brother made their way, and it was
during the ten years of his connection with Portugal that his
cosmographical studies, and his ocean voyages from the equator to the
arctic circle, _combined with his genius to make Columbus the greatest
seaman of his age_.

Capt. Duro, of the Spanish navy, has investigated all questions relating
to the ships of the Columbian period and their equipment with great
care; and the learning he has brought to bear on the subject has
produced very interesting results. The two small caravels provided for
the voyage of Columbus by the town of Palos were only partially decked.
The Pinta was strongly built, and was originally lateen-rigged on all
three masts, and she was the fastest sailer in the expedition; but she
was only fifty tons burden, with a complement of eighteen men. The Nina,
so-called after the Nino family of Palos, who owned her, was still
smaller, being only forty tons. These two vessels were commanded by the
Pinzons, and entirely manned by natives of the province of Huelva. The
third vessel was much larger, and did not belong to Palos. She was
called a "nao," or ship, and was of about one hundred tons burden,
completely decked, with a high poop and forecastle. Her length has been
variously estimated. Two of her masts had square sails, the mizzen being
lateen-rigged. The foremast had a square foresail, the mainmast a
mainsail and maintopsail, and there was a spritsail on the bowsprit. The
courses were enlarged, in fair weather, by lacing strips of canvas to
their leeches, called _bonetas_. There appear to have been two boats,
one with a sail, and the ship was armed with lombards. The rigs of these
vessels were admirably adapted for their purpose. The large courses of
the caravels enabled their commanders to lay their courses nearer to the
wind than any clipper ship of modern times. The crew of the ship Santa
Maria numbered fifty-two men all told, including the Admiral. She was
owned by the renowned pilot Juan de la Cosa of Santona, who sailed with
Columbus on both his first and second voyages, and was the best
draughtsman in Spain. Mr. Harrisse, and even earlier writers, such as
Vianello, call him a Basque pilot, apparently because he came from the
north of Spain; but Santona, his birthplace, although on the coast of
the Bay of Biscay, is not in the Basque provinces; and if Juan de la
Cosa was a native of Santona he was not a Basque. While the crews of the
two caravels all came from