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Copyright, 1903, 
 
 BY 
 
 C. A. M. Tabek. 
 
THE FLEET. 
 
THE VOYAGE 
 
 OF COLUMBUS. 
 
 By C. a. M. TABER. 
 
 BOSTON : 
 PRESS OF DAVID CLAPP & SON 
 1903. 
 
"iHt LlERAKY OF 
 CONGRESS. 
 
 Two Copies Recoivec 
 
 OCT 9 1903 
 
 Copyright Entiy 
 
 Iht/kr ^^ f<f 0^ 
 
 CLASS ft- XXc. No 
 
 d <] ^ 
 
 1 
 
 COPY a. 
 
 
 ['.•!'•,* r/i'^.HK.VVORLDtBFB'ORE COLUMBUS MADE HIS VOYAGE. 
 
EXPLANATORY REMARKS ON THE ''VOYAGE OF 
 COLUMBUS." 
 
 The poem on the Voyage of Coliimbvis was written after making 
 many searcliing cruises while in the whaling service on that part of 
 the Atlantic sailed over by Columbus while performing his famous 
 voyage. 
 
 in 1900 I rewrote the poem, and have made a few later additions. 
 Meanwhile after reading the writings of recent authors, and com- 
 mentators, I And while viewing the matter from a marine standpoint, 
 that however well informed they may l)e on the literary side of the 
 subject a portion of them have shown a disposition to depreciate 
 Columl)us, and that his discovery of tiie Western Continent was ob- 
 tained from information gained from other persons instead of Ins 
 own researches and superior comprehensiveness. 
 
 For such reasons this explanatory introduction seems necessary to 
 correct such erroneous impressions as may have been formed con- 
 cerning the causes wdiich led to the discovery of the New World. J'or 
 instance, it has been suggested that had Columbus sailed on his voy- 
 age of discovery from England instead of a southern port in Spain 
 he Avould have discovered land in a more northern latitude than the 
 Bahama Islands, and so have changed the conditions that now pre- 
 vail in North America. 
 
 This supposition shows how^ little marine knowledge of the eastern 
 Atlantic Columbus was supposed to have acquired after sailing over 
 and studying for years that part of the ocean extending from Iceland 
 to the coast of Guinea. Yet, we believe that Columbus after his long 
 Atlantic experience would never have made the attempt to force his 
 vessels westward against the stormy and adverse winds of the high 
 latitudes when he knew well that a gentle easterly wind was blowing 
 in the latitude of the Canary Islands. Besides, it appears from the 
 courses he steered while on his western search, that he expected lo 
 make his discoveries near or in the tropical zone. 
 
 In 1901 Henry Vignaud, " Secretary of U. S. Embassy, Paris," pub- 
 lished a book in France entitled " Toscanelli and Columbus," which 
 caused a wide discussion in regard to the genuineness of the letter 
 said to have been written with an accompanying chart by Toscanelli 
 the famous Florentine astronomer, and sent to the Portuguese Fernam 
 Martins, Canon at Lisbon, and later on to Christopher Columbus. 
 
This letter has caused many people interested in American history 
 to l)elieve that the information it contained inspired the Genoese sailor 
 ■with a desire to explore the western Atlantic for undiscovered lands. 
 Mr. Vignaud in his book endeavors to show tliat the famous docu- 
 ments ascribed to Toscanelli were fabrications, and tliat Columbus 
 was not inspired by them to search the Avestern Atlantic to mal^enew 
 discoveries. Still he writes, *'That Columbus had information ap- 
 pears to me to be certain." Therefore we are led to consider how 
 Columbus ,i»-ained information of such positive character as to cause 
 liim to become a solicitor through anxious years to obtain the ships 
 necessary to prove to the world that land existed beyond the western 
 ocean. 
 
 Mr. Vignaud has seemed to favor the plausibleness of the old pilot 
 story, which relates how Columbus obtained certain knowledge of the 
 existence and position of unknown lands. Still writers about Colum- 
 bus have generally regarded it as an ill-natured Action invented to 
 deprive him of the glory, of his discoveries; but tiiey have always 
 neglected to refute its assertions by pointing out the impossibility of 
 obtaining the requirements necessary for its support. 
 
 The pilot story may seem plausible when not subjected to a marine 
 inspection. But its requirements are too broad for a person to en- 
 tertain who is familiar with the prevailing Avinds of the Atlantic. 
 
 The story relates how a merchant ship in 148-i while striving to make 
 a passage from Spain to Flanders encountered a strong easterly gale 
 which blew with such unabated fury for twenty-nine days that the 
 ship was driven westward from her course across the Atlantic Ocean 
 where refuge was found among strange islands peopled l)y savages. 
 The ship at length in great distress gained the Island Madeira where 
 Columbus gave succor to the ship's crew consisting of four dying sail- 
 ors. The captain, who was the last to die, out of gratitude to his host, 
 gave Columbus a chart showing the position of the strange islands. 
 
 So it seems that the requirements to render the story plausible con- 
 sist in the possibility of an easterly gale blowing with unabated fury 
 for twenty-nine days across the Atlantic Ocean in the latitudes of 
 Europe. 
 
