^^ <4.^ o* * — 0' • ' ^^ .-^ ' -o. ^^-^^^ V * %. ^0 f .*.^-.G- \''-^*\s^ %'^^\g^^ \- ♦ <*1* • -^f, (^ • V. *••. '^o o • > <> *'T7:^V,0^ ^. • " \^ °'^ * • • *'t:^ . * ^o t^ ♦J * -y^ NKW YOKK I.ONIiON 27 WRST TWKNTV-THIRD STI;HET ^4 BEHKDKI) STREET, STRAND (Tilt llnichrrbochcr press \ X'H.^'^r^. Copyright, 1893, By G. p. PUTNAM'S SONS. INTRODUCTION. Whether, in old times, beyond the reach of history or tradition, and at some remote period wlien, as some imagine, the arts may have flourished to a degree unknown to those whom we term the ancients, there existed an intercourse between the opposite shores of the Atlantic ; whether the Egyptian legend narrated by Plato, respecting the island of Atlantis, was indeed no fable, but the tradition of some country, engulfed by one of those mighty convulsions of our globe which have left the traces of the ocean on the summits of lofty moun- tains, must ever remain matters of vague and visionary speculation. As far as authenticated history extends, nothing was known of terra-firma, and the islands of the western hemisphere, until their discovery towards the close of the fifteenth century. A wandering bark may occasionally have lost sight of the landmarks of the old continents, and been driven by tempests across the wH- derness of waters, long before the invention of the com- pass, but none ever returned to reveal the secrets of the ocean ; and though, from time to time, some document has floated to the old world, giving to its wondering inhabitants indications of land far beyond their watery horizon, yet no one ventured to spread a sail, and seek that land, enveloped in mystery and peril. Or, if the legends of the Scandinavian voyagers be correct, and their mysterious Vinland were the coast of Labrador IV INTRODUCTION. or the shore of Newfoundland, they had but trancient gHmpses of the New World, leading to no permanent knowledge, and in a little time lost again to mankind. Certain it is, that at the beginning of the fifteenth century, when the most intelligent minds were seeking in every direction for the scattered lights of geographical knowl- edge, a profound ignorance prevailed among the learned as to the western regions of the Atlantic ; its vast waters were regarded with awe and wonder, seeming to bound the world as with a chaos, into which conjecture could not penetrate, and enterprise feared to adventure. We need no greater proof of this than the description given of the Atlantic by Xerif al Edrisi, surnamed the Nubian, an eminent Arabian writer, whose countrymen possessed all that was known of geography in the middle ages. " The ocean," he observes, " encircles the ultimate bounds of the inhabited earth, and all beyond it is unknown. No one has been able to verify anything concerning it, on account of its difficult and perilous navigation, its great obscurity, its profound depth, and frequent tempests ; through fear of its mighty fishes and its haughty winds ; yet there are many islands in it, some of which are peopled, and others uninhabited. There is no mariner who dares to enter into its deep waters; or, if any have done so, they have merely kept along its coasts, fearful of departing from them. The waves of this ocean, although they roll as high as mountains, yet maintain themselves without breaking; for if they broke, it would be impossible for a ship to plow them." It is the object of the following work to relate the deeds and fortunes of the mariner who first had the judg- ment to divine, and the intrepidity to brave, the mysteries of this perilous deep ; and who, by his hardy genius, his inflexible constancy, and his heroic courage, brought NOTE. V the ends of the earth into communication with each other. The narrative of his troubled life is the link which connects the history of the old world with that C)f the new. NOTE. Since the first publication of this work, researches made concerning the early voyages of the " Northmen" have established the fact, to the conviction of most minds, that " Vinland," the country accidentally discov- ered 1)\- those wide-wandering navigators, about the year looo, was really a part of the continent of North America. Tills fact, however, does not lessen the merit of the great enterprise and achievement of Columbus. Nothing grew out of this discovery of Vinland, nor does any idea appear to have been entertained of the extent or impor- tance of the region thus casually brought to light. Two or three voyages were made to it, between the years lOOO and I02I, after which it ceased to be an object of further quest, and apparcntl}' faded from thought as if it had never been. At the time when Columbus visited Thule, upwards of three centuries and a half had elapsed since the last voyage to Vinland of which we have any record; and two centuries and a half since the sagas which mention the country had been written. We see no reason to believe that he heard aiu'thing of these dis- coveries or saw the sagas in question. Mad he done so, he would doubtless have cited them among the various reports of lands seen by mariners in the west, with which he sought to fortify his theory and win patronage to his VI NOTE. enterprise during years of weary and almost hopeless solicitation. It is more than probable that at the time of his visiting Thule the tradition concerning Vinland had long been forgotten, and the sagas had been con- signed to the dust of libraries and archives, thence to be drawn forth by antiquarian research in after ages, when his own discoveries should have cast back a light to illuminate their obscurity. ARMS OF COLUMBUS. CONTENTS. PACE Introduction iii Note to this Edition v vj I. Birth, Parentage. Education, and Early Life of Columbus i IJ. Progress of Discovery under Prince Henry of Portugal. —Resi- dence of Columbus in Lisbon. — Ideas concerning Islands in the Ocean 7 III. Grounds on wliich Columl)us founded his Belief of the Existence of Undiscovered Lands in llic West 13 IV. Events in Portugal relative to Discovery. — Propositions of Co- lumbus to the Portuguese Court : 19 V. First Arrival of Columbus in Spain. — Character of tlie Spanish Sovereigns 25 VI. Propositions of Columbus to the Court of Castile 29 VII. Columbus before the Council at Salamanca 33 VIII. Columbus seeks Patronage amongst the Spanish Grandees. — Re- turns to the Convent of La Rabida. — Resumes his Negotia- tions witli tlie Sovereigns (1491) 4r IX. Arrangement with the Spanish Sovereigns. — Preparations for the Expedition at the Port of Palos (1492) 4S X. Events of the First Voyage. — Discovery ol Land (1492) 55 VI 11 CONTENTS. CHAPTER PAGE XI. First Landing of Columbus in the New World. — Cruise among tlie Bahama Islands. — Discovery of Cuba and Hispaniola (1492) 71 XII. Coasting of Hispaniola. — Shipwreck, and other Occur- rences at the Island (1492) 83 XIII. Return Voyage. — Violent Storms. — Arrival in Portugal , (1493) \ ... 99 XIV. Visit of Columbus to the Court of Portugal. — Arrival at Palos (1493) 107 XV. Reception of Columbus by the Spanisli Sovereigns at Bar- celona (1493) 113 XVI. Papal Bull of Partition. — Preparations for a Second Voy- age of Discovery (1493) 120 XVII. Departure of Columbus on his Second Voyage of Dis- covery; — Arrival at Hispaniola (1493) 126 XVIII. Fate of the Fortress of La Navidad. — Transactions at tlie Harbor (1493) 134 XIX. Founding of the City of Isabella. — Discontents of the Peo- ple (1493) 141 XX. Expedition of Columbus into the Interior of Hispaniola (1494) ■ 148 XXI. Customs and Characteristics of the Natives 152 XXII. Sickness and Discontent at the Settlement of Isabella. — Preparations of Columbus for a Voyage to Cuba (1494). . 161 XXIII. Cruise of Columbus along the Southern Coast of Cuba (1494) 165 CONTENTS. IX CHAPTER PAGE XXIV. Return Voyage (1494) 172 XX\'. Events in the Island of Ilispaniola. — Insurrections of llie Natives. — Expedition of Ojeda against Caonaho (1494) 17S XX\'I. Battle of the Vega. — Imposition of Tribute (1494) 190 XW'II. Arrival of the Cuinmissioner Aguado. — Discovery of the Gold Mines of Ilayna (1495) 19S XXVIII. Return of Columbus to Spain. — Preparations for a Tliird Voyage (1496) 205 XXIX. Discovery of Trinidad, and the Coast of Paria. — Arrival at San Domingo (149S) 216 XXX. Administration of the Adclantad) 224 XXXI. Rebellion of Roldan (149S) 23S XXXII. Visit of Ojeda to the West End of tlie Island. — Conspiracy of Moxica. — His Execution U499) 250 X.XXIII. Intrigues against Columbus in the Spanish Court. — Ap- pointment of IJobadilla as Commissioner. — His Arrival at San Domingo (1500) 256 XXXIW Columbus arrested and sent to Spain in Chains (1500). . . . 262 XXW. Arrival of Columbus in Spain. — His Interview with the Sovereigns. — Aiiiioinlment of Ovando to the C.overn- mcnt of Ilispaniola ( I 500) 26S XXXVI. Proposition of Columinis for a Crusade. — His Preparations for a Fourth Voyage (1500, 1501) 275 XXXVII. Columi)us sails on His Fourtii \'oyage. — Events at the Island of Ilispaniola. — His Search after an Imaginary Strait ( 1 502) 279 X CONTENTS. CHAPTER PAGE XXXVIII. Return to the Coast of Veragua. — Contests with the Na- tives (1502) 289 XXXIX. Disasters of the Settlement (1503) 298 XL. Voyage to Jamaica. — Transactions at that Island (1503). . . 305 XLI. Mutiny of Porras. — Eclipse of the Moon. ^Stratagem of Columbus to procure Supplies from the Indians (1503)... . 311 XLII. Arrival of Diego de Escobar at the Harbor. — Battle with the Rebels (1504) 318 XLIII. Voyage of Diego Mendez to Hispaniola. — Deliverance of Columbus from the Island of Jamaica (1504) 323 XLIV. Affairs at Hispaniola during the Administration of Ovan- do. — Return of Columbus to Spain (1504) 328 XLV. Fruitless Application of Columbus to be reinstated in his Government. — His last Illness and Death (1504) 336 ' XLVI. Observations on the Character of Columbus 348 A visit to Palos 355 Appendix. — Obsequies of Columbus 376 Glossary 379 ILLUSTRATIONS. PAGE The y\uthentic Portrait of Christopher Columbus Frontispiece. Arms of Columbus vi Mediterranean Galley in the time of Columbus. Based on a design in Lane-Poole's " Barbary Corsairs." 3 Part of a terrestrial globe made at Nuremberg in the year 1492, by Martin Behem 15 Ferdinand, King of Spain. Redrawn from an old jirint 27 Isabella, Queen of Spain. Redrawn from an old jirint 43 The Convent of La Rabida. Redrawn from Manning's " Spanish Pictures." 51 Ships of Columbus 53 Columbus taking leave of F'erdinand and Isabella. From De Bry's ' ' Voyages. " 54 Palos. Redrawn from an old print 56 Columbus discovering the variation of the compass. From De Lorgue's ' ' Columbus. " 59 Columbus on the deck of his ship, with ar^ astrolabe in his hand. From De Bry's ' ' Voyages. " 63 A Caravel under sail. From Columbus's first letter 65 The ship of Columbus, the "Ocean Wave." From Columbus's first letter 69 XI 1 ILL US TRA TIONS. PAGE Native Huts, Hamacs, etc. Redrawn from Gottfriedt's " Newe Welt." 73 Galley coasting the Island of Hispaniola 84 Discovery of Hispaniola. From Herrera's " History of the West Indies." 86 Natives carrying a Cacique. Redrawn from Herrera's " History of the West Indies." 88 Natives dancing. Redrawn from Gottfriedt's " Newe Welt." 93 A manner of fishing. Redrawn from Gottfriedt's " Newe Welt." 95 Nearing land on return voyage. From an old print 103 Reception of Columbus at Barcelona. Return from first voyage. From an old print 115 Columbus and the egg. From De Dry's "Voyages." 118 Cacique and Warriors. Fac-simile from Inga's " West Indische Spieghel.". 129 The Island of Hi.spaniola. Redrawn from Wytfliet's '" West Indies.". 132 Finding ruins of La Navidad. liased on old prints 135 Arquebusier. From Dc Bry's " Voyages." 136 The building of a cily, or Fort Isabella. From Columbus's first letter. 143 A family group, Hispaniola. Redrawn from Montani's " America.".. 153 Cacique and attendants. Redrawn from Montani's " America." 155 Natives dancing. Redrawn after an old print from Gottfriedt's " Newe Welt." i59 Canoe, Island of Jamaica 167 Capturing an alligator. Reproduced fac-simile from Gottfriedt's " Newe Welt." 170 Killing sea wolves. Redrawn from De Bry 174 ILLUSTRATIONS. XllI I'AGE J Methods (if crossing a stream. Keilrawii from ( loltfricilt's " Ncwe Welt." 186 - Attack on natives m trees. From llerrcra's '" History of the West Indies." 193 ■i lype of fort built liy early explorers. Redrawn from Montani's " Beschrying van America." 195 •J Vessels in a storm. Reduced fac-simile from Gottfriedt's " Ncwe Welt." 203 •^GoKl mining. Redrawn from I)e Bry 206 ■^ Mining scene. Redrawn from Gottfriedt's " Newc Welt." 211 ~> Doparturc of a Heel. 1- rom riiili|iono"s " Nova Typis." 217 ■^Natives of the coast of South America. Redrawn from ,S|)ix and Mar- tin's " Reise in Br isilien." 221 ^ The city of San Domingo. Redrawn from a print in Montani's " America," 167 1 225 ^ Natives bringing wood and water to a Caravel. Reilrawn from CJott- friedt's " Newe Welt." 229 ■^Attack on a village. Redrawn from Gottfriedt's " Newe Welt." 237 ^The Moro Columbus 249 ■^Bartholomew Columbus Redrawn from Ilerrera's " History of the West Indies.'' 265 Natives of New Spain preparing food. Redrawn fiom Gottfriedt's "Newe Welt." 2S3 " Natives moukling images. Redrawn from I )e l!ry 287 •* A difficult landing-place. Redrawn from Gottfriedt's " Newe Welt.". 292 "* A Cacique. Redrawn from Inga's " West Indische Spieghel." 295 Death of Diego Tristan. From I),- Lorgue's ' Columbus." 301 XIV , ILLUS'l'RATIONS. PAGE vj Natives supplying provisions to the .Spaniards. Redrawn from Gott- friedt's " Newe Welt." 317 • Spanish Soldiers. Redrawn from De Bry 321, 322 -1 Burial Ceremony. Adapted from Moritz Rugendas' " Reise in Brasil- ien." 334 \ Tomb of Ferdinand and Isabella, Granada 33g .Amerigo Vespucci. Redrawn from "Vita e Lettere di Amerigo Ves- pucci. " 343 . Monument to Columbus in Genoa 347 THE AUTHENTIC PORTRAIT OF CHRISTOPHER COLUM BUS.— (&v frotttispiccc.) FROM A TAINTING IN THE POSSESSION OF WILLIAM HARRISON BKADLKY, OF CHICAGO, UNITED STATES CONSUL AT NICE. Touching the history of the painting from which the above portrait was taken, Mr. Bradley writes to the publishers as follows : " In De Bry's ' Grands Voyages," Part V., appears an engraving of Columbus of which De Bry says that it was engraved from a copy in his possession, of the portrait painted during the life of Columbus under the instructions of Ferdinand and Isabella. This original picture, afterwards stolen from the Casa de las Indias and taken to the Netherlands, was copied by an artist of De Bry's acquaintance, and from this copy the engraving appearing in the ' Voyages ' was made, towards the end of the sixteenth century. At this time as later, France was the great art collector of Europe, and the picture went where so much of artistic and historic value was being collected, for we find Inibert de Lonne, a man of letters and the trusted physician of the royal family, facing the terrors of Paris during the Revolution of 1789 to purchase, at a sale of royal effects, keepsakes of the family he had served. Among the articles purchased by him was this picture of Columbus, and the person from whom I purchased it had received the painting from the granddaughter ol De Lonne. " THE Life and Voyages of Columbus. CHAPTER I. KIRTII, PARENTAGE, EDUCATION, AND EARLY LIFE OF COLUMBUS. Christopher Columbus, or Colombo as the name is written in Italian, was a native of Genoa, born about the year 1435, of poor but reputable and meritorious parentage. He was the son of Domenico Colombo, a wool-comber, and Susanna Fontanarossa his wife ; and his ancestors seem to have followed the same trade for several generations in Genoa. Attempts have been made to prove him of illustrious descent, and several noble houses have laid claim to him since his name has become so renowned as to confer rather than receive distinction. It is possible some of them may be in the right, for the feuds in Italy in those ages had broken down and scattered many of the noblest families, and while some branches remained in the lordly heritage of castles and domains, others were confounded with the humblest population of the cities. The fact, however, is not mate- rial to his fame ; and it is a higher proof of merit to be the object of contention among various noble families, than to be able to substantiate the most illustrious 2 THE LIFE OF COLUMBUS. lineage. His son Fernando had a true feeling on the subject. " I am of opinion," says he, " that I should derive less dignity from any nobility of ancestry, than from being the son of such a father." Columbus was the oldest of four children ; having two brothers, Bartholomew and Giacomo — or, as his name is translated into Spanish, Diego — and one sister, of whom nothing is known, excepting that she was married to a person in obscure life, called Giacomo Bavarello. While very young, Columbus was taught reading, writ- ing, grammar, and arithmetic, and made some proficiency in drawing. He soon evinced a strong passion for geo- graphical knowledge, and an irresistible inclination for the sea ; and in after-life, when he looked back upon his career with a solemn and superstitious feeling, he regarded this early determination of his mind as an impulse from the Deity, guiding him to the studies, and inspiring him with the inclinations proper to fit him for the high decrees he was destined to accomplish. His father, see- ing the bent of his mind, endeavored to give him an education suitable for maritime life. He sent him, there- fore, to the university of Pavia, where he was instructed in geometry, geography, astronomy, and navigation ; he acquired also a familiar knowledge of the Latin tongue, which at that time was the medium of instruction and the language of the schools. He remained but a short time at Pavia, barely sufficient to give him the rudiments of the necessary sciences; the thorough acquaintance with them which he displayed in after-life must have been the result of diligent self-schooling, and of casual hours of study amidst the cares and vicissitudes of a rugged and wandering life. 'He was one of those men of strong natural genius, who appear to form themselves ; who, from having to contend at their very outset with priva- E.VTERS INTO NAUTICAL LIFE. 3 tions and inipcdiiiients, accjuirc an intrepidity in braving and a facility in vancjuishin^ difficulties. Such men Icarn to effect great jjurposes vvilh small means, supplying the deficiency of the latter by the resources of their own energy and invention. This is one of the remarkable features in the history of Columbus. In every undertak- ing, the scantiness and apparent insufficiency of his means enliance the grandeur of his achievements. / .,«^ .'. His hair, in his youthful days, was of a light color; but care antl trouble 10 THE LIFE OF COLUMBUS. soon turned it gray, and at thirty years of age it was quite white. He was moderate and simple in diet and apparel, eloquent in discourse, engaging and affable with strangers, and of an amiableness and suavity in domestic life that strongly attached his household to his person. His temper was naturally irritable ; but he subdued it by the magnanimity of his spirit, comporting himself with a courteous and gentle gravity, and never indulging in any intemperance of language. Throughout his life he was noted for a strict attention to the offices of religion ; nor did his piety consist in mere forms, but partook of that lofty and solemn enthusiasm with which his whole char- acter was strongly tinctured. While at Lisbon he was accustomed to attend religious service at the chapel of the Convent of All Saints. Here he became acquainted with a lady of rank, named Dona Felipa, who resided in the convent. She was the daugh- ter of Bartolomeo Monis de Palestrello, an Italian cava- lier, lately deceased, who had been one of the most distinguished navigators under Prince Henry, and had colonized and governed the island of Porto Santo. The acquaintance soon ripened into attachment and ended in marriage. It appears to have been a match of mere affection, as the lady had little or no fortune. The newly married couple resided with the mother of the bride. The latter, perceiving the interest which her son-in-law took in nautical affairs, used to relate to him all she knew of the voyages and expeditions of her late husband, and delivered to him all his charts, journals, and Other manuscripts. By these means Columbus became acquainted with the routes of the Portuguese, and their plans and ideas ; and, having by his marriage and residence become naturalized in Portugal, he sailed occasionally in the expeditions to the coast of Guinea. When at home DREAMS OF DISCOVERY. II he supported his family by making maps and charts ; and, though his means were scanty, he appropriated a part to the education of his younger brothers, and the succor of his aged father at Genoa. From Lisbon he removed for a time to the recently discovered island of Porto Santo, where his wife had inherited some property, and during his residence there she bore him a son, whom he named Diego. His wife's sister was married to Pedro Correo, a navigator of note, who had at one time been governor of Porto Santo. In the familiar intercourse of domestic life, their conversation frequently turned upon the discov- eries of the Atlantic islands, and the African coasts, upon the long-sought-for route to India, and upon the possi- bility of unknown lands existing in the West. It was a period of general excitement with all who were connect- ed with maritime life, or who resided in the vicinity of the ocean. The recent discoveries had inflamed their imaginations, and had filled them \vith ideas of other isl- ands of greater wealth and beauty yet to be discovered in the boundless wastes of the Atlantic. The opinions and fancies of the ancients were again put into circulation ; the island of Antilla, and Plato's imaginary Atlantis, once more found firm believers; and a thousand rumors were spread of unknown islands casually seen in the ocean. Many of these were mere fables; many of them had their origin in the self-deception of voyagers, whose heated fancies beheld islands in those summer clouds which lie along the horizon and often beguile the sailor with the idea of distant land. The most singular instance of this kind of self-deception, or rather of optical delusion, is that recorded of the inhabitants of the Canaries. They imagined that from time to time they beheld a vast island to the westward, with lofty mountains and deep valleys. Nor was it seen in cloudy or dubious weather, but with 12 THE LIFE OF COLUMBUS. all the distinctness with which distant objects may be discerned in the transparent atmosphere of a tropical climate. It is true, it was only seen transiently, and at long intervals ; while at other times, and in the clearest weather, not a vestige of it was visible ; but so persuaded were the people of the Canaries of its reality, that they ob- tained permission from the king of Portugal to fit out vari- ous expeditions in search of it. The island, however, was never to be found, though it still continued occasionally to cheat the eye ; many identified it with a legendary island, said to have been discovered in the sixth century by a Scottish priest of the name of St. Brandan, and it was actually laid down in many maps of the times, by the name of St. Brandan, or St. Borondon. All these tales and rumors were noted down with curious care by Columbus, and may have had some in- fluence over his imagination ; but, though of a visionary spirit, his penetrating genius sought in deeper sources for the aliment of its meditations. The voyages he had made to Guinea, and his frequent occupation in making maps and charts, had led him more and more to specu- late on the great object of geographical enterprise; but while others were slowly and painfully seeking a route to India, by following up the coast of Africa, his daring gen- ius conceived the bold idea of turning his prow directly to the west, and seeking the desired land by a route across the Atlantic. Having once conceived this idea, it is interesting to notice from what a mass of acknowl- edged facts, rational hypotheses, fanciful narrations, and popular rumors, his grand project of discovery was wrought out by the strong workings of his vigorous mind. BELIEF IN UNDISCOVERED LANDS. 13 CHAPTER 111. GROUNDS ON W 1 1 H 1 1 COLUMIJUS FOUNDED HIS BELIEF OF THE EXISTENCE OF UNDISCOVERED LANDS IN THE WEST. W'k liave a record of the determination of Columbus to seek a western route to India, as early as the year 1474, i'.i a correspondence which he held with Paulo Toscanelli, a learned cosmographer of Florence ; and he had doubtless metiitated it for a long time previous. He was moved to this determination by a diligent study of all the geographical theories of the ancients, aided by his own experience, by the discoveries of the moderns, and the advancement of astronomical science. He set it down as a fundamental principle, that the earth was a te rraqueous globe, which might be travelled round from east to west, and that men stood foot to foot when on opposite points, Tlie circumference from east to west, at the equator, he divided, according to Ptoleni)', into twenty- four hours, of fifteen degrees each, making three hun- dred and sixty degrees. Of these he imagined, compar- ing the globe of Ptolemy with the earlier map of Marinus of T)'rc, that fifteen hours had been known to the an- cients, extending from the Canary or Fortunate Islands, to the citN' of Thina; in Asia, the western and eastern extremities of the known world. The Portuguese had advanced tiie western frontier one hour more by the dis- covery of the Azore and Cape de Verde Islands; still about eight hours, or one-third of the circumference of the earth, remained to be explored. This space he im- agined to be occupied in a great measure by the eastern 14 THE LIFE OF COLUMBUS. regions of Asia, which might extend so far as to approach the western shores of Europe and Africa, A navigator, therefore, by pursuing a direct course from east to west, must arrive at the extremity of Asia, or discover any intervening land. The great obstacle to be apprehended was from the tract, of ocean that might intervene; but this could not be very wide, if the opinion of Alfraganus the Arabian were admitted, who, by diminishing the size of the degrees, gave to the earth a smaller circumference than was assigned to it by other cosmographers ; a the- ory to which Columbus seems, generally, to have given much faith. He was fortified, also, by the opinion of Aristotle, Seneca, Pliny, and Strabo, who considered the ocean as but of moderate breadth, so that one might pass from Cadiz westward to the Indies in a few days. Columbus derived great support to his theory, also, from a letter which he received in 1474 from Paulo Tosca- nelli, the learned Florentine already mentioned, who was considered one of the ablest cosmographers of the day. This letter was made up from the narrative of Marco Polo, a Venetian traveller, who, in the fourteenth cen- tury, had penetrated the remote parts of Asia, far beyond the regions laid down by Ptolemy. Toscanelli encour- aged Columbus in an intention which he had communi- cated to him, of seeking India by a western course, assur- ing him that the distance could not be more than four thousand miles in a direct line from Lisbon to the province of Mangi, near Cathay, since ascertained to be the northern coast of China. Of this country a magnifi- cent description was given, according to Marco Polo, who extols the power and grandeur of its sovereign, the Great Khan, the splendor and magnitude of his capitals of Cam- balu and Ouinsai, or Kiiisay, and the wonders of the island of Cipango, or Zipangi, supposed to be Japan. PART OF A TERRESTRIAL GLOBE MADE AT NUREM- BERG L\ THE YEAR I492, BY ^L\KTI^' BEIIEM. REFERENCES. A.- Cipanf^a. Has its own kings and language. People idolaters. The richest island of the East in gold and spices. B. In the year 565 St. Prandan came in his ship to »his island. C— Pcrgi Cathay, King- dom of Thohat. D. - King of Mangi. E.- Kingdom of India, or Concha. India of Ptol- emy. F.— I n d i a — pars Indiac e.\tra Gang em. Ci- amba. G. -The mountains of Thebet. H.- Port of Ciamba. I.-Occanus Indix Supcri- oris. J. — An island on which arc gold and spices. K.- Here are caught white falcons. ^. Arttit l'ol» ^.-P"' Vv ^ ^'■""X^-^ <'%%'' S^ stto 270 2&a .eeo 300 310 s^o 3i>n 3^0 3:)0 ;;8i .^ --w^^, f.C? il This segment of Bcliein's Icrrustiial f^lolie was made at Nuremberg in the year 1.192, the very year in wliicli Columbus departed on liis first voyage of discovery. Martin Beiiem, the inventor, was one of the most learned cosmographcrs of the time, and having resided at Lisbon in tlu- employ of the king of Portugal, he had jirobably seen the map of Toscanelli. ami the documents submitted by Columbus to the consideration of the Portuguese government. Mis globe may, therefore, be presumed illustrative of the idea entertained by Columbus of the islands in the ocean near the extrem- ity of Asia, at the time he undertook his discovery. 1 6 THE LIFE OF COLUMBUS. This island he places opposite Cathay, far in the ocean, and represents it as abounding in gold, precious stones, and spices, and that the palace of the king was covered with plates of gold, as edifices in other countries are cov- ered with sheets of lead. The work of Marco Polo is deserving of this particular mention, from being a key to many of the ideas and speculations of Columbus. The territories of the Grand Khan, as described by the Venetian, were the objects of his diligent search in all his voyages; and in his cruis- ings among the Antilles he was continually flattering himself with the hopes of arriving at the opulent island of Cipango, and the shores of Mangi and Catha}'. The letter of Paulo Toscanelli was accompanied by a map, projected partly according to Ptolemy, and partly accord- ing to the descriptions of Marco Polo. The eastern coast of Asia was depicted in front of the coasts of Africa and Europe, with a moderate space of ocean between them, in which were placed, at convenient distances, Cipango, Antilla, and the other islands. By this conjectural map Columbus governed himself in his first voyage. Besides these learned authorities, Columbus was atten- tive to every gleam of information bearing upon his the- ory that might be derived from veteran mariners, and the inhabitants of the lately discovered islands, who were placed, in a manner, on the frontier posts of geographical knowledge. One Antonio Leone, an inhabitant of Ma- deira, told him that in sailing westward one hundred leagues he had seen three islands at a distance. A mari- ner of Port St. Mary, also, asserted that in the course of a voyage to Ireland he had seen land to the west, which the ship's company took for some extreme part of Tar- tary. One Martin Vicenti, a pilot in the service of the king of Portugal, assured Columbus that, after sailing THEORIES DEVELOPING. 1 7 four hundred and fift)- leagues to the west of Cape St. Vincent, he liad taken from the water a piece of carved wood, evidently not hibored with an iron instrument. As tile wind had drifted it from the west, it might have come from some unknown land in that direction. Pedro Correo, brother-in-law of Columbus, also informed him that he had seen a similar piece of wootl on the island of Porto Santo, which had drifUcl from the same quarter, and he had heard from the king of Portugal that reeds of an immense size had floated to those islands from the west, which Columbus supposed to be the kind of reeds of enormous magnitude described by Ptolemy as growing in India. Trunks of huge pine-trees, of a kind that did not grow upon any of the islands, had been wafted to the Azores by westerly winds. Tlie inhabit- ants also informed him that the bodies of two dead men had been cast upon the island of Flores, whose features had caused great wonder and speculation, being different from those of any known race of people. Such are the principal grounds on ^\'hich, according to^ Fernando Columbus, his father proceeded from one posi- tion to another of his theory. It is evident, however, that the grand argument which induced him to his enter- prise was the one first cited ; namely, that the most eastern part of Asia known to the ancients could not be separated from the Azores by more than a third of the circumference of the globe ; that the intervening space must, in a great measure, be filled up by the unknown residue of Asia ; and that, as the circumference of the world was less than was generall}' supposed, the Asiatic shores could easily be attained by a moderate voyage to the west. It is singular how much the success of this great enterprise depended upon two happy errors, the imaginar)' extent of Asia to the east, and the supposed 1 8 THE LIFE OF COLUMBUS. smallness of the earth; both errors of the most learned and profound philosophers, but without which Columbus would hardly have ventured into the western regions of the Atlantic, in whose unknown and perhaps immeasur- able waste of waters he might perish before he could reach a shore. When Columbus had once formed his theory, it became fixed in his mind with singular firmness. He never spoke in doubt or hesitation, but with as much certainty as if his eyes had beheld the Promised Land. A deep relig- ious sentiment mingled with his thoughts, and gave them at times a tinge of superstition, but of a sublime and lofty kind. He looked upon himself as standing in the hand of heaven, chosen from among men for the accomplish- ment of its high purpose ; he read, as he supposed, his contemplated discovery foretold in Holy Writ, and shad- owed forth darkly in the prophecies. The ends of the earth were to be brought together, and all nations and tongues and languages united under the banners of the Redeemer. The enthusiastic nature of his conceptions gave an elevation to his spirit, and a dignity and loftiness to his whole demeanor. He conferred with sovereigns almost with a feeling of equality. His proposed discovery was of empires; his conditions were proportionally magnifi- cent, nor would he ever, even after long delays, repeated disappointments, and when under the pressure of actual penury, abate what appeared to others extravagant demands. Those who could not conceive how an ardent and comprehensive mind could arrive by presumptive evidence at so firm a conviction, sought for other modes of accounting for it ; and gave countenance to an idle tale of his having received previous information of the western world from a tempest-tost pilot who had died in his house, J'OYAGE 70 T//ULE. IQ bccjucathiiiL;" him written accounts of an unknown land in the west, upon which lie had been driven by adverse winds. This, and other attempts to cast a shade upon his fame, liavc been diligently examined and refuted ; and it ai)pears evick'nt that his j^reat enterprise was the bold conception of his genius, quickened by the impulse of the age, and aided by those scattered gleams of knowl- edge which fall ineffectually upon ordinary minds. CHAPTER IV. EVENTS IN PORTUGAL RliLATIVI-: r() DISCOVERY. — PROP- OSITKJNS OF COLUMBUS TO THE PORTUGUESE COURT. While the design of attempting the discovery in the west was maturing in the mind of Columbus, he made a voyage to the northern seas, to the island of Thule, to which the English navigators, particularly those of l^ris- tol, were accustometl to resort on account of its fishery. He even advanced, he says, one hundred leagues beyond, penetrated the polar circle, anil convinced himself of the fallacy of the popular belief that the frozen zone was uninhabitable. The islanil thus mentioned by him as Thule is generally supposed to have been Iceland, which is far to the west of the Ultima Thule of the ancients, as laid down on the map of Ptolemy. Nothing more is known of this voyage, in which we discern indications of that ardent and impatient desire to break awa\' from the limits of the old world, and launch into the unknown regions of the ocean. Several years elapseil williout any decided efTort on 20 THE LIFE OF COLUMBUS. the part of Columbus to carry his design into execution. An enterprise of the kind required the patronage of some sovereign power, which could furnish the 'necessary means, could assume dominion over the lands to be dis- covered, and could insure suitable rewards and dignities to the discoverer. The cause of discovery had languished during the lat- ter part of the reign of Alphonso of Portugal, who was too much engrossed with his wars with Spain to engage in peaceful enterprises of great cost and doubtful result. Navigation, also, was still too imperfect for so perilous an undertaking as that proposed by Columbus. Discovery advanced slowly along the coasts of Africa, and though the compass had been introduced into more general use, yet mariners rarely ventured far out of sight of land ; they even feared to cruise far into the southern hemi- sphere, with the stars of which they were totally un- acquainted. To such men, therefore, the project of a voyage directly westward, in quest of some imagined land in the boundless wastes of the ocean, appeared as extravagant as it would at the present day to launch forth in a balloon into the regions of space, in quest of some distant star. The time, however, was at hand that was to extend the power of navigation. The era was propitious to the quick advancement of knowledge. The recent invention of printing enabled men to communicate rapidly and extensively their ideas and discoveries. It multiplied and spread abroad, and placed in every hand, those volumes of information which had hitherto existed only in costly manuscripts, treasured up in the libraries of colleges and convents. At this juncture John the Second ascended the throne of Portugal. He had imbibed the passion for discovery from his grand-uncle, Prince Henry, IMPORTANT USE OF THE ASTROLABE. 21 and with his reign all its activit}' revived. The recent attempts to tliscover a route to India had excited an eager curiosity concerning the remote parts of the East, and had revived all the accounts, true and fabulous, of travellers. Among these were the talcs told of the re- nowned Prester John, a Christian king, said to hold sway in a remote part of the East, but whose kingdom seemed to baffle researcli as effectually as the unsubstantial island of St. Brandan. All the fables and dreamy speculations concerning this shadowy potentate, and his oriental realm, were again put in circulation. It was fancied that traces of his empire had been discerned in the interior of Africa, to the east of Benin, where there was a powerful prince, who used a cross among the insignia of royalty; and John the Second, in the early part of his reign, actually sent missions in quest of the visionary Prester John. Impatient of the tardiness with which his discoveries advanced along the coast of Africa, and eager to realize the splendid project of Prince Henry, and conduct the Portuguese flag into the Indian seas, John the Second called upon his men of science to devise some means of giving greater scope and certainty to navigation. His two physicians, Roderigo and Joseph, the latter a Jew, who were the most able astronomers and cosmographers of his kingdom, together with the celebrated Martin Bchem. entered into a consultation on the subject ; and the result of their conferences was the application of the astrolabe to navigation. This instrument has since been improved and modified into the modern quadrant, of which, even at its first introduction, it possessed all the essential advantages. This invention was one of those timely occurrences which seem to have something provi- dential in them. It was the one thing wanting to facilitate an intercourse across tlie deep, and to cast navigation 22 THE LIFE OF COLUMBUS. loose from its long bondage to the land. Science had thus prepared guides for discovery across tlie trackless ocean, and had divested the enterprise of Columbus of that extremely hazardous character which had been so great an obstacle to its accomplishment. It was immedi- ately after this event that he solicited an audience of the king of Portugal, to lay before him his great project of discovery. This is the first proposition of which we have any clear and indisputable record, although it has been strongly asserted, and with probability, that he had made one, at an earlier period, to his native country, Genoa. Columbus obtained a ready audience of King John, who was extremely liberal in encouraging and rewarding nautical enterprise. He explained to the monarch his theory, and proposed, in case the king would furnish him with ships and men, to conduct them by a shorter route to the richest countries of the East, to touch at the opu- lent island of Cipango, and to establish a communication with the territories of the Grand Khan, the most solen- i. did, powerful, and wealthy of oriental potentates. King John listened attentively to the proposition of Columbus, and referred it to a learned junto composed of Masters Roderigo and Joseph and the king's confessor, Diego Ortiz, bishop of Ceuta, a man greatly reputed for his learning, a Castilian by birth, and generally called Cazadilla, from the name of his birthplace. This scien- tific body treated the project as extravagant and vision- ary. Still the king was not satisfied, but convoked his council, composed of persons of the greatest learning in the kingdom, and asked their advice. In this assembly Cazadilla, the bishop of Ceuta, opposed the theory of Columbus as destitute of reason, and, indeed, evinced a cold and narrow spirit hostile to all discovery. The DETERMIiVES UPON LEAVING PORTUGAL. 23 decision of the council was equally unfavorable with that of the junto, and the proposition of Columbus was re- jected. Certain of the counsellors, and particularly the bishop Cazadilla, seeing that the Icing was dissatisfied with their decision and retained a lurking inclination for the enter- prise, suggested a stratagem by which all its advantages might be secured without committing the dignitx' of the crown by entering into formal negotiations about a scheme which might prove a mere chimera. The king, in an evil hour, departed from his usual justice and gen- erosity, and had the weakness to permit their stratagem. These crafty counsellors then procured from Columbus, as if to assist them in their deliberations, a detailed plan of liis proposed voyage, with the charts by which he in- tended to shape his course. While they held him in sus- pense awaiting their decision, they privately dispatched a caravel to jjursuc the designated route. The caravel took its departure from the Cape de Verde Islands and stood westwaiil for several days. The weather grew storm}% and tlie pilots, having no zeal to stimulate them, and seeing nothing but an immeasurable waste of wild, tumbling waves still extending before them, lost all courage ami put back to the Cape de Verde Islands and thence to Lisbon, excusing their own want of resolution by ridiculing the project as extrava- gant and irrational. This unworthy attempt to defraud him of his enter- prise roused the indignation of Columbus, ami though King John, it is said, showed a disposition to renew the negotiation, he resolutely declined. His wife had been for some time dead ; the domestic tie which had bound him to Portugal, therefore, being broken, he determined to abandon a coiintr)- where he had been treated with 24 THE LIFE OF COLUMBUS. SO little faith. Like most projectors, while engaged in schemes which held out promise of incalculable wealth, he had suffered his affairs to run to ruin, and was in dan- ger of being arrested for debt. This has been given as the reason for his leaving Portugal in a secret manner, which he did towards the end of 1484, taking with him his son Diego, as yet a mere child. An interval now occurs of about a year, during which the movements of Columbus are involved in uncertainty. It has been asserted by a modern Spanish historian of merit, that he departed immediately for Genoa, where he repeated in person the proposition which he had for- merly made to the government by letter. The republic of Genoa, however, was languishing under a long decline and was embarrassed by ruinous wars. Her spirit was broken with her fortunes; for with nations, as with indi- viduals, enterprise is the child of prosperity, and is apt to languish in evil days, when there is most need of its exertion. Thus Genoa, it would appear, disheartened by reverses, rejected a proposition which would have elevated the republic to tenfold splendor, and might for a longtime have perpetuated the golden wand of commerce in the failing grasp of Italy. From Genoa, it has been said, but equally without positive proof, that Columbus carried his proposal to Venice, but that it was declined in consequence of the critical state of national affairs. Different authors agree that about this time he visited his aged father, and made such arrangements for his comfort as his own poor means afforded ; and that, having thus performed the duties of a pious son, he departed once more to try his fortunes in foreign courts. About this time, also, he engaged his brother Bartholomew to sail for England, to lay his prop- ositions before Henry the Seventh, whom he had heard FIRST VISIT TO SPAIN. 2$ extolled for liis wisdom and nuinificcnce. For himself, he sailed for Spain, where he appears to have arrived in great poverty, for this course of fruitless solicitation had ex- hausted all his means ; nor is it one of the least extraor- dinary circumstances in his eventful life, that he had, in a manner, to beg his way from court to court, to ofTer to princes the discovery of a world. CHAPTER V. FIRST ARRIVAL OF COLUMI'.US IN SPAIN. — CHARACTER OF THE SPANISH SOVEREIGNS. The first trace we have of Columbus in Spain is gathered from the manuscript documents of the celebrated lawsuit which took place a few years after his death, between his son, Don Diego, and the crown. It is con- tained in the deposition of one Garcia Fernandez, a physician, resident in the little seaport of Palos de Moguer, in Andalusia. About half a league from Palos, on a solitary height overlooking the sea-coast, and sur- rounded by a forest of pine-trees, there stood, and stands at the present day, an ancient convent of Franciscan friars, dedicated to Santa Maria de Rabida. A stranger travelling on foot, accompanied by a young bo\-, stopped one day at the gate of the convent, and asked of the porter a little bread and water for his child. Wliilc receiving this humble refreshment the guardian of the convent, Friar Juan Perez de Marchena, happening to pass by, was struck with the api)earance of the stranger, and, observing from his air and accent that he was a foreigner, entered into conversation with him. That 26 THE LIFE OF COLUMBUS. stranger was Columbus, accompanied by his young son Diego. He was on his way to the neighboring town of Huelva, to seek a brother-in-law, who had married a sister of his deceased wife. The guardian was an intelligent man, and acquainted with geographical and nautical science. He was interest- ed by the conversation of Columbus, and struck with the grandeurof his plans. He detained him as his guest, and being diffident of his own judgment, sent for a scientific friend to converse with him. That friend was Garcia Fernandez, the physician of Palos, the same who fur- nishes this interesting testimony, and who became equally convinced with the friar of the correctness of the theory of Columbus. Several veteran pilots and mariners of Palos, also, were consulted during the conferences at the convent, who stated various facts observed in the course of their experience, which seemed to corroborate the idea of western lands in the Atlantic. But the conviction of the friar was still more confirmed by the hearty concur- rence of an important personage in that maritime neigh- borhood, one Martin Alonzo Pinzon, resident of the town of Palos, one of the most intelligent sea-captains of the day, and the head of a family of wealthy and distinguished navigators. Pinzon not only gave the project of Colum- bus his decided approbation, but offered to engage in it with purse and person. Fray Juan Perez, being now fully persuaded of the importance of the proposed enterprise, adyised Columbus to repair to court, and make his propositions to the Spanish sovereigns, offering to give him a letter of recom- mendation to his friend, Fernando de Talavera, prior of the convent of Prado, and confessor to the queen, and a man of great political influence, through whose means he would, no doubt, immediately obtain royal audience and GENEROSITY 01- PINZON. 27 favor. Martin Alonzo Pinzon, also, generously offered to furnisii him with money for the journey, and the friar took charge of his youthful son, Diego, to maintain and educate him in the convent. Thus aided and encouraged, and elated with fresh hopes, Columbus took leave of the FERDINAND, KING OF SPAIN. Redrawn /roiii ait olif />rint. little junto at La Rabida, and set out. in the sprjng of i486, for the Castilian court, which had just assembled at Cordova, where the sovereigns were fully occupied with their chivalrous enterprise for the conquest of Gra- nada. And here it is proper to give a brief description of 28 THE LIFE OF COLUMBUS. these princes, who performed such an important part in the events of this history. It has been well observed of Ferdinand and Isabella that they lived together, not like man and wife, whose estates are in common, under the orders of the husband, but like two monarchs, strictly allied. They had sepa- rate claims to sovereignty, in virtue of their separate kingdoms, and held separate councils. Yet they were so happily united by common views, common interests, and a great deference for each other, that this double admin- istration never prevented a unity of purpose and action. All acts of sovereignty were executed in both their names ; all public writings subscribed with both their signatures ; their likenesses were stamped together on the public coin, and the royal seal displayed the united arms of Castile and Arragon. Ferdinand possessed a clear and comprehensive genius, and great penetration. He was equable in temper, inde- fatigable in business, a great observer of men, and is extolled by Spanish writers as unparalleled in the science of the cabinet. It has been maintained by writers of other nations, however, and apparently with reason, that he was bigoted in religion, and craving rather than mag- nanimous in his ambition ; that he made war less like a paladin than a prince, less for glory than for mere domin- ion, and that his policy was cold, selfish, and artful. He was called the wise and prudent, in Spain ; in Italy, the pious ; in France and England, the ambitious and per- fidious. Contemporary writers have been enthusiastic in their descriptions of Isabella, but time has sanctioned their eulogies. She was of the middle size, and well formed ; with a fair complexion, auburn hair, and clear blue eyes. There was a mingled gravity and sweetness in her coun- CHARACTER OF ISABELLA. 2g tcnancc, ami a singular modesty, gracing, as it did, great firmness of purpose and earnestness of spirit.. Though strongly attached to lier husband, and studious of his fame, yet she always maintained iier distinct rights as an allied prince. She exceeded him in beauty, personal dignity, acuteness of genius, and grandeur of soul. Com- bining the active and resolute qualities of man with the softer charities of woman, she mingled in the warlike councils of her husband, and, being insjjired with a truer idea of gl<.)ry, infused a more lofty and generous temper into his subtle and calculating policy. It is in the civil history of their reign, however, that the character of Isabella shines most illustrious. Her fostering and maternal care was continually directed to reform the laws, and heal the ills engendered by a long course of civil wars. She assembled round her the ablest men in literature and science, and directed herself by their counsels in encouraging literature and the arts. She promoted the distribution of honors and rewards for the promulgation of knowledge, fostered the recently invented art of printing, and through her patronage Sala- manca rose to that eminence which it assumed among the learned institutions of the age. Such was the noble woman who was destined to acquire immortal renown by her spirited patronage of the discovery of the new world. CHAPTER VI. PROPOSITIONS OF COLUMBUS TO THE COURT OF CASTILE. \\'lli:.\ Columbus arrived at Cordova he fouiui it in all the bustle of military preparation. The two rival Moor- 30 THE LIFE OF COLUMBUS. ish kings of Granada had formed a coalition, and the Castilian sovereigns had summoned all their chivalry to assemble for a grand campaign. Every day witnessed the arrival of some Spanish noble, with a splendid retinue and a brilliant array of household troops. The court was like a military camp ; every avenue was crowded by war- like grandees and hardy cavaliers, who had distinguished themselves in this Moorish war. This was an unpro- pitious moment for an application like that of Columbus. Everybody was engrossed by the opening campaign. Even Fernando de Talavera, who was to have been his great patron and protector, and his organ of communica- tion with the sovereigns, was completely taken up with military concerns, being one of the clerical advisers who surrounded the queen in this, as it was termed, holy war. The letter of recommendation from the worthy Fray Juan Perez, which was to have secured the powerful influence of Talavera, seems to have had but little effect upon the prior, who listened coldly to Columbus, and looked upon his plan as extravagant and impossible. So far, therefore, from receiving immediate patronage from the sovereigns,- Columbus found it impossible to obtain even a iiearing. It is a question even, whether, for some time, his application reached their ears. If Fernando de Talavera did mention it to them, it must have been in disparaging terms, such as rather to destroy than excite interest in its favor. The campaign opened almost immediately ; the king took the field in person ; the queen was fully occupied by the hurrying concerns of the war, and was part of the time present in the camp; it would have been in vain, therefore, at such a moment, to expect attention to a scheme of foreign discovery, founded on principles which required calm and learned investigation. GAINING PROSELYTES. 31 Durinij^ the summer and autumn of i486 Columbus remained at Cordova, waiting for a more favorable oppor- tunity to urge his suit, and trusting to time and assiduity to gain him converts among the intelHgent and powerful. He was in iiuligent circumstances, and earned a scanty supi)ort by making maps and charts. He had to contend also against the ridicule of the light and the supercilious, which is one of the tjreatest obstacles to modest merit in a court. Some scofTed at him as a mere dreamer, others stigmatized him as an adventurer; the very children, it is said, pointed to their foreheads as he passed, being taught to consider him a kind of madman. Indeed, the slender interest on which he had founded his hopes of royal patronage, and the humble garb in which his poverty obliged him to appear, formed a preposterous contrast, ill the eyes of the courtiers, with the magnificence of his speculations. " Because he was a foreigner," saysOviedo, "and went but in simple apparel, nor otherwise credited than by the letter of a gray friar, they believed him not, neither gave ear to his words, whereby he was greatly tormented in his imagination." While thus lingering in Cordova; he became attached to Dofia I^eatri.x Enriquez, a lady of that city, of a noble family. Like most of the circumstances of this \rAX\. of his life, his connection with this lady is wrappetl in ob- scurity, but appears never to have been sanctioned by marriage. She was the mother of his second son l"\r- nando, who became iiis historian, and whom he always treated on terms of perfect equality with his legitimate son Dietjo, By degrees, the theoi}' of C<^lumbus began to obtain proselytes. The attention of men of reflection was drawn to this solitary individual, who, almost unsupported, was endeavoring to make his wa\% w ith so singular a j^roposi- 32 THE LIFE OF COLUMBUS. tion, to the foot of the throne. Whoever conversed with him was struck by the dignity of his manners, the earnest sincerity of his discourse, and the force of his reasoning". Alonzo de Ouintanilla, comptroller of the finances of Castile, became a warm advocate of his theory, and re- ceived him as a guest into his house. He was counte- nanced also by Antonio Geraldini, the pope's nuncio, and his brother, Alexander Geraldini, preceptor to the younger children of Ferdinand and Isabella. By these friends he was introduced to the celebrated Pedro Gon- zalez de Mendoza, archbishop of Toledo, and grand cardi- nal of Spain. This was the most important personage about the court ; he was always with the king and queen, who never took any measure of consequence without con- sulting him, and was facetiously called the third king of Spain. He was an elegant scholar, a man of sound understanding, and of great quickness and capacity in business. The clear-hicaded cardinal was pleased with the noble and earnest manner of Columbus ; he listened to him with profound attention, felt the importance of his project and the force of his arguments, and be- came at once a firm and serviceable friend. Through his intercession the royal audience was at length ob- tained. Columbus appeared in the presence of the king with modesty, yet self-possession, inspired by a consciousness of the dignity and importance of his errand ; for he felt himself, as he afterwards declared in his letters, animated as if by a sacred fire from above, and considered himself an instrument in the hand of heaven to accomplish its grand designs. Ferdinand was too keen a judge of men not to appreciate the character of Columbus. He per- ceived, also, that his scheme had scientific and practical foundations ; and his ambition was excited by the possi- rilE COUXCIL AT SALAMANCA. 33 bility of discoveiics far cxcccdiiit; in importance those which had shed such ij;Iory upon Portugal. Still, as usuals he was cool and war)-. lie ordered Fernando de Talavcra, the prior of I'rado, to assemble the most learned astronomers and cosmographers of the kingdom, U^ hold a conference with Columbus. They were to examine him upon the grounds of his theory, and afterwards to con- sult together, and report their opinion as to its merits. Columbus now considered the day of success at hand ; he hail been deceived by courtiers, and scoffed at as a vis- ionary l)y the vulgar and the ignorant ; but he was now to appear before a body of the most learned and enlight- ened men, elevated, as he supposed, above all narrow prejudice and selfish interest, and capable of comprehend- ing the full scope of his reasonings. From the dispas- sionate examination of such a body of sages he could not but anticipate the most triumphant verdict. CHAPTER VII. COLUMBUS REFORE THE COUNCIL AT .SALAMANXA. The interesting conference took place at Salamanca, the great seat of learning in Spain. It was held in the Dominican convent of St. Stephen, the most scientific college in the university, in which Columbus was lodged and entertained with great hos|Ditality duiing the course ot the examination. The board of conference was com- posed of professors of the university, together with vari- ous dignitaries of the church, and learned friars. No tribunal could bear a front of more imposing wisdom ; yet Columbus soon discovered that ii^norance and illib- J 34 THE LIFE OF COLUMBUS. erality may sometimes lurk under the very robes of science. The greater part of this learned junto, it would appear, came prepossessed against him, as men in place and dig- nity are apt to be against poor applicants. There is al- ways a proneness to consider a man under examination as a kind of delinquent or impostor upon trial, who is to be detected and exposed. Columbus, too, appeared in a most unfavorable light before a scholastic body ; an ob- scure navigator, member of no learned institution, desti- tute of all the trappings and circumstances which some- times give oracular authority to dullness, and depending upon the mere force of natural genius. Some of the \ assembly entertained the popular notion that he was an adventurer, or at best a visionary; and others had that morbid impatience of any innovation upon established doctrine which is apt to grow upon dull and pedantic men in cloistered life. The hall of the old convent pre- sented a striking spectacle. A simple mariner standing forth in the midst of an imposing array of clerical and collegiate sages, maintaining his theory with natural elo- quence, and, as it were, pleading the cause of the new world. We are told that when he began to state the grounds of liis theory, the friars of St. Stephen alone paid attention to him. The others appeared to have in- trenched themselves behind one dogged position, namely, that, after so many profound philosophers had occupied themselves in geographical investigations, and so many able navigators had been voyaging about the world for ages, it was a great presumption in an ordinary man to suppose that there remained such a vast discovery for him to make. Several of the objections opposed by this learned body have been handed down to us, and have provoked many OBJECTIOXS OF THE COUNCIL. 35 a sneer at the expense of the university of Salamanca ; but they are jjroofs rather of tlie imperfect state of sci- ence at tlie time, and of the manner in which knowledge, though rapidly advancing, was still impeded in its i)rog- rcss by monastic bigotr\-. Thus, at the very threshold of the discussion, Columbus was assailed with citations from the Bible and the works of the early fathers of the church, which were thought incompatible with his theory; doctrinal points were mixed up with philosophical dis- cussions, and even a mathematical demonstration was allowed no truth if it appeared to clash with a text of Scripture or a commentary of one of the fathers. Thus the possibilit}' of the existence of antipodes in the south- ern hemisphere, though maintained by the wisest of the ancients, was disputed by some of the sages of Salamanca on the authority of Lactantius and St. Augustine, those two great luminaries of what has been called the golden age of ecclesiastical learning. " Is there an}' one so fool- ish," asks Lactantius, " as to believe that there are an- tipodes with their feet opposite to ours ; people who walk with their heijs upward and their heads hanging down? That there is a part of the world in which all things are topsy-tur\')' ; where the trees grow with their branches downward, and wliere it rains, hails, and sntnvs upwards? The idea of the roundness of the earth," he adds, " was the cause of inventing this fable ; for these philosophers, having once erred, go on in their absurdi- ties, defending one with another." Objections of a graver nature and more dignified tone were advanced on the authority of St. Augustine. He pronounces the doctrine of antipodes incompatible with the historical foundations of our faith ; since, to assert that there were inhabited lands on the opposite side of the globe would be to maintain that there were nations 3^ THE LIFE OF COLUMBUS. not descended from Adam, it being impossible for them to have passed the intervening ocean. This would be, therefore, to discredit the Bible, which expressly de- clares that all men are descended from one common parent. Such were the unlooked-for prejudices which Colum- bus had to encounter at the very outset of his confer- ence, and which certainly savor more of the convent than the university. To his simplest proposition, the spherical form of the earth, were opposed figurative texts of Script- ure. In the Psalms, the heavens are said to be extended over the earth like a hide, that is to say, like the covering of a tent, which, among the ancient pastoral nations, was formed of the hides of animals. St. Paul, also, in his epistle to the Hebrews, compares the heavens to a taber- nacle or tent spread over the earth ; hence these casuists maintained that the earth must be flat, like the bottom of the tent. Others admitted the globular form of the earth, and the possibility of an opposite and inhabitable hemisphere, but maintained that it would be impossible to arrive there, in consequence of the heat of the torrid zone. As for steering to the west in search of India, they observed that the circumference of the earth must be so great as to require at least three years to the voyage, and those who should undertake it must perish of hunger and thirst, from the impossibility of carrying provisions for so long a period. Not the least absurd objection advanced was, that should a ship even succeed in reaching the ex- tremity of India, she could never get back again, for the rotundity of the globe would present a kind of moun- tain, up which it would be impossible for her to sail with the most favorable wind. Such are specimens of the errors and prejudices, the mingled error and erudition, with which Columbus had UNDAUNTED BY THE COUNCIL. 3/ to contend, throughout the examination of his theory. Many of these objections, however, which appear so glar- ingly absurd at the present da)', were incident to the im- perfect state of knowledge at the time. The rotundity of the earth was as }'et a matter of mere speculation ; no one could tell whether the ocean were not of too vast extent to be traversed ; nor were the laws of specific gravity, and of central gravitation, ascertained, by which, granting the earth to be a sphere, the possibility of mak- ing the tour of it would be manifest. When Columbus took, his stand before this learned body, he had appeared the plain and simple navigator, somewhat daunted, perhaps, by the greatness of his task and the august nature of his auditoi)- ; but he had a degree of religious feeling which gave him a confidence in the execution of what he conceived his great errand, and he was of an ardent temperament, that became heated in action 1)\- its own generous fires. All the objections drawn from ancient philosophers he met boldly and upon equal terms, for he was deeply studied on all points of cosmography, and he disproved many by his own ex- perience, gathered in the course of his extensive voyages, in which he had penetrated both the torrid and the frozen zone. Nor was he to be daunted by the scriptural diffi- culties opposed to him, fur here he was jieculiarly at home. His contemporaries have spoken of his command- ing |)erson, his elevated demeanor, his air of authority, his kindling eye, and the persuasive intonations of his voice. How must they have given majesty and force to his words, as, casting aside his maps ami charts, and dis- carding, for a time, his practical and scientific lore, his visionary spirit took fire, and he met his doctrinal oppo- nents upon their own grountl, pouringforth those magnifi- cent texts of Scripture and those mysterious predictions 38 THE LIFE OF COLUMBUS. of the prophets which, in his enthusiastic moments, he considered as types and annunciations of the subhme discovery which he proposed! It is but justice to add, that many of his learned hearers were convinced by his reasoning and warmed by his elo- quence ; among the number of these was Diego de Deza, a worthy friar of the order of St. Dominic, at that time professor of theology in the convent of St. Stephen, but who became afterwards archbishop of Seville, the second ecclesiastical dignity of Spain. He was an able and eru- dite man, above the narrow bigotry of bookish lore, and could appreciate the value of wisdom, even when uttered by unlearned lips, f^e seconded Columbus with all his powers and influence, and by their united efforts they broucrht over several of the most intelligent men of the assembly. Still there was a preponderating mass of inert bigotry and learned pride in the erudite body, which re- fused to yield to the demonstrations of an obscure for- eigner, without fortune or connections, or any academic honors. After this celebrated examination of Colum- bus the board held occasional conferences, but without coming to any decision ; Fernando de Talavera, to whom the matter was especially intrusted, had too little esteem for it, and was too much occupied by the stir and bustle of public concerns, to press it to a conclusion ; his de- parture with the court from Cordova, early in the spring of 1487, put an end to the consultations, and left Colum- bus in a state of the most tantalizing suspense. For several years he followed the movements of the court, continually flattered with hopes of success. Con- ferences were appointed at various places, but the tem- pest of warlike affairs, which hurried the court from place to place, and gave it the bustle and confusion of a camp, continually swept away all matters of less immediate FIGIII IXG AGAINST THE MOSLEMS. 