The Youth's History of the United States, etc

Introduction

. My Young Friends : I have set out to tell you the story of our country from the time, many hundred years ago, that the Northmen sailed across the stormy Atlantic to our shores. During this long period have taken place the most stirring and instructive incidents in the history of the world. Few stories are more entertaining than those of the early discoveries and settlements in America. It is hard for you to realize, as you sit in your comfortable homes, the hardships and dangers of the pioneers. Those were the times when the crack of the Indian's rifle, or the war-whoops of painted savages, roused the sleeping settlers, or checked the minister in the middle of his sermon. The woods were full of fierce animals, and the enemies of our forefathers were often those of their own race. Disease and civil war some times set back and almost destroyed the young colonies.

It will stir your patriotism to read of the Revolution, of its camp-fires, its escapes, its struggles, its perils, its defeat and its final triumph. There is much to tell you about the growth of the colonies, of the incidents in the War of 1812, of the Mexican War,, and the tremendous struggle to save the Union, in which a brave part was borne by the ancestors of many of you. But we must remember that the history of our country is made up not alone of strife and war. We have had many blessed years of peace, in which our progress has amazed the world. Our warriors, statesmen, scholars, explorers and inventors are among the foremost of any age or country. Their achievements have placed us in the front rank of the nations of the earth. The thought of what we have done, and are doing, should make your heart glow with gratitude to Heaven, because you can say: " I am an Ameri can, and this is my native land."

INTRODUCTION.

. This history, then, is written for you. I shall strive to instruct as well as to entertain you, and to add to that knowledge of his country that every American youth should possess. The publishers will spare no pains or expense in doing their part. They will print these pages on fine paper and in the best manner, and they will give you hundreds of beautiful illustrations that will help you to understand the story told in the text. And all this will be done at so small a price that every American boy or girl will be able to buy and read " The Youths' History of the United States." E. S. E. CONTENTS chapter. fage I. The Northmen in the New World, x II. The Story of Columbus and his First Voyage, 7 III. The Subsequent Voyages of Columbus, 22 IV. Spanish Explorations in America, . . ■,I V. French Explorations in America, . ,9 VI.

English Explorations in America, c2 VII. The First English Settlement in America, 60 VIII. Further History of the Settlement in Virginia, 73 IX. Settlement of New York by the Dutch, 84 X. Early Settlements in New England, no XI. Religious Trouble in New England, .112 XII. The United Colonies of New England, IIn XIII. The Early Days of Maryland and Virginia 13S XIV. The Carolinas, . i$1 XV. Early Days of New York and New Jersey, 160 XVI. New Hampshire and King Philip's War, 167 XVII. Pennsylvania and Delaware, 183 XVIII. New England and New York, 101 XIX. Sir William Phips. — Witchcraft in New England, 199 XX. Virginia and Maryland during the first Half of the Eighteenth Century, . . 206 XXI. New England during the first Half of the Eighteenth Century, . . .218 XXII. New York and New Jersey during the first Half of the Eighteenth Century, . 239 XXIII.

Georgia, 250 XXIV. The Mississippi Bubble, 268 XXV. The Colonial Wars, 275 XXVI. The French and Indian War, 1754-1757, . . . ' 290 XXVII. The French and Indian War, 1757-1763, 304 XXVIII. The Conspiracy of Pontiac, 316 XXIX. Condition of the Colonies at the Close of the French and Indian War, . . 332 XXX. The Clouds of War, 336 XXXI. Opening of the Revolution, . . . 351 XXXII. Bunker Hill and the Campaign in Canada, 1775 360 XXXIII. 1776, The Siege of Boston, LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. PAGE. PAGE. Wounding of Thorvald, . . frontis.

