HMMMbMHMMU:^. CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. F A M O U S Voyagers and Explorers BY SARAH KNOWLES BOLTON AUTHOR OF "poor BOYS WHO BECAME FAMOUS," " GIRLS WHO BECAME FAMOUS,' "famous AMERICAN AUTHORS," "FAMOUS AMERICAN STATESMEN," "famous MEN OF SCIENCE," "FAMOUS EUROPEAN ARTISTS," "from heart AND NATURE" (POEMS), "FAMOUS H AUTHORS," " FAMOUS F STATESMEN," ETC., ETC. ENGLISH AUTHORS," " FAMOUS ENGLISH NEW YORK : 46 East 14TH Street. THOMAS Y. CROWELL & CO. BOSTON: 100 Purchase Street. Copyright, 1893, BY Thomas Y. Cuowell & Co. • •- • •• • *•. 5 • • • - • • • • <« • • • • • • - 4 • 4 • « ■ • • • • ■ •« 4 C # V c c r r r • ( * • *. c a c c • • ••• • r •••••• C. J PETERS & SON, Type-Setteks and Ei.ecteotytees, 145 High Stbbet, Boston. TO 0. E. BOLTON, MY HUSBAND, I Dedicate this Book. PREFACE. In this volume, for the most part, those explorers have been, chosen whose labors have been connected with North America. Columbus naturally comes first. Mar- co Polo's book doubtless influenced Columbus in his search for the route to India and Cathay. Magellan was the first to circumnavigate the globe. Sir Walter Raleigh, believing in the future of America, tried in vain to establish an English colony in the new world. Sir John Franklin, with many hardships, closed his pathetic and noble life in exploring our northern lati- tudes. The search for the North Pole has all the interest of a romance in the experience of Kane, Hall, Greely, Lockwood, and others. David Livingstone reveals much of Africa, and furnishes an example of true manhood and heroic purpose. Perry opened Japan to the world. Suffering and privation were the lot of most of these men, but by their courage and persever- ance they overcame great difficulties and accomplished important results for the benefit of mankind. s. K. B. V 447317 TABLE OF CONTENTS. PAGTi; CiinisTOPHEu Columbus , 1 Marco Polo 73 Ferdixaxd Magellan,, . 120 Sib Walter Kaleigh 154 Sir John Franklin, Dr. Kane, C. F. Hall, and others 235 David Livingstone 336 Matthew Calbraitii Peijry 412 General A. W. Greely and other Arctic Explorers, 442 Vll CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. MORE than four hundred years ago^ was born in Genoa, Italy, a boy who was destined to become famous the world over. Monuments to his memory are in very many of the great cities. Scores of books have been written about him, and now in 1893 the country which he discovered is doing him honor by the greatest exposition the world has ever seen. Dominico Colombo, a wool-comber, and his wife Susannah Fontanarossa, the daughter of a wool-weaver, lived in a simple home in Genoa. They had five chil- dren, — Christoforo ; Giovanni, who died young ; Barto- lomeo, called later Bartholomew, who never married ; Giacomo, called in Spain, Diego; and one sister, Bian- chinetta, who married a cheesemonger, Bavarello, and had one child. Susannah, the mother, appears to have had a little prop- erty, but Dominico was always unsuccessful, and died poor and in debt, his sons in his later years sending him as much money as they were able to spare. 1 Avitliors (lifler as to the year in which Christopher was born. Wash- in<;tou living', in his delightful life of Columbus, thinks about the year 1435, and .lolin Fiske, in his " Discovery of America," and several other historians, UKree with liinr, while Justin Wiiisor, in his life of Columbus, thinks with Hiirrisse, Mufioz, and others that he was jirohably born between Marcli 15, 1440, and Maroli V!U, 1417. Kniilio Castelar in the Centtiry for May-October, 18'J-', puts the date of birth at 14:j:) or 1431. 1 2 CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. The weavers had schools of their own iu Genoa ; and the young Christoplier learned at these the ordinary branches, — reading, writing, grammar, and arithmetic, with something of Latin and drawing. He seems to have been at the University of Pavia for a short time, where he studied geometry, geography, astronomy, and naviga- tion, returning to his father's house to help the family by wool-combing. The boy was eager for the sea, and at fourteen started out upon his life of adventure on the jSIediterranean, under a distant relative named Colombo. His first voyage of which we have an account, was in a naval expedition fitted out in 1459 by John of Anjou, with the aid of Genoa, against Naples, to recover it for his father, Duke Eene, Count of Provence. This warfare lasted four years, and was unsuccessful. Nearly forty years later Columbus wrote concerning this struggle to the Spanish monarchs : "King Rene (whom God has taken to himself) sent me to Tunis to capture the galley Fernandina. Arriving at the island of San Pedro in Sardinia, I learned that there were two ships and a Caracca with the galley, which so alarmed the crew that they resolved to proceed no far- ther, but to go to Marseilles for another vessel and a larger crew, before which, being unable to force their inclinations, I apparently yielded to their wish, and, having first changed the points of the compass, spread all sail (for it was evening), and at daybreak we were witliin the Cape of Carthagena, when all believed for a certainty that we were nearing Marseilles." If Columbus was born in 1435, he was at this time twenty-four ; a young man to be intrusted with such an enterprise. CHUISrOPHER COLUMBUS. 3 These early years must have been full of clanger and hardship. Piracy on the seas was common, and battles between the Italian republics almost constant. The young man learned to be fearless, to govern sailors well, and was full of the spirit of the age, — that of explo- ration and conquest. Like most other men who have come to renown, Columbus was an ardent seeker after knowledge. He read everything obtainable about navigation, astronomy, and the discoveries which had been made at that time. Portugal was showing herself foremost in all mari- time enterprises. This activity has been attributed, says Irving, to a romantic incident of the fourteenth century, in the discovery of the Madeira Islands. In the reign of Edward III. of England (1327-1378) Robert Machin ^ fell in love with a beautiful girl named Anne Dorset. She was of a proud family, which refused to allow her to marry Machin, who was arrested by order of the king, and she was obliged to marry a noble- man, who took her to his estate near Bristol. Maciiin and his friends determined to rescue her from her hated wifehood. One of his companions be- came a groom in the nobleman's household, ascertained that she still loved Robert, and planned with her an escape with him to France. Riding out one day with the pretended groom, she was taken to a boat, and conveyed to a vessel, in which the lovers put out to sea. They sailed along the coast past Cornwall, when a storm arose, and they were driven out of sight of land. For thirteen days they were tossed about on the ocean, 1 Enc. I?rit. says " Machim ; " Wiiisor and Fiske and Major, " Machin ; " Irving, " Macluun." 