The prison mirror. [volume] (Stillwater, Minn.) 1887-1894, 1892-10-13
Ferdinand's Neglect of Columbus.

Ferdinand's Neglect of Columbus.
Columbus was a remarkable man.
Ambitious but not unjustly so; but
possessing religious temperament bor-
dering on fanaticism-b believing that he
had been chosen by God to spread His
teachings among the untaught. Skilled
as he was in the art of navigation, it is
not surprising that he undertook and
succeeded in what was generally con-
sidered an insane project. At an early
age he manifested a decided taste for
the study of geography, and an inclina
ton to follow nautical life. The dis
cOveries of the Portuguese mariners in
famed his vivid imagination. He be-
came convinced that one-third of the
world remained undiscovered, and that
by sailing west from the coast of Spain,
he would eventually reach the shores
of Asia or some fruitful island. This
theory no sooner became firmly rooted
in his mind, than he began to plan it's
execution. He first sought the aid of
his native city, Genoa, but was unsuc-
cessful. Attracted to Portugal by the
liberality in which John II. treated nav
igators, he sought the patronage of that
monarch, but he considered Columbus
mad adventurer and turned a deaf
ear to his pleadings.
But instead of being crushed by ad-
versity, each disappointment he en-
cOuntered only served to strengthen
him, and made him cling to his purpose
with tenacity that death alone could
conquer. Presenting his plans to sew
eral of the nobility of Spain he at last
interested the Duke of Medina Cell in
his behalf, who fearing Columbus would
carry his proposal to the king Of
France, wrote to Queen Isabella recon-
mending him to her. The Queen sent
for Columbus, but as Spain was at war
with the MOOrS it was some months be-
fore he was granted an audience. After
many annoying delays, he was furnished
with two vessels by the court of Spain,
and with the assistance of Martin
AlOnZO PinZOn he secured another. The
details of his remarkable voyage are too
well known for me to repeat them
When we contrast the palatial grey
hounds that ply the seas to-day, with
the frail vessels of Columbus, we can
not but admire his courage and forti-
tude in undertaking this perilOus ex-
pedition. We see him leave behind the
whole civilized world, and plunge into
uncertainty, beset by a multitude of
dangers, without a reliable map or
chart, and surrounded by mutinous fol-
lowers, steer boldly across a trackless
sea, and add hemisphere to the map
of the WOrld-Open new world to civ
ilized man, and bring the boon of civil
ization to thousands of savages. His
visionary mind Over-estimated every
thing. The small golden ornaments of
the Indians suggested untold wealth:
in the groves he saw the rich spices of
the Orient. So firm was his belief that
he had found "the land of milk and
honey that on his return from his first
voyage, he made VOW that in seven
years he would equip an army to rescue
the Holy Sepulchre from the grasp Of
the unbeliever. This VOW might seem
extraordinary to us but when we con-
slider the religious fervOr of the people
of Columbus time there is nothing un-
common in it. He asked only just re-
cOmpense for his services, and sought
wealth that he might devote it to char
liable purposes. Some have said that
ambition was Columbus ruling passion,
but are not genius and ambition closely
related? Columbus obtained the idea
that the land he discovered was part Of
the continent of Asia through reading
the writings of Marco Polo. The errO-
neous statements of this traveller were
| accepted as truths by Columbus, and