The Story of Magellan and The Discovery of the Philippines Part 19

Transylva.n.u.s speaks of another wonderful bird that only alighted at death, and whose feathers were believed to possess magic powers.

"The kings of Marmin began to believe that souls were immortal a few years ago, induced by no other argument than that they saw that a certain most beautiful small bird never rested upon the ground nor upon anything that grew upon it; but they sometimes saw it fall dead upon the ground from the sky. And as the Mohammedans, who traveled to those parts for commercial purposes, told them that this bird was born in Paradise, and that Paradise was the abode of the souls of those who had died, these kings (reguli) embraced the sect of Mohammed, because it promised wonderful things concerning this abode of souls. But they call the bird Mamuco Diata, and they hold it in such reverence and religious esteem that they believe that by it their kings are safe in war, even though they, according to custom, are placed in the forefront of battle."

He continues his narrative:

"But, our men having carefully inspected the position of the Moluccas and of each separate island, and also having inquired about the habits of the kings, went to Thedori, because they learnt, that in that island the supply of cloves was far above that of the others, and that its King also surpa.s.sed the other kings in wisdom and humanity. So, having prepared their gifts they land, and salute the King, and they offer the presents as if they had been sent by Caesar. He, having received the presents kindly, looks up to Heaven, and says:

"'I have known now for two years from the course of the stars, that you were coming to seek these lands, sent by the most mighty King of Kings.

Wherefore your coming is the more pleasant and grateful to me, as I had been forewarned of it by the signification of the stars.

"'And, as I know that nothing ever happens to any man which has not been fixed long before by the decree of fate and the stars, I will not be the one to attempt to withstand either the fates or the signification of the stars, but willingly and of good cheer, will henceforth lay aside the royal pomp and will consider myself as managing the administration of this island only in the name of your King. Wherefore draw your ships into port, and order the rest of your comrades to land; so that now at last, after such a long tossing upon the seas, and so many dangers, you may enjoy the pleasures of the land and refresh your bodies. And think not but that you have arrived at your King's kingdom.'

"Having said this, the King, laying aside his crown, embraced them one by one, and ordered whatever food that land afforded to be brought. Our men being overjoyed at this, returned to their comrades, and told them what had happened. They, pleased above measure with the friendly behavior and kindness of the King, take possession of the island. And when their health was completely restored, in a few days, by the King's munificence, they sent envoys to the other kings, to examine the wealth of the islands, and to conciliate the other kings."

His description of the clove trees is very pleasing:

"Tirante was the nearest, and also the smallest, of the islands; for it has a circ.u.mference of a little more than six Italian miles. Matthien is next to it, and it, too, is small. These three produce a great quant.i.ty of cloves, but more every fourth year than the other three. These trees only grow on steep rocks, and that so thickly as frequently to form a grove. This tree is very like a laurel (or bay tree) in leaf, closeness of growth, and height; and the gariophile, which they call clove from its likeness to a nail (clavus), grows on the tip of each separate twig.

First a bud, and then a flower, just like the orange flower is produced.

"The pointed part of the clove is fixed at the extreme end of the branch, and then growing slightly longer, it forms a spike. It is at first red, but soon gets black by the heat of the sun. The natives keep the plantations of these trees separate, as we do our vines. They bury the cloves in pits till they are taken away by the traders."

He also describes the cinnamon tree:

"Muthil, the fourth island, is not larger than the rest, and it produces cinnamon. The tree is full of shoots, and in other respects barren; it delights in dryness, and is very like the tree which bears pomegranates.

The bark of this splits under the influence of the sun's heat, and is stripped off the wood; and, after drying a little in the sun, it is cinnamon."

Also the nutmeg tree:

"Near to this is another island, called Bada, larger and more ample than the Moluccas. In this grows the nutmeg, the tree of which is tall and spreading, and is rather like the walnut tree, and its nut, too, grows like the walnut; for it is protected by a double husk, at first like a furry calix, and under this a thin membrane, which embraces the nutlike network. This is called the Muscat flower with us, but by the Spaniards mace, and is a n.o.ble and wholesome spice. The other covering is a woody sh.e.l.l, like that of a hazelnut, and in that, as we have already said, is the nutmeg."

