LIFE OF COLON, BY HIS SON.

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courfe of the ftars. He therefore obferved in this place, to his great admiration,that the Charles-wain at night appeared in the weft point, and in the morning they weredireftly north-eaft, by which he gathered that their whole night’s courfe was but threelines, or nine hours, that is, fo many parts of twenty-four; and this he made out everynight. He alfo perceived, that at night-fall the compafs varied a whole point to thenorth-weft, and at break of day it came right with the ftar. Thefe things confoundedthe pilots, till he told them the caufe of it was the compafs the ftar took aboutthe pole, which was fome fatisfaction to them ; for this variation made them ap-prehend fome danger in fucli an unknown diftance from home, and fuch ftrangeregions.

CHAP. XXI. — How they*Jaw not only the aforementioned Signs and Tokens , hut othersbetter than they , which were fome Comfort to the Men .

ON Monday the ift of October, after fun-rifmg, an alcatraz came to the fnip, andtwo more about ten in the morning, and long ftreams of weeds lay from eaft to weft.That day in the morning, the pilot of the admiral’s thip faid they were five hundredand feventy-eight leagues weft of the ifland Ferro: the admiral faid, by his account,they were five hundred and eighty-four leagues; but in private he concluded it wasfeven hundred and feyen, which is one hundred and twenty-nine leagues more thanthe pilot reckoned. The other two {hips differed very much in their computation, forthe pilot of the caraval Ninna on Wednefday following, afternoon, faid they had failedfive hundred and forty leagues, and the other of the caraval Pinta faid fix hundredand thirty-four. Adding all they had failed during thofe three days, they were ftillmuch fhort of truth ; for they went always before the wind, and had run much more.But the admiral, as has been faid, winked at this grofs miftake, that the men mightnot be quite dejedted, being fo far from home. The next day, being the 2d ofOdtober, they faw abundance of fifh, catched a fmall tunny, and faw a white bird,and many other fmallones, and the weeds they faw were withered and almoft fallen topowder. The next day after, feeing no birds, but fome fiftj, they miftrufted they hadleft fome illands on both hands, and were flipped between without difcovering them ;guefling that thofe many birds they had feen were palling from one ifland to another.I hey were very earneft to fteer either one way or the other, to feek out thofe landsthey imagined; but the admiral would not confent, being unwilling to lofe the fairwind that carried him away to weftward, which he- accounted his fureft courfe; andbefides, becaufe he thought it was leffening the reputation of his undertaking, to run fromone place to another, feeking that which he always affirmed he well knew where to find.For this reafon the men were ready to'mutiny, continuing to mutter and confpireagainft him : but it pleafed God , as was faid above, to affift him by the means of frelhtokens; for on Thurfday, the 4th of October, afternoon, above forty fparrows together,and two alcatrazes, flew fo near the flaps that a feaman killed one of them with a ftone;and before this they had feen another bird like a rabo de junco, and another like afwallow, and a great many flying-fifties fell into the {hips. Next day there came arabo de junco and an alcatraz from the weftward, and abundance of fparrows werefeen. On Sunday the 7th of October, about fun-rifmg, fome figns of landappeared weftward, but being imperfect, no man would fpeak of it, not fo much forthe fliame that would follow of alferting what was not, as for fear of lofing thirtycrowns a year, Their Catholic Majefties had promifed for life, to him that fhould firftdifcover land; and to prevent their crying land, land, at every turn, as they might

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