Loe raamatut: «The Story of Magellan and The Discovery of the Philippines», lehekülg 6

CHAPTER XVII
EASTER SUNDAY. – MAGELLAN PLANTS THE CROSS

Now begins the dawn of Christianity in the Philippines. Magellan was a deeply religious man, and Pigafetta was a Christian Knight. Magellan saw the significance of his marvelous voyage, and his soul glowed with gratitude to Heaven.

Easter Sunday approached. Magellan had made preparations to plant a cross on a mountain overlooking the sea.

Easter Sunday fell on the last day of March. "The Captain," to follow the Italian's narrative in part, "sent the Chaplain ashore early to say mass, and the interpreter went with him to tell the King that they were not coming on shore to dine with him, but only to hear the mass.

"When it was time for saying mass the Captain went ashore with fifty men, not with their arms, but only with their swords, and dressed as well as each one was able to dress, and before the boats reached the shore our ships fired six cannon shots as a sign of peace.

"At our landing the two Kings of the islands were there, and received the Captain in a friendly manner, and placed him between them, and then we went to the place prepared for saying mass, which was not far from the shore."

The ceremonies that followed were dramatic. "Before the mass began the Captain threw a quantity of musk-rose water on those two Kings," is the picture drawn by the Italian, "and when the offertory of the mass came, the two Kings went to kiss the Cross like us, but they offered nothing, and at the elevation of the body of our Lord they were kneeling like us, and adored our Lord with joined hands. The ships fired all their artillery at the elevation of the body of our Lord."

The scene that followed discloses the religious nature of Magellan and his joy in what was ennobling.

He caused a great cross to be lifted, "with the nails and crown, to which the Kings made reverence." He told the Kings that he wished to place it in their country for their profit, "because if there came afterward any ships from Spain to those islands, on seeing this cross, they would know that we had been there, and therefore they would not cause them any displeasure to their persons nor their goods; and if they took any of their people, on showing them this sign, they would at once let them go."

The Captain continued his address to the Kings in the same spirit. He told them that it was necessary that this cross "should be placed on the summit of the highest mountain in their country, so that seeing it every day and night they might adore it." He further told them that if they did thus, "neither thunder, lightning, nor the tempest could do them hurt." This he believed to be true. The Kings "thanked the Captain, and said they would do it willingly." The Captain asked them how they worshiped. They answered that "they did not perform any other adoration, but only joined their hands, looking up to Heaven, and that they called their God Aba. Hearing this, the Captain was very joyful; on seeing that, the first King raised his hands to the sky and said that he wished it were possible for him to be able to show the affection which he felt toward him."

The elevation of the Cross followed.

"After dinner we all returned in our dress coats, and we went together with the two Kings to the middle of the highest mountain we could find, and there the Cross was planted."

Important information followed.

"After the two Kings and the Captain rested themselves, and, while conversing, I asked where was the best port for obtaining victuals. They replied that there were three; that is to say, Ceylon, Zubu, and Calaghan; but that Zubu was the largest and of the most traffic. Then the Kings offered to give him pilots to go to those ports, for which he thanked them, and deliberated to go there, for his ill-fortune would have it so. After the cross had been planted on the mountain, each one said the Paternoster and Ave Maria, and adored it, and the Kings did the like. Then he went down below to where their boats were. There the kings had brought some of the fruit called cocos and other things to make a collation and to refresh us."

The fleet sailed away soon after Easter Monday, the Captain having secured native pilots from the Kings. One of the Kings volunteered to act himself as pilot, and this service was accepted.

Pigafetta describes the use of betel:

"This kind of people are gentle, and go naked, and are painted. They wear a piece of cloth made from a tree, like a linen cloth, round their body to cover their natural parts; they are great drinkers. The women are dressed in tree cloth from their waists downward; their hair is black, and reaches down to the ground; they wear certain gold rings in their ears. These people chew most of their time a fruit which they call areca (betel), which is something of the shape of a pear; they cut it in four quarters, and after they have chewed it for a long time they spit it out, from which afterward they have their mouths very red. They find themselves the better from the use of this fruit because it refreshes them much, for this country is very hot, so that they could not live without it."

