beautiful harbor, on the western extremity of this island. The natives, seeing the approach of the ships, fled in terror to the woods. For six days Columbus skirted the shore, occasionally penetrating the rivers with his boats, without being able to obtain any intercourse with the inhabitants. He frequently landed with parties of the crew and entered their villages, but ever found them empty, the natives having escaped to the forest. On the 12th of December he landed in a pleasant harbor, at a point which he called La Navidad "The Nativity." Here he took formal possession of the island in the name of the Sovereigns of Spain, and with many imposing ceremonies erected the cross. As the sailors were rambling about they fell upon a party of the islanders, who fled like deer. The sailors pursued, and seeing a beautiful young girl perfectly naked and graceful as a fawn, who was unable to keep pace with the more athletic runners, they succeeded in capturing her. They brought their fascinating prize triumphantly to the ships. Columbus received her with the utmost kindness, and loaded her with presents, particularly with the little tinkling hawk's bells, which had for the natives an indescribable charm. She found sympathizing friends in the native women who were on board, and in an hour was so perfectly at home and so happy that she was quite indisposed to leave the ship to return to the shore. This beautiful Indian maiden wore a ring of gold, not through the ears, but more conspicuously suspended from the nose. The sight of the precious metal greatly excited the adventurers, for it proved that there was gold in the country. By the aid of this maiden they soon became ac quainted with the inhabitants. They were living in the same state of blissful simplicity with those upon the island of Cuba. The natives called the island Hayti. Columbus named it Hispaniola. The French and English have since called it St. Domingo. The island is still burdened with its triple appellation. If we are to credit the narratives of Columbus and his companions, the inhabitants were living in truly an enviable state, free from the wants, the diseases, and the crushing cares of civilized life. They had no party politics, no religious feuds. They needed no clothing, enjoying a genial climate of perpetual summer. They were neat in their persons and in their dwellings, graceful in form, and attractive in complexion and in features. Their rivers were alive with fishes. Fruit of delicious flavor hung from almost every bough. Their food was thus always ready, and life was to them apparently but a long, pleasant summer's day. It would appear from the united and emphatic testimony of the voyagers that there was no other known portion of the globe at that time where there was so little wickedness, so little sorrow, or where more true happiness was to be found. Many of the sailors were so delighted with the warm-hearted friendliness of the natives, with the climate, with the enchanting scenery, the fruits, the bird - songs, that they could not endure the idea of returning again to the anxieties of life in old Spain. They entreated Columbus to allow them to settle upon the island. It so happened that just at this time one of the vessels was wrecked upon the coast. One of the other barks, the Pinta, had parted company with the little squadron, the captain having mutinously separated from the Admiral in pursuit of adventures in ducted his guests to a grove, whose overarchhis own name. Columbus was now left with but one vessel, which was exposed to innumerable perils in navigating unknown seas. Should that vessel be wrecked they could never return to Spain, and the knowledge of their discovery would be lost to the world. Under these circumstances Columbus decided that it was his first duty to retrace his steps to Europe as speedily as possible, to announce the success of his enterprise, and that he might then return with a more efficient fleet to prosecute further discoveries. ing foliage shaded a smooth and verdant lawn. Here Guacanagari had collected a thousand natives to amuse the care-worn Admiral with an exhibition of their games and dances. Columbus, then, to impress the natives with an idea of his power, ordered a military display of the Spaniards. As they wheeled to and fro in their martial manoeuvres, their steel armor and their polished swords glittering in the rays of the sun, the Haytiens gazed upon the spectacle in speechless admiration. But when one of the cannon was discharged, and they saw the flash and heard the peal, and perceived the path of the invisible bolt through the forest, crushing and rending the trees, they fell to the ground in dismay. In a few days the fortress was completed, the guns mounted, and the ammunition stored safely away. Columbus deemed the discipline of The wrecked caravel was broken up, the