4 CUltlSTOPIIER COLUMBUS. and on the morning of tlie fourteenth day they came upon a beautiful island. The young wife, overcome by fear and remorse, had already become alarmingly ill. Machiu carried her to the island, where lie constructed a bower for her under a great tree, and brought her fruits and flowers. The crew stayed on the vessel to guard it till the party should return. A severe storm came up, and the ship was driven off the coast and disappeared. Anne now reproached herself as being the cause of all this disaster ; for three days she was speechless, dying with- out uttering a word. Machin was prostrated with grief and distress, that he had brought her to a lonely island, away from home and friends, to die. He died five days later, and at his own request was buried by her side at the foot of a rustic altar which he had erected under the great tree. His companions repaired the boat in Avhich they had come to shore, and started upon the great ocean, hoping, almost in vain, to reach England. They were tossed about by the winds, and finally dashed upon the rocks on the coast of Morocco, where they were put in prison by the Moors. Here they learned that their ship had shared the same fate. The English prisoners met in prison an experienced pilot, Juan de Morales, a Spaniard of Seville. He listened with the greatest interest to their story, and on his release communicated the circumstances to Prince Henry of Portugal. This prince was the son of John the First, surnamed the Avenger, and Philippa of Lancaster, sister of Henry IV. of England. After Prince Henry had helped his father in 1415 to conquer Ceuta opposite the rock of CUUISTOPUER COLUMBUS. 5 Gibraltar, and to drive the Moors into the mountains, he determined to give up war and devote himself to discov- ery, even though on account of his bravery he was asked by the Pope, Henry V. of England, John II. of Castile, and the Emperor Sigismund, to lead their armies. He made his home on the lonely promontory of Sagres, in the south-western part of Portugal, built an astronom- ical observatory, invited to his home the most learned men of the time in naval matters, and lived the life of a scholar. He spent all his fortune, and indeed became involved in debt, in fitting out expeditions to the coast of Africa, hoping to find a southern passage to the wealth of the Indies, and to convert the barbarians to Christianity. His motto was, "Talent de bien faire " (Desire to do well, or the talent to do well). Prince Henry's first success was the rediscovery of JVIadeira in 1418, where Eobert Machin and Anne were buried over seventy years before. The island of Porto Santo, near Madeira, of which we shall hear more by and by, was discovered about this time by Bartho- lomew Perestrelo, who placed a rabbit with her little ones on the island. Years afterward these had so multiplied that they had devoui*ed nearly every green thing on the island ; so much so, says Mr. Fiske, that Prince Henry's enemies, angered that he spent so much money in expe- ditions, declared that " God had evidently created those islands for beasts alone, not for men ! " Through the enterprise of Prince Henry, Cape Boja- dor, on the western coast of Africa, was doubled in 1434 by Gil Eannes. Heretofore it had been believed that if anybody ventured so near the torrid zone, he would never come back alive, on account of the dreadful heat and boisterous waves at that point. 6 CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. The coast was soon explored from Cape Blanco to Cape Verde. In 1460 Diego Gomez discovered the Cape Verde Islands, and two years later Piedro de Cintra reached Sierra Leone. In 1484 Diego Cam went as far as the mouth of the Congo, and the following year a thousand miles farther ; and while the Portuguese took back hun- dreds of negro slaves to be sold, they sent missionaries to teach the blacks the true faith ! Prince Henry had died Nov. 13, 1460, so that he did not live to see Africa circumnavigated by Bartholomew Diaz or Vasco da Gama. The then known world talked about these expeditions of Portugal ; therefore it was not strange that Columbus, thirty-five years old, should make his way to Lisbon, about the year 1470. His younger brother, Bartho- lomew, was already living in Lisbon, making, maps and globes with great skill, Columbus is described at that time as tall and of exceedingly fine figure, suave, yet dignified in manners, with fair complexion, eyes blue and full of expression, hair light, but at thirty white as snow He had the air of one born to be a leader, while he won friends by his frankness and cordiality. In Lisbon, Columbus attended services at the chapel of the Convent of All Saints. One of the ladies of rank, Avho either boarded at the monastery, or had some official connection with it, was so pleased with the evi- dent devotion of the young stranger, that she sought his acquaintance, and married him in 1473. She was his superior in position though without much fortune, — the daughter of the Bartholomew Perestrelo who. having discovered the island of Porto Santo, was made its governor by Prince Henry. Perestrelo had died sixteen years previously, leaving a widow, Isabella Moiliz, and CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. 7 an attractive daughter, Philippa, the bride of Columbus. Some historians think she was not a daughter, but a near relative. The newly wedded couple went to Porto Santo to live with the mother, who naturally gave Cohimbus all the charts, maps, and journals of his father-in-law. These he carefully studied, becoming familiar with the voyages made by the Portuguese. When he was not in service on tlie ocean, he earned money as before by making maps and charts, sending some funds to his impecunious father, and helping to educate his younger brother. His wife's sister had married Pedro Correo, a naviga- tor of some prominence, and the two men must have talked of possible discoveries with intense interest. Columbus, after much study, believed that there was land to the westward of Spain and Portugal. If the earth were a globe or sphere, then somewhere between Portugal and Asia it was natural to suppose that there was a large body of land. He had read in Aristotle, Seneca, and Pliny, that one might pass from Spain to India in a few days ; he had also read of wood and other articles floating from the westward to the islands, near the known continent, IMartin Vicenti, a pilot in the service of the King, of Portugal, had found a piece of carved wood four hundred and fifty leagues to the west of Cape St. Vincent. The inhabitants of the Azores had seen trunks of pine-trees cast upon their shores, and the bodies of two men un- like any known race. So deeply was Columbus impressed with the proba- bility of a western world, or rather that the eastern coast of Asia stretched far towards the west, that he wrote 8 CIIRISrOPllER COLUMliUS. a letter to the learned astronomer, Paolo del Pozzio dei Toscanelli of Florence, in 1474, asking for his opinion upon the snbject. The astronomer had already written a letter on the same matter to Alfonso V., King of Portu- gal, and copied this letter for Columbus, sending him also a chart showing what he believed to be the position of the Atlantic Ocean (called the Sea of Darkness), with Europe on the east, and Cathay (China) on the west. Toscanelli had read Marco Polo's book, and he wrote to Columbus concerning the wonderful Cathay where the great Khan lived, and where there was much gold and silver and spices, and a splendid island, Cipango (Japan), where "they cover the temples and palaces with solid gold." To reach these one must sail steadily west- ward. Toscanelli estimated the circumference of the earth at about the correct figure, but thought the distance from Lisbon to Quinsay (Hang-chow, China), westward, to be about six thousand five hundred miles, supposing that Asia covered nearly the whole Avidth of the Pacific Ocean. When Columbus had sailed about one-third of tlie way, thought Toscanelli, he would come to " Antilia," or the Seven Islands, where seven Spanish bishops, driven out of Spain when the Moors captured it, had built seven splendid cities. Below these he placed on his map the island of " St Brandon," Avhere a Scotch priest of that name had landed in the sixth century. None of these fabled islands was ever found. Columbus took this chart of Toscanelli's with him when he sailed for the New World. The aged astronomer had encouraged Colum- bus to persevere in a voyage " fraught with honor as it CnBISTOPIlER COLUMBUS. 