man must be the Great Khan,
and that he was really on the mainland of eastern Asia. Accordingly he
sent his Jew and two of his savages ashore to look for the Great Khan.
They were four days away and searched as well as they could among the
tent-like huts of the natives, but never saw a glimpse of any Mongolian
Great Khan in Cuba.

Exceedingly beautiful was this strange coast, reminding them of Sicily.
Sweet song of birds was heard, there was an odour of fruits, and green
foliage and palms waved like plumes in the breeze. The Spaniards were
astonished to see the natives walking about smoking rolled-up leaves
which they called tobacco, and had no notion what a source of wealth
these leaves in the form of cigars would become in the future. Pinzon on
the _Pinta_ must have been bewitched by all the wonders he saw, for he
ran off with his vessel to seek the land of gold on his own account.
Columbus himself sailed across to the large island of Haiti, which as
usual he took possession of in the name of Castile. The natives received
him everywhere with amazement and submission, believing that he was an
emissary from the abode of the gods.

On the northern coast of the island a great misfortune occurred on
Christmas Eve. An inexperienced steersman was at the _Santa Maria's_
rudder, and let the vessel run on a sandbank, where it became a wreck.
The crew had to take refuge on the _Nina_. The natives helped to save
all that was on board, and not even a pin was stolen.

But the _Nina_ could not hold them all, and how were they to get back to
Spain? Columbus found a way out of the difficulty. He decided to found a
colony on the coast. Forty men were to be left behind to search for
gold, and by the time Columbus returned from Spain they would no doubt
have a tun full of the precious metal, and that would be enough for the
conquest of Jerusalem. The sailors were only too glad to remain, for
they found the natives accommodating and the climate good. It was in all
respects much pleasanter than to endure hardship on the _Nina_, and
perhaps founder with the wretched little ship.

Accordingly, a blockhouse was built of wreckage from the _Santa Maria_,
was surrounded by a wall and moat and provisioned, and after presenting
the chief of the Indians with a shirt and a pair of gloves, Columbus
weighed anchor and steered for home.

He had not sailed far before he fell in with the _Pinta_, and took the
independent Pinzon into favour again. Th