 The easterly gales that blow with sufficient force to drive a ship 
 from her course in that region are cyclonic storms which move over 
 the Atlantic from the wesf towards the east while circulating around 
 a storm center. Therefore the northern quadrant of the storm is the 
 only area to afford a furious easterly gale, which necessarily is of 
 short duration and extent, and so fails in the requirements which the 
 pilot story demands. It may be suggested that the trade winds may 
 have proved of sufficient force to drive a vessel westward over to the 
 West Indies Islands against the endeavors of the crew to prevent it. 
 But it happens that that section of the tradewinds in case it was pos- 
 sible for them to accomplish such a feat are over a thousand miles dis- 
 tant from the track of a vessel bound from Spain to Flanders. There- 
 fore when the marine difficulties which destroy the plausii)ility of the 
 pilot story are considered, it seems reasonable to believe that Colum- 
 Ims after examining the drift that gathered on and around the sea- 
 shores of Madeira and Azores had sufficient sagacity to conclude that 
 undiscovered lauds could be found beyond the western ocean. 
 
In order to show why we suppose that the man who was to discover 
 the western continent was capable of coming to sucli a conchision, we 
 will refer to the time when he had arrived in Portua:al in Uli. At 
 that date according to his biographers he had undergone an extensive 
 marine experience on the Mediterranean Seas, and had also been era- 
 ployed on the eastern Atlautic ; and it is reported that his voyages of 
 a later date extended from Iceland to the coast of Guinea. Meanwhile 
 he was preparing for his future success as a navigator and explorer 
 by reading the works of Ptolemy and Marinus, and also the travels 
 of Marco Polo, and was interested in the writings of Toscanelli the 
 famous Florentine astronomer. Thus through information acquired 
 from such sources, and from his marine experience, he believed the 
 world to be a sphere. 
 
 The information that could be obtained at that time from the writ- 
 ings of celebrated cosmographers seems to have been open to all stu- 
 dents eapable of being interested in such matter, yet it failed to im- 
 press them so deeply as it did Columbus who gave the snljject earnest 
 consideration. 
 
 In Portugal he married the daughter of an Italian named Palestrello 
 who had distinguished himself as a navigator in the Portuguese sei*- 
 vice ; and was the first governor of Porto Santo, one of the Madeira 
 Islands. Columbus became a resident on the Island, and employed 
 his time in making maps and charts, while he had the use of the pa- 
 pers of his father-in-law. During this time considerable drift was 
 seen in the sea around Poi'to Santo after protracted westerly gales. 
 The brother-in-law of Columbus had seen great reeds capable of hold- 
 ing four quarts of wine between joint and joint; and there were re- 
 ports of more important discoveries of drift from the Azores Archi- 
 pelago where Columbus made sevei'al voyages. The settlers of these 
 remote western islands l\ad noticed considerable drift around their 
 shores, and besides the fragments of worm-eaten trees, a canoe had 
 drifted ashore at Flores bearing the dead bodies of two men, Avhose 
 very broad faces differed in aspect from Europeans. 
 
 Such information was of special interest to Columbus whose curi- 
 osity had already been excited by the drift that had attracted notice 
 in the region of the Madeiras; and for the reason of his being ac- 
 quainted with the prevailing winds and ocean currents of that part 
 of the Atlantic, he concluded after a prolonged examination that the 
 drift around the Azores was a production of undiscovered western 
 land. For it seems certain that such important information added to 
 the acquirements of the great navigator's earlier researches must have 
 convinced a man of his comprehension that undiscovered land existed 
 beyond the western ocean. The drift that Columbus saw was not 
 abundant but it was significant to the observant mariner ; and strange 
 as it may seem, the best preserved wood found among the scanty 
 western ocean drift was of tropical growth, for the reason that the 
 bamboo and some of the smaller reeds which we now know were cur- 
 rented into the Atlantic by the Gulf Stream from tropical seas, were 
 the only wood that could be driven so far eastward as the Azores by 
 the prevailing winds and ocean currents without being greatly injured 
 by the gnawing sea worms. The hollowness of this species of flora 
 and the stringy toughness and arrangement of its fiber causes it to be 
 
rejecter] by the Avorms and barnacles; ■\vhile other kinds of driftwood 
 are nearly all destroyed before reaching the longitudes of the eastern 
 Atlantic. So it was left to the scanty tropical flora to furnish Colum- 
 bus with the most conyincing proof that undiscovered land could be 
 fonncl beyond the ocean to the south-west. Moreover the tropical 
 ch:u-acter of the drift of the Azores and Madeiras was one of the 
 reasons why Columb\is made his search for western lands in the lati- 
 tudes bordering on tlie tropical zone; for after vainly searchiug the 
 middle Atlantic for islands reported by mistaken navigators, he direc- 
 ted his course more southward, and while steering this southwesterly 
 course a drifting reed gave Columbus the most encouraging informa- 
 tion that the fleet was in the vicinity of land. 
 