39 importance. It has generally been supposed that these years of irksome solicitation were spent by Columbus in the drowsy attendance of antechambers ; but, on the con- trary, they were passed amidst scenes of peril and advent- ure, and in following the court he was led into some of the most striking situations of this wild, rugged, and mountainous war. In one of the severest campaigns he is said to have distinguished himself by his personal prowess. He was present at the sieges and surrenders of Malaga and Baza, and beheld El Zagal, the elder of the two rival kings of Granada, yield up his crown and possessions to the Spanish sovereigns. During the siege of Baza two reverend friars, guardians of the holy sepul- chre at Jerusalem, arrived in tiie Spanish camp bearing a menace from the Grand Soldan of Egypt, that he wouUl put to death all the Christians in his dominions and destroy the sepulchre if the sovereigns did not desist from the war against the Moslems of Granada. It is probable that the pious indignation excited b}- tliis threat in the bosom of Columbus gave the first rise to a resolution which he entertained to the day of his death: this was to devote the profits which he anticipated from his discoveries to a crusade for tjie rescue of the holy sepulchre. During this long course of application Columbus parll\' defrayed his expenses by making maps and charts. Me was occasionally assisted, also, by the purse of the worthy friar Diego de Dcza, and was sometimes a guest of Alonzo de Quintanilla. It is due to the sovereigns to say, also, that he was attached to the royal suite, and sums issued to defray his e::penses, and lodgings provided for him when summoned to follow this rambling and warlike court. Whenever the sovereigns had an interval of lei- sure there seems to have been a disposition to attend to 40 ' THE LIFE OF COLUMBUS. his proposition ; but the hurry and tempest of the war returned, and the question was again swept away. At length, in the winter of 1491, when the sovereigns were preparing to depart on their final campaign in the vega of Granada, Columbus, losing all patience, pressed for a decisive reply, and Fernando de Talavera was ordered, therefore, to hold a final conference, and to report the decision of his learned brethren. He obeyed, and informed their majesties that the majority of the junto condemned the scheme as vain and impossible, and considered it unbecoming such great princes to engage in an undertaking of the kind on such weak grounds as had been advanced. A degree of consideration, however, had gradually grown up at court for the enterprise, and notwithstand- ing this unfavorable report, the sovereigns were unwilling to close the door on a project which might be of such im- portant advantages. They informed Columbus, therefore, that the great cares and expenses of the war rendered it impossible for them to engage in any new enterprises for the present ; but that, when the war should be concluded, they would have leisure and inclination to treat with him concerning his propositions. This was but a starved reply to receive after so many years of weary attendance. Columbus considered it a mere evasion of the sovereigns to relieve themselves from his importunity, and, giving up all hope of counte- nance from the throne, lie turned his back upon Seville, filled with disappointment and indignation. APPEALS TO SPA A' IS/I GRANDEES. 4 1 CHAPTER VIII. COLUMBUS SEEKS PATRONAGE AMONGST THE SPANISH GRANDEES.— RETURNS TO IIIE CONVENT OF LA RABIDA.— RESUMES HIS NEGOTIATIONS WITH THE SOVEREIGNS. [HQl.] Columbus now looked round in search of some other source of patronage. He had received favorable letters both from the kings of England and of France; the king of Portugal, also, had invited him to return to his court; but he appears to have become attached to Spain, proba- bly from its being the residence of Beatrix Enriquez and his children. lie sought, therefore, to engage the patronage of some one of those powerful Spanish gran- decs, who had vast possessions, exercised feudal rights, and were petty sovereigns in their domains. Among these were the dukes of Medina Sidonia and Medina Celi ; both had principalities lying along the seaboard, with armies of vassals, and ports and shipping at their com- mand. Columbus had many interviews with the duke of Medina Sidonia, who was tempted for a time bj- tlie splendid prospects held out ; but their very splciulor threw a coloring of exaggeration over the enterprise, and he finally rejected it as the dream of an Italian visionary. The duke of Medina Celi was still more favorable, and was actually on the point of granting him three or four caravels which la>' ready for sea, in his harbor of Port St. Mary ; but he suddenly changed his mind, fearing to awaken the jealousy of the crown, and to be considered as interfering with the views of the sovereigns, who he 42 THE LIFE OF COLUMBUS. knew had been treating with Columbus. He advised him, therefore, to return once more to court, and he wrote a letter to the queen in favor of his project. Columbus felt averse to the idea of subjecting himself again to the tantalizing delays and disappointments of the court, and determined to repair to Paris. He departed, therefore, for the convent of La Rabida, to seek his oldest son Diego, and leave him with his other son at Cordova. When the worthy Friar Juan Perez de Marchena beheld Columbus arrive once more at the gate of his convent, after nearly seven years' fruitless solicitation at the court, and saw, by the humility of his garb, the pov- erty he had experienced, he was greatly moved ; but when he found that he was on the point of leaving Spain, and carrying his proposition to another country, his patriotism took the alarm. He had been confessor to the queen, and knew her to be always accessible to persons of his sacred calling. He wrote a letter to her, therefore, earnestly vindicating the proposed scheme, and conjuring her not to turn a deaf ear to a matter of such vast impor- tance ; and he prevailed upon Columbus to delay his journey until an answer should be received. The ambassador chosen by the little junto of the con- vent was one Sebastian Rodriguez, a pilot of Lepe, who acquitted himself faithfully, expeditiously; and success- fully in his embassy. He found access to the benignant princess in the royal camp at Santa F^, before Granada, ajid delivered the epistle of the friar. He returned in fourteen days, with a letter from the queen, thanking Juan Perez for his timely services, and requesting him to repair immediately to the court, leaving Columbus in confident hope of hearing farther from her. This royal epistle caused great exultation in the convent. No sooner did the warm-hearted friar receive it than he procured a JUAX PEREZ PLEADS FOR COLUMBUS. 43 mule, and dcpartctl instantly, before miclni<,^ht, for the court. His sacred ofificc, and his former relation as father confessor, gave hiin immediate admTssion to the queen, and great freedom of counsel. It is ])robable Isabella had never heard the proposition of Columbus '■' n r^'^^l\\\^ ISABELLA, Ql'KEN OF SPAIN. KcUrnii'ti from an Old Print. urged with such honest zeal and impressive eloquence. She was naturally more sanguine ami susceptible than the king, and more open to warm and generous impulses. Moved by the representations of Juan Perez, she re- quested that Columbus might be again sent to lier, and kindly bethinking herself of his povert}' and his humble 44 THE LIFE OF COLUMBUS. plight, ordered that a sufficient sum of money should be forwarded to him to defray his travelling expenses, to provide him with a mule for his journey, and to furnish him with decent raiment, that he might make a respect- able appearance at the court. Columbus lost no time in complying with the commands of the queen. He ex- changed his threadbare garment for one of more courtly texture, and, purchasing a mule, set out once more, reani- mated by fresh hopes, for the camp before Granada. He arrived in time to witness the memorable surrender of that capital to the Spanish arms. He beheld Boabdil el Chico, the last of the Moorish kings, sally forth from the Alhambra and yield up the keys of that favorite seat of Moslem power, while the king and queen, with all the chivalry and magnificence of Spain, moved forward in proud and solemn procession to receive this token of submission. It was one of the most brilliant triumphs in Spanish history. The air resounded with shouts of joy, with songs of triumph and hymns of thanksgiving. On every side were beheld military rejoicings and religious oblations. The court was thronged by the most illustri- ous of that warlike country and stirring era, by the flower of its nobility, the most dignified of its prelacy, by bards and minstrels, and all the retinue of a romantic and pict- uresque age. During this brilliant and triumphant scene, says an elegant Spanish writer, " a man obscure and but little known followed the court. Confounded in the crowd of importunate applicants, and feeding his imagination in the corners of antechambers with the pompous project of discovering a world, he was melancholy and dejected in the midst of the general rejoicing, and beheld with indif- ference, almost with contempt, the conclusion of a con- quest which swelled all bosoms with jubilee, and seemed NF.GOTIATIOXS WIT If THE CO CRT. 45 to have reached the utmost bounds of desire. That man was Christopher Columbus." The moment had now arrived, hi)wcver, w hen the nioii- archs stood pledged to attend to his proposals. They kept their word, and i)ersons of confidence were ap- pointed to negotiate with him, among whom was Fer- nando de Talavera, who by the recent conquest had risen to be archbishop of Granada. At the very outset of their negotiation, however, unexpected difficulties arose. The principal stipulation of Columbus was that he should be invested with the titles and privileges of admiral and vice- roy over the countries he should discover, with one-tenth of all gains either by trade or conquest. The courtiers who treated with liini were indignant at such a demand from one whom the\' luul considered a needy adventurer. One observed, with a sneer, that it was a shrewd arrange- ment which he proposed, whereby he was certain of the profits and honors of a command, and had nothing to lose in case of failure. To this Columbus promptly replied by offering to furnish one-eighth of the cost on condition of enjoying an eighth of the profits. His terms, however, were pronounced inadmissible, and others were offered of more moderate nature; but he refused to cede one point of his demands, and the negotiation was broken off. It is impossible not to admire the great constancy of purpose and loftiness of spirit here displayed by Colum- bus. Though so large a portion of life had worn away in fruitless solicitings, during which \\c hail experienced the bitterness of povert\', neglect, ritlicule, and disajipoint- ment ; though there w as no certainty that he would not have to enter upon the same career at any other court, yet nothing could shake his perseverance, or make him descend to terms which he considered beneath the dig- nity of his enterprise. Indignant at the repeated disap- 46 THE LIFE OF COLUMBUS. pointments he had experienced in Spain, he now deter- mined to abandon it forever, and, mounting his mule, sallied forth from Santa Fe on his way to Cordova, with the intention of immediately proceeding from thence to France. When the few friends who were zealous believers in the theory of Columbus saw him on the point of abandoning the country, they were filled with distress. Among the number was Luis de St. Angel, receiver of the ecclesiasti- cal revenues of Arragon, and Alonzo de Quintanilla, who determined to make one bold effort to avert the evil. They hastened to the queen, and St. Angel addressed her with a courage and eloquence inspired by the exigency of the moment. He did not confine himself to entreaties, but almost mingled reproaches. He expressed his astonish- ment that a queen who had evinced the spirit to under- take so many great and perilous enterprises should hesitate at one where the loss could be but trifling, while the gain might be incalculable, for all that was required for this great expedition was but two vessels and about thirty thousand crowns, and Columbus himself had offered to bear an eighth of the expense. He reminded her how much might be done for the glory of God, the promotion of the Christian faith, and the extension of her own power and dominion should this enterprise be adopted, but what cause of regret it would be to herself, of sorrow to her friends, and triumph to her enemies, should it be rejected by her and accomplished by some other power. He vin- dicated the judgment of Columbus and the soundness and practicability of his plans, and observed that even a fail- ure would reflect no disgrace upon the crown. It was worth the trouble and expense to clear up even a doubt upon a matter of such importance, for it belonged to en- lightened and magnanimous princes to investigate ques- CONSENT OF ISABELLA. 47 tioiis of tlic kind and to explore the wonders and secrets of the universe. These, and many more arguments, were urged, with that persuasive power which honest zeal imparts. The generous s[)irit of Isabella was enkindled, and it seemed as if the subject, for the first time, broke upon her mind in its real grandeur. She declared her resolution to un- dertake the enterprise, but paused for a moment, remem- bering that King Ferdinand looked coldly on the affair, and that the royal treasury was absolutely drained by the war. Her suspense was but momentary. With an enthu- siasm worthy of herself and of the cause, she exclaimed, *' I undertake the enterprise for my own crown of Castile, and will pledge my jewels to raise the necessary funds." This was the proudest moment in the life of Isabella ; it stamped her renown forever as the patroness of the dis- covery of the New World. St. Angel, eager to secure this favorable resolution, assured her majesty that there would be no need of pledging her jewels, as he was ready to advance the necessary funds, as a loan, from the treasury of Arragon ; his offer was gladly accepted. Columbus had proceeded on his solitary journey across the vcga of Granada, and had reached the bridge of Finos, about two leagues from that city, a pass famous for bloody encounters during the Moorish wars. Here he was over- taken by a courier sent after him in all speed by the queen, requesting him to return to Santa Fe. He hesi- tated, for a moment, to subject himself again to the de- lays and equivocations of the court ; but when he was informed that Isabella had positively undertaken the en- terprise, and pledged her royal word, every doubt was dispelled, he turned the reins of his mule, and hastened back joyfully to Santa F6, confiding implicitly in the noble probity of that princess. 48 THE LIFE OF COLUMBUS. CHAPTER IX. ARRANGEMENT WITH THE SPANISH SOVEREIGNS. — PREP- ARATION FOR THE EXPEDITION AT THE PORT OF PALOS. [1492.] On arriving at Santa Fe, Columbus had an immediate audience of the queen, and the benignity with which she received him atoned for all past neglect. Through deference to the zeal she thus suddenly displayed, the king yielded his tardy concurrence, but Isabella was the soul of this grand enterprise. She was prompted by lofty and generous enthusiasm, while the king remained cold and calculating, in this as in all his other undertakings. A perfect understanding being thus effected with the sovereigns, articles of agreement were drawn out by Juan de Coloma, the royal secretary. They were to the follow- ing effect : 1. That Columbus should have, for himself, during his life, and his lieirs and successors forever, the office of high admiral in all the seas, lands, and continents he might discover, with similar honors and prerogatives to those enjoyed by the high admiral of Castile in his dis- trict. 2. That he should be viceroy and governor-general over all the said lands and continents, with the privilege of nominating three candidates for the government of each island or province, one of whom should be selected by the sovereigns. 3. That he should be entitled to one-tenth of all free profits, arising from the merchandise and productions of the countries within his admiralty. SIGNING THE CAPITULATION. 49 4. That he, or his lieutenant, should be the sole judge of causes and disputes arising out of trafific between those countries and Spain. 5. That he might then, and at all after times, contrib- ute an eighth part of the expense of expeditions to sail to the countries he expected to discover, and should re- ceive in consequence an eighth part of the profits. These capitulations were signed by Ferdinand and Isa- bella, at the city of Santa F(5, in the vega or plain of Granada, on the 17th of April, 1492. All the royal docu- ments issued in consequence bore equally the signatures of Ferdinand and Isabella, but her separate crown of Castile defrayed all the expense. As to the money advanced by St. Angel out of the treasury of King Fer- dinand, that prudent monarch indemnified himself, some few years afterwards, by employing some of the first gold brought by Columbus from the new world to gild the vaults and ceilings of the grand saloon in his royal palace of Saragossa, in Arragon. One of the great objects held out by Columbus in his undertaking was the propagation of the Christian faith. He expected to arrive at the extremity of Asia, or India, as it was then generally termed, at the vast empire of the Grand Khan, of whose maritime provinces of Mangi and Cathay, and their dependent islands, since ascertained to be a part of the kingdom of China, the most magnificent accounts had been given by Marco Polo. Various mis- sions had been sent, in former times, by popes and pious sovereigns, to instruct this oriental potentate and his sub- jects in the doctrines of Christianity. Columbus hoped to effect this grand work, and to spread the light of the true faith among the barbarous countries and nations that were to be discovered in the unknown parts of the East. Isabella, from pious zeal, and Ferdinand, from 4 50 THE LIFE OF COLUMBUS. mingled notions of bigotry and ambition, accorded with his views, and when he afterwards departed on this voy- age letters were actually given him by the sovereigns, for the Grand Khan of Tartary. The ardent enthusiasm of Columbus did not stop here. Recollecting the insolent threat once m.ade by the soldan of Egypt, to destroy the holy sepulchre at Jerusalem, he proposed that the profits which might arise from his discoveries should be consecrated to a crusade for the rescue of the holy edifice from the power of the Infidels. The sovereigns smiled at this sally of the imagination, and expressed themselves well pleased with the idea ; but what they may have considered a mere momentary thought was a deep and cherished, design of Columbus. It is a curious and characteristic fact, which has never been particularly noticed, that the recovery of the holy sepulchre was the leading object of his ambition, medi- tated throughout the remainder of his life, and solemnly provided for in his will, and that he considered his great discovery but as a preparatory dispensation of Providence, to furnish means for its accomplishment. The port of Palos de Moguer, in Andalusia, was fixed upon as the place where the armament for the expedition was to be fitted out, the community of the place being obliged, in consequence of some misdemeanor, to serve the crown for one year with two armed caravels. A royal order was issued, commanding the authorities of Palos to have these caravels ready for sea within ten days, and to yield them and their crews to the command of Columbus. The latter was likewise empowered to fit out a third vessel ; nor was any restriction put upon his voyage, excepting that he should not go to the coast of Guinea, or any other of the lately discovered possessions of Portugal. Orders were likewise issued by the sov- ARRIVAL AT PALOS. 51 ercigns, commanding the inhabitants of the seaboard ot' Andalusia to furnish supplies and assistance of all kinds for the expedition, at a reasonable rate, and threatening severe penalties to such as should cause any impediment. As a mark of particular favor to Columbus, Isabella, before his departure from the court, appointed his son Diego page to Prince Juan, the heir apparent, an honor granted only to the sons of persons of distinguished rank. Thus gratified in his dearest wishes, Columbus took leave of the court on the 12th of May, and set out joyfully for Palos. Let those who arc disposed to faint under diffi- THE CONVENT OF LA RABIDA. Redrawn from Manning's ^^ Spanish Pictures.'''' cultics, in the prosecution of any great and worth)- under- taking, remember that eighteen years elapsed after Colum- bus conceived his enterprise before he was enabled to carry it into effect ; that the most of that time was passed in almost hopeless solicitation, amidst poverty, neglect, and taunting ridicule ; that the prime of his life had wasted away in the struggle ; and that, when his perse- verance was finalK' crowned with success, he was about fifty-six years of age. His example should teach the en- terprising never to despair. When Columbus arrived at Palos, and presented him- 52 THE LIFE OF COLUMBUS. self once more before the gates of the convent of La Rabida, he was received with open arms by the worthy Juan Perez, and again entertained as his guest. The zealous friar accompanied him to the parochial church of St. George, in Palos, where Columbus caused the royal order for the caravels to be read by a notary public, in presence of the authorities of the place. Nothing could equal the astonishment and horror of the people of this maritime community, when they heard of the nature of the expedition in which they were ordered to engage. They considered the ships and crews demanded of them in the light of sacrifices devoted to destruction. All the frightful tales and fables with which ignorance and super- stition arc prone to people obscure and distant regions were conjured up concerning the unknown parts of the deep, and the boldest seamen shrunk from such a wild and chimerical cruise into the wilderness of the ocean. Repeated mandates were issued by the sovereigns, ordering the magistrates of Palos, and the neighboring town of Moguer, to press into the service any Spanish vessels and crews they might think proper, and threaten- ing severe punishments on all who should prove refrac- tory. It was all in vain ; the communities of those places were thrown into complete confusion ; tumults and alter- cations took place, but nothing of consequence was effected. At length, Martin Alonzo Pinzon, the wealthy and en- terprising navigator, who has already been mentioned, came forward and engaged personally in the expedition. He and his brother, Vicente Yanez Pinzon, who was like- wise a navigator of great courage and ability, possessed vessels, and had seamen in their employ. They were related to many of the seafaring inhabitants of Palos and Moguer, and had great influence throughout the neigh- EQUIPMENT OF THE ARMAMENT. 53 borhood. It is supposed that they furnished Columbus with funds to pay the eighth share of the expense, which he had engaged to advance. They furnished two of the vessels required, and determined to sail in the expedition. Their example and persuasions had a wonderful effect ; a great many of their relations and friends agreed to cm- bark, and the vessels were ready for sea within a month after they had engaged in their enterprise. During the equipment of the armament various diffi- SHIPS OK COLUMBUS. culties occurred. A third vessel, called the " Pinta," had been pressed into the service, with its crew. The own- ers, Gomez Rascon and Christoval Ouintero, were strongly repugnant to the voyage, as were most of the mariners under them. These people and their friends endeavored in various ways to retard or defeat the voyage. The calkers did their work in a careless manner, and, on being ordered to do it over again, absconded ; several of the seamen who had enlisted willingly, rc[iented and deserted. Everything had to be effected by harsh and 54 THE LIFE OF COLUMBUS. arbitrary measures, and in defiance of popular opposi- tion. At length, by the beginning of August, every diffi- culty was vanquished, and the vessels were ready for sea. After all the objections made by various courts to undertake this expedition, it is surprising how inconsid- erable an armament was required. Two of the vessels were light barks called caravels, not superior to river and coasting craft of modern days. They were built high at the prow and stern, with forecastles and cabins for the crew, but were without deck in the centre. Only one of the three, called the " Santa Maria," was completely decked, on board of which Columbus hoisted his flag. Martin Alonzo Pinzon commanded one of the caravels, called the "Pinta," and was accompanied by his brother, COLUMBUS TAKING LEAVE OF FERDINAND AND ISABELLA. From Dc Bry^s " I'oyages.'" DErARTURE ON THE FIRST VOYAGE. 55 Francisco Martin, as mate or pilot. The other, called the " Nin.i," had lateen sails, and was commanded by Vicente Yafiez Pinzon ; on board of this vessel went Gar- cia Fernandez, the physician of Palos, in the capacity of steward. There were three other able pilots : Sancho Ruiz, Pedro Alonzo Nifto, and Bartholomew Roldan, and the whole number of persons embarked was one hundred and twenty. The squadron being ready to put to sea, Columbus confessed himself to the Friar Juan Perez, and partook of the communion, and his example was followed by the officers and crews, committing themselves, with the most devout and affecting ceremonials, to the especial guid- ance and protection of heaven, in this perilous enterprise. A deep gloom was spread over the whole community of Palos, for almost every one had some relation or friend on board of the squadron. The spirits of the seamen, already depressed by their own fears, were still more cast down at beholding the affliction of those they left behind, who took leave of them with tears and lamentations and dis- mal forebodings, as of men they were never to behold again. CHAPTER X. EVENTS OF THE FIRST VOYAGE. — DISCOVERY OF LAND. [1 492. J It was early in the morning of Friday, the 3d of August, 1492, that Columbus set sail from the bar of Saltcs, a small island formed by the rivers Odiel and Tinto, in front of Palos, steering for the Canary Islands, from whence he intentled to strike due west. As a guide 56 THE LIFE OF COLUMBUS. by which to sail, he had the conjectural map or chart sent him by Paolo Toscanelli, of Florence. In this it is supposed the coasts of Europe and Africa, from the south of Ireland to the end of Guinea, were delineated as immediately opposite to the extremity of Asia, while the great island of Cipango, described by Marco Polo, lay between them, fifteen hundred miles from the Asiatic coast. At this island Columbus expected first to arrive. PALOS. Redrawn from an old print. On the third day after setting sail, the " Pinta " made signal of distress, her rudder being broken and unhung. This was suspected to have been done through the con- trivance of the owners, Gomez Rascon and Christoval Quintero, to disable the vessel and cause her to be left behind. Columbus was much disturbed at this occur- rence. It gave him a foretaste of the difficulties to be apprehended from people partly enlisted on compulsion, and full of doubt and foreboding. Trivial obstacles might, in this early stage of the voyage, spread panic and DELAY AT CANARY ISLANDS. 57 mutiny through his crews, and induce them to renounce the prosecution of the enterprise. Martin Alonzo Pinzon, who commanded the " Pinta," secured the rudder with cords, but these fastenings soon gave way, and the caravel proving defective in other respects, Cohimbus remained three weeks cruising among the Canary Islands in search of another vessel to replace her. Not being able to find one, the " Pinta " was re- paired and furnished with a new rudder. The lateen sails of the " Nifla " were also altered into square sails, that she might work more steadily and securely. While making these repairs, and taking in wood and water, Columbus was informed that three Portuguese caravels had been seen hovering off the island of Ferro. Dreading some hostile stratagem on the part of the king of Portugal, in revenge for his having embarked in llic service of Spain, he put to sea early on the morning of the 6th of Septem- ber, but for three days a profound calm detained the vessels within a short distance of the land. This was a tantalizing delay, for Columbus trembled lest something should occur to defeat his expedition, and was impatient to find himself far upon the ocean, out of sight of either land or sail ; which, in the pure atmosphere of these lati- tudes, may be descried at an immense distance. On Sunday, the 9th of September, as day broke, he beheld Ferro about nine leagues distant ; he was in the very neighborhood, therefore, where the Portuguese cara- vels had been seen. Fortunately a breeze sprang up with the sun, and in the course of the day the heights of Ferro gradually faded from the horizon. On losing sight of this last trace of land, the hearts of the crews failed them, for they seemed to have taken leave of the world. Behind them was everything dear to the heart of man — country, family, friends, life itself; 58 THE LIFE OF COLUMBUS. before them everything was chaos, mystery, and peril. In the perturbation of the moment they despaired of ever more seeing their homes. Many of the rugged sea- men shed tears, and some broke into loud lamentations. Columbus tried in every way to soothe their distress, describing the splendid countries to which he expected to conduct them, and promising them land, riches, and every- thing that could arouse their cupidity or inflame their imaginations ; nor were these promises made for purposes of deception, for he certainly believed he should realize them all. He now gave orders to the commanders of the other vessels, in case they should be separated by any accident, to continue directly westward ; but that, after sailing seven hundred leagues, they should lay by from midnight until daylight, as at about that distance he confidently expected to find land. Foreseeing that the vague terrors already awakened among the seamen would increase with the space which intervened between them and their homes, he commenced a stratagem which he continued throughout the voyage. This was to keep two reckonings, one private, in which the true way of the ship was noted, and which he retained in secret for his own government; the other public, for general inspection, in which a num- ber of leagues was daily subtracted from the sailing of the ships, so as to keep the crews in ignorance of the real distance they had advanced. When about one hundred and fifty leagues west of Ferro they fell in with part of a mast of a large vessel, and the crews, tremblingly alive to every portent, looked with a rueful eye upon this fragment of a wreck, drifting ominously at the entrance of these unknown seas. On the 13th of September, in the evening, Columbus, for the first time, noticed the variation of the needle, a If) < o u X E- ^ ^ Z o < < O 6o THE LIFE OF COLUMBUS. phenomenon which had never before been remarked. He at first made no mention of it, lest his people should be alarmed ; but it soon attracted the attention of the pilots, and filled them with consternation. It seemed as if the very laws of Nature were changing as they advanced, and that they were entering another world, subject to unknown influences. They apprehended that the compass was about to lose its mysterious virtues, and, without this guide, what was to become of them in a vast and track- less ocean ? Columbus tasked his science and ingenuity for reasons with which to allay their terrors. He told them that the direction of the needle was not to the polar star, but to some fixed and invisible point. The varia- tion, therefore, was not caused by any fallacy in the com- pass, but by the movement of the north star itself, which, like the other heavenly bodies, had its changes and revo- lutions, and every day described a circle round the pole. The high opinion they entertained of Columbus as a pro- found astronomer gave weight to his theory, and their alarm subsided. They had now arrived within the influence of the trade wind, which, following the sun, blows steadily from east to west between the tropics, and sweeps over a few ad- joining degrees of the ocean. With this propitious breeze directly aft, they were wafted gently but speedily over a tranquil sea, so that for many days they did not shift a sail. Columbus in his journal perpetually recurs to the bland and temperate serenity of the weather, and com- pares the pure and balmy mornings to those of April in Andalusia, observing that the song of the nightingale was alone wanting to complete the illusion. They now began to see large patches of herbs and weeds, all drifting from the west. Some were such as grow about rocks or in rivers, and as green as if recently UNEASINESS OF THE CREIV. 6 1 washed from the land. On one of the patches was a Hve crab. They saw also a white tropical bird, of a kind which never sleeps upon the sea; ant! tunny fish played about the ships. Columbus now supposed himself arrived in the weedy sea described by Aristotle, into which cer- tain ships of Cadiz had been driven by an impetuous east wind. As he advanced, there were various other signs that gave great animation to the crews ; many birds were seen flying from the west ; there was a cloudiness in the north, such as often hangs over land ; and at sunset the imagi- nation of the seamen, aided by their desires, would shape those clouds into distant islands. Every one was eager to be the first to behold and announce the wished-for shore ; for the sovereigns had promised a pension of thirty crowns to whomsoever should first discover land. Columbus sounded occasionally with a line of two hun- dred fathoms, but found no bottom. Martin Alonzo Pinzon, as well as others of his officers and many of the seamen, were often solicitous for Columbus to alter his course and steer in the direction of these favorable signs ; but he persevered in steering to the westward, trusting that, by keeping in one steady direction, he should reach the coast of India, even if he should miss the intervening islands, and might then seek them on his return. Notwithstanding the precaution which had been taken to keep the people ignorant of the distance they had sailed, they gradually became uneasy at the length of the voyage. The various indications of land which occasionally flat- tered their hopes passed away one after another, and the same interminable expanse of sea and sky continued to extend before them. They had advanced much far- ther to the west than ever man had sailed before, and 62 THE LIFE OF COLUMBUS. though already beyond the reach of succor, were still pressing onward and onward into that apparently bound- less abyss. Even the favorable wind, which seemed as if providentially sent to waft them to the New World with such bland and gentle breezes, was conjured by their fears into a source of alarm. They feared that the wind in these seas always prevailed from the east, and if so, would never permit their return to Spain, A few light breezes from the west allayed, for a time, their last apprehension; and several small birds, such as keep about groves and orchards, came singing in the morning, and flew away at night. Their song was wonderfully cheering to the hearts of the poor mariners, who hailed it as the voice of land. The birds they had hitherto seen had been large and strong of wing, but such small birds, they observed, were too feeble to fly far, and their singing showed that they were not exhausted by their flight. On the following day there was a profound calm, and the sea, as far as the eye could reach, was covered with weeds, so as to have the appearance of a vast inundated meadow — a phenomenon attributed to the immense quan- tities of submarine plants which are detached by the cur- rents from the bottom of the ocean. The seamen now feared that the sea was growing shallow ; they dreaded lurking rocks and shoals and quicksands ; and that their vessels might run aground, as it were, in the midst of the ocean, far out of the track of human aid, and with no shore where the crews could take refuge. Columbus proved the fallacy of this alarm by sounding with a deep- sea line and finding no bottom. For three days there was a continuance of light sum- mer airs, from the southward and westward, and the sea was as smooth as a mirror. The crews now became un- easy at the calmness of the weather. They observed that CULUMUUS ON IIIE UliCK OF HIS SHIP WITH AN ASTROLABE IN HIS HAND. From De Bry^s " yoyages." 64 THE LIFE OF COLUMBUS. the contrary winds they experienced were transient and unsteady, and so light as not to ruffle the surface of the sea ; the only winds of constancy and force were from the west, and even they had not power to disturb the torpid stillness of the ocean. There was a risk, therefore, either of perishing amidst stagnant and shoreless waters, or of being prevented by contrary winds from ever returning to their native country. Columbus continued, with admirable patience, to reason with these absurd fancies, but in vain, when, fortunately, there came on a heavy swell of the sea, unaccompanied by wind — a phenomenon that often occurs in the broad ocean, caused by the impulse of some past gale or distant current of wind. It was, nevertheless, regarded with as- tonishment by the mariners, and dispelled the imaginary terrors occasioned by the calm. The situation of Columbus was daily becoming more and more critical. The impatience of the seamen arose to absolute mutiny. They gathered together in the re- tired parts of the ships, at first in little knots of two and three, which gradually increased and became formidable, joining in murmurs and menaces against the Admiral. They exclaimed against him as an ambitious desperado who in a mad fantasy had determined to do something extravagant to render himself notorious. What obliga- tion bound them to persist, or when were the terms of their agreement to be considered as fulfilled? They had already penetrated into seas untraversed by a sail, and where man had never before adventured. Were they to sail on until they perished, or until all return with their frail ships became impossible? Who would blame them should they consult their safety and return ? The Admi- ral was a foreigner, a man without friends or influence. His scheme had been condemned by the learned as idle © ccmtc^ A CAKAVtI. UNDKK SAIL. Fro>/i Columbiis^s Just tetter. 66 THE LIFE OF COLUMBUS. and visionary, and discountenanced by people of all ranks. There was, therefore, no party on his side, but rather a large number who would be gratified by his failure. Such are some of the reasonings by which these men prepared themselves for open rebellion. Some even pro- posed, as an effectual mode of silencing all after com- plaints of the Admiral, that they should throw him into the sea, and give out that he had fallen overboard while contemplating the stars and signs of the heavens, with his astronomical instruments. Columbus was not ignorant of these secret cabals, but he kept a serene and steady countenance, soothing some with gentle words, stimulating the pride or the avarice of others, and openly menacing the most refractory with punishment. New hopes diverted them for a time. On the 25th of September Martin Alonzo Pinzon mounted on the stern of his vessel and shouted, "Land! land! Senor, I claim the reward!" There was, indeed, such an appearance of land in the southwest that Columbus threw himself upon his knees and returned thanks to God, and all the crews joined in chanting Gloria in Excel- sis. The ships altered their course and stood all night to the southwest, but the morning light put an end to all their hopes as to a dream ; the fancied land proved to be nothing but an evening cloud, and had vanished in the night. For several days they continued on, with alternate hopes and murmurs, until the various signs of land be- came so numerous that the seamen, from a state of de- spondency, passed to one of high excitement. Eager to obtain the promised pension, they were continually giving the cry of land, until Columbus declared that should any one give a notice of the kind and land not be discovered COMPLAINTS OF THE CREW. 67 within three days afterwards, he should thenceforth for- feit all claim to the reward. On the 7th of October they had come seven hundred and fifty leagues, the distance at which Columbus had computed to find the island of Cipango. There were great flights of small field birds to the southwest, which seemed to indicate some neighboring land in that direc- tion, where they were sure of food and a resting-place. Yielding to the solicitations of Martin Alonzo Pinzon and his brothers, Columbus, on the evening of the 7th, altered his course, therefore, to the west-southwest. As he advanced, the signs of land increased ; the birds came singing about the ships ; and herbage floated by as fresh and green as if recently from shore. When, however, on the evening of the third day of this new course, the seamen beheld the sun go down upon a shoreless horizon, they again broke forth into loud clamors, and insisted upon abandoning the voyage. Columbus endeavored to pacify them by gentle words and liberal promises ; but finding these only increased their violence, he assumed a different tone, and told them it was useless to murmur; the expedition had been sent by the sovereigns to seek the Indies, and happen what might, he was determined to persevere until, by the blessing of God, he should accomplish the enterprise. lie was now at open defiance with his crew, and his situation would have been desperate, but, fortunately, the manifestations of land on the following day were such as no longer to admit of doubt. A green fish, such as keeps about rocks, swam by the ships ; and a branch of thorn, with berries on it, floated by ; they picked up, also, a reed, a small board, and. above all, a staff artificially carved. All gloom and murmuring was now at an end, 68 THE LIFE OF COLUMBUS. and throughout the day each one was on the watch for the long-sought land. In the evening, when, according to custom, the mari- ners had sung the Salve rcgma, or vesper hymn to the Virgin, Columbus made an impressive address to his crew, pointing out the goodness of God in thus conduct- ing them by soft and favoring breezes across a tranquil ocean to the promised land. He expressed a strong con- fidence of making land that very night, and ordered that a vigilant lookout should be kept from the forecastle, promising to whomsoever should make the discovery a doublet of velvet, in addition to the pension to be given by the sovereigns. The breeze had been fresh all day, with more sea than usual ; at sunset they stood again to the west, and were plowing the waves at a rapid rate, the " Pinta " keeping the lead from her superior sailing. The greatest anima- tion prevailed throughout the ships ; not an eye was closed that night. As the evening darkened, Columbus took his station on the top of the castle or cabin on the high poop of his vessel. However he might carry a cheerful and confident countenance during the day, it was to him a time of the most painful anxiety ; and now, when he was wrapped from observation by the shades of night, he maintained an intense and unremitting watch, ranging his eye along the dusky horizon, in search of the most vague indications of land. Suddenly, about ten o'clock, he thought he beheld a light glimmering at a distance. Fearing that his eager hopes might deceive him, he called to Pedro Gutierrez, gentleman of the king's bedchamber, and demanded whether he saw a light in that direction. The latter replied in the affirmative. Columbus, yet doubtful whether it might not be some delusion of the fancy, called Rodrigo Sanchez of Segovia, and made the THE SHIP OF COLUMBUS, THE " OCEAN WAVE." From Columbus's first Utter. *JO THE LIFE OF COLUMBUS. same inquiry. By the time the latter had ascended the roundhouse the light had disappeared. They saw it once or twice afterwards in sudden and passing gleams, as if it were a torch in the bark of a fisherman, rising and sinking with the waves ; or in the hands of some person on shore, borne up and down as he walked from house to house. So transient and uncertain were these gleams that few attached any importance to them ; Columbus, however, considered them as certain signs of land, and, moreover, that the land was inhabited. They continued on their course until two in the morn- ing, when a gun from the " Pinta " gave the joyful signal of land. It was first discovered by a mariner named Rod- riguez Bermejo, resident of Triana, a suburb of Seville, but native of Alcala de la Guadaira ; but the reward was afterwards adjudged to the Admiral, for having previously perceived the light. The land was now clearly seen about two leagues distant, whereupon they took in sail, and laid to, waiting impatiently for the dawn. The thoughts and feelings of Columbus in this little space of time must have been tumultuous and intense. At length, in spite of every difficulty and danger, he had accomplished his object. The great mystery of the ocean was revealed ; his theory, which had been the scoff of sages, was triumphantly established ; he had secured to himself a glory which must be as durable as the world itself. It is difficult even for the imagination to conceive the feelings of such a man, at the moment of so sublime a discovery. What a bewildering crowd of conjectures must have thronged upon his mind, as to the land which lay before him, covered with darkness. That it was fruitful was evident from the vegetables which floated from its shores. He thought, too, that he perceived in LANDING OF COLUMBUS. 7 1 the balmy air the fragrance of aromatic groves. The moving light which he had beheld proved that it was the residence of man. Ikit w hat were its inhabitants ? Were they like those of other parts of the globe, or were they some strange and monstrous race, such as the imagi- nation in those limes was prone to give to all remote and unknown regions? Had he come upon some wild island, far in the Indian seas; or was this the famed Cipango itself, the object of his golden fancies? A thousand speculations of the kind must have swarmed upon him, as he watched for the night to pass away ; wondering whether the morning light would reveal a savage wilderness, or dawn upon spicy groves and glit- tering fanes and gilded cities, and all the splendors of oriental civilization. CHAPTER XI. FIRST LANDING OF COLUMBUS IN THE NEW WORLD. — CRUISE AMONG THE BAHAMA ISLANDS. — DISCOVERY OF CUBA AND HISPANIOLA. [1492.] When the day dawned, Columbus saw before him a level and beautiful island, several leagues in extent, of great freshness and verdure, and covered with trees like a continual orchard. Though everything appeared in the wild luxuriance of untamed nature, yet the island was evidently populous, for the inhabitants were seen issuing from the woods, and running from all parts to the shore. They were all perfectly naked, and, from their attitudes and gesture, appeared lost in astonishment at the sight of the ships. Columbus made signal to cast anchor, and to man the boats. He entered his own boat 72 THE LIFE OF COLUMBUS. richly attired in scarlet, and bearing the royal standard. Martin Alonzo Pinzon, and Vicente Yanez, the brother, likewise put off in their boats, each bearing the banner of the enterprise, emblazoned with a green cross, having on each side the letters F and Y, surmounted by crowns, the Spanish initials of the Castilian monarchs, Fernando and Ysabel. As they approached the shores they were delighted by the beauty and grandeur of the forests ; the variety of unknown fruits on the trees which overhung the shores ; the purity and suavity of the atmosphere, and the crystal transparency of the seas which bathe these islands. On landing, Columbus threw himself upon his knees, kissed the earth, and returned thanks to God with tears of joy. His example was followed by his companions, whose breasts, indeed, were full to overflowing. Columbus, then rising, drew his sword, displayed the royal standard, and took possession, in the names of the Castilian sovereigns, giving the island the name of San Salvador. He then called upon all present to take the oath of obedience to him, as Admiral and Viceroy, and representative of the sovereigns. His followers now burst forth into the most extrava- gant transports. They thronged around him, some em- bracing him, others kissing his hands. Those who had been most mutinous and turbulent during the voyage, were now most devoted and enthusiastic. Some begged favors of him, as of a man who had already wealth and honors in his gift. Many abject spirits, who had outraged him by their insolence, now crouched at his feet, begging his forgiveness, and offering, for the future, the blindest obedience to his commands. The natives of the island, when, at the dawn of day, they had beheld the ships hovering on the coast, had MEETING WITH THE SAVAGES. 73 supposed them some monsters, which liad issued from the deep during the nigiit. Their veering about, with- out any apparent effort, and the shifting and furling of their sails, resembling huge wings, filled them with aston- ishment. When they beheld the boats approach the NATIVK HUTS, HAMACS, ETC. Redrau'n from Gott/riedVs " Ncwe 11',//." shore, and a number of strange beings, clad in glittering steel, or raiment of various colors, landing upon the beach, they fled in affright to their woods. Finding, however, that there was no attempt to pursue or molest them, they gradually recovered from their terror, antl ap])nKichctl the 74 THE LIFE OF COLUMBUS. Spaniards with great awe, frequently prostrating them- selves, and making signs of adoration. During the cere- mony of taking possession they remained gazing, in timid admiration, at the complexion, the beards, the shining armor, and splendid dress of the Spaniards. The Admi- ral particularly attracted their attention, from his com- manding height, his air of authority, his scarlet dress, and the deference paid to him by his companions ; all which pointed him out to be the commander. When they had still further recovered from their fears they approached the Spaniards, touched their beards, and examined their hands and faces, admiring their whiteness. Columbus, pleased with their simplicity, their gentleness, and the confidence they reposed in beings who must have ap- peared so strange and formidable, submitted to their scru- tiny with perfect acquiescence. The wondering savages were won by this benignity; they now supposed that the ships had sailed out of the crystal firmament which bounded their horizon, or that they had descended from above, on their ample wings, and that these marvellous beings were inhabitants of the skies. The natives of the island were no less objects of curi- osity to the Spaniards, differing, as they did, from any race of men they had ever seen. They were entirely naked, and painted with a variety of colors and devices, so as to have a wild and fantastic appearance. Their nat- ural complexion was of a tawny, or copper, hue, and they were entirely destitute of beards. Their hair was not crisped, like the recently discovered tribes of Africa under the same latitude, but straight and coarse, partly cut above the ears, but some locks behind left long, and fall- ing upon their shoulders. Their features, though disfig- ured by paint, were agreeable ; they had lofty foreheads and remarkably fine eyes. They were of moderate stat- FRIENDLINESS OF THE SAVAGES. 75 urc and well shaped ; most of them api)eared to be under thirty years of age. There was but one female with them, quite young, naked, like her companions, and beautifully formed. They appeared to be a simple and artless peo- ple, and of gentle and friendly dispositions. Their only arms were lances, hardened at the end by fire, or pointed with a flint or the bone of a fish. There was no iron to be seen among them, nor did they know its properties, for when a drawn sword was presented to them they unguardedly took it by the edge. Columbus distributed among them colored caps, glass beads, hawk's bells, and other trifles, which they received as inestimable gifts V and, decorating themselves with them, were wonderfully delighted with their finery. As Columbus supposed himself to have landed on an island at the extremity of India, he called the natives by the general appellation of Indians, which was universally adopted before the nature of his discovery was known, and has since been extended to all the aboriginals of the New World. The Spaniards remained all day on shore, refreshing themselves, after their anxious voyage, amidst the beautiful groves of the island, and they returned to their ships late in the evening, delighted with all they had seen. The island where Columbus had thus, for the first time, set his foot upon the New World, is one of the Lucayos, or Bahama Islands, and was called by the natives Guana- hani ; it still retains the name of San Salviidor, which he gave it, though called by the English, Caz Island. The light which he had seen the evening previous to his mak- ing land may have been on Watling's Island, which lies a few leagues to the east. On the following morning, at tlaybreak, some of the natives came swimming off to the ships, and otiiers came ^(> THE LIFE OF COLUMBUS. in light barks, which they called canoes, formed of a sin- gle tree, hollowed, and capable of holding from one man to the number of forty or fifty. The Spaniards soon dis- covered that they were destitute of wealth, and had little to offer in return for trinkets, except balls of cotton yarn and domesticated parrots. They brought cakes of a kind of bread called cassava, made from \.\\q yucca root, which constituted a principal part of their food. The avarice of the discoverers was awakened by per- ceiving small ornaments of gold in the noses of some of the natives. On being asked where this precious metal was procured, they answered by signs, pointing to the south, and Columbus understood them to say that a king resided in that quarter, of such wealth that he was served in great vessels of gold. He interpreted all their imperfect communications according to his previous ideas and his cherished wishes. They spoke of a warlike people, who often invaded their island from the north- west, and carried off the inhabitants. These he concluded to be the people of the mainland of Asia, subjects to the Grand Khan, who, according to Marco Polo, were accus- tomed to make war upon the islands and make slaves of the natives. The rich country to the south could be no other than the island of Cipango, and the king who was served out of golden vessels must be the monarch whose magnificent palace was said to be covered with plates of gold. Having explored the island of Guanahani, and taken in a supply of wood and water, Columbus set sail in quest of the opulent country to the south, taking seven of the natives with him, to acquire the Spanish language, and serve as interpreters and guides. He now beheld a number of beautiful islands, green, level, and fertile, and the Indians intimated by signs that AMOXG THE BAHAMAS. 77 they were innumerable ; he supposed tlieni to be a part of the Ljreat archipehi<^o described by Marco Polo as stretching along the coast of Asia, and abounding with spices and odoriferous trees. He visited three of them, to which he gave the names of Santa Maria de la Con- ception, Fernandina, and Isabella. The inhabitants gave the same proofs as those of San Salvador of being totally unaccustomed to the sight of civilized man. They re- garded the Spaniards as superhuman beings, approached them with propitiatory offerings, of whatever their pov- erty, or, rather, their simple and natural mode of life, afforded ; the fruits of their fields and groves, their cot- ton yarn, and their domesticated parrots. When the Spaniards landed in search of water they took them to the coolest springs, the sweetest and freshest runs, filling their casks, rolling them to the boats, and seeking in every way to gratify their celestial visitors. Columbus was enchanted by the lovely scenery of some of these islands. " I know not," says he, " where first to go, nor are my eyes ever weary of gazing jon the beautiful verdure. The singing of the birds is such that it seems as if one would never desire to depart hence. There are flocks of parrots that obscure the sun, and other birds of many kinds, large and small, entirely different from ours. Trees, also, of a thousand species, each having its particular fruit, and all of marvellous flavor. I believe there are many herbs and trees which would be of great value in Spain for tinctures, medicines, and spices, but I know nothing of them, which gives me great vexation." The fish which abounded in these seas partook of the novelty which characterized most of the objects in this new world. They rivalled the birds in the tropical brilliancy of their colors, the scales of some of them 78 THE LIFE OF COLUMBUS. glanced back the rays of light like precious stones, and as they sported about the ships they flashed gleams of gold and silver through the crystal waves. Columbus was disappointed in his hopes of finding any gold or spices in these islands; but the natives continued to point to the south as the region of wealth, and began to speak of an island in that direction, called Cuba, which, the Spaniards understood them to say, abounded in gold, pearls, and spices, carried on an extensive commerce, and that large merchant ships came to trade with the inhab- itants. Columbus concluded this to be the desired Cipango, and the merchant ships to be those of the Grand Khan. He set sail in search of it, and after being delayed for several days, by contrary winds and calms, among the small islands of the Bahama bank and chan- nel, he arrived in sight of it on the 28th of October, As he approached this noble island he was struck with its magnitude, the grandeur of its mountains, its fertile valleys and long, sweeping plains, covered by stately forests and watered by noble rivers. He anchored in a beautiful river to the west of Nuevitas del Principe, and taking formal possession of the island, gave it the name of Juana, in honor of Prince Juan, and to the river the name of San Salvador. Columbus spent several days coasting this part of the island and exploring the fine harbors and rivers with which it abounds. From his continual remarks in his journal on the beauty of the scenery, and from the pleas- ure which he evidently derived from rural sounds and objects, he appears to have been extremely open to those delicious influences exercised over some spirits by the graces and wonders of nature. He was, in fact, in a mood to see everything through a fond and favoring medium, for he was enjoying the fulfillment of his hopes, the hard- AMONG THE ANTILLES. 79 earned but glorious reward of his toils aiul perils, and it is diffieult to conceive the rapturous state of his feelings while thus exploring the charms uf a virgin world, won by his enterprise and valor. In the sweet smell of the woods and the odor of the flowers he fancied he perceived the fragrance of oriental spices, and along the shores he found shells of the oyster which produces pearls. He frequently deceived himself in fancying that he heard tlie song of the nightingale, a bird unknown in these countries. From the grass grow- ing to the very edge of the water he inferred the peace- fulness of the ocean which bathes these islands, never lashing the shores with angry surges. Ever since his arrival among these Antilles he had experienced nothing but soft and gentle weather, and he concluded that a per- petual serenity reigned over these seas, little suspicious of the occasional bursts of fury to which they are liable, and to the tremendous hurricanes which rend and devastate the face of nature. While coasting the island he landed occasionally and visited the villages, the inhabitants of wdiich fled to the woods and mountains. The houses were constructed of branches of palm-trees, in the shape of pavilions, and were scattered under the spreading trees, like tents in a camp. They were better built than those he had hitherto visited, and extremely clean. He found in them rude images and wooden masks, carved w ith considerable ingenuitx'. Finding implements for fishing in all the cabins, Ife con- cluded that the coasts were inhabited merely by fisher- men, who supplied the cities in the interior. After coasting to the northwest for some distance Columbus came in sight of a great headland, to which, from the groves which covered it, he gave the name of the Cape of Palms. Here he learnt that behind this bay 8o THE LIFE OF COLUMBUS. there was a river, from whence it was but four days' jour- ney to Cubanacan. By this name the natives designated a province in the centre of Cuba ; nacan in their language signifying, in the midst. Columbus fancied, however, that they were talking of Cublai Khan, the Tartar sov- ereign, and understood them to say that Cuba was not an island, but terra firma. He concluded that this must be a part of the mainland of Asia, and that he could be at no great distance from Mangi and Cathay, the ultimate des- tination of his voyage. The prince said to reign over the neighboring country might be some oriental potentate of consequence; he determined, therefore, to send a present to him, and one of his letters of recommendation from the Castilian sovereigns. For this purpose he chose two Span- iards, one of whom was a converted Jew, and knew He- brew, Chaldaic, and a little Arabic, one or other of which languages, it was thought, must be known to this oriental prince. Two Indians were sent with them as guides ; they were furnished with strings of beads and various trinkets, for their travelling expenses, and enjoined to inform themselves accurately concerning the situation of certain provinces, ports, and rivers of Asia, and to ascer- tain whether drugs and spices abounded in the country. The ambassadors penetrated twelve leagues into the interior, when they came to a village of fifty houses, and at least a thousand inhabitants. They were received with great kindness, conducted to the principal house, and pro- visions placed before them, after which the Indians seated themselves on the ground around their visitors, and waited to hear what they had to communicate. The Israelite found his Hebrew, Chaldaic, and Arabic of no avail, and the Lucayen interpreter had to be the orator. He made a regular speech after the Indian man- ner, extolling the power, wealth, and munificence of the TOBACCO USED BY THE NATIVES. 8 1 white men. When he had finished, the Indians crowded round the Spaniards, touched and examined their skin and raiment, and kissed their hands and feet in token of adoration. There was no appearance of gold, or any other article of great value, among them ; and when they were shown specimens of v^arious spices they said there was nothing of the kind to be found in the neigh- borhood, but far off to the southwest. Finding no traces of the city and court they had antici- pated, the envoys returned to their ships; on the way back they beheld several of the natives going about with firebrands in their hands, and certain dried herbs, whicli they rolled u[) in a leaf, and lighting one end, put the other in their mouths, and continued inhaling and puff- ing out the smoke. A roll of this kind they called a to- bacco ; a name since transferred to the weed itself. The Spaniards were struck with astonishment at this singular, and apparently preposterous, luxury, although prepared to meet with wonders. The report of the envoys put an end to many splendid fancies of Columbus about this barbaric prince and his capital ; all that they had seen betokened a primitive and simple state of society ; the country, though fertile and beautiful, was wild, and but slightly and rudely culti- vated ; the people were evidently strangers to civilized man, nor could they hear of any inland city superior to the one they had visited. As fast as one illusion passed away, however, another succeeded. Columbus now understood from the signs of the Indians that there was a country to the eastward where the people collected gold along the river banks by torchlight, and afterwards wrought it into bars with hamiTiers. In speaking of this place they frequently used the words Babeque and Bohio, which he supposed 6 82 THE LIFE OF COLUMBUS. to be the names of islands or provinces. As the sea- son was advancing, and the cool nights gave hints of approaching winter, lie resolved not to proceed further to the north, and turning eastward, sailed in quest of Babeque, which he trusted might prove some rich and civilized island. After running along the coast for two or three days, and passing a great cape, to which he gave the name of Cape Cuba, he stood out to sea in the direction pointed out by the Indians. The wind, however, came directly ahead, and after various ineffectual attempts he had to return to Cuba. What gave him great uneasiness was that the " Pinta," commanded by Martin Alonzo Pinzon, parted company with him during this attempt. She was the best sailer, and had worked considerably to windward of the other ships. Pinzon paid no attention to the sig- nals of Columbus to turn back, though they were repeat- ed at night by lights at the masthead; when morning dawned, the " Pinta " was no longer to be seen. Columbus considered this a wilful desertion, and was much troubled and perplexed by it. Martin Alonzo had for some time shown impatience at the domination of the Admiral. He was a veteran navigator, of great abilities, and accustomed from his wealth and standing to give the law among his nautical associates. He had furnished two of the ships and much of the funds for the expedition, and thought himself entitled to an equal share in the command. Several disputes, therefore, had occurred be- tween him and the Admiral. Columbus feared he might have departed to make an independent cruise, or might have the intention to hasten back to Spain, and claim the merit of the discovery. These thoughts distracted his mind, and embarrassed him in the farther prosecution of his discoveries. FIKST SIGHT OF IIAYTI. 83 For several da}'.s he continued explorin<^ the coast of Cuba, until he reached the eastern end, and to which, from supposing it the extreme point of Asia, he y,ave tin; name of Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. While steering at large beyond this cape, undetermined which course to take, he descried higii mountains tower- ing above the clear horizon to the southeast, and giving evidence of an island of great extent. He immediately stood for it, to the great consternation of his Indian guides, who assured him by signs that the inhabitants had but one eye, and were fierce and cruel cannibals. In the transparent atmosphere of the tropics, objects are descried at a great distance, and tlie purity of the air and serenity of the deep blue sky give a magical charm to scenery. Under these advantages, the beautiful island of Hayti revealed itself to the eye as they approached. Its mountains were higher and more rocky than those of the other islands, but the rocks rose from among rich forests. The mountains swept down into luxuriant plains and green savannas, while the appearance of cultivated fields, with the numerous fires at night, and the columns of smoke which rose in various parts by day, all showed it to be populous. It rose before them in all the splendor of troj)- ical vegetation, one of the most beautiful islands in the world, and doomed to be one of the most unfortunate. CHAPTER XII. COASTING OF IIISl'ANIOLA. — ^Sll Il'WRECK, AND olIlKR OCCURRENCES AT THE ISLAND. [1492.] On the evening of the 6th of December, Columbus entered a harbtir at the western end of the i-;land, to !3njiJla ^;^[]>«iia f > \ GALLEY COASTING THE ISLAND OF HISPANIOLA. From an illustration of a letter written by Coliniilms to Don Raphael Xansis, treasurer of the king of Spain. An ex- tremely rare edition of the letter exists in the library of Milan. The original sketch is supposed to have been made ivith a pen by Columbus. INTERCOURSE JVITJJ THE NATIVES. 85 whicli lie gave the name of St. Nicholas, by which it is called at the present day. Not being able to meet with any of the inhabitants, who had fled from their dwellings, he coasted along the northern side of the island to another harbor, which he called Conception. Here the sailors causiht several kinds of fish similar to those of their own country; they heard also the notes of a bird which sings in the night, and which they mistook for the nightingale, and the)' fancied the features of the surrounding country resembled those of the more beautiful provinces of Spain ; in consequence of this idea the Admiral named the island Espaiiola, or, as it is commonly written, Hispaniola. Af- ter various ineffectual attempts to obtain a communication with the natives, three sailors succeeded in overtaking a young and handsome female, who was flying from them, and brought their wild beaut)' in triumph to the ships. She was treated with the greatest kindness, and dismissed finely clothed, and loaded w ith presents of beads, hawk's bells, and other baubles. Confident of the favorable im- pression her account of her treatment and the sight of her presents must produce, Columbus, on the following day, sent nine men, well armed, to seek her village, accom- panied by a native of Cuba as an interpreter. The village was situated in a fine valley, on the banks of a beautiful river, and contained about a thousand houses. The na- tives fled at first, but being reassured by the interpreter, they came back to the number of two thousand, and ap- proached the Spaniards with awe and trembling, often pausing and putting their hands upon their heads in token of reverence and submission. The female also, who had been entertained on board of the ships, came borne in triumph on the shoulders of some of her countrymen, followed by a multitude, and preceded bv her husband, who was full of gratitude for the kindness DISCOVERY OF HISPANIOLA. From Herreras " History of the West Indies.^ VISIT FROM A CACIQUE. 8/ witli which she had been treated. Having recovered from their fears, the natives conducted the Spaniards to their houses, and set before them cassava bread, fish, roots, and fruits of various kinds ; offering them freely whatever they possessed, for a frank hospitality reigned throughout the island, where as yet the passion of ava- rice was unknown. The Spaniards returned to the vessels enraptured with the beauty of the country, surpassing, as they said, even the luxuriant valley of Cordova ; all that they complained of was that they saw no signs of riches among the natives. Continuing along the coast, Columbus had farther in- tercourse with the natives, some of whom had ornaments of gold, which they readily exchanged for the merest trifle of European manufacture. At one of the harbors, where he was detained by contrary winds, he was visited by a young cacique, apparently of great importance, who came borne on a litter by four men, and attended by two hundred of his subjects. He entered the cabin w^here Columbus was dining, and took his seat beside him, with a frank, unembarrassed air, while two old men, who were his counsellors, seated themselves at his feet, watching his lips, as if to catch and communicate his ideas. If any- thing were given him to eat, he merely tasted it, and sent it to his followers, maintaining an air of great gravity and dignity. After dinner, he presented the Admiral with a belt curiously wrought, and two pieces of gold. Colum- bus made him various presents in return ; he showed him a coin bearing the likenesses of Ferdinand and Isabella, and endeavored to give him an idea of the power and grandeur of those sovereign?. The cacique, however, could not be made to believe that there was a region on earth which produced such wonderful people and won- derful things, but persisted in the idea that the Spaniards NATIVES CARRYING A CACIQUE. Redra-wn /rotn Ilerrera's ^^ History 0/ the li'est Indies.'" HOSPITALITY OF THE NATIVES. 