The use of the areca, or betel nut, is still common in all the Philippine Islands.

The fleet next went to Maestral, "passing through five islands – Ceylon, Bohol, Canighan, Baibai, and Satighan. In the Island of Satighan was a kind of bird called barbarstigly, which was as large as an eagle. Of these we killed only one," says our narrator, "because it was late. We ate it, and it had the taste of a fowl. There were also in this island doves, tortoises, parrots, and certain black birds as large as a fowl, with a long tail. They lay eggs as large as those of a goose. These they put a good length under the sand in the sun, where they were hatched by the great heat, which the heated sand gives out; and when these birds were hatched they pushed up the sand and came out. These eggs are good to eat.

"From this island of Mazzubua to that of Satighan there are twenty leagues, and on leaving Satighan we went by the west; but the King of Mazzubua could not follow us; therefore we waited for him near three islands; that is to say, Polo, Ticobon, and Pozzon. When the King arrived he was much astonished at our navigation; the Captain General bade him come on board his ship with some of his principal people, at which they were much pleased. Thus we went to Zubu, which is fifteen leagues off from Satighan."

The story of the Italian here, which we so freely use, leaves in the mind a picture of the first voyage among the Philippines. The habits of the people in these same islands are not greatly changed, but we hardly find there now as tractable kings as were those to whom Magellan left the Cross.

CHAPTER XVIII
CHRISTIANITY AND TRADE ESTABLISHED. – THE BAPTISM OF THE QUEEN

On April 9th they entered the Port of Zubu, on approaching which they saw houses in the trees. The Captain hung out his flags in the clear sunny air. He caused his artillery to be fired, which greatly alarmed the natives. He then sent an interpreter to the King.

The interpreter found the people in terror at the thunder of the guns. He assured the King that the salute had been made in his honor. Then the interpreter said:

"My master is the greatest King in all the world. We are sailing at his command to discover the Spice Islands. But we have heard of your fame, and the fame of your country, and have come to visit you."

"You are welcome," said the King, "but you must pay me tribute."

"My master," said the interpreter, "is the greatest of all Kings, and we can pay tribute to no one."

The King feasted them, and they entered into negotiations of peace with the King of Zubu.

At Zubu Magellan turned missionary with no common zeal.

He told the native princes that his visit was for the sake of peace.

We are told that the "Captain General sat in a chair of red velvet, and near him were the principal men of the ships sitting in leather chairs, and the others sat on the ground on mats.

"The Captain," says the narrative, "spoke at length on the subject of peace, and prayed God to confirm it in Heaven. These people replied that they had never heard such words as these which the Captain had spoken to them, and they took great pleasure in hearing them. The Captain, seeing then that those people listened willingly to what was said to them, and that they gave good answers, began to say a great many good things to induce them to become Christians.

"He told them how God had made Heaven and earth and all other things in the world, and that he had commanded that every one should render honor and obedience to his father and mother, and that whoever did otherwise was condemned to eternal fire."

His teaching bore immediate fruit.

"The people heard these things willingly, and besought the Captain to leave them two men to teach and show them the Christian faith, and they would entertain them well with great honor. To this the Captain answered that for the moment he could not leave any of his people, but that if they wished to be Christians that his priest would baptize them, and that another time he would bring priests and teachers to teach them the faith."

His manner of teaching reveals his heart:

"The people told him that they wished to consult their King in regard to becoming Christians." The friends of the Captain "wept for the joy which they felt at the good-will of these people, and the Captain told them not to become Christians 'from fear of us, or to please us, but that if they wished to become Christian they must do it willingly, and for the love of God, for even though they should not become Christian, no displeasure would be done them, but those who became Christian would be more loved and better treated than the others.' Then they all cried out with one voice that they did not wish to become Christians from fear, nor from complaisance, but of their free will."

