II



DISCOVERY AND CHARACTERISTICS OF
THE CARIBBEES

VOYAGES OF COLUMBUS — WHERE AND WHAT THE CAEIB-

BEES ABE VOLCANIC AND CORAL ORIGIN THE

PEOPLE AND THEIR DESTINY

It was on the 25th of September, 1493, that Co-
lumbus set sail from Cadiz on his second voyage to the
New World. It was a different scene and company
from that which marked his first departure. The
mystery of the western ocean had been revealed, the
spell of secrecy which had hung over it was broken,
and the great navigator was going forth to gather the
harvest which he had sown in tears and weariness.
Could he have looked to the end of his career, per-
haps on that September morning he would have been
content with what he had achieved, and allowed
others to toil and suffer and die for the fame and
gold which allured him to his ruin. But that was
yet far off, and the ships sailed away to the Canary
Islands, where they were to rendezvous, and whence
they were to make the start for Hispaniola, now
called Hayti.
