1492

by Mary Johnston

  CHAPTER XVI

  AT first, the day before, we had not made out that the Indians hadboats. Later, straying here and there, we had seen them drawn upon theshore and covered with boughs of trees. They called them "canoes", madethem, large and small, out of trunks of trees, hollowed by fire, andwith their stone knives. We had seen one copper knife. Asked about that,they pointed to the south and seemed to say that yonder dwelled men whohad all they wished of most things.

  From dark the east grew pale, from pallor put on roses. This day nomariner grumbled at the call to awake. Here still lay our FortunateIsle, our San Salvador; here our ivory beach, our green wood. Up wentthe little curls of smoke.

  We had breakfast. So great was now the deference to him who three daysago had been "madman" and "black magician", "dreaming fool" and "spinnerwithout thread!" Now it was "Admiral", "Excellency", and "What shall wedo next?" and "What is your opinion, sir?"

  The immediate thing to do proved to be to come forth from cabin and markthe beach thronging with thrice the number of yesterday, and the canoesputting off to us. We counted eight. Only one was a long craft, holdingtwenty men; the others came in cockle boats, with one or two or three.Not only canoes, but they came swimming, men and boys, all a dark gracein the cerulean, lucid sea. They were so fearless--for we came fromheaven and would not harm them. We were going to make them rich; we weregoing to "save" them.

  A score perhaps were helped aboard the _Santa Maria_. The Pinta, theNina, had others. They were like children, touching, staring, excitedlytalking and gesturing among themselves, or gazing in a kind of fixedawe, asking of the least sailor with all reverence, bowing themselvesbefore the Admiral, the over-god. The Admiral moved richly dressed, raptand benignant, yet sparing a part of himself to keep all order, measure,rightness on the ship, and another part to find out with keen pains,"What of other lands? What of folk who must be your superiors?"

  They had brought offerings. Half a dozen parrots perched around, verygorgeously colored, loquacious in a speech we did not know. We hadstacks of the large round thin cakes baked on stones which afterwardswe called cassava, and great gourds, "calabashes" filled with fruit, andballs of cotton in a rude thread. We gave beads, bits of cloth, littlepurses, and the small bells that caused extravagant delight. But everthe Admiral looked for signs of gold, for he must find for princes andnobles and merchants gold or silver, or precious stones or spice, or alltogether. If he found them not, half his fortunes fell; a half-wind onlywould henceforth fill his sails.

  And at last came in a canoe with three a young Indian who wore in hisear a knob of gold. Roderigo Sanchez saw this first and brought him tothe Admiral. The latter, taking up an armlet of green glass and a hawkbell, touched the gold in the ear. "Do you trade?" Glad enough was theIndian to trade. It lay in the Admiral's palm, a piece of gold as greatas a filbert.

  Juan Lepe watched him make inquisition, Diego de Arana, Sanchez andEscobedo at his elbow. He did it to admiration, with look, gesture andtone ably translating his words. "Gold--gold?" The Indian said, or weput down in this wise what he said, "Harac."

  Was there more harac on the island? We would give heavenly things forharac. The Indian was doubtful; he thought proudly that he had the onlyharac. "Where did he get it?" He indicated the south.

  "Little island like this one?"

  "No. Great land. Harac there in many ears. Much harac."

  So we understood him. "Cipango!" breathed the Admiral. "Or neighbor toCipango, increasingly rich and civilized as we go."

  He took a case of small boxes, each box filled with merchandise of spicewhich he desired. Cinnamon, nutmeg, pepper, saffron, cloves and others.He made the islander smell and taste. "Had they aught like these?"

  The Indian seemed to say they had not, but would like to have. He lookedabout for something with which to trade, a parrot, or heap of cakes, orball of cotton. I thought that it was the box of boxes that he extremelywished, but the Admiral thought it was the spicery, and that he musthave known them wherever he got the gold. "Were they found yonder?"

  The Admiral stretched arm out over blue sea and the Indian followed hisgesture. He shot out his own arm, "South--southwest--west," nodded theAdmiral. "Many islands, or the mainland. Gates open before us!"

  "Had the Indian been to these lands?" No, it seemed, but one had come ina boat, wearing this knob of gold, and he had told them. Was he living?No, he was not living. What kind of a person was he? Such as us?Emphatically no. Not such as us! Much, we gathered, as was the Indianhimself. "Pearls have come from Queen's neck to Queen's neck," quoth theAdmiral, "by a thousand rude hands and twisting ways!"

  There was one woman among the visitors to the _Santa Maria_, a youngwoman, naked, freely moving and smiling. Eyes dwelled on her, eyesfollowed her. She was with an Indian who might be brother or husband.The Admiral gave her a worked, Moorish scarf. She tied it about herhead, and the bright ends fell down beside her long, black, braidedhair. None touched her, but they were woman-starved, and they looked ather hungrily. She had beauty in her way, and a kind of innocence bothfrank and shy. She was like a doe in the green forest, come silentlyupon at dawn.

  Fed full of marvel at last, these Indians left us. But no soonerhad they reached land and told of great kindness on the part of theinhabitants of heaven than other canoes and other swimmers put forth.This might go on all day, so we checked it by ourselves going ashore.

  This day we filled our water casks and took aboard much fruit and allthe cakes that they brought us. Moreover we explored the island, findingtwo villages of a piece with the first, and in the middle land a fairpool of water. This day like yesterday was blissful wine.

  All blessed Christopherus Columbus. No man now but, for a while, did hisbidding with an open heart.

  In the morning we sailed away, not without plentiful promises of return.When we put up our white sails they cried out and pointed to the cloudsierra. No! We would not go back to heaven--or if we did so we wouldcome again, loving so our gentle friends upon earth! We sailed, and inall our after wanderings we never came back to this island. And neveragain, I think, while Columbus voyaged, did there come to us just thebright, exquisite thrill of that first land after long doubt and noland. San Salvador--Holy Saviour Island!