89 were more than mortal, and that tlie country and sovcr- eii;iis they spoke of must exist somewhere in the skies. On the 20th of December, Columbus anchored in a fine harbor, to which he gave the name of Si. Thomas, supposed to be what at present is called the Bay of Aciil. Here a large canoe visited the ships, bringing messengers from a grand cacique named Guacanagari, who resided on the coast a little farther to the eastward, and reigned over all that part of the island. The messengers bore a present of abroad belt, wrought ingeniously with colored beads and bones, and a wooden mask, the eyes, nose, and tongue of which were of gold. They invited Columbus, in the name of the cacique, to come wMth his ships oppo- site to the village where he resided. Adverse winds prevented an immediate compliance with this invitation ; he therefore sent a boat well armed, with the notary of the squadron, to visit the chieftain. The latter returned with so favorable an account of the appearance of the village, and the hospitality of the cacique, that Columbus determined to set sail for his residence as soon as the wind would permit. Early in the morning of the 24th of December, there- fore, he weighed anchor, with a light wind that scarcely filled the sails. By eleven o'clock at night he was within a league and a half of the residence of the cacique ; the sea was calm and smooth, and the ship almost motionless. The Admiral, having had no sleep the preceding night, retired to take a little repose. No sooner had he left the deck than the steersman gave the helm in charge to one of the ship boys, and went to sleep. This was in direct violation of an invariable order of the Admiral, never to intrust the helm to the boys. The rest of the mariners who had the watch took like advantage of the absence of Columbus, and in a little while the whole crew was buried 90 THE LIFE OF COLUMBUS. in sleep. While this security reigned over the ship, the treacherous currents, which run swiftly along this coast, carried her smoothly, but with great violence, upon a sandbank. The heedless boy, feeling the rudder strike, and hearing the rushing of the sea, cried out for aid. Columbus was the first to take the alarm, and was soon followed by the master of the ship, whose duty it was to have been on watch, and by his delinquent companions. The Admiral ordered them to carry out an anchor astern, that they might warp the vessel ofT. They sprang into the boat, but being confused and seized with a panic, as men are apt to be when suddenly awakened by an alarm, instead of obeying the commands of Columbus they rowed off to the other caravel. Vicente Yafiez Pinzon, who commanded the latter, reproached them with their pusillanimity, and refused to admit them on board, and, manning his boat, he hastened to the assistance of the Admiral. In the meantime the ship, swinging across the stream, had been set more and more upon the bank. EfTorts were made to lighten her by cutting away the mast, but in vain. The keel was firmly bedded in the sand ; the seams opened, and the breakers beat against her, until she fell over on one side. Fortunately, the weather con- tinued calm, otherwise both ship and crew must have perished. The Admiral abandoned the wreck, and took refuge, with his men, on board of the caravel. He laid- to until daylight, sending messengers on shore to inform the cacique Guacanagari of his disastrous shipwreck. When the chieftain heard of the misfortune of his guest he was so much afflicted as to shed tears ; and never, in civilized country, were the vaunted rites of hospitality more scrupulously observed than by this uncultured sav- age. He assembled his people, and sent off all his canoes FRIENDLINESS OF THE NATIVES. 9I to tlic assistance of the Admiral, assuring him, at the same time, that everything lie possessed was at his service. The effects were huuled from the wreck and deposited near the dwelling of the cacique, and a guard set over them until houses could be prepared, in v\ hich they could be stored. There seethed, however, no ch'sposition among the natives to take advantage of the misfortune of the strangers, or to plunder the treasures thus cast upon their shores, though they must have been inestimable in their eyes. Even in transporting the effects from the ship, they did not attempt to pilfer or conceal the most trifling article. On the contrary, they manifested as deep a con- cern at the disaster of the Spaniards as if it liad happened to themselves, and their only study was how they could administer relief and consolation. Columbus was greatly affected by this unexpected goodness. " These people," said he in his journal, intended for the perusal of the sovereigns, " love their neighbors as themselves; their discourse is ever sweet and gentle, and accompanied by a smile. I swear to your majesties, there is not in the world a better nation or a better land." When tlie cacique first met with Columbus he was much moved at beholding his dejection, and again offered him everything he possessed that could be of service to him. He invited him on shore, where a banquet was pre- pared for his entertainment, consisting of various kinds of fish and fruit, and an animal called ntia by the natives, which resembled a cony. After the collation, he con- ducted Columbus to the beautiful groves which surround- ed his residence, where upwards of a thousand of tlie na- tives were assembled, all perfectly naked, who performed several of their national games and dances. Thus did this generous cacique try, by every means in his power, to cheer the melancholy of his guest, showing a warmth 92 THE LIFE OF COLUMBUS. of sympathy, a delicacy of attention, and an innate dignity and refinement which could not have been expected from one in his savage state. He was treated with great defer- ence by his subjects, and conducted himself towards them with a gracious and prince-like majesty. His whole de- portment, in the enthusiastic eyes of Columbus, betokened the inborn grace and dignity of lofty lineage. When the Indians had finished their games, Columbus gave them an entertainment in return, calculated to im- press them with a formidable opinion of the military power of the Spaniards. A Castilian, who had served in the wars of Granada, exhibited his skill in shooting with a Moorish bow, to the great admiration of the ca- cique. A cannon and an arquebuse were likewise dis- charged ; at the sound of which the Indians fell to the ground, as though they had been struck by a thunderbolt. When they saw the effect of the ball, rending and shiver- ing the trees, they were filled with dismay. On being told, however, that the Spaniards would protect them with these arms against the invasions of their dreaded enemies, the Caribs, their alarm was changed into con- fident exultation, considering themselves under the pro- tection of the sons of heaven, who had come from the skies, armed with thunder and lightning. The cacique placed a kind of coronet of gold on the head of Columbus, and hung plates of the same metal round his neck, and he dispensed liberal presents among his followers. What- ever trifles Columbus gave in return were regarded with reverence, as celestial gifts, and were said by the Indians to have come from Turcy, or heaven. The extreme kindness of the cacique, the gentleness of his people, and the quantities of gold daily brought by the natives, and exchanged for trifles, contributed to con- sole Columbus for his misfortunes. When Guacanagari NATIVKS DANCING. RairawH from Gott/rUJt's " Ncwc Welty 94 THE LIFE OF COLUMBUS. perceived the great value which the Admiral attached to gold, he assured him, by signs, that there was a place not far off, among the mountains, where it abounded to such a degree as to be regarded with indifference; and he promised to procure him, from thence, as much as he desired. Columbus gathered many other particulars concerning this golden region. It was called Cibao, and lay among high and rugged mountains. The cacique who ruled over it owned many rich mines, and had banners of wrought gold. Columbus fancied that the name of Cibao must be a corruption of Cipango, and flattered himself that this was the very island productive of gold and spices, mentioned by Marco Polo. Three houses had been given to the shipwrecked crew for their residence. Here, living on shore, and mingling freely with the natives, they became fascinated by their easy and idle mode of life. They were governed by their caciques with an absolute but patriarchal and easy rule, and existed in that state of primitive and savage simplicity which some philosophers have fondly pictured as the most enviable on earth. " It is certain," says old Peter Martyr, "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 country, they have rather superfluity than scarceness ; so that they seem to live in a golden world, without toil, in open gardens, neither intrenched, nor shut up by walls or hedges. They deal truly with one another, without laws or books or judges." In fact, they seemed to disquiet themselves about nothing ; a few fields, cultivated almost without labor, furnished roots and vegetables, their groves were laden with delicious fruit, and the coast and rivers abound- ed with fish. Softened by the indulgence of nature, a < I t3 v^.5 I 96 THE LIFE OF COLUMBUS. great part of the day was passed by them in indolent re- pose, in that luxury of sensation inspired by a serene sky and voluptuous climate, and in the evening they danced in their fragrant groves, to their national songs, or the rude sound of their sylvan drums. When the Spanish mariners looked back upon their own toilsome and painful life, and reflected upon the cares and hardships that must still be their lot should they return to Europe, they regarded with a wistful eye the easy and idle existence of these Indians, and many of them, representing to the Admiral the difficulty and danger of embarking so many persons in one small caravel, entreated permission to remain in the island. The request immediately suggested to Columbus the idea of forming the germ of a future colony. The wreck of the caravel would furnish materials and arms for a fortress ; and the people who should remain in the island could explore it. learn the language of the natives, and collect gold, while the Admiral returned to Spain for re-enforcements. Gua- canagari was overjoyed at finding that some of these wonderful strangers were to remain for the defence of his island, and that the Admiral intended to revisit it. He readily gave permission to build the fort, and his sub- jects eagerly aided in its construction, little dreaming that they were assisting to place on their necks the gall- ing yoke of perpetual and toilsome slavery. While thus employed, a report was brought to Colum- bus, by certain Indians, that another ship was at anchor in a river at the eastern end of the island ; he concluded it of course to be the " Pinta," and immediately dispatched a canoe in quest of it, with a letter for Pinzon, urging him to rejoin him immediately. The canoe coasted the island for thirty leagues, but returned without having heard or seen anything of the " Pinta," and all the anxiety COMPLETES THE EOR TRESS OE I. A N A VI DAD. 9/ ot llic Admiral was revived; should tliat vessel be lost, the whole success of his expedition would depend on the return of his own craz}' bark, across an immense expanse of ocean, where the least accident mi^ht bury it in the deep, and witii it all record of his discovery. He dared not, therefore, prolong his voyage, and explore those mag- nificent regions which seemed to invite on every hand, but determined to return immediately to Spain. So great was the activity of the Spaniards and the assistance of the natives, that in ten days the fortress was coinplcted. It consisted of a strong wooden tower, with a vault beneath, and the whole surrounded by a wide ditch. It was supplied with the ammunition, and mounted with the cannon saved from the wreck, and was considered sufficient to overawe and repulse the whole of this naked and unwarlike people, Columbus gave the fortress and harbor the name of La Navidad, or the Nativity, in memorial of having been preserved from the wreck of his ship on Christmas day. From the number of volunteers that offered to remain, he selected thirty- nine of the most trustworthy, putting them under the command of Diego de Arana, notary and alguazil of the armament. In case of his death, Pedro Gutierrez was to take the command, and he, in like case, to be succeeded by Rodrigo de Escobido. He charged the men, in the most emphatic manner, to be obedient to their com- manders, respectful to Guacanagari and his chieftains, and circumspect and friendly in their intercourse with the natives. lie warned them not to scatter themselves asunder, as their safety would depend upon their united force, and not to stray beyond the territory of the friendly cacique. He enjoined it upon Arana and the other commanders to employ themselves in gaining a knowledge of the island, in amassing gold and spices, 7 98 THE LIFE OF COLUMBUS. and in searching for a more safe and convenient harbor for that settlement Before his departure he gave the natives another mili- tary exhibition, to increase their awe of the prowess of the white men. The Spaniards performed skirmishes and mock fights, with swords, bucklers, lances, cross- bows, and firearms. The Indians were astonished at the keenness of the steeled weapons, and the deadly power of the crossbows and muskets; but nothing equaled their awe and admiration when the cannon were dis- charged from the fortress, wrapping it in smoke, shaking the forests with their thunder, and shivering the stoutest trees. When Columbus took leave of Guacanagari, the kind- hearted cacique shed many tears, for, while he had been awed by the dignified demeanor of the Admiral, and the idea of his superhuman nature, he had been completely won by the benignity of his manners. The seamen too had made many pleasant connections among the Indians, and they parted with mutual regret. The sorest parting, however, was with their comrades who remained behind, from that habitual attachment formed by a companion- ship in perils and adventures. When the signal gun was fired, they gave a parting cheer to the gallant handful of volunteers thus left in the wilderness of an unknown world, who echoed their cheering as they gazed wist- fully after them from the beach, but who were destined never to welcome their return. DEPARTURE EOR SPAIN. QQ CHAPTER XIII. RETURN VOYAGE. — VIOLENT STORMS. — ARRIVAL AT I'ORTUGAL. [1493.] It was on the 4th of January that Cohimbus set sail from La Navichad, on his return to Spain. On the 6th, as he was beating alon^j the coast, with a head wind, a sailor at the masthead cried out that there was a sail at a dis- tance, standing towards them. To their great joy it proved to be tlie " Pinta," which came sweeping before the wind u ith flowing canvas. On joining the Admiral, Pinzon endeavored to excuse his desertion by saying that he had been separated from him by stress of weath- er, and had ever since been seeking him. Columbus listened passively but incredulously to these excuses, avoiding any words that miglit produce altercations, and disturb the remainder of the voyage. He ascertained, afterwards, that Pinzon had parted company intentionally, and had steered directly east, in quest of a region where the Indians on board of his vessel had assured him he would find gold in abundance. They had guiilcd him to Hispaniola, where he had been for sf)me time in a river about fifteen leagues east of La Navidad, trading with the natives. He had collected a large quantity of gold, one-half of which he retained as captain, the rest he divided among his men to secure their secrecy and fidelit}'. On leaving the river he had carried off four Indian men and two girls, to be sold in Spain. Columbus sailed for this river, to which he gave the name of Rio de Gracia, but it long continued to be known as the river of Martin Alonzo. Here he ordered lOO THE LIFE OF COLUMBUS. the four men and two girls to be dismissed, well clothed and with many presents, to atone for the wrong they had experienced, and to allay the hostile feeling it might have caused among the natives. This restitution was not made without great unwillingness and many angry words on the part of Pinzon. After standing for some distance further along the coast they anchored in a vast bay, or rather gulf, three leagues in breadth, and extending so far inland that Co- lumbus at first supposed it to be an arm of the sea. Here he was visited by the people of the mountains of Ciguay, a hardy and warlike race, quite different from the gentle and peaceful people they had hitherto met with on this island. They were of fierce aspect and hideously painted, and their heads were decorated with feathers. They had bows and arrows, war clubs, and swords made of palm wood, so hard and heavy that a blow from them would cleave through a helmet to the very brain. At the first sight of these ferocious-looking people Colum- bus supposed them to be the Caribs, so much dreaded throughout these seas ; but on asking for the Caribbean Islands the Indians still pointed to the eastward. With these people the Spaniards had a skirmish, in which several of the Indians were slain. This was the first contest they had had with the inhabitants of the New World, and the first time that native blood had been shed by white men. From this skirmish Columbus called the place El Golfo de las Fleches, or, the gulf of Arrows ; but it is now known by the name of the gulf of Samana. He lamented that all his exertions to maintain an amicable intercourse had been ineffectual, and anticipated further hostility on the part of the natives ; but on the following day they approached the Spaniards as freely and confi- dently as if nothing had happened; the cacique came on ADVERSE IV/XDS. lOI board with only three attendants, and throughout all their subsequent dealings they betrayed no signs of lurking fear or enmity. This frank and confiding conduct, so indic- ative of a brave and generous nature, was properly appre- ciated by Columbus; he entertained the cacique with great distinction, and at parting made many presents to him and his attendants. This cacique of Ciguay was named Mayonabex, and in subsequent events of this his- tory will be found to acquit himself with valor and mag- nanimity under the most trying circumstances. Columbus, on leaving the bay, took four young Indians to guide him to the Caribbean Islands, situated to the east, of which they gave him very interesting accounts, as well as of the island of Mantinino, said to be inhabited by Amazons. A favorable breeze sprang up, however, f(ir the voyage homewards, and, seeing gloom and impa- tience in the countenances of his men at the idea of diverging from their route, he gave up his intention of visiting these islands for the present, and made all sail for Spain. The trade winds, which had been so propitious on the outward voyage, were equally adverse to a return. The favorable breeze soon died away ; light winds from the east, and frequent calms, succeeded, but they had intervals of favorable weather, and by the I2th of February they had made such progress as to begin to flatter themselves with the hopes of soon beholding land. The wintl now came on to blow violently; on the following evening there were three flashes of lightning in the north-north- cast, from which signs Columbus predicted an approach- ing tempest. It soon burst upon them with frightful violence; their small and crazy vessels were little fitted for the wild storms of the Atlantic ; all night they were obliged to scud under bare poles at the mcrc)' of the I02 THE LIFE OF COLUMBUS. elements. As the morning dawned there was a tran- sient pause, and they made a little sail, but the wind rose with redoubled fury from the south and increased in the night, the vessels laboring terribly in a cross sea, which threatened at each moment to overwhelm them, or dash them to pieces. The tempest still augmenting, they were obliged again to scud before the wind. The Admiral made signal lights for the " Pinta " to keep in company ; for some time she replied by similar signals, but she was separated by the violence of tlic storm ; her lights gleamed more and more distant, until they ceased en- tirely. When the day dawned the sea presented a fright- ful waste of wild, broken waves, lashed into fury by the gale ; Columbus looked round anxiously for the " Pinta," but she was nowhere to be seen. Throughout a dreary day the helpless bark was driven along by the tempest. Seeing all human skill baffled and confounded, Columbus endeavored to propitiate Heaven by solemn vows. Lots were cast to perform pilgrimages and penitences, most of which fell upon Columbus ; among other things, he was to perform a solemn mass, and to watch and pray all night in the chapel of the convent of Santa Clara, at Moguer. Vari- ous private vows were made by the seamen, and one by the Admiral and the whole crew, that, if they were spared to reach the land, they would walk in procession, bare- footed, and in their shirts, to offer up thanksgivings in some church dedicated to the Virgin. The heavens, however, seemed deaf to all their vows ; the storm grew still more furious, and every one gave himself up for lost. During this long and awful conflict of the elements, the mind of Columbus was a prey to the most distressing anxiety. He was harassed by the re- pinings of his crew, who cursed the hour of their leaving •J > r. < ?-. C a < O -«: I04 THE LIFE OF COLUMBUS. their country, and their want of resolution in not com- pelling him to abandon the voyage. He was afflicted, also, when he thought of his two sons, who would be left destitute by his death. But he had another source of distress, more intolerable than death itself. It was highly probable that the " Pinta " had foundered in the storm. In such case, the history of his discovery would depend upon his own feeble bark ; one surge of the ocean might bury it forever in oblivion, and his name only remain as that of a desperate adventurer, who had perished in pur- suit of a chimera. In the midst of these gloomy reflections an expedient suggested itself, by which, though he and his ships might perish, the glory of his achievement might survive to his name, and its advantages be secured to his sovereigns. He wrote on parchment a brief account of his discovery, and of his having taken possession of the newly found lands in the name of their Catholic majesties. This he sealed and directed to the king and queen, and super- scribed a promise of a thousand ducats to whomsoever should deliver the packet unopened. He then wrapped it in a waxed cloth, which he placed in the centre of a cake of wax, and inclosing the whole in a cask, threw it into the sea. A copy of this memorial he inclosed in a similar manner, and placed it upon the poop of his vessel, sovthat, should the caravel sink, the cask might float off and survive. Happily, these precautions, though wise, were super- fluous ; at sunset there was a streak of clear sky in the west, the wind shifted to that quarter, and on the morn- ing of the 15th of February they came in sight of land. The transports of the crew at once more beholding the old world were almost equal to those they had experi- enced on discovering the new. For two or three days, LANDING ON THE AZORES. IO5 however, the wind again became contrai}', and they remained hovering in sight of land, of u hich they only caught glimjises through the mist and rack. At length they came to anchor at the island of St. Mar)''s, the most southern of the Azores, and a possession of the crown of Portugal. An ungenerous reception, however, awaited the poor, tempest-tossed mariners, on their return to the abode of civilized man, far different from the kindness and hospitality they had experienced among the savages of the New World. Columbus had sent one-half of the crew on shore, to fulfill the vow of a barefooted procession to a hermitage or chapel of the Virgin, which stood on a solitary part of the coast, and awaited their return to perform the same ceremony with the remainder of his crew. Scarcely had they begun their prayers and thanks- giving, when a party of horse and foot, headed by the governor of the island, surrounded the hermitage and took them all prisoners. The real object of this outrage was to get possession of the person of Columbus; for the King of Portugal, jealous lest his enterprise might inter- fere with his own discoveries, had sent orders to his com- manders of islands and distant ports to seize and detain him wherever he should be met with. Having failed in this open attempt, the governor next endeavored to get Columbus in his power by stratagem, but was equall}' unsuccessful, A violent altercation took place between them, and Columbus threatened him with the vengeance (if his sovereigns. At length, after two or three days' detention, the sailors who had been captured in the chapel were released ; the governor pretended to have acted through doubts of Columbus having a rcefular commission, but that being now convinced of his being in the service of the Spanish sovereigns, he was ready to )-ield him every service in his power. The Admiral I06 THE LIFE OF COLUMBUS. did not put his offers to the proof. The wind became fafvorable for the continuation of his voyage, and he again set sail, on the 24th of February. After two or three days of pleasant sailing there was a renewal of tem- pestuous weather. About midnight of the 2d of March the caravel was struck by a squall, which rent all her sails, and threatened instant destruction. The crew were again reduced to despair, and made vows of fastings and pil- grimages. The storm raged throughout the succeeding day, during which, from various signs, they considered themselves in the vicinity of land, which they supposed must be the coast of Portugal. The turbulence of the following night was dreadful. The sea was broken, wild, and mountainous, the rain fell in torrents, and the light- ning flashed and the thunder pealed from various parts of the heavens. In the first watch of this fearful night the seamen gave the usually welcome cry of land, but it only increased their alarm, for they were ignorant of their situation, and dreaded being driven on shore or dashed upon the rocks. Taking in sail, therefore, they endeavored to keep to sea as much as possible. At daybreak on the 4th of March they found themselves off the rock of Cintra, at the mouth of the Tagus. Though distrustful of the good-will of Portugal, Columbus had no alternative but to run in for shelter, and he accordingly anchored about three o'clock in the river, opposite to Rastello. The inhabitants came off from various parts of the shore, to congratulate him on what they deemed a miraculous preservation, for they had been watching the vessel the whole morning with great anxiety, and putting up prayers for her safety. The oldest mariners of the place assured him that they had never known so tempestuous a winter. Such were the difficulties and perils with which Columbus had to ARRIVAL IN PORTUGAL. IO7 conteiul on liis return to Kuropc ; had one-tenth part of them beset his outward voyage, his factious crew would liave risen in arms against the enterprise, and he never would have discovered the New World. CHAPTER XIV. VISIT OF COLUMBUS TO THE COURT OF PORTUGAL.— ARRIVAL AT PALOS. [1493.I Inlmkdiatelv on his arrival in the Tagus, Columbus despatched a courier to the king and queen of Spain, with tidings of his discovery. He wrote also to the king of Portugal, entreating permission to go to Lisbon with his vessel, as a report had got abroad that she was laden with gold, and he felt himself insecure in the neigh- borhood of a place like Rastello, inhabited by needy and adventurous people. At the same time he stated the route and events of his voyage, lest the king should sus- pect him of having been in the route of the Portuguese discoveries. The tidings of this wonderful bark, freighted with the people and productions of a newly discovered world, filled all Lisbon with astonishment. For several days the Tagus was covered with barges and boats going to and from it. Among the visitors were various officers of the crown, and cavaliers of high distinction. All hung with rapt attention upon the accounts of the voyage, and ga/xd w ith insatiable curiosity upon the plants and animals, and, above all, upon the inhabitants of the New World. The enthusiasm of some, and the avarice of others, was excited, while many repined at the incredulity I08 THE LIFE OF COLUMBUS. of the king and his counsellors, by which so grand a dis- covery had been forever lost to Portugal. On the 8th of March Columbus received a messag-e from King John, congratulating him upon his arrival, and inviting him to the court at Valparaiso, about nine leagues from Lisbon. The king at the same time ordered that anything which the Admiral required for himself or his vessel should be furnished free of cost. Columbus distrusted the good faith of the king, and set out reluctantly for the court ; but his reception was what might have been expected from an enlightened and liberal prince. On approaching the royal residence he was met by the principal personages of the king's household, and conducted with great ceremony to the palace. The king welcomed him to Portugal, and congratulated him on the glorious result of his enterprise. He ordered him to seat himself in his presence, an honor only granted to persons of royal dignity, and assured him that everything in his kingdom was at the service of his sovereigns and himself. They had repeated conversations about the events of the voyage, and the king made minute inquiries as to the soil, productions, and people of the newly discovered countries, and the routes by which Columbus had sailed. The king listened with seeming pleasure to his replies, but was secretly grieved at the thought that this splen- did enterprise had been offered to him and refused. He was uneasy, also, lest this undefined discovery should in some way interfere with his own territories, compre- hended in the papal bull which granted to the crown of Portugal all the lands it should discover from Cape Non to the Indies. On suggesting these doubts to his counsellors, they eagerly encouraged them, for some of them were the very persons who had scoffed at Columbus as a dreamer, and JEALOUSY OF THE KING OF PORTUGAL. ICX) his success covered them with confusicjii. Tiiey declared that the color, hair, and manners of the natives brought in the caravel agreed exactly with the descriptions given of the people of that part of India granted to Portugal by the papal bull. Others observed that there was but lit- tle distance between the Terceira Islands and those which Columbus had discovered ; the latter, therefore, clearly belonged to Portugal. Others eutleavored to awaken the anger of the king, by declaring that Columbus had talked in an arrogant and vainglorious tone of his dis- cover}', merely to revenge himself upon the monarch for having rejected his propositions. Seeing the king deeply perturbed in sjjirit, some even went so far as to propose, as an effectual means of impeding the prosecution of these enterprises, that Co- lumbus should be assassinated. It would be an easy matter to take advantage of his lofty deportment, to pique his pride, provoke him to an altercation, and sud- denly dispatch him as if in casual and honorable en- counter. Happil)', the king had too much magnanimity to adopt such wicked and dastardly counsel. Though secretly grieved and mortified that the rival power of Spain should have won this triumph which he had rejected, yet he did justice to the great merit of Columbus, and honored him as a distinguished benefactor to mankind. He felt it his duty, also, as a generous prince, to protect all strangers driven by adverse fortune to his ports. Others of his council advised that he should secret 1\- fit t)ut a powerful armament, and dispatch it, under guidance of two Por- tuguese mariners who had sailed with Columbus, to take possession of the newly discovered country; In- might then settle the question of right with Spain by an appeal to arms. This counsel, in which there was a mixture of no THE LIFE OF COLUMBUS. courage and craft, was more relished by the king, and he resolved to put it promptly in execution. In the meantime Columbus, after being treated with the most honorable attentions, was escorted back to his ship by a numerous train of cavaliers of the court, and on the way paid a visit to the queen at a monastery of San Antonio at Villa Franca, where he was listened to with wonder, as he related the events of his voyage to her majesty and the ladies of her court. The king had offered him a free passage by land to Spain, at the royal expense, but as the weather had moderated, he preferred to return in his caravel. Putting to sea on the 13th of March, therefore, he arrived safely at Palos on the 15th, having taken not quite seven months and a half to accomplish this most momentous of all maritime enter- prises. The triumphant return of Columbus was a prodigious event in the little community of Palos, every member of which was more or less interested in the fate of the expe- dition. Many had lamented their friends as lost, while imagination had lent mysterious horrors to their fate. When, therefore, they beheld one of the adventurous vessels furling her sails in their harbor, from the dis- covery of a world, the whole community broke forth into a transport of joy, the bells were rung, the shops shut, and all business suspended. Columbus landed, and walked in procession to the church of St. George, to return thanks to God for his safe arrival. Wherever he passed the air rang with acclamations, and he received such honors as are paid to sovereigns. What a contrast was this to his departure a few months before, followed by murmurs and execrations; or rather, what a contrast to his first arrival at Palos, a poor pedestrian, craving bread and water for his child at the gate of a convent ! i PINION ARRIVES AT PA LOS. I I I Understanding that the court was at Barcelona, he at first felt disposed to proceed there in the caravel, but, reflecting" on the dangers and disasters of his recent voyage, he gave up the idea, and dispatched a letter to the sovereigns, informing them of his arrival. He then departed for Seville to await their reply. It arrived within a few days, and was as gratifying as his heart could have desired. The sovereigns were dazzled and astonished by this sudden and easy acquisition of a new empire of indefinite extent, and apparently boundless wealth. They addressed Columbus by his titles of Ad- miral and Viceroy, promising him still greater rewards, antl urging him to repair immediately to court to con- cert plans for a second and more extensive expedition. It is fitting here to speak a word of the fate of Martin Alonzo Pinzon. By a singular coincidence, which ap- pears to be well authenticated, he anchored at Palos on the evening of the same day that Columbus had arrived. He had been driven by the storm into the Bay of Biscay, and had made the port of Bayonne. Doubting whether Columbus had survived the tempest, he had immediately written to the sovereigns, giving an account of the dis- covery, and requesting permission to come to court and relate the particulars in person. As soon as the weather was favorable he again set sail, anticipating a trium- phant reception in his native port of Palos. When, on entering the harbor, he beheld the vessel of the Admiral riding at anchor, and learned the enthusiasm with which he had been received, his heart died within him. It is said he feared to meet Columbus in this hour of his triumph, lest he should put him under arrest for his desertion on the coast of Cuba ; but this is not likely, for he was a man of too much resolution to yield to such a fear. It is more probable that a consciousness of his misconduct 112 THE LIFE OF COLUMBUS. made him unwilling to appear before the public in the midst of their enthusiasm for Columbus, and to witness the honors heaped upon a man whose superiority he had been so unwilling to acknowledge. Whatever may have been his motive, it is said that he landed privately in his boat, and kept out of sight until the departure of the Admiral, when he returned to his home, broken in health, and deeply dejected, awaiting the reply of the sovereigns to his letter. The reply at length arrived, forbidding his coming to court, and severely reproaching him for his conduct. This letter completed his humiliation ; the wounds of his feelings gave virulence to his bodily malady, and in a few days he died, a victim to grief and repentance. Let no one, however, indulge in harsh censures over the grave of Pinzon. His merits and services are en- titled to the highest praise ; his errors should be regarded with indulgence. He was one of the first in Spain to appreciate the project of Columbus, animating him by his concurrence, and aiding him with his purse when poor and unknown at Palos. He afterwards enabled him to procure and fit out his ships, when even the mandates of the sovereigns were ineffectual ; and finally he embarked in the expedition with his brothers and friends, staking life, property, everything, upon the event. He had thus entitled himself to participate largely in the glory of this immortal enterprise, when, unfor- tunately, forgetting for a moment the grandeur of the cause and the implicit obedience due to his commander, he yielded to the incitements of self-interest, and was guilty of that act of insubordination which has cast a shade upon his name. Much may be said, however, in extenuation of his fault ; his consciousness of having rendered great services to the expedition and of pos- I JOURNEY TO BARCELONA. II3 scssing property in the ships, and his habits of command, wliich rendered him impatient of control. That he was a man naturally of generous sentiments and honorable ambition is evident from the poignancy with which he felt the disgrace drawn upon him by his conduct. A mean man would not have fallen a victim to self-upbraid- ing for having been convicted of a mean action. His story shows how t)ne lapse from duty may counterbalance the merits of a thousand services ; how one moment of weakness may mar the beauty of a whole life of virtue ; and how imjjortant it is for a man, under all circum- stances, to be true, not merel}' to others, but to himself. CHAPTER XV. RECEPTION OF COLUMBUS BY THE SPANISH SOVEREIGNS AT BARCELONA. [1493.] The journey of Columbus to Barcelona was like the progress of a sovereign. Wherever he passed, the sur- rounding country poured forth its inhabitants, who lined the road and thronged the villages, rending the air with acclamations. In the large towns the streets, windows, and balconies were filled with spectators, eager to gain a sight of him, and of the Indians whom he carried with him, who were regarded with as much astonishment as if they had been natives of another planet. It was about the middle of April that he arrived at Barcelona, and the beauty and serenity of the weather, in that genial season and favored climate, contributed to give splendor to the memorable ceremony of his re- ception. As he drew near the place, many of the youth- s 114 THE LIFE OF COLUMBUS. ful courtiers and cavaliers, followed by a vast concourse of the populace, came forth to meet him. His entrance into this noble city has been compared to one of those triumphs which the Romans were accustomed to decree to conquerors. First were paraded the six Indians, painted according to their savage fashion, and decorated with their ornaments of gold. After these were borne various kinds of live parrots, together with stuffed birds and ani- mals of unknown species, and rare plants supposed to be of precious qualities ; while especial care was taken to display the Indian coronets, bracelets, and other decora- tions of gold, which might give an idea of the wealth of the newly discovered regions. After this followed Columbus, on horseback, surrounded by a brilliant cavalcade of Span- ish chivalry. The streets were almost impassable from the multitude ; the houses, even to the very roofs, were crowded with spectators. It seemed as if the public eye could not be sated with gazing at these trophies of an unknown world, or on the remarkable man by whom it had been discovered. There was a sublimity in this event that mingled a solemn feeling with the public joy. It was considered a signal dispensation of Providence in reward for the piety of the sovereigns ; and the majestic and venerable appearance of the discoverer, so different from the youth and buoyancy that generally accompany roving enterprise, seemed in harmony with the grandeur and dignity of the achievement. To receive him with suitable distinction the sovereigns had ordered their throne to be placed in public, under a rich canopy of brocade of gold, where they awaited his arrival, seated in state, with Prince Juan beside them, and surrounded by their principal nobility. Columbus ar- rived in their presence, accompanied by a brilliant crowd of cavaliers, among whom, we are told, he was conspicuous '-'' I \ k RECEPTION OV COLUMBUS AT HARCKI.ONA. RETURN KKOM KIRSI VOYAGE. From nil of J /•rhit. ii6 THE LIFE OF COLUMBUS. for his stately and commanding person, which, with his venerable gray hairs, gave him the august appearance of a senator of Rome. A modest smile lighted up his coun- tenance, showing that he enjoyed the state and glory in which he came ; and certainly nothing could be more deeply moving to a mind inflamed by noble ambition, and conscious of having nobly deserved, than these tes- timonials of the admiration and gratitude of a nation, or rather of a world. On his approach the sovereigns rose, as if receiving a person of the highest rank. Bend- ing on his knees, he would have kissed their hands in token of vassalage, but they raised him in the most gracious manner, and ordered him to scat himself in their presence — a rare honor in this proud and punc tilious court. He now gave an account of the most striking events of his voyage, and displayed the various productions and the native inhabitants which he had brought from the new world. He assured their majesties that all these were but harbingers of greater discoveries which he had yet to make, which would add realms of incalculable wealth to their dominions, and whole nations of proselytes to the true faith. When Columbus had finished, the king and queen sank on their knees, raised their hands to heaven, and, with eyes filled with tears of joy and gratitude, poured forth thanks and praises to God. All present followed their example ; a deep and solemn enthusiasm pervaded that splendid assembly and prevented all common acclama- tions of triumph. The anthem of Tc Dcum hnidaimis, chanted by the choir of the royal chapel, with the melo- dious accompaniments of instruments, rose up from the midst in a full body of harmony, bearing up, as it were, the feelings and thoughts of the auditors to heaven. MARK'S OF ROYAL FAVOR. 1 17 Such was the solemn and pious manner in whicli the briUiant court of Spain celebrated this sublime event ; offerinij up a grateful tribute of melody and praise, and giving glory to God for the discovery of another world. While the mind of Columbus was excited by this tri- umph and teeming with splendid anticipations, his pious scheme for the deliverance of the Holy Sepulchre was not forgotten. Flushed with the idea of the vast wealth that must accrue to himself from his discoveries, he made a vow to furnish, within -seven years, an army of four thousand horse and fifty thousand foot, for a crusade to the Holy Land, and a similar force within the five follow- ing years. It is essential to a full knowledge of the char- acter and motives of this extraordinary man, that this vis- ionary project should be borne in recollection. It shows how much his mind was elevated above selfish and mer- cenary views, and filled with those devout and heroic schemes which, in the time of the crusades, had inflamed the thoughts and directed the enterprises of the bravest warriors and most illustrious princes. During his sojourn at Barcelona the sovereigns took every occasion to bestow on Columbus the highest marks of personal consideration. He was admitted at all times to the ro\-al presence; appeared occasionally with the king on horseback, riding on one side of him, while Prince Juan rode on the other side ; and the queen de- lighted to converse familiarly with him on the subject of his voyage. To perpetuate in his family the glor)- of his achievement a coat of arms was given him, in which he was allowed to quarter the royal arms, the castle and lion, with those more particularl)' assigned him, which were a group of islands surrounded by u aves ; to these arms was afterwards annexed the motto : ii8 THE LIFE OF COLUMBUS. A CASTILLA Y A LEON NUEVO MUNDO DIO COLON. (To Castile and Leon Columbus gave a new world.) The pension of thirty crowns, which had been decreed by the sovereigns to whomsoever should first discover ;^^. ' (^^1 fX^ u , '^,>^^'"X -^(IljJ'^^4^ \ I COLUMBUS AND THE EGG. Frotn De Bry's " Voyages.'''' land, was adjudged to Columbus, for having first seen the light on the shore. It is said that the seaman who first descried the land was so incensed at being disap- pointed of what he deemed his merited reward, that he renounced his country and his faith, and, crossing into Africa, turned Mussulman ; an anecdote, however, which rests on rather questionable authority. The favor shown Columbus by the sovereigns in- COLUMBUS AND J' I IE EGG. I IQ surcd him for a time the caresses of the nobiUt)' ; for, in a court, every one is eager to lavish attentions upon tlie man " whom the king dcHghtcth to honor." At one of the banquets which were given him occurred the well- known circumstance of the egg. A shallow courtier present, impatient of the honors paid to Columbus, and meanly jealous of him as a foreigner, abruptly asked him whether he thought that, in case he had not discov- ered the Indies, there would have been wanting men in Spain capable of the enterprise. To this Columbus made no direct reply, but, taking an egg, invited the company to make it stand upon one end. Every one attempted it, but in vain ; whereupon he struck it upon the table, broke one end, and left it standing on the broken part ; illustrating, in this simple manner, that when he had once siioun the way to the New World nothing was easier than to follow it. The joy occasioned by this great discovery was not confined to Spain ; the whole civilized world was filled with wonder and delight. Every one rejoiced in it as an event in which he was more or less interested, and which opened a new and unbounded field for inquiry and enter- prise. Men of learning and science shed tears of joy, and those of ardent imaginations indulged in the most extravagant and delightful dreams. Notwithstanding all this triumph, however, no one had an idea of the real importance of the discovery. The opinion of Columbus was universally adopted, that Cuba was the end of the Asiatic continent, and that the adjacent islands were in the Indian Seas. They were called, therefore, the West Indies, and as the region thus discovered appeared to be of vast and indefinite extent, and existing in a state of nature, it received the comprehensive appellation of "the New World." I20 THE LIFE OF COLUMBUS. CHAPTER XVI. PAPAL BULL OF PARTITION. — PREPARATIONS FOR A SECOND VOYAGE OF DISCOVERY. [1493.] In the midst of their rejoicings the Spanish sovereigns lost no time in taking every measure to secure their new acquisitions. During the crusades a doctrine had been established among the Christian princes, according to which the pope, from his supreme authority over all temporal things, as Christ's vicar on earth, was consid- ered as empowered to dispose of all heathen lands to such Christian potentates as would undertake to reduce them to the dominion of the Ciiurch, and to introduce into them the light of religion. Alexander the Sixth, a native of Valencia, and born a subject to the crown of Arragon, had recently been ele- vated to the papal chair. He was a pontiff whom some historians have stigmatized with every vice and crime that could disgrace humanity, but whom all have represented as eminently able and politic. Ferdinand was well aware of his worldly and perfidious character, and en- deavored to manage him accordingly. He dispatched ambassadors to him, announcing the new discovery as an extraordinary triumph of the faith, and avast acquisition of empire to the Church. He took care to state that it did not in the least interfere with the possessions ceded by the Holy Chair to Portugal, all which had been sedu- lously avoided ; he supplicated his Holiness, therefore, to issue a bull, granting to the crown of Castile dominion over all those lands, and such others as might be discov- ered in those parts, artfully intimating, at the same time, FITTIXG OUT A SECOA'D EX F EDITION. 121 his determination to maintain possession of them, how- ever his Holiness might decide. No difficulty was made in granting what was considered but a reasonable and modest request, though it is probable that the acquies- cence of the worldly-minded pontiff was quickened by the insinuation of the politic monarch. A bull was accordingly issued, dated May 2, 1493, in- vesting the Spanish sovereigns with similar rights, privi- leges, and indulgences, in respect to the newly discovered regions, to those granted to the Portuguese with respect to their African discoveries, and under the same con- dition of propagating the Catholic faith. To prevent any conflicting claims, however, between the tw(^ powers, the famous line of demarcation was established. This was an ideal line drawn from the north to the south pole, a lumdred leagues west of the Azores and the Cape dc Verde Islands. Ail land discovered by the Spanish navi- gators to the west of this line was to belong to the crown of Castile ; all land discovered in the contrary direction was to belong to Portugal. It seems never to have occurred to the pontiff that, by pushing their opposite discoveries, they might some day or other come again in collision, and renew the question of territorial right at the antipodes. In the meantime the utmost exertions were made to fit out the second expedition of Columbus. To insure regularity and dispatch in the affairs relative to the New World, they were placed under the superintendence of Juan Rodriguez de Fonseca, Archdeacon of Seville, who successively was promoted to the sees of Badajoz, Pa- lencia, and Burgos, and finally ai-)pointed Patriarch of the Indies. P'rancisco Pinclo was associated with him as treasurer, and Juan de Soria as contador. or comptroller. Their office was fixed at Seville, and was the germ of 122 THE LIFE OF COLUMBUS. the Royal India house, which afterwards rose to such great power and importance. No one was permitted to embark for the newly discovered lands without express license from either the sovereigns, Columbus, or Fonseca. The ignorance of the age as to enlarged principles of commerce, and the example of the Portuguese in respect to their African possessions, have been cited in excuse for the narrow and jealous spirit here manifested ; but it always, more or less, influenced the policy of Spain in her colonial regulations. Another instance of the despotic sway exercised by the crown over commerce is manifested in a royal order, em- powering Columbus and Fonseca to freight or purchase any vessels in the ports of Andalusia, or to take them by force, if refused, even though freighted by other persons, paying what they should conceive a reasonable compen- sation, and compelling their captains and crews to serve in the expedition. Equally arbitrary powers were given with respect to arms, ammunition, and naval stores. As the conversion of the heathen was professed to be the grand object of these discoveries, twelve ecclesiastics were chosen to accompany the expedition, at the head of whom was Bernardo Buyl, or Boyle, a Benedictine monk, native of Catalonia, a man of talent and reputed sanctity, but a subtle politician, of intriguing spirit. He was ap- pointed by the pope his apostolical vicar for the New World. These monks were charged by Isabella with the spiritual instruction of the Indians, and provided by her with all things necessary for the dignified performance of the rites and ceremonies of the Church. The queen had taken a warm and compassionate interest in the wel- fare of the natives, looking upon them as committed by Heaven to her peculiar care. She gave general orders that they should be treated with the utmost kindness, and STRATAGEM OF JOHN THE SECOND. I 23 enjoined Columbus to inflict signal punishment on all Spaniards who should wrong them. The six Indians brought by the Admiral to Barcelona were baptized with great state and solemnit)-, the king, the queen, and Prince Juan officiating as sponsors, and were considered as an ofl'ering tt) Heaven of the first fruits of these pagan nations. The preparations for the expedition were quickened by the proceedings of the court of Portugal. John the Sec- ond, unfortunately for himself, had among his counsellors certain politicians of that short-sighted class who mistake craft for wisdom. By adopting their perfidious policy he had lost the New World when it was an object of honorable enterprise; in compliance with their advice, he now sought to retrieve it by subtle stratagem. A large armament was fitting out, the avowed object of which was an expedition to Africa, but its real destination to seize upon the newly discovered countries. To lull sus- picion, he sent ambassadors to the Spanish court to con- gratulate the sovereigns on the success of Columbus, and to amuse them with negotiations respecting their discov- eries. Ferdinand had received early intelligence of the naval preparations of Portugal, and perfectly understood the real purpose of this mission. A keen diplomatic game ensued between the sovereigns, wherein the parties were playing for a newly discovered world. Questions and propositions were multiplied and entangled ; the object of each being merely to gain time to dispatch his expedition. Ferdinand was successful, and completely foiled his adversary; for though John the Second was able and intelligent, and had crafty counsellors to advise him, yet. whenever deep and subtle policy was requiretl, Fer- dinand was master of the game. It may be as well to mention, in this place, that the 124 THE LIFE OF COLUMBUS. dispute between the two powers, on the subject of their discoveries, was finally settled on June 4, 1494, by re- moving the imaginary line of partition three hundred and seventy leagues west of the Cape de Verde Islands, an arrangement which ultimately gave to Portugal the possession of the Brazils. By the indefatigable exertions of Columbus, aided by Fonseca and Soria, a fleet of seventeen sail, large and small, were soon in a state of forwardness ; laborers and artificers of all kinds were engaged for the projected col- ony ; and an ample supply was provided of whatever was necessary for its subsistence and defence, for the cultiva- tion of the soil, the working of the mines, and the traflfic with the natives. The extraordinary excitement which prevailed respect- ing this expedition, and the magnificent ideas which were entertained concerning the New World, drew volunteers of all kinds to Seville. It was a romantic and stirring age, and the Moorish wars being over, the bold and rest- less spirits of the nation were in want of suitable employ- ment. Many hidalgos of high rank, oflficers of the royal household and Andalusian cavaliers, pressed into the expedition, some in the royal service, others at their own cost, fancying they were about to enter upon a glorious career of arms, in the splendid countries and among the semi-barbarous nations of the East. No one had any definite idea of the object or nature of the service in which he was embarked, or the situation and character of the region to which he was bound. Indeed, during this fever of the imagination, had sober facts and cold realities been presented, they would have been rejected with dis- dain, for there is nothing of which the public is more impatient than of being disturbed in the indulgence of any of its golden dreams. DON ALONZO DE OJEDA. 1 25 Among the noted personages who engaged in the ex- pedition was a young cavaHer of a good family, named Don yMoiizo de Ojeda, who deserves particular mention. He was small, but well proportioned and muscular, of a dark but handsome and animated countenance, and pos- sessed of incredible strength and agility. He was expert at all kinds of weapons, accomplished in all manly and warlike exercises, an admirable horseman, and a partisan soldier of the highest order. Bold of heart, free of spirit, open of hand ; fierce in fight, quick in brawl, but ready to forgive and prone to forget an injury ; he was for a long time the idol of the rash and roving youth who engaged in the early expeditions to the New World, and distinguished himself by many perilous enterprises and singular exploits. The very first notice we have of him is a harebrained feat which he performed in the presence of Queen Isabella, in the Giralda or Moorish tower of the cathedral of Seville. A great beam projected about twenty feet from the tower at an immense height from the ground ; along this beam Ojeda walked briskly, with as much confidence as if pacing his chamber. When arrived at the end, he stood on one leg. with the other elevated in the air, then turning nimbly, walked back to the tower, placed one foot against it and threw an orange to the summit ; which could only have been done by one possessed of immense muscular strength. Throughout all this exploit the least giddiness, or false step, would have precipitated him to the earth and dashed him to pieces. During the fitting out of the armament, various dis- putes occurred between Columbus and the persons ap- pointed by the Crown to assist him. Juan de Soria, the comptroller, demurred occasionally to the expenses, which exceeded the amount originally calculated, and he 126 THE LIFE OF COLUMBUS. sometimes refused to sign the accounts of the Admiral. The Archdeacon Fonseca, also, disputed the requisitions of Columbus for footmen and domestics suitable to his state as viceroy. They both received reprimands from the sovereigns, and were commanded to study in every- thing the wishes of Columbus. From this trifling cause we may date the rise of an implacable hostility, ever after manifested by Fonseca towards Columbus, which every year increased in rancor, and which his official station enabled him to gratify in the most invidious manner. Enjoying the unmerited favor of the sovereigns, he main- tained a control of Indian affairs for about thirty years. He must undoubtedly have possessed talents for business, to insure such perpetuity of office ; but he was malignant and vindictive, and in the gratification of his private re- sentments often obstructed the national enterprises, and heaped wrongs and sorrows on the heads of the most illustrious of the early discoverers. CHAPTER XVII. DEPARTURE OF COLUMBUS ON HIS SECOND VOYAGE OF DISCOVERY. — ARRIVAL AT HISPANIOLA. [1493.] The departure of Columbus on his second voyage of discovery presented a brilliant contrast to his gloomy embarkation at Palos. On the 25th of September, at the dawn of day, the Bay of Cadiz was whitened by his fleet. There were three large ships of heavy burden, and fourteen caravels. The number of persons permitted to embark had originally been limited to one thousand, but many volunteers were allowed to enlist without pay. IN siGirr OF THE axtillks. i-7 others i^ot on board of tlicsliips by stcaltli, so tluit event- ually about fifteen hundred set sail in the fleet. IW\ were full of animation, and took a t^ay leave of their friends, anticipating a prosperous voyage and triumphant return. Instead of being regarded by the [)opulace as devoted men, bound u[)on a dark and desperate enterprise, they were contcmplatetl with ^x\vy as favored mortals, destined to golden regions and delightful climes, where nothing but wealth and wonder and enjoyment awaited them. Columbus moved among the throng, accompanied by his sons, Diego and Fernando, the eldest but a stripling, who had come to witness his departure. Wherever he passed, every e)-e followed him with admiration, and every tongue extolled and blessed him. Before sunrise the whole fleet was under way ; the weather was serene and propitious, and as the populace watched their parting sails brightening in the morning beams, they looked for- ward to their joyful return, laden with the treasures of the New World. Columbus touched at the Canary Islands, where he took in wood and water, and procured live stock, plants, and seeds, to be propagated in Hispaniola. On the 13th of October he lost sight of the island of Ferro, and, favored by the trade winds, was borne pleasantly along, shaping his course to the southwest, hoping to fall in with the islands of the Caribs, of which he had received such interesting accounts in his first voyage. At the dawn of day of the 2d of November a lofty island was descried to the west, to which he gave the name of Dominica, from having discovered it on Sunday. As the ships moved gently onward other islands rose to sight, one after another, covered with forests, and enlivened by flights of parrots and otlier tropical birds, while the whole air was sweetened by the fragrance of the breezes which 128 THE LIFE OF COLUMBUS. passed over them. These were a part of that beautiful cluster of islands called the Antilles, which sweep almost in a semicircle from the eastern end of Porto Rico to the coast of Paria, on the southern continent, forming a kind of barrier between the main ocean and the Caribbean Sea. In one of those islands, to which they gave the name of Guadaloupe, the Spaniards first met with the delicious anana, or pineapple. They found also, to their surprise, the sternpost of a European vessel, which caused much speculation, but which, most probably, was the fragment of some wreck, borne across the Atlantic by the constant current which accompanies the trade winds. What most struck their attention, however, and filled them with horror, was the sight of human limbs hanging in the houses, as if curing for provisions, and others broiling or roasting at the fire. Columbus now concluded that he had arrived at the islands of the cannibals, or Caribs, the objects of his search, and he was confirmed in this belief by several captives taken by his men. These Caribs were the most ferocious people of these seas, making roving expeditions in their canoes to the distance of one hundred and fifty leagues; invading the islands, ravaging the villages, making slaves of the youngest and hand- somest females, and carrying off the men to be killed and eaten. While at this island a party of eight men, headed by Diego Marque, captain of one of the caravels, strayed into the woods, and did not return at night to the ships. The Admiral was extremely uneasy at their absence, fear- ing some evil from the ferocious disposition of the island- ers ; on the following day parties were sent in quest of them, each with a trumpeter, to sound calls and signals, and guns were fired from the ships, but all to no purpose. 0^ a: Q < D -1* u ^ I30 THE LIFE OF COLUMBUS. The parties returned in the evening, wearied by a fruit- less search, with many dismal stories of the traces of cannibalism they had met with. Alonzo de Ojeda, the daring young cavalier who has already been mentioned, then set off with forty men into the interior of the island, beating up the forests, and making the mountains and valleys resound with trumpets and firearms, but with no better success. Their search was rendered excessively toilsome by the closeness and luxuriance of the forests, and by the windings and doub- lings of the streams, which were so frequent that Ojeda declared he had waded through twenty-six rivers within the distance of six leagues. He gave the most enthusias- tic accounts of the country. The forests, he said, were filled with aromatic trees and shrubs, which he had no doubt would be found to produce precious gums and spices. Several days elapsed without tidings of the stragglers, and Columbus, giving them up for lost, was on the point of sailing, when they made their way back to the fleet, haggard and exhausted. For several days they had been bewildered in the mazes of a forest so dense as almost to exclude the day. Some of them had climbed trees in hopes of getting a sight of the stars, by which to govern their course, but the height of the branches shut out all view of the heavens. They were almost reduced to despair, when they fortunately arrived at the seashore, and keeping along it, came to where the fleet was at anchor. After leaving Guadaloupe Columbus touched at other of the Caribbean Islands. At one of them, which he named Santa Cruz, a ship's boat, sent on shore for water, had an encounter with a canoe, in which were a few Indians, two of whom were females. The women fought jit ENCOUNTER WITH NATIVES. I3I as desperately as the men, and plied their bows with such vit^or, that one of them sent an arrow through a Spanish buckler, and wounded the soldier who bore it. The canoe being run down and overset, they continued to fight while in the water, gathering themselves occa- sionally on sunken rocks, and managing their weapons as dexterously as if they had been on firm ground. It was with the utmost difificulty they could be overpowered and taken. When brought on board the ships, the Spaniards could not but admire their untamed spirit and fierce de- meanor. One of the females, from the reverence with which the rest treated her, appeared to be their queen ; she was accompanied by h^ son. a young man strongly made, with a haughty and frowning brow, who had been wounded in the combat. One of the Indians had been transpierced by a lance, and died of the wound ; and one of the Spaniards died a day or two afterwards, of a wound received from a poisoned arrow. Pursuing his voyage, Columbus passed by a cluster of small islands, to which he gave the name of The Eleven Thousand Virgins, and arrived one evening in sight of a great island, covered with fine forests, and indented with havens. It was called by the natives Boriquen, but he named it San Juan Bautista ; it is the same since known by the name of Porto Rico. After running for a whole day along its beautiful coast, and touching at a bay at the west end, lie arrived, on the 22d of Novem- ber, off the eastern extremity of Hayti, or Ilispaniola. The greatest animation prevailed throughout the armada at the thoughts of soon arriving at the end of their vo}-- age, while those who had accompanied Columbus in the preceding expedition looked forward to meeting with the comrades they had left behind, and to a renewal of pleas- ant scenes among the groves of Hayti. Passing by the d -^ 2 - [id .J^ o ^ z "- < s H ^ FEARS FOR LA NAVIDAD. 133 gulf of Las Flcchcs, where the skirmish had occurred with the natives, Columbus set on shore one of the young Indians who had been taken from the neighborhood, and had accompanied him to Spain. He dismissed him finely appareled and loaded with trinkets, anticipating favorable effects from the accounts he would be able to give to his countrymen of the power and munificence of the Span- iards, but he never heard anything of him more. Only one Indian of those who had been to Spain remained in the fleet, a young Lucayan, native of the island of Guanahani, who had been baptized at Barcelona, and named after the Admiral's brother, Diego Colon ; he con- tinued always faithful and devoted to the Spaniards. Continuing along the coast, Columbus paused in the neighborhood of Monte Christi, to fix upon a place for a settlement, in the neighborhood of a stream said to abound in gold, to which, in his first voyage, he had given the name of Rio del Oro. Here, as the seamen were ranging the shore, they found the bodies of three men and a boy, one of whom had a rope of Spanish grass about his neck, and another, from having a beard, was evidently a European. The bodies were in a state of decay, but bore the marks of violence. This spectacle gave rise to many gloomy forebodings, and Columbus hastened forward to La Navidad, full of apprehensions that some disaster had befallen Diego de Arana and his companions. 