one of the towers of the famous mosque at the Alhambra. After the siege of Granada, the bell was taken away by the Spanish soldiers and presented to Queen Isabella, who, in turn, presented it to Columbus, who brought it to America on his fourth voyage and pre- sented it to a community of Spanish monks who placed it in the Cathedral of Carthagena, on the Island of New Granada. In 1697 buccaneers looted Carthagena, and car- ried the bell on board the French pirate ship La Rochelle, but the ship was wrecked on the Island of St. Andreas shortly afterward, and the wreckers secured the bell as part of their salvage. Capt. Newell of Bridgeton purchased it, brought it to this country, and presented it to the colored congregation of the Haleyville church. The bell weighs sixty-four pounds, and is of fine metal. THE PERSONAL APPEARANCE OF COLUMBUS. Geronimo Benzon'i of Milan, Italy. Born about 1520. From his " History of the New World" (1565). He was a man of a good, reasonable stature, with sound, strong limbs; of good judgment, high talent, and gentle- manlike aspect. His eyes were bright, his hair red, his nose aquiline, his mouth somewhat large; but above all he was a friend to justice, though rather passionate when angry. 90 COLUMBUS AND COLUMBIA. WESTWARD religion's BANNERS TOOK THEIR WAY. The Right Rev. George Berkeley, Bishop of Cloyne, Ireland. Born at Kilcrin, Kilkenny, March 12, 1684; died at Oxford, England, January 14, 1754. The author of the celebrated line, "West- ward the course of Empire takes its way." But all things of heavenly origin, like the glorious sun, move westward; and Truth and Art have their periods of shining and of night. Rejoice, then, O venerable Rome, in thy divine destiny! for, though darkness overshadow thy seats, and though thy mitred head must descend into the dust, thy spirit, immortal and undecayed, already spreads toward a new world. COLUMBUS NO CHANCE COMER. The Hon. James Gillespie Blaine, one of America's leading states- men. Born in Washington County, Pa., in 1830. Columbus was no chance comer. The time was full. He was not premature; he was not late. He came in accord- ance with a scientifically formed if imperfect theory, whether his own or another's — a theory which had a logical foundation, and which projected logical sequences. * * * Had not Columbus discovered America in 1492, a hundred Columbuses would have discovered it in 1493- THE CERTAIN CONVICTIONS OF COLUMBUS. Baron Bonnafoux, a French author. From " La Vie de Christophe Colombe" (1853). He was as certain of the truth of his theory as if he had seen and trodden on the very ground which his imagi- nation had called into existence. * * * There was an air of authority about him, and a dignity in his manner, that struck all who saw him. He considered himself, on principle, above envy and slander, and in calm and serious COLUMBUS. 91 discussion always had the superiority in argument on the subjects of his schemes. To refuse to assist him in his projects was one thing; but it was impossible to reply to his discourse in refutation of- his arguments, and, above all, not to respect him. THE COLUMBUS OF MODERN TIMES. From an editorial in the '&osXon Journal, July 13, 1892. When John Bright, in Parliament, shortly after the suc- cessful laying of the Atlantic cable, called Cyrus W. Field the Columbus of modern times, he made no inappropriate comparison. Mr. Field, in the early days of the great undertaking that has made his name immortal, had to con- tend against the same difficulties as the intrepid Genoese. The lineal descendants of the fifteenth century pundits, who vexed the soul of Columbus by insisting that the world was flat, were very sure that a cable could never be laid across the boisterous Atlantic; that sea monsters would bite it off and huge waves destroy it. Both men finally prevailed over a doubting world by sheer force of indomi- table enthusiasm. Many men in Mr. Field's place, having amassed a fortune comparatively early in life, would have devoted themselves to ease and recreation. But there was too much of the New England spirit of restless energy in Mr. Field to per- mit him to pass the best years of his life thus ingloriously. The great thought of his cable occurred to him, and he became a man of one fixed idea, and ended by becoming a popular hero. No private American citizen, probably, has received such distinguished honors as Mr. Field when his cable was laid in 1867, and the undertaking of his lifetime was successfully accomplished. And Mr. Field was hon- estly entitled to all the glory and to all the financial profit 93 COLUMBUS AND COLUMBIA. that he reaped. His project was one that only a giant mind could conceive, and a giant mind and a giant will could carry on to execution. As if to make the parallel with Columbus complete, Mr. Field passed his last few days under the heavy shadow of misfortune. His son's failure, and the sensational developments attending it, were probably the occasion of his fatal illness. It is a melancholy termination of a remarkable career to which the nations of the earth owe a vast debt of gratitude. Chicago Tribune, July 13, 1892. The story of the twelve years' struggle to lay an Atlantic cable from Ireland to Newfoundland is the story of one of the greatest battles with the fates that any one man was ever called on to wage. It was a fight not only against the ocean, jealous of its rights as a separator of the conti- nents, and against natural obstacles which seemed absolutely unsurpassable, but a fight against stubborn Parliaments and Congresses, and all the stumbling blocks of human dis- belief. But the courage of Cyrus W. Field was indomi- table. His patience and zeal were inexhaustible, and so it came to pass, on July 27, 1866, that this man knelt down in his cabi?i, like a second Columbus, and gave thanks to God, for his labors were crow7ied with success at last. He had lost his health. He had worn out his nervous forces by the tremendous strain, and he paid in excruciating suffering the debt he owed to nature. But he had won a fortune and a lasting fame. THE BOSTON STATUE. In 1849 the Italian merchants of Boston, under the presidency of Mr. lasigi, presented to the city a statue of COLUMBUS. 93 Columbus, which was placed inside the inclosure of Louis- burg Square, at the Pinckney Street end of the square. The statue, which is of inferior merit, bears no inscription, and is at the present date forgotten, dilapidated, and fast fall- ing into decay. YOU CAN NOT CONQUER AMERICA. Flavius J. Brobst in an article on Westminster Abbey, in tiie Mid- Continent Magazine, August, 1892. Sublimest of all, the incomparable Earl of Chatham, whose prophetic ken foresaw the independence of the American nation even before the battles of Lexington and Concord and Bunker Hill had been fought; and who, from the first, in Parliament, rose with his eagle beak, and raised his clarion voice with all the vehemence of his imperial soul in behalf of the American colonies, reaching once a climax of inspiration, when, in thunderous tones, he declared to the English nation, " You can not co?iquer America." THE INDOMITABLE COURAGE OF COLUMBUS. William C. Bryant, an eminent American poet. Born at Cummington, Mass., Novembers, 1794; died Junei2, 1878. From his " History of the United States." With a patience that nothing could wear out, and a perse- verance that was absolutely unconquerable, Columbus waited and labored for eighteen years, appealing to minds that wanted light and to ears that wanted hearing. His ideas of the possibilities of navigation were before his time. It was one thing to creep along the coast of Africa, where the hold upon the land need never be lost, another to steer out boldly into that wilderness of waters, over which mystery and darkness brooded. 94 COLUMBUS AND COLUMBIA. THE SANTA MARIA CARAVEL. J. W. BuEL, a celebrated American author. Oh, thou Santa Maria, thou famous remembrancer of the centuries! The names of none of those that sailed in search of the Golden Fleece are so well preserved among the eternities of history as is thine. No vessel of Rome, of Greece, of Carthage, of Egypt, that carried conquer- ing Caesar, triumphant Alexander, valiant Hannibal, or beauteous Cleopatra, shall be so well known to coming ages as thou art. No ship of the Spanish Armada, or of Lord Howard, who swept it from the sea; no looming monster; no Great Eastern or frowning ironclad of modern navies, shall be held like thee in perpetual remembrance by all the sons of men. For none ever bore such a hero on such a mission, that has glorified all nations by giving the greatest of all countries to the world. THE SCARLET THORN. John Burroughs, an American essayist and naturalist. Born at Rox- bury, New York, April 3, 1837. From a letter in the SL Nich- olas Magazine of July, 1892. (See post, Nason.) There are a great many species of the thorn distributed throughout the United States. All the Northern species, so far as I know, have white flowers. In the South they are more inclined to be pink or roseate. If Columbus picked up at sea a spray of the thorn, it was doubtless some Southern species. Let us believe it was the Washington thorn, which grows on the banks of streams from Virginia to the Gulf, and loads heavily with small red fruit. The thorn belongs to the great family of trees that includes the apple, peach, pear, raspberry, strawberry, etc., namely, the rose family, or Rosacece. Hence the apple, pear, and plum are often grafted on the white thorn. A curious thing about the thorns is that they are sup- COLUMBUS. 95 pressed or abortive branches. The ancestor of this tree must have been terribly abused sometime to have its branches turn to thorns. I have an idea that persistent cultivation and good treat- ment would greatly mollify the sharp temper of the thorn, if not change it completely. The flower of the thorn would become us well as a National flower. It belongs to such a hardy, spunky, uncon- querable tree, and to such a numerous and useful family. Certainly, it would be vastly better than the merely delicate and pretty wild flowers that have been so generally named. CAPTAIN AND SEAMEN. Richard E. Burton, in the Denver (Colo.) Times, i8q2. I see a galleon of Spanish make. That westward like a winged creature flies, Above a sea dawn-bright, and arched with skies Expectant of the sun and morning-break. The sailors from the deck their land-thirst slake With peering o'er the waves, until their eyes Discern a coast that faint and dream-like lies, The while they pray, weep, laugh, or madly take Their shipmates in their arms and speak no word. And then I see a figure, tall, removed A little from the others, as behooved. That since the dawn has neither spoke nor stirred; A noble form, the looming mast beside, Columbus, calm, his prescience verified. THE BEAUTIES OF THE BAHAMA SEA. Hezekiah Butterworth, American author. Born in Rhode Island, 1839. From an article, " The Sea of Discovery," in The Youth's Companion, June 9, 1892. The Bahama Sea is perhaps the most beautiful of all 96 COLUMBUS AND COLUMBIA. waters. Columbus beheld it and its islands with a poet's eye. "It only needed the singing of the nightingale," said the joyful mariner, "to make it like Andalusia in April;" and to his mind Andalusia was the loveliest place on earth. In sailing among these gardens of the seas in the serene and transparent autumn days after the great discovery, the soul of Columbus was at times overwhelmed and entranced by a sense of the beauty of everything in it and about it. Life seemed, as it were, a spiritual vision. "I know not," said the discoverer, " where first to go; nor are my eyes ever weary of gazing on the beautiful verd- ure. The singing of the birds is such that it seems as if one would never desire to depart hence." He speaks in a poet's phrases of the odorous trees, and of the clouds of parrots whose bright wings obscured the sun. His descriptions of the sea and its gardens are full of glowing and sympathetic colorings, and all things to him had a spiritual meaning. "God," he said, on reviewing his first voyage over these western waters, " God made me the messenger of the new heavens and earth, and told me where to find them. Charts, maps, and mathematical knowledge had nothing to do with the case." On announcing his discovery on his return, he breaks forth into the following highly poetic exhortation: "Let processions be formed, let festivals be held, let lauds be sung. Let Christ rejoice on earth." Columbus was a student of the Greek and Latin poets, and of the poetry of the Hebrew Scriptures. The visions of Isaiah were familiar to him, and he thought that Isaiah himself at one time appeared to him in a vision. He loved nature. To him the outer world was a garment of the Invisible; and it was before his great soul had suffered dis- S o ;i o IB c -0 Columbus. ^t appointment that he saw the sun-flooded waters of the Bahama Sea and the purple splendors of the Antilles. There \^ scarcely an adjective in the picturesque report of Columbus in regard to this sea and these islands that is not now as appropriate and fitting as in the days when its glowing words delighted Isabella 400 years ago. WHEN HISTORY DOES THEE WRONG. George Gordon Noel, Lord Byron, one of England's famous poets. Born in London, January 22, 1788; died at Missolonghi, Greece, April 19, 1824. Teems not each ditty with the glorious tale? Ah! such, alas, the hero's amplest fate. When granite molders and when records fail. Pride! bend thine eye from heaven to thine estate. See how the mighty shrink into a song. Can volume, pillar, pile, preserve thee great? Or must thou trust Tradition's simple tongue, When Flattery sleeps with thee, and History does thee wrong. CABOT S CONTEMPORANEOUS UTTERANCE. Sebastian Cabot, a navigator of great eminence. Born at Bristol, En- gland, about 1477. Discovered the mainland of North America. Died about 1557. Whennewes were brought that Don Christopher Colonus, the Genoese, had discovered the coasts of India, whereof was great talke in all the Court of King Henry the VII. who then raigned, * * * all men with great admiration affirmed it to be a thing more divine than humane to saile by the West into the Easte, where the spices growe, by a chart that was never before knowen. 7 98 COLUMBUS AND COLUMBIA. THE CAPITULATIONS OF SANTA F^ — AGREEMENT OF CO- LUMBUS WITH FERDINAND AND ISABELLA. Sir Arthur Helps. From " The I>ife of Columbus." [See other extracts, post, sub nomine Heli's.] 1. Christopher Columbus wishes to be made Admiral of the seas and countries which he is about to discover. He desires to hold this dignity during his life, and that it should descend to his heirs. This request is granted by the King and Queen. 2. Christopher Columbus wishes to be made Viceroy of all the continents and islands. Granted by the King and Queen. 3. He wishes to have a share amounting to a tenth part of the profits of all merchandise — be it pearls, jewels, or any other thing — that may be found, gained, bought, or exported from the countries which he is to dis- cover. Gra?ited by the King and Queen. 4. He wishes, in his quality of Admiral, to be made sole judge of all mercantile matters that may be the occasion of dispute in the countries which he is to discover. Granted by the King and Queen, on condition that this Juris- diction should belong to the office of Admiral, as held by Don Enriques and other Admirals. 