2i AMERICA CLIMATE, SOIL, &C. 
 
 through the wholo extent of the continent. 
 The most sultry regions in South America, 
 Guiana, Brazil, Paraguay, and Tucuman, lie 
 many degrees to the east of the Magellanic 
 regions. — The level country of Peru, which 
 enjoys the tropical heats, is situated consider- 
 ably to the west of them. The north wind, 
 then, though it blows over land, does not bring, 
 to the southern extremity of America, an in- 
 crease of heat, collected in its passage over 
 torrid regions ; but, before it arrives there, it 
 must have swept along the summit of the 
 Andes, and come impregnated with the cold 
 of that frozen region.'' 1 Another peculiarity in 
 the climate of America, is its excessive mois- 
 ture. In some places, indeed, on the western 
 coast, rain is not known ; but, in all other 
 parts, the moistness of the climate is as re- 
 markable as the cold. The most prevalent 
 cause is the vast quantity of water in the At- 
 lantic and Pacific Oceans, with which America 
 is environed on all sides. Hence, those places 
 where the continent is narrowest are deluged 
 with almost perpetual rains, accompanied with 
 violent thunder and lightning, by which some 
 of them, particularly Porto Bello, are rendered 
 in a manner uninhabitable. This extreme 
 moisture of the American climate is produc- 
 tive of much larger rivers there than in any 
 other part of the world. The Danube, the 
 Nile, the Indus, or the Ganges, are not com- 
 parable to the Mississippi, the river St Law- 
 rence, or that of tho Amazons ; nor are such 
 lakes to be found any where as those which 
 North America affords. To the same cause we 
 ascribe the excessive luxuriance of all kinds of 
 vegetables in almost ail parts of this country. 
 
 THE 
 
 [.No. 2. 
 
 HISTORY 
 
 OF 
 
 COLUMBUS, 
 
 THE 
 
 DISCOVERER OF AMERICA. 
 
 EDINBURGH: 
 PRINTED & PUBLISHED BY J. BRYDONE, 
 
 SOUTH HANOVER STREET. 
 
1 2 HISTORY OF CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS* 
 
 the forecastle, observed a light at a distance, 
 and privately pointed it out to Pedro Guttierez, 
 a page of the queen's wardrobe. Guttierez 
 perceived it ; and calling to Salcedo, tiomep* 
 troller of the fleet, all three saw it in motion, 
 as if it were carried from place to place. At 
 two o'clock next morning, Roderic Triana dis- 
 covered land, and the joyful sound of Land ! 
 land ! was heard from the Pinta, which kept 
 always a head of the other ships. But having 
 been so often deceived by fallacious appear- 
 ances, every man was now become slow of be- 
 lief ; and waited, in all the anguish of uncer- 
 tainty and impatience, for the return of day. 
 As soon as morning dawned, all doubts and 
 fears were dispelled. From every ship an 
 island was seen about two leagues to the north, 
 whose flat and verdant fields, well stored with 
 wood, and watered with many rivulets, pre- 
 sented the aspect of a delightful country. The 
 crew of the Pinta instantly began the Te Deum, 
 as a hymn of thanksgiving to God ; and were 
 joined by those of the other ships, with tears 
 of joy and transports of congratulation. This 
 office of gratitude to heaven was followed by 
 an act of justice to their commander. They 
 threw themselves at the feet of Columbus, with 
 feelings of self-condemnation mingled with re- 
 verence. They implored him to pardon their 
 ignorance, incredulity, and insolence, which 
 had created him so much unnecessary disquiet, 
 and had so often obstructed the prosecution of 
 his well-concerted plan ; and passing, in the 
 warmth of their admiration, from one extreme 
 to another, they now pronounced the man, 
 whom they had so lately reviled and threatened, 
 to be a person inspired by heaven with saga- 
 
 HISTORY OF CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. 13 
 
 city and fortitude more than human, in order 
 to accomplish a design so far beyond the ideas 
 and conception of all former ages. 
 
 As soon as the sun arose, all their boats 
 were manned and armed. They rowed towards 
 the island with their colours displayed, with 
 warlike music, and other martial pomp. As 
 they approached the coast, they saw it covered 
 with a multitude of people whom the novelty 
 of the spectacle had drawn together, whose 
 attitudes and gestures expressed wonder and 
 astonishment at the strange objects which pre- 
 sented themselves to their view. Columbus 
 was the first European who set foot in the 
 New World which he had discovered. He 
 landed in a rich dress, and with a naked sword 
 in his hand. His men followed ; and, kneel- 
 ing down, they all kissed the ground which 
 they had so long desired to see. They next 
 erected a crucifix ; and, prostrating themselves 
 before it, returned thanks to God for conduct- 
 ing their voyage to such an happy issue. This 
 island was one of the Bahama Islands ; to 
 which he gave the name of San Salvador, and 
 took possession of it in the name of their Ca- 
 tholic Majesties. 
 