guns were taken to the shore, and a fortress was constructed as the nucleus of a colony. A tribe of natives resided in the immediate vicinity of the fortress. They manifested the utmost kindness and sympathy, and rendered efficient aid in rearing the bastions and the buttresses which were to prove in the end the destruction of their race. The chieftain of this artless people, Guacanagari, wept in unaffected grief in contemplating the calamity which had befallen Columbus. He ordered all the effects from the wreck to be placed near his own dwelling, guarded them with the utmost care, and had buildings reared to protect them from the weather. Treasures of inconceivable value in the eyes of the natives were strewed around, hawk's bells, glittering beads, knives, gaudy ribbons, and yet there was not the least attempt made to pilfer. Though the natives aided in transporting these valuables from the wreck to the shore, not an article was found missing. What was the basis of this honesty? The solution of this problem By a singular chance, when Columbus had will puzzle both the philosopher and the Chris-advanced on his way along the coast but about tian. "So loving," writes Columbus, "so tractable, so peaceable are these people, that I declare to your Majesties that there is not in this world a better nation or a better land. They love their neighbors as themselves. Their discourse is ever sweet and gentle, and accompanied with a smile. And though it is true that they are naked, yet their manners are decorous and praiseworthy." a garrison necessary to keep the Spaniards under subjection, rather than as any protection against the natives. Having given the men very minute directions respecting their conduct during his absence, on the 4th of January, 1493, he spread his sails for his return to Spain. The hour of parting was one of much emotion. Those who were to be left behind found their hearts failing them. Should the one single shattered bark which bore Columbus and his band founder beneath the storms of the ocean there would be buried with it all knowledge of the discovery of the New World, and the colony at The Nativity would be left to its fate. fifty miles he met the Pinta, which had so shamefully abandoned him. He, however, deemed it prudent to overlook the crime, and to appear satisfied with the lame apologies offered by the captain. After a short delay to prepare the Pinta for the long voyage the two vessels again spread their sails for Spain. The voyage was extremely tempestuous. The vessels were soon separated by darkness and the gale. Columbus, with intense anxiety, buffeted the waves, which often threatened to overwhelm him. A calm, bold man, he entirely forgot his own life in his solicitude that the important discovery which he had made should not be lost to Europe. After thirty-eight days of almost uninterrupted and terrific storms he reached the Azores. Here they encountered While here considerable quantities of gold were brought in dust and in small lumps, any amount of which, almost, which the natives possessed they would gladly exchange for a hawk's bell. The eagerness of the Spaniards for gold induced the natives more earnestly to engage in its search, and they gave very glowing accounts of mountains of gold in the interior, and of riv-humiliating indications of the vices of civilized ers whose sands were but the glittering dust of life. this precious metal. The King of Portugal, apprehensive that CoThe gentle and amiable cacique, Guacana- lumbus might make some important discovery gari, seeing that Columbus was much depressed which would redound to the glory of Spain, by the loss of his vessel, manifested true refine- had sent orders to all his colonies that Columment of sympathy in his attempts to cheer him bus, should he make his appearance, should be and to divert his melancholy. He invited Co- arrested and held as a prisoner. Consummate lumbus to dine with him, and prepared a very treachery was employed to ensnare the Adsumptuous entertainment, according to the cus-miral at the Azores; but by his vigilance he tom of the natives, of fish, fruits, and roots. After the collation the polite chieftain con escaped, and again spread his sails. A week of pleasant weather and of favoring many of the treasures of that distant world, it could hardly create more excitement in the city than was then created in Lisbon by the return of Columbus to the mouth of the Tagus. The whole city was in commotion. Every thing that would float was brought into requisition to sail down the river to the ship. The road was thronged with vehicles filled with multitudes impelled by intensest curiosity. Columbus, who had not forgotten the days of anguish when he was a rejected and despised adventurer at the Court of Lisbon, must have enjoyed his triumph. But he was not a man for ostentatious exultation. winds