Full text of "Magellan; or, The first voyage round the world"

NY PUBLIC LIBRARY THE BRANCH LIBRARIES

3 3333 08108 7385

REFEI

"B r^( B941764/

THE CENTRAL CHILDREN'S ROOM
DONNELL LIBRARY CENTER
20 WEST 53 STREET
MEW YORK. N.Y. 10019,

MAGELLAN

First Around the World

GEORGE M. TOWLE

ILLUSTRATED

,.',. ;

> !

j , i !>

> >
> a

I I
J >

BOSTON
LOTHROP, LEE & SHEPARD CO.

,'H NEW YORE

IBLIC LIBRARY

AST OH. LENOX
TfLDEN FOUNDATIONS.

lo ____

BY LEE & SHEPARD,

o < , r o c. J 4

6 * 6

C *

e .

O C

c e " o f ' e e c '

- - ? fc c * O C C

e e- e <5 t r l " s *

e de.e cr e

'-. -

PREFACE.

AGELLAN performed a voyage far more dif-
ficult, perilous, and uncertain than that of
Vasco da Gama ; and as an explorer of the
ocean, he was not less persistent and dauntless. As
Vasco found the water-way to Asia around the Cape
of Good Hope, so Magellan, a little more than twenty
years after, discovered the route to the same myste-
rious continent, by sailing westward instead of east-
ward, and by passing tnrougb.the. $\iprafy$traits, at the
extreme southern point 'of the South 'American Conti-

, . ( > | > ' .

nent, which still perpetuate Ijvs name -and renown.

j ' > .- i ' t

He crossed not only th^ .Atl^ptvc, but the Pacific

, ' . t >

also, and bestowed i:s gentle' name upon the latter
ocean ; and one of his ships was the first to sail com-
pletely around the globe, though Magellan did not him-
self live to assist in achieving this great triumph of

navigation.

ill

IV PREFACE.

Besides encountering the many perils of the sea, the
harrowing hardships of famine, the terrible scourges
of disease, and threatened destruction by conspiracy
and revolt, it was Magellan's fate to engage in fierce
conflicts with savage tribes, and to meet with treachery
at their hands, as well as to receive from them honest
welcome and bounteous hospitality. No voyage, in-
deed, could be imagined, into which every feature of
romance and adventure, of narrow escape and brilliant
achievement, could be more crowded, than was that
of Magellan from the port of Cadiz to the island clus-
ters of Australasia.

Magellan's own character is well fitted to call forth
the young reader's admiration. It was his ambition,
not to enter upon a career of blood-shed and conquest,
nor, mainly, to acquire wealth, honors, or power for
himself ; but to achieve for the civilized world the vast
benefits which- he knew >vould follow the discovery of
a route around the American Continent, and to confer

, i t i

upon heathen barbarians' the blessings of what he de-
voutly believed to 'be the true faith.

He was generous and treble in disposition ; never
wantonly cruel ; indulgent to and beloved by those
whom he commanded ; brave as a lion, and indomit-
able in perseverance and tenacity of purpose ; undis-
mayed by any obstacle, however formidable ; and reso-

PREFACE. V

Aite in subduing men and circumstances to the end he
had in view ; easily angered, but brief in his anger ;
humane, considerate, and large-hearted.

The story of his famous expedition comprises one
of the most important as well as thrilling portions of
the world's history ; and can scarcely fail to interest
as well as inform those who peruse it

CONTENTS.

CHAPTER L
MAGELLAN GOES TO COURT i

CHAPTER II.
MAGELLAN AT THE WARS ........ 16

CHAPTER III.
MAGELLAN IN SPAIN 33

CHAPTER IV.
PREPARATIONS FOR THE VOYAGE 47

CHAPTER V.
MAGELLAN CROSSES THE ATLANTIC 63

CHAPTER VI.
THE MUTINY 78

CHAPTER VII.
ADVENTURES WITH THE GIANTS 92

CHAPTER VIII.
MAGELLAN DISCOVERS THE STRAITS 116

CHAPTER IX.
CROSSING THE PACIFIC 124

CHAPTER X.
MAGELLAN AMONG THE MALAYS 143

Vll

v iii CONTENTS.

CHAPTER XJ,
ADVENTURES AT SEBU 159

CHAPTER XII.
THE BARBARIANS CONVERTED 172

CHAPTER XIII.
A HERO'S DEATH 192

CHAPTER XIV.
THE KING'S TREACHERY 208

CHAPTER XV.
ADVENTURES AT BORNEO 214

CHAPTER XVI.
DISCOVERY OF THE SPICE ISLANDS . . . *<*"

CHAPTER XVIL
SAILING TOWARDS HOME ........ 255

CHAPTER XVIII.
THE "VICTORIA" REACHES SPAIN .. a6o

MAGELLAN;

OR, THE FIRST VOYAGE ROUND THE WORLQ

CHAPTER I.

MAGELLAN GOES TO COURT.

OT far from a quaint, picturesque old town
in northern Portugal, called Villa Real,
there lived, about the year 1500, a noble-
man named Magellan. Although an " hidalgo,"
(nobleman) and descended from a proud and an*
cient family, Magellan was not rich ; but kept up
such state and show as he could afford, in the
home of his ancestors, which was a curious-look-
ing edifice, with a tower, massive walls, and bat-
tlements, and which became, in troublous times,
a fortress, as well as a residence.

Here Magellan was wont to entertain tho

2 MAGELLAN.

neighboring hidalgos, to receive such distingished
captains, nobles, or voyagers as wandered so far
away from the capital, and to lord it over the
peasants who tilled the fields and vineyards which
stretched over the slopes of the not distant
mountains, and along the fertile banks of the
pretty stream that flowed between his estate and
the town.

The pride of Magellan's heart was his son,
Fernan ; who, at the period that our story opens,
was a vigorous young man of twenty. It was
the custom of those days, as now, for the sons of
European nobles to be brought up, not to any
useful or hard-working occupation, but in ease
and luxury; to be treated by their inferiors,
even in earliest childhood, with ceremonious re-
spect ; and to devote themselves freely to vigor-
ous sports, and such pleasures as their neighbor-
hood or their opportunities afforded. There were
but two callings which these young patricians
usually thought worthy of their adoption. They
were not too proud to become soldiers ; and they
were often glad to enter upon a political career, as
courtiers or statesmen. At the time that Ma-
gellan lived, indeed, a third calling was espoused

MAGELLAN GOES TO COURT. J

by many young men of high birth ; that of fol-
lowing the sea as voyagers and discoverers. But
this pursuit was nearly akin to that of a soldier.
The voyager commanded his ships upon the
ocean ; but as soon as he had landed on a strange
shore, he buckled on his armor, donned his hel-
met, drew his sword, and led his men against the
inhabitants.

Although the elder Magellan was not rich,
young Fernan had been reared amid surround-
ings of comfort, petted and humored by his fond
father and equally doting mother, waited upon
obsequiously by the retainers of the house,
greeted with humble respect by the peasants
and village-folk wherever he made his appear-
ance, and enjoying, to the full, the rough pleas-
ures which the wild country round afforded.

The broad valley where he dwelt was almost
surrounded by lofty and savage mountains,
clothed with vast, luxuriant forests ; while the
slopes that descended from it to the meadows
along the river bank, were covered by thickly
clustering vineyards, bearing the luscious purple
grapes from which the famous port wine is made.

Perhaps the chief pastime of Fernan's boyhood

MAGELLAN.

and youth was the hunt. Among the mountains
roamed the wild boar ; the forests were, many of
them, peopled with deer; while of smaller game
there was an abundance ; so that the sportsman
need never despair of returning home with vvelL
stocked game-bag, and often found his burden-
a deer or a boar too heavy to be carried without
the aid of servants. It was Fernan's delight to
follow his hounds, with a merry party of stalwart
youths like himself, through the echoing moun-
tain forests, and up the rugged banks of the spark-
ling river ; to ride frantically in pursuit of the
wild game, and come to close quarters with the
fleet stags and tusk-gnashing boars ; and to carry
home in triumph the trophies of his day's sport.
Sometimes he encountered even more formida-
ble foes than these; for the " Traz os Montes,"
near his home, were then infested by savage
bands of brigands, who sought no richer prizes
than the noble youths who ventured, in pursuit
of game, too near their lairs. Fernan was as
brave as a lion, and liked nothing better than a
battle with the murderous robbers who now and
then attacked him and his comrades. He had
early learned the use of arms ; and was a good

MAGELLAN GOES TO COURT. $

swordsman, and a skilful shot. More than once
he was brought in wounded from his struggles
with the bandits ; but he made light of his in-
juries, and had no sooner recovered than he
plunged into the mountain wilds as fearlessly as
before.

Not very many miles from the valley in which
he dwelt, was Oporto, next to Lisbon the most
important city in Portugal. It is from this city
that " port" wine takes its name. Oporto is situ-
ated on the Atlantic, at the mouth of a wide
river. It is a quaint old place, with narrow, zig-
zag streets, many ancient, lofty houses, adorned
in the showy fashion of six or seven centuries
ago, and possessing many noble churches and
other public buildings. Its harbor is spacious,
and to this day is picturesque with the ships of
many nations.

In Fernan's time, Oporto was even a busier
place than it now is. It was the resort of the
nobility of all the country round, and its gaieties
and dissipations were only less brilliant than
those of Lisbon itself. The round of social
pleasures was kept up there with much state and
ceremony; while its trade, principally in wine,

O MAGELLAN.

made the quays, and the region near them, very

crowded and busy.

It was the custom of Fernan's father to spend,
with his family, a portion of each year at
Oporto; and there the young man had many a
taste of the pleasures of city life. As he grew
older, he became more and more fond of visiting
the quays, and of taking sails in the harbor. He
made the acquaintance of captains and sailors,
and delighted to go on board the caravels and
study their arrangements and rigging, and talk
with the men about their adventures on the great
deep. He would sit for hours in some dark
cabin, and listen breathlessly to the tales of
perilous voyages, of disastrous shipwrecks on
strange coasts, and of desperate fights with
savages. He heard with beating heart about
the wonderful discoveries which were then being
constantly made ; about the exploits of Columbus,
the heroic discovery of the way to India by his
own countryman, Vasco da Gama, and the quick
succeeding expeditions that now sailed between
the old and the new world.

Of a bold, fearless, adventurous spirit, Fernan
was soon seized with an intense passion for the

MAGELLAN GOES TO COURT. 7

sea. As he stood on the bustling quays of
Oporto, and looked far out where rolled the
mighty waves of the Atlantic, he wished that he,
too, was a captain, and longed to try his fortune
in strange lands. The pastimes of his country
home now seemed to him dull and paltry ; he
isaid to himself that he was wasting his life, and that,
instead of hunting boars and fighting brigands,
he might be discovering new lands and winning
renown like that of Columbus and da Gama.
Even the exciting pleasures of the city the
bull-fights and masquerades, the tournaments and
routs, began to pall upon him, and he pined to
go out into the world, and see more of men and
countries.

One day, when he had been thinking more
seriously than usual about his present life, and
yearning to change it for a more stirring one, he
sought his father in the hall of the house, where
the bluff old noble sat, warming his heels before
a blazing log-fire.

As he approached, Magellan observed that the
young man's brows were knit, and that his face
Wore a serious and thoughtful expression.

"What troubles you, Fernan?" asked the

8 MAGELLAN.

hidalgo. " For some time you have seemed dis
traught, as if something had happened to per-
plex you. Sit here by me, son, and open your
heart to me."

Fernan did as he was bidden, and after a mo-
ment, said : " It is true, my father, that I am not
content. I no longer enjoy those pastimes and
pleasures that were once my delight. I thirst
for adventure, for a stirring life by land and sea.
You see, sir, I am now a man, I would go forth
into the world, and try my fortune."

" And that shall you, if you please !" said the
old man. " To be sure, Traz os Montes is but a
dull place for one so brave and ambitious as you ;
and even Oporto is but a narrow field for your
aspirations. You shall go to court, my lad, and
seek the favor of our good King Manuel. It will
be ill luck if he does not speedily find some ex-
ploit for you ; I warrant me, a stalwart youth like
you will find merit in his royal eyes."

Fernan sprang joyfully to his feet, and seized
and kissed his father's hand. " You fill me with
happiness, my father ! ' he exclaimed. " Nothing
do I desire so much as to go to Lisbon, and see
the splendors of the court, and take service with

MAGELLAN GOES TO COURT. 9

the king ! Think you, sir, that he will receive
me in his household? And may it be, that I
shall be sent ere long, on some glorious expedi-
tion of conquest and discovery? I long to ride
the stormy billows, to match my prowess with
savage hosts, to win a name and power! When
may I go shall it be soon, my lord ? '

" In what haste are you, Fernan, to leave home
and kindred !" replied the old man, sorrowfully.
" But you have an impetuous soul, and mayhap
nothing will content you but to go forth into the
world. King Manuel knows me, and knows that
he hath no more sturdy or loyal subject. I doubt
not, he will receive you on my petition. Go, then;
prepare with such haste as you please ; and de-
part for Lisbon as soon as you are ready."

It was with light, brisk step that Fernan, after
thanking his father with trembling voice for his
goodness, left the hall, and repaired to his own
room, in an upper story of the house. A glow
of high spirits already suffused his face, but just
now so long-drawn with discontent ; and as he
paced up and down the floor, with a multitude
of feverishly happy thoughts rushing through
his brain, his eyes kindled, and his fists clenched

IO MAGELLAN.

in his excitement. Now and then he broke out
into some warlike ballad, or some sailor's song,
that he had heard in the barracks, or on the car-
avels at Oporto ; and then, becoming calmer, he
would look around the room, to see what he
could carry with him to the royal court.

There were many preparations to make before
he could set out for Lisbon. In order to ap-
pear properly at court, a young nobleman must
have several suits of rich attire. He must have
tunics and trousers of velvet and silk, trimmed
with gold and silver lace ; he must have slashed
caps, with high-nodding plumes; he must have
a full suit of glistening armor, helmet, cuirass,
buckler, and all ; he must have an ample supply
of silk stockings, of velvet shoes and slippers,
and long top-boots ; he must wear a sword, with
chased and jewelled hilt and scabbard ; he must
be supplied with arquebuses and daggers and
belts ; and, not least, he must be provided with
at least one high-mettled, thorough-bred steed,
on which to prance and gallop at the state shows
and processions. In providing himself with
these things, Fernan now busied himself absorb-
ingly during his waking hours. Tailors stitched

MAGELLAN GOES TO COURT. II

away unceasingly on his fine new clothes; the
hidalgo sent to a distance, and purchased a noble,
milk-white horse, for there were none in his
stables fit for so momentous a use ; and ere many
weeks Fernan found himself splendidly equipped
for his journey to Lisbon.

One bright morning, there was a lively bustle
in the courtyard of his father's mansion at Villa
Real. The hidalgo himself, richly dressed, and
surrounded by his wife, sons and daughters, stood
on the broad steps that led from the door to the
paved court, while the servants were gathered in
groups below. Presently Fernan's white horse,
with gay trappings, was brought out ; and then
Fernan himself appeared, very fine, in a bran-new
suit, with plumed cap, and a sword hanging at
his side. With him were to go attendants, who
soon cantered in the courtyard on their steeds.

The moment of parting came ; and Fernan
advancing to his parents, knelt to receive their
blessing, and was fondly folded in their arms.
He embraced in turn his brothers and sisters,
waved an adieu to the retainers of the household
who gathered to see him off ; and, springing
lightly upon his horse's back, rode forth, fol-

12 MAGELLAN.

lowed by his attendants, on his way to Lisboa
It took several days to traverse the highways
that led from Villa Real to the capital of the
kingdom. Fernan's journey was, however,
through a smiling and fruitful country, where
the vineyards grew luxuriantly, and were just now
laden with luscious ripe grapes of many colors.
At night, he put up at a wayside inn, where he occu-
pied the best room the house afforded, and regaled
himself right merrily on the ragouts and omelets
which were served up to him smoking hot, with
his wine and biscuits. Everywhere he was re-
ceived with the honor due to his rank and his
destined position at court ; nor did any accident
befall him until, on an Autumn afternoon, his
eyes were gladdened by the sight of Lisbon in
the distance.

On reaching the capital, and after taking quar-
ters at a hotel which stood not far from the royal
palace, Fernan lost no time in seeking an audi-
ence of King Manuel. This was easy enough to
obtain. Among the young courtiers, Fernan
found several old friends from his own part of the
country ; and they found no difficulty in intro-
ducing him to the royal presence.

MAGELLAN GOES TO COURT. 13

King Manuel was still youthful, and carried him-
self with truly royal grace and dignity. His face
was rather a stern one, but bore upon it the im-
press of a grave and thoughtful, rather than an
ill-natured character. Ambitious, and eager to
advance the glory and power of his realm, and to
outvie its rival, Spain, in the conquest and do-
minion of distant lands, he was an ardent stu-
dent, and employed his time rather in serious
affairs of state than in the frivolous gaieties of
court life.

The monarch was seated in the great hall of
his palace, surrounded by his courtiers and offi-
cers, when Fernan, arrayed in his most brilliant
suit, was ushered into his presence.

" The son of the hidalgo Magellan is right wel-
come," said King Manuel, as Fernan bowed low
before him ; " and it will please me to give him
a place in my household." With that, the king
went on to inform Fernan that his duty would
be to attend the royal person, that he should
have a certain stipend every month with which
to maintain himself, and that he should be pro-
vided with an apartment in the palace.

In no long time, Fernan had become com*

14 MAGELLAN.

pletely accustomed to court life. The fine-
dresses, the brilliant displays, the balls and par
ties, the great dinners and imposing ceremonies ;
for awhile amused and distracted him. He en-
joyed the city, with its busy streets, its crowded
roadstead, its fine buildings, its gay life ; and not
less, the companionship of many young men of
his own rank and age, with whom he passed many
a jolly and boisterous hour.

But his ambition was by no means satisfied
by these pastimes and pleasures. The court to
him was only the high road to a more stirring
and manly career. As he saw the fleets of cara-
vels sail out of the harbor, on their way to newly
found lands in Africa, Asia, and America, he
longed, too, to traverse the seas, and seek the
glories of combat, and the still nobler glories of
discovery. Impatiently he watched the prepara-
tions of his more lucky companions, who were
chosen to take part in these expeditions ; he
chafed under the necessity by which, while they
went forth in search of adventures, he was still
bound by his service to the king.

Meanwhile, he grew in the royal favor. King
Manuel, perceiving him to be more aspiring and

MAGELLAN GOES TO COURT. 1$

more serious than many of his fellow-courtiers,
kept him about his own person, and often engaged
in conversation with him. Fernan attracted the
king's good will by the enthusiasm with which
he talked of the discoveries which had been made
by the Portuguese voyagers ; and in his own
mind, the king soon marked him out as one
likely in the not distant future, to be of import-
ant service to the state. Had Don Manuel con-
tinued to esteem Fernan so highly, he would
have added one more bright jewel to his crown,
in the possession of the famous straits, the dis-
covery of which is to be described in the follow-
ing pages ; but, unfortunately for Portugal, in the
course of time he took a dislike to the ambitious
young man, and Spain, instead of Portugal, reaped
the benefit of his rare genius.

l6 MAGELLAN.

CHAPTER II.

MAGELLAN AT THE WARS.

ERNAN had not been long at court, when
an event occurred which threw Lisbon
into excitement, and which was destined
to turn the current of Fernan's future life. This
was the return of the famous discoverer. Vasco
da Gama, from his second voyage to India.

The victories which da Gama had gained, his
successful voyages to and from India, the splen-
did reception with which he was welcomed home,
the honors of nobility and fortune that were
showered upon him, the praises of him that rang
through Portugal, all excited Fernan's ambition,
and stimulated anew his longing to enter upon a
career of adventure. In no long time he made
Vasco da Gama's acquaintance, and was soon ad-
mitted to his intimacy; and many an hour did the
young man spend at da Gama's house, listening

MAGELLAN AT THE WARS.

to the soul-stirring tales of his exploits by sea
and land. Da Gama told him of the marvellous
riches of India; of the customs of the people,
and the struggles in which they had engaged
with the Portuguese ; and in such glowing colors
described the romance of that distant land, the
perils which there awaited the Portuguese warriors,
and the glories which they might achieve, that
Fernan burned to take part in its further con-
quest.

There was then at the Portuguese court, a
brave and enterprising captain, named Francisco
D'Almeyda. He had won renown at the famous
seige of Granada, and in fighting the Moors in
Africa ; and he was descended from one of the
noblest families of Portugal. King Manuel had
no more courageous or courtly subject.

Some time after Vasco da Gama's return,
D'Almeyda was chosen as the first viceroy, or
governor of India. So much loved and trusted
was he, that no sooner was his approaching de-
parture for the East announced, than a crowd
of seekers after adventure, of all ranks and con-
ditions, flocked to him and begged to be allowed
to go with him.

l8 MAGELLAN.

D'Almeyda knew Fernan Magellan, whom he
had long been in the habit of meeting about the
court. He had seen more than one instance
of his bravery, and was deeply impressed with the
restless ardor of his ambition. No sooner did
Fernan, therefore, appear before him, and eagerly
ask for a place under his command, than the
viceroy freely promised him what he desired.

Fernan now set eagerly about his preparations
for departure. He besought and easily obtained
the consent of King Manuel ; and finding that he
had plenty of spare time before D'Almeyda
sailed, he employed it in revisiting his home in
Traz os Montes, to bid adieu to hisparents,broth-
ers and sisters, and take a last look at the famil-
iar scenes of his childhood. He was going a long
way off, into the midst of many dangers, and
might never behold those beloved haunts again.

He was in the flower of young manhood, being
about twenty-five years of age, when, from the
deck of the flag-ship of D'Almeyda's fleet, he saw,
with contending emotions, the shores of Portu-
gal growing dim and fading away in the distance.
He found himself at last a soldier, in a large and
well-appointed force ; and he was impatient that

MAGELLAN AT THE WARS.

the voyage should be rapidly pursued, and that
they should quickly reach the scene of their
future exploits.

No untoward mishap marked the progress of
the fleet. Gentle winds wafted it on its course;
scarcely a gale assailed it as it sped on, touching
now at the Cape Verde Islands, now at the pretty
harbor at St. Helena, and at last near the Cape
of Good Hope.

D'Almeyda's first task was to secure Portu-
guese garrisons at certain points on the East
African coast, where, according to the reports that
had reached King Manuel, there was an abund-
ance of gold and other riches. Entering the
harbor of Quiloa, a town on the coast ruled over
by a barbarian king who was hostile to the Por-
tuguese, he assailed, captured, and plundered it.
Fernan here had his first taste of the excitements
and dangers of battle, and side-by-side with his
noble commander, he fought with a headlong
and lion-like courage which at once marked him
out as a hero among his comrades.

From Quiloa, where he built a fort, D'Almeyda
went to Mombaza, further up the coast; and
here, too, the Portuguese met with a stout re

2O MAGELLAN.

sistance from the natives. These natives had
already had a taste of European warfare ; for
some years before Vasco da Gama had at-
tacked them. He had, it seems, lost some of
his cannon overboard. These the natives had
managed to haul up from the bottom of the
sea ; and, somehow, they had learned how
to use them; so that, when D'Almeyda assailed
them, he was amazed to be welcomed with the
roar of artillery. He succeeded, however, after
a desperate fight, in capturing Mombaza, where
he found an abundance of spoil ; and he remained
in this place some days.

One morning, as Fernan was looking about
him in this strange African town, he was sur-
prised to see, propped up near the gate of the
palace, a large iron anchor. On examining it
further, he found that it had, without doubt,
come from Portugal. He hastened to report the
discovery to D'Almeyda; who, on questioning
some of the natives, learned that it was an
anchor which Vasco da Gama had lost in the har-
bor, and which had been hauled up, and by order
of the king, placed at his palace gate as a curiosity.

The next place at which the fleet stopped was

MAGELLAN AT THE WARS. 21

the friendly town of Melinda, where Vasco da
Gama had been welcomed and treated with lavish
hospitality. The old king, who had shown him
so much attention, was dead ; but in his stead
ruled his son, who proved equally well-disposed
towards the Portuguese. D' Almeyda was received
with cordial greeting, visited the king in his flour-
ishing city, and was allowed to build a fort on the
heights that rose above it.

All this time, the fleet had been gradually
drawing nearer to India, its final destination ; and
on leaving Melinda, it struck directly across the
ocean, favored by the trade winds, and after a
rapid voyage, reached Malabar.

Fernan, who had shown conspicuous bravery in
all the battles in which the Portuguese had been
engaged with the Africans, and had become
a great favorite, both with D' Almeyda and with
his fellow-soldiers, was delighted to see at last
the land of which he had heard so much, and
where he hoped to fight his way up to fame
and fortune. He gazed in wonder at the singular
costumes of the natives, the gorgeous turbans
and tunics that adorned the persons of the princes
and great men, the bazaars, full of rich cloths,

22 MAGELLAN.

fine carvings, and luscious fruits; and marvelled
at the luxurious vegetation that crowned the
hills and clustered in the valleys.

But he was soon called away from all this sight-
seeing, by his duties as a soldier. He had not
come merely to visit a strange land, and idly
observe its curiosities and customs. There was
stern work before him ; and he cheerily obeyed the
summons that called upon him to follow his
commander.

He served gallantly with D'Almeyda in his
many attacks upon the Indian chiefs and towns
that still resisted the Portuguese sway ; went
with him to Cochin and Cananore, took part in
the desperate seige of Coulam, and that of Onor,
and engaged in many a fight with the Moors,
who, jealous of the Portuguese, exerted their
utmost energies to drive them from India.

It happened that, after Fernan had been in
India some time, a famous Portuguese general,
Alfonso de Albuquerque, arrived with a large
force, with the purpose of carrying the conquests
of Portugal still further east. Albuquerque
was one of the greatest soldiers of his time.
He had a noble nature, was refined, generous,

MAGELLAN AT THE WARS.

energetic, and as brave a man as there was in
the world. His soldiers idolized him, because,
though very stern when offended, he cheerfully
shared their hardships, and always led them in
person. He had a pleasant, genial face, which
was rendered yet more benign by the long, snow-
white beard that fell over his breast, almost to
his waist ; his eye was bright and kindly, but in
battle was lit up with the fierce fire of his valor
and enthusiasm ; his bearing was at once dignified
and gracious.

To Albuquerque, Fernan was at once attracted,
and, as D'Almeyda was now busy with the civil
affairs of his viceroyalty, and matters were, for the
time, quiet in India, he hastened to enlist under
Albuquerque's standard.

Near the straits between the Indian Ocean and
the Persian gulf lies an island, on which stood,
and still stands, the city of Onnuz. It is an old
saying in the East, that " the world is a ring, and
Ormuz is the gem set in it." At the time of
which we speak, Ormuz was, in consequence of
its position as commanding the straits between
the two oceans, one of the most important places
in all Asia. Its harbor was always full of the

24 MAGELLAN.

quaint craft of the Eastern waters ; Arabian,
Moorish, Persian, Indian, Malay, Tartar, and
Armenian boats might have been seen crowded
together in its roadstead ; while its markets
teemed with the various wares produced in the
countries to which they belonged. The city itself
was alive with trade ; its streets and squares were
spread over a wide area ; and it possessed many
stately buildings.

The Portuguese had long looked with covetous
eyes upon so fine a military position, and so rich
an emporium ; and Albuquerque was resolved
to add this " gem of the world" to the crown of
his royal master.

It was in September, 1507, that he set sail, with
a fleet of seven ships and a force of less than
five hundred men, to attack a city which, he knew
well, was defended by a large garrison of Indians
and Persians. With Albuquerque went, his heart
aglow with excitement and hope, Fernan Magel-
lan. There was not a soldier in the little army
that looked forward more cheerily than he to what
was nothing less than a recklessly audacious en-
terprise. His experience in war made him con<
fident of his prowess ; and he longed to meet

MAGELLAN AT THE WARS.

foemen, like the Persians and Arabs, more worthy
of the steel of Portuguese cavaliers than the
African barbarians and the half-civilized Hindoos.

In due time the fleet arrived off the busy har-
bor of Ormuz ; dnd Albuquerque hastened to
attack the ships which defended it. One by one
the native ships, riddled by Albuquerque's can-
non, sank beneath the waves; the town itself
was set on fire ; and soon a message came from
the grand vizier, that he would yield to the
Portuguese, acknowledge King Manuel as the
lord of Ormuz, allow a fort to be built, and pay
a large tribute. Content with this submission,
Albuquerque sailed back to India again.

But when he had gone, the vizier, (who was

reigning as regent in Ormuz, during the infancy
of its prince), refused to fulfill his pledges ; and
the next year, Albuquerque again attacked the
city. This time he was badly repulsed ; and was at
last forced to give up the purpose of capturing it.
In these conflicts young Fernan took an eager
and gallant part. More than once he fell seri-
ously wounded, but as soon as his wounds were
dressed, he was up again, fighting with all his
might; and soon was known throughout India a?

26 MAGELLAN.

one of the bravest captains in the Portuguese
camp.

He went on many of the expeditions that were
undertaken by Albuquerque and other generals,
everywhere displaying conspicuous valor and
military skill ; and he at the same time made
himself beloved by his fellow-soldiers, by sharing
their dangers and hardships, and devoting himself
heart and soul to their welfare.

On one occasion, a small fleet was sent by
Albuquerque from Cochin back to Portugal, and
two ships, one of them commanded by Magellan,
were dispatched to convey this fleet into the
open sea. These two ships set out towards
night; but had not proceeded far, when, in the
darkness, they both struck on the shoals of
Padua, remaining aground, and upright on their
keels. It was a situation of great peril, for the
ships were likely to break up and founder at any
moment. In all haste the boats were got out,
and a great clamor now arose among the men as
to who should return in them to the main land.

At this critical juncture, Magellan displayed the
true nobility of his nature. Although, as an offi-
cer, he was entitled to return in the boats, he

MAGELLAN AT THE WARS.

resolutely refused to do so. He declared that he
would remain with the men, while the rest of the
officers went back ; and he went around among
the sailors, exhorting them to stand by the ships
as long as they remained above water.

His example put to shame those who had been
clamoring to return to the main land, and his
cheery words turned their terror into confidence.

He happened, just as one of the boats, full of
its human freight, was about to pull away to the
shore, to step into it for a moment, to speak to
its captain. One of the sailors, alarmed at this
cried out to him :

" Sir, did you not promise to stay with us?"

" Yes," shouted back Magellan ; " and see, I am
coming ;" with which he climbed back upon the
stranded ship again, and took his place among
those who were to stay by the ships.

The boats having departed, Magellan set vig-
orously to work to save the ships and their car-
goes. He ordered shores to be set with the
yards on each side of the vessels, their sides to
be raised as well as possible, and biscuits and
water to be put within. These tasks done, Ma-
gellan saw to it that the men committed no rob

28 MAGELLAN

beries, and completely won their confidence by
the promptness and vigor of his measures.

In this dangerous situation the crew remained
for a week ; when some caravels, sent out to suc-
cor them,, arrived, took them on board, and
transferred so much of the cargoes as remained
uninjured by the salt water. The stranded ships
were then burned, and Magellan and his compan-
ions returned safely to Cochin.

Soon after this, Magellan committed an act
which not only deprived him of the affection of
Albuquerque, but had a very important influence
on his future career. He was now one of the
most distinguished of the Portuguese captains in
Portugal, and was called into the councils of the
viceroy and the generals, to take part in the
decisions which those councils made.

Albuquerque was anxious to make an attack
on a town called Goa, which was situated on an
island, just off the coast of India. It had a good
harbor, and was one of the chief trading-places
on the coast. He therefore called a council of
war, and proposed his project to the assembled
chiefs. Among these was Magellan. On hear-
ing the general's plan, he was bold enough to

MAGELLAN AT THE WARS. 2Q

oppose it. He reminded Albuquerque that the
winds were now contrary, and that if the ships
were taken to Goa, they could not return that
year to Portugal; and did his utmost to dissuade
the general from the expedition.

Magellan's opposition did not please Albuquer-
que, who, though not an unamiable man, was im-
patient of contradiction. He declared that in
spite of what Magellan said, he should go to
Goa, with such ships as he had, and such men as
chose to go with him ; and he accordingly sailed
out of Cochin with twenty-one vessels, and six-
teen hundred soldiers, to execute his purpose.

Having thus displeased the old warrior, under
whose lead he had fought so long and well, Ma-
gellan found himself out of service in India. But
he could not rest idle. His ambition still stirred
him to attempt deeds of daring, to share the
the thrilling perils of the camp and field.

Besides alienating the good will of Albuquer-
que, he had lost nearly all the property he had ac-
quired during his residence in India ; and to con-
tinue his military life was not only a satisfaction
but a necessity.

He accordingly turned his eyes to another part

3O MAGELLAN.

of the world, where the Portuguese were contend
ing for dominion, just as they were in India,
They had long engaged in fierce wars with the
Moors ; and had managed to secure some foot-
hold in Morocco. Thither Magellan, pining for
active service, wended his way ; and soon found
himself in command of some Portuguese troops
at a settlement called Azamor. Here he engaged
in almost continual conflicts with the Moors and
Arabs, who struggled fiercely against the Euro-
pean intruders upon African soil.

Magellan would sally out from the town, at
the head of a body of his brave troopers, and reck-
lessly assail the Arab camps that threatened to
attack it. He rode or marched at the head of his
soldiers, and was the first to fire at or cut down
with sword the swarthy foes who rushed out to
meet him.

On one of these rash sallies, Magellan fell
hotly upon an Arab camp, and was dealing Hercu-
lean blows, right and left, when a poisoned javelin,
hurled from the midst of the enemy, entered his
leg. He had so often been wounded before, that
he made light of the circumstance; but on being
carried back to Azamor, it was found that the

MAGELLAN AT THE WARS. 31

wound was a serious one. The skill of the sur-
geons soon restored him to health ; but from that
day till his death, Magellan was lame.

Magellan, through all the exciting events in
which he had taken part since leaving the royal
court at Lisbon, had never lost sight of the chief
ambition and desire of his youth. This was, to
win the laurels of a great discoverer, and to
leave his name renowned in history, as were
those of Columbus and Vasco da Gama. He had
now seen much service, and felt that there was
little glory to be gained in the petty wars with
the Moors ; and he became impatient to enter
upon some long and hazardous voyage, and
search the strange and obscure regions of the
world.

He therefore repaired to Lisbon, to entreat
King Manuel to fit up and give him the command
of an expedition of discovery.

32 MAGELLAN.

CHAPTER III.

MAGELLAN IN SPAIN.

AGELLAN approached the capital of hia
native land with much misgiving. He
knew but too well that King Manuel no
longer looked upon him with the favor he once
had done, in spite of his heroic service in India and
Africa. His resistance to Albuquerque's plans had
been reported to the court, and had deeply of-
fended the king. Moreover, when Magellan, finding
his stipend too little to support him, had petitioned
the king to increase it, the request had been
curtly refused.

Yet he was resolved not to waste his years in
fighting against the Moors. He had heard, from
one of his most intimate friends, an energetic
voyager named Francisco Serrano, of the delights
and riches of the famous Molucca Islands, in the
Eastern seas ; and, after deep study of the rude

MAGELLAN IN SPAIN. 33

maps which then existed, Magellan came to the
conclusion that those islands might be reached
by sailing, not southward and eastward, by the
Cape of Good Hope and around India, but west*
ward, across the Atlantic.

