Chapter V: Part 5

Although famished, and so weak that he could not stand, it was discovered that he had not received a single wound; but on his shield were seen the dents made by more than three hundred arrows. His rescue had scarcely been effected before the ships of his deadly rival, Nicuesa, sailed into the harbor; but, instead of taking advantage of Ojeda's defenceless condition, the high-minded hidalgo offered to join with him in an attack upon the savages, in order to avenge his defeat. Combining their forces, the two erstwhile enemies fell upon the Indians while they were asleep, slaughtered an immense number, and then, after plundering their dwellings set them on fire.

Thus the unfortunate pilot and his comrades were avenged, and the ships sailed on, leaving behind hundreds of mangled corpses and huts reduced to ashes. It was not strange, then, that the surviving savages should ceaselessly attack the settlement soon after founded by Ojeda on their coast, and with such persistency that finally it had to be abandoned. It was in one of these attacks that Ojeda received his first wound. He had hitherto considered himself invulnerable, but, falling into an Indian ambush, a poisoned arrow pierced his thigh. After wrenching it from the wound, he ordered his surgeon, on pain of death for refusal, to burn out the venom with red-hot irons, and by this means, though his life was saved, he received injuries that made him permanently lame.

At last conditions in the settlement became so desperate that Ojeda seized the occasion of a pirate ship touching there to depart for Hispaniola in search of assistance. Leaving his company in charge of Francisco Pizarro--who in this manner began his conquering career--he embarked in the pirate ship, but had hardly cleared the harbor before he began a fierce quarrel with the commander, Talavera, by whose orders he was seized and fettered. Even when chained to the deck, the undaunted cavalier dared Talavera and his crew to fight him, two at a time, and when they refused denounced them all as cowards.

A violent gale arose, with the result that their ship was wrecked on the southern coast of Cuba. Escaping to shore, they endured terrible sufferings for weeks, wandering half famished in forests and through swamps, until finally rescued by a tribe of Indians who had not heard of Spanish atrocities and who gave them freely all the provisions they needed. A canoe was despatched to Jamaica with the tidings of disaster, and in the end Ojeda reached Hispaniola, where he had the satisfaction of seeing his late companions hung for their crimes, and where he passed the remainder of his life in poverty. He died in 1515, so poor, says Bishop Las Casas, "that he did not leave money enough to provide for his interment, and so broken in spirit that, with his last breath, he entreated his body might be buried in the monastery of San Francisco [the ruins of which may still be seen in Santo Domingo], just at the portal, in humble expiation of his past pride, 'that every one who entered might tread upon his grave.'"

XI

ON THE COAST OF BRAZIL

1501-1502

The New World, subsequently to be called America, did not reveal itself to navigators during the lifetime of any one of those first engaged in its discovery. Its islands and coast-lines were brought to view one by one, and bit by bit, so that many years elapsed between the voyage of Columbus, in 1492, and that which finally enabled the map-makers to complete the outlines of the continents. It is interesting and instructive to trace the movements of the explorers, and note how, after the initial work of Columbus, they emulate one another in pushing farther and farther into the great ocean of darkness, their voyages overlapping at times, but ever extending, until at last the islands of the West Indies are all revealed and the vast southern continent is circumnavigated.

Columbus, in his first three voyages, brought to view most of those islands now known as the Antilles, and on his fourth and last he skirted the eastern coast of Central America; but he left gaps here and there which it took many years to fill. On his third voyage, in 1498, he discovered the island of Trinidad and the pearl islands off the coast of Cumana; but he did not proceed, as he should have done, along the coast of Terra Firma, and hence Ojeda, Vespucci, and La Cosa slipped in, guided by the very chart made by him and so treacherously furnished them by Fonseca.

While doubts may be entertained as to the "first" voyage of Vespucci, none can exist as to that made by him in 1499-1500, as we have the sworn testimony to that effect by Ojeda himself, who, when called to give the same, in the great suit brought by Diego Columbus against the crown, declared that he had with him on that voyage both La Cosa and the Florentine. This testimony was given in 1513, a year after Vespucci's death, and its object was to show that the coast of Terra Firma, so called, had been first seen by Columbus. By establishing the fact of his priority, it disposed of any claim Vespucci or his friends may have made, as he and Ojeda were sailing with the track-chart of Columbus as their guide. Thus they picked up the route pursued by the Admiral, and extended it several degrees, Bastidas and La Cosa, the next year, carrying it still farther.

In December, 1499, in June of which year Ojeda and Vespucci had set out together, Vicente Pinzon sailed along the Brazilian coast to a point eight degrees south of the equinoctial line. He returned to Spain in September, 1500, and in April of that year Pedro Alvarez Cabral, in command of a Portuguese fleet bound for the Spice Islands, over the route discovered by Da Gama, accidentally came in sight of land on the coast of the country since known as Brazil, in latitude sixteen degrees south of the line. Unable to prosecute explorations there, as he was bound for the East, around the Cape of Good Hope and along the west coast of Africa, Cabral sent a vessel of his fleet back to Portugal with the news, and proceeded on his way.

