Part 27 (1/2)
Every one was on the alert with the dawn; and as the preparations had been completed the previous night, by the time the sun had risen, the three vessels were under way, the Pinta leading, as usual. The wind was light, and the squadron could barely gather steerage way; but as every moment was deemed precious, the vessels' heads were kept to the westward. When a short time out, a caravel came flapping past them, after having been several hours in sight, and the admiral spoke her. She proved to be from Ferro, the most southern and western island of the group, and had come nearly on the route the expedition intended to steer, until they quitted the known seas.
”Dost thou bring any tidings from Ferro?” inquired Columbus, as the strange s.h.i.+p drifted slowly past the Santa Maria; the progress of each vessel being little more than a mile in the hour. ”Is there aught of interest in that quarter?”
”Did I know whether, or not, I am speaking to Don Christopher Columbus, the Genoese that their Highnesses have honored with so important a commission, I should feel more warranty to answer what I have both heard and seen, Senor,” was the reply.
”I am Don Christopher himself, their Highnesses' admiral and viceroy, for all seas and lands that we may discover, and, as thou hast said, a Genoese in birth, though a Castilian by duty, and in love to the queen.”
”Then, n.o.ble admiral, I may tell you that the Portuguese are active, three of their caravels being off Ferro, at this moment, with the hope of intercepting your expedition.”
”How is this known, friend, and what reason have I for supposing that the Portuguese will dare to send forth caravels, with orders to molest those who sail as the officers of Isabella the Catholic? They must know that the Holy Father hath lately conferred this t.i.tle on the two sovereigns, in acknowledgment of their great services in expelling the Moor from Christendom.”
”Senor, there hath been a rumor of that among the islands, but little will the Portuguese care for aught of that nature, when he deemeth his gold in danger. As I quitted Ferro, I spoke the caravels, and have good reason to think that rumor doth them no injustice.”
”Did they seem warlike, and made they any pretensions to a right to interrupt our voyage?”
”To us they said naught of this sort, except to inquire, tauntingly, if the ill.u.s.trious Don Christoval Colon, the great viceroy of the east, sailed on board us. As for preparation, Senor, they had many lombardas, and a mult.i.tude of men in breast-plates and casques. I doubt if soldiers are as numerous at the Azores, as when they sailed.”
”Keep they close in with the island, or stretch they off to seaward?”
”Mostly the latter, Senor, standing far toward the west in the morning, and beating up toward the land as the day closeth. Take the word of an old pilot, Don Christopher, the mongrels are there for no good.”
This was barely audible, for, by this time, the caravels had drifted past each other, and were soon altogether beyond the reach of the voice.
”Do you believe that the Castilian name standeth so low, Don Christopher,” demanded Luis, ”that these dogs of Portuguese dare do this wrong to the flag of the queen?”
”I dread naught from force, beyond detention and frauds, certainly; but these, to me, at this moment, would be little less painful than death.
Most do I apprehend that these caravels, under the pretence of protecting the rights of Don John, are directed to follow us to Cathay, in which case we should have a disputed discovery, and divided honors.
We must avoid the Portuguese, if possible; to effect which purpose, I intend to pa.s.s to the westward, without nearing the island of Ferro, any closer than may be rendered absolutely indispensable.”
Notwithstanding a burning impatience now beset the admiral, and most with him, the elements seemed opposed to his pa.s.sage from among the Canaries, into the open ocean. The wind gradually failed, until it became so calm that the sails were hauled up, and the three vessels lay, now laying their sides with the brine, and now rising to the summit of the ground-swell, resembling huge animals that were lazily reposing, under the heats of summer, in drowsy indolence.
Many was the secret _pater_, or _ave_, that was mumbled by the mariners, and not a few vows of future prayers were made, in the hope of obtaining a breeze. Occasionally it seemed as if Providence listened to these pet.i.tions, for the air would fan the cheek, and the sails would fall, in the vain expectation of getting ahead; but disappointment as often followed, until all on board felt that they were fated to linger under the visitations of a calm. Just at nightfall, however, a light air arose, and, for a few hours, the wash of the parted waters was audible under the bows of the vessels, though their way was barely sufficient to keep them under the command of their helms. About midnight, however, even this scarcely perceptible motion was lost, and the craft were again lazily wallowing in the ground-swells that the gales had sent in from the vast expanse of the Western Ocean.