Here the true character of the man again appears – few Christian explorers ever made so noble a record. His sincerity won the hearts of the natives:

"At last they said they did not know what more to answer to so many good and beautiful words which he spoke to them, but that they placed themselves in his hands, and that he should do with them as with his own servants."

The next scene is ideal:

"Then the Captain, with tears in his eyes, embraced them, and, taking the hand of the Prince and that of the King, said to him that by the faith he had in God, and to his master the Emperor, and by the habit of St. James which he wore, he promised them to cause them to have perpetual peace with the King of Spain, at which the Prince and the others promised him the same."

It is a pleasure to follow such a narrative as Pigafetta here writes in illustration of the character of a true Christian Knight. Compare this narrative with the history of Pizarro, Cortes, and De Soto. Magellan was a Las Casas, a Marquette, a La Salle.

The next incident told by Pigafetta has as fine a touch as a portrayal of character. It relates to a message which Magellan sent to the King, with a present.

"When we came to the town we found the King of Zubu at his palace, sitting on the ground on a mat made of palm, with many people about him.

"He had a very heavy chain around his neck, and two gold rings hung in his ears with precious stones.

"He was eating tortoise eggs in two china dishes, and he had four vessels full of palm wine, which he drank with a cane pipe. We made our obeisance, and presented to him what the Captain had sent him, and told him, through the interpreter that the present was not as a return for his present which he had sent to the Captain, but for the affection which he bore him. This done, his people told him all the good words and explanations of peace and religion which he had spoken to them."

We now behold Magellan in a new attitude, as a missionary teacher, a John the Baptist in the wilderness. Pigafetta thus describes the scene:

"On Sunday morning, the fourteenth day of April, we went on shore, forty men, of whom two were armed, who marched before us, following the standard of our King Emperor. When we landed the ships discharged all their artillery, and from fear of it the people ran away in all directions.

"Magellan and the King embraced one another, and then joyously we went near the scaffolding, where the Captain General and the King sat on two chairs, one covered with red, the other with violet velvet. The principal men sat on cushions, and others on mats, after the fashion of the country.

"Then the Captain began to speak to the King through the interpreter to incite him to the faith of Jesus Christ, and told him that if he wished to be a good Christian, as he had said the day before, that he must burn all the idols of his country, and, instead of them, place a cross, and that every one should worship it every day on their knees, and their hands joined to Heaven; and he showed him how he ought every day to make the sign of the Cross.

"To that the King and all his people answered that they would obey the commands of the Captain and do all that he told them. The Captain took the King by the hand, and they walked about on the scaffolding, and when he was baptized he said that he would name him Don Charles, as the Emperor his sovereign was named; and he named the Prince Don Fernand, after the brother of the Emperor, and the King of Mazzava, Jehan; to the Moor he gave the name of Christopher, and to the others each a name of his fancy. Thus, before mass, there were fifty men baptized."

The baptism of the Queen followed.

"Our Chaplain and some of us went on shore to baptize the Queen. She came with forty ladies, and we conducted them onto the scaffolding; then made her sit down on a cushion, and her women around her, until the priest was ready. During that time they showed her an image of our Lady, of wood, holding her little child, which was very well made, and a cross. When she saw it, she had a greater desire to be a Christian, and, asking for baptism, she was baptized and named Jehanne, like the mother of the Emperor. The wife of the Prince, daughter of this Queen, had the name of Catherine, the Queen of Mazzava Isabella, and to the others each their name.

