The Columbian. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1866-1910, 1892-10-28
he islands were called Indians.

known whether it was an hitherto un.
known region, n terra incognita, a
large collection of islands ora great
continent. Do we say that progress
was slow 400 years ago2 Perhaps it
was, but how much do we know to
day of the interior of Africa, cont.
nent known to exist for 1000 years /?
1t is but as Yesterday since we knew
any thing Of our own great west and
1t is not long since that an eloquent
member OF Congress from an aijoin
ing county, speaking of Ohio, called it
''the far, far west !' We smile now
at the remark, but it was true then. 1t
took Columbus from August 5rd to
October I2tn to come from Palos to
the Bahamas-7I days to make a trip
now made in 7: But notwithstand.
ing all that, we are yet sending expe-
dltlons of discovery to Greenland an d
Labrador, and making great demons.
trations and receiving back the ex-
plorers as if from the dead We do
well to laugh at the fears and groans
OF the crews OF Columbus, and to
smile at the immense excitement with
which he was received on his return
to Palos, March IS, 1893.
So too, as If disputes on the voyages
OF Columbus were never to end, nei-
ther the place nor the island where
he first set foot has ever been certain.
ly fixed, and never will be. 1t is
agreed that it was one of the Bahama
Islands, but as there are nearly forty
OF them, the choice is quite wide.
The natives called the island Qua
ndhdni and Columbus called it "San
| Salvador His log book describes it
as "very large and very level, and has
very green trees and abundance Of
water and very large lagoon in the
middle, without any mountain, and all
is covered with verdure most pleasing
to the eye'-he says further that a
reef Of rocks entirely surrounds it,
"although there is within it depth
enough and ample harbor for all the
vessels Of Christendom, but the en-
trance Is very narrow" The choice
had settled down to one Of five of the
Bahama group-to wit Cat, the San
Salvador of our biographies, Waiting,
Grand Turk, Mariguana and SANTANA
Cay.
In June 1891 the Chicago Herald
sent an expedition, which taking the
log.book of Columbus and sailing by
that, endeavored to definitely fix and
locate the point and island first made
by him.
Without following the expedition
with any Particularly. l may say
that the result reached by it was, that
"Watling" island is the G1anahani of
the natives, the San Salvador of Col
umbus The exact spot of landing
cannot be ascertained, but the Herald
expedition fixed it for good reasons,
off the Eastern shore. They raised a
monument at the spot, rectangular
structure, flanked at the corners by
eight buttresses, faced with an appro-
pirate tablet of marble with the ms
cription "On this spot Christopher
Columbus first set foot upon the soil
Of the new world. Erected by the
Chicago Herald June IS, 1891
The monument is about 20 feet in
height.
Equally by an untoward accident,
the discoverer Of America did not give
his name to the continent, and we
turn now for moment to glance at
the voyages Of the man, Amerigo Yes
pucci, who gave name to the new
world, which, in the form Anaericans
has been specifically and exclusively
appropriated by us, citizens of the
United States of America. We say
Canadians, Mexicans, Brazillians, Col
umbians, Chillians, &c, but we are
known to ourselves and to all the
world as Americans"
Amerigo Vespucci was born at
Florence, March 9, 1857 and died at
Seville, February IL or a2 1872. So
you see that these two great naviga,
tors, adventurers and discoverers were
contemporary. They were born flve
years apart and died six years apart
Amerigo never proposed giving his
name to this continent This was
done by a young professor OF geogra-
ply at the College of Saint Die in
Lorraine. His name was Martin
Waldseemuller, and it is proposed by
him in 4 small work on cosmography,
published in 1897, to designate this
Fourth Part of the World 'Quarta Or
bis Pars" 1merica, after its dlscoverer,
Americus Vespucius. He was almost
constantly on the ocean, had nothing
to do with naming the New World,
and possibly never heard of it.
The name will remain. But after
all, to Christopher Columbus will be
long and with him will remain the
honor OF a clearly defined purpose, of
limitless patience, of indomitable per
severance and of success in his en-
I