The Pilot Of Nina
In The Afternoon Of The Wednesday Following Said They Had Only Sailed 540
Leagues, And The Pilot Of The Pinta Reckoned 634.
Thus they were all much
short of the truth; but the admiral winked at the gross mistake, that the
men, not thinking themselves so far from home, might be the less dejected.
The next day, being Tuesday the second of October, they saw abundance of
fish, caught one small tunny, and saw a white bird with many other small
birds, and the weeds appeared much withered and almost fallen to powder.
Next day, seeing no birds, they suspected that they had passed between
some islands on both hands, and had slipped through without seeing them,
as they guessed that the many birds which they had seen might have been
passing from one island to another. On this account they were very earnest
to have the course altered one way or the other, in quest of these
imaginary lands: But the admiral, unwilling to lose the advantage of the
fair wind which carried him due west, which he accounted his surest course,
and afraid to lessen his reputation by deviating from course to course in
search of land, which he always affirmed that he well knew where to find,
refused his consent to any change. On this the people were again ready to
mutiny, and resumed their murmurs and cabals against him. But it pleased
God to aid his authority by fresh indications of land.
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