The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1885-02-01
Som. I,Inpprec,s,e., Navigator.

Som. IsLapprecssted NnvIgatars
Nothing attcsts more strikingly than the
history Of navigation the force of Sir Thomas
Brownies assertion that the struggle for inn
mortality 10 essentially a lottery. No one can
rend the annals OF daring and fruitful seainau-
ship without acknowledging that " the iniuuity
OF Oblivion blindly scattereth her poppy and
deals with the memory Of mon without distinc-
ton to merit Of pcrpetuity. Who knows" adds
Browne. whether tho bost Of men be known,
or whether there BIO not moro remarkable per-
! sons forgot than any that stand remembered
in tho known account OF timer" TO tho gen
ernl reader tho names Of Columbus Vasco
| dn CANA. Cabot Magellan. Drake, and
| Cook arc familiar from his school
| days. but how many OF us recall
tho useful lives md gallant deaths OF the early
| Dutch explorers or many once famous exploits
| that light up the dusty chron icle of Spanish.
Portuguese. French, aud even English son adj
yenturep 1t is the special merit Of book COM
| piled by Mr.. C. X. MARKHAM. Tho Sea Fathers
(Cassell CO... that it aims to resuscitate some
| names we'll worthy Of remembrance. and while
| II tersely sketches the careers OF weil-known
| discoverers. like Columbus and Cabot reserves
| largo share OF its space for mon who have not
received due recognition from posterty. Thus
| chapter is devoted to Sebastian dol Cnno. an
| other to tho Dutch navisators. n third to the
| early Voyages performed in tho service Of the
English East India Company. fourth to Will
liam Dampier while in n fifth tho author does
| not omit to tell tho story OF Nathanio Dance.
How many persons II abruptly asked by
| civil service examiners who first circumnavi-
| gated the earth would return tho correct
| swer2 Tho naval commander who. in fact.
| should be credited with this achievement, Is So
! bastian del Cano, seaman OF Spanish or
| rather Basque. descent. and the reader will
|
| worth recoUnting. He WINS one OF tho precur-
sors OF those professional Spanish pilots whose
work reflected lustre on tho naval school or
ganizod at Seville. and to whom the sixteenth
century was indebted for its most valuable
| treatises on navigation. Cano. It seems.
received his training in the rudiments
| Of soamanship as II whaleman In tho
| Boy OF Biscay. where $50 years ago.
| q certai species OF whale was frequently en-
| countered. But in course OF subsequent
| voyages in the Mediterranean and tho Atlantic
he had mastered the whole nautical science OF
| tho epoch before. In 1913. no came to Seville.
whore the Portuguese, Magellan. had been in
trusted BIZ Charles " with tho command Of an
| expedition to prosecute tho search. hitherto
| abortive. for strait through tho new CONT
| nent and westward route to tho Spice Islands.
| Cano obtained tho post OF pilot on ono OF tho
| five vessels which composed the squadron OF
| discovery. and after the successful passage
| through the strait that bears Magellan's name.
| md the death OF tho Portuguese commander
| in mad attack on one Of the Philippine
| Islands. he was promoted by election to tho
| command Of one Of tho two surviving YES
| sels Tho other Captain refused to VEN
| turo on a voyage round tho Capo OF
| Good Hope. and Cano's own men hcsitated
TO risk their lives any further in single leaky
| craft no larger than puny modern yacht. her
capacity being only about eighty tons. Chno.
| however. was determined to circumnav.gate
the globe. and he loft the Moluccas in Decem-
Der. 1921 tmore than two years aftor his de-
parture from Sevilo). and after six months OF
exposure and privation that told fatally upon
his crew. he contrived to double the Cape OF
Good Hope. Even then 1t took him four months
to sight the coast OF Spain. and he reached
Seville almost exactly three years after his
clearance from that port. having In the inter-
! val passed over. according to the ships reck-
| oning. $4,000 miles. We nre told that when
| the remnant OF tho mariners landed they
were as mon risen from the dead. and
| went straightway in Nyocession from tho
vessel to tho churcG les to offer thanks
for their deliverance. @CharIes v. was not I'M
grateful for an achievement that reflected
| honor on the Spanish name. To tho crew he
granted a fourth part OF the royal share OF tho
cargo. and to Cano himself a life pension OF
| I'VE hundred ducats and u coat of-arms with a
u
circumdedisti me-" Within ton months after
he had disembarked at Seville. Cano started on
q second voyage round tho world. but four
months after traversiTg second time tho
Straits Of Magellan. he died in the midst OF tho
| Pacific. and his body was committed to that
vast South Sea. of which he had been one OF tho
| earliest explorers. Overlooked as he too often
| is In English records of discovery his nnmo
| still lives In Spain. and q bronze statue of him
| small ba
| was born.
Tho decentralization Of the globe had como
to DO an old story to Spannrds in the last
| quarter of the seventeenth century. but
although it had been performed also by Eng
lishmen. 1t was still for the latter feat of
extraordinary difficulty and danger. Tho
circumstances under which this voyage WINS
accomplished by William Dampier In 1853 81
were particularly exciting and romantic al
though this part OF the navigator's lie ia
usually neglected In the histories OF discovery.
Dampier. who was at that timo buccancer by
profession. sailed eastward from Accomac in
| Virginia In August. 1GS3. and his first per-
| formance was to capture off the coast OF Africa
Danish ship Of thirty-six guns lie at onco burnt
| his own vessel. rechristened his prizo the
| Bachelors Delight, turned his crew into her
| and set sail for the South Sca. BY March 1854.
he had rounded Cape Horn and reached the
island OF Juan Fernandez whore he found n
Mosquito Indian. named William. who had
| lived there alone for three years. and who was
thus the precursor by some twenty years OF
| Alexander Sclkirk. Thcnce the Bachelors De-
light proceeded to the Galapagos Islands.
which were made a favori.e rendezvous FOR tho
| buccaneers In tho Pacific, After burning tho
town OF PHyta. attacking Gunyaquil and COM
| hitting great havoc along the coast. Dampier.
| in conjunction with othor frecbooters. fought
q pitched baltic with the whole Spanish
fleet off Taboga in Juno. 1885. Next.
nfter burning tho city OF Leon. in Nicaragua.
Dampier resolved to push across tho Pacific to
tho East Indies, but as tho vessel which no
then commanded had but sixty days provis-