From Pole to Pole

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Every river bed is called in the Sahara a _wadi_. Very seldom does a
trickle of water run down it after rain, but in these beds the
vegetation is richer than elsewhere, for here moisture lingers longer
than in other spots. Many caravans march along them, and gazelles and
antelopes find pasture here.

A European leaves Algeria to make his way into the Sahara with an
incomprehensible feeling of fascination. In the French towns on the
Mediterranean coast he has lived just as in Europe. He has been able to
cross by train the forest-clad heights of the Atlas Mountains, where
clear brooks murmur among the trees. He leaves the railway behind, and
finds the hills barer the farther he travels south. At last the
monotonous, slightly undulating desert stretches before him, and he
feels the magical attraction of the Sahara drawing him deeper and deeper
into its great silence and solitude. All the colours become subdued and
greyish-yellow, like the lion's hide. Everything is yellow and grey,
even the dromedaries which carry him, his tent and baggage, from well to
well. He can hardly tell why he finds this country pleasanter than the
forests and streams on the slopes of the Atlas Mountains; perhaps owing
to the immense distances, the mysterious horizon afar off, the blood-red
sunsets, the grand silence which prevails everywhere so that he hardly
dares speak aloud. It is the magic of the desert that has got hold of
him.

Thirty years ago a large French expedition, under the command of Colonel
Flatters, marched along this route from Algeria southwards through the
Sahara. It consisted of a hundred men, including seven French officers
and some non-commissioned officers, and its equipment and provisions
were carried by three hundred dromedaries. The French Government had
sent out the expedition to examine the Tuaregs' country, and to mark out
a suitable route for a railway through the Sahara to connect the French
possessions in the north and south. It was not the first time that the
Colonel had travelled in the Sahara, and he knew the Tuaregs well.
Therefore he was on his guard. Everything seemed most promising. The
Frenchmen mapped parts of the Sahara which no European had ever
succeeded in reaching before--even the great German traveller, who had
crossed the Sahara in all directions, had not been there. The most
dangerous tracts were left behind, and the Tuaregs had offered no
resistance: indeed some of their chiefs had been friendly. In the last
letters which reached France, Flatters expressed a hope that he would be
able to complete his task without further trouble, and to advance even
to the Sudan.

Then the blow fell. The expedition was suddenly attacked at a well, and
succumbed after a heroic defence against superior numbers. Most of the
Frenchmen were cut down. Part of the caravan attempted to reach safety
by hurrying northwards on forced marches, but was overtaken and
annihilated. Many brave Frenchmen have met the same fate as Flatters in
the struggle for dominion over the Sahara.

If we travelled, as we have lately imagined, on swift-footed dromedaries
in a huge circuit from Timbuktu through the Sudan, the Libyan desert,
and the land of the Tuaregs, we should at last come to Morocco, "The
Uttermost West," as this last independent Sultanate in Africa is called.
Morocco is the restless corner of Africa, as the Balkan Peninsula is of
Europe, Manchuria of Asia, and Mexico of North America--in South America
all parts are unsettled.

III

NORTH AMERICA

THE DISCOVERY OF THE NEW WORLD

Now we must say farewell to Africa. We have in front of us the Straits
of Gibraltar, little more than six miles broad, the blue belt that
connects the Mediterranean with the Atlantic, the sharply defined
boundary which separates the black continent from the white.

We have but a step to take and we are in Spain. Here, also, a dying echo
from the splendid period of Arab rule reaches our ears. We are reminded
that twelve centuries have passed away since the Prophet's chosen people
conquered the Iberian Peninsula. The sons of Islam were a thorn in the
sides of the Christians. Little by little they were forced back
southwards. Only Cordova and Granada still remained in the possession of
the Arabs, or Moors as they were called, and when Ferdinand the Catholic
married Queen Isabella of Castile in the year 1469, only Granada was
left in the hands of the Moors. Their last king lived in his splendid
palace, the Alhambra in Granada. In 1491 the Spanish army besieged the
Moorish city. Barely forty years earlier the Mohammedans had taken
Constantinople. Now other Mohammedans were to be turned out of western
Europe. New Year's Day 1492 came and Granada fell. The Moorish king had
to bend humbly on his knees before the victor ere he went on his way,
and the Castilian flag waved from the towers and pinnacles of the
Alhambra.

