On 23 September the winds dropped and they became becalmed until a great swell rose to lift the hull, the winds picked up and they sailed on. Now and again, the lookouts, eager to claim the reward, their eyes constantly scouring the horizon, sometimes shouted they had seen land but this was proved to be a figment of their imagination. The crew now began to demand exactly how far they had travelled and, more importantly, how much further they were to go. The Pinzon brothers came across to the Santa Maria to pore over Columbus’ charts and engage in fierce debate. Columbus stuck to his original order: ‘West, west! There’ll be no deviation and,’ he added, ‘if we return empty-handed to Spain, every man will have to face the fury of our royal patrons, Ferdinand and Isabella.’
The crew settled down. They forgot about the brackish water, weevil-ridden food, the stench of the ships, the sheer boredom and terror of such a long voyage. September passed. In October, however, the gloom deepened. Columbus had said that, on their voyage to Cathay and Cipango, they would pass the Island of the Blest discovered by the Irish saint and seafarer St Brendan. No island hove into sight. The men grumbled: if Columbus was wrong about the island couldn’t he be wrong about everything else?
On 8 October birds were seen flying south-west. The crew insisted that Columbus changed direction. Gathered on the deck, the men shouted that if birds flew in such a direction towards land, should they not follow? The Pinzon brothers on the Nina and Pinta came across and supported these cries. A vote was taken. Only two people voted not to change direction: Columbus and Matthias.
‘Why not, Englishman?’ Columbus called.
‘Nothing to the north, nothing to the south,’ Matthias repeated the voice he had heard. ‘Ever west, Captain General. That was your order and we should keep to it.’
Columbus smiled bleakly but the rest of the crew, led by the Pinzons, were insistent. The Santa Maria changed tack.
That night the crew were comforted to hear more birds passing overhead. Four days later a look-out cried that he could see things in the water. A reed and a stick were picked up, as well as a piece of wood around which grass was wrapped. When these were brought aboard the excitement of the crew intensified, for the piece of wood looked as if it had been carved. The gloom lifted. The winds freshened. Escobedo announced that they were now travelling at 7 knots a day. Matthias was teased because he had been against the change in direction. One evening, just after sunset, Matthias was taking the first watch when he heard that mysterious voice again.
‘Nothing to the north, nothing to the south! You must sail ever west! Look for the light!’
Matthias stared round: on the far side of the foredeck a young sail-maker, Diego Yemodes, was squatting, stitching a piece of canvas, but he never looked up.
‘Nothing to the north! Nothing to the south! Ever west! Look for the light! Tell Columbus to look for the light!’
‘Is everything all right?’
Matthias jumped and turned round. Columbus was standing at the top of the steps staring at him curiously.
‘Why did you vote against changing direction, Englishman?’
‘I don’t know,’ Matthias lied, holding the Captain General’s gaze. ‘I still think it was a mistake to change.’
Columbus nodded and looked up at the night sky.
‘I believe you are right.’ He turned and went down the steps.
Matthias heard one of the bombards fire, followed by the slap of feet on the deck. Lanterns were lit, signals flashed to the Nina and Pinta. The Santa Maria, sails straining under the wind, changed tack at the shouts of the Captain General, back on the original course, due west.
Matthias forgot about his own anxieties. He felt the ship twist and turn. He heard something bump against the side, and looked over. It was a piece of wood, a branch or trunk. It swirled by so fast Matthias couldn’t determine. He went back to his watch. He stared so hard his eyes hurt and then he glimpsed it, a light like that of a wax candle, being moved up and down. He blinked and stared again. He was sure he had seen it. No star, no figment of his imagination or trick of the ocean. Again the light, up and down as if someone were signalling him through the darkness. He left his post and ran down to the deck, hammering on the door of Columbus’ cabin. The Captain General came bustling out. He took one look at Matthias’ face and went like a monkey up the steps, standing on the bowsprit, holding on to the ropes.
‘You saw something?’
‘Dead ahead,’ Matthias replied. ‘Nothing to the north, nothing to the south! Ever west!’
‘You are mis- No, I see it!’
Columbus jumped down. He was soon joined on the forecastle by other officers. The rest of the crew were aroused and from across the water came the boom of a bombard. The Pinta, too, had seen the light. All three ships now closed up. Sails were furled, strict orders given to hold their position. The whole crew, as if participating in a holy vigil, waited for dawn. Prayers were offered, the Salve Regina sung: throughout the night the three ships backed and filled under reduced canvas off this unknown shore. Columbus was like a man possessed. The men were impatient, urging Columbus to move closer but, when dawn broke, the Captain General’s caution was vindicated. They could see a white shoreline, trees rising up, surf seething along a coral rock which stretched like fangs up out of the sea; these would have torn their ships to shreds if they had tried to sail directly to shore.
Once daybreak had come, the three ships tacked along the coastline looking for a place to anchor. At last they found a bay and slipped in easily. The leadsmen sang out the depths until the signal was given to drop anchor. The men clustered on the deck and stared in wonderment: white sands, wooded hills, even the breeze had lost its salty, tangy taste and now wafted the sweeter smells of fruits and vegetation towards them. Figures were seen slipping in and out of the treeline.
‘Savages,’ Navarette, one of the most keen-sighted, reported from where he stood, halfway up the main mast. ‘Naked as babies, they are.’
All three ships’ boats were lowered. Columbus, now dressed in gilded armour, a great cloak round his shoulders and carrying the royal standard of Castile, clambered into his; the Pinzons, carrying the banners of the expedition, a green cross with the initials of the two sovereigns on either side, joined him. Matthias was also chosen to go and he climbed gingerly into the boat.
They reached the shoreline in a matter of minutes. Matthias felt strange to be on dry land again, a sensation not helped by the shimmering, white sands, the glare of the sun and the strange, exotic smells which swept down from the dark green forest which fringed the beach. He helped Baldini pull the boat further up out of the water. Columbus and a number of officers were already planting the standards of Spain into the hot sands before kneeling down. A prayer of thanksgiving was offered and ‘this land and all the territories appertaining to it’ were claimed in the name of King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella of Spain.
A group of olive-skinnd figures slipped out of the trees and came down the beach. Matthias had heard all sorts of stories about the subjects of the Great Khan: how they were small, yellow, wizened and slant-eyed or had the faces of dogs. They, however, were olive-skinned, with jet-black hair which fell down as far as the nape of the neck, of good stature and very comely. They were naked as the day they were born and reminded Matthias of children as they moved shyly towards the Captain General. Some of the women wore beach clouts, with ivory ornaments round their necks and wrists. Dark-eyed, their high-cheekboned faces slightly turned away, as if they did not wish to look fully at these strange creatures. They jabbered quietly amongst themselves. A beautiful young woman, her hair half-covering her face, pinched her nose and giggled. Matthias smiled. With the wind behind them, the smell of Columbus and his party, not to mention that from the ships, must be highly offensive to these people. They bore gifts, fruit and food he’d never seen, and calabashes full of water. Their leader, a stocky young man, plucked up courage and walked towards Columbus. He touched the Captain General’s face and clothes and looked in wonderment at the banners flapping above him.