And ginger:

"Ginger grows here and there in each of the islands of the archipelago.

It sometimes grows by sowing, and sometimes spontaneously; but that which is sown is the more valuable. Its gra.s.s is like that of the saffron, and its root is almost the same too, and that is ginger."

While sailing among these bowery ocean gardens, and gathering their odorous products, the poetic Maximilia.n.u.s was presented with one of the immortal birds that protected a hero in battle, "the bird of G.o.d."

He thus speaks of the rare present:

"Our men were kindly treated by the chiefs in turn, and they, too, submitted freely to the rule of Caesar, like the King of Thidori. But the Spaniards, who had but two ships, resolved to bring some of each (spice) home, but to load the ships with cloves, because the crop of that was the most abundant that year, and our ships could contain a greater quant.i.ty of this kind of spice. Having, therefore, loaded the ships with cloves, and having received letters and presents for Caesar from the Kings, they make ready for their departure. The letters were full of submission and respect. The gifts were Indian swords, and things of that sort. But, best of all, the Mamuco Diata; that is, the bird of G.o.d, by which they believe themselves to be safe and invincible in battle. Of which five were sent, and one I obtained from the Captain (_congran prieghi_), which I send to your reverence, not that your reverence may think yourself safe from treachery and the sword by means of it, as they profess to do, but that you may be pleased with its rareness and beauty. I send also some cinnamon and nutmeg and cloves, to show that our spices are not only not worse, but more valuable than those which the Venetians and Portuguese bring, because they are fresher."

He also relates the disasters which fell to one of the overloaded ships:

"When our men had set sail from Thedori, one of the ships, and that the larger one, having sprung a leak, began to make water, so that it became necessary to put back to Thedori. When the Spaniards saw that this mischief could not be remedied without great labor and much time, they agreed that the other ship should sail to the Cape of Cattigara, and afterward through the deep as far as possible from the coast of India, lest it should be seen by the Portuguese, and until they saw the promontory of Africa which projects beyond the tropic of Capricorn, and to which the Portuguese have given the name of Good Hope; and from that point the pa.s.sage to Spain would be easy.

"But as soon as the other ship was refitted it should direct its course through the archipelago, and that vast ocean toward the sh.o.r.es of the continent which we mentioned before, till it found that coast which was in the neighborhood of Darien, and where the southern sea was separated from the western, in which are the Spanish Islands, by a very narrow piece of land. So the ship sailed again from Thedori, and, having gone twelve degrees on the other side of the equinoctial line, they did not find the Cape of Cattigara, which Ptolemy supposed to extend even beyond the equinoctial line; and when they had traversed an immense s.p.a.ce of sea, they came to the Cape of Good Hope and afterward to the Islands of the Hesperides.

"And, as this ship let in water, being much knocked about by this long voyage, the sailors, many of whom had died by hardships by land and by sea, could not clear the ship of water. Wherefore they landed upon one of the islands, which is named after Saint James, to buy slaves.

"But as our men had no money, they offered, sailor fashion, cloves for the slaves. This matter having come to the ears of the Portuguese who were in command of the island, thirteen of our men were thrown into prison. The rest were eighteen in number.

"Frightened by the strangeness of this behavior, they started straight for Spain, leaving their shipmates behind them. And so, in the sixteenth month after leaving Thedori, they arrived safe and sound on the 6th of September, at the port near Hispalis (Seville). Worthier, indeed, are our sailors of eternal fame than the Argonauts who sailed with Jason to Colchis. And much more worthy was their ship of being placed among the stars than that old Argo; for that only sailed from Greece through Pontus, but ours from Hispalis to the South; and after that, through the whole West and the Southern hemisphere, penetrating into the East, and again returned to the West."

