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FROM THE ORIGIN* 
 
 OWNER. C. F GUN7HER, CHICAGO 
 
 CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. 
 
 PAINTED BY SIR ANTONIO MORO. 
 
POPULAR HISTORY 
 
 Life of Columbus 
 
 A COMPLETE, COMPENDIOUS NARRATIVE OF HIS VOYAGES, DISCOVERIES, 
 
 AND GENERAL CAREER, COLLECTED FROM ALL AUTHENTIC SOURCES, 
 
 MAKING A DIGEST OF ALL THE FACTS OBTAINABLE FROM 
 
 EXTANT HISTORICAL, CRITICAL, BIOGRAPHICAL, AND 
 
 OTHER PUBLICATIONS ON THE SUBJECT. 
 
 J. H? LANGILIvE, 
 
 PROFESSOR OF NATURAL SCIENCES AND AUTHOR OF "OUR BIRDS IN THEIR HAUNTS, *C., *C. 
 
 MARY F. FOSTER, 
 
 OFFICIAL TRANSLATOR TO THE PAN-AMERICAN CONFERENCE. 
 
 SOLD BY SUBSCRIPTION. 
 
 Publication Bureau : 
 
 Woman's National Press Association. 
 
 Washington, D. C. 
 
 1893. 
 
 
 LEB 
 
Copyright, 1893, 
 
 BT 
 
 J. H. Langille and Maby E. Fosteb. 
 
 GIBSON BROS. 
 
 Printers and Bookbinders 
 
 washington, d c. 
 
JOINT PREFACE. 
 
 The task of writing a life of Columbus has been discharged 
 with most signal ability, and by the most competent authors that 
 could possibly be found. Each narrative in succession, from the 
 first, seems to be enough — all that could be said or done to cover 
 the ground at the time. Yet it has proved to be a fact that from 
 Columbus's son, who may be said to have written the first biog- 
 raphy of his father, each succeeding contribution from Las Casas, 
 Bernaldez, Peter Martyr, Oviedo, Herrera, and Ii-ving's most 
 enchanting work, down to that replica of Irving, Tarducci, offered 
 acceptable and indispensable material and information for this 
 interesting work. Could it be presumed for a moment that Hum- 
 boldt was not needed? Or that De Lorgues and his school of 
 canonizers have not made fresh and suggestive investigation ? 
 And whilst this fullness of raising St. Christopher to the skies 
 seems to leave no room unoccupied in the exaltation of Colum- 
 bus, who will confront the Brazilian Varnhagen and say that he 
 has not been needed ? In point of fact, his incisive, exact, and 
 exhaustive work, searching from Peru to Seville, from Berlin 
 and Vienna to New York and the West Indies, has turned out 
 very valuable solutions of the mysteries of Columbian literature. 
 
 Without cataloguing so many other welcome popular abridg- 
 ments, compendiums, and essayists like Prescott, Sir Arthur Helps, 
 Adams, Hubert Bancioft, R. H. Major, could we close the list 
 without naming as amongst the foremost Henry Harrisse ? His 
 notes on Cohmibus seem to cover every inch of land and sea, sift- 
 ing the notarial and other public records ; in fact, marking out a 
 geodetic biographical survey, so to say, of Venice and Genoa, 
 
IV 
 
 JOINT PREFACE. 
 
 Spain and the Indies, England and America. He thus begins 
 the parenthesis of his work, which is not conchided until he fol- 
 lows down with other volumes, as to the Discovery, the Cabots, 
 and the other " Chief Pilots," giving the remotest bibliographical 
 items of the catalogues and of the public and private libraries. 
 He shows the scope of an exhaustive research, upon which is 
 founded an entirely new school of historical criticism on the sub- 
 ject. When we name Justin Winsor and pair him with John 
 Fiske in the opening of this new school of Columbian literature, 
 how earnestly could we wish that they had been at the beginning 
 instead of at the close of the list of biographers of the heroic Dis- 
 coverer. 
 
 Columbus's little fleet of caravels represent the "maritime 
 list" of his time. In our day, the three models of them sent 
 from Spain, rolling through the surf between the great ocean 
 war-ships, tell a most striking story by their contrast. The 
 new departure in navigation was really the chief thing dis- 
 covered. Passing at once from the ancient world of the gal- 
 leys to the broad waters of ocean navigation was a turning 
 point in human history. It marked forever the boundary of 
 the ancient and beginning of the modern sea-going systems. 
 Never losing sight of the land, anchoring for the night, 
 rowing the bireme and trireme — the galleys with two or with 
 three benches of oars, contracted the boundary — the narrow 
 limits of ancient navigation and commerce preceding Columbus. 
 It shows in the visible fable and contrast of the picture the 
 Old World navigation compared with the new era of the ocean- 
 going ships — the stride from the caravel to the clipper and 
 the ocean war-ship, steam-fitted and steel-clad. The daring 
 that pierced the "Sea of Darkness" and established the new 
 system of ocean navigation was the great "Discovery" — the 
 original achievement of Columbus. How bold the deed ! How 
 vast the result ! — A new destiny for mankind. 
 
JOINT PREFACE. V 
 
 In this history we are constrained to divide the unexampled 
 narrative of events in his time from the still more extraordinary 
 consequences which have followed. The Italian sea captain rank- 
 ing, and in fact living the career of the class — the " Colonii " 
 of Roman history — steps from the presence of the Spanish 
 throne into the first truly scientific ocean voyage, from which 
 he returns with a conquest which the agrarian laws of Rome 
 would measure correctly as one-half the world, to be distributed 
 among the landless cohorts of the Holy Roman Empire of 
 Charles the Fifth. 
 
 In our present biographical compendium of facts we have 
 avoided sectarian or partisan aims, keeping in view the wide 
 popular audiences we have to reach and the useful mission of this 
 work which we hope for it in places of public education, and by 
 the general diffusion of its contents and their transfer from the 
 inaccessible and costly souixes from which we have gleaned our 
 story. From the narrative of Don Fernando, the son of the Dis- 
 coverer, down to the recent oratorical and beautiful work of the 
 great Spanish statesman, Castelar, we have left no omissions in our 
 gleaning search. In view of this necessity, the extent of our 
 obligation to other authors is too extensive to be even enumerated, 
 and it is not a want of sense of this which precludes our acknowl- 
 edgments. As there has been really no previous popular volume 
 at an accessible price, with this aim practicable for the general 
 school and college library, for the family circle and the Christmas 
 fireside story, we hope the good end we have sought to subserve 
 will pardon what may appear to be the liberties we have taken 
 in our extracts from so many of the best works — historical, criti- 
 cal, and biographical — bearing on our subject, and with this 
 statement and its peculiar aims made plain, we hope that an 
 additional life of Columbus will prove acceptable. 
 
 J. H. LANGILLE. 
 
 MARY F. FOSTER. 
 
THE PORTRAIT. 
 
 The interesting subject of a portrait of Columbus has undergone 
 a varied discussion since it was alluded to in oiu" text. 
 
 The outcome generally accepted concedes a positive preference 
 for the unique picture which is the property of Mr. Gunther, of 
 Chicago. Our conclusion, we confess, is influenced in favor of 
 this portrait by the fact that it was also the frontispiece in Irving's 
 fifth edition, published in London. It was painted for the Qiieen, 
 in court dress, and presents the Admiral at the height of his glory. 
 Its authenticity is now tacitly conceded. 
 
TABLE OF CONTENTS. 
 
 Page. 
 
 Introduction, ---------i 
 
 Chapter I, 13 
 
 Birthplace — Early Life of Columbus. 
 
 Chapter II, --------- 24 
 
 Columbus in Portugal. 
 
 Chapter III, 46 
 
 Columbus and King John of Portugal. 
 
 Chapter IV, ' - 53 
 
 Columbus in Spain. 
 
 Chapter V,- - - - - - - - - 81 
 
 First Voyage Across the Sea of Darkness. 
 
 Chapter VI, ........ (^^J 
 
 The First Landing in the New World. 
 
 Chapter VII, - - - - - - - - -125 
 
 The Shipwreck and the Fort. 
 
 Chapter VIII, - - - - - - - -140 
 
 Return Home of the Discoverer of the Indias. 
 
 Chapter IX, ----.-... 163 
 
 The Triumphal Pageant and Procession on His Arrival. 
 
 Chapter X, - - - - - - - . -171 
 
 The Pope's Boundary Line Dividing the Two Worlds 
 — The Second Voyage. 
 
 Chapter XI, - - - - - - . . -iQV 
 
 The New Enterprises of the Colony. 
 
 Chapter XII, 239 
 
 The South Side of Cuba Explored, 
 
viii TABLE OF CONTENTS. 
 
 Page. 
 
 Chapter XIII, 271 
 
 Events on Reaching the Town of Isabella. 
 
 Chapter XIV, -------- 305 
 
 The Affairs of the New World in Spain. 
 
 Chapter XV, 328 
 
 The Third Voyage — The Orinoco — Coasting the South 
 American Continent. 
 
 Chapter XVI, 351 
 
 Bartholomew Columbus as Adelantado — Roldan the 
 Rebel. 
 
 Chapter XVII, -.----.. 3S5 
 
 Columbus's Return to the Indias — Roldan's Mutiny. 
 
 Chapter XVIII, 411 
 
 Ojeda's Mischief at Zai-agua. ^ 
 
 Chapter XIX, .---.---- 423 
 
 Bobadilla Sends Columbus Home in Chains. 
 
 Chapter XX, 459 
 
 Columbus's Fourth Voyage — Death of Columbus. . 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 N tiie present age Christopher Columbus has 
 been depicted both as a pirate of the high 
 seas and as an immaculate saint, the opinions 
 of authors generally being graduated at all points 
 between these two extremes. In view of this diversity 
 of estimate, we propose to do as little as possible in 
 the way of interpreting so distinguished a character. 
 We prefer to give the facts of his life as recorded by 
 those who knew him personally, supplemented by his 
 own writings, along with a fair presentation of the 
 sentiments and practices of the age in which he lived. 
 Thus we shall leave the reader to judge for himself 
 when the Admiral was good and when he was bad. 
 
 A biography like this can be made intelligible only 
 by first giving an outlook into the bibliographical field 
 presenting such a variety of opinions. We will there- 
 fore give a brief summary of the principal writers on 
 this distinguished adventurer, and on the enterprising 
 period which he rendered so illustrious. As Harrisse 
 has well said, "Columbus was very far from being in 
 his lifetime the important personage he now is ; and 
 his writings, which then commanded neither respect nor 
 attention, were probably thrown into the waste-basket 
 as soon as received." After the first sensation caused 
 by the announcement of his discovery, both he and the 
 country which he had made known fell into disrepute ; 
 and when he died in the care of the good Franciscan 
 
2 INTR OD UC TION. 
 
 monks at Valladolid, the records simply noted " the 
 said Admiral is dead ; " and the world made so little 
 account of the event that, in the two years following, 
 editors who were revising and publishing narratives of 
 his voyages did not know that he was no longer living. 
 
 It was not till ten years after his death that his first 
 biographical sketch appeared, and that in the most in- 
 cidental manner. Giustiniani, an Italian bishop, pub- 
 lishing a polyglot psalter at Genoa, garnished the mar- 
 gin of the nineteentli psalm with a brief outline of Co- 
 lumbus's career, which has served to immortalize the 
 said bishop's production. Whether he was guilty or 
 not of the " tJiirtecn lies " which Fernando Columbus 
 so indignantly laid to his charge, he must have had a 
 high regard for the subject of his narrative ; for he 
 looked upon the Admiral's achievements as a striking 
 fulfilment of the prophecies of that psalm, and closed 
 his account by saying, " Such was the end of that most 
 celebrated man, who, had he lived in the times of the 
 Greek heroes, would certainly have been placed among 
 the gods." 
 
 Columbus left a school of able and well-trained navi- 
 gators to follow up the immense work he had so nobly 
 begun. If the grandeur of his first discovery, which 
 drew tears from the ej-es of learned men, had soon 
 passed away, like the wake of his little caravels in the 
 storm, other keels were plowing the unknown seas, and 
 before the men who knew him well had passed away, 
 the vast extent and incalculable resources of the New 
 World began to appear. Then, as Humboldt has fitly 
 noticed, all departments of literature received a new and 
 immense impulse. Historians were ready to record the 
 
INTR on UC TION. 3 
 
 wonders of the Indies, the glory of the Spanish sover- 
 eigns who had patronized their discovery, and the voy- 
 ages of the Admiral who had given his life to the de- 
 velopment and realization of the new idea. 
 
 Peter Martyr, an Italian, who had been attracted to 
 the Spanish court in the service of education and litera- 
 ture, not only referred to Columbus in his numerous 
 letters to distinguished men — eight hundred of which 
 are preserved — but set his facile pen to work to write a 
 regular history of the Indies, in which Columbus was 
 allowed an ample space. His work, now known as 
 " Decades of the Ocean," was translated into English 
 by Richard Bden, in 1555, and may be found in. some 
 of our largest libraries. 
 
 Andres Bernoldez, curate of Palacios, who had en- 
 tertained Columbus for months, as his guest, on his re- 
 turn from his second voyage, has given us the result of 
 their fireside chats in his history of Ferdinand and Isa- 
 bella. This work is one of the best authorities on that 
 second voyage. The part pertaining to Columbus was 
 translated into English by George Ticknor, Esq., and 
 published in the Massachusetts Historical Society, vol. 
 8, pp.^ 5-68. 
 
 Oviedo, who had been associated v/ith Columbus's 
 sons, as page to Prince Juan, wrote a General History 
 of the Indies, in which he gave the most respectful at- 
 tention to the Admiral. He does not seem to have made 
 the most thorough use of .the documentary resources 
 then available, but his conclusions are well made. Nor 
 does he seem to have been biased by an undue admira- 
 tion for his hero. 
 
 The venerable Las Casas, missionary to the Indies, 
 
4 INTR ODUC TION. 
 
 and finally made bishop, also wrote a history of that 
 New World, including a biography of Columbus, which 
 is considered indispensable to the critical student of his- 
 tory. His father and uncle both sailed with the Admi- 
 ral on his second voyage, and he himself accompanied 
 him on his last and most trying voyage to Central 
 America. Having received from his father an Indian 
 slave as a servant, while he was a student at the Univer- 
 sity of Salamanca, and having been obliged to give him 
 up when Isabella returned certain of the enslaved In- 
 dians to their native homes, his humane heart was 
 opened to their unparalleled sufferings, and he became 
 the champion of their cause to the end of his long and 
 useful life. 
 
 His great work on the Indies was too honestly writ- 
 ten, and gave too full an account of the rascalities of 
 the Spaniards in the New World, to admit of its pub- 
 lication in Spain till 1875 ; but in manuscript it had 
 long been a most important work of reference, and as 
 such was made a main reliance by Washington Irving. 
 We are indebted to this production for all we know of 
 Columbus's Journal of his first voyage, Las Casas 
 having made a full abstract of it. The Journal itself 
 is now no longer known. An almost equally impor- 
 tant authorit}^ is the work of this bishop, on the second 
 and third voyages. He had access to many docu- 
 ments and letters which cannot now be found. 
 
 Not the least in importance is the biograph}^ of 
 Columbus written by his son, Fernando, who professes 
 to have recorded only what he knew personally of his 
 father's career, and what he derived from his father's 
 writings then before him. The authenticity of this 
 
INTR OD UC TION. 5 
 
 work lias recently been challenged by the indefati- 
 gable Harrisse ; but lie has not succeeded in shaking 
 the faith of scholars in that vivid and interesting nar- 
 rative, which has much internal evidence in its favor. 
 As this son was but four years of age when the Admiral 
 went on his first voyage, his personal knowledge covered 
 only the latter part of his father's career. The critical 
 student, therefore, will find him rather vague and un- 
 certain as to that period. In admission of this he says : 
 '' The Admiral having gained some insight in sciences 
 began to apply himself to the sea, and made some 
 voyages to the east and west, of which and many other 
 things of those his first days I have no perfect knowl- 
 edge, because he died at such time as I, being confined 
 by filial duty, had not the boldness to ask him to give 
 an account of those things ; or, to speak the truth, 
 being but young, I was at that time far from being 
 troubled with such thoughts." Fernando's biography 
 may be read in Bnglish in many of our large libraries. 
 
 An indispensable work to the thorough study of Co- 
 lumbus is that complete collection of official documefits 
 of the transactions of the sovereigns of Spain in con- 
 nection with his voyages, called the Codex Diplomat- 
 icus. It also can be read in English, under the title, 
 " Memoirs of Columbus, by the Decurions of Genoa." 
 
 Many other works might be mentioned, but these are 
 the most important. 
 
 Recent works, such as the extensive and, on the 
 whole, excellent work of Irving, have derived incal- 
 culable aid from the great documentary collections of 
 Muiioz and Navarrete, which, we regret to say, are 
 not available to English readers ; though Major in his 
 
6 INTR OD UC TION. 
 
 Select Letters, and Harrisse in his Notes on Columbus, 
 have given us not a few of the documents and letters 
 in our own language. 
 
 In the earlier half of this century a querulous 
 work, entitled "The So-Called Christopher Colum- 
 bus," by Aaron Godrich, appeared as a notable curi- 
 osity in literature. Living men may hate each other 
 very intensely ; but how a man in his grave nearly four 
 hundred years can be so spitefully hated and horribly 
 caricatured by a recent inhabitant of this New 
 World is inexplicable, to say the least. 
 
 As another extreme, this century has produced a 
 school of writers, led by Count Roselly de Lorgues, of 
 France, who can discern not so much as a fault or 
 foible in this man, chosen of God and upheld by 
 miracles, whom the Pope should recognize by saintly 
 canonization. But the candid inquirer must admit 
 that with all his greatness, and piety according to the 
 religion of that period, the Admiral had his fair share 
 of faults. 
 
 We have recently had some very scholarly works on 
 Columbus and his age in this country. That by Justin 
 Winsor is one of the most critical and exhaustive in its 
 ransacking of resources which any country is likely to 
 produce on any character; but it is not probable that 
 unprejudiced readers will recognize such a very great 
 flood of new light in the unfavorable view given by that 
 author as to the moral character of the Admiral. And 
 many parts of the narrative, in respect to the treatment 
 received by the great discoverer from his adopted nation, 
 and the unparalleled difficulties he encountered in his 
 government of a new world, the humane reader will in- 
 
INTR OD UCTION. 7 
 
 terline with sentiments of compassion and charitable 
 judgment. 
 
 Mr. John Fisk's " Discovery of America " contains an 
 account of Columbus which every critical student should 
 read. It is the result at once of the most thorough re- 
 search and the most candid and generous judgment. 
 
 What was the personal appearance of Columbus ? 
 How is it that there is so little resemblance in his various 
 portraits ? Mr. William Elory Curtis, an acknowledged 
 authority on this matter, says : " The most reliable au- 
 thorities — and the subject has been under discussion for 
 two centuries — agree that there is no tangible evidence 
 to prove that the face of Columbus was ever painted or 
 sketched or graven during his life. His portrait has 
 been painted, like that of the Madonna and those of the 
 saints, by many famous artists, each dependent upon 
 verbal descriptions of his appearance by contemporane- 
 ous writers, and each conveying to the canvas his own 
 conception of what the great seaman's face must have 
 been ; but it may not be said that any of the portraits 
 are genuine, and it is believed that all of them are more 
 or less fanciful." 
 
 We have, however, verbal descriptions of his physi- 
 ognomy and personal appearance by five distinguished 
 personages, who knew him intimately. His son, Fer- 
 nando, says : " The Admiral was a well-made man, of 
 a height above the medium, with along face, and cheek- 
 bones somewhat prominent ; neither too fat nor too lean. 
 He had an aquiline nose, light-colored eyes, and a ruddy 
 complexion. In youth he had been fair, and his hair 
 was of a light color, but after he was thirty years old it 
 turned white. In eating and drinking he was an ex- 
 
8 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 ample of sobriety, as well as simple and modest about 
 his person." 
 
 Oviedo, a distinguished Spanish historian, who had 
 seen Columbus at different times during his j^outh and 
 early manhood, says : " Columbus was a man of honest 
 parentage and sober life. He had a noble bearing, good 
 looks, and a height above the medium, which was well 
 carried. He had sharp eyes, and the other parts of his 
 visage were well proportioned. His hair was a bright 
 red, his complexion flushed and marked with freckles, 
 His language was easy, prudent, showing a great genius, 
 and he was gracious in manner." 
 
 Bernaldez, a devout ecclesiastic, curate of Palacios, 
 and biographer of the king and queen, knew Colum- 
 bus well, having entertained him as a guest for quite a 
 time, just after his second voyage. He describes him 
 as " a man of fine stature, strong of limb, with an elon- 
 gated visage, fresh and rudd}^ of complexion, marked 
 with freckles. He had a noble bearing, was dignified 
 of speech, and bore a kindly manner." 
 
 Peter Martyr, a distinguished man in learning and 
 literature at the court of Spain during the solicitations 
 and voyages of Columbus, and Las Casas, the great 
 missionary to the Indians and the humane advocate of 
 their cause, both describe the Admiral in language very 
 similar to the statements quoted. The latter tells us 
 that his keen eyes were gray, that his countenance was 
 sad, and that, while he spoke fervently and fluently, he 
 w^as inclined to be reticent. Naturally of an impulsive 
 temper, his anger rose quickly ; but all his moods and 
 operations of mind were tempered with a high sense of 
 justice. 
 
INTR OD UC TION. ^ 
 
 Of all tlie portraits claiming to represent Columbus, 
 the Giovian group is best sustained by criticism. It is 
 known that Paolo Giovio, archbishop of Nocera, whose 
 wealth was sufficient to indulge his literary and artistic 
 tastes, and who was a cotemporary of the Admiral, had 
 a portrait of him in the magnificent art collection of his 
 palace on the banks of Lake Como. Five paintings and 
 one engraving,^ all resembling each other quite per- 
 ceptibly, lay claim to be the original Giovian portrait, 
 and they all conform sufiiciently to the descriptions above 
 quoted. It would seem that either some one of them 
 is the origiual from which all the rest have been derived, 
 or the prototype from which they have been taken is 
 lost. 
 
 Many other portraits lay claim to authority, repre- 
 senting the physiognomies of nearly all the nationali- 
 ties of Western Europe. It is pretty certain that any 
 portrait with a mustache, or beard, or a ruff about the 
 neck is of doubtful likeness, and certainly those which 
 conform most closely to the descriptions given by writers 
 who knew him are most entitled to our confidence. 
 
 The Lotto portrait, just commanding a good deal of 
 attention, is not altogether unlike the Giovian type, and 
 has many points worthy of consideration ; but it does 
 not promise to take the place of that very interesting 
 group. 
 
 Should Columbus be considered the rightful discov- 
 erer of America ? Is the quadricentennial exhibition 
 about to be held by the Republics of America, and, in 
 fact, by the civilized world, a grand reality^ or is it a 
 
 ^ See Mr. Curtis's very interesting article in the CosTnopoHtafi,]^.x\\\^vy 
 and February, 1892. 
 
I O INTR ODUC TION. 
 
 magnifice7it sham ? A good deal has been written and 
 said on this point during the last few years ; but the 
 fact that ever3-thing is moving harmoniously toward 
 that Great Western City in which the World's Fair is 
 to take place shows plainly enough that men in general 
 are still holding to the old opinion. Columbus is 
 looked upon to-day as the revealer of this half of the 
 globe. 
 
 Not to speak of the claims put forth for the Egyp- 
 tians, the Cauaanites, and the Chinese as the original 
 discoverers and colonizers of America, we will begin 
 with those of the Norsemen. That these brave sea- 
 men made various voyages to the North Atlantic coast 
 in the last part of the tenth and the first part of the 
 eleventh century is now too clear to admit of a doubt ; 
 but can those voyages, which left no trace of coloniza- 
 tion in the land itself, revealed nothing to the world, 
 and added nothing to the convenience and commerce 
 of the world, — can such voyages be properly called 
 a discovery? The vague accounts found in the Sagas, 
 of the lands discovered by chance by the Norsemen, 
 supposed to refer to Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, and 
 the New England coast, will not soon take the place 
 of the well-authenticated voyages of Columbus, con- 
 ducted by a strictly scientific method, and obviously 
 not originated by intelligence gained from Iceland. 
 
 Between this period and the date of the first voyage 
 of Columbus, says R. H. Major, "the coast of America 
 is reported to have been visited by the Arabians of the 
 Spanish peninsula, the Welsh, the Venetians, the Por- 
 tuguese, and also by a Pole in the service of Denmark." 
 The vagaries of these claims we have not time to dis- 
 
INTR ODUC TION. 1 1 
 
 cuss in a work which is supposed to appeal to the com- 
 mon sense of the people rather than to hair-splitting 
 speculations. 
 
 In view of all the different parties claiming to have 
 seen, by the chance of overwhelming storms or other- 
 wise, the shores of America before the landing of Colum- 
 bus, perhaps we would better end the debate as to pri- 
 ority of discovery by concluding that the aborigines first 
 found the Western Continent, and rest our claim in 
 favor of Columbus in the fact that he gave Amei^ica to 
 the world ! 
 
 Just here we are reminded forcibly of the words of 
 Peter Martyr, who says: "The reverend and thankful 
 antiquity was accustomed to esteem those men as gods 
 by whose industry and magnanimity such lauds and 
 regions were discovered as were unknown to their pre- 
 decessors. But unto us, having only one God, whom 
 we honor in triplicity of person, this resteth, that albeit 
 we do not worship that kind of men with divine honor, 
 yet we do reverence them, and worthily marvel at their 
 noble acts and enterprises." 
 
CHAPTER I. 
 
 THE BIRTHPLACE AND EARLY LIFE OF COLUMBUS. 
 
 KNOA, more ancient than Rome, and one of 
 tlie most charmingly located cities in the 
 world, is the birthplace of Christopher Co- 
 lumbus. Though much disputed formerly, this is now 
 made sure beyond a doubt. Henry Harrisse, who may 
 be called the ultimate authority on such points, in the 
 life of the Admiral, says •} ''Columbus's father, Domenico, 
 who, let it be said, lived long enough to hear of the 
 great discovery accomplished by his son, since he died 
 in 1494, called himself a Genoese in four deeds executed 
 at Savona, February and June, 1473, August, 1484, and 
 November, 1491. So did Columbus's youngest brother, 
 Giacomo, in an instrument in writing, dated September, 
 1484. These documents, all quoted by Tiraboschi, are 
 in the notarial archives of Genoa. Among his con- 
 temporaries, Giustiniani, Bernaldez, Gallo, Senarega, 
 Cabot, Geraldinus, and the compilers of the P^si 
 novamenti and Itmerareum^ all call him a Genoese." 
 
 Again, page 70, after discussing at length the claims 
 for other places, he says : " To close this exciting debate 
 we propose to quote Columbus himself, thinking that 
 his opinion on the subject is entitled to some considera- 
 tion. In the will or deed dated February, 1498, con- 
 ferring sundry titles, a ynajorat^ &c.^ upon his descend- 
 ants, he says in so many words : ' I was born in Genoa ; ' 
 
 1 Notes on Columbus, p. 63. 
 
14 DATE OF COLUMBUS'S BIRTH. 
 
 and speaking of that city he adds : ' I came from there, 
 and there was I born.'" 
 
 But to ascertain the date of Columbus's birth has been 
 still more difficult. Bernaldez, the cura de los Palacios, 
 who knew Columbus well, says in his quaint way : 
 
 " And this same Admiral Christopher Columbus, of 
 a marvellously honored memory, a native of the province 
 of Milan, the discoverer of the Indies, being in Valla- 
 dolid, in the month of May, died in a good old age, being 
 seventy years old or thereabouts. Our Lord pardon 
 him. Amen." 
 
 Therefore, Irving, Humboldt, and others put his birth 
 at 1435. Others, by an arrangement of inferences from 
 some of Columbus's letters, making a supposed connec- 
 tion which is not very conclusive, have placed the date 
 at i455-'56. These two dates, about twenty years apart, 
 are both at variance with certain well-authenticated 
 statements in Columbus's letters. 
 
 An examination of the notarial records by the Mar- 
 quis Stagliano, apart from all historical statements, 
 would place the date of the birth of the great discoverer 
 somewhere from October 29th, 1446, to October 29th, 
 1 45 1. Henry Harrisse thinks it can be iixed between 
 March 15th, 1446, and March 20th, 1447. And this 
 date accords precisely with those quite definite state- 
 ments in Columbus's letters which were so notably at 
 variance with the dates above given. In his book of the 
 first voyage (1492) he says : "I was upon the sea twenty- 
 three years without being off" it any time worth the 
 speaking of." Again he says " that he took to the sea 
 at fourteen years of age and ever after followed it." 
 We know that he left Lisbon in 1484, and until 1492 was 
 
DATE OF COLUMBUS'S BIRTH. 
 
 15 
 
 soliciting aid for his voyage, and so was not on the sea 
 during that time. Subtracting the sum of 23 and 14 
 from 1484, and allowing some months more or less at 
 each end of the periods covered by these figures, we 
 easily get the date of Harrisse, which includes that of 
 Stagliano — namely, i446-'47, or thereabout. 
 
 But we can make out still another line of confirma- 
 tion of the above date. In 1501 he wrote to the 
 Spanish sovereigns, " I went to sea very young and have 
 continued it to this day." Now this term, very young, 
 is, as we know, 14 years. He then says : " It is now 
 forty years that I have been sailing to all those parts 
 at present frequented." Here the word "sailing" is 
 used more generally, and evidently includes the years 
 he spent in Spain in the interests of his first voyage. 
 Add then 40 and 14, and subtract the sum from 1501, 
 and we are back again to 1447 by exact figures ; and 
 by allowing a few months at both ends of the periods 
 given we might easily make it 1446.^ 
 
 Here, then, by three independent lines of calcula- 
 tion, we have the birth of Columbus at i^/^G-^y. And 
 let it be noted that these lines, one by means of the 
 notarial acts, and two from the internal evidence of 
 the Admiral's own letters, are the most trustworthy 
 possible. Also, as the language of Bernaldez, on 
 which the earliest date has been founded, is not very 
 definite, and as Columbus turned gray young, at 
 thirty years of age, and must have been much 
 broken by his life of extreme hardships and great 
 anxiety, his age at sixty might easily have been mis- 
 
 ^ In the famous Memoirs of Columbus published by the Decurions of 
 Genoa, the date of his birth is given as either 1446 or 1447- 
 
1 6 PARENTAGE AND HOME. 
 
 taken for seventy ; but the same sort of mistake could 
 scarcely have covered the twenty years from fift}'' to 
 sevent3^^ 
 
 This date, as given above, accords with that given 
 by Munoz, whose careful research and noble candor 
 entitle him to special credit.'^ 
 
 Genoa has many statues of distinguished personages 
 and heroes, along the line of her great antiquity; 
 but that which the traveller from every part of the 
 world stops to gaze upon is the imposing figure of Co- 
 lumbus, elevated on its high and elaborate pedestal, 
 in the public promenade. Piazza de Acqua, with the 
 statue of America kneeling at his feet. Scarcely could 
 this distinguished man of modern times have opened his 
 ej-es upon a more delightsome landscape or a prouder 
 city. But he does not seem to have cared particularly for 
 the forest-clad slopes and rocky peaks of the Apen- 
 nines, curving like an amphitheatre around Genoa, 
 nor for the snowy peaks of the Alps beyond. He 
 looked out upon the sea, whence came the ships from 
 all parts of the known world ; and the varied costumes 
 and the jargon of mau}^ languages in the harbor 
 were, to his boyhood curiosity, a revelation of the 
 wide world bej'Ond the walls and moles of his native 
 city. He probably never saw the inside of one of the 
 
 1 On some of the points above given see R. H. Major's Select Letters of 
 Columbus, pp. 33 and 34 of Introduction. 
 
 After all, it must be admitted that these lines of evidence concerning the 
 date of Columbus's birth, though highly probable, are not absolutely conclu- 
 sive. If, for instance, the 40 years spent on the sea should not include the 
 7-8 years of sojourn in Spain, the date implied by Bernaldez, and adopted 
 by Irving and Humboldt, would be sufficiently accurate. 
 
 - The figure 28, as representing the age of Columbus when he came to 
 Spain, and which is found in one of his letters, is evidently a mistake. 
 
PARENTAGE AND HOME. 17 
 
 many marble palaces which looked out so proudly on 
 the harbor, nor could he have been very familiar with 
 the great centres of commerce, representing in Genoa 
 the arts and products of the civilized world. He was 
 the son of a wool-carder^ — in fact, belonged to an an- 
 cestry of wool-carders ; and he grew up amidst the 
 incessant industries and careful economies of frugal 
 life. We are not to associate his childhood, how- 
 ever, with a pinching poverty or the squalor of low 
 life. His father, Domenico Columbo — Columbus is the 
 latinized form of the name — probably began married 
 life in his own house, in the wool-weavers' quarter in 
 Genoa, having also a shop and an independent busi- 
 ness on a moderate scale. Possibly he had a small 
 cloth factory with a journeyman and an apprentice. 
 
 A careful examination of the notarial acts shows that 
 he moved to Savona in 1470. Here he and his son 
 Christopher were known as weavers ; but the latter dis- 
 appears from the notarial records after 1473. Domen- 
 ico kept a house of entertainment and speculated in 
 small landed properties. But fortune does not seem to 
 have smiled on this combination of enterprises, for in 
 after years he needed Christopher's aid, and at least 
 one of his lots remained unpaid for at his death. Dur- 
 ing the fifteen years spent here he lost his wife, whose 
 maiden name was Susannah Fontanarossa, and whom 
 he married in the country lying east of Genoa, called 
 Bisagno. 
 
 Such, as nearly as we can judge, was the youthful 
 
 * In the present state of manufacturing, v^ooX-carding and -wool-combing 
 
 are very different processes. Whether the CoUimbuses were wool-carders 
 or wool-combers, is very difficult to determine. 
 
1 8 FRENCH PIRA TE S NO T HIS REL A TIONS, 
 
 home aud such were the circumstances of young Chris- 
 topher, the oldest of four sons, of whom two, Bartholo- 
 mew aud James (Diego in Spanish) , were intimately as- 
 sociated with his fortunes in the New World ; the other, 
 John Pelligrino, was of delicate health and died in early 
 manhood. He had also one sister, named Bianchinetta, 
 whose husband, Bavarillo, was a cheesemonger, or some 
 say a butcher. They had one child. 
 
 Probably a little more light on the humble home of 
 Domenico Columbo would disclose a family of no ordi- 
 nary moral and intellectual status , for such a trio as 
 the Columbus brothers known in the New World could 
 not have sprung from an indifferent household. It has 
 been customary to take a somewhat broad view of the 
 ancestral line, showing a view of intellect and a bold 
 heroism as a more or less common inheritance for sev- 
 eral generations. A supposed relative of the same name, 
 presumably a great-uncle, had distinguished himself, 
 sometimes as master of his own squadron, sometimes as 
 an admiral in the service of the republic of Genoa. 
 Also a nephew of his, Colombo el Mezo, who commanded 
 a squadron under the French king against Naples, is 
 described as " a famous corsair, so terrible for his deeds 
 against the infidels that the Moorish mothers used to 
 frighten their children in the cradle with his name." 
 
 These mariners, noted among the nations as pirates, 
 were well known under the French flag and were called 
 Casanove or Coulon.^ " To determine the exact rela- 
 tionship between the various French and Italian Colom- 
 bos or Coulons of the fifteenth century would be hazard- 
 ous. It is enough to say that no evidence that stands a 
 
 1 Sometimes given Cassaneuve. 
 
FERNANDO NOTWITHSTANDING. 
 
 19 
 
 critical test remains to connect these famous mariners 
 with the line of Christopher Columbus." So concludes 
 Justin Winsor, after the most critical examination of 
 the latest authorities, including the searching works of 
 Harrisse. And surely neither of these authors can be 
 charged with partiality in favor of Columbus. It is the 
 confusing of the great discoverer v/ith these noted cor- 
 sairs^'above referred to, and making him responsible for 
 at least sharing in their piratical excursions, wdiich has 
 marked him down as a ^'^ pirate P 
 
 It is Columbus's own son, Fernando, who is particu- 
 larly responsible for initiating this noted biographical 
 blunder. Confessing ignorance as to the early part of 
 his father's life, he adopted this tale of his piratical re- 
 lationships on the authority of one Sabillicus, who is 
 likewise the sole voucher for the startling story concern- 
 ing the escape of Columbus from the burning galleys in 
 the Venetian conflict, on an oar. This piratical encoun- 
 ter, well authenticated in the state papers of Spain and 
 Venice, took place in 1485, when Columbus had already 
 left Lisbon, and must have been too much enwrapped in 
 his great scheme to be engaged in any such trifling and 
 predatory affair. 
 
 i Fernando, having grown up amidst courtiers, was evi- 
 dently sensitive as to any insinuation concerning the 
 humble origin of. his father, and would rather associate 
 him with first-class pirates than with an ancestry of 
 wool-carders. " No great acumen, however, is neces- 
 sary," says Harrisse, " to discover that Fernando, as re- 
 gards his ancestors, either in the direct line or other- 
 wise, had very vague and unreliable notions. For in- 
 stance, he includes in his pedigree the procurator Junius 
 
20 COLUMBUS A SELF-MADE MAN. 
 
 Colonus, who lived under the Emperor Claudius. Now, 
 Colonus was not his name, but Cilo. He then states 
 that his father belonged to the family of a celebrated 
 admiral in the service of the king of France, often called 
 Colon or Colombo ; but the fact is that this Colombo 
 was simply a Frenchman by the name of Caseneuve." 
 
 Equally useless would it be to try to connect our 
 hero with the more honorable families of the Colombos 
 of Genoa and vicinity, since Harrisse finds trace of at 
 least two hundred persons of that name in Liguria 
 alone, in the time of Columbus, who were in nowise con- 
 nected with him. One is forcibly reminded of a cer- 
 tain saying in the " History " attributed to his son 
 Ferdinand. " I think it better," says he, " that all the 
 honor be derived to us from his person than to go 
 about to inquire whether his father was a merchant 
 or a man of qualit}^, who kept his hawks and hounds." 
 
 Christopher Columbus must be ranked with self- 
 made men, who find their schools and schoolmasters 
 mainly in the course of events, and acquire rich stores 
 of systematic knowledge solely by dint of personal 
 effort. But his school advantages in boyhood must 
 have been fair, — must at least have laid the founda- 
 tions for the wonderful superstructures of both gen- 
 eral and special knowledge and information reared in 
 after years. " It has of late been ascertained," says 
 Winsor, " that the wool-combers of Genoa established 
 local schools for the education of their children, and 
 the young Christopher ma}^ have had his share of 
 their instruction in addition to whatever he picked up 
 at his trade, which continued, as long as lie remained 
 in Italy, that of liis father." One who read so ex- 
 
THE BOr BEFORE THE MAST. 21 
 
 tensively as did Columbus must have read easily and 
 with pleasure ; aud the samples of his haudwriting 
 which have come down to us would indicate a facile 
 aud most graceful penmanship. If the various pen- 
 drawings attributed to him are authentic, and they 
 certainly date far back and are unique, he must have 
 had, as Winsor says, " a deft hand, too, in making a 
 spirited sketch with a few strokes." The various ac- 
 counts of his making maps and charts, even as a 
 means of livelihood, necessarily imply skill in draw- 
 ing and probably in coloring. That he had a fair use 
 of Latin, that he was a practical mathematician, es- 
 pecially a nautical astronomer, and not only abreast 
 but beyond the geographical attainments of his time, 
 is obvious. That he delighted in geography and all 
 branches of knowledge related to navigation is a 
 necessary inference from the facts and course of his 
 life. How much of all this varied accumulation of 
 knowledge is to be attributed to the taste of university 
 life at Pavia, ascribed by the " History " to his tender 
 years of, say, from ten to twelve, must, at present, re- 
 main a mystery. Certain it is, according to his own 
 statement, that he began a seafaring life at the mere 
 boyhood period of fourteen. Imagine him then — " red- 
 haired," " with a ruddy complexion" marked with the 
 distinct freckles which a strong sea-air would depict 
 on such a face, with a trace, perhaps, of that inflamma- 
 tion of the eyes which troubled him so seriously in 
 after years, slender, active and enthusiastic, and we 
 shall no doubt have a fairly correct picture of this bo}' 
 before the mast, bound for any part of the Mediter- 
 ranean, or even the wide and unknown sea outside the 
 
22 
 
 EARL r LIFE A T SEA. 
 
 straits. Pictures of wild adventures on the sea fed his 
 ardent imagination, and that spirit of discovery which 
 was the characteristic of the age must have made the 
 blood tingle in his veins. Not only the severity of the 
 elements, — the storm and the tempest — did he antici- 
 pate, for had he not listened to many a bloody tale of 
 piracy, then so common as to be almost legalized ? If 
 he were on board the ship of some line of traffic, he 
 would know that whole fleets of marauders might 
 await her, and that there might be sea-fights as terri- 
 ble as naval conflicts in regular warfare. Indeed the 
 ship would be heavily armed and equipped, and every 
 sailor would need the spirit and skill of the soldier. 
 As there was no ver}^ nice distinction in those days 
 between proper naval enterprise and privateering, and 
 piracy, his judgment would not discriminate as to 
 V03^ages and skirmishes which would be far from rep- 
 utable in the clearer light of these days. 
 
 But it must be left to the imagination to fill out the 
 biographical details from now on till Columbus appears 
 again as a wool-weaver in company with his father at 
 Savona, from 1470 -'73, for the few striking incidents 
 which have been wont to come into line to fill up the 
 gap here, formerly supposed to be much larger than it 
 now appears in the light of recent findings, are likely to 
 prove doubtful, to say the least, as far as their relation 
 to Columbus is concerned. 
 
 In a letter of Columbus, quoted by his son, he says : 
 " It happened to me that King Rene, whom God has 
 taken to himself, sent me to Tunis to take the galeasse 
 called Fernandina^ and being near to the island of St. 
 Peter, by Sardinia, I was told there were two ships and 
 
THE EXPEDITION FOR RENE. 
 
 23 
 
 a barack with tlie said galeasse, which discomposed my 
 men, and they resolved to go no further, but to return 
 to Marseilles for another ship and more men ; and I, 
 perceiving there was no going against their wills with- 
 out some contrivance, yielded to their desires, and, chang- 
 ing the point of the needle, set sail when it was late, and 
 next morning at break of day we found ourselves near 
 Cape Carthagena, all aboard thinking we had certainly 
 been sailing for Marseilles." 
 
 It is difficult for critics to place this event anywhere 
 in the life of Rene without making Columbus too young 
 to command a ship, unless we place the date of his birth 
 earlier than the notarial records or the clearest state- 
 ments in his letters would imply. 
 
 It must be said, however, that though Rene retired 
 from active life too soon to allow the above incident a 
 convenient date in the early history of Columbus, he 
 lived till 1480. Possibly some incident connected with 
 the fortunes of his regal family, and in which he may 
 have felt an interest, would account for the above state- 
 ment. 
 
 In the Admiral's biography, given as an introduction 
 to the famous Codex Diplomaticus, as published by the 
 Decurions of Genoa, this expedition for Rene is supposed 
 to be in 1473. 
 
 Is it in this period of the life of Columbus we are to 
 place that trip to the Grecian archipelago, when, in the 
 island of Chios, he saw the mastic gathered ? 
 
CHAPTER 11. 
 
 COLUMBUS IN PORTUGAL. 
 
 tasrcgrffKov^MrBf^ 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 HE years spent by Columbus in Portugal must 
 have been most important as a preparation 
 for his momentous undertaking in after years. 
 Here, surely, did he find his school and his school- 
 masters. In order, therefore, to understand this period 
 of his life we must recall what had been going on in 
 Portugal for some time, and what was still in progress, 
 as well as what was yet to be accomplished. Neither 
 can we account for Columbus and his grand concep- 
 tion of a western route to India, unless we shall have 
 first made the acquaintance of the noble Prince Henry 
 of Portugal and his persevering enterprises on the 
 west coast of Africa. This son of the Portuguese 
 king, John I., and the English princess, Philippa, 
 daughter of John of Gaunt, duke of Lancaster, was 
 born March 4th, 1394. While yet a mere youth he dis- 
 tinguished himself on the Barbary coast, in the wars 
 waged by his father against the Moors, and resulting in 
 the conquest of Ceuta in 14 15. While on this expedi- 
 tion, by means of his conversations with the Moors, he 
 conceived of great discoveries to be made on the west 
 coast of Africa ; and this thought lodged in his youthful 
 mind became the germ of one of the greatest enterprises 
 of all time. Cape Nam, well up on the northwest coast 
 of Africa, w^as the farthest known point. The name, 
 which meant " «<?/," was forcibly played upon in the old 
 
PRINCE HENRY. 
 
 25 
 
 proverb of that day : " He who goes to Cape Not will 
 either return or not." That is, if he did not become ter- 
 rified and come back he would surely be lost. 
 
 Immediately after the African conquest Prince Henry 
 established a sort of nautical school at Sagres, near Cape 
 Vincent, on the southwest coast of Spain ; and from 
 thence sending out ships commanded by the ablest sea- 
 men he could find, he undertook to solve the problem of 
 Cape Not. His college and observator}^ were a sort of 
 factory or workshop, in which maps, charts, and nauti- 
 cal instruments of all kinds v/ere made and constantly 
 improved. An improved use of the compass was now 
 introduced into Europe, and the astrolabe, the original 
 of the more modern quadrant, became common. 
 
 In time, notwithstanding the old proverb. Cape Not 
 was passed, and the ships pushed on to Cape Bojador 
 which means the out-stretcJier. This now became the 
 point of danger which no one dared to pass. Its desert 
 coast, lashed by a tremendous surf and studded with 
 perilous rocks, stood like a mysterious barrier forbidding 
 further progress. Then, did not philosophers teach that 
 just beyond this cape and underneath the equator the 
 waters boiled under the blazing sun, and that no living 
 thing could pass this line which divided the two hemi- 
 spheres ? After the failure of many a persevering effort, 
 Gil Hannes finally returned in triumph, to the unuttera- 
 ble joy of seamen and cosmographers. With an unpar- 
 alleled heroism he had doubled the stormy cape and 
 satisfied the world that the sea was navigable and that 
 men might live under the equator. Very soon, then, 
 the equatorial line itself would be reached. 
 
 Now the noble prince was much encouraged and be- 
 
26 PRINCE HENRT. 
 
 lieved more than ever tliat the geographical ideas of 
 Ptolemy and of Hipparchus before him, making the At- 
 lantic a vast inland sea, snrronnded by a southern junc- 
 tion of Africa and Asia, were incorrect ; and that Africa 
 was a continent, around which Budoxus might have 
 sailed from the Red Sea, and Hanno, the Carthaginian, 
 from the Straits of Gibraltar, as had been affirmed by 
 the ancients/ Thus, in 1434, when Henry was about 
 at life's meridian, he had fairly established the success 
 of his great enterprise, and put to silence the mutterings 
 of the Portuguese nation, who had about concluded that 
 it was but the part of folly to spend so much precious 
 time and money in an undertaking which progressed so 
 slowly and brought such poor returns. 
 
 Now that such visions of success rose before him on 
 the unknown continent, he applied to the Pope to grant 
 to Portugal all the territory she might discover from 
 Cape Bojador to the Indies. Meanwhile, in passing 
 down the coast, Porto Santo, Madeira, and the Azores 
 had been brought to light. In 1445 one of the Prince's 
 vessels made the immense voyage to Cape Verde. Five 
 years later the Cape Verde Islands were discovered, and 
 when Henry died, in 1460, his fleets had reached Sierra 
 Leone. He was every way a noble man, concentrating 
 a life-work in one great purpose, and establishing a new 
 and most important era in the world's history. 
 
 Now Portugal was not only renowned for her enter- 
 prise in navigation, but was developing a most lucra- 
 tive business in gold-dust, ivory, and slaves. Men had 
 long since learned to strive for golden gains, but 
 
 1 Whether these old-time heroes did perform this feat in navigation or not 
 is still a question. 
 
KING JOHN II. 27 
 
 the glorious light of human freedom had not yet 
 dawned. 
 
 Prince Henry had thoroughly aroused the nation ; 
 the new enterprises which he had inaugurated had be- 
 come well established, and so King Alphonso, his 
 nephew, and afterward John II., continued to push 
 their fleets down the coast of the Dark Continent 
 until Vasco de Gama turned the Cape of Good Hope 
 in 1497. Thus in about eighty years the Portuguese 
 had explored this coast of some five thousand miles. 
 
 Meanwhile Lisbon had become the centre and resort 
 of cosmographers and navigators. Among others to be 
 found here was Bartholomew Columbus, said to have 
 been engaged in making globes, maps, charts, and nau- 
 tical instruments. But how, and when, did Christo- 
 pher Columbus first make his appearance in this his 
 most convenient place in all the wide world ? We 
 might easily conceive of his coming here by a mental 
 and moral gravitation, but what says the record ? 
 
 His son Fernando, in his well-known biography of 
 his father, brings him to these parts by means of a 
 striking incident, as follows : " Whilst the Admiral 
 sailed with the aforesaid Columbus the younger, which 
 was a long time,^ it fell out that, understanding the 
 before-mentioned four great Venetian galleys were 
 coming from Flanders, they went out to seek and found 
 them beyond Lisbon, about Cape St. Vincent, which is in 
 Portugal, where, falling to blows, they fought furiously 
 and grappled, beating one another from vessel to vessel 
 with utmost rage, making use, not only of their weap- 
 
 ^ We see, here, that the author was fully of the conviction that his father 
 had been largely trained under "Columbus the pirate" in his early adven- 
 tures at sea. 
 
28 ^ CONFLA GRA TION A T SEA. 
 
 ons, but artificial fire-works ; so tliat after tliey had 
 fought from morning till evening, and abundance were 
 killed on both sides, the Admiral's ship took fire, as 
 did a great Venetian galley, which being fast grappled 
 together with iron hooks and chains, used to this pur- 
 pose by seafaring men, could neither of them be re- 
 lieved because of the confusion there was among them, 
 and the fright of the fire, which in a short time was so 
 increased that there was no other remedy but for all 
 that could to leap into the water, so to die sooner rather 
 than bear the torture of the fire. But the Admiral 
 being an excellent swimmer, and seeing himself two 
 leagues or a little farther from land, laying hold of an 
 oar which good fortune offered him, and sometimes 
 resting upon it, sometimes swimming, it pleased God, 
 who had preserved him for greater ends, to give him 
 strength to get to the shore, but so tired and spent 
 with the water that he had much ado to recover him- 
 self. And because it was not far from Lisbon, where 
 he knew there were many Genoese, his countrymen, 
 he went away thither as fast as he could, where, being 
 known by them, he was so courteously received and 
 entertained that he set up house and married a wife in 
 that city." ^ 
 
 A noted incident, corresponding in every way to the 
 above account, is known to have occurred in 1485. 
 
 ^ Concerning this same adventure Fernando Columbus says: "Jerome 
 Donato was sent embassador from Venice into Portugal to return thanks in 
 the name of the republic to King John II., because he had clothed and re- 
 lieved all the crew belonging to the aforesaid great galleys, which were coming 
 from Flanders, relieving them in such a manner as they were enabled to re- 
 turn to Venice, they having been overcome by the famous corsair, Columbus 
 the younger, near Lisbon, who had stripped and turned them ashore." 
 
COLUMBUS THE PIRATE. 29 
 
 Rawdon Brown, in his " Calendar of State Papers in 
 the Archives of Venice," gives the diplomatic corre- 
 spondence between France and Venice, the latter 
 demanding restitution from the former, under whose 
 auspices the piratical expedition had been made. But 
 as this incident occurred after Columbus had left Por- 
 tugal, there must be some mistake in Fernando's quota- 
 tion, or there must have been another previous incident, 
 so similar as to be almost identical in character. As 
 Justin Winsor sa^^s : "It may yet be discovered that 
 it was from some earlier adventure that the buoyancy 
 of an oar took him to the land." 
 
 Bernaldez says Columbus came to Lisbon in order 
 to avail himself of the new facts concerning the African 
 coast, that he might thereby improve his maps. It is 
 evidently incorrect to associate Christopher Columbus 
 with the noted piratical encounter between the French 
 corsair and the Venetian galleys off Cape St. Vincent 
 in 1485. The following letter from Ferdinand and 
 Isabella to the King of England, November 5th, 1485, 
 reads : " Columbus, Vice-Admiral and Commander of 
 the fleet of the King of France, has captured, off the 
 coast of Portugal, four Venetian vessels, laden with a 
 great quantity of merchandise, belonging to Spanish 
 subjects. As the capture is contrary to the treaties 
 with France, Columbus has preferred to go to an 
 English port, in order to divide the booty there. The 
 King is requested to arrest the said Columbus and to 
 restore the goods to their owners." 
 
 This was about the time when Christopher Columbus 
 appeared before the Spanish monarchs to ask aid in 
 his great undertaking. What would have been his 
 
^O COL UMB US AT L ISB ON. 
 
 chance for a hearing had they been able to associate 
 him with this annoying encounter just taken place off 
 St. Vincent ? 
 
 By whatever accident, circumstance, or influence 
 Columbus came to Lisbon, certain it is that he could 
 not have found in all the world so fit a place for the 
 conception of his momentous undertaking. Would 
 not the entire Portuguese nation be in sympathy with 
 the achievements of Prince Henry ? Would not Lisbon 
 be the very heart-throbbing centre of the vast thoughts 
 of discover}^ which now moved the thinking world? 
 Here the future Admiral would come into contact and 
 communion with the greatest minds then engaged in 
 nautical and cosmographical studies. Here he would 
 converse with the heroes of the ocean, who had seen 
 and explored the coasts of the wonderful continent, 
 and had gazed on the new stars of the southern skies. 
 Would not his brother Bartholomew, who had an affec- 
 tion for him, amounting almost to veneration, do what 
 he could to retain him as a companion and partner in 
 his business ? Here were also bankers from Genoa, 
 who were ready to aid their countryman financially in 
 time of need. A good brother, kind friends, a busi- 
 ness ready to hand, money if needed, and a social 
 atmosphere congenial to one's peculiar tastes — what 
 more could the tempest-tossed stranger ask as a reason 
 for anchorage ? And here Christopher Columbus did 
 cast anchor ; j oining hands, perhaps, with Bartholomew, 
 not only in cartography and manufacture of nautical 
 instruments, but possibly in copying rare manuscripts 
 not yet in print, and in buying and selling books. 
 And for all such commodities this must have been 
 one of the best markets in the world. 
 
DONA FILIPA PERESTRELLO. 
 
 31 
 
 True to his religious convictions while thus in a 
 strange land, he went every day to worship in the 
 chapel of the Convent of All Saints. Here his usual 
 good fortune awaited him. Among the ladies of rank 
 in some way connected with this institution was Dona 
 Filipa Perestrello, daughter of a late distinguished 
 navigator under Prince Henry. She possessed no 
 great fortune, for her father had not found the coloni- 
 zation and governing of Porto Santo a very profitable 
 enterprise. This island, of volcanic origin, black, bar- 
 ren, and treeless, probably was not very amenable to 
 culture ; and the governor in stocking it, having 
 introduced tame rabbits, they multiplied so rapidly 
 as to eat down every green thing, and obliged the 
 good man to spend most of his remaining life in a 
 fruitless effort to subdue them.^ This gentleman hav- 
 ing been an Italian, there must have been a natural 
 bond of sympathy between his daughter and the 
 Genoese stranger. The story is short, — they married, 
 lived happily, and had a son, Diego, who became heir 
 and successor to his father's fortunes. 
 
 Residing during the early days of his married life 
 with his mother-in-law,^ he must have found her quite 
 congenial, for she entertained him with accounts of the 
 voyages of her husband, deceased, and gave him full 
 
 1 Darwin, in his Origin of Species, notes how Perestrello's rabbit, littering 
 on the voyage and being landed at Porto Santo with her young, soon proved 
 the rapid multiplication of species in the absence of enemies or adverse cir- 
 cumstances ; and that the rabbits, fairly swarming all over the island, de- 
 voured every green and succulent thing, almost converting it into a desert. 
 Prince Henry's biographers tell us that his enemies seized upon this 
 calamity as an evidence against the expenses of colonization, since these 
 islands were evidently not created for men, but only for beasts. 
 
 - This lady is now supposed to have been the second wife of Perestrello. 
 
32 COL UMB US AT FOR TO SANTO. 
 
 access to the charts and records he had left. Pedro 
 Correo, who had married his wife's sister, was one of 
 the noted navigators of his time, and had once been 
 governor of Porto Santo. Intercourse with him must 
 have been stimulating and instructive. 
 
 It is most interesting to note how all this is pre- 
 cisely in the line of what proved to be the ruling 
 thought and purpose in the after life of Columbus. 
 
 In course of time the young couple took up their 
 abode on the bride's estate in Porto Santo. Here 
 Diego was born. This point being on the line of 
 Portuguese navigation to Africa, Columbus, somewhere 
 about this time, made an excursion thither — probably 
 more than once.^ \ 
 
 Some time during this period of his life the grand 
 conception of a western route to India dawned upon 
 him. We need not resort to the slanderous rumor, 
 circulated after his death and still advocated by some, 
 that he obtained his information of a western country 
 from a certain sea-captain or pilot who, having been 
 bloYv'n out of his course and all the way to America by 
 an adverse wind, had returned to die at the house of 
 Columbus at Porto Santo. This rumor, brought for- 
 ward by the defence during the lawsuit betv/een Diego 
 Columbus and the Spanish Crown, gained no credence 
 at the time,^ and certainly should gain none now, 
 after being rejected by all the best authorities on the 
 life of Columbus. 
 
 ^ Some effort has been made to throw discredit on this residence in Porto 
 Santo and the events connected with it; but it is narrated by Las Casas, who 
 got his information from the Admiral's son, Diego, himself. 
 
 - Oviedo sajs : "This story is a j'arn which found credence only among 
 common people." 
 
COLUMBUS AND THE NORSEMEN. 33 
 
 Scarcely less worthy of confidence is the later 
 notion, that knowledge of the discovery of America by 
 the Norsemen, first obtained from Rome and afterward 
 confirmed by a voyage to Iceland, led Columbus to 
 simply rediscover for the south what had long been 
 known in the north. That the sea-kings from Iceland 
 sailed to the North Atlantic coast of North America 
 about the end of the tenth century, and that Colum- 
 bus, according to a letter of his quoted by his son, 
 went probably to Iceland, but possibly not farther than 
 the Faroe Isles, in 1477, not even the tyro in history 
 doubts. But where is the evidence of au}^ connection 
 between the two events ? In all the voluminous 
 records of facts concerning Columbus and his times, 
 by both friends and foes, there is never a whisper of 
 any Norse influence over his mind or conduct, — not 
 even in the records of a lawsuit of several j^ears, in 
 which the defendants of the Crown, as against the 
 claims of Diego, Columbus's eldest son, said every- 
 thing possible against the late Admiral and Viceroy as 
 the rightful discoverer of the New World. How could 
 any such fact, had it existed, have failed to be brought 
 to light during that long and thorough search ? Nor 
 has the most scrutinizing research up to the present 
 hour brought any evidence Avhatever to support the 
 above hypothesis. (See Justin Winsor's late work on 
 Christopher Columbus, pp. 135-148). 
 
 Then how unaccountable it is that the Pope, if he 
 knew that Columbus had a budget of facts from the 
 north, so important to the interests of the extension of 
 the church, did not so much as help the argument with 
 the touch of his little finger, when our hero was plead- 
 
34 DEDUCTIVE REASONING. 
 
 ing with the crowned heads for those few small ships ? 
 The sovereigns to whom the overtures were made were 
 all the most faithful children of the church, as were also 
 their counsellors at Salamanca and elsewhere. The 
 slightest suggestion from the Holy See would have 
 turned the scale at once in favor of the Genoese adven- 
 turer. 
 
 But, waiving all external evidence, let us look at that 
 which is internal. Let us pursue Columbus from court 
 to court and across the sea as he goes in search of land 
 to the westward, somewhat after the manner of a detec- 
 tive, and see what knowledge and what motives his own 
 movements betray. His grand discovery was no mere 
 happy hit, like that of Cabral, when he ran onto the 
 coast of Brazil on his way to Africa some years later. 
 Columbus worked to a theory, founded upon a wide 
 range of facts and deductions more or less correct ; and 
 that theory would seem to be none other than the one 
 claimed by himself, his son, and his early biographers 
 generally. Given on the one hand that the earth is 
 round, and on the other that India could be reached by 
 sailing around Africa, as the Portuguese believed and 
 finally proved, and did it not follow, as a necessary in- 
 ference, that India might be reached by sailing to the 
 west ? Of course he had no conception of a continent 
 between Europe on the east of the Atlantic and Asia 
 on the west. He had made an estimate of the time 
 required for the sun to pass from east to west over the 
 two thousand miles of the Mediterranean sea, and hence 
 formed some conception of the distance around the earth 
 over which the sun passed in twenty-four hours. In- 
 fluenced by the views of Ptolemy, Marinus of Tyre, and 
 
AMERICA AND BEHAIAPS MAP. 
 
 35 
 
 Alfraganus the Arabian, lie believed the earth to be 
 much smaller than it is. " The world is small, mticJi 
 smaller than people suppose ^^ he wrote to Isabella during 
 his fourth voyage. Then he thought the eastern coast 
 of Asia to be about where the Isthmus of Darien was 
 finally discovered, and Cipango or Japan to be about 
 where he found the larger West India Islands. His 
 
 HAJA 
 
 
 
 
 \^ 
 
 ^^o 
 
 /-v. 
 
 ^^K 
 
 ^?^>^ 
 
 .J 
 
 *v-*' 
 
 THE ACTUAL AMERICA IN RELATION TO BEHAIM'S GEOGRAPHY. 
 
 brilliant conceptions of India, then called Mangi and 
 Cathay, and of Cipango, were derived either directly or 
 
36 
 
 HUMBOLDT'S OPINION. 
 
 indirectly from the glowing accounts of Marco Polo, 
 whom Humboldt calls " the greatest traveller of any 
 age," and probabl}^ also from Sir John Mandeville. 
 These writers had travelled through Eastern Asia, re- 
 spectively, in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries. 
 A careful study of their writings and also of the re- 
 ports of other oriental travellers, and not the manu- 
 script accounts of the tours of the Vikings or Norsemen, 
 were the guiding star of Columbus all through his voy- 
 ages of discovery. Hence he became the ready victim 
 of mau}^ a false and absurd notion ; and the reader is 
 frequently amused by the egregious blunders which he 
 was constantly making. " When the natives of Cuba 
 pointed to the interior of their island and said ' Cubani- 
 can,' Columbus interpreted it to mean ' Kublai Khan ;' 
 and the Cuban name of ' Mangon ' became to his ear 
 the Mangi of Sir John Mandeville.^ Indeed, nothing 
 surprised him more than to find only naked savages 
 where he had expected to find the wealth}^ and luxu- 
 rious nations of the civilized Orient. Humboldt has 
 well said, " If Columbus had desired to seek a conti- 
 nent of which he had obtained information in Iceland, 
 he would assuredly not have directed his course south- 
 ward from the Canary Islands." 
 
 Had not Aristotle, Seneca, Pliny and Strabo all 
 spoken of land to be found, in all probability, within 
 moderate sailing distance to the west ? What land 
 could this be but that of Polo and Mandeville ? There 
 was, besides Columbus, at least one man living who 
 believed in the practicability of finding India in the 
 western ocean. Dr. Paulo Toscanelli, of Florence, a 
 
 ^Justin Winsor, vol. II, p. 42, Narrative and Critical Hist. Am. 
 
PAULO TOSCANELLI. 
 
 37 
 
 man of great scientific attainments, especially in the 
 sublime field of astronomy, was so moved by this one 
 thought that he might have been regarded as a sort of 
 monomaniac on the subject. And the peculiar senti- 
 ments of this savant must have been more or less 
 known, for Alphonso IV. is said to have consulted him 
 about this time (1474) as to a western passage to '' the 
 land where the spices grow." The views of this inter- 
 esting man betray a familiarity with the works of 
 Polo and Mandeville and other travellers, perhaps ; and 
 he also claims to have derived facts of great impor- 
 tance from " an embassador to Pope Bugenius IV., who 
 told him the great friendship there Vv^as between these 
 princes, their people and Christians." 
 
 To him Columbus wrote in about 1474, and received, 
 in reply, a map of the supposed lands in the western 
 ocean, in their relations to the known parts of the 
 world ; and also a copy of a letter recently written to 
 a learned ecclesiastic of Lisbon, for the special benefit 
 of King Alphonso. The letter was as follows : 
 
 " To Christopher Columbus, Paul the Physician 
 wisheth health. 
 
 '' I perceive your noble and earnest desire to sail to 
 those parts where the spice is produced ; and therefore 
 in answer to a letter of yours, I send you another 
 letter, which some days since I wrote to a friend of 
 mine, and servant to the King of Portugal, before the 
 wars of Castile, in answer to another he writ to me by 
 his Highnesses order, upon this same account, and I 
 send 3^ou another sea chart like that I sent him, which 
 will satisfy your demands. The copy of that letter is 
 this : 
 
TOSCANELLPS MAP. 
 
TOSCANELLFS LETTER. 39 
 
 "To Ferdinand Martinez, canon of Lisbon, Paul the 
 Physician wishes health. 
 
 " I am very glad to hear of the familiarity you have 
 with your most serene and magnificent King, and 
 though I have very often discoursed concerning the 
 short way there is from hence to the Indies, where the 
 spice is produced, by sea, which I look upon to be 
 shorter than you take by the coast of Guinea, yet you 
 now tell me that his Highness would have me make 
 out and demonstrate it so as it may be understood and 
 put in practice. Therefore, tho' I could better show it 
 him with a globe in ni}- hand, and make him sensible 
 of the figure of the world, yet I have resolved to render 
 it more easy and intelligible to show this way upon a 
 chart, such as are used in navigation, and therefore I 
 send one to his Majesty, made and drawn with my own 
 hand, wherein is set down the utmost bounds of the 
 west from Iceland, in the north, to the furthest part of 
 Guinea, with all the islands that lie in the way ; oppo- 
 site to which western coast is descried the beginning of 
 the Indies, with the islands and places whither you 
 may go, and how far you may bend from the north 
 pole towards the equinoctial and for how long a time ; 
 that is, how many leagues you may sail before you 
 come to those places most fruitful in all sorts of spice, 
 jewels, and precious stones. Do not wonder if I term 
 that country where the spice grows west^ that product 
 being generally ascribed to the east.^ because those who 
 shall sail westward will always find those places in the 
 west, and they that travel by land eastwards will ever 
 find those places in the east. The straight lines that lie 
 lengthways in the chart show the distance there is from 
 
^O TOSCANELLPS LETTER. 
 
 west to east, the other cross them show the distance 
 from north to south. I have also marked down in the 
 said chart several places in India where ships might 
 put in upon any storm or contrary winds or any other 
 accident unforeseen. And, moreover, to give you full 
 information of all those places which you are very de- 
 sirous to know, you must understand that none but 
 traders live or reside in all those islands, and that there 
 is there as great a number of ships and seafaring peo- 
 ple with merchandise as in any other part of the world, 
 particularly in a most noble part called Zacton, where 
 there are every year an hundred large ships of pepper 
 loaded and unloaded, besides many other ships that 
 take in other spice. This country is mighty populous, 
 and there are many provinces and kingdoms and innu- 
 merable cities under the dominion of a prince called the 
 Great Cham, which name signifies king of kings, who 
 for the most part resides in the province of Cathay. 
 His predecessors were very desirous to have commerce 
 and be in amity with Christians, and 200 years since 
 sent embassadors to the Pope desiring him to send them 
 many learned men and doctors to teach them our faith ; 
 but by reason of some obstacles the embassadors met 
 with they returned back without coming to Rome. Be- 
 sides, there came an embassador to Pope Eugenius IV., 
 who told him the great friendshiD there was between 
 those princes, their people, and Christians. I discoursed 
 with him a long while upon the several matters of the 
 grandeur of their royal structures and of the greatness, 
 length, and breadth of their rivers, and he told me many 
 wonderful things of the multitude of towns and cities 
 founded along the banks of the rivers, and that there 
 
TOSCANBLLI'S LETTER. 
 
 41 
 
 were 200 cities upon one only river with marble bridges 
 over it of a great length and breadth, and adorned with 
 abundance of pillars. This country deserves, as well 
 as an}^ other, to be discovered ; and there may not only 
 be great profit made there, and many things of value 
 found, but also gold, silver, all sorts of precious stones, 
 and spices in abundance, which are not brought into 
 our ports. And it is certain that many wise men, phil- 
 osophers, astrologers, and other persons skilled in all 
 arts and very ingenious, govern that niight}^ province 
 and command their armies. From Lisbon, directly 
 westward, there are in the chart 26 spaces, each of 
 which contains 250 miles, to the most noble and vast 
 city of Ouisay, which is 100 miles in compass — that is, 
 35 leagues ; in it there are 10 marble bridges. The 
 name signifies a heavenly city, of which wonderful 
 things are reported, as to the ingenuity of the people, 
 the buildings, and revenues. This space above men- 
 tioned is almost a third part of the globe. This 
 city is in the province of Mango, bordering on that of 
 Cathay, where the King for the most part resides. 
 From the Island Antilia, which you call the seven 
 cities, and v/hereof you have some knowledge, to the 
 most noble island of Cipango, are 10 spaces, which 
 make 2,500 miles, or 225 leagues, which island abounds 
 in gold, pearls, and precious stones ; and you must 
 understand they cover their temples and palaces with 
 plates of pure gold. So that, for want of knowing the 
 way, all these things are hidden and concealed, and yet 
 may be gone to with safety. Much more might be said, 
 but having told you what is most material, and 3^ou 
 being wise and judicious, I am satisfied there is nothing 
 
VISION OF THE ORIENT. 
 42 
 
 of it but what you understand, and therefore I will not 
 be more prolix. Thus much may serve to satisfy your 
 curiosity, it being as much as the shortness of time and 
 my business would permit me to say. So I remain 
 most ready to satisfy and serve his Highness to the 
 utmost in all the commands he shall lay upon me. 
 
 " Florence, /««^ ^5, i474-^' 
 
 The above letter was soon followed by another, very 
 similar in character. It is a literary curiosity, without 
 which this biography would scarcely be complete, 
 since it is a most important link in the chain of events 
 and discloses the magnificent vision which allured our 
 hero. And while there is no evidence that Columbus 
 borrowed his first thought of a western route from the 
 Florentine doctor,^ that savant was, without doubt, 
 much in advance of him, in the detailed* items and 
 elaborateness of his conception. His imagination had 
 worked much more minutely on this splendid picture 
 of the Orient ; using, in all probability, Marco Polo's 
 high coloring, as well as the exaggerated statements of 
 travellers, who claimed to give their facts and figures 
 from recent obser\^ation. At this time, when the new 
 thought dawning on the mind of Columbus would be 
 almost enough to place him among the insane, in the 
 estimation of his fellows, the chart sent by Toscanelli, 
 planning his route in anticipation, and this letter, so 
 positive and explicit in all its particulars, must have 
 aflforded an immense impulse. Imagine him poring 
 
 ' Humboldt believed that the idea of reaching the east by sailing west 
 awoke simultaneously in the minds of Columbus and Toscanelli. 
 
 Harrisse, in his Notes on Columbus, p. 85, says, " Navarrete exhibits 
 documents which prove that Columbus first thought of his idea in Portugal, 
 in 1470, three years before he ever wrote to Toscanelli." 
 
SENEGAS MEDEA. 43 
 
 over them in the still hours of the night. Every line 
 in the chart and every sentence of the letter would 
 cause the fibres and tissues of nerve and brain to 
 vibrate in response. 
 
 Then he may have turned to his famous hnago 
 Mu7idi by Cardinal D'Ailly, and reviewing those 
 references to the learned ancients, from Aristotle to 
 Roger Bacon, which implied the sphericity of the earth 
 and the eastern shores of Asia not far to the westward 
 of Spain, perhaps wrote one of his Latin notes on the 
 margin. Or he may have revelled in the wonderful 
 words of the Medea by the poet Seneca, — 
 
 " Veniunt annis ftecula feris, 
 Qiiibus Oceanus vincula rerum 
 Laxit, et ingens pateat tellus, 
 Thetysque novos legat orbes, 
 Nee sic terris Ultima Thule," — 
 
 which has been rendered, "Times will come, in 
 distant ages, when the ocean will reveal its mysteries ; 
 an immense land will appear, Thetys will uncover 
 new continents, and the Shetlands will no longer be 
 the extremity of the world." 
 
 " Which poetical effusion so greatly pleased Colum- 
 bus," sa3^s Harrisse, " that he quoted it twice in full, 
 not to speak of Fernando, who wrote on the margin of 
 his own copy of Seneca : ' This prophecy was accom- 
 plished by my father, Christopher Columbus, in the 
 year 1492.' " 
 
 " Coming events cast their shadows before," While 
 Columbus was evolving his great scheme of a western 
 voyage, not a few heads were teeming more or less 
 vaguely with notions of land in that direction. Antonio 
 
LAND IN THE WEST. 
 44 
 
 Leone, of Aladeira, told liim that, sailing thither one 
 hundred leagues, he had descried three islands in the 
 distance. Some of the inhabitants of the Canaries 
 were sure that they had seen, at different times, a large 
 island in the western ocean, its magnificent landscape 
 of lofty mountains and deep valleys looming up dis- 
 tinctly above the wild waste of waters. Indeed they 
 had even applied to the King of Portugal for permis- 
 sion to go out and take possession of it ; but having 
 made several expeditions, failed to find land, which 
 still, however, rose occasionally on their vision. 
 
 How certain sailors to the far west had picked np 
 from the waves pieces of w^ood carved with some other 
 implements than those common to civilization ; how 
 reeds of immense size, so that "every joint would 
 hold above four quarts of wane," corresponding to 
 those which Ptolemy said grew in India, had floated to 
 the shores of some of the w^estern islands ; how the 
 people of the Azores had seen among the debris 
 thrown up by the waves huge trunks of pine trees, 
 such as did not grow in their part of the world ; and 
 how there had floated onto the shores of the island, 
 Flores, two drowned men, " very broad faced " and un- 
 like those of any known country — all these rumors 
 have become familiar to the readers of biographies of 
 Columbus. And their chief significance is the gen- 
 eral state of mind luhich they discover. If the scholars 
 of the closet and the cloister were too far removed from 
 the facts of nature to sympathize with the great con- 
 ception of Columbus, at least a few of the common 
 people were nearer to the truth. Their eyes were out 
 upon the ocean, and there was more or less of a pre- 
 sentiment of land about to be found. 
 
THE SOLITAIRE. 4^ 
 
 But Columbus was the representative of this im- 
 portant idea. Imagine him as a solitaire on the lonely 
 island of Porto Santo, seated, perhaps, on some "rock 
 beside the sea." Probably no man living was more 
 familiar with the scanty geography of the world, then 
 known only to the few. Its incomplete chart of the 
 wide and unknown sea could be called up to memory 
 and the imagination at any moment. He seemed to 
 stand on the shores of the infinite ; and before his vis- 
 ion there arose, in the distance, realms of wealth and 
 beauty, peopled with countless numbers. 
 
 Whether the initial thought was all his own, or 
 whether it was more or less derived from some one 
 else, he was at least able to receive and assimilate great 
 thoughts, to make from them the grandest generaliza- 
 tions, and, what was greater still, had the singular 
 courage to act upon their resultant of truth. The 
 clever recluse sitting in his easy-chair might specu- 
 late upon populous countries more or less distant in 
 the western seas, and the cosmographer might project 
 them upon parchment, and the poet put them into verse. 
 This would require a mere modicum of the geographi- 
 cal learning of the time, and a glint of imagination. 
 But, for one in the humble ranks of poverty and toil, 
 to amass the learning of the age, co-ordinating and 
 utilizing it to the greatest practical end, to enlist kings, 
 to procure ships and crews and venture into the terrors 
 of the dark and unknown seas, and sail into the teeth 
 of mutiny and danger inconceivable, till the land on 
 the other side of the globe appeared, will ever remain a 
 most astounding achievement. 
 
CHAPTER III. 
 
 COLUMBUS AND KING JOHN II. 
 
 O conceive of a great enterprise as possible is 
 one thing, but to project the best plan for 
 bringing it to pass is quite another. Some 
 vears seem to have rolled by before Columbus deter- 
 mined how to undertake his scheme. He was too poor 
 to make an expedition on his own account, as the sea- 
 kin o-s from the north seem to have done ; and, as social 
 orders and governments then existed, the enterprise 
 was too great for any but crowned heads or established 
 nations. He comprehended the situation. Tradition 
 says he first applied to the Republic of Genoa by letter 
 for the patronage needed, thus giving his native place 
 the first preference. However this may have been, we 
 know he applied to King John II., who came to the 
 throne of Portugal in 1481, in his twenty-fifth year. 
 This monarch was the worthy successor to the discov- 
 eries of Prince Henry, his great-uncle ; and with his 
 accession the grand conception of reaching India by 
 circumnavigating Africa received a new impulse. With 
 a true spirit of enterprise, he built a fort on the coast 
 of Guinea to protect commerce with the natives. Thus 
 far the African enterprise had cost more than it had 
 brought in return ; but the Portuguese, as also Western 
 Europe in general, had the most fabulous notions of the 
 wealth and resources of India. Gold, pearls, precious 
 stones, spices, and the finest of silken fabrics were 
 among its wondrous products. When the channel of 
 this trade, now struggling slowly across the Asiatic con- 
 
PRESTER JOHN. 47 
 
 tinent and euricliing the marts of Italy, should be made 
 to flow around Africa into Portugal, a rich reward for 
 all the expenses of exploration would be realized. 
 
 King John was, no doubt, familiar with the astound- 
 ing reports of Polo and Mandeville, as also with those 
 of Rabbi Benjamin, the Spanish Jew, who had visited 
 the scattered tribes of Israel in Tartary, and those of 
 the ecclesiastics whom Pope Innocent had sent out to the 
 Grand Khan, according to his own request, brought 
 home by the elder Polo. He had also been particularly 
 interested in the rumors about Prester John, a Christian 
 king, believed to be ruling somewhere in the remote 
 East, if not in the interior of Africa. He had even sent 
 out embassadors in search of the latter. Impatient of 
 the slow progress along the coast of the dark continent, 
 he had called a select council of the most learned astron- 
 omers and cosmographers in his kingdom, including 
 the learned Martin Behaim, to ascertain in what par- 
 ticulars the methods of navigation might be improved. 
 The result of this conference was a better use of the 
 astrolabe, an instrument similar to our quadrant, and 
 applied to find the distance of the sailor from the equator 
 by means of the altitude of the sun. If Prince Henry 
 had improved the use of the compass, King John had 
 thus rendered a similar service to the great enterprises 
 of navigation.^ 
 
 ^ Had it not been for the compass and the astrolabe thus brought into use, 
 the great age of discovery could not have been inaugurated. Irving says 
 truly, " The mariner now, instead of coasting the shores like the ancient nav- 
 igators, and, if driven from the land, groping his way back in doubt and ap- 
 prehension by the uncertain guidance of the stars, might adventure boldly 
 into unknown seas, confident of being able to trace his course by means of 
 the compass and the astrolabe." — Life and Voyages of Chrtstofher Colum- 
 bus., vol. I, p. 66. 
 
.g JOHN IL AND HIS COUNCIL. 
 
 This royal personage, above all others, would seem 
 to be the one whom Columbus might approach in be- 
 half of his magnificent proposal. Being of a liberal 
 mind and in sympathy with the latest scientific views of 
 his time, he saw, at a glance, the immense advantages 
 promised by the new proposition. But it was so novel, 
 so adventuresome, that it would not be well to encour- 
 acre it without the advice and approval of his wisest 
 counsellors. A very select group, perhaps not more 
 than three — Rodrigo and Joseph, Jews, and Diego 
 Ortez de Calzadilla, bishop of Ceuta and confessor to 
 the King — were chosen to deliberate and advise upon 
 the matter. These men, all noted for their learning in 
 the sciences pertaining to nautical affairs, gave their 
 judgment against Columbus's proposition, as being 
 altogether too extravagant and impractical. " To such 
 men," says Irvnng, "the project of a voyage directly 
 westward into the midst of that boundless waste to 
 seek some visionary land appeared as extravagant as 
 it would be at the present day to launch forth in a 
 balloon into the regions of space in quest of some 
 distant star." 
 
 It would seem, however, that the principal cause of 
 hesitancy on the part of the King was the fact stated 
 by Ferdinand Columbus, — that the explorations on 
 the west coast of Africa, which occupied nearl}^ half 
 of the working force of Portugal, and in which great 
 numbers had died, and which had not as yet brought 
 in very flattering returns, would not admit of the ad- 
 ditional expense and risk implied in the plan of Co- 
 lumbus. 
 
 But the King was not satisfied. He therefore called 
 
THE SECOND COUNCIL. 40 
 
 a second council, much larger than the first, to con- 
 sider the feasibility of the undertaking. But its 
 decision was similar to that of the former. The dis- 
 cussion must have been decidedly enthusiastic, — 
 almost a polite and good-natured sparring. The 
 bishop of Ceuta, whom the King regarded as one of 
 his chief advisers, not only discouraged the plan of 
 Columbus, but even spoke against the continuation of 
 the African enterprises, as tending "to distract the at- 
 tention, drain the resources, and divide the power of 
 the nation, already too much weakened by recent war 
 and pestilence. While their forces were thus scattered 
 abroad on remote and unprofitable expeditions, they 
 exposed themselves to attack from their active enemy, 
 the King of Castile." " The greatness of monarchs 
 did not arise so much from the extent of their domin- 
 ions as from the wisdom and ability with which they 
 governed. In the Portuguese nation, it would be mad- 
 ness to launch into enterprises without first consider- 
 ing them in connection with its means. The King 
 had already enough on his hands in Africa, without 
 taking up this new^ and wild scheme. If he wished 
 emplo3^ment for the active valor of the nation, the war 
 in which he was engaged against the Moors of Bar- 
 bary was sufficient." 
 
 To this conservative advice the Count of Villa Real 
 made a most spirited reply : " Portugal was not in its 
 infancy, nor were its princes so poor as to lack means 
 to engage in discoveries. Even granting that these 
 proposed by Columbus were conjectural, why should 
 they abandon those begun by their late Prince Henry? 
 Portugal was at peace with all Europe. It would be 
 
THE SECOND COUNCIL. 
 
 her greatest glory to search out the secrets of the dark 
 sea of which other nations were afraid. Thus em- 
 ployed, she would escape the idleness incident to a 
 continued peace— idleness, that source of vice, that 
 silent file, which, little by little, wore away the strength 
 and valor of a nation. Great souls were formed for 
 great enterprises. Why should one so religious as 
 the bishop of Ceuta oppose this undertaking ? Was 
 not its final object to spread the Catholic faith from 
 pole to pole ?" 
 
 The African explorations were thus sustained, but 
 the cause of Columbus was too uncertain to be included 
 in this appeal by the Count, smacking so perceptibly 
 of generous enterprise. 
 
 Evidently these advisers saw that the King was not 
 even yet satisfied, for the bishop of Ceuta suggested 
 as a qidchis that there should be a clandestine expedi- 
 tion sent to the w^est under the instructions furnished 
 b}^ Columbus, to see if there were any such lands as 
 he supposed. 
 
 When Columbus was now called upon to exhibit his 
 charts again, and to give the most complete and explicit 
 account of his anticipated voyage, he no doubt regarded 
 it as much in his favor. Surely the King and his 
 counsellors were now being converted to his poposi- 
 tion ! But, alas ! contrary to his usual high sense of 
 justice, the King was yielding to the false allurement 
 of Calzadilla. A ship was being fitted up, ostensibly 
 to carry provisions to the Cape Verde Islands, but 
 really to make a trial voyage to the far west.^ But 
 
 'Fernando Columbus says: "The King, by the advice of one Doctor 
 Calzadilla, of whom he made great account, resolved to send a caravel pri- 
 
THE SECOND COUNCIL, ^i 
 
 this enterprise, so ill-founded, lacked the conviction, 
 the courage, and the determination necessary to so 
 great an undertaking ; and the ship soon returned, 
 with no results except that the sailors were thoroughly 
 frightened by the huge waves and wild waste of waters, 
 which stretched out like an infinite expanse in all direc- 
 tions. One might as well expect to find land in the 
 sky, they said. Most heartily did the}'" laugh at such 
 a foolhardy enterprise. This, of course, would cover 
 their failure. 
 
 When Columbus discovered the mean advantage 
 which had been taken of him he shook off the dust 
 from his feet against Portugal. On the strength of 
 Fernando's History it has generally been supposed that 
 his wife was now dead, and that his only child, his 
 little son Diego, was his solitary companion, as empty- 
 handed he looked out into the world for some other aid 
 to bring to pass his grand scheme. 
 
 But an autograph letter of his now in the possession 
 of the Duke of Veraguas, his descendant by the female 
 line, and quoted by Navarrete, tome ii, doc. cxxxvii, 
 says that when leaving Portugal he left wife and chil- 
 dren and saw them no more. Thus his entire family, 
 except Diego, must have died soon after he left. There 
 would seem to be much probability in the conjecture of 
 Mr. Fisk, who says : " As Las Casas, who knew Diego 
 so well, also supposed his mother to have died before 
 his father left Portugal, it is most likely that she died 
 soon afterwards. Ferdinand Columbus says that Diego 
 
 yatelj to attempt that which the Admiral had proposed to him ; because, in 
 case those countries were so discovered, he thought himself not obliged to 
 bestow any great reward which might be demanded on account of the dis- 
 covery." 
 
.2 THE SECOND COUNCIL. 
 
 was left ill charge of some friars at the convent of La 
 Rabida, near Palos ; Las Casas is not quite so sure ; 
 he thinks that Diego was left with some friend of his 
 father at Palos, or perhaps at La Rabida. These mis- 
 takes were eas}^ to make, for both La Rabida and 
 Huelva were close by Palos, and we know that Diego's 
 aunt, Aluliar, was living at Huelva. It is pretty clear 
 that Columbus never visited La Rabida before the au- 
 tumn of 1491. My own notion is that Columbus may 
 have left his wife with an infant, and perhaps an older 
 child, relieving her of the care of Diego by taking him 
 to his aunt, and intending, as soon as practicable, to re- 
 unite the family. He clearly did not know at the out- 
 set whether he should stay in Spain or not." 
 
 It would seem that he left Portugal secretly, and a 
 letter from King John, years afterwards, asking him to 
 return, and promising to protect him from any civil or 
 criminal process pending against him, may justify the 
 statement made by some that he was trammelled by 
 debt. Having been so deeply immersed in his studies 
 and speculations about land in the west, he may have 
 suffered his financial affairs to go to ruin. 
 
 His son Fernando says that "about the end of the 
 year 1484 the Admiral stole away privately out of Por- 
 tugal, with his son James, for fear of being stopped by 
 the King ; for he, being sensible how faulty they were 
 whom he had sent with the caravel, had a mind to re- 
 store the Admiral to his favor, and desired he should 
 renew the discourse of his enterprise ; but, not being so 
 diligent to put this in execution as the Admiral was in 
 getting away, he lost that good opportunity." 
 
CHAPTER IV. 
 
 COLUMBUS IN SPAIN. 
 
 T is the opinion of critics generally that it was 
 not later than 1484 when Columbus left Por- 
 tugal, and that some time during 1485 or 
 i486 he first appeared before the court of Spain. 
 Where was he during the intervening time ? Surely 
 he could not have been idle, for the one and all-absorb- 
 ing thought of his life pressed heavily upon him, and 
 he must now have been at least from thirty-eight to 
 forty years old. He would realize the importance of 
 economizing his time. 
 
 It is generally believed that he went to Genoa on 
 leaving Portugal, and that he now applied in person to 
 the republic for aid to carry out his plan. The nation 
 was in a state of depression at the time, and there seems 
 to have been a disposition on the part of the senate to 
 make light of their obscure countryman. " Who is 
 this Christopher Columbus ? " some one asks. " A 
 sailor of this city," another replies ; " the son of 
 Domenico Columbo, a wool-comber. His brothers and 
 sister are here in humble circumstances." With the 
 depression of the little republic, the obscurity of the 
 applicant, and the wildness of the proposal, what after- 
 ward proved to be the discovery of a new world re- 
 ceived but little attention. 
 
 Some say he now went to Venice and presented his 
 
HIS FIRST APPEARANCE. 
 
 plan, but to no purpose.' Of this, however, there is no 
 official record. 
 
 At this same time he is said to have made provision 
 out of his slender purse for his aged father and for the 
 education of his younger brother, the family now hav- 
 ing returned to Genoa, after having spent some years 
 at Savona. Some ill-fortune would seem to have befal- 
 len them, to have made them thus dependent. Possi- 
 bly Christopher again set up for a time his little estab- 
 lishment for making maps and globes and for copying 
 and selling books. 
 
 It has ever been the custom to follow the order of 
 Fernando Columbus's biography of his father, and thus 
 introduce the future Admiral into Spain by means of 
 the touching incident at the door of the monastery, La 
 Rabida ; but ever since the publication of Navarrete's 
 famous collection of documents there has been a doubt 
 as to the priority of that event, in relation to his seven 
 years of solicitation. Finally, Mr. Fisk, in his " Dis- 
 covery of America," has, as it seems to us, arrived at a 
 proper co-ordination. He says : " The error of Ferdi- 
 nand Columbus, a very easy one to commit, and not in 
 the least damaging to his general character as biog- 
 rapher, lay in confusing his father's two real visits (in 
 1484 and 1 491) to Huelva with two visits (one imagi- 
 nary in 1484 and one real in 1491) to L-a Rabida, which 
 was close by, between Huelva and Palos. The visits 
 were all the more likely to get mixed up in recollection, 
 because in each case their object was little Diego, and 
 
 * It is but just to say that these traditions of an application to Genoa and 
 Venice are now regarded as of very doubtful authority, and yet it is difficult 
 to account for the whereabouts of Columbus at this time, except on this sup- 
 position. 
 
BIS FIR S T A PPEA RA NCE. ^ r 
 
 in each case lie was left in charge of somebody in that 
 neighborhood. The confusion has been helped by an- 
 other for which Ferdinand is not responsible, viz : the 
 friar Juan Perez has been confounded with another friar, 
 Antonio de Marchena, who, Columbus says, was the only 
 person who from the time of his first arrival in Spain 
 had always befriended him and never mocked at him. 
 These worthy friars twain have been made into one {e. 
 £-., ' the prior of the convent, Juan Perez de Marchena,' 
 Irving's Columbus, vol. I, p. 128), and it has often been 
 supposed that Marchena's acquaintance began with 
 Columbus at La Rabida in 1484, and that Diego was 
 left at the convent at that time. But some modern 
 sources of information have served at first to bemuddle, 
 and then, when more carefully sifted, to clear up the 
 story. In 1508 Diego Columbus brought suit against 
 the Spanish crown to vindicate his claim to certain ter- 
 ritories discovered by his father, and there was a long 
 investigation, in which many witnesses were summoned 
 and past events were busily raked over the coals. 
 Among the witnesses were Rodriguez Cabejudo and the 
 physician Garcia Fernandez, who gave from personal 
 recollection a very lucid account of the affairs at La 
 Rabida. These proceedings are printed in Navarrete, 
 Colcccio}i de viages^ tom. iii, pp. 238-591. More recently 
 the publication of the great book of Las Casas has fur- 
 nished some very significant clues, and the elaborate 
 researches of M. Harrisse have furnished others. (See 
 Las Casas, lib. i, cap. xxix, xxxi ; Harrisse, tom. i, pp. 
 341-372 ; tom. ii, pp. 227-231 ; cf. Peragallo, I'Autenti- 
 cita, &c., pp. 1 1 7-1 34.) It now seems clear that Mar- 
 chena, whom Columbus knew from his first arrival in 
 
. AT GRANADA. 
 
 50 
 
 Spain, was not associated with La Rabida. At tliat 
 time Columbus left Diego, a mere infant, witb bis wife's 
 sister at Huclva. Seven years later, intending to leave 
 Spain forever, be went to Huelva and took Diego, tben 
 a small boy. On bis way from Huelva to tbe Seville 
 road, and tbence to Cordova (wbere be would bave been 
 joined by Beatrix and Ferdinand), be happened to pass 
 by La Rabida, wbere up to tbat time be was evidently 
 unknown, and to attract tbe attention of tbe prior Juan 
 Perez, and tbe wbeel of fortune suddenly and unexpec- 
 tedly turned. As Columbus's next start was not for 
 France, but for Granada, bis boy was left in charge of 
 two trustworthy persons." 
 
 FalHng back upon authenticated facts, he appears 
 at Cordova in i486, where tbe court of tbe sovereigns 
 was then held. 
 
 To get into tbe royal presence on so strange an errand 
 would not have been easy at any time, but the present 
 was singularl}' unfavorable. The monarchs were just 
 in tbe midst of the greatest home enterprise under- 
 taken during their entire reign — tbe conquest of tbe 
 Moors. For many hundred years these interlopers had 
 been a thorn in the sides of the rulers of Spain. A brave, 
 intelligent, active and enterprising people, they had 
 built up an immense civilization throughout the south- 
 em part of the peninsula. Granada, entrenched in tbe 
 mountains of Sierra Nevada, was their capital ; and 
 Malaga was their seaport. To drive the infidels out 
 of Spain was tbe desideratum alike of church and 
 state. The united kingdoms of Ferdinand and Isa- 
 bella, therefore, were vying with each other in the stern 
 battle, as tbe Moors contested every inch of ground 
 
ALONZO DE ^UINTANILLA. 57 
 
 in the most heroic manner. The grand dukes and no- 
 bles were in full force, like so many lesser armies com- 
 bined ; and the magnificence of martial and armorial 
 display was not to be surpassed by anything of the 
 age. Scarcely less imposing was the crowd of ecclesi- 
 astics, who were also in the field to give counsel and 
 aid in this holy war. The King and Queen, with all 
 the court, moved along with the encampment. 
 
 Such was the absorption of the royal and the public 
 miud when Columbus somehow made his appearance 
 before Fernando de Talavera, a high dignitary of the 
 church, who was now confessor to the Queen. This 
 introduction was unfortunate, for Talavera was not the 
 kind of man to sympathize with the views of Colum- 
 bus. If there were anything in this new adventure in 
 cosmography and navigation, it seemed strange to him 
 that the wise heads of the past had not discovered it. 
 Men had not yet found out that " the ivorld moves' 
 He deemed the proposition wholly unworth}^ the 
 attention of the monarchs in the present crisis of 
 national affairs. But Alon^o de Quiutanilla, controller 
 of the treasury of Castile, to whom Columbus had 
 been assigned as a guest, was a person of progressive 
 thought, and " delighted in great undertakings." Be- 
 coming a thorough convert to the new scheme, he 
 gradually introduced this man of strange dreams to 
 persons of influence about the court ; first to the 
 brothers Geraldiui, one a nuncio from the Pope, the 
 other a learned instructor in the royal household ; then 
 to the Grand Cardinal de Mendoza, the most influen- 
 tial subject in the tW'O kingdoms, and sometimes called 
 *' the third King of Spain." Thus, after a detention of 
 
:^S COLUMBUS BEFORE THE MONARCHS. 
 
 about a year, this powerful personage in the royal 
 councils succeeded in gaining attention. Like an im- 
 mense revelation must the grand conception of Co- 
 lumbus have burst upon the imagination of the King and 
 Queen. How far beyond anything which Portugal had 
 achieved would be its vast results. The fabulous wealth 
 of the Indies — the desideratum of the nations — would 
 thus come directly across the ocean sea into Spain, in- 
 stead of struggling overland into Italy, or sailing around 
 Africa into Portugal. But was this vast enterprise 
 feasible ? Might they safely undertake it ? ^ It seemed 
 too great — this vision of the Orient — to be practicable. 
 They would at least move cautiously. Talavera was 
 therefore instructed to call a council of the most 
 learned and scientific men in the two kingdoms, at 
 Salamanca, the chief seat of learning in Spain.^ 
 Whether great in number or not, it must have been an 
 august assembly, consisting, for the most part, of 
 ecclesiastics versed in astronomy, geography, mathe- 
 matics, and sciences connected with navigation. 
 
 How will this man of the sea appear before such an 
 array of learning and wisdom ? Will he be equal to 
 the occasion in presenting his vast and unheard-of 
 idea? Aye, this tall figure, in plain— possibly thread- 
 bare — apparel, is majestic and impressive. His argu- 
 ments, thoroughly thought out and well arranged, are 
 from the most authentic resources in science and litera- 
 
 ' "Indeed, when it is considered that the most pressing internal affairs of 
 kingdoms are neglected by the wisest rulers in times of war, it is wonderful 
 that he succeeded in obtaining anj audience at all." — Helps, Col., p. 65-. 
 
 ^This junta met in the convent of St. Stephen. There is no evidence 
 that the University of Salamanca bore any official or responsible part in 
 these deliberations. 
 
THE COUNCIL AT SALAMANCA. 
 
 59 
 
 ture, well sandwiched with incidents and facts. If not 
 so ready to give away all the plans of his route as he 
 had been in Portugal, he is self-possessed and eloquent. 
 Maps, charts, and books are all at his command. This 
 is no mere visionary conception, but a most direct and 
 conclusive line of deductive reasoning, which, in more 
 modern times, would be pronounced scientific. 
 
 The more liberal members of the council, the win- 
 dows of whose souls have been open to the light, are 
 deeply moved, and receive impressions wdiich will soon 
 mature into conviction ; but the majority, Talavera 
 among the rest, feel no force of argument, but only a 
 severe shock of deep-seated prejudices. Time-honored 
 notions, writings of the church fathers, and the scrip- 
 tures are all made to do duty in opposition. 
 
 Let us be auditors for a few minutes in this assem- 
 bly — possibl}^ mere committee-room — of four hundred 
 years ago, and catch at least the echo of a few of their 
 leading objections to Columbus's idea. Here, for in- 
 stance, comes a famous quotation from Lactantius, one 
 of the early fathers in the Latin church. It is con- 
 cerning this absurd doctrine of the sphericity of the 
 earth. " Is there any one so foolish," he asks, " as to 
 believe that there are antipodes, with their feet oppo- 
 site to ours ; — people who walk with their heels up- 
 wards and their heads hanging down — where everything 
 is topsj^-turvey, where the trees grow with their branches 
 downwards, and where it rains, hails, and snows up- 
 wards ? " 
 
 Then the shade of St. Augustine, another of the 
 church fathers, is made to appear on the stand and tes- 
 tify against this preposterous notion that the earth is 
 
5o THE COUNCIL AT SALAMANCA. 
 
 round caiid that there are antipodes. " It is contrary to 
 the scriptures," he says, " for they teach that all men 
 are descended from Adam, which would be impossible 
 if men lived on the other side of the earth, for they 
 could never have crossed the wide sea." 
 
 And do not the scriptures imply that the earth is 
 flat ? Do they not speak of the foundation thereof, and 
 of the heavens stretched out like a curtain or tent on 
 the earth ? This man of strange notions, in the presence 
 of ecclesiastics, let him beware lest he smell of heresy 
 and be made to feel the fangs and fires of the newly- 
 established inquisition ! ^ 
 
 Then turning the views of Columbus against himself 
 they said he never could pass the torrid zone, for its 
 heat is insupportable ; that the distance around the 
 earth is so great that it would require three years to 
 make the tour, and no ship could be stocked with pro- 
 visions and water for so long a time ; that if one should 
 go directly across the ocean to India the rotundity of 
 the earth would present an impassable mountain to the 
 return \oyage, over which no wind could propel the 
 ship. 
 
 To every one of these objections, as well as to the 
 many others we cannot mention here, Columbus made 
 a rational and adequate reply, such as would be re- 
 
 ' " Perhaps we should have had the spectacle of Christopher Columbus 
 before the terrible Torquemada if Mgr. Alessandro Geraldini, of Aumlia in 
 Perugia, a man of learning and pietj, but reasonable and prudent, who was 
 present at these sittings, had not overheard their menacing expressions 
 against Columbus, and, seeing the danger he was in from their blind fi\nati- 
 cism, run to report to the great cardinal the condition of things, and by in- 
 terposing that great man's authority persuaded those over-zealous persons 
 that though St. Augustine was a wonderful saint and doctor, still he had never 
 been made authority in geography and cosmography."— Zaz-fifz/cc/, in his Co- 
 lumbus, gives the above as related by Geraldini himself. 
 
7 HE DE CIS/ON AG A INS T COL UMB US. 6 1 
 
 garded incontestable at the present time ; but these 
 great dignitaries could not easil}' unlearn their old no- 
 tions; so the majority voiced the report, tliat this new 
 project was " vain and i7npossible., and that it did not be- 
 long to the 7najesty of such great princes to determine 
 ariy thing upon such zveak grounds of info7'mationi^'' This 
 council is supposed to have been held in the winter of 
 i486-'87/ 
 
 The opposers of Columbus no doubt regarded this 
 decision as a death-blow to his proposition ; but, in fact, 
 the mere discussion of such a theme was a great move 
 forward. The leaven of the new idea, with its argu- 
 ments so well presented, had been thoroughl^^ worked 
 into positive and leading minds. Time alone would 
 be needed to assimilate the determining forces of the 
 nation. Nor should we conceive of the 3'ears of pa- 
 tient waiting which followed as wholly without en- 
 couragement. The parties above mentioned as help- 
 ing Columbus to come before the King and Queen, and 
 also other persons of influence, came more and more 
 fully into S3^mpath3/ with his views.^ Columbus still 
 
 1 "Ferdinand and Isabella seem not to have taken the extremely unfavor- 
 able view of the matter entertained by the junta of cosmographers, or at 
 least to have been willing to dismiss Columbus gently, for thev merely said 
 that, with the wars at present on their hands, and especially that of Granada, 
 they could not undertake any new enterprises, but when that war was ended 
 they would examine his plan more carefully." — Helps, Col., p. 6y. 
 
 • " One of these was father Diego Deza, young in years, but already the 
 highest professor in theology, and preceptor to the Infanta, heiress to the 
 throne, and who afterwards, step by step, rose to be archbishop of Toledo, 
 primate of all Spain. He entered at once, in the first session, into the reason- 
 ing of Columbus, and not only listened with attention, but took up his cause, 
 and with the help of the other friars labored earnestlj' to calm the noisiest 
 of his colleagues, and to persuade them that propriety and justice demanded 
 that they should listen to the reasoning with serious attention." — TarduccVs 
 Cohitnbtis, p. g^. 
 
52 THE HOL r SEPUL CHRE. 
 
 had the honor of being the guest of Alon7.o de Quin- 
 tanilla, and the royal treasury made occasional appro- 
 priations for him. Moreover, the sovereigns promised 
 to give him another hearing as soon as the pressing 
 claims of the war were over. Meanwhile, in one way 
 or another, he rendered such aid as he could in the 
 various campaigns. 
 
 Nor were his thoughts concerning his great project 
 inactive, for we now find him adding an immense and 
 wholly new conception to his scheme for the future ; 
 one which he was destined never to realize, but which 
 was to have such great influence in determining his 
 purposes and movements ever afterwards that the 
 student of his biography cannot afford to lose sight of 
 it for a single moment. 
 
 Who are those two strange looking travellers just 
 now entering the camp? They are friars from the 
 convent of the Holy Sepulchre at Jerusalem. Why 
 are they so pressing to see the King and Queen ? 
 They bring serious tidings from the Sultan of Egypt, 
 who has already begun to retaliate the Spanish war 
 against the Moors. He threatens, further, to kill all 
 the Christians in his dominions, to demolish all their 
 churches and convents, and even the Holy Sepulchre 
 itself, if the war is not relinquished. 
 
 The sovereigns were not intimidated by these threats, 
 but, in all probability, pushed siege and battle more 
 vigorously. But the leaders in the army are stirred 
 with the spirit of the crusades as the threats of the 
 Sultan become the talk about the camp-fires ; and Co- 
 lumbus resolves to turn to account the fabulous wealth 
 of the Orient, which he expects soon to appropriate 
 
THE CAPE OF GOOD HOPE. 63 
 
 He will raise an immense army, and recover the tomb 
 of Christ from the infidel. From now till death this 
 determination is held with a firmness of grasp that 
 does not yield or hesitate for a moment. In his last 
 will and testament it is a main feature. 
 
 The last week in December, 1487, Diaz returned to 
 Lisbon from that memorable voyage in which the Cape of 
 Good Hope was discovered. How intensely must that 
 event have interested Christopher Columbus. Africa 
 was surely a continent ! and Prince Henry's concep- 
 tion of reaching the wealth of India by that route 
 would soon be realized. This was indeed fuel to that 
 flame which had been so long burning in Columbus's 
 heart. Oh, for the shorter route by way of the west ! 
 When would it be possible for him to demonstrate it ? 
 
 But another item of intense interest connected with 
 this voyage is the fact that the Admiral's brother 
 Bartholomew was a companion of Diaz in the impor- 
 tant discovery. This is proven by a note in the 
 Adelantado's own hand, on the margin of the Admi- 
 ral's famous copy of the hnago Mundi^ as identified 
 by Las Casas, who was intimately acquainted with him 
 and with his chirography. We are not surprised, 
 therefore, to find that the Admiral at once arranged 
 for a trip to Lisbon. On the 20th of March, 1488, 
 King John II. granted him a safe conduct, promising 
 him immunity from any arrest ; but it was not until 
 the fall of that year that he availed himself of it. 
 About the middle of August, 1488, occurred the birth 
 of his second son, Fernando. It is but natural that 
 this anticipated event should have detained him.^ It 
 
 ^During the Admiral's long detention about the court at Cordova he had 
 
54 THE DUKES OF MEDINA. 
 
 was probably during this interview with Bartholomew 
 that he arranged to send him to England to appeal to 
 Henr}' VII. in behalf of his plan. 
 
 In May, 1489, Columbus appears again in Cordova. 
 Durino- the siege of Beza, which now occurred near 
 the close of the Moorish war, Ztiiiiga says he "took 
 a glorious part, giving proof of the great valor which 
 accompanied his wisdom and profound conceptions." 
 Being discouraged by the slow progress of his cause at 
 court, about Christmas of this same year he applied to 
 the Duke of Medina Sidonia, one of the most wealthy 
 and influential subjects in the realm, for aid, but to no 
 effect. The appeal to the Duke of Medina Celi, which 
 then followed, was more telling, for this noble person- 
 age entertained him at his castle for two years, and 
 
 formed an attachment to Beatrix Enriquez, a lady of noble family, but, as in 
 the case of Filipa Perestrello, without fortune. That this connection was 
 not sanctioned by marriage is implied by the entire absence of any record to 
 that effect, and is explicitly stated by Las Casas, and may be inferred from Co- 
 lumbus's will, which reads : " I say and direct to Don Diego, my son, or to 
 whosoever shall inherit, that he shall pay all the debts which I leave here in a 
 memorial, in the form therein specified, and all the others which justly seem 
 to be owed by me. And I direct him that he shall have special care for Beatrix 
 Enriquez, the mother of Don Fernando, my son, that he shall provide for 
 her so that she maj' live comfortably, like a person should for whom I have 
 so much regard. And this shall be done for the ease of my conscience, 
 because this has weighed heavily on my soul. The reason therefor it is not 
 proper to mention here." 
 
 In the exaltation of Columbus as Viceroy this lady never appears as 
 Vicequeen, nor does her son, Fernando, make any mention of her, though 
 he particularly notices his father's marriage to the mother of Diego. 
 
 " This fact," says Tarducci, "is certainly a most unpleasant disturbance 
 of the harmony of the blameless life of Christopher Columbus. But who- 
 ever remembers the unbridled license of the times in matters of morals, and 
 the shamelessness of the example set by every class and condition of persons, 
 especially by those most conspicuous by rank and dignity, will not raise too 
 much scandal if even a virtuous and religious man was for a time defiled with 
 that pitch." 
 
LA RABIDA. 
 
 65 
 
 even contemplated fitting out the caravels and the men 
 necessary for his voyage. But how would so bold and 
 important an adventure, on the part of one of those 
 feudal lords whom the sovereigns had aimed so strenu- 
 ously^ to check, be received by them? He would con- 
 sult the Queen about the matter, and thus give her 
 another occasion to consider the enterprise herself. If 
 she would undertake it he would join her. Her reply 
 was uncertain. But if she should assume the enter- 
 prise, she would be glad of his co-operation. This 
 virtual promise was forgotten in after years. 
 
 In the gloomy days of autumn, in 149 1, sickened at 
 heart from hope long deferred, Columbus set out for 
 Huelva. He would get his son Diego, take him to his 
 other son and his mother, and find a home for them, per- 
 haps in France or in England. Moreover, he would 
 try to find out something as to the outcome of his 
 brother's trip to the latter realm. 
 
 It was during this journey from Huelva to Palos 
 that Columbus first called at the convent of La Rabida. 
 This, as we have seen, is made clear by the testimony 
 of Diego's lawsuit with the Crown, which Navarrete 
 has so carefully collated. 
 
 The poetic imagination will never cease to paint 
 the scene. This wanderer from court to court, so deep 
 in the contemplation of undiscovered lands that he 
 has never had time to make for himself a common 
 competency, knocks at the door of a convent like some 
 highway beggar, and asks for bread and water for 
 himself and his child. The door is opened and the 
 favor is granted, for it is but a small one, and common 
 enough, no doubt, with this time-honored institution 
 of good and charitable deeds. 
 
^g JUAN PEREZ. 
 
 As the humble guests partake of their simple repast, 
 the waiter is impressed with their appearance. The 
 worthy prior comes that way, and he also is interested. 
 Surely these are no common wayfarers — no mere 
 " tramps," as we would say. That man in threadbare 
 garments, but with noble bearing and an impressive 
 intelligence, must be one of nature's noblemen, with 
 some important mission to mankind. The hair pre- 
 maturely gray, the lines of thought and care on every 
 feature, the pensive look of anxious sorrow — all speak 
 to the kindly heart of the good prior. A conver- 
 sation begins, upon which the destiny of how great a 
 part of the world is pending ! 
 
 Again Columbus has come to the right place. In 
 the language of Mr. Knight, " surely some good angel " 
 must have led him to Juan Pere^ de Marcheua, who, 
 probably more than any one else living, could at once 
 sympathize with his deepest thoughts and purposes, 
 and give him a truly helping hand in this crisis. This 
 personage was something more than a mere ecclesi- 
 astic. He seems to have been learned and thoughtful 
 beyond the attainments of his age. Having an ob- 
 servator}^ on the roof of his convent, he was ac- 
 customed to resort thither for the contemplation alike 
 of the heavenly bodies above and of the boundless 
 ocean in full view beyond. Probably believing in the 
 sphericity of the earth, he had anticipated Columbus's 
 conception of populous realms in the western seas. 
 Many an hour had he spent in solemn reverie as to the 
 multitudes who might be living in far-off and mysteri- 
 ous lands, without the true knowledge of God. More- 
 over, he was possessed of those liberal sentiments and 
 
COUNSELLORS FROM PALOS. 
 
 67 
 
 those broad and intense S3^mpatliies wliich would 
 readily identify him with the aspirations of his 
 guest. 
 
 But no less important were the relations which 
 Juan Perez bore to the Spanish monarchs. He had 
 formerly been confessor to Queen Isabella, and was 
 acquainted with some of the most influential person- 
 ages about the court. His position, personal worth, 
 and sanctity of character were all such as could give 
 him strong influence. But he was too discreet to 
 depend simply on his own judgment. The convent of 
 La Rabida was about a mile and a half from Palos, a 
 seaport, where dwelt some of the ablest mariners in 
 Spain. They were fully awake to all discoveries 
 recently made on the African coast, and some of 
 them had themselves been there and to the islands to 
 the westward. They had perhaps been the medium 
 of the nautical interest and information in which the 
 good prior himself shared so largely. Several of the 
 most distinguished citizens of Palos were invited to 
 the convent to interview the stranger. Foremost 
 among these was Garcia Fernandez, a physician of the 
 town, who, during the lawsuit of Diego Columbus with 
 the Spanish crown, related the incident here given. 
 He seems to have been a person of liberal mind and 
 uncommon attainments, especially in respect to those 
 sciences pertaining to navigation. Another distin- 
 guished person added to the social group was Martin 
 Alonzo Pinzon, the chief member of a seafaring family 
 of wealth and prestige. He soon came to have a 
 singularly clear insight into the facts, arguments, and 
 theories of Columbus, and sympathized with them so 
 
58 THE ^ UEEN IS INTER VIE WED. 
 
 deeply as to risk property, influence, and, ultimately, 
 life itself in the great enterprise. 
 
 Here, for the first time, the views of a prophet of the 
 New World were receiving the unprejudiced and en- 
 lightened attention Avhich they so well deserved. Here, 
 in a quiet and retired monastery, were those opinions 
 and purposes forming which were soon to lead the most 
 powerful courts and inaugurate an enterprise which 
 must affect the destiny of nations beyond any mere sec- 
 ular affair in all ages, unless it be the art of printing. 
 
 Juan Perez, through an able messenger, most earnestly 
 interceded for Columbus. Isabella replied favorably 
 and wished to see the prior, who did not wait till the 
 following day after receiving the intelligence, but 
 mounted his mule and travelled after midnight, through 
 the bleak winds of midwinter, to the royal encampment 
 at the new town of Santa Fe.^ Here he sought the 
 Queen. 
 
 Many a sacred reminiscence of other days must now 
 have arisen in her mind, and was not the good prior 
 able to plead every point in the case ? In this inter- 
 view, which turned the tide of fortune in favor of Colum- 
 bus, Juan Perez is said to have been seconded by 
 Louis de Santangel, a fiscal of&cer of Arragon, and also 
 by the Marchioness of Moya, an intimate friend of the 
 Queen. 
 
