A BOOK OF
AMERICAN EXPLORERS

Transcriber’s Notes

The cover image was provided by the transcriber and is placed in the public domain.

Punctuation has been standardized.

Most abbreviations have been expanded in tool-tips for screen-readers and may be seen by hovering the mouse over the abbreviation.

This book has drop-caps at the start of each chapter. These drop-caps may adversely affect the pronunciation of the word with screen-readers.

This book was written in a period when many words had not become standardized in their spelling. Words may have multiple spelling variations or inconsistent hyphenation in the text. These have been left unchanged unless indicated with a Transcriber’s Note.

Index references have not been checked for accuracy.

Footnotes are identified in the text with a superscript number and have been accumulated in a table at the end of the text.

Transcriber’s Notes are used when making corrections to the text or to provide additional information for the modern reader. These notes have been accumulated in a table at the end of the book and are identified in the text by a dotted underline and may be seen in a tool-tip by hovering the mouse over the underline.

[COLUMBUS AT THE MOUTH OF THE ORINOCO.]

Young Folks’ Series.

A BOOK OF

AMERICAN EXPLORERS

BY

THOMAS WENTWORTH HIGGINSON

AUTHOR OF “YOUNG FOLKS’ HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES,” ETC.

BOSTON

LEE AND SHEPARD

1877

COPYRIGHT.

THOMAS WENTWORTH HIGGINSON.

1877.

Electrotyped and Printed by
Rand, Avery, and Company,
117 Franklin Street,
Boston.

DEDICATION.

TO

GEORGE BARRELL EMERSON,

WITHOUT WHOSE COUNSEL AND WHOSE EFFICIENT KINDNESS THIS HISTORICAL SERIES WOULD NEVER HAVE BEEN UNDERTAKEN,

THIS VOLUME

IS RESPECTFULLY AND AFFECTIONATELY

INSCRIBED.

PREFACE.

IT has always seemed to me that the narratives of the early discoverers and explorers of the American coast were as interesting as “Robinson Crusoe,” and were, indeed, very much like it. This has led me to make a series of extracts from these narratives, selecting what appeared to me the most interesting parts, and altering only the spelling. The grammar is not always correct; but it would be impossible to alter that without changing the style of writing too much: so it has not been changed at all. Wherever it has seemed necessary, I have put a word of my own in brackets [thus]; but all else is the very language of the old writers, or their translators. Whenever any thing has been omitted, great or small, the place is marked by dots.… Some of the hardest words have been explained by footnotes.

One great thing which I have wished my readers to learn is the charm of an original narrative. We should all rather hear a shipwreck described by a sailor whowas on board the ship than to read the best account of it afterwards prepared by the most skilful writer. What I most desire is, that those who have here acquired a taste for these old stories should turn to the books from which the extracts are taken, and follow up the study for themselves. Then they can go with renewed interest to the pages of Bancroft and Parkman, or at least to my own “Young Folks’ History,” for the thread on which these quaint narratives may be strung.

The explorers of various nations are represented in this book. There are Northmen, Italians, Englishmen, Frenchmen, Spaniards, and Dutchmen. Where the original narrative was in some foreign language, that translation has been chosen which gives most of the spirit of the original; and Mr. Cabot’s versions of the Norse legends were especially selected for this reason. It seemed proper to begin the book with these; and it is brought down to the time when the Virginia and Massachusetts colonies, with that of the New Netherlands, were fairly planted on the American shore.

Possibly, at some future time, I may recommence with the Massachusetts colonies, and tell their story, down to the Revolution; either in a book of extracts, like this, or in my own words.

T. W. H.

Newport, R.I., March 1, 1877.

TABLE OF CONTENTS.

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.

BOOK I.
THE LEGENDS OF THE NORTHMEN.
(A.D. 985–1008.)

These extracts are taken from two Icelandic works called Tháttr Eireks Rauda (the piece about Eirek the Red) and Graenlendinga Thátt (the piece about the Greenlanders). These passages were translated by J. Elliot Cabot, Esq., and were published in “The Massachusetts Quarterly Review” for March, 1849.

It is now the general belief of historians, that these legends are mainly correct; and that the region described as Vinland was a part of the North-American Continent. Beyond this we do not know. The poet Whittier has written thus of these early explorers, in his poem called “The Norsemen:”—

“What sea-worn barks are those which throw

The light spray from each rushing prow?

Have they not in the North Sea’s blast

Bowed to the waves the straining mast?

Their frozen sails the low, pale sun

Of Thule’s night has shone upon;

Flapped by the sea-wind’s gusty sweep,

Round icy drift and headland steep.

Wild Jutland’s wives and Lochlin’s daughters

Have watched them fading o’er the waters,

Lessening through driving mist and spray,

Like white-winged sea-birds on their way.

Onward they glide; and now I view

Their iron-armed and stalwart crew:

Joy glistens in each wild blue eye

Turned to green earth and summer sky:

Each broad, seamed breast has cast aside

Its cumbering vest of shaggy hide:

Bared to the sun, and soft warm air,

Streams back the Norseman’s yellow hair.

I see the gleam of axe and spear;

The sound of smitten shields I hear,

Keeping a harsh and fitting time

To Saga’s chant and Runic rhyme.”

THE LEGENDS OF THE NORTHMEN.

I.—How the Northmen discovered North America.

[About the year 860, a Danish sailor named Gardar was driven upon the shores of Iceland, after which that island was settled by a colony from Norway. About a hundred years later, Greenland was settled from Iceland; Eirek the Red being the first to make the voyage. With him went one Heriulf, whose son Biarni had been in the habit of passing every other winter with his father, and then sailing on distant voyages. Then happened what follows.]

THAT same summer (985 or 986) came Biarni with his ship to Eyrar (Iceland), in the spring of which his father had sailed from the island.These tidings seemed to Biarni weighty, and he would not unload his ship. Then asked his sailors[1] what he meant to do. He answered,that he meant to hold to his wont,[2] and winter with his father; “and I will bear for Greenland, if you will follow me thither.” All said they would do as he wished. Then said Biarni, “Imprudent they will think our voyage, since none of us has been in the Greenland Sea.”

A NORSE SHIP.

Yet they bore out to sea as soon as they were bound,[3] and sailed three days,till the land was sunk.[4] Then the fair wind fell off, and there arose north winds and fogs, and they knew not whither they fared; and so it went for many days. After that, they saw the sun, and could then get their bearings. Then they hoisted sail, and sailed that day before they saw land; and they counselled with themselves what land that might be. But Biarni said he thought it could not be Greenland. They asked him whether he would sail to the land, or not. “This is my counsel, to sail nigh to the land,” said he. And so they did,and soon saw that the land was without fells,[5] and wooded, and small heights on the land; and they left the land to larboard,and let thefoot of the sail look towards land.[6] After that, they sailed two days before they saw another land. They asked if Biarni thought this was Greenland. He said he thought it no more Greenland than the first; “for the glaciers are very huge, as they say, in Greenland.”They soon neared the land, and saw that it was flat land, and overgrown with wood.[7] Then the fair wind fell. Then the sailors said that it seemed prudent to them to land there; but Biarni would not. They thought they needed both wood and water. “Of neither are you in want,” said Biarni; but he got some hard speeches for that from his sailors. He bade them hoist sail, and so they did; and they turned the bows from the land, and sailed out to sea with a west-south wind three days, and saw a third land;but that land was high, mountainous, and covered with glaciers.[8] They asked then if Biarni would put ashore there; but he said he would not, “for this land seems to me not very promising.” They did not lower their sails, but held on along this land, and saw that it was an island; but they turned the stern to the land, and sailed seawards with the same fair wind. But the wind rose; and Biarni bade them shorten sail, and not to carry more than their ship and tackle would bear. They sailed now four days, then saw they land the fourth. Then they asked Biarni whether he thought that was Greenland, or not. Biarni answered, “That is likest to what is said to me of Greenland; and we will put ashore.” So they did,and landed under a certain ness[9] at evening of the day. And there was a boat at the ness, andthere lived Heriulf, the father of Biarni, on this ness; and from him has the ness taken its name, and is since called Heriulfsness.Now fared[10] Biarni to his father, and gave up sailing, and was with his father whilst Heriulf lived, and afterwards lived there after his father.

II.—The Voyage of Leif the Lucky.

[After Biarni had reached the Greenland settlement, and told his story, he was blamed for not having explored these unknown lands more carefully; and Leif the Lucky bought Biarni’s vessel, and set sail with thirty-five companions, to see what he could discover.]

(A.D. 999.) First they found the land which Biarni had found last. Then sailed they to the land, and cast anchor, and put off a boat, and went ashore, and saw there no grass.Mickle[11] glaciers were over all the higher parts; but it was like a plain of rock from the glaciers to the sea, and it seemed to them that the land was good for nothing. Then said Leif, “We have not done about this land like Biarni, not to go upon it:now I will give a name to the land, and call it Helluland (flat-stone land).”[12] Then they went to their ship. After that they sailed into the sea, and found another land, sailed up to it, and cast anchor; then put off a boat, and went ashore. This land was flat, and covered with wood and broad white sands wherever they went, and the shore was low. Then said Leif,“From its make[13] shall a name be given to this land;and it shall be called Markland (Woodland).”[14] Then they went quicklydown to the vessel. Now they sailed thence into the sea with a north-east wind, and were out two days before they saw land; and they sailed to land, and came to an island that lay north of the land; and they went on to it, and looked about them in good weather,and found that dew lay upon the grass;[15] and that happened that they put their hands in the dew, and brought it to their mouths, and they thought they had never known any thing so sweet as that was. Then they went to their ship,and sailed into that sound that lay between the island and a ness[16] which went northward from the land, and then steered westward past the ness. There were great shoals at ebb-tide;and their vessel stood up;[17] and it was far to see from the ship to the sea. But they were so curious to fare to the land, that they could not bear to bide till the sea came under their ship, and ran ashore where a river flows out from a lake. But, when the sea came under their ship, then took they the boat, and rowed to the ship, and took it up into the river, and then into the lake, and there cast anchor,and bore from the ship their skin-cots,[18] and made their booths.

Afterwards they took counsel to stay there that winter, and made there great houses. There was no scarcity of salmon in the rivers and lakes, and larger salmon than they had before seen. There was the land so good, as it seemed to them, that no cattle would want fodder for the winter. There came no frost in the winter, and little did the grass fall off there. Dayand night were more equal there than in Greenland or Iceland.… But when they had ended their house-building, then said Leif to his companions, “Now let our company be divided into two parts,and the land kenned;[19] and one half of the people shall be at the house at home, but the other half shall ken the land, and fare not further than that they may come home at evening, and they shall not separate.” Now so they did one time. Leif changed about, so that he went with them (one day) and (the next) was at home at the house.Leif was a mickle[20] man and stout, most noble to see, a wise man, and moderate in all things.

III.—Leif finds Vines, and goes back to Greenland.

One evening it chanced that a man was wanting of their people;and this was Tyrker, the Southerner.[21] Leif took this very ill; for Tyrker had been long with his parents, and loved Leif much in his childhood. Leif now chid his people sharply, and made ready to fare forth to seek him, and twelve men with him. But when they had gone a little way, there came Tyrker to meet them, and was joyfully received. Leif found at once that his old friend was somewhat out of his mind: he was bustling and unsteady-eyed, freckled in face, little and wizened in growth, but a man of skill in all arts. Then said Leif to him,“Why wert thou so late, my fosterer,[22] and separated from the party?” Hetalked at first a long while in German, and rolled many ways his eyes, and twisted his face; but they skilled not what he said. He said then in Norse, after a time, “I went not very far; but I have great news to tell. I have found grape-vines and grapes.”—“Can that be true, my fosterer?” quoth Leif. “Surely it is true,” quoth he; “for I was brought up where there is no want of grape-vines or grapes.” Then they slept for the night; but in the morning Leif said to his sailors, “Now we shall have two jobs: each day we will either gather grapes, or hew grape-vines, and fell trees, so there will be a cargo for my ship;” and that was the counsel taken. It is said that their long boat was filled with grapes. Now was hewn a cargo for the ship; And when spring came they got ready, and sailed off; and Leif gave a name to the land after its sort, and called it Vinland (Wine-Land). They sailed then afterwards into the sea, and had a fair wind until they saw Greenland,and the fells[23] under the glaciers.… After that he was called Leif the Lucky. Leif was now both well to do and honored.…

Now there was a great talk about Leif’s Vinland voyage; and Thorvald, his brother, thought the land had been too little explored. Then said Leif to Thorvald, “Thou shalt go with my ship, brother,if thou wilt, to Vinland.”[24]

IV.—Thorvald, Leif’s Brother, goes to Vinland.

