he man in the long white
dress alone advancing.

The watering party having no wish to encounter so many armed men,
hastened back to the ship. Columbus, on hearing the story, was fully
persuaded that they were the clothed inhabitants of Mangon.

The following day he sent a strong force to penetrate into the interior.
They, however, found it impossible to get far on account of the matted
grass and creeping vegetation, and at length returned, wearied and
exhausted, to the ships. The next day another party was dispatched, but
they came back, some declaring that they had seen the tracks of a lion,
others of a griffon. Probably the marks were produced by alligators,
while the supposed white-robed natives were no doubt tall white cranes,
of which the bold archer had suddenly come in sight. The only
inhabitants seen on the coast were perfectly naked. Columbus attributed
this circumstance to their being mere fishermen, and supposed that the
civilised regions lay in the interior.

For several days Columbus continued exploring the coast, until he
perceived that it took a bend to the south-west. This accorded with the
descriptions given by Marco Polo of the remote coasts of Asia. He was
now sure that he was on that part of the Asiatic continent beyond the
limits of the Old World laid down by Ptolemy, and that by continuing his
course he should arrive at the point where this range of toast
terminated in the Aurea Chersonesus of the ancients. Doubling this, he
would emerge into the seas bordered by the luxurious nations of the
East. Stretching across the Gulf of the Ganges, he might continue on to
the Straits of Babel Mandel, and arrive on the shores of the Red Sea.
Thence he might make his way by land to Jerusalem, taking ship at Joppa,
and traverse the Mediterranean to Spain, or sail round the whole coast
of Africa, and thus circumnavigate the globe.

These notions, though not his enthusiasm, were shared by many of the
able navigators on board; but they considered the vessels, strained and
leaky, with rigging worn out, totally inadequate to the undertaking. Of
this Columbus himself became convinced, and after exploring the coast
for four days longer, and finding it still trending to the south-west,
all declared that it was impossible so extensive a continuity of land
should belong to a mere island.

That no one might afterwards blame him for abandoning the enterprise, he
made each pilot and master sign a document exp