Casting about for a navigator eminently qualified as pilot and cosmographer to pursue the exploration indicated by Cabral, along the coast of the country he had so strangely revealed, King Emanuel of Portugal made up his mind that Amerigo Vespucci was the man he wanted. Just when he came to this decision, and when Vespucci shifted his allegiance from Spain to Portugal, is not exactly known, but it was probably late in the year 1500, after his return, of course, from the voyage with Ojeda and La Cosa. The particulars of this transaction we will let him relate in the following letter contained in this chapter. He does not quite satisfactorily explain how he came to break with King Ferdinand, especially as both the sovereign and Fonseca had received him with marked attention, the latter having presented him at court, where he was consulted as to new expeditions, and "his accounts of what he had already seen listened to with the greatest interest." The affair is all the more inexplicable from the fact that during the interval between his return from the second voyage and his going to Portugal he was married to a charming lady of Seville. This lady, Doña Maria Cerezo, was his betrothed during the time he was engaged with the house of Berardi, but the mania for exploring having seized him, their marriage was not consummated until after the two voyages had been made. She went with him to the court, sharing there the honors heaped upon him by the king; but after this little is heard of her, though it is known that she survived him several years, and on account of his distinguished services to Spain received a liberal pension from the government.

Leaving his newly wedded wife in Seville, Vespucci went to Portugal, "where he was received with open arms by King Emanuel, and commenced with ardor the preparation of the fleet." Respecting his sudden departure from Spain, his Italian eulogist, Canovai, has this to say: "It does not appear that King Ferdinand considered himself wronged by the sudden flight and, to say the least, apparent discourtesy of Amerigo in leaving the kingdom and the king, his patron, without salutation or leave-taking. It was probably looked upon as a trait of his reserved character, or an evidence of his aversion to idle and slanderous rumors, which he was unwilling to take the pains to contradict. Rumors and whisperings soon die away when they have nothing to feed upon, and when Vespucci returned, as though from a journey, the slight was forgotten, and he was treated with greater honor than before."

To what cause King Emanuel owed this acquisition of King Ferdinand's skilled navigator does not appear; but he was not to retain him very long. He made, however, two voyages under the flag of Portugal, the first of which is outlined in this letter to his friend, the Gonfaloniere of Florence, Piero Soderini:

"I was reposing myself in Seville, after the many toils I
had undergone in the two voyages to the Indies, made for his
Serene Highness Ferdinand, King of Castile, yet indulging in
a willingness to return to the Land of Pearls, when Fortune,
not seeming to be satisfied with my former labors, inspired
the mind of his Majesty Emanuel, King of Portugal (I know
not through what circumstances), to attempt to avail himself
of my services. There came to me a royal letter from his
majesty, containing a solicitation that I would come to
Lisbon to speak with him, he promising to show me many
favors. I did not at once determine to go, and argued with
the messenger, telling him I was ill and indisposed for the
undertaking, but that when recovered, if his highness wished
me to serve him, I would do whatever he might command.

"Seeing that he could not obtain me thus, he sent Juliano di
Bartolomeo del Giocondo, who at that time resided in Lisbon,
with a commission to use every means to bring me back with
him. Juliano came to Seville, and on his arrival, and
induced by his urgent entreaties, I was persuaded to go,
though my going was looked upon with ill favor by all who
knew me. It was thus regarded by my friends, because I had
abandoned Castile, where I had been honored, and because
they thought the king had rightful possession of me; and it
was considered still worse that I departed without taking
leave of my host.

"Having, however, presented myself at the court of King
Emanuel, he appeared to be highly pleased with my coming,
and requested that I would accompany his three ships, which
were then ready to set out for the discovery of new lands.
Thus esteeming a request from a king as equivalent to a
command, I was obliged to consent to whatever he asked of
me.

"We set sail from the port of Lisbon with three ships in
company, on the l3th of May, 1501, and steered our course
directly for the Grand Canary Islands, which we passed
without stopping, and coasted along the western shores of
Africa. On this coast we found excellent fishing, taking
fish called porgies, and were detained three days. From
there we went to the coast of Ethiopia, arriving at a port
called Beseneghe, within the torrid zone, and situated on
the fourteenth degree of north latitude, in the first
climate. Here we remained eleven days, taking in wood and
water--as it was my intention to sail south through the
great Atlantic Ocean. Leaving this port of Ethiopia, we
sailed on our course, bearing a quarter south, and in
ninety-seven days we made land, at a distance of seven
hundred leagues from said port.

"In those ninety-seven days we had the worst weather that
ever man experienced who navigated the ocean, in a
succession of drenching rains, showers, and tempests. The
season was very unpropitious, as our navigation was
continually drawing us nearer the equinoctial line, where,
in the month of June, it is winter, and where we found the
days and nights of equal length, and our shadows falling
continually towards the south. It pleased God, however, to
show us new land, on the 17th day of August, at half a
league distance from which we anchored. We launched our
boats and went ashore, to see if the country was inhabited,
and, if so, by what kind of people, and we found at length a
population far more degraded than brutes.