Now Thorvald made ready for this voyage with thirty men, with the counsel thereon of Leif, his brother. Then they fitted out their ship, and bore out to sea (A.D. 1002): and there is nothing told of their voyage before they came to Vinland, to Leif’s booths; and they laid up their ship, and dwelt in peace there that winter, and caught fish for their meat. But in the spring, Thorvald said they would get ready their ship, and send their long-boat, and some men with it, along to the westward of the land, and explore it during the summer. The land seemed to them fair and woody, and narrow between the woods and the sea, and of white sand. There were many islands and great shoals. They found neither man’s abode nor beast’s; but, on an island to the westward, they found a corn-shed of wood. More works of men they found not; and they went back, and came to Leif’s booths in the fall. But the next summer fared Thorvald eastward with the merchant-ship, and coasted to the northward. Here a heavy storm arose as they were passing one of two capes, and drove them up there, and broke the keel under the ship; and they dwelt there long, and mended their ship. Then said Thorvald to his companions,“Now will I that we raise up here the keel on the ness,[25]and call it Keelness;”[26] and so they did.

After that, they sailed thence, and coasted to the eastward,and into the mouths of the firths[27] that were nearest to them, and to a headland that stretched out.This was all covered with wood: here they brought the ship into harbor, and shoved a bridge on to the land, and Thorvald went ashore with all his company. He said then, “Here it is fair, and here would I like to raise my dwelling.” They went then to the ship, and saw upon the sands within the headland three heights; and they went thither, and saw there three skin-boats, and three men under each. Then they divided their people, and laid hands on them all, except one that got off with his boat. They killed these eight, and went then back to the headland, and looked about them there, and saw in the firth some heights, and thought they were dwellings. After that there came a heaviness on them so great that they could not keep awake; and all slumbered. Then came a call above them, so that they all awoke. Thus said the call, “Awake, Thorvald, and all thy company, if thou wilt keep thy life; and fare thou to thy ship, and all thy men,and fare from the land of the quickest.”[28] Then came from the firth innumerable skin-boats, and made toward them.

Thorvald said then, “We will set up our battle-shields, and guard ourselves the best we can, but fight little against them.” So they did,and the Skraelings[29] shot at them for a while, but then fled, each as fast as he could. Then Thorvald asked his men if any of them was hurt: they said they were not hurt. “I have got a hurt under the arm,” said he; “for an arrow flew between the bulwarks and the shield under my arm; and here is the arrow, and that will be my death. Now I counsel that ye make ready as quickly as may be to return; but ye shall bear me to the headland which Ithought the likeliest place to build. It may be it was a true word I spoke, that I should dwell there for a time. There ye shall bury me, and set crosses at my head and feet,and call it Krossanes[30] henceforth.” Greenland was then Christianized; but Eirek the Red had died before Christianity came thither.

Now Thorvald died; but they did every thing according as he had said, and then went and found their companions, and told each other the news they had to tell, and lived there that winter, and gathered grapes and vines for loading the ship. Then in the spring they made ready to sail for Greenland, and came with their ship to Eireksfirth, and had great tidings to tell to Leif.

V.—Karlsefni’s Adventures.

[Karlsefni, a rich Norwegian, came to Greenland, staid at Leif’s house, married a wife, and was finally persuaded to bring a colony of sixty men and five women to Vinland.]

This agreement made Karlsefni and his seamen,that they should have even handed[31] all that they should get in the way of goods. They had with them all sorts of cattle, as they thought to settle there if they might. Karlsefni begged Leif for his house in Vinland; but he said he would lend him the house, but not give it. Then they bore out to the sea with the ship, and came to Leif’s booths, hale and whole, and landed there their cattle. There soon came into their hands a great and good prize; for a whale was driven ashore, both great and good; then they went to cut up the whale, andhad no scarcity of food. The cattle went up into the country; and it soon happened that the male cattle became wild and unruly. They had with them a bull. Karlsefni had wood felled, and brought to the ship, and had the wood piled on the cliff to dry. They had all the good things of the country, both of grapes, and of all sorts of game and other things.

ESQUIMAU BOAT.

After the first winter came the summer; then they saw appear the Skraelings, and there came from out the wood a great number of men. Near by were their neat-cattle; and the bull took to bellowing, and roared loudly, whereat the Skraelings were frightened, and ran off with their bundles. These were furs and sable-skins, and skin-wares of all kinds. And they turned toward Karlsefni’s booths, and wanted to get into the house; but Karlsefni had the doors guarded. Neither party understood the other’s language. Then the Skraelings took down their bags, and opened them, and offered them for sale, and wanted, above all, to have weapons for them. But Karlsefni forbade them to sell weapons. He took this plan:he bade the women bring out their dairy-stuff[32] for them; and, so soon as they saw this, they would have that, and nothing more. Now this was the way the Skraelings traded: they bore off their wares in their stomachs. But Karlsefni and his companions had their bags and skin-wares, and so they parted. Now hereof is this to say, that Karlsefni had posts driven strongly roundabout his booths, and made all complete. At this time Gudrid, the wife of Karlsefni, bore a man-child, and he was called Snorri. In the beginning of the next winter the Skraelings came to them again, and were many more than before; and they had the same wares as before. Then Karlsefni said to the women, “Now bring forth the same food that was most liked before, and no other.” And, when they saw it, they cast their bundles in over the fence.… [But one of them being killed by one of Karlsefni’s men, they all fled in haste, and left their garments and wares behind.] “Now I think we need a good counsel,” said Karlsefni; “for I think they will come for the third time in anger, and with many men. Now we must do this:ten men must go out on that ness,[33] and show themselves there; but another party must go into the wood, and hew a place for our neat-cattle when the foe shall come from the wood; and we must take the bull, and let him go before us.” But thus it was with the place where they thought to meet, that a lake was on one side, and the wood on the other. Now it was done as Karlsefni had said. Now came the Skraelings to the place where Karlsefni had thought should be the battle; and now there was a battle, and many of the Skraelings fell.

There was one large and handsome man among the Skraelings; and Karlsefni thought he might be their leader. Now one of the Skraelings had taken up an axe, and looked at it a while, and struck at one of his fellows, and hit him, whereupon he fell dead; then the large man took the axe, and looked at it a while, and threw it into the sea as far as he could. But after thatthey fled to the wood, each as fast as he could; and thus ended the strife. Karlsefni and his companions were there all that winter; but in the spring Karlsefni said he would stay there no longer, and would fare to Greenland. Now they made ready for the voyage, and bare thence much goods, namely, grape-vines and grapes and skin-wares. Now they sailed into the sea, and came whole with their ships to Eireksfirth, and were there that winter.

DUTCH MAN-OF-WAR.

BOOK II.
COLUMBUS AND HIS COMPANIONS.
(A.D. 1492–1503.)

RECEPTION OF COLUMBUS BY FERDINAND AND ISABELLA.

The following passages are taken from “Select Letters of Christopher Columbus,” published by the Hakluyt Society, London, 1847, pp. 1–17, 20–22, 27, 33–36, 40–42, 114–121, 129–138, 200–202, 205–210, 214–225. These letters were translated by R. H. Major, Esq., of the British Museum.

COLUMBUS AND HIS COMPANIONS.

I.—The First Letter from Columbus.

[This letter was written on board ship, by Columbus, March 14, 1493, “to the noble Lord Raphael Sanchez, Treasurer to their most invincible Majesties, Ferdinand and Isabella, King and Queen of Spain.” It was written in Spanish, but the original is supposed to be lost. Latin translations of it were made and published in different cities; and a poetical translation was made in Italian, and was sung about the streets of Italy.]

KNOWING that it will afford you pleasure to learn that I have brought my undertaking to a successful termination, I have decided upon writing you this letter to acquaint you with all the events which have occurred in my voyage, and the discoveries which have resulted from it. Thirty-three days after my departure from Cadiz,I reached the Indian Sea,[34] where I discovered many islands, thickly peopled, of which I took possession, without resistance, in the name of our most illustrious Monarch, by public proclamation and with unfurled banners. To the first of these islands, whichis called by the Indians Guanahani, I gave the name of the blessed Saviour (San Salvador), relying upon whose protection I had reached this as well as the other islands. To each of these I also gave a name, ordering that one should be called Santa Maria de la Concepcion; another, Fernandina; the third, Isabella; the fourth, Juana; and so with all the rest respectively. As soon as we arrived at that, which, as I have said,was named Juana,[35] I proceeded along its coast a short distance westward, and found it to be so large, and apparently without termination, that I could not suppose it to be an island,but the continental province of Cathay.[36] Seeing, however, no towns or populous places on the seacoast, but only a few detached houses and cottages, with whose inhabitants I was unable to communicate, because they fled as soon as they saw us, I went further on, thinking, that, in my progress, I should certainly find some city or village.

At length, after proceeding a great way, and finding that nothing new presented itself, and that the line of coast was leading us northwards, I resolved not to attempt any further progress, but rather to turn back, and retrace my course to a certain bay that I had observed, and from which I afterwards despatched two of our men to ascertain whether there were a king or any cities in that province. These men reconnoitred the country for three days, and found a most numerous population, and great numbers of houses, though small, and built without any regard to order; with which information they returned to us. In the mean time, I had learned from some Indians whom I had seized, that that country wascertainly an island; and therefore I sailed towards the east, coasting to the distance of three hundred and twenty-two miles, which brought us to the extremity of it: from this point I saw lying eastwards another island, fifty-four miles distant from Juana,to which I gave the name of Española.[37]…

All these islands are very beautiful, and distinguished by a diversity of scenery. They are filled with a great variety of trees of immense height, and which I believe to retain their foliage in all seasons; for when I saw them they were as verdant and luxuriant as they usually are in Spain in the month of May,—some of them were blossoming, some bearing fruit, and all flourishing in the greatest perfection, according to their respective stages of growth, and the nature and quality of each: yet the islands are not so thickly wooded as to be impassable. The nightingale and various birds were singing in countless numbers, and that in November, the month in which I arrived there.…

None of them,[38] as I have already said, are possessed of any iron; neither have they weapons, being unacquainted with, and, indeed, incompetent to use, them; not from any deformity of body—for they are well formed,—but because they are timid, and full of fear.They carry, however, in lieu[39] of arms, canes dried in the sun, on the ends of which they fix heads of dried wood sharpened to a point: and even these they dare not use habitually; for it has often occurred, when I have sent two or three of my men to any of the villages to speak with the natives, that they have come out in a disorderlytroop, and have fled in such haste, at the approach of our men, that the fathers forsook their children, and the children their fathers.

This timidity did not arise from any loss or injury that they had received from us; for, on the contrary, I gave to all I approached whatever articles I had about me, such as cloth, and many other things, taking nothing of theirs in return: but they are naturally timid and fearful. As soon, however, as they see that they are safe, and have laid aside all fear, they are very simple and honest, and exceedingly liberal with all that they have, none of them refusing any thing he may possess when he is asked for it, but, on the contrary, inviting us to ask them. They exhibit great love towards all others in preference to themselves: they also give objects of great value for trifles, and content themselves with very little, or nothing, in return. I, however, forbade that these trifles and articles of no value—such as pieces of dishes, plates and glass, keys, and leather straps—should be given to them, although, if they could obtain them, they imagined themselves to be possessed of the most beautiful trinkets in the world. It even happened that a sailor received for a leather strap as much gold as was worth three golden nobles; and for things of more trifling value offered by our men,especially newly coined blancas,[40] or any gold coins, the Indians would give whatever the seller required; as, for instance, an ounce and a half or two ounces of gold, or thirty or forty pounds of cotton; with which commodity they were already acquainted.

Thus they bartered, like idiots, cotton and gold for fragments of bows, glasses, bottles, and jars; which I forbade, as being unjust, and myself gave them many beautiful and acceptable articles which I had brought with me, taking nothing from them in return. I did this in order that I might the more easily conciliate them, that they might be led to become Christians, and be inclined to entertain a regard for the king and queen, our princes, and all Spaniards; and that I might induce them to take an interest in seeking out, and collecting, and delivering to us, such things as they possessed in abundance, but which we greatly needed.

They practise no kind of idolatry, but have a firm belief that all strength and power, and indeed all good things, are in heaven, and I had descended from thence with these ships and sailors; and under this impression was I received after they had thrown aside their fears. Nor are they slow or stupid, but of very clear understanding; and those men who have crossed to the neighboring islands give an admirable description of every thing they observed: but they never saw any people clothed, nor any ships like ours.

On my arrival at that sea, I had taken some Indians by force from the first island that I came to, in order that they might learn our language, and communicate to us what they knew respecting the country; which plan succeeded excellently, and was a great advantage to us; for in a short time, either by gestures and signs, or by words, we were enabled to understand each other. These men are still travelling with me, and, although they have been with us now a long time, they continue to entertain the idea that I have descended from heaven;and on our arrival at any new place they publish this, crying out immediately with a loud voice to the other Indians, “Come! come and look upon beings of a celestial race;” upon which both women and men, children and adults, young men and old, when they got rid of the fear they at first entertained, would come out in throngs, crowding the roads to see us, some bringing food, others drink, with astonishing affection and kindness.