If this were only possible to be done, he who
should succeed in doing it would win renown
rivalling that of Vasco da Gama himself ; and
Magellan made up his mind that, at all hazards,
he would attempt it.

On reaching Lisbon, he lost no time in seeking
an andience of King Manuel. But the king,
having now imbibed a violent prejudice against his
brave officer, at first refused to see him at all ;
and Magellan's heart sank within him.

One day, however, he received a summons to
appear in the royal presence. Determined to
make the best of circumstances, Magellan donned
a rich suit of velvet, put on a handsome cap
adorned with plumes, and taking his handsomest
sword from the wall, buckled it about his waist.
Then, with haughty carriage, for even before
majesty itself he would bear himself proudly, he
entered the audience chamber, and advanced
with a slight limp in his gait, to where the king

34 MAGELLAN

sat upon his throne, surrounded by his courtiers.

King Manuel glanced at him coldly, and a
frown gathered on his face.

" Well, sir," said he, sternly, " why have you left
your post in Africa, to come hither? What peti-
tion do you desire to make?"

" I have come, your Majesty," replied Magel-
lan, bowing , " to ask for an employment higher
and more perilous, and of greater benefit to your
throne, than that in which I have been engaged.
I pray you to reflect, sir, that I have been of
some service to the state. My wounds, that I
bear on every part of my body, attest at. I seek
a wider field of service to your Majesty."

" Magellan," was the royal retort, " you caused
sore trouble in India, when you obstinately op-
posed the projects of my good general, Albuquer-
que, and incited the captains to refuse to go
with him ; you have demanded of me a larger
stipend than you deserve ; and you hsvve left
your post to come hither on some fool's errand.
What do you wish ?"

" The king is not just to me !" boldly declared
the cavalier. " But I will not dare reproach hroi.
Sire, my wish is to command an exp?-iition of d**

MAGELLAN IN SPAIN. 35

covery. I would seek a new and shorter way, by
sailing westward, to the islands of the eastern

seas."

" It is folly !" said the king, " I will not
permit you to attempt it. Retire, Magel-
lan. You have provoked my displeasure by leav
ing your post. Return to it, sir, and be thankful
that you are not punished for your conduct."

With bowed head, and countenance deadly
pale with indignation and disappointment, Ma-
gellan slowly passed out of the hall into the cor-
ridor of the palace. Overcome with sad emotion,
he leaned against one of the pillars, and almost
sobbed in his intense grief. Thus were all his
bright hopes dashed ; thus all his bright dreams
of adventures and fame rudely dispelled.

As he lingered in the corridor, a tall, stalwart
man, with black beard that swept down to his
girdle, his body enveloped in a long black gown,
and his head covered with a black velvet skull-
cap, approached, and gently laid his hand upon
the cavalier's shoulder.

" Be of good cheer, Magellan !" said he, in a
low, sympathetic voice. " There are other kings
in Christendom besides King Manuel, and othet

36 MAGELLAN

stout and goodly caravels than those of Portugal.
All is not lost because your petition is rejected.
You have been severely treated ; but if King
Manuel blindly refuses to perceive your genius,
there are those who will !"

" What mean you, my friend ?" asked Magel-
lan, looking up with a bright glance in his eyes,
for the other's words gave him a world of encour-
agement, and comfort ; " what career is open to
me, besides that which King Manuel refuses?"

" Why, that which his rival, King Charles, will
open to you ! Know you not that the Spanish
king is ambitious, and is jerJous of the triumphs
of Portugal on the sea, and her conquests in dis-
tant lands?'*

" What, Faleiro," exclaimed Magellan, "would
you have me desert my native land, and my sov-
ereign, to seek a foreign service?"

" Nothing is more common," replied the other.
" Here, your service is disdainfully rejected. To
stay, is to spend your life in stupid skirmishes
with Moors and Arabs, to live on a miserable
pittance. If King Manuel will have none of you,
in what are you bound to him?'*

Faleiro's words sank deep into Magellan's heart.

MAGELLAN IN SPAIN. 37

They revived his faltering hopes, and opened be-
fore him a new prospect, just as that which had
so much allured him seemed closed forever. His
soul smarted under the sharp reproofs and abrupt
refusal of King Manuel ; his pride was wounded
to the quick ; his nature revolted from humble
submission to the disgrace of being thus publicly
and scornfully repelled.

Taking Faleiro's arm, he walked with him slowly
out of the palace, towards his friend's lodgings.

This Faleiro was an astrologer, and professed
to read the future in the stars and signs of the
heavens. Astrologers in those days were held
in great honor and reverence in Spain and Portu-
gal ; and even the wisest men lent an eager ear
to their prophecies. So it was that Faleiro was
highly esteemed at King Manuel's court. It was
there that he had learned to love the impetuous
and warm-hearted Magellan ; and as he himself
had a taste for travel and adventures, they soon
became very intimate.

The astrologer had heard with both sorrow and
anger the king's harsh words to Magellan ; and
he now devoted himself to reviving the down-
cast spirits of his friend.

MAGELLAN.

They soon reached Faleiro's abode. It was a
plain, somewhat gloomy building , and this im-
pression was increased when one entered the
dark apartment where the astrologer pursued his
mysterious studies.

The unpainted walls were hung with astronom-
ical charts, and strange pictures representing
various aspects of the firmament ; while on the
long tables that lined the room were globes, tele-
scopes, and other instruments used by Faleiro in
his nightly tasksc A plain table occupied the
centre, and to this two high-backed chairs were
drawn.

It being now dusk, Faleiro lighted a taper, which
spread a dim light through the apartment : and
motioning to Magellan to sit in one chair, him-
self took possession of the other.

"The present is dark to you, dear Fernan," he
said ;" it seems to you, does it not, as if no
bright future were in store for you?"

" Do you bid me hope," was Magellan's reply,
"for better fortune?"

" I do. You know that I have cast your horo-
scope, and have predicted for you a great and
glorious career. In your own land you have

MAGELLAN IN SPAIN. 39

nothing to hope for. Go, therefore, to Spain ;
the king will recognize your merits, and, no
doubt, will give you a fleet. If you will go, Fer-
nan, I will go with you. I, too, long to brave the
ocean's perils, to search out new countries. We
will seek our fortune on the deep together."

His friend's declaration that he would go with
him decided Magellan. He no longer hesitated,
but said that he would lose no time in preparing
to change his allegiance from Don Manuel to King
Charles. It was late at night when the friends
parted with warm embraces. Magellan hastened
to his lodgings, and tossed all night on his bed,
agitated by the new project that filled his mind.
The more he thought of it, the more firmly fixed
became his resolve to leave the service of his un-
grateful sovereign, and to become a subject of
the king of Spain. As Faleiro had said, it was
no uncommon thing then (nor is it now) for a
man to thus transfer his citizenship and adopt
another country than that in which he had
been born; and Magellan certainly had the
strongest reason to abandon his allegiance to
King Manuel.

There was another reason, of which he had

4O MAGELLAN.

said nothing to Faleiro, why the project of going
to Spain pleased him.

At Seville lived a cousin of his, named Don
Diego Barbosa. This Barbosa was a man of
much wealth and importance, and although a
Portuguese, had risen to be mayor of the ancient
Spanish city. He lived in a grand house there,
and gave splendid entertainments, and lived in
sumptuous luxury.

Before Barbosa had moved from Lisbon to
Seville, young Magellan had been in the habit of
visiting familiarly at his house. He had been
received, being a relation, as one of the family ;
and many of the pleasantest hours of his eariy
sojourn at court, were spent at his cousin
Barbosa's.

Of one member of the family, Magellan be-
came especially fond. This was Barbosa's lovely
young daughter, Beatrix. She was tall and slight,
with long, rich, raven ringlets, melting brown eyes,
and gentle and graceful bearing. No wonder that
the young courtier was dj'zzled by her beauty, or
that she, in return, was pleased with the fine
cavalier who cast upon her so many soft, appeal-
ing glances.

MAGELLAN IN SPAIN. 41

When Barbosa, carrying away the fair Beatrix,
repaired to Seville to live, Magellan was very much
cast down. But soon after, he had sailed for
India, and his grief at losing sight of his lovely
cousin, was softened amid the stirring scenes
which absorbed his mind in the East.

Now, he was himself going to Spain, and would
not fail to visit Seville. Then, if Beatrix were
still free, he would revive his courtship, and win
her if he could.

In no long time, the two friends had made
their preparations for departure. Magellan re-
signed his commission as an officer in King
Manuel's army ; and without taking the trouble
to make his appearance again at a court where he
had been so rudely and publicly disgraced, set
out on horseback, with Faleiro, for Seville.

The journey was a long one, but the travellers
were not pressed for time, and made merry on
their bright prospects, as they went. Fortun-
ately, they had a good supply of money, and
were attended by two faithful servants, who went
fully armed, lest the party should be attacked by
the brigands.

It was mid-Autumn, and nature was brilliant

42 MAGELLAN.

with the fast-changing foliage of the dense forests
of Southern Portugal and Spain Everywhere,
in the vineyards, the grape-pickers, of all ages and
both sexes, were busily at work, gathering the
full-ripe harvest ; while ever and anon the travel-
lers came upon the yards where, in rude stone
troughs, the peasants were busy treading and
pressing the grapes, the juice of which ran out,
in gushing streams, into the big tubs set below.
Magellan and Faleiro often stopped to pass a
merry word with the toilers, and to drink the
new-made wine, as they sat at the tables in front
of the cozy wayside inns.

They reached Seville without mishap, and re-
paired at once to a large hostelry, which stood on
one of the public squares. Magellan's heart beat
high as he thought that, not far off, lived
Beatrix, all unconscious that he was so near. A
hundred doubts and misgivings passed through
his excited mind. Perhaps she was already
married ; perhaps she had entirely forgotten him ;
perhaps, true to her love, but despairing of his,
she had retired to a convent, and become a nun.
Many years had passed since he had seen her ;
and, instead of the slim, shy girl of fourteen that

MAGELLAN IN SPAIN. 4j

he so tenderly remembered, she must now be 3
stately and mature woman of twenty-five.

Eager as he was, however, to see her and learn
his fate, his thoughts were not entirely absorbed
by the gentle Beatrix. He reflected with a
thrill that he was now in the territory of the war-
like and ambitious king of Spain ; that he was
within a step of those famous quays of Seville,
whence so many gallant expeditions had sailed in
search of discovery, and where, even now, fleets
of caravels lay at anchor, ready to make their ven-
tures upon the ocean. Magellan longed to
stroll along the quays, and to talk with the rough
captains about their expected voyages.

Arrayed in his gayest attire, Magellan set out
the next day to make known his presence in
Seville, to his cousin, Diego Barbosa. He ap-
proached the spacious mansion with fluttering
heart, and his hand trembled as he knocked upon
its lofty portal.

Don Diego received him with the warmest
welcome. He had heard, with pride, of Ma-
gellan's exploits in India and Africa, and was
delighted to learn that he now proposed to enter
King Charles's service. He bade Magellan make

44 MAGELLAN.

his house his home, and ordered the best that his
well-stocked larder afforded to be set before the
new-comer.

To Magellan's anxious inquiries for Beatrix,
Don Diego replied that she was at home, and
well, and that he should presently judge how she
was, for himself.

He had, indeed, scarcely finished the bounteous
meal which his cousin had caused to be set before
him, when Beatrix entered. She had grown, as
he supposed, to be a charming and graceful
woman ; and to his joy, he perceived that she
welcomed him with the same blushing warmth
that she used to do. It was a moment of rare
delight to the lovers when they found that, after
so long a separation, each retained the old
affection for the other.

Magellan at once took up his quarters at Don
Diego's ; and made up for the lost time in his
eager courtship of Beatrix. Her father, far from
being averse to this state of things, encouraged
it ; and ere long Magellan had pleaded for and
won the hand of his fair cousin, with the Don's
full consent and blessing.

While his friend was thus revelling in the de-

MAGELLAN IN SPAIN. 45

fights of happy love, Faleiro busied himself with
the errand on which he had come to Spain. He
made the acquaintance of many captains, and
sought for some time in vain, for an opportunity
to lay their projects before the king. Meanwhile,
he petitioned to the Council of India, a body of
grandees who had charge of the Spanish posses-
sions and discoveries in the East, to accept their
services, and send them on an expedition to find
the way, by a westward route, to the Molucca
Islands.

Four months after their arrival at Seville, Ma-
gellan and Faleiro set out for Valladolid, where
the royal court was sojourning. They were at-
tended by a large retinue of servants, provided
for them by the good Don Diego ; and as they
passed along the highway between Seville and
Valladolid, they met many cavalcades passing to
and from the court. The Spanish knights who
met Magellan greeted him with respect and
honor, for his fame had reached King Charles's
dominions, and it had gradually been whispered
abroad that he was about to enter the Spanish
service.

On reaching Valladolid, they found, to their dis-

MAGELLAN.

appointment, that the king was away in the
north, on a hunting expedition ; but they were
reassured by the favorable reception with which
Fonseca, the president of the Council of India,
welcomed them at court.

They lost no time in laying their plans before
this great man. He listened incredulously, and
when Magellan, with earnest voice and excited
gestures, tried to show him, by a chart, how it was
as possible to pass around the South American
Continent, as it had been for Vasco da Gama to
double the Cape of Good Hope, he smilingly
shook his head. Fonseca, however, promised
that as soon as the king returned, he would se-
cure an audience for the two Portuguese; and

they waited impatiently until Charles should be
surfeited with his hunting, and should reappear
in the midst of his court.

MAGELLAN. 47

CHAPTER IV.

PREPARATIONS FOR THE VOYAGE.

|ING CHARLES of Spain, at the time that
Magellan sought him at Valladolid, was
scarcely more than a boy in years ; but
already he betrayed the bold and ambitious traits
which were to make him famous, when after-
wards, as the Emperor Charles V. of Germany,
he engaged in the great wars with France.

At the age of eighteen, though beardless,
slight, and short in form, with a head of thick,
stubby, yellow hair, and the large jaw of the
royal house of Castile, there was something in
his presence and bearing that was not only
kingly, but that inspired all who approached him
with a respect which was as much a tribute to
his character as to his rank.

Charles was especially earnest in his desire to

48 MAGELLAN.

maintain and increase the renown of Spain as the
discoverer and conquerer of distant lands. He
was proud of the noble traditions of Ferdinand
and Isabella, his grandfather and grandmother ;
rejoiced to remember that it was by their help
that Columbus was enabled to find a new contin-
ent beyond the Atlantic ; and was deeply jealous
of the triumphs of his neighbors, the Portuguese,
in their conquests in India, and on the African
coast.

When Magellan and Faleiro, therefore, were
ushered into his presence, the king was prepared
to give them a hearty welcome, and to listen
with attentive ear to what they said.

In presence of the Spanish court, Magellan un-
folded his project in an earnest and eloquent
speech. He described to the king the discov-
eries already made in America, and declared that,
if he were only permitted to make the attempt,
he had no doubt of being able to find a passage
around the newly-discovered continent. His en-
thusiasm at once inspired King Charles with con-
fidence in him ; and his words, describing in
glowing terms the increased wealth and power
which would come to the Spanish crown, if his

REPARATIONS FOR THE VOYAGE. 49

proposed voyage were successful, aroused all
Charles's eager ambition.

On being dismissed from the royal presence,
Magellan and Faleiro returned to their lodgings,
to await, in anxious suspense, the king's decision.
His gracious bearing towards them led them to
hope that he would grant their wishes ; nor was
this hope disappointed.

A few days after, they received a summons to
appear before Fonseca, the president of the
Council of India ; and when they entered his
apartment, he welcomed them with a cordiality
which augured well for their project. His words
soon relieved them of all doubt.

" The king," he said, " has well considered what
you said to him ; and has consulted his grandees
and counsellors upon the matter. He decides to
consent to your desires ; to furnish you with a
fleet, of which you, Magellan, are to have the
command ; and trusting in your loyalty, he will
provide you with the men and materials necessary
for your expedition."

The friends embraced each other in their joy,
and warmly expressed their gratitude to Fonseca.
Once more Magellan's heart beat with proud and

5<D MAGELLAN.

ambitious anticipation. The chief longing of hi%
life was about to be gratified. He would at last
traverse the ocean, and search for the passage, the
existence which had been a deeply-seated belief
in his soul.

Full of exultation, he dispatched a messenger
with a letter for his beloved Beatrix at Seville,
which apprized her of his glorious success at
court ; and then, with Faleiro, cheerily set to
work preparing for the expedition that had so
long filled his thoughts.

King Charles was as good as his word. He
agreed to fit out five sound and sturdy ships, and
to man them with two hundred and fifty able
seamen, who should be paid, for a period of two
years, out of the royal treasury of Spain. He
promised Magellan that, if he succeeded in dis-
covering the desired passage, no other Spanish
seaman should go through it for ten years ; that
he should have command of the fleet as its ad-
miral, and be the governor of all the lands that
he might discover.

The king further agreed that Magellan should
have a twentieth part of all the revenues from
these lands, which the Spanish treasury received ;

PREPARATIONS FOR THE VOYAGE 5!

that he should be allowed to send cargoes of
spices to Spain every year, to the value of one
thousand ducats, a fifth of which he should have
for himself ; and that, of the islands he should
discover, after the king had chosen six, he should
have, as his own, the seventh and eighth.

Thus, if the voyage were only successful, Ma-
gellan would not only win great fame, but become
speedily a rich man ; for the islands in the seas to
which he hoped to penetrate were well known
to be teeming with precious spices and other
valuable productions.

But Magellan's path was not yet an altogether
smooth one. Many Spanish courtiers and cap-
tains became jealous of the foreigner's success
with the king, and whispered suspicions into the
royal ear. It was an outrage, they said, for a
Portuguese to be put in command of a Spanish
fleet, and to reap the honors due to the faithful
subjects of the crown. There were many Span-
iards, they declared, who were as able and as
eager as Magellan to undertake the voyage ; and
this task should have been confided to them.

These courtiers were not the only enemies
Magellan had to face. King Manuel, on hearing

$2 MAGELLAN.

of the success of his discarded soldier, became
very much excited, and resolved, if possible, to
stop the expedition. He began to see that he
had made a great blunder in treating Magellan
so rudely, and in haughtily rejecting his offer of
service ; and feared lest, after all, the king of
Spain should reap the benefits which he himself
might have received, had he been less obdurate,
from Magellan's zeal and genius.

At the Spanish court was a great Portuguese
noble, named Alvaro da Costa, who was King
Manuel's ambassador. To him King Manuel
sent word to do everything in his power to pre-
vent Magellan's expedition from setting out. Da
Costa was very anxious to please his master, for
he hoped for promotion if he served him well.
He lost no time in undertaking the task now im-
posed upon him ; and resolved that, at all hazards,
Magellan should not sail, if he could possibly
help it.

The first thing he did was to appeal to King
Charles, and implore him to withdraw his prom-
ises. He told the king that if he allowed Magel-
lan to go, he would mortally offend the Portu-
guese monarch. But this did not move King

PREPARATIONS FOR THE VOYAGE. 53

Charles, who stood stoutly by his word to Magel-
lan ; and in this he was encouraged by the good
bishop of Burgos, who was one of Magellan's
warmest friends.

Failing to persuade the king, Da Costa next
tried with all his might to prevail on Magellan
himself to give up his expedition.

Magellan had now returned to Seville, where
he was busy making his preparations for depart-
ure, and also for his marriage ; for he was eager
to make his dear Beatrix his wife, before he
went.

One day, as he was absorbed in packing some
baskets and boxes of provisions and clothing at
his lodgings, he heard a loud knock at his door,
and Sebastian Alvarez, King Manuel's agent in
Seville, an old acquaintance of Magellan's, en-
tered the room.

Magellan greeted him cordially, and asked him
to be seated ; whereupon Alvarez began to try
to persuade him to give up his expedition.

"The road you are going on," he said, "has as
many dangers as St. Catherine's wheel, and you
ought to leave it, and take the straight road. In
doing what you propose, you will mortally offend

54 MAGELLAN.

your liege lord, King Manuel, who will set you
down as a traitor."

" Not justly," was Magellan's reply ; " for I
hope by my discoveries to shed lustre on our
name, and do honor to the Portuguese crown. If
I should go back to Portugal, there would be
nothing left for me but the seven ells of serge,
and the beads of acorns of a hermit."

" Nay, if you obey the king, he will do you
honor; if not, you must suffer his vengeance."

But Magellan could not be dissuaded from his
purpose ; and Alvarez was forced to leave him in
despair, and report his ill-success to King Manuel.
Then da Costa, the ambassador, concocted still
darker schemes against Magellan. Resolved to
prevent his departure at all hazards,he plotted
to have him killed. He secretly hired an assas-
sin, who one night fell upon Magellan in one of
the by-streets of Seville. But the young cava-
lier, though lame, proved more than a match for
his dastardly assailant. As the latter was about to
plunge a dagger in his breast, Magellan whirled
around, drew his sword quick as a flash, and dealt
the fellow a frightful blow across the face, and
drove him, howling with pain, into the darkness.

AN ATTEMPT TO ASSASSINATE MAGELLAN. Page 54.

PREPARATIONS FOR THE VOYAGE. 55

Failing in this cowardly crime, da Costa sent
his agents to Seville, to stir up the common peo-
ple against his countryman. They went about
among the inns and wine-shops, and told the
Spaniards they were fools to submit to it that a
foreigner should command a Spanish fleet ; and
so excited them, that one day, as Magellan was
passing along the street, he was attacked by a
furious mob. He made haste to enter the house
of a friend, which fortunately stood near by, and
thus escaped being pelted to death.

He was so happy just at this time, however,
that these attempts upon his life were forgotten
almost as soon as they were made ; for the day
rapidly approached when he would lead his fair
Beatrix to the altar, and claim her forever as his
own. The preparations for this event were car-
ried forward in all haste ; and for weeks the spa-
cious mansion of Don Diego Barbosa, was full of
bustle and excitement.

It was on a fresh, crisp winter's day that the
bridal procession wended its way to the stately
and beautiful cathedral of Seville. There was
Magellan, attended by his own faithful friend,
Faleiro, and a gay crowd of young nobles and

56 MAGELLAN.

soldiers ; arrayed in his handsomest suit of vel-
vet, silk and gold lace, and with a face beaming
with proud pleasure. There was the bride, in
her splendid wedding robe, surrounded by a
sparkling bevy of dark Spanish beauties. There
was the bluff old cavalier, Don Diego, in his official
dress as mayor of the city, looking delighted and
happy. And there, at the high altar, stood the
bishop of Seville, in cope and mitre, ready to
perform the solemn rites which should make the
happy couple one.

The arches of the great cathedral resounded
with the organ and the sacred chant ; bride and
bridegroom approached, and knelt at the altar;
the momentous words were slowly spoken by
the bishop; and then Magellan, with head erect,
and a flush upon his cheek, advanced down the
nave, with his blooming bride upon his arm. Alas !
Neither knew how brief would be their married
life, or that it would end with their happy
honeymoon !

It was during this brief season of his honey-
moon that Magellan tore himself away from the
sweet companionship of Beatrix, to watch the
preparations for his departure. One by one the

PREPARATIONS FOR THE VOYAGE $7

good ships which were to sail under his command
appeared in the harbor of Seville ; one and all
either newly built or newly repaired, with sturdy
masts and unsoiled sails, and bedecked with fresh
paint from stem to stern.

First, there was the " Trinidad," a small ship,
indeed, compared with those which we see to-day,
for it was only of one hundred tons burden, but in
that time a good-sized craft, well able, it seemed,
to breast the storms and wild winds of the Atlan-
tic. This was the flag-ship, in which Magellan
himself was to go.

Then there were the " San Antonio " and the
'Conception," smaller vessels, of eighty tons
burden each, commanded, the first by Juan de
Cartagena, a Spanish captain with whom Magel-
lan was destined later to have much trouble ;
and the other by Caspar de Quesada. There
were finally the " Victoria," and " Santiago," of
sixty tons each, commanded by Luis de Mendoza
and Juan Serrano, a relation of that friend of
Magellan who had told him such exciting stories
about the Molucca islands, which he was now
going to try to find.

These ships were all quickly provided with

MAGELLAN.

everything required for a long voyage. The
" Trinidad" carried four large iron cannon ; and
in all, there were eighty cannon on the five ves-

sels. Ample provisions were packed in the
holds, and an abundance of such clothing as the
officers and crews would need for an uncertain
period, was supplied.

Inasmuch as Magellan was going among sav-
age tribes, who were pleased with gewgaws and
bright-colored clothing, a part of the cargoes of
the ships was composed of copper, quicksilver,
colored cloths, and handsome silks, jackets orna-
mented with copper and silver buttons, and a
great variety o/ bells, bracelets, rings, and other
trinkets.

Magellan, while thus supervising the prepara-
tions of his expedition, did not neglect one im-
portant task ; that of studying the art of naviga-
tion. This was not, it is true, a wholly new study
for him. His boyish fondness for ships and
voyages had interested him in the art of
managing vessels, and in the uses of the astrolabe
and other nautical instruments. From the conver-
sations he had had with Vasco da Gama, and other
heroes of the ocean, he had derived much precious

PREPARATIONS FOR THE VOYAGE. 59

knowledge ; and his voyage to India and back
had enabled him to observe closely the practical
working of a ship.

In the long winter evenings, when he had
returned from inspecting the progress made in
his fleet, you might have seen him seated before
a blazing fire in Don Diego's library for Don
Diego was a man of learning, and had many valu-
able books, for which he had paid great prices
with heavy tomes upon his knee, deep in their
contents ; or bending over a long table, where he
had spread out some rude chart of the Atlantic
or of the American coast, which had been drawn
by an earlier navigator.

By his side, deeply absorbed in his pursuit, sat
his fair young wife ; her face now sad with the
thought of separating from him ; now lit up
with tender pride, as she reflected what fame and
wealth his genius might win from the voyage.

Thus usefully and pleasantly were spent ths
months that intervened between his marriage and

the time for him to set out on his daring venture.

At last that exciting moment came. The

ships were all ready, moored side by side along

the quays of Seville. The sailors, some of whom

6O MAGELLAN.

were Portuguese and some Spanish, were gathered
in the city, and had, for the most part, taken up
their quarters on board the vessels ; and they
were one and all impatient to sail. The captains
and pilots were on board, as anxious as the
sailors to depart.

It was on a soft August morning, in 1519, that
Magellan rose, attired himself in his admiral's
uniform, and lingered for awhile,locked in his wife's
close embrace. He needed all his self-restraint
to remain composed, and to utter every tender
and consoling word that he could think of, to
soften her sorrow at the parting. Then, gently
withdrawing himself from her clinging arms, he
gave her a last, long, loving look, and slowly
passed into the street. There his attendants
awaited him his servants, and some of the sail-
ors from the flag-ship. Don Diego was there,
too, ready to accompany his son-in-law to the
quays; and Don Diego's young son, Edward
Barbosa, who was to go with Magellan and
share his perils, was by his father's side. They
mounted their horses and slowly rode through
the streets.

Every thoroughfare was crowded. It was al-

PREPARATIONS FOR THE VOYAGE. 6l

ways a holiday with the gay and pleasure-loving
Sevillians, when a great expedition was to set sail
from their port on a voyage of discovery; and
they had long known of Magellan's hardy pro-
ject. There was now no trace of the miserable
jealousy which had stirred a mob to assail him,
but one and all, by their faces and cheers, seemed
anxious to give him a hearty " God-speed."

Arrived at the quays, Magellan descended
from his horse, embraced Don Diego and the
other friends who had gathered to bid him adieu,
and attended by Edward Barbosa, his officers
and sailors, went on board the flag-ship and
ascended to the deck. At the same time, the
other captains appeared on their decks, and the
crews began to weigh anchor and spread the
white new sails.

It was a noble sight to see the five comely
ships, almost side by side, slowly creep out of
the lovely harbor; the sun flashing on the flags
and pennons that floated from the masts, and
making the new paint on the ships' sides glitter;
a gentle breeze just ruffling the blue waves, and
stirring them from a glassy calm ; the quays
alive with the chattering, noisy, and picturesquely

62 MAGELLAN.

attired crowd ; the cannon pealing forth theii
deafening salvos from ship and shore ; the cap*
tains erect on their decks, waving their plumed
hats, and every now and then turning to shout
their orders to their subalterns ; and the lofty
towers of cathedral and palace growing more
and more dim and fairy-like as the little fleet
floated away from the mole, and sped cheerily
out upon the broad sweep of the river that

flowed to the Atlantic !

Soon the eyes of the people on the quays were

vainly strained seaward, and the eyes of those
on the ships gazed without avail in the direction
that the city stood.

Magellan was fairly off at last. What adven-
tures would he meet with ; what wonderful things
would he discover on the surging deep ?

MAGELLAN. 63

CHAPTER V.

MAGELLAN CROSSES THE ATLANTIC.

OME time elapsed, after sailing from Sev-
ille, before Magellan put out into the
open sea. After passingdown the Guad-
alquivir, and narrowly escaping being stranded on
two ruined pillars, which were in the bottom of
the river, and had once supported a fine bridge
built by the Moors, the ships reached the hoary
old castle of St. Lucar, that lifted its towers high
above the stream.

This castle belonged to the Duke of Medina
Sidonia, one of the greatest nobles in Spain ; and
just below it was a good port, at the mouth of
the river, whence vessels could readily sail out
upon the ocean.

Finding, when he reached this port, that the
winds were contrary, and being in no hurry, Ma-

64 MAGELLAN.

gellan anchored, and awaited more favorable
breezes. The interval was employed in adding
to the ships' stores some necessaries that had
been overlooked, and in religious exercises. Ma-
gellan caused all his sailors to go ashore, at-
tend mass, and make confession before their de-
parture; and he himself set the example.

One day, Magellan summoned all his captains
and officers on board the flag-ship, and told them
the rules by which he wished the fleet to be
guided.

" First," he said, " my flag-ship shall sail ahead,
and the other ships follow ; and that you may not
lose sight of me at night, I will cause a burning
torch to be set upon the poop-deck, which shall
be kept burning as long as it is dark. When I
wish to tack, the wind being contrary, or to make
less way, I will show two lights. I have on board,
you know, some torches made of reeds, well
soaked in water, beaten flat, and dried in the
sun ; these will burn brightly. When I wish you
to lower your small sail, I will burn three lights;
and if I suddenly put out two of these, and leave
a single light burning, you may know that you
are to stop and turn. Should I espy any land or

MAGELLAN CROSSES THE ATLANTIC. 6$

shoal ahead, I will cause a bombard to be fired
off; and if I desire to make all sail, I will show
four lights. Your answering signals will be simi-
lar lights, displayed in response to mine. As to
watches, you will cause three to be kept at night ;
one at dusk, a second at midnight, and the third
at break of day ; and you must change the
watches every night. Now, observe well these
rules ; that you may not forget them, here they
are in writing, a copy for each of you."

At last, to Magellan's great relief, the wind
shifted, and blew from the right quarter; and
on the 2Oth of September, 1519, the little fleet
set forth from the harbor of St. Lucar, and
was soon buffeting the waves of the At-
lantic.

Magellan directed his course northwesterly.
He knew that in order to pass, as he felt confi-
dent it was possible for him to do, around the
South American continent, he must steer more
to the south than had the previous expeditions.
Already a Spanish expedition had reached the
fortieth degree of latitude south, on what is now
the coast of Brazil ; and thrilling news had come
of Balboa's discovery of a farther Ocean. That

MAGELLAN.

a great ocean lay beyond the newly-found conti-
tinent, was therefore certain ; and if that could
be gained by doubling the land, there should be
no doubt that the Molucca Islands, with all
their bounteous wealth, could be reached ; and
perhaps the globe itself might be encompassed
by the doughty little fleet.

It did not take the ships long to reach the
Canary Islands, grouped in the midst of the sea, off
the African coast , and already occupied by lit-
tle European settlements. They anchored at
Teneriffe, one of these islands, and took in wood
and water ; and, soon after, stopped at another
island, where they supplied themselves with an
abundance of pitch.

On this island, Magellan was surprised to hear
of a curious freak of nature, which, it was said,
always took place there. He was told that every
day at mid-day, a cloud came down from the sky,
and enveloped a large tree ; the rain fell from it
on the leaves of this tree, and water was distilled
from it, and formed a sort of fountain at the foot
of the tree. This, he was assured, was the only
supply of water that the inhabitants of the
island, man or beast, had.

MAGELLAN CROSSES THE ATLANTIC. 67

The fleet again set sail, and in no long time
reached the Cape Verde Islands, not far from the
Canaries, in a southwesterly direction. These
were the last land that the adventurers were to
stand upon until they sighted the long, dim
coast of the New World ; but so eager were one
and all to strike across the ocean, and to see
what was to be seen beyond, that Magellan made
but a brief stay at the Cape Verdes. For some
time they skirted the coast of Guinea, and saw
the majestic group of the Sierra Leone in the
hazy distance ; and as they approached the
equinoctial line, they began to be assailed by
fierce gales and blinding rain-storms.

But they kept steadily on their way, Magel-
lan's flag-ship, with its ever-glimmering lantern
swinging on the poop-deck, and lighting up the
billows, taking the lead ; and at last found them-
selves quite out of sight of land.

As the ships rode through storm and sunshine,
the voyagers observed many wonderful things,
new to their astonished eyes. Often they were
becalmed, and lazily floated hither and thither
on the waves, waiting for the return of favorable
breezes ; and during these calms, they saw with

68 MAGELLAN.

amazement many monsters of the deep, of whose
existence they had been utterly ignorant.

Sometimes great sharks, with long teeth
and awful jaws, followed the ships for leagues
and for days ; and as soon as the sailors recov-
ered from their surprise, they began to catch
them which was no difficult matter with huge
iron hooks, baited with pieces of colored cloth.
When they had caught their first shark, they tried
to eat him ; but found his flesh anything but a
savory morsel.

They saw, too, many curious birds, such as
they had never before known of ; and observed
in one kind, that the females laid their
eggs on the backs of the males. On one occa-
sion, Magellan espied so large a number of flying
fish, that they seemed to him to form an island
in the sea.

Men in those days, even the wisest, were
all superstitious, and believed in miracles, and
strange appearances ; and on voyages, often im-
agined that they saw spirits, and were guided by
spiritual agencies.

One dark night, when a storm of wind and
rain was tossing the little fleet franctically to and

MAGELLAN CROSSES THE ATLANTIC. 69

fro, and rolling the waves high above the decks,
and the sailors were moaning and praying, fear,
ing that every instant would be their last, they
thought that the spirit of Saint Anselm appeared
to them, in the form of a dazzling light at the
masthead ; that he stayed there to comfort, and
cheer, and give them courage, for several hours ;
and that when the spirit was about to depart,
the light increased to such brilliancy as fairly to
blind them.

No sooner had the spirit, as they believed it to
be, departed, than the waves subsided, the wind
fell to a gentle breeze, and the sea-birds began to
gambol gaily among the sails.

It took Magellan and his companions a little
more than two months to cross the Atlantic.
Happily he had charts which enabled him to sail
in the direction he desired, and which indicated
the points at which he wished to arrive.

