New-York tribune., 1911-04-23
THE REAL COLUMBUS
Henry Vignaud's History of the
Discovery of America.

Paris, April 1.
NJ Henry Vignaud, president OF the
Society of Amercanists, who for many
years occupied the place of first secre-
tary of the American Legation in Paris,
has completed two massive octave vol
umes of 13O pages each entitled His
toire Critique de la Grande Enterprise
dc Christophe Colombo" just published
by Welter. In this work, which repre-
sents nearly half a century of labor. NJ.
Vignaud has exhausted the subject Of
the discovery of America by Christopher
Columbus. Information from every
known source has been collected. scrut
nized. analyzed. sifted and thrashed out.
conscientiously and with scientific acu-
men. Not only this, but NJ. Vignaud has
accomplished for Columbus very much
what Boswell did for DR.. Johnson. but
without entertaining for the hero Of his
biography Boswells almost idolatrous
admiral ton. In the chapter 'ChronolOge
Documentairc" one learns just what
Columbus did each year. almost each
month, of his life. a characteristic feat
ure Of NJ. Nignaud's work, which gives it
paramount historic value. is that he has
submitted statements hitherto accepted
as true to a process of rigid cross-exam
inatiOn. as il were.
This is accomplished by means of a
vast store Of documents, letters. records,
testimony of witnesses and other evil
4 I,s md
taken from original sources quite inde
pendent of information furnished by
Columbus and his friends, who, accord
ing to the author formed and perpetu-
ated a sort of columbian sect" 1t ap-
pears that all the histories and biog-
raphies Of Columbus have hitherto been
based upon records left by the 'Coum-
bus sect" VI. Nignaud has subjected all
these statements TO contemporaneous
evidence from other sources. This has
led to results quite different from the
traditional Columbian legend which to
this day prevails. NJ vignaud has
wisely and pathetically placed on his
title page the conclusion of Herbert
Spencer, that demonstration fails to
change established opinions" The COM
mon belief with which the average
schoolboy nowadays is imbued is that
Columbus. starting out from Palos In
search of tho back door of Asia, found
himself knocking at the front door of
America NJ. Vignaud shows that Colum-
bus discovered America not by accident
I'm striking Unexpectedly against a land
which he took for Asia. but accom-
plished his grand mission owing to the
special. exclusive information obtained
from a pilot, whose name is unknown
and who had returned TO Portugal from
the Antilles. Columbus felt absolutely
convinced that some land-that described
by the pilot-existed to the west Of the
Azores. and he consequently made UP his
mind to reach and explore it, and by per-
sistent search he did so. This is much
more creditable to Columbus than the
theory of accidental discovery attributed
TO him. Every statement put forward
by NJ. Vignaud is supported by docu-
mentary evidence. The problem whether
llle ulScONtTy OF AIHeTlCd Dy columbus
was due to mere chance or to calculated
research is thus solved.
The undertaking of Columbus was not |
at all like the exploit of Cabral in 1901, |
who during a voyage to India was by |
stress of weather driven ashore on the |
coast of Brazil. 1t was, on the contrary |
according To NJ. Vignaud. discovery of |
carefully thought out preparation, like |
that of Neptune by Duverrier. who CAL
culated the exact position OF the planet |
before he actually saw it. The material |
results are. however, the same whether |
America was found by accident or by |
premeditated scientific reasoning. Dis
oovery was ''in the air." and gives force |
TO the familiar remark OF Robertson. |
that If America had not been discovered |
by Columbus Ii would certainly have
been found Dy some one else a few years |
later NJ vignaud points out that the |
real merit of Columbus-and that which |
distinguished him from the sea advent