9 must be, and inestimable gain, and most lofty fame among all Christian people. . . . When that voyage shall be accomplished, it will be a voyage to powerful kingdoms, and to cities and provinces most wealthy and noble, abounding in all things most desired by us." How literally has this come true, though Toscanelli saw only China in the distance ! He died in 1482, ten years before Columbus was able to make the long-desired voyage. Columbus, if he had not read it before, now obtained the book of Marco Polo, published in a Latin translation in 1485, a copy of which is now in the Biblioteca Colom- bina in Seville, with marginal notes believed to be in the handwriting of Columbus. He also read carefully, as the margin is nearly covered with his notes, "Imago Mundi," published in 1410 by Cardinal Pierre d'Ailly, ])ishop of Cambrai, or more generally known as Peter Alliacus. He copied largely from Koger Bacon, who had collated the writings of ancient authors to prove that the distance from Spain to Asia could not be very great. Columbus believed that to reach Japan he would need to sail onl}' about two thousand five hundred miles from the Canaries. Happy error ! for where would he have found men willing to undertake a journey of twelve thousand miles across an untried ocean ? Columbus was eager to make the voyage, but he was poor, comparatively unknown, and how could it be accomplished ? It is said that he sought aid for his enterprise from liis native land, Genoa, but it was not given. King Alfonso was engaged in a war with Spain, and therefore too busy to think of explorations. In 1481 Jdhu II., then twenty-five years old, came to 10 CUIUSTOFUER COLUMBUS. the throne of Portugal, and he had the same ambitions as his grand-uncle, Prince Henry. He knew of Marco Polo's account of Cathay, and lie longed to make Port- ugal more famous by her discoveries. He called men of science to his aid, the celebrated Martin Behaim and others, the latter having invented an improved astrolobe enabling seamen to find their distance from the equator by the altitude of the sun. Behaim was a friend of Columbus ; and, whether through his influence or not, the latter was encouraged to lay his westward scheme before John II. The king listened with attention, but feared the expense of fitting out the ships, as the African expeditions had already cost so much. Columbus, having great faith in his dis- covei'ies, asked for his family titles and rewards that the king was as yet unwilling to grant. The latter, however, referred the proposition to two distinguished cosmog- raphers, and to his confessor, the Bishop of Ceuta. The latter opposed the spending of more money in voyages, which he said "tended to distract the attention, drain the resources, and divide the power of the nation." The war in which the king was engaged with the Moors of Barbary was sufficient "employment for the active valor of the nation," the bishop said. The bishop was opposed by Don Pedro de Meneses, Count of Villa Real, who said that " although a soldier, he dared to prognos- ticate, with a voice and spirit as if from heaven, to whatever prince should achieve this enterprise, more happy success and durable renown than had ever been obtained by sovereign the most valorous and fortunate." King John could not bear to give up the enterprise entirely, as, if great achievements should be lost to Portugal, he would never forgive himself. An under- CIIRISTOPIIEE COLUMBUS. 11 handed measure was therefore adopted. The plans of Columbus for this proposed voj'age were laid before the king, and a caravel was privately sent over the route to see if some islands could not be discovered that might make the westward passage to Cathay probable. Storms arose, and the pilots, seeing only a broad and turbulent ocean, came back and reported this scheme visionary and absurd. Columbus soon learned of the deceit, and betook himself to Spain in 1485, taking with him his little son Diego, born in Porto Santo. He left him at Huelva, near Palos, with the youngest sister of his wife, who had married a man named Muliar. Authorities differ about all the early incidents of Columbus' life before he became noted; but this disposi- tion of the sou seems probable, and that he lived with her while his father for seven long years besought crowns in vain to aid liim in his grand discoveries. Portugal lost forever the glory she might have won. Columbus wrote later: "I Avent to make my offer to Portugal, whose king was more versed in discovery tliau any other. Tlie Lord bound uji his sight and all the senses, so tJiat in fourteen years I could not bring him to heed Avhat I said." His wife, witli one child or perhaps two, was necessarily left behind in Portugal, where she died soon after. Some historians think he deserted her, but this is scarcely pos- sible, as under such circumstances her sister would not have been willing to keep the child of Columbus for seven years, neither Avould his wife's relations have re- mained his friends, coming to see him in Portugal just after he had started on his fourth voyage, and probably many times previously. Columbus departed secretly from Portugal, it is sup- 12 CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. posed much in debt through commercial or nautical trans- actions, as years later King John invited him to return, assuring him that he would not be arrested on any mat- ters pending against him. For many months in Spain, Columbus probably sup- ported himself by selling maps and printed books, which Harrisse thinks contained calendars and astronomical predictions. Yet there was ever before him the one pur- pose of the westward voyage. He naturally made friends among distinguished people on account of his intelligence and charm of manner, and he used all these opportunities to further liis one object. In January, 1486, he seems to have entered the service of Ferdinand and Isabella, as his journal shows. About this time he made the acquaintance of Alonso de Quin- tanilla, the comptroller of the finances of Castile, and Avas a guest at his house at Cordova, and with Alexander Geraldini, the tutor of the royal children, and his brother Antonio, the papal nuncio. These friends, who became interested in the alert mind and far-reaching plans of the navigator, led to an acquaintance with Pedro Gonzales de Mendoza, Archbishop of Toledo and Grand Cardinal of Spain. He, of course, had great influence with the sovereigns, Ferdinand and Isabella, and helped to prepare their minds for a kindly reception of the projects of Co- lumbus. These monarchs were too busy conquering the Moors to give the plan much consideration ; but Columbus went before Ferdinand, and with the earnestness born of con- viction, explained his wishes. Ferdinand and Isabella ruled jointly over Aragon and Castile, but while their names were stamped together on the public coins, they had separate councils, aiui were CHRISTOPUER COLUMBUS. 