The Columbian. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1866-1910, 1898-09-01
A GREAT NAVIGATOR.
HOW DE CANA, OF PORTUGAL DIS.
COVERED INDIA.

he RANKS Next to Columbus Among tho
Great DISCOVERIES of History More
Worthy OF Comme moration Than tho
The world would be poor without
the records of its great soldiers, scien-
lists and navigators. And the latter
though they are seldom emblazoned
WITH those national glories which are
the rewards of war are frequently
more worthy of commemoration than
the heroes of great anl decisive bat
ties. Among navigators the name OF
Vasco De Cana holds prominent
place. He ranks next to Columbus
among the great discoverers Of history.
To sail forth nowadays aided by
chart and compass is not considered
feat OF enduring renown because the
extension of knowledge has made us
familiar with nearly all parts of the
universe save perhaps those immedi-
ately around both poles. But in the
days when the Mediterranean sea was
believed to be the center of the world,
and when the science of navigation
@~S oAaSioeoto Ihdh dt pIcbout, q
man seized by the inspiration that
there existed such places as India or
America was a more sublime. being
than he who to-day discovers the
North Pole.
Such pioneer was De Cana. II
was he who first sailed from Europe
to the East Indies and thus opened the
way for that lucrative commerce which
has followed in the wake of his dis
coveries. Such feat required more
Intelligence, resolution and courage
than any man had ever previously
manifested, and certainly more than
Columbus could fairly lay claim to. In
short Vasco De Cana deserves to be
regarded among the first of great navi-
gators. He was not Spaniard; he
was a Portuguese and came to be cele-
brated in this way:
Manual, King of Portugal, was sit
ting one day in the window of his
palace, overlooking the courtyard and
thinking who among all his subjects
was best equipped to lead an expedi-
tion to explore distant lands. The
King had Quilt four strong vessels for
this purpose, the largest of which,
however, was only the size of a modern
fshfng smack, being only about 120
tons. But such vessel was in that
early age considered a triumph of nau-
tical science, and King Manuel was
and was sorely perplexed in an en-
deavor to discover the best man In his
very proud of his exploring fiotilla:
Kingdom to take charge Of the expedi-
tion. While the King was thus turn
ing over events In his mind 1t chanced
that Vasco De Cana passed across the
courtyard In the presence OF King
Manuel.
THAT is the man who will stop at
nothing; who sailed with the last ex-
pedition to Africa, and to whom I
will entrust this one. Call De CANA"
said the King to one of the courtiers,
-'and let him be conducted before me
without delay"
The King Of Portugal knew his char
aeter well enough to entrust to De
Cana the expedition upon which he
had set his heart, and having conveyed
his instructions to the great naviga-
tor, De Cana set sail from Lisbon.
July 8, 1897. After three months and
twenty-six days they sailed into the
Bay of st. Helena near the Cape of
Good Hope. There they went on
shore and found a race of men very
ignorant and savage and who well
coined them at first, but later hurled
upon them a shower Of stones and
1ayelins. The quarrel was precipitated.
1t is said. through one Of De Gama's
sailors evincing disposition to 20
away fifth the newly-found savages,
the Portuguese sailor being particular
Iy. attracted to one Of the colored
Venuses who was In the party. De
Cana insisted upon the amorous sail
or rejoicing his expedition, and so a
battle began In which De Cana and
four of his crew were wounded before
they succeeded in rescuing the impu-
dent sailors. Nine days later they
landed in the Bay of st. Braz after
rounding the Cape and suppressing a
mutiny on board which latter insdent
tried the patience Of vasco De CANA
and the discipline Of the crew. Here
1hey first learned of the existence of
the elephant. Later they went ashore
on the island Of Natal. Here again
the sailors who were always bent on
exploring the shore fell in with two
richly dressed merchants of India
and who turned out later to be Ma
homedan merchants who traded the
rich fabrics of India to the KAT
frs, and with their assistance he reach
ed the Island Of Madagascar. India,
these merchants told him, lay beyond
the islands of Madagascar some two
thousand miles, thus giving to the
6rooping heart of the navigator the
first real assurance that the object of
the expedition would be accomplished.
Continuing his journey for fourteen
days of pleasant sailing De Cana and
mis- crew approached Mozambique.
When they saw on shore the tall
atno - - ~ A