Each of these islands has a great number of canoes, built of solid wood, narrow, and not unlike our double-banked boats in length and shape, but swifter in their motion: they steer them only by the oar. These canoes are of various sizes;but the greater number are constructed with eighteen banks[41] of oars: and with these they cross to the other islands, which are of countless number, to carry on traffic with the people. I saw some of these canoes that held as many as seventy-eight rowers. In all these islands there is no difference of physiognomy, of manners, or of language; but they all clearly understand each other.… There are in the western part of the island two provinces which I did not visit: one of these is called by the Indians Anam,and its inhabitants are born with tails.[42]…

Finally, to compress into few words the entire summary of my voyage and speedy return, and of the advantages derivable therefrom, I promise, that, with a little assistance afforded me by our most invincible sovereigns, I will procure them as much gold as they need, as great a quantity of spices, of cotton, and ofmastic, which is only found at Chios, and as many men for the service of the navy, as their Majesties may require. I promise, also, rhubarb, and other sorts of drugs, which I am persuaded the men whom I have left in the aforesaid fortress have found already, and will continue to find. I myself have tarried nowhere longer than I was compelled to do by the winds, except in the city of Navidad, while I provided for the building of the fortress, and took the necessary precautions for the perfect security of the men I left there. Although all I have related may appear to be wonderful and unheard of, yet the results of my voyage would have been more astonishing, if I had had at my disposal such ships as I required.…

Thus it has happened to me in the present instance, who have accomplished a task to which the powers of mortal man have never hitherto attained; for, if there have been those who have anywhere written or spoken of these islands, they have done so with doubts and conjectures; and no one has ever asserted that he has seen them, on which account their writings have been looked upon as little else than fables. Therefore let the king and queen, our princes and their most happy kingdoms, and all the other provinces of Christendom, render thanks to our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, who has granted us so great a victory, and such prosperity. Let processions be made, and sacred feasts be held, and the temples be adorned with festive boughs. Let Christ rejoice on earth, as he rejoices in heaven, in the prospect of the salvation of the souls of so many nations hitherto lost. Let us also rejoice, as well on account of the exaltation of our faith, as on account ofthe increase of our temporal prosperity, of which not only Spain, but all Christendom, will be partakers.

Such are the events which I have briefly described.

Farewell. Christopher Columbus,
Admiral of the Fleet of the Ocean.

Lisbon, the 14th of March.

II.—Second Voyage of Columbus.

[This description is taken from a letter by Dr. Chanca, physician to the fleet of Columbus, to the authorities of Seville, Dr. Chanca’s residence.]

On the first Sunday after All Saints, namely, the 3d of November [1493], about dawn, a pilot of the ship “Capitana” cried out, “The reward! I see the land!” The joy of the people was so great, that it was wonderful to hear their cries and exclamations of pleasure. And they had good reason to be delighted; for they had become so wearied of bad living, and of working the water out of the ships, that all sighed most anxiously for land.…

On the morning of the aforesaid Sunday,we saw lying before us an island;[43] and soon on the right hand another appeared: the first was high and mountainous, on the side nearest to us; the other flat, and very thickly wooded. As soon as it became lighter, other islands began to appear on both sides; so that on that day there were six islands to be seen lying in different directions, and most of them of considerable size. We directed our course towards that which we had firstseen; and, reaching the coast, we proceeded more than a league in search of a port where we might anchor, but without finding one. All that part of the island which we could observe appeared mountainous, very beautiful, and green even up to the water, which was delightful to see; for at that season there is scarcely any thing green in our own country. When we found that there was no harbor there, the admiral decided that we should go to the other island, which appeared on the right, and which was at four or five leagues distance: one vessel, however, still remained on the first island all that day, seeking for a harbor, in case it should be necessary to return thither. At length, having found a good one, where they saw both people and dwellings, they returned that night to the fleet,which had put into harbor at the other island;[44] and there the admiral, accompanied by a great number of men, landed with a royal banner in his hands, and took formal possession in behalf of their Majesties.…

On this first day of our landing, several men and women came on the beach up to the water’s edge, and gazed at the boats in astonishment at so novel a sight; and, when a boat pushed on shore to speak with them, they cried out, “Tayno, tayno!” which is as much as to say, “Good, good!” and waited for the landing of the sailors, standing by the boat in such a manner that they might escape when they pleased. The result was, that none of the men could be persuaded to join us; and only two were taken by force, who were secured, and led away.…

Another day, at the dinner-hour, we arrived at anisland[45] which seemed to be worth finding; for, judging by the extent of cultivation in it, it appeared very populous. We went thither, and put into harbor, when the admiral immediately sent on shore a well-manned barge to hold speech with the Indians, in order to ascertain what race they were, and also because we considered it necessary to gain some information respecting our course; although it afterwards plainly appeared that the admiral, who had never made that passage before, had taken a very correct route. But, since doubtful questions ought always by investigation to be reduced as nearly to a certainty as possible, he wished that communication should be held with the natives at once; and some of the men who went in a barge leaped on shore, and went up to a village, whence the inhabitants had already withdrawn, and hidden themselves. They took in this island five or six women and some boys, most of whom were captives, like those in the other island. We learned from the women whom we had brought with us, that the natives of this place also were Caribbees. As this barge was about to return to the ships with the capture which they had taken, a canoe came along the coast, containing four men, two women, and a boy; and, when they saw the fleet, they were so stupefied with amazement, that for a good hour they remained motionless at the distance of nearly two gunshots from the ships. In this position they were seen by those who were in the barge, and also by all the fleet. Meanwhile, those in the barge moved towards the canoe, but so close in shore, that the Indians, in their perplexity and astonishment as to what all thiscould mean, never saw them until they were so near that escape was impossible; for our men pressed on them so rapidly, that they could not get away, although they made considerable effort to do so.

When the Caribbees saw that all attempt at flight was useless, they most courageously took to their bows, both women and men: I say most courageously, because they were only four men and two women, and our people were twenty-five in number. Two of our men were wounded by the Indians, one with two arrow-shots in his breast, and another with one in his side; and if it had not happened that they carried shields and wooden bucklers, and that they got near them with the barge, and upset their canoe, most of them would have been killed with their arrows. After their canoe was upset, they remained in the water, swimming and occasionally wading—for there were shallows in that part,—still using their bows as much as they could; so that our men had enough to do to take them: and, after all, there was one of them whom they were unable to secure till he had received a mortal wound with a lance, and whom, thus wounded, they took to the ships. The difference between these Caribbees and the other Indians, with respect to dress, consists in their wearing their hair very long; while the others have it clipped irregularly, and paint their heads with crosses and a hundred thousand different devices, each according to his fancy, which they do with sharpened reeds. All of them, both the Caribbees and the others, are beardless; so that it is a rare thing to find a man with a beard. The Caribbees whom we took had their eyes and eyebrows stained, which I imagine they do from ostentation, and to give them a more formidable appearance.…

The country[46] is very remarkable, and contains a vast number of large rivers, and extensive chains of mountains, with broad open valleys; and the mountains are very high. It does not appear that the grass is ever cut throughout the year. I do not think they have any winter in this part; for near Navidad (at Christmas) were found many birds’-nests, some containing the young birds, and others containing eggs. No four-footed animal has ever been seen in this or any of the other islands, except some dogs of various colors, as in our own country, but in shape like large house-dogs; and also some little animals, in color, size, and fur like a rabbit, with long tails, and feet like those of a rat. These animals climb up the trees;and many who have tasted them say they are very good to eat.[47] There are not any wild beasts. There are great numbers of small snakes, and some lizards, but not many; for the Indians consider them as great a luxury as we do pheasants: they are of the same size as ours, but different in shape. In a small adjacent island, close by a harbor called Monte Christo, where we staid several days,our men saw an enormous kind of lizard,[48] which they said was as large round as a calf, with a tail as long as a lance, which they often went out to kill; but, bulky as it was, it got into the sea, so that they could not catch it. There are, both in this and the other islands, an infinite number of birds like those in our own country, and many others such as we had never seen. No kind of domestic fowl has been seen here, with the exceptionof some ducks in the houses in Zuruquia: these ducks were larger than those of Spain, though smaller than geese,—very pretty, with tufts on their heads, most of them as white as snow, but some black.

III.—Columbus reaches the Mainland.

[From his narrative of his third voyage, 1498.]

I then gave up our northward course, and put in for the land.At the hour of complines[49] we reached a cape,which I called Cape Galea,[50] having already given to the island the name of Trinidad; and here we found a harbor, which would have been excellent, but that there was no good anchorage. We saw houses and people on the spot; and the country around was very beautiful, and as fresh and green as the gardens of Valencia in the month of March.…

The next day I set sail in the same direction, in search of a harbor where I might repair the vessels, and take in water, as well as improve the stock of provisions which I had brought out with me. When we had taken in a pipe of water, we proceeded onwards till we reached the cape; and there finding good anchorage, and protection from the east wind, I ordered the anchors to be dropped, the water-cask to be repaired, a supply of water and wood to be taken in, and the people to rest themselves from the fatigues which they had endured for so long a time. I gave to this point the name of Sandy Point (Punta del Arenal).

All the ground in the neighborhood was filled with footmarks of animals, like the impression of the foot of a goat; but, although it would have appeared from this circumstance that they were very numerous, only one was seen, and that was dead. On the following day a large canoe came from the eastward, containing twenty-four men, all in the prime of life, and well provided with arms, such as bows, arrows, and wooden shields. They were all, as I have said, young, well-proportioned, and not dark black, but whiter than any other Indians that I had seen,—of very graceful gesture and handsome forms, wearing their hair long and straight, and cut in the Spanish style. Their heads were bound round with cotton scarfs elaborately worked in colors, which resembled the Moorish head-dresses. Some of these scarfs were worn round the body, and used as a covering in lieu of trousers. The natives spoke to us from the canoe while it was yet at a considerable distance; but none of us could understand them. I made signs to them, however, to come nearer to us; and more than two hours were spent in this manner: but if, by any chance, they moved a little nearer, they soon pushed off again.

I caused basins and other shining objects to be shown to them to tempt them to come near; and, after a long time, they came somewhat nearer than they had hitherto done; upon which, as I was very anxious to speak with them, and had nothing else to show them to induce them to approach, I ordered a drum to be played upon the quarter-deck, and some of our young men to dance, believing the Indians would come to see the amusement. No sooner, however, did they perceivethe beating of the drum, and the dancing, than they all left their oars, and strung their bows, and, each man laying hold of his shield, they commenced discharging their arrows at us; upon this the music and dancing soon ceased,and I ordered a charge[51] to be made from some of our cross-bows: they then left us,and went rapidly to the other caravel,[52] and placed themselves under its poop. The pilot of that vessel received them courteously, and gave to the man who appeared to be their chief a coat and hat; and it was then arranged between them that he should go to speak with him on shore. Upon this the Indians immediately went thither, and waited for him; but, as he would not go without my permission, he came to my ship in the boat, whereupon the Indians got into their canoe again, and went away, and I never saw any more of them, or of any of the other inhabitants of the island.

When I reached the Point of Arenal,I found that the Island of Trinidad formed with the land of Gracia,[53] a strait of two leagues width from east to west; and, as we had to pass through it to go to the north, we found some strong currents which crossed the strait, and which made a great roaring, so that I concluded there must be a reef of sand or rocks, which would preclude our entrance: and behind this current was another and another, all making a roaring noise like the sound of breakers against the rocks. I anchored there, under the said Point of Arenal, outside of the strait, and found the water rush from east to west with as muchimpetuosity as that of the Guadalquiver at its conflict with the sea; and this continued constantly day and night, so that it appeared to be impossible to move backwards for the current, or forwards for the shoals.

IV.—Columbus at the Mouth of the Orinoco.

[ [‡] See Frontispiece for illustration.]

In the dead of night, while I was on deck, I heard an awful roaring that came from the south towards the ship. I stopped to observe what it might be, and I saw the sea rolling from west to east, like a mountain as high as the ship, and approaching by little and little. On the top of this rolling sea came a mighty wave, roaring with a frightful noise; and with all this terrific uproar were other conflicting currents, producing, as I have already said, a sound as of breakers upon the rocks. To this day I have a vivid recollection of the dread I then felt, lest the ship might founder under the force of that tremendous sea; but it passed by, and reached the mouth of the before-mentioned passage, where the uproar lasted for a considerable time. On the following day I sent out boats to take soundings, and found that in the strait,at the deepest part of the embouchure,[54] there were six or seven fathoms of water, and that there were constant contrary currents,—one running inwards, and the other outwards. It pleased the Lord, however, to give us a favorable wind; and I passed through the middle of the strait, after which I recovered my tranquillity. The men happened at this time to draw up some water from the sea, which, strangeto say, proved to be fresh. I then sailed northwards till I came to a very high mountain, at about twenty-six leagues from the Punta del Arenal:here two lofty headlands appeared,—one towards the east,[55] and forming part of the Island of Trinidad;and the other on the west,[56] being part of the land which I have already called Gracia.We found here a channel[57] still narrower than that of Arenal, with similar currents, and a tremendous roaring of water: the water here also was fresh.

FLEET OF COLUMBUS.

