triumph and joy. They crowded round Columbus, kneeling before him
to kiss his hands and feet praying forgiveness for their insolence
and mutiny, and promising in the future to obey him without question.
For Columbus it was a moment of pure joy and triumph. All his long
years of struggle and waiting had come to a glorious end.

Yet he knew already that his search was not finished, his triumph
not yet complete. He had not reached the eastern shores of India,
the land of spice and pearls. He had not even reached Cipango, the
rich and golden isle. But he had at least, he thought, found some
outlying island off the coast of India, and that India itself could
not be far away. He never discovered his mistake, so the group of
islands nowhere near India, but lying between the two great Continents
of America, are known as the West Indies.

Columbus called the island upon which he first landed San Salvador,
and for a long time it was thought to be the island which is still
called San Salvador or Cat Island. But lately people have come to
believe that Columbus first landed upon an island a little further
south, now called, Watling Island.

From San Salvador Columbus sailed about and landed upon several
other islands, naming them and taking possession of them for Spain.
He saw many strange and beautiful fruits: "trees of a thousand
sorts, straight and tall enough to make masts for the largest ships
of Spain." He saw flocks of gaily coloured parrots and many other
birds that sang most sweetly. He saw fair harbours so safe and
spacious that he thought they might hold all the ships of the world.

But of such things Columbus was not in search. He was seeking for