 The naked and painted natives, when they 
 had recovered from their fright at hearing 
 the discharge of the artillery, regarded the 
 white men, by whose confidence they were 
 soon won, as visitors from the skies which 
 bounded their horizon ; they received from 
 them, with the greatest transport, toys and 
 trinkets, fragments of glass and earthenware, 
 as celestial presents possessing a supernatural 
 virtue. They brought, in exchange, cotton-yarn 
 and cassava bread*", which, as it keeps longer 
 
4 HISTORY OF CHRISTOPHER COl .I MIU's, 
 
 became thoroughly convinced, that, by sailing 
 across the Atlantic Ocean, directly towards the 
 west, new countries, which probably formed 
 a part of the vast continent of India, must in- 
 fallibly be discovered. His conjectures were 
 confirmed by the observations of modern navi- 
 gators. A Portuguese pilot, having stretched 
 farther to the west than usual, picked up a piece 
 of timber, artificially carved, which was floating 
 on the sea ; a<nd as it was driven towards him by 
 a westerly wind, he concluded that it came from 
 some unknown land situated in that quarter. 
 Columbus 1 brother-in-law had found, to the west 
 of the Madeira Isles, a piece of timber fashioned 
 in the same manner, and brought by the same 
 wind ; and had seen also canes of an enormous 
 size floating upon the waves, which resembled 
 those described by Ptolemy, as productions 
 peculiar to the East Indies. After a course 
 of westerly winds, trees torn up by the roots 
 were often driven upon the coast of the 
 Azores ; and at one time the dead bodies of 
 two men, with singular features, which re- 
 sembled neither the inhabitants of Europe noi 
 Africa, were cast ashore there. Even the mis- 
 takes of ancient geographers, as to the immense 
 extent of India, as well as various other rea- 
 sons, contributed to persuade Columbus that 
 the shortest and most direct course to the re- 
 mote regions of the east, was to be found by 
 sailing due west. 
 
 In the year 1474, Columbus communicated 
 his ingenious theory to Paul, a physician of 
 Florence, eminent for his knowledge of Cosmo- 
 graphy. He warmly . ^proved it, and encou- 
 raged Columbus in an u : dertakmg so laudable, 
 and which promised so much benefit to the 
 
 AMERICA CLIMATE, SOIL, SzC. 21 
 
 rica, for which various causes have been as- 
 signed. The following is the opinion of the 
 late learned Dr Robertson on this subject : — 
 " Though the utmost extent of America to- 
 wards the north be not yet discovered, we 
 know that it advances nearer to the pole than 
 eitb'fcn Europe or Asia. The latter have large 
 sons to the north, which are open during part 
 of the year ; and, even when covered with ice, 
 the wind that blows over them is less intensely 
 cold than that which blows over land in the 
 e«ime latitudes. But, in America, the land 
 stretches from the river St Lawrence towards 
 the pole, and spreads out immensely to the 
 west. A chain of enormous mountains, cover- 
 ed with snow and ice, runs through all this 
 dreary region. The wind, passing over such 
 an extent of high and frozen land, becomes so 
 impregnated with cold, that it acquires a pierc- 
 ing keenness, which it retains in its progress 
 through warmer climates ; and is not entirely 
 mitigated, until it reaches the Gulf of Mexico. 
 Over all the continent of North America, a 
 north-westerly wind and excessive cold are 
 synonymous terms. — Even in the most sultry 
 weather, the moment that the wind veers to 
 that quarter, its penetrating influence is felt in 
 a transition from heat to cold no less violent 
 than sudden. To this powerful cause we may 
 ascribe the extraordinary dominion of cold, and 
 its violent inroads into the southern provinces 
 in that part of the globe. Other causes, no 
 less remarkable, diminish the active power of 
 heat in those parts of the American continent 
 which lie between the tropics. In all that por- 
 tion of the globe, the wi ld blows in an invaria- 
 ble direction from E. to W. As this wind 
 
16 HISTORY OF CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. 
 
 Orinoco. He then coasted along westward, 
 making other discoveries for 200 leagues, to 
 Cape Vela, from which he crossed over to His- 
 paniola, to recruit his health. The dissensions 
 which arose here, the calumnies of miscreants 
 who had been shipped off to Spain, counte- 
 nanced as they were by envious courtiers at 
 home, the unproductiveness of the new settle- 
 ment, and regret at having vested such high 
 powers in a subject and a foreigner, who could 
 now be dispensed with, induced Ferdinand, in 
 July 1500, to dispatch Francisco de Bovadilla, 
 a knieht of Calatrava. to inquire into the con- 
 duct of Columbus, with orders, in case he found 
 the charge of maladministration proved, to su- 
 persede him, and assume the office of governor 
 of Hispaniola. The consequence of this was, that 
 Columbu3 was sent to Spain in chains. Val- 
 lejo, the officer who had him in charge, and 
 Martin, the master of the caravel, (or light 
 barque, no better than our river and coasting 
 craft,) would have taken his chains off; but 
 Columbus proudly said, " I will wear them till 
 the king orders otherwise, and will preserve 
 them as memorials of his gratitude." He hung 
 them up in his cabinet, and requested that they 
 should be buried in his grave. The general 
 burst of indignation at Cadiz, which was echoed 
 throughout Spain on the arrival of Columbus 
 in fetters, compelled Ferdinand himself to dis- 
 claim all knowledge of the shameful transac- 
 tion. But still the king kept Columbus in at- 
 tendance for nine months, wasting his time in 
 fruitless solicitations for redress ; and at last 
 appointed Nicholas Orando, governor of His- 
 paniola, in his place. 
 
