1. How America Was Found

(Adapted for Children, Six to Twelve Years.)

Christopher Columbus was a poor sailor, who believed that the earth was round like an orange. Very few people would believe him because almost everybody living then thought that the earth was flat. Some men supposed that this big, flat earth was carried upon the back of a great elephant or on the shoulders of a large giant. As the ships of those days were small, and the sailors were superstitious and afraid of the unknown sea, few mariners had ever sailed far out upon the ocean. Should one try, they thought he would sail off the edge of the earth.

Columbus said: “Give me money to buy ships, and I will prove the earth is round by sailing around it, just as a fly can walk around an orange.” This seemed too funny for any one to believe. Even the little children pointed the finger at this sailor and called him crazy. No one would help him get ships. At last Isabella, Queen of Spain, said, “Here are my jewels! Sell them and sail your ships.” So Columbus set sail with these ships on Friday, August 3, 1492, from Spain, with one hundred and twenty persons on board. They sailed westward for many days, and the sailors became frightened at the thought of their distance from home. At last they said they would throw Columbus overboard if he did not take them back. He promised if they did not see land in three days he would return. During those three days they could plainly see signs of land. Birds came and rested on the masts; fresh-water weeds, berry-bushes, and large branches of trees floated by; and the sailors had great fun in netting crabs and other shell-fish in the seaweed. But on the last night, as Columbus with longing eyes was peering through the darkness, suddenly his heart gave a quick jump, for he saw a light in the distance that appeared too bright and low to be a star. It danced up and down as if a person carried it in his hand while running. Just at daybreak some one cried, “Land! Land!” Then a cannon from the first ship boomed across the sea, which was the signal that land was found. The sailors saw a beautiful green island. There were hundreds of men running to the shore and throwing up their arms in fear. They had never seen a ship before. Some thought they were great birds with white wings. Others thought the Great Spirit had come. Columbus put on his rich, scarlet robes, and taking the royal banner of Spain in his hands, ordered the sailors to row him in a little boat to the shore. As soon as they reached land, Columbus and his men fell on their knees, kissed the ground, and sang praise to God. Columbus thought he had reached India, so he called the copper-colored men, with their straight black hair, Indians. This is the name still given to the natives of North America.