The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1891-10-16

/ are rare, so Ws1en the sea BecOmeS iTTi
tated, it is terrible. 1t breaks all bounds
oyerfows the country, sweeps away ali
/ things that oppose it, and leaves fright
full ravages behind to mark the extent ol
its inundations 1t is after these tenn
| pests, known by the name of hurricanes
that the shores are covered with marine
shells, which greatly surpass in lustel
and beauty those of the European seas.
It is q singular fact, however. that the
| hurricanes, which almost annually dev.
astate the Bahamas and other islands
| in the immediate vicinity of Cuba, have
been seldom known to extend their in.
fuence to this favored land. 1t would
seem as if the very elements were
charmed into gentleness as they ap-
| preached it.
In kind Of riot of the imagination,
Colum bus finds at every step something
to o'corroborate the information he had
received, or fancied he had received,
from the natives. He had conclusive
proofs, as he thought, that Cuba pos
sessed mines of gold and groves OF
spices, and that its shores abounded with
| pearls. He no longer doubted that it
was the island of Cipango, and weighing
anchor coasted along westward. in which
direction, according to the signs of his
| interpreters, the magnificent city of its
king was situated In the course Of his
voyage he landed occasionally, and visit
ed several villages, particularly one on
the banks of large river, to. which he
gave the name Of Rio de los Mares.
The houses were neatly built of
branches of palm trees in the shape Of
| pavilions, not laid out in regular streets
| but scattered here and there among the
groves and under the shade of broad
| spreading trees, like tents in a camp-as
is still the case in many Of the Spanish
settlements, and in the villages in the
interior of Cuba. The inhabitants fled
to the mountains or hid themselves in
| the woods.
Columbus carefully noted the archi-
lecture and furniture of their dwellings,
The houses were better built than those
he had hitherto seen. and were kept ex-
| tremely clean. He found in them rude
statues and wooden masks carved with
considerable ingenuity. All these were
| indications of more art and civilization
than he had observed in the smaller is
| lands, and he supposed they would go on
increasing as he approached terra firma
Finding in all the cabins implements for
fishing, he concluded that these coasts
were inhabited merely by fishermen,
who carried their fish to the cities in the
| interior. He thought also he had found
the skulls of cows. which proved that
there were cattle in the island; though
these are supposed to have been skulls of
the manati or seacalf found on this coast
After standing to the northwest for
| some distance, Columbus came in sight
of great headland. to which, from the
groves with which it was covered. he
gave the name of the Cape of Palms,
and which forms the eastern entrance to
| what is now known as Laguna de Moron.
Here three Indians, natives of the island
Of Guanahani, who were on board of the
Pinta, informed the commander, Mar
| tin Alonzo Pinzon. that behind the cape
there was river, whence it was but
four days journey to Cubanacan, a place
abounding in gold. By this they desig-
| mated a province situated in the center
of Cuba-nacan, in their language, sig
nifying the midst. Pinzon, however,
had studied intently the map Of Tosca-
| nelli, and had imbibed from Columbus
all his ideas respecting the coast of Asia.
He concluded, therefore, that the Indians
were talking Of Cublai Khan, the Tartar
sovereign, and of certain parts of his
dominions described by Marco Polo. He
understood from them that Cuba was
not an island, but terra frma, extending
a vast distance to the north, and that the
king who reigned in this vicinity was at
war with the great khan.
This tissue of errors and misconcep-
tions he Immediately communicated to
Columbus. It put an end to the delusion
in which the admiral had hitherto in
| aulged, that this was the island of Gi-
pango; but it substituted another no less
agreeable. He concluded that he must
have reached the mainland of Asia, or,
| as he termed it, India, aud if SO, he could
not be at any great distance from Mangi
and Cathay, the ultimate destination Of
bis voyage. The prince in question, who
reigned over this neighboring country,
must be some oriental potentate of con-
sequence; he resolved, therefore, to seek
the river beyond the Cape of Palms and
dispatch present to the monarch with
one of the letters of recommendation
| from the Castilian sovereigns, and after
visiting his dominions he would proceed
to the capital of Cathay. the residence of
the grand khan.
Every attempt to reach the river in
| question, however, proved Intellectual.
Cape stretched beyond cape; there was
no good anchorage; the wind became
contrary, and the appearance of the
heavens threatening rough weather, he
put back to the Rio de los Mares.
On the 1st of November. at sunrise, he
sent the boats ON shore to visit several
houses, but the inhabitants fled to the
woods. He supposed they must have
mistaken his armament for one of the
securing expeditions sent by the grand
khan to make prisoners and slaves. He
sent the boat on shore again in the after
noon with an Indian interpreter, who
! was instructed TO assure the people of
the peaceable and beneficent intentions
| Of the Spaniards. and that they had no
connection with the grand khan. After
the Indian had proclaimed this from the
boat to the savages ON the beach, part of
It, no doubt, to their great perplexity, he
| threw himself into the water and SWAN
| to shaFa. He was well received by the
n0fivaa and cr1renadad on nfFaok,,oII,, l.,