Opecancanough arousing the Indians, . 73 A Northman Ship, . . . . 1 Massacre of Settlers, .... 76 The Sun at Midnight in the Arctic Regions, 4 Flight of Indians after the Massacre, . 77 The Half-moon ascending the Hudson, 80 The Aurora see-n in Greenland, . . 5 Hudson Strait, . . . . .81 Christopher Columbus, ... 8 Bible brought over in the " Mayflower," in Pilgrim Hall, New Plymouth, . . . . .84 Columbus' arrival at the Convent of La Rabida, ...... 9 Columbus and the Messenger, . . 13 Caravels of Christopher Columbus, . 16 Columbus' First Sight of Land, . . 17 Indians bringing Beaver-skins to Fleet, . 85 Mutiny on Hudson's Ship, ... 86 Peter Stuyvesant, .... 88 Indian Visitors to Columbus, . . 20 Stuyvesant haranguing the Citizens of New Amsterdam, ... 89 Reception of Columbus by Ferdinand and Isabella, . . . .21 Puritans before James I., . . 92 Columbus in Irons, .... 25 Brewster's Chair, preserved at Pilgrim Hall, New Plymouth, ... 93 The Eclipse of the Sun, ... 29 Balboa's Discovery of the Pacific,. . 32 Brewster's House at Scrooby, Notts, . 96 Arrival of Fugitives in the Gulf of California, Signing the Compact, .... 97 The Indians' Declaration of War, . 101 Burial of De Soto, .... 37 John Winthrop, ..... 104 Red Indian Warriors, .... 40 John Endicott, ..... 105 The Attack on the Fort, ... 41 Williams' Flight through the Wilderness, ...... 109 Sebastian Cabot, ..... 44 Martin Frobisher, ..... 45 Attack on the Pequot Fort, . . -113 Murder of White's Assistant, . . .46 Roger Williams and the Pequot Messengers, 116 Sir Humphrey Gilbert, . . . . 49 Gallup's Attack on the Indians, . .119 Sir Francis Drake, . . . -52 Captain Smith, ..... 53 Uncas and Miantonomoh, . . . 120 Captain Smith taken Prisoner by the Indians, ...... 56 Monument over Bradford's Grave at New Plymouth, . . . .121 Monument at New Plymouth to mark the Site of the Landing of the Pilgrim Fathers, . . . .124 Powhatan in State, . . . -57 Pocahontas saves Captain Smith's Life. 61 Smith's Fight with Opecancanough, . 64 Baptism of Pocahontas, ... 65 George Fox, 125 Winslow's Visit to Massasoit, . . 128 Introduction of Slavery, ...

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS VIII PAGE. PAGE.

Miles Standish's Sword, Pot, and Platter preserved in Pilgrim Hall, New Plymouth, 129 Burning of Jamestown, . • ■ 209 Bacon Demanding his Commission of Governor Berkley, . . .210 Charles II. , 132 Mrs. Dunstan escaping down the Merrimac, 213 Cecil, second Lord Baltimore, . . 133 Landing of Leonard Calvert, . . 136 Source of the Roanoke, Virginia, . . 137 Fight with the Maryland Pinnace, . 138 The Royal Surveyors marking the Trees with the Broad Arrow, . .216 Death of Rasle, 220 A Fortunate Mishap, .... 224 Opecancanough in Captivity, . . iai The Golden Lion Firing on the Boats, 145 Fac-simile of the original headline of the Boston News-Letter, . .225 Impressment of Bostonians, by Knowles, 228 A Vista in South Carolina, . . . 148 View on the Ashley River, . . . 149 Digging for Kid's Treasures, . . 229 Hamilton's Defense of Zenger, . . 233 A Draught of the Town and Harbor of Charlestown, . . -152 General Oglethorpe, .... 236 Old View of New York, . . . 153 Tomo Chichi's Offering, . . . 237 A Dutch Household, . . . 157 A View of the Town of Savannah in the Colony of Georgia, in South Carolina, 241 Sir Edmund Andros, .... 160 Arrest of Carteret, . . . .161 New England in 1660, . . . 165 John Wesley, ..... 244 A Warm Argument, . . . .168 George Whitefield, .... 245 Mrs. Rowlandson and the Indians, . 169 Executing Negroes in New York, . 246 Turner's Falls 172 Emigrants in Georgia, .... 248 King Philip's Arms, . . . 173 Visit of Oglethorpe to the Highland Colony, ..... 249 Attack on Brookfield, . . 174 Death of Philip, . . . . .176 Sir Robert Walpole, . . . -252 William Penn's Book Plate, . . 177 Chickasaws with Spaniard's Head, . 253 William Penn, ..... 181 A Planter's House in Georgia, . . 256 Penn's Treaty with the Indians, . . 184 John Law, . . . . . -257 Penn's Residence in Second Street, below Chestnut Street, . . -185 Charlevoix's Descent of the Mississippi, 260 Indian Burial Ground on the Mississippi, ...... 261 New York at the beginning of the Eighteenth Century, . . . 188 Attack on Schenectady, . . . 264 Firing on the Fort, . . . .192 French Explorers Burying Leaden Plates, ...... 265 Indian Medicine Man, . . 193 The Rev. Cotton Mather, . . . 196 The Allegheny Mountains, . . . 269 Increase Mather, .... 197 Autograph of General Braddock, . 272 Execution of the Rev. Stephen Bur- Washington Crossing the Allegheny, . 273 roughs, 201 Braddock's Forces Surprised by an Ambuscade, ..... 276 The Recantation of Judge Sewall, . 204 The Attack on Doeg Wigwam, . . 206 Niagara and the Beaver Dams, . .277 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.