Hitherto I had held no communication with any of the people of this country, although I very earnestly desired it. I therefore sailed along the coast westwards; and, the farther I advanced, the fresher and more wholesome I found the water; and, when I had proceeded a considerable distance, I reached a spot where the land appeared to be cultivated.… I then anchored at the mouth of a river; and we were soon visited by a great number of the inhabitants, who informed us that the country was called Paria, and that farther westward it was more fully peopled. I took four of these natives, and proceeded on my westwardvoyage; and, when I had gone eight leagues farther, I found on the other side of a point,which I called the Needle,[58] one of the most lovely countries in the world, and very thickly peopled. It was three o’clock in the morning when I reached it; and, seeing its verdure and beauty, I resolved to anchor there, and communicate with the inhabitants. Some of the natives came out to the ship in canoes, to beg me, in the name of their king, to go on shore. And, when they saw that I paid no attention to them, they came to the ship in their canoes in countless number; many of them wearing pieces of gold on their breasts, and some with bracelets of pearl on their arms.

V.—Columbus thinks Himself near the Earthly Paradise.

[From the same narrative. It was generally believed, in the time of Columbus, that the Garden of Eden, or earthly paradise, still existed somewhere on the globe. Irving’s Columbus (appendix) gives an account of these views.]

I have always read, that the world comprising the land and water was spherical, as is testified by the investigations of Ptolemy and others, who have proved it by the eclipses of the moon, and other observations made from east to west, as well as by the elevation of the pole from north to south. But I have now seen so much irregularity, as I have already described, that I have come to another conclusion respecting the earth; namely, that it is not round, as they describe, but of theform of a pear, which is very round except where the stalk grows, at which part it is most prominent.… Ptolemy, and the others who have written upon the globe, had no information respecting this part of the world, which was then unexplored: they only established their arguments with respect to their own hemisphere, which, as I have already said, is half of a perfect sphere. And, now that your Highnesses have commissioned me to make this voyage of discovery, the truths which I have stated are evidently proved.… I do not find, nor have ever found, any account by the Romans or Greeks, which fixes in a positive manner the site of the terrestrial paradise;neither have I seen it given in any mappe-monde,[59] laid down from authentic sources. Some placed it in Ethiopia, at the sources of the Nile; but others, traversing all these countries, found neither the temperature, nor the altitude of the sun, correspond with their ideas respecting it; nor did it appear that the overwhelming waters of the deluge had been there. Some Pagans pretended to adduce arguments to establish that it was in the Fortunate Islands, now called the Canaries, &c..…

I have already described my ideas concerning this hemisphere and its form; and I have no doubt, that if I could pass below the equinoctial line, after reaching the highest point of which I have spoken, I should find a much milder temperature, and a variation in the stars and in the water; not that I suppose that elevated point to be navigable, nor even that there is water there: indeed, I believe it is impossible to ascend thither, because I am convinced that it is the spot ofthe earthly paradise, whither no one can go but by God’s permission. But this land which your Highnesses have now sent me to explore is very extensive; and I think there are many countries in the south, of which the world has never had any knowledge.

I do not suppose that the earthly paradise is in the form of a rugged mountain, as the descriptions of it have made it appear, but that it is on the summit of the spot which I have described as being in the form of the stalk of a pear. The approach to it from a distance must be by a constant and gradual ascent; but I believe, that, as I have already said, no one could ever reach the top. I think, also, that the water I have described may proceed from it, though it be far off, and that, stopping at the place which I have just left, it forms this lake. There are great indications of this being the terrestrial paradise; for its site coincides with the opinion of the holy and wise theologians whom I have mentioned. And, moreover, the other evidences agree with the supposition; for I have never either read or heard of fresh water coming in so large a quantity, in close conjunction with the water of the sea. The idea is also corroborated by the blandness of the temperature. And, if the water of which I speak does not proceed from the earthly paradise, it appears to be still more marvellous; for I do not believe that there is any river in the world so large or so deep.

VI.—Daring Deed of Diego Mendez.

[Taken from the last will of Diego Mendez. These adventures happened on the fourth voyage of Columbus, in 1502.]

When we were shut in at the mouth of the River Belen, or Yebra, through the violence of the sea, and the winds which drove up the sand, and raised such a mountain of it as to close up the entrance of the port,his lordship[60] being there greatly afflicted, a multitude of Indians collected together on shore to burn the ships, and kill us all, pretending that they were going to make war against other Indians.… Upon his consulting me as to the best manner of proceeding so as clearly to ascertain what was the intention of the people, I offered to go to them with one single companion; and this task I undertook, though more certain of death than of life in the result.

After journeying along the beach up to the River of Veragua, I found two canoes of strange Indians, who related to me more in detail, that these people were indeed collected together to burn our ships, and kill us all, and that they had forsaken their purpose in consequence of the boat which had come up to the spot, but that they intended to return after two days to make the attempt once more. I then asked them to carry me in their canoes to the upper part of the river, offering to remunerate them if they would do so. But they excused themselves, and advised me by no means to go, for that both myself and my companion would certainly be killed.

At length, in spite of their advice, I prevailed upon them to take me in their canoes to the upper part of the river, until I reached the villages of the Indians, whom I had found in order of battle. They, however, would not, at first, allow me to go to the principal residence of the cacique, till I pretended that I was come as a surgeon to cure him of a wound that he had in his leg. Then, after making them some presents, they suffered me to proceed to the seat of royalty, which was situated on the top of a hillock, surmounted by a plain, with a large square surrounded by three hundred heads of the enemies he had slain in battle. When I had passed through the square, and reached the royal house, there was a great clamor of women and children at the gate, who ran into the palace screaming. Upon this, one of the chief’s sons came out in a high passion, uttering angry words in his own language; and laying hands upon me, with one push he thrust me far away from him. In order to appease him, I told him I was come to cure the wound in his father’s leg, and showed him an ointment that I had brought for that purpose; but he replied, that on no account whatever should I go in to the place where his father was. When I saw that I had no chance of appeasing him in that way, I took out a comb, a pair of scissors, and a mirror, and caused Escobar, my companion, to comb my hair, and then cut it off. When the Indian, and those who were with him, saw this, they stood in astonishment; upon which I prevailed on him to suffer his own hair to be combed and cut by Escobar. I then made him a present of the scissors, with the comb and the mirror; and thus he became appeased. After this, I begged him to allowsome food to be brought, which was soon done; and we ate and drank in love and good-fellowship, like very good friends.

I then left him, and returned to the ships, and related all this to my lord the admiral, who was not a little pleased when he heard all these circumstances, and the things that had happened to me. He ordered a large stock of provisions to be put into the ships, and into certain straw houses that we had built there, with a view that I should remain, with some of the men, to examine and ascertain the secrets of the country. The next morning his lordship called me to ask my advice as to what ought to be done. My opinion was, that we ought to seize that chief and all his captains, because, when they were taken, great numbers of the people would submit. His lordship was of the same opinion. I then submitted the stratagem and plan by which this might be accomplished;and his lordship ordered that the adelantado,[61] his brother, and I, accompanied by eighty men, should go to put it into execution. We went; and our Lord gave us such good fortune, that we took the cacique, and most of his captains, his wives, sons, and grandsons, with all the princes of his race; but in sending them to the ships, thus captured, the cacique extricated himself from the too slight grasp of the man who held him,—a circumstance which afterwards caused us much injury. At this moment it pleased God to cause it to rain very heavily, occasioning a great flood, by which the mouth of the harbor was opened, and the admiral enabled to draw out the ships to sea, in order to proceed to Spain;I, meanwhile, remaining on land as accountant of his Highness, with seventy men, and the greater part of the provisions of biscuit, wine, oil, and vinegar being left with me.

VII.—How Diego Mendez got Food for Columbus.

[Also taken from the last will of Diego Mendez.]

On the last day of April, in the year fifteen hundred and three, we left Veragua, with three ships, intending to make our passage homeward to Spain;but, as the ships were all pierced and eaten by the teredo,[62] we could not keep them above water. We abandoned one of them after we had proceeded thirty leagues: the two which remained were even in a worse condition than that; so that all the hands were not sufficient, with the use of pumps and kettles and pans, to draw off the water that came through the holes made by the worms. In this state, with the utmost toil and danger, we sailed for thirty-five days, thinking to reach Spain; and at the end of this time we arrived at the lowest point of the island of Cuba, at the province of Homo, where the city of Trinidad now stands; so that we were three hundred leagues farther from Spain than when we left Veragua for the purpose of proceeding thither,—and this, as I have said, with the vessels in very bad condition, unfit to encounter the sea, and our provisions nearly gone. It pleased God that we were enabled to reach the island of Jamaica, where we drove the twoships on shore, and made of them two cabins, thatched with straw, in which we took up our dwelling; not, however, without considerable danger from the natives, who were not yet subdued, and who might easily set fire to our habitation in the night, in spite of the greatest watchfulness. It was there that I gave out the last ration of biscuit and wine.

I then took a sword in my hand, three men only accompanying me, and advanced into the island; for no one else dared go to seek food for the admiral and those who were with him. It pleased God that I found some people who were very gentle, and did us no harm, but received us cheerfully, and gave us food with hearty good-will. I then made a stipulation with the Indians who lived in a village called Aguacadiba, and with their cacique, that they should make cassava bread, and that they should hunt and fish to supply the admiral every day with a sufficient quantity of provisions, which they were to bring to the ships, where I promised there should be a person ready to pay them in blue beads, combs and knives, hawks-bells and fish-hooks, and other such articles, which we had with us for that purpose. With this understanding, I despatched one of the Spaniards whom I had brought with me to the admiral, in order that he might send a person to pay for the provisions, and secure their being sent. From thence I went to another village, at three leagues’ distance from the former, and made a similar agreement with the natives and their cacique, and then despatched another Spaniard to the admiral, begging him to send another person with a similar object to this village. After this I went farther on, and came to a great cacique named Huarco, living in a placewhich is now called Melilla, thirteen leagues from where the ships lay. I was very well received by him. He gave me plenty to eat, and ordered all his subjects to bring together, in the course of three days, a great quantity of provisions, which they did, and laid them before him, whereupon I paid him for them to his full satisfaction. I stipulated with him that they should furnish a constant supply, and engaged that there should be a person appointed to pay them.

Having made this arrangement, I sent the other Spaniard to the admiral, with the provisions they had given me, and then begged the cacique to allow me two Indians to go with me to the extremity of the island,—one to carry the hammock in which I slept, and the other carrying the food. In this manner I journeyed eastward to the end of the island, and came to a cacique who was named Ameyro, with whom I entered into close friendship. I gave him my name, and took his, which, amongst this people, is regarded as an evidence of brotherly attachment. I bought of him a very good canoe, and gave him in exchange an excellent brass helmet that I carried in a bag, a frock, and one of the two shirts that I had with me: I then put out to sea in this canoe, in search of the place that I had left, the cacique having given me six Indians to assist in guiding the canoe.

When I reached the spot to which I had despatched the provisions, I found there the Spaniards whom the admiral had sent; and I loaded them with the victuals which I had brought with me, and went myself to the admiral, who gave me a very cordial reception. He was not satisfied with seeing and embracing me, but asked merespecting every thing that had occurred in the voyage, and offered up thanks to God for having delivered me in safety from so barbarous a people. The men rejoiced greatly at my arrival; for there was not a loaf left in the ships when I returned to them with the means of allaying their hunger. This, and every day after that, the Indians came to the ships, loaded with provisions from the places where I had made the agreements; so that there was enough for the two hundred and thirty people who were with the admiral.

VIII.—How Diego Mendez saved Columbus.

[From the same narrative.]

Ten days after this, the admiral called me aside, and spoke to me of the great peril he was in, addressing me as follows: “Diego Mendez, my son, not one of those whom I have here with me has any idea of the great danger in which we stand, except myself and you; for we are but few in number, and these wild Indians are numerous, and very fickle and capricious; and whenever they may take it into their heads to come and burn us in our two ships, which we have made into straw-thatched cabins, they may easily do so by setting fire to them on the land side, and so destroy us all. The arrangement you have made with them for the supply of food, to which they agreed with such good-will, may soon prove disagreeable to them; and it would not be surprising, if, on the morrow, they were not to bring us any thing at all. In such case, we are not in a position to take it by main force, but shall be compelled toaccede to their terms. I have thought of a remedy, if you consider it advisable; which is, that some one should go out in the canoe that you have purchased, and make his way in it to Española, to purchase a vessel with which we may escape from the extremely dangerous position in which we now are. Tell me your opinion.” To which I answered, “My lord, I distinctly see the danger in which we stand, which is much greater than would be readily imagined. With respect to the passage from this island to Española in so small a vessel as a canoe, I look upon it not merely as difficult, but impossible; for I know not who would venture to encounter so terrific a danger as to cross a gulf of forty leagues of sea, and amongst islands where the sea is so impetuous, and scarcely ever at rest.”

