Albuquerque morning journal. [volume] (Albuquerque, N.M.) 1903-1926, 1916-10-12
Dissolve RY Of
AMERICA JUST
424 YEARS OLD.
Christopher Columbus, With
His Band of 1920, Landed on
the Bahama Islands on the
Twelfth of October, 1892,

To-day October 70, is Columbus day.
! or as 1t is sometimes called, Discovery
I DAY, II was on this day in 1492,
! Tour hundred and twenty-four years
/ ago, that Christopher Columbus, ac-
| companlcd by his band Of l20 mon,
! landed on what Is now Watlngs ISL
I and IN the Bahama group, West In
I dies This discoveries named the ISL
/ and San salvador Indians belonging
TO the Widespread AraWak stock IN
| hahited the island, and are said to
| have called it Guanahanl. Columbus
/ took possession in tho name of the
/ Spanish soycregns. But all was not
| easy of accomplishment for Column
! bus. From the age of IA Columbus
! had been navigator Many years
! had he spent in vain endeavOr to
/ interest monarchs OF old world coun-
! tries to outfit an expedition in order
to sail due westward in order to reach
| the Far East His first attempt was
to interest the King of Portugal, but
all such efforts were fruitless. SomC
years later he turned his attentions to
Spain going there and using every
effort ana influence at his command
to interest the Spanish court in his
ideas.
King Ferdinand UnfaVOrahlc.
King Ferdinand of Spain was not
/ inclined to favor what he considered
the fanciful dreams of a NAVIGATOR
dreamer He was hard to arouse to
| a point of enthusiasm in a venture
requiring the appropriation of vast
sums, especially concerning the sue
cessful outcome of which he was very
dubious. Moreover, he was won't "
give first attention to immediate ne
ccssities, the principal of which was
the crushing of Moorish power in the
peninsula. However, he consented
to- the appointment of a commission
to investigate the plans of Columbus,
The commission reported unfavor-
ably and the court Ui spain Consid-
cred the matter settled. Not so, how
ever, with Columbus He bethOught
himself OF France and England. Inc
idea, however was too novel to ap-
peal to the sovereign of either coun-
try Henry VII of England was too
cautious to pay serious attention to
the proposals of Comparatively I'M
known seafarer of a foreign nation
Charles VIII of France was too hcav-
lily involved in Italian affairs.
Columbus Makes Another Effort.
The prospect was disheartening,
but Columbus, always assisted by ms
friends, made another effort some
three to five years later, at the Span
ish court Again a commission was
appointed and again his scheme was
rejected. The second unfavorable
finding was so great a blow to Column
bus that he wandered away dlsheart-
ened. During his Wanderinss, how
ever, he fell among friends who be-
came deeply Interested in his hopes
and aspirations. The result was
Journey by one of them to the span
ish court for the purpose of inducing
the queen to take personal lnteI est
in the proposed undertaking OF the
Italian navigator.
Isabella FaVOrably Impressed.
The fan Of Granada had changed
circumstances considerably, and the
appcal for columbus was faVOrably
received by Queen Isabella, who IN
turn influenced her husband Colum-
bus was called to court at once ana
10000 maraVedis were assigned nm
out of the queens private resources
i'm order that he might appear IN
proper condition before the monarch,
NEGOTIATIONS progressed rapidly ana
Inv the end of April, 1892, two agree
ments with the crown were signed.
squadron OF three vessels, tho
Santa Maria Pinta and Nina, we're
aauippcd The first named was COM
Of Columbus as admiral The other
boats were Caravels, UNDECIDED WIN
cabins and forccastIes. on August
3, 1492, the people of Palos saw inc
cvnadition start on what many CON
sdered a foolhardy undertaklnE. Al
ter touching at the Canary Islands the
vessels proceeded on their Journey
under most favorable conditions.
Hardly a wind ruffled the surface oil
the ocean
Crew Were Apprchensivc.
GrumbHng and dissatisfaction per
yaded the crew, but no acts Of lnsub-
ordination are mentioned, cliher ny
Columbus, his commentator Las "a
sas or his son, Fernando ProbapiS
tho most important event during inc
VOYAGE was the observation on sep
TENDER II By the admiral hlmsell OF
The declnation of the magnetic heedIe
which Las Casas attributed to a motlo'l
Of the polar star. All went Well ana
on october II. Columbus and ms lZo
followers stood on new world soil
The result of the first voyage, ASIDE
from the discovery Of what the adhlIl-
al regarded as being approaches 10
India and. china. NAV be summed UP