UC-NRLF " o B E r K E I E Y LIBRARY UNIVERSITY OP LIBH. IRVING S COLUMBUS. ABRIDGED BY HIMSELF. STATE OF NEW YORK, > SECRETARY S OFFICE. $ , ALBANY, SOrii MAY, 1833. To the Trustees of the several School District* in t)*is state. The Legislature, nt thoir late session, adopted the following Resolutions* which, in obedience to the direction contained in them, are communicated for your information. STATE OF NEW YORK. ) IN SENATK, ..fyrj* ;<>, 1K*3. \ Resolved (If the Assembly concur,) That, in the opinion of tlm Legis lature, the work entitled " I ho life and Voyages of Christopher Columbus, by Washington Irving, abridged by the sain* 1 .." from tin; national charac ter of the subject., the fidelity and interest of the narrative, and the purity tnd elegance* of the stylo, is eminently fit to be used as a class hook in the Common Schools of this State; and it is hereby recommended to the trustees of the several school districts to take the necessary measures to introduce tne same into the schools under their charge with as little delay as circumstances may permit. Resolved (If the Assembly concur,) That the Secretary of State, as Superintendent of Common Schools, be, and he is hereby directed, to ad Iress a circular letter to the trustees of the several school districts within this State, enclosing a certified copy of the preceding Resolution, and sup porting the propriety of the recommendation therein contained, with such observations as he may deem proper. By Order, JOHN F. BACON, Citric of the Senate. STATE OF NEW YORK, ) IN ASSEMBLY, jtyrd 2), 1KB. s Resolved, That this House do concur with the Senate in their said Re solutions. By Order, FRANCIS SEGER, Clerk of the The adoption of these Resolutions constitutes the first exception t" the established policy of the Legislature in abstaining from nil interiert nco, so far as the selection of books is concerned, with the course of instru lion- pursued in the Common Schools. Numerous applications had firoir lime to time been made to procure a Legislative sanction for particular boo ;s, but uniformly without success. The departure in this instance from a be has conferred on his native State by. ho production? of nis genius, , we considered as presenting a fit occasion for relaxing tile rule ; and, is 2 IRVINO S COLUMBUS. eo doing, it was believed that the precedent could not well be imitated since the same circumstance would not again be likely to occur. Mr. IrviHg was among tho first of the natives of this State who have devoted themselves to the pursuits of literature. He commenced his career as an author, in the city of New York, at a time when the impulses to literary distinction found little encouragement in the prevailing spirit of enterprise, and tlie busy habits of society. The character of the country was essentiully commercial ; and neither wealth nor leisure was lent, in any considerable degree, to the cultivation of letters. Notwith standing these unpropitious circumstances, his earliest productions excited a general interest among his countrymen, through the same originality of thought and beauty of expression which so eminently distinguish his later works, and which command the admiration of a 1 who are familiar with our language and literature. In a word, it may bo said, without injustice to any of his ootemporaries, that no native of the United States has con tributed in a greater degree to rescue our literary character from reproach, bj extorting, even from the harsh awards of European criticism, unquali fied testimonials of praise. Thn " Life and Vovages of Columbus" were written under circum stances well calculated to secure what the author is universally admitted to huve attained fidelity in historical detail, and in delineations both of national and individual character. Unwilling to trust to the narratives, for the most, part contradictory and ill authenticated, in which the history of the discovery had been transmitted to our own times, Mr. Irving repair ed to MaJrid, and sought the materials for his work in the archives ot that ancient city. He consulted the most authentic sources of intelligence with regard to the man of whose character and actions it was to treat, and with regard to the country and the age with which he is identified : and he composed it amid the living memorials of ancient Spain, with the records of her chivalry, her power, and her magnificence before him. He has pre sented the conflicts of the discoverer with the prejudices of the Old World, and with the seductions and perils of the New, the glorious triumph of his great enterprise, and the termination of his career amid the visitations of neglect and ingratitude, in a strain of chaste and eloquent diction, unsur passed, if not unequalled, by any work of the present day : and he has im bued it deeply with a pure and high-toned morality. The abridgment, which the Legislature have recommended in the fore going Resolutions to be used in the Common SchooL as a class-book, pos sesses oH the characteristic merits of the original work, although, rn a composition so full of beauties, many have necessarily been lost in com pressing it into a narrower compass : and the