His lordship did not agree with the opinion that I expressed, but adduced strong arguments to show that I was the person to undertake the enterprise. To which I replied, “My lord, I have many times put my life in danger to save yours and the lives of all those who are with you, and God has marvellously preserved me. In consequence of this, there have not been wanting murmurers, who have said that your lordship intrusts every honorable undertaking to me, while there are others amongst them who would perform them as well as I. My opinion is, therefore, that your lordship would do well to summon all the men, and lay this business before them; to see if, amongst them all, there is one who will volunteer to undertake it, which I certainly doubt; and, if all refuse, I will risk my life in your service, as I have many times already.”

On the following day his lordship caused all the mento appear together before him, and then opened the matter to them in the same manner as he had done to me. When they heard it, they were all silent, until some said that it was out of the question to speak of such a thing; for it was impossible, in so small a craft, to cross a boisterous and perilous gulf of forty leagues’ breadth, and to pass between those two islands, where very strong vessels had been lost in going to make discoveries, not being able to encounter the force and fury of the currents.

I then arose, and said, “My lord, I have but one life, and I am willing to hazard it in the service of your lordship, and for the welfare of all those who are here with us; for I trust in God, that, in consideration of the motive which actuates me, he will give me deliverance, as he has already done on many other occasions.” When the admiral heard my determination, he arose and embraced me, and, kissing me on the cheek, said, “Well did I know that there was no one here but yourself who would dare to undertake this enterprise. I trust in God, our Lord, that you will come out of it victoriously, as you have done in the others which you have undertaken.”

On the following day I drew my canoe on to the shore, fixed a false keel on it, and pitched and greased it: I then nailed some boards upon the poop and prow, to prevent the sea from coming in, as it was liable to do from the lowness of the gunwales. I also fixed a mast in it, set up a sail, and laid in the necessary provisions for myself, one Spaniard, and six Indians, making eight in all, which was as many as the canoe would hold. I then bade farewell to his lordship and all theothers, and proceeded along the coast of Jamaica up to the extremity of the island, which was thirty-five leagues from the point whence we started. Even this distance was not traversed without considerable toil and danger; for on the passage I was taken prisoner by some Indian pirates, from whom God delivered me in a marvellous manner. When we had reached the end of the island, and were remaining there in the hope of the sea becoming sufficiently calm to allow us to continue our voyage across it, many of the natives collected together, with the determination of killing me, and seizing the canoe with its contents; and they cast lots for my life, to see which of them should carry their design into execution.

As soon as I became aware of their project, I betook myself secretly to my canoe, which I had left at three leagues’ distance from where I then was, and set sail for the spot where the admiral was staying, and reached it after an interval of fifteen days from my departure. I related to him all that had happened, and how God had miraculously rescued me from the hands of those savages. His lordship was very joyful at my arrival, and asked me if I would recommence my voyage. I replied that I would, if I might be allowed to take some men to be with me at the extremity of the island until I should find a fair opportunity of putting to sea to prosecute my voyage. The admiral gave me seventy men, and with them, his brother the adelantado, to stay with me until I put to sea, and to remain there three days after my departure. With this arrangement, I returned to the extremity of the island, and remained there four days.

Finding the sea become calm, I parted from the rest of the men with much mutual sorrow. I then commended myself to God and our Lady of Antigua, and was at sea five days and four nights without laying down the oar from my hand, but continued steering the canoe while my companions rowed. It pleased God, that, at the end of five days, I reached the Island of Española at Cape San Miguel, having been two days without eating or drinking; for our provisions were exhausted. I brought my canoe up to a very beautiful part of the coast, to which many of the natives soon came, and brought with them many articles of food; so that I remained there two days to take rest. I took six Indians from this place, and, leaving those that I had brought with me, I put off to sea again, moving along the coast of Española; for it was a hundred and thirty leagues from the spot where I landed to the city of San Domingo, where the governor dwelt.…

When that expedition was finished, I went on foot to San Domingo, a distance of seventy leagues, and waited in expectation of the arrival of ships from Spain, it being now more than a year since any had come. In this interval, it pleased God that three ships arrived, one of which I bought, and loaded it with provisions,—bread, wine, meat, hogs, sheep, and fruit,—and despatched it to the place where the admiral was staying, in order that he might come over in it with all his people to San Domingo, and from thence sail for Spain. I myself went on in advance with the two other ships in order to give an account to the king and queen of all that had occurred in this voyage.

I think I should now do well to say somewhat of theevents which occurred to the admiral and to his family during the year that they were left on the island. A few days after my departure, the Indians became refractory, and refused to bring food, as they had hitherto done. The admiral, therefore, caused all the caciques to be summoned, and expressed to them his surprise that they should not send food as they were wont to do, knowing, as they did, and as he had already told them, that he had come there by the command of God. He said that he perceived that God was angry with them, and that he would that very night give tokens of his displeasure by signs that he would cause to appear in the heavens; and as, on that night, there was to be an almost total eclipse of the moon, he told them that God caused that appearance, to signify his anger against them for not bringing the food. The Indians, believing him, were very frightened, and promised that they would always bring him food in future; and so, in fact, they did, until the arrival of the ship which I had sent loaded with provisions. The admiral, and those who were with him, felt no small joy at the arrival of this ship. And his lordship afterwards informed me in Spain, that in no part of his life did he ever experience so joyful a day; for he had never hoped to have left that place alive. And in that same ship he set sail, and went to San Domingo, and thence to Spain.

IX.—Appeal of Columbus in his Old Age.

[To the King and Queen of Spain. Taken from his letter (1503) describing his fourth voyage.]

Such is my fate, that the twenty years of service through which I have passed with so much toil and danger have profited me nothing, and at this very day I do not possess a roof in Spain that I can call my own. If I wish to eat or sleep, I have nowhere to go but to the inn or tavern, and most times lack wherewith to pay the bill. Another anxiety wrung my very heart-strings, which was the thought of my son Diego, whom I had left an orphan in Spain, and stripped of the honor and property which were due to him on my account, although I had looked upon it as a certainty that your Majesties, as just and grateful princes, would restore it to him in all respects with increase.…

For seven years was I at your royal court, where every one to whom the enterprise was mentioned treated it as ridiculous; but now there is not a man, down to the very tailors, who does not beg to be allowed to become a discoverer. There is reason to believe that they make the voyage only for plunder, and that they are permitted to do so to the great disparagement of my honor, and the detriment of the undertaking itself. It is right to give God his due, and to receive that which belongs to one’s self. This is a just sentiment, and proceeds from just feelings. The lands in this part of the world, which are now under your Highnesses’ sway, are richer and more extensive than those of any other Christian power; and yet, after that I had, by the divine will, placed them under your high and royal sovereignty, and was on thepoint of bringing your Majesties into the receipt of a very great and unexpected revenue; and while I was waiting for ships to convey me in safety, and with a heart full of joy, to your royal presence, victoriously to announce the news of the gold that I had discovered, I was arrested, and thrown with my two brothers, loaded with irons, into a ship, stripped, and very ill treated, without being allowed any appeal to justice.…

I was twenty-eight years old when I came into your Highnesses’ service, and now I have not a hair upon me that is not gray: my body is infirm, and all that was left to me, as well as to my brothers, has been taken away and sold, even to the frock that I wore, to my great dishonor. I cannot but believe that this was done without your royal permission. The restitution of my honor, the reparation of my losses, and the punishment of those who have inflicted them, will redound to the honor of your royal character. A similar punishment also is due to those who have plundered me of my pearls, and who have brought a disparagement upon the privileges of my admiralty. Great and unexampled will be the glory and fame of your Highnesses, if you do this; and the memory of your Highnesses, as just and grateful sovereigns, will survive as a bright example to Spain in future ages. The honest devotedness I have always shown to your Majesties’ service, and the so unmerited outrage with which it has been repaid, will not allow my soul to keep silence, however much I may wish it. I implore your Highnesses to forgive my complaints. I am indeed in as ruined a condition as I have related. Hitherto I have wept over others: may Heaven now have mercy upon me, and may the earth weep for me!

BOOK III.
CABOT AND VERRAZZANO.
(A.D. 1497–1524.)

SHIP OF THE 15TH CENTURY.

The first of these extracts in regard to the Cabots may be found in one of the Hakluyt Society’s volumes, entitled “Henry Hudson the Navigator, edited by G. M. Asher,” London, 1860, p. lxix.

The extracts which follow are from another volume of the same series, entitled “Hakluyt’s Divers Voyages,” London, 1850, pp. 23–26.

Verrazzano’s narrative is taken from “Hakluyt’s Divers Voyages,” same edition, pp. 55–71. Another translation, by J. G. Cogswell, may be found, with the original Italian narrative, in the Collections of the New York Historical Society, second series, vol. 1.

CABOT AND VERRAZZANO.

I.—First News of John and Sebastian Cabot.

[From a letter written by Lorenzo Pasqualigo, from London, to his brothers in Venice, and dated Aug. 23, 1497.]

THIS Venetian of ours, who went with a ship from Bristol in quest of new islands, is returned,and says that seven hundred leagues hence he discovered “terra firma,”[63]which is the territory of the Grand Cham.[64] He coasted for three hundred leagues, and landed. He saw no human being whatsoever; but he has brought hither to the king certain snares which had been set to catch game, and a needle for making nets; he also found some felled trees: wherefore he supposed there were inhabitants, and returned to his ship in alarm.

He was three months on the voyage, it is quitecertain; and, coming back, he saw two islands to starboard, but would not land, time being precious, as he was short of provisions. The king is much pleased with this intelligence. He says that the tides are slack, and do not flow as they do here.

The king has promised, that, in the spring, he shall have ten ships armed according to his own fancy; and, at his request, he has conceded to him all the prisoners, except such as are confined for high treason, to man them with. He has also given him money wherewith to amuse himself till then; and he is now at Bristol with his wife, who is a Venetian woman, and with his sons.His name is Zuan[65] Cabot; and they call him the great admiral. Vast honor is paid him, and he dresses in silk; and these English run after him like mad people, so that he can enlist as many of them as he pleases, and a number of our own rogues besides.

The discoverer of these places planted on his new-found land a large cross, with one flag of England, and another of St. Mark, by reason of his being a Venetian; so that our banner has floated very far afield.

II.—Sebastian Cabot’s Voyage.

[The following notes, preserved in “Hakluyt’s Voyages,” give the earliest authentic information about Sebastian Cabot.]

A note of Sebastian Cabot’s Voyage of Discovery, taken out of an old Chronicle written by Robert Fabian, sometime Alderman of London, which is in the custodyof John Stowe, Citizen, a diligent searcher and preserver of Antiquities.

This year[66] the King[67]—by means of a Venetian which made himself very expert and cunning in knowledge of the circuit of the world and islands of the same, as by a card and other demonstrations reasonable he showed,—caused to man and victual a ship at Bristol, to search for an island which he said he knew well was rich and replenished with rich commodities. Which ship thus manned and victualled at the King’s cost, divers merchants of London ventured in her small stocks, being in her as chief patron, the said Venetian. And in the company of the said ship sailed also out of Bristol three or four small ships fraught with slight and gross merchandises, as coarse cloth, caps, laces, points, and other trifles, and so departed from Bristol in the beginning of May: of whom in this Mayor’s time returned no tidings.

Of three savage men which he brought home, and presented unto the King in the seventeenth year of his reign.

This year also were brought unto the King three men taken in the new found island, that before I spake of in William Purchas’ time, being Mayor. These were clothed in beast’s skins, and ate raw flesh, and spake such speech that no man could understand them, and in their demeanor like to brute beasts, whom the King kept a time after. Of the which upon two years past after, I saw two apparelled after the manner of Englishmen, in Westminster Palace, which at that time I couldnot discern from Englishmen, till I was learned what they were. But as for speech, I heard none of them utter one word.

John Baptista Ramusius, in his Preface to the third volume of the Navigations,writeth thus of Sebastian Gabot:[68]—

In the latter part of this volume are put certain relations of John De Verarzana,[69] a Florentine, and of a great captain, a Frenchman,and the two voyages of Jaques Cartier, a Briton,[70] who sailed into the land set in fifty degrees of latitude to the north, which is called New France: and the which lands hitherto it is not thoroughly known whether they do join with the firm land of Florida and Nova Hispania, or whether they be separated and divided all by the Sea as Islands:and whether by that way one may go by sea into the country of Cathaio:[71] as many years past it was written unto me by Sebastian Gabot, our countryman Venetian, a man of great experience, and very rare in the art of Navigation and the knowledge of Cosmography: who sailed along and beyond this land of New France, at the charges of King Henry the seventh, King of England. And he told me that having sailed a long time West and by North beyond these islands unto the latitude of sixty-seven degrees and a half under the North Pole, and at the 11 day of June, finding still the open sea without any manner of impediment, he thought verily by that way to have passed on still the way to Cathaio, which is in the East and would havedone it, if the mutiny of the shipmaster and mariners had not rebelled, and made him to return homewards from that place. But it seemeth that God doth yet reserve this great enterprise for some great Prince to discover this voyage of Cathaio by this way: which for the bringing of the spiceries from India into Europe were the most easy and shortest of all other ways hitherto found out. And, surely, this enterprise would be the most glorious, and of most importance of all other, that can be imagined, to make his name great, and fame immortal, to all ages to come, far more than can be done by any of all these great troubles and wars, which daily are used in Europe among the miserable Christian people.

