That night, no one slept on board; all was animation, all was hope; all watched with interest the most intense. To this general animation there was one exception, and that one was Columbus himself. He took a station on the top of the cabin. He watched in silence the progress of the vessels—a deep anxiety pervaded his soul.
About ten o’clock, he was startled by the glimmer, as he thought, of a distant light. He hesitated—again looked—fancied he saw it—believed that he saw it—yet he might be deceived. In this uncertainty, he spoke to one of the crew, and pointed in the direction of the light, and inquired whether he saw it. The man declared he did. For a time it disappeared, but again and again it was seen by them, and at length was announced to the crew, by several of whom it was also descried. At two o’clock in the morning, (October 12,) the joyful signal was given by a gun from on board the Pinta. A seaman first saw the land. His name was Rodrigo de Triana. When first discovered it was about six miles distant.
Satisfied that the long-sought-for object was found, the sails were furled, and on the bosom of the tranquil deep, the vessels lay in peace, and the crews, with eager impatience, waited for the dawn of day. That at length arrived, and behold, outspread before them, lay a beautiful island!
The feelings of Columbus I shall not attempt to describe. It may well be supposed that his joy was intense. The crews were in transports. They now thronged about Columbus. They embraced him—solicited his forgiveness, and told him only to command, and henceforth they would obey. Preparations were now made to land and to take possession of the country in the name of the king and queen of Spain. This was done with much form and solemn ceremony.
Columbus dressed himself in a suit of scarlet, and as the boats, well manned and armed, proceeded towards the shore, he bore aloft a royal standard. On reaching the shore, Columbus kneeled, and audibly returned thanks to God. All followed his example. This done, Columbus drew his sword, and waving the standard, declared the land to belong to the crown of Spain. He then required all present to take the oath of submission to him as governor of the island.
From the light which Columbus had seen the night preceding, he had concluded that the land, whatever it was, was inhabited. Before landing, he found his conjectures to be true. Numerous bodies of natives were seen running towards the shore, and appeared to be lost in wonder and amazement. While the boats were getting ready, the number of natives collected on the beach, continued to increase. But as the Spaniards drew towards the shore, they fled in great terror to the woods.
But after the landing was effected, finding the Spaniards quite peaceable in their appearance, they began to venture nearer and nearer, until at length, no longer afraid, they came and handled the long beards of their new visitors. They appeared greatly to admire their dress and the whiteness of their skins. They looked upon the Spaniards as the inhabitants of the skies, but they could scarcely imagine how they descended to the earth unless by means of the clouds, or by the assistance of the sails of their vessels, which they seemed to think were wings.
These inhabitants were naked,—their color was of a copper hue. They had no beards, and the hair of their heads was straight and coarse. They were all painted, and in a manner which was hideous. They appeared to be well shaped, had fine eyes, and in their dispositions were very gentle. Columbus took every possible means to secure their friendship. He distributed among them numerous small presents, such as beads, bells, &c.
Having spent some time in examining the island, Columbus made preparations to leave it. He gave it the name of San Salvador. By the natives it was called Guanahani. In the maps of the present day it goes by the name of Cat Island. This island belongs to a cluster, known by the name of Bahamas, of which some say there are five hundred belonging to the group. The southern limit of San Salvador is in twenty-four degrees north latitude.
Leaving San Salvador, Columbus proceeded to visit several other islands lying in the neighborhood. He found them all inhabited by people strongly resembling the natives of Guanahani. The Spaniards everywhere inquired, by signs, for gold and precious stones; but they were uniformly given to understand, that to find these in abundance, they must go farther south.