5. Christopher Columbus wishes to have the right to con- tribute the eighth part of the expenses of all ships which trafific with the new countries, and in return to earn the eighth part of the profits. Granted by the King and Queen. Santa F6, in the Vega of Granada, April 17, 1492. COLUMBUS, 99 COLUMBUS, THE SEA-KING. Thomas Carlyle, "the Sage of Chelsea," celebrated English philo- sophic writer. Born at Ecclefechan, Scotland, December 4, 1795; died at Cheyne walk, Chelsea, London, February 5, 1881. From " Past and Present." Brave Sea-captain, Norse Sea-king, Columbus, my hero, royalest Sea-king of all! it is no friendly environment this of thine, in the waste deep waters; around thee, mutinous, discouraged souls; behind thee, disgrace and ruin; before thee, the unpenetrated veil of Night. Brother, these wild water-mountains, bounding from their deep basin — ten miles deep, I am told — are not entirely there on thy behalf! Meseems they have other work than floating thee forward; and the huge winds that sweep from Ursa Major to the Tropics and Equator, dancing their giant waltz through the kingdoms of Chaos and Immensity, they care little about filling rightly or filling wrongly the small shoulder-of- mutton sails in this cockle-skiff of thine. Thou art not among articulate-speaking friends, my brother; thou art among immeasurable dumb monsters, tumbling, howling, wide as the world here. Secret, far off, invisible to all hearts but thine, there lies a help in them; see how thou wilt get at that. Patiently thou wilt wait till the mad southwester spend itself, saving thyself by dextrous science of defense the while; valiantly, with swift decision, wilt thou strike in, when the favoring east, the Possible, springs up. Mutiny of men thou wilt entirely repress; weakness, despondency, thou wilt cheerily encourage; thou wilt swallow down complaint, unreason, weariness, weakness of others and thyself. There shall be a depth of silence in thee deeper than this sea, which is but ten miles deep; a silence unsoundable, known to God only. Thou shalt be a great man. Yes, my World-soldier, thou wilt have to be greater than this tumultuous, unmeasured world here 100 COLUMBUS AND COLUMBIA. around thee; thou, in thy strong soul, as with wrestler's arms, shall embrace it, harness it down, and make it bear thee on — to new Americas. OUTBOUND. Bliss Carman, from a poem in the Century Magazine, 1892. A lonely sail in the vast sea-room, I have put out for the port of gloom. The voyage is far on the trackless tide, The watch is long, and the seas are wide. The headlands, blue in the sinking day. Kiss me a hand on the outward way. The fading gulls, as they dip and veer, Lift me a voice that is good to hear. The great winds come, and the heaving sea. The restless mother, is calling me. The cry of her heart is lone and wild, Searching the night for her wandered child. Beautiful, weariless mother of mine, In the drift of doom I am here, I am thine. Beyond the fathom of hope or fear. From bourn to bourn of the dusk I steer. Swept on in the wake of the stars, in the stream Of a roving tide, from dream to dream. THE TRIBUTES OF THE PHCENIX OF THE AGES. Lope de Vega Carpio, a celebrated Spanish poet and dramatist. Born at Madrid, November 25, 1562; died, 1635.'" ''Lope de Vega has been variously termed the "Center of Fame," the " Darling of Fortune," and the " Phoenix of the Ages," by his admir- ing compatriots. His was a most fertile brain; his a most fecund pen. A single day sufficed to compose a versified drama. COLUMBUS, - 101 Lope puts into the mouth of Columbus, in a dialogue with Ferdinand, who earnestly invites the discoverer to ask of him the wherewithal to prosecute the discovery, the fol- lowing verses: Sire, give me gold, for gold is all in all; 'Tis master, 'tis the goal and course alike, The way, the means, the handicraft, and power. The sure foundation and the truest friend. Referring to the results of the great discovery, Lope beautifully says that it gave — A I Rey hifinitas terras V d Dtos inji^titas almas. (To the King boundless lands, and to God souls without number.) HERSCHEL, THE COLUMBUS OF THE SKIES. E. H. Chapin, American author of the nineteenth century. Man was sent into the world to be a growing and exhaust- less force; the world was spread out around him to be seized and conquered. Realms of infinite truth burst open above him, inviting him to tread those shining coasts along which Newton dropped his plummet and Herschel sailed, a Columbus of the skies. THE DISCOVERIES OF COLUMBUS AND AMERICUS. From Chicago Tribune, August, 1892. [See also ante, Boston /c/^rwa/.] The suggestion has been made by Mr. John Boyd Thacher, commissioner from New York to the World 's Fair, that a tribute be paid to the memory of Amerigo Vespucci by opening the Fair May 5, 1893, that benig the anniversary of America's christening day. Mr. Thacher's suggestion is based upon the fact that May 5, 1507, there 102 . COLUMBUS AND COLUMBIA. was published at the College of Saint-Di6, in Lorraine, the "Cosmographic Introductio," by Waldseemull(;r, in which the name of America " for the fourth part of the world" (Europe, Asia, and Africa being the other three parts) was first advocated, in honor of Amerigo Vespucci. As Mr. Thacher's suggestion already has aroused considerable jealous opposition among the Italians of New York, who claim all the glory for Columbus, a statement of what was really discovered by the two great explorers will be of inter- est at the present time. No writer of the present day has shed a clearer light upon this question than John Fiske, and it may be incident- ally added, no student has done more that he to relieve Amerigo Vespucci from the reproach which has been fast- ened upon his reputation as an explorer, by critics, who, as Mr. Fiske clearly shows, have been misled by the sources of their authority and have judged him from erroneous standpoints. In making a statement of what the two explorers really discovered, the Tribune follows on the lines of Prof. Fiske's investigation as the clearest, most painstaking, and most authoritative that has yet been made. Christopher Columbus made four voyages. On the first he sailed from Palos, Friday, August 3, 1492, and Friday, October 12th (new style, October 21st), discovered land in the West Indies. It was one of the islands of the Bahamas, called by the natives Guanahani, and named by him San Salvador; which name, after the sevententh century, was applied to Cat Island, though which one of the islands is the true San Salvador is still a matter of dispute. After spending ten days among the Bahamas Columbus (October 25th) steered south and reached the great Island of Cuba. He cruised around the east coast of the big island, and December 6th landed at Haiti, another immense island. COLUMBUS. 103 A succession of disasters ended his voyage and he there- upon returned to Spain, arriving there March 15, 1493. Columbus sailed on his second voyage September 25, 1493, and November 3d landed at Dominica in the Caribbean Sea. During a two-weeks' cruise he discovered the islands of Marigalante, Guadaloupe, and Antigua, and lastly the large Island of Puerto Rico. April 24th he set out on another cruise of discovery. He followed the south coast of Cuba and came to Jamaica, the third largest of the West Indies, thence returning to Cuba, and from there to Spain, where he arrived June 11, 1494. On his third voyage he sailed May 30, 1498. Following a more southerly course, he arrived at Trinidad, and in coasting along saw the delta of the Orinoco River of South America and went into the Gulf of Paria. Thence he followed the north coast of Vene- zuela and finally arrived at Santo Domingo. The story of his arrest there is well known. He was taken in chains to Cadiz, Spain, arriving there in Decem- ber, 1500. On his fourth and last voyage he sailed May 11, 1502. On June 15th he was at Martinique. He touched at Santo Domingo, thence sailed across to Cape Honduras, doubled that cape, and skirted the coast of Nicaragua, where he heard of the Pacific Ocean, though the name had not its present meaning for him. It was during his attempt to find the Isthmus of Darien, which he thought was a strait of water, that he was shipwrecked on the coast of Jamaica. He remained there a year and then went back to Spain, reaching home November 7, 1504. It was the last voyage of the great navigator, and it will be observed that he never saw or stepped foot on the mainland of North America, though he saw South America in 1498, as stated. In 1506 he died in Spain. Amerigo Vespucci, like Columbus, made four voyages. 104 COLUMBUS AND COLUMBIA. some of the details of which are known. His letter, written to his friend Piero Soderini, September 4, 1504, gives us information concerning his famous first voyage. Hitherto the only copy of this letter known was a Latin translation of it published at the College of Saint-Di6, April 25, 1507, but the primitive text from which the translation was made has been found, and by that text Americus' reputation has been saved from the discredit critics and biographers have cast upon it, and his true laurels have been restored to him. The mistake of changing one word, the Indian name " Lariab," in the original, to " Parias," in the Latin version, is accountable for it all. The scene of his explorations is now transferred from Parias, in South America, to Lariab, in North America, and his entire letter is freed from mys- tery or inconsistency with the claims which have been made for him. It is now established beyond controversy that Americus sailed on the first voyage, not as commander, but as astron- omer, of the expedition, May 10, 1497, and first ran to the Grand Canaries. Leaving there May 25th, the first land- fall was on the northern coast of Honduras of North America. Thence he sailed around Yucatan and up the Mexican coast to Tampico (" Lariab," not " Parias "). After making some inland explorations he followed the coast line 870 leagues (2,610 miles), which would take him along our Southern gulf coast, around Florida, and north along the Atlantic coast until ''they found themselves in a fine harbor," Was this Charleston harbor or Hampton Roads? In any event, when he started back to Spain he sailed from the Atlantic coast somewhere between Capes Charles and Canaveral. The outcome of this voyage was the first discovery of Honduras, parts of the Mexican and Florida coasts, the insularity of Cuba — which Columbus thought was part of the mainland of Asia — and 4,000 miles COLUMBUS, 105 of the coast line of North America. The remaining three voyages have no bearing upon North American discovery. On the second, he explored the northern coast of Brazil to the Gulf of Maracaibo; on the third, he went again to the Brazilian coast and found the Island of South Georgia, and on the fourth returned to Brazil, but without making any discoveries of importance. Mr. Fiske's luminous narrative lends significance to Mr. Thacher's suggestion, for Vespucci discovered a large por- tion of the mainland of the North American continent which Columbus had never seen. To this extent his first voyage gave a new meaning to Columbus' work, without diminishing, however, the glory of the latter's great achievement. Americus, indeed, had his predecessors, for John and Sebastian Cabot, sent out by Henry VII. of England a short time before his discovery, had set foot upon Labrador, and probably had visited Nova Scotia. And even before Cabot, the Northern Vikings, among them Leif Ericcson, had found their way to this continent and perhaps set up their Vineland in Massachusetts. And before the Vikings there may have been other migrants, and before the migrants the aborigines, who were the vic- tims of all the explorers from the Vikings to the Puritans. But their achievements had no meaning and left no results. As Prof. Fiske says: " In no sense was any real contact established between the eastern and western halves of our planet until the great voyage of Columbus in 1492." It was that voyage which inspired the great voyage of Ameri- cus in 1497. He followed the path marked out by Colum- bus, and he invested the latter's discovery with a new significance. Upon the basis of merit and historical fact, therefore, Mr. Thacher's suggestion deserves consideration; and why should Italians be jealous, when Christopher Columbus, Amerigo Vespucci, and John Cabot were all of Italian birth? |(»(i COMIMIiUS AND COM/MlilA. AI.I, WnHIN 'I I IK KKN OK COMJMHUS. 1 1 VKi, CiAKKK, Vit;c-I'icsi(lcnl Koyal Ifisloiicil Society of Knj^Iand, in his " Kxamination of the Legend of Aliaiitis," etc. I-ondon; Longmans, (Irccn it Co., 1886. At the time when Coliiinbiis, as wv.W as otlicrs, was disciissiii;^ tlic siihjc* I of new lands to be discovered, liter- ary resources iuid l)ec()me available. 'I'lie Latin writers coidd l)e exatnined; but, above all, the fall of ("onstanti- noplc had driven nnnd)ers of (iret;ks into Italy, 'i'he (Ircck lan^iiaj^e was studied, and (ireek books were (;agerly bonj;ht iiy the T,atin nations, as before they had \)v.rn by the Arabs. 'I'hiis, all that had i)cen written as to the four worlds was within the ken of (!olund)iis. COl.DMr.US A lir.KK'I'IC AND A VISIONAKVIO HIS ( iON'IKM I'O- k A l< I I'.S. JamI'S I'KI'J'.man (!i,aiody, September 10, 1892. History tells that the anxious journey was begun by Columbus and his resolute band, api)r(jaching Holy Com- munion at J'alos, on August 3, 1492; that its prosecution, through sacrifices and perils, amid harrowing uncertaitities, was stamped with an exalted faith and unyielding trust in Cod, and that its marvelous and gUH'ious consummation, in October, 1492, was acknowledged by the cliivalrous knight, 108 COLUMBUS AND COLUMBIA. in tearful gratitude, on bended knee, at the foot of the cross of Christ, as the merciful gift of his omnipotent Master. Then it was that Christopher Columbus, the first Catholic knight of America, made the gracious Christian tribute of grateful recognition of Divine assistance by planting upon the soil of his newly discovered land the true emblem of Christianity and of man's redemption — the cross of our Savior. And then, reverently kneeling before the cross, and with eyes and hearts uplifted to their immolated God, this valiant band of Christian knights uttered from the virgin sod of America the first pious supplication that He would abundantly bless His gift to Columbus; and the unequaled grandeur of our civil structure of to-day tells the manifest response to those prayers of 400 years ago. BY FAITH COLUMBUS FOUND AMERICA. Robert Collyer, a distinguished pulpit orator. Born at Keighley, Yorkshire, December 8, 1823. The successful men in the long fight with fortune are the cheerful men, or those, certainly, who find the fair back- ground of faith and hope. Columbus, but for this, had never found our New World. THE CITY OF COLON STATUE. In the city of Colon, Department of Panama, Colombia, stands a statue to the memory of Columbus, of some artis- tic merit. The great Genoese is represented as encircling the neck of an Indian youth with his protecting arm, a representation somewhat similar to the pose of the statue in the plaza of the city of Santo Domingo. This statue was donated by the ex-Empress of the French, and on a wooden COLUMBUS. 109 tablet attached to the concrete pedestal the following in- scription appears: Statue de CHRISTOPHE CO LOME Donnee par L' Intperatrice Eugenie Erigee d Colon Par Dccret de la Legislature de Colontbie Au 29 yuin, 1866, Par les soiiis de la Compagnie Universelle du Canal Maritime De Panama Le 21 Fevrier, 1886.'^ Translation: Statue of CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS Presented by The Empress Eugenie Erected in honor of Columbus By Decree of the Legislature of Colombia The 29th of June, 1866, Under the Supervision of the Universal Company of the Maritime Canal Of Panama The 2ist of February, 1886. THE COLUMBUS OF LITERATURE. Francis Bacon, Baron Verulam, Viscount St. Albans, com- monly called Lord Bacon, is generally so called. Born in London January 22, 1561; died April 19, 1626. "^^ For the above particulars and inscription the compiler desires to acknowledge his obligation to the Hon. Thomas Adamson, U. S. Consul General at Panama, and Mr. George W. Clamman, the able clerk of the U. S. Consulate in the city of Colon. 110 COLUMBUS AND COLUMBIA. THE COLUMBUS OF THE HEAVENS. Sir William Herschel, one of the greatest astronomers that any age or nation has produced, is generally so termed. Born at Hanover November 15, 1738; died August, 1822. THE COLUMBUS OF MODERN TIMES. Cyrus W. Field was termed "■the Columbus of modern times, who, by his cable, had moored the New World alongside of the Old," by the Rt. Hon. John Bright, in a debate in the British Parliament soon after the successful completion of the Atlantic cable. THE COLUMBUS OF THE SKIES. Galileo, the illustrious Italian mathematician and natural philosopher, is so styled by Edward Everett {post). He was born at Pisa February 15, 1564,- died near Florence in January, 1642. r THE PERSONAL APPEARANCE OF COLUMBUS. Hernando Columbus, son of Christopher. Born at Cordova, 1488; died at Valladolid, 1539. He was tall, well formed, muscular, and of an elevated and dignified demeanor. His visage was long, neither full nor meager; his complexion fair and freckled, and inclined to ruddy; his nose aquiline; his cheek bones were rather high, his eyes light gray, and apt to enkindle; his whole countenance had an air of authority. His hair, in his youthful days, was of a light color, but care and trouble, according to Las Casas, soon turned it gray, and at thirty years of age it was quite white. He was moderate and simple in diet and apparel, eloquent in discourse, engaging and affable with strangers, and his amiability and suavity in domestic life strongly attached his household to his person. His temper was naturally irritable, but he subdued COLUMBUS. Ill it by the magnanimity of liis spirits, comporting himself with a courteous and gentle gravity, and never indulging in any intemperance of language. Throughout his life he was noted for strict attention to the offices of religion, observing rigorously the fasts and ceremonies of the church; nor did his piety consist in mere forms, but partook of that lofty and solemn enthusiasm with which his whole character was strongly tinctured. THE SONG OF AMERICA. KiNAHAN CORNWALLIS. From his " Soncr of America and Columbus; or, The Story of the New World." New York, 1S92. Published by the Daily Investigator. Hail! to this New World nation; hail! That to Columbus tribute pays; That glorifies his name, all hail, And crowns his memory with bays. Hail! to Columbia's mighty realm, Which all her valiant sons revere, A.nd foemen ne'er can overwhelm. Well may the world its prowess fear. Hail! to this richly favored land. For which the patriot fathers fought. Forever may the Union stand. To crown the noble deeds they wrought. Hail! East and West, and North and South, From Bunker Hill to Mexico; The Lakes to Mississippi's mouth, And the Sierras crowned with snow. Hail! to the wondrous works of man. From Maine to California's shores; From ocean they to ocean span, And over all the eagle soars. 112 COLUMBUS AND COLUMBIA. THE FLEET OF COLUMBUS. Six sail were in the squadron he possessed, And these he felt the Lord of Hosts had blessed. For he was ever faithful to the cross, With which compared, all else was earthly dross. Southwestward toward the equinoctial line He steered his barks, for vast was his design. There, like a mirror, the Atlantic lay, White dolphins on its breast were seen to play. And lazily the vessels rose and fell, With flapping sails, upon the gentle swell; While panting crews beneath the torrid sun Lost strength and spirits — felt themselves undone. Day after day the air a furnace seemed, And fervid rays upon them brightly beamed. The burning decks displayed their yawning seams, And from the rigging tar ran down in streams. — Ibid. COLUMBUS COLLECTION. Rudolph Cronau, the eminent author and scientist of Leipsic, Germany, has contributed to the World's Fair his extensive collection of paintings, sketches, and photographs, representing scenes in the life of Columbus, and places visited by Columbus during his voyages to the New World. Doctor Cronau has spent a great part of his life in the study of early American history, and has published a work on the subject, based entirely upon his personal investiga- tions. COLUMBUS' HAVEN. An indentation of the coast of Watling's Island, in the Bahamas, is known to this day as Columbus' Haven. ^^ m^jr""*^';;;^"^"'" ""^.'.-^' iiiiiii I STATUE OF COLUMBUS IN THE CITY OF COLON, DEPARTMENT OF PANAMA, COLOMBIA. The gift of the ex-Empress of the French. ( See page 109.) COLUMBUS. 