One morning in mid-December, the eyes of the
voyagers were greeted with the sight of the long
line of gray coast, which they had strained their
eyes for many a day to espy. Thanks to Magel-
lan's plan of showing lights, the ships had kept
steadily together from first to last ; and they

/O MAGELLAN.

now rode side-by-side, rapidly drawing near to
the new continent.

When Magellan came near enough to distin-
guish the features of the coast, and the appear-
ance of the country beyond, he looked about for
a convenient harbor towards which to steer. It
was fortunate that the coast itself did not present
to his eye any very formidable difficulties ; in-
stead of being rocky and forbidding, it looked
fair, sloping, and hospitable.

Running along about a league from the shore,
parallel with it, he finally discovered a wide inlet,
which seemed to be the mouth of a river. Here
he resolved to put in ; although, notwithstanding
his charts, he was not quite certain where he was.

At first the region seemed to be deserted.
The ships entered the wide inlet and anchored;
and the sailors, crowding into the boats, pulled
ashore, and leaped joyfully upon the strand. It
was a hot day, but they were so glad to find them-
selves on land again, that they paid little atten-
tion to the burning rays of the sun, which blazed
down on their heads from his zenith.

Then Magellan assembled all his officers and
crews on the shore, and the priests, who were

MAGELLAN CROSSES THE ATLANTIC. 71

with them, set up a little altar on the beach.
The men kneeled in a close body in front of the
altars, the captains kneeling in front ; and now,
in this strange solitude, where all nature seemed
to be in slumber, and where no vestige of any
human habitation was yet visible, the solemn ser-
vice of the mass was performed.

Magellan and his companions soon found that
plenty of people dwelt on the shore they had
reached, although these did not at first make
their appearance. One of the pilots, named
John Carvagio, had been in Brazil before, having
gone with a previous expedition ; and he relieved
the anxiety of his comrades by assuring them
that the natives were peaceable and friendly, at
least to Europeans, whom they regarded as
superior beings.

It was not long before little groups of almost
naked men and women began to make their ap-
pearance a little distance away, gazing curi-
ously and timidly at the white men, and appar-
ently afraid to approach nearer until they were
reassured as to the intentions of the new-comers.
The pilot Carvagio, who happily knew a few
words of their language, at once went forward

72 MAGELLAN.

towards the nearest of these groups, and shouted
out to them that they need fear nothing, for the
Spaniards and Portuguese meant no harm, but
were come as friends.

Upon this the natives drew nearer, and at last
came up to the strangers, nodding and grinning,
and chattering as fast as they could make their
tongues go. At this moment, a warm, soft,
pleasant rain began to fall, which was exceed-
ingly welcome and refreshing on account of the
heat.

No sooner had the savages perceived the rain,
than they commenced playing all sorts of strange
pranks, which filled the Europeans with astonish-
ment. They capered wildly about, and lifted up
their hands towards the clouds, holding their
swarthy faces so that the drops should fall upon
and run down them ; sang a loud, discordant
song, and finally, rushing forward, fell on their
knees at the feet of the strangers, and began to
repeat some words very fast, at the same time
stretching their arms out, and clasping their hands.

Magellan asked the pilot what they meant by
these capers; and Carvagio replied:

"They say that we have come from heaven,

MAGELLAN CROSSES THE ATLANTIC. 73

Cringing the blessed rain with us ; that it has been
many weeks since it has rained in these parts,
and that they worship us for causing it to fall."

It was fortunate that, at the beginning of their
sojourn, the adventurers should have created so
favorable an impression ; for now the natives set
to work with a will, and built a long, low hut
wherein their visitors might dwell and be sheltered
as long as they remained. They brought them
some pigs, which the sailors forthwith roasted and
ate with great gusto. The pig's flesh was very re-
freshing after the salt meat and hard-tack with
which they had been forced to content them-
selves during their long and weary voyage. The
natives also laid before them some very curious
bread, which proved, on being eaten, not nearly
so nice as the pigs. It was made of the marrow
of certain trees, and tasted something like very
poor cheese.

Magellan found himself so hospitably treated
on this coast, that he was in no great hurry to
set sail again. The ships needed some repairs,
and it was prudent to procure and store such
provisions as could be found in the vicinity, and
preserved for a voyage.

74 MAGELLAN.

While the repairs were being made, and the
provisions stored, Magellan and his officers had
leisure to look around them. They observed the
natives with great curiosity. These lived in very
long, low huts, as many as a hundred, sometimes,
occupying a single hut. The natives did not
possess any iron implements, but built both their
houses and their boats with tools made of stones.
In their dwellings, which Magellan found him-
self quite free to enter whenever he pleased, he
saw that the beds were a sort of cotton ham-
mocks, fastened to large timbers, and extending
across the wide room ; and he was amused to
observe that the natives built their fires, to warm
themselves, directly under these hammocks.

Their boats they built all in one piece, out of
a single tree, and called them " canoes ;" these
boats were large enough to hold thirty or forty
men, and were provided with oars shaped like
shovels.

As for the natives themselves, they were not
bad-looking people for savages. They were of a
brown color, with almost straight hair ; many
of the women were almost fair, and quite
comely. The men did not wear any beards; for

MAGELLAN CROSSES THE ATLANTIC.

these, it seemed, they were wont to pluck out,
hair by hair. Both men and women went nearly
naked, having for apparel only a belt made of
parrot's feathers about their waists. It was a
very common thing to see a man with three holes
in his under lip, from which hung small round
pebbles ; and some of the women displayed the
same strange ornament. Many of the natives,
too, were branded in the face with curious fig-
ures, impressed in the flesh by means of fire.

When the men went to their work, their wives
carried them luncheons in small baskets,which they
poised on their heads ; while in bags, fastened to
their necks, they supported their babies. The
men had, as weapons, long bows made of the black
palm, and quivers full of arrows, made of cane,
were hung across their shoulders.

One thing that surprised Magellan and his
comrades, was the great number of parrots that
were to be seen in that region. These were
of all sizes, and their plumage was of the most
variegated and gorgeous description. They also
observed many small monkeys, yellow in color,
and extremely amusing in their quick and lively
ways ; and there were also some strange-looking

MAGELLAN.

birds, which had beaks like a spoon, and no
tongues.

As to the natural productions, they were very
various and abundant. The fruit was large and
luscious, and the grain rich and plentiful.

Magellan was sorry to make one discovery
during his stay in this place, which greatly les-
sened his good opinion of the natives. On one
occasion, after they had been having a fight with
a neighboring tribe, they brought in several men
and women, whom they had taken prisoners, and
proceeded to kill them and cut them up. Soon
after Magellan found these pieces of human
flesh hung up at the chimney of one of the huts,
and being dried by the fire. On asking what
this meant, he was told that the pieces were
dried to be eaten. He thus found that his
savage friends were cannibals.

An amusing incident happened on the flag-
ship, a few days before the departure of the
fleet. The natives had become so familiar that
they were in the habit of going freely on board
the ships, and doing there pretty much as they
liked. One day, a beautiful young girl, about
seventeen, went on board the " Trinidad," and

MAGELLAN CROSSES THE ATLANTIC. 77

was observed by Magellan to be peering cau-
tiously about, and trying to escape being noticed.
Curious to know what she was about, he watched
her ; and presently saw her creep up to a nail,
two or three inches long, that was driven into
the door of his cabin. She seized it, pulled it
out, and in a flash hid it in her long, abundant
hair. As she was without any other clothing
than the belt of parrot's feathers, her hair was her
only place of concealment. Magellan laughed
heartily to himself, and let her go away thinking
she had not been seen committing this little
theft. Her anxiety to possess herself of the nail
is explained by the great value the natives set on
iron, which seemed much more precious to them
than gold or silver.

78 MAGELLAN.

CHAPTER VI.

THE MUTINY.

AVING taken a long rest from his At
lantic voyage, and provided his ships with
all things necessary, Magellan again set
sail, skirting the South American coast, and
keeping a keen look-out for any inlet that might
betoken a passage around the continent. He was
resolved to search the coast narrowly, so that
no such passage, if it existed, should escape
him ; and he therefore put in wherever a bay or
river mouth appeared. After sailing for some days
amid a warm and equable temperature, the fleet
came to a wide inlet, which proved to be the
mouth of a large river, some fifty miles wide
where it entered the sea. This was what we
now call the River de la Plata, upon whose
banks stand, not far from the mouth, the flourish-
ing cities of Buenos Ayres and Monte Video

THE MUTINY. 79

The ships readily anchored in the river mouth,
and once more the adventurers landed upon the
unfamiliar coast. Scarcely had they done so, be-
fore they perceived that they were in the midst
of a very different race from that they had en-
countered at their first landing-place. These
savages were outright cannibals, and made daily
meals upon their captured enemies. They were,
moreover, exceedingly tall, strongly-built men,
who seemed to the Spaniards no less than giants.

One of these men, evidently a chief, taller even
than his companions, went fearlessly on board
the flag-ship ; but while he was there, the other
natives took everything they could carry from
their huts, and hurried away over the hills.
Magellan ordered a hundred of his men to land
and pursue them ; but the natives were so agile,
and took such enormous strides, that the pur-
suit was in vain.

On the pretty islands that studded the bay
Magellan found some precious stones, which
he took good care to store away, at the same
time resolving on his return to search for
more.

Setting sail again, the ships presently came to

8O MAGELLAN.

two islands, just off the coast, where the crewg
went ashore, to procure some wild fowl which
they saw on the strand. They were much aston-
ished at some black geese they found, with beaks
like crows, and which could not fly. They also
succeeded in capturing many seals, which were
not less strange to them, in color and shape,
than the geese. During their stay at these
islands, the ships were nearly destroyed by a
mighty storm that swept over them; but they
were stout and well-manned, and succeeded in
weathering it.

After passing the Gulf of St. Mathias, and
the bay of St. George, they reached a point
which from the multitude of geese seen on the
shore, Magellan named " Goose Harbor." No-
where, as yet, had the gallant Admiral found a
passage to the Pacific ; but his courage and hope-
fulness were unabated, and he pressed vigorously
on to the goal he was confident that, sooner
or later, he should reach. He had now at least
gone further south than any previous expedition
had sailed ; he was nearer the Antarctic pole
than any European had been ; and there was
every reason for him to look forward cheerily to

THE MUTINY. 8l

the accomplishment of the great end he had in
view.

The southern winter, cold and blustering, had
fairly set in, when one morning Magellan espied
a large inviting bay, which seemed well sheltered
from the bleak winds, and the shores of which
had the appearance of affording a good supply of
wood and water. Of these the ships were now sadly
in want, for little had been found at Goose Har-
bor, their last stopping-place. Moreover, the
ships needed many repairs; nor could Magellan
hope to pursue his voyage successfully for some
months to come. The crews were grumbling at
hardships they were forced to suffer ; and more
than one of Magellan's captains betrayed open
signs of discontent.

The admiral therefore deemed it best to put
in at the pleasant-looking bay, and if it proved
as comfortable as it looked, to stay there until
fairer winds blew, and the return of spring
brought a softer temperature.

The ships anchored in the bay, which Magel-
lan, with the piety of his age and bringing-up,
named St. Julian. It turned out an easy matter to
land upon the sloping and still smiling shore,

82 MAGELLAN.

for winter was but fairly begun ; and the crews
set to work to make themselves as snug as
possible.

Scarcely, however, had the fleet reached what
seemed so secure a haven for their winter sojourn
when an event occurred which at first threat-
ened, not only the success of the expedition,
but the very lives of Magellan and his friends.

Of the captains commanding the ships in
Magellan's fleet, three were Spaniards Juan de
Cartagena, Gaspar de Quesada, and Louis de
Mendoza. Cartagena and Mendoza had been
jealous, from the first, of the preference given
by their king to Magellan, a Portuguese and a
stranger, in putting him at the head of the ex-
pedition; and throughout the voyage had in
various ways betrayed their ill-temper and dis-
content. Of the two, Juan de Cartagena, who
was the second officer of the fleet, and com-
manded the " San Antonio," nourished the fiercest
hatred of Magellan. He was a large, dark-
featured man, with a sour, malignant countenance,
and he cherished the fixed idea that he, and not
Magellan, should have been Admiral. From the
first, he resolved on the earliest opportunity to

THE MUTINY. 83

raise the standard of revolt. Finding that Men-
doza shared his ill-will towards Magellan, and was
ready to enter into a plot against him, Cartagena
held frequent conferences with Mendoza, when
Magellan was engaged in other matters. While
scouring the country around St. Julian, in the early
days of their stay there, the treacherous captains
found many occasions to meet and mature their
project. They felt sure of being able to secure the
assistance of the sailors under their commands ; for
most of these were Spaniards like themselves,
imbued with a fierce jealousy of the Portu-
guese ; and besides, the sailors had become very
much discontented by their many hardships, and
by the long delays in the voyage.

It was not long before the plot was ripe for
execution. Cartagena and Mendoza revealed
it to the Spanish sailors on their ships, who
readily agreed to aid in carrying it out. The
first object was to secure Quesada, the captain of
the " Conception," who, though a Spaniard, was
suspected of being a staunch friend to Magellan.
His ship lay next to the " San Antonio," which
Cartagena commanded. Cartagena now resolved
to man one of his boats with twenty men, fully

84 MAGELLAN.

armed, and to take advantage of a dark night to
board the " Conception," seize Quesada, engage
his sailors to take part in the mutiny, and with
this accession of force to assault the flag-ship, the
"Trinidad," itself. Magellan was then to be seized
and killed on the spot ; the other ship, the " San-
tiago," commanded by Magellan's cousin Serrano,
was in like manner to be seized, and Cartagena
would then assume command of the fleet.

One black night, therefore, Cartagena exe-
cuted his project to seize Quesada. This he suc-
ceeded, with little difficulty, in doing; but before
he could pursue his plan further, Magellan got
wind of what was going on. Early the next morn-
ing, he sent a boat to the two revolted ships, with
the message that they should be beached and
careened. When the boat arrived alongside the
" San Antonio," the sailors found the guns of the
ship pointed at them ; and one of the lieutenants
shouted out harshly, and demanded to know
what they wanted.

" The Admiral commands you to beach and
careen your ship," was the reply. "We obey no
orders," retorted the lieutenant, "but those of
Juan de Cartagena, the true Admiral of the fleet."

THE MUTINY. 85

The sailors rowed back in all haste to Magel-
Jan's ship. He now saw that there was open
mutiny against him, and that it was necessary to
take prompt and stern measures to repress it.
Calling Fernandes, his chief constable, he told
him to man the boat, proceed without delay to
Mendoza's ship, and, if possible, take him pris-
oner. Six well-armed, stalwart men accompanied
Fernandes on this hazardous venture. When the
boat came alongside the " Victoria," Mendoza's
ship, Fernandes called to Mendoza, and asked
permission to board the ship. But this the cap-
tain refused to allow him to do.

"Surely," replied Fernandes, "you are not
afraid of one man, bringing a letter to you."

Mendoza consulted a moment with his officers,
and then bade Fernandes come on board.

No sooner had the constable leaped upon the
deck, than he grasped Mendoza tightly in his
arms, crying, " In the name of the king you
are arrested !"

Before Mendoza's men could recover from
their surprise, Fernandes's companions had rushed
upon the deck with their swords drawn. They
fell uypon those who showed signs of resisting

86 MAGELLAN.

them; and soon several corpses lay weltering
in their blood on the deck. In a few minutes,
the brave fellows had subdued all resistance, and
were in complete possession of the ship. Fer-
nandes still held the unfortunate captain by the
throat. Fiercely addressing him, at the same
time shaking the breath out of him, the constable
cried :

" You traitor, you shall die !"

Throwing Mendoza on the deck, he held
him down with his knees, and drawing a huge
dagger from his belt, plunged it deep into Men-
doza's throat. The captain writhed in anguish,
and in another moment lay stark dead upon his
deck.

Magellan observed the success of Fernandes's
stratagem from the deck of the flag-ship. He
now ordered the " Trinidad" to drop down along-
side the " Victoria;" he put his men underarms,
and had his cannon loaded and aimed ; and was
soon able to pass from one deck to the other.
He found that Fernandes and his men had
already secured and bound the rebellious
sailors ; and having made a strict but rapid in-
quiry into the mutiny, he commanded six of

THE MUTINY, 8?

the chief offenders to be brought out and hung,
without mercy, at the yard-arms. Then he caused
Mendoza's body to be hoisted by the feet on
one of the masts, so that it might be distinctly
seen by the crews on the other ships.

It remained to overcome the chief conspira*
tor, who, with a strong force, held out on the
" San Antonio." Magellan knew that he was still
surrounded by Spaniards, who might be his
enemies ; and suspected that Cartagena's force
might be too strong for him, if he assailed him
directly. He therefore resorted to a shrewd
stratagem.

Calling aside one of the sailors, upon whom,
though he was a Spaniard, Magellan knew he
could rely, he told him to take a boat, and row
in all haste to the " San Antonio," as if he were
escaping ; and when he reached the ship, to beg
to be taken on board as a fugitive.

The sailor promptly undertook the task ; shot
out from the " Victoria" in a skiff, and was soon
seen by Magellan clambering up the side of the
" San Antonio." When night came on, the sailor
quietly cut the cables, so that the " San Antonio"
drifted directly down upon the " Victoria." As

MAGELLAN.

soon as it floated alongside, Magellan, shouted
out, " Treason, treason !" leaped on board with
his men, fiercely attacked Cartagena and the
mutineers, and in a short time had made prison-
ers of all who were not killed in the fray.

The crew thus quelled, Magellan hastened to
set free Quesada and Mesquita, whom Cartagena
had loaded with irons, and shut up in his hold.
To his brother-in-law, Edward Barbosa, who had
come with him, he confided the command of the
" Victoria ;" while he made his faithful friend,
Mesquita, captain of the " San Antonio."

One ship, the " Conception," (the captain of
which was Quesada), still remained in rebellion ;
but this, on seeing the others in the hands of
Magellan, surrendered at discretion without a
struggle. Thus the gallant Admiral, by boldly
attacking his enemies as soon as he discovered
their plot against him, achieved a prompt and
complete victory.

Magellan was not naturally stern or relentless.
He was never known to be guilty of an act of
wanton cruelty. But he now saw that self-pre-
servation, as well as the success of the expedi-
tion, demanded that his prisoners, especially the

THE MUTINY. 89

ringleaders in the mutiny, should be treated with
the greatest severity. The punishment for mu-
tiny in his days, as it is now, was death. To ai
low Cartagena and his confederates to live, would
be to encourage a repetition of the revolt.

Calling the rebellious captain before him, there-
fore, on the deck of the "Victoria," Magellan
coldly addressed him as follows:

" Juan de Cartagena, you have been guilty of
an unpardonable crime. You have never had
any provocation from me, to seek my life. My
chief fault in your eyes is that I am a Portu-
guese, and not a Spaniard ; but you well know
that the sovereign of Spain hath entrusted me
with the command of this fleet, and hath given
me all power to direct its course. You have
defied and rebelled against the king, in assuming
to declare yourself its commander ; and you have
sought to gain this by bloodshed and murder.
Cartagena, you deserve no pity. Prepare to die.
You are to be shot and quartered, and your body
shall be fixed to a stake, set up on this strange
shore."

Cartagena hung his head in sullen silence,
turning deadly pale, and clenching his hands,

MAGELLAN.

tvhen his doom was pronounced. Magellan turned
to two soldiers, and waved his hand. The mis-
erable captain was seized and dragged to the
forward part of the deck; and presently fell,
shot through the heart.

Both his body and that of Mendoza were then
quartered, and, as the admiral had directed, set
upon stakes, on the shore.

The rest of the mutineers were kept in irons,
except at such times as the ships needed pump-
ing, when they were brought out, and, under
guard, were set to the pumps.

Magellan, however, was not disposed to be too
severe with the misguided wretches, who had been
led into their crime by their captains. Soon
after he released several of them, and put them
on shore ; telling them to explore the coast
southward, to ascend any headland they might
reach, and see if they could not espy the ocean
on the other side. The mutineers, only too glad
to recover their liberty, readily promised to obey
his orders; and started off down the shore with
brisk and lusty strides.

They remained away several days ; and then
returned, footsore and weary, to tell Magellan

THE MUTINY.

that they had not succeeded in making the

desired discovery.

Order and submission were new restored
throughout the fleet. The Spaniards, quite
awed by the terrible fate of Cartagena and
Mendoza, no longer thought of defying Magel-
lan's authority ; and the Portuguese ceased to
harbor any ill-will against their mutinous com-
rades. Only one of the ships, the ''Conception,"
was now under the command of a Spaniard ;
this was Quesada, whom Magellan fully
as his friend.

$2 MAGELLAN.

CHAPTER VII.

ADVENTURES WITH THE GIANTS.

HE adventurers were amazed that, as at
their first landing-place on the South
American coast, they did not see signs
of any human beings or habitations at St. Julian.

The country round about seemed desolate and
deserted. They began to think that it had no
population whatever, but was abandoned to wild
beasts and wild fowl. For two long months
they searched the neighborhood in vain for some
vestiges of human life; but none appeared.

At last, however, they were undeceived in this
respect. One day, a gigantic figure suddenly
appeared on a hill-top very near the bay ; he was
entirely naked, with short, bristling white hair,
and a fierce, swarthy face.

As soon as this man saw the sailors staring at
him in wonder, he began to leap wildly up and

ADVENTURES WITH THE GIANTS. 93

down, waving his arms about, and singing, of
rather howling, some strange song in a stentorian
voice. Every now and then he would bend
down and grasp a handful of dirt, and sprinkle it
on his great, bullet-shaped head, at the same time
making a hideous grimace. Magellan was then
sojourning on one of the islands that studded the
bay. On being told of the strange apparition on
the hill, he called one of the sailors, told him to
go ashore and approach the big native, and to
dance about and sing as he went up to him, so
that the native might see that his intentions were
friendly.

The sailor did as he was bidden. He went
leaping and shouting up the hill, to the great
amusement of his brother sailors, who were look*
ing on. The native, too, gazed hard at him ; but
soon recovering from his fright at seeing a white
man drawing near, he strode towards the sailor,
and began to caper around him. The sailor at
last persuaded him to go in a boat to Magellan's
quarters.

On coming into the Admiral's presence, and
seeing so many strange faces and dresses about
him, the gigantic savage grew timid ; and with

94 MAGELLAN.

an expression of awe on his dark face, pointed to
the sky, to intimate that he thought the Span-
iards had come from heaven.

Meanwhile, Magellan observed him with curi-
ous interest. He saw that the savage's cheeks
were painted with red hearts, and that around his
eyes were yellow circles. His hair, it appeared,
was painted white, and on his arm he carried a
a shaggy skin ; while in one hand was a heavy
bow, and some arrows, made of cane, feathered
at one end, and with points of black cut stones
at the other.

Magellan, anxious to make friends with the
natives in this lonely place, where he must yet
sojourn many weeks, regaled the giant with food
and drink ; and when he had had his fill, Magel-
lan caused a mirror to be brought and set before
him. As soon as the giant saw himself in the
glass, he gave a loud cry, and leaped back so
suddenly and with such force that he sent three
or four of the sailors sprawling on the ground.
He soon recovered from his fright, however, and
laughed with a deafening voice. He was as
pleased as a child with several trinkets which
Magellan offered him two tinkling bells, which

AVDENTURES WITH THE GIANTS. 9$

he held close to his ear, a comb, which he very
quickly saw how to use, and a chaplet of beads,
which he tried to bite, making many grimaces,
and then hung around his neck. Magellan then
sent the giant ashore with four armed men ;
these the giant at once conducted to a group of
his countrymen, who had gathered on the hill-
top, and were one and all naked, and as tall as
himself. They received the four Spainards with
singing and jumping, meanwhile pointing to the
heavens in the same manner as the first comer
had done.

Pretty soon some of the native women made
their appearance. They wore shaggy skins about
their waists, and their faces, painted in many
colors, were hideous. While not as tall as the
men, they were much larger than European
women.

The four Spaniards returned to the fleet, tak-
ing with them several of the chiefs, and recount-
ing all that they had seen. Magellan gave the
chiefs some bells, and some pictures painted on
paper, which seemed greatly to delight them ; for
they began to sing in hoarse, loud voices, and to
caper wildly about on the shore. Then suddenly

96 MAGELLAN.

one of them, taking a long arrow from his belt,
thrust it far down his throat, and drawing it out
again, made a sign, as if to say, " Was not that a
wonderful feat?"

So pleased were the chiefs with the strangers,
that they begged Magellan to send some of his
men back with them, that they might see their
habitations in the woods. Magellan readily con-
sented to this, and ordered seven armed men to
accompany his sable guests back to the shore.

The chiefs led the way, and after crossing the
hills near the shore, plunged into a dense and track-
less forest, so tangled and overgrown that, though
the natives passed through nimbly enough, the
Spaniards were continually stumbling and falling
down. Meanwhile, they watched their guides
narrowly, ready to shoot them at the first sign
of perfidy.

After scrambling through the thicket for seven
miles, they came to an opening ; and here they
saw a long, low hut, roofed with the thick, shaggy
skins of wild beasts. This hut they found di-
vided, by a curtain of skins, into two compart-
ments, one of which was occupied by the men,
and the other by the women and children. In all

ADVENTURES WITH THE GIANTS. 97

there were thirteen women and children, and five
men ; and these eagerly welcomed the Spaniards,
and regaled them with a roasted sheep, which
they slaughtered for the purpose.

The Spaniards were persuaded to remain one
night at the hut ; and were offered a snug cor-
ner, with skins for coverings. The natives slept
in the other corners ; and so horribly did they
snore, that their guests got but little sleep during
the night.

The next day, the Spaniards invited the chiefs
to return to the ships, with their families. At
first they declined the invitation ; but finally re-
tired into the women's apartment, as if to bring
them out to go. Presently they emerged again,
their gigantic forms completely covered with
heavy skins, their faces painted so as to give
them a terrible aspect, and holding in their
hands bows and a quantity of arrows.

Their appearance so terrified one of the Span-
iards, that on the impulse of the moment he
raised his gun and fired. To the astonishment
of his companions, the report of the gun, instead
of arousing the anger of the natives, made them
tremble and lift up their arms, as if they im-

98 MAGELLAN.

agined the noise to proceed from heaven. They
were evidently persuaded of this, for they now
very meekly followed the Spaniards towards the
ships ; but they did not allow their women to go.
As they were passing through the forest, the na-
tives were so much more fleet of foot that they
soon outstripped the others, and all of a sudden,
disappeared among the trees. The Spaniards
searched for them in vain, and were finally
obliged to return to the ships without them.
On going with a strong force, a few days after,
to the opening where the hut was, they found it
quite deserted. The natives, with their families,
had fled in all haste.

It was not long, however, before they had
other visitors of gigantic stature and swarthy
hue. One day, another big fellow, armed with
bow and arrows, and painted as the rest had
been, came up to some of the sailors, who were
busily cutting wood on the shore. He approached
them slowly, touching his head and breast
with his fingers, and then pointing heavenward.
He was a good-natured, smiling giant, and full of
lively spirits ; and was easily persuaded to accom-
pany the sailors to Magellan.

ADVENTURES WITH THE GIANTS. 99

The Admiral, pleased to see by this that the na-
tives had not become hostile, cordially greeted
him, gave him a cloth tunic, a pair of breeches,
a cap, a comb, and some bells, and treated him
to such food as there was at the camp. The na-
tive seemed very willing to remain with his new
friends ; and Magellan gave him a lodging in a
hut on the island where he himself had his
quarters.

After a time, the giant not only learned to speak
Spanish very well, but was persuaded by one of
the priests to become a Christian. He was bap-
tized, and received the name of John. He often
went ashore, and brought back animals, which
served as excellent provisions for the Spaniards.

From this native, and others that he from time
to time brought to the camp, Magellan learned
a great deal about the tribes that inhabited the
inland country. They had, it appeared, many
strange customs. When one was sick, instead of
taking medicine, he thrust an arrow down his
throat ; and this proved a very effectual emetic.
When they were tortured with the headache,
they cut themselves across the forehead, legs, and
arms, which was their very simple way of bleed*

IOO MAGELLAN.

ing themselves. They all wore their hair cropped
close ; and when they went hunting, they tied a
cord around their heads, and upon this hung
their arrows. They were a wandering people,
living in one place but a short time, and then
changing their abode. They lived, for the most
part, on raw meat, and a sweet root which they
called " capac." The sailors were amazed to see
some of their swarthy guests skin rats and eat
them raw ; one of them would eat an enormous
quantity of biscuits, and seemed to drink water
by the quart. One striking thing about them was
their exceeding swiftness of foot ; and they seemed
to run as rapidly in a dense, entangled for-
est, as upon the smooth, yielding sand of the
seashore.

The idea occurred to Magellan that it might
be useful to him in the future, if he could man-
age to keep one or two of these natives, and
carry them with him on the rest of his voyage.
They might act as interpreters with the savage
races further south ; and might point out the
favorable places for anchorage, and the shoals
and reefs to be avoided.

With this view he enticed two of the younger

ADVENTURES WITH THE GIANTS. IOI

and more comely and intelligent savages onboard
the flag-ship, and made them happy by profuse
gifts. Among these were glittering steel knives,
forks, small round mirrors, bells, and various
articles of glass ; which the big fellows received
with the liveliest and roughest demonstrations of
joy. Then he had some irons, with which cap-
tains were accustomed to confine rebellious sail-
ors, brought out. These were shown to the na-
tives, who examined them with the keenest
curiosity. After they had played with them,
Magellan showed them how to fasten the irons
on their feet ; but, no sooner had they found
themselves securely bound about the ankles, than
they fell in a great rage, and roared and foamed
at the mouth like two bulls, and called upon their
god, Setebos, to rescue them. They fell on the
deck, and writhed about, as if trying to escape,

Meanwhile, some of the other natives, who had
come with them on board, went ashore, and told
the men and women v/hat had happened ; where-
upon all the women made haste to run into the
woods; while the men gathered on the shore, and
began firing arrows at the flag-ship. One of the
sailors fell mortally wounded. Magellan ordered

IO2 MAGELLAN.

his men to answer the attack with their guns;
which so frightened the giants on shore, that
they made all haste to follow their wives into
the woods.

From this time, the Spaniards saw no more of
this race of giants, for on scouring the country
they could find no trace of them. So the sailors
burned their huts, and brought such provisions
as they found in them to the ships. The two na-
tives who had been put in irons were carefully
guarded ; for Magellan had learned by this time
how agile and cunning these gigantic fellows
were ; and was resolved to keep these two with
him. After awhile, they seemed to become rec-
onciled to their lot. They were brought on
deck, and the sailors taught them a little Span-
ish ; so that they were soon able to make them-
selves understood. When they had recovered
from their anger and their fright, they became
very merry and chatty, and apparently forgot
all about their countrymen, and even their
wives, whom, at first, they had bewailed very
piteously. Each ate enough for two men, and
drank astonishing quantities of water ; and, on
being provided with seamen's suits, they learned

ADVENTURES WITH THE GIANTS. IO3

to prefer this costume to their original nakedness.
Magellan was greatly pleased to see how quickly
and readily they became reconciled to their lot.

Weeks and months glided quickly by in this
pleasant bay of St. Julian. The weather was, at
times, severe ; and had the ships not found a very
safe anchorage, under the lee of the islands that
studded the bay, they would have been in seri-
ous peril from the terrible tempests of wind and
hail that swept over them. In time, however, the
bleak season gradually passed away ; and nature
began to put on the fresh, light-green tints of
spring. As the vegetation gradually appeared
and grew, Magellan saw that he was indeed in a
lovely country, endowed with many natural
beauties, prolific in fruits and vegetables, and
blessed with a delightful temperature.

It was time, however, to think of resuming the
voyage. There seemed no further obstacle to
the progress southward of the ships. They had
been fully repaired by the carpenters Magellan
had taken care to bring with him ; had been newly
caulked, their sails patched and mended, the
holds thoroughly scoured and cleaned, and all
things about them set to rights. Provisions in

IO4 MAGELLAN

abundance had been secured by the good-will
of the natives, who had been very willing to ex-
change meat and other food, the products of the
country, for the trinkets which Magellan freely
lavished upon them. Good water, too, had been
found in the near vicinity of the bay, so that
everything seemed provided for a comfortable
voyage further down the coast.

Before setting sail, however, Magellan deemed
it wise that one of the ships should be sent for-
ward, to explore the coast at a little distance
southward ; and accordingly told Serrano, who
commanded the " Santiago," the smallest vessel
of the fleet, to set sail on this errand. It hap-
pened that after Serrano got outside the bay, a
current seized his ship, and swept it so rapidly
forward that it could not be steered ; and before
he knew it, the " Santiago" grounded upon some
rocks. There was not a moment to be lost.
The ship was hopelessly wrecked, and all that
the crew could to do was to save themselves,
and such of the provisions as they could quickly
lay their hands on. Fortunately the boats proved
uninjured. They were launched without delay,
and every man on board was rescued.

ADVENTURES WITH THE GIANTS. IO5

The boats made all haste to return to the fleet.
The news of the loss of the " Santiago" was very
unwelcome to Magellan ; for, though she was the
smallest of his vessels, he could ill spare her from
the fleet.

He resolved to delay no longer his departure
from St. Julian. It was now late in August ; the
time for a favorable voyage was fast gliding by,
and there was no further reason for delay. One
fine, warm morning, therefore, he gave his orders ;
the " Trinidad," the Admiral's flag flying at her
mast-head, floated smoothly out of the bay which
had so well sheltered them, and where so many
stirring events had taken place ; and the three
remaining ships, with full sails on, followed
closely in her wake.

IOO MAGELLAN.

CHAPTER VIII.

MAGELLAN DISCOVERS THE STRAITS.

T first the voyage southward was pursued
under fair winds, and with soft breezes
that wafted the ships swiftly over the
waters. They had not proceeded for many days,
when they came in sight of a promontory which
jutted far out into the sea. Scarcely had they
got opposite to it, when a terrific tempest burst
upon them. The ships creaked, shook, and
strained ; some of the masts were carried away,
and some of the sails were torn to shreds, as if
ripped by unseen giant hands ; and for several
days it was an even chance whether the little fleet
should founder or weather the storm. One of them
came very near being dashed upon the grim
and frowning promontory; another sprang a
leak, and the men were forced to work desper-
ately at the pumps night and day ; a third narrowly

MAGELLAN DISCOVERS THE STRAITS.

escaped being driven out to sea, and thus part
ing company with the rest.

At last, the fleet was able to find shelter be-
low the promontory, in a little bay ; and now
Magellan named the promontory Santa Cruz,
(or, the Promontory of the Holy Cross.)

Here the sailors once more grew clamorous to
return to Spain. They were worn and weary
with the voyage; they despaired of a successful
ending of the expedition ; and they loudly de-
manded, even before the Admiral himself, that
the prows of the ships should be turned home-
ward.

But Magellan was not to be terrified into re-
treating. He sternly told his men to hold their
peace and trust in him.

" I shall go on," he said, " even till we reach
the ice-seas of the southern pole. The land of
this continent must end somewhere ; and when
we reach this limit, we shall have achieved our
end. We have still food, water, and clothing,

and goodly ships. Why, then, should we des-

"i"
pair?

The confidence and courage of their com-
mander restored the sailors to submission, and

IO8 MAGELLAN.

they finally returned, without further complaint,
to their tasks.