 The convincing proofs of undiscovered western lands which Colum- 
 bus obtained from drift was a secret which he considered of great 
 value, through Avhich, in his estimation would lead to wealth, power, 
 and fame. Still he must have acquainted his couflding friends of his 
 evidencial couvincement, which encouraged them while keeping his 
 secret to increase their efibrts towards providing the ships for his 
 adventurous voyage. The causes which delayed the discovery of the 
 western continent until a comparatively late date in the history of 
 Europe, is wortliy of more considei'ation than Avriters have yet seen 
 flt to give it, especially when we consider nature's methods of dispos- 
 ing of the immense quantities of forest growth that was launched into 
 the Atlantic from undiscovered western lands in the days of Columbus, 
 and also many centuries previous to his discoveries. It is now well 
 known that the prevailing winds and ocean currents were favorable 
 during such times for sweeping the floating wood from American 
 shores eastward over the Atlantic. Besides, the wood set adrift so 
 abundantly on the briny ocean would be preserved and lightly floated 
 while crossing the sea. But witli all the seeming advantages the drift- 
 wood failed to reach the shores of Europe in sufficient quantity to at- 
 tract much attention from people living near the sea. Under such con- 
 ditions the question is. What became of tlie drift so abundantly floated 
 to sea from the American shores? The only seafarers who have made 
 searching voyages on that part of the Atlantic were American whale- 
 men, who for over a century cruised over its waters in search of whales. 
 But they saw nothing in the drift that required much notice except at 
 times during light winds or calm weather a boat would be sent to a 
 drifting log to secure the rtsh tliat gathered around it to feed on bar- 
 nacles which were found adhering thickly to the floating wood, where 
 after a few weeks lodgment seem to make considerable growth to- 
 wards maturity. 
 
 Meanwhile on examination the interior of the log was always found 
 to be honeycombed by the gnawing tootli of the sea worm. In this 
 way the infested wood was soon destroyed or sunk in the sea by the 
 shell-clad l)arnacle before reaching the eastern Atlantic. But it hap- 
 pened at times that the bark of a drifting tree would partly protect it 
 from the Avorms and barnacles, so it would be able to reach the longi- 
 tude of the Azores. TIius it seems that had it not been for the busy 
 tooth of the sea worm in connection with the sinking weight of the 
 shell-clad barnacle, the immense forest growth of eastern North Am- 
 erica which was floated down the great rivers by the spring freshets 
 
into the Atlantic, tlie western beaches of Europe would have been 
 loaded with driftwood and the waters of the North Atlantic so thickly 
 strewed with floating debris, the finding of America would have been 
 brought about hundreds of years before Columbus made his great dis- 
 coveries. 
 
 In addition to the explanations given, we will call attention to the 
 unsurpassed opportunities which the sea that surrounds the Azores 
 affords the observing navigator to prove the spherical form of the 
 earth through the curvature of the ocean. This interesting sliowing 
 can be seen to advantage from the vessel while sailing towards the 
 high islands during the occasional clearness of the atmosphere of that 
 region. The tapering peak of Pico with an altitude of nearly seven 
 thousand feet can plainly be seen from an approaching ship with less 
 than one-tenth of the mountain appearing aljove the horzion. So the 
 observer while sailing towards it sees the distant island gradually as- 
 suming a greater height and base as the distance decreases. With 
 such obvious facts confronting Columbus while sailing the seas of this 
 mountainous archipelago, he must have seen that the views advanced 
 by cosmographers in regard to the spherical form of the earth Avere 
 true. 
 
 "With this impression in mind the great discoverer being unable to 
 ascertain the superior size of the globe, probably supposed that the 
 lands that he had discovered were a part of the remote territorial 
 regions of Asia, but on his third voyage he thought that he had dis- 
 covered a new continent. 
 
 June, 1903. 
 
Ubc Dosage of Columbus. 
 
 While looking o'er the journals of the past, 
 
 We turn where navigation first obtains 
 
 Its high position on the rolls of fame. 
 
 The earth's vast size and shape were then unknown. 
 
 The distant seas were shunned. No searching mind 
 
 Had dared to wander far, and raise the veil 
 
 Which ignorance had drawn to bound its fears. 
 
 Men, ever loath to leave the beaten track, 
 
 Would not go into certain trouble far 
 
 To find a wilderness to lose themselves. 
 
 Where all the evils superstition saw 
 
 And real dangers strove against their lives. 
 
 The Old World seemed sufficient for their wants : 
 
 It had both land and sea, — an inland sea 
 
 Enclosed by sunny shores ; and pleasant lands 
 
 Were sloped with vales where rivers seaward run. 
 
 So man could safely launch his fated craft 
 
 And learn to sail and fish the world-wide sea. 
 
 And seek the traffic of the distant lands. 
 
 Mid direful storms and war for wealth and fame. 
 
10 
 
 But when adventurers went far abroad, 
 Then loomed the barriers by nature laid. 
 The east was stale to the exploring mind : 
 Its ancient empires, with their time-worn towns 
 And toilsome journeying through dreary lands, 
 Gave small inducement to new enterprise ; 
 While on the south a torrid desert spread. 
 
 
 
 
 
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 Which sunk all hope for empire, ease, or gain. 
 
 The north was drear and poor and cruel cold : 
 
 The wild Atlantic from the far west rolled 
 
 Its fearful waves, forever driving off 
 
 All who should venture to explore its waste. 
 