Superintendent does not hesitate to say, that he knows no work better suited to be introduced into tk Common Schools for the use of the higher classes. Independently of the unblemished purity of its style and thought, it exhibits in a minute detail, with which all should be familiar, the discovery and first settlement by civilized men of tne continent in which our own country occupies so con spicuous a place a continent destined, perhaps, at no distant d /, through the influence of the free institutions which have taken root among us, to change the political character of the Old World, by pouring into it, in streams far more precious than the fountains of wealth which were opened by the discovery, the treasures of an enlightened and practical freedom. JOHN A. DIX, Superintendent Common Schools. [.Extract from the Report of the Committee o/ the Assembly on Colleges, Jlcalcmies, and Common Schools.] " Your Committe3 are persuaded that the passage of ine resolutions ii* question will have a direct tendency to raise the standard of education in the common scJioois of the State, and will, at the same time, be applaud ed throughout the Union as a most appropriate tribute on the part of this IRVING 8 COLUMBUS. State to the eminent genius and meritorious labours of one of our native citizens. Your Committee, therefore, have no hesitation in advising that this House concur with the Senate. " It is unnecessary that your Committee should dwell on the superior merits, as a literary production, of Washington living s Life and Voyages of Columbus; it has already received the stamp of public approbation. not only in this country, but in every part of the civilized world where English and American literature is known and valued. Some years of tho life of the author were devoted to the preparation of the won ; and, by a irost assiduous study of original and unpublished documents, which, by his personal researches, he discovered in the libraries of Spain, he has been enabled to correct the errors and supply the defects of preceding writers. The production is worthy of the time arid labour that it cost. In the accuracy and fulness of its narrative, the beauty of its varied illustra tions, and the purity and vigour of its style, it is universally admitted to surpass all other works on the same subject; and your Committee are assured that they but repeat the opinion of all competent judges in pro nouncing it the most valuable contribution that has yet been made to the rising literature of our country. " The abridgment of tl? : s masterly work by the author preserves in a great measure the excellences of the original : the style is equally anima ted, correct, and flowing ; and, while the substance of the narrative is retained, the interest is rather enhanced than weakened by the comprese d form in which the facts are given. Its peculiar adaptation to the use of common schools will not be denied by any who have perused the work, and are competent to appreciate its extraordinary merits." The ollowing notices of this abridgment were extracted from various newspapers within a fortnight after the publication of the work. From the JVezc York Evening Post : June, 1829. From the JVew York Daily Advertiser : June, 182J. u From what we have been able to read, we have reason to believe that the ?iear, chaste, and beautiful style peculiar to our distinguished coun tryman will be found to be preserved, much to the ornament and value of the work ; and we are of the opinion that most persona will rise from the perusal of the abridgment with a more clear acquaintance with the life, character, and discoveries of the great navigator, as time is not given for the interest to flag. To schools, and to youth, this volume will be par ticularly acceptable." , From the JV*e/o York American : June, 1829. i{ We hope this book may become a standard one in every school in OUT country ; and thus that the history of the first d : scovery of this continent the most magnificent result of enduring courage and noble selr -relianco that ever rewarded the efforts of man -may, in all time hereafter, be taught to its inhabitants through the glowing pages of an America!. 4 IRVING 8 COLUMBUS. From the New York Mercantile Advertiser : June, 1829. " It is precisely such a book as should bo put into the bane s of the young : there is a vigour in it style that never flags, and an attraction that it not weakened by a reporusal ; added to which, there is a vein of moral sentiment pervading it \vhich must commend it to every instructor.