Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1910-04-13

PidHc tOI ICtuTHlH& U lHC hui tAs >Ai' Aoaa
| rows offered him one OF his vessels free
of charge to convey his family and him
self to the United States. The ofIer was
gratefully accepted. Years afterward'
rison offered Mr.. Burrows the office OF
minister to Russia or any ONCE he would
accept. A month later Mr.. Harrison died.
Gov. Stewards Tribute.
The following letter was written by
William II. Seward, governor Of the state
Of New York:
Albany. May q. 1s41. d.
To His ExceIlency. the President Of the
United States:
From my earliest recollection the name
Of Silas E. Burrows has been associated
in my mind with generous and patriotic
actions. His muniacence in erecting a
monument to Mary, the mother OF WASH
ington; in contributing to the comfort of
the declining years of President Monroe,
his generous conduct toward the late
President Harrison in South America and
to Baron Krudener. the Russian minister,
with several officers OF the Russian navy,
are q part of the history of our country.
dear to all our recollections honorable to
himself, and merit for him high personal
| respect and esteem. I have the honor to
be. very respectfully. your obedient serv-
ant, WILLIAM II. SEWARD.
In May, 1888. Mrs. Jane Washington.
Burrows with a medal of Gen. Washing
ton as an expression of gratitude from
herself and children.
Heroine of Waiting Island,
An American woman, and an aborigine,
who has been thus far overlooked in the
distribution of honOrs and glory, Is entitled
to a monument that will perpetuaily re-
mind the world Of the humble part she
took in the first day's history OF Ameri-
can civilization.
ter of fisherman on Waiting 1slano.
On the night OF October II. 1892. she stood
on the beach and held aloft torch. prob
ably q burning knot OF wood, as q beacon
to show her husband. or perhaps her
father or brother, where to land his
boat This lady received some attention
during the celebration of the four hum
dredth anniversary of America. in when
she had such an important part. Inc
New York board of commissioners for the
Chicago exposition placed her figure upon
its official seal. and it was then pro-
posed to raise by public SUBSCRIPTION
enough money to erect suitable
memorial upon the beach of Waiting
Island, where she stood that memorable
night to light her husband or her father
home, but nothing ever came OF the sus-
gestion. 1t has never been carried out.
You will remember that about 10 O'Clock
on the night of October II, 1892, according
to An entry in his log book, Columbus
claimed to have seen moving light two
leagues ahead Of the caravel santa
Maria, and pointed it out to Pedro Cutter
reZ and others of the crew. This was
torch in the hands of the fisher wife l
have referred to, and Columbus steered
his little fleet in that direction. If he
had not seen this light he might have
turned the bow of his vessel in another
direction.
Several days before, when floating drift
wood had been observed uNpn the ocean,
and was considered a sign of land In the
ne1ghbOrhood, Columbus ordered vigil
liant watch to be kept, and promised
silken jacket, in addition to the pension
which the king and queen had offered to
the fortunate man who should first descry
morning, Rodrigo de Triana, one of the
sailors OF the Pinta, shouted. TERRA
oho" and gun was fired to- convey the
glad intelligence. The reward was claim
ed by and given to Columbus, because he
saw the light the night before. Rodrigo
was SO Disguised that he left Spain and
went to Constantinople, where he re-
nounced his religion and became a Mos
lem.
Landing of Columbus.
On the morning of Friday. October II,
1892, Columbus landed upon an island
called Guanahani by the natives. by him
San Salvador. and in these latter days
known as Waiting Island. He bore the
royal standard and the banner of Aragon
and CASTLE. AS he stepped upon the
shores he proclaimed formal possession in
the name of the sovereigns, which was
duly recorded by the notary. Then he
knelt and offered the following prayer: !.
"Oh, Lord. Eternal and Almighty God
by Thy Sacred Word Thou hast created
the heavens the earth and the sea: bless
ed and glorifled be Thy Name, and praised
be Thy majesty, who has designed to use
Thy humble servant to make Thy sacred
name known and proclaimed in the other
parts Of the world
Waiting Island lies in latitude "a de-
grees north. It is about thirteen miles
long. from six to seven wide, and has an
area OF about sixty square miles. nearly
half of which is covered by series Of
lagoons. connected with each other by
narrow passages. Waiting Island Is IT'S
miles from New Providence. the capital
of the Bahamas, which can be reached
by the New York and Cuba line of steam
ers 1t Is about seventy-flve miles from
Fortune Island, where the Atlas line
steamers from New York touch; but 1t
has no regular transportation facilities,
and to reach it one must hire a sailboat
at Nassau.
1t Is not too late to erect a monument
in honor of the fishermans wife, who is
certainly entitled to it. because it was
her torch that guided Columbus to his
goal. 1t doesn't make so much difference
where the monument stands. whether on
the rocky shore of Waiting Island or
Rock Crock Park in Wa ShinQtOn