Discoverers and Explorers | Page 6

jumped into
the water and swam six miles to shore, reaching the coast of Portugal.
Others say that he was attracted to that country by the great school of
navigation which Prince Henry had established. However that may be,
he appeared at Lisbon at the age of thirty-five, filled with the idea of
sailing westward to reach those rich Eastern countries in which every
one was so much interested.
He was laughed at for expressing such an idea. It is not pleasant to be
laughed at, but Columbus was courageous and never wavered in his
belief.
"The earth is a sphere," he said; "those foolish stories of its being flat
and supported on a turtle's back cannot be true."
But those persons to whom he talked only laughed the more.
"Is there anything more foolish," they asked, "than to believe that there
are people who walk with their heels up and with their heads hanging
down?" "Think of a place where the trees grow with their branches
down, and where it snows, hails, and rains upward!"
Everybody thought him an idle dreamer.
Columbus tried to persuade King John to furnish him with ships and
allow him to test his belief. But King John cruelly deceived Columbus;
for, after obtaining his maps and charts, he sent off an expedition of his
own. He hoped in this way to gain the glory of the discovery. The
sailors whom he sent, however, were not brave enough to continue the
voyage, and returned, frightened by a severe storm.
Columbus was so disgusted by the treachery of King John that he made
up his mind to leave Portugal and go to Spain. So, taking his little son,
Diego, with him, he started on his journey. He traveled from place to
place, trying to find some person who would help him make his ideas

known to King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella. He thought that if he
could talk with them he could persuade them to furnish him with ships.
[Illustration: Convent of La Rabida.]
One day he came to a convent called La Rabida. Here Diego, who was
weary and thirsty, begged his father to stop and ask for a drink of water.
Columbus knocked at the big iron gate, and while he was conversing
with the attendant a priest approached.
This priest was attracted by the noble bearing and refined speech of
Columbus, and saw at once that he was not a beggar. He asked him
what he wished, and Columbus related his story.
The good priest believed in him and said he would try to influence the
king and queen to furnish him with ships. The priest brought the matter
before the king; but at this time Spain was at war with the Moors, and
King Ferdinand had no time to attend to anything else. Columbus was
patient and waited. But as year after year passed and brought no
prospect of obtaining the ships he wished, his hopes fell. After seven
long, weary years of waiting, he was about to leave Spain in despair.
Just as he was leaving, however, a message was brought to him from
the queen, asking him to explain his plans to her once more. Columbus
did so, and the queen was so fully convinced that she exclaimed: "I will
provide ships and men for you, if I have to pledge my jewels in order to
do so!"
[Illustration: Columbus before Ferdinand and Isabella.]
Three ships were fitted out for the voyage. These ships were very
different from those we see to-day. They were light, frail barks called
caravels, and two of them, the Pinta and Nina, had no decks. The third,
the Santa Maria, had a deck. It was upon this largest caravel that
Columbus placed his flag.
On the 3d of August, 1492, the little fleet set sail from Palos, entering
upon the most daring expedition ever undertaken by man. The people

of the town gathered on the wharf to see the departure of the vessels.
Many of them had friends or relatives on board whom they expected
never to look upon again. Sad indeed was the sight as the little caravels
sailed out of the harbor and faded from view.
After sailing a few days, the Pinta broke her rudder. This accident the
sailors took to be a sign of misfortune. They tried to persuade
Columbus to put back to Palos, but he would not listen to such a
suggestion. Instead of sailing back, he pushed on to the Canary Islands.
Here his ships were delayed three weeks, after which they continued
the voyage into unknown waters.
After they had sailed westward for many days, the sailors began to
show signs of alarm, and they implored Columbus to return. He tried to
calm their fears. He described the rich