FOOTNOTES:

[9] In this sense, the main-land, or continent, as opposed to islands, the Latin form, terra, is almost invariably used by the Spaniards, instead of tierra.



VI

VESPUCCI'S DEBATABLE VOYAGE

1497-1498

It has been said that the house of Berardi, with which Vespucci was connected as a partner, outfitted the large fleet for the second voyage of Columbus in 1493; but this is true only in the sense that it served the crown in the capacity of sub-contractor. The real head of Indian affairs was the archdeacon of Seville, Juan Rodriguez de Fonseca, who first rose to prominence at this time as general superintendent of all the New-World business, and for thirty years controlled the same. Invested by King Ferdinand with great, almost unlimited, power, he has the credit of having founded the royal India house, which was of such importance in the colonizing of new territory, and by the favor of which alone any voyage of discovery could be projected and carried to a successful conclusion.

Fonseca has been held up to obloquy by the admirable eulogist of Columbus, Mr. Irving, "as a warning example of those perfidious beings in office, who too often lie like worms at the root of honorable enterprise, blighting by their unseen influence the fruits of glorious action and disappointing the hopes of nations." This denunciation he incurred by thwarting the schemes of Columbus, in their minor details at first, afterwards becoming his open and determined enemy. The first instance in which the two great men fell out occurred when Fonseca opposed the pretensions of Columbus and attempted to check his extravagance in the matter of personal retinue. Among other requisitions which Columbus sent in, those for ten footmen and twenty menials for his domestic establishment were objected to by the superintendent as superfluous.

In connection with the treasurer, Francisco Pinelo, and the contador, Juan de Soria, Fonseca used his utmost efforts to raise the necessary funds for the expedition, to provide for the vast expenses of which, says Mr. Irving himself, "the royal revenue arising from two-thirds of the Church tithes was placed at the disposition of Pinelo; and other funds were drawn from a disgraceful source—from the jewels and other valuables, the sequestrated property of the unfortunate Jews, banished from the kingdom according to a bigoted edict of the previous year. As these sources were still inadequate, Pinelo was authorized to supply the deficiency by a loan. Requisitions were likewise made for provisions of all kinds, as well as for artillery, powder, muskets, lances, corselets, and crossbows.... The military stores which had accumulated during the war with the Moors of Granada furnished a great part of these supplies."

Having great difficulty, therefore, in meeting the really needful demands of the expedition, it was quite natural that Fonseca should desire to cut down those he deemed extravagant, and it must be admitted that among these he might rightfully class the requisitions of Columbus intended merely to support his newly acquired dignity as admiral and grandee. He was supported by the sovereigns, however, and Fonseca was rebuked for denying him anything he desired. He was reminded that the expedition was intended solely to extend the power and prestige of the crown, and that but for Columbus it would never have been assembled, hence he was to study his wishes and comply with his demands. This implied reproof cut the haughty prelate to the heart, and from these trivial differences, remarks Mr. Irving, "we must date the rise of that singular hostility which he ever afterwards manifested towards Columbus, which every year increased in rancor, and which he gratified in the most invidious manner by secretly multiplying impediments and vexations in his path."

But for the fact that this enmity existing between Fonseca and Columbus made possible the first voyage of Amerigo Vespucci, we should not feel called upon to more than mention the first named in connection with an expedition in which all three were so deeply interested. The fleet finally sailed away, pursued by the maledictions of Fonseca, and followed by the heart-felt longings of Vespucci. Some historians have stated that the Florentine sailed with Columbus on this second voyage; but there are no records to prove this assertion, and he himself never made the claim. We have every reason for believing that he continued in his employment as purveyor to the crown and contractor for the furnishing of fleets, with his residence sometimes at Seville and sometimes at Cadiz, as occasion demanded, the office of the India house being at the former city, and the port of customs and sailing at the latter. He was, undoubtedly, brought into more or less intimate contact with Fonseca, whose supervision of colonial affairs and control of expeditionary fleets demanded his constant attention for many years. He probably appreciated such a man as Vespucci, whose even temper and mastery of detail, combined with great sagacity and learning, were invaluable to the man who was building up a government beyond the ocean. They were nearly of the same age—Fonseca having been born in 1441—and at this time in the fulness of their natural powers.

Just what Vespucci was doing in the two years succeeding to the departure of Columbus is not definitely known; but in December, 1495, we find him actively engaged in settling the estate of Juan Berardi, who had died in that month and year. He was then, it appears, the most influential if not the sole member of the firm then resident in Spain, and after Berardi's death he undertook and carried out the contracts entered into by the senior partner with the government.

About three hundred years after the death of Vespucci, some ancient documents were discovered by a Spanish historian, in which it was shown that on January 12, 1496, the royal treasurer, Pinelo, had paid to Vespucci the sum of ten thousand maravedis on account. He advanced pay and furnished subsistence for the mariners of an expedition which sailed on February 3, 1496, and was wrecked two weeks later, with the loss of several lives. The fragmentary records also show, apparently, that in the year 1497 and the early part of 1498, Vespucci was "busily engaged at Seville and San Lucar, in the equipment of the fleet with which Columbus sailed on his third voyage"; and yet, according to a letter which he wrote a former friend in 1504, he was himself upon the ocean at that very time, seeking to rival Columbus in the discovery of a continent!

The exact truth may never be learned as to this reputed voyage of Vespucci, which he calls his "first," and which his enemies say was never made! It seems incredible that he should be the "sole authority" for this voyage, and that all contemporary history "is absolutely silent in regard to it"; yet, so far as we can ascertain, it is the truth. Leaving for future discussion, however, the proof and disproof of this voyage—merely pausing to remark that at the period mentioned a man holding his relations to Fonseca would have had no difficulty in obtaining permission to make such a voyage, even without the sanction of royal authority—we will now peruse the famous letter. It is addressed to "Piero Soderini, Perpetual Gonfaloniere of the Republic of Florence," and was written in 1504.

"MOST EXCELLENT SIR,— ... The principal reason why I am induced to write is the request of the bearer, Benvenuto Benvenuti, the devoted servant of your Excellency and my particular friend. He happened to be here in this city of Lisbon, and requested that I would impart to your Excellency a description of the things seen by me in various climes, in the course of four voyages which I have made for the discovery of new lands, two by the authority and command of Don Ferdinand, King of Castile, in the great Western Ocean, and the other two by order of Dom Manuel, King of Portugal, towards the south. So I resolved to write, as requested, and set about the performance of my task, because I am certain that your Excellency counts me among the number of your most devoted servants, remembering that in the time of our youth, we were friends, going daily to study the rudiments of grammar, under the excellent instruction of the venerable brother of St. Mark, Friar Georgio Antonio Vespucci, my uncle, whose counsels would to God I had followed! for then, as Petrarch says, I should have been a different man from what I am.

" ... Your Excellency will please to observe that I came into the kingdom of Spain for the purpose of engaging in mercantile affairs, and that I continued to be thus employed about four years [six or seven], during which I saw and experienced the fickle movements of fortune, and how she ordered the changes of these transitory and perishing worldly goods, at one time sustaining a man at the top of the wheel, and at another returning him to the lowest part thereof, and depriving him of her favors, which may truly be said to be lent. Thus having experienced the continual labor of one who would acquire her favors, subjecting myself to very many inconveniences and dangers, I concluded to abandon mercantile affairs and direct my attention to something more laudable and stable. For this purpose I prepared myself to visit various parts of the world, and see the wonderful things which might be found therein. Time and place were very opportunely offered me when I came to this conclusion.

"King Ferdinand of Castile had ordered four ships to go in search of new lands, and I was selected by his highness to go in that fleet, in order to assist in the discoveries. We sailed from the port of Cadiz on the 10th of May, A.D. 1497, and steering our course through the great Western Ocean, spent eighteen months in our expedition, discovering much land and a great number of islands, the largest part of which were inhabited. As these are not spoken of by the ancient writers, I presume they were ignorant of them. If I am not mistaken, I well remember to have read in one of their books, which I possessed, that this ocean was considered unpeopled. In this voyage I saw many astonishing things, as your Excellency will perceive by the following relation.

"We had sailed so rapidly that at the end of twenty-seven days we came in sight of land, which we judged to be a continent, being about a thousand leagues west of the Fortunate Islands, now called the Grand Canaries. Here we anchored our ships at a league and a half from the shore, and, having cast off our boats and filled them with men and arms, proceeded to land. Before we landed we were much cheered by the sight of many people rambling along the shore. We found that they were all in a state of nudity, and they appeared to be afraid of us, as I suppose from seeing us clothed and of a different stature from themselves. They retreated to a mountain, and, notwithstanding all the signs of peace and friendship we could make, we could not bring them to parley with us; so, as the night was coming on and the ships were anchored in an insecure place, we agreed to leave there and go in search of some port or bay where we could place our ships in safety.

"We sailed two days along the coast, and on the morning of the third day, as dawn appeared, we saw on shore a great number of men, with their wives and children, all laden with provisions. Before we reached the land many of them swam to meet us, the distance of a bow-shot into the sea (as they are most excellent swimmers), and they treated us with as much confidence as if we had had intercourse with them for a long time, which gratified us much. All that we know of their life and manners is that they go entirely naked, not having the slightest covering whatever; they are of middling stature and very well proportioned, and their flesh is a reddish color, like the skin of a lion; but I think if they had been accustomed to wear clothing they would have been as white as we are. They have no hair on the body, except very long hair on the head; but the women especially derive attractiveness from this. Their countenances are not handsome, as they have large faces, which might be compared with those of the Tartars. Both men and women are very agile, easy in their carriage, and swift in running or walking, so that the women think nothing of speeding a league or two, as we have many a time beheld.