IX PAGE. View in Acadia, ... 280 Death of Dieskau, .... 281 Winslow Reading the Royal Proclamation, 284 Halifax, ...... 285 Autograph of Washington, . . . 286 Wolfe Landing at Louisburg, . . 288 Louisburg, Cape Breton, . . ' . 289 Washington's Attack on the French in the Ravine, ..... 290 William Pitt, Earl of Chatham, . . 292 Sir Jeffrey Amherst, .... 293 AVashington Planting the Flag at Fort Du Quesne, ..... 297 Ruins of Fort Ticonderoga, . . . 301 General Wolfe, ..... 304 Wolfe's Cove, ..... 305 Plan of the Siege of Quebec, . . 308 Montcalm, ...... 309 Monument to Wolfe at Quebec, . -312 Death of Wolfe 313 Visit of Pontiac and the Indians to Major Gladwyn, . . . -317 Attack on Fort at Presque Isle. . .321 Night Attack on the Schooner, . . 322 Reduced Fac-simileof Treaty with Indian Tribes, 1769, .... 325 PAGE.

The Stamp Act Riots at Boston, . . 329 British Troops Entering Boston, . . 333 The Officer and the Barber's Boy, . 337 Samuel Adams, ..... 340 Old Building at Boston where the Tea- Plot is supposed to have been hatched, 341 Old South Church, Boston, . . 345 Pursuit of Paul Revere, The Scout, . 349 Death of Isaac Davis, . . . -352 Lord Howe, . . . . -353 The Defense of Breed's Hill ; Prescott in the Redoubt, .... 356 Death of Major Pitcairn, . . . 361 The Monument on Bunker Hill, . . 364 Carleton's Flight, .... 365 Death of Montgomery at Quebec, . 369 Rattlesnake Flag, .... 372 King George III., . . . -373 The Declaration of Independence read to the Army, . . . . 374 George Washington, .... 376 Washington's Book-Mark, . . . 377 Washington's Sword and Staff, . . 377 Washington's Treasure Chest, . . 380 Gen. C. Lee, 381 Map of New York and Vicinity, 1776, .

Chapter I The Northmen In The New World

THOUSAND years ago the natives of Norway were the most daring navigators in the world. The sturdy sailors knew so well how to sail their ships that they cruised along the coast from the North Sea to the Mediterranean. Many of them were cruel pirates, who did not hesitate to attack any vessel they saw. They were held for this reason in great dread along all the coasts of Europe. When their swift vessels, with their high decks, long sweeping oars, oddly-carved A NORTHMAN SHIP. prows and square sails, and crowded with fierce warriors, were seen coming over the sea, the ships of other nations made haste to get away from them. The Northmen were not content to cruise along the coasts of Europe, but sailed boldly out on the great ocean which washed their shores. They were often out of sight of land for days at a time.

Thus it came about that one of the famous sea-rovers named Naddod, about the year 860, was caught in a violent storm which drove him on the coast of Iceland. He called it Snowland, but did not stay long enough to learn the extent of the new country. Four years later, however, another Northman, driven thither by tempest, sailed around the island and carried such a pleasant account of it to Norway that a colony was sent out to the new country. But it fared ill, and, after a brief experience, the colonists went back to their native country. The leader declared that Iceland, as he named it, was not fit for the habitation of man or animal. [9»S. 2 Ten years later a second colony sailed for Iceland under the lead of Earl Ingolf. This time the settlement took root and flourished, the prosperity lasting for hundreds of years.