This much concerning Sebastian Gabot’s discovery may suffice for a present cast: but shortly, God willing, shall come out in print, all his own maps and discourses, drawn and written by himself, which are in the custody of the worshipful master William Worthington, one of her Majesty’s Pensioners, who—because so worthy monuments should not be buried in perpetual oblivion,—is very willing to suffer them to be overseen and published in as good order as may be,to the encouragement and benefit of our countrymen.[72]

III.—Verrazzano’s Letter to the King.

[This letter is said to have been written at Dieppe, July 8, 1524, being addressed to King Francis I. of France.

This narrative, if authentic, is the earliest original account of the Atlantic coast of the United States. Its authenticity has been doubted; and Mr. Bancroft, in the new edition of his History, does not refer to it at all. But, as the question is still unsettled, the letter is included here.]

VERRAZZANO.

VERRAZZANO.

I wrote not to your Majesty (most Christian king), since the time we suffered the tempest in the north parts, of the success of the four ships which your Majesty sent forth to discover new lands by the ocean, thinking your Majesty had been already duly informed thereof. Now by these presents I will give your Majesty to understand how, by the violence of the winds, we were forced with the two ships, the “Norman” and the “Dolphin,” in such evil case as they were, to land in Brittany. Where after we had repaired them in all points as was needful, and armed them very well, we took our course along by the coast of Spain. Afterwards, with the “Dolphin” alone, we determined to make discovery of new countries, to prosecute the navigation we had already begun; which I purpose at this present to recount unto your Majesty, to make manifest the whole proceeding of the matter. The 17th of January, the year 1524, by the grace of God we departedfrom the dishabited rock,[73] by the Isle of Madeira, appertaining to the King of Portugal, with fifty men, with victuals, weapon, and other ship munition very well provided and furnished for eight months. And, sailing westwards with a fair easterly wind, in twenty-five days we ran five hundred leagues; and the 20th of February we were overtaken with as sharp and terrible a tempest as ever any sailors suffered: whereof, with the divine help and merciful assistance of Almighty God, and the goodness of our ship, accompanied with the good hap of her fortunate name, we were delivered, and with a prosperous wind followed our course west by north. And in other twenty-five days we made about four hundred leagues more,where we discovered a new land[74] never before seen of any man, either ancient or modern. And at the first sight it seemed somewhat low; but, being within a quarter of a league of it, we perceived, by the great fires that we saw by the seacoast, that it was inhabited, and saw that the land stretched to the southwards.…

While we rode[75] upon that coast, partly because it had no harbor, and for that we wanted water, we sent our boat ashore with twenty-five men, where, by reason of great and continual waves that beat against the shore, being an open coast, without succor none of our men could possibly go ashore without losing our boat. We saw there many people which came unto the shore making divers signs of friendship, and showing that they were content we should come a-land; and by trial we found them to be very courteous and gentle, asyour Majesty shall understand by the success. To the intent we might send them of our things, which the Indians commonly desire and esteem, as sheets of paper, glasses, bells, and such like trifles, we sent a young man, one of our mariners, ashore, who swimming towards them, and being within three or four yards off the shore, not trusting them, cast the things upon the shore. Seeking afterwards to return, he was with such violence of the waves beaten upon the shore, that he was so bruised that he lay there almost dead, which the Indians perceiving, ran to catch him, and, drawing him out, they carried him a little way off from the sea. The young man, perceiving they carried him, being at the first dismayed, began then greatly to fear, and cried out piteously. Likewise did the Indians, which did accompany him, going about to cheer him and give him courage; and then setting him on the ground at the foot of a little hill against the sun, began to behold him with great admiration, marvelling at the whiteness of his flesh. And, putting off his clothes, they made him warm at a great fire, not without our great fear, which remained in the boat, that they would have roasted him at that fire and have eaten him. The young man having recovered his strength, and having staid a while with them, showed them by signs that he was desirous to return to the ship. And they with great love, clapping him fast about with many embracings, accompanying him unto the sea, and, to put him in more assurance, leaving him alone, went unto a high ground, and stood there, beholding him until he was entered into the boat. This young man observed, as we did also, that these are of color inclining to black,as the others were, with their flesh very shining, of mean stature, handsome visage, and delicate limbs, and of very little strength, but of prompt wit; farther we observed not.…

VERRAZZANO IN NEWPORT HARBOR.

Departing from hence, following the shore, which trended somewhat toward the north, in fifty leagues’ space we came to another land, which showed much more fair, and full of woods, being very great, where we rode at anchor; and, that we might have some knowledge thereof,we sent twenty men a-land,[76] which entered into the country about two leagues, and they found that the people were fled to the woods for fear. They saw only one old woman with a young maid of eighteen ortwenty years old, which, seeing our company, hid themselves in the grass for fear. The old woman carried two infants on her shoulders, and behind her neck a child of eight years old. The young woman was laden likewise with as many. But, when our men came unto them, the old woman made signs that the men were fled into the woods as soon as they saw us. To quiet them, and to win their favor, our men gave them such victuals as they had with them to eat, which the old woman received thankfully; but the young woman disdained them all, and threw them disdainfully on the ground. They took a child from the old woman to bring into France; and going about to take the young woman, which was very beautiful, and of tall stature, could not possibly, for the great outcries that she made, bring her to the sea; and especially having great woods to pass through, and being far from the ship, we purposed to leave her behind, bearing away the child only. We found those folks to be more white than those that we found before, being clad with certain leaves that hang on the boughs of trees, which they sew together with threads of wild hemp. Their heads were trussed up after the same manner as the former were.Their ordinary food is of pulse,[77] whereof they have great store, differing in color and taste from ours, of good and pleasant taste. Moreover they live by fishing and fowling,which they take with gins[78] and bows made of hard wood, the arrows of canes being headed with the bones of fish and other beasts. The beasts in these parts are much wilder than in our Europe, by reason they are continually chased and hunted.

We saw many of their boats, made of one tree, twenty feet long and four feet broad, which are not made of iron, or stone, or any other kind of metal, because that in all this country, for the space of two hundred leagues which we ran, we never saw one stone of any sort. They help themselves with fire, burning so much of the tree as is sufficient for the hollowness of the boat: the like they do in making the stern and forepart, until it be fit to sail upon the sea.…

INDIANS MAKING CANOES.

And we came to another land,[79] being fifteen leagues distant from the island, where we found a passing good haven, wherein being entered, we found about twenty small boats of the people, which, with divers cries and wonderings, came about our ship. Coming no nearer than fifty paces towards us, they staid and beheld the artificialness of our ship, our shape, and apparel, that they all made a loud shout together, declaring that they rejoiced.When we had something animated[80] them, using their gestures, they came so near us, that wecast them certain bells and glasses and many toys, which when they had received, they looked on them with laughing, and came without fear aboard our ship. There were amongst these people two kings of so goodly stature and shape as is possible to declare: the eldest was about forty years of age; the second was a young man of twenty years old. Their apparel was on this manner:the elder had upon his naked body a hart’s[81] skin, wrought artificially with divers branches like damask. His head was bare, with the hair tied up behind with divers knots. About his neck he had a large chain garnished with divers stones of sundry colors. The young man was almost apparelled after the same manner. This is the goodliest people, and of the fairest conditions, that we have found in this our voyage. They exceed us in bigness. They are of the color of brass, some of them incline more to whiteness: others are of a yellow color, of comely visage, with long and black hair, which they are very careful to trim and deck up.…

There are also of them which wear on their arms very rich skins of leopards: they adorn their heads with divers ornaments made of their own hair, which hangs down before on both sides their breasts: others use other kind of dressing themselves, like unto the women of Egypt and Syria. These are of the elder sort; and, when they are married,they wear divers toys,[82] according to the usage of the people of the East, as well men as women.…

Among whom we saw many plates of wrought copper, which they esteem more than gold, which for thecolor they make no account of, for that among all other it is counted the basest. They make the most account of azure and red. The things that they esteemed most of all those which we gave them were bells, crystal of azure color, and other toys to hang at their ears or about their neck. They did not desire cloth of silk or gold, much less of any other sort; neither cared they for things made of steel and iron, which we often showed them in our armor, which they made no wonder at; and, in beholding them, they only asked the art of making them.The like they did at our glasses,[83] which when they beheld, they suddenly laughed, and gave them us again.…

And oftentimes one of the two kings coming with his queen, and many gentlemen for their pleasure, to see us, they all staid on the shore, two hundred paces from us, sending a small boat to give us intelligence of their coming, saying they would come to see our ship. This they did in token of safety; and, as soon as they had answer from us, they came immediately, and, having staid awhile to behold it, they wondered at hearing the cries and noise of the mariners. The queen and her maids staid in a very light boat, at an island a quarter of a league off, while the king abode a long space in our ship,uttering divers conceits[84] with gestures, viewing with great admiration all the furniture of the ship, demanding the property of every thing particularly. He took likewise great pleasure in beholding our apparel, and in tasting our meats, and so courteously taking his leave departed. And sometimes our men staying for two or three days on a little islandnear the ship for divers necessaries,—as it is the use of seamen,—he returned with seven or eight of his gentlemen to see what we did, and asked of us ofttimes if we meant to make any long abode there, offering us of their provision; then the king, drawing his bow, and running up and down with his gentlemen, made much sport to gratify our men.…

We found another land[85] high, full of thick woods, the trees whereof were firs, cypresses, and such like as are wont to grow in cold countries. The people differ much from the other, and look! how much the former seemed to be courteous and gentle, so much were these full of rudeness and ill manners, and so barbarous, that by no signs that ever we could make, we could have any kind of traffic with them. They clothe themselves with bears’ skins, and leopards’, and seals’, and other beasts’ skins. Their food, as far as we could perceive, repairing often unto their dwellings, we suppose to be by hunting and fishing, and of certain fruits, which are a kind of roots which the earth yieldeth of her own accord. They have no grain, neither saw we any kind or sign of tillage; neither is the land, for the barrenness thereof, apt to bear fruit or seed. If, at any time, we desired by exchange to have any of their commodities, they used to come to the seashore upon certain craggy rocks, and, we standing in our boats, they let down with a rope what it pleased them to give us, crying continually that we should not approach to the land, demanding immediately the exchange, taking nothing but knives, fish-hooks, and tools to cut withal; neither did they make any account of our courtesy. And when we had nothingleft to exchange with them, when we departed from them, the people showed all signs of discourtesy and disdain as was possible for any creature to invent. We were, in despite of them, two or three leagues within the land, being in number twenty-five armed men of us. And, when we went on shore, they shot at us with their bows, making great outcries, and afterwards fled into the woods.…

Having now spent all our provision and victuals, and having discovered about seven hundred leagues and more of new countries, and being furnished with water and wood, we concluded to return into France.

BOOK IV.
THE STRANGE VOYAGE OF CABEZA DE VACA.
(A.D. 1528–1533.)

These extracts are taken from “The Narrative of Cabeza de Vaca, translated by Buckingham Smith,” Washington, 1851, pp. 30–99. See, also, Henry Kingsley’s “Tales of Old Travel.”

THE STRANGE VOYAGE OF CABEZA DE VACA.

I.—The Strange Voyage.

[Alvar Nuñez Cabeza de Vaca sailed for Florida in June, 1527, as treasurer of a Spanish armada, or armed fleet. In Cuba they encountered a hurricane, which delayed them; but they at last reached the coast of Florida in February, 1528, probably landing at what is now called Charlotte Harbor. A portion of the party left their ships, and marched into the interior, reaching a region which they called Apalache, probably in what is now Alabama. Then they were driven back to the seashore, amid great hardships, losing one-third of their number before they reached Aute, now the Bay of St. Mark’s. Near this they came to the sea; and here the narrative begins.]

IT was a piteous and painful thing to witness the perplexity and distress in which we were. At our arrival, we saw the little means there were of our advancing farther: there was not anywhere to go, and, if there had been, the people could not move forward, because the greater part of them were sick, and there were few that could be of any use.…

The governor called them all to him, and of each by himself he asked his advice what to do to get out of a country so miserable, and seek elsewhere that remedywhich could not here be found, a third part of the people being very sick, and the number increasing every hour; for we regarded it as certain that we should all become so, and out of it we could only pass through death; which, from its coming in such a place, was to us only the more terrible. These and many other embarrassments considered, and entertaining many plans, we coincided in one great project, extremely difficult to put in operation, and that was, to build vessels in which we might go away. This to all appeared impossible; for we knew not how to build, nor were there tools, nor iron, nor forge, nor tow, nor resin, nor rigging; finally, no one thing of so many that are necessary, nor any man who had a knowledge of their manufacture. And,above all, there was nothing to eat the while they were making, nor any knowledge in those who would have to perform the labor. Reflecting on all this, we agreed to think of the subject with more deliberation; and the discourse dropped for that day, each going his way, commending our course to God, our Lord, that he should direct it as would best serve him.

