The thing was settled. Columbus was tri- obtaining a new vessel for the one which was disumphant. And yet how little at that moment abled, which was found in other respects unfit was he conscious of his victory! He was then for service, and in making sundry repairs. on his mule four miles from Santa Fé, toiling On the 6th of September Columbus again through the sands, returning in the deepest dis- spread his sails. He was now fairly embarked appointment to his friends at Palos. A courier upon his voyage. The Canaries were on the overtook him just as he was entering a gloomy frontiers of the known world. All beyond was defile among the mountains. For a moment unexplored. A calm kept the vessels rolling Columbus hesitated whether to return. The upon the billows of the ocean for three days disappointments of eighteen years had led him within sight of these islands. But on the 9th to distrust the encouragements of courts. As the wind sprang up, and in a few hours the sured, however, by the courier, his sanguine mountains of Ferro disappeared beneath the temperament again rose buoyantly, and turn-horizon. ing his mule he spurred back to Santa Fé. The Queen received him with great kindness, and immediately assented to all the demands he had made. He was appointed Admiral and Viceroy of all the lands he should discover, and was to receive one-tenth of all the profits which might accrue. He was also to contribute, through his friend Pinzon, one-eighth of the expenses of the first expedition, for which he was to receive one-eighth of the profits. The matter being thus all settled, Columbus again set out for Palos, probably the happiest man in the world. A royal decree was issued for the town of Palos to furnish two small vessels, suitably victualed and manned for the voyage. It was the Sabbath, serene, sunny, and beautiful. But on board the vessels it was a day of lamentation. As we have mentioned, many of the sailors were forced to embark. As they took their last view of land they uttered murmurs deep and loud, which reached the ears of the Admiral. He did every thing in his power to inspire them with his own enthusiasm, but in vain. By threats and by promises he succeeded, however, in maintaining his authority. Perceiving that every league of distance intervening between them and their homes would but increase their terror, he resorted to the artifice of keeping two records of their daily progress, the one correct for himself, the other for the public eye, in which he made their advance much less than it really was. A Columbus succeeded in obtaining three small vessels, two furnished by the Government, and Day after day passed on, while the intrepid one by Martin Alonzo Pinzon. Two of these navigator urged his ships through the billows vessels were small, built up high and decked toward the long wished for goal. Every object over at the bows and stern, but without any was watched with the keenest scrutiny. deck in the centre. One, larger, was entirely weed upon the ocean, a bird, the color of the decked. The whole company in the three ves- sea and of the sky, the form of the clouds, the sels consisted of one hundred and twenty per- character of the rain, the variation of the wind It was impossible to obtain sufficient every thing was examined with the closest volunteers to man the vessels, and many of the attention. The lead was often thrown, but no seamen were impressed for the voyage by the bottom could be found. authority of the Government. sons. By the first of October they had sailed two thousand three hundred miles, nearly due west. But according to the reckoning shown to the crew they had sailed only seventeen hundred As the sun was rising over the waves of the Mediterranean on the 3d of August, 1492, the little squadron unfurled its sails for the worldrenowned voyage. Anthems were sung, pray-miles. The weather was delightfully mild and ers were offered, and the sacrament of the Lord's Supper was partaken of by both officers and crew before the anchor was raised. No huzzas resounded from the groups upon the shore. No acclamations were heard from the ships. Tears, lamentations, and dismal forebodings oppressed nearly all hearts. serene. They had fallen in with the trade-winds, which, blowing incessantly from the same direction, bore them prosperously on their way. But this phenomenon added still more to the alarm of the seamen, for they thought it would be impossible for them ever to return. At one time the murmurs of the crew became Columbus steered first for the Canary Isl- so intense that they even contemplated open ands. A strong wind drove them rapidly along, mutiny, and a plan was formed to throw Coand as the hills of Spain sank beneath the hori-lumbus overboard. Still the Admiral, by comzon the terror of the seamen increased. There bined firmness and gentleness, held them in subwere many indications of mutiny. On the jection. Another anxious week passed away. third day out one of the vessels was disabled by To inspirit the seamen & reward had been offerthe unshipping of the rudder, which was sup-ed of about a