 Thus commerce centred on the inland sea. 
 
 Begirt by mountain lands where gods were throned. 
 
 Who ruled the elements for good or harm. 
 
 As told in legends of the olden times. 
 
 The learning of the world was there content 
 
 To build its temples, pyramids, and towns. 
 
 And sail in its small way the inland seas. 
 
 Thus mind was bound. All efforts to explore 
 
 Had failed to find a more inviting land 
 
 Or pleasant sea where man could safely sail. 
 
 So all beyond remained a dire expanse, 
 
 Excitinsf fear and dread of being: lost. 
 
11 
 
 But, while thus cruising near the old confines, 
 Man's strong imagination passed the bounds. 
 In sighting distant islands called the Blessed, 
 The fancied Eden of creation's morn. 
 Which formed celestial visions for his thought, 
 And proved his longing for a larger world. 
 The risky Northman, venturous to sail. 
 Had passed the limits of the Iceland seas 
 And found a vine-clad land far in the west. 
 The northern seas, ice-bound and dreadful cold. 
 Repelled the seamen of a milder clime. 
 The Northman, with the seal and northern whale, 
 
 And bear and walrus, warmer regions shunned. 
 His hardy nature chose the Iceland shores : 
 'Mid frozen mountain steeps he made his home. 
 And let his grand discoveries be lost. 
 
 E^z &tuiim at Columliug for Ijfs Fogage. 
 
 So years rolled on without a change of bounds ; 
 Bnt in the humdrum of this ancient life 
 
12 
 
 A man appeared, whose mind had strength to range 
 
 And sum the navigation of the world. 
 
 From olden ports this man Columbus sailed, 
 
 To follow, it would seem, the common routes 
 
 Of former sailors ; thus to be content. 
 
 As thousands were before him all their lives, — 
 
 Content to be a copy, and no more, 
 
 Like many now who drag the wake of time 
 
 For everything they furnish for their minds, 
 
 To hinder all good progress of mankind, 
 
 While science points toward a wiser course. 
 
 But, while Columbus cruised old inland seas, 
 
 His strong ambition longed for wider space. 
 
 His eager mind was stored with legends old. 
 
 Of ancient Eden somewhere on the earth. 
 
 His thoughts conceived new routes to Cathay's shores, 
 
 While perseverance led him on to search 
 
 For something more than yet the world had found. 
 
 For this he sought the ocean's wider scope. 
 
 The great Atlantic, with its larger waves. 
 
 Then seemed to him to promise all he craved. 
 
 On its rough main he found a fitting sphere 
 
 To learn how far its navigators ranged 
 
 While seeking rumored isles beyond the sea. 
 
 The more he learned, more strong conviction grew 
 
 That other lands lay in the distant west. 
 
 This he would prove ; but strong Atlantic waves 
 
 And western gales his ardent hopes assailed. 
 
 He knew it would be vain to try to beat 
 
 Far into that rough sea with man's distrust 
 
 And fearful ignorance. The world was blind : 
 
 No other mind could see where he could see. 
 
13 
 
 So none had faith to search the rugged main. 
 
 Thus pondered he upon the lands beyond, 
 
 That seemed so hopelessly beyond his reach. 
 
 But when to southern seas his course was laid, 
 
 To far Canary or more southern isles, 
 
 He found soft eastern winds so constant blew 
 
 They cheered his heart ; for with them he could sail 
 
 His western course where fancied islands lay. 
 
 And western gales which swept the northern seas 
 
 Would waft him back safe to his eastern home, 
 
 With wealth and tidings of new western shores, 
 
 Which he so longed to show to eastern minds. 
 
 The tall Azores, with clouded mountain peaks, 
 
 So far out on the ocean's mystic space. 
 
 With high Madeira, and Canaries grand, 
 
 To him were lofty props which raised the screen 
 
 That bound the fears and ignorance of men. 
 
 And raised his hopes of further western lands. 
 
 Columbus made his home on these far isles, 
 
 To learn yet more of wild Atlantic waves. 
 
 He studied well all things adrift at sea 
 
 Which had escaped the sea-worm's gnawing tooth. 
 
 Which worked so constant, all unknown to man, 
 
 And thus destroyed the driftwood ever launched 
 
 From distant lands, through all the ancient years, 
 
 Which fain would strew the Old World's western coast 
 
 And hint to thought of places where they grew. 
 
 Columbus spied what nature would conceal : 
 
 And when he saw great reeds of tropic growth 
 
 That worms and barnacles could not destroy 
 
 Come drifting from the distant western seas. 
 
 He felt he knew the course that he should steer 
 
14 
 
 To find the tropic lands where such reeds grew. 
 
 So wormy driftwood and gigantic reeds 
 
 Were in his eager search a valued prize 
 
 More precious than the coral or the pearl. 
 
