Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1940-10-10
Of Stors, Men
And Atoms
Notebook Of Science Progress
In Field, Laboratory
And Study
BIZ Thomas r. Henri.


Of the Library Of Congress which shows
that the continent Of South America
was discovered by sailors Of Christopher
Columbus in 1494-four years earlier
than the first sight OF the mainland Of
the New World by Columbus himself.
The manuscript, for the authenticity
Of which there is convincing internal
evidence, is considered one of the most
significant historical discoveries Of the
generation. The find was made by DR..
william J. Wilson Of the library staff
while sorting over manuscript material
guese voyagers.
1t is q copy Of q letter written to
Domenico Malipiero, Venetian admiral,
by Angelo Trevisan, a secretary at the
Venetian Embassy In Spain, who APP
parently had been commissioned to
report back to Venice all the facts he
could gather concerning the Columbus
voyages. Apparently this was the last
of eight reports he sent to his employer,
a six-page letter containing the latest
information he had been able to pick up.
Presumably Trevisan had actually talked
with some Of the men who took part in
the voyage. The letter was placed
between two others and completely lost
sight Of over the years
Finally the entire manuscript was pur-
chased at a London auction by John
Boyd Thatcher, biographer Of Columbus.
It was bequeathed to the Library OF
Congress by his widow. Presumably he
himself never saw the inclosed letter.
At least he never mentioned it in his
writings
The date Of the letter was 1903. 1t is
known that Columbus had explored the
southern coast Of Cuba in the summer
Of 1894, and that he had planned further
voyages when he was taken sick and had
to be carried ashore at Fort Isabella,
lasted for five months.
1t was during this time according to
the Trevisan letter that he dispatched
five small ships, or caravels. with instruc-
tons to sail southwark in search of a
lake of pearls Of which he had heard
from Cuban natives. This expedition,
1t seems clear from Trevisan's report.
actually landed on the mainland Of
South America.
The weakness of the manuscript, DR..
Wilson says, is that the exact date
"l494' is not mentioned but the internal
evidence is such that there can be little
doubt it was this year that Trevisan
had in mind.
Says DR.. Wilson: What may fairly be
said to be proved is perhaps this: first.
that the Thatcher manuscript describes
a voyage by some Of Columbus men from
Hispaniola to certain pearl fishery
on the coast of Venezuela, and then
$500 miles, or about a months sailing,
probably as far as Honduras; second.
that Angelo Trevisan thought this oc-
CURED between September and Novem-
Der of 1894: third, that Columbus in
1893 acted as if he knew of this previous
discovery and was trying to find the
place; and. fourth, that his description
Of the landing of his men on the shores
OF the Gulf of Para contains certain
verbal similarities to the narrative in the
Thatcher manuscript, and is therefore
under suspicion of having been slightly
and perhaps half unconsciously colored
by that previous report
Undoubtedly, he points out, the captain
OF the expedition reported directly to
Columbus on his return to Hispaniola.
Columbus himself never included this
in his own report Of his second expedi-
ton. There is some evidence, DR.. Wilson
believes, that this was the chief reason
for his eventual arrest. Sailors who
took part in the expedition had returned
to Spain and gossiped about the wealth
Of pearls they had seen. 1t looked as
though the admiral was trying to hide
something from his employers.
The suspicion is increased he believes,
by the fact that on his own last voyage
Columbus sailed in as straight a line
as possible for the fabulous lake of
pearls although he failed to find it.
The outward voyage from Cuba is
described thus: They therefore, setting
out and keeping close to land, ex-
perienced intense and excessive heat
which they could scarcely endure, ana
the water ran low in the barrels and
the hoops burst, so that they decided
to drop down more towards the south
westward. The farther they got away
from the southeast the greater mildness
they found in the air.
And tremendous rain poured down
on them as they caught sight of land.
And the islanders from the island of
Hispaniola who were with them began
to beat and bemoan themselves, declar-
ing that they were lost and drowned,
because where they were going towards
land all the banks were very large and
high, so that no one could escape. The
crew Of the caravels asked where these
banks and cliffs ended. The islanders
pointed out cape where, they said, was
lake in which they fished and got
pearls. The sailors set their course side
ways to the wind, or northeast, accord
ing to our fashion, so that they put
that cape to leeward. And those islanders,
where they had just been moaning, now
began to cheer and show great JOY, and
sing and cheer with their hands and
with joyful faces.
Passing that cape they came to
very good harbor, where two canoes came
towards them with six men inside,
fishermen, who came out to those cara
vels with pleasure as if they had been
there OH other occasions, and they gave
Al