hundred and twenty-five dollars posed to have been intentionally done by those to the one who should first discover land. But on board. The rudder, however, was soon so there had been so many false alarms that Corestored that the crippled vessel could keep up lumbus announced that whoever should give the with the others by their shortening sail. At startling cry of land, and it not prove to be true, the close of a week they arrived at the Canaries, should thenceforth forfeit all claim to the reabout one thousand miles from the port of Pa- ward. The massive clouds were often piled up los. Here they were detained three weeks in in the western heavens in forms so strikingly HARPER'S NEW MONTHLY MAGAZINE. resembling mountains and valleys as to deceive to them. They also saw it gleaming like a fit. The murmurs of the crew at length became brooded over the solitary ships, and nothing The Pinta, being the best sailer of the three, The next morning they met with several indications of their vicinity to land. Fresh seaweed floated by them. A branch of a shrub, with leaves and berries upon it, was picked up, and a small piece of wood curiously carved was also found drifting upon the water. The sailors, like children, easily elated and depressed, were now all exultation. Their fears were dis-ments more all eyes beheld the mountains, pelled, their murmurs forgotten, and with per- dark and sombre, but clearly defined, and not fect subjection they yielded themselves to the two miles distant from them. They im.medidominion of their commander. From the com- ately took in sail and laid to, while the report mencement of the voyage every evening relig- of a heavy booming over the waves conveyed ious services had been observed on board the the transporting tidings to the two ships in the vessel of the Admiral. The vesper hymn float- rear. ed solemnly over the wide waste of waters, and the voice of prayer ascended to God. against ridicule, contempt, and the most terrible disappointments, had been devoted to the attainment of this one object. he to find barrenness, solitude, and desolation And now was or was he to find powerful nations, with a new -a gloomy wilderness, silent and unpeopled; civilization, and all the embellishments of wealth, splendor, and power? It is vain to attempt to imagine the feelings The evening after witnessing these indica- patiently awaited the dawn of the morning. of Columbus during the hours in which he ìmtions of land Columbus, at the hour of vespers, He was about fifty-six years of age. The enstood upon the poop of his vessel, with the mar-ergies of nearly his whole life, while struggling iners assembled around him, and in an impressive address pointed out to them the goodness of their heavenly Father in bearing them thus far on their way, and set strongly before them the evidences that their great achievement was now upon the eve of accomplishment. He told them he thought it probable that before the sun should rise they would make the land. urged them to keep a vigilant look-out, and He promised to the one who should first make the discovery a velvet doublet in addition to the purse of gold. It is very remarkable that Columbus should find the land almost exactly where he from the beginning expected to have found it. His only error was in supposing that Asia extended its unbroken surface to where the line of the American continent is found. Sixty-seven days had now passed since the highlands of Spain had disappeared from their view. It was the eleventh of October, 1492. The evening was brilliant. The fresh breeze was balmy and invigorating. Intense excitement pervaded every bosom. Not an eye was closed in either of the ships that night. As the sun went down, and the short twilight disappeared, and the stars came out in the ebon sky, Columbus took his station upon the poop of his vessel, and with anxious glance ranged the horizon. which Paradise could hardly have rivaled. It At length the morning dawned, in brilliance was a morning of the tropics. The air, breathing from the spicy shore, made even existence a luxury. A beautiful island was spread out before their eyes, green and luxuriant, with every variety of tropical vegetation. Weary with gazing for so many weeks only upon the ing as a fairy dream. They thought that they wild waste of waters, the scene was as enchanthad really arrived at the realms of primal innocence and blessedness. banner of Spain, emblazoned with the cross, The boats were lowered and manned. The floated from every prow. attired in a scarlet dress, entered his boat, Columbus, richly and the little squadron was rowed toward the shore. more beautiful. As they drew near the scene grew of the natives were scattered about among the The picturesque dwellings About ten o'clock he was startled by the foliage embellished the hill-sides and the vales. groves. Trees of gigantic growth and of dense gleaming of a torch far in the distance. a moment it burned with a clear flame, then dis-antly. Fruits of every variety of form and For Flowers of marvelous beauty bloomed abundappeared. Was it a meteor? Was