Gunnbiorn, one of the sturdy settlers, was driven westward by a tempest, until he caught sight of land, which was named after him. Among these Icelanders was one known as Eric the Red. He became involved in a quarrel, and to escape his enemy he sailed to Gunnbiorn's Rocks, where he made his home. Doubtless you have often wondered why such a bleak, desolate region, where the sun sometimes shines at midnight, came to be called Greenland. It was so named by this Eric the Red, who gave such glowing accounts of its beauty and fertility on a visit to Iceland that he persuaded large numbers to go back with him to the new colony. I have shown you that it was accident which led to the discovery of Iceland and of Greenland, and the knowledge of the continent further west was brought about by the same means.

So far as can be known with certainty, the sons of Eric the Red were the first Europeans who saw the main land of America. In the year 985, Bjarni, a skillful young navigator, returned to Iceland from one of the voyages he was accustomed to make to Norway. He had scarcely reached the country, when he was told that his father, to whom he was strongly attached, had joined Eric's colony in Greenland. Without waiting to unload his ship, Bjarni set sail for the new colony, his course leading him over waters on which neither he nor any of his crew had ever ventured before. They were overtaken by tempestuous weather and driven hither and thither for many days. The wind most of the time came from the north, and they were carried hundreds of miles out of their course. No doubt, when at last they caught sight of land, it was the continent of America.

Bjarni described it as without mountains, but showing small hills inland, the whole covered with woods. It certainly was not Greenland, for which he was searching, and he put to sea again without landing. Two days later, when they approached the coast, they found it low and wooded. Bjarni declared that it did not answer the description which he had heard of Green land, and he sailed away again. Three days after, they neared the coast for the third time. Mountains covered with snow appeared ahead, but careful scrutiny led Bjarni to decide that it was not the country he was seeking. He stood out to sea once more, and, after three days and nights, descried land ahead. " It is Greenland," exclaimed the young captain, after a brief study of the icy shores and mountains; "here we will go ashore."

The promontory before him proved to be Cape Herjulfness, and on it stood the cabin of Herjulf, the father of Bjarni, for whom he was anxiously searching. You may be sure that it was a happy meeting between parent and son ; Bjarni could not land too soon, and, when he embraced his loved father, he declared that he would spend the rest of his days with him. We can imagine with what interest the colonists listened to the strange story told by Bjarni. The winter evenings in Greenland are long, and the hardy explorers IOOO.] LIEF THE LUCKY AND THORVALD. 3 whiled away the hours in telling over their strange adventures and exploits by land and sea. They were the heroes of so many achievements that the stories must have stirred the hearts of the listeners. How the eyes of the boys sparkled when they heard from the lips of fathers and brothers the accounts of their deeds of daring, and what pride they must have felt when they reflected that the vikings from their native land were masters of the ocean, and that the vessels of all nations fled at sight of them.

But among the strange, stirring and wonderful stories there was none which excited such interest as that of Bjarni, who had cruised along the coast of an unknown world, and looked upon hills, woods and mountains of whose existence no one had ever dreamed. It naturally occurred to the hardy sailors who discussed the ques tion, that they could do what Bjarni had done, and indeed far more, for he had not set foot on the shores he had seen at the west. The oldest son of Eric the Red was Lief — Lief the Lucky, he was afterward called. In the year iooo he set sail from Herjulfness with a crew of thirty-five men, Bjarni being among them. Heading boldly out to sea, the sailors plowed through the icy waters until land, supposed to be Newfoundland, was reached. They went ashore and examined it, but there was little to please the eye and they soon left.

The next place visited was probably Nova Scotia, as it is now called. It was found to correspond with the account given by Bjarni. Two days further sail, before a favoring wind, carried the explorers so far south that when land was once more descried, it must have been New England. The main facts of the remarkable voyage of Lief the Northman have been proven beyond all dispute, but the accounts them selves are so confused in minor details that it can never be positively known where it was these navigators first landed. There is good reason, however, to believe it was on the coast of Rhode Island, and probably in Narragansett Bay. The Northmen were astonished and delighted when they came to explore the woods to find luscious grapes in abundance. The winters of New England were probably less severe then than now, and to the Northmen, though Greenland was not then so cold as now, the climate seemed wonderfully mild.

Lief gave the country the name of Vinland, and when he sailed northward, his vessel was loaded with grapes and valuable timber, as proof of the fertility of the region he had visited. The Northmen were not men to rest content with the voyage and discoveries made by Lief. Eric the Red had another son, a brave and skillful navigator named Thorvald, who was eager to visit the new country. Lief gave him much help, and in 1003 he set sail with a crew of thirty men. Good fortune attended them, and they found the rough houses left by Lief still strong and secure. The men spent the winter in hunting and fishing, but, so far as is known, never saw the face of any native of the New World. When spring came, part of the company went on an exploring tour along the coast of Rhode Island, Connecticut and Long Island.

There is good reason to believe they entered the harbor of New York, but not a living person beside themselves was to be seen, and where stands to-day the most populous city in the New World, there was not so much as an Indian wigwam. [1004. 4 The records show that in the spring of 1004 Thorvald entered on a more extended voyage of exploration. He sailed slowly northward along the coast of Cape Cod, and was driven ashore by a tempest. It took the crew a long time to repair damages, but, when every thing was ready, they resumed their voyage, keeping close, no doubt, along the south shore of Massachusetts Bay. Being favorably impressed with the appearance of a certain spot, they dropped anchor and went ashore. When they had done so, they saw for the first time some of the natives of the new country.

Under a couple of rude tents they discovered nine quietly lolling on the ground THE SUN AT MIDNIGHT IN THE ARCTIC REGIONS. with no suspicion of the presence of the strangers who had landed near them. Who would think that the Northmen could offer harm to the poor savages ? There was not the slightest excuse for the dreadful cruelty of the white men, and yet, no sooner did they see the natives than they resolved to kill them all. Creeping silently for ward, they made a sudden rush, and with their heavy swords killed all but one. Having completed the massacre, the triumphant Northmen lay down under the trees to sleep ; but they had hardly closed their eyes when the woods resounded with shouts and yells, and the natives rushed upon them from every side. The single survivor of the slaughter had made haste to tell what had been done by the ioo6.]

EARLY VISITS TO GREENLAND. 5 visitors, who were now compelled to flee to their ship, fighting as they went. Under the shelter of the vessel, however, they were able to beat back the natives, only one of the Northmen receiving a wound : he was Thorvald, who had been pierced so deeply by an arrow that he was past help. He died and was buried near the shore, the grave covered with stones and a cross placed both at the head and foot. Then the survivors sailed back to Vinland and told their countrymen the sad tidings. The next spring the whole colony returned to Greenland. In the year 1006 Thorfinn Karlsefne, a wealthy merchant of Iceland, visited Green- THE AURORA SEEN IN GREENLAND. land and remained through the winter. He was accompanied by three other merchants, who, with him, felt such deep interest in the new country to the south-west that an expedition of three vessels was fitted out, including more than a hundred men and women.

Among the latter was one named Freydis — a reputed daughter of Eric the Red — the wife of a Greenlander, Thorvard, who commanded one of the vessels. If a tenth part of what is said of her is true, she was one of the most terrible Amazons that ever lived. The expedition sailed in the spring of 1007. It promised to be the most suc cessful of all the enterprises of that kind, but it ended in disaster. There was much lioio. quarreling among the women, and naturally, in time, it involved their friends and husbands. They spent the first winter on the shores, it is supposed, of Buzzards' Bay, and suffered much for want of food. The following summer a number of discontented members deserted the colony, but they were driven across the ocean to the coast of Ireland, and were there captured and reduced to slavery.

The two remaining ships made a long exploring expedition to the southward. Just where they passed the succeeding winter is not known. For a time, when they returned to their old settlement or its neighborhood, all went well, and they drove a brisk trade with the natives. But trouble soon came ; the Northmen were attacked by the savages in overwhelming numbers, and though the white men fought with great courage, they were put to flight. The natives rushed after them like a mountain torrent, and doubtless would have slain every one, but for Freydis, wife of Captain Thorvard. She seized a sword, and beating her breasts with rage, she shamed the men, who rallied about her and soon put their assailants to flight. The colony was abandoned in 1010, against the protests of Freydis, who saw how vastly superior in every respect the new country was to Greenland.