13 often in separate parts of the country, governing their respective kingdoms. Ferdinand was of good physique, with cliestnut-colored hair, animated in countenance, quick of speech, and a tireless worker. Irving says he was ''cold, selfish, and artful. He was called the wise and prudent in Spain ; in Italy, the pious; in France and England, the ambitious and per- fidious. He certainly was one of the most subtle states- men, but one of the most thorough egotists, that ever sat upon a throne." Winsor says "his smiles and remorseless coldness were mixed as few could mix them even in those days. . . . He was enterprising in his actions, as the Moors and heretics found out. He did not extort money, he only extorted agonized confessions." Castelar says "he joined the strength of the lion to the instincts of the fox. Perchance in all history there has not been his equal in energy and craftiness. He was distrustful above all else ; ... ho scrupled little to resort to dissimulation, deceit, and, in case of neces- sity, crime." Isabella, Castelar, calls, "the foremost and most saintly queen of Christendom." Irving thinks Isabella "one of the purest and most beautiful characters in the pages of history. She avus well formed, of the middle size, with great dignity and gracefulness of deportment, and a mingled gravity and sweetness of demeanor. Her complexion was fair; her hair auburn, inclining to red ; her eyes were of a clear blue, with a benign expression, and there was a singular modesty in her countenance, gracing, as it did, a won- derful iiniiness of purpose and earnestness of spirit. Though strongly attached to her husband, and studious 14 CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. of his fame, yet she alwcays maintained her distinct riglits as an allied prince. She exceeded him in beauty, in per- sonal dignity, in acuteness of genius, and in grandeur of soul. . . . " She strenuously opposed the expulsion of the Jews and the establishment of the Inquisition, though, unfortu- nately for Spain, her repugnance was slowly vanquished by her confessor. She was always an advocate for clem- ency to the Moors, although she Avas the soul of the war against Granada. She considered that war essential to protect the Christian faith, and to relieve her subjects from fierce and formidable enemies. While all her pub- lic thoughts and acts were princely and august, her private habits were simple, frugal, and unostentatious. " In the intervals of state-business she assembled round her the ablest men in literature and science, and directed herself by their councils, in promoting letters and arts. Through her patronage Salamanca rose to that height which it assumed among the learned institutions of the age." Isabella was not less brave in war than she was statesmanlike in peace. Several complete suits of armor, which she wore in her campaigns, are preserved in the royal arsenal at Madrid. Ferdinand referred the proposed expedition of Colum- bus to Isabella's confessor, Fernando de Talavera, one of the most learned men of Spain, who in turn laid it before a junto of distinguished men, some of them from the University of Salamanca. The meeting was held in the convent of St. Stephen, where Columbus was entertained during the examination. It must have been a time of the greatest anxiety, yet brightened by hope. He stated the case with his usual dignity and firm belief. CHBISTOPHER COLUMBUS. 15 To the majority of the junto such a plan seemed sac- rilegious. Some quoted from the early theological Avriters : " Is there any one so foolish as to believe that there are antipodes with their feet opposite to ours ; people who walk with their heels upward, and their heads hancrintr down ? That there is a part of the world in which all things are topsy-turvy ; where the trees grow with their branches downward, and where it rains, hails, and snows upward ? " They opposed texts of Scripture to the earth being a sphere, and showed from St. Augustine that if there were people on the other side of a globe, they could not be descended from Adam, as the Bible stated, because they could not have crossed the intervening ocean. Others said that if Columbus sailed, and reached India, he could never get back, for, the globe being round, the waters would rise in a mountain, up which it woukl be impossible to sail. Others, with more wisdom, said that the earth was so large that it would take three years to sail around it, and that provisions could not be taken for so long a voyage. Columbus maintained that the inspired writers were not speaking as cosmographers, and that the early fathers were not necessarily philosophers or scientists, and he quoted from the Bible verses which he believed pointed to the sublime discovery which he proposed. Diego de Deza, a learned friar, afterwards Archbishop of Seville, the second ecclesiastical dignitary of Spain, was won by the arguments of Columbus, and became an earnest co-worker. Other conferences took place, but nothing decisive was accomplished. When the monarchs were in some protracted siege for several months, like that at Malaga, Columbus would be 16 CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. summoned to a conference ; but, for one reason or another, it would be postponed. " Often in these campaigns," says an old chronicler, " Columbus was found fighting, giving proofs of the distinguished valor which accompanied his wisdom and his lofty desires." Whenever Columbus was summoned to follow the court, he was attached to the royal suite, and his ex- penses provided for. During the intervals he supported himself as before by his maps and charts. He was con- stantly ridiculed as a dreamer, so that it is said the chil- dren in the streets made fun of him. " He went about so ill-clad," says Castelar, " that he was named the ' Stranger with the Threadbare Cloak.' " In the midst of all these delays and bitterness of soul and exposures in war, Columbus, when he was not far from fifty years old, fell in love with a beautiful young woman, Beatrix Enriquez Arana, of a noble fam- ily, but reduced in fortune. Her brother was the inti- mate friend of Columbus. In 1488, Aug. 15, a son Ferdinand was born to Beatrix and Columbus, who became in after years a noted student and book col- lector, the biographer of his father, and the owner of a library of over twenty thousand volumes, bought in all the principal book marts of Europe. Ferdinand left money to the Cathedral of Seville, for the care of this library ; but for some centuries it was neglected, even children, it is said, being allowed to roam in the halls, and destroy the valuable treasures. Columbus seems to have been tenderly attached to Beatrix as long as lie lived, and provided for her in his will, at his death, enjoining his son Diego to care for her. She survived Columbus many years, he dying in 1506 ; and Mr. Winsor thinks she unquestionably sur- CUlilSTOPUER COLUMBUS. 17 vived the making of Diego's will in 1523, seventeen yeai's after his father's death. Among the noted personages whom Columbus tried to interest in his plans, eitlier when he first came to Spain, as Irving and Castelar think, or some years later, accord- ing to Harrisse, Winsor, Fiske, and others, were the rich and powerful dukes, Medina-Sidonia and Medina- Celi. Tliese had great estates along the seacoast, and owned ships of their own. The former was at first inter- ested, but finally refused to assist. The latter, Luis de la Cerda, made sovereign of the Canaries by Pope Clement \l., with the title of Prince of Fortune, took Columbus to his own elegant castle and made it his home for two years. He was a learned man, and he and Columbus studied the stars and navigation together. He was desirous of fitting out some vessels for the enterprise of Columbus; but fearing that the monarchs would oppose such a work by a private indi- vidual, he remained inactive. Finally Columbus deter- mined to appeal to tlie King of France for aid — he had already sent Bartholomew, his brother, to Henry VII. of England, to ask his help ; but Bartholomew was captured by pirates, and was not he&rd from for some years. Medina-Celi, fearing that some other country would win the renown of a great discovery which he felt sure Columbus would make, wrote an urgent letter to the monarchs, offering to fit out two or three caravels for Columbus, and have a share in the profits of the voy- age ; but Isabella refused, saying that she had not de- cided