The Enchanted Islands - 3
If the other islands had seemed beautiful to him, Cuba seemed like heaven itself. The
mountains grandly rising in the interior, the noble rivers and long sweeping plains, the
headlands melting into the clear water, and the gorgeous colours and flowers and birds
and insects on land acted like a charm on Columbus and his sailors. As they entered the
river they lowered a boat in order to go ahead and sound for an anchorage; and two native
canoes put off from the shore, but, when they saw the boat approaching, fled again. The
Admiral landed and found two empty houses containing nets and hooks and fishing-lines,
and one of the strange silent dogs, such as they had encountered on the other island—
dogs that pricked their ears and wagged their tails, but that never barked. The Admiral, in
spite of his greed for gold and his anxiety to "free" the people of the island, was now
acting much more discreetly, and with the genuine good sense which he always possessed
and which was only sometimes obscured. He would not allow anything in the empty
houses to be disturbed or taken away, and whenever he saw the natives he tried to show
them that he intended to do them no harm, and to win their good will by making them
presents of beads and toys for which he would take no return. As he went on up the river
the scenery became more and more enchanting, so that he felt quite unhappy at not being
able to express all the wonders and beauties that he saw. In the pure air and under the
serene blue of the sky those matchless hues of blossom and foliage threw a rainbowcoloured
garment on either bank of the river; the flamingoes, the parrots and
woodpeckers and humming-birds calling to one another and flying among the tree-tops,
made the upper air also seem alive and shot with all the colours of the rainbow. Humble
Christopher, walking amid these gorgeous scenes, awed and solemnised by the
strangeness and magnificence of nature around him, tries to identify something that he
knows; and thinks, that amid all these strange chorusings of unknown birds, he hears the
familiar note of a nightingale. Amid all his raptures, however, the main chance is not
forgotten; everything that he sees he translates into some terms of practical utility. Just as
on the voyage out every seaweed or fish or flying bird that he saw was hailed by him as a
sign that land was near, so amid the beauty of this virgin world everything that he sees is
taken to indicate either that he is close upon the track of the gold, or that he must be in
Cipango, or that the natives will be easy to convert to Christianity. In the fragrance of the
woods of Cuba, Columbus thought that he smelled Oriental spices, which Marco Polo
had described as abounding in Cipango; when he walked by the shore and saw the shells
of pearl oysters, he believed the island to be loaded with pearls and precious stones; when
he saw a scrap of tinsel or bright metal adorning a native, he argued that there was a gold
mine close at hand. And so he went on in an increasing whirl of bewildering enchantment
from anchorage to anchorage and from island to island, always being led on by that
yellow will o'-the-wisp, gold, and always believing that the wealth of the Orient would be
his on the morrow. As he coasted along towards the west he entered the river which he
called Rio de Mares. He found a large village here full of palm-branch houses furnished
with chairs and hammocks and adorned with wooden masks and statues; but in spite of
his gentleness and offer of gifts the inhabitants all fled to the mountains, while he and his
men walked curiously through the deserted houses.
On Tuesday, October 30th, Martin Alonso Pinzon, whose communications the Admiral
was by this time beginning to dread, came with some exciting news. It seemed that the
Indians from San Salvador who were on board the Pinta had told him that beyond the
promontory, named by Columbus the Cape of Palms, there was a river, four days' journey
upon which would bring one to the city of Cuba, which was very rich and large and
abounded with gold; and that the king of that country was at war with a monarch whom
they called Cami, and whom Pinzon identified with the Great Khan. More than this, these
natives assured him that the land they were on at present was the mainland itself, and that
they could not be very far from Cathay. Columbus for once found himself in agreement
with Martin Alonso. The well-thumbed copy of Marco Polo was doubtless brought out,
and abundant evidence found in it; and it was decided to despatch a little embassy to this
city in order to gain information about its position and wealth. When they continued their
course, however, and rounded the cape, no river appeared; they sailed on, and yet
promontory after promontory was opened ahead of them; and as the wind turned against
them and the weather was very threatening they decided to turn back and anchor again in
the Rio de Mares.