"Their weapons are bows and arrows beautifully wrought, but unfurnished with iron or any other hard metal, in place of which they make use of the teeth of animals, or fish, or sometimes a slip of hard-wood, made harder at the point by fire. They are sure marksmen, who hit whatever they wish, and in some parts the women also use the bow with dexterity. They have other arms, such as lances and staves, with heads finely wrought. When they make war they take their wives with them—not to fight, but to carry provisions on their backs, a woman frequently carrying a burden in this manner for thirty or forty leagues, which the strongest man among them could not do, as we have witnessed many times.

"These people have no captains, neither do they march in order, but each one is his own master. The cause of their wars is not a love of conquest, or of enlarging their boundaries, neither are they incited to engage in them by inordinate covetousness [unlike the Spaniards], but from ancient enmity which has existed among them in times past; and having been asked why they made war, they could give us no other reason than that they did it to avenge the deaths of their ancestors. Neither have these people kings or lords, nor do they obey any one, but live in their own entire liberty; and the manner in which they are incited to go to war is this: when their enemies have killed or taken prisoners any of their people, the oldest relative rises and goes about proclaiming his wrongs aloud, and calling upon them to go with him to avenge the death of his relation. Thereupon they are moved with sympathy and make ready for the fight.

"They have no tribunals of justice, neither do they punish malefactors; and what is still more astonishing, neither father nor mother chastises the children when they do wrong; yet, astounding as it may seem, there is no strife between them; or, to say the least, we never saw any. They appear simple in speech, but in reality are very shrewd and cunning in any matter which interests them. They speak but little, and that little in a low tone of voice, using the same accentuation that we use, and forming the words with the palate, teeth, and lips; but they have a different mode of diction. There is a great diversity of language among them, inasmuch as every hundred leagues or so we found people who could not understand one another. Their mode of life is most barbarous; they do not eat at regular intervals; but it is a matter of indifference to them whether appetite comes at midnight or at mid-day, and they eat upon the ground at all hours, without napkin or table-cloth, having their food in earthen basins, which they manufacture, or in half-gourd shells or calabashes. They sleep in nets of cotton, very large and suspended in the air; and although this may seem a very bad way of sleeping, I can vouch for the fact that it is extremely pleasant, and one sleeps better thus than on a mattress. They are neat and clean in their persons, which is a natural consequence of their perpetual bathing; but some of their habits are unmentionable....

" ... We are not aware that these people have any laws. Neither are they like Moors or Jews, but worse than Gentiles or Pagans, because we have never seen them offer any sacrifice, and they have no houses of prayer. From their voluptuous manner of life, I consider them as Epicureans. Their dwellings are in communities and their houses are in the form of huts, but strongly built of large tree-trunks and covered with palm leaves, secure from winds and storms. In some places they are of such great length that in a single house we saw six hundred people, and we found that the population of thirteen houses only amounted to four thousand. They change their location every seven or eight years, and on being asked why they did so they said it was on account of the intense heat of the sun upon the soil, which by that time became infected and corrupted, and caused pains in their bodies, which seemed to us reasonable.

"The riches of these people consist in birds' feathers of beautiful colors, of beads, which they fabricate from fish-bones or colored stones, with which they decorate their cheeks, lips, and ears, and of many other things which are held in little or no esteem by us. They carry on no commerce, neither buying nor selling, and, in short, live contentedly with what nature gives them. The riches which we esteem so highly in Europe and other parts—such as gold, jewels, pearls, and other wealth—they have no regard for at all. They are liberal in giving, never denying one anything, and, on the other hand, are just as free in asking....

"In case of death they make use of various funeral obsequies. Some bury their dead with water and provisions placed at their heads, thinking they may have occasion to eat and drink, but they make no parade in the way of funeral ceremonies. In some places they have a most barbarous mode of interment, which is thus: When one is sick or infirm, and nearly at the point of death, his relatives carry him into a large forest, and there attaching one of their sleeping-hammocks to two trees, they place the sick person in it, and continue to swing him about for a whole day, and when night comes, after placing at his head water and provisions sufficient to sustain him for five or six days, they return to their village. If the sick person can help himself to eat and drink, and recovers sufficiently to be able to return to the village, his people receive him again with great ceremony; but few are they who escape this mode of treatment, as most of them die without being visited, and that is their only burial.

"They use in their diseases various kinds of medicines, so different from any in vogue with us that we are astonished that any escaped. I often saw, for instance, that when a person was sick with a fever, which was increasing upon him, they bathed him from head to foot with cold water, and making a great fire around him, they made him turn round in a circle for about an hour or two, until they fatigued him and left him to sleep. Many were cured in this way. They also observe a strict diet, eating nothing for three or four days. They practise blood-letting; not on the arm, unless in the arm-pit, but generally taking it from the thighs and haunches. Their blood or phlegm is much disordered on account of their food, which consists mainly of the roots of herbs, of fruit, and fish. They have no wheat or other grain, but instead make use of the root of a tree [shrub] from which they manufacture flour, which is very good and called huca [yucca]; the flour from another root is called kazabi, and from another igname.

"They eat little meat except human flesh, and you will notice that in this particular they are more savage than beasts, because all their enemies who are killed or taken prisoners, whether male or female, are devoured with so much fierceness that it seems disgusting to relate, much more to see it done, as I, with my own eyes, have many times witnessed this proof of their inhumanity. Indeed, they marvelled much to hear us say that we did not eat our enemies.

"And your Excellency may rest assured that their other barbarous customs are so numerous that it is impossible herein to describe them all. As in these voyages I have witnessed so many things at variance with our own customs, I prepared myself to write a collection, which I call The Four Voyages, in which I have related the major part of the things I saw as clearly as my feeble capacity would permit. This work is not yet published, though many advise me to publish it. In it everything will appear minutely, therefore I shall not enlarge any more in this letter, because in the course of it we shall see many things which are peculiar. Let this suffice for matters in general.

"In this commencement of discoveries we did not see anything of much profit in the country, owing as I think to our ignorance of the language, except some few indications of gold. We concluded to leave this place and go onward, and coasted along the shore, making many stops, and holding discourses with many people, until after some days we came into a harbor, where we fell into a very great danger, from which it pleased the Holy Spirit to deliver us. It happened in this manner: We landed in a port where we found a village built over the water, like Venice. There were about forty-four houses, shaped like bells, built upon very large piles, having entrances by means of draw-bridges, so that by laying the bridges from house to house the inhabitants could pass through the whole.

"When the people saw us they appeared to be afraid of us, and, to protect themselves, suddenly raised all their bridges and shut themselves up in their houses. While we were looking at them and wondering at this proceeding, we saw, coming in from the sea, about two and twenty canoes, which are the boats they make use of, and are carved out of a single tree. They came directly towards our boats, appearing to be astonished at our figures and dress, and keeping at a little distance from us. This being the case, we made signals of friendship to induce them to approach, endeavoring to reassure them by every token of kindness; but seeing that they did not come we went towards them. They would not wait for us, however, but fled to the land, making signs to us to wait, and giving us to understand that they would return. They fled to a mountain, but did not tarry long there, and when they returned brought with them sixteen of their young maidens, and entering into their canoes came near and put four of them into each boat, at which we were very much astonished, as your Excellency may well imagine. Then they mingled with their canoes among our boats, and we considered their coming to us in this manner to be a token of friendship. Taking this for granted, we saw a great crowd of people swimming towards us from the houses without any suspicion. At this juncture some old women showed themselves at the doorways of the huts, wailing and tearing their hair, as if in great distress. From this we began to be suspicious, and had recourse to our weapons, when suddenly the young girls, who were in our boats, threw themselves into the sea, and the canoes at the same time moved away, the people in them assailing us with their bows and arrows.

"Those who came swimming towards us brought each a lance, concealed as much as possible under the water, and their treachery being thus discovered, we began not only to defend ourselves, but to act severely on the defensive. We overturned many of the canoes with our boats, and making considerable slaughter among them they soon abandoned the canoes altogether and swam for the shore. Fifteen or twenty were killed, and many wounded, on their side, while on ours five were slightly wounded, all the rest escaping by divine Providence, and these five being quickly cured. We took prisoners two of their girls and three men, and on entering their huts found one sick man and two old women. Returning to our boats and thence to the ships, with the five prisoners, we put irons upon the feet of each, excepting the two young females; yet when night came the two girls and one of the men escaped, in the most artful manner in the world.

"The next day we concluded to depart from this port, and at length came to anchor at about eighty leagues distance, and found another tribe of people whose customs and language were very different from those we had last seen. We determined to land, seeing there a great multitude numbering about four thousand. They did not wait to receive us, but fled precipitately to the woods, abandoning all their things. We leaped ashore, and taking the path which led to the wood, found their tents within the space of a bow-shot, where they had made a great fire and two of them were cooking their food, roasting many animals of various kinds.