When the light reappeared, the admiral found himself between Gomera and Teneriffe, the lofty peak of the latter casting its pointed shadow, like that thrown by a planet, far upon the water, until its sharp apex was renewed, in faint mimicry, along the gla.s.sy surface of the ocean.
Columbus was now fearful that the Portuguese might employ their boats, or impel some light felucca by her sweeps, in order to find out his position; and he wisely directed the sails to be furled, in order to conceal his vessels, as far as possible, from any prying eyes. The season had advanced to the 7th of September, and such was the situation of this renowned expedition, exactly five weeks after it had left Spain; for this inauspicious calm occurred on a Friday, or on that day of the week on which it had originally sailed.
All practice shows that there is no refuge from a calm at sea, except in patience. Columbus was much too experienced a navigator, not to feel this truth, and, after using the precaution mentioned, he, and the pilots under him, turned their attention to the arrangements required to render the future voyage safe and certain. The few mathematical instruments known to the age, were got up, corrected, and exhibited, with the double intention of ascertaining their state, and of making a display before the common men, that would heighten their respect for their leaders, by adding to their confidence in their skill. The admiral, himself, had already obtained a high reputation as a navigator, among his followers, in consequence of his reckonings having proved so much more accurate than those of the pilots, in approaching the Canaries; and as he now exhibited the instruments then used as a quadrant, and examined his compa.s.ses, every movement he made was watched by the seamen, with either secret admiration, or jealous vigilance; some openly expressing their confidence in his ability to proceed wherever he wished to go, and others covertly betraying just that degree of critical knowledge which ordinarily accompanies prejudice, ignorance, and malice.
Luis had never been able to comprehend the mysteries of navigation, his n.o.ble head appearing to repudiate learning, as a species of accomplishment but little in accordance with its wants or its tastes.
Still, he was intelligent; and within the range of knowledge that it was usual for laymen of his rank to attain, few of his age did themselves more credit in the circles of the court. Fortunately, he had the most perfect reliance on the means of the admiral; and being almost totally without personal apprehensions, Columbus had not a more submissive or blind follower, than the young grandee, under his command.
Man, with all his boasted philosophy, intelligence, and reason, exists the dupe of his own imagination and blindness, as much as of the artifices and designs of others. Even while he fancies himself the most vigilant and cautious, he is as often misled by appearances as governed by facts and judgment; and perhaps half of those who were spectators of this calculated care in Columbus, believed that they felt, in their renewed confidence, the a.s.surances of science and logical deductions, when in truth their senses were impressed, without, in the slightest degree, enlightening their understandings.
Thus pa.s.sed the day of the 7th September, the night arriving and still finding the little squadron, or fleet, as it was termed in the lofty language of the day, floating helplessly between Teneriffe and Gomera.
Nor did the ensuing morning bring a change, for a burning sun beat, unrelieved by a breath of air, on the surface of a sea that was glittering like molten silver. When the admiral was certain, however, by having sent men aloft to examine the horizon, that the Portuguese were not in sight, he felt infinitely relieved, little doubting that his pursuers still lay, as inactive as himself, to the westward of Ferro.
”By the seamen's hopes! Senor Don Christopher,” said Luis, as he reached the p.o.o.p, where Columbus had kept an untiring watch for hours, he himself having just risen from a siesta, ”the fiends seem to be leagued against us! Here are we in the third day of our calm, with the Peak of Teneriffe as stationary as if it were a mile-stone, set to tell the porpoises and dolphins the rate at which they swim. If one believed in omens, he might fancy that the saints were unwilling to see us depart, even though it be on their own errand.”
”We _may not_ believe in omens, when they are no more than the fruits of natural laws,” gravely returned the admiral. ”There will shortly be an end of this calm, for a haze is gathering in the atmosphere that promises air from the east, and the motion of the s.h.i.+p will tell thee, that the winds have been busy far to the westward. Master Pilot,”