134 THE LIFE OF COLUMBUS. CHAPTER XVIII. FATE OF THE FORTRESS OF LA NAVIDAD. — TRANSAC- TIONS AT THE HARBOR. [1493.] On the evening of the 27th of November Columbus anchored opposite to the harbor of La Navidad, about a league from the land. As it was too dark to distinguish objects, he ordered two signal guns to be fired. The report echoed along the shore, but there was no gun, or light, or friendly shout in reply. Several hours passed away in the most dismal suspense; about midnight, a number of Indians came off in a canoe and inquired for the Admiral, refusing to come on board until they should see him personally. Columbus showed himself at the side of his vessel, and a light being held up, his counte- nance and commanding person were not to be mistaken. The Indians now entered the ship without hesitation. One of them was a cousin of the cacique Guacanagari, and the bearer of a present from him. The first inquiry of Columbus was concerning the garrison. He was in- formed that several of the Spaniards had died of sick- ness, others had fallen in a quarrel among themselves, and others had removed to a different part of the island ; that Guacanagari jiad been assailed by Caonabo, the fierce cacique of the golden mountains of Cibao, who had wounded him in combat and burnt his village, and that he remained, ill of his wound, in a neighboring hamlet. Melancholy as were these tidings, they relieved Colum- bus from the painful suspicion of treachery on the part of the cacique and people in whom he had confided, and gave him hopes of finding some of the scattered gar- FATE OF LA N AVID AD. 135 rison still alive. The Indians were well entertained, and gratified with presents ; on departing they promised to return in the morning with Guacanagari. The morning, however, dawned and passed away, and the day declined without the promised visit from the chieftain. There was a silence and an air of desertion about the whole neigh- borhood. Not a canoe appeared in the harbor, not an Indian hailed them from the land, nor was there any KINDINC RUINS OK LA NAVniAD. Based on old />rints. smoke to be seen rising from among the groves. Towards tlie evening a boat was sent on shore to reconnoitre. The crew hastened to the place where the fortress had been erected. They found it burnt and demolished ; the pali- sadoes beaten down, and the ground strewed with broken chests, spoiled provisions, and the fragments of European garments. Not an Indian ai^proached them, and if they caught a sight of any lurking among the trees, the\' van- ished on finding themselves perceived. Meeting no one 136 THE LIFE OF COLUMBUS. from whom they could obtain information concerning this melancholy scene, they returned to the ships with de- jected hearts. Columbus, himself, landed on the following morning, and repairing to the ruins of the fortress, caused diligent search to be made for the dead bodies of the garrison. Cannon and arquebuses were discharged, to summon any survivors that might be in the neighborhood, but none made their appearance. Columbus had ordered Arana and his fellow officers, in case of sudden danger, to bury all the treasure they might pos- sess, or throw it in the well of the fortress. The well was there- fore searched, and excavations were made among the ruins, but no gold was to be found. Not far from the fortress, the bodies of eleven Europeans were found buried in different places, and they appeared to have been for some time in the ground. In ARQUEBUSIER. From De B?y^s ^^I'oya^es. the houses of a neighboring ham- let were found several European articles which could not have been procured by barter. This gave suspicions that the fortress had been plundered by the Indians in the vicinity; while, on the other hand, the village of Guacanagari was a mere heap of burnt ruins, which showed that he and his people had been involved in the same disaster with the garrison. Columbus was for some time perplexed by these contradictory docu- ments of a disastrous story. At length a communication FACTIONS IN THE FORTRESS. 137 was effected with some of the natives; their evident apprehensions were dispelled, and by the aid of tlie interpreter the fate of the i^arrison was more minutely ascertained. It appeared that Columbus had scarcely set sail for Spain when all his counsels and commands faded from the minds of those who remained behind. Instead of cultivating the good-will of the natives, they endeavored, by all kinds of wrongful means, to get possession of their golden ornaments and other articles of value, and seduced from them their wives and daughters. Fierce brawls occurred between themselves about their ill-gotten spoils, or the favors of the Indian women. In vain did Diego de Arana interpose his authority ; all order, all subordi- nation, all unanimity, were at an end ; factions broke out among them, and at length ambition arose to complete the destruction of this mimic empire. Pedro Gutierrez, and Rodrigo de Escobedo, whom Columbus had left as lieutenants, to succeed Arana in case of accident, now as- pired to an equal share in the authority. In the quarrels which succeeded a Spaniard was killed, and Gutierrez and Escobedo, having failed in their object, withdrew from the fortress, with nine of their adherents, and a number of women, and set off for the mountains of Ci- bao, with the idea of procuring immense wealth from its golden mines. These mountains were in the territories of the famous Caonabo, called by the Spaniards the Lord of the Golden House. He was a Carib by birth, and had come an adventurer to the island, but possessing the fierceness and enterprise of his nation, had gained such an ascendency over these simple and unwarlike people as to make himself their most powerful cacique. The wonderful accounts of the white men had reached him among his mountains, and he had the shrewdness to per- 138 THE LIFE OF COLUMBUS. ceive that his own consequence must decline before such formidable intruders. The departure of Columbus had given him hopes that their intrusion would be but tem- porary ; the discords of those who remained increased his confidence. No sooner, therefore, did Gutierrez and Escobedo, with their companions, appear in his domin- ions than he seized them and put them to death. He then assembled his subjects, and traversing the forests with profound secrecy, arrived in the vicinity of La Na- vidad without being discovered. But ten men remained in the fortress with Arana ; the rest were living in careless security in the village. In the dead of the night Cao- nabo and his warriors burst upon the place with frightful yells, and set fire to the fortress and village. The Span- iards were completely taken by surprise. Eight were driven to the seaside, and rushing into the waves, were drowned ; the rest were massacred. Guacanagari and his subjects fought faithfully in defence of their guests, but, not being of a warlike character, they were easily routed. The cacique was wounded in the conflict, and his village burnt to the ground. Such is the story of the first European establishment in the New World. It presents in a diminutive compass an epitome of the gross vices which degrade civilization, and the grand political errors which sometimes subvert the mightiest empires. All law and order were relaxed by licentiousness ; public good was sacrificed to private interest and passion ; the community was convulsed by divers factions, until the whole body politic was shaken asunder by two aspiring demagogues, ambitious of the command of a petty fortress in a wilderness, and the supreme control of eight and thirty men ! This account of the catastrophe of the fortress satisfied Columbus of the good faith of Guacanagari ; but circum- ENTERTAIXS A CACIQUE. 139 stances concurred to keep alive the suspicions enter- tained of him by the Spaniards. Columbus [)aiil a visit to the chieftain, whom he found in a nei^^hborint^ village, sufferini^ apparently from a bruise which he had received in the leg, from a stone. Several of his subjects, also, exhibited recent wounds, which had evidently been made by Indian weapons. The cacique was greatly agi- tated at seeing Columbus, and deplored with tears the misfortunes of the garrison. At the request of the Ad- miral, his leg was examined by a Spanish surgeon, but no sign of a wound was to be seen, though he shrunk with pain whenever the leg was touched. As some time iiail elapsed since the battle, the external bruise might have disappeared, while a tenderness might remain in the part. Many of the Spaniards, however, who had not wit- nessed the generous conduct of the cacique in the first voyage, looked upon his lameness as feigned, and the whole story of the battle a fabrication, to conceal his perfidy. Columbus persisted in believing him innocent, and invited him on board of his ships, where the cacique was greatly astonished at the wonders of art and nature brought from the Old World. What most amazed him was the horses. He had never seen any but the most diminutive quadrupeds, and gazed with aue at the grandeur of these noble animals, their great strength, ter- rific appearance, yet perfect docility. The sight of the Carib prisoners also increased his idea of the prowess of the Spaniards, having the hardihood to invade these terrible beings, even in their strongholds, while he could scarcely look upon them without shuddering, though in chains. On board the ship were several Indian women who had been captives to the Caribs. Among them was one distinguished above her companions by a certain loftiness HO THE LIFE OF COLUMBUS. of demeanor ; she had been much noticed and admired by the Spaniards, who had given her the name of Cata- h'na. She particularly attracted the attention of the cacique, who is represented to have been of an amorous complexion. He spoke to ' her repeatedly, with great gentleness of tone and manner, pity in all probability being mingled with his admiration, for, though rescued from the hands of the Caribs, she and her companions were still, in a manner, captives on board of the ship. A collation was served up for the entertainment of Guacanagari, and Columbus endeavored by kindness and hospitality to revive their former cordial intercourse, but it was all in vain ; the cacique was evidently distrust- ful and ill at ease. The suspicions of his ^ guilt gained ground among the Spaniards. Father Boyle, in partic- ular, regarded him with an evil eye, and advised Colum- bus, now that he had him securely on board of his ship, to detain him prisoner; but Columbus rejected the counsel of the crafty friar, as contrary to sound policy and honorable faith. The cacique, however, accustomed in his former intercourse with the Spaniards to meet on every side with faces beaming with gratitude and friend- ship, could not but perceive the altered looks of cold suspicion and secret hostility ; notwithstanding the frank and cordial hospitality of the admiral, therefore, he soon took leave and returned to land. On the following day there was a mysterious movement and agitation among the natives on shore. The brother of Guacanagari cam.e on board, under pretext of barter- ing a quantity of gold, but, as it afterwards proved, to bear a message to Catalina, the Indian female, whose beauty had captivated the heart of the cacique, and whom, with a kind of native gallantry, he wished to deliver from bondage. M/SFOK TUNES OF THE SPANIARDS. I4I At midni<;ht, when tlic crew were buried in their first sleep, Catalina awakened her fennale companions, antl proposed a bold attempt to gain their liberty. The ship was anchored full three miles from the shore, and the sea was rough ; but these island women were accustomed to buffet with the waves, and the water was to them al- most as their natural element. Letting themselves down silently from the side of the vessel, they trusted to the strength of their arms, and swam bravely for the shore. They were overheard by the watch, the alarm was given, the boats were manned and gave chase in the direction of a light blazing on the shore, an evident beacon for the fugitives. Such was the vigor of these sea nymphs, how- ever, that they reached the land before they were over- taken. Four were captured on the beach, but the heroic Catalina, with the rest of her companions, escaped in safe- ty to the forest. Guacanagari disappeared on the same day with all his household and effects, and it was supposed had taken refuge, with his island beauty, in the interior. His desertion gave redoubled force to the doubts here- tofore entertained, and he was generally stigmatized as the perfidious destroyer of the garrison. CHAPTER XIX. FOUNDING OF THE CITY OF ISABELLA.— DISCONTENTS OF THE PEOPLE. [1493.] The misfortunes which had befallen the Spaniards, both by sea and land, in the vicinity of this harbor, threw a gloom over the place, and it was considered by the superstitious mariners as under some baneful influence, 142 THE LIFE OF COLUMBUS. or malignant star. The situation, too, was low, moist, and unhealthy, and there was no stone in the neighbor- hood for building. Columbus searched, therefore, for a more favorable place for his projected colony, and fixed upon a harbor about ten leagues east of Monte Christi, protected on one side by a natural rampart of rocks, and on the other by an impervious forest, with a fine plain in the vicinity, watered by two rivers. A great inducement, also, for settling here, was, that it was at no great dis- tance from the mountains of Cibao, where the gold mines were situated. The troops and the various persons to be employed in the colony were immediately disembarked, together with the stores, arms, ammunition, and all the cattle and live stock. An encampment was formed on the margin of the plain, round a sheet of water, and the plan of a town traced out, and the houses commenced. The public edi- fices, such as a church, a storehouse, and a residence for the Admiral, were constructed of stone, the rest of wood, plaster, reeds, and such other materials as could be readily procured. Thus was founded the first Chris- tian city of the New World, to which Columbus gave the name of Isabella, in honor of his royal patroness. For a time every one exerted himself with zeal; but maladies soon began to make their appearance. Many had suffered from sea-sickness, and the long confinement on board of the ships ; others, from the exposures on the land, before houses could be built for their reception, and from the exhalations of a hot and moist climate, dense natural forests, and a new, rank soil, so trying to con- stitutions accustomed to a dry climate, and open, culti- vated country. The important and hurried labors of building the city and cultivating the earth bore hard upon the Spaniards, many of whom were unaccustomed to THt liUILDING OK A CITY, OK KOKT ISAIilCI.I.A. From Columbus's /hit Utter. 144 THE LIFE OF COLUMBUS. labor, and needed repose and relaxation. The maladies of the mind also mingled with those of the body. Many, as has been shown, had embarked in the enterprise with the most visionary and romantic expectations. What, then, was their surprise at finding themselves surrounded by impracticable forests, doomed to toil painfully for mere subsistence, and to attain every comfort by the severest exertion ! As to gold, which they had expected to find readily and in abundance, it was to be procured only in small quantities, and by patient and persevering labor. All these disappointments sank deep into their hearts, their spirits flagged as their golden dreams melted away, and the gloom of despondency aided the ravages of dis- ease. Columbus himself was overcome by the fatigues, anxieties, and exposures he had suffered, and for several weeks was confined to his bed by severe illness ; but his energetic mind rose superior to the maladies of the body, and he continued to give directions about the building of the city, and the general concerns of the expedition. The greater part of the ships were ready to return to Spain, but he had no treasure to send with them. The destruction of the garrison had defeated all his hopes of finding a quantity of gold amassed and ready to be sent to the sovereigns. It was necessary for him to do some- thing, however, before the vessels sailed, to keep up the reputation of his discoveries, and justify his own magnifi- cent representations. The region of the mine lay at a distance of but three or four days' journey, directly in the interior; the very name of the cacique, Caonabo, signify- ing "the lord of the golden house," seemed to indicate the wealth of his dominions. Columbus determined, therefore, to send an expedition to explore them. If the result should answer to the accounts given by the Indians, he would be able to send home the fleet with GOLD HUNTING. 145 confidence, bearing tidings of the discovery of the golden mountains of Cibao. The person chosen for this enterprise was Alonzo dc Ojeda, who delighted in all service of an adventurous nature. lie set out from the harbor early in January, 1494, accompanied by a small number of well-armed men, several of them young and spirited cavaliers like himself. They crossed the first range of mountains by a narrow and w inding Indian path, and descended into a vast plain, covered with noble forests, and studded with villages and hamlets. The inhabitants overwhelmed them with hospitality, and delayed them in their journey by their kindness. They had to ford many rivers, also, so that they were six days in reaching the chain of moun- tains which locked up, as it were, the golden region of Cibao. Here they saw ample signs of natural wealth. The sands of the mountain streams glittered with parti- cles of gold ; in some places they picked up large speci- mens of virgin ore, and stones streaked and richly impregnated with it. Ojeda, himself, found a mass of rude gokl in one c>f the brooks, weighing nine ounces. The little band returned to the harbor, \\ ith enthusiastic accounts of the golden promise of these mountains. A young cavalier, named Gorvalan, who had been sent to explore a different tract of countr\', returned with similar reports. Encouraged by these good tidings, Columbus lost no time in dispatching twelve of the ships, under the commanil of Antonio de Torres, retaining only five for the service of the colony. By these ships he sent home specimens of the gold found among the mountains of Cibao, and of all fruits antl plants of unknown and valuable species, together with the Carib captives, I0 be instructed in the Spanish language and the Christian faith, that they might serve as interpreters, and aid in the 10 146 THE LIFE OF COLUMBUS. conversion of their countrymen. He wrote, also, a san- guine account of the two expeditions into the interior, and expressed a confident expectation, as soon as the health of himself and his people would permit, of pro- curing and making abundant shipments of gold, spices, and valuable drugs. He extolled the fertility of the soil, evinced in the luxuriant growth of the sugar cane, and of various European grains and vegetables ; but entreated supplies of provisions for the immediate wants of the colony, as their stores were nearly exhausted, and they could not accustom themselves to the diet of the natives. Among many sound and salutary suggestions in this letter there was one of a pernicious tendency. In his anxiety to lighten the expenses of the colony, and pro- cure revenue to the Crown, he recommended that the natives of the Caribbean Islands, being cannibals, and ferocious invaders of their peaceful neighbors, should be captured and sold as slaves, or exchanged with merchants for live stock and other necessary supplies. He observed that, by transmitting these infidels to Europe, where they would have the benefits of Christian instruction, there would be so many souls snatched from perdition, and so many converts gained to the faith. Such is the strange sophistry by which upright men may deceive themselves, and think they are obeying the dictates of their con- science, when, in fact, they are but listening to the incitements of their interest. It is but just to add that the sovereigns did not accord with him in bis ideas, but ordered that the Caribs should be treated like the rest of the islanders ; a command which emanated from the merciful heart of Isabella, who ever showed herself the benign protectress of the Indians. When the fleet arrived in Europe, though it brought no gold, yet the tidings from Columbus and his com- SF.D/T/O.y AAfOA'C 77/ F. CO/.OA'ISTS. 1 47 panions kept up the popular excitement. The sordid calcuhitions of petty spirits were as yet overruled by the enthusiasm of generous minds. There was something wonderfully grand in the idea of introducing new races of animals ami [)lants. of building cities, extending col- onics, and sowing the seeds of civilization and of en- lightened empire in this beautiful but savage world. It struck the minds of learned and classical men with ad- miration, filling them with pleasant dreams and reveries, and seeming to realize the poetical pictures of the olden time ; of Saturn, Ceres, and Triptolcmus, travelling about the earth to spread new inventions among mankind, and of the colonizing enterprises of the Phcnicians. But while such sanguine anticipations were indulged in Europe, murmuring and sedition began to prevail among the colonists. Disappointed in their hopes of wealth, disgusted with the labors imposed upon them, and appalled by the prevalent maladies, they looked with horror upon the surrounding wilderness, and became impatient to return to Spain. Their discontents were increased by one Firmin Cado, a wrong-headed and cap- tious man, who had come out as assaycr and purifier of metals, but whose ignorance in his art equaled his ob- stinacy of opinion. He pertinaciously insisted that there was scarcely any gold in the island, and that all the speci- mens brought by the natives had been accumulated in the course of several generations, and been handed down from father to son in their families. At length a conspiracy was formed, headed b\' Bcrnal Diaz de Pisa, the comptroller, to take advantage of the illness of Columbus, to seize upon the ships remaining in the harbor, and to return to Spain ; where they thought it would be easy to justify their conduct by accusing Co- lumbus of gross deceptions and exaggerations concern- 148 THE LIFE OF COl.UA/BUS. ing the countries he had discovered. Fortunately, Co- lumbus received information in time, and arrested the ringleaders of the conspiracy. Bernal Diaz was confined on board of one of the ships, to be sent to Spain for trial; and several of the inferior mutineers were pun- ished, but not with the severity their ofTence deserved. This was the first time Columbus exercised the right of punishing delinquents in his new government, and it im- mediately caused a great clamor against him. Already the disadvantage of being a foreigner was clearly mani- fested. He had no natural friends to rally round him ; whereas the mutineers had connections in Spain, friends in the colony, and met with sympathy in every discon- tented mind. CHAPTER XX. EXPEDITION OF COLUMBUS INTO THE INTERIOR OF HISPANIOLA. [1494.] As the surest means of quieting the murmurs and rousing the spirits of his people, Columbus, as soon as his health permitted, made preparations for an expedi- tion to the mountains of Cibao, to explore the country, and establish a post in the vicinity of the mines. Placing his brother Diego in command at Isabella, during his ab- sence, and taking with him every person in health that could be spared from the settlement, and all the cavalry, he departed, on the 12th of March, at the head of four hundred men, armed with helmets and corselets, with arquebuses, lances, swords, and crossbows, and followed by laborers and miners, and a multitude of the neigh- DErARTCRl: FOR THE .V0UX7.1IXS OF C//!AO. 149 boring Indians. After traversing a plain and fording two rivers, they encamped in tlie evening at the foot of a wild and rocky pass of the mountains. The ascent of this defile presented formidable difficul- ties \.o the little army, which was encumbered with vari- ous munitions and willi mining implements. There was nothing but an Indian footpath, winding among rocks and precipices, and the entangled vegetation of a tropical forest. A number of high-spirited young cavaliers, there- fore, threw themselves in the advance, and aiding the laborers and pioneers, and stimulating them with prom- ises of liberal reward, they soon constructed the first road formed by Europeans in the New World, which, in com- memoration of their generous zeal, was called El Puerto dc los Hidalgos, or the Pass of the Hidalgos. (^n the following day the army toiled up this steep defile, and arrived where the gorge of the mountain opened into the interior. Here a glorious prospect burst upon their view. Below lay a vast and delicious plain, enameled with all the rich variety of tropical vegetation. The magnificent forests presented that mingled beauty and majesty of vegetable forms peculiar to these gener- ous climates. Palms of prodigious height and spread- ing mahogany trees towered from amid a wilderness of variegated foliage. Universal freshness and verdure were maintained by numerous streams which meandered gleam- ing througli the deep bosom of tlic woodland, while various villages and hamlets seen among the trees, ami the smoke of others rising out of the forests, gave signs of a numerous population. The luxuriant landscape ex- tended as far as the eye could reach, until it appeared to melt away and mingle with the horizon. The S[)aniar(.ls gazed with rajiture upon this soft, voluptuous country, which seemed to realize their ideas of a terrestrial para- ISO THE LIFE OE COLUMBUS. dise, and Columbus, struck with its vast extent, gave it the name of Vega Real, or Royal Plain. Having descended the rugged pass, the army issued upon the plain in military array, with great clangor of warlike instruments. When the Indians beheld this band of warriors, glittering in steel, emerging from the moun- tains with prancing steeds and floating banners, and heard, for the first time, their rocks and forests echoing to the din of drum and trumpet, they were bewildered with astonishment. The horses especially excited their terror and admiration. They at first supposed the rider and his steed to be one animal, and nothing could exceed their surprise on seeing the horsemen dismount. On the approach of the army the Indians generally fled with terror, but their fears were soon dispelled ; they then absolutely retarded the march of the army by their kind- ness and hospitality, nor did they appear to have any idea of receiving a recompense for the provisions they fur- nished in abundance. The untutored savage, in almost every part of the world, scorns to make a traffic of hos- pitality. For two or three days they continued their march across this noble plain, where every scene presented the luxuriance of wild, uncivilized nature. They crossed two large rivers : one, called the Yagui by the natives, was named by the Admiral the River of Reeds; to the other he gave the name of Rio Verde, or Green River, from the verdure and freshness of its banks. At length they arrived at a chain of lofty and rugged mountains which formed a kind of barrier to the vega, and amidst which lay the golden region of Cibao. On entering this vaunted country the whole character of the scenery changed, as if nature delighted in contrarieties, and dis- played a miser-like poverty of exterior when teeming SEARCH FOR GOLD. I5I with hitklcn treasures. Instead of tlie soft, luxuriant landscape of the vcga, nothing was to be seen but chains of rocky and sterile mountains, scantily clothed with pines. The very name of the country bespoke the nat- ure of the soil, Cibao, in the language of the natives, signif}'ing a stone. But what consoled the Spaniards for the asperity of the soil was to observe particles of gold among the sands of the streams, which they regarded as earnests of the wealth locked up in the mountains. Choosing a situation in a neighborhood that seemed to abound in mines, Columbus began to build a fortress, to which he gave the name of St. Thomas, intended as a pleasant, though pious, reproof of Firmin Cado and his doubting adherents, who had refused to believe that the island contained gold until they should behold it with their eyes and touch it with their hands. While the Admiral remained superintending the build- ing of the fortress he dispatched a young cavalier of Madrid, named Juan de Luxan, with a small band of armed men to explore the province. Luxan returned after a few days, with the most satisfactory accounts. He found many parts of Cibao more capable of cultiva- tion than those that had been seen by the Admiral. The forests appeared to abound with spices; the trees were overrun with vines bearing clusters of grapes of pleasant flavor; while every valley and glen had its stream, yield- ing more or less gold, and showing the universal preva- lence of that precious metal. The natives of the surrounding country likewise flocked to the fortress of St. Thomas, bringing gold to exchange for European trinkets. One old man brought two pieces of virgin ore weighing an ounce, and thought himself richly repaid on receiving a hawk's bell. Ow remarking the admiration of the Admir.U at the size of these speci- 152 THE LIFE OF COLUMBUS. mens, he assured him that in his country, which lay at half a day's distance, pieces were found as big as an orange. Others spoke of masses of ore as large as the head of a child, to be met with in their neighborhood. As usual, however, these golden tracts were always in some remote valley, or along some rugged and seques- tered stream ; and the wealthiest spot was sure to lie at the greatest distance — for the land of promise is ever beyond the mountain. CHAPTER XXI. CUSTOMS AND CHARACTERISTICS OF THE NATIVES. The fortress of St. Thomas being nearly completed, Columbus left it in command of Pedro Margarite, a native of Catalonia, and knight of the order of Santiago, with a garrison of fifty-six men, and set out on his return to Isabella. He paused for a time in the vega to establish routes between the fortress and the harbor; during which time he sojourned in the villages, that his men might become accustomed to the food of the natives, and that a mutual good-will might grow up between them. Columbus had already discovered the error of one of his opinions concerning these islanders, formed during his first voyage. They were not so entirely pacific, nor so ignorant of warlike arts, as he had imagined. The casual descents of the Caribs had compelled the inhab- itants of the seacoast to acquaint themselves with the use of arms; and Caonabo had introduced something of his own warlike spirit into the centre of the island. -1 y. < o is 05 ^ 154 THE LIFE OF COLUMBUS. Yet, generally speaking, the habits of the people were mild and gentle. Their religious creed was of a vague yet simple nature. They believed in one Supreme Being, who inhabited the sky, who was immortal, omnipotent, and invisible, to whom they ascribed an origin, having had a mother, but no father. They never addressed their worship directly to him, but to inferior deities, called zemes, a kind of messengers or mediators. Each cacique, each family, and each individual had a particu- lar zemi as a tutelary or protecting genius ; whose image, generally of a hideous form, was placed about their houses, carved on their furniture, and sometimes bound to their foreheads when they went to battle. They believed their zemes to be transferable, with all their beneficial powers ; they, therefore, often stole them from each other, and when the Spaniards arrived, hid them away, lest they should be taken by the strangers. They believed that these zemes presided over every object in nature. Some had sway over the elements, causing sterile or abundant years, sending whirlwinds and tempests of rain and thunder, or sweet and temperate breezes and prolific showers. Some governed the seas and forests, the springs and fountains, like the nereids, the dryads, and satyrs of antiquity. They gave success in hunting and fishing ; they guided the mountain streams into safe channels, leading them to meander peacefully through the plains ; or, if incensed, they caused them to burst forth into floods and torrents, inundating and laying waste the valleys. The Indians were well acquainted with the medicinal properties of trees and vegetables. Their butios, or priests, acted as physicians, curing diseases with simples, but making use of many mysterious rites ; chanting and burning a light in the chamber of the patient, and pre- FESTIVALS OF THE NATIVES. •55 tending to exorcise the malady, and to send it to the sea or to tlic mountain. They practiced also many decep- tions, making the idols to speak with oracular voice, to enforce the orders of the caciques. Once a year, each cacique held a festival in honor of his zcmi, when his subjects formed a procession to the ^/VV^-.^y,/ , - '^<4*^ CACIQUE ANIJ ATTENDANTS. Kcdra'wn from Montani's '"America. temple, the married men and women decorated with their most precious ornaments ; the young females en- tirel}' naked, carrying baskets of cakes, ornamented with flowers, and singing as they advanced, while the cacique beat time on an Indian drum. After the cakes had been offered to the zcmi they were broken and distributed among the people, to be preserved in their houses as 156 THE LIFE OF COLUMBUS. charms against all adverse accidents. The young females then danced to the cadence of songs in praise of their deities, and of the heroic actions of their ancient ca- ciques; and the whole ceremony concluded by a grand invocation to the zemi to watch over and protect the nation. The natives believed that their island of Hayti was the earliest part of creation, and that the sun and moon issued out of one of its caverns to give light to the uni- verse. This cavern still exists near Cape Francois, and the hole in the roof may still be seen from whence the Indians believed the sun and moon had sallied forth to take their places in the sky. It was consecrated as a kind of temple ; two idols were placed in it, and the walls were decorated with green branches. In times of great drought the natives made pilgrimages and proces- sions to it, with songs and dances, and offerings of fruit and flowers. They ascribed to another cavern the origin of the hu- man race, believing that the large men issued forth from a great aperture, but the little men from a little cranny. For a long time they dared venture from the cavern only in the night, for the sight of the sun was fatal to them, producing wonderful transformations. One of their number, having lingered on a river's bank, where he was fishing, until the sun had risen, was turned into a bird of melodious note, which yearly, about the time of his transformation, is heard singing plaintively in the night, bewailing, his misfortune. This is the same bird which Columbus mistook for a nightingale. When the human race at length emerged from the cave, they for some time wandered about disconsolately without females, until, coming near a small lake, they beheld certain animals among the branches of the trees ■JRAD/I JONS OF Till: NATIVES. 1 57 wliich proved to be women. On attempting to catch them, however, they were found to be as slippery as eels, so that it v/as impossible to hold them, until tliey employed certain men whose hands had been rendered rough by a kind of leprosy. These succeeded in secur- ing four of them ; and from these slippery females the world was peopled. Like most savage nations, they had a tradition con- cerning the deluge, equally fanciful with the preceding. They said that there once lived in llie island a mighty cacique, whose only son conspiring against him, he slew him. He afterwards preserved his bones in a gourd, as was the custom of the natives with the remains of their friends. On a subsequent day, the cacique ami his wife opened the gourd to contemplate the bones of their son, when, to their surprise, several fish leaped out. Upon this the discreet cacique closed the gourd and placed it on the top of his hut, boasting that he had the sea shut up within it, and could have fish whenever he pleased. Four brothers, however, children of the same birth, and curious intermeddlcrs, hearing of this gourd, came dur- ing the absence of the cacitjue to peep into it. In their carelessness they sufferetl it to fall upon the ground, where it was dashed to pieces ; when, lo ! to their aston- ishment and dismay, there issued forth a mighty flood, with dolphins and sharks, and tumbling porpoises, and great spouting whales; and the water spread until it over- flowed the earth, and formed the ocean, leaving only the tops of the mountains uncovered, which are the present islands. They had singular modes of treating the d>'ing and the dead. When the life of a cacique was despaired of, they strangled him, out of a principle of respect, rather than suffer liim to die like the vulgar. Common people, 158 THE LIFE OF COLUMBUS. in like situation, were extended in their hammocks, bread and water placed beside them, and they were then abandoned to die in solitude. Sometimes they were car- ried to the cacique, and if he permitted them the distinc- tion, they were strangled. The body of the deceased was sometimes consumed with fire in his habitation ; some- times the bones were retained, or the head, or a limb, and treasured up among the family relics. After the death of a cacique, his body was opened, dried at a fire, and preserved. They had confused notions of the existence of the soul when separated from the body, and believed in appari- tions of the deceased. They had an idea that the spirits of good men after death were reunited to the spirits of those they had most loved, and to those of their ances- tors ; they were transported to a happy region, generally supposed to be near a lake, in the beautiful province of Xaragua, in the western part of the island. Here they lived in shady and blooming bowers, with lovely females, and banqueted on delicious fruits. The dances to which the natives were so addicted were not mere idle pastimes, but were often ceremonials of a religious and mystic nature. In these were typified their historical events and their projected enterprises, whether of war or hunting. They were performed to the chant of certain metres and ballads handed down from genera- tion to generation ; some of a sacred character, contain- ing their notions of theology and their religious fables ; others heroic and historic, rehearsing the deeds of their ancestors. These rhymes they called areytos, and sang them to the accompaniment of rude timbrels, made from the shells of certain fishes, or to the sound of a drum made from a hollow tree. The natives appeared to the Spaniards to be an idle -i 5^ > •:: — ^ ^ 3 l6o THE LIFE OF COLUMBUS. and improvident race, and indilTcrcnt to most of the ob- jects of human anxiety and toil. They were impatient of all kinds of labor, scarcely giving themselves the trouble to cultivate the yuca root, the maize, and the sweet potato, which formed their main articles of food. They loitered away existence under the shade of their trees, or amusing themselves occasionally with their games and dances. In fact, they were destitute of all powerful motives to toil, being free from most of those wants which doom mankind, in civilized life, and in less genial climes, to incessant labor. In the soft region of the vega the circling seasons brought each its store of fruits, and while some were gathered in full maturity, others were ripening on the boughs, and buds and blossoms gave promise of still succeeding abundance. What need was there of garnering up and anxiously providing for com- ing days, to men who lived amid a perpetual harvest ? What need, too, of toilfully spinning or laboring at the loom, where a genial temperature prevailed throughout the year, and neither nature nor custom prescribed the necessity of clothing? The hospitality which characterizes men in such a simple and easy mode of existence was evinced towards Columbus and his followers during their sojourn in the vega. Wherever they went, it was a continual scene of festivity and rejoicing, and the natives hastened from all parts to lay the treasures of their groves and streams and mountains at the feet of beings whom they still con- sidered as descended from the skies, to bring blessings to their island. As we accompany Columbus, in imagination, on his re- turn to the harbor, over the rocky height from whence the vega first broke upon the eye of the Spaniards, we S/CA'Xf:SS OF TIfE COI.OXISTS. I'') I cannot help pausing; to cast back a look of minified [lity and admiration over this beautiful but devoted region. Tile dream of natural liberty aiul iy;norant content was as yet unbroken, but the fiat had gone forth ; the white man had penetrated into the land ; avarice and pride and ambition, and sordid care and pining labor, were soon to follow, and the indolent paradise of the Indian was about to disappear forever. CHAPTER XXII. SICKNESS AND DISCONTKNT AT IIIK SKl-ll.KM KNT OF ISABELLA. — PREPARATIONS OF COLUMBUS FOR A VOYAGE TO CUBA. [1494.] Columbus had scarcely returned to the harbor, when a messenger arrived from Pedro Margarite, the com- mander at P'ort St. Thomas, informing him that the Indians of the vicinity had abandoned their villages and broken off all intercourse, and that he understood Cao- nabo was assembling his warriors to attack the fortress. P'rom what the Admiral had seen of the Indians in the interior, and the awe in which they stood of the white men ami their horses, he felt little apprehensions from their hostilit)', and contented himself with sending a re- inforcement of twenty men to the fortress, and detaching thirty more to open the road between it and the jKirt. What gave him most anxiety was the distress which continued to increase in the settlement. The heat and humidity of the climate, which gave wonderful fecundity to the soil, and rapid growth to all European vegetables, were fatal to the people. The exhalations from un- 1 1 l62 THE LIFE OF COLUMBUS. drained marshes, and a vast continuity of forest, and the action of the sun upon a recking vegetable soil, produced intermittent fevers, and those other violent maladies so trying to European constitutions in the uncultivated countries of the tropics. The greater part of the colo- nists were either confined by illness, or reduced to great debility. The stock of medicines was exhausted ; Euro- pean provisions began to fail, much having been spoiled and much wasted. To avert an absolute famine, it was necessary to put the people upon allowance; this imme- diately caused loud murmurs, in which many in office, who ought to have supported Columbus in his measures for the common safety, took a leading part. Among the number was Friar Boyle, who was irritated at himself and his household being put on the same allowance with the rest of the community. It was necessary, also, to construct a mill immediately, to grind the corn, as all the flour was exhausted. Most of the workmen, however, were ill, and Columbus was obliged to put every healthy person in requisition, not even excepting cavaliers and gentlemen of rank. As many of the latter refused to comply, he enforced their obedience by compulsory measures. This was another cause of the deep and lasting hostilities that sprang up against him. He was inveighed against, both by the cavaliers in the colony and their families in Spain, as an upstart foreigner, inflated with sudden authority, and who, in pursuit of his own profit and aggrandizement, trampled upon the dignity of Spanish gentlemen, and insulted the honor of the nation. The fate, in truth, of many of the young cavaliers who had come out in this expedition, deluded by romantic dreams, was lamentable in the extreme. Some of them, of noble and opulent connections, had been brought up rREPARIXC 10 EXPLORE CUBA. 1 63 in case and indulgence, and were little calculated to endure the hardships and privations of a new settlement in the wilderness. When they fell ill, their case soon became incurable. They suffered under the irritation of wounded pride, and the morbid melanchol}' of disap- pointed hope ; their sick-bed was destitute of the tender care and soothing attention to which they had been accustomed, and they sank into the grave in all the sul- lenness of despair, cursing the day that they had left their country. So strong an effect had the untimely and dreary death of these cavaliers upon the public mind, that, many years afterward, when the settlement of Isabella was abandoned and had fallen to ruins, its deserted streets were said to be haunted by their spectres, walking about in ancient Spanish dresses, saluting the wayfarer in stately and mournful silence, and vanishing on being accosted. Their melancholy story was insidiously made use of by the enemies of the Admiral, for it was said that they had been seduced from their homes by his delusive promises, and sacrificed by him to his private interests. Columbus was desirous of departing on a voyage to explore the coast of Cuba, but it was indispensable, before sailing, to place the affairs of the island in such a state as to insure tranquillity. For this purpose he de- termined to send all the men that could be spared from the concerns of the city, or the care of the sick, into the interior, where they could be subsisted among the natives, and become accustomed to their diet, while their force would overawe the machinations of Caonabo, or any other hostile cacique. A little army was accordingly mustered of two hundred and fifty crossbow-men, one hundred and ten arquebusiers, sixteen horsemen, and twenty officers. These were to be commanded by Pedro 164 THE LIFE OF COLUMBUS. Margarite, while Ojeda was to succeed him in the com- mand of Fort St. Thomas, Columbus wrote a long and earnest letter of instruc- tions to Margarite, desiring him to make a military tour, and to explore the principal parts of the island ; but enjoining on him the strictest discipline of his army, and the most vigilant care to protect the rights of the Indians, and cultivate their friendship. Ojeda set off at the head of the little army for the fortress ; on his way he learnt that three Spaniards had been robbed of their effects by five Indians, at the ford of one of the rivers of the vega, and that the delinquents had been sheltered by their cacique, who had shared their booty. Ojeda was a quick and impetuous soldier, whose ideas were all of a military kind. He seized one of the thieves, ordered his ears to be cut off in the public square of the village, and sent the cacique, with his son and nephew, in chains to the admiral, who, after terrifying them with preparation for a public execution, pretended to yield to the tears and entreaties of their friends, and set them at liberty. Having thus distributed his forces about the island, and taken measures for its tranquillity, Columbus formed a junta for its government, of which his brother Don Diego was president, and Father Boyle, Pedro Fernan- dez Coronal, Alonzo Sanchez Caravajal, and Juan de Laxan, were counsellors. Leaving in the harbor two of his largest ships, which drew too much water to explore unknown coasts and rivers, he set sail on the 24th of April, with the " Nina " or " Santa Clara," the " San Juan," and the " Cordcra." A'/:r/s/ys ccji.i. 165 CHAPTER XXIII. CUUrSK OF COLUMBUS ALONG THE SOUTHERN COAST OF CUliA. [1494.] The plan of tlic present expedition of Colun:ibus was to revisit Cuba at the point where he had abandoned it on his first voyage, and thence to explore it on the southern side. As has already been observed, he sup- posed it to be a continent, and the extreme end of Asia ; and if so, by following its shores in the proposed direc- tion, he trusted to arrive at Mangi and Cathay, and other rich and commercial, though semi-barbarous countries, forming part of the territories of the Grand Khan, as described by Mandevillc and Marco Polo. Having arrived, on the 29th of April, at the eastern end of Cuba, to which in his preceding voyage he had given the name of Alpha and Omega, but which is now known as Cape Maysi, he sailed along the southern coast, touching once or twice in the harbors. The natives crowded to the shores, gazing with astonishment at the ships as they glided gently along at no great distance. They held up fruits and other provisions, to tempt the Spaniards to land, while others came off in canoes, offer- ing various refreshments, not in barter, but as free gifts. On inquiring of them for gold, they uniformly pointed to the south, intimating that a great island lay in that direc- tion, where it was to be found in abundance. On the 3d of Ma)', therefore, Columbus turned his prow direct!)' south, aiul, abandoning the coast of Cuba for a time, steered in cjuest of this reported island, lie had not sailed many leagues before tlie blue summits of Jamaica 1 66 THE LIFE OF COLUMBUS. began to rise above the horizon. It was two days and a night, however, before he reached it, filled with admira- tion, as he gradually drew near, at its vast extent, the beauty of its mountains, the majesty of its forests, and the great number of villages which animated the whole face of the country. He coasted the island from about the centre to a port at the western end, which he called the Gulf of Buen- tiempo. He found the natives more ingenious as well as more warlike than those of Cuba and Hayti. Their canoes were constructed with more art, and ornamented at the bow and stern with carving and painting. Many were of great size, though formed of the hollow trunks of single trees, often a species of the mahogany. Colum- bus measured one which proved to be ninety-six feet long and eight broad ; it was hollowed out of one of those magnificent trees which rise like verdant towers amidst the rich forests of the tropics. Every cacique possessed a large canoe of the kind, which he seemed to regard as his galley of state. The Spaniards at first were treated with hostility, and were compelled to skirmish with the natives, but a friendly intercourse succeeded. Columbus being disappointed in his hopes of finding gold in Jamaica, and the breeze being fair for Cuba, he determined to return thither. Just as he was about to sail, a young Indian came off to the ship, and begged that the Spaniards would take him with them to their country. He was followed by his relatives and friends, supplicating him to abandon his purpose. For some time he was distracted between concern for their distress, and an ardent desire to see the home of the wonderful strangers. Curiosity, and the youthful propensity to rove, at length prevailed ; he tore himself from the em- braces of his friends, and took refuge in a secret part of r..r < < o 1 68 THE LIFE OF COLUMBUS. the ship, from the tears and entreaties of his sisters. Touched by this scene of natural affection, and pleased with the confiding spirit of the youth, Columbus ordered that he should be treated with especial kindness. It would have been interesting to have known some- thing more of this curious savage, and of the, effect which the first sight of the land of the white men had upon his mind ; whether it equaled his hopes ; or whether, as is usual with savages, he pined, amidst the splendors of cities, for his native forests ; and whether he ever re- turned to the arms of his family. The Spanish voyagers, however, were indifferent to these matters ; no further mention is made in their narratives of this youthful ad- venturer. Having steered again for Cuba, Columbus, on the i8th of May, arrived at a great cape, to which he gave the name of Cabo de la Cruz, which it still retains. Coast- ing to the west, he soon got entangled in a complete labyrinth of small islands and keys ; some of them were low, naked, and sandy, others covered with verdure, and others tufted with lofty and beautiful forests. To this archipelago, which extended as far as the eye could reach, and, in a manner, enameled the face of the ocean with variegated verdure, he gave the name of the Queen's Garden. He persuaded himself that these were the islands mentioned by Sir John Mandeville and Marco Polo, as fringing the coast of Asia ; if so, he must soon arrive at the dominions of the Grand Khan. There was much in the character of the scenery to favor the idea. As the ships glided along the smooth and glassy channels which separated the islands, the mag- nificence of their vegetation, the soft odors wafted from flowers and blossoms and aromatic shrubs, the splendid plumage of scarlet cranes, flamingoes, and other tropical ALONG THE COAST OF CUBA. 1 69 birds, and the gaudy clouds of butterflies, all resembled what is described of oriental climes. Emerging from the labyrinth of the Queen's Garden, Columbus pursued his voyage with a jirosperous breeze along that part of the southern side of Cuba where, for nearly thirty-five leagues, the navigation is free from banks and islands; to his left was the broad and open sea, whose dark-blue color gave token of ample depth ; to his right extended a richly wooded country, called Ornofay, with noble mountains, frequent streams, and numerous villages. The appearance of the ships spread wonder and joy along the coast. The natives came off swimming or in canoes, to offer fruits and other presents. After the usual evening shower, when the breeze blew from the shore and brought off the sweetness of the land, it bore with it also the distant songs of the natives, and the sound of their rude music, as they were probably cele- brating, with their national chants and dances, the ar- rival of these wonderful strangers on their coasts. Animated by the delusions of his fancy, Columbus continued to follow up this supposed continent of Asia; plunging into another wilderness of keys and islets towards the western end of Cuba, and exploring that perplexed and lonels' coast, whose intricate channels are seldom visited, even at the present day, except by the lurking bark of the smuggler and the pirate. In this navigation he had to contend with almost in- credible difficulties and perils; his vessels having to be warped through narrow and shallow passages, where they frequently ran aground. He was encouraged to proceed by information which he received, or fancied he received, from the natives concerning a country farther on called Mangon, w here the people wore clothing, and which he supposed must be Mangi, the rich Asiatic province de- PRESTER JOHN. 17I scribed by Marco Polo. He also understood from tlicm that among the mountains to the west there was a power- ful king, who reigned in great state over many populous provinces; that he wore a white garment which swept the ground, that he was called a saint, and never spoke, but communicated his orders to his subjects by signs. In all this wc see the busy imagination of Columbus in- terpreting the imperfectly understood communications of the Indians into unison with his preconceived ideas. This fancied king with a saintly title was probably conjured up in his mind by some descriptions which he thought accorded with what he had read of that mysteri- ous potentate Prester John, who had long figured, some- times as a monarch, sometimes as a priest, in the nar- rations of all eastern travellers. His crews seem to have partaken of his delusion. One day, a party being sent on shore for wood and water, while they were employed in cutting wood and filling their water-casks, an archer strayed into the forest with his crossbow, in search of game, but soon returned flying in breathless terror. He declared tliat he had seen through an opening glade a man dressed in long white robes, followed by two others in white tunics reaching to their knees, and that they had complexions as fair as Europeans. Columbus was rejoiced at this intelligence, hoping that he had found the clothed inhabitants of Mangon. Two parties were dispatched, well armed, in quest of these people in white ; the first returned unsuccessful ; the other brought word of having tracked the footjjrints of some large animal with claws, supposed by them to have been either a lion or a griffin, but which most probably was an alligator. Dismayed at the sight, they hastened back to the seaside. As no tribe of Indians wearing clothing was ever discovered in Cuba, it is probable the 1/2 THE LIFE OF COLUMBL'S. men in white were nothing else than a flock of cranes, seen by the wandering archer. These birds, Hke the fla- mingoes, feed in company, with one stationed at a dis- tance as a sentinel. When seen through an opening of the woodlands, standing in rows in a shallow glassy pool, their height and erectness give them, at first glance, the semblance of human figures. CHAPTER XXIV. RETURN VOYAGE. [1494.] Columbus now hoped, by continuing on, to arrive ultimately at the Aura Chersonesus of the ancients ; doubling which, he might make his way to the Red Sea, thence to Joppa, and so by the Mediterranean to Spain ; or might circumnavigate Africa, pass triumphantly by the Portuguese as they were groping along the coast of Guinea, and after having thus circumnavigated the globe, furl his adventurous sails at the Pillars of Hercu- les, the ne plus ultra of the ancient world. But though his fellow-voyagers shared his opinion that they were coasting the continent of Asia, they were far from shar- ing his enthusiasm, and shrunk from the increasing perils of the voyage. The ships were strained and crazed by fre- quently running aground. The cables and rigging were much worn, the provisions nearly exhausted, and the crews worn out and disheartened by incessant labor. The Admiral, therefore, was finally persuaded to aban- don all further prosecution of the voyage ; but, before he turned back, he obliged the whole of the officers and seamen to sign a deposition, declaring their perfect CUBA BELIEVED TO BE A COX 'J 1 2V EN 7'. 1/3 conviction that Cuba was a continent, the beginninj^ and the end of India. This singuhir instrument was signed near that deep bay called by some the Bay of Philipina, by others, of Cortes. At this very time a ship-boy from the masthead miglit have overlooked the group of islands to the south, and have beheld the open sea beyond. Had Columbus continued on for two or three days longer, he would have passed round the extremity of Cuba ; his illusion would have been dispelled, and an entirely dif- ferent course might have been given to his subsequent discoveries. Returning now towards the east, the crews suffered excessively from fatigue and a scarcity of provisions. At length, on the 7th of July, they anchored at the mouth of a fine river, in a genial and abundant country, which they had previously visited, as they had come down along the coast. Here the natives brought them pro- visions of various kinds. It was a custoin with Colum- bus to erect crosses in all remarkable places, to denote the discovery of the country, and its subjugation to the true faith. This was done on the banks of this river, on a Sunday morning, with great ceremony. Columbus was attended by the cacique, and by his principal favorite, a venerable Indian, fourscore years of age. While mass was performed in a stately grove, the natives looked on with awe and reverence. When it was ended, the old man of fourscore made a speech to Columbus in the Indian manner. " I am told," said he, " that thou hast lately come to these lands with a mighty force, and hast subdued many countries, spreading great fear among the l)cople ; but be not therefore vainglorious. Know that, according to our belief, the souls of men have two jour- neys to perform after they have departed from the body; one to a place dismal, foul, and covered with darkness. 174 THE LIFE OF COLUMBUS. prepared for such as have been unjust and cruel to their fellow-men ; the other full of delight, for such as have promoted peace on eartli. If, then, thou art mortal, and dost expect to die, beware that thou hurt no man wrong- fully, neither do harm to those who have done no harm to thee." ^■fi^|l/k> O. t•^: ■- 't* -V., 4/v* i/i-' At - ij -" "^~ ■'■' \' KILLING SEA WOLVES. Redraiun from De Bry. When this speech was explained to Columbus by his interpreter, he was greatly moved by the simple elo- quence of this untutored savage, and rejoiced to hear his doctrine of a future state of the soul, having sup- posed that no belief of the kind existed among the in- habitants of these countries. He assured the old man ALONG THE COAST 01- JAMAICA. 1/5 that he had been sent by his sovereigns to teach them tlie true religion, to protect them from harm, and to subdue their enemies the Caribs. Tlie venerable Indian was exceedingly astonished to learn that the Admiral, whom he had considered so great and powerful, was yet but a subject, and when he was told by the interpreter, who had been in Spain, of the grandeur of the Spanish monarchs, and of the wonders of their kingdom, a sudden desire seized him to embark witii the Admiral, and accompany him to see this wonderful country, and it was with difficulty the tears and remonstrances of his wife and children could dissuade him from his purpose. After leaving this river, to which, from the solemn mass performed on its banks, Columbus gave the name of Rio de la Misa, he continued on to Cape Cruz, and then stood over to Jamaica, to complete the circumnavi- gation of that island. Vox nearly a month he continued beating to the eastward along its southern coast, coming to anchor every evening uncier the land, and making but slow progress. Anchoring one evening in a great bay, he was visited by a cacique with a numerous train, who remained until a late hour conversing with the Lucayan interpreter who had been in Spain, about the Spaniards and their country, and their prowess in vanquishing the Caribs. On the following morning, when the ships were under way, they beheld three canoes issuing from among the islands of the bay. The centre one was large, and handsomely carved and painted. In it were seated the cacique and his family, consisting of two daughters, young and beautiful, two sons, and five brothers. They were all arrayed in their jewels, and attended by the officers of the chieftain, decorated with plumes, and man- tles of variegated feathers. The standard-bearer stood 1/6 THE LIFE OF COLUMBUS. in the prow with a fluttering white banner, while other Indians, fancifully painted, beat upon tabors, or sounded trumpets of fine black wood ingeniously carved. The cacique, entering on board of the ship, distributed pres- ents among the crew, and approaching the Admiral, " I have heard," said he, " of the irresistible power of thy sovereigns, and of the many nations thou hast subdued in their name. Thou hast destroyed the dwellings of the Caribs, slaying their warriors, and carrying their wives and children into captivity. All the islands are in dread of thee, for who can withstand thee, now that thou knowest the secrets of the land, and the weakness of the people? Rather, therefore, than thou shouldst take away my dominions, I will embark with all my house- hold in thy ships, and will go to render homage to thy king and queen, and behold thy country, of which I hear such wonders." When this speech was interpreted to Columbus, and he beheld the wife, the sons, and daughters of the cacique, and considered to what ills they would be ex- posed, he was touched with compassion, and determined not to take them from their native land. He received the cacique under his protection, as a vassal of his sover- eigns, but informed him that he had many lands yet to visit before he should return to his owi\ country. He dismissed him, therefore, for the present, promising that at some future time he would gratify his wishes. On the 19th of August Columbus lost sight of the eastern extremity of Jamaica, and on the following day made that long peninsula of Hayti, since called Cape Tiburon, but to which he gave the name of San Miguel. He coasted the whole of the southern side of the island, and had to take refuge in the channel of Saona from a violent storm which raged for several days, during which ILLNESS OF COLUMBUS. 1/7 time he suffered great anxiety for the fate of the other vessels, which remained at sea, exposed to the fury of the tempest. Being rejoined by them, and the weather having moderated, he set sail eastward with the intention of completing the discovery of the Caribbee Islands, but his physical strength did not correspond to the efforts of his spirit. The extraordinary fatigues which he had suf- fered both in mind and body, during this harassing voy- age, which had lasted for five months, had secretly preyed upon his health. He had shared in all the hardships and privations of the common seamen, and he had cares and trials from which they were exempt. When the sailor, worn out with the labors of his watch, slept soundly, in spite of the howling of the storms, the anxious com- mander maintained his painful vigil, through long, sleep- less nights, amidst the pelting of the tempest and the drenching surges of the sea, for the safety of the ships depended upon his watchfulness. During a great part of the voyage he had been excited by the hope of soon arriving at the known parts of India ; he was afterwards stimulated, by a conflict with hardships and perils, as he made his way back against contrary winds and currents. The moment he was relieved from all solicitude, and found himself in a tranquil sea, which he had already ex- plored, the excitement suddenly ceased, and mind and body sunk exhausted by almost superhuman exertions. He fell into a deep lethargy, resembling death itself. His crew feared that death was realh' at hand. They abandoned, therefore, all farther prosecution of the voy- age, and spreading their sails to a favorable breeze from the east, bore Columbus back, in a state of complete in- sensibility, to the harbor of Isabella. 178 THE LIFE OF COLUMBUS. CHAPTER XXV. EVENTS IN THE ISLAND OF HISPANIOLA. — INSURREC- TIONS OF THE NATIVES. — EXPEDITION OF OJEDA AGAINST CAONABO. [1494.] A JOYFUL and heartfelt surprise awaited Columbus on his arrival, in finding at his bedside his brother Bartholo- mew, the companion of his youth, his zealous coadjutor, and, in a manner, his second self, from whom he had been separated for several years. It will be recollected that about the time of the Admiral's departure for Portu- gal he commissioned Bartholomew to repair to England, and offer his project of discovery to Henry the Seventh. Various circumstances occurred to delay this application. There is reason to believe that, in the interim, he accom- panied Bartholomew Diaz in that celebrated voyage in the course of which the Cape of Good Hope was discov- ered. On his way to England, also, Bartholomew Colum- bus was captured by a corsair, and reduced to extreme poverty. It is but justice to the memory of Henry the Seventh to say that when, after a lapse of several years, the proposition was eventually made to him, it met with a more prompt attention than it had received from any other sovereign. An agreement was actually made with Bartholomew for the prosecution of the enterprise, and the latter departed for Spain in search of his brother. On reaching Paris he received intelligence that the dis- covery was already made, and that his brother was actually at the Spanish court enjoying his triumph, and preparing to sail on a second expedition. He hastened to rejoin him, and was furnished by the French monarch, COLUMBUS REJOINED BY HIS BJWJllER. 1/9 Charles the Eightli, with a hundred crowns to defray the expenses of the journey. He reached Seville just as his brother had sailed ; but being an accomplished navigator, the sovereigns gave him the command of three ships, freighted with supplies for the colony, and sent him to aid his brother in h.is enterprises. He again arrived too late, reaching the settlement of Isabella just after the de- parture of the Admiral for the coast of Cuba. The sight of this brother was an inexpressible relief to Columbus, disabled as he was by sickness, overwhelmed w ith cares, and surrounded by strangers. His chief de- pendence had hitherto been upon his brother Don Diego ; but the latter was of a mild and peaceable dispo- sition, with an inclination for a clerical life, and was but little fittetl to manage the affairs of a factious colony. Bartholomew was of a different and more efificient char- acter. He was prompt, active, decided, and of a fearless spirit; whatever he determined he carried into instant execution, without regard to difficulty or danger. His person corresponded to his mind; it was tall, muscular, vigorous, and commanding. He had an air of great authority, but somewhat stern, wanting that sweetness and benignit)' which tempered the authoritative de- meanor of the Admiral. Indeed, there was a certain as- perity in his temper and a dryness and abruptness in his manners which made him many enemies; yet, notwith- standing these external defects, he was of a generous disposition, free from arrogance or malevolence, and as placable as he was brave. He was a thorough seaman, both in theory and prac- tice, having been formed, in a great measure, under the eye of the Admiral, to whom he was but little inferior in science. He was acquainted with Latin, but does not appear to have been highly educated, his knowledge, l8o THE LIFE OF COLUMBUS. like that of his brother, being chiefly derived from a long course of varied experience and attentive observation, aided by the studies of maturer years. Equally vigorous and penetrating in intellect with the Admiral, but less enthusiastic in spirit and soaring in imagination, and with less simplicity of heart, he surpassed him in the adroit management of business, was more attentive to pecuniary interests, and had more of that worldly wisdom which is so important in the ordinary concerns of life. His genius might never have excited him to the sublime speculation which led to the discovery of a world, but his practical sagacity was calculated to turn that discovery to more advantage. Anxious to relieve himself from the pressure of public business during his present malady, Columbus imme- diately invested his brother with the title and authority of Adelantado, an office equivalent to that of lieutenant- governor. He felt the importance of his assistance in the present critical state of the colony, for during the few months that he had been absent the whole island had become a scene of violence and discord. A brief retrospect is here necessary, to explain the cause of this confusion. Pedro Margarite, to whom Columbus on his departure had given orders to make a military tour of the island, set forth on his expedition with the greater part of the forces, leaving Alonzo de Ojeda in command of Fort St. Thomas. Instead, however, of proceeding on his tour, Margarite lingered among the populous and hospitable villages of the vega, where he and his soldiery, by their licentious and oppressive conduct, soon roused the in- dignation and hatred of the natives. Tidings of their excesses reached Don Diego Columbus, who, with the concurrence of the council, wrote to Margarite, repre- DESERTION OF MARGARITE AND FRIAR BOYLE. iSl bending his conduct, and ordering hiin to depart on his tour. Margarita replied in a hauglity and arrogant tone, pretending to consider himself independent in his com- mand, and above all responsibility to Don Diego or his council. He was supported i!i his tone of defiance by the kind of aristocratical party composed of the idle cavaliers of the colony, who had been deeply wounded in the pundonor, the proud punctilio so jealously guarded by a Spaniard, and affected to look down with contempt upon the newly coined nobility of Don Diego, and to consider Columbus and his brothers mere mercenary and upstart foreigners. In addition to these partisans Margarite had a powerful ally in his fellow-countryman, Friar Boyle, the apostolical vicar for the New World, an intriguing man, who had conceived a violent hostility against the Admi- ral, and had become disgusted with his mission to the wilderness. A cabal was soon formed of most of those who were disaffected to the Admiral, and discontented with their abode in the colony. Margarite and Friar Boyle acted as if possessed of paramount authority ; and, without consulting Don Diego or the council, took pos- session of certain ships in the harbor, and set sail for Spain, with their adherents. They were both favorites of the king, and deemed it would be an easy matter to justify their abandonment of their military and religious commands, by a pretended zeal for the public good, and a desire to represent to the sovereigns the disastrous state of the colony, and the tyranny and oppression of Columbus and his brothers. Thus the first general and apostle of the New World set the flagrant example of unauthorized abandonment of their posts. The departure of Margarite left the arm}- without a head ; the soldiers now roved about in bands, or singly, according to their caprice, indulging in all kinds of ex- 1 82 THE LIFE OF COLUMBUS. cesses. The natives, indignant at having their hospi- taHty thus requited, refused any longer to furnish them with food ; the Spaniards, therefore, seized upon provis- ions wlierever they could be found, committing, at the same time, many acts of wanton violence. At length the Indians were roused to resentment, and from confiding and hospitable hosts were converted into vindictive ene- mies. They slew the Spaniards wherever they could sur- prise them singly or in small parties; and Guatiguana, cacique of a large town on the Grand River, put to death ten soldiers who were quartered in his town, set fire to a house in which forty sick Spaniards were lodged, and even held a small fortress called Magdalena, recently built in the vega, in a state of siege, insomuch that the com- mander had to shut himself up within his walls, until relief should arrive from the settlement. The most formidable enemy of the Spaniards was Caonabo, the Carib cacique of the mountains. He had natural talents for war, great sagacity, a proud and dar- ing spirit to urge him on, three valiant brothers to assist him, and a numerous tribe at his command. He had been enraged at seeing the fortress of St. Thomas erected in the very centre of his dominions ; and finding by his spies that the garrison was reduced to but fifty men, and the army of Margarite dismembered, he thought the time had arrived to strike a signal blow, and to repeat the hor- rors which he. had wreaked upon La Navidad. The wily cacique, however, had a different kind of enemy to deal with in the commander of St. Thomas. Alonzo de Ojeda deserves particular notice as a specimen of the singular characters which arose among the Spanish discoverers. He had been schooled in Moorish warfare, and, of course, versed in all kinds of military stratagems. Naturally of a rash and fiery spirit, his courage was ATTACK UP ON OJEDA. 