THE DISCOVERY OF AMERICA.

Maori Messenger : Te Karere Maori, Volume 2, Issue 31, 28 February 1850, Page 2

THE DISCOVERY OF AMERICA.

[continued.] Eight years did Columbus wait before the King would grant his request, his heart was often very sad, he was poor and lonely, and a stranger ; he had no money of his own to buy a ship, if he had lie would liuve been sailing way »o the West. No delays tired his pa'ienco ; men laughed at him, hut he did not heed llu ir scorn, he fell so sure that lie should find the short way to lndi<). Every year ho talked and wrote to the king and urged him to iuten to hit p'an. At lai) the King nyteec] to

give him three small sliips. Columbus was lo be ihe captain over all. He was to order where they should go, and when they should return. T'lie ships were small and unfit for such n voyage ; two of them were only halfdecked, these had large oars to urge them forward when the wind failed : they were good ships for short voyages along the coast, but Columbus was going, for the first time, to suit out into the open sea. There were no largo ships and well built then, such as we li'ive now. About one hundred and twenty men went in these three sliips, many went very unwillingly at the King's command, they did not like to go on a sea where no ship had ever sailed before ; they took provisons enough to last fot a year. It was early one morning in summer when they sailed ; Columbus and all his men day-break to church to pray for GodVJblessing on them, they then embarked, the people of the town crowded on the shore to see them depart ; many wept, many knelt and prayed that God would protect their relations and bring them safely back.

The ship 9 ran first to the islands which had been discovered by the Portuguese! long before. Columbus found that his ships were in very bad condition, the rudder of one gate way the day after he sailed. He slaid at these islands to repair the vessels, bought some fresli food and then sailed out towards the West ; lie had nothing now to guide him but his compass. The first day was calm, but by the next day they hid lost sight of laud, many of the sailors were so frightened that they beat their breasts and wapt, they said one to another " We shall never perhaps see land any more." The wind was fair day after day, they ran before it and scarcely shifted sail. When they had been two weeks at sea tliey were again much frightened. They found the sea so covered with weeds, that it was like a great grassy plain to look at; tlirsi weeds were so thick that they retarded the ships. The sailors said that this was the end of tho sea and that hidden rocks perhaps lay beneath, which would dash the vessels in pieces. No one was free from fear but Columbus. He went about clieeiing his men, he pointed to large flocks of birds dying westward, lie told thein they must be (lying towards land. Day by day they sailed on after this with 110 sight of laud only sea around and the sky above. livery day the sailors murmcred more and more. The bad men said " let us throw this man overboard and return to our own country." At last aU on board the three ships determined to go back—officeis and men—they went lo Columbus and told him that it was folly to go on any longer, they had now been four weeks at sea " Who can tell," they said " whether there is any |jnd beyond us? We may go on sailing for twelve months, till all our food is gone, and we shall die of starvation ; we shall go back!' This was sad news for Columbus, he tried to calm their fears, ho spoke of the gold of India which they should g?t if they went on, lie spoke of the shame of returning—of the King's nnger ut the waste of money. But nothing moved his men, the one cry was " I.et us go back." Then Colunilnis said " Well we wiil go back, on this condition, let us sail on for three days longer, and if, at the end of that time, we do not reach land we will return." The men all agreed to this, and tliev sailed on. And now signs of land began to appear. From one ship the sailors picked up a stick which floated on the calin sea, nurl a piece of carved wood ; from another ship they saw a branch of a tree with red berries, floating on * the sea. On the evening of the third day, after evening prayers, Columbus ordered all sails to be furled, and the ship to lie to, he kept watch on deck lest they should be driven on shore in the About midnight lie and two of his companions saw a light in the distance, which moved (rom place to place, When morning dawned there was a cry of *' Land !" All saw an island lying near them with wooded shores ; at this sight every one joined in a hymn of praise to God, many wept for joy, and all begged Culumbus to pardon their ignorance and rebellion towards him. As soon as it was day, all the boats were lowered from the three ships, and the whole party rowed towards the island. Their flags weie waving, and the soldiers blew their trumpets. Columbus leapt on shore first with his sword in his hand, and lie and all with him knelt down and returned thanks to God. There was agreat crowd of people assembled on the beach to meet the strangers. They stood, wondering at all tliey saw. They had never beheld an European or a ship before; the colour of the strangers faces, their clothes, their beards, their swords, all seemed so strange, and the sliips with their white sails, and the terrible noise of the guns when fired. Some of the natives said «• These strangers must be Gods.*' Columbus and his men won-

dercd also at the unlives. These men were quite naked, their long blnck liair hung over their shoulders, their faces were quite smooth, and painted with bright colours, they hail rings and ornaments of gold in their nose

