Upon a beautiful day in July, 1492, two brown-skinned Spaniards lay upon the wharf that jutted far out into the waters of the blue Mediterranean Ocean at Palos, Spain, and looked meditatively in the direction of the far West. From their dress it could be easily seen that they were sailors, and from their conversation it was only too evident that they were speculating upon questions that then stirred the thoughts of many intelligent seafarers.

"As you watch a ship, its hull first disappears upon the horizon, then the spars, and then the masts, themselves," said one, "which leads me to the belief that mayhap we shall—in some of our voyages—come to a point where we shall fall from the centre of the earth and disappear into the heat of a fiery furnace."

The other smiled. "I am of that opinion myself," he answered, "but I do not feel the same fear of toppling off from the edge of things when I am on inland water, for in the Caspian Sea I have found that there is an end to all water courses and bodies of water that are of smaller size than that before us. In maps, I see that gnomes, dragons, hydras, and fire-breathing snakes are pictured in the unexplored distances. Serpents of great size and ferocity are supposed to live in the fiery caldron before us. Virgil, himself, speaks of them, and, as for myself, I wish that I might have the opportunity of seeing what is beyond the coast of Africa, which is the farthest point that I have ever reached in some fifteen years of wandering upon the ocean. 'Tis said that Cathay, by some called China, lies beyond the horizon, and is a land full of intelligent people ruled over by the mighty Khan."

"Well," continued the first, "I think that your wish to view the other world will soon be fulfilled, for rumor has it that Christopher Columbus—whom some say is half crazy with ideas that this world is round, and other strange fancies—is soon going to be able to take a trip across the sea, lying in front of us. Friends tell me that he has, at last, obtained money and ships from the King and Queen, and that he is about to venture forth in search of Cathay. You must hurry, my friend, if you would join his crew, for men tell me that the idea is popular, and that many wish to take passage with him."

The second seaman leaped to his feet. "I will go at once and see if I cannot get a place," he said, and, without more ado, he walked hastily to the narrow street which led into the town.

Not many weeks later, three little caravels: The Nina, The Pinta, and The Santa Maria, left their anchorage in front of the quaint seaport of Palos, and, propelled by a gentle breeze, made off towards the Straits of Gibraltar. On board was Christopher Columbus: dreamer, navigator, astronomer, mathematician, and the first white man to leave a record of a trip to the West Indies. The two Spaniards who had lain upon the wharf of Palos were with him, and, with spirits filled with the hope of new and strange adventures, the steersmen guided the vessels towards the unknown West.

Eventually the keen-eyed mariners sighted land, and, thinking that they had arrived at India, the Spaniards called the natives Indians, when they had reached the shore and were surrounded by copper-colored people. These savages were, at first, greatly afraid of the fair-haired strangers and refused to meet them on friendly terms, but, after they understood that the voyageurs would not injure them, they began to barter and trade in a friendly and intimate manner.

The natives wore no clothing and had their bodies painted with grotesque designs, and in various colors. They were armed with lances, tipped with beads of sharp flint and fish bones, or hardened at the end by being charred in a fire. Of iron and steel they apparently had no knowledge, for one venturesome brave seized one of the swords of the Spaniards and severely cut his own hand with it, which proved conclusively that they were not accustomed to this form of a weapon. With cries of pleasure they received the glass beads, pieces of lead, and other trinkets which Columbus and his men gave to them, and, in return, offered the Spaniards tame parrots, cavassa bread (of their own baking) and long rolls of cotton yarn. But these presents did not particularly interest the white adventurers, as they were not only in search of a route to India, but also for the shining and alluring particles of gold.

In their noses the Indians wore small, golden ornaments which were of far greater interests to the greedy invaders than were the tame parrots. So much so, indeed, that Columbus and his men immediately made inquiries regarding the source from which the natives secured such treasure. They were told that these articles came from the southwest, where lived a powerful Monarch who was accustomed to have his meals served upon dishes of fine, beaten gold. This stimulated the spirits of the invaders to penetrate into the unknown distance, for they were confident that they had reached the outlying islands of Asia and were near a famous deposit of riches of which other Spanish travellers had written.

The daring Columbus had reached San Salvador—a beautiful isle of the West Indies—which was surrounded by other fertile islands, covered with palms and luxurious foliage, from which came the chatter of parrots, the cries of tropical birds of brilliant plumage, and the sweet scent of flowers and of fruit. As the Indians were not molested they became more friendly, and it was easier to understand their signs and gesticulations. From these the Spaniards learned that they were in the midst of an archipelago—or collection of islands—and that there were more than a hundred of these, inhabited by people who were continually at war with one another—a state of affairs that exactly tallied with what Columbus had heard of the islands upon the coast of Asia. He was therefore convinced that he was in a land which had been previously explored by Spanish voyageurs, and that he had found what he had set out from Spain to discover—a new and more direct route from the mother country to the East Indies and the Chinese Empire.