"It should be understood that at first we did not see any
inhabitants, though we knew very well, by the many signs we
saw, that the country was peopled. We took possession of it,
in the name of his most serene majesty, and found it to be
pleasant and verdant, and situated five degrees south of the
equinoctial line. This much we ascertained and then returned
to the ships. On the next day, while we were ashore, we saw
people looking at us from the summit of a mountain, but they
did not venture to descend. They were naked, and of the same
color and figure as those heretofore discovered by me for
the King of Spain. We made much exertion to persuade them to
come and speak with us, but could not assure them
sufficiently to trust us. Seeing their obstinacy, as it was
growing late we returned to the ships, leaving on shore for
them many bells, looking-glasses, and other things, in
places where they could find them. When we had gone away
they descended from the mountain and took possession of the
things we had left, appearing to be filled with wonder while
viewing them. The next morning we saw from the ships that
the people of the land were making many bonfires, and,
taking them for signals to go ashore, we went and found that
many had arrived; but they kept always at a distance, though
they made signs that they wished us to accompany them
inland. Whereupon two Christians were induced to ask the
captain's permission to brave the danger and go with them,
in order to see what kind of people they were, and whether
they had any kind of riches, spices, or drugs. They
importuned him so much that he finally consented, and after
having been fitted out with many articles for trade they
left us, with orders not to be absent more than five days,
as we should expect them with great anxiety. So they took
their way into the country, and we returned to the ships to
wait for them, which we did for six days; but they never
came back, though nearly every day there came people to the
shore, who would not, however, speak with us.

"On the seventh day we landed and found that they had
brought their wives with them, whom they commanded, as we
reached the shore, to speak with us. We observed that they
hesitated to obey the order, and accordingly determined to
send one of our people, a very courageous young man, to
address them. In order to encourage them, we entered the
boats while he went to speak with the women. When he arrived
they formed themselves into a great circle around him,
touching and looking at him as with astonishment. While all
this was going on, we saw a woman coming from the mountains
carrying a large club in her hands. When she arrived where
our young Christian stood she came up behind him and,
raising the bludgeon, gave him such a blow with it that she
laid him dead on the spot, and immediately the other women
took him by the feet and dragged him away towards the
mountain. The men ran towards the shore forthwith and began
to assail us with their arrows, throwing our people into a
great fright, in consequence of the boats having grounded,
many arrows reaching them. No one resorted to arms, but for
a time all was terror and panic. After a while, however, we
discharged four swivels at them, which had no other effect
than to make them flee towards the mountain, when they heard
the report. There we saw that the women had already cut the
young Christian in pieces, and at a great fire which they
had made were roasting him in our sight, showing us the
several pieces as they ate them. The men also made signs to
us indicating that they had killed the other two Christians
and eaten them in the same manner, which grieved us very
much.

" ... We departed from this place and sailed along in a
southeasterly direction, on a line parallel with the coast,
making many landings, but never finding any people with whom
to converse. Continuing in this manner, we found at length
that the line of the coast made a turn to the south, and
after doubling a cape, which we called St. Augustine, we
began to sail in a southerly direction. This cape is a
hundred and fifty leagues distant, easterly, from the
aforementioned land where the three Christians were
murdered, and eight degrees south of the equinoctial line.
While sailing on this course, we one day saw many people
standing on the shore, apparently in great wonder at the
sight of our ships. We directed our course towards them,
and, having anchored in a good place, proceeded to land in
the boats, and found the people better disposed than those
we had passed. Though it cost us some exertion to tame them,
we nevertheless made them our friends and treated with them.
In this place we stayed five days, and here we found
cassia-stems very large and green, and some already dried on
the tops of the trees. We determined to take a couple of men
from the place, in order that they might learn the language,
and three of them came with us voluntarily, wishing to visit
Portugal.

"Being already wearied with so much writing, I will delay no
longer the information that we left this port and sailed
continually in a southerly direction in sight of the shore,
making frequent landings and treating with a great number of
people. We went so far to the south that we were beyond the
tropic of Capricorn, where the south pole is elevated
thirty-two degrees above the horizon. We had then entirely
lost sight of Ursa Minor, and even Ursa Major was very low,
nearly on the edge of the horizon; so we steered by the
stars of the south pole, which are many, and much brighter
than those of the north. I drew the figures of the greater
part of them, particularly those of the first and second
magnitude, with a description of the circles which they made
around the pole, and an account of their diameters and
semi-diameters, as may be seen in my _Quattro Giornate_, or
_Four Journeys_.

"We ran on this coast about seven hundred and fifty leagues:
one hundred and fifty from Cape St. Augustine towards the
west, and six hundred towards the south. If I were to relate
all the things that I saw on this coast, and others that we
passed, as many more sheets as I have already written upon
would not be sufficient for the purpose. We saw nothing of
utility here, save a great number of dye-wood and cassia
trees, and also of those trees which produce myrrh. There
were, however, many natural curiosities, which cannot be
recounted.

