He would not have chosen to do this
but for the disaster, for the men who made up these crews were not
promising material for a colony in a wild land. But he had no choice in
the matter. The two smaller ships would not hold them all. Pedro,
shaken with sobs, cast himself at the feet of his master and begged
forgiveness.
"No one blames you, my son," said the Admiral, more touched than he had
been for a long time. "Be not so full of sorrow for what cannot be
helped. The wild people are friendly, the land is kind, and when we have
sailed back to Spain with our news there will be no difficulty in
returning with as many ships as we may need. Nay, I will not leave thee
here, Pedro. I think that now I could not do without thee."
NOTE
[1] The name of Columbus took various forms according to the country in
which he lived. In his native Genoa it would be Cristofero Colombo. In
Portugal, where he dwelt for many years, it would be Cristobal Colombo,
and in Spanish Christoval or Cristobal Colon. In Latin, which was the
common language of all learned men until comparatively recent times, the
name took the form Christopherus Columbus, which has become in modern
English Christopher Columbus. In each story the discoverer is spoken of
as he would have been spoken of by the characters in that particular
story.
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