"We noticed that they were roasting a certain animal that looked like a serpent; it had no wings, and was so disgusting in appearance that we were astonished at its deformity. As we went through their huts or tents, we found many of these serpents alive. Their feet were tied, and they had a cord about their snouts so that they could not open their mouths, as dogs are sometimes muzzled so they may not bite. These animals had such a savage appearance that none of us durst turn one over, thinking they might be poisonous.[10] They are about the size of a kid, about the length and a half of a man's arm, and have long, coarse feet armed with large nails. Their skin is hard, and they are of various colors. They have the snout and face of a serpent, and from the nose there runs a crest, passing over the middle of the back to the root of the tail. We finally concluded that they were serpents, and poisonous; yet, nevertheless, they were eaten by the natives.

" ... Finally these people became very friendly, told us that this was not their place of dwelling, but that they had come there only to carry on their fishery. They importuned us so much to go to their village that, having taken counsel, twenty-three of us Christians concluded to go with them, well prepared, and with firm resolution to die manfully if such was to be our fate. Three leagues from the coast we arrived at a well-peopled village, where we were received with so many and such barbarous ceremonies that no pen is equal to the task of describing them. There was dancing and singing, weeping mingled with rejoicing, and great feasting. After having passed the night and half of the next day, an immense number of people visiting us from motives of curiosity, we determined to proceed still farther inland, having been desired to visit other villages. And it is impossible to tell how much honor they did us there. We visited so many villages that we spent nine days in the journey. On our return we were accompanied by a wonderful number of both sexes, quite to the sea-shore; and when any of us grew weary with walking, they carried us in their hammocks, much at our ease. Many of them were laden with the presents they made us, consisting of very rich plumage, many bows and arrows, and an infinite variety of parrots, beautiful and varied in colors. Others carried loads of provisions and animals. For a greater wonder, I will tell your Excellency that when we had to cross a river they carried us on their backs.

"Having arrived at the sea and entered the boats, which had come ashore for us, we are astonished at the crowd which endeavored to get into the boats to go to see our ships, for they were so overloaded that they were ofttimes on the point of sinking. We carried as many as we could on board, and so many more came by swimming that we were quite troubled at the multitude, although they were all naked and unarmed. They marvelled greatly at the size of our ships, our equipments, and implements. Here quite a laughable occurrence took place, at their expense. We concluded to try the effect of discharging some of our artillery, and when they heard the thunderous report the greater part of them jumped into the sea from fright, acting like frogs sitting on a bank, who plunge into the water on the approach of anything that alarms them. Those who remained on the ship were so timorous that we repented of having done this. However, we reassured them by telling them that these were our arms, with which we killed our enemies. After they had amused themselves on the ship all day, we told them that they must go, as we wished to depart in the night; so they took leave of us with many demonstrations of friendship, even affection, and went ashore.

"I saw more of the manners and customs of these people while in their country than I care to dwell on here. Your Excellency will notice that in each of my voyages I have noted the most extraordinary things which have occurred, and have compiled the whole into one volume, in the style of a geography, and entitled it The Four Voyages. In this work will be found a minute description of the things which I saw; but, as there is no copy of it yet published, owing to my being obliged to examine it carefully and make corrections, it becomes necessary for me to impart them to you herein.

"This country is full of inhabitants and contains a great many rivers. Very few of the animals are similar to ours, excepting the lions, panthers, stags, hogs, goats, and deer, and even these are a little different in form. They have neither horses, mules, nor asses; neither cows, dogs, nor any kind of domestic animals. Their other animals, however, are so very numerous that it is impossible to count them, and all of them so wild that they cannot be employed for serviceable uses. But what shall I say of the birds, which are so numerous and of so many species and varieties of plumage that it is astounding to behold them? The country is pleasant and fruitful, full of woods and forests which are always green, as they never lose their foliage. The fruits are numberless and totally different from ours. The land lies within the torrid zone, under the parallel which describes the Tropic of Cancer, where the pole is elevated twenty-three degrees above the horizon.

"A great many people came to see us and were astonished at our features and the whiteness of our skins. They asked us where we came from, and we gave them to understand that we came from heaven, with the view of visiting the world, and they believed us. In this country we established a baptismal font, and great numbers were baptized. They called us, in their language, Carabi, which means men of great wisdom. The natives call this province Lariab. We left the port and sailed along the coast, in sight of land, until we had run, calculating our advances and retrogressions, eight hundred and seventy leagues towards the northwest, making many stops by the way and having intercourse with many people. In some places we found traces of gold, but in small quantities, it being sufficient for us to have discovered the country and to know that there was gold in it.

"We had now been thirteen months on the voyage, and the ships and rigging were much worn, the men very weary. So by common consent we agreed to careen our ships on the beach in order to calk and pitch them anew, as they leaked badly, and then to return to Spain. When we took this resolution we were near one of the best harbors in the world, entering which we found a vast number of people, who received us most kindly. We made a breastwork on shore with our boats and casks, and placed our artillery so it would play over them; then, having unloaded and lightened our ships, we hauled them to land and repaired them wherever they needed it. The natives were of great assistance to us, continually providing food, so that in this port we consumed very little of our own. This served us a very good turn, for our provisions were poor and the stock so much reduced at this time that we feared it would hardly last us on our return to Spain.

"Having stayed here thirty-seven days, visiting their villages many times, where they paid us the highest honors, we wished to depart on our voyage. Before we set sail the natives complained to us that at certain times in the year there came from the sea into their territory a very cruel tribe, who, either by treachery or force, killed many of them and captured others, whom they ate, for they were man-eaters. They signified to us that this tribe were islanders, and lived at about one hundred leagues distance at sea. They narrated this to us with so much simplicity and feeling that we credited their story and promised to avenge their great injuries; whereat they were rejoiced, and many offered to go with us. We did not wish to take them for many reasons, and only carried seven, on the condition that they should come back in their own canoes, for we could not enter into obligations to return them to their own country. With this they were content, and then we parted from these gentle people, leaving them very well disposed towards us.

"Our ships having been repaired, we set sail on our return, taking a northeasterly course, and at the end of seven days fell in with some islands. There were a great many of them, some peopled, others uninhabited. We landed at one of them, where we saw many people, who called the island Iti. Having filled our boats with good men, and put three rounds of shot in each boat, we proceeded towards the land, where we saw about four hundred men and many women, all naked, like those we had seen before. They were of good stature and appeared to be very warlike men, being armed with bows and arrows and lances. The greater part of them carried staves of a square form, attached to their persons in such a manner that they were not prevented from drawing the bow. As we approached within bow-shot of the shore, they all leaped into the water and shot their arrows at us to prevent our landing. They were painted with various colors and plumed with feathers, and the interpreters with us said that when they were thus painted and plumed they showed a wish to fight. They persisted so much in their endeavors to deter us from landing that we were at last compelled to fire on them with our artillery. Hearing the thunder of our cannon and seeing some of their people fall dead, they all retreated to the shore. Having consulted together, forty of us resolved to leap ashore and, if they waited for us, to fight them. Proceeding thus, they attacked us and we fought about two hours, with little advantage, except that our bow-men and gunners killed some of their people and they wounded some of ours. This was because we could not get a chance to use lance or sword. We finally, by desperate exertion, were enabled to flash our swords, and as soon as they had a taste of our weapons they fled to the woods and mountains, leaving us masters of the field, with many of their people killed or wounded. This day we did not pursue them, because we were much fatigued, but returned to our ships, the seven men who had come with us being highly rejoiced.

"The next day we saw a great number of people coming through the country, still offering us signs of battle, sounding horns and shells, and all painted and plumed, which gave them a strange and ferocious appearance.[11] Whereupon all in the ships held a grand council, and it was determined that, since these people were determined to be at enmity with us, we should go to meet them and do everything to engage their friendship; but in case they would not receive it, resolved to treat them as enemies and to make slaves of all we could capture. Having armed ourselves in the best manner possible, we immediately rowed ashore, where they did not resist our landing, from fear, as I think, of our bombardment. We disembarked in four squares, being fifty-seven men, each captain with his own men, and then engaged them in battle. After a protracted fight, having killed many, we put them to flight and pursued them to their village, taking about two hundred and fifty prisoners. We then burned the village and returned victorious to the ships with our prisoners, leaving many killed and wounded on their side, while on ours only one died and not more than twenty-two were wounded. The rest all escaped unhurt, for which God be thanked!

"We soon arranged for our departure, and the seven men, of whom five were wounded, took a canoe from the island and, with three male and four female prisoners that we gave them, returned to their own country, very merry and greatly astonished at our power. We also set sail for Spain, with two hundred and twenty-three prisoners, and arrived at the port of Cadiz on October 15, 1498, where we were well received and found a market for our slaves. This is what happened to me on this, my first voyage, that may be considered worth relating."

FOOTNOTES:

[10] These "serpents" were iguanas, and were seen and described by Christopher and Bartholomew Columbus, long before Vespucci made his voyages.

[11] The fierce islanders, so accurately described by Vespucci, were doubtless the Caribs, and the numerous islands were probably Grenada and the Grenadines, perhaps including St. Vincent, in the north, where descendants of those Caribs live to-day.



VII

VESPUCCI'S "SECOND" VOYAGE

1499-1500

That letter from Vespucci to the friend of his youth, Soderini, purporting to narrate the events of his first voyage, has proved a prolific source of doubt and perplexity. Although it was written before Columbus died, and although it was published while most of the actors therein mentioned were yet living, its authenticity was unchallenged until nearly a century after its appearance. Herrera, it is believed, was the first to accuse Vespucci of "artfully and wilfully falsifying in his narrative, with a view to stealing from Columbus the honor of being the discoverer of America." This charge was made public in his work on the West Indies, published in 1601, and ever since Vespucci has been stigmatized as an impostor.