113 Cuba's caves — the mantle of columbus. In the caves of Bellamar, near Matanzas, Cuba, are spark- ling columns of crystal 150 feet high; o»^e is called the "Mantle of Columbus." THE PORTRAITS OF COLUMBUS. The Hon. William Eleroy Curtis, an American journalist, Secretary of the Bureau of the American Republics, Washington, D. C. Born at Akron, Ohio. From an article, " The Columbus Portraits," in the Cosmopolitan Magazine, January, 1892. Although Columbus twice mentioned in his alleged will that he was a native of Genoa, a dozen places still demand the honor of being considered his birthplace, and two claim to possess his bones. Nothing is certain about his parent- age, and his age is the subject of dispute. The stories of his boyhood adventures are mythical, and his education at the University of Pavia is denied. The same doubt attends the various portraits that pre- tend to represent his features. The most reliable authori- ties — and the subject has been under discussion for two centuries — agree that there is no tangible evidence to prove that the face of Columbus was ever painted or sketched or graven, during his life. His portrait has been painted, like that of the Madonna and those of the saints, by many famous artists, each dependent upon verbal descriptions of his appearance by contemporaneous writers, and each con- veying to the canvas his own conception of what the great seaman's face must have been; but it may not be said that any of the portraits are genuine, and it is believed that all of them are more or less fanciful. It must be considered that the art of painting portraits was in its infancy when Columbus lived. The honor was reserved for kings and queens and other dignitaries, and Columbus was regarded as an importunate adventurer, 8 114 COLUMBUS AND COLUMBIA. who at the close of his first voyage enjoyed a brief triumpn, but from the termination of his second voyage was the victim of envy and misrepresentation to the close of his life. He was derided and condemned, was brought in chains like a common felon from the continent he had dis- covered, and for nearly two hundred years his descendants contested in the courts for the dignities and emoluments he demanded of the crown of Spain before undertaking what was then the most perilous and uncertain of adventures. Even the glory of giving his name to the lands he dis- covered was transferred to another — a man who followed in his track; and it is not strange, under such circum- stances, that the artists of Spain did not leave the religious subjects upon which they were engaged to paint the por- trait of one who said of himself that he was a beggar " without a penny to buy food." THE STANDARD OF MODERN CRITICISM. The Hon. William Eleroy Curtis, in an able article in the Chautau- qua n Magazine, September, 1892. Whether the meager results of recent investigation are more reliable than the testimony of earlier pens is a seri- ous question, and the sympathetic and generous reader will challenge the right of modern historians to destroy and reject traditions to which centuries have paid rever- ence. The failure to supply evidence in place of that which has been discarded is of itself sufficient to impair faith in the modern creation, and simply demonstrates the fallacy of the theory that what can not be proven did not exist. If the same analysis to which the career of Colum- bus has been subjected should be applied to every charac- ter in sacred and secular history, there would be little left among the world's great heroes to admire. So we ask per- mission to retain the old ideal, and remember the discov- COLUMBUS. 115 erer of our hemisphere as a man of human weaknesses but of stern purpose, inflexible will, undaunted courage, patience, and professional theories most of which modern science has demonstrated to be true. AN ITALIAN CONTEMPORARY TRIBUTE. GiULio Dati, a Florentine poet. Born, 1560; died about 1630. A lengthy poem, in ottava rinia (founded upon the first letter of Columbus announcing his success), was composed in 1493, by Giulio Dati, the famous Florentine poet, and was sung in the streets of that city to publish the discovery of the New World. The full Italian text is to be found in R. H. Major's "Select Letters of Christopher Columbus," Hakluyt Society, 187 1. THE MUTINY AT SEA."" Jean FRAN901S Casimir Delavigne, a popular French poet and drama- tist. Born at Havre, April 4, 1793; died at Lyons, December, 1843. THREE DAYS. On the deck stood Columbus; the ocean's expanse. Untried and unlimited, swept by his glance. " Back to Spain! " cry his men; " put the vessel about! We venture no farther through danger and doubt." "Three days, and I give you a world," he replied; " Bear up, my brave comrades — three days shall decide." He sails — but no token of land is in sight; He sails — but the day shows no more than the night; On, onward he sails, while in vain o'er the lee The lead is plunged down through a fathomless sea. "' Seiior EmilioCastel ir, the celebrated Spanish author and statesman, in his most able series of articles on Columbus in the Ccnttiry Magazine, derides the fact of an actual mutiny as a convenient fable which authors and dramatists have clothed with much choice diction. 116 COLUMBUS AND COLUMBIA. The second day's past, and Columbus is sleeping, While mutiny near him its vigil is keeping. " Shall he perish?" " Ay, death! " is the barbarous cry. "He must triumph to-morrow, or, perjured, must die! " Ungrateful and blind! shall the world-linking sea, He traced, for the future his sepulcher be? Shall that sea, on the morrow, with pitiless waves, Fling his corse on that shore which his patient eye craves? The corse of a humble adventurer, then. One day later — Columbus, the first among men. But, hush! he is dreaming! A veil on the main, At the distant horizon, is parted in twain; And now on his dreaming eye — rapturous sight — Fresh bursts the New World from the darkness of night. O vision of glory! how dazzling it seems; How glistens the verdure! how sparkle the streams! How blue the far mountains! how glad the green isles! And the earth and the ocean, how dimpled with smiles! "Joy! joy!" cries Columbus, "this region is mine! " Ah, not e'en its name, wondrous dreamer, is thine. HONOR THE HARDY NORSEMEN. The Rev. B. F. De Costa, D. D., a well-known New York divine and social reformer of the present day. Prof, Rafn, in " Antiquitates Americanae," gives notices of numerous Icelandic voyages to American and other lands of the West. The existence of a great country southwest of Greenland is referred to, not as a matter of speculation merely, but as something perfectly well known. Let us remember that in vindicating the Northmen we honor those who not only give us the first knowledge pos- sessed of the American continent, but to whom we are indebted besides for much that we esteem valuable. COLUMBUS. 117 BRILLIANTS FROM DEPEW. Chauncey M. Depew, one of the leading American orators of the nineteenth century. From an oration on ' ' Columbus and the Exposition," delivered in Chicago in 1890. It is not sacrilege to say that the two events to which civilization to-day owes its advanced position are the intro- duction of Christianity and the discovery of America. When Columbus sailed from Palos, types had been dis- covered, but church and state held intelligence by the throat. Sustained enthusiasm has been the motor of every move- ment in the progress of mankind. Genius, pluck, endurance, and faith can be resisted by neither kings nor cabinets. Columbus stands deservedly at the head of that most useful band of men — the heroic cranks in history. The persistent enthusiast whom one generation despises as a lunatic with one idea, succeeding ones often worship as a benefactor. This whole country is ripe and ready for the inspection of the world. GENOA WHENCE GRAND COLUMBUS CAME. Aubrey Thomas De Vere, an English poet and political writer. Born, 1814. In a sonnet, " Genoa." SJC ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ qc mA Whose prow descended first the Hesperian Sea, And gave our world her mate beyond the brine, Was nurtured, whilst an infant, at thy knee. THE VISION OF COLUMBUS. The crimson sun was sinking down to rest. Pavilioned on the cloudy verge of heaven; And ocean, on her gently heaving breast. Caught and flashed back the varying tints of even* 118 COLUMBUS AND COLUMBIA. When, on a fragment from the tall cliff riven, With folded arms, and doubtful thoughts opprest, Columbus sat, till sudden hope was given — A ray of gladness shooting from the West. Oh, what a glorious vision for mankind Then dawned upon the twilight of his mind; Thoughts shadowy still, but indistinctly grand. There stood his genie, face to face, and signed (So legends tell) far seaward with her hand, Till a new world sprang up, and bloomed beneath her wand. He was a man whom danger could not daunt, Nor sophistry perplex, nor pain subdue; A stoic, reckless of the world's vain taunt, And steeled the path of honor to pursue. So, when by all deserted, still he knew How best to soothe the heart-sick, or confront Sedition; schooled with equal eye to view The frowns of grief and the base pangs of want. But when he saw that promised land arise In all its rare and beautiful varieties. Lovelier than fondest fancy ever trod. Then softening nature melted in his eyes; He knew his fame was full, and blessed his God, And fell upon his face and kissed the virgin sod! —Ibid. OLUMBUS STATUE IN CHICAGO. The Drake Fountain, Chicago, presented to the city by Mr. John B. Drake, a prominent and respected citizen, is to occupy a space between the city hall and the court house buildings, on the Washington Street frontage. The COLUMBUS. 119 monument is to be Gothic in style, and the base will be composed of granite from Baveno, Italy. The design includes a pedestal, on the front of which will be placed a bronze statue of Christopher Columbus, seven feet high, which is to be cast in the royal foundry at Rome. The statue will be the production of an American artist of reputation, Mr. R. H. Park of Chicago. The fountain is to be provided with an ice-chamber capable of holding two tons of ice, and is to be surrounded with a water-pipe containing ten faucets, each supplied with a bronze cup. The entire cost will be $15,000. Mr. Drake's generous gift to Chicago is to be ready for public use in 1892, and it will, therefore, be hap- pily commemorative of the 400th anniversary of the dis- covery of America by Columbus. The inscription on the fountain reads: "Ice-water drinking fountain presented to the City of Chicago by John B. Drake 1892." At the feet of the statue of Columbus, who is represented as a stu- dent of geography in his youth at the University of Pavia, is inscribed, "Christopher Columbus, 1492-1892." The fountain is a very handsome piece of bronze art work, and Commissioner Aldrich has decided to place it in a conspicuous place, being none other than the area between the court house and the city hall, facing Washington Street. This central and accessible spot of public ground has been an unsightly stabling place for horses ever since the court house was built. It will now be sodded, flower-beds will be laid out, and macadamized walks will surround the Drake Fountain. The new feature will be a relief to weary eyes, and an ornament to Washington Street and the center of the city. The red granite base for the fountain lias been received at the custom house. It was made in Turin, Italy, and cost $3)3°o- Under the law, the stone came in duty free, as it is intended as a gift to the municipality. 120 COLUMBUS AND COLUMBIA. DREAM, John William Draper, a celebrated American chemist and scientist. Born near Liverpool, England, 1811; died January 4, 1S82. From his " Intellectual Development of Europe," 1876. By permission of Messrs. Harper & Brothers, Publishers, New York. Columbus appears to have formed his theory that the East Indies could be reached by sailing to the west about A. D. 1474, He was at that time in correspondence with Toscanelli, the Florentine astronomer, who held the same doctrine, and who sent him a map or chart constructed on the travels of Marco Polo. He offered his services first to his native city, then to Portugal, then to Spain, and, through his brother, to England; his chief inducement, in each instance, being that the riches of India might be thus secured. In Lisbon he had married. While he lay sick near Belem, an unknown voice whispered to him in a dream, "God will cause thy name to be wonderfully resounded through the earth, and will give thee the keys of the gates of the ocean which are closed with strong chains." The death of his wife appears to have broken the last link which held him to Portugal, where he had been since 1470. One evening, in the autumn of 1485, a man of majestic presence, pale, careworn, and, though in the meridian of life, with silver hair, leading a little boy by the hand, asked alms at the gate of the Franciscan convent near Palos — not for himself, but only a little bread and water for his child. This was that Columbus destined to give to Europe a new world. A PEN-PICTURE FROM THE SOUTH. The Right Rev. Anthony Durier, Bishop of Natchitoches, La., in a circular letter to the clergy and laity of the diocese, printed in the New Orleans Morning Star, September 10, 1892. We cherish the memory of the illustrious sailor, also of the lady and of the monk who were providential HEAD OF COLUMBUS. Designed by H. H. Zeanng of Chicago. COLUMBUS. 131 instruments in opening a new world to religion and civili- zation. Honor to the sailor, Christopher Columbus, the Christ- bearing dove, as his name tells, gentle as a dove of hal- lowed memory as Christ-bearer. In fact, he brought Christ to the New World. Look back at that sailor, 400 years ago, on bended knees, with hands uplifted in prayer, on the shores of Guanahani, first to invoke the name of Jesus in the New World; in fact, as in name, behold the Christ-bearing dove. Columbus was a knight of the cross, with his good cross-hilted sword, blessed by the church. The first aim and ambition of a knight of the cross, at that time, was to plant the cross in the midst of heathen nations, and to have them brought from " the region of the shadow of death " into the life-giving bosom of Mother Church. Listen to the prayer of Columbus, as he brings his lips to, and kneels on, the blessed land he has discovered, that historic prayer which he had prepared long in advance, and which all Catholic discoverers repeated after him: " O Lord God, eternal and omnipotent, who by Thy divine word hast created the heavens, the earth, and the sea! Blessed and glorified be thy name and praised Thy maj- esty, who hast deigned by me, thy humble servant, to have that sacred name made known and preached in this other part of the world." Behold the true knight of the cross, with cross-hilted sword in hand, the name of Jesus on his lips, the glory of Jesus in his heart. He does not say a word of the glory which, from the discovery, is bound to accrue to the name of Spain and to his own name; every word is directed to, and asking for, the glory of the name of Jesus. The great discoverer has knelt down, kissed the ground, and said his prayer; now, look at that Catholic Spanish 122 COLUMBUS AND COLUMBIA. sailor standing up, in commanding dignity, and planting his Catholic cross and his Spanish flag on the discovered land; what does it mean? It means — the Spanish flag in America for a time, and the Catholic cross in America forever. Hail, flag of the discoverer! Spanish flag, the flag of the noble and the daring. That Spanish flag came here first, had its glorious day, and still in glory went back. Hail, Catholic crossi the cross of the discoverer. That cross is not to go back, as the Spanish flag; no, not even in glory. About that cross, only two simple words, and that settles it; that Catholic cross is here to stay. Hail, American flag! star-spangled banner; the banner of the brave and of the free. That one, our own flag, came long after the Spanish flag, but we trust came to stay as long as the Catholic cross — until doom's-day. Honor to the lady. Queen Isabella the Catholic. Among all illustrious women, Isabella alone has been graced with the title of " the Catholic," — a peerless title! And truly did she deserve the peerless title, the lady who threw heart and soul, and, over and above, her gold, in the discovery by which, out of the spiritual domains of the Catholic church, the sun sets no more; the lady who paved the way over the bounding sea to the great discoverer. Bright and energetic lady! She at once understood Columbus and stood resolute, ready to pave him the way even with her jewels. Listen to her words: "I undertake the enterprise for my own crown of Castille, and I will pledge my jewels to raise the necessary funds." The generous lady had not to pledge her jewels; yet her gold was freely spent, lavished on the expedition; and she stood by Columbus, in storm and sunshine, as long as she lived. Isabella stood by Columbus, in his success, with winsome gentleness, keeping up his daring spirit of enter- COLUMBUS. 123 prise; and, in his reverses, with the balm of unwavering devotion healing his bruised, bleeding heart. Isabella stood by Columbus, as a mother by her son, ever, ever true to her heroic son. Honor to the humble monk, John Perez, Father John, as he was called in his convent. That monk whose name will live as long as the names of Columbus and Isabella; that monk, great by his learning and still better by his heart; that humble, plain man inspired the sailor with persever- ance indomitable, the lady with generosity unlimited, and sustained in both sailor and lady that will power and mount-removing faith the result of which was to give " to the Spanish King innumerable countries and to God innumerable souls." As the Spanish poet, Lope de Vega, beautifully puts it: A I Rey infinitas tier r as, Y d Dios infinitas almas. It is the Spanish throne which backed Columbus; but, mind! that monk was " the power behind the throne." We Louisianians live, may be, in the fairest part of the New World discovered by Columbus. When Chevalier La Salle had explored the land, he gave it the beautiful name of Louisiana, and he wrote to his king, Louis XIV., these words: "The land we have explored and named Louisiana, after your Majesty's name, is a paradise, the Eden of the New World." Thanks be to God who has cast our lot in this paradise, the Eden of the New World, fair Louisiana! Let us honor and ever cherish the mem- ory of the hero who led the way and opened this country to our forefathers. Louisiana was never blessed with the footprints of Columbus, yet by him it was opened to the onward march of the Christian nations. To the great discoverer, Christopher Columbus, the grat- itude of Louisiana, the Eden of the New World. 