about the matter. Columbus was growing heart-sick with his weary Avaiting. The city of Baza, besieged for more than six months, had surrendered Dec. 22, 1489, to Spain, Muley 18 CIIEISTOPIIER COLUMBUS. Boabdil, tlie elder of tlie two rival kings of Granada, giving up all his possessions, and Ferdinand and Isal)ella had entered Seville in triumph in February of 1490. Great rejoicing soon followed over the marriage of their daughter, Princess Isabella, with the heir to the throne of Portugal, Don Alonzo. As the summer passed Columbus heard that the mon- archs were to proceed against the younger ^Moorish king. He had become impatient with this constant procrasti- nation, and had pressed the sovereigns for a decision. He was fifty-five years old, and life was slipping by, with nothing accomplished. Talavera, who cared for little except to see the Moors conquered, finally presented the matter before another junto, who decided that the plan was vain and impossible. But the sovereigns, not quite willing to let a possible achievement slip from their grasp, sent word to Colum- bus that when the war was over they would gladly take up the matter, and give it carefid attention. Columbus determined to hear from their own lips that for which he had waited nearly seven long years in useless hope, and repaired at once to Seville. The reply was as before, and, poor, and growing old, he turned his back upon Spain to seek the assistance of France. He went to Huelva for his boy, Diego, possibly to leave liim with Beatrix and the child Ferdinand, then three years old ; and when about half a league from Palos, stopped at the convent of La Kabida, dedicated to Santa Maria de Eabida. It belonged to the Franciscan friars, a lonely place on a height above the ocean. Columbus was walking — he had no money to pay for travelling — was leading his boy by the hand, and stopped to ask for some bread and water for his child. The friar CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. 19 of tlie convent, Juan Perez, happening to pass by, was struck by tlie appearance of the white-haired man, and entered into conversation with him. Juan Perez was a man of much information, had been confessor to the queen, and was deeply interested in tlie plans of Cohun- bus. He asked him to remain as his guest at the con- vent, and sent for his friend, Garcia Fernandez, a physician of Palos, and a well-read man, and Martin Alonzo Pinzon, a wealthy navigator, to talk with this stranger. Pinzon at once offered to help furnish money and to go in person on the hazardous voyage. Perez, loyal to Isabella, felt that Prance ought not to win such honor, when it lay at the very door of Spain. He proposed to write to Isabella at once ; and Colum- bus, with probably but little hope at this late day, con- sented to remain until an answer was received from her. Sebastian Rodriguez, a pilot of Lepe, and a man of some note, was chosen to bear the precious letter. He found access to the queen, who wrote a letter to Juan Perez, thanking him for his timely message, and asking that he come immediately^ to court. At the end of fourteen days Rodriguez returned, and tlie little company at the convent rejoiced with renewed hopes. The good friar saddled his mule, and before mid- night was on his way to Santa Fe, the military city where the queen was stationed while pressing the siege of Granada. The letter of Medina-Celi had influenced her; and her best friend and companion, the Marchioness INIoya, a woman of superior ability, was urging her to aid Colum- bus and thus bring great renown to herself and to Spain. Juan Perez pressed liis suit warmly, with the result that Isabella sent Columbus twenty thousand maravedis 20 CIIEISTOPIIEE COLUMBUS. (Mr. Fiske says one thousand, one hundred and eighty dollars of our money) to buy proper clothing to appear at court, and to provide himself with a mule for the journey. Bidding good-by to the rejoicing company at La Ra- bida, Columbus, accompanied by Juan Perez, started early in December, 1491, on their mules, for the royal camp at Santa Fe. Alonso de Quintanilla, his former friend, the account- ant-general, received Columbus cordially, and provided for his entertainment. The queen could not receive him just then ; for Boabdil, the last of the Moorish kings, was about to surrender Granada, which he did January 2, 1492, giving up the keys of the gorgeous Alhambra to the Spanish sovereigns. At the surrender Ferdinand was dressed in his royal robes, his crimson mantle lined with ermine, and his plumed cap radiant with jewels, while about him were brilliantly clad officials on their richly caparisoned horses. Boabdil wore black, as befitting his sad defeat. He at- tempted to dismount and kneel before Ferdinand ; but this the latter Avouhl not permit, so he imprinted a kiss upon Ferdinand's right arm. After having surrendered the two great keys of the city, Boabdil said to the knight who was to rule over Granada, Ifiigo Lopez de Mendoza, taking from his own linger a gold ring set with a precious jewel, and handing it to Mendoza, "With this signet has Granada been governed. Take it, that you may rule the land; and may Allah prosper your power more than he hatli pros- pered mine." After this Boabdil met the queen in royal attire seated upon her horse, her son, Prince Juan, in the richest gar- CHRISTOPUER COLUMBUS. 21 ments on horseback at her right, and the princess and ladies of her court at her left. Here Boabdil knelt before the queen. His first-born had been kept by his enemies as a hostage, and he was there returned to his father. " Hitherto," says Castelar, " Boabdil had shed no tear, but now, on beholding again the son of Moraima, his be- loved, he pressed his face against the face of the poor child and wept passionately of the abundance of his heart." The time had come for Columbus to meet Isabella. When in her presence he stipulated that if the voyage were undertaken, he should be made admiral and viceroy over the countries discovered, and receive the tenth part of the revenues from the lands, either by trade or con- quest. The conditions were not harder than those of subsequent voyagers, but to the courtiers and to Talavera such demands made by a threadbare navigator seemed absurd. Talavera represented to Isabella that it would be degrading so to exalt an ordinary man and, as he thought, an adventurer. More moderate terms wQre offered Columbus, but he declined them ; and, more sick at heart than ever, he mounted his mule, in the beginning of February, 1492, and turned back to Cordova and La Rabida, on his way to France. Alonso de Quintanilla, and Luis de Santangel, receiver of the ecclesiastical revenues in Aragon, were distressed beyond measure at this termination of the meeting. They rushed into the queen's presence and eloquently besought her to reconsider the matter, reminding her how much she could do for the glory of God and the re- nown of Spain by some grand discoveries. The Marchion- ess Moya, Beatrix de Bobadilla, added all the fervor of Ikt nature to the request. 