ally discovered.[5] During this first voyage Columbus visited
six islands, two of which were of extraordinary magnitude; one of
these he named Hispaniola, and the other Juana,[6] though he was not
positive that the latter was an island. While sailing along the coasts
of these islands, in the month of November, the Spaniards heard
nightingales singing in the dense forests, and they discovered great
rivers of fresh water, and natural harbours sufficient for the largest
fleets. Columbus reconnoitred the coast of Juana in a straight line
towards the north-west for no less than eight hundred thousand paces
or eighty leagues, which led him to believe that it was a continent,
since as far as the eye could reach, no signs of any limits to the
island were perceptible. He decided to return,[7] also because of
the tumultuous sea, for the coast of Juana towards the north is very
broken, and at that winter season, the north winds were dangerous to
his ships. Laying his course eastwards, he held towards an island
which he believed to be the island of Ophir; examination of the maps,
however, shows that it was the Antilles and neighbouring islands. He
named this island Hispaniola. Having decided to land, Columbus put in
towards shore, when the largest of his ships struck a concealed rock
and was wrecked. Fortunately the reef stood high in the water, which
saved the crew from drowning; the other two boats quickly approached,
and all the sailors were taken safely on board.

[Note 5: Land was discovered on the morning of October 12th,
Julian calendar. Efforts to identify the island on which Columbus
first landed have been numerous. The natives called it Guanahani and
Columbus named it San Salvador. Munoz believed it to be the present
Watling's Island; Humboldt and Washington Irving thought Cat Island
more likely, while Navarrete identified it as Grand Turk. Captain G.V.
Fox, U.S.N., published in Appendix 18 to the Report for 1880, the
conclusions he had reached after exhaustive examinations conducted in
the Bahamas, with which islands and their seas long service had made
him familiar. He selected Samana or Atwood Cay as the first land
discovered.]

[Note 6: In honour of the Infante Don Juan, heir to the Castilian
crown. It has, however, always borne its native name of Cuba.]

[Note 7: But for this infelicitous change in his course, Columbus
must have discovered the coast of Mexico.]

It was at this place that the Spaniards, on landing