Even under pressure of that civil and ecclesiastical system so completely interwoven in Spain that to disobey one was rebellion against both, even in the face of king and priest, these mechanical sea-farers, who halted not before tangible danger in any form, shrank from the awful uncertainty of a plunge into the mysteries of the dim, lowering, unintelligible west. Then came bravely forward the brothers Pinzon, and not only assisted in providing two ships, so that Queen Isabella, after all, might wear her jewels while her deputy was scouring the high seas for new dominions, but furnished Columbus with money to equip another vessel and to pay his eighth of the charge which should secure him one eighth of the profits—a service never sufficiently remembered or rewarded by either Columbus, his masters, or successors.
FIRST VOYAGE.
The expedition comprised one hundred and twenty men, in three small vessels, the Santa María, decked, and carrying the flag of the admiral, and the Pinta and Niña, open caravels, commanded by Martin Alonso Pinzon and Vicente Yañez Pinzon respectively. Among others were the inspector-general of the armament, Rodrigo Sanchez; the chief alguacil, Diego de Arana; the royal notary, Rodrigo de Escobar; and four pilots, Francisco Martin Pinzon, Sancho Ruiz, Pedro Alonso Niño, and Bartolomé Roldan. The commander-in-chief with his tall, enduring form bowed by an idea; his long, thin face, with its large, round eyes, high forehead, straight, pointed nose; features, in which tenacity and gloom struggled for the predominance, surrounded by thin locks and gray beard—was scarcely a personage either to inspire confidence or win affection. The squadron sailed from the port of Palos August 3, 1492.
But for the fact that it was the first, the voyage was quite commonplace; the most serious occurrences being the breaking of a rudder, which obliged the expedition to put in at the Canaries for repairs, and the variation of the needle, which caused a little fright among the pilots. The sea was tranquil, toward the last extremely so, and the wind generally favorable; yet no small trepidation attended this gradual loosening of hold upon the substantial world, and the drifting daily farther and farther into the fathomless unknown. Hence it was with the wildest joy that early in the morning of the 12th of October the cry of Land! was heard, and that soon afterward the venturesome navigators felt beneath their feet the indubitable isle to which they gave the name San Salvador, taking possession for Castile.
Now the sovereigns had promised that he who first saw land should be recompensed by a pension of ten thousand maravedís, equivalent to thirty-six dollars. It was at two o'clock in the morning that Rodrigo de Triana, a mariner on board the Pinta, gave the signal, the first that proved true after several had been mistakenly made; whereupon he claimed the reward. But previously, during the night, Columbus had fancied he descried a fitful light that should be on some shore. On the strength of this surmise he secured to himself the insignificant sum, which, to say nothing of its justness, was not a very magnanimous proceeding in so great a discoverer. We are told of Triana, that, burning under a sense of wrong, after returning to Spain, he passed into Africa and turned Mahometan. However this may have been, dawn had shown them the island, which seemed itself but dawn, to be dispelled by the full sun's rays when the night's dream had passed. Over the trackless waste of sea, suspended between earth and sky, the good ships had felt their way, until now, like goddesses, they sat at anchor on the other side of Ocean.
Though this land was unlike the Zipangu of his dreams, Columbus was not disposed to complain; but rather, midst tears and praises, to kiss the earth, be it of whatsoever quality, and smile benignantly upon the naked natives that crept timidly forward, wondering whether the ships were monsters of the deep, or bright beings dropped from heaven.
Of a truth, it was a wonderful place, this India of Marco Polo that the Genoese now sought. Intersected by rivers and canals, spanned by bridges under which the largest ships might sail, were fertile provinces fragrant with fruit and spices. Mangi alone boasted twelve thousand cities with gorgeous palaces, whose pillars and roofs were emblazoned in gold, and so situated as to be compassed within a few days' travel. The cities and fortresses of Cathay were counted by tens of thousands, and their busy population by millions. On every side were gardens and luxurious groves; pleasure-boats and banqueting-barges floated on the lakes, and myriads of white sails swept over the bays. The mountains were veined with silver, the river-beds paved with gold, and pearls were as common as pebbles. Sheep were as large as oxen, and oxen were as large as elephants. Birds of brilliant plumage filled the enchanting air, and strange beasts of beauty and utility roamed the forests. The inhabitants were arrayed in silks and furs, and fed on luscious viands; there were living springs that cured all diseases. The army of the great Khan, the happy ruler of all these glories, was in number as the grains of the sand which the sea surrounds; and as for vessels of war, and horses, and elephants, there were a thousand times ten thousand. What a contrast to such a creation was this low-lying strip of jungle-covered sand, peopled by copper-hued creatures dwelling in huts, and sustaining life by the natural products of the unkempt earth! This, however, was but an outlying island of Cathay; the main-land of Asia could not be far distant; in any event, here was India, and these people were Indians.
THE TWO INDIAS COMPARED.
There was little enough, now appearing, in the India thus far found to enrich Spain. In their noses the natives displayed gold, always a royal monopoly when discovered; and they brought cotton for barter, on which the admiral immediately laid the same restriction. Being informed, by signs, that the metal came from the south, after examining the shore thereabout in boats, the Spaniards set sail on the 14th, took possession of Santa María de la Concepcion on the 15th, of Fernandina, now Exuma, the day following, and afterward of Isabela, now Isla Larga, or Long Island; also of a group to which they gave the name Islas de Arena. Soils and other substances, atmospheres and sunshines, were all familiar; plants and animals, though differing in degree and kind, were similar to those they had always been accustomed to see. One creation was everywhere apparent; one nature; one rule. It was wonderful, stupendous! And if these human kind have souls, what a mighty work is here to fit them for eternity!
Crossing the Bahama Bank, they came on the 28th to Cuba, which Columbus called Juana, and which, with its dense uprolling green spangled with parrots, gay woodpeckers, and humming-birds, scarlet flamingoes and glittering insects; its trees of royal palm, cocoanut, cedar, mahogany, and shrubs of spicy fragrance; its unknown fruits and foods; its transparent waters whose finny denizens flashed back the sunlight from their variegated scales, all under the brightest of skies, all breathed upon by softest airs, and lapped in serenest seas, was more like his own Zipangu, if, indeed, it was not Mangi itself.