CABEZA DE VACA BUILDING THE BOAT.

The next day, it was His will that one of the company should come, saying that he could make some pipe out of wood, which, with deer-skins, might be made into bellows; and, as we lived in a time when any thing that had the semblance of relief appeared well, we told him to set himself to work. We assented to the making of nails, saws, axes, and other tools, of which there was such need, from the stirrups, spurs, cross-bows, and the other things of iron that there were; and we said, that, for support while the work was going on, we would make four entries into Aute, with all the horses and men that were able to go; and that every third day a horse should be killed, which should be divided among those that had labored on the work of the boats, and those that were sick. The forays were made with the people and horses that were of any use, and in them were brought back as many as four bushels of maize; but these were not got without quarrels and conflicts with the Indians. We caused to be collected many palmettos for the benefit of the woof or covering, twisting and preparing it for use in the place of tow for the boats.

We commenced to build on the 4th, with the one only carpenter in the company; and we proceeded with so great diligence, that, on the twentieth day of September,five boats were finished, of twenty-two cubits in length each, calked with the fibre of the palmetto. We pitched them with a certain resin, which was made from pine-trees, by a Greek named Don Theodoro; and from the same husk of the palmettos, and from the tails and manes of the horses, we made ropes and rigging; and from our shirts, sails;and from the savins[86] that grew there, we made the oars that appeared to us to be requisite.

And such was the country in which our sins had cast us, that with very great trouble we could find stone for ballast and anchors to the boats, since in all of it we had not seen one. We flayed the horses, and took off the skins of their legs entire, and tanned them, to make bottles in which we might carry water.

During this time, some went gathering shell-fish in the coves and creeks of the sea, at which the Indians twice attacked them, and killed ten of our men in sight of the camp, without our being able to afford them succor. We found them traversed from side to side by the arrows; and, although some had on good armor, it did not afford sufficient protection against the nice and powerful archery, of which I have spoken before.… Before we embarked, there died, without enumerating those destroyed by the Indians, more than forty men, of disease and hunger. By the 22d of the month of September, the horses had been consumed, one only remaining; and on that day we embarked in the following order,—in the boat of the governor there went forty-nine men; in another, which he gave to the controller and the commissary, went others as many.The third he gave to Capt. Alonzo del Castillo and Andres Dorantes, with forty-eight men; and another he gave to two captains, Tellez and Beñalosa, with forty-seven men. The last he gave to the assessor and me, with forty-nine men. After the provision and clothes had been taken in,there remained not over a span of the gunwales[87] above the water; and, more than this, we went so crowded, we could not move. So much can necessity do, which drove us to hazard our lives in this manner, running into a sea so turbulent, with not a single one that went there having a knowledge of navigation.

The haven we left has for its name La Baya de Cavallos.[88] We passed waist-deep in water through sounds for seven days, without seeing any point of the coast; and at the close of them we came to an island near the land. My boat went first; and from her we saw Indians coming in five canoes, which they abandoned, and left in our hands. The other boats, seeing us go towards them, passed ahead, and stopped at some houses on the island, where we found many mullet and mullet-roes dried,—a great relief to the distress in which we were. After taking these, we went on, and, two leagues thence, we discovered a strait the island makes with the land,which we named San Miguel, from having passed through it on his day.[89]

Having come out, we went to the coast, where, withthe five canoes I had taken from the Indians, we somewhat improved the boats, making waist-boards, and securing them so that the sides rose two palms above the waters. With this we turned to travel along the coast in the direction of the River Palmas, every day increasing our hunger and thirst; for the provisions were very scant, and getting near their end, and the water was gone, because the bottles we made from the legs of the horses soon rotted, and were useless. Sometimes we entered coves and creeks that lay far in, and found them all shallow and dangerous. Thus we travelled thirty days among them, where we sometimes found Indian fishermen, a poor and miserable people.

At the end of this time, while the want of water was extreme, going near the coast at night, we heard the approach of a canoe; and as we saw it we waited its arrival: but it would not meet us, and, although we called, it would not return, nor wait for us. As the night was dark, we did not follow it, but kept on our way. When the sun rose, we saw a small island, and went to it, to see if we could find water: but our labor was vain; for it had none. Being there at anchor, a heavy storm overtook us, that detained us six days, without our daring to go to sea: and, as it was now five days in which we had not drunk, our thirst was so excessive, that it put us to the extremity of drinking salt water; and some of the men so greatly crazed themselves by it, that directly we had four of them to die. I state this thus briefly, because I do not believe there is any necessity for particularly relating the sufferings and toils in which we found ourselves; for considering the place we were in, and the little hope we had of relief,every one may conceive much of what would have passed there.

Although the storm had not ceased, and we found that our thirst increased, and the water killed us, we resolved to commend ourselves to God our Lord, and venture the peril of the sea, [rather] than await the certainty of death which thirst imposed. Accordingly, we went out by the way in which we had seen the canoe the night we came there. On this day, we ourselves were many times overwhelmed by the waves, and in such jeopardy, that there was not one who did not suppose his death certain. I return thanks to our Lord, that, in the greatest dangers, he should have shown us his favor; for at sunset we doubled a point made by the sand, and found great calm and shelter.

So we sailed that day until the middle of the afternoon, when my boat, which was first, discovered a point made by the land, and, against a cape opposite, a broad river passed. I anchored by a little island which forms the point, to await the arrival of the other boats. The governor did not choose to come up, but entered a bay near by, in which were a great many islets. We came together there, and took fresh water from the sea;for the stream entered it impetuously.[90] To parch some of the corn we had brought with us, since we had eaten it raw for two days past, we went on the island; but, as we found no wood, we agreed to go to the river behind the point, which was one league off. We were unable to get there by any efforts, so violent was the current on the way, which drove us from the land while we contended, and strove to gain it. The north wind, whichcame from the shore, began to blow so strongly, that it drove us to sea without our being able to overcome it. Half a league out we sounded, and found, that, with thirty fathoms, we could not get the bottom; but we could not be satisfied that the river was not the cause of our failure to reach it.

Toiling in this manner to fetch the land, we navigated two days, and at the end of the time, a little while before the sun rose, we saw many smokes along the shore. While attempting to reach them, we found ourselves in three fathoms of water; and, it being dark, we dared not come to land; for, as we had seen so many smokes, we thought some danger might surprise us, and the obscurity leave us at a loss what to do. So we determined to wait until the morning. When it came, the boats had all lost sight of each other. I found myself in thirty fathoms; and, keeping my course until the hour of vespers, I observed two boats, and, as I drew near to them, I found that the first I approached was that of the governor, who asked me what I thought we should do. I told him we ought to join that boat which went in the advance, and by no means to leave her; and, the three being together, that we should keep on our way to where God should be pleased to direct us. He answered me, saying it could not be done, because the boat was far to sea, and he wished to reach the shore; that, if I wished to follow him, I should order the persons of my boat to take the oars, and work, as it was only by strength of arm that the land could be gained.

He was advised to this course by a captain he had with him named Pantoja, who told him, that, if he didnot fetch the land that day, in six days more they would not reach it; and in that time they must inevitably famish. I, seeing his will, took my oar; and the same did all who were in my boat, to obey it. We rowed until near sunset; but, as the governor carried in his boat the healthiest men there were among the whole, we could not by any means hold with or follow her. Seeing this, I asked him to give me a rope from his boat, that I might be enabled to keep up with him;but he answered me that he would do no little,[91] if they, as they were, should be able to reach the land that night. I said to him, that, since he saw the little strength we had to follow him and do what he had commanded, he should tell me what he would that I should do. He answered me, that it was no longer a time in which one should command another, but that each should do what he thought best to save his own life; that he so intended to act; and, saying this, he departed with his boat. As I could not follow him, I steered to the other boat at sea, which waited for me; and, having come up with her, I found her to be the one commanded by the captains Beñalosa and Tellez.

Thus we continued in company, eating a daily ration of half a handful of raw maize, until the end of four days, when we lost sight of each other in a storm; and such was the weather, that it was only by divine favor that we did not all go down. Because of the winter and its inclemency, the many days we had suffered hunger, and the heavy beating of the waves, the people began the next day to despair in such a manner, that, when the sun went down, all who were in my boat werefallen one on another, so near to death, that there were few among them in a state of sensibility. Among them all at this time there were not five men on their feet; and, when the night came, there were left only the master and myself who could work the boat. At the second hour of the night, he said to me that I must take charge of her, for that he was in such condition he believed that night he should die. So I took the paddle; and after midnight I went to see if the master was alive, and he said to me that he was better, and that he would take the charge until day. I declare that in that hour I would have more willingly died than seen so many people before me in such condition. After the master took the direction of the boat, I lay down a little while, but without repose; for nothing at that time was farther from me than sleep.

Near the dawn of day, it seemed to me that I heard the tumbling of the sea; for, as the coast was low, it roared loudly. Surprised at this, I called to the master, who answered me that he believed we were near the land.We sounded, and found ourselves in seven fathoms. He thought we should keep the sea until sunrise; and accordingly I took an oar, and pulled on the side of the land until we were a league distant; and we then gave her stern to the sea. Near the shore, a wave took us that knocked the boat out of the water to the distance of the throw of a crowbar; and by the violence of the blow nearly all of the people who were in her like dead were roused to consciousness. Finding themselves near the shore, they began to move on hands and feet, and crawled to land in some ravines. There we made fire, parching some of the maize webrought with us, and where we found rain-water. From the warmth of the fire the people recovered their faculties,and began somewhat to exert themselves.[92] The day on which we arrived here was the 6th of November.

II.—Cabeza de Vaca Saved by Indians.

After the people had eaten, I ordered Lope de Oviedo, who had more strength, and was stouter, than any of the rest, to go to some trees that were near, and, having climbed into one of them, to survey the country in which we were, and endeavor to get some knowledge of it. He did as I bade him, and made out that we were on an island. He saw that the ground was pawed up in the manner that the land is wont to be where cattle range; and hence it appeared to him that this should be the country of Christians, and thus he reported to us. I ordered him to return to examine much more particularly, and see if there were any roads in it that were worn, and without going far, because of the danger there might be. He went, and, coming to a path, he took it for the distance of half a league, and found some huts without any tenants, for the Indianshad gone into the woods. He took from them an earthen pot, a little dog, some few mullets, and thus returned. It appearing to us that he was long absent, we sent two others, that they should look and see what might have befallen him.

They met him near by, and saw that three Indians with bows and arrows followed, and were calling to him; and he, in the same way, was beckoning them on. Thus they arrived where we were; the Indians remaining a little way back, seated on the same bank. Half an hour after, they were supported by fifty other Indian bowmen, whom, whether large or not, our fears made giants. They stopped near us with the three first. It were idle to think that there were any among us who could make defence; for it would have been difficult to find six that could raise themselves from the ground. The assessor and I went and called them, and they came to us. We endeavored the best we could to recommend ourselves to their favor, and secure their good-will. We gave them beads and hawk-bells; and each one of them gave me an arrow, which is a pledge of friendship. They told us by signs that they would return in the morning, and bring us something to eat, as at that time they had nothing.

The next day at sunrise, the time the Indians had appointed, they came as they had promised, and brought us a large quantity of fish, and certain roots that are eaten by them, of the size of walnuts, some a little larger, others a little smaller, the greater part of them got from under the water, and with much labor. In the evening they returned, and brought us more fish, and some of the roots. They sent their women andchildren to look at us, who returned rich with the hawk-bells and beads that we gave them; and they came afterward on other days in the same way. As we found that we had been provisioned with fish, roots, water, and other things for which we asked, we determined to embark again, and pursue our course. We dug out our boat from the sand in which it was buried; and it became necessary that we should all strip ourselves, and go through great exertion to launch her, for we were in such state, that things very much lighter sufficed to make us much labor.

Thus embarked, at the distance of two cross-bow shots in the sea we shipped a wave that wet us all. As we were naked, and the cold was very great, the oars loosened in our hands; and the next blow the sea struck us capsized the boat. The assessor and two others held fast to her for preservation; but it happened to be for far otherwise, as the boat carried them over, and they drowned under her. As the surf near the shore was very high, a single roll of the sea threw the remainder into the waves, and half drowned us on the shore of the island, without our losing any more than the boat had taken under. Those of us who survived escaped naked as we were born, losing all that we had; and, although the whole was of little value, at that time it was worth much.

As it was then in the month of November, the cold severe, and our bodies so emaciated that the bones might have been counted with little difficulty, we had become perfect figures of death. For myself, I can say, that, from the month of May past, I had not eaten other thing than maize, and sometimes I found myself obligedto eat it unparched; for, although the horses were slaughtered while the boats were being built, I never could eat of them, and I did not eat fish ten times. I state this to avoid giving excuses, and that every one may judge in what condition we were. After all these misfortunes, there came a north wind upon us, from which we were nearer to death than life. Thanks be to our Lord, that, looking among the brands that we had used there, we found sparks from which we made great fires. And thus we were asking mercy of him, and pardon for our transgressions, shedding many tears, and each regretting, not his own fate alone, but that of his comrades about him.

