The News-Herald. [volume] (Hillsboro, Highland Co., Ohio) 1886-1973, 1892-05-26
"A COLUMBUS RELIC.
Tho Oldest Reminder of tho Dis
coveror OF America.
An Anchor That was Used by tho Tn
n NOUS Explorer -Four Hundred
\ Years Ago Found In South
l America.

On the night of the second of August,
1908, the little fleet of Christopher Co
1umbus, the discoverer of America, he
being then upon his third voyage, lay
a. anchor Just off The southwest point
OF tho island Of Trinidad, off the main
land of South America, which he had
seen that day for the first time. Being
( on board Of his ship" says Washington
Irving in his history of the great navi-
gator, slate at night, Kept awake by
painful illness and an anxious and
4 watchful spirit, he heard terrible roar
ing from the south, and behcld the sea
heaped up, as it were, into great ridge
I. or hill, the height of the ship, covered
with foam and rolling toward him with
tremendous uproar. As this famous
surge approached, rendered more terri
bic in appearance by the obscurity Of
the night, he tremblcd for the safety of
his vessels. His own ship was suddenly
lifted up to such height that he dreaded
lest it should be overturned or cast upon
the rocks, while another of the ships
svns torn violently from her anchorage,
leaving her anchor behind her The
crows wore for u time In great conster-
naticn, fearing they should be swal-
lowed up, but the mountainous surge
passed on, and gradually subsidized, at
ter violent contest with the counter
current of tho strait. This sudden rush
of water, it is supposed, was caused by
the swelling of one of the rivers which
6ow into the gulf of Para, and which
were as yet unknown to Columbus"
The anchor thus lost on the night of
August 2, 149s, nearly four hundred
years ago, from ono Of the ships Of Co
lumbus, off the southwest extremity of
Columbus named the spot, vide Irving)
has recently been recovered by Senor
Argostino, the gentleman who now
owns the point Of land in question. It
has the rare merit of being the oldest
relic eXtant of the great navigator and
of the discovery Of America.
AS would be expected from the age of
this relic it is an anchor in the simplest
form of expression. The shaft is round
and eight feet nine inches in length.
At the head of the shaft is round ring
nearly foot in diameter to which the
cable was fastened. The lukes have
spread of about Eve feet. The total
weight is eleven hundred pounds.
This anchor was dug up by Senor Ar
gostino in his garden from u depth of
six feet at the distance Of three hundred
and twcnty-sevcn feet from the nearest
beach of the sea. His first supposition
was that he had stumbled upon relic
of the PhPnicians or of some other of
the ancient nations who have been sup
posed by many to have visited the
ccc-tc e America tI:c;"c-aadL, 0! years
aso. Elt a. examination Of local f.. is
and authorities soon convinced him that
a portion of his garden now occupies
the very post at which the ships Ct Co
lumbus lay at anchor on the night of
August 9. 1893. The land is constantly
rising from the sea along this entire
coast, as has been shown by Humboldt,
Findlay and scores of others who have
written upon this subject, and the rate
of this rising is known to have been
quite sufficient to turn in four hundred
years tho anchorage Of the great fleet
into the garden OF private citizen.
There is not particle OF doubt, there
fore, at the end of the gidinquiry that
has been made that the anchor recently
found by Senior Argosino is really and
truly the lost anchor of Columbus