 He also studied stars and tides and gales ; 
 
 And, while the distance sunk tall ships and lands, 
 
 He saw the constant curve of ocean's field. 
 And, when the earth's round shadow darkly hid 
 The full orbed moon, he saw a truth revealed. 
 His prying genius weighed the land and sea 
 With reason's scale, to prove what he surmised. 
 He cruised afar to Northmen's rugged isles 
 With an inquiring mind and daring heart. 
 And learned the story of their western land. 
 His reason saw it was no idle tale. 
 But seemed a space wide open to the west. 
 Where his keen eyes could pierce the mystic veil 
 And see a land no other mind could see. 
 This strengthened hope with firmer confidence ; 
 And so, 'mid trades and zephyrs, oft he planned 
 His route to western lands and safe return. 
 For this he drew his charts and shaped his mind ; 
 For this through anxious years he constant strove. 
 
15 
 
 The mandate of our Teacher unto man, 
 To go o'er all the world God's truth to tell, 
 Columbus thought was one of Heaven's laws, 
 Which mingled with his hopes of power and fame, 
 And gave him heart to ponder ocean's space. 
 And wander o'er the lands for weary years. 
 Soliciting the help of prince and lord ; 
 But they lacked faith, and saw no chance for gain. 
 
 ^tjfeentxtres in|ic]^ befel tijc Jamous Fogager. 
 
 At length his story came to worthy ears, — 
 A q\ieen, who ruled to spread the Christian cause. 
 For this her heart was brave to do her part. 
 Thus, in the world's most famous enterprise. 
 
16 
 
 Brave woman's love of duty took the risk 
 
 Man's cold and cautious judgment would not take. 
 
 And so Columbus gained his long-sought fleet, 
 
 Three little vessels to sail o'er the sea, — 
 
 An unknown sea, a fearful ocean waste, 
 
 Which all the world had shunned in ages past. 
 
 His fleet was manned by crews fraught with distrust, 
 
 For they knew little of his studied plans. 
 
 They left the port of Palos faint at heart. 
 
 With fervent blessings for their souls and voyage. 
 
 The western winds blew heavy on their sails. 
 
 And western waves their vessels roughly beat, 
 
 To thus drive back, as storms had ever done. 
 
 All who had sought far westward to explore. 
 
 But waves had genius now to meet their strength, 
 
 Which knew the breadth of these dire dashing seas ; 
 
 And so the fleet sailed bravely on its course 
 
 To southern clime, where counter-winds prevailed, 
 
 Until the fair Canary Isles were seen 
 
 So grandly rising 'gainst the southern sky, 
 
 Above the ocean where the east winds blow. 
 
 The main peak in their centre, Teneriffe, 
 
 Appeared above the misty, floating clouds, — 
 A fearful mountain, belching fire and smoke. 
 
17 
 
 Which scared the homesick crews, and then gave cheer 
 
 To know in fact the land had not all sunk 
 
 Below the world of waves, inspiring hope 
 
 While safe they anchored to refit their ships 
 
 And gain a resting on their daring voyage. 
 
 And then God help them ! They again set sail, 
 
 To plunge their vessels into unknown seas. 
 
 The east winds, first reluctant, at length pushed 
 
 Them bravely on ; but, when the tall isles sank 
 
 Below the outlines of the lonely waves. 
 
 Their spirits also sank, and fears appalled. 
 
 The last safe link was broken in their minds. 
 
 The dear old world their fathers ranged so long, 
 
 They left behind, to toss on unknown seas. 
 
 Day after day the east winds blew them on. 
 
 While ocean's waves ran constantly behind ; 
 
 And, when they overtook, with bowing heads 
 
 They placed their strong, broad shoulders underneath 
 
 The heavy transoms of the tardy fleet. 
 
 And pushed them onward, seeming to rejoice 
 
 To have the novel fleet sail o'er their seas, 
 
 So long a lonely, threat'ning unknown waste. 
 
 Thus sailed the searchers on their western course, — 
 
 The course of sun, moon, stars, clouds, winds and waves. 
 
 With hope they saw the star of empire gleam. 
 
 So potent since to shape man's western way ; 
 
 While watched Columbus from the high-pooped deck. 
 
 With astrolabe or sounding-line in hand. 
 
 Observing everything in sea and sky, 
 
 And noting down the changes they revealed. 
 
 The little petrel followed in their wake, 
 
 Devoid of fear, encouraging their minds, 
 
18 
 
 While gay Meduca, with their tiny sails, 
 
 Moved with the voyagers before the breeze ; 
 
 And as the ships sailed watchfully along, 
 
 The flying fish flew thick before their path, 
 
 And dolphins leaped to seize their fleeting prey. 
 
 At times huge whales with surging length rushed out, 
 
 While loud their spoutings roared to startled ears. 
 
 Swift porpoises oft played around the ships ; 
 
 And then the gulf weeds, twined in golden wreaths. 
 
 The strange sea strewed, and gave faint hearts new hope. 
 
 But they at length seemed false, yet played their part, 
 
 Alluring eager souls still further on. 
 
 Then they began to yield to fear and doubt, 
 
 Yet thought the weedy sea must have a shore. 
 
 The charted limits of the sea was passed 
 
 Where former navigators thought they saw 
 
 Strange islands in the cloudy distance loom. 
 
 So they sailed on, a creW of frighted souls, 
 
 Not knowing what to do, between their fears, — 
 
 A growing dread of being lost at sea 
 
 Or fearing to rebel against their chief. 
 
