first saw land. At last, on the night of October 11, Columbus beheld a
light moving as if carried by hand along a shore. A few hours later a
sailor on the _Pinta_ saw land distinctly, and soon all beheld, a few
miles away, a long, low beach. [11]

[Illustration: ANCIENT VIKING SHIP FOUND BURIED IN NORWAY.]

THE VOYAGE AMONG THE ISLANDS.--Columbus thought he had found one of the
islands of the Indies, as the southern and eastern parts of Asia were
called. Dressed in scarlet and gold and followed by a band of his men
bearing banners, he landed, fell on his knees, and having given thanks to
God, took possession for Spain and called the island San Salvador (sahn
sahl-va-dor'), which means Holy Savior. The day was October 12, 1492, and
the island was one of the Bahamas. [12]

After giving red caps, beads, and trinkets to the natives who crowded
about him, Columbus set sail to explore the group and presently came in
sight of the coast of Cuba, which he at first thought was Cipango. Sailing
eastward, landing now and then to seek for gold, he reached the eastern
end of Cuba, and soon beheld the island of Haiti; this so reminded him of
Spain that he called it Hispaniola, or Little Spain.

THE FIRST SPANISH COLONY IN THE NEW WORLD.--When off the Cuban shore, the
_Pinta_ deserted Columbus. On the coast of Haiti the _Santa Maria_ was
wrecked. To carry all his men back to Spain in the little _Nina_ was
impossible. Such, therefore, as were willing were left at Haiti, and
founded La Navidad, the first colony of Europeans in the New World. [13]
This done, Columbus sailed for home, taking with him ten natives, and
specimens of the products of the lands he had discovered.