134 COLUMBUS AND COLUMBIA. BARTOLOMEO COLUMBUS. L. A. DuTTO of Jackson, Miss., in an article, " Columbus in Portugal," in the Catholic World, April, i8g2. Columbus in 1492, accompanied by a motley crew of sailors of different nationalities, crossed the Atlantic and discovered America. Hence the glory of that event, second only in importance to the incarnation of Christ, is attrib- uted very generally solely to him. As reflex lights of that glory, history mentions the names of Queen Isabella, of the Pinzon brothers, the friar Juan Perez. There is another name that should be placed at head of the list. That is, Bartolomeo Columbus, the brother of Christopher. From the beginning there existed a partnership between the two in the mighty undertaking; the effect of a common convic- tion that the land of spices, Cipango and Cathay, the East, could be reached by traveling west. Both of them spent the best years of their life in privation, hardship, and poverty, at times the laughing stock of the courts of Europe, in humbly begging from monarchies and republics the ships necessary to undertake their voyage. While Christopher patiently waited in the antechambers of the Catholic monarchs of Spain, Bartolomeo, map in hand, explained to Henry VII. of England the rotundity of the earth, and the feasibility of traveling to the antipodes. Having failed in his mission to the English king, he passed to France to ask of her what had been refused by Portugal, Spain, Venice, England, and Genoa. While he was there, Columbus, who had no means of communicating with him, sailed from Palos. Had there been, as now, a system of international mails, Bartolomeo would now share with his brother the title of Discoverer of America. Las Casas rep- resents him as little inferior to Christopher in the art of navigation, and as a writer and in things pertaining to car- tography as his superior. Gallo, the earliest biographer of COLUMBUS. 125 Columbus, and writing during his lifetime, has told us that Bartolomeo settled in Lisbon, and there made a living by drawing mariners' charts. Giustiniani, another country- man of Columbus, says in his polyglot Psalter, published in 1537, that Christopher learned cartography from his brother Bartolomeo, who had learned it himself in Lisbon. But what may appear more surprising is the plain statement of Gallo that Bartolomeo was the first to conceive the idea of reaching the East by way of the West, by a transatlantic voyage, and that he communicated it to his brother, who was more experienced than himself in nautical affairs. FIRST GLIMPSE OF LAND. Charles H. Eden, English historical writer and traveler. From " The West Indies." Nearly four centuries ago, in the year 1492, before the southern point of the great African continent had been doubled, and when the barbaric splendor of Cathay and the wealth of Hindustan were only known to Europeans through the narratives of Marco Polo or Sir John Mande- ville — early on the morning of Friday, October 12th, a man stood bareheaded on the deck of a caravel and watched the rising sun lighting up the luxuriant tropical vegetation of a level and beautiful island toward which the vessel was gently speeding her way. Three-and-thirty days had elapsed since the last known point of the Old World, the Island of Ferrol, had faded away over the high poop of his vessel; eventful weeks, during which he had to contend against the natural fears of the ignorant and superstitious men by whom he was surrounded, and by the stratagem of a double reckoning, together with promises of future wealth, to allay the murmuring which threatened to frustrate the project that for so many years had been near- est his heart. Never, in the darkest hour, did the courage 126 COLUMBUS AND COLUMBIA. of that man quail or his soul admit a single doubt of suc- cess. When the terrified mariners remarked with awe that the needle deviated from the pole star, their intrepid Admiral, by an ingenious theory of his own, explained the cause of the phenomenon and soothed the alarm that had arisen. When the steady trade-winds were reached, and the vessels flew rapidly for days toward the west, the com- mander hailed as a godsend the mysterious breeze that his followers regarded with awe as imposing an insuperable barrier to their return to sunny Spain. When the prow of the caravel was impeded, and her way deadened by the drifting network of the Sargasso Sea, the leader saw therein only assured indications of land, and resolutely shut his ears against those prophets who foresaw evil in every inci- dent. Now his hopes were fulfilled, the yearnings of a lifetime realized. During the night a light had been seen, and at 2 o'clock in the morning land became, beyond all doubt, visible. Then the three little vessels laid to, and with the earliest streak of dawn made sail toward the coast. A man stood bareheaded on the deck of the leading caravel and feasted his eyes upon the wooded shore; the man was Christopher Columbus, the land he gazed on the " West Indies." SAN SALVADOR, OR WATLING'S ISLAND. San Salvador, or Watling's Island, is about twelve miles in length by six in breadth, having its interior largely cut up by salt-water lagoons, separated from each other by low woody hills. Being one of the most fertile of the group, it maintains nearly 2,000 inhabitants, who are scattered about over its surface. Peculiar interest will always attach itself to this spot as being the finst land on which the discoverer of the New World set foot. — Ibid. COLUMBUS. 127 THE MYSTERY OF THE SHADOWY SEA. Xerif ai, Edrisi, surnamed " The Nubian," an eminent Arabian geog- rapher. Born at Ceuta, Africa, about iioo. In " A Description of Spain " (Conde's Spanish translation, Madrid, 1799). He wrote a celebrated treatise of geography, and made a silver terrestrial globe for Roger II., King of Sicily, at whose court he lived. The ocean encircles the ultimate bounds of the inhabited earth, and all beyond it is unknown. No one has been able to verify anything concerning it, on account of its difficult and perilous navigation, its great obscurity, its profound depth, and frequent tempests; through fear of its mighty fishes and its haughty winds; yet there are many islands in it, some peopled, others uninhabited. There is no mariner who dares to enter into its deep waters; or, if any have done so, they have merely kept along its coasts, fear- ful of departing from them. The waves of this ocean, although they roll as high as mountains, yet maintain themselves without breaking, for if they broke it would be impossible for ship to plow them. PALOS. Prof. Maurice Francis Egan. From an article, " Columbus the Christ- Bearer," in the New York Independent, jvine 2, 1892. The caravels equipped at Palos were so unseaworthy, judged by the dangers of the Atlantic, that no crew in our time would have trusted in them. The people of Palos disliked this foreigner, Columbus. No man of Palos, except the Pinzons, ancient mariners, sympathized with him in his hopes. The populace overrated the risks of the voy- age; the court, fortunately for Columbus, underrated them. The Admiral's own ships and his crew were not such as to inspire confidence. His friends, the friars, had somewhat calmed the popular feeling against the expedition; but ungrateful Palos never approved of it until it made her famous. 128 COLUMBUS AND COLUMBIA. AN UNDISCOVERED COUNTRY. Samuel R. Elliott, in the Century Magazine, Septembei, ..892. You have no heart? Ah, when the Genoese Before Spain's monarchs his great voyage planned, Small faith had they in worlds beyond the seas — Andj^z/r Columbus yet may come to land! SAGACITY. Ralph Waldo Emerson, the well-known American essayist, poet, and speculative philosopher. Born in Boston, May 25, 1803; died at Concord, April 27, 1882. From his essay on "Success,"' in Society and Solittide. Copyright, by Messrs. Houghton, Mifflin & Co., publishers, Boston, and with their permission. Columbus at Veragua found plenty of gold; but, leaving the coast, the ship full of one hundred and fifty skillful sea- men, some of them old pilots, and with too much experi- ence of their craft and treachery to him, the wise Admiral kept his private record of his homeward path. And when he reached Spain, he told the King and Queen, " That they may ask all the pilots who came with him. Where is Veragua? Let them answer and say, if they know, where Veragua lies. I assert that they can give no other account than that they went to lands where there was abundance of gold, but they do not know the way to return thither, but would be obliged to go on a voyage of discovery as much as if they had never been there before. There is a mode of reckoning," he proudly adds, " derived from astronomy, which is sure and safe to any who understands it." THE VOICE OF THE SEA. From a poem, " Seashore," by Ralph Waldo Emerson. Houghton, Mifflin & Co., Boston. 1 with my hammer pounding evermore The rocky coast, smite Andes into dust. Copyright. 1892, bj- R. It. Park COLUMBUS AS A STUDENT AT PAVIA. From the Drake Drinking Fountain, Chicago. (See page 1 18,) COLUMBUS. 129 Strewing my bed, and, in another age. Rebuild a continent of better men. Then I unbar the doors; my paths lead out The exodus of nations; I disperse Men to all shores that front the hoary main. I too have arts and sorceries; Illusion dwells forever with the wave. I know what spells are laid. Leave me to deal With credulous and imaginative man; For, though he scoop my water in his palm, A few rods off he deems it gems and clouds. Planting strange fruits and sunshine on the shore, I make some coast alluring, some lone isle, To distant men, who must go there, or die. THE REASONING OF COLUMBUS, Columbus alleged, as a reason for seeking a continent in the West, that the harmony of nature required a great tract of land in the western hemisphere to balance the known extent of land in the eastern. — Ibid. STRANGER THAN FICTION. Edward Everett, a distinguished American orator, scholar, and states- man. Born at Dorchester, Mass., April ii, 1794; died, January 15, 1865. From a lecture on "The Discovery of America," deHvered at a meeting of the Historical Society of New York in 1853. No chapter of romance equals the interest of this expe- dition. The most fascinating of the works of fiction which have issued from the modern press have, to my taste, no attraction compared with the pages in which the first voyage of Columbus is described by Robertson, and still more by our own Irving and Prescott, the last two enjoying the advantage over the great Scottish historian of possess- 9 130 COLUMBUS AND COLUMBIA. ing the lately discovered journals and letters of Columbus himself. The departure from Palos, where a few years before he had begged a morsel of bread and a cup of water for his way-worn child; his final farewell to the Old World at the Canaries; his entrance upon the trade-winds, which then for the first time filled a European sail; the porten- tous variation of the needle, never before observed; the fearful course westward and westward, day after day and night after night, over the unknown ocean; the mutinous and ill-appeased crew; at length, when hope had turned to despair in every heart but one, the tokens of land — the cloud banks on the western horizon, the logs of driftwood, the fresh shrub floating with its leaves and berries, the flocks of land birds, the shoals of fish that inhabit shallow- water, the indescribable smell of the shore; the mysterious presentment that seems ever to go before a great event; and finally, on that ever memorable night of October 12, 1492, the moving light seen by the sleepless eye of the great discoverer himself from the deck of the Santa Maria, and in the morning the real, undoubted land swell- ing up from the bosom of the deep, with its plains and forests, and hills and rocks and streams, and strange new races of men. These are incidents in which the authentic history of the discovery of our continent exceeds the specious wonders of romance, as much as gold excels tinsel, or the sun m the heavens outshines the flickering taper. THE COLUMBUS OF THE HEAVENS — SCORNED. Dominicans may deride thy discoveries now: but the time will come when from two hundred observatories, in Europe and America, the glorious artillery of science shall nightly assault the skies; but they shall gain no conquests in those glittering fields before wi.ich thine shall be for- COLUMRUS. 131 gotten. Rest in peace, great Columbus of the heavens!™ like him scorned, persecuted, broken-hearted. — Ibid. FAME. We find encouragement in every page of our country's history. Nowhere do we meet with examples more numer- ous and more brilliant of men who have risen above poverty and obscurity and every disadvantage to useful- ness and honorable name. One whole vast continent was added to the geopraphy of the world by the persevering efforts of a humble Genoese mariner, the great Columbus, who, by the steady pursuit of the enlightened conception he had formed of the figure of the earth, before any navi- gator had acted upon the belief that it was round, dis- covered the American continent. He was the son of a Genoese pilot, a pilot and seaman himself; and, at one period of his melancholy career, was reduced to beg his bread at the doors of the convents in Spain. But he carried within himself, and beneath a humble exterior, a spirit for which there was not room in Spain, in Europe, nor ni the then known world; and which led him on to a height of usefulness and fame beyond that of all the monarchs that ever reigned. — Ibid. TRIFLING INCIDENT. The Venerable Frederic William Farrar, D. D., F. R. S., Arch- deacon of Westminster. Born in Bombay, August 7, 1831. From his " Lectures and Addresses." There are some who are fond of looking at the appar- ently trifling incidents of history, and of showing how the stream of centuries has been diverted in one or other direc- tion by events the most insignificant. General Garfield told his pupils at Hiram that the roof of a certain court ^" Galileo, the great Italian natural philosopher, is here referred to by the author. 133 COLUMBUS AND COLUMBIA. hou e was so absolute a watershed that the flutter of a bird's wing would be sufficient to decide whether a partic- ular rain-drop should make its way into the Gulf of St. Lawrence or into the Gulf of Mexico. The flutter of a bird's wing may have affected all history. Some students may see an immeasurable significance in the flight of par- rots, which served to alter the course of Columbus, and guided him to the discovery of North and not of South America. EXCITEMENT AT THE NEWS OF THE DISCOVERY. John Fiske, a justly celebrated American historian. Born at Hartford, Conn., March 30, 1842. From " The Discovery of America." It was generally assumed without question that the Admiral's theory of his discovery must be correct, that the coast of Cuba m.ust be the eastern extremity of China, that the coast of Hispaniola must be the northern extremity o^ Cipango, and that a direct route — much shorter than that which Portugal had so long been seeking — had now been found to those lands of illimitable wealth described by Marco Polo. To be sure, Columbus had not as yet seen the evidences of this oriental splendor, and had been puz- zled at not finding them, but he felt confident that he had come very near them and would come full upon them in a second voyage. There was nobody who knew enough to refute these opinions, and really why should not this great geographer, who had accomplished so much already which people had scouted as impossible — why should he not know what he was about? It was easy enough now to get men and money for the second voyage. When the Admiral sailed from Cadiz on September 25, 1493, it was with seven- teen ships, carrying 1,500 men. Their dreams were of the marble palaces of Quinsay, of isles of spices, and the treas- ures of Prester John. The sovereigns wept for joy as they COLUMBUS. 