Vespucci described
all that he saw and some things of which he heard, using care and
discretion, and if he suspected that the captain of the Bristol ship was
Sebastian Cabot, later pilot-major of Spain, he did not say so.
NOTE
Amerigo Vespucci has been unjustly accused of endeavoring to steal the
glory of Columbus, but there is no evidence that he ever contemplated
anything of the kind. It was a German geographer's suggestion that the
continent be named America.
THE GOLD ROAD
O the Gold Road is a hard road,
And it leads beyond the sea,--
Some follow it through the altar gates
And some to the gallows tree.
And they who squander the gold they earn
On kin-folk ill to please
Go soon to the grave, but he toils in the grave--
The miner upon his knees.
The Gold Road is a dark road--
No bird by the wayside sings,
No sun shines into the canons deep,
No children's laughter rings.
They are slaves who delve in the stubborn rocks
For the pittance their labor brings.
Their bread is bitter who toil for their own,
But they starve who toil for Kings.
The Gold Road is a small road,--
A man must tread it alone,
With none to help if he faint or fall,
And none to hear his groan.
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