 With restricted powers and a broken frame, 
 
 UlHiORY OF CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. 
 
 9 
 
 for some time. The sailors, however, discon- 
 tented, and alarmed at their distance from 
 land, several times mutinied, and once pro- 
 posed to throw their admiral overboard. Co- 
 lumbus was now fully sensible of his perilous 
 situation. He had observed, with great un- 
 easiness, the fatal operation of ignorance and 
 of fear in producing disaffection among his 
 crew ; and saw that it was now ready to burst 
 out into open mutiny. He retained, how- 
 ever, perfect presence of mind. He affected to 
 seem ignorant of their machinations. Not- 
 withstanding the agitation and solicitude of his 
 own mind, he appeared with a cheerful counte- 
 nance ; like a man satisfied with the progress 
 which he had made, and confident of success. 
 Sometimes he employed all the arts of insinua- 
 tion to soothe his men. — Sometimes he endea- 
 voured to work upon their ambition or avarice, 
 by magnificent descriptions of the fame and 
 wealth which they were about to acquire. On 
 other occasions, he assumed a tope of authority, 
 and threatened them with vengeance from their 
 sovereign, if, by their dastardly behaviour, they 
 should defeat this noble effort to promote the 
 glory of God, and to exalt the Spanish name 
 above that of every other nation. Even with 
 seditious sailors, the words of a man whoni they 
 liad been accustomed to reverence were weighty 
 and persuasive ; and not only restrained them 
 from those violent excesses which they medi- 
 tated, but prevailed with them to accompany 
 their admiral for some time longer. As they 
 proceeded, the indications of approaching land 
 seemed to be more certain, and excited hope 
 in proportion. The birds began to appear in 
 flocks, making towards the south west. Co- 
 
is 
 
 HISTORY OF CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS* 
 
 to take any part in the enterprise as King of 
 Arragon; and as the whole expense of the expe- 
 dition was to be defrayed by the crown of Cas- 
 tile, Isabella reserved for her subjects of that 
 kingdom an exclusive right to all the benefits 
 which might accrue from its success. 
 
 On August 3, 1492, he left Spain in the 
 presence of a crowd of spectators, who united 
 their supplications to heaven for his success. 
 He steered directly for the Canary Islands, 
 where ho arrived and refitted, as well as he 
 could, his crazy and ill-appointed fleet. Hence 
 he sailed, September 6th, a due western course 
 into an unknown ocean. Columbus now found 
 a thousand unforeseen hardships to encounter, 
 which demanded all his judgment, fortitude, 
 and address to surmount. Besides the diffi- 
 culties unavoidable from the nature of his 
 undertaking, he had to struggle with those 
 which arose from the ignorance and timidity of 
 the people under his command. On the 14th 
 of September, he was astonished to find that 
 the magnetic needle in their compass did not 
 point exactly to the polar star, but varied toward 
 the west ; and as they proceeded, this variation 
 increased. This new phenomenon, which is now 
 familiar, though the cause remains one of the ar- 
 cana of nature, filled the companions of Colum- 
 bus with terror. Nature itself seemed to have 
 sustained a change ; and the only guide they 
 had left, to point them to a safe retreat from 
 an unbounded and trackless ocean, was about 
 to fail them. Columbus, with no less quickness 
 than ingenuity, assigned a reason for this ap- 
 pearance, which, though it did not satisfy him- 
 self, seemed so plausible to them, that it dis- 
 pelled their fears, or silenced their murmurs 
 
 HISTORY OE CHRIbTOPHER COLUMBUS. 17 
 
 but with his ever-soaring and irrepressible en- 
 thusiasm, Columbus sailed from Cadiz, on his 
 fourth voyage, on May 9, 1502, with four cara- 
 vels and 150 men, in search of a passage to 
 the East Indies near the Isthmus of Darien, 
 which should supersede that of Vasco de Garaa. 
 Being denied relief and even shelter at Santo 
 Domingo, he was swept away by the currents 
 to the ISW. ; he, however, missed Yucatan 
 and Mexico, and at last reached Truxillo, 
 whence he coasted Honduras, the Mosquito- 
 Shore, Casta Rica, Veragua, as far as the point 
 which he called El lletrete, where the recent 
 westward coasting of Bastides had terminated. 
 But here, on the 5th of December, he gave up 
 his splendid vision, and yielded to the clamor- 
 ous outbreakings of his crews to return in 
 search of gold to Yeragua, a country which he 
 himself mistook for the Aurea Chersonesus of 
 the ancients. 
 
