But now

means to allay the terrors and the discontent of his crew. their anxiety and impatience had reached such a pitch that it was with great difficulty he restrained them from open rebellion.

9. Fortunately the signs of land, at no great distance, became so strong that hope revived among the sailors, and they went on their way. At length, on the 11th of October, they faintly discovered land, and on the 12th they were alongside of a beautiful green island.

10. This proved to be what was called by the natives Gu-a-na-han'-i, one of the Ba-ha'-mas; but Columbus named it San Sal-va-dor'. It was several leagues in extent, and had inhabitants upon it. As Columbus landed, he knelt and kissed the new earth, at the same time thanking God, who had prospered their enterprise. His men, impatient and mutinous as they had been during the voyage, now crowded around him and begged his forgiveness. The scene must have been truly affecting.

11. The native inhabitants of the island, who have since been called Indians, were naked and copper-colored, with long black hair, and without beards. These gathered around the new comers in wonder,

8. What of Columbus? 9. What of the men during the voyage? What happened Octo. ber 11. 1492? What on the 12th? 10. What was the first land discovered in America? What did Columbus do on landing? What of his men?

not knowing what to make of them. They looked at the ships with even greater amazement than at the men, regarding them as some gigantic species of animal; and when cannon were discharged, they imagined them to be engines with eyes of fire and voices of thunder.

12. When Columbus had spent a little time in examining the new Island, he proceeded to make further discoveries. Cuba was discovered November 7th, and His-pa-ni-o'-la or St. Do-min'-go not long afterward. These, however, were all the lands which were discovered during the first voyage. As Columbus supposed these to be a part of the Indies, they afterward acquired the name of the West Indies. Columbus set out on his return to Spain, January 14th, 1493.

13. On their passage homeward, the adventurers encountered terrible storms, in one of which they were near being lost. In the moment

11. What of the natives of the newly-discovered island? 12. What other discoveries did Columbus make during this voyage? How did the West Indies get their name? When did Columbus set sail on his return?

of the greatest danger, Columbus had presence of mind enough to write on parchment a short account of his voyage, enclose it in a cake of wax, and commit it to the sea in a cask, in hopes that if all else should be lost, this might survive, and give information of his discoveries to the world. After seventy days, however, they arrived sare in Spain.

1. WHEN Columbus arrived in Spain, the news of his wonderful dis coveries rapidly spread far and wide over the country, and he was everywhere looked upon with respect and admiration. Ferdinand and Isabella, then at the city of Bar-ce-lo'-na, received him with the most distinguished tokens of regard.

2. He had brought various specimens of the productions of what was now called the New World, and these were exhibited to the king and queen and to the court, who seemed to regard them with wonder and admiration. No honors were too great for Columbus, and a powerful fleet was placed at his command for another voyage.

3. This was made in the fall of 1493, during which Columbus discovered Ja-mai'-ca and a few other islands. But now unexpected difficulties occurred. Enemies thickened around him and retarded his progress. It was not till the summer of 1498 that he made his third voyage, during which he discovered the Continent of America, to which he had been the first to open a pathway. Even then, being charged with misconduct, he was carried home in chains.

4. Columbus was however liberated, and made a fourth voyage to America in 1502, with his brother Bartholomew and his son Fernando; but it was his last. The same enmity which had caused him to be sent home from his third voyage in fetters, still pursued him, and he at last became its victim. After languishing in obscurity and poverty for a time, he died at Val-la-dol-id', in Spain, May 20th, 1506, in the seventy-first year of his age.

13. What of the voyage homeward?

CHAP. VI.-1. How was Columbus received on his return to Spain? 2. What of the specimens of products of the New World? What of another fleet? 3. When was the second voyage of Columbus performed? What did he discover during his second voyage? His third voyage? 4 What of his fourth voyage? What more of Colum bus?

OTHER DISCOVERIES IN AMERICA.

AMERICUS VESPUCIUS.

21

5. Thus had America been discovered and made known to the Europeans by Christopher Columbus. The new continent, on every just principle, should have been called Columbia, after its discov erer. But A-mer'-i-cus Ves-pu'-ci-us, a Flor-' en-tine, who visited the continent in 1499, and published a map of the coast, pretending at the same time to have made large discoveries, contrived to have it called by his own name, which it has since retained.

CHAPTER VII.

Other Discoveries in America by the English, Portuguese and French.

1. TH fame of what Columbus had done was soon spread through Europe, and adventurers flocked to the New World-some for honor, some for enterprise, and others for gain. In general, however, the great object of pursuit was gold and other precious commodities, as will become more evident in the progress of our history.

2. John Cab'-ot, a Venetian merchant who had settled at Bristol, in England, sailed in May, 1497, under the patronage of Henry VII. of England, for the purpose of making discoveries in America, being accompanied by his son Sebastian, as well as two other sons. In the course of this voyage, in June, he discovered a portion of the coast of Labrador, and thus was the first discoverer of the continent of Amer ica. He soon returned, but not long after his son Sebastian explored the coast from Labrador to Virginia, claiming the country in the name of the king of England.

5. What of the name of America? Americus Vespucius?

CHAP. VII-1, What followed the discoveries of Columbus? What were the objects of the early adventurers in America? 2. What of John Cabot?

3. In 1501, the king of Portugal sent out a fleet of discovery under the command of Gas'-par Cor-te-re'-al. He sailed along the shores of North America six or seven hundred miles; but he appears to have thought more of money than any thing else; and not finding gold, he seized on fifty of the native Indians, carried them home, and sold them as slaves.

4. Emboldened by his success, he made a second voyage, but did not live to return. The general belief is that he lost his life in attempting to secure another cargo of slaves, and that Labrador was the theatre of his crime and its punishment. This, however, is not quite

certain.

5. The French, too, engaged in attempts to make discoveries. Their operations, however, were at first principally about the mouth of the St. Law'-rence, and the islands of Newfoundland and Cape Bre'-ton. By the year 1505 or 1506, they were quite familiar with this region, and Den'-ys of Hon-fleur' had drawn a map of the Gulf of St. Lawrence.

6. As early as 1508, the French had become much engaged in the fisheries on the northeast coast of the present United States, and, as if to follow up the wicked example of the Portuguese, and involve the first settlers in cruel wars, had forcibly carried away to France some of the natives. They appear also to have meditated the establishment of colonies in the New World.

CHAPTER VIII.

Various Discoveries in North America.-The Voyage of Verrazani.-Discoveries of Cartier.-Ponce de Leon.Ferdinand de Soto.-Sir Walter Raleigh.

1. ONE of the most remarkable voyages of discovery was made in 1524. Fran'-cis I., king of France, sent out to America, Ver-ra-za'-ni, a Flor'-en-tine, who, with a single vessel, the Dolphin, after a long voyage of fifty days, in which he encountered a terrible storm, reached North Carolina; thence, sailing northward, he explored the coasts of New Jersey, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Maine, and Nova Scotia, and returned to France. He also paid some attention to the coasts of Florida, which, however, had been previously occupied by the Spaniards.

8, 4. What of the king of Portugal and Gaspar Cortereal? 5, 6. What of the French? CHAP. VIII-1. What remarkable voyage took place in 1524?