This remarkable incident was witnessed by a mariner from Genoa,
forty-six years old. His name was Christopher Columbus.

At the time of the fall of Granada there was no one among the learned
men of Europe who had any suspicion of the existence of a continent in
the western ocean, and the Portuguese sought only a sea route to
India--the rich land of spices, gold, pearls, and coral. But there was a
learned mathematician, Toscanelli of Florence, who perceived that, as
the world was round, a mariner must necessarily reach Japan, China, and
India by sailing westwards from Europe, and as early as 1474 he produced
maps and other proofs of the correctness of his theory. It was Columbus,
by his boldness and ability, who converted this theory into fact.

Christopher Columbus was the eldest of five children of a weaver in
Genoa. He and his brothers also engaged in the weaving industry, but as
their father's affairs were anything but flourishing, the sons decided
to seek a living in foreign countries. Christopher became a sailor, and
acquired all the qualifications necessary to handle a ship. He gained
great experience and a thorough knowledge of his new profession. He once
sailed on an English vessel to Thule or Iceland, the longest voyage
which mariners of that time dared attempt. Then he tried his fortune in
Portugal, earning a living by drawing sea-charts and serving as skipper
on Portuguese vessels sailing to the eastern shores of the Mediterranean
and to Guinea. In the Portuguese school he learned much which was to be
of great importance in his future career. He made his home in Lisbon,
where he married a lady of rank.

It was at this time that he entered into correspondence with Toscanelli,
who sent him a map of the route over the Atlantic to Japan, and gave him
much information drawn from Marco Polo's descriptions. These letters
made a deep impression on Columbus. He wrote back to Toscanelli that he
thought of sailing westwards to Marco Polo's countries according to his
instructions, and Toscanelli replied that he was glad to find his ideas
were so well understood, and that such a voyage would bring great gain
to Columbus, and an extraordinary reputation among all Christian
peoples.

Columbus tried in vain to obtain the support he needed for carrying out
his plan. The King of Portugal and the learned men of the country
listened to him, but treated him as a presumptuous dreamer. There were a
few, however, who thought that he might be right, and on their advice
the King sent a vessel over the ocean without telling Columbus. It soon
returned without having seen land. When Columbus heard of this
underhanded proceeding, he left Lisbon in disgust and travelled alone to
Spain. His wife and children never saw him again, except his son Diego,
who afterwards joined his father.

For two years he travelled from town to town in that part of southern
Spain which is called Andalusia, selling charts, which he drew with his
own hand. At last he was received at Court, and was able to set forth
his plan before an assembly of courtiers and ecclesiastics. But Castile
was too much occupied with the war against the Moors in Granada and
Malaga to venture on such a great enterprise, and Columbus had to wait
for better times.

[Illustration: TOSCANELLI'S MAP.]

Two years more passed by and Columbus was again summoned to the Court,
then in Cordova on the bank of the Guadalquivir. His eloquence and
enthusiasm had little effect, however, and after two more years of
useless waiting he resolved to turn his back on Spain and try his
fortune in France.

Sad and depressed, he followed the great highroad from Cordova. Being
destitute he went up to a monastery beside the road, knocked at the
gate, and begged for a piece of bread for his little son Diego, whom he
held by the hand. While he was talking to the porter the prior came by,
listened to his words, perceived by his accent that he came from Italy,
and enquired into his story and his aims. The prior was a learned and
benevolent man, and entered warmly into the plans of the Italian
mariner, perceiving that such an opportunity of acquiring lands in
eastern Asia should not be lost to Spain. He accordingly wrote to Queen
Isabella, and at the end of 1491 Columbus spoke again before the learned
men of the realm. Some of them treated him as an impostor, but others
believed his words; and when, after the fall of Granada, the Court had a
free hand, it was decided to equip Columbus for his first voyage over
the Atlantic.

All the negotiations nearly fell through at the last moment, owing to
the demands of Columbus. He wished to be appointed High Admiral of the
Ocean and Viceroy over all the savage countries he discovered, and he
demanded for himself and his descendants an eighth part of all the
revenues of the new lands. But when he declared that he intended to
devote his gains to the recovery of Jerusalem from the Turks, his wishes
were granted and funds were assigned for the equipment of three ships in
the harbour of Palos.