 The fierce resistance of the natives and the 
 crazy state of his ships forced him, at the close 
 of April 1503, to make the lest of his way for 
 Hispaniola, with only two crowded wrecks, 
 which, being incapable of keeping the sea, 
 came, on the 24th day of June, to anchor at 
 Jamaica. After famine and despair had occa- 
 sioned a series of mutinies and disasters far 
 greater than any that he had yet experienced, 
 he at last arrived, on the 13th of August, at 
 Santo Domingo. Here he exhausted his funds 
 in relieving his crews, extending his generosity 
 even to those who had been most outrageous. 
 Sailing homewards on the 12th of September, 
 he anchored his tempest-tossed and shattered 
 bark at San Lucar, November 7, 1504. From 
 San Lucar he proceeded to Sevilla, where he 
 
20 AMERICA BOUNDARIES, EXTENT, 8fC. 
 
 supposed to be surrounded on all sides by the 
 ocean, stretching in an extensive range through 
 every inhabited latitude in the world. It may 
 convey a general idea of its situation, with re- 
 gard to Europe, to say, that New Britain lies 
 nearly parallel with Great Britain ; that New- 
 foundland, the Bay of St Lawrence, and Cape 
 Breton, lie opposite to France ; Nova Scotia 
 and New England are on a parallel with the 
 Bay of Biscay ; and New York and Pennsyl- 
 vania are opposite to Spain and Portugal. 
 
 This vast continent is washed by the two 
 great oceans ; being bounded on the E. by the 
 Atlantic, which divides it from Europe and 
 Africa ; and on the W. by the Pacific, or Great 
 South Sea, which separates it from Asia. It 
 extends from Cape Horn, its most southern ex- 
 tremity, in latitude 56° S. to the North Pole; 
 and spreads between the 40th degree E. and 
 the 100th W. longitude from Philadelphia ; 
 and from the 35th to the 13b'th degree \V. lon- 
 gitude from London. It is nearly 10,000 miles 
 in length from N. to S. Its average breadth, 
 from E. to W., is about 1400 or 1500 miles; 
 but at its broadest part it measures 3690 miles. 
 This extensive continent lies between the Pa- 
 cific Ocean on the W., and the Atlantic on the 
 E. It is said to contain upwards of 14,000,000 
 square miles. 
 
 As America lies in both hemispheres, it pos- 
 sesses all the varieties of soil, climate, and pro- 
 ductions, which the earth affords. It stretches 
 through all the five zones, and has two sum- 
 mers as well as two winters in the year. Tho 
 most remarkable difference between the New 
 and Old World, is the general predominance 
 of cold throughout the whole extent of Amc- 
 
 UI3TORY OF CHRISTOPHER COEl'MKLN. £ 
 
 world. Having fully satisfied hiiuseif with re- 
 spect to the truth of his system, he became im- 
 patient to reduce it to practice. The first step 
 towards this was to secure the patronage of 
 some of the European powers. Accordingly, 
 he laid his scheme before the senate of Genoa, 
 making his native country the first offer of his 
 services. They rejected his proposal as the 
 dream of a chimerical projector. He next ap- 
 plied to John II., king of Portugal, a monarch 
 of an enterprising genius, and no incompetent 
 judge of naval affairs. The king listened to 
 him in the most gracious manner, and refer- 
 red the consideration of his plan to a number 
 of eminent cosmographers, whom he was accus- 
 tomed to consult in matters of this kind. These 
 men, from mean and interested views, started 
 innumerable objections, and asked many cap- 
 tious questions, on purpose to betray Colum- 
 bus into a full explanation of his system. Hav- 
 ing done this, they advised the king to dispatch 
 a vessel, secretly, in order to attempt the pro- 
 posed discovery, by following exactly the 
 course which Columbus had pointed out. John, 
 forgetting on this occasion the sentiments be- 
 coming a monarch, meanly adopted their per- 
 fidious counsel. 
 
 Fpon discovering this dishonourable trans- 
 action, Columbus, with an indignation natural 
 to an ingenuous mind, quitted the kingdom, 
 and landed in Spain in 1484. Here ho repre- 
 sented his scheme, in person, to Ferdinand and 
 Isabella, who at that time governed the united 
 kingdoms of Castile and Arragon. They injudi- 
 ciously submitted it to the examination of unskil- 
 ful judges, who, ignorant of the principles on 
 which Columbus founded his theory, rejected it 
 
£ m.siOijY or <ii ocmu: cor.iwim;.*. 
 
 us absurd, upon the credit of a maxim under 
 which the ignorant and indolent, in every age, 
 shelter themselves, "That it is presumptuousm 
 any person to suppose that he alon" possesses 
 knowledge superior to all the rest of mankind 
 united. 11 They maintained, likewise, that if 
 there were really any such countries as Colum- 
 bus pretended, they would not have remained 
 so long concealed ; nor would the wisdom and 
 sagacity of former ages have left the glory of 
 this discovery to an obscure Genoese pilot. 
 
