The
Admiral, Not Being Complete Master Of This Subject, Thought This Of Very
Difficult Comprehension; And Observes That Probably When At The
Equinoctial, The Full Orbit Of The Star Is Seen; Whereas, The Nearer One
Approaches The Pole It Seems The Less, Because The Heavens Are More
Oblique.
As for the variation, I believe the star has the quality of all
the four quarters, like the needle,
Which if touched to the east
side points to the east, and so of the west, north, and south; wherefore,
he that makes a compass covers the loadstone with a cloth, all but its
north part, or that which has the power to make the needle point to the
north.
On Tuesday the 31st of July, 1498, having sailed many days west, insomuch
that the admiral believed the Caribbee islands were to the north, he
resolved to discontinue that western course, and to make for Hispaniola,
because he was greatly in want of water, and almost all his provisions had
perished, and because he was afraid lest some mutiny or disorder might
have broken out in the colony during his long absence, which in fact had
been the case as we shall shew hereafter. Therefore, altering his course
from the west, he stood to the north[10], thinking to fall in with the
Caribbee islands to refresh his men, and to take in wood and water, of
which he was in great want. While thus sailing one day about noon, Alonzo
Perez Nirando, a sailor of the town of Gullva, discovered land from the
round top at about fifteen leagues distance, three mountains making their
appearance at once, and soon afterwards the land was observed to stretch
out towards the N.E. as far as the eye could reach, so that it appeared to
have no end.
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