The World. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1891-1896, 1893-08-12
4 DESPERATE FIGHT.
a MODERN VERSION or An Old
STORY ABOUT COLUMBUS.

pher Columbus Played the Role % .
Pirate How lie Came 20 settle In Lis
bona Savage Battle IL Sea.
II Is one Of those taloa that illustrate
4 tho manners Of this cruel age. Tho
pirates had long been the scourgc Of the
honest Venetian traders. Sometimes
they would Disguise themselves as mer-
chantinen trading peacefully to Gambia
for wine, and then throwing OF their
dieguises, would prey upon all around
them. No morcy was shown In these
fearful contests. Between tho sca rob-
beers aud the merchants there was a
lasting and deadly hostility. II was to
tho pirate class that the Columh BE-
ldnged. and Of all the corsairs Of the
day they were tho most renowned Tho
elder Columbus had apparently lain In
wait In vain for the rich feet that sailed
yearly 70 the north. But he Ind son,
known as Columbus Junior, who fol-
lowed the same profession and whose
true name WINS Nicolo Griego, or Mich
olas the Greek. He at last succeeded III
the project which his father had 20 long
essayed in vain. The prize was tempt
ing one 10 the bold buccaneersn Tho
Flanders galleys with their freight were
valucdat zoo, o0oducats- perhaps e, 0O0,-
900 andwould have proved an Immense
fortune to the captors could they have
retained the spoil.
In iis5 the galleys were equipped with
unusual care Wo have the decree or
the senate under which they set sail.
The Doge Giovanni Moncenigo appoints
tho noble Bartolomeo Mimic captain.
with i salary 81 600 dneats. Four great
4 galleys arc provided, and to each cap
| tain q bounty OF $500 golden ducats Is
promised upon their safe return 10 Ven
Ice. This money was 10 be paid out IL
! the tax ON the Jews, and calls up anew
Shakespearc's unreal picture; II III plain
\ that the merchants Of Venice were the
1 true Shylocks Of tho time. A medical
mnn was assigned 10 the fleet; his salary
was only nine ducats month.
/ Minute rules are given for the con-
duct OF tho expedition. The freight Is
70 DO paid TO the state, No deckloads
OF tin or pewter ware arc allowed, no
/ currants nor molasses are to be stored
III the hold. Two galleys were To 20 10
London or the English ports, the rest 10
Slnys or Bruges. On their passage they
| might touch III Malaga and other ports
| In Spain; on their return ship was de-
tachcd 10 trade with the Mohaimneians
along the Barhary sharc. The yene.
tians were too keen traders not 10 find
profitable markets even III tho lands II
the infdel.
\ Tho Coiunifsi or the GYieRos were at
last TO seize thcir prize. They watched
with seven ships powerful, no doubt.
and we'll equipped off the Spanish coast
to intercept the fleet Of Bartolomeo
Mimic. The commander IL tho pirates
was Nicolo Griego. the son, we are told,
of tho elder Columbus. Ills father had
disappeared from sight. But with him
In tho pirate ships was another Column
bus, tho future discovercr and admiral
of the Indies In his Life Fernando
Columbus BOASTS OF his fathers share in
this famous cngagcment--fa famous be-
cause IL led to the settlement Of Column
bus at Lisbon, his marriage aud his fu-
ture exploits.
IIe was now man Of MT least fifty.
hardened by thirty-eix years OF ceaseless
adventure, What position no held In
the pirate fleet, whether ns commander
or seaman, his son does not tell. We
only know that he served under his
relative, Columbus or Griego, and that
no fought with desperate energy in the
famous sea fight of Cape st. Vincent.
The corsairs, or Columbi, approached
their prey In the evening. They waited
all night on the still Atlantic, and In
the morning rushed upon the Venetians.
twas seven, perhaps eight, ships against
four. The galleys were heavy laden
and unmanageable compared to their
swift assailants. The Columbi had owl
IDENTIFY resolved 10 make sure Of their
prey. They sailed under the French
flag, and may have been fitted out In
Genoa. TWAS the custom Of the pirates,
it seems, to assume false colors. But
dreadful was the contest and fierce the
fight that ragged all day, as Columbus
had told his son, ON tho tranquil sea-
thescene, nearly four centuries later, or
the battle Of st. Vincent his nara
tive is confirmed by the Venetian ar
chives. Tho four great galleys under
Bartolomeo Mimic defended themselves
with unfailing courage.
From the first to the twentieth hour
they beat off their savage assailants.
The ships grappled with each other and
fought hand to hand. They used, we
are told, artificial fire, and the pirates
fastened their ships to the galleys By
hooks and iron chains. Then, no doubt.
they boarded and were at last success
full. And then Fernando Colon relates
the romantic incident that ned, he thinks.
to the discovery Of new world. The
ship in which his father fought was
dashed by chains and hooks to q great
Venetian galley, The Venetians seem
to have set Columbus ship ON FIRE. The
flames consumed both vessels. The only
resource left to the survivors was to leap
into the sea.
Columbus. an excellent swimmer,
seized an oar that hoated near him, and
partly resting on it aud partly swimming,
sustained himself in the water. He knew
that he was about six miles from the land.
the coast Of Portugal, and made his way
toward it. Wearied, half inanimate, he
was dashed upon the shore. He had
much difficulty in reviving himself.
But he was near Lisbon and made his
way, shipwrecked, penniless seaman.
to the Portuguese capital. Eugene Law
renee in Harper's
d a