The Manitowoc pilot. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1859-1932, 1879-01-02
L Singular Find.

On the night OF the End of August,
1893, the little fleet of Christopher Col
umbus, the discoyerer Of America, lie
being then upon his third voyage, lay at
anchor Just off the southwest point Of
the island of Trinidad, off the mainland
OF South America, which he had seen
that day for the first time. Being on
board of his ship" says Washington
Irving, in his history of the great navi-
gator, vol. II, Book X, page 123, '1ate
at night, kept awake by painful illness
| and an anxious and watchful spirit, lie
heard terrible roaring from the SOUTH
and beheld the sea heap up, as it were,
into great ridge or hill, the height Of
the ship, covered with foam, and
rolling towards him with a tremendous
uproar. AS this furious surge approach
ed, rendered more terrible in appearance
by the obscurity of the night, he trem-
bled for the safety of his vessels. His
own ship was suddenly lifted up to such
a height that he dreaded lest it should
be overturned or cast upon the rocks,
while another of the ships was torn VIC.
| lently from her anchorage, Qeaving, it
WAS hardly necessary for Mr. irving to
add, her anchor behind herr The crews
were for time in great CONSERVATION,
fearing they should be swallowed up;
but the mountainous surge passed on
after a violent contest with the counter
current OF the strait. This sudden rush
Of water,'it is supposed, was caused by
the swelling of one of the rivers which
flow into the Gulf Of Paria, and which
were as yet unknown to Columbus"
So far Washington Irving, who of
course POUNDS his text upon that of the
old authorities, and especially upon the
''Nita" of Ferdinand Columbus, the son
of the great Admiral. The words Of
Ferdinand, in reference TO the loss of
the anchor aforesaid, in the original
Italian, are as follows: "NIa PLAGUE n
Dio che passo Iii soto, o per dir miglio
che gil levo in alto, senza fargli danno,
anch0re al m naUig5io lcra8sc Ic anc0rc
III tcrra"- although one of the ships
left her anchor behind her,
The anchor thus lost on tho night of
August 2nd, 1490-nearly four hundred
years ago.-from one of the ships Of
Columbus, off the southwest extremity
of the island Of Trinidad-Point Arenai,
as Columbus named the spot, vide irving
has recently been recovered by Senior
Argostino, the gentleman who now owns
the point Of land in question. Ithas ihe
rare and thrilling merit of being the
Oldest relic extant of the great navigator
and OF the discovery of America.
As would be expected from the age Of
this relic, it is al anchor in its simplest
form Of expression. The shaft IS round
and eight feet nine inches In length. At
the head OF the shaft is a round ring
nearly a foot in diameter, to which the
cable was fastened. The fukes have q
spread of about five feet. It's total
weight is eleven hundred pounds.
But the strangest part is to come.
This anchor was Ding up by Senior Argo
stino in his garden, from depth of six
feet, at the distance of 327 feet from the
nearest beach of the sea. Hrs first sup
position was that he had stumbled upon
a relic of the Phoenicians, or some other
of the ancient nations who have been
supposed by many to have visited the
ago. Bat an attentive examination OF
local facts and authorities soon c0nvin-
ced him that q portion of his garden
now occupies the very spot at which the
ships of Columbus lay at anchor on the
night of August 2nd. 1888. The land
is constantly rising from the sea and en-
croaching upon it along this entire coast
as has been shown by Humboldt, Findlay
and scores of others who have written
upon this subject, and the rate of this
encroachment is known to have been
quite sufficient to turn in 400 years the
anchorage of the great feet into the gar
den OF private citizen. There IS not n
particle of doubt, therefore, at the end
of the rigid inquiry that has been made,
that the anchor recently found by Senior
Argosting is really and truly the lost
anchor of Columbus.
Delays are dangerous in everything,
except marriage; the longer you delay
That the haftar Nnn are off