At sunset, the Indians, thinking that we had not gone, came to seek us, and bring us food; but when they saw us thus, in a plight so different from what it was formerly, and so extraordinary, they were alarmed, and turned back. I went toward them, and called to them; and they returned much frightened. I gave them to understand by signs how that our boat had sunk, and three of our number been drowned. There, before them, they saw two of the departed; and those that remained were near joining them. The Indians, at sight of the disaster that had befallen us, and our state of suffering and melancholy destitution, sat down amongst us; and from the sorrow and pity they felt for us, they all began to lament, and so earnestly, that they might have been heard at a distance; and they continued so doing more than half an hour. It was strange to see these men, so wild and untaught, howling like brutes over our misfortunes. It caused in me, as in others, an increase of feeling, and a livelier sense of our calamity.

Their cries having ceased, I talked with the Christians, and said, that, if it appeared well to them, I would beg these Indians to take us to their houses. Some who had been in New Spain said that we ought not to think of it; for, if we should do so, they would sacrifice us to their idols. But seeing no better course, and that any other led to nearer and more certain death, I disregarded what was said, and besought the Indians to take us to their dwellings. They signified that it would give them great delight, and that we should tarry a little, that we might do what we asked. Presently, thirty of them loaded themselves with wood, and started for their houses, which were far off, and we remained with the others until near night, when, holding us up, they carried us with all haste. Because of the extreme coldness of the weather, lest any one should die or fail by the way, they caused four or five large fires to be placed at intervals; and at each one of them they warmed us, and, when they saw that we had regained some strength and warmth, they took us to the next so swiftly that they hardly permitted us to put our feet to the ground. In this manner, we went as far as their habitations, where we found that they had made a house for us with many fires in it. An hour after our arrival, they began to dance, and hold great rejoicing, which lasted all night, although for us there was no joy, appetite, or sleep, awaiting the time they should make us victims. In the morning, they again gave us fish and roots, and showed us such hospitality, that we were re-assured,and lost somewhat the fear of the sacrifice.[93]

III.—Cabeza de Vaca’s Captivity.

[The eighty men taken by the Indians were soon reduced by death to fifteen. These were made slaves, and were severely treated.]

I was obliged to remain with the people of the island more than a year; and because of the hard work they put upon me, and their harsh treatment, I determined to flee from them, and go to those of Charruco, who inhabit the forests and country of the main; for the life I led was insupportable. Beside much other labor, I had to get out roots from below the water, and from among the cane where it grew in the ground. From this employment I had my fingers so worn, that, did a straw but touch them, it would draw blood. Many of the canes were broken, so that they often tore my flesh; and I had to go in the midst of them with only the clothing on me I have mentioned.

Accordingly, I put myself to work to get over to the other Indians; and afterward, while I was with them, affairs changed for me somewhat more favorably. I set myself to trafficking, and strove to turn my employment to profit in the ways I could best contrive; and by this means I got from the Indians food and good treatment. They would beg me to go from one part to another for things of which they have need; for, in consequence of continual hostilities, they cannot travel the country, nor make many exchanges. With my merchandise and trade I went into the interior as far as I pleased; and I travelled along the coast forty or fifty leagues. The chief of my wares was pieces of sea-snails and theircones, conches, that are used for cutting,[94] and a fruit like a bean, of the highest value among them, which they use as a medicine, and employ in their dances and festivities. There are sea-beads also, and other articles. Such were what I carried into the interior; and, in barter for them, I brought back skins, ochre, with which they rub and color their faces, and flint for arrow-points, cement and hard canes, of which to make arrows, and tassels that are made of the hair of deer, ornamented, and dyed red.

This occupation suited me well; for the travel gave me liberty to go where I wished. I was not obliged to work, and was not a slave. Wherever I went, I received fair treatment; and the Indians gave me to eat for the sake of my commodities. My leading object, while journeying in this business, was to find out the way by which I should have to go forward; and I became well known to the inhabitants. They were pleased when they saw me, and I had brought for them what they wanted; and those that did not know me sought and desired my acquaintance for my reputation. The hardships that I underwent in this it were long to tell, as well of peril and privation, as of storms and cold. Many of them found me in the wilderness and alone; but I came forth from them all, by the great mercy of God our Lord. Because of them, I ceased to pursue the business in winter; for it is a season in which the natives themselves retire to their villages and huts, sluggish, and incapable of exertion.

I was in this country nearly six years,[95] alone amongthe Indians, and naked like them. The reason why I remained so long was, that I might take with me from the island the Christian Lope de Oviedo. De Alaniz, his companion, who had been left with him by Alonzo del Castillo, Andres Dorantes, and the rest, died soon after their departure; and, to get the survivor out from there, I went over to the island every year, and entreated him that we should go, in the way we could best contrive, in quest of Christians. He put me off every year, saying that in the next coming we would go. At last I got him off, crossing him over the bay, and over four rivers there are in the coast, as he could not swim. In this way we went on with some Indians, until coming to a bay a league in width, and everywhere deep. From its appearance, we supposed it to be that which they call Espiritu Santo.

We met some Indians on the other side of it, who came to visit ours; and they told us that beyond them there were three men like us, and gave their names. And we asked them for the others; and they told us that they were all dead of cold and hunger; that the Indians farther on, of whom they were, had for their diversion killed Diego Dorantes, Valdevieso, and Diego de Huelva, because they left one house for another; and that other Indians, their neighbors, with whom Captain Dorantes now was, had, in consequence of a dream, killed Esquivel and Mendez. We asked them how the living were situated; and they answered us that they were very ill used; for that the boys and some of the Indian men were very idle, and of cruelty gave them severe kicks, cuffs, and blows with sticks, and that such was the life they led among them.

We desired to be informed of the country ahead, and of the subsistence in it; and they said there was nothing in it to eat, and [it] was thin of people, who suffered of cold, having no skins or other thing to cover them. They told us, also, if we wished to see those three Christians, two days from that time the Indians who had them would come to eat walnuts a league from there, on the margin of that river; and, that we might know what they had told us of the ill usage to be true, they slapped my companion, and beat him with a stick, and I was not left without my portion. They frequently threw fragments of mud at us; and every day they put their arrows to our hearts, saying that they were inclined to kill us in the way they had destroyed our friends. Lope Oviedo, my comrade, in fear, said that he wished to go back with the women who had crossed the bay with us, the men having remained some distance behind. I contended strongly with him against his returning, and I urged many objections; but in no way could I keep him. So he went back, and I remained alone with those savages.

IV.—The Indians of the Gulf of Mexico.

These are the most watchful in danger of any people I have ever seen. If they fear an enemy, they are awake the night long, with each a bow by his side, and a dozen arrows. He that sleeps tries his bow; and, if it is not strung, he gives the turn necessary to the cord. They often come out from their houses, bending to the ground in such manner, that they cannot be seen, andlook and watch on all sides to catch every object. If they perceive any thing about, they are all in the bushes with their bows and arrows, and there they remain until day, running from place to place where it is useful to be, or where they think their enemies are. When the light has come, they unbend their bows until they go out to hunt. The strings are of the sinews of deer.

The method they have of fighting is lying low to the earth; and, whilst they shoot, they move about, speaking, and leaping from one point to another, screening themselves from the shafts of their enemies. So effectual is this manœuvring,that they can receive very little injury from cross-bow or arquebuse;[96] but they rather scoff at them: for these arms are of little value employed in open field, where the Indians go loosely. They are proper for defiles, and in water: everywhere else the horses will be found the most effective, and are what the natives universally fear. Whosoever would fight against them must be cautious to show no weakness or desire for any thing that is theirs; and, whilst war exists, they must be treated with the utmost severity; for, if they discover any timidity or covetousness, they are a race that well discern the opportunities for vengeance, and gather strength from the fear of their adversaries. When they use arrows in battle, and exhaust their store, each returns by his own way without the one party following the other, although the one be many and the other few; for such is their custom. Oftentimes their bodies are traversed from side to side by arrows; and they do not die of the wounds, butsoon become well, unless the entrails or the heart be struck.

I believe they see and hear better, and have keener senses, than any people there are in the world. They are great in the endurance of hunger, thirst, and cold, as if they were made for these more than others by habit and nature. Thus much I have wished to say beyond the gratification of that desire which men have to learn the customs and manners of each other, that those who hereafter at some time find themselves amongst these people may be intelligent in their usages and artifice, the value of which they will not find inconsiderable in such event.

V.—Cabeza de Vaca’s Escape.

[After getting away from his first captors, he came among Indians who thought that he and his comrades must have come from heaven, because of their superior knowledge. He thus describes them.]

We left these, and travelled through so many sorts of people, of such diverse languages, that the memory fails to recall them. They ever plundered each other; and those that lost, like those that gained, were fully content. We drew so many followers after us, that we had not use for their services. While on our way through these vales, each of the Indians carried a club three palms in length, and kept himself on the alert. On raising a hare, which are abundant, they surround it directly; and numerous clubs are thrown at it, and with a precision astonishing to see. In this way they cause it to run from one to another; so that, accordingto my thinking, it is the most pleasing sport that can be conceived of, as oftentimes the animal runs into the hand. So many of them did they give us, that at night, when we stopped, each one of us had eight or ten back-loads. Those who had bows were not with us, but dispersed about the ridge in quest of deer; and, when they came at night, they brought five or six for each of us, besides birds, the quail, and other game. Indeed, all that they found or killed they put before us, without themselves daring to take any thing until we had blessed it, though they should be dying of hunger; for they had so established the custom since marching with us.

The women carried many mats, of which the men made us houses, each of us having a separate one with all his attendants. After these were put up, we ordered the deer and hares to be roasted, with the rest that had been taken. This was soon done by means of certain ovens made for the purpose. We took a little of each; and the remainder we gave to the principal personages that came with us, directing them to divide them among the rest. Every one brought his portion to us, that we should give it our benediction; for not until then dared they to eat of it. Frequently we were accompanied by three or four thousand persons; and as we had to breathe upon and sanctify the food and drink for each, and give them permission to do the many things they would come to ask, it may be seen how great to us were the trouble and annoyance. The women first brought us the pears, spiders, worms, and whatever else they could gather; for, even if they were famishing, they would eat nothing unless we gave it to them.

In company with these we crossed a great river coming from the north; and, passing over some plains thirty leagues in extent, we found many persons who came from a great distance to receive us; and they met us on the road over which we had to travel, and received us in the manner of those we had left.…

We told them to conduct us toward the north; and they answered us as they had done before, saying, that, in that direction, there were no people, except afar off; that there was nothing to eat, nor could water be found. Notwithstanding all this, we persisted, and said that in that course we desired to go; and they still tried to excuse themselves in the best manner possible. At this we became offended: and one night I went out to sleep in the woods, apart from them; but they directly went to where I was, and remained there all night without sleeping, and in great fear, talking to me, and telling me how terrified they were, beseeching us to be no longer angry, and that though they knew they should die on the way, they would nevertheless lead us in the direction we desired to go.

Whilst we still feigned to be displeased, that their fright might not leave them, there happened a remarkable circumstance, which was, that on this same day many of them became ill, and the next day eight men died. Abroad in the country wheresoever this became known, there was such dread, that it seemed as if the inhabitants at sight of us would die of fear. They besought us that we would not remain angered, nor require that many of them should die. They believed that we caused their death by only willing it; when in truth it gave us so much pain that it could not begreater; for, beyond the loss of them that died, we feared they might all die, or abandon us out of fear, and all other people thenceforward should do the same, seeing what had come to these. We prayed to God our Lord, that he would relieve them; and thenceforth all those that were sick began to get better.…

From that place onward there was another usage, that those who knew of our approach did not come out to receive us on the roads, as the others had done, but we found them in their houses, and others they had made for our reception. They were all seated with their faces turned to the wall, their heads down, and the hair brought before their eyes, and their property placed in a heap in the middle of their houses. From this place forward they began to give us many blankets of skin, and they had nothing that they did not give to us. They have the finest persons of any that we saw, and of the greatest activity and strength, and [were those] who best understood us, and intelligently answered our inquiries. We called them los de las vacas, the cow nation, because most of the cattle that are killed are destroyed in their neighborhood; and along up that river over fifty leagues they kill great numbers.

[Cabeza de Vaca crossed the Mississippi, or passed its mouth, many years before De Soto reached it. Having finally arrived at the city of Mexico, he was sent home to Europe, and reached Lisbon Aug. 15, 1537. His later adventures will be found in Southey’s Hist. of Brazil, chap. V.]

BOOK V.
THE FRENCH IN CANADA.
(A.D. 1534–1536.)

The extracts from Cartier’s narratives are taken from an old translation, to be found in Hakluyt’s “Voyages” (edition of 1810), vol. 3, pp. 250, 257, 259, 266–269, 271–274.