There is no official record of the voyage he claimed to have made in 1497-1498, and historians are silent as to his actions, in fact, during the period between 1496 and 1504. This signifies little, according to the historian Gomara, who says: "Learning that the territories which Columbus had discovered were very extensive, many persons proceeded to continue the exploration of them. Some went at their own expense, others at that of the king, all thinking to enrich themselves, to acquire honor, and to gain the royal approbation. But, as most of these persons did nothing but discover, memorials of them all have not come to my knowledge, especially of those who went in the direction of Paria, from the year 1495 to the year 1500."

Some writers have sought to "establish an alibi" by showing that Vespucci was in Spain throughout the period which, he says, was passed by him at sea, on this "first" voyage; but they have not been successful in doing so. Some, again, have declared that the narrative of the "four" voyages, beginning in May, 1497, was made up of that on which Vespucci certainly sailed with Ojeda, in May, 1499. "The points of resemblance"—as the reader may see for himself—"are so many and so striking as to seem not only conclusive, but to preclude any other theory," says Alexander Humboldt, who, in his Examen Critique, made an exhaustive research into the Vespucci letters. Humboldt completely vindicated the character of Vespucci, leaving no shade of doubt upon his integrity, but he did not unravel the mystery.

How happens it that Vespucci could make a voyage of which no record exists or was ever known to exist? Why did he not mention the names of the fleet's commander? Why do his descriptions of scenery and people so closely resemble those of scenery and people seen on the second voyage? He alludes several times to his forthcoming book, The Four Voyages (Quattro Giornate); but no trace has ever been found of that book, while the fragmentary letters to his "patrons," Soderini and Francesco de Medici, have survived to the present day.

Men of the keenest acumen and perfectly equipped for historical research, such as Humboldt, Irving, and Navarrete, have devoted themselves to the solution of this problem, but without complete success. The first and the last named have cleared his name from the aspersions of centuries; the second and third, in their endeavors to magnify Columbus by belittling Vespucci, have not convinced posterity that the Florentine was a liar and a villain. He was neither one nor the other; and that he was far more humane than his friend Columbus has been amply shown in his treatment of the Indians. He and his companions made a few slaves; they attacked the cannibals in behalf of rival natives; but they did not, in their lust for gold, put Indians to the torture, enslave whole tribes and communities, and commit massacres.

Vespucci's character is comparatively free from the stain of blood-guiltiness; from his dealings with men at all times, we infer him upright and honorable; yet he rests under a cloud of suspicion, because that so-called first voyage, which he says he took in 1497-1498, cannot be explained. Suspicion also attaches to his name because it was chosen as an appellation for the New World, which Columbus was the means of revealing to Europe; but for this (as will be shown in a succeeding chapter) he was not accountable.

Professor Fiske, following Vespucci's ardent defender, the Viscount Varnhagen, deduces from the vague generalizations in this letter that the voyage was made chiefly along the Honduras, Yucatan, Mexican, and Florida coasts, as far north, perhaps, as Chesapeake Bay. The cannibals attacked by the Spaniards were found, he says, in the Bermudas—where no Indians were ever seen, so far as known, and no cannibals inhabit, save, perhaps, the great Shakespeare's "Caliban." He accounts for the lost voyage by declaring that it may have been taken with Pinzon and Solis, who were said to have been on the coast of Honduras in 1506. There is no certainty as to that date, and the voyage may as well have been made in 1497-1498, as indirectly shown by a passage in Oviedo's history, as follows: "Some persons have attributed the discovery of the bay of Honduras to Don Christopher Columbus, the first admiral; but this is not true, for it was discovered by the pilots Vicente Yanez Pinzon, Juan Diaz de Solis, and Pedro de Ledesma, with three caravels; and that was before Vicente Yanez had discovered the river Amazon."

The Amazon and a portion of the Brazil coast were discovered by Pinzon in January, 1500; and as the historian has proved to his own satisfaction that the gallant Vicente Yanez was in Spain during the years 1505 and 1506, it is probable that Oviedo is right. It is also probable, or at least possible, that Vespucci was with Pinzon on that Honduras voyage as consulting navigator, having been sent by the king, as he says, to "assist," in his capacity of astronomer and cosmographer. In this capacity, in fact, he went on all his voyages, for he rarely, if ever, held command. Captains, commanders, chief mates, and admirals there might be in plenty, but such a pilot and navigator as Vespucci was hard to find.

It is not unreasonable to presume that they were together, for the one was a skilful sailor, the other a great navigator, and both renowned for their hardihood and daring. King Ferdinand had no more loyal servants than these two, and as they had served him faithfully in their respective professions, the one on land, the other at sea, and inasmuch as both were intimately acquainted with Columbus and his plans, it was like the crafty old king to send them off to scour the seas his exacting "Admiral" claimed to control. Thereafter—whether Pinzon and Vespucci sailed together or not—their voyages alternated along the coast of South America, first one and then the other, and in 1505-1506 an expedition was actually projected, in which the king intended both should share. It did not sail, because the Portuguese objected, as its object was the exploration of the Brazilian coast south of the Tropic of Capricorn, to all which the great rivals of the Spaniards then made claim.

A seeming confirmation of this voyage is found in the map Juan de la Cosa made, in the year 1500, after he had been in company with Ojeda and Vespucci to the coast of pearls. He was with Columbus, in 1494, when the Admiral forced all his men to swear that Cuba was, to the best of their belief, part of the Asian continent. Yet, within six years, La Cosa depicts it on his map as an island—and that was before Ocampo had proved it one, by sailing around it, in 1508. It is thought that La Cosa obtained his information as to the insular character of Cuba from Vespucci, when they voyaged together on the coast of Terra Firma, which we now know as the northern shores of South America.

Admitting, still, the critics say, that Vespucci made the voyage he claimed, with Pinzon or with some one else, in 1497-1498, how does that affect the claim of Columbus? It does not affect it at all, for, though Vespucci may have discovered the continent a few months previous to his rival—and he never put forth the claim that he did so—Columbus, by his voyages of 1492 and 1493, led the way thither. If Vespucci, as some have asserted, claimed to have sailed in 1497, in order to establish a priority of discovery, he did it in a very bungling manner, and at a time when it might easily have been refuted, so many of his companions were then living. Besides, though his name was bestowed upon the newly discovered continent—perhaps as a consequence of the writing of this very letter—it was done without his knowledge and without the remotest suggestion of such a thing from him. This should be made clear: that Amerigo Vespucci had no thought of depriving his friend, Christopher Columbus, of a single leaf of his laurels, hard-won and well-deserved as he knew them to be.

There is no doubt whatever that Vespucci made a voyage in 1499-1500, along with Alonzo de Ojeda and the great pilot Juan de la Cosa, but whether this may be styled his first or his second must be left to the intelligence of the reader, for the historians are at odds themselves, and it might seem presumptuous in the biographer to assume to decide. This voyage was narrated by him in the following letter, written within a month of his return, to Lorenzo di Pier Francesco de Medici, of Florence. It is dated, "Seville, July 18, 1500," and has been called by one of his countrymen "the oldest known writing of Amerigo relating to his voyages to the New World." Mr. John Fiske, in The Discovery of America, denounces this letter as a forgery; but why, and for what reason it should have been written by another, he does not state.

"MOST EXCELLENT AND DEAR LORD,—It is a long time since I have written to your Excellency, and for no other reason than that nothing has occurred to me worthy of being commemorated. This present letter will inform you that about a month ago I arrived from the Indies, by way of the great ocean, brought by the grace of God safely to this city of Seville. I think your Excellency will be gratified to learn the results of my voyage, and the most surprising things which have been presented to my observation. If I am somewhat tedious, let my letter be read in your more idle hours, as fruit is eaten after the cloth is removed from the table.

"You will please to note that, commissioned by his highness the King of Spain, I set out with two small ships, the 18th of May, 1499, on a voyage of discovery to the southwest, by way of the Fortunate Isles, which are now called the Canaries. After having provided ourselves there with all things necessary, first offering our prayers to God, we set sail from an island which is called Gomera, and, turning our prows southwardly, sailed twenty-four days with a fresh wind, without seeing any land. At the end of that time we came within sight of land, and found that we had sailed about thirteen hundred leagues, and were at that distance from the city of Cadiz, in a southwesterly direction. When we saw the land we gave thanks to God, and then launched our boats and, with sixteen men, went to the shore, which we found thickly covered with trees, astonishing both on account of their size and their verdure, for they never lose their foliage. The sweet odors which they exhaled (for they were all aromatic) highly delighted us, and we were rejoiced in regaling our senses.

"We rowed along the shore in the boats to see if we could find any suitable place for landing; but, after toiling from morning till night, we found no way of passage, the land being low and densely covered with trees. We concluded, therefore, to return to the ships and make an attempt to land at some other spot.

"One very remarkable circumstance we observed in these seas, which was that, at fifteen leagues distance from the land, we found the water fresh, like that of a river, and we filled all our empty casks with it. Sailing in a southerly direction, still along the coast, we saw two larger rivers issuing from the land; and I think that these two rivers, by reason of their magnitude, caused the freshness of the water in the sea adjoining. Seeing that the coast was invariably low, we determined to enter one of these rivers with the boats, and did so, after furnishing them with provisions for four days, and twenty men well armed. We entered the river and rowed up it nearly two days, making a distance of about eighteen leagues; but we found the low land still continuing and so thickly covered with trees that a bird could scarcely fly through them.

