30^ iSLKs OF sr^rifEn. 



to be a *' fool's errand." Reaching the Canaries in safety, he 

 left Gomora on the Cth of September. At 10 o'clock p. m.. Oc- 

 tober 11th, A. D. 1493, Columbus saw or supposed he saw a moT- 

 ing light gleaming fitfully in the darkness. For three Aveeks, 

 Herons, Pelicans and several other species of birds, had appeared 

 in sight almost daily, as if to cheer and welcome him on his 

 lonely way. Some even alighted on his vessels, and were hailed 

 as the bearers of good tidings. Other mute, but most reliable 

 witnesses, in constantly increasing numbers, had been encountered 

 by his caravals, floating in the calm, warm waters, and had con- 

 veyed to him the Joyful intelligence that the great object of his 

 search was near at hand. Four hours later, a gun fired from the 

 Pinta, the vessel that led the little fleet, conveyed the thrilling 

 intelligence that terra firma itself was actually in sight. In 

 that supreme moment of his triumph a wild intoxication would 

 have possessed a less lofty and heroic mind. The inspired proph- 

 et of the fifteenth century, casting his eyes upwards, humbly 

 returned his thanks to that Divine Being that had enlightened, 

 sustained, guided and protected him in the great work to which 

 he had devoted himself for so many years, and for the brilliant 

 success with which at last his labors were crowned. 



The author of the ''Land Fall of Columbus" has, with great 

 boldness and apparent success, attacked the opinion heretofore 

 so generally conceded to be true, that Columbus first landed upon 

 the present island of St. Salvador, (sometimes called Cat Island.) 

 The old belief received the endorsement of Washington Irving, 

 (who did not deem it best ''to disturb the ancient landmarks,") 

 and also of Baron Humboldt, but the author of the " Land Fall " 

 has reproduced the original text of the journal which Columbus 

 kept of his first voyage of discovery, as embodied in the letters 

 which he wrote at the time, closely and critically examined its 

 statements, and, with the assistance of modern official charts, 