it an optical illusion, or was it a light from the land? Suddenly the light again burned forth distinct and indisputable. Columbus, intensely agitated, called to some companions and pointed it out color hung temptingly from the boughs; and this Eden was peopled with the sons of Adam and of Eve, moving freely, entirely naked, in the apparent purity and innocence of man's unfallen nature. the Spaniards gazed. The clime, in its genial yet not sultry warmth, was perfect. The landscape, novel in all its aspects; the birds, of every variety of plumage and of note; the trees, the fruits, the flowers, different from aught they had ever before seen or conceived; and, above all, the groups of men and women who surrounded them, of clear, golden complexion, and whose limbs were rounded into symmetry which rivaled the statues of Venus and Adonis: all this impressed the Spaniards with as much wonder and admiration as they themselves excited in the bosoms of the islanders. Columbus leaped upon the shore, and falling | tual. It was indeed a novel scene upon which upon his knees, with clasped hands and uplifted eyes, gave thanks to God. The excitement of his spirit was contagious, and pervaded the whole band. They gathered around their illustrious leader in this his hour of triumph. Many wept. Many implored his forgiveness for their murmurings and rebellion. Columbus, unmindful of all the past, found the woes of a lifetime obliterated by the rapture of a moment. With imposing ceremony the banner of Spain was planted upon the soil. The name of San Salvador was given to the island. The oath of allegiance to Columbus, as Admiral and Viceroy of all these new realms, was now administered to the whole company of the ships. This event, one of the most memorable recorded in the history of the world, occurred on the morning of the 12th of October, 1492. Columbus, supposing, as we have mentioned, that he was upon the confines of India, called the inhabitants Indians. The natives were gentle, confiding, and affectionate. Revering During these ceremonies the natives gath- their supposed celestial visitants, they lavished ered timidly around, gazing with amazement upon them all kindness of smiles and hospitality. at the strange beings who had thus suddenly The Spaniards passed the whole day wandering landed upon their shores. Their complexion, beneath the charming groves and eating the their long and flowing beards, their helmets luscious fruits of San Salvador. The natives and cuirasses of glittering steel, their polished led them to their houses and to their favorite armor and their silken banners, struck them haunts, and the voyagers passed a day of exwith admiration. They had dim conceptions citement and bliss such as is rarely enjoyed on of a celestial world, and doubted not that the earth. The sun had gone down, the short twistrangers were visitors from the skies. The light of the tropics had faded away, and the ships, whose sails had been so gracefully fold-stars were again beaming in the sky ere they ed before them, they deemed birds, who had borne the visitants on gigantic wing from their aerial home. The lofty stature of Columbus, his commanding air, his gorgeous dress of scarlet, and the deference which all paid to his authority, particularly arrested their attention. The amazement and admiration were mu entered the boats to return to their ships. Columbus, who was one of the most kindhearted and benignant of men, had smiled upon the natives as a loving father smiles upon his children. He had completely won their confidence and their hearts by the trinkets-to them more estimable than gold or pearls-which he freely distributed among them. A glass bead, 730 a glittering, tinkling hawk's bell, a sharp-point- | dian, whom they had picked up in a canoe by ed nail, was to them a treasure of value quite the way, was sent on shore laden with presents, inestimable. No language can express the de- to prepare the natives for their landing the next light with which these beautiful maidens, ap- morning. parently perfectly modest in the dress which nature gives, would hang around their neck or the waist a few hawk's bells, and then dance with delight as they listened to the tinkling music. Blissful indeed did the sun rise and But alas! Since set upon San Salvador. then how sad in all those islands has passed The landing of the Eurothe tragedy of life! peans upon those shores proved to the artless natives a calamity of awful magnitude. As the sun rose the next morning the shore and the sea were covered with the natives, some running to and fro upon the beach with joyful exclamations, others paddling canoes, and others swimming around the ships, almost But the novelty was with the agility of fishes. already gone, and civilized man began immediately to inquire for the only object of his ceaseless worship, gold. The seamen wished for gold to enrich themselves, that they might return with the wealth and the dignity of princes Columbus wished for to their native land. gold to enrich the sovereigns of Spain, to magnify the grandeur of his achievement, and to