At first no natives would come near the white men, for they feared
their anger. But at length, tempted by the offer of gifts and
other friendly signs, they came. They told how the Spaniards had
quarreled amongst themselves, how the fort had been attacked by
unfriendly Indians from another island, and how all the white men
had been slain.
Thus ended the first white colony ever planted in Western lands.
All traces of it have vanished, and upon the spot where La Navida
stood there is now a little fishing village called Petit Anse.
Columbus founded other colonies, but they succeeded no better than
the first one. In all he made four voyages across the Atlantic,
and in the third he landed upon the coast of South America, near
the mouth of the Orinoco. But Columbus did not know that at last
he had discovered the great double Continent of America. He thought
that he had merely discovered another island, and he named it La
Isla Santa. Afterwards he was so delighted at the beauty of the
land that he thought he must have found the Garden of Eden, so he
became certain that he had landed on the eastern corner of Asia.
In 1506 Columbus died. And it is sad to think that he who, by his
great faith and great daring, led the way across the Sea of Darkness,
and gave a New World to the Old died in poverty and neglect. The
men who had wept for joy at the news of his discovery shed no tear
over his grave.
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