Christopher Columbus and his monument Columbia : $b being a concordance of choice tributes to the great Genoese, his grand discovery, and his greatness of mind and purpose
History
Christopher Columbus and his monument Columbia : $b being a concordance of choice tributes to the great Genoese, his grand discovery, and his greatness of mind and purpose
On this occasion it may be well to identify the landfall by another
method, and thus furnish some further strength to the arguments which
ought to put an end to the controversy. Major established the landfall
by showing the identity between the Guanahani of Columbus and Watling's
Island, and by the evidence of early maps. There is still another
method, which was adopted by Lieut. Murdoch, of the United States navy,
in his very able paper. Columbus left Guanahani and sailed to his second
island, which he called Santa Maria de la Concepcion; and he gives the
bearing and distance. He gives the bearing and distance from this second
island to the north end of a third, which he called Fernandina. He gives
the length of Fernandina. He gives the bearing and distance from the
south end of Fernandina to a fourth island named Isabella, from Isabella
to some rocks called Islas de Arena, and from Islas de Arena to Cuba.
It is obvious that if we trace these bearings and distances backward
from Cuba, they will bring us to an island which must necessarily be the
Guanahani, or San Salvador, of Columbus. This is the sailor's method: On
October 27th, when Columbus sighted Cuba at a distance of 20 miles, the
bearing of his anchorage at sunrise of the same day, off the Islas de
Arena, was N. E. 58 miles, and from the point reached in Cuba it was N.
E. 75 miles. The Ragged Islands are 75 miles from Cuba, therefore the
Islas de Arena of Columbus are identified with the Ragged Islands of
modern charts. The Islas de Arena were sighted when Columbus was 56
miles from the south end of Fernandina, and E.N.E. from Isabella. These
bearings show that Fernandina was Long Island, and that Isabella was
Crooked Island, of modern charts. Fernandina was 20 leagues long N. N.
W. and S. S. E.; Long Island is 20 leagues long N. N. W. and S. S. E.
Santa Maria de la Concepcion was several miles east of the north end of
Fernandina, but in sight. Rum Cay is several miles east of the north
end of Long Island, but in sight. Rum Cay is, therefore, the Santa Maria
of Columbus. San Salvador, or Guanahani, was 21 miles N. W. from Santa
Maria de la Concepcion. Watling's Island is 21 miles N. W. from Rum Cay;
Watling's Island is, therefore, proved to be the San Salvador, or
Guanahani, of Columbus.
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