133 thought that such untold riches were vouchsafed them, by the special decree of Heaven, as a reward for having over- come the Moors at Granada and banished the Jews from Spain. Columbus shared these views, and regarded himself as a special instrument for executing the divine decrees. He renewed his vow to rescue the Holy Sepulcher, prom- ising within the next seven years to equip at his own expense a crusading army of 50,000 foot and 4,000 horse; within five years thereafter he would follow this with a second army of like dimensions. Thus nobody had the faintest suspicion of what had been done. In the famous letter to Santangel there is of course not a word about a new world. The grandeur of the achievement was quite beyond the ken of the generation that witnessed it. For we have since come to learn that in 1492 the contact between the eastern and the western halves of our planet was first really begun, and the two streams of human life which had flowed on for countless ages, apart, were thenceforth to mingle together. The first voyage of Columbus is thus a unique event in the history of mankind. Nothing like it was ever done before, and nothing like it can ever be done again. No worlds are left for a future Columbus to conquer. The era of which this great Italian mariner was the most illustrious repre- sentative has closed forever. VINLAND. John Fiske, an American philosopher. Born in Connecticut, 1842. From " Washington and his Country." Learned men had long known that the earth is round, but people generally did not believe it, and it had not occurred to anybody that such a voyage would be practicable. People were afraid of going too far out into the ocean. A ship which disappears in the offing seems to be going down 134 COLUMBUS AND COLUMBIA. hlll; and many people thought that if they were to get too far down hill, they could not get back. Other notions, as absurd as this, were entertained, which made people dread the "Sea of Darkness," as the Atlantic was often called. Accordingly, Columbus found it hard to get support for his scheme. About fifteen years before his first voyage, Columbus seems to have visited Iceland, and some have supposed that he then heard about the voyages of the Northmen, and was thus led to his belief that land would be found by sail- ing west. He may have thus heard about Vinland, and may have regarded the tale as confirming his theory. That theory, however, was based upon his belief in the rotund- ity of the earth. The best proof that he was not seriously influenced by the Norse voyages, even if he had heard of them, is the fact that he never used them as an argument. In persuading people to furnish money for his enterprise, it has been well said that an ounce of Vinland would have been worth a pound of talk about the shape of the earth. CRITICAL DAYS. John Milner Fothergill, M. D., an English physician. Born at Morland in Westmoreland, April ii, 1841; died, 1S88. Columbus was an Italian who possessed all that deter- mination which came of Norse blood combined with the subtlety of the Italian character. He thought much of what the ancients said of a short course from Spain to India, of Plato's Atlantic Island; and conceived the idea of sailing to India over the Atlantic. He applied to the Genoese, who rejected his scheme as impracticable; then to Portugal, then to Spain. The fall of Granada led to his ultimate success; and at last he set out into the unknown sea with a small fleet, which was so ill-formed as scarcely to reach the Canaries in safety. Soon after leaving them, '' COLUMBUS. 135 the spirits of his crew fell, and then Columbus perceived that the art of governing the minds of men would be no less requisite for accomplishing the discoveries he had in view than naval skill and undaunted courage. He could trust himself only. He regulated everything by his sole author- ity; he superintended the execution of every order. As he went farther westward the hearts of his crew failed them, and mutiny was imminent. But Columbus retained his serenity of mind even under these trying circumstances, and induced his crew to persevere for three days more. Three critical days in the history of the world. AN APPROPRIATE HOUR. John Foster, a noted English essayist and moralist. Born at Halifax, September 17, 1770; died at Stapleton, October, 1843. The /tour just now begun may be exactly the period for dmshing some grea^ J>/an, or conclnding some greaf dispensa- iioH, which thousands of years or ages have been advancing to its accomplishment. T/ii's may be the very hour in which a new world shall originate or an ancient one sink in ruins. RANGE OF ENTERPRISE. Edward Augustus Freeman, a celebrated English historian. Born at Harborne, Staffordshire, 1823; died at Alicante, Spain, March 16, 1892. From an article on " The Intellectual Development of the English People," in the Chaulauquan Alagaziiw, May, 1 891. The discovery of a new world was something so startling as to help very powerfully in the general enlargement of men's minds. And the phrase of a new world is fully justified. The discovery of a western continent, which followed on the voyage of Columbus, was an event differing in kind from any discovery that had ever been made before. And this though there is little reason to doubt that the 136 COLUMBUS AND COLUMBIA. western continent itself had been discovered before. The Northmen had certainly found their way to the real conti- nent of North America ages before Columbus found his way to the West India Islands. But the same results did not come of it, and the discovery itself was not of the same kind. The Old World had grown a good deal before the discovery of the New. The range of men's thoughts and enterprise had gradually spread from the Mediterranean to the Atlantic, the Baltic, and the northern seas. To advance from Norway to the islands north of Britain, thence to Ice- land, Greenland, and the American continent, was a gradual process. The great feature in the lasting discovery of America, which began at the end of the fifteenth century, was its suddenness. Nothing led to it; it was made by an accident; men were seeking one thing and then found another. Nothing like it has happened before or since. FRIDAY. Of evil omen for the ancients. For America the day of glad tidings and glorious deeds. Friday, the sixth day of the week, has for ages borne the obloquy of odium and ill-luck. Friday, October 5th, B. C. 105, was marked nefastus in the Roman calendar because on that day Marcus Mallius and C^epio the Consul were slain and their whole army annihilated m Gallia Narbonen- sis by the Cimbrians. It was considered a very unlucky day in Spain and Italy; it is still deemed an ill-starred day among the Buddhists and Brahmins. The reason given by Christians for its ill-luck is, of course, because it was the day of Christ's crucifixion, though one would hardly term that an " unlucky event " for Christians. A Friday moon is considered unlucky for weather. It is the Mohammedan Sabbath and was the day on which Adam was created. The Sabeans consecrated it to Venus or Astarte. Accord- COLUMBUS 137 ing to mediseval romance, on this day fairies and all the tribes of elves of every description were converted into hideous animals and remained so until Monday, In Scot- land it is a great day for weddings. In England it is not. Sir William Churchill says, " Friday is my lucky day. I was born, christened, married, and knighted on that day, and all my best accidents have befallen me on a Friday." Aurungzebe considered Friday a lucky day and used to say in prayer, " Oh, that I may die on a Friday, for blessed is he that dies on that day." British popular saying terms a trial, misfortune, or cross a " Friday tree," from the "accursed tree" on which the Savior was crucified on that day. Stow, the historian of London, states that " Friday Street " was so called because it was the street of fish merchants who served the Friday markets. In the Roman Catholic church Friday is a fast day, and is con- sidered an unlucky day because it was the day of Christ's crucifixion. Soames ("Anglo-Saxon Church," page 255) says of it, " Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit on Friday and died on Frida5^" Shakspere refers to the ill-omened nature of the day as follows: "The duke, I say to thee again, would eat mutton Friday" (" Measure for Measure," Act 3, Scene 2). But to turn to the more pleasing side, great has been the good fortune of the land of freedom on this ill-starred day. On Friday, August 3, 1492, Christopher Columbus set sail from the port of Palos on his great voyage of discovery. On Friday, October 12, 1492, he discovered land; on Friday, January 4, 1493, he sailed on his return voyage to Spain. On Friday, March 14, 1493, he arrived at Palos, Spain, in safety. On Friday, November 22, 1493, he arrived at Espafiola on his second voyage to America. On Friday, June 12, 1494, he discovered the mainland of America. On Friday, March 5, 1496, Henry VIII, gave John Cabot 138 COLUMBUS AND COLUMBIA. his commission to pursue the discovery of America. On Friday, September 7, 1565, Melendez founded St. Augustine, Florida, the oldest town in the United States. On Fri- day, November 10, 1620, the Mayflower, with the Pilgrim Fathers, reached the harbor of Provincetown. On Friday, December 22, 1620, the Pilgrim Fathers landed at Plymouth Rock. On Friday, February 22, 1732, George Washing- ton was born. On Friday, June 16, 1755, Bunker Hill was seized and fortified. On Friday, October 17, 1777, Bur- goyne surrendered at Saratoga. On Friday, September 22, ^780, Benedict Arnold's treason was discovered. On Friday, September 19, 1791, Lord Cornwallis surrendered at Yorktown. On Friday, July 7, 1776, a motion was 'Made by John Adams that " the United States are and I lught to be independent." On Friday, July 13, 1866, the Great Eastern steamship sailed from Valentia, Ireland, with the second and successful Atlantic cable, and com- pleted the laying of this link of our civilization at Heart's Content, Newfoundland, on Friday, July 27, 1866. In Spanish history it is noteworthy that on Friday the Chris- tians under Ferdinand and Isabella had won Granada from the Moors. On a Friday, also, the First Crusaders, under Geoffrey de Bouillon, took Jerusalem. A PREVIOUS DISCOVERY. Paul Gaffarel. Summarized from " Les D(^couvreurs rran9ais du XlV'"e au XVl"^" Siecle," published at Paris in 1S88. Jean Cousin, in 1488, sailed from Dieppe, then the great commercial and naval port of F" ranee, and bore out to sea, to avoid the storms so prevalent in the Bay of Biscay. Arrived at the latitude of the Azores, he was carried west- ward by a current, and came to an unknown country near the mouth of an immense river. He took possession of COLUMBUS. 139 the continent, but, as he had not sufificient crew nor material resources adequate for founding a settlement, he re-embarked. Instead of returning directly to Dieppe, he took a southeasterly direction — that is, toward South Africa — discovered the cape which has since retained the name of Cap des Aiguilles (Cape Agulhas, the southern point of Africa), went north by the Congo and Guinea, and returned to Dieppe in 1489. Cousin's lieutenant was a Castilian, Pinzon by name, who was jealous of his captain, and caused him considerable trouble on the Gold Coast. On Cousin's complaint, the admiralty declared him unfit to serve in the marine of Dieppe. Pinzon then retired to Genoa, and afterward to Castille. Every circumstance tends toward the belief that this is the same Pinzon to whom Columbus afterward intrusted the command of the Pinta. GENIUS TRAVELS EAST TO WEST. The Abbe Fernando Galiani, an Italian political economist. Born at Chieti, on the Abruzzi, 1728; died at Naples, 1787. For five thousand years genius has turned opposite to the diurnal motion, and traveled from east to west. OBSERVATION LIKE COLUMBUS. The Rev. Cunningham Geikie, D. D., a noted English clergyman. Born at Edinborough, October 26, 1826. Reading should be a Columbus voyage, in which nothing passes without note and speculation; the Sargasso Sea, mistaken for the New Indies; the branch with the fresh berries; the carved pole; the currents; the color of the water; the birds; the odor of the land; the butterflies; the moving light on the shore. 140 COLUMBUS AND COLUMBIA. THE GENOA INSCRIPTION. The following inscription is placed upon Columbus' house, No. 37, in the Vico Dritto Ponticello, Genoa, Italy: NVLLA. DOMVS. TITVLO. DIGNIOR. HAEIC. PATERNIS. IN. AEDIBVS. CHRISTOPHVS. COLVMBVS. PRIMAQVE. yVVENTAM. TRANSEGIT. (No house deserved better an inscription. This is the paternal home of Christopher Columbus, where he passed his childhood and youth.) THE GENOA STATUE. " Genoa and Venice," writes Mr. Oscar Browning, in Pict- uresque Europe, " have much in common — both republics, both aristocracies, both commercial, both powerful mari- time states; yet, while the Doge of Venice remains to us as the embodiment of stately and majestic pre-eminence, we scarcely remember, or have forgotten, that there ever was a Doge of Genoa. This surely can not be because Shaks- pere did not write of the Bank of St. George or because Genoa has no Rialto. It must be rather because, while Genoa devoted herself to the pursuits of riches and mag- nificence, Venice fought the battle of Europe against bar- barism, and recorded her triumphs in works of art which will live forever. * * * Genoa has no such annals and no such art. As we wander along the narrow streets we see the courtyards of many palaces, the marble stairs, the graceful loggia, the terraces and the arches of which stand out against an Italian sky; but we look in vain for the magnificence of public halls, where the brush of Tintoretto or Carpaccio decorated the assembly-room of the rulers of the East or the chapter-house of a charitable fraternity." COLUMBUS. 141 ■ The artistic monument of Columbus, situated in the Piazza Acquaverde, facing the railway station, consists of a marble statue fitly embowered amid tropical palms, and is composed of a huge quadrangular pedestal, at the angles of which are seated allegorical figures of Religion, Geogra- phy, Strength, and Wisdom. Resting on this pedestal is a large cylindrical pedestal decorated with three ships' prows, on which stands a colossal figure of Columbus, his left hand resting on an anchor. At his feet, in a half-sitting, half- kneeling posture, is an allegorical figure of America in the act of adoring a crucifix, which she holds in her right hand. The four bas-reliefs on the sides of the pedestal represent the most important events in the life of the great discov- erer: (i) Columbus before the Council of Salamanca; (2) Columlius taking formal possession of the New World; (3) his flattering reception at the court of Ferdinand and Isa- bella; (4) Columbus in chains. It is as well that this, the saddest of episodes, should be remembered, because great actions are as often as not emphasized by martyrdom. The first stone of the monument was laid September 27, 1846, and the completed statue formally dedicated in 1862, It bears the laconic but expressive dedication: "A Cris- toforo Colombo, La Patria " (The Nation to Christopher Columbus). Genoa claims, with the largest presumption of truth, that Christopher Columbus was born there. The best of his- torical and antiquarian research tends to show that in a house, No. 37, in the Vico Dritto Ponticello, lived Domen- ico Colombo, the father of Christopher, and that in this house the Great Admiral was born. In 1887 the Genoese municipality bought the house, and an inscription has been placed over the door. To give the exact date of Chris- topher's birth is, however, difficult, but it is believed to 142 COLUMBUS AND COLUMBIA, have occurred sometime between March 15, 1446, and March 20, 1447. Whether Columbus was actually a native of Genoa or of Cogoletto — the latter is a sequestered little town a few miles west of the former — must ever remain a matter of conjecture. True enough, the house in which his father followed the trade of a wool-carder in Genoa is eagerly pointed out to a stranger; but the inscription on the marble tablet over the entrance does not state that the future dis- coverer was really born in it. This stands in a narrow alley designated the Vico di Morcento, near the prison of San Andrea. On the other hand, the little town hall at Cogoletto con- tains a portrait of Columbus, more than 300 years old, whose frame is completely covered with the names of enthusiastic travelers. The room in which he is believed to have been born resembles a cellar rather than aught else; while the broken pavement shows how visitors have at various times taken up the bricks to preserve as relics. As if this undoubted evidence of hero worship were insufificient, the old woman in charge of the place hastens to relate how a party of Americans one day lifted the original door off its hinges and carried it bodily away between them. As all the world knows, Columbus died at Valladolid on the 20th of May, 1506. It has always been a matter of intense regret to the Genoese that his body should have been permitted to he shipped across the seas to its first resting-place in San Domingo. More fortunate, how- ever, were they in securing the remains of their modern kinsman and national patriot, Mazzini. On the 29th of May, 1892, under the auspices of Ligunan Gymnastic Society Cristofore Columbo, a bronze wreath was placed at the base of the Columbus monument. The Ligunan Gymnastic Society Cristofore Columbo is COLUMBUS. 143 an association which cultivates athletic exercises, music, and, above all, patriotism and charity. To awaken popular interest in the coming exhibition, the society had a bronze wreath made by the well-known sculptor Burlando, and fit- ting ceremonies took place, with a procession through the streets, before affixing the wreath at the base of the monu- ment. The wreath, which weighed some 500 pounds, was carried by a figure representing Genoa seated on a tri- umphal car. There were 7,000 members of the society present, with not less than fifty bands of music. The cere- monies, beginning at 10 a. m., were concluded at 4 p. m. The last act was a hymn^ sung by 2,000 voices, with superb effect. Then, by means of machinery, the bronze crown was put in its proper position. Never was Genoa in a gayer humor, nor could the day have been more propitious. The streets were decorated with flowers and banners. There were representatives from Rome, Florence, Milan, Turin, Venice, Naples, Leghorn, Palermo, and visitors from all parts of Europe and America. In the evening only did the festivities close with a grand dinner given by the Geno- ese municipality. In this, the glorification of the grand old city of Liguna, was united that of its most memorable man, Christopher Columbus, for that mediaeval feeling, when cities had almost individual personalities, is still a civic sense alive in Genoa. She rejoices in the illustrious men born within her walls with a sentiment akin to that of a mother for her son. In an artistic sense, nothing could have been more com- plete than this festival. Throwing the eye upward, beyond the figure of Columbus, the frame is perfect. The slanting ways leading up to the handsome houses on the back- ground are wonderfully effective. Genoa is rich in the relics of Columbus. In the city hall of Genoa is, among other relics, a mosaic portrait of the 144 COLUMBUS AND COLUMBIA. Admiral, somewhat modified from the De Bry's Columbus. Genoa is fortunate in possessing a number of authentic letters of Columbus, and these are preserved in a marble custodia, surmounted by a head of Columbus. In the pillar which forms the pedestal there is a bronze door, and the precious Columbus documents have been placed there. GERMANY AND COLUMBUS. The Geographical Society of Germany will shortly pub- lish a volume commemorative of the 400th anniversary of the discovery of America by Columbus, which will, it is said, be one of the most elaborate publications ever issued by the society. Dr. Konrad Kretschmer, the editor of the forthcoming work, has visited all the principal libraries of Italy in search of material, and has had access to many rare manuscripts hitherto unused. Tlie memorial volume will contain forty-five maps relating to the discovery of America, thirty-one of which are said to have never been published. Emperor William has contributed 15,000 marks toward the expenses of publication, etc., and the work will undoubtedly be a most valuable contribution to the early history of America. It is expected that it will leave the government printing office early in August. GERMANY S EXHIBIT OF RARITIES. Germany proposes to loan a collection of Columbus rari- ties to the United States Government for exhibition at the Chicago Exposition, as will be seen by a communication to the State Department from Consul-general Edwards at Berlin. In his document, Mr. Edwards says: The German government, appreciating the fact that no time is to be lost in this matter, has begun to carry its gen- erous and friendly proposals into practical operation by instituting a thorough search in the various galleries, muse- HOUSE OF COLUMBUS. No. 37 Vico Dfitto Ponticelli, Genoa, Italy. ( See page 140,) COLUMBUS. 