"Having been already full ten months on the voyage, and
seeing that we had found no minerals in the country, we
concluded to take leave of it, and attempt the ocean in some
other part. It was determined in council to pursue whatever
course of navigation appeared best to me, and I was invested
with full command of the fleet. I ordered that all the
people and the fleet should be provided with wood and water
for six months--as much as the officers of the ship should
deem prudent to sail with. Having laid in our provisions, we
commenced our navigation with a southeasterly wind, on the
15th of February, when the sun was already approaching the
equinoctial line, and tending towards this, our northern
hemisphere. We were in such high southern latitude at this
time that the south pole was elevated fifty-two degrees
above the horizon, and we no longer saw the stars either of
Ursa Minor or Major.

"On the 3d of April we had sailed five hundred leagues from
the port we had left, and on this day commenced a storm so
violent that we had to take in all our sails and run under
bare poles. It was so furious that the whole fleet was in
apprehension. The nights were very long, being fifteen hours
in duration, the sun then being in Aries, and winter
prevailing in this region. While driven by this storm, on
the 7th of April, we came in sight of new land, and ran
within twenty leagues of it, finding the coast wild, and
seeing neither harbor nor inhabitants. The cold was so
severe that no one in the fleet could withstand or endure
it--which I conceive to be the reason for this want of
population. Finding ourselves in great danger, and the storm
so violent that we could scarce distinguish one ship from
another, on account of the high seas that were running and
the misty darkness of the weather, we agreed that the
superior captain should make signals to the fleet to turn
about, leave the country, and steer direct for Portugal.

"This proved to be very good counsel, for certain it is, if
we had delayed that night, we should all have been lost. We
took the wind aft, and during the night and next day the
storm increased so much that we were apprehensive for our
safety, and made many vows of pilgrimage, and the
performance of other ceremonies usual with [superstitious]
mariners in such weather. We ran five days, making about two
hundred and fifty leagues, and continually approaching the
equinoctial line, finding the air more mild and the sea less
boisterous; till at last it pleased God to deliver us from
this our great danger.

"It was our intention to go and reconnoitre the coast of
Ethiopia, which was thirteen hundred leagues distant from
us, through the great Atlantic sea, and by the grace of God
we arrived at it, touching at a southern port called Sierra
Leone, where we stayed fifteen days, obtaining refreshments.
From this place we steered for the Azore Islands, about
seven hundred and fifty leagues distant, where we arrived in
the latter part of July, and stayed another fifteen days,
taking some recreation. Then we departed for Lisbon, three
hundred leagues farther, which port we entered on the 7th of
September, 1502--for which the All-Powerful be
thanked!--with only two ships, having burned the other in
Sierra Leone because it was no longer sea-worthy.

"In this voyage we were absent about fifteen months, and
sailed eleven of them without seeing the north star, or
either of the constellations Ursa Major and Minor (which are
called the "horn"), steering meanwhile by the stars of the
other pole. The above is what I saw in this my third voyage,
made for his Serene Highness the King of Portugal."

XII

THE "FOURTH PART OF THE EARTH"

The following letter from Vespucci to Lorenzo di Pier Francesco de Medici, his friend and patron in Florence, was probably written in the spring of 1503.

"_To my most Excellent Patron, Lorenzo:_

"My last letter to your excellency was written from a place
on the coast of Guinea called Cape Verde, and in it you were
informed of the commencement of my voyage. The present
letter will advise you of its continuation and termination.

"We started from the above-mentioned cape, having first
taken in all necessary supplies of wood, water, etc., to
discover new lands in the ocean. We sailed on a
southwesterly course until, at the end of sixty-four days,
we discovered land, which, on many accounts, we concluded to
be Terra Firma. We coasted this land about eight hundred
leagues, in a direction west by south. It was well
inhabited, and I noticed many remarkable things, which I
will attempt to narrate.

"We sailed in those seas until we entered the torrid zone,
and passed to the south of the equinoctial line and the
tropic of Capricorn, so that we were fifty degrees south of
the line. We navigated four months and twenty-seven days,
seeing neither the arctic pole nor Ursa Major or Minor. We
discovered here many beautiful constellations, invisible in
the northern hemisphere, and noted their marvellous
movements and their grandeur.... To proceed, now, to a
description of the country, the plants therein, and of the
customs of the inhabitants, I would observe that this region
is most delightful, and covered with immense forests which
never lose their foliage, and throughout the year yield
aromatic odors and produce an infinite variety of fruit,
grateful to the taste and healthful for the body. In the
fields flourish so many sweet flowers and herbs, and the
fruits are so delicious and fragrant, that I fancied myself
near the terrestrial paradise. What shall I tell you of the
birds and the brilliant colors of their plumage? What of
their variety, their sweet songs, and their beauty? I dare
not enlarge upon this theme, for I fear I should not be
believed. How shall I enumerate the infinite variety of
sylvan animals: lions, catamounts, panthers--though not like
those of our regions--wolves, stags, and baboons of all
kinds? We saw more wild animals--such as wild hogs, kids,
deer, hares, and rabbits--than could ever have entered the
ark of Noah; but we saw no domestic animals whatever.