aid him in his majestic plans of regaining the Holy Sepulchre and of Christianizing the world. He immediately embarked in the boats to The day was as yesterday, explore the island. full of enjoyment, as beneath sunny skies and upon a mirrored ocean they glided along by headlands and vales and entered the mouths of winding, forest-shaded rivulets. Occasionally they landed and walked through villages, where They thousands greeted them with smiles. sauntered through groves where nature seemed to have lavished her most luxurious embellishments. In the earliest sunrise they rowed to the shore, where they witnessed but the same scene of peace, simplicity, and beauty with which they had now become familiar. They spent a few hours upon the island, charmed with the artlessness of the natives, with the neatness and picturesque beauty of their pavilions of reeds and palm leaves, and especially admiring the taste with which the natives selected for their dwellings situations of the most romantic beauStill, however, disappointed in finding no ty. gold, Columbus in the evening again spread his sails, and leaving this island, to which he gave the name of Ferdinand, but which is now called Exuma, he continued his cruise toward the southeast. They soon reached another island still larger, to which Columbus gave the name of Isabella, but which is now known as Yuma. This was by far the most beautiful island they had yet Columbus was quite entranced with visited. the scenes of loveliness ever opening before him. Indeed, it was a spectacle to exhilarate even the most phlegmatic temperament. "I know not," says the enthusiastic Admiral in his journal to the King, "where first to go, nor are my eyes ever weary with gazing on the Here are large lakes, and beautiful verdure. the groves about them are marvelous, and every thing is green, and the herbage is as in April in Andalusia. The singing of the birds is such that it seems as if one could never be willing to depart hence. There are flocks of parrots which obscure the sun, and other birds, large and small, of so many kinds and so different from ours that it is wonderful. There are also trees of a thousand species, each havAs I approached this Finding the island to be comparatively of ing its particular fruit. small extent, and as there were many other cape there came off a fragrance so good and islands rearing their mountain summits in the soft that it was the sweetest thing in the world." Still Columbus and his men were disappointdistant horizon, Columbus in the evening again Seven of the ed. They had found apparently a fairy realm weighed anchor and set sail. natives willingly accompanied him; Columbus of contentment, abundance, and peace, but no wished to teach them the Spanish language gold. Gradually the Admiral began to create a See-language of intercourse between himself and the and to have them serve as interpreters. ing in the south, some fifteen miles distant, natives. They informed him of an island, many apparently a large island, he turned his prows toward it. They reached the land early the next morning. Here the same scenes were renewed which had transpired at San Salvador. The natives were the same simple, naked, gentle people, equally compliant, affectionate, and unsuspecting, and equally destitute of gold. leagues to the southwest, of great magnitude, abounding in gold and pearls and spices, where merchant ships came and went, and where powerful nations dwelt. All this Columbus, whose imagination was excited by hope, understood their signs to signify. This island the natives called Cuba, a beautiful name, which this gem of the ocean fortunately still retains. As there was nothing here to induce delay, Columbus concluded that this island must be Columbus turned to an island which he saw in the southwest, having first given to the island Japan, which he had expected to find near that he was leaving the name it still retains of Con- spot, and that a ten days' sail toward the west ception. He soon passed over the few inter- would bring him to the coast of India. Thus vening leagues, and before the dusk dropped elated with hope, every sail was spread as the anchor in waters of such crystalline trans-little squadron was pressed along by a favorable parency that every pebble could be discerned breeze toward the island of Cuba. at a depth of more than forty feet. An In Passing several small and beautiful islands new and delicious fruits, seeing nothing but beauty, hearing nothing but melody, it is not strange that he should have felt that he had indeed entered a fairy realm. on the way, at which he did not deign to touch, | every where friendly greetings, feasting upon after a three days' sail the mountains of the Queen of the Antilles hove in sight. It was on the morning of the 28th of October. The magnitude of the island, the grandeur of its mountains, the wide sweep of its valleys, the stately forests, and the rivers calm and deep, with banks of enchanting beauty, impressed every beholder with the highest feelings of wonder and admiration. stream. Anchoring at the mouth of a