Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1892-02-01

pOSikiOu 1tt<AOelfd onOuiu lOC De per-
mitted to-hold the place which by rights
Queen Victoria should hold. Victoria
is very different from Isabella. She is
upright as a monarch, and has never
once stepped aside from the path of
duty in order to crafty her own selfish
wishes. She has put in her little old eight
hours per day reigning just the same as
she would if God Lad told her to stand
behind counter and rap on the show
case and call "cash" for the same num-
Der of years.
So the historian says that Queen Isa-
bella, hoping for new realms to govern
and for several new sealskin sacques on
the return of Columbus, babe him god
speed and made him sign a cast iron
contract to turn over all his discoveries
to her and Ferdina nd. Then, believing
that the great traveller would strike Asia,
they gave him letter of introduction
to the khan of Tartary instead of letter
to Sitting Bull, as they should have done,
and he set out.
He was to be commodore of Long
Island sound if he succeeded. and gov
ernor general of Constable's Hook. He
was, by contract, permitted 10 retain
One-tenth of all gold, silver, pearls,
precious stones and pelts found on the
voyage after the costs had been de-
Quoted
The biographer Of Columbus tells US
that the story about Isabella having
pawned her jewels to fit out Columbus
on his trip Will not do at all. She and
Ferdie just simply cast an anchor to
windward, hoping to get a controlling
interest in the Standard Oil company be-
fore anybody else did so.
And so the story gradually comes down
to the spinal column of lust for gold, not
only on the part of his royal hackers, but
even Columbus and his crew were out
for the dust and that alone. What a
commonplace tale after our scheolboy
wonder and admiration. Wherever Co.
lumhus landed he asked if gold existed
there. If not. he assessed the natives so
much cotton per head. When there was
gold, it was a hawks bill of this metal
per man and a calabash Of gold per
chief. The rotun lily of the earth did
not worry him so much as his own
rotundite.
Finally Columbus got to lying again
He gave offices to his relatives, not only
to his wife's family, but-at last he got
reckless and began to hand out offices to
his numerous children. - 1t was then
time to call halt, as the local Genoa
papers so truly 81 d, and when he offered
to open up a slave trade between Spain
and the Bahamas people lost faith in him.
1t is pretty well settled that Columbus
drew the prize for first seeing land,
when as a matter Of fact one of his men
was first to see it. and that he put the
money into watch with peach stone
charm on the chain.
Columbus had been dead $50 years be
fore he learned that his discovery was
not part of Asa. We can imagine
him now, as he rode along the Jersey
coast, inquIIing for the All Khoond of
Swat. to whom he had a letter from
Ferdinand. | can see him now at the
Potter building or the Mills building
asking for the khan of Tartary, or try
ing to find his telephone number on a
pink pamphlet al the ferry.
Yet we might rs well give to Column
bus the glory Of this great discovery,
whether he did / accidentally or from a
mercenary point Of view purely. We
viii let that go.
The time is rire for celebration. Let
us celebrate. When Columbus came
here Patrick Henry had not even been
surmised; Henry Clay had not been
thought of.
The application of electricity had not
been dreamed of, and the pink tea was
yet unborn. Oh what strides have been
made even in one century, and in 400
years the change has been most marvel
Gus. The use of ensilage at the time of
the discovery of America was yet in its
infancy. Lots Of people did not know
what it was. II is so even now.