The voyagers only remained at Santa Cruz long
enough to repair the damage which the storm
had done to the fleet. Once more the flag-ship
set forth, and the others followed, and favoring
breezes carried them rapidly forward.

Magellan little thought, when he rose on the
sunny morning of October 2ist, 1520, that he
was near the object most dear to his heart.
It was the day consecrated to the eleven
thousand virgins; and on all festival days of the
Church, Magellan was wont to ordain a religious
ceremony on the ships. On rising, therefore, he
took care to attire himself in his finest suit, with
velvet doublet, plumed cap, and jewelled sword;
he little knew that he was habiting himself to
witness the chief event of his life.

As he had proceeded along the coast, he had been
blindly groping for a passage which he could
only guess existed, but of which he had no positive
knowledge whatever. He knew not what a day
might bring forth ; he was all in the dark as to
the distance he had to go ; and he had now be-
come used to seeing the day go by, and the night

MAGELLAN DISCOVERS THE STRAITS. IOO,

dose in, without having made the great dis-
covery.

When he emerged from his cabin, and stood
upon the deck, the officers and crews, in their
best apparel, were already assembled. Two
priests had set up a little altar on the poop, and
were standing, arrayed in their sacred robes,
ready to perform the mass. The Admiral took
his place in front of the rest ; and as the good
ship sped on, the voices of the priests mingled
with the splash of the waters and the flapping of
the sails, in the performance of their solemn rite.

Scarcely was mass concluded, when one of the
sailors, perched on the look-out forward, cried out
loudly that a long cape was in sight. Magellan
walked to the side of the ship, and gazed in the
direction in which the sailor pointed. There, in-
deed, was a jutting cape, beyond which nothing
could be seen.

Pretty soon the fleet was off the point. On
rounding it, Magellan's heart leaped within him
to perceive that there was a broad inlet, running
in a southwesterly direction ; and that, while the
land was plainly visible on its southern side, its
limit inland could not be discerned. Naming

HO MAGELLAN.

the cape the Cape of Virgins, he gave orders that
the fleet should boldly enter the inlet, and en-
deavor to find out whither it led.

The aspect of the shores, and of the inlet
itself, was very remarkable. Lofty mountains,
snow-shrouded, loomed on both shores. These
shores were jagged and uneven, many lesser
inlets running from the larger one far into the
land, and craggy islands seeming in several places,
to completely choke up the channel ; here and
there were patches of green forests, but the gen-
eral appearance of the place was desolate and for-
bidding.

The ships advanced carefully, for on every side
the jutting reefs and piled-up breakers threat-
ened destruction. As the flag-ship progressed,
Magellan anxiously watched the channel ahead,
fearing every moment lest it should come to an
end, and once more dash his hopes of a passage.
At last they came to a round bay, sheltered
on every side by lofty masses of rock. It
was now nearly dark ; the fleet could not pursue
its course much further, amid so many perils;
and Magellan gave the order to anchor in the
bay.

MAGELLAN DISCOVERS THE STRAITS. Ill

So favorable for a sojourning place and point
of departure did this bay appear to Magellan,
when he rose next morning, that he resolved to
remain in it, with the flag-ship, while he sent two
of the other ships to explore the channel further
on, and see if they could not find the outlet.
Accordingly, calling Mesquita and Serrano, the
captains of the " San Antonio," and the " Con-
ception," he told them to set out, without delay,
on this dangerous and difficult errand.

They had scarcely disappeared among the
islands, before a storm arose, so fierce that the
two ships that remained in the bay were forced
to weigh their anchors, and be tossed to and fro
violently at the will of the winds. This con-
tinued all night, and for the greater part of the
next day; when at last the tempest subsided,
without having seriously damaged the ships.

Meanwhile, no signs appeared of the two ves-
sels that had gone forward to explore the chan-
nel ; and for a time Magellan much feared that
they had foundered in the storm. After several
days, however, he was relieved by seeing them
speeding rapidly towards the bay, and what filled
his heart with good cheer, with their flags and

112 MAGELLAN.

streamers flying gaily from their mast-heads.
They were soon alongside the flag-ship ; and
Mesquita, hastening on board, eagerly advanced
to Magellan, and fell at his feet.

" Praise be to God, admiral," cried he, when he
could recover his breath so as to speak, " we have
found the outlet!"

Magellan, with flushed face, his whole body
trembling with excitement and emotion, raised
the faithful captain from the deck, and clasping
him about the neck, burst into tears of joy.

"Is it indeed true?" he said, with faltering
voice. " And have you seen the other ocean-^-
the western ocean beyond ?"

" We have indeed seen it, with these ven
eyes," replied Mesquita. " We came near perish-
ing in the storm ; but we kept on, and we have
succeeded/'

Magellan turned to Serrano, who had now
come on board from the " Conception," and the
other officers, and tenderly embraced them. Then
in exultant tones, he spoke.

"My comrades, at last we have triumphed!
Our perils have been great, our trials and hard-
ships sore and many. But the reward of all has

MAGELLAN DISCOVERS THE STRAITS. 113

come. The passage that conducts from the At-
lantic to the further ocean, that affords the near-
est way from Spain to the precious isles of the
Moluccas, is found ! It is just before us ; we
shall pass through it, if God pleases to still pro-
tect us, and shall sail into the ocean beyond. We
shall make other discoveries; find wealth and
fame for ourselves, and dominion for our mon-
arch! Captains, repair to your ships; assemble
your crews, and tell them the good tidings ; let
your cannon awake deafening echoes among
these crags ; float the royal standard and ensigns
of Spain from your mast-heads ; array your decks
with streamers and ribbons ; let wine and meat
in plenty be set forth ; and render thanks to
God for conducting us to this great discovery !"
The admiral's orders were obeyed with a will.
Ere long the four ships, riding at anchor in the
bay, side-by-side, put on an air of festivity and
good cheer. The sailors crowded the decks,
singing and capering, embracing each other, and
every now and then breaking out into hoarse and
lusty cheers. The cannon boomed with quick
succeeding volleys, their voices of thunder re-
sounding from point to point; the flags waved

H4 MAGELLAN.

with joyous fluttering in the fresh breeze; and
then followed a bounteous feast on each deck, of
which officers and men partook together.

The religious thanksgiving for the discovery
was not forgotten. The remains of the feast
were cleaned away ; instead of the tables, altars
arose on the decks ; and the priests, with deep-
toned voices, chanted the song of triumph which
their church ordained.

When he had grown somewhat calmer, Magel-
lan took the two captains, Mesquita and Serrano,
into his cabin, and asked them to relate the par-
ticulars of their adventures.

" At first," said Mesquita, " we met with head-
winds, which would not allow us to weather the
cape at the end of the bay ; and we attempted to
turn round, and come back to the other ships.
In making this attempt, we were very near being
stranded upon the shore. Every moment we
feared that we should be lost ; meanwhile, the
tempest carried us gradually toward the head of
the cape, which we finally reached. It seemed
to us that the inlet ended there ; and on round-
ing the cape, we were surprised to see a small
mouth, or corner of the inlet. We sailed for this,

MAGELLAN DISCOVERS THE STRAITS. 11$

in the hope of sheltering ourselves from the
storm. On approaching nearer, we found that
this led into another bay, which we forthwith en-
tered. Crossing this bay we reached another
narrow channel, through which we sailed, until
we came to still a third bay, larger than either
of the others ; thence we passed into a third
strait, from which we could plainly discover the
boundless ocean itself. Lying there over-night,
we returned to-day, to impart to you and our
comrades the glorious news we brought."

The weather was fair, and seemed settled ; and
Magellan was eager to follow in the route that
the "Conception" and the " San Antonio" had
pursued. He therefore ordered the whole fleet
to set sail, and advance through the channel. In
no long time the ships had entered the last strait
described by Mesquita; and all the adventurers
now caught a glimpse, in the far and dim dis-
tance, of the white-crested billows of the further
ocean. They then anchored off a cape that jutted
into the strait, which Magellan named Cape
Forward.

But Magellan found that, once here, he had by
no means found an easy passage through. The

Il6 MAGELLAN.

channel seemed to divide into two, and to present
two branches, one to the southeast, the other to
the southwest. Which should betaken? Without
doubt, one of them led to the ocean ; the other
probably found its termination in a bay ; nor

could he decide, from the point where he then
was, which to attempt.

He therefore resolved to again send out the
two ships, the " Conception" and the " San An-
tonio," to explore the two channels, and to report
to him their discoveries. Before doing so, how-
ever, Magellan called together his officers and
principal men, and said to them :

" We have, no doubt, discovered the passage
from the Atlantic to the further seas. Ere very
long our ships will ride the waters of the sea be-
yond. It remains to decide whether we shall
push further forward, and seek the Moluccas ; or
return with our good news to Spain. We have
only provisions for three months ; the voyage to
the islands must be very long and tedious ; we
may have to undergo stern trials, severe priva-
tions. On the other hand, if we succeed in reach-
ing the Moluccas, vast riches await us there.
We shall gain dominion for the king, and receive

MAGELLAN DISCOVERS THE STRAITS. ll*J

yet greater fame and honor in Spain, when at
last we seek the hospitable shores of home. I
ask you, comrades, for your voices . Which shall
we do?"

A loud shout promptly answered the Admiral's
question.

" Let us go on !" was the eager response of Ma-
gellan's companions.

One, however, Gomez, the pilot of the " San
Antonio," did not join in the cry. When silence
was restored, he spoke boldly in favor of return-
ing to Spain.

" Our fleet," he said, " is worn with so much
sailing. The ships are out of repair, and little
able to withstand the storms of unknown seas. We
have already lost one of them by shipwreck. Let
us go back, and return next year with a new and
larger fleet."

"Enough of this!" retorted Magellan, angrily.
"We will go on, even if we have to eat the
leather off the ship's yards!"

The " Conception" and the "San Antonio"
started off on their errand of exploration ; sev-
eral days elapsed, but they did not return. Ma-
gellan feared that they were lost. He was too

Il8 MAGELLAN.

impatient to wait for them, however, and one
day he set sail, with the two ships that remained,
through the strait that led southwestward. This,
on reflection, seemed most likely to lead to the
open sea.

On their way they passed through a wide
river, which, from the number of little fishes they
found in it, Magellan named the River of Sar-
dines. Anchoring in this river, he sent out two
of the long-boats, well supplied with men and
provisions, to reconnoitre the further end of the
river. The boats returned after three days,
with the intelligence that the river led to the sea,
the shores of which they had touched.

As the "Trinidad" (the flag-ship) and the
" Victoria" were advancing through the river, to
Magellan's delight the " Conception," which he
had given up for lost, suddenly appeared in view.
She soon came alongside, and Serrano, the captain,
told Magellan that he had got lost in the straits
and among the islands. He had seen nothing of
the " San Antonio" since he parted from her.
Magellan accordingly sent back the " Victoria"
to the entrance of the passage in search of her;
and told the captain, if he did not find the mis-

MAGELLAN DISCOVERS THE STRAITS

sing vessel, to hoist a flag on the summit of a
hill, and place a letter in a jar at the foot of the
flag-pole ; so that if the " San Antonio" saw the
flag, its officers might learn by the letter, what
course the fleet was holding.

The " Victoria" returned to the entrance, but
saw no sign of the " San Antonio." The captain
raised the flag, and deposited the letter, as he
had been directed ; and placed another flag and
letter on a little island at the mouth of the
strait.

What had really become of the " San Antonio,"
may be related here. The pilot, Gomez, who had
urged Magellan to return to Spain, was indignant
at the stern response he had received. He was
one of those Spaniards who had all along been
jealous of the Admiral ; and, as it happened,
most of the sailors who went in the "San An-
tonio" had the same vindictive feeling.

When, therefore, the " San Antonio" had got
well out of sight of the fleet, and night had come
on, Gomez incited the crew to mutiny. They
seized Mesquita, the captain, Magellan's faithful
friend, wounded him, put him in irons, and im-
prisoned him in his cabin. Then Gomez took

I2O MAGELLAN.

command of the ship, sailed back through the
strait, and at once put to sea on his way to
Spain. On his arrival there, he everywhere
spread the report that Magellan's expedition
had miserably failed, and that the other ships
had been lost ; and this was believed there for
many months.

The three other ships, the " Trinidad," " Con-
ception," and " Victoria," soon reached the
mouth of the River of Sardines. At the point
where it flowed into the ocean appeared a hilly
cape, stretching out into the water. This Ma-
gellan called Cape Desire, because, he said, this
was a place he had long desired. As he saw be-
yond the jutting cliffs, the long sweep of billows,
the boundless expanse of waters, his eyes filled
with tears of joy, and he lifted his hands heaven-
ward in mute thanksgiving to God, that at last
his eyes were permitted to behold the ocean he
had sought. Once more the cannon awoke the
echoes of the lofty and forbidding shores, and
once more the priests chanted their praises to
the beneficent Creator.

Near Cape Desire the ships found a good har-
bor, where they could easily cast anchor, and

MAGELLAN DISCOVERS THE STRAITS. 121

where the crews could go ashore. On the high
hills which, in this place, rose for a long distance
from near the water's edge, and which terminated
in towering, snow-crested mountains, they formed
vast cedar forests, and plenty of pure spring
water. They caught many fish, too, among them
a fish that so much resembled sardines that they
called them by that name; and they found a
sweet and succulent herb, which was similar to
celery in taste and appearance. This grew in
damp places, near the springs.

The prospect in every direction was very striking
and picturesque. The crags and foaming gulfs of
the straits, the lofty mountains, the rich green for-
ests of cedar, the luxuriant herbage, and the limit-
less ocean, formed a scene which deeply impressed
itself on the minds of the weary wanderers.

The adventurers greatly enjoyed their stay at
Cape Desire. Their trials were forgotten amid
the attractions of their resting place ; the
weather was growing cooler, but was not yet
bleak ; sea and land afforded an abundance of
fresh provisions ; and the Admiral allowed his
crews, while on shore, the largest liberty. They
wandered among the odorous forests, and roamed

122 MAGELLAN.

over the hills, and some even ventured to climb
one of the mountains, until they found themselves
up to the waist in snow.

The natives of the region were very much like
those whom they had seen on the other side of
the straits ; only they seemed brighter and more
intelligent, and had a language which they spoke
rapidly, with a guttural accent that amused the
sailors very much. The latter soon learned
enough of this strange jargon to talk a little with
the natives, who, after they once became accus-
tomed to the Europeans (the like of whom they
had never before seen), were very good-natured
and sociable. They were of gigantic stature, and
made their faces hideous, by painting and branding
them. They brought provisions to the ships, and
were greatly delighted with the beads, buttons,
little bells, and so on, with which Magellan re-
warded them.

These natives lived for the most part on a
juicy root which grew in great abundance in
the marshy places, and which they cooked
after a rude fashion. They had a way of rub-
bing sticks together very rapidly, with the pith
of a tree between, and thus striking a light.

MAGELLAN DISCOVERS THE STRAITS. 123

Magellan only tarried in this harbor long
enough to repair his ships, rest his crews, and take
in a fresh supply of wood, water, and provisions,
and determine on his future course. He made
an excursion along the coast, and perceived that,
as far as he went, it stretched away almost due
northward. He therefore concluded that, if he
sailed in that direction, he would sooner or later
reach the equator ; and that, if on approaching
this line, he altered his course towards the north-
westward, he must in time arrive at the Moluc-
cas. He had now constructed, in a rude way, a
pretty fair chart of the world ; though, of course,
he could not give a true outline of the shape of
the continents of Africa and South America.

One day, early in December, the fleet once
more set forth, upon an ocean which, in that re-
gion at least, had never before been plowed by the
keels of an European ship. More than a year had
passed since the voyagers had sailed out of the
harbor of Seville. What strange countries and
peoples they had seen ; what thrilling adventures
they had had ! But the perils and the scenes
they had passed through were to be outdone by
those they were yet destined to encounter.

124 MAGELLAN.

CHAPTER IX.

CROSSING THE PACIFIC.

AIR and calm were the days, and smooth
and sparkling was the sea, during the
first weeks of Magellan's progress over
the ocean, hitherto untraversed by European
prows. The weather preserved an even tempera-
ture and tranquillity, which made the voyage
seem more like a pleasure excursion than what it
really was a desperate and daring venture. The
crews worked at their tasks with cheery good
will ; the ships sped on side-by-side ; favorable
breezes wafted them rapidly forward. It did not
seem possible that aught could happen to disturb
this prosperous setting-out.

Magellan, who was a good scholar, as well as a
brave soldier and bold voyager, spent the long,
sunshiny days poring over his charts, making cal-
culations, and estimating the time it would take,

CROSSING THE PACIFIC. 12$

if all went well, to reach the Moluccas. In the
midst of these studies, a thrilling thought, one
day, made him start to his feet, and clasp his
hands. He was approaching the Moluccas by a
westward route from Europe. But the islands
had already been reached by an eastward route,
around the Cape of Good Hope. If, then, after
arriving at the Moluccas, he should, instead of re-
tracing his voyage around South America, keep
right on, double Africa, and thus get back to
Spain, he would have circumnavigated the globe.
No voyager had ever achieved this triumph ; he
would be the first to have encircled the earth !

He resolved on the spot, that he would add
this new laurel to the crown of his fame. Alas!
Though his glorious dream was realized, he was
not destined to live to see it .

So tranquil did the waters of the ocean re-
main, from day to day, and from week to week,
that Magellan, impressed by this striking con-
trast with the stormy and tempest-tossed Atlan-
tic, resolved to bestow upon it a name suggestive
of its serenity.

Calling his officers about him, one day, he thus
spoke to them.

126 MAGELLAN.

" My comrades, we are sailing on an unknown
ocean. No European ship has ever before
ploughed these gentle waters. On our charts,
this vast expanse is nameless. Do you not see
how smooth as a lake is its surface; how
mild are its breezes ; how soft and even is its tem-
perature ? Comrades, I will give this great sea a
name, and christen it. Henceforth, let it be
known as the PACIFIC !"

And so Magellan gave a name, not only to the
stormy straits which he had discovered, but also
to the mighty ocean which he was the first Euro-
pean voyager to cross.

After sailing for some weeks, the fleet was be-
calmed in mid-ocean. The winds which had sped
the ships so buoyantly, fell, then died away.
There was nothing to be done except to toss
about on the lonely sea, and await the return of
easterly breezes. But days, then weeks passed,
and the dreary calm continued. Sometimes a
brisk wind would come up, and the ships would
then plough rapidly through the waves ; but it
would vanish again, and leave them once more
idly floating.

At first, Magellan thought little of this. He

CROSSING THE PACIFIC. 127

was annoyed not to make greater speed ; but
there was plenty of time, he thought, before
them. As weeks elapsed, however, the calms
threatened evils to the adventurers far more seri-
ous than mere delay. On examining his supplies
of provisions, Magellan perceived, to his dismay,
that they were fast running short.

Long before this, he had hoped to come upon
islands where his supplies could be replenished ;
but day after day the same dreary expanse of
waters, unbroken by so much as a speck of dry
land, greeted his eyes. At last, however, an
island did appear in sight. Magellan eagerly
ordered the ships to make for it. They ap-
proached, only to find a heap of barren rocks,
with a few stunted trees, and uninhabited, ex-
cept by noisy sea-birds. Not even was there
good anchorage ; while all about the ships swam
hideous swarms of sharks, ready to seize, in their
vast and gaping jaws, any luckless sailor who fell
into the water, or even exposed himself in a
boat.

Magellan was forced to sail away from the
island without adding a fish or an herb to his
provisions. Another month passed, amid pro-

128 MAGELLAN.

yoking calms, and out of sight of land ; then an,
other island came in sight. This, too, proved bit-
terly disappointing ; for there was little vegeta-
tion, and not a living thing appeared on its
dismal and desolate surface. Here, however,
some of the sailors managed to land, and suc-
ceeded in catching a few fish, which served to
postpone, for a time at least, the approach of
actual hunger.

The fleet had now crossed the tropic of Capri
corn, and was rapidly nearing the equator. The
heat grew intense. The sun blazed remorselessly
down upon the tar who ventured up the masts.
Men fell fainting and sun-stricken to the deck.
The platform actually burned under their feet;
the pitch which filled the seams softened and
melted, and oozed out.

What made the heat still more unendurable,
the supply of fresh water was now almost ex-
hausted ; what remained had become so filthy
and nauseous that the wanderers could not drink
it without shuddering, and it often made them ill.

Then Magellan was grief-stricken to be forced
to reduce the rations of his brave and suffering
comrades. The only food left consisted of coarse

CROSSING THE PACIFIC.

biscuit ; and these were, as one who was on
board says, " reduced to powder, and full of
worms." They had been gnawed and defiled by
rats, and were scarcely eatable. But even such
food was a rich and rare luxury compared to that
to which the poor fellows were at last reduced.
In no long time not a biscuit, not a crumb
remained. Then they were obliged to do
the very thing that Magellan had spoken.
of, when he said he would go forward,
" even if they had to eat the leather off the
yards." This miserable apology for food was
now, indeed, all that was left. The gaunt and
famished sailors tore off the ox-hides under the
main yard, which had been placed there to
protect the rigging from the strain of the
yard. The leather was so tough that the
hungry teeth could make no impression upon it.
They attached pieces of it to strong cords, and
let them trail in the sea for four or five days.
When they were thus soaked through, the sail-
ors made a poor pretence of cooking the leather.
They placed it over the fire, until it was singed,
and then ate it greedily.

When the leather was gone, they devoured

I3O MAGELLAN.

saw-dust, and eagerly hunted down the very rats
that infested the ships, and when they caught
one, quarrelled fiercely to secure a bit of him.

It seemed as if no misfortune were to be spared
the unhappy voyagers ; for, while they were suf-
fering all the horrors of famine, that terrible sea

distemper, the scurvy, broke out in their midst.
The gums of its victims swelled, so that they
could not eat even the wretched food still within
their reach ; and twenty of the sailors soon died
of actual starvation. Others grew ill, and ere
long there were scarcely enough to sail the ships.

An end came, however, to these terrible hard-
ships at last. The fleet had sailed from Cape
Desire early in December. In the first days of
March, it came in sight of some islands, that
rose green and blooming from the bosom of the
sea, and even in the distance gave such promise
of relief that the adventurers fell on their knees
on deck, and fairly wept for joy.

There were three of the islands ; one was
larger than the others, and rose in wooded hills
to quite a height. Towards this Magellan di-
rected his course. When the ships approached
to within a mile of it, of a sudden the water was

CROSSING THE PACIFIC.

covered with long, slender boats, with three-cor-
nered sails, filled with a multitude of fantastic
figures. The canoes came swarming towards the
ships, their occupants crying out and making all
sorts of uncouth noises, and seeming to be not
in the least afraid of the strangers. It delighted
Magellan and his famished comrades to perceive
that they brought with them an abundance of
provisions. The natives went on board the ships
as boldly as if they were in the habit of seeing
Europeans every day ; bringing in their arms
banana stalks hung thick with the luscious fruit,
cocoanuts, and other products of their island ;
and pretty soon the voyagers were devouring
these good things with greedy eagerness.

The natives were really fine-looking men, with
smooth, olive skins, handsome and pleasant faces,
and tall, well-built forms. Many were quite
naked ; some, however, wore girdles, or matted
aprons about the waist, and queer-looking hats,
made of palm leaves. A few wore beards, and
the thick hair fell, in some cases, down to the
waist.

Magellan and his ofacers treated their visitors
with grateful good will, and allowed them to

MAGELLAN.

roam freely about the ships, which they seemed
anxious to do ; and ere long the vessels fairly
swarmed with them in every part. They seemed
perfectly harmless and good-natured, and danced
and capered about wildly, when Magellan gave
them some buttons and bells.

As he was standing on the deck, watching their
pranks with an amused smile, one of the sailors
came to him and said that the islanders had
cunningly stolen the skiff, which had been fast-
ened to the stern of the " Trinidad." Looking
over the side, Magellan saw them making off
with it. At the same moment, other sailors
came up, and reported that the natives were lay-
ing hold of everything in the ships to which they
took a fancy, and were carrying what they thus
appropriated to their boats.

Magellan then ordered that they should be
driven off the ships ; which was at once done.
This evidently enraged the savages very much ;
for no sooner had they got into their boats than
they began pelting the Spaniards with stones
and burning torches. Magellan then caused the
cannon to be fired over their heads. This, at
first, produced the desired result. The boats fled,

CROSSING THE PACIFIC. 133

amid much shrieking and yelling, to the island.
In the night, however, they returned, and did
much damage to the ships with their rude missiles.
The next morning Magellan, indignant at the
thieving propensities of the natives, and resolved
to recover the skiff they had stolen for he could
ill spare even a small boat manned several
boats with forty men, armed to the teeth, and
taking his place in the foremost, went ashore.
He found the island a lovely one, overgrown with
luxuriant tropical fruits and plants, and adorned
with beautiful forests. Proceeding inland from

the shore, he soon came to a native village, from
whence the inhabitants, seeing him approach,
fled in dismay. He burned the greater part of
the village, killed several of the natives, and took
others prisoners ; and then returned to the
shore, where he found his skiff, with many
canoes, moored in an inlet out of view of the
ships.

Among his prisoners were a number of the
native women. These, Magellan observed with
curiosity and interest, were pretty and delicate,
much fairer than the men, with loose and flowing
raven tresses, which fell to the very ground

134 MAGELLAN.

They had no clothing, except aprons made of a
thin and pliable bark ; while their hair and faces
were perfumed with cocoa oil. Magellan learned
a great deal that was singular about the people
and the island, from one of his male prisoners,
who was very quick-witted, and who conversed
with him by signs. It appeared that they sub-
sisted chiefly on figs, sweet canes, birds, and fish.
Both men and women were very fond of fishing
in the sea, which was, indeed, their chief pastime ;
their fish-hooks were made of fish-bones. While
the men worked in the fields, the women stayed
at home in their huts, and made clothing and
baskets of palm-leaves. The huts were built of
wood, and thatched with fig-leaves ; their beds
had palm-leaf mats for covering, instead of
blankets and quilts; the beds themselves being
simply bundles of soft, fine palm straw. As for
weapons, they used long sticks, with sharpened
and pointed fish-bones at the end. The boats
which Magellan found in the cove struck him as
very odd. They were long, narrow affairs, painted
red, black, or white. The masts consisted of
crooked poles, which supported palm-leaf sails,
shaped like lateen sails, both fore and aft. For

CROSSING THE PACIFIC. 135

paddles they had devices that looked like
shovels.

Magellan remained off these islands three days.
He gave them the name of the " Isles of Thieves,"
because of the depredations of the natives; and
the islands are known by that name to this day.

On weighing anchor, and proceeding on its way
westward, the fleet was followed by great crowds
of the natives, in innumerable boats, who chaffed
the Spaniards by holding fish up to them, as if
to taunt them with their hunger. Then they
would throw showers of stones, most of which,
however, fell harmlessly into the water, short
of the ships. They rowed so swiftly and skil-
fully that it was impossible to hit their boats
with the cannon balls; nor did they desist and
return to their islands until the fleet was far out
to sea.

Magellan had now reached the eastern edge of
that vast cluster of islands which comprises the
Asiatic archipelago. He soon found himself con-
stantly passing among groups of them ; but, as he
had taken care to replenish his store of pro-
visions and water before sailing from the Isles of
Thieves, and was uncertain what his reception

136 MAGELLAN.

might be, he did not care to cast anchor among
them. In ten days he found the islands becoming
more dense, larger, and more luxurious in vegeta-
tion ; and now he came to one that seemed so invit-
ing, that he could not resist the temptation to land,
The group of islands among which he was then
passing he named the St. Lazarus Islands, be-
cause it was on the day of that saint that he
reached them ; but they are now known as the
Philippine Islands. The island at which Magel-
lan cast anchor and went ashore proved to be
uninhabited ; and he was not sorry for this,
as he might land in peace, and rest his crews.
He caused two large tents to be set upon the
smooth beach, and the sick sailors were taken out
of the ships and carried into them. There
they were carefully tended, and most of them,
in the balmy air, and supplied with good food,
soon recovered their customary vigor. On
this island, too, Magellan found plenty of pure
water, which had long been one of his direst
needs.

Not far from this island was a larger one
which is now called Samar. Magellan had not
been at anchor more than two days, when one

-H

bfi

CROSSING THE PACIFIC. 137

of the sailors espied a long canoe, which was
rapidly approaching the shore where the Span-
iards were. Magellan, with some of his officers,
walked boldly down to the beach, as if to meet the
new comers; at the same time cautioning his
men not to move or speak without his per-
mission.

The natives sprang fearlessly upon the beach,
and went directly towards Magellan, whom they
appeared to recognize at once as the chief officer
of the fleet. As they came, they capered and
danced about, and grinned with their big mouths,
showing rows of dazzling white teeth, as a token
of friendly welcome. Magellan made signs to
them that he was glad to see them ; whereupon,
a number ran along the beach, calling out to some
of their countrymen, who now appeared off the
island in canoes, and were fishing, to come on
shore.

It was a strange scene, this meeting of Asiatic
savages, creamy in color, completely naked, were
it not for the aprons of barks about their waists,
with great masses of shaggy hair, with the
Europeans, the chief of whom were as elegantly
attired as if they were on the point of attending

138 MAGELLAN.

a royal court ; the savages fuddled together on
one side, gazing curiously, and every now and
then jumping up, and uttering hoarse exclama-
tions; and the Europeans standing in a silent and
attentive group, not forgetting to keep their
hands on their weapons in case of a sudden
attack.

But the natives evidently had no hostile pur-
pose in their thoughts. They brought some just-
caught and still wriggling fish, and laid them, with
many signs of respect, at Magellan's feet. He
was not less generous in his turn. Sending into
the tents for some trinkets, he might soon have
been seen, in the very midst of the natives, scat-
tering among them a number of articles that
fairly set them wild with delight. There were
looking-glasses and combs, red caps and bells,
toys of ivory, and gewgaws of silverware and
brass. The natives were not content with lav-
ishing fish upon the strangers. One of their
canoes pushed off, and in a flash had disap-
peared ; ere long, it was seen returning as rapidly
as it went. Its occupants sprang ashore, bring-
ing with them a huge jar. Placing this before
Magellan, they produced cups made of cocoanut

CROSSING THE PACIFIC. 139

shells, dipped into the jar, and brought forth the
cups overflowing with some kind of liquor.
Magellan tasted it, and turning around, smiled and
nodded his head, as if to say, " It is very nice."
But this was only put on to please his visitors;
it was really very unpleasant stuff, a sort of wine
made of palms. The natives drank it with great
gusto. Magellan liked much better the enor-
mous figs they brought him, which were sweet
and juicy; and the rich milk of the cocoanuts,
which they cracked for his delectation.

The natives, indeed, proved so friendly, that Ma-
gellan not only secured from them what provisions
he needed, with which to replenish his stores, but
learned a great deal about that part of the great
ocean where he now found himself. He was
told that there were many larger islands ahead,
all of which were inhabited by tribes with various
traits and customs, and were very rich in their
productions. He could not doubt that he was
very near the far-famed Molucca Islands, so
much coveted both by his adopted country,
Spain, and his native country, Portugal. It
seemed certain to him that the vast Continent of
Asia lay not far to the North of him ; those mys

I4O MAGELLAN.

terious regions once comprising the dominions ol
the great Kubla Khan ; and that, by sailing
steadily westward, he should reach the shores
of Africa, and find the kingdoms which Vasco da
Gama had visited.

He, found that he could trust his swarthy visi-
tors ; and no longer hesitated to take them on
board the ships, and show them his cargo of
spices and gold, his cabins, and his armament.
On one occasion, he caused one of the cannon
on board the " Trinidad" to be fired ; which so
much frightened the natives, that several of them
sprang overboard into the sea, and were with dif-
ficulty rescued.

At last, the chief of the island from whence
the natives came, himself paid a visit to the
ships in state. He was attended by many nobles,
and had his face painted ; while heavy gold
ear-rings hung from his ears, and gold bracelets
encircled his wrists. He was an old man, with
gentle manners, and a pleasant smile. With him
he brought two boats laden with oranges, palm
wine, and what very much pleased Magellan-
some chickens.

Before sailing away from the place where he

CROSSING THE PACIFIC.

had met so pleasant a reception, Magellan visited
several neighboring islands, in each of which he
was welcomed in a most peaceful and friendly
manner. On one of these he found people very
different from those he had seen at first. They
were of a tawny complexion, and very fat and
sleek-looking; they painted their bodies all over;
they had great holes bored in their ears; and
wore, as did the others, aprons made of bark, or
palm-leaves. They had a habit of anointing
themselves from head to foot, with oil of cocoa-
nuts and sesame, in order, as they said, to pro-
tect them from the sun and wind. Some of the
chief men were arrayed in long gowns made of
cotton, the ends of which were fringed with a
kind of silk ; their weapons were daggers and
knives, the hilts, in some cases, ornamented with
gold; and for fishing, they had harpoons and
nets.

These savages had one habit which greatly
disgusted Magellan and his companions. This
was their habit of betel-chewing. A sort of pear-
shaped fruit, called areca, grew on the islands.
This, with some lime, they would wrap up in
the betel-leaves, and putting it into their mouths,

142 MAGELLAN.

would chew eagerly by the hour together. It
had the effect of keeping them continually ex-
cited ; but when the Spaniards tasted it, it made
them very sick.

Magellan remained among the Philippines a
week. The ships fortunately needed but few
repairs ; and the great fruitfulness of the islands
supplied him with an ample abundance of pro-
visions. The two springs on the little island
yielded plenty of good water ; and the forests
on the larger islands afforded an excellent stock
of wood. It seemed as if the trials of the wan-
derers were passed, and as if the rest of their
voyage were to be a holiday sail.

MAGELLAN. M3

CHAPTER X.

MAGELLAN AMONG THE MALAYS.

|T was now the latter part of March; in
that tropical region one of the pleasant-
est periods of the year, when the sun no
longer blazed down remorselessly, and the superb
vegetation of the equatorial lands displayed its
gaudiest colors.

As the ships wound in among clusters of
islands, which were now never out of sight a sin-
gle day, Magellan thought he had never seen so
many natural beauties, that he had never imagined
such trees, and shrubs, and flowers, so glowing an
atmosphere, so smooth and fair a sea ; such beauti-
ful forests, jungles, valleys, such fairy isles, as he
now beheld.

He often sat on deck at sunrise, and gazed on
the magic scene ; observed the lovely isl; nds as
one after another was passed ; saw the natives

144 MAGELLAN.

as they ran about on the shore, or huddled in
curious groups to watch the ships ; and inhaled
the rich, dense perfumes that the breezes wafted
from the fruitful fields.

After skirting many islands, the fleet came, one
night, near an island where a great fire appeared
to be burning. The next morning Magellan an-
chored just off its shores ; and no sooner had he
done so, than a boat with eight men pulled out
from the island, and approached the "Trinidad."
When it came near, a Malay, whom Magellan had

brought with him as an interpreter, exclaimed in
an excited voice, that the men in the boat were
his countrymen, and that he would speak to
them. Magellan told him to do so; and the
Malay, leaning over the side of the ship, rattled
off some gibberish at the top of his lungs. The
men in the boat, as soon as they heard him,
jumped up and began to make wild gesticula-
tions ; and when he paused, replied to him in the
same tongue. The interpreter asked them to come
on board the " Trinidad ;" but they replied that
they were afraid to do so.