"Now, consider reasoning animals. We found the whole region
inhabited by people who were entirely naked, both men and
women. They were well proportioned in body, with black,
coarse hair, and little or no beard. I labored much to
investigate their customs, remaining twenty-seven days for
that purpose, and the following is the information I
acquired. They have no laws and no religious beliefs, but
live according to the dictates of nature alone. They know
nothing of the immortality of the soul; they have no private
property, but everything in common; they have no boundaries
of kingdom or province; they obey no king or lord, for it is
wholly unnecessary, as they have no laws, and each one is
his own master. They dwell together in houses made like
bells, in the construction of which they use neither iron
nor any other metal. This is very remarkable, for I have
seen houses two hundred and twenty feet long and thirty feet
wide, built with much skill, and containing five or six
hundred people. They sleep in hammocks made of cotton,
suspended in the air, without any covering; they eat seated
upon the ground, and their food consists of roots and herbs,
fruits and fish. They eat also lobsters, crabs, oysters, and
many other kinds of mussels and shell-fish which are found
in the sea. As to their meat, it is principally human flesh.
It is true that they devour the flesh of four-footed animals
and birds; but they do not catch many, because they have no
dogs, and the woods are thick and so filled with wild beasts
that they do not care to go into them, except in large
bodies and armed. The men are in the habit of decorating
their lips and cheeks with bones and stones, which they
suspend from holes they bore in them. I have seen some of
them with three, seven, and even as many as nine holes,
filled with white or green alabaster--a most barbarous
custom, which they follow in order, as they say, to make
themselves appear ferocious.... They are a people of great
longevity, for we met with many who had descendants of the
fourth degree. Not knowing how to compute time, and counting
neither days, months, nor years--excepting in so far as they
count the lunar months--when they wanted to signify to us
any particular duration of time, they did it by showing us a
stone for each moon; and, computing in this manner, we
discovered that the age of one man that we saw was seventeen
hundred moons, or about one hundred and thirty-two years,
reckoning thirteen moons to the year.

"They are a warlike race and extremely cruel. All their
weapons are, as Petrarch says, "committed to the winds"--for
they consist of spears, arrows, stones, and javelins. They
use no shields for the body, going to battle almost wholly
naked. There is no order or discipline in their fights,
except that they follow the counsels of the old men. Most
cruelly do they combat, and those who conquer in the field
bury their own dead, but cut up and eat the dead of their
enemies. Some who are taken prisoners are carried to their
villages for slaves. Females taken in war they frequently
marry, and sometimes the male prisoners are allowed to marry
the daughters of the tribe; but occasionally a diabolical
fury seems to come over them, and, calling together their
relations and the people, they sacrifice these slaves, the
children with the parents, accompanied by barbarous
ceremonies. This we know of a certainty, for we found much
human flesh in their huts, hung up to smoke, and we
purchased ten poor creatures from them, both men and women,
whom they were about to sacrifice, to save them from such a
fate. Much as we reproached them on this account, I cannot
say that they amended at all. The most astounding thing in
all their wars and cruelty was that we could not find out
any reason for them. They made war against each other,
although they had neither kings, kingdoms, nor property of
any kind, without any apparent desire to plunder, and
without any lust for power--which always appeared to me to
be the moving causes of wars and anarchy. When we asked them
about this they gave no reason other than that they did so
to avenge the murder of their ancestors. To conclude this
disgusting subject: one man confessed to me that he had
eaten of the flesh of over two hundred bodies, and I believe
it was the truth.

"In regard to the climate of this region, I should say it
was extremely pleasant and healthful; for in all the time
that we were there, which was ten months, not one of us
died, and only a few were sick. They suffer from no
infirmity, pestilence, or corruption of the atmosphere, and
die only natural deaths, unless they fall by their own hands
or in consequence of accident. In fact, physicians would
have a bad time in such a place.

"As we went solely to make discoveries, and started with
that view from Lisbon, without intending to look for any
profit, we did not trouble ourselves to explore the country
much, and found nothing of great value; though I am inclined
to believe that it is capable, from its climate and general
appearance, of containing every kind of natural wealth. It
is not to be wondered at that we did not discover at once
everything that might be turned to profit there, for the
inhabitants think nothing of gold or silver or precious
stones, and value only feathers and bones. But I hope that I
shall be sent again by the king to visit these regions, and
that many years will not elapse before they will bring
immense profits and revenue to the kingdom of Portugal.

"We found great quantities of dye-wood, enough to load all
the ships that float, and costing nothing. The same may be
said of cassia, crystals, spices, and drugs; but the
qualities of the last are unknown. The inhabitants of the
country tell of gold and other metals; but I am one of those
who, like St. Thomas, are slow to believe. Time will show
all, however. Most of the time of our stay the heavens were
serene and adorned with numerous bright and beautiful stars,
many of which I observed, with their revolutions.

"This may be considered a schedule, or, as it were, a
_capita rerum_, of the things which I have seen in these
parts. Many things are omitted which are worthy of being
mentioned, in order to avoid prolixity, and because they are
found in my account of the voyage. As yet I tarry at Lisbon,
waiting the pleasure of the king to determine what I shall
do. May it please God that I do whatever is most to His
glory and the salvation of my soul."

