insula to the chill seas that
border on the Arctic Circle.

While Columbus lived at Porto Santo, however, he heard other tales that
interested him greatly and made him believe that the world was round
and that all the legends of the Sea of Darkness were idle fancies--or
at least that it would be possible to sail across this sea and come to
the wonderful countries of India and China and Japan.

For the Governor of Porto Santo had told him of strange things that had
been washed on shore when the wind had blown for many days from the
west--of a cane so thick through that it would hold a gallon of wine,
of a piece of wood carved in a manner that never had been seen
before,--and once of a canoe, which had been made by hollowing out a
giant tree, in which were the dead bodies of two strange men such as
the European world had never seen,--yellow in color with flat, broad
faces.

Columbus thought greatly about these things and studied again what
little was known of the world's geography; and he became convinced that
by sailing to the westward he would reach Japan and China, and
determined to set out upon this marvelous and brave adventure.

First he went to the King of Portugal in whose dominions he had made
his home, and asked the King for ships and men to undertake a trip that
would make Portugal the richest and most powerful kingdom in the entire
world,--for once the new lands were discovered, said Columbus, there
would be gold for all and land a plenty,--to say nothing of the
opportunity for carrying the religion of the Holy Catholic Church into
far lands and saving the souls of the heathen.

The King of Portugal was greatly interested in Columbus' words, but he
thought that Columbus was too greedy in what he demanded for himself,
for the ambitious sailor desired a tenth part of all the profits that
would be gained by his voyaging and wanted also to be considered as
King in the countries that he would discover. Therefore, without saying
anything about it to Columbus, the King of Portugal tried to cheat him
out of the fruits of his great idea by secretly sending a sailing
vessel with another captain on a voyage to that part of the ocean where
Columbus thought that China and Japan could be found.

This boat sailed into the west for many days, but encountered terrible
gales and turned back; and the captain, to save his face among the
mariners, exaggerated the difficulties that he had encountered,
declaring that it was i