Columbus, however, was not reäppointed to his command in Hispaniola. Bovadilla, it is true, was superseded; but his successor was Don Nicholas de Ovando, a Spanish cavalier. It was represented to Columbus that this appointment was only temporary, and that as soon as the colony was in an orderly condition, he would be reinstated in his privileges. In the meantime, he was to undertake a fourth voyage of discovery. In consequence of the knowledge which he had obtained on his previous voyages—as well as from the voyages of the numerous adventurers who followed him—of the extent of the American continent, connected with the announcement with which Europe was then ringing, of the final accomplishment of the great feat of the circumnavigation of Africa by Vasco de Gama in 1497, the genius of Columbus had conceived a new project, or rather a modification of his former one. This was the discovery of some strait lying somewhere between Honduras and Paria, in about the situation of what is now known as the Isthmus of Darien, and leading into the Indian Ocean. Having discovered this strait, he would sail through it, coast along the Indies to the shores of Arabia, and either sail up the Red Sea, and travel overland to Spain; or repeat Vasco de Gama’s feat the reverse way, and reach Spain after having circumnavigated the world. Such was the gigantic scheme with the thoughts of which the great old man regaled his declining years. We mistake the character of Columbus if we suppose him merely to have been a man of extraordinary courage, coupled with what we usually understand by the term intellect. He had perhaps one of the most daring and fanciful imaginations. He regarded himself as a personage expressly predestined by heaven to discover a new world, and prepare the way for the recovery of the holy sepulchre, and the conversion of the whole world to Christianity. These three events he conceived to be linked to each other by prophecy; and he considered that he was the instrument in God’s hands for bringing them all about.
On the 9th of May 1502, Columbus again set sail from Cadiz on a fourth voyage of discovery. During this expedition he touched at some parts of the South American continent, and also at some of the formerly-discovered islands; but he failed in making any important discoveries, in consequence of the bad state of his vessels, which were old, and unfit for sailing. With a squadron reduced to a single vessel he now returned to Spain, where he heard with regret of the death of his patron Isabella. This was a sad blow to his expectations of redress and remuneration. Ferdinand was jealous and ungrateful. He was weary of a man who had conferred so much glory on his kingdom, and unwilling to repay him with the honors and privileges his extraordinary services so richly merited. Columbus, therefore, sank into obscurity, and was reduced to such straitened circumstances, that according to his own account, he had no place to repair to except an inn, and very frequently had not wherewithal to pay his reckoning. Disgusted and mortified by the base conduct of Ferdinand, exhausted with the hardships which he had suffered, and oppressed with infirmities, Columbus closed his life at Valladolid on the 20th of May 1506. He died with a composure of mind suitable to the magnanimity which distinguished his character, and with sentiments of piety becoming that supreme respect for religion which he manifested in every occurrence of his life.
Columbus experienced the fate of most great men—little esteemed during his life, but almost deified after his decease. Fedinand, with a meanness which covers his memory with infamy, allowed this great man to pine and die, a victim of injustice and mortification; but no sooner was he dead, than he erected a splendid monument over his remains in one of the churches of Seville. The body of Columbus was not destined, however, to be indebted to Spain for even this posthumous honor; it was afterwards according to the will of the deceased, transferred to St. Domingo, and buried in the cathedral there; but on the cession of that island, to the French, in the year 1795, it was transferred to Havana, in the island of Cuba, where we hope it will rest in peace.
The discoveries of Columbus laid open a knowledge of what are now termed the West India Islands, and a small portion of the South American continent, which this great navigator, till the day of his death, believed to be a part of Asia or India. About ten years after his decease the real character of America and its islands became known to European navigators; and by a casual circumstance one of these adventurers, Amerigo Vespucii, a Florentine, had the honor of conferring the name America upon a division of the globe which ought, in justice, to have been called after the unfortunate Columbus.
MAGELLAN—FIRST VOYAGE ROUND THE WORLD.
Ferdinand Magellan was by birth a Portuguese, decended from a good family, and born towards the end of the fifteenth century. In consequence of certain services in the Indian Seas, he applied to the government for some recompense; but being treated with neglect, he left his own country to seek employment in a foreign land. In company with Ruy Falero, an eminent astronomer, and one of his associates, he traveled into Spain, and explained to Charles V, the reigning monarch, his project of making discoveries in distant seas. The court listened to the adventurer with favor, and consented to fit out an expedition.
Magellan’s little squadron consisted of five ships, manned with 237 men, and supplied with provisions, ammunition and stores, for two years. On the 1st of August, 1519, they left Seville, and on the 27th of September sailed from Sanlucar, steering for the Canaries. They refreshed at Teneriffe, and early in October passed the Cape de Verd Islands. Holding on their course, they bore along the coast of Africa, till they crossed the line, seventy days after their departure. In the beginning of December, they came to that part of Brazil which is now called the Bay of St. Lucia. They subsequently anchored at the mouth of a large river, supposed to be the Rio Janeiro, where they continued a fortnight. On their first landing, the inhabitants flocked to the beach in great numbers, beholding, as they imagined, five sea-monsters approaching the shore. When the boats put out from the ships, the natives set up a great shout, conceiving them to be young sea-monsters, the offspring of the others.
Proceeding along the South American Coast, the squadron arrived in April, 1520, at a large bay, now called by the name of St. Julian. Here they saw a wild, gigantic race, of great size and fierceness, who made a roaring not unlike that of bulls. One of them came on board the admiral’s ship, and was well pleased with his reception; but happening to cast his eyes on a looking-glass, he was so terrified, that starting backwards, he beat to the ground two men who stood behind him. Others subsequently came on board, and their behavior afforded great entertainment to the officers. One of these savages ate a basket full of ship-biscuits, and drank a cask of water at a meal. They wore sandals, or a kind of shoes, made of skins, and this caused their feet to appear like those of an animal. Magellan named them Patagonians, from the Spanish word pata, signifying a hoof, or paw.
Magellan determined to continue here till the return of spring, as it is winter in the southern hemisphere during our summer. He had ordered the allowance of provisions to be shortened, to meet this exigence, which caused much discontent among the crews. A mutiny soon followed, which was not quelled till one of the officers was hanged, and some others were sent on shore to be left among the Patagonians. Five dreary months were passed in the harbor of St. Julian, during which, every exertion was made to insure the successful prosecution of the voyage. On the 24th of August, the squadron again set sail, the weather being fine, and proceeded southward, till a violent gale from the east drove one of the vessels on shore, but the crew was happily saved. Coasting south with the four remaining ships, they approached a cape, near which an opening was discovered which was found afterwards to be a strait. Upon this, Magellan gave orders that all other ships should carefully examine the strait, promising to wait for them a certain number of days. While the three vessels were employed in this expedition, one of them was driven out of the strait by the reflux of the tide, when the crew, dissatisfied with their situation, rose on their captain, made him prisoner, and again set sail for Europe. After waiting several days beyond the time he had fixed, Magellan entered the strait or arm of the sea, which has ever since retained his name. The entrance lies in 52 degrees south latitude, and the strait, which is about 110 leagues in length, is very wide in some places, and in others not more than half a league from shore to shore. On both sides the land was high, and the mountains were covered with snow, on advancing about 50 leagues west from the entrance.
In about six weeks they found themselves again in an open sea, the coast terminating westward in a cape, and the shore of the continent taking a northerly direction. The sight of the Pacific Ocean gave Magellan the utmost joy, he being the first European who sailed upon it. Proceeding W.N.W. he arrived at the Ladrone Islands, to which he gave that name on account of the thievish disposition of the natives.