A third and fuller account of the third voyage, written to Lorenzo di Pier Francesco de Medici:

"In days past I gave your excellency a full account of my
return, and, if I remember aright, wrote you a description
of all those parts of the New World which I had visited in
the ships of his Highness the King of Portugal. Carefully
considered, they appear truly to form another world, and
therefore we have, not without reason, called it the _New
World_.

"Not one of all the ancients had any knowledge of it, and
the things which have been lately ascertained by us
transcend all their ideas. They thought there was nothing
south of the equinoctial line but an immense sea and some
poor and barren islands. The sea they called the Atlantic,
and if sometimes they confessed that there might be land in
that region, they contended that it must be sterile, and
could not be otherwise than uninhabitable. The present
navigation has controverted their opinions, and openly
demonstrated to all that they were very far from the truth.
For, beyond the equinoctial line I found countries more
fertile and more densely inhabited than I have ever found
anywhere else, even in Asia, Africa, and Europe--as will be
more fully manifested by duly attending to the following
narration. Setting aside all minor matters, I shall relate
only those of the greatest importance, which are well worthy
of commemoration, and those which I have _personally seen_,
or heard of from men of credibility. I shall now speak with
much care concerning those parts most recently discovered,
and without any romantic addition to the truth.

"With happy omens of success, we sailed from Lisbon with
three armed caravels, on the 13th of May, 1501, to explore,
by command of the king, the regions of the New World.
Steering a southwest course, we sailed twenty months in a
manner which I shall now relate. In the first place, we went
to the Fortunate Islands, which are now called the Grand
Canaries. After navigating the ocean we ran along the coast
of Africa and the country of the blacks as far as the
promontory which is called by Ptolemy Etiopia, by our people
Cape Verde, and by the negroes Biseneghe, while the
inhabitants themselves call it Madanghan. The country is
situated within the torrid zone, in about fourteen degrees
south latitude, and is inhabited by the blacks. Here we
reposed awhile to refresh ourselves, took in every kind of
provision, and set sail, directing our course towards the
antarctic pole....

"To shorten my relation as much as possible, your excellency
must know that we sailed ninety-seven days, experiencing
harsh and cruel fortune. During forty-four days the heavens
were in great commotion, and we had nothing but thunder and
lightning and drenching rains. Dark clouds covered the sky,
so that by day we could see but little better than we could
in ordinary nights without moonshine. The fear of death came
over us, and the hope of life almost deserted us. After all
these heavy afflictions at last it pleased God in His mercy
to have compassion on us and save our lives. On a sudden,
the land appeared in view, and at the sight of it our
courage, which had fallen very low, and our strength, which
had become weakness, immediately revived. Thus it usually
happens to those who have passed through great afflictions,
and especially to those who have been preserved from the
rage of evil fortune.

"On the 17th of August, in the year 1501, we anchored by the
shore of that country, and rendered to the Supreme Being our
most sincere thanks, according to the Christian custom. The
land we discovered did not appear to be an island, but a
continent, as it extended far away in the distance, without
any appearance of termination. It was beautifully fertile
and very thickly inhabited, while all sorts of wild animals,
which are unknown in our parts, were there found in
abundance.... We were unanimously of the opinion that our
navigation should be continued along this coast and that we
should not lose sight of it. We sailed, therefore, till we
arrived at a certain cape, which makes a turn to the south,
and which is perhaps three hundred leagues distant from the
place where we first saw land. In sailing this distance we
often landed and held intercourse with the natives, and I
have omitted to state that this newly discovered land is
about seven hundred leagues distant from Cape Verde, though
I was persuaded that we had sailed at least eight hundred.
This was partly owing to a severe storm, our frequent
accidents, and partly to the ignorance of the pilot.

"We had arrived at a place which, if I had not possessed
some knowledge of cosmography, by the negligence of the
pilot would have finished the course of our lives. There was
no pilot who knew our situation within fifty leagues, and we
went rambling about, and should not have known whither we
were going if I had not provided, in season for my own
safety and that of my companions, the astrolabe and
quadrant, my astrological instruments. On this occasion I
acquired no little glory for myself, so that from that time
forward I was held in such estimation by my companions as
the learned are held in by people of quality....

"This continent commences at eight degrees south of the
equinoctial line, and we sailed so far along the coast that
we passed seventeen degrees beyond the winter tropic,
towards the antarctic pole, which was here elevated fifty
degrees above the horizon. The things which I saw here are
unknown to the men of our times. That is, the people, their
customs, their humanity, the fertility of the soil, the
mildness of the atmosphere, the celestial bodies, and, above
all, the fixed stars of the eighth sphere, of which no
mention has ever been made. In fact, until now they have
never been known, even by the most learned of the ancients,
and I shall speak of them, therefore, more particularly....
The climate is very temperate and the country supremely
delightful. Although it has many hills, yet it is watered by
a great number of springs and rivers, and the forests are so
closely studded that one cannot pass through them, on
account of the thickly standing trees. Among these ramble
ferocious animals of various kinds.... The country produces
no metal except gold; and though we in this first voyage
have brought home none, yet all the people certified to the
fact, affirming that the region abounded in gold, and saying
that among them it was little esteemed and nearly valueless.
They have many pearls and precious stones, as we have
recorded before. Now, though I should be willing to describe
all these things particularly, yet, from the great number
of them and their diverse nature, this history would become
too extensive a work. Pliny, a most learned man, who
compiled histories of many things, did not imagine the
thousandth part of these. If he had treated of each one of
them, he would have made a much larger but in truth a very
perfect work....