* From the Boston Courier : June, 1829. " This work has been prepared for the press by the author himself, and may therefore be considered us, in some degree, an original work. It ought to be adopted as a class-book in academies, where it would not only be useful and entertaining as a piece of important history, but might be adopted KS a specimen of rlegant. composition, and worthy of the imi tation of students who need an elegant ami fascinating example of style." From the New York Albion : June, 1829. "It is quite remarkaMn to observe how fully the spirit of the origina* work is embodied in the abridgment Every fact of importance is pre served, and t!:ere is no risk in asserting, that as a school-book, there it nothing extant that so correctly, and, at the same time, so beautifully pro* acute to the youthful mind the tab of the fate and fortunes of the great Cfrfumbus." From the Philadelphia National Gazette : June, 1829. " Mr. Irving has done justice to his great work in this elegant nnd auf- fici^it compcud ; and no one but the author could have accompli* hed the task so happily in all respects. Wo feel entitled anJ bound to recom mend it to teachers of youth as a work eminently fit to be read in schools. For that use it possesses all the specific merits, comparative brevity, romantic interest, beauty of diction, and valuable or neeetsaiy infor mation." From the New England Galaxy : June. 1829. " In its present form, this work canr.ot fail to become popular, in the strictest sense of the word. It is not so large but that all may rea it, and its literary excellence is of so high a character, and the interest attached to the subject is so commanding, that all will read It with delight. In this abridgment nothing of the spirit of an original is wanting : while no mate rial facts are omit ed, the story is condensed ; it is less philosophical, but more animated ; and the style, though less elaborate, is perhaps more vivacious and attractive. " We think we have heard, or seen stated somewhere, that Mr. Irving in this abridgment aimed at making a work proper to bo used in schools. It is certainly remarkably well adapted to that use. Some of the principal schools in New York have adopted it, and we hope their example will be folio- ved. The subject of this work, and the admirable manner in which it is treated, alike recommend it, and the sizo aud price now form no objection." Columbus before the King and Queen. THE LIFE AND VOYAGES CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS, JOHN S. PR ELL Qtil & Mechanical Engineer. SAN FRANCISCO, CAL. WASHINGTON IRVlNt*. ABRIDGED AND ARRANGED BY THE AUTHOR, EXPRESSLY FOR THE USE OF SCHOOLS. NEW YORK : COLLINS, KEESE & CO., 254 PEARL STREET, W. E. DEAN, PRINTER. 1838. . MHOt - Jj*>f^>Wp5J areor<;fing4p|aqjppf ^pn^tcss^ ihe^y e^rpn.e thousand ciglil wind red aifid tliirty-fouV, i>y Washington Irving, in 1 the Clerk s office of tlve Southern Diuict of New- York. , (STPT t III I"? EDUC ilBRARY INTRODUCTION. 1. WHETHER in old times beyond the reach of history or tradition, there existed an intercourse between the op posite shores of the Atlantic; whether the Egyptian legend concerning the island of Atalantis was indeed no fable, and that such country did actually exist, and was swallowed up by some mighty convulsion of our globe, must ever remain matters of mere speculation. 2. Certain it is, that at the beginning of the fifteenth century, nothing was known of lands in the western hemisphere. It is true, that articles had floated from time to time to the shores of the old world, giving indications to its wondering inhabitants of land in the west, far beyond their watery horizon, yet no one ventured to spread a sail in quest of it. 3. The vast waters of the Atlantic were regarded with mysterious awe, seeming to bound the world as with a chaos into which conjecture could not penetrate, and en- terprise feared to adventure. 4. " The ocean," observes an eminent Arabian geo grapher of the time, * encircles the ultimate bounds of the inhabited earth, and all beyond it is unknown. No one has been able to verify any thing concerning it, on ac count of its difficult and perilous navigation, its great ob. IV INTRODUCTION. scurity, 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. 5. There is no mariner who dares to enter into its deep waters ; or if any have done so, they have merely kept along its coast, fearful of departing from them. The waves of this ocean, although they roll as high as moun tains, yet maintain themselves without breaking ; for if they broke, it would be impossible for a ship to plough them." 6. 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 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 of the new. CHAPTER 1. Birth, parentage, education, and early life of Columbus. 1. CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS, or Colorabo, as the namo is written in Italian, was a native of Genoa, and born about the year 1435. He was the oldest of four children, having two brothers, one named Bartholomew, the other Giacomo, or Diego as it is translated into Spanish, and one sister. 2. His father, Domenico Colombo, was a wool comber, as several of his ancestors had been before him. Attempts have been made, by those who attach value to hereditary rank, to prove Columbus of illustrious descent, and seve ral noble families have laid claim to him since his name has become so renowned as to confer, rather than to re ceive, distinction. His son Fernando thought justly on the subject. " I am of opinion," said he, " that I should derive less dignity from any nobility of ancestry, than from being the son of such a father." 