 Her generous impulses were aroused, and she re- 
 quested Columbus to be present again at the court. 
 With a true instinct of benevolence she sent liini a 
 handsome sum of money that he might make his ap- 
 
 ^ This city, the name of which in English is St. Faith, was built as a seat 
 of royalty and a general encampment during the siege of Granada. 
 
THE CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 69 
 
 pearauce in a becomiug maimer. With this $1,180.00 
 he bought a mule for his journey, and provided a suit 
 of apparel. Was not success now probable ? Imagine 
 the exultation of spirits in which he set out on his 
 journey ! 
 
 Very soon after the arrival of Columbus in the vicinity 
 of Granada a council of learned men is again called to 
 deliberate upon this Vv^estern voyage into the " vasty 
 deep," which somehow will not stay "/?//' dozi/n^ And 
 behold, time has wrought in its favor. Even Talavera 
 will throw some weight into the scale for the persistent 
 adventurer. The Queen, too, is essentially convinced ; 
 but not for a moment can attention be diverted from the 
 conquest of Granada, now supposed to be just at hand. 
 That consummated she will give this strange thing 
 under the sun a favorable hearing. 
 
 On January 2d, 1492, Granada surrendered, and the 
 event may well be regarded as one of the grandest in 
 the history of Spain. The united forces of the King 
 and Queen have finally conquered the Moors, and 
 Boabdil, their King, is delivering up the keys of the 
 Alhambra, that time-honored and beautiful palace of his 
 royal ancestors, A day of humiliation and sorrow it 
 must have been on the part of this brave people, who for 
 some eight hundred years had dwelt securely in the land 
 of which their forefathers had taken possession. In 
 what contrast with their crestfallen appearance, as they 
 poured forth from the palace and the vanquished city, 
 must have been the jubilant and triumphant entrance 
 of the King and Queen of Spain, with their grand 
 train of dukes, nobles, and cavaliers. These were days 
 of the proudest military display. Glittering armor. 
 
COL UMB US A SKS TO O MUCH. 
 
 gay bauuers, gorgeous plumes, grand music— all min- 
 istered to the magnificence of the hour. 
 
 It was also a signal religious victory. The crescent, 
 that hated symbol of infidelity, must now give place 
 to the glory of the cross. Catholicism, the religion of 
 the Christian world at that time, was to place its arch- 
 bishop in Granada; and the whole world would 
 admire the achievement as a most signal one for the 
 Christian faith. 
 
 In this supreme moment of a nation's joy, how shall 
 Columbus be heard? He must stand aside till the 
 flood-tide of excitement has passed over. Meanwhile 
 he is the guest of his firm and influential friend, 
 Alonzo de Quintanilla, who will speak encouraging 
 words to him. But have not the monarchs promised 
 him an impartial hearing as soon as the war shall be 
 over? And has not the Queen just requested his 
 presence again at court ? 
 
 By and by he is ushered in, when lo, a new per- 
 plexity arises. This obscure adventurer asks alto- 
 gether too much for himself. He will be admiral of 
 the unknown seas into which he is about to sail, will 
 be viceroy of the realms to be discovered, and one- 
 tenth of all the profits from trade or conquest must be 
 his. These astounding requirements take the court 
 by surprise. Fernando de Talavera, confessor to the 
 Queen, now elevated to the new archbishopric of 
 Granada, is especially chagrined, and argues his oppo- 
 sition to the terms most shrewdly. The honor of the 
 crown will be compromised, he says, by yielding to 
 such exorbitant demands on the part of an obscure 
 and foreign adventurer. If he should succeed, he will 
 
HE HAS GREA T ANTIC TP A TIONS. 
 
 71 
 
 Stand next to tlie throne itself, casting liis immense 
 shadow over the whole court. If he fail, as he prob- 
 ably will, Spain, acceding to such high demands on 
 such slender prospects of success, will become a 
 laughing-stock to the world. This threadbare foreigner 
 has everything to gain and nothing to lose. The 
 crown takes the entire risk, and almost gives awa}^ 
 the stupendous result, should it be accomplished. 
 
 This is a shrewd putting of the case against Co- 
 lumbus, and, coming as it does from the Queen's 
 ghostly adviser, will settle it against him. But will 
 he not accept terms a little less extravagant ? Various 
 propositions are made, which are thought quite reason- 
 able and even flattering. The monarchs are willing 
 to pledge a great deal, but this obscure suitor, so 
 strangel}/ stubborn in his demands, will not yield one 
 jot or tittle. This is a stupendous affair which he ex- 
 pects to accomplish ; besides, he and his descendants 
 after him must be suitably rewarded. He wall in no- 
 wise belittle the grand enterprise by accepting small 
 pay. Then, this is but a stepping-stone to what he 
 conceives to be an infinitely greater undertaking — the 
 raising of a vast army to rescue the tomb of Christ 
 from the infidel. Here is an immense reach of per- 
 spective into the future — an unbounded hope. How 
 can he accept less than the original demand ? Indeed, 
 he seems to have become rich, for he offers to furnish 
 one-eighth of the expense of the expedition, provided 
 he may have the same proportion of the profits, which 
 profits must have been additional to the one-tenth first 
 asked for. This eighth part of the expense, it is sup- 
 posed, was to be obtained through the generosity 
 
COLUMBUS LEA VES THE COURT. 
 
 of the Pinzons, who had so cordially espoused this 
 
 cause. 
 
 Neither side would yield, so, after all said and done, 
 the negotiation was broken off. Talavera seemed to 
 have given the finishing stroke to his scheme, as far as 
 Spain^vas concerned ; Columbus therefore mounted his 
 mule and turned toward France. 
 
 We have no record of his thoughts, as he wended 
 his way among the Andalusian mountains, toward 
 Cordova ; but we may imagine some of his sad mus- 
 ings. What a crushing disappointment, this! Memory 
 passed over the events of some eighteen or twenty 
 years since those realms beyond the " sea of dark- 
 ness " first rose like a vision before him. During that 
 time, how faithfully he had striven at different courts 
 to secure the moderate aid he needed. He had tried 
 to give away the new world, but no nation thought it 
 worth while to accept it. The many years in Portugal, 
 and the two councils called by the King, had sent a 
 provision ship to the Cape de Verde Islands ! Genoa 
 had made light of her wool-comber's son ! Seven 
 tedious years of waiting in Spain had come to nothing ! 
 Would France treat him any better ? Why was it he 
 heard nothing from Henry VH. in England, to whom 
 he had sent his brother Bartholomew so long ago? 
 
 But the cause is not yet lost in Spain. Great im- 
 pressions have been made on great minds, and they 
 cannot be reconciled to the loss of so grand an oppor- 
 tunity. He who gave voice to this stirring conviction 
 was Louis de Santangel, treasurer of the church funds 
 in Aragon. He, along with Alonzo de Quintanilla, 
 went at once into the presence of the Queen, and, with 
 
SA NT A N GEL 'S ELO^ UENT INTER CE SSION 7 3 
 
 that spirit and eloquence wliicli is born of intense emo- 
 tion, he almost reproached her for lack of discernment 
 and enterprise. As given by Fernando Columbus, his 
 words were as follows : " He wondered to see that her 
 Highness, who had always a great soul for all matters 
 of moment and consequence, should now want the heart 
 to enter upon an undertaking where so little was ven- 
 tured, and which might redound so much to the glory 
 of God and propagation of the faith, not without great 
 benefit and honor to her kingdom and dominions, and 
 such, in short, that if any other prince should undertake 
 it, as the Admiral offered, the damage that would accrue 
 to her crown was very visible, and that then she would 
 with just cause be much blamed by her friends and 
 servants, and reproached by her enemies, and all people 
 would say she had well deserved that misfortune, and 
 though she herself should never have cause to repent 
 it, yet her successors would certainly feel the smart of 
 it. Therefore, since the matter seemed to be grounded 
 upon reason, and the Admiral who proposed it was a 
 man of sense and wisdom, and demanded no other re- 
 ward but what he should find, being willing to bear part 
 of the charge, besides venturing his own person, her 
 Highness ought not to look upon it as such an impossi- 
 bility as those scholars made it, and that what they said, 
 that it would be a reflection on her if the enterprise did 
 not succeed as the Admiral proposed, was a folly, and 
 he was of quite contrary opinion, rather believing they 
 would be looked upon as generous and magnanimous 
 princes for attempting to discover the secrets and won- 
 ders of the world as other monarchs had done, and it 
 had redounded, to their honor. But though the event 
 
^4 ISABELLA IS CONVINCED. 
 
 were never so uncertain, yet a considerable sum of money 
 would be well employed in clearing sucli a doubt. Be- 
 sides that, the Admiral only demanded 2,500 crowns to 
 fit the fleet, and therefore she ought not to despise that 
 undertaking, that it might not be said it was the fear of 
 spending so small a sum that kept her back." 
 
 Such are the mere fragments, probably, of what must 
 have been a most moving appeal. Others, too, joined 
 in the persuasive effort, particularly that most worthy 
 friend of the Queen, the Marchioness of Moya, and, 
 without doubt, de Quintan ilia. 
 
 Now, as never before, the grandeur of the proposed 
 enterprise burst like a glorious vision on the imagina- 
 tion of the Queen. But the King did not share her 
 conviction, so she would stand virtually alone in the 
 undertaking. Moreover, the national finances had been 
 exhausted by the war just closed. Her enthusiasm was 
 sufi&cient, however, to overcome all obstacles. " I un- 
 dertake the enterprise for my own crown of Castile, and 
 will pledge my jewels to raise the necessary funds,'' she 
 exclaimed ; and this was, without doubt, the grandest 
 resolution of her life — itself alone enough to distinguish 
 her as the heroine of her age. 
 
 But it was not necessary for her to pledge the jewels 
 of her crown. Santangel stood ready to advance from 
 the ecclesiastical funds of Aragon the seventeen thou- 
 sand florins necessary to the undertaking, and the loan 
 was duly paid back out of the first gold from the New 
 World, Ferdinand having used it to gild the royal sa- 
 loon at Saragossa. 
 
 Alonzo de Quintanilla and Santangel kissed the hand 
 of the Queen in token of their gratification over her de- 
 
C OL UMB US' S PR I VIL EGES. 7 ^ 
 
 cision, and at once she despatched a messenger, who 
 overtook Columbus on the bridge Pinos, some six miles 
 on his way toward Cordova. He did not turn .about at 
 once, for he had learned to be cautious as to royal prom- 
 ises ; but when all the circumstances of the Queen's new 
 attitude were made known to him he came back to Santa 
 Fe. 
 
 Now the sovereigns were willing to concede to him 
 his own terms, the originals of which are still preserved. 
 
 Introductory Sentence to the Privileges of Columbus. 
 
 " In the name of the Holy Trinity and eternal Unity, Father, Son, 
 and Holy Ghost, three persons really distinct in one divine es- 
 sence, which lives and reigns forever without end." 
 
 The things prayed for and which your Highnesses give and grant 
 to Don Christopher Columbus to reward him in some manner for 
 what he has discovered in the ocean, and for the voyage which now, 
 with the assistance of God, he is about to undertake to those parts 
 for the service of your Highnesses, are the following: 
 
 First, that your Highnesses, as lords of the said ocean, may ap- 
 point from this moment the said Don Christopher Columbus to be 
 your Admiral in all the islands and continents which through his 
 labor and industry shall be discovered or acquired in the said ocean, 
 during his natural life ; and after his death his heirs and successors, 
 one after the other perpetually, with all the pre-eminences and pre- 
 rogatives which belong to the said office, in the same manner as 
 Don Alphonso Enriques, your High Admiral of Castile, and the 
 other predecessors in the said offices enjoyed them in their own 
 districts. 
 
 It so pleases their Highnesses. 
 
 JOHN DE COLOMA. 
 
 In like manner that your Highnesses may appoint the said Don 
 Christopher Columbus to be your viceroy and governor-general over 
 all the said islands and continents which, as has been said, he shall 
 
^5 COL UMB C/S'S PRIVILE GES. 
 
 discover or shall acquire in the aforesaid seas, and that for the 
 
 government of each one, and any of them, he may make choice of 
 
 three persons for every office, of whom your Highnesses shall take 
 
 and elect one who shall be most agreeable to you, and thus the 
 
 lands which our Lord will permit us to discover and acquire for 
 
 the service of your Highnesses will be better governed. 
 
 It so pleases their Highnesses. 
 
 ^ JOHN DE COLOMA. 
 
 Item : That all and whatsoever merchandise, whether pearls, pre- 
 cious stones, gold, silver, drugs, and other things and merchandise 
 whatsoever, of whatever kind, name, and manner, that shall be 
 bought, exchanged, found, and gained, or shall be within the limits 
 of the said admiralty, your Highnesses from this moment grant to 
 the said Don Christopher Columbus, and will that he have and 
 take for himself the tenth part of them, all expenses deducted that 
 may have been incurred by it, so that of what shall remain free and 
 net he may have and take for himself the tenth part, and dispose of 
 it according to his pleasure, giving the other nine parts to your 
 Highnesses. 
 
 It so pleases their Highnesses. 
 
 JOHN DE COLOMA. 
 
 In like manner that if on account of the merchandise which shall 
 be transported into the aforesaid islands and lands which shall be 
 acquired or discovered as has been said, or which by other mer- 
 chants during this time may be transpoi'ted from those parts to 
 ours, there should arise any dispute in the place where the said 
 traffic is held and made, he requests your Highnesses that if by the 
 pre-eminence of his office of Admiral the cognizance of such cause 
 should belong to him, he or his substitute, and no other judge, may 
 take cognizance of such causes, and thus may decide from hence- 
 forward. 
 
 It so pleases their Highnesses, if it belongs to the said office of 
 Admiral, according as Admiral Don Alphonso Enriques and his 
 other predecessors enjoyed it in their districts, it being just. 
 
 JOHN DE^COLOMA. 
 
 Item : That in all the vessels that shall be equipped for the said 
 traffic and trade, always, where, and whatever time they are equipped. 
 
COLUMBUS GOES TO PAL OS. 
 
 77 
 
 the said Don Christopher Columbus may, if he chooses, contribute 
 and pay the eighth part of all that is spent in equipping them, and 
 that he may take likewise the eighth part of the profits that may re- 
 sult from such equipment. 
 
 It so pleases their Highnesses. 
 
 JOHN DE COLOMA. 
 
 They are granted and expedited with the answers of their High- 
 nesses at the end of each article. In the town of Santa F6, in the 
 plain of Granada, the 17th day of April, in the year of the nativity 
 of our Saviour Jesus Christ one thousand four hundred and ninety- 
 two. 
 
 I THE KING. I THE QUEEN. 
 
 By command of the King and of the Qiieen : 
 
 JOHN DE COLOMA. 
 
 Registered Talcefia. 
 
 As Juan Pere^ and the Pinions, the principal helpers 
 of Columbus, were at Palos, it was but natural that this 
 seaport should become the headquarters of the expe- 
 dition. And this came about the more readily, since, 
 by some offence to the monarchs, the town had been 
 ordered to furnish two armed vessels for royal service 
 for a year.^ These might be turned over to Columbus. 
 The royal order to this effect was duly read to the au- 
 thorities and people of the town, from the porch of the 
 church of St. George, on the 23d of May. The ves- 
 sels referred to were to be ready in ten days ; and Co- 
 lumbus was to furnish another, according to his own 
 proposition. 
 
 ^"In consequence of the offence which we received at your hands, you 
 were condemned by our council to render us the service of two caravels, 
 armed, at your own expense, for the space of twelve months, whenever and 
 wherever it should be our pleasure to demand the same." So ran the requisi- 
 tion of the sovereigns. 
 
yg THE PINZONS VOLUNTEER. 
 
 But neither the royal mandate nor the promise of 
 the pa}' of seamen in armed vessels four months in ad- 
 vance could move these sturdy sailors. Their heads 
 were too full of terrors of the unknown seas, so com- 
 monly believed in by the unenlightened and super- 
 stitious in those days, to be led out on a voyage so uncer- 
 tain and perilous. Neither could the vessels be pro- 
 cured. Weeks passed and nothing could be done. 
 Even when the sovereigns send an officer to force 
 obedience to their orders, there is but little result ex- 
 cept a general tumult and confusion. 
 
 In this critical state of affairs the Pini^on brothers, 
 Martin Alonzo and Vicente Yanez, both very able nav- 
 igators, volunteered to enter the expedition, and 
 offered to furnish one vessel. They had many rela- 
 tions, friends, and employees in the place, and were 
 persons of strong influence ; so the other two vessels 
 were finally secured, possibly both were pressed into 
 the service, and quite a number were persuaded to 
 help make up the crews. But it became necessarj^ to 
 proclaim freedom to those civilly and criminally ob- 
 noxious to the law,^ in case the}- would embark in the 
 enterprise, in order that a sufficient number might be 
 prevailed on to go. Indeed, some of the number, it 
 would seem, were even compelled." Under such cir- 
 cumstances everything moved on reluctantly and 
 with difficulty. Those employed to fit out the vessels 
 
 ^ "The ship of Columbus was, therefore a refuge for criminals and run- 
 away debtors, a cave of Adullam for the discontented and the desperate. To 
 have to deal with such a community was not one of the least of Columbus's 
 difficulties."— //^-//s, Col., pp. So, Si. 
 
 * There is reason to believe that this most desperate part of the crews was 
 quartered on the Santa Maria, and that the Pinzons had the better element 
 —persons who volunteered under friendly influences. 
 
COLUMBUS'S SHIPS. 79 
 
 did their work badly ; and when ordered to do it over 
 ran away. Some who had volunteered repented, and 
 disaffected others. Some deserted and hid them- 
 selves. Nothing went smoothly and with good will. 
 
 Look now at the outfit for this unparalleled voyage. 
 The Santa Maria., said to be an old vessel fitted and 
 rigged over, is of moderate size — possibly some 60 feet 
 long and 25 feet wide — and is the only one of the three 
 vessels which has a complete deck. She is commanded 
 by Columbus and contains the most motley portion of 
 those making up the crews. The Pinta., with a high 
 cabin in the rear for the ofiicers, and also a high fore- 
 castle for the common sailors, is called a caravel, and is 
 sailed by Martin Alonzo Piuzon. The Nina — " Baby " — 
 commanded by Vicente Yanez Piuzon, is similar, but has 
 lateen or three-cornered sails. The entire number who 
 embarked in these vessels, each capable of carrying 
 about one hundred tons, was, perhaps, one hundred and 
 twenty. 
 
 According to the date of Columbus's birth which we 
 have accepted as probable, he would now be about fort}^- 
 six years of age. If " an impenetrable cloud of ob- 
 scurity " rests on his earlier years, and if, as Prescott 
 says, " the discrepancies among the earliest authorities 
 are such as to render hopeless any attempt to settle with 
 precision the chronology of Columbus's movements 
 previous to his first voyage, one thing is certain — some- 
 where., somehoiu^ he had received a masterly discipline as 
 a seaman. His skill in keeping reckoning at sea, in 
 prognosticating the weather, and particularly in dis- 
 cerning the indications of nearness to land, was simplj^ 
 marvellous — almost superhuman. And any one who 
 
So 
 
 THE GREA T SEAMAN. 
 
 could outride storm and tempest, amongst rocks and 
 shoals and in mid-ocean, with such inferior and crazy 
 ships as were some of those in which he made his voy- 
 ages, must indeed have been master of his craft. Th e im- 
 proved compass and the astrolabe, those important and 
 wonderful instruments of his time, must have done 
 their best service in his hands. As a nautical astrono- 
 mer he was so familiar with the stars and constellations 
 as to feel " sure and safe " anywhere in the ocean seas ; 
 for by them he could at any time determine his exact 
 position, as if by a " prophetic vision." Whether he 
 passed his early life in the more honorable pursuits of 
 seamanship for his da}^, or whether he was trained 
 under the French colors of piratical notoriety, the fact 
 that he could emerge from a life of such unfavorable 
 influences as were those of the sailor of his day even at 
 the best, with such stores of valuable and important 
 knowledge, such sympathy with and insight into the 
 grandest philosophical deductions of his age, such sin- 
 gleness of purpose, indomitable perseverance, good tact, 
 heroic courage, and ardent piety, would seem to be a 
 most remarkable outcome — one of the most remarkable 
 in all history. If he were a pirate, as some say, he was 
 surely the most noble and useful person ever found in 
 that class. 
 
CHAPTER V. 
 
 THE FIRST VOYAGE ACROSS THE ATLANTIC. 
 
 N Friday morning, the 3d of August, before 
 the sun cast his rays across the ocean, the 
 U sails were unfurled for the distant and mys- 
 terious voyage. Never was there a more solemn em- 
 barkation. There is always a peculiar uncertainty 
 overshadowing bim who goes out upon the sea. How 
 many a ship well rigged and manned, with a certain 
 port in view, never returns nor is heard from again. 
 But this voyage was unlike any other of all time. 
 Three small vessels were putting out into unknown 
 seas, without any definite landing place. Once and 
 for all, a line was about to be projected from one side 
 of the globe to the other. Ever afterwards others 
 might follow in the wake, but this voyage could be 
 made but once, and admitted of no parallel. All the 
 expeditions along West Africa and all previous naviga- 
 tion had been mere coastin^-. Taking the fullest ad- 
 
 o o 
 
 vantage of the late improvements of the compass and 
 the astrolabe, and following out the natural conse- 
 quence of that astounding doctrine in philosophy, 
 the sphericit}^ of the earth, this was to be the first thor- 
 oughly independent and scientific voyage. And how 
 worthy and momentous were its results ! 
 
 Columbus and his men, conscious of the perilous- 
 ness of the undertaking, felt tbemselves overshadowed 
 by tbe presence of the Infinite. The former had 
 
g2 THE DARK SEA. 
 
 confessed himself to the good prior of La Rabida 
 and taken the communion, and the several officers 
 and crews had followed his example. The whole 
 community, witnessing the solemn scene, was deeply 
 awed and in a state of mourning. Husbands, sons, 
 friends, and neighbors were going out with scarcely 
 a possible hope of returning. Science and natural 
 history have done so much to make us familiar and 
 at home in every part of the world that we can 
 form no conception of the superstitious terrors which 
 then prevailed in reference to the boundless unknown. 
 Sea-serpents, mermaids, and monsters having no affinity 
 or analogy with the systems of nature were the imagined 
 inhabitants of the unexplored seas. The equatorial re- 
 gion was a belt of impassable heat, where the very 
 ocean boiled beneath the vertical ra3^s of the sun. The 
 sphericity of tlie earth would admit of sailing away 
 down hill to any extent, but to return up grade against 
 wind and wave would be impossible. Scarcely less per- 
 ilous were the clouds above. Not the " albatross " of 
 the " ancient mariner," but the great " rock," a bird so 
 gigantic as to seize a ship in his talons and bear it away 
 to the clouds to gobble up its men, and breaking it in 
 pieces drop the fragments on the waves below, was one 
 of the terrors of the untried waste of waters. 
 
 Maps and charts of those times filled up the unknown 
 parts of the ocean with hideous monstrosities of the 
 imagination ; and the Mohammedans, whose religion 
 would not admit of such idolatrous art, imaged a huge 
 black hand in the horizon. 
 
 Toscanelli placed the Canary Islands in the same 
 latitudinal line with Antilla and Cipango, on the way to 
 
COLUMBUS AT THE CANARIES. 
 
 83 
 
 India ; aud as Columbus sailed essentially by bis map 
 sent to him in 1474, be went first to tbose islands to get 
 bis starting point westward. 
 
 Peter Martyr adds tbat be went to tbe Canary Islands 
 " to tbe intent there to refresh his ships with fresh water 
 and fuel before he committed himself to this so laborious 
 a voyage.'" 
 
 Nothing of importance occurred on this part of the 
 route except that tbe Pinta^s rudder gave way. This 
 
 is supposed to have been no mere accident, but a trick 
 on the part of tbe owners, the vessel having probably 
 been pressed into service. The captain, Martin Alonzo 
 
g. THE FIRES OF TENERIFFE. 
 
 Pinzon, being an ingenious and experienced seaman, 
 twice secured the rudder by cords, and the craft readied 
 the Canaries in safety the 9th of August. But this in- 
 cident made Cohimbus uneasy, and he made a thorough 
 effort to get another vessel at these islands ; but after 
 spending three weeks to no purpose the Pinta was ca- 
 reened in order to have her leaks stopped, and furnished 
 with a new rudder ; and the lateen sails of the Nina 
 having been replaced by square ones the squadron sailed 
 on its way on the 6th of September. 
 
 More than a month had passed since the little fleet 
 left Palos. Quite a detention this must have been to 
 the anxious Admiral ; but the time was not altogether 
 lost, for the stories of land to the westward, with which 
 the atmosphere of these islands abounded, must have 
 done something to brace up the courage of his unwilling 
 crews. 
 
 They were, however, in an intense state of excite- 
 ment. Almost anything out of the ordinary way filled 
 them with alarm. The streaming fires from the ma- 
 jestic peak of Teneriffe, one of the Canaries, had af- 
 frighted some of the more ignorant ; but after Columbus's 
 explanation of the volcanic forces they were pacified. 
 All went well now till the last point of land faded from 
 the horizon, and there was nothing in sight but "the 
 fruition of the heaven and the water." Then the mag- 
 nitude and fearful uncertainty of the undertaking 
 startled their wild and untutored fancies. They im- 
 agined they should never see land again, and the near 
 prospect of death in the " sea of darkness " overw^helmed 
 them. These emotional spirits of a southern clime 
 burst into tears, and some even broke out into loud 
 lamentations. 
 
THE SAILORS STEER BADLY. 85 
 
 Now Columbus's brilliant imagination and eloquent 
 tongue stood him in good stead. He drew a most vivid 
 picture of Marco Polo's kingdoms of the Orient, and 
 promised them great rewards if they would persevere to 
 the end. Had he landed in the empires of Tartary in- 
 stead of in the New World of savages and undeveloped 
 resources he would no doubt have been but too happy 
 in making all these promises good. 
 
 These poor ignorant sailors were soothed for a time, 
 but the undercurrent of intense fear continued, and their 
 paroxysms could at an}- moment be brought on by the 
 slightest untoward incident. And they steered badly, 
 causing the vessel to fall to leeward, toward the north- 
 east, for which the Admiral reprimanded them repeat- 
 edly. 
 
 Columbus, expecting to find some of his isles of India 
 just about where the Great Antilles are, had such a 
 definite notion as to where he should reach land that 
 he gave orders to the vessels to lay by, in case of sepa- 
 ration, from midnight till daylight, after they had sailed 
 seven hundred leagues, for they might then confidently 
 expect to find land. 
 
 Here, also, occurred that precaution on his part which 
 has been so severely censured by some of his critics. 
 He must have been keenly sensible of the fact that, ex- 
 cepting a few of the of&cers, he had not the hearts of the 
 men who sailed with him. They had either been overper- 
 suaded or literally pressed into the service. They were 
 moreover, for the most part, a very crude and excitable 
 people, with heads much too thick to accommodate the 
 clear and luminous notions of the Admiral. The danger 
 of mutiny was imminent every hour, and Columbus 
 
86 
 
 THE DOUBLE RECKONING. 
 
 would have been obtuse, indeed, bad be not realized bis 
 peril. Hence it was tbat be kept a double log or record 
 of the distance passed over ; tbe one, exact, for bis own 
 private use, tbe otber diminisbed carefully eacb day for 
 general inspection, in order tbat tbe crews migbt not 
 know bow far tbey were from borne. In view of tbe 
 fact that, in cases of emergency amounting to necessity, 
 casuists and moral pbilosopbers of all time bave justified 
 instances of deception, and considering tbe moral crude- 
 ness of tbe age in wbicb Columbus lived, it would not 
 only be uncbaritable, but even unjust, to stigmatize bim 
 as deceitful because of tbe few instances of tbis kind 
 wbicb occurred during bis life. 
 
 Otbers, again, bave ridiculed tbe possibilit}^ of sucb an 
 advantage being taken, believing tbe pilots and navi- 
 gators of bis crews to bave been capable of detecting any 
 sucb ruse. But let it be remembered bow incomplete 
 tbe metliod of reckoning was in tbose days. Tbe eye 
 noted tbe speed of tbe sbip, and tbe distance per bour 
 being estimated, tbe bour-glass afforded tbe multiple. 
 And in bow many instances of difference of opinion be- 
 tween Columbus and bis men be proved in tbe end to 
 be correct. Hence tbe confidence reposed in bis supe- 
 rior nautical skill was altogether remarkable. Tben, 
 too, bis open figures of tbe distance passed over were 
 greater tban tbose of tbe pilots of tbe vessels. 
 
 Tuesday, September iitb, tbey saw a large fragment 
 of tbe mast of a vessel, apparently of 120 tons, but could 
 not pick it up. 
 
 On tbe i3tb, for tbe first time in tbe history of tbat 
 newly-improved instrument, certain peculiar variations 
 in the needle of the compass were observed. After 
 
VARIATION OF THE COMPASS. 
 
 87 
 
 pointing several degrees to»the northeast of the polar 
 star it gradually moved westward to the line of no 
 variation, and then beyond to the westward. This was 
 a sufficient cause of alarm to the sailors. Must they 
 not now be in some part of the world where the ordinary 
 laws of nature did not operate, and where the forces to 
 be met could not be calculated ? ^ 
 
 Columbus cast about for an explanation. He told his 
 pilots that the magnetic needle did not point directly to 
 the polar star, but to some point in its vicinity, around 
 which that body itself described a circle. This hypoth- 
 esis quieted their fears, and in course of time satisfied 
 Columbus himself. 
 
 On the 14th the men on the N?7m saw a tropical bird 
 which they did not think ever went more than twenty 
 leagues from land. 
 
 Imagine the intense interest with which the changes 
 in sea and sky must have been noted by every observ- 
 ing person in the crews ! On the night of the 14th of 
 September a flaming meteor went streaming through 
 the star-lit heavens, and dropped into the sea only a 
 few miles distant. In that? clear atmosphere of the 
 tropics, and on the immense unbroken expanse of 
 waters, such a phenomenon would have been striking 
 enough to any one, but to the affrighted imaginations 
 of these men this trailing flame, burning for twelve or 
 fifteen seconds, was simply terrific. x^gain it was 
 necessary for the philosophic resources of Columbus 
 to be taxed for an explanation. 
 
 The vessels were now sailing directly in the current 
 
 ^ In after years Columbus thought that a study of this variation of the 
 magnetic needle might afford a ready way for ascertaining longitude, the line 
 of no variation being a meridian line. 
 
c,g THE TRADE-WINDS. 
 
 of the trade-winds, which, including a belt of several 
 degrees, follows the sun from east to west. This in- 
 teresting and important fact in nature was not yet 
 known, and it seemed strange and alarming that they 
 should have no variation whatever in the wind. Would 
 it forever drive them away from home, and never 
 change, so as to make their return possible ? Colum- 
 bus, however, was all confidence. Having no sym- 
 pathy whatever with these fears, he was simply enjoy- 
 ing the amenity of nature, as the wind abaft was 
 wafting them over a quiet sea, without the necessity 
 of changing a sail for many days. On the i6th, 
 occasional showers rendered the air yet more salu- 
 brious ; and to the keen senses of our seaman there 
 wanted only the song of the nightingale to make the 
 balmy days and nights like those in Andalusia. 
 
 The next thing which attracted their attention was 
 the immense tracts of sea-weeds, or Saragossa Sea, into 
 which they suddenly came. Here, too, they saw some 
 tunny fishes^ ; and Columbus picked up a live crab. 
 As their vessels ploughed through the weeds, some of 
 the timid sailors almost looked for the tree-tops of 
 sunken islands ; but Columbus, ever ready with some 
 analog}^ found in the ancient classics, now recalled 
 Aristotle's account of the ships from Cadiz, which, 
 sailing along by the straits of Gibraltar, were driven 
 a long way west by a violent east wind, and encoun- 
 tered immense fields of weeds, among which they saw 
 many tunny fishes. It could not be possible that they 
 
 ' The tunny fish is a huge species of mackerel. This was no doubt the 
 tunny of Europe, attaining a length of 15 to 20 feet, and sometimes weighing 
 1,000 pounds, a food-fish which these sailors must have met previously in the 
 Mediterranean. 
 
BIRD TOKENS. 89 
 
 had yet reached India ; but these weeds must have 
 been torn by the storms from rocks and river-banks, 
 and they were no doubt approaching some of the vari- 
 ous islands which Toscanelli had laid down on his map 
 as lying en route to Mangi and Cathay. How complete 
 was the delusion of our hero as to the nearness of the 
 shores of Eastern Asia ! 
 
 About this time several species of birds were seen ; 
 but the accounts are so imperfect as to make it im- 
 possible to identify them. The alcatraz^ now flying 
 about the vessels, must have been a species of gull ; 
 and the rabo de junco^ with long feathers in the centre 
 of the tail, called rush-tail by the Spaniards and straw- 
 tail by the French, was probably the elegant tropic- 
 bird — possibly a species of skua. As to the land-birds 
 which they thought spent part of the night on board 
 ship about the 20th, they must have been mistaken, 
 for they were now about midway from the Canaries to 
 the West Indies. 
 
 Again they had reached clear water, and the ships 
 were crowding all sail. The steady wind was carrjnng 
 them along swiftly over a sea as smooth as glass, and 
 every eye was on the alert, hoping to gain the annual 
 pension of ten thousand maravedis which the sover- 
 eigns had promised to him who should first see land. 
 The Pintail being the swiftest sailor, kept ahead. 
 Clouds of birds were flying toward the north, and Mar- 
 tin Alonzo Pinzon thought he saw land in that direc- 
 tion, but Columbus kept steadily to the west, believing, 
 as heretofore, that land was surely to be found in that 
 course. 
 
 On the 2 2d the wind was from the west, and the 
 
THE MUTINY. 
 
 ships were obliged to tack to the northwest. This 
 cheered Columbus, and he wrote in his journal : " This 
 wind was very necessary to me, for my crew had grown 
 much alarmed, dreading that they never should meet 
 in these seas with a fair wind to return to Spain." 
 
 Bv and by the wind nearly died away, and the un- 
 easy crew began to gather in knots, and to discuss the 
 necessity of turning back. They had come far enough 
 to test the wild notion of land in the west ; the cook 
 was reporting the provisions as fully half consumed ; 
 the vessels were beginning to show the effects of the 
 long voyage ; the chances of being able to reach home 
 were slender enough now ; what hope of return would 
 they have if they still continued the mad voyage ? As 
 to Columbus, he was a mere visionary, his head so 
 turned with his wild notion that he set no value on 
 his life an}' way. But they need not be over particular 
 about him. He had but few friends and not a few en- 
 emies. They might push him overboard, and say he fell 
 into the sea while indulging his constant habit of gaz- 
 ing at the stars. No one would lay the matter to heart 
 or ask close questions about him ; and they would be 
 looked upon as heroes, who, having explored the wide 
 ocean, had settled the fact that land was not to be 
 found to the westward. 
 
 The Admiral overheard their mutterings and noticed 
 their " black looks ;" but he resolved to be firm and 
 risk his life if necessary. " The sea was calm because 
 they were approaching land," he said. " Did they not 
 notice the many flights of birds and other signs of 
 landfall ? " Again he w^ould remind them of the dis- 
 pleasure of the sovereigns and the punishment due 
 them if they hindered the voyage. 
 
LAND I LAND ! gi 
 
 But on the 25th of September the wind favored 
 them again, and, as there is " nothing like a freshening 
 breeze," a better spirit prevailed. The vessels sailed 
 close together, so closely that Columbns and Martin 
 Alonzo Pinzon chatted familiarly, and the latter tossed 
 to the former a chart loaned him some days before, 
 and now secured by a cord as it passed from one 
 vessel to the other. " According to this map," said 
 Martin Alonzo, "we should now be near Cipango and 
 the other islands near it." " That is quite possible," 
 said Columbus, " but, on the other hand, the ships may 
 have been turned somewhat from their proper course 
 by the strong currents so apparent, or the pilots may 
 be mistaken in their reckoning, and Ave may not have 
 sailed so far as they report." 
 
 Now Columbus and his officers on the Santa Maria 
 gather about the map, and try to make out their exact 
 present position in the ocean ; and soon they are 
 startled by a shout from the Pinta, " Land ! Land ! 
 Seiior, I claim my rew^ard ! " cried Martin Alonzo Pin- 
 zon, from the high stern of his vessel, and pointing to 
 the southwest, where there was indeed the appearance 
 of land in the distance. Columbus fell upon his 
 knees and devoutly thanked God. Martin Alonzo 
 as devoutly repeated the Gloria in excelsis^ the several 
 crews within the range of his voice joining in solemn 
 concert. 
 
 Now every heart beat with joyful expectation. The 
 sailors scrambled to the mast-head and clung about 
 the rigging, straining their ej^es for a glimpse of the 
 supposed land. Throughout the night Columbus 
 stood the ships in that direction, but the morning 
 
GOOD CHEER. 
 
 revealed nothing save the wild stretch of the ocean. 
 They had been allnred by a deceptive evening cloud. 
 Again they sailed westward. 
 
 But this delusion seems to have done the sailors 
 good. They are decidedly cheerful, and as the 
 weather is mild and the sea delightfully tranquil for 
 several days, they amuse themselves bj^ jumping over- 
 board and swimming abreast the ships. Schools of 
 dolpliins raise their backs out of the waters, and there is 
 an abundance of flying-fishes, " which are about a span 
 long, and have two little wings like a bat ; they fly 
 about a pike high from the water, and a musket-shot 
 in length, more or less, and sometimes they drop upon 
 the ships." Here, too, they see schools of fishes with 
 " gilt backs," some of which thej^ catch. Are not the 
 fliohts of various birds also increasinor ? The eleo-ant 
 tropic-birds, the jaegers chasing the pelicans and 
 gulls and forcing them to disgorge their food, are all 
 species which do not go more than twenty leagues from 
 land. Signs of land increase and ever}'- one feels 
 happy. Every now and then the cry of ''land" is 
 heard, until the false report becomes demoralizing, 
 and it is necessary for the Admiral to afiirm that, if 
 any one's announcement does not prove true after 
 three days' sailing, he shall forfeit the reward, even 
 though he may afterwards sight land first. But the 
 Nina^ sailing ahead, becomes assured. On Sunday 
 morning, October 7th, at sunrise, she hoists a flag and 
 fires a gun in signal of land ; but again all signs fail. 
 
 A general depression now steals over the crews, and 
 even Martin Alonzo Pinzon begins to doubt whether 
 they are sailing in the right direction. 
 
THE RECKONING. 93 
 
 They had now sailed, according to Columbus's private 
 reckoning some 707 leagues. His open figures were 
 584 ; his pilot's, 578 ; the reckoning of the Nina^ two 
 days later, was 540 leagues ; that of the Pinta, 634. 
 All knew that they had sailed a great distance, but 
 just as the crews were becoming desperate the small 
 land-birds began to fly in clouds to the southwest. 
 This was a sure sign of land. Had not the Portuguese 
 been constantly guided by the flight of land-birds in 
 discovering the islands off the west coast of Africa ? 
 These birds are going southwest to spend the night, 
 or are migrating for the Avinter. Columbus, on the 
 evening of this same Sunday, bent his course to the 
 southwest, thus conforming to the bird-omen, and at 
 the same time gratifying his men. 
 
 And the small land-birds continue to fl}^, many of 
 them bright and beautiful in color. Some alight 
 familiarly about the rigging of the ships, and one can 
 hear their notes as they pass over at night. Even the 
 heron, the pelican, and the duck which the}^ see, all 
 fly in the same southwestward course, and the 
 Admiral's keen sense of smell seems to detect the 
 fragrance of breezes from off the land. 
 
 Notwithstanding all these signs of landfall, on the 
 evening of the third day of sailing in this direction, as 
 the sun sank into a " shoreless ocean," there began to be 
 a universal clamor to put about the ships and return 
 home. 
 
 Columbus attempted to reason with the discontents, 
 but finding it useless he became peremptory, and 
 declared that as the sovereigns had sent them out to 
 find land, and as the signs of land were constantly 
 
SIGNS 01^ LAND. 
 94 
 
 multiplying, they would not return until they had 
 fulfilled their mission. The notion that he compro- 
 mised with them, and promised to return if they did 
 not find land in three days, is not in accordance with 
 the evidences in the case, and has been discarded by 
 ever}' competent critic. 
 
 Thick and fast now come the facts in support of Co- 
 lumbus. Fresh-water a/o-^^ appeared, and a kind of 
 green fish keeping about rocks in rivers. Who could 
 discredit that fresh branch of thorn ornamented with 
 bright red berries ? — or that green rush floating by ? — 
 or that bit of board ? — or that staff so skilfully carved ? 
 As these welcome objects were picked up from the 
 waters, and passed around among the admiring crews, 
 no one any longer doubted ; and every one was on a 
 sharp lookout for the much-desired land. 
 
 Impressive indeed must have been that memorable 
 evening of October nth, before the landfall. A fresh 
 breeze was wafting the vessels swiftly over a tranquil 
 sea, and the evening sky was bright above them. As 
 usual, the sailors had sung their evening h3min to the 
 Virgin. Then Columbus addressed his crew. His 
 whole being was deeply moved, and he spoke like one 
 intensely conscious of some great event just at hand. 
 He was assured that the momentous achievement for 
 which his whole life had been a struggle was within 
 a few hours of its consummation. Every fibre of his 
 being must have vibrated to his words, as he reminded 
 those about him of the smooth sea over which, in the 
 providence of God, they had sailed with a favoring 
 breeze for so many days ; of the many signs of land 
 which had cheered their hopes in time of depression ; 
 
THE LIGHT. g^ 
 
 of his expectation, on leaving the Canaries, of finding 
 land when they shonld have sailed westward seven 
 hundred leagues. He believed they would sight land 
 that night, and promised a velvet doublet as an ad- 
 ditional reward to that promised by the monarchs to 
 him who should first announce the landfall. 
 
 Throughout the day there was a heavier sea than 
 they had seen in all the voyage, and they had sailed 
 more rapidly than usual ; and now, as the night set- 
 tled down upon them, the vessels were still speeding 
 their course through the swelling waves at an un- 
 wonted rate, the Pinta leading the wa}-. A delightful 
 animation prevailed. Every e3-e was on the alert. Co- 
 lumbus had seated himself on the loft}' cabin at the 
 stern of his vessel. No one slept that night. Every 
 bosom swelled with an unbounded expectation. A new 
 world was just at hand ! What sort of a world would 
 it be? 
 
 About ten o'clock Columbus thought he saw a light. 
 He called one of his principal men, Pedro Gutierrez, 
 and he also thought he saw it. He then called a sec- 
 ond person, Rodrigo Sanchez, who, after a time, was 
 equally fortunate. The light rose and fell, like a 
 torch in a boat tossed upon the water. Evidently the 
 gleam of this distant luminar}^ was faint, and made 
 certain, or perhaps barely probable, by the observations 
 of the three. 
 
 At two o'clock in the morning the Pinta fired a gun 
 in signal of land, Rodrigo de Treana was the fortunate 
 observer whose eye first detected the almost even out- 
 line of an island along the horizon, about tvv^o leagues 
 distant. There is no friend of Columbus but will re- 
 
^ LAND INDEED. 
 
 gret that he should afterwards have accepted the re- 
 ward as adjudged to himself, simply because he saw a 
 light. Who would not sympathize with this poor 
 sailor, not only for the loss of his ten thousand mara- 
 vedis and velvet doublet, but for the loss of that honor- 
 able distinction which his watchfulness and good-luck 
 so richly deserved ? It is said he was so chagrined 
 that he forsook his country and his religion and, go- 
 ing into Africa, turned Mussulman. 
 
 This time there could be no mistake. There lay the 
 long, level, forest-clad island, its silvery lights and 
 dark shadows made clear by the large moon standing 
 high overhead. 
 
 They cast their anchors. " All sails were furled, 
 leaving only the stormsail, which is the square sail 
 without bonnets, and they lay hove-to, awaiting the 
 da}'." {Columbus}} 
 
 " When I regard this achievement," says Castelar, 
 " the most living, evident, and effulgent lesson it bears 
 is the triumph of faith. To cross the seas of life, 
 naught suffices save the bark of faith. In that bark 
 the undoubting Columbus set sail, and at his journey's 
 end found a new world. Had that world not then ex- 
 isted, God would have created it in the solitude of the 
 Atlantic, if to no other end than to reward the faith 
 and the constancy of that great man." 
 
CHAPTER VI. 
 
 THE FIRST LANDING. 
 
 O one loitered on this bright morning of the 
 1 2th of October. In the gray dawn, the na- 
 tives, watching from the shore, could see the 
 ships — gigantic phantoms in their eyes. Then they 
 beheld the boat manned and nearing the shore. At 
 the command of Columbus, the crews had all been reg- 
 ularly attired for the occasion. The leading person- 
 ages, at least, were probably clad in armor of glistening 
 steel ; while he, standing in the bow of the long boat, 
 and giving to the morning breeze the flag of Castile, 
 wore, in addition, some scarf or drapery of bright 
 scarlet. The Pinzons bore " the two flags of the green 
 cross, which the Admiral carried on all the ships as 
 signals, having an F and a Y, and above each letter a 
 crown, one on one side of the cross and the other on 
 the other." Bright Castilian plumes waved, and much 
 of the details of dress w^as in the brilliant colors of the 
 age. Quite unlike the still paddle of the Indian's 
 canoe was the united plash of the double row of long 
 oars. 
 
 They reached the shore in that most delightful part 
 of a bright day — at sunrise. Gorgeous must have been 
 the tints of that early hour in the tropics. The tall, 
 majestic trees were clad in an exuberant foliage, the 
 most novel and strikingly varied in form. The hu- 
 mid atmosphere was laden with grateful odors. The 
 
g THE LANDING. 
 
 happy birds were giving their matin song. Colum- 
 bus, whose senses are said to have been remarkably 
 acute, and who possessed the brilliant imagination 
 and high sensibility of the poet, would not only com- 
 prehend the grand scene, but would invest it with the 
 varied charms of his own bright fancy. It was per- 
 haps the supreme moment of his life. A happier 
 hour he could scarcely have known than when he 
 stepped on the shores of that new world which his 
 imagination had so long beheld in the distance. 
 
 When he landed he fell on his knees, then forward 
 upon his face, kissed the earth, returned thanks to 
 God, and, with tears of joy, offered the following 
 prayer: "Lord God, eternal and omnipotent, by thy 
 sacred word the heavens, the earth, and the sea were 
 created ; blessed and glorified be thy name, praised be 
 thy majesty, which is exalted through thy humble 
 servant, in that by him thy sacred name may be made 
 known and declared in this remote part of the earth." ^ 
 
 In this solemn act of devotion he was cordially 
 joined by the whole company. Rising to his feet, he 
 drew his sword and planted the standard of Castile, 
 thus taking possession of the new country in the name 
 of the sovereigns of Spain. In accordance with the 
 pious emotions of the hour, San Salvador, or Holy 
 Saviour,^ was announced as the name of this island, 
 which the natives called Guanahani. 
 
 1 By order of the sovereigns of Spain, this same prayer was afterwards used 
 by Balboa, Cortez, and Pizarro in their discoveries. 
 
 ^ Following the oldest maps and the description by Columbus, it becomes 
 clear that Walling's Island and not the present San Salvador is Guanahani, 
 on which the great discoverer first landed. See R. H. Major's Select Letters 
 on Columbus, pp. 60, 61, Introduction. See also Becker's Landfall of Colum- 
 bus and Cronau's Amerika. 
 
APOLOGIES AND ENTREATIES. gg 
 
 The several crews, with their officers, now gathered 
 about him somewhat in the order of rank. Near him 
 stood the Pinzon brothers, his associate captains, each 
 holding a banner of the green cross, ^ having on one 
 side the letter F, and on the other side the letter Y, to 
 represent Fernando and Ysabel. Bright golden crowns 
 surmounted or in some way ornamented these beauti- 
 ful standards. Other officers found their places ac- 
 cording to their importance and rank. All now gave 
 the oath of allegiance to Columbus as admiral and 
 viceroy of the new country. 
 
 The scene which now followed must have been at 
 once amusing and gratifying to those who sympa- 
 thized with the Admiral. The craven souls who had 
 shown disrespect and even malice toward him were 
 now all suddenl}^ turned about. Pressing upon him 
 on ever}^ side, some embracing him, some kissing his 
 hands, some kneeling at his feet, they acknowledged 
 their faults, and begged his pardon. Some, impressed 
 with his dignity and authority, which all had just ac- 
 knowleged, asked to be remembered in respect to such 
 favors as he in his high position might be able to 
 confer. 
 
 During the ceremonies, Herrera saj^s, a great mul- 
 titude of the natives w^ere looking on, and that the 
 Admiral, believing them to be ''a gentle and simple 
 people, and seeing them stand gazing on the Chris- 
 tians, astonished at their beards, white faces, and 
 clothes, gave them some red caps, glass beads, and 
 
 1 It is difficult to tell from the original account whether this is a banner with 
 a green cross, or a green banner in the shape of a cross. I think it was the 
 latter. 
 
lOO CHARACTER OF THE NATIVES. 
 
 such like things, which they highly valued; the 
 Spaniards no less admiring those people, their mien 
 
 and shape." 
 
 Probably no man was ever more disappointed than 
 was Columbns in the character of the people whom he 
 found in this new country. His imagination had 
 teemed with the brilliant conceptions of oriental life — 
 costly apparel, ornaments of gold and precious stones, 
 palatial residences and splendid appointments in gen- 
 eral, but here were only naked savages, tattooed and 
 painted in the most hideous styles, and living in wig- 
 wams, or at most in mere huts and hovels. Nothing 
 could be further removed from the supposed luxuries 
 of India than the simple and destitute manner of life 
 among these aborigines. 
 
 And yet there was something fascinating in their 
 native strength and beauty and in their simple ways. 
 Their stalwart and well-rounded forms, their bold 
 features, bright eyes, and exuberant black hair, and 
 their clear brown complexion when not spoiled with 
 paint, were all exceedingly impressive. Not a few of 
 these people were really beautiful. And, having a fair 
 conception of that grand triad of human knowledge — 
 the personality of God, the immortality of the soul, 
 and moral accountability^ — they were by no means a 
 low order of savage. Then, this innocent nakedness, 
 dwelling in booths, feeding upon the simple and spon- 
 taneous products of nature, and almost having every- 
 thing in common, was it not precisely that life of 
 happy ease and freedon from care which poets, philos- 
 ophers, and artists love to depict ? Columbus, suppos- 
 ing that he was in some of the ruder outskirts of 
 
SURPRISE OF THE NATIVES. iqi 
 
 India, called these people Indians, and, as nothing sticks 
 like a name, the}^ are called so to this day, thongh for 
 hundreds of years the world has known Columbus's 
 mistake. 
 
 When the Spaniards and the Indians met, the latter 
 were, of course, even more astounded than the former, 
 for they were taken entirely by surprise. That huge 
 sailing craft, gliding so majestically over the water as 
 its canvas was swelled by the breeze, was something 
 for which they had no name, and which thej^ supposed 
 came from some other world. The white men's beards 
 which they stroked and examined so curiously — the 
 Indians had no beards — and their w^hite skins, surely 
 were not of this world. Then the superior intelligence 
 and grace of culture, which some at least of these 
 strangers manifested, could but confirm their notion 
 that these wonderful people had come down from 
 heaven. " They cried with loud voices : ' Come and 
 see the men who have come from heaven. Bring them 
 victuals and drink.' "^ Would that they might never 
 have had occasion to change their opinion ! 
 
 At first the natives fled away in fear, as the boats 
 approached the shore ; but, after gazing on the stran- 
 gers cautiously at a distance, they somehow gained 
 confidence, and graduall}^ approached them. They 
 were harmless, gentle creatures. The few that carried 
 bows and arrows, or wooden lances with the points 
 hardened in the fire or tipped with a bit of flint or the 
 
 ^ "The idea that the white men came down from heaven was universally 
 entertained by the inhabitants of the New World. When, in the course of 
 subsequent voyages, the Spaniards conversed with the Cacique Nicaragua, he 
 inquired how they came down from the skies, whether flying, or whether 
 they descended on the clouds." — Irving from Herrera. 
 
I02 PRESENTS TO THE NATIVES. 
 
 tooth or bones of a fish, were not disposed to use these 
 weapons. They had no iron implements of any kind, 
 and evidently were not practised in warfare. Columbus 
 was impressed with their simplicity when, on handing 
 them a sword, they grasped it by the edge and cut 
 themselves. How excited they were when Columbus 
 opened up his treasures — gay caps, bright colored 
 glass beads, little tinkling bells, such as those devoted 
 to falconry put on their hawks. He had learned the 
 importance of such trifles from the experiences of the 
 Portuenese on the coasts of Africa. Nothing takes 
 the eye of a savage like bright colors, and those tiny 
 bells were perhaps the nearest approach to a musical 
 instrument they had ever heard. How their eyes 
 sparkled with delight as they put the beads around 
 their necks, and how gleefully they skipped about when 
 the}^ jingled the bells ! 
 
 The news soon spread. At the early dawn of the 
 next morning the natives came in crowds, and were so 
 eager to get to the ships that some of them, plunging 
 into the water, swam out to the Spaniards ; but most 
 of them came in their canoes, hollowed out from a 
 single tree in the form of a tray, some of which held 
 fifty persons. " They rowed with an oar like a baker's 
 peel, and wonderfully swift." In the great rush of the 
 crowd some of these canoes were upset ; but the 
 owners swam like fishes, and in a few minutes had 
 righted them, bailed them out with their calabashes, 
 and were paddling along again, without the incon- 
 venience of wet clothes. 
 
 True to the nature of the savage, they all wanted 
 gew-gaws and ornaments. They had not come to beg, 
 
BARTERING WITH THE NATIVES. 103 
 
 however, but to buy. If their articles of exchange 
 were few in number, they were all the more liberal 
 with them as to quantity. They brought tamed par- 
 rots in great numbers, immense balls of cotton yarn, 
 and bread called cassava,^ made from a root which they 
 cultivated. As they had no conception of comparative 
 values, they gave great quantities of their commodities 
 for a few trifles. 
 
 What kind of ornaments are those which some of 
 these savages wear in their noses? Ah, that is gold! 
 Nothing could more inflame the breasts of these Span- 
 iards than gold ! So the hawk's bells and other 
 trinkets were freely exchanged for this precious metal, 
 on which the natives seemed to set but little value. 
 
 All this bartering was carried on at a great incon- 
 venience, for the parties could communicate only by 
 signs. As gold was the one thing above all others 
 wanted in Spain, Columbus pressed the natives to 
 make known where they obtained it. They pointed 
 to the southwest. They also gave him the impression 
 that there was land in the northwest, whence the peo- 
 ple came to the southwest for gold. These vague com- 
 munications could readily be misconstrued by the Ad- 
 miral's vivid imagination. He felt assured that he 
 must be in the rich country which Marco Polo had de- 
 scribed ; and a certain king which the Indians repre- 
 sented as living in a house, the roof of which was 
 covered with plates of gold, he believed to be the 
 Grand Khan of Tartary. 
 
 Having explored the island and become satisfied 
 
 ^ A bread very ingeniously made from the yucca root, from which is also 
 derived our tapioca. 
 
J04 CHARMING SCENERT. 
 
 that it was not in all respects suitable for a colony, lie 
 left on the evening of the 14th, taking seven natives 
 as guides. As they thread their way through this 
 lab3Tinth of tropical islands, everything is strikingly 
 novel and strongly characterized. The immense trees 
 are enshrouded in the densest foliage; exuberant 
 vines drape and festoon them in various directions ; 
 flowers of every form and hue decorate the landscape ; 
 the abundance of fruit is of almost endless diversity 
 and flavor; there is an astonishing variety of birds of 
 the most brilliant plumage, and some of them are 
 charming in song; the crystal waters teem with fishes, 
 the sparkling scales of which vie with the birds in 
 almost every tint of the rainbow ; and the air is laden 
 with such an aromatic fragrance as cannot fail to con- 
 vince Columbus that he is in that oriental countr}^ 
 " where the spices grow." 
 
 As the ships glide along over the smooth waters, 
 the natives name the islands till they mount up into 
 the hundreds, and " Columbus now had no longer a 
 doubt that he was among the islands described by 
 Marco Polo as studding the vast sea of Chin, or China, 
 and l3ang at a great distance from the mainland. 
 These, according to the Venetian, amounted to be- 
 tween seven and eight thousand, and abounded with 
 drugs and spices and odoriferous trees, together with 
 gold and silver and many other precious objects of 
 commerce.^ 
 
 On Alonday, October 15th, the ships are under sail 
 towards an island some six or seven leagues distant, 
 " that part of it toward San Salvador extending from 
 
 1 Irving's Columbus, vol. i, p. 173. 
 
CHASING THE NATIVES. 105 
 
 N. to S. five leagues." The other side ran from 
 E. to W. more than ten leagues. Now they sail for a 
 still larger island to the W., which the Admiral names 
 Santa Maria de la Concepcion. " About sunset we an- 
 chored near the cape which terminates the island to- 
 wards the W. to inquire for gold, for the natives we 
 had taken from San Salvador told me that the people 
 here wore golden bracelets upon their arms and legs. 
 I believe pretty confidently that they had invented 
 this story in order to find means to escape from us." ^ 
 Here the ships remained till the next day, the Ad- 
 miral examining the island and taking possession of 
 it. " A large canoe being near the caravel Ah'ua^ one 
 of the San Salvador natives leaped overboard and 
 swam to her (another had made his escape the night 
 before) ; the canoe being reached by the fugitive, the 
 natives rowed for the land too swiftly to be overtaken ; 
 having landed, some of my men went ashore in pursuit 
 of them, when they abandoned the canoe and fled with 
 precipitation ; the canoe which they had left was 
 brought on board the Nina, where from another 
 quarter had arrived a small canoe with a single man, 
 who came to barter some cotton ; some of the sailors, 
 finding him unwilling to go on board the vessel, 
 jumped into the sea and took him. I was upon the 
 quarter-deck of my ship, and, seeing the whole, sent 
 for him and gave him a red cap, put some glass beads 
 upon his arms, and two hawk's bells upon his ears. I 
 then ordered his canoe to be returned to him, and dis- 
 patched him back to land." 
 
 * The quotations occurring along this part of the narrative are from the 
 Journal of Columbus. 
 
io6 
 
 cnONA(r\S MAP. 
 
 Tuesday, October i6th, about noon, the squadron 
 set sail lor an island which loomed up very large in 
 
 the west. But their sails were so poorly filled that 
 they had not yet reached harbor when night overtook 
 
7 HE NE WS CARRIER, 1 07 
 
 them. Midway they had met a man in a canoe. His 
 outfit for a voyage among these islands was exceed- 
 ingly small — a bit of cassava bread " as big as one's 
 fist, a calabash of water, a quantity of reddish earth," 
 used as body-paint, and a few dried leaves which these 
 natives seemed to value. He had also a little basket 
 in which were some glass beads and two Spanish 
 copper coins, thiis betraying the fact that he was from 
 San Salvador, probably going from island to island to 
 carry the news of the arrival of the strangers from 
 heaven, and to show the presents they gave. The 
 Admiral ordered the bold seaman, with his canoe and 
 goods, to be taken on board, where he served him with 
 " bread, honey, and drink." As the ships approached 
 the large island for which they were making, the 
 Indian, with his effects, was launched in his canoe. 
 This kind treatment, Columbus thought, would con- 
 ciliate the natives. They approached the island just 
 at night, and, as the coast was dangerous, beat up and 
 down till morning, when they anchored at a village. 
 The Indian messenger, having landed here, had given 
 the inhabitants so good an impression that all night 
 long they were coming out in great numbers in their 
 canoes to the approaching ships, bringing water and 
 other things. Each one received some present, " as 
 strings of ten or a dozen glass beads, plates of brass, 
 such as cost in Castile a maravedi apiece, and thongs 
 of leather. Those who came on board were fed with 
 molasses." 
 
 In the gray dawn of the morning a delegation went 
 ashore for water. The kindly natives not only di- 
 rected them to the springs, but " carried the little tubs 
 
jq8 brilliant fishes. 
 
 to fill the pipes.'" These natives attracted the atten- 
 tion of the Spaniards as being shrewder in traffic than 
 those they had met before. How the Spaniards ache 
 to get the gold ornament, half as big as a castellmto 
 and with letters on it, from the nose of that native. 
 Surely that must be a coin ! But the fellow will not 
 part with it. These natives are also more modest in 
 covering their nakedness than has been the custom in 
 these parts. The ships spend some time coasting this 
 island and Columbus lands, and is delighted with its 
 great fertility and the novel and striking beauty of 
 every object about him. He is especially delighted 
 with the fishes, " of the finest hues in the world, blue, 
 yellow, red, and every other color, some variegated 
 with a thousand different tints, so beautiful that no 
 one on beholding them could fail to express the 
 highest wonder and admiration." This island was 
 named Fernandina, in honor of the King. 
 
 On the morning of the 19th the Admiral sailed to 
 the southeast for the island Saomote, which he named 
 Isabella. Columbus says, " It lies westerly from the 
 island of Fernandina, and the coast extends from the 
 islet twelve leagues west to a cape which I called 
 Cabo Hermoso — Cape Beautiful — it being a beautiful 
 round headland, with a bold shore free from shoals. 
 Part of the shore is rocky, but the rest of it, like 
 most of the coast here, a sandy beach. Here we an- 
 chored till morning. This island is the most beau- 
 tiful that I have yet seen ; the trees in great number, 
 flourishing and lofty ; the land is higher than the 
 other islands, and exhibits an eminence which, though 
 
 ^ Herrera's History of America, vol. i, chap. 13. 
 
ENCHANTING LANDSCAPES. 109 
 
 it cannot be called a mountain, yet adds beauty to its 
 appearance, and gives an indication of streams of 
 water in the interior." He adds further, "This is so 
 beautiful a place, as well as the neighboring regions, 
 that I know not in which course to proceed first ; my 
 eyes are never tired with viewing such delightful 
 verdure, and of a species so new and dissimilar to that 
 of our country, and I have no doubt there are trees and 
 herbs here which would be of o;reat value in Spain, as 
 dyeing materials, medicines, spices, etc., but I am mor- 
 tified that I have no acquaintance with them. Upon 
 our arrival here we experienced the most sweet and 
 deliofhtful odor from the flowers or trees of the island." 
 And again, concerning the same island, he says, 
 " Groves of lofty and flourishing trees are abundant, 
 as also large lakes, surrounded and overhung by the 
 foliage in a most enchanting manner. Everything 
 looked as green as in April in Andalusia. The 
 melody of the birds was so exquisite that one was 
 never willing to part from the spot, and the flocks of 
 parrots obscured the heavens. The diversity in the 
 appearance of the feathered tribe from those of our 
 country is extremely curious." 
 
 In giving these citations from the Admiral's journal 
 as preserved by Las Casas we are tempted to qiiote 
 him a little further. '' While we were in search of some 
 good water," he sa3^s of his sojourn in Isabella, " we 
 came upon a village of the natives about half a league 
 from the place where the ships la}^ ; the inhabitants, on 
 discovering us, abandoned their houses and took to 
 flight, carrying off their goods to the mountain. I 
 ordered that nothing which they had left should be 
 
J JO SEARCHING FOR THE KING. 
 
 taken, not even the value of a pin. Presently we saw 
 several of the natives advancing toward our party, and 
 one of them came up to us, to whom we gave some 
 hawk's bells and glass beads, with which he was de- 
 lighted. We asked him, in return, for water, and 
 after I had gone on board the ship the natives came 
 down to the shore with their calabashes full, and 
 showed great pleasure in presenting us with it. I 
 ordered more glass beads to be given them, and they 
 promised to return the next day. It is my wish to fill 
 all the water-casks of the ships at this place, which 
 being executed I shall depart immediately, if the 
 weather serve, and sail round the island, till I succeed 
 in meeting with the king, in order to see if I can ac- 
 quire any of the gold which I hear he possesses. 
 Afterwards I shall set sail to another very large island 
 which I believe to be Cipango, according to the indica- 
 tion I receive from the Indians on board." 
 
 There is a strange lack of quadrupeds in these 
 islands. What can be the origin of that dog which 
 guards the pavilion of the native, but cannot bark ? 
 If he is a hunter, that little animal which the natives 
 call utia, and which the Spaniards are at a loss to name, 
 not knowing whether to call it a large rat, a rabbit, or 
 a coney, must be its only game. But lizards abound, 
 and a kind of reptile which the natives eat with great 
 relish, but which the Spaniards look upon with disgust, 
 as being allied to serpents. 
 
 The natives still pointed southwest, as the direction 
 in which to find the rich king and the mines of gold. 
 So on the ships went in that direction, through sun- 
 shine and frequent showers, till they came in sight of 
 Cuba, on the 28th. 
 
APPROACHING CUBA. m 
 
 All travellers testify to the magnificence of this island 
 as seen in the distance, especially when approached 
 from the north. Everything beautiful and grand in 
 nature seems to combine here. Lofty mountains lift 
 their blue peaks into the clouds ; their spurs, like great 
 buttresses, are clad in the most luxuriant forests, and 
 run out in grand promontories to the sea ; the wide 
 plains which border the beautiful rivers are elysian iu 
 their mild scenery and great fertilit}^ ; the large shells, 
 strewn along the coast, the birds, the flowers, the 
 insects sparkling like jewels, and even the fishes — all 
 vie with each other to give brilliancy and the most 
 entrancing effect to this immense stretch of land, 
 which almost claims to be a continent. 
 
 As the ships bore down upon the land, the grand 
 scene filled the heart of Columbus with unutterable 
 delight\ Surely this must be the far-famed island, 
 Cipango ! In those mountains yonder would be the 
 
 1" Fancy, without whose aid no truly great work can succeed in the hands 
 of man, lent a peculiar charm to the delineations of nature sketched by Co- 
 lumbus and Vespucci." — Humholdfs Cosmos. 
 
 The same author, speaking of the expansion of knowledge and the growth 
 of poetic feeling which became so obvious in literature after the discovery of 
 the New World, notes how Columbus " described the earth and the new 
 heaven opened to his eyes with a beauty and simplicity of expression which 
 can only be adequateh' appreciated by those who are conversant with the 
 ancient vigor of the language in the pei^iod in which he wrote. The physi- 
 ognomy and forms of vegetation ; the impenetrable thickets of the forests, 
 in which one can scarcely distinguish the stems to which the several blos- 
 soms and leaves belong; the wild luxuriance of the flowering soil along 
 the humid shores, and the rose-colored flamingoes which, fishing at early 
 dawn at the mouth of the rivers, impart animation to the scenery — all in 
 turn arrested the attention of the old mariner as he sailed along the shores 
 of Cuba, between the small Lucayan islands and the Jardinillos, which I too 
 have visited. Each newly-discovered land seems to him more beautiful than 
 the one last described, and he deplores his inability to find words in which 
 to express the sweet impressions awakened in his mind." 
 
I J 2 ON THE L OOKOUT FOR TARTART. 
 
 mines of gold ; that tropical vegetation would afford 
 spices, and along the shores would be the pearls of 
 the Orient. As the}^ landed and examined an Indian 
 villao-e, the pavilion-like houses, made of palm 
 branches and located here and there on pretty emi- 
 nences, under large trees, seemed more architectural 
 than any they had seen. And how clean they were ! 
 
 Those wooden statues and masks, so ingeniously 
 wrought, did they not indicate some fair degree of 
 civilization ? Those fishing implements made of bone 
 must show some enterprise in fishing, to supply the 
 cities in the interior. And was there not the skull of 
 a cow ? — now supposed to have been that of a sea-calf 
 or manatee. 
 
 " The natives on board my vessel point to the interior, 
 to Cubanican, and sa}^ there is an abundance of gold 
 there," said Martin Alonzo Pinzon. " Moreover, they 
 say that this is not an island, but the mainland. 
 Cubanican must be Cublai Khan, the great sovereign 
 of Tartary, described by Marco Polo." 
 
 "Aye, truly," replies Columbus. "Then we are 
 not in Cipango, but on the mainland of India, in the 
 vicinity of Mangi and Cathay." 
 
 As heretofore, the natives pressed upon the Span- 
 iards with their huge balls of coarse cotton yarn, 
 parrots, and cassava bread ; but Columbus forbade all 
 traffic except for gold, hoping thus to develop the facts 
 concerning that metal in the country. Nowhere, how- 
 ever, in the crowds who called on him could he detect 
 any of the precious metals, except one silver ring in 
 the nose of a native. He was questioned, and gave 
 the impression that the king lived about four days' 
 journey inland. 
 
DELE GA TION TO KUBLAI KHAN. j 1 3 
 
 There was no time to lose. At once two Spaniards 
 were chosen as delegates to the court of the mon- 
 arch — probably Kublai Kahn. One of them was a 
 convert from among the lately banished Jews, who 
 could use the Hebrew and Chaldaic languages, and 
 even the Arabic. Might not this oriental potentate be 
 able to communicate through one or the other of these ? 
 Two Indians acted as guides. This embassy was in- 
 structed to present the letter of salutation^ which the 
 Spanish sovereigns had sent, and to inform the mon- 
 arch that they had sent the Admiral to establish 
 friendly relations between their distant kingdoms. 
 
 In order to be as thorough as possible in this dis- 
 patch, Columbus made out a list of names of Asiatic 
 provinces, harbors, and rivers, as given b}^ IMarco Polo 
 and others, concerning which they were to make in- 
 quiries as to distance, situation, etc. They were also 
 supplied with samples of certain oriental spices and 
 drugs, in order to ascertain whether they grew in that 
 country. 
 
 To all these important inquiries the Admiral ex- 
 pected answers in full in six daj^'s. O IMarco Polo ! 
 what an impression thou hast made ! 
 
 Meanwhile all the crews were active ; part were 
 
 ^ This letter read as follows : 
 
 "Ferdinand and Isabella to King : 
 
 " The sovereigns have heard that he and his subjects entertain great love 
 for them and for Spain. They are, moreover, informed that he and his sub- 
 jects very much wish to hear news from Spain ; and send, therefore, their 
 Admiral, Ch. Columbus, who will tell them that they are in good health and 
 perfect prosperity. 
 
 " Granada, April 30th, 1492." — Helps, Col., p. 79. 
 
 The same author says: "This crediting the unknown ruler with an 
 anxiety for the welfare of the Spanish sovereigns is really a delicious piece 
 of diplomatic affectation." 
 
JJ4 THE ODOR OF MASTIC. 
 
 careening and repairing the vessels, and part went in 
 search of cinnamon, nntmegs, and rhnbarb. As Co- 
 Inmbns continned to examine the natives, a great vari- 
 ety of information was elicited. When he showed them 
 gold ornaments and pearls, they knew of a country 
 where these were worn on the necks, arms, and ankles. 
 They also told of nations who had but one eye, of oth- 
 ers who had heads like dogs, and of others who cut 
 the throats of their prisoners and drank their blood ; 
 all of which was no doubt equally authentic. 
 
 What strong, sweet odor is that arising in the smoke, 
 as the calkers on the vessels heat their tar over the 
 fire ? Surely that is the precious mastic, such as is 
 found in the Grecian Archipelago ; and, as the trees 
 which are being burnt grow abundantly everywhere 
 around, Columbus conjectures that "a thousand quin- 
 tals of this precious gum might be gathered every 
 year." 
 
 Well, mastic or no mastic, here is something impor- 
 tant. That group of natives yonder also have a fire 
 and, irrespective of any odor, are turning it to practical 
 account. What are those longish tubers which they 
 are baking in the embers, and which they eat with such 
 relish while they are yet steaming hot ? Ah ! that 
 will prove to be something of more value to the world 
 than all the zvcalth of the Indies ; it is the potato ! — no 
 mere ornament or luxury, but food — bread which the 
 poor man can produce from his little patch of ground 
 in less than a hundred days, and make ready for his 
 table without the aid of a mill. 
 
 Here come the embassadors ! In less than six days 
 they have accomplished their mission. All crowd 
 
THE NA TI VE TO WN. i j ^ 
 
 around to hear wliat they have to tell about Kublai 
 Khan. Alas ! after travelling some twelve leagues, they 
 have found, as usual, only a community of naked 
 savages. It was unusually large, indeed, containing 
 some fifty houses, more capacious than those near the 
 sea, and having a population of about a thousand ; 
 but there was neither gold nor pearls ; and when they 
 showed their cinnamon and pepper, the inhabitants 
 said these did not grow with them, but pointed, as 
 usual, to the southwest. 
 
 Fernando Columbus says that when the embassy 
 reached this Indian communit}^ " the principal men of 
 the place came out to meet them, and led them b}^ the 
 arms to their town, giving them one of those great 
 houses to lodge in, where they made them sit down 
 upon seats made of one piece, in strange shapes, and 
 almost like some creature that had short legs, and the 
 tail lifted up to lean against, which is as broad as the 
 seat for the convenience of leaning, with a head before, 
 and the eyes and ears of gold. These seats they call 
 diichi^ where, the Christians being seated, all the Indians 
 sat in a circle around them on the ground, and then came 
 one b}' one to examine and kiss their hands and feet, 
 believing they came from heaven ; and they gave them 
 some boiled roots to eat, not unlike chestnuts in taste, 
 earnestly entreating them to stay there among them, 
 or at least to rest themselves five or six days, because the 
 two Indians they took with them gave those people an 
 excellent character of the Christians. Soon after, 
 many women coming in to see them, the men went out, 
 and these, with no less respect, kissed their feet and 
 hands, offering them what they brought." He also 
 
jj5 cotton and corn. 
 
 saj^s, concerning the same tour, "they saw vast quan- 
 tities of cotton well spun, in balls, in so much that 
 in one house only they saw above 12,500 pounds of it. 
 The plants it comes from are not set, but grow naturally 
 about the fields, like roses, and open of themselves 
 when they are ripe, but not all at the same time, for 
 upon one and the same plant they had seen a little 
 young bud, another open, and a third coming ripe." 
 
 The Spaniards " might have been attended back by 
 more than five hundred men and women, who were 
 eager to bear them company, thinking they were 
 returning to heaven. They took none along with them 
 but one of the principal inhabitants, with his son." 
 {Columbus' s journal.) 
 
 The embassy had seen a number of cozy little 
 villages with gardens in which was cultivated a kind of 
 sweet pepper, a sort of bean, yucca for cassava bread, 
 potatoes, and that wonderful product which has so ex- 
 tensively fed both man and beast ever since — maize, or 
 Indian corn. With whatever curiosity and interest they 
 may have examined this beautiful product — tins gigan- 
 tic species of grass — they could have formed no concep- 
 tion of the immense want it was to supply throughout 
 the world. 
 
 They also found another product, which was to tell 
 heavily on the habits of the world. They had seen the 
 natives roll up the large, dried leaves of a certain weed, 
 and putting one end of the compacted cylindrical- 
 shaped mass in the mouth and holding a firebrand to 
 the other, draw the smoke into their mouths and puff 
 it out again ! This use of the " tobacco ^^^ as the Indian 
 called his huge cigar, was looked upon by the Spaniards 
 
DE SER TION B T PINZ ON. 117 
 
 as the most nauseous habit they had yet seen among the 
 savages. 
 
 Disappointed iu not finding the oriental monarch, nor 
 yet gold mines, nor pearls, nor palaces roofed with gold, 
 in these parts, Columbus resolved to go in search of the 
 island Babeque, to which the natives had now transferred 
 all their royal and golden mysteries/ The vessels 
 sailed southeast along the coast. After several days, 
 in which he saw no populous towns, nor anything else 
 corresponding to his oriental notions, he sailed eastward 
 toward an island in sight, which he thought might be 
 the one referred to ; but suong head-winds obliged him 
 to put back to the shores of Cuba. Again he put out, 
 and, after several da3^s of useless effort, was under ne- 
 cessity of returning. But as he gave signal for the 
 other vessels to follow him, the Pinta^ some distance in 
 advance, gave no attention. As night came on, he put 
 the lights at the mast-head ; but, though the wind was 
 so favorable to the Admiral's course, no regard was paid 
 to these. The morning dawned and no sail was in 
 sight. 
 
 For a while at least, Martin Alonzo Pinzon had de- 
 termined to part company with Columbus. At this 
 the latter was greatly disturbed. Pinzon had been one 
 of his best friends, and had done more than any one 
 else in securing the vessels and the crews. Others 
 had given him sympathy and counsel, but he had 
 given him his purse. His company, as an experienced 
 and bold navigator, was of incalculable importance. 
 But it was not an easy matter for one so prominent in 
 
 ^Las Casas thinks two days farther sail to the northwest would have 
 brought him in sight of Florida. 
 
J J 8 DESER TION B T PINZ ON. 
 
 the enterprise and so accustomed to command to sub- 
 mit to another who was a comparative stranger to him- 
 self and to his nation. Perhaps, in the few variances 
 which had occurred between him and the Admiral, he 
 had blamed him too severely. Very possibly the latter 
 was not always as amiable and considerate towards his 
 colleague as he might have been. We do not know 
 and cannot judge. Whatever the extenuations might 
 be, Pinzon should have been subordinate and faithful 
 to the Admiral, according to his voluntary agreement 
 under his sovereigns.^ Nor does it seem probable that 
 Columbus could have been guilty of any great misde- 
 meanor towards his associate, for in the lawsuit with 
 the Crown, introduced by Diego Columbus after his 
 father's death, and in which the Pinzons took ample 
 occasion to show their unfriendliness toward the Co- 
 lumbus family, there is no mention of anything of the 
 kind. 
 
 Barring his desertion by Pinzon and his failure to find 
 Kublai Khan, the Admiral's voyage along this north 
 side of Cuba had been one continued delectation. 
 Broad, deep rivers studded with magnificent islands, 
 fertile plains shaded by the strangest and most delight- 
 some trees of astonishing size, lofty mountains bearing 
 gigantic pines and suggestive of the most picturesque 
 and artistic landscapes, fragrant flowers and luscious 
 fruits, and an endless variety of birds in plumage and 
 song the most charming — all entranced him both day 
 and night ; so that, in describing these new scenes to 
 
 ' In connection with this painful incident, Las Casas quotes from Colum- 
 bus's journal concerning Pinzon: "He has, by language and actions, 
 occasioned me many other troubles." 
 
GRA ND S CENER T OF HA TTI. 1 1 9 
 
 the sovereigns, the symbolism of language utterly fails 
 to mirror his perceptions. Only the experience of see- 
 ing could sufiiciently magnify one's conceptions of such 
 marvellous parts of our earth. 
 
 Babeque, that mysterious land of golden dreams, is 
 now the one point of interest in the wide ocean. The 
 Admiral therefore sails eastward, according to the 
 direction of the natives. Presentl}^, in the south, there 
 arises out of the sea a most enchanting landscape. 
 Quite a distance along the horizon the rocky crest of 
 majestic mountains is strongl}^ outlined against the 
 sky. Anon long slopes and wide plateaus of the most 
 exuberant tropical forest emerge. As they approach 
 still closer, there are broad savannahs, and fertile valleys 
 bordering rivers clear as crystal. The vegetable and 
 animal life is the same brilliant display of birds and 
 flowers and elj^sian fruits as they have found else- 
 where in these delightsome regions of perpetual sum- 
 mer. This island, some four hundred miles in length 
 and about one hundred and fifty miles in greatest 
 breadth, is Hayti, than which there is not a more 
 beautiful nor more unfortunate spot on earth. Evi- 
 dently it was once the home of an immense com- 
 munity of happy human beings, who, in the midst of 
 nature's greatest plenty, without care and almost with- 
 out effort, lived a life of simplicit}^ and fair morality ; 
 who were conscious of the plainest joys and truest 
 affections, without the burdens and ambitions of civili- 
 sation. But the stor}^ of those lives is prehistoric. 
 When civilised man planted his foot on fair Hayti's 
 shores, misery and bloodshed began ; and from that 
 da^^ to this it has scarcely known permanent peace or 
 prosperity. 
 
J 20 FISHES IN AB UNDANCE. 
 
 On December 6tli the vessels entered a harbor on the 
 western end of the island, which Columbus called St. 
 Nicholas. The shores of the smooth waters of this 
 broad harbor were overshadowed by the most magnifi- 
 cent and fruitful trees. Here the royal palm spread its 
 immense fronds, and the banana displayed at once its 
 elegant tubular blossoms and its great clusters of fruit. 
 A wide plain stretched away into the mountains, and on 
 the river running through it a number of the canoes of 
 the natives were seen. Columns of smoke arose here 
 and there, and at night fires gleamed thickly in the 
 forests. Evidently the island was well peopled. 
 
 The Spaniards continued their course along the north 
 side of the island. Here and there among the hills or 
 mountain spurs were charming valleys, some of which 
 appeared to be highly cultivated. In the clear waters 
 there was a great variety and abundance of fishes, 
 some of which leaped into the boats. When they drew 
 their nets, which were burdened with vast numbers of 
 them, they found some which resembled certain species 
 in Spain. Throughout the day and even at night the 
 birds were singing, some of them almost repeating the 
 bird-songs of their own country. One of them re- 
 minded them strikingly of the nightingale. In fact, 
 in many respects there was something in this island 
 strongly suggestive of the more beautiful parts of 
 Southern Spain, hence Columbus named it Hispaniola. 
 
 But where were the natives ? On landing and making 
 excursions inland they could find their houses, their 
 gardens, traces of their roads, and the ashes and embers 
 of their recent fires ; but the people had evidently fled 
 at the sight of the ships. While Columbus, after his 
 
CAPTURE OF AN INDIAN FEMALE. 121 
 
 usual custom, was erecting a huge cross and taking 
 possession of the country for Spain with proper formal- 
 ities, some of his men, rambling about the neighbor- 
 hood, caught sight of a vast throng of natives, who im- 
 mediately fled in terror. * The sailors gave chase, but 
 found their sea-legs too clumsy to overtake the fleet- 
 footed Indians. One young woman or girl, however, 
 who either could not keep up with the rest, or loitered 
 behind out of womanly curiosity, was captured and 
 borne away to the ships. 
 
 As they arrived with this naked beauty on their 
 shoulders, Columbus was not very well assured as to 
 the civilized wealth of the island, but that ring of gold 
 in her nose was suggestive. The precious metal must 
 be somew^iere in those mountains or in the sands of 
 the rivers, as the natives had said. If the girl was at 
 all terrified by these new scenes, she was soon soothed 
 by the kindness of the Admiral. He had her dressed,^ 
 and decked out with beads, brass rings, and little 
 bells, and when he was about to send her to her native 
 forest, accompanied by some of his men and several 
 native guides, she was not at all anxious to go, but 
 would have preferred to share the fortunes of the few 
 Indian women w^hom Columbus alreadj^ had on board 
 his ships. The men who escorted this female into the 
 forest would gladly have shown the utmost gallantry 
 by taking her all the way to her home, but it was 
 night, and they could not conjecture how they might 
 be received by the savages ; so she was obliged to go 
 part way alone, while the escort returned. 
 
 ^Herrera says : " The Admiral gave her hawk's bells, strings of glass beads, 
 and caused a shirt to be put upon her." 
 
J22 ^N INDIAN COMMUNITT. 
 
 What a curiosity this young female, so grandly 
 apparelled, must have been to her people. One may 
 almost imagine that no one slept in the town that 
 night, but that all stayed up to hear her wonderful 
 accounts of the strange sights she had seen. A visi- 
 tation of angels from heaven could scarcely surprise 
 us more than these white men did the Indians. Co- 
 lumbus knew how to take proper advantage of this 
 incident. The next morning he sent a delegation of 
 nine of his best men, well armed, to find the community 
 to which this young woman belonged. About thirteen 
 miles inland, in a fertile valley and on the banks of a 
 beautiful river, they found a large town of the natives, 
 comprising about one thousand houses ; but every 
 one had fled at their approach. A Cuban interpreter 
 hurried after and overtook them. How highly he 
 extolled these white men ! They were good men, he 
 said, who came from heaven and went about the world 
 making fine presents. By this means the vast crowd 
 of some two thousand was conciliated, and approached 
 the strangers. See them come with slow, hesitating 
 steps, every now and then standing still and putting 
 their hands on their heads as an act of profound rev- 
 erence ! 
 
 Presently there comes another large company, the 
 young female, shirted, ringed, and beaded, borne on the 
 shoulders of two men in front. She is the object of 
 admiration to all, and her husband gesticulates en- 
 thusiastically, and in every possible way expresses his 
 gratitude for the presents she has received. 
 
 The Spaniards are impressed with the appearance 
 of these natives as being more finely formed, of fairer 
 
H0SPITALIT7 OF THE NATIVES. 123 
 
 complexion, and more pleasing in countenance than 
 any they have yet seen. The kind-hearted beings 
 seem now completely won, and invite their heavenly 
 visitants to their houses, where they set before them 
 the usual cassava-bread, also fish, roots, and the finest 
 varieties of their luscious fruits. It was a gala-day. 
 The air was mild and balmy as on a spring day in 
 Southern Spain ; the birds seemed in full song — surely 
 there could be no winter in this part of the world ! 
 
 The unbounded hospitality which the white men 
 enjoyed everywhere among the Indians was character- 
 istic of this people. Whatever any one had seemed 
 free to all without the asking. Any one might enter 
 the simple dwelling of another and take what he 
 wished as freely as if it had been his own. This uni- 
 versal liberality was, no doubt, in part the result of the 
 spontaneous abundance of that tropical country in 
 which they lived, and in part the advantage of a 
 simple mode of living. They realized to the fullest 
 extent Goldsmith's famous adage : 
 
 " Man wants but little here below, 
 Nor wants that little long." 
 
 We can scarcely afford to pass by the illustrious par- 
 agraph so often quoted from Peter Martyr, an Italian 
 scholar and author at the court of Spain in those days. 
 "It is certain," he says, " that the land among these 
 people is as common as the sun and water ; and that 
 ' mine and thine,' the seeds of all mischief, have no 
 place with them. They are content with so little, 
 that, in so large a countr}-, they have rather superfluity 
 than scarceness ; so that they seem to live in the 
 
1 24 BE A UTIFUL SIMPLTCITT OF LIFE. 
 
 golden world without toil, living in open gardens, not 
 intrenched with dykes, divided with hedges, or 
 defended with walls. They deal truly one wath another, 
 without laws, w-ithout books, and without judges. 
 They take him for an evil and mischievous man who 
 taketh pleasure in doing hurt to another ; and albeit 
 they delight not in superfluities, yet they make pro- 
 vision for the increase of such roots whereof they 
 make their bread, contented with such simple diet, 
 whereby health is preserved and disease avoided." 
 
 This surely is a pretty picture of human life. The 
 material for it was, no doubt, derived by Martyr from 
 Columbus himself, with wdiom he seems to have been 
 intimate ; and we hope it is true to the once free and 
 happ3^ existence of a most unfortunate people. " All 
 concur," says Irving, " in representing the life of these 
 islanders as approaching to the golden state of poetical 
 felicity ; living under the absolute but patriarchal and 
 eas\' rule of their caciques, free from pride, with few 
 wants, an abundant countr}^, a happil}' tempered cli- 
 mate, and a natural disposition to careless and indolent 
 enjoyment." 
 
CHAPTER VII. 
 
 THE SHIPWRECK AND THE FORT. 
 
 
 HE Admiral was loth to give up his fancied 
 island, Babeqiie ; so he made another detour 
 in the vicinit}- of Hayti, and to a certain 
 island abounding in turtles he gave the name Tortu- 
 gas. Here he saw a valley so beautiful that he called 
 it the Vale of Paradise, and named a broad and tran- 
 quil stream the Guadalquiver. Putting back to Hayti, 
 he found a solitar\^ Indian in a canoe on a rough sea 
 near midnight. The hero, along with his frail bark, 
 was taken on board ship ; and, having been feasted and 
 set out in European finery, was put ashore in a good 
 harbor when they reached the island. 
 
 The constant repetition of such conciliator}' acts on 
 the part of Columbus called forth a most cordial 
 response from the hearts of these savages, so that he 
 wrote to Santangel as follows : " True it is, that after 
 they felt confidence, and lost their fear of us, they 
 were so liberal with what tlic}^ possessed that it would 
 not be believed by those who had not seen it. If any- 
 thing was asked of them, they never said no, but 
 rather gave it cheerfully, and showed as much amit}-' 
 as if they gave their very hearts ; and, whether the 
 thing were of value or of little price, they were con- 
 tent with whatever was given in return. '=' '=' '=' In 
 all these islands it appears to me that the men are all 
 content with one wife, but they give twenty to their 
 chieftain or king. The women seem to work more 
 
J ^5 ^^-^ YOUNG CACIQUE. 
 
 than the men, and I have not been able to understand 
 whether they possess individual property ; but rather 
 think that whatever one has all the rest share, especi- 
 ally in all articles of provision." 
 
 The presents made to the hero-Indian put ashore 
 had the desired effect. Very soon the coast was lined 
 with natives ; and their king, a young man of twenty- 
 one perhaps, was with them. One of the Admiral's 
 captive interpreters undertook to explain to him who 
 these strangers were. They had come from heaven, 
 he said, and were going to Babeque to find gold ! At 
 the same time, he handed the cacique a present. Not 
 at all struck with the incongruity of these heavenly 
 beings so intent on a gold hunt, but more under 
 the gratifying influence of his present, the chieftain 
 pointed his finger in a certain direction, saying 
 that two days' sail that way would take him where 
 there was plenty. He then produced a thin plate of 
 the precious metal, about as big as his hand, and, cut- 
 ting it in pieces, bartered it for trinkets. Some of his 
 subjects, who had rude ornaments of gold in their noses 
 and ears, readily traded these in like manner. Of 
 what value were these bits of plain yellow to them, 
 compared with bits of sparkling glass and fragments 
 of painted dishes ! 
 
 The young potentate now took leave, promising to 
 come the next day with more gold ; he assured them, 
 however, that there was more of this metal in Tortugas 
 than in his island. The next day, the i8th, there was 
 no wind, so the Spaniards occupied themselves in deck- 
 ing out their ships and firing their guns in memory of 
 the annunciation of the blessed Virgin ; and also 
 
UNCIVILIZED ROYALTY. 127 
 
 awaited the return of the young cacique with the 
 promised gold. 
 
 In due time the latter arrived, borne on a litter or 
 sort of palanquin on the shoulders of his men, in true 
 oriental style, two hundred of his subjects accompany- 
 ing him. With an air of perfect ease, he took his seat 
 by the side of the Admiral, who was just in the midst 
 of his dinner. His two venerable counsellors, who 
 almost worshipped him, sat at his feet ; the rest of his 
 followers stood without. The food offered to him he 
 merely tasted, then passed it on to his subjects. Mean- 
 while he uttered but few words, and was very dig- 
 nified. 
 
 After dinner the Admiral and the young chief ex- 
 changed presents. The latter gave a belt finely orna- 
 mented and two pieces of gold ; and, as he looked very 
 admiringly on a piece of rich cloth constituting the 
 bed-hangings of the former, that was taken down and 
 presented to him, along with some amber beads, a pair 
 of red shoes, and a bottle of perfume. Columbus, dis- 
 playing a piece of Spanish money with the heads of 
 the monarchs stamped on it, some ro3^al banners, and 
 the standard of the cross, endeavored to convey some 
 idea of his country and his religion, but the young 
 chieftain referred all these things to some other world. 
 He could not conceive of them as belonging to earth. 
 
 At night he left in great state, his presents borne 
 before him, a son of his being carried after him, on 
 the shoulders of one of the most honorable men ; a 
 brother went a-foot, " led by the arms b}'' two honorable 
 men, the large concourse following, and the Spanish 
 guns firing a salute in honor of this display of uncivil- 
 ized royalty. 
 
J28 THRONGS OF NATIVES. 
 
 " This day," writes the Admiral, " little gold was ob- 
 tained, but an old man indicated that at a distance of a 
 hundred leagues or more were some islands where much 
 gold could be found, and in some it was so plentiful that 
 it was collected and bolted with sieves, then melted and 
 beaten into divers forms. One of the islands was said 
 to be all gold." 
 
 No biograph}^ of Columbus gives any adequate repre- 
 sentation of the vast numbers of natives which thronged 
 him all along this northwest cost of Hayti on his first voy- 
 age. The shores and harbors teemed with ca.noes ; many 
 hundreds who had no canoes swam out for miles to the 
 ships. Men, women, and little children vied with each 
 other in bringing all the kinds of food and other objects 
 of value which they could command ; and, making ever}^ 
 kind of sign and demonstration of cordiality to these 
 beings whom they hailed as from heaven, begged them 
 to abide with them. The men, the ships, the European 
 wares and trinkets, even to the merest sliver of a painted 
 dish or a bit of leather strap, was worth, in their eyes, 
 all the cotton or gold they could command.^ Fearing 
 that this great generosity might be imposed upon b}^ 
 his greedy crews when they went ashore to communi- 
 cate with the natives, Columbus sometimes sent a part}' 
 along to oversee the bartering, and prevent any robbery 
 of the natives. 
 
 Whence comes that large, stately canoe, highly 
 ornamented, and loaded down with such fine-appear- 
 ing natives ? That is an embassy from Guacanagari, 
 the grand cacique of these parts. An ofiicer from his 
 court presents another belt — a broad one, profusely 
 
 ^ See the Journal of Columbus as preserved bj Las Casas. 
 
A N EMBA SSr TO G UA CA NA GAR I. , 139 
 
 ornamented with colored beads and bones ; also a sort 
 of figure-head, with eyes, nose, and tongue of gold. 
 The embassadors are not very readily understood by the 
 interpreters, this being the first new dialect they have 
 met, but the message from the grand cacique evidently 
 is exceedingly cordial. He wishes the ships to keep on 
 to the eastward till they come in front of his residence ; 
 then Columbus must call on him. But the wind is 
 unfavorable, so the Admiral sends a delegation to 
 convey his compliments to the chief, and to say that 
 he will call as soon as possible. His residence is in a 
 large town, well built for that countr}^, and located on 
 a river. The embassy is received with great honor on 
 the public square, swept and made read}^ for the oc- 
 casion. After each has been presented with a sort of 
 dress made of cotton, the refreshments are brought on 
 after the usual manner. If the natives see that the 
 Spaniards covet anything, they readily give it to them, 
 not being willing to receive anything in return. 
 When they can be prevailed on to accept an article, it 
 is looked upon as a most sacred memento. 
 
 As the chief cannot prevail on the strangers to stay 
 over night, he gives them parrots and some bits of 
 gold for the Admiral, and sends men to escort them to 
 their boats and carry their presents. Thus ended the 
 22d of December. 
 
 Meanwhile Columbus continued to be called on by 
 great numbers, all of whom extolled the wealth of the 
 island. Cibao, in the interior, they said, abounded in 
 gold, so that the chief of that mountainous region had 
 banners worked out of the precious metal. Now, as 
 usual, the Admiral's oriental fancies were at work. 
 
I^o WRECK OF THE SANTA MARIA. 
 
 Cibao must be Cipaiigo ; and the cacique with gold 
 banners must be its great prince, described by Marco 
 Polo. These rumors, however, were at least founded 
 on fact ; for here was the best region of gold-mines 
 found in those parts. 
 
 Before sunrise on the 24th the vessels weighed 
 anchor and steered to the eastward, according to the 
 invitation of Guacanagari. The wind from off the 
 land was but slight, so that the vessels made slow prog- 
 ress, the sails often flapping in the uncertain puffs of 
 air, now from one point and then from another. 
 
 "Eternal vigilance" and the most self-sacrificing 
 personal attention was one of the marked char- 
 acteristics of Columbus as a successful mariner. But 
 as he had been on the keenest alert for two days and 
 had not slept the night before, and the sea was now 
 " calm as water in a dish," to use his own words, 
 and his delegation, just returned, had reported an 
 entire absence of rocks or shoals along the coast, he 
 lay down to sleep, leaving the helm to an experienced 
 and, as he no doubt thought, trustworthy seaman. He, 
 too, soon retired, leaving his charge to a boy. This 
 was " contrary to the express orders of the Admiral, 
 who had, throughout the voyage, forbidden, in calm or 
 storm, the helm to be intrusted to a bo3^" Indeed, all 
 hands seem to have gone soundly to sleep ; and the 
 ship, being left to the currents, which run like imper- 
 ceptible rivers past these islands, was carried onto a 
 sandbar, or shoal. The keel grates on the bottom, and 
 the inexperienced boy at the helm is aroused from 
 his dreams, and cries out with alarm. Columbus is the 
 first on deck ; then comes the master of the ship, 
 
RELIEF OF THE SANTA MARIA. 13 j 
 
 then others, till all hands, many of them scarcely half 
 awake, are alarmed at the situation, the breakers 
 roaring loudly enough to be heard several miles away. 
 
 The Admiral orders the master of the ship to lower 
 the boat and warp the vessel off; but he in his cow- 
 ardly fright rows away to the caravel, a distance of a 
 mile or more. The commander of the caravel reproves 
 him for his reprehensible conduct, mans his own boat, 
 and hastens to the relief of the Santa Maria. But the 
 ship is lost. In vain her masts had been cut away and 
 part of the lading thrown overboard to lighten her. 
 The currents had forced her keel firml}^ into the sand, 
 and as she was old and almost rotten she soon sprang 
 a leak, and was forced over on her side by the break- 
 ers. The crew was taken on board of the Niiia^ and 
 a delegation sent to the chief to report the disaster. 
 As there might be other shoals in the vicinit}^, the 
 caravel lay to until the morning. 
 
 Now there occurred a demonstration of humane 
 sentiment on the part of this savage chieftain and his 
 people which would do credit to any civilized com- 
 munity of modern times. When Guacanagari heard 
 of the calamity which had befallen the strangers, he 
 wept, and immediately ordered all his people out, with 
 their canoes, to render every possible aid. He himself 
 came also, and, organizing a sort of police force, of 
 which he was the head, all the goods were removed 
 from the shipwreck and guarded in safety till he could 
 vacate several of his largest houses to shelter them. 
 Though there was so much that was valuable and 
 curious which these savages might have coveted, noth- 
 ing was stolen ; and such was the care in handling 
 
132 STMPA THY OF THE SA VA GES. 
 
 that scarcely anything to the " value of a pin " was 
 injured. Sir Arthur Helps quaintly says, "The 
 wreckers' trade might flourish in Cornwall, but, like 
 other crimes of civilization, it was unknown in St. 
 Domingo." 
 
 In the midst of the hurry and bustle to and fro, the 
 chief would every now and then send some member of 
 his family to comfort the Admiral, assuring him that 
 everything he had was at his command. " The people, 
 as well as the king," says Columbus, " shed tears in 
 abundance." 
 
 All that day the removal of the ship's goods went 
 on, and all the next night the friendly savages stood 
 guard. No wonder Columbus wrote in his journal, 
 " So loving, so tractable, so peaceable are these people, 
 that I swear to your majesties there is not in the 
 world a better nation, nor a better land. They love 
 their neighbors as themselves, and their discourse is 
 ever sweet and gentle, and accompanied with a smile ; 
 and though it is true that they are naked, yet their 
 manners are decorous and praiseworthy." 
 
 After the shipwreck, Columbus and his men were 
 crowded on board the Nina. Guacanagari called on 
 him and, seeing how depressed he was, shed tears of 
 sympathy, and assured him, as he had often done be- 
 fore, that he would do all in his power to aid him. 
 " While the Admiral was conversing with him, a canoe 
 arrived from another place, with Indians bringing 
 pieces of gold which they wanted to exchange for 
 hawk's bells, these being held in special value among 
 Lhem ; before the canoe reached the vessel, the Indians 
 called out, showing the gold, and crying chug, cJiug^ 
 
 iTake, Take. 
 
A ROYAL INDIAN DINNER. 133 
 
 for the hawk's bells, and seemed ready to go mad after 
 them ; the other canoes setting off, they requested the 
 Admiral to preserve a hawk's bell for them, and they 
 wonld bring him in return four pieces of gold as big 
 as his head/ When the chieftain saw the countenance 
 of the Admiral light up at these tidings, he assured 
 him that there was a place in the mountains w^here 
 this metal was abundant, and he could get him all he 
 wanted. Thus we see that the gold-bearing rocks of 
 Cibao, and those mountain streams in which gold 
 was to be found mingled with the sand, sometimes in 
 great nuggets, was well known. 
 
 After the cacique had dined with the Admiral, he 
 urged him to come and eat with him. The meal pre- 
 pared was as sumptuous as could be procured. The 
 coney-like animal called the utia was served, various 
 kinds of savory fishes, roots, and the most luscious 
 fruits. This primitive banquet in the wilderness, 
 among savages, was a study to the Spaniards. How 
 sympathizing and cheerful Guacanagari was, doing 
 everything possible to please his guest and divert his 
 mind from his misfortune. How delicately and ab- 
 stemiously he ate, washing his hands when done, and 
 rubbing them with odoriferous herbs. How gentle 
 and dignified was his bearing. How kindly he treated 
 his subjects, who almost worshipped him. 
 
 When the feast was over, the cacique, dressed up in 
 his shirt and gloves which the Admiral had just given 
 him, conducted the Spaniards out into his beautiful 
 groves, where they met about a thousand of his naked 
 subjects, all ready to divert the strangers with their 
 
 1 Columbus's journal by Las Casas. 
 
1.4 ENTERTAINMENT WITH FIRE-ARMS. 
 
 amusing games. These wood-nymphs performed their 
 Avild dances, accompanied by their wierd songs and 
 the beating of a kind of rude drum made from the 
 trunk of a hollow tree. Some of them had the little 
 hawk's bells, brought by the Spaniards, strung about 
 them, and as these tinkled and jingled to their en- 
 thusiastic movements the}^ were almost frantic \yith 
 delight. It must have been a truly novel and an- 
 imated scene ! 
 
 When the Indians had done their best to drive 
 melancholy from the mind of Columbus, he thought it 
 was his turn to do something to divert them. Now 
 was the time to impress them with the military povv^er 
 of the white men ; so he first brought out his Moorish 
 bows and quivers of arrows, which some of his men had 
 learned to use in the wars of Granada. When the 
 chief saw how exactly these huge arrows would hit the 
 mark as they went whizzing through the air, he was 
 astonished at their force. His enemies, the Caribs, 
 who made raids on his island and stole his people, 
 also had bows and arrows, he said. Aye, but Columbus 
 told him he had other kinds of weapons much more 
 terrible than these, with which he would drive the 
 Caribs away. So he ordered out an arquebus, a large 
 gun supported by a rest, and also a heavy cannon. 
 At the stunning report of these, the natives fell to the 
 ground as if they themselves had been shot. When 
 they recovered from the shock and rose up, they were 
 terrified at the sight of the trees, all shivered and 
 splintered. This was the thunder and the lightning 
 which these strangers from heaven could command ! 
 Surely they could protect them from their dreaded 
 enemies, the Caribs ! 
 
EXCHANGE OF PRESENTS. j-^r 
 
 Again the order of things was changed. The feast 
 and the entertainment being over, the time was come 
 to make presents. The cacique gave the Admiral a 
 wooden mask ingeniously carved, the ej^es, ears, and 
 other parts being heavily ornamented with gold. He 
 also hung plates of gold about his neck, and put a 
 rude crown of gold upon his head. He then made 
 presents to others of the Spaniards in the most munifi- 
 cent manner. 
 
 Various presents were made by Columbus and his 
 men in return. We hope the}^ were in some way 
 equal to the valuable items they received. However 
 trifling some of their gifts may have been, the Indians 
 were perfectly fascinated vdth the merest trinkets, 
 smelling of them — they seemed to have tested every- 
 thing, even to gold, b}'- the sense of smell — and calling 
 them turcy — that is, from heaven. A bit of rusty iron 
 or a fragment of leather was invested with a charm. 
 Las Casas, the friend and apostle of the Indians, re- 
 lates an amusing incident of one of them who brought 
 a half handful of gold-dust for a hawk's bell, that 
 most favorite toy, and was so impressed with the idea 
 that he had the best of the bargain, that he ran like a 
 deer into the woods, every now and then looking be- 
 hind him, lest the white men, repenting of their side 
 of the trade, should pursue him. 
 
 All in all, there had been so much gold brought in, 
 and so much had been said by the natives about the 
 gold to be found in the mountains of Cibao, in the in- 
 terior, that Columbus concluded this to be the place to 
 found a colony. Then his men were so elated with the 
 easy life in so voluptuous a climate that they dreaded 
 
1^6 BUILDING THE FORT. 
 
 the discipline on board ship and the crowded condition 
 in which they would have to be, returning to Spain in 
 one small vessel. Columbus, therefore, conceived the 
 plan of building a fort out of the timbers of the wrecked 
 ship, and arming it with her guns. All were enthusi- 
 astic over this scheme, even the Indians, v/ho thought 
 it would be an admirable defence against their enemies, 
 the Caribs. Between the Spaniards and the natives, 
 the work went on so energetically that the fort, called 
 La Navidad, or the Nativity, from the time of year in 
 which the wreck occurred, was completed in ten days. 
 During this time of anxiety on the part of Colum- 
 bus concerning the desertion of the Pinta and the dan- 
 ger of taking so many back to Spain in one small, 
 crazy vessel, he must have been greatly diverted and 
 comforted by Guacanagari, who appropriated to his use 
 the largest house in the place, carpeted with palm- 
 leaves and furnished with stools made of some dark 
 wood like ebony. Scarcely ever did the Admiral come 
 on shore without receiving some valuable present. The 
 cacique told him he wished he could cover him all over 
 with gold before he went away, or rather that he would 
 not go at all. Once his benefactor called on him with 
 five subordinate caciques, each bringing a crown of gold. 
 The}'- escorted him to the house above referred to, and 
 seated him on one of the stools. Then Guacanagari 
 took the crown of gold from his own head and put it 
 on the head of Columbus. How natural that the latter, 
 moved by such affectionate liberality, should take an 
 elegant collar made of beads from his own neck and 
 put it around the neck of the chief, clothe him in his 
 own mantle of beautiful scarlet cloth, put colored boots 
 
WEALTH OF THE ISLAND. 137 
 
 on his feet and a large silver ring on liis hand. This 
 last present was of more value than gold to the Indians, 
 for they had no silver in Hayti. While this feast was 
 in progress an Indian called to say that he had seen 
 the Pill/a in a harbor to the eastward two days pre- 
 vious. A canoe was dispatched, but it did not succeed 
 in finding the absconding vessel. 
 
 Columbus now had fabulous conceptions of the wealth 
 of this island, and began to look upon all the circum- 
 stances which brought about his shipwreck as a 
 special providence ; otherwise he would not have been 
 detained long enough to discover its immense resources, 
 which he believed would be sufficient to enable the sov- 
 ereigns of Spain to undertake the recovery of the Holy 
 Sepulchre in three years. By the time he returned 
 from Spain those whom he would leave in the fort 
 would be able to collect a ton of gold, besides the spices 
 and other precious articles they might accumulate. 
 How sanguine and visionary was our hero ! 
 
 The fort, a huge wooden tower, built over a vault 
 surrounded by a ditch, mounted with the guns from the 
 wrecked ship and well supplied with ammunition, would 
 overawe the natives and keep his men under discipline. 
 These latter were so well pleased with the life thus 
 anticipated that he came near having to return alone to 
 Spain. Precisely how many he left in the fortress was 
 for some time uncertain, as the early accounts differ ; 
 but Navarrete found a pay-list due the relatives, in which 
 the forty names constituting the garrison were given. 
 One of these was an Irishman and another an Hnglish- 
 man. Diago de Arana, a cousin of Beatrix and a per- 
 son of distinction in the armament, was made com- 
 
,,o PARTI NG ADVICE. 
 
 niander. The long boat of the Santa Maria was left 
 for their convenience ; also articles for traffic, bread and 
 wine for more than a year, and seeds for a plantation. 
 Sncli artisans as might be needed were also carefully 
 appointed to remain. 
 
 If these men had taken heed to the excellent address 
 the Admiral gave them before his departure, no doubt 
 all would have been well with them ; but his charge — 
 that they should obey the officers, keep closely together, 
 remember the kindness of Guacanagari and his people ; 
 be wise, just, and peaceable in their intercourse with the 
 natives, and, above all, to be chaste in their conduct 
 with the native females — was wholly ignored as soon as 
 Columbus had departed. Hence the terrible disasters 
 which followed. 
 
 The 2d of January, the day before the appointment for 
 departure, arrived, and Columbus went on shore to take 
 formal leave of the Indians. Some order or ceremony, so 
 to speak, was desirable. In the house set apart for him 
 he spread a feast in true European magnificence, during 
 which he cordially commended the men he was about 
 to leave behind to the kindly offices of the cacique. He 
 would soon be back again from Spain, he said ; then he 
 would bring an abundance of such articles and jewels 
 as they had not yet seen. 
 
 What could be more appropriate at such a time than 
 a mock-fight by his men ? So he ordered out the lances, 
 cross-bows, swords, arquebuses, and cannon, the men 
 appearing in quite a military array. The skilful 
 manoeuvres with gleaming swords and bucklers, as the 
 men rushed forward in attack and then fell back in reg- 
 ular order, with the clang of swords and lances on 
 
ASTONISHMENT OF THE NATIVES. 139 
 
 helmet and buckler, gave great animation to the scene. 
 The natives were astonished at the execution of these 
 implements of war ; and when the cannon sent a shot 
 through the hull of the wreck lying in the harbor, and 
 also shattered the forests, they looked with trembling fear 
 on the clouds of smoke which rolled up over the waters 
 and beyond the tree-tops. But if this suggested any cloud 
 to the mind it was one with a silver edge. If the power 
 of these white men was as grand as the mightiest forces 
 of nature, all the better ; they could the more readil}^ 
 defend them against the cruel Caribs. 
 
 When Guacanagari saw the Admiral making ready 
 to depart, he was much distressed. One of the Indians 
 told the latter that the former had ordered his statue to 
 be made of gold, " as large as life." 
 
CHAPTER VIIL 
 
 THE RETURN TO SPAIN. 
 
 OLUMBUS had taken most affectiouate leave 
 of Giiacanagari, who shed tears at the part- 
 ing. Those who were to return home and those 
 who were to remain in this strange land had tenderly 
 embraced each other. The ship had been detained one 
 da}' in waiting for the Indians who were to go to Spain ;. 
 but on the morning of January 4th the signal-gun was 
 fired, and the Nina having been towed out, her sails 
 swelled to a light breeze and she stood away to the hori- 
 zon. The cheers from those departing, heartily responded 
 to by those on the shore, died away, and the latter were 
 gazing wistfully on the white specks against the sky, 
 which soon disappeared. 
 
 The island scenery along which the caravels passed 
 was very varied. Here was a mountain-point shaped 
 like a cone, treeless and covered with bright green 
 grass, the land being so low toward the main as to 
 make the point look like a little island. There were 
 lofty mountain ranges in the distance, the blue, rocky 
 crests surmounting the long slopes of rich and varied 
 verdure, sharply outlined against the sky ; and the fruit- 
 ful level along the coast, reaching inward here and there, 
 formed valleys through which flowed copious streams. 
 Every hour, as the caravel moved along, the point of 
 view was changing. To Columbus, so singularly alive 
 to the charms of nature, this must have been like the 
 disclosure of a beautiful vision. 
 
PINZON'S EXCUSE. 14 1 
 
 Much of the time, however, they were baffled by head- 
 winds. On the 6th, as they were beating against a stiff 
 breeze from the east, the man watching at the mast- 
 head cried out — " The Pinta ! " That swift-sailing craft 
 was sweeping on toward them, with all her canvas 
 spread before the wind. The sight brought both joy 
 and pain to the Admiral. 
 
 Putting about to find a harbor for anchorage, he sig- 
 nalled the Pinta to follow. Pinzon obeyed orders, and 
 made the best excuse he could for leaving the fleet. An 
 unfavorable wind had carried him away from the Ad- 
 miral, he said, and he had ever since been trying to find 
 him. This was a weak apology, but it would not be 
 wise for Columbus to break with his ablest colleague, 
 who had so many relatives and friends among the crews, 
 so he made the most of it. He had, however, one 
 friend on the Pinta.^ who secretly gave him the explana- 
 tion. An Indian on that vessel had been pointing to 
 the east to designate a place abounding in the " yellow 
 metal " — gold! Pinzon, knowing the speed of his craft, 
 spread all his sail to the wind, in order to monopolize 
 the treasure. After being much perplexed in a laby- 
 rinth of islands, none of which showed any signs of 
 gold, he was piloted by the Indians to Hayti. Entering 
 a river and opening up trade with the natives, he had 
 obtained quite a quantity of the precious metal,^ half of 
 which he kept for himself, and distributed the rest 
 among his crew as hush-money. 
 
 While this trading was going on, the natives had 
 
 ^ Las Casas sajs : "The Admiral states that in this time he obtained 
 much gold by trading, buying for a thong of leather pieces as big as the two 
 fingers, and at times as big as the hand." 
 
J ^2 THE RIVER OF GOLD. 
 
 told Columbus, during his erection of the fort, that 
 another " big canoe " like his was in a harbor to the 
 eastward ; and he had sent out some Spaniards in a 
 canoe, with natives to manage it, hoping to iind his 
 absconding captain ; but they had not been able to 
 verify the report, which now, however, was made prob- 
 able. 
 
 This disclosure of bad faith on the part of Pinzon 
 determined Columbus to go back to Spain as speedily 
 as possible, without taking further chances for mu- 
 tiny. Otherwise he would have tried to explore the 
 coast somewhat, in hope of finding enough of some 
 kind of treasure to at least ballast his caravels for the 
 homeward voyage. 
 
 On the 8th the Admiral entered the mouth of a river 
 in a boat with his men to get fresh water. The river 
 was wide and deep at the mouth, and the sand at the 
 bottom gleamed with gold-dust. Many grains were as 
 large as lentils, and the finer grains were very abun- 
 dant. On returning to their ships, they found " bits 
 of gold between the hoops " of their casks. So the 
 Admiral named this the River of Gold. 
 
 As night came on, the 9th, the vessels were again in 
 company on the way to Spain. The next day, when 
 they came into the harbor where Pinzon had been 
 trading for gold, the natives complained to Columbus 
 that the former had kidnapped four of their men and 
 two young girls. On making search, they were found 
 on the Pinta. As Pinzon intended carrying them 
 away as slaves, Columbus released them, fairly bur- 
 dening them with presents, partly in compensation for 
 the wrong they had suffered, and partly for the concili- 
 
BATTLE ARRAT. i^^ 
 
 ating effect which might thus be produced on the 
 natives of the locality. But this onl}^ made the breach 
 wider between the Admiral and his lieutenant, who 
 became ver^^ angry and reproached him with bitter 
 words. 
 
 Again the caravels are under way with a favorable 
 wind, and turning a point now called Cape Cabron 
 they come upon a race of savages quite different from 
 those the}^ have hitherto met. Are the}^ Caribs ? Is 
 this apparent inlet a channel isolating this peculiar 
 people from the mainland ? The}^ are hideously 
 painted, their long hair is tied behind and ornamented 
 with the feathers of brilliant birds ; they are armed 
 with war-clubs and bows of immense size and strength, 
 from which they shoot great arrows made of hollow 
 reeds and pointed with the hardest wood, bone, or the 
 tooth of a fish. Hvidentl}^ thej^ are fierce warriors, 
 made so, no doubt, b}^ the near vicinity of the Caribs. 
 They can shoot their arrows almost with the force of a 
 rifle-ball, and their swords, made of a wood almost as 
 tough and heavy as iron, are " not sharp," sa3^s Las 
 Casas, " but broad, of nearly the thickness of two 
 fingers, and capable, with one blow, of cleaving- 
 through a helmet to the ver}^ brains." 
 
 Savage and horrid as they appeared, they made no 
 attack, but one of them came on board ship with bows 
 and arrows to sell. Making signs and gestures in the 
 most enthusiastic manner, he succeeded in impressing 
 some ver}^ strange notions on Columbus, who somehow 
 understood that there was an island not far off in- 
 habited entirely by women, and that these were 
 occasionally visited by the Caribs. Of the children 
 
144 MERMAIDS AND AMAZONS. 
 
 born of these Amazons, the males were carried away 
 by the fathers, but the females were left to keep up 
 the feminine stock. To what extent the savage was 
 responsible for imparting such a notion is not for us 
 to say, but the Admiral at once recalled Marco Polo's 
 account of two islands near the coast of Asia, the one 
 inhabited by men and the other by women, between 
 which precisely the same kind of intercourse existed. 
 
 From the same source Columbus learned that there 
 were mermaids — that is, sea-7naids — in these parts. In 
 fact he saw them himself, he claims, swimming with 
 their human faces high above the vv^aves, and he had 
 previously seen the same on the coast of Africa. But 
 as they rose out of the sea they did not possess the 
 Venus beauty with which poetic fancy had invested 
 them. They are supposed to have been manatees, or 
 sea-cows, in the distance. 
 
 But we must not laugh too heartily at these absurd- 
 ities. There is no telling what we might have believed 
 had we lived before the era in which natural history 
 has reduced all things to the consistency of la|v and 
 order as implied in the great systems of nature. Had 
 Cuvier not been a naturalist, he, too, might have be- 
 lieved in winged horses and fire-breathing bulls. 
 
 All in all, Columbus was perplexed as to the charac- 
 ter and intent of his savage guest. Did he come on 
 board ship out of mere natural curiosity, or was he 
 a spy ? His fierce, warrior-like aspect might imply the 
 latter. On the other hand, his frank, communicative 
 manner might simply indicate an attempt to cultivate 
 acquaintance and perhaps a little trade with these 
 remarkable strangers. Anyhow, the Admiral would 
 
THE BATTLE WITH THE NATIVES. 145 
 
 first tr}^ to conciliate him by kindness. Having feasted 
 him and made him quite liberal presents of ''beads 
 and pieces of red and green cloth," he sent him on 
 shore, hoping at least to get some of the weapons used 
 by these people, in order to take them to Spain as 
 curiosities. Or perhaps they might open a trade for 
 gold. 
 
 As the boat neared the shore, some fifty or more, all 
 armed with their rude weapons, appeared, peering out 
 here and there among the trees. At first they laid 
 down their arms and came to the boat ; but, after sell- 
 ing two of their large bows, they seemed to take alarm, 
 ran back and got their weapons, and also a supply of 
 cords, as if they would capture and bind the Spaniards. 
 The latter, attacking them in true warlike spirit, 
 wounded several in the '' breast with their cross-bows, 
 and one in the posterior with a sword." All the rest 
 fled, " leaving their weapons scattered here and there." 
 
 Columbus was pained at the necessity for this first 
 shedding of blood in the New World. How would it 
 affect the little garrison at La Navidad ? It might 
 at least mar that peace and good-will which he had 
 hoped to maintain with these people. 
 
 The next morning his fears were removed. The 
 natives appeared on the beach in large numbers, in the 
 most peaceful and friendly manner. The Admiral 
 sent on shore a large boat-load of men well armed, 
 and they were most cordially received. Indeed, here 
 was the cacique himself, holding in his hand the string 
 of shells, the "wampum belt," at once the symbol and 
 pledge of peace. He wished tliis to be carried to the Ad- 
 miral. Presently he came to the boat himself, with only 
 
146 FEASTING THE NATIVES. 
 
 three attendants, and embarked for the caravels as free 
 and friendly as if nothing had happened. 
 
 The Admiral appreciated this noble frankness, and 
 made the interview as pleasant as possible. Indeed, he 
 was strongly impressed with the generous magnanimity 
 of this chieftain. He took him all through the caravel, 
 showed him everything which he thought might gratify 
 his curiosit}^, and feasted him with that peculiar delicacy 
 to the Indians — biscuits and honey. Presenting him 
 with " a red cap, some beads, and red cloth,'' he sent 
 him ashore in a manner becoming his dignity and 
 character. 
 
 As the chief returned to his home, some distance in 
 the interior, he sent to Columbus his own crown of 
 gold. What became of all these coronets of gold 
 presented to Columbus by the caciques ? Did they gild 
 the royal saloons of Spain, or go to the mint ? How 
 invaluable the}'- would now be in our museums ! 
 
 During the few more days spent by the Spaniards in 
 the Gulf the most friendly relations continued, the 
 nativesbringing cotton, fruits, and vegetables, but always 
 carr3ang their weapons, as if not quite assured of their 
 safety. As four of the young men were very commu- 
 nicative concerning certain islands to the eastward, and 
 were very friendly, Columbus prevailed on them to go 
 with them as guides.^ Associating incident with place, 
 Columbus called this the " Gulf of Arrows." It is now 
 called the Gulf of Samana. 
 
 Who were these fierce, warrior-like people? They 
 were indeed quite different from the rest of the inhabi- 
 tants of Hayti. They were the Ciguayans, mountain- 
 
 1 Columbus acknowledged in his journal that " it was impossible for them 
 to learn much of the country while they were ignorant of the language, and 
 were several days in making the people understand a single thing." 
 
STRAIGHT FOR SPAIN. 147 
 
 eers, and their cliieftain was Mayonabex, wlio after- 
 ward distinguislied Himself in respect to some of the 
 most noble traits of character. 
 
 When they got out to sea, on the i6th, the young 
 Indians did not seem to be so certain as to the island of 
 Amazons or that of the Caribs. First they pointed to 
 the northeast, then to the southeast, Columbus steering 
 in one direction and then in the other. In the latter 
 course he would have found Porto Rico, which, indeed, 
 the natives called Carib ; and here he was told he would 
 find lumps of gold as big as beans. 
 
 How suggestive is a fresh breeze in the right direc- 
 tion at sea! The wind began to blow just right 
 for a straight course to Spain. Columbus saw the 
 brows of his men lower whenever he took any indirec- 
 tion. He therefore pointed directly for home. This 
 resolution did not come any too soon. The caravels 
 were old and leaky, Pinzon was alienated and might 
 influence his brother and many others, especially since 
 the men were all homesick. 
 
 The vessels were still facing the trade-winds, and 
 therefore made slow progress. Fortunately these 
 head-winds were light all through the remaining half 
 of January. The sea was smooth, and the crews had 
 some very amusing diversions. The four young 
 Indians would jump overboard and swim around the 
 ships almost as adroitly as the numerous tunny fishes 
 which played about the sea in various directions. 
 These were probably the bonita, a sprightly fish of the 
 mackerel family, growing to several feet in length. 
 Some of these were captured for food, and also a large 
 shark. These afforded an agreeable supplement to 
 
148 THE PILOTS TAKE RECKONING. 
 
 their spare diet of bread and wiue and West India 
 peppers. Whether they graced their tables with the 
 pelicans which they every now and then got sight of 
 does not appear. 
 
 Columbus noticed that he now sailed through sea- 
 weeds ver}^ similar to those he had encountered on his 
 wa}^ out from the Canaries, and therefore conjectured 
 that these West India islands extended eastward, well 
 towards those islands on the west coast of Africa. It 
 is worthy of notice that maps were made according to 
 this idea for more than a century afterwards. 
 
 Bearing somevvdiat north of east, they had passed 
 out of the belt of the trade-winds, and were now wafted 
 on direct for Spain. The foremast of the Pint a had 
 become seriousl}^ weakened, and the Nina was obliged, 
 not infreqiiently, to slacken sail in order to keep her 
 company. 
 
 On the loth of Februar}^ they took reckoning. But 
 the coterie of captains and pilots, poring over their 
 chart and tables, could not agree, and they differed 
 more widely with Columbus than with each other. 
 He believed they were in the latitude of Flores, the 
 westernmost island of the Azores, while the rest 
 thought they were in line with Madeira and one hun- 
 dred and fifty leagues nearer Spain than his reckoning 
 showed. As was generall}/^ the case in differences of 
 the kind, Columbus was right. 
 
 On the 1 2th the wind rose and the sea ran high. 
 During the next day the gale still increased, and the 
 crazy, creaking vessels labored hard. As the gloom 
 of night settled down on the heaving billows, sharp 
 flashes of lightning in the inky sky to the north- 
 
THE BLINDING STORM. 149 
 
 northeast signalled the coming tempest, which soon 
 burst upon them. Imagine these small sea-worn 
 vessels without decks, in the mid- Atlantic, while the 
 utmost violence of wind and waves rocks the elements 
 about them. All night long the sails are furled, and 
 the frail barks scud before the wind. For three days 
 they bear up against the raging storm, barely carrying 
 sail enough to keep them from going down in the 
 violent cross-waves. Then the sails are taken in 
 again at night. Faint and yet fainter gleam the 
 lights of the Pinta through the blinding mists till she 
 is blown so far to the north with her Aveak mast that 
 they disappear entirely. Frightful, indeed, was the 
 outlook on the following morning. Far as the eye 
 could reach, the clouds were driven like immeasurable 
 angry forces, and the sea was lashed into fury ; and 
 the sailors on the Nina looked out in vain into the 
 tempest to catch a glimpse of the Pinta. All feared 
 that she had gone down during the night. 
 
 As the gale continued in all its violence, the crews 
 resorted to vows. Using beans for casting lots — a bean 
 for each man — the Admiral, putting his hand into the 
 cap first, drew the bean marked with a cross, and so 
 was designated to make a pilgrimage to the shrine of 
 St. Mary of Guadalupe, carrying '' a wax taper of five 
 pounds weight." The next lot was for a pilgrimage 
 to St. Mary of Loretto, " in the marc of Ancona, terri- 
 tory of the Pope." This fell to one of the sailors, but 
 Columbus volunteered to bear the expense. The next 
 lot, to watch all night at St. Clara de Mogues, fell to 
 the Admiral. To make the matter complete, they all 
 vowed to go in their shirts to the nearest church of 
 
i^o THE DISTRESS OF THE ADMIRAL. 
 
 " Our Lad}^," and there humble themselves, if ever 
 they should reach land. Other vows were also made 
 simply as private offerings of individuals. 
 
 By this time the ship's store of provisions and water 
 had been so lightened as to affect seriously the sailing 
 for want of ballast. The remedy, supposed to have 
 been original with Columbus, but since become com- 
 mon among sailors, was to fill the empty casks with 
 sea-water. 
 
 Columbus and the crew on the Nina were well con- 
 vinced that the Pinta was lost. The whole result of this 
 momentous enterprise depended, therefore, on the safe 
 return of the former vessel. But for this, with the frail 
 and sea-worn condition of the Nina and the unremit- 
 ting violence of the tempest, there was scarcely the 
 shadow of a hope. The distress of the Admiral at this 
 hour is best mirrored in his own words to the sov- 
 ereigns : "I could have supported this evil fortune 
 with less grief," said he, " had my person alone been 
 in jeopardy, since I am debtor for my life to the 
 supreme Creator, and have at other times been within 
 a step of death. But it was a cause of infinite sorrow 
 and trouble to think that, after having been illumi- 
 nated from on high with faith and certainty to under- 
 take this enterprise, after having victoriously achieved 
 it, and when on the point of convincing my opponents 
 and securing to your highnesses great glory and vast 
 increase of dominions, it should please the divine 
 Majesty to defeat all by my death. It would have 
 been more supportable, also, had I not been accom- 
 panied by others who had been drawn on by my per- 
 suasions, and who, in their distress, cursed not only 
 
BE T WEEN FEA R A ND FA ITH. i ^ I 
 
 the hour of their coming, but the fear inspired by my 
 words, which prevented their turning back, as they had 
 at various times determined. Above all, my grief was 
 doubled when I thought of my two sons, whom I had 
 left in school at Cordova, destitute, in a strange land, 
 without any testimony of the services rendered by 
 their father, which, if known, might have inclined 
 your highnesses to befriend them. And although, on 
 the one hand, I was comforted by faith that the Deity 
 would not permit a work of such great exaltation to 
 his church, wrought through so many troubles and con- 
 tradictions, to remain imperfect, yet, on the other 
 hand, I reflected on my sins, as a punishment for 
 which he might intend that I should be deprived of 
 the glory which might redound to me in this world." 
 In the abstract of Columbus's journal given by Las 
 Casas we have a still closer insight into the reflections 
 of a great and devout mind in the midst of this inde- 
 scribable scene of danger. That the world might 
 know that he had accomplished his purpose was the 
 grand point of anxiety for which he strove and for 
 which he prayed. But his mind trembled in the 
 balance between hope and fear. When he contem- 
 plated his frail bark in such a tempest, it seemed as if 
 the most trifling casualty, " even the weight of a 
 mosquito," might send him and his intelligence of a 
 new world to the bottom of mid-ocean. But had not 
 the infinite Father enabled him to overcome all the 
 difliculties of his overtures in Spain, and to make his 
 discovery ? Had not the service of God been the aim 
 and business of his undertaking ? And, more especially, 
 had not God " delivered him when he had much greater 
 
rro AN INGENIOUS CONTRIVANCE. 
 
 reason for fear, upon the outward voyage, at whicli 
 time the crew rose up against him and, w4th a unani- 
 mous and threatening voice, resolved to turn back, but 
 the eternal God gave him spirit and valor against them 
 all ? Would not divine providence carry to completion 
 a vast work so notably sustained thus far ? 
 
 Here is an intelligence which, with a truly just and 
 
 benevolent feeling, comprehends the fearful situation, 
 
 and yet hopes for the grandest possibility beyond. The 
 
 . words are more than eloquent — they breathe a genuine 
 
 simplicity, a true humility, a sublime faith. 
 
 Out of his wonted resource of contrivance Colum- 
 bus drew a possible chance of preserving an account 
 of the discovery. Writing on parchment a brief 
 statement of the whole enterprise since putting to sea 
 — no doubt one of his best samples of miniature 
 chirograph}^ — he enclosed the same in a waxed cloth, 
 and, putting it securely in a cask, committed it to the 
 chances of the sea. Some one might take it up, and, 
 finding the sealed letter to the sovereigns, covet the 
 reward of a thousand ducats promised, at a venture, 
 to him who should become courier to the King and 
 Queen. In order that this chance might be doubled, 
 another cask, similarly prepared, was placed on the 
 poop of his vessel, to float away if he and his crew were 
 lost. 
 
 No doubt his men looked on this strange performance 
 with curious eyes, but they were not let into the secret 
 lest they should take alarm at the Admiral's sense of 
 danger. 
 
 With what joy must the tempest-tossed crew have 
 beheld the streak of clear sky in the west at sunset on 
 
LAND I LAND I 
 
 153 
 
 the 15th ! And, though the sea ran high all night, the 
 wind was favorable, and " the bonnet was set upon the 
 mainsail." 
 
 " Land ! land ! " was the cry of the sailor at the 
 mast-head at break of day the next morning. Imagine 
 the transports of delight in the crew at the sight of 
 land once more, and that, too, near home ! But what 
 land is this to the north-northeast, just over the prow 
 of the caravel ? To your charts, ye pilots ! " The 
 island of Madeira," cries one. • " The rock Cintra, near 
 Lisbon," cries another. " Some point of Spain," argue 
 a number. Meanwhile all wait for the decision of the 
 Admiral, who pronounces the land, now rounded out 
 into an island, " One of the Azores." 
 
 But while all hearts are beating with joy at the 
 thought of landing, the wind changes, the sea rolls 
 against them, and the}^ cannot reach their goal. After 
 two days of most tantalizing wind and waves, they 
 come near enough to land to cast anchor, when lo ! the 
 cable parts and they must put to sea again, where they 
 beat about until morning. At last they eifect a land- 
 ing. They have reached St. Mary's, of the Azores. 
 This is a triumph for the Admiral in navigation ! 
 
 Columbus was shy of the Portuguese, and, as the 
 three men he had sent on shore in the morning did 
 not return, he feared he might be the victim of some 
 jealous stratagem. After sunset, three men on the 
 shore hailed the caravel. A boat was sent for them, 
 and they proved to be messengers from Castaneda, 
 the governor of the island, bringing refreshments and 
 the most cordial felicitations. The three missing men 
 he was detaining to gratify his curiosity b}^ a full in- 
 
1^4 THE PENITENTIAL PROCESSION 
 
 terview in respect to the wondrous tales they could tell 
 of their perilous voyage and the new world. But noth- 
 ing surprised him and the islanders more than that 
 the frail caravel should have outrid the unparalleled 
 tempest which had raged for so many days. 
 
 The next morning Columbus reminded his men of 
 their vow to " Our Lady." Learning that there was a 
 chapel dedicated to St. Mary in the neighborhood, he 
 engaged the three men from the shore, who had 
 remained on shipboard over night, to secure a priest 
 to perform mass, and dividing the crew equally he 
 sent one-half to redeem their vow first, he and the 
 remaining half intending to go when these returned. 
 
 It must have been a novel scene even in those days, 
 this half-naked procession on their way to the church ! 
 But why did they not return? Columbus waited until 
 near midday in suspense. As he could not see the 
 chapel from his position, he weighed anchor and stood 
 out till he could command a view, when lo ! there was 
 descried a crowd of horse and foot around the little 
 hermitage. Presently some of them, being armed, 
 entered a boat and came towards him. He ordered 
 his men to be read}' for either defence or attack, but to 
 keep out of sight. Those in the boat came peaceably, 
 however, but they did not seem to think it safe to come 
 too near. The governor, being in the boat, stood up 
 and asked for a guarantee of personal safety if he 
 came on board the caravel. This the Admiral granted, 
 but wished to know why none of the Spaniards were 
 in the boat. Still his honor did not venture to come 
 very near. The Admiral now urged the Portuguese 
 governor to come on board, intending to make him a 
 
THE ADMIRAL INDIGNANT. 
 
 155 
 
 prisoner and so recover his crew. The governor was 
 too wary to come into the trap. Why were his men 
 detained? demanded the Admiral. In what respect 
 had he offended the King of Portugal ? Were not the 
 Portuguese as free and safe in Castile as in Lisbon ? 
 The Admiral held up his commission with the insignia 
 of the sovereigns of Spain, his whole manner 
 waxing decidedly indignant. " The King and 
 Queen had instructed him to treat all subjects 
 of Portugal with respect," he said, " for the two 
 nations were at peace. The Portuguese should beware 
 how they transgressed the proprieties of peace, lest 
 they incur the royal displeasure." If his men were 
 detained on the island, he still had sailors enough left 
 to take his caravel to Seville, where he would report 
 this outrage against the kingdom of Castile. The 
 governor then ordered the Admiral to proceed to the 
 harbor with his caravel, saying he had done all " by the 
 order of the King, his master." " The Admiral ordered 
 all on board his vessel to bear witness to these trans- 
 actions, and called out to the governor and those with 
 him, vowing that he would not leave the caravel till he 
 had carried a hundred of the Portuguese to Castile 
 and depopulated the island. He then returned to his 
 anchorage in the harbor, as the wind and weather did 
 not admit of taking any other course." 
 
 What could be the meaning of these strange move- 
 ments ? Had war arisen between the two nations dur- 
 ing his absence ? 
 
 The next day brought another tempest, and, as the 
 caravel was in danger of being driven onto a lee shore, 
 the Admiral put to sea for the island St. Michael's, 
 
1^5 THE PRISONERS LIBERATED. 
 
 but lie now discovered that the half of his crew 
 remaining to liim contained only three experienced 
 seamen. For some two days the bark, thus helplessly 
 manned, drifted about in the utmost peril. The 
 weather then moderating, they returned to St. Mary's. 
 
 Now there came from the shore tw^o priests and a 
 notary. They were very patronizing. The governor 
 was ready to do the Admiral any service, they said, if 
 he could but be assured that he was under the patron- 
 age of Spain. Would he not be so kind as to show 
 his commission ? This being done to their satisfaction, 
 they returned to the shore, and the next day the pris- 
 oners were liberated. This last move of the governor 
 was, no doubt, a studied way of getting out of a close 
 place. 
 
 When the prisoners returned, the myster}^ was solved. 
 They had ascertained that the King of Portugal had 
 instructed Castaiiedo, as well as others in like author- 
 ity, to detain Columbus whenever he might appear, 
 fearing lest his enterprise might in some way infringe 
 on the rights of Portugal. The governor, failing to 
 surprise him in the chapel, had resorted to stratagem, 
 but he had failed alike in both. Now it behooved him 
 to let himself down as easily as possible, 
 
 Columbus, having had enough of St. Mary's and 
 the Portuguese governor, sailed away on Sunday, the 
 24th. For several days the weather was pleasant, but 
 on Wednesday, the 27tli, another contrarj'- gale arose 
 and a tempestuous sea. Having had no opportunity 
 to recover from the exhaustive efforts necessary to him 
 during the previous storm, so continuous and so severe, 
 what wonder that he now became impatient at being 
 
7 HE SAILS ARE RENT. 1 57 
 
 thus driven back from the very door of home ? And 
 how natural that he should contrast the balmy da3^s 
 he had just spent in the land of perpetual summer 
 with these terrific gales and threatening seas ! " Must 
 it not be," he thought, that the earthU^ paradise 
 spoken of in Genesis is somewhere in the remote east, 
 as theologians have said ? It almost seemed as if he 
 had been near its borderland. 
 
 The storm continued to rage, and at midnight on 
 Sunday, March 3d, a squall so terrific struck the cara- 
 vel that all her sails were "split" and she was 
 obliged to scud under bare poles. The}- passed the 
 next day in the tempest, and the following night was 
 even more fearful than the former. The waves ran 
 mountain high, the rain seemed to literally pour out 
 of the heavens, while the lightning's glare and the loud 
 peals of thunder in various parts of the firmament 
 were enough to remind them of the final day of doom. 
 Lots were again cast, and there were pledges of solemn 
 fasting. 
 
 In the night, while they labored with a terrible 
 storm and were near meeting with destruction from 
 the cross-sea, the fury of the wind, which seemed to 
 carry them up to the skies, and the violent showers and 
 lightning from^ many parts, there was the cry of 
 " land !" but onl}^ to exchange one terror for another ; for, 
 not knowing precisely where they were, there was the 
 most imminent danger of being dashed in pieces on 
 rocks and shoals. The ragged sails were taken in, 
 and the}^ kept aloof from shore till morning. The 
 dawn revealed the well-known rock of Cintra, at the 
 mouth of the Tagus. 
 
J. 8 THE NINA ENTERS THE TAG US. 
 
 Should he again put himself into the hands of the 
 Portuguese ? Notwithstanding his distrust of this 
 nation and their king, the violence of the storm left 
 him no choice. In a letter written years afterwards to 
 Dona Juana de la Torres he says : " I was driven by a 
 tempest into the port of Lisbon, having lost my sails." 
 Sailing up the mouth of the river the 4th of March, 
 he cast anchor in front of Rastelo, about three o'clock 
 in the afternoon. Can we imagine the sense of relief 
 which came to these tempest-tossed mariners as they 
 furled their sails in the calm and dropped anchor in 
 the quiet river ! 
 
 All along the shore the inhabitants had been watch- 
 ing with prayerful anxiety as the caravel made way 
 against the storm. Gray-haired mariners had never 
 seen such a tempestuous winter. Many ships were 
 lying in the harbors weather-bound, and many had 
 been wrecked along the coast. 
 
 One may imagine that the hand of the Admiral could 
 scarcely have been steady as he penned the tidings of 
 his return, to be borne by the swiftest messenger 
 to the sovereigns of Spain, and he would have been 
 more than human if he had not felt a little self-com- 
 placent as he delivered for the King of Portugal his 
 dispatch of a new world found in the w^est. Surely he 
 might take the liberty of saying to him that in a case 
 of necessity he had sought a Portuguese port, and that 
 in order to be more safe than he might be at Rostelo 
 he would like to be permitted to anchor at Lisbon. 
 
 His misgiving was not altogether unwarranted, for, 
 while the courier to the King was making his nine 
 leagues to Valparaiso and back, a certain officer of the 
 
LISBON IS MOVED. I^g 
 
 Portuguese navy, lying at Rastelo, demanded him to 
 give an account of himself and his vessel. Columbus 
 '' stood on his dignity," affirming his claim to respect 
 as an admiral of Spain, and so refused to grant the 
 request. This, after due explanation, was satisfactory, 
 and now that the naval of&cer had learned the nature 
 of the voyage just made by this little caravel, he was 
 ready to " lionize " her. Approaching with fifes, 
 drums, and trumpets, he showed every possible defer- 
 ence, and offered his services to the fullest extent. 
 
 Lisbon was the one place in all the world to be most 
 deeply moved by this wonderful discovery. Had not 
 Portugal led the world for many decades in navigation, 
 at once the most perilous and the most successful in 
 opening up unknown parts ? But here was an achieve- 
 ment, by one little boat, which quite eclipsed anything 
 they could boast. For two days the Tagus teemed with 
 crafts of every kind, from the stately barge to the small 
 boat, bearing all classes of the curious and the inquir- 
 ing, who gazed with increasing wonder on the plants, 
 the birds, the animals, and, above all, the people, so 
 unlike any other they had ever seen. Surely God had 
 bestowed the favor of this great discovery on the King 
 and Queen of Spain, they said, on account of their 
 devotion to the Christian faith. 
 
 On Frida}'^, the 8th of March, a cavalier from King 
 John II. arrived, inviting the Admiral to court, and 
 not only were his personal accommodations on the way 
 to be free, but the King had ordered that anj^thing 
 required for his vessel or his crews should be furnished 
 in like manner. 
 
 On that same evening of the arrival of the invitation 
 
1 60 COL UMB US BEFORE JOHN IT. 
 
 Columbus set out, and on the following evening 
 reached the court. He was accompanied by the King's 
 steward, and as he approached Valparaiso a company 
 of cavaliers came out to escort him into the royal 
 presence. 
 
 Here he is ordered to be seated, after the manner of 
 royalty. The King congratulates him on his great 
 achievement, and assures him that all .things in his 
 kingdom are at the service of him and his sovereigns. 
 But mortification is mingled with the keenest interest 
 in the Admiral's account — no doubt eloquently given 
 — of the eventful V03^age and the wonderful discoveries. 
 Had all this been stupidly thrown away by the king- 
 dom of Portugal ? The wish being father to the 
 thought, he suggested that these wonderful parts just 
 discovered might, after all, possibly be included in the 
 capitulations to himself by Spain in 1479 ! These 
 capitulations Columbus had never seen, but he knew 
 well that he had sailed far enough from the coast of 
 Africa. Be that as it might, said the King, he and 
 the sovereigns of Spain could easily adjust the matter. 
 How little did these two personages know what part 
 of the world they were talking about ! 
 
 The Admiral was most ro3^ally entertained for the 
 night by the prior of Crato, the principal personage of 
 the place, and was requested to meet the King again 
 the next day in order to complete the charming inter- 
 view. The latter asked all sorts of questions about 
 the soil of this new country, its productions, its people, 
 the route thence, etc., etc. All these inquiries Colum- 
 bus answered most minutely in order to convince his 
 Royal Highness that he had not been in Guinae. 
 
A JEALOUS COURT. l6l 
 
 Unfriendly critics have found an important point 
 against Columbus in the account of this interview, as 
 given by certain Portuguese historians and biogra- 
 phers, Barros, Souza, and Vasconcilos, who say that he 
 deported himself loftily, and spoke in a very vaunting 
 and provoking manner to the King, as if to pique and 
 worry him over his lost opportunity — so much so that 
 it is said some of the indignant courtiers present sug- 
 gested his assassination. The}- had seen the Indians 
 in Columbus's ship, the}- said, and they looked like 
 the people within the route of the discoveries of Portu- 
 gal. The most remote lands discovered by their own 
 nation were very near to those found b}'- Columbus. 
 He, therefore, had not discovered any new country, 
 and deserved to die for having tried to embroil the two 
 nations. They would provoke him, and, having gotten 
 him into a quarrel, slay him as if by accident or in 
 honorable combat. But the King was too far above 
 such dastard plotting to accept the advice. 
 
 No doubt Portugal was bitterly chagrined at the 
 loss of this magnificent enterprise. How grand it 
 would have been to have added India in the west of 
 the Atlantic to Africa in the east ! How easily within 
 their reach it had once been ! And who could tell 
 what relation these new-found lands might bear to 
 those they were exploring ? For, be the world round 
 or flat, the vast relations of sea and land, both to the 
 east and to the west, were as yet a mystery. Indeed, up 
 to this hour the great ocean seas were but little known 
 outside the Mediterranean. 
 
 In every word and look of Columbus these jealous 
 courtiers would see and hear much more than he meant 
 
1 62 COLUMBUS BEFORE THE ^UEEN. 
 
 to convey. And in view of all the circumstances of 
 the case, if the Admiral felt just a little self-conscious, 
 and a slight inward sense of triumph over those who 
 had doubted him and openly set him at naught, and 
 could not altogether conceal these feelings, what 
 wonder ? — what blame ? 
 
 On Monday, March nth, after dinner, Columbus 
 took leave of the King, having received every mark of 
 affection, and was escorted on his way for some 
 distance by all the knights of the court. As the 
 womanly curiosit}^ of the Queen, now at Villa Franca, 
 had requested an interview with the newly-made Ad- 
 miral bearing such remarkable tidings, he stopped 
 there on the way, and was received in the most cordial 
 manner by her and her ladies in attendance. Again 
 the wonderful story was told to a most appreciative 
 group of listeners. 
 
 Columbus boarded his caravel on the 13th of March, 
 and reached Palos at noon on Friday, the 15th, after an 
 absence of a little less than seven months and a 
 half. 
 
CHAPTERilX. 
 
 THE TRIUMPHANT ARRIVAL. 
 
 OW the little towu of Palos was wild with joy 
 as they beheld the familiar image of the 
 Nina floating inside the bar of Salt has 
 long been known to the world and can easily be 
 imagined. Here were at least a part of those who had 
 long since been given up as lost in the " Sea of Dark- 
 ness," and they could tell something about the missing 
 ones. There are faces wet with the tears of delight, 
 because those most cherished in their affections are 
 returned to them — almost like those raised up from the 
 dead ! But there are other tearful faces revealing a joy 
 far less complete, because those whom they cherish 
 most are simply heard from in the distance, and the 
 uneasy imagination is left to fill up their more recent 
 fate, which, after all, may be too sad to be conjectured. 
 Yet joy everywhere prevails. The crowds throng the 
 docks ; and the shops along the double street which 
 monopolizes the little town, cradled in a depression 
 between high hills, are closed ; the church bell rings, 
 and old and young follow the iVdmiral up the hill 
 to St. George's church, just outside the village. 
 Here they kneel devoutly, scarcely noticing the image 
 of St. George and the dragon just over the altar, for 
 all are returning thanks for the great discovery and 
 for the safe return of so many. 
 
 On this same afternoon, while the air is j'-et vibrating 
 
i54 ^^^ PINTA ARklVES. 
 
 to these shouts and peals of universal joy, yonder 
 comes the Pinta, passing the bar of Salt, and standing 
 up the harbor. The storm having blown her away 
 into the Bay of Biscay, she had made the port of 
 Bayonne; whence Pinzon, supposing Columbus to 
 have been lost, had written to the Spanish sovereigns, 
 asking permission to report the great discovery in 
 person at court. He had expected to surprise Palos ; 
 but, seeing how he had been anticipated by the Ad- 
 miral, his enthusiasm was cooled at the recollection of 
 his desertion and at the thought of what might fol- 
 low in consequence. He therefore disembarked quietly. 
 His health was shattered, his high reputation as one 
 of the chief aids to this great enterprise damaged, 
 and, as he soon received an admonitory letter from the 
 court, which gave him to understand that his presence 
 there would not be welcome — at least not without that 
 of Columbus — he sank under the weight of mortifica- 
 tion and disappointment, and died in a very short time. 
 Poor Pinzon ! He had been guilt}^ of a serious mis- 
 demeanor, and sad was the expiation he had to make, 
 but let his incalculable services in revealing one-half 
 the globe be most gratefully remembered. What 
 could Columbus have done without him? Engrave 
 his virtues " on the rock," but write his errors " in the 
 sand." 
 
 The sovereigns were now in Barcelona, an important 
 seaport town in Catalonia. Tidings truly welcome, 
 almost transporting, was this message from the courier 
 as to the New World ! For once, Ferdinand's cautious 
 reserve must have been shaken, and Isabella's san- 
 guine, generous nature must have been moved to its 
 
COLUMBUS GOES TO BARCELONA, 
 
 165 
 
 utmost depth. Let Mercury, messenger of the gods, 
 with winged feet, fly ! Tell the Admiral to come at 
 once, straight across the kingdom of Spain, and in his 
 own moving words relate this astounding event to the 
 King and Queen ! 
 
 Meanwhile, Columbus has gone to Seville to await 
 the royal orders. By the 30th of March the anwer is 
 at hand. How shall he proceed to this distant point ? 
 In his caravel along the Mediterranean ? This was his 
 first impulse ; but no, he has had salt water enough for 
 awhile. April is about to unfold her vernal charms in 
 this delightful climate, so he will go by land, obliquely, 
 almost across the kingdom. But he must first set in 
 motion preparations for an immediate second voyage. 
 So the sovereigns have requested in their short but en- 
 thusiastic letter, just arrived. 
 
 News always had swift wings, even before railroads 
 and telegraphs. Bre long all Spain was on the move 
 to learn as much as possible about this new thing 
 under the sun, which was to eclipse alike the Portu- 
 guese discoveries in Africa and the subjugation of the 
 Moors at home. By the time Columbus was on the way 
 the whole country was thronging him en route. Every 
 city and town through which he passed was an ovation. 
 The six Indians with him — one had died on the way 
 across the ocean and three were sick at Palos — took the 
 lead, so ornamented as to represent the golden wealth 
 of the Indies. Then followed the brilliant birds; 
 brilliant, indeed, they must have been, especially the 
 forty parrots mentioned as in the procession. There 
 were the most striking specimens of plants and fruits, 
 wholly new to the beholders ; especially noticeable were 
 
l66 THE PEOPLE THRONG HIM. 
 
 the spices and the royal palms, which might indicate 
 the outskirts of India. Do not fail to note the brightly 
 ornamented belts, the figure-heads or masks pieced out 
 and trimmed with gold, and the rudely fashioned 
 coronets of the precious metal— all presented by the 
 chieftains, and disclosing alike the wealth and the 
 novel style of life in the newly-discovered country. 
 
 But all this merely prepares the eye to behold Co- 
 lumbus himself following on horseback and sur- 
 rounded, ere he reached Barcelona, with a splendid 
 cavalcade of courtiers and hidalgoes who had come, in 
 their eagerness, to escort him into the city. It is but 
 rational, and requires no stretch of the imagination, to 
 accept the account of the people thronging and crowd- 
 ing from every direction to get a glimpse of this unpre- 
 cedented sight. The windows, the balconies, the sides 
 of the narrow streets, and even the housetops, would be 
 crowded with curious spectators of every age and 
 character. Those bending under the weight of years, 
 those in the full strength of manhood and womanhood, 
 the beauty and buoyancy of youth, and the innocent, 
 gaping curiosity of childhood — all would be there, 
 elbowing their way to the front. The poet or the artist 
 who should depict the scene otherwise would surely be 
 delinquent to human nature. The bruit of the dis- 
 covery had caused a great sensation in the court and 
 among the people ; and, great and momentous as it was 
 in itself, it was supposed to be even more w^onderful in 
 some respects than it really was. Nothing, in those 
 days at least, could turn people's heads and set every- 
 body wild like the news of boundless wealth ready to 
 hand — gold! pearls! precious jewels! Was not such 
 
COLUMBUS BEFORE THE MONARCHS. 
 
 167 
 
 the wealth of farthest India, of which they now 
 beheld the trophies ? What would have been their 
 feelings had they known that they were only beholding 
 the symbols of the great American wilderness, swarm- 
 ing with savages ? 
 
 But the King and Queen ? Behold them, in the most 
 regal state of expectancy, seated on a dais under a 
 canopy of brocade of gold, in the Alcazar or Arabian 
 castle, once the seat of the Moorish kings, now occupied 
 by the bishop of Urgil. On their right is Prince Juan 
 the heir-apparent. The tall and stately figure of the 
 Admiral enters, white-haired and venerable as a Roman 
 senator, and surrounded by a crowd of gay cavaliers. 
 As he approaches, the monarchs rise. He kneels to 
 kiss their hands, which they give with deferential hesi- 
 tation, and graciously lift him up and signal him to sit 
 in their presence, after the manner of royalty. 
 
 Let him now tell where he has been and what he has 
 seen, for every ear is listening with the utmost tension 
 of curious interest. Speak, O Admiral and Viceroy of 
 the Indies, for this is the grandest and proudest hour of 
 your life. Drain the cup of joy — it is your supreme 
 moment, and the tide of your glory will soon ebb, never 
 to rise again in 3^our daj^ 
 
 Columbus may have discovered a foreign accent, but 
 he was without doubt an able speaker ; and here were 
 the representative subjects of his discourse, to be 
 pointed out in passing — here was such an audience as 
 few men of his rank ever addressed. And the story ! — 
 it was well worthy of the audience, listening in almost 
 breathless astonishment. Truly this is news ! — news 
 from the antipodes, and here are the evidences — tangi- 
 
l58 ^ NEW ERA. 
 
 ble — visible ; no old musty parchment of Marco Polo 
 or John Mandeville, but the direct living word and liv- 
 ing things from beyond the " Sea of Darkness " ! 
 
 It is an hour of intense feeling ; but the thought 
 does not seem to be of wealth or dominion — a tide of 
 religions emotion carries everything before it. Mines 
 of gold and seas of pearl there may be, but here is a 
 pagan world, naked and destitute, given to the care and 
 tutelage of the church, which has just conquered the 
 heathen within its borders. The things contemplated 
 are not only mysterious, but truly immense. They are 
 at least conscious, it would seem, of the fact — these 
 great minds — that an incalculable change is about to 
 come to the world. A new era is dawning. They are 
 overshadowed by the Infinite. The discourse ended, the 
 sovereigns are kneeling with clasped hands and tearful 
 eyes lifted heavenward, uttering thanksgiving and 
 praise to Almighty God for this great and strange prov- 
 idence. The entire audience follow the example. No 
 shouts of joy, no loud acclaim of triumph, but solemn 
 silence, tearful devotion, thought unutterable ! From 
 the royal chapel choir, accompanied by instruments, 
 swells forth the inimitable Te Deum Laudajnus^ bear- 
 ing all hearts heavenward, " so that it seemed as if, in 
 that hour, they communicated with celestial delights," 
 says the venerable Las Casas, who, then some eighteen 
 years of age, was probably a student at Salamanca, 
 and who was afterwards intimately acquainted with Co- 
 lumbus, as also with others who witnessed the above. 
 
 What an event, what an impression was this ! — at 
 once the grandest reality and the greatest delusion ; 
 the former to be proven by the nations in the centuries 
 
C OL UMB US IN HONOR . 169 
 
 to come, but, alas ! the latter only to be experienced by 
 Columbus. But let us not anticipate the shadows and 
 the darkness — they- will come soon enough. Let the 
 great discoverer enjoy to the full these days of popular 
 applause and courtly esteem. Let the dignitaries of 
 church and state crowd around him, and feel honored 
 by a few words of conversation with him about the 
 new world. Let him appear amidst the crowds, " his 
 face wreathed with smiles of content." Let him ride 
 out on his horse, King Ferdinand on one side and 
 Prince Juan on the other. And is he not entitled to 
 dictate measures to the sovereigns, as to the manage- 
 ment of the great enterprises of the Indies ? The high 
 honors of the hour have cost him many anxious, strug- 
 gling years, and they will be followed by days dark and 
 tempestuous enough. Surely the reward allotted Co- 
 lumbus for his stupendous achievement was but slen- 
 der — a few years of bitter trial, disappointment, and 
 suffering both of body and of mind. 
 
 Well, we must not forget that stor}^ about the egg I 
 Cardinal Mendoza, always friendly to Columbus, even 
 in the dark da3''s of the antechamber, is said to have 
 now made a banquet in his special honor. During the 
 repast, a jealous courtier asked: If he — Columbus — 
 had not discovered the Indies, were there not other men 
 in Spain who might have done so ? On the principle 
 that actions sometimes speak louder than words, the 
 Admiral took an egg and invited any one of the com- 
 pany to make it stand on end. After the vain attempt, 
 variously and amusingly made, no doubt, had gone the 
 round, he touched it to the table firmly enough to 
 depress the end, and so made it stand. 
 
1 70 APPRE CIA TION OF COL UMB US. 
 
 Like many other striking incidents in tlie lives of 
 great men, this lacks the earliest and best authority, 
 being first given by Benzoni in 1865. But if the illus- 
 tration were " a hackneyed one even in those days, and 
 we find it ascribed, among others, to Brunelleschi, the 
 architect who constructed the marvellous cupola of the 
 Cathedral of Florence seventy years before the first 
 voyage of Columbus," still it may have been original 
 at Mendoza's table — at least in the manner of its ap- 
 plication. At all events, it bids fair to live as long 
 as the name of Columbus; and, as Irving has said, 
 " the universal popularity of the anecdote is a proof of 
 its merit." 
 
 As a signal of honor to himself and family, the sov- 
 ereigns gave him a coat-of-arms. May 20th ; the field 
 of which contained, above, a lion to the right and a 
 castle to the left ; and below, five golden anchors on a 
 blue ground to the right, and a sort of archipelago of 
 golden islands on a sea of waves to the left. The}^ also 
 prefixed to his name, with much preamble and formality 
 of statement, the title " Don," which implied a high 
 honor in those days. Now it scarcely means more than 
 Mr. does in English. 
 
 As to the inscription, — 
 
 " To Castile and to Leon 
 Columbus gave a new world," 
 
 it does not appear in the earliest representations of the 
 escutcheon, and in the biography ascribed to Ferdinand 
 Columbus the motto is said to have been placed on his 
 father's tomb by the King some time after his death. 
 Ferdinand's appreciation of the greatest man in his 
 realm seems to have overtaken him somewhat late — 
 after that man was cold and silent in death. 
 
CHAPTER X. 
 
 THE BOUNDARY LINE AND THE SECOND VOYAGE. 
 
 PAIN and Portugal were rival nations, so 
 closely and compactly located as to be able 
 to watch eacb other with the most narrow- 
 eyed vigilance. The Pope, regarded as ruler of Chris- 
 tendom, and so, in a spiritual sense at least, ruler over 
 all nations, was supposed to be able to give away a 
 heathen territory to any Christian nation who might 
 discover or conquer it with intent of evangelization. 
 For more than half a century these incumbents'of the 
 papal chair had given Portugal permission to sail south, 
 and to Spain the same privilege to the westward. And 
 in 1479 the two nations had agreed to abide b}' this 
 decision as to their naval enterprises. For many years 
 Portugal seemed to have the field of promise ; and no 
 limit appeared, as yet, to the rich territories of Africa. 
 Spain, meanwhile, might content herself with her 
 colony on the Canaries, or speculate on the " Sea of 
 Darkness." Now the scene of action was changed. 
 Columbus, sailing to the west, had found the most mag- 
 nificent islands and what seemed to be a mainland. 
 Spain was sure her caravels had not trespassed on the 
 undiscovered territories assigned to her neighbor, but 
 the latter was not so sure. So, in order to prevent all 
 controversy, Spain applied to Alexander VI. to draw a 
 line of demarcation. On May 3d, 1493, ^^^ imaginary 
 limit was announced, one hundred leagues west of the 
 
1-2 LINE OF NO VARIATION. 
 
 Azores and Cape Verde Islands. Beyond this Spain 
 might have the field to the west, if she would plant the 
 Catholic faith in the new territories. No one thought 
 of the trouble which such a line might cause on the 
 other side of the globe. 
 
 This line of demarcation corresponds with Colum- 
 bus's line of no variation of the compass, and was no 
 doubt suggested by him. That this line made a great 
 impression upon him is clear from his own words : 
 
 " Each time that I sail from Spain to India, as soon 
 as I have proceeded about a hundred nautical miles to 
 the west of the Azores, I perceive an extraordinary 
 variation in the movements of the heavenly bodies, in 
 the temperature of the air, and in the character of the 
 sea. I have observed these alterations with especial 
 care, and I notice that the mariner's compass, whose 
 declination had hitherto been northeast, was now 
 changed to northwest ; and when I had crossed this 
 line, as if in passing the brow of a hill, I found the 
 ocean covered b}^ such a mass of sea-weed, similar to 
 small branches of pine covered with pistachi nuts, 
 that we were apprehensive that, for want of a suffi- 
 ciency of water, our ships would run upon a shoal. 
 Before we reached the line of which I speak there was 
 no trace of any such sea-weed. On the boundary line, 
 one hundred miles west of the Azores, the ocean becomes 
 at once still and calm, being scarcely even moved by 
 a breeze. On my passage from the Canary Islands to 
 the parallel of Sierra Leone we had to endure a fright- 
 ful degree of heat, but as soon as we had crossed the 
 above-mentioned line the climate changed, the air 
 became temperate, and the freshness increased the 
 farther we advanced." 
 
PORTUGUESE STRATEGY. 173 
 
 How natural, if not necessary, therefore, it is 
 to believe, with Humboldt and others, that Columbus 
 sought to fix the political line by the ph3^sical. But 
 other lines of no variation have since been found ; so 
 that this was, after all, no natural limit of territory. 
 
 Portugal was exceedingly anxious to get a foothold 
 in the newly-discovered country, and went so far as 
 to fit out vessels for that purpose, thinking, no doubt, 
 \}i\.2X possession was '' nine points out of ten in the law." 
 She was as tricky now as she had been with Columbus 
 some years before. Ferdinand either knew or sus- 
 pected what was in progress, and sent an embassador 
 with two letters, on^ friendly and the other threaten- 
 ing. He might use the one or the other, as the case 
 might demand on his arrival. But King John had 
 bribed Ferdinand's counsellors, who kept him con- 
 stantl}^ advised of this monarch's plans, and thus he 
 was made ready for the double message. Having 
 escaped the trap, he sent to his royal brother, sa3dng 
 that during sixty da3^s, while they might be discuss- 
 ing matters, no vessel should sail on any voyage of 
 discover^^ This might prove a quietus to the excite- 
 ment ; then, too, he must be conciliatory, for he 
 wanted the dividing line to run due west from the 
 Canaries, instead of north and south. This sort of 
 parleying just suited Ferdinand, He would now have 
 time to get Columbus read}^ for his second voyage, 
 while King John's hands were thus fastened by his 
 own tying. He sent another embassy, which was 
 instructed to travel slowl}^, to procrastinate in every 
 possible way, and, if they could not gain time enough 
 otherwise, to call an arbitration. King John saw 
 
J ^4 BISHOP FONSICA. 
 
 through the scheme, and, helplessly chagrined, said, 
 " These embassadors have neither feet to travel nor 
 head to propose." He was beaten and gave up the 
 contest. Behold these kings playing their sharp 
 game for islands and continents ! 
 
 Everything was on the move now, in order to be 
 ready as soon as possible for Columbus's second voyage. 
 Free lodgings were granted him and his servitors 
 wherever he went. The titles and privileges before 
 granted were confirmed, and he was given the royal 
 seal, to be used as occasion might require. May 28th, 
 after having received every possible demonstration of 
 favor from the sovereigns and from the whole court, 
 he left Barcelona, and reached Seville early in 
 June. Here he was joined by Juan Rodriguesde Fon- 
 sica, archdeacon of Seville, appointed hy the Crown to 
 direct preparations. This church dignitary is painted 
 in very dark colors by most writers.^ He began to 
 take issue at once with Columbus in his plans of prep- 
 aration, particularly in respect to the number of foot- 
 men he was to have as Admiral and Viceroy. Foiled 
 in this demur by the sovereigns, he seems to have 
 contracted an implacable enmity toward his victim, 
 whom he never ceased to persecute till the day of his 
 death, and then he seems to have transferred his 
 spirit of unyielding bitterness to the Admiral's 
 descendants. He held the control of the affairs of the 
 
 *" A shrewd man of business, a hard task-master, an implacable enemy, 
 he displayed, during his long administration of Indian affairs, all the quali- 
 ties of an unscrupulous tyrant, and was instrumental in inflicting on the 
 islanders keener miseries than ever have been brought by conqueror upon a 
 subject ra.CQ."— Helps' Life of Christopher Columbus. 
 
FITTING OUT THE FLEET 
 
 ^75 
 
 Indies some thirty years. A thoroughly worldly and 
 unforgiving spirit seems to have marked his career. 
 
 " Money ! money !" is often the cry of kings as well 
 as of common people. The new fleet would require 
 funds. There was a ro3^al order which put all the 
 ships and seamen in the ports of Andalusia at the 
 service of Columbus and Fonsica at reasonable pa}^ 
 This would ensure convenience and economy. Then 
 two-thirds of the tithes of the church were appropriated ; 
 also certain sequestered property of the Jews, so cruelly 
 banished. Other resources were husbanded. Finally, 
 a loan of 5,000,000 maravedis was secured from the 
 Duke of Medina-Sidonia. 
 
 Artillery and weapons of warfare of all kinds were 
 gathered from the various ships of the nation. Mili- 
 tary stores left over from the Moorish wars and stored 
 in the Alhambra, now degraded into an arsenal, were 
 laid under requisition. Everything was hurry and 
 bustle, for Portugal was watching and might take advan- 
 tage of delay. 
 
 How remarkably Italy is destined to contribute to 
 these enterprises in discovery ! Did Perestrello and 
 Cadamosto aid Prince Henry ? Here is not only Co- 
 lumbus in this important service of Spain, but the man 
 who presides over all this din of preparation in the 
 harbor of Seville, Juonato Beradi, is. a Florentine mer- 
 chant now settled here ; and, more interesting still, 
 that man assisting him so energetically is Ameriais 
 Vespiiccius^ hereafter to give name, unwittingl}^ albeit, 
 to one-half of the globe. He is an active and well-culti- 
 vated man of some forty-two years. 
 
 As for Isabella, she is now a sort of missionary. 
 
1 76 EMBARK A TION A T CADIZ. 
 
 The Indians brought to Barcelona by Columbus are 
 baptized, the King, the heir-apparent, and the Queen 
 herself standing as sponsors ; the whole affair being 
 conducted according to the ecclesiastical magnificence 
 of the times. She is instructing the Admiral to deal 
 kindl}^ with the natives of the new country, and 
 punish all such as impose on them or put stumbling- 
 blocks in the way of their conversion to the faith. To 
 Bernardo Buil, the Benedictine monk selected by the 
 Pope as his apostolical vicar, she gives the sacred 
 vestments and vessels of her own chajDcl. He and 
 his twelve consecrated assistants must do all they can 
 to establish a church in the new world. 
 
 The scene of active preparation is now transferred 
 to the harbor of Cadiz, from which the fleet is to sail. 
 Seventeen vessels in all are here — three stately 
 carracks, several yacht-like crafts of light draft for 
 coasting and exploring ; the rest are caravels, rounded 
 up at prow and stern after the picturesque st\de of 
 that time. An extensive fleet, this, compared with the 
 three small vessels which sailed from Palos less than 
 a year ago ! From every direction the stores of out- 
 fit and provisions and the tide of living things flow in. 
 Here comes a stock of cows ; also horses, asses, and 
 other beasts ; here are farm implements and seeds of 
 all the grains, vines, and fruit trees of all kinds — ever^^- 
 thing of the kind needed in stocking a new country. 
 It is a sort of entry of Noah's Ark on a large scale. 
 
 But the people ! — see them crowd and throng ! No 
 opening of prisons now ; no persuasion whatever 
 necessary. " Men were ready to leap into the sea to 
 swim, if it had been possible, into those new-found 
 
THE PEOPLE WHO EMBARK. j-y 
 
 parts," says one who lived near that time. At first 
 the number permitted to go had been limited to i,ooo; 
 but, under the pressure, it soon rose to 1,200, and 
 finall^MS supposed to have reached in all nearl}- 1,500. 
 In addition to all the crews, artisans, laborers, and 
 officers, here was the adventurer, ready for good luck 
 or bad, as the case might be, expecting, somehow, to 
 get an immense amount of gold. Here was the 
 pleasure-seeker, dreaming of some elysium of easy 
 delectation and unparalleled scenes of beaut}^ Here 
 was the soldier, looking for unheard-of feats in arms. 
 Finally, here were those who merel}^ wanted to go, 
 they could scarcely tell why, but managed to move 
 along with the crowd, unchallenged, and stow them- 
 selves away unseen. All, all expecting, somehow, to 
 pick up an immense fortune. 
 
 But there are some here who must not be lost in the 
 crowd — Alonzo de Ojeda, a dashing, daring young 
 soldier from the Moorish wars, and favorite of the 
 Duke of Medina-Celi ; Diego, youngest brother of 
 Columbus ; Las Casas, father of the famous bishop 
 and apostle to the Indians, and also an uncle ; Juan 
 Ponce de Leon, of Florida fame afterwards ; Juan de 
 la Cosa, who made the first map of the new world, 
 and Dr. Chanca, of Seville, one of the chief chroniclers 
 of the voyage. 
 
 Strikingly impressive must have been that last day 
 in port. The twelve ecclesiastics, under their leader, 
 would see to it that the accustomed religious rites 
 were performed by all the crews. Friends embraced 
 each other. Not only from the masts did gay banners 
 float, but brilliant colored fabrics decorated many of 
 
lyS THE FLEET LEA VES THE HARBOR. 
 
 the ships. The royal standard was on the stern of 
 every vessel. Pipers, harpers, clarions, and trumpets 
 vied with each other, and " held in mute astonishment 
 the neriads and even the sirens with their sweet modu- 
 lations." Cheers rent the air, and cannon thundered 
 across the waters. 
 
 The morning of the 25th of September dawned 
 auspiciously. Before sunrise the voices of the sailors 
 were heard, as they weighed anchors and hoisted their 
 sails. The vessels fall into line, and are escorted out onto 
 the deep b}^ Venetian galleys. Surely this is a sud- 
 den rise of glory for the Admiral, one of which his 
 excitable nature must be intensely conscious. 
 
 A week of uneventful sailing passes, and on the ist 
 of October the fleet reaches the Gran Canaria. Here 
 the}^ stop to repair a leaky ship. On the 5th they 
 reach Gomera, where they remain tvv^o days to com- 
 plete their outfit. Finding here all the thriving indus- 
 tries of civilized life, they take in, not merely wood 
 and water, but also increase their stock of domestic 
 animals — calves, goats, sheep, and the swine from which 
 descended the abundant suppl}^ of these animals for 
 which the new world is afterwards noted, some of 
 them even reverting to the original wild state. Domes- 
 tic fowls also are taken in, and seeds and plants for 
 the orange, the lemon, melons, &c. 
 
 On the 7th they are under way again, but for six 
 days they are becalmed among these islands. On the 
 13th, however, a fresh breeze swells their sails, and 
 they bear to the south of the course of the former 
 voyage, for the Admiral is desirous of seeing those 
 islands inhabited by " man-eaters," said to lie south- 
 east of Hayti. 
 
STORM A T SEA . i yg 
 
 As they are now out on the wide sea,. Columbus 
 gives sealed directions to the several capiains, to be 
 opened only if the vessels become scattered, in order * 
 that none may fail to make their port at La Navidad. 
 Las Casas says these instructions were under seal in 
 order that even the captains might be dependent on 
 Columbus for their course to the new world, and no one 
 be able to divulge the secret. As they now swept on 
 charmingly in the track of the trade-winds their only 
 hindrance was the tardy, heavy sailing of the Ad- 
 miral's ship. Dr. Chanca thought they had lost one- 
 fourth of their time on the voyage on account of her. 
 Ten days passed and still they were sailing grandly. 
 But where are those great tracts of sea-weeds which 
 were encountered on the former voyage ? They are 
 away to the north, and are not needed this time to 
 remind the timid sailors of land. Now the ships are 
 outward bound for a definite port, everj^ e3^e antici- 
 pating the most magnificent landfall at the end of the 
 voyage. 
 
 As the end of the month approached they were sur- 
 prised by drenching rains, sharp lightnings, and crash- 
 ing thunder. For hours the fleet was tempest-tossed, 
 and danger, dark and threatening, prevailed. In the 
 language of Syllacius, a contemporary writer, " Their 
 yards were broken, their sails torn, their ropes snapped 
 asunder, the timbers creaked, the decks were floating 
 with brine, some ships hung suspended on the sum- 
 mits of. the waves, while to others the yawning floods 
 disclosed the bottom between the billows." But, lo ! 
 the clear glow of lights at the tips of the masts and 
 yards of the ships, especially the Admiral's ship, as- 
 
j8o ST. ELMO'S LIGHTS. 
 
 sures one and all that the good St. Elmo is present 
 with his candles and will secure the stilling of the 
 tempest. According to the custom of sailors, under 
 the spell of this time-honored superstition, the crews, 
 with tears of joy, salute the saint by chanting their 
 '' sacred hymns " and " offering prayers." " Forth- 
 with the tempest began to abate, the sea to remit its 
 fur};^, the waves their violence, and the surface of the 
 waves became as smooth as polished marble." So 
 says Coma, a writer of that time. Herrera, a Spanish 
 historian, referring to the same nautical superstition 
 occurring in the famous voyage of Magellan, says : 
 " During these great storms, they said that St. Blmo 
 appeared at the topmast with a lighted candle, and 
 sometimes with two, upon which the people shed tears 
 of joy, receiving great consolation, and saluted him 
 according to the custom of mariners. He remained 
 visible for a quarter of an hour, and then disappeared 
 with a great flash of lightning which blinded the peo- 
 ple." Both Pliny and Seneca mention a similar super- 
 stition as prevailing among Roman mariners, who 
 attributed the lights to Castor and Pollux, tutelary 
 divinities of sailors in ancient times. Hence the sign 
 which St. Paul saw on the Alexandrian ship, referred 
 to in Acts viii, ii. These lights of St. Elmo are 
 now known to be simpl}^ a natural phenomenon. 
 When storm-clouds, heavily charged with electricity, 
 float low over the earth, an electrical communication 
 takes place between them and such projecting points 
 as church-spires and masts of ships, causing them to 
 glow with a blue-white light, which may continue for 
 a number of seconds or even minutes. 
 
LAND IN SIGH7. i8i 
 
 Saturday evening, November 2d, finds the crews 
 weary with the voyage, which must have been im- 
 mensely greater than most of them had ever expe- 
 rienced. The sailors, too, are tired with bailing out the 
 water from leak}^ ships. It would seem, also, that 
 the suppl}^ of fresh water was becoming scant, and 
 that some wsre suffering from thirst. The pilots cast 
 up their reckonings, some concluding that tlic}^ were 
 780 leagues from the Canaries, and others making the 
 distance 800 leagues. The Admiral is looking sharph^ 
 at the sky and sea, and is watching the shifting puffs 
 of wind. He is sure, from the color of the water, the 
 motion of the waves, the changing winds, and the fit- 
 ful showers, that laud is near. With his wonted 
 caution, he therefore gives orders to take in sail, and 
 watch carefully throughout the night. 
 
 The first light of Sunday morning gilds the top of 
 a high mountain directly ahead. All are cheered with 
 the cr}^ of " land " from the mast-head of the Admiral's 
 ship. Shouts of joy ring out upon the waves from 
 the whole fleet. Dominica shall be the name of the 
 majestic island heaving in full view, sa3^s Columbus, 
 for is it not Sunday ? As the ships move on, other 
 islands, clad in el3'sian beaut3^ rise above the horizon 
 like beatific visions. Flights of brightly colored, 
 noisy parrots and other brilliant tropical birds are 
 winging their way from one island to another, and the 
 wind from off the land is laden with sweet odors. 
 Every vessel now becomes a sanctuary. The decks 
 bustle with the crews and passengers, and the united 
 fleet gives thanks for the prosperous vo\'age, and chants 
 the impressive service of the church, including the 
 
jS2 guadaloupe. 
 
 Salva Rcgina. Surely this is a fitting manner of 
 saluting the Nciv World on the Lordh day. 
 
 Pvvery one is eager to set foot on the land, but Co- 
 lumbus can find no good anchorage for the fleet along 
 this island, so they sail to the next one of large size, 
 which he names Mariagalante, after his ship. Here 
 they land and set up the ro3'al banner, taking pos- 
 session, by means of the usual ceremony-, of this, along 
 with the other five islands the}^ have just passed. 
 But are there no inhabitants in this luxuriant forest 
 redolent with spices ? Is there no eye to behold these 
 brilliant flowers ? — no hand to pluck this luscious 
 fruit ? They search in vain. The island is a solitiide. 
 
 As nothing could be so interesting here as some 
 specimen of humanit}^, they make sail for the next 
 large island. Another night is spent on the water, and 
 the dawn reveals a most romantic landscape. A vol- 
 canic peak rises to an immense height, and cataracts, 
 pouring down its sides, appear like water falling out of 
 heaven. Columbus, recalliug a promise made to the 
 monks of " Our Lady of Guadaloupe," in Estremadura, 
 names this large and wonderful island Guadaloupe. 
 
 The next day they land and pass a week of sight- 
 seeing. Here is the first village in the New World ! — 
 desolate and forsaken, however, excepting the infants 
 and little ones, whom the terrified mothers have left be- 
 hind in their flight. But their frightened, innocent 
 staring is soon diverted by gentle caresses and by those 
 tinkling hawk's bells and other bright trinkets which 
 the strangers bind upon their naked arms. 
 
 Let us look around upon this strange village ! — upon 
 this scene in human life forever passed away ! The 
 
A VILLAGE OF T//E NATfVES. 183 
 
 houses — about thirty, built of logs or poles, interwoven 
 with branches and huge reeds and thatched with the 
 immense, tough leaves of the palm — are not constructed 
 after the circular^ wigwayn style, so common on most 
 other islands, but are square and cotiag£-iike^ with 
 porticoes, the posts of which are sometimes carved to rep- 
 resent objects — serpents iu one instance. And they are 
 built around a square, in truly social style. Let us enter 
 and examine the furniture. Ah ! here is the hammock, 
 the Indian bed, which is to add a novelty to civilized 
 luxury and a new word to our language. It is made 
 of a loose, rope-like twisting of cotton, tied in a net-like 
 form, and hung by cords. For dishes, here is the cala- 
 bash, rude earthen bowls, and, O horrors ! human 
 .skulls for drinking vessels ! Here are fabrics of cot- 
 ton — " many cotton sheets,'' says Dr. Chanca, " so well 
 woven as to be in no way inferior to those of our 
 country " — and also cotton 3'arn and the crude wool. 
 Here are huge bows and arrows tipped with bone 
 — bones of human shins, the best judges think. Dr. 
 Chanca mentions arrows pointed " with tortoise-shell " 
 and " fi.sh spines," " barbed like coarse saws." 
 
 The same author — and he was an eye-witness of the 
 very scenes we ar(s now describing — says of these 
 islanders, the Caribs : "In their attacks upon the 
 neighboring islands, these people capture as many of 
 the women as they can, especially those who are young 
 and beautiful, and keep them as concubines; and so 
 great a number do they carry off that in fifty houses 
 no men were to be seen, and out of the number of the 
 captives more than twenty were young girls. These 
 women also say that the Caribbees use them with such 
 
i84 
 
 CARIB CRUELTY TO CAPTIVES. 
 
 cruelty as would scarcely be believed, and that they 
 eat the children which they bear to them, and only 
 bring up those which they have by their native wives. 
 Such of their male enemies as they can take alive 
 they bring to their houses to make a feast of them, 
 and those who are killed they devour at once. They 
 say that man's flesh is so good that there is nothing 
 like it in the world ; and this is pretty evident, for of 
 the bones which we found in their houses they had 
 gnawed everything that could be gnawed, so that 
 nothing remained of them but what was too tough to 
 be eaten ; in one of the houses we found the neck of 
 a man undergoing the process of cooking in a pot. 
 When they take any boys prisoners they dismember 
 them and make use of them until they grow up to 
 manhood, and then w^hen they wish to make a feast 
 they kill and eat them, for they say that the flesh of 
 bo3'S and women is not good to eat. Three of these 
 boys came fleeing to us thus mutilated."^ 
 
 Now let us see what there is aj'ound the houses of 
 this strange village. Here are domesticated geese, 
 possibly ducks, not unlike those of Europe ; and par- 
 rots as large as the common fowl and of the most 
 striking contrasts of brilliant plumage — the blue, 
 gTeen, and scarlet being illuminated with the lightest 
 shades, even to white. Here may also be some of those 
 dogs more or less common to the islands throughout, 
 ''of various colors," some of them "like large house 
 dogs," some of them like " beagles," but none of them 
 
 1 Syllacius sajs, " It is their custom to dismember the male children and 
 young slaves whom they capture, and fatten them like capons. They feed 
 with greater care those that are thin of flesh and emaciated, as we do 
 wethers." 
 
KITCHEN MIDDENS. 
 
 185 
 
 able to bark. But here is something — probably in the 
 rude cottage garden — at once fragrant, curious to the 
 eye, and delicious to the taste — the pineapple. 
 
 Syllacius says, " Hares, serpents, and lizards of 
 monstrous size are produced in this 'island. There 
 are also dogs which do not bark, and are not subject 
 to canine madness. They divide these at the spine, 
 and, after roasting them slightly, satisfy their hunger 
 with them when human flesh cannot be obtained. 
 They have birds of various kinds, among these a pro- 
 digious number of parrots." 
 
 In one house thej^ find what seems to be an iron pot, 
 since thought to have been made of a peculiar stone, 
 as iron was not found in that region. But here is a 
 curiosity among savages — the stern-post of a vessel ! 
 This must have drifted across the ocean from some 
 civilized country. Perhaps it is a part of the wreck of 
 the Santa Maria. Now all stand aghast at the sight 
 of a pile of human bones — probably the remains of 
 many an unnatural repast. 
 
 The fleet now moved on some six miles, and anchored 
 in another harbor. The island, some seventy miles 
 long, consisted of magnificent mountains and fertile 
 plains. Small towns were found here and there along 
 the coast, but the inhabitants had fled in terror at the 
 sight of the sails. Those who landed succeeded, how- 
 ever, in taking a number of women and several small 
 boys, all captives, who were glad of an opportunity to 
 escape, and were not only greatly relieved but delighted 
 when they were given to understand that these remark- 
 able strangers were opposed to eating human beings. 
 " During the seven days that the Spaniards remained 
 
i86 STORT OF THE CAPTIVES. 
 
 ill this island," says Syllacius, " many fugitives and 
 female captives from the Caribs sought refuge in the 
 ships. These being received with humanity and lib- 
 erally supplied with food concluded that the gods 
 had come for' their deliverance. When they were 
 advised by the Spaniards to return to the Caribs, they 
 threw themselves at their feet as suppliants, and some 
 clasped their arms round the masts, entreating, with 
 floods of tears, that they should not be driven awa}^ to 
 fall again into the hands of the Caribs, to be butchered 
 like sheep." From these captives, through their inter- 
 preters, the Spaniards succeeded in drawing out quite 
 a little information about the islands. 'It soon 
 became apparent that several of the more important 
 of them were in league, and that they made war upon 
 the remaining islands in their vicinity. They would 
 even venture out on the sea in their canoes, made of 
 hollowed-out trunks of trees, to the distance of a hun- 
 dred and fifty leagues. They were very expert with 
 the bow and arrow, the latter being not only tipped 
 with bone or some other hard substance, but also 
 charged with the juice of poisonous herbs. 
 
 ]\Ian3^, indeed, were the startling facts which their 
 much-relieved captives had succeeded in communicat- 
 ing. And now great was their alarm, at night, to 
 find that one of the captains and eight men were 
 missing. vStraying away without permission, the}' had 
 become bewildered and lost in the dense tangled woods. 
 Early the next morning the Admiral sent out parties 
 in various directions to blow their trumpets and scour 
 the woods, while guns and arquebuses were .fired from 
 the ships along the shore ; but those sent out returned 
 
CAR IB WOMEN. 1 87 
 
 at night without sight or sound of the lost. And 
 what shocking spectacles they had witnessed ! — limbs 
 of human bodies hung up in the houses, as if curing 
 for provision ; the head of a youth, so recently severed 
 from the bod}' that the blood was 3'et dripping from it, 
 and parts of his body were roasting before the fire, 
 along with the savory flesh of geese and parrots. 
 
 During the day several natives had been gazing on 
 the boats in the distance, but the}^ fled when the}' were 
 approached. Also some captive women appealed to 
 them for protection. These they decked out with 
 hawk's bells and beads, and sent them back to the 
 shore, hoping to entice the men. But they soon 
 returned, stripped of their ornaments, and begged to 
 be taken on board. Interviewing these they learned 
 that the chief was now away in search of victims, hav- 
 ing with him ten canoes and some three hundred men. 
 Meanwhile, the women, who could handle the bow 
 nearly as well as the men, were left in defence of the 
 islands. Dr. Chanca wrote, " We were enabled to 
 distinguish which of the women were natives and 
 which were captives by the Caribbees w^earing on 
 each leg two bands of woven cotton, the one fastened 
 round the knee and the other round the ankle ; by 
 this means they make tlie calves of their legs large 
 and the above-mentioned parts very small, which I 
 imagine that they regard as a matter of prettiness." 
 
 But vv/hat was to be done for the missing? Alonzo 
 de Ojeda, always ready for some daring adventure, 
 offered his services. With forty men, he undertook 
 to search the island. They went a long distance into 
 the interior, blew trumpets in the valleys and on the 
 
l83 A CHARMING COUNTRT. 
 
 mountains, waded many streams, tore their way 
 tlirough almost impenetrable tangles of briers and. 
 bushes, but could find no trace of the lost. 
 
 But the country ! — its fertilit}^ the aromatic trees 
 and shrubs ; the bright flowers, of every form and 
 hue ; the fruits, at once beautiful, fragrant, and luscious ; 
 and the birds, the brilliant plumage of which had the 
 lustre of gems in the sun. Even the butterflies and 
 beetles, so large and so resplendent, must have 
 charmed them. And what quantities of honey the}^ 
 had found, both in hollow trees and in clefts of rocks ! 
 
 As the crews had now taken in water, washed their 
 clothes, and recreated themselves along the shore, the 
 fleet was ordered to sail. At the last moment, the 
 missing men arrived, in the most pitiable state of 
 exhaustion. In their bewildered wanderings, the}^ 
 had scaled rocks, waded streams, torn their way 
 through briers and tangled vines, climbed trees in 
 fruitless eftbrt to see the stars and so find their posi- 
 tion as they were accustomed to do at sea, and traversed 
 forests so dense that they were almost dark at midday. 
 Finally reaching the shore, they had happened to go 
 in the direction of the ships. Native women and bo^^s 
 they had brought, but had seen no men. 
 
 The Indians kept telling Columbus that the mainland 
 was to the south, but he, having La Navidadimmediatel}' 
 in view, sailed to the northwest. Through a continuous 
 archipelago of the most enchanting islands the fleet 
 passed, the Admiral giving a name to each as the}' 
 went along. 
 
 On the 14th, as the weather became threatening, he 
 made harbor in an island called A^^ay by the natives, 
 
A FIGHT WITH THE CAR IBS. 189 
 
 but which he named Santa Cruz. They were still 
 among the ferocious Caribs. The boat which landed 
 found, as usual, a village without men, and most of the 
 women and bo3^s which the}^ took to the ships were 
 captives, taken by these warriors in their usual way. 
 Meanwhile, a canoe has come round a point, and, ap- 
 proaching the ships, the men and two women gaze in 
 astonishment at the fleet — a group of huge figures 
 which must have been novel indeed to them. A boat 
 steals hard upon them before they are aware of it. 
 They attempt to escape, plying their paddles like 
 witches, but the boat cuts off their retreat. The 
 natives seize their bows, and the arrows come whizzing 
 so closely that the Spaniards shield themselves with 
 their bucklers. The women are as fierce and take as 
 close aim as the men, one of them sending an arrow 
 clear through a buckler and wounding a Spaniard. 
 Seeing that several of their men are wounded, the 
 Spaniards run their boat into the broadside of the 
 canoe and upset it. But these Caribs can fight about 
 as well in water as in their canoe ; and one Spaniard 
 feels the deadly wound of a poisoned arrow, sent by one 
 of the women, and afterwards dies in consequence. 
 
 " At last,'' says Syllacius, " they were captured and 
 taken to the Admiral. One of them was pierced through 
 in seven places, and his intestines protruded from his 
 wounds. Since it was believed that he could not be 
 healed, he was thrown into the sea ; but emerging to 
 the surface, with one foot upraised and with his left 
 hand holding his intestines in their place, he swam 
 courageously toward the shore. This caused great 
 alarm to the Indians who were brought along as inter- 
 
jgQ A SAVAGE NERO. 
 
 preters, for tlie^^ dreaded that the cunning Caribs, 
 taking- to flight, would contrive some more savage 
 schemes of vengeance. They accordingly persisted 
 obstinately in maintaining the opinion that those v^^ho 
 were caught should be put out of the wa}^ The Carib 
 was therefore recaptured near thp shore, bound hand 
 and foot more tightly, and again thrown headlong into 
 the sea. This resolute barbarian swam still more 
 eagerly towards the shore, till, pierced with many 
 arrows, he at length expired. Scarcely had this been 
 done, when the Caribs came running to the shores in 
 great numbers — a horrible sight. They were of a dark 
 color, fierce aspect, stained with red interspersed with 
 various colors, for the purpose of increasing the ferocity 
 of their looks. One side of their heads was shorn, the 
 other side covered with straight black hair hanging 
 down at full length. From these also many captives 
 fled to the ships, as it were to the altars of safety, com- 
 plaining loudly of the cruelty and ferocity of the 
 Caribs." 
 
 Peter Martyr can scarcely deliver himself of the sen- 
 sations of horror at the sight of these Caribs when 
 brought to Spain. Tall of stature, frowning and defiant 
 in countenance ; their long, coarse hair ; circles of paint 
 around the eyes ; bands of cotton above and below the 
 muscles of the arms and legs, causing them to swell — 
 all rendered them most hideous and terrifying. They 
 were, however, a brave race, the mothers teaching their 
 children to use the bow and arrow w^hile scarcely more 
 than infants. Their hardy, roaming life developed 
 their intelligence ; and w^hile the neighboring tribes 
 could measure time only by the days and nights and 
 
CONVERTED INDIANS. igi 
 
 the sun and moon, they could make a fair attempt at 
 calculating times and seasons by the stars. 
 
 But enough of the Caribs. The fleet moved on past 
 Santa Ursula and her eleven thousand virgins till it 
 reached Porto Rico, which was the home of most of the 
 captives taking refuge with the Spaniards. On the 
 west end they found a fine harbor, abounding in fish. 
 Here was a native village, with a public square, a main 
 road, a terrace — all in all, quite an artistic, home-like 
 place. But every soul had fled — ever\^thing was silent 
 as death. 
 
 Columbus is nearing Hayti and is anxious for his 
 garrison at the fort. As the fleet passes along the 
 north side of the island, they barely touch in a few 
 places. Once a boat is sent ashore with two caravels to 
 guard it, while the sailor is buried who died from the 
 poisoned arrow of the Caribs. On reaching the Gulf 
 of Samana, where the affray with the arrows occurred 
 on the previous voyage, Columbus sent ashore one of 
 the young men taken from thence to Spain. This and 
 one other were the only natives left of the seven who 
 had left Spain with the fleet, five having died on the 
 way. He was finelj^ dressed and highU^ ornamented. 
 The Admiral expected much from this attractively 
 attired convert to the Christian faith, and the youth 
 had made many fair promises, but he never returned. 
 The L*ucayan, named Diego Colon at his baptism, after 
 the Admiral's brother, became a very efiicient interpreter 
 of the natives, and remained faithful to the Spaniards 
 till death. 
 
 In the harbor of Monte Christi, at the mouth of the 
 River of Gold — so named because gold had been found 
 
JQ2 ^^ ^^ VIDAD. 
 
 in its sands on the previous voyage — the fleet anchors 
 again, the Admiral having some thought of a settle- 
 ment here. As the crews stroll along the shore and 
 into the woods, the}^ find leveral decaying bodies, " one 
 with a rope round his neck, and the other with one 
 round his foot." " On the following day they found 
 two other corpses farther on, and one of these was 
 observed to have a great quantity of beard" (Chanca). 
 Here are indications which awaken fears for the gar- 
 rison at La Navidad. 
 
 But why do these natives come on board the ships 
 for traffic with so much confidence ? Surely they can- 
 not be guilty of murdering the white men. The night 
 has settled down and left a mere outline of the moun- 
 tains against the sky when the fleet reaches the harbor 
 of La Navidad, so the anchors are dropped about a 
 league from land. Two cannon are fired. Every 
 ear listens for a response from the guns on the fortress, 
 but hears only the echo as it rolls along the shore. 
 They strain their eyes for some signal-light, but all is 
 darkness and silence. Where are the fires of the na- 
 tives which gleamed through the forest in every 
 direction when Columbus was here before ? 
 
 The hours drag on slowly, for every one is in sus- 
 pense. At midnight they hear the paddles of a canoe 
 approaching. Listen ! the paddles cease and a voice 
 is calling — calling for the Admiral. The natives are 
 directed to the flag-ship, but will not come on board 
 till they are assured by the person of the Admiral, 
 made clear in a strong light. One of them is a cousin 
 of the good cacique Guacanagari, and, coming on 
 board, he presents to the Admiral two masks, " gilt- 
 edged " as usual. 
 
DESOLATION OF THE HARBOR. 193 
 
 But to the story of the fort. Columbus must know 
 what is become of his men. They depend on the La- 
 cayan interpreter, and he cannot understand these 
 Haytians very well, the dialect being somewhat differ- 
 ent. If these latter are rather reticent at first, a liberal 
 supply of wnne at the repast given them makes them 
 quite communicative, and by and by a fairly connected 
 story is elicited. Some of the men at the fort had 
 sickened and died. Others had quarrelled among 
 themselves. Others had gone away into the island 
 and taken wives. Caonabo, the mountain cacique, had 
 attacked Guacanagari, had wounded him and burnt 
 his village. Hence it was that the friendly chief was 
 not present to welcome him. 
 
 This narration of facts was sad enough, but it re- 
 lieved the Admiral of suspense and left him the 
 hope of still finding some of his men in the island. 
 At any rate, Guacanagari had been faithful, and his 
 people were still friendly. 
 
 When the next morning dawned Columbus was 
 impressed with the changed aspect of the place. The 
 year before, every part of the island teemed with life. 
 Here and there the smoke of the hamlet ascended. 
 The natives swarmed along the shore. Canoes were 
 coming and going about the harbor. Now there was 
 simply desolation and silence. A boat was sent ashore 
 to examine the fort, and the explorers found that the 
 evidences confirmed their fears. Everything was in 
 ruins. Here and there were fragments of chests, 
 spoiled provisions, and weather-worn garments. Yon- 
 der lurked several Indians behind the trees, closely 
 eyeing every movement. The Admiral, distressed at 
 
1^4 SEARCH ABOUT THE FORT. 
 
 this report, came ashore himself the following morn- 
 ing. He made the closest search among the ruins and 
 around for some distance, finding broken utensils and 
 shreds of garments among the grass and weeds. Ar- 
 quebuses and cannon, fired from the fleet, thundered 
 along the shore, in order to arouse any of the garrison 
 who might be hiding away in the neighborhood, but 
 there was no response. They now explored the site 
 of Guacanagari's village, and found only charred 
 ruins. As Columbus had ordered the officers of La 
 Navidad to bury what treasure they might have, or 
 throw it into the well in case of sudden danger, they 
 excavated at various points and cleaned out the ditch 
 and the well, but nothing could be found. While all 
 this was in progress the Admiral took the boats along 
 the shore, partly to extend the search and partly to 
 find a better site for his settlement. About three 
 leagues distant was a hamlet which evidently had been 
 abandoned in haste. The houses^ — almost overgrown 
 with grass and weeds — and the grass and weeds for a 
 long distance around were thoroughly searched. Here 
 were stockings, pieces of cloth, the anchor of the 
 Santa Maria, and a beautiful Moorish robe carefully 
 folded as when brought from Spain. Meanwhile, not 
 far from the fortress, some of the men dug out here 
 and there, from under the grass, eleven bodies, 
 evidently in European clothing. These they gave a 
 formal Christian burial. 
 
 * Dr. Chanca sajs, concerning this village : " These people are so 
 degraded that they have not even sense to select a fitting place to live ; those 
 who dwell on the shore build for themselves the most miserable hovels that 
 can be imagined, and all the houses are so covered with grass and dampness 
 that I wonder how they can continue to exist." — R. H. Major's " Select 
 Letters" p. ^2. 
 
DESTRUCTION OF THE GARRISON. 195 
 
 By and by they succeeded in gaining the confidence 
 of a few natives, and the Lacayan interpreter drew 
 enough out of them so that a pretty clean thread of 
 narrative of the events sought after was traced. At 
 the departure of Columbus, all his good instructions 
 had been disregarded by the men under Arana. They 
 coveted the gold ornaments and other items of value 
 among the natives, and resorted to violence in order to 
 obtain them. They quarrelled with one another, and 
 the under of&cers had rebelled against Arana. Not- 
 withstanding Guacanagari's indulgence of two or more 
 wives to a man, they had outraged the wives and 
 daughters of the Indians. They had roamed at will 
 about the island, as if in perfect safety. The two 
 lieutenants, Gutierrez and Bscobado, not being able to 
 rule over Arana, had seceded with nine adherents and 
 gone away into Cibao after gold. Here, Caonabo, the 
 Carib adventurer who had become cacique of the 
 mountain regions, and was called " Lord of the Golden 
 House," soon put them to death. He had watched 
 the intruders with a jealous eye from his mountain 
 fastness, and now improved his opportunity. Form- 
 ing an alliance with a neighboring chief, he stole the 
 march upon Guacanagari and La Navidad while the 
 latter contained but ten men and they fast asleep. 
 He completely sacked the fortress and the entire neigh- 
 borhood, wounding the cacique with his own hand. 
 Not only those of the garrison who were within the 
 stockade, but all the Spaniards quartered among the 
 Indians in the vicinity, were sought out and put to 
 death. A few who tried to escape by taking to the 
 sea were drowned. 
 
196 
 
 CHARACTER OF THE GARRISON. 
 
 \ 
 
 Such is the first chapter in the history of civilized 
 life in the New World. Herrera sa3^s that the men 
 left at La Navidad by Columbus were mostly of the 
 baser sort, crude in mind and low in morals. If so — 
 and their conduct sustains this view — was not the new 
 colony at Hayti about as well off without them ? 
 
CHAPTER XI. 
 
 THE NEW ENTERPRISES. 
 
 j AVING become clearly informed as to the sad 
 fate of La Navidad, the location of the new 
 colon}^ claimed immediate attention. The 
 site of the fortress was abandoned not only because of 
 its painful associations, but on account of the un- 
 healthfulness of the low, damp country around it and 
 because there was no stone or lime for building. A 
 caravel was sent out in one direction, therefore, while 
 the Admiral, with a small party, went out in another, 
 in order to reconnoitre. When both parties returned, at 
 night, the former related a very interesting diversion. 
 While they were sailing along the shore a canoe with 
 two natives came out to meet them. One of them was 
 a brother of Guacanagari. So said a pilot on board, 
 who had been on the former voyage. The chieftain 
 was residing scarcely three leagues away, with fifty 
 families around him ; and, as he was suffering from 
 his wound, he wished the Admiral to come and see him. 
 Dr. Chanca says, " The chief men of the party then 
 went on shore in the boat, and, proceeding to the place 
 where Guacanagari was, found him stretched on his 
 bed, complaining of a severe wound. The}^ conferred 
 with him and inquired respecting the Spaniards ; his 
 reply was in accordance with the account already 
 given by the other, viz., that the}^ had been killed b}'- 
 
jg8 MILITARY DISPLA T. 
 
 Caonabo and Mayreni, who also had wounded him in 
 the thig-h. In confirmation of his assertion he showed 
 them the limb, bound up, on seeing which they con- 
 cluded that his statement was correct. At their 
 departure he gave to each of them a jewel of gold, 
 according to his estimate of their respective merits. 
 The Indians beat the gold into very thin plates, in 
 order to make masks of it, and set it in a cement which 
 they make for that purpose. Other ornaments they 
 make of it to wear on the head and to hang in the ears 
 and nostrils, and for these also they require it to be 
 thin. It is not the costliness of the gold that they 
 value in their ornaments, but its showy appearance." 
 
 The next day Columbus prepared to visit the cacique, 
 whose brother called on him and again urged him to 
 come before he could get under way. It would be well 
 to make as great an impression as possible of the 
 power and magnificence of the Spaniards. The Ad- 
 miral and his train of a hundred of his best men were 
 arrayed in the most imposing style, their glittering 
 armor and rich attire producing a most unwonted effect 
 in this new world of simple ways. " With pipers and 
 drummers arranged in order, and line of battle formed, 
 they march to the residence of the cacique." The 
 chief was still reclining in his cotton hammock, sur- 
 rounded by his wives and his faithful subjects. Again 
 he related the tragedy of the garrison, shedding tears 
 most freely and assuring his listeners of the perilous 
 part he had taken in their defence. Here, too, were the 
 proofs as he pointed them out — scars on the bodies of 
 his people, evidently made by Indian weapons. 
 
 But this generous cacique would not be himself 
 
EXCHANGE OF PRESENTS. 
 
 199 
 
 without presents ; so he gives six hundred or upwards 
 of precious stones and jewels of various colors, a cap 
 
 MANNER OK NURSING THE SICK. 
 
 elaborately ornamented with jewels and containing one 
 of special fine effect and value, a hundred gold beads, 
 a gold coronet, and two calabashes filled with the precious 
 dust — the gold, in all, being equal to eight marks and 
 a half. What in return ? Glass beads and hawk's 
 bells, of course ; also knives, needles, pins, small 
 mirrors and various gew-gaws of copper — the latter far 
 more valuable than gold in the e3^es of the natives. 
 Some say that Columbus also decorated the chief with 
 his own inner vest or doublet, magnificentl}^ embroid- 
 ered and variegated with the most brilliant colors, in 
 Moorish style. 
 
 But the Admiral wished to see Guacanagari's 
 wound, his surgeon and Dr. Chanca — both present — 
 being skilful in the treatment of such cases. The 
 
200 
 
 G UIL TT OR NOT G UIL TT f 
 
 chief consented. As the crowd of people darkened 
 the wigwam, the doctor proposed to go out into the 
 light, which was accorded by the chieftain, leaning on 
 the arm of the Admiral. When the former was seated 
 and the surgeon began to untie the bandage, the 
 cacique said the wound was made by a stone. " It is 
 certain," says the doctor " that there was no more wound 
 on that leg than on the other ;" but it seemed sore to 
 the touch. As nearly two months had elapsed since 
 the disaster, the bruise may have disappeared exter- 
 nally, while the deeper effect of the rough missile at 
 least partially remained. Some of those present 
 could see nothing but a hoax in the whole matter. 
 The cacique was feigning all this in order to conceal 
 the guilty part he had taken in the massacre. 
 Father Buil, the Benedictine monk, especially, could 
 afford no charity whatever. The Admiral should 
 make an example of the perfidious wretch at once. 
 But Columbus had seen too much of the kindness of 
 this great-hearted man to doubt him now, unless there 
 was clear and unmistakable evidence against him. He 
 would therefore suspend judgment until further dis- 
 closures. It would be soon enough to claim indemni- 
 fication when a guilty complicity in the massacre was 
 certain. No ; the Admiral will be cordial. Calling his 
 interpreter, he explains the object of his voyage. He 
 visits these distant parts in order to improve the 
 inhabitants, making them kind to each other by teach- 
 ing them what is good. He will lead them to give up 
 all bad practices, that they may be under the protec- 
 tion of the Spanish monarchs, the best and most pow- 
 erful rulers in the world. And to Guacanagari, his inti- 
 
G UA CAN A GARPS A STONISHMENT. 201 
 
 mate friend and ally, lie will grant special protection. 
 These words brought the chieftain to his feet. Stamp- 
 ing on the ground and raising his eyes to heaven, he 
 gave a loud shout, to which the six hundred Indians 
 around him responded in a " tremendous acclamation." 
 At this the one hundred Spaniards in light armor were 
 so startled that they involuntarily grasped the hilts of 
 their swords, thinking that a battle with these savages 
 might be just at hand. 
 
 Columbus invited Guacanagari to his ship that same 
 night, and, though he still seemed to be suffering from 
 his wound, he ventured to gratify his curios it3^ If 
 the two small caravels of the previous A^ear's visit had 
 surprised him, what must have been his astonishment 
 on beholding this fleet of seventeen sail riding at 
 anchor in the harbor. As he approached he was 
 startled by the roll of drums, the striking of cymbals, 
 and the lightning and thunder of cannon. On board- 
 ing the Admiral's ship he saw the Carib prisoners, 
 who belonged to the cannibals of Buriquen. Peter 
 Mart3'r thinks he shuddered at the sight of them even 
 in chains. 
 
 It must have been no small pleasure to the Admiral 
 to escort his savage friend, so full of curiosity, through 
 the different ships, and witness his amazement on see- 
 ing the different parts of their structure, also the plants 
 and fruits of the Old World, but more especially the 
 animals — cattle sheep, swine — and the horses ! — what 
 magnitude, grace, and strength, and yet what submissive 
 docility, the}^ showed. Whether the fleet horse for the 
 race-course or the strong one for armor, their fine con- 
 dition, highly polished harnesses, and gay trappings 
 
202 GODS OR DE VILS ? 
 
 gave tliem a grand aspect. Then did not the Indians 
 suspect that these strange animals lived on human 
 
 flesh? 
 
 With this wonderful variety of useful creatures, our 
 domestic animals, the cacique had nothing to compare 
 but the small coney-like utia and a limited variety of 
 dumb dogs. Over against the domestic fowls the chief 
 might place the tame parrots, and possibly some kind 
 of geese or ducks ; but it is doubtful if he had ever seen 
 the hen which lays the golden Q<g%. Imagine the ele- 
 vation of mind which this chieftain must now have ex- 
 perienced, believing, as he did, that all these wonderful 
 things — ships, animals, and men — had just come from 
 heaven ! " The Europeans had no sooner entered on 
 this vast continent and the islands about it," says Las 
 Casas, "but the natives showed them all imaginable 
 kindness and respect, and were ready to worship them 
 as gods; but these soon took care to convince them of 
 their error, and to deliver them from the danger of fall- 
 ing into this sort of idolatry, b}^ treating them with all 
 manner of cruelties and tormenting them like so many 
 devils ; so that these barbarous people received as great 
 a turn in their thoughts concerning the Spaniards as 
 the barbarians of the island of Mileta did in respect of 
 St. Paul ; for as these believed him to be a god whom 
 they had just before taken for a murderer, so the other 
 really found them to be murderers whom they had a 
 little before esteemed as so many gods.'' But more 
 light on this by and by. 
 
 The cacique now descends from heavenly things to 
 those which are more earthly. The ten captive women 
 taken from the Caribs appeal to his amorous tempera- 
 
ALIENATION. 203 
 
 ment. Though his dialect is somewhat different from 
 theirs, the}?" can readily understand each other. How 
 tenderly he communes with that tall, stately beauty, 
 whom the Spaniards, in admiration, have named Cat- 
 alina. For, though escaped from the dreaded Caribs, is 
 she not still a captive ? 
 
 Now the Admiral and the chieftain dine together. 
 Surely in this cordial act of hospitalit3% if in any way, 
 old confidence and friendships may be revived. The 
 Admiral talks of coming to live with the cacique, of 
 building houses in the neighborhood, etc., etc. The 
 cacique is pleased with the plan, but is not the place 
 very low and damp and decidedly unhealthy ? Alas ! 
 no demonstration of cordialit}- can restore the ease and 
 delightful charm of the former intercourse. Were these 
 indeed heavenl}' visitors ? What about that covetous, 
 quarrelling, licentious garrison just laid among the 
 dead ? Loss of confidence — alienation — how destruc- 
 tive, how demoniacal the influence ! Even the symbols 
 of the Christian faith, to which these natives seemed 
 readily inclined, have become objects of suspicion. The 
 chief is not at all pleased to have that image of the 
 Virgin hung about his neck by the Admiral ! 
 
 Meanwhile, not a few of these gallant men and high 
 dignitaries among the Spaniards were regarding 
 Guacanagari with an evil eye. Father Buil especially 
 was not particularl}^ under the influence of that charity 
 which " hopeth all things " and which " thiuketh no 
 evil." Speaking to the Admiral a little aside, he sug- 
 gested the propriety of detaining the cacique as a prisoner 
 now that he was on board ship. But such treacherous- 
 ness and bad faith found no response from Columbus. 
 
204 SEA-NTMPHS. 
 
 The face mirrors the soul even to the eye of a savage. 
 Guacanagari felt ill at home amidst such obvious feel- 
 ings of mistrust and suspicion, and soon begged leave 
 to depart. 
 
 The next day there occurred that obscure and double 
 line of movement which generally follows the loss of 
 good faith even among those who are civilized. A 
 messenger came from the cacique to inquire when the 
 Admiral would leave. The next day, was the reply. 
 Then came a brother of the chieftain, along with others, 
 ostensibly to barter gold ; but he seemed quite as much 
 interested in conversing with the captive women as in 
 trade. Cataliua especially attracted his attention. By 
 and by he left. About midnight a light appeared on 
 the shore. All were now sleeping soundly except a 
 single watch, and so stealthily did the Indian women 
 let themselves down the side of the ship that they 
 were able to get away before the alarm could be given. 
 Like so many sea-nymphs, they struck out for the 
 shore ; and, though the sea was rough, they made the 
 full three miles to land before they could be overtaken. 
 Pursuing in the direction of the beacon-light, the men 
 captured four of the fugitives ; the rest, including the 
 stately Catalina, made good their escape. 
 
 The next morning the Admiral sent to Guacanagari, 
 asking him to cause search to be made for the fugi- 
 tives, and, in case they could be found, to send them 
 back to the ships. But lo ! when they arrived, " not a 
 soul " could be found. There had been a complete 
 removal of the village. The chieftain and his island 
 beauty were probably their taking " hone3nnoon " in the 
 mountains. This was only one more item to feed the 
 
A WOUNDED NATIVE. 205 
 
 suspicion of Father Buil and his colleagues. Scarcely 
 anything was now too bad to be believed of the kind- 
 hearted chief. But Columbus still held to his good 
 opinion of him. 
 
 " On the next morning," says Dr. Chanca, "the Ad- 
 miral resolved that, as the wind was adverse, it would 
 be well to go with the boats to inspect a harbor on the 
 coast at two leagues distance farther up,^ to see if the 
 formation of the land was favorable for a settlement, 
 and we went thither with all the ships' boats, leaving 
 the ships in the harbor. As we moved along the coast 
 the people manifested a sense of insecurity, and when 
 we reached the spot to which we were bound all the 
 natives had fled. While we were walking about this 
 place we found an Indian stretched on the hill-side, 
 close by the houses, with a gaping wound in his 
 shoulder, caused by a dart, so that he had been disabled 
 from fleeing any further. The natives of this island 
 fight with sharp darts, which they discharge from 
 cross-bows in the same manner as boys in Spain shoot 
 their small arrows, and which the}^ send with con- 
 siderable skill to a great distance ; and certainly upon 
 an unarmed people these weapons are calculated to do 
 serious injury. The man told us that Caonabo and his 
 people had wounded him and burnt the houses of Gua- 
 canagari." 
 
 It is strange that the Spaniards should have con- 
 tinued in uncertainty as to the course and manner of 
 the death of the garrison when so many different par- 
 ties testified essentially to the same thing. 
 
 Melchor Maldonado had been in the opposite direc- 
 
 ^ Port Dauphin. 
 
2o6 LANDING THE COLONY. 
 
 tion, to the eastward, and, coming into the dominions 
 of another cacique, who at first threatened him, at the 
 head of his warriors, but was soon conciliated, learned 
 that Guacanagari had indeed gone to the mountains. 
 
 All this exploring had simply convinced Columbus 
 that the low, damp country along the coast would be 
 too unhealthy for his colony, and that the absence of 
 stone would be a serious hindrance to building. But 
 there was pressing need of an immediate landing. 
 The people were weary of the ships, and the long con- 
 finement was telling heavily on the domestic animals. 
 Columbus determined, therefore, to go some distance 
 to the eastward, especially since he " had tidings of 
 gold in that direction." On the 7th of December the 
 fleet weighed anchor. " But the weather was so ad- 
 verse," says Dr. Chanca, " that it cost more labor to 
 sail thirty leagues in a backward direction than the 
 whole voyage from Spain, so that, what with the con- 
 trary wind and the length of the passage, three months 
 had elapsed before we set foot on land. It pleased 
 God, however, that through the check upon our 
 progress caused by contrary winds we succeeded in 
 finding the best and most suitable spot that we could 
 have selected for a settlement, where there was an 
 excellent harbor^ and abundance of fish, an article of 
 which we stood in great need from scarcity of meat. 
 
 "The land is very rich for all purposes. Near the 
 harbor there are two rivers ; one large, and another, of 
 moderate breadth, somewhat near it. The water is 
 of a very remarkable quality. On the bank of it is 
 being built a city, called Marta (Isabella), one side of 
 
 1 Port Isabella, ten miles east of Monte Christi. 
 
THE NATIVES BRING FOOD. 
 
 207 
 
 which is bounded by the water, with a ravine of cleft 
 rock, so that at that part there is no need of fortifica- 
 tion ; the other half is girt with a plantation of trees, 
 so thick that a rabbit could scarcely pass through it, 
 and so green that fire will never be able to burn it. A 
 channel has been commenced for a branch of the river, 
 which the managers say the}^ wall lead through the 
 middle of the settlement, and will place on it mills of 
 all kinds requiring to be worked b}' water. Great 
 quantities of vegetables have been planted, which cer- 
 tainly attain a more luxuriant growth here in eight 
 days than they w^ould in Spain in twenty. We were 
 frequently visited by numbers of Indians, among 
 whom were some of their caciques, or chiefs, and many 
 women. They all came loaded with agis^ a sort of 
 turnip, very excellent for food, which we dressed in 
 various ways. This food was so nutritious as to prove 
 a great support to all of us, after the privations we en- 
 dured when at sea, which in truth were more severe 
 than ever were suffered by man, and as we could not 
 tell what weather it would please God to send us on 
 our voyage, we were obliged to limit ourselves most 
 rigorously with regard to food, in order that, at all 
 events, we might at least have the means of supplying 
 life. 
 
 " The Indians barter gold, provisions, and every- 
 thing they bring with them for tags of lace, beads and 
 pins, and pieces of porringers and dishes. They all, 
 as I have said, go naked as they were born, except the 
 women of this island, who, some of them, wear a cover- 
 ing of cotton, which they bind around their hips, while 
 
 ^Yams. 
 
2o8 THE LANDING. 
 
 others use grass and leaves of trees. When they wish 
 to appear full dressed, both men and women paint 
 themselves, some black, others white and various 
 colors, in so many devices that the effect is very 
 laughable ; they shave some parts of their heads, and 
 in others wear long tufts of matted hair, which have 
 an indescribably ridiculous appearance ; in short, 
 whatever would be looked upon in our country as 
 characteristic of a madman is here regarded by the 
 highest of the Indians as a mark of distinction." 
 
 The site of the first Christian city in the New World 
 being thus determined, the disembarkation began. 
 Imagine the busy, bustling scene, as some 1,500 people, 
 pent upon shipboard for about three months, crowd 
 the gangwa3^s out onto this delightsome spot of green 
 earth. The common laborer, the skilled artisan, the 
 cavalier, the priest — all classes of the active kingdom 
 of Spain in that day were here rejoicing in the free- 
 dom and the charming novelty of the hour. Not less 
 interesting must it have been to witness the happy 
 liberation of the domestic animals, which had suffered 
 so severely from the long and unwonted confinement. 
 We imagine they must have looked somewhat lean and 
 gaunt. The dark holes in ships for so long a time 
 could not have furnished the conditions for a very 
 thrifty appearance. 
 
 But what a houseless, homeless state of things ! 
 Ah ! it is not all romance for such numbers of men and 
 beasts to be dumped out into a wilderness, without 
 proper enclosures for the latter or convenient shelter 
 for the former. Let not these gay cavaliers be too much 
 allured by the exuberance of tropical verdure around 
 
THE NE W TO WN. 209 
 
 them, by the mingling of fruit and flowers and the 
 nesting and singing of birds in mid-winter. The 
 bright stars above this torrid zone will look down upon a 
 land reeking with miasmas and fevers. 
 
 For some time to come this glassy sheet of water 
 constituting the broad harbor will mirror an active 
 scene. Long confinement has made every one alert 
 for the greatest activity. Engineers project the pub- 
 lic square and the streets, and masons and carpenters 
 make the atmosphere resound to their enterprises. 
 Farmers and gardeners begin to break the soil for 
 orchards and all kinds of husbandry, and a general 
 enthusiasm prevails. The walls of the church, the 
 public storehouse, and the Admiral's residence are ris- 
 ing — all of stone, and a whole town of cheap, tempo- 
 rary residences of wood, plaster, coarse reeds, etc., 
 come up almost as quickly as Jonah's gourd. Mere 
 extemporized tenements will do for the present ; more 
 solid structures can replace them by and by. But if 
 those more solid structures were ever reared, they 
 have long since disappeared, for the ruins of the 
 church, storehouse, and Admiral's residence are all 
 that remains of the long-since abandoned city of Isa- 
 bella. 
 
 The stern realities of pioneer life in an untried 
 climate soon became apparent. Long confinement, 
 sea-sickness, spoilt meat, and mouldy bread were a 
 poor preparation for the exposures of a life, without 
 houses, amidst the moisture and exhalations of dense 
 forests, lowlands, and slow-moving rivers, in a tropical 
 climate. Exhaustive labor on the part of those unac- 
 customed to it and used onlv to recreations in an old 
 
2IO THE DISAPPOINTMENT. 
 
 and highly cultivated country soon produced the 
 most depressing effects. 
 
 " The maladies of the mind mingled with those of 
 the body." The severest disappointment — than which 
 nothing is more depressing — was the inevitable conse- 
 quence of that delusion which possessed every mind 
 in respect to this newly discovered country. The 
 gallant soldier fresh from the Moorish wars, and antici- 
 pating rich conquests in the incomparably wealthy 
 territories of the Grand Khan, found himself in a 
 " forest primeval," swarming with naked savages of 
 the most timid character. Nowhere was there a foe 
 " worthy of his steel. "^ The speculator, who had laid 
 in his stock for trade in the land of gold and spices, 
 experienced a dull and unprofitable routine in dicker- 
 ing with destitute savages, giving beads, hawk's bells, 
 and gew-gaws generally for crude cotton yarn, par- 
 rots, and occasional bits of gold. The idle and indefi- 
 nite adventurer found himself absolutely without an 
 aim. All classes of laborers and artisans were obliged 
 to take things in the rough and to " rough it " in the 
 most literal sense. " One-third of our people have 
 fallen sick within the last four or five days," says Dr. 
 Chanca. This statement discloses something of the 
 kind of hospital which this new city of Isabella must 
 have been turned into in a short time. The Admiral 
 himself, overcome by the exertion, anxiety, and 
 immense sense of responsibility incident to his situa- 
 
 ^"The weapons they used," says Las Casas, '" were neither capable of 
 defending them, nor of offending their enemies to any purpose, and were 
 more like those that children use to play with than such as are fit for soldiers 
 to use in war." 
 
THE DISAPPOINTMENT. 21 1 
 
 tion, became prostrate, and could only give occasional 
 attention to the arduous and critical enterprises of the 
 hour. 
 
 The problems now confronting Columbus were the 
 most difficult possible. The first and most pressing 
 necessity was the relief of his colony. From the out- 
 set the store of provisions laid in had been inadequate 
 to the number of people; and as the wines were put 
 into poor casks, much of it was lost ; the beef and pork 
 were not such as they should have been, and the 
 horses accepted for the use of the colony seem after- 
 wards to have been exchanged on the sly by the 
 venders for others which were inferior. The great 
 extent of sickness incident to the long voyage and 
 the change of climate had well-nigh exhausted the 
 medicines. Here were over a thousand people in the 
 wilderness without even " 7nanna " to quell their mur- 
 murings. Neither could they supplement their scanty 
 fare by means of " snakes and lizards and spiders 
 and worms " picked out of rotten wood, after the 
 manner of the natives. « 
 
 If these people had possessed the genuine moral 
 principles and noble purposes which bore up the pil- 
 grims of the Mayflower during the snow and ice, 
 sickness and death of their first New England winter, 
 the case had, no doubt, been different ; but here was a 
 heterogeneous community, with but mixed and grovel- 
 ing motives at best, and, not even knowing in what 
 part of the globe they were, they had no manner of 
 conception of the nature of the enterprise before them. 
 Now place a foreigner over such a community and 
 under such circumstances, himself without experience 
 
212 PROSPECTS OF GOLD. 
 
 in governing and not even knowing the circumstances, 
 and say if it would not need an extraordinary miracle 
 to secure order and prosperity. 
 
 To govern and develop tliis first colony in the New 
 World would have been quite enough for any one man, 
 even if he had been well trained and experienced in 
 the work before him and was possessed of high pres- 
 tige in his nation, but this was only a fraction of what 
 was expected of Columbus. He was to bring forth- 
 with into Spain the fabulous wealth of the Indies, 
 such quantities of spices and gold^ as would load ships 
 of immense tonnage. As to spices, they had indeed 
 found even on " the sea-shore " " some spots showing 
 so many indications of various spices as naturally to 
 suggest the hope of the best results for the future," 
 but it would require experts, capital, and time even to 
 test the matter. Gold he had expected to find ready 
 to hand in large quantities, amassed by his garrison 
 against his return; and, over against his disappoint- 
 ment, he had set on foot an exploring expedition, of 
 two different parties — the dashing, daring Ojeda in one 
 direction and Gorbolan in another. These had brought 
 back very promising samples and the most glowing re- 
 ports — " things that appeared incredible," " and boasted 
 so much of the abundance of gold" that Columbus felt 
 " a hesitation in speaking and writing of it to their 
 Highnesses." On this point Dr. Chanca was about as 
 enthusiastic as Columbus. He says, " The party that 
 
 ^About this time it was reported " that a rock adjacent to a mountain 
 being struck with a club, a large quantity of gold burst out, and particles of 
 gold of indescribable brightness glittered all around like sparks." What 
 must have been expected from such a country ! 
 
HINDRANCES TO MINING. 313 
 
 went to Cibao saw gold in so many places that one 
 scarcely dares state the fact, for in truth the^^ found it 
 in more than fifty streamlets and rivers, as well as 
 upon their banks.'' One nugget found hy Ojeda 
 weighed nine ounces. This was sent to Spain to be 
 admired by such men as Peter Martj^r. If the rivers 
 rolled down their golden sands, and lumps of the 
 precious metal lay on the surface, what might be found 
 by thorough and systematic mining to a proper depth ? 
 
 But serious difficulties were to be overcome before 
 the Spanish ships could be loaded with the precious 
 metal. They needed passable roads, beasts of burden, 
 and shelter and protection — a fortress, for instance — in 
 the mining regions. But the greatest embarrassment 
 was the ill-health of the people. Those sent out in 
 good health would probably fall sick on the way. '' It 
 would be also extremely inconvenient to leave the 
 sick men here in the open air," writes the Admiral to 
 the sovereigns, " or in huts, with such food and defences 
 as they have on shore, although these Indians appear 
 every day to be more simple and harmless to those 
 who land for the purpose of making investigations. In 
 short, although they come every da^'- to visit us, it would 
 nevertheless be imprudent to risk the loss of our men 
 and our provisions, which might very easily happen, 
 if an Indian were only, with a lighted coal, to set fire 
 to the huts, for they ramble about both night and day ; 
 for this reason we keep sentinels constantly on the 
 watch while the dwellings are exposed and unde- 
 fended." 
 
 Twelve ships out of the seventeen which had come 
 from Spain were waiting in the harbor at a great 
 
2 1 4 THE " MEMORIALS 
 
 expense ; and tlie return back of some of them at least 
 with supplies for the colony, not later than May, was 
 most imperative. They must therefore sail at once, 
 even though they contained nothing — beyond the 
 tale of disaster concerning La Navidad — but golden 
 promises. 
 
 The condition of the new enterprise at this hour is 
 best illustrated by the so-called "memorial," drawn 
 up b}^ Columbus at Isabella, January 30, 1494. It is 
 designed for the sovereigns, but is addressed to Antonio 
 de Torres, who was about to command the returning 
 fleet. He was, no doubt, to make such running com- 
 ments in the presence of the sovereigns as the occa- 
 sion might require. This very interesting document is 
 in the famous Navarrete collection. In the margin of 
 each chapter or item is the reply of the sovereigns, 
 the documents thus annotated being returned to 
 Columbus. It is given in English in R. H. Major's 
 famous "Select Letters," published by the Hakluyt 
 Society. 
 
 After the opening formalities, he assures them that, 
 while nothing has " occurred to diminish the impor- 
 tance" of what he had " formerly written or said to 
 their Highnesses," he would soon be able to prove it 
 all " by facts." He then refers to the spices found 
 along the coast and to the wonderful reports brought 
 in by Ojeda and Gorbolan concerning the gold in the 
 interior. This being a divine sanction of the great 
 enterprise undertaken by their Highnesses, they ought 
 to give thanks to God for the same. In the margin 
 the sovereigns write, " Their Highnesses rehirn thmiks 
 to God for all thai is recorded ^^ etc.^ etc. 
 
FORTIFYING THE TOWN. 215 
 
 In the next item Columbus states the reasons for 
 not detaining the ships till he might collect a greater 
 amount of gold. The people are sick. The ships are 
 lying in the harbor at a large expense. The weather 
 is favorable to their return. He will need new sup- 
 plies by the month of May, and there is no time to 
 lose, etc. " He has done weiP'^ is the marginal note. 
 
 Again, the gold mines could not be worked without 
 greater conveniences^ There must be shelter, pro- 
 vision against sickness, defence from Caonabo and his 
 merciless savages who had sacked La Navidad. '"''He 
 has done well^'' is repeated in the margin. 
 
 But the people are improving in health and will 
 soon be acclimated. " The small number of those who 
 continue well are employed every day in barricading 
 our dwelling so as to put it in a state of defence, and 
 in taking necessary measures for the safety of our am- 
 munition, which will be finished now in a few days, 
 for all our fortifications will consist simply of stone 
 walls [albarrada — meaning walls without mortar). 
 With a little vigilance, small fortifications will do 
 against the Indians. This done, he will examine the 
 gold-bearing sands of the rivers in the interior, and 
 build a town of defence. " This is well and exactly as 
 he should do^'' is the marginal response. 
 
 The sickness of the colony is in consequence of 
 change of climate. Hence they must have the same 
 food as formerly at home, fresh supplies of which 
 should at once be sent and continued until the same 
 could be produced in the new world. The sickness of 
 the people and the lean and weak condition of the 
 domestic animals had not admitted of a very extensive 
 
2i6 THE NEEDS OF THE PEOPLE. 
 
 plantation as yet, but such crops as Had been tested 
 were exceedingly promising, and tHe country was very 
 beautiful. 
 
 The monarchs reply : " Since the land is so fertile^ it 
 is desirable to sow of all kinds as much as possible^ and 
 D 071 Juan de Fonsica is instructed to send over immedi- 
 ately everything requisite for that purpose .'''' 
 
 The people are in need of wine on account of the 
 leakage from bad casks, of biscuits, corn, and par- 
 ticularly of raisins, sugar, almonds, honey, and rice. 
 There should be a larger stock of domestic animals of 
 nearly all kinds. For the freighting of two caravels 
 with those things, the gold now sent home should be 
 discreetly appropriated, and everything must be expe- 
 dited so as to get returns by May. 
 
 Their Highnesses will give instructions to Don Juan de 
 Fonsica to make immediate inquiry respecting the impo- 
 sition in the ^natter of the casks ^ etc.^ the dispatch of the 
 business in general^ etc. 
 
 As the next two items in this " memorial " are 
 those concerning which Columbus has been most 
 highly censured in more recent times, we will quote 
 them in full. 
 
 " Item. You will tell their Highnesses that as we 
 have no interpreter through whom we can make these 
 people acquainted with our holy faith, as their High- 
 nesses and we ourselves desire, and as we will do so soon 
 as we are able, we send by these two vessels some of 
 these cannibal men and women, as well as some 
 children, both male and female, whom their High- 
 nesses might order to be placed under the care of the 
 most competent persons to teach them the language. 
 
COLUMBUS AND SLAVERY. 
 
 217 
 
 At the same time they might be employed in useful 
 occupations, and by degrees, through somewhat more 
 care being bestowed upon them than upon other slaves, 
 they would learn one from the other. By not seeing 
 or speaking to each other for a long time they will 
 learn much sooner in Spain than they will here, and 
 become much better interpreters. We will, however, 
 not fail to do what we can ; it is true that, as there is 
 but little communication between one of these islands 
 and another, there is some difference in their mode of 
 expressing themselves, which mainl}^ depends on the 
 distance between them. But as, amongst all these 
 islands, those inhabited by the cannibals are the 
 largest and most populous, it must be evident that 
 nothing but good can come from sending to Spain 
 men and women who may thus one day be led to 
 abandon their barbarous custom of eating their fellow- 
 creatures. By learning the Spanish language in 
 Spain they will much earlier receive baptism, and 
 advance the welfare of their souls ; moreover, we shall 
 gain credit with the Indians who do not practice the 
 above-mentioned cruel custom, when they see that we 
 have seized and led captive those who injure them, 
 and whose very name alone fills them with horror. 
 You will assure their Highnesses that our arrival in 
 this country and the sight of so fine a fleet have pro- 
 duced the most imposing effect for the present, and 
 promise great security hereafter ; for all the inhabi- 
 tants of this great island, and of others, when they see 
 the good treatment that we shall show to those who do 
 well, and the punishment that we shall inflict on those 
 who do wrong, will hasten to submit, so that we shall 
 
2 1 8 COL UMB US AND SL A VER T. 
 
 be able to lay our commands on tbem as vassals of their 
 Highnesses. And as even now they not only readily 
 comply with every wish that we express, but also of 
 their own accord endeavor to do what they think will 
 please us, I think that their Highnesses may feel as- 
 sured that, on the other side also, the arrival of this 
 fleet has in many respects secured for them, both for 
 the present and the future, a wide renown amongst 
 all Christian princes, but they themselves will be 
 able to form a much better judgment on this subject 
 than it is in my power to give expression to." 
 
 "Z<?/ him be informed of zvhat has transpired respecting 
 the can7iibals that came over to Spain. He has done 
 well and let him do as he says^ but let him e^ideavor by 
 all possible means to convejt them to our holy Catholic 
 religion^ and do the sayne with respect to the iti habitants 
 of all the islands to which he ?nay goV 
 
 " Item. You will tell their Highnesses that the wel- 
 fare of the souls of the said cannibals, and of the in- 
 habitants of this island also, has suggested the 
 thought that the greater the number that are sent over 
 to Spain the better, and this good service may result 
 to their Highnesses in the following manner. Con- 
 sidering what great need we have of cattle and of 
 beasts of burden, both for food and to assist the set- 
 tlers in this and all these islands, both for peopling 
 the land and cultivating the soil, their Highnesses 
 might authorize a suitable number of caravels to come 
 here every year to bring over the said cattle and pro- 
 visions and other articles ; these cattle, etc., might be 
 sold at moderate prices for account of the bearers, and 
 the latter might be paid with slaves taken from among 
 
COL UMB US AND SLA VER T. 219 
 
 the Caribbees, who are a wild people fit for any work, 
 w^ell proportioned and very intelligent, and who, when 
 they have got rid of the cruel habits to which the}^ 
 have become accustomed, will be better than any other 
 kind of slaves. When they are out of their country 
 they will forget their cruel customs, and it will be 
 easy to obtain plent}^ of these savages by means of row- 
 boats that we propose to build. It is taken for granted 
 that each of the caravels sent by their Highnesses will 
 have on board a confidential man, who will take care 
 that the vessels do not stop anywhere else than here, 
 where they are to unload and reload their vessels. 
 Their Highnesses might fix duties on the slaves that 
 may be taken over, upon their arrival in Spain. You 
 will ask for a reply upon this point, and bring it to me 
 in order that I ma}^ be able to take the necessary 
 measures should the proposition merit the approbation 
 of their Highnesses." 
 
 " The co}iside7'ation of this subject has been suspended for 
 a time^ until fresh advices arrive from the otJier side ; let 
 the Admiral write what he thinks upon the subject. " 
 
 Clearly enough, this is an out-and-out proposition on 
 the part of Columbus to enslave the Caribbean can- 
 nibals, and shows that his ideas of personal freedom 
 were not so far in advance of the world's thought as 
 were his conceptions of cosmography. It is indeed a 
 great merit for a man's judgment to be ahead of his 
 time, but for a man to think and act simply abreast of 
 his age surel}- is no cause of censure. And what could 
 be more unjust than to judge any one by a standard 
 hundreds of years in advance ? In this latter part of 
 the fifteenth century the African slave-trade was fairly • 
 
2 20 COL UMB US AND SLA VER T. 
 
 inaugurated and had the highest moral and religious 
 sanction, and it has taken nearly all the centuries 
 since to reach a universally clear conviction as to the 
 wrong and general mischievousness of the system. 
 American authors, who have still living among them 
 thousands of human beings who once stood on the 
 slave-block, as a part of the goods and chattels of the 
 nation, are in an awkward predicament for condemning 
 the world's hero of 1494 for not anticipating the 
 decisions of the latter half of the nineteenth century. 
 The argument used by Columbus, that the advantages 
 of civilization and Christianit}^ would offset the loss of 
 personal freedom to a man-eating savage, finds its par- 
 allel at least in arguments offered in this country by 
 politicians and learned divines within our own recollec- 
 tion. 
 
 But if the opinion of Columbus may be extenuated 
 in the light, or rather in the darkness, of his age, the 
 immediate hesitation as to accepting that opinion on the 
 part of the monarchs, and their final decision to reject 
 it — due mainly to the kindheartedness of Isabella, no 
 doubt — may justly be regarded as a decision in advance 
 of that age. 
 
 The remainder of the memorial is occupied with 
 itemized statements concerning the purchase of certain 
 vessels, the best manner of chartering caravels for the 
 West Indies, the dishonest dealing of the horse-venders 
 at Seville, the improper conduct of the horsemen in 
 Hayti, the need of caution in sending out well-disposed 
 persons to colonize the Indies, the need of more arms, 
 etc., etc. But the most notable items are concerning 
 certain benefits and privileges asked for Pedro Magarite 
 
DISCONTENT IN THE C OL ONT. 221 
 
 and Juan Aguado, from both of whom he afterward 
 received exceedingly unkind treatment. 
 
 Februar3^ 2, 1494, the fleet of twelve sail left for Spain. 
 The quantity of gold carried back was not excessive, 
 but the letters from Columbus, Friar Buil, Dr. Chanca, 
 and others of influence, along with the personal report 
 of Gorbolan,^ sustained the hopes of the enterprise. 
 
 Sickness, hunger, and disappointment, on the side of 
 the globe opposite home — in a wilderness of savages — 
 were not very conducive to contentment, on the part of 
 those whose terms of service had not expired, when the 
 fleet spread its sails for the return. And two officials, 
 so situated as to be able to make their evil influence felt, 
 became leaders of such as were affected b}^ the mutinous 
 spirit. One was Bernal Diaz, comptroller of the colony, 
 and the other was Fermin Cedo, the assayer of metals. 
 The former could speak disparagingly of the small 
 accounts which figured in the returns of this loud- 
 trumpeted enterprise, and the other was wide-mouthed 
 in crying down the gold which had raised such great 
 expectations. Irving, following Bernaldez, says of the 
 latter mutineer : " He pertinaciously insisted that there 
 was no gold in the island, or at least that it was found 
 in such inconsiderable quantities as not to repay the 
 search. He declared that the large grains of virgin 
 ore brought by the natives had been melted ; that they 
 
 ^ The caciques led Gorbolan and his party " to a workshop where a gold- 
 smith was beating out gold into very thin plates. The gold was laid on a 
 cylindrical stone with highly polished surface. This artificer, possessing 
 excellent skill in making wreaths and turbans (for the Indian women use 
 these as sumptuous ornaments for their heads), was engaged in beating out 
 to an extreme degree of tenuity a plate so large that to carry it would sur- 
 pass the power of the strongest man." Such is Syllacius's report of Gor- 
 bolan's search for gold. 
 
222 
 
 DISCONTENT IN THE COLON!. 
 
 had been the slow accumulation of many years, having 
 remained a long time in the families of the Indians, 
 and handed down from generation to generation ; which 
 in many instances was probably the case. Other 
 specimens, of a large size, he pronounced of a very 
 inferior quality, and debased with brass by the natives. 
 The words of this man outweighed the evidence of facts, 
 and many joined him in the belief that the island was 
 really destitute of gold. It was not until some time 
 afterwards that the real character of Fermin Cedo was 
 ascertained and the discovery made that his ignorance 
 was at least equal to his obstinacy and presumption — 
 qualities apt to enter largely into the compound of a 
 meddlesome and mischievous man." 
 
 That Columbus had grossly exaggerated the advan- 
 tages of the newly discovered country, and so deceived the 
 people in Spain in order to magnify his own importance, 
 was the general charge. The immense resources 
 of the West Indies, which have since enriched the 
 world and administered incalculably to its luxuries, 
 were entirely overlooked by these idle adventurers, who 
 were only seeking for great fortunes in gold ready to 
 hand. The flattering prospects of mining resources 
 brought to light by Ojeda and Gorbolan were maliciously 
 ignored ; and Bernal Diaz, who had already had some 
 variances with the Admiral, joined with several others 
 as ringleaders, and resolved on seizing the ships 
 remaining in the harbor and returning to Spain. This 
 could be easily effected during the Admiral's illness, 
 and the influence of Diaz at court would extenuate the 
 mutinous movement, especially when it was known 
 what great disappointment the colony had suffered. 
 
A MUTINOUS PLOT. 223 
 
 But this plot, so fraught with mischief, was discovered, 
 and in the process of investigation there was found 
 tucked away in the buoy of one of the ships a most 
 slanderous document prepared by Diaz against Colum- 
 bus, for the prejudice of the court. The ringleaders 
 were arrested, Diaz was imprisoned in one of the ships 
 to be sent to Spain for trial, and others were punished 
 in various ways, according to the degree of the guilt of 
 each. In order to prevent any like occurrence after- 
 wards, all the guns and munitions of war were taken 
 out of four of the ships and placed in the fifth and 
 largest, under the care of some of the most trustworthy 
 persons in the colony. This first revolt is a fair sample 
 of the spirit and conduct with which Columbus had to 
 contend throughout his bitter trials in the Indies. 
 Though the punishments he inflicted were mild, barely 
 such as were necessary for the public safety, he was at 
 once stigmatized as severe and tyrannical ; and the fact 
 that he was a foreigner, with merely newly-made friends 
 and influence in Spain, was made to tell heavily against 
 him, especially by such as had both friends and 
 influence at home. 
 
 Nothing in the enterprises of this new world, in the 
 estimation of Columbus, demanded his personal attention 
 more than the development of the gold-mines in the 
 mountains of Cibao. Having now recovered his health, 
 home affairs at Isabella were organized with view to his 
 absence. His brother, Diego, mild and pacific in 
 temper rather than shrewd and firm, was placed in com- 
 mand of the infant city and the little fleet in the har- 
 bor. Other persons of influence constituted a board of 
 counsellors. 
 
224 GOING TO THE GOLD MOUNTAINS. 
 
 The expedition to the mountains would require 
 energy and skill, as well as a very considerable force. 
 A fort must be built, the mines must be worked, and the 
 natives must be impressed with the power and mag- 
 nificence of the white man. A regular engineering and 
 mining outfit, therefore, was necessary, and such mil- 
 itary display as the Admiral could command. A start- 
 ling sight in those verdant forests and plains of early 
 spring — March 12th — must have been the 400 men 
 which he led out in glistening steel, their ranks brist- 
 ling with lances and cross-bows, their swords and 
 arquebuses ready for death-dealing execution ; and a 
 novelty to this array itself must have been the multi- 
 tude of Indians which hovered around and brought up 
 the rear. The roll of the drum and the penetrating 
 notes of the trumpet awaken the woodland echoes, and the 
 movement is in regular rank and file. The first day's 
 march is across the tropical plain from the sea to the 
 mountains. As night came on, they encamped at the 
 foot of the only convenient pass of the Monte Christi 
 range in that vicinity. A mere Indian trail wound 
 upward among the rocks, often well-nigh obstructed by 
 bushes and tangled thickets. But by the close of the 
 next day the enterprising young hidalgos had engi- 
 neered and completed a convenient military road, after 
 the manner of the road-making in the mountains of 
 Granada during the recent Moorish war. This Gen- 
 tleman's Pass, as it was called, has long since been 
 obliterated by the rank-growing vegetation. The next 
 day, having reached the mountain-top, a most enchant- 
 ing view of an immense tropical vale opened before 
 them — the same which had delighted Ojeda and his 
 
THE ROYAL VALE. 
 
 225 
 
 company when prospecting for gold a short time before. 
 In every direction, as far as the eye could reach, was 
 this 'sea of verdure, bounded in the horizon by lofty 
 mountain ranges. The meadows, half wald, half cul- 
 tured, were robed in the tall rank grasses of the tropics ; 
 shrubs and climbing vines were forest-like in their 
 exuberance ; the stately palms and wide-spreading ma- 
 hogany trees rose gigantic all over the far-reaching 
 landscape ; the smooth rivers, winding their way from 
 the mountains to the sea, gleamed here and there 
 through this wealth of the tropics, and at innumerable 
 points rose the smoke of the native hamlet. On the 
 impulse of the magnificent view, Columbus named this 
 grand part of the island Vega Real, or the Royal 
 Vale. 
 
 One cannot read the account of the descent of this 
 miniature army into the plain without breathing some- 
 thing of the air of romance which must have entranced 
 them on every side — without wishing one could have 
 been there to enjoy the novel scene. From every direc- 
 tion the immense Indian population came out to see 
 the sight — such a sight as had never come to them 
 even in their wildest dreams. The regular step of well- 
 drilled infantry, bearded and with rosy complexion, clad 
 in the most brilliant colors and in polished steel ; the 
 weapons of war, so unlike the rude Indian lance or 
 war-club, or bows and arrows chipped and scraped out 
 with flint ; the waving plumes, streaming banners and 
 martial music, but, above all, the prancing cavalry 
 which led the van — the simple-minded natives suppos- 
 ing. Las Casas tells us, that horse and rider constituted 
 one being — the centaur of the ancients — and being sur- 
 
226 HOSPITALITY OF THE NATIVES. 
 
 prised beyond measure at the dismounting to see the 
 double creature thus parcelled out — how all this must 
 have made the poor naked Indian gape and stare ! At 
 first the astonished beings fled, leaving house and 
 home without any protection, save the bars of slender 
 reeds placed across the doorway of the wigwam, 
 thinking the white men might understand that item of 
 Indian etiquette, which thus forbade the entrance of a 
 stranger. Columbus at once commanded a scrupulous 
 regard for this simple contrivance. But the inter- 
 preters spoke their good words for the strangers, and 
 the common trinket presents were distributed. Now 
 the crowds came so thick and fast and brought such 
 abundance of their victuals and drink that the 
 Spaniards could scarcely make their way. They were 
 surprised, moreover, to see how the Indians accompany- 
 ing them would enter the houses they passed and 
 appropriate whatever they wanted in the way of food, 
 without let or hindrance. The common hospitality of 
 the savage — always generous — was enhanced in this 
 country, it would seem, by the abundant spontaneity of 
 nature in providing for the simple wants of the 
 natives. 
 
 Having made five leagues on the way across the 
 plain, they reached the River Yagui, which Columbus 
 named the River of Reeds, not knowing that it was 
 the same which the year before, on the coast near 
 Monte Christi, he had called the River of Gold from 
 the shining particles seen in the sand. Here they 
 encamped for the night, and the imagination points a 
 happy scene when we are told that, enraptured with 
 the charms of nature all about them, the hundreds 
 
GALA BATS. 227 
 
 plunged into the river for that delightful and social 
 recreation — a-diving and a-swimming in company. 
 To one who has revelled in this sort of thing Michael 
 Angelo's " Cartoon of Bathing Soldiers " will never 
 lose its fascination. Scarcely less could have been the 
 fun and frolic the next morning, when the river, too 
 deep to ford, was crossed with canoes and rafts, while 
 the horses were made to swim over. 
 
 Now follow two days more of the delightful march 
 across what might be called, according to the descrip- 
 tion, the vale of paradise. Forest and stream have 
 an endless variety, an endless charm of novelty, and 
 some of the rivers which come down from Cibao have 
 the glittering particles of gold in their sands. To that 
 limpid stream in the bed of which one can admire the 
 smooth round pebbles is given the name Rio Verde, 
 on account of its emerald banks. 
 
 Everywhere the abundant native population give 
 them the same generous reception. Conciliated by 
 the interpreters, they return from their flight, find their 
 wigwams, barricaded with reeds, unmolested, and do 
 their utmost to feed and entertain the strangers. 
 
 At last they have crossed the Royal Vale, and look 
 up the rugged heights of the mountains of Cibao, 
 which means the mountain of rocks. If the aspect is 
 not so luxurious and inviting, and the pass appears 
 steep and difScult, the visions of gold teeming in those 
 rocky summits will inspirit the pioneers to open a 
 road for the army early the next day. But these four 
 hundred men, living here in the open air, with plenty 
 of vigorous exercise, have ravenous appetites which 
 will not be satisfied with the light and easily digested 
 
228 LOCATING THE FORTRESS. 
 
 food of the natives. The bread and wine, therefore, 
 are disappearing at the most alarming rate, and some 
 must go back with a company of mules to bring in- 
 creased rations from Isabella. 
 
 The next morning they wind their way up, amidst 
 broken and tumbled rocks, through an abrupt ravine, 
 in a long strung-out line, leading their horses. Reach- 
 ing the heights, they look backwards over the same 
 charming landscape of such immense reach, the vale 
 being. Las Casas says, eighty leagues long and twenty 
 to thirty wide. Striking, indeed, must have been the 
 contrast between the enchanting scene left behind 
 and the rugged heights, towering toward heaven, all 
 around them. As they were now some eighteen 
 leagues from Isabella, and the mountain-passes were 
 toilsome for transportation, the Admiral began to pros- 
 pect for a location, which he did the more readily, 
 since there was not only gold in the bottoms of the 
 streams which cut their way down the ravines, but 
 there were specimens of amber and of lapis lazuli, and 
 possibly there were indications of mines of copper. 
 Casting about, he found a sort of plateau among the 
 declivities of these mountains, very fertile, and en- 
 livened by the purling notes of a small river, its clear 
 waters washing the most curious and bright-colored 
 stones, aye, even large masses of elegant marble and 
 bits of jasper. As it swept nearly around a sort of 
 eminence, it would serve as a ditch to the fortress, very 
 little further fortification being necessary. Here a 
 strong wooden fortress, called St. Thomas, was built, 
 the name being a playful reference to the incredulity 
 of his enemies, the more appropriate since here the 
 
GOLD I GOLD I 
 
 229 
 
 gold could be seen with the eyes and touched with the 
 hands. 
 
 Here, as elsewhere, the natives soon learned that 
 gold was the great quest of the Spaniards, so they be- 
 came very enterprising in procuring it. Some hurried 
 awa}^ to the mountain streams, and sifted the sands 
 till they procured quite an encouraging amount of the 
 precious dust. All this the}^ readily bartered for 
 trinkets and gew-gaws. See that old man bring two 
 pieces of ore an ounce in weight, delighted beyond 
 measure in receiving a hawk's bell in return ! Is the 
 Admiral surprised at the size of these specimens ? In 
 his country, only a half da3r's journey distant, pieces 
 could be found as big as an orange ! While others, 
 bringing grains of ten and twelve drachms, had seen 
 masses as big as the head of a child ! But the mine 
 of golden wonders was always a long way off — in some 
 hidden or out-of-the-way place. 
 
 While the Admiral was thus superintending the 
 construction of the fortress, Juan de Luxan, a young 
 cavalier of Madrid, was assigned the task of exploring 
 this mountain province, supposed to be about as large 
 as the kingdom of Portugal. Before long he and his 
 small band of armed men returned with a decidedl}- 
 interesting account of things. Cibao was indeed a 
 mountainous country, but it abounded in excellent 
 pasturage, the frequent showers in that elevated 
 region bringing on such a luxuriant growth of grass 
 as frequently reached their saddles in riding through. 
 Then there were many plateaus susceptible of cultiva- 
 tion, and the aromatic plants and trees ! There must 
 be an abundance of spices in this region. As to 
 
230 THE GARRISON. 
 
 grapes, it was the very land of promise. The vines 
 climbed to the tree-tops, bearing an abundance of the 
 most juicy and delicious clusters. Moreover, each 
 valley and glen had its mountain stream, bringing 
 down the shining gold-dust ! And had not the In- 
 dians let De Luxan into the secret as to where to find 
 the streams richest in gold, and where the best mines 
 were ? But on these points no one but the Admiral 
 could share his secret. 
 
 The fortress being completed, Pedro Margarite was 
 made commander of the garrison, numbering fifty-six. 
 Returning to Isabella, the Admiral met the Spaniards 
 on the return with supplies on the banks of Rio 
 Verde. They examined the river to find a ford, and 
 the Admiral was planning the best route from the new 
 settlement to the gold regions. He now resided for 
 some time in the Indian villages, cultivating the 
 acquaintance and learning the habits of these people. 
 He found that in many instances, especially where 
 they came in contact with the raiding attacks of the 
 Caribs, they were much more warlike than he had 
 supposed. He also found that he had been mistaken in 
 supposing that they were without any religion. They 
 believed in a supreme deity and in a regular and 
 immense order of mediators, called Zemes^ which they 
 represented by rudely fashioned idols. Bach cacique 
 had his idol or Ze?ne^ which he kept in a sort of 
 wigwam temple set apart for the purpose. These 
 were their tutelar deities, whose influence they propi- 
 tiated. They had their priesthood, their processions, 
 and their rude worship. If any one managed to get 
 possession of the image of another's Zeme^ the influ- 
 
RELIGION OF THE INDIANS. 331 
 
 ence of the deity was transferred accordingly. These 
 people, like the heathen in general, had very absurd 
 notions about the creation, believing, for instance, that 
 the sun and moon issued out of a cave in their island. 
 The}^ seem to have had in general some conception 
 of an immortality or future state. Sometimes the 
 caciques practised gross impositions on their people, 
 hiding a confidant in some corner of the temple, who 
 then spoke through the image by means of a hollow 
 tube. As is frequently the case among savages, the 
 priesthood dabbled in the healing art, using herbs as 
 simples, rather than according to intelligent combina- 
 tion of the healing virtues of plants.^ 
 
 During his sojourn with the inhabitants of the 
 Vega Real, the busy Admiral must have been im- 
 pressed with their idle and easy mode of life. A slight 
 tillage of the soil would produce all the maize, potatoes, 
 and yucca roots which, in addition to the fishes, reptiles, 
 and abundant spontaneity of native fruits, would fully 
 supply their frugal wants. Except in the colder alti- 
 tudes of the mountains, the temperature was never 
 severe enough to suggest the need of a covering ;^ and 
 as the naked human form was as proper to their ej^es 
 as the common objects in nature, and perhaps more 
 beautiful than tree or flowers, why should they toil or 
 spin ? That costly and elaborate thing which we call 
 a house their genial climate and simple tastes did 
 not call for, except in its simplest and most rudimentary 
 
 ^A full account of absurdities of the religious belief of the natives may be 
 found between chapters 62 and 63 of the biography of Fernando Columbus. 
 
 *In the colder, mountain regions it would seem that the natives kept them- 
 selves warm in winter by an excess of flesh diet -vvell seasoned with red 
 peppers. 
 
232 BE^ UTIFUL SIMPL ICI7 T OF L IFF. 
 
 forms. They lounged, cliatted, laughed, danced and 
 sung, every day being, no doubt, a happy pastoral to 
 the more thoughtful and esthetic of these children of 
 nature. Occasionally the war-club, the rude lance, and 
 the bow and arrow had to be taken up against the 
 incursion of the fierce Caribs, but the nearer neigh- 
 bors were so peaceful among themselves as to be a 
 model to many civilized nations ; and that common 
 terror of savage countries, the ferocious wild beast, was 
 not known. How often we turn with delectation to 
 that charming picture of this region given from the 
 pen of Peter Martyr. " The island enjoyed perpetual 
 springtime, and was blessed with continual summer 
 and harvest. The trees preserved their leaves through- 
 out the year, and the meadows continued always 
 green." * ''' '^' " There is no province nor any 
 region which is not remarkable for the majesty of its 
 mountains, the fruitfulness of its vales, the pleasant- 
 ness of its hills and delightful plains, with abundance 
 of fair rivers running through them. There never 
 was any noisome animal found in it, nor yet any raven- 
 ing four-footed beast ; no lion nor bear, no fierce tigers, 
 nor crafty foxes, nor devouring wolves, but all things 
 blessed and fortunate." 
 
 Columbus reached Isabella on the 29th of March. 
 "The plants and fruits of the ' Old World,' which he 
 was endeavoring to introduce into the island," says 
 Irving, " gave promise of rapid increase. The orchards, 
 fields, and gardens were in a great state of forward- 
 ness. The seeds of various fruits had produced young 
 plants ; the sugar-cane had prospered exceedingly ; a 
 native vine, trimmed and dressed with care, had yielded 
 
RAPID GROWTH OF VEGETATION. 
 
 23; 
 
 grapes of tolerable flavor, and cuttings from European 
 vines already began to form their clusters. On the 
 30th of March a husbandman brought to Columbus 
 ears of wheat which had been sown in the latter part 
 of January, The smaller kind of garden herbs came 
 to maturity in sixteen days, and the larger kind, such 
 as melons, gourds, pumpkins, and cucumbers, were fit 
 for the table within a month after the seed had been 
 put into the ground. The soil, moistened by brooks 
 and rivers and frequent showers and stimulated b}- an 
 ardent sun, possessed those principles of quick and 
 prodigal fecundit}^ which surprise the strangers, accus- 
 tomed to less vigorous climates." 
 
 Columbus had scarcely reached Isabella, when a 
 messenger was at his heels from Fort St. Thomas, bear- 
 ing evil tidings. Would the scenes of L-a Navidad be 
 re-enacted ? Once more his good instructions had been 
 disregarded. Lust for gold and for the Indian women 
 had again betrayed the Spaniards into such courses as 
 to sadly shake the confidence of the natives in them as 
 celestial beings. Instead of their usual cordiality, 
 therefore, the Indians were shunning the white man 
 and were abandoning their villages in the neighbor- 
 hood, while evidences were not wanting that the fierce 
 and wil}^ Caonabo was assembling his war forces among 
 the mountains. 
 
 But what had Columbus to fear from these naked, 
 timid savages ? Were they not in mortal terror of fire- 
 arms and of his steel-clad soldiers mounted on their 
 war-horses ? He would reinforce Margarite with 
 twenty men, would send him more bread and gun- 
 powder ; this, with thirty men detailed to open a road 
 
234 SICKNESS OF THE COLONY. 
 
 between Isabella and St. Thomas, would suffice for tbe 
 safety of this gold-mining interest. 
 
 Far more serious was the outlook at Isabella. The 
 humid climate, reeking with the malarias of the decay 
 of the rankest vegetation under a tropical sun, was 
 telling on the delicately reared constitutions from the 
 old soil of Europe. This infant city of the New World, 
 founded in such bright hopes, was become a hospital 
 without conveniences. What was the scanty supply of 
 medicines and the few physicians for such a multitude 
 shaking with chills and burning with fevers ? The terrible 
 emergencies of inexperienced pioneer life were putting 
 all hands, even to hidalgos and priests, under the 
 severest requisitions of hard labor. Who, then, could 
 minister to the wants of the sick, formerly accustomed 
 to the most delicate attentions ? Of the rather scanty 
 supply of provisions, much had spoiled through care- 
 lessness. The whole community, therefore, must be 
 put on rations. The mind, too, was quite as sick as the 
 body. A more bitterly disappointed people never existed. 
 They had left home for the high civilization and the lux- 
 uries of the Orient, and had landed in a wilderness of 
 savages. By conquest and trade, they had expected to 
 appropriate every kind of wealth and luxury ready to 
 hand. But gold, the quantity doubtful and the qual- 
 ity spoken against, was obtainable only by the labori- 
 ous processes of the miner. The sparkling gems, the 
 silken fabrics, and the costly spices were wholly want- 
 ing — unless it were the fiery agi-peppers of the natives. 
 Even bread did not exist in this country, and the 
 hungry, half-starving, whether sick or well, must sup- 
 plement their mouldy bread from Spain with cassava, 
 
HUMILIA TION OF HI DAL G OS AND FRIARS. 235 
 
 fish, aud lizards till grain could be grown and mills 
 built and the baker's art flourish in the wilderness. 
 Ah ! everything the heart wished was on the other side 
 of the vast ocean sea — on the other side of the glob^J 
 The death of the disappointed and heart-broken must 
 have been a daily occurrence. The living, perhaps, 
 even envied the dying. The Spaniard of high-blood, 
 with blistered hands and sun-burnt brow, in the toil and 
 moil of digging and building, cursed the day when he 
 left the sure advantages of old Spain for the phantom 
 hopes of this new country. 
 
 And who was the cause of all of this incurable 
 misery ? This upstart foreigner — this " gay deceiver " 
 — now Admiral, and would-be king of a new realm at 
 the cost of the treasure and the best blood of Spain ! 
 Some of the gay young hidalgos refuse to fall into the 
 ranks of laboring men, and Friar Bull is indignant that 
 he and his household must needs submit to limited 
 rations of mouldy bread, along with the common people. 
 But this Genoese is a severe disciplinarian, and, without 
 partiality or pity, demands that " If any man will not 
 work, neither shall he eat," and in the privations of the 
 colony there shall be no " respect of persons." 
 
 No degree of resolution could close the eyes of the 
 Admiral to the perils of his situation. While he was a 
 comparative stranger in Spain, many of these malcon- 
 tents had influence, and might readily turn the tide of 
 royal and public favor against him and his enterprise. 
 Some diversion of the community, therefore, must at 
 once be brought about in order to avert imminent dan- 
 ger. To this end he planned a sort of military and 
 exploring expedition to the interior. Ojeda was to 
 
236 INSTRUCTIONS OF MARGARITE. 
 
 relieve Margarite at Fort St. Thomas, and the latter was 
 to lead out all who could possibly be spared from busi- 
 ness and the care of the sick, which proved to be two 
 hundred and fifty with the cross-bow, one hundred and 
 ten with arquebuses, and sixteen horsemen with 
 lances, all of which were led by twenty ofiicers. This 
 commander, at once knight and nobleman, might surely 
 be trusted to explore Cibao and other parts of the 
 island. 
 
 Columbus's letter of instructions to him discovers 
 his usual sagacity. While the Indians should be com- 
 pelled to respect the rights of property vested in the 
 w^hite men, and should be dul}'- punished for every 
 kind of theft, they themselves must be treated with 
 the utmost justice and discretion, and must be pro- 
 tected from insult, their confidence and friendship 
 being thus secured. When the army needed supplies, 
 these must be purchased regularly by one appointed 
 by the Admiral. If the natives refused to sell, mak- 
 ing it necessar}^ to take the provisions by force, it 
 must be done gently, even with kindness and caresses. 
 Individual traf&c with them must be forbidden lest the 
 privilege be abused. It must always be borne in 
 mind that the sovereigns are more desirous of the con- 
 version of the Indians than of any riches to be derived 
 from them. The army must be kept together and 
 under thorough discipline, thus guarding against the 
 savages, who, though cowardly indeed, might become 
 very treacherous and cruel. 
 
 As to Caonabo and his brothers, they were artful 
 and dangerous, and if the utmost deceit and strategy 
 of war were necessary to their capture, these might be 
 
STEALING THE CLOTHES. 337 
 
 considered justifiable in the case of foes so sanguinary 
 and dangerous. 
 
 The niarcli of Ojeda's miniature army — a little less 
 than four hundred — to Fort St. Thomas was not M'ith- 
 out incident. On reaching the Vega Real he found 
 that three Spaniards, on their return from the fort in 
 the mountains, had been robbed by five Indians sent 
 as guides by a cacique in the neighborhood. These 
 Indians, attempting to carry the white men's clothes 
 over the river at the ford, turned back when about half 
 way across, taking the clothes with them. The 
 cacique, instead of punishing them, appropriated the 
 clothes and refused to restore them. Ojeda captured 
 one of the offenders and brought him to the public 
 square — so common to the Indian village — and had his 
 ears cut off in true Spanish style. Then arresting the 
 cacique, with his son and nephew, sent them in chains 
 to Isabella, according to the summary military method 
 of that day. 
 
 The terrified prisoners were followed by a friendl};^ 
 cacique, who pleaded for their forgiveness on the ground 
 of some kindness which he had formerly shown the 
 Spaniards. The Admiral appeared deaf to entreaty, 
 and ordered the prisoners to the public square, their 
 hands bound behind them, their crime to be publicly 
 proclaimed and their heads struck off. Perhaps the 
 execution was not intended to take place, but merely 
 a sufi&cient scare of the poor savages to deter them 
 from further theft. At the place appointed for the 
 execution the assurances for good conduct in the 
 future and the tearful entreaties of the mediating 
 cacique were so moving as to make it easy for the 
 
238 COWARDICE OF THE INDIANS. 
 
 Admiral to exercise clemency. Tlie lives of the 
 offenders were spared. 
 
 Before the parties had time to disperse, a horseman 
 arrived from St. Thomas, who af&rmed that in passing 
 the house of the cacique whose fault had just been 
 condoned he had rescued five Spaniards who had been 
 taken by the natives, over four hundred of them flee- 
 ing at the sight of his horse. Surely there was not 
 much to fear from this sort of people, as long, at least, 
 as horses could be had. 
 
CHAPTER XII. 
 
 THE SOUTH SIDE OF CUBA EXPLORED. 
 
 E are unfavorably impressed with the over- 
 mastering passion of Columbus for gold. 
 " The excellence and power of the gold of 
 Ophir," he says, *' cannot be described ; he who 
 possesses it does what he will in this world ; nay, it 
 even enables him to draw souls from purgatory to para- 
 dise." But we must not conceive of him as standing 
 alone in his ardent search for the precious metal. The 
 sovereigns of Spain, and, indeed, the whole Spanish 
 nation, were clamoring at his back for gold, and in 
 the astonishing sentence above quoted he simply 
 mirrored the sentiment of his age. After locating his 
 colony, his next enterprise had been to build the 
 fortress St. Thomas, in the regions of the gold-mines 
 of Cibao, in order to develop that mining interest. 
 Next to the accumulation of gold the great desidera- 
 tum with Columbus and his sovereigns was the 
 further exploration of the new country. Portugal had 
 reached the Cape of Good Hope, and would be crowd- 
 ing all sail for India. Columbus, having taken the 
 more direct route to the westward, supposed that he 
 was already in India. Which nation, then, would be 
 able to appropriate the greater part of this much- 
 desired country — this golden dream of the age ? By 
 all means, the Admiral must push directly for the heart 
 of India — for the seat of the Grand Khan. 
 
240 '^HE RICHES OF CATHAT. 
 
 First, however, the good order of things at Isabella 
 must be secured. Hence Diego, the brother of 
 Columbus, is placed at the head of affairs, as president 
 of a council, of which Father Buil and three others 
 are members. 
 
 Three of the smaller vessels, caravels, are fitted up 
 for the exploration of the south side of Cuba, as this 
 immense territory is supposed to be an extension of 
 the mainland of India. Cathay, the supposed name 
 of a city and also of a province, was the part of the 
 dominion of the Grand Khan in quest, which, " as 
 described by John de Mandeville and others who have 
 seen it," sa3-s Bernaldez, " is the richest province in 
 the world and the most abundant in gold and silver 
 and the other metals and silks." 
 
 The two larger vessels were left in the harbor, as 
 they might be inconvenient for entering ba3^s and 
 rivers. April 24th, 1494, the little fleet put out to the 
 westward. The Admiral called at the site of La 
 Navidad, hoping for an interview with Guacanagari, 
 but the chieftain seemed to be shunning him. On 
 the 29th he made for the shores of Cuba. Having 
 reached the eastern end of that island, he coasted 
 westward along the south side. Some twent}^ leagues 
 forward he entered a grand harbor. A narrow, wind- 
 ing, deep channel led to a beautiful sheet of water, 
 resembling a lake surrounded by mountains. The 
 great tropical forest which clothed the long reaches of 
 ascent were laden alike with blossoms and with fruit. 
 " In this country," says Bernaldez, " the trees and plants 
 bear fruit twice in the year, and from the fruits a most 
 delicious odor arose, which could be perceived at some . 
 
THE INDIA N BAN^ UET. 2 4 1 
 
 distance on the water. There were no habitation? in 
 this harbor, but as they went in they saw several fires 
 burning close to the water, and a dog and two beds, but 
 no men. They landed, and found more than four 
 quintals of fish upon spits before the fires, and rabbits 
 and two serpents, and very near they saw at the foot of 
 the trees in many places a great many serpents, the 
 most nasty, hideous, ugly creatures that any human 
 being ever saw, all with their mouths sewed up. They 
 were all of the color of dry wood, the skin of the whole 
 body very much wrinkled, especially on the head, where 
 it came dov/n over the eyes, which were terribl}^ ven- 
 omous, and all were covered with very hard shells like 
 scales of a fish, and from the head to the end of the 
 tail, along the middle of the body, were long ugl\^ pro- 
 jections, sharp as points of diamonds." As may be 
 seen from the writer's own statements, these were not 
 serpents, but the famous iguana, still a noted article of 
 food in tho'se parts. 
 
 This banquet, preparing in so romantic a spot, had 
 been suddenly abandoned at the strange sight of the 
 ships. What could this frightful ocean phantom be ? 
 
 The hungr}'- Spaniards fell upon the savory feast. 
 The fish and the rabbit-like iitias they devoured with the 
 utmost relish, but those huge lizard-shaped iguanas ! 
 Who but an Indian could taste those ? And yet Peter 
 Martyr tells us they were to the natives what pheasants 
 and peacocks were to the grandees of Spain. A com- 
 mon Indian did not aspire to them. 
 
 The repast over, the Spaniards rove about the woods 
 in the vicinity. Behold, from the top of yonder high 
 rock the curious eyes of some seventy natives look 
 
242 CONCILIATING THE INDIANS. 
 
 down upon them. As the rosy-faced strangers attempt 
 to approach them the multitude vanishes in the thick 
 woods and in the gorges of the mountains. No ; there 
 is one whose curiosity is too much for him. He lingers 
 about, gazing at the strangers and won by their friendly 
 pantomimes. The Lucayan interpreter advances with 
 his usual good word for the white men. He is under- 
 stood, and the native runs to tell the good news to his 
 people. Now they all come pouring down from the 
 rocks and defiles of the forests in the most confident 
 and respectful manner. Through the Luca^^an they 
 explain their enterprise to Columbus. Their cacique is 
 about to entertain a neighboring cacique, and has sent 
 them to procure the banquet, which they are now 
 making ready for transportation. The fishes and meats 
 will not spoil so readily after being roasted. But what 
 will they do now after the ravages which the Spaniards 
 have made ? Oh ! that is a mere trifle. One night's fish- 
 ing will replace all. The Admiral insists, however, on 
 making compensation, and shaking hands in European 
 style, they part in the happiest mood. " He inquired 
 of the Indians," says Bernaldez, "whether it (Cuba) was 
 an island or a continent, but they are a stupid race, who 
 think that all the world is an island, and do not know 
 what a continent is ; w^ho have no written language nor 
 records of antiquity, and delight in nothing else but in 
 eating and in women ; and so they said that it w^as an 
 island, though some said it was an island which he 
 could not sail around in forty moons. 
 
 " The next day, before sunrise, the Admiral set sail 
 from this place, towards the west, following the coast of 
 the country, which the}^ saw to be very beautiful and 
 
BEAUTY OF THE COUNTRY. 243 
 
 tliickl}^ settled. As they perceived the vessels, great 
 numbers of men and boys, small and great, came run- 
 ning to the shore to see them, bringing bread and other 
 things to eat, showing the bread and gourds full of 
 water, and crying, ' Eat, take, people from heaven ! ' 
 They asked them to land and go to their houses, and 
 some came in their canoes for the same purpose. In 
 this way they sailed along until they came to a gulf 
 where there was a vast number of villages, and the 
 lands and fields all looked like the most beautiful gar- 
 dens in the world, the land being elevated and moun- 
 tainous." Here the Spaniards spend a night, and the 
 natives, with their usual kindness, overwhelm them 
 with hospitality. 
 
 But how about gold ? Where was it to be found ? 
 In a great island to the south, say the Indians. This 
 may be Babeque, for which the Admiral searched so 
 diligently in his former voyage along the north side of 
 Cuba. And still the natives pointed to the great island 
 in the south as the place where the Spaniards might 
 find orold. This was too much for the Admiral. He 
 
 o 
 
 turned his prows out into the wide ocean, Ma}^ 23d, in 
 hope of finding the gold region. 
 
 It was not long before the unmistakable signs of 
 land appeared in the horizon. But the ships made 
 slow progress, and it was two days and nights before the 
 cloud-like mountain-tops were converted into terra fir ma^ 
 with the usual enchanting scenery of mountains, vales, 
 rivers, harbors, and multitudes of natives — all await- 
 ing possession. 
 
 But what a scene is here I A fleet of some seventy 
 canoes, bristling with savages painted in all colors, 
 
244 ON THE WAR-PATH. 
 
 feather-decorated, brandishing their lances and yell- 
 ing as if to tear their throats, is flying out towards the 
 ships. One of the canoes ventures nearer than the 
 rest, so near that the Lucayan can address the inmates. 
 Kind words and a few presents conciliate the whole 
 company, so that the Admiral's ships move on unmo- 
 lested. 
 
 The vessels cast anchor in a harbor about midway 
 along the north shore of Jamaica. " The gardens of 
 Valencia are not to be compared to any part of this 
 whole island," says Bernaldez, " so the Admiral 
 named the harbor ' Santa Gloria.' " At daybreak th^ 
 next morning they were under way again, in search 
 of a harbor suf&ciently sheltered to enable the Admiral 
 to careen and caulk his ship, which was leaking badly. 
 A good harbor was soon found, but when a boat was 
 sent towards it tv^^o large canoes met them in a most 
 hostile manner. They did not come near enough, 
 however, to reach the Spaniards with their sharp 
 wooden lances which they hurled so furiously. The 
 boat returned, and, as the water was so deep, the ship 
 entered and cast anchor. At once the entire beach 
 became a lively scene. A multitude of painted 
 savages, mostly black, but exhibiting also a variety of 
 colors, some partly dressed in palm leaves, all more or 
 less decked out with feathers, rent the air with their 
 war-whoops, and hurled their javelins at the ships. 
 
 This cannot be tolerated. These savages must be 
 made to respect the power of the white men. A boat- 
 load of well-armed men makes towards the shore, and 
 discharging a shower of arrows from their cross-bows, 
 thus wounding several of the natives, the painted host 
 
THE INDIANS SCATTERED. 245 
 
 retreats pell-mell into the forests. The Spaniards 
 pursue with their deadly flights of arrows, "and a 
 dog which had leaped from one of the vessels followed 
 them," says Bernaldez, " and bit them ; for one dog 
 against the Indians is worth ten men." This treat- 
 ment brought the poor savages to terms. Columbus 
 was allowed to land and take peaceful possession of the 
 island, which he named Santiago. Happily, the pretty 
 Indian name, Jamaica, has been retained. The beauti- 
 ful harbor, shaped like a horseshoe, is called Puerto 
 Bueno. 
 
 The remainder of the day everj^thing was perfectly 
 quiet. The next morning, before sunrise, six Indians 
 were seen making friendly gestures on the shore. 
 They had been sent by the caciques to make overtures 
 of peace with the strangers. The Admiral responded 
 most cordially, and the usual trinkets were sent to the 
 chieftains. This proved conciliating. Very soon the 
 shore swarmed with the painted multitudes. This 
 time they brought provisions — articles similar to those 
 brought by the natives of the other islands, but of 
 better quality. 
 
 There were now three days of friendly intercourse 
 and trade. As the Spaniards studied these savages, 
 they came to regard them as decidedly in advance of 
 the inhabitants of the neighboring islands. They 
 were quite at home on the sea. " They have more 
 canoes here," says Bernaldez, " and larger than in 
 any other region hitherto discovered, each made in 
 one piece from the trunk of a tree, and each cacique in 
 all that neighborhood has a large canoe, which he 
 takes as much pride in using as a nobleman here 
 
246 
 
 CANOES AND TRAFFIC. 
 
 would take in keeping a large and beautiful ship. 
 They have them wrought from stem to stern with va- 
 rious figures and paintings, so that their beauty is 
 admirable. The Admiral measured one of the large 
 ones, which was 96 feet long- and 8 feet wide." 
 
 These people were also quite warlike in their dis- 
 position and habits, thus resembling the Caribs. All 
 their utensils were after the same pattern as those 
 found in the other islands, but they were of better 
 workmanship. 
 
 As the ships proceeded along the coast to the west- 
 ward, the natives were constantly coming out in their 
 canoes to greet them and to keejD up their kind of 
 traffic. Beads, bells, and red caps were all celestial 
 articles in their estimation, and far exceeded in value 
 the cassava-bread, fish, fruits, and water — all of which 
 was alike common with them. AVhen the squadron 
 reached the west end of the island, the wind being 
 favorable to a direct course to Cuba, and there being 
 no very flattering prospects of gold in Jamaica, it was 
 decided to make for the former shore, it being regarded,. 
 of course, as a part of the mainland of Asia, 
 
 How we wish we knew more about that enterprising 
 Indian youth w^ho begged the privilege of sailing with 
 the Admiral. As " ever}^ human heart is human," his 
 relatives were distressed at his adventure ; but, resolv- 
 ing to evade the tearful entreates of his sisters, he 
 hid himself away in one of the ships. We hope he 
 was treated with special kindness, as the Admiral 
 directed. 
 
 May 1 8th Columbus reached Cuba. The cacique of 
 the village where he landed had long since heard of 
 
A SEA OF ISLANDS. 
 
 247 
 
 him. Indeed, the intelligence of his former visit on 
 the other side of the island seems to have spread quite 
 generally, so that the Spaniards were now anticipated 
 at every point as wonderful beings come down from 
 the skies. 
 
 As the ships sailed westward they found the shore 
 bending to the northeast for many leagues, then west 
 again, thus forming an immense ba3^ Here the water 
 was shallow and there was a most terrific thunder- 
 storm. The situation was perplexing, for in such thun- 
 der and lightning one should strike sail, and yet the 
 shoal water required the sails to be spread. Fortu- 
 nately, the storm was soon over. 
 
 Now the shoals, sand-banks, and small islands became 
 so numerous as to make sailing very difficult, and the 
 sailor at the mast-head proclaimed a sea of islands 
 stretching away to the horizon. Some were mere sand- 
 banks, others were green and treeless, and others, 
 especially those near the shore, were clothed with 
 forests grand as those of the adjacent shores. The 
 Admiral undertook to give a name to each island, but 
 the number was so immense — 160 counted in one daj^- — 
 that he was content to name the mass the Queen's 
 Gardens. Would it not be well to sail outside of this 
 archipelago ? But did not Sir John Mandeville and 
 Marco Polo number the islands along the coast of 
 Asia by the thousands ? Surely he must now be 
 among them ; hence it would not be wise to diverge 
 from the shore, which must be Cathay, the territory of 
 the Grand Khan. How like fairy-land, and therefore 
 how like the .supposed India, these verdant islands were. 
 Those sweet odors borne on every breeze surely sug- 
 
248 
 
 HARD SAILING. 
 
 gested the land of spices. Here was the luxuriant 
 foliage and the magnificent flora of the tropics. The 
 stately groups of flamingoes clad in bright scarlet, 
 and the tortoises coming from an ^^^ not unlike that 
 of a hen and growing to the size of a soldier's buckler, 
 are all reminders of the grandeur of the Orient. 
 
 But the navigation is exceedingly difiicult. Now 
 the keels of the ships grate on the sand, now thump 
 against rocks, and now a counter-current fairly turns 
 the small crafts about. They sail successively to every 
 point of the compass. Every foot of the way must be 
 tested. The man at the roundtop must keep a sharp 
 lookout every minute, the lead must be thrown con- 
 tinually, and not infrequently the channel becomes so 
 narrow that the sails must be dropped and the vessels 
 towed on by means of the row-boats ; and still they ran 
 aground, and were gotten off with great labor. 
 
 The weather, too, was very peculiar. At sunrise 
 the wind blew from the east, and it followed the course 
 of that great luminary throughout the day. At sunset 
 it was calm. But very soon thunder-clouds gathered, 
 with sheets of lightning and rumbling in the distance. 
 As the moon arose a breeze came off the land scatter- 
 ing these threatening cloud-banks with a mere shower. 
 This order of phenomena was an every-day occur- 
 rence. 
 
 But while vegetable life of the greatest variety and 
 beauty abounds in these islands, and birds of the most 
 brilliant plumage and those charming in song are 
 multitudinous, neither voice nor form of any human 
 being is to be discovered. For days they sail amidst 
 a magnificent solitude. At length, on the 2 2d of May, 
 
NOVEL FISHING. 249 
 
 they find human habitations on one of the islands, bat 
 they are completely deserted. As usual, the Indians 
 have fled in terror at the strange sight of the ships. 
 Let us tarry for a few moments in these remote habi- 
 tations of the American savage. Here is an abundance 
 of fish, that staple article of food with primitive 
 man. Outside are piles of " kitchen middens," 
 mostly tortoise shells. As living domestic appur- 
 tenances, here are tame parrots chattering and flamin- 
 goes stalking about. Those dumb dogs, found else- 
 where as we have seen, are being fattened for food, 
 and are as savory to the Spaniards as " kids in 
 Castile." 
 
 As they go on they discover the natives in the act of 
 fishing, and very remarkable, indeed, is the process. 
 Somewhat after the manner of ancient falconry, they 
 are making one kind of fish catch other kinds. The 
 Histoire claiming to be written by Fernando Columbus 
 says : " They had tied some small fishes they call revcs 
 by the tail, which run themselves against other fishes, 
 and with a certain roughness which they have from 
 the head to the middle of the back they stick so fast 
 to the next fish they meet that when the Indians perceive 
 it, drawing their line, they draw them both together, 
 and it was a tortoise our men saw so taken by these 
 fishermen, that fish clinging about the neck of it, where 
 they generally fasten, being by that means safe from 
 the other fish biting them. I have seen them fasten 
 upon vast sharks." This mode of fishing has been 
 reported by other navigators, and occurs also in other 
 parts of the world — for instance, at Mozambique, on the 
 east coast of Africa, and at Madagascar. The " rough- 
 
250 INTELLIGENCE OF THE NATIVES. 
 
 ness " which these capturing fishes have " from the 
 head to the middle of the back" is said to consist of 
 suckers, which become attached to the throat of the 
 fish to be caught, or the under shell of a tortoise, and 
 adhere so firml}^ that very large game may thus be 
 secured. 
 
 When the natives Avere done fishing they came to 
 the Spaniards in the most fearless manner and inquired 
 what the}^ were after. The}'- also offered them their 
 supply of fisli just taken and about everything else 
 they bad, but Columbus was content with taking 
 simply the fish, for which he paid them. 
 
 Wearied with the difficulties of navigation in this 
 archipelago, the Admiral at length emerged into the 
 open sea and steered tow^ard a mountainous part of the 
 coast of Cuba. Here, June 3d, he found a considerable 
 village of the natives. They were exceedingly pacific 
 and communicative. Columbus thought them even 
 more cordial than the inhabitants of the other islands. 
 They also seemed to give special attention to their 
 domestic animals, which v/ere in better condition than 
 others found in those regions. While the crews took 
 in water, intercourse went on with the venerable 
 cacique and other aged men around him, and the inter- 
 view was most impressive. '' Was Cuba an island ? " — 
 the most vital question now, of course, with the Ad- 
 miral. The cacique answered that he was an old man 
 and had known other old men in his time who under- 
 stood such matters, and he had never heard it said that 
 it had any end. Others thought that a ship could not 
 reach the end of it in forty moons. But the province 
 of Mangon la}^ just to the westward, and there the 
 
HA PPT DA rs OF THE VO lA GE. o 5 1 
 
 people could inform liim fiirther. Alangoii ! — most 
 significant sound to tke ear of the Admiral. That 
 must be " Mangi " ! the celebrated province of the 
 Grand Khan. He must know all about Mangon. And 
 right well can these natives inform him. They know 
 that these people of Mangon have tails, and wear long 
 garments to cover them up. Wh}- else should they 
 wear clothing ? Surely there was nothing in nature 
 of which to be ashamed ? How striking ! Did not 
 Sir John Mandeville say that the inhabitants of Mangi 
 had tails, and so, contrary to the custom of their rude 
 neighbors, wore long clothing? Surely now he must 
 be approaching Tartar}^ ! 
 
 After being well feasted on the fat pigeons furnished 
 by the natives, the squadron sailed away into an 
 immense stretch of open sea along the charming 
 mountainous coast. Everything was now bright with 
 hope. These illusive hours constituted some of the 
 most gala-daj^s of poor Columbus. Each- day repeats 
 the same delectations. The ever-varjdng landscape of 
 mountain, valle}^, river, and peaceful Indian village is 
 on the right. The clear, dark sea, dark because of its 
 great depth, reaches away to the horizon on the left. 
 At every headland and in every baj^ the natives 
 anticipate them. The}'- come out in their swift canoes 
 laden w4th fruits and the good things of the land gen- 
 erally. They even swim out to the ships in order to 
 meet these people from heaven. The evening breezes, 
 with their soft showers, bring sweet odors from the 
 land, and the still sweeter songs of the jubilant villagers, 
 feasting and dancing at this great event of the arrival 
 of the ships from the skies. The Admiral is living in 
 
252 FRIAR OF ST. MART OF MERC'i. 
 
 the very third heaven of hope and joy, the balni}^ 
 nights passing as if they were but a single hour. 
 
 After passing the beautiful Gulf of Xagua, they sail 
 into water white as milk, from the fine sand kept afloat 
 by the agitations of the water. Then come numerous 
 islands again, as numerous as the Gardens of the 
 Queen, and the navigation is exceedingly difficult. 
 The smallest caravel going ahead, the rest follow with 
 the utmost caution. A caravel, sent to the main in 
 search of water, reports the shores low and muddy, and 
 the trees so thick that they look like a solid wall. A 
 cat could not go on shore at that place. Again they 
 are in clear open water, and steer for the mountainous 
 coast. They anchor in a fine harbor in order to fill 
 the water-casks. 
 
 The wood-choppers are cutting their wood, and the 
 •drawers of water filling their casks, when one who 
 had strayed away into the forest with his cross-bow in 
 search of game returns in a breathless terror. He 
 has met a most weird and startling sight — some one 
 in a long white garment, looking like a grave friar of 
 St. Mary of Mercy. Two others followed with white 
 frocks down to their knees, and a little farther away 
 were coming about thirty similar personages, armed 
 with clubs and lances. Nor were they the common 
 tawny skins of the island, but of fair complexion like 
 Europeans. 
 
 At this startling report all the hewers of wood and 
 drawers of water fled in utmost precipitation to the 
 ships. 
 
 But the story had no ghostly alarm for Columbus. 
 It was but another item in the remarkable list of cor- 
 
A LION OR A GRIFFIN. 253 
 
 respondence between his findings and the accounts of 
 Mandeville and Polo. These must, indeed, be the 
 people of Mangi, who put on clothes in order to cover 
 their tails. On the following daj- some forty, under 
 arms, were hustled off into the wild interior in search 
 of these people dressed in white. And they must go 
 till the}^ find them, even if the journey be forty miles. 
 x\ dismal tramp this party had through almost impene- 
 trable forests, over broad plains of gigantic grasses 
 and shrubbery, where there was not even the track of 
 a wild beast. Scarcely more than a mile had they 
 gone, when they became almost exhausted and were 
 obliged to return. 
 
 The next day another party was sent out in a 
 different direction. They travelled but little farther 
 than their comrades of the da}^ before, and with no 
 better result. They very soon became alarmed at the 
 tracks of some huge animal in the sand, the sharp 
 claw-prints of which were indicative of the lion to 
 some, while others thought them the footprints of the 
 griffin, a fabulous animal, having the body and claws 
 of a lion and the head and wings of an eagle. This 
 creature had been frequently referred to by Cardinal 
 Iliaco, that favorite author of Columbus ; and Glanville, 
 in a work well known to him, had described it as keep- 
 ing guard over the mountains abounding in gems and 
 gold. On their return, the party was startled by a 
 flock of huge cranes, twice the size of those in Europe. 
 How aromatic were the impenetrable forests, and the 
 shrubbery of the meadows was most charmingly 
 festooned with the wild-grape vine, laden with fruit. 
 Like the ancient spies sent b}^ Moses into Canaan, who 
 
254 MOUNTAINS IN THE DISTANCE. 
 
 returned with the grapes of Eschol, the Spaniards came 
 bearing the luscious native fruit. 
 
 As to the people in long white garments, they were, 
 without doubt, a flock of great white herons, so 
 common in that region ; and the tracks in the sand — 
 "tracks of some very large beast, with five claws (a 
 terrible sight !) which they judged to be lion's, or grif- 
 fin's, or some other wild beast " — were probably those 
 of the alligator. How much natural history has done 
 to solve the mysteries of the superstitions of former 
 times ! 
 
 As the account given by Bernaldez, who appears to 
 have talked this whole matter over with Columbus at his 
 fireside, is here particularly lucid, we will copy a few- 
 paragraphs from him. He says : "The Admiral, hav- 
 ing thus crossed over from Point Serafin, where the 
 land declined towards the east to the mountains at 
 the north, followed the coast back towards the east till 
 he saw that it joined the other and was continuous 
 with it, and then turned again to the west ; and, al- 
 though both the vessels and the men were much worn 
 by the voyage, he proposed to sail for some mountains 
 which he had seen in the west at the distance of thirty- 
 five leagues from the place where they had taken in 
 their supply of water. After the}- had gone nine 
 leagues, they came to a beach, where thej^ captured the 
 cacique of the region, who, being an ignorant person 
 that had never been away from these mountains, told 
 them that towards the north the sea was very deep for 
 a very great distance. They weighed anchor, and 
 proceeded on their voyage very joyful, thinking to 
 find it as he had said. But, after sailing several 
 
PRES TER JOHN I 255 
 
 leagues, they found themselves entangled among a 
 number of islands, with very little depth of water, so 
 that they could not find a convenient channel by which 
 to go on. After making their way for a day and a 
 half through a very narrow and shallow channel, they 
 were obliged to drag the vessels, b}^ means of their 
 anchors and capstans, over the bottom, nearly a 
 fathom out of water, for two full leagues, after which 
 they found two fathoms and a half of water, in which 
 they sailed for two days, and farther on three fathoms. 
 At this place there came to the vessels many canoes, 
 the people in which said that the inhabitants of those 
 mountains had a king of great authority, and the}^ 
 seemed to be wonderfully impressed with the extent of 
 his dominion and the greatness of his power, sa3dng 
 that he had infinite provinces, that he was called 
 ' Holy,' and that he wore a white tunic, which trailed 
 upon the ground." How suggestive ! Must this not 
 indeed be Prester John ? 
 
 " The}^ pursued their course along the coast, in three 
 fathoms of water, for four days, in which they passed 
 the mountains, leaving them far to the east, and al- 
 ways found the shore low and the trees growing close 
 to the water's edge, as has been described, so that it 
 was impossible to effect a landing. At the end of this 
 time, the vessels being in a bay where the coast turned 
 again to the east, the}^ saw upon a cape, at twenty 
 leagues distance, some very high mountains, which 
 the Admiral determined to visit, since the sea was not 
 open towards the north, and was of very great depth, 
 as the cacique had said, who also told the Admiral 
 that in the way in which he was going he would not 
 
2^6 PALM GROVES AND PEARLS. 
 
 come to the end of the land in fifty leagues — so he had 
 heard it said. They sailed within a great many 
 islands, and, after four days and nights, came to the 
 mountains they had seen, and found a country as large 
 as the island of Corsica. They went all around it, 
 but found no spot where they could land, the shore 
 being very muddy and the trees very thick, as has 
 been said of the other places, and the smokes from the 
 dwellings of the inhabitants in the interior were large 
 and numerous. They remained on this coast seven 
 days seeking for fresh water, of which they were in 
 want, and which they found at a place towards the 
 east, in some beautiful palm-groves, where they also 
 found mother-of-pearl and some very handsome pearls, 
 and saw also that there were excellent fishing grounds, 
 if they were only used. After supplying themselves 
 with wood and water, they sailed towards the south 
 for a considerable distance, following the coast until it; 
 led them towards the southwest, and appeared to run 
 in that direction for a great number of daj^s' sail, and 
 at the south they saw the sea filled with islands. The 
 vessels were in very bad condition from thumping 
 about in the shallows, their ropes and tackle worn out, 
 and most of the provisions much injured, especially 
 the biscuit, in consequence of the leakiness of the 
 vessels ; and the men, too, were ver\^ much exhausted, 
 afraid of their provisions failing, and likewise of the 
 winds being, at this season, unfavorable for their 
 return." 
 
 Somewhere along here the crews were surprised at 
 the great numbers of enormous tortoises, which covered 
 the sea in countless numbers. There were also in- 
 
THE GOLDEN CHERSONESUS. 257 
 
 credibly large flights of cormorants, or sea-crows, 
 fairly darkening the sky, and what a sight must have 
 been those clouds of brilliant butterflies, which filled 
 the air for a whole day, until the evening showers dis- 
 persed them. 
 
 As illustrating the enterprising imagination of Co- 
 lumbus, Bernaldez says: "While on this voyage, it 
 occurred to him that if he should be prospered he 
 might succeed in returning to Spain by the east, go- 
 ing to the Ganges, thence to the Arabian gulf, thence 
 by land from Bthiopia to Jerusalem and to Joppa, 
 where he might embark on the Mediterranean, and 
 arrive at Cadiz." But this bold suggestion could 
 never have been more than a thought — could never 
 have been a definite and determined plan. 
 
 But that magnificent shore, stretching away inimit- 
 ably to the southwest, just as Marco Polo had de- 
 scribed India, must lead to the Golden Chersonesus 
 so attractive to the ancients — that country now sup- 
 posed to be the peninsula of Malacca. But the Admiral 
 was confronted by stubborn facts — hungry, tired 
 sailors and worn-out, leak}^ ships. Besides, who in all 
 these crews — some eighty souls — shared his enthusiasm 
 in Oriental discovery ? Where was there another im- 
 agination which could conceive such brilliant pictures 
 and such vast schemes as those which were constantly 
 arising to his vision ? 
 
 No ; unwilling as he may be, he must turn back ! — 
 even though he is so near the west end of the great 
 island that " a ship-boy from the masthead might 
 have overlooked the group of islands to the south, and 
 beheld the open sea beyond," and two or three days 
 
258 ISLAND OR CONTINENl ? 
 
 further sail would have rounded Cape San Antonio. 
 How different then would have been his geographical 
 conceptions, which remained a grand delusion till the 
 day of his death ! How vastly different might have 
 been his exploring expeditions in the few after years 
 of his life ! 
 
 Yet the ships do not turn about easily, teredo-bored 
 and crazy though they be. Many an eager look is 
 cast down along that immense trend of southwest 
 coast. What if it should prove to be the Golden 
 Chersonesus just under the ships' prows ? Or what 
 if they were, indeed, only nearing the end of an im- 
 mense island ? 
 
 But this must surely be the eastern extension of a 
 continent — the continent of Asia. Had they not 
 coasted three hundred and thirty leagues westward, 
 according to the estimates of the pilots ? Who had 
 ever heard of an island of such immense magnitude ? 
 And did not everything, especially that great extent 
 of southwestward coast-line, correspond to an iota with 
 the descriptions and accounts of India as given by 
 Polo and Mandeville ? Aye, those columns of smoke 
 arising here and there throughout the mountains and 
 hills of the interior might be from the fires of the 
 ruder outlying parts of Mangi and Cathay. 
 
 But in a matter so important, so vital to the magni- 
 tude of his enterprises, he will not depend merely upon 
 his own opinion in making out an of&cial report to the 
 court of Spain. Bvery soul in the three ships must 
 record his conviction under oath. Who could tell what 
 crookedness and perverseness there might be in bring- 
 ing home to the King and Queen the reports of so 
 
A STRANGE OATH. 259 
 
 many ? A public notary, therefore, is sent, with four 
 witnesses, to take the judgment of each one, from cap- 
 tain to ship-boy, under oath. At this distance of four 
 centuries, and in this light of the end of the nineteenth 
 century, the proceedure is simply ridiculously absurd, 
 appearing, as one has said, like attempting " to estab- 
 lish a geographical fact by a certificate under oath." 
 Possibly if we had stood on the deck of one of the 
 ships of the little fleet, conscious of the touch and 
 influence of all the circumstances, we might at least 
 modify our judgment. 
 
 But if the act of administering the oath is of doubt- 
 ful wisdom, the penalties annexed to any opposite 
 opinion expressed afterwards is still more objectionable. 
 It was formally announced by the notary that if any one 
 dared to falsify this expression of conviction, if an 
 officer he should pay a penalty of ten thousand mara- 
 vedis, and if a private he should receive a hundred 
 lashes and have his tongue cut. This word 'V/^/"' has 
 generally been rendered "<:«/ (9/^/," which is straining 
 the meaning. If we fall back upon the customary 
 treatment of liars in Spain — and it was lying and not 
 changing of opinion that was to be punished — we shall 
 find that it was to slit the end of the tongue. This, 
 then, was what Columbus meant b}- having the tongue 
 ^'<f/^/." And, considering that this event belonged to 
 the age of Torquemada and the Inquisition, the penalty 
 was by no means severe. 
 
 The sorrowful faces of the crews became more cheer- 
 ful on June 13th, as the ships stood to the southeast for 
 Hispaniola. They were passing through a labyrinth 
 of keys, which were almost impenetrable to a sailing 
 
26o HARD SAILING 
 
 craft. Very soon a large and majestic island, now 
 known as the Isle of Pines, loomed up in tlie midst of 
 countless islets. iVnchoring here for wood and water, 
 they soon bore to the east, along the south side of the 
 island, hoping to find an open passage south of the 
 innumerable islands they had encountered sailing west- 
 ward, and also intending to explore the south shore of 
 Jamaica en route. 
 
 But his crews seem to have been greatly dismayed 
 at this indirection ; he therefore sailed through the 
 islands back to Cuba over the white sea noticed before. 
 The way was exceedingly toilsome, and the crews 
 were in the most unhappy mood. Nor did the loss of 
 ten days in testing a new passage, and the slim allow- 
 ance of a pound of mouldy bread and a few swallows of 
 wine per day to a man, tend to the increase of cheer- 
 fulness. On June 30th, as they were toiling througk 
 the most perplexing channels, the Admiral's ship struck 
 bottom with such violence as to alarm all. The anchor 
 was sent out astern to free her, but they finally had to 
 drag her across the shoal with great effort. 
 
 Now they are again sailing along the clear coast of 
 Cuba, in sight of the delightful province of Ornafay. 
 Like Humboldt, hundreds of years later, they are de- 
 lighted with the fragrant odors wafted out on the sea. 
 
 May not this hungr}^, tired crew now have a little 
 rest and refreshment? With what joy they cast an- 
 chor, July 7th, in the mouth of a beautiful river. 
 While they are taking in wood and water, the Admiral 
 is making the acquaintance of the cacique, who rules 
 over a large tract of this charming country. The 
 exhausted seamen are delighted with the sweet repose 
 
HIGH MASS. 261 
 
 of terra finna. No less grateful is the abundant 
 repast furnished by the natives — cassava-bread, utias, 
 birds of every kind, including large, fat pigeons, and 
 such aromatic, luscious fruits ! 
 
 Nor are the services and ceremonies of religion neg- 
 lected. A stately cross is erected in a charming grove, 
 and on a bright Sunday morning the impressive 
 ceremonies of high mass are celebrated. The cacique 
 and his venerable counsellor of four-score 3^ears have 
 each taken the Admiral by the hand and led him to 
 the grove for worship, the latter having presented to 
 him a string of mystic beads and a calabash of the 
 finest fruit. The natives stand around in groups 
 witnessing the solemnities with the utmost awe. 
 
 When all was over, the venerable Indian counsellor 
 approached Columbus and made an address which, 
 for its profound wisdom and sacred import, is worthy 
 to be recorded to the end of time. 
 
 This discourse as given by Bernaldez, who, no doubt, 
 received it from the lips of Columbus as a guest at his 
 own fireside, is as follows : " He had known how the 
 Admiral was going about exploring all the islands in 
 these parts and the continent,^ and that his being on 
 the continent was known to them. He told the Ad- 
 miral that he must not be vainglorious because all 
 the people were afraid of him, for that he was mortal, 
 like men ; and he began by words and by signs to 
 explain how men w^ere born naked, and how the}^ had 
 an immortal soul, and that when any member was 
 diseased it was the soul that felt the pain ; that at the 
 time of death, and their separation from the bod}^, 
 
 1 Referring, no doubt, to Cuba. 
 
262 CELEBRA TION OF HIGH MASS. 
 
INDIAN EL O^ UENCE. 263 
 
 these souls felt very great pain, and that they went to 
 the King of the heavens, or into the abyss of the earth, 
 according to the good or evil they had done and 
 wrought in the world." 
 
 Peter Martyr, who, no doubt, reports the results of 
 his conversations with the Admiral, gives the words of 
 the aged Indian counsellor as follows : "I have been 
 advised, most mighty prince, that you have of late 
 with great power subdued many lands and regions 
 heretofore unknown to you, and have brought great 
 fear on all the people and inhabitants thereof, which 
 good fortune you will bear with less insolency if 
 you remember that the souls of men have two journeys 
 after they are departed from this body : the one, foul 
 and dark, prepared for such as are injurious and cruel 
 to mankind ; the other, pleasant and delightful, or- 
 dained for those who, in their lifetime, loved peace and 
 quietness. If, therefore, you acknowledge yourself to 
 be mortal, and consider that every man shall receive 
 just rewards or punishments for such things as he 
 hath done in this life, you will wrongfully hurt no 
 man." 
 
 The Admiral was deeply impressed by this address 
 as translated b}^ the I^ucayan, and replied to the ven- 
 erable man, telling how pleased he was to learn his 
 views as to a future state, not having ascertained any- 
 thing of the kind from the natives before ; that he had 
 been sent to teach them religion, to subdue their 
 enemies, the cannibals, and to protect them from all 
 harm. Therefore, the harmless and peaceable might 
 look to him as their friend and protector. The old 
 man, surprised to find that the Admiral was still sub- 
 
264 
 
 AN AFFECTING FAREWELL. 
 
 ject to a higher ruler, was still more astonished to 
 learn from the Luca3^an the glory of Spain and its 
 rulers. Surely that country must be heaven. Would 
 not the Admiral take him along with him on his re- 
 turn ? But the entreaties of his wife and family were 
 such that the aged man was obliged to give up the 
 proj ect. 
 
 July 1 6th, Columbus took an affecting farewell of 
 the chief and his venerable adviser, and, taking a 
 young native as interpreter, found sea-room outside 
 the Queen's Gardens on his way to Hispaniola. But 
 he was soon overtaken by a gale, which almost upset 
 the crazy vessels, and so strained his caravel as to let 
 the water in at every seam and defy the efforts of the 
 weary crew at bailing. Anchoring in the shelter of 
 Cape Cruz on the i8th, the Spaniards enjoyed the 
 renewed hospitality of the natives for three days. As 
 the wind was still unfavorable, July 2 2d the ships 
 stood across to Jamaica in order to circumnavigate 
 that beautiful island. But the coasting of its south 
 shore to the east was the toilsome work of nearly a 
 month. So untoward was the weather that the 
 ships were obliged to anchor under lee of the land each 
 night, the head-winds and pelting showers often com- 
 pelling them to enter harbor at night where they had 
 started out in the morning. Fortunately the natives 
 were cordial, and brought them abundant provisions. 
 If the leaky crafts and exhausted crews urged Columbus 
 homeward, the magnificence of the island, with its 
 excellent harbors, strongly attracted him to remain 
 and explore the charms of the interior. In one large 
 bay, including seven islands and surrounded with 
 
A ROl'AL FAMILY. 265 
 
 native villages, the cacique entertained him most 
 nobh^ 
 
 " The next day the Admiral left the place, and after 
 he had already got under sail with a light wind, the 
 cacique, with three canoes, came towards the ships in 
 such state that I must not omit to describe his 
 equipage. One of the canoes was very large, like a 
 Isivge /iis^a,^ and much painted ; in this canoe was the 
 cacique himself, with his wife and two daughters, one 
 of whom was about eighteen years old, very beautiful, 
 entirely naked, according to the custom of the country, 
 and very modest ; the other was younger. There 
 were likewise two boys, his sons, and five of his 
 brothers, and other kinsmen. Indeed, all the others 
 must have been his kinsmen and subjects. He also 
 brought with him in his canoe a man who acted as 
 standard-bearer. This man alone stood in the bow of 
 the canoe, wearing a loose coat of red feathers, re- 
 sembling in shape those of our kings-at-arms, and on 
 his head a large plume, which looked very well ; and 
 in his hand he bore a white banner, without any 
 device. Two or three men came with their faces 
 painted, all in the same way, and each of these wore 
 on his head a large plume, in shape like a helmet, and 
 over the face a round tablet as large as a plate, painted 
 likewise, and all of them in the same style, for neither 
 in these tablets nor in the plumes was there an}^ 
 difference ; these carried in their hands a kind of 
 musical instrument, upon which they played. There 
 were two others, who were also painted, but in a 
 different fashion ; these bore two wooden trumpets, 
 
 1 Or yacht. 
 
266 ROYAL INDIAN ORNAMENTS. 
 
 liiglily wrought with figures of birds and other devices, 
 the wood being black and very fine ; each of them 
 wore a very handsome hat of green feathers, very 
 closely put together, and of very ingenious workman- 
 ship. Six others wore hats of white feathers, and 
 came in a body as the cacique's guard. 
 
 " The cacique wore suspended from his neck a trinket 
 made of copper, which is brought from a neighboring 
 island called Guani, and is very fine, resembling gold 
 of eight carats ; in shape it was like a fleur-de-lis^ and 
 as large as a plate. He wore also on his neck a string 
 of large marble beads, which these people value very 
 highly ; and on his head a large open crown of very 
 small green and red stones, disposed in order and in- 
 termixed with some larger, white ones, so as to look 
 very well. He had suspended over his forehead a 
 large jewel, and from his ears hung two large plates 
 of gold, with rings of verj^ small green beads, and 
 although naked he wore a girdle of the same workman- 
 ship as the crown, all the rest of his body being 
 uncovered. His wife was decked in a similar manner 
 and naked, except so much of her person as was 
 covered b}^ a bit of cotton not larger than an orange 
 leaf. She wore upon her arms, just below the 
 shoulders, a roll of cotton like those on the sleeves of 
 the ancient French doublets, and another similar roll, 
 but larger, she wore on each leg below the knee — like 
 the anklets of the Moorish women. The elder and 
 more beautiful of the daughters was entirely naked, 
 wearing only a girdle of stones of a single color, black 
 and very small, from which hung something in the 
 shape of an ivy-leaf, of green and red stones, embroid- 
 ered upon cotton cloth. 
 
AN ASTOUNDING PROPOSITION. 
 
 267 
 
 " The large canoe came between the two others and a 
 little in advance of them, and as soon as it came up 
 with the vessel the cacique came on board and began 
 giving to the masters and each of the men something 
 from his treasures. This was in the morning and the 
 Admiral was at his prayers, knowing nothing of this 
 giving of presents or of the purpose of the coming of 
 this cacique, who had come at once on board the caravel 
 with his followers, and when the Admiral came on deck 
 he had sent back his attendants to the land with the 
 canoes and they were already at a considerable distance. 
 As soon as the Admiral made his appearance the 
 cacique came towards him with a very joyful counte- 
 nance, addressing him as follows : ' My friend, I have 
 resolved to leave my country and go with thee to see the 
 King and Queen and the Prince, their son — the two 
 greatest lords in the world, whose power is so great that 
 they have subdued so many countries hereabouts by 
 means of thee, who art their subject and goest on thy 
 conquests by their command. This we have learned from 
 those Indians whom thou carriest with thee, and also how 
 everywhere the people are wondrously afraid of thee — 
 even the Caribs, an innumerable and ver}^ brave race, 
 whose canoes and dwellings thou hastdestroj^ed, and hast 
 captured their wives and children, and slain those of 
 them who did not escape by flight. I know that in all 
 the islands of this region there is an infinite number 
 of people and a vast country, and they all stand in fear 
 and great dread of thee, and thou canst do them much 
 harm and injury if they do not submit to the great 
 King of Castile, thy lord, since thou knowest the people 
 of these islands and their weakness, and art acquainted 
 
^68 AN EMBARRASSING SITUATION 
 
 witli the country. And before thou shalt take from me 
 my lands and dominions I wish to go with thee in thy 
 vessels, with my family, to see the mighty King 'and 
 Queen, thy sovereigns, and the land in Avhich thej^ 
 dwell, the richest the most abundant in the world, and 
 the wonders of Castile, which are many, as th}^ Indian 
 has told me.' '" 
 
 The situation was decidedly embarrassing. His 
 leaky ships and mould}^ bread would afford but poor 
 accommodations for these royal personages. He there- 
 fore relieved himself of the dangerous draught on his 
 scant larder and the overcrowding of his small cabins 
 \>y promising to comply with the cacique's wishes at 
 a more opportune season, when he might be going 
 directly to Spain. 
 
 On the 20th of July the Admiral was coasting the 
 south side of the western peninsula of Hispaniola. He 
 did not recognize the island, however, till a cacique, 
 pushing out to the caravels on the 23d, accosted him by 
 his title and mixed a little Castilian in his Indian sen- 
 tences. But it was still no small matter to get around 
 the island. The weather was so severe as to separate 
 the ships, and it was near the end of August when the 
 Admiral anchored his ship at the tall rock " Alto Velo," 
 so named because, in the distance, it resembled a ship 
 under sail. This island was only half way along the 
 south shore. Here, while the sailors kept lookout for the 
 other two vessels, they found the pigeons and other 
 birds so tame that they could knock them over with 
 sticks. They also killed what they called sea-wolves — 
 probably a kind of seal — while these creatures were 
 
 ^ Bernaldez. 
 
AN ECLIPSE OF THE MOON. 269 
 
 sleeping on the sand. Being joined finally by the 
 other two caravels, they proceeded, passing beautiful 
 rivers and bays, where the Indian villages could be 
 seen in various directions. 
 
 Presently some of the natives came out in canoes to 
 greet them. They had seen some of the Spaniards 
 recently and reported favorably concerning the colony. 
 Being thus encouraged, he landed nine men, who were 
 to cross the island and announce his approach to 
 Isabella. 
 
 A little further east the weather became so threaten- 
 ing that the Admiral took shelter in a channel behind a 
 key or islet. An eclipse of the moon enabled him to 
 take his longitude. During eight tempestuous days he 
 waited here, intensely anxious as to the fate of the 
 other vessels, tossed by the tempest he knew not 
 whither. In due time, how^ever, they rejoined him, and 
 by the 24th of September they had reached the eastern 
 end of Hispaniola. Between Hayti and Porto Rico is 
 the island of Mona. Here they anchored. 
 
 Even now, with his damaged ships and failing stores 
 of provisions, the Admiral " could not get the consent 
 of his mind" to put into Isabella without further 
 exploration of the Carib islands, lying just away to the 
 southeast. But from this undertaking the crews were 
 suddenly relieved. Strong as our veteran seaman was, 
 blood and nerve could not sustain the stupendous efforts 
 of his mind. Trying enough were the hunger, the toil^ 
 and the buffeting of storms endured by the ship-boy. 
 All of these Columbus shared ; but what were they 
 compared with that w'atchfulness which kept guard 
 while others slept? — the sleepless eye that studied the 
 
270 ^ FEARFUL REACTION. 
 
 stars by night, and scanned the horizon night and day 
 for new islands and continents ? — the consciousness 
 that all Spain and the world were gazing upon him ? 
 Fernando Columbus says the Admiral had scarcely 
 slept three hours in eight days. Columbus himself 
 says he was thirty-three days without natural rest. In 
 all, this anxious, nervous voyage had lasted five 
 months. And, after all, what was it but an immense 
 disappointment? Surely it was nothing more than a 
 grand uncertainty. What wonder, then, that the reaction 
 was too great for the natural forces to sustain? A 
 lethargy like a deep sleep came over him. The hand 
 was helpless ; the open, fixed eyes were sightless ; 
 the perceptive faculties were all dormant ; memory was 
 broken off. The little fleet sailed into Isabella bearing 
 their commander-in-chief — scarcely more than a dead 
 man ! A severe sickness of some five months — the 
 same length of time as the voyage — now followed. 
 
CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 EVENTS ON REACHING ISABELLA. 
 
 NH joy, at least, awaited tlie Admiral. His 
 brother Bartholomew was at his bedside. 
 The chase of this affectionate brother, for 
 some ten years, in the interests of Christopher — now 
 Admiral — is really affecting. Having shared the 
 voyage of Bartholomew Diaz along the south coast of 
 Africa in i486, in which voyage the Cape of Good Hope 
 was discovered,'^ he afterwards went to England to 
 enlist Henry VII. in favor of his brother's scheme. 
 Gobbled up by pirates and reduced to such extreme 
 poverty that he was obliged to spend considerable time 
 in making maps, charts, etc., ere he could appear before 
 that potentate, he was so belated in reaching France 
 after his success in England^ that Paris was already 
 aflame with the news of his brother's triumphant 
 return from his first voyage. Bartholomew at once 
 gained notoriet}^ at the French court, and Charles 
 VIII. gave him one hundred crowns to help him back 
 to Spain. Here he arrived just after the Admiral had 
 set out on his second voyage. Going to the Spanish 
 court with his 3'oung nephews, w'ho w^ere to be pages 
 to the royal household, he was majde commander in a 
 
 ^This is ascertained from a note, in his handwriting, on the margin of his 
 brother's famous copy of Cardinal Iliaco's Imago Miindi. 
 
 -The history of this trip to England is somewhat obscure, but Henry VII. 
 seems to have given heed to Bartholomew's interesting map and to have 
 favored Christopher's project. 
 
272 ^^-^ ^^^ BROTHERS. 
 
 fleet about to sail to the Indies. Here again he 
 arrived too late. The Admiral's little squadron had 
 just left for the south side of Cuba. At last the broth- 
 ers, so alike in nature and in the aims and purposes 
 of life, had met. Tall and stately like his brother, and 
 of a very similar grade of culture, Bartholomew was 
 less imaginative, less speculative, more stern and prac- 
 tical — less of a genius, more of a man of affairs. We 
 shall know him by his career hereafter. Happy hours 
 must these two heroic natures have found in each 
 other during the long days of convalescence of the 
 Admiral. No insignificant chit-chat theirs, but talk 
 about something — something of weight to the world. 
 The Admiral would want to know all about that tour 
 to the English court, also about that favorable recep- 
 tion in Paris. And how were matters in Spain ? The 
 boys were at the court and were well, and the Ad- 
 miral was still held in high esteem there ; and that 
 "bull of extension" which the Pope issued just as 
 Columbus had departed on his second vo3^age ! — how 
 completely it would protect Spain against Portugal in 
 the full possession of all the pagan countries of the 
 Indies which the former might discover. 
 
 But the outlook at Isabella was threatening. The 
 great shock of disappointment to the large companj^ 
 of adventurers who had come out in the second voyage 
 was still keenly felt. The arduous labor, constant 
 privation, and slow profits of a pioneer life did not 
 suit their notions of making a fortune. Then this fo7'- 
 eigner.^ who demanded that " if any man did not work 
 neither should he eat,'' and who required that hidalgo, 
 priest, and common laborer should all toil alike in 
 
IMPOSITION ON NATIVES. 273 
 
 ploughing the field, building the town, and in grind- 
 ing at the mill, was, to say the least, very distasteful 
 to them. 
 
 But if the colony was in an unhappy mood, the 
 natives were in a still more dangerous attitude. The 
 instructions given to Margarite by the Admiral as he 
 was about to sail for Cuba contained dangerous ele- 
 ments, and that leader had precipitated the evil conse- 
 quences by neglecting the better clauses, which might 
 at least in part have served as a corrective. If he 
 were not to annoy the natives by impositions, he must, 
 on the other hand, make them fear the power of the 
 white man ; and to turn out some four hundred hungry 
 vSpaniards to be fed by the slim provisions of the 
 natives was presuming a good deal on their hospital- 
 ity, especially when we remember Las Casas' state- 
 ment, that " one man would consume in a da}^ that 
 which would have sufficed three Indian families of 
 ten persons each for the space of a whole month." 
 But always and everywhere the heinous offence of 
 the Spaniards against the natives was that against 
 the chastity of their wives and daughters. 
 
 Margarite had given little or no attention to law and 
 order or the accomplishing of. any good purpose in 
 the absence of Columbus. He led out his four hun- 
 dred into the beauties and luxuries of the Vega Real 
 to revel at pleasure. Their excesses, it would seem, 
 were simply a repetition of the affairs of La Navidad 
 on a large scale. 
 
 When Diego Columbus, seeing the inevitable conse- 
 quences of such evil courses, wrote to Margarite, warn- 
 ing him and reminding him of his charge to explore the 
 
274 AN EVIL DEPARTURE. 
 
 country aud the gold regions, this haiight}^ leader at 
 once headed a faction of the Admiral's most bitter 
 enemies. And in this wicked enterprise he found an 
 able colleague in Father Bull, a Benedictine friar, 
 who was proving false alike to his duties as a member 
 of the ruling council at Isabella and as chief apostle 
 to the heathen natives. 
 
 Under the mild rule of Diego, a better ecclesiastic 
 than ruler of a colony, it would seem, these malcontents 
 sei^vcd two of the ships in the harbor, and, along with 
 their accomplices, sailed for Spain. If there was great 
 relief in being rid of these arch-rebels, there was no 
 telling what the evil influence of this Spanish knight 
 and high ecclesiastic might be with the sovereigns 
 and nobilit}^ at home. Such anticipations were not 
 very helpful to the convalescent Admiral. 
 
 But the evil did not depart with the leaders. The 
 adherents of Margarite became a sort of banditti, and 
 breaking up into small squads infested the country in 
 the most lawless manner. The natural indignation of 
 the human heart arose among the natives. Acts of 
 vengeance, few at first, soon became more common, 
 and before long the Indians were planning a combina- 
 tion against their intruders. 
 
 The brave and sagacious Caonabo was planning to 
 surprise Fort St. Thomas in the mountains with about 
 ten thousand warriors armed with clubs, bows and 
 arrows, and lances pointed and hardened in the fire. 
 But Ojeda, as big in spirit as he was little in body, 
 getting clue to his intentions, made solemn vows to 
 the Virgin, in the presence of that picture of " Our 
 Lady " which he kept on the wall of his chamber, and 
 
THE SIEGE BROKEN UP. 
 
 275 
 
 put his fifty men under arms, making them bristle along 
 the ramparts. Cross-bows and arquebuses told heav- 
 ily on naked bodies, and when this spirited leader 
 sallied forth here and there with his men in armor 
 Caonabo's braves fell almost in rank and file. 
 
 If there was no hope in weapons of war, there 
 might be hope in famine. Caonabo stationed his forces 
 on every pass, in order to cut ofi^ ever3^ source of sup- 
 ply. This told heavily on the fortress, especially after 
 being kept up for thirt}^ days. But Ojeda made fre- 
 quent and effective sallies round about, always seem- 
 ing to move too quickly to be struck by an}^ Indian 
 lance or arrow. By and by the Indians became 
 wearied of this protracted and apparently useless effort 
 and gradually disappeared in the forests. 
 
 When Caonabo left St. Thomas, filled wdth admira- 
 tion for the tact and dash of Ojeda, it was only to 
 mature wider and deeper plans for the destruction of 
 the Spaniards. By a careful reconnoitre he ascer- 
 tained the weakness of the colony at Isabella. He 
 then undertook to unite all the native forces of the 
 island against it. This was no ver}" difficult task. 
 The conduct of the white men had so broken down the 
 original notion of the Indians as to their angelic or 
 divine nature, and had so embittered their feelings, 
 that there was a general readiness for the uprising. 
 
 It was no small matter for Guacanagari to break 
 away from his neighboring chiefs and ally himself to 
 the detested strangers, but the confidence of the Ad- 
 miral was rewarded by a friendly call from this in- 
 teresting savage, during which the former was informed 
 of the combination against him and of the cost of the 
 
276 ^^O SHALL LEAD THE ARMTf 
 
 latter's loyalty — of his wives, one having been killed 
 by Behechio, and another captured by Caonabo. Thus 
 Guacanagari was suffering the enmity of his old native 
 colleagues on account of his friendship for the white 
 men. The loyalty of this noble-hearted cacique, whose 
 large territory was in the immediate vicinity of the 
 settlement, was of incalculable importance. 
 
 Columbus was almost without force or even avail- 
 able leadership in the midst of this threatening combi- 
 nation of the many thousands of enraged natives. He 
 was on his sick-bed, there was no one among the 
 Spaniards capable of leading the attack, and they 
 w^ere jealous of Bartholomew. First a small force was 
 sent to the relief of Fort Magdalena, which was in 
 danger of falling a prey to Guatiguana, the angry ca- 
 cique of the Grand River region. He had recently 
 massacred a number of Spaniards, probably for ex- 
 cesses committed in his dominions. The expedition 
 against him was successful, with the usual Spanish 
 excesses, as it would appear, the cacique himself mak- 
 ing good his escape. 
 
 As this was a tributary cacique to Guarionex, wha 
 was known to be amenable to kindly influences, Co- 
 lumbus sent for him in order to have a friendly inter- 
 view. The Admiral deprecated the licentiousness and 
 excesses of the Spaniards as contrary to his wishes 
 and intentions, and by means of his remarkable per- 
 suasive powers he brought this gentle-hearted savage 
 into friendly relations, which he sealed by effecting 
 the marriage of the chief's daughter and his Lucayan 
 intrepreter, called Diego Colon. This brought him 
 into peaceful relations with tha whole Vega Real^ 
 
THE TALKING METAL. 277 
 
 whicli he made still more secure by building the 
 Fort La Conception. 
 
 But if Guarionex had been brought into friendly 
 relations, Caonabo, the powerful cacique of the gold 
 regions, could not be conciliated. Much has been 
 said as to the dishonorable instructions given b}^ Co- 
 lumbus for the capture of this redoubtable chief. But 
 here was a pressing necessity, and if war even in our 
 day is " cruel " and " cannot be refined," much more 
 was it so in that unscrupulous age. Ojeda, with his 
 usual " cunning and dash," is the hero of this striking 
 episode. He would go as a peaceful embassador to that 
 chieftain, thus appealing to his high, chivalrous feel- 
 ings. With ten trusty comrades, he would partake of 
 his hospitality and propose a journey to Isabella, 
 where the savage chieftain was to enter into peaceful 
 relations with the Admiral and receive as a gift the 
 chapel bell — a great mystery to the natives, since it 
 could call the people together. It was made of a talk- 
 ing metal ^ they said, and all brazen, glittering objects 
 were associated with this " talking metal." How Cao- 
 nabo, when lurking about the woods around Isabella, 
 had longed to see this wonderful object, no doubt 
 come down from heaven. Surely he would do almost 
 anything to have it now as his own. Thus far all 
 was well; but what was Ojeda's surprise, on starting 
 out, to see a powerful band of warriors ready to march 
 in protection of their chief! " Why take such an 
 army when going on a friendl}'- visit ?" he asked. " It 
 would not do for a prince like himself to go slimly 
 attended," he replied. Here was a perplexity. The 
 affairs of Isabella were in too weak a condition to have 
 a savage army precipitated upon it. 
 
278 
 
 A TRAP FOR A CHIEFTAIN. 
 
 The authority for the shrewd stratagem now resorted 
 to is none other than the venerable Las Casas, who 
 arrived at Isabella some six years after the occurrence 
 and found a vivid recollection of it among the citizens. 
 
 As the Indians and the Spaniards were journeying 
 along together they came to a river. Here, as they 
 halted, Ojeda displayed a set of steel manacles, so 
 highly polished as to resemble burnished silver. 
 These ornaments, Ojeda said, came from heaven, and 
 were w^orn by his monarchs at home, at great festivals. 
 If Caonabo would first take a bath, he would present 
 them to him ; and if he would put them on he might 
 ride back on his own horse, to the great astonishment 
 of his subjects. Sharp as Caonabo was, he walked 
 straight into this trap. Having enjoyed his swim, he 
 mounted the horse behind Ojeda, and suffered the 
 shining ornaments to be fastened upon him. While 
 the chieftain was delighting himself over his lofty posi- 
 tion and royal present, Ojeda started, and his com- 
 rades followed. They whirl into a circle, which is 
 made larger at each round, the frightened natives fly- 
 ing pell-mell into the woods in every direction. The 
 riders found it easy to escape through the scattered 
 body-guard. When far enough away to be concealed 
 they halted, closed about their captive, drew their 
 swords, and threatened death if he tried to escape. 
 Having bound him firmly to Ojeda with cords, the}'- 
 put spurs to their horses for Isabella. Fifty leagues 
 or more, past large Indian towns, lay between them 
 and home. The vast community of native allies must 
 not be excited, so they move with utmost caution and 
 pass the towns in full gallop. They are hungry and 
 
THE ROYAL CAPTIVE. 279 
 
 fatigued, yet they must keep on — fording rivers, cross- 
 ing long reaches of plain clothed in gigantic grasses, 
 tearing their walkthrough tangled thickets and forests, 
 and clambering over rocky hills and mountains. 
 
 But the}^ enter Isabella in triumph, to the great 
 delight of Columbus and the colony. The Admiral 
 will keep him bound in his own house till he can send 
 him as a prisoner to Spain, passers-by gazing at him 
 from the street. Truly a lesson in human life is this 
 Carib of the mountains. He will not humble himself 
 in the presence of the Admiral, nor take the least 
 notice of him. He boasts of his massacre of La Navi- 
 dad, and acknowledges his intent of treating Isabella 
 in like manner. Why does he rise to his feet and pay 
 the profoundest respect to Ojeda when he enters the 
 room, but never deign to notice the Admiral ? The 
 latter did not dare to attack him in his mountain fast- 
 ness, but the former was heroic enough to make him a 
 captive. His face is hard as the mountain rocks. 
 True to the nature of the savage, he will show no 
 sign of grief or despair, but will be brave and unyield 
 ing to the end. 
 
 While Columbus was still on his sick-bed, Bartholo- 
 mew acting as deputy, under the title of adelantado, 
 Antonio Torres arrived from Spain with four ships, 
 bringing a new physician, medicines, artificers and 
 gardeners. Was there not hope now that the sick 
 might be cured and that the rich resources of the soil 
 might be developed ? 
 
 Then that letter from the sovereigns, dated August 
 1 6th — how comforting it must have been ! Not only 
 had the Pope's line of demarcation been settled once 
 
28o ENCOURAGING WORDS. 
 
 and for all between Spain and Portugal — 370 leagues 
 west of the Cape de Verde Islands, but they wished 
 him to come himself or to send some one to them capa- 
 ble of running this boundary line, which they hoped 
 might pass through some island, where a monument 
 could be raised. And did they not owe all this im- 
 mense addition to their dominions to the genius and 
 perseverance of the Admiral ? Equally opportune was 
 the letter of the sovereigns to the colonists command- 
 ing strict obedience to the authority and to all the 
 wishes of the Viceroy, under penalty of ten thousand 
 maravedis for each offence. As the Admiral could 
 not go, Diego, his brother, was chosen to return, armed 
 with maps, charts, etc., to help in respect to the Pope's 
 line. Torres' ships must go back as soon as possible, 
 bearing something which might be regarded as an 
 adequate return for the liberal supplies brought out. 
 But what should it be ? There was but little gold ; a 
 variety of new fruits and spices, indeed, and samples 
 of the more common metals ; but these, all put together, 
 were but a sorry cargo for such a fleet to take back to 
 the expectant nation, all eyes being turned to the fab- 
 ulous resources — gold, pearls, gems, spices, silks — of 
 the Indies. 
 
 In this terrible emergency, why not imitate Portu- 
 gal, making herself wealthy in the now well-estab- 
 lished African slave-trade ; or Spain herself, who 
 enriched her coffers from the sale of the vanquished 
 Moors, taking not only men under arms, but thousands 
 of peaceful peasants and helpless women and children ? 
 True, this very fleet had just brought the decline of the 
 sovereigns to a proposed slaver}^ of the Caribs, in his 
 
A SHIP-LOAD OF SLAVES. 281 
 
 famous " Memorial," the humane heart of Isabella 
 asking if the evangelization of these heathen canni- 
 bals could not be accomplished " in some other wa}^ ;" 
 but had not the casuistrj^ of the church decided in favor 
 of the enslavement of the heathen by Christian nations, 
 that thus their benighted souls might come under the 
 illuminating influences of Christianity ? Anyhow, 
 necessit}^ knows no law, so here files the long train of 
 poor Indian prisoners of war into the ships — five hun- 
 dred of them going to Spain to be sold in exchange 
 for cattle, farm implements, seeds, etc. ! If the scene 
 could have been photographed, would we want the 
 picture ? Alas for the tender mercies of a Christian 
 civilization four hundred years ago ! 
 
 But let us not lay all the responsibilit}^ of this sad 
 scene upon Christopher Columbus. He was simply 
 in line with the public — or we maj'' say Christian — 
 sentiment of his time. Had his conceptions of human 
 freedom been as far in advance of his age as were his 
 views in cosmography, he might have illustrated in 
 his personal history the noble and humane principles 
 of Las Casas ; but we can scarcely look for an advanced 
 example of all the great virtues in one man. 
 
 And now one scene of miser}' crowds upon the heels 
 of another. The fleet laden with poor unfortunates 
 bound for the slave-markets of Spain was barely out 
 at sea, when the suffering natives had massed them- 
 selves in the Vega Real — Las Casas thinks a hundred 
 thousand of them — to wage war against their foreign 
 oppressors. And what had Columbus to bring out 
 against this dusky host, bristling with bows and arrows, 
 war-clubs, and rude lances, pointed and hardened in 
 
282 ^^-^ BATTLE ARRAY. 
 
 the fire ? Two hundred foot and twenty horse ! But 
 they were trained warriors, well armed, cased in steel, 
 and shielded by bucklers. The Admiral, barely up 
 from a sick-bed, took the lead, aided by Bartholomew 
 and Ojeda, April 25, 1495. Guacanagari followed 
 along with his naked warriors, but they were little 
 more than spectators in this swift destruction. 
 
 They climbed up the Gentleman's Pass, and de- 
 scended into the magnificent Vega Real — alas ! no 
 longer the earthly paradise of ease, peace, and plenty, 
 but the rendezvous of many thousands of angry sav- 
 ages. These were led by Manicaotex, brother of the 
 brave Caonabo. When, according to their custom, the 
 Indian spies, unskilled in the science of numbers, 
 returned with a mere handful of corn, each grain 
 representing a man in the enemy's army, the caciques 
 laughed at the insig7iifica7ice of their eneynies as com- 
 pared with their own immense jiumbers. But the little 
 Spanish army of foot, divided into detachments^ 
 rushed upon them in front, flank, and rear at the same 
 instant, with the deafening noise of drums, trumpets^ 
 and fire-arms. Steel lances, swords, cross-bows, and 
 arquebuses were too much for the naked Indians^ 
 They pressed together in utmost confusion. At the 
 same moment, Ojeda dashed among them with his 
 twenty war-horses, striking right and left with sabre 
 and lance. While the horses were trampling down 
 the bleeding victims the fierce blood-hounds rushed 
 upon them, dragging them down into the dust by the 
 throat and " tearing out their bowels." The terrific 
 shrieks and yells of the poor mortals were indescriba- 
 ble. From rocks and precipices the}^ begged for quar- 
 
WHO WAS RESPONSIBLE P 285 
 
 ter most piteousl3^ Vast numbers were killed, still 
 more were made prisoners, and the immense Indian 
 army was scattered and broken np as if alike by thun- 
 der and lightning from heaven and by fiends let 
 loose upon them from the infernal pit. 
 
 Who was responsible for this horrid slaughter? 
 Surely not the simple-hearted, generous natives, for 
 they were the most amiable of all beings till their hos- 
 pitalities and homes were outraged. And shall any 
 one say that this tempest of savage indignation would 
 ever have arisen if the plans and instructions of 
 Columbus had been carried out from the beginning? 
 The uncontrollable excesses of the Spaniards must 
 ever be regarded as the cause of all these dire calami- 
 ties with the natives. 
 
 The victory in the Vega was now to be followed up 
 by crushing out every symptom of rebellion in more 
 remote parts. Columbus and his warriors therefore 
 traversed the island, Ojeda and his horsemen moving 
 almost on the wings of the wind to any point which 
 might threaten insurrection. One after another, the 
 caciques submitted to the inevitable authorit3^ Gua- 
 rionex, chief of the Vega, naturally gentle and sub- 
 missive, and Manicaotex, Caonabo's valiant brother, 
 both made peace, and others followed — all except 
 Behechio. chief of the western part of the island ; he 
 had not yet come into personal contact with the Span- 
 iards, and his dominions afforded the safest retreat to 
 his sister, the beautiful Anacaona, wife of the captive 
 cacique Caonabo. 
 
 We now come to one of the worst measures of the 
 Admiral's administration in these islands. We must^ 
 
284 MUST HAVE GOLD I 
 
 however, give due weight to certain motive powers over 
 which he had no immediate control. Unwittingly he 
 had brought about a great national disappointment. 
 He had reported the discovery of the Indies, the countrj^ 
 of fabulous wealth — the desideratum of the nations. 
 But where was the gold, the pearls, the silks ? The 
 hundreds of eager fortune-seekers in the Indies had for 
 the most part either sickened and died in despair or had 
 gone back to Spain to report their disappointment in a 
 manner most damaging to his great enterprise. The 
 sovereigns, too, expected gold — must have gold ! The 
 recovery of the Holy Sepulchre would require gold. 
 Somehow gold must be gotten, or the most disastrous 
 failure would be insured. Columbus had no doubt but 
 there was plenty of the precious metal in the mountains 
 and streams of the island, but the ordinary methods 
 — owing, no doubt, to the inefficiency of the Spaniards — 
 had failed to procure it in encouraging quantities. But 
 Avas there not now an opportunity — providential, per- 
 haps — of commanding an immense working force—- 
 men, women, and children — who knew every nook and 
 stream of the mountains, and who had some slight 
 experience, at least, in searching and washing out the 
 gold ? Then it would be perfectly proper, according to 
 all received ideas of church and state, to command and 
 compel these heathen captives. How rapidly, how 
 magic-like, this great army of native workers might 
 accumulate the grains and nuggets of the precious 
 metal ! Here, indeed, was a golden dream — one well 
 in keeping with the times. 
 
 So every native over fourteen years of age was 
 required to deliver a Flemish hawk's bell of gold every 
 
THE TAX. 
 
 285 
 
 three months — a tax equal, perhaps, to some $15 in our 
 time. The caciques were to pay more — Guarionex a 
 half-calabash of gold-dust. 
 
 If the Vega Real and other similar rich tracts of the 
 island afforded little or no gold, did not cotton — t7'ee- 
 zuool^ as the German calls it — grow wild on the trees 
 and shrubs everywhere ? An arroba — twent3'-five 
 pounds — of this important product might be taken as 
 an equivalent for the hawk's bell of gold-dust. Thus 
 the tax — certainly a heavy one for these poor natives, 
 all unused to labor and hardship — was arranged. 
 Guarionex was much troubled at the exaction, lest his 
 people should not be able to comply ; and proposed tO' 
 grow a belt of grain from ocean to ocean across the 
 island — enough to provision all Castile for ten years, 
 Las Casas thought. 
 
 But this generous offer was rejected, for nothing but 
 gold would meet the necessities of the case. If the 
 full measure of the hawk's bell^ was too much, it might 
 be lessened one-half. 
 
 About this time the sovereigns wrote to Columbus : 
 " It appears to us that there should be given to Indians 
 with whom it is concerted that they are to pay the tribute 
 imposed, a piece or mark of brass coin or lead, which 
 they must wear on the nape ; and the figure or mark 
 of this said coin must be changed every time they pay,, 
 in order that it may be known who has not paid ; and 
 that whenever and wherever persons are found in the 
 island who have not changed the said mark on the 
 
 1 "It is a curious circumstance," savs Irving, "and might furnish some 
 practical conceits, that the miseries of the poor natives should thus be 
 measured out, as it were, by the very baubles Avhich first fascinated them." 
 
286 THE l-OKE OF SER VITUDE. 
 
 nape they are to be seized and subjected to some slight 
 punishment." A copper coin was selected as the 
 tribute-sign, to be worn on the neck, the die being 
 chauged at each payment. If any one had not the tri- 
 monthly payment thus certified, he was to be arrested 
 and punished. Thus we see that Ferdinand and Isabella 
 were in full sympathy with this enactment of Columbus. 
 
 In order that the payment of these tributes might be 
 duly enforced, the fortresses were all put in order and 
 new ones built — all so located as to keep an effective 
 surveillance over the island. 
 
 " In this way," says Irving, '' was the yoke of servi- 
 tude fixed upon the island, and its thraldom effectually 
 insured. Deep despair now fell upon the natives when 
 they found a perpetual task inflicted upon them, en- 
 forced at stated and frequently recurring periods. 
 Weak and indolent by nature, unused to labor of any 
 kind, and brought up in the untasked idleness of their 
 soft ■ climate and their fruitful groves, death itself 
 seemed preferable to a life of toil and anxiety." Nor 
 was there anything better to be seen in the future. A 
 power which they could not comprehend overshadowed 
 them. And these superhuman white men, clad in steel, 
 thrusting spears and swords into' their flesh, arraying 
 the very thunder and lightning against them, robbing 
 them of their lands and invading their household hap- 
 piness, had come to stay. Else why those great 
 houses of most solid structure in wood and stone, 
 compared with which their mere wigwams were 
 frail as birds' nests ? Their peculiar life of ease 
 and peaceful pleasure — one which poets and philosophers 
 might envy — with wants the fewest and resources of 
 
HOPELESS SLA VERT. 
 
 287 
 
 nature the greatest, was now forever passed away. 
 Those elysian fields and groves, where they had loitered 
 and lounged in the shade by day and sung and danced 
 to the sylvan drum by night, were now to be scenes of 
 toil and moil and hopeless servitude. " Hewers of 
 wood," " drawers of water,'' tillers of the soil, miners 
 in the mountain and stream, the}^ must bend to the 
 severest labor throughout the day, and lie down in 
 weariness and despair at night. Their song and dance, 
 once the very expression of a light and a joj'ous heart, 
 now degenerated into the mere voice and movement of 
 melancholy. They even recalled prophecies in which 
 their ancestors had foretold the advent of strangers, 
 clothed and bearing swords which could divide one 
 asunder at a blow, who should conquer and enslave 
 their posterity. 
 
 But these foreigners, apparently more than human 
 — whether demons or angels, it was hard to tell — 
 these beings must eat and drink, and seemed very 
 dependent on thetn for these daily necessities. Herein 
 might lie the secret of their power — they would starve 
 these white men out. They, the natives, could live 
 on the roots and herbs and scattered fruits of the 
 mountains, and could find shelter in the caves among 
 the rocks. So away they went, father, mother, and 
 child, to try the desperate experiment. But there was 
 more in the undertaking than they, in their sim- 
 plicity of heart, had taken into the account. The 
 white men suffered, indeed, for want of the immediate 
 service and supplies of the Indians, but the}^ had all 
 Spain back of them, and the distance across the ocean 
 was every day becoming shorter and less formidable. 
 
288 STARVING OUT THE SPANIARDS. 
 
 The Indians, especially the aged, the infirm, the 
 mother with her infant on her back, and the still more 
 helpless little one, fonnd scanty and insufficient fare 
 when so far away from the fertile valleys, and the 
 chill and dampness of the mountain air was too severe 
 for most of them in their naked exposure to the 
 elements. 
 
 But even in this miserable resort they could not 
 escape their oppressors. They were hunted like game 
 in their mountain fastnesses, and those escaping sick- 
 ness and death were brought back by force to toil in 
 the fields and in the mines. The robustness and the 
 irrepressible mirthfulness of the African may enable 
 him to bear up under the great wrongs of enslavement, 
 but the frail, moody, melancholy Indian, dependent 
 upon the ease and leisure of savage life, upon that 
 sweetness of nature which is taken into the soul by 
 quiet observation and reflection, sickens and dies 
 under its trials and hardships. The natives of the 
 islands became a broken-hearted people, and vanished, 
 as we shall see, like snow under the sunny days of 
 spring. 
 
 But the saddest item in this dark picture of the 
 suffering natives is the final fate of that kind-hearted 
 cacique, Guacanagari. His people, along with the 
 rest, found the tax ver^^ grievous ; and, as he had 
 always been the special friend and ally of the white 
 man, he was marked down by his whole race as an 
 aid to their calamities. Nor does it seem that any 
 discrimination was ever made in favor of him or his 
 people by the Spaniards. All bore alike the crushing 
 weight of tax and toil and final slavery. How could 
 
SAD FATE OF GUACANAGARI. 289 
 
 one of "his generous and sensitive nature endure the 
 pains and cries of his people, the contempt and hatred 
 of the multitudes of hopelessly afflicted natives, and 
 the vile ingratitude of these strangers, whose power to 
 crush and destro}^ seemed unlimited ? He, too, fled 
 to the mountains, and there died, broken hearted, in 
 some lonely haunt. 
 
 Irving excuses Columbus in respect to this melan- 
 choly event on account of his own sufferings and his 
 long detention in Europe at the time. This excuse is 
 worthy of consideration, and, in view of the cruel cus- 
 toms of the times, we are inclined to make the most 
 of it ; and yet there is no denying or obscuring the 
 fact that the '' Admiral of the Ocean Seas " did not 
 anticipate the humane conceptions of the nineteenth 
 century. His policy sacrificed the natives of His- 
 paniola to that insatiable greed for gain in the Spanish 
 nation which, at this hour, was such an imminent 
 peril to him and his enterprise. 
 
 Where is the heart that will not ache and bleed at 
 the review of such scenes of human suffering ? On 
 whom • does this great wrong rest ? Not on any one 
 individual alone ; certainly not on Columbus par- 
 ticularly, though he must forever bear his share of 
 guilt and sin against the most sacred rights of 
 humanity. To determine the rights of the savage 
 when civilized man has once set foot on his soil has 
 never been an easy question, and is by no means 
 solved at the present time. And with our sense of 
 obligation to human freedom and the relief of human 
 suffering it is not easy to judge the moral sense, con- 
 science, and degree of guilt in these far different 
 
2QO THEN AND NO W. 
 
 sentiments and circumstances of four hundred years 
 ago. In an age when the highest religious conscious- 
 ness of an enlightened Christian nation could justif}^ 
 the horrors of the Inquisition we must not be too 
 severe on a sailor and self-made man, growing up 
 amidst the more or less piratical enterprises then com- 
 mon to the high seas. Between the sentiments and 
 convictions of this end of the nineteenth century and 
 those of the latter part of the fifteenth there is an in- 
 calculable distance. We have at least had the immense 
 moral illuminations of the Reformation of the six- 
 teenth century since then. After all, are not the 
 strong humanitarian sentiments so characteristic of our 
 own time of comparative recent origin ? 
 
 Before accompanying Columbus on his third voyage 
 it will be necessary to notice an enterprise in another 
 part of the world, fraught with the greatest con- 
 sequences to this continent. We have already had 
 occasion to notice that Bartholomew Columbus had been 
 sent to make overtures to Henry VII. of England in 
 behalf of his brother Christopher's grand scheme in 
 anticipation. Whatever the King may have thought 
 of this man of the " red earth," with his map so 
 strangely garnished wdth verses — whether he thought 
 him to be building " castles in the air," or to indicate 
 some great enterprise well worthy of attention — there 
 was soon to arise among his people a citizen of foreign 
 birth and accent who should open the way to this new 
 world about to be discovered on the other side of the 
 globe for the establishment of the English language, 
 civilization, enterprise, and formulas of the Christian 
 religion. Spain may unfurl her banner and plant the 
 
JOHN CABOT. 291 
 
 cross on the islands and ontlying shores of the new 
 hemisphere, but the little island of the Tudor kings 
 will give birth to the nation and the people about to 
 occupy the heart of a great continent and develop a life 
 of such unprecedented freedom and prosperity as shall 
 become the desideratum of all mankind. 
 
 For many years Bristol, noted for its commercial 
 enterprise, had been the point of departure for ships to 
 the Iceland fisheries, thus carrying on an extensive 
 trade with the Norsemen, and for nearly a score of 
 years she had been sending out expeditions in search 
 of the fancied island, Brazil, and that of the Seven 
 Cities, supposed to be somewhere to the west of Ireland. 
 In Bristol, as in Spain and Portugal, Genoa was rep- 
 resented. John Cabot, though having spent in Venice 
 the fifteen years necessary to gain citizenship,^ claimed 
 her as his birthplace ; and when the news arrived that 
 Christopher Columbus, a fellow-townsman by birth, 
 had reached the Indies by sailing to the west, this 
 " foreign-born " citizen of Bristol — this merchant-sailor — 
 seeing that the achievement was regarded as " more 
 divine than human," felt in himself " a great flame of 
 desire to attempt something notable." 
 
 Many years before, while in Arabia, he had inquired 
 of a caravan laden with spices whence these commod- 
 ities had come. Having traced them from hand to 
 
 ^John Cabot is called bj his contemporaries a Venetian, and more es- 
 pecially a citizen of Venice, because citizenship, once accorded only to the 
 nobility or privileged class, afterwards, when the plague set a premium on 
 population, extended to one who married a Venetian woman, and then again 
 was restricted to those having resided for fifteen years consecutively in the 
 city of Venice. The Senate, in 1476, admitted Cabot to the ordinary and 
 extra privileges of citizenship by virtue of a residence of fifteen years. 
 
 See Harrisse, Jean et Sebastian Cabot, p. 2. 
 
292 H^ IMITATES COLUMBUS. 
 
 hand into the far east, his thoughts had been aroused to 
 the desideratum of oriental trade. Whether previously 
 impressed with the sphericity of the earth or not, he 
 was soon capable of contemplating or even making a 
 globe ; and he could thus conceive the practicability of 
 a western route to the land of spices. Before January 
 of 1496 he had applied to the King of England for aid 
 to undertake a voyage similar to that of Columbus. 
 Notification to this effect was sent home to the sov- 
 ereigns by Puebla, the Spanish embassador, and before 
 the}^ could send back their warning, that such an enter- 
 prise would be an infringement on the rights of Spain 
 and Portugal, the English King had issued his patent to 
 Cabot and his three sons, including Sebastian, that they 
 might " sail to the east, west, or north, with five ships 
 carrying the English flag, to seek and discover all the 
 islands, countries, regions, or provinces of pagans in 
 whatever part of the world," provided they would return 
 to the port of Bristol and give the King one-fifth of the 
 profits. Permission to sail south was not granted them, 
 lest they should encounter the enterprises of Spain, or 
 possibly Portugal. 
 
 On a May morning, 1497, the one solitary ship, 
 named the Matthew.^ sailed away to the northwest 
 with eighteen men onboard. Probably Sebastian accom- 
 panied his father. As two letters, well authenticated, 
 indeed, but of comparatively recent finding, tell about 
 all that is certainl}^ knowm of this voyage, and as the 
 letters are exceedingly quaint and interesting, we will 
 here quote them. The first is from Lorenzo Pasqualigo, 
 a London merchant, to his brothers in Venice, August 
 23, 1497, and, slightly abridged, reads as follows : 
 
PAS^UALIGO'S LETTER. 293 
 
 "The Venetian, our countryman, who went with a 
 ship from Bristol, is returned, and says that 700 leagues 
 hence he discovered land in the territorj^' of the Grand 
 Cham. He coasted 300 leagues and landed, saw no 
 human beings, but brought to the King certain snares 
 to catch game, and a needle for making nets ; was three 
 months on the voyage. The King has promised that 
 in the spring our countryman shall have ten ships. 
 The King has also given him money wherewith to 
 amuse himself till then, and he is now in Bristol with 
 his wife, who is also a Venetian, and with his sons. 
 His name is Zuan Cabot, and he is styled the Great 
 Admiral. Vast honor is paid him. The discoverer 
 planted on his new-found land a large cross, with one 
 flag of England and one of St. J\Iark, by reason of his 
 being a Venetian." ''' ''' ''^' (Venetian Calendars, i, 
 262.) The same author says that Cabot, the Grand 
 Admiral, u^as " dressed in silk, and the English ran 
 after him like crazy men." 
 
 The other letter is b}^ Raimondo de Soncino to the 
 Duke of Milan, written from London and found in the 
 state archives of Milan : 
 
 '' Most Illustrious and Excellent My Lord : 
 
 " Perhaps, among your Excellencj^'s many occupa- 
 tions, it may not displease you to learn how his 
 Majesty here has won a part of Asia without a stroke 
 of the sword. There is in this kingdom a Venetian 
 fellow. Master John Caboto by name, of a fine mind, 
 greatly skilled in navigation, w^ho seeing that those 
 most serene kings, first he of Portugal, and then the 
 one of Spain, have occupied unknown islands, deter- 
 mined to make a like acquisition for his Majesty afore- 
 
294 RAIMONDO DE SONCINO'S LETTER. 
 
 said. And having obtained royal grants that he 
 should have the usufruct of all that he should discover, 
 provided that the ownership of the same is reserved to 
 the Crown, with a small ship and eighteen persons he 
 committed himself to fortune ; and having set out from 
 Bristol, a western port of this kingdom, and passed 
 the western limits of Hibernia,^ and then standing to 
 the northward he began to steer eastward,^ leaving (after 
 a few days) the North star on his right hand ; and, 
 having wandered about considerably, at last he fell in 
 with terra fir ma ^ where, having planted the royal 
 banner and taken possession on behalf of this King 
 and taken certain tokens, he has returned thence. The 
 said Master John, as being foreign-born and poor, would 
 not be believed if his comrades, who are almost all 
 Englishmen and from Bristol, did not testify that 
 what he says is true. This Master John has the 
 description of the world in a chart, and also in a solid 
 globe which he has made, and he (or the chart and 
 the globe) shows where he landed, and that going 
 towards the east^ he passed considerably beyond the 
 country of the Tanais.'* And they say that it was a 
 very good and temperate country, and they think that 
 Brazil-wood and silk grow there ; and they afiirm 
 that that sea is covered with fishes, which are caught 
 not only with the net, but with baskets, a stone being 
 tied to them in order that the baskets may sink in the 
 water. And this I heard the said Master John relate ; 
 and the aforesaid Englishmen, his comrades, say that 
 they will bring so many fishes that this kingdom will 
 
 ^ Ireland. ^ Evidently west. 
 
 - This must mean westward. * This is obscure. 
 
RAIMONDO DE SONCINO'S LETTER. 295 
 
 no longer have need of Iceland, from wiiicli country 
 there comes a very great store of fish, which are called 
 stock-fish. But Master John has set his mind on 
 something greater, for he expects to go farther on 
 towards the east from that place already occupied, con- 
 stantly hugging the shore until he shall be over 
 against (or "on the other side of") an island by him 
 called Cipango, situated in the equinoctial region, 
 where he thinks all the spices of the world, and also 
 the precious stones, originate ; and he says that in 
 former times he was at Mecca, whither spices are 
 brought by caravans from distant countries, and that 
 those who brought them, on being asked where the 
 said spices grow, answered that the}^ do not know, but 
 that other caravans come to their homes with this 
 merchandise from distant countries, and these (cara- 
 vans) again say that they are brought to them from 
 other remote regions. And he argues thus : that if 
 the Orientals affirmed to the southerners that these 
 things come from a distance from them, and so from 
 hand to hand, presupposing the rotundity of the earth, 
 it must be that the last ones get them at the north 
 towards the west ; and he said it in such a way that, 
 having nothing to gain or to lose by it, I too believe it ; 
 and, what is more, the King here, who is wise and not 
 lavish, likewise puts some faith in him, for (ever) since 
 his return he has made good provision for him, as the 
 same Master John tells me. And it is said that in the 
 spring his Majesty aforesaid will fit out some ships, 
 and will besides give him all the convicts, and they will go 
 to that country to make a colony, by means of which 
 they hope to establish in London a greater storehouse 
 
296 RAIMONDO DE SONCINO'S LETTER. 
 
 of spices than there is in Alexandria, and the chief men 
 of the enterprise are of Bristol, great sailors, who, now 
 that they know where to go, say that it is not a voyage 
 of more than fifteen days, nor do they ever have storms 
 after they get away from Hibernia. I have also talked 
 with a Burgundian, a comrade of Master John's, who 
 confirms everything, and wishes to return thither 
 because the Admiral (for so Master John already 
 entitles himself) has given him an island ; and he has 
 given another one to a barber of his from Castiglione, 
 of Genoa, and both of them regard themselves as 
 counts, nor does my Lord the Admiral esteem himself 
 anything less than a prince. I think that with this 
 expedition there will go several poor Italian monks, who 
 have all been promised bishoprics. And, as I have 
 become a friend of the Admiral, if I wished to go thither 
 I should get an archbishopric. But I have thought 
 that the benefices which your Excellency has in store 
 for me are a surer thing ; and therefore I beg that if they 
 should fall vacant in my absence, you will cause posses- 
 sion to be given to me, taking measures to do this rather 
 (especially) where it is needed in order that they be not 
 taken from me by others, who because they are present 
 can be more diligent than I, who in this country have 
 been brought to the pass of eating ten or tv;elve dishes 
 at every meal, and sitting at table three hours at a time 
 twice a day, for the sake of your Excellency, to whom I 
 commend myself. 
 
 " Your Excellency's 
 
 "Very humble servant, 
 
 " Raimondus. 
 " London, Dec. 18, 1497." 
 
CABOT'S SECOND VOl^AGE. 297 
 
 We have preferred to give these letters to our read- 
 ers, because they so vividly illustrate the times of Lou- 
 don in that most interesting epoch. 
 
 The following year the King was again petitioned 
 for letters-patent in pursuance of another voj^age. 
 The favor was promptly and cordially granted, six 
 ships being named for " our well-beloved John Kabotto, 
 Venician," " any statute, acte or ordenaunce to the con- 
 trary e made or to be made in any wise notwithstanding." 
 
 It is altogether probable that Sebastian sailed with 
 his father's company of, perhaps, three hundred men. 
 
 The flag-ship was accompanied by three or four small 
 ships, in which " divers merchants of London ventured " 
 " small stocks," both " slight and gross merchandises, 
 as coarse cloth, caps, laces, points, and other trifles."^ 
 Evidently this was the joint fleet of Bristol and 
 London making for the historical point of departure, 
 viz., " Cowes and a market." " These ships did shortly 
 after pass gallantly by Greenwich, in the King's pres- 
 ence, one of the mariners standing upon the main top- 
 mast of one of them."^ One vessel, much damaged by 
 a storm, was obliged to put back into an Irish port. 
 We hear no more of John Cabot, who was probably 
 lost on the voyage, his son Sebastian succeeding to the 
 mastership of the squadron. " Those ships," says 
 Holinshed, " at the last arrived in the country of Mos- 
 covia, not without great loss and danger, and namely 
 of their captain, who was a worthy and adventurous 
 gentleman called Sir Hugh Willoughby, Knight, who 
 being tossed and driven by tempest, he was at the last 
 found in his ship frozen to death and all his people." 
 
 1 Fabien's Chronicle. - Lanquet's Epitome Eng. Chron. 
 
298 THE EXTENT OF THE VOYAGE, 
 
 The extent of the voyage along the North American 
 coast' is not known. The fleet must have reached very 
 far north, as many died of the cold in July ; and it 
 may have been as far south as the Chesapeake Bay, 
 possibly not farther than somewhere in New England. 
 Peter Martyr, who w^as an intimate friend of Sebastian 
 Cabot during his sojourn in Spain,^ says, that Sebas- 
 tian Cabot went so far north " that even in the month 
 of July he found monstrous heaps of ice swimming on 
 the sea," and that he went so far south that he was in 
 the latitude of 36. In the Labrador region, Peter 
 Martyr mentions the multitudes of big fishes which 
 impeded the progress of the vessels ; that the inhabi- 
 tants of those regions were clothed in the skins of 
 beasts, and that there was such a "great plent}^ of 
 bears," which used to eat fish, that " plunging them- 
 selves into the water, where they perceive a multitude 
 of these fishes to lie, they fasten their claws in their 
 scales and so draw them to land and eat them." 
 
 There may have been a third voyage by Sebastian 
 Cabot, for Stow's Chronicle, 1502, says: "This year 
 were brought unto the King three men taken in the 
 new-found islands by Sebastian Gaboto, before named, 
 in anno 1468. These men were clothed in beasts' skins, 
 
 ^ Having married a Spanish ladj, Sebastian Cabot went to Spain soon 
 after the death of Henry VII., and entered the service of King Ferdinand in 
 1512. Charles V. appointed him Pilot Major of Spain in 1518; in 1524 he 
 was in the council of Badajos; and a few years later he went on his disas- 
 trous expedition to the La Plata, from which he was returned a prisoner bv 
 his mutinous crew. Being unjustly condemned to an African exile for two 
 years, he was pardoned by the Emperor and restored as Pilot Major. W^e 
 find him in England again in 1548 as governor of a company of merchants 
 who are trying to find a northeast passage to China. In 1556 he is president 
 of a Muscovj' company opening a trade with Russia by way of the White 
 Sea. He died in London about 1557. 
 
POSSIBL 7 A THIRD VO TA GE. 399 
 
 and ate raw flesh, but spake such a language as no 
 man could understand them ; of the which three men, 
 two of them were seen in the King's court at West- 
 minster, two years after, clothed like Englishmen, and 
 could not be discerned from Englishmen." 
 
 The famous Cabot voj^ages were of little immediate 
 result to England, since they did not find the riches 
 of India ; but in after years, when men learned that 
 an immense continent, rich in all the great resources 
 of nature, is not to be thrown away, those same V03''- 
 ages gave us the great English-speaking peoples of 
 North America. 
 
 Peter Martyr says that Sebastian Cabot was carried 
 into England by his parents when he was " but in man- 
 ner an infant," and Ramusio's statement is similar, but 
 the English chroniclers generally say he was bom m 
 Bristol. In the occupancy of North America by the 
 English, the fact that Sebastian Cabot was an English- 
 man was of such prime importance that the pre- 
 eminence, in the discovery of the continent, due to his 
 father, a native of Genoa and a citizen of Venice, seems 
 to have been studiously kept in the shade. In all con- 
 temporary history of England, Sebastian's English 
 birthplace was emphasized, and he was made so promi- 
 nent in the two voyages — so blended as to appear like 
 one — that were it not for the original petitions to King 
 Henry VII., and his letters-patent, and the letters of 
 foreign embassadors recently found in the archives of 
 Milan and Venice, Sebastian would appear as the main 
 figure, not only to the exclusion of his brothers, but 
 even to the eclipse of his father. The aim and inten- 
 tion of all this goes to the dispute and ruin of all the 
 
300 HARRIS SB' S ARG UMENT. 
 
 claims of prior discovery. It advances and substantially 
 establishes the right of England by an English-born 
 citizen to the co-ordinate if not the first survey of the 
 North American coast. 
 
 The astute and incisive Harrisse, who has added so 
 much to our critical knowledge of certain detailed facts 
 and dates, is entitled to great credit in the distinction he 
 has achieved by his notes and biographies of Columbus 
 and Cabot. None of the writers who have treated of the 
 progress of discovery have been free from prejudice, 
 each assuming his peculiar views and theories. Har- 
 risse, who we believe is an American born, although a 
 domiciliated Frenchman, whether naturalized or not, like 
 the Venetian citizenship of Cabot, has his very positive 
 leanings. He cites Blackstone as published in New 
 York to settle the law of England in the days of Henry 
 Vn. He assumes that the patent granted to the Cabots 
 by the Crown denaturalizes them upon an arithmetical 
 inference deduced from the date of the Venetian nat- 
 uralization. He quotes contradictory citations from 
 Richard Eden's marginal note on Peter Martyr's chron- 
 icles and from Contarini the embassador's correspond- 
 ence. The latter says concerning Cabot : " He said to 
 me, Senor Embassador, to say it all, I was born at 
 Venice, but I was raised and bred in England," whilst, 
 the marginal note in the chronicles af&rms : " Sebastian 
 Cabot said to me that he was born at Bristol, but at the 
 age of four he ^vas carried by his father to Venice, 
 and after a certain number of years he returned to Eng- 
 land, where it was assumed that he was a Venetian by 
 birth." Harrisse asks, "Which of these declarations is 
 to be credited ? " And he quotes Peter Martyr, who 
 
MARTYR AND CONTARINI. ^oi 
 
 reports Sebastian Cabot as " born in Venice, bnt trans- 
 ported to England when but an infant." These are 
 almost the same words as Contarini's. There could be 
 no collusion between the statements, because Peter 
 ^Martyr's was printed six years before the arrival of 
 Contarini in Spain. Harrisse does not remark that Peter 
 Martyr as a Spanish writer, and Contarini as a Spanish 
 diplomat, are maintaining the Spanish or foreign side 
 of a controversy under confessed diplomatic and parti- 
 san auspices. It is unnecessary to comment on such a 
 biased statement of the case. 
 
 Harrisse, therefore, sets aside the words of Cabot as 
 nugatory because contradictor}^, and he puts forward 
 what he calls the legal documents and a legal view of 
 the case. The petition addressed to Henry VH., in 
 1496, is entered in the names of Ludovic, Sebastian, 
 and of Sanclio Cabot, and Jean, their father, does not 
 assume or declare himself to be legal guardian of them 
 as infants. The sons, on the contrary, appear in their 
 individual capacity. The letters-patent, dated the 5th 
 of March, 1496, so enumerates the four grantees. It is 
 not a joint concession, and in its terms is an individual 
 grant to each b}^ name, their heirs, successors, and 
 assigns. " Dilectis nobis, Johanni Caboto, civi Venitia- 
 riini^ ac Ludovico, Sebastiano et Sancto filiis dicti 
 Johannis, et eorum ac cujus lebet eorum. Hereditus 
 et deputatis." 
 
 Harrisse then appeals to Blackstone's Commentaries, 
 published in New York in 1851, to show that this grant 
 could not vest if the three sons were minors ; and there- 
 fore the}^ must be of age, which would carry their birth 
 back to Venice, anterior to their father's naturalization. 
 
302 BLACKSTONE AND HENRY VII. 
 
 The parliament aloue, he says, possessed this power, with- 
 out which a concession based merely on the royal grant 
 would have been of no avail. He therefore appeals to 
 the common law of England as an impassable barrier to 
 the claim of Sebastian Cabot as an Englishman, and 
 an incontrovertible proof of his foreign birth, notwith- 
 standing his own assertions and those of all the chron- 
 icles and records of the time to the contrary. In this 
 amateur legal dictum Harrisse does not say that he has 
 proof that the authority of parliament was wanting ; 
 prima facie ^ if needed, such authority is implied in the 
 record he produced of the grant, and the record is the 
 proof of such necessary action in the law. The Latin 
 text above quoted specifically mentions the Venetian 
 citizenship of John, the father, and the other names are 
 given separately and expressly without such qualifica- 
 tions. If it v/as requisite to give the citizenship of John, 
 the sentence is framed so as not to include the sons. 
 
 The specious presentation of this subject would be of 
 slight account if it did not allege documentary and 
 legal proof, where the most trivial examination will 
 show the absence of both. Blackstone has nothing to 
 do with it in 1851. The statutes in the time of Henry 
 VII., whatever they may have been, were supplemented 
 and declared in the King's patent and the obviously 
 implied legal action of the cabinet, the lords, the com- 
 mons, and the whole routine necessary to make such 
 patent good. 
 
 We must therefore relegate Mr. Harrisse to the ranks 
 of the foreign antagonists to the English claim of the 
 birthright of Cabot, and the credit derived from the dis- 
 coveries of the English sailors of the city of Bristol. 
 
THE ARITHMETICAL INFERENCE. 303 
 
 As to the arithmetical deduction from the legal doc- 
 uments, Harrisse alone presumes the existence of a 
 maritime requirement, which must appl}^ the majorit}'- age 
 of twenty-one to a ship's officer or a marine sailor in the 
 age of Henry VII. There never was such requirement, 
 neither in the mercantile nor in the ro3^al nav}^ of any 
 nation,' so far as we know. Nelson entered the British 
 navy at the age of thirteen, gained his great renown in 
 Indian and European battles, fought through the 
 American war, and was made a post captain at the 
 age of twenty-one. The difference in time between the 
 naturalization at Venice and the date of the letters 
 patent — the difference between 1476 and 1496 — proves 
 that they were of competent age; but as there is no 
 mention nor record of their naturalization or birth in 
 Venice, nor in any authenticated document produced of 
 their abode elsewhere than in England, the arithmetical 
 presumption goes for naught. Ludovico and Sancho 
 have not been thought of sufficient importance, and 
 Sebastian alone, by his discoveries and distinguished 
 career, has been exclusively discussed in this connection. 
 Assuming him to be the second son, as named in the 
 grant, would still leave the fact of his being the youngest 
 open to conjecture. There is no argument whatever, 
 and no fact alleged, inconsistent with Sebastian Cabot's 
 English nativity to be argued from the dates, making 
 twenty years- between the Venetian naturalization 
 and the English concession, and the English preroga- 
 tives of discovery derived from a citizen of English 
 birth. 
 
 In these statements we present an epitome of the 
 facts and the dispute regarding the English claims to 
 
304 ^^^ SPHERE OF DISPUTE. 
 
 the discovery of North America. The French abettors 
 of Champlain, Cartier, and others ; the Dutch presen- 
 tation of Hudson ; the Florentines with Vespuccius, 
 may continue to dispute these questions, but the great 
 result remains exclusively segregated upon the broad 
 field of colonization and possession, that the Spaniards 
 and the English divide the actual and final sphere of the 
 dispute. Perhaps, from this practical point of view, the 
 rest of it, in the curt manner of Harrisse himself, may 
 be dismissed as only among the entertaining episodes of 
 history. 
 
CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 THE AFFAIRS OF THE NEW WORLD IN SPAIN. 
 
 IHT US now cross the Atlantic and see how 
 the affairs of the New World stand in Spain. 
 Columbus judged rightly. Margarite and 
 Friar Bull have been doing their utmost to prejudice 
 the sovereigns against him and his enterprise. The 
 islands they regard as a worthless discover}^, contain- 
 ing neither gold, spices, nor anything else worth the 
 vast expense necessary to obtain them. The}^ are 
 simply a good place to sicken and die among savages. 
 As for the Admiral, his administration is most 
 miserable. When the colonists are sick he taxes 
 them with excessive labor ; for the most trifling' 
 peccadilloes he stops their rations, at the great peril of 
 their health ; upon the common people he inflicts the 
 severest punishments, and upon gentlemen heaps the 
 most humiliating indignities. To crown the evils of 
 the new settlement, it was altogether probable that he 
 had perished in his foolhard}^ continuation of the dis- 
 covery of new territories. Of course there was a vast 
 other side to the whole matter, on which they were 
 silent. Nothing was mentioned of the great emer- 
 gencies of the new settlement in the wilderness, calling 
 for almost herculean efforts ; nor of the reckless 
 idleness and crime, which demanded severe measures. 
 No one regarded the fact that the supplies taken out 
 in the second voyage were inadequate to the wants of 
 
2o6 JUAN A QUAD O. 
 
 so many, and that mucli of it had spoiled ; that the 
 Admiral, wishing to relieve the burdens of the Crown 
 as much as possible, hoped to replenish his scanty 
 larder by a speedy development of the resources of the 
 island. Nor could he, in his ready adaptation to every 
 needed industry, sympathize with those delicate souls 
 to whom work was worse than death. But Columbus 
 had no competent advocate at court to rebut the one- 
 sided exaggerations. 
 
 In view of all these charges and discouraging 
 reports, it cannot be said that the sovereigns were 
 unreasonably moved. But precautionary measures 
 were necessary, for the more official reports of Mar- 
 garite and Friar Buil were sustained by others who 
 had returned from the colony, some of whom were so 
 connected and related as to have no small influence 
 over persons of rank. Some properly qualified per- 
 son must be sent out to make an official investigation 
 of affairs, and to assume the government if the 
 Admiral did not return, for his brothers had been 
 rendered so unpopular as to make their ruling as 
 deputies unsafe. If the Viceroy were on the ground, 
 he was simply to report the evils existing in the 
 island, their causes, and the remedies to be applied. 
 An important mission this — one requiring wisdom and 
 tact. Who should perform it ? Who, finally, but Juan 
 Aguado, whom Columbus himself had but recently 
 commended to the special consideration of the sover- 
 eigns ? 
 
 On the loth of April, 1495, there was another enact- 
 ment of great importance to the interests of the Vice- 
 roy. Any native-born subject of Spain might prose- 
 
JVBW VOYAGERS. 307 
 
 cute voyages of discovery in the New World on his own 
 account, and might even settle in Hispaniola under 
 certain conditions. " All vessels were to sail exclu- 
 sively from the port of Cadiz, and under the inspection 
 of officers appointed by the Crown. Those who em- 
 barked for Hispaniola without pay and at their own 
 expense were to have lands assigned to them and to be 
 provisioned for one year, with a right to retain such 
 lands and all houses they might erect upon them. Of 
 all gold which they might collect they were to retain 
 one-third for themselves and to pay two-thirds to the 
 Crown. Of all other articles of merchandise, the 
 produce of the island, they were to pay merely one- 
 tenth to the Crown. Their purchases were to be made 
 in the presence of of&cers appointed by the sovereigns, 
 and the royal duties paid into the hands of the King's 
 receiver. Bach ship sailing on private enterprise was 
 to take one or two persons named by the royal officers 
 at Cadiz. One-tenth of the tonnage of the ship w^as to 
 be at the service of the Crown free of charge. One- 
 tenth of whatever such ships should procure in the 
 newly-discovered countries was to be paid to the Crown 
 on their return. These regulations included private 
 ships trading to Hispaniola with provisions. For every 
 vessel thus fitted out on private adventure, Columbus, 
 in consideration of his privilege of an eighth of tonnage, 
 was to have the right to freight one on his own 
 account."^ 
 
 Clearly enough, this was an infringement on the 
 privileges originally granted to Columbus, and he com- 
 plained of it most bitterly. Was it brought about by 
 
 1 Irving's Columbus, vol. ii, pp. 62, 63. 
 
3o8 AN INFRINGEMENT ON COLUMBUS. 
 
 the persuasions of Vicente Yanez Pinzon, and others 
 who had sailed with Columbus ? The empty coffers of 
 Spain, the expensive expeditions of Columbus bringing 
 little or nothing in return, and the pressing need of 
 extending the explorations as rapidly as possible — all 
 made the ears of the monarchs available to a plan 
 which would accomplish their designs not only without 
 expense, but with large and sure profits. The privileges 
 thus widely extended were no doubt greatly abused, 
 and did much to bring about that irregularity of method 
 in discovery, that licentiousness and predatory adven- 
 ture, prophesied by Columbus. 
 
 Barly in April, before the ships were under way, 
 Torres returned from the Indies and brought the old- 
 fashioned ship news, fully up to the times. Columbus 
 had returned from his voyage along the south of Cuba, 
 and here was the famous of&cial document, in which all 
 the crews had taken solemn oath that they had seen the 
 continent of Asia. At once the mercury of the court 
 went up, and up went the stock of the enterprise in the 
 Indies ; for here was more gold, and many animal and 
 vegetable curiosities. The continent of India ! — richest 
 country on the globe ! — here it ivas^ azitheiiticated a7id 
 sworn to by all parties ! 
 
 Still Aguado must go and look into matters. Was 
 he not at once the friend of Columbus and loyal to the 
 Crown ? He could ascertain the facts concerning this 
 unhappy state of affairs in Hispaniola ; that would 
 wrong no one. Diego, the Admiral's brother, having 
 had the intervention of the sovereigns in behalf of that 
 gold of his which Fonseca tried to retain when he came 
 back from the Indies, would now go back again. But if 
 
ADVICE -FROM THE SOVEREIGNS. 309 
 
 the dignitary had been humbled by the royal compulsion 
 to do justice in the case, and by the special orders to be 
 conciliatory toward the Admiral, he had ample oppor- 
 tunity in the long years of his administration of Indian 
 affairs to vent his pent-up wrath on Columbus and his 
 descendants. 
 
 Though always considerate of the feelings of the Ad- 
 miral, it was necessary to send him a letter of instruc- 
 tions. " The number of persons in the settlement 
 should be limited to five hundred, a greater number 
 being considered unnecessary for the service of the 
 island, and a burdensome expense to the Crown. To 
 prevent further discontents about provisions, they 
 ordered that the rations of individuals should be dealt 
 out in portions every fifteen daj^s, and that all punish- 
 ment by short allowance or the stoppage of rations 
 should be discontinued, as tending to injure the health 
 of the colonists, who required every assistance of nour- 
 ishing diet to fortify them against the maladies incident 
 to a strange climate." ^ 
 
 Pablo Belvis must go in the place of Firmin Cedo, to 
 give special attention to the mining interests. Eccle- 
 siastics must be sent to replace those who had returned, 
 for now, as heretofore, the conversion of the natives was 
 all important to Isabella. 
 
 What was to be done with the five hundred Indian 
 slaves whom Torres had just brought to Spain ? At 
 first they were ordered to be sold in the slave-markets 
 after the manner of the Africans and the Moors who 
 had been the victims of wars and conquests. But they 
 were so gentle, so docile, and had been so hospitable to 
 
 1 Irving, vol ii, pp. 65, 66. 
 
3 lo ARR O GANCE OF AG UAD O. 
 
 the Spaniards, the Queen's heart failed her. Five 
 days later the order was countermanded until learned 
 and devout spiritual advisers could be consulted as to 
 the procedure. The opinion thus sought came slowly, 
 and was by no means unanimous ; so Isabella was gov- 
 erned by the impulses of her own generous nature, and, 
 contrary to the customs of the times, ordered them to 
 be sent back to Hispaniola. 
 
 But it is time to accompany Aguado, sailing his four 
 caravels, liberally filled with every kind of supplies, 
 out of Cadiz, in the last days of August, to reach 
 Hispaniola in October. On his arrival the Admiral 
 is absent, still trying to settle affairs in the island — 
 trying to complete a peace with Caonabo's brothers. 
 How will this official from the sovereigns deport him- 
 self? Surely he has every motive for good conduct. 
 If he is under deep obligation to the Admiral, and 
 therefore should do him justice, he is under no less 
 obligation to the King and Queen of Spain and to the 
 unhappy condition of Hispaniola. But to these 
 claims upon his good discretion he is utterly blind. 
 Without waiting to investigate the true state of 
 affairs, he immediately grasped the reins of authorit}^ 
 Some he arrested, officers were summoned to account, 
 and no respect whatever was shown the lieutenant, 
 Bartholomew. The latter, taken b}^ surprise by such 
 proceedings, demanded that he should show his com- 
 mission. He " would show it to the Admiral," was 
 the haughty reply. Presently, however, lest any one 
 should doubt his authority, he had his credentials pro- 
 claimed publicly with sound of trumpet. They were 
 brief, but comprehensive — comprehensive because of 
 
HE COURTS DISCONTENT. 311 
 
 their vagueness ; like an india-rubber ring, tlie docu- 
 ment could be adjusted to almost any case. 
 
 " Cavaliers, esquires, and otber persons who by our 
 orders are in the Indies, we send you thither Juan 
 Aguado, our gentleman of the chamber, who will 
 speak to you for us. We command you to give him 
 faith and credence." 
 
 The indefiniteness of the document, and the pom- 
 pous manner in which it was proclaimed, all told in the 
 heaviest possible manner against Columbus and his 
 brothers. The proud hidalgos, humiliated by labor 
 and limitations of food ; the common culprit, but 
 partially punished for his flagrant crimes ; the jealous 
 subordinate in ofiice, who would not brook the superior 
 authority of a foreigner; the aggrieved Indian, who 
 could not discriminate between the outrages of the 
 Spaniards and the rule or misrule of the Admiral — 
 all, now", were loud enough in their calls for redress, 
 supposing that Aguado would at once supersede Co- 
 lumbus in authority. The former, in order to appear 
 as peremptory as possible, set out in search of the 
 latter with a bodj^ of horsemen. 
 
 With Bartholomew Columbus, surrounded by this 
 seething sea of discontent, discretion was the better 
 part of valor. He must be quiet and look on. 
 
 Rumor of Aguado's proceedings soon reached the 
 Admiral, and he at once set out for home. The 
 parties missed each other, but Aguado soon returned 
 and the meeting occurred at Isabella. Now Aguado 
 and all the rest were taken by surprise at the conduct 
 of the Admiral. The former, who had anticipated and 
 almost courted a sharp altercation, was completely 
 
212 ^ HURRICANE. 
 
 disarmed by the cool submission of tlie latter. But 
 Columbus could not fail to see that his prestige was 
 severely shaken, for even the caciques met in a sort 
 of convention to formulate their grievances to the new 
 of&cer, who, in making up his category of accusations, 
 seems to have made but little discrimination as to 
 what was true and what was false. 
 
 Columbus took in the situation, and saw the necessity 
 of at once returning to Spain to vindicate himself. 
 He resolved to go in the same squadron with Aguado. 
 
 It is about noon, and the ships are ready to weigh 
 anchor for Spain. But what mean those sharp gusts 
 of wind from the east, and those dense clouds of vapor 
 rushing through the air ? Ah ! say the Indians, a 
 furicane is coming — or a hurricane, as we now say, 
 having slightly changed the word. Another tempest, 
 rushing from the west, encounters it. All at once the 
 heavens are dark as midnight. There are lurid sheets 
 of lightning and awful crashes of thunder. The sea 
 breaks its bounds and rushes inland for miles. The 
 air is thick with leaves and flying branches of trees. 
 Whole groves, with masses of earth and rocks, are 
 torn from the mountain sides and hurled into the 
 valleys, stopping the rivers in their courses. It was as 
 if the end of the world had come. Some even fled to 
 the caves for refuge. The ships snapped their cables ; 
 three were sunk with their passengers and crews ; 
 others were " dashed against each other " and wrecked 
 along the shore. The fury of the tempest lasted for 
 three hours, and then the sun shone upon the fear- 
 ful scene of disaster. Never in the memory or the 
 traditions of the Indians had there been such a hurri- 
 
A NE W G OLD- MINE. n r o 
 
 cane. Siirel}'- this was a divine visitation on the 
 " cruelties and crimes of the white men," who, b}^ 
 their outrages, had moved the very waters, earth, and 
 air to j udgment ! 
 
 Aguado's fleet of four ships had been sunken and 
 wrecked, and also two others, leaving only the shat- 
 tered Nino. She was repaired, and another caravel 
 was built out of such ruins of the fleet as could be 
 reclaimed. Behold the energy of the sick-hearted 
 Admiral, who, though doing the greatest possible 
 service for his nation and for the vrorld, is fio-litino- 
 misfortune among strangers and savages — alike his 
 enemies ! 
 
 But scarcely ever is any part of life all misfortune. 
 Isabella was now surprised by a most romantic inci- 
 dent. A 3^oung Spaniard named IMiguel Diaz, having 
 had an altercation with another young Spaniard and 
 wounded him mortally as was supposed, fled with some 
 half-dozen comrades across the island, among the sav- 
 ages on the south side. Here he became the guest of 
 a village and community over which ruled a young 
 female cacique, who in time fell deeply in love with 
 him. He, not insensible to her attractions, wedded 
 her, it would seem. But in time his isolation among 
 savages told heavily upon him, and he became melan- 
 choly. On seeing this, the kind heart of the native 
 princess was greatly moved, and she resolved upon a 
 remedy. Knowing the Spanish mania for gold, she 
 disclosed to him the rich mines in her dominions, and 
 urged her spouse to invite his nation to locate with 
 her. Miguel and his comrades examined the gold 
 region and soon became convinced of its exceeding 
 richness in the precious metal. 
 
214 GOLD IN AB UN DA NCE. 
 
 Now, by a literall}^ golden path, lie saw liis way out 
 into civilization once more. However mucli tlie ratlier 
 severe adelantado may have been incensed at him, an 
 abundance of gold would be an ample peace offering. 
 He and his comrades returned to Isabella, and, linger- 
 ino- about the neighborhood, soon learned that the 
 wounded man had entirely recovered. 
 
 On entering the town and relating his strange and 
 welcome story, he at once became a hero. The Ad- 
 miral, too, was again lifted up. 
 
 The ships must wait till the adelantado could 
 journey to the south side of the island and make such 
 examination as might confirm the good news. 
 
 He and his party made a forced march across thither 
 and soon returned, saying that alike in all the rivers 
 and in the hillsides there was such an abundance of 
 gold that Cibao was not to be compared to it. Then 
 there were several old pits, as if the mines had once 
 been worked. How suggestive to the Admiral ! This 
 must surely be the ancient Ophir, where the ships of 
 Solomon, coming from the east, had obtained the fabu- 
 lous quantit}^ of gold, with which the temple had been 
 literally covered ! What news for Spain ! Besides, 
 Columbus had wished to change the location of the 
 colon)^. The Indian princess, now named Catalina, 
 occupied the site of the present city, San Domingo — 
 an excellent location for a colony and having an 
 abundance of gold in the vicinity. What more could 
 be desired ? A fort must be erected at once and the 
 territory of the Indian princess, at the mouth of the 
 Ozema river, must become the centre of operations. 
 On March lo, 1496, everything was ready for the 
 
BRA VER 7 OF CA ONA BO. 3 1 r 
 
 voyage to Spain. The two ships were crowded, some 
 two hundred and fifty persons — indifferent idlers — 
 gentlemen probabl}^ ; those who were sallow and hollow- 
 cheeked from lingering diseases, the disorderly and 
 the profligate — a sorry crowd, filing along the gang- 
 ways ! "Never," says Irving, " did a more miserable 
 and disappointed crew return from a land of promise." 
 Columbus was in one ship and Aguado in the other. 
 
 But we must not overlook the Indians in these ships, 
 of whom there are about thirty, including the noted 
 Caonabo, one of his brothers, and a nephew. Whatever 
 may have been the Admiral's promises to the cacique, 
 or his plans concerning him, that savage chieftain 
 remained sullen and morose, being intelligent enough 
 to know that his power was at an end. 
 
 What if he were taken to Spain to see the glory of 
 that kingdom, and then return as the Admiral had 
 promised him ? Could he ever again be " Lord of the 
 Golden House "? Had not the detested white man 
 taken possession of his kingdom of gold-bearing rocks, 
 his broad grassy plains, and rivers which flowed over 
 golden sands ? There have been fair-skinned rulers 
 who would rather die as kings than live as men. 
 
 The voyage was painfully tedious. The Admiral, 
 not knowing anything about the trade-winds, instead 
 of steering to the northward so as to take advantage 
 of the westerly winds returning as a reaction of the 
 same, went directl}^ east, thus having either head-v/inds 
 or calms continually. After a month at sea, he was 
 barely at the Caribbee Islands, his crews tired and sick 
 and his provisions greatly reduced. He concluded, 
 therefore, to stop at these islands, not only for wood 
 
3i6 
 
 AA^ INDIAN PRINCESS. 
 
 and water, but for as miicli cassava-bread and otber 
 eatables as he might be able to obtain. They anchored 
 at Mariagalante, but soon went to Guadaloupe. But 
 the natives, the women at one end of the island and 
 the men at the other, were decidedly warlike, and vigor- 
 ously opposed their landing. Fire-arms and gew-gaws, 
 however, soon reconciled them, and the boats landed. 
 " While some of the people were getting wood and 
 water and making cassava-bread, Columbus dispatched 
 forty men, well armed, to explore the interior of the 
 island. They returned on the following day with ten 
 women and three boys. The women were of large and 
 powerful form, yet of great agility. They were naked 
 and v/ore their long hair flowing loose upon their 
 shoulders ; some decorated their heads with plumes of 
 various colors. Among them was the wife of a cacique, 
 a woman of great strength and proud spirit. On the 
 approach of the Spaniards she had fled with an agilit}^ 
 which soon left all her pursuers far behind, excepting 
 a native of the Canary Islands remarkable for swift- 
 ness of foot. She would have escaped even from him, 
 but, perceiving that he was alone and far from his 
 companions, she turned suddenly upon him, seized 
 him with astonishing force, and would have strangled 
 him had not the Spaniards arrived and taken her, 
 entangled like a hawk with her pre3^ The warlike 
 spirit of these Carib women, and the circumstance of 
 finding them in armed bands, defending their shores 
 during the absence of their husbands, led Columbus 
 repeatedly into the erroneous idea that certain of these 
 islands were inhabited entirely b}^ women, for which 
 error, as has already been observed, he was prepared 
 
STARVATION ON THE SEA. 317 
 
 by the stories of Marco Polo concerning an island of 
 amazons near the coast of Asia."^ 
 
 Having made up cassava-bread enough to last three 
 weeks, the ships prepared to sail. As it was intended 
 to make Guadaloupe a sort of key to the Caribbee 
 Islands, it was important to leave the natives in a 
 friendly mood. The prisoners, therefore, were all dis- 
 missed with presents. But the cacique's wife refused 
 to go, retaining also her young daughter. It is sup- 
 posed that she fell in love with the unfortunate 
 Caonabo. 
 
 The ships kept to the twenty-second degree of lati- 
 tude, laboring against wind and current, so that a 
 month of utmost eflFort in sailing found them still far 
 from Spain, and the provisions were so alarmingly 
 low that the allowance could not be more than " six 
 ounces of bread and a pint and a half of water " per 
 day. During the last days of May the store of pro- 
 visions was so small as to call for still scantier rations. 
 But where on the v/ide Atlantic were these hungr}" peo- 
 ple ? The pilots, accustomed only to coasting, or 
 navigating the Mediterranean, had completely lost their 
 reckoning, nor were they disposed to accept the opinion 
 of the Admiral. By the first of June famine stared 
 them in the face. Some proposed to kill and eat the 
 Indians. But for the earnest entreaties of Columbus 
 they would at least have thrown them overboard to 
 lessen the demand for food. These mortals were 
 human, he said, and must be treated accordingly. 
 Besides, he had kept exact reckoning and knew that 
 they were near Cape St. Vincent. When night came 
 
 ^Irving's Columbus, vol. ii, pp. 84, S5. 
 
3i8 DEATH OF C AON ABO. 
 
 on and he ordered tlie sail taken in, there was a general 
 sneer and discontented chattering. They were nearer 
 the English Channel or France, most thought. When 
 morning dawned and they saw the very land Columbus 
 had named they were ready to pronounce him an oracle 
 of the ocean. 
 
 The almost starving passengers landed in Cadiz on 
 the nth of June, after a most trying voyage of three 
 months. Caonabo had died on the way ; died, it would 
 seem, of a broken heart — or of " grief and vexation," 
 as Bernaldez has it. Having landed in Hayti a mere 
 Carib adventurer, he had allied himself to one of the 
 most noble families and had risen to be the most pow- 
 erful chief of the island. A veritable king among 
 savages was he, and though broken in spirit by over- 
 whelming misfortune at heart he could not bow to 
 captivit}^, but was unyielding and heroic to the last. 
 
 In this same harbor of Cadiz were now three caravels 
 just ready to sail with supplies for the colony. The 
 four sailing in January before had been wrecked on the 
 coast of Spain. Columbus examined the royal dis- 
 patches, and, having learned the directions of the sov- 
 ereigns and also the general public sentiment, wrote at 
 once to his brother Bartholomew, whom he had left in 
 authority, to be energetic in restoring the island to 
 peace and order, to develop its resources, to explore and 
 w^ork the recently found gold-mines in Hayna, and to 
 begin to build there a sea-port. The discords and 
 unproductiveness of the New World, now become noth- 
 ing less than noted scandal, must be speedily reme- 
 died. 
 
 No earthly scene could have done more to confirm 
 
COLUMBUS AND THE SOVEREIGNS. 31Q 
 
 the evil prejudices against Columbus and his " island" 
 than did the sorry spectacle of the disembarkation of 
 his crews at Cadiz, Two hundred and fifty wretched 
 beings — sick and half starved, hollow-cheeked, hollow- 
 eyed, their sallow skins a mockerj^ of the gold they 
 went to seek — crawled out of the caravels, about ever}^ 
 one of them ready to curse the day he left Spain. 
 Columbus himself, with downcast countenance, wear- 
 ing the plain gray frock of a Franciscan monk, a cord 
 about his waist and his beard neglected after the man- 
 ner of that order, was scarcely more than a s^^mbol of 
 grief. Over two hundred disappointed, angry tongues 
 could do much to detract the Admiral and his West- 
 India enterprise. And all Spain, already advised by 
 Margarite, Friar Bull, and many others, was on the 
 alert to learn the worst things possible from these bar- 
 barous kingdoms — this " IMosquito Land "! 
 
 But the Admiral had still some grand points to 
 make. His resources for a show of prosperity were 
 by no means exhausted. Then, too, the sovereigns, 
 seeming to turn a deaf ear to all that had been said 
 against him, had written him a most cordial letter 
 from Almazan, July 12, 1496, as soon as they heard 
 of his arrival. Most graciously did they invite him 
 to court as soon as he might be able to recuperate 
 after the exhaustion of his long and tedious voyage. 
 
 This would be the occasion for exhibiting what he 
 had just brought from the New World. So the pro- 
 cession, not nearly so large as it had been when going 
 to Barcelona in 1493, started for Burgos, where the 
 King and Queen were to await him. The Indian 
 show was better than before, for the number and 
 
320 CURIOSITIES FROM THE INDIES. 
 
 variety were greater. They were decorated in gaudy 
 feathers and gold, and there were princes among them 
 — Caonabo's brother, of some thirty years, with his 
 little son of ten years. The former, christened Don 
 Diego, " wore a collar or chain of gold, which the 
 Admiral made him put on when they passed through 
 the cities and villages." Bernaldez, the venerable 
 author just c[uoted, says it weighed " six hundred 
 castellanos^ which chain I saw and took in my hands 
 when I had the above-named Lord Bishop (Fonseca) 
 and the Admiral and Don Diego as guests in my 
 house. The Admiral brought, also, many things 
 used by the Indians — crowns, masks, girdles, collars, 
 and many other things interwoven with cotton, and 
 all having a figure of the devil in his own shape, or in 
 that of a cat or of an owl's head, or something 
 worse, cut in wood or made in the cotton, or what- 
 ever else might be the material of the orna- 
 ment. He had some crowns with wings at the sides, 
 on which were eyes of gold, and in particular one 
 crown, which he said had belonged to the cacique 
 Caonabo, which was very large and high, and on being 
 struck displayed wings, like shields, with eyes of gold 
 as large around as a drinking cup, set in their places 
 in a very ingenious and singular way, resembling 
 enamelling. This crown likewise had a figure of the 
 devil upon it, and it may be believed that he appeared 
 to them in these shapes, and that they were idolators 
 and had the devil for their Lord." 
 
 Thus wrote the good old curate, showing how, in 
 those superstitious times, this display of heathen 
 
 1" Equivalent to the value of f 3, 195.00 of the present time," says Irving. 
 
PEOPLE WITH TAILS. 321 
 
 ornaments and symbols may have seemed almost like 
 a revelation, not onl}^ from the nezv^ but also from the 
 under-world — the " Infeinio.'''' 
 
 In his interview with the sovereigns the Admiral 
 was happily disappointed. He had no occasion to 
 reply to the croakings of Don Margarite and Friar 
 Buil, nor yet to the budget of accusations brought 
 home by Aguado, for they were not so much as 
 mentioned. The situation of the Admiral in the 
 Indies was exceedingly trying and difficult. If he 
 had erred in any particular, it was in judgment, not 
 in disposition. Says Bernaldez : " The King and 
 Queen, who received him very gracioush^, took great 
 pleasure in seeing the strange things and in learning 
 about his discoveries." With what keen interest must 
 they have listened to his account of that memorable 
 voyage along the south of Cuba, with its romance of 
 j)eople in long white garments and those having tails. 
 Also, there was the account of the amazons in the 
 Caribbees, the love adventure of Miguel Diaz, and the 
 gold-mines of Hajma, which mines were, of course, 
 those of King Solomon's Ophir ! 
 
 Being so well received, Columbus was encouraged 
 to propose another voyage of discovery, in order to 
 connect Spain more closely with the mainland of 
 Asia, or more especially to discover the mainland to 
 the south, of which he had heard through the natives. 
 To this end they readily promised the eight ships he 
 asked for, two to be sent at once with supplies to 
 Hispaniola, and six properly fitted out for his vo3^age 
 of discovery. 
 
 But in all this there came about a most painful and 
 
22 2 GOLD IN BARS. 
 
 miscliievous delay. The sovereigns had already far 
 too much on their hands ; and men in office, who were 
 the deadly enemies of Columbus, found many ways 
 of detaining him. Spain was in trouble with France, 
 being obliged to keep a large army in Italy to help 
 the King of Naples recover his throne. Other armies 
 must be kept on the frontiers to keep out French 
 invasion, and squadrons must skirt the coast both on 
 the Atlantic and on the Mediterranean. Then there 
 was about to be a great double wedding. The Princess 
 Juana was to marry Philip, Archduke of Austria, and 
 his sister Margarita was to be the bride of Prince 
 Juan. An armada of more than a hundred ships, with 
 twenty thousand persons, many of them the most 
 distinguished in Spain, was to carry away Philip's 
 bride and bring back that of Prince Juan. Thus, the 
 sovereigns bustling about from place to place, full of 
 care and business, and the treasury empty, Columbus 
 was obliged to stand aside, as in other da3^s, and await 
 the dispatch of all these immense affairs before his 
 few caravels could be fitted up. 
 
 Finally, in the autumn of 1496, an appropriation 
 was made. But just as the six million maravedis 
 were about to be handed over, a most untoward in- 
 cident occurred. Pedro Alonzo Nino, who had left 
 Cadiz for Hispaniola just as Columbus returned from 
 his second voyage, was now returned with his three 
 caravels laden with Indian slaves. He did not make 
 a formal report until after visiting his home at 
 Huelva, but had meanwhile circulated a rumor 
 that he had a great amount of ^'' gold in bars.'''' 
 The slaves were his gold^ and they were confined by 
 
ISABELLA'S PLANS. 323 
 
 iron bars in the ships. Ferdinand and Isabella, com- 
 pletely duped by this play upon words, invested the 
 six million maravedis designed for Columbus in 
 patching up an old castle, and ordered his outfit to be 
 made from the new returns of gold from the Indies — 
 probably from the rich mines in Hayna. 
 
 Not only did this joke cause a long and disastrous 
 delay, but it was turned into a most keen-edged bur- 
 lesque on the golden Ophir of Columbus. It was one 
 of those seeds of rancorous ill-will which could flourish 
 so readily in the jealous hearts of Spain, 
 
 It was only in the spring of 1497 that wars and wed- 
 dings had sufficiently subsided to admit of Isabella's 
 serious attention to the affairs of the Indies. However 
 indifferent Ferdinand may have become, and however 
 unfavorable the chief advisers of the court may have 
 been, she was still in earnest, and evidently intended 
 to place matters on a firm basis. To this end, every 
 point needing consideration seems to have been thor- 
 oughly reviewed, and throughout the changes and pro- 
 visions made there is an evident design to aid and gratif}'- 
 Columbus in every way possible. 
 
 First., all his rights and prerogatives were confirmed 
 and emphasized, with the privilege of transmitting them 
 to his descendants forever. And his brother Bartholo- 
 mew was appointed adelantado, no reference being made 
 to his having been placed in this office already by the 
 Admiral, an act concerning which Ferdinand had been 
 decidedly jealous. 
 
 Secondly., as the lack of dividends in the Indian en- 
 terprises had told most heavily on Columbus, who was 
 expected to furnish one-eighth of the investments and 
 
324 LENIENCY WITH NATIVES. 
 
 had received no profits, lie was exempted from all pay- 
 ments, with the understanding, of course, that he could 
 claim neither an eighth nor a tenth of the profits, which 
 were far less than the outlay. 
 
 Thirdly .^ as Columbus had been aggrieved by the act 
 of April, 1495, granting license for discovery to any 
 native-born Spaniard, under certain conditions, a retrac- 
 tion was now made of anything which might be 
 unfavorable to his interests and contrary to the privi- 
 leges already granted him. 
 
 Fourthly^ three hundred and thirty persons in royal 
 pay were allowed him for this voyage, with the privi- 
 lege of adding to the number if they could be paid out 
 of the profits of the colony. He was authorized to give 
 lands to all who should reside on them for four years, 
 and give proper attention to the cultivation of the same. 
 But all brazil-wood and precious metals must be reserved 
 for the Crown. 
 
 Nor were the unfortunate natives forgotten. The 
 Queen could not consent to have them treated after the 
 common manner of captives. The greatest attention 
 must be given to their religious instruction. Leniency 
 must be shown in collecting tributes, and those who 
 failed to pay must not be treated harshly. In fact, 
 measures of government should not be severe, beyond 
 what was necessary for the safety of the colony. 
 
 Thus far everything promised well ; but when the 
 ships, with their crews, were called for, there was a com- 
 plete stoppage of affairs. No longer, as in the previous 
 voyages, did all classes, from the lordly castle to the 
 cottage, press and crowd into the fleet, but more after 
 the manner of the first voyage out of Palos, men every- 
 
CRIMINALS FOR THE COLONY. 325 
 
 where refused to go. Hercule'an labor, sickness, and 
 short rations, with a so-called severe government and 
 little or no gold — this combination of things was repel- 
 lent rather than attractive. Hence a measure was 
 resorted to at the suggestion of Columbus, according to 
 Las Casas, which was simply a method of instilling 
 blood-poison into the colony. The galle3^s, the mines, 
 and the prisons were relieved of their criminals, whose 
 sentences were commuted in order that they might 
 serve without pay for certain specified periods in the 
 New World. Those who had been sentenced to banish- 
 ment for life might thus become free in ten years. 
 Those under penalty for anj;- term of years could earn 
 their freedom in half the time. Finally, a general par- 
 don was announced for all malefactors still abroad, if 
 they would consign themselves over to the Admiral 
 within a given time. Those who had merited death 
 might serve for two years ; lighter sinners might get 
 off with one 3^ear. But those guilty of heres}^, treason, 
 murder, or certain other crimes named could not avail 
 themselves of this offer of freedom. 
 
 This baneful measure, more or less common among 
 nations in times gone by, could not fail to bring mis- 
 chief to the colony. Crossing the Atlantic would not 
 change the evil hearts of these criminals. The corrupt 
 tree transplanted in the New World would produce the 
 same corrupt fruit as at home, being only the more pro- 
 lific because of its greater freedom and more prosperous 
 circumstances. Nor could Columbus hope to have the 
 grievous perplexities of his government in the Indies 
 lessened by such a policy. And the better classes in 
 Spain would be all the more shy of this poverty-stricken 
 
326 
 
 BITTER TRIALS OF COLUMBUS. 
 
 mosquito-laud, siuce uow they would not only have to 
 live among savages and noxious insects, but also among 
 criminals, some of whom had even deserved to die at 
 home. 
 
 And still the voyage was delayed. The official 
 department of Indian affairs had been somewhat 
 changed. For some time Antonio de Torres had, to a 
 great extent, superseded Fonseca, but his demands had 
 become uureasonable and the latter had been reinstated. 
 New papers had to be made out, and the unfriendly 
 bishop does not seem to have hurried matters. Indeed, 
 it would seem that his agents, inspired by his animus, 
 did whatever they could to hinder and retard the 
 preparations. The Queen, too, was overwhelmed with 
 affliction in the death of her son. Prince Juan. Such 
 was her sympathy with the Admiral, however, and her 
 interest in the suffering colou}^, that she used money 
 laid by as the dower of her daughter Isabella, betrothed 
 to the King of Portugal, that she might send two ships 
 laden with provisions by Coronel early in 149S. And 
 it must have been some relief, in the midst of the 
 unpopularity and scorn manifested toward Columbus by 
 all parties, when she took into her own service as pages 
 his two sons, who had served as such to her deceased 
 son. 
 
 Now, at length, in the end of May, the squadron of 
 six ships is ready to sail under the command of the Ad- 
 miral. But his bitter trials are not yet over — they must 
 follow him even to the "water's edge." One Ximeno 
 Breviesco, accountant and minion of Fonseca, with "an 
 impudent front and an unbridled tongue," had been a 
 good mouth-piece for the enmity which seems to have been 
 
BRE VIE SCO IS P UNISHED . 337 
 
 SO rife in the office of Indian affairs. At tlie very last 
 moment, as the ships were about to weigh anchor, he 
 was on hand. Either on shore or on the Admiral's ship, 
 he assailed the latter with his insolence. It was the 
 drop which causes the cup to overflow. Unfortunately, 
 the self-restraint which seems to have held out till 
 now gave way in this last moment. Columbus knocked 
 Breviesco down and kicked him — kicked him more than 
 once — kicked him well, it is to be hoped, for he no 
 doubt richly deserved it. 
 
 But on the side of the Admiral it is much to be 
 regretted that he should have thus broken down, for Las 
 Casas tells us that this one act, more than all the com- 
 plaints and detractions of his enemies, did much to 
 injure the confidence of the King and Queen in his 
 government, and, in general, to confirm the reports so 
 assiduously circulated as to his vindictive cruelty. The 
 measures soon after taken for his humiliation are sup- 
 posed by the above writer to have been facilitated, if not 
 suggested, by this incident ; although he deeply regretted 
 it and wrote to the sovereigns some time afterwards, 
 hoping, at least, to mitigate the effect of his unfortunate 
 paroxysm of passion. 
 
CHAPTER XV. 
 
 COLUMBUS'vS THIRD VOYAGE. 
 
 lOLUMBUS sailed from San Lucar on his third 
 vo3^age May 30, 1498. With a new and 
 peculiar thought, he had mapped out a unique 
 route across the ocean, thus working, as heretofore, to a 
 definite plan. He believed there was a continent some- 
 where to the south, for when he started homeward from 
 his recent voyage along the south shore of Cuba he 
 saw it bending down in that direction, and the Indians 
 had constantly been telling him of a great body of land 
 lying that way. Herrera thinks King John II. of 
 Portugal had the same notion. Then Jayme Ferrer, a 
 distinguished lapidary and traveller, had informed him 
 by letter, at the order of the Queen, how he had ascer- 
 tained that the nearer one came to the equator and to 
 those regions where the people were black, the more 
 abundant would one find the most valuable articles of com- 
 merce — gold, drugs, spices, and precious stones. Co- 
 lumbus would keep well to the western outskirts of the 
 Canary Islands, especially since he suspected French 
 cruisers near the coast ; and, making the Cape Verde 
 Islands his starting point, he would follow the equator 
 to the continent in anticipation. Here he would find 
 those black men whom the Indians of Hayti had told 
 him once came to their island from the south and had 
 peculiar metallic heads to their javelins. Some of this 
 metal, which the}^ had given him, had been assayed in 
 
A FRENCH PR I VA TEER. 329 
 
 Spain, and proved to be a mixture of gold, silver, and 
 copper. To ascertain the exact truth of all this would 
 be most interesting, and might well give point and pur- 
 pose to this third voyage. So, standing awa}^ to the 
 southwest, and thus escaping that French squadron 
 which might be playing off and on somewhere between 
 Cape St. Vincent and the Canaries, he touched 
 Porto Santo and Madeira to take in wood, water, 
 and supplies. Then he touched at Gomera, one of the 
 more western islands of the Canaries, and, finding 
 a French privateer with two Spanish prize ships, all of 
 which fled at his approach, he sent three of his ships 
 in pursuit. The fugitive squadron had such a start 
 that they could not be overtaken ; but one of the prizes, 
 hiaving left six of the French crew behind in their haste, 
 was easily turned over to Columbus by the Spanish 
 prisoners on board. He delivered the ship to the cap- 
 tain and consigned the French prisoners to the gover- 
 nor of the island, to be offered in exchange for six 
 Spanish prisoners held by the cruiser.-^ 
 
 June 2ist, just off the island of Ferro, the squadron 
 was divided, three ships hastening away to Hispaniola 
 with supplies, and three, commanded by the Admiral, 
 going on to the Cape Verde Islands. 
 
 The three captains of the ships bound for Hayti are 
 worthy of notice. Alonzo Sanchez de Carvajal was 
 a man of worth ; Pedro de Arana was the brother of 
 Beatrix Henriquez, and the cousin of the unfortunate 
 commander of La Navidad ; Juan Antonio Colombo, 
 a man of rare judgment and ability, was a Genoese and 
 a relative of the Admiral. They were to command the 
 
 1 See Historia, by F. Columbus, cap. 65. 
 
330 THE ADMIRAL'S SQUADRON. 
 
 squadron, eacli a week at a time successive!}^, the ship 
 in command bearing the signal-light. They must steer 
 for the new site of the colony, at the mouth of the 
 Ozema, in the newly discovered gold regions of Hayna, 
 on the south side of Hayti, for by this time the colony 
 would have its headquarters here. 
 
 The Admiral's squadron consisted of two merchant's 
 caravels and his own decked flag-ship of, perhaps, a 
 hundred tons burthen and requiring some three 
 fathoms of water. He was in no physical condition 
 for the arduous efforts and excitements of this im- 
 portant voyage. He had hoped to find rest in Spain, 
 but had been tried to the last degree by anxiety, grief, 
 and vexation. Novv^, as he encountered the damp, 
 sultry weather of the tropics, he was on the very 
 verge of nervous prostration, and \vas soon down with 
 a most painful attack of the gout and a high fever. 
 But his mind remained unclouded, and he kept up his 
 reckonings and very interesting observations. 
 
 The foggy atmosphere and barren landscape of the 
 Cape Verde Islands when the ships arrived, June 27th, 
 had a most depressing effect on him and his crews. 
 The inhabitants looked sallow and morbid, " neither 
 sun nor star " was to be seen, and the goat's flesh 
 needed for provisioning his ships, and the cattle for 
 stocking Hispaniola, were hard to get, so, on July 5th, 
 he stood away to the southwest for the equinoctial 
 line. Adverse currents kept him for two daj^s near 
 the Island del Fuego, the high volcanic summit of 
 which resembled, in the distance, a church with a tall 
 steeple. This was the last point of land which ruelted 
 away in the horizon. 
 
HEAT UNDER THE EQUATOR. 333- 
 
 July I5tli, he was in the 5th degree north latitnde, 
 and so within that belt of almost dead calm which 
 extends for some ten degrees on either side of the 
 equator. This is caused by the converging currents 
 of trade-winds, on either side, neutralizing each other. 
 The sea was smooth as glass, and the air so scorching 
 hot that the tar dripped from the rigging ; " the seams 
 of the ships yawned ; the salt-meat became putrid ; 
 the wheat was parched as if with fire ; the hoops 
 shrank from the wine- and water-casks, some of which 
 leaked and others burst ; while the heat in the holds 
 of the vessels was so suffocating that no one could 
 remain below a sufficient time to prevent the damage 
 that was taking place. The mariners lost all strength 
 and spirits, and sank under the oppressive heat. It 
 seemed as if the old fable of the torrid zone was about 
 to be realized, and that they were approaching a fiery 
 region, where it would be impossible to exist. It is 
 true the heavens were for a great part of the time 
 overcast, and there were drizzling showers, but the 
 atmosphere was close and stifling, and there was that 
 combination of heat and moisture which relaxes all 
 the energies of the human frame. ^ 
 
 Columbus now changed his course, bearing away to 
 the southwest, in order to escape the insufferable heat. 
 He was now approaching that mysterious line run- 
 ning-north and south one hundred leagues west of the 
 Azores, crossing which he invariably found such a 
 remarkable change in sea and sky and air, all nature 
 there becoming so much more mild and refreshing. 
 The present voyage was no exception. He soon 
 
 ^ Irving's Columbus, vol. ii, pp. ii6, 117. 
 
332 
 
 TRINIDAD. 
 
 emerged into this reanimating region. The clonds 
 broke, the sun shone, and a cool, invigorating breeze 
 filled the sails. Columbus would have been glad to 
 have borne away still farther to the south, but the 
 ships were letting in the water through their gaping 
 seams, the provisions were spoiling, and the w^ater was 
 well-nigh exhausted. So he followed the flight of 
 birds and other favorable indications directly to the 
 Avest. 
 
 Day after day passed, and yet no land met their 
 anxious gaze along the horizon. The crews became 
 impatient, and the ships were turned north in search 
 of the Caribbee islands. It is midday, on the 31st 
 of July, and there is but one cask of water in each 
 ship, when a sailor at the mast-head gives the joj'-ful 
 cry of " Land ! " Three mountain peaks peer above 
 the sea. As the ships approach, these unite in one 
 solid mountain at the base. How suggestive ! Co- 
 lumbus had already decided to name the first land dis- 
 covered on this voyage Trinidad, after the sacred 
 Trinity ; and lo ! here, as if by a strange coincidence, 
 is the triple-peaked mountain pointing heavenward ! 
 The Salva Regina is said or sung by all the crews, 
 and the squadron makes for the southeastern extremit}?- 
 of the island, which looks so much like a galley under 
 sail that he names it Punta de la Galera. 
 
 He begins the month of August by coasting along 
 the beautiful southern shore, with its groves of palms 
 sweeping down to the very edge of the water. Here, 
 too, are delightful fountains and running streams. 
 If the shores are low and uninhabited, there are 
 scattered hamlets and signs of cultivation in many 
 
TRINJDAD. 
 
334 TRACKS ON THE SHORE. 
 
 parts of the more elevated interior. They sail five 
 leagues before they can find a safe harbor to careen 
 the ships. But the climate is so delightful, every 
 thing is so fresh and green, and there is such a sweet 
 odor from off the land that the crews can only think 
 of " the delights of early spring in the beautiful 
 province of Valencia." 
 
 But the ships must have fresh water. So the boats 
 go ashore at a point named Punta de la Ploya, and 
 fill their casks at a silvery brook ; but there is no 
 harbor nor people, onl}^ tracks — of men and goats, as 
 they suppose, one of which animals — no doubt deer, 
 in which the island was afterwards found to abound — 
 they find dead. Very soon they see the shore on the 
 opposite side stretching away some twent}^ leagues — 
 the low land about the mouths of the Orinoco, their 
 first sight of the South American continent, but they 
 think it an island and call it La Isla Santa ! 
 
 They must have sailed rapidly, for by the 2d of 
 August they were at the southwest point of Trinidad, 
 which Columbus named Point Arenal. A correspond- 
 ing point of the mainland stretched toward it, forming 
 a narrow pass, with a formidable rock in the centre. 
 Near here they cast anchor and meet a large canoe 
 with twenty-four or five Indians putting off from the 
 shore. At the distance of a bow-shot the Indians stop 
 and try to communicate, but no one can understand 
 them. The Spaniards get out their wares — glittering 
 trinkets, looking-glasses and basins of polished copper, 
 and elegant little hawk's bells. But the more they are 
 called so much the more do they suspect craft and 
 deceit, and gradually move backwards. For more than 
 
A SHOWER OF ARROWS. 33 r 
 
 two hours, paddles in hand, they stare, read}^ to be off 
 at any moment in case of approach. The}' are an exhi- 
 bition for an artist — beautifullj^ formed young men, 
 naked as Apollo Belvidere, except a slight cotton turban 
 about the head, so bright and pretty that it reminded 
 Columbus of the ^Moorish head-dresses, and a party- 
 colored cloth of the same material about the loins. 
 They have bows, and their arrows are feathered and 
 tipped with bone, and their large wooden bucklers are 
 the first which have been found among the natives. 
 
 But gifts do not appeal strongly enough to the eye 
 of these savages to bring them near, therefore the 
 Admiral will try music and dancing — they are alwaj^s 
 fond of dancing, especially to the sound of their rude 
 wooden drums. So he orders some of his ship-boj^s 
 onto the high poop of his ship, to dance, while one 
 sang to the stroke of the tabor and other musical 
 instruments. But this happens to be the wrong move. 
 The Indians mistake it for a signal of battle, and 
 ^' in the twinkling of an eye "they have dropped their 
 paddles, adjusted bows and bucklers, and let fly their 
 arrows. The Spaniards discharge several of their 
 cross-bov^'s, and the Indians beat a quick retreat. As 
 they run under the stern of one of the smaller ships 
 the pilot throws a cap and a mantle to the one who is 
 most prominent, and he makes signs for his benefactor 
 to follow them to the shore as they land. The pilot 
 w^ent to the flag-ship to ask permission, and the 
 Indians, suspicious of danger, boarded their canoe and 
 " fled as sw'ift as the w'ind." They were not seen 
 again. 
 
 But how to account for these charming^ formed 
 
336 
 
 A DELIGHTFUL CLIMATE. 
 
 3^oung men of siicli fair complexion — fairer than the 
 natives farther north, it would seem, or the Spaniards 
 themselves, indeed — was a puzzle to Columbus. Was 
 he not in the seventh degree of latitude, as he sup- 
 posed? — really in the tenth. Wh}^, then, according to 
 Ferrer the lapidary, were not the people ill-shapen and 
 black, with crisped hair ? These people had beautiful 
 straight hair, which, by the way, they did not braid, 
 as did the Indians of Cuba and Hispaniola. The 
 temperature, too, was unaccountable. In these dog- 
 days of the equator, the days even were refreshing^ 
 and the nights and mornings were positively cool. 
 Indeed, the crews were in a state of delectation as they 
 went ashore in this salubrious climate, after their long 
 confinement at sea in the suffocating calms of the 
 torrid zone. It is true they can find no gurgling 
 springs or running water, but they sink pits in the 
 sand, and soon fill their casks. 
 
 But the Admiral is uneasy because of the bad 
 anchorage. A rapid current is constantly setting in 
 from the east like the torrents of a great river, remind- 
 ing him of the furious, swollen floods of the Guadal- 
 quivir. This would make an^^ return of the fleet very 
 difficult ; and the pass between the approaching points 
 of the mainland and Trinidad, about two leagues 
 across, which he names the Mouth of the Serpent, is 
 most dangerously forbidding. Here the current from 
 the east — the great Gulf Stream from the coast of 
 Africa — meets the outrushing floods of the Orinoco, 
 and forms tremendous breakers, thundering as if on 
 reefs and shoals of rocks. At a late hour of the night, 
 wakeful with pain and anxiously watching every 
 
THE DRA G OJV'S MO UTH. >i^j 
 
 phenomenon in this new and strange part of the world, 
 he was startled by a most amazing manifestation of 
 the forces of nature. He says, " I heard an awful 
 roaring that came from the south towards the ship ; I 
 stopped to observe what it might be, and I saw the sea 
 rolling from west to east like a mountain as high as 
 the ship, and approaching by little and little ; on the 
 top of this rolling sea came a mighty wave roaring 
 with a frightful noise and the same terrific uproar as 
 the other currents, producing, as I have already said, 
 a sound as of breakers upon the rocks. To this day I 
 have a vivid recollection of the dread I then felt lest 
 the ship might founder under the force of that tremen- 
 dous sea ; but it passed by and reached the mouth of the 
 before-mentioned passage, where the uproar lasted for 
 a considerable time." 
 
 The nature of this tempest in the Dragon's Mouth 
 must be ascertained, so boats were sent the next morn- 
 ing to sound the pass and learn if these roaring 
 waters were breakers on rocks or opposing currents, 
 or what. On the return the pilot reported, to the great 
 joy of all, that the waters were deep, and that the 
 currents and eddies set in from both directions. As 
 the wind was favorable, the ships soon made trial of 
 the pass, and dropped safely into a large tranquil sea 
 on the other side. They followed the magnificent 
 curve of the western side of Trinidad, the great and 
 unknown Gulf of Paria stretching away to the west. 
 Some one tasted the water, and great was their sur- 
 prise to find it almost as fresh and sweet as that of a 
 river. As they approached the northwest point of 
 Trinidad, about 14 leagues from Point Arenal, a moun- 
 
338 
 
 A BEAUTIFUL COAST. 
 
 tainous point loomed up just a little to the west. It 
 was the long, narrow stretch of the mainland which 
 bounds the Gulf of Paria on the north. Here, between 
 this point in the west and the northeastern end of 
 Trinidad, the currents met again, forming a more 
 dangerous strait than the Mouth of the Serpent, since 
 it contained great rocky islands. So the Admiral 
 called it the Mouth of the Dragon. 
 
 This he did not wish to encounter. Sailing, there- 
 fore, toward the west, on Sunday of August 5th he 
 concluded to pass this supposed island, which he named 
 Gracia, at the west end, and sail directly north for 
 Hispaniola. How intensely the crews must have been 
 charmed with the salubrious climate and the entranc- 
 ing mountainous landscape. All along, the coast was 
 indented with excellent harbors. Stately forests 
 crowned the inimense elevations of hill and plain, and 
 there were numerous streams of water. In many 
 places there was more or less cultivation, and the most 
 luscious fruits grew wild in abundance. Two things 
 particularly surprised the Admiral — the delightful 
 placidity and the increasing freshtiess of the sea. 
 
 How desirous he was of meeting the inhabitants of 
 these parts. But everywhere they eluded him. Au- 
 gust 6th, they entered a harbor. Here were signs of 
 cultivation, and the boats were sent ashore ; but the 
 inhabitants had fled. There were recent signs enough 
 of human habitation, but all was deserted and silent. 
 But there were many monkeys climbing and chatter- 
 ing in those beautiful and fruitful groves on the moun- 
 tain sides. 
 
 They continued toward the west, and, finding the 
 
THE NATIVES. ^.Q 
 
 country more level, anchored in the mouth of a river. 
 Here a canoe with some three Indians came off to 
 meet them. As they approached the nearest caravel, 
 the captain made as if he would go to land with them, 
 but jumped on their canoe in such a waj- as to upset 
 it, and the natives, being precipitated into the water, 
 were captured before they could escape. Taken to 
 the Admiral's ship, they were treated to beads, hawk's 
 bells, and sugar. They were delighted, and went 
 ashore to attract their acquaintances. Other canoes 
 now approached the ships. The natives were tall, 
 comely, and graceful as wild animals in their move- 
 ments. They had bows and arrows and targets. The 
 men, as heretofore, had bright-colored cotton cloths 
 around the head and loins, the colors being so delicate 
 as to resemble silk in the distance. The women were 
 entirely naked. They brought provisions of the kinds 
 common to the natives, but they also brought delicious 
 drinks, resembling beer and wine. Wh}^ do they 
 smell of everything — even the boat, the people, and 
 pieces of brass ? This is their way of examining and 
 testing things. They care but little for beads, but are 
 delighted with those tinkling hawk's bells. The}^ are 
 also charmed with brass ; and, holding it to their noses, 
 call it tiirey — that is, " from heaven." 
 
 From these Indians Columbus understood that the 
 name of their country was Paria, and that farther to 
 the w^est he would find it more populous. Taking 
 several of them to serve as guides and mediators, he 
 proceeded eight leagues westward to a point which he 
 called Aguja, or the Needle. Here he arrived at three 
 o'clock in the morning. When the day dawned he 
 
340 
 
 GOLD AND PEARLS. 
 
 was delighted with the beauty of the country. It was 
 cultivated in many places, highly populous, and 
 adorned with magnificent vegetation ; habitations were 
 interspersed among groves laden with fruits and flow- 
 ers ; grape-vines entwined themselves among the trees, 
 and birds of brilliant plumage fluttered among the 
 branches. The air was temperate and bland and 
 sweetened by the fragrance of flowers and blossoms, 
 and numerous fountains and limpid streams kept up a 
 universal verdure and freshness. Columbus was so 
 much charmed with the beauty and amenity of this 
 part of the coast that he gave it the name of " The 
 Gardens."^ What a tour this would have been for a 
 naturalist ! 
 
 Now the shores teemed with the canoes of the 
 natives — canoes much superior to any they had yet 
 seen — larger, lighter, and with a sort of cabin in the 
 middle. The natives, who urged the Admiral in the 
 name of their cacique to come to land, were quite 
 highly ornamented. They had about their necks, in 
 collars and burnished plates, considerable gold of a 
 rather poor quality, which could be found among the 
 hills not far away. Other ornaments of the same 
 metal they had. One Indian had a mass as big as an 
 apple. But what have those females for garlands on 
 their heads, necklaces, and bracelets? Nothing less 
 than pearls ; and they show the Spaniards the shells — 
 mother-of-pearl — from which these have been taken. 
 Peter Martyr says that these Indian women had 
 pearls in such great abundance that the Spanish 
 women "in plays and triumphs had not greater plenty 
 
 ^Irving's Columbus, vol. ii, p. 127. 
 
AJV INDIAN ENTER TAINMENT. 341 
 
 of stones of glass and crystal in their garlands, 
 crowns, girdles, and such other tirements. Being asked 
 where they gathered them, they pointed to the next 
 shore by the sea-banks. They signified, also, by cer- 
 tain scornful gestures which they made with their 
 mouths and hands, that they nothing esteemed pearls. 
 Taking, also, baskets in their hands, thc}^ made signs 
 that the same might be filled with them in short 
 space." 
 
 This so excited Columbus and his crews that he sent 
 boats ashore to gather information, and also to get 
 pearls to be sent to Spain. Now, not only the multi- 
 tude, which Peter Martyr says " came flocking to 
 them by heaps, but also the cacique and his son came 
 to greet the strangers just come down from heaven. 
 They brought them into the large house of the 
 cacique — not built in the round, wigwam style, so com- 
 mon among the natives, but having a front and ends — 
 fagades — quite architectural and large for that coun- 
 try — and having seated them on stools of ebon}-, finely 
 carved, gave them bread, the most luscious fruits, and 
 their native beers and wines, both white and red.^ 
 During this entertainment the women were in one end 
 of the house and the men in the other, in the manner 
 of a meeting of the Friends. The strangers are next 
 taken to the house of the cacique's son and feasted 
 again. 
 
 These people made a most unique impression on the 
 Spaniards, they were so affable, so martial in their 
 
 ^Columbus takes pains to say that these wines were " not made of grapes, 
 but apparently produced from different fruits. The most reasonable infer- 
 ence is that they use maize." 
 
342 HOW PEARLS GROW I 
 
 bearing, so keen-eyed and intelligent, so unlike the 
 coarse, black people Columbus expected to find here, 
 almost under the equator. They brought presents, 
 as everywhere else ; parrots of various colors, some 
 large as domestic fowls. They also brought the 
 much-coveted pearls, which they readily exchanged 
 for hawk's bells and brass. The finest of the pearls 
 were selected to be sent to the sovereigns of Spain. 
 When they were questioned as to where they found 
 these pearls with which nearly all the women were so 
 finely ornamented, " they pointed to certain moun- 
 tains," says Peter Martyr, " seeming with their 
 countenances to dissuade our men from going thither ; 
 for putting their arms in their mouths, and grinning 
 as though they bit the same, still pointing to the 
 mountains, they seemed to insinuate that men were 
 eaten there, but whether they meant by cannibals or 
 wild beasts our men could not perceive." 
 
 " They took it exceedingly grievously," says the 
 same author, " that they could neither understand our 
 men nor our men them." Perhaps no intercourse 
 between the Spaniards and natives was ever more novel 
 and pleasing than this. But Columbus is desirous of 
 getting around the western end of this supposed 
 island called Gracia, so he sails away, dreaming 
 about pearls, according to the habit of his quick 
 imagination. Did not Pliny say that pearls were 
 generated from drops of dew which fell into the open 
 mouths of oysters ? This country had an abundance 
 of dew, and oysters so abundant that a branch lying 
 in the water would become laden with them, and the 
 mangrove trees growing along the shore and laving 
 
SUFFERINGS OF THE ADMIRAL. 343 
 
 their boughs in the tranquil waters would soon be 
 clustered with them. Las Casas, commenting on 
 these flights of fancy in the Admiral, notices that 
 these oysters dwelling in shallow waters do not produce 
 pearls ; but that this valuable kind, " by a natural 
 instinct, as if conscious of their precious charge, hide 
 themselves in the deepest waters."^ 
 
 About the loth of August the crews discerned 
 points of the mainland to the west of the Gulf of 
 Paria, and thought they were now nearing an outlet 
 between islands. But the water became so shallow 
 that the flag-ship, drawing three fathoms, could 
 venture no further. A light caravel was sent on to 
 find the supposed outlet, but it returned the next day 
 reporting simply gulfs and mouths of rivers with an 
 abundance of fresh water. There was no choice of 
 way. The fleet must go back and out at the Mouth 
 of the Dragon. Nor could there be any delay, much 
 as he might desire to explore this promising region, 
 for his sea-stores were failing and the supplies for 
 Hayti were in danger of damaging. His gout, too, was 
 insufferable, and the accustomed inflammation of his 
 eyes had become so serious with constant watching and 
 loss of sleep that he writes, " never were my eyes so 
 much affected with bleeding or so painful as at this 
 period." There was even danger of a repetition of the 
 entire nervous prostration experienced on his return 
 from the south of Cuba. 
 
 The sails were spread for the Mouth of the Dragon on 
 the nth of August, and the fleet was borne along so 
 rapidly by the currents of fresh water on their way to 
 
 ^Las Casas, Hist. Ind., cap. 136. 
 
344 A DIFFICULT PASS. 
 
 the sea that by Sunday, the 13th, they cast anchor 
 near the outlet, in a fair harbor, the neighborhood of 
 which so abounded with monkeys that he named it 
 after them — Puerto de Gatos. Here were mangroves 
 loaded with oysters, their mouths being open to catch 
 the dew ! The pass of the Mouth of the Dragon, some 
 five leagues across, would have been wide enough, had 
 it not been for the islands which blocked its current and 
 increased the stupendous billows which, contending 
 with each other, threatened to engulf his frail ships. 
 Were these angry waves breakers on shoals of rock, or 
 were they simply the commotion of immense currents 
 opposed to each other — the fresh water struggling to get 
 out and the ocean contending to come in ? There was 
 neither pilot nor chart to guide these first ships of dis- 
 covery. Columbus, having studied the situation and the 
 action of the waters carefully, concluded to make trial 
 of the passage, especially as a fresh breeze was now 
 favorable. The wind died away, however, while he was 
 yet in the tempest of the straits, but he was safely 
 carried through by the sweeping currents into the open 
 sea beyond. The Admiral, with his usual skill in 
 observation, now conjectured that the currents and the 
 overwhelming mountains of water which rushed into 
 these straits with such an awful roaring arose from the 
 contest between the fresh water and the sea. The fresh 
 water struggled with the salt to oppose its entrance, and 
 the salt contended against the fresh in its efforts to gain 
 a passage into the gulf. 
 
 Still conceiving this point to be an island, and skirt- 
 ing it to the west, he expected to find a gulf of pearls at 
 its western end. Passing a number of islands and many 
 
DISS A TISFA CTION ABO UT PEARL S. 34 r 
 
 fine harbors, on the 15th lie came upon tHe islands Cu- 
 bagua and Margarita. Here Lie found a number of 
 Indians fishing for pearls. These fled, and a boat 
 being sent in pursuit of them, there was noticed a 
 female with many strings of pearls about her neck. 
 One of the sailors having a porcelain plate painted in 
 gaudy colors, broke it in pieces, and succeeded in bar- 
 tering it away for quite a number of the much-coveted 
 ornaments. The Admiral then sent a number of pretty 
 plates on shore, and also hawk's bells, which were 
 readily taken in exchange for about t/iree poimds of 
 pearls^ some of which, being quite large, were sent to the 
 King and Queen of Spain. Bernaldez says that when 
 he " discovered the Pearl Islands he would allow the 
 men to keep nothing for themselves, except a trifle as a 
 specimen. This produced great dissatisfaction among 
 the sailors, because he had told them that whatever 
 God should give them or throw in their way he would 
 share with them ; whereas he now said that the King 
 and Queen had sent them on this voyage to make dis- 
 coveries, and not to enrich themselves." This only 
 shows that new conditions had arisen, and that the Ad- 
 miral had grown wiser since the making of the above 
 promise, which probabl}^ occurred on the first voyage. 
 
 Great was the temptation to explore these regions 
 still further, for the natives mentioned other places 
 in the vicinity which they said abounded in pearls. 
 And that magnificent range of mountains stretching 
 westward along the coast of Paria as far as one could 
 see ! — might it not be a part of the mainland of Asia ? 
 But the time was come to return to Hispaniola. His 
 presence was greatly needed there, and he was well- 
 
346 
 
 A GREAT CONTINENT. 
 
 nigli exhausted by the hardships of his voyage. His 
 eyes were now so diseased that he was obliged to give 
 up all observations, even the ordinary lookout hav- 
 ing to be entrusted to his pilots. 
 
 But if the external vision was closed almost to total 
 blindness, reflection and deductive reasoning were 
 active. His recent observations, so novel and so pro- 
 foundly impressive, in this hitherto undiscovered part 
 of the world, were extremely suggestive and furnished 
 material for several very remarkable conceptions and 
 generalization s. 
 
 First. The immense torrents of fresh water rushing 
 into the Gulf of Paria indicated a continent of incalcu- 
 lable extent to the west and south. It must be that 
 most of the land he had seen about that body of water 
 was in some way connected, the shore to the west of 
 Margarita trending away immeasurably to the west, and 
 the land to the west of the Mouth of the Serpent run- 
 ning south beyond the equator, and so including an 
 immense unexplored territory of the most precious com- 
 modities, such as Ferrer had located along the equator. 
 So the old writers, Aristotle, Seneca, St. Augustin, and 
 Cardinal Aliaco, must be correct in supposing the 
 greater part of the globe to be land — perhaps six parts 
 out of seven, as Bsdras of the Apocrypha had said. 
 Who could tell what benignant stars might shine on 
 this boundless, unknown continent? Happy he who 
 should open up its treasures to the civilized world ! 
 
 These stupendous ocean currents — compared with 
 which earth's mightiest rivers are but rivulets — taking, 
 by some mysterious forces, a well-defined course through 
 the great seas — especially that great equatorial current 
 
OCEAN CURRENTS. 347 
 
 — were they not sculptors of the landscape, cutting off 
 portions of the mainland, and thus fringing the conti- 
 nents with islands ? Else why do these islands invari- 
 ably lie lengthwise with the currents ? What a reve- 
 lation to him would have been the earth's grand sys- 
 tem of ocean airrents as we now understand them ! But 
 more wonderful still would have been his supposed great 
 continent to the west and south, as well as all the con- 
 tinental lands and the islands of that half of the globe 
 discovered by his wonderful genius, courage, and 
 energy ! 
 
 But we must not fail to notice still another striking 
 conception, which, however much the learned of to-day 
 may ridicule it, was by no means a stupid generaliza- 
 tion, if we consider how little was then known of the 
 shape and contents of the earth. The facts in nature 
 which he co-ordinated all lent themselves readily 
 enough to his hypothesis as to the form of the earth's 
 surface in the absence of that knowledge of other facts 
 which have since corrected it. Is it too much to say 
 that deductions far more absurd have been made by 
 philosophical speculators of the greatest authority in 
 our own day ? 
 
 " I have always read," he says, " that the world 
 comprising the land and the water was spherical, and 
 the recorded experiences of Ptolemy and all others 
 have proved this by the eclipses of the moon, and 
 other observations made from east to west, as well as 
 by the elevation of the pole from north to south. But, 
 as I have already described, I have now seen so much 
 irregularity that I have come to another conclusion 
 respecting the earth, namely, that it is not round as 
 
348 THE EARTH PEAR-SHAPED. 
 
 they describe, but of the form of a pear, which is very 
 round except where the stalk grows, at which part it 
 is most prominent ; or like a round ball, upon one 
 part of which is a prominence like a woman's nipple, 
 this protrusion being the highest and nearest the sky, 
 situated under the equinoctial line, and at the eastern 
 extremity of the sea — I call that the eastern extremity 
 where the land and the islands end. In confirmation 
 of my opinion, I refer to the arguments which I have 
 above detailed respecting the line which passes from 
 north to south a hundred degrees west of the Azores ; 
 for in sailing thence westward the ships went on ris- 
 ing smoothly towards the sky, and then the weather 
 was felt to be milder, on account of which mildness 
 the needle shifted one point of the compass ; the 
 further we went the more the needle moved to the 
 northwest, this elevation producing the variation of 
 the circle which the North star describes with its 
 satellites, and the nearer I approached the equinoctial 
 line the more they rose and the greater was the 
 difference in these stars and in their circles. Ptolemy 
 and the other philosophers who have written upon the 
 globe thought that it was spherical, believing that 
 this hemisphere was round as well as that in which 
 they themselves dwelt, the centre of which was in the 
 island of Arin,^ which is under the equinoctial line, 
 between the Arabian Gulf and the Gulf of Persia ; and 
 the circle passes over Cape St. Vincent, in Portugal, 
 
 1 " A misspelling," says Major, "not infrequent in those days, for the 
 sacred city (not island) of Odjein or Ongrin, in Malwa, whence the Indians 
 reckoned their first meridian." 
 
THE PROOF OF THE PEAR-SHAPE. 349, 
 
 westward, and eastward by Cangara and the Seras/ in 
 which hemisphere I make no difficulty as to its being 
 a perfect sphere as they describe ; but this western 
 half of the world, I maintain, is like the half of a very 
 round pear, having a raised projection for the stalk, as 
 I have already described, or like a woman's nipple on 
 a very round ball. Ptolemy and the others who have 
 written upon the globe had no information respecting 
 this part of the world, which was then unexplored ; 
 they only established their arguments with respect to 
 their own hemisphere, which, as I have already said, 
 is half of a perfect sphere. And now that your High- 
 nesses have commissioned me to make this voyage of 
 discovery, the truths which I have stated are evidently 
 proved, because in this voyage, when I was off the 
 island of Hargin^ and its vicinity, which is twenty 
 degrees to the north of the equinoctial line, I found 
 the people are black, and the land very much burnt ; 
 and when, after that, I went to the Cape Verde Islands, 
 I found the people there much darker still, and the 
 more southward we went the more they approach the 
 extreme of blackness ; so that when I reached the 
 parallel of Sierra Leone, where, as night came on, the 
 North star rose five degrees, the people there were 
 excessively black ; and as I sailed westward the heat 
 became extreme. But, after I had passed the meridian 
 or line which I have already described, I found the 
 climate become gradually more temperate ; so that 
 when I reached the island of Trinidad, where the 
 North star rose five degrees as night came on, there 
 and in the land of Gracia I found the temperature 
 
 ijapan and China. ^Arguin, west of Africa. 
 
350 A MESSENGER TO DON BARTHOLOMEW. 
 
 exceedingly mild ; the fields and the foliage likewise 
 were remarkably fresh and green, and as beautiful as 
 the gardens of Valencia in April. The people there 
 are very graceful in form, less dark than those whom 
 I had before seen in the Indies, and wear their hair 
 long and smooth ; they are also more shrewd, intelli- 
 gent and courageous. The sun was then in the sign 
 of Virgo, over our heads and theirs ; therefore all this 
 must proceed from the extreme blandness of the tem- 
 perature, which arises, as I have said, from this coun- 
 try being the most elevated in the world, and the 
 nearest to the sky."^ 
 
 On the 19th of August the Admiral's ships reached 
 Hispaniola, fifty leagues west of the new port at the 
 mouth of the Ozema. The strong currents, of which 
 he had not yet learned the full force, had carried him 
 far out of his intended course during the less watch- 
 ful hours of the night. It was impossible to conjecture 
 how much these currents might retard his sailing east- 
 ward ; so he landed in order to find a messenger, who 
 might carry a letter to the adelantado by land, thus 
 advising the latter of his safe arrival. At once Bar- 
 tholomew started in a caravel to meet the Admiral. 
 
 Meanwhile the latter was not a little uneasy, for he 
 had seen a native carrying a cross-bow. This was not 
 an article to be sold or given away by the Spaniards. 
 Might it not indicate some calamity like that of La 
 Navidad ? In order to form some conception of the 
 intelligence which Bartholomew was to bring the 
 Admiral, let us go back a few years and learn the 
 fortunes of the adelantado in governing the colony. 
 
 ^Letter to Ferdinand and Isabella, describing his third voyage. See 
 Select Letters of Christopher Columbus, by R. H. Major. 
 
CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 THE ADELANTADO AND ROLDAN. 
 
 ARTHOLOMEW COLUMBUS was a man of 
 great resolution and energy. As soon as 
 the Admiral had departed for Spain, in 
 March, 1496, placing his brother Diego over the affairs 
 of Isabella, he mustered a force of over four hundred 
 men, and marched to the south side of the island in 
 order to develop the gold-mines of Hayna — the sup- 
 posed Ophir of Solomon. On a site abounding in ore 
 he built a fort named San Christoval ; but the work- 
 men, on account of the golden grains which gleamed 
 in the rocks and in the sands, called it the Golden 
 Tower. 
 
 In three months this large force had erected the 
 fortress and gotten the mining and purifying of the 
 ore under way. But so many men could not be easily 
 supported in the wilderness, especially in such a moun- 
 tainous country. Nor did the natives any longer bring 
 their fish, fruits, and cassava-bread ; for by this time 
 some doubt had arisen in their minds as to the heavenly 
 origin of these men — so cruel, so licentious, so eager 
 for gold. Bartholomew, therefore, left but ten men to 
 guard the fortress, with a dog to catch the little rat- 
 like utia ; and taking the four hundred into the neigh- 
 borhood of Fort Conception, in the Vega Real, he 
 called on the cacique, Guarionex, for supplies while he 
 collected tribute. A generous man this Indian poten- 
 
352 
 
 SHIPS WITH SUPPLIES ARRIVE. 
 
 tate must have been, to feed this multitude of foreign- 
 ers, with such capacious stomachs, and pay tax at the 
 same time. 
 
 But in the course of a month — some time in July — 
 Nino arrived from Spain with his three ship-loads of 
 men and supplies. As was generally the case in cross- 
 ing the Atlantic, much of the provisions had spoiled, 
 and thus the colony failed to receive the full measure 
 of relief it so greatly needed ; for, after nearly five 
 years of colonial life in this genial climate, in this 
 land of great and quick resources, hunger still pre- 
 vailed. 
 
 These ships, it will be remembered, brought letters 
 from the Admiral — letters written under the sharp 
 impulses received when coming in contact with the 
 unhappy public sentiment in Spain. Two points 
 needed immediate attention — the gold-mines at Hayna, 
 must be developed, and such of the native rulers and 
 their subjects as had been involved in the death of 
 the Spaniards — for so the theologians had decided — 
 might be sent to Spain as slaves. At once three hun- 
 dred of these poor unfortunates passed over the gang- 
 ways into the ship, to be delivered as " gold in bars " 
 on reaching the home slave-market, and, with a new sup- 
 ply of provisions, the adelantado set out for the mouth 
 of the Ozema, by way of San Christoval. " They 
 afiirm this river," says Peter Martyr, " to have many 
 benefits of nature ; for, wheresoever it runneth, all 
 things are exceedingly pleasant and fruitful, having 
 on every side groves of date trees and divers other of 
 the island fruits so plentifully that, as they sailed along 
 by the shore, oftentimes the branches thereof, laden 
 
THE NE W CITY. ^ r ^ 
 
 with flowers and fruits, hung so over their heads that 
 they might pluck them with their hands." 
 
 Here, at the mouth of the Ozema, was a natural 
 haven, with a fine entrance, deep water, and a good 
 bottom to hold the anchor. On the eastern side, there- 
 fore, he located his sea-port, San Domingo ;^ for here 
 was pure water, an abundance of fish, and a fertile 
 country. The site must have been well chosen, for, 
 after four hundred years, the city is still flourishing as 
 the capital of a republic. The female cacique of this 
 locality, bride of Miguel Diaz, who had invited the 
 white men to locate here, gave them a cordial recep- 
 tion, and ever proved faithful to her promises. 
 
 The first building, a fortress, was soon completed ; 
 and the adelantado, leaving twenty men as a garrison, 
 took his large force into Zaragua, the most western 
 province of the island, in order to adjust the tribute to 
 be levied on the cacique, Behechio, and his subjects, 
 that province not yet having been consulted on this 
 important matter. 
 
 This was a most beautiful and fertile region, and 
 the inhabitants were noted for their fine physique, 
 intelligence, and graceful manners. " With this 
 cacique resided Anacaona, widow of the late formida- 
 ble Caonabo. She v/as sister to Behechio, and had 
 taken refuge with her brother after the capture of her 
 husband. She was one of the most beautiful females 
 of the island ; her name in the Indian language signi- 
 fied ' The Golden Flower.' " She " possessed a genius 
 superior to the generality of her race, and was said to 
 excel in composing those little legendary ballads, or 
 
 ^ This city was first called Nueva Isabella — New Isabella. 
 
354 
 
 ANACAOJVA. 
 
 areytos, whicli the natives chanted as they performed 
 their national dances. All the Spanish writers agree 
 in describing her as possessing a natural dignit}^ and 
 grace hardly to be credited in her ignorant and savage 
 condition. Notwithstanding the ruin with which her 
 husband had been overwhelmed by the hostility of the 
 white men, she appears to have entertained no vindic- 
 tive feelings toward them, knowing that he had pro- 
 voked their vengeance by his own voluntar}^ warfare. 
 She regarded the Spaniards with admiration, as almost 
 superhuman beings, and her intelligent mind per- 
 ceived the futility and impolicy of any attempt to 
 resist their superiority in arts and arms. Having 
 great influence over her brother Behechio, she coun- 
 selled him to take warning by the fate of her husband 
 and to conciliate the friendship of the Spaniards ; and 
 it is supposed that a knowledge of the friendly senti- 
 ments and powerful influences of this princess in a 
 great measure prompted the adelantado to his present 
 expedition."^ 
 
 Irving has posed this Indian queen so gracefully 
 that we could not refrain from quoting him. We will 
 now quote Peter Martyr, as translated by Eden — all 
 but the old style of spelling — as to the appearance of 
 the adelantado and his men in Zaragua, after collect- 
 ing tribute on their way, and cutting down the great 
 Brazil trees and storing them. " When the king had 
 espied our men, laying apart his weapons^ and giving 
 
 ^Irving's Columbus, vol. 2, pp. 152, 153. 
 
 ^The cacique had come out with a great army equipped with bows and 
 arrows and club-like lances ; but the military array of the Spaniards — their 
 cavalry in front, followed by the infantry, all marching to the sound of drum 
 and trumpet — had quite daunted him. 
 
ARRANGING THE TAX. orr 
 
 signs of peace, he spoke gently to them (uncertain 
 whether it were humanity or fear) , and demanded of 
 them what they would have. The lieutenant answered 
 that he should pay tribute to the Admiral, his brother, 
 in the name of the Christian King of Spain. To 
 whom he said, ' How can you require that of me, 
 whereas never a region under my dominion bringeth 
 forth gold ?' For he had heard that there was a strange 
 nation entered into the island, which made great search 
 for gold. The lieutenant answered again, ' God forbid 
 that we should enjoin any man to pay such tribute as 
 he might not easily forbear, or such as were not engen- 
 dered or growing in the region ; but we understand 
 that your regions bring forth great plenty of gossam- 
 pine cotton and hemp, with such other, whereof we 
 desire you to give us part.' When he heard these 
 words he promised, with cheerful countenance, to give 
 him as much of these as he would require." 
 
 When Bartholomew and his men approached Behe- 
 chio's house, " first, there met him a company of 
 thirty women, being all the king's wives and concu- 
 bines, bearing in their hands branches of date trees, 
 singing and dancing. They were all naked, saving 
 that their privy parts were covered with bunches of 
 gossampine cotton ; but the virgins, having their hair 
 hanging down about their shoulders, tied about their 
 foreheads with a fillet, were utterly naked. They 
 af&rm that their faces, breasts, paps, hands, and other 
 parts of their bodies were exceedingly smooth and 
 well proportioned, but somev/hat inclining to a lovely 
 brown. They supposed that they had seen those most 
 beautiful dryads or the native nymphs or fairies of 
 
356 
 
 INDIAN AMUSEMENTS. 
 
 the fountains whereof the antiques speak so much. 
 The branches of date trees which they bore in the right 
 hands when they danced they delivered to the lieu- 
 tenant, with lowly courtesy and smiling countenance. 
 Thus entering into the king's house, they found a 
 delicate supper prepared for them, after their manner. 
 When they were all refreshed with meat, the night 
 drawing on, they were brought by the king's officers, 
 every man to his lodging, according to his degree, in 
 certain of their houses about the palace, where they 
 rested them in hanging beds, after the manner of the 
 country." 
 
 But the entertainment is not yet over. " The day 
 following," says the same author, " they brought our 
 men to the common hall, into the which they come 
 together as often as they make any notable games or 
 triumphs, as we have said before. Here, after many 
 dancings, singings, maskings, runnings, wrestlings, 
 and other tryings of masteries, suddenly there appeared, 
 in a large plain near unto the hall, two great armies 
 of men of war, which the king for his pastime had 
 caused to be prepared, as the Spaniards use the play 
 with reeds, which they call Juga de Canias. As the 
 armies drew near together the}^ assailed the one the 
 other as fiercely as if mortal enemies, with their ban- 
 ners spread, should fight for their goods, their lands, 
 their lives, their liberty, their country, their wives and 
 their children, so that within the moment of an hour 
 four men were slain and many wounded. The battle 
 also should have continued longer if the king had 
 not, at the request of our men, caused it to cease." 
 
 When Don Bartholomew returned to Isabella, at the 
 
CONDITION OF THE COIONT. 3^7 
 
 end of summer, he found the colony in a most misera- 
 hle condition. The supplies recently brought from 
 Spain had been exhausted ; the golden opportunit}^ of 
 the spring had been neglected, and, after a five years 
 settlement, there was no adequate crop ; and the 
 natives had been so outraged that they had abandoned 
 the neighborhood, and thus deprived the M^hite men of 
 their aid. No one had the sagacity to see that the 
 cultivation of so rich a soil in such a stimulating cli- 
 mate was a surer source of wealth than hunting for 
 pearls, spices, and gold. For want of supplies the 
 gold-mines, too, at Hayna were still undeveloped. 
 Kverybody was repining. The sick had no medicine, 
 those in health had no bread, and all were loud in their 
 complaints against Columbus for tarrying at the court 
 of Spain while they languished, forgotten even by the 
 government. There was not so much as a vessel in 
 the harbor to take them home, however much they 
 might wish to go — no way of bearing the intelligence 
 of their sufferings to their friends on the other side 
 of the ocean seas. Here was a state of affairs which 
 might indeed tax the ingenuity and the skill of an 
 inexperienced ruler over a strange people. 
 
 Evidently there must be some outlook of hope to 
 arouse these people. Two caravels, therefore, were 
 ordered to be built for the use of the colony. The 
 line of fortresses between Isabella and San Domingo 
 was completed and garrisoned, and those too ill to be 
 of service were quartered in the hamlets about them, 
 as well as in other parts of the interior, in order that 
 they might enjoy a better climate and secure some 
 provisions from the natives. Those left behind were 
 
358 
 
 MISSIONARIES AND THE NATIVES. 
 
 either too ill to be moved or not in sufficient healtli to 
 carry on the affairs of the colony, particularly the 
 building of the caravels, and the adelantado returned 
 to San Domingo with a considerable body of active 
 men. 
 
 For a while all went well with the natives, but there 
 soon occurred several incidents which moved them to 
 a general insurrection. Two very devoted mission- 
 aries had been most earnestly striving for the con- 
 version of the natives in the Vega. They had won 
 over one family of sixteen persons, the head of which, 
 on being baptized, was named Juan Mateo. But the 
 grand cacique Guarionex was the chief object of their 
 interest. His conversion would greatly influence his 
 numerous subjects. These labors were much en- 
 couraged when the chieftain and his whole family 
 repeated every day the Pater Noster, the Ave Maria, 
 and the Creed. But the other chiefs ridiculed him. 
 Why should he be imitating the customs of these 
 strangers — these tj^rannical usurpers ? Still, all this 
 might not have influenced him had not a Spanish 
 official outraged his favorite wife. It was no easier for 
 him than for the more civilized to do otherwise than 
 to associate the sins of a people with their professions 
 of religion, and he would have nothing to do with a 
 religion which seemed to tolerate such crimes. 
 
 The missionaries, becoming discouraged, moved into 
 the territory of another cacique. But very soon after 
 this departure the little chapel which they had built 
 for the family of converts left behind was rudely 
 despoiled by the pagan Indians, who stamped the 
 images into pieces and buried them in a field. Don 
 
FIRE AND FAGOT. ^ro 
 
 Bartholomew instituted a suit according to the cruel 
 laws and methods of the Inquisition, punishing the 
 perpetrators of the sacrilege with death by "fire and 
 fagot." Indeed, nature itself was startled at so horrid 
 an outrage, they said, for some of the agi roots, 
 resembling turnips and radishes, planted in the field 
 where the images had been buried, grezv in the shape 
 of a cross. 
 
 But this signal punishment of the sacrilegious 
 natives failed to have any salutary effect. In his 
 state of nature, Guarionex was far more susceptible of 
 human feelings than of holy horror at a disrespect 
 or outrage in regard to any religion whatever. He 
 was shocked and horrified at seeing his subjects thus 
 tortured and burned at the stake for what seemed to 
 him a mere trifling matter. And the other caciques, 
 who never looked with favor on these strange customs, 
 seeing how he was irritated and provoked, earnestly 
 entreated him to take up arms against these horrid 
 oppressors. Indeed, it w^ould seem that his subjects 
 even threatened to forsake him and set up another 
 chief in his place if he failed to take up their cause 
 against the Spaniards. 
 
 Thus this chieftain, naturally so kind-hearted and 
 peaceable, was about compelled to take up the war- 
 club while smarting under his own personal wrongs 
 of domestic outrage and cruel persecutions of his sub- 
 jects. Then, back of all these provocations, there was 
 claimed to be the fulfilment of a prophecy. Guarionex 
 belonged to a long line of caciques ; and his father, 
 many years before, after five days of fasting, had 
 consulted his Zemi., or household deity, as to the 
 
360 . AN INGENIOUS MESSENGER, 
 
 future, and was told that a few years hence there 
 should come a strange nation, wearing clothing, which 
 should destroy their customs and make them slaves. 
 
 Now Guarionex was ready to join the other caciques 
 in making war against their oppressors. The fate of 
 Caonabo and the confederation led by his brother was 
 fresh in their memories, but they were goaded on by 
 despair, for death itself was infinitely better than the 
 hopeless oppressions, outrages, and slavery to which 
 they had been reduced. The day for paying their 
 quarterly tribute was near ; then they could come 
 together in vast numbers without being suspected, 
 and could suddenly massacre their enemies. 
 
 But the Spaniards had long ears, and overheard 
 some whispers of the conspiracy at Fort Conception. 
 
 The garrison was a mere handful in the midst of 
 the thick of the war-plot. How could they get an 
 appeal for aid to the adelantado at San Domingo ? 
 " An Indian made use of a stratagem in carrying the 
 letters," says Herrera, " which was that they being 
 delivered to him in a staff that was hollow at one end 
 — the Indians having found by experience that the 
 Spanish letters spoke, they endeavored to intercept 
 them — and the messenger falling into the hands of 
 the guards the revolted had posted on the passes, he 
 pretended to be dumb and lame ; in short, answering 
 them altogether by signs, and limping as if he was 
 going with much difficulty into his own country, he 
 escaped them, because they thinking he had been 
 dumb asked him no questions, and supposing that the 
 staff had been to help him on they did not search 
 it, and thus the letters came safe to Don Bartholo- 
 
CAPTURING THE CACIQUES. 361 
 
 mew Columbus, which proved the safety of the 
 Spaniards. 
 
 Don Bartholomew's men, enfeebled by short rations, 
 were in no condition for long marches ; but Napoleon 
 Bonaparte could scarcely have moved quicker than he 
 did for the relief of Fort Conception. Nor did he 
 arrive too soon, for thousands of the natives were 
 assembled in the Vega, ready for action. The adelan- 
 tado held a council of war at the fort, which resulted in 
 a plan of operations fully equal to the emergency. The 
 several points at which the caciques had distributed 
 their forces were noted, and the Spaniards were divided 
 into companies of about a hundred each, under a captain, 
 there being a company to each cacique and his forces. 
 The}^ were to surprise the Indians while asleep at night, 
 bind the caciques, and bring them to the fort. As Gua- 
 rionex was the chief personage, the adelantado was to 
 have the honor of capturing him, which he did without 
 difficulty. Indeed, all the Indian quarters were quietly 
 entered at midnight and each cacique bound, and before 
 daylight — before any of the sleepy Indians could do 
 anything for their rescue — fourteen of them were inside 
 the fortress. The Indians were so completely non- 
 plussed that they made no attempt at resistance ; but a 
 great multitude, estimated at five thousand, came around 
 the fortress wholly unarmed, and, with dismal lamenta- 
 tions and bowlings, begged for their chieftains. The 
 adelantado inquired into the causes and progress of the 
 conspiracy, and put to death the two caciques who had 
 done most to bring about the insurrection and to induce 
 Guarionex to be its leader. And he recognized the 
 wrongs this cacique had suffered, as well as his slowness 
 
362 
 
 CLEMENCY OF THE ADELANTADO. 
 
 in taking revenge, and so pardoned him. Indeed, it 
 would seem that he duly punished the Spaniard who 
 had committed the domestic outrage which had so deeply 
 wounded him. To the remaining caciques he showed a 
 forgiving spirit. If they were loyal hereafter, they 
 should be rewarded ; if they rebelled, the punishment 
 would be severe. This reasonable clemency moved the 
 heart of Guarionex. The insurrection had been put 
 down almost without bloodshed, and nearly all were 
 restored to their freedom. In the grateful emotions of 
 the moment, past grievances were forgotten ; and the 
 chieftain made a speech to his people. The Spaniards 
 were brave and mighty, he said, and they could not 
 resist them ; yet how generous and forgiving they 
 were to those who were faithful! The natives must 
 henceforth cultivate their friendship. These w^ords 
 were so inspiring that, when he had concluded, his sub- 
 jects bore him away with songs and loud rejoicings. 
 Now the Vega was quiet for some time. 
 
 The two caravels building at Isabella were approach- 
 ing completeness, and the people were not only diverted 
 by the process, but looked upon them as messengers of 
 hope. Perhaps they would bear them back to Spain. 
 At least they might bring them food and medicines. 
 
 If the colonists were not able to work the mines, how 
 strange that they were not cultivating the soil ! Idle- 
 ness and repining, rather than industry and thrift, seem 
 to have been the order of things. 
 
 About this time messengers arrived from Zaragua, 
 saying that Behechio and his subordinate caciques had 
 their tribute in readiness. Again the adelantado starts 
 for that entrancing country, with as numerous a train as 
 
AN INDIAN FEAST. 
 
 363 
 
 lie can command. No doubt he could enlist more men 
 for this tour than for any other. Again Behechio and 
 his sister, Anacaona, who seems to have about as much 
 authority as her brother, come out to meet him, well 
 attended by their subjects ; and the royal train is en- 
 livened by songs and dances. As heretofore, the Span- 
 iards are charmed by the intelligence, dignity, beauty, 
 and graceful manners of the Indian queen. 
 
 Thirty-two of Behechio's caciques have brought their 
 tributes of cotton, the bulk of which has filled a house. 
 Having waited some time for him, they greet him most 
 cordially, and offer him, in addition to the tribute, all 
 the cassava-bread he may wish, which latter is most 
 acceptable to the crowd of hungry Spaniards. Peter 
 Martyr implies that they had also corn-bread, as well as 
 utias and dried fishes, not to speak of the delicate ser- 
 pents — or iguanas. He says that "unto that day none 
 of them (the Spaniards) durst adventure to taste of 
 them, by reason of their horrible deformity and loath- 
 someness. Yet the lieutenant, being enticed by the 
 pleasantness of the king's sister, determined to taste 
 of the serpents. But when he felt the flesh thereof 
 to be so delicate to his tongue, he fell to amain without 
 all fear ; the which thing his companions perceiving, 
 were not behind him in greediness, insomuch that they 
 had now no other talk than of the sweetness of these 
 serpents, which they affirm to be of more pleasant taste 
 than either our pheasants or partridges. They saj^ 
 also, that there is no meat to be compared to the eggs 
 of these serpents." 
 
 The adelantado is so loaded down with tribute and 
 presents that he must needs send to Isabella for one of 
 
364 
 
 AJVACAOJVA'S TREASURES. 
 
 his new caravels to carry it all home. We wonder if 
 the caravel came too soon for the pleasure of himself 
 and his men ! 
 
 The ship has arrived and is anchored in the harbor, 
 six miles away. Anacaona must see the big canoe and 
 so persuades her brother to go with her. On the way 
 they call at the treasure-house. " Her treasure," says 
 our author above quoted, " was neither gold, silver, 
 nor precious stones, but only things necessary to be used, 
 as chairs, stools, settles, dishes, pottingers, pots, pans, 
 basins, trays, and such other household stuff and instru- 
 ments, workmanly made of a certain black and hard 
 shining wood, which that excellent and learned physi- 
 cian, John Baptist Elisius, af&rmeth to be ebony. 
 Whatsoever portion of wit nature hath given to the in- 
 habitants of these islands, the same doth most appear 
 in this kind of works, in which they show great art 
 and cunning ; but those which this woman had were 
 made in the Island of Guanabba, situated in the mouth 
 of a bay on the west side of Hispaniola. In these 
 they grave the lively images of such fantasies as they 
 suppose they see walking by night, which the antiques 
 call lemures ; also the images of men, serpents, beasts, 
 and whatsoever thing they have once seen." Then, 
 addressing the person to whom his work is dedicated, 
 Peter Martyr says, " What would you think, most 
 noble prince, that they could do if they had the use of 
 iron and steel ? For they only first make these soft 
 in the fire, and afterwards make them hollow and 
 carve them with a certain stone which they find on the 
 rivers. Of stools and chairs she gave the lieutenant 
 fourteen, and of vessels pertaining to the table and 
 
THE BIG CANOE. 
 
 365 
 
 kitclien she gave liim three score, some of wood and 
 some of earth, also gossampine cotton nearly four 
 great bottoms of exceeding weight." It is a wonder 
 the adelantado did not set up housekeeping with all 
 this outfit ! 
 
 *' The day following, when they came to the seaside," 
 continues our author, " where was another village of 
 the king's, the lieutenant commanded the ship-boat to 
 be brought to the shore. The king also had prepared 
 two canoes, painted after their manner, one for him- 
 self and certain of his gentlemen, another for his 
 sister Anacaona and her waiting-women ; but Anacaona 
 desired to be carried in the ship-boat with the lieuten- 
 ant. When they now approached near the ship, cer- 
 tain great pieces of ordnance were discharged on 
 purpose ; the sea was filled with thunder and the air 
 with smoke ; they trembled and quaked for fear, sup- 
 posing that the frame of the world had been in danger 
 of falling ; but when they saw the lieutenant laugh 
 and look cheerfully on them, they recalled again their 
 spirits, and when they yet drew nearer to the ship 
 and heard the noise of the flutes, shawms, and drums, 
 they were wonderfully astonished at the sweet harmony 
 thereof. Entering into the shi]D and beholding the 
 foreship and the stern, the top-castle, the mast, the 
 hatches, the cabins, the keel and the tacklings, the 
 brother fixing his eyes on the sister, and the sister on 
 the brother, they were both, as it were, dumb and 
 amazed, and wist not what to say for too much won- 
 dering. While beholding these things and wandering 
 up and down in the ship, the lieutenant commanded 
 the anchors to be loosed and the sails to be hoisted up. 
 
366 ^ WONDERMENT TO THE INDIANS. 
 
 Then were they further astonished when they saw so 
 great a mole to move as it were by itself, without oars 
 and without the force of man ; for there arose from the 
 earth such a wind as a man would have wished for on 
 purpose. Yet furthermore, when they perceived the 
 ship to move sometimes forward and sometimes back- 
 ward, sometimes toward the right hand and sometimes 
 toward the left, and that with one wind and in manner 
 at one instant, they were at their wits' end for too much 
 admiration. These things finished, and the ship laden 
 with bread and such other rewards, they being also 
 recompensed with other of our things, he dismissed 
 not only the king, Behechio, and his sister, but like- 
 wise all their servants and women, replenished with 
 joy and wondering." 
 
 But the great activity and good judgment of the 
 adelantado were soon to be taxed to the uttermost by 
 the heinous conduct of one of the chief officers of the 
 island. Francis Roldan, a man who had once been 
 especially recommended to the sovereigns by the Ad- 
 miral, had been " raised by him from poverty and 
 obscurity." Employed at first in the most ordinarj^ 
 situations, he discovered so much shrewdness, talent, 
 and tact that, notwithstanding his deficiency in educa- 
 tion, he was made ordinary alcalde, or justice of the 
 peace. Having discharged his duties with fidelity and 
 good sense, Columbus, on returning to Spain from his 
 second voyage, made him chief judge of the island. 
 But he soon " forgot the Admiral's bread he had eaten," 
 says Herrera, " desiring to get into authority by raising 
 commotions, and taking for his pretence Don James 
 Columbus's having ordered the caravel which had 
 
I^RANCIS ROLDAN. .^j 
 
 carried bread and wine to Isabella^ to be laid dr}^, to 
 prevent its being stolen by some malcontents to go 
 away into Spain, began to mutter among the laboring 
 men where he had some reputation, because he had 
 been their overseer, as also with the seamen, and other 
 mean people and those that were most discontented, 
 saying that the caravel would be better in the water, 
 and ought to be sent into Spain with letters to their 
 catholic majesties, since the Admiral was so long 
 away, that their wants might be relieved and they 
 not perish with hunger or be destro3^ed by the Indians ; 
 that neither the adelantado, Don Bartholomew, nor his 
 brother Don James, would send it, because they 
 designed to revolt, and keep the island to themselves, 
 keeping them all as slaves, employing them in build- 
 ing their houses and forts, to attend them in gathering 
 their tributes, and enriching themselves with gold. 
 The men finding themselves encouraged by a man in 
 authority, such as the chief alcalde, had the impu- 
 dence to say those things in public which, before, thej^ 
 scarce durst mutter in corners. Francis Roldan, per- 
 ceiving that the men had declared their minds, required 
 they should all sign a paper importing that it was 
 for the public good that the caravel should be set 
 afloat, thus to engage them further; and because he 
 was very sensible it was not fit that their catholic 
 majesties should know he had been the ringleader of 
 such a mutiny, he sought after plausible pretences to 
 ground his designs. He proceeded farther to per- 
 suade the people that the best way to secure the 
 
 ^This was a caravel just returned from Zaragua, loaded with tribute cotton 
 and cassava-bread. 
 
368 HE INSTIGATES MUTINY. 
 
 friendship of the Indians to the Spaniards was to quit 
 them of the tribute ; and advice being brought that 
 Guarionex's Indians did not pay the tribute, and that 
 they gave tokens of uneasiness, Don James Columbus, 
 thinking to put Roldan out of the way of advancing 
 his design, sent him with a considerable part of the 
 men to Conception, where he better carried on his 
 mutiny, and abused and disarmed those that would 
 not follow him. Returning to Isabella, having by 
 force taken the key of the royal magazine, he broke 
 the locks in pieces, and crying, ' Long live the King! ' 
 took all the arms and provisions he thought fit for his 
 followers." ^ 
 
 This is the beginning of Roldan's rebellion accord- 
 ing to a very competent writer, employed as of&cial 
 historiographer of the Indies, and one who lived so 
 near the time of the events themselves that he must 
 have often conversed with those who had been eye- 
 witnesses of the scenes he describes. 
 
 In the midst of the confusion resulting from the 
 scene of breaking open the ro3^al magazine as just 
 described, Diego Columbus, accompanied by some 
 honest men, came forth to reason with the mutineers. 
 But Roldan was so insolent that he thought it the 
 better part of discretion to retire into the fort, and he 
 was in such great fear of the rebels that he would not 
 allow Roldan to speak to him without first furnishing 
 hostages. 
 
 The mutineers now left Isabella and visited the 
 royal stock yards, where cows and mares were kept 
 
 ^ Stevens' translations of Herrera's General History of America, pp. 
 175. 176. 
 
ROLDAN DISAFFECTS THE INDIANS. 369 
 
 for breeding in order to supply the colony. Here 
 they took whatever they wanted of the cows and mares, 
 with their colts, killing and eating on the spot as 
 many of the first as their appetites craved, and, going 
 through the Indian towns, reported themselves as in 
 a quarrel with the Admiral's brothers on account of 
 their exacting the tribute from the natives. The 
 Indians should not pay tribute, they said. If they 
 should refuse to do so they would defend them. That 
 this mischievous advice was not dictated by humane 
 feelings, but was used only as a mutinous policy, will 
 hereafter appear from Roldan's own conduct towards 
 the natives. But it was very conciliating, to say the 
 least. 
 
 " Many causes," says Herrera, " are said to have 
 moved Francis Roldan to that insolence ; but the 
 chiefest of them were ambition of command and to 
 be subject to no man nor to the rules observed at 
 Isabella ; and believing that the Admiral would not 
 return because of the information John Aguado had 
 carried against him, he had a mind to place himself in 
 authority." 
 
 About this time Don Bartholomew returned to 
 Isabella from Zaragua. Roldan, sustained by so 
 large a party of malcontents, demanded the launching 
 of the caravel, or at least that he might launch it him- 
 self. But the adelantado positively forbade it on two 
 grounds — first^ because the ship was not properly 
 \ rigged for so long and perilous a voyage, and, secondly^ 
 because neither Roldan nor his men were sufficiently 
 skilled mariners to conduct the voyage. It must also 
 have been about this time that the foul plot occurred 
 
370 
 
 A FOUL PLOT. 
 
 referred to by Fernando Columbus, who says Roldan 
 " drew so many over to bis own party that one day, 
 when the lieutenant was come back from Zaragua to 
 Isabella, some of them resolved to stab him, looking 
 upon it as so easy a matter that they had provided a 
 halter to hang him up after he was dead. What at 
 present the more incensed them was the imprisoning 
 of one Barahona, a friend to the conspirators, concern- 
 ing whom, if God had not put it into the heart of the 
 lieutenant not to proceed to execution of justice at 
 that time, they had then certainly murdered him." 
 
 Taking seventy men, well armed, this arch rebel 
 places himself in an Indian town about two leagues 
 from Fort Conception, which he intended to capture, 
 and then he would " get Don Bartholomew in his 
 hands," whose valor and sagacity were especially 
 formidable to him, and put him to death. As a first 
 step in this direction, he approached Captain Barrantes, 
 who had charge of thirty men in the town where 
 lived the cacique Guarionex, whose wife Roldan is 
 said to have debauched. But the captain shut him- 
 self up with his thirty men, refusing to talk with the 
 rebels. " Roldan might go about his business," he 
 said; " he and his men were in the King's service." 
 Roldan, threatening to burn him and his men, seized 
 their store of provisions, and marched to Conception, 
 about half a league distant. 
 
 But, like Barrantes, Michael Ballester, an old gray- 
 haired veteran, was true to his situation, and shut the 
 gates against him. 
 
 The adelantado knew not whom to trust, so, at the ' 
 suggestion of Ballester, he got into Fort Conception 
 
THE ADELANTADO IN DANGER. 371 
 
 to save his life. From liere lie sent a messenger to 
 Roldan, bidding him to consider the mischief he was 
 doing to the interests of the colony and the service of 
 the sovereigns in obstructing the tribute and stirring 
 up the natives. This brought Roldan to an inter- 
 view with the adelantado upon the latter giving him 
 security. They conversed through a window of the 
 fort. 
 
 " Why do you lead about these people in such a 
 scandalous manner," said Don Bartholomew, "to the 
 hindrance of their majesties' service ? " 
 
 " I only draw them together to defend myself 
 against you," said Roldan, " for it is reported that 
 you intend to kill us all." 
 
 " You have been wrongly informed," replied the 
 adelantado. 
 
 " My company and I are in the King's service," said 
 the rebel ; " say where you would have us serve him." 
 
 " In the dominions of Diego Columbus," said Don 
 Bartholomew, referring to the famous Indian guide and 
 interpreter, who had married into the family of Guario- 
 nex, and thus become one of his subordinate chiefs. 
 
 " There are not enough provisions in that locality," 
 was the excuse. 
 
 '' La}'- down the office of chief alcalde, and cease to act 
 as such, or even bear the name, since you are against 
 the service of the King," the adelantado insisted. 
 
 Roldan now turned his back in the most haughty 
 manner possible, and went away to Manicaotex, the 
 most disloyal of the caciques. Calling him " brother," 
 he got away from him the three marks of gold he was 
 to have paid to the king, and in order to bind him down 
 
372 '^HE INSURGENTS INCREASE. 
 
 as tightly as possible he took away and led about with 
 him the cacique's son and his nephew. 
 
 Keeping the natives in awe of him in every way, he 
 allowed those who followed him to live in the most lewd 
 and arrogant libertinism. Herrera says, " Roldan had 
 now got some horses, for ever since John Aguado went 
 away he had provided many horseshoes, which had not 
 been necessar}^ till then, whence it was inferred that 
 Aguado's indiscretion and his ill-behavior towards the 
 Admiral were the occasion of this revolt, and that 
 Francis Roldan had intended it ever since that time. " 
 
 Roldan's adherents increased in number, and he was 
 more intent than ever on getting Don Bartholomew into 
 his hands. But the latter was warned by Collado, 
 through Rambla, " to take heed whom he trusted." 
 
 At this critical moment news came that Coronal had 
 arrived with his two ships, sent ahead with supplies by 
 the Admiral, while he came on by way of an exploring 
 route with six ships more. 
 
 The news brought b}^ these ships was by no means 
 reassuring to the rebels. Don Bartholomew, against 
 whose authority they professed especially to rebel, had 
 been confirmed by the sovereigns as Lord Lieutenant of 
 the Indies, or adelantado, according to the appointment 
 made him by his brother, and not only had Aguado's 
 official budget of accusations received no notice at the 
 court, but all titles and privileges originally granted to 
 the Admiral had been renewed, not to speak of other 
 special favors which he had received. 
 
 All this was clearly announced by the adelantado, as 
 he now set out for San Domingo with his troops to 
 secure the caravels just arrived. Roldan followed in 
 
THE ADELANTADO IS CONFIRMED. 373 
 
 the distance, anxious to know as fully as possible all 
 the late news and the moves now to be made. He was 
 also on the alert to draw over to his party any of the 
 disaffected whom he might meet. But he found the 
 passes on the way strongly guarded and was obliged to 
 halt five leagues away. He was also somewhat dis- 
 armed when he found that Don Bartholomew had taken 
 a more mild and conciliating attitude towards those 
 about him, seeing more clearly now than ever before 
 how greatly the colonists had suffered from sickness 
 and hunger, and how much had been done to throw a 
 doubt over his authority. He therefore promised full 
 pardon to all the disaffected who would at once renew 
 their allegiance to him. He also sent Coronal, who was 
 prepared to give a clear account of the Admiral's good 
 of&cial standing in Spain, in order that he might per- 
 suade the rebels to desist from their mischievous and 
 hopeless undertaking against the authority of Spain. 
 
 But Roldan was not disposed to treat with this mes- 
 senger, who was not only loj^al, honest, and competent, 
 but fresh from the scenes of the recent official trans- 
 actions in Spain. At a narrow pass on the way he 
 placed a body of his men with cross-bows levelled, who 
 cried out, " Halt, traitor ! Had you come eight days 
 later, we should all have been as one man." In vain 
 did Coronal point out to Roldan the disservice and mis- 
 chief he was doing to the interests of the colony, the 
 imminent danger of his position, and the great advan- 
 tage of improving this opportunity of peace. He " was 
 sent away with haughty and scandalous answers." Rol- 
 dan claimed that he was simply opposed to the tyranny 
 and bad government of the adelantado, and would at 
 
374 INSOLENCr OF THE REBELS, 
 
 once submit to the Admiral when he should come. This 
 was the plea generally adopted by the party, some of 
 whom wrote letters to that effect to their friends at San 
 Domingo, entreating their good of&ces for them when 
 Columbus should arrive from Spain. 
 
 When Coronal reported to the adelantado the results 
 of his interview, that of&cer proclaimed Roldan and his 
 followers traitors. Hereupon the rebels left those parts 
 and went to Zaragua, the most delightful and fertile 
 part of the island. Roldan unfolded his scheme fully 
 to his men. They would not endure the strict discipline 
 of the adelantado, he said, for he " made them keep the 
 three vows of religious men ; and besides that, they 
 wanted not for fasts and disciplines, as also imprison- 
 ments and other punishments, which they endured for 
 the least fault. "^ He was able to govern them in a 
 different manner, and would take them into a country 
 which was like Paradise. There, supported by the most 
 intelligent, polite, and agreeable of the natives, they 
 would bask in a perpetual sunshine of delight — eat, 
 drink, and be merry. Above all, they could there ap- 
 propriate as many of the most beautiful Indian women 
 as they might wish. All this was much better than 
 heaven itself to these miserable libertines, so recently 
 escaped from the prisons and dungeons of Spain. So 
 on they went, stirring up all the mischief they could 
 among the Indians on the way, and in every way possi- 
 ble abusing the hospitalities of these simple and kind- 
 hearted children of nature. 
 
 The ships of Coronal had brought quite a reinforce- 
 
 ^ Life of Columbus, by his son, cap. 74. 
 
UPRISING OF THE NATIVES. 37 r 
 
 ment to the industries of the colony. Over ninety 
 men came in all, fourteen of whom were to till the 
 soil, and the remainder were to work the mines and 
 cut Brazil-wood. 
 
 But peace and quiet were not to be secured, not even 
 by the most conciliating measures. So great had 
 been the influence of the rebels and their false repre- 
 sentations among the natives, that they had secretly 
 planned a wide-spread rebellion, of which the peaceful 
 Guarionex had consented to be the commander-in-chief. 
 As they could count only on their fingers, it was 
 difficult for them to fix a day for their rendezvous. 
 They agreed to rise on the night of the next full 
 moon and slay all the small parties of Spaniards 
 quartered here and there among the natives, Gua- 
 rionex attacking Fort Conception. But one of his 
 chiefs, not being a very good astronomer, moved before 
 the time and advertised the whole affair, thus putting 
 the Spaniards on their guard. He fled to Guarionex 
 for refuge, but was indignantly put to death. 
 
 This leader now knew full well that there was no 
 hope for him in the fortunes of war, so he fled across 
 the mountains to Maiobanex, chief of the Ciguayans, 
 with his wife, children, and a few followers, and im- 
 plored his protection. This was the tribe of hardy 
 mountaineers which the Admiral and his men had 
 encountered at the Gulf of Samanaon the first voyage. 
 It will be remembered that they had caused the first 
 bloodshed by the Spaniards among the Indians. 
 
 Maiobanex received his brother chief with a generous 
 cordiality and faithfulness which would have done 
 credit to the most civilized prince, not only receiving 
 
376 
 
 DEPREDA TIONS. 
 
 Hm as his guest, but promisiug- to stand by him even 
 at the cost of life and fortune. 
 
 From these mountain heights and aided by the 
 Ciguayans, Guarionex made many predatory excur- 
 sions into the valleys, killing many of the Spaniards 
 who were quartered among the friendly Indians, and 
 destroying the crops. Don Bartholomew could see no 
 escape from the necessity of war with these combined 
 natives, and so entered upon a campaign in the 
 spring. This war is so graphically described by 
 Peter Martyr in his Decades of the Ocean that v/e can- 
 not refrain from quoting him, essentially as trans- 
 lated by Eden in the quaint old English rhetoric of 
 the sixteenth century. He says : "The Admiral sent 
 his brother, the lieutenant, with an army of four score 
 and ten footmen and a few horsemen, with three 
 thousand of the island men which were mortal 
 enemies to the Ciguayans, to meet the people of 
 Ciguana with King Guarionex, their grand captain, 
 who had done much mischief to our men and such as 
 favored them. Therefore, when the lieutenant had 
 conducted his army to the banks of a certain great 
 river running by the plain, ^ which we said before to 
 lie between the corners of the mountains of Ciguana 
 and the sea, he found two scouts of his enemies lurk- 
 ing in certain bushes, whereof the one, casting him- 
 self headlong into the sea, escaped, and by the mouth 
 of the river swam over to his companions ; the other, 
 being taken, declared that in the wood on the other 
 side of the river there lay in camp six thousand 
 
 ^This plain was on the north side of the island, between two mountain 
 spurs. 
 
INDIAN WARFARE. ^jj 
 
 Ciguayans, ready, unawares, to assail our men passing 
 by. Wherefore, the lieutenant finding a shallow place 
 where he might pass over, he with his whole army 
 entered into the river, the which thing when the 
 Ciguayans had espied, they came running out of the 
 woods with a terrible cry and most horrible aspect, 
 much like unto the people called Agathyrsi, of 
 whom the poet Virgil speaketh, for they were all 
 painted and spotted with sundry colors, and 
 especially with black and red, which they make of 
 certain fruits nourished for the same purpose in their 
 gardens, with the juice whereof they paint themselves 
 from the forehead even to the knees, having their 
 hair — which by art they make long and black, if 
 nature deny it them — wreathed and rolled after a 
 thousand fashions, a man would think them to be 
 devils incarnate newly broke out of hell, they are so 
 like unto hell-hounds. As our men waded over the 
 river, the}^ shot at them, and hurled darts so thick 
 that it almost took the light of the sun from our men ; 
 insomuch that if they had not borne off the force 
 thereof with their targets the matter had gone wrong 
 with them. Yet at the length, many being wounded, 
 they passed over the river ; which thing when the 
 enemies saw, they fled, whom our men, pursuing, 
 slew some in the chase, but not many, by reason of 
 their swiftness of foot. Thus being in the woods, 
 they shot at our men more safely, for they being 
 accustomed to the woods, and naked, without any 
 hindrance passed through the bushes and shrubs, as 
 it had been wild boars or harts, whereas our men were 
 hindered by reason of their apparel, targets, long 
 javelins, and ignorance of the place. 
 
378 
 
 INBIAA WARFARE. 
 
 " Wherefore when he had rested them all that night 
 in vain and the day following he saw no stirring in 
 the woods, he went, by the counsel and conduct of the 
 other island men which were in his army, immediately 
 from thence to the mountains, in the which King 
 Maiobanex had his chief mansion place, in the village 
 called Capronum ; by the which name also the king's 
 place was called, being in the same village. Thus 
 marching forward with his army, about twelve miles 
 off, he encamped in the village of another king, which 
 the inhabitants had forsaken for fear of our men ; 
 yet making diligent search, they found two, bj^ whom 
 they had knowledge that there were ten kings with 
 Maiobanex in his palace of Capronum, with an army 
 of eight thousand Ciguayans. 
 
 " At the lieutenant's first approach he durst not give 
 them battle until he had somewhat better searched the 
 regions, yet did he in the meantime skirmish with 
 them twice. The next night, about midnight, he sent 
 forth scouts, and with them guides of the island, men 
 who knew the country, whom the Ciguayans espy- 
 ing from the mountains prepared themselves to the 
 battle, with a terrible cry of alarm after their manner, 
 but yet durst not come out of the woods, supposing that 
 the lieutenant, with his main army, had been even at 
 hand. The day following, when he brought his army 
 to the place where they encamped, leaping out of the 
 woods, they twice attempted the fortunes of war, fiercely 
 assailing our men with a main force, and wounding 
 many before they could cover them with their targets. 
 Yet our men put them to flight, slew many, took many ; 
 the residue fled to the woods, where they kept them still 
 
EXPOSTULATIONS AND THREATS. 37^ 
 
 as in their most safe-hold. Of them which were taken 
 he sent one, and with him another, of the island men 
 which was of his party to Maiobanex with command- 
 ments to this effect : ' The lieutenant brought not hither 
 his army, O Maiobanex, to keep war either against you 
 or your people, for he greatly desireth your frienship ; 
 but his intent is that Guarionex, who hath persuaded 
 you to be his aid against him, to the great destruction 
 of your people and undoing of your country, may have 
 due correction, as well for his disobedience toward him 
 as also for raising tumults among the people. Where- 
 upon he requireth you and exhorteth you to deliver 
 Guarionex into their hands, the which thing if you shall 
 perform the Admiral, his brother, will not only gladly 
 admit you to his friendship, but also enlarge and defend 
 your dominions, 
 
 " ' And if herein you refuse to accomplish his request, 
 it will follow that you shall shortl}^ repent 3^ou thereof, 
 for your kingdom shall be wasted with sword and fire 
 and shall abide the fortune of war, whereof you have 
 had experience with favor, as you shall further know 
 hereafter to your pain, if with stubbornness you provoke 
 him to show the uttermost of his power.' 
 
 " When the messenger had thus done his errand, 
 Maiobanex answered that Guarionex was a good man, 
 endued with many virtues, as all men knew, and there- 
 fore he thought him worthy his aid, especially inas- 
 much as he had fled to him for succor, and that he had 
 made him such a promise, whom also he had proved to 
 be his faithful friend. 
 
 " Again, that they were naughty men, violent and 
 cruel, desiring other men's goods, and such as spared 
 
38o 
 
 ENTREATIES AND ARGUMENTS. 
 
 not to shed innocent blood. In fine, that he would have 
 nothing to do with such mischievous men, nor 3^et enter 
 into friendship with them. 
 
 " When these things came to the lieutenant's ear he 
 commanded the village to be burnt where he himself 
 encamped, with many other villages thereabout; and 
 when he drew near to the place where Maiobanex lay 
 he sent messengers to him again, to commune the mat- 
 ter with him, and to will him to send some one of his 
 most faithful friends to entreat with him of peace. 
 Whereupon the king sent unto him one of his chief 
 gentlemen, and with him two others to wait on him. 
 When he came to the lieutenant's presence he kindly 
 required him to persuade his lord and master in his 
 name, and earnestly to admonish him, not to suffer his 
 flourishing kingdom to be spoiled or himself to abide 
 the hazard of war for Guarionex' sake, and further to 
 exhort him to deliver him, except he would procure the 
 destruction alike of himself, his people, and his conn- 
 try. 
 
 " When the messenger was returned Maiobanex as- 
 sembled the people, declaring unto them what was 
 done, but they cried out on him to deliver Guarionex, 
 and began to curse the da}' that ever they had received 
 him, thus to disturb their quietness. Maiobanex 
 answered them that Guarionex was a good man and 
 had well deserved of him, giving him many princely 
 presents, and had also taught both his wife and him to 
 sing and dance,^ which thing he did not little esteem, 
 and was therefore fully resolved in no case to forsake 
 
 ^ Herrera notices that it was the peculiar dance of the Vega which this 
 chief esteemed so highly. 
 
RE TALI A TION. o 8 1 
 
 him or, against all humanity, to betray his friend, which 
 fled to him for succor, but rather to abide all extremities 
 with him than to minister occasion of obloquies to slan- 
 derers, to report that he had betrayed his guest, whom 
 he took into his house with warranties. 
 
 " Thus dismissing the people, sighing and with sor- 
 rowful hearts, he called Guarionex before him, promis- 
 ing him again that he would be partaker of his fortune 
 while life lasted."^ 
 
 Maiobanex was so resolute in his determination to 
 protect his friend that he forbade any further communi- 
 cation with Don Bartholomew. To this end he stationed 
 guards along the various passes, with orders to kill any 
 who might be sent to treat of peace. Meanwhile the 
 adelantado sent two messengers, the one a prisoner from 
 the Ciguayans and the other a friendly island man ; 
 but they were both slain on the way. When Don Bar- 
 tholomew, who followed closely with ten footmen and 
 four horsemen, found his messengers lying dead in the 
 path, the arrows still sticking in their bodies, his rage 
 was thoroughly aroused, and he resolved to subdue this 
 tribe utterly. 
 
 As he approached the encampment of Maiobanex 
 the chiefs and men about this true-hearted man all for- 
 sook him and fled. They could not face the spears, 
 swords, cross-bows, and war-horses of the Spaniards. 
 Maiobanex, with his family and a few faithful friends, 
 now took refuge in the mountains. Several of the Ci- 
 guayans hunted for Guarionex, intending to deliver him 
 up as the cause of their ruin, but he too had fled to the 
 
 ^ Herrera sajs the chiefs both wept, Maiobanex comforting his friend and 
 promising to protect him even at the loss of his kingdom. 
 
382 
 
 HARDSHIPS OF THE SOLDIERS. 
 
 •dens and caves of tlie highest rocky peaks, there 
 wandering alone in his grief and peril. 
 
 Three months of hardship and privation in the 
 mountains had worn out the Spaniards. The natives 
 had fled. Their villages were desolate. Why should 
 the white men endure their fatigue and hunger any 
 longer ? Cassava-bread, roots, herbs, and the few little 
 utias caught by their hounds, with w^ater only, " some- 
 times sweet and sometimes muddy, savoring of the 
 marshes " — this was poor fare for these elegant soldiers, 
 accustomed to the luxuries of Spain. Sleeping in the 
 open air, under trees, exposed to the damp, chilly air of 
 the mountains, was not to be kept up longer than was 
 necessary. Besides, what would become of their farms 
 in the Vega ? Don Bartholomew dismissed all but 
 thirty. With these he would search " from town to 
 town and from hill to hill" till he should find the two 
 caciques. 
 
 This was no easy task in such a vast wilderness, 
 now so utterly abandoned that there was neither sight 
 nor sound of the natives. If one of these occasionally 
 strayed among the desolate habitations, he protested 
 ntter ignorance of the whereabouts of the chiefs. One 
 day, however, several Spaniards who were hunting 
 Mtias came across "two familiars " of Maiobanex, who 
 were stealing forth to procure some cassava-bread for 
 their chief. They were at once examined by the 
 adelantado as to the hiding-place of the cacique, " and 
 though they wonderfully kept the secret they were 
 entrusted with by their lord, after having been much 
 racked, they confessed where he was." 
 
 These poor men, fresh from the rack, were com- 
 
D 0MB STIC AFFE CTION. 383 
 
 pelled to act as guides. Twelve of the Spaniards 
 stripped themselves, and having tattooed their naked 
 bodies, after the manner of the natives, with a black 
 and red paint made from certain fruits, and wrapped 
 their swords in palm leaves, accompanied them to 
 the hiding-place of the cacique and his household. 
 They drew their swords and took them prisoners, the 
 adelantado returning with them to Fort Conception. 
 
 In the cacique's household was a sister of his, wife 
 of another cacique, who had not yet encountered the 
 Spaniards. She was a model of female beauty and 
 attractiveness, having left her home to comfort her 
 brother in his wanderings. At once came her husband 
 begging for her release with tears and pledging his 
 fidelity as an ally. The wife was given up, along with 
 several other subjects who had been taken, and 
 Herrera says the Indian was so thankful that he 
 brought four or five thousand Indians with coas^ which 
 are staves hardened in the fire, used by them instead of 
 spades, for him to appoint where he should grow corn for 
 him. The place was accordingly appointed, and they 
 made such a plantation as would be then worth 3,000 
 ducats. All the Ciguayans conceived that since Don 
 Bartholomew had set that lad}^ at liberty, she being 
 very famous in the country, they might obtain the same 
 for their king. Many of them went with presents of 
 utias and fish, which was what their country afforded, to 
 beg him, promising that he should ever after continue 
 in obedience. He set the queen, the children, and the 
 servants at liberty, but would not release the king. 
 Guarionex, being distressed with want in the place 
 where he lay hid, went out to seek something to eat, 
 
384 
 
 FAITHFUL FRIENDS. 
 
 and being seen by the Ciguayans, they going to visit 
 Maiobanex, acquainted Don Bartholomew, who imme- 
 diately sent some men and they conducted him to Fort 
 Conception. 
 
 Sir Arthur Helps thinks, " the two caciques probably 
 shared the same prison," and adds, " thus concludes a 
 story which, if it had been written by some Indian 
 Plutarch and the names had been more easy to pro- 
 nounce, might have taken its just place amongst the 
 familiar and household stories which we tell our chil- 
 dren, to make them see the beauty of great actions." 
 
CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 COLUMBUS AND ROLDAN'S REBELLION. 
 
 OLUMBUS reached Hispaniola on his third 
 voyage to find his organization of system 
 among the natives nearly broken up, the plan 
 of taxation demoralized, and his chief justice, Roldan, 
 in rebellion. However much an overtaxation may have 
 done to bring about the former result, its immediate oc- 
 casion, at least, was the insinuating influence of the 
 arch rebel. The natives were encouraged to throw off 
 all restraint, and every industry was at a stand-still. 
 The Golden Tower rose almost solitary on the banks of 
 the Ozema ; the mountains of Cibao were virtually for- 
 saken, the fertile Vega Real and other plains scarcely 
 less fruitful and inviting were almost unbroken by the 
 husbandman ; the missionary work had a mere nominal 
 existence among a people who had learned to despise 
 the cross on account of the atrocities committed by those 
 who bore it, for it had come to be the symbol of the 
 most shocking cruelties and excesses rather than the 
 emblem of the tender mercies of Jesus of Nazareth. 
 Whereas a Christian civilization might have been an in- 
 calculable means of elevation to the kind and simple- 
 hearted natives, their numbers had been thinned by 
 oppressions and devastating wars, and the last scintilla 
 of their hopes had been darkened. Demoralized, 
 terrified, scattered, and starving, they looked upon those 
 
386 CONDUCT OF THE REBELS. 
 
 whom they had recently hailed as from heaven to be 
 more like demons escaped from the infernal pit. 
 
 Scarcely less deplorable was the condition of the 
 white man. Idleness and vice had induced want and 
 disease. The ill-usage of the natives, who had been 
 serviceable in so many ways, had driven them away in 
 indignation and dismay. Rebellion had embittered the 
 souls of many. The remainder were sad and dis- 
 heartened by the gloomy outlook. 
 
 In the midst of all this disappointment and pressing 
 poverty of the island, the first undertaking for the Ad- 
 miral, weary and sick from the long and exciting voy- 
 age, was the conciliation of Roldan's unreasonable re- 
 bellion. In addition to the disheartening tale of their 
 doings which his brothers and allies had to report, the 
 three ships which he had sent in advance when at the 
 Cape Verde Islands, and which reached San Domingo some 
 time after his arrival, brought additional accounts which 
 were of a most trying nature. These ships, guided by 
 men new to the route, had been carried past their prop- 
 per landing-place by the strong currents, and so came, 
 unfortunatel}^, to that part of the island infested by the 
 rebels. They, taking the shrewdest possible advantage 
 of this occurrence, went on board the ships in the most 
 cordial manner, and gave as their reason for being in 
 that part of the island the procuring of provisions 
 and the preserving of good order among the natives. 
 On the strength of this plea, they got possession of a 
 large proportion of the supplies brought by the ships, 
 and had an opportunity for disaffecting, on the sly, many 
 of these miserable characters, who, if they had had their 
 just deserts, would have been inside of prison walls or 
 
THEIR SEDUCTIVE METHODS. 387 
 
 hanging on gibbets. Herrera says : " Roldan, inculcat- 
 ing to them that they were going to lead a very painful 
 life, for that they should be obliged to labor and dig, 
 with much hunger and want, easily persuaded them to 
 stay with him, telling them, at the same time, how they 
 should live with him, which was going about from one 
 town to another, taking the gold and what else they 
 thought fit." Peter Martyr, speaking more plainly 
 still, says Roldan " seduced " these men, " promising 
 them in the stead of mattocks, wenches' paps; for 
 labor, pleasure ; for hunger, abundance ; and for weari- 
 ness and watching, sleep and quietness." Satan himself 
 could scarcely have made a more seductive appeal to 
 these subjects of a state-prison. 
 
 Both wind and currents were against the return of these 
 ships to their port, so that it would take two or three 
 months to sail to San Domingo. So the three captains 
 resolved to expedite affairs by a special adjustment. As 
 the laborers on board were under pay from the time 
 they left Spain, John Antonio Columbus would take 
 some forty of them to the Admiral by laud ; Arana 
 would take charge of the ships in such moves as it was 
 necessary for them to make till the weather was favor- 
 able to their leaving for San Domingo ; and as the 
 rebellious attitude of Roldan had been discovered, Car- 
 vajal would spend his time in trying to bring him to a 
 reconciliation with the Admiral. But when, on the 
 second day after their arrival, John Antonio Columbus 
 had gotten his forty men on the land, all but eight went 
 immediately over to Roldan. He earnestly appealed to 
 this rebel leader to dissuade them from such a proced- 
 ure, especially as they were under pay for the royal 
 
388 
 
 SAILING AGAINST THE WIND. 
 
 service. Whatever might be his variance with the 
 adelautado, he owed loyalty to the King. But Roldan 
 was very soft-hearted about the matter. His was a 
 religious order of the utmost freedom, he said, and he 
 could not consistently use any force to keep those aAvay 
 who might wish to go with him. 
 
 It soon became obvious that the only safe way was for 
 the ships to put out for San Domingo at once, in the teeth 
 of wind and storm, lest defection should spread* still 
 further among the crews. Carvajal, however, remained 
 still longer, endeavoring to persuade the rebels to return 
 to allegiance. 
 
 Though the distance was short, the ships, contending 
 with wind and current, reached San Domingo with 
 delay and dif&culty. That one which Carvajal had 
 brought over struck on a sand-bank, lost her rudder, 
 and sprang a leak. The length of time since the de- 
 parture from Spain had consumed a great part of the 
 provisions, and much of the rest was seriously damaged. 
 Carvajal soon arrived by land to report failure in his 
 efforts to bring the rebels to terms of reconciliation, but 
 Roldan had promised to state his grievances to the Ad- 
 miral and to be ready for some peaceful adjustment as 
 soon as he might learn of his arrival. Carvajal and 
 others thought that a general pardon for past offences 
 would secure allegiance. 
 
 The outlook was exceedingly perplexing. The ap- 
 proach of Roldan, though ostensibly for peace, might 
 seduce many of the discontented, and the persistent 
 effort on the part of the rebels to make the people 
 believe that Columbus and his brothers intended to de- 
 tain the colonists against their wishes, in order to 
 
MIGUEL BALLESTER. .89 
 
 accomplish their own selfish purposes, would have its 
 effect. Evidently it v^ould be best for all the homesick 
 and disaffected to be sent back to Spain at once. As 
 there were five vessels nearly ready to sail, the Admiral 
 announced free passage, provisions, and paj^ for all who 
 might wish to return. 
 
 He warned Ballester at Fort Conception to be on his 
 guard for the attacks of Roldan, to seek an interview with 
 him, offering him full pardon for the past if he would at 
 once return to loyalty. This new process entirely did 
 away with the act of the adelantado declaring him and 
 his men rebels. Ballester was also to invite Roldan to 
 come to San Domingo in order to adjust terms of recon- 
 ciliation, the Admiral offering, if it were required, a 
 written assurance of a safe conduct. This message had 
 barely arrived when Ballester learned that the rebels 
 were assembling about ten leagues away, at Bonao, where 
 Requelme, one of the leaders, had large possessions. 
 
 Irving, following Las Casas, says : " Ballester was a 
 venerable man, gray-headed, and of a soldier-like 
 demeanor. Loyal, frank, and virtuous, of a serious dis- 
 position and great simplicity of heart, he was well 
 chosen as a mediator with rash and profligate men ; 
 being calculated to calm their passions by his sobriety, 
 to disarm their petulance by his age, to win their con- 
 fidence by his artless probity, and to awe their licen- 
 tiousness by his spotless virtue." 
 
 This man of weighty character met the rebels in 
 full force at Bonao, and they were in the most self- 
 complacent and haughty mood possible. The Ad- 
 miral's offer of pardon, so generous in view of their 
 heinous deeds, they utterly scorned. They were not 
 
390 IftS TAUNTS OF ROLDAN. 
 
 coming to seek peace, but to demand tliat the Admiral 
 should deliver to them those Indians recently captured 
 and about to be sent to Spain ; for Roldan, as chief 
 justice, had promised to protect them. Till these 
 Indians were delivered there could be no peace. Rol- 
 dan even claimed to control the fortunes of the Ad- 
 miral, who, if he were not careful, would yet be obliged 
 to beg pardon of him. 
 
 How much Roldan cared for the Indians is best seen 
 in his outrageous treatment of them generally ; but 
 to champion the rights of the enslaved natives was a 
 convenient point to make at this juncture, when the 
 Queen was especially solicitous to liberate the sujBfer- 
 ing subjects of this new country, and he was shrewd 
 enough to poise the present attitude of his unwar- 
 ranted rebellion thereon. Roldan having taunted Co- 
 lumbus with the statement that only the gentlemen 
 about him were loyal, he concluded to make a test of 
 the matter, and so ordered his men to appear under 
 arms. About seventy presented themselves, and 
 scarcely more than half of these could be trusted. 
 One was lame, another was sick, and some had rela- 
 tives or friends among those in rebellion. It was 
 obvious at a glance that Columbus could command no 
 armed force adequate to the occasion. To attempt it 
 would only betray his weakness. The situation was 
 most humiliating, and compromise with this most 
 unreasonable rebellion was become a necessity. The 
 five ships detained in the harbor with the hope of 
 sending back to Spain such of the rebels as might 
 prove incorrigible, and of bearing more favorable tidings 
 to the sovereigns, must be under way, for their sup- 
 
APPEAL 7 THE SOVEREIGNS. 3^1 
 
 plies were wasting, the suffering Indians on board 
 were perishing, some of them suffocating with heat in 
 the holds, and some of them plunging overboard and 
 making their escape. Then, too, the discontented 
 about him must be gotten away before they could com- 
 municate with their friends in rebellion. 
 
 October i8th, the ships sailed. Las Casas states 
 that his father returned to Spain in one of them, and 
 so must have been able to furnish him with many of 
 the facts of his important history. Columbus sent to 
 the sovereigns a most interesting letter, the abstract 
 of which, given by Irving, is so lucid that we here 
 quote it : 
 
 " Columbus wrote to the sovereigns an account of 
 the rebellion, and of his proffered pardon being refused. 
 As Roldan pretended it was a mere quarrel between 
 him and the adelantado, of which the Admiral was not 
 an impartial judge, the latter entreated that Roldan 
 might be summoned to Spain, where the sovereigns 
 might be his judges ; or that an investigation might 
 take place in presence of iVlonzo Sanchez de Carvajal, 
 who was friendly to Roldan, and of Miguel Ballester, 
 a witness on the part of the adelantado. He attributed, 
 in a great measure, the troubles of this island to his 
 own long detention in Spain, and the delays thrown 
 in his way by those appointed to assist him, who had 
 retarded the departure of the ships with supplies until 
 the colony had been reduced to the greatest scarcity. 
 Hence had arisen discontent, murmuring, and finally 
 rebellion. He entreated the sovereigns, in the most 
 pressing manner, that the affairs of the colony might 
 not be neglected, and those at Seville who had charge 
 
392 PROPOSITIONS OF THE ADMIRAL. 
 
 of its concerns might be instructed at least not to 
 devise impediments instead of assistance. He alluded 
 to his chastisement of the contemptible Ximeno Bre- 
 viesco, the insolent minion of Fonseca, and entreated 
 that neither that nor any other circumstance might 
 be allowed to prejudice him in the royal favor through 
 the misrepresentations of designing men. He assured 
 them that the natural resources of the island required 
 nothing but good management to supply all the wants 
 of the colonists, but that the latter were indolent and 
 profligate. He proposed to send home by every ship, 
 as in the present instance, a number of the dis- 
 contented and worthless, to be replaced by sober and 
 industrious men. He begged also that ecclesiastics 
 might be sent out for the instruction and conversion 
 of the Indians and, what was equally necessary, for 
 the reformation of the dissolute Spaniards. He 
 required, also, a man learned in the law to officiate as 
 judge over the island, together with several officers of 
 the royal revenue." 
 
 The same author continues : " Nothing could sur- 
 pass the soundness and policy of these suggestions ; 
 but, unfortunately, one clause marred the moral beauty 
 of this excellent letter. He requested that for two 
 years longer the Spaniards might be permitted to 
 employ the Indians as slaves, only making use of 
 such, however, as were captured in wars and insur- 
 rections. Columbus had the usage of the age in 
 excuse for this suggestion, but it was at variance 
 with his usual benignity of feeling and his paternal 
 conduct towards these unfortunate people." 
 
 The Admiral's interesting letter detailing the facts 
 
CRIMINATIONS AND RECRIMINATIONS. 303 
 
 of his tliird voyage was sent separately, and is so well 
 known in the English translation given in Major's 
 Select Letters as to need no extended notice here. 
 
 The rebels also wrote to Spain, giving the most 
 plausible excuses for their attitude, claiming, as usual, 
 that the Admiral and his brothers were selfish, 
 tyrannical, and cruel. Since Roldan and his company, 
 now numbering a hundred or more, had many 
 friends and relatives in the mother country, and there 
 were not wanting at the court those who were jealous 
 of the Admiral, they had a great and unequal influence 
 against the foreign adventurer. 
 
 The criminations and recriminations included in 
 these opposing reports to the sovereigns are given as 
 follows by Peter Martyr, who was a courtier at the 
 time : " They accuse the Admiral and his brother," 
 said he, "to be unjust men, cruel enemies, and 
 shedders of Spanish blood, declaring that upon every 
 light occasion they would rack them, hang them, and 
 head them, and that they took pleasure therein, and 
 that they departed from them as from cruel tyrants 
 and wild beasts rejoicing in blood; also the King's 
 enemies ; af&rming likewise that they perceived their 
 intent to be none other than to usurp the empire of the 
 islands, which thing, they said, they suspected by a 
 thousand conjectures, and especially in that they 
 would permit none to resort to the gold-mines, but 
 only such as were their familiars. 
 
 " The Admiral, on the contrary part, when he 
 desired aid of the King to infringe their insolvency, 
 avouched that all those his accusers which had ad- 
 vised such lies against him were naughty fellows. 
 
394 CRUEL DIVERSIONS. 
 
 abominable knaves and villains, thieves, bawds, 
 ruffians, adulterers and ravisbers of women, false 
 perjured vagabonds, and sucb as bad been either con- 
 victs in prisons or fled from fear of judgment, thus 
 escaping punishment but not leaving vice, wherein 
 they still continued and brought the same with them 
 to the island, living there in like manner as before, in 
 theft, lechery, and all kinds of mischief, and so given 
 to idleness and sleep that, whereas they were brought 
 thither for miners and scullions, they would not now 
 go one furlong from their houses except they were 
 borne on men's backs. 
 
 " To this office they put the miserable island men, 
 whom they handled most cruelly. For lest their 
 hands should discontinue the shedding of blood, and 
 the better to try their strength and manhood, they 
 used now and then, for their pastime, to strive among 
 themselves and prove who could most cleverly with 
 sword, at one stroke, strike off the head of an innocent, 
 so that he who could with most agility make the head 
 of one of these poor wretches to flee quite and clean 
 from the body to the ground at one stroke, he was the 
 best man and counted most honorable." 
 
 This same horrid diversion by the Spaniards in the 
 Indies is related by Las Casas. 
 
 The three ships still in the harbor were designed 
 for Don Bartholomew, in order that he might continue 
 the exploration of the coast of Paria, which the Ad- 
 miral had been obliged to pass by so hastily. But the 
 adelantado could not be spared till the rebels had been 
 brought to terms ; for at any moment, in case of their 
 making an attack, his active valor might be needed. 
 
WAS £>OJV BAR THOL OME W TO BLAME ? 30 r 
 
 Hence the reconciliation of this " handful of ruffians " 
 was now the pressing necessity. 
 
 Was there any truth in the charge so generally 
 made — that Roldan's rebellion was brought about by 
 the too severe rule of Don Bartholomew ? Las Casas, 
 who witnessed a full investigation of that officer's con- 
 duct in this matter, " acquits him of all charges of the 
 kind, and affirms that, with respect to Roldan in par- 
 ticular, he had exerted great forbearance." But Co- 
 lumbus would be on the safe side. On the 20th of 
 October he wrote to Roldan in the most conciliating — 
 one might almost say patronizing — language. Would 
 he not, in view of past kindnesses, do away with this 
 quarrel between him and the adelantado ? The com- 
 mon good, as well as his former good standing with 
 the sovereigns, pointed alike to the desirability of such 
 a step. He need not fear molestation in case he and 
 his companions would come to him. They might 
 have a safe conduct. 
 
 Who should be the bearer of this important letter ? 
 The rebels had refused to treat with any one but 
 Carvajal, but his fidelity was seriously doubted, with- 
 out just foundation, however, as we shall hereafter 
 see. The reasons presented against him were ap- 
 parently strong and decidedly formidable in number, 
 but Columbus, who was always charitable in his 
 judgments, gave him the benefit of the doubt, and so 
 made him his messenger. Nor did he ever have 
 occasion to regret it. 
 
 But the messenger was scarcely out of sight when a 
 letter arrived signed jointly by the leaders of the 
 rebellion, and written several days before. This letter 
 
396 THE REBELS ARE INCORRIGIBLE. 
 
 put a new phase on their affairs. Not only did they 
 deny the charge of being in rebellion, " but claimed 
 great merit " for not having done more mischief. 
 They had dissuaded their fellows from killing the 
 adelantado in revenge for his cruel oppressions, pre- 
 vailing on them to await the Admiral's return for 
 redress. It was now a month since his return. Dur- 
 ing all this time they had waited patiently, expecting 
 to receive some orders from him, but all in vain. He 
 had shown only irritation and ill-will. In point of 
 honor and safety, therefore, they now formally de- 
 manded discharge from his service. 
 
 Meanwhile, Carvajal and Ballester presented the 
 Admiral's letter, and exhausted their powers of per- 
 suasion with view to a reconciliation. Having right, 
 truth, personal influence, and the authority of Spain 
 on their side, they succeeded in winning the judgment 
 of the leaders, so that they even mounted their horses 
 in order to confer with the Admiral ; but the body of 
 their followers were too thick-headed and corrupt to be 
 amenable to reason, and they immediately set up a noisy 
 clamor in opposition. The idle, roaming, licentious 
 life which they were living they would on no account 
 exchange for the industrial and moral discipline of the 
 colony. This was a matter which concerned them all, 
 they said, and no arrangement should be made, there- 
 fore, without their knowledge and consent. Let all 
 propositions be made in writing, and so be made clear 
 to the public. This uproar continued for one or two 
 days, and then Roldan wrote to the Admiral that his 
 followers objected to his coming to San Domingo with- 
 out a passport to protect him and his companions. 
 
PERILOUSNESS OF THE SITUATION. 307 
 
 Scarcely more assuring was the letter from Ballester, 
 urging an agreement to whatever the rebels might 
 demand, since their force, already so strong, was contin- 
 ually increasing, the soldiers of his own garrison desert- 
 ing and going over to them daily. Unless some com- 
 promise were made at once and the incorrigible and 
 dissatisfied sent to Spain, the government of the colony 
 would be in the most imminent danger, not to speak 
 of the peril which might threaten the person of the Ad- 
 miral himself. Even if the officers and gentlemen about 
 him should prove faithful, he could not depend on the 
 rank and file of the people. 
 
 Columbus realized the crisis of the moment. There 
 was no choice left to him.. He sent the passport. But 
 when Roldan arrived it was evident that he had come 
 to gain adherents rather than to effect a reconciliation. 
 His demands were so numerous, arrogant, and unreason- 
 able that Columbus, notwithstanding the threatening 
 danger and his willingness to make large concessions, 
 could not admit them. Roldan left, promising to send 
 in his terms in writing. " But that they might not 
 have cause to complain," says Columbus's son, Fer- 
 nando, " or say he was too stiff in this affair, he ordered 
 a general pardon to be proclaimed, and to be thirty days 
 upon the gates of the fort, the purport whereof was as 
 follows : 
 
 " That forasmuch as during his absence in Spain 
 some difference had occurred between the lieutenant 
 and the chief justice, Roldan, and other persons wdio 
 had fled with him, notwithstanding anything that had 
 happened, they might all in general, and every one in 
 particular, safely come to serve their Catholic Majesties, 
 
398 
 
 PROCLAMATION OF PARDON. 
 
 as if no difference had ever been, and that whosoever 
 would go into Spain should have his passage and an 
 order to receive his pay, as was usual with others, pro- 
 vided they presented themselves before the Admiral 
 within thirty days to receive the benefit of this pardon, 
 protesting that in case they did not appear within the 
 time limited they should be proceeded against accord- 
 ing to the course of law." 
 
 Surely this was opening the door wide enough for 
 any reasonable person among the rebels to find his way 
 back into the royal service with honor. 
 
 Carvajal carried a copy of the proclamation to Fort 
 Conception, where he found Roldan besieging Ballester, 
 having shut off his supply in order to force him to sur- 
 render. This was done, the rebels claimed, in order 
 that they might arrest a man whom Roldan wished to 
 execute. Carvajal delivered to Roldan the Admiral's 
 letter, which stated the reason why he could not agree 
 to his propositions, and saying that if he would draw up 
 such articles of agreement as Carvajal, and Salamanca, 
 his steward who had accompanied him, could sign, he 
 would sign them also. 
 
 The proclamation posted on the fort the rebels scoffed 
 at, saying the Admiral would soon be obliged to beg 
 their pardon. After the earnest expostulations of Car- 
 vajal, the following articles were drawn up by Roldan 
 to be submitted to the Admiral : ^ 
 
 I. That the Lord Admiral give him two good ships, 
 and in good order, according to the judgment of able sea- 
 men, to be delivered to him at the port of Zaragua, 
 because most of his followers were there and because 
 
 1 Life of Columbus, bj his Son. 
 
PROPOSITIONS PROM THE REBELS. 3^^ 
 
 there is no other port more commodious to provide and 
 prepare victualling and other necessaries, where the 
 said Roldan and his company shall embark and sail for 
 Spain, if so God please. 
 
 II. That his Lordship shall give an order for the 
 payment of the salaries due to them all till that day, 
 and letters of recommendation to their Catholic Majes- 
 ties that they may cause them to be paid. 
 
 III. That he shall give them slaves for the service 
 they have done in the island, and their sufferings, and 
 certify the said gift ; and because some of them have 
 women big with child, or delivered, if they carry 
 them away they shall pass instead of such slaves they 
 were to have ; and the children shall be free, and they 
 may take them along with them. 
 
 IV. His Lordship shall put into the aforesaid ships 
 all the provisions requisite for that voyage, as have 
 been given to others before ; and because he could not 
 furnish them with bread, the judge and his company 
 have leave to provide in the countr}^, and that they 
 have thirty hundredweight of biscuit allowed them, 
 or for want of it thirty sacks of corn, to the end that 
 if the cassava or Indian bread should spoil, as might 
 easil}^ happen, they may subsist upon the aforesaid 
 biscuit or corn. 
 
 V. That his Lordship shall give a safe conduct for 
 such persons as shall come to receive the orders for 
 their pay. 
 
 VI. Forasmuch as some goods belonging to several 
 persons who are with Roldan have been seized, his 
 Lordship shall order restitution to be made. 
 
 VII. That his Lordship shall write a letter to their 
 
400 PROPOSITIONS FROM THE REBELS. 
 
 Catholic Majesties acquainting them that the said 
 Roldan's swine remain in the island for the inhabi- 
 tants' provision, being one hundred and twenty great 
 ones and two hundred and thirty small, praying 
 their Highnesses to allow him the price for them they 
 would have bore in the island ; the which swine were 
 taken from him in February, 1498. 
 
 VIII. That his Lordship shall give the said Roldan 
 full authority to sell some goods he has, which he 
 must part with to go away, or to do with them as he 
 pleases, or to leave them for his own use with whom 
 he thinks fit, to make the best of them. 
 
 IX. That his Lordship will order the judges to give 
 speedy judgment concerning the horse. 
 
 X. That if his Lordship shall find the demands of 
 Salamanca to be just, he shall write to the said judge 
 to cause him to be paid. 
 
 XI. That his Lordship shall be discoursed concern- 
 ing the captain's slaves. 
 
 XII. That forasmuch as the said Roldan and his 
 company mistrust that his Lordship, or some other 
 person by his order, may offer them some violence 
 with the other ships that are in the island, he shall 
 therefore grant them a pass or safe conduct, promising, 
 in their Majesties' name and upon his own faith and 
 the word of a gentleman, as is used in Spain, that 
 neither his Lordship nor any other person shall offend 
 them or obstruct their voyage. 
 
 Having examined this agreement made by Alonzo 
 Sanchez de Carvajal and James de Salamanca with 
 Francis Roldan and his companj^, this day, being 
 Wednesday, the 21st of November, 1498, I am content 
 
PROPOSITIONS FROM THE REBELS. 401 
 
 it be fully observed, upon condition that the said 
 Francis Roldan, nor any of his followers, in whose 
 name he subscribed and ratified the articles by him 
 delivered to the aforesaid Alonzo Sanchez de Carvajal 
 and James de Salamanca, shall not receive into their 
 company any other Christian of the island, of any 
 state or condition whatsoever. 
 
 I, Francis Roldan, judge, do promise and engage 
 my faith and word, for myself and all those with me, 
 that the articles above mentioned shall be observed 
 and fulfilled, without any fraud, but faithfully as is 
 here set down, his Lordship performing all that has 
 been agreed on between Alonzo Sanchez de Carvajal 
 and James de Salamanca and myself, as is in the 
 written articles. 
 
 I. That from the day of the date hereof till the 
 answer be brought, for which ten days shall be allowed, 
 I will admit no person whatsoever of those that are 
 with the Lord Admiral. 
 
 II. That within fifty days after the said answer shall 
 be delivered to me here in Fort Conception, signed and 
 sealed by his Lordship, which shall be within the ten 
 days before mentioned, we will embark and set sail 
 for Spain. 
 
 III. That none of the slaves freely granted us shall 
 be carried away by force. 
 
 IV. That whereas the Admiral will not be at the port 
 where we are to embark, the person or persons his 
 Lordship shall send thither be honored and respected 
 as their Majesties' and his Lordship's officers, to whom 
 shall be given an account of all we put aboard the ships, 
 that they may enter it and do as his Lordship shall 
 
402 HUMILIATING TERMS. 
 
 think fit, as also to deliver to them such things as we 
 have in our hands belonging to their Majesties. All 
 the aforesaid articles are to be subscribed and performed 
 by his Lordship, as Alonzo Sanchez de Carvajal and 
 James de Salamanca have them in writing, the answer 
 whereof I expect to have at Fort Conception in eight 
 days to come, and if it be not then brought I shall not 
 be obliged to do anything herein mentioned. 
 
 In testimony whereof, and that I and my company 
 may observe and perform what I have said, I have sub- 
 scribed this writing. Given at Fort Conception on the 
 1 6th of November, 1498. 
 
 These were hard and humiliating terms, based on 
 falsehood and injustice ; but so completely hemmed in 
 and embarrassed by the worst possible combination of 
 circumstances was Columbus that he had no choice, 
 except the lesser of two evils, for defection was be- 
 coming more rife ever}^ day. Many of those who were 
 still with him talked of going away to Ciguaya, after 
 some such manner as Roldan and his men had gone 
 into Zaragua. Therefore, on the 21st of November, he 
 ratified the agreement between Roldan on the part of 
 the rebels and Carvajal and Salamanca on his part. 
 
 The rebels then went away into Zaragua to prepare 
 for their departure, and the Admiral at once set about 
 getting the two ships ready for Spain, as agreed. To 
 part thus with the ships in which he had planned to 
 send his brother Bartholomew away for further dis- 
 coveries in the regions of Paria and the pearl fisheries 
 was a grievous disappointment ; but to get the trouble 
 of this rebellion out of the land was the pressing 
 necessity of the hour. How much more rapidly every 
 
RECOURSE OF THE ADMIRAL. 403 
 
 department of this great enterprise might then pro- 
 gress. 
 
 But he felt it his duty to advise the sovereigns of the 
 fearful combination of things which made it necessary 
 for him to sign an agreement so false and so unjust as 
 that by which the rebellion had been compromised. A 
 detailed account, therefore, of the whole matter was for- 
 warded to Spain. He recommended that these parties 
 be arrested, and when their outrageous conduct, which 
 had paralyzed every industry in the island, broken 
 Up the system of tribute, and brought on war with 
 the natives, whom they had robbed and whose women 
 they had debauched, could be investigated, the sov- 
 ereigns would know something of the terrible necessity 
 under which he had been compelled to act in order to 
 save the colony from utter ruin. 
 
 The trouble with the rebels being thus adjusted, and 
 San Domingo and vicinit}/^ once more restored to tran- 
 quillity, the Admiral, accompanied by Don Bartholomew, 
 went to Isabella to repair such mischief as had occurred 
 in consequence of the revolt, the interests at San Do- 
 mingo being left with Don Diego. 
 
 But such was the lack of the necessary resources and 
 such the disorder in the colony that the ships agreed 
 upon for Roldan could not be gotten ready till late in 
 February. Then a severe storm overtook them on their 
 way and compelled them to lie at anchor in a harbor on 
 the coast till the end of March. Indeed, one was so 
 disabled as to be obliged to return to San Domingo, 
 another being dispatched under Carvajal to take its 
 place. 
 
 This failure of the ships in respect to time the 
 
404 ^^^ VAJAL'S PROTE^ T. 
 
 rebels seized upon, glad for any excuse to escape sucli 
 accountabilities to justice as they were liable to meet in 
 Spain. Of course they laid all the blame on Colum- 
 bus. He had intentionally delayed the ships, and 
 then sent them in an unseaworthy condition, and 
 short of provisions, in order that they might perish on 
 the long voyage. Meanwhile the provisions which 
 they had made for the voyage had been consumed by 
 waiting, and could not readily be replaced. They 
 therefore resolved not to go. 
 
 Carvajal then gave formal protest, in the presence 
 of a notar}^, of their refusing to embark according to 
 the spirit of their agreement. The ships, already 
 badly eaten by the teredo worm, and with provisions 
 wasted by unavoidable detention, were sent back to 
 San Domingo, while Carvajal returned by land. Rol- 
 dan went with him some distance on horseback, 
 appearing much disturbed in mind. He dared not 
 return to Spain, and to persist in defiance of authority 
 with such a band of ruffians at his heels could not 
 afford any very bright prospect. He wished to talk 
 with Carvajal privately, so they two alighted and 
 withdrew under a tree. Again he declared that he 
 was loyal at heart, and if the Admiral would send a 
 safe-conduct to him and his principal companions he 
 would meet him, and thought that all might be 
 arranged with satisfaction to both parties ; but for the 
 present the matter must be a secret as far as his men 
 were concerned. 
 
 Carvajal was only too glad to report this to the 
 Admiral, who at once forwarded the safe-conduct under 
 the royal seal. He also sent a letter to Roldan, 
 
COLUMBUS APPEALS IN VAIN. 405 
 
 " short " but " very pith}^, persuading him to peace, 
 submission, and their Majesties' service." This letter 
 was written May 21st. " He afterwards repeated it at 
 San Domingo more at large, on the 29th of June, and 
 on the 3d of August six or seven of the chief men 
 about the Admiral sent Roldan another safe-conduct, 
 that he might come to treat with his lordship." ^ He 
 and his followers were pledged security, provided they 
 did nothing hostile to the representatives of the royal 
 authority. 
 
 But it is time for Columbus to get intelligence from 
 Spain. Since he is struggling so faithfully, so loyally 
 amidst the toils of a rebellion almost universal, and 
 the most unreasonable and wicked, surely the sover- 
 eigns will stand by him promptly, positively. The 
 letter he receives is from Bishop Fonseca. He ac- 
 knowledges the appeal made by the Admiral, but in a 
 few words, as freezingly cold as the icebergs of the 
 north, he simplj^ says the matter for the present must 
 remain in suspense until the sovereigns ma}- have 
 time to investigate and devise some remedy — as if 
 rebellion and disorder in a j^oung colony were a thing 
 to be wanked at, and allowed plenty of time to grow 
 and become strong. 
 
 This cruel answer almost took the heart out of 
 Columbus. Must he, then, stand alone in this terrible 
 crisis ? How incorrigible would the rebels become 
 when they discovered how little influence he had with 
 the royal authority ! Still, he would do and suffer 
 everything in order to bring about a speed}- recon- 
 ciliation. In the latter part of August he and several 
 
 1 Fernando Columbus, cap. 83. 
 
4o6 EFFRONTERY OF THE REBELS. 
 
 of his most important men sailed in the two caravels 
 to Azua, between San Domingo and Zaragua, in order 
 to meet Roldan and his men as much to their con- 
 venience as possible. 
 
 Roldan, accompanied by Moxica and several others, 
 came on board the ship with a boldness and effrontery 
 which would have ill-become a conqueror even in dic- 
 tating terms to the vanquished, not to speak of a cul- 
 prit who should be humbling himself for pardon. 
 Surely he must have heard how coolly the Admiral's 
 appeal had been received in Spain. Except as circum- 
 stances had changed the propriety of certain clauses, 
 he demanded the same terms as before, adding the 
 following : 
 
 I. That the Admiral should send fifteen of his men 
 to Spain in the first ships which might go. 
 
 II. That to those remaining he should give land and 
 horses for their pay. 
 
 III. That proclamation should be made that all which 
 had happened had been caused by false suggestions 
 and through the fault of bad men. 
 
 IV. That the Admiral should newly appoint Roldan 
 perpetual judge. ^ 
 
 What terms could have been more humiliating or 
 unjust than these? But to the unhappy Admiral 
 there was left no choice between this miserable com- 
 promise or the ruin of the colony. Roldan went on 
 shore to confer with the main body of his men. After 
 some two days the capitulations of the rebels were 
 forwarded in language the most arrogrant and insult- 
 ing. To all their former articles of concession from 
 
 ^ See Fernando Columbus. 
 
HUMILIATING CONDITIONS. .q? 
 
 Columbus they added that if he should fail in the ful- 
 filment" of any point, they might, by force or by any 
 other means they saw fit, compel him. 
 
 Before signing these humiliating conditions he 
 added that the commands of the sovereigns, himself, 
 and the justices should be promptly obeyed by them. 
 Whatever the injustice and the personal humiliation 
 he might suffer in this transaction, there might come a 
 time when he could explain to the royal ear how little 
 personal freedom there had been left to him. 
 
 We have been somewhat full and explicit in giving 
 the details of this shameful rebellion, that the reader 
 may judge for himself as to the wretched material out 
 of which Columbus was obliged to construct his col- 
 ony. Let those who are disposed to judge him severel}^ 
 as a ruler contemplate what they could have done 
 under like circumstances. Surel}^ Don Bartholomew 
 must have been a patient man to have allowed so much 
 blame to be falsely imputed to him ; for his manage- 
 ment, during the absence of the Admiral, had been 
 made the chief point of censure by the rebels. 
 
 Herrera represents Roldan as resuming his of&ce of 
 chief judge with a noticeable arrogance. Surrounded 
 by his former accomplices, and holding intercourse 
 only with the disaffected, he was disposed to frown upon 
 those who had been orderly and loyal, even discharg- 
 ing Rodrigo Perez, the Admiral's lieutenant, and say- 
 ing that only those whom he should appoint could 
 hold office in the island. But Columbus was patient, 
 and endured many indignities that quiet and order 
 might be restored. When Roldan presented a paper, 
 signed by over one hundred of his late followers, 
 
 \ 
 
4o8 RE PAR TIMIENTOS. 
 
 asking for lands in ZsLTSLgua, upon which they might 
 settle, he feared the result of locating so many rebels 
 at one point, and that so remote. He thought it better 
 to distribute them, some at Bonao, some on the banks 
 of the Rio Verde, and others at St. Jago. The tracts 
 of land he gave were large, and he also apportioned them 
 as slaves many who had been taken in the wars. 
 Caciques near by might also furnish labor by means of 
 their subjects instead of paying tribute. This sort of 
 quasi serfdom was the beginning of that distribution 
 of free Indians for labor called repartimientos^ and 
 which was afterwards so greatly abused by the Span- 
 iards in the New World. If, as Munoz thinks, Colum- 
 bus now concluded that, as a conqueror of this part of 
 the world, he might dispose of the natives as vassals to 
 his feudal lords, it was certainly very different to the 
 kindly policy he had in mind on his first discovery. 
 Stern necessity had changed his plans. 
 
 About this time he organized a sort of police to 
 range the provinces, collect tribute, and keep an eye 
 on the conduct of the colonists. 
 
 Roldan now presented his own claims, which in- 
 cluded certain lands at Isabella, a royal poultry farm 
 in the Vega, known as La Ksperanza, certain grants 
 in Zaragua, with cattle and animals in general. The 
 cacique whose ears Ojeda had cut off when he first 
 went into the Vega was to furnish his subjects as 
 laborers on these lands. All these grants, however, 
 were subject to the royal pleasure, for Columbus an- 
 ticipated retribution for the leaders of the late rebellion 
 when the sovereigns should come to know the facts. 
 
 Roldan gained permission to visit his possessions in 
 
RE^UELME'S BARN. 400 
 
 the Vega. At Bonao, his late headquarters, he made 
 Requelme, one of his old colleagues, a judge in that 
 place. At this appointment Columbus was aggrieved, 
 for it transcended the powers of Roldan's office. Then 
 that strong edifice which Requelme was erecting on 
 a hill, ostensibly a barn for cattle, looked exceedingly 
 like a fortress, and might be used by the late rebels as 
 a stronghold. Arana, in his firm loyalty, entered a 
 protest against the building. Both parties appealed 
 to the Admiral, and he forbade the enterprise. 
 
 Columbus had intended to go into Spain, taking 
 Don Bartholomew with him, in order that they in 
 person might accomplish that which his letters had 
 failed to do. But the outlook was still forbidding. 
 Could he be certain that the late rebellion was wholly 
 subdued ? What if the Ciguayans should swoop down 
 from the mountains, as they seemed inclined, and try 
 to carry off their imprisoned cacique, Maiobanex, now 
 in Fort Conception ? What could be the import of those 
 four ships said to have recently arrived at the west 
 end of the island ? The Admiral was obliged to con- 
 tent himself with sending two caravels to Spain early 
 in October. In these returned such of the colonists 
 as did not wish to stay, including some of the late 
 rebels. They took slaves with them and such 
 daughters of the caciques as they could induce to go 
 with them, which wrongs the Admiral, in the weak- 
 ness of his authority, was obliged to wink at. He 
 also knew but too well how these enemies would lose 
 no opportunity to misrepresent and ruin him at the 
 court. As an offset he sent the noble Ballester and 
 Garcia Barrantes to represent him before the sover- 
 
4IO 
 
 COLUMBUS'S APPEAL. 
 
 eigns and to present the depositions concerning the 
 conduct of the late rebels, into the truth of which 
 affair he urged them to make close inquiry, since he 
 looked upon his capitulations with them as null and 
 void, because they had been wrung from him in 
 violence, and at sea, where he had no jurisdiction as 
 viceroy ; because the insurgents had been condemned 
 as traitors, and it was not in his power to absolve 
 them ; because the capitulations included matters of 
 the royal revenue, over which he had no control in the 
 absence of the officers pertaining to it ; and, more 
 especially, because these insurgents had violated the 
 solemn oath they had taken when leaving Spain, that 
 they would be loyal to him as the viceroy of the 
 sovereigns. Again he asked for a judge competent to 
 administer the laws, and a council of discreet persons, 
 in order that he might not stand alone in the severe 
 exigencies of justice. But their functions must be 
 so limited as not to infringe on his rights and dig- 
 nities. What could governors do if their princes did 
 not sustain them ? And, since his health was failing 
 and he was becoming conscious of the infirmities of 
 age, might not his son Diego, now a page, but des- 
 tined to be his successor and having arrived at mature 
 years, be sent to assist him ? 
 
CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 ojeda's mischief at zaragua. 
 
 ||T seems as if there were no limits to the evil 
 in the hearts of those with whom Columbus 
 was associated. Even the brave, dashing 
 Ojeda is now in mischief. His four ships, already 
 hinted at, were anchored at the west end of the island. 
 As Roldan had now faced about and seemed anxious 
 to reinstate himself, Columbus sent him, on the 29th 
 of September, with two caravels, to inquire into the 
 reason for their appearance. He anchored within two 
 leagues of Ojeda's squadron, and landed with twenty- 
 five men accustomed to find trails in the forest. Five 
 were sent as scouts, who reported Ojeda away from 
 his ships, and accompanied by only fifteen men. They 
 were making cassava-bread. Roldan placed himself 
 so as to intercept their return, or possibly take them 
 by surprise. The Indians, who dreaded his very 
 name on account of his former excesses among them, 
 reported him. Ojeda saw his peril, and, as he could 
 not return to his ships, faced Roldan with only a half- 
 dozen men. The latter wished to know why the 
 former had come to that lonely part of the island. 
 Ojeda said he had been on a voyage of discovery, 
 and had sought a harbor there because he was dis- 
 tressed for food and needed to repair his ships. In 
 the name of the government, Roldan demanded a 
 sight of the credentials under which he prosecuted 
 
412 OJEDA'S INTRUSIOA. 
 
 his discoveries. Knowing that Roldan was not to be 
 trifled with, Ojeda said that his license was on board 
 his ship, and that he would pay his respects to the 
 Admiral at San Domingo, when he would impart to 
 him intelligence which no one else might hear. 
 Meanwhile he might say, in a whisper, that the Ad- 
 miral was in complete disgrace at court, that there 
 was even talk of taking away his command, and that 
 the Queen, about his only remaining friend, was so ill 
 that she was in nowise likely to recover. 
 
 When Roldan went on board Ojeda's ships he 
 found! persons of his former acquaintance, some of 
 whom had before been in the island. They repeated 
 the substance of Ojeda's statements, and there was 
 indeed a license, signed by Bishop Fonseca, authorizing 
 Ojeda's voyage of discovery. The whole scheme of 
 the enterprise was soon revealed. The glowing report 
 which Columbus had sent to Spain of the Paria region 
 which he had just explored, the pearl fisheries, etc., 
 had been made common property among a certain 
 group of adventurers, thus giving them the advantage 
 of the hard-earned discoveries of the Admiral. Their 
 inordinate thirst for gain being aroused, Ojeda was 
 put at the head of an exploring expedition, the 
 worthy Bishop Fonseca giving him full access to all 
 the charts, records, etc., which Columbus had sent 
 home. Occasion was thus taken to intercept the great 
 explorer in the harvest which he might have enjoyed 
 but for the evil deeds of Roldan and his ruffians in 
 Hispaniola. The papers which Fonseca had furnished 
 Ojeda, and which were not signed by the sovereigns, 
 forbade him going to any of the Portuguese regions. 
 
AMEBIC us VESPUCCIUS. .j- 
 
 ot any part discovered by Columbus previous to 1495 ; 
 but as the Paria coast and the Pearl Islands had been 
 discovered after the above date, that great and wealthy 
 region was purposely left open to this company of 
 adventurers, who fitted out their own ships and con- 
 trolled their fortunes, giving only a certain proportion 
 to the crown. 
 
 The fleet had been fitted out at Seville, where many 
 wealthy speculators assisted. Among those who 
 sailed was the notable Americus Vespuccius, then a 
 Florentine merchant in that city. In geography, 
 navigation, and a ready use of the pen he was highly 
 accomplished. Indeed, it was the happy use he made 
 of his pen in describing his several voyages along the 
 coast of South America, and his work as chief pilot of 
 Spain and cartographer of the New World, which, all 
 unwittingly on his own part, fastened his name ^ for- 
 ever to one-half the globe. Here, too, was Juan 
 de la Cosa, a mariner of rare skill, who had sailed 
 with Columbus on his first voyage and in his trying 
 explorations along the south side of Cuba. He was 
 first pilot of Ojeda's fleet, and has made himself 
 famous by means of his map of the New World, which 
 he drew on a large ox-hide, and which, beautifully 
 colored and illuminated, still adorns the walls of the 
 Royal Museum in Madrid. 
 
 Having sailed in May, 1499, the adventurers had 
 coasted the southern continent from two hundred 
 leagues east of the Orinoco, and, following in the 
 track of Columbus's third voyage by means of his 
 charts, they had passed through the Serpent's Mouth 
 
 iSee Humboldt's Examen Critique. 
 
414 OJEDA'S PROMISE. 
 
 and out at the Mouth of the Dragon, visited the pearl 
 regions, and discovered the Gulf of Venezuela.^ Touch- 
 ing at the Caribbee Islands, they had encountered the 
 natives in one of their fierce attacks, and had captured 
 many slaves for the markets of Spain. Their supplies 
 running low, Ojeda^ had sailed for Hispaniola, having 
 made the most extensive voyage up to that time 
 on the shores of the New World. 
 
 Roldan had gathered what information he could 
 from Ojeda, and believing him sincere in his promise 
 to sail to San Domingo and do homage to the Ad- 
 miral, he returned to that place to make report. 
 Columbus was deeply aggrieved to learn of so serious 
 an infringement of his rights as the license for Ojeda's 
 voyage implied, but he would wait patiently for the 
 promised visit of that daring adventurer, and learn 
 more fully what had been done. But Ojeda's promise 
 had been made only as a means of escape from Roldan, 
 and not with the least intention of fulfilment. Hav- 
 ing repaired his squadron and gathered supplies, he 
 sailed farther along the coast of Zaragua, where the 
 Spaniards w^ho resided in those parts, and who were 
 not specially friendly to Columbus, received him most 
 cordially and gave him whatever he needed. These 
 sore-headed rebels, learning Ojeda's jealous feelings 
 towards the Admiral, looked upon him as a new 
 leader, who might take the place of Roldan. They 
 
 ^ It seems that Vespuccius was not with Ojeda in his questionable ma- 
 noeuvres at Hispaniola, but was still sailing westward along the coast of 
 South America. 
 
 * Vespuccius does not seem to have accompanied Ojeda to Hayti, but 
 returned home bj another route. 
 
OJEDA TURNS HERO. ^^^ 
 
 were loud in their clamors against the government 
 especially on account of the back pay which they 
 claimed. All this gave a vantage-ground to the hot- 
 blooded Ojeda. He would now play the hero, and be 
 the redresser of the grievances of these men, who had 
 been driven to desperation by the cruelty of the Co- 
 lumbus brothers. He would march at their head and 
 demand a redress of their wrongs, and the Admiral 
 would have to pay them on the spot or leave the 
 island. 
 
 These heroic propositions by Ojeda were received 
 with the most enthusiastic cheers by some of the late 
 rebels, but others were not disposed to fall in with his 
 plans. Hence arose a violent quarrel, in which several 
 were killed and others wounded on both sides. But 
 those in favor of Ojeda's scheme prevailed. About 
 this time Roldan arrived with a small company of 
 resolute men. Intelligence of the proceedings of 
 Ojeda in Zaragua had reached San Domingo, and he had 
 been sent by the Admiral to keep a close watch of 
 affairs. On the way he had enlisted his old accom- 
 plice, Escobar, who was to aid him with all the force 
 he could collect. The late rebels in Zaragua, finding 
 that Roldan had been hopelessly converted to the 
 service of the government, undertook to waylay and 
 kill him while on his march ; but he was too wide- 
 awake and quick to be thus entrapped. 
 
 Ojeda knew better than to encounter Roldan and 
 his force in a desperate fight, and thus oppose himself 
 to the royal authority with no adequate end in view, 
 and therefore found his way back to his ships. Rol- 
 dan now besought him to cease his irregularities, 
 
4i6 
 
 SHARP MANCEUVRING. 
 
 which were creating so much disturbance, and come 
 ashore to make peace. Ojeda would not venture 
 within the reach of one so crafty and vehement as he 
 knew Roldan to be. On the other hand, he seized 
 several of his men and confined them in irons on 
 board his vessel, threatening to hang them if Roldan 
 did not hand over a certain one-armed sailor who had 
 deserted. 
 
 After a good deal of close watching and sharp 
 manoeuvring on the part of both these shrewd oppo- 
 nents, Ojeda's ships moved away to the province of 
 Cahay, and landing with forty men he took whatever 
 he wanted by force from the kind-hearted natives. He 
 was soon overtaken by Roldan and Escobar, who fol- 
 lowed along the shore. In a canoe, which was made 
 almost to skip over the water by the deft Indian pad- 
 dles, the two latter approached the ships of Ojeda and 
 asked of him that, since he himself dared not come 
 ashore, he would send a boat and bring them on board 
 one of his ships for a conference. Ojeda at once sent 
 the boat, thinking to thus get Roldan in his power. 
 The boat came near to the shore and asked Roldan to 
 come to them. 
 
 " How many may come with me?" asked the latter. 
 
 '' Not more than five or six," was the reply. 
 
 Escobar and four others waded to the boat, which 
 refused to take any more ; but Roldan, getting upon 
 the back of one man and ordering another to walk 
 alongside and assist him, eight in all got in. At 
 once Roldan ordered the boat to row to shore. When 
 the men refused, his men attacked them with the 
 sword, and wounding some, made the rest prisoners. 
 
FINAL AGREEMENT. .j ^ 
 
 One Indian, however, plunged under water and swam 
 away. 
 
 Roldan had gained his point, for Ojeda must have 
 his long-boat. Entering his small boat, which remained 
 with his chief pilot and four oarsmen, the latter came 
 near the shore. Roldan entered the long-boat just 
 captured, with some twenty-two men, twenty more 
 awaiting his orders on the land, and made ready to 
 meet him. Keeping at a safe distance from each other, 
 they exchanged some sharp words. Ojeda said that 
 Roldan had come with men under arms in order to 
 seize him, and therefore he had a right to defend him- 
 self. This the latter denied, and promised that all 
 should be well if the former would present himself 
 before the Admiral at San Domingo. 
 
 Finally there was an agreement. The boat was to 
 be restored and the prisoners exchanged — all but the 
 one-armed deserter, who had made his escape — if Ojeda 
 would immediately leave. But when he sailed he 
 threatened to come again with more men and more 
 ships. For some time Roldan kept watch, lest Ojeda 
 should not depart after all. Very soon he heard that 
 he had landed farther along the coast and he imme- 
 diately followed with eighty men in canoes, others 
 acting as scouts along the land. But before he could 
 overtake him, Ojeda had sailed again ; only after he 
 had made up a drove of slaves, however, to be sold on 
 his arrival at Cadiz. 
 
 This visit of Ojeda at Hispaniola is a very naughty, 
 ugly incident in the life of one who, though unfortu- 
 nate in the end, might otherwise have passed into 
 history as a brave and interesting character, who ren- 
 
4i8 
 
 REBELLION A GAIN. 
 
 dered mucli good service in an important age of the 
 world's history. 
 
 This successful attack on Ojeda by the late rebels 
 was a grand first step toward their reinstatement in the 
 public confidence. Being so unaccustomed to good 
 deeds, they took great credit to themselves, made a 
 loud noise over their loyalty and great services, and 
 asked Roldan to give them land that they might make 
 them estates in the delightful province of Cahay. 
 But the late rebel leader wished to make good his 
 professions of reform, and win a good name for obedi- 
 ence to authority, so he gave them some of his own 
 lands in Zaragua to quiet them till he could confer 
 with the Admiral as to their request. In answer to 
 Roldan's letter, asking permission to come to San 
 Domingo, Columbus expressed his most sincere thanks 
 for that leader's faithfulness and success in driving 
 away the enem3^, but asked him to remain yet longer 
 in Zaragua, lest Ojeda should still be lingering about 
 the coast with view to further mischief. 
 
 As bad blood is sure to breed a sore somewhere, so 
 the evil nature of some of the late rebels soon found 
 occasion for another insurrection. This time they 
 found their centre of interest in the romance of a love 
 affair. There had recently come to the island a young 
 cavalier of a distinguished family, named Don Her- 
 nando de Guevara. A cousin to Adrian de Moxica, he 
 was as dissolute in habits as he was elegant and fasci- 
 nating in manners, and had been so licentious at 
 San Domingo that the Admiral ordered him to leave 
 the island. Having reached Zaragua too late to take 
 passage in Ojeda's ships, he found refuge with Roldan, 
 
THE INDIA N BE A UTT. 4 1 q 
 
 who was disposed to show him favor on account of his 
 relationship to his old friend De Moxica, and so per- 
 mitted the young cavalier to choose his place of resi- 
 dence until the Admiral should give further orders 
 concerning him. That point in Cahay where Roldan 
 had captured Ojeda's boat was chosen, as it was near 
 to Zaragua, the home of those of his acquaintance and 
 relationship. This was also a sort of sporting point, 
 where de Moxica kept his hawks and hounds. 
 
 Through Roldan he was introduced to the famous 
 Anacaona, with whose beautiful daughter, just passing 
 into womanhood, he became desperately in love. 
 Hence when the occasion for his departure arrived he 
 was not inclined to go. Roldan, who Las Casas thinks 
 was himself in love with the Indian beauty, became 
 peremptor}'-, and demanded that Guevara should leave. 
 Anacaona, to whom the Spaniards were always objects 
 of the strongest fascination, was pleased with the antici- 
 pated match, and encouraged the young cavalier to 
 linger at her house. He, meanwhile, sent for a priest 
 to baptize his intended bride. Roldan now sent for 
 Guevara and rebuked him severely for taking advan- 
 tage of the friendship and affection of this distin- 
 guished native family, and again he ordered him to 
 depart. Guevara pleaded good intentions and begged 
 leave to remain, but Roldan could not be persuaded, 
 saying the Admiral might misunderstand the matter, 
 and great evil come of it. 
 
 The young cavalier left, but three days was the 
 longest separation from the Indian beaut}^ which he 
 could endure. Then he returned with five friends, and 
 managed to be hid away in Anacaona's house. A 
 
420 GUEVARAS REVENGE. 
 
 severe attack of inflamed eyes confining Roldan at the 
 time, he sent word at once, on hearing of his young 
 friend's return, ordering him to leave instanter. This 
 time the young cavalier put on an air of defiance, and 
 warned Roldan not to make foes in this critical hour, 
 when he might need the aid of his friends, for the 
 Admiral was certainly about to take off his head. 
 Roldan now ordered him to appear at once before 
 the Admiral at San Domingo. At this stern order 
 the young lover wilted, and begged for permission to 
 remain a little longer. Roldan granted the request. 
 
 But Guevara resolved to take revenge on the man 
 who had dared to thwart his passion, and so began at 
 once to make a party among the more incorrigible of 
 Roldan's former accomplices, who, as Irving says, 
 " detested as a magistrate the man they had idolized 
 as a leader." ^y a sudden rise they would either put 
 Roldan to death or put out his eyes. But he, dis- 
 covering the plot, arrested Guevara and seven of his 
 friends in Anacaona's house, and reported them to 
 the Admiral, saying that he was not able to judge the 
 case impartially. Columbus ordered the young 
 cavalier to be confined in the fortress at San Domingo. 
 Now the smouldering embers of the old rebellion were 
 fanned into a flame. Adrian de Moxica, resolving to 
 rescue his cousin, called on Requelme at Bonao, and 
 they together soon rallied their old comrades, settled in 
 the neighborhood, in defence of their young favorite 
 and his pretty bride in prospecUi. Why should Rol- 
 dan, now become tyrant, prevent such a happy mar- 
 riage — one which might be a benefit to the colony ? 
 Down came the old weapons of rebellion from the walls. 
 
MOXICA IS HUNG. 42 j 
 
 and a body of reckless men on horseback were ready 
 for any deeds of violence which might rescue their 
 favorite, and secure the death of Roldan and the Ad- 
 miral. The latter, now at Fort Conception and thus 
 in the immediate vicinity of the plot, set out at night, 
 with six servants and three esquires, for the quarters 
 of the ringleaders, who, encouraged no doubt by the 
 leniency shown to them in the recent insurrection, 
 were completely off their guard. JMoxica and several 
 of his chief confederates were taken and lodged in 
 Fort Conception. After all the outrages which Co- 
 lumbus had suffered from these turbulent men, and 
 the utter inappreciation they had shown for his recent 
 toleration, it is not at all surprising that he now 
 determined upon heroic treatment. Moxica was to be 
 hanged from the top of the fortress. As he wished 
 to confess before dying, a priest was sent for ; but 
 though he had been so vaunting and arrogant as a 
 rebel, he had no courage in the face of death. He 
 would begin his confession and then hesitate, and 
 then begin again, as if to gain time for some possible 
 chance of rescue. Finally he began to accuse of 
 criminality others who were above suspicion. Co- 
 lumbus, out of patience with such cowardly treachery, 
 ordered the miserable wretch to be swung off. 
 
 This new departure was vigorously kept up. In 
 prison irons several of Moxica's associates awaited 
 the execution of their death sentence, Requelme 
 and those quartered with him at Bonao were taken 
 to San Domingo, where they made company for 
 Guevara, the cause of the rebellion. The rest of the 
 rebels fled to Zaragua. Don Bartholomew, aided by 
 
422 ORDER IS RESTORED. 
 
 Roldan, pursued them with his usual sv/iftness and 
 energ-y. Very soon seventeen of these rebellious 
 spirits awaited their trial in one dungeon, and still 
 the chase continued. If these measures seem severe, 
 let it be remembered how every enterprise of this 
 great work of colonizing and developing the New 
 World had been utterly paralyzed by the despicable 
 conduct of these miserable, seditious spirits, and that 
 the kindest and most patient and forbearing measures 
 on the part of Columbus v\^ere of no avail. 
 
 Good order was once more restored. Bven the 
 irritated Indians took warning, and submitted to 
 authority. Some of them became sufficiently civilized 
 to put on clothes and to adopt Christianit}^ They 
 assisted the indolent Spaniards in cultivating the 
 lands, and a settled prosperity began to appear. Had 
 the Admiral and Viceroy now been allowed to pursue 
 his plans without interruption, no doubt a new era of 
 good government and general improvement might 
 have ensued. But there was to be no opportunity for 
 this scientific discoverer to reap the harvest which he 
 had so trul}^ earned. Those plans which were to 
 eventuate in his utter disgrace and overthrow as a 
 ruler were already maturing. 
 
CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 BOBADILLA SENDS COLUMBUS HOME IN CHAINS. 
 
 ll^y ilOW bitterly cruel tliat, while Columbus was 
 i| ^ I patiently contending with such idleness, 
 [S^^^ L'centiousness, cruelty, and sedition as broke 
 up every line of his operations in the New World, this 
 wicked element should have had its correlated forces 
 working with most fatal effect in the court of Spain, 
 thus completely demoralizing the confidence he had 
 inspired and subverting his entire system of coloniza- 
 tion. Very reluctantly, indeed, especially in the case of 
 Isabella, did the royal confidence give way. But the 
 continual dropping of water even will finall}^ wear away 
 the rock. 
 
 And still the cry against the Admiral and his brothers 
 continued. All the ship-news from the Indies — and it 
 was important in those days — reiterated the same thing. 
 The disappointed speculator, the humiliated hidalgo, 
 the expelled criminal — all told the oft-repeated items. 
 Letters from those who could not return confirmed them. 
 The points of accusation are clearly expressed by the 
 Admiral's son, who was then a page in the royal house- 
 hold, and whose wounded feelings v/ould but too clearly 
 receive the indelible impressions of the hour, which he 
 so candidly related in after years. He says, " Many of 
 the rebels by letters from Hispaniola, and others that 
 were returned into Spain, did not cease to give in false 
 information to the King and his council against the Ad- 
 
424 MANY-SIDED ACCUSATIONS. 
 
 miral and his brothers, saying they were cruel and unfit 
 for that government, not only because they were 
 strangers and aliens, but because they had not formerly 
 been in a situation to learn by experience how to govern 
 people of quality, af&rming that if their highnesses 
 did not apply some remedy those countries would be 
 utterly destroyed, and if they were not quite ruined by 
 their ill-government the Admiral would revolt and join 
 in league with some prince to support him, since he 
 pretended that all was his own, for it had been discovered 
 by his industry and labor, and that the better to compass 
 his design he concealed the wealth of the country and 
 would not have the Indians serve the Christians, nor be 
 converted to the faith, because by making much of them 
 he hoped they would be on his side and do what he 
 might wish against their highnesses/' 
 
 Here we may see how many-sided and dishonest was 
 this bitter attack upon Columbus. A little while before 
 his enemies were making a special point on what the}^ 
 regarded as his cruelty to the natives. Now they make 
 an equally sharp and much more dangerous point, by 
 claiming that by indulgence and caressing of this 
 simple-hearted people he is courting their alliance in an 
 anticipated revolt against the sovereigns of Spain. 
 
 And the grave charge of a design on the part of Co- 
 lumbus to alienate the Indies from the authority of 
 Spain, however preposterous, must have been made very 
 prominent^ for in his letter to the nurse of Prince Juan 
 he refers to it in the most affecting and pathetic lan- 
 guage. " Although I am an ignorant man," said he, " I 
 do not imagine that any one supposed me so stupid as 
 not to be aware that even if the Indies had belonged to 
 
COL UMB C/S'S RE PL T. 425 
 
 me I could not support myself without the assistance 
 of some prince. Since it is thus, where should I find 
 better support or more security against expulsion than in 
 the King and Queen, our sovereigns, who from nothing 
 have raised me to so great an elevation, and who are 
 the greatest princes of the world, on the land and on 
 the sea ? ' ' Then referring to the fact that his son was in the 
 household of the sovereigns, thus binding his own heart 
 in loyalty to them, which loyalty they had appreciated, 
 as shown in the honors they had bestowed upon him, 
 he continues : " If I have now spoken severel}^ of a 
 malicious slander, it is against my will, for it is a sub- 
 ject I could not willingy rlecall even in my dreams." 
 
 The cry of the Admiral's enemies had all along 
 been that there was no gold in this pretended Ophir 
 of Solomon. Noblemen, mariners, gentlemen, and 
 common people made a jest of his great expectations. 
 Now, since gold was unquestionably being found in 
 abundance, they began to turn the tide of scandal in 
 another direction. Not only did laborers complain, 
 because they must work for wages instead of the more 
 profitable arrangement of shares, but " there were 
 those," says Bernaldez, " who wrote, and who came 
 home and told the King and Queen, that he was 
 embezzling the gold, and that he wished to give it to 
 the Genoese, and many other stories, charging him 
 with crimes, the least of which it ought not to have 
 been believed that he would commit." Gold had but 
 recently been found in considerable quantities ; and 
 the Admiral had been accumulating it both in amount 
 and in masses, with feelings of gratification and even 
 vanity. If, as Bernaldez says, " he delayed sending 
 
426 
 
 EXCITEMENT IN SPAIN. 
 
 the gold to the King somewhat longer than he should 
 have done," it was only that he might himself bring 
 to the sovereigns his specimens, " as large as the eggs 
 of a goose or fowl, and many other sizes, which had 
 been collected in a short space of time, in order to 
 please their Highnesses, and that they might be 
 impressed with the importance of the affair when 
 they sav/ a great number of large stones loaded with 
 gold."^ Then he v/ould report to them " a revenue for 
 twenty years, which is, according to man's calculation, 
 an age," and show them how in the Indies " thej^ 
 gather gold in such abundance that there are people 
 whOj in four hours, have found the equivalent of five 
 marks." 
 
 The charge of arrears on the part of Columbus 
 tovv^ard those serving the sovereigns under him was 
 pressed even to a most disgraceful issue. Says Fernando 
 Columbus, " When I was at Granada, at the time the 
 most serene Prince Michael happened to die, above 
 fifty of them, like shameless wretches, brought a load 
 of grapes, and sat down in the court of the Alhambra 
 (a castle and palace) , crying out that their Highnesses 
 and the Admiral made them live so miserably by not 
 pa3dng them, with many other scandalous expressions. 
 And their impudence was so great that if the Catholic 
 King went abroad they all got about him,^ crying, ' Pay^ 
 pay!' And if it happened that my brother or I, who 
 were pages to her Majesty, passed by where they 
 were, they cried out in a hideous manner, making the 
 sign of the cross, and saying, ' There are the Admiral 
 
 ^ Letter of Columbus to the nurse of Prince Juan. 
 ^ Caught hold of his robe, some say. 
 
FOiYSE CA ' S INFL UENCE. ^^j 
 
 of the mosquito's sons, he that has found out false and 
 deceitful countries to be the ruin and burial-place of 
 the Spanish gentry,' adding many more such insolencies, 
 which made us cautious of appearing before them."^ 
 
 It is true, that against all this tide of slander there 
 was an occasional letter from Columbus stating the 
 facts of his trying situation, and showing that the 
 troubles of the island did not arise from errors on his 
 part, but out of the nature of the undertaking and the 
 great depravity of the men about him. But the wily 
 and bitter-spirited Fonseca controlled all communica- 
 tions, and could put them into such relations before 
 the court as suited his enmity towards the Admiral. 
 Then there remained the stubborn and unfortunate 
 fact that, while the draught upon the royal treasury 
 to support the enterprise in the Indies was immense, 
 the fleets had returned almost empty, bringing only 
 slaves and golden promises. 
 
 It is easy to see how the j ealous mind of Ferdinand, 
 always open to suspicion in respect to this enterprise, 
 begun, as it were, under his protest, and constantly 
 caviled at by the courtiers, who felt themselves out- 
 shone by this sudden glory of a foreigner, should now 
 give way to the general sentiment of contempt for the 
 Admiral. Kven Isabella, so ardent in her admiration 
 of the noble achievements of her hero of the ocean seas, 
 must needs yield to some extent to the incessant 
 clamor of all parties. If the knocking down and 
 kicking of Breviesca at Cadiz had shaken her faith in 
 his humane spirit as a ruler, she was still more 
 deeply wounded by the ship-loads of enslaved Indians 
 
 ^ Life of Colon by his son, cap. 85. 
 
428 
 
 FRANCISCO BOBADILLA. 
 
 he continued to send to Spain, notwithstanding her 
 protestation in favor of these innocent, kind-hearted 
 people, whom she believed to be providentially under 
 her special protection, and for whom she felt a par- 
 ticular responsibility. 
 
 Thus even Isabella began to conclude, along with 
 the King and the court, that the time was come when 
 some competent person should be sent to the Indies to 
 make thorough investigation of affairs — Roldan's 
 rebellion, the condition and treatment of the natives, 
 the management of the mines, and particularly the 
 spirit and methods of government by Columbus and 
 his brothers. Who might be the person to under- 
 take a commission so dif&cult, so delicate, so im- 
 portant ? Who but Don Francisco Bobadilla, of the 
 King's household, and commander of the knights — 
 military and religious — of Calatrava ? His first letter 
 of authority, dated March 21st, 1499, after referring 
 at length to the difficulties in Hispaniola, reads : 
 " We command you to inform yourself of what has 
 been done, to ascertain who they were that revolted 
 against the Admiral, and for what cause they did so, 
 what robberies and other crimes they have committed, 
 and furthermore you will extend your inquiries to 
 everything relating to these matters ; when the in- 
 vestigation is finished and the truth known, you will 
 arrest those who were guilty, whoever they may be, 
 and sequestrate their property ; you will proceed 
 against them, whether present or absent, both civilly 
 and criminally, and impose on them such fines and 
 punishments as you may judge suitable." 
 
 All this seems proper enough, and if Bobadilla 
 
BLIND PROCEEDINGS. 429 
 
 needed help in liis difficult work it was but reasonable, 
 as the sovereigns further demanded, that he should 
 be able to call the Admiral and all other persons in 
 authority to his assistance.^ 
 
 If the sovereigns could have known precisely how 
 matters in Hispaniola at that very time were coming 
 into a state of submission to the Admiral — the natives 
 overawed and the rebels subdued — why would it not 
 have been well if they had come to his aid and sus- 
 tained him through the crisis ? In view of his great 
 services, good motives, and peculiarly bitter trials, it 
 would seem that such a course would merely have 
 been the part of justice as well as discretion. We 
 cannot but feel the force of Columbus's words in his 
 letter to Prince Juan's nurse : " If their Highnesses 
 would condescend to silence the popular rumors, which 
 have gained credence among those who know what 
 fatigues I have sustained, it would be a real charity ; ^ 
 for calumny has done me more injury than the services 
 which I have rendered to their Highnesses and the 
 care with which I have preserved their property and 
 their government have done me good ; and by their 
 doing so I should be established in reputation and 
 spoken of throughout the universe, for the things which 
 I have accoiuplished are such that they must gain, day by 
 day, in the estimation of mankind i'^ 
 
 Without doubt, the best way of sustaining Columbus 
 would have been to appoint a competent commission 
 of inquiry. Thus far the sovereigns had taken a step 
 in the right direction ; but unfortunately, as they 
 
 1 See Navarrete, Col. Doc. Dipl., cxxvii. 
 
 2 Instead of" charity" we would say "■'justice." 
 
430 COLUMBUS AS A RULER. 
 
 afterward discovered, the inan chosen for the great 
 mission to which the whole world would ever afterwards 
 look with the utmost interest proved himself, alike in 
 heart and in judgment, wholly inadequate to the 
 undertaking. 
 
 As to the status of Columbus as a man and a ruler, 
 seen in the midst of this fearful turmoil and commo- 
 tion, the zvialers who hiezv Jiini^ whether they were, 
 like Peter Martyr, at the court, or, like Las Casas, in 
 the Indies, with one voice, sustain him not only as a 
 man of sound policy and Christian motives according 
 to the conceptions of the time., but as intensely \0y2X at 
 heart and ef&cient in his methods. The generations 
 which followed fell into line with their views. Even 
 Navarrete, in his exhaustive collection of documents 
 and profoundl}^ critical spirit, did not influence Irving, 
 who may be called his disciple in matters of the 
 Columbian age, to be anything less than " an amiable 
 hero-worshipper." The critical skill and fine impartial 
 judgment of Humboldt placed him in the same cate- 
 gory. But in our time not a few American writers, 
 in the newspaper, the magazine, and the most critical 
 bibliography, have arrogated to themselves the dis- 
 covery that the sad fate of Hispaniola and the natives 
 of the West India Islands generally was simply the 
 consequence of the bad government of the Admiral 
 and Viceroy. By this simple cutting of the Gordian 
 knot they attempt to reverse the judgment of four 
 centuries. 
 
 But a careful examination of the ways and means of 
 Columbus, at this distance, at least, fails to find the 
 items of bad rulership. His plans and counsels for La 
 
COLUMBUS AS A RULER. ... 
 
 Navidad would all liave been the very best assurance of 
 success if they had not been subverted by the heinous 
 conduct of the garrison. His plans and methods of 
 colonization were sound and practicable as far as can 
 now be learned ; and if he came into disfavor with the 
 hidalgos, ecclesiastics, speculators, and laborers of his 
 time, it would seem to have been because his conceptions 
 of industry, frugality, and self-denial were too far in 
 advance of the idleness, pride, and profligacy of those about 
 him. The Spaniards hated him for very much the same 
 reason that the Jamestown colony detested John Smith. 
 They would rather beg corn of Powhatan than blister 
 their hands in growing it. Surely the government of 
 Columbus does not suffer when compared with that of 
 Bobadilla and Ovando. 
 
 It will probably be some time before the world will 
 withhold its sympathy and admiration from one having 
 rendered the service of Columbus to the present age, as 
 well as for the strictl}^ scientific method, not to speak of 
 the courage and energy, in which and b}^ which the 
 grand result was achieved. 
 
 As we have seen, the commission given b}^ the sov- 
 ereigns to Bobadilla in JMarch was fair enough. Indeed, 
 it was not only necessary, but every way in accordance 
 with Columbus's own request ; for he ahvays courted 
 investigation of the troubles in the Indies by some proper 
 royal representative, and now he was emphasizing the 
 request in respect to the conduct of Roldan and his con- 
 federates. He v/ished the sovereigns to send out some 
 thoroughly learned and competent justice, who might 
 judge these and all other cases impartially. 
 
 But on May 21st, scarcely two months later, other 
 
432 FUNCTIONS OF BOBADILLA. 
 
 letters were added to the commission, giving wholly a 
 new scope to the functions of Bobadilla, and placing 
 Columbus entirely at his mercy. Nothing new had 
 occurred. No new intelligence had arrived. What, 
 then, is the explanation of this change in the powers of 
 the commissioner ? Evidently the cabal of the Admi- 
 ral's deadly enemies at court had been bus3^ To 
 merely investigate was not enough in a case so desperate 
 and so far away. There was no time to lose. If Boba- 
 dilla should find it necessary, after full investigation, to 
 suspend the rule of the Admiral and his brothers, it 
 would be perilous to put off that act until another com- 
 mission could be sent out only after this one had re- 
 turned. Why not give the present commissioner a dis- 
 cretionary power, to be used in case of necessity? To 
 bring the generous and confiding heart of the Queen 
 to this extreme measure probably required time. She 
 appreciated the services of Columbus, which, if gold 
 and costly gems, pearls and silken fabrics were not 
 forthcoming as might have been expected from India, 
 had at least added unprecedented lustre to the 
 Spanish crown. If he had erred in some things, per- 
 chance for want of experience or because he did like 
 others, as in the case of enslaving the natives, he was 
 evidently loyal and conscientious. Would any one 
 else do better under such trying circumstances ? But 
 even Isabella was won over after a time, and con- 
 sented to the enlarged powers of the commission. 
 
 "To the counsellors, judges, magistrates, cavaliers, 
 gentlemen, officers, and inhabitants of the colony," — 
 so ran the address of one of the royal letters of May 
 2ist which announced Bobadilla as governor-general 
 
BOBADILLA'S FUNCTIONS. 433 
 
 of the Indies, with civil and criminal jurisdiction, and 
 then continued — " We order and command all cavaliers 
 and other persons now on these islands or arriving 
 hereafter to quit them if the said commander, Fran- 
 cisco Bobadilla, judge it necessary for our service, 
 and not to return thither, but to repair immediately 
 to us. For this purpose, by our present letters, we 
 confer on him all necessary powers, and order every 
 one to obey his orders at once without waiting to con- 
 sult us or to get further instructions, and without ap- 
 peal, under such penalties as he may impose in our 
 name," ^ etc., etc. 
 
 The other letter, designating Columbus simply as 
 the Admiral of the ocean, orders him and his brothers 
 to surrender every royal possession and appurtenance of 
 the island to the new governor, under the penalties ap- 
 pointed for those refusing to obey such orders given by 
 the King. Five days later the sovereigns addressed a 
 letter directly to the Admiral, ordering him to believe 
 and obey whatever Bobadilla might demand, and to 
 make his power as unlimited as possible the monarchs 
 signed blanks which he might fill out and use at his 
 discretion. We shall hereafter see that he used them 
 in the most unwarrantable manner. 
 
 These letters conceded everything for the ruin of Co- 
 lumbus which his bitterest enemies might demand. 
 Now it simply remained to so instruct and influence 
 Bobadilla — himself, perhaps, a member of the vindictive 
 cabal at court — to precipitate matters without due inves- 
 tigation ; in other words, to prejudge the case; then 
 the guilty culprits, who might well dread the results of 
 
 1 Navarrete Col. Doc. Dipl., cxxviii. 
 
434 
 
 INDIAN SLA VES RETURNED. 
 
 a thorougli and impartial inquiry, would at once escape 
 justice and secure their victim. 
 
 Still the commission was delayed. But in the follow- 
 ing autumn the ships arrived with the returned rebels, 
 bringing the slaves which the straitened circumstances 
 had compelled Columbus to allow the haughty insur- 
 gents, as well as those they had carried away by force 
 after they left him. Among these were decoyed 
 daughters of the caciques, some of whom were about 
 to become mothers, and others had infants in their arms. 
 The motherly heart of the Queen rose in indignation, 
 for was not ever}^ one of these unhappy slaves handed 
 over by the Admiral ? So it was falsely claimed, and 
 so she no doubt believed. This, then, was the drop 
 which caused the cup to overflow. Las Casas says that 
 the Queen was so incensed at the sight of these slaves 
 that had it not been for her high sense of the eminent 
 service of Columbus she would at once have brought 
 him into disgrace. " What right has the Admiral to 
 give away my subjects?" she exclaimed, and at once 
 ordered them sent back, allowing those of the former 
 shipments to remain only because they had been taken 
 as lawful captives in war. Then had not the Admiral 
 just asked to have the lease for enslaving the Indians 
 continued a while longer ? And all this after her 
 repeated protestations ! 
 
 Near the middle of July, 1500, Bobadilla left Spain 
 for San Domingo. His two caravels bore twent3^-five 
 soldiers enlisted for a year, and six friars to take charge 
 of the returning slaves and to evangelize the natives. 
 At daybreak of August 23rd these caravels appeared 
 just outside San Domingo, tacking as they awaited the 
 
BOBADILLA ARRIVES. 43^ 
 
 breeze from off the sea to bring them into the harbor. 
 The Admiral, that he might restore peace and order as 
 completely as possible, was at Fort Conception in the 
 midst of the thickest population and near the place 
 where the last move of the rebels had been made. The 
 adelantado and Roldan were in Zaragua for the same 
 purpose. Don Diego was therefore in command at Sau 
 Domingo. He supposed these white sails, seen in the 
 horizon from the fortress, were bringing victuals and 
 ammunition from vSpain, and as the Admiral had 
 asked the sovereigns to send out his son Diego, might 
 he not also be on board ? At once a boat was sent out 
 to make inquiries. Bobadilla appeared in person on his 
 ship to announce himself a commissioner sent out by 
 the King to investigate the affairs of the late revolt, 
 and to say that Diego was not on board. He then 
 asked the news and learned of Moxico's sequel to the 
 rebellion of Roldan — his punishment, and that of his 
 accomplices — seven rebels hanged in one week. He 
 also ascertained how Requelme and Guevara, now in 
 prison, awaited their execution. In short, he got an 
 epitome of the news in general. At no time in the 
 history of the rule of Columbus could one have found 
 in the Indies a state of things more calculated to con- 
 firm prejudice as to the cruelty so long alleged against 
 him. Behold those Spaniards dangling on gibbets, one 
 on either side of the habor — the ghastly faces familiar, 
 possibly, to him or to some of his men ! Was not all 
 this quite enough to move the blood of a man capable 
 of seeing but one side of a case, and that side already 
 pretty clear to him before he left Spain ? 
 
 The little town of San Domingo was all alive to the 
 
436 
 
 BOBADILLA IN THE HARBOR. 
 
 new-comers. A coinmissiouer to investigate the affairs 
 of the island ! Knots gathered here and there to dis- 
 cuss the matter. The guilty were in fear and trem- 
 bling. Those who had suffered wrong, those who 
 thought the}^ had suffered wrong — especially those 
 suffering from lack of pay — all were in high glee, for 
 was not here " a Daniel come to judgment " ? A whole 
 fleet of boats hurried out to meet the caravel bearing 
 this important personage, to whom every one wished to 
 do homage. Throughout the day Bobadilla remained 
 on board his ship, listening to the reports and the 
 gossip of those who gathered about him. Of course, 
 those whose guilt was the greatest, and who were there- 
 fore the most anxious for the ruin of the Admiral, had 
 most to say, and by the time he was ready to go ashore 
 he was also about ready to conclude the case. 
 
 That all things might be done decently and in order, 
 he went straight to church with his followers on land- 
 ing the next morning and heard mass. The Admiral's 
 brother, Don Diego, and many prominent persons in the 
 colony were present. When they went out of the 
 church door after mass a great crowd had gathered in 
 front. A crier read Bobadilla's letter of March 21st in 
 a loud voice. This was the letter which requested him 
 to make strict inquiry into the late rebellion, and to 
 arrest and punish the guilty according to the full rigor 
 of the law. The letter being read, he ordered Don 
 Diego and the justices to deliver over to him Requelme, 
 Guevara, and all the other prisoners, with the evidences 
 against them. Their accusers, and those who had 
 arrested them, must also appear. Don Diego replied 
 that he was acting under the Admiral, whose powers 
 
BOBADILLA ASSERTS HIMSELF. 437 
 
 were greater than those of BobacliHa. If the latter 
 would give him a copy of the royal letter, he would for- 
 ward it to his brother, who alone could answer to this 
 demand. He had no discretionary power in the matter. 
 Bobadilla, with great disdain, refused to give a copy of 
 the letter to one who could do notJiing^ and closed with a 
 violent threat. If he had no authority as a commis- 
 sioner, he might have as governor. They should soon 
 learn that he had a right to command them all, the 
 Admiral not excepted. 
 
 Appearing at the church again the next morning, he 
 had concluded to assume al a bound that high authority 
 which had been implied in his commission only as a 
 last resort — in case of the Admiral's extreme culpa- 
 bility, as established after the fullest and most careful 
 investigation. The crowd at the door was larger than 
 on the day' before, and they were all a-tiptoe to catch 
 the final word from the new magistrate. On coming 
 out from mass, in the presence of Don Diego and the 
 notables of the town, the notary read Bobadilla's letters 
 of the advanced commission, given May 21st, which 
 appointed him governor-general of the Indies. He 
 then took the accustomed oath of office, and, thus 
 invested with the highest authority, again demanded 
 the prisoners in the fort. The answer given was the 
 same as before. 
 
 This aroused Bobadilla's wrath, especially since he 
 saw that Don Diego's firmness had its effect on the 
 people. He then produced the royal order command- 
 ing the Admiral and those under him to surrender the 
 forts, vessels, and all else pertaining to their Majesties' 
 service ; and that there might be nothing lacking to in- 
 
438 OPPOSITION BY MIGUEL DIAZ. 
 
 fluence the people he also read the order of May 30th, 
 charging him to pay all arrears to those in the royal 
 service, and to compel the Admiral to square his own 
 personal accounts. 
 
 This last point carried the day, for in consequence of 
 the low estate of the treasur}^ there was a long column 
 of arrears due many of those present. There were 
 loud shouts of applause. With this demonstration of 
 the popular favor, Bobadilla again demanded the sur- 
 render of the prisoners, and again was refused as before. 
 Appealing to the loyalty of the crowd for old Castile 
 and their sympathy for the suffering prisoners, he made 
 his way to the fort to take it by force ; and, either from 
 curiosity or a disposition to aid, he was followed by all. 
 The fort was in the command of Miguel Diaz, the same 
 notable person who, having fled from the adelantado in 
 danger and disgrace, had won the heart of the female 
 cacique and reported the gold-mines of Hayna. He 
 stood on the top of the wall of the closed and empty 
 fort, with but a single companion at his side ; and when 
 the call came for him to surrender he took the same 
 ground of refusal as Don Diego had done. The parley 
 was of some length, Diaz protesting that he held the 
 fort under the high authority of the Admiral, who had 
 gained that country at the cost of sweat, toil, and danger ; 
 while Bobadilla reiterated his authority and showed 
 the royal seals. Now the scene is enough to make one 
 laugh, for Bobadilla and his crowd, with every kind of 
 a weapon, even to picks and spades, storm and shiver 
 the frail doors, designed only to keep out naked savages, 
 with as fearful an energy as if they had been attacking 
 huge gates of brass enclosing a garrison of thousands. 
 
BOBADILLA IN COLUMBUS'S HOUSE. 430 
 
 For might not these prisoners, condemned to die, be ex- 
 ecuted any moment ? They were brought out in their 
 chains and, having been asked a few questions, were 
 turned over to an officer named Espinosa. 
 
 Bobadilla now took possession of the Admiral's 
 house, appropriating his v/ares, furniture, plate, gold — in 
 fact, everything, even to his most secret papers. Those 
 who crowded around him, claiming arrears, he paid out 
 of the money he found ; for it is easy to pay debts with 
 other people's money, especially when we can thereby 
 gain an immense popularity. The next great step to 
 the popular favor was a proclamation of liberty for 
 every one to gather what gold he could for the next 
 twenty years, paying only an eleventh part to the 
 crown instead of a third. Now there would be a 
 stampede to the mines, and it would not be long before 
 every one would be rich ! 
 
 Rumor of what was going on soon reached Colum- 
 bus at Conception. He could not believe that any 
 such transactions were authorised by the crown. 
 Surely these were the acts of some private adventurer 
 like Ojeda. But for a stranger to proclaim himself 
 governor of the island, to take forcible possession of 
 the forts, the prisoners, and his own house, and threaten 
 to send him to Spain in irons — all this was too astound- 
 ing to take place as a mere private adventure. He 
 would at least go to Bonao and so be a little nearer to 
 this confusion. Here an officer brought him a copy of 
 Bobadilla's letters of authority. The last letter, how- 
 ever, commanding the acquiescence of Columbus, was 
 kept back. Was the new official beginning to discover 
 the rashness of his procedure ? 
 
440 COLUMBUS IN CHAINS. 
 
 To prevent this sudden overthow of tilings, and 
 secure a chance for reflection, Columbus sought to 
 gain time by writing a sort of temporizing letter to 
 Bobadilla, saying he would soon leave for Spain, and 
 he would then pass everything over into his hands. 
 He wrote also in some similar way to the Franciscans 
 who had just come over, and with whom he regarded 
 himself as more or less afi&liated. But neither party 
 made au}^ reply. 
 
 Bobadilla, instead of putting the late rebels on trial 
 as the first duty implied in his commission, was using 
 the blanks over the ro3^al seal in gathering their testi- 
 mony against Columbus. The latter was about to 
 announce his perpetual prerogatives, as those which 
 could not be revoked, when he received the final letter 
 from the sovereigns, commanding his submission, along 
 with Bobadilla's orders to appear before him at once. 
 Now his duty was plain. He at once set out, almost 
 unattended, for San Domingo. 
 
 He found his brother Diego already in chains on 
 one of the caravels, and Bobadilla was bustling about, 
 beating up an armed force, which he supposed would 
 be necessary in order to compel the Admiral to come 
 to terms. But the latter came as quietly " as a lamb 
 to the slaughter ;" whereupon Bobadilla, without a 
 word of explanation, put him in irons and thrust him 
 as a prisoner into the grim old fort, which still frowns 
 out upon the river, and from which men still watch 
 the approaching ships as Don Diego did the sails of 
 Bobadilla. Las Casas says, "He was an impudent 
 and shameless cook that riveted the irons on his mas- 
 ter's feet with the same alacrity and readiness as 
 
THE THREE BROTHERS IN PRISON. 441 
 
 tlioiigli lie were serving him some savory dish. I 
 knew the wretch, and think his name was Espinojja." 
 
 But Bobadilla was ill at ease so long as the brave 
 adelantado was abroad with an armed force, so he 
 demanded the Admiral to advise him by letter to come 
 in and surrender. In compliance with this request, 
 Don Bartholomew was urged to submit quietly to the 
 authority of the sovereigns, assuring him that their 
 best hope of a just hearing would be in Spain. The 
 advice was taken, and the brave adelantado, who had 
 so often risked his life in the interests of the colony, 
 was at once loaded with irons, and confined in a cara- 
 vel apart by himself. Thus the three brothers were 
 kept entirely separate, and not onl}- would Bobadilla 
 not so much as see them or in any way communicate 
 witli them, but all others were forbidden to do so under 
 the severest penalties. 
 
 Having thus placed the three outraged brothers 
 beyond the possibility of making any self-defence, he 
 set himself to work to accumulate evidences against 
 them. Instead of investigating the late rebellions and 
 the heinous conduct of the many who had necessitated 
 severe punishments, he evidently had no sense of 
 duty, except to convict and displace the vicero3^ To 
 this end he called in as witnesses the late rebels — in 
 fact, all malcontents and mutineers, even to the lowest 
 rabble of the island. Instead of these wicked men 
 being made to feel the sting of their own guilt, which 
 had caused the disorders and miseries of the com- 
 munity, the way was made as easy and as inviting as 
 possible for them to be the accusers and defamers of 
 the man they had so shamefully injured. The conse- 
 
442 FALSE CHARGES. 
 
 quences of their own covetous rapines, their horrid 
 licentiousness, and their cruel oppressions of the help- 
 less natives v/ere all laid to the charge of the Admiral 
 and his brothers. From the old primal complaint — 
 how this upstart foreigner had compelled the hidalgos 
 of Spain to soil and blister their hands in menial toil — 
 to the latest slander — how he was trying to incite the 
 natives to aid him in revolting against the authorit}^ 
 of Spain — at which last charge Mr. Fiske aptly sa3^s, 
 "Satan from the depths of his bottomless pit must 
 have grimly smiled " — all was rehashed and served up 
 anew, without a dissenting voice to oppose their 
 exaggerations and falsehoods. " But calumny," says 
 Tarducci, " reached the extreme of impudence Vv^hen 
 he was charged with hindering the natives' conver- 
 sion. This accusation enables us to measure the 
 audacity and baseness with which not only the acts 
 but even the motives of Columbus were shamelessly 
 distorted, falsified, and presented in the most odious 
 and guilty aspect. The truth was that some savages 
 of mature age had shown a wish to become Christians, 
 and the missionaries, with ill-advised 2;eal, were dis- 
 posed to satisfy their wishes at once ; but the Admiral, 
 wisely judging that it was an abuse of the sacrament 
 to bestow it blindly on the first-comer, had ordered 
 their baptism deferred until they were instructed at 
 least in the fundamental truths of Christianity. For 
 the rest, in order to judge of the value of all that mass 
 of calumnies and accusations, it is enough to consider 
 what was imputed to him in regard to the Indians. 
 Some said he favored and caressed them in order to 
 use them at the proper time against the government ; 
 
THE REBELS AS WITNESSES. 443 
 
 others that he intentionally persecuted them by 
 tyranny and bloody wars, in order to have a pretext for 
 stripping them of everything they owned and selling 
 them as slaves to get money." 
 
 Bobadilla admitted " the rebels, his enemies, as wit- 
 nesses," says Fernando Columbus, "and publicly 
 favored all that came to speak ill of them (the Admiral 
 and his brothers), who in their depositions gave in such 
 villainies and incoherences that he must have been 
 blind who did not plainly perceive that they were 
 false and malicious."^ "In short," adds Mr. Fiske, 
 " from the day of his landing Bobadilla made common 
 cause with the insurgent rabble, and when they had 
 furnished him with a ream or so of charges against 
 the Admiral and his brothers it seemed safe to send 
 these gentlemen to Spain." 
 
 Columbus, in his close confinement, was left to con- 
 jecture the causes of hisiarrest. No charges had been 
 preferred, no explanations given. He was spared the 
 humiliation of seeing the "many scandalous libels set 
 up at corners of streets against " him, but he could 
 hear the hoots and jeers of the rabble outside and the 
 " blowing of horns about the port." But, in the midst 
 of all this shameless persecution, where is the governor, 
 sent out to put down insurrection and rebellion ? Does 
 he notice James Ortez, governor of the hospital, as he 
 reads his ^horrid libel publicly in the market-place ? 
 Certainly ; but instead of the word of rebuke, he has a 
 look of complacency. Aye, here in the cheerless prison 
 sits the indefatigable discoverer of the New World, 
 loaded with iron, stripped even of his necessary cloth- 
 
 1 Fernando Columbus, cap. 86. 
 
444 
 
 ALONZO DE VILLEGO. 
 
 ing, without indictment or trial, while the most lusty 
 rebels and the vilest criminals are not only acquitted 
 without the semblance of a trial, but are exalted in the 
 public favor as those who dared to resist tyranny and 
 misrule. 
 
 No doubt Bobadilla designed to be very discreet in 
 his choice of the man who was to take the noted pris- 
 oners to Spain. Here was Alonzo de Villego, who had 
 just come out with him. This noble youth was a 
 nephew of Cervantes, Fonseca's friend, and a protege of 
 the bishop's own household. He would safely deliver 
 the Genoese tyrants in chains, either to Fonseca or to 
 his uncle. But Villego was too just and magnanimous 
 to be measured by the ugly narrowness and cruelty of 
 Bobadilla, or to be influenced by the bitter enmity of 
 Fonseca. " Alonzo de Villego was an hidalgo of noble 
 character, and my particular friend,'" says Las Casas. 
 
 '' Villego, whither are you taking me ? " inquired 
 Columbus, startled from his sad prison reverie. 
 
 " To the ship, my lord, on which w^e are to embark," 
 was the reply, in tones of respect and cordiality. 
 
 " To embark, Villego ? Is what you tell me the real 
 truth ? " cried the Admiral, in a tone of surprise ; for 
 he was expecting to be led to the scaffold. 
 
 " On my honor, my lord, it is the truth." 
 
 The Admiral's deep, expressive e3^e kindled with joy, 
 for he seemed to be stepping out of an ignominious 
 grave into the free light of life. The good Las Casas 
 gives us this affecting bit of colloquy, which he, no 
 doubt, received from the lips of Villego. 
 
 Early in October the caravels left the harbor, bearing, 
 along with the criminals, an immense bundle of accu- 
 
THE HOMEWARD VOYAGE. ^^c 
 
 sations in the form of legal documents and private 
 letters, the latter being sent by many of the colonists 
 in approving attestation of the proceedings of Bobadilla. 
 They were barely out at sea, however, when Villego, 
 and Andrez Martin, the master of the ship, approaching 
 the Admiral with profound respect, offered to remove his 
 chains. " No," was his reply ; " I appreciate your 
 good-will, but cannot accede to your proposal. Their 
 Majesties wrote to me to submit to everything Bobadilla 
 might command in their name. It was in their name 
 he loaded me with these chains, and I will carry them 
 till the King and Queen order them taken off. In the 
 future I will keep them as a token of the recompense 
 bestowed on my services."^ 
 
 " Ever afterwards I used to see them in his chamber,"^ 
 says Fernando, " and when he was about to die he 
 wished them to be buried with him." 
 
 The weather was fair and the wind favorable, and in 
 a little more than a month the prisoners were in Spain, 
 having received the most kindly attention from the 
 gentlemen in charge. When the tall, stately figure of 
 the gray-haired man, reminding one of the descriptions 
 of the senators of ancient Rome, appeared in Spain, 
 loaded down with the prison chains of the vilest crimi- 
 nal, the reaction of public sentiment was immense, and 
 the outburst of indignation was so great that the sov- 
 ereigns soon found it necessary to disclaim all responsi- 
 bilit}^ in so palpable an outrage. Whatever the mis- 
 takes of Columbus might have been, to send him home 
 from the New World he had discovered through so 
 
 1 Las Casas, Hist. Ind., lib. i, cap. clxxx. 
 * Fernando Colombus, cap. Ixxxvi. 
 
446 
 
 COL UMB US ' 6- LE TTER. 
 
 much risk, hardship, and peril, loaded down in irons, was 
 infinitely too much for common sense and common 
 sympathy. Bobadilla, representing Fonseca and the 
 rest of the Admiral's enemies, had shot beyond his 
 mark. 
 
 In his complete humiliation, Columbus did not ven- 
 ture to address the sovereigns, but his deeply affecting 
 letter to the nurse of Prince Juan — the intimate friend 
 of the Queen — would be sufficiently direct. Its burn- 
 ing appeals, so deeply founded in the facts of the case, 
 were enough to bring up the blush from the coldest 
 heart. No one can read this letter without the pro- 
 foundest feelings of compassion ; and if the narrative 
 is sometimes incoherent, as being the utterances of a 
 heart thrown into a tempest of emotion rather than the 
 studied statements of cool reason, they are only the 
 more affecting. In advance of all other communications, 
 this letter was sent secretly by express to the court. 
 The images in the picture might be somewhat broken, 
 but on the whole it was a faithful mirror of the pano- 
 rama of the late outrage and persecution. Isabella w^as 
 wellnigh heart-broken. Bveu the cool, calculating 
 Ferdinand was intensely moved. Most emphatically 
 disavowing the rash and cruel proceedings of Bobadilla, 
 and announcing that he had gone contrary to their in- 
 structions, they did not even wait for his files of accu- 
 sation, but immediately ordered the prisoners' chains 
 stricken off and that they should be treated with the 
 utmost respect. A very cordial letter was then written 
 to Columbus, expressing their unqualified displeasure 
 at the indignities and sufferings he had endured, and in- 
 viting him to appear at court. This invitation was 
 
COLUMBUS BEFORE THE SOVEREIGNS. 447 
 
 backed up by 2,000 ducats, to enable him to come into 
 their presence in a style becoming his rank. 
 
 " He came thither on the 17th of December," says 
 Herrera. This meeting of the aggrieved and out- 
 raged Admiral with the sovereigns is one of the most 
 affecting scenes in history. He knelt in their presence, 
 his venerable, manly form shaken with the grief due 
 to the great wrongs which he had received in return 
 for his incalculable services. The King was moved; 
 Isabella was in tears. The Admiral wept and sobbed 
 like a heart-broken child, " not being able to utter a 
 word," says Herrera, " for the greatness of the concern 
 he had upon him. They bade him rise, and then he 
 made a lamentable speech, protesting that it had 
 always been his intention and desire to serve them 
 with the utmost fidelity; and that if he had been 
 guilty of any mistakes, they had been occasioned 
 throuo^h want of knowing better, having always 
 believed that what he did was for the best." 
 
 This was a scene over which a court might well 
 weep. So great a wrong to so great a benefactor finds 
 no parallel in history. 
 
 For the sovereigns the situation was exceedingly 
 embarrassing. How should they free themselves from 
 accountability in an act so outrageous as this of Boba- 
 dilla, their commissioner ? How might they conciliate 
 the common indignation ? How far they were respon- 
 sible the world may never know. Common sense will 
 always justify the words of Columbus: " I have been 
 wounded extremely by the thought that a man should 
 have been sent out to make inquiry into my conduct 
 who knew that if he sent home a very aggravated 
 
448 
 
 BOBADILLA DISCLAIMED. 
 
 account of the result of his investigation he would 
 remain at the head of the government." Too much 
 power this, altogether, for one man, especially such a 
 man as Bobadilla. " While Fonseca had some of the 
 wisdom along with the venom of the serpent," sa3^s 
 Mr. Fiske, " Bobadilla was simply a jackass, and 
 behaved so that in common decency the sovereigns 
 were obliged to disown him. They took no formal or 
 public notice of his written charges against the Ad- 
 miral, and they assured the latter that he should be 
 reimbursed for his losses and restored to his viceroy- 
 alty and other dignities." 
 
 This promise, however, could not be fulfilled at 
 present. The rage of the Castilians in Hispaniola 
 against the Admiral, if wellnigh subdued \>y his 
 triumphs alike over them and the natives just before 
 the arrival of Bobadilla, had been so encouraged and 
 stimulated by the indiscretions of that of&cial that the 
 immediate return of the viceroy was out of the ques- 
 tion. 
 
 " When the two caravels that carried away the 
 Admiral and his brothers from Hispaniola were gone," 
 says Herrera, " Francis de Bobadilla, the new governor, 
 made it his whole study to please the Spaniards, who 
 were about three hundred, the Admiral having 
 informed their Majesties that it was a sufficient num- 
 ber to keep the island in subjection, especially since 
 they had taught the dogs to bite, for one single Span- 
 iard went about as safe with a dog as if he had been 
 guarded by a hundred men. Bobadilla, in the first 
 place, speedily concluded all the proceedings about those 
 that were to have been hanged, clearing them and 
 
BOBADILLA'S MEASURES. 440 
 
 Francis Roldan and all the rest that were guilty, hon- 
 oring and rewarding them, which was very disagreeable 
 to those who had behaved themselves well, who said 
 that if they had lived in a disorderly manner and 
 ruined the island they should have been rewarded. 
 Bobadilla having been so free in granting that the King 
 should have only the eleventh part of the gold that was 
 found, besides many other liberties, the Spaniards made 
 bold to ask him to give them Indians to work at it for 
 them and to till the ground. He advised them to join 
 two and two in partnership, and appointed them the 
 people belonging to the caciques, bidding them make 
 the best use of their time, for they knew not how long 
 it would last, little regarding the oppression of the 
 Indians ; and thus the Spaniards were better pleased 
 with that libertine sort of life than the discipline they 
 had been kept under by the Admiral." 
 
 To relieve Columbus for two years at least from the 
 pandemonium he would have now found in Hispaniola, 
 in consequence of the above mismanagement, would 
 seem to have been a very kind and merciful provision. 
 Probably Isabella was sincere in endorsing it, but it is 
 more than probable that it was only a pretext with Fer- 
 dinand. The boundaries of the newly discovered 
 country had been very suggestively enlarged by the 
 several expeditions which had recently sailed on their 
 own account. Ojeda's voyage to the pearl regions of 
 Paria and far to the westward in 1499 was soon fol- 
 lowed by that of Pedro Alonzo Nino along Cuba and 
 Paria, bringing back immense stones of gold and pearls, 
 obtained in exchange for a few cheap baubles and 
 trinkets. If Vicente Yanez Pinzon, who also made a 
 
450 PERPLEXITT OF FERDINAND . 
 
 voyage in 1499, was not equall}- successful in a commer- 
 cial point of view, he had reported an immense stretch 
 of discover}^ from the easternmost shores of Brazil, past 
 the mouth of the Amazon, across the Gulf of Pari a, the 
 Caribbean Sea, and the Gulf of Mexico. Had he not 
 extended the newl}- discovered country to regions be- 
 yond the equator, where he could no longer be guided 
 by the polar star? Who could conjecture what intelli- 
 gence and profit Rodrigo de Bastidas, accompanied by 
 La Cosa and Vasco Nunez Balboa, might bring back 
 in return from the voj^age just undertaken in order to 
 extend the explorations of Ojeda bej^ond the Bay of 
 Venezuela ? Had not John and Sebastian Cabot intro- 
 duced Eugland to the coasts in the north ? Were not 
 English ships reported as prowling about among his 
 newly discovered islands ? What must have been his 
 musings on hearing from the ship which Cabral, on his 
 way to India, had sent back to report the finding of a 
 territor}^ to the southeast of the Gulf of Paria, extend- 
 ing east of the Pope's line ! Ferdinand was bewil- 
 dered with the news of so much new country. It must 
 be colonized at once by local governments, all under 
 the general government established at San Domingo. 
 But it would never do to establish a viceroy there, who 
 was a foreigner, and who had the power to transmit all 
 his prerogatives and powers to his descendants for- 
 ever! 
 
 Meanwhile, was there not other employment for this 
 restless old Genoese mariner? He had discovered 
 strong currents moving to the westward, along the 
 Pearl Coast, and believed there was a passage some- 
 where to the west, south of Cuba, which would admit 
 
NICHOLAS DE OVANDO. 4^1 
 
 him to some large sea about the Golden Chersonesus. 
 Here he might become as rich as Vasco de Gama had 
 proved himself on return from Calacut, in India. 
 Therefore, when the King proposed a fourth voyage of 
 discovery to the Admiral, in order that he might find 
 this much-desired passage, the scheme was adopted 
 without mucli hesitation. Affairs at Hispaniola were 
 too stormy for Columbus to be returned at once. Boba- 
 dilla must be removed as soon as possible. The per- 
 son chosen to supersede him for the present was 
 Nicholas de Ovando, who, according to Las Casas, had 
 a high character for sobriety and justice. He was in- 
 vested with great authority over all the newly dis- 
 covered territories. One-third of all the gold on hand 
 and half of all which should be accumulated after his 
 arrival was to be laid aside for the royal exchequer. 
 All trade should be in the monopoly of the crown. The 
 colonists should dwell, as much as possible, in commu- 
 nities. All supplies must come through the royal fac- 
 tor. Every effort must be made for the conversion of 
 the natives, who could now work the mines on wages 
 from the crown. As the natives were dying at an alarm- 
 ing rate under the exhaustive labors in the mines, the 
 negroes, a hardier race, might be introduced to take their 
 place, as slaves. Those born in Spain were preferred, 
 perhaps, on account of their better influence over the 
 natives. Would not the raw heathen recruits from 
 Africa be demoralizing? Columbus might appoint an 
 agent to look after his affairs in Hispaniola, especially 
 the restitution of his property which Bobadilla had 
 appropriated. Alonzo Sanchez de Carvajal was chosen. 
 Ovando's fleet, which sailed February 13, 1502, 
 
452 
 
 OVANDO'S FLEET. 
 
 was a striking display of official pomp and magnifi- 
 cence. The thirty ships included a considerable num- 
 ber of heavy tonnage, and the 2,500 people comprised 
 many cavaliers and persons of rank. The governor, 
 brilliant in silks and brocade, had a body-guard of 
 twenty-two esquires, mounted and foot. There were 
 no prison-convicts this time, but respectable married 
 men, with their families. Humooldt has but expresses 
 the feelings of historical students in general in con- 
 trasting this grand fleet of the new governor with the 
 paltry squadron which was to bear away on one of the 
 most perilous voyages the Admiral to whose active 
 enterprise, courage, and heroic sufferings Spain was in- 
 debted for these new regions of boundless promise. 
 
 But it was not a mere popularity of the new gov- 
 ernor which induced so large an embarkation. The 
 voyages of the late adventurers had brought the New 
 World into notoriety. The pearl-bearing coasts of 
 Paria were now regarded as a real source of wealth, and 
 the gold-mines of Hayna were " panning out " so largely 
 as to create a new sensation. The colonists, too, were 
 becoming acclimated, and some semblance of civiliza- 
 tion had obtained. People might now hope to live with 
 comfort in the Indies. 
 
 But the gay ships were soon writhing in a terrible 
 gale. " A large ship was immediately sunk, called 
 Rabida, carrying one hundred and twenty men ; the 
 rest were dispersed, throwing overboard all that was 
 upon deck. Two caravels also that came from the 
 Canaries, laden with sugar, were cast away, and the sea 
 drove the chests, casks, and timber of them on the 
 coast of Cadiz and other parts, as well as what had 
 
STORM A T SEA . .^^ 
 
 been on board the ship La Rabida. Hence it was gen- 
 erally concluded that the whole fleet had been lost in 
 that tempest, and the news flew to their Majesties, who 
 were still at Granada, which grieved them so much that 
 they retired for eight days and would be seen by no- 
 body." ^ The fleet, less one, reached San Domingo the 
 middle of April, 1502. 
 
 How w^as the active mind cf CMumbus occupied 
 during these years of waiting? He was composing 
 his Libros de las Proficias^ a treatise on the fulfilment of 
 certain prophesies, particularh^ in Isaiah, in which he 
 sees his achievements as a realization. This manu- 
 script, not in the handwriting of Columbus, however — 
 for his rheumatic hand was probably incapacitated—is 
 still in the Biblioteca Columbina at Seville. Certain 
 selections from it have been published in the famous 
 collection of documents by Navarrete. iZc was still 
 impressed with the duty of rescuing the Holy Sepul- 
 chre — how" could he, a son of Genoa, that victim of the 
 Aloors and seat of the Crusades, feel otherwise ? — and 
 appealed to the sovereigns for support in the under- 
 takino-. He believed that the end of the world was 
 near — within some 155 j^ears. This notion was based 
 on an opinion of St. Augustine, that the ^yorld would 
 endure but 7,000 years, nearl}^ all of w^hich time, 
 according to the most approved methods of reckoning, 
 was then passed. A letter written to the Pope about 
 this time regards the suspension of his titles and 
 riehts as a device of Satan to prevent his anticipated 
 enterprise in respect to the H0I3" Sepulchre. Hum- 
 boldt, finding the early career of Columbus marked 
 
 Herrera. 
 
454 TITLES AND PREROGATIVES. 
 
 with a deep and earnest piety, adds : " The religious 
 sentiment thus early evinced by Columbus became 
 converted, with increasing years and under the in- 
 fluence of the persecutions which he had to encounter, 
 into a feeling of melancholy and morbid enthusiasm." 
 This is no doubt true. But, under all and over all, 
 we discover a sublime faith in the unerring results of 
 Divine Providence. 
 
 It was about this time that Columbus attested before 
 a notary in Seville those documents af&rming his 
 titles and prerogatives which are so carefully pre- 
 served at Genoa. 
 
 " We are told by the Decurions of Genoa," says Mr. 
 Robert Dodge, " that the library of the Count Michael 
 Angelo Cambiasi, a former Senator of that city, was, 
 after his death, in July, 1816, advertised for sale. Its 
 catalogue contained as one of its Nos. the ' Codice die 
 Privilegii del Colombo.' The Decurions of Genoa, 
 anxious to procure this treasure, had the public sale ad- 
 journed until the King's answer had been received to 
 their memorial on the subject. The King of Sardinia, 
 Victor Emanuel, earnestly seconded their wishes, order- 
 ing the originals to be deposited in the archives of the 
 court at Turin, where, an accurate cop}^ having been 
 taken, at the solicitations of the Decurions of Genoa, 
 the originals were given up to them and the copy left 
 at Turin. The originals were received by Genoa on the 
 29th day of January, 1821, and shortly after a beautiful 
 monument or ciistodia^ being a marble pillar surmounted 
 by a bust of Columbus, was erected as their honored 
 depository, and placed in an apartment in the beautiful 
 marble palace of the Doges of Genoa. 
 
THE CUSTODIA. 
 
 " A small door of gilded 
 bronze, iu tlie centre, opens 
 to still another door of simi- 
 lar material, behind which, 
 in their golden receptacle, are 
 preserved the sacred relics. 
 The closet is secured by two 
 keys, which are kept respec- 
 tivety as appurtenances of of- 
 fice by the Senator and by 
 the Cardinal Legate of Ge- 
 noa, during their terms of of- 
 fice. To see the relics, both 
 kej^s must be obtained on 
 written application to these 
 dignitaries. 
 
 ''The documents contained 
 in this monument to Colum- 
 bus consist of forty -four sepa- 
 rate charters, warrants, or- 
 ders, and grants of privileges, 
 beautifully engrossed on vel- 
 lum by the art of the copyist 
 and illuminator of that age, 
 and the (3) autograph letters 
 of Columbus. 
 
 " The documents are en- 
 closed in a bag of richly gilt 
 and embossed scarlet Spanish 
 leather, with a silver lock, ^ 
 being the ' book of copies of 
 his letters and privileges,' 
 
 455 
 
456 
 
 TRANSLATION OF LETTER. 
 
 which in 1502, when he set off upon his fourth and last 
 voyage, he entrusted to the care and guardianship of 
 Signor Francesco de Rivarolo, to forward to his intimate 
 friend at Genoa, ' the most learned doctor,' as he styles 
 him, and ' the embassador ' Signor Nicolo Oderigo, for 
 his safe-keeping and preservation."^ 
 
 Of the autograph letters contained in the custodia^ two 
 are addressed to Oderigo, the first dated March 21, 
 J502, just before the Admiral sailed on his fourth voy- 
 age ; the second.^ December 27, 1504, soon after his 
 return. The third letter is addressed to the Bank of St. 
 George in Genoa, and is given \\\ facsimile on the fol- 
 lowing page. 
 
 The following is the translation : 
 
 High Noble Lords : Although the body walks 
 about here, the heart is constantly over there. Our 
 Lord has conferred on me the greatest favors to any 
 one since David. The results of my undertaking 
 already appear, and would shine greatly were they 
 not concealed by the blindness of the government. 
 I am going again to the Indies under the auspices of 
 the Holy Trinity, soon to return ; and since I am 
 mortal, I leave it with my son Diego that you may 
 receive every year, forever, one-tenth of the entire 
 revenue, such as it may be, for the purpose of reduc- 
 ing the tax upon corn, wine, and other provisions. 
 If that tenth amounts to something, collect it. If not, 
 take at least the will for the deed. I beg of you to 
 entertain regard for the son I have recommended to 
 you. Nicolo de Oderigo knows more about my own 
 affairs than I do myself, and I have sent him tran- 
 scripts of my privileges and letters for safe-keeping. 
 
 ^ See Robert Dodge's Memorials of Columbus. 
 
LETTER TO BANK OF ST. GEORGE. 
 
 * \J i 
 
 ^ ^ih fjo ^ Wjo^ j,«v%..^«-,> (j^-'^s*^ v«-wjjl / ^^' 
 
 ■F i i- 
 
 ^ 
 
 «>f^^ 
 
 ^A y 
 
458 
 
 TRANSLATION OF LETTER. 
 
 I should be glad if you could see them. My Lords 
 the King and Queen endeavor to honor me more than 
 ever. May the Holy Trinity preserve your noble 
 persons, and increase the most magnificent house 
 (of St. George). Done in Seville on the 2d day of 
 April, 1502. 
 
 Chief Admiral of the ocean. Viceroy 
 and Governor-general of the islands 
 and continents of Asia and the Indies 
 of my Lords the King and Queen, their 
 captain-general of the sea, and of their 
 council. 
 
 S. 
 S. A. S. 
 ^ X M Y 
 
 X,oo ferens. 
 
CHAPTER XX. 
 
 COLUMBUS'S FOURTH VOYAGE. 
 
 HE Strong current to the westward, between 
 South America and the larger West India 
 Islands, was not seeking an outlet in some 
 western channel, as Columbus supposed. It was that 
 equatorial current which, setting across from the 
 African coast, passes around at the west end of Cuba 
 and by the south shore of Florida, and then, bearing 
 away to the northeast just outside the Atlantic coast, 
 is known as the Gulf Stream, But the conjecture of 
 Columbus w^as about as correct as could have been 
 made at the time, and gave direction to this his last 
 voyage, which may be considered at once the most 
 trying and least important of them all. 
 
 As anticipated in his imagination, however, it was a 
 grand scheme. Locating his supposed /(^^-^ about where 
 that narrow tongue of land, the Isthmus of Darien, 
 separates two immense oceans, the Atlantic and the 
 Pacific, he intended to reach the Indies, from which 
 Vasco de Gama^ had recently brought so much treasure ; 
 and thus joining the country he had discovered with 
 the gorgeous orient of antiquity, pass over the Indian 
 ocean and around Africa, and return to Europe by 
 sailing around the globe. Had the v/orld but been 
 
 1 It would seem clear that the grand commercial and financial success of 
 de Gama's voyage to Calicut, 1497-1498, and the consequent jealousy in 
 Spain, was the mainspring to move Columbus in search of a pass direct to 
 the heart of India. 
 
460 
 
 THE VOYAGE IN FAVOR AT COURT 
 
 true to his conception, this would certainly have been 
 one of the grandest voyages ever mapped out, and it 
 would be simply carrying out his scheme, already in 
 mind, when he was on the south of Cuba during his 
 second voyage. Then his men were exhausted by the 
 hardships of a long and tedious expedition, his stores 
 were wellnigh consumed, and his ships honej^combed by 
 the teredo. Now he would start out fresh, with his aim 
 directly before him. 
 
 The King and Queen were profoundly interested in 
 the sketch of his plan, but some in the royal council 
 hesitated. Was not the treasury low ? Did they not 
 need their scant resources for more pressing claims ? 
 Besides, they had not yet received return letters from 
 Ovando. This official might disclose such turpitude 
 on the part of the Admiral in Hispaniola as would 
 prevent his freedom on the ocean ! But Ferdinand 
 was eager for the results of so promising an under- 
 taking, and Isabella would listen to no suggestion 
 which might deny the Admiral his small squadron. 
 How shamefully would such ingratitude contrast with 
 the grand fleet and princely retinue of Ovando, but now 
 sailing away to govern the vast territories discovered 
 by this same Admiral, who had just been sent home 
 from his country in chains ! 
 
 We know that the brave Bartholomew Columbus, who 
 was wanted as the companion of the great discoverer, 
 did not take very readily to the enterprise. If his peril- 
 ous efforts in the past had met with so poor an appre- 
 ciation, what had he to hope for in the future ? Indeed, it 
 would seem that there was finally some hesitancy on the 
 part of the Admiral himself. Why did the sovereigns send 
 
COL UMB US HESITA TES. ^gi 
 
 him the following significant lines ? — " Be assured that 
 your imprisonment was very displeasing to us, which you 
 were sensible of, and all men plainly saw, because as soon 
 we heard of it we applied the proper remedies. And 
 you know with how much honor and respect we have 
 always ordered you to be treated, which we now direct 
 should be done, and that you receive all worthy and 
 noble usage, promising that the privileges and preroga- 
 tives by us granted you shall be preserved in ample 
 manner, according to the tenor of our letters-patents, 
 which you and your children shall enjoy without any 
 contradiction, as is due in reason ; and if it be requisite 
 to ratify them anew we will do it, and will order that your 
 son be put into possession of all, for we desire to honor 
 and favor you in greater matters than these. And be 
 satisfied we will take the due care of your sons and 
 brothers, which shall be done when you are departed ; for 
 the employment shall be given to your son, as has been 
 said. We therefore pray you not to delay your de- 
 parture." " This their Majesties wrote," says Fernando 
 Columbus, " because the Admiral had resolved not to 
 trouble himself any more with the affairs of the Indies." 
 
 He adds : " The Admiral, having been well dispatched 
 by their Catholic Majesties, set out from Granada for 
 Seville in the year 1501, and being there, so earnestly 
 solicited the fitting out of his squadron that in a small 
 time he had rigged and provided four ships, the big- 
 gest of seventy, the least of fifty tons burden, and one 
 hundred and forty men and boys, of which number I 
 was one." 
 
 With these few frail vessels and this small number 
 of men, the Admiral, burdened with years and the in- 
 
462 
 
 THE FLEET SAILS. 
 
 firmities and diseases wliicli his many anxieties and 
 great hardships had brought on, was about to sail round 
 the world. But his mind was still buoyant with hope 
 and enthusiasm. His expressive gray eye could still 
 kindle with delight at the thought of disclosing some 
 new part of this great world to mankind. 
 
 Fernando, then scarcely fourteen years of age, must 
 have been susceptible of the most vivid impressions as 
 one event after another made up the history of the voy- 
 age. " We set sail from Cadiz,'' he says, " on the 9th of 
 May, 1502, and sailed to St. Catherine's, whence we 
 parted on Wednesday, the nth of the same month, and 
 went to Arzilla to relieve the Portuguese, who were re- 
 ported to be in great distress, but when we came thither 
 the Moors had raised the siege. The Admiral, there- 
 fore, sent his brother, D. Bartholomew Colon, and me, 
 with the captains of the ships, ashore, to visit the gov- 
 ernor of Ar2;illa, who had been wounded by the Moors 
 in an assault. He returned the Admiral thanks for the 
 visit and his offers, and to this purpose sent some gen- 
 tlemen to him, among whom were some relatives to 
 Dona Philippa Moniz, the Admiral's wife in Portugal. 
 The same day we set sail, and arriving at Gran Canaria 
 on the 20th of May, cast anchor among the little 
 islands, and on the 24th went over to Mospalomas, in the 
 same island, there to take in wood and water for our 
 voyage. The next night we set out for the Indies, and 
 it pleased God the wind was so fair that, without hand- 
 ling the sails, on Wednesday, the 15th of June, we 
 arrived at the island Matinino with a rough sea and 
 wind. There, according to the custom of those that sail 
 from Spain to the Indies, the Admiral took in fresh 
 
A BAD SAILING SHIP. ^5^ 
 
 wood and water, and made the men wash their linen, 
 staying till Satnrday, when we stood to the westward, 
 and came to Dominica, ten leagues from the other. So, 
 running along the Caribbee Islands, we came to Santa 
 Cruz, and on the 24th of the same month ran along the 
 south side of the island of St. John. Thence we took 
 the wa}^ for San Domingo, the Admiral having a mind to 
 exchange one of his ships for another, because it was a 
 bad sailer, and besides could carry no sail, but the side 
 would lie almost under water, which was a hindrance to 
 his voyage, because his design was to have gone directly 
 upon the coast of Paria and keep along that shore till 
 he came upon the strait, which he certainly con- 
 cluded was about Veragua and Nombre de Dios. But, 
 seeing the fault of the ship, he was forced to repair to 
 San Domingo to change it for a better." 
 
 But what was now the condition of this little com- 
 munity ? Ovando had arrived on the 15th of April. 
 His official pomp and splendid retinue and appoint- 
 ments threw Bobadilla completely into the shade. The 
 late governor-general's quasi popularity, founded only 
 in a catering to greed for gain and an indulgence of sin 
 and rebellion, now forsook him utterly. He was not 
 sufficiently noticed to be the subject of an accusation, or 
 even a harsh word. He was simply nonentity. 
 
 Roldan and his accomplices did not escape so easily. 
 They were the subjects of a searching investigation, 
 and most of them were ordered to Spain to answer for 
 their doings. But none of them seemed uneasy as to 
 the result. Had they not influential friends at the 
 court ? Was not Fonseca on their side — on the side of 
 any one who might be hostile to Columbus ? At any 
 
464 THE ROAST PIG. 
 
 rate, the great quantity of gold they were about to take 
 home would cover " a multitude of sins." 
 
 The returniug ships of Ovando's fleet were also to 
 take back the idle, dissolute, and good-for-nothing fel- 
 lows who, strolling over the island, were the occasion 
 of nearly all the disturbances. The flag-ship was to 
 carry Bobadilla and his vast quantity of gold, amassed 
 by cruelly oppressing the natives. This he confidently 
 hoped would be an ample makeweight against all charges 
 which might be brought against him. Roldan would 
 make him company ; and somewhere in the same ship 
 was stored away the kind-hearted and patient Guarionex, 
 who had been a prisoner in Fort Conception ever since 
 the Higuayan war. He was now to appear in Spain 
 a captive, in chains. In this same ship was placed 
 that famous nugget of gold which had been acci- 
 dentally raked out of a brook by an Indian girl. It was 
 estimated at 1,350,000 maravedis, or about two thou- 
 sand dollars. This remarkable find had been celebrated 
 by a grand dinner of roast pig, served on the enormous 
 mass of precious metal as a platter. What king had 
 dined off a plate like this ! But where was the poor 
 Indian girl at this time ? Las Casas thinks she was 
 lucky if she got a taste of the pig \ 
 
 In the poorest ship of the fleet sailed Carvajal, in 
 charge of four thousand pieces of gold belonging to 
 Columbus. Some of it was revenue recently collected, 
 and some was that which Bobadilla had been com- 
 pelled to restore. 
 
 The splendid fleet was all ready to sail on the 29th 
 of June, when the little squadron of Columbus ap- 
 peared. Pedro de Jerreros, one of his captains, was 
 
THE COMING TEMPEST. .5^ 
 
 sent at once to ask for the vessel needed in the place 
 of the one so extremely faulty, and to entreat permis- 
 sion to shelter the ships in the harbor during a com- 
 ing storm, of which the Admiral was exceedingly 
 apprehensive. Both these requests were denied. 
 
 If Columbus was refused shelter from the approach- 
 ing hurricane, he would do what he could to prevent 
 the destruction of the fleet about to sail. Immediately, 
 therefore, he sent back the of&cer to the governor, to 
 entreat him not to leave the harbor under eight days, 
 as there were unmistakable signs of a tempest just 
 at hand. 
 
 The sky was so clear, the air so calm, and the water 
 so smooth that the whole face of nature seemed to 
 contradict this prognostication. The pilots in the 
 harbor made a loud jest of the Admiral. Surely he 
 wa^s a false prophet ! But the practised eye of the old 
 seaman was not to be hoodwinked. Whether from 
 " the porpoises and other such like fishes playing upon 
 the surface of the water," or any " other such observa- 
 tions," ^ he could afford to act on his own prophesies. 
 His crews murmured at being under a man so out of 
 favor that they could not be allowed that privilege 
 of shelter which any stranger might claim. What 
 would they do in these far-off and dangerous waters if 
 any calamity should befall them in this coming 
 tempest ? " And though the Admiral was concerned 
 on the same account," says Fernando Columbus, 
 " yet it more vexed him to behold the baseness and 
 ingratitude used towards him in that country he had 
 given to the honor and benefit of Spain, being refused 
 
 ^ Herrera, Dec. i, book v, chap. i. 
 
466 THE ADMIRAL'S SHIPS. 
 
 to shelter his life iu it. Yet his prudence and judg- 
 ment secured his ships till the next day ; the tempest 
 increasing, and the night coming on very dark, three 
 ships broke from him, everj^ one its own way ; the 
 men aboard each of them, though all of them in great 
 danger, concluded the others were lost ; but they that 
 suffered most were those aboard the ship called 
 Santo, who, to save their boat which had been ashore 
 with the captain, Jerreros, dragged it astern, where 
 it overset, and were at last forced to let it go to save 
 themselves. But the caravel Bermuda was in much 
 more danger, w^hich, running out to sea, was almost 
 covered with it, by which it appeared the Admiral had 
 reason to endeavor to change it ; and all men con- 
 cluded that, under God, the Admiral's brother was 
 the saving of her by his wisdom and resolution, for, 
 as has been said above, there was not at that time a 
 more expert sailor than he. So that after they had 
 all suffered very much, except the Admiral, it pleased 
 God they met again upon Sunday following in the 
 port of Azua, on the south side of Hispaniola, where, 
 every one giving an account of his misfortunes, it 
 appeared that Bartholomew Colon had weathered so 
 great a storm by flying from land like an able sailor, 
 and that the Admiral was out of danger by l3^ing close 
 to the shore like a cunning astrologer, who knew 
 whence the danger must come. Well might his 
 enemies blame him, therefore, saying he had raised 
 that storm by art viagic, to be revenged on Bobadilla 
 and the rest of his enemies that were with him, seeing 
 that none of his four ships perished, and that of 
 eighteen ^ which set out with Bobadilla, only one, called 
 
 ^ The number is given as twentj-eight bj other writers. 
 
THE HURRICANE. ^5^ 
 
 La Aguja, or the Needle, the worst of them all, held 
 on its course for Spain, where it arrived safe, having 
 on board four thousand pesos in gold, worth eight 
 shillings a peso, belonging to the Admiral, the other 
 three that escaped returning to San Domingo, shat- 
 tered and in a distressed condition." 
 
 With flying colors, with songs and music, the 
 grand fleet of Bobadilla swelled its sails for the home- 
 ward vo3^age, but they had scarcely reached the 
 eastern end of the island when the fury of the hurri- 
 cane burst upon them. The midnight darkness, the 
 howling tempest, the electric blaze and thunder crash, 
 with an ocean lashed into wild fury — an inconceivable, 
 indescribable catastrophe, almost as sudden as an 
 earthquake, engulphed twenty-six ships. Bobadilla, 
 Roldan and his accomplices, and poor Guarionex 
 anticipated the tribunals of Spain. The fabulous 
 quantities of gold wrung from the suffering toils of 
 the oppressed natives, including the two-thousand- 
 dollar nugget, went down into the ocean's abyss with 
 them. 
 
 Las Casas, who was in Hispaniola at the time, says : 
 " We will not inquire now into this remarkable divine 
 judgment, for at the last day of the world it will be 
 made quite clear to us." To afiirni divine judgment 
 is at any time a great assumption. Who may draw 
 the line between mere fortuity in the forces of nature 
 and a special exercise of the divine will ? But it is 
 safe to say that the noted catastrophe referred to 
 appears as much like a divine visitation as anything 
 we could conceive ; and whoever believes in prov- 
 idence — and who does not ? — will be likely to regard 
 it as such. 
 
468 ^ BREATHING SPELL. 
 
 " The Admiral, in the port of Aziia, gave his men a 
 breathing time after the storm," says Fernando 
 Columbus, who was in the fleet, " and it being one of 
 the diversions used at sea to fish when there is nothing 
 else to do, I will mention two sorts of fish among the 
 rest which I remember were taken there ; the one of 
 them was pleasant, the other wonderful. The first 
 was a fish called saavina, as big as half an ordinary 
 bell, which, lying asleep above the water, was struck 
 with a harping iron from the boat of the ship Bisceina^ 
 and held so fast that it could not break loose ; but 
 being tied with a long rope to the boat, drew it after it 
 as swift as an arrow, so that those aboard the ship, 
 seeing the boat scud about, and not knowing the occa- 
 sion, were astonished it should do so without the help 
 of the oars, till at last the fish sunk, and being drawn 
 to the ship's side, was then hauled up with the tackle. 
 The other fish was taken after another manner ; the 
 Indians call it manatee, and there are none of the sort 
 in Europe ; it is as big as a calf, nothing differing 
 from it in the color and taste of the flesh, but that 
 perhaps it is better and fatter ; wherefore those that 
 affirm there are all sorts of creatures in the sea will 
 have it that these fishes are real calves, since within 
 they have nothing like a fish, and feed only on the 
 grass they find along the banks. "^ 
 
 After encountering another storm, they put out again 
 on the 14th of July, but the wind was so light that 
 they were carried away by the currents, first to some 
 islands near Jamaica, and to the Queen's. Gardens, 
 then on the south of Cuba. On the 27th, the wind 
 
 ^ The Manatus atnericanus, closely related to the Cetaceans. 
 
UNDER SAIL A GAIN. ^5 
 
 favoring, they sailed to the southwest, and on the 30th 
 reached the island Guanaja, now Bonacca, some 30 
 miles from the coast of Honduras. The second in size 
 of the Bay Islands, it is some 12 miles long and from one 
 to three miles wide, and rises 1,200 feet. The crews were 
 impressed with its fertility and verdure, especially its 
 lofty pines. The inhabitants were similar to those 
 found elsewhere in these parts, excepting their low 
 foreheads. 
 
 Notice that stately canoe, coming as if from a dis- 
 tance, probably from Yucatan ! Long as a galley and 
 eight feet wide, it has an elegant awning of palm 
 leaves over the centre, not unlike the cabin of a Vene- 
 tian gondola. Under this cozily sits a cacique with 
 his wives and children, protected alike from sun and 
 rain. Twenty-five Indians drive their strong paddles. 
 Strangely enough, they have no fear of the Spaniards, 
 but push right up to the side of the Admiral's caravel. 
 This canoe must be on a journey, for it is fairly filled 
 up with a great variety of manufactured articles and 
 with the various products of the locality — a sort of 
 voluntary exhibition of the things to be found here. 
 And are not some of these weapons superior to any 
 seen in these parts heretofore ? Those hatchets are 
 not of stone, but of copper ! Here are wooden swords 
 with double edges firmly set with sharp flints tied into 
 grooves with the dried intestines of fishes ; such swords 
 were afterwards found in Mexico. Here are bells, and 
 also other articles, made of copper, with the rude 
 crucible in which that metal was melted, and vessels 
 of clay and of marble, and utensils made of hard 
 wood. The provisions, too, are worth noticing — the 
 
470 
 
 A NB W STYLE OF NA TIVES. 
 
 cacao, used both as food and as money ; a sort of beer 
 made from maize ; also bread made from the same arti- 
 cle, and some made from roots. The women wear fine 
 cotton mantles, richly worked in gay colors, and the 
 men have cotton cloths about the loins. Both sexes 
 have a particular sense of modesty for Indians, which 
 is especially noticed by the. boy Fernando when they 
 are hauled over the side of the ship as captured per- 
 sons. "I must add," he says, " that we ought to 
 admire their modesty ; for it falling out that, in getting 
 them aboard, some were taken by the clouts they had 
 before their privities, they would immediatel}- clap 
 their hands to cover them ; and the women would hide 
 their faces, and wrap themselves up, as we said the 
 Moorish women do at Granada. This moved the 
 Admiral to use them well, to restore their canoe, and 
 give them some things in exchange for those that had 
 been taken from them. Nor did he keep 2cx\y one of 
 them but an old man, whose name was Giumba, who 
 seemed to be the wisest and chief of them, to learn 
 something of him concerning the country, and that he 
 might draw others to converse with the Christians, 
 which he did very readily and faithfully all the while 
 we sailed where his language was understood. There- 
 fore, as a reward for his services, when we came where 
 he was not understood, the Admiral gave him some 
 things, and sent him home very well pleased." 
 
 Those Indians in the canoe at the island had 
 endeavored, by signs, to tell something of the richness, 
 industry, and cultivation of their country to the west- 
 ward, and urged Columbus to steer in that direction. 
 As soon as they perceived that he was in search of 
 
WESTWARD OR EASTWARD :^ 4^1 
 
 gold, tliey gave him to understand that in their coun- 
 try the people wore heavy crowns made of it, and great 
 rings on their arms and legs ; that their chairs, tables, 
 and chests were covered with it, and even their cloths 
 were woven with it. When coral was shown them 
 they intimated that their women wore it profusely as 
 ornaments, hanging from the head down the back. 
 They also claimed to have plenty of pepper, and to 
 have ships, cannon, bows and arrows, swords, and all 
 kinds of armor. This was true Indian style, and there 
 may have been little or nothing in it ; but if Columbus 
 had gone westward and discovered Yucatan and 
 Mexico, who may conjecture how it might have 
 improved his fortunes ! 
 
 "Upon the information given by that old Indian,"^ 
 says Herrera, "the Admiral forbore proceeding to the 
 westward, which would have carried him to Yucatan 
 and New Spain, and, steering to the eastward,^ the first 
 land he saw was a point, which he called de Casinas, 
 because there were many trees on it, the fruit whereof 
 is a sort of little apples, good to eat, in his language 
 called casinas, as the Admiral said. The natives that 
 
 1 This old Indian could draw a rude chart of the coast, and probably con- 
 founding the isthmus with the Admiral's notion of a pass— for they could 
 communicate only by signs— completely gained his confidence as a guide to 
 the riches of the interior of India. 
 
 ~ That Columbus came eastward against the westward current, which sug- 
 gested his pass to India, has always been a mystery. But if Vespuccius's 
 first voyage, 1497-1498-which must have been known to the Admiral— was 
 westward^along the Honduras coast, and around Yucatan, the Gulf of Mexico, 
 and Florida, as Varnhagen has clearly shown, it is but in accordance with 
 Columbus's usual good sense that he should have tried a new route in search 
 of his desired pass, especiallv since his experienced Indian guide assured him 
 that such pass was in this direction. He must have learned by this time that 
 Cuba was an island, and that all along and around to the west and north 
 was a contini^ous continent. 
 
472 CHICKENS AND BEANS. 
 
 lived nearest to that point wore jackets of fine colors, 
 like the short shirts above spoken of, and small clouts 
 to cover their nakedness. On Sunday, the 14th of 
 August, the adelantado went ashore with many of the 
 men to hear mass, as they generally used to do when 
 they had an opportunity ; and the Wednesday follow- 
 ing he went again to take possession for their Catholic 
 Majesties, at which time he found above one hundred 
 of the natives on the shore, loaded with provisions, as 
 maize, fowl,^ venison, fish, and fruit. When they came 
 up to the adelantado, the Indians fell back without 
 speaking one word, and he ordered they should give 
 them looking-glasses, hawk's bells, pins, and the like ; 
 and the next day above two hundred men appeared in 
 the same place, loaded with such victuals, and several 
 sorts of lupines," like beans, and other fruit, for the 
 country is very fertile, green, and beautiful, where there 
 was an infinite multitude of pine trees, oaks, six or 
 seven sorts of palms, and many mirabolan-trees, bear- 
 ing a pleasant and odoriferous fruit. They understood 
 that there were leopards, and might have been informed 
 that there were many tigers. Those people had not 
 great foreheads, like the islanders, spoke several lan- 
 guages ; some of them were quite naked, others only 
 covered their privities, and others wore jackets without 
 sleeves, that reached not below their navels. Their 
 bodies were wrought with fire, like the Moors, some 
 having lions, others stags, or such like creatures drawn 
 on them ; instead of caps, they wore on their heads 
 cotton clouts, white and red, and some of them had tufts 
 of hair on their foreheads like fringes. 
 
 ^ Fernando Columbus says the fowls were large white hens aud geese. 
 2 Like red and white kidney^-beans, Fernando says. 
 
COAST OF THE EAR. 4^^ 
 
 " When they were fine for their festivals, some colored 
 their faces black, others red, others streaked with several 
 colors, others painted their chins and noses, and others 
 made their eyes very black, all which were looked npon 
 as great ornaments/ And because there were others 
 along that coast who made such great holes in their 
 ears that an ^gg might pass through them, he called 
 that part la Costa dc la Oirja^ or the Coast of the 
 Ear." 
 
 We must now follow the little fleet to the eastward, 
 along the Honduras coast, stemming the current which 
 here runs westward like a mighty river, and beating 
 against contrary winds. To quote the Admiral's own 
 language to the sovereigns : " Hence, as opportunity 
 afforded, I pushed on for terra firma in spite of the wind 
 and a fearful contrar}/ current, against which I con- 
 tended for sixty days, and during that time onl}'- made 
 seventy leagues. All this time I was unable to get 
 into harbor, nor was there any cessation of the tempest, 
 which was one continuation of rain, thunder and light- 
 ning; indeed, it seemed as if it were the end of the world. 
 I at length reached the Cape of Gracios a Dios, and 
 after that the Lord granted me fair wind and tide ; this 
 was on the twelfth of September. Eighty-eight days 
 did this fearful tempest continue, during which I was at 
 sea, and saw neither sun nor stars ; my ships lay ex- 
 posed, with sails torn, and anchors, rigging, cables, boats, 
 and a great quantity of provisions lost ; my people were 
 very weak and humbled in spirit, many of them prom- 
 ising to lead a religious life, and all making vows and 
 promising to perform pilgrimages, while some of them 
 
 1 To the boj Fernando Columbus they looked like devils. 
 
474 
 
 THE TEMPEST. 
 
 would frequently go to their messmates to make con- 
 fession. Other tempests have been experienced, but 
 never of so long a duration or so fearful as this ; many 
 whom we looked upon as brave men on several occasions 
 showed considerable trepidation ; but the distress of my 
 son who was with me grieved me to the soul, and the 
 more when I considered his tender age, for he was but 
 thirteen years old, and he enduring so much toil for so 
 long a time. Our Lord, however, gave him strength 
 even to enable him to encourage the rest, and he 
 worked as if he had been eighty years at sea, and all 
 this was a consolation to me. I myself had fallen sick, 
 and was many times at the point of death, but from a 
 little cabin that I had caused to be constructed on deck 
 I directed our course. My brother was in the ship that 
 was in the worst condition and the most exposed to 
 danger ; and my grief on this account was the greater 
 that I brought him with me against his will." ^ 
 
 An inexpressible relief it must have been to Colum- 
 bus and his crews when the ships rounded the cape to 
 go south along what is now known as the Mosquito 
 Coast. The eastern wind, against which the}^ had sailed 
 with so much toil and hardship for nearly two months, 
 was now on the bea?n^ and wafted them on delightfully. 
 In pious recognition of the relief, Columbus named the 
 cape Gracios a Dios — Thanks to God. The coast land- 
 scape along which they sailed was greatly varied. Here 
 a bold promontory, rugged and craggy, stretched out into 
 the sea ; there a fertile vale, with verdant banks laved 
 by charming rivers, delighted the eye. At the mouth 
 of this river grew immense reeds, large as a man's leg ; 
 
 ^ Major's Select Letters. 
 
LA HUERTA—THE GARDEN. 47 . 
 
 the outlet of another swarmed with fishes, tortoises, and 
 alligators. That cluster of twelve small islands near 
 the coast bore a fruit resembling the lemon. 
 
 Having sailed some sixty-two leagues in this direc- 
 tion, and being much in need of wood and water, on the 
 1 6th of September the boats were sent up a deep river, 
 but as they returned a strong wind from off the sea 
 brought the waves with such force against the current 
 of the river that one of the boats was engulfed, and all 
 on board were lost. This calamity cast a gloom over 
 the weary crews, and the Admiral himself was so im- 
 pressed with melancholy that he named this river El 
 Rio del Disasire. 
 
 On the 25th of September they reached an inviting 
 place of anchorage, in the mouth of a river, opposite 
 which was a most enchanting island, covered with 
 luxuriant groves of palms. Here was also the graceful 
 banana, with its curious blossoms and fruit at the same 
 time ; the cocoanut tree, and a most fragrant and 
 luscious fruit which the Admiral mistook for the 
 mirabolane of the Bast Indies. So odoriferous and 
 strikingly beautiful were the flowers and shrubs on 
 this island that he called it La Huerta — The Garden. 
 
 Scarcely a league away was an Indian town named 
 Cariari, finely located on a river. The country in 
 every direction was charmingly diversified with hill 
 and dale, and most luxuriant forests of such height 
 that, as Las Casas says, they seemed to reach the sky. 
 
 The natives, alarmed at the unwonted appearance 
 of the ships, rushed to the shores, some armed " with 
 bows and arrow^s, others with staves of palm-tree, as 
 black as a coal and hard as horn, pointed with the 
 
476 
 
 WEAPONS OF WAR. 
 
 bones of fishes, others with clubs."^ The men, with 
 hair braided and wrapped around their heads, and the 
 women, with hair trimmed short, were all alike intent 
 on the defence of their country. The Spaniards, 
 however, made no attempt to land, but for two days 
 remained on their ships, quietly resting or looking 
 after their damaged provisions and their ships, already 
 the worse for the voyage. The natives, seeing no 
 signs of war on the part of the strangers, were 
 inclined to be friendly. Being partially clothed, they 
 take off their mantles and wave them like banners, 
 thus inviting the Spaniards to land. They even swim 
 to the ships, bringing their rude arms, " cotton jerkins 
 and large pieces like sheets, and guanhiics^ which is 
 pale gold they wear about their necks." But the 
 Admiral will not trade. He will only make presents, 
 for he wants the savages to know how generous these 
 white men are ! 
 
 The natives grow more earnest when they discover 
 the strangers are not disposed to land, and beckon to 
 them still more emphatically. " At last," sa3^s Fer- 
 nando Columbus, " perceiving nobody went ashore, 
 they took all the things that had been given them, 
 without reserving any, and tying them together, left 
 them in the same place where the boats first went 
 ashore, and where our men found them on the Wed- 
 nesday following, when they landed. The Indians 
 about this place, believing that the Christians did not 
 confide in them, they sent an ancient man of an awful 
 presence with a flag upon a staff, and two girls, the 
 one about eight, the other about fourteen years of age, 
 
 ^ Fernando Columbus, chapter xci. 
 
TWO INDIAN GIRIS. 4^7 
 
 who, putting them into the boat, made signs that the 
 Christians might safely land. Upon their request they 
 went ashore to take in water, the Indians taking great 
 care not to do anything that might fright the Chris- 
 tians, and when they saw them return to their ships 
 they made signs to them to take along with them the 
 young girls with their guaninies about their necks, 
 and at the request of the old man that conducted 
 them they complied and carried them aboard." 
 
 These young hostages manifested no fear whatever, 
 but deported themselves in the most amiable and 
 modest manner. This won upon the Admiral, who 
 treated them most generously — feasting them, clothing 
 them, and afterwards sending them ashore, where they 
 were received with marked satisfaction. In the evening 
 the Spaniards, going ashore again, met the girls, sur- 
 rounded by a multitude of their friends. All the 
 presents were returned. If the gifts of these savages 
 could not be accepted, they were too proud to be put 
 under obligations by receiving those of the strangers. 
 This surely was a remarkable trait of independence 
 which one cannot fail to respect. 
 
 Everything was done by the Indians to win the 
 Spaniards. . The adelantado going ashore the next day, 
 two of the principal persons, wading out into the water 
 to meet him, lifted him out of his boat in their arms, 
 carried him to land, and in the most reverential man- 
 ner seated him on a grass plot. Thinking this was 
 the time to draw out information from them as to the 
 country, he began to ask them questions, and ordered a 
 notary to take down their statements. The Indians 
 looked with surprise on the pen, ink, and paper, and 
 
478 THE INDIANS TAKE FRIGHT. 
 
 mistaking tlie act of writing for the exercise of some 
 necromatic art, fled in terror. Returning by and by, 
 they scattered a sweet-smelling powder in the air, and 
 burnt some of it in such a way as to cause the smoke to 
 go towards the Christians, as if they were trying to 
 counteract some evil spell. 
 
 Before the ships left, the Admiral ordered his brother 
 to go ashore, along with a number of others, and learn 
 what he could of the nature of the country and the 
 habits of the people. Though he did not find pure 
 gold, he saw some quite extraordinary sights. In a 
 great wooden palace covered with canes were " several 
 tombs, in one of which there was a dead body dried up 
 and embalmed; in another, two bodies wrapped up in 
 cotton sheets, without an\^ ill scent ; and over each tomb 
 was a board with the figures of beasts carved on it, and 
 on some of them the effigies of the person buried there, 
 adorned with guaninies^ beads, and other things they 
 most value. These being the most civilized Indians in 
 those parts, the Admiral ordered one to be taken and 
 learn of him the secrets of the country ; and of seven 
 that were taken, two of the chiefest were picked out 
 and the rest sent away with some gifts and civil enter- 
 tainment, that the country might not be left in an up- 
 roar, telling them they were to serve as guides upon 
 that coast, and then be set at liberty. But they believ- 
 ing they were taken out of covetousness, that they 
 might ransom themselves with their goods and things of 
 value, the next day abundance of them came down to 
 the shore and sent four aboard the Admiral as their 
 embassadors, to treat about the ransom, offering some 
 things, and freel}^ giving two hogs of the country, which. 
 
A BEAUTIFUL BAT. 4^0 
 
 though small, are very wild. The Admiral, therefore, 
 observing the policy of the people, was more desirous 
 to be acquainted with them, and would not depart till 
 he had learned something of them, but would not give 
 ear to their offers. He therefore ordered some trifles 
 to be given to the messengers, that they might not 
 go away dissatisfied, and that they should be paid 
 for their hogs."^ 
 
 On the 5th of October the Admiral was again under 
 way. Passing along what is now called Costa Rica, 
 or Rich Coast, after sailing some twenty-two leagues, 
 he entered a magnificent bay, six leagues in length 
 and three in breadth. There were three or four en- 
 trances, and it was full of the most enchanting islands, 
 laden with fruits and flowers, and the channels be- 
 tween them being so deep and clear that they seemed 
 like the canal streets of a city. As the vessels passed 
 along, " the boughs of the trees touched the shrouds 
 and rigging." Having cast anchor, the boats landed 
 on one of these charming islands. Here were twenty 
 canoes, the people being near by, among the trees. 
 Their timidity, if they had any, was soon removed by 
 the encouraging words of the Indian guides from 
 Cariari, and they approached the Spaniards for barter. 
 Here was the first pure gold found along these coasts. 
 The natives had large plates of this precious metal 
 hung to their necks by cotton cords. Some of the 
 guanin or poor gold, also, in the shape of eagles, they 
 had. So unconscious were these natives of the value 
 of pure gold that one of them exchanged a large plate 
 of it, weighing ten ducats, for three hawk's bells. 
 
 1 Fernando Columbus, chapter xci. 
 
480 INDIAN ORNAMENTS. 
 
 Not far away, on the continent, there was plenty of it, 
 they said. 
 
 The next day the boats went to the mainland at 
 the lower end of the bay. The shores were abrupt 
 and hilly, the houses being grouped in villages about 
 the highest points of the landscape. Behold the 
 Indians in those ten canoes, their heads adorned with 
 flowers and rude coronets made of beasts' claws and 
 birds' quills ! Nearly all of them have plates of gold 
 about their necks, but they will not part with them. 
 How the Spaniards covet one of those plates, worth 
 fourteen ducats, and that eagle worth twenty-two 
 ducats ! But plenty of this metal can be obtained 
 along the coast — particularly at Veragua, some 
 twenty-five leagues distant. So say the natives. But 
 the Admiral will not be delayed by barter, for he is 
 in haste to find that strait mapped out in his head 
 for so long a time. 
 
 But the Spaniards cannot leave till they have 
 caught some of those fishes of which there are abun- 
 dant shoals in this bay. They also hunt the wild 
 animals along the shore, and examine the roots used 
 as food, and the grain and flowers. " The men, who 
 are painted all over, face and body, of several colors, 
 as red, black, and white, go naked, only covering 
 their privities with a narrow cotton cloth. "^ 
 
 From this bay, called Caravaro, they put out on the 
 17th, and enter the river Guaig, some twelve leagues 
 farther on. On attempting to land, they encounter 
 two hundred Indians, armed with clubs and wooden 
 swords and lances. They rush into the water up to 
 
 ^ Fernando Columbus, chapter xcii. 
 
INDIAN THREATS. .^^ 
 
 their middle, brandish their weapons, blow their conch- 
 shells, beat their wooden drums, throw salt-water at 
 the strangers, and squirt at them the juice of the 
 herbs they are chewing — tobacco, perhaps. But the 
 Spaniards beckoned to them in a cordial manner, and 
 the native interpreters spoke goodly words for them, 
 and these savages were soon showing themselves 
 friendly by trading away for a few trinkets seventeen 
 plates of gold, worth one hiuidred and fifty ducats. 
 
 The next day, the Spaniards came ashore again to 
 renew their trade. They found the Indians sitting 
 along the shore, in a sort of booths they had extempo- 
 rized during the night, and were afraid to land. They 
 called to them, but none would come. Presently the 
 Indians blew their conchs, beat their drums, gave 
 their war-whoop as they ran into the water almost up 
 to the boats, and threatened to hurl their darts if the 
 strangers did not go awa3^ This was a little too 
 much for the Spaniards. They shot a cross-bow and 
 wounded one in the arm, then fired a cannon ; and the 
 Indians, " thinking that the sky was falling upon 
 them, took to their heels, striving who should be 
 foremost." Now they were in a mood for trade.^ Four 
 of the Spaniards landed, " and calling them back, they 
 came very peaceably, leaving their arms behind 
 them, and exchanged three plates of gold, saying they 
 had no more, because they did not come prepared to 
 trade, but to fight." 
 
 Fully in the conviction that the supremely A&sirtd. pass 
 is in this direction, the Admiral continues along the 
 coast, and they soon anchor in the mouth of a river 
 called Cotiba. Here, alsp^ the Indians are up in 
 
482 BARTERING WITH THE INDIANS. 
 
 arms. The forests echo to the sound of conchs and 
 drums — the people are being called out in defence 
 against the strangers. Now a canoe with tv/o Indians 
 comes off from the shore, and inquires who these 
 strange beings are and what they want. Kxchanging 
 a few words with the interpreters from Cariari, they 
 are conciliated, and come on board the Admiral's ship 
 in the most cordial manner, trading the gold plates 
 suspended from their necks for trinkets. Satisfied as 
 to the peaceable intention of the strangers, they go 
 ashore to report the same to their cacique. Now there 
 comes another canoe with three Indians. They also 
 barter the gold plates from their necks. " Amity 
 thus settled, our men went ashore, where they found 
 abundance of people, with their king, who differed in 
 nothing from the rest but that he was covered with 
 one leaf of a tree, because at that time it rained hard ; 
 and to give his subjects a good example he exchanged 
 a plate of the precious metal and bade them barter for 
 theirs, which in all were nineteen ducats of pure 
 gold."^ 
 
 The signs of civilization were surely encouraging, 
 for here was a solid structure of stone and mortar. 
 But it would not do to tarry. Before a fresh breeze, 
 they ran past some five towns, where, the interpreters 
 said, there was plenty of gold. Here, indeed, in Vera- 
 gua, which name afterwards spread over the whole 
 region, the plates of gold were made which they had 
 seen along the coast. The next day, as they came to 
 a town called Cubiga, the natives af&rmed that they 
 had reached the end of the gold coast. But this gold 
 
 1 Fernando Columbus. 
 
THE STRAIT! ,q 
 
 region they were tliiis leaving behind could be 
 explored at any time. The grand desideratum now 
 was the strait — alias Malacca. All unwittingly, the 
 Indians were helping to form a great delusion in the 
 mind of the Admiral. The narrow place they spoke of— 
 just at hand — between the two seas was not ^^ narrow 
 water^^^ as he understood them, but " Jiarrow land^ 
 But the mere language of gestures on the part of 
 these savages was too awkward to be discriminating 
 to the prejudiced mind of Columbus, so on they 
 went for the "^//yz//." Somewhere just the other side 
 of this promising terra firnia he would find all the 
 wealth of India. ^ Alas ! the rich country the natives 
 were describing to him was as delusive as the strait ; for 
 they, in all probability, simply had vague conceptions 
 
 1 The vision which now allured Columbus can best be given in his own 
 words to the sovereigns concerning this voyage, written from Jamaica : 
 " As I had found everything true that had been told me in the different 
 places which I had visited, I felt satisfied it would be the same with respect 
 to Ciguare, which, according to their account, is nine days' journey across 
 the country westward ; they tell me there is a great quantity of gold there, 
 and that the inhabitants wear coral ornaments on their heads, and very 
 large coral bracelets and anklets, with which article also they adorn and 
 inlay their seats, boxes, and tables. They also said that the women there 
 wore necklaces hanging down to their shoulders. All the people agree in 
 the report I now repeat, and their account is so favorable that I should be 
 content with the tithe of the advantages that their description holds out. 
 They are all likewise acquainted with the pepper-plant. According to the 
 account of these people, the inhabitants of Ciguare are accustomed to hold 
 fairs and markets for carrying on their commerce, and they showed me also 
 the mode and form iu which they transact their various exchanges ; others 
 assert that their ships carry guns, and that the men go clothed and use bows 
 and an-ows, swords, and cuirasses, and that on shore they have horses, 
 which they use in battle, and that they wear rich clothes and have most 
 excellent houses. They also say that the sea surrounds Ciguare, and that 
 at ten days' journey from thence is the river Ganges; these lands appear to 
 hold the same relation to Veragua as Tortosa to Fontarabia, or Pisa to 
 Venice." 
 
484 
 
 PUERTO BELLO. 
 
 of tlie wealthy and semi-civilized nations of Central or 
 South. America. 
 
 On the ad of November the squadron entered a 
 large and charming harbor. In every direction, the 
 elevated landscape had the aspect of high cultivation. 
 The houses, about a stone's throw or bow-shot from 
 each other, were in the midst of fruit-trees, graceful 
 groves of palm, corn-fields, and gardens abounding in 
 vegetables and pineapples. This delightsome spot 
 Columbus named Puerto Bello — Port Beautiful. A 
 whole week of storm shut them in here. But the 
 scene was enlivened by the native canoes' going and 
 coming constantly, with fruits, vegetables, and balls 
 of cotton finely spun, " which they gave for some 
 trifles, such as points and pins." Gold there was 
 none, except the small plates hanging from the noses 
 of the cacique and his seven principal men. The 
 naked bodies of these people were painted red, and by 
 way of contrast the cacique was black. 
 
 On the 9th of November the fleet went to a point 
 since called Nombre de Dios, eight leagues farther on ; 
 but the next day they were forced back one-half that 
 distance by stress of weather, and took refuge behind 
 a group of islands. In every direction, on the islands 
 and on the mainland, fields of Indian corn and fruit 
 and vegetable gardens greeted the eye ; so the Ad- 
 miral called this place Puerto de Bastimentos — Port of 
 Provisions. 
 
 Here they remained about two weeks, repairing their 
 leaky vessels, which the teredos of these tropical seas 
 had thoroughly riddled. During this stay they had 
 at least one amusing incident. A boat well manned 
 
EL RE7RETE. g 
 
 went in pursuit of a canoe, and tlie Indians, taking 
 fright as tliey came within a stone's throw, plunged 
 into the water to try their chances of escape by swim- 
 ming. The Spaniards pulled the oars with all their 
 might for a mile and a half, but could not overtake 
 one of them ; for as they approached an Indian he 
 would " dive like a duck, and come up a bow-shot or 
 two from the place." The boy Fernando enjoyed this 
 chase exceedingly, and seemed pleased to see the 
 boat return without so much as an Indian, after such 
 strenuous and exhaustive exertions. 
 
 November 23d they sailed farther on, and stopped 
 at a place called Guiga, where they found some three 
 hundred natives ready to trade away provisions and 
 small gold ornaments in their noses and ears for the 
 usual trinkets. Again they hoisted sail. On the 
 24th boisterous weather drove the squadron into a 
 small harbor, which the Admiral named El Retrete, 
 " that is. Retired Place, because it could not contain 
 above five or six ships together, and the mouth of it 
 was not above fifteen or twenty paces over, and on 
 both sides of it rocks appearing above the water as 
 sharp as diamonds, and the channel between them 
 was so deep that they found no bottom, though if the 
 ships inclined never so little to either side the men 
 might leap ashore."^ Both Las Casas and Fernando 
 Columbus think that the Admiral was duped into 
 this retreat by the desire on the part of his men sent 
 to examine the place to communicate slyly with the 
 natives. As the water was so deep that the vessels 
 could not anchor, except near the bank, the sailors 
 
 1 Life of Columbus by his son, chapter xciii. 
 
486 THE INDIANS DEFT THE SPANIARDS. 
 
 used to get away among the natives at night without 
 permission. At first they were entertained with the 
 usual hospitality, but their conduct was so outrageously 
 covetous and licentious that their hosts soon sought 
 revenge. Every night there were brawls, and before 
 long there was bloodshed on both sides. Now the 
 nearness of the ships to the shore was as convenient 
 for an attack from the enraged Indians as it had been 
 for the nightl3^ escapes of the sailors. The Admiral 
 was obliged to resort to his guns. But the mere noisy 
 discharges of powder failed to terrify them. The sav- 
 age throngs had become skeptical of the divine nature 
 of these beings, worse than human, and they responded 
 to the noise and smoke with shrieks and yells, and 
 threshing the trees with their clubs and lances. This 
 would never do. The ships were too near the shore 
 to risk being boarded in an instant by this infuriated 
 mob of savages. The guns were loaded with balls, 
 and aimed at a hillock on w^hich the natives were clus- 
 tered. Now the general havoc " made them sensible 
 there was a thunderbolt as well as thunder," and they 
 fled in terror once and for all. 
 
 We must not leave this close retreat without look- 
 ing about on the shore. All around the land is low 
 and level, the grass being thin, and the trees scattered 
 here and there — the whole having the effect of a sort 
 of open park. See those alligators which crawl out 
 here in vast numbers to sun themselves on the beach ! 
 The air is impregnated with their odor, "as if all the 
 musk in the world were together." The Indians say 
 that they will drag a sleeping man into the water ; but 
 they seem quite timorous, and hustle into the sea like 
 frightened seals when attacked. 
 
THE CREWS ARE IMPATIENT. .g^ 
 
 There was yet another phase to this weather-bonnd 
 life of two weeks in El Retrete, among savages and 
 alligators. The crews were becoming exceeding im- 
 patient to turn back. " That strait'' — what was the use 
 of running after that strait ? What would they carry 
 back from it ? Better return to the gold coast they had 
 been passing. Who could tell how much wealth they 
 might take home from thence? Many of the more 
 ignorant and superstitious believed that the strong east 
 and northeast winds shutting them in were the result 
 of sorcery on the part of the Indians. And what 
 defence could there be against such witchcraft? 
 The officers cried out against the crazy, worm-eaten 
 ships. In the tempests which threatened them these 
 would be crushed like mere shells. Even the Admiral 
 himself might well be wondering why he did not reach 
 the much-desired strait, and would surely become con- 
 vinced of the folly of increasing the distance from 
 home with such mutinous crews and unsafe crafts. He 
 would go back 'to Veragua and lay in a store of gold, 
 which might more than compensate for his failure in 
 finding the " strait," and thus silence the cavillings 
 of his enemies.^ 
 
 " Here, then," says Irving, '' ended the lofty anticipa- 
 tions which had elevated Columbus above all mercenary 
 interests, which had made him regardless of hardships 
 
 1 Bastidas, in his recent voyage, had reached this point. Whether this 
 was known to Cohimbus is not certain. On his way out, as he touched at 
 San Domingo, where that navigator then was, he may have gained such in- 
 telligence, or the natives around Veragua may have advised him. At any 
 rate it must now have been pretty clear to the Admiral that the coast was 
 " practically discovered from Trinidad to Guanaja. and that between these 
 two islands is a shore-line of continent unbroken by any strait."—//'. H. 
 Bancrofts History of Central America, vol. i, p. 217. 
 
488 HEAD WINDS. 
 
 and perils and had given an heroic character to the 
 early part of this voyage. It is true, he had been in 
 pursuit of a mere chimera, but it was the chimera of a 
 splendid imagination and a penetrating judgment. If 
 he was disappointed in his expectation of finding a 
 strait through the Isthmus of Darien, it was because 
 nature herself had been disappointed, for she appears 
 to have attempted to make one, but to have attempted it 
 in vain." 
 
 On the 5th of December the squadron put out from 
 El Retrete, and sailing ten leagues westward anchored 
 at night in Puerto Bello. They had barel}^ passed into 
 the open sea the next day when the wind shifted to the 
 west. For three months he had hoped in vain for a 
 wind in this direction. It seemed as if the wind was 
 bound to be against him. Should he turn back and re- 
 new his search for the strait ? A west wind never lasted 
 long in that region, at least at that time of year. 
 Probably it would soon change. 
 
 The wind increased and shifted about so from point 
 to point that the sailors were completely bafBed. Again 
 they headed for Puerto Bello, but when, after great effort 
 in getting back, they awaited a favorable wind to enter, 
 it suddenly blew furiously off shore, driving the vessels 
 out to sea. The sky was darkened, the clouds were 
 heavily charged with electricity, and a most unparalleled 
 tempest arose. " Never," says Columbus, " was the sea 
 so high, so terrific, and so covered with foam ; not only 
 did the wind oppose our proceeding onward, but it also 
 rendered it highly dangerous to run in for any head- 
 land, and kept me in that sea, which seemed to me as a 
 sea of blood, seething like a cauldron on a mighty fire. 
 
A TBMPES7. .g 
 
 Never did the sky look more fearful ; during one day 
 and one night it burned like a furnace, and every in- 
 stant I looked to see if my masts and my sails were not 
 destroyed, for the lightnings^flashed with such alarm- 
 ing fury that we all thought the ships must have been 
 consumed. All this time the waters from heaven never 
 ceased descending, not to say that it rained, for it was 
 like a repetition of the deluge. The men were at this 
 time so crushed in spirit that they longed for death as 
 a deliverance from so many martyrdoms. Twice already 
 had the ships suffered loss in boats, anchors, and rig- 
 gings, and were now lying bare without sails." Fer- 
 nando says, " When we were most in hopes to get into 
 port we were quite beat off again, and sometimes with 
 such thunder and lightning that the men durst not 
 open their ej/es. The ships seemed to be just sinking, and 
 the sky to come down. Sometimes the thunder was so 
 continued that it was concluded some ship fired its can- 
 non to desire assistance. Another time there would fall 
 such storms of rain that it would last violently for two 
 or three days, insomuch that it looked like another 
 universal deluge. This perplexed all the men and 
 made them almost despair, seeing they could not get 
 half an hour's rest, being continually wet, turning some- 
 times one way and sometimes- another, struggling 
 against all the elements, and dreading them all ; for in 
 such dreadful storms they dread the fire in flashes of 
 lightning, the air for its fury, the water for the terrific 
 waves, and the earth for the hidden rocks and sands." 
 But the storm reached its climax on Tuesday, the 13th, 
 when a great whirling cone rose out of the waves, and 
 mounting towards the heavens met a like cone, which 
 
490 
 
 A WATER-SPOUT. 
 
 whirled downwards from the inky clouds, and the two, 
 joining in an angry column connecting sea and sky, 
 moved furiousl}^ toward the ships. Every face was 
 ghastly white and shrieks of despair arose. The Ad- 
 miral was stretched on his couch on deck, helpless with 
 a raging fever. Alarmed by the cries of the sailors, he 
 sprang up to behold the writhing column almost upon 
 him. Did ever man face a more stupendous peril ? In 
 the helplessness of the moment he began to recite the 
 gospel of St. John, describing a cross in the air with 
 his sword. The whirling, dancing column, uniting the 
 ocean beneath and the clouds above, passed between the 
 ships and on out of sight, causing no harm beyond 
 making the water to boil and toss in every direction. 
 
 " The ships being now almost shattered to pieces with 
 the tempest," says Fernando Columbus, "and the men 
 quite spent with labor, a day or two's calm gave them 
 some respite, and brought such multitudes of sharks 
 about the ships that they were dreadful to beliold, 
 especially for such as are superstitious, because, as it 
 is reported that ravens at a great distance smell out 
 dead bodies, so some think these sharks do, which if 
 they la}' hold of a man's arm or leg cut it off like a 
 razor, for they have two rows of teeth in the nature of 
 a saw. Such a multitude of these were killed with the 
 hook and chain that, being able to destroy no more, 
 they lay swimming about the water, and they are so 
 greedy that they do not only bite at carrion, but may 
 be taken with a red rag upon the hook. I have seen a 
 tortoise taken out of the belly of one of these sharks, 
 and it afterwards lived aboard the ship ; but out of an- 
 other was taken the whole head of one of his own kind, 
 
SHARKS. .Qj 
 
 we liaving cut it off and thrown it into the water, as not 
 good to eat, no more than they are themselves, and 
 that shark had swallowed it, and to us it seemed con- 
 trary to reason that one creature should swallow the 
 head of another of its own bigness, which is not to be 
 admired,^ because their mouth reaches almost to their 
 belly, and the head is shaped like an olive. Though 
 some looked upon them to forbode mischief^ and others 
 thought them bad fish, 3^et we all made much of them 
 by reason of the want we were in, having been now 
 above eight months at sea, so that we had consumed 
 all the fish and flesh brought from Spain ; and that, 
 with the heat and moisture of the sea, the biscuit was 
 so full of maggots that, as God shall help m.e, I saw 
 many that staid till night to eat the pottage or 
 brewis made of it, that they might not see the mag- 
 gots ; and others were so used to eat them that they 
 did not mind to throw them away when thej' saw 
 them, because they might lose their supper if they 
 were so very curious. 
 
 "Upon Saturday, the 17th, the Admiral put into a 
 port three leagues east of Pennon, which the Indians 
 called Huiva. It was like a great bay, where we 
 rested three days, and going ashore saw the inhabi- 
 tants dwell upon the tops of trees, like birds, laying 
 sticks across from bough to bough, and building huts 
 upon them rather than houses. Though we knew not 
 the reason of this strange custom, yet we guessed 
 it was done for fear of the griffons there are in that 
 country, or of enemies ; for all along that coast the 
 
 1 Or wondered at. 
 
492 
 
 THE COAST OF CONTRASTS. 
 
 people at every league's distance are great enemies to 
 one another."^ 
 
 Storms and shifting winds continue. Now they 
 put out to sea, but again the wind changes to their 
 disadvantage, or becomes so boisterous that they are 
 obliged to run into the nearest harbor. Well, indeed, 
 may the Admiral name this the '' Coast of Contrasts." 
 Having spent nearly a month in beating his way from 
 Puerto Bello to Veragua, some thirty leagues, he 
 sounded the river Yebra, which he named Belen or 
 Bethlehem, and the Veragua. As the former was the 
 deeper, notwithstanding its bar at the mouth, they 
 entered it by means of the boats and found a village 
 on its banks. Here they were confronted by a well- 
 developed and brave people, who were disposed to con- 
 test their landing, but were soon conciliated. Being 
 questioned as to the gold-mines, they were at first 
 inclined to be reticent or equivocal. Finall}^ they 
 gave the impression that they were to be found about 
 the Veragua. To that river, therefore, the boats are 
 sent the next day. These people must be of Carib 
 origin. How else do they come to be so brave ? A 
 whole fleet of canoes comes out to meet the Spaniards, 
 and the shores are lined with men on defence. But 
 the interpreter intercedes, saying that these peculiar 
 strangers have come onl}^ to barter, and this soothes 
 them and induces them to trade twenty plates of gold, 
 several tubes filled with the precious dust, as well as 
 masses of the crude ore, for trinkets and gewgaws as 
 usual. Thej^ said the precious metal was obtained in 
 the neighboring mountains. When they went in 
 
 ^ Fernando Columbus, chapter xciv. 
 
THE ^UIBIAN. ^^^ 
 
 search of it they fasted for twenty days and left their 
 women at home. 
 
 These reports are so flattering that the Admiral 
 concludes to sojourn in the vicinity. Belen being the 
 deeper river, the two smaller caravels cross the bar 
 January 9th, and the other two follow at flood-tide the 
 next day. Now the natives become exceedingly 
 cordial, and bring great quantities of fish, with which 
 this river abounds ; also a variety of gold ornaments 
 for trafiic, but it all conies from Veragua. 
 
 To the Veragua, then, the adelantado will go with 
 boats well armed. Having ascended half a league, 
 he meets the Quibian,^ or chieftain, tall, powerful, 
 and of a warlike aspect. He is very amiable, and 
 seems perfectly at ease amidst the canoes in which 
 his subjects are attending him. He takes off his gold 
 ornaments and gives them to the adelantado, highly 
 gratified over the trinkets and what-nots received in 
 return. This powerful cliief,^ with mau}^ chiefs under 
 him, is shrewd enough to see that he has met men of 
 force and influence, such as he has not known 
 hitherto. 
 
 The next day he calls on the Admiral, and is well 
 entertained. Impressive, indeed, it must have been to 
 see these fine specimens of the human race, each from 
 
 ^ This is now regarded as a title rather than a name. 
 
 * " On the whole, the Qiiibian is as fine a specimen of his race as the ade- 
 lantado is of his. And thus thej' are fairly met, the men of Europe and the 
 men of North America; and as in the gladiatorial combat, which opens with 
 a smiling salutation, this four-century struggle begins with friendly greet- 
 ings. Pity it is they are outwardly not more evenly matched; pity it is 
 that the European with his superior civilization, his saltpetre and blood- 
 hounds, his steel weapons and strange diseases, should be allowed to do his 
 robbery so easily."— //^. H. Bancroft, Hist. Central America, vol. i, p. 220. 
 
494 ^^^ STORM DEMONS. 
 
 the opposite side of tHe globe, trying to communicate 
 with each other by grimaces and gestures. The 
 Quibian is "taciturn and cautious," exchanges some 
 presents with the Admiral, and, after an hour, takes 
 his leave. Meanwhile his attendants have "trucked" 
 gold for gewgaws. 
 
 But the ships are scarcely more secure here in the 
 river than they were outside in the sea. If Neptune 
 failed to swamp them in the latter, the storm demons 
 will open the floods upon the mountains in order that 
 the rivers may run mad. The vessels are wrenched 
 from their anchorage and hurled against each other, 
 and the foremast of the Admiral's ship is carried 
 away. Neither can they run out to sea, on account 
 of the breakers on the bar at Belen's mouth. 
 
 The storm having once more abated, on the 6th of 
 February the adelantado takes sixty-eight well-armed 
 men, who push the boats up the Veragua in search of 
 the reputed gold-mines. iVbout a league and a half 
 up the river they come upon the home of the Quibian, 
 with the dwellings of his people arranged about him. 
 The chieftain comes to meet them. He is surrounded 
 by his subjects, but they are all unarmed. All the 
 signs and signals are for peace. This on the outside, 
 like the bright daubs of paint on his naked body, but 
 at heart there are no doubt many misgivings. One of 
 his attendants fishes a big stone out of the river, and, 
 washing it thoroughly, rolls it up as a throne for his 
 chieftain, who deports himself with great respect in 
 the commanding presence of Don Bartholomew. He 
 furnishes the latter with guides to the gold regions of 
 the interior, the mines being in the mountains, which 
 
GOLD, ' 455 
 
 begin to rise some six leagues distant and reach above 
 tlie clouds. All the waj^, about the roots of the trees 
 and everywhere, the earth sparkles with golden 
 grains. The adelantado returns greatly elated. Al- 
 ready he sees wealthy Spanish cities in the plains and 
 on the hills. " Wlich seeing, the Quibian grimly 
 smiled that they should deem their work already done, 
 himself subdued, the land their own, and he smiled to 
 think how he had sent them round and away from his 
 own rich mines to the poorer and more distant fields 
 of Urird-, his ancient enem}^ Then the adelantado 
 explored westward, and came to the town and river of 
 this Urira, and to the towns of Dururi, Cobrabu, and 
 Cotiba, where he obtained gold and provisions."^ 
 
 This delightsome countrj^, laden with the most 
 fragrant and luscious fruits, with rich fields of maize 
 six leagues in extent, a territory of twent}^ days' 
 journe}^, so abounding in gold that one had only to 
 turn up the stones and pick it up — pick it up in such 
 abundance that a man of good-v.dll might easily 
 obtain in ten days as much as a boy could carr}^ ! — 
 was not this the place above all others to found a 
 colony ? Hispaniola was indeed wonderful, but bore 
 no comparison to this. If among the natives there 
 one occasionally espied a small nose-ornament of gold, 
 here nearly every one had a golden mirror hung by a 
 cotton cord to his neck. Indeed, he had seen more 
 signs of gold here in huo days than in Hispaniola in 
 four years. Again the Admiral turns to the sacred 
 scriptures and to the writings of divines, ancient and 
 modern, and is well satisfied that this is the " Golden 
 
 1 H. H. Bancroft's Hist. Central Am., vol. i, p. 23i. 
 
496 
 
 A COLONY. 
 
 Chersonesus." Here he would found an empire which 
 should include all these rich gold-mines in the terri- 
 tories of the different chiefs in the neighborhood. 
 Thus Hispaniola, so disappointing to all and so ill- 
 fated from every point of view, would be completel}^ 
 eclipsed. The adelantado was of the same mind as 
 his brother, and agreed to remain in charge of the 
 colony, which should include the greater part of the 
 people in the squadron, and through them he would 
 develop the gold-mines. The Admiral, meanwhile, 
 would return to Spain for reinforcements. 
 
 The plan adopted, everything moved with energy. 
 The eighty men who were to remain were divided 
 into parties of ten each, and on a pretty rise of ground 
 bordering a creek, near the mouth of the Belen, they 
 built a picturesque village. The houses could not 
 have been large. We simply know that they were 
 built of wood and thatched with palm leaves. Aye ! 
 one was large, designed as a warehouse and magazine. 
 But the main depository was one of the ships, which 
 was to remain in the harbor. In this the provisions 
 might be most securely stored, and it might serve the 
 adelantado in case of an emergency. The store of pro- 
 visions was small indeed — a little wine, oil, vinegar, 
 biscuit, cheese, etc., but the countrj^ around abounded 
 in maize, cocoanuts, bananas, pineapples, and various 
 kinds of wines and beers. Then there was almost no 
 limit to the great variety of fish in these parts ; the 
 shoals were so thick along the river-banks sometimes 
 that they could be dipped out with little nets, or they 
 even leaped out of the water onto the dry land and 
 could be picked up. The Admiral would conciliate 
 
SHUT UP IN THE RIVERS. .^^ 
 
 the natives by kind words and presents. These would 
 then render the infant colony what aid they could. 
 
 " All things were now settled for the Christian col- 
 ony," says Fernando Columbus, " and ten or twelve 
 houses built and thatched, and the Admiral ready to 
 sail for Spain, when he fell into greater danger for 
 want of water than he had been before by the inun- 
 dation ; for, the great rains of January being over, the 
 mouth of the river was so choked up with sand that 
 whereas when they came in there was about ten feet 
 of water, which was scant enough, when we would 
 have gone out there were not two feet, so that we were 
 shut up without any help, it being impossible to get 
 the ships over the sand ; and though there had been 
 such a contrivance, the sea was so boisterous that the least 
 wave which beat upon the shore was enough to break 
 the ships in pieces, especially ours, which were at this 
 time like a honeycomb, being all worm-eaten through 
 and through."^ 
 
 Meanwhile, the Quibian of Veragua had no intention 
 of allowing himself to be robbed of this rich territor}^ 
 by the strangers thus attempting to plant themselves. 
 Under the pretence of making war with a neighboring 
 enemy, he assembled about a thousand of his painted 
 warriors. He had never yet smelt gunpowder nor felt 
 the keen edge of that product of civilization — steel. 
 Blindly he hoped to rout these intruders with a single 
 stroke. 
 
 But Diego Mende5^, a stout-hearted, sharp-eyed com- 
 panion of Columbus in his four voyages, noticed so 
 many Indians passing on the way to the Quibian's 
 
 1 Fernando Columbus, chapter xcvii. 
 
498 
 
 SPYING OUT THE CAMP. 
 
 headquarters that his suspicions were aroused. The 
 very impersonation of fidelity to his master, he volun- 
 teered his service for an investigation. Starting with 
 a few comrades for the Indian camp, he met the warrior 
 host on their way to the Belen. Springing ashore 
 alone from his boat, he began to communicate cor- 
 dially with them. They gave him to understand that 
 they were going against a neighboring tribe, and he 
 offered to go with them and aid in the fight. This 
 they declined, and, seeing that they were watched, re- 
 turned to Veragua. Diego Mendez reported his sus- 
 picions to the Admiral, but he was unwilling to make 
 the first attack on the savages and so awaken the bit- 
 ter enmities of warfare. 
 
 The bold Mendez will once more spy out the camp 
 of these painted warriors, then, taking wnth him a 
 single companion. Rodrigo de Escobar accompanies 
 him, and tlie^^ follow the coast afoot to the Quibian's 
 camp. At the mouth of the Veragua they meet two 
 canoes from another part, who do not hesitate to say 
 that the warriors had been on their way for the de- 
 struction of the colony, and had turned back because 
 they thought themselves suspected. Very soon they 
 would be on their way again with a stronger force. 
 Mendez will go to the bottom of the matter. Will not 
 these canoes take him to the Quibian's headquarters? 
 Oh, no; this would be sure death ! Mendez insists; 
 he will make them a present. They will go, then, 
 wherever he wishes. 
 
 The Indian village was scattered along the river- 
 bank, amidst trees and groves, the Quibian's house 
 being on the commanding site of a little hill. On every 
 
A PERILOUS SITUATION. 
 
 499 
 
 hand round about, armed warriors frowned on the two 
 white men, who passed on fearlessly among them. As 
 they were about to climb the hill to the Quibian's house, 
 the Indians opposed them. The chieftain had been 
 wounded in a recent battle, they said, and could not 
 see them. But for that very reason Mendeij must see 
 him, for he is a surgeon and can cure him. Being a 
 surgeon, and handing out a few presents, he may pass. 
 Around the large space in front of the Quibian's house 
 were the trophies of recent warfare — three hundred 
 ghastly human heads were impaled on stakes in the 
 most orderly manner. All undismayed, the two brave 
 whites passed on to the door, when a crowd of gaping 
 women and children there assembled shrieked and 
 screamed and fled in terror. At this alarm a brawny 
 son of the chieftain sallied forth and dealt Mendez a 
 blow that sent him backward several ste'ps, who, recov- 
 ering himself, showed a box of ointment and urged 
 his services as a surgeon, all to no purpose. The 
 youth was in a rage and pushed him back. Mean- 
 while a crowd of enraged Indians were rushing to the 
 spot. Mendez jerked out of his pocket a comb and a 
 pair of scissors, and giving them to Escobar urged him 
 to cut and trim his hair. The superstitious savages 
 held their breath at the novel sight. Without loss of 
 time, Mendez gave the chief's son a looking-glass, in 
 which he, with great surprise, beheld for the first time 
 his own face. Escobar cut and combed his hair also. 
 Now Mendez gave comb, brush, and looking-glass to 
 the savage, and asked for something to eat and drink. 
 The request was granted and all became friends. 
 Mendez returned, fully convinced that the Indians 
 were on the war-path. 
 
^oo THE ^UIBIAN IS CAPTURED 
 
 This was soon confirmed by a native of the vicinity, 
 who had become strongly attached to the white men 
 and had gained clew to the intentions of his country- 
 men. The Quibian was planning to burn the ships 
 and houses at dead of night, massacring all the 
 Spaniards. Houses and ships were at once put under 
 a strong guard, and a council of war was held. There 
 was no time to lose. 
 
 With the rapidity of a Napoleon Bonaparte, the 
 adelantado has taken his resolution and is on the way 
 for carrying it out. He will take seventy-four well- 
 armed men, Mendez and the Indian interpreter included, 
 and, on the 30th of March, go as rapidly as possible 
 to the chieftain's camp. 
 
 The Quibian sees the crowd coming and sends a 
 messenger warning them away from the house, more 
 from jealousy of his women, however, than from fear 
 of war. The adelantado goes on alone, having cau- 
 tiously disposed his men. Another messenger meets 
 him and requests him not to enter the house. The 
 Quibian will come out, sick though he be. They meet 
 at the door. The adelantado is very affable and con- 
 verses cordially through his trembling interpreter. 
 They talk about this fine country. But that wound ! — 
 the adelantado will examine it — so softly — strokes it 
 gently. Now the chieftain is completely off his guard. 
 This stranger, all alone, is so friendly ; and he has 
 full fifty people in his house and many hundreds just 
 outside. Don Bartholomew tightens his grasp, and 
 his faithful Mendez, on the sharp lookout, fires his 
 arquebus, while four Spaniards near by rush forward. 
 The Quibian, somewhat weakened by his wound, strug- 
 
AND CONSIGNED TO SANCHEZ. ^qi 
 
 gles in the tremendous grasp of the adelantado. But 
 all the Spaniards are upon him. He and his house- 
 hold — some fifty persons, big and small — are all bound 
 and hurried off without shedding a drop of blood. 
 
 But hear those poor savages ! They rend the air 
 with their lamentations, for their hearts are breaking 
 at seeing their chief a captive. They plead for his 
 release, offering for his ransom an immense treasure 
 which they say is in the woods near by. But the 
 adelantado is inexorable. This dangerous chieftain 
 and his household must be held as hostages for the 
 peaceable behavior of the rest. They are sent to the 
 ships for safe-keeping, while the adelantado and the 
 main body of his force are to scour the surrounding 
 country for those who have escaped. 
 
 Who shall take charge of this redoubtable chieftain 
 and conduct him to the ships this dark night ? Juan 
 Sanchez, chief pilot of the squadron, an honest, brave 
 sailor, volunteers his services. The Quibian is bound 
 tightl}^ hand and foot and fastened firmly to the seat 
 of the boat. " Look well to your charges," urges the 
 adelantado. " Pluck out my beard hair by hair if I 
 let him escape," replied Sanchez as he pushed off his 
 boat from the bank. Every muscle of the Ouibian's 
 face is calm, but a fierce fire burns within. He and 
 his household are captives — made so in the twinkling 
 of an eye ! What next ? The river runs fast — so does 
 time, Juan Sanchez's honest face beams self-com- 
 placently, kindly, in the light of the torch. The 
 shrewd savage makes an appeal. These cords are so 
 tight — hurt badly ! Sanchez rows on. But by the 
 time they approach the mouth of the river his heart is 
 
ro2 ^^^ ^UIBIAN ESCAPES. 
 
 touclied, for, beneatli tlie rough surface, tlie sailor 
 has a tender spot. He loosens the cords, unties the 
 captive from the bench, and holds the rope's end in his 
 firm grasp. The Quibian seems cool and motionless 
 and emotionless as a statue, but his e3^es are on the 
 pilot. Sanchez turns his eyes away and hears some- 
 thing like a rock splash in the water — the boat tips 
 and he is well-nigh precipitated into the river ! The 
 rope is out of his hand and the Indian is gone. Look 
 out ! Others of the captives may follow. In the 
 darkness and bustle, they have all they can do to keep 
 guard over the rest. In the ink}^ river the Quibian, 
 shackles and all, has made good his escape. Juan 
 Sanchez may make his report to the Admiral and pull 
 out his beard ! 
 
 " The next day," says Fernando, " the lieutenant 
 perceiving the country was very mountainous and 
 woody, and that there w^ere no regular towns, but one 
 house here and another at a great distance, and that 
 it would be very difficult to pursue the Indians from 
 place to place, he resolved to return to the ships with 
 his men, not one of them being either killed or 
 wounded. He presented the Admiral with the plunder 
 of Quibian's house, worth about 300 ducats in gold 
 plates, little eagles, and small quills which they string 
 and wear about their arms and legs, and in gold twists 
 which they put about their head in the nature of a 
 coronet. All which things, deducting only the fifth 
 part for their Catholic Majesties, he divided among 
 those that went upon the expedition; and to the 
 lieutenant, in token of victory, was given one of those 
 crowns or coronets above mentioned." 
 
THE SPANIARDS ARE SURPRISED. 503 
 
 Columbus now flattered himself that the colony 
 might be left in security. The Quibian had indeed 
 escaped ; but how could he, with hands and feet tied, 
 have ever reached the shore ? And even if he were 
 living, would not the detention of his family on the 
 ships compel him to keep the peace ? But this savage 
 chieftain, having reached the shore in safety, was a 
 genuine hero, who instead of being subdued by what 
 he had suffered was only thereby rendered the more 
 determined and fierce. Gathering a great number of 
 his warriors, the}^ stole upon the frail cabins of the 
 little colony, under cover of the dense forest and 
 with the noiseless step of the Indian on a still hunt. 
 The Spaniards, thinking their enemies subdued, were 
 completely off their guard. Some were in their cabins, 
 some in the Gallego in the harbor, and the greater 
 number were on the beach gazing wistfully after the 
 Admiral's ships, about to depart. Startled almost out 
 of their wits by the wild and deafening yells sent up 
 by the infuriated savages as they broke from the forest 
 directly upon them, there was no protection to the 
 little cabins covered with palm-leaves. The dense 
 shower of arrows riddled them completely and wounded 
 those within. The Spaniards rushed for their arms. 
 The adelantado and some seven of his comrades seized 
 their lances and targets, and calling on the rest to 
 follow rushed upon the Indians as they emerged from 
 the woods. In all there were about twenty to bear up 
 under the shock ; but their shields protected them, 
 while the naked bodies of the savages were exposed 
 not only to the sword and the lance, but to the fangs 
 of an infuriated bloodhound. The Indians fell back 
 
504 
 
 DIEGO TRISTAN. 
 
 into the forest, sending showers of arrows from behind 
 the trees, and ever and anon rushing out into close 
 conflict with their wooden lances. After three hours 
 of this warfare, amidst deafening yells, and in which 
 all the Spaniards on the spot fought desperately, they 
 had one killed and seven wounded, among which latter 
 was the adelantado, who was pierced in the breast by a 
 lance. The savages fled to the forest, leaving quite a 
 number dead on the field. 
 
 Diego Tristan, one of the Admiral's captains, 
 arrived with a boat during the conflict, having been 
 sent up the river for a supply of fresh water. He 
 looked on, but took no part in the fight, saying that 
 if he should approach the shore the terrified Spaniards 
 might rush in and swamp his boat. The skirmish 
 over, he proceeded up the river amidst the lurking 
 Indians. When warned of his danger, he replied that 
 he should perform the duty for which he had been 
 sent. 
 
 The deep river was walled up on both sides by a 
 forest so dense that it was about impossible to land, 
 except where the path of the fisherman came out, or 
 the constant hauling up of the canoes had made an 
 opening. When the boat had advanced about a league 
 above the settlement, to where the river was narrow 
 and full and the tall spreading trees on each bank 
 formed a magnificent arcade, the Spaniards were sud- 
 denly surprised by the terrific yells and horrid conch- 
 blasts of the savages, who burst upon them in every 
 direction. From the shadowy nooks and from under 
 the overhanging bows numberless canoes darted forth, 
 each moved by a single paddle, while several warriors 
 
TRISTAN IS SLAIN. 
 
 505 
 
 Standing in lit sliot arrows and hurled lances. All 
 this must be met by eight sailors and three soldiers, 
 who, completely terrified by the deafening noise and 
 overwhelmed b}^ numbers, lost all presence of mind, 
 and, dropping both oars and firearms, simply tried to 
 cover themselves with their shields. Tristan fought 
 bravely, notwithstanding a number of Avounds received, 
 and was doing his utmost to animate his men when a 
 swift Indian javelin pierced his right eye and he expired. 
 The canoes closed in upon the boat and massacred the 
 Spaniards to a man. Juan de No^-a, who had been 
 knocked overboard during the conflict, swam under 
 water, landed under the overhanging thicket, and 
 reached the Spanish encampment, to terrify them with 
 an account of the sickening scene. 
 
 The intelligence created a complete panic. How 
 could their reduced numbers withstand these fixcrce 
 hordes ? If the Admiral should sail away without 
 them, they would either starve to death — for they dared 
 not venture out for food — or they would be massacred 
 by infuriated savages. They would at once board the 
 caravel in the harbor and escape. The adelantado 
 remonstrated, but in vain ; they would abandon the 
 place. 
 
 But the escape was not so easy as they imagined. 
 The swollen river having subsided, the surf had again 
 banked up the sand at the mouth and rendered the bar 
 impassable. They attempted to go out to the Ad- 
 miral in a boat, but v/ere prevented b}^ the wind and 
 the breakers. Thus shut in to the mercy of the 
 savages, they were still further horrified b}^ the disfig- 
 ured corpses of Tristan and his men floating down 
 
5o6 
 
 AN APALLING SITUATION. 
 
 Stream amidst hungry fishes, and stranding on the 
 beach as food for vultures. Did not this portend their 
 own fate but near at hand ? Meanwhile the natives 
 had grown jubilant over their successes. Their horrid 
 yells and the thunder of their conchs and wooden drums 
 made the thick forests frightful in every direction. 
 Abandoning the settlement, the adelantado raised a 
 bulwark around an open place on the bank of the 
 river. Here, sheltered by chests, casks, and the boat 
 of the caravel, they plied two small cannon through 
 openings in the barricade, and thus kept the savages 
 at a safe distance. But what could they do when their 
 ammunition became exhausted? 
 
 On board the Admiral's ships matters were scarcely 
 less appalling. Ten days had passed since Tristan 
 left. Why did he not return ? What if their ships' 
 cables should part in this rough sea ? Those clumsy 
 caravels would surely be swamped. Then those 
 Indians ! — the Quibian's family, confined in the hold 
 of the Admiral's ship — they seemed to be enthused 
 with the spirit of the chief himself. One night while 
 the guards were sleeping on the hatch — it being so 
 high up that it w^as not thought necessary to chain it 
 down — they collected boxes, casks, and the stones 
 used for ballast, and, piling them up, mounted them, 
 and with one tremendous lift shoulder to shoulder in 
 concert they tossed the sleeping guard hither and 
 thither, and springing out and into the sea they made 
 their escape. Those kept back and chained down 
 under the hatch were found dead the next morning. 
 Some had hung themselves from the roof of their 
 dungeon, and those who could not secure this conven- 
 
THE FEAT OF LEDESMA. ^07 
 
 ience strangled themselves by fastening one end of the 
 cord to the foot. 
 
 Communication with those on the shore was now 
 absolutely necessary, Colonization at present was not 
 to be thought of. When the natives should learn the 
 fate of this royal family, " they would move the very 
 rocks to reveuge." But what boat might pass that 
 raging surf? Now Pedro Ledesma, a pilot from Seville, 
 steps forward and offers to swim through it if some one 
 will rov/ him up to the breakers. If those savages 
 could swim a league to save their lives, he might pass 
 through the surf for the relief of so many companions. 
 The perilous feat was accomplished. Ledesma crawled 
 up the beach from the merciless waves to listen 
 to the shocking fate of Tristan, and the determi- 
 nation of the colony to leave the place. They were 
 simply desperate. They were busy digging out canoes 
 to carry them to the ships outside the bar as soon as the 
 storm should abate. Ledesma must importune the Ad- 
 miral for them that he might not sail away and leave 
 them on this savage coast. Should he refuse to take 
 them they would drag the caravel across the bar when 
 the storm was over, and take their chances at sea for 
 Spain. 
 
 Again Ledesma braved the breakers, and entering the 
 boat in waiting for him bore to the Admiral the sad 
 tidings of the colony. Throughout this entire voyage 
 the Admiral had been simply a suffering invalid. This 
 seemed the crisis of his hopes. He had been unjustly 
 deprived of his authority at Hispaniola. Now he had 
 hoped to reinstate himself in a still better country. 
 Must he fail again ? But he could not leave his brother 
 
5o8 
 
 777^ ADMIRAL'S VISION. 
 
 in a mutinous colony, among savages. He would gladly 
 have remained himself, but who then might convey the 
 intelligence of this important discovery to the sov- 
 ereigns ? For the present his enterprise of coloniza- 
 tion must be abandoned, but by and by it might be 
 undertaken, perhaps. 
 
 Meanwhile his worm-eaten ships, on a lee shore, in a 
 storm, were in imminent peril. A small addition of force 
 to the present storm might drive them into the breakers. 
 What wonder if, in these days of constant worry of 
 mind and nights of sleepless anxiety, this aged spirit, 
 broken by hardships, disappointments, and outrage, 
 should fall into delirium — happily a religious delirium ! 
 He says : " At length, groaning with exhaustion, I fell 
 asleep and heard a compassionate voice address me 
 thus : ' O fool, and slow to believe and serve thy God, 
 the God of all ; what did He do more for Moses, or for 
 David, his servant, than He has done for thee ? From 
 thine infancy He has kept thee under His constant and 
 watchful care. When He saw thee arrived at an age 
 which suited His designs respecting thee, He brought 
 wonderful renown to thy name throughout all the land. 
 He gave thee for thine own the Indies, which form so 
 rich a portion of the world, and thou hast divided them 
 as it pleased thee, for He gave thee power to do so. He 
 gave thee the keys of those barriers of the ocean-sea 
 which were closed with such mighty chains, and thou 
 wast obeyed through many lands and gained an honor- 
 able fame throughout Christendom. Wliat more did the 
 Most High do for the people of Israel when He brought 
 them out of Egypt ; or for David, whom, a shepherd. He 
 made to be a King in Judea ? Turn to Him and ac- 
 
THE ADMIRAL'S VISION. r^g 
 
 knowledge thine error — His mercy is infinite. Thine 
 old age shall not prevent thee from accomplishing any 
 great undertaking. He holds under His sway the 
 greatest possessions. Abraham had exceeded a hundred 
 years of age when he begat Isaac ; nor was Sarah 
 young. Thou criest out for uncertain help ; answer, who 
 has afflicted thee so much and so often, God or the 
 world? The privileges promised by God He never 
 fails in bestowing; nor does He ever declare, after a 
 service has been rendered Him, that such was not 
 agreeable with His intention, or that He had regarded 
 the matter in auother light; nor does He inflict suffer- 
 ing in order to give effect to the manifestation of His 
 power. His acts answer to His words, and it is His 
 custom to perform all His promises with interest. Thus 
 I have told you what the Creator has done for thee, and 
 what He does for all men. Bven now He partially 
 shows thee the reward of so many toils and dangers in- 
 curred by thee in the service of others.' 
 
 " I heard all of this as it were in a trance ; but I had 
 no answer to give in definite words, and could but weep 
 for my errors. He who spoke to me, whoever it was, 
 concluded by saying : ' Fear not, trust ; all these tribu- 
 lations are recorded on marble, and not without cause.' " 
 
 Critics and scoffers have exercised themselves greatly 
 at the expense of this " vision " of Columbus. The 
 more credulous have seen in it a divine disclosure. To 
 us it seems exceedingly natural that this devout man, 
 broken down with age and extreme hardships, tortured 
 with physical sufferings and borne down with anxiety, 
 should fajl into just this sort of reverie. The order of 
 thought is simply a reflex of the facts of his life in the 
 
510 
 
 THE COLO NT IS BROKEN UP. 
 
 light of a true Christian faith slightly tinged with the 
 superstitions of the time. If it were a dream, it was 
 most natural, and according to the credulousness of the 
 time might easily be mistaken for a vision. If it were 
 a divine disclosure, it would readily fall into line with 
 other widely accepted facts on the divine side of human 
 history. In the final elucidation of all things, stranger 
 facts may be discovered than that Columbus was chosen 
 of God for a special purpose ; that he was providentially 
 fitted and divinely inspired for the main points of his 
 great achievement. 
 
 It had now become clear to all that the maintenance 
 of the colony was impossible. As soon as the protracted 
 storm subsided a vigorous effort gathered all together 
 for the homeward voyage. As the caravel Gallego 
 could not be brought out from the river, she was emptied 
 and dismantled. This work was put in charge of the 
 energetic Diego Mendez. Out of the sails of the caravel 
 he made sacks for carrying the biscuit ; the spars were 
 lashed across two large canoes, and on these a platform 
 was laid, thus making a safe raft. On this was placed 
 provisions, arms, ammunition, the furniture of the car- 
 avel, etc., which was then towed out to the ships by 
 means of row-boats. The wine, oil, and vinegar casks 
 were thrown into the water and drawn after by means 
 of ropes. As all were anxious to get away from this 
 dangerous coast, every one worked with a will, and in 
 two days, by means of seven trips, everything had been 
 transported to the ships awaiting the return. The mere 
 hull of the Gallego., thoroughly riddled by the teredo, 
 remained in the river. The faithful Mendez, having 
 worked day and night, was the last to leave the shore. 
 
THE SHIPS LEA VE. ^H 
 
 No language could portray the delight of these 
 sailors on once more finding themselves all together 
 and on board the ships for home. Gladly would they 
 meet the perils of the sea on their homeward voyage 
 if they might thus put the ocean between them and that 
 land of death. In recognition of the faithful services 
 of Diego Mendez in getting to sea, Columbus gave him 
 charge of the ship vacated by the death of Diego 
 Tristan. 
 
 The squadron sailed from Veragua in the last days 
 of April. The worm-eaten, weather-worn ships, the 
 weary, enervated crews, and the scanty supply of 
 provisions forbade their course to Spain. They must 
 find their haven in Hispaniola. But why did the Ad- 
 miral go coasting along to the eastward ? Why did 
 he not strike out due north to the point in view ? 
 Surely he must be sailing directly for Spain. So 
 thought the piolots ; and the}^ were much annoyed at 
 such presumption, with almost nothing in the larder, 
 and the water almost pouring in through worm-holes 
 nearly the bigness of a finger. But the Admiral 
 and his lieutenant were too well versed in the 
 knowledge of these seas to start directly north, and be 
 carried far west out of their course by the current setting 
 in so firmly from the east. Then, why should the 
 former give the results of his work away ? Behold 
 how many were ready waiting to follow in the wake 
 of his discoveries, and gather the results and profits 
 of his toils and sufferings ! Let the route be as 
 obscure as possible. So he even took the charts from 
 his sailors. 
 
 At Puerto Bello he was obliged to abandon one of 
 
^12 THE! SAIL FOR HISPANIOLA. 
 
 his ships, the Biscaina^ as she could no longer be kept 
 afloat, and the other two were so worm-eaten that it 
 was all the men could do to pump and bail the water 
 out as fast as it came in. Still the ships stood to the 
 east, past Port Retrete, the Mulatos, and Point Bios 
 to the Gulf of Darien. This large sheet of water 
 making in beyond the horizon was so suggestive of 
 the much-sought-for "^/r^zV" that the Admiral was 
 strongly tempted to continue in search of it ; but on 
 holding a council with his officers he found their 
 opposition on account of the condition of the ships 
 and the supplies so forcible that he turned the prows 
 northward for Hispaniola. This w^as May ist, and 
 they were ten leagues farther east than they had been 
 before. 
 
 Not only the currents but also the winds were 
 strong from the east, and the Admiral bore up close 
 to the wind. This annoyed his men, who declared 
 they were running to the east of the Caribbees, but 
 he doubted if they would even reach Plispaniola, which 
 fear proved to be true, for on the loth he approached 
 the Cayman Islands, west of Jamaica. Passing by the 
 tortoises which fairly swarmed and looked like little 
 rocks in these parts, the ships reached the Queen's 
 Gardens, south of Cuba, May 30th. Here they cast 
 anchor some ten leagues from the main island. The 
 crews were fairly exhausted, and the provisions reduced 
 to a few biscuit and a little oil and vinegar — poor diet 
 for men laboring incessantly at the pumps. A fear- 
 ful tempest arose ; three anchors were lost. The bow 
 of the Bermuda was driven fiercely into the stern of 
 the Admiral's ship, which now had but one anchor. 
 
THE SHIPS ARE STRANDED. 513 
 
 At daylight the cable was nearly parted. One hour 
 more of darkness and he would have been driven 
 onto the rocks. 
 
 The storm having lasted nearly a week, Columbus 
 weighed anchor for Hispaniola, his ^' people dismayed 
 and downhearted, almost all his anchors lost, and his 
 vessels bored as full of holes as a honeycomb." 
 Laboring against wind and current, he finally reached 
 Cape Cruz. 
 
 Having obtained cassava-bread from the Indians, 
 and waited on the wind a few days, he tried again to 
 buffet the winds and currents to Hispaniola, but all 
 in vain. The scene is most disheartening. The ill- 
 fed and worn-out sailors ply the pumps and bail with 
 buckets and kettles, but still the water gains on them. 
 Even the Admiral gives up and makes for the north 
 side of Jamaica, for the vessels are in danger of sink- 
 ing even before they reach that shore. On the 24th 
 of June they run the ships aground, side by side, 
 about a " bow-shot " from the land. Here they shore 
 them up and build pavilions on the decks, for the 
 holds of the vessels are almost filled with water. 
 Everything is put in the best possible state of defence, 
 and the men are not allowed to go ashore lest they 
 should commit some outrage against the natives, and 
 so prevent commerce or bring on an attack. Two 
 persons are appointed to carry on the trade, and a 
 careful distribution of supplies is made every evening. 
 
 The Indians soon swarmed abput the harbor, and 
 were quite inclined to trade. Fernando says they 
 " sold two utias^ which are little creatures like rabbits, 
 for a bit of tin, and cakes of bread they call zabi for 
 
5 14 A PERPLEXING SITUATION. 
 
 two or three red or yellow glass beads ; and when they 
 brought a quantity of anything, they had a hawk's 
 bell, and sometimes we gave a cacique or great man 
 a little looking-glass or red cap or a pair of scissors 
 to please them. This good order kept the men plenti- 
 fully supplied with provisions, and the Indians were 
 well pleased with our company." 
 
 Still the provisions were often inadequate, and as 
 the Indians kept no great supply on hand the colony 
 might at any time be reduced to want. It was evident 
 something must be done to communicate with His- 
 paniola. Should they try to build a ship for that 
 purpose ? Alas ! they had neither tools nor workmen 
 to construct anything which might stem the head- 
 winds and the currents. Was there any hope that 
 some ship might pass that way ? Scarcely. After 
 many councils held by the Admiral with his men, 
 there was but one plan to be commended — that some 
 one should go to Hispaniola in a canoe. 
 
 Diego Mendez went on an excursion through a 
 great part of the island, purchased and shipped pro- 
 visions for the crews, and had cultivated such friend- 
 ships with the different caciques that the}^ had agreed 
 to trade regularly with an agent sent out by the 
 Admiral. With knives, combs, beads, hawk's bells, 
 and fish-hooks he might purchase utias, fish, and 
 cassava-bread. Having sent back his men one by one 
 loaded with provisions, he continued on with two 
 Indians, one to carry his provisions and the other his 
 hammock, till he came to the eastern extremity of the 
 island. Here the cacique, one of the most powerful 
 in Jamaica, was completely won by the spirited 
 
DIEGO MENDEZ IS INTERVIEWED. 
 
 515 
 
 address and taking manners of Mendez, and became 
 so friendly as to exchange names in token of brother- 
 hood. The cacique was readily pledged to furnish 
 provisions for the ships, and for a brass helmet, a 
 shirt, and a short frock sold Mendez an excellent 
 canoe, which forthwith came back laden with pro- 
 visions. Loud were the acclamations of his comrades 
 on his return, and the Admiral embraced him most 
 cordially. The Spaniards had been literally fasting. 
 " There was not a loaf left in the ships," says Mendez. 
 Henceforth provisions came regularly. 
 
 " Ten days after this," says Mendez, " the Admiral 
 called me aside and spoke to me of the great peril he 
 was in, addressing me as follows : ' Diego Mendez, my 
 son, not one of those whom I have here with me has 
 any idea of the great danger in which we stand, except 
 myself and you, for we are but few in number, and 
 these wild Indians are numerous and very fickle and 
 capricious, and whenever they may take it in their 
 heads to come and burn us in our two ships, which 
 we have made into straw-thatched cabins, they may 
 easily do so by setting fire to them on the land side, 
 and so destroy us all. The arrangements which you 
 have made with them for the supply of food, to which 
 they agreed with such good-will, may soon prove dis- 
 agreeable to them, and it would not be surprising if, 
 on the morrow, they were not to bring us anything at 
 all ; in such case we are not in a position to take it by 
 main force, but shall be compelled to accede to their 
 terms. I have thought of a remedy, if you consider 
 it advisable, which is that some one should go out 
 in the canoe that you have purchased, and make his 
 
5i6 
 
 HIS NOBLE ANSWER. 
 
 way in it to Espaiiola, to purchase a vessel with 
 which we may escape from the extremely dangerous 
 position in which we now are. Tell me your opinion.' 
 To which I answered : ' My lord, I distinctly see the 
 danger in which we stand, which is much greater than 
 would be readily imagined. With respect to the 
 passage from this island to Bspanola in so small a 
 vessel as a canoe, I look upon it not merely as 
 dif&cult, but impossible, for I know not who would 
 venture to encounter so terrific a danger as to cross a 
 gulf of forty leagues of sea, and amongst islands 
 where the sea is most impetuous and scarcely ever at 
 rest.' 
 
 " His lordship did not agree w4th the opinion that 
 I expressed, but adduced strong arguments to show 
 that I was the person to undertake the enterprise. 
 To which I replied : ' My lord, I have many times 
 put my life in danger to save yours and the lives of 
 all those who are with you, and God has marvellously 
 preserved me ; in consequence of this, there have not 
 been wanting murmurers who have said that your 
 lordship entrusts every honorable undertaking to me, 
 while there are others amongst them who would per- 
 form them as well as I. My opinion is, therefore, that 
 your lordship would do well to summon all the men, 
 and lay this business before them, to see if, amongst 
 them all, there is one who will volunteer to take it, 
 which I certainly doubt, and if all refuse I will risk 
 my life in your service, as I have done many times 
 already.' 
 
 " On the following day his lordship caused all the 
 men to appear together before him, and then opened 
 
HIS PREPARATION. 517 
 
 the matter to them iu the same manner as he had 
 done to me. When they heard it they were all silent, 
 until some said that it was out of the question to 
 speak of such a thing, for it was impossible, in so 
 small a craft, to cross a boisterous and perilous gulf 
 of forty leagues breadth, and to pass between those 
 two islands, where very strong vessels had been lost 
 in going to make discoveries, not being able to 
 encounter the force and fury of the currents. I then 
 arose and said : ' My lord, I have but one life, and I 
 am willing to hazard it in the service of your lordship 
 and for the welfare of all those who are here with us ; 
 for I trust in God that, in consideration of the motive 
 which actuates me. He will give me deliverance, as He 
 has already done on many other occasions.' When 
 the Admiral heard my determination he arose and 
 embraced me, and, kissing me on the cheek, said : 
 ' Well did I know that there was no one here but 
 yourself who would dare to undertake this enterprise ; 
 I trust in God, our Lord, that you will come out of it 
 victoriously, as you have done in the others which 
 you have undertaken.' 
 
 " On the following day I drew my canoe onto the 
 shore, fixed a false keel on it, and pitched and greased 
 it. I then nailed some boards upon the poop and 
 prow to prevent the sea from coming in, as it was 
 liable to do from the lowness of the gunwales ; I also 
 fixed a mast in it, set up a sail, and laid in the neces- 
 sary provisions for myself, one Spaniard, and six 
 Indians, making eight in all, which was as many as 
 the canoe would hold. I then bade farewell to his 
 lordship and all others, and proceeded along the 
 
5i8 
 
 HIS CAPTURE. 
 
 coast of Jamaica, up to the extremity of the island, 
 which was thirty-five leagues from the point whence 
 we started." 
 
 Here they went ashore, and, waiting for the sea to be- 
 come smooth, were wandering about rather uncircum- 
 spectly, when a crowd of savages falling upon them 
 took them prisoners and hurried them away into the 
 woods. Here it was decided to put the Spaniards to 
 death, but a quarrel having sprung up respecting a 
 division of the spoils, while the question was being 
 settled by some game of chance, Mendez got into his 
 canoe and made his escape. Aided by the rapid cur- 
 rent, he was back again in the presence of the Ad- 
 miral just fifteen days after leaving. 
 
 Nothing daunted, he was ready to start again, pro- 
 vided a sufiicient guard of men might accompany him 
 to the extremity of the island and protect him till he 
 could get away. The number in this adventure was 
 now doubled. In addition to the six Spaniards and 
 ten Indians in the canoe commanded by Mendez, 
 another canoe manned in like manner was assigned 
 to Bartholomew Fiesco, a brave Genoese, who had com- 
 manded the Biscaina. When these brave men reached 
 Hispaniola, Fiesco was to return to Jamaica with 
 intelligence of their safe arrival, while Mendez was to 
 proceed to Spain bearing the Admiral's messages to 
 the sovereigns. 
 
 Very cheerfully, indeed, did the little company 
 embark, the Indians laying in their frugal supply of 
 cassava-bread, roots, and calabashes filled with water. 
 To this simple fare the Spaniards added some meat of 
 the utia, and took their swords and bucklers. The 
 
HIS A D VENTURE. ^ i g 
 
 adelautado went along the shore with seventy well- 
 armed men. Three days they waited at the eastern 
 end of the island for the sea to become calm. After 
 they had launched, the adelantado waited till nighty 
 and watched the canoes till they disappeared in the 
 horizon. Frail barks, these, for such a sea ! When 
 the}^ were loaded they were not a span above the 
 water.^ Awkward white men, dressed and in armor, 
 might well dread them in a storm ; but the naked 
 Indians were so like fishes in the water that they 
 could easily right a capsized canoe, bail it out with 
 their calabashes, and go on as if nothing had hap- 
 pened. 
 
 The first day at sea there was neither wind nor 
 cloud, but the burning rays of the sun reflected by the 
 water were well-nigh insufferable. Every now and 
 then the Indians would jump into the water, and, 
 swimming abreast of the canoes, would cool and 
 refresh themselves. Then the Spaniards would 
 encourage them to row as fast as they could. The 
 Indian had a deft hand at the paddle. All day long 
 the canoes had fairly skipped over the water. At 
 night there was simply sky and water in sight. The 
 crews were divided into watches ; one-half slept while 
 the other half worked, the Indians at the paddles and 
 the white men keeping guard with weapon in hand. 
 
 The temperature did not fall much with the dark- 
 ness. All night long it was sultry and oppressive, so 
 that the morning found the crews greatly exhausted. 
 The captains now gave a rest and refreshments, and 
 encouraged the Indians by trying their own hands at 
 
 ^ Fernando Columbus, chapter ci. 
 
520 SUFFERING OF THE ADVENTURERS. 
 
 the paddles. But the Indians had brought on a 
 calamity. In the labor and heat of the day before, 
 they had drank up all their water, so that there was 
 now not a drop to moisten their parched lips. By noon 
 they were completely exhausted. Now the captains 
 discovered two small kegs of water which they seem 
 to have reserved for such emergency. Mouthful by 
 mouthful the precious draughts are administered, 
 especially to the suffering, toiling Indians. These 
 were, moreover, encouraged by the assurance that they 
 would soon reach the little island Navasa, which lay 
 directly in their course, eight leagues this side of 
 Hispaniola. Slowly and wearily the day passed away, 
 and when the sun sank into the ocean there was still 
 no sight of land, nor yet so much as a cloud in the 
 horii'.on to delude them. According to the reckoning 
 kept by the captains, the island should now have been 
 in sight. Could it be that they were out of their 
 course and might even miss Hispaniola? As the 
 night closed about them they despaired of touching at 
 Navasa. An island so small and low could only be 
 met by chance in the darkness. And the gloom 
 thickened when one of the suffering and exhausted 
 Indians died and was dropped into the sea. Others, 
 faint and gasping, lay stretched out on the canoe- 
 bottoms, and those who continued their toiling were 
 so consumed by thirst that they would even sip the 
 brine from the sea. 
 
 Finally, the last drop had been drained from the 
 casks. The night was far advanced, but even those 
 whose turn entitled them to rest could not sleep for 
 anxiety and thirst. One by one the paddles ceased. 
 
THE MO ON A ND NA VA SA. 521 
 
 All had given up in despair of reaching Hispaniola. 
 Mendez stood watching the horizon, in which the com- 
 ing moon glimmered faintly. As the silver edge 
 emerged it defined a small rocky landscape. " Land !" 
 he cried, and the sound brought life to every heart. 
 There was Navasa ! — but such a mere bit of land-line 
 against the sky that, had it not been on the bright 
 face of the moon, no eye could have detected it. The 
 weariness of the rowers and the strength of the cur- 
 rent had thrown the captains off their reckoning. 
 
 Hope brought new strength to every muscle. Again 
 the canoes are pushed against the current, and in the 
 gray dawn the crews leap on shore and give thanks to 
 God. They hurry about over the island, about a mile 
 and a half in circuit. There is not a tree, nor a bush, 
 nor even a bit of grass. All is rock, unbroken by stream 
 or spring. But in the hollows of the rock is an abun- 
 dance of rain-water, partially cooled by the night. Dip- 
 ping it up with their calabashes, they drank to their 
 peril. The Spaniards restrain themselves with some- 
 thing of reason, but the poor famished Indians simply 
 abandon themselves to the momentary relief, some of 
 them dying on the spot and others falling painfully ill. 
 
 Oviedo says that not far from this island there 
 gushes up in the midst of the sea a fountain of pure, 
 fresh water, so copious as to sweeten the surface all 
 around. But the poor famished boatmen knew it not. 
 
 Their thirst assuaged, they look for food. Along the 
 shore-line, among the weeds, they find some shell-fish 
 thrown up by the tide. Kindling a fire with the drift- 
 wood picked up here and there, they roast and eat them 
 with the keen relish of fatigue and hunger. Then they 
 
522 
 
 FAITHFULNESS OF MENDEZ. 
 
 rest oil the rocks and feast their eyes on the beatific 
 vision of Hispaniola, its purple nioimtains and exu- 
 berant reaches of landscape stretching along the horizon, 
 eight leagues away. 
 
 In the cool of the evening they again commit them- 
 selves to the sea and reach the western end of Hispan- 
 iola the next day, the fourth since leaving Jamaica. 
 Here, on the banks of the beautiful river and abun- 
 dantly refreshed by the kindly natives, they rest and 
 recuperate for two days. The faithful Fiesco would 
 have returned at once to Jamaica, according to the Ad- 
 miral's directions, but both Spaniards and natives were 
 so horrified by the toils and sufferings of the passage 
 that they could not be induced to accompany him. 
 Mendez, though suffering from a fever, taking six 
 Indians, set out in his canoe for San Domingo, a dis- 
 tance of one hundred and thirty leagues. 
 
 Having toiled against the currents for eighty leagues, 
 he learned that Ovando, the governor, was in Xaragua, 
 fifty miles in the interior. Abandoning his canoe and 
 going alone on foot through forests and over mountains, 
 he arrived at Xaragua, " achieving one of the most 
 perilous expeditions," saj^s Irving, " ever undertaken 
 by a devoted follower for the safety of his commander." 
 
 Now that such an herculean effort has been made to 
 bring the tidings of the disaster of the x\dmiral at Ja- 
 maica to the governor's ears, what is the result ? 
 Surely he will move heaven and earth to bring relief to 
 the acute sufferings and imminent perils of one who 
 has been rendering the most important services to his 
 nation and to the world. Certainly, Ovando professes 
 great concern at the sad plight of Columbus, and makes 
 
CRUEL SCHEME OF OVANDO. 
 
 523 
 
 all sorts of promises of sending immediate relief, bnt 
 the days, the weeks, and the months pass, and nothing 
 whatever in the way of relief is attempted. Mendez 
 gives us to understand that the governor was at this 
 very time busying himself with slaughtering the beau- 
 tiful and hospitable natives of Xaragua — massacring 
 chiefs, people, men, women, and children, in the most 
 indiscriminate manner. 
 
 Of the debauched classes of Spanish grandees — to 
 a great extent associates of Roldan in his rebellion — 
 who had settled in that lovely part of the island, and 
 taxed the natives to till their soil and carry them on their 
 backs, some had told Ovando that a rebellion was being 
 concocted by Anacaona and her caciques. No proofs of 
 the said rebellion ever became tangible, but the gov- 
 ernor was completely taken by the insinuations, and 
 forthwith set himself to cure it in the most summary 
 manner. With three hundred foot-soldiers, bearing 
 swords, cross-bows, and arquebuses, and seventy horse- 
 men, well protected by cuirass, lance, and buckler, he is 
 going into Xaragua. Strangely enough, he is thus 
 going to visit the Queen Anacaona, who since the death 
 of her brother, Behechio, has been recognized as ruler 
 over the natives in this lovely province. Meanwhile he 
 will adjust the tribute in these parts. Anacaona, not- 
 withstanding all she has suffered from these intruding 
 white men, will still make the most of them. Having 
 notified all her subordinate chiefs and principal subjects 
 to assemble, she goes out to meet Ovando and his army. 
 
 It is a truly spirited and beautiful procession, accord- 
 ing to the custom of showing homage by this generous 
 people. Here are not only scores of chiefs and strong 
 
5 2 4 ^ UN DA r A MUSE ME NTS. 
 
 and handsome men generally, but beautiful women and 
 maidens, moving in the most spirited and graceful man- 
 ner, as they sing their areytos, or national ballads. 
 The maidens are waving their palm branches and 
 dancing as charmingly as when they first met the 
 Spaniards led by Don Bartholomew. 
 
 When the procession enters Anacaona's town, she 
 assigns the governor her largest house, and comfort- 
 ably quarters his men in other houses around him. 
 For days they are feasted on all the good things of 
 the province. The games, the songs, and the dances 
 go on for their amusement. Surely there is nothing 
 like rebellion in all this, nor have historians ever 
 discovered any evidences of it. But unprincipled, 
 would-be informants are still credited, and without 
 any proper investigation Ovando proceeds upon the 
 worst possible suppositions, and that in the most 
 treacherous manner conceivable. He will now take 
 his turn and amuse and entertain these natives, who 
 have fairly outdone themselves for his pleasure. 
 What could be more fitting for this purpose than that 
 chivalrous joust with reeds, learned from the Moors of 
 Granada by the Spaniards ? One Sunday afternoon, 
 on the public square and in front of the house 
 assigned Ovando in this Indian town, the Spanish 
 cavalrymen assemble. They are remarkable for their 
 skilful manoeuvres and the gay trappings of their 
 fine horses. Aye, there is one steed which can so 
 prance and curvet as to literally keep time to the 
 viol ! But these horsemen have also other weapons, 
 sharper than reeds, and the footmen, ostensibly mere 
 spectators, are also to be well armed, and all must act 
 at a concerted signal. 
 
THE DEADLY SIGNAL. 
 
 525 
 
 The hour appointed arrives, and the square is 
 crowded with natives on tiptoe curiosity to see the 
 games. The caciques are crowded into Ovando's 
 house, which overlooks the square. Unsuspecting 
 innocents ! Not one of them is armed. Not one has an 
 evil thought. Ovando, who will appear as harmless 
 as a little child, is playing with some of his principal 
 officers at quoits. 
 
 The cavalry is prancing on the square. Everything 
 is waiting. The caciques beg the governor to begin 
 the games. Anacaona, too, and her beautiful daughter 
 and beautiful female attendants, all join in the 
 request. Ovando will be obliging, leaves his game 
 and comes forward to a conspicuous place and gives 
 the deadly signal — took hold of a piece of gold hang- 
 ing from his neck, some say ; or, as others say, laid 
 his hand on the Alcantaron cross embroidered on his 
 fine clothes. The trumpet sounds. The soldiers 
 under regular command, at once surround the house 
 in which are Anacaona and the chiefs. These latter 
 are all tied to the posts supporting the roof, while the 
 queen is led out a prisoner. Hark ! the caciques are 
 shrieking under the most terrible tortures ! At the 
 very extremity of anguish, they are betrayed into a 
 false accusation of the queen and of themselves as to 
 the supposed plot. 
 
 This is enough. No regular examination is needed. 
 A torch is put to the inflammable structure, and the 
 cries of the unhappy chiefs rise above the raging 
 flames. Meanwhile, a most shocking massacre is 
 going on among the people. The horsemen are 
 rushing through the crowds of shrieking men, women, 
 
526 
 
 THE SLAUGHTER. 
 
 and children — defenceless and naked. Swords are 
 hacking and cutting right and left, the spears are 
 transfixing the strong, the infirm, and the little 
 innocent, while steel-clad hoofs trample down indis- 
 criminatel3^ If perchance a Spaniard, more humane 
 than the rest, catch up a little innocent, which appeals 
 to his heart, and is about to bear it away, some one 
 more demoniacal thrusts a lance through it. 
 
 Turning pale with dismay at such butchering, we 
 should refuse credence if we were not compelled to ac- 
 cept the testimony of such a venerable personage as 
 Las Casas, who was on the scene of action at the time. 
 Diego Mendez, who was then in Xaragua, and probably 
 a witness of the scene, says incidentally in his will that 
 the number of caciques either burnt or hanged was 
 eighty-four. Las Casas gives eighty as the number in 
 the house. The slaughter of the people was general 
 and well-nigh complete. The few who escaped — some 
 of them in canoes to a neighboring island — were brought . 
 back and condemned to slavery. The beautiful and 
 generous Anacaona was taken to San Domingo in 
 chains, and, on the strength of the confession enforced 
 by the most terrific tortures, was publicly hanged like 
 the vilest criminal. Such was the final reward of this 
 beautiful and highly accomplished native princess by 
 those she had always befriended in the most remarkable 
 and even unaccountable manner. 
 
 This shocking massacre was not enough to satisfy the 
 bloodthirstiness of Ovando and his minions. For six 
 months the governor's horse and foot continued to scour 
 the forests and mountains in search of those who tried to 
 escape. When the poor terrified creatures were found 
 
DISSA TISFA CTION. 
 
 527 
 
 secreted in dens of the mountains they were dragged 
 forth and hanged in the most summary manner as in- 
 corrigible rebels. In commemoration of this great 
 slaughter — ostensibly a victory — Ovando founded a town 
 called St. Mary of the True Peace ! That such deeds 
 of cruelty could have been perpetrated in the sincerity 
 of good faith seems incredible. Such was the wise 
 and humane government which succeeded that of the 
 Admiral. 
 
 While all this innocent blood was being shed, which 
 continued through the greater part of a year, Columbus 
 might lie on his back beneath the palm-leaf canopy on 
 his worm-eaten ships, sweltering under a tropical sun, 
 twinging with the gout, half starved, and harassed by 
 the most unreasonable and cruel rebellions ! 
 
 The last word of the previous paragraph is the key- 
 note to the next incident in the experience of Colum- 
 bus at Jamaica — the rebellion of the Porras brothers. 
 It must be borne in mind that no tidings whatever 
 had arrived as to the canoe-voyage of Mendez and 
 Fiesco to Hispaniola. Meanwhile, many of those on 
 the thatched wrecks fell sick, some in consequence of 
 the unparalleled hardships of the voyage, and some 
 because of the lack of their wonted provisions, 
 especially wine and flesh ; for the Spaniards could not 
 readily adapt themselves to the light vegetable diet 
 of the Indians. Then, too, the depression of mind 
 incident to their deplorable situation must have told 
 heavily on the nerves and tissues of the healthiest 
 bodies. And what could have been more favorable to 
 the development of a mutinous spirit than the un- 
 interrupted idleness necessitated by the situation ? 
 
528 
 
 MURMURING. 
 
 Very soon mutterings arose here and there. " The 
 Admiral would return into Spain no more, because 
 their Catholic Majesties had turned him off, nor much 
 less to Hispaniola, where he had been refused admit- 
 tance at his coming from Spain, and that he had sent 
 those in the canoes into Spain to solicit his own 
 affairs, and not to bring ships or other succors, and 
 that he designed, whilst they were soliciting their 
 Catholic Majesties, to stay there to fulfil his banish- 
 ment, for otherwise Bartholomew Fiesco had been 
 come back by this time, as was given out he was to 
 do. Besides, they knew not whether he and James 
 Mendez were drowned by the way, which, if it had 
 happened, they should never be relieved if they did 
 not take care for it themselves, since the Admiral did 
 not seem to look to it for the reasons aforesaid, and 
 because of the gout, which had so seized all his limbs 
 that he could scarce stir in his bed, much less undergo 
 the fatigue and danger of going over to Hispaniola in 
 canoes."^ Then, too, they would better come to a 
 resolution in this matter while they were well. They 
 might fall sick at any time, and then there would be 
 no such thing as getting away. Nor could the Ad- 
 miral in his present state of prostration bar their 
 departure. At Hispaniola, where he had so many 
 enemies, they could not fail to be well received, 
 especially since they could report him in so helpless a 
 condition. Once in Spain, Fonseca would make their 
 case good, as would also " Morales, who kept for his 
 mistress the sister of those Porrases, the ringleaders 
 of the mutineers and chief fomenters of the sedition, 
 
 ^Fernando Columbus, chapter cii. 
 
REBELLION. 
 
 529 
 
 who did not doubt but they should be well received by 
 their Catholic Majesties, before whom all the fault 
 would be laid upon the Admiral, as had been done in 
 the affairs of Hispaniola with Roldan ; and their 
 Majesties would the rather seize him and take all he 
 had than be obliged to perform all that was agreed 
 upon between them and him."^ 
 
 These Porras brothers, Francisco and Diego, the 
 former made captain of one of the ships, and the 
 latter notary and accountant-general by Columbus, 
 who had been induced to favor them by Morales, the 
 roj-al treasurer, had been treated like relatives, even 
 when they had proved themselves incapable of filling 
 their several of&ces. It would seem that those whom 
 the Admiral favored most were most susceptible of 
 ingratitude. On the 2d of January a completely 
 organized mutiny discovered itself. Francisco de Por- 
 ras came rudely into the cabin on the stern of the 
 caravel, where Columbus lay, a complete cripple from 
 the gout. 
 
 " My lord," said he, in a highly irritated mood, 
 " what is the meaning that you will not go into 
 Spain, and will keep us all here perishing ? " 
 
 " I do not see how we can get away till those who 
 have gone to Hispaniola in the canoes send us a ship,'* 
 said Columbus. " No map. can be more desirous of 
 getting away from this place than I am, as well for 
 my own interests as for the good of you all, and I fully 
 realize how accountable I am for the welfare of each 
 one of you. If you have anything to propose, I will 
 readily call the of&cers together in consultation, as I 
 have more than once done heretofore." 
 
 ^ Fernando Columbus, chapter cii. 
 
^3o REBELLION. 
 
 " It is no time to talk," replied Porras, bruskly, 
 " but a time to act, and to act promptly, or we may 
 stay here forever." 
 
 And turning Hs back on the Admiral he said in 
 a loud and defiant voice, " I am for Spain with those 
 who will follow me." At once his followers began to 
 cry out here and there, " We will go with you," 
 " We will go with you." Running about, they 
 " possessed themselves of the forecastle, poop, and 
 roundtops, all in confusion, and crying, ' Let them 
 die ; ' others, ' For Spain,' ' For Spain,' and others, 
 ' What shall we do, captain ? ' Though the Admiral 
 was then in bed, so lame of the gout that he could not 
 stand, yet he could not forbear rising and stumbling 
 out at this noise. But two or three worthy persons, 
 his servants, laid hold of him and with labor laid him 
 on his bed that the mutineers might not murder him. 
 Then they ran to his brother, who was courageously 
 come out with a half pike in his hand, and, wrest- 
 ing it out of his hands, put him in to his brother, 
 desiring Captain Porras to go about his business and 
 not do some mischief they might all suffer for ; that he 
 might be satisfied they did not oppose his going ; but 
 if he should kill the Admiral, he could not expect but 
 to be severely punished, without hopes of any benefit. 
 
 " The tumult being somewhat appeased, the con- 
 spirators took ten canoes that were by the ship's side, 
 and which the Admiral had bought all about the 
 island, and went aboard them as joyfully as if they 
 had been in some part of Spain. Upon this, many 
 more, who had no hand in the plot, in despair to 
 see themselves, as they thought, forsaken, taking what 
 
MISCHIEF. ^31 
 
 they cotild along with them, went aboard the canoes 
 with them, to the great sorrow and affliction of those 
 few faithful servants who remained with the Admiral, 
 and of all the sick, who thought themselves lost for- 
 ever, and without hope of ever getting off. And it is 
 certain that had the people been well, not twenty men 
 had remained with the Admiral, who went out to comfort 
 his men with the best words the posture of his affairs 
 would suggest ; and the mutineers, with their captain, 
 Francisco de Porras, in their canoes, went away to the 
 east point of the island."^ 
 
 On their way they did as much mischief as possible. 
 They insulted the natives, taking by force provisions 
 or anything else they wanted, and telling them to go 
 to the Admiral for their pay. If he would not pay 
 them they might put him to death, which, indeed, was 
 the best thing they could do. Was he not hated by 
 the Christians? Had he not been the cause of all the 
 ills suffered by the Indians of Hayti ? He would soon 
 treat them in like manner if they did not put him out 
 of the way, for that was his design in staying there. 
 
 Having reached the eastern extremity of Jamaica, 
 they set out for Hispaniola as soon as there was a calm, 
 taking Indians to paddle the canoes. But they had 
 miscalculated the weather. Their canoes, too heavily 
 loaded, made poor headway in a rough sea with wind 
 ahead ; they therefore resolved to turn back before they 
 had made four leagues at sea. Then they were not skil- 
 ful in managing their canoes, and the water coming in 
 over the sides they threw everything overboard but 
 
 ^ The above quotations are from Fernando Columbus's Life of the Admi- 
 ral. Thej are the words of an eje-witness. Chapter cii. 
 4 
 
^32 CRUELTl. 
 
 their arms and the provisions needed on the way back. 
 As the wind became stronger their fears increased, 
 and they resolved to murder the Indians and throw 
 them overboard. When they had killed some of these 
 poor natives, others became so terrified that they 
 sprang overboard, trusting to their skill in swimming 
 as a means of escape. But when they became so 
 weary that they caught hold of the sides of the canoes 
 in order to recover their breath, their hands were 
 chopped off and their bodies otherwise wounded. Hav- 
 ing thus butchered eighteen, they spared a few to 
 guide the canoes which they themselves could not 
 handle. Such was their treatment of these timorous 
 beings whom they had overpersuaded and coaxed into 
 this perilous voyage. 
 
 Having made their way back to Jamaica, they were 
 much divided in opinion as to what it might be best to 
 do. Some were for running over to Cuba and thence 
 putting across to Hispaniola ; others proposed going 
 back and making such terms of peace as they could 
 with the Admiral, or, perhaps, taking away from him 
 by force such provisions and arms as he still had, 
 while others preferred to stay where they were till 
 another calm, when they might renew their attempt 
 for a voyage to Hispaniola. This last advice prevail- 
 ing, they foraged about the neighborhood a month 
 waiting for fair weather ; but after two attempts with- 
 out success, " they set out towards the west from one 
 town to another, with an ill-will, without canoes or any 
 comfort, sometimes eating what they found, and taking 
 it where they could by force, according to their 
 
DEPRESSION OF COLUMBUS. 533 
 
 Strength and that of the caciques through whose 
 territories they passed."^ 
 
 To return to Columbus : on his worm-eaten, stranded 
 ships, forsaken by nearly all the healthy and available 
 part of his crews, and racked by the pains of exhaustion 
 and acute disease, his most incorrigible and pitiless 
 enemy could scarcely have conceived anything worse 
 for him. What heart could fail to be moved by the 
 wailing utterances he recorded to his sovereigns while 
 in Jamaica? " Hitherto," he says, " I have wept over 
 others ; may Heaven now have mercy upon me, and 
 may the earth weep for me. With regard to temporal 
 things, I have not even a blanca for an offering ; and 
 in spiritual things, I have ceased here in the Indies 
 from observing the prescribed forms of religion. Sol- 
 itary in my trouble, sick, and in dail}^ expectation of 
 death, surrounded by millions of hostile savages full 
 of cruelty, and thus separated from the blessed sacra- 
 ments of our holy church, how will my soul be for- 
 gotten if it be separated from the body in this foreign 
 land? Weep for me, whoever has charitj^, truth, and 
 justice ! " 
 
 But afflictions and trials did not deter the Admiral 
 from present duty. The sick were so devotedly cared 
 for that they soon became convalescent, and the Indians 
 were so conciliated by kind treatment that they con- 
 tinued to bring provisions in exchange for trinkets and 
 Kuropean commodities. " But they being a people that 
 take little pains in sowing," says Fernando Columbus, 
 " and we eating more in one day than they did in twenty, 
 besides having no longer any inclination to our com- 
 
 1 Fernando Columbus, chapter cii. 
 
^34 JVAJVT OF FOOD. 
 
 modities and making little account of them, they began 
 in some measure to take the advice of the mutineers, 
 since they saw so great a part of our men against us, 
 and therefore brought not such plenty of provisions as 
 we stood in need of. This brought us to great distress ; 
 for if we would have taken it b\^ force, the greatest part 
 of us must have gone ashore in warlike manner and 
 have left the Admiral aboard in great danger, he being 
 (^ very ill of the gout ; and if we expected the}^ should 
 bring it of their own accord, we must live in misery, 
 and give ten times as much for it as we did at first, they 
 knowing how to make their bargains, as being sensible 
 of the advantages they had over us." 
 
 But the Admiral was a great sailor even on dry 
 land, and was about as expert in managing a com- 
 munit}^ of savage chieftains as in controling mu- 
 tinous sailors. Even the most striking phenomena 
 of nature miist be utilized in directing human thought 
 and action. In three days there would be an eclipse 
 of the moon. An interpreter was sent out to summon 
 all the principal Indians on the island, for he wished 
 to talk with them concerning a matter of great im- 
 portance. They arrived the day before the eclipse, 
 and the interpreter was instructed to tell them that 
 the God in whom these Christians believed " took 
 care of the good and punished the wicked," hence 
 those Spaniards who had rebelled had not been 
 permitted to reach Hispaniola, as Mendez and Fiesco 
 had, but had wandered about miserably, as all the 
 islanders knew, and this great God was angry with 
 the Indians because they neglected to bring the 
 Christians food in exchange for their commodities. 
 
THE ECLIPSE. 535 
 
 Plague and famine would, therefore, come as a- pun- 
 ishment upon the island, and, lest they should doubt 
 this, there would be a sign given them in the heavens. 
 That very night they would behold the moon " rise 
 angry and of a blood}^ hue," in token of the judgments 
 about to fall upon them. 
 
 The Indians went away, some of them more or less 
 terrified, and some of them regarding the matter 
 merely as an " idle tale." When the moon arose, the 
 dark shadow began to advance upon her, increasing 
 as she ascended. The Indians were on the lookout 
 for it, and were so terrified that they came running 
 in all directions, loaded down with provisions, " crying 
 and lamenting," and beseeching the Admiral " by all 
 means to intercede with God for them, that he might 
 not make them feel the effects of his wrath, and 
 promising for the future carefully to bring him all he 
 wanted."^ 
 
 The Admiral promised to speak with God for them, 
 and, to this end, shut himself up during the remainder 
 of the eclipse, the Indians meanwhile keeping up 
 their cries and entreaties for help. When the eclipse 
 began to recede and the moon became bright he came 
 out of his cabin, " saying he had prayed to God for 
 them, and promised him in their names they would be 
 good for the future and use the Christians well, bring- 
 ing them provisions and other necessaries, and that 
 therefore God forgave them, and as a token of it they 
 should see the angriness and bloody color of the moon 
 go off."' 
 
 1 Fernando Columbus, chapter ciii. ^ Ibid. 
 
536 ^UERl. 
 
 While lie was speaking the change mentioned took 
 place; so the natives, overjoyed at the sight, con- 
 tinued to thank the Admiral and to praise God till the 
 moon was quite restored to them. " From that time 
 forward," says Fernando Columbus, "they always 
 took care to provide all that was necessary, ever 
 praising the God of the Christians, for they believed 
 the eclipses they had seen at other times had denoted 
 mischief to befall them ; and being ignorant of the 
 cause of them and that they happened at certain 
 times, not believing it possible to know on earth what 
 was to happen in the heavens, they certainly con- 
 cluded the God of the Christians had revealed it to 
 the Admiral." 
 
 Kight months had passed since Mendez and Fiesco 
 had launched their canoes for Hispaniola, and yet no 
 word of any kind had come back. The men still 
 remaining with Columbus, especially those having 
 recovered from their sickness, were becoming very 
 impatient. Some thought that the above-named 
 comrades had been lost at sea, others feared they had 
 been killed by the Indians on landing at Hispaniola, 
 while others conjectured that they might have fallen 
 victims to the hardships they must have encountered 
 along the south side of Hispaniola, in the hundred 
 leagues of rough and mountainous coast washed by 
 a strong westward current, before they could reach 
 San Domingo. Their suspicions were still further 
 increased by a report from the Indians of an upturned 
 canoe which they had seen floating on the beach — 
 one which the mutineers may have sent adrift for the 
 very purpose of creating an alarm. Concluding, 
 
ESCOBAR'S CALL. 537 
 
 therefore, that no relief would ever come to them, 
 another mutiny, consisting mostly of those who had 
 been too sick to get away on the former occasion, was 
 about to break out, when fortunately one afternoon, 
 near night, the novel sight of a sail in the distance 
 brought a quietus. 
 
 The craft, sent out by Ovando, cast anchor near the 
 stranded caravels, and the captain, Diego de Escobar, 
 known as one of the most active coadjutors of Rol- 
 dan's rebellion and condemned to death by Columbus, 
 but pardoned by Bobadilla, entered a boat and ap- 
 proached the wrecks. He came near enough to 
 deliver a letter from Ovando, and also a cask of wine 
 and some bacon ; then, moving away quite a distance, 
 he told Columbus that he had been sent by the 
 governor to express his deep regrets at his mis- 
 fortunes, that he unfortunately had no vessel large 
 enough to bring away him and his crews, but that 
 he hoped soon to accommodate him. The Admiral's 
 affairs, too, at Hispaniola were being faithfully looked 
 after. If he wished to send a letter to the governor, 
 v/ould he prepare it quickly, as he must return at once. 
 
 All this was truly an enigma. Columbus wrote 
 hastily to Ovando in the most friendly manner, 
 depicting his deplorable situation, the late rebellion, 
 and his dependence upon the good of&ces of the 
 governor ; moreover, he especially commended Men- 
 dez and Fiesco to his favor, assuring him that they 
 had set out on their perilous voyage simply as the 
 messengers of his distressed condition. On receiving 
 the letter, Escobar returned immediately to his craft 
 and set sail in the gloom of the coming night. 
 
538 EXPLANATION AND ^UERT. 
 
 As the disappointed crews watched the retreating sail, 
 they were still more and more perplexed at the cool- 
 ness and sudden departure of these messengers, 
 who had not been allowed to intercommunicate with 
 them. Columbus, reading their gloomy disappointment 
 in their faces, assured them that he was satisfied with 
 the message, and believed that relief would soon come. 
 Did it seem strange to them that he had not returned 
 with Escobar ? He preferred to remain and share their 
 lot till a ship large enough to take them all away might 
 arrive. Hope revived, and the heart went out of the 
 conspiracy. 
 
 But as Columbus reflected he found much ground for 
 query in this strange and hasty call from -one of his 
 most malicious enemies. Since Mendez had performed 
 his mission so faithfully and in so short a time, why 
 had not this much at least been done before? And 
 why now was the relief so scanty — barely enough to tanta- 
 lize them ? Was Ovando afraid to have him returned to 
 Spain, lest he should be reinstated in his viceroy alty, 
 and so displace him ; or did he hope by this long 
 delay to insure his death on this lonely island, among 
 savages ? Was the unfriendly Escobar merely a spy, 
 sent out to ascertain something as to these possibilities ? 
 To this very hour impartial students of historj^ have 
 continued to ask these same questions, but no answer 
 has ever suggested itself which does not imply the 
 most culpable and shameful neglect of a noble and most 
 serviceable man, whom the world still delights to honor. 
 
 Should we not believe Ovando guilty of some dark 
 and sinister purpose, the fact still remains that he was 
 at least unmindful of the keen sufferings incident to so 
 
O VA ND O'S A D MINIS TRA TION. ^ 3 ^ 
 
 great a calamity, and that is still further aggravated in 
 that he was at this very time, as it would appear, com- 
 pleteh^ absorbed in the most shameless and cruel per- 
 secution of the natives. The exterminating wars, in 
 v/hich the aged, the infirm, and those in helpless in- 
 fancy were alike subjected to the most indiscriminate 
 slaughter ; the manner in which captives were gibbeted, 
 hacked in pieces, wrapped in dry straw and set on fire, 
 or were sent awa}^ with their hands cut off, that the bleed- 
 ing stumps of their arms might be a warning to those 
 disposed to rebel against Spanish tyrannj^ ; how others 
 were made to slave in the mines, long distances from 
 their homes, for a mere pittance of pay which mocked 
 the pangs of hunger ; how many of the oppressed 
 natives resorted to suicide as an escape from the most 
 cruel outrages ; how others died from exhaustion on their 
 wa}^ home from the mines — all this and immeasurably 
 more, even to the extermination of millions of the once 
 happy aborigines of these elysian isles in a few decades, 
 all is told by the saintly Las Casas, who was an eye- 
 witness of the shocking scenes and spent his life in 
 trying to alleviate the miseries of the poor unfortu- 
 nates. 
 
 Such was the administration of Ovando, who had been 
 sent to Hispaniola to correct the supposed misrule of Co- 
 lumbus, and especially in respect to his so-called cruel 
 treatment of the natives. In no way does the govern- 
 ment of the Admiral appear so favorable, particularly in 
 respect to the natives, as when contrasted with the hor- 
 rors of the rule of Bobadilla and Ovando, whose exter- 
 minating oppression of the Indian servants and slaves 
 finds its explanation in their determination to gain favor 
 
540 OVERTURES TO THE REBELS. 
 
 with the Spanish sovereigns by swelling their coffers 
 with the much-coveted gold from the Indies. Indeed, 
 the entire scheme of their management was a carefully 
 studied and well-organized plan to this particular end, 
 without any apparent regard for justice or human 
 rights. Las Casas, whose detailed account of the 
 cruelties of the Spaniards to the natives is so sickening 
 as to be well-nigh unreadable, says, " All these things 
 and others revolting to human nature my own eyes 
 beheld ; and now I almost fear to repeat them, scarce 
 believing myself, or whether I have not dreamt them."^ 
 
 But to return to the Admiral on his worm-eaten ships, 
 we find the whole aspect of things changed by Ksco- 
 bar's short and mysterious call. Hope had returned to 
 every heart, and a vantage-ground had been gained for 
 treating with the rebels, with whom, now that it was 
 clear how safely and successfully Mendez and Fiesco 
 had made their voyage and ultimately accomplished 
 their purpose, and that the services of the Admiral 
 would be acknowledged and he treated with favor at 
 court, it was thought fit to make overtures. Two of the 
 most noted men in the crews, therefore, were sent, car- 
 rying along with them some of the newly arrived 
 bacon as proof positive that a ship had really arrived. 
 The main item of the proposition was an offer of pardon 
 to all, irrespective of the past, and free passage with the 
 Admiral to Spain in the ships expected in case they 
 would return at once to their allegiance. 
 
 Porras came out to meet the messengers, keeping his 
 men back lest they should be moved b}^ the propositions 
 which might be made. But the ears of his men were 
 
 1 Lib. ii., cap. 17, MS. 
 
AUDACITl^ OF THE REBELS. ^41 
 
 sharp ; they readily caught the intelligence of the 
 arrival of the caravel, the good health of those with the 
 Admiral, and the overtures he was making. After 
 several consultations on the part of the leading muti- 
 neers, it was resolved not to accept the Admiral's offers, 
 nor to regard the general proffer of pardon he had sent. 
 If two ships should arrive for his conveyance, and he 
 would allow them one, they would go peaceably to His- 
 paniola. Should there be but one ship, he might assign 
 them half of it. And since they had lost their clothing 
 and commodities for trade in their ill-fated attempts to 
 leave the island, he must share what he had with them. 
 When the messengers pronounced these proposals un- 
 reasonable they had the audacity to say if' these terms 
 were not granted them " by fair means," they would 
 take them '' by force." 
 
 When Porras and his associate leaders reported 
 themselves to the rank and file of the mutineers they 
 discovered that they were not sustained in their 
 decision. A general amnesty ! a free and honorable 
 return to Spain ! — these were items not to be thrown 
 away as trifles. Besides, the magnitude of the pros- 
 trate, suffering Admiral rose before them in such 
 proportions that they dared not continue obnoxious 
 to his power. But the deceitful eloquence of Porras 
 rose equal to the emergency. It would not do to 
 risk dissension in this hour of danger. They must 
 beware of this bait, he insinuated, for the Admiral 
 was naturally cruel and vindictive, and would make 
 them smart when they came into his power. As for 
 themselves — the Porras brothers — they had influence 
 at court, and therefore had nothing to fear. Had not 
 
542 
 
 INCORRIGIBILITT OF THE MUTINEERS. 
 
 Roldau and his company rejected all Columbus's offers, 
 and persisted in their rebellion, and yet came out to 
 great advantage in the end, even sending the Admiral 
 home in chains ? As for that phantom ship just 
 reported, it was a mere illusion of the twilight, con- 
 jured up by art rnagic^ in which Columbus was known 
 to be a great adept. If it had been a real caravel, why 
 did not its crew communicate with those on the wrecks ? 
 Why did it stay so short a time ? Why did not the 
 Admiral, with his brother and son, embark on its home- 
 ward voyage ? This harangue, so shrewdly put, had the 
 desired effect. The men concluded to remain in 
 rebellion, and, going at once with Porras to the ships, 
 take by force what they wanted, and capture the 
 Admiral. 
 
 The mutineers approached within about a mile of 
 the ships, but Columbus was informed of them, and 
 sent out Don Bartholomew with fifty men well armed. 
 He was first to use " good words," but, if the offenders 
 proved incorrigible, he was to be ready for the worst. 
 He and his men took their stand on a little hill about 
 a bow-shot from the rebels, and sent to them as mes- 
 sengers the same two men who had made overtures to 
 them before. But Porras, whose force was quite as 
 numerous as that of the adelantado, was in no mood 
 for a peaceful conference. The rebels were all able 
 seamen, well hardened by their outdoor strolling, 
 while those with Don Bartholomew were weak through 
 sickness and confinement on the wreck — indeed, were 
 only gentlemen and pale-faced civilians — and would 
 not dare to fight. 
 
 Deluded by these words, the rebels refused to listen 
 
THE SKIRMISH. 
 
 543 
 
 to any overtures for peace, but presenting a solid rank 
 of swords and lances, cried, " Kill ! kill ! " Six of tkeir 
 strongest men resolved, under oath, to stand together 
 in the attack till they had slain the adelantado. Of 
 the rest they made no account. " But they were so 
 well received," says Fernando Columbus, " that five or 
 six of them dropped at the first charge, most of them 
 being of those of them that aimed at the lieutenant, 
 who fell upon his enemies in such manner that, in a 
 very short time, Juan Sanchez, from whom Quibian 
 made his escape, was killed, as was Juan Barber, the 
 first I saw draw his sword when they ran into rebellion, 
 and some others fell very much wounded, and Francisco 
 de Porras, their captain, was taken. Seeing them- 
 selves so roughly handled, like base, rebellious people, 
 they turned their backs and fled as fast as they could." 
 
 The adelantado, whose hand had been wounded by 
 the sword which Francisco de Porras had thrust 
 through his buckler, and who, with the aid of his 
 comrades, had captured the rebel leader before he could 
 extricate himself, wished to pursue the rebels still 
 further; but his men dissuaded him, saying that 
 punishment must not be carried too far. Besides, 
 there was a body of the natives in arms near by, 
 simply looking on, indeed, but they might be tempted 
 to attack if they saw the Spaniards scattering in the 
 pursuit of their own men. 
 
 The skirmish over, the Indians, led by curiosity, 
 prowled around to examine the wounds which the 
 fatal weapons of the white men had made in those of 
 their own flesh, with some such feelings, probably, as 
 men might look on a battle-field of the gods. " Peter 
 
544 ■ LEDESMA'S WOUNDS. 
 
 de Ledesma, that pilot we mentioned above," says 
 Fernando Columbus, " who went with Vincent Yanez 
 to Honduras, and swam ashore at Belen, fell down 
 certain rocks, and lay hid that day and the next till 
 the evening, nobody assisting him or knowing where 
 he was except the Indians, who with amazement, not 
 knowing how our swords would cut, with little sticks 
 opened his wounds, one of which was in his head, 
 and his brains were seen through it ; another in his 
 shoulder, so large that his arm hung as it were loose ; 
 and the calf of one leg almost cut off, so that it hung 
 down to his ankle ; and one foot, as if it had a slipper 
 on it, being sliced from the heel to the toes. Notwith- 
 standing all which desperate hurts, when the Indians 
 disturbed him he would say, ' Let me alone, for if I get 
 up,' etc.,^ and they, at these words, would fly in great 
 consternation. This being known aboard the ships, 
 he was carried into a thatched house hard by, where 
 the dampness and gnats were enough to have killed 
 him. Here, instead of turpentine, they dressed his 
 wounds with oil, and he had so many besides those, 
 already mentioned that the surgeon who dressed them 
 swore that for the first eight days he still found out 
 new ones, and yet at last he recovered, the gentleman 
 of the chamber dying, in whom he apprehended no 
 danger.^ The next day, being the 20th of May, all 
 those that had escaped sent a petition to the Admiral 
 humbly begging he would be merciful to them, for 
 they repented them of what was past, and were ready 
 to submit themselves to him. The Admiral granted 
 
 ^ It is said that his voice was particularly deep and impressive. 
 * This man had only been wounded slightly in the hip. 
 
INDIGNA TION AT O VANDO. 
 
 545 
 
 tlieir request, and passed a general pardon upon condi- 
 tion the captain should continue a prisoner as he was, 
 that he might not raise another mutiny."^ 
 
 After a year of weary waiting, the inmates of the 
 ships stranded on this island of savages were overjoyed 
 at the sight of two vessels making for the harbor. One 
 of them had been hired and fitted out by the ever- 
 faithful Mendez. Stimulated by this example, the 
 other had been sent b}^ Ovando, in command of the Ad- 
 miral's agent at San Domingo. 
 
 According to Las Casas, the flagrant delay of Ovando 
 to send relief to Columbus in his sufferings had 
 awakened such universal indignation that even the 
 pulpits gave their voice against it. The governor was 
 therefore pressed into the sending relief in this eleventh 
 hour in order to escape the universal condemnation. 
 The common sympathy of mankind must ever be with 
 the suffering. In the case of Columbus, notwithstand- 
 ing all the efforts to rob him of the proper acknowl- 
 edgment of his merits, it could not fail to be seen 
 how poorly the treatment he received compared with 
 his incalculable services. 
 
 When Columbus and his crews left the miserable 
 wrecks, on the 28th of June, 1504, their joy might be 
 more readily imagined than expressed. On the whole, 
 the impressions which had been made upon the gener- 
 ous-hearted natives must have been favorable, for 
 Oviedo says they wept when the Spaniards left. 
 
 Since Mendez and Fiesco had reached Hispaniola in 
 their canoes in four days, we might fancy a mere sail 
 of a week at most for these ships bearing back the Ad- 
 
 ^ Fernando Columbus, chapter cvii. 
 
546 
 
 COL UMB US AND O VAND O. 
 
 miral to San Domingo ; but such was tlie opposition of 
 winds and currents that only on the 15th of August 
 did they reach that harbor. The aged shipwrecked 
 mariner, a mere suffering wreck of humanity, was 
 hailed with a universal sense of kindly favor. Says 
 Irving, " What had been denied to his merits was 
 granted to his misfortunes ; and even the envious, ap- 
 peased by his present reverses, seemed to forgive him 
 for having once been so triumphant." The governor 
 and all the grandees of the place came to meet him, 
 and he was treated with the utmost courtesy, as a guest 
 of Ovando's house. But, with all this external cordiality, 
 it was felt by Columbus and his friends that at heart 
 Ovando was cool and suspicious. As an evidence of 
 this, they saw Porras, a traitor-prisoner, on his way to 
 Spain for trial, now set free. Indeed, the governor even 
 talked of punishing those who had taken up arms 
 against the mutineers in the Admiral's defence. Here 
 at once arose a collision between the two officials, as to 
 the proper jurisdiction over these Jamaica criminals. 
 Ovando finally yielded the point and sent them to Spain 
 for trial. 
 
 There was nothing here in Hispaniola which could 
 yield Columbus any particular delectation. The 
 island was wholly changed. The happy, kind-hearted 
 natives, the smoke of whose camp-fires had once en- 
 livened the forests, and whose canoes had been made to 
 glide so cheerfully about the harbors, had been utterly 
 broken in spirit and almost annihilated. Where was the 
 cheerful service and the Christian civili2;ation he had 
 hoped would obtain among them ? 
 
 Just here it will be pertinent to glance at the govern- 
 
ovANno;s colony. 547 
 
 ment of Ovaiido in respect to affairs in general and in 
 respect to the natives in particular. It will be remem- 
 bered that he had been sent out to repair the damaging 
 effects of Columbus's administration. Let us see how 
 this ruling knight of Alcantara, noted for his wisdom 
 and his high moral qualities, compares with the Admiral, 
 so universally spoken against. With the change of 
 governors, a new impulse had been given to the affairs 
 of the Indies. The old illusion as to inexhaustible 
 treasures of wealth to be picked up in the new country 
 revived, for no one seemed to suspect that the causes of 
 disaster to the colony were to be found in the nature of 
 things — in the fact that a crowd of adventurers, demor- 
 alized soldiers, and prison-convicts, expecting to appro- 
 priate the civilized wealth of the Indies, could not 
 thrive in a wilderness, among savages — in a part of the 
 world, indeed, which no one even suspected to exist. 
 The one man who governed was supposed to be the 
 wheel upon which the fortunes of all who emigrated 
 would turn. The appointment of Ovando inspired a 
 new confidence, and there was about the same scramble 
 of adventurers for his magnificent fleet of thirty sail 
 as there had been when Columbus started on his second 
 voyage. 
 
 Las Casas, an eye-witness, gives a vivid description 
 of affairs when these adventurers arrived in the new 
 country. Scarcely had they stepped ashore when the 
 roads to the gold-mines were thronged. Even the 
 proud hidalgo was carrying his bag of biscuit and 
 miner's tools, envying the lucky fellow who could 
 make the journey on horseback, and thereby bring 
 back the greatei load of gold. Bach one strove to be 
 
548 
 
 THEIR DISAPPOINTMENT . 
 
 the first in the mines of the mountains, where they 
 expected to gather gold like fruit from the trees. How 
 great was their surprise, on reaching the spot, to find 
 that they must dig laboriousl}^, and that it required an 
 experienced eye to detect the veins of gold, which must 
 be searched out with the utmost perseverance and 
 patience ; and that, after the most exhaustive efforts, 
 they not infrequently failed to find the precious ore. 
 And while many thus failed utterly, many others 
 accomplished so little that they were soon obliged to 
 look upon their efforts as exceedingly unprofitable ; 
 so that, in a short time, there straggled over the 
 highways and byways a lot of miserable, disappointed 
 wretches, who had consumed their provisions, worn 
 themselves out with useless toil, and were now 
 returning in utmost chagrin and disappointment over 
 the tracks made outward in the highest anticipations 
 of hope. San Domingo was thronged with moneyless, 
 hopeless, forlorn wretches, ready to sink into the most 
 squalid misery. Some there were who were compelled 
 to sell even the clothes from their backs to save them- 
 selves from starvation; and while a few gained employ- 
 ment from the older settlers, such was the generally 
 reduced condition of the colony that the greater 
 number could find no occupation whatever, and, be- 
 coming the suppliants of public charity, were the vic- 
 tims alike of hunger and shame. This union of 
 physical want and mental torture in an uncultivated 
 country of tropical climate soon brought on burning 
 fevers and wasting consumptions, and in an incredibly 
 short time over one thousand inhabited the newly 
 made grave-yards of San Domingo and vicinity. 
 
OPPRESSION OP THE NATIVES. 549 
 
 No one thought of attributing this fearful mortality 
 to a maladministration on the part of Ovando, as they 
 no doubt would have done in the case of Columbus ; 
 on the other hand, his treatment of the Spaniards was 
 considered wise and discreet. The same cannot be 
 said, however, as to his management of the natives. 
 To them he was simply a sure and swift destruction. 
 
 It will be remembered that Columbus, under the 
 severe pressure of Roldan's rebellion, had granted 
 repartimientos of the natives ; that is, he had ordered 
 the caciques to furnish certain numbers of their sub- 
 jects as laborers for the different Spaniards, and the 
 service thus rendered was to be accepted instead of the 
 original tax in gold-dust, cotton, etc. Under a con- 
 siderate and humane management, the system might 
 have resulted well, teaching the natives regular 
 methods of industry, and bringing them in contact 
 with civilization and Christianity. Under Bobadilla 
 the system had been abused to the utmost. When his in- 
 dulgence of the self-willed and depraved Spaniards had 
 placed them in a state of riot run 7iiad^ and therefore 
 eutirel}'- bej^ond his control, the chief result was the un- 
 mitigated sufferings of the helpless natives. Did he 
 teach that the sovereigns of Spain did not care to enrich 
 themselves b}^ means of the new countr}^, and so sell 
 the lands and estates of the crown at the lowest possible 
 hgure, and did he reserve onlj^ one-eleventh instead of 
 one-third of the gold for the crown ? With ordinary 
 working of the mines this small proportion would have 
 fallen to a mere nothing, and the natives must, there- 
 fore, be subjected to the highest possible pressure of 
 labor and toil in order to swell the eleventh of the gold 
 
550 
 
 OPPRESSION OP TUB NATIVES. 
 
 to as much and even more than one-third of it used to 
 be. Moreover, the immense tracts of land, almost given 
 away, must be ameliorated, cultivated, and rendered 
 productive of sugar-cane, cotton, and tropical fruits. 
 In order to carry out the two departments of labor as 
 thoroughly as possible, two Spaniards would unite 
 their interests, one superintending the working of the 
 mines, and the other taking charge of the cultivation 
 of the land. Special attention was given to the 
 accumulation of gold. " Make the most of your time," 
 was Bobadilla's oft reiterated advice ; " there is no 
 telling how long it will last." The Spaniards were 
 only too ready to carry out his advice to the full, and 
 so mercilessly forced the Indians to their utmost 
 capacity of labor that the eleventh part of the gold 
 yielded a greater revenue than did one-third under 
 Columbus. 
 
 The picture of the scenes which followed are por- 
 trayed in a startling manner by that most humane 
 and faithful eye-witness, Las Casas. In his old age, 
 many years after the events had transpired, he 
 recalled them as in a painful reverie. The light 
 vegetable and frugivorous diet of the natives and 
 their easy, pleasure-taking style of life from time 
 immemorial had fixed a characteristic weakness of 
 constitution which positively incapacitated them for 
 the hardships of slavery. In addition to the failure 
 of strength incident to excessive labor was the ener- 
 vating effects of the most atrocious punishments, 
 inflicted for the slightest offences. Behold that 
 wretched criminal just escaped from the galleys of 
 Castile or from the bloody hands of the executioner 
 by the special grace of the sovereigns ! He puts on 
 
OPPRESSION OP THE NATIVES. 
 
 ss-^ 
 
 all the airs of a graud cavalier, is attended by an 
 immense train of servants, and keeps a whole harem 
 of 3'onng girls. Nor is he satisfied with the common 
 Indian girls, but seeks out women of birth and rank 
 — sisters and daughters of chieftains, who, from time 
 out of mind, had been regarded with the most sacred 
 feelings of veneration. Now, trembling and in tears, 
 they are forced to minister to the passions of the 
 vilest felons, who, but for the discovery of a new 
 world, would have long since been hanging on 
 gibbets. Is this luxurious Spaniard about to travel ? 
 He will disdain the back of a horse or a mule, and 
 stretch himself out daintily on a hammock or litter, 
 to be borne gently on the shoulders of the Indians. 
 Others, following along, must hold the leaves of some 
 gigantic palm over his head to shield from the sun 
 a face bronzed not many years since in the exposure 
 of the galleys; others, still, wave before that face a 
 great feather fan to ward off the inconvenience of a 
 burning atmosphere. Las Casas could recall the sore 
 and bleeding shoulders of the Indians who had thus 
 carried tlieir tyrannical masters through long journeys. 
 When one of these newly made specimens of 
 gentility reaches an Indian village, he seizes the stores 
 of provisions in the most wasteful and wanton manner, 
 and having been well feasted, orders the cacique and 
 his subjects to dance and sing for his amusement. 
 If he speaks to them, it is in the most haughty 
 language, and the slightest sign of resentment or the 
 least offence whatever brings down the lash or the 
 cudgel, possibly even to the death of the offender. If 
 any of the better class of Spaniards took exception to 
 
552 
 
 THE NATIVES MADE FREE. 
 
 such vile despotism, they might appeal in vain to the 
 far more numerous class of bad people recently liberated 
 from their penal life in Spain, or, sending distressing 
 accounts to Spain on the other side of the globe, wait 
 for a possible but slow and imperfect redress. 
 
 The fabulous quantities of gold amassed by Boba- 
 dilla did not close the eyes of the Spanish sovereigns 
 to the atrocity of his methods, and when it was re- 
 solved that Ovando should succeed him every precau- 
 tion was taken to remedy the evils brought about by his 
 administration. Many and salutary in themselves were 
 the new regulations made by the sovereigns. Among 
 others, it was resolved that the natives, who had suffered 
 so severely under the oppressions of Bobadilla, should 
 be free. But under this new regime they refused to 
 labor in the mines. 
 
 Ovando at once reported to the sovereigns the evils 
 of this state of things, saying that tribute could not be 
 collected, nor vice repressed, nor any regular industry 
 be secured among the lazy and improvident Indians, 
 unless they were compelled to work ; nor could they 
 be brought under the influence of Christianity while in 
 a state of freedom, for they then kept entirely aloof 
 from the Spaniards. On the strength of these sugges- 
 tions new regulations were made. The sovereigns 
 wrote to Ovando, saying that he should exact moderate 
 labor from the natives ; but authority must be enforced 
 in the most kindly manner, the laborers must be paid 
 regularly and fairly, and must be instructed in religion 
 on certain days of the week. 
 
 This was enough. Ovando made the uttermost of 
 these instructions in distributing the Indians as laborers 
 
THE NA TIVES A GAIN ENSLA VED. 553 
 
 among the Spaniards. Requisitions were made on the 
 different caciques for regular appointments of their 
 subjects to each Castilian, according to his supposed 
 needs. These laborers were to be paid, and instructed 
 in the Catholic faith ; but the pay was a mere apology 
 for wages, and the instruction was limited in most 
 cases to a few drops of water administered in baptism. 
 The term of labor was at first limited to six months, 
 but was soon increased to eight months, and before 
 long the whole system became more intolerably cruel 
 than were the worst days of the former administration. 
 Often set to work at a distance of several days' journey 
 from their families, and confined to the unsubstantial 
 cassava-bread, with a mere scrap of pork occasionally 
 to each, they were forced, under the lash, to the utmost 
 capacity of their ability to toil. See those Spaniards 
 who superintend the mines taking their dinner ! The 
 famished Indians scramble under the table like dogs 
 for any bone that may be dropped. See how they 
 gnav/ and suck it, and then pounding it between stones, 
 mix it with their cassava-bread ! But the miners are 
 more fortunate than those toiling in the fields, for they 
 never taste " flesh or fish," but are obliged to keep up 
 on a little cassava-bread and a few roots. i\.nd these 
 poorly-fed Indians, all unused to work, were compelled 
 to a degree of exertion sufficient to break down the 
 strongest well-fed man. Do any of these poor mortals, 
 fainting under a scorching sun, flee from this exces- 
 sive toil and these severe lashes, and seek refuge in the 
 mountains ? The}^ are hunted with bloodhounds like 
 wild beasts, are scourged like slaves of the barbarous 
 ages, and loaded down with chains to prevent a second 
 
554 HUNGER I HUNGER I 
 
 escape. Many dropped and died in the fields and in 
 tHe mines. Others, who survived their six or eight 
 months of labor, were so far from their homes — forty, 
 sixt};^, or eighty leagues — with only a little cassava- 
 bread, a few roots, or a few agi peppers to support life 
 by the way, that their frail constitutions gave out, and 
 they sank down and died. " I have found many dead 
 in the road," says the good Las Casas ; " others were 
 gasping under the trees, and others in the pangs of 
 death faintly cried, ' Hunger ! hunger !' " Did any reach 
 their homes ? In most cases, during the long and weary 
 months, the wives and children had wandered away or 
 perished. The little hovel or wigwam called home, 
 with its rude garden possibly, was overgrown with 
 weeds, and the poor exhausted wretch crept up to his 
 door, only to lie down and die in despair. Under these 
 intolerable hardships the weakly race was fast passing 
 away. In the wild delirium of despair many committed 
 suicide ; mothers destroyed their infants, that they 
 might thus be spared a life so intolerably wretched. 
 Though scarcely twelve years had |)assed since the 
 discovery of Hispaniola, hundreds of thousands of the 
 once happy natives had perished under the relentless 
 hand of the licentious, avaricious white man. The 
 shameful massacre at Xaragua and the sad fate of 
 Anacaona under the direction of Ovando are related 
 elsewhere. The war with Higuay and the ruthless de- 
 struction of the natives we must pass over with a mere 
 mention. 
 
 There were originally five Indian sovereignties in 
 Hispaniola. Four of these had already been subdued, 
 and their caciques had come to a miserable end. The 
 
OUTRA GB A GAINST A CA CI^ UE. 555 
 
 downfall of the fifth invited the relentless hand of 
 Ovando. The people of this kingdom of Higuay, which 
 comprised the east end of the island, were in closer 
 proximity to the Caribs than were the other 'kingdoms 
 on the island, and had, consequently, been trained into 
 a more warlike temper and habit. Their chieftain, 
 Cotabanama, was a notable giant, measuring a yard 
 from shoulder to shoulder, and being otherwise in good 
 proportion. The natives of Higuay came into collision 
 with the Spaniards as follows : Some Spaniards had 
 wantonly set a dog on a cacique, who was thus shame- 
 fully mangled, and died in consequence soon after. 
 Again and again the Higuay ans had sought redress, 
 but to no purpose. By and by they surprised a shallop 
 carrying eight Spaniards near the island Saona, and 
 slaughtered the crew as a retaliation. Now there was 
 an uprising of the whole kingdom, and Ovando sent out 
 Juan de Bsquibel with four hundred men to quell the 
 insurrection and administer suitable punishment for 
 the massacre. 
 
 Cotabanama, having assembled his warriors, was 
 ready for a stout resistance. Never did savages show 
 a braver or more determined spirit. From time imme- 
 morial they had contended successfully against the 
 cruel Caribs, and they would now test their arms and 
 their valor to the utmost in resisting the encroachments 
 of the detested white men. As the Spanish warriors 
 ascended the beautiful and cultivated plateaus of this 
 mountain region they were contested every step of the 
 way in the most spirited manner ; but the Spanish 
 implements of war and their discipline in tactics proved, 
 as usual, too much for naked savages. The Higuayan 
 
556 EXTREME CRUELTY. 
 
 forces were soon scattered, and sought refuge in the 
 recesses of mountain rocks and in the thick forests. 
 Women and children and the aged and infirm were 
 hidden away in the darkest caves and deepest recesses 
 of the mountains. When the Spaniards came upon 
 them they slaughtered them in the most indiscriminate 
 and cruel manner. The island of Saona was treated 
 with special revenge. Some six or seven hundred 
 natives, seeking refuge in one large enclosure, were all 
 put to the sword without mercy. The few who escaped 
 were made slaves, and the island was a desolation. 
 
 As no extent of bravery could enable these naked 
 Indians to hold their own against the steel-clad war- 
 riors of Spain, they sued for peace, and were promised 
 protection if they would cultivate a large tract of their 
 beautiful table-lands in the mountains, and thus produce 
 every year an immense quantity of bread. Cotabanama, 
 the giant cacique, was so magnanimous in forgiving 
 and forgetting the cruel wrongs suffered b}^ him and 
 his people that he joined in the most sacred friendship 
 with Hsquibel, even to the exchange of names with 
 him as a symbol of a perpetual heart-union. 
 
 But the peace did not last long. About the time 
 when Columbus was leaving the wreck at Jamaica a 
 new revolt broke out ' among the Higuayans. The 
 Spaniards had exceeded the bounds of their treaty in 
 requiring the Indians not only to raise the grain stipu- 
 lated, but to carry it on their backs to San Domingo. 
 Then, too, after their usual manner, the Spaniards had 
 outraged the sisters, daughters, and even the wives of 
 the natives. There was a general rebellion. The 
 Higuayans burnt a large wooden fortress built by the 
 Spaniards, and put many of them to death. 
 
BRA VERT OF THE NATIVES. 557 
 
 Ovando gave orders to carry fire and sword into 
 Higuay. The romantic heroism of the former war was 
 re-enacted, and many were the incidents of the most 
 impressive bravery. It is said that some of the 
 wonnded, into whose flesh the swift arrows from the 
 cross-bows had sunk to the feather, drew them out, 
 broke them with their teeth, and, hurling them at the 
 Spaniards in helpless fury, fell dead in their tracks. 
 
 When any of the Indians were found they were 
 subjected to the most excruciating tortures in order to 
 force them into a betrayal of their concealed country- 
 men. When they found aged men, women, and help- 
 less children hid away among the rocks and caves of 
 the mountains they ran their swords through them, 
 and hacked them in pieces in the most atrocious man- 
 ner. One fearful battle ensued, lasting from two 
 o'clock in the afternoon till night-fall, in which the 
 poor naked Indians fought in defence of their country 
 and their homes with extreme energy to the last. 
 When their weak bows and slender arrows failed them 
 they hurled showers of stones from their rocky heights, 
 and were only the more infuriated at seeing the blood 
 and the mangled corpses of their countrymen. They 
 were completely routed, however, by the keen-edged 
 steel and the gunpovv^der of the Spaniards. The next 
 morning they were nowhere to be seen. The Span- 
 iards, now breaking up into small parties, went in every 
 direction, hunting them as if they had been vdld 
 beasts. They sought especially after the caciques, 
 particularly Cotabanama, The Indians kept up their 
 retreat with great caution, a whole line of twenty 
 or more treading in the same tracks, leaving a footprint 
 
558 
 
 THEIR SUFFERINGS. 
 
 like that of a single man, and scarcel}^ displacing a 
 branch or leaf of the forest. 
 
 But the Spaniards had become exceedingly sharp in 
 trailing out their victims. The displacing of a few 
 withered leaves would give them the clew, even amidst 
 the confusing tracks of animals. With the keen nose 
 of a hound, they could scent from afar the smoke of 
 Indian fires. Not only did they continue to torture the 
 straying victims of their search, and massacre en ?nasse 
 the multitudes of the helpless taking refuge secretly 
 in the mountains, but to inspire the most overwhelming 
 terror they would cut off the hands of such as they 
 found roaming at large, and send them as a warning, 
 to intimidate their friends into a surrender. " Num- 
 berless were those," says Las Casas, " whose hands 
 were cut off in this manner, and many of them fainted 
 and died by the way, from pain and loss of blood." 
 The cruel, persecuting white men became ingenious in 
 the invention of new and unheard-of cruelties. Be- 
 hold that row of miserable victims on a long line of 
 gibbets, so low down that the feet of the sufferers 
 dangle on the ground, in order that death might be 
 as lingering as possible ! There is even a blasphemous 
 play upon a sacred number in history, and thirteen are 
 hung together, in honor of Christ and his twelve apostles. 
 Not content with seeing their tortured victims struggle 
 in the air, the soldiers test the strength and execution 
 of their swords by hacking and hewing them in pieces. 
 Some they wrap in dry straw, which they set on fire, 
 terminating life in the most intense agony. The 
 caciques were broiled to death on gridirons over slow 
 fires, and when their groans and cries annoyed the 
 
COTABAJVAMA. ^^g 
 
 Spanisli officers their moutlis were crammed with chips 
 in order to gag them. " All these things, and others 
 revolting to human nature, my own eyes beheld," says 
 Las Casas, who in old age recalled these shocking 
 scenes of his youth, saying, " and now I almost fear to 
 repeat them, scarcely believing my own recollections, 
 and wondering if I have not dreamt them." 
 
 But the capture of Cotabanama was the great desid- 
 eratum with Esquibel. Without it, Higuay would 
 never completely surrender. The chieftain, with his 
 wife and children, had taken refuge in a cave in the 
 midst of a labyrinth of rocky forest, in the centre of 
 the island Saona. Esquibel, with some fifty men, em- 
 barked in a caravel at night, and, sailing along the 
 shadowy side of the island, landed his men on an ob- 
 scure part of the coast at the dawn of day, before Co- 
 tabanama's spies had taken their stations. Presently 
 two of these spies were brought to Esquibel, who soon 
 drew"^'out of them the fact that the chief was in the 
 island. He thrust a poniard through one of these un- 
 fortunates in order to inspire terror in the other, whom 
 he bound and compelled to act as a guide. 
 
 Evidently the cacique was not far away, so every 
 Spaniard was on the alert to be his captor. They soon 
 discovered a point at which the main path forked. Only 
 Juan Eopez took the path to the left. With a bravery 
 and an intuition on the track of the savage peculiar to 
 himself, he threaded his way around hills so dense 
 with thicket and forest that he could scarce see half 
 a bow-shot ahead. Entering a gorge among the rocks, 
 where the excess of vegetation and the deep cut in the 
 mountain almost shut out the light, he found himself 
 
560 THE GIANT IS CAPTURED. 
 
 face to face with some dozen Indian warriors, in single 
 file. How easily they might have pierced this solitary 
 enemy with their arrows ; but they were petrified with 
 surprise, having depended on their spies to guard the 
 island, and now all suddenly suspecting a host of white 
 men to be just at hand. Lopez understood human 
 nature, and followed up this first surprise by boldly 
 advancing and calling for Cotabanama. Tremblingly 
 they replied that he was just behind them, and let him 
 pass on to the rear. The giant cacique grasped his 
 bow ; but before he could draw the string Lopez had 
 struck him with his sword, and the Indians about him 
 had fled in a panic. Terrified at the blood gushing 
 from his wound, Cotabanama cried out, " I am Juan 
 de Esquibel," thinking his former change of names 
 might be a guarantee of safety. Instantly Lopez 
 seized him by the long hair of his head with his left 
 hand, and with his right hand was about to plunge his 
 sword into his body, but the cacique warded off the 
 thrust with his huge arm, and clinching the Spaniard, 
 hurled him to the ground. The struggle was long 
 and fierce between these two powerful athletes ; and 
 the bleeding cacique, being on top of his adversary, 
 was not only likely to crush him with his great weight, 
 but was just grasping him by the throat to strangle 
 him, when the Spaniards on the other path, being 
 attracted by the noise, came to the rescue of Lopez. 
 The poor cacique, giant though he was, could avail 
 nothing against so many. In the large cavern near 
 by, from which the cacique's wife and children had 
 already fled, they found a huge chain which some 
 Indian prisoners, once bound with it, had carried away. 
 
HIS CRUEL FATE. 
 
 561 
 
 With this they secured the cacique's immense hands, 
 and led him, all bleeding, to a village near by. In the 
 village square the Spaniards arranged trunks of trees 
 like a huge gridiron, on which they proposed to broil 
 the giant ; but on a second thought they concluded to 
 make a greater exhibition of their trophy, and so sent 
 him on board a caravel, in chains, to San Domingo. 
 Here he was a curiosity, and as he was paraded along 
 the streets the crowds thronged him from every 
 direction, gazing on this huge blood-stained image of 
 despair, already become the mere shadow of himself. 
 In these more humane days, so grand a specimen of 
 the human race, guilty of no greater crime than an 
 heroic defence of his outraged country, would be 
 entitled to some kindly, or even rnagnanimous^ treat- 
 ment ; but Ovando simply adjudged him to the fate of 
 the vilest criminal, and hanged him ignominiously on 
 the public square. 
 
 Thus ended the struggle of the last native chieftain 
 against the cruel encroachments of the white man. 
 The mere remnant — perhaps one-sixth — of the once 
 numerous and happy population of the island now- 
 succumbed to the hardships and sufferings incident to 
 the conquests of the steel-clad foreigners, and, broken 
 alike in spirit and in that physical endurance which is 
 born of hope, they gradually disappeared. 
 
 Such was the unhappy Hayti to which Columbus 
 returned near the middle of August, 1504, from his 
 long and trying confinement on the Jamaica wrecks. 
 Ovando received him with formal politeness and an 
 affected cordiality ; but his inclination to let the Porras 
 rebels go free, and to dispute the jurisdiction of the 
 
562 COLUMBUS'S FINANCES. 
 
 Admiral over his men even in his trying situation on 
 the lonely island of Jamaica, soon caused the latter to 
 feel ill at home, and induced a return to Spain as soon 
 possible. 
 
 Notwithstanding the efforts of the ever-faithful Car- 
 vajal as agent, the financial resources of Columbus 
 were sadly demoralized at San Domingo. For this 
 Ovando would seem to be the subject of just blame. 
 The Admiral collected what funds he could, repaired 
 the ship in which he had sailed from Jamaica, and put 
 her in the command of the adelautado for the convey- 
 ance of those who wished to return with him to 
 Spain, many of the companions of his late voyag-e pre- 
 ferring to remain in Hispaniola. As these latter were 
 in poverty and rags almost to nakedness, he made for 
 them what provision he could out of his slender 
 purse, wholh^ regardless of their recent unkindness to 
 him. Chartering another vessel for the convenience 
 of himself, his son, and his more intimate and faithful 
 friends, the little squadron sailed September 12, 1504. 
 The}^ were barely out at sea, when a gale carried 
 away the mast of the Admiral's caravel, and she was 
 obliged to consign her crew and passengers to the other 
 vessel and put back to San Domingo. The solitary 
 craft now sailed on with fine weather for over a month, 
 when, October i8th, a severe storru burst upon her. 
 Then, after a short calm, a tempestuous whirhvind 
 splintered the mainmast into four pieces, and it re- 
 quired all the adelantado's resources, along with the 
 counsel of the sick Admiral stretched helplessl}^ on 
 his couch, to raise the yard, and tying planks on all 
 sides of it, thus extemporize a mast. A few days later 
 
HOME AGAIN. 
 
 563 
 
 still another storm sprung the foremast, and in this 
 crippled and toggled-up plight they entered the port 
 of San Lucas on the 7th of November. We shall now 
 see what rest and comfort awaited the tempest-tossed 
 Admiral, aged, infirm, and racked with pain. 
 
CHAPTER XXL 
 
 THE LAST VOYAGE. 
 
 ROM San Lucas, Columbus was borne to Se- 
 ville, where he remained till Ma}^ of the fol- 
 lowing 3^ear. He had hoped to go immedi- 
 ately to court, there to present his claims for his heavy 
 financial arrears which had reduced him to posi- 
 tive want, and for the restoration of his privileges so 
 ruthlessly taken from him ; but his intense physical 
 sufferings, aggravated by the most severe winter in 
 Spain within the memory of man, made the plan im- 
 practicable. 
 
 Financial embarrassment is hard enough at any 
 time, and has done much to break down mau}^ a 
 stout-hearted man ; but when it comes in old age and 
 infirmity, aye, even in exhaustive illness, and is the re- 
 sult of the most flagrant injustice, its trials can scarcely 
 be estimated. Columbus states in the most solemn 
 manner, in a letter to his son, that his annual income 
 at this time should not have been less than 10,000,000 
 maravedis. Without attempting any estimate, it is self- 
 evident that it should at least have been a suf&cient 
 competency. Having appropriated all he could collect 
 at San Domingo for the comfort of his crews and for 
 the homeward voyage, he was obliged to live on 
 borrowed money as soon as he reached Spain, and to 
 live in the most frugal manner. 
 
 While the weary months of suffering dragged by, 
 his chief occupation was the writing of letters, as he 
 
LETTERS OF THE ADMIRAL. 1^65 
 
 lay almost helpless on his couch, and for this he was 
 physically so incapacitated that the stiffness and pain 
 in his hands would allow him the use of his pen only 
 at night. He wrote to Diego de Deza, his old, trusty 
 friend, now high in ecclesiastical honors ; to Morales, 
 the King's treasurer ; to the council of the famous 
 Casa de Contrataciov., instituted during his last voyage ; 
 he wrote indirectly to the Bank of St. George in 
 Genoa, through his trusty friend Oderigo ; to Gorricio, 
 to the Pope, and to the King ; but most of his letters 
 were to his son Diego. They alone would make a fair- 
 sized book. He wrote not only concerning his ow^n 
 personal matters, but in behalf of the deplorable state 
 of affairs in the Indies, concerning the needy, ragged, 
 and almost starving men who had sailed with him in 
 his last voyage, and who were now beseeching the 
 of&cers of the crown in vain for their pay, and he gave 
 an almost endless category of good advice to Diego, 
 his son. 
 
 About this time he had become so thoroughly con- 
 vinced of the fact that he could elicit no reply by means 
 of his letters that he determined to be carried to the 
 court, even at the risk of his life. He applied to the 
 canons of Seville for the new mortuary litter, which 
 had recently been used to carry Cardinal Mendoza to 
 his grave. He might have it, they said, if Pinedo, 
 treasurer of the navy, would be security for its return 
 in good condition ! High appreciation there was in 
 those days for the man who had staked all on the dis- 
 covery of a new world. The litter was secured, but his 
 health was so precarious and the weather so cold that 
 his friends dissuaded him from an undertaking so 
 perilotis to the life of one in his condition. 
 
^66 MESSENGERS GO TO COURT. 
 
 November 26, 1504, Isabella, worn out with dis- 
 ease contracted during the Moorish war, and over- 
 whelmed by a series of the severest family afBictions, 
 passed away. This was a most crushing bereavement 
 to Columbus — the finishing stroke in the long series of 
 his calamities. No doubt he comprehended his situa- 
 tion. 
 
 His failure to be carried to court, and the sad intel- 
 ligence of the death of the Queen, induced him to send 
 his brother Bartholomew, his son Fernando, and Car- 
 vajal to plead his cause with the King before his ene- 
 mies could have time to prejudice the royal mind and 
 so secure a final determination of affairs against him. 
 
 The bitterly severe winter had passed away, and the 
 balmy days of spring so cheered the invalid that he de- 
 termined to be carried to the court, then at Segovia. 
 He arrived in May, well-nigh exhausted. Where are 
 now the fawning courtiers who a few years ago, at. 
 Barcelona, would have waited for hours to touch his 
 hand ? Ah, they are still here, but they worship the 
 rising, not the setting sun ! 
 
 And the King ! He smiles — on the surface — without 
 enthusiasm, or even warmth. He listens to the recital 
 of this perilous fourth voyage, but has very little to 
 say. Nor is he at all moved by the portrayal of the 
 golden wealth of Veragua, or the detailed account of 
 the cruel rebellion of Porras and his associates. Now 
 Columbus becomes fully conscious of the wintry cold- 
 ness of that court without the presence and influence 
 of Isabella. 
 
 A few days later Columbus wrote to the King, pre- 
 senting his grave claims respectfully, but most ear- 
 
AiV ARBITRA TION SUG GESTED. 567 
 
 nestly. The reply was characteristic of Ferdinand's 
 wily treacherousness. He knew how much Spain 
 owed to Columbus ; but — but, there was so much im- 
 plied in his claim — titles, governments, rights, ac- 
 counts, indemnifications, and how many other points ! 
 — it would be necessary to submit the matter to the 
 judgment of some very prudent and competent person. 
 Who should this arbitrator be but Father Deza ? asked 
 Columbus. Was he not a favorite of the King, and 
 also his friend ? But in this arbitration the Admiral 
 will have it explicitl}^ understood that he submits only 
 his rights and revenues, not his titles and prerogatives ; 
 these had been fixed by royal decree, and confirmed — 
 how many times ? Nothing more is known about the 
 arbitration. The points to be submitted by the Ad- 
 miral did not suit the King. Again and again the 
 claims were pressed, and as often did the King smile, 
 and acknowledge, and compliment, and promise to look 
 into the matter ; " but as to doing anj^thing," says Las 
 Casas, " not only did he show Columbus no tokens of 
 favor, but, on the other hand, placed every obstacle in 
 his way, and at the same time was never remiss in 
 complimentary expressions." 
 
 The aged, suffering Admiral is disheartened with 
 pleading his rights on the grounds of justice ; he will 
 leave all to the King's sense of fairness — his generosity, 
 if you please. He will accept just what the King 
 chooses to give him, regardless of the facts and figures 
 in the case ; only he begs that the matter may be at- 
 tended to promptly, that he may retire to some quiet 
 corner for rest. Now Ferdinand waxes eloquent in 
 acknowledgments. He knows but too well that he 
 
568 ^"^A T MORE ? 
 
 owes the Indies to Columbus, and he would not deprive 
 him of the just dues for his services. He will not only 
 bestow upon him the rightful revenues coming to him, 
 he will do more — will even compensate him out of the 
 estates of the crown. 
 
 What more than this could any one ask ? What 
 more can the Admiral say, after so out-and-out a prom- 
 ise ? What can he do but be carried around after the 
 court on a litter, simply waiting for the fulfilment ? 
 For months he follows and waits, but gets nothing be- 
 yond " fine words " and " great regards." Finally the 
 matter is referred to the tribunal of the dead Queen, 
 and they know the mind of the King so well that they 
 can simply hesitate and demur. " If Ferdinand could 
 have done so with a quiet conscience and without 
 disgracing his name, he would have utterly disregarded 
 every privilege which he and the Queen had granted 
 the Admiral, and which had been so justly merited." 
 So thought Las Casas and others of his time. 
 
 It is true, the outlook had immeasurably changed 
 since the granting of the privileges of Columbus. 
 Then, through a narrow loophole, the largest faith and 
 the most intense enthusiasm might anticipate uncer- 
 tain islands, and possibly pieces of continents. Now 
 there were islands and continents, the richest and 
 grandest — no one might conjecture to what extent; 
 at any rate, Spain was a mere patch compared with 
 them. Would it be wise to relegate such incalculable 
 territories to a foreigner and his descendants forever ? 
 This surely was too much for a penurious, ambitious 
 soul like that of Ferdinand to give away. In this 
 case, at least, it was no mere matter of keeping one's 
 
HOPE DEFERRED. 
 
 569 
 
 word, like him " who sweareth to his own hurt and 
 changeth not." But O heavens, and O earth ! could 
 not something have been done ? Must this greatest 
 benefactor of Spain and of the world — this begetter of a 
 new era in the world's history — drag out his days 
 a mere mendicant on a litter, and die a pauper? Can 
 the King of Spain do nothing whatever to save him- 
 self from the foulest perjury and the blackest ingrati- 
 tude ? 
 
 This anxious waiting and sore disappointment were 
 telling heavily on the suffering Admiral. Helpless 
 and hopeless, he sank upon a sick-bed at Valladolid. 
 " It is a matter that concerns my honor," he wrote to 
 the King ; " your Majesty may do as you think proper 
 with all the rest ; give or take, as may appear for your 
 advantage, and I shall be satisfied. I believe that the 
 worry caused by the delay of my suit is the main 
 cause of my ill-health." 
 
 Columbus finally gave up his own personal claims, 
 and simply interceded with the King, along with his 
 son, for the rights of the family. " The more they 
 appealed to him the more favorably he replied," says 
 Las Casas, " but he always continued his system of 
 putting them off, in the hope of tiring out their 
 patience, and making them renounce their privileges 
 and accept titles and: estates in Castile in compensation 
 for them." In fact, some such offer was made, but 
 Columbus was never a man to be bought off from his 
 clearly conceived or explicith;- stipulated rights. 
 I '* I have done all that I can do," he wrote pitifully to 
 
 Deza^; i" I leave the rest to God. He has always sus- 
 tained me in extremities." 
 
370 ^ STRANGE DECREE. 
 
 During the last winter of the Admiral's life Ferdi- 
 nand issued the following decree : 
 
 " The King : As I am informed that you, Chris. 
 Colon, the Admiral, are in poor bodily health, owing 
 to certain diseases which you have had or have, and 
 that you cannot ride on horseback without great 
 injury to your health ; therefore, conceding this to 
 your advanced age, I, by these presents, grant yoM 
 license to ride on a mule, saddled and bridled, through 
 whatever parts of these kingdoms or realms you wish 
 and choose, notwithstanding the law which I issued 
 in regard thereto ; and command the justices of all 
 parts of these kingdoms and realms not to offer you 
 any impediment, or allow any to be offered to you, 
 under penalt}^ of ten thousand maravedis in behalf of 
 the treasury on whoever does the contrary. 
 
 " Given in the city of Toro, Feb. 23rd, 1505." 
 
 This enactment is at once an indication of the infirm 
 condition of Columbus and of the peculiarly tyran- 
 nical laws of the time, which, finding horses too scarce 
 in Spain for the emergencies of war, had laid restric- 
 tions on the domestic uses of the mule, hoping thereby 
 to increase the number of horses. 
 
 During the ver}^ last days of the Admiral there was 
 a gleam of hope. The Infanta Juana, with her hus- 
 band, the Archduke Philip, had arrived from Flanders 
 to take possession of the kingdom of Castile. Might 
 there not be found in the daughter some likeness to 
 the great soul of her mother ? When the King and 
 all the court went to Laredo to meet the new Queen, 
 Columbus was unable to gratify his heart's strongest 
 wish to accompan}' them, for a violent relapse had 
 
THE NE \\ ' ^ UEEN. ^ y I 
 
 laid him lower than ever. His brother Bartholomew 
 was sent to represent him, with a letter of regret from 
 him at not being able to congratulate the new 
 sovereigns in person, and asking to be counted amoug 
 their most faithful subjects. Though now in such great 
 suffering, he still cherished the hope of* rendering 
 them some signal service. Moreover, he hoped by 
 them to be restored to his honors and estates, which 
 had been so unfairly taken from him. 
 
 On the 7th of May the sovereigns arrived, and in a 
 fews days received Don Bartholomew wath great kind- 
 ness. The claims of the Admiral were well considered, 
 and once more fair promises were made. But the 
 adelantado had scarcely left him when it became 
 evident that he was nearing his end — was about to 
 make his last voyage. He accordingl}'- addressed him- 
 self to the last duties of life. The codicil to his will, 
 found in 1779, and dated May 4, 1506, written on the 
 blank page of a breviary given to him by Pope Alex- 
 ander VI, a great comfort to him in battles, captivities, 
 and misfortunes, is probably apocryphal. 
 
 May 19th he ratified his will, formally drawn up in 
 his own hand some time before. Diego was made his 
 heir. If he failed of heirship, the estate was to vest 
 in Fernando, who, in default of heirs, should be suc- 
 ceeded by the adelantado. If these all failed of male 
 descendants, the inheritance was to pass to the female 
 line in similar succession. He had continued loyal to 
 the Spanish sovereigns through all the wrongs he had 
 suffered, and now he enjoined upon his descend- 
 ants the utmost fidelity. They must relieve all dis- 
 tressed relatives and others in poverty. Some one of 
 
572 
 
 G/^A TITUDE. 
 
 his lineage must represent the family in Genoa. 
 Diego^must have special regard for the needs of his 
 brother and uncle. When the resources of the estate 
 would admit, he must erect a chapel in the Vega 
 Real of Hispaniola, where masses may be maintained 
 for^his repose and that of the souls of other mem- 
 bers of the famil3^ The crusade for the recovery of 
 the Holy Sepulchre was also remembered, and Dona 
 Beatrix Enriquez. It will be seen at once that this is, 
 to all intents and purposes, the will of 1496. 
 
 After signing the codicil of his will, duly witnessed, 
 he showed his fine sense of gratitude by noting in 
 his own hand small sums which his heirs were to pay 
 to the various persons who, at different times in his 
 life, had rendered him small services. 
 
 Having thus fulfilled the final duties of this life, he 
 sought the consolations of religion. With the calm- 
 ness and resignation of hope, he awaited the great 
 transition from this world to the unknown. His last 
 words were those of Christ on the cross — " Into thy 
 hands, O Lord, I commend my spirit." Thus ended 
 the most eventful life this side of the Christian era, 
 May 20, 1506. 
 
 The commonly received opinion, that the Admiral 
 was first entombed in the Franciscan convent in 
 Valladolid, may be regarded as probable, but is with- 
 out any certain evidence ; and according to the will of 
 his son Diego, 1509, it would seem that his father's 
 remains had already been deposited in the vault of the 
 Carthusians in the Las Cuevas convent of Seville. 
 It seems to have been the conviction of the Columbus 
 family that the Admiral had a preference for Hayti as 
 
THE ADMIRAL'S REMAINS. 
 
 573 
 
 his final resting-place, and his remains were removed 
 there, probably, about 1541, soon after the completion 
 of the cathedral. As early, however, as 1536, the 
 records of the convent show them to have been given 
 up for transportation, though it is only on June 2, 
 1537, that the first royal order was given for their 
 removal. Strange to say, that order was repeated on 
 the 2 2d of August, 1539, and again on the 5th of 
 November, 1540. As to v/here the remains could have 
 been from 1536 till 1541, or after, we have no informa- 
 tion. 
 
 There is no record, made at the time, to show the 
 exact placing of the bod}^ of Columbus in the San 
 Domingo cathedral. In 1676 some one recorded that 
 it had been deposited on the right of the altar ; and in 
 1683 the recollections of aged people were quoted to 
 that effect. About a century later, when certain re- 
 pairs were being made, a vault was found on the " gos- 
 pel " or left side of the chancel, traditionally held to 
 contain the remains of the Admiral, while another was 
 found on the " epistle " or right side, supposed to con- 
 tain those of his brother Bartholomew. 
 
 In 1795, when the treaty of Basle gave the San Dom- 
 ingo half of the island to the French, the Spanish au- 
 thorities, along with the Duke of Veragua as the lineal 
 descendant of Columbus, concluded to remove the re- 
 mains to Havana ; and the vault on the left hand or 
 " gospel " side was opened, according to the above tra- 
 dition, but contrary to the first known record. " Within 
 were found the fragments of a leaden coffin, a number 
 of bones, and a quantity of mould, evidently the re- 
 mains of a human bod3^ These were carefully col- 
 
574 
 
 THE ADMIRAL'S REMAINS. 
 
 lected and put in a case of gilded lead, about half an 
 ell in lenortli and breadth, and a third in heig-ht."^ 
 With indescribable pomp and ceremony, the remains 
 were conveyed to Havana. It is now claimed, however, 
 that these remains were not those of the Admiral, but 
 of Diego, his son. 
 
 " In 1877, in making some changes about the chan- 
 cel, on the right of the altar, the workmen opened a 
 vault, and found a leaden case containing human bones, 
 with an inscription showing them to be those of Luis, 
 the grandson. This led to a search on the opposite or 
 ' gospel side ' of the chancel, where they found an empt}^ 
 vault, supposed to be the one from which the remains 
 were taken to Havana. Between this and the side wall 
 of the building, and separated from the empty vault 
 by a six-inch wall, was found another cavit}^, and in it 
 a leaden case. There seem to have been suitable pre- 
 cautions taken to avoid occasion for imputations of de- 
 ceit, and with witnesses the case was examined. In it 
 were found some bones and dust, a leaden bullet, two 
 iron screws, which fitted the holes in a small silver 
 plate found beneath the mould in the bottom of the 
 case. This casket bore on the outside, on the front 
 and two ends — one letter on each surface — the letters 
 C. C. A."^ An inscription on the top is supposed to 
 mean " Discoverer of America, first Admiral," On the 
 under side of the lid was a legend, translated, " Illus- 
 trious and renowned man, Christopher Columbus." 
 Kvl inscription on the silver plate is rendered, " A part 
 of the remains of the first Admiral, Don Christopher 
 Columbus, discoverer." 
 
 1 Irving's Life and Voyages of Columbus. 
 
 - Narrative and Critical History of America, vol. 2, p. Si. 
 
THE ADMIRAL'S REMAINS. ^y^ 
 
 A discussion followed, which it would be useless to 
 attempt to describe within our limits. The Spaniards 
 are well convinced that they have the remains of the 
 famous Admiral in Havana, but a careful examination 
 of the disclosures of 1877, at the Cathedral of San 
 Domingo, can leave but little doubt as to the reirfkins 
 of the great Admiral being still there. Indeed, the 
 last shadow of doubt would seem to be removed by the 
 painstaking investigations made b}^ that famous 
 German explorer, Cronau, at San Domingo in 1890. 
 He believes the much-debated inscriptions on the 
 casket in question to have been cut in the sixteenth 
 centur}^, and is conclusive in his conviction that the 
 remains of Columbus are still at San Domingo. The 
 corroded, musket-ball found in the casket, he 
 regards as a marked evidence of identity in respect 
 to the remains. We have no account, indeed, of the 
 Admiral being wounded, but in a letter from Jamaica 
 to the sovereigns he speaks of his wound breaking 
 out afresh. On the whole it would seem that as in 
 Columbus's lifetime the Spaniards had tried to get 
 rid of him and his claims without accomplishing their 
 aim, so now, after trying in the most signal manner 
 to retain the prestige of the last and least remains 
 of his dead body, they have probably incurred an 
 equally ignominious failure. 
 
 It is well known that the chains in which Columbus 
 was sent to Spain by Bobadilla he kept as a memorial 
 of his wrongs, and intended they should go with him into 
 his cof&n ; but as no such chains, not even in the form 
 of oxide of iron, have been in any of the supposed 
 caskets, may it not be that his veritable remains are 
 
576 
 
 HIS MONUMENT. 
 
 yet to be identified ? But wherever tlie spot may be, 
 of which in respect to the great iVdmiral we may say, 
 '' Dust to dust, and ashes to ashes," the New World — 
 that is, one-half the globe — is his monument. 
 
 Summing up the question of the possession of the 
 rentains of Columbus, we feel at liberty to disclose, 
 at this time and in this place, two facts which may 
 anticipate and conclude future action in the prem- 
 ises. We have been informed b}' controlling if not 
 
 THE HOUSE IN WHICH COLUMBUS DIED. 
 
 actually official parties in the management of the 
 Columbian Exposition at Chicago that only a proper 
 and legitimate appropriation of sufficient funds was 
 needed to accomplish the transfer of the alleged 
 remains of Columbus from San Domingo to Chicago. 
 We have also had assurance of the significant fact 
 that the chains which Columbus's son describes in his 
 memoirs of his father, and which lie says were kept 
 
MUNIMENTS AND REMAINS. 577 
 
 hanging in his bed-chamber, are still preserved and 
 said to be, if we are not mistaken, in the hands of a 
 party in Genoa, from whom they can be obtained 
 upon like conditions as the muniments and alleged 
 remains from San Domingo. If these are to be 
 forthcoming, they will probably be added to the 
 copious body of relics to be exhibited in the replica of 
 the Convent of La Rabida, now in course of construc- 
 tion on the shores of Lake Michigan, during the 
 present celebration. 
 
INDEX. 
 
 Page. 
 
 Aguado, Juan 306, 310, 311 
 
 Alexander VI 171 
 
 Alfraganus 35 
 
 Alhambra 69, 175 
 
 All Saints, Convent of. 31 
 
 Alligators 254, 486 
 
 Alphonso, King 27, 37 
 
 Amazons 317 
 
 Anacaona 2S3, 353, 354, 363 
 
 her treasures 364, 365 
 
 her melancholy fate 523-5-7 
 
 Arana, Diego de 137, 195 
 
 Arana, Pedro de 329 
 
 Archives of Milan 293 
 
 of Venice 29 
 
 Aristotle 36, 43 
 
 Astrolabe 47 
 
 Augustine, St 59 
 
 Azores 26, 44, 153, 156 
 
 Babeque 119, 125, 126, 243 
 
 Bacon, Roger 43 
 
 Balboa 450 
 
 Ballester, Miguel 389, 396, 397 
 
 Bank of St. George, letter to, 
 
 456, 457 
 
 Barcelona 164, 166, 319 
 
 Bastidas 450 
 
 Behaim, Martin 35, 47 
 
 Behechio 353, 354, 362, 363 
 
 Belvis, Pablo 309 
 
 Benjamin, Rabbi .47 
 
 Beradi 175 
 
 Bernaldez, Andres 3, 8 
 
 frequently cited. 
 
 Blood-hounds 245, 282, 503 
 
 Bobadilla 428, 431 446, 448-450, 
 
 463. 552 
 
 Bojador 25, 26 
 
 Breviesco Ximeno 326, 327, 427 
 
 Brazil 34 
 
 Bristol, England 291 
 
 Brown, Rawdon 29 
 
 Bull, Father. 203, 274, 305, 306, 319 
 
 Butterflies ". 257 
 
 Cabot, John 291, 297 
 
 Cabot, Sebastian.. 292, 298, 300, 302 
 
 Cabral 34, 450 
 
 Cadiz 176, 318, 452 
 
 Calzadilla 48, 50 
 
 Page. 
 Canary Islands.. 82-84, 178,329,462 
 
 Canoe, Royal 265 
 
 Caonabo..."..i93, 195, 233, 236, 275, 
 277, 27S, 315.317. 318, 320 
 
 Cape Good Hope 27 
 
 Cape Nam 24 
 
 Cape Not 25 
 
 Cape de Verde Islands.. ..26, 50, 280 
 
 Carvajal 329, 387, 388, 391, 395, 
 
 396, 398, 402, 404, 451, 566 
 
 Cassaneuva 18 
 
 Catalina 314 
 
 Cedo, Firmin 221, 222, 309 
 
 Ceuta 49, 50 
 
 Chanca, Dr 177 
 
 frequently cited. 
 
 Cibao 129, 130 
 
 Cipango 82, 130 
 
 Columbus, Bartholomew iS, 30, 
 
 63,65, 271, 272, 279, 282,290, 
 310,311, 314.318, 323, 350,351, 
 355. 358. 366-374. 378-384. 460 
 Columbus, Christopher: 
 
 his portrait 7-9 
 
 birthplace 13 
 
 date of birth 14-16 
 
 parentage 17, 18 
 
 education 20-22 
 
 early life 22, 23 
 
 on the bridge of pines 75 
 
 his privileges 75-77- 
 
 his humiliation 431-446 
 
 death 572 
 
 remains 573-57^ 
 
 Columbus, Diego, the brother... 18, 
 177, 223, 273, 274, 2S0, 308, 351, 
 366-369 
 Columbus, Diego, the son. ...31, 32, 
 33. 65-67, 456, 565 
 Columbus, Diego, the Indian in- 
 terpreter 191, 371 
 
 Columbus, Fernando 4,5, 27,63 
 
 frequently cited. 
 
 Colombo, Juan Antonio 329 
 
 Code Diplomaticus 5 
 
 Compass 47 
 
 Cordova 56 
 
 Corn 116 
 
 Coronal 372-375 
 
58o 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Page. 
 
 Correo, Pedro 32 
 
 Curtis, Win. Elory 7 
 
 D'Aillj, Cardinal 43 
 
 same as Iliaco. 
 
 Darien, Isthmus of 35, 4S8 
 
 Decurions of Genoa 454 
 
 Deza, Diego 61, 565 
 
 Diaz, Bartholomew 63, 271 
 
 Diaz, Bernal 221-223 
 
 Diaz, Miguel 313 
 
 Dominica 181 
 
 Eclipse 534-536 
 
 Emanuel, Victor 454 
 
 Enriquez, Beatrix 63, 64 
 
 Escobar, Diego de 416, 537, 538 
 
 Esquibel 555: 560 
 
 Eugenius IV, Pope 37^40 
 
 Ferdinand, King.. ..56, 61, 164. 167, 
 169, 170, 173, 427, 428, 446, 449 
 
 Fernandez, Garcia 55, 67 
 
 Ferrar, Jajme 328 
 
 Fiesco, Bartholomew. .518, 522, 545 
 
 Fire and Faggot 359 
 
 Fish catch fish 249, 250 
 
 Fiske, John. ..7, 51, 54, 442, 443, 448 
 
 Fonseca..i74, 175, 326, 405, 412, 413, 
 
 427, 444, 446 
 
 Gama, Vasco de 451, 459 
 
 Genoa. 12, 30, 53, 54 
 
 Geraldini brothers 57 
 
 Gibraltar, Straits of 26 
 
 Giovio, Paolo 9 
 
 Giustiniani 2 
 
 Gold, famous nugget of 464 
 
 Golden Chersonesus...257, 258, 451 
 
 Good Hope, Cape of 63 
 
 Goodrich, Aaron 6 
 
 Gorbolan 212, 221 
 
 Gracios a Dios, Cape 473 
 
 Granada surrenders 69 
 
 Grand Khan 40, 47 
 
 Guacanagari. 128, 131-139, 191 195, 
 197-205, 275, 276, 282, 288, 289 
 
 Gundaloupe 182 
 
 Guanahani 98 
 
 Guarionex....276, 277, 351, 358-362, 
 370, 375-384 
 
 Guevara 418-421, 435, 436 
 
 Guinea 46 
 
 Harrisse...!, 13, 14, 19, 43, 55, 291, 
 300-304 
 
 Hayna 318, 335, 351, 357 
 
 Hajti 119 
 
 Helps, Sir Arthur 58 
 
 cited. 
 
 Henry VII 64, 65, 271, 290 
 
 Herons, great white 254 
 
 Herrera 180 
 
 frequentlj' cited. 
 
 Page. 
 
 Hibernia 294 
 
 Higuay 555 561 
 
 Hispaniola 119 
 
 Holy Sepulchre 62,63 
 
 Honduras, coast of. 269. 473 
 
 Humboldt 2, 36, 173 
 
 cited. 
 
 Hurricane or furicane 312 
 
 Hurricane 465-467 
 
 Iceland, Columbus's voyage to. ..33 
 
 Iceland 295 
 
 Iguana 241 
 
 Imago Mundi 43 
 
 Indies, wealth of 58 
 
 Isabella, Queen. ...56, 61, 63, 67, 68, 
 
 74, 164, 167, 175, 176, 428, 434 
 446, 566 
 
 Jamaica 244-246, 513-545 
 
 John II ....52, 63, 156, 159, 162, 173 
 
 Joseph 48 
 
 Juan, Prince 322, 326 
 
 Juana, Princess 322 
 
 Kublai Khan 36, 112, 113 
 
 Lactantius 59 
 
 La Cosa, Juan de 177, 413, 450 
 
 La Navidad 136, 192-195 
 
 La Rabida 51, 55, 65-68 
 
 Las Casas 3, 4, 8 
 
 frequently cited. 
 
 Madeira 26 
 
 Maiobanex 147, 375-384. 409, 
 
 418-421 
 
 Maize 116 
 
 Major, R H 6 
 
 cited. 
 
 Malacca 257 
 
 Mandeville 36 
 
 Manicaotex 282, 283 
 
 Manacles 278 
 
 Mangi 35, 251 
 
 Mangon 251 
 
 Marchina, Antonio 55 
 
 Margarita 273, 274, 305 
 
 Margarita of Austria 322 
 
 Margarite....230, 233, 236, 273. 274, 
 
 319 
 
 Marinus of Tyre 34 
 
 Martin, Andres 445 
 
 Martyr, Peter 3 
 
 often cited. 
 
 Mateo, Juan 351 
 
 Mastic 114 
 
 Medina Cell, Duke of 64 
 
 Meteor on outward voyage 87 
 
 Mendez, Diego... .445, 497-500, 510, 
 511, 514-522, 545 
 
 Mendoza, Cardinal 57, 169, 170 
 
 Mermaids 144 
 
INDEX. 
 
 S8i 
 
 Mexico 469, 471 
 
 Moors, conquest of 56-58 
 
 Moxica 406, 418-422 
 
 Mufioz 5 
 
 Mutinj' 90 
 
 Navarrete 5 
 
 cited. 
 
 Nifia 79, 140, 150, 163 
 
 Nino, Pedro Alonzo...322, 352, 449 
 
 No variation, line of 172 
 
 Ocean currents 346, 347 
 
 Oderigo, Nicolo 456 
 
 Ojeda 177, 187, 212, 235-237, 
 
 277-279. 411-418, 449 
 
 Ophir 314, 321,323 
 
 Orinoco 334 
 
 Ovando, Nicholas de 42S-430 
 
 Oviedo 3 
 
 cited. 
 
 Palos 6568, 77, 163 
 
 Paria, Gulf of 337 
 
 Pasqualigo 292 
 
 Pear-shape of earth 347, 348 
 
 Pearls 340-345 
 
 Perestello, Captain 31 
 
 Perestelio, Filipa 31 
 
 Perez, Juan 55, 66-68, 77 
 
 Philip, Archduke of Austria 322 
 
 Pilot, story of 32 
 
 Pinta 79, 83, 84, 137, 141, 142, 
 
 148-150, 164 
 
 Pinzons 77, 78 
 
 Pinzon, Martin Alonzo, deserts, 
 
 67, 117, 141, 142, 147, 164 
 
 Pinzon, Vicente Yanez 79, 380. 
 
 449. 450 
 
 Plinj 36 
 
 Polo, Marco 36 
 
 Ponce de Leon 177 
 
 Pope's line 279, 280 
 
 Porras brothers. ...527-533, 540-543 
 
 Porto Rico 147, 191 
 
 Porto Santo 26, 31, 45 
 
 Portugal 24-26, 53, 61 
 
 Potato 114 
 
 Puerto Bello 484 
 
 Ptolemy 34, 44 
 
 Qiiintanilla, Alonzo de..57, 62,70, 74 
 
 qiiibian, the 494, 495, 497, 504, 
 
 506, 507 
 
 Raimondo 293 
 
 Rastelo 158. 159 
 
 Rebellion in Vega 283 
 
 Repartimientos 406, 407 
 
 Requehiie 409, 420, 435, 436 
 
 Rock, the great 82 
 
 Rodrigo. ... 48 
 
 Page. 
 
 Roldan, Francis... 366, 368-370, 374, 
 
 385-410, 411-417' 418-42^' 463 
 
 Salamanca 34 
 
 council of 58 
 
 Samana 146 
 
 San Christoval 351 
 
 Sanchez, Juan 501, 1502 
 
 San Domingo 314, 353 
 
 San Lucar 328, 548 
 
 San Salvador 98 
 
 Santangel, Louis de 68, 72-74 
 
 Santa Fe 68 
 
 Santa Maria 79 
 
 wrecked 130-132 
 
 Saragossa Sea 88 
 
 Savona 54 
 
 Sea of Darkness 82 
 
 Seneca 36 
 
 Seneca, the Poet 43 
 
 Sidonia, Duke of 64, 175 
 
 Sierra Leone 26, 349 
 
 Slavery ofthe Natives. 217-220, 280, 
 
 281 
 
 St. Elmo's lights 180 
 
 Strabo 36 
 
 Tagus 158, 159 
 
 Tails, Men with 253 
 
 Talavera 57, 59, 69, 70 
 
 Talking Metal 277 
 
 Tarducci 60,61, 64, 442 
 
 Tartary 251 
 
 Taxation of Indians 284, 2S5 
 
 Teneriffe 84 
 
 Tongue cut 259 
 
 Tobacco 116 
 
 Torres 279, 326 
 
 Tortugas 125 
 
 Toscanelli 36-42, 89 
 
 Trade-winds 88 
 
 Triana, Rodrigo de 95, 96 
 
 Trinidad 332, 334, 337; 339 
 
 Tristan, Diego 504, 506 
 
 Valladolid 572 
 
 Variation of Compass 86, 87 
 
 Vega Real . ...224-22S, 282 
 
 Venice applied to 53, 54 
 
 Venetian galleys -7-30 
 
 Veragua 480, 482, 492-494 
 
 Veragua, Duke of 51, 573 
 
 War with Natives 2S1, 282 
 
 Water Spout 490 
 
 Watling 98 
 
 Winsor, Justin 6 
 
 cited. 
 
 Yucatan 469 
 
 Zemi 230, 359 
 
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