enturies they were unknown or rather forgotten. It was about
the year 1405 that a Frenchman called Bethencourt[4] rediscovered
the seven Canaries. They were conceded to him in gift by the Queen
Katherine, who was Regent during the minority of her son John.
Bethencourt lived several years in the archipelago, where he took
possession of the two islands of Lancerote and Fuerteventura, and
civilised their inhabitants. Upon his death, his heir sold these two
islands to the Spaniards. Afterwards Ferdinando Pedraria and his wife
landed upon two other of the Canaries, Ferro and Gomera. Within our
own times the Grand Canary was conquered by Pedro de Vera, a Spanish
nobleman from Xeres; Palma and Teneriffe were conquered by Alonzo de
Lugo, but at the cost of the royal treasury. The islands of Gomera and
Ferro were conquered by the same Lugo, but not without difficulty; for
the natives, although they lived naked in the woods and had no other
arms than sticks and stones, surprised his soldiers one day and killed
about four hundred of them. He finally succeeded in subduing them, and
to-day the whole archipelago recognises the Spanish authority.

[Note 4: Maciot de Bethencourt. Consult Bergeron, _Histoire de la
premiere decouverte et conquete des iles Canaries_; Pascal d'Avezac,
_Notice des decouvertes ... dans l'ocean Atlantique_, etc., Paris,
1845; Viera y Clavigo, _Historia general de las islas de Canaria_,
1773; also the works of Major, Barker-Webb, Sabin Berthelot, and Bory
de St. Vincent.]

Upon leaving these islands and heading straight to the west, with
a slight deviation to the south-west, Columbus sailed thirty-three
successive days without seeing anything but sea and sky. His
companions began to murmur in secret, for at first they concealed
their discontent, but soon, openly, desiring to get rid of their
leader, whom they even planned to throw into the sea. They considered
that they had been deceived by this Genoese, who was leading them to
some place from whence they could never return. After the thirtieth
day they angrily demanded that he should turn back and go no farther;
Columbus, by using gentle words, holding out promises and flattering
their hopes, sought to gain time, and he succeeded in calming their
fears; finally also reminding them that if they refused him their
obedience or attempted violence against him, they would be accused of
treason by their sovereigns. To their great joy, the much-desired land
was fin