 Meanwhile, Columbus, who had experienced 
 the uncertain issue of applications to kings, 
 had taken the precaution of sending into Eng- 
 land his brother Bartholomew, to whom he had 
 fully communicated his ideas, to negociate tho 
 matter with Henry VII. On his voyage to 
 England, he fell into the hands of pirates, who 
 stripped him of every thing, and detained him 
 a prisoner several years. At length, he mado 
 his escape, and arrived at London in extreme 
 indigence, where he employed himself some time 
 in selling maps. With his gains, he purchased 
 a decent dress, and in person presented to tho 
 king the proposals which his brother had en- 
 trusted to his management. Notwithstanding 
 Henry \s excessive caution and parsimony, he 
 received the proposals of Columbus with more 
 approbation than any monarch to whom they 
 had been presented. After several unsuccessful 
 applications to other European powers of less 
 note, he was induced, by the entreaty and in- 
 terposition of Perez, a man of considerable 
 learning, and of some credit with Queen Isa- 
 bella, to apply again to the Court of Spain. 
 This application, after much warm debate, and 
 several mortifying repulses, proved at last suc- 
 
 I1ISTOKY 01' < II IUS LOIM 1 1:11 COtH-StBUS. 
 
 Canaries to IJayti in 1 481. mentioned by the 
 Inea Gareilaso and some other Spanish writers, 
 is regarded as a fable. The accounts, however, 
 of Spaniards and Portuguese who had sailed 
 westward so far as to perceive indications of 
 land, were useful to Columbus, according to his 
 own avowal. Ferdinand and Isabella, in a 
 written declaration of the 4th of August 1494, 
 ascribe the new discoveries to Columbus. 
 
 It is only necessary to add, that, among the 
 other adventurers to the New World in pursuit 
 of gold, was Americus Vespucius, a Florentine 
 gentleman, whom Ferdinand had appointed to 
 draw sea- charts, and to whom he had given the 
 name of chief pilot. This man, as a pilot, ac- 
 companied Ojeda, an enterprising Spanish gen- 
 tleman, to America ; and having, with much 
 art, and some degree of elegance, drawn up an 
 amusing history of his voyage, he published it 
 to the world. It was circulated rapidly, and 
 was read with admiration. In his narrative, 
 had insinuated that the glory of having first 
 discovered the continent in the New World 
 belonged to him. This was in part believed, 
 and the country began to be called after tho 
 name of its supposed first discoverer. The un- 
 accountable caprice of mankind has perpetuat- 
 ed the error ; so that now, by the universal 
 consent of all nations, this new quarter of the 
 world is called AMERICA. Thus, the name 
 of Americus has supplanted that of Coiumbus; 
 and mankind are left to regret an act of injus- 
 tice, which, having been sanctioned by time, 
 thev can never redress. 
 
 America is universally allowed to be the largest 
 quarter or grand division of the globe, and i* 
 
14 HISTORY OF CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. 
 
 than vvheaten bread, was highly acceptable to 
 the Spaniards. 
 
 On the 24th of October, Columbus set out in 
 quest of gold, which he thought was the only 
 object of commerce worth his attention. After 
 discovering Conception, Exuma, and Isla Lar- 
 ga, Cuba broke on him like an elysium. He 
 next took Hayti, or Santo Domingo, for the an- 
 cient Ophir, the source of the riches of Solo- 
 mon, but he gave it the name of Hispaniola, 
 from its resembling the fairest tracts of Spain. 
 Leaving here the germ of a future colony, he 
 set sail homeward on January 4, 1493. A 
 dreadful storm overtook him on the 12th of 
 February. Columbus, fearing the loss of his 
 discovery more than the loss of life, retired 
 into his cabin, and wrote two copies on parch- 
 ment of a short account of it. He wrapped 
 them in wax, enclosed them in two separate 
 casks, one of which he threw into the sea, and 
 the other he placed on the poop of his vessel, 
 that it might float in case she should sink. 
 Happily the fctorm subsided, but another drove 
 him off the mouth of the Tasrus on the 4th of 
 March ; and although distrustful of the Por- 
 tuguese, he was constrained to take shelter 
 there. At last, ho landed triumphantly at 
 Falos, March 15, 1493. As soon as the ship 
 was discovered approaching, all the inhabitants 
 ran eagerly to the shore, where they received 
 the admiral with royal honours. The court 
 was then at Barcelona, and Columbus imme- 
 diately acquainted their Majesties of his ar- 
 rival. They were no less delighted than asto- 
 nished with this unexpected event. They gave 
 orders for conducting him into the city with all 
 imaginable pomp. In his journey through 
 
 HISTORY OF CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. Jl 
 
 land were not discovered, he would then aban- 
 don the enterprise, and direct his course back 
 to Spain. Enraged as the sailors were, and 
 impatient to turn their faces again towards 
 their native country, this proposition did not 
 appear to them unreasonable. Nor did Co- 
 lumbus hazard much in confining himself to a 
 term so short. 
 