"That day we baptised eight hundred persons of men, women, and children. The Queen was young and handsome, covered with a black and white sheet; she had the mouth and nails very red, and wore on her head a large hat made of leaves of palm, with a crown over it made of the same leaves, like that of the Pope. After that she begged us to give her the little wooden boy to put in the place of the idols. This we did, and she went away. In the evening the King and Queen, with several of their people, came to the sea beach, where the Captain had some of the large artillery fired, in which they took great pleasure. The Captain and the King called one another brother."

The "little boy" spoken of was an image of the infant Christ. The figure was preserved until the year 1598, when the Spaniards sent missionaries to the place who gave it a place in a shrine and named a city for it.

The naming of the Queen at her baptism for poor Juana, or "Crazy Jane," the incapable mother of Charles V, who was watching beside her dead husband in Granada, and who had signed the commission of Magellan by proxy, completes a tale of missionary work in a somewhat ideal way. If these people did not maintain their faith, the work reveals the intention of Magellan, and shows the nobility of character of the Christian Knight.

CHAPTER XIX
HALCYON DAYS

These were indeed days of joy. The glory of them grew. All the inhabitants of the island came to be baptized. Magellan went on shore daily to hear mass.

It was Pigafetta who gave to the Queen the image of the infant Christ, which became historical.

On one of the occasions that Magellan went on shore to hear mass he met the Queen, who appeared in a veil of silk and gold. He sprinkled over her some rose water and musk, and noticed that she cherished the image of the infant Christ.

"You do well," said he. "Put it in the place where your idols were; it will keep in your mind the Son of God."

"I will cherish it forever," said the veiled Queen.

She seems to have kept her word.

The joy of these scenes reached their height, when the King of Seba swore fealty to the King of Spain.

The scene of the conclusion of this ceremony was knightly indeed, and again reveals the heart of Magellan.

He, seeing a good spirit, of the King of Seba, resolved to swear fealty of eternal friendship to him. Only a Christian Knight would have dreamed of such a thing.

"I swear," he said, "by the image of our Lady, the Virgin, by the love of my Emperor, and by the insignia, on my heart, that I will ever be faithful to you, O King of Seba!"

Here the true character of the statesman as well as teacher appeared. History records few acts more noble. Magellan sought the good of mankind.

There was one officer on the ships whose soul, like that of Pigafetta's, must have been in all these benevolent efforts.

The expedition was tarrying long, seeking the glory of the Cross rather than the gold and spices. There were impatient hearts in Seville.

Mesquita in his still prison, with the world against him, dreamed of Magellan, Del Cano, and the Italian historian. The half world separated them now.

In his dreams Mesquita saw the fleet coming back again, and he heard the shouting of the people and the ringing of the bells. The star of hope in his heart did not fail.

"Padre," he said, "the day of my vindication will come."

But the seasons came and went, and the light changed color in the window of his cell, and the birds sang their notes in the trees in spring and left their empty nests to silence in the retreating summer. The great Cathedral grew, and the achievement of Charles had begun to excite the world.

We now come to the tragedy of this wonderful expedition; to the tempest that rose out of the calm. The transition from these ideal scenes to what is to follow is sudden indeed.

CHAPTER XX
THE DEATH OF MAGELLAN

Magellan, as we have shown, had sought not wealth, nor glory, but the good of the world in his life. He was ever ready to put his own interest aside in the service of that which was best for others. He had sought welfare and not wealth, service and not self, and his life was about to end in the unselfish spirit in which it had lived.

On Friday, April 26, 1520, Zula, one of the great chiefs of the Island of Matan, sent to Magellan one of his sons and two goats as a present. He had promised his service to the King of Spain, but this surrender of royalty had been opposed by another chief named Silapalapa. This chief had declared with native spirit that Matan would never submit to the Spanish King.

"But I can overthrow Silapalapa," ran the Matan chief's message, "if I can have your help. Send me a boatload of men. Let them come to-morrow night."

Magellan received the message and the presents in a friendly feeling, and resolved to follow the chief's lead.

"I will not send another on this expedition so full of peril," he thought. "I will lead it myself."