brought his storm-shattered vessel with- | bringing back several of the inhabitants and in about three hundred miles of Cape St. Vincent. Suddenly another fearful tempest arose, and for ten days they were at the mercy of the waves, almost in hourly peril of being engulfed. During the gloomy hours of this voyage, when it was often extremely doubtful whether Columbus would ever see Spain again, he wrote an account of his discovery upon parchment, wrapped it in a waxed cloth impervious to water, and inclosing the whole in a water-tight empty barrel, set it adrift. A copy similarly prepared was also kept on the poop of the ship, so that should the vessel sink the barrel might float away, and thus, by some fortunate chance, the knowledge of the great discovery might be preserved. On the morning of the 4th of March Columbus found himself at the mouth of the Tagus. A tempest still swept the ocean, and his vessel was in such a leaky condition that he was compelled, at every hazard, to run into this Portuguese river. He dropped anchor about ten miles below Lisbon, and immediately sent a message to the King and Queen informing them of his arrival, of the success of his expedition, and asking permission to go up to Lisbon to repair his sinking vessel. No tongue can tell, no imagination can conceive the excitement which these tidings communicated. The King and Queen had almost contemptuously dismissed Columbus as a hairbrained adventurer. And now he had returned in perfect triumph, with a new world, teeming with inexhaustible wealth and resources, to present to a rival nation. The chagrin of the Portuguese Court was unutterable. Should a balloon return to the vicinity of New York from an excursion to the planet Jupiter, The King, who was at Valparaiso, about thirty miles from Lisbon, immediately dispatched a messenger inviting Columbus to his Court. The Admiral was treated with great external deference, but encountered many annoyances. The Portuguese Court endeavored to get from him all the information which could be obtained, that an expedition might be stealthily fitted out to take possession of the newly discovered lands. The assassination of the heroic Admiral was seriously deliberated. At length Columbus again spread his tattered sails, and on the 15th of March, just seventyone days from the time he left "The Nativity," at Hayti, he entered the harbor of Palos, having been absent not quite seven months and a half. The appearance of the storm-battered vessel sailing up the harbor was the first tidings the inhabitants had received of the adventurers. One ship only was seen returning. Two had disappeared. It was an hour of great suspense, for there was hardly a family in Palos who had not some friend or relative who had joined the expedition. As soon as the tidings reached the shore of the success of the enterprise the | An envious guest impudently inquired of Columjoy was indescribable. A scene of universal exultation ensued. Like a mighty billow the tidings surged over Spain, accompanied with bonfires, huzzas, pealing bells, and roaring can non. We have no space to record these scenes of national rejoicing. The King was at Barcelona, at the further extremity of the Peninsula. The Sovereigns immediately wrote to Columbus, in reply to the dispatch which he had sent to them, requesting him to repair to the Court. Columbus probably could not regret that this involved the necessity of a triumphal route of seven hundred miles through the very heart of Spain. It was a delightful season of the year, and the jubilant welcome which Columbus met every mile of the way from Seville to Barcelona the world has probably never seen paralleled. The Indians were conspicuously exhibited, decorated with gold and brilliant plumes from tropical birds. All the most showy products of the new world were presented to admiring eyes. A very imposing cavalcade surrounded the Admiral, who sat on horseback, attracting by his majestic form, his pale and pensive features, and his gray locks, universal admiration. Thus he entered Barcelona, and received the most cordial greeting from Ferdinand and Isabella. Great distinction ever excites great envy. Enemies to Columbus, bitter and unrelenting, sprung up around him. He was an Italian-a foreigner. The Spanish nobles were not well pleased at his elevation, and were very restive when under any circumstances they were compelled to yield to his authority. It was during his sojourn at Barcelona that the incident occurred which gave rise to the universally known anecdote of the egg. The Grand Cardinal of Spain had invited Columbus to dine with him. bus if he thought that there was no man in Spain capable of discovering the Indies if he had not made the discovery. Columbus, without replying to the question, took an egg from the table, and asked if there was any one who could make