3. Columbus evinced at a very early age, a decided incli nation for the sea. His father, therefore, endeavoured, as far as his means afforded, to give him such an educa tion as would make him a skilful navigator. He even sent him to the university of Pavia, where he studied geometry, geography, astronomy and navigation, and the Latin tongue. 4. His father was too poor, however, to keep him longer at the university than was sufficient to acquire the rudi ments of the necessary sciences. The deep insight into them, which he afterwards displayed, was the result of experience and self instruction. Men of strong genius derive an advantage from thus having, at their very out set, to contend with poverty and privations. They learn to depend upon themselves, to improve every casual ad vantage, and to effect great ends by small means. Such a man was Columbus. His own energy and invention supplied every deficiency, and in all his undertakings, the scantiness of his means enhanced the grandeur of his achievements. 5. His first voyage was made shortly after leaving the LIFE AND VOYAGES university, when he was about fourteen years of age. The seafaring- life in those days was full of peril and ad venture. The feuds between the Italian states, and the holy wars with the Mahometan powers, filled the seas with cruisers ; some fitted out by sovereign states ; some by powerful nobles ; and some by desperate adventurers. Piracy was almost legalized ; even a commercial voyage partook of a warlike character, and a merchant had often to fight his way from port to port. 6. Such was the rugged school in which Columbus was first broken into naval discipline ; and he had a teacher as rugged as the school. This was a relative named Co lombo, a hardy old captain of the seas, bold and adven turous, ready to fight in any cause, and to take up a quarrel wherever it might lawfully be found. 7. With this veteran cruiser Columbus sailed several years, and served in a squadron, of which he was admiral, fitted out in Genoa in 1459, by John of Anjou, Duke of Calabria, to make a descent upon Naples, in the hope of recovering that kingdom for his father, Renato, Count of Provence. In the course of this expedition, Columbus was detached by the old admiral on a daring enterprise, to cut out a galley from the port of Tunis, in which he acquitted himself with great resolution and address. 8. For several years afterwards, he continued to voyage in the Mediterranean, and up the Levant. Sometimes he was engaged in commercial employ ; sometimes in peri lous cruises with his old fighting relative, or with a no less fighting nephew of the same, named Colombo the younger ; who, we are told, was so terrible for his deeds against the infidels, that the Moorish mothers used to frighten their unruly children with his name. The last anecdote we have of this obscure part of the life of Co lumbus is given by his son Fernando, and relates to a daring cruise with this bold rover. 9. Colombo the younger, hearing that four Venetian gal leys, richly laden, were returning from Flanders, waylaid and attacked them with his squadron on the Portuguese coast, between Lisbon and Cape St. Vincent. A bloody battle ensued that lasted from morning until evening. The vessels grappled each other, the crews fought OF COLUMBUS. 7 hand to hand, and from ship to ship. The vessel com manded by Columbus engaged with a large Venetian galley. 10. In the fury of the contest they threw hand gre nades and other fiery missiles. The galley took fire, and as the vessels were grappled together and could not be separated, they soon became one flaming mass. The crews threw themselves into the sea. Columbus seized an oar that was floating near him, and swam to shore, which was full two leagues distant. Having recovered from his exhaustion, he repaired to Lisbon, where he found many of his Genoese countrymen, and was induced to take up his residence. 11. Such is the account given by Fernando Columbus of the first arrival of his father in Portugal. There are grounds for believing, however, that he had resided there some years previous to this battle, and that he was led thither, not by desperate adventure, but by a spirit of liberal curiosity, and in pursuit of honourable fortune. CHAPTER II. Portuguese discoveries. Residence of Columbus at Lisbon. 1. THE career of modern discovery had commenced shortly before the time of Columbus ; but was confined to the western coast of Africa and the adjacent islands. It at length received a new impulse from Prince Henry of Portugal, son of King John the First. 2. That accomplished prince, by prof bund study of those sciences connected with the maritime arts, became per suaded that Africa was circumnavigable, and that, by keep ing along its shores, a ship might sail from Europe to India. In this way an easier and cheaper channel might be opened for the opulent trade of the east ; which had hitherto been conducted to Europe by an expensive internal route along the Red Sea and the Nile, and had been monopo lized by the Italian merchants. 3. In seeking to carry this idea into effect, Prince 8 LIFE AND VOYAGES Henry had to struggle against the ignorance and pre judices of the age. Navigation was yet in its infancy ; manners feared to venture far from land ; and looked with awe at the vast and unknown expanