A few weeks into the westward journey Columbus writes of numerous instances in which his crew became impatient and anxious. The falling meteorite, surrounding weeds, and other superstitious signals of woe caused the sailors to begin requesting that Columbus turn the ships around and head back to Spain before it was too late. They feared that the land Columbus claimed to be sailing toward was nowhere to be found, and they did not want to be stuck out in the middle of the ocean with a dwindling food supply. There was a growing resentment among the sailors which manifested itself in talks of mutiny and sabotage against Columbus.The captain's journal notes many different instances of mutinous talk and the dangers Columbus felt from his crew and shipmates. Columbus avoided disaster on several occasions, either through his own persuasive personality or the luck of his circumstances. The following journal entries are signs of things to come.Sunday, 23 September 1492
I sailed NW and sometimes NW by north, and sometimes on my original westerly course, making about 66 miles. I saw a dove, a tern, another small river bird, and some white birds. There is a lot of weed and I have seen more crabs in it. The crew is still grumbling about the wind. When I get a wind from the SW or west it is inconstant, and that, along with a flat sea, has led the men to believe that we will never get back home.
Monday, 24 September 1492
. . . I am having serious trouble with the crew, despite the signs of land that we have seen and those given to us by Almighty God. In fact, the more God shows the men manifest signs that we are near land, the more their impatience and inconstancy increases, and the more indignant they become against me. All day long and all night long those who are awake and able to get together never cease to talk to each other in circles, complaining that they will never be able to return home. They have said that it is insanity and suicidal on their part to risk their lives following the madness of a foreigner. They have said that not only am I willing to risk my life just to become a great Lord, but that I have deceived them to further my ambition. They have also said that because my proposition has been contradicted by so many wise and lettered men who considered it vain and foolish, they may be excused for whatever might be done in the matter. Some feel that they have already arrived where men have never dared to sail and that they are not obliged to go to the end of the world, especially if they are delayed anymore and will not have sufficient provisions to return. I am told by a few trusted men (and these are few in number!) that if I persist in going onward, the best course of action will be to throw me into the sea some night. They will then affirm that I fell overboard while taking the position of the North Star with my quadrant. Since I am a foreigner, little or no account will be asked of the matter, but rather, there will be a great many who will swear that God had given me my just desserts on account of my rashness. . . . I am . . . confident that if I lose command, the fleet will never reach the Indies and will probably never get back to Spain. With God's help I shall persevere.
