New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1912-09-29
Contention of DR.. Horta, if
Confirm d, Would Rob
Columbus Day o. IT.
terest for Italians.

was Columbus. the discCverer of Amer
,,o Srariard ana not an Italian? Had
So levi, h blood in his veins? Is his per-
sonal statement that he was born in
Genoa incorrect, and if so, why did he
make II? II he was not the son of
600, cornber Of Genoa, why should the
r,s,ians Of the United states be so inter-
tod IN celebrating october l. with pro-
esssiors banners ard fireworks In his
hnCr?
Among the many sayings credited TO
.,r,ain well known American now trav-
ding across the country is one to the
fleet that In the twentieth century the
truth about all things will he revealed
nd This revelation viii Ue the notable
TACT of the era. This therefore. is the
time 10 reveal anything Wnich may De
hidden about the man who MADE an egg
stand on end. or is believed to have ac-
eomplished this wonderful feat. The ed
tiers of the papers of New Yorn early in
the week received from Dr Constantine
dc Horta Pardo, Of Havana cheValier
II the knights Of Colon, member Of the
ROYAL Spanish Geographical Society. etc,
\ pink paper covered. illustrated PAM
inlet. Ga verdadcra Cuna dc Crstobal
colon" containing about a hundred pages,
and a letter reproduced in four languages,
presenung the claims OF Spain to tie
honor of being the birthplace Of the IA
nous navigator.
The pamphlet contains the fruits OF
thirty years OF careful historical investi-
CATION by Or. Cclso Garcia de Ia Riega,
an historian and biographer of Columbus
According TO the letter, the pamphlet
which Is I'm Spanish, rs being sent to AL
thr governments ministers, ambassadors
eonsuls, universities, Institutes acade-
mics, colleges, societies Of culture, eccle-
slastc, civic and military authorities Of
the Iatin-American countries" with the
end that they shall take cognizance Of
the right Of all o. Spanish ancestry TO
throw zap their hats for Columbus as one
Of themselves and not an Italian. The
proofs which are presented are Of interest.
MAY HAVE BEEN A sPANIARD.
The claims made for Columbus, or
Colon. as the Spaniards spell his name,
are that he was a native of Pontevedra,
q maritime town al the head Of a bay
near the boundary of Portugal In Galacia,
IN Spain; that his mother was a Jcwess
and perhaps his father was also OF the
Hebrew faith. and that owing 10 the In
QUESTION and the autagonlsm 20 Jews in
Spain whoa ne received the riCht in per-
petuty IN l4sS to entail his titles and
estates, he declared himself To- be a ma
tive Of Genoa. where there was a noted
family Of navigators named Colombo.
In the days Of Colon and earlier. the
Fyiter points out. Galicia and Portugal
g,re tho homes Of adventurous uavsatOrs
Eho acquired fame for their discoveries
n the areas Of the Atlantic TO tho west
Uard and the southwark, even venturing
o the Dark Sea" rs the unknown
waters beyond the green isles OF the
Azores were called. IN lD9 they found
Cape Non, which was believed TO be a
boundary Of the habltable world. They
discovered IN the succeeding years of the
aftecntb century the Msdeiras, the
Azores. the Cape Verde sands Cape
Bojador. Cape Blarco, Senegal, the isle
ands OF Fernando Pc. and, IN 1885, the
Galcian pilot. BartolOme DiaZ, SAILING
from Lisbon. rounded the Cape OF Good
Hope
The Galicians were intrepid. u was nat
ural that they and the Portuguese should
be the ones 10 explore the mysteries OF
the unknown seas outside Of the Med!ter-
,anean for their coasts frOnted on the
Atlantic and were further westward than
those OF any other European peoples OK
cept those in Western ireland and in Ice
land. II is sand that Coon knew the
bays along the coast so well that he
could pilot q vessel into any of them on
the darkest night a feat. II IS believed
be would have been incapable Of perform
Ing If he had not become acquainted with
the coast In his youth. This is counted
an indication that his early years were
spent along the Galician and Portuguese
coasts and not in Italy, as they almost
certainly would have been had he been
born in Genoa.