 The presages of discovering land were now so 
 numerous and promising, that he deemed them 
 infallible. For some days, the sounding-line 
 reached the bottom, and the soil which it 
 brought up indicated land to be at no great 
 distance. The flocks of birds increased, and 
 were composed not only of soa-fowl, but of such 
 land -birds as could not be supposed to fly far 
 from the shore. The crew of the Pinta ob- 
 served a cane floating which seemed to be newly 
 cut, and likewise a piece of timber artificially 
 carved. The sailors aboard the Nigna took up 
 the branch of a tree with red berries perfectly 
 fresh. The clouds around the setting sun as- 
 sumed a new appearance ; the air was more 
 mild and warm ; and, during night, the wind 
 became unequal and variable. From all these 
 symptoms, Columbus was so confident of being 
 near land, that, on the evening of the 11th of 
 October, after public prayers for success, he 
 ordered the sails to be furled, and the ships to 
 lie by, keeping strict watch, lest they should 
 be driven ashore in the night. During this 
 interval of suspense and expectation, no man 
 shut his eyes ; all kept upon deck, gazing in- 
 tently towards that quarter where they ex- 
 pected to discover the land which had been so 
 long the object of their wishes. About two 
 hours before midnight, Columbus, standing on 
 
HISTORY 
 
 OF 
 
 CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. 
 
 Christopher Columbus, the celebrated naviga- 
 tor, and first discoverer of America, was a na- 
 tive of Genoa. Neither the time nor place of 
 his birth is known with certainty ; only he was 
 descended of an honourable family, who, by va- 
 rious misfortunes, had been reduced to indi- 
 gence. His parents were sea-faring people ; 
 and Columbus having discovered, in his early 
 youth, a capacity and inclination for that way 
 of life, was encouraged by them to follow the 
 same profession. At the age of fourteen, he 
 went to sea : his first voyages were to those 
 parts in the Mediterranean frequented by the 
 Genoese ; after which he took a voyage to Ice- 
 land ; and proceeding still further north, ad- 
 vanced several degrees within the polar circle. 
 After this, Columbus entered into the service 
 of a famous sea-captain of his own name and 
 family. This man commanded a small squa- 
 dron, fitted out at his own expense; and by 
 cruising, sometimes against the Mahometans, 
 and sometimes against the Venetians, the rivals 
 of his country in trade, had acquired wealth and 
 reputation. With him, Columbus continued 
 for several years, no less distinguished for his 
 courage than his experience as a sailor. At 
 
 AMERICA CLIMATE, SOIL, &C 23 
 
 islands of America, in the torrid zone, are 
 either small or mountainous, and are fanned 
 alternately by refreshing sea and land breezes. 
 The causes of the extraordinary cold towards 
 the southern limits of America, and in the seas 
 bcvond it, cannot be ascertained in a manner 
 equally satisfying. The most obvious and pro- 
 bable cause of this superior degree of cold to- 
 wards the southern extremity of America, 
 seems to be the form of the continent there. 
 Its breadth gradually decreases as it stretches 
 from St Antonio southwards, and from the 
 Bay of St Julian to the Straits of Magellan, 
 its dimensions are much contracted. From its 
 southern point, it is probable that an open sea 
 stretches to the antarctic pole. In whichever 
 of these directions the wind blows, it is cooled 
 before it approaches the Magellanic regions, 
 by passing over a vast body of water ; nor is 
 the land there of such extent, that it can re- 
 cover any considerable degree of heat in its 
 progress over it. These circumstances concur 
 in rendering the temperature of the air in this 
 district of America, more similar to that of an 
 insular than to that of a continental climate ; 
 and hinder it from acquiring the same degree 
 of summer heat, with places in Europe and 
 Asia, in a corresponding northern latitude. 
 The north wind is the only one that reaches 
 this part of America, after blowing over a great 
 continent. But, from an attentive survey of 
 its position, this will be found to have a ten- 
 dency rather to diminish than augment the 
 degree of heat. The southern extremity of 
 America is properly the termination of the 
 immense ridge of the Andes, which stretches 
 nearly in a direct line from north to south, 
 
1'2 AMERICA CLIMATE, SOIL, &C. 
 