river, Columbus with a small party took the boats to explore the The inhabitants, having observed the approach of the strange phenomenon of the ships, had fled affrighted from the shore. As the voyagers ascended the river vistas of beauty were ever opening before them. The banks were covered with trees and shrubs, whose branches were filled with birds of great brilliance of plumage. Parrots, humming-birds, flamingoes of gorgeous colors, abounded in the groves. Columbus was quite entranced. "Cuba!" he exclaimed. "It is the most beautiful island that eyes ever beheld. could live there forever." One He approached several villages, but the terrified inhabitants had fled to the mountains. The houses were more substantial than any others of the natives he had yet seen. There were many indications that the inhabitants had attained a higher civilization than those upon the smaller islands. Returning to his ship he again spread his sails, and followed along the coast, hoping to approach some large Oriental city. But cape stretched beyond cape, and headlands melted away beyond headlands, and nothing met his eye but the luxuriance and the beauty of a fairy creation thronged with an artless and a happy people. The weather was mild, and the most delightful serenity pervaded these peaceful scenes. After coasting along the shores for three days he came to the conclusion that this could not be the island of Japan, but must be the main land of India. Approaching a populous region he sent his boats ashore, and after much difficulty succeeded in obtaining some intercourse with the natives. Misinterpreting their signs he understood that at the distance of four days' journey into the interior they would find a great city and a powerful king. This confirmed Columbus in his conviction that he was upon the continent of Asia. He dispatched two envoys under native guides to penetrate the interior in search of the fabulous metropolis. The envoys bore presents and a very grandiloquent letter to the monarch, who was supposed to be enthroned in palaces of splendor. While the deputation was absent Columbus employed the time in repairing his ships and in making an excursion into the surrounding country. In his boats he ascended one of the rivers for many leagues. The weather was beautiful. Morning after morning the sun rose in cloudless splendor. As he glided along over the stream, beneath the luxuriance of the tropics, meeting In the journal which he carefully kept for the Sovereigns of Spain he is continually giving utterance to exclamations of delight. During this short tour up one of the beautiful streams of Cuba he met with a bulbous root about as large as an apple, which the natives used as food, after roasting it in the ashes. The natives called it batatas. It has since become an indispensable article of food throughout the whole civilized world. Though Columbus attached no importance whatever to this discovery of the potato, it has proved of more value to the human family than if he had discovered a mountain of solid gold. The envoys soon returned. The great Oriental metropolis which they had sought consisted of a pleasant village of fifty wigwams. The envoys were, however, received with the greatest hospitality. One who had been selected for this important mission was a very learned man, familiar with the Hebrew, the Chaldaic, and the Arabic. He was selected for the mission in consequence of his acquaintance with these languages. He tried all his learned tongues in vain upon the Cuban chieftain. As he was returning from his fruitless expedition he saw the natives with dried leaves of a peculiar plant in their hands, which they rolled up into small tubes about as long as one's finger. Lighting one end they put the other end into their mouths, and drawing in the smoke puffed it out again. This little roll of dried leaf they called a tobacco. This was the origin of the cigar. Columbus decided to follow along the coast toward the southeast, hoping to find some spot where he could establish commercial relations with the natives. A few natives, males and females, willingly accompanied him. He wished to take them to Spain that they might be instructed in Christianity, so that upon their return they could be instrumental in the conversion of these heathen nations. Coasting along the shore he soon reached the southeastern extremity of Cuba, which he supposed to be a cape jutting far out into the sea. Far away through the transparent air he discerned the blue outlines of mountains. Eagerly he directed his course in that direction. Columbus sailed from the southeast extremity of the island of Cuba, in the direction of the land which dimly appeared far away in the southeast, a favoring breeze driving his vessels rapidly through the waters. As they drew nearer the mountains soared into majestic altitude, and the wide-sweeping plains indicated an island of extraordinary extent and beauty. Columns of smoke ascending through the foliage gave evidence that the island was populous. It was on the evening of the 6th of December when Columbus entered a spacious and |