1 83 heightened by superstition. Having never received a wound in his numerous quarrels and encounters, he con- sidered himself under the special protection of the holy Virgin, and that no weapon had power to harm him. lie had a small Flemish painting of the Virgin, which he carried constantly witli him ; in his marches he bore it in his knapsack, and wouKl often take it out, fix it against a tree, and address his prayers to his military patroness. In a word, he swore by the Virgin ; he invoked the Vir- gin either in brawl or battle ; and under favor of the Virgin he was ready for any enterprise or adventure. Such was Alonzo dc Ojeda, bigoted in devotion, reckless in life, fearless in spirit, like man}' of the roving Spanish cavaliers of those days. Having reconnoitred the fortress of St. Thomas, Cao- nabo assembled ten thousand warriors, armed with war clubs, bows and arrows, and lances, hardened in the fire, and led them secretly through the forests, thinking to surprise Ojeda, but found him warily drawn up within his fortress, which was built upon a hill, and nearly sur- rounded by a river. Caonabo then held the fortress in siege for thirty days, and reduced it to great distress. He lost man)' of his bravest warriors, however, by the impetuous sallies of Ojeda ; others grew weary of the siege and returned home. He at length relinquished the attempt, and retired, filled with admiration of the prowess of Ojeda. The restless cliieftain now endeavored to form a league of the principal caciques of the island to unite their forces, surprise the settlement of Isabella, and massacre the Spaniards wherever they could be found. To explain this combination, it is necessary to state the internal dis- tribution of the island. It was divided into five domains, each governed by a sovereign cacique of absolute and 1S4 THE LIFE OF COLUMBUS. hereditary powers, having many inferior caciques tribu- tary to him. The most important domain comprised the middle part of the royal vega, and was governed by Guarionex. The second was Marion, under the sway of Guacanagari, on whose coast Columbus had been wrecked. The third was Maguana, which included the gold mines of Cibao, and was under the sway of Caonabo. The fourth was Xaragua, at the western end of the island, the most populous and extensive of all. The sovereign was named Behechio. The fifth domain was Higuey, and occupied the whole eastern part of the island, but had not as yet been visited by the Spaniards. The name of the cacique was Cotabanama. Three of these sovereign caciques readily entered into the league with Caonabo, for the profligate conduct of the Spaniards had inspired hostility even in remote parts of the island which had never been visited by them. The league, however, met with unexpected opposition from the fifth cacique, Guacanagari, He not merely refused to join the conspiracy, but entertained a hundred Span- iards in his territory, supplying all their wants with his accustomed generosity. This drew upon him the odium and hostility of his fellow caciques, who inflicted on him various injuries and indignities. Behechio killed one of his wives, and Caonabo carried another away captive. Nothing, however, could shake the devotion of Guacana- gari to the Spaniards ; and as his dominions lay imme- diately adjacent to the settlement, his refusal to join in the conspiracy prevented it from being immediately car- ried into effect. Such was the critical state to which the affairs of the island had been reduced, and such the bitter hostility en- gendered among its kind and gentle inhabitants, during the absence of Columbus. Immediately on his return, FRIENDLINESS OF GUACANAGARI. I.S5 and while he was yet confined to his bed, Guacanagari visited him, and revealed to him all the designs of the confederate caciques, offering to lead his subjects to the field, and to fight by the side of the Spaniards. C(jlum- bus had always retained a deep sense of the ancient kindness of Guacanagari, and was rejoiced to have all suspicion of his good faith thus effectually dispelled. Their former amicable intercourse was renewed, and the chieftain ever continued to evince an affectionate rev- erence for the Admiral. Columbus considered the confederacy of the caciques as but imperfectly formed, and trusted that, from their want of skill and experience in warfare, their plans might easily be disconcerted. He was too ill to take the field in person. His brother Diego was not of a military char- acter, and Bartholomew was yet a stranger among the Spaniards, and regarded with jealousy. He determined, therefore, to proceed against the Indians in detail, at- tacking some, conciliating others, and securing certain of the most formidable by stratagem. A small force was accordingly sent to relieve Fort Magdalena, which was beleaguered by Guatiguana, the cacique of the Grand River, who had massacred the Spaniards quartered in his town. He was driven from before the fortress, his countr)' laid waste, and many of his warriors slain, but the chieftain made his escape. As he was tributary to Guarionex, the sovereign of the royal vega, care was taken to explain to that powerful cacique that this was an act of mere individual punishment, not of general hostilit}'. Guarionex was of a quiet and placable disposition ; he was easily soothed and won to friend- ship ; and, to link him in some degree to the Spanish interest, Columbus prevailed on him to give his daughter in marriage to the converted Lucayan, who had been ^ H lA \- k-: !fl ^ < - o V) z ^ U5 Nj O PS i 1.) ov.V.. ^J;L^M^l.-L^^^'l:Fis^,'fe^'l.*l /fii^i - >'^')^!/r; / '■''/ I,-.* en oi U Pi: O X u I-) on < ^ ►J ^"^ 5 H o o 0, >• ^ I 196 THE LIFE OF COLUMBUS. spair now fell upon the natives, for they found a perpetual task inflicted upon them, enforced at stated and fre- quently recurring periods. Weak and indolent by nature, 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. They saw no end to this harassing evil, which had so suddenly fallen upon them ; no prospect of return to that roving inde- pendence and ample leisure, so dear to the wild inhabit- ant of the forest. The pleasant life of the island was at an end — the dream in the shade by day; the slumber, during the sultry noontide heat, by the fountain or the stream, or under the spreading palm-tree; and the song, the dance, and the game in the mellow evening, when summoned to their simple amusements by the rude Indian drum. Or, if they occasionally indulged in a national dance after a day of painful toil, the ballads to which they kept time were of a melancholy and plaintive character. They spoke of the times that were past, before the white men had introduced sorrow and slavery, and weary labor among them ; and they rehearsed proph- ecies pretended to be handed down from their ances- tors, foretelling that strangers should come into their island, clothed in apparel, with swords capable of cleav- ing a man asunder at a blow, under whose yoke their race should be subdued and pass away. These ballads, or areytos, they sang with mournful tunes and doleful voices, bewailing the loss of their liberty and their pain- ful servitude. They had flattered themselves, for a time, that the visit of the strangers would be but temporary, and that, spreading their ample sails, their ships would soon waft them back to their home in the sky. In their simplicity they had repeatedly inquired of the Spaniards when they , 111 FATE OF GUACANAGARI. 1 9? intended to return to Turey, or the heavens. All such hope was now at an end ; and, finding how vain was every attempt to deliver themselves from their invaders by warlike means, they now resorted to a forlorn and desperate alternative. Knowing that the Spaniards de- pended, in a great measure, for subsistence on the sup- plies which they furnished them, they endeavored to produce a famine. Vov this purpose, they destroyed their fields of maize, stripped the trees of their fruit, pulled up the yuca and other roots, and tiicn fled to the mountains. The Spaniards were indeed reduced to much distress, but were partially relieved by supplies from Spain. They pursued the natives to their mountain retreats, hunting them from one dreary fastness to another, until thousands perished in dens and caverns, of famine and sickness, and the survivors, yielding themselves up in despair, sub- mitted humbly to the yoke. So deep an awe did they conceive of their conquerors, that it is said a Spaniard might go singly and securely all over the island, and the natives would even transport him from place to place on their shoulders. Before passing on to other events, it may be proper here to notice the fate of Guacanagari, as he makes no further appearance in the course of this history. His friendship for the Spaniards severed him from his coun- trymen, but it did not exonerate him from the general woes of the island. At a time when Columbus was absent the Spaniards exacted a tribute from him, which his people, with the common repugnance to labor, found it difficult and distressing to pay. Unable to bear the mur- murs of his subjects, the hostilities of his fellow caciques, the extortions of his ungrateful allies, and the sight of the various miseries which he felt as if he had invoked 19^ THE LIFE OF COLUMBUS. upon his race, he retired to the mountains, where it is said he died obscurely and in misery. An attempt has been made by a Spanish historian to defame the character of this Indian prince ; but it is not for Spaniards to excuse their own ingratitude by casting a stigma upon his name. He appears to have always manifested towards tiiem that true friendship which shines brightest in the dark days of adversity. He might have played a nobler part, in making a stand, with his brother caciques, to drive those intruders from his na- tive soil ; but he appears to have been blinded by his admiration of them, and his personal attachment to Co- lumbus. He was bountiful, hospitable, affectionate, and kind-hearted ; competent to rule a gentle and unwarlike people in the happier days of the island, but unfitted, through the mildness of his nature, for the stern turmoil which followed the arrival of the white men. CHAPTER XXVH. ARRIVAL OF THE COMMISSIONER AGUADO. — DISCOVERY OF THE GOLD MINES OF HAYNA. [1495.] While Columbus was endeavoring to remedy the evils produced by the misconduct of Margarite and his followers, that recreant commander, and his politic coad- jutor Friar Boyle, were busily undermining his reputation in the court of Spain. They accused him of deceiving the sovereigns and the public by extravagant descrip- tions of the countries he had discovered ; and of tyranny and oppression towards the colonists, compelling exces- sive labor during a time of sickness and debility ; infhct- MALICE OF MARGARITE. 1 99 ing severe punishments for the most trifling offence, and heaping indignities on Spanish gentlemen of rank. They said nothing, however, of the exigencies which had called for unusual labor; nor of the idleness and profligacy of the commonalty, which called for coercion and chastise- ment ; nor of the contumacy and cabals of the cava- liers, who hail been treated with indulgence rather than severity. These representations, being supported by nian\- factious and discontented idlers who had returned from the colony, and enforced by people of rank con- nected with the cavaliers, had a baneful effect upon the popularity of Columbus, and his favor with the sovereigns. About this time a measure was adopted which shows the declining influence of the Admiral. A proclamation was made on the loth of April, giving general permis- sion to native-born subjects to settle in the island of Hispaniola, and to go on private voyages of discovery and traflic to the New World. They were to pay certain proportions of lluir profits to the Crown, and to be sub- ject to certain regulations. The privilege of an eighth part of the tonnage was likewise secured to Columbus, as Admiral ; but he felt himself exceedingly aggrieved at this permission being granted without his knowledge or consent, considering it an infringement of his rights, and a measure likely to disturb the course of regular dis- covery by the licentious and predatory enterprises of reckless adventurers. The arrival of the ships commanded by Torres, bring- ing accounts of the voyage along the southern coasts of Cuba, supposed to be llie continent of Asia, and speci- mens of the gold and the vegetable and animal produc- tions of the country, counterbalanced in some degree these unfavorable representations of Margarite and 200 THE LIFE OF COLUMBUS. Boyle. Still it was determined to send out a commis- sioner to inquire into the alleged distress of the colony and the conduct of Columbus, and one Juan Aguado was appointed for the purpose. He had already been to Hispaniola, and on returning had been strongly recommended to royal favor by Columbus. In appoint- ing a person, therefore, for whom the Admiral appeared to have a regard, and who was under obligations to him, the sovereigns thought, perhaps, to soften the harshness of the measure. As to the five hundred slaves sent home in the ships of Torres, Isabella ordered a consultation of pious theo- logians to determine whether, having been taken in war- fare, their sale as slaves would be justifiable in the sight of God. Much difference of opinion arose among the divines on this important question ; whereupon the queen decided it according to the dictates of her conscience and her heart, and ordered that the Indians should be taken back to their native country. Juan de Aguado set sail from Spain towards the end of August, with four caravels freighted with supplies, and Don Diego Columbus returned in this squadron to His- paniola. Aguado was one of those weak men whose heads are turned by the least elevation. Though under obligations to Columbus, he forgot them all, and forgot even the nature and extent of his own commission. Finding Columbus absent in the interior of the island, on his arrival, he acted as if the reins of government had been transferred into his hands. He paid no respect to Don Bartholomew, who had been placed in command by his brother during his absence, but proclaiming his letter of credence by sound of trumpet, he proceeded to arrest various public officers, to call others to rigorous account, and to invite every one who had wrongs or grievances MEETING OF AG U A DO AND COLUMBUS. 20I to complain of, to come forward boldly and make them known, lie already regarded Columbus as a criminal, and intimated, and perhaps thought, that he was keeping at a distance through fear of his investigations. He even talked of setting off at the head of a body of horse to arrest him. The whole community was in confusion ; the downfall of the family of Columbus was considered as arrived, and some thought the Admiral would lose his head. The news of the arrival and of the insolent conduct of Aguado reached Columbus in the interior of the island, and he immediately hastened to Isabella to give him a meeting. As every one knew the lofty spirit of Colum- bus, his high sense of his services, and his jealous mainte- nance of his ofificial dignity, a violent explosion was an- ticipated at the impending interview. The natural heat and impetuosity of Columbus, however, had been sub- dued by a life of trials, and he had learnt to bring his passions into subjection to his judgment ; he had too true an estimate of his own dignity to enter into a contest with a shallow boaster like Aguado : above all, he had a profound reverence for the authority of his sovereigns ; for, in his enthusiastic spirit, prone to deep feelings of reverence, loyalty was inferior only to religion. He received Aguado, therefore, with the most grave and punctilious courtesy, ordered his letter of credence to be again proclaimed by sound of trumpet, and assured him of his readiness to acquiesce in whatever might be the pleasure of his sovereigns. The moderation of Columbus was regarded by many, and by Aguado himself, as a proof of his loss of moral courage. Every dastard spirit who had any lurking ill will, any real or imaginary cause of complaint, now has- tened to give it utterance. It was a time of jubilee U^r 202 THE LIFE OF COLUMBUS. offenders; every culprit started up into an accuser; every one who by negligence or crime had incurred the wholesome penalties of the laws was loud in his clamors of oppression ; and all the ills of the colony, however produced, were ascribed to the maladministration of the Admiral. Aguado listened to every accusation with ready cre- dulity, and having collected information sufficient, as he thought, to insure the ruin of the Admiral and his broth- ers, prepared to return to Spain. Columbus resolved to do the same ; for he felt that it was time to appear at court, to vindicate his conduct from the misrepresenta- tions of his enemies and to explain the causes of the dis- tresses of the colony, and of the disappointments with respect to revenue, which he feared might discourage the prosecution of his discoveries. When the ships were ready to depart, a terrible storm swept the island ; it was one of those awful whirlwinds which occasionally rage within the tropics, and which were called " Uricans " by the Indians, a name which they still retain. Three of the ships at anchor in the harbor were sunk by it, with all who were on board ; others were dashed against each other, and driven mere wrecks upon the shore. The Indians were overwhelmed with astonishment and dismay, for never in their memory, or in the traditions of their ancestors, had they known so tremendous a storm. They believed that the Deity had sent it in punishment of the cruelties and crimes of the white men, and declared that this people moved the very air, the water, and the earth to disturb their tranquil life, and to desolate their island. The departure of Columbus, and of Aguado, was delayed until one of the shattered vessels, the " Niiia,'" could be repaired, and another constructed out of the o ^ in .■.'Vft .' ' " P \m^ in 2: : CO ■r; o ■•- X ^ I 226 THE LIFE OF COLUMBUS. island, including Cape Tiburon. It was one of the most populous and fertile districts. The inhabitants were finely formed, had a noble air, a more agreeable elocu- tion, and more soft and graceful manners than the natives of the other part of the island. The Indians of Hayti generally placed their elysium, or paradise of happy spirits, in the delightful valleys that bordered the great lake of Xaragua. With Behechio resided his sister Anacaona, wife of the late formidable Caonabo, one of the most beautiful females in the island, of great natural grace and dignity, and superior intelligence; her name in the Indian lan- guage signified Golden Flower. She had taken refuge with her brother, after the capture and ruin of her hus- band, but appears never to have entertained any vin- dictive feelings against the Spaniards, whom she regarded with great admiration as almost superhuman beings. On the contrary, she counselled her brother, over whom she had great influence, to take warning by the fate of her husband, and to conciliate their friendship. Don Bartholomew entered the province of Xaragua at the head of an armed band, putting his cavalry in the advance, and marching with banners displayed, and the sound of drum and trumpet. Behechio met him with a numerous force, but being assured that he came merely on a friendly visit, he dismissed his army, and conducted the adelantado to his residence in a large town, near the deep bay called at present the Bight of Leagon. As they approached, thirty young females of the ca- cique's household, beautifully formed, came forth to meet them, waving palm branches, and dancing, and singing their areytos or traditionary ballads. When they came before Don Bartholomew they knelt and laid their palm branches at his feet. After these came the beautiful DON BARTHOLOMEW IN XAKAGUA. 22/ Anacaona, rcclinincr on a litter, borne by six Indians. She was lightly clad in a robe of various colored cotton, with a fragrant garland of red and white flowers round her head, and wreaths of the same round her neck and arms. She received the adelantado with that natural grace and courtesy for which she was celebrated. For several days Don Bartholomew remained in Xara- gua, entertained by the cacique and his sister with ban- quets, national games and dances, and other festivities ; then, having arranged for a periodical tribute to be paid in cotton, hemp, and cassava bread, the productions of the surrounding country, he took a friendly leave of his hospitable entertainers, and set out with his little army for Isabella. He found the settlement in a sickly state, and suffering from a scarcity of provisions ; he distributed, therefore, all that were too feeble to labor or bear arms into the interior, where they might have better air and more abun- dant food ; and at the same time he established a chain of fortresses between Isabella and San Domingo. Insur- rections broke out among the natives of the vega, caused by their impatience of tribute, by the outrages of some of the Spaniards, and by a severe punishment inflicted on certain Indians for the alleged violation of a chapel. Guarionex, a man naturally moderate and pacific, was persuaded by his brother caciques to take up arms, and a combination was formed among them to rise suddenly upon the Spaniards, massacre them, and destroy Fort Conception, which was situated in the vega. By some means the garrison received intimation of the conspiracy. They immediately wrote a letter to the adelantado, im- ploring prompt assistance. How to convey the letter in safety was an anxious question, for the natives had dis- covered that these letters had a wonderful power of com- 228 THE LIFE OF COLUMBUS. municating intelligence, and fancied that they could talk. An Indian undertook to be the bearer of it. He inclosed it in a staff, and set out on his journey. Being inter- cepted, he pretended to be dumb and lame, leaning upon his staff for support. He was suffered to depart, and limped forward until out of sight, when he resumed his speed, and bore the letter safely and expeditiously to San Domingo. The adelantado, with his accustomed promptness, set out with a body of troops for the fortress. By a rapid and well-concerted stratagem he surprised the leaders in the night, in a village in which they were sleeping, and carried them all off captive, seizing upon Guarionex with his own hand. He completed his enterprise with spirit, sagacity, and moderation. Informing himself of the par- ticulars of the conspiracy, he punished two caciques, the principal movers of it, with death, and pardoned all the rest. Finding, moreover, that Guarionex had been chiefly incited to hostility by an outrage committed by a Span- iard on his favorite wife, he inflicted punishment on the offender. The heart of Guarionex was subdued by the unexpected clemency of the adelantado, and he made a speech to his subjects in praise of the Spaniards. They listened to him with attention, and when he had con- cluded, bore him off on their shoulders with songs and shouts of joy, and for some time the tranquillity of the vega was restored. About this time, receiving information from Behechio, cacique of Xaragua, that his tribute in cotton and pro- visions was ready for delivery, the adelantado marched there, at the head of his forces, to receive it. So large a quantity of cotton and cassava bread was collected to- gether that Don Bartholomew had to send to the settle- ment of Isabella for a caravel to be freighted with it. In A'/.VDJVESS OF THE A' A TIVES. 229 the meantime, the utmost kindness was lavished upon their guests by these gentle and generous people. The troubles which distracted the other parts of devoted Hay- ti had not yet reached this pleasant region ; and when the Spaniards regarded the fertility and sweetness of the countr)', bordering on a tranquil sea, the kindness NATIVES BRINOINO WOOD AND WATER TO A CARAVEL. Redrawn /rotn GoU/rietit's '■^ Newe //V//." of the inhabitants, and the beauty of the women, they pronounced it a perfect paradise. When the caravel arrived on the coast, it was regarded bj' Anacaona and her brother with awe and wonder. Behechio visited it with his canoes; but his sister, with her female attendants, were conveyed on board in the boat of the adelantado. As they approached, the cara- 230 THE LIFE OF COLUMBUS. vel fired a salute. At the sound of the cannon, and the sight of volun:ies of smoke bursting from the side of the ship and rolHng along the sea, Anacaona, overcome with dismay, fell into the arms of the adelantado, and her attendants would have leaped overboard, but were reas- sured by the cheerful words of Don Bartholomew. As they drew nearer the vessel several instruments of mar- tial music struck up, with which they were greatly de- lighted. Their admiration increased on entering on board ; but when the anchor was weighed, the sails filled by a gentle breeze, and they beheld this vast mass veer- ing from side to side, apparently by its own will, and playing like a huge monster on the deep, the brother and sister remained gazing at each other in mute astonish- ment. Nothing seems ever to have filled the mind of the savage with more wonder than that beautiful triumph of human ingenuity — a ship under sail. While the adelantado was thus absent quelling insur- rections and making skilful arrangements for the pros- perity of the colony and the advantage of the Crown, new mischiefs were fermenting in the factious settlement of Isabella. The prime mover was Francisco Roldan, a man who had been raised by Columbus from poverty and obscurity, and promoted from one office to another, until he had appointed him alcalde mayor, or chief judge of the island. He was an uneducated man, but of strong natural talents, great assiduity, and intrepid impudence. He had seen his benefactor return to Spain apparently under a cloud of disgrace, and, considering him a fallen man, began to devise how he might profit by his down- fall. H-e was intrusted with an office inferior only to that of the adelantado; the brothers of Columbus were highly unpopular; he imagined it possible to ruin them, both with the colonists and with the government at home, and SEDITIONS AND ACT OF ROLDAN. 23 1 by dexterous management to work his way into a com- mand of the colony. For this purpose he mingled among the common people, threw out suggestions that the Admiral was in disgrace, and would never return ; railed at the adelantado and Don Diego as foreigners, who took no interest in their welfare, but used them merely as slaves to build houses and fortresses for them, or to swell their state and secure their power, as they marched about the island, enriching themselves with the spoils of the caciques. By these seditious insinuations he ex- asperated their feelings to such a degree that they at one time formed a conspiracy to assassinate the adelantado, but it was happily disconcerted, by accident. When the caravel returned from Xaragua, laden with provisions, it was dismantled by order of Don Diego, and drawn upon the beach. Roldan immediately seized upon this circumstance to awaken new suspicions. He said the true reason for dismantling the caravel was to prevent any of the colonists returning in it to Spain, to represent the oppressions under which they suffered. He advised them to launch and take possession of the vessel, as the only means of regaining their independence. They might then throw off the tyranny of these upstart for- eigners, and might lead a life of ease and quiet, employ- ing the Indians as slaves, and enjoying unlimited indul- gence with respect to the Indian women. Don Diego was informed of these seditious movements, but he was of a mild, pacific nature, and deficient in energy. Fearing to come to an open rupture in the mutinous state of the colony, he thought to divert Rol- dan from his schemes by giving him distant and active employment. He detached him suddenly, therefore, with a small force, to overawe the Indians of the vega, who had shown a disposition to revolt. Roldan made 232 THE LIFE OF COLUMBUS, use of this opportunity to organize an armed faction. He soon got seventy well-armed and resolute men at his command, disposed to go all desperate lengths with him, and he made friends and partisans among the discon- tented caciques, promising to free them from tribute. He now threw off the mask, and openly set the adelan- tado and his brother at defiance, as men who had no authority from the Crown, but were appointed by Colum- bus, who was himself in disgrace. He pretended always to act in his official capacity, and to do everything from loyal motives, and every act of open rebellion was accom- panied with shouts of "Long live the king!" Having endeavored repeatedly to launch the caravel, but in vain, he broke open the royal stores, and supplied his followers with arms, clothing, and provisions, and then marched off to the vega, and attempted to surprise and get possession of Fort Conception, but was happily foiled by its com- mander, Miguel Ballester, a stanch old soldier, both res- olute and wary, who kept the enemy at bay until succor should arrive. The conspiracy had attained a formidable head during the absence of the adelantado, several persons of conse- quence having joined it, among whom was Adrian de Moxica and Diego de Escobar, the latter being alcalde of the fortress of La Madalena. Don Bartholomew was perplexed at first, and could not act with his usual vigor and decision, not knowing in whom he could confide, or how far the conspiracy had extended. On receiving tid- ings, however, from Miguel Ballester, of the danger of Fort Conception, he threw himself, with what forces he could collect, into that fortress, and held a parley with Roldan from one of the windows, ordering him to surren- der his staff of office as alcalde mayor and submit peacea- bly to superior authority. All threats and remonstrances. REBELLION OF ROLDAN. 233 however, were vain ; Roldan persisted in his rcbelHon. He represented the adclantado as the tyrant of the Span- iards, the oppressor of the Indians ; and himself as the redresser of wrongs and champion of the injured. He sought, by crafty emissaries, to corrupt the garrison of Fort Conception and seduce them to desert, and hiid plans to surprise and seize upon the adelantado, should he leave the fortress. The affairs of the island were now in a lamentable sit- uation. The Indians, perceiving the dissensions among the Spaniards, and encouraged by the protection of Rol- dan, ceased to send in their tributes, and threw off alle- giance to the government. Roldan's band daily gained strength, and ranged insolently and at large about the country ; while the Spaniards who remained loyal, fearing conspiracies among the natives, had to keep under shel- ter of the forts. Munitions of all kinds were rapidly wasting, and the spirits of the well-affected were sink- ing into despondency. The adelantado himself remained shut up in Fort Conception, doubtful of the fidelity of his own garrison, and secretly informed of the plots to cap- ture or destroy him, should he venture abroad. Such was the desperate state to which the colony was reduced by the long detention of Columbus in Spain, and the impedi- ments thrown in the way of all his endeavors to send out supplies and re-inforcements. Fortunately, at this criti- cal juncture the arrival of two ships, under command of Pedro Hernandez Coronal, at the port of San Domingo, with troops and provisions, strengthened the hands of Don Bartholomew. The royal confirmation of his title and authority of adelantado at once put an end to all question of the legitimacy of his power, and secured the fidelity of his soldiers; and the tidings that the Admiral was in high favor at court, and on the point of coming 234 THE LIFE OF COLUMBUS. out with a powerful squadron, struck consternation into the rebels, who had presumed upon his having fallen into disgrace. The adelantado immediately hastened to San Domingo, nor was there any attempt made to molest him on his march. When he found himself once more secure, his magnanimity prevailed over his indignation, and he sent Pedro Hernandez Coronal, to offer Roldan and his band amnesty for all offences, on condition of instant obedi- ence. Roldan feared to venture into his power, and de- termined to prevent the emissary from communicating with his followers, lest they should be induced to return to their allegiance. When Coronal approached the en- campment of the rebels, therefore, he was opposed in a narrow pass by a body of archers with their crossbows levelled. " Halt there, traitor ! " cried Roldan ; " had you arrived eight days later, we should all have been united." It was in vain that Coronal endeavored to win this turbulent man from his career. He professed to oppose only the tyranny and misrule of the adelantado, but to be ready to submit to the Admiral on his arrival, and he and his principal confederates wrote letters to that effect to their friends in San Domingo. When Coronal returned with accounts of Roldan's con- tumacy, the adelantado proclaimed him and his followers traitors. That shrewd rebel, however, did not suffer his men to remain within the reach either of promise or menace. He proposed to them to march off and estab- lish themselves in the remote province of Xaragua. The Spaniards who had been there had given the most allur- ing accounts of the country and its inhabitants, and above all of the beauty of the women, for they had been captivated by the naked charms of the dancing nymphs INSURRECTION OF THE NATIVES. 235 of Xarai^ua. In this delightful region, emancipated from the iron rule of the adelantado, and relieved from the necessity of irksome labor, they might lead a life of per- fect freedom and indulgence, with a world of beauty at their command. In short, Roldan drew a picture of loose, sensual enjoyment, such as he knew to be irre- sistible with men of idle and dissolute habits. His followers acceded with joy to his proposition ; so, putting himself at their head, he marched away for Xaragua. Scarcely had the rebels departed when fresh insurrec- tions broke out among the Indians of the vega. The cacique Guarionex, moved by the instigations of Roldan, and forgetful of his gratitude to Don Bartholomew, entered into a new league to destroy the Spaniards and surprise Fort Conception. The plot exploded before its time, and was defeated ; and Guarionex, hearing that the adelantado was on the march for the vega, fled to the mountains of Ciguay, with his family, and a small band of faithful followers. The inhabitants of these mountains were the most robust and hardy tribe of the island, and the same who had skirmished with the Spaniards in the Gulf of Samana, in the course of the first voyage of Columbus. The reader may remember the frank and confiding faith with which their cacique trusted himself on board of the caravel of the Admiral, the day after the skirmish. It was to this same cacique, named Mayona- bex, that the fugitive chieftain of the vega applied for refuge, and he received a promise of protection. Indignant at finding his former clemency of no avail, the adelantado pursued Guarionex to the mountains, at the head of ninety men, a few cavalry, and a body of Indians. It was a rugged and difficult enterprise; the troops had to climb rocks, wade rivers, and make their way through tangled forests, almost impervious to men 236 THE LIFE OF COLUMBUS. in armor, encumbered with targets, crossbows, and lances. They were continually exposed, also, to the ambushes of the Indians, who would rush forth with furious yells, dis- charge their weapons, and then take refuge again among rocks and thickets, where it was in vain to follow them. Don Bartholomew arrived, at length, in the neighborhood of Cape Cabron, the residence of Mayonabex, and sent a messenger, demanding the surrender of Guarionex, promising friendship in case of compliance, but threaten- ing to lay waste his territory with fire and sword, in case of refusal. "Tell the Spaniards," said the cacique, in reply, " that they are tyrants, usurpers, and shedders of innocent blood, and I desire not their friendship. Guario- nex is a good man, and my friend. He has fled to me for refuge ; I have promised him protection, and I will keep my word." The cacique, in fact, adhered to his promise with ad- mirable faith. His villages were burnt, his territories were ravaged, himself and his family driven to dens and caves of the mountains, and his subjects assailed him with clamors, urging him to give up the fugitive, who was bringing such ruin upon their tribe. It was all in vain. He was ready, he declared, to abide all evils, rather than it should ever be said Mayonabex betrayed his guest. For three months the adelantado hunted these caciques among the mountains, during which time he and his sol- diers were almost worn out with toil and hunger, and exposures of all kind. The retreat of Mayonabex was at length discovered. Twelve Spaniards, disguising them- selves as Indians, and wrapping their swords in palm leaves, came upon him secretly, and surprised and captured him, with his wife and children and a few at- tendants. The adelantado returned, with his prisoners. o < .J > *^ z. o u <: H ^ 3 ^238 THE LIFE OF COLUMBUS. to Fort Conception, where he afterwards released them all, excepting the cacique, whom he detained as a host- age for the submission of his tribe. The unfortunate Guarionex still lurked among the caverns of the moun- tains, but was driven by hunger to venture down occa- sionally into the plain, in quesl^of food. His haunts were discovered, he was waylaid and captured by a party of Spaniards, and brought in chains to Fort Conception. After his repeated insurrections, and the extraordinary zeal displayed in his pursuit, he anticipated death from the vengeance of the adelantado. Don Bartholomew, however, though stern in his policy, was neither vindic- tive nor cruel ; he contented himself with detaining him a prisoner, to insure the tranquillity of the vega ; and then returned to San Domingo, where, shortly afterwards, he had the happiness of welcoming the arrival of his brother, the Admiral, after a separation of nearly two years and a half. CHAPTER XXXI. REBELLION OF ROLDAN. [1498.] One of the first measures of Columbus, on his arrival, was to issue a proclamation, approving of all that the adelantado had done, and denouncing Roldan and his associates. That turbulent man had proceeded to Xara- gua, where he had been kindly received by the natives. A circumstance occurred to add to his party and his re- sources. The three caravels detached by Columbus from the Canary Islands, and freighted with supplies, having been carried far west of their reckoning by the currents, arrived on the coast of Xaragua. The rebels were at first CRAFTINESS OF ROLDAN. 2^g alarmed lest there should be vessels dispatched in pursuit of them. Roldan, who was as sagacious as he was bold, soon divined the truth. Enjoining the utmost secrecy on his men, he went on board, and pretending to be in com- mand at that end of the island, succeeded in procuring a supply of arms and military stores, and in making parti- sans among the crews, many of whom were criminals and vagabonds from Spanish prisons, shipped in compliance with the Admiral's ill-judged proposition. It was not until the third day that Alonzo Sanchez de Carvajal, the most intelligent of the three captains, discovered the real character of the guests he had entertained, but the mis- chief was then effected. As the ships were detained by contrary winds, it was arranged among the captains that a large number of the people should be conducted by land to San Domingo, by Juan Antonio Colonbo, captain of one of the caravels, and a relation of the Admiral. He accordingly landed with forty men, well armed, but was astonished to find himself suddenly deserted by all his party excepting eight. The deserters joined the rebels, who received them with shouts of exultation. Juan Antonio, grieved and disconcerted, returned on board with the few who remained faithful. Fearing further desertions, the ships immediately put to sea ; but Carvajal, giving his vessel in charge to his officers, landed and remained with the rebels, fancying he had seen signs of wavering in Roldan and some of his associates, and that, by earnest persuasion, he might iiulucc thejn to return to their allegiance. The certainty that Columbus was actually on the way to the island, with additional forces and augmented authority, had, in fact, operated strongly on their minds; but all attempts to produce immediate submission were in vain. Roldan promised that the moment he heard of the 240 THE LIFE OF COLUMBUS. arrival of Columbus he would repair to the neighborhood of San Domingo, to be at hand to state his grievances, and to enter into a negotiation for the adjustment of all differences. He wrote a letter to the same purport, to be delivered to the Admiral. With this Carvajal departed, and was escorted to within six leagues of San Domingo, by six of the rebels. On reaching that place he found Columbus already arrived, and delivered to him the letter of Roldan, expressing at the same time an opinion that the insurgents might easily be brought to their allegiance by an assurance of amnesty. In fact, the rebels soon be- gan to assemble at the village of Bonao, in a fine valley of the same name, about twenty leagues from San Domingo, and ten from Fort Conception. Here the)' made their headquarters, at the house of Pedro Reguelme, one of the ringleaders. Columbus immediately wrote to Miguel Ballester, the commander of Fort Conception, advising him to be on his guard. He empowered him to have an interview with Roldan, to offer him full pardon on condition of his im- mediate return to duty, and to invite him to repair to San Domingo to treat with the Admiral, under a solemn, and, if required, a written assurance of personal safety. At the same time he issued a proclamation, offering free pas- sage to all who wished to return to Spain, in five vessels about to be put to sea, hoping, by this means, to relieve the colony from all the idle and disaffected. Ballester was an old and venerable man, grayheaded, and of a soldier-like demeanor ; he was loyal, frank, and virtuous, of a serious disposition and great simplicity of heart. His appearance and character commanded the respect of the rebels; but they treated the proffered par- don with contempt, made many demands of an arrogant nature, and declared that in all further negotiations they TREATS WITH ROLDAN. 24 1 would treat with no mediator but Carvajal, having had proofs of his fairness and impartiality in the course of their late communications with him at Xaragua. This insolent reply was totally different from what the Admiral had been taught to expect. He now ordered the men of San Domingo to appear under arms, that he might ascertain the force with which he could take the field in case of necessity. A report was immediately cy^culated that they were to be led to Bonao, against the rebels; some of the inhabitants had relations, others friends, among the followers of Roldan ; almost all were disaf- fected to the service ; not above seventy men appeared underarms; one affected to be ill, another lame; there were not forty to be relied upon. Columbus saw that a resort to arms would only serve to betray his own weakness and the power of the rebels. It was necessary to temporize, therefore, however humili- ating such conduct might be deemed. His first care was to dispatch the five ships, which he had detained in port until he should receive the reply of Roldan. He was anxious that as many as possible of the discontented col- onists should sail for Spain, before any commotion should take place. He wrote to the sovereigns an account of his late voyage, giving an enthusiastic description of tlfe newly discovered continent, accompanied by a chart of the coast, and specimens of the pearls which he had pro- cured from the natives. He informed the sovereigns, also, of the rebellion of Roldan, and as the latter pretended it was only a quarrel between him and the adelantado, he begged the matter might be investigated by their majesties, or by persons friendly to both parties. Among other judicious requests, he entreated that a man learned and experienceil in the law might be sent out to officiate as judge over the island. (16) 242 THE LIFE OF COLUMBUS. By this opportunity Roldan and his friends likewise sent letters to Spain, endeavoring to justify their rebel- lion, by charging Columbus and his brothers with oppres- sion and injustice, and painting their whole conduct in the blackest colors. It would naturally be supposed that the representations of such men would have little weight in the balance against the tried merits and exalted services of Columbus ; but they had numerous friends and relations in Spain to back them ; Columbus was a for- eigner, without influence in the court, and with active enemies near the sovereigns, ever ready to place his con- duct in an unfavorable light. The ships being dispatched, the Admiral resumed his negotiation with the rebels. As the burden of their complaint was the strict rule of his brother, who was accused of dealing out justice with a rigorous hand, he resolved to try the alternative of extreme lenity, and wrote a letter to Roldan, calling to mind past kind- nesses, and entreating him, for the sake of his own reputation, which stood well with the sovereign, not to persist in his present insubordination. He again repeat- ed his assurance that he and his companions might come to treat with him at San Domingo, under the faith of his word for the inviolability of their persons. There was a difficulty as to who should be the bearer of this letter. The rebels had declared that they would receive no mediator but Alonzo Sanchez de Carvajal. Strong suspicions existed in the minds of many as to the integrity of that officer, from his transactions with the rebels at Xaragua, and his standing so high in their favor. Columbus, however, discarded all those suspicions, and confided implicitly in Carvajal, nor had he ever any cause to repent of his confidence. A painful and humiliating negotiation was now carried NEGOTIATION WITH ROLDAN. 243 on for several days, in the course of which Roldan had an interview with Columbus at San Domingo, and several letters passed between tlieni. The rebels felt their power, and presumed, in consequence, to demand the most ex- travagant concessions. Miguel Ballester wrote at the same time to the Admiral, advising him to agree to what- ever they might demand. He represented their forces as continually augmenting, and that the soldiers of his garrison were daily deserting to them, aiul gave it as his opinion that unless some compromise were speedily effected, and the rebels shipped off for Spain, not merely the authorit)', but even the person of the Admiral would be in danger: for ihou^'h llu: hidalgoes and the immediate officers and servants about him would doubtless die in his service, yet he feared that the common people were but little to be depended upon. Thus urged by veteran counsel, and compelled by cir- cumstances, Columbus at length made an arrangement with the rebels, by which it was agreed that Roldan and his followers should embark for Spain, from the port of Xaragua, in two ships, which should be fitted out and victualled w ithin fift)' days. That they should each re- ceive from the Admiral a certificate of good conduct, and an order for the amount of their pay up to the actual date. That slaves should be given them, as had been given to colonists, in consideration of services performed ; and that such as had wives, natives of the island, might take them with them in place of slaves. That satisfac- tion should Ije made for property of some of the com- pany', which had been sequestrated, and for live stock which had belonged to Francis Roldan. It was a grievous circumstance to Columbus, that the vessels which should have borne his brother to explore the newly discovered continent IkuI to be devoted to the 244 THE LIFE OF COLUMBUS. transportation of this turbulent and worthless rabble ; but he consoled himself with the idea that, the faction being once shipped off, the island would again be restored to tranquillity. The articles of arrangement being signed, Roldan and his followers departed for Xaragua, to await the arrival of the ships; and Columbus, putting his brother Don Diego in temporary command, set oi^ with the adelantado on a tour to visit the various fortresses, and restore everything to order. In the meanwhile, unavoidable delays took place in fitting out the ships, and they encountered violent storms in their voyage from San Domingo to Xaragua, so as to arrive there long after the stipulated time, and that in a damaged condition. The followers of Roldan seized upon this as a pretext to refuse to embark, aflfirming that the ships had been purposely delayed, and eventually sent in a state not seaworthy, and short of provisions. New negotiations were therefore set on foot and new terms demanded. It is probable that Roldan feared to return to Spain, and his followers were loth to give up their riotous and licentious life. In the midst of his perplexi- ties Columbus received a letter from Spain, in reply to the earnest representations which he had made of the distracted state of the colony and of the outrages of these licentious men. It was written by his invidious enemy the Bishop Fonseca, superintendent of Indian affairs. It informed him that his representations of the alleged rebellion had been received, but that the matter must be suffered to remain in suspense, as the sovereigns would investigate and remedy it presently. This cold reply had the most disheartening effect upon Columbus, while it increased the insolence of the rebels, who saw that his complaints had little weight with the government. Full of zeal, however, for the prosecution MEETING WITH HOLD AN. 245 of his discoveries, and of fidelity to the interests of the Crown, he resolved, at any sacrifice of pride or comfort, to put an end to the troubles of the island. He departed, therefore, in the latter part of August, with two caravels, to the port of Azna, accompanied by several of the most important personages of the colony, to give Roldan a meeting. The latter, in this interview, conducted himself more like a conqueror exacting terms than a delinquent seeking pardon. Among other things, he demanded that such of his followers as chose to remain on the island should have lands assigned them, and that he should be reinstated in his office of alcalde mayor, or chief judge. The mind grows wearied and impatient with recording, and the heart of the generous reader must burn with indignation at perusing, this protracted and ineffectual struggle of a man of the exalted merits and matchless services of Columbus, in the toils of such contemptible miscreants. Surrounded by doubt and danger, a foreigner among a jealous people, an unpopular commander in a mutinous island, distrusted and slighted by the govern- ment he was seeking to serve, and creating suspicions by his very services, he knew not where to look for faith- ful advice, efficient aid, or candid judgment. He was alarmed, too, by symptoms of sedition among his own people, who talked of following the example of the rebels, and seizing upon the province of Higue}*. Thus critically situated, he signed a humiliating capitulation with the rebels, trusting he should afterwards be able to convince the sovereigns it had been compulsory, and forced from him by the perils that threatened himself and the colonw When Roldan resumed his office of alcalde mayor, he displayed all the arrogance to be expected from one who had intruded himself into power by profligate means. 246 THE LIFE OF COLUMBUS. Columbus had a difficult and painful task in bearing with the insolence of this man, and of the shameless rabble that returned, under his auspices, to San Domingo. In compliance with the terms of agreement he assigned them liberal portions of land and numerous Indian slaves, taken in the wars, and contrived to distribute them in various places, some in Bonao, others in different parts of the vega. He made an arrangement, also, by which the ca- ciques in their vicinity, instead of paying tribute, should furnish parties of their subjects, at stated times, to assist in the cultivation of their lands; a kind of feudal service which was the origin of the repartimientos, or distribu- tions of free Indians among the colonists, afterwards generally adopted, and shamefully abused throughout the Spanish colonies, and which greatly contributed to ex- terminate the natives from the island of Hispaniola, Having obtained such ample provisions for his follow- ers, Roldan was not more modest in making demands for himself. Besides certain lands in the vicinity of Isabella, which he claimed, as having belonged to him before his rebellion, he received a royal farm, called La Esperanza, in the vega, and extensive tracts in Xaragua, with live stock and repartimientos of Indians. One of the first measures of Roldan as alcalde mayor was to appoint Pedro Reguelme, one of his most active confederates, alcalde of Bonao, an appointment which gave great displeasure to Columbus, being an assumption of power not vested in the office of Roldan. The Admi- ral received private information, also, that Reguelme, under pretext of erecting a farmhouse, was building a strong edifice on a hill, capable of being converted into a fortress ; this, it was whispered, was done in concert with Roldan, by way of securing a stronghold in case of need. The Admiral immediately sent peremptory orders for DISORDER OF THE COl.OXY. 247 Reguclmc to desist from proceeding with tlic construc- tion of the edifice. Columbus had proposed to return to Spain, having experienced the inefficiency of letters in explaining the affairs of the island ; but the feverish state of the colony obliged him to give up the intention. The two caravels were dispatched in October, taking such of the colonists as chose to return, and among them several of the parti- sans of Roldan, some of whom took Indian slaves with them, and others carried away the daughters of caciques, whom they had beguiled from their homes and families. Columbus wrote by this opportunity to the sovereigns, giving it as his opinion that the agreement he had made with the rebels was by no means obligatory on the Crown, having been, in a manner, extorted by violence. He re- peated his request that a learned man might be sent out as judge, and desired, moreover, that discreet persons might be appointed to form a council, and others for certain fiscal employments, entreating, however, that their powers might be so limited and defined as not to inter- fere with his dignities and privileges. Finding age and infirmity creeping upon him, he began to think of his son Diego as an active coadjutor, being destined to succeed to his offices. He was still a page at court, but grown to man's estate, aiul capable of entering into the important concerns of life ; he begged, therefore, that he might be sent out to assist him. The portrait of Columbus here, presented is from a picture painted by Sir Antonio or Sir Anthony Moro about 1542, for Margaret of Parma, Governess of the Netherlands. The painting was brought to England about the year 1590, and had been in the possession of one family until about 1848, when it was purchased by a Mr. Cribb, of King Street, Covent Garden, London. Irving had an opportunity of examining the portrait during his sojourn in London, and says of it : " The characteristics of the mind and features of Co- lumbus are so forcibly depicted in this picture that no doubt can remain but that it is a true and perfect resemblance of the great navigator."' The paint- ing was purchased by Mr. C. F. Gunther, of Chicago, in tlie spring of 1891. According to the record given to Mr. Cribb, Moro had based the portrait upon two miniatures existing in the royal collection in the palace of El Pardo, near Madrid, which miniatures appear to have perished when that palace was destroyed by fire. The year 1590, in which the picture passed over to England, was the year in which the Duke of Parma, broken in health, left the Netherlands, and the United Provinces secured their first assured successes in the contest for their freedom. It is possible enough, therefore, that the painting may have been left behind by the duke with other property not easily transported, and that it then fell into the hands either of the Dutch or some one of the English adventurers who served with them, and thus wandered across the Channel as part of the spoils of war. The frame in which the picture is inclosed is a remarkable piece of antique carving. At the base is a trophy of crossed cannon mounted on carriages, trumpets, cannon cartridges, armor, drums, or other insignia of war. On either side the warlike trophies are continued, with clusters of pistols, bandoleers carrying loaded cartridges, Indian arrows, war-clubs, etc., with four cupidons supporting shields on each side, and an anchor at each corner of the base. The frame is topped by two cupids, supporting a shield topped with a crown, against a grouping of standards and cannon. The shield bears as quarterings an anchor, a ship under sail, a naked arm brandishing a sword, and islands in the sea. When Columbus returned from his first voyage, Ferdinand conferred upon him, at Barcelona, as Irving relates, a coat-of-arms, " in which the royal arms, the castle and lion, were quartered with his proper bearings, which were a group of islands surrounded by waves." When the royal favor was removed from him, he naturally substituted these more appropriate quarterings for those which he was no longer granted the gracious regal privilege to bear. The carving of the frame is in high relief and in the Spanish style of the sixteenth century. On examining the setting of the supposed jewels of the second ring on the index finger, the interesting fact is developed that they are the arms of Ferdinand and Isabella, exquisitely painted in miniature. This discovery completes a very important chain of evidence. The picture presents the name of Columbus, the Indian arrows, and the arms of the court. It appears that no other portrait in existence has so many evidences of its authenticity as an actual portrayal of the great discoverer. THE MORO COH'MBUS. Pa.nted ,n .543 af the court 0/ PhiU/. //. rf S/..,„, iy Sir A„ton.o Mora, fro,,, tu-o ».iniatures i„ the palace of El Pardo, rulnch miniatures have since been destroyed. The or,grnal pa.ntins is no.v in the collection 0/ C. F. Gunther, i^sg. 0/ Chicago, by u.hose kind permission this reproduc- tion has been tnade. 250 TEE LIFE OF COLUMBUS. CHAPTER XXXII. VISIT OF OJEDA TO THE WEST END OF THE ISLAND. — CONSPIRACY OF MOXICA. [1499.] About this time reports were brought to Columbus that four ships had anchored at the western part of the island, a little below Jacquemel, apparently with the de- sign of cutting dyewoods and carrying off the natives for slaves. They were commanded by Alonzo de Ojeda, the same hot-headed and bold-hearted cavalier who had dis- tinguished himself by the capture of Caonabo. Knowing the daring and adventurous spirit of this man, the Admiral was disturbed at his visiting the island in this clandestine manner. To call him to account, however, required a man of spirit and address. No one seemed fitter for the purpose than Roldan. He was as daring as Ojeda, and of a more crafty character. An expedition of this kind would occupy the attention of himself and his partisans, and divert them from any schemes of mischief. Roldan gladly undertook the enterprise. He had nothing further to gain by sedition, and was anxious to secure his ill-gotten possessions by public services, which should atone for past offences. Departing from San Domingo, with two caravels, he arrived on the 26th of September within two leagues of the harbor where the vessels of Ojeda were anchored. Here, landing with five- and-twenty resolute men, he intercepted Ojeda, who was on an excursion several leagues from his ships, and de- manded his motives for landing on that remote and lonely part of the island, without first reporting his arrival AMERIGO VESrUCCI. 25 I to the Admiral. Ojeda replied that he had been on a voyage of discovery, and had put in there in distress, to repair his ships and obtain provisions. On further in- quiry it appeared that Ojeda had happened to be in Spain at the time that the letters arrived from Columbus, giving an account of his discovery of the coast of Paria, accom- panied by specimens of the pearls to be found there. Ojeda was a favorite with Bishop Fonseca, and obtained a sight of the letter and the charts and maps of the route of Columbus. He immediately conceived the idea of an expedition to those parts, in which he was encouraged by Fonseca, who furnished him with copies of the papers and charts, and granted him a letter of license, signed by himself, but not by the sovereigns. Ojeda fitted out four ships at Seville, assisted by many eager and wealthy speculators ; and in this squadron sailed Amerigo Ves- pucci, a Florentine merchant, well acquainted with geog- raphy and navigation, who eventually gave his name to the whole of the New World. The expedition sailed in May, 1499. The adventurers arrived on the southern continent, and ranged along it, from two hundred leagues east of the Orinoco to the Gulf of Paria. Guided by the charts of Columbus, they passed through this gulf and through the Boca del Drago, kept along westward to Cape de la Vela, visiting the island of Margarita, and the adjacent continent, and discovering the gulf of Venezu- ela. They had subsequently touched at the Caribbee Islands, where they had fought with the fierce natives .and made many captives, with the design of selling them in the slave markets of Seville. From thence they had sailed for Hispaniola to procure supplies, having per- formed the most extensive voyage hitherto made along the shores of the New World. Ojeda assured Roldan that he intended, as soon as 252 THE LIFE OF COLUMBUS. his ships were ready, to go to San Domingo and pay his homage to the Admiral. Trusting to tliis assurance, and satisfied with the information he had obtained, Roldan sailed for San Domingo to make his report. Nothing, however, was farther from the intention of Ojeda than to keep his promise. As soon as his ships were ready for sea, he sailed round to the coast of Xaragua. Here he was well received by the Spaniards resident in that prov- ince, among whom were many of the late comrades of Roldan. Knowing the rash and fearless character of Ojeda, and finding that there were jealousies between him and the Admiral, they made clamorous complaints of the injustice of the latter, whom they accused of with- holding from them the arrears of their pay. Ojeda, who knew the tottering state of the Admiral's favor at court, and felt secure in the powerful protection of Fonseca, immediately proposed to put himself at their head, march at once to San Domingo, and oblige the Admiral to satisfy their just demands. The proposition was re- ceived with transport by some of the rebels ; but others demurred, and a furious brawl ensued, in which several were killed and wounded on both sides; the party for the expedition to San Domingo remained triumphant. Fortunately for the peace and safety of the Admiral, Roldan, who had received news of the movements of Ojeda, arrived in the neighborhood at this critical junct- ure with a band of resolute followers, and was re-enforced on the following day by his old confederate, Diego de Escobar, with additional forces. Ojeda retired to his ships ; a long course of manoeuvring took place between these well-matched adversaries, each striving to gain an advantage of the other. Ojeda at length was obliged to abandon the coast, and made sail for some other island to make up his cargo of Indian slaves. HERNANDO DE GUEVARA. 253 The followers of Roldan took great merit to themselves for their unwonted loyalty in driving Ojeda from the island; and, like all reformed knaves, expected that their good conduct would be amply rewarded. Look- ing upon their leader as having everything in his gift, they requested him to share among them the fine prov- ince of Cahay, adjoining to Xaragua. Roldan, who was now anxious to establish a character of adherence to the law, declined acceding to their wishes, until sanctioned by the Admiral ; but, to soothe their impatient rapacity, he shared among them ihe lands which had been granted to him in Xaragua. While he was remaining in this neigh- borhood other troubles broke out, and from somewhat of a romantic cause. A young cavalier of noble family, named Hernando de Guevara, cousin to Adrian de Mox- ica, one of the ringleaders of the late rebellion, was ban- ished from San Domingo for licentious conduct, and sent to Xaragua to embark in the ships of Ojeda, but arrived after their departure. He was treated with indulgence by Roldan on account of his old comrade, Adrian de Moxica, and was favorably received at the house of the female cacique, Anacaona. That remarkable woman still retained her partiality to the Spaniards, notwithstanding the disgraceful scenes that had passed before her eyes. By her late husband, Caonabo, she had a daughter, named Higuenamota, just grown up, and greatly admired for her beauty. Guevara became enamored of her. He possessed an agreeable person and winning manners, though he w as headstrong in his passions and destitute of principle. His endearments soon won the heart of the simple Indian girl. Anacaona. the mother, pleased with the gallant appearance and ingratiating manners of the youthful cavalier, favored his attachment, especially as he sought her daughter in marriage. Roldan was him- 2 54 THE LIFE OF COLUMBUS. self attached to the young Indian beauty, and jealous of her preference of his rival. He exerted his authority to separate the lovers, and banished Guevara to the province of Cahay. The latter soon returned, and concealed him- self in the dwelling of Anacaona. Being discovered, and finding Roldan implacable in his opposition to his pas- sion, he now meditated revenge. He soon made a party among the old comrades of Roldan, who detested as a magistrate the man they had idolized as a leader. It was concerted to rise suddenly upon him, and either to kill him or put out his eyes. The plot was discovered ; Guevara was seized in the dwelling of Anacaona, in the presence of his intended bride; seven of his accomplices were likewise arrested, and the prisoners were sent to the fortress of San Domingo. When Adrian de Moxica heard that his cousin Guevara was arrested, and that, too, by his former confederate, Roldan, he was highly exasperated. He hastened to the old haunt of rebellion at Bonao, and claimed the co-op- eration of Pedro Reguelme, the newly appointed alcalde. It was readily yielded. They went round among their late fellow-rebels who were settled in the vega, and had soon a daring body of reckless men ready, with horse and weapon, for any desperate enterprise. Moxica, in his fury, meditated not merely the rescue of his cousin, but the death of Roldan and the Admiral. Columbus was at Fort Conception, with an inconsider- able force, when he heard of this dangerous plot, con- certed in his very neighborhood. He saw that his safety depended upon prompt and vigorous measures. Taking with him but six or seven trusty servants, and three es- quires, all well armed, he came suddenly upon the con- spirators in the night, seized Moxica and several of his principal confederates, and bore them off to Fort Con- FATE OF MOXICA. 