These vessels each had three masts, but they were far too small for such
an adventurous enterprise. Only the Admiral's ship, the _Santa Maria_,
was completely decked over. The other two, the _Pinta_ and _Nina_, had
only decks fore and aft. The two brothers Pinzon, of noble extraction,
at once volunteered for the voyage, but it was far from easy to enlist
crews. Had it been a voyage along the coasts of Europe and Africa, there
would have been no difficulty in finding men, but for a voyage straight
out into the unknown ocean--with that the sailors would have nothing to
do. At last it was necessary to open the prisons in order to procure
ninety men, for only that number was needed for the whole three vessels.
The lists of the crews are still extant, and show that most of the men
were Castilians.

Two doctors were taken, as well as a baptized Jew, who spoke Hebrew and
Arabic, and might be useful as an interpreter when the expedition came
over the ocean to India. Curiously enough, Columbus had no chaplain on
board, but before he set sail his friend the prior administered the
sacrament to all his men, who in the opinion of most were doomed to a
watery death.

Armed with a royal despatch to the Great Khan of Mongolia, Columbus
stepped on board the _Santa Maria_, the moorings were cast off, and on
August 3, 1492, the three ships steered under full sail out into the
open sea.

They kept on a south-westerly course, and in six days reached the Canary
Islands, where the little fleet stayed a month to repair some damages
and patch up the _Pinta's_ broken rudder.

On September 8 a definite start was made, and when the lovely Canary
Islands and the Peak of Teneriffe sank beneath the horizon, the sailors
wept, believing that wind and sails would carry them from the world for
ever, and that nothing but water and waves awaited them in the west.

From the first day Columbus kept a very exact diary, which shows how
thoroughly he embraced Toscanelli's theory and how implicitly he relied
on his fellow-countryman's calculations. To his crews, however, he
represented the distance as short, so that their fears should not be
increased by the thought of the great interval that separated them from
the Old World. They became more anxious as days came and went, and still
nothing but boundless deserts of water spread in every direction.

After a week's sail their keels ploughed through whole fields of
floating seaweed, and Columbus pacified his men by the suggestion that
this was the first indication of their approach to land.

The _Santa Maria_ was a broad and clumsy vessel, really intended to
carry cargo. She was, therefore, a slow sailer, and the other two ships
usually took the lead. They were of more graceful build and had large
square sails, but were of barely half the tonnage of the flagship. But
all three kept together and were often so close that shouts could be
heard from one ship to the other. One day Pinzon, captain of the
_Pinta_, called out to Columbus that he had seen birds flying westwards
and expected to sight land before night. They therefore sailed
cautiously lest they should run aground, but all their apprehension
ceased when a sounding-line two hundred fathoms long, lowered through
the floating sea-wrack, failed to reach the bottom.

Their progress was stopped by several days of calm, and it was September
22 before the sea-weed came to an end and the vessels rolled again out
to the open bluish-green water.

Through hissing surge the _Santa Maria_ and her two consorts cut their
way due west. A more favourable breeze could not be wished. It was the
trade wind which filled their sails. The sailors were afraid of the
constant east wind, and when at length it veered round for a time,
Columbus wrote in his journal: "This head-wind was very welcome, for my
men were mightily afraid that winds never blew in these seas which would
take them back to Spain."

Toscanelli's map was sent backwards and forwards between Columbus and
Pinzon, and they wondered where they really were, and how far it was to
the islands of eastern Asia. On September 25, Pinzon ascended the poop
of the _Pinta_ and called out to Columbus, "I see land." Then he fell on
his knees with all his crew, and, with voices trembling with excitement
and gratitude, the Castilian mariners sang "Glory to God in the
Highest." This was the first time a Christian hymn had sounded over the
waves of the Atlantic. The sailors of the _Santa Maria_ and _Nina_
climbed up into the rigging, and also saw the land and raised the same
song of praise as their comrades. But next day the longed-for land had
vanished. It was only a mist which lay over the sea to leeward, a mirage
in the boundless desert of water.

At the beginning of October, Columbus began to suspect that he had
already passed the islands laid down on Toscanelli's map, and he was
glad that he had not been detained by them but could sail straight on to
the mainland of India. By India was meant at that time the whole of
eastern Asia.

