184. J. W. Redway—The First Landfall of Columbus. 
distinctive features enumerated by original authorities, and that 
“in following the course from Watling there is no difficulty in 
identifying all the islands at which the fleet stopped.” Such a 
statement is simply ridiculous; if it were true, all dispute about 
the matter would have ended long ago. 
This writer also makes much of the assertion that the island 
contained a large interior lake. As a matter of fact, however, 
Columbus makes no such assertion. He says there was a large 
lagoon in the middle; but a lagoon is one thing and a lake is quite 
another.* Even Captain Becher falls into this error, a piece of 
carelessness for which Captain Fox takes him to task. Herr 
Cronau also criticises Kettell’s translation of the passage in which 
Columbus states that, with the boats of the ships, he took a north- 
northeasterly course to see the other side.f He translates this 
perplexing passage, “I skirted along the coast towards the north- 
northeast in order to explore the other part of the island, namely, 
that which lies to the east.” Now this may, or it may not be 
what Columbus meant; it certainly is not what he wrote, and 
Herr Cronau’s guess is no better than that of any other student. 
Mr Clements R. Markham in reviewing the question does 
himself injustice by a few expressions which are certainly ill- 
chosen. In a very scholarly article he says, concerning the 
first landfall: “If the materials from the Journal were placed 
in the hands of any midshipman in Her Majesty’s navy, he 
would put his finger on the true landfall in halfan hour.” Such 
a statement as this most certainly will not do. Could the ques- 
tion be so easily settled as all this, it would not have been a bone 
of contention for more than acentury. Furthermore, Mr Mark- 
ham says: “It is obvious that, if we trace these bearings and 
distances backwards from Cuba they will bring us to an island 
that must necessarily be the Guanahani or San Salvador of 
Columbus. This is the sailor’s method.” ¢ 
But what sailor has yet been able to accomplish this problem 
so suitable for a royal middy’s recitation exercise? Where on 
the coast of Cuba is the place at which the Admiral landed? 
How much and in what direction was the squadron carried out 
* « Y una laguna in medio muy grande.’? Log book, October 13. 
+ En amaneciendo mandé aderezar el batel de la nao y las barcas de las 
carabelas, y fue al luengo de la isla, en el camino del nornordeste, para 
ver la otra parte, que era de la otra parte del Leste. Log book, October 14. 
¢ Proceedings of the Royal Geographical Society, September, 1892. 