"We saw signs that the inland parts of the country were inhabited; nevertheless, as our vessels were anchored in a dangerous place, in case an adverse wind should arise, at the end of two days we concluded to return. Here we saw an immense number of birds, including parrots in great variety, some crimson in color, others green and lemon, others entirely green, and others again that were black and flesh-colored [these last were probably toucans]. And oh! the songs of other species of birds, so sweet and so melodious, as we heard them among the trees, that we often lingered, listening to their charming music. The trees, too, were so beautiful and smelled so sweetly that we almost imagined ourselves in a terrestrial paradise; yet none of those trees, or the fruit of them, were similar to anything in our part of the world.

"On our way back we saw many people of various descriptions fishing in the river. Having arrived at our ships, we raised anchor and set sail in a southerly direction, standing off to sea about forty leagues. While sailing on this course, we encountered a current running from southeast to northwest, so strong and furious that we were put into great fear and were exposed to imminent peril. This current was so strong that the Strait of Gibraltar and that of the Faro of Messina appeared to us like mere stagnant water in comparison with it. We could scarcely make headway against it, though we had the wind fresh and fair; so, seeing that we made no progress, or but very little, we determined to turn our prows to the northwest.[12]

"As, if I remember aright, your Excellency understands something of cosmography, I intend to describe to you our progress in our navigation by the latitude and longitude. We sailed so far to the south that we entered the torrid zone and penetrated the circle of Cancer.... Having passed the equinoctial line and sailed six degrees to the south of it, we lost sight of the north star altogether, and even the stars of Ursa Major—or, to speak better, the guardians which revolve about the firmament—were scarcely seen. Very desirous of being the author who should designate the other polar star of the firmament, I lost, many a time, my night's sleep, while contemplating the movement of the stars about the southern pole. I desired to ascertain which had the least motion, and which might be nearest to the firmament; but I was not able to accomplish it with such poor instruments as I used, which were the quadrant and astrolabe. I could not distinguish a star which had less than ten degrees of motion; so that I was not satisfied, within myself, to name any particular one for the pole of the meridian, on account of the large revolution which they all made around the firmament.

"While I was arriving at this conclusion, I recollected a verse of our poet Dante, which may be found in the first chapter of his "Purgatory," where he imagines he is leaving this hemisphere to repair to the other and attempting to describe the antarctic pole, and says:

"'To the right hand I turned, and fixed my mind On the other pole attentive, where I saw Four stars ne'er seen before, save by the ken Of our first parents. Heaven of their rays Seemed joyous. O! thou northern site, bereft Indeed, and widowed, since of these deprived!'

"It seems to me that the poet wished to describe in these verses, by the four stars, the pole of the other firmament, and I have little doubt, even now, that what he says may be true. I observed four stars in the figure of an almond which had but little motion; and if God gives me life and health I hope to go again into that hemisphere and not to return without observing the pole. In conclusion I would remark that we extended our navigation so far south that our difference in latitude from the city of Cadiz was sixty degrees and a half, because, at that city, the pole is elevated thirty-five degrees and a half, and we had passed six degrees beyond the equinoctial line. Let this suffice as to our latitude. You must observe that this our navigation was in the months of July, August, and September, when, as you know, the sun is longest above the horizon in our hemisphere and describes the greatest arch in the day and the least in the night. On the contrary, while we were at the equinoctial line, or near it, the difference between the day and night was not perceptible. They were of equal length, or very nearly so....

"It appears to me, most excellent Lorenzo, that by this voyage most of the philosophers are controverted who say that the torrid zone cannot be inhabited on account of the great heat. I have found the case to be quite the contrary. The air is fresher and more temperate in that region than beyond it, and the inhabitants are more numerous here than they are in the other zones, for reasons which will be given below. Thus, it is certain, that practice is more valuable than theory.

"Thus far I have related the navigation I accomplished in the South and West. It now remains for me to inform you of the appearance of the country we discovered, the nature of the inhabitants and their customs, the animals we saw, and of many other things worthy of remembrance which fell under my observation. After we turned our course to the north, the first land we found inhabited was an island at ten degrees distant from the equinoctial line [island of Trinidad]. When we arrived at it we saw on the sea-shore a great many people, who stood looking at us with astonishment.

"We anchored within about a mile of land, fitted out the boats, and twenty-two men, well armed, made for the land. The people, when they saw us landing and perceived that we were different from themselves (because they have no beards and wear no clothing of any description, being also of a different color—brown, while we were white), began to be afraid of us and all ran into the woods. With great exertion, by means of signs, we reassured them and found that they were a race called cannibals, the greater part, or all of whom, live on human flesh. Your Excellency may be assured of this fact. They do not eat one another, but, navigating with certain barks which they call canoes, they bring their prey from the neighboring islands or countries inhabited by those who are their enemies, or of a different tribe from their own. They never eat any women, unless they consider them as outcasts. These things we verified in many places where we found similar people. We often saw the bones and heads of those who had been eaten, and they who had made the repast admitted the fact and said that their enemies stood in greater fear of them on that account.

"Still, they are a people of gentle disposition and fine stature, of great activity and much courage. They go entirely naked, and the arms which they carry are rare bows, arrows, and spears, with which they are excellent marksmen. In fine, we held much intercourse with them, and they took us to one of their villages, about two leagues inland, and gave us our breakfast. They gave whatever was asked of them, though I think more through fear than affection; and after having been with them all one day we returned to the ships, sailing along the coasts, and finding another large village of the same tribe. We landed in the boats and found they were waiting for us, all loaded with provisions, and they gave us enough to make a very good breakfast, according to their ideas.

"Seeing they were such kind people and treated us so well, we did not take anything from them, but made sail until we arrived at a body of water which is called the Gulf of Paria. We anchored off the mouth of a great river, which causes the gulf to be fresh, and saw a large village close to the sea. We were surprised at the great number of people to be seen there, though they were without weapons and peaceably disposed. We went ashore with the boats, and they received us with great friendship and took us to their houses, where they had made good preparations for a feast. Here they gave us three sorts of wine to drink; not the juice of the grape, but made of fruits, like beer, and they were excellent. Here, also, we ate many fresh acorns, a most royal fruit, and also others, all different from ours, and all of aromatic flavor.

"What was more, they gave us some small pearls and eleven large ones, telling us that if we would wait some days they would go and fish for them and bring us many of the kind. We did not wish to be detained, so, with many parrots of different colors, and in good friendship, we parted from them. From these people it was we learned that those of the before-mentioned island were cannibals and ate human flesh. We issued from the gulf and sailed along the coast, seeing continually great numbers of people; and when we were so disposed we treated with them, and they gave us everything we desired. They all go as naked as they were born, without being ashamed, and if all were related concerning the little shame they have it would be bordering on impropriety, therefore it is better to suppress it.

"After having sailed about four hundred leagues, continually along the coast, we concluded that this land was a continent, which might be bounded by the eastern parts of Asia, this being the commencement of the western parts of the continent, because it happened that we saw divers animals, such as lions, stags, goats, wild hogs, rabbits, and other land animals which are not found in islands, but only on the main-land. Going inland one day with twenty men, we saw a serpent all of twenty-four feet in length and as large in girth as myself. We were very much afraid, and the sight of it caused us to return immediately to the sea. Ofttimes, indeed, I saw many ferocious animals and enormous serpents. When we had navigated four hundred leagues along the coast, we began to find people who did not wish for our friendship, but stood waiting for us with their bows and arrows. When we went ashore they disputed our landing in such a manner that we were obliged to fight them, and at the end of the battle they found they had the worst of it, for, as they were naked, we always made great slaughter. Many times not more than sixteen of us fought with no less than two thousand, in the end defeating them, killing many, and plundering their houses.

"One day we saw a great crowd of savages, all posted in battle array, to prevent our landing. We fitted out twenty-six men, well armed, and covered the boats on account of the arrows which were shot at us and which always wounded some before we landed. After they had hindered us as long as they could, we leaped on shore and fought a hard battle with them. The reason why they had so much courage and made such great exertion against us was that they did not know what kind of a weapon the sword was, or how it cuts! So great was the multitude of people who charged upon us, discharging at us such a cloud of arrows that we could not withstand the assault, and, nearly abandoning the hope of life, we turned our backs and ran for the boats. While thus disheartened and flying, one of our sailors, a Portuguese, who had remained to guard the boats, seeing the danger we were in, leaped on shore and with a loud voice called out to us: 'Face to the enemy, sons, and God will give you the victory!' Throwing himself upon his knees, he made a prayer, then rushed furiously upon the savages, and we all joined him, wounded as we were. On that they turned their backs and began to flee; and finally we routed them, killing more than a hundred and fifty. We burned their houses also—at least one hundred and eighty in number. Then, as we were badly wounded and weary, we went into a harbor to recruit, where we stayed twenty days, solely that the physician might cure us. All escaped save one, who was wounded in the left breast and died.