"If there is a terrestrial paradise in the world, it cannot
be far from this region. The country, as I have said before,
facing the south, has such a temperate climate that in
winter they have no cold and in summer are not troubled with
heat. The sky and atmosphere are seldom overshadowed with
clouds, and the days are almost always serene. Dew sometimes
falls, but very lightly, and only for the space of three or
four hours, and then vanishes like mist. They have scarcely
any vapors, and the sky is splendidly adorned with stars
unknown to us, of which I have retained a particular
remembrance, and have enumerated as many as twenty whose
brightness is equal to that of Venus or Jupiter. I
considered also their circuit and their various motions,
and, having a knowledge of geometry, I easily measured their
circumference and diameter, and am certain, therefore, that
they are of much greater magnitude than men imagine. Among
the others, I saw three _Canopi_, two being very bright,
while the third was dim and unlike the others.

"The antarctic pole has not the Ursa Major and Minor, which
can be seen at our arctic pole; neither are there any bright
stars touching the pole, but of those which revolve around
it there are four, in the form of a quadrangle. While these
are rising, there is seen at the left a brilliant Canopus,
of admirable magnitude, which, having reached mid-sky, forms
the figure of a triangle. To these succeed three other
brilliant stars, of which the one placed in the centre has
twelve degrees of circumference. In the midst of them is
another brilliant Canopus. After these follow six other
bright stars, whose splendor surpasses that of all others in
the eighth sphere.... These are all to be seen in the Milky
Way, and when they arrive at the meridian show the figure of
a triangle, but have two sides longer than the other. I saw
there many other stars, and carefully observed their various
motions, composing a book which treats of them particularly.
In this book I have related almost all the remarkable things
which I have encountered in the course of my navigation, and
with which I have become acquainted. The book is at present
in the possession of the king, and I hope he will return it
soon into my hands.

"I examined some things in that hemisphere very diligently,
which enables me to contradict the opinions of philosophers.
Among other things, I saw the rainbow--that is, the
celestial arch--which is white near midnight. Now, in the
opinion of some, it takes the color of the four elements:
the red from fire, the green from the earth, the white from
the air, and blue from the water. Aristotle, in his book
entitled _Meteors_, is of a very different opinion. He says:
'The celestial arch is a repercussion of the sun's rays in
the vapors of the clouds where they meet, as brightness
reflected from the water upon the wall returns to itself.
By its interposition it tempers the heat of the sun; by
resolving itself into rain it fertilizes the earth, and by
its splendor beautifies the heavens. It demonstrates that
the atmosphere is filled with humidity, which will disappear
forty years before the end of the world, which will be an
indication of the dryness of the elements. It announces
peace between God and man, is always opposite the sun, is
never seen at noon, because the sun is never in the north.'

"But Pliny says that after the autumnal equinox it appears
every hour. This I have extracted from the _Comments of
Landino_ on the fourth book of the _Æneid_, and I mention it
that no man may be deprived of the fruits of his labors, and
that due honors may be rendered to every one. I saw this bow
two or three times; neither am I alone in my reflections
upon this subject, for many mariners are also of my opinion.
We saw also the new moon at mid-day, as it came into
conjunction with the sun. There were seen also, every night,
vapors and burning flames flashing across the sky. A little
above, I called this region by the name of hemisphere,
which, if we would not speak improperly, cannot be so called
when comparing it with our own. It appeared to present that
form only partially, and it seemed to us speaking improperly
to call it a 'hemisphere.'

"As I have before stated, we sailed from Lisbon--which is
nearly forty degrees distant from the equinoctial line
towards the north--to this country, which is fifty degrees
on the other side of the line. The sum of these degrees is
_ninety_, and is the fourth part of the circumference of the
globe, according to the true reckoning of the ancients. It
is therefore manifest to all _that we measured the fourth
part of the earth_.[13]

"We who reside in Lisbon, nearly forty degrees north of the
equinoctial line, are distant from those who reside on the
other side of the line, in angular meridional length, ninety
degrees--that is, obliquely. In order that the case may be
more plainly understood, I would observe that a
perpendicular line starting from that part in the heavens
which is our zenith strikes those obliquely who are fifty
degrees beyond the equinoctial line: whence it appears that
we are in the direct line, and they, in comparison with us,
are in the oblique one, and this situation forms the figure
of a right-angled triangle, of which we have the direct
lines, as the figure more clearly demonstrates.

