Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1873-10-17
n TRIBUTB TO G. COLUMBUS.

confess TO have been deceived about
this Atlantic, the toughest and windest of
oceans. If you look at IL on the map, | t
doesn't appear to be much, and indeed, 1t
Is spoken of as a ferry. What with the
eight aud nine days passage over 1t, and
the laying-of the cable, which annihiates
distance, had the impression that its tedi-
Gus three thousand and odd miles had been,
somehow, partly done away with; but they
are all there. When one has sailed a thous-
and miles due east and finds that he Is then
nowhere in particular, but is still out pitch
ing about on an uneasy sea, under an in
constant sky, and that q thousand miles
more willlnot make any perceptible change,
he begins TO have some conception of the
unconquerable ocean. Columbus rises In
my estimation.
was feeling uncomfortable that nothing
had been done for the memory of Christie
pher Columbus, when heard some months
ago that thirty-seven guns had been
fired off for him in Boston. II is to be
hoped that they were some satisfaction to
him. They were discharged by country
men of his, who are justly proud that he
should have been able, after a search of on
ly few weeks, TO find land where the
hand organ had never been heard. The
Italians, as a people, have not protited
much by this discovery; not so much, in
deed, as the Spaniards, who got reputa-
ton by it which even now gilds their de-
cav. That Columbus was born in Genoa
entities the Italians TO celebrate the great
achieve nent of his life though why they
should discharge exactly thirtyseven guns
1 do not know. Columbus did not discov-
ourselves, and partly bought and gouged
the Mexicans out OF. He did not even ap-
pear TO know that there was continent
here. He discovered the West Indies,
VIII ch he thought were the East, and ten
guns would be en- ough for them. 1t is
probable that he did open the way to dis
covery of the New World. II he had wait
ed, however, somebody else would have
discovered it,-perhaps some Englishman |;
and then we might have been spared all
the old French and Spanish wars. Colum-
bus let the Spaniards into the New World I;
and their civilization has uniformly been a
curse to it. If he had brought Italians,
who neither at that time showed nor since
have shown, much inclination to come, we
should have had the opera, and made it a
paying institution by this time. Colum-
bus was evidently a person who liked 10
sail about, and didn't care much for conse-
quences.
Perhaps it is not an open question wheth-
er Columbus did good thing in first COM
ing over here,-one that we ought to cele-
brate with salutes and dinners. The Indi-
ans never thanked him, for one party. The
Africans had small ground to be gratified
for the market he opened for them. Here
are two continents that had no use for him
He led Spain into dance of great expecta-
tions, which ended in her gorgeous ruin
He introduced tobacco into Europe, and
laid the foundation for more tracts and
nervous diseases than the Romans had ir
a thousand years. He introduced the po
tato into Ireland indirectly; and that cans
| ed such rapid increase of population, tina
| the great famine was the result, and al
| enormous emigration to New York hence
| Tweed and the constituency of the Ring
Columbus is really responsible for New
York. He is responsible for our who'll
| tremendous experiment of democracy
open 10 all comers, the best three in five Il
win. We cannot yet tell how it is comm:
out, W hat with the foreigners and the com
munists and the women. On our grea
stage we are playing a piece of mingled
tragedy and comedy, with what denoue
mcnt we cannot yet say. II it comes on
well, we ought to erect a monument t
Christopher as high as the one at Washing
ton expects TO be and we presume it
well TO fire a salute occasionally to kee
the ancient mariner in mind while we ar
trying our q eat experiment. And this re
minds me that he ought to have had ma
val salute.
There is something almost heroic in th
idea of firing off guns for man who ha
been stone dead for about four centurie.
1t must have had lively and iestive soun
in Boston, when the meaning OF the salut
was explained. No one could hear thos
great guns without a quicker beating {
the heart in gratitude to the great discover
er who had made Boston possible. We al
trying to "realize'' to ourselves the import
ance Of the 10Th of October as an annivers
airy of our potential existence.
If any one wants TO see how vivid is IL
gratitude TO Columbus, let him start ol
among our business houses, with sui
scriptiou paper to raise money for powd'
to be exploded in his honor. And yet G.
lumbus was well-meaning man; and,
he did not discover perfect continent, |
found the only one that was left.-'Saunte'
ingS by Chds. ID. Warner.