145 urns, and libraries throughout Germany for works of art, objects, and rarities which are in any way identified with the Columbus period, and which the German government believes would be likely to be of general interest to the authorities of the World's Columbian Exposition as well as the visitors at that great show. Among other works of art the German government con- sents to loan Pludderman's celebrated painting, " The Dis- covery of America by Columbus." Under the laws of Germany, as well as under the rules and regulations of the National Gallery, no person is permitted to lithograph, photograph, or make any sort of a copy of any picture or other work of art in the care or custody of any national gallery, in case when the artist has not been dead for a period of thirty years, without having first obtained the written permission of the legal representative of the deceased artist, coupled with the consent of the National Gallery authorities. Pludderman not having been dead thirty years, I have given assurances that this regulation will be observed by the United States Government. THE REASON FOR SAILORS SUPERSTITIONS. The Right Rev. James Gibbons, D. D., a celebrated American arch- bishop. Born in Baltimore, Md., July 23, 1834. There is but a plank between a sailor and eternity, and perhaps the realization of that fact may have something to do with the superstition lurking in his nature. ONCE THE PILLARS OF HERCULES WERE THE END OF THE WORLD. William Gibson. Thus opening on that glooming sea, Well seemed these walls ^^ the ends of earth; *' The Rock of Gibraltar is referred to. 10 146 COLUMBUS AND COLUMBIA. Death and a dark eternity Sublimely symboled forth! Ere to one eagle soul was given The will, the wings, that deep to brave; In the sun's path to find a heaven, A New World — o'er the wave. Retraced the path Columbus trod, Our course was from the setting sun; While all the visible works of God, Though various else had one. NEW LIGHT ON CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. From the Glasgow Times. The discovery by the Superintendent of the Military Archives at Madrid of documents probably setting at rest the doubts that formerly existed as to the birthplace of Columbus, must have awakened new interest in the history of the most renowned discoverer of the past. It is to be noted, however, that the documents only affirm tradition, for Genoa has always been the Admiral's accredited birth- place. But if the discovery should lead to nothing but a more careful investigation of the records of his later his- tory it will have been of use. The character of Columbus has been greatly misunder- stood, and his 600 biographers have in turn invested him with the glory of the religious hero and the contumely of the ill-tempered and crack-brained adventurer. An impar- tial critic must admit, indeed, that he was something of both, though more of the hero than the adventurer, and that his biographers have erred considerably in what Mr. R. L. Stevenson would call their "point of view." Educated, as it is supposed, in the local schools of COLUMBUS, 147 Genoa, and for a short period at the University of Pavia, the youthful Columbus must have come in close contact with the scholars of the day. Naturally of a religious temperament, the piety of the learned would early impress him, and to this may possibly be attributed the feeling that he had been divinely selected, which remained with him until his death. There is little doubt that he began his career as a sailor, at the age of fourteen, with the sole object of plunder. The Indies were the constant attraction for the natives of Venice and Genoa; the Mediterranean and the Adriatic were filled with treasure ships. In these circumstances it is not to be wondered that the sea possessed a wonderful fascination for the youth of those towns. This opulence was the constant envy of Spain and Portugal, and Colum- bus was soon attracted to the latter country by the desire of Prince Henry to discover a southern route to the Indies. It was while in Portugal that he began to believe that his mission on earth was to be the discoverer of a new route to the land of gold — "the white man's god." For two years he resided in Lisbon, from time to time making short voyages, but for the most part engaged drawing maps to procure himself a living. Here he married, here his son Diego was born, and here his wife, who died at an early age, was buried. Toscanelli at this time advanced the theory that the earth was round, and Columbus at once entered into corre- spondence with him on the subject, and was greatly impressed with the views of the Florentine scientist, both as to the sphericity of the world and the wonders of the Asiatic region. Heresy-hunting was then a favorite pas- time, and Columbus in accepting these theories ran no small risk of losing his life. Portugal and France in turn rejected his offers to add to their dependencies by his 148 COLUMBUS AND COLUMBIA. discoveries; and, though his brother found many in England willing to give him the necessary ships to start on his adventures, Spain, after much importuning on the part of the explorer, foreslallcd our own country. Then followed his four eventful voyages with all their varying fortunes, and his death, when over seventy years of age, in a wretched condition of poverty. The ready consideration of theories, not only dangerous but so astounding in their character as to throw discredit on those who advanced them, shows him to have been a man of intellectual courage. Humility was another trait of his character, and in all his life it can not be said that he acted in any but an honest and straightforward manner toward his fellow-men. It is true, no doubt, that his recognition of slavery some- what dims his reputation. He sold many Indians as slaves, but It should be remembered that slavery prevailed at the time, and it was only on his second voyage, when hard pressed for means to reimburse the Spanish treasury for the immense expense of the expedition, that he resorted to the barter in human flesh. Indeed, his friendly relations with the natives show that, as a rule, he must have treated them in the kindly manner which characterized all his actions. Throughout the reverses of his long career, whether received with sneers, lauded as a benefactor of his country, put in chains by crafty felloW-subjects, or defrauded, by an unscrupulous prince, of the profit of his discoveries, he continued a man of an eminently lovable character, kind to his family, his servants, and even his enemies. Ameri- cans are to do honor at the Columbian Exhibition to the name of him who, though not the first white man to land' on the shcjres of the New World, was the first to colonize its fertile islands. Not only America, but the whole world. COLUMBUS. 149 may emulate his virtues with advantage; for, even now, justice and mercy, courage and meekness, do not always abide together. SECRET. Frank B, Goodrich, an American author of several popular books. Born in Boston, 1326. From his " History of the Sea." John II. of Portugal applied for an increase of power, and obtained a grant of all the lands which his navigators could discover in sailing/r z o n o o (A > COLUMBUS. 257 While all the other seamen of the known world were creep- ing along the shore, he heroically sailed forth on the broad ocean. * * * When I look back upon my own voyages and recall the many anxious moments I have passed when looking for a port at night, and when I compare my own situation, sup- plied with accurate charts, perfect instruments, good sailing directions, everything, in short, that science can supply, and then think of Columbus in his little bark, his only instru- ments an imperfect compass and a rude astrolabe, sailing forth upon an imknoiun sea, I must award to him the credit of being the boldest seaman that ever " sailed the salt ocean." Columbus, then, had made three discoveries before he discovered land — the trade-winds, the Sargasso Sea, and the variation of the compass. COLUMBUS THE PATRON SAINT OF REAL-ESTATE DEALERS. At a banquet in Chicago of the real-estate brokers, a waggish orator remarked that Columbus, with his cry of "Land! Land!" was clearly the patron saint of American real-estate dealers. THE MUTINY. Horatio J. Perry, an American author. From "Reminiscences." When those Spanish mutineers leaped upon their Admiral's deck and advanced upon him sword in hand, every man of them was aware that according to all ordi- nary rules the safety of his own head depended on their going clean through and finishing their work. No com- promise that should leave Columbus alive could possibly have suited them then. Nevertheless, at the bottom of it all, the moving impulse of those men was terror. They 17 258 COLUMBUS AND COLUMBIA. were banded for that work by a common fear and a com- mon superstition, and it was only when they looked in the clear face of one wholly free from the influences which enslaved themselves, when they felt in their marrow that supreme expression of Columbus at the point of a miserable death — only then the revulsion of confidence in him suddenly relieved their own terrors. It was instinctive. This man knows! He does not deceive us! We fools are compromising the safety of all by quenching this light. He alone can get us through this business — that was the human instinct which responded to the look and bearing of Columbus at the moment when he was wholly lost, and when his life's work, his great voyage almost accomplished, was also to all appearance lost. The instinct was sure, the response was certain, from the instinct that its motive was also there sure and certain; but no other man in that age could have pro- voked it, no other but Columbus could be sure of what he was then doing. The mutineers went back to their work, and the ships went on. For three days previous, the Admiral, following some indications he had noted from the flight of birds, had steered southwest. Through that night of the loth and through the day of the nth he still kept that course; but just at evening of the nth he ordered the helm again to be put due west. The squadron had made eighty-two miles that day, and his practiced senses now taught him that land was indeed near. Without any hesitation he called together his chief officers, and announced to them that the end of their voyage was at hand; and he ordered the ships to sail well together, and to keep a sharp lookout through the night, as he expected land before the morning. Also, they had strict orders to shorten sail at midnight, and not to advance beyond half speed. Then he promised a velvet doublet of his own as a present to the man who II COLUMBUS. 259 should first make out the land. These details are well known, and they are authentic; and it is true also that these dispositions of the Admiral spread life throughout the squadron. Nobody slept that night. It was only twenty- four hours since they were ready to throw him overboard; but they now believed in him and bitterly accused one another. THE TRACK OF COLUMBUS. From a paper in Nezu England Magazine^ i8g2, taken originally from a volume of "Reminiscences" left by Horatio J. Perry, who made a voyage from Spain to New Orleans in 1847. A fortnight out at sea! We are upon the track of Chris- topher Columbus. Only three centuries and a half ago the keels of his caravels plowed for the first time these very waters, bearing the greatest heart and wisest head of his time, and one of the grandest figures in all history. To conceive Columbus at his true value requires some effort in our age, when the earth has been girdled and measured, when the sun has been weighed and the planets brought into the relation of neighbors over the way, into whose windows we are constantly peeping in spite of the social gulf which keeps us from visiting either Mars or Venus. It is not easy to put ourselves back into the fifteenth century and limit ourselves as those men were limited. I found it an aid to my comprehension of Columbus, this chance which sent me sailing over the very route of his great voyage. It is not, even now, a frequented route. The bold Spanish and Portuguese navigators of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries are no longer found upon it. The trade of the Indies has passed into other hands, and this is not the road from England to the West Indies or to America. 260 COLUMBUS AND COLUMBIA, Thus you may still sail for weeks in these seas without ever meeting a ship. Leaving Madeira or the Canaries, you may even reach those western lands he reached without having seen or felt any other sign or incident except pre- cisely such as were noted by him. DEATH WAS COLUMBUS FRIEND. OsKAR Ferdinand Pksciiei., a noted German geographer. Born at Dresden, March 17, 1826; died, August 31, 1875. Death saved Columbus the infliction of a blow which he probably would have felt more than Bobadilla's fetters. He was allow-ed to carry to the grave the glorious illusion that Cuba was a province of the Chinese Empire, that His- paniola was the Island Zipangu, and that only a narrow strip of land, instead of a hemisphere covered by water, inter- vened between the Caribbean Sea and the Bay of Bengal. The discoverer of America died without suspecting that he had found a new continent. He regarded the distance between Spain and Jamaica as a third part of the circum- ference of the globe, and announced, '' The earth is by no means as large as is popularly supposed." The extension of the world by a new continent had no place in his conceptions, and the greatness of his achieve- ment would have been lessened in his eyes if he had been permitted to discover a second vast ocean beyond that which he had traversed, for he would have seen that he had but half accomplished his object, the connection of Europe with the East. PETRARCH S TRIIiUTE. Francesco Petrarch, Italian poet. Born at Arezzo, in Tuscany, July 20, 1304; died at Arquu, near Padua, July 19, 1374. The daylight hastening with winged steps, Perchance to gladden the expectant eyes Of far-off nations in a world remote. COLUMBUS. 261 COLUMBUS A VOLUMINOUS WRITER. Barnet Phillips, in Harpeys Weekly, June 25, 1892, on "The Columbus P^estivalat Genoa." It can not be questioned but that Christopher Columbus was a voluminous writer. Mr. John Winsor, who has made careful researches, says that " ninety-seven distinct pieces of writing by the hand of Columbus either exist or are known to have existed. Of such, wliether memoirs, relations, or letters, sixty-four are preserved in their entirety." Colum- bus seems to have written all his letters in Spanish. Genoa is fortunate in possessing a number of authentic letters, and these are preserved in a marble custodia, surmounted by a head of Columbus. In the pillar which forms the pedestal there is a bronze door, and the precious Colum- bus documents have been placed there. HIS LIFE WAS A PATH OF THORNS. Robert Pollok, a Scottish poet of some note. Born at Muirhouse, Renfrewshire, 1798; died near Southampton, September, 1827. Oh, who can tell what days, what nights, he spent, Of tideles.s, waveless, sailless, shoreless woe! And who can tell how many glorious once To him, of brilliant promise full— wasted. And pined, and vanished from the earth! UNWEPT, UNHONORED, AND UNSUNG. W. F. PooLE, LI. D.. Librarian of the Newberry Library, Chicago. From "Christopher Columbus," published in the Z'/a/ for April, 1892. Published by A. C. McClurg & Co. It had been well for the reputation of Columbus if he had died in 1493, when he returned from his first voyage. He had found a pathway to a land beyond the western ocean; and although he had no conception of what he had discovered, it was the most important event in the history 262 COLUMBUS AND COLUMBIA. of the fifteenth century. There was nothing left for him to do to increase his renown. A coat-of-arms had been assigned him, and he rode on horseback through the streets of Barcelona, with the King on one side of him and Prince Juan on the other. His enormous claims for honors and emoluments had been granted. His first letter of Febru- ary, 1493, printed in several languages, had been read in the courts of Europe with wonder and amazement. " What delicious food for an ingenious mind!" wrote Peter Martyr. In England, it was termed '"a thing more divine than human." No other man ever rose to such a pinnacle of fame so suddenly; and no other man from such a height ever dropped out of sight so quickly. His three later voy- ages were miserable failures; a pitiful record of misfortunes, blunders, cruelties, moral delinquencies, quarrels, and impotent complainings. They added nothing to the fund of human knowledge, or to his own. On the fourth voyage he was groping about to find the River Ganges, the great Khan of China, and the earthly paradise. His two subse- quent years of disappointment and sickness and poverty were wretchedness personified. Other and more compe- tent men took up the work of discovery, and in thirteen years after the finding of a western route to India had been announced, the name and personality of Columbus had almost passed from the memory of men. He died at Valladolid, May 20, 1506; and outside of a small circle of relatives, his body was committed to the earth with as little notice and ceremony as that of an unknown beggar on its way to the potter's field. Yet the Spanish court was in the town at the time. Peter Martyr was there, writing long letters of news and gossip; and in five that are still extant there is no mention of the sickness and death of Columbus. Four weeks later an official document had the brief men- tion that "the Admiral is dead." Two Italian authors, COLUMBUS. 