Such observations as he had made--probably a few figures giving the bearings of stars, an account of dead reckoning, and a quite useless and inaccurate chart or map--the pilot gave to his host; then, having delivered his soul of its secret, he died.

This is the story; not an impossible or improbable one in its main outlines.

Whether the pilot really landed on one of the Antilles is extremely doubtful, although it is possible.

Superstitious and storm-tossed sailors in those days were only too ready to believe that they saw some of the fabled islands of the Atlantic; and it is quite possible that the pilot simply announced that he had seen land, and that the details as to his having actually set foot upon it were added later.

That does not seem to me important in so far as it concerns Columbus.