CHAPTER XIV.--Birth of Christopher Columbus--His Early Life and Education--His First Voyage--His Marriage--His Maritime Contemplations--He makes Proposals to the Senate of Genoa, the Court of Venice, and the King of Portugal--The Duplicity of the latter--Columbus visits Spain--Juan de Marchena--Columbus repairs to Cordova--His Second Marriage--His Letter to the King--The Junto of Salamanca--Columbus resolves to shake the dust of Spain from his feet--Marchena's Letter to Isabella--The Queen gives Audience to Columbus--The Conditions stipulated by the latter--Isabella accepts the Enterprise, while Ferdinand remains aloof 137 CHAPTER XV.--The Port of Palos--The Superstition of its Mariners--The Hand of Satan--A Bird which lifted Vessels to the Clouds--The Pinta and the Nina--The Santa Maria--Capacity of a Spanish Caravel--The three Pinzons--The Departure--Columbus' Journal--The Helm of the Pinta unshipped--The Variation of the Needle--The Appearance of the Tropical Atlantic--Floating Vegetation--The Sargasso Sea--Alarm and threatened Mutiny of the Sailors--Perplexities of Columbus--Land! Land! a False Alarm--Indications of the Vicinity of Land--Murmurs of the Crews--Open Revolt quelled by Columbus--Floating Reeds and Tufts of Grass--Land at last--The Vessels anchor over-night 147 CHAPTER XVI.--Discovery of Guanahani--Ceremonies of taking Possession--Exploration of the Neighboring Islands--Search for Gold--Cuba supposed by Columbus to be Japan--The Cannibals--Haiti--Return Homewards--A Storm--An Appeal to the Virgin--Arrival at the Azores--Conduct of the Portuguese--Columbus at Lisbon--At Palos--At Barcelona--Columbus' Second Voyage--Discovery of Guadeloupe, Antigoa, Santa Cruz, Jamaica--Illness of Columbus--Terrible Battle between the Spaniards and the Savages--Columbus returns to Spain--His Reception by the Queen--His Third Voyage--The Region of Calms--Discovery of Trinidad and of the Main Land--Assumpcion and Margarita--Columbus in Chains 158 CHAPTER XVII.--The Failing Health of Columbus--His Fourth Voyage--Martinique, Porto Rico, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama--His Search for a Channel across the Isthmus--He predicts an Eclipse of the Moon at Jamaica--His Return--The Death of Isabella--Columbus Penniless at Valladolid--His Death--His Four Burials--The Injustice of the World towards Columbus--Christopher Pigeon--Amerigo Vespucci--The New World named America--Errors of Modern Historians--The District of Columbia--John Cabot in Labrador--Sebastian Cabot in Hudson's Bay--Vincent Yanez Pinzon at the Mouths of the Amazon 168