 But when their compass varied from the stars, 
 
 Another terror adding to their voyage, 
 
19 
 
 They felt rebellious. Nothing could be worse 
 
 Than sailing onward to a certain death. 
 
 Thus they were all at fault ; all signs had failed. 
 
 The anxious sailors, with their watchful eyes, 
 
 Day after day had seen vast islands rise 
 
 And hide the setting sun, high mountain lands 
 
 With misty steeps, and well-drawn shores and capes. 
 
 To fade away in darkness ere the morn. 
 
 Each hope had fled ; so life seemed now their all. 
 E'en full success would not belong to them, 
 But to their chief ; for they seemed only tools 
 In hands of wilfiil pride to build a name. 
 Yet busy winds and waves still pushed them on, 
 While their great captain's heart was sorely tried. 
 He could not yield the hopes of anxious years. 
 His sum of manhood, and his patron's faith, 
 His years of restless striving for that voyage ; 
 For he then felt himself, in that grand strife 
 Of yearning hope, a blind world's groping hand 
 Then reaching forth, to feel and prove its form. 
 Could he, the chief of that far-searching voyage, 
 Surrender all to grumbling coward fools ? 
 No, never while the winds and waves were fair ! 
 So strongly he opposed the rebel crew 
 With dauntless will, the mutiny was stayed. 
 The fear of death was not so great a force 
 
;0 
 
 As was Columbus in that trying hour. 
 
 Yet, while he steered his constant western course, 
 
 He told his well-laid plans, — how to the north 
 The western winds would surely blow them home. 
 
21 
 
 When full success should seek their certain aid. 
 The Captain in his search then shaped his way 
 More to the south to find the tropic lands 
 Where grew the giant reeds he saw adrift 
 While cruising near Madeira's sea-washed strand. 
 And then the gulls, true harbingers of land, 
 Gave them a new departure from their fears ; 
 Then came the land-birds from the hidden shore. 
 To cheer them on ; a reed and bush were passed. 
 Sure indications of the sought-for land. 
 And so they sailed with brave expectant hearts, 
 
 And, when their shining sunset path grew dim. 
 They furled their sails and sang their evening hymn 
 With more than common fervency and faith. 
 
 Columbus makes P?i0 @reat Bfgcobrro. 
 
 Then in the middle watch their captain saw 
 A gleam of light flare in the midnight dark ; 
 Then came perfumes of flowers borne on the breeze, 
 With certain warning of the longed-for land. 
 And, when the sun arose, a pleasant isle, 
 Adorned with groves and flowers and coral sands. 
 Was spread before their eyes. Then there was joy ! 
 
22 
 
 Their chief, whom they reviled while in their doubt, 
 Then seemed to them as heavenly inspired. 
 What must have been his feelings at that time, 
 Well knowing he had done a famous thing! 
 A fitting recompense for striving years 
 Of hope, so long delayed by doubting men. 
 Then, eager to explore this new-found isle, 
 The boats were manned to gain the gentle beach, 
 
 
 
 Where all the waves sang peaceful songs of praise. 
 And seemed to beckon while they neared the land, 
 Where soon amid the'gladsome scenery, 
 So sweet with fragrance from the blooming shore. 
 The sailors landed, giving thanks to God ; 
 While dusky natives of that pleasant clime 
 With pure simplicity, from Nature's wilds, 
 With awe and wonder saw the strangers come. 
 Regarding them as beings from the sun. 
 The grand and glorious heaven -of their souls, 
 Which saw all good derived from its bright source. 
 Yet little comprehending, when they saw 
 Possession taken in a formal way, 
 The fatal blow to Nature's simple life. 
 The mariners, so full of new-found joys. 
 Sailed in their eagerness from isle to isle, 
 
23 
 
 And often anchored by inviting shores'' 
 To seek the pleasures sunny isles afford. 
 
 
 The beauty of the tropic seas and lands 
 
 Increased their admiration every day, 
 
 While larger islands with their cloud strewed bights 
 
 Enhanced still further their new joys and pride, 
 
 Until amid the tides and coral roofs 
 
 The largest vessel of the fleet was wrecked. 
 
 So, when the anxious crews had to depend 
 
 On two small ships to finish their brave voyage, 
 
 They felt the time had come for their return, 
 
 With specimens and gold from their New World. 
 
24 
 
 They sailed for home with glad yet anxious hearts, 
 Detained at first by doldrums on their course. 
 Columbus shaped his long-planned northern route, 
 And gained the western winds and rugged seas 
 As he first saw them dashing years befcjre, 
 To hinder ships from sailing further west. 
 But his bright genius puts them to good use. 
 Their fearful, rugged strength fast hove him on 
 With awful force towards his eastern home. 
 
 They seemed possessed with vengeful rage to strike 
 The home-bound fleet, which had outwit their strength, 
 And found the distant lands they'd hid so long. 
 Both ships and crews, then weak and weather-worn, 
 
25 
 
 Could barely stand the pressure of the gale 
 
 Which culminated in a dreadful storm, 
 
 The most momentous that e'er swept the sea, 
 
 Dire threatening the clew to their new world. 
 