22 CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. Ferdinand looked coldly upon the project. The treas- ury of the country was exhausted by the late wars. Finally, with her woman's heart responsive to heroic deeds, and a far-sightedness beyond that of the doubting Ferdinand, she said, "I undertake the enterprise for lay own crown of Castile, and will pledge my jewels to raise the necessary funds." " This," truly says Irving, " was the proudest moment in the life of Isabella ; it stamped her renown forever as the patroness of the discovery of the New World." Isabella did not have to part with her jewels, as the funds were raised by Santangel from his private reve- nues, and it is now generally believed that no help was given by Ferdinand. It is quite probable that the queen pledged her jewels as security for the loan by Santangel. A courier was sent in all haste after Columbus, who was found about six miles out of Granada, crossing tlie bridge of Pinos. When he was told that the queen wished to see him, he hesitated for a moment, lest the old disappointment should be in store for him ; but when it was asserted that she had given a positive promise to undertake the enterprise, he turned his mule toward Santa Fe, and hastened back joyfully to Isabella's pres- ence. The queen received him with great benignity, and crranted all the concessions he had asked. He, at his own suggestion, by the assistance of the Pinzons of Palos, was to bear one-eighth of the expense, Avhich he did later. The papers were signed at Santa Fe April 17, 1492, and on May 12 (his son Diego having been four days previously appointed page to the prince-apparent) he set out joyfully for Palos to prepare for the long-hoped-for voyage. CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. 23 On an-iving at Palos he went immediately to the con- vent of La Rabida, and he and Juan Pei-ez rejoiced togetlier. On the morning of May 23 the two proceeded to the churcli of St, George in Palos, where many of the leading people had been notified to be present, and there gave the royal order by which two caravels or barks, with their crews, were to be ready for sea in ten days, Palos, for some misdemeanor, having been required to furnish two armed caravels to the crown for one year. A certiii- eate of erood conduct from Columbus was considered a discharge of obligation to tlie monarchs. To any person willing to engage in the expedition, all criminal pro- cesses against them or their property were to be suspended during absence. When it was known that the vessels were to go on an untried ocean, perhaps never to return, the men were filled with terror and refused to obey the royal decree. Weeks passed and nothing was accomplished. Mobs gathered as men were pressed into the service. Finally, through tlie influence of the Pinzons, and more royal commands, the three vessels were made ready. The largest, which was decked, called the Santa Maria, be- longed to Juan de la Cosa, who now commanded her, Avith Sancho Ruiz and Pedro Alonzo Nino for his pilots. She was ninety feet long by twenty feet broad, and was the Admirars flag-ship. The other open vessels were the Pinta, commanded by i"\rartin Alonzo Pinzon, with his brother, Francisco Mar- tin Pinzon, as pilot, and the Nina (Baby), commanded by another brother, Vicente Yaiiez Pinzon. On board the three ships were one hundred and twenty persons ac- cording to Irving, but according to Ferdinand, the son of Columbus, and Las Casas, ninety persons. 24 CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. Isabella paid towards this equipment 1,140,000 mara- vedis, probably equal to about $67,500 ; wliile Columbus raised 500,000 maravedis, or $29,500. The vessels being ready for sea, Columbus, his officers, and crews partook of the sacrament, and made confession to Friar Juan Perez, and on Friday — tliis was considered a lucky day, as Granada was taken on Friday, and the first crusade under Godfrey of Bouillon had taken Jerusa- lem on the same day — Aug. 3, 1492, half an hour before sunrise, with many tears and lamentations, they sailed away from Palos toward an unknown land. A deep gloom came over the people of Palos, for they never expected to see their loved ones again. For three hours Perez and his friends watched the fading sails till they disappeared from sight. On the third day at sea the rudder of the Pinta was found to be broken, and Columbus surmised that it had happened purposely, as the owners of the boat, Gomez Pascon and Christoval Quintero, were on board, and hav- ing been pressed into service against their will, were glad of any excuse to turn back. By care she was taken on Aug. 9 as far as the Canary Islands, where Columbus hoped to replace her by another vessel ; but after three weeks, and no prospect of another ship, they were obliged to make a new rudder for the Pinta and go forward. On the 6th of September, early in the morning, they sailed away from the island of Gomera, and were soon out of sight of land. The hearts of the seamen now failed them, and rugged sailors wept like children. The admiral tried to comfort them witli the prospect of gold and precious stones in India and Cathay, enough to make them all rich. CIIRISTOPIJER COLUMBUS. 25 Seeing their terror as well as real sorrow at being alone on the ocean, he deceived them as to the distance from their homes, by keeping two reckonizigs, — one cor- rect for himself, one false for them. The sailors were constantly anxious and distrustful. They were alarmed when they saw the peak of Teneriffe in the Canaries in eruption, and now the deflection of the compass-needle away from the pole-star made them sure that the very laws of nature were being changed on this wild and unknown waste of waters. On Sept. 16 they sailed into vast masses of seaweeds, abounding in iish and crabs. They were eight hundred miles from the Canaries, in the Sargasso Sea, which was two thousand fathoms' or more than two miles in depth. Tliey feared they should be stranded, and could be convinced to the contrary only when their lines were thrown into the sea and failed to touch bottom. Almost daily they thought they saw land ; now it was a mirage at sunrise or sunset ; now two pelicans came on board, and these Columbus felt sure did not go over twenty leagues from land ; now they caught a bird with feet like a sea-fowl, and were cei'tain that it was a river- bird; now singing land birds, as they thought, hovered about the ship. They began to grow restless so often were they dis- appointed. They were borne westward by the trade winds, and they feared that the wind would always pre- vail from the east, so that they would never get back to Spain. They finally began to murmur against Columbus, that he was an Italian, and did not care for Spaniards ; and they talked among themselves of an easy way to be rid of him by the single thrust of a poniard. Columbus knew 26 CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. of their mutinous spirit, and sometimes soothed and sometimes threatened them with punishment. On Sept. 25 Martin Alonzo Pinzon thought he belield land to the south-west, and, mounting on the stern of liis vessel, cried, " Laud ! Land ! Senor, I claim my re- ward ! " The sovereign had offered a prize of ten thou- sand maravedis to the one who should first discover land. Columbus threw himself upon his knees and gave thanks to God, and Martin repeated the Gloria in excelsis, in which all the crew joined. Morning put an end to their vision of land, aiul they sailed on as before, ever farther from home and friends. So many times the crew thought they discerned land and gave a false alarm, afterwards growing more discon- tented, that Columbus declared that all such should forfeit their claim to the award, unless land were dis- covered in three days. On the morning of Oct. 7 the crew of the Nina were sure they saw land, hoisted the flag at her mast- head, and discharged a gun, the preconcerted signals, but they soon found that they had deceived themselves. The crews now became dejected. They had come 2,724 miles from the Canaries, and this was farther than Columbus had supposed Cipango (Japan) to be. He de- termined therefore to sail west south-west, instead of due west. If he had kept on his course he would have touched Florida. Field birds came flying about the ships, and a heron, a pelican, and a duck were seen ; but the sailors mumnured more and more, and insisted upon his turning homeward, and giving up a useless voyage. He endeavored to pacify at first, and then he told them, happen what might, he should press on to the Indies. CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. 