Columbus first landed upon one of the islands commonly known as the Bahamas.[15] One of them is called Guanahani, and this is the one first discovered. Columbus named it San Salvador, the Island of Deliverance, but it is no longer known by that name. The delighted mariners stood for some time and gazed with astonished eyes at a part of the world they had never seen before, now brightly illuminated by the rising sun. They could hardly satisfy themselves with the sight of this smiling, fruitful land, interspersed with beautiful forests and gracefully winding streams. Columbus ordered the boats lowered and, stepping into one, was rowed ashore, with banners flying, to the sound of martial music, followed by his leaders and an armed force. As they neared the shore they observed a great crowd of natives, who gazed with surprise at the European vessels lying together off the beach. When they reached land, Columbus, richly clad, with drawn sword in hand, was the first to step upon the soil of the New World discovered by him. His companions knelt, kissed the ground, and, still kneeling, vowed obedience to their great leader, now Vice-king of the new country. After this expression of their joy they set up a crucifix on the shore and, kneeling before it, offered thanks to God for His mercy. Then with the customary ceremonial they took possession in the name of the King and Queen of Spain. [Illustration: _LANDING OF COLUMBUS_] During these ceremonies the natives crowded around the Spaniards, gazing in mute astonishment now upon the vessels and again upon the extraordinary beings who had come from them. They saw but knew not what they were seeing, for of all the ceremonies going on before their eyes they understood not one. Had these poor creatures known what was in store for them they would have filled the air with lamentations or have shed their innocent blood in defending themselves against these strangers whom they now regarded with admiration and awe. The longer they stood and gazed the more incomprehensible was everything they saw and heard. The white faces of the Europeans, their beards, their costume, their weapons, and their actions were strange to them. As they heard the roar of cannon and rattle of musketry they huddled together as if seeking shelter from a thunder storm. They thought that these strangers, armed with thunder and lightning, were not human but superhuman beings, children of their divinity, the sun, who had condescended to visit the earth. Some of them regarded the sun, the all-animating, mighty, and beneficent orb, as God himself. Others believed in many deities with human figures, and the rest were so weak mentally that they had no idea of the origin of the world and no knowledge of its daily phenomena. These poor creatures knew nothing of a God and lived in ignorance of whence they came or of what was to become of them. The Spaniards in their turn were as greatly astonished at what they beheld as the natives.