 The brave crews looked defiantly at death, 
 
 And would not yield to the destroying waves. 
 
 Their hearts were strong : their grand discovery 
 
 Nerved them to utmost human strength and skill. 
 
 Still, in distress, they called upon their saints. 
 
 And made their solemn vows of pilgrimage 
 
 To holy shrines, should they be spared to land. 
 
 Columbus, ever brave and practical. 
 
 Threw out his messages upon the deep, 
 
 In hopes the waves that threatened him with death 
 
 Might toss them onward to the eastern world. 
 
 But Fate declared that enterprise should win. 
 
 The sea smoothed down and then the lookout saw 
 
 The tall Azores rise high above the waves 
 
 Their crater-hollowed steeps, huge nature's bowls, — 
 
 No more the outposts of a pent-up world, — 
 
 But guiding lands, from which the searching crews 
 
 Could steer a certain course to Spanish shores. 
 
 (!Ef)e Va^^Qt ComplElcti anli its ©ranti ISesults. 
 And, when the ships arrived as their home port. 
 The sailors felt a joyfulness as great 
 As on the morning when they first beheld 
 The New World's isles appear above the sea. 
 For they were welcomed home with all the pomp 
 That Spanish pride and royalty could show ; 
 And, when excitement dulled, it gave them cheer 
 To live again amid familiar scenes. 
 
2(3 
 
 And there enjoy the home and friends they loved, 
 
 And be the heroes of a famous voyage 
 
 Which moved the spirit of ambitious men 
 
 To man their ships and cross the western sea. 
 
 And, when they found the New World rich in gold, 
 
 The best intentions of their minck were lost, 
 
 While gold and silver was the wealth they craved. 
 
 And in the wicked strife for power and pelf 
 
 The civilizing of the land was stayed 
 
 And aspirations checked for higher life 
 
 On this most favored ground of all the earth. 
 
 But in good time a wiser course prevailed. 
 
 While Christian teachers strove to spread their cause 
 
 And planted missions on the vast New World, 
 
 The cooler nations, seeing their good work. 
 
 Sent worthy men to settle western shores, 
 
 Who sought to rule and worship their own way 
 
 And gain a livelihood by honest toil. 
 
 This proved a grand success : the fearful wilds 
 
 Were cleared of harmful beasts and savage men ; 
 
 The wilderness was changed to fertile fields, 
 
 And homes of comfort spread out o'er the land. 
 
 The source of thriving cities, which show forth 
 
 The civilized advancement of our age, 
 
 So fraught with learning, wealth, and enterprise. 
 
 And thus the Old World mingles with the New, 
 
 And the uniting ever stronger-grows, 
 
 While blood and thought are blending into one. 
 
 So great Columbus came to gather up 
 
 The knowledge of the seamen of his time. 
 
 To work in unison with Nature's laws 
 
 And lead men forth in noble enterprise, 
 
27 
 
 To pass the fearful bounds by Nature laid, 
 And raise the veil which ignorance had drawn, 
 And show the land his searching genius saw, — 
 Yea, showing more than his great mind could sight ; 
 For through his means a continent was gained. 
 And Christian teachers, sent to new found lands 
 Extending wide, enlightened thought and skill, 
 So goodness may prevail and rule supreme ! 
 
 Columbus sailed from Palos, August 3, 1492. 
 
 Sailed from Canary Islands, September 6, 1492. 
 
 Saw Gulf weeds, September 16. On September 21, weeds plentiful, 
 
 Columbus discovered Bahama Islands, October 12, 1492. 
 
 Discovered Cuba, October 28, 1492. 
 
 Sailed on return voyage, January 16, 1493. 
 
 Arrived at Azores, February 18, 1493. 
 
 Anchored off Lisbon, March 4, 1493. 
 
 Arrived at Palos, March 15, 1493. 
 
Ube IWortb Htlantic Trrat)e*1imin&. 
 
 I come from the East, where wide deserts lie, 
 
 Impairing a part of creation. 
 I drift the hot sands 'neath African sky, 
 
 With drought parching all vegetation. 
 But soon this is changed. On leaving the land, 
 
 My strength with the ocean is married, 
 To work out the laws which Nature has planned. 
 
 So rain to the New World is carried. 
 
 While onward I sweep from hot desert glare, 
 
 To ruffle Atlantic's wide ocean. 
 The vapors I raise soon fill all the air, 
 
 While water and clouds are in motion. 
 Beneath the damp air, a thousand miles wide. 
 
 The waves follow with me in billions ; 
 The sea is made warm with my heat as I glide, 
 
 My breath wafting moisture to millions. 
 
29 
 
 Fair India's tall lands claim part of my freight 
 
 While making my long western travel ; 
 The waves as they roll keep pace with my gait, 
 
 Thus raising the great ocean's level. 
 The currents I cause to run off the seas, 
 
 Which in the wide gulf I am heaping. 
 Are" warming far lands the Arctic would freeze, — 
 
 Warmth gained from my tropic sea sweeping. 
 
 The vapors that rise from Pacific's main 
 
 Grow scanty while crossing the mountains. 
 So, when they arrive o'er the great western plain. 
 
 They fail to supply streams and fountains. 
 Thus through my support the rain clouds are rife. 
 
