_STORY OF CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS FOR LITTLE CHILDREN._
Once upon a time, far across the great ocean there lived a little boynamed Christopher. The city in which he lived was called Genoa. It wason the coast of the great sea, and from the time that little Christophercould first remember he had seen boats come and go across the water. Idoubt not that he had little boats of his own which he tried to sail, orpaddle about on the small pools near his home.
Soon after he was old enough to read books, which in those days werevery scarce and very much valued, he got hold of an account of thewonderful travels of a man named Marco Polo. Over and over again littleChristopher read the marvelous stories told by this old traveler, of thestrange cities which he had seen and of the dark-colored people whom hehad met; of the queer houses; of the wild and beautiful animals he hadencountered; of the jewels and perfumes and flowers which he had comeacross.
All day long the thoughts of little Christopher were busy with thisstrange far-away land which Marco Polo described. All night long hedreamed of the marvelous sights to be seen on those distant shores. Manya time he went down to the water's edge to watch the queer ships as theyslowly disappeared in the dim distance, where the sea and sky seemed tomeet. He listened eagerly to everything about the sea and the voyages ofadventure, or of trade which were told by the sailors near.
When he was fourteen years old he went to sea with an uncle, who wascommander of one of the vessels that came and went from the port ofGenoa. For a number of years he thus lived on a vessel, learningeverything that he could about the sea. At one time the ship on which hewas sailing had a desperate fight with another ship; both took fire andwere burned to the water's edge. Christopher Columbus, for that was hisfull name, only escaped, as did the other sailors, by jumping into thesea and swimming to the shore. Still this did not cure him of his lovefor the ocean life.
We find after a time that he left Italy, his native country, and went tolive in Portugal, a land near the great sea, whose people were far moreventuresome than had been those of Genoa. Here he married a beautifulmaiden, whose father had collected a rich store of maps and charts,which showed what was then supposed to be the shape of the earth andtold of strange and wonderful voyages which brave sailors had from timeto time dared to make out into the then unknown sea. Most people inthose days thought it was certain death to any one who ventured very farout on the ocean.
There were all sorts of queer and absurd ideas afloat as to the shape ofthe earth. Some people thought it was round like a pancake and that thewaters which surrounded the land gradually changed into mist and vaporand that he who ventured out into these vapors fell through the mist andclouds down into--they knew not where. Others believed that there werehuge monsters living in the distant waters ready to swallow any sailorwho was foolish enough to venture near them.
But Christopher Columbus had grown to be a very wise and thoughtful manand from all he could learn from the maps of his father-in-law and thebooks which he read, and from the long talks which he had with someother learned men, he grew more and more certain that the world wasround like an orange, and that by sailing westward from the coast ofPortugal one could gradually go round the world and find at last thewonderful land of _Cathay_, the strange country which lay far beyond thesea, the accounts of which had so thrilled him as a boy.
We, of course, know that he was right in his belief concerning the shapeof the earth, but people in those days laughed him to scorn when hespoke of making a voyage out on the vast and fearful ocean. In vain hetalked and reasoned and argued, and drew maps to explain matters. Themore he proved to his own satisfaction that this must be the shape ofthe world, the more other people shook their heads and called him crazy.
He remembered in his readings of the book of Marco Polo's travels thatthe people whom he had met were heathen who knew little about the dearGod who had made the world, and nothing at all about His son, ChristJesus, and as Christopher Columbus loved very dearly the Christianreligion, his mind became filled with a longing to carry it across thegreat seas to this far-away country. The more he thought about it themore he wanted to go, until his whole life was filled with the onethought of how to get hold of some ships to prove that the earth wasround, and that these far-away heathens could be reached.
Through some influential friends he obtained admission to the court ofthe King of Portugal. Eagerly he told the rich monarch of the greatenterprise which filled his heart. It was of little or no use, the Kingwas busy with other affairs, and only listened to the words of Columbusas one might listen to the wind. Year after year passed by, Columbus'wife had died, and their one little son, Diego, had grown to be quite aboy. Finally Columbus decided he would leave Portugal and would go overto Spain, a rich country near by, and see if the Spanish monarchs wouldnot give him boats in which to make his longed-for voyage.
The Spanish King was named Ferdinand, and the Spanish Queen was abeautiful woman named Isabella. When Columbus told them of his beliefthat the world was round, and of his desire to help the heathen wholived in this far-off country, they listened attentively to him, forboth King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella were very earnest people and verydesirous that all the world should become Christians; but theirministers and officers of state persuaded them that the whole thing wasa foolish dream of an enthusiastic, visionary man; and again Columbuswas disappointed in his hope of getting help.
Still he did not give up in despair. _The thought was too great forthat._ He sent his brother over to England to see if the English Kingwould not listen to him and give the necessary help, but again he wasdoomed to disappointment. Only here and there could he find any one whobelieved that it was possible for him to sail round the earth and reachthe land on the other side. Long years passed by. Columbus grew pale andthin with waiting and hoping, with planning and longing.