"After we were cured we recommenced our navigation; and through the same cause we were often obliged to fight with a great many people, and always had the victory over them. Thus continuing our voyage, we came to an island fifteen leagues distant from the main-land. As at our arrival we saw no collection of people, eleven of us landed. Finding a path inland, we walked nearly two leagues and came to a village of about twelve houses, in which were seven women who were so large that there was not one among them who was not a span and a half taller than myself. When they saw us they were very much frightened, and the principal one among them, who seemed certainly a discreet woman, led us by signs into a house and had refreshments prepared for us. They were such large women that we were about determining to carry off two of the younger ones as a present to our king; but while we were debating this subject, thirty-six men entered the hut where we were drinking. They were of such great stature that each one was taller when upon his knees than I when standing erect. In fact, they were giants; each of the women appeared a Penthesilia, and the men Antei. When they came in, some of our number were so frightened that they did not consider themselves safe, for they were armed with very large bows and arrows, besides immense clubs made in the form of swords. Seeing that we were small of stature they began to converse with us, in order to learn who we were and from what parts we came. We gave them fair words, and answered them, by signs, that we were men of peace and intent only upon seeing the world. Finally, we held it our wisest course to part from them without questioning in our turn; so we returned by the same path in which we had come—they accompanying us quite to the sea-shore, till we went aboard the ships.

"Nearly half the trees on this island are of dye-woods, as good as any from the East. Going from this island to another in the vicinity, at ten leagues distance, we found a very large village, the houses of which were built over the sea, like those of Venice, with much ingenuity. While we were struck with admiration at this circumstance, we determined to go to see them; and as we went into their houses the people owning them attempted to prevent us. They found out at last the sharpness of our swords, and thought it best to let us enter. Then we found these houses filled with the finest cotton, and the beams of their dwellings are made of dye-woods. In all the parts where we landed we found a great quantity of cotton, and the country filled with cotton-trees. All the vessels of the world, in fact, might be laden in these parts with cotton and dye-wood.

"We sailed three hundred leagues farther along this coast, constantly finding savage but brave people, and very often fighting with and vanquishing them. We found seven different languages among them, each of which was not understood by those who spoke the others. It is said that there are not more than seventy-seven languages in the world; but I say that there are more than a thousand, as there are more than forty which I have heard myself. After having sailed seven hundred leagues or more our ships became leaky, so that we could hardly keep them free, with two pumps going. The men also were much fatigued, and the provisions growing short. We were then within a hundred and twenty leagues of the island called Hispaniola, discovered by the Admiral Columbus six [eight] years before. So we determined to proceed to it and, as it was inhabited by Christians, to repair our ships there, allow our men a little repose, and recruit our stock of provisions; because, from this island to Castile there are three hundred leagues of ocean, without any land intervening. In seven days we arrived at this island, where we stayed two months, refitted our ships, and obtained a supply of provisions.

"We afterwards sailed through a shoal of islands, more than a thousand in number. We sailed in this sea nearly two hundred leagues, directly north, until our people had become worn with fatigue, through having been already nearly a year at sea. Their allowance per diem was only six ounces of bread for eating, and three small measures of water for drinking. Whereupon we concluded to take some prisoners as slaves, and loading the ships with them to return at once to Spain. Going, therefore, to certain islands, we possessed ourselves by force of two hundred and thirty-two, and then steered our course for Castile. In sixty-seven days we crossed the ocean, arriving at the Azores, thence sailed by way of the Canary Islands and the Madeiras to Cadiz.

"We were absent thirteen months on this voyage, exposing ourselves to awful dangers, discovering a very large country of Asia, and a great many islands, the largest of them all inhabited. According to the calculations I have made with the compass, we have sailed about five thousand leagues.... We discovered immense regions, saw a vast number of people, all naked, and speaking various languages, numerous wild animals, various kinds of birds, and an infinite quantity of trees, all aromatic. We brought home pearls in their growing state, and gold in the grain; we brought two stones, one of emerald color, the other of amethyst, which was very hard, at least half a span long, and three fingers thick. The sovereigns esteem them most highly and have preserved them among their jewels. We brought home also a piece of crystal, which some jewelers say is beryl, and, according to what the Indians told us, they had a great quantity of the same. We brought fourteen flesh-colored pearls, with which the queen was highly delighted. We brought many other stones which appeared beautiful to us; but of all these we did not bring a large number, as we were continually busied in our investigations and did not tarry long in any place.

"When we arrived at Cadiz we sold many slaves, two hundred then remaining to us, the others having died at sea. After deducting the expense of transportation we gained only about five hundred ducats, which, having to be divided into fifty-five parts, made the share of each very small. However, we contented ourselves with life, and rendered thanks to God that during the whole voyage, out of fifty-seven Christian men, which was our number, only two had died, they having been killed by Indians. I have had two quartan agues since my return; but I hope, by the favor of God, to be well soon, as they do not continue long now and are without chills. I have passed over many things worthy of being remembered, in order not to be more tedious than necessary, all of which are reserved for the pen, and in the memory.

"They are fitting out three ships for me here, that I may go on a new voyage of discovery, and I think they will be ready by the middle of September. May it please our Lord to give me health and a good voyage, as I hope again to bring very great news and discover the island of Trapobana, which is between the Indian Ocean and the Sea of Ganges. Afterwards I intend to return to my country and seek repose in the days of my old age.... I have resolved, most excellent Lorenzo, that as I have thus given you an account by letter of what has occurred to me, to send you two plans and descriptions of the world, made and arranged by my own hand and skill. There will be a map on a plain surface, and the other a view of the world in a spherical form, which I intend to send you by sea, in care of one Francesco Lotti, a Florentine, who is here. I think you will be pleased with them, particularly the globe, as I made one, not long since, for these sovereigns, and they esteem it highly. I could have wished to come with them personally; but my new departure for making other discoveries will not permit me that great pleasure....

"I suppose your excellency has heard the news brought by the fleet which the King of Portugal sent two years ago to make discoveries on the coast of Guinea. I do not call such a voyage as that one of discovery, but only a visit to discovered lands; because, as you will see by the map, their navigation was continually within sight of land, and they sailed round the whole southern part of the continent of Africa, which is proceeding by a way spoken of by all cosmographical authors. It is true that the navigation has been very profitable, which is a matter of great consideration here in this kingdom, where inordinate covetousness reigns.

"I understand they passed from the Red Sea and extended their voyage into the Persian Gulf, to a city called Calicut, which is situated between the Persian Gulf and the river Indus. More lately, the King of Portugal has received from sea twelve ships very richly laden, and he has sent them again to those parts, where they will certainly do a profitable business, if they arrive in safety.

"May our Lord preserve and increase the exalted state of your excellency, as I desire.

"AMERIGO VESPUCCI.

"July 18th, 1500."

Respecting the letter in which the so-called first voyage is described, the same great authority, Mr. Fiske, from whom we have already quoted, says: "The perplexity surrounding the account of the first voyage of Vespucius is chiefly due to the lack of intelligence with which it has been read. There is no reason for imagining dishonesty in his narrative, and no reason for not admitting it as evidence on the same terms upon which we admit other contemporary documents." Perhaps we may be allowed to claim the same privilege for the foregoing letter; yet another historian, the amiable biographer of Columbus, Mr. Irving, while freely quoting from it, in his account of the voyage made with Alonzo de Ojeda, by imputation discredits it, and loses no occasion to disparage its author.

In order that nothing may be lacking, for the purpose of forming an accurate estimate of Vespucci's character and doings, Mr. Irving's account of the Ojeda voyage, somewhat condensed, is presented in the succeeding chapter. In constructing this story he, to use his own words, "collated the narratives of Vespucci, Las Casas, Herrera, and Peter Martyr, and the evidence given in the lawsuit of Diego Columbus, and has endeavored as much as possible to reconcile them." That he did not altogether succeed is the opinion of Mr. Fiske, who says, rather caustically, that "from its mixing the first and second voyages of Vespucci [the account] is so full of blunders as to be worse than worthless to the general reader."

However this may be, the story is interesting, and in a sense valuable, as it corroborates the statements of one to whom Mr. Irving was not favorably inclined.

FOOTNOTES:

[12] The river was the Orinoco, the currents caused by which set with great force in the direction given by Vespucci.



VIII

WITH OJEDA THE FIGHTER

1499

Those who have read the History of Columbus will doubtless remember the character and exploits of Alonzo de Ojeda. He was about twenty-one years of age when he accompanied Columbus on his second voyage (1493); he had, however, already distinguished himself by his enterprising spirit and headlong valor, and his exploits during that voyage contributed to enhance his reputation. He returned to Spain with the Admiral, but did not go with him on his third voyage, in 1498. He had a cousin-german of his own name, Padre Alonzo de Ojeda, a Dominican friar, who was a great favorite with the Spanish sovereigns, and on intimate terms with Don Juan Rodriguez Fonseca, who had the chief management of affairs in the Indies.

Through the good offices of this cousin, young Alonzo was introduced to Fonseca, to whose especial favor and patronage he was warmly recommended. While Ojeda was lingering about the court, letters were received from Columbus giving an account of the events of his third (1498) voyage, accompanied by charts descriptive of his route, specimens of pearls, gold, etc., in order to impress the sovereigns with the great value of his most recent discovery. The Admiral had good and sufficient reasons for making the most of this discovery, as his enemies in Spain and in the West Indies were seeking to belittle his great deeds, hence his indiscretion in placing the proofs of his achievement in the hands of his implacable foe, Bishop Fonseca. He could not return at that time, owing to the terrible condition of affairs in Hispaniola, which demanded his continued presence there—as narrated in his Life.

