Brookings County sentinel. (Brookings, Dakota [S.D.]) 1882-1890, 1882-04-20
MAGELLAN.
a Sketch OF the Intrepid ksvisster's LRs...His
ossirs 10 emuIsts coIumbus-.Ths Successful
bst Fetal Voyage Of Discovery.

. bvt Fetal Voyage Of Discovery.
ISamuel A. Chaplin, Jr, in Christian Union.l
Like all great men Magellan was once
o little boy, and he lived in beautiful
! home in the mountains of northern
Portugal. His father was nobleman
and his heart was bound up in his son
Fernan, who as he grew up began to
think which Of the three callings worthy
of q nobleman's son he should follow-a
soldiers, courtier's, or q discoveries.
Now not far away on the sea coast was
the beautiful city Of Oporto, where Fer
mans father with bis family used to 20
each year. This was time OF great de-
light to the boy, for then be used to
spend most OF his time on the wharves,
making friends with the sailors, and
listening to the wonderful stories they
told OF their own voyages and the dis
discoveries OF Columbus and Vasco Da
CANA. This sort of life fred the cour-
ageons and adventurous spirit of Fer
nan, and he determined that he would
become q discoyerer too, like the great
Columbus. Many years were to pass by
before he should realize his desire, and
sail away ON voyage of discovery with
"a fleet under his command. II we wish
|
shall have to skip over these intervening
years very briefly, merely noticing that
IKE many noble Portuguese youth he
spent some time at court in the service
OF King Manuel, going off to the wars in
India, IN which he proved himself brave
and skilled soldier and made himself
very dear to his comrades by sharing all
their dangers and hardsbips. In one of
these wars he received wound iu the
leg from poisoned javelin, by which he
was made lame for the remainder of his
life.
During all these years of service he
had not once lost sight OF the determine
tion Of his youth, TO follow i'll the foot
steps Of Columbus. The idea grew
stronger in his mind that Just as Vasco
Da CANA had sailed eastward round the
southern point of Africa 80 some one
might sail westward round the southern
point of South America, and so home
round the world. And If some one could
do this, why should ne not be the one
People laughed at him for his idea, his
own King Manuel refused to help him,
and finally he went to the Spanish king,
Charles, who, perhaps more out of spite
toward Manuel than from sympathy with
Magellan, promised to tit him out with
u fleet and the necessary money. SO,
finally, one beautiful soft morning in
August of the year 1919, there was
great stir III the streets of Seville, and
If We had been there and gone down by
the quays we should have seen gliding
slowly ont Of the harbor five sturdy ships
from the decks of which there was q
waving Of plumed hats and flags in an
swer TO those on the quays, and if we
had looked very closely we might have
seen lovely lady gazing with sad and
fearful eyes at n manly figure which
stood high up on the deck of one of the
retreatiGg ships, until it was hidden
from sight by turn in the river. Poor
Magellan's wife! They had not been
married long, and now they had seen
| each other for the last time.
4 But before long they were far out upon
tthe open ocean, sailing southwest, aud
with each new day were revealed won.
4 derful sights aud strange appearances to
their astonishcd eyes. Ar last, Ill De-
cember, they reached the coast Of Brazil,
and after the perlls and bardsLips Ot
! i've months On the sea they were glad
enough to sec land once more, and were
not long in reaching the friendly shoe,
where they perlolmed mass before lit
| tie altar set up on the beach.
And now if adventures, and strange
people, and unknown countries. and
cannibals, were what Magellan was in
search of he surely had them in abun-
dance, and sometimes, perhaps, more
than he wanted. This was not Magel-
lan's chief object, however, but his de-
sire was to make these discoveries Of
new lands and seas for the sake of his
country and world, and TO carry the
| Catholic religion, which was to him the
true one, to the poor ignorant barbaTiaus
i'll these newl7 discovered countries. 1t
was the bravery, the perseverance, the
humanity with which lie carried out this
| plan that has made his name a great one,
! Tor when he might have gained wealth,
fame and power for himself he tnrned
aside from it all 10 bestos 1t on his fel-
low-mcn. They fingered long here on
the Brazilian coast; the land was very
attractive, and the natives friendly. To
one of these they presented large mir
ror, in which the savage beheld his own
| image for the first time, "aud started
back in such fright that he knocked over
| tour men, Leaving here, Magellan
sailed southwark, and on the 2lst of
October, 1920, discovered the passage of
which he was in search. He called it
! the Strait OF the Eleven Thousand Vir-
gins, but now We call ii by bis name, the
Straits of Magellan.
| Sailing through the long and narrow
channel, shut in on either side with
! I,f& H..
ut last out into a broad unruffied ocean
where for days and days steady and
| gentle winds carried them westward.
This ocean, now for the first time trav.
yersed by European nayigators, Magel-
Ian called "the Pacific" Then for
three months they sailed on and on with
no land in view and suffering and dis
ease came upon them from lack OF food
and water. 1t was time Of great dan.
ger and discouraeement,b but at last there
rose up before them groups of beautiful
islands where they were received by
friendly natives, and were strengthened
by the fruits and the water that the is.
lands provided. Magellan took posses.
sion in the name OF Spain, and swore
friendship with the native king, and here
he remained a long time, converting the
barbarians and leading them to exchange
their idols for the cross.
There was q chief of a neighboring
island, however, who refused to pledge
his allegiance to the Spanish king, and
to give up his pagan worship, and Ma
gellan determined to make war upon him
and subdue him. 1t was an unfortunate
decision, for in the battle which fol-
lowed the noble Magellan was over
powered and stoned to death by the bar
barians, who refused to give up his body
to his friends. Thus the brave and gen.
erous Magellan met his end on these
lonely island in-the Pacific Ocean, and
his great ambition to make the circuit
OF the globe fell TO the lot of his survi-
vors. He had already made discoveries
that were enough to make him famous
override world, and the name Of Magel-
lan's Straits will always recall the story
Of this valiant and unselfsh hero who
by his discoveries did 30 much TO benefit
mankind.