Sometimes as he walked along the streets of the Spanish capital peoplewould point their fingers at him and say: "There goes the crazy old manwho thinks the world is round." Again and again Columbus tried topersuade the Spanish King and Queen that if they would aid him, hisdiscoveries would bring great honor and riches to their kingdom, andthat they would also become the benefactors of the world by helping tospread the knowledge of Christ and His religion. Nobody believed in histheory. Nobody was interested in his plan. He grew poorer and poorer.
At last he turned his back on the great Spanish court, and in silentdespair he took his little son by the hand and walked a long way to asmall seaport called Palos, where there was a queer old convent in whichstrangers were often entertained by the kind monks who lived in it.Weary and footsore he reached the gate of the convent. Knocking upon ithe asked the porter, who answered the summons, if he would give littleDiego a bit of bread and a drink of water. While the two tired travelerswere resting, as the little boy ate his dry crust of bread, the prior ofthe convent, a man of thought and learning, whose name was Juan Perez,came by and at once saw that these two were no common beggars. Heinvited them in and questioned Columbus closely about his past life. Helistened quietly and thoughtfully to Columbus and his plan of crossingthe ocean and converting the heathen to Christianity.
Juan Perez had at one time been a very intimate friend of QueenIsabella; in fact, the priest to whom she told all her sorrows, andtroubles. He was a quiet man and talked but little. After a longconference with Columbus, in which he was convinced that Columbus wasright, he borrowed a mule and getting on his back rode for many milesacross the open country to the palace in which the Queen was thenstaying. I do not know how he convinced her of the truth of Columbus'plan, when all the ministers and courtiers and statesmen about herconsidered it the absurdly foolish and silly dream of an old man; but,somehow, he did it.
He then returned on his mule to the old convent at Palos, and toldColumbus to go back once more to the court of Spain and again petitionthe Queen to give him money with which to make his voyage of discovery.The State Treasurer said the Queen had no money to spare, but thisnoble-hearted woman, who now, for the fi
rst time, realized that it was agrand and glorious thing Columbus wished to do, said she would give hercrown jewels for money with which to start Columbus on his dangerousjourney across the great ocean.
This meant much in those days, as queens were scarcely considereddignified or respectable if they did not wear crowns of gold inlaidwith bright jewels on all public occasions, but Queen Isabella cared farmore to send the gospel of Christ over to the heathen than how she mightlook, or what other people might say about her. The jewels were pawnedand the money was given to Columbus. With a glad heart he hastened backto the little town of Palos where he had left his young son with thekind priest Juan Perez.
But now a new difficulty arose. Enough sailors could not be found whowould venture their lives by going out on this unknown voyage with acrazy old man such as Columbus was thought to be. At last the convictsfrom the prisons were given liberty by the Queen on condition that theywould go with the sailors and Columbus. So, you see, it was notaltogether a very nice crew, still it was the best he could get, andColumbus' heart was so filled with the great work that he was willing toundertake the voyage no matter how great or how many the difficultiesmight be. The ships were filled with food and other provisions for along, long voyage.
Nobody knew how long it would be before the land on the other side couldbe reached, and many people thought there was no possible hope of itsever being found.
Early one summer morning, even before the sun had risen, Columbus badefarewell to the few friends who had gathered at the little seaport ofPalos to say good-bye to him. The ships spread their sails and startedon the great untried voyage. There were three boats, none of which wewould think, nowadays, was large enough or strong enough to dare ventureout of sight and help of land and run the risk of encountering thestorms of mid-ocean.
The names of the boats were the Santa Maria, which was the one thatColumbus himself commanded, and two smaller boats, one named the Pintaand the other the Nina.
Strange, indeed, must the sailors have felt, as hour after hour theydrifted out into the great unknown waters, which no man ever venturedinto before. Soon all land faded from their sight, and on, and on, andon they went, not knowing where or how the voyage would end. Columbusalone was filled with hope, feeling quite sure that in time he wouldreach the never before visited shores of a New World, and would thus bethe means of bringing the Christian religion to these poor, ignorantpeople. On and on they sailed, day after day--far beyond the utmostpoint which sailors had ever before reached.
Many of the men were filled with a strange dread and begged and pleadedto return home. Still on and on they went, each day taking them furtherand further from all they had ever known or loved before. Day after daypassed, and week after week until two months had elapsed.
The provisions which they had brought with them were getting scarce, andthe men now dreaded starvation. They grew angry with Columbus, andthreatened to take his life if he did not command the ships to be turnedback towards Spain, but his patience did not give out, nor was his faithone whit the less. He cheered the hearts of the men as best he could.Often telling them droll, funny stories to distract their thoughts fromthe terrible dread which now filled all minds.