27 The next day the iiulicatioiis of laud grew stronger; a green lish of a kind which lives on rocks was seen, a branch of hawthorn with berries on it, and a staff arti- ficially carved. Not an eye was closed that night, Columbus having promised a doublet of velvet in addi- tion to the prize offered by the sovereigns to the first discoverer of land. As evening came on Columbus took his position on the foremost part of his vessel, and watched intently. About ten o'clock he thought he saw a light in the distance, and called to Pedro Gutierrez chamberlain in the king's service, who confirmed it. He then called Rodrigo Sanchez, but by that time the light had disappeared. Once or twice afterward they saw it as though some person were carrying it on shore or in a boat, tossed by waves. At two in the morning on Friday of Oct. 12 the Pinta, which sailed faster than the other ships, descried the land two leagues away. Rodrigo de Triana of Se- ville first saw it; but the award was given to Columbus, as he had first seen the light. A tlirill of joy and thanksgiving ran through every heart. Columbus hastily threw his scarlet cloak about him, and with one hand grasping his sword and the other the cross, standing beneath the royal banner, gold em- broidered with F. and Y. on either side, the initials of Ferdinand and Ysabel, surmounted by crowns, lie and liis followers put out to shore in a little boat. As soon as he landed he knelt on the earth, kissed it, and gave thanks to God with tears, all joining him in the Te Dciim. His men gathered about him, embraced him while they wept, begged his forgiveness for their mutinous spirit, and promised obedience in the future. 28 CHRISTOPHER columbus. . The naked natives, filled with awe at these beings in armor, whom they supposed had come from lieaven, — alas ! that they sliould have been so pitifully deceived, — fled to the woods at first, but soon came close to the Spaniards, felt of their white beards, touched their white skin, so unlike their own, and were as gentle as children. When a sword was shown them, they innocently took it by the edge. They received eagerly the bells and red caps which Columbus offered them, and gave cakes of bread, called cassava, parrots, and cotton yarn in ex- change. The island ;ipon which Columbus probably landed was called by the natives Guanahani, now San Salvador, one of the Bahama group. It lias never been fully settled upon which of the group Columbus lauded, many believing it to have been Watling's Island. Columbus was amazed at the canoes of the people, a single tree trunk being hollowed out sufficiently to hold forty or forty-five men. He wrote in his journal : " Some brought us water ; others things to eat ; others, when they saw that I went not ashore, leaped into the sea, swimming, and came, and, as we supposed, asked us if Ave were come from heaven ; and then came an old man into the boat, and all men and women, in a loud voice cried, ' Come and see the men who came from heaven ; bring them food and drink.' " The people had some bits of gold about them, in their noses and elsewhere ; and as gold was ever the dream of the Spanish discoverer, they were eagerly questioned as to where the precious metal was to be obtained. Columbus understood them to say farther south, so while he be- lieved he had touched the Indies, he must go still farther for the wonderful Cipango. cnuisTornER columbus. 29 He seized seven Indians and took tlieni on board to learn the Spanish language and become interpreters. Two of them soon escaped, as they naturally loved their homes and their people. Columbus has been severely censured for his course towards the Indians, then and later; but it is becoming in us Americans to deal leniently with the early discov- erers, when we remember how a Christian nation has treated the Indians through four centuries. The blame cannot be put entirely upon Indian agents ; our people have shown the same eager desires for their land as the Spaniards. We have forgotten to keep our promises, and these things have been permitted by those in exalted official position. - After having investigated the island upon which he landed, Columbus reached another island Oct. 15, which he called Santa Maria de la Conception, and on Oct. 16 another, which lie called Fernandina. The little houses of the people were neat. They used hamacs for beds, nets hung from posts ; hence our word ham- mocks. They had dogs which could not bark. Colum- bus named the next island which he found Isabella, and then, Oct. 28, reached Cuba, where he hoped, from the half-understood natives, that gold would be obtained in abundance. He found luxuriant vegetation, brilliant birds and flowers, fish which rivalled the birds in color, a beautiful river, a country where " one could live for- ever," he said. '"It is the most beautiful island tli.'it eyes ever beheld, full of excellent ports and profound rivers." The tropical nights filled him with admiration. Nothing was wanting to the scene but the great Kublai Khan of Cathay with his enormous wealth described by Marco Polo, and the gold for which the Spaniards 30 CURISTOniER COLUMBUS. agonized, as a proof to their sovereign that they had found the westward passage to Asia. Imagining that a great king must live in the centre of tlie island, Columbus sent two Spaniards, Rodrigo de Jerez and Luis de Torres, a converted Jew who knew Hebrew, Chaldaic, and Arabic, with two Indians as guides to the supposed monarch. They took presents to this king, and started on their will-o'-the-wisp journey. After going twelve leagues a village of a thousand people was found. The natives offered them fruits and vegetables, and kissed their hands and feet in token of submission or adoration of such wonderful beings. The Spaniards saw no gold and no monarch ; and, on their return, Columbus was obliged to give up some of his hopes about Cathay and gold-covered houses. The natives were seen to roll a leaf, and, lighting one end of it, put the other in their mouth and smoke it. " The Spaniards," says Irving, " were struck with aston- ishment at this singular and apparently nauseous indul- gence." The leaf was tobacco, — they called it tobacos, — and the habit of barbarians has been easily copied by civilized men. The natives said bohio, which means liouse, and which they applied to a populous place like Hispaniola or Hayti ; sometimes they said quisque>/a, that is, the whole ; and Columbus, thinking they meant the Quinsay (Hangchow) of Marco Polo, once more started in his search for wealth, and on the evening of Dec. 6 entered a harbor at the western end of Hayti. The natives had fled in terror ; so Columbus sent some armed men to the interior, accompanied by Indian in- terpreters. They found a village of about a thousand houses, whose inmates all fled, but were reassured by the interpreters, who told them that these straugers were Clini STOP HER COLUMBUS. 