Several Other Birds Were Seen At This Time, And Many
Flying-Fish Fell Into The Ships.
Next day there came a rabo de junco and
an alcatraz from the westwards, and many sparrows were seen.
About sunrise
on Sunday the seventh of October, some signs of land appeared to the
westwards, but being imperfect no person would mention the circumstance.
This was owing to fear of losing the reward of thirty crowns yearly for
life which had been promised by their Catholic majesties to whoever should
first discover land; and to prevent them from calling out land, land, at
every turn without just cause, it was made a condition that whoever said
he saw land should lose the reward if it were not made out in three days,
even if he should afterwards actually prove the first discoverer. All on
board the admirals ship being thus forewarned, were exceedingly careful
not to cry out land upon uncertain tokens; but those in the Nina, which
sailed better and always kept a-head, believing that they certainly saw
land, fired a gun and hung out their colours in token of the discovery;
but the farther they sailed the more the joyful appearance lessened, till
at last it vanished away. But they soon afterwards derived much comfort by
observing great flights of large fowl and others of small birds going from
the west towards the south-west.
Being now at a vast distance from Spain, and well assured that such small
birds would not go far from land, the admiral now altered his course from
due west which had been hitherto, and steered to the south-west. He
assigned as a reason for now changing his course, although deviating
little from his original design, that he followed the example of the
Portuguese, who had discovered most of their islands by attending to the
flight of birds, and because these they now saw flew almost uniformly in
one direction. He said likewise that he had always expected to discover
land about the situation in which they now were, having often told them
that he must not look to find land until they should get 750 leagues to
the westwards of the Canaries; about which distance he expected to fall in
with Hispaniola which he then called Cipango, and there is no doubt that
he would have found this island by his direct course, if it had not been
that it was reported to extend from north to south[2]. Owing therefore to
his not having inclined more to the south he had missed that and others of
the Caribbee islands whither those birds were now bending their flight,
and which had been for some time upon his larboard hand. It was from being
so near the land that they continually saw such great numbers of birds;
and on Monday the eighth of October twelve singing birds of various
colours came to the ship, and after flying round it for a short time held
on their way.
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