On October 7 the men on all the three vessels were sure that they saw
land. Every sail was set. Each vessel thought it an honour to reach it
first. The _Nina_ took the lead. At sunrise the flag of Castile was
hoisted to the topmast and a shot thundered from its poop. During the
day the land vanished again. But now flocks of birds were seen, all
making south-westwards, and Columbus gave orders to follow in the same
direction. He wrote in his diary: "The sea, thank God, lay like the
river at Seville, the temperature was as mild as in April at Seville,
and the air was so balmy that it was delightful to breathe it."

But they sailed day after day and through the nights, and still there
was nothing to be seen but water. The men had several times given vent
to their discontent, and now began to grumble again. Columbus soothed
them and reminded them of the reward that awaited them when they had
attained their goal. "Besides, their complaints were useless, for I have
sailed out to reach India, and intend to prolong my voyage until, with
God's help, I have found it."

On October 11 a log was seen floating in the sea with marks on it
apparently cut by human hands; and shortly after, a branch with clusters
of berries. Then the sailors became content, and the Admiral promised a
reward to the man who first sighted land. All kept their eyes open and
watched eagerly.

In the evening Columbus thought he saw a flash of light as though a man
were carrying a torch along a low shore, and later in the night one of
the _Pinta's_ men swore that land was visible in front. Then all sails
were taken in and they waited for the dawn.

When the sun rose on October 12, 1492, its rays illumined, before the
eyes of the Spaniards, a flat grass-covered island which Columbus called
San Salvador or St. Saviour, after Him who had rescued them from the
perils of the sea. This island evidently lay north of Japan--at any
rate, it would appear so from Toscanelli's map. Little did Columbus and
his men suspect that a whole unknown continent and the world's greatest
ocean, the Pacific, still separated them from Japan. The small island
was one of the Bahama group, and is now known as Watling Island. If the
voyages of the Northmen five hundred years earlier be left out of
account, this island was the first point of the New World reached by
Europeans.

The great day was begun with the _Te Deum_. The officers congratulated
the Admiral, the sailors threw themselves at his feet and begged
forgiveness for their insubordination. A boat was lowered, into which
stepped Columbus with the flag of Castile in his hand, followed by the
Pinzon brothers with the Banner of the Cross, and a few others. Without
knowing it, Columbus stepped on to the soil of America. Solemnly he took
possession of San Salvador on behalf of the crown of Castile. A cross
was erected on an elevation on the shore in token that the island was in
Christian hands.

The natives must have been astonished when they saw the three wonderful
ships arrive off their coast and white men come ashore. At first they
held aloof, but with beads and other gifts the Spaniards soon gained
their confidence. They had only wooden javelins for weapons, did not
know iron, had long lanky hair, not woolly like the negroes, were naked,
and painted their bodies red and white. They knew gold, and that was
well, for it was gold, and gold above everything, that Columbus needed
to free the Holy Sepulchre from the Turks. These savages had gold rings
in their noses, and when the Spaniards inquired by signs where the gold
came from, they pointed towards the south-west.

Columbus, of course, called them Indians. Seven of them were taken on
board. They were to go to Spain and "learn to talk," so that they might
act as interpreters on subsequent voyages.

Then the voyage of discovery was resumed. The ships had to be sailed
with great caution, for dangerous reefs lay round the islands. According
to the signs made by the savages two large islands lay to the south. One
must be Japan, and when Columbus landed on the coast of Cuba and heard
of a prince named Kami, he thought that this man must be the Great Khan,
and that he was really on the mainland of eastern Asia. Accordingly he
sent his Jew and two of his savages ashore to look for the Great Khan.
They were four days away and searched as well as they could among the
tent-like huts of the natives, but never saw a glimpse of any Mongolian
Great Khan in Cuba.

Exceedingly beautiful was this strange coast, reminding them of Sicily.
Sweet song of birds was heard, there was an odour of fruits, and green
foliage and palms waved like plumes in the breeze. The Spaniards were
astonished to see the natives walking about smoking rolled-up leaves
which they called tobacco, and had no notion what a source of wealth
these leaves in the form of cigars would become in the future. Pinzon on
the _Pinta_ must have been bewitched by all the wonders he saw, for he
ran off with his vessel to seek the land of gold on his own account.
Columbus himself sailed across to the large island of Haiti, which as
usual he took possession of in the name of Castile. The natives received
him everywhere with amazement and submission, believing that he was an
emissary from the abode of the gods.

