The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1931-10-16
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Columbus was much more than twenty -eght
years old, and also because, by virtue of the
capitulations, the monarchs supplied him with
money, men and ships.
when could this conquest of which Column
bus speaks in his memorial which have
quoted have had it's beginning? We have known
for a long time and in a positive manner that
his son Diego was born about 14SO and that
from this date Columbus had not left Portugal
and Spain until August, 1892, when he set out
on the official discovery Consequently, it was
before 1880 that the prediscOvery was made.
should add that when he died. in 1906, he was
more than sixty years old. Therefore, one must
put his age at twenty-eight between 1470 and
$780,"
AS for the Peruvian scholars method Of fix
ing 1477 as the date Of COlumbus's first discOv-
cry" of America he bases it upon passage in
the Historic" attributed to Don Fernando, the
son of Columbus, which was a biography Of
Columbus. One passage in it, came, according
to the book from Columbus himself and in it
Columbus declared that in February, 1477, he
sailed as far as Tile (Iceland) and even lone
hundred leagues beyond"
LET us now mark that Columbus says that
at this date he went 100 leagues beyond Ice
land" says Professor Uloa. "ThOse who deny
the veracity of the great mariner assume that
this 100 leagues should be measured toward tn.
come the pole, far as IS degrees, which
is impossible But early the first year
of the Seventeenth century the Italian annalist
Casoni correctly interpreted, as l have done,
the phrase of Columbus the true meaning Of
which places this 100 leagues to the west. Casoni
thus understood that it was Greenland which
the dscOverer had touched
II have proceeded to much closer verifcation
of this fact by means of photographic docu-
hole of
fury, as well as Danish manuscript documents
brought to light in recent years by Sophus Lar
sen director of the library of the University
of Copenhagen. According to all these sources,
a certain John Scovus visited Greenland, and
even Labrador and Newfoundland about 1476.
For reasons very long to explain, have come to
identify Columbus with this supposed John
ScOlvus, whom some chronclers and historians
have made Dane and others a Pole, going so
far to transform his name to John Strony,
as Humboldt has done. ~
"From the photographed point of view, it is
not difficult to see how the Latin Columbus
(Colubus) should become in Nordic countries
Scolvus (ScOlubus). AS to the change from John
to CHRISTOPHER, l have demonstrated with mum
Der of typical examples how the change of Civ
en- names rather common in the Middle
Ages l have shown that Columbus never spoke
of himself as ChriStophOrus but as 'Xristo-
Ferens, and that this bizarre name half Greek
half Latin, is merely symbolic denomination
of John the Baptist 1t is in no way astonish-
ing that Columbus, when he gave up the life Of
a corsair, which he had followed up to the time
of the prediscovery, took the name of Xristo-
Ferens instead of John.
"In view of the documents relating to the sup
posed Scolvus, one is justified in fixing the date
1476-77 as that of the predscovery made by Co.
lumbus of which there are so many official
witnesses"
More than this the South American historian
declares that Columbus did not stop at Green
land and Newfoundland in his explorations in
those years but that he went as far south as
Florida and he believes, even to Santo Domingo.
SO the time may come when our schoolbook
histories may tell us different tale of the dis
covery of America from the one we now know
And perhaps American schoOlboys will repeat
a couplet different from I'm fourteen hundred
and ninety-two, Columbus sailed the ocean blue T"
viii it be christopher Columbus, by the grace
of heaven reached North America in fourteen
seventy -seven"?
&c by Western Newspaper Union.)