255 ception. Resolving to set an example that should strike terror into the factions, he ordered that Moxica should be hanged on the top of the fortress. The latter en- treated to be allowed a confessor. A priest was sent for. The miserable culprit, who had been so daring in rebel- lion, lost all courage at the near approach of death. He delayed and hesitated in his confession, as if hoping, by whiling away time, to give a chance for rescue. Instead of confessing his own sins he began to accuse others, until Columbus, losing all patience, in his mingled indig- nation and scorn, ordered the dastard wretch to be flung from the battlements. This sudden act of severity was promptly followed up. Pedro Rcguelme was taken, with several of his compeers, in his rufifian-den at Bonao, and conveyed to the fortress of San Domingo. The conspirators fled for the most part to Xaragua, where they were pursued by the adelan- tado, seconded by Roldan, and hunted out of all their old retreats. Thus in a little while the power of faction was completely subdued. Columbus considered this happy event as brought about by the special intervention of Heaven, and gives in proof of it an instance of one of those visionary fancies by which he seems to have been visited at times when his mind was distempered by illness or an.xiety. In the preceding winter, during the height of his cares and troubles, he had sunk into a state of despondency. In one of his gloomy moods he heard, he says, a voice which thus addressed him : "O man of little faith! fear nothing, be not cast down. I will provide for thee. The seven years of the term of gold are not expired.* In * Alluding to his vow, that within seven years he would furnish an army for a crusade, from his share of the gold to be found in the New World. 256 THE LIFE OF COLUMBUS. that and in all other things I will take care of thee." On that very day, he adds, he received intelligence of the discovery of a number of gold mines. The imagi- nary promise of divine aid appeared to him still to be performing. The troubles and dangers which had sur- rounded him were breaking away, and order was coming out of confusion. He now looked forward to the pros- ecution of his grand enterprises, the exploring the coast of Paria, and the establishment of a pearl fishery in its waters. How illusive were his hopes ! At this very moment those events were maturing that were to over- whelm him with distress, strip him of his honors, and render him comparatively a wreck for the remainder of his days ! CHAPTER XXXni. INTRIGUES AGAINST COLUMBUS IN THE SPANISH COURT. — APPOINTMENT OF BOBADILLA AS COMMIS- SIONER. — HIS ARRIVAL AT SAN DOMINGO. [1500.] While Columbus had been involved in a series of difficulties in the factious island of Hispaniola, his ene- mies had been but too successful in undermining his reputation in the court of Spain. Every vessel that returned from the New World came freighted with com- plaints, representing the character and conduct of Co- lumbus and his brothers in the most odious point of view, and reiterating the illiberal, but mischievous, insin- uation that they were foreigners, who had nothing but their own interest and gratification in view. It was even alleged that Columbus intended to cast off all allegiance to Spain, and either to make himself sovereign of the ENEMIES OF COLUMBUS AT COURT. 2$7 countries he had discovered, or to yield them into the hands of some other power; a slander which, however extravagant, was calculated to startle the jealous mind of F'erdinand. The Bishop Fonseca, and other enemies of Columbus who were about the court, having continual access to the sovereigns, were enabled to place every- thing urged against him in the strongest point of view, while they destroyed the force of his vindications. They had a plausible logic by which to convict him of either bad management or bad faith. There was an incessant drain upon the mother country for the support of the colony. Was this compatible, they asked, with the ex- travagant pictures he had drawn of the wealth of the island and its golden mountains, in which he had pre- tended to find the Ophir of ancient days, the source of the riches of King Solomon? They inferred that he had either deceived the sovereigns by exaggerations or grossly wronged them by malpractices, or that he was totally incapable of the duties of government. For the purpose of irritating the pride of the king, every repining man who returned from the colony was encouraged to put in claims for arrears of pay withheld by Columbus, or losses sustained in his service. A gang of the disorderly ruffians who had been shipped off, to free the island from their seditions, found their way to the court at Granada. They followed the king when he rode out, filling the air with complaints, and clamoring for their pay. About fifty of them assembled one ila\' in the main court of the Alhambra, under the ro}-al apartments, holding up bunches of grapes as the meagre diet to which they were reduced by their poverty, and by the cruel deceits of Columbus. Seeing the two sons of the Admiral pass by, who were pages to the queen, they followed them with imprecations. " There go," cried 17 258 THE LIFE OF COLUMBUS. they, "the whelps of him who discovered the land of vanity and delusion, the grave of Spanish hidalgoes ! " The incessant repetition of falsehood will gradually wear its way into the most candid mind. Isabella her- self began to entertain doubts respecting the conduct of Columbus. If he and his brothers were upright, they might be injudicious; and mischief is oftener produced in government through error of judgment than iniquity of design. Isabella doubted, but the jealous Ferdinand felt convinced. He had never regarded Columbus with real cordiality, and ever since he had ascertained the importance of his discoveries, had regretted the extensive powers he had vested in his hands. He now resolved to send out some person to investigate the affairs of the colony, and, if necessary for its safety, to assume the command. This measure had actually been decided upon and the papers drawn out early in 1499 ; but, from various reasons, had been postponed. It is probable Isabella opposed so harsh a step against a man for whom she entertained an ardent gratitude and high admiration. The arrival of the ships with the late followers of Roldan brought matters to a crisis. The king listened entirely to the representations of the rebels, and a circumstance took place which, for a time, suspended the friendship of Isabella, the great safeguard of Columbus. The followers of Roldan brought with them a number of slaves, some of which Columbus had been compelled to grant them by the articles of capitulation, others had been conveyed away clandestinely. Among them were several daughters of caciques, who had been seduced from their homes by these profligates. Some were in a state of pregnancy, others had new-born infants. The gifts and transfers of these unhappy beings were all rep- resented as voluntary acts of Columbus. The sensibility DON FRANCISCO DE BOBADILLA. 259 / of Isabella as a woman, and her dignity as a queen, were instantly in arms. " What right," exclaimed she, indig- nantly, "has the Admiral to give away my vassals?" She immediately ordered all the Indians to be restored to their homes ; nay, more, she commanded that those which had formerly been sent to Spain by the Admiral should be sought out and reshipped to Hispaniola. Unfortu- nately for Columbus, at this very juncture, in one of his letters he advised the continuance of Indian slavery for some time longer, as a measure important to the wel- fare of the colony. This contributed to heighten the indignation of Isabella, and induced her no longer to oppose the sending out a commissioner to investigate his conduct, and, if necessary, to supersede him in com- mand. The person chosen for this most momentous office was Don Francisco de Bobadilla, an of^cer of the royal house- hold, and a commander of the military and religious order of Calatrava. He is represented by some as a very honest and religious man ; by others, and with ap- parent justice, as needy, passionate, and ambitious — three powerful objections to his acting as judge in a case where the utmost caution and candor were required, and where he was to derive wealth and power from the conviction of one of the parties. Bobadilla arrived at San Domingo on the 23d of Aug- ust, 1500. Before entering the harbor he learnt, from a canoe which came off from the shore, that the Admiral and the adelantado were absent in the interior of the island, and Don Diego in command. He was told of the recent insurrection of Moxica, and the punishments which had followed. Seven of the rebels had been hanged that week, and five more were in the fortress of San Domingo, condemned to suffer the same fate. Among these were 26o THE LIFE OF COLUMBUS. \ Pedro Reguelme, the factious alcalde of Bonao, and Fer- nando de Guevara, the young cavalier whose passion for the daughter of Anacaona had been the original cause of the rebellion. As the vessels entered the river, Boba- dilla beheld on either bank a gibbet, with the body of a Spaniard hanging on it. He considered all these cir- cumstances as conclusive proofs of the alleged cruelty of Columbus. The report had already circulated in the city, that a commissioner had arrived to make inquisition into the late troubles. Many hastened on board the ship to pay early court to this public censor ; and as those who sought to secure his favor were those who had most to fear from his scrutiny, it is evident that the nature of their communications was generally unfavorable to the Admi- ral. In fact, before Bobadilla landed, if not before he arrived, the culpability of the Admiral was decided in his mind. He acted accordingly. He made proclamation at the church door, in presence of Don Diego and the other persons in authority, of his letters patent, author- izing him to investigate the rebellion and proceed against delinquents; and in virtue of these he demanded that Guevara, Reguelme, and the other prisoners should be delivered up to him, with the depositions taken in their cases. Don Diego declared he could do nothing of the kind without the authority of the Admiral, and requested a copy of the letters patent, that he might send it to his brother. This Bobadilla refused, and added, that since the office he proclaimed appeared to have no weight, he would try what efficacy there was in the name of gov- ernor. On the following day, therefore, he had another royal patent read, investing him with the government of the islands, and of Terra Firma ; an authority which he ASCENDENCY OF BOBADILLA. 261 was only to have assumed on absolute proof of the delin- quency of Columbus. This letter being read, he again demanded the prisoners, and was again refused, Don Diego observing that they were held in obedience to the Admiral, to whom the sovereigns had granted letters of a higher nature. Bobadilhi now produced a mandate from the Crown, ordering Columbus and his brothers to deliver up all fortresses, ships, and other royal property ; and another, ordering that the arrears of wages due to all persons in the royal service should be immediately paid, and the Admiral compelled to pay the arrears of those to whom he was individually accountable. This last document was received with shouts by the multitude, to many of whom long arrears were due, in consequence of the poverty of the treasury. Flushed with his growing importance and popularity, Bobadilla again demanded the prisoners, and receiving the same repl)', he proceeded to the fortress and made a formal demand of them of the alcayde Miguel Diaz. The latter refused to surrender them to any one but the Admiral. Upon this the whole spirit of Bobadilla was aroused. He assembled the sailors of the ships and the rabble of the place, marched them to the prison, broke open the door, which readily gave way, while some of his myrmi- dons put up ladders to scale the walls. The alcayde, Miguel Diaz, and Don Diego de Alvarado appeared on the battlements with drawn swords, but offered no re- sistance. The fortress, having no garrison, was easily carried, and the prisoners were borne ofT in triumph, and given in custody to an alguazil. Such was the entrance into ofifice of Francisco de Bobadilla, and he continued his career in the same spirit, acting as if he had been sent out to degrade the Admiral, 262 THE LIFE OF COLUMBUS. not to inquire into his conduct. He took up his resi- dence in the house of Columbus, seized upon his arms, gold, plate, jewels, horses, books, letters, and most secret manuscripts, giving no account of the property thus seized, paying out of it the wages of those to whom the Admiral was in arrears, and disposing of the rest as if already confiscated to the Crown. To increase his favor with the people, he proclaimed a general license for twenty years to seek for gold, exacting merely one- eleventh for government, instead of a third, as heretofore. At the same time he used the most unqualified language in speaking of Columbus, hinted that he was empowered to send him home in chains, and declared that neither he nor any of his lineage would ever again be permitted to govern the island. CHAPTER XXXIV. COLUMBUS ARRESTED AND SENT TO SPAIN. [150O.] When Columbus received tidings at Fort Conception of the high-handed proceedings of Bobadilla, he consid- ered them the unauthorized act of some rash adventurer; but the proclamation of his letters patent, which imme- diately took place throughout the island, soon convinced him he was acting under authority. He endeavored then to persuade himself that Bobadilla was sent out to exer- cise the functions of chief judge, in compliance with the request contained in one of his own letters to the sov- ereigns, and that he was perhaps intrusted with provis- ional powers to inquire into the late troubles of the island. All beyond these powers he tried to believe I ARREST OF COLUMBUS. 263 were mere assumptions and exaggerations of authority, as in the case of Aguado. His consciousness of his own services and integrity, and his faith in the justice of the sovereigns forbade him to think otherwise. He pro- ceeded to act on this idea ; writing temperate and con- ciliatory letters to Bobadilhi, cautioning him against his precipitate measures, while he endeavored by counter proclamations to prevent the mischief he was producing. Messengers soon arrived, however, who delivered to him a royal letter of credence, commanding him to give im- plicit faith and obedience to Bobadilla, and they gave him, at the same time, a summons from the latter to appear before him immediately at San Domingo. This laconic letter from the sovereigns struck at once at the root of his dignity and power ; he made no longer any hesitation or demur, but departed alone and almost un- attended to obey the peremptory summons of Bobadilla. The latter, in the meantime, had made a bustle of prep- aration and mustered the troops, affecting to believe a vulgar rumor that Columbus had called on the caciques of the vega to aid him in resisting the commands of the government. He moreover arrested Don Diego, threw him in irons, and confined him on board of a caravel, without assigning any cause for his imprisonment. No sooner did he hear of the arrival of Columbus than he gave orders to put him also in irons, and to confine him in the fortress. This outrage to a person of such dignified and venera- ble appearance, and such eminent merit, seemed for a time to shock even his enemies. When the irons were brought, every one present shrunk from the task of put- ting them on him, either out of a sentiment of compas- sion at so great a reverse of fortune, or out of habitual reverence for his person. To fill the measure of ingrati- 264 THE LIFE OF COLUMBUS. tude meted out to him, it was one of his own servants that volunteered to rivet his fetters. Columbus conducted himself with characteristic mag- nanimity under the injuries heaped upon him. There is a noble scorn which swells and supports the heart, and / silences the tongue of the truly great, when enduring the ( insults of the unworthy. Columbus could not stoop to deprecate the arrogance of a weak and violent man like Bobadilla. He looked beyond this shallow agent, and all his petty tyranny, to the sovereigns who had employed him. It was their injustice and ingratitude alone that could wound his spirit ; and he felt assured that when the truth came to be known they would blush to find how greatly they had wronged him. With this proud assur- ance, he bore all present indignities in silence. He even wrote, at the demand of Bobadilla, a letter to the adelan- tado, who was still in Xaragua, at the head of an armed force, exhorting him to submit quietly to the will of the sovereigns. Don Bartholomew immediately complied. Relinquishing his command, he hastened peacefully to San Domingo, and, on arriving, experienced the same treatment with his brothers, being put in irons, and con- fined on board of a caravel. They were kept separate from each other, and no communication permitted be- tween them. Bobadilla did not see them himself, nor did he allow others to visit them ; and they were kept in total ignorance of the crimes with which they were charged, and the proceedings that were instituted against them. The old scenes of the time of Aguado were now re- newed with tenfold virulence. All the old charges were revived, and others added, still more extravagant in their nature. Columbus was accused of having prevented the conversion of the Indians, that they might be sold as BARTHOLOMFAV COLUMBUS. Redratvn from llerr.ra's - History of tin- West Indus." 266 THE LIFE OF COLUMBUS. slaves ; with having secreted pearls collected on the coast of Paria, and kept the sovereigns in ignorance of the nature of his discoveries there, in order to exact new privileges from them. Even the late tumults were turned into matters of accusation, and the rebels admitted as evidence. The well-merited punishments inflicted upon certain of the ringleaders were cited as proofs of a cruel and revengeful disposition, and a secret hatred of Span- iards. Guevara, Reguelme, and their fellow-convicts were discharged almost without the form of a trial. Rol- dan, from the very first, had been treated with confidence by Bobadilla ; all the others whose conduct had rendered them liable to justice received either a special acquittal or a general pardon. Bobadilla had now collected testimony sufficient, as he thought, to insure the condemnation of the prisoners, and his own continuance in command. He determined, therefore, to send home the Admiral and his brothers in chains, in the vessels which were ready for sea, with the inquest taken in their case, and private letters enforcing the charges made against them. San Domingo now swarmed with miscreants, just de- livered from the dungeon and the gibbet. Every base spirit which had been overawed by Columbus and his brothers, when in power, now hastened to revenge itself upon them when in chains. The most injurious slanders were loudly proclaimed in the streets, pasquinades and libels were posted up at the corners, and horns blown in the neighborhood of their prisons, to taunt them with the exultings of the rabble. The charge of conducting the prisoners to Spain was given to Alonzo de Villejo, an officer who was in the employ of Bishop Fonseca. He was instructed, on ar- riving at Cadiz, to deliver his prisoners into the hands of COLUMBUS TAKEN TO SPAIN. 267 the bishop, which circumstance has caused a behef that Fonseca was the secret instigator of all these violent proceedings. Villejo, however, was a man of honorable character and generous feelings, and showed himself superior to the low malignity of his patrons. When he arrived with a guard to conduct the Admiral from the prison to the ship, he found him in chains, in a state of deep despondency. So violently had he been H;reated, and so savage were the passions let loose against him, he had begun to fear he should be sacrificed without an opportunity of being heard, and that his name would go down to posterity sullied with imputed crimes. When the ofificer entered with the guard, he thought it was to conduct him to the scaffold. '* Villejo," said he, mournfully, " whither are you taking me?" " To the ship, your excellency, to embark," replied the other. "To embark!" repeated the Admiral, earnestly. "Vil- lejo, do you speak the truth ? " " By the life of your ex- cellency," replied the honest officer, " it is true ! " With these words the Admiral was comforted, and felt as one restored from death to life. The caravels set sail early in October, bearing off Co- lumbus, shackled like the vilest of culprits, amidst the scoffs and shouts of a miscreant rabble, who took a brutal joy in heaping insults on his venerable head, and sent curses after him from the island he had so recently added to the civilized world. Fortunately the voyage was fa- vorable and of moderate duration, and was rendered less irksome to Columbus by the conduct of those to whom he was given in custody. The worthy Villejo, as well as Andreas Martin, the master of the caravel, felt deeply grieved at his situation, and always treated him w ith pro- found respect and assiduous attention. They would have taken off his irons, but to this he would not consent. 268 THE LIFE OF COLUMBUS. " No," said he, proudly, " their majesties commanded me by letter to submit to whatever Bobadilla should order in their name ; by their authority he has put upon me these chains ; I will wear them until they shall order them to be taken off, and I will afterwards preserve them as relics and memorials of the reward of my services." "He did so," adds his son Fernando, in his history; " I saw them always hanging in his cabinet, and he requested that when he died they might be buried with him!" ^ CHAPTER XXXV. ARRIVAL OF COLUMBUS IN SPAIN. — HIS INTERVIEW WITH THE SOVEREIGNS.— APPOINTMENT OF OVANDO TO THE GOVERNMENT OF HISPANIOLA. [150O.] The arrival of Columbus at Cadiz, a prisoner, and in chains, produced almost as great a sensation as his tri- umphant return from his first voyage. A general burst of indignation arose in Cadiz, and in the powerful and opulent Seville, which was immediately echoed through- out all Spain. No one stopped to reason on the subject. It was sufficient to be told that Columbus was brought home in chains from the world he had discovered. The tidings reached the court of Granada, and filled the halls of the Alhambra with murmurs of astonishment. On the arrival of the ships at Cadiz, Andreas Martin, the captain, had permitted Columbus to send off letters pri- vately by express. The Admiral, full of his wrongs, but ignorant how far they had been authorized by the sover- eigns, forbore to write to them. He sent a long letter, LENIENCY OF FERDINAND. 269 however, to a lady of the court, high in favor with the queen, and who had been nurse to Prince Juan. It con- tained an ample vindication of his conduct, couched in eloquent and dignified and touching language. When it was read to the noble-minded Isabella, and she found how grossly Columbus had been wronged and the royal authority abused, her heart was filled with mingled sym- pathy and indignation. However Ferdinand might have secretly felt disposed against Columbus, the momentary tide of public senti- ment was not to be resisted. He joined with his generous queen in her reprobation of the treatment of the Admiral. Without waiting to receive any documents that might arrive from Bobadilla, they sent orders to Cadiz that the prisoners should be instantly set at liberty and treated with all distinction, and that two thousand ducats should be advanced to Columbus to defray the expenses of his journey to court. They wrote him a letter at the same time, expressing their grief at all that he had suffered, and inviting him to Granada. The loyal heart of Columbus was cheered by this letter from his sovereigns. He appeared at court, not as a man ruined and disgraced, but richly dressed, and with an honorable retinue. He was received by their majesties with unqualified favor and distinction. When the queen beheld this venerable man approach, and thought on all he had deserved and all that he had suffered, she was moved to tears. Columbus had borne up firmly against the stern conflicts of the world ; he had endured with lofty scorn the Mijuries and insults of ignoble men, but he possessed strong and quick sensibility. When he found himself thus kindly received, and beheld tears in the benign eyes of Isabella, his long-suppressed feelings burst forth; he threw himself upon his knees, and for some 2/0 THE LIFE OF COLUMBUS. time could not utter a word for the violence of his tears and sobbings. Ferdinand and Isabella raised him from the ground, and endeavored to encourage him by the most gracious expressions. As soon as he regained his self-possession he entered into an eloquent and high-minded vindication of his loyalty, and the zeal he had ever felt for the glory and advantage of the Spanish crown ; if at any time he had erred, it had been, he said, through inexperience in the art of governing, and through the extraordinary diffi- culties by which he had been surrounded. There was no need of vindication on his part. He stood in the presence of his sovereigns a deeply injured man, and it remained for them to vindicate themselves to the world from the charge of ingratitude towards their most deserving subject. They expressed their indigna- tion at the proceedings of Bobadilla, which they disa- vowed, as contrary to his instructions ; they promised that he should be immediately dismissed from his com- mand, and Columbus reinstated in all his privileges and dignities, and indemnified for the losses he had sustained. The latter expected, of course, to be immediately sent back in triumph to San Domingo, as Viceroy and Admiral of the Indies ; but in this he was doomed to experience a disappointment, which threw a gloom over the remainder of his days. The fact was that Ferdinand, however he may have disapproved of the violence of Bobadilla, was secretly well pleased with its effects. It had produced a temporary exclusion of Columbus from his high offices, and the politic monarch determined, in his heart, that he should never be restored to them. He had long repented having vested such great powers and prerogatives in any subject, particularly in a foreigner; but at the time of granting them he had no idea of the extent of the coun- SELFISH POLICY Of FERDINAND. 2/1 tries over which they would be exercised. Recent dis- coveries, made by various individuals, showed them to be almost boundless. Vicente Yafiez Pinzon, one of the brave and intellii^ent family of navigators that had sailed with Columbus in his first voyage, had lately crossed the line, and explored the shores of the southern continent as far as Cape St. Augustine. Diego Lepe, another bold navigator of Palos, had doubled that cape, and beheld the continent stretching away out of sight, to the south- west. The report of every discoverer put it beyond a doubt that these countries must be inexhaustible in wealth, as they appeared to be boundless in extent. Yet over all these Columbus was to be Viceroy, with a share in their productions and the profits of their trade that must yield him an incalculable revenue. The selfish monarch appeared almost to consider himself outwitted in the arrangement he had made ; and every new dis- covery, instead of increasing his feeling of gratitude to Columbus, seemed only to make him repine at the grow- ing magnitude of his reward. Another grand consideration with the monarch was that Columbus was no longer indispensable to him. He had made his great discover}' ; he had struck out the route to the New World, and now any one could follow it. A number of able navigators had sprung up under his auspices, who were daily besieging the throne with offers to fit out expeditions at their own cost, and to yield a share of the [profits to the Crown. Why should he, therefore, confer princely dignities and prerogatives for that which men were daily offering to perform gra- tuitously ? Such, from his after conduct, appears to have been the jealous and selfish policy wh.ich actuated Ferdinand in forbearing to reinstate Columbus in those dignities and 2/2 THE LIFE OF COLUMBUS. privileges which had been solemnly granted to him by treaty, and which it was acknowledged he had never for- feited by misconduct. Plausible reasons, however, were given for delaying his reappointment. It was observed, that the elements of those factions which had recently been in arms yet existed in the island, and might pro- duce fresh troubles, should Columbus return immedi- ately. It was represented as advisable, therefore, to send some officer of talent and discretion to supersede Boba- dilla, and to hold the government for two years, by which time all angry passions would be allayed and turbulent individuals removed. Columbus might then resume the command, with comfort to himself and advantage to the Crown. With this arrangement the Admiral was obliged to content himself. The person chosen to supersede Bobadilla was Don Nicholas de Ovando, commander of Lares, of the order of Alcantara. He is described as being of the middle size, with a fair complexion, a red beard, a modest look, yet a tone of authority ; fluent in speech, courteous in manners, prudent, just, temperate, and of great humility. Such is the picture drawn of him by some of his contem- poraries ; yet he appears, from his actions, to have been plausible and subtle, as well as fluent and courteous ; his humility concealed a great love of command ; he was a merciless scourge to the Indians, and in his dealings with Columbus he was both ungenerous and unjust. While the departure of Ovando was delayed by vari- ous circumstances, every arrival brought intelligence of the disastrous state of the island, under the administra- tion of Bobadilla, The latter was not so much a bad, as an imprudent and a weak, man. Imagining rigorous rule to be the rock on which his predecessor had split, he had at the very outset relaxed the reins of justice and moral- TYRANNY OF BOB A DILL A. 2/3 ity, and, of course, had lost all command over the'commu- nity. In a little while such disorder and licentiousness ensued that many, even of the opponents of Columbus, looked back with regret to the strict but wholesome rule of himself and the adelantado. One dangerous indulgence granted to the colonists called for another, and each was ceded, in its turn, by Bobadilhi. He sold the farms and estates of the Crown at low prices, and granted universal permission to work ihe mines, on paying only an eleventh of tiie produce to government. To prevent any diminution in the reve- nues it became necessary to increase the quantity of gold collected. He enforced, therefore, the repartimientos, by which the cacique's were obliged to furnish parties of their subjects to work for the Spaniards in the field and in the mine. To carry these into more complete effect he made an enumeration of the natives of the island, re- duced them into classes, and distributed them, according to his favor or caprice, among the colonists. His con- stant exhortation to the Spaniards was, to produce large quantities of gold. " Make the most of your time," he would say, " there is no knowing how long it will last," alluding to the possibility of his being speedily recalled. The colonists acted up to his advice, and so hard did they drive the poor natives that the eleventh yielded more revenue than had ever been produced by the third, under the government of Columbus. In the meantime, the unhappy Indians sunk under the toils imposed upon them, and the severities by which they were enforced. A capricious tyranny was exercised over them by worth- less men, numbers of whom had been transported con- victs from the dungeons of Castile. These wretches as- sumed the tone of grand cavaliers, and insisted upon being attended by trains of servants ; they took the (i8) 274 THE LIFE OF COLUMBUS. daughters and female relatives of caciques for their ser. vants or their concubines. In travelling, they obliged the natives to transport them on their shoulders in litters or hammocks, while others held umbrellas of palm leaves over their heads, and cooled them with fans of feathers. Sometimes the backs and shoulders of the unfortunate Indians who bore the litters were raw and bleeding from the task. When these arrogant upstarts arrived at an Indian village they capriciously seized upon and lavished the provisions of the inhabitants, and obliged the cacique and his subjects to dance for their amusement. They never addressed the natives but in the most degrading terms ; and for the least offence, or in a mere freak of ill- humor, they would inflict blows ahd lashes, and even death itself. The tidings of these abuses and of the wrongs of the natives grieved the spirit of Isabella, and induced her to urge the departure of Ovando. He was empowered to assume the command immediately on his arrival, and to send home Bobadilla by the return fleet. Hispaniola was to be the metropolis of the colonial government, which was to extend over the islands and Terra Firma. Ovando was to correct the late abuses, to revoke the improper licenses granted by Bobadilla, to lighten the burdens imposed upon the Indians, and to promote their religious instruction. He was, at the same time, to as- certain the injury sustained by Columbus in his late arrest and imprisonment, and the arrears of revenue that were due to him, that he might receive ample redress and compensation. The Admiral was to be allowed a resident agent in the island to attend to his affairs and guard his interests, to which ofifice Columbus immediately appoint- ed Alonzo Sanchez de Carvajal. Among various decrees on this occasion we find the SAILING OF OVA N DO. 275 first trace of negro slavery in the New World. It was permitted to transport to the colony negro slaves born in Spain, the children and descendants of natives brought from Guinea, where the slave trade had for some time been carried on by the Spaniards and Portuguese. There are signal events in the course of history which sometimes bear the appearance of temporal judgments. It is a fact worthy of observation that Hispaniola, the place where this flagrant sin against nature and humanity was first introduced into the New World, has been the first to exhil:)it an instance of awful retribution. The fleet appointed to convey Ovando to his govern- ment put to sea on the 13th of February, 1502. It was the largest armament that had yet sailed to the New World, consisting of thirty sail, of various sizes, provided with all kinds of supplies for the colony. Twenty-five hundred souls embarked in this fleet, many of them per- sons of rank, with their families. Ovando was allowed a brilliant retinue, a body-guard of horsemen, and the use of silks, brocades, and precious stones, at that time for- bidden by the sumptuary laws of Spain. Such was the style in which a favorite of Ferdinand, a native subject of rank, was fitted out to enter upon the government withheld from Columbus. CHAPTER XXXVI. PROPOSITION OF COLUMHUS FOR A CRUSADE. — HIS PREPARATIONS FOR A FOURTH VOYAGE. [150O-I50I.J Columbus remained in the cit\- of Granada upwards of nine months, awaiting employment, and endeavoring 276 THE LIFE OF COLUMBUS. to retrieve his affairs from the confusion into which they had been thrown. During this gloomy period he called to mind his vow to furnish, within seven years from the time of his discovery of the New World, an army of fifty thousand foot and five thousand horse for the recovery of the Holy Sepulchre. The time had elapsed, the vow remained unfulfilled, and the expected treasures that were to pay the army had never been realized. Destitute, therefore, of the means of accomplishing his pious pur- pose, he considered it his duty to incite the sovereigns to the enterprise ; and he felt emboldened to do so from having originally proposed it as the great object to which the profits of his discoveries should be directed. He set to work, therefore, with his accustomed zeal, to pre- pare arguments for the purpose. Aided by a Carthusian friar, he collected into a manuscript volume all the pas- sages in the Sacred Scriptures and in the writings of the Fathers which he conceived to contain mystic portents and prophecies of the discovery of the New World, the conversion of the Gentiles, and the recovery of the Holy Sepulchre; three great events which he considered des- tined to succeed each other, and to be accomplished through his agency. He prepared, at the same time, a long letter to the sovereigns, written with his usual fervor of spirit and simplicity of heart, urging them to set on foot a crusade for the conquest of Jerusalem. It is a singular composition, which lays open the visionary part of his character, and shows the mystic and speculative reading with which he was accustomed to nurture his solemn and soaring imagination.* It must be recollected that this was a scheme medi- * The manuscript volume, including the letter, still exists in the Colum- bian library of the cathedral of Seville, and has been inspected with great interest by the writer of this history. RICHES OF THE INDIES. 2'J-J tated in mchincboly and enthusiastic moods, in the courts of the Alhambra, among the splendid remains of Moorish grandeur, where, but a few years before, he had beheld the standard of the faith elevated in triumph above the symbols of infidelit)-. It was in unison with the temper of the times, when the cross and sword frequently went together, and religion was made the pretext for the most desolating wars. Whetiier Columbus ever presented this book to the sovereigns is uncertain; it is probable that he did not, as his thoughts suddenly returned, with re- newed ardor, to their wonted channels, and he conceived a leading object for another enterprise of discovery. Vasco de Gama had recently accomplished the long- attempted navigation to India by the Cape of Good Hope, and Pedro Alvarez Cabral, following in his track, had returned with his vessels laden with the precious merchandise of the East. The riches of Calicut were now the theme of every tongue. The discoveries of the savage regions of the New World had as yet brought but little revenue to Spain, but this route to the East Indies was pouring in immediate wealth on Portugal. Columbus was roused to emulation, and trusted he could discover a route to those oriental regions more easy and direct than that of Vasco de Gama. Accord- ing to his own observations, and the reports of other navigators, the coast of Terra Firma stretched far to the westward. The southern coast of Cuba, which he con- sidered a part of the Asiatic continent, stretched onward towards the same point. The currents of the Caribbean Sea must pass between these lands. He was persuaded, therefore, that a strait must exist somewhere thereabout, opening into the Indian Sea. The situation in which he placed his conjectural strait was somewhere about what is at present called the Isthmus of Darien. Could he 278 THE LIFE OF COLUMBUS. but discover such a passages, and thus link the New World he had discovered with the opulent oriental countries of the old, he felt that he should make a magnificent close to his labors. He Unfolded his plan to the sovereigns, and, though it met with some narrow-minded opposition on the part of certain of the royal counsellors, it was promptly adopted, and he was empowered to fit out an armament to carry it into effect. He accordingly departed for Seville in the autumn of 1501 to make the necessary preparations; but such were the delays caused by the artifices of Fonseca and his agents, that it was not until the following month of May that he was able to put to sea. Before sailing, he took measures to provide against any misfortune that might happen to himself in so distant and perilous an expedition. He caused copies to be made and authenticated of all the royal letters patent of his dignities and privileges; of his letter to the nurse of Prince Juan, containing a vindication of his conduct ; and of two letters assigning to the Bank of St. George, at Genoa, a tenth of his revenues to be employed in dimin- ishing the duties on provisions in his native city. These two sets of documents he sent by different hands to his friend, Doctor Nicolo Odorigo, who had been Genoese ambassador to the court of Spain, requesting him to de- posit them in some safe place at Genoa, and to apprise his son Diego of the same. He wrote also to Pope Alexander the Seventh, men- tioning his vow to furnish an army for a crusade, but informing him of his being prevented from fulfilling it by being divested of his government. He promised his Holiness, however, on his return from his present voyage to repair immediately to Rome, and render him an ac- count of all his expeditions. THE FOURTH VOYAGE. 2jg CHAPTER XXXVII. COLUMBUS SAILS ON HIS LOUKTII VOYAGE. — EVENTS AT THE ISLAND OF IHSPANIOLA. — HIS SEARCH AFTER AN IMAGINARY STRAIT. [1502.J Age was rapidly making its advances upon Columbus when he undertook his fourth voyage of discovery. He was now about sixty-six years old. His constitution, originally vigorous in the extreme, had been impaired by hardships and exposures in every clime, and by the men- tal sufferings he had undergone. His intellectual powers alone retained their wonted energy, prompting him, at a period of life when most men seek repose, to sally forth with youthful ardor on the most toilsome and adventur- ous of enterprises. In this arduous voyage he was ac- companied by his brother Don Bartholomew, who com- manded one of the vessels, and by his son Fernando, then in his fourteenth year. Columbus sailed from Cadiz on the 9th of May, 1502. His squadron consisted of four caravels, the largest of but seventy tons burden, the smallest of fifty ; the crews amounted in all to one hundred and fifty men. With this little armament and these slender barks he under- took the search after a strait, which, if found, must con- duct him into the most remote seas, and lead to a com- plete circumnavigation of the globe. After touching at the Canaries, he had a prosperous voyage to the Caribbec Islands, arriving on the 15th of June at IMantinino, at present called Martinique. He had originally intended to steer to Jamaica, and from thence for the continent, in search of the supposed strait ; but one of his vessels 28o THE LIFE OF COLUMBUS, proving a dull sailer, he bore away for Hispaniola to ex- change it for one of the fleet which had recently taken out Ovando. This was contrary to his orders, which had expressly forbidden him to touch at Hispaniola until his return homewards, lest his presence should cause some agitation in the island ; he trusted, however, the circum- stances of the case would plead his excuse. Columbus arrived off the harbor of San Domingo at an unpropitious moment. The place was filled with the most virulent of his enemies, many of whom were in a high state of exasperation from recent proceedings which had taken place against them. The fleet which had brought out Ovando lay in the harbor, ready to put to sea; and was to take out Roldan, and many of his late adherents, some of whom were under arrest, and to be tried in Spain. Bobadilla was to embark in the principal ship, on board of which he had put an immense amount of gold, the revenue collected for the government during his administration, and which he confidently expected would atone for all his faults. Among the presents he intended for the sovereigns was one mass of virgin gold, which is famous in the old Spanish chronicles. It was said to weigh three thousand six hundred castillanos. Large quantities of gold had also been shipped in the fleet by the followers of Roldan, and other adventurers; the wealth gained by the sufferings of the unhappy natives. It was on the 29th of June that Columbus arrived at the mouth of the river, and sent an officer on shore to explain to the governor the purpose of his visit ; he re- quested permission, moreover, to shelter his squadron in the river, as he apprehended an approaching storm. His request was refused by Ovando, who probably had orders from the sovereigns to that effect, and perhaps was fur- AT THE MERCY OF THE STORM. 28 1 ther swayed by prudent considerations. Columbus then sent a second message, entreating that the saiUng of the fleet might be delayed, as there were indubitable signs of an approaching tempest. This request was as fruitless as the preceding ; the weather, to an inexperienced eye, was fair and tranquil, and the warning of the Admiral was treated with ridicule, as the prediction of a false prophet. Columbus retired from the river, indignant at being denied relief and refused shelter in the very island which he had discovered. His crew murmured loudlv at being excluded from a port of their own nation, where even strangers, under similar circumstances, would be admitted ; and they repined at having embarked with a commander who was liable to such treatment. Columbus, feeling con- fident that a storm was at hand, kept his feeble squadron close to shore, and sought for shelter in some wild bay or river of the island. In the meantime the fleet of Bobadilla set sail from San Domingo, and stood out confidently to sea. Within two days the predictions of Columbus were verified. One of those tremendous storms which sometimes sweep those latitudes had gradually gathered up and begun to blow. The little squadron of Columbus remained for a time tolerably well sheltered by the land, but the tempest increasing and the night coming on, with unusual dark- ness, the ships lost sight of each other and were separated. The Admiral still kept close to the shore, and sustained no damage. The three other vessels ran out for sea-room, and for several days were driven about at the mercy of wind and wave, fearful each moment of shipwreck, and giving up each other as lost. Tlic adelantado, who com- manded the worst vessel of the squadron, ran the most imminent hazard, and nothing but his consummate sea- 282 THE LIFE OF COLUMBUS. manship enabled him to keep her afloat ; he lost his long- boat, and all the other vessels sustained more or less injury. At length, after various vicissitudes, they all ar- rived safe at Port Hermoso, to the west of San Domingo. A different fate befell the other armament. The ship on board of which were Bobadilla, Roldan, and a number of the most inveterate enemies of Columbus, was swal- lowed up with all its crew, and with the celebrated mass of gold, and the principal part of the ill-gotten treasure gained by the miseries of the Indians. Many of the other ships were entirely lost, some returned to San Domingo in shattered condition, and only one was enabled to con- tinue her voyage to Spain. That one, it is said, was the weakest of the fleet, and had on board of it four thousand pieces of gold, the property of the Admiral, remitted to Spain by his agent Carvajal. Both Fernando Columbus and the venerable historian Las Casas looked upon this event as one of those awful judgments which seem at times to deal forth temporal retribution. They notice the circumstance that, while the enemies of the Admiral were thus, as it were, before his eyes, swallowed up in the raging sea, the only ship enabled to pursue her voyage was the frail bark freighted with his property. Many of the superstitious seamen, who, from the sagacity displayed by Columbus in judging of the signs of the elements and his variety of scientific knowledge, looked upon him as endowed with supernatural powers, fancied he had con- jured up this storm by magic spells for the destruction of his enemies. The evils in this, as in most of the cases called temporal judgments, overwhelmed the innocent with the guilty. In the same ship with Bobadilla and Roldan perished the captive Guarionex, the unfortunate cacique of the vega. After repairing the damages sustained by his ships in ■B^^^ < ..^,_ '/I \- • a O : a. ^ as 0, ." z "^ 8 2 u 284 THE LIFE OF COLUMBUS. the storm, Columbus steered for Terra Firma ; but the weather falling perfectly calm, he was swept away to the northwest by the currents, until he arrived on the south- ern coast of Cuba. The wind springing up fair, he re- sumed his course, and standing to the southwest, was enabled, on the 30t h of July, to make the island of Gua- naga, a few leagues distant from the coast of Honduras. While the adelantado was on shore at this island a canoe arrived, of an immense size, on board of which sat a ca- cique with his wives and children, under an awning of palm leaves. The canoe was paddled by twenty-five In- dians, and freighted with various merchandise, the rude manufactures and natural productions of the adjacent countries. There were hatchets and other utensils of copper, with a kind of crucible for the melting of that metal. Various vessels neatly formed of clay, marble, and hard wood ; mantles of cotton, worked and dyed with various colors, and many other articles which indicated a superior degree of art and civilization than had hitherto been discovered in the New World. The Indians, as far as they could be understood, in- formed the Admiral that they had come from a country rich, cultivated, and industrious, situated to the west, and urged him to steer in that direction. Well would it have been for Columbus had he followed their advice. Within a day or two he would have arrived at Yucatan ; the discovery of Mexico and the other opulent countries of New Spain would have necessarily followed, the Southern Ocean would have been disclosed to him, and a succession of splendid discoveries would have shed fresh glory on his declining age, instead of its sinking amidst gloom, neglect, and disappointment. The Admiral's whole mind, however, was at present intent upon discovering the supposed strait that was to COASTING ALONG CAPE HONDURAS. 2S5 lead liiiii to the Indian Ocean, lie stood, therefore, southwardly for some mountains which he descried not many leagues distant, made Cape Honduras, and from thence proceeded eastwardly, beating against contrary winds, and struggling with the currents which sweep that coast. There was an almost incessant tempest, with heavy rain and awful thunder and lightning. His vessels were strained so that their seams opened, the sails and rigging were rent, and the provisions damaged by the rain and the leakage. The sailors were exhausted with fatigue and harassed with terror. Several times they confessed their sins to each other, and prepared for death. During a great part of this time Columbus suf- fered extremely from the gout, and his complaint was aggravated b}' watchfulness and anxiety. His illness did not prevent his attending to his duties ; he had a small cabin or roundhouse constructed on the stern, from whence, even when confined to his bed, he could keep a lookout, and regulate the sailing of the ships. Many times he was so ill that he thought his end approaching, and his anxious mind was distressed at the thoughts that his brother, Don Bartholomew, and his son Fer- nando were exposed to the same dangers and hardships. Often, too, his thoughts reverted to his son Diego, and the cares and misfortunes into which his death might plunge him. At length, after struggling for upwards of forty days to make a distance of about seventy leagues, he arrived, on the 14th of September, at a cape where the coast made a sudden bend, and turned directly south. Doubling tiiis cape, he had immediately an easy wind, and swept off with flowing sail, in consequence of which he gave it the name of Gracias a Dios, or. Thanks to God. For three weeks he continued coasting what is at pres- 286 THE LIFE OF COLUMBUS. ent called the Mosquito shore, in the course of which a boat with its crew was swallowed up by the sudden swell- ing of a river. He had occasional interviews with the natives, but a mutual distrust prevailed between them and the Spaniards. The Indians were frightened at seeing a notary of the fleet take out pen, ink, and paper, and pro- ceed to write down the information they were communi- cating ; they supposed he was working some magic spell, and to counteract it they scattered a fragrant powder in the air, and burnt it, so that the smoke should be borne towards the Spaniards. The superstitious seamen looked upon these counter charms with equal distrust. They suspected the people of this coast to be great enchanters, and that all the delays and hardships they had experi- enced were in consequence of the ships being under some evil spell wrought by their magic arts. Even Columbus and his son and historian Fernando appear to have been tinctured with this superstition, which, indeed, is char- acteristic of the age. On the 5th of October Columbus arrived at what is at present called Costa Rica (or, the Rich Coast), from the gold and silver mines found in after years among its mountains. Here he began to find ornaments of pure gold among the natives. These increased in quantity when he came to what has since been called the coast of Veragua, where he was assured that the richest mines were to be found. In sailing along these coasts he re- ceived repeated accounts of a great kingdom in the west, called Ciguare, at the distance of several days' journey, where, as far as he could understand the imperfect explanations of his interpreters, the inhabitants wore crowns and bracelets and anklets of gold, and employed it in embroidering their garments and ornamenting and embossing their furniture. They were armed also, like •J Q 5 -J ? < Z 288 THE LIFE OF COLUMBUS. the Spaniards, with swords, bucklers, and cuirasses, and were mounted on horses. The country was described also as being commercial, with seaports, in which ships arrived armed with cannon. Above all, Columbus under- stood that the sea continued round to this kingdom of Ciguare, and that ten days beyond it was the Ganges. These were evidently rumors of the distant kingdom of Mexico, imperfectly interpreted to Columbus, and shaped and colored by his imagination. He concluded that this country must be some province belonging to the Grand Khan, and must lie on the opposite side of a peninsula, and that he would soon arrive at a strait leading into the Indian Sea, which washed its shores. The supposed vicinity of the Ganges caused no surprise, as he had adopted the opinion of certain ancient philosophers who gave the world a smaller circumference than was gener- ally imagined, and but fifty-six miles and two-thirds to a degree of the equinoctial line. With these erroneous but ingenious ideas, Columbus continued to press forward in search of the imaginary strait, contending with adverse winds and currents, and meeting with great hostility from the natives ; for the Indians of these coasts were fierce and warlike, and many of the tribes are supposed to have been of Carib origin. At sight of the ships the forests would resound with yells and war-whoops, with wooden drums, and the blasts of conchs, and on landing the shores would be lined with savage warriors, armed with clubs and lances, and swords of palm wood. At length, having discovered and named Puerto Bello, and continued beyond Cape Nombre de Dios, Columbus arrived at a small and narrow harbor, to which he gave the name of El Retrcte, or The Cabinet. Here he had reached the point to which Bastides, an enterprising SET OUT FOR VERAGUA. 289 voyager, coasting from the eastward, had recently ex- plored. Whether Columbus knew or not of the voyage of this discoverer does not clearly appear, but here he was induced to give up all further attempt to find the strait. The seamen were disheartened by the constant opposition of the winds and currents, and by the con- dition of the ships, which were pierced in all parts by the teredo or worm so destructive in the tropical seas. They considered themselves still under an evil spell, worked by the Indian sorcerers, and the commanders remon- strated against forcing their way any farther in spite of the elements, with ships so crazed and leaky. Columbus yielded to their solicitations and determined to return to the coast of Veragua, and search for the mines which were said to abound there. Here, then, ended the lofty anticipations which had elevated him above all mercenary views in his struggle along these perilous coasts, and had given a heroic char- acter to the early part of his 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. The subsequent discovery of the Pacific Ocean, bathing the opposite shores of that narrow isth- mus, has proved that a great part of his theory was well founded. CHAPTER XXXVIII. RETURN TO THE COAST OF VERAGUA. — CONTESTS WITH THE NATIVES. [1502.] On the 5th of December Columbus sailed from El Retrete, to return westward in search of the gold mines of Veragua. He had not proceeded far, however, when 19 290 THE LIFE OF COLUMBUS. the wind suddenly veered to the west, the point from whence, for three months, he had been wishing it to blow, but from whence it now came only to contradict him. In a little while it became so variable and furious as to baffle all seamanship. For nine days the vessels were tossed about at the mercy of a raging tempest, in an unknown sea, and often exposed to the awful perils of a lee shore. The sea, according to the description of Columbus, boiled at times like a a caldron ; at other times it ran in mountain waves, covered with foam. At night, the raging billows sparkled with luminous parti- cles which made them resemble great surges of flame. For a day and a night the heavens glowed like a furnace, with incessant flashes of lightning ; while the loud claps of thunder were often mistaken by the mariners for signal guns of distress from their foundering compan- ions. During the whole time there was such a deluge of rain that the seamen were almost drowned in their open vessels. In the midst of this wild tumult of the elements they beheld a new object of alarm. The ocean in one place became strangely agitated. The water was whirled up into a kind of pyramid or cone, while a livid cloud, ta- pering to a point, bent down to meet it. Joining to- gether, they formed a column, which rapidly approached the ships, spinning along the surface of the deep, and drawing up the waters with a rushing sound. The af- frighted mariners, when they beheld this waterspout advancing towards them, despaired of averting it by human means, and began to repeat certain passages from St. John the Evangelist. The waterspout passed close by their ships without injuring them, and they attributed their escape to the miraculous efficacy of their quotations from the Scriptures. ARRIVAL AT VERAGUA. 29I An interval of calm succeeded, but even this afforded but little consolation to the tcmpcst-tost mariners ; they looked upon it as deceitful, and beheld with alarm great numbers of sharks, so abundant and ravenous in those latitudes, roaming about the ships. Among the supersti- tions of the seas is the belief that these voracious fish have not only the faculty of smelling dead bodies at a distance, but have a presentiment of their prey, and keep about vessels which have sick persons on board, or which are in danger of being wrecked. For three weeks longer they continued to be driven to and fro by changeable and tempestuous winds, endeavor- ing to make a distance of merely thirty leagues, inso- much that Columbus gave this line of seaboard the name of La Costa de los Contrastes^ or the Coast of Contra- dictions. At length, to his great joy, he arrived on the day of Epiphany (the 6th of January) on the coast of Veragua, and anchored in a river, to which, in honor of the day, he gave the name of Belen or Bethlehem. The natives of the neighborhood manifested the same fierce and warlike character that generally prevailed along this coast. They were soon conciliated, however, and brought many ornaments of fine gold to traflfic ; but assured the Admiral that the mines lay near the river Veragua, which was about two leagues distant. The ade- lantado had an interview with Ouibian, the cacique of Veragua, who afterwards visited the ships. He was a stern warrior, of tall and powerful frame, and taciturn and cautious character. A few days afterwards the ade- lantado, attended by sixty-eight men well armed, pro- ceeded to explore the Veragua, and seek its reputed mines. They ascended the river about a league and a half, to the village of Quibian, which was situated on a hill. The cacique descended with a numerous train of < g - i Q s < a FINDING GOLD. 293 his subjects, unarmed, and took his seat on a great stoae, whicli one of his attendants drew out of the river. He received his guests with courtesy, for the loft)', vigor- ous, and iron form of the adehintado, and iiis resolute demeanor, were calculated to inspire awe and respect in an Indian warrior. Though his jealousy was evidently awakened by the intrusion of the Spaniards into his ter- ritories, yet he readily furnished Don Bartholomew with guides to conduct him to the mines. These guides led the adelantado and his men about six leagues into the interior, among thick forests of lofty and magnificent trees, where they told them the mines were situated. In fact, the whole soil appeared to be impregnated with gold, and the Spaniards collected a considerable quantit}' from the surface of the earth, and from among the roots of the trees. From hence the adelantado was conducted to the summit of a high hill, which overlooked an immense extent of country, with various villages, and the guides assured him that the whole land, to the distance of twenty days' journey westward, abounded in gold. Another expedition of Don Bartholomew along the coast, westward, was equally satisfactory ; and the re- ports which he brought of golden tracts of country, to- gether with the rumors of a rich and civilized kingdom in the interior, and the erroneous idea with respect to the vicinity of the Ganges, all concurred to produce a new illusion in the ardent mind of Columbus. Me fan- cied that he had actuall)' arrived at the Aurea Cherso- nesus, from whence, according to Josephus, the gold had been procured for the building of the temple of Jerusa- lem. Here, then, was a place at which to found a col- ony and establish a mart, which should become an em- porium of the wealth of a vast region of mines. His brother, Don Bartholomew, concurred with him in opin- 294 THE LIFE OF COLUMBUS. ion, and agreed to remain here with the greater part of the people, while the Admiral should return to Spain for supplies and reinforcements. They immediately proceeded to carry their plan into operation. Eighty men were selected to remain. Houses of wood, thatched with palm leaves, were erected on the high bank of a creek, about a bowshot within the mouth of the river Belen. A storehouse was built to receive part of the ammunition, artillery, and stores ; the rest was put on board of one of the caravels, which was to be left for the use of the colony. The houses being sufBciently finished to be habitable, the Admiral prepared for his departure, when he found, to his surprise, that the river, which on his arrival had been swollen by rain, had subsided to such a degree that there was not above half a fathom of water on the bar. Though his vessels were small, it was impossible to draw them over the sands at the mouth of the river, on account of a heavy surf. He was obliged, therefore, to wait until the rains should again swell the river. In the meantime Quibian beheld with secret indigna- tion these strangers intruding themselves into his domin- ions. Columbus had sought to secure his friendship by various presents, but in vain. The cacique, ignorant of the vast superiority of the Europeans in the art of war, thought it easy to overwhelm and destroy them. He sent messengers around, and ordered all his fighting men to assemble at his residence, under pretext of making war upon a neighboring province. The movements of the Indians awakened the suspicions of one Diego Men- dez, chief notary of the armament. He was a man of zeal and spirit, of a shrewd and prying character, and entirely devoted to the Admiral. He mingled among the Indians, and observed circumstances which satisfied SUSPICIOA'S 01' MENDEZ. 295 him that they were nieditatiiiL^ an attack. The Admiral was loth to believe it, and was desirous of clearer in- formation before he took any step that might interrupt the pacific intercourse that yet prevailed. The indefatigable Mendez now under- took a service of life and death. Accom- panied by a single companion, he pene- trated as a spy to the very residence of Qui- bian, who, they heard, had been wounded in the leg by an arrow. Mentlez gave himself out as a surgeon come to cure the wound, and made his way to the mansion of the grim warrior, which was sit- uated on the crest of a hill, and surrounded by three hundred heads, on stakes — dis- mal trophies of the enemies he had vanquished in battle. Undismayed by this sight, Mendez endeavored to enter, but was met at A CACIQUE. Redratun /rotn Inga's " West Indische Spieghel ." 296 THE LIFE OF COLUMBUS. the threshold by the son of the cacique, who repulsed him with a violent blow that made him recoil several paces. He managed to pacify the furious young savage by taking out a box of ointment, and assuring him that he only came for the purpose of curing his father's wounds. He then made him presents of a comb, scissors, and mir- ror, taught him and his Indians the use of them in cut- ting and arranging their hair, and thus ingratiated him- self with them by administering to their vanity. It was impossible, however, to gain admittance to the cacique ; but Mendez saw enough to convince him that the at- tack was about to be carried into effect, and that it was merely delayed by the wound of the cacique; he has- tened back, therefore, to Columbus with the intelligence. An Indian interpreter, a native of the neighborhood, corroborated the report of Mendez. He informed the Admiral that Quibian intended to come secretly, in the dead of the night, with all his warriors, to set fire to the ships and houses, and massacre the Spaniards. When the adelantado heard of this plot he conceived a counterplot to defeat it, which he carried into effect with his usual promptness and resolution. Taking with him seventy-four men, well armed, among whom was Diego Mendez, and being accompanied by the Indian in- terpreter who had revealed the conspiracy, he set off in boats to the mouth of the Veragua, ascended it rapidly, and landed in the night at the village of the cacique, before the Indians could have notice of his approach. Lest Quibian should take the alarm and fly, he ascended to his house, accompanied only by Diego Mendez and four other men, ordering the rest to come on gradually and secretly, and at the discharge of an arquebuse to rush up and surround the house, and sufTer no one to escape. QUIBIAN IS OVERPOWERED. 297 The cacique, hearing of his approach, came forth, and seating himself in the portal, desired him to advance singly. Don Bartholomew complied, ordering Diego Mende/, and his four companions to remain at a little distance, but to rush to his aid at a concerted signal. He then advanced, addressed the cacique by means of the interpreter, inquired about his wound, and pretend- ing to examine it, took him by the arm. This was the signal, at which four of the Spaniards rushed forward; the fifth discharged the arquebuse. A violent struggle ensued between Don Bartholomew and the cacique, who were both men of great muscular force ; but with the assistance of Diego Mendez and his companions, Ouibian was overpowered, and bound hand and foot. In the meantime the main body of the Spaniards surrounded the house, and captured the wives and children of the cacique, and several of his principal subjects. The pris- oners were sent off to the ships, while the adelantado, with a part of his men, remained on shore to pursue the Indians who had escaped. The cacique was conveyed to the boats by Juan San- chez, the principal pilot of the squadron, a powerful and spirited man. The adelantado charged him to be on his guard against any attempt at rescue or escape. The sturdy pilot replied that if the cacique escaped from his clutches he would give them leave to pluck out his beard hair by hair. On arriving at the boat, he secured his prisoner by a strong cord to one of the benches. It was a dark night ; as the boat proceeded down the river, the cacique complained piteously of the painfulness of his bonds, until the rough heart of the pilot was touched with compassion. He loosened the cord, therefore, by which Quibian was tied to the bench, keeping the end of it in his hand. The wily Indian now watcheil his 298 THE LIFE OF COLUMBUS. opportunity, and plunged suddenly into the water, with such violence that the pilot had to let go the cord, lest he should be drawn in after him. The darkness of the night, and the bustle which took place in preventing the escape of the other prisoners, rendered it impossible to pursue the cacique, or even to ascertain his fate. Juan Sanchez hastened to the ships with the residue of the captives, deeply mortified at being thus outwitted by a savage. The adelantado remained all night on shore, but on the following morning, seeing the wild and rugged nature of the country, he gave up all further pursuit of the In- dians, and returned to the ships with the spoils of the cacique's mansion, consisting of bracelets, anklets, and massive plates of gold, and two golden coronets. One- fifth of the booty was set apart for the Crown, the resi- due was shared among those concerned in the enterprise, and one of the coronets was assigned to the adelantado as a trophy of his exploit. CHAPTER XXXIX. DISASTERS OF THE SETTLEMENT. [1503.] Satisfied that the vigorous measure of the adelan- tado had struck terror into the Indians and crushed their hostile designs, Columbus took advantage of a swelling of the river to pass the bar with three of his caravels, leavingf the fourth for the use of the settlement. He then anchored within a league of the shore, until a favor- able wind should spring up for Hispaniola. The cacique Quibian had not perished in the river, as ESCAPE OF QUIBIAN. 