"Such are the things which in this, my last navigation, I
have considered worthy of being made known; nor have I,
without reason, called this work my _Third Journey_. I have
before composed two other books on navigation which, by
command of Ferdinand, King of Castile, I performed in the
West, in which many things not unworthy of being made known
are particularly described: especially those which appertain
to the glory of our Saviour, who, with marvellous skill,
built this machine, the world. And, in truth, who can ever
sufficiently praise God? I have related marvellous things
concerning him in the aforesaid work. I have stated briefly
that which relates to the position and ornaments of the
globe, so that when I shall be more at leisure I may be
able to write out, with greater care, a work upon
cosmography, in order that future ages may bear me in
remembrance. Such works teach me more fully, from day to
day, to honor the Supreme God, and finally to arrive at the
knowledge of those things with which our ancestors and the
ancient fathers had no acquaintance. With most humble
prayers I supplicate our Saviour, whose province it is to
have compassion upon mortals, that he prolong my life
sufficiently for me to perform what I have purposed to do."

FOOTNOTES:

[13] See Chapter XVI.

XIII

THE FOURTH GREAT VOYAGE

1503-1504

Doubtless our readers share our wish that the personality of Vespucci could appear more strongly depicted than it has been presented in this volume; but that is a fault, not of the biographer so much as the hero of this biography. It must have been noticed, indeed, that Vespucci says little or nothing of his companions on these voyages, not even mentioning the commanders; but at the same time he makes rare mention of himself; so we cannot ascribe it to a desire for making himself prominent at their expense. It is simply a fault of style, or a result of his endeavor to be concise, and bring forward the most interesting events of the voyages and discoveries, with the least waste of time and effort.

He was engaged in exploring new regions; his time was occupied in noting the salient features of the scenery, the traits of the barbaric peoples, and especially closely observing and enumerating the stars. Astronomy was a passion with him, and he passed many nights without sleep, during both voyages to the southern hemisphere, in rapt contemplation of the glorious constellations. As he rightly observed in one of his letters, his observations would surely bring him fame, and no worthier object could claim his attention, even to the exclusion of all other work. So it is as the self-absorbed astronomer, the open-minded man of science, seeking to penetrate the secrets of nature and achieve immortal fame, that we must regard our hero at this time.

On his return from the third voyage, Vespucci was royally received by King Emanuel, even though he had come back almost empty-handed, without gold or gems, silver, spices, or pearls. He had sailed farther south than any of his predecessors, having gone beyond the latitude of the Cape of Good Hope, discovered the beautiful bay which he called Rio de Janeiro, and perhaps looked into the mouth of the River de la Plata. He had not discovered the "secret of the strait"--that passage through the land-mass which confronted all the voyagers from Columbus to Magellan; nor was it revealed until the last-named, in 1520, penetrated the great strait that now bears his name, and sailed through into the Pacific.

It may be argued that not Vespucci, but another (name unknown), was the commander of this expedition; but while this other was nominally in command, the Florentine was the chief pilot, the navigator, and directed the ships along their courses without mishap. In fact, one of his biographers has pointed out that the navigating of this fleet, especially the sailing in almost a straight line from the northern coast of Brazil to Sierra Leone, on the northwest coast of Africa, was a triumph of scientific navigation. There is no question that Amerigo Vespucci was the greatest navigator of his time, and a recognition of this fact is found in his appointment by King Ferdinand, a few years later, as the chief pilot of his kingdom.

Not alone King Emanuel and his court recognized the genius of Vespucci, but the people of Portugal and of Florence. He was received in Lisbon with transports of enthusiasm, and one of his ships, which had worn itself out in the voyage, was dismantled, "and portions of it were carried in solemn procession to a church, where they were suspended as precious relics." His fame extended far and wide, and in Florence, the city of his birth, public ceremonies were held, and honors bestowed upon his family.

He returned to Lisbon in September, 1502, and eight months later, at the urgent request of the king, started on another voyage in continuation of the last, in the hope of finally finding a strait through the continent by which India might be reached. About this time two events took place which are worthy of note. His patron, Lorenzo, died in June, 1503, and a year later a Latin version of his letter to him was published under the title _Mundus Novus_, or New World.

We must not lose sight of this title and this publication, for (as will be more fully explained in a succeeding chapter) they had much to do with the future defamation of Vespucci. He, it will be observed, was pursuing his voyage to, or from, that "New World," while that little quarto of only four leaves, with its significant title, was being printed and circulated in Europe. Both Vespucci and Columbus were then absent from Europe, and both engaged in a desperate struggle with adverse elements, at the time this pamphlet was published: the one on the coast of Brazil, the other on his last voyage to the West Indies, in which he suffered shipwreck and nearly perished of starvation.

Both Columbus and Vespucci were innocent of promulgating this title, or this pamphlet, except that the latter had used the term "new world" as possibly applying to his discoveries in the south Atlantic. But, while they were perilling their lives in the service of their sovereigns, each striving for a common goal, though neither envious of the other, capricious Fame was weaving a web in which both were to be enmeshed, and from which Vespucci was not to escape until after the lapse of centuries.

The inscription in this pamphlet states: "The interpreter Giocondo translated this letter from the Italian into the Latin language, that all who are versed in the latter may learn how many wonderful things are being discovered every day, and that the temerity of those who want to probe the Heavens and their majesty, and to know more than is allowed to know, be confounded: as, notwithstanding the long time since the world began to exist, the vastness of the earth and what it contains is still unknown."