 And scatter broadcaet their rich treasure, 
 And fill the wide land with vigorous life 
 
 And supply all its wants with full measure. 
 
 While Mexico's slopes are drenched with my rains, 
 
 Far northward my vapors are spreading ; 
 For each southern breeze takes all that remains. 
 
 O'er wide northern states water shedding. 
 To keep off my clouds, no tall mountains rear, — 
 
 Far west are those sky-piercing stations : 
 So wide o'er the land my rain-storms can steer, — 
 
 A blessing to all generations. 
 
 The great western lakes, a continent's pride. 
 Are filled by the clouds of my making : 
 
 They sound forth my praise at Niagara's tide, 
 Whose roar sets the ground fairly shaking. 
 
30 
 
 For thousands of years this work I had done, 
 
 Yet man was no better nor wiser, 
 Until Colon thought a world could be won. 
 
 Long wished I for such a surmiser. 
 
 The great sailor took my track for his course. 
 
 How long I had sighed for the rover ! 
 I worked with a will his vessel to force 
 
 To the lands he so longed to discover. 
 My waves bore him on so fast that his crew 
 
 Were wrong in the distance of sailing. 
 His heart kept its cheer, so steady I blew, 
 
 My force through all dangers prevailing. 
 
 I drove him to land, — a land good to see, 
 
 The land of my whole consummation ; 
 So that the New World may give thanks to me 
 
 For aiding its civilization ; 
 For no other land on the face of the earth 
 
 Is Nature such forces employing. 
 Where freedom of man receives a new birth. 
 
 All rights and all comforts enjoying. 
 
 Now view the wide field this new country shows. 
 
 Long drained by the earth's longest river : 
 All o'er its broad slopes my action bestows 
 
 The wealth of the great and good Giver. 
 Where under the sun has labor such yield, 
 
 On land of such grand irrigation, 
 Designed, thank the Lord ! for freedom to wield. 
 
 The fairest and best in creation ! 
 
Weeds floating free 
 
 Far out to sea, 
 Your garlands wave in every quarter 
 To grace the ocean's waste of water. 
 
 Each billow heaves 
 
 Your slender leaves 
 With golden berries on the azure, — 
 To lonely voyagers' eyes a treasure. 
 
 No other plant 
 
 Has dared to haunt 
 The central waves of the Atlantic, 
 Where ocean monsters roam, gigantic. 
 
 Brave golden weed, 
 
 In time of need 
 You strewed the sailor's path to glory 
 So we are told in ancient story. 
 
 When all signs failed, 
 
 Columbus hailed 
 You as his hope and only cheerer. 
 In strength'ning faith that land drew nearer. 
 
32 
 
 No plant on land 
 Should twine the band 
 To crown the sailor's daring spirit, 
 While you of all this right inherit. 
 
 Long may you ride 
 
 The rugged tide, 
 And cheer the middle space of ocean. 
 While strong winds set the waves in motion. 
 
My life is broadcast as the waves 
 That moves upon the ocean's space ; 
 
 My greedy maw forever craves 
 For all the driftwood on its face. 
 
 Where are the great trees that float down 
 A thousand streams from forest hills ? 
 
 They surely do not rot or drown, 
 Nor yet their drift the ocean fills. 
 
 Where are the thousand yearly wrecks 
 The elements have cast away, 
 
 And driven life from off their decks, — 
 Where are they all, the wreckers say .-• 
 
 The slender gulf weeds floating free, 
 For whose destruction none combine, 
 
 Now strew the ocean's central sea, 
 Preserved by the Atlantic brine. 
 
 The salts of ocean would preserve 
 Its driftwood for a hundred years, 
 
 Did not my tooth so constant serve 
 To clear the track the brave ship steers. 
 
34 
 
 Though I may gnaw the good ship's keel, 
 Let no man curse my auger tooth 
 
 Or seek my doings to repeal 
 
 While I am working good, forsooth. 
 
 Through me alone the wide seas' foam 
 Is free from wrecks and floating wood : 
 
 I bore them like a honeycomb, 
 
 And thus keep clear the sailor's road. 
 
 Strong winds the Gulf Stream waters move 
 From New World shores with all their drift 
 
 Still, Europe's beaches ever prove 
 How little through my gnawings sift. 
 
 Thus through long years, from land to land, 
 Strong currents swept the ocean's field ; 
 
 Yet naught could float far from the strand : 
 Thus I the New World Ions: concealed. 
 
 But when Columbus made his home 
 
 Out on Atlantic isles afar, 
 He saw amid the waves and foam 
 
 My work on drifting tree and spar. 
 
 So through my busy working jaws, 
 The fate of nations has been changed ; 
 
 So curious are Nature's laws 
 
 Throughout their wide, exhaustless range. 
 
35 
 
 For ages Nature's forces lurk, 
 While toiling for a useful end, 
 
 So slow is man to note the work 
 
 On which his fates so much depend. 
 
 In every part of Nature's bounds 
 
 Vast hidden powers are working now ; 
 
 A universe of unknown grounds 
 Invites the mind's exploring prow. 
 
fiD S.81 
 

 
 
 
 
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