He promised a rich reward to the first man who should discover landahead. This somewhat renewed their courage, and day and night watcheswere set and the western horizon before them was scanned at all hours.Time and again they thought they saw land ahead, only to find they hadmistaken a cloud upon the horizon for the longed-for shore. Flocks ofbirds flying westward began to be seen. This gave some ground for hope.For surely the birds must be flying toward some land where they couldfind food, and trees in which to build their nests. Still fear was greatin the hearts of all, and Columbus knew that he could not keep the menmuch longer in suspense, and that if land did not appear soon they wouldcompel him to turn around and retrace his steps whether he wished to ornot.
Then he thought of all the benighted heathen who had never heard ofGod's message of love to man through Christ, and he prayed almostincessantly that courage might be given him to go on. Hour after hour helooked across the blue water, day and night, longing for the sight ofland. In fact, he watched so incessantly that his eyesight becameinjured and he could scarcely see at all.
At last one night as he sat upon the deck of the ship he was quite surethat a faint light glimmered for a few moments in the distant darknessahead. Where there is a light there must be land, he thought. Still hewas not sure, as his eyesight had become so dim. So he called one of themore faithful sailors to him and asked him what he saw. The sailorexclaimed:
"A light, a light!"
Another sailor was called, but by this time the light had disappearedand the sailor saw nothing, and Columbus' hopes again sank. Still hefelt they must be nearing land. About 2 o'clock that night the commanderof one of the other boats started the cry:
"Land! land ahead!"
You can well imagine how the shout was taken up, and how the sailors,one and all, rushed to the edge of their ships, leaning far over, nodoubt, and straining their eyes for the almost unhoped-for sight.
Early the next morning some one of the sailors picked up a branch of astrange tree, lodged in the midst of which was a tiny bird's nest. Thiswas sure evidence that they were indeed near land, for branches of treesdo not grow in water.
Little by little the land came in sight. First it looked like a dimghost of a shore, but gradually it grew distinct and clear. About noonthe next day the keel of Columbus' boat ground upon the sand of thenewly discovered country. No white man had ever before set eyes upon it.No ship had ever before touched this coast.
At last after a long life of working and studying, of hoping andplanning, of trying and failing, and trying yet again, he had realizedhis dream.
The great mystery of the ocean was revealed, and Columbus had achieved aglory which would last as long as the world lasted. _He had given a newworld to mankind!_ He had reached the far distant country across theocean, which scarcely any of his countrymen had even believed to haveany existence. He now _knew_ that the whole round world could in timehave the Christian religion.
He sprang upon the shore, and dropping on his knees he first stooped andkissed the ground, and then he offered a fervent prayer of thanks toGod.
A learned attorney who had come with him across the water next plantedthe flag of Spain upon the unknown land, and claimed the newlydiscovered country in the name of King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella ofSpain.
Wonderful, wonderful indeed were the things which Columbus and thesailors now saw! Strange naked men and women of a copper, or bronzecolor, strange new birds with gorgeous tails that glittered like gemssuch as they had never seen before; beautiful and unknown fruits andflowers met their gaze on every side.
The savages were kind and gentle and brought them food and water. Theyhad little else to offer as they had no houses, nor streets, norcarriages, nor cars, nor conveniences of any kind. Do you know, my dearchildren, that this strange, wild, savage country which Columbus hadtraveled so far and so long to discover was _our country, America_?
But it was not long until after Columbus had gone back to Europe andtold the people there of the wonderful things which he had seen in thisfar, far away land that ship-loads of white people, who were educatedand who had been taught to love God and to keep his commandments, cameover and settled in this wild, new country. They plowed the land andplanted seed; they built houses for themselves, their wives and littleones, and in time they made school-houses for the children, and churchesin which to worship God. Long and hard was the struggle which thesefirst white men had to make in this strange, new country.
Year after year more and more white men came. These new settlersprospered, and new towns were built, and roads were made from one townto another, and stores and manufactories began to be seen.
At last the little handful of people had grown so strong that theyestablished a government of their own, which welcomed all newcomers,providing they were law-abiding ci
tizens. The poor and oppressed, thepersecuted and discouraged in other lands came to this new shore, wherethey found wealth if they were willing to work for it.
Here they need no longer fear the persecutions from which they hadsuffered. Here they gained new hope and became honored and respectedcitizens.
Little by little the small country grew into a great nation, thegreatest on earth, because it is the freest, and each citizen in it hashis rights respected. But for the courage and determination andself-sacrifice of Columbus this great new world might have remained forhundreds of years unknown to men.
Four hundred years afterwards the children of the children's children ofthese early settlers, had a grand celebration in honor of the brave oldman, Christopher Columbus, whom the people of his day called crazy, andall the nations of the earth were invited to bring their mostbeautiful, their richest and rarest products to this celebration, inorder that not we of America alone, but _the whole world might celebratethe wisdom and the courage of the great Columbus_, "_the finder ofAmerica_."
In the rejoicing and in the celebration the nations did not forget thegood Queen Isabella, who was willing to give up her most precious jewelsin order that she might help Columbus in his voyage of discovery.