Then Magellan caused a small plank to be
brought ; to this he tied a red cap, and some

MAGELLAN AMONG THE MALAYS. 145

trinkets, and threw it into the water near the
boat. The natives seized the plank eagerly ;
and the chief of them, detaching the cap, put it
on his shaggy head, and began dancing about in
the boat.

Presently they rowed rapidly away ; and Ma-
gellan was about to weigh anchor and proceed
on his voyage, when he saw two larger boats,
with many more men in them, put out from the
shore. As the foremost drew near the " Trini-
dad," he perceived in the centre of it a tall, dark
man, much more richly dressed than his compan-
ions, seated under an awning of mats. He asked
the interpreter who this man could be ; the
Malay replied that he was doubtless the king
of the island. Such, indeed, he proved ; for the
Malay addressed him in his own language, to
which the swarthy monarch readily replied. He
could not be prevailed upon to trust his royal
person on board the flag-ship ; but sent some
of his courtiers, whom Magellan cordially wel-
comed, and to whom he confided some presents
for the king. In return, the king sent him a large
bar of solid gold, which made the eyes of the
sailors sparkle ; and a basket of ginger.

MAGELLAN.

Finding this native prince so friendly, Mage I
Ian resolved to prolong his stay at the island,
which was called Mazzava. The ships moved
around into a convenient cove, quite near the
royal residence ; and now, every day, civilities
passed between the natives and the Spaniards.
The king was soon persuaded to go on board
the " Trinidad ;" and on his arrival, in great
state, one morning, he went up to Magellan, and
tenderly embraced him. The Admiral had an
arm-chair placed on deck for his august visitor,
and entered into familiar conversation with him,
the Malay acting as interpreter. The king said
that he wished to be " cassi, cassi," with Magel-
lan that is, the best of friends ; and in token of
his amiable disposition, he produced some china
dishes, on which were rice and fish.

Magellan was not to be outdone in generosity
and politeness ; he gave the king a robe of red
and yellow cloth, and a handsomely embroidered
red cap ; seeing to it that presents of knives and
mirrors were also made to the king's attendants.
Magellan then caused cloths of different colors.

linen, and coral to be brought and shown to his
guest ; and ordered the artillery to be fired,

MAGELLAN AMONG THE MALAYS

which much pleased the king, who, having Keard
guns fired before, was not terrified. The king,
seeing one of the Spaniards with a suit of armor
on, asked what was the purpose of so strange an
attire ; whereupon Magellan ordered three other
Spaniards to strike the man in armor with swords
and daggers, as hard as they could. The king
observing that they made no impression on him,
then understood why armor was worn.

Magellan took care to let the swarthy monarch
know that he had two hundred men who, thus
clad in armor, could fight without being harmed
by any enemy's weapons.

Resolved to show the king still further evidence
of the powers of the Europeans in battle, he com-
manded two of his soldiers to engage in a mock
combat in fencing. The potentate leaned for-
ward in his chair, and gazed breathlessly at the
struggle. He seemed amazed at the skill with
which the soldiers parried each other's blows, and
aimed rapid and deadly thrusts at each other's
breasts. He examined the swords, cuirasses
and hemlets which were brought for his inspec-
tion, with the deepest interest.

Then, turning to Magellan, whom he was be<

148 MAGELLAN.

ginning to regard as something more than mor
tal, he asked if he had made a long voyage, and
how he was able to navigate his great ships
hither ? Magellan then showed the king his charts,
compass, quadrants, and other instruments, and
explained their use as well as he could ; and
made the king stare with wonder, when he told
him that he had sailed for many months with-
out seeing a speck of land in any direction.

The royal visit was brought to a close by a
bountiful repast in the Admiral's cabin, at which
the best things the ships afforded, or that had
been procured on the islands, were served, daintily
prepared and cooked by the stewards of the fleet.
The king tasted of all the dishes, eating some of
them with a keen relish, and making wry faces at
others. He disdained the use of knives and
forks, but ate fast with his fingers. He became
very merry after drinking some port wine, to
which he took a vast liking, and once more em-
bracing Magellan, swore eternal friendship for
him and his mighty sovereignty, the king of
Spain.

A day or two after, it was arranged that two
of Magellan's principal men should go on shore,

MAGELLAN AMONG THE MALAYS. 149

visit the king's house, and see the town and the
the natives. One of these was Antonio Pigafetta,
an accomplished, courtly Italian, a cherished friend
of Magellan ; who, years afterwards, wrote the
best account that exists of Magellan's voyage
and exploits.

As soon as Pigafetta and his companion had
landed on the island, the king approached them,
and lifted his hands to the sky ; and they did the
same. This, it appears, was the way the king
had of saying, " You are right welcome." Then
he conducted his visitors to an inlet, the shores
of which grew thick with tall canes, and where a
long boat was moored ; and made motions to
them to step on board, and take their seats on
the little deck in the aft end. The royal at-
tendants stood around, with their swords and
spears. Presently some roast pig and wine were
brought, and with these his majesty regaled
them. Pigafetta noticed that whenever there
was any wine left in the cups, it was poured back
carefully into the vase again. The islanders were
evidently very economical. Their way of drink-
ing was curious. They first raised their hands
aloft; then took the cup in their right hand, while

I5O MAGELLAN.

they held out the left towards their compan-
ions. The king, just before drinking, clinched
his fist, and thrust it close to Pigafetta's face ;
but the latter, perceiving that it was a friendly,
and not a hostile motion, returned the singular
compliment.

When the two guests had feasted to the top
of their bent off roast pig, rice, and broth, they
were conducted to the royal palace. A poor-look-
ing palace, indeed, it was; a long, ricketty build-
ing, which reminded Pigafetta of the barns in his
own country, thatched with fig and palm-leaves.
It rested on heavy timbers and posts, and a flight
of steps reached to its first story from the out-
side. On entering the chief apartment of the
king, Pigafetta observed a plain floor, covered
with mats, and supplied with rude, low tables.

No sooner were the strangers, the king, and
the courtiers seated on the mats, than more food
and drink was brought. These people seemed,
indeed, forever eating and drinking. This time
Pigafetta and his comrade were treated to roast
fish and ginger, which really tasted quite nice.
Pigafetta's companion, indeed, enjoyed his supper
so much, especially the wine which was far

MAGELLAN AMONG THE MALAYS. 151

more palatable than that they had got at the other
islands that he grew very tipsy ; and made so
much noise that Pigafetta was obliged to have
him carried to one corner of the room, and laid
on a mat. Here he was soon snoring soundly,
in a deep slumber.

Presently the prince, the king's son and heir,
a comely, cream-colored young man, came in, and
his father made him sit at Pigafetta's side. As
soon as it was dark, torches made of the gum of
a tropical tree, and wrapped in palm and fig-
leaves, were brought and lighted ; and these lit
up a very curious and unwonted scene. The king
now went away to his own sleeping-apartment,
leaving the prince with Pigafetta, to sleep in that
where they had supped. On retiring his majesty
kissed Pigafetta's hands.

The Italian found his bed to consist of some
pillows and cushions stuffed with leaves. It was
a rough place for repose ; but, having been used
to the trials of the sea, he minded it little, and
slept soundly until he was awakened by some of
the royal attendants. He and his companion
breakfasted gayly with the king; and while they
were at the table, there appeared another potent-

MAGELLAN.

ate, a brother of their host, who was the king o!
a neighboring 1 island. This personage impressed
Pigafetta very much. He was a tall and very
handsome man, with raven-black hair that fell
in thick clusters about his shoulders, and a dark,
copper complexion, large and brilliant black eyes,
and an erect and symmetrical figure. Upon his
head he wore a kind of turban of rich silk, finely
embroidered ; he was attired in a silken tunic
that reached his knees ; two enormous gold rings
hung from his ears ; at his side was suspended
a dagger, the handle of which was solid gold, and
the sheath carved wood ; while his person ex-
haled a strong and agreeable perfume. When
this king spoke, Pigafetta perceived that on each
of his teeth were stuck little round disks of gold,
which made his mouth fairly shine when he
opened it, Pigafetta was told that the island on
which he ruled had gold mines, from which great
nuggets of the precious metal were often ex-
tracted.

Pigafetta and his companion then returned
*lo the flag-ship, carrying this monarch with
them. Magellan received him as cordially as
he had received his brother, and he went away

MAGELLAN AMONG THE MALAYS. 153

fully as much delighted with the Spaniards as his
brother had been. Easter had now come, and
Magellan, who was a good Catholic, and through,
out his voyage had never omitted to observe
each festivity of the Church as it came, resolved
to have a solemn mass performed, in honor of the
anniversary of the rising of Christ. He therefore
sent a message to the king of Mazzava, inform-
ing him that the voyagers were going on shore,
not to visit him, but to hold a religious festival.
He invited the two kings and their courtiers to
be present, and to join in the devotions of the
Europeans, if they saw fit.

It was an impressive scene on that brilliant,
warm Easter Sunday morning, on the shore of a
tropical isle, with its lofty palms and luxuriant
shrubs growing almost to the water's edge;
thousands of miles from the nearest Christian
church, in the midst of regions given over to
idol worship and the densest barbarism ! There
were the weather-beaten sailors, rough and rude,
attired in such show of good clothing as they
could still afford ; there were the officers, in more
imposing costume, their swords hung at their
sides, their velvet cloaks thrown across their

MAGELLAN.

shoulders, their heads adorned with sashed and
plumed caps ; there was Magellan, with serious
countenance, awaiting the beginning of the rite;
and there, strangest of all, stood the two swarthy
kings, with painted faces, decked out in fantas-
tic and savage finery, surrounded by their dark-
featured and half-nude courtiers, watching with
keen interest the scene that was being en-
acted before them. On the smooth strand an
altar had been set up , with lighted candles, and
lace draperies, and such other ornaments as had
been brought for religious purposes on the voy-
age ; and before it now appeared two priests,
with shaven heads and long embroidered copes.
Just before the mass began, Magellan advanced
to the two kings ; and taking his place between
them, gently sprinkled them with musk-rose
water. Then the cannon boomed from the ships;
and this deafening noise was succeeded by the
clear voices of the priests rising in the intonation
of the sacred words. At one period of the cere-
mony, the Christians went forward and kissed a
cross, held by one of the priests ; and their ex-
ample was followed by the barbarian monarchs
and their subjects. When the host was elevated,

MAGELLAN AMONG THE MALAYS. I$5

all, including the natives, prostrated themselves
on the ground ; and at this moment the cannon
once more pealed forth from the decks of the
ships.

Mass over, Magellan ordered that the more
lively and worldly festivities should begin; and
the kings watched with wonder and delight the
skilful fencing, and the rough martial sports, in
which the Spaniards now lustily engaged. They
were amazed at the strength of the wrestlers;
witnessed breathlessly the shooting matches, for
which targets were set up on the strand ; and
looked on eagerly while rough games of many
kinds were played by the strangers.

There was one more task for Magellan to per-
form, ere he left these hospitable isles. He was
now in regions, the discovery and possession of
which Spain and Portugal disputed between
them. Although himself by birth a Portuguese,
Magellan owed now his allegiance to the king
-of Spain, who had trusted him, and confided
to him the command of the fleet. As the two
countries aspired to divide the eastern world be-
tween them, it was necessary for him to have a
care for the interests of the sovereign he served,

156 MAGELLAN.

and to take possesion of the places where he
landed.

Not very far from the shore where mass had
been celebrated, rose a lofty and verdant hill,
the summit of which, however, was quite bare.
It was the highest eminence on the island ; the
top could be discerned from a great distance,
by a ship at sea. Upon the summit Magellan re-
solved to erect a cross, surmounted by a wooden
crown, as a token that he had taken possession
of the island in the name of the Spanish king.

It was not difficult to persuade the king of
Mazzava to allow him to do this. The barbarian
monarch was told that King Charles had com-
manded such crosses to be raised wherever his
voyagers went ; that if, in future, any Spanish
ships came to Mazzava, they would know, by the
cross, that it was a friendly country, and would
commit no violence on the people ; and that if
any of his subjects were ever ill-treated by Span-
iards, they would make full reparation, as soon as
the cross was shown to them.

Magellan did not forget to add a pious lesson
to these persuasions. He assured his royal host
that the cross was the symbol of the Christian

MAGELLAN AMONG THE MALAYS.

deity ; and that, if he and his people would, at
the approach of danger, fall down and adore it,
no harm could come to them ; neither thunder,
lightning, nor tempest could injure them.

The king and his brother, the other king,
readily consented that the cross should be erected ;
whereupon Magellan, attended by fifty of his
sturdiest men, armed to the teeth, several of
whom carried the heavy cross, slowly ascended
the hill. With him went the two kings and
their retinues.

Arrived at the summit, the Spaniards dug a
deep hole ; the cross was placed in position, and
the hole was filled up. Magellan advanced, and
knelt before the cross a moment ; then, rising,
and taking off his cap, he declared the island to
be the dominion of the king of Spain.

Soon after, Magellan went to bid adieu to the
two monarchs, who overwhelmed him, not only
with an affectionate reception, which they ex-
pressed by touching his forehead and kissing his
hands, but with an abundance of the good things
their fruitful land afforded. They described the
islands by which he would pass on his way, told
him of the traits of their inhabitants, which to

158 MAGELLAN.

avoid, and in which he might expect a hospitable
welcome ; and at the last moment, the king of
Mazzava resolved to accompany him, at least as
far as the inland of Sebu.

The ships were now provided, not only with
grain, water, and wood, but an ample store of
figs, cocoanuts, lemons, pigs, fowl, ginger and
rice ; what few repairs they needed were com-
pleted ; and on a pleasant morning in April, Ma-
gellan sailed away from Mazzava, delighted with
the reception he had met with there, and his
heart buoyant with the hope of a successful con-
tinuation and ending of his voyage. With him,
on board the flag-ship, went the king of Mazzava,
and several of his courtiers.

MAGELLAN. 159

CHAPTER XL

ADVENTURES AT SEBX7.

HE island of Sebu, Magellan was told,
was the most beautiful and fruitful of
the vast labyrinth of islands which clus-
ter in the Archipelago. It lay some leagues west-
ward of Mazzava; and was ruled over by one of
the most intelligent and powerful potentates in
the Eastern seas.

To this island, therefore, he determined to re-
pair. It would be one of the fairest provinces
which he could offer to King Charles ; and he
would do all in his power to engage the friend-
ship and alliance of its ruler.

On the way, the weather was pleasant, and no
accident occurred to mar the pleasure of the voy-
age. Magellan conversed much, through the
Malay interpreter, with the friendly king who
had trusted himself with him, and learned many

l6o MAGELLAN.

curious things about the peoples and customs oi
the islands by which they sailed.

The adventurers observed everything with the
deepest interest ; and many were the strange
sights and scenes which, in this far-off region,
greeted their eyes. They saw birds flying
through the air, " as large as eagles," one of
which they killed, and ate with good relish ; they
saw doves of various brilliant hues, parrots with
gorgeous plumage, and long-tailed blackbirds as
large as hens ; while on the shores of the islands
they espied tortoises which, compared with those
of Europe, were enormous.

It was on a Sunday, about noon, that the fleet
came in sight of the much talked-of island of
Sebu. Skirting its shores, the Spaniards saw
many closely-built and busy villages, some close
to the beach, others nestled in picturesque val-
leys, at the foot of green, sloping hills. They
sailed for some distance along the coast, until
finally they reached a pretty bay, at the head of
which was situated the principal town of the
island.

As the ships entered the bay, Magellan ordered
that the standards should be run up to the mast-

ADVENTURES AT SEBU. l6l

head, the sails lowered, and the cannon fired.
vast crowd of natives speedily assembled along
the shore. When they heard the deafening re-
port of the cannon, echoing among the hills, they
huddled together in a terrified mass, and made
all haste to regain the town.

Magellan then sent an intelligent young Portu-
guese whom he had brought with him, and the
Malay interpreter, on shore, to seek the presence
of the king of Sebu, and assure him that the
fleet had come on a friendly errand.

As they advanced from the shore, and ap
proached the town, they saw the inhabitants
fleeing from them in all directions, and shutting
themselves up in their houses. The young
Portuguese, however, succeeded in overtaking
one old man, who could not move as fast as the
rest ; and made him know, through the interpre-
ter, what his errand was. The old man soon re-
covered from his fright, and said he would go
and deliver the message of the strangers to his
sovereign. In no long time he returned, and
told the Portuguese and his companion to follow
him into the royal presence.

They found the king seated on a wide mat, in

IO2 MAGELLAN.

a court of his palace ; which was a low building,
erected in the form of a quadrangle. He was
surrounded by a multitude of courtiers ; while at
his feet lay, in languid attitudes, his dark-brown
wives, whose raven hair fell on their shoulders,
and whose large black eyes stared curiously at
the white men.

The Malay interpreter advanced and knelt be
fore the king, who lifted his hands heavenward
in token of welcome. Then the Malay spoke in
his own tongue, which the king understood at
once. He was assured that the fleet had come
on an errand of peace and good-will.

" What, then," asked the monarch, " are you
seeking here?"

" My master," replied the Malay, " is a captain
of the greatest king in the world, and hath come,
by his king's command, to discover the far-famed
Molucca islands. Hearing of your courtesy and
good renown, he has come hither to visit you,
and to exchange the merchandize he has brought
for such provisions as you are willing to provide
him."

"Your master," responded the shrewd prince,
u is right welcome. But we have a custom, that

ADVENTURES AT SEBU. 163

all ships that enter our port pay tribute. Only
four days ago, a ship came here from Siam, laden
with gold and slaves, and paid the tribute I ex-
acted. Here," added the king, " is a Siamese
merchant who came in her." So saying, he
pointed to a strange-looking personage, with
sallow face and squinting eyes, but very richly
dressed, who was standing by.

" But my captain," replied the Malay, drawing
himself up proudly, "will not pay tribute to any
sovereign in the world ; being, as he is, the sub-
ject of the greatest of them. If you wish peace,
you shall have it. But if you had rather have
war, it shall be so."

The brow of the dusky potentate darkened at
this bold reply, and for a moment he seemed on
the point of ordering the strangers to be seized.
He looked around among his people, and half-
rose from his mat. His hand was already clutch-
ing a short sword which hung at his girdle, and
the Portuguese and Malay had grasped their dag-
gers, when the Siamese merchant, coming for-
ward, and making a profound salaam, spoke:

" Look well, O king," said he, " to what you
do. These people are the same that conquered

164 MAGELLAN

Calicut, Malacca, and all the greater India. It
you receive them hospitably, and proffer them of
your abundant good things, you will find your-
self the better for it. They will be your friends
and allies. But if you treat them ill, it will be
all the worse for you ; so the people of Calicut
have found out, to their cost."

" My sovereign," added the interpreter, who
had understood all that the Siamese had said,
'* is a much greater ruler than the king of Portu-
gal, who conquered India. He is not only king
of Spain, but emperor of Christendom. If you
do not well treat his captain, he will, another
time, send hither enough men and ships to sweep
you and your subjects off the face of the earth."

These speeches seemed to impress the king of
Sebu very much; he declared that he would
talk with his chief advisers, and would deliver
his response to Magellan's messengers the next
day. He then gave proof that he had recovered
his good temper, by ordering a bountiful feast to
be set before the white men ; who soon after re-
turned to the flag-ship, and apprized Magellan of
what had passed.

The next day the messengers returned to the

ADVENTURES AT SEBU.

Island, where the king received them in a large,
open space, between the houses. He was squat*
ted on a palm mat, and was quite naked, except
that he had a wide cloth about his waist, and a
loose turban, embroidered with silk, on his head.
About his neck hung a heavy chain, while in his
ears were two gold rings, studded with precious
stones. The king was a little, fat, jovial-looking
man, though the expression of his countenance
was marred by tatooing. When the visitors ap-
proached, he was eating tortoise eggs from some
china dishes; taking, every now and then, a long
drink from a jug of palm wine, which he sucked
through a cane tube. Asking them to sit by
him, he proceeded at once to overwhelm them
with questions, which he asked eagerly, bending
towards the interpreter to catch his replies.

Was there more than one commander in the
ships? Was he to be required to pay tribute?
How many men were there on board ? and so on.
The young Portuguese replied that Magellan did
not ask any tribute, but only desired to trade
with the articles he had brought from Spain.
The king seemed at last fully satisfied ; for, prick,
ing his right arm, he let a little blood flow upon

1 66

MAGELLAN.

a fig-leaf, and wrapping it up, begged the Portu-
guese to carry it to Magellan, as a token that he
would be a faithful friend of the king of Spain,
He asked a similar token from the Admiral which
the Portuguese smilingly promised.

After this, everything went on swimmingly be-
tween the voyagers and the people of Sebu. The
king of Mazzava went ashore on a visit to his
brother monarch, and on his return, told Magel-
lan that the king of Sebu was preparing a large
quantity of provisions for him ; and that in the
afternoon two young princes, nephews of the
king, with their retinues, would come on board
to present them.

Magellan prepared to welcome these young
princes in a manner worthy of their rank and im-
portance, and to show his gratitude for the good
things they brought. A handsome carpet was
spread on the deck, and mats were laid on either
side. On the carpet was placed a red velvet
chair for Magellan himself ; and leather chairs, for
the other captains and officers, were ranged on
the mats. The standards floated from the masts;
and the flag-ship presented a gay, holiday aspect.

About the middle of the afternoon the boats

ADVENTURES AT SEBU.

conveying the princes were seen to put out from
the shore ; Magellan and the rest took their
places ; and soon the dusky and gaudily-dressed
group were seated in front of the Admiral. At
Magellan's side stood the faithful Malay inter-
preter, who rendered his conversation with the
princes easy.

" Is it your custom," asked Magellan, of the
elder and more important of the princes, " to
speak in public about matters of state? And
have you the power to conclude peace between
us and the king of Sebu ?"

The prince bowed assent to both these ques-
tions.

" Then I would have you know," resumed Ma-
gellan, " that I ardently desire this peace, and
will pray God to confirm it."

" I hear the captain's words with delight," was
the prince's answer;" I have never heard a stranger
speak so gently."

Magellan then questioned his royal guest about
many things. He asked, " Who will succeed your
king, on his death?"

The king has no son," was the reply, "but
several daughters. I am the king's nephew, and

1 68

MAGELLAN.

have married his eldest daughter ; and I shall be
his successor."

The prince also told him that when fathers and
mothers in Sebu grew old, they were greatly neg-
lected, and their children ordered them about as
if they were slaves.

The discoverers and conquerors of the days in
which Magellan lived thought it one of their
first duties to convert the heathen peoples
whom they encountered to Christianity. They
sometimes did this by persuasion ; and not sel-
dom by force. When the savage kings and their
peoples refused to abandon their religion for that
of the European, they were often compelled to
accept the new faith by fire and sword.

Magellan, therefore, lost no opportunity of
trying to plant Christianity among the rude
natives of the tropical isles ; and the first task to
accomplish was to convert their rulers.

He now began to persuade the young princes
to embrace the Christian religion. Reproving
them for the ill-treatment which they declared the
old people suffered in their kingdom, he said:

"Our God, who made heaven and earth, and
all things therein, has commanded that every

ADVENTURES AT SEBU. 169

OLC should yield obedience and respect to his
father and mother; and you maybe sure that
whoever does otherwise shall be condemned to
eternal fire."

The princes listened earnestly to all that he
said, and finally declared that, if the king would
consent, they would become Christians.

"You must not accept our faith," said Magel-
lan, " from fear of us, or in order to please us.
If you wish to become Christians, you must do
so willingly. No harm shall be done you if you
do not embrace our religion ; but those who do,
shall be more loved, and better treated, than the
others. Moreover, if you become Christians, I
will leave you arms, as my king has commanded,
with which to defend yourselves from your

enemies.'

The princes declared that they would embrace
Christianity of their own free wills ; whereupon
Magellan, with tears in his eyes, warmly em-
braced them, and caused the priests to bless
them. All on board now sat down to a bounti-
ful feast ; after which the princes and Magellan
exchanged presents. The princes brought forth
a large basket of rice, figs, goats, and fowl ; and

I/O MAGELLAN.

Magellan returned to them cloth, red caps, and
cups of gilt glass, besides a robe of yellow and
violet silk for their royal uncle.

The young Portuguese and the Malay were now
sent on shore every day to converse with the
king, to arrange for a treaty of peace, to estab-
lish trade, and to prepare the monarch and his
courtiers for their reception into the Christian
faith. They were treated, whenever they went,
with trust and hospitality. On one occasion, the
elder of the young princes conducted them to his
house, where he provided various amusements for
them. Among these was a very pretty dance,
performed by four lovely young girls ; who, as
they danced, played softly and sweetly upon
musical instruments, the like of which the Portu-
guese had never before seen. Another time,
when one of the Spanish sailors had died, he
was carried on shore by the two messengers to
be buried. The king not only provided him
with a grave in the open space in the centre of
the town, but himself, with his court, attended
the funeral ceremony. After the sailor was
buried, his comrades set up a cross over the
grave.

ADVENTURES AT SEBU. I/I

The Spaniards were soon engaged in an active
trade with the people of Sebu. The king provided
one of the larger huts, near the shore, as a ware-
house ; and thither was carried a variety of the
goods that composed the cargo of the ships.
Four of the Spaniards were selected to act as
salesmen. They bartered iron, cloths, and trinkets
for gold, which, it appeared, was found in large
quantities in Sebu and the neighboring islands;
and in dealing with the natives they found them
peaceable, honest, and fair, and not at all dis-
posed to drive a hard bargain. They had a curi-
ous contrivance for weighing their goods. It
consisted of a wooden pole suspended in the
middle, with a basin suspended by three cords
at one end, and a cord at the other, upon which
hung a weight equal to the basin, to which the
weights were attached. The Spaniards soon per-
suaded the natives to give up this cumbrous device
for the scales they had brought with them from
Europe. The natives gave gold worth fifteen
Spanish ducats, for fourteen pounds of iron.

MAGELLAN.

CHAPTER XII.

THE BARBARIANS CONVERTED.

HE king and his court were, in no long
time, fully persuaded to become Chris-
tians; and Magellan resolved to make
the ceremony of their baptism and entrance into
the fold of the Church as imposing and impres-
sive as possible. He wished that their untutored
minds should have the deepest sense of the im-
portance of the step they were taking, so that
they would never forget or retreat from it.

Preparations for the solemn event were made
on the most elaborate scale. A high platform
was erected by the Spaniards in the centre of
the open space ; and this was decked out with
tapestry, carpets, and palm branches. Not only
the king of Sebu, but his queen, and the king of
Mazzava (who was still with Magellan) were to be

THE BARBARIANS CONVERTED. 173

baptized ; and the day appointed was Sunday,
the fourteenth of April.

On that morning, all was commotion, both in
the fleet and in the town. The natives as-
sembled in the streets, and huddled in excited
groups along the beach ; while the crews of the
ships attired themselves in their best suits, as
if for an extraordinary occasion.

Soon everything was ready. The boats were
lowered, and each was filled with its quota of offi-
cers and sailors ; and when all had embarked, the
boats set out for the shore. At the same time
the cannon broke the stillness of the Sunday
morning, and sent joyous peals over the waters.
The boats that went ahead contained forty
men in armor, one of whom carried the royal
standard of Spain. These landed first, and were
soon followed by the sailors. A procession was
formed ; Magellan was in front, with his captains,
all wearing velvet cloaks and plumed caps ; then
came the priests ; the soldiers were next in order;
and the rear was occupied by the crews.

Advancing up the slight slope that led from
the shore to the open space, Magellan and his
company reached the scene of the day's ceremony.

MAGELLAN.

The short, fat king, in fantastic attire, his face
freshly painted that morning, stood ready to re-
ceive them, surrounded by a numerous array of
courtiers and chiefs. By his side was the king of
Mazzava, who had preceded the Spaniards on
shore.

Magellan and the two barbarian kings now as-
cended the scaffold, and took their places in chairs
of red and violet velvet, which had been brought
from the flag-ship for the purpose. Meanwhile,
the chief men of Sebu arranged themselves
on chairs, or squatted on mats, below the plat-
form ; the trumpets sent forth a loud, long blast ;
then Magellan, turning to the potentates, and
addressing them through the Malay, who stood
behind his chair, for the last time asked them if
they really wished to become good Christians.

"If you do," said he, " you must burn all the
idols in your dominions ; and in their places, set
up the cross, which is the symbol of our God.
And each day you and your people must go and
kneel at the cross, and join your hands, and im-
plore the favor of heaven. Will you do this?"

The kings promptly replied that they would;
and that whatever the " captain," as they called

bJO

to C5

cc
i i
H

THE BARBARIANS CONVERTED.

Magellan, commanded, they would faithfully and
always obey.

Magellan then rose, and taking the king of
Sebu by the hand, led him around the platform ;
after which the priests performed the solemn cere-
mony of baptism. The king was christened by
the name of Charles, after the king of Spain.
The king of Mazzava, and the eldest of the Sebu
princes, were next in the like manner baptized ;
the former receiving the name of John, and the
latter that of Ferdinand.

The principal subjects of the king of Sebu
now flocked upon the platform, to be received
in their turn into the bosom of the Catholic
Church ; and when fifty of them had been bap-
tized, the rite of the mass was performed. Then
Magellan and his company returned to the ships,
being escorted to the beach by their royal
host.

In the afternoon a ceremony not less curious
and impressive was performed. This was the
baptism of the queen of Sebu, and the dusky
ladies of her court. One of the priests, accom-
panied by Pigafetta and some others, went on
shore, and were met in the open space by

MAGELLAN.

the queen and her companions. These were led
upon the platform, where the queen was con-
ducted to a cushioned seat. She was young and
pretty, and was arrayed in a black and white
robe ; her mouth and nails were very red, and she
wore on her head a large hat made of palm-
leaves, surmounted with a sort of crown, also
made of palm-leaves.

The priest, in the midst of a large multitude of
Sebu men and women, who looked on with ex-
cited interest, approached the queen, and held
up before her a small wooden image of the Virgin
and Child, and also a cross. The queen seemed
impressed with these, and through the interpre-
ter declared her willingness to become a Chris-
tian and to be baptized. The priests therefore
sprinkled water on her raven locks, and called
her by the name of Joan, after the Spanish
king's mother. Her daughter, a young girl of
fourteen, who advanced very timidly up the
steps, was next in like manner received into the
Church, being called Catherine ; and the queen
of Mazzavawas baptized as Isabella.

As the queen was withdrawing she begged the
priest to give her " the little wooden boy," mean-

THE BARBARIANS CONVERTED. 177

ing the image of Christ, to put in place of her idols,
which she promised to destroy. This the priest
did willingly. Many years after, on the return of
the Spaniards to Sebu with missionaries, they
found the little image still in the town, and the
natives worshipping it as an idol; whereupon the
missionaries taught them its true significance,
blessed it, and had it placed in the Christian
church that was built. From having found this
image there, these Spanish missionaries named
the place, " the City of Jesus," by which it is still
known.

Before the shades of night had fallen, no less
than eight hundred natives, including the royal
family and the court, had been baptized, and the
country had become, in name at least, a Chris-
tian one ; and Magellan thought well to celebrate
so remarkable a conversion by festivities in the
evening. By the brilliant light of the moon, the
king, queen, and court of Sebu came down to the
beach, whither Magellan had caused one of his
cannon to be brought ; it was fired off on the
waves ; and now that the barbarians knew what
it meant, and that they need not be frightened,
they listened with delight, with much shouting,

MAGELLAN.

capering, and dancing about, to the sudden shocks
and echoing reverberations.

Magellan did not confine the baptisms to the
first day ; but every day after that, for more than
a week, the ceremony was performed over crowds
of natives who flocked to receive it. It was a
strange sight to see the groups of dark islanders,
with their painted faces and palm-leaf aprons,
kneeling at the feet of the priests, and with
amazed and wondering eyes watching his every ac-
tion ; and, their turn over, scampering down
the steps, and dancing wildly about on the sward,
and under the wide-spreading trees. It is not
probable that any of them got a clear conception
of what it was to be a Christian. They only
knew that their king had accepted the new re-
ligion ; they felt awe towards the Spaniards,
whom they looked upon as more than mortal ;
their barbaric fondness for show and ceremony
was gratified by the stately rite which they saw
the priests going through ; and they cared little,
apparently, for their own rude wooden gods and
goddesses.

A cross was now set up in the centre of the

town ; and every day mass was said near it, which

THE BARBARIANS CONVERTED.

Magellan usually himself attended, explaining,
through the Malay interpreter, such points in the
Christian religion as he thought he could make
his benighted hearers understand.

One day, the queen of Sebu came to hear mass
in all her state. She was attired in black and
white, and wore a long silk veil with gold stripes,
flowing down gracefully over her shoulders. Be-
fore her went three young girls, each carrying
one of the queen's palm-leaf hats. Following the
queen, flocked a great number of women of rank,
wearing smaller veils, and hats above them. Other-
wise, they only wore a palm-leaf apron about
their waists; while their long black hair fell in
luxuriant clusters over their shoulders to their
knees.

The queen approached the altar, and knelt be-
fore it, and then took her place on a large silk-
embroidered ottoman ; while her chief ladies sur-
rounded her in a semi-circle. Magellan advancing
to her, gently sprinkled over her and her com-
panions some rose-water and musk, which they
sniffed eagerly, as if much pleased by the per-
fume ; and then mass was said by the priests.

On another occasion, Magellan resolved that,

l8O MAGELLAN.

at the mass, the king of Sebu should, with all
due formality, swear allegiance to the king of
Spain. This ceremony, he thought, should be
made as impressive as possible. The king made
his appearance at the appointed hour, in a long
silk robe, with which Magellan had provided
him ; and with him came his two brothers, and
many of his principal courtiers. These being
ranged in a row on seats before the altar, Magel-
lan, standing before an image of the Virgin,
drew his sword, and holding it aloft, called upon
the king to take the oath to be ever faithful and
true to the Spanish sovereign. The king bowed
his head, and repeated, in his own tongue, the
words of the oath that Magellan offered him.
Magellan then affectionately embraced him, at
the same time saying that when a man took
such an oath as that, he should rather die than
fail to keep it. In his turn, he swore to be al-
ways faithful, to be true to the king of Sebu, in
the name of the Virgin and of King Charles,
Then, turning to his men, Magellan ordered them
to bring forth a splendid velvet chair ; this he
presented to the swarthy monarch.

"Wherever you go," said Magellan, "have

THE BARBARIANS CONVERTED. l8l

this throne borne before you, by your attend-
ants, as a sign of your power and sovereignty."

In return, and as a token that he would keep
his oath, the king presented Magellan with some
large gold rings, for the ears, fingers, and ankles,
all of which were set with roughly-cut precious
stones.

A day or two after, Magellan was visiting the
town, and going about in company with the
king, when, on reaching one of the rude native
temples, he saw, to his disgust, that the idols
were still in their places, and that the people
were worshipping them. Turning sharply to his
royal companion, he asked him what this meant?

"You have promised," he said, " to destroy
these idols. Why have you not done so?'

The king replied that he intended to burn the
idols ; but that one of his nephews, a valiant
warrior, lay very ill, and that they were praying
to the idols to restore him to health.

"If you wish to see him well again," rejoined
Magellan, " you will at once burn all these fool-
ish idols, which can do nothing for him ; and you
will cause your sick nephew to be baptized. I
will wager my head that he will then speedily

182 MAGELLAN.

recover." So great was Magellan's faith in
miracles !