 Iiolds its course along the ancient continent, it 
 arrives at the countries which stretch along this 
 western shore of Africa, inflamed with all the 
 fiery particles which it hath collected from the 
 sultry plains of Asia, and the burning sands in 
 the African deserts. The coast of Africa is 
 accordingly the region of the earth which feels 
 the most fervent heat, and is exposed to the 
 unmitigated ardour of the torrid zone. But 
 this same wind, which brings such an accession 
 of warmth to the countries lying between the 
 river of Senegal and CafJ'raria, traverses the 
 Atlantic Ocean before it reaches the American 
 shore. It is cooled in its passage over this 
 vast body of water ; and is felt as a refresh- 
 ing gale along the coasts of Brazil and Guiana, 
 rendering those countries, though amongst the 
 warmest in America, temperate, when com- 
 pared with those which lie opposite to them in 
 Africa. As this wind advances in its course 
 across America, it meets with immense plains 
 covered with impenetrable forests ; or occupied 
 by large rivers, marshes, and stagnating waters, 
 where it can recover no considerable degree of 
 heat. At length, it arrives at the Andes, which 
 run from N. to S. through the whole continent. 
 In passing over their elevated and frozen sum- 
 mits, it is so thoroughly cooled, that the greater 
 part of the countries beyond them hardly feel 
 the ardour to which they seem exposed by their 
 situation. In the other provinces of America, 
 from Terra Firma westward to the Mexican 
 Empire, the heat of the climate is tempered, 
 in some places, by the elevation of the land 
 above the sea ; in others, by their extraordi- 
 nary humidity ; and in all, by the enormous 
 mountains scattered over this tract, The 
 
 HISTORY OF CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. 
 
 3 
 
 length, in an obstinate engagement, off the 
 coast of Portugal, with some Venetian cara- 
 vans, returning richly laden from the Low 
 Countries, the vessel on board which he served 
 took fire, together with one of the enemy's 
 ships, to which it was fast grappled. Columbus 
 threw himself into the sea, laid hold of a float- 
 ing oar, and by the support of it, and his dex- 
 terity in swimming, he reached the shore, 
 which was about two leagues distant. 
 
 After this disaster, Columbus repaired to 
 Lisbon, where he married a daughter of Bar- 
 tholomew Perestrello, one of the captains em- 
 ployed by Prince Henry in his early naviga- 
 tions, and who had discovered and planted the 
 islands of Porto Santo and Madeira. Having 
 got possession of the journal and charts of that 
 experienced navigator, Columbus was seized 
 with an irresistible desire of visiting unknown 
 countries. To indulge it, he made a voyage to 
 Madeira, and continued for several years to 
 trade with that island, the Canaries, Azores, 
 the settlements in Guinea, and all the other 
 places which the Portuguese had discovered on 
 the continent of Africa. By the experience ac- 
 quired in such a number of voyages, Columbus 
 now became one of the most skilful navigators 
 in Europe. At this time, the great object of dis- 
 covery was a passage by sea to the East Indies. 
 This was attempted, and at last accomplished 
 by the Portuguese, by doubling the Cape of 
 Good Hope. The danger and tediousness of 
 the passage, however, supposing it to be really 
 accomplished, which as yet it was not, set Co- 
 lumbus on considering whether a shorter and 
 more direct passage to these regions might be 
 found out ; and, after long consideration, he 
 
f 
 
 10 HISTORY OK CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. 
 
 lumbus, in imitation of the Portuguese navi- 
 gators, who had been guided in several of their 
 discoveries by the motion of birds, altered his 
 course from due wests towards that quarter 
 whither they pointed their flight. But after 
 holding on for several days in this new direc- 
 tion, without any better success than formerly, 
 having seen no object during thirty days but 
 the sea and the sky, the hopes of his compa- 
 nions subsided faster than they had risen ; 
 their fears revived with additional force ; impa- 
 tience, rage, and despair, appeared in every 
 countenance. All sense of subordination was 
 V>st. The officers, who had hitherto concurred 
 svith Columbus in opinion, and supported his 
 authority, now took part with the private men. 
 They assembled tumultuously on the deck, ex- 
 postulated with their commander, mingled 
 threats with their expostulations, and required 
 him instantly to tack about and to return to 
 Europe Columbus perceived that it would be 
 of no avail to have recourse to any of his former 
 arts, whicli having been tried so often had lost 
 their effect ; and that it was impossible to re- 
 kindle any zeal for the success of the expedi- 
 tion among mon in whose breasts fear had ex- 
 tinguished every generous sentiment. He saw 
 that it was no less vain to think of employing 
 either gentle or severe measures, to quell a mu- 
 tiny so general and so violent. It was neces- 
 sary, on all these accounts, to soothe passions 
 which he could no longer command, and to give 
 way to a torrent too impetuous to be dhecked. 
 He promised solemnly to his men that he would 
 comply with their request, provided they would 
 accompany him and obey his commands for 
 three days longer; and if. during that time, 
 
