Arizona weekly citizen., 1892-08-27
anceS

I
 sunset assume the most singular appear
 ances
 On the following day there were driz-
 zling showers, unaccOmpanied by wind l which Columbus considered Favorable 1 signs; two boobies also flew on board the
 ships, birds which, he observed, seldom
 fly twenty leagues from land. He
 sounded, therefore, with line of 200
 fathOms, but found no bottom He sup
 posed he might be passing between is- | lands lying to the north and south, but
 was unwilling to waste the present fa-
 vOring breeze by going in search of
 them; besides, he had confidently affirmed | that land was to be found by keeping
 steadfastly to the west; his whole expe- | dition had been founded on such pre-
 sumption; he should, therefore, risk all
 credit and authority with his people
 were he to appear to doubt and waver
 and to go groping blindly from point to | point of the compass. He resolved, there
 fore, to keep one bold course always
 westward until he should reach the coast
 of India, and afterward, if advisable, to seek these islands on his return
 Notwithstanding his precaution to
 keep the people ignorant of the distance they had sailed, they were now growing extremely uneasy at the length of the voyage. They had advanced much far ther west than ever man had sailed be- fore, and though already beyond the reach of succor, still they continued dali Ivy IaaxviVcr oP LoL them and pressing onward and onward into that apparently boundless abyss. It is true they had been fiattered by vari- ous indications of land and still others were occurring, but all mocked them with vain hopes; after being hailed with a transient joy they passed away, one after another, and the same intermina- ble expanse of sea and sky continued to extend before them. Even the bland and gentle breeze, uniformly aft, was now cOnjured by their ingenious fears into a cause of alarm; for they began to imag- inc that the wind in these seas might al- ways prevail from the east, and if so, would never permit their return to Spain.
 Columbus endeavored to dispel these gloomy presages, sometimes by argu- ment and expOstulation, sometimes by awakening fresh hopes and pointing out new signs of land. On the 20th of Sep tember the wind veered, with light breeZes from the southwest. These. though adverse to their progress, had cheering effect upon the people, as they proved that the wind did not always pre- vail from the east Several birds also visited the ships; three of a small kind which keep about groves and orchards came singing in the morning and flew away again in the evening Their song cheered the hearts of the disnayed mari ners, who hailed it as the voice of land The larger fowl, they observed, were strong of wing and might venture far to sea, but such small birds were too feeble to fly far, and their singing showed that they were not exhausted by their flight.
 On the following day tl ere was elLner profound calm or light winds from the southwest. The sea, IS far as the eye could reach, was covered with weeds; a phenomenon often observed in this part of the ocean, which has sometimes the appearance of a vast inundated meadow. This has been attributed 10 immense quantities of submarine plants which grow at the bottom of the sea until ripe, when they are detached by the motion of the waves and currents and rise to the surface. These fields of weeds were at first regarded with great satisfaction, but at length they became in many places so dense and matted as in some degree to impede the sailing of the ships, which must have been under very little headway The crews now called to mind some tale about the frozen ocean. where ships were said to be sometimes fixed immovable. They endeavored. therefore. to avoid as much as possible these floating masses, lest some disaster of the kind might happen to themselves. Others considered these weeds as proof that the sea was growing shallOwer. and began to talk of lurking rocks and shoals and treacherous quick- sands and of the danger of running aground, as 1t were. in the midst of the ocean where their vessels might rot and fall to pieces far out of the track of human aid and without any slore where the crews might take refuge They had evidently some confused notion of the ancient story of the sunken island ot Atlantis. and feared that they were ar irving at that part of the ocean where navigation WAS said to be obstructed by drowned lands and the ruins of an in gulfed country
 To dispel these fears the admiral had | frequent recourse to the lead. but though | he sounded with deep sea line he still | found no bottom. The minds of the | ;reyvs. however, had gradually become l diseased They were full of vague ter TOTS and Superstitions faucIes: they con | >tTued everything into cause of alarm | and harassed their commander by in- l cessInt murmurs
 For three days there was a continu- | juce Of light summer airs from the | sOuthward aud westward. and the sea was as smooth as mirror \ whale 1 was seen heaving up its huge form at a distance, which Columbus immediately l pointed out as favorable indication, | aiiEming that these fish were generally | in the neighbOrhoOd of land The crews, however. became uneasy at the cG.nness of the weather. They observed that the contrary winds which they experienced were transient anl unsteady and sO light as not to ruffle the surface of the sea, which maintained a sluggish calm like lake of dead water. Everything differed. they said, in these strange re- gions from the world to which they had