" It shall be done," was the king's reply.

Thereupon, a solemn procession was formed,
which repaired to the sick prince's house. The
prince was, indeed, very low. He could neither
speak nor move; his eyes stared unmeaningly at the
priests, nor did he seem to recognize any one or
anything. He was carefully lifted from the soft
mat on which he lay, into a sitting posture ; and
was thus baptized. Two of his wives and his
ten children also submitted to the rite.

Not very long after, Magellan approached the
sick man, and addressed him in a few words of
his own language. The prince slowly moved his
head, and muttered something. Magellan applied
some brandy to his lips. In a few moments
the invalid grew so much better that he could
move freely, and talk quite rationally ; and from
that time he grew gradually better.

This incident was hailed by all the Spaniards
as a great miracle ; and they took care to im-
press its meaning, as they interpreted it, upon
the minds of the natives.

It happened that some of the native old women,

THE BARBARIANS CONVERTED. 183

who had refused to be converted, had concealed
an idol in the sick prince's house, thinking that
this would restore him to health. On his recov-
ery, the prince discovered the idol, hid behind
some mats in a corner. He forthwith brought it
out, and had it burned in presence of the king
and all his subjects. Not content with this for
he himself was fully persuaded that the Chris-
tians had performed a miracle on him he
set fire to the temples that stood on the sea-
shore ; while the people gathered in crowds to
see the conflagration, shouted loudly, and aided
him in his work of destruction. The idols thus
burned were made of wood, and were curved in
shape, being hollowed out behind ; they had
large faces, painted, with four large teeth, like
those of a wild boar ; their legs and arms were
stretched out horizontally, and their feet turned
upwards, like the feet of the Chinese. They
were, indeed, hideous-looking objects.

While Magellan was at Sebu, a very curious
ceremony was performed by the natives. This
was what was called " the sacrifice of the swine,"
or " blessing the pig." Their mode of blessing the
pig was an odd one, as will be seen ; and Magel-

184 MAGELLAN.

Ian and his companions witnessed the perform
ance with much interest.

The whole population gathered in or about the
large open space in the centre of the town, which
evidently served as the spot where all public
ceremonies took place. The king and queen sat
on cushions raised on a platform ; and Magellan
and his captains were stationed on either side of
the royal couple. Presently a loud, banging
noise was heard, and a number of the natives
appeared, violently thumping upon tambours, or
drums. They were followed by others, who bore
large dishes, two of which were filled with cakes
of rice and cooked millet, and roast fish, and the
third with cloths and strips of palm bark.

One of the cloths was spread on the ground,
before the king ; and two old women now made
their entrance, fantastically dressed, and vigor-
ously blowing upon rude reed trumpets. These
old women, stepping upon the carpet, and turn-
ing to the sun, made that luminary a profound
obeisance; then taking the other cloths that had
been brought, they arrayed themselves in them.
One twisted a cloth about her head, so that the
knots formed two horns, on either side ; having

THE BARBARIANS CONVERTED. 185

done which she began to dance and sing, and
stretch out her arms towards the sun.

The other, attiring herself in the palm cloths,
followed her companion's example, with shrill
shrieking and wild gestures ; each tooting, every
now and then, on her reed trumpet. While this
was going on,'a fat pink pig was brought into the
open space, and bound securely to a stake ; upon
which the old women began to caper around the
poor animal, which squealed, in his terror, with
all his might.

The next thing the old women did was to
make a short prayer, in low, mumbling voices, to
the sun. Then one of them the first who had
appeared took from an attendant a cup of wine,
which she handed to her companion. The latter
took it and raised it three or four times to her
lips, as if to drink it ; but always withdrew it,
and resumed her droning prayer. At last, all of
a sudden, she dashed the wine on the poor pig,
which squealed more frantically than ever.

Throwing away the empty cup, the old woman
now seized a long limber lance, with a point
made of a sharpened fish-bone, and leaped from
end to end of the carpet, brandishing the lance

1 86

MAGELLAN.

and gnashing her teeth as she went. Approach-
ing the pig, she made thrusts with the lance, as
if to plunge it into him ; but withdrew it again,
and resumed her strange dance. Pretty soon,
however, she carried her threat into execution ;
for, poising the lance a moment in her hand, and
with rapid glance taking perfect aim, she shot it
straight through the quivering creature's heart.
Withdrawing it at once, she retired ; whereupon
two male natives seized the pig, closed the
wound, and dressed it with herbs. The old
woman who had done the deed now took a
lighted torch, and capered about, holding it in
her mouth ; while her companion, dipping her
lance in the pig's blood, carried it to her husband,
whose forehead she marked with it, doing the
same afterwards to her other relatives. Both old
women then took off their robes, and, retreating
into a corner, greedily ate the rice-cakes and
roast fish by themselves. The pig was after-
wards roasted and eaten by the royal party ; and
Magellan was told that pigs were only eaten in
Sebu when they had been killed in this way.

During all the time that the ships were at
Sebu, the officers and sailors were wont to go on

THE BARBARIANS CONVERTED. 187

shore freely, whenever they pleased ; and they
thus got on very social terms with the natives.
They observed that their dusky friends only half-
cooked their food, and that they spread a great
deal of salt on it. This made them thirsty, and
they were constantly drinking the palm wine,
which was their favorite beverage. Their method
of drinking was to suck the wine from the jars
with long reeds. When they saw a knot of sail-
ors they would run to them, and invariably beg
them to come and have something to eat and
drink.

Once, when a great chief among them died,
the Spaniards had an opportunity to witness a
Sebu funeral. The chief's corpse was laid in a
chest in his house ; around the chest was wound
a cord, to which branches and leaves were tied
in a fantastic fashion; while on the end of each
branch, a strip of cotton was fastened. The
principal women of the island went to the house
of mourning and sat around the corpse, wrapped
in white cotton shrouds from head to foot ; beside
each woman stood a young girl, who wafted a
palm-leaf fan before her face. Meanwhile, one of
the women was engaged in cutting the hair from

l88 MAGELLAN.

the dead man's head with a knife. His favorite
wife all this time lay stretched upon his body,
with her mouth, hands, and feet pressed close to
his. As the woman concluded her hair-cutting,
she broke into a low, dismal, wailing song, which
the others after awhile caught up. The attendants
on the mourners then took procelain vases with
burning embers on them, upon which they kept
sprinkling myrrh, benzoin, and other perfumes,
that formed a cloud of incense in the room.

These ceremonies and mournings continued
for several days; meanwhile, the body was
anointed with oil of camphor, to preserve it ; and
at the end of the mourning period, it was solemnly
deposited in a kind of tomb, made of wooden
logs, in the neighboring forest.

Magellan was delighted with the success which
attended his stay at Sebu, which he had prolonged
far more than he had intended. It was now time
to bid adieu to the friendly king, and proceed on
his voyage. As active preparations for setting
out were being made, however, an incident oc-
curred which induced Magellan to change his
plans, and which was destined to bring a fatal
misfortune on the fleet.

THE BARBARIANS CONVERTED. 1 89

The king of Sebu ruled over several islands in
the neighborhood of that on which he resided.
One of these was Matan, only two or three
leagues away. It was a beautiful island, and
contained a large and warlike population ; and
among the chiefs who, under the king, held
authority there, was one named Cilapulapu.
Just as Magellan was about to sail, another chief
in Matan named Zula, came in all haste to Sebu
with a message that Cilapulapu, enraged at the
conversion of the king and his subjects to Chris-
tianity, had rebelled, and had incited the people
to rise in revolt. At Matan, he said, all were
actively preparing for war against their sov-
ereign. Magellan, on hearing this, resolved
that the least he could do would be to remain,
and defend the converted king from the violence
of his new enemies.

MAGELLAN.

CHAPTER XIII.

A HERO'S DEATH.

AGELLAN, anxious to confirm the

friendly relations which now existed be-
tween himself and the king of Sebu,
made up his mind that he and his valiant soldiers
should alone bear the brunt of the coming con-
flict; that the sole peril and glory should be
theirs of subduing the rebel Cilapulapu. He
therefore told the king that he himself would
command the attack upon Matan ; and that while
the king might, if he chose, follow him in his
boats, he must refrain from taking part in the
fray.

Three of the ships' largest boats were got
ready in all haste. On the prow of each was
placed a cannon, and sixty of Magellan's bravest
and most skilful warriors were detailed to go
upon the expedition. These were all armed with

A HERO'S DEATH.

corslets and helmets, and carried guns and
swords. Magellan ordered that during his ab
sence the fleet should remain under the command
of Captain Serrano.

It was just at midnight that the three boats set
out for Matan. The night was calm, the sea was
still, and the heavens were starlit. Magellan
himself went in the foremost boat, and issued
his commands in a quick, low voice, as the men
rowed swiftly along. His object in starting at
midnight was to surprise the enemy, if possible,
and effect a landing on the coast of the island
before the people there saw him. In the rear of
the three boats went a number of the native
canoes, of one of which the king himself was an
occupant.

Three hours before daylight, the Spaniards ar-
rived off the shores of Matan ; it was light enough,
however, for Magellan to perceive that the alarm
of his coming had already been given. Near the
shore, on a hillock, was posted a formidable array
of barbarians. Magellan could just discern their
long wooden shields, and the moving mass of the
savage soldiers. Some traitor had, doubtless,
escaped from Sebu in time to apprize Cilapulapu

MAGELLAN.

of his intended attack; and that cunning chief
had lost no time in preparing to receive him. It
was a strange and alarming sight, to see the
dense ranks of the dusky figures, who, it was not
difficult to perceive, were quite prepared to de-
fend the island. When the boats came near, they
set up a wild shout, and shook their shields and
spears in token of their hostile temper.

Magellan had taken the precaution to bring
with him a very intelligent Moor, who knew
the Malay tongue (which was spoken in all these
islands), and who had before been at Matan.
This Moor he resolved to send ashore to the
warlike host, with a message of peace and par-
don if they would even now lay down their arms,
and submit to the authority of their lawful mon-
arch. As the water for some distance from
the shore was very shallow and rocky, the boats
could not approach nearer than the spot where
they had stopped ; arid the Moor was obliged to
jump in up to his thighs, and wade to the dry land.
As he drew away from the boats, his movements
were watched with breathless interest. Would
the barbarians attack him, when they saw him
coming alone? Would they recognize him as a

A HERO'S DEATH.

Moor, or would they take him for a Spaniard?
if they allowed him to approach and hold parley
with them, how would they receive his message?
Would the Moor himself turn traitor, and reveal
the numbers and arms of Magellan's men, or
would he hold his own counsel, and prove him-
self a faithful envoy ?

These questions rapidly crossed Magellan's
mind as, peering through the gloom, he saw the
Moor's stalwart form receding and fading as he
neared the beachy shore. They were quickly
answered by the events which followed. The
Moor advanced up the sloping hill ; the dusky
soldiers made no movement against him. They
seemed to be surprised to see him coming, and
not at all afraid of him. Presently he seemed to
melt into their mass, and was no longer visible.

His stay among them lasted about half an
hour, during which the Spaniards watched eagerly
for his reappearance. The boats rested quite still
on their oars ; the silence was profound. At
last he emerged from the throng of the island-
ers, slowly descended the hill again, and waded
out to Magellan's boat,

Magellan impatiently awaited his report. The

194 MAGELLAN.

Moor said that he had been received in a friendly
manner, and had been conducted to the chief
Cilapulapu. He had then delivered Magel-
lan's message, that, if he would return to his al-
legiance, all should be forgiven, and the Span-
iards would withdraw ; otherwise, the rebels
would soon feel the sting of their lances. Cilapu-
lapu had replied :

" I will not submit ; if the white strangers have
lances, so have we, though ours are only lances
of reeds. Moreover, we have wooden shields
hardened by fire. Let the strangers beware. I
only ask that they will not attack us by night.
We expect reinforcements, and wish to meet the
enemy on even terms. Let them wait till day-
light, and then assail us as soon as they please."
Magellan perceived, by this insolent message,
that gentle means would not be availing. The
rebels must be attacked and conquered. He
saw, too, that Cilapulapu's request that he should
not attack by night, was a cunning device by
which he hoped to induce the Spaniards to do
that which he asked them not to do. His real
desire was that they should make the assault
at night ; and the reason of this afterwards came

A HERO'S DEATH. 195

to light. Between the shore and their camp and
village, the rebels had dug a long, deep ditch.
If Magellan had landed and advanced upon them
at once, while it was dark, they would have re-
treated hastily beyond this ditch, and Magellan
and his men would have fallen into it.

Magellan therefore patiently waited till day-
light. As soon as the first gray of the morning
lit up sea and shore, and enabled him to distin-
guish objects clearly, he gave the order to his
little band of troops to get out of the boats and
wade rapidly to the beach. By the light of the
dawn the enemy could be more distinctly seen ;
they appeared less formidable than when en-
veloped by the shroud of night, but they be-
trayed numbers by no means to be despised.
They seemed, moreover, perfectly confident and
resolute ; and instead of making good their re-
treat when they saw the Spaniards preparing to
go ashore, stood to their position, and were
apparently indifferent to the advance of their
assailants.

Forty-nine of the Spaniards were designated to
make the attack, the remaining eleven being
ordered to stay by the boats. Magellan himself

196 MAGELLAN.

was the first to leap into the water. Drawing
his sword, he gave the word of command, and in
another instant his little force, their swords in
their right hands, and their shields borne on their
left arms, had gathered around him. Among
them was his friend, and afterwards his historian,
the Italian Pigafetta. At first their progress
through the water was slow, for it was up to
their waists. As Magellan boldly went forward,
he looked carefully about for a good landing-
place ; for the beach was interspersed with masses
of jagged rock, and it was necessary to avoid the
hill on which Cilapulapu was posted, and which
sloped to the water's edge. As he advanced, the
rebel chief himself, a man of gigantic stature,
and decked out with brilliant feathers and paint,
appeared at the brow of the hill, making defiant
gestures at Magellan, and exhorting his followers
to hold fast to their position.

An open strand was soon reached ; and now
the Spaniards stood, in close, resolute ranks, on
the smooth sand. Magellan did not lose a mo-
ment in hesitation or delay. Forming his soldiers,
he at once marched forward towards the hill.

But Cilapulapu, who had at first evidently in-

A HERO S DEATH. 197

tended to await the assault of his foe, changed
his mind at the last moment ; for no sooner did
he see Magellan approaching the hill than, brand-
ishing his spear, and giving a loud, fierce whoop,
he rushed down the slope, followed by his forces.
They were not less than fifteen hundred, against
forty-nine ; and as they descended, Magellan per-
ceived that they were divided into three bodies.
He had no time to note anything further, for in
another moment they were close upon him. As
they came on, they made a horrible noise with
their shrieking and shouting, and leaped about
like so many lunatics. Two of their companies
separated to the right and left, with the intent
to attack the Spaniards on their flanks ; while
the third advanced directly in their front. Ma-
gellan, dividing his little group into two compa-
nies, continued to go forward to meet his savage
foes. He knew no fear, and at this critical mo-
ment he felt all the wild thrill of conflict. Then
halting, he ordered his musketrymen and cross-
bowmen to fire.

Unhappily, neither bullets nor arrows seemed
to take serious effect. The bullets, for the most
part, whizzed harmlessly over the heads of the

198 MAGELLAN.

barbarians ; while the arrows struck against the
wooden shields, or passing through them, inflicted
but slight wounds. At first, when the Spaniards
opened fire upon them, the rebels paused in theif
headlong career, as if stunned by the noise of the
volley, and to see what effect it would have.
But when they perceived their ranks still un-
broken, and but one or two of their comrades
lying on the ground, they pressed forward more
fiercely, and with more hideous screams than
before.

Their arrows, javelins, spears, and stones, now
fell like a hailstorm upon the Spaniards ; and
they found themselves, of a sudden, very hard
pressed. With difficulty they avoided the deadly
points of the savage weapons ; they could scarcely
hold their ground long enough to load and fire.
It was clear that it must soon come to aliand-to
hand fight.

Cilapulapu soon easily distinguished the daunt-
less leader of his foes. Magellan's finer dress
marked him out ; his air of command betrayed
him ; and his intrepid valor, as he fought at the
very head of his men, aroused the barbaric chief's
wrath to its fiercest pitch. He ordered his men

A HERO'S DEATH 199

to aim at the Spanish captain their heaviest and
deadliest javelins ; and it was a miracle that Ma-
gellan was not instantly overwhelmed by them.

At this moment Magellan perceived, for the
first time, that his men were quite near some of
the native huts. He ordered them to set fire to
these ; and soon ten or twelve of the huts were
in a blaze. This redoubled the fury of the bar-
barians, a number of whom rushed towards the
men who had caused the conflagration and
frantically assailed them. Two of the Spaniards
fell, pierced by the javelins. The others made all
haste to rejoin the main body of their comrades.

Cilapulapu, seeing that while the bodies of the
Spaniards were effectually protected by their
shields, but that their legs were exposed, ordered
his troops to aim low. The savages now
swarmed on all sides of the Spaniards, and hurled
perfect avalanches of arrows and spears upon
them. Magellan had hoped to use the cannon
which he had brought in the boats ; but, besides
that the boats were obliged to anchor out of range
of the enemy, it would now have been impossi-
ble to fire the cannon without endangering his
own men, as well as those of the Matan chief.

2OO MAGELLAN.

Magellan and his men were soon at close quar,
ters with the furious host of savages ; he him^
self was still the foremost, righting with lion-like
and desperate valor. Lame as he was, he had
herculean strength in his arms ; he dealt crushing
blows right and left with his long sword, and
native after native fell howling and dying beneath
them.

It was not long, however, before the over-
whelming numbers of the natives began to tell.
They fairly crowded the Spaniards back by their
very multitude. The Spaniards were forced to
retire towards the shore, fighting as they
went, and retreating as slowly as possible.

Of a sudden, Magellan fell to the earth with
a cry of pain ; but before his soldiers could as-
sist him, he was on his feet again. A poisoned
arrow had entered his left leg. He stooped and
pulled it out, and launched it back at the on-
rushing foe ; and his sword continued to do as
sanguinary service as before. The natives had
now come near enough to use the arms they had
already hurled, over again. They picked up the
spears and arrows that lay strewn on the ground
where the Spaniards had stood, and again rained

A HERO'S DEATH. 201

them down upon their adversaries. Twice Ma
gellan's helmet was knocked off his head ; but
fortunately his head itself was left unscathed.
As coolly as if he had been standing on the deck
of his flag-ship, he bent down each time, picked
up his helmet, fastened it in its place, and went
on fighting.

For more than an hour this terrific battle raged
with unabating fury. Once more the Spaniards
had made a desperate rally, and grimly resolved
to stand to their ground at all hazards. They
huddled close together, so as to face the enemy
on each side ; now and then a Spaniard would
fall and writhe in agony, when a poisoned shaft
entered and tortured his flesh ; but for every
Spaniard that fell, at least a half-a-dozen natives
were laid low. The contest now raged at the
very water's edge ; and every moment a splash
would be heard, and a dusky warrior would sink
beneath the water.

The strength of the Spaniards was, all this
while, slowly but surely giving out. It was
evident that defeat and death stared them in the
face. But their valor knew no shrinking, and
even those whose blood streamed over their

2O2 MAGELLAN.

faces, and from the wounds in their arms and
legs, fought doggedly on.

At last, however, a fatal event occurred, which
speedily decided the conflict in favor of the bar-
baric Cilapulapu. As Magellan was standing in
front of his men, vigorously cutting and slashing
on either side of him, a native rushed up and
plunged a lance full in his face. The blood at
once gushed from the wound, and covered the
heroic Admiral's cheeks ; but he rushed forward,
seized his assailant's lance, and plunged it through
his body, so that the point emerged from the
other side. At this moment Magellan received
another javelin wound in his right arm. He tried
to pull the lance out of his foe's body, but, from
the weakness of his arm, failed to do so; he then
made an attempt to raise his sword, but found
himself too weak. He staggered, and was about
to faL, when an enormous savage, raising aloft a
large scimetar, brought it with deadly force upon
his left leg. Magellan sank down upon his face ;
and now a multitude of infuriated savages fell
upon him. They ran him through and through
with their spears and lances, and crushed his head
\n with stones ; and without a word or a groan,

A HERO'S DEATH. 203

the great discoverer and warrior breathed his last
When the Spanish soldiers saw Magellan
stretched upon the ground, all but seven or
eight of the most valiant ran into the water, and
hastened out towards the boats. The little band
that remained continued to struggle desperately,
but it was of no avail ; and some of them found
noble deaths within a few feet of the lifeless
form of their brave chief.

Those who escaped into the water succeeded
in reaching the boats in safety. The men who
had remained in charge of them were overcome
with grief to hear of the death of Magellan ; they
wept bitterly at the news, and vowed vengeance
upon the barbarians who had thus deprived them
of their commander. The boats drew up in a
line alongside of each other, and the victorious
savages having now poured down upon the shore,
and some of them having even ventured into the
water, the cannon were loaded and fired at them.
Repeated volleys, issuing from the hoarse throats
of the big guns, awoke the echoes ; while the lesser
volleys of the men's muskets aided them in their
havoc. Many of the natives fell shrieking into
the water ; the rest retreated to the land, and to

2O4 MAGELLAN.

a secure distance beyond range of the cannon
It was useless for the boats to remain any
longer at Matan. The enemy were in too formida-
ble numbers, even if the boats of the king him-
self, which had been moored all this time about a
mile off, in the rear, had joined those of the
Spaniards in a new attack. The latter, therefore,
slowly and mournfully pulled back to where the
king was, and apprized him of the irreparable
loss they had sustained. The sable monarch, on
hearing it, threw himself back, raised his hands
heavenward, and then, leaning forward on his
knees, rocked to and fro, crying and moaning.
The Spaniards were soon to learn how sincere
this show of sorrow was.

The surprise and grief of the captains and
crews of the fleet, at the intelligence brought by
the boats, can scarcely be described. It was a
dismal, dreary day for every soul on board. The
wanderers were now without a guide ; they had
been deprived of him who had won their absolute
trust, upon whose wisdom and courage they had
surely counted, who had shared their every hard-
ship, and had won the love of all, since the mu-
tiny, by his kindness, his leniency towards theif

A HERO'S DEATH. 205

faults, his cheering words when they had been
discouraged, and his fatherly care for the hum-
blest of them.

Thus died the brave-souled, great-hearted, and
indomitable Fernan Magellan, on Saturday, April
i/th, 1 52 1, at the early age of forty-one. Rarely
has a more generous and noble character appeared
in the pages of history. Magellan, after having
braved mighty tempests, having undergone every
danger of the sea, having resolutely pursued his
purpose in spite of all obstacles, having with
firm and stern hand put down the revolt of Cartha-
gena, and having discovered the world-renowned
straits, and crossed and given its name to the
Pacific, was not destined to fulfil that other am-
bition of his, to make the circuit of the globe.
He was fated to fall in the midst of his great
voyage, a victim to the fury of savages, in de-
fence of a potentate who had been friendly to
him, and had consented to become a Christian.
But, dying even at his early age, Magellan had
done enough to win for his name immortal re,
nown. He had at least shown the way around the
world; so that from his time, the ships of all
nations might follow in his track, and pass from

2O6 MAGELLAN.

nation to nation, in both hemispheres, by water.

We have seen how, under every circumstance,
he was heroic and valiant in his action and bear-
ing. He knew not fear, either of men or of the
elements ; was constant to his end in the worst
fortunes, and never once despaired of achieving it.
He did not falter when death and famine stared
him in the face. He was loyal to his adopted
sovereign, to his comrades, and himself.

Unlike Pizarro, and many other voyagers of
his time, his ambition was a nobler one than that
of the greed of gain ; nor was it confined to win-
ning fame and honor for himself. He aspired to
confer great benefits upon man. He exulted in
the thought that he might serve Christianity and
civilization. He would find unknown pathways
on the seas ; he would plant the cross in heathen
and idolatrous lands ; and these high and unselfish
aims he pursued with an ardor and intrepidity
not surpassed by any of the world's conquerers
and heroes.

Magellan was not wantonly cruel. He was
never known to deal harshly with the innocent.
To suppress the mutiny of St. Julian, to execute
its ring-leaders, were acts of sheer necessity and

A HERO'S DEATH. 2O7

self-preservation ; but the mutiny subdued and
its chiefs executed, he was mild and lenient with
their misguided followers. Towards his sailors
he was indulgent, generous, and 'considerate. He
cheerfully shared their hardships. He tenderly
cared for the sick. He overlooked their lighter
faults ; he was loth to punish even their more
serious offences. He even gave the savage Cila-
pulapu a chance to repent, before attacking him.
He was kind and generous to all, high and low,
alike. No man was more deeply beloved by his
friends and his inferiors.

The achievement by which he is best known,
and which has perpetuated his name, was the
discovery of the Straits, that labyrinthine, dan-
gerous passage between the southernmost point
in South America and Terra del Fuego. Even
now, it is not the safest thing in the world for a
ship to steer its way through it ; how much more
difficult, when its outlet was unknown, and when
the navigator had only the clumsy nautical con-
trivances of three centuries ago !

*' Forever sacred to the hero's fame,
These foaming straits shall bear his deathless name."

2O8 MAGELLAN

CHAPTER XIV.

THE KING'S TREACHERY.

ITH the death of their brave commander,
new troubles came upon the Spaniards.
For awhile, all was confusion in the
fleet. There was now no head; and it became
necessary to replace Magellan by a new admiral.
Two of the captains seemed, above all the other
officers, best fitted to succeed to this office. One
was Juan Serrano, who had proved not only a
courageous and resolute man, but an able navi-
gator, and a faithful friend of Magellan. The
other was Edward Barbosa, a Portuguese, the
brother of Magellan's wife, and the man whom,
beyond all the rest in the fleet, Magellan had most
thoroughly trusted.

The choice at last fell upon Barbosa ; and no
sooner had he received the command of the fleet,
than he won the allegiance and confidence alike

THE KINGS TREACHERY. 2CXJ

of the sailors and of the officers. His first pun
pose was to secure, if possible, the remains of
Magellan, that the dead hero might be buried
with all honor, and his grave consecrated by the
rites of the Church. The king of Sebu, who
seemed overwhelmed by his friend's death, will-
ingly agreed to make the attempt to recover his
body. He sent a boat with envoys to Matan,
who implored Cilapulapu to deliver it up ; at the
same time promising that if he would do so, he
should have as much merchandize as he chose to
take.

Cilapulapu promptly made an insolent reply.
" He would on no account," he said, " give up
the body ; he desired to keep it as a monument
of his triumph."

Barbosa was therefore obliged, with sad reluct-
ance, to abandon the hope of burying Magellan
in a manner worthy of his rank and character ;
and now there seemed to be no reason why the
fleet should longer tarry at Sebu. Barbosa was
anxious to reach the long-wished-for Moluccas,
which, he knew, were not far off ; and then to
sail home, as quickly as possible, by the way of
the Cape of Good Hope.

ZIO MAGELLAN.

He ordered the goods which still lay in the
warehouse at Sebu, to be brought on board the
ships as quietly as possible ; and so skilfully was
this done, that the king of Sebu did not suspect
what was really going on.

Various incidents, indeed, had now happened,
which made Barbosa suspect the king's sincerity.
He knew that, immediately after Magellan's de-
feat and death, Cilapulapu had sent the king a
defiant message, threatening to invade Sebu
with an invincible force, if he did not at once
break with the Spaniards, and renounce Chris-
tianity. Barbosa saw that this threat had greatly
terrified the king, and had induced him to assume
a less cordial manner towards the fleet ; still, he
was profuse in his expressions of friendship, and
was far from offering the Spaniards any open

affront.

It seemed prudent to Barbosa, therefore, that

the fleet should set sail suddenly, before the king
knew that it was going, and before he could serve
the Spaniards, if such was really his disposition,

an ill turn.

Before he could put his project into execution,
it was foiled by the treachery of a man who had

THE KINOES TREACHERY. 211

nitherto been fidelity itself. This was the Malay
interpreter, whom the Spaniards had named Henry.
As soon as he had learned of Magellan's death,
Henry had seemed overwhelmed with grief. He
would go off to the further end of the flag-ship,
wrap himself up in his mat, rock himself to and
fro, and refuse all consolation. Barbosa allowed
him to indulge his grief for awhile. But time
was precious, and the Malay's assistance was ab-
solutely necessary in getting the goods on board.
Barbosa therefore spoke to him gently, and told
him he must go on shore with the men. Henry
would not stir, upon which Barbosa addressed
him more roughly.

" You must know," said he, " that you are not
free, though your master is dead. I am going
to carry you to Spain, and deliver you to Dona
Beatrix, the Admiral's widow. Meanwhile, if
you do not get up quickly, and go ashore to your
work, I will have you flogged."

The Malay upon this slowly rose, and walked
sullenly away ; he leaped into one of the boats and
went ashore. He was very angry in his heart at
Barbosa's threatening words, and resolved to be
revenged on him. Slipping away from the rest,

212 MAGELLAN.

while they were usy getting out the goods, he
hid himself in the thicket, and soon made his
way to the mansion of the king. To him he im-
parted the news that the ships were preparing to
set sail ; and he urged the king to make haste
and attack them, so that he might get possession
both of the ships and their cargoes. The king
listened intently to what the treacherous Malay
said, and made up his mind to betray his guests.
He was all the more willing to do this, as he had
fully resolved to give up Christianity, and to make
peace with his rebellious subjects in Matan.
The Malay then returned to help the sailors, say-
ing nothing, of course, of his visit to the king.

The next day, Barbosa received a message from
the king, that the jewels he designed as a present
to the king of Spain were ready to be delivered
to him ; and inviting Barbosa with a number of
his principal officers and comrades, to dine with
him that afternoon.

Barbosa, though he had some suspicions of the
king, determined to accept the invitation. With
twenty-four others, among whom were an astrolo-
ger named San Martin, Carvalho, the chief of
police, and the Captain Serrano, and all of whom

THE KINGS TREACHERY. 213

took care to go armed to the teeth, he proceeded
on shore at the appointed time.

The king met them in the open space, with
many smiles and grimaces of welcome, and tak-
ing Barbosa by the hand, led him into the house.
The other Spaniards, with a host of native cour-
tiers and soldiers, followed. At the table, which
was bountifully spread, Barbosa was seated at
the king's right hand, a custom taught the na-
tives by Magellan.

For a time the feast went on merrily. Barbosa
and his comrades, who, on first coming, had
taken care to be on their guard, and had cau-
tiously watched every movement of the royal at-
tendants seemed at last to forget their suspi-
cions, and gave themselves wholly up to the good
cheer of the occasion. While they were thus
absorbed in the good things, the king of a sud-
den sprang from his seat, and making a signal to
his soldiers, plunged a dagger deep into Bar-
bosa's breast. At the same moment, each Span-
iard was ferociously assailed by his dusky neigh-
bors, and fell bleeding and dying at the foot of
the festive board. The surprise and slaughter
were as sudden as they were dastardly. Only

214 MAGELLAN.

one of the party Serrano escaped for the mo-
ment the fate of his brave comrades. He suc-
ceeded in felling two of his assailants, and leap-
ing over their bodies, jumped to the ground,
and ran, wounded and bleeding, through the
open space down towards the shore.

But the swifter feet of the enraged natives
caught up with him, just as he reached the strand,
and was screaming to the ships for help with
outstretched arms. The men on board looked
at him in speechless terror and amazement.
Meanwhile the savages caught him, bound him,
and dragged him some distance along the shore.
They offered the Spaniards to release Serrano, if
they would give up two cannon, but it is proba-
ble that their offer was not heard ; for in all haste
the ships weighed anchor, and were soon scud-
ding out of the bay. Serrano, as he saw his only
hope thus vanishing, fell upon the ground with a
shriek of despair, and was soon stabbed to death
by the javelin and dagger-thrusts of his blood,
thirsty captors.

After this barbarous and dastardly deed, the
king of Sebu was only too ready to desert his
Christian professions, and to make peace with

THE KINGS TREACHERY. 215

Cilapulapu. All his subjects, as well, speedily
returned to their idols ; and the little wooden
figure of Christ was, as we have seen, afterwards
used as a native deity. The cross which Magel-
lan had set up was pulled down and burned.

Meanwhile, the fleet sailed away as fast as pos-
sible from the island where its occupants had
witnessed so sudden a change from boundless
hospitality to the most treacherous cruelty.
Barbosa was dead ; and in his place, one of the
Spanish lieutenants, named Espinosa, was chosen
admiral, and commander of the "Trinidad."
Serrano's post of captain was given to Sebas-
tian del Cano, who took command of the " Vic-
toria."

Espinosa resolved not to turn back, but to
still pursue the course which Magellan had
marked out. The crews were reduced by bat-
tle, massacre, and illness, and they could hope
neither to cope successfully with the perfidious
king of Sebu, nor to conduct the ships back to
Europe by way of the Straits of Magellan. Even
now, they found it difficult to manage, in the
gentle waters of the Archipelago, the three ves-
sels which still remained to them.

2IO~ MAGELLAN.

When, therefore, the fleet reached an island
called Bohol, about forty miles from Matan, they
put in at an inviting harbor, in order to settle upon
future plans. Espinosa made up his mind that
one of the ships must be sacrificed ; and as the
" Conception" was the weakest and least sea-
worthy of the three, she was doomed. Her
cargo was transferred to the other ships, and she
was then hauled up and burned.

The two vessels that remained, the "Trinidad"
and the " Victoria," soon proceeded on their way.
They sailed southwestward, in which direction
Espinosa knew the Moluccas lay, and passed
many islands without stopping. On one of these,
they observed, the inhabitants were as black as
Ethiopians, and their appearance was too for-
bidding to encourage the wanderers to land.
After sailing a few days, they reached a much
more hospitable-looking island, where the ships
put in for wood and water. The king of the
tribe went fearlessly on board the " Trinidad,"
and, as a token of his friendly disposition, drew
some blood from his left hand, and smeared his
face, breast, and the tip of his tongue with it.
The Spaniards thought it prudent to follow his

THE KING'S TREACHERY. 217

example, which they did rather awkwardly ; but
it pleased the dusky monarch very much. Es,
pinosa, indeed, found this king so hospitable, that
he resolved to prolong his stay. The ships en
tered the mouth of the river, which flowed from
the hills of what proved to be one of the most
beautiful islands the Spaniards had yet seen.
This was Mindanao. The captains and sailors
went freely on shore, and as soon as they did so
the king and his courtiers began to sing and
caper about, and offered them a very tempting
meal of freshly-caught fish.

So much confidence did the king inspire in
Espinosa and the other officers, that they were
easily persuaded to visit him in the town. It
was a rash thing to do, considering the base
treatment to which they had just been subjected
by the king of Sebu ; but that perfidy seems to
have been so soon forgotten. Espinosa and his
comrades did not neglect, however, to arm them-
selves, so as to be fully prepared for foul play.
The town lay for the most part on the bank of
the river, from which it straggled up a gentle
slope, wooded with palms and many other tropi-
cal trees.

2l8 MAGELLAN.

