The Life of Columbus / From His Own Letters and Journals and Other Documents of His Time

SLANDS-HOPES AND FEARS OF THE VOYAGE-

s, but he was not dissatisfied. He says in the beginning of his journal, "I armed three vessels very fit for such an enterprise." He had left Gre

o insignificant a

pain it will not be

nto river; and Huel

ken it

cannot approach the shore. The traveler finds, however, the island of Saltes, quite outside the bay, much as Columbus left it. It i

eeded with a strong breeze till sunset sixty miles, or fifteen leagues south, a

successful ever made, began on Friday, the day which is said to be so

amous city of "Quisay," or "Quinsay," in Asia, Toscanelli, his learned correspondent, supposed the distance to be less than one thousand leagues we

e, and that this quieted his apprehensions. From the ninth of August to the second of September, nearly four weeks were spent by the Pinta and her crew at the Grand Canary island, and she was repaired. She proved afterwards a serviceable vessel, the fastest of the fleet. At the Canaries they heard stories of lands seen to the westward, to which Columbus refers in his journal. On the si

, three thousand one hundred and forty nautical miles, or three thousand six hundred and twenty statute miles.(*) It would not be considered a very long voyage for small vessels now. In general the course was west. Sometimes,

s from Santa Cruz,

this result, as ki

er, of the Uni

would have been quite near the mouth of the Yang-tse-Kiang river, in China, which was what Columbus was seeking. Fo

n twenty-five leagues from land; but it must be remembered, that, outside of the Mediterranean, few of the sailors had ever been farther themselves. On the sixteenth they began to meet "large patches of weeds, very green, which appeared to ha

ized fact. But this observation at so critical a time first disclosed it. The crew were naturally alarmed. Here was evidence that, in the great ocean, common laws were not to be relied upon. But they had great respect for C

westward. Columbus kept the crab, saying that such were never found eighty leagues from land. In fact this poor crab was at least nine hundred and seventy leagues from the Bahamas,

did not dare let them know how far they were from home. The private journal, therefore, has such entries as this, "Sailed more than fifty-five leagues

with them," "the sea smooth as a river, and the finest air in the world. Saw a whale, an indication of land, as th

ey would never return to Spain. They had been in what are known as the trade winds. On the twenty-third the smoother water gave pla

both vessels sang "Glory to God in the highest," and the crew of the little Nina were sure that the bank was land. On this occasion they changed from a western course to the southwest. But alas! the land was a fog-bank and the reward never came to Martin Pinzon. On the twenty-sixth, again "the sea

ite gull was the only visitor. Wednesday they had pardelas and great quantities of seaweed. Columbus began to be sure that they had passed "the islands" and were nearin

fired a gun and hoisted her flag in token that she saw land. But again they were disappointed. Columbus gave directions to keep close order at sunrise and sunset. The next day he did change the course to west southwest, following flights of birds from the north which went in that di

says simply: "The seamen complained of the length of the voyage. They did not wish to go any farther. The Admiral did his best to renew their courage, and reminded them of the profits which would come to them. He added, boldly, that no compl

lve leagues-at times, during the night, fifteen miles an hour-if the log can be relied upon. Found the sea like the river at Seville, thanks to God. The air was as soft as that of Seville in April, a

of the despair of the crews was embroidered on the narrative after the event, and by people who wanted to improve the story. It was, perhaps, borrowed fro

sometimes spoken of as the day of discovery, and sometimes the

hey see a branch of a tree, a stake and a smaller stake, which they draw in, and which appears to have been cut with iron, and a piece of cane. Besides these, there is a land shrub and a little bit of b

course at sunset. They make twelve miles each hour; up

the ship at ten at night really saw a light, but it was so shut in by darkness that he did not like to say that it was a sign of land. Still he called up Pedro Gutierrez, the king's chamberlain, and said to him that there seemed to be a

sign of land. Therefore when they said the 'Salve,' which all the sailors are used to say and sing in their fashion, the Admiral ordered them to look out well from the forecastle, and he would give at

land appeared, from which the

ding at full in its little details, for it contrasts curiously with the embellished accou

e time ago, and that I saw that fire on the land.'" And so indeed it happened that Thursday, at two hours after midnight, the Admiral called a gentleman named Escobedos, officer of the wardrobe of the kin

igo of Triana, on the eleventh day of October, 1492." Nothi

m through his life. It was the annual payment of 10,000 maravedis. A maravedi was then a little l

culations of the value of any number of maravedis are very confusi