it stand upon one end. They all tried, but in vain. Columbus then, by a slight blow, crushed the end of the egg and left it standing before them, thus teaching that it is easy to do a thing after some one has shown how. We must briefly narrate the subsequent career of this illustrious man. It is but a melancholy recital of toils, disappointments, and sorrows. A new fleet was speedily equipped of seventeen vessels, large and small, laden with all such trinkets and merchandise as could be valuable for trade with the Indians. Horses, cows, pigs, sheep, and poultry, with many seeds, were taken to stock the islands. None of these animals were found in the new world. Twelve missionaries were taken to convert the natives. Twelve hundred adventurers crowded on board the fleet, and many more were anxious to go, but they could not be received. The fleet sailed from Cadiz in the midst of universal rejoicing, on the 25th of September, 1493. After a prosperous voyage of thirtyeight days, in the early dawn of the morning of the 2d of November, the lofty mountains of an unknown yet majestic island hove in sight. It was the morning of the Sabbath. The crews of all the vessels were assembled upon their decks, and prayers and anthems of thanksgiving floated over the peaceful solitudes of the ocean. Columbus, as the island was discovered on the Sabbath, gave it the name of Dominica. He was now in the beautiful cluster called the Antilles. During the day he passed six HARPER'S NEW MONTHLY MAGAZINE. Sickness broke out. of these gems of the ocean, appearing on those | appointed. smooth waters beneath the bright sun of the loud and deep rose on every side. Murmurs tropics like fairy islands in a fairy sea. Columbus As he cruised along he gave to the more im- individual could be found to lend him any cordwas denounced as a deceiver, and hardly an portant islands he met the names of Mariga-ial co-operation. Many of the haughty young lante, Guadaloupe, St. Juan Bautista, since nobles of Spain had accompanied him. They called Porto Rico. On these islands he found openly insulted the Admiral, refusing obedia fierce and warlike race, who were the terror ence to his commands. of the more peaceful inhabitants of the other sufficiently strong to enforce authority. Columbus was not islands. The evidence seemed indubitable that they were cannibals, devouring the victims of war. It now became manifest that the new world was by no means an Eden of primal innocence, but that it was inhabited by the fallen race of Adam, who groaned beneath the burden of life. On the 27th of November Columbus anchored in the harbor of La Navidad. He expected to find a happy colony, and that by trading with the Indians they would have obtained by this time a ton of gold for him to transfer immediately to his ships. Instead of this, to his great disappointment, he found but desolation and ruin. The Spaniards had quarreled and fought among themselves. They had abandoned the fortress that they might live among the natives, where they soon excited intense disgust and hatred by their brutal licentiousness and their haughty disregard of all the feelings of the Indians. A fierce tribe from the interior fell upon them as they were scattered about, and every man perished. The natives, also, who were friendly to Columbus were overwhelmed by the assault of the fierce tribe, and nothing remained of the colony out desolation and mouldering bones. The sanguine adventurers who had accompanied Columbus, lured by the account he had given of this golden realm, were bitterly dis able way, he organized an expedition to exHarassed and perplexed in every conceivplore the interior for gold, and commenced the establishment of another colonial city, which he called Isabella. sent back to Spain to obtain supplies. ColumTwelve of the ships were gold. bus was mortified that he could send so little He, however, wrote a letter to Ferdinand and Isabella full of brilliant anticipations. His sanguine temperament ever inclined him to hope. Crushed by care and anxiety, he was prostrated upon a sick-bed, which he could not leave for several weeks. During his sickness his mind retained all its vigor, and he gave his commands as usual. taking advantage of his apparently helpless His enemies, condition, formed a conspiracy to seize the five remaining ships and return to Spain, where they would defend themselves for this mutinous act by a combined assault upon the character of Columbus. With great energy and sagacity the Admiral frustrated this plan. the endeavor in some degree to divert the general discontent, he arranged an expedition, of which he himself took the command, to explore the coast of Cuba. The vessels were soon ready, crews as they weighed their anchors and spread and some degree of enthusiasm animated the their sails. In After following along the southern coast |