Magdalen Islands

“ Magellan, anxious to carry out his plan, ordered forty of his men, whom he could rely on for valor and military skill, to arm themselves, and passed over to the island Mauthan in boats, for it was very near. The chief of Subuth furnished him with some of his own people, to guide him as to the topography of the island and the character of the country, and, if it should be necessary, to help him in the battle. The king of Mauthan, seeing the arrival of our men, led into the field some three thousand of his people. ”

“ The Spaniards endured this with patience for some days, but alarmed at the length of the winter and the barrenness of the land, at last petitioned their admiral Magellan, saying that it was evident that this continent extended an indefinite distance southwards, and that there was no hope of discovering the end of it, or of discovering a strait; that a hard winter was setting in, and that several men had already died through scanty food and the hardships of the voyage ”

“ There is another island, called Zubu, where the camp was established, and remained until broken up by the Portuguese, on account of the excellent harbor formed by it with another island called Mattan—which is almost uninhabited, unwholesome, and a large part of it covered with swamps. It is here that Magallanes was slain. The port has two entrances, opening northeast and southwest. Through my influence and with [S: against] the consent of most of the men, the camp was removed to the island of Panae. ”

“ They tried to land there against the will of the inhabitants. A great fight ensued, in which Magallanes and many of his fighting men were killed, and when the fleet, deprived of many men, was in such straits that it could easily have fallen into the hands of the inhabitants of that land, a Portuguese pilot, who had come with Magallanes, came to the rescue, took the tiller, and turned the course of the vessel toward Maluco. ”

“ The survivors of Magellan's expedition learnt then that the main facts of their voyage had become known to the King of Portugal some time after their departure, and that ships had been sent to the Cape of Good Hope and to other places to prevent their passage. When it was learnt that they had rounded South America and made their way across the Pacific, an attempt was made to dispatch a Portuguese fleet of six ships to the Molucca Islands to capture Magellan's expedition. ”

“ The Magellan route, as compared with that by the Horn, is not only a short road from the Atlantic to the Pacific, cutting off the islands to the south of the continent, but ensures calm waters, instead of the stupendous seas of the Antarctic Ocean. For a sailing ship, however, the difficulties are great; the prevailing wind is from the west, and there is no space for a large vessel to beat up against it, nor does she gain the advantage that can be derived from any slight shift of wind; outside the gale may vary a point or two, but within the channel it always blows straight down as in a gully. ”

“ In early life he entered the Portuguese army, in which he rendered distinguished service; from 1505 until probably 1511 he was in India. Finding no opportunity for promotion in Portugal, he transferred his allegiance (1518) to the King of Castile, and promised the latter that he would discover a new route to Moluccas. Magalhães set out on this expedition September 20, 1519, with five ships, and discovered the strait which bears his name; he also discovered and explored partially the Philippine Archipelago. He was slain in a fight with the natives in the island of Matan, April 27, 1521. ”

“ Since the days when the first European navigators entered the South Sea, the dispute over the source and ethnic affiliations of the inhabitants of that extended and scattered island world has been unsettled. The most superficial glance points out a contrariety in external appearances, which leaves little doubt that here peoples of entirely different blood live near and among one another.
“Negritos and Indios.”And this is so apparent that the pathfinder in this region, Magellan, gave expression to the contrariety in his names for tribes and islands. ”

“ She was not at all desirous of falling back from Dolores, whose grave steadiness and fortitude, the result of a truly brave and deep trust, had given her a sense of confidence and protection. So they wrote, and arranged for their passage, and, with Magdalen, spent the intermediate time in needful preparations at Belfast, and in an expedition to the Causeway, where they laid in a stock of notes and observations, all in a spirit that made Magdalen feel that she knew both in a manner she had never done before, and loved them with a deep value and confidence. ”

“ Magellan drew up his own men and what artillery he had, though his force was somewhat small, on the shore, and although he saw that his own force was much inferior in numbers, and that his opponents were a warlike race, and were equipped with lances and other weapons, nevertheless thought it more advisable to face the enemy with them, than to retreat, or to avail himself of the aid of the Subuth islanders. ”

“ On Easter Sunday, the natives are deeply impressed by the mass that is celebrated ashore, and the cross which is planted in the highest part of the island, and which they promise to adore.
The limited amount of food in Limasaua, which is used only as a place of recreation by the two kings, who go there to visit one another and hunt, leads Magalhães to seek a more abundant harbor. Among the places pointed out where food is abundant is the island of Cebú, and there Magalhães determines to go, “for so did his unhappy fate will.” ”

“ The story is that the natives of the islands, finding Magellan invincible, and believing him to be enchanted, lured the great explorer away by treachery to the little island of Mactan, where they had prepared a pit covered with branches, such as they use to trap wild pigs. Magellan fell into this trap, whereupon the savages rushed out of their hiding-places and shot him in the joints of his harness with poisoned arrows, and one bold man finally finished him off with a spear. They poison their arrows to this day as they did then, by dipping the tip into a decomposed human body. ”

“ Magellan, in pursuance of these vindictive views, knowing that the Portuguese considered their traffic to the Spice Islands as their most important acquisition in the east, resolved with himself to instigate the court of Spain to an attempt, which, by still pushing their discoveries to the westward, would give them a right to interfere both in the property and commerce of those renowned countries; and the King of Spain approving of this project, Magellan, in the year 1519, set sail from the port of Sevil in order to carry this enterprize into execution. ”