By her indomitable will she succeeded in organizing a new expedition, which set sail the following spring. Her ambition and terrific temper soon divided the colonists into two parties of mortal enemies. Those who opposed her were slain, and among them were five women whom she killed with her own hand. The winter which followed must have been unspeakably gloomy to the survivors. They toiled hard in felling timber and gathering a few other productions, with which they set sail for Greenland. Freydis threatened with death any one who should tell of the massacre, but the truth gradually leaked out. Neither she nor her accomplices were punished, however, for what was certainly one of the most frightful misdeeds that can be conceived. With this expedition ends all authentic history of the discovery and settlement of America by the Northmen.

Having found one of the great continents of the world, it may be said they lost it, and, during nearly five centuries afterward, there is no positive proof that it was known to Europeans. There are traditions of visits to America at a still earlier date. A Mexican historian claims that the country was discovered in the fifth century A. D., by a party of Buddhist monks from China, of whom one, Hwui Shan, returned to Asia, after an absence of fifty-one years. A short account of the land he visited, supposed to be Mexico, was included in the official history of China. It is said that proof exists that Hwui Shan actually visited some unknown Eastern region, and the traditions of Mexico contain an account of the arrival of the monks. There are legends, too, of visits to America by Arabian sailors in the twelfth century, and also of its discovery near the close of the same century by a Welsh prince.

It may be that in the future the researches of learned men will show that some of these traditions have a basis of truth, but until that is done we must con sider America lost to the world during the period between the visits of the North men and that made by Columbus, nearly five hundred years later. It was, indeed, as if no white man had ever sailed along its coasts or set foot on its shores.

Chapter II. The Story Of Columbus And His First Voyage

FIVE hundred years ago, the world was supposed to be divided into Europe, Asia and Africa. The knowledge of those countries was very slight. The remote parts were believed to be uninhabited and their boundaries were not known. You will smile at some of the fancies that prevailed. Those who lived in the temperate regions were sure they would freeze to death if they ventured to the northward, while a journey southward would result as ill, for, if they were not burned up, the flaming sun would singe their hair into crispy wool and tan their skins as black as ink : that is they would be turned into negroes. They knew nothing about the mariner's compass and could only use the sun by day and the moon and stars by night to guide their ships over the deep. When cloudy weather lasted long, the captain and crew were almost as helpless as if they were blind.

Now at that time, the most wonderful stories were told of a land which lay far to the eastward. The famous traveler Marco Polo, and others, had brought back amazing accounts of its population and wealth. Nothing that is read in fairy tales could equal those glowing pictures of some of the provinces of India. Idle as these stories, in some respects were, they had, nevertheless, a basis of truth. The country was rich in aromatic spices, costly stuffs, gold, precious jewels and the most valuable products known to commerce. But the road thither was over-land, long, dangerous and wearisome to the last degree. What Europe wanted was a shorter path to India. For many years search was vainly made for such a route, but the close of the fifteenth century was at hand with the problem still unsolved. Christopher Columbus was born in Genoa, Italy, in 1435 or 1436, the exact date being unknown.

His father was a wool-comber, but gave his son the best education he could. He attended the University of Pavia until about fourteen years old, when he worked for a few months with his father ; but in his fifteenth year he became a sailor. It would be interesting could we know more than we do of his early life. He visited England, Iceland, the Guinea coast, the Azores, and other places, and met, no doubt, with many stirring adventures, but no authentic record of them has ever been found. During those years, however, he was preparing himself for the great work before him. He mastered all the sciences necessary to his calling, read the travels of explorers, learned to draw charts and spheres and became a thorough prac tical seaman and navigator. [1470. 8 In 1470, while engaged in a sea fight off the coast of Portugal, the ship was burned and Columbus reached the shore, six miles distant, with the aid of an oar.

This led him to make Lisbon his home, where he met and married Felipa Munnis Per estreto, the daughter of a sea captain who had served under Prince Henry the Navigator, and who had been governor of the island of Porto Santo, near Madeira. Columbus spent a great deal of his time on that island, drawing maps and charts for a livelihood, while he studied the papers left by his wife's dead father, and talking often with old seamen about their voyages and the strange countries they had seen. Columbus became immovably fixed in the belief that a great part of the world was yet undiscovered, and he was equally certain that if he sailed west ward he would reach Asia. But he did not dream that a vast continent and the CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. most extensive ocean on the globe lay between him and that far-off region The faith of Columbus was based on good grounds.