His subscription is interesting:

"I commend myself most humbly to your reverence. Given at Vallisoleti, on the 23d of October, 1522.

"Your most reverend and ill.u.s.trious lordship's "Most humble and constant servant, "MAXIMILIa.n.u.s TRANSYLVa.n.u.s."

When the spice ship began to fill with water, the officers sent for native divers. But these, although very skillful, could not find the place or the cause of the leak.

Let us change our view to a different scene, across the wide tropical world.

CHAPTER XXII.

MESQUITA IN PRISON.

While the little ship Victoria, which had sought for Mesquita in vain, was sailing around the world, and was returning laden with spice, Mesquita himself remained shut out from the sun by the shadows of prison walls. His lite became more and more silent and neglected.

We know not by what authority he was held in a dungeon for advising the supposed crimes of his cousin Magellan. It could not have been that of Juana, who was still watching over the tomb from which she expected her husband to rise, nor by good Cardinal Ximenes, and possibly not by Charles V himself, but perhaps by one of his ministers. It may have been by the direction of Charles, for his imprisonment implies doubt; otherwise with such an array of testimony against him, we might expect he would have been executed.

Two years had pa.s.sed over beautiful Seville, and the India House there must have began to doubt the story of Gormez as not one of the other ships returned. These ships might have been cast away in the wintry seas that Gormez and his crew described, or the flag of Spain that the daring Portuguese had set toward the Spice Islands of the East by the way of the South might be seen again some day, rising over the Guadalquivir.

Mesquita believed in his cousin Magellan; not only in him as a true man, but as one who had a divine calling to fulfill; as one whom destiny had allotted to lead the decisive events of mankind. He still felt that he would prove another Columbus or Vasco da Gama.

The two priests whom Magellan had marooned had honestly thought Magellan mad. But Mesquita had his own confessor, and we can easily fancy how the prisoner must have opened his heart to him.

"Padre, I am misunderstood," we can hear him say. "Time tells the truth about all men. Time vindicates all.

"Padre, some messenger from Magellan will come back again. Time weighs all events, and life is self revealing. The heralds will blow their trumpets then, and the bells will ring.

"Padre, they do well to prolong my life. Some day my prison doors will open wide, and I shall ride through the streets of Seville, and those who doubt me now will hail me as a heart that, was always true to a Knight whose heart will be found true to the Emperor!"

The lamp of his faith burned clear and odorous oil. He had a quiet conscience. But how must the conspirators have felt during these uncertain months? The ships did not return. That seemed to favor one view of the madness of Magellan, and yet it did not leave them at ease.

There were some who reasoned: If Magellan were indeed mad on his own ship, why might not one or more of the other ships have returned? If the other ships had been loyal to the lantern of Magellan, and had kept together, might the fleet not return again? Should it return what a stigma would be cast on the characters of the cowardly mutineers! In such a case Mesquita would become a hero, and the latter would have to flee from their own names.

Charles V was in his promise of glory now. In 1519, as we have before stated, he had been elected Emperor of Germany; and in 1520 he had been crowned at Aix la Chapelle, amid great rejoicings, and the Pope had bestowed upon him the t.i.tle of Caesar or Emperor of the Roman world. He was called "Caesar" in the chronicles of the times.

Poor Juana took no interest in any of these pomps of her son, as they shook the world. Her ears were deaf to them, her heart was dead to them all. The mother of "Caesar" was almost the only person in Spain who hailed not the glory of Caesar.

Amid all the splendors of his court the dream of Magellan must still have haunted the mind of the new Caesar. He had accepted the story brought by the returned ship; but Magellan the madman might come back again. Madmen had returned before.

The period was a wonderful one. Printing, the art of which had been but recently developed after the discovery of Gutenberg, was revealing its great possibilities. These were the times of Francis in France, and of Henry VIII in England. The Reformation was overturning Germany. The whole world seemed to be changing.