The tidings he sent caused a great sensation among the maritime adventurers of Spain; but no one was more excited by them than Alonzo de Ojeda, who, from his intimacy with Fonseca, had full access to the charts and correspondence of Columbus, and who immediately conceived the project of making a voyage in the route thus marked out by the Admiral, and of seizing upon the first fruits of discovery which he had left ungathered. This scheme met with ready encouragement from Fonseca, who, as has heretofore been shown, was opposed to Columbus and willing to promote any measure that might injure or molest him. The bishop accordingly granted a commission to Ojeda, authorizing him to fit out an armament and proceed on a voyage of discovery, with the proviso merely that he should not visit any territories appertaining to Portugal, or any of the lands discovered in the name of Spain previous to the year 1495. The latter part of this provision appears to have been craftily worded by the bishop, so as to leave the coast of Paria and its pearl fisheries open to Ojeda, they having been recently discovered by Columbus in 1498.

The commission was signed by Fonseca alone, in virtue of general powers vested in him for such purposes; but the signature of the sovereigns did not appear on the instrument, and it is doubtful whether their sanction was sought on the occasion. He knew that Columbus had recently remonstrated against a royal mandate issued in 1495, permitting voyages of discovery by private adventurers, and that the sovereigns had in consequence revoked that mandate wherever it might be deemed prejudicial to the stipulated privileges of the Admiral.... Having thus obtained permission to make the voyage, the next consideration with Ojeda was to find the means. He was a young adventurer, a mere soldier of fortune, and destitute of wealth; but he had a high reputation for courage and enterprise, and hence had no difficulty in finding moneyed associates among the rich merchants of Seville, who, in that age of discovery, were ever ready to stake their property upon the schemes of roving navigators. With such assistance he soon equipped a squadron of four vessels, at Port St. Mary, opposite Cadiz.

Among the seamen who engaged with him were several who had just returned from accompanying Columbus in his voyage to this very coast of Paria. The principal associate of Ojeda, and one on whom he placed great reliance, was Juan de la Cosa, who went with him as first mate, or, as it was termed, chief pilot. This was a bold Biscayan who may be regarded as a disciple of Columbus, with whom he had sailed on his second voyage, when he coasted Cuba and Jamaica, and he had also accompanied Rodrigo de Bastidas, in his expedition along the coast of Terra Firma. The hardy veteran was looked up to by his contemporaries as an oracle of the seas, and was pronounced one of the most able mariners of the day. He may be excused, therefore, if in his harmless vanity he considered himself on a par even with Columbus.

Another conspicuous associate of Ojeda on this voyage was Amerigo Vespucci, a Florentine merchant, induced by broken fortunes and a rambling disposition to seek adventures in the New World. Whether he had any pecuniary interest in the expedition, and in what capacity he sailed, does not appear. His importance has entirely arisen from subsequent circumstances—from his having written and published a narrative of his voyages, and from his name having eventually been given to the New World.



Ojeda sailed from Port St. Mary on May 20, 1499, and, having touched for supplies at the Canaries, took a departure from Gomera, pursuing the route of Columbus in his third voyage, being guided by the chart he had sent home, as well as by the mariners who had accompanied him on that occasion. At the end of twenty-four days he reached the continent of the New World, about two hundred leagues farther south than the part discovered by Columbus, being, as it is supposed, on the coast of Surinam. Hence he ran along the coast to the Gulf of Paria, passing the mouths of many rivers, but especially those of the Esquivo and the Orinoco. These, to the astonishment of the Spaniards, unaccustomed as yet to the mighty rivers of the New World, poured forth such a prodigious volume of water as to freshen the sea for a great extent. They beheld none of the natives until they arrived at the island of Trinidad, on which island they met with traces of the recent visit of Columbus. Vespucci, in his letters, gives a long description of the people of this island and of the coast of Paria, who were of the Carib race, tall, well-made, and vigorous, and expert with the bow, the lance, and the buckler. His description in general resembles those which have frequently been given of the aboriginals of the New World; there are two or three particulars, however, worthy of citation. [Here follows the narrative of Vespucci, as given in the preceding chapters, pages 82-124.]

After touching at various parts of Trinidad and the Gulf of Paria, Ojeda passed through the strait of the Boca del Drago, or Dragon's Mouth, which Columbus had found so formidable, and then steered his course along the coast of Terra Firma, landing occasionally until he arrived at Curiana, or the Gulf of Pearls. From hence he stood to the opposite island of Margarita, previously discovered by Columbus, and since renowned for its pearl fishery. This, as well as several adjacent islands, he visited and explored, after which he returned to the main-land, and touched at Cumana and Maracapana, where he found the rivers infested with alligators resembling the crocodiles of the Nile. Finding a convenient harbor at Maracapana, he unloaded and careened his vessels there, and built a small brigantine. The natives came to him in great numbers, bringing abundance of venison, fish, and cassava bread, and aiding the seamen in their labors. Their hospitality was not certainly disinterested, for they sought to gain the protection of the Spaniards, whom they reverenced as superhuman beings.

When they thought they had sufficiently secured their favor, they represented to Ojeda that their coast was subject to invasion from a distant island, the inhabitants of which were cannibals, and carried their people into captivity, to be devoured at their unnatural banquets. They besought Ojeda, therefore, to avenge them upon these ferocious enemies. The request was gratifying to the fighting propensities of Alonzo de Ojeda, and to his love of adventure, and was readily granted. Taking seven of the natives on board of his vessels, therefore, as guides, he set sail in quest of the cannibals. After sailing for seven days he came to a chain of islands, some of which were peopled, others uninhabited, and which are supposed to have been the Caribbee Islands. [Then ensues Vespucci's account of the fight, with the substitution of Ojeda as captain in command.]

His crew being refreshed, and the wounded sufficiently recovered, Ojeda made sail and touched at the island of Curacao, which, according to the accounts of Vespucci, was inhabited by a race of giants, "every woman appearing a Penthesilia, and every man an Antei." As Vespucci was a scholar, and as he supposed himself exploring the regions of the extreme East, the ancient realm of fable, it is probable his imagination deceived him, and construed the formidable accounts given by the Indians of their cannibal neighbors of the islands into something according with his recollections of classic fable. Certain it is that the reports of subsequent voyagers proved the inhabitants of the island to be of the ordinary size.

Proceeding along the coast, he arrived at a vast, deep gulf, resembling a tranquil lake, entering which he beheld, on the eastern side, a village, the construction of which struck him with surprise. It consisted of twenty large houses, shaped like bells, and built on piles driven into the bottom of the lake, which in this part was limpid and of but little depth. Each house was provided with a draw-bridge, and with canoes, by which the communication was carried on. From these resemblances to the Italian city, Ojeda gave to the bay the name of the Gulf of Venice, and it is called at the present day Venezuela, or Little Venice. The Indian name was Coquibacoa. [In this connection Irving quotes freely from Vespucci's account of the Lake Dwellers, and also gives entire his description of the Spaniards' entertainment by Indians of the interior.]

Continuing to explore this gulf, Ojeda penetrated to a port or harbor, to which he gave the name of St. Bartholomew, supposed to be the same at present known by the original Indian name of Maracaibo.... The Spaniards brought away with them several of the beautiful and hospitable females of this place, one of whom, named by them Isabel, was much prized by Ojeda, and accompanied him on a subsequent voyage. Leaving the friendly port of Coquibacoa, Ojeda continued along the western shores of the Venezuelan gulf, and standing out to sea, doubling Cape Maracaibo, he pursued his voyage from port to port, and promontory to promontory, of this unknown continent, until he reached that long stretching headland called Cape de la Vela, or Cape of the Sail. There the state of his vessels—and perhaps the disappointment of his hopes at not meeting with abundant sources of immediate wealth—induced him to abandon all further voyaging along the coast, and, changing his course, he stood across the Caribbean Sea for Hispaniola. The tenor of his commission forbade his visiting that island; but Ojeda was not a man to stand upon trifles when his interests or inclinations prompted him to the contrary. He trusted to excuse the infraction of his orders by the alleged necessity of touching at the island to calk and refit his vessels and to procure provisions; but his true object is supposed to have been to cut dye-wood, which abounds in Hispaniola.

Columbus, at that time, held command of the island, and, hearing of this unlicensed intrusion, despatched Francesco Roldan, the quondam rebel, to call Ojeda to account. The contest of stratagem and management that took place between these two adroit and daring adventurers has already been detailed. Roldan was eventually successful, and Ojeda, being obliged to leave Hispaniola, resumed his rambling voyage. He at length arrived at Cadiz, in June, 1500, his ships crowded with captives, whom he sold as slaves. So meagre, however, was the result of this expedition that we are told [by Vespucci] that when all the expenses were deducted but five hundred ducats remained to be divided between fifty-five adventurers. What made this result the more mortifying was that a petty armament, which had sailed some time after that of Ojeda, had returned two months before him rich with the spoils of the New World.

The successful armament alluded to was that of Pedro Nino, who had sailed with Columbus on his first voyage and on his third. With a caravel of only fifty tons, and a crew of thirty-three men, he sailed from Palos in June, 1499, returning in April, 1500, with a richer cargo of pearls than any other that had been brought from the new country. He had steered directly for the Pearl Coast, and at or near Cumana and Margarita, had amassed a fortune from the sea.