If the other islands had seemed beautiful to him, Cuba seemed like heaven itself. The
mountains grandly rising in the interior, the noble rivers and long sweeping plains, the
headlands melting into the clear water, and the gorgeous colours and flowers and birds
and insects on land acted like a charm on Columbus and his sailors. As they entered the
river they lowered a boat in order to go ahead and sound for an anchorage; and two native
canoes put off from the shore, but, when they saw the boat approaching, fled again. The
Admiral landed and found two empty houses containing nets and hooks and fishing-lines,
and one of the strange silent dogs, such as they had encountered on the other island—
dogs that pricked their ears and wagged their tails, but that never barked. The Admiral, in
spite of his greed for gold and his anxiety to "free" the people of the island, was now
acting much more discreetly, and with the genuine good sense which he always possessed
and which was only sometimes obscured. He would not allow anything in the empty
houses to be disturbed or taken away, and whenever he saw the natives he tried to show
them that he intended to do them no harm, and to win their good will by making them
presents of beads and toys for which he would take no return. As he went on up the river
the scenery became more and more enchanting, so that he felt quite unhappy at not being
able to express all the wonders and beauties that he saw. In the pure air and under the
serene blue of the sky those matchless hues of blossom and foliage threw a rainbowcoloured
garment on either bank of the river; the flamingoes, the parrots and
woodpeckers and humming-birds calling to one another and flying among the tree-tops,
made the upper air also seem alive and shot with all the colours of the rainbow. Humble
Christopher, walking amid these gorgeous scenes, awed and solemnised by the
strangeness and magnificence of nature around him, tries to identify something that he
knows; and thinks, that amid all these strange chorusings of unknown birds, he hears the
familiar note of a nightingale. Amid all his raptures, however, the main chance is not
forgotten; everything that he sees he translates into some terms of practical utility. Just as
on the voyage out every seaweed or fish or flying bird that he saw was hailed by him as a
sign that land was near, so amid the beauty of this virgin world everything that he sees is
taken to indicate either that he is close upon the track of the gold, or that he must be in
Cipango, or that the natives will be easy to convert to Christianity. In the fragrance of the
woods of Cuba, Columbus thought that he smelled Oriental spices, which Marco Polo
had described as abounding in Cipango; when he walked by the shore and saw the shells
of pearl oysters, he believed the island to be loaded with pearls and precious stones; when
he saw a scrap of tinsel or bright metal adorning a native, he argued that there was a gold
mine close at hand. And so he went on in an increasing whirl of bewildering enchantment
from anchorage to anchorage and from island to island, always being led on by that
yellow will o'-the-wisp, gold, and always believing that the wealth of the Orient would be
his on the morrow. As he coasted along towards the west he entered the river which he
called Rio de Mares. He found a large village here full of palm-branch houses furnished
with chairs and hammocks and adorned with wooden masks and statues; but in spite of
his gentleness and offer of gifts the inhabitants all fled to the mountains, while he and his
men walked curiously through the deserted houses.
On Tuesday, October 30th, Martin Alonso Pinzon, whose communications the Admiral
was by this time beginning to dread, came with some exciting news. It seemed that the
Indians from San Salvador who were on board the Pinta had told him that beyond the
promontory, named by Columbus the Cape of Palms, there was a river, four days' journey
upon which would bring one to the city of Cuba, which was very rich and large and
abounded with gold; and that the king of that country was at war with a monarch whom
they called Cami, and whom Pinzon identified with the Great Khan. More than this, these
natives assured him that the land they were on at present was the mainland itself, and that
they could not be very far from Cathay. Columbus for once found himself in agreement
with Martin Alonso. The well-thumbed copy of Marco Polo was doubtless brought out,
and abundant evidence found in it; and it was decided to despatch a little embassy to this
city in order to gain information about its position and wealth. When they continued their
course, however, and rounded the cape, no river appeared; they sailed on, and yet
promontory after promontory was opened ahead of them; and as the wind turned against
them and the weather was very threatening they decided to turn back and anchor again in
the Rio de Mares.
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