299 some had supposed. Plunging to the bottom, he swam for some distance below the surface, and then emerging, escaped to the shore. His home, however, was desolate, and, to complete his despair, he saw the vessels standing out to sea, bearing away his wives and children captives. Furious for revenge, he gathered together a great num- ber of his warriors, and assailed the settlement when the Spaniards were scattered and off their guard. The In- dians launched their javelins through the roofs of the houses, which were of palm leaves, or hurled them in at the windows, or thrust them between the logs which composed the walls, and wounded several of the Span- iards. On the first alarm, the adelantado seized a lance, and sallied forth with seven or eight of his men ; Diego Mendez brought several others to his assistance. They had a short skirmish : one Spaniard was killed and eight wounded ; the adelantado received a thrust in the breast with a javelin ; but they succeeded in repulsing the In- dians with considerable loss, and driving them into the forest. During the skirmish, a boat came on shore from the ships to procure wood and water. It was commanded by Diego Tristan, a captain of one of the caravels. When the Indians were put to flight, he proceeded up the river, in quest of fresh water, disregarding the warn- ing counsels of those on shore. The boat had ascended about a league above the vil- lage, to a part of the river overshadowed by lofty banks and spreading trees. Suddenly the forest resounded with yells and war-whoops, and the blasts of conchs. A shower of missiles was rained from the shores, and canoes darted out from creeks and coves, filled with warriors, brandishing their weapons. The Spaniards, losing all presence of mind, neglected to use their firearms, and 300 THE LIFE OF COLUMBUS. only sought to shelter themselves with their bucklers. The captain, Diego Tristan, though covered with wounds, endeavored to animate his men, when a javelin pierced his right eye and struck him dead. The canoes now closed upon the boat, and massacred the crew. One Spaniard alone escaped, who, having fallen overboard, dived to the bottom, swam under water, and escaped un- perceived to shore, bearing tidings of the massacre to the settlement. The Spaniards were so alarmed at the in- telligence, and at the thoughts of the dangers that were thickening around them, that, notwithstanding the re- monstrances of the adelantado, they determined to em- bark in the caravel, and abandon the place altogether. On making the attempt, however, they found that, the torrents having subsided, the river was again shallow, and it was impossible for the caravel to pass over the bar. A high sea and boisterous surf also prevented their send- ing off a boat to the Admiral, with intelligence of their danger. While thus cut off from all retreat or succor, horrors increased upon them. The mangled bodies of Diego Tristan and his men came floating down the stream, and drifting about the harbor, with flights of crows and other carrion birds feeding on them, and hov- ering and screaming and fighting about their prey. In the meantime, the dismal sound of conchs and war- drums was heard in every direction in the bosom of the surrounding forest, showing that the enemy was aug- menting in number, and preparing for further hostilities. The adelantado, therefore, deemed it unsafe to remain in the village, which was adjacent to the woods. He chose an open place on the shore, where he caused a kind of bulwark to be made of the boat of the caravel, and of casks and sea-chests. Two places were left open as em- brasures, in which were mounted a couple of falconets, < o o o X H < a ^ ft 302 THE LIFE OF COLUMBUS. or small pieces of artillery. In this little fortress the Spaniards shut themselves up, and kept the Indians at a distance by the terror of their firearms ; but they were exhausted by watching and by incessant alarms, and looked forward with despondency to the time when their ammunition should be exhausted, or they should be driven forth by hunger to seek for food. While the Spaniards were exposed to such imminent peril on shore, great anxiety prevailed on board of the ships. Day after day elapsed without the return of Diego Tristan and his party, and it was feared that some disaster had befallen them. But one boat remained for the service of the ships, and they dared not risk it in the rough sea and heavy surf, to send it on shore for intelli- gence. A circumstance occurred to increase the anxiety of the crews. The Indian prisoners were confined in the forecastle of one of the caravels. In the night they sud- denly burst open the hatch, several flung themselves into the sea and swam to the shore ; the rest were secured and forced back into the forecastle, but such was their un- conquerable spirit and their despair that they hanged or strangled themselves with ends of cords which lay about in their prison, and in the morning were all found dead. The escape of some of the prisoners gave great uneasi- ness to the Admiral, fearing they would stimulate their countrymen to some new act of vengeance. Still it was impossible to send a boat on shore. At length, one Pedro Ledesma, a man of great strength and resolution, volunteered, if the boat would take him to the edge of the surf, to plunge into the sea, swim to the shore, and bring off intelligence. He succeeded, and on his return informed the Admiral of all the disasters of the settle- ment ; the attack by the Indians, and the massacre of ABANDONMENT OF THE SETTLEMENT. 303 Diego Tristan and his boat's crew. He found the Span- iards in tiieir forlorn fortress, in a complete state of insubordination. They were preparing canoes, to take them to the ships when the weather should moderate. They threatened that, if the Admiral refused to take them on board, they would embark in the remaining car- avel, as soon as it could be extricated from the river, and would abandon themselves to the mercy of the seas, rather than continue on that fatal coast. The Admiral was deeply afiflictcd at this intelligence ; but there appeared no alternative but to embark all the people, abandon the settlement for the present, and re- turn at a future day, with a force competent to take secure possession of the country. The state of the weather ren- dered the execution even of this plan doubtful. The high wind and boisterous waves still prevented communi- cation, and the situation of those at sea, in crazy and feebly manned ships, on a lee shore, was scarcely less perilous than that of their comrades on the land. Every hour increased the anxiety of the Admiral. Days of con- stant perturbation and nights of sleepless anguish preyed upon a constitution broken by age and hardships. Amidst the acute maladies of the body and the fever of the mind, he appears to have been visited by partial delirium. In a letter to the sovereigns he gives an account of a kind of vision which comforted him when full of despondency, and tossing upon a couch of pain. In the silence of the night, when, wearied and sighing, he had fallen into a slumber, he thought he heard a voice reproaching him with his want of confidence in God. " Oh, fool, and slow to believe thy God ! " exclaimetl the voice; " what did he more for Moses or for his servant David? From the time that thou wert born he has ever taken care of thee. When he saw thee of a fitting age 304 THE LIFE OF COLUMBUS. he made thy name to resound marvellously throughout the world. The Indies, those rich parts of the earth, he gave thee for thine own, and empowered thee to dispose of them to others according to thy pleasure. He delivered thee the keys of the gates of the ocean sea shut up by such mighty chains, and thou wert obeyed in many lands, and didst acquire honorable fame among Christians. . . . Thou dost call despondingly for succor. Answer ! who has af^icted thee? God, or the world? The privileges and promises which God has made thee he has never broken. He fulfills all that he promises, and with in- crease. Thy present troubles are the reward of the toils and perils thou hast endured in serving others." Amidst its reproaches the voice mingled promises of further protection, and assurances that his age should be no impediment to any great undertaking. Such is the vision which Columbus circumstantially relates in a letter to the sovereigns. The words here spoken by a supposed voice are truths which dwelt upon his mind and agitated his spirit in his waking hours. It is natural that they should recur vividly in his feverish dreams. He had a solemn belief that he was a peculiar instrument in the hands of Providence, which, together with a deep tinge of superstition, common to the age, made him prone to mistake every striking dream for a revelation. His error was probably confirmed by subsequent cir- cumstances. Immediately after the supposed vision, and after nine days of boisterous weather, the wind subsided, the sea became calm, and the adelantado and his com- panions were happily rescued from their perilous situ- ation, and embarked on board of the ships. Everything of value was likewise brought on board, and nothing remained but the hull of the caravel, which could not be DEPARTURE FROM VERAGUA. 305 extricated from the river. Diego Mendcz was extremely efficient in bringing off the people and the property ; and, in reward of his zeal and services, the Admiral gave him the command of the caravel, vacant by the death of the unfortunate Diego Tristan. CHAPTER XL. VOYAGE TO JAMAICA. — TRANSACTIONS AT THAT ISl,- AND. [1503.] Towards the end of April Columbus set sail from the disastrous coast of Veragua. The wretched condition of his ships, the enfeebled state of his crews, and the scarcity of provisions determined him to make the best of his way for Hispaniola ; but it was necessary, before standing across for that island, to gain a considerable distance to the east, to avoid being swept away far be- low their destined port by the currents. The pilots and mariners, who had not studied the navigation of these seas with an equally experienced and observant eye, fan- cied, when Columbus stood along the coast to the cast, that he intended to proceed immediately to Spain, and murmured loudly at the madness of attempting so long a voyage, with ships destitute of stores and consumed by the worms. The Admiral did not impart his reasons, for he was disposed to make a mystery of his routes, see- ing the number of private adventurers daily crowding into his track. Continuing along the coast eastward, he was obliged to abandon one of the caravels in the harbor of Puerto Bcllo, being so pierced b>' the teredo that it was impos- (20) 3o6 THE LIFE OF COLUMBUS. sible to keep her afloat. He then proceeded about ten leagues beyond Point Bias, near to what is at present called the Gulf of Darien, and which he supposed to be the province of Mangi, in the territories of the Grand Khan. Here he bade farewell to the mainland, and stood northward on the ist of May, in quest of Hispani- ola. Notwithstanding all his precautions, however, he was carried so far west by the currents as to arrive, on the 30th of May, among the cluster of islands called the Queen's Gardens, on the south side of Cuba. During this time his crews had suffered excessively from hunger and fatigue. They were crowded into two caravels, little better than mere wrecks, and which were scarcely kept afloat by incessant labor at the pump. They were en- feebled by scanty diet, and dejected by a variety of hardships. A violent storm on the coast of Cuba drove the vessels upon each other, and shattered them to such a degree that the Admiral, after struggling as far as Cape Cruz, gave up all further attempt to navigate them to Hispaniola, and stood over in search of a secure port on the island of Jamaica. Here, on the 24th of June, they anchored in a harbor, to which the Admiral gave the name of Port San Gloria. Seeing that his ships were no longer capable of stand- ing the sea, and were in danger of foundering even in port, Columbus ran them aground, within bowshot of the shore, where they were fastened together side by side. They soon filled with water. Thatched cabins were then erected at the prow and stern to shelter the crews, and the wreck was placed in the best possible state of defence ; thus castled in the sea, Columbus trusted to be able to repel any sudden attack of the na- tives, and at the same time to keep his men under proper restraint. No one was permitted to go on shore without A PERI LOUS SITUATION. 30/ especial license, and the utmost precaution was taken to prevent any offence being given to the Indians, who soon swarmed to the harbor with provisions, as any exaspera- tion of them might be fatal to the Spaniards in their present forlorn situation. Two persons were appointed to superintend all bargains, and the provisions thus ob- tained were divided every evening among the people. As the immediate neighborhood, however, might soon be exhausted, the zealous and intrepid Diego Mendez made a tour in the interior, accompanied by three men, and made arrangements for the caciques at a distance to furnish daily supplies at the harbor, in exchange for European trinkets. He returned in triumph, in a canoe which he had purchased from the Indians, and which he had freighted with provisions, and through his able arrangement the Spaniards were regularly supplied. The immediate wants of his people being thus pro- vided for, Columbus revolved, in his anxious mind, the means of getting from this island. His ships were be- yond the possibility of repair ; there was no hope of a chance sail arriving to his relief, on the shores of a sav- age island, in an unfrequented sea. At length a mode of relief occurred to him, through the means of this same Diego Mendez, whose courage and loyalty he had so often proved. He took him aside to sound him on the subject, and Mendez himself has written an account of this interesting conversation, which is full of char- acter. "Diego Mendez, my son," said the venerable Admiral, " of all those who are here, you and I alone know the great peril in which we are placed. We are few in num- ber, and these savage Indians are many, and of fickle and irritable natures. On the least provocation they may throw firebrands from the shore antl consume us in 308 THE LIFE OF COLUMBUS. our straw-thatched cabins. The arrangement which you have made for provisions, and which at present they ful- fill so cheerfully, they may capriciously break to-morrow, and may refuse to bring us anything ; nor have we the means of compelling them. I have thought of a rem- edy, if it. meets your views. In this canoe which you have purchased, some one may pass over to Hispani- ola, and procure a ship, by which we shall all be deliv- ered from this great peril. Tell me your opinion on the matter." " Senor," replied Diego Mendez, " I well know our danger to be far greater than is easily conceived ; but as to passing to Hispaniola in so small a vessel as a canoe, I hold it not merely difficult, but impossible, since it is necessary to traverse a gulf of forty leagues, and be- tween islands where the sea is impetuous and seldom in repose. I know not who there is would venture upon so extreme a peril." Columbus made no reply ; but from his looks, and the nature of his silence, Mendez plainly perceived him-self to be the person whom the Admiral had in view. Re- suming, therefore, the conversation : " Senor," said he, " I have many times put my life in peril to save you and my comrades, and God has hitherto preserved me in a miraculous manner. There are, nevertheless, murmurers who say that your excellency intrusts to me every affair wherein honor is to be gained, while there are others in company who would execute them as well as I. I beg, therefore, that you would assemble the people, and pro- pose this enterprise, to see if any one will undertake it, which I doubt. If all decline, I will then come forward and risk my life in your service, as I have many times done already. " The Admiral willingly humored the wishes of the LOYALTY OF MENDEZ. 309 worthy Mciidcv. ; for never was simple vanity accom- panied by more generous and devoted zeal. On the following morning the crew was accordingly assembled, and the proposition made. Every one drew back, pronouncing it the height of rashness. Upon this, Diego Mendez stepped forward. " Sefior," said he, " I have but one life to lose, yet I am willing to venture it for your service, and for the good of all here present ; and I trust in the protection of God, which I have ex- perienced on so many other occasions." Columbus embraced this zealous follower, who imme- diately set about preparing for the expedition. Draw- ing his canoe on shore, he put on a false keel, and nailed weatherboards along the bow and stern, to prevent the sea from breaking over it. He then payed it with a coat of tar, furnished it with a mast and sail, and put in provisions for himself, a Spanish comrade, and six Indians. In the meanwhile, Columbus wrote a letter to Ovando, Governor of Hispaniola, begging that a ship might imme- diately be sent to bring him and his men to Hispaniola; and he wrote another to the sovereigns, entreating for a ship to convey them from Hispaniola to Spain. In this letter he gave a comprehensive account of his voyage, and expressed his opinion that Veragua was the Aurea Chersonesus of the ancients. He supposed himself to have reached the confines of the dominions of the Grand Khan, and offered, if he lived to return to Spain, to conduct a mission thither to instruct that potentate in the Christian faith. What an instance of soaring enthusiasm and irrepressible enterprise is here exhibited ! At the time he was indulging these visions, and proposing new and romantic enterprises, he was broken down by age and infirmities, racked by pain, 3IO THE LIFE OF COLUMBUS. confined to his bed, and shut up in a wreck on the coast of a remote and savage island. The dispatches being ready, Diego Mendez embarked with his Spanish comrade and his six Indians, and coasted the island eastward. Their voyage was toilsome and perilous. When arrived at the end of the island, they were suddenly surrounded and taken prisoners by the Indians, who carried them three leagues into the interior, where they determined to kill them. A dispute arising about the division of the spoils, they agreed to settle it after the Indian fashion, by a game of ball. While thus engaged, Diego Mendez escaped, regained his canoe, and made his way back to the harbor in it. alone, after fifteen days' absence. Nothing daunted by the perils and hardships he had undergone, he offered to depart imme- diately, on a second attempt, provided he could be es- corted to the end of the island by an armed force. His offer was accepted, and Bartholomew Fiesco, a Genoese, who had commanded one of the caravels, and was strongly attached to the Admiral, was associated with him in this second expedition. Each had a canoe, with six Span- iards and ten Indians under his command. On reaching Hispaniola, Fiesco was to return immediately to Ja- maica; to bring tidings to the Admiral of the safe arrival of his messenger ; while Diego Mendez was to proceed to San Domingo, and, after purchasing and dispatching a ship, was to depart for Spain with the letter to the sovereigns. All arrangements being made, the Indians placed in the canoes a supply of cassava bread, and each his cala- bash of water. The Spaniards, besides their provisions, had each his sword and target. The adelantado, with an armed band, kept pace with them along the coast until they reached the end of the island, where, waiting I MUTINY OF FOR R AS. l^ for three days until the weather was perfectly serene, they launched forth on the broad bosom of the sea. The adelantado remained watching them until they became mere specks on the ocean, and tlic eveninLj hid them from his view, and lluii returned to the harbor. CHAPTER XLI. MUTINY OF PORRAS. — ECLIPSE OF THE MOON. — STRAT- AGEM OF COLUM13US TO PROCURE SUPPLIES FROM THE INDIANS. [1503.] Months elapsed, and nothing was heard of Mendez and Fiesco. The Spaniards, enfeebled by past sufferings, crowded in close quarters, in a moist and sultry climate, and reduced to a vegetable diet, to which they were unaccustomed, became extremely sickly, and their mala- dies were heightened by anxiety and suspense. Day after day and week after week they kept a wistful lookout upon the sea for the expected return of Fiesco, flattering themselves that every Indian canoe, gliding at a distance, might be the harbinger of deliverance. It was all in vain ; and at length they began to fear that their messen- gers had perished. Some gradually sank into despond- ency ; others became peevish and impatient, and, in their unreasonable heat, railed at their venerable and infirm commander as the cause of all their misfortunes. Among the officers of Columbus were two brothers, Francisco and Diego Porras, relations of the royal treas- urer Morales. To gratify the latter, the Admiral had appointed one of them captain of a caravel, and the other notary and accountant-general of the expedition. The)- 312 THE LIFE OF COLUMBUS. were vain and insolent men, and, like many others whom Columbus had benefited, requited his kindness with the blackest ingratitude. Mingling with the people, they assured them that Columbus had no intention of return- ing to Spain, having in reality been banished thence by the sovereigns. Hispaniola, they said, was equally closed against him, and it was his design to remain in Jamaica until his friends could make interest at court to procure his recall. As to Mendez and Fiesco, they had been sent to Spain by Columbus on his own private concerns ; if this were not the case, why did not the promised ship arrive? or why did not Fiesco return ? Or, if the canoes had really been sent for succor, the long time that had elapsed without tidings gave reason to believe that they had perished by the way. In such case their only alter- native would be to take Indian canoes, and endeavor to reach Hispaniola ; but there was no hope of persuading the Admiral to do this; he was too old and too infirm to undertake such a voyage. By these insidious suggestions they gradually prepared the people for revolt, assuring them of the protection of their own relatives in Spain, and of the countenance of Ovando and Fonseca, if not of the favor of the sover- eigns themselves, who had shown their ill-will towards Columbus by stripping him of part of his dignities and' privileges. On the 2d of January, 1504, the mutiny broke out. Francisco Porras suddenly entered the cabin, where Co- lumbus was confined to his bed by the gout, reproached him vehemently with keeping them in that desolate place to perish, and accused him of having no intention to return to Spain. The Admiral raised himself in bed, and, maintaining his calmness, endeavored to reason with the traitor ; but Porras was deaf to all argument. " Em- MUTINY OF THE CREW. 31 3 bark immediately, or remain, in God's name!" cried he, with a voice that resounded all over the wreck. " For my part, I am for Castile ! those who choose may follow me ! This was the signal. " For Castile ! for Castile ! " was heard on every side. The mutineers sprang upon the most conspicuous parts of the vessel, brandishing their weapons, and, amidst the uproar, the voices of some des- peradoes were heard menacing the life of the Admiral. Columbus, ill and infirm as he was, leaped out of bed, and tottered forth to pacify the mutineers, but was forced back into his cabin by some of his faithful adherents. The adelantado sallied forth, lance in hand, and planted himself in a situation to take the whole brunt of the assault. It was with the greatest difficulty that several of the loyal part of the crew could restrain his fur\', and prevail upon him to relinquish his weapon, and retire to the cabin of his brother. The mutineers, being entirely unopposed, took ten canoes, which the Admiral had purchased from the In- dians ; others, who had not been concei'ned in the mu- tiny, joined them, through fear of remaining behind, when so reduced in number; in this way, forty-eight abandoned the Admiral. Many of the sick crawled forth from their cabins, and beheld their departure with tears and lamentations, and would gladly have accompanied them had their strength permitted. Porras coasted with his squadron of canoes to the east- ward, landing occasionally and robbing the natives, pre- tending to act under the authority of Columbus, that he might draw on him their hostility. Arrived at the east end of the island, he procured several Indians to manage the canoes, and then set out on his voyage across the gulf. The Spaniards had scarcely proceeded four 314 THE LIFE OF COLUMBUS. leagues when the wind came ahead, with a swell of the sea that threatened to overwhelm the deeply laden canoes. They immediately turned for land, and, in their alarm, threw overboard the greater part of their effects. The danger still continuing, they drew their swords, and compelled most of the Indians to leap into the sea. The latter w^ere skilful swimmers, but the distance to land was too great for their strength ; if, however, they at any time took hold of the canoes to rest themselves and recover breath, the Spaniards, fearful of their overturn- ing the slight barks, would stab them, or cut off their hands. Some were thus slain by the sword ; others sunk exhausted beneath the waves ; eighteen perished miser- ably; and none survived but a few who had been retained to manage the canoes. Having reached the shore in safety, Porras and his men waited until the weather became favorable, and then made another effort to cross to Hispaniola, but with no better success. They then abandoned the attempt in despair, and returned westward, towards the harbor, rov- ing from village to village, living upon the provisions of the Indians, which they took by force, if not readily given, and conducting themselves in the most licentious manner. If the natives remonstrated they told them to seek redress at the hands of the Admiral, whom, at the same time, they represented as the implacable foe of the Indian race, and bent upon gaining a tyrannical sway over their island. In the meantime Columbus, when abandoned by the mutineers, and left in the wreck with a mere handful of sick and desponding men, exerted himself to the utmost to restore this remnant to an efficient state of health and spirits. He ordered that the small stock of biscuit which remained, and the most nourishing articles of the provis- THREATENED WITH FAMINE. 3' 5 ions furnished by the Indians, should be appropriated to the invalids; he visited them, individually, cheered them with hopes of speedy deliverance, and promised that on his return to Spain he would intercede with the sovereigns, that their loyalty might be munificently re- warded. In this way, by kind and careful treatment and encouraging words, he succeeded in restoring them from a state of sickness and despondency, and rendering them once more fit for service. Scarcely, however, had the little garrison of the wreck recovered from the shock of the mutiny, when it was menaced by a new and appalling evil. The scanty number of the Spaniards prevented them from foraging abroad for provisions, and rendered them dependent on the voluntary supplies of the natives. The latter began to grow negligent. The European trinkets, once so inestimable in their eyes, by becoming common, had sunk in value, and were almost treated with indifference. The arrangements made by Diego Mendez were irregu- larly attended to, and at length entirely disregarded. Many of the caciques had been incensed by the conduct of Porras and his followers, which they supposed justified by the Admiral ; others had been secretly instigated by the rebels to withhold provisions, in hopes of starving Columbus and his people, or of driving them from the island. The horrors of famine began to threaten the terrified crew, when a fortunate idea presented itself to Colum- bus. From his knowledge of astronomy, he ascertained that within three days there would be a total eclipse of the moon, in the early part of the night. He summoned, therefore, the principal caciques to a grand conference, appointing for it the day of the eclipse. When all were assembled, he told them, by his interpreter, that he and 3l6 THE LIFE OF COLUMBUS. his followers were worshipers of a Deity, who lived in the skies, and held them under his protection. That this great Deity was incensed against the Indians, who had refused or neglected to furnish his faithful worship- ers with provisions, and intended to chastise them with famine and pestilence. Lest they should disbelieve this warning, a signal would be given that very night in the heavens. They would behold the moon change its color, and gradually lose its light ; a token of the fearful pun- ishment which awaited them. Many of the Indians were alarmed at the solemnity of this prediction, others treated it with derision ; all, how- ever, awaited with solicitude the coming of the night. When they beheld a black shadow stealing over the moon, and a mysterious gloom gradually covering the whole face of nature, they were seized with the utmost consternation. Hurrying with provisions to the ships, and throwing themselves at the feet of Columbus, they implored him to intercede with his God to withhold the threatened calamities, assuring him that thenceforth they would bring him whatever he required. Columbus re- tired to his cabin, under pretence of communing with the Deity, the forests and shores all the while resounding with the howling of the savages. He returned shortly, and informed the natives that the Deity had deigned to pardon them, on condition of their fulfilling their prom- ises ; in sign of which he would withdraw the darkness from the moon. When the Indians saw that planet re- stored presently to its brightness, and rolling in all its beauty through the firmament, they overwhelmed the Admiral with thanks for his intercession. They now re- garded him with awe and reverence, as one in peculiar favor and confidence of the Deity, since he knew upon earth what was passing in the heavens. They hastened y. Z ^ t« "o y. r. > ^ O ■^ as 0. o ■J 7. ^ > •^ -J ;^ :!. »* ^ k •r •u ■y) '< > H < Z ^^ 1 3l8 THE LIFE OF COLUMBUS. to propitiate him with gifts; suppHes again arrived daily at the harbor, and from that time forward there was no want of provisions. CHAPTER XLII. ARRIVAL OF DIEGO DE ESCOBAR AT THE HARBOR. — BATTLE WITH THE REBELS. [1504.] Eight months had now elapsed since the departure of Mendez and Fiesco, yet no tidings had been received of their fate. The hopes of the most sanguine were nearly extinct, and many, considering themselves abandoned and forgotten by the world, grew wild and desperate in their plans. Another conspiracy, similar to that of Porras, was on the point of breaking out, when one evening, towards dusk, a sail was seen standing towards the harbor. It was a small caravel, which kept out at sea, and sent its boat on shore. In this came Diego de Escobar, one of the late confederates of Roldan, who had been condemned to death under the administration of Columbus, and pardoned by his successor, Bobadilla. There was bad omen in such a messenger. Escobar was the bearer of a mere letter of compliment and condolence from Ovando, accompanied by a barrel of wine and a side of bacon. The governor expressed great concern at his misfortunes, and regret at not having in port a vessel of sufificient size to bring off himself and people, but promised to send one as soon as possible. Escobar drew off with the boat and kept at a distance from the wreck, awaiting any letters the Admiral might have to send in reply, and holding no conversation with any of the Spaniards. Columbus hastened to write to M^^^k DESERTED BY O VAN DO. 319 Ovando, depicting the horrors of his situation, and urg- ing the promised reHcf. As soon as Escobar received this letter he returned on board of his caravel, which made all sail, and disappeared in the gathering gloom of the night. The mysterious conduct of Escobar caused great won- der and consternation among the people. Columbus sought to dispel their uneasiness, assuring them tliat ves- sels Would soon arrive to take them away. In confidence of this, he said, he had declined to depart with Escobar, because his vessel w^as too small to take the whole, and had dispatched him in such haste that no time might be lost in sending the requisite ships. These assurances, and the certainty that their situation was known in San Domingo, cheered the hearts of the people, and put an end to the conspiracy. Columbus, however, was secretly indignant at the con- duct of Ovando, believing that he had purposely delayed sending relief, in the hopes that he would perish on the island, being apprehensive that, should he return in safe- ty, he would be reinstated in the government of Hispa- niola. He considered Escobar merely as a spy, sent by the governor to ascertain whether he and his crew were yet in existence. Still, he endeavored to turn tiie event to some advantage with the rebels. He sent two of his people to inform them of the promise of Ovando to send ships for his relief, and he offered them a free pardon and a passage to Hispaniola, on condition of their im- mediate return to obedience. On the approach of the ambassadors, Porras came forth to meet them, accompanied solely by a few of the ringleaders of his party, and prevented their holding any communication with the mass of his [jcoplc. In reply to the generous offer of the /\dmiral, they refused to return 320 THE LIFE OF COLUMBUS. to the wreck, but agreed to conduct themselves peaceably and amicably, on receiving a solemn promise that, should two vessels arrive, they should have one to depart in ; should but one arrive, the half of it should be granted to them ; and that, in the meantime, the Admiral should share with them the sea stores and articles of Indian trafific which remained in his possession. When it was observed that these demands were extravagant and in- admissible, they replied, that if they were not peaceably conceded they would take them by force ; and with this menace they dismissed the ambassadors. The conference was not conducted so privately but that the rest of the rebels learnt the whole purport of the mission. Porras, seeing them moved by the offer of pardon and deliverance, resorted to the most desperate falsehoods to delude them. He told them that these offers of the Admiral were all deceitful ; and that he only sought to get them into his power, that he might wreak on them his vengeance. As to the pretended caravel which had visited the harbor, he assured them that it was a mere phantasm, conjured up by the Admiral, who was deeply versed in magic. In proof of this he adverted to its arriving in the dusk of the evening; its holding communication with no one but the Admiral, and its sudden disappearance in the night. Had it been a real caravel, the crew would have sought to converse with their countrymen; the Admiral, his son, and brother would have eagerly embarked on board ; at any rate, it would have remained a little while in port, and not have vanished so suddenly and mysteriously. By these and similar delusions, Porras succeeded in working upon the feelings and credulity of his followers, and persuaded them that, if they persisted in their rebel- lion, they would ultimately triumph, and perhaps send A 7 TACK ON THE ADELANTADO. 321 home the Admiral in irons, as had once before been done from Hispaniola. To involve them beyond hope of pardon he marched them one day towards the harbor, with an intention of seizing upon the stores remaining in the wreck, and getting the Admiral in his power. Columbus heard of their approach, but, being confined by his infirmities, sent Don Bartholomew to reason with them and endeavor to win them to obedience. The ade- lantado, who was generally a man rather of deeds than words, took with him fifty men, well armed. Arriving near the rebels, he sent messengers to treat with them, but Porras forbade them to approach. The latter cheered his followers by pointing with derision to the pale coun- tenances of their opponents, who were emaciated by recent sickness and long confinement in the wreck, whereas his men, for the most part, were hardy sailors, rendered ro- bust by living in the open air. He assured them the followers of the ade- lantado were mere household men, fair- weather troops, who could never stand before them. He did not reflect that, with such men, pride and spirit often more than supply the place of bodily force ; and that his adversaries had the incalculable advantage of justice and law upon their side. Deluded by his words into a transient glow of courage, the rebels did not wait to be attacked, but rushed with shouts upon the enemy. Six of them had matle a league to assault the ade- lantado, but were so well received that he laid several of them dead at his feet. (21) SPANISH SOLDIER. Kcdraivn from /V Pi y 322 THE LIFE OF COLUMBUS. among whom was Juan Sanchez, the same powerful mariner who had car- ried off the cacique Ouibian. In the midst of the affray the adelantado was assailed by Francisco Porras, who, with a blow of his sword, cleft his buckler and wounded the hand which grasped it. The sword remained wedged in the shield; and before it could be withdrawn the adelantado closed upon Porras, grappled him, and being assisted by others, succeeded in taking him prisoner. The rebels, seeing their leader a captive, fled in confusion, but were not pursued, through fear of an at- tack from the Indians, who had re- mained drawn up in battle array, gaz- ing with astonishment at this fight between white men, but without offering to aid either party. The adelan- tado returned in triumph to the wreck, with Porras and several other prisoners. Only two of his own men had been wounded, one of whom died. On the following day the rebels sent in a letter to the Admiral, signed by all their names, confessing all their misdeeds, implor- ing pardon, and making a solemn oath of obedience, and imprecating the most awful curses on their heads should they break it. The Admiral saw, by the abject nature of the letter, how completely the spirit of these mis- guided men was broken ; with his wonted magnanimity he pardoned their offences, merely retaining their ring- leader, Francisco Porras, a prisoner, to be tried in Spain for his misdeeds. SPANISH SOLDIER. Redrawn /rom De Bry. MISSIOJV OF DIEGO MENDEZ. 323 CHAPTER XLIII. VOYAGE OF DIEGO MENUEZ TO HISPANIOLA.— DELI V- EKANCE OF COLUMBUS FROM THE ISLAND OF JA- MAICA. [1504.] It is proper here to give some account of the mission of Diego Mendcz and Bartholomew Fiesco. When they had taken leave of the adelantado, at the east end of the island of Jamaica, they continued all day in a direct course ; there was no wind, the sky was without a cloud, and the sea, like a mirror, reflected the burning rays of the sun. The Indians who paddled the canoes would often leap into the water, to cool their glowing bodies and refresh themselves from their toil. At the going down of the sun they lost sight of land. During the night the Indians took turns, one half to row while the others slept. The Spaniards, in like manner, divided their forces; while some took repose, the others sat with their weapons in their hands, ready to defend themselves in case of any perfidy on the part of their savage com- panions. Watching and toiling in this way through the night, they were excessively fatigued on the following day ; and, to add to their distress, they began to experience the torments of thirst ; for the Indians, parched with heat, had already drained the contents of their calabashes. In proportion as the sun rose their misery increased, and was irritated by the prospect around them — nothing but water, while they were perishing with thirst. About mid-day, when their strength was failing them, the com- manders producctl two small kegs of water, which they 324 THE LIFE OF COLUMBUS. had probably reserved in secret for such an extremity. Administering a cooHng mouthful occasionally, they en- abled the Indians to resume their toils. They held out the hopes of soon arriving at a small island, called Na- vasa, which lay directly in their way, about eight leagues distant from Hispaniola. Here they would find water to assuage their thirst, and would be able to take repose. The night closed upon them without any sight of the island ; they feared that they had deviated from their course ; if so, they should miss the island entirely, and perish with thirst before they could reach Hispaniola. One of the Indians died of the accumulated sufferings of labor, heat, and raging thirst ; others lay panting and gasping at the bottom of the canoes. Their companions were scarcely able to continue their toils. Sometimes they endeavored to cool their parched palates by taking sea water in their mouths ; but its briny bitterness only increased their thirst. One after another gave up, and it seemed impossible that they should live to reach His- paniola. The commanders, by admirable management, had hitherto kept up this weary struggle with suffering and despair; but they, too, began to despond. Diego Men- dez sat watching the horizon, which was gradually light- ing up with those faint rays which precede the rising of the moon. As that planet arose, he perceived it to emerge from behind a dark mass elevated above the level of the ocean. It proved to be the island of Navasa, but so low and small and distant that, had it not been thus revealed by the rising moon, he would never have dis- covered it. He immediately gave the animating cry of "Land!" His almost expiring companions were roused to new life, and exerted themselves with feverish impa- tience. By the dawn of day they sprang on shore, and MENDEZ ARRIVES AT SAN DOMINGO. 3-5 returned thanks to God for their deliverance. The island was a mere barren mass of rocks, but they found abun- dance of rain-water in hollow places. The Spaniards ex- ercised some degree of caution in their draughts, but the poor Indians, whose toils had increased the fever of their thirst, gave way to a kind of frantic indulgence, of which several died upon the spot, and others fell dangerously ill. After reposing all day on the island, where they made a grateful repast upon shellfish gathered along the shore, they set off in the evening for Hispaniola, the moun- tains of which were distinctly visible, and arrived at Cape Tiburon on the following day, the fourth since their de- parture from Jamaica. Fiesco would now have returned to give the Admiral assurance of the safe arrival of his messenger, but both Spaniards and Indians refused to encounter the perils of another voyage in the canoes. Parting with his companions, Diego Mendez took six Indians of the island, and set off for San Domingo. ►After proceeding for eighty leagues against the currents, he was informed that the governor had departed for Xa- ragua, fifty leagues distant. Still undaunted by fatigues and difficulties, he abandoned the canoe, and proceeded alone, on foot, through forests and over mountains, until he arrived at Xaragua, achieving one of the most perilous expeditions ever undertaken by a devoted follower for the safety of his commander. He found Ovando completely engrossed by wars with the natives. The governor expressed great concern at the unfortunate situation of Columbus, and promised to send him immediate relief ; but Mendez remained for seven months at Xaragua, vainly urging for that relief, ■ or for permission to go to San Domingo in quest of it. The constant excuse of Ovando was that there were not 326 THE LIFE OF COLUMBUS. ships of sufficient burden in the island to bring off Co- lumbus and his men. At length, by daily importunity, Mendez obtained permission to go to San Domingo, and await the arrival of certain ships which were expected. He immediately set out on foot ; the distance was sev- enty leagues, and part of his toilsome journey lay through forests and mountains, infested by hostile and exasperated Indians. Immediately after his departure, Ovando dispatched from Xaragua the pardoned rebel, Escobar, on that reconnoitring visit which caused so much wonder and suspicion among the companions of Columbus. If the governor had really entertained hopes that, dur- ing the delay of relief, Columbus might perish in the island, the report brought back by Escobar must have completely disappointed him. No time was now to be lost, if he wished to claim any merit in his deliverance, or to avoid the disgrace of having totally neglected him. His long delay had already roused the public indigna- tion, insomuch that animadversions had been made upon his conduct, even in the pulpits. Diego Mendez, also, had hired and victualled a vessel at the expense of Co- lumbus, and was on the point of dispatching it. The governor, therefore, exerted himself, at the eleventh hour, and fitted out a caravel, which he put under the command of Diego de Salcedo, the agent employed by Columbus to collect his rents in San Domingo. It was these two vessels which arrived at Jamaica shortly after the battle with Porras, and brought relief to the Admiral and his faithful adherents, after a long year of dismal confinement to the wreck.* * Some brief notice of the further fortunes of Diego Mendez may be in- teresting to the reader. When King Ferdinand heard of his faithful services, he bestowed re- COLUMBUS AT SAN DOMINGO. 327 On tlic 28th of June all the Spaniards embarked, friend and foe, on board of the vessels, and made sail joyfully for San Domingo ; but, from adverse winds and currents, they did not arrive there until the 13th of Aug- ust. Whatever lurking enmity there might be to Co- lumbus in the place, it was overpowered by popular sym- pathy for his late disasters. Whatever had been denied to his merits was granted to his misfortunes; and even the envious, appeased by his present reverses, seemed to forgive him for having once been so triumphant. The governor and the principal inhabitants came forth to meet him, and received him with signal distinction. He was lodged in the house of Ovando, who treated him with the utmost courtesy and attention ; but there were too deep causes of jealousy and distrust between them for their intercourse to be cordial. Their powers, too, were so defined in their several patents as to clash with each other, and to cause questions of jurisdiction. Ovan- do assumed a right to take cognizance of all transactions at Jamaica, as happening within the limits of his govern- ment. He set at liberty the traitor Porras, and talked wards upon him, and permitted him to bear a canoe in liis coat of arms, as a memento of his hardy enterprise. He continued devotedly attached (o the Admiral, serving him zealously after his return to Spain, and during his last illness. Columbus retained a grateful and affectionate sense of his fidelity. On his death-bed he promised Mendez that he should be ap- jiointed principal alguazil of the island of Hispaniola. The promise, how- ever, was not performed by the heirs of Columbus. Mendez was afterwards engaged in various voyages of discovery, met with many vicissitudes, and dietl poor. In his last will he reciuested that his armorial bearing of an In- dian canoe should be engraved on his tombstone, and under it the follow- ing words : " Here lies the honorable Cavalier, Diego Mendez ; who served greatly the royal crown of Spain, in tlie conquest of the Inilies, with Admi- ral Christopher Columbus, of glorious memory, who made the discovery ; and afterwards by himself, in ships at his own cost. Uestow, in charity, a Paternoster and au .\vc Maria."' 328 THE LIFE OF COLUMBUS. of punishing the followers of Columbus for the deaths of the mutineers whom they had slain in battle. Colum- bus, on the other hand, asserted the absolute jurisdiction given him by the sovereigns in his letter of instructions, over all persons who had sailed in his expedition, from the time of their departure from Spain until their return. The governor heard him with great courtesy and a smil- ing countenance, but observed, that the letter gave him no authority within the bounds of his government. He relinquished the idea, however, of trying the faithful ad- herents of Columbus, and sent Porras to Spain, to be examined by the board which had charge of the affairs of the Indies. CHAPTER XLIV. AFFAIRS AT HISPANIOLA DURING THE ADMINISTRATION OF OVANDO. — RETURN OF COLUMBUS TO SPAIN. [1504.] The sojourn of Columbus at San Domingo was but little calculated to yield him satisfaction. He was grieved at the desolation of the island, through the oppressive treatment of the natives, and the horrible massacres which had taken place under the administration of Ovan- do. And here let us turn for a moment from pursuing the story of the Admiral, tcJ notice some of the principal occurrences which had taken place in Hispaniola during his absence. A great crowd of adventurers, of various ranks, had thronged the fleet of Ovando, all confidently expecting to make sudden fortunes. They had scarcely landed when they all hurried off to the mines, which were about SEARCHING lOK GOLD. 329 eight leagues distant. The road swarmed like an ant- hill. Every one had his knapsack of biscuit and flour, and his mining implements on his shoulder. Those hidaigoes, or gentlemen, who had no servants to carry their burdens, were fain to bear them on their own backs, and lucky was he \vho had a horse for the ex- pedition, for he would be able to bring back the greater load of treasure. They all set ofT in high spirits, eager who should first reach the golden land ; thinking they had but to arrive at the mines, and gather gold as easily and readily as fruit from the trees. When they arrived, however, they found, to their dismay, that it requiretl experience to discover the veins of ore ; that the whole process of mining was exceedingly slow and toilsome, and its results precarious. They digged eagerly for a time, but found no ore ; growing hungry, they threw by their implements, sat down to eat, and tlien returned to work. It was all in vain. " Their labor," says Las Casas, " gave them a keen appetite and quick digestion, but no gold." They soon exhausted their provisions and their patience, and returned murmuring along the road they had lately trod so exultingly. They arrived at San Domingo half fam- ished, downcast, and despairing. Such is too often the case of those who ignorantly engage in mining; which, of all objects of speculation, is the most brilliant, promis- ing, and fallacious. Poverty soon fell upon these mis- guided men. Some wasted away, and died broken- hearted ; others were hurried ofT by raging fevers ; so that there soon perished upwards of a thousand men. Ovando was reputed a man of great i:)rudence and sagacity, and he certainly took several judicious meas- ures for the regulation of the island antl the relief of the colonists; but his policy was fatal Id the natives. When 330 THE LIFE OF COLUMBUS. he had been sent out to supersede Bobadilla, the queen, shocked at the cruel bondage which had been inflicted on the Indians, had pronounced them all free. The con- sequence was, they immediately refused to labor in the mines. Ovando, in 1503, represented that this entire liberty granted to the natives was not merely ruinous to the colony but detrimental to themselves, as it produced habits of idleness, profligacy, and neglect of all religion. The sovereigns permitted, therefore, that they should be obliged to labor moderately, if essential to their well- being, but that they should be paid regularly and fairly, and instructed in religion on certain days, and that all compulsory measures should be tempered with persua- sion and kindness. Under cover of this hired labor, thus intended for the health of soul and body, more intoler- able toil was exacted from them and more horrible cruel- ties inflicted than in the worst days of Bobadilla. Many perished from hunger, or sank under the lash ; many killed themselves in despair; and even mothers over- came the powerful instinct of nature, and destroyed the infants at their breasts, to spare them a life of wretched- ness. Even those who survived the exacted terms of labor and were permitted to return to their homes, which were often sixty and eighty leagues distant, were dis- missed so worn down by toil and hardship, and so scantily furnished with provisions, that they perished by the way. Some sank down and died by the side of a brook, others under the shade of a tree, where they had crawled for shelter from the sun. " I have found many dead on the road," says the venerable Bishop Las Casas- " others gasping under the trees, and others in the pangs of death, faintly crying, ' Hunger! hunger! The wars of Ovando were equally desolating. To pun- CRUELTY OF VAN DO. 33 I isli a slight insurrccticMi in the province of Higucy, at the eastern end of the island, he sent his troops, who ravaged the country with fire and sword, showed no mercy to age or sex, put many to death with the most wanton, ingen- ious, and horrible tortures, and brought ofT the brave Cotabanama, one of the five sovereign caciques of the island, in chains to San Domingo, where he was igno- miniously hanged by Ovando for the crime of defending his territory and his native soil against usurping strangers. But the most atrocious act of Ovando, and one that must heap odium on his name wherever the woes of the gentle natives of Hayti create an interest, was the pun- ishment he inflicted on the province of Xaragua for a pretended conspiracy. The exactions of tribute, in this once happy and hospitable province, had caused occa- sional quarrels between the inferior caciques and the Spaniards; these were magnified by alarmists, and Ovan- do was persuaded that there was a deep-laid plot among the natives to rise upon their oppressors. He immedi- ately set out for Xaragua, at the head of nearly four hundred well-armed soldiers, seventy of whom were steel- clad horsemen. He gave out that he was going on a visit of friendship, to make arrangements about the payment of tribute. Behechio, the ancient cacique of the province, was dead, and his sister, Anacaona, had succeeded to the government. She came forth to meet Ovando, accord- ing to the custom of her nation, attended bj' her most distinguished subjects, and her train of damsels, waving palm branches, and dancing to the cadence of their popular arcytos. All her principal caciques had been assembled to do honor to her guests, who for sev- eral days were entertained with banquets and national games and dances. In return for these exhibitions, 332 THE LIFE OF COLUMBUS. Ovando invited Anacaona, with her beautiful daughter Higuenamota, and her principal subjects, to witness a tilting match by the cavalry in the public square. When all were assembled, the square crowded with unarmed Indians, Ovando gave a signal, and instantly the horse- men rushed into the midst of the naked and defenceless throng, trampling them under foot, cutting them down with their swords, transfixing them with their lances, and sparing neither age nor sex. Above eighty caciques had been assembled in one of the principal houses. It was surrounded by troops, the caciques were bound to the posts which supported the roof, and put to cruel tortures, until, in the extremity of anguish, they were made to admit the truth of the plot with which their queen and themselves had been charged. When self-accusation had thus been tortured from them, a horrible punishment was immediately inflicted ; fire was set to the .house, and they all perished miserably in the flames. As to Anacaona, she was carried to San Domingo, where the mockery of a trial was given her, in which she was found guilty, on the confessions wrung by torture from her subjects, and on the testimony of their butchers, and she was barbarously hanged, by the people whom she had so long and so signally befriended. After the massacre at Xaragua the destruction of its inhabitants still went on ; they were hunted for six months amidst the fastnesses of the mountains, and their country ravaged by horse and foot, until, all being reduced to deplorable misery and abject submission, Ovando pro- nounced the province restored to order, and, in com- memoration of his triumph, founded a town near the lake, which he called Santa Maria de la Verdadera Paz (St. Mary of the True Peace). Such was the tragical fate of the beautiful Anacaona, CffARACTF.K OF OVAYPO. 333 once extolled as the Golden Flower of Hayti ; and such tile story of the delightful region of Xaragua, a place which the Europeans, by their own account, found a perfect paradise, but which, by their vile passions, they filled with horror and tlcsolation. These are but brief and scanty anecdotes of the ruth- less system which had been pursued, during the absence of the Admiral, by the commander Ovando, this man of boasted prudence and moderation, who had been sent to reform the abuses of the island, and, above all, to redress the wrongs of the natives. The system of Columbus • may have borne hard upon the Indians, born and brought up as they were in untask-ed freedom, but it was never cruel or sanguinary. He had fondly hoped, at one time, to render them civilized, industrious, and tributary sub- jects to the crown, zealous converts to the faith, and to derive from their regular tributes a great and steady revenue. How different had been the event! The five great tribes which had peopled the mountains and the valleys at the time of the discovery, and had rendered, by their mingled villages and hamlets and tracts of cul- tivation, the rich levels of the vegas so many " painted gardens," had alinost all passed away, and the native princes had perished, chiefly by violent and ignominious deaths. " I am informed," said he, in a letter to the sovereigns, " that, since I left this island, six parts out of seven of the natives are dead, all through ill-treatment and inhumanity ; some by the sword, others by blows and cruel usage, others through hunger ; the greater part have perished in the mountains, whither they had fled, from not being able to support the labor imposed upon them." He- found his own immediate concerns in great confu- sion. His rents ami arrears were either uncollected, or o o < D .to I J DEPARTURE EROM SAN DOMINGO. 335 he could not obtain a clear account and a full liquidation of thcni ; and he complained that Ovando had impeded his agents in their management of his concerns. The continual misunderstandings which took place between him and the governor, though always qualified on the l^art of the latter with courtly complaisance, induced Columbus to hasten his departure. He caused the ship in which he had returned from Jamaica to be repaired and fitted out, and another hired, in which he offered a passage to such of his late crew as chose to return. The greater part preferred to remain in San Domingo; as they were in great poverty, he relieved their necessities from his own purse, and advanced money to those who accompanied him, for the expenses of their voyage. All the funds he could collect were exhausted in these dis- bursements, and many of the men, thus relieved by his generosity, had been among the most violent of the rebels. On the 1 2th of September he set sail; but had scarce- ly left the harbor when the mast of his ship was carried away in a sudden squall. lie embarked, therefore, with his family in the other vessel, commanded by the ade- lantado, and sent back the damaged ship to port. Fort- une continued to persecute him to the end of this, his last and most disastrous expedition. Throughout the voyage he experienced tempestuous weather, suffering, at the same time, the excruciating torments of the gout, until, on the 7th of November, his crazy and shattered bark anchored in the harbor of San Lucar. From thence he proceeded to Seville, to enjoy a little tranquillity of mind and body, and to recruit his health after his long series of fatigues, anxieties, and hardships. 33^ THE LIFE OF COLUMBUS. CHAPTER XLV. FRUITLESS APPLICATION OF COLUMBUS TO BE REIN- STATED IN HIS GOVERNMENT. — HIS LAST ILLNESS AND DEATH. [1504.] The residence of Columbus, during the winter, at Seville, has generally been represented as an interval of repose : never was honorable repose more merited, more desired, and less enjoyed. Care and sorrow were des- tined to follow him, by sea and land; and in varying the scene he but varied the nature of his afiflictions. Ever since his memorable arrest by Bobadilla his affairs had remained in confusion, and his rents and dues had been but partially and irregularly collected, and were detained in intermediate hands. The last voyage had exhausted his finances and involved him in embarrassments. All that he had been able to collect of the money due to him in Hispaniola had been expended in bringing home many of his late crew, and, for the greater part, the crown remained his debtor. The world thought him possessed of countless wealth, while in fact he was suf- fering a degree of penury. In letters written at this time to his son Diego, he repeatedly urges to him the necessity of practicing extreme economy until the arrears due to him should be paid. " I receive nothing of the revenue due to me," says he on another occasion, "but live by borrowing. Little have I profited by twenty years of toils and perils, since at present I do not own a roof in Spain. I have no resort but an inn ; and, for the most times, have not wherewithal to pay my bill." INDIFFERENCE OF THE COURT. 337 Being unable, from his infirmities, to go to court, he had to communicate with the sovereigns by letter, or through the intervention of friends, and exerted himself strenuously, but ineffectually, to draw their attention to the disastrous state of Hispaniola under the administra- tion of Ovando, to obtain the restitution of his honors and the payment of his arrears, and, what seemed to lay equally near his heart, to obtain relief for his unfortunate seamen. His letters were unregarded, or at least unanswered ; his claims remained unsatisfied ; and a cold indifference and neglect appeared to prevail towards him. All the tidings from the court filled him with uneasiness. Porras, the ringleader of the late faction, had been sent home by Ovando to appear before the council of the Indies, but the ofificial documents in his cause had not arrived. He went at large, and being related to Morales, the royal treasurer, had access to people in place, and an oppor- tunity of enlisting their opinions and prejudices on his side. Columbus began to fear that the violent scenes in Jamaica might, by the perversity of his enemies and the effrontery of the delinquents, be wrested into mat- ters of accusation against him, as had been the case with the rebellion of Roldan. The faithful and indefatigable Diego Mendez was at this time at court, and he trusted to his honest representations to counteract the falsehoods of Porras. Nothing can surpass the affecting earnestness and simplicity with which, in one of his letters, he de- clares his loyalty. " I have served their majesties," says he, "with as much zeal and diligence as if it had been to gain Paradise, and if I have failed in anything, it has been because my knowledge and powers went no further." Whilst reading this touching appeal we can scarcely realize the fact that it should be written by (22) 338 THE LIFE OF COLUMBUS. Columbus, the same extraordinary man who, but a few years before, had been idolized at this court as a bene- factor, and received with almost royal honors. His anxiety to have a personal interview with the sov- ereigns became every day more intense ; he felt the inefS- cacy of letter writing; and, indeed, even that resource began to fail him, for the severity of his malady for a great part of the time deprived him of the use of his hands. He made repeated attempts to set off for the court ; a litter was once actually at the door to convey him thither, but his increasing infirmities and the inclem- ency of the season obliged him to abandon the journey. In the meantime, the intrigues of his enemies appeared to be prevailing ; the cold-hearted Ferdinand treated all his applications with indifference ; on the justice and magnanimity of Isabella, alone, he relied for the redress of his grievances; but she lay dangerously ill. " May it please the Holy Trinity," says he, "to restore our sover- eign queen to health ; for by her will everything be ad- justed which is now in confusion." Alas! while writing that letter, his noble benefactress was a corpse ! The health of Isabella had long been undermined by repeated shocks of domestic calamities. The death of her only son, the Prince Juan ; of her beloved daughter and bosom friend, the Princess Isabella ; and of her grandson and prospective heir, the Prince Miguel, had been three cruel wounds to her maternal heart. To these were added the constant grief caused by the in- firmity of intellect of her daughter Juana, and the do- mestic unhappiness of that princess with her husband, the Archduke Philip. The desolation which walks through palaces admits not the familiar sympathies and sweet consolations which alleviate the sorrows of common life. Isabella pined in state, amidst the ob- DEATH OF ISABELLA. 339 sequious homage of a court, surrounded by the trophies of a glorious and successful reign, and placed at the summit of earthly grandeur. A deep and incurable mel- ancholy settled upon her, which undermined her con- stitution, and gave a fatal acuteness to her bodily niala- "^^s* TOMB OF FERDINAND AND ISABELLA, GRANADA. dies. After four months of illness, she died, on the 26th of November, 1504, at Medina del Campo, in the fifty- fourth year of her age ; but long before her eyes closed upon the world, her heart had closed upon all its pomps and vanities. " Let my body," said she, in her will, " be 340 THE LIFE OF COLUMBUS. interred in the monastery of San Francisco, in the Al- hambra of the city of Granada, in a low sepulchre, with no other monument than a plain stone, and an inscrip- tion. But I desire and command, that if the king, my lord, should choose a sepulchre in any church or monas- tery in any other part or place of these my kingdoms, that my body be transported thither, and buried beside the body of his highness; so that the union we have en- joyed while living, and which, through the mercy of God, we hope our souls will experience in heaven, may be rep- resented by our bodies in the earth." * Such was one of several passages in the will of this admirable woman, which bespoke the chastened humility of her heart, and in which, as has been well observed, the affections of conjugal love were delicately entwined with fervent religion and the most tender melancholy. She was one of the purest spirits that ever ruled over the destinies of a nation. Had she been spared, her be- nignant vigilance would have prevented many a scene of horror in the colonization of the New World, and might have softened the lot of its native inhabitants. As it is, her fair name will ever shine with celestial radiance in the early dawning of its history. The news of the death of Isabella reached Columbus while he was writing a letter to his son. He notices it in a postscript or memorandum, written in the haste and brevity of the moment, but in beautifully touching and mournful terms. "A memorial," he writes, "for thee, * The dying command of Isabella has been obeyed. The author of this work has seen her tomb in the royal chapel of the cathedral of Granada, in which her remains are interred with those of Ferdinand. Their effigies, sculptured in white marble, lie side by side, on a magnificent sepulchre. The altar of the chapel is adorned with bas-reliefs representing the con- quest and surrender of Granada. REMAINS IN SEVILLE. 341 my dear son Diego, of what is at present to be done. The principal thing is to commend affectionately, and with great devotion, the soul of the queen, our sovereign, to God. Her life was always catholic and pious, antl prompt to all things in his holy service; for this reason we may rest assured that she is received into his glory, and beyond the cares of this rough and weary world. The next thing is, to watch and labor in all matters for the service of our sovereign, the king, and to endeavor to alleviate his grief. His majesty is the head of Chris- tendom. Remember the proverb which says, when the head suffers, all the members suffer. Therefore all good Christians should pray for his health and long life; and we, who are in his employ, ought more than others to do this with all study and diligence." It is impossible to read this letter without being moved by the simply eloquent yet artless language in which Columbus expresses his tenderness for the memory of his benefactress, his weariness under the gathering cares and ills of life, and his persevering and enduring loyalty towards the sovereign who was so ungratefully neglect- ing him. The death of Isabella was a fatal blow to his fortunes. While she hved, he had everything to anticipate from her high sense of justice, her regard for her royal word, her gratitude for his services, and her admiration of his character. With her illness, however, his interests had languished ; and when she died, he was left to the jus- tice and generosity of Ferdinand ! During the remainder of the winter and a great part of the spring he remained at Seville, detained by painful illness. His brother, the adelantado, who supported him with his accustomed fondness and devotion through all his trials, proceeded to court to attend to his concerns. 342 THE LIFE OF COLUMBUS. taking with him the Admiral's younger son, Fernando, then aged about seventeen. The latter the affectionate father repeatedly represents to his son Diego as a man in understanding and conduct, though but a stripling in years, and inculcates the strongest fraternal attachment, alluding to his own brethren with one of those warm and affecting touches which speak the kindness of his heart : " To thy brother conduct thyself as the elder brother should unto the younger. Thou hast no other, and I praise God that this is such a one as thou dost need. Ten brothers would not be too many for thee. Never have I found a better friend, to right or left, than my brothers." Among the persons whom Columbus employed at this time in his missions to the court was Amerigo Vespucci. He describes him as a worthy but unfortunate man, who had not profited as much as he deserved by his under- takings, and who had always been disposed to render him service. It was not until the month of May that Columbus was able to accomplish his journey to court, which was at that time at Segovia. He, who but a few years before had entered the city of Barcelona in triumph, attended by the chivalry of Spain, and hailed with rapture by the multitude, now arrived at the gates of Segovia, a way- worn, melancholy, and neglected man ; oppressed even more by sorrows than by his years and infirmities. When he presented himself at court he was made lam- entably sensible of the loss of his protectress, the benig- nant Isabella. He met with none of that distinguished attention, that cordial kindness, that cherishing sympa- thy, which his unparalleled services and his recent suf- ferings had merited. Ferdinand, it is true, received him with many professions of kindness ; but with those AMERIGO VESPUCCI. Redrawn fj om " I'itu e Lettie di Amerigo I'espucci.'