It was night when Espinosa and his party as
cended the hill, in company with the sable king
and his retinue ; and as they approached its
crest, a large number of the natives came to
meet them with blazing torches, which lit up the
scene with a wierd, lurid glare. The figures of
the natives looked almost terrible in the flicker-
ing and fitful light, their painted faces and dark,
unclothed forms standing out against the dark-
ness.

The king conducted his visitors within the long,
low hut which constituted his palace ; and the first
thing he did was to feast them. In the principal
apartment, the Spaniards found two ravishingly
beautiful women, with almost fair complexions,
and exquisite forms and features, who proved to
be two of his majesty's wives ; two of the chiefs
attended the king inside the hut; and the king,
his wives, and the chiefs began at once to quaff
long draughts of palm wine from enormous
wooden goblets. Espinosa was prevailed on
to imitate their example; but Pigafetta, the
Italian, who was of the party, thought it pru-
dent only to sip the strong liquor. Supper fol-
lowed, consisting mainly of very salt fish, served

THE KINGS TREACHERY. 219

up in porcelain dishes, and of rice very much
boiled.

The party from the fleet remained one night
in the king's house ; and the next morning they
breakfasted with him, as cozily as possible, the
food being the same as on the night before,
Pigafetta, who no longer had the least fear of
the king or his subjects, took a stroll after break-
fast over the island. He found it full of mar-
vels of vegetable and floral beauty, and resplend-
ent with all the rich and varied growths of the
tropics. On reaching the summit of a hill, hard
by that on which the king's house stood, he found
another large mansion, which, he was told by the
natives who went with him, was the residence of
one of the queens. He found no difficulty in
gaining admission, and was cordially welcomed
; by its fair occupant, who was weaving a mat,

and who made him sit beside her. She was sur-
rounded by a number of male and female slaves,
and there were many porcelain ornaments and
musical instruments hanging from the walls.
Before Pigafetta departed, the queen amused him
by playing very loudly on some metal timbrels.
He was returning towards the ships, when he

22O MAGELLAN.

was met by several of the chiefs, who offered to
row him down the river in a long canoe. This
offer he smilingly accepted. As they sped
smoothly down the stream, he saw on the shore
the bodies of three men hanging upon a tree.
On asking what this meant, he was told that
they were thieves, and that this was the way
that such criminals were punished in Mindanao.
He also saw, on the banks, and in the fields that
he passed in the canoe, many pigs, goats, and
fowl of various breeds.

What surprised and dazzled Pigafetta still
more, was the abundance of gold ornaments
which the natives displayed. Some of the
utensils in the king's house were of this precious
metal ; the queen had many gold rings and
bracelets ; and gold seemed to be a common
article, even with the natives. The chiefs in
the canoe, as they passed along, pointed out
several valleys to Pigafetta, telling him by signs
that they contained many rich veins of gold ;
but that as they had no iron implements with
which to mine it, they could only procure it with
labor and difficulty.

Refreshed by their pleasant sojourn at Min-

THE KING'S TREACHERY.

danao, the wanderers resumed their voyage, con-
tinuing to pass, as before, many islands, some of
which seemed deserted, and others inhabited by
Malay tribes. They sailed perhaps a hundred
miles in a westerly direction, until they reached
an island called Palawan,

The provisions of the ships were now pretty
much exhausted ; and Espinosa, for some unex-
plained reason, had neglected to replenish his
stores at Mindanao. Before reaching Palawan,
the men had been put on short rations. It was,
therefore, much to their relief that they saw
another large and fruitful island rising from the
sea ; and still greater was their delight to find
the people of Palawan and their rulers as hos-
pitable and well-disposed as those of the place
they had recently left.

The king was a very tall and imposing-looking
man, whose countenance, when he first appeared,
so dark was it, and so long and black his beard,
seemed forbidding. But on going on board the
flag-ship, his face was lit up with a smile so
beaming and pleasant, and he seemed so sin-
cerely rejoiced to see thf strangers, that Espinosa
and his comrades were at once put at their ease,

MAGELLAN.

Palawan proved to be and to contain all that
the Spaniards hoped. The king was generous,
his people were peaceable and good-natured, and
the island abounded in good things. They found
not only pigs and goats, but yams (like our sweet
potatoes), large and luscious bananas, and, of
course, plenty of rice, cocoanuts, and sugar-
canes. The pigs were cured and stowed away
for future use ; meanwhile the Spaniards feasted
daily and freely with their new friends.

The natives seemed more civilized and intelli-
gent than those of the other islands. They had
a great fondness for gay colors and jewelry ; and
were wild with joy when Espinosa gave them
some little brass bells, which they hung on their
ringers and ears, and danced about to hear them
jingle.

They had, it appeared, a superstitious respect
for cocks, which they reared with great care, and
never ate ; but on festival days brought them
out and made them fight each other. To one
of these cock-fights Espinosa and his officers
were invited.

A week was passed at Palawan, during which
the ships were repaired (a task in which the na

THE KING'S TREACHERY.

tives willingly helped the carpenters), provisions
in plenty were stored, and wood and water were
put in ; and when the strangers departed, the
king, with a great number of his subjects, em-
barked in a large fleet of long canoes, and attended
the "Trinidad" and the " Victoria" far out to sea.

224 MAGELLAN.

CHAPTER XV.

ADVENTURES AT BORNEO.

HE ships had not sailed southwestward
more than thirty miles, when Espinosa,
standing on the deck of the " Trinidad,"
which was ahead of the "Victoria," espied an island
longer, and yet wilder and more luxuriant in its
foliage and vegetation than any he had before seen.
It was a bright, glowing morning in summer, and
the tropical air was heavy with the perfume of
fruit and flower, as a gentle breeze blew off the
land towards the ships.

As the island was neared, however, Espinosa,
who resolved to land if circumstance favored it,
saw no harbor where to enter. The shores rose
in high and abrupt bluffs; and in places where
there were bays or inlets, the water near the shore
proved so full of rocks that to approach any of
them would have been dangerous. So he skirted
the coast of the island all that day, and a part of

ADVENTURES AT BORNEO. 22$

the next ; and was surprised at its extent and at
all he saw on the shore. Now and then groups
of natives appeared on the bluffs, of a more
dusky hue and wilder appearance than those at
Palawan; but they did not seem afraid of the
ships, gazing at them rather with curiosity than
with terror or hostility.

About noon on the second day, Espinosa at
last caught sight of a good harbor, beyond which
the cliffs jutted far into the sea. The harbor
was evidently at the mouth of a river; and on
the banks of this was to be seen a large and
prosperous-looking town. The island indeed, was
Borneo, and the town its capital, Bruni. Bruni
was situated on the northwest coast.

Espinosa, who had grown bold and confident
by the good treatment he had received since
leaving Sebu, did not hesitate to enter the port,
and to anchor his ships in a favorable place,
quite near the shore. The natives crowded along
the beach, but their demonstrations were not at
all unfriendly. They acted as if European ships
were not a wholly unwonted sight to them, but
as if they were not so new as to have ceased to
be an attractive sight.

226

MAGELLAN.

That night the Spaniards remained quietly in
their ships, mounting guard, of course, lest by any
chance the islanders should prove hostile. No
incident, however, disturbed the quiet of the
dark hours; and officers and crews slept soundly.

The morning was not far advanced, when
Espinosa saw a very handsome barge, its prow
and stern glittering with gilt, and a white and
blue flag fluttering from the bow, push out from
the beach and approach the " Trinidad." The
barge was full of gaily-dressed natives, with very
dark skins and shaggy hair, who were playing
upon pipes and drums. After the barge came
several smaller boats, which appeared to be fish-
ing smacks. The barge presently came along-
side ; and, without more ado, eight of its occu-
pants, old men with bushy white heads, clam-
bered upon the deck of the flag-ship. They were
chiefs of the island ; and were followed by their
attendants, who brought on board a variety of
gifts for the strangers.

Espinosa received them with great politeness,
and offered them seats on a carpet that was
spread upon the deck, which they accepted with
grave and stately courtesy. Then they caused

ADVENTURES AT BORNEO. 22?

their attendants to spread before the Spaniards
the good things they had brought. There were
large wooden vessels, gorgeously painted, and
filled with betel, the fruit they constantly chewed
in that part of the world ; there were jars of
arrack, a curious beverage, which the Spaniards
found very palatable, but quite strong, and which,
they learned, was made from rice ; there were,
besides, fowl and goats, sugar-cane and bananas.
After paying a visit to the flag-ship, the chiefs
went on board the "Victoria," whither they
carried similar gifts, and met with an equally
hearty welcome. It was not long before their
good treatment had its effect on the king of
Borneo. He sent three barges, yet more splendid
than that which had first appeared, full of
chiefs and musicians, who were rowed around
the ships, the musicians playing with all
their might. Espinosa ordered salutes to be
fired, and the flags to be hoisted at the mast-
heads. Among other articles that the natives
brought, as gifts from their monarch, were cakes
made of rice, honey and eggs ; all of which were
extremely welcome to the Spaniards, who eagerly
consumed them.

228 MAGELLAN

The king of Borneo, a day or two after, sent a
message that the Spaniards might not only pro-
cure such provisions as they wished on shore,
but that they might trade freely with his sub-
jects.

Espinosa ordered seven of his principal men,
one of whom was Pigafetta, to get into one
of the barges, go to the town, and visit the
king. These carried with them, as friendly
offerings, a Turkish coat of green velvet, a chair
of violet-colored velvet, some red cloth, a cap, a
gilt goblet, a glass vase, and, oddly enough, a
gilt pen and ink case ; and, to be given to the
queen, a pair of slippers, and a silver case full of
pins. Presents were also carried for the king's
chief courtiers ; for Espinosa rightly judged that
it was of no small importance to gain the friend-
ship of a potentate evidently so rich and power-
ful.

When the party reached the quay and disem-
barked, they were forced to wait some time ; for
the king had not understood that they were
coming, and had not made his preparations to
receive them.

At last, however, a sight greeted their eyes

ADVENTURES AT BORNEO. 22$

which gave them a still higher idea of the royal
splendor of Borneo. Two immense elephants,
caparisoned in rich and vari-colored silk, came
slowly tramping down to the quay. With them
were twelve natives, all richly dressed, and bear*
ing large porcelain vases covered with silk nap-
kins. These vases, it appeared, were intended to
receive the presents which the Spaniards had
brought with them. The elephants were supplied
with palanquins on which could be seated quite
a number of men ; and the Spaniards clambered
up to them on the shoulders of the natives.

The elephants were then slowly led through
the streets of the town, which was a far hand-
somer and more spacious place than any the
Spaniards had hitherto seen in the islands. As
they went along, the people, who were of a
higher type of men and women than those be-
fore visited, gathered in curious crowds, and
lined the sides of the streets. They were quiet,
though Pigafetta saw many fierce and savage-
looking faces among them.

Pigafetta and his comrades were conducted to
the house of one of the most important men,
where, it being now nearly dark, they were invited

23O MAGELLAN.

to enter, and stay over-night. They found every,
thing in the house much more elegant and com-
fortable than in the houses at Sebu. Instead of
coarse mats, they had soft cotton rugs to sleep
on ; and the viands set before them were very
pleasant and palatable.

The next morning the elephants were again
awaiting them at the door ; and they mounted
the palanquins, and set out for the royal palace,
the men who bore the presents going before them.
The palace they found to be a large and rather
imposing edifice, the hall of which was reached
by a broad flight of steps. On entering the hall.
Pigafetta was amazed at its aspect of show and
ceremony. It was hung with brilliant silks, and
was full of the dusky courtiers in fine clothes.
Beyond this apartment was another, not quite
so spacious, but raised a few feet higher, and
reached by a short flight of steps ; it was
very richly hung with long curtains of silk and
brocade, and two large windows admitted the
light. Here were stationed three hundred of the
king's guard, with daggers drawn. Yet beyond
this room was a third, much smaller, but more
splendidly adorned ; and here sat the king, a

ADVENTURES AT BORNEO. 231

rather fat man, forty years old, on a great cush
ion, with one of his little boys. The king was
busily chewing the eternal betel.

Surrounding the king was a bevy of women of
various complexions, some almost as light as
Europeans, others dark enough to have come
from Africa.

The visitors were not allowed to approach
nearer the monarch than the first hall. There
they were supplied with cushions, so placed that
they could see the king in the distance. When
they were seated they were given to understand
that they could not themselves speak to his
majesty ; but that, whatever they had to say to
him, they must say to a certain chief; this chief
would tell it to another, who would repeat it to a
yet higher official ; who, in his turn, would deliver
the message through a speaking-trumpet to the
prime minister, who stood at the king's side, and
by whom it would at last reach the royal ears.

At the same time, the chief who gave them
these instructions, told them they must rise, join
their hands above their heads, raise first one and
then the other foot, make three low bows to the
king, and then kiss their hands to him.

232 MAGELLAN.

This Pigafetta and his comrades did with great
care and punctiliousness ; being not a little
amused to find, in this semi-barbarous and pagan
court, quite as much ceremony as in the palaces
of refined Europe.

They then, in the indirect manner that has
been described, made known to the royal host
the message which Espinosa had sent. It was,
that they were subjects of the king of Spain, who
wished to establish peace and friendship with the
king of Borneo, and for permission to trade with
the island. The next thing was to offer the
king the presents they had brought ; which
were accordingly laid at his feet by some of
his attendants. He acknowledged them by a
slight and solemn inclination of the head ; and
immediately after sent to the Spaniards some
pieces of rick silk and brocade.

They were next treated to cloves and cin-
namon ; and while they were eating, the cur-
tains in front of the king were drawn together,
and he disappeared from view. Pigaffetta ob-
served, on this occasion, that the soldiers and
courtiers wore cloth of gold and silk, that their
daggers had gold hilts studded with gems, and

ADVENTURES AT BORNEO. 233

that their fingers were fairly covered with large
rings.

Deeply impressed with all that they had seen,
the party returned to the house of the chief
where they had lodged, mounted, as when they
came, upon elephants. There they were once
more entertained in the most lavish manner.
The hospitable chief feasted them upon rice,
chickens, and peacocks, veal, many kinds of fish,
and the not unpleasant arrack ; these things,
too, were served to them on handsome china
dishes. The Spaniards were obliged to eat with
their fingers ; but the rice they ate with gold
spoons, to find which, in Borneo, much surprised
them.

They remained two days in the chiefs abode ;
and on the second night were provided not only
with wax candles, but even with oil lamps.
Everything they saw, indeed, astonished them at
the evident riches and even civilization of the
island.

When Pigafetta reported the adventures of
his party to the Admiral, he was more than ever
convinced that it was important to secure the
king's good will for the Spaniards.

234 MAGELLAN.

was impatient to reach the Moluccas; but
was so attracted by all that he had seen and
heard in Borneo that he made up his mind to
prolong his stay. Instead of a sojourn of two or
three days, therefore, the ships remained an-
chored in the harbor nearly a month.

Espinosa himself, as well as his officers and
men, now went freely to and fro, every day, be-
tween the ships and the town. The king's barges
were always ready to conduct them, and the
houses of the chiefs were always at their disposal.
Espinosa desired the monarch to visit the ships;
but was told that he never stirred away from his
palace, except when he went hunting, which he
occasionally did with a few chosen princes and
nobles.

The Spaniards availed themselves of the kindly
disposition of the people to open trade with
them. They secured a warehouse near the quay ;
and here, as at Sebu, a brisk business soon
sprang up. The people of Borneo, it turned out,
knew much better the value of the articles of-
fered for sale by the Spaniards, than those of
Sebu ; and Espinosa's men found it necessary to
display the best articles the ships afforded.

ADVENTURES AT BORNEO

Something new about Borneo anj its people
was learned every day. Espinosa estimated the
population of the town at nearly one hundred
thousand. A large part of it was built on piles
driven in the water ; the houses were all of
wood, and were reached by flights of steps. In
front of the royal palace was a thick and high
brick wall, with port-holes. This was intended
as a kind of fort to protect the king.

Espinosa soon learned that the people of Borneo
were not idolaters, but were faithful followers of
Mahomet ; and that they scrupulously obeyed
the precepts of the Koran. They never ate pig's
flesh, nor the flesh of any animal they did not
themselves kill. The mass of the people went
almost naked, as, indeed, the hot climate in which
they lived made it almost necessary to do ; but
the nobles and soldiers, as we have seen, dressed
very gaily.

Their money was not unlike the European. It
consisted of bronze coins, pierced in the centre
for stringing together ; and, as Espinosa and his
companions were able to see for themselves, the
natives were very skilful in making fine porcelain
and china. Among the productions of the island

236 MAGELLAN.

were camphor, cinnamon, ginger, oranges, lem
ons, melons, cucumbers, cabbage, onions, and
sugar-canes ; their animals were elephants, horses,
pigs, goats, fowl, and geese. The medicine they
thought the most effective was quick-silver, which
they were bold enough to swallow when ill.

The king, it appeared, was very rich. Many
of his household utensils were of solid gold;
some of his plates and covers were artistically
enamelled and chased. Some of the Spaniards,
on going one day to the palace, were shown two
enormous and beautiful pearls, nearly as large as
hen's eggs. They were told that the king had
bought these pearls from the Arabs, for a vast
sum, and that he esteemed them his most pre-
cious treasure.

Early one morning, shortly before the day set
for the departure of the ships from Borneo,
Espinosa was awakened to hear some startling
news. The king and people had treated him so
kindly and generously, that he had long ceased
to have the slightest suspicion of their good
faith. What was his surprise and alarm, then,
when one of his officers, entering his cabin, ex<
claimed :

ADVENTURES AT BORNEO. 237

" Rise quickly, Admiral. There is a large fleet
of junks coming towards us, full of armed men.
Their design is without doubt a hostile one. Un-
less we prepare at once to resist them, we shall
surely be overwhelmed !"

Espinosa arose, dressed himself with all
speed, and ran up on deck. The sight which
greeted his eyes only confirmed the officer's re-
port. There, in the broad bay, which sparkled
with the reflection of the first rays of the sun, was
a fleet of native junks, with their bamboo masts
and bark sails, of which there could not be less than
a hundred. They were divided into three squad-
rons, and sailed together in close phalanx. Their
decks were, indeed, fairly crowded with Borneo
warriors, who presented a very formidable aspect.
Espinosa at once made up his mind that it had
been the intention of the king to take him by
surprise ; and in this, if it was his purpose, he
had quite succeeded. To resist so large and
powerful a fleet would have been folly. With
his handful of men, and his few cannon, Espinosa
could not hope to make a serious impression
upon it. He resolved to lose no time in weigh-
ing anchor and setting sail, so as to escape if

238 MAGELLAN.

possible, before it was too late. Meanwhile, he
was beside himself with anger at what he sup-
posed to be the unparalleled perfidy of the king
of Borneo.

The order to weigh anchor was given, and the
" Trinidad" and " Victoria" began to move. At
this moment several junks, which had been lying
just by the ships for several days, showed signs,
as Espinosa thought, of following them. He or-
dered them to be fired upon with the cannon.
The balls did deadly work. Two of the junks
foundered, and two more went aground on a
shoal, in trying to escape the attack ; while a num-
ber of their occupants were killed.

Espinosa soon had reason to bitterly regret his
haste in firing upon these junks. A smaller boat
was seen rapidly approaching the flag-ship, show-
ing a flag of truce. When it came up, Espinosa
permitted a chief, who was standing up in the boat
and eagerly waving his arms, to come on board.

All was then explained. It seemed that it was
not at all the object of the large fleet of junks to
attack the Spaniards. This armament was just
returning from a warlike expedition to the island
of Luzon, some leagues away, where the soldiers

ADVENTURES AT BORNEO. 239

had been engaged in a fierce conflict with a pow-
erful enemy of their sovereign. The chief city
of the island had been sacked, and many prisoners
and much booty taken.

The Admiral made all haste to return to his
old anchorage in the harbor, and to make all the
reparation he could for having attacked the junks
and killed those who were in them. The king
was easily persuaded of the error Espinosa had
committed, and accepted his apologies and pres-
ents with cordial good will ; and from that time
until the ships sailed their relations continued to
be of the most friendly nature. The ships received
new supplies of provisions, wood, and water ; and
Espinosa found, on balancing his accounts, that
the active trade with the towns-people had been
quite profitable.

It was autumn when the " Victoria" and the
" Trinidad," with flags flying and cannon bellow-
ing forth their noisy farewells, at last sailed out
of the hospitable harbor of Borneo, and pro-
ceeded on their way in search of the Moluccas.

MAGELLAN.

CHAPTER XVI.

DISCOVERY OF THE SPICE ISLANDS.

had learned that, in searching
for the Moluccas, he had sailed too far
westward ; and on leaving Borneo he
deemed it wisest to return on the track by which
he had come, and to pass around the island of
Borneo by the north and east. Scarcely were the
ships fairly out to sea, when the Admiral discov-
ered that they were both leaky, and sadly needed
repairs ; and he was obliged to look about for a
convenient island to haul them over and caulk
them. Seeing a place that seemed fit for this
purpose, he approached it ; but, as the " Victoria"
was nearing the shore, she struck on some shoals,
and came near being lost. She was got off, how-
ever, though with great difficulty.

About the same time the " Trinidad" came
very near being blown up, with all on board. A

DISCOVERY OF THE SPICE ISLANDS 24!

sailor was snuffing a candle, and very incautiously
threw the lighted wick into a chest of gunpowder
which was standing near by. Quick as a flash
he sprang, grasped and extinguished the wick.
In another instant, a terrible explosion must
have occurred.

Finally the ships found a harbor on an island
called Cinbonbon, where the repairs might be
made with great convenience ; and here they
cast anchor. On examining the ships more
narrowly, Espinosa found that they were yet
more unseaworthy than he had at first thought.
It was necessary to take time to put them in
thorough order again. He therefore resolved to
remain at Cinbonbon, as long as was necessary
for this purpose.

While the carpenters were busy with the ships,
the sailors went on shore, and built little huts,
where they could stay with more comfort than
on ship-board. Cinbonbon, like nearly all the
islands in the Archipelago, was very picturesque
and fruitful. Some of the men were set to gath-
ering wood in the forest, for the repairs on the
ships ; and this they found no easy matter, as
the ground was fairly covered with briars and

242 MAGELLAN.

thorny shrubs, and most of the men having no
shoes, were obliged to go among them bare-
foot.

Some amused themselves with hunting the
wild boars, which were plentiful and very savage
in the island; others went crocodile shooting;
others contented themselves with the gentle
sport of catching fish, oysters, and turtles, with
which to regale their comrades. These caught
many fish, the like of which they had never be-
fore seen ; one had a head which resembled that
of a pig, and which had two horns. Pigafetta saw
with astonishment the leaves of a certain kind
of tree, which> when they fell to the ground,
moved about as if they were living things.
" I kept one," he said, " nine days in a box.
When I opened it, the leaf skipped round the box.
I believe they live upon air." The mystery of this
is, however, easily explained. If Pigafetta had ex-
amined his animated leaf a little more closely,
he would have seen that its motions came from
an insect which lived inside of it.

While the ships were at Cinbonbon, the sailors
captured a junk that was passing by, loaded with
cocoanuts, which they appropriated ; allowing

DISCOVERY OF THE SPICE ISLANDS. 243

the natives to escape as best they could among
the islands.

It was more than a month before the ships
were ready to sail for Cinbonbon. They then
continued their voyage northward and east-
ward, taking in Mindanao, where they had before
tarried. On their way, as they went, the Span-
iards captured all the junks they could lay their
hands on, compelling them to give up their
cargoes, which in some cases consisted of rice,
pigs, goats, fowl, figs, sugar-canes, and palm
wine. They passed among many islands which
they had not before seen ; and at one of these
they obtained some cinnamon, of which they had
long been in search, and for which they willingly
exchanged some knives.

At last they reached a region where there were
more signs of thrift and commerce, where the
natives were tall, robust, and intelligent-looking
men, and where the vessels were larger and bet-
ter made even than those of Borneo. Then
Espinosa felt sure that he was approaching the
far-famed Moluccas, or Spice Islands, which it
was one of the main objects of Magellan to find.
At one of the islands at which the ships stopped,

244 MAGELLAN.

a chief told him that he knew where the
Moluccas were; and he proceeded to describe
the quarter in which they lay. Espinosa lost no
time in following the directions given by this
chief. He now took a southeast course, and made
as much speed as the winds and current would
permit.

The ships had not, however, gone far, when a
furious tropical storm burst upon them, and for
awhile threatened their destruction. For some
days the Spaniards were overwhelmed with fear,
lest they should be dashed upon the rocks of the
islands and reefs that thickly studded the seas.
When the tempest subsided a little they made all
haste to seek shelter in a bay. It happened that,
on the island where this bay was, there was a
Malay familiar with the whole region of the
Archipelago ; and Espinosa was not long in per-
suading him, by means of presents, to undertake
to pilot the ships to the Spice Islands.

It was a mild morning, early in November,
when Espinosa, standing on the deck of the flag-
ship, with the Malay pilot by his side, espied in
the dim distance four islands, lying near to-
gether, all of which were very uneven and hilly.

DISCOVERY OF THE SPICE ISLANDS. 245

The Malay, as soon as he caught sight of them,
exclaimed that they were the Moluccas. The
Admiral delighted to hear this, at once told the
crew, and signalled the good news to the " Vic-
toria," which was following at the distance of
about a half-a-mile. The wanderers had been
more than two years on their voyage ; and were
now to behold with their own eyes, the islands,
the report of whose riches had dazzled all Europe.
In their joy they fired the cannon, and made
merry on the decks.

Espinosa only feared one thing. He had
heard, in Spain, that these Spice Islands, which
promised so much to their conqueror, were well-
nigh inaccessible to ships. They were said to
be surrounded with dangerous shoals, and to
be usually enveloped in dark, dismal fogs.
The islands now stood out distinct and bold,
however, in an atmosphere which grew clearer as
the morning advanced ; and his anxiety ceased,
when, on approaching the nearest, he found the
water many fathoms deep, close up to the shore.

In the middle of the afternoon the ships en-
tered a wide and fine harbor, and were able to
cast anchor in twenty fathoms of water. On

246 MAGELLAN.

the shore stood a town of prosperous and ;

civilized appearance ; and along the bea ,.j, and
the rocks that rose from the water's e }ge on
either side, the natives were gathered in large
numbers, gazing curiously at the European ves-
sels as they lay in the roadstead. The island
the Spaniards thus reached was one of the larger
Moluccas, and was called Tidor.

Early the next morning the sultan of the
island, whose name, as the Spaniards soon learned,
was Almansor, came out in a gorgeous barge,
and rowed around the two ships. When the
barge passed under the bows of the " Trinidad,"
Espinosa was able to perceive that the *ultan
was of a cream-colored complexion, with 4 black
flowing beard, about forty-five years of agv, well-
built, and strikingly handsome. He wore a fine
white tunic, the ends of the sleeves of whii h were
embroidered with gold lace ; and a long s rift, or
robe, which fell to his feet. On his head he had
a thin silk veil, over which he wore a garland of
flowers. His appearance was very gay and pic-
turesque. Above him was spread a silk umbrella,
to protect him from the sun.

Espinosa made all haste to welcome t ^

DISCOVERY OF THE SPICE ISLANDS. 247

tan's friendly advances. He caused a long-boat
to be lowered, got into it, and rowed to the side
of the barge. The sultan smiled, stretched out
his hands, and beckoned pleasantly to the Ad-
miral to come on board his vessel. This Espin-
osa did willingly and with alacrity.

He was invited to take a seat beside the mon-
arch. On the other side sat the young prince,
the sultan's son, who held a long gold sceptre ;
while in front of the sultan crouched two of his
attendants with gold ewers full of water, with
which the sultan moistened his fingers after tak-
ing betel, which two other attendants had ready
for him in gold boxes.

It appeared that the sultan was a Mohamme-
dan, and a man of no inferior intelligence. Es-
pinosa had taken care to have an interpreter
with him ; and through him he now entered into
conversation with his royal host.

"I long ago dreamed," said the sultan, "that
some ships were coming hither from distant
countries. I am an astrologer as well as a king,
and have examined the moon to see if this was
true ; and the moon assured me it was so. And
now I see that the moon did not deceive me."

248 MAGELLAN.

" We have come to offer you the friendship of
our great sovereign, the king of Spain," replied
Espinosa ; " and to trade peaceably with your
people ; and I am very grateful to you for this
kind reception."

" If you are true and sincere," returned the
sultan, " you shall be welcome ; and I shall re-
ceive and return your sovereign's friendship with
delight."

Espinosa then invited the sultan to go on
board the flag-ship. He consulted apart a few
moments with several of his nobles, and then,
turning to the Admiral, signified his willingness
to comply with his proposal.

As the barge drew near the " Trinidad," the
cannon bellowed forth their hoarse welcome ;
the flags were run up at the mast-heads ; and
the officers and sailors, gathering at the side of
the deck, waved their hats and loudly cheered.
Preparations to receive the monarch were hur-
riedly made; and when he had mounted the lad-
der, followed by some of his attendants and by Es-
pinosa, he was conducted to a red velvet chair,
which had been placed in the middle of the deck.
Espinosa then advanced, and bowing low, threw

DISCOVERY OF THE SPICE ISLANDS. 249

over the royal shoulders a rich yellow velvet rug.
Each Spaniard came forward and kissed the sul-
tan's hand, and then sat down on the deck in
front of him. He was regaled with wine and
cakes, and appeared highly pleased with his re-
ception. He declared to Espinosa that he was
now quite sure of the good faith of the strangers ;
and as a proof of this, he gave full permission to
them to go on shore as much as they pleased,
and to use the houses of his subjects just as if
they were their own.

Not content with this concession, the sovereign
said that, in honor of the sovereign of his guests,
his island should no longer be called Tidor, but
Castile.

Before the sultan departed, Espinosa, who was
most anxious to make sure of his good will, over-
whelmed him with presents. He gave him the
red velvet chair in which he had sat on the deck ;
he had a number of pieces of cloth. linen, bro-
cade, and damask, brought, and laid at the royal
feet ; he begged him to accept some large mir-
rors, some glass beads, knives, scissors, combs, and
goblets. To the young prince he was not less gen-
erous, presenting him with a fine cap, a robe of

2$O MAGELLAN.

silk and gold, and a handsome mirror; while he
lavished other gifts of knives, caps, and cloths
upon the principal men of the sultan's retinue.

It may well be believed that the sultan and his
people, after this, were fairly delighted with their
visitors. As the sultan descended into his barge,
ne called out to Espinosa to bring his ships yet
closer to the shore ; and told him that if any of
the natives approached them at night, he might
fire at them as much as he pleased. The depart-
ing barge was saluted with the cannon and the
loud acclamations of the men ; and that night
Espinosa gave a bountiful supper to the officers
of both ships, who made merry over their good
fortune in finding the Moluccas, and in being so
well received there.

The following days were employed much as
the time had been when the ships were sojourn-
ing at Borneo. The men went on shore freely,
and were regaled very hospitably in the town,
and by the royal court. They opened a lively
trade with the natives, their main object being
to fill up their cargoes with spices ; and they
also took in an abundance of provisions of all
kinds. The sultan grew every day more cordial

DISCOVERY OF THE SPICE ISLANDS. 25!

in his professions and more hospitable in his con-
duct ; and it was not long before he was ready to
swear that Tidor and Tarenate, (a neighboring
island) should be subject to the king of Spain,
for whom he himself would " fight to the
death," as his faithful vassal. Finding that the
Spaniards were anxious to obtain a quantity of
cloves, he went in person, in his barge, to one of
the other islands, and brought back several loads
of cloves for them.

Espinosa might have suspected that this sud-
den and profuse friendship could scarcely be sin-
cere ; but at first he had full faith in the sultan's
good faith. He had not been long in Tidor, how-
ever, before events took place that put him on
his guard, and caused him to hasten as much as
possible the loading of his ships.

Some years before, it seemed, Francisco Ser-
rano, a Portuguese voyager, and the friend of Ma-
gellan who had first put it into his head to make
this expedition, had found the Moluccas by sailing
round the Cape of Good Hope, and eastward from
India. He had won the friendship of the king
and natives of the isle of Tarenate, near Tidor ;
and had there established a Portuguese trade

252 MAGELLAN.

station. The king of Tidor, who had long been
at war with the king of Tarenate, entertained a
violent hatred of the Portuguese ; and Espinosa
heard that, on one occasion, when the king of
Tidor had conquered his enemy, he had caused
Serrano to be poisoned, and had killed all the
Portuguese he could lay his hands on. Mean-
while, the Portuguese trade station at Tarenate
was still in existence, at the time Espinosa came
to Tidor.

One day a fleet of barges appeared at the head
of the bay, sailing from the direction of the
island of Tarenate ; and when they came within a
short distance of the ships, they cast anchor, and
sent a messenger on board the " Trinidad." From
him Espinosa learned that the prince of Taren-
ate, though an enemy of the king of Tidor, had
arrived to make peace and friendship with the
Spaniards, and desired to come on board the
flag-ship. Espinosa replied that he could not re-
ceive the prince without first obtaining the con-
sent of the king of Tidor. This the king readily
granted ; but now the prince grew suspicious,
and moved away from the ships. Espinosa
thereupon sent him some presents, and begged

DISCOVERY OF THE SPICE ISLANDS. 253

that the Portuguese factor in Tarenate, Pedro de
Lorosa, should come and visit the ships. A few
days after Lorosa made his appearance. He
told Epino-ia that he had been in the Moluccas
ten years, and that he had already heard of Ma-
gellan's expedition. He surprised the Admiral,
moreover, by declaring that the king of Portugal,
angry that Magellan had sailed in Spanish ships,
had sent out a fleet by way of the Cape of Good
Hope to contest his passage ; but that this fleet
had been compelled to turn back, on account of
contrary winds.

Espinosa finally persuaded Lorosa to return to
Spain with him ; and they soon became fast
friends. It was not long before Lorosa grew
more confidential, and began to warn Espinosa
against trusting too much to the sincerity of the
king of Tidor. He related how the Portuguese
had been assassinated, and expressed his sus-
picions that the Spaniards should meet the same
fate unless a strict watch were kept.

Some things that happened about this time
served to arouse Espinosa's fears of the king's in-
tentions. The king wished to give a great feast
to the officers and crews. Espinosa remembered

254 MAGELLAN.

that it was by giving such a feast that the per.
fidious king of Sebu had decoyed the other cap-
tains into his house, only to murder them with-
out mercy ; and prudently declined the invita-
tion. He saw, too, that the Tidor chiefs took
every chance they could get to whisper mysteri-
ously to the prisoners he had brought with him
from the other islands ; and guessed that this was
for no good purpose.

Meanwhile, the Spaniards made excursions
among the other islands, and busied themselves
with completing their cargoes. In these excur-
sions they saw and heard many curious things,
a description of which we will reserve for another
chapter.

MAGELLAN. 2$ 5

CHAPTER XVII.

SAILING TOWARDS HOME.

HE Spaniards found the other islands as
beautiful and as fruitful as Tidor; and
such was the fear with which they were
regarded by the natives for it was evidently
their sense of the warlike superiority of the Span-
iards, more than any love for them, that rendered
these barbarians so submissive and friendly that
they were allowed to go freely into the houses,
and to wander at will over the fields and through
the forests.

Pigafetta, the inquisitive Italian who has been
so often mentioned, seized the opportunity to
observe everything in these strange islands with
a curious eye. He was especially struck with the
spice trees and shrubs, which yielded products
so valuable in Europe ; and one of his first ex-
cursions was to a grove of clove trees.

