COLUMBUS, in the original capitulations—a set of outrageous demands imposed upon the Sovereigns, before undertaking the first voyage—refers to “the things requested and which Your Highnesses give and grant Don Cristóbal Colón, as some satisfaction for what he has discovered in the ocean seas, and of the voyage which now, with the help of God, he is to undertake through those seas in the service of Your Highnesses.”
. . . the man from Genoa, at a time when the Indes existed only as spots in his own wild imaginings, referring to them as “what he has discovered” . . .
(as the Azores were first pulled out of the ocean by Portuguese, in search of St. Brandon’s . . .
There is a law of excess, of abundance, whereby a people must explore the ocean, in order to be competent on land . . .
(Melville: “You must have plenty of sea-room to tell the Truth in . . .”
Men must put out space, and nations ships . . .
Columbus, reported by a contemporary: “. . . the said Admiral always went beyond the bounds of truth in reporting his own affairs.”
and TYPEE, Melville’s first book, was first rejected because “it was impossible that it could be true and therefore was without real value” . . .
Columbus: “I hold it for certain that the waters of the sea move from east to west with the sky, and that in passing this track they hold a more rapid course, and have thus carried away large tracts of land, and that from hence has resulted this great number of islands; indeed these islands themselves afford an additional proof of it, for all of them, without exception, run lengthwise, from west to east . . .”
Sitting forward in my chair, I am aware of energy flows in my body—nerve sensations, something that feels like accelerated blood circulation—as though internal balances, relationships, centers of control have been disturbed. Pushing the chair back, I stand up, leaning forward slightly, my arms limp, and give the sensation full play . . . in the matter of balance, I am aware almost at once of the clubfoot: there is the old anger, the hatred, the desire to amputate the monstrous member . . .
Slumping in the chair, I let the anger rankle in me . . . my blood is warm, and begins to move more thickly . . .
As the anger diminishes, there is left the warmth, and again, the disturbance, the imbalance, and something erotic . . .
Columbus: “In Cariay and the neighboring country there are great enchanters of a very fearful character. They would have given the world to prevent my remaining there an hour. When I arrived they sent me immediately two girls very showily dressed; the eldest could not be more than eleven years of age, and the other seven, and both exhibited so much immodesty that more could not be expected from public women; they carried concealed about them a magic powder . . .”
Elsewhere: “They afterwards came to the ship’s boats where we were, swimming and bringing us parrots, cotton threads in skeins, darts, and many other things . . .”
“Here the fish are so unlike ours that it is wonderful. Some are the shape of dories, and of the finest colors in the world, blue, yellow, red, and other tints, all painted in various ways, and the colors are so bright that there is not a man who would not be astonished, and would take great delight in seeing them.”
“. . . the women have very pretty bodies, and they were the first to bring what they had, especially things to eat, bread made of yams, and shrivelled quinces . . .”
Rising, pushing back the chair, I step to my left, leading with the club . . . but the stride is strange. There is something other than the old sensation of heel and ball, in the false boot, striking the floor: an over- or under-balance in a different direction . . . as though the right foot were clubbed, globular, and more monstrous than the left. I pause, and retreat, my hands reaching back for the arms of the chair . . . and am scarcely seated again before the third leg, the middle leg—clubbed in its own way—hardens and rises . . .
but this is not all: I am refreshed, my body renewed: remaining still, leaning back in the chair, I become aware of different locations, different sources from which motion might originate, from which my body might begin to move: shoulder, thigh, elbow, knee—random centers never before used, or neglected and atrophied . . . and as I consider each, fresh energy comes into me, and the old centered leg subsides . . .
Columbus:
“This said island of Juana is exceedingly fertile, as, indeed, are all the others; it is surrounded with many bays, spacious, very secure and surpassing any that I have ever seen; numerous large and healthful rivers intersect it, and it also contains many very lofty mountains. All these islands are very beautiful, and distinguished by a diversity of scenery; they are filled with a great variety of trees of immense height, and which I believe to retain their foliage in all seasons; for when I saw them they were as verdant and luxuriant as they usually are in Spain in the month of May—some of them were blossoming, some bearing fruit, and all flourishing in the greatest perfection, according to their respective stages of growth, and the nature and quality of each: yet the islands are not so thickly wooded as to be impassable. The nightingale and various birds were singing in countless numbers, and that in November, the month in which I arrived there. There are, besides, in the same island of Juana, seven or eight kinds of palm trees, which, like all the other trees, herbs and fruits, considerably surpass ours in height and beauty. The pines, also, are very handsome, and there are very extensive fields and meadows, a variety of birds, different kinds of honey . . .”
“. . . there are mountains of very great size and beauty, vast plains, groves, and very fruitful fields, admirably adapted for tillage, pasture and habitation. The convenience and excellence of the harbors in this island, so indispensable to the health of man, surpass anything that would be believed by one who had not seen it.”
“The island of Española is preeminent in beauty and excellence, offering to the sight the most enchanting view of mountains, plains, rich fields for cultivation, and pastures for flocks of all sorts, with situations for towns and settlements. Its harbours are of such excellence that their description would not gain belief, and the like may be said of its abundance of large and fine rivers . . .”
“In all this district there are very high mountains which seem to reach the sky . . . and they are all green with trees. Between them there are very delicious valleys.”
“He said that all he saw was so beautiful that his eyes could never tire of gazing on such loveliness, nor his ears of listening to the songs of birds.”
and there was the review of Melville’s MARDI: “Wild similes, cloudy philosophy, all things turned topsy-turvy, until we seem to feel all earth melting away from beneath our feet, and nothing but Mardi remaining . . .”
Dr. Chanca, reporting on the second voyage: “Thus, surely, their Highnesses the King and Queen may henceforth regard themselves as the most prosperous and wealthy sovereigns in the world; never yet, since the creation, has such a thing been seen or read of . . .”