achievement.

On the discovery of this fact Columbus

left Portugal in disgust.

6. About this period he sent his brother, Bartholomew Columbus, to the court of Henry VII., king of England, but so many delays occurred that the discovery of the West Indies had actually been made before the king gave a favorable answer to his application.

7. In 1486 he applied for aid to Isabella, Queen of Aragon. The war that the united kingdoms of Castile and Aragon, under the dominion of Ferdinand and Isabella, had long waged against the Moors of Granada, was drawing to a close. Soon after its close, he was invited by the queen to her presence. He was received with distinguished favor, and a favorable answer was given to his application.

8. His demands "that he should be appointed admiral of all the seas which he might expiore, and governor of all the continents and islands which he might visit; that these offices should be hereditary in his family; and that the tenth of everything bought, bartered, found, or got within the bounds of his admiralship, abating only the charge of the conquest, should be settled upon him, and should descend to his heirs in case of his death," were agreed to; and a fleet of three vessels, properly manned and equipped, was placed under his command. These vessels were victualled for twelve months, and had on board ninety mariners, besides several adventurers and servants, amounting in all to one hundred and twenty persons. The whole cost of the expedition was about twenty thousand dollars.

9. The names of the three vessels were the Maria, the Pinta, and the Nina. Of these the Maria was the largest; and in this vessel Columbus himself sailed. The Pinta was commanded by Martin Alonzo Pinzon, and the

6. What is said of his application to the King of England? 7. To whom did he apply in 1486? How was he received?

8. What were his demands? Were they agreed to? How many vessels were furnished him? What was the cost of the expedition?

9. What were the names of the vessels? From what port did they sail ! Ov what day!

Nina by his brother, Vincent Yanez Pinzon. They sailed from Palos, a port in Spain, on the morning of Friday, the 3d of August, 1492. In three days they came in sight of the Canaries. Here they were detained several weeks on account of injuries received by the Pinta. Columbus endeavored to procure another vessel in place of the Pinta, but was unable to do so. The repairs were completed at length, and on the 6th of September, from Gomera, one of the Canaries, these three small vessels boldly sailed westward over a trackless and unknown sea.

10. On the 13th of September, when far from land, as they supposed, the sailors were much alarmed by discovering the variation of the needle of the compass, a phenomenon which had not been observed before. Though Columbus himself did not understand the cause of the variation, yet he invented some plausible reason for it, and succeeded in calming their fears and in reconciling them to the continuance of their course westward. But their fears of never again seeing land soon overmastered them and caused great discontent, which broke out in loud. murmurs and mutinous threats of forcing the admiral to return. It was with great difficulty that he could retain his ascendancy over them; and at length he yielded so far to their importunities as to promise that, if there were no signs of land within three days, he would return to the East.

11. Before the three days expired many signs of land began to appear; flocks of strange birds were observed; the sea became more shallow, and pieces of floating timber were seen. On the night of the 11th of October, Columbus himself saw a light, moving as if borne in the hand of some person, which he considered as evidence, not only of the nearness of land, but also that the land was inhabited. At two o'clock on the morning of the 12th a gun was fired by

10. What alarmed the sailors on the 13th of September? Had this variation ever been observed before? How did Columbus account for it? What threats did the sailors make? What did Columbus do then?

11. What occurred before the three days expired? When was land first dis covered! What land was it? How did Columbus name it?

the Pinta, as a token that land was in sight. The land proved to be one of the Bahama Islands, called by the natives Gu-an-a-han'-i, or Cat Island, named by Columbus San Salvador, which, in English, means the Holy Saviour.

12. The landing, which took place on the morning of une 12th of October, 1492, was accompanied with every demonstration of gratitude and joy. Columbus, richly dressed in a scarlet uniform, and bearing the royal standard of Spain, was the first to land and press his foot upon the new earth, of which he took possession for and in the name of Ferdinand and Isabella, sovereigns of Castile and Aragon Then kneeling, he kissed the earth, and gave thanks to

12. When did the landing take place? In whose name did he take posses What is said of the Indians

don?

God for His goodness. Meantime the natives stood around filled with wonder and astonishment at the formidable appearance of these strange and wonderful men, whom they supposed to have descended from the sun; little thinking that these new-comers would soon be their destroyers.

13. Columbus afterwards discovered and touched at several other islands, amongst them Hispaniola and Cuba, all of which he claimed for his sovereigns, and all of which he supposed to be parts of India. Hence, to these islands has been given the name of West Indies, and the Aborigines, or those then inhabiting both the islands and the continent, have received the general name of Indians.

14. Of the origin of these tribes or peoples nothing 18 known with certainty. The manner in which they crossed the Atlantic or the Pacific, and the period at which they arrived on the shores of America, are equally buried in obscurity. But it is evident that for many years, it may be for many ages, prior to the advent of Columbus, America had been occupied by these heretofore-unknown races. Some nations in the southern part of North America, and some also in South America, had built large cities and had attained to a considerable degree of civilization. But their civilization differed greatly in many respects from that of the East.

15. Many curious remains of ancient structures erected by the aborigines of America still exist. In deep forests, in places far remote from the habitations and cultivated fields of white men, the traveller will sometimes suddenly find himself in the presence of massive ruins, whose appearance indicates that they were first erected many centuries ago. Large forest-trees, several hundred years old, are sometimes found growing amongst and on these ruins.

13. Did Columbus make further discoveries? What name did he give the Aslands? What were the natives called?

14. What is known of the origin of those tribes Had they been long in America ? What is said of their civilization?

15. What is said of ancient buildings found in forests ?

16. Perhaps the most highly-civilized and enlightened of all the aboriginal Americans were the Aztecs, in Mexico, the inhabitants of Central America, and the people inhabiting the regions of Peru and Chili in South America. In all these regions the Spaniards, who visited them after Columbus' discovery was known, found large cities, well and strongly fortified, with many thousand inhabitants, with large and spacious palaces, and with markets regularly supplied with all the necessaries of life, and with fine and elegant goods in great variety. Cortez, the celebrated warrior who penetrated and conquered Mexico, sometime afterwards, in a letter to the Emperor Charles V., says, writing of the city of Cholula: "The inhabitants are better clothed than any we have hitherto seen. People in easy circumstances wear cloaks above their dress; these cloaks differ from those of Africa, for they have pockets, though the cut, cloth, and fringes are the same. The environs of the city are very fertile and well cultivated. Almost all the fields may be watered; and the city is much more beautiful than all those in Spain; for it is well fortified and built on level ground. I can assure your highness, that from the top of a mosque I reckoned more than four hundred towers, all of mosques. The number of inhabitants is so great that there is not an inch of ground uncultivated."

17. The city of Mexico, which was the capital, exceeded Cholula in size, in population, and in the beauty and magnificence of its buildings. "The palace of Montezuma (the king) was so large a pile that it opened with thirty gates into as many different streets." The Aztecs, by which name the inhabitants of Mexico have been known in history, had made considerable progress in the arts of civilization. Their buildings, their paintings, and sculpture, were very remarkable in many respects.

16. Which nations were most highly civilized? kete? What does Cortez say of them?

What is said of their mar

17. What is said of the city of Mexico? Describe the Fulace of Montesuma What is said of the paintings and sculptures ?