Maori chiefs wear poiiamu in their ears—tliey were very friendly to the strangers, and gave •hem sweet potatoes and Indian corn to eat, and exchanged cotton, which grew in the island, for heads and little bells. In tlie evening, Columbus went back to his ships, and many of the natives went in their canoes to the ships sides. Their canoes were roughly made, like the Maori tiivai. Columbuß°did not stay long here. The natives told him that there was plenty of gold in a land towards the south. So he sailed thither, and some of the natives went in the vessel vtiih him. He still hoped that he had reached an island close to the Indian coast, lie thought it must he so when he saw the gold everywhere, nnd cotton, both of which are abundant in India. The cotton grows on low hushes in hot countries, is is gathered by the yivople and washed, nnd then spun ; afterwards garments are woven of it, some very soft and fine. The calico that we all wear is made of cotton. The people of each island were friendly to tho strangers. At one island where they landed tho people were frightened and fled to the mountains, but one of their women was overtaken by the strangers, mid they gave her some presents. She went up to the hills and induced her people to come back and trade. The news of the strangers and of their ships spread from place to place, nnd after a while a great piince sent messengers to Columbus to pray hiin to visit him. These messengers bruught several gift*, among others a carved face, like tho figure heads of Maori canoe 3. The. ears of this f >ce, the nose and the mouth were of gold. Columbus at once sailed to visit the prince. He was just nigh to the island, all was calm, and he went below to sleep, he had b- en on deck two days ond two nights, and was very weary. He was awoke bv a loud noise—the vessel luid struck on a rock ! The boats of the'second vessel came to help their companions. If it had been stormy weather they must have been drowned. They reached the shore safely, and the prince to whom Columbus was going sent canoes to save all theproperty and clothes of the strangers ; nothing w.is lost, and the prince set euards over the goods when they •were brought to shore, lest any one should steal, or even go to look at them. Columbus was very sad, one vessel was broken to pieces, another bed been driven out to sea some days before, in a gale of wind, and was no where in sight. There was only one small half-decked vessel to take them all back again j after a great deal of thought he made up his mind to leave half his men in tho island, till ho could fend a ship to fetch them home. The prince consented to this and they built a pa for the 6trangers. As soon as all was finished Columbus sailed back to his own country to tell tho King of all he had done and seen, lie foil in with the other ship on his way, and they tteeied to the north-east. A terrible storm arose when they had been a month at sea; there seemed no chance of escape, prayers were oll'ered by all; the fear of death made all sad, but Coulmbus grieved also to think that none would ever know of all that he had discovered. He went down to his cabin ond wrote a short account of the countries he U ; "l

visited, and of the people wliom he had left there, he pave directions as to the right course on win'ch to snil, he wrapped this paper up in a cloth stcrpid in oil, and enclosed that in a lall of wax, and then put it into n cask, which he threw into the sea, he hoped that some day it would float to shore. But God protected him, and the wind lulled. A t last ihey arrived at Spain, • at the harbour from which they had sailed. They had oeen seven months and a half away. Their countrymen crowded to the shore, and when they saw their companions safe and well there was joy in all the town, the hells of the churches were rung, guns were fired. When Columbus landed he was greeted as though he had been n kin#. The first thing lie did was to go with nil his people to church, to return thanks to God. The King 50011 heard of his arrival and sent messengers to bid him go to him, that he might hear the wonderful news. In every town through which Columbus passed, the people crowded to gaze at him and to admire. At last he reached the city where the King anS Queen dwelt. The natives who had come vri'li him from the islands walked before him. Ty.'n the ornaments of gold, the cotton and n the strange tilings which lmd been bought or given, were carried as an offering to the King and Queen. When Columbus drew near, ihe King bade him be seated'and told liim to relate all that he had seen. Then he told liim of his long voyage, of the fears of his men, of the beautiful countries which lie iiad found j he showed the gold and the cotton nnd the natives who had come with him, and Columbus said, " He doubted not that the new conntry was part of India, and that he had found at least a short way thither." He besought the King to send out more ships and men. This the King willingly agreed to, and soon

seventeen ships were ready to sail, and fifteen hundred people sailed in them. They took sheep and cattle to stock the new country, and i seeds and young trees, and tools and workmen. Several missionaries went also to preach to the natives. Those natives who bad gone willi Culunibus to Spain were taught and baptized. From this time ship 9 have sailed continually to and fro to the new lands. For many years, even after Columbus'* death, the kinds lound were believed to he a part of India ; it was not till ships had visited nil parts of the main land beyond the islands that it was found to be a part of tlie world never before visited by our ships. It is named America, anil it is filled now with Knglish people and willi Spaniards, and ships from America sail to all parts of ibe world. '