“ The Straits of Magellan.—The fleet sailed southward again in August but it was not until November 1, 1520, that Magellan entered the long and stormy straits that bear his name and which connect the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. South of them were great bleak islands, cold and desolate. They were inhabited by Indians, who are probably the lowest and most wretched savages on the earth. They live on fish and mussels. As they go at all times naked, they carry with them in their [76] boats brands and coals of fire. ”

“ Magellan named this sea the Pacific Ocean. On March 16, 1521, the fleet reached the Ladrone Islands. They did not remain long, but sailed toward the southwest. They touched at Malhon, and went on along the coast of Mindanao. They landed at the mouth of the Butuan River, and were well received by the chief and his people. Magellan claimed the country for Spain. The chief of Butuan went with the Spanish to Cebu. Magellan swore friendship with the king of Cebu, and the latter was baptized. Magellan, with forty Spaniards, offered to fight the people of Mactan, who were at war with the Cebuans. ”

“ Magalhães in his ardor, and notwithstanding the remonstrances of his friends, leads three boat loads of men (sixty in all) to the island, where having ordered the king of Cebú to be a witness of the battle only, he engages the natives. Disastrous indeed does that day prove, for beset by multitudes of [21] foes, the Europeans are compelled to retreat, and the retreat becomes a rout, the personal bravery of Magalhães and a few of his closest friends only saving the men from almost complete massacre. ”

“ Society, the mud wherein we stand
Up to the eyes, whence if I drag you forth,
Saving your soul and mine, there shall ascend
A poisonous blast that may o'ertake our lives.
Magdalen. I feel a meaning in your eloquence;
I see my poor thoughts made celestial
Like faded women Jove hung in the sky.
Obey my nature, sir? How shall I know
The voice of nature from the thousand cries,
That clamour in my head like piteous birds,
Filling the air about a lonely isle
With ringing terror when the hunter comes.
Smith. Shut out the storm and heed the still, small voice.
Magdalen. Have pity. ”

“ It is one of the most inhospitable regions of the world, being exposed to cold westerly storms for most of the year. The islands are barren, but the mainland is covered with forests, practically inaccessible to exploitation because of the inclement climate and the wet spongy soil. The coast is indented with bays and fjords and affords remarkable scenery. There is little animal life on land, but the coast is frequented by the seal and sea-otter and the sheltered waters by countless sea-fowl. ”

“ In 12° north latitude and 146° longitude, on Wednesday the 6th of March, the navigators discovered successively three islands, at which they greatly desired to stop to recruit, and take in fresh provisions; but the islanders who came on board stole so many things, without the possibility of preventing them, that the sailors were obliged to give up the idea of remaining there. The natives contrived even to carry off a long boat. Magellan, indignant at such daring, made a descent with forty armed men, burned some houses and boats, and killed seven men. ”

“ Then Magellan, with the three ships which he had, entered the river, through which he ran for more than a hundred leagues, and came out on the other side into the open sea, where he had a stern wind from the east, with which they ran for more than five months without lowering 251their sails, and they fetched some uninhabited islands, in one of which they found some savages, who lived in huts underground. They went to another island where they gave them gold for its weight of iron, by which means they collected much gold: the people also were of a good disposition, and had a king. ”

“ This bay appeared to be of great extent, and had rather the appearance of a strait. Therefore admiral Magellan directed two ships to survey the bay; and himself remained with the rest at anchor. After two days, they returned, and reported that the bay was shallow, and did not extend far inland. Our men on their return saw some Indians gathering shell-fish on the sea-shore, for the natives of all unknown countries are commonly called Indians. ”

“ As each resolutely upheld his own scheme, the emperor himself fitted out a squadron of five ships, and appointed Magellan to the command. It was ordered that they should sail southwards by the coast of Terra Firma, until they found either the end of that country or some strait, by which they might arrive at the spice-bearing Moluccas.
Accordingly on the tenth of August, 1519, Ferdinand Magellan with his five ships sailed from Seville. In a few days they arrived at the Fortunate Islands, now called the Canaries. Thence they sailed to the islands of the Hesperides [Cape Verde] ”

“ Lying in front of and very near to Sugbú is an island called Magtang, where Captain Magallanes was killed years ago. It is a low-lying land, and now with so few inhabitants [161] that they do not reach fifty; but when the Spaniards arrived there was a greater number.15 There are two channel-entrances, with one strait between the two islands. It is not of even width but is narrow in some places, and wide at others, in accordance with the points and bays between the islands. One mouth lies toward the brisa, and is deeper and narrower; the other to the vendaval, shallower, but wider. ”

“ But as our men were not in search of monsters but of spices, they did not trouble themselves about such rubbish, but sailed direct for the Moluccas, where they arrived in the eighth month after their admiral Magellan had been slain in the island of Mauthan. The islands are five in number, and are called, Tarante, Muthil, Thedori, Mare, and Matthien, [235] situated partly to the north, partly to the south, and partly on the equator; the productions are cloves, nutmegs, and cinnamon: they are all close together, but of small extent. ”

“ To France this island has been an object of desire ever since the days of Cardinal Richelieu, who, foreseeing the important position which the island must eventually hold in commanding the commerce of the East, in the Indian Ocean, both by way of the Cape of Good Hope, and also by the Red Sea, granted, about two hundred and fifty years ago, to a company of merchants the right of trading with Madagascar, evidently with the intention of eventually obtaining possession of that island for the crown of France. ”