FIELD OF VOYAGES TO AMERICA.
ON MERCATOR’S PROJECTION.
While Columbus was in Española, King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella abrogated in part the concessions granted him, and issued letters-patent on the tenth of April, 1495, permitting any of their subjects to make voyages of discovery to the Indies.[186] Commissioned by their highnesses, Amerigo Vespucci[187] went with a fleet of four vessels, in 1497, to make discoveries. The account of the voyage is contained in a letter written by him, in Lisbon, on the fourth of September, 1504. The publication of it made him famous as the discoverer of the continent of America. Singular as it is true, the palpable discrepancies found in the subsequent versions of Vespucci’s letter have led many scholars to discredit the statements of the intelligent and enterprising Italian.[188] Vespucci thus writes respecting his first voyage:
“The king, Don Ferdinand of Castile, having ordered four ships to discover new lands toward the west, I was selected by his highness to go in the fleet to aid in the discoveries.[189] We departed from the port of Cadiz on the tenth day of May, 1497, and took our course across the great gulf of the ocean-sea.[190] We spent eighteen months on the voyage, and discovered much main-land and an endless number of islands, which were in great part inhabited. As these are not spoken of by ancient writers, I think that they had no knowledge of them....
“We reached a land which we judged to be firm land, distant from the Canary Islands about a thousand leagues more to the west, within the torrid zone, because we found the north pole at an elevation of sixteen degrees above the horizon,[191] and that we were more than seventy-five degrees west of the Canary Islands as our instruments showed.[192] We anchored our ships a league and a half from the coast. We got out our boats, and, having manned and armed them, we went on land.
“Before we went ashore we were greatly delighted in seeing many people wandering along the beach. We saw that they were naked and that they seemed to be frightened when they beheld us, likely, as I supposed, by seeing us clothed, and of a different stature from their own. They retired to a mountain, and we could not entice them to hold any intercourse with us, notwithstanding we endeavored to induce them by signs of peace and friendship....
“We sailed to the northwest[193] in which direction the coast extended, always in sight of land, seeing continually, during the voyage, people on the shore. After sailing two days, we found a secure place for the ships, and anchored half a league from the land.... The natives were somewhat timid, and it was a long time before we were able to dispel their fear and induce them to come and talk to us.... Giving them such things as looking-glasses, bells, beads, and other trifles, we enticed a number of them to approach and enter into friendly relations with us....
“These people go entirely naked and wear not a particle of clothing. They are of a medium size and very well proportioned. Their skin is reddish like the color of a lion’s skin.... They do not allow any hair to grow on their eyelids and eyebrows, nor on any part of their bodies; only on their heads, for they think it very unbecoming. The men and women are exceedingly quick in their movements, and are unconstrained in their deportment. They walk and run rapidly. The women do not think it a difficult thing to run a league or two.... These people are excellent swimmers. The women surpass the men, for we have observed them many times swimming unaided, fully two leagues out from land.
“The weapons of these people are bows and arrows. These are curiously made. They have no iron or any other hard metal on them. They use instead the teeth of animals or fish.... They are expert bowmen, and hit with their arrows whatever they shoot at. The women in some parts of the country handle the bow with considerable skill. Their other weapons are lances and clubs with elaborately carved heads. When they go to make war their wives accompany them, not to fight, but to carry provision on their backs. Sometimes a woman will convey a burden in this manner thirty or forty leagues, which the strongest men there cannot do as we have frequently observed....