363 making, one and two years later, some corrections pertain- ing to his early voyages, had not heard of his death. NEW STAMPS FOR WORLD S FAIR YEAR. From the New York Commercial Advertiser. Third Assistant Postmaster-General Hazen is preparing the designs for a set of " Jubilee" stamps, to be issued by the Postofifice Department in honor of the quadri-centennial. That is, he is getting together material which will suggest to him the most appropriate subjects to be illustrated on these stamps. He has called on the Bureau of American Republics for some of the Columbian pictures with which it is overflowing, and he recently took a big portfolio of them down into the country to examine at his leisure. One of the scenes to be illustrated, undoubtedly, will be the landing of Columbus. The Convent of La Rabida, where Columbus is supposed to have been housed just before his departure from Spain on his voyage of discovery, will probably be the chief figure of another. The head of Columbus will decorate one of the stamps — probably the popular 2-cent stamp. Gen. Hazen resents the sug- gestion that the 5 -cent, or foreign, stamp be made the most ornate in the collection. He thinks that the Ameri- can public is entitled to the exclusive enjoyment of the most beautiful of the new stamps. Besides, the stamps will be of chief value to the Expo- sition, as they advertise it among the people of America. The Jubilee stamps will be one of the best advertisements the World's Fair will have. It would not be unfair if the Postofifice Department should demand that the managers of the World's Fair pay the additional expense of getting out the new issue. But the stamp collectors will save the department the necessity of doing that. 264 COLUMBUS AND COLUMBIA. It may be that the issue of the current stamps will not be suspended when the Jubilee stamps come in; but it is altogether likely that the issue will be suspended for a year, and that at the end of that time the dies and plates for the Jubilee stamps will be destroyed and the old dies and plates will be brought out and delivered to the contractor again. These dies and plates are always subject to the order of the Postmaster-general. He can call for them at any time, and the contractor must deliver them into his charge. While they are in use they are under the constant super- vision of a government agent, and the contractor is held responsible for any plate that might be made from his dies and for any stamps that might be printed surreptitiously from such plates. An odd.ty in the new series will be the absence of the faces of Washington and Franklin. The first stamps issued by the Postoffice Department were the 5 and 10 cent stamps of 1847. One of these bore the head of Washing- ton and the other that of Franklin. From that day to this these heads have appeared on some two of the stamps of the United States. In the Jubilee issue they will be miss- ing, unless Mr. Wanamaker or Mr. Hazen changes the present plan. It is intended now that only one portrait shall appear on any of the stamps, and that one will be of Columbus. It will take some time to prepare the designs for the new stamps, after the selection of the subjects, but Gen. Hazen expects to have them on sale the ist of January next. The subjects will be sent to the American Bank Note Company, which will prepare the designs and submit them for approval. When they are approved, the dies will be prepared and proofs sent to the department. Five engravings were made before an acceptable portrait of Gen. COLUMKUS. 265 Grant was obtained for use on the current 5-cent stamp. Gen. Grant, by the wa}-, was the only hving American whose portrait during his Ufetime was under consideration in getting up stamp designs. THE CHARACTER OF COLUMBUS. William Hickling Prescott, an eminent American historian. Born at Salem, Mass., May 4, 1796; died January 2S, 1859. From " Ferdinand and Isabella." There are some men in whom rare virtues have been closely allied, if not to positive vice, to degrading weakness. Columbus' character presented no such humiliating incon- gruity. Whether we contemplate it in its public or private relations, in all its features it wears the same noble aspect. It was in perfect harmony with the grandeur of his plans and their results, more stupendous than those which heaven has permitted any other mortal to achieve. FROM PALOS TO BARCELONA HIS TRIUMPH. The bells sent forth a joyous peal in honor of his arrival; but the Admiral was too desirous of presenting himself before the sovereigns to protract his stay long at Palos. His progress through Seville was an ovation. It was the middle of April before Columbus reached Barcelona. The nobility and cavaliers in attendance on the court, together with the authorities of the city, came to the gates to receive him, and escorted him to the royal presence. Ferdinand and Isabella were seated with their son. Prince John, under a superb canopy of state, awaiting his arrival. On his approach they rose from their seats, and, extend- ing their hands to him to salute, caused him to be seated before them. These were unprecedented marks of conde- scension to a person of Columbus' rank in the haughty and ceremonious court of Castille. It was, indeed, the proudest 266 COLUMBUS AND COLUMBIA. moment in the life of Columbus. He had fully estab- lished the truth of his long-contested theory, in the face of argument, sophistry, sneer, skepticism, and contempt. After a brief interval the sovereigns requested from Columbus a recital of his adventures; and when he had done so, the King and Queen, together with all present, prostrated themselves on their knees in grateful thanksgiv- ings, while the solemn strains of the Te Deum were poured forth by the choir of the royal chapel, as in commemoration of some glorious victory. — Ibid. THE CLAIM OF THE NORSEMEN. From an editorial in Public Opinion, Washington. Modern historians are pretty generally agreed that America was actually first made known to the Eastern world by the indefatigable Norsemen. Yet, in spite of this fact, Columbus has been, and still continues to be, revered as the one man to whose genius and courage the discovery of the New World is due. Miss Brown, in her " Ice- landic Discoverers," justly says it should be altogether foreign to American institutions and ideas of liberty and honor to countenance longer the worship of a false idol. The author first proceeds to set forth the evidence upon which the claitns of the Norsemen rest. The author charges that the heads of the Roman Catholic church were early cognizant of this discovery of the Norsemen, but that they suppressed this information. The motives for this concealment are charged to their well-known reluctance to allow any credit to non-Catholic believers, under which head, at that time, the Norsemen were included. They preferred that the New World should first be made known to Southern Europe by adherents to the Roman Catholic faith. Most damaging evidence against COLUMBUS. 267 Columbus' having originated, unaided, the idea of a western world or route to India is furnished by the fact that he visited Iceland in person in the spring of 1477, when he must have heard rumors of the early voyages. He is known to have visited the harbor at Hvalfjord, on the south coast of Iceland, at a time when that harbor was most frequented, and also at the same time when Bishop Magnus is known to have been there. They must have met, and, as they had means of communicating through the Latin language, would naturally have spoken of these distant countries. We have no hint of the object of this visit of Columbus, for he scrupulously avoids sub- sequent mention of it; but the author pleases to consider' it as a secret mission, instigated by the Church for the pur- pose of obtaining all available information concerning the Norse discoveries. Certain it is that soon after his return to Spain we find him petitioning the King and Queen for a grant of ships and men to further the enterprise; and he was willing to wait for more than fourteen years before he obtained them. His extravagant demands of the King and Queen concerning the rights, titles, and percentage of all derived from the countries " he was about to discover," can hardly be viewed in any other light than that of positive knowledge concerning their existence. PULCI S PROPHECY. LuiGi PuLCi, an Italian poet. Born at Florence in 1431; died about 1487. Men shall descry another hemisphere. Since to one common center all things tend; So earth, by curious mystery divine. Well balanced hangs amid the starry spheres. At our antipodes are cities, states. And thronged empires ne'er divined of yore. 268 COLUMBUS AND COLUMBIA. CHRISTOPHER, THE CHRIST-BEARER. George Payne Quackenbos, an American teacher and educational writer. Born in New York, 1826; died December 24, 1881. Full of religious enthusiasm, he regarded this voyage to the western seas as his peculiar mission, and himself — as his name, Christopher, imports — the appointed Christ- bearer, or gospel-bearer, to the natives of the new lands he felt that he was destined to discover. COLUMBUS DAY. The 12th of October next well deserves general observance by the people of the United States. It should be made a national holiday, as marking the 400th birthday of our country; for, taking everything into consideration that bears upon the discovery of America, we may as well begin our reckoning from the Columbus advent to these shores in 1492. It is a matter of satisfaction that the observance of "Columbus Day," as proposed, will tend to bring out to clearer light the character and career of the great discov- erer. We shall have in mind his strong individuality, his faith, energy, and steadfastness of purpose, while all the more wonderful will his undertaking appear as we bring into the foreground the conditions and limitations which were about him 400 years ago, when he sailed forth on unknown seas. PLEADING WITH KINGS FOR A NEW WORLD. The Rev. jNIyron Reed, a celebrated American clergyman of the pres- ent day. Here is Columbus. Somehow I think he is more of a man while he is begging for ships and a crew, when he is in mid-ocean sailing to discover America, than when he found it. COLUMBUS. 369 LAST DAYS OF THE VOYAGE. The last days of the voyage of Columbus were lonesome days. He had to depend on his own vision. I do not know what he had been — probably a buccaneer. We know that he was to be a trader in slaves. But in spite of what he had been and was to become, once he was great. — Ibid. COLUMBUS DAY. The Rhode Island World's Fair Bulletin. This is a significant date. It marks the 400th birthday of our country. It is an anniversary deserving of com- memoration for many reasons. Especially does it assume importance in connection with the World's Fair, to be held in Chicago next year, and for which such extensive prepa- rations are now going forward. "Discovery Day," October 21, 1892, will have recogni- tion in an official and impressive manner by appropriate services in the city where the Exposition is to be held. The dedication of the Government buildings, the formal inauguration of the grand enterprise now awakening so much attention throughout the civilized world, will take place on that suggestive anniversary. The anniversary claims a more general observance, however, and we are glad to note the movement to cele- brate the day by the public schools throughout the land. Such a plan, originally proposed by the ^^'orld's Congress Auxiliary Committee, has been commended by the National Convention of Superintendents of Education, and by lead- ing educators, and a special committee has been appointed to arrange for a " National Columbian Public School Cele- bration " on the date named. This committee will prepare programmes adapted to the use of schools of all grades, indicating appropriate songs, recitations, etc., thus provid- 370 COLUMBUS AND COLUMBIA. ing that the children and youth of the land may observe this day in like manner to a considerable extent. Of course it will depend on the local feeling and interest how much is done. School committees, teachers, parents, can lend a hand to the movement and make it grandly suc- cessful according to its possibilities. Rightly observed, the 2 1 St of next October may be made to strike the key- note of the Exposition, while it shall broaden and deepen historical and patriotic incentives in the minds of the youth of the republic. COLUMBUS A THEORETICAL CIRCUMNAVIGATOR. John Clark Ridpath, LL. D., an American author and educator. Born in Putnam County, Indiana, April 26, 1840. From " His- tory of United States," 1S74. Sir John Mandeville had declared in the very first English book that ever was written (A. I). 1356) that the world is a sphere, and that it was both possible and practi- cable for a man to sail around the world and return to the place of starting; but neither Sir John himself nor any other seaman of his times was bold enough to undertake so hazardous an enterprise. Columbus was, no doubt, the first practical believer in the theory of circumnavigation, and although he never sailed around the world himself, he demonstrated the possibility of doing so. The great mistake with Columbus and others who shared his opinions was not concerning the figure of the earth, but in regard to its size. He believed the world to be no more than 10,000 or 12,000 miles in circumference. He there- fore confidently expected tliat after sailing about 3.000 miles to the westward he should arrive at the East Indies, and to do that was the one great purpose of his life. C0LUMPU5. 87X AN IMPORTANT FIND OF MSS. Juan F. Riano. " Review of Continental Literature," July, 1891, to July, 1S92. From " The Athenaiiin " (England), July 2, 1892. The excitement about Columbus has rather been height- ened by the accidental discovery of three large holograph volumes, in quarto, of Fr. Bartolome de Las Casas, the Bishop of Chiapa, who, as is well known, accompanied the navigator in his fourth voyage to the West Indies. The volumes were deposited by Las Casas in San Gregorio de Valladolid, where he passed the last years of his life in retirement. There they remained until 1836, when, owing to the suppression of the monastic orders, the books of the convent were dispersed, and the volumes of the Apostle of the Indies, as he is still called, fell into the hands of a col- lector of the name of Acosta, from whom a grandson named Arcos inherited them. Though written in the bishop's own hand, they are not of great value, as they only contain his well-known " Historia Apologetica de las Indias," of which no fewer than three different copies, dating from the sixteenth century, are to be found here at Madrid, and the whole was published some years ago in the "Documentos In^ditos para la Historia de Espafia." The enthusiasm for Columbus and his companions has not in the least damped the ardor of my countrymen for every sort of information respecting their former colonies in America or their possessions in the Indian Archipelago and on the northern coast of Africa. Respecting the former I may mention the second volume of the " Historia del Nuevo Mundo," by Cobo, 1645; the third and fourth volume of the " Origen de los Indios del Peru, Mexico, Santa Fe y Chile," by Diego Andres Rocha; " De las Gen- tes del Peru," forming part of the " Historia Apologetica," by Bartolome de las Casas, though not found in his three holograph volumes recently discovered. 272 COLUMBUS AND COLUMBIA. CHILDREN OF THE SUN. William Robertson (usually styled Principal Robertson), a celebrated Scottish historian. Born at Bosthwick, Mid-Lothian, September 19, 1721; died June, 1793. Columbus was the first European who set foot in the New World which he had discovered. He landed in a rich dress, and with a naked sword in his hand. His men fol- lowed, and, kneeling down, they all kissed the ground which they had long desired to see. They next erected a crucifix, and prostrating themselves before it returned thanks to God for conducting their voyage to such a happy issue. The Spaniards while thus employed were surrounded by many of the natives, who gazed in silent admiration upon actions which they could not comprehend, and of which they could not foresee the consequences. The dress of the Spaniards, the whiteness of their skins, their beards, their arms, appeared strange and surprising. The vast machines in which the Spaniards had traversed the ocean, that seemed to move upon the water with wings, and uttered a dreadful sound, resembling thunder, accompanied with lightning and smoke, struck the natives with such terror that they began to respect their new guests as a superior order of beings, and concluded that they were children of the sun, who had descended to visit the earth. To all the kingdoms of Europe, Christopher Columbus, by an effort of genius and of intrepidity the boldest and most successful that is recorded in the annals of mankind, added a new world. — Ibid. THE BRONZE DOOR AT WASHINGTON. This is the main central door of the Capitol at Wash- ington, D. C, and on it is a pictured history of events i ¥WBm m M' THE COLUMBUS MONUMENT, Paseo de la Reforma, City of Mexico. Sculptor, M. Cordier. (See page 234.) COLUMBUS. 