Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1893-06-15
COLUMBUS AT LA RAsIoA.
The Great DISCOVERIES Refuge Before His
lannon's EoYaCe.

-
The Great DISCOVERIES Refuge Before HIS
Famous Voyage.
Near a small town on the coast of
pain. at the junction of two little
rivers. on high bluff close to the sea.
there stood four hundred years ago
low, irregular building with plastered
walls and red-tiled roof surmounted by
an iron cross. It was the convent of
La Rabida, and on the night of August
2, 1892, there slept in one of its little
upper rooms stranger, gaunt and sol
emn, a guest of the monks He was
man who had become known all
through southern Europe as a crank.
Yet his theories were so fascinating
that he was listened to with interest
even by kings, but always dismissed
with smile of pity for his foolishness,
and sigh of regret that his route TO
untold wealth and an undiscovered
country should be impossible. At last.
however. this man Columbus, Genoese
mariner, had gained audience in Spain
with Isabella of CASTLE, wife of Ferdi-
nand of Aragon, and her woman's i'm
agination had been fired with enthusi-
asrn, and her woman's heart filed with
a generous desire to aid the bold eN-
plorer in making his search into the
terrible western ocean Even with the
necessary money, the determined man
was driven almost to despair in his un-
successful efforts to induce others to
join in his enterprise: but destiny fin
ally guided him to the little town of
Palos, and there he found another mar
iner adventurous like himself. who was
besides man of wealth and action and
an owner of ships. Thus 1t happened
that by August L, 1892, three little ships
were ready to set sail from Palos upon
the dangerous voyage.
The guest of the monks had passed
restless, anxious night; and several
times before the first golden streaks of
dawn lighted up the little square win
dow cut through the thick wall, he had
arisen and climbed to the roof of the
convent to look for the favoring breeze
which would watt him westward At
last such a visit brought him eXultant
joy, for across the plains of southern
Spain, still wreathed in the mists of
the morning. straight from the blue
hills outlined against the golden sun
rise there came the favoring easterly
breeze, all fragrant with the odor of
herbs and blossoms. Then he turned
to look down upon his little feet an
chored in the river at the foot OF the
bluff: one of them fairly large, but the
other two tiny craft in which even the
boldest might hesitate to venture far
from land.
The opportunity for which he had
prepared himself since childhood had
at last come, What solemn thoughts
must have filed the mind of that deep
thinking man as he stood on the roof
,& Do ,5 do ~, IN, i
gazed from his little feet out across
that great ocean into which no human
being had dared to lead the way-which
even intelligent men of his time be-
lieved to be filed with strange, fierce
monsters and to be frequently visited
by most terrible storms.
There was no time then. however, to
harbor such disturbing thoughts. The
time for action had come, and Column
bus descended from the roof to join the
monks. already astir. With them he
went down into the little chapel for
last solemn communion with God
within its walls. Then the monks es-
corted him and his followers to the
beach, and he was rowed to the ships
with his head bowed to receive final
blessing. The sails, upon which were
big red crosses, were spread to the
wind, and a breathless, wondering
crowd watched the ships as they glided
down the river, and slowly away, until
lost to sight below the distant horizon.
Not one in the Unlocking crowd eX-
pected to see those little caravels again,
and mothers, sisters and wives wept for
the departed ones as if they had died.
In fact, the largest of the three ships
never returned, for she was wrecked one
calm night by drifting on a coral reef
on the coast of Hayti.
Many months aftervard a little cara
vel, tattered and broken and stained
by terrible storms, sailed into Lisbon,
bringing back the intrepid explorer;
and Christopher Columbus marched
across Spain to stand before Ferdinand
and Isabella at Barcelona, no longer
poor crank from Genoa, but a great
discoverer from the new world!-En-
sign John NJ. Ellicott, q. S. N, in ST.
Il