On the northern coast of the island a great misfortune occurred on
Christmas Eve. An inexperienced steersman was at the _Santa Maria's_
rudder, and let the vessel run on a sandbank, where it became a wreck.
The crew had to take refuge on the _Nina_. The natives helped to save
all that was on board, and not even a pin was stolen.

But the _Nina_ could not hold them all, and how were they to get back to
Spain? Columbus found a way out of the difficulty. He decided to found a
colony on the coast. Forty men were to be left behind to search for
gold, and by the time Columbus returned from Spain they would no doubt
have a tun full of the precious metal, and that would be enough for the
conquest of Jerusalem. The sailors were only too glad to remain, for
they found the natives accommodating and the climate good. It was in all
respects much pleasanter than to endure hardship on the _Nina_, and
perhaps founder with the wretched little ship.

Accordingly, a blockhouse was built of wreckage from the _Santa Maria_,
was surrounded by a wall and moat and provisioned, and after presenting
the chief of the Indians with a shirt and a pair of gloves, Columbus
weighed anchor and steered for home.

He had not sailed far before he fell in with the _Pinta_, and took the
independent Pinzon into favour again. Then they sailed eastwards across
the Atlantic.

On February 12 a storm arose. All the sails were furled and the two
ships lost sight of one another for good. The _Nina_ pitched horribly
and threatened to sink. All made ready for death. Columbus, fearing that
his discoveries would perish with him, wrote a narrative on parchment,
covered it with wax and placed it in a cask, which was entrusted to the
angry waves. The sailors thought that it was an offering with which
Columbus sought to allay the storm.

A few days later the _Nina_ arrived safely at the southernmost island of
the Azores, and thence continued her voyage to the mouth of the Tagus
and Lisbon.

On March 15 the inhabitants of Palos saw the most famous of all the
ships of the world come into the harbour. The people streamed down with
the wildest jubilation and all the church bells were rung. The same
evening the _Pinta_ also sailed in, but was very differently received,
for it was already known that Pinzon wished to usurp the honour of the
discovery, being convinced that Columbus's vessel had been lost in the
storm. No one took any notice of him, and he died a few days later,
probably of chagrin and sorrow.

In Seville Columbus received a summons from the King and Queen, who were
staying in Barcelona. His journey through Spain was one great triumphal
progress. He was feted as a conqueror in every town. He was conducted in
a brilliant procession through the streets, six copper-brown "Indians"
marching at the head with coloured feathers in their head-dresses. This
was Christopher Columbus, who had given new lands to Spain, who had
discovered a convenient sea route to India just at the time when the
Portuguese were looking for a route thither round the coast of Africa.
In Barcelona all his titles and privileges were solemnly confirmed. Now
he was actually the Admiral of the Ocean and Viceroy of India. Now he
had attained the height of worldly honour.

Then began the time of adversity.

On his second voyage, when he set out with seventeen ships, he
discovered the northern Antilles as far as Porto Rico and came in
contact with cannibals. At Haiti he found that the forty men whom he had
left behind on his first voyage had been killed by the natives. He took
it for granted that Cuba was the mainland of Asia, and that thence the
journey to Spain might be made dryshod by following Marco Polo's
footsteps. Discontent was rife among his men, the natives rose up
against the intruders, rivals sprang up around him like mushrooms, and
in the home country he was abused by high and low.

He returned to Spain to put everything right; but this time he was no
longer received with rejoicing, and found that he had now a formidable
rival in Portugal. In the year 1497 Vasco da Gama discovered the real
sea route to the real India by sailing round the south of Africa, an
event which, in the eyes of that generation, quite eclipsed the
discoveries of Columbus. In India inexhaustible riches were to be found,
whereas the poor islands of Columbus had simply cost money, ships, and
men.

But the strong will of Columbus overcame all obstacles, and for the
third time he sailed for his fictitious India. Now he held a more
southerly course, and discovered the island Trinidad, and found that the
water between it and the coast of Venezuela was fresh. There must then
be a large river near. This river was the Orinoco.

Disturbances broke out again in Haiti, and Columbus's opponents sent
home complaints against him. A Royal Commission was sent out to hold an
enquiry, and in the end arrested the Admiral and sent him in chains to
Spain. The captain of the vessel wished to remove his fetters and leave
him free as long as he was on board, but Columbus would not consent, for
he wished to retain them as a "reminder of the reward he had got for his
services."

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