they had so
little knowledge, and that they had already sailed long on so vast an
ocean, seeing nothing but sky and water, without knowing what might be the
end of all their labours. But it pleased God to show fresh signs of land,
by which they were somewhat appeased; for, in the afternoon of the 4th
October, they saw above forty sparrows and two gulls, which came so close
to the ships that a sailor killed one with a stone; likewise many flying
fishes were seen, some of which fell upon the decks of the ships. Next day,
a gull, a water-wagtail, and many sparrows appeared to the westwards near
the ships. On Sunday the 7th October, some signs of land appeared to the
westwards, yet none durst say so, lest they might forfeit the annuity of
10,000 maravedies, which had been promised to him who first saw land; and
it was provided that whoever should pretend to see the land, if his
discovery were not verified in three days, should be ever after excluded
from the reward, even though he should actually make the discovery in the
sequel. Yet those in the Ninna, which was a-head of the rest, being the
best sailer, were so sure of seeing land that they fired a gun and shewed
their colours as a signal to that effect; but the more they advanced, the
appearances became the less, and at length vanished away. In this
disconsolate condition, it pleased God again to comfort them with the
flights of many birds, and among them some which were certainly land birds,
and which made for the south west. Upon this, concluding he could not now
be far from land, Columbus altered his course from west to south-west;
alleging the difference was not great, and that the Portuguese had
discovered most of their lands by following the flight of birds, and that
those he now followed took the very direction in which he had always
expected to find the land. He added that he had always told them he did
not expect to find the land till he had sailed 750 leagues westward of the
Canaries, where he expected to find the island of Cipango, and must
certainly have been upon it by this time; but knowing it to stretch north
and south, he had not turned southwards lest he might get foul of it; yet
he now believed it to lie among other islands towards the left, in the
direction these birds flew; and since they were so numerous, the land must
needs be near. On Monday the 8th October, about a dozen small birds of
several different colours came to the ship, and hovering a while