Daily independent. [volume] (Elko, Nev.) 188?-1915, 1892-06-13
A COLUMBUS RELIC.
The Oldest Reminder Of the Dis
coverer Of America
An Anchor That Was Used by the Fa-
nous Explorer -Four Hundre
Years Ago Found In South
America.

On the night of the second of August,
1903, the little fleet of Christopher Co
lCmbuS, the discoverer of America, he
being then upon his third voyage, lay
ut anchor just off the southwest point
OF the 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, late at night, kept awake by
painful illness and an anxious. and
watchful spirit, he heard a terrible roar
ing from the south, and beheld the sea
hcaped up, as it were, into a great ridge
or hill, the height of the ship, covered
with foam and rolling toward him with
a tremendous uproar. As this famous
surge approached, rendered more terri
bic in appearance by the obscurity Of
the night, he trembled for the safety of
his vessels. His own ship was suddenly
lifted up to such a height that he dreaded
lest it should be overturned or cast upon
the rocks, while another of the ships
was torn violently from her anchorage,
leaving her anchor behind her. The
crews were for Il tim. in great conster-
nation, fearing they should be swal-
lowed up, but the mountainous surge
passed on, and gradually subsidized, af-
ter n violent contest with the counter
current Of the strait. This sudden rush
of water, it is supposed, was caused by
the swelling of one of the rivers which
flow into the gulf Of Para, and which
were as yet unknown TO Columbus"
The anchor thus lost on the night of
August =, 1893, nearly four hundred
years ago, from ono Of the ships of Co
lumbus. off the southwest extremity of
the island Cf Trinidad point Aranal. as
Columbus named the spot, vide Irving)
has recently been recovered by Senior
Arg0stino, the gentleman who now
owns the point of land in question. 1t
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 Get nine inches IN length.
AZ the head Of The shaft is a. round ring
nearly IL foot in diameter to which the
cable vas fastened. The tlukcs have q
spread of about five feet. The total
weight is eleven hundred pounds.
This anchor was dug up by Senior Ar
gOstino in his garden from a depth of
six feet at the distance of three hundred
ARD twcnty-scven feet from the nearest
hrach of the sea. His first suppositiOn
"as that he had stumbled upon q relic
It the Phmnicians or Of some other of
thc ancient nations who have been sup
posed by many to AVE visited the
consts of America thousands Of years
ago. But an examination CT local facts
and authorities soon convinced him that
portion of his garden now occupies
the very post at which the ships Of Co
lTmbus lay ut anchor on the night of
August 2, 140S. 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
Guisc sufficient to turn in four hundred
Years the anchorage of the great fleet
into the garden of a private citizen.
here is not a particle of doubt, there
i)rc, at the end of the rigidinquiry that
las been made that the anchor recently
fund by Senior Argostino IL really and
truly the lost anchor of Columbus.