not, since they indicated an unknown race, but,
to an enthusiastic mind like Columbus's, anything helped to confirm
him in his fixed idea, and besides, he could always reply that
these material signs were from the unknown island of Zipangu, which
Marco Polo had described as at some distance from the shores of
Cathay.

He first approached, as was natural, the King of Portugal, in whose
land he was living, and whose traditional policy was directed to
maritime exploration. But the Portuguese had for half a century been
pursuing another method of reaching India, and were not inclined
to take up the novel idea of a stranger, which would traverse their
long-continued policy of coasting down Africa. A hearing, however,
was given to him, but the report was unfavourable, and Columbus had
to turn his eyes elsewhere. There is a tradition that the Portuguese
monarch and his advisers thought rather more of Columbus's ideas
at first; and attempted secretly to put them into execution; but
the pilot to whom they entrusted the proposed voyage lost heart
as soon as he lost sight of land, and returned with an adverse
verdict on the scheme. It is not known whether Columbus heard of
this mean attempt to forestall him, but we find him in 1487 being
assisted by the Spanish Court, and from that time for the next
five years he was occupied in attempting to induce the Catholic
monarchs of Spain, Ferdinand and Isabella, to allow him to try his
novel plan of reaching the Indies. The final operations in expelling
the Moors from Spain just then engrossed all their attention and
all their capital, and Columbus was reduced to despair, and was
about to give up all hopes of succeeding in Spain, when one of
the great financiers, a converted Jew named Luis de Santaguel,
offered to find means for the voyage, and Columbus was recalled.

[Illustration: BEHAIM'S GLOBE. 1492.]

On the 19th April 1492 articles were signed, by which Columbus
received from the Spanish monarchs the titles of Admiral and Viceroy
of all the lands he might discover, as well as one-tenth of all the
tribute to be derived from them; and on Friday the 3rd August, of
the same year, he set sail in three vessels, entitled the _Santa
Maria_ (the flagship), the _Pinta_, and the _Nina_. He started from
the port of Palos, first for the Canary Islands. These he left
on the 6th September, and steered due west. On the 13th of that
month, Columbus observed that the needle of the compass pointed