But They Soon Afterwards Derived Much Comfort By
Observing Great Flights Of Large Fowl And Others Of Small Birds Going From
The West Towards The South-West.
Being now at a vast distance from Spain, and well assured that such small
birds would not go far from land, the admiral now altered his course from
due west which had been hitherto, and steered to the south-west.
He
assigned as a reason for now changing his course, although deviating
little from his original design, that he followed the example of the
Portuguese, who had discovered most of their islands by attending to the
flight of birds, and because these they now saw flew almost uniformly in
one direction. He said likewise that he had always expected to discover
land about the situation in which they now were, having often told them
that he must not look to find land until they should get 750 leagues to
the westwards of the Canaries; about which distance he expected to fall in
with Hispaniola which he then called Cipango, and there is no doubt that
he would have found this island by his direct course, if it had not been
that it was reported to extend from north to south[2]. Owing therefore to
his not having inclined more to the south he had missed that and others of
the Caribbee islands whither those birds were now bending their flight,
and which had been for some time upon his larboard hand. It was from being
so near the land that they continually saw such great numbers of birds;
and on Monday the eighth of October twelve singing birds of various
colours came to the ship, and after flying round it for a short time held
on their way. Many other birds were seen from the ship flying towards the
south-west, and that same night great numbers of large fowl were seen, and
flocks of small birds proceeding from the northwards, and all going to the
south-west. In the morning a jay was seen, with an alcatraz, several ducks,
and many small birds, all flying the same way with the others, and the air
was perceived to be fresh and odoriferous as it is at Seville in the month
of April. But the people were now so eager to see land and had been so
often dissappointed, that they ceased to give faith to these continual
indications; insomuch that on Wednesday the tenth, although abundance of
birds were continually passing both by day and night, they never ceased to
complain. The admiral upbraided their want of resolution, and declared
that they must persist in their endeavours to discover the Indies, for
which he and they had been sent out by their Catholic majesties.
It would have been impossible for the admiral to have much longer
withstood the numbers which now opposed him; but it pleased God that, in
the afternoon of Thursday the eleventh of October, such manifest tokens of
being near the land appeared, that the men took courage and rejoiced at
their good fortune as much as they had been before distressed. From the
admirals ship a green rush was seen to float past, and one of those green
fish which never go far from the rocks. The people in the Pinta saw a cane
and a staff in the water, and took up another staff very curiously carved,
and a small board, and great plenty of weeds were seen which seemed to
have been recently torn from the rocks. Those of the Nina, besides similar
signs of land, saw a branch of a thorn full of red berries, which seemed
to have been newly torn from the tree. From all these indications the
admiral was convinced that he now drew near to the land, and after the
evening prayers he made a speech to the men, in which be reminded them of
the mercy of God in having brought them so long a voyage with such
favourable weather, and in comforting them with so many tokens of a
successful issue to their enterprize, which were now every day becoming
plainer and less equivocal. He besought them to be exceedingly watchful
during the night, as they well knew that in the first article of the
instructions which he had given to all the three ships before leaving the
Canaries, they were enjoined, when they should have sailed 700 leagues
west without discovering land, to lay to every night, from midnight till
day-break. And, as he had very confident hopes of discovering land that
night, he required every one to keep watch at their quarters; and, besides
the gratuity of thirty crowns a-year for life, which had been graciously
promised by their sovereigns to him that first saw the land, he engaged to
give the fortunate discoverer a velvet doublet from himself.
After this, as the admiral was in his cabin about ten o'clock at night, he
saw a light on shore; but it was so unsteady that he could not certainly
affirm that it came from land. He called to one Peter Gutierres and
desired him to try if he could perceive the same light, who said he did;
but one Roderick Sanchez of Segovia, on being desired to look the same way
could not see it, because he was not up time enough, as neither the
admiral nor Gutierres could see it again above once or twice for a short
space, which made them judge it to proceed from a candle or torch
belonging to some fisherman or traveller, who lifted it up occasionally
and lowered it again, or perhaps from people going from one house to
another, because it appeared and vanished again so suddenly. Being now
very much on their guard, they still held on their course until about two
in the morning of Friday the twelfth of October, when the Pinta which was
always far a-head, owing to her superior sailing, made the signal of
seeing land, which was first discovered by Roderick de Triana at about two
leagues from the ship.
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