So he set out from Zubu to Matan at midnight, with sixty men, in corselets and helmets. He took with him the Christian King, and the chief men of his new adherents.

The boats moved silently over the tropic waters under the moon and stars. Magellan had become a happy man. He could not doubt that he was on his way to new victories. Pigafetta, the Italian, always true to the Admiral, was with him.

The expedition arrived at Matan just before the dawn of the morning.

The mellow nature of Magellan came back to him on this short night journey. He had no wish to slaughter men.

So he spoke to a Moorish merchant.

"Go to the natives," he said, "and tell them if they will recognize a Christian King as their sovereign I will become their friend. If not, that they must feel our lances."

The Moorish ambassador was landed, and met the chiefs.

"Go tell your master," they said, "that if he has lances, so have we, and our lances are hardened by fire."

At the red dawn of the morning, the Admiral gave the order to disembark, and forty-nine men leaped into the water. They faced a fierce army, some fifteen hundred in number.

Magellan divided his followers into two bands. The musketeers and cross bowmen began the attack. But the firing was not effective. The black army moved down upon them like a cloud, throwing javelins and spears hardened with fire. Some of them singled out Magellan. They threw at him lances pointed with iron.

Magellan, seeing that the odds were against him in such a contest, sought to break their lines by firing their houses. Some thirty houses burst into flame.

The sight of the fire maddened the natives and rendered them furious. They discovered that the legs of the invaders were exposed, and that they could be wounded there with poisoned arrows.

A poisoned arrow was aimed at Magellan. It pierced him in the leg. He felt the wound, and knew its import.

He gave orders to retreat. A panic ensued, and his men took to flight.

The air was filled with arrows, spears, stones, and mud.

The Spaniards tried to escape to the boat. The islanders followed them and directed their fury to Magellan. They struck him twice on his helmet.

Magellan's thought now was not for himself, but for the safety of his men.

He stood at his own post fighting that they might make safe their retreat.

He thus broke the assault for nearly an hour, until he was almost left alone.

An Indian suddenly rushed down toward him having a cane lance. He thrust this into his face. Magellan wounded the Indian, and attempted to draw his sword. But he had received a javelin wound in his arm, and his strength failed.

Seeing him falter, the Indian rushed upon him and brought him down to the earth with a rude sword.

The Indians now fell upon him and ran him through with lances.

He tried to rise up, to see if his men were safe. He did not call for assistance, but to the last sought to secure the safety of his men. In fact, he never seemed to so much as think of himself in the whole contest. It was thus that his life went out, and his heart ceased to beat. He was left dead on the sand, on April 27, 1521. The natives refused to surrender his body. Eight of his own men and four Indians, who had become Christians, perished with him.

There was one man who was true to the Admiral to the end. He was wounded with him, but survived. He it was that saw that the Admiral had forgotten himself at the hour of the final conflict. It was Pigafetta, the Italian, whose narrative we are following.

This hero of the pen says of him to whom he gave his heart:

"One of his principal virtues was constancy in the most adverse fortune."

"It was God who made me the messenger of the new heavens and new earth, and told me where to find them," said Columbus. "Maps, charts, and mathematical knowledge had nothing to do with the case."

As sublime an inspiration is seen in the words of Pigafetta in regard to Magellan:

"No one gave to him the example how to encompass the globe." His sight was the inner eye, the pure vision of a consecrated purpose in life.

No hero of the sea has ever been more noble! His purpose in life was everything; he had the faith of a Christian Knight; he was as nothing to himself, but to others all, and he died giving his own body for a shield to his men. His name will always be associated with what is glorious in the history of the Philippines.

Magellan was dead, but a good purpose lives in others. Magellan dead, Del Cano yet lives, and the Italian historian has other scenes to record.

The farol of Magellan will go on; it will never cease to shine, and the cast-out name of the Christian Knight will become a fixed star amid the lights that have inspired the world.