Columbus weighed anchor and kept sailing from one island to another, hoping to find Cathay, or China. But temples, palaces, and cities did not appear. In their stead, frail houses of bark and of reeds, fields of corn and of grain, and simple-minded natives, came to the anxious visions of the explorers. The inhabitants of these sweet-scented isles could tell them nothing of the deposits of gold, or the palaces, for which Columbus was searching, so, day after day, he kept on his way, diligently scanning each new point of land, getting a little gold, here and there, from the Indians, and also some pearls, silver, and numerous skins of the beautiful birds of the country.

Finally the Spaniards became discouraged with their search for precious metals, and, after sailing to Cuba to explore the coast line, their most trustworthy vessel was wrecked by a sudden and unexpected gale. This did not dismay the gallant Columbus, although a few of his men lost heart, and, building a fortification of the wood from the vessel, he left a garrison to defend it, provisioned them for a year, while he began the long journey back to Spain. With him went a few of the native Indians, who were carried along to be shown to the people of the mother country and to prove that a new world had really been discovered, where dwelt another race. They reached Spain in safety, and thus—for the first time that has been recorded—an Indian from America was seen on the Continent of Europe.

In 1502 Sebastian Cabot, an English adventurer, captured three natives on the coast of Newfoundland, who were clothed in the skins of the beaver and the otter, and who subsisted upon raw flesh. These he took with him to England, presented them to King Henry the Seventh and to the members of his court, and, although they, at first, talked in a strange and uncouth tongue, they soon learned the language of their captors and discarded their native dress for that of the "palefaces." They were the first Indians ever seen in England, and what eventually became of them is not known. Their picturesque appearance created a great impression upon those who saw them and stimulated many a person of adventuresome temperament to sail towards America in search of fortune and of fame.

But the Spaniards and the Englishmen were not the only seafarers who were sufficiently brave and adventurous to cross the Atlantic in search of the unknown. In 1508 the French discovered the mouth of the Saint Lawrence—that mighty, Canadian watercourse—and several natives were seized and transported to France by the captain of the expedition, Thomas Aubert. A few years later—in 1524—John Verazzini (an Italian, sailing under the French flag), sailed along the coast and anchored in several places before he touched upon the Connecticut Coast, where twenty of his men went ashore in a small boat and walked about two miles into the interior. They saw a number of Indians who seemed terrified and fled before their advance, but they were anxious to transport some of the inhabitants to France, so captured an old woman who had hidden herself in some tall grass, with a child upon her back, and two little boys by her side. A young girl of about eighteen years of age was also near by, but when the sailors attempted to seize her she uttered such loud and piercing shrieks that they decided to leave her alone. The old woman also set up an awful wailing when they endeavored to carry her aboard their vessel, so they contented themselves with taking a small boy to their ship, who was carried to far distant France. America was called New France by Verazzini, who returned for further exploration, a short time afterwards, only to be killed—and some say eaten—by the Indians.

When Captain Hendrik Hudson—a hardy English adventurer—discovered and sailed up the river which bears his name in New York State, in the year 1609, he met various bands of Indians, both upon the waters of the mighty stream and on the shore. These, at first, were inclined to be friendly, but as his men treated them with distrust, and would not greet them in a hospitable and intimate manner, there were soon skirmishes with the hostiles. On September 8th, the savages came on board the vessel and brought tobacco and Indian corn to exchange for knives and beads. They offered no violence to the sailors for these were continually on their guard, expecting an attack. The ship's log gives an excellent account of what now occurred.

September 9th.

"In the morning two great canoes came on board, full of men, one armed with bows and arrows. Another pretended to buy knives in order to betray us, but we perceived the intention of the red devils. So we took two of them to keep them as hostages. We put red coats on them and would not let the others come any where near us. Soon afterwards the canoes left us. Immediately two other natives came on board of us, one we took, and let the other go, but he soon escaped by jumping overboard."

September 11th.

"The ship had now anchored at a considerable distance up the river. The people of the country came on board, making a great show of love, and gave us tobacco and Indian wheat."

September 12th.

"This morning there came eight and twenty canoes full of men, women, and children to betray us, but we saw their intent and suffered none of them to come aboard. They have great tobacco pipes of yellow copper, and pots of earth to dress their meat in."

That the savages came to "betray them" was no doubt a mistaken idea of the gallant adventurers, as Indians rarely go upon the warpath with their women and children, but leave them at home, where they are out of danger.

September 15th.

"Hudson sailed twenty leagues (miles) further up the stream, passing by high mountains. This morning the two captive savages got out of a port-hole of the ship and made their escape."

September 18th.

"The Master's Mate went on shore with an old Indian—a Sachem of the country—who took him to his house and treated him kindly."

October 1st.

"The ship having fallen down the river seven miles below the mountains (probably the site of the West Point Military Academy) came to anchor, while one man in a canoe kept hanging under the stern and would not be driven off. He soon contrived to climb up by the rudder and got into the cabin window which had been left open, and from which he stole a pillow, two shirts, and two breastplates. The Mate shot him in the chest and killed him. Many others were in canoes around the ship who immediately fled, and some jumped overboard. A boat manned from the ship, pursued them, and, coming up with one in the water, the Indian laid hold of the side of the boat and endeavored to over-set it, at which one in the boat cut off his hands with a sword and he was drowned."

October 2nd.