273 connected with the life of Columbus and the discovery of America. The door weighs 20,000 pounds; is seventeen feet high and nine feet wide; it is folding or double, and stands sunk back inside of a bronze casing, which projects about a foot forward from the leaves or valves. On this casing are four figures at the top and bottom, representing Asia, Africa, Europe, and America. A border, emblematic of conquest and navigation, runs along the casing between them. The door has eight panels besides the semicircular one at the top. In each panel is a picture in alto-relievo. It was designed by Randolph Rogers, an American, and modeled by him in Rome, in 1858; and was cast by F. Von Muller, at Munich, 1861. The story the door tells is the history of Columbus and the discovery of America. The panel containing the earliest event in the life of the discoverer is the lowest one on the south side, and repre- sents "Columbus undergoing an examination before the Council of Salamanca." The panel above it contains " Columbus' departure from the Convent of Santa Maria de la R^bida," near Palos. He is just setting out to visit the Spanish court. The one above it is his " audience at the court of Ferdi- nand and Isabella." The ne.xt panel is the top one of this half of the door, and represents the "starting of Columbus from Palos on his first voyage." The transom panel occupies the semicircular sweep over the whole door. The extended picture here is the "first landing of the Spaniards at San Salvador." The top panel on the other leaf of the door represents the " first encounter of the discoverers with the natives." In it one of the sailors is seen bringing an Indian girl on 18 •2(4: COLUMIiUS AND COLUMBIA. his shoulders a priscnier. The transaction aroused the stern indignation of Columbus. The panel ne.xt below this one has in it "the triumphal entry of Columbus into Barcelona." The panel below this represents a very different scene, and is '" Columbus in chains." In the next and last panel is the " death scene." Colum- bus lies in bed; the last rites of the Catholic church have been administered; friends and attendants are around him; and a priest holds up a crucifix for him to kiss, and upon it bids him fix his dying eyes. On the door, on the sides and between the panels, are sixteen small statues, set in niches, of eminent contempo- raries of Columbus. Their names are marked on the door, and beginning at the bottom, on the side from which we started in numbering the panels, we find the figure in the lowest niche is Juan Perez de la Marchena, prior of La Rilbida; then above him is Hernando Cortez; and again, standing over him, is Alonzo de Ojeda. Amerigo Vespucci occupies the next niche on the door. Then, opposite in line, across the door, standing in two niches, side by side, are Cardinal Mendoza and Pope Alex- ander VI. Then below them stand Ferdinand and Isabella, King and Queen of Spain; beneath them stands the Lady Beatrice Enriquezde Bobadilla; beside her is Charles VIII., King of France. The first figure of the lowest pair on the door is Henry VII. of England; beside him stands John II., King of Portugal. Then, in the same line with them, across the panel, is Alonzo Pinzon. In the niche above Alonzo Pinzon stands Bartolomeo Columbus, the brother of the great navigator. COLUMBUS. 275 Then comes Vasco Nunez de Balboa, and in the niche above, again at the top of the door, stands the figure of Francisco Pizarro, the conqueror of Peru. Between the panels and at top and bottom of the valves of the door are ten projecting heads. Those between the panels are historians who have written Columbus' voyages from his own time down to the present day, ending with Washington Irving and William Hickling Prescott. The two heads at the tops of the valves are female heads, while the two next the floor possess Indian charac- teristics. Above, over the transom arch, looks down, over all, the serene grand head of Columbus. Beneath it, the American eagle spreads out his widely extended wings. Mr. Rogers^'' received $8,000 for his models, and Mr. Von Mtiller was paid $17,000 in gold for casting the door. To a large portion of this latter sum must be added the high premium on exchange which ruled during the war, the cost of storage and transportation, and the expense of the erection of the door in the Capitol after its arrival. These items would, added together*, far exceed $30,000 in the then national currency. SANTA MARIA RABIDA, THE CONVENT RABIDA. Samuel Rogers, the English banker-poet. Born near London, July 30, 1763; died December, 1855. Translated from a Castilian MS., and printed as an introduction to his poem, "The Voyage of Columbus." It is stated that he spent $50,000 in the illustrations of this volume of his poems. In Riibida's monastic fane I can not ask, and ask in vain; *' Randolph Rogers, an American sculptor of eminence, was born in Waterloo, N. Y., in 1825; died at Rome, in the same State, aged sixty-seven, January 14, 1892. 276 COLUMBUS AND COLUMBIA. The language of Castille I speak, 'Mid many an Arab, many a Greek, Old in the days of Charlemagne, When minstrel-music wandered round, And science, waking, blessed the sound. No earthly thought has here a place, The cowl let down on every face; Yet here, in consecrated dust. Here would I sleep, if sleep I must. From Genoa, when Columbus came (At once her glory and her shame), 'Twas here he caught the holy flame; 'T was here the generous vow he made; His banners on the altar laid. Here, tempest-worn and desolate, A pilot journeying through the wild Stopped to solicit at the gate A pittance for his child. 'Twas here, unknowing and unknown. He stood upon the threshold stone. But hope was his, a faith sublime, That triumphs over place and time; And here, his mighty labor done, And here, his course of glory run, Awhile as more than man he stood, So large the debt of gratitude. Who the great secret of the deep possessed, And, issuing through the portals of the West, Fearless, resolved, with every sail unfurled, Planted his standard on the unknown world. —Ibid. COLUMBUS. 377 GENOA. Thy brave mariners, They had fought so often by thy side, Staining the mountain billows. —Ibid. LAUNCHED OUT INTO THE DEEP. William Russell, American author and educationist. Born in Scot- land, 1798; died, 1S73. From his " Modern History." Transcendent genius and superlative courage experience almost equal difficulty in carrying their designs into execu- tion when they depend on the assistance of others. Columbus possessed both — he exerted both; and the con- currence of other heads and other hearts was necessary to give success to either; he had indolence and cowardice to encounter, as well as ignorance and prejudice. He had formerly been ridiculed as a visionary, he was now pitied as a desperado. The Portuguese navigators, in accom- plishing their first discoveries, had always some reference to the coast; cape had pointed them to cape; but Colum- bus, with no landmark but the heavens, nor any guide but the compass, boldly launched into the ocean, without know- ing what shore should receive him or where he could find rest for the sole of his foot. STATUARY AT SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA. One of the principal features in the State capitol at Sac- ramento is a beautiful and artistic group of statuary, cut from a solid block of purest white marble. It represents Columbus pleading the cause of his project before Queen Isabella of Spain. The Spanish sovereign is seated; at her left hand kneels the First Admiral, while an attendant page 278 COLUMBUS AND COLUMBIA. on the right watches with wonder the nobly generous action of the Queen. Columbus, with a globe in his hand, contends that the world is round, and pleads for assistance to fit out an expedition to discover the New World. The ro3'al reply is, " I will assume the undertaking for my own crown of Castille, and am ready to pledge my jewels to defray its expense, if the funds in the treasury shall be found inadequate." The group, which is said to be a mas- terpiece of work, the only piece of its kind in the United States, was executed in Florence, Italy, by Larkin G. Mead of Vermont, an American artist of known reputa- tion. Costing $60,000, it was presented to the State of California, in 1883, by Mr. D. O. Mills A MONUMENT NEAR SALAMANCA. At Valcuebo, a country farm once belonging to the Dominicans of Salamanca, Columbus was entertained by Diego de Deza — prior of the great Dominican convent of San Esteban and professor of theology at Salamanca — while the Junta [committee] of Spanish ecclesiastics con- sidered his prospects. His residence there was a peaceful oasis in the stormy life of the great discoverer. The little grange still stands at a distance of about three miles west of Salamanca, and the country people have a tradition that on the crest of a small hill near the house, now called " Teso de Colon" (i. e., Columbus' Peak), the future discoverer used to pass long hours conferring with his visitors or reading in solitude. The present owner, Don Martin de Solis, has erected a monument on this hill, consisting of a stone pyramid surmounted by a globe; it commemorates the spot where the storm-tossed hero enjoyed a brief interval of peace and rest. COLUMBUS. 279 HONOR TO WHOM HONOR IS DUE. Manoel Francisco de Barros y Souza, Viscount Santarem, a noted Portuguese diplomatist and writer. Born at Lisbon, 1790; died, 1S56. If Columbus was not the first to discover America, he was, at least, the man who r^'discovered it, and in a posi- tive and definite shape communicated the knowledge of it. For, if he verified what the Egyptian priest indicated to Solon, the Athenian, as is related by Plato in the Timoeus respecting the Island of Atlantis; if he realized the hypoth- esis of Actian; if he accomplished the prophecy of Seneca in the Medea; if he demonstrated that the story of the mysterious Carthaginian vessel, related by Aristotle and Theophrastus, was not a dream; if he established by deeds that there was nothing visionary in what St. Gregory pointed at in one of his letters to St. Clement; if, in a word, Columbus proved by his discovery the existence of the land which Madoc had visited before him, as Hakluyt and Powell pretended; and ascertained for a certainty that which for the ancients had always been so uncertain, prob- lematical, and mysterious — his glory becomes only the more splendid, and more an object to command admiration. THE SANTIAGO BUST. At Santiago, Chili, a marble bust of Columbus is to be found, with a face modeled after the De Bry portrait, an illustration of which latter appears in these pages. The bust has a Dutch cap and garments. THE ST. LOUIS STATUE. In the city of St. Louis, Mo., a statue of Columbus has been erected as the gift of Mr. Henry D. Shaw. It con- sists of a heroic-sized figure of Columbus in gilt bronze, 380 COLUMBUS AND COLUMBIA. upon a granite pedestal, which has four bronze basso relievos of the principal events in his career. The face of the statue follows the Genoa model, and the statue was cast at Munich. SOUTHERN AMERICA S TRIBUTE. At Lima, Peru, a fine group of statuary was erected in 1850, representing Columbus in the act of raising an Indian girl from the ground. Upon the front of the marble ped- estal is the simple dedication: "A Cristoval Colon" (To Christopher Columbus), and upon the other three faces are appropriate nautical designs. THE'STATIJE'IN BOSTON. In addition to the' lasigi statu e,- Boston boasts of one of the most artistic .statues to Columbus, and will, shortly possess a third. "The First Inspiration of the Boy Colum- bus" is a beautiful example of the work of Signer G. Mon- teverde, a celebrated Italian sculptor. It was made in Rome, in 187 1, and, winning the first prize of a gold medal at Parma, in that year, was presented to the city of Boston by Mr. A. P. Chamberlain of Concord, Mass. It represents Columbus as a youth, seated upon the capstan of a vessel, with an open book in his hand, his foot carelessly swinging in an iron ring. In addition to this statue, a I'cplica of the Old Isabella statue (described on page 171, ante), is, it is understood, to be presented to the city. STATUE AT GENOA. In the Red Palace, Genoa, a statue of Columbus has been erected representing him standing on the deck of the Santa Maria, behind a padre with a cross. The pedestal of the statue is ornamented with prows of caravels, and on each COLUMUUS. 281 side a mythological figure represents Discovery and Industry. THE STATUE AT PALOS. Now in course of erection to commemorate the discovery, and under the auspices of the Spanish government, is a noble statue at Palos, Spain. It consists of a fluted column of the Corinthian order of architecture, capped by a crown, supporting an orb, surmounted by a cross. The orb bears two bands, one about its equator and the other represent- ing the zodiac. On the column are the names of the Pin- zon brothers, Martin and Vicente Yanez; and under the prows of the caravels, "Colon," with a list of the persons who accompanied him. The column rests upon a prismatic support, from which protrude four prows, and the pedestal of the whole is in the shape of a tomb, with an Egyptian- like appearance. THE STATUE IN PHILADELPHIA. In Fairmount Park, Philadelphia, Pa., there is placed a statue of Columbus, which, originally exhibited at the Cen- tennial Exposition, at Philadelphia, in 1876, was presented to the Centennial Commission by the combined Italian societies of Philadelphia. THE STEBBINS STATUE. In Central Park, New York City, is located an artistic statue, the gift of Mrs. Marshall O. Roberts, and the work of Miss Emma Stebbins. The figure of Columbus is seven feet high, and represents him as a sailor with a mantle thrown over his shoulder. The face is copied from accepted portraits of the Giovian type. 282 COLUMBUS AND COLUMBIA. SANTO DOMINGOAN CANNON. When Columbus was made a prisoner in Santo Domingo, the governor, who arrested him, feared there might be an attempt at rescue, so he trained a big gun on the entrance of the citadel, or castle, in which Columbus was confined. That cannon laid in the same place until Mr. Ober, a World's Fair representative, recovered it, and, with the per- mission of the Governor of Santo Domingo, brought it to the United States. It is on exhibition at the World's Fair. THE SANTA MARIA CARAVEL. A very novel feature of the historical exhibit at the Chi- cago World's Columbian Exposition will be a fac-simile reproduction of the little ship Santa Maria, in which Columbus sailed. Lieut. McCarty Little of the United States navy was detailed to go to Spain to superintend the construction of the ship by the Spanish government at the Carraca yard at Cadiz. The keel was laid on March i, 1892. The caravel's dimensions are: Length at keel, 62 feet 4 inches; length between perpendiculars, 75 feet 5 inches; beam, 22 feet; draught, 14 feet 8 inches. Great care is being taken with details. It is manned by Spanish sailors in the costume of the time of Columbus, and is rigged as Columbus rigged his ship. There are on board copies of the charts that Columbus used, and fac-similes of his nauti- cal instruments. The crew are of the same number, and included in it are an Englishman and an Irishman, for it is a well-founded historical fact that William Harris, an Englishman, and Arthur Lake, an Irishman, were both members of Columbus' crew. In fact, the reproduction is as exact as possible in every detail. The little ship, in company with her sisters, the Pinta and the Nina, which were reproduced by American capital, will make its first COLUMBUS. 283 appearance at the naval review in New York, where the trio will be saluted by the great cruisers and war-ships of modern invention from all of the navies of the world. They will then be presented by the government of Spain to the President of the United States, and towed through the lakes to Chicago, being moored at the Exposition. It is proposed that the vessels be taken to Washington after the Exposition, and there anchored in the park of the White House. The Spanish committee having the matter in charge have made careful examinations of all obtainable data to insure that the vessels shall be, in every detail which can be definitely determined, exact copies of the original Columbus vessels. In connection with this subject, La Ilustracion Nacional of Madrid, to whom we are indebted for our first-page illustration, says: " A great deal of data of very varied character has been obtained, but nothing that would give the exact details sought, because, doubtless, the vessels of that time varied greatly, not only in the form of their hulls, but also in their rigging, as will be seen by an examination of the engrav- ings and paintings of the fifteenth century; and as there was no ship that could bear the generic name of 'caravel,' great confusion was caused when the attempt was made to state, with a scientific certainty, what the caravels were. The word ' caravel ' comes from the Italian cara bella, and with this etymology it is safe to suppose that the name was applied to those vessels on account of the grace and beauty of their form, and finally was applied to the light vessels which went ahead of the ships as dispatch boats. Never- theless, we think we have very authentic data, perhaps all that is reliable, in the letter of Juan de la Cosa, Christo- pher Columbus' pilot. Juan de la Cosa used many illus- trations, and with his important hydrographic letter, which 2