NO. I COLUMBUS S LANDFALL WOLPER II 



early settlers who depended on fishing 14 and hunting 1 "' for their food 

 found this location ideal, since it faced the creek and the open sea; 

 and agriculturists preferred it because of the depth and richness of 

 both black and red soil. 



Conclusion. It would be easy for Indians from the villages on the 

 banks of Pigeon Creek to see Columbus and his ships as they 

 "jogged off-and-on" waiting for daylight. It would have been the 

 natural thing for them to paddle to the mouth of the creek to have 

 a better glimpse of these ships which they thought had come from 

 the sky. The mouth of Pigeon Creek is protected by a wide, long, 

 circular range of cays. The highest is High Cay, 114 feet above 

 sea level ; its face toward the sea is straight white rock about a 

 half mile or more in length. Plans were made by the writer to 

 approach the island 16 as Columbus might have done, toward High Cay 

 in October ; the stage would be set with a fire. Every opportunity 

 was given in this test to allow for the finding that the light could 

 indeed have been imagined by Columbus. The light was not needed 



14 The popular way of fishing at Pigeon Creek is to stupefy the fish. This is 

 done by crushing the leaves and chipped bark of dogwood (Ichthyomethia 

 piscipula L. Hitch), a narcotic; when this is placed in a bag, dragged in the 

 water near the mangroves (35-foot Rhisaphora mangle L.), the fish float on 

 the water "ready for the pot," say the natives. Fish are also caught in hand- 

 made nets and by spearing with long poles. South of the creek there are also 

 many turtle beds. 



is Pigeon Creek — just what the name implies. The natives hunt here for 

 pigeons, tobacco, and wood doves which are plentiful. Black ducks across the 

 pond nearby are caught when young in nets and brought home to feed on 

 Indian corn (maize) which the Indians used to obtain from the farms on the 

 island. These birds are plentiful, and make good eating when they are fattened 

 on the corn. Bird and fish bones found in excavated sites have yet to be 

 identified; work is incomplete. 



16 Captain McElroy plotted Columbus's dead-reckoning at 23° 47' 24" N. 

 Admiral Morison suggests 24° but states, "A mistake of only 15 to 20 miles in 

 dead-reckoning ... on so long a voyage ... is extraordinarily good (Mori- 

 son, 1942, vol. 1, p. 311, note 13). After studying the bluff (2V), which was 

 measured and where Indian artifacts were also found, I asked Dr. James Picker- 

 ing of the Hayden Planetarium whether there would be a difference in what 

 we would see at 24° with the moon shining at 2 a.m. and what we would see 

 3 miles south of that latitude, from which point I planned to approach the 

 island. His answer was this : "The difference of 3 minutes of latitude would 

 have an effect, but it would be so small that only precise instruments could 

 measure it. If the cliffs were more than a few yards in length, it should be 

 equally well seen from 24° as from 23° 57', provided it faced generally east." 

 However, at 24° the height is 69' as measured by Captain Stephenson and me. 



