Bartolomeo Roldan.

Roderigo Sanches was inspector-general of the armament, and Diego de
Arana chief alguazil. Roderigo de Escobar went as royal notary. In
all, one hundred and twenty persons.

Columbus and his followers, having solemnly taken the communion, went on
board their ships. Believing that their friends were going to certain
death, the inhabitants of Paios looked on with gloomy apprehensions,
which greatly affected the minds of the crew.

The little squadron set sail from Palos half an hour before sunrise on
the 3rd of August, 1492, and steered a course for the Canary Islands.
Columbus had prepared a chart by which to sail. On this he drew the
coasts of Europe and Africa, from the south of Ireland to the end of
Guinea, and opposite to them, on the other side of the Atlantic, the
extremity of Asia, or rather India, as it was then called. Between them
he placed the island of Cipango or Japan, which, according to Marco
Polo, lay one thousand five hundred miles from the Atlantic coast. This
island Columbus placed where Florida really exists. Though he saw his
hopes of commencing the expedition realised, he had good reason to fear
that his crews might at any moment insist on returning.

On the third day after sailing, it was discovered that the rudder of the
_Pinta_ was broken and unslung, probably a trick of her owners. The
wind was blowing so strongly at the time that he could not render
assistance, but Martin Alonzo Pinzon, being an able seaman, succeeded in
securing it temporarily with ropes.

As the _Pinta_ also leaked, Columbus put into the Canaries on the
morning of the 9th of August, and was detained there three weeks, trying
to obtain a better vessel. None being found, the lateen sails of the
_Pinta_ were altered into square sails. While here the crews were
frightened by seeing flames burst out of the lofty peak of Teneriffe.
Shortly after a vessel arrived from Ferro, which reported that three
Portuguese caravels were watching to capture the squadron of Columbus,
who, suspecting that the King of Portugal had formed a hostile plan in
revenge for his having embarked in the service of Spain, immediately put
to sea and stood away from the coast. He was now striking off from the
frontier islands of the Old World into the region of discovery. For
three days the squadron was detained by a calm. On the 9th of September
he saw Ferro, the most western of the Canary Islands, where the
Portuguese we