Show A AMRI aj L 1 71 X VP N P Z Z Z IQ lilt HM 1 14 LF OF 7 sy by ELMO SCOTT WATSON R 12 Is a day which americans americana set aside for honoring the memory of the genoese sailor who Is almost universally credited willi being the discoverer of tho the new world and in twenty three states of the union arkansas calif california ornia delaware t Jeth ware idaho illinois indiana mayr maryland massachusetts michigan missouri montana now new jersey new york oklahoma pennsylvania rhode island texas vermont and washington columbus day Is it a legal hot holiday iday most of us ua know something about columbus for the story of his life life with the record of its dauntless ambition 1 which drove him on in n spite of ninny many disappointments and discourage ments until success came to him only to end in poverty and failure la Is one of the most romantic and at the same time one of the most tragic in the annals of mankind but what of the history making event itself the anniversary niver sary of which we are arc about to celebrate again how flow clear ear a picture do we ive have of what took place on that october day years ngo ago for nil of the millions of words that have been written about christopher columbus and his voyages of discovery in the past four centuries there Is none which paints the scene more vividly than lhnn do the words of nn amerlean american who wrote of it more than a hundred years ago and modern scholarship has found but little to correct in the record ns as it la is st set down by washington irving in his life and voyages of columbus here Is the story of that historic day ns as irving tells it it was on priday morning the of october that columbus first beheld the tha new world As the day dawned he staw before him a level island oral eral leagues in extent and covered with trees like a continual orchard though apparently uncultivated etwas it ana populous for the tha InhabIt inhabitants abts were seen issuing from all parts of the woods and running to the shore they were per factly naked and as they stood gazing at the ships appeared by their attitudes and gestures to be lost in astonishment columbus made sign signal 11 tor for the ships to cast anchor and the beats to be manned and armed he entered hla his own boat richly attired in scarlet Bc arlet and hiding the royal standard while 2 martin alonzo pinion and yanez hla big brother put off aft in company in their boats each with a banner of the enterprise em blazoned with a green cross having on either sido the letters F and Y V the initials of the castilian Castl llan monarchs monar ebs fernando and ysabel surmounted by crowns ar he be approached the shore columbus who was disposed for all kinds of agreeable Impresa impressions kons was delighted with the purity and suavity of tile the atmosphere the crystal transparency of the sea and the extraordinary beauty of the vegetation ile he beheld also fruits of an unknown kind upon tho trues which overhung the shores chores on larding landing he himself on his hi knees kissed the earth and returned thanks to nod with tears of joy ills hla example was followed by the rest whose hearts indeed overflowed with tho the same felines feelings of gratitude columbus then rising drew his sword displayed p the tha royal standard etan dard and as round him the two captains with rodrigo do da escobedo notary of 0 the armament rodrigo sanchez and the th rest real who had bad landed lie he took solemn possession in the name of the castilian sovereigns giving the island the narn name e ot f san salvador or having complied compiled w with 1 to b the requisite forms and 10 1 broino o n 1 ea b 6 ad trie Tit to take ti the oath bath of obedience to him as admiral and ana viceroy representing represent lne the persons persona of the sovereigns the feelings of the crew now nov burst forth in the most extravagant transports they had recently considered themselves devoted men hurrying f forward or to destruction they now looked upon themselves as favorites of fortune and gave themselves up to the most unbounded joy they thronged thron ged around the admiral with overflowing zeal some aoma embracing him others kissing his hands those who ho had been most mutinous and turbulent during the tha voyage were now most devoted and enthusiastic some begged favors of him 11 lin as it if he already had bad wealth and honors in ills his gift many abject spirits who had outraged hirn him by their insolence now crouched at his bis feet begging pardon for all the tha trouble they had caused him and promising the bl indest obedience for the nie future the natives of the island when at the dawn of day they had beheld the ships hovering on their const coast had imp posed them monsters which had issued from the deep during the night they had crowded to the beach and watched their movements with awful anxiety their veering about apparently without effort and the shifting and furling or of their sails resembling huge wings filled them with a astonishment ment when touts they beheld their boats approach the shore and a number of strange beings clad in glittering steel or ral raiment of various colors landing upon the beach baach they led fled in affright to the woods finding however that there was no attempt to pursue or holert them they gradually recovered from their terror and approached the spaniards with great awe frequently pros brating themselves on the tha earth and malting making signs of adoration during tile the ceremonies of taking possession they remained gazing in timid admiration at the complexion the beards the shining armor and splendid dress 0 of f the spaniards the admiral par particularly tIcul a aly attracted their attention from his commanding height his air of authority hla his dress of scarlet and the deference which was pall pail him by all which pointed him out to be the commander when they had still further recovered from their fears ears they approached the spaniards touched their beards and examined their hands und and faces admiring their whiteness Cr columbus lumbus was pleased with their gentleness and confiding sImp simplicity lIcIt r and suffered ered scrutiny with perfect acquiescence winning them by his benignity they now supposed that the ships had sailed out of the crystal firmament which bounded their horizon bor lion or had bad descended from above on their ample ivings and that these marvelous beings wre inhabitants of the skies the natives of the island were no less objects of curiosity to the spaniards differing as they did from a aay jy race of men they had ever ten their appearance gave no promise of either wealth or civilization for they their were entirely naked and painted with a variety of colors colora with some it was ws A unique engraving made to alire an italian poem by guillano guiliano 1 dato date printed in florence in 1493 shortly after columbus return from a facsimile of the original in the british Alu museum seum reproduced produced le in the yale university press pageant of amer lea 1 S confined merely to a part of the face the nose or around the eyes with others it er extended tended to the whole body and gave then a wild and fantastic appearance their complexion was ot of a tawny or copper hue and they were entirely destitute of beards their hair was wit not crIn crisped ped like the recently discovered tribes of the african coast under the same latitude but straight and coarse partly cut short above the ears but sonia locks were left long behind and falling failing upon their shoulders their fea feature turee though obscured and ared by paint wore were agreeable they had lofty foreheads and remarkably an alne eyes eyer they were ot of moderate stature and well shaped most moat of them appeared to be under thirty years of ige there thare was war but one female with them quite young naked like her companions pan ions lons but beautifully formed As columbus Coluin bua supposed himself to have landed on an island and at tho th extremity of india he called t the he natives by the general appellation of indians which was nas universally adopted before the true nature nf it his discovery was known and has since ben been extend ed to all the originals aboriginals ab of the new world the islanders were friendly and gentle tj e their only arms were lances hardened at the end by fire or pointed w with ith a hint flint or the teeth or bone bona of a flah th there e re was no iron to be ba seen nor did the they y appear acquainted with its properties for when a drawn sword was presented to them they unguarded lv iv took it by the edge columbus distributed among them colored caps glass beads hawks bells and other trifles tildes such as the portuguese were accustomed to trade with among the nations of the gold coast of africa they received them eagerly hung the beads round their necks and were wonderfully pleased with their finery and with the sound of the bells the rhe spaniards rem remained alnea all day on shore chore refreshing themselves after their anxious voyage amid the beautiful proves groves of the island the island where columbus had thus for or the first time set met hla his foot upon the new world was called by the be natives Oua Gua it still retains the name of san ban salvador which he gave it though called by the english cat island the light which he had seen the evening previous to his making land may have been on catl Is land which lies a few leagues to the i east san salvador Is 13 one of the great cluster of the lucatos or bahama islands which stretch southeast and northwest from the chatt of florida I 1 to Hi |