A Trick Played by Columbus

Christopher Columbus was a very clever man. He was one of the great thinkers of the late 1400s. What do you know about Christopher Columbus? For instance, how many voyages did he make to America?

On Christopher Columbus' fourth and last voyage to America in 1503, he played a trick on the Jamaican Indian chief. Listen to what happens from the point-of-view of the Indian chief. Then listen to what Christopher Columbus has to say.

Point-Of-View of Indian Chief:

Two big boats filled with Pale Faces landed on our island. Their boats were very seedy. No more can be used. We no like these Pale Faces on our land.

Some get very sick from malaria. At first, we afraid, so we bring food. But we no like. These Pale Faces eat much food in one day. My people could last a whole week on what they eat in one day. Then, we no more afraid, and we say that we bring no more food.

The Chief of Pale Faces very angry. He say he make moon go away if we no bring food. We no believe. That night, the moon came as always do. But then, Chief of Pale Faces make bad magic. He waves his arms and speak angry words we no understand. Then, the moon is no more. THE MOON IS NO MORE!

Me and my people much scared. We talk together. We decide we no like this bad magic. We no want gods angry with us. We want our moon back. We agree it is better to bring food than to make Chief of Pale Faces mad. We bring much food in a hurry. Chief of Pale Faces smile big. He wave arms again. He say more magic words. Soon the moon came back. We much happy to see our moon again.

We bring Pale Faces much food for many, many moons. Then one day, big ship came and take all Pale Faces away. We much glad to see them go. We glad also to see that Chief of Pale Faces no take moon with him. Now we have island to self again. We very happy.

Discussion Question:

Any idea how Columbus made the moon disappear on demand like that?

Point-Of-View of Christopher Columbus:

On my fourth voyage to the Indies, we had a grave adventure. We had started out with four ships. After we reached the Indies, we explored the other islands looking for gold. Sadly, one of our ships got caught on a sandbar, and we had to abandon it. A few days later, we realized that we had to abandon a second ship. This ship was no longer seaworthy as it had been eaten up by shipworms. For the next two months, we sailed on our two remaining ships. We found it necessary to pump and bail water all the way.

Finally, we realized that these two ships were no longer safe either. Therefore, we had to give up on our idea to reach the island I had colonized - Hispaniola. Instead, we found another island and landed there. The date was the 25^th of June, 1503.

We were stranded. One man, Diego Mandez, left in a canoe in July. He bravely volunteered to try to row all the way to Hispaniola to get help. He was our only hope. Meanwhile, there we stayed.

The Indians were not overly friendly. However, they agreed to bring us food. We needed their help as many of us, myself included, had contracted malaria. We were too weak and too unfamiliar with the island to get much food on our own account.

Then, one day, the Indians refused to bring us any more food. Fortunately, by my calculations, I knew that it was nearly time for a total eclipse of the moon. I came up with a clever plan.

I told the Indians, "The gods are very angry that you are no longer bringing us food. They will punish you by making the moon disappear. The only way I will agree to bring the moon back is if you promise to continue bringing us food for as long as we are on this island."

I hoped and prayed that the Indians would be so afraid that they would agree to continue providing us with food.

At the proper time, I made a great show of waving my arms as I spoke strange-sounding words that I hoped sounded magical. Dramatically, the moon slowly disappeared. The Indians cried out in fear and scurried away.

Thankfully, before it was time for the moon to reappear, the Indians came back bringing us food. I asked, "Do you promise to continue bringing us food for as long as we are on this island?"

The chief nodded his head with great fervor. I then made another dramatic show of waving my arms around and speaking more magical-sounding words. The Indians sighed in immense relief as the moon gradually reappeared.

Thankfully for us, the Indians kept their promise. It was a good thing too, for we were stranded on that island for a loooooooooooong time.

Many months later in June of 1504, a ship was finally sent from Hispaniola to rescue us. Thank goodness that Diego had survived. I had such mixed feelings of gladness and relief and anger and resentment as we heard about his adventures.

It seems that Diego was able to safely row all the way to Hispaniola. However, it took him a long time to convince the governor of Hispaniola to be willing to help us. We had been stranded on that island for one year and five days before the governor finally sent a ship. I was now 53.

Once I reached Hispaniola, I had to wait for a few more months before I was able to get back to Spain. Sadly, I got back just a few days before the death of Queen Isabella, my strongest supporter and friend.

Epilogue:

As we all know, Columbus accomplished many great things for our country. It was because of him that people realized that it was safe to cross the Atlantic Ocean. It was thanks to him that people realized that there were many new lands yet to colonize.

Unfortunately, Columbus died an unhappy man. It took many years before people began to appreciate the significant contributions he made to our country and to the world at large.

I wonder what he would have said or felt if he knew that five centuries later, we people of America would celebrate an annual Columbus Day to honor him as the man who first made the discovery of America possible. I wonder . . .