of making any reply to Mack's question, till the latter, having waited in vain a considerable time for an answer, repeated it in a louder voice. Donald's famous laconic answer has often been heard of.

“Donald, man, Donald, I say, what is it that stops the light." cried Mack.

"If the tail breaks, you'll find what it is," said Donald. Donald continued the struggle, and soon began to entertain hopes of ultimate success. When the boar pulled to get in, Donald held back; and when he struggled to get back again, Donald pushed him in. In this position he kept him, until he got an opportunity of giving him some deadly stabs with his dirk behind the short rib, which soon terminated his existence.

Our two young friends by this adventure realized a valuable prize, and secured so much excellent food that it took them several days to get it conveyed home. During the long winter nights, while the family were regaling themselves on the hams of the great wild boar, often was the above tale related, and often applauded and laughed at.

GLOOMY and dark art thou, O chief of the mighty Omawhaws; Gloomy and dark as the driving cloud, whose name thou hast

taken!

Wrapped in thy scarlet blanket, I see thee stalk through the

city's

Narrow and populous streets, as once by the margin of

rivers

Stalked those birds unknown, that have left us only their foot

prints.

What, in a few short years, will remain of thy race but the footprints?

How canst thou walk in these streets, who hast trod the green turf of the prairies?

How canst thou breathe in this air, who hast breathed the sweet air of the mountains?

Ah, 'tis in vain that with lordly looks of disdain thou dost

challenge

Looks of dislike in return, and question these walls and these pavements,

Claiming the soil for thy hunting grounds, while down-trodden

millions

Starve in the garrets of Europe, and cry from its caverns that they, too,

Have been created heirs of the earth, and claim its division! Back, then, back to thy woods in the regions west of the

Wabash!

There as a monarch thou reignest. In autumn the leaves of the maple

Pave the floors of thy palace halls with gold, and in summer Pine trees waft through its chambers the odorous breath of their branches.

There thou art strong and great, a hero, a tamer of horses; There thou chasest the stately stag on the banks of the Elk

horn,

Or by the roar of the Running Water, or where the Omawhaw Calls thee, and leaps through the wild ravine like a brave of the Blackfeet.

Hark! what murmurs arise from the heart of those mountainous deserts?

Is it the cry of the Foxes and Crows,* or the mighty Behe

moth

Who, unharmed, on his tusks once caught the bolts of the thunder,

* The Crows, the Foxes, the Mandans, and the Camanches are the names of Indian tribes in the western part of North America.

And now lurks in his lair to destroy the race of the red man? * Far more fatal to thee and thy race than the Crows and the

Foxes,

Far more fatal to thee and thy race than the tread of Behe

moth,

Lo! the big thunder-canoe, that steadily breasts the Missouri's Merciless current; and yonder, afar on the prairies, the camp

fires

Gleam through the night; and the cloud of dust in the gray of the daybreak

Marks not the buffalo's track, nor the Mandan's dexterous

horse race;

It is a caravan, whitening the desert where dwell the Caman

ches;

Ha! how the breath of these Saxons and Celts, like the blast of the east wind,

Drifts evermore to the west the scanty smokes of the wigwams!

LXIII.-THE LIFE OF CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS.

[From a work published in England, for young persons, called the Charm.]

CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS, the discoverer of America, was an Italian, born at Genoa, about the year 1446. His ancestors were seafaring people, and young Columbus early showed both an inclination to follow in their footsteps, and such abilities as peculiarly qualified him for doing so. His father, who was himself a wool comber, gave him an education suited to his wishes. He was taught Latin, astronomy, geometry, drawing, and geography, and was then sent to sea, at the age of fourteen. He first sailed to those parts in the Mediterranean which the Genoese were in the habit of visiting for trading purposes. The next year his adventurous spirit carried him

*This alludes to an Indian tradition of an unsuccessful attempt by the Great Spirit to destroy the mammoth by lightning.

on an exploring expedition many hundred miles north of Iceland. Afterwards he joined a sort of privateering squadron, commanded by one of his relatives, with whom he remained some years. In one of their plundering expeditions, the vessel in which Columbus was, taking fire, together with the enemy's ship to which it was grappled, he saved himself by boldly leaping into the sea, and, with the help of a floating oar, swimming to land, a distance of six miles. He was preserved for something better than that robbing on the high sea called privateering.

In 1470, having married the daughter of a Portuguese sea captain, Columbus settled at Lisbon. Portugal was at that time the greatest maritime nation of Europe, and Columbus made diligent use of the opportunities which his residence and connections there afforded him for improving his knowledge both of the theory and practice of navigation. He was soon deeply interested in a subject at that time of considerable importance the finding of a shorter sea route to India than the one round the Cape of Good Hope. That passage was not accomplished till some years after; but at the period now referred to, it was believed to be practicable, though its extreme length and the storms that had beset seamen in rounding the

Cape-it was called the Cape of Storms - rendered it very formidable to the imperfect seamanship of that day.

A variety of reasons led Columbus to believe that, by sailing westward from Europe, he should in due time reach the eastern shores of Asia; and, having well considered his plans, he sought the assistance needful for such an enterprise from his own native city of Genoa, which he was patriotic enough to wish should have the benefit of his undertaking. But neither its rulers, nor the King of Portugal, to whom he subsequently applied, could be persuaded to enter into his views. The King of Portugal was, indeed, dishonorable enough, while rejecting Columbus's proposal, to send out a vessel of his own, secretly, to try the route marked out by the Italian. But its unskilful commander was soon frightened back again by the

difficulties he encountered; and the discovery of this treachery sent the indignant Columbus at once to Spain, to unfold his scheme to Ferdinand and Isabella, who jointly reigned over Castile and Aragon; while at the same time his brother Bartholomew was despatched to England to lay it before Henry VII.

It was by mere accident that the English had not the glory and advantage of the illustrious navigator's discoveries. Henry received the proposal more favorably than any other monarch had done; but Bartholomew had been captured by pirates on his voyage to England, and by the time he arrived there, his brother, after years of suspense and disappointment, had at last succeeded in procuring the assistance and protection of Ferdinand and Isabella.

Three small and ill-conditioned vessels, with provisions for twelve months, were given to Columbus. With that religious spirit which always distinguished this good man, he and all his crew solemnly joined in prayers and the holy communion before going on board; and then, just before daybreak on the 3d of August, 1492, he set sail from Palos, in Andalusia, amid the prayers and good wishes of a vast throng of spectators. His little fleet was steered first to the Canary Islands, and in that short distance it was found that his miserable vessels were utterly unfit for the voyage before them. One of them lost her rudder the very day after leaving port. Columbus made such repairs as he could, and took in fresh provisions at the Canaries, where he remained about three weeks, and then directed his course, still westward, into the unknown ocean.

His crew were soon disheartened, and it required all their leader's patience, skill, and vigilance to keep them to their duty. He dared not even let them know how far they had sailed, for fear of their losing courage altogether. When at a distance of six or seven hundred miles from land, a peculiar property of the magnetized needle in the mariner's compass, of which they then first became aware, filled them with ex