"The ship fell down seven miles farther and came to anchor again. Then came one of the savages that swam away from us when we were up the river, with many others, thinking that he could betray us, but we suffered none of them to enter our ship. Whereupon two canoes full of men with their bows and arrows shot at us after our stern, in recompense whereof we discharged six muskets and killed two or three of them. Then above a hundred of them came to a point to shoot at us. Then I shot a musket at them and killed two of them, whereupon the rest fled into the woods. Yet they manned another canoe with nine or ten men, which came to meet us, so I shot a ball also at it, and shot it through, and killed one of them. Then our men, with their muskets, killed three or four more of them."

This ends the record of Hudson's skirmishes with the Indians, and, as he sailed away from the newly discovered territory, he called the river Manna-hata, a name which appeared in all the early maps of this district, but which was subsequently changed to Hudson in commemoration and glorification of its discoverer.

Although the sturdy Hudson had not taken any of the natives home with him, still earlier—in 1535—the French voyageur, Jacques Cartier, met a famous chief called Donacona upon the St. Croix River in Wisconsin, and was treated in a hospitable and most kindly manner by him. But the white adventurer was anxious to exhibit the savage in France, so, partly by stratagem, and partly by force, he carried him back in his ship to his own country, where the wild chieftain died soon afterwards of an illness brought on by homesickness.

So runs the record of these early attempts of the Europeans to take the Indians to their own land and allow their own people to see what strange folk inhabited this new-found country. Many then wondered from whence these copper-colored natives had come and many have since speculated upon their probable origin. It is difficult to say where they really had their source. Some are of the opinion that they were descended from Asiatic people who crossed to the Alaskan coast, in boats, and gradually made their way south, to populate the entire country now known as the United States. In Ohio and Illinois there are vast piles of earth built by human hands, hundreds of years ago. These mounds are in various shapes and forms; some are of circular build; some round; some square; others thrown up to resemble birds, wolves, and buffalo. There are ten thousand such mounds in Ohio, and near the city of St. Louis is a single mound which covers eight acres. The people who constructed these are known as the Mound Builders, and it is believed by some that they were a different race of people than the Indians whom Columbus met with on his expedition to San Salvador. By others, it is maintained that they were of the same blood, and when the early discoverers of America were searching the seacoast for gold, pearls, and a passage to China, the Mound Builders were constructing these curious cairns in many portions of the Middle West.

Many hundreds of mounds have been carefully opened by archaeologists—or students of ancient people—and their contents have been scrutinized in order to discover what degree of civilization these Mound Builders possessed. It has been found that, although the Mound Builders were familiar with the use of copper for ornaments and tools, they hammered it from the native ore, and knew nothing whatever of smelting or of casting. Their weapons and instruments were mainly of quartz, slate, and of bone. Many carved pipes have been found in their works, and it is apparent that they cultivated tobacco, maize, or corn, and some other vegetables. Their pottery was similar to that of the Mexican Indians—although inferior to it—and the most artistic examples of it are certain small figures representing animal and human forms, which have been found broken and thrown upon funeral pyres beneath the sepulchral mounds. Besides the copper—which came from mines in Lake Superior, still operated for this treasure—the excavations showed that the Mound Builders used an abundance of mica, brought from the mountains of North Carolina, pearls from the Tennessee River, shells from the Gulf of Mexico, and obsidian from the region of the Yellowstone Park in Wyoming. It is, therefore, apparent that they had extensive commercial relations with other people who resided near by.

On the banks of the Damariscotta River in Maine are remarkable heaps of shells which rise, in some places, to the height of twenty-five feet, and consist almost entirely of huge oyster shells of from ten to fifteen inches in length. Fragments of pottery and bones of moose and of deer are also found in these curious heaps, and, at the bottom of one of the highest, has been discovered the remains of an ancient fireplace filled with human bones and pottery. Curiously enough, similar banks of shells are found in the St. John's River in Florida, at Grand Lake, on the lower Mississippi, and at San Pablo, Berkeley, and Alameda, in the Bay of San Francisco. Here oysters still exist, but in Maine they are found in such small numbers that it is no object to gather them. These mounds could only have been constructed by human hands, and, therefore, the belief is current that people of no mean order of intelligence inhabited America long before the coming of the first white men.

Whether the Mound Builders and shell-heap constructors were ancestors of the red men, it is difficult to say, at any rate the natives with whom the white race were soon to struggle for the possession of the Continent of North America were savage, cruel, vindictive and slothful. They could not adopt the ways of the white man. They could not learn to live by the plough instead of the hunting rifle; they could never see that houses were better to live in than frail wigwams in the forest, and so, in the end, the superior intelligence of the white man triumphed, the Indian was forced into reservations set apart for him and his race, and the country was populated by men of European descent.

In the long struggle for the possession of the land, several chiefs arose whose qualities of mind were superior to that of many of their contemporaries. The names of some of these stand out brightly upon the pages of history, and the records of their deeds and daring show that they were Indians who possessed a bravery quite equal to that of their enemies, even if their other qualities were inferior. Let us, therefore, glance at their illustrious names and learn what we can of their vain attempts to stem the unwithstandable advance of the white race.