In this connection it should be mentioned, that the country adjacent to the Pearl Coast, opposite Cumana, was known to the natives as Amaraca-pan; that the name Amaraca occurs frequently in this region, as (A)mar-aca-ibo, the great gulf where the Lake-Dwellers live. It is regarded only as a coincidence that a name so nearly like that which was bestowed upon the continent by Europeans should be found applied to portions of that continent by the aborigines; but some enthusiasts have undertaken to show that it was from this native appellation the cartographers and cosmographers derived the first "America" placed upon the maps.



IX

CANNIBALS, GIANTS, AND PEARLS

1499-1500

Besides the letter written by Vespucci to Lorenzo de Medici, he sent an account of the second voyage to his friend Soderini, in which are some incidents not mentioned in the first, with very little repetition of others. He wrote:

"We set out from the port of Cadiz, three ships in company, on the 18th of May, and steered directly for the Cape de Verdes, passing within sight of the Grand Canary, and soon arriving at an island called De Fuego, or Fire Island, whence, having taken wood and water, we proceeded on our voyage to the southwest. In forty-four days we arrived at a new land, which we judged to be a continent, and a continuation of that mentioned in my former voyage. It was situated within the torrid zone, south of the equinoctial line, where the south pole is elevated five degrees and distant from said island, bearing south, about five hundred leagues. Here we found the days and nights equal on the 27th of June, when the sun is near the tropic of Cancer.

"We did not see any people here, and, having anchored our ships and cast off our boats, we proceeded to the land, which we found to be inundated by very large rivers. We attempted to enter these at many points, but from the immense quantity of water brought down by them we could find no place, after hard toiling, that was not over-flowed. We saw many signs of the country's being inhabited, but as we were unable to enter it we concluded to return to the ships and make the attempt on some other part of the coast. We raised our anchors accordingly, and sailed along southeast by east, continually coasting the land which ran in that direction. We found the currents so strong on this part of the coast that they actually obstructed our sailing, and they all ran from the southeast to the northwest. Seeing our navigation was attended with so many inconveniences, we concluded to turn our course to the northwest; and having sailed some time in this direction we arrived at a very beautiful harbor, which was made by a large island at the entrance, inside of which was a very large bay. While sailing along parallel with the island with a view of entering the harbor, we saw many people on shore, and, being much cheered, we manoeuvred our ships for the purpose of anchoring and landing where they appeared. We might have been then about four leagues out at sea. While proceeding on our course for this purpose, we saw a canoe quite out at sea, in which were several natives, and made sail on our ships in order to come up with and take possession of them, steering so as not to run them down. We saw that they stood with their oars raised—I think either through astonishment at beholding our ships, or by way of giving us to understand that they meant to wait for and resist us; but as we neared them they dropped the oars and began to row towards the land.

"Having in our fleet a small vessel of forty-five tons, a very fast sailer, she took a favorable wind and bore down for the canoe. When the people in it found themselves embarrassed between the schooner and the boats we had lowered for the purpose of pursuing them, they all jumped into the sea, being about twenty men, and at the distance of two leagues from the shore. We followed them the whole day with our boats, and could only take two, which was for them an extraordinary feat; all the rest escaped to the shore. Four boys remained in the canoe who were not of their tribe, but had been taken prisoners by them, and brought from another country. We were much surprised at the gross injuries they had inflicted upon these boys, and, having been taken on board the ships, they told us they had been captured in order to be eaten. Accordingly, we knew that those people were cannibals, who eat human flesh.

"We proceeded with the ships, taking the canoe with us astern, and following the course which they pursued, anchored at half a league from the shore. As we saw many people on the shore, we landed in the boats, carrying with us the two men we had taken. When we reached the beach all the people fled into the woods, and we sent one of the men to negotiate with them, giving them several trifles as tokens of friendship—such as little bells, buttons, and looking-glasses—and telling them that we wished to be their friends. He brought the people all back with him, of whom there were about four hundred men and many women, who came unarmed to the place where we lay with the boats. Having established friendship with them, we surrendered the other prisoner and sent to the ships for the canoe, which we restored. This canoe was twenty-six yards long and six feet wide, made out of a single tree and very well wrought. When they had carried it into a river near by, and put it in a secure place, they all fled, and would have nothing more to do with us, which appeared to us a very barbarous act, and we judged them to be a faithless and evil-disposed people. We saw among them a little gold, which they wore in their ears.

"Leaving this place, we sailed about eighty leagues along the coast and entered a bay, where we found a surprising number of people, with whom we formed a friendship. Many of us went to their village, in great safety, and were received with much courtesy and confidence. In this place we procured a hundred and fifty pearls (as they sold them to us for a trifle) and some little gold, which they gave us gratuitously. We noticed that in this country they drank wine made of their fruits and seeds, which looked like beer, both white and red; the best was made from acorns, and was very good. We ate a great many of these acorns and found them a very good fruit, savory to the taste and healthy to the body. The country abounded with means of nourishment, and the people were well disposed and pacific.

"We remained at this port seventeen days, with great pleasure, and every day some new tribe of people came to see us from inland parts of the country, who were greatly surprised at our figures, at the whiteness of our skins, at our clothes, at our arms, and the form and size of our ships. We were informed by them of the existence of another tribe, still farther west, who were their enemies, and that they had great quantities of pearls. They said that those which they had in their possession were some they had taken from this other tribe in war. They told us how they fished for pearls, and in what manner they grew, and we found that they told us the truth—as your excellency shall hear.

"Sailing along the coast again, and finding an island about fifteen leagues from it at sea, we resolved to see if it were inhabited. We found on this island the most bestial and filthy people that were ever seen, but at the same time extremely pacific, so that I am able to describe their habits and customs. Their manners and their faces were filthy, and they all had their cheeks stuffed full of a green herb which they were continually chewing, as beasts chew the cud, so that they were scarcely able to speak. Each one of them wore, hanging at the neck, two dried gourd-shells, one of which was filled with the same kind of herb they had in their mouths, and the other with a white meal, which appeared to be chalk-dust. They also carried with them a small stick, which they wetted in their mouths from time to time and then put in the meal, afterwards putting it into the herb with which both cheeks were filled, and mixing the meal with it. We were surprised at their conduct, and could not understand for what purpose they indulged in the strange practice.

"As soon as these people saw us, they came to us with as much familiarity as if we had been old friends. Walking with them along the shore, and wishing to find some fresh water to drink, they made us to understand by signs that they had none, and offered us some of their herbs and meal; hence we concluded that water was very scarce in this island, and that they kept these herbs in their mouth in order to allay their thirst. We walked about the island a day and a half without finding any living water, and noticed that all they had to drink was the dew which fell in the night upon certain leaves that looked like asses' ears. These leaves being filled with dew-water the islanders use it for their drink, and most excellent water it was; but there were many places where the leaves were not to be found.

"They had no victuals or roots, such as we found on the main-land, but lived on fish, which they caught in the sea, of which there was an abundance, and they were very expert fishermen. They presented us with many turtles, and many large and very good fish. The women did not chew the herb as the men did, but carried a gourd with water in it, of which they drank. They had no villages, houses, or cottages, except some arbors which defended them from the sun, but not from the rain; this appearing needless, for I think it very seldom rained on that island. When they were fishing out at sea, they each wore on the head a very large leaf, so broad that they were covered by its shade. They fixed these leaves also in the ground on shore, and as the sun moved turned them about, so as to keep within the shadow. The island contained many animals of various kinds, all of which drank the muddy water of the marshes.

"Seeing there was no gain in staying there, we left and went to another island, which we found inhabited by people of very large stature. Going into the country in search of fresh water, without thinking the island inhabited (as we saw no people), as we were passing along the shore we remarked very large footprints on the sands. We concluded that if the other members corresponded with the feet they must be very large men. While occupied with these conjectures, we struck a path which led us inland, and after we had gone about a league we saw in a valley five huts or cottages which appeared to be inhabited. On going to them we found only five women, two quite old, and three girls, all so tall in stature that we regarded them with astonishment. When they saw us they became so frightened that they had not even courage to flee, and the two old women began to invite us into the huts, and to bring us many things to eat, with many signs of friendship. They were taller than a tall man, and as large-bodied as Francisco of Albizzi, but better proportioned than we are. While we were consulting as to the expediency of taking the three girls by force and bringing them to Castile to exhibit as wonders, there entered the door of the hut thirty-six men, much larger than the women, and so well made that it was a pleasure to look at them. They put us in such perturbation, however, that we would much rather have been in the ships than have found ourselves with such people. They carried immense bows and arrows, and large-headed clubs, and talked among themselves in a tone which led us to think they were deliberating about attacking us.

"Seeing we were in such danger, we formed various opinions on the subject. Some were for falling upon them in the hut, others thought it would be better to attack them in the field, and others that we should not commence the strife until we saw what they wished to do. We agreed, at length, to go out of the hut and take our way quietly to the ships. As soon as we did this they followed at a stone's-throw behind us, talking earnestly among themselves, and I think no less afraid of us than we were of them; for whenever we stopped they did the same, never coming nearer to us. In this way we at length arrived at the shore, where the boats were waiting for us. We entered them, and as we were going off in the distance they leaped forward and shot many arrows after us; but we had little fear of them now. We discharged two arquebuses at them, but more to frighten them than injure, and on hearing the report they all fled to the mountain. Thus we parted from them, and it appeared to us that we had escaped a perilous day's work. These people were quite naked, like the others we had seen, and on account of their large stature I called this island the Island of Giants. We proceeded onward in a direction parallel with the main-land, on which it happened that we were frequently obliged to fight with the people, who were not willing to let us take anything away.