^ 344 THE LIFE OF COLUMBUS. cold, ineffectual smiles which pass like wintry sunshine over the countenance, and convey no warmth to the heart. Many months were passed by Columbus in painful and humiliating solicitation. His main object was to obtain the restitution of his high ofifices as Viceroy and Governor of the Indies: as to the mere pecuniary claims for reve- nues and arrears, he considered them of minor impor- tance, and nobly offered to leave them to the disposition of the king; but his official dignities belonged to his reputation ; they had been granted, also, by solemn treaty, and were not to be made a matter of arbitra- ment. As the latter, however, were precisely the claims which the jealous monarch was the least disposed to grant, they stood continually in the way of all arrange- ment. The whole matter was at one time referred to a tribunal called the "Junta de Descargos," which had charge of the settlement of the affairs of the late queen, but nothing resulted from their deliberations; the wishes of the king were too well known to be thwarted. Columbus endeavored to bear these delays with pa- tience ; but he had no longer the physical strength and the glorious anticipations which had once sustained him through his long application at this court. He was again confined to his bed by a return of the gout, aggravated by the irritations of his spirit. From this couch of an- guish he addressed one more appeal to the justice of the king. He no longer petitioned for himself, but for his son Diego. He entreated that he might be appointed in his place to the government of which he had been so wrongfully deprived. " This," said he, " is a matter which concerns my honor; as to all the rest, do as your majesty thinks proper ; give or withhold, as may be most for your interest, and I shall be content. I believe it is rnilJP AND JUAN A IN CASTILE. 345 the anxiety caused by the delay of this affair which is the principal cause of my ill health." This petition was treated by Ferdinand u itli his usual evasions ; he endeavored to prevail upon Columbus and his son to waive their claims to paramount dignities in the New World, and accept, in place thereof, titles and estates in Castile. Columbus rejected all proposals of the kind with indignation, as calculated lo compromise those titles which were the trophies of his achievements. He saw, however, that all further hope of redress from Ferdinand was vain. From the bed to which he was confined he addressed a letter to his constant friend, Diego dc Dcza, then Archbishop of Seville, expressive of his despair. " It appears," said he, " that his majesty does not think fit to fulfill that which he, w'ith the queen who is now in glory, promised me by word and seal. For me to contend to the contrary would be to contend with the wind. I have done all that I could do. I leave the rest to God, whom I have ever found propitious to me in my necessities." In the midst of illness and dcspondenc}-, when both life and hope were expiring in the bosom of Columbus, a new gleam was awakened, and blazed up for the mo- ment with characteristic fervor. He heard with joy of the arrival from Flanders of King Philip and Queen Juana, to take possession of their throne of Castile. In tlic daughter of Isabella he trusted to find a patroness and a friend. King Ferdinand and all the court repaired to Loredo, to receive the youthful sovereigns. Colum- bus sent his brother, the adelantado, to represent him, and wrote a letter to the king and queen, lamenting his being prevented by illness from coming in person to man- ifest his devotion. He expressed a hope that he should receive at their hands a restitution of his honors and 34(5 THE LIFE OF COLUMBUS. estates ; and assured them that, though cruelly tortured at present by disease, he would yet be able to render them services, the like of which had never been wit- nessed. Such was the last sally of his sanguine and unconquer- able spirit ; which, disregarding age and infirmities, and all past sorrows and disappointments, spoke from his dying bed with all the confidence of youthful hope, and talked of still greater enterprises, as if he had a long and vigorous life before him. The adelantado took an affec- tionate leave of his brother, whom he was never to be- hold again, and set out on his mission to the new sover- eigns. He experienced the most gracious reception, and flattering hopes were given him that the claims of the Admiral would speedily be satisfied. In the meantime, the cares and troubles of Columbus were drawing to a close. The transient fire which had recently reanimated him was soon quenched by accumu- lating infirmities. Immediately after the departure of the adelantado his illness increased in violence. Find- ing that his end was approaching, he arranged all his earthly affairs, for the benefit of his successors. In a codicil made on the eve of his decease he enforced his original testament, constituting his son Diego his uni- versal heir, entailing his honors and estates on the male line of his family, and providing for his brothers, Don Bartholomew and Don Diego, and his natural son Don Fernando. In his will he enjoined that a portion of his revenues should be annually deposited in the bank of St. George, at Genoa, until a sufficient sum should be accumulated to set on foot a crusade to the Holy Land ; for the rescue of the Holy Sepulchre was, to the last, the great object of his ambition, and he left a solemn charge upon his heirs to aid personally in the pious enterprise. MONUMENT TO COLUMBUS IN GENOA. 348 THE LIFE OF COLUMBUS. Other provisions were made for the foundation of churches, the support of Beatrix Enriquez, the mother of Fernando, the reHef of his poor relations, and the payment of the most trivial debts. Having thus scrupulously attended to all the claims of affection, loyalty, and justice upon earth, he turned his thoughts to heaven, confessing himself, partaking of the Holy Sacrament, and complying with the other ceremo- nies of a devout Catholic. In his last moments he was attended by his son Diego and a few faithful followers, among whom was Bartholomew Fiesco, who had accom- panied Diego Mendez in the perilous expedition from Jamaica to Hispaniola. Surrounded by these devoted friends, he expired with great resignation, on the 20th of May, 1506, being about seventy years of age. His last words were, "In manus tuas, Domine, commendo spiritum meum." '' Into thy hands, O Lord, I commend my spirit." CHAPTER XLVI. OBSERVATIONS ON THE CHARACTER OF COLUMBUS. Columbus was a man of great and inventive genius. The operations of his mind were energetic, but irregular, bursting forth at times with that irresistible force which characterizes intellects of such an order. His ambition was lofty and noble, inspiring him with high thoughts, and an anxiety to distinguish himself by great achieve- ments. He aimed at dignity and wealth in the same elevated spirit with which he sought renown ; they were to rise from the territories he should discover, and be commensurate in importance. The vast gains that he CHARACTER OF COLUMBUS. 349 anticipated from his discoveries he intended to appropri- ate to princely purposes ; to institutions for the rehcf of the poor of his native city, to the foundation of churches, and, above all, to crusades for the recovery of the Holy Sepulchre. He was tenacious of his rank and privileges, not from a mere vulgar love of titles, but because he prized them as testimonials and trophies of his illustrious deeds. Every question of compromise concerning them he re- pulsed with disdain. " These things," said he, nobly, " concern my honor." In his testament he enjoined on his son Diego, and whomsoever after him should inherit his estates, whatever other titles might be granted by the king, always to sign himself simply " The Admiral," by way of perpetuating in the family the source of its real greatness. His conduct was characterized by the grandeur of his views and the magnanimity of his spirit. Instead of ravaging the newly found countries, like many of his contemporary discoverers, who were intent only on im- mediate gain, he regarded them with the eyes of a legis- lator; he sought to colonize and cultivate them, to civil- ize the natives, to subject everything to the control of law, order, and religion, and thus to found regular and prosperous empires. That he failed in this was the fault of the dissolute rabble which it was his misfortune to command, with whom all law was tyranny and all order oppression. He was naturally irritable and impetuous, and keenly sensible to injury and injustice; yet the quickness of his temper was counteracted by the benevolence and gener- osity of his heart. The magnanimity of his nature shone forth through all the troubles of his stormy career. Though continually outraged in his dignity, braved in his 350 THE LIFE OF COLUMBUS. authority, foiled in his plans, and endangered in his per- son by the seditions of turbulent and worthless men, and that, too, at times when suffering under anguish of body and anxiety of mind enough to exasperate the most patient, yet he restrained his valiant and indignant spirit, and brought himself to forbear and reason, and even to supplicate. Nor should we fail to notice how free he was from all feeling of revenge, how ready to forgive and forget on the least signs of repentance and atonement. He has been extolled for his skill in controlling others, but far greater praise is due to him for the firmness he displayed in governing himself. / His piety was genuine and fervent ; religion mingled with the whole course of his thoughts and actions, and shone forth in his most private and unstudied writings. Whenever he made any great discovery, he devoutly returned thatiks to God. The voice of prayer and the melody of praise rose from his ships on discovering the New World, and his first action on landing was to prostrate himself upon the earth, and offer up thanks- givings. Every evening, the Salve Rcgina and other vesper hymns were chanted by his crew, and masses were performed in the beautiful groves that bordered the wild shores of this heathen land. All his great enterprises were undertaken in the name of the Holy Trinity, and he partook of the Holy Sacrament previ- ous to embarkation. He observed the festivals of the Church in the wildest situations. The Sabbath was to him a day of sacred rest, on which he would never sail from a port unless in case of extreme necessity. The religion thus deeply seated in his soul diffused a sober dignity and a benign composure over his whole deport- ment ; his very language was pure and guarded, and free from all gross or irreverent expressions^ CHARACTER OF COLUMBUS. 351 It cannot be denied, however, that his piety was min- gled with superstition and darkened by the bigotry of the age. He evidently concurred in the opinion that all the nations who did not acknowledge the Christian faith were destitute of natural rights ; and that the sternest measures might be used for their conversion, and the severest punishments inflicted upon them, if obstinate in unbelief. In this spirit of bigotry he considered him- self justified in making captives of the Indians and trans- porting them to Spain, to have them taught the doctrines of Christianity, and in selling them for slaves if they pre- tended to resist his invasions. In doing the latter he sinned against the natural goodness of his heart, and against the feelings he had originally entertained and ex- pressed towards this gentle and hospitable people ; but he was goaded on by the mercenary impatience of the crown, and by the sneers of his enemies at the unprofit- able result of his enterprises. It is but justice to his character to observe that the enslavement of the Indians thus taken in battle was at first openly countenanced by the crown, and that, when the question of right came to be discussed at the request of the queen, several of the most distinguished jurists and theologians advocated the practice ; so that the question was finally settled in favor of the Indians solely by the humanity of Isabella. As the venerable Bishop Las Casas observes, where the most learned men have doubted, it is not surprising that an unlearned mariner should err. These remarks, in palliation of the conduct of Colum- bus, arc required by candor. It is proper to show him in connection with the age in which he lived, lest the errors of the tiines should be considered his individual faults. It is not intended, however, to justif}' him on a point where it is inexcusable to err. Let it remain a 352 THE LIFE OF COLUMBUS. blot on his illustrious name, and let others derive a lesson from it. A peculiar trait in his rich and varied character re- mains to be noticed ; namely, that ardent and enthusi- astic imagination which threw a magnificence over his whole course of thought. A poetical temperament is dis- cernible throughout all his writings and in all his actions. We see it in all his descriptions of the beauties of the wild lands he was discovering ; in the enthusiasm with which he extols the verdure of the forests, the grandeur of the mountains, and the crystal clearness of the run- ning streams ; the blandness of the temperature, the purity of the atmosphere, and the fragrance of the air, " full of dew and sweetness." It spread a golden and glorious world around him, and tinged everything with its own gorgeous colors. It betrayed him into vision- ary speculations, which subjected him to the sneers and cavils of men of cooler and safer, but more grovelling, minds. Such were the conjectures formed on the coast of Paria, about the form of the earth and the situation of the terrestrial Paradise ; about the mines of Ophir, and the Aurea Chersonesus of the ancients; and such was the heroic scheme of a crusade for the recovery of the Holy Sepulchre. It filled his mind with solemn and visionary meditations on mystic passages of the Script- ures, and on the shadowy portents of the prophecies. It exalted his own ofifice in his eyes, and made him con- ceive himself an agent sent forth upon a sublime and awful mission, and subject to mysterious intimations from the Deity; such as the voice which he imagined spoke to him in comfort amidst the troubles of His- paniola, and in the silence of the night on the disas- trous coast of Veragua. He was decidedly a visionary, but a visionary of an CHARACTER OF COLUMRUS. 353 uncommon kind, and successful in his dreams. The manner in which his ardent imagination and mercurial nature were controlled by a powerful judgment and di- rected by an acute sagacity is the most extraordinary feature in his character. Thus governed, his imagina- tion, instead of exhausting itself in idle flights, lent aid to his judgment and enabled him to form conclusions at which common minds could never have arrived — nay, which they could not perceive when pointed out. To his intellectual vision it was given to read the signs of the times, and to trace in the conjectures and reve- ries of past ages the indications of an unknown world, as soothsayers were said to read predictions in the stars, and to foretell events from the visions of the night. " His soul," observes a Spanish writer, " was superior to the age in which he lived. For him was reserved the great enterprise of traversing a sea which had given rise to so many fables, and of deciphering the mystery of his age." With all the visionary fervor of his imagination, its fondest dreams fell short of the reality. He died in igno- rance of the real grandeur of his discovery ! Until his last breath, he entertained the idea that he had merely opened a new way to the old resorts of opulent com- merce, and had discovered some of the wild regions of the East. He supposed Hispaniola to be the ancient Ophir, which had been visited by the ships of King Sol- omon, and that Cuba and Terra Firma were but remote parts of Asia. What visions of glory would have broken upon his mind could he have known that he had indeed discovered a new continent, equal to the old world in magnitude, and separated by two vast oceans from all the earth hitlurto known b\' civilized man ! And how would his magnanimous spirit have been consoled, amidst (23) 354 THE LIFE OF COLUMBUS. the afflictions of age and the cares of penury, the neg- lect of a fickle public and the injustice of an ungrate- ful king, could he have anticipated the splendid empires which would arise in the beautiful world he had discov- ered ; and the nations and tongues and languages which were to fill its lands with his renown, and to revere and bless his name to the latest posterity ! A VISIT TO PALOS. [Thr following narrative was actually commenced, by the author of this work, as a letter to a friend, but unexpeclecUy swelled to its present size. lie has been induced to insert it here from the idea that many will feel the same curiosity to know something of the present state of Palos and its inhabitants that led him to make the journey.] Seville, 1828. Since I last wrote to you I have made what I may term an American Pilgrimage, to visit the little port of Palos in iVndalusia, where Columbus fitted out his ships, and whence he sailed for the discovery of the New World. Need I tell you how deeply interesting and gratifying it has been to me? I had long meditated this excursion, as a kind of pious, and, if I may so say, filial duty of an American, and my intention was quickened when I learnt that many of the edifices mentioned in the " History of Columbus " still remained in nearl)' the same state in which they existed at the time of his sojourn at Palos, and that the descendants of the intrepid Pinzons, who aided him with ships and money, and sailed with him on the great voyage of discovery, still flourished in the neighborhood. The very evening before my departure from Seville, on the excursion, I heard that there was a young gentle- man of the Pinzon family studying law in the cit>-. I got introduced to him, and found him of most prepos- sessing appearance and manners. He gave me a letter of introduction to his father, Don Juan Fernandez Pin- 35^ THE LIFE OF COLUMBUS. zon, resident of Moguer, and the present head of the family. As it was in the middle of August, and the weather intensely hot, I hired a calesa for the journey. This is a two-wheeled carriage resembling a cabriolet, but of the most primitive and rude construction ; the harness is profusely ornamented with brass, and the horse's head decorated with tufts and tassels and dangling bobs of scarlet and yellow worsted. I had, for calasero, a tall, long-legged Andalusian, in short jacket, little, round- crowned hat, breeches decorated with buttons from the hip to the knees, and a pair of russet-leather bottinas, or spatterdashes. He was an active fellow, though un- commonly taciturn for an Andalusian, and strode along beside his horse, rousing him occasionally to greater speed by a loud malediction or a hearty thwack of his cudgel. In this style I set off, late in the day, to avoid the noontide heat, and after ascending the lofty range of hills that borders the great valley of the Guadalquivir, and having a rough ride among their heights, I descended about twilight into one of those vast, silent, melancholy plains, frequent in Spain, where I beheld no other signs of life than a roaming flock of bustards and a distant herd of cattle, guarded by a solitary herdsman, who, with a long pike planted in the earth, stood motionless in the midst of the dreary landscape, resembling an Arab of the desert. The night had somewhat advanced when we stopped to repose, for a few hours, at a solitary venta or inn, if it might so be called, being nothing more than a vast, low-roofed stable, divided into several compart- merits for the reception of the troops of mules and arri- eros (or carriers) who carry on the internal trade of Spain. Accommodation for the traveller there was none — not even for a traveller so easily accommodated as myself. A VISIT TO PA LOS. 357 The land lord had no food to give me, and as to a bed, he had none but a horse-cloth, on which his onl)' child, a boy of eight years old, lay naked on the earthen floor. Indeed, the heat of the weather and the fumes from the stables made the interior of the hovel insupportable, so I was fain to bivouac on my cloak on the pavement at the door of the venta, where, on waking after two or three hours of sound sleep, I found a contrabandista (or smuggler) snoring beside me, with his blunderbuss on his arm. i resumed my journey before break of day, and had made several leagues by ten o'clock, when we stopped to breakfast, and to pass the sultry hours of mid-day, in a large village, from whence we departed about four o'clock, and after passing through the same kind of soli- tary country, arrived just after sunset at Moguer. This little city (for at present it is a city) is situated about a league from Palos, of which place it has gradually absorbed all the respectable inhabitants, and, among the number, the whole family of the Pinzons. So remote is this little place from the stir and bustle of travel, and so destitute of the show and vainglory of this world, that my calesa, as it rattled and jingled along the narrow and ill-paved streets, caused a great sensation ; the children shouted and scampered along by its side, admiring its splendid trappings of brass and worsted, and gazing with reverence at the important stranger who came in so gorgeous an equipage. I drove up to the principal posada, the landlord of which was at the door. He was one of the very civilest men in the world, and disposed to do everything in his power to make me comfortable; there was only one diffi- culty, he had neither bed nor bedroom in his house. In fact, it was a mere venta for muleteers, who \x\c accus- 358 7' HE LIFE OF COLUMBUS. tomed to sleep on the ground with their mule-cloths for beds and pack-saddles for pillows. It was a hard case, but there was no better posada in the place. Few people travel for pleasure or curiosity in these out-of-the-way- parts of Spain, and those of any note are generally re- ceived into private houses. I had travelled sufficiently in Spain to find out that a bed, after all, is not an article of indispensable necessity, and was about to bespeak some quiet corner where I might spread my cloak, when, fortu- nately, the landlord's wife came forth. She could not have a more obliging disposition than her husband, but then — God bless the women ! — they always know how to carry their good wishes into effect. In a little while a small room, about ten feet square, that had formed a thoroughfare between the stables and a kind of shop or baf-room, was cleared of a variety of lumber, and I was assured that a bed should be put up there for me. From the consultations I saw my hostess holding with some of her neighbor gossips, I fancied the bed was to be a kind of piecemeal contribution among them, for the credit of the house. As soon as I could change my dress I commenced the historical researches which were the object of my jour- ney, and inquired for the abode of Don Juan Fernandez Pinzon. My obliging landlord himself volunteered to conduct me thither, and I set off full of animation at the thoughts of meeting with a lineal representative of one of the coadjutors of Columbus. A short walk brought us to the house, which was most respectable in its appearance, indicating easy, if not afflu- ent, circumstances. The door, as is customary in Span- ish villages, during summer, stood wide open. We en- tered with the U3ual salutation, or rather summons, "Ave Maria!" A trim Andalusian handmaid answered to the A VISIT TO PA LOS. 359 call, and, on our inquiring for the master of the house, led the way across a little patio, or court, in the centre of the edifice, cooled by a fountain surrounded by shrubs and flowers, to a back court or terrace, likewise set out with flowers, where Don Juan Fernandez was seated w itii his family, enjoying the serene evening in the open air. I was much pleased with his appearance. He was a venerable old gentleman, tall and somewhat thin, witli fair complexion and gray hair. He received me with great urbanity, and on reading the letter from his son, appeared struck with surprise to fintl I had come quite to Moguer, merely to visit the scene of the embarkation of Columbus; and still more so on my telling him that one of my leading objects of curiosity was his own family connection ; for it would seem that the worthy cavalier had troubled his head but little about the enterprises of his ancestors. I now took my seat in the domestic circle, and soon felt myself quite at hom^, for there is generally a frank- ness in the hospitality of the Spaniards that soon puts a stranger at his ease beneath their roof. The wife of Don Juan Fernandez was extremely amiable and afTable, possessing much of that natural aptness for which the Spanish women are remarkable. In the course of con- versation with them I learnt that Don Juan Fernandez, who is sevent\'-two years of age, is the eldest of five brothers, nil of whom are married, have numerous off^- spring, and live in Moguer and its vicinit>-, in nearly the same condition and rank of life as at the time of the dis- covery. This agreed with what I had previously heard respecting the families of the discoverers. Of Columbus no lineal and direct descendant exists ; his was an exotic stock that never took deep and lasting root in the coun- 360 THE LIFE OF COLUMBUS. try ; but the race of the Pinzons continues to thrive and multiply in its native soil. While I was yet conversing a gentleman entered, who was introduced to me as Don Luis Fernandez Pinzon, the youngest of the brothers. He appeared to be be- tween fifty and sixty years of age, somewhat robust, with fair complexion and gray hair, and a frank and manly deportment. He is the only one of the present genera- tion that has followed the ancient profession of the fam- ily, having served with great applause as an of^cer of the royal navy, from which he retired on his marriage, about twenty-two years since. He is the one, also, who takes the greatest interest and pride in the historical honors of his house, carefully preserving all the legends and documents of the achievements and distinctions of his family, a manuscript volume of which he lent to me for my inspection. Don Juan now expressed a wish that, during my resi- dence in Moguer, I would make his house my home. I endeavored to excuse myself, alleging that the good peo- ple at the posada had been at such extraordinary trouble in preparing quarters for me that I did not like to dis- appoint them. The worthy old gentleman undertook to arrange all this, and, while supper was preparing, we walked together to the posada. I found that my oblig- ing host and hostess had indeed exerted themselves to an uncommon degree. An old rickety table had been spread out in a corner of the little room as a bedstead, on top of which was propped up a grand cama de hixo, or state bed, which appeared to be the admiration of the house. I could not, for the soul of me, appear to under- value what the poor people had prepared with such hearty good-will, and considered such a triumph of art and luxury ; so I again entreated Don Juan to dispense A VISIT TO PALOS. 361 with my sleeping at his liousc, promising most faithfully to make my meals there whikst I should stay at Moguer; and as the old gentleman understood my motives for de- clining his invitation, and felt a good-humored sympatliy in them, we readily arranged the matter. I returned, therefore, with Don Juan to his house, and supped with his family. During the repast a plan was agreed upon for my visit \c, Palos, and to the convent ^a Rabida, in which Don Juan volunteered to accompany me and be my guide, and the following day was allotted to the ex- pedition. We were to breakfast at a hacienda, or coun- try seat, which he possessed in the vicinity of Palos, in the midst of his vineyards, and were to dine there on our return from the convent. These arrangements being made, we parted for the night ; I returned to the posada, highly gratified with ni)^ visit, and slept soundly in the extraordinary bed which, I may almost say, had been invented for my accommodation. On the following morning, bright and early, Don Juan Fernandez and myself set off in the calesa for Palos. I felt apprehensive, at first, that the kind-hearted old gen- tleman, in his anxiety to oblige, had left his bed at too early an hour, and was exposing himself to fatigues un- suited to his age. He laughed at the idea, and assured me that he was an early riser, and accustomed to all kinds of exercise on horse and foot, being a keen sports- man, and frequently passing days together among the mountains on shooting expeditions, taking with him ser- vants, horses, and provisions, and living in a tent. He appeared, in fact, to be of an active habit, and to possess a youthful vivacity of spirit. His cheerful disposition rendered our morning drive extremely agreeable ; his ur- banity was shown to every one whom we met on the road ; even the common peasant was saluted b\- him with 362 THE LIFE OF COLUMBUS. the appellation of caballero, a mark of respect ever grati- fying to the poor but proud Spaniard, when yielded by a superior. As the tide was out, we drove along the flat grounds bordering the Tinto. The river was on our right, while on our left was a range of hills, jutting out into promontories, one beyond the other, and covered with vineyards and fig-trees. The weather was serene, the air soft and balm}', and the landscape of that gentle kind calculated to put one in a quiet and happy humor. We passed close by the skirts of Palos, and drove to the hacienda, which is situated at some little distance from the village, between it and the river. The house is a low stone building, well whitewashed, and of great length ; one end being fitted up as a summer residence, with saloons, bedrooms, and a domestic chapel ; and the other as a bodega, or magazine for the reception of the wine produced on the estate. The house stands on a hill, amidst vineyards which are supposed to cover a part of the site of the ancient town of Palos, now shrunk to a miserable village. Be- yond these vineyards, on the crest of a distant hill, are seen the white walls of the Convent of La Rabida, rising above a dark wood of pine-trees. Below the hacienda flows the river Tinto, on which Columbus embarked. It is divided by a low tongue of land, or rather the sand-bar of Saltes, from the river Odiel, with which it soon mingles its waters, and flows on to the ocean. Beside this sand-bar, where the channel of the river runs deep, the squadron of Columbus was anchored, and from hence he made sail on the morning of his departure. The soft breeze that was blowing scarcely ruffled the surface of this beautiful river ; two or three picturesque A VISIT TO PA LOS. 3^3 barks, called mysticks, with long lateen sails, were gliding down it. A little aid of the imagination might suffice to picture them as the light caravels of Columbus, sallying forth on their eventful expedition, while the distant bells of the town of Huelva, which were ringing melodiously, might be supposed as cheering the voyagers with a fare- well peal. I cannot express to you what were my feelings, on treading the shore w^hich had once been animated by the bustle of departure, and whose sands had been printed by the last footstep, of Columbus. The solemn and sub- lime nature of the event that had followed, together with the fate and fortunes of those concerned in it, filled the mind with vague yet melancholy ideas. It was like viewing the silent and empty stage of some great drama, when all the actors had departed. The very aspect of the landscape, so tranquilly beautiful, had an effect upon me; and as I paced the deserted shore, by the side of a descendant of one of the discoverers, I felt my heart swelling with emotions and my eyes filling with tears. What surprised me was to find no semblance of a seaport ; there was neither wharf nor landing-place — nothing but a naked river bank, with the hulk of a ferry- boat, which I was told carried passengers to Huelva, lying high and dry on the sands, deserted by the tide. Palos, though it has doubtless dwindled away from its former size, can never have been important as to extent and population. If it possessed w^arehouses on the beach, they have disappearctl. It is at present a mere village of the poorest kind, and lies nearly a quarter of a mile from the river, in a hollow among hills. It con- tains a few hundred inhabitants, who subsist principally by laboring in the fields and vineyards. Its race of mer- chants and mariners are extinct. There are no vessels 364 THE LIFE OF COLUMBUS. belonging to the place, nor any show of traffic, except- ing at the season of fruit and wine, when a few mysticks and other light barks anchor in the river to collect the produce of the neighborhood. The people are totally ignorant, and it is probable that the greater part of them scarce know even the name of America. Such is the place from whence sallied forth the enterprise for the discovery of the Western World ! / We were now summoned to breakfast in a little saloon of the hacienda. The table was covered with natural luxuries produced upon the spot — fine purple and mus- catel grapes from the adjacent vineyard, delicious melons from the garden, and generous wines made on the estate. The repast was heightened by the genial manners of my hospitable host, who appeared to possess the most envi- able cheerfulness of spirit and simplicity of heart. After breakfast we set off in the calesa, to visit the Convent of La Rabida, which is about half a league dis- tant. The road, for a part of the way, lay through the vineyards, and was deep and sandy. The calasero had been at his wit's end to conceive what motive a stranger like myself, apparently travelling for mere amusement, could have in coming so far to see so miserable a place as Palos, which he set down as one of the very poorest places in the whole world ; but this additional toil and struggle through deep sand, to visit the old Convent of La Rabida, completed his confusion. " Hombre ! " ex- claimed he, " es una ruina ! no hay mas que dos frailes ! " — " Zounds ! why, it's a ruin ! There are only two friars there!" Don Juan laughed, and told him that I had come all the way from Seville precisely to see that old ruin and those two friars. The calasero made the Span- iard's last reply when he is perplexed — he shrugged his shoulders and crossed himself. A VISIT TO PALOS. 365 After ascending a hill, and passing through the skirts of a straggling pine wood, we arrived in front of the con- vent. It stands in a bleak and solitary situation, on the brow of a rocky height, or promontory, overlooking to the west a wide range of sea and land, bounded by the frontier mountains of Portugal, about eight leagues dis- tant. The convent is shut out from a view of the vine- yard of Palos by the gloomy forest of pines which I have mentioned, which cover the promontory to the east, and darken the whole landscape in that direction. There is nothing remarkable in the architecture of the convent; part of it is Gothic, but the edifice having been frequently repaired, and being whitewashed, according to a universal custom in Andalusia, inherited from the Moors, it has not that venerable aspect which might be expected from its antiquity. We alighted at the gate where Columbus, when a poor pedestrian, a stranger in the land, asked bread and water for his child ! As long as the convent stands, this must be a spot calculated to awaken the most thrilling inter- est. Tlic gate remains apparently in nearly the same state as at the time of his visit, but there is no longer a porter at hand to administer to the wants of the wayfarer. The door stood wide open, and admitted us into a small courtyard. From thence we passed through a Gothic portal into the chapel, without seeing a human being. We then traversed two interior cloisters, equally vacant and silent, ant! hearing a look of neglect and dilapida- tion. From an open window we had a peep at w hat had once been a garden, but that had also gone to ruin; the walls were broken and thrown down ; a few shrubs, and a scattered fig-tree or two, were all the traces of cultiva- tion that remained. We passed through the long dormi- tories, but the cells were shut up and abandoned ; we 366 THE LIFE OF COLUMBUS. saw no living thing except a solitary cat stealing across a distant corridor, which fled in a panic at the unusual sight of strangers. At length, after patrolling nearly the whole of the empty building, to the echo of our own foot- steps, we came to where the door of a cell, being partly open, gave us the sight of a monk within, seated at a table writing. He rose, and received us with much civility, and conducted us to the superior, who was read- ing in an adjacent cell. They were both rather young men, and, together with a novitiate and a lay brother, who officiated as cook, formed the whole community of the convent. Don Juan Fernandez com.municated to them the ob- ject of my visit, and my desire also to inspect the ar- chives of the convent, to find if there was any record of the sojourn of Columbus, They informed us that the archives had been entirely destroyed by the French. The younger monk, however, who had perused them, had a vague recollection of various particulars concern- ing the transactions of Columbus at Palos, his visit to the convent, and the sailing of his expedition. From all that he cited, however, it appeared to me that all the information on the subject contained in the archives had been extracted from Herrera and other well-known au- thors. The monk was talkative and eloquent, and soon diverged from the subject of Columbus to one which he considered of infinitely greater importance — the miracu- lous image of the Virgin possessed by their convent, and known by the name of " Our Lady of La Rabida." He gave us a history of the wonderful way in which the image had been found buried in the earth, where it had lain hidden for ages, since the^timeof the conquest of Spain by the Moors ; the disputes between the convent and different places in the neighborhood for the posses- A visrr TO PA LOS. 367 sion of it ; the marvellous protection it extended to the adjacent country, especially in preventing all madness, cither in man or dog — for this malady was anciently so l)rcvalcnt in this place as to gain it the appellation of La Rabia, by which it was originally called ; a name which, thanks to the beneficent influence of the Virgin, it no longer merited or retained. Such are the legends and relics with which every convent in Spain is enriched, which are zealously cried up by the monks, and devoutly credited by the populace. Twice a year, on the festival of Our Lady of La Ra- bida, and on that of the patron saint of the order, the solitude and silence of the convent are interrupted by the intrusion of a swarming multitude, composed of the in- habitants of Moguer and Iluelva, and the neighboring plains and mountains. The open esplanade in front of the edifice resembles a fair, the adjacent forest teems with the motley throng, and the image of Our Lady of La Rabida is borne fortli in triumphant procession. While the friar was thus dilating upon the merits and renown of the image, I amused myself with those day- dreams, or conjurings of the imagination, to which I am a little given. /As the internal arrangements of convents are apt to be the same from age to age, I pictured to myself this chamber as the same inhabited by the guard- ian, Juan Perez de Marchena, at the time of the visit of Columbus. Why might not the old and ponderous table before me be the very one on which he displayed his conjectural maps, and expounded his theory of a western route to India? It required but another stretch of the imagination to assemble the little conclave around the table ; Juan Perez, the friar, Garcia Fernandez, the phy- sician, and Martin Alonzo Pinzon. the bold navigator, all listening with rapt attention to Columbus, or to the tale 368 THE LIFE OF COLUMBUS. of some old seaman of Palos, about islands seen in the western parts of the ocean. / The friars, as far as their poor means and scanty knowl- edge extended, were disposed to do everything to pro- mote the object of my visit. They showed us all parts of the convent, which, however, has little to boast of, excepting the historical associations connected with it. The library was reduced to a few volumes, chiefly on ecclesiastical subjects, piled promiscuously in the corner of a vaulted chamber, and covered with dust. The cham- ber itself was curious, being the most ancient part of the edifice, and supposed to have formed part of a temple in the time of the Romans. We ascended to the roof of the convent to enjoy the extensive prospect it commands. Immediately below the promontory on which it is situated runs a narrow, but tolerably deep, river, called the Domingo Rubio, which empties itself into the Tinto. It is the opinion of Don Luis Fernandez Pinzon that the ships of Columbus were careened and fitted out in this river, as it affords better shelter than the Tinto, and its shores are not so shallow. A lonely bark of a fisherman was lying in this stream, and not far off, on a sandy point, were the ruins of an ancient watchtower. From the roof of the convent all the windings of the Odiel and the Tinto were to be seen, and their junction into the main stream, by which Co- lumbus sallied forth to sea. In fact, the convent serves as a landmark, being, from its lofty and solitary situation, visible for a considerable distance to vessels coming on the coast. On the opposite side I looked down upon the lonely road, through the wood of pine-trees, by which the zealous guardian of the convent, Fray Juan Perez, departed at midnight on his mule, when he sought the camp of Ferdinand and Isabella, in the vega of A VISIT TO PA LOS. 369 Granada, to plead the project of Columbus before the queen. Having finished our inspection of the convent we pre- pared to depart, and were accompanied to the outward portal by the two friars. Our calasero brought his rat- tling and rickety vehicle for us to mount ; at sight of which one of the monks exclaimed, with a smile, " Santa Maria! only to think! A calcsa before the gate of the convent of La Rabida ! " And, indeed, so solitary and remote is this ancient edifice, and so simple is the mode of living of the people in this by-corner of Spain, that the appearance of even a sorry calesa might well cause astonishment. It is only singular that in such a by-cor- ner the scheme of Columbus should have found intelli- gent listeners and coadjutors, after it had been discarded, almost with scofTing and contempt, from learned univer- sities and splendid courts. On our way back to the hacienda we met Don Rafael, a younger son of Don Juan Fernandez, a fine young man, about twenty-one years of age, and who, his father in- formed me, was at present studying French and mathe- matics. He was well mounted on a spirited gray horse, and dressed in the Andalusian style, with the little round hat and jacket. He sat his horse gracefully and man- aged him well. I was pleased with the frank and easy terms on which Don Juan appeared to Hve with his chil- dren. This I was inclined to think his favorite son, as I understood he was the only one that partook of the old gentleman's fondness for the chase, and that accom- panied him in his hunting excursions. A dinner had been prepared for us at the hacienda, by the wife of the capitaz, or overseer, who, with her hus- band, seemed to be well pleased with this visit from Don Juan, and to be confident of receiving a pleasant answer 24 370 THE LIFE OF COLUMBUS. from the good-humored old gentleman whenever they addressed him. The dinner was served up about two o'clock, and was a most agreeable meal. The fruits and wines were from the estate, and were excellent ; the rest of the provisions were from Moguer, for the adjacent village of Palos is too poor to furnish anything. A gen- tle breeze from the sea played through the hall and tem- pered the summer heat. Indeed, I do not know when I have seen a more enviable spot than this country retreat of the Pinzons. Its situation on a breezy hill, at no great distance from the sea, and in a southern climate, pro- duces a happy temperature, neither hot in summer nor cold in winter. It commands a beautiful prospect, and is surrounded by natural luxuries. The country abounds with game, the adjacent river affords abundant sport in fishing, both by day and night, and delightful excursions for those fond of sailing. During the busy seasons of rural life, and especially at the joyous period of vintage, the family pass some time here, accompanied by numer- ous guests, at which times, Don Juan assured me, there was no lack of amusements, both by land and water. When we had dined, and taken the siesta, or afternoon nap, according to the Spanish custom in summer time, we set out on our return to Moguer, visiting the village of Palos in the way. Don Gabriel had been sent in ad- vance to procure the keys of the village church, and to apprise the curate of our wish to inspect the archives. The village consists principally of two streets of low, whitewashed houses. Many of the inhabitants have very dark complexions, betraying a mixture of African blood. On entering the village we repaired to the lowly man- sion of the curate. I had hoped to find him some such personage as the curate in " Don Quixote," possessed of A VISIT 7 PA LOS. 371 shrewdness and information in his hmited sphere, and that I might gain some anecdotes from him concerning his parish, its worthies, its antiquities, and its historical events. Perhaps I might have done so at any other time, but, unfortunately, the curate was something of a sportsman, and had heard of some game among the neighboring hills. We met him just sallying forth from his house, and, I must confess, his appearance was pict- uresque. He was a short, broad, sturdy little man, and had doffed his cassock and broad clerical beaver for a short jacket and a little round Andalusian hat ; he had his gun in hand, and was on the point of mounting a donkey which had been led forth by an ancient withered handmaitl. Fearful of being detained from his foray, he accosted my companion the moment he came in sight. " God preserve you, Sefior Don Juan ! I have received your message, and have but one answer to make. The archives have all been destroyed. We have no trace of anything you seek for — nothing — nothing. Don Rafael has the keys of the church. Vou can examine it at your leisure. Adios, caballero ! " With these words the gal- liard little curate mounted his donkey, thumped his ribs with the but-cnd of his gun, and trotted off to the hills. In our w^a\' to the church we passed by the ruins of what had once been a fair and spacious dwelling, greatly superior to the other houses of the village. This, Don Juan informed me, was an old family possession, but since they had removed from Palos it had fallen to decay for want of a tenant. It was probably the family residence of Martin Alonzo or Vicente Yafiez Pinzon in the time of Columbus. We now arrived at the Church of St. George, in the porch of which Columbus first proclaimed to the inhabit- ants of Palos the order of the sovereigns, that they 372 THE LIFE OF COLUMBUS. should furnish him with ships for his great voyage of dis- covery. This edifice has lately been thoroughly repaired, and, being of solid mason-work, promises to stand for ages, a monument of the discoverers. It stands outside of the village, on the brow of a hill, looking along a little valley toward the river. The remains of a Moorish arch prove it to have been a mosque in former times ; just above it, on the crest of the hill, is the ruin of a Moorish castle. I paused in the porch, and endeavored to recall the interesting scene that had taken place there, when Co- lumbus, accompanied by the zealous friar Juan Perez, caused the public notary to read the royal order in pres- ence of the astonished alcaldes, regidors, and alguazils; but it is difficult to conceive the consternation that must have been struck into so remote a little community by this sudden apparition of an entire strange-r among them, bearing a command that they should put their persons and ships at his disposal, and sail with him away into the unknown wilderness of the ocean. The interior of the church has nothing remarkable, excepting a wooden image of St. George vanquishing the Dragon, which is erected over the high altar, and is the admiration of the good people of Palos, who bear it about the streets in grand procession on the anniversary of the saint. This group existed in the time of Columbus, and now flourishes in renovated youth and splendor, hav- ing been newly painted and gilded, and the countenance of the saint rendered peculiarly blooming and lustrous. Having finished the examination of the church, we re- sumed our seats in the calesa and returned to Moguer. One thing only remained to fulfill the object of my pil- grimage. This was to visit the chapel of the Convent of Santa Clara. When Columbus was in danger of being A VISIT TO PA LOS. 373 lost in a tempest on his way home from his great voyage of discovery, he made a vow that, should he be spared, he would watch and pray one whole night in this chapel; a vow which he doubtless fulfilled immediately after his arrival. M}' kind and attentive friend, Don Juan, conducted me to the convent. It is the wealthiest in Mogucr, and belongs to a sisterhood of Franciscan nuns. The chapel is large, and ornamented with some degree of richness, particularly the part about the high altar, which is em- bellisiied by magnificent monuments of the brave family of the Puerto Carrcros, the ancient lords of Moguer, and renowned in Moorish warfare The alabaster effigies of distinguished warriors of that house, and of their wives and sisters, lie side by side, with folded hands, on tombs immediately before the altar, while others recline in deep niches on either side. The night had closed in by the time I entered the churcli, which made the scene more impressive. A few votive lamps shed a dim light about the interior; their beams were feebly reflected by the gilded work of the high altar and the frames of the sur- rounding paintings, and rested upon the marble figures of the warriors and dames lying in the monumental repose of ages. The solemn pile must have presented much the same appearance when the pious discoverer performed his vigil, kneeling before this very altar, and praying and watching throughout the night, and pouring forth heart-felt praises for having been spared to accom- plish his sublime discovery. I had now completed the main purpose of my journey, having visited the various places connected with the story of Columbus. It was highly gratifying to find some of them so little changed, though so great a space of time had intervened; but in this quiet nook of Spain, so far 374 THE LIFE OF COLUMBUS. removed from the main thoroughfares, the lapse of time produces but few violent revolutions. Nothing, however, had surprised and gratified me more than the continued stability of the Pinzon family. On the morning after my excursion to Palos, chance gave me an opportunity of seeing something of the interior of most of their house- holds. Having a curiosity to visit the remains of a Moorish castle, once the citadel of Moguer, Don Fernan- dez undertook to show me a tower which served as a magazine of wine to one of the Pinzon family. In seek- ing for the key, we were sent from house to house of nearly the whole connection. All appeared to be living in that golden mean equally removed from the wants and superfluities of life, and all to be happily interwoven by kind and cordial habits of intimacy. We found the females of the family generally seated in the patios, or central courts of their dwellings, beneath the shade of awnings, and among shrubs and flowers. Here the An- dalusian ladies are accustomed to pass their mornings at work, surrounded by their handmaids, in the primi- tive, or, rather, oriental, style. In the porches of some of the houses I observed the coat of arms granted to the family by Charles the Fifth, hung up like a picture in a frame. Over the door of Don Luis, the naval ofifi- cer, it was carved on an escutcheon of stone, and colored. I had gathered many particulars of the family also from conversation with Don Juan, and from the family legend lent me by Don Luis. From all that I could learn, it would appear that the lapse of nearly three centuries and a half has made but little change in the condition of the Pinzons. From generation to generation they have retained the same fair standing and reputable name throughout the neighborhood, filling oflfices of pub- lic trust and dignity, and possessing great influence over A VISIT TO PALOS. 375 their fcllou-citizcns by their good sense and good con- duct. How rare is it to sec such an instance of stability of fortune in this fluctuating world, and how truly honor- able is this hereditary respectability, which has been se- cured by no titles or entails, but perpetuated merely by the innate worth of the race! I declare to you that the most illustrious descents of mere titled rank could never command the sincere respect and cordial regard with which I contemplated this stanch and enduring family, which for three centuries and a half has stood merely upon its virtues. As I was to set off on my return to Seville before two o'clock, I partook of a farewell repast at the house of Don Juan, between twelve and one, and then took leave of his household with sincere regret. The good old gentleman, with the courtesy, or rather the cordiality, of a true Spaniard, accompanied me to the posada, to see me ofT. I had dispensed but little money in the posada — thanks to the hospitality of the Pinzons — yet the Span- ish pride of my host and hostess seemed pleased that I had preferred their humble chamber and the scant}' bed they had provided me to the spacious mansion of Don Juan ; and when I expressed my thanks for their kindness and attention, and regaled mine host with a few choice cigars, the heart of the poor man was overcome. He seized me by both hands and gave me a parting ben- ediction, and then ran after the calasero, to enjoin him to take particular care of me during my journey. Taking a hearty leave of my excellent friend Don Juan, who had been unremitting in his attentions to me to the last moment, I now set ofT on ni)' wayfaring, grati- fied to the utmost with my visit, and full of kind and grateful feelings towards Moguer and its hospitable in- habitants. APPENDIX. OBSEQUIES OF COLUMBUS. The body of Columbus was deposited in the convent of San Francisco, and his obsequies were celebrated with funeral pomp in the parochial church of Santa Maria de la Antigua, in Valladolid. His remains were transported, in 1 5 13, to the Carthusian Convent of Las Cuevas, at Seville, and deposited in the chapel of Santa Christo. In the year 1536 they were removed to Hispaniola, and interred by the side of the grand altar of the cathe- dral of the city of San Domingo. But even here they did not rest in quiet. On the session of Hispaniola to the French, in 1795, it was determined by the Spaniards to bear them ofT to the island of Cuba as precious relics, connected with the most glorious epoch of Spanish his- tory. Accordingly, on the 20th December, 1795, in the presence of an august assemblage of the dignitaries of the Church and the civil and military officers, the vault was opened beside the high altar of the cathedral ; within were found the fragments of a leaden cofifin, a number of bones, and a quantity of mould, evidently the remains of a human body. These were carefully collected and put into a case of gilded lead, secured by an iron lock ; the case was enclosed in a coffin covered with black velvet, and the whole placed in a temporary mausoleum. On the following day there was another grand convocation at the cathedral ; the vigils and masses for the dead were APPEA'DJX. 2)77 chanted, and a funeral sermon was preached by the arch- bishop. After these solemn ceremonials in the cathe- dral the coffin was transported to the ship, attended by a grand civil, religious, and military procession. The banners were covered with crape ; there were chants and responses, and discharges of artillery ; and the most dis- tinguished persons of the several orders took turns to support the coffin. The reception of the body at Havana was equally august. There was a splendid procession of boats to conduct it from the ship to the shore. On passing the vessels of war in the harbor, they all paid the honors due to an Admiral and Captain-General of the navy. On ar- riving at the mole, the remains were met by the governor of the island, accompanied by the generals of the mili- tary staff. They were then conveyed in the utmost pomp to the cathedral. Masses and the solemn cere- monies of the dead were performed by the bishop, and the mortal remains of Columbus were deposited in the wall, on the right side of the grand altar, where they still remain. It is with deep satisfaction that the author of this work is able to close his history with the account of a ceremonial so noble and affecting, and so honorable to the Spanish nation. When we read of the remains of Columbus thus conveyed from the port of San Domingo, after an interval of nearly three hundred years, as sacred national relics, with civil and military pomp and high religious ceremonial, we cannot but reflect that it was from this very port he was carried off, loaded with igno- minious chains, blasted apparently in fame and fortune, and taunted by the revilings of the rabble. Such honors, it is true, are nothing to the dead, nor can they atone to the heart, now dust and ashes, for all the wrongs and 3/8 THE LIFE OF COLUMBUS. sorrows it may have suffered ; but they speak volumes of comfort to the illustrious yet slandered and perse- cuted living, encouraging them bravely to bear with present injuries, by showing them how true merit out- lives all calumny, and receives its glorious reward in the admiration of after ages. Note.— ^ While this abridgment was going to press the author received a letter from Madrid, mentioning a recent circumstance which may be of some interest to the reader of this work. The emancipation of the Spanish colonies in America had stripped the heirs of Columbus of all their property, insomuch that his last direct descendant and representative, the Duke of Veraguas, a young nobleman of worth and talent, was reduced to extreme poverty. He instituted a claim upon the government for indemnification, which has just been allowed. A pension of twenty-four thousand dollars has been assigned him on the revenues of Cuba and Porto Rico. It is a circumstance highly to his credit, that, in the time of his greatest distress, he refused sums that were offered him for various documents in the archives of his family, and particularly for autographs of his illustrious ancestor. A GLOSSARY OF THE LATIN. P^RENCII. SrANISH, AND OTHER NOT- EASILY-UNDERSTOOD WORDS AND THRASES. ALSO, A BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THOSE PERSONS AND PLACES SPOKEN OF, WHOSE HISTORY CONTAINS SOMETHING PECULIAR, OR A KNOWLEDGE OF WHOM CANNOT BE OBTAINED FROM SOURCES ORDINARILY WITHIN THE REACH OF THE READER. Adios, adieu, farewell. Adclatitado, lieu tenant-governor. Alcala de la Guadaira, a small Spanish town, situated six miles southeast of Seville, on the river Guadaira. Alcalde (Spanish), a justice of the peace, or judge who administers justice in a town. Alcantara, one of the three ancient Spanish orders of knighthood. It as- sumed this name from the town of Alcantara, in the Spanish province of Estremadura, which was given to it in 1207. Alcaydc, governor of a castle or fort. Algitazil (from the Spanish^ an inferior officer of justice, answering to our constable. Alhambra, the red city, formerly t!ie royal palace of the Moorish kings of (jranada, in Spain. Alpha and Omega, names of the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet, hence often used to signify the beginning and end. Amazons, a race of masculine women or female warriors. Anana, pineapple. Anjou. an ancient province of France. Apostolical Vicar, the Pope's representative in religious affairs. Arabic, language of the inhabitants of Arabia, which is the most westerly portion of southern Asia, between the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf. Archdeacon, an ecclesiastical officer, next in rank to a bishop, for whom he acts on many occasions. He has a superintendence over other clergymen in his district. 380 THE LIFE OF COLUMBUS. Archipelago, a sea interspersed with many islands ; the name generally ap- plied to the /Egean Sea, situated between Europe and Asia, but in this volume referring to ihe islands in tlie Caribbean Sea. Aristotle, a distinguished Grecian philosopher, born three hundred and eighty-four years before Christ, at Stagira, in Macedonia ; hence he is sometimes called the Stagyrite. Arrieros, carriers. Arqiiclnisier, a soldier armed with an arquebuse, a kind of firearms, for- merly in use, which was cocked with a wheel. Atlmitis. Many of the ancients supposed that there existed in the Atlantic Ocean a large island, to which the above name was given. Writers differ in their description and location of it, and as no such island is now known, the general opinion is that its existence was imaginary. Some, however, conjecture that the original accounts were true ; but that, instead of an island, the early voyagers had visited the American ccxi- tinent. Augustine, St. See Saint. Aura or Aurea Chersonesus, the golden peninsula. There is much differ- ence of opinion among the learned, what place the ancients intended to designate by this name. Dr. Rees considers there is little reason to doubt that the Golden Chersonese is the southern part of the former kingdom, now province, of Pegu, in Asia, which may be considered as insulated. Autograph, a person's own handwriting. Ave Maria, the beginning of a Roman Catholic prayer to the Virgin Mary, from which the whole prayer is called Ave Maria. It literally means, Hail, Mary ; and is the commencement of the salutation which the angel addressed to the Virgin, when announcing to her that she should be the mother of our Saviour. Avenger, a title given to King John the First of Portugal, who reigned from 1383 to 1433. He was inflexible in the punishment of crimes, and rooted out the band of bravoes kept by the nobility to execute private revenge. It was a saying of his that conversation was the cheapest of all pleasures, as well as the most improving, and he promoted a taste for letters among his people. Arej'tos, sacred, heroic, and historic ballads of the natives of Hispaniola, or Hayti, or San Domingo, as the island is variously called. Benedictine, an order of monks, founded by St. Benedict. He was born at Norcia, in Spoleto (which lies north of Rome), in the year 480. " In the fourteenth year of his age he retired to a cavern, situated in the desert of Subiaco, forty miles from Rome, and in 515 drew up a rule for his monks, which was first introduced into the monastery on Monte Cassino, in the neighborhood of Naples, founded by him (in 529) in a grove of GLOSSAR y. 3. 365- Prester John, tales told of. 21 ; mis- sions in quest of, 21. 171. Progress of discovery under Prince Henry of Portugal, 7. Pundonor, iSl. Puerto Bello. 280, 305. Punta de Galera island, 219. Queen's Garden, name given by Co- lumbus to archipelago in Caribbean Sea, 168, 306. Quibian, cacique of Veragua, 291, 294, 296, 2i)7, 2g8. Quintanilla, Alonzo de. comptroller of the finances of Castile, advo- cates the theory of Columbus and receives him into his house. 32 ; assists him, 39 ; appeals to the queen in his behalf, and is success- ful, 46- R. Rabida, convent of, Columbus's ar- rival at, 25 ; guardian of the con- vent enters warmly into his views. 25 ; Columbus returns to, disap- pointed, 42 ; author's visit to. 316. Rastello. in Portugal. Columbus an- chors opposite to. I'J<) ; character of inhabitants of. io(>. Reception of Columbus by John. King of Portugal. 22, 108 ; at Con- vent of Palos, 25. 42. 52 ; at Palos. 52. no; at Spanish court. 31. 44. 47. III. 113: at council of Salamanca, 33 ; by the natives of the New World. 72 ; by Portu- guese governor of St. Mary's 410 INDEX. island, T05 ; by inhabitants of Portugal, 106. Red Sea, 172. Reeds, River of, 150. Reguelme, Pedro, 240, 246, 254, 255, 260, 266. Religious notions of the natives, 154, etc. Repartimientos claimed by Roldan, 246. Residence of Columbus in Lisbon, g. Retrete, El, or the Cabinet, 288, 289. Return voyage of Columbus (first), 99 ; second, 173 ; third, 263 ; fourth, 336. Rich coast, 286. Rio del Oro, 133. Rio de la Misa, 175. Rio Verde, 150. Rodriguez, Sebastian, a pilot of Lepe, sent by the friends of Co- lumbus at La Rabida, to the queen, and acquits himself successfully, 42. Roldan, Francisco, 230. etc., 238, 239, 241. 243, 244, 245, 240, 250, 266 ; perishes in a tempest, 282. Royal India house, 122. Plain, 150 Rubio, Domingo, river at Palos, 368. Rumors of undiscovered countries, 12. St. Augustine, cited by the council at Salamanca, against the theory of Columbus, 35. . Cape, 271. St. Christoval, Fort, 224. St. Domingo, island, see Hayti or Hispaniola, and Ozema ; city of, 224. St. George, church of. at Palos, 52, no; author's visit to, 371; Bank of, at Genoa, 27S, 346. St. Mary of the True Peace, town of, 332. St. Nicholas, name giVen by Colum- bus to a harbor at Hayti, 85. St. Thomas, name given by Colum- bus to what is supposed to be the Bay of Acul, 89 ; to a fortress in Cibao, 151, 152, 161, 164, 180, 182, 183. Salamanca, Columbus before the council at, 33. Salcedo, Diego de, 326. Saltes, bar of, island whence Colum- bus set sail on his first voyage, 55, 362. Salve regina, or vesper hymn, sung, 68, 350. Samana, Gulf of, 100, 235. Sanchez, Juan, 297, 322. , Rodriguez, of Segovia, called by Columbus to witness the light he discovered, 68. San Gloria, Port, 306. San Lucar de Barrameda, 216, 335. San Miguel, 176. San Salvador, name given by Colum- bus to the island on which he first landed, ']^ ; also to a river in Cuba, 78. Santa Clara, church of, at Moguer, Columbus vows to watch and pray all night in, 102 ; author's visit to, 372. Santa Cruz, 130; name of a new caravel built by Columbus, 205. Santa Fe, 42. Santa, La Isla, 219. Santa Maria, name of Columbus's ship, 54. Santa Maria de la Verdadera Paz, 332. Santiago, 192. Saona. channel of, 172. Saragossa, in Arragon, royal palace at, 49. Scandinavian voyagers to America, iii, V ; knowledge of, lost to man- kind, iv. Second voyage, 121, 126. Segovia, Columbus at, 342. Seneca, his opinion of the ocean , 14. Sepulchre, Holy, see Jerusalem. Seville, 38, 40, ill, 121, 122, 124. Shipwrecks, 90, 202. Sickness at settlements, 162. Skirmishes with Lidians, loo, 130, 182, 192, 207, 227, 236, 297, 299, 300. INDEX. 411 Slaves, 145, igi, 200. 258, 275. Slavery, negro, first traces of. in New World, 275. Soldan of Kgypt, sec ICgypt. Solomon, King, mines whence he procured gold. 205. Soria, Juan de. comptroller for second voyage of Columbus, 121, 124, 125. Southern Ocean, 2S4. Spain, Columbus arrives in, 25. Strabo, his opinion of llie ocean, 14. Sultry weather, 220. Sun, supposed to have issued from a cavern near Cape Francois, 156. Superstition of Columbus, 222. Tagus, Columbus arrives at mouth of. 107. Talavera, confessor to Queen Isa- bella, Juan Perez gives Columbus a letter to, 26 ; too much engaged to attend to him, 30, 31 ; directed by the king to summon a council to examine the views of Columbus, 33- Tales and rumors about undiscovered countries, 12. Tc Dcum liiiidamtis. chanted on ac- count of success of Columbus, ri6. Tempests. 79, loi, 106, 202, 2S0, 2S5, 289, 306, 335. Terceira Islands, lO). Terra Firma, nothing known respect- ing it, till fifteenth century, iii. Third voyage, 214. Thomas, St., scr St. Thomas. Thule, visited by Columbus, v, 19. , Ultima, 19. Tiburon, Cape, 172. 226, 325. Tinlo, a river near Palos, 531 362, 36S. Tobacco, used by the natives of the New World, Si ; name of the roll transferred to the weed, Si. Torres, Antonio, 190, 199. Toscanelli, correspondence with Co- lumbus, 13 ; chart or map furnished by him, 15, 5O. Trade winds, influence of, 60, 127. Trinidad, discovery of, 219. Tristan, Diego, 299, 300, 302. Turey, or heaven, 92, 188, 197. U. Ultima Thulc. 19. Undiscovered lands in the West, grounds of the belief of Columbus in existence of. 13. Unhealthiness of climate, 162. University of Salamanca, council at, 33- Uricans, 202. Utia, animal like cony, 91. Valparaiso, near Lisbon, Portuguese court at. 108. Variation of the needle first dis- covered by Columbus, 58. Vega Real, or Royal Plain, 150. Venezuela, Gulf of, discovered, 251. Venice, proposition of Columbus to, 24. Veragua, 286, 289, 291, 305, 309. Veraguas, Duke of, 378. Verde, Cape de, 9, 13, 23, 121. Vesper hymn sung. 68. Vespucci, Amerigo, sails with Ojc- da, 251 ; employed by Columbus, 342. Vicenti, Martin, his information to Columbus, 16. Viceroy and Admiral, Columbus de- mands to be, 45 ; is appointed, 48. Villejo, Alon/o de. 266. Vinland, visited by Scandinavians, iii, v ; knowledge of the fact lost, iv. vi. Virgins. Eleven Thousand, islands of, 131. Visionary projects of Columbus. 37, 50, 117. 255. Vow of Columbus to furnish money for a crusade, 117, 270. Voyage, first, difficulties in getting ready. 51, 52 ; return, 99. 412 INDEX. Voyage, second, 121, 126; return, 173- , third, 214, 216 ; return, 263. , fourth, 278, 279; return, 336. W. Waterspout, 2go. Watling's Island, that on which Co- lumbus first saw light, 75. Weeds, sea covered with, 62. Weedy sea, described by Aristotle, 61. West, undiscovered lands in, grounds of belief of Columbus in, 13. West Indies, name first given to New World. 119. Whirlwinds, 202. Will of Columbus, 213, 346. Wrecks, go, 128. X. Xaragua, 158, 184, 224, 228, 234, 238, 325, 331. 332, 333-. Xerif al Edresi, description of At- lantic, iv. Ximeno de Breviesca, 215. Yagui, river, 150. Yegua, river, 188, i8g. Ysabel, Spanish name of Isabella, 72. Yucatan, 284. Zemes, deities of the aborigines, 154, 188. 1^ M ^^^® M 7 W y i 1 ^ i^S^ Iberoes of tbe Bations. EDITED BY EVELYN ABBOTT U.A., Fellow of Balliol Collfge, OxroRu. A Series of biographical studies of the Hves and work of a number of representative historical characters about whom have gathered the great traditions of the Nations to which they belonged, and who have been accepted, in many instances, as types of the several National ideals. With the life of each typical character will be presented a picture of the National conditions surrounding him during his career. The narratives are the work of writers who are recog- nized authorities on their several subjects, and, while thoroughly trustworthy as history, will present picturesque and dramatic "stories" of the Men and of the events con- nected with them. 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