256 MAGELLAN.

These he found to grow quite high, with
trunks as thick as a man's body ; and they only
grew on high land. The branches spread out at
the middle, and narrowed to the shape of a cone
at the top. The bark was of an olive color, and
the leaves much like those of the laurel. The
cloves, he found, were white when they first ap-
peared ; they gradually deepened into red, and
when dry became dark brown. Two crops were
gathered each year; one at Christmas, and the
other about the middle of June. The leaves,
bark, and even the wood of the clove tree had
the same perfume, he noticed, that the clove
itself had. The natives told him that the cloves
were ripened by the mountain mists; and must
be gathered in the nick of time, or they would
become so hard as to be useless.

He examined with equal curiosity the nutmeg
trees, which reminded him of the walnut trees
of Europe. The nutmegs, when gathered, were
shaped like small quinces, and had a soft fur, or
down, upon them. The outside rind was quite
thick; beneath it was a thin, web-like covering:
under this, a bright red bark, and within the
bark the nut itself, as we see it in the market.

SAILING TOWARDS HOME.

The ginger shrub did not escape Pigafetta's
quick eye. He found that this shrub shot out of
the ground in long branches like the shoots of
canes, and that its leaves were like those of the
cane. The ginger itself was, of course, the frag-
rant root of the shrub ; in order to dry it, the
natives used lime.

Many of the ways and customs of the people
were interesting. It appeared that the bread they
ate was made of the wood of a tree that some-
what resembled the palm. They took a piece of
the wood and extracted certain long black thorns
they found inclosed in it ; these they pounded into
a powder, and cooked it as we do flour. The bread
thus made, however, did not seem to Pigafetta
very palatable.

The king of Tidor had no less than two hun-
dred wives, one only of whom was acknowledged
as his queen. The others were inferior to her in
rank. These wives all lived in a long mansion
outside the town, where the king visited them
when he chose. They were most carefully
guarded ; and if any man were found near their
house, either at night or in the day-time, he was
at once put to death. The king always ate alone,

258 MAGELLAN.

or with his queen, on a raised platform, beloxv
which the rest of his family were gathered. No
one else ate until his majesty had finished. Each
noble family was bound to provide the monarch
with a wife. The only other person who was
permitted to have a number of wives was a sort
of bishop, or high priest, whose rank was next to
the king. This holy personage had forty wives,
and more than a hundred children.

These islanders, like those of Mindanao, and
others the Spaniards had already visited, regard-
ed the pig as a sort of sacred animal; and as
soon as the King of Tidor found that there were
pigs on board the ships, he begged the Admiral
that they should all be at once slaughtered, say-
ing that he would fully make up for the loss with
fowl and goats. Espinosa humored him, and had
all the pigs killed, and hung up on deck, so that
the natives could see them. Whenever a native
espied the carcasses, he at once covered his face
with his hands, so as not to perceive or smell
them.

On one of the islands, it was the custom of the
natives to worship the first thing they saw, when
they went out in the morning, as their god

SAILING TOWARDS HOME, 25Q

throughout the day. It was on this island,
called Gilolo, that Pigafetta found some bamboos
growing near the shore, " as thick as a man's
leg," which contained in their hollow interior a
a kind of water, which he found very excellent
to drink. The king of the island had no less
than five hundred children.

The King of Tidor was much grieved when he
found that Espinosa had begun to suspect his in-
tentions ; and came almost weeping to him, to
assure him of his good faith. Taking a Koran,
the king put it on his head four or five times,
then kissed it, and swore by Mohamet to be true
to the Spanish sovereign. Espinosa was now
convinced that he had wronged the king; the
more so, when soon after he learned that some
of the native chiefs had tried to persuade the
king to kill all the Spaniards, but that he had
sternly resisted their demand.

At last the time came to take leave of the Mo-
luccas, and to set out on the voyage homeward.
But just as the final preparations for departure
had been made, and the ships had actually
started, a serious accident happened. The " Vic-
toria" sailed first ; the " Trinidad" was about to fol-

2(5O MAGELLAN.

low, when one of the sailors discovered that she
was leaking very badly in the hold. In all haste
some of the men discharged her cargo, piling it
on the strand, at hap-hazard ; while others worked
with desperate energy at the pumps. This con'
tinued all day ; but the labor was a vain one.
The water spurted into the ship as if forced in
by a large pump ; and it continually gained in
the hold.

On hearing of this serious mishap, the king of
Tidor at once offered the Admiral his aid. He
brought with him five or six native divers, who,
putting on large masks, plunged under the
waves, and searched for some time for the place
where the ship leaked. The divers went under with
their hair all loose, thinking that their long locks,
when they came near the leak, would be sucked to-
wards it, and thus show where it was. But noth-
ing could be discovered, and Espinosa was forced
to abandon all hope of making his good flag-ship
seaworthy again.

It only remained to transfer so much of his
cargo to the " Victoria" as the latter would safely
hold, and leave the " Trinidad" behind. The king
said that he had more than two hundred carpen-

SAILING TOWARDS HOME. 26l

ters, and that they should be set to work repair-
ing the ship ; and that if her crew would remain at
Tidor till she was whole, they should be cared
for " as if they were his own children." These
generous offers touched Espinosa's heart, and he
finally decided to accept them. The east winds,
favorable to a westward voyage, were now steadily
blowing ; and it was full time for the " Victoria"
to take advantage of them and be off. At the
last moment, Espinosa resolved to remain at
Tidor, and to share the fate of the faithful crew
of the ship he had so long commanded. With
him staid fifty-three men. Meanwhile he confi-
ded the command of the returning " Victoria" to
his brave lieutenant, Juan Elcano, who, with a
crew of forty-seven Europeans, and thirteen
Malay prisoners who had been captured in the
boats, at once made ready to set sail for the
Cape of Good Hope.

On Saturday, the 2ist of December, 1520, the
king of Tidor visited the Spaniards for the last
time. He brought on board the " Victoria" two
Malay pilots, whom he offered to Elcano to con-
duct the ship safely beyond the islands, and into
the Indian Ocean. He embraced the captain,

262 MAGELLAN.

with many protestations of friendship ; and as he
bade adieu to him, he shed many tears.

The "Victoria" set sail about mid-day. Es-
pinosa and his companions, who were to remain
until the " Trinidad" was repaired, and was ready
to follow her sister-ship, accompanied the " Vic-
toria" some distance beyond the bay, in their
long-boats. The king also, with several barges,
proceeded for many miles side by side with the
departing ship. As the " Victoria" finally emerged
from the bay where she had met with a hospi-
tality so bounteous and evidently sincere, her
guns boomed a parting salute to the dis-
abled "Trinidad," and from the decks of the
latter an echoing " God-speed" was given by the
mouths of the cannon to the vessel homeward-
bound.

The "Victoria," guided by the faithful pilots
provided by the king of Tidor, sailed southwest
ward from that island, and soon the Moluccas
were lost to view. The voyagers were still, how-
ever, in the midst of the Archipelago, with its
innumerable shoals of isles ; and day after day
they progressed across a sea teeming with beauti-
fully green and fertile spots, and among oriental

SAILING TOWARDS HOME. 263

races strangely differing from each other in features
and customs.

Elcano was eager to get back to Spain, and to
at last accomplish the tour of the whole world.
On the other hand, he desired to carry back to
his sovereign as complete an account of the Archi-
pelago as possible. As he sailed in the direction
of the Indian Ocean, therefore, he made it a
point to stop here and there at the islands, where
it was evident that he would meet with a friendly
reception, and to observe their people and pro-
ductions.

He was continually surprised by the natural
richness and beauty of the islands he passed, and
in the bays of which he anchored. Everywhere
there was the greatest abundance of tropical
fruits, and especially of spices. He found that
the inhabitants of many of these islands were
cannibals, who did not hesitate to feast on the
prisoners they captured in their numerous wars;
others were Mohammedans, and betrayed many
indications of being quite civilized and intelligent.
On one island, he found the coast peopled by
one race, followers of the Prophet, and the
interior by a totally different race, who were

264 MAGELLAN.

ferocious, savage, and inveterate man-eaters
While the "Victoria" was proceeding south-
ward, she encountered, between Buru and Solor,
two of the larger islands, one of those sudder^
tremendous tornadoes, or wind storms, which often
burst unexpectedly, almost out of a clear sky, in
the tropics. For two days destruction seemed
inevitable. At one moment the good ship was
on the very point of dashing her ribs to splinters
on the rocks of an island ; at another, she threat-
ened to founder in a terrific whirlpool. There
were times when the desperate crew were all
ready to give up, and cease longer to resist the
overpowering fury of the elements. But Elcano
refused to give way to despair, He shared the
labors of his men, and by his example made them
ashamed of their faltering ; and as soon as the
tempest subsided a little, he succeeded in bring-
ing the "Victoria" into the shelter of an island
bay.

Landing on the beach, the Spaniards soon
found themselves surrounded by the fiercest and
most savage-looking people they had yet seen.
One of the strangest things was, that while the
men stood aloof, in staring groups, the women

SAILING TOWARDS HOME. 26$

advanced boldly and threateningly towards the
strangers, and drew their bows, as if about to
shoot a volley of arrows among them. Elcano
sent one of his Malay pilots to them with some
presents, however, and soon succeeded in pacify,
ing them.

These people wore their shaggy hair in a verj
peculiar fashion. The thick and tangled locks
were raised high above the head, held there by
long combs made of cane ; somewhat after the
manner of the grand ladies of France and Eng-
land a century ago. The men, moreover, wrapped
their beards up in leaves in a very curious way,
or enclosed them in the tubes of reeds. They
went almost entirely naked; and Elcano shud-
dered when some of the chiefs, thinking to per-
form an act of hospitality, invited him and his
companions to a feast composed of some of their
dead enemies.

The " Victoria" remained a fortnight at this
island, which was called Mallua, during which
time her sides, worn by the storm, were carefully
caulked. Meanwhile her cargo was increased by
the wax, pepper, cocoanuts, and fowl which thflf
island produced in great abundance.

266 MAGELLAN.

She next passed a little island, the people of
which were of such low stature that the Spaniards
were fain to call them dwarfs. They had, more-
over, very long ears ; their voices were very shrill
and squeaky; they shaved their faces closely,
and had their dwellings underground, in rude
caves. Their only food was fish, and the pith of
a certain tree.

A few days after, the provisions of the ship
having become well-nigh exhausted, and the
natives of the islands in that vicinity not prov-
ing friendly, Elcano resolved to obtain supplies
by a trick. A few Spaniards landed on the
*hore of a large island called Timor, and sent
tvord to the chief of the nearest village that
they wished to speak with him. He came to
them very timidly ; but on their attempting to
make a bargain with him for some pigs and goats,
he became bolder, and demanded a high price for
them. Whereupon the Spaniards seized him,
hurried him into their boat, and rowed away
with him to the ship. They threatened him
with death unless he would send to his village an
order to return some pigs and goats, as his ran-
som. The poor chief was frightened almost out

SAILING TOWARDS HOME. 26?

of his wits, and made all haste to obey his
captors. In due time the pigs and goats ar-
rived, and the chief was sent home rejoicing, with
some cloths, hatchets, scissors, and looking-
glasses which Elcano thought it right to give
him.

The voyagers had now reached the east-
ern end of that extensive series of islands,
lying almost in a straight line from east to
west, which ends in the long island of Java,
and northwest of Java, Sumatra. But now
the " Victoria" was supplied with as many
provisions as she could hold ; though worn
with so long a voyage, she was still weather-
tight and water-tight ; and there seemed no
reason to land at any more of the islands in
the Archipelago.

Elcano therefore kept his course southward of
Java, the long line of its hilly coast appearing
dimly for many days on the north of him. He
skirted also the coast of Sumatra, and at last
found himself fairly launched on the Indian
Ocean. He then kept his direction southwesterly,
passing many leagues to the southward of Ceylon,
and made as straight a course as possible to the

268 MAGELLAN.

Cape of Good Hope. It was December when
he left Timor, his last stopping-place in the
Eastern seas; his eyes did not greet the
Cape of Good Hope until late in the following
May.

MAGELLAN. 269

CHAPTER XVIII.

THE " VICTORIA" REACHES SPAIN.

|HE voyage of the "Victoria" across the
vast Indian Ocean, though long,was a pros-
perous one. The trade-winds blew from
the east, nor did many perilous storms compel the
crew to desperate exertion. No stirring incident
attended their passage. One day was like the
rest ; stiff breezes swelled the sails ; the sun shone,
most often, bright over-head ; the waters, crested
with foam by the winds, sparkled beneath its
rays.

But on reaching the vicinity of the Cape of
Good Hope, the wind suddenly changed. It now
blew directly against them, and it was with diffi-
culty that the " Victoria" could advance, even so
slowly, along the African coast that was now con-
stantly in sight.

Happily, Elcano had now reached a region

27O MAGELLAN.

which had become well known. His charts, and
the records of previous voyagers, told him very
nearly where he was, and what course it was
wisest to take to reach his destination. He was
now, indeed, in the very track which, nearly a
quarter of a century before, Vasco da Gama had
traversed for the first time in his memorable voy-
age to India,

So unfavorable had now become the weather,
that the sailors began to clamor to put in at
some African port ; and when they came oppo-
site the large town of Mozambique, which they
knew to have been settled by the Portuguese,
their demands to seek shelter in its harbor be-
came very eager. But Elcano had a good reason
for resisting the importunities of his men. Ma-
gellan's expedition had been undertaken against
the bitter opposition of the Portuguese ; one of
its objects was to secure for Spain the allegiance
of the Moluccas, which the Portuguese claimed
as a part of the world which had been conceded
to them as a consequence of their discoveries. If
he should put in at a Portuguese station, he
might reasonably expect that he and his crew
would be taken prisoners, and the " Victoria'

THE VICTORIA REACHES SPAIN. 27!

seized and confiscated. He resolved, therefore,
to push steadily on to the Cape.

The trials and hardships of the crew were now
very serious. The good ship, after so much voy-
aging, had again become leaky, and the men
with difficulty kept her from filling, by constant
work at the pumps. Their provisions were low,
and they were reduced to small daily rations of
rice and water; their meat having decayed for
want of salt. Many of the men, moreover, fell
sick, and some died. At last the Cape came in
sight ; but it was dangerous to attempt to round
it. For some weeks the " Victoria" was tossed
about off the coast, vainly seeking a favorable
opportunity to double the cape. They were finally
forced to make a circuit, at a distance of fifteen
miles from the headlands, in order to reach the
western shore of the continent.

The ship's course was thence northwestward.
Elcano determined to keep at sea, at least until
the Cape Verde Islands were reached ; and
the voyage from the Cape to these islands
lasted about two months. The weather was
again propitious ; but the sickness on board in-
creased, and before the " Victoria" came in sight

2/2 MAGELLAN.

of the Cape Verdes, twenty-one men had perished.

One day the Cape Verdes appeared, dotting
the summer sea in the distant horizon. Elcano
for a while hesitated whether he should touch at
them or not. They were possessions, like Mo-
zambique, of the Portuguese. Would it be safe
to trust himself in their hands? The misery of
his crew, however, their sickness and want of
food, finally decided him to run the risk.

As the "Victoria" approached Santiago, the
southernmost of the group, it occurred to Elcano
that he would tell the Portuguese that he had
come from America, and that he had been driven
out of his course by a terrible tempest. They
would not then suspect that he had really been
among the disputed islands of the East, but would
be persuaded that he had sailed from Spanish set-
tlements. This artful story at first had its intended
effect. The " Victoria" entered the harbor, and
was well received. Her sick were taken on shore
and tended ; and a boat-load of rice was sent
on board. But soon it appeared that the Portu-
guese began to suspect the truth, that the
"Victoria" had really come around the Cape.
The second boat that went ashore was detained

THE "VICTORIA" REACHES SPAIN. 273

and the thirteen men in her were seized ; at the
same time, the Portuguese ships in the harbor
were evidently being armed, with the purpose,
no doubt, of capturing the " Victoria."

Elcano, who had been carefully on the watch,
no sooner saw these signs of hostility, than, leaving
the thirteen prisoners to their fate, he made
haste to sail away. The voyage to Spain was
now happily a short and comparatively easy one.
He succeeded in escaping from the Portuguese
ships, which, when they saw him departing, fol-
lowed him for some leagues.

It was on the 6th day of September, 1522, a
few days less than three years after she had set
out, with her sister-ships, on her memorable
voyage, that the weather-beaten " Victoria" came
in sight of the familiar shores of Spain. The
sailors of whom there were only eighteen ex-
hausted and half-famished men left of the gal-
lant company that had set out were full of joy
at beholding their native land once more. They
fired their cannon, and hung out their flags, and
tearfully embraced each other; and as the ships
drew nearer and nearer the port of San Lucar,
the very port from which they had sailed, they

2/4 MAGELLAN.

eagerly pointed out the well-known landmarks
to each other.

On entering the bay, they were greeted by the
ships and boats anchored in it; and presently
some of their countrymen came on board. When
these learned that the vessel was the " Victoria,"
and that she had completed the circuit of the
globe, they could scarcely believe their ears.

"Why," they exclaimed, "you were given up
for lost, long, long ago ! Surely, your return is a
wonderful miracle!"

The news of the arrival of one of Magellan's
ships was soon noised through the town, and
was quickly carried up the river to Seville. The
next day she was fairly surrounded by boats,
and her deck was crowded with curious and de-
lighted visitors. The governor of the district
came on board, embraced Elcano, and gave
orders that the sailors, who were half-dead from
sickness, hunger, and their many hardships, should
be taken on shore and tenderly cared for.

But no sooner had they set foot on land, than
the poor fellows, staggering from weakness,
formed into line, and walked as well as they
could to a church ; where, kneeling before the

THE VICTORIA' REACHES SPAIN. 27$

altar, they offered up a thanksgiving for their safe
arrival home. Then they allowed themselves to
be carried to the houses of the people and treated
to the best the town afforded.

The day following, the men returned to the
" Victoria," and she sailed up the river to Seville,
and cast anchor near the mole, on the very spot
whence she had set sail. The old city was full
of excitement and commotion at her arrival.
Crowds thronged the quay, and the mayor and
other dignitaries hastened to give public welcome
to the heroic voyagers.

Once more the cannon of the " Victoria" awoke
the echoes with their hoarse voices of joy. The
brave bunting was flung to the breeze, and gay
garlands decked mast and gunwale. Here, as at
San Lucar, the wanderers' first thought was to
render thanks to God for their preservation from
countless perils. The people of Seville, in dense
masses along the pavements, and choking every
window, saw the sunburnt mariners pass in pro-
cession, in their shirt-sleeves, bare-footed, and
each bearing a taper, to the ancient and impos-
ing church of Santa Maria del Antigua, where
they attended mass, and joined with all their

2/6 MAGELLAN.

souls in the thanksgiving prayers offered up by
the priests.

Thence they hastened to the public square,
where, you may well believe, they were soon
wrapt in the embraces of parents, wives, children,
and friends. The tender-hearted Sevillians could
not witness, without tearful emotion, the hag-
gard and hungry features, the emaciated forms,
and the tottering steps of the men who had gone
out from their midst three years before, ruddy
and stout and strong ; nor was it less pitiful to
see the anguish and hear the cries of the poor
widows who sought in vain, in the little group,
for husbands who had departed in the ships, but
whom they would never look upon again.

Into the square came a lady, young and fair,
leading a little girl two or three years old. She
leaned on the arm of a grizzled, but still erect and
haughty cavalier. She was attired in deep black,
and there were traces of long mourning on her
pale cheeks ; and now, as she slowly approached
the returned crew, she could not suppress her
profound emotions.

As if by instinct, the sailors knew at once that
she was the lady Beatrix, the widow of their be-

THE "VICTORIA" REACHES SPAIN.

loved Admiral, whose brave soul had departed
from earth in the far eastern seas ; that the little
girl was Magellan's daughter, whom he had never
seen ; and that the old cavalier who escorted
Beatrix was her father, Don Diego Barbosa.

They had come, with sad but eager hearts, to
welcome back the comrades of him they had
never ceased to mourn since his heroic death in
a distant land.

Throughout Spain, and, indeed, Europe, the
news of the arrival of the " Victoria" and her
successful voyage round the world, spread rapidly,
and caused a great commotion. The king, who,
soon after the departure of Magellan's expedi-
tion, had become emperor of Germany, and who,
at twenty-two, had shown himself one of the
ablest and most energetic monarchs in Christen-
dom, no sooner heard that the " Victoria" was
safe at Seville, than he dispatched a courier to
that city, inviting Elcano and all his comrades
to go and visit him at his court in Valladolid.

As soon as they could get ready, therefore, the
voyagers proceeded to Valladolid, where the
Emperor Charles received them with a splendid
welcome, in the midst of his grandees and cour-

2/8 MAGELLAN.

tiers. Elcano told his sovereign the story of theif
adventures, to which Charles listened with breath,
less interest ; and when the tale was done, the em-
peror ordered apartments to be prepared for the
sailors in the town, while he entertained the of-
ficers in the palace itself.

Not content with this hospitality, Charles gave
a handsome pension to each of the survivors
of this memorable expedition ; and granted
to their gallant captain, Elcano, a coat-of-arms,
which displayed on its shield some gold nutmegs
and cloves, and an image of the globe, with the
motto upon it, "You were the first to circum-
navigate me."

One strange thing happened when the " Vic-
toria" arrived at Seville, which at first puzzled
Elcano very much. According to his reckonings,
which he had carefully kept every day from the
starting of the expedition, the date of his arrival
was the 5th of September. But on talking with
the people at Seville, he found that, with them,
it was the 6th. During the voyage, therefore,
he had lost a day. How could this have hap-
pened ? He knew that he had kept his calendar
correctly, and had never omitted to score each

THE "VICTORIA" REACHES SPAIN. 279

twenty- four hours; and yet, undoubtedly, it was
the 6th, and not the 5th, on which he had reached
Seville.

The emperor submitted this problem to a fam,
ous astronomer, Contarini ; who, after studying
it, discovered the clue. He showed that the loss
of a day was the natural result of the voyage
from east to west, in which they kept company
with the sun ; and that, if they had gone the
other way, from west to east, they would have
gained a day. This was one of the most valuable
facts ascertained by Magellan's expedition.

The fate of the " Trinidad," which had been
left behind at Tidor, remains to be told. In due
time, with the aid of the native carpenters, she
was repaired and made ready to resume her voy-
age. But Espinosa, fearing lest the Portuguese
in India, who had now heard of the presence of
the Spaniards in the Moluccas, should attack
him, resolved to sail, not westward, in the track
of the "Victoria," but eastward across the Pacific
again, in the hope of reaching the Spanish set-
tlement of Panama.

The voyage was a terrible one. Furious storms
constantly assailed the devoted ship ; and after

28O MAGELLAN.

being tossed many weeks amid them, the "Trini.
dad" was forced to return to the Moluccas. Un-
fortunately the Portuguese had now reached
those islands with a large force of men ; and no
sooner had the storm-beaten" Trinidad" put into
port, than she was attacked and overwhelmed by
Portuguese vessels of war. Espinosa and all his
comrades were taken, and cast into prison. Ther?
they were treated with such barbaric cruelty,
and were seized with such severe distempers,
that one after another died, including Espinosa
himself ; until at last only four miserable crea-
tures, out of all that gallant crew, were left. The
Portuguese took pity on these, and shipped them
home, four years after the return of the " Vic-
toria," in one of their own ships.

Thus was completed the famous expedition by
whic i the route to Asia around South America
was found ; which first traversed the broad ex-
panse of the Pacific, that received its name from
the intrepid commander; which made the first
tour of the entire globe, and brought to light the
fact of the loss of a day by sailing with the sun,
from east to west.

Its fame is most of all due to the heroic and

THE " VICTORIA REACHES SPAIN. 28l

noble-hearted Fernan Magellan, who conceived
the great idea which it fulfilled ; who, in spite of
enormous obstacles, and after having been re-
jected by his own country, succeeded in raising
the fleet and obtaining its command ; who con-
ducted it through many perils over the greater
part of its long course ; and who, though he un-
happily died too soon to reap the full reward of
his achievements, at least left a name and fame
imperishable in the annals of discovery.

EPO' :>Wl

HEROES OF HISTORY SERIES

A NEWLY grouped collection of standard
favorites the kind that never grow old.
In school and public libraries and intelligent
homes these books are recognized as outweigh-
ing any number of the trashy newer juveniles
so much in evidence, and for bright boys and
girls they hold a high interest. The pleasing
new covers, at the same low price, give them
a renewed welcome.

Twenty titles by unsurpassed writers
of history for the young : Towle, Headley,
Bogart, Watson, and Frost.

New cover design, with side titles.
Illustrated. Price per volume, 60 cents*

By GEORGE M. TOWLE

DRAKE; The Sea King of Devon.
MAGELLAN; First Around the World.
MARCO POLO; His Travels and Adventures.
PIZARRO; His Adventures and Conquests.
RALEGH; His Voyages and Adventures.
VASCO DA GAM A; His Voyages and Adventures.
HEROES AND MARTYRS OF INVENTION.

2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.

By P. C. HEADLEY

8. FACING THE ENEMY; Life of Gen. W. T. Sherman.

9. FIGHT IT OUT ON THIS LINE; Life of Gen. U. S. Grant

By W. H. BOGART
10o BORDER BOY; Life of Daniel Boone.

By HENRY C. WATSON

11. FATHER OF HIS COUNTRY; Life of Washington.

12. FRIEND OF WASHINGTON; Life of Lafayette.

13. GREAT PEACEMAKER; Life of William Penn.

14. POOR RICHARD'S STORY; Life of Franklin.

By JOHN FROST

15. GREAT EXPOUNDER; Life of Daniel Webster

16. LITTLE CORPORAL; Life of Napoleon.

17. OLD HICKORY; Life of Andrew Jackson.

18. OLD ROUGH AND READY; Life of Gen. Zachary Taylor,

19. MILL BOY OF THE SLASHES; Life of Henry Clay.

20. SWAMP FOX; Life of Gen. Francis Marion.

LOTHROP, LEE & SHEPARD CO., BOSTON

Profusely fllustraleS w?tj> full-psge draw'
4ngs and chapter headings by GEORGE
VARIAN $s,oc

TT will at once be understood t&at the
* "boy" o* the story is Alfred the Great
in his youth, but it cannot be understood
how delightful a story this is until it is see
and read. The splendid pictures of George
Varian make this book superior among
juveniles,

. "Not a boy lives who will not enjoy this book thoroughly, There xs m good
al of first-class historical information woven Into the story but the best part of it
is the splendid impression o:' times and manners it gives in old Ea^land a thousand
years aLgoS'JLouisvitte Courier -Journal*

Mrs, Comstock writes very appreciatively of Uttie Alfred, who was after.
Ward the Great, and from mighty meagre materials creates a story that hangs t
gether well. The illustrations ior this volume *re especially beatif ul. M Bostv '>
Ho*ne Journ&l-

Joan

7OR

BOYS ANQ OiRl

KATE E. CARPENTER

BROOKS,

also

from

Sllastrated by

paintings, and

witt map Laxge I2mo Cloth 5% ,00

TPHE favorite story of Joan of Arc is here

treatea "n a "uniquely attractive way.

w A&nt Kate J; tells the story of Joan of Arc

;o Master Harold,, aged II, and to Misses

Bessie and Marjorie, aged ic and 8, respec-

Jively 9 to their intense delight. They look

up places CE tha map, and have a fine time

'while hearing the thrilling story, told in such

^Simple language that they can readily under-

stand it all. Parents and teachers will also

i$>e greatiy interested fa tbift book from

point of v ^i>

The tale is welltcld aod oie Otuidren wii., aeilgtit m St. 4 "

*''! old so simply and clearly that youn^ ^aaders cannot iail to ic
ii'otructed." Gongregatlonalisti JZosttrt' *

THE STORY OF
JOAN OFARC

FOR BOYS AND GIRLS

o? &ent postpaid e& receipt ? ark*
toe publisher*.

i.QTHRGP

BRAVE HEART SERIES

By Adele E. Thompson
Illustrated 121110 Cloth Net $1.25 each

Betty Sejdon, Patriot

A BOOK th^t is at the same time fascinating and noble. Historical
** events are accurately traced leading up to the surrender of Corn-
wallis at Y^rktown. with reunion and happiness for all who deserve it

Brave . _ He_art__lB jjzabeth

TT is a story of the making of the Ohio frontier, much of it taken from
* life, arid it ; neroine one of the famous Zane family after which Zanes-
ville, O,, takes its name. An accurate, pleasing, and yet at times intensely
thrilling picture of the stirring period of border settlement.

A Lassie of the Isles

TTHIS is the romantic story of Flora Macdonald, the lassie of Skye, whp
aided in the escape of Charles Stuart, otherwise known as Ibe
41 Young Pretender.'*

Polly___qf_ the Pines

HTHE events of the story occur in the years 1775 82. P% was an
* orphan living with her another's family, who were Scotch High-
landers, and for the most part intensely loyal to the Crown. Polly finds
the glamor of loyal adherence hard to resist, but her heart turns towards
the patriots and she does much to aid and encourage them,

American Patty

A Story of 1812

DATTY is a bravs, winsome girl of sixteen
* whose family have settled across the Cana-
l dian border and are living in peace and
prosperity, and on the best of terms with the
neighbors and friendly Indians. All this is
suddenly and entirely changed by the breaking
out of war, and unwillingness on the part of
her father and brother to serve against their
native land brings distress and deadly peri'..

t-* 1--- - - - - Hi-, -

For salt ly all booksellers, cr sent postpaid on receipt
of price by the publishers

LOTHROP, LEE & SHEPARD CO., BOSTON

^FAMOUS*
CHILDREN

Famous Children

By H. TWITCHELL Illustrated $1.25 net

WE have h^re a most valuable book, telling
not of the childhood of those who have
afterwards become famous, but those who as
children are famous in history, song, and story.
For convenience the subjects are grouped as
" Royal Children," "Child Artists," "Learned
Children," "Devoted Children," "Child Mar-
tyrs," and "Heroic Children," and the names
of the "two little princes," Louis XVII., Mo-
zart, St. Genevieve, David, and Joan of Arc are
here, as well as those of many more.

The Story of the Gid

By CALVIN DILL WILSON Illustrated by J. W. KENNEDY $1.25 net

MR. WILSON, a well-known writer and reviewer, has prepared from
Southey's translation, which was far too cumbrous to entertain the
young, a book that will kindle the imagination of youth and entertain and
inform those of advanced years.

H TWITCHELL

For Young
People

Jason's Qaest

By D. O. S. LOWELL, A. M., M. D. Illustrated
$1.00 net

NOTHING can be better to arouse the imagin-
ation of boys and girls, and at the same
time store in their minds knowledge indispens-
able to any one who would be known as cul-
tured, or happier than Professor Lowell's way
of telling a story, and the many excellent draw
ings have lent great spirit to the narrative.

of the Gmsades

By AMANDA M. DOUGLAS Cloth Fifty illustrations $1.3$

THE romantic interest in the days of chivalry, GO fully exemplified by
the " Heroes of the Crusades," is permanent and properly so. ^ This
book is fitted to keep it alive without descending to improbability oi
cheap sensationalism.

For sale by all booksellers or sent postpaid on receipt of price

by the publishers,

LOTHROP, LEE & SHEPARD CO., BOSTON

New Editions of Two Favorite Books

THE LANCE OF KANANA

A STORY OF ARABIA

By HARRY W. FRENCH ("Abd el Ardavan")

Two-color illustrations by Garrett Net, $1.00

"ANANA, a Bedouin youth, though excelling
*^- in athletic prowess, is branded, even by his
father, as a coward because he prefers the
humble lot of a shepherd to the warrior's career
that he, the son of a sheik known as the "Terror
of the Desert," was expected to follow. "Only
for Allah and Arabia will I lift a lance and take
a life," he maintained. Opportunity to prove
his worth soon comes, and the supposed coward,
understood too late, becomes in memory a
national hero.

"The stirring story of the loyalty and self-sacrifice of
a Bedouin boy is well worth the attractive new edition in
which it now presents its rare picture of fervid patri-
otism." Continent , Chicago.

THE ADVENTURES

OF MILTIADES PETERKIN PAUL

By JOHN BROWNJOHN

Frontispiece by John Goss Illustrated by "Boz"
Quarto Net, $1.00

THE ADVEH^fjRES
H1LTIADES PEftRKW PAUL

JOHN

BROWNJOHN

LJERE is a child classic reissued in a finer
* * and handsomer form, in response to the
persistent demand of those who know the
mirth-provoking quality of the exploits of
the ingenious small boy named Miltiades
Peterkin Paul and spoken of as "a great
traveler, although he was small." Whoever
has once enjoyed the story of the restless
little lad who imitated Don Quixote, and did
many other things, is permanently charmed
by it.

" This youthful Don Quixote, with his travels and
exploits, drives 'dull care' away from the elders
and delights the juniors." Watchman, N~. T.

For sale by all booksellers or seat postpaid on receipt
of price by the publishers

Lothrop, Lee & Shepard Co. Boston

U. S. SERVICE SERIES

By FRANCIS ROLT-WHEELER

illustrations from photographs taken in work for U. So Government
Large i2mo Cloth $1.35 each, net

" There are no better books for boys than .Francis Rolt-Wheeler's
* U. S. Service Series.' " Chicago Record-Herald.

THE BOY WITH THE U. S. SURVEY ~

THE BOY WITH THE
U.S.SURVEY

HPHIS story describes the thrilling advent.
* ures of members of the U. S. Geological
Survey, graphically woven into a stirring
narrative that both pleases and instructs. The
author enjoys an intimate acquaintance wkh
the chiefs of the various bureaus in Washing-
ton, and is able to obtain at first band the
material for his books.

*' There is abundant charm and vigor in the
narrative which is sure to please the boy readers
and will do much toward stimulating' their patriot-
ism by making them alive to the needs of conser-
vation of the vast resources of their country."
Chicago

THE BOY WITH THE U. S. FORESTERS

THE life of a typical boy is followed in all its adventurous detail the
mighty representative of our country's government, though young in
years a youthful monarch in a vast domain of forest Replete with
information, alive with adventure, and inciting patriotism at every step,
this handsome book is one to be instantly appreciated.

" It is a fascinating- romance of real life in our country, and will prove a great
pleasure and inspiration to the boys who read it." The Continent^ Chicago.

THE BOY WITH THE U, S. CENSUS

THROUGH the experiences of a bright American boy, the author shows
how the necessary info* 'nation is gathered. The securing of this of-
ten involves hardship and peril, requiring journeys by dog-team in the
frozen North and by launch in the alligator- filled Everglades of Florida,
while the enumerator whose work lies among the dangerous criminal
classes of the greater cities must take his life in his own bands,

*' Every young" man should read this story from cover to cover, thereby getting
a clear conception of conditions as they exist to-day, for such knowledge will have
a clean, invigorating and healthy influence on the young growing and thinking
mind." Boston Glole,

~3^ftnHHMWMmr IIP n Mir ! ! ! 11 ni'i i iiiin - i i m TI iurm n ^TTTM ma^ian^im i _m.mjiiiii. umr nn LL ^^

For sale by all booksellers or seat postpaid on receipt of
price by the publishers

LOTHROP, LEE & SHEPARD CO., BOSTON