 HISTORY OF CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. 15 
 
 Spain, he received princely honours all his 
 way to Barcelona. His entrance here, with 
 some of the natives, and with the arm's and 
 utensils of the discovered islands, was a tri- 
 umph as striking and more glorious than that 
 of a conqueror. Ferdinand and Isabella re- 
 ceived him clad in their royal robes, and 
 seated on a throne under a magnificent canopy. 
 When he approached, they stood up; and, 
 raising him as he kneeled to kiss their hands, 
 desired him to take his scat upon a chair pre- 
 pared for him, and to give a circumstantial ac- 
 count of his voyage. When he had finished 
 his oration, which he delivered with much mo- 
 desty and simplicity, their Majesties, kneeling 
 down, offered up solemn thanks to God for tho 
 discovery. Every possible mark of honour that 
 could be suggested by gratitude or admiration, 
 was conferred on Columbus ; the former capitu- 
 lation was confirmed, his family was ennobled, 
 and a fleet was ordered to be equipped, to enable 
 him to go in quest of those more opulent coun- 
 tries which he still confidently expected to find. 
 
 On the 25th of September 1493, Columbus 
 left Cadiz, on a second expedition, with seven- 
 teen ships and 1500 men. He discovered the 
 Caribbee Islands, Puerto Rico, and Jamaica; 
 and after repeated mutinies of his colonists, 
 and great hardships, he returned against the 
 trade-winds to Cadiz, June 11, 149b". Having 
 dispelled all the calumnies that had been accu- 
 mulated upon him, Columbus embarked tho 
 30th of May 1498, at San Lucar de Barra- 
 rneda, on a third expedition, with only six ves- 
 sels. On the 1st of August, he attained the 
 great object of his ambition, i y discovering the 
 continent of America, near the mouth of the 
 
IS HISTORY Of CHRISTOPHER C'OT.i: MRUS. 
 
 soon after received the news of the death of his 
 patroness, Isabella. He was detained by ill- 
 ness till the spring of 1505, when he arrived, 
 wearied and exhausted, at Segovia, to have 
 only another courtly denial of redress, and to 
 linger a year longer in neglect, poverty, and 
 pain, till death gaite him relief at Valladolid, 
 on the 20th of May 1506, in the 59th year of 
 his aa - e. He died with a composure of mind 
 suited to the magnanimity which distinguished 
 his character, and with sentiments of piety be- 
 coming the sincere respect for religion which 
 he manifested in every occurrence of his life. 
 He was grave though courteous in his deport- 
 ment, circumspect in his words and actions, ir- 
 reproachable in his morals, and exemplary in 
 his religious duties. The king was so just to 
 his memory, notwithstanding his ingratitude 
 during his life, that he buried him magnificent- 
 ly in the Cathedral of Seville, and ereoted a 
 tomb over him with the following inscription : 
 
 A Castiixa y a Leon 
 
 NUETO M L"N DO DIO CoLOX ; 
 
 the meaning of which is — Columbus has given 
 a New World to Castile and Leon. 
 
 Although Sebastian Cabot, in the service of 
 Henrv VII. of England, discovered Newfound- 
 land and Labrador in June 1497, and Colum- 
 bus did not touch the American continent till 
 he visited the coast of Paria in August 1498, 
 Columbus, however, first reached Guanahani, 
 and what may properly be denominated the 
 ( 'olumhian Archipelago, and was really the dis- 
 coverer of the New World. 
 
 The voyage of one Antonio Sanchez from tho 
 
 mSTORT OF eHRIsTOPHKR (SOLUM HUS. < 
 
 cvs-;!'ul, though not without the most vigorous 
 and persevering exertions of Quintanilla and 
 Santangel, t wo vigilant and discerning patrons 
 of Columbus, whose meritorious zeal in pro- 
 moting this grand design entitles their names 
 to an honourable place in history. It was, 
 however, to Queen Isabella, the munificent pa 
 troness of his public-spirited enterprise, that 
 Columbus ultimately owed his success. 
 
 Having thus obtained the assistance of the 
 court, a squadron of three small vessels was 
 fitted out, victualled for twelve months, and 
 furnished with ninety men. The whole expense 
 did not exceed ,P4000. Of this small squa- 
 dron, Columbus was appointed admiral. The 
 chief articles of his treaty with Ferdinand 
 and Isabella were signed April 17, 1492. 
 These were, that Columbus' should be consti- 
 tuted high admiral in the seas, islands, and 
 continent he should discover, with the same 
 powers and prerogatives that belonged to the 
 high admiral of Castile within the limits of his 
 jurisdiction. He was also appointed viceroy in 
 all those countries to be discovered ; and tho 
 tenth of the products accruing from their pro- 
 ductions ami commerce was granted to him 
 for ever. All controversies or law-suits with 
 respect to mercantile transactions were to be 
 determined by the sole authority of Columbus, 
 or of judges to be appointed by him. He was 
 also permitted to advance one-eighth part of 
 the expense of the expedition, and of carrying 
 on commerce with the new countries, and was 
 entitled, in return, to an eighth of the profit. 
 But, though the name of Ferdinand was joined 
 with Isabella in this transaction, his distrust 
 of Columbus was still so violent, that he refused