CHAP.
II.]
CHRISTOPHER
COLUMBUS.
399
C H A P T E R II.
DISCOVERY OF JAMAICA. [1494.]
COLUMBUS had not sailed many leagues before the blue summits of a vast and lofty island at a great distance, began to rise like clouds above the horizon.
It was two days and nights, however,
before he reached its shores, filled with admiration, as he gra dually drew near, at the beauty of its mountains, the majesty of its forests, the fertility of its valleys, and the great number of vil lages with which the whole face of the country was animated. On approaching the land, at least seventy canoes, filled with savages gayly painted and decorated with feathers, sallied forth more than a league from the shore.
They advanced in warlike
array, uttering loud yells, and brandishing lances of pointed wood. The mediation of the interpreter, and a few presents to the crew of one of the canoes, which ventured nearer than the rest, soothed this angry armada, and the squadron pursued its course unmo lested.
Columbus anchored in a harbor about the centre of the
island, to which, from the great beauty of the surrounding coun try, he gave the name of Santa Gloria.* On the following morning, he weighed anchor at daybreak, and coasted westward in search of a sheltered harbor, where his * Cura de los Palacios, cap. 125.