31 descended from the skies, and went about making pre- cious and beautiful presents. A naked young woman had been seized by the Spaniards ; but Columbus gave her clothing and bells, and released her so as to win the others to friendliness. Her husband now came to the nine armed men and thanked them for her safe return and for the gifts. While Columbus was at Hayti a young chief visited him, borne by four men on a sort of litter, and attended by two hundred subjects. The subjects remained out- side of Columbus's cabin, while two old men entered with the chief and sat at his feet. He spoke but little, but gave tlie admiral a curious belt and two pieces of gold, for which Columbus in return presented him with a piece of cloth, several amber beads, colored shoes, and a flask of orange-water. In the evening he was sent on shore with great ceremony, and a salute fired in his honor. Later Columbus received a request from a greater chief, Guacanagari, that he would come with his ships to his part of the island ; but as the wind then prevented, a small party of Spaniards visited him and were most hospitably received. On the morning of Dec. 24 Columbus started to visit tliis chief; and when they had come within a league of his residence, the sea being calm and the admiral having retired, his vessel, the Santa INIaria, ran upon a sandbank and quickly went to pieces. When the cliief lieard of the shipwreck he shed tears, sent his people to unload tlie vessel and guard the contents, and liis family to cheer the admiral, assuring him that everything he possessed was at the disposal of Columbus. All the crew went on board the little Nina, and later were enter- tained by Guacanagari. 32 CHllISTOniER COLUMBUS. He presented Columbus with a carved mask of wood, with the eyes and ears of gold ; and perceiving that the eyes of the Spaniards glistened whenever they saw gold, he had all brought to them which could be obtained, even his own coronet of gold, for which they gave bells, nails, or any trifle, though sometimes cloth and shoes. Columbus wrote, " So loving, so tractable, so peaceable are these people, that I swear to your majesties there if not in the world a better nation, nor a better land. They love their neighbors as themselves ; and their discourse is ever sweet and gentle, and accompanied with a smile ; and though it is true that they are naked, yet their man- ners are decorous and praiseworthy." The Pinta had apparently deserted — Columbus and Pinzon had differed with each other several times — for she was nowhere to be found ; and with only the Nina, and winter coming on, he deemed it wise to return to Spain and make a report to his sovereigns. The little vessel could not hold all the crew ; and sev- eral begged to remain, as the warm climate and indolent life suited them. A fort was therefore built from the timbers of the wrecked Santa Maria, the Indians help- ing in the labor ; and in ten days La Navidad, or the Nativity, in memorial of the shipwreck on Christmas, was ready for the ammunition and stores, enough for a year, and for the thirty-nine who were to remain. The command was given to Diego de Arana of Cordova, a cousin of Beatrix, — the relatives of Beatrix, and the money of the family, although not great in quantity, were always at the service of Columbus. Warning his comrades who were to be left behind not to stray beyond the friendly country of Guacanagari, to treat him with the greatest respect, and to gather a ton CIIUISTOPIIER COLUMBUS. 33 of gold ill his absence if possible, Columbus, after a sad parting, sailed homeward Jan. 4, 1493. After two days they came upon the lost Pinta, Pinzon explaining his desertion by stress of weather. He was very glad to return with the admiral to Spain, although a heavy storm coming up, they parted company, and did not meet again till they were in their own country. On Feb. 12 a violent storm placed Columbus in so much danger in his open boat that, fearful lest all should be lost, and no report of his discoveries reach Spain, he wrote on parchment two accounts, wrapped each in cloth, then in a cake of wax, and enclosed each in a barrel. One was thrown into the sea, and the other left on board the Nina, to float in case she should sink. On the homeward journey they were obliged to put into the Azores, where a party of five going to a little chapel of the Virgin to give thanks for their deliverance from shipwreck were seized by order of the Portuguese gov- ernor of the island. They were finally released, as such an act might make unpleasant complications with Spain. A little later a storm drove the Nina on the coast of Portugal, and Columbus and his crew took refuge in the river Tagus. The King of Portugal sent for him, received him with much honor, but tried to show that he had trespassed upon undiscovered ground granted the king by the Pope, After some parleying he was allowed to depart ; and at noon, March 15, the Niiia entered the harbor of Palos, from which she had departed seven months before. All business was suspended. The bells were rung, and the returned Admiral and his men were the heroes of tlie time. The Pinta soon arrived, having been driven by a storm to Bayonne, from whence Pinzon wrote to the sov- 34 cnnisTOPiJER columbus. ereigns of his intended visit to court. He kept apart from Columbus, some historians say, from fear of arrest for desertion, and died in his own house in Palos not many days afterwards. The degree of nobility was afterwards conferred upon the Pinzons by Charles V. Columbus repaired to Seville, after sending a letter to the sovereigns, who were with their court at Barcelona. They replied at once, asking him to repair immediately to court, and to make plans for a second expedition to the Indies. On his journey to Barcelona the people thronged out of the villages to meet the now famous discoverer. Tliey were eager to see the six Indians whom he had brought, — of the ten, one had died on the passage, and three were ill at Palos. About the middle of April he arrived at Barcelona, where every preparation had been made to give him a magnificent reception. He was no longer the unknown Italian, begging at royal doors for seven years for aid to seek a new world ; but he came now like a conqueror who had helped to make Spain rich and honored by his great discoveries. At Barcelona the streets were almost impassable from the multitude. First came the Indians with their war- paint, feathers, and ornaments of gold ; then birds, ani- mals, and plants from across the seas, and then Colum- bus on horseback surrounded by richly dressed Spanish cavaliers. The sovereigns on their thrones under a golden canopy, Prince Juan at their side, attended by all the dignitaries of court, waited to receive the Admiral. When Colum- bus approached the sovereigns they arose as if receiving a person of the highest rank. Bending before them, CIiniSTOrilER COLUMBUS. 35 they raised him graciously, and bade hiin seat liimself in tlieir presence, an unusual lienor. At their request, he eloquently described the lands he had found, with the great wealth that must finally come to their throne. The sovereigns and all present fell upon their knees, while the choir of the royal cha})el chanted the Te Deum laudavius. When Columbus left the royal presence all the court followed him, as well as crowds of the people. He renewed within his own breast a vow previously made, that with the money obtained by these discover- ies, he would equip a great army and secure the Holy Sepulchre at Jerusalem from the Turks. Columbus and his discoveries were everywhere talked of. At the court of Henry VII. in England it was ac- counted a " thing more divine than human." Bartholo- mew Columbus had obtained the consent of Henry to fit out an expedition ; but about this time Isabella decided in its favor, so the renown of it was "* st to England. While at Barcelona, Columbus was at all times admitted to the royal presence, and rode on horseback on one side of the king, while Prince Juan rode on the other. A court of arms was assigned him. The Grand Cardinal of Spain, Mendoza, made a banquet for him, at which is said to have occurred the incident of the egg. A cour- tier asked Columbus if he had not discovered the Indies, whether it was not probable some one else would have done so. The Admiral took an e