Juniata sentinel and Republican. [volume] (Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa.) 1873-1955, 1892-10-26
HOW COLUMBUS WAS WRECKED.

GuacaDQari was eager to see more OF
the Spaniards, and sent numbers of his
light hearted people to welcome them
and bring them gifts of every sort.
Their enthusiasm was upbounded, their
generosity uUstinted. The land was
gay with festivities, the sea swarmed
with canoes. On nearing the caravels,
the In ians that crowded them stood
up, rendering all kinds of offerings with
gestures of devotion, as in idolstrous
worship.
Beholdlng all this enthusiasm, Col.
umbus dispatched a formal embassy to
GuacaCagari, and on hearing their re-
port he determined, despite the pre-
vailing land brs eze, to weigh anchor
and sail to the domlnions of his friends,
which were some five leagues distant.
He set out at dsybreak on Dec. "a.
Little progress was made during ali
that day. The night came, Christmas
Eve, and Columbus determined to
celebrate 1t as best befitted his own
health and the comfort of his crew by
enjoying a sound sleep. He retired.
worn out by three nights of vigil fol-
lowing three days of hereulean labor.
Sweet must have been his restl His
ul5CpNOI v Vi lllhl lie" nOI1u "lObS
existence had been denied, the endless
upsprir ging of Eden isles, the simple
races bound to nature bvsuch ID mysterious
ties and soon to be brought into the
fold of civilization and Christianity,
must have filled his mind with happy
dreams on this the first restful Christ
mas Eve he had passed in thirty years
of titanic contest with all the world,
and at times even with his own self.
1t was midnight, when the echoes
of childhood and of times long past all
the slumbering ear. The heavens
smiled, and the sea was calm. The
sailors slept soundly, sure of their
bearings and sea room, because preceded
by the little feet of skiffs and canoes
sent by Columbus to the Indian King.
A ships boy held the helm, so assured
were they all of the fairness of the
weather and the safety of the course
when the bagship suddenly struck upon
sunken reef Columbus instantly
OWNED his peril, and hurried on deck.
With lightning rapidity he gave orders
to cut away the mast and throw the
cargo overheard. But the remedy was
futile; it was no 4nere stranding, it was
a wreck.
With the desertion OF the Pinta and
the loss of the Santa Maria, only the
smallest and frailest of the three cara
vAls that had set sail from Pslos re-
mained, He went on board the Nina,
and sent a fresh embassy to Guacana-
garI, giving an account of the disaster,
while he stood off and on till day broke
When the chief learned the misfortune,
he sought in every way TO alleviate it,
spariCg neither means nor sacrifice.
Disastrous indeed it was to face such
superstitious races, who confde1 in
the prosperity and success of the super
natural, with ths slender remnants of
such a wreck, which showed how the
the sea overcOmes all created things
and bows us all to Its sovereign power.
But the sentiment of hospitality was
uppermost in that faithful tribe and in
their kindly monarch. All the succor
needed in that sad hour, and all requi-
site provisions for the future, were
given the sufferers with admirable Or
derliness- The salvage of the wreck
was piled on shore and, under the
chiefs orders, scrupulously guarded by
the natives as though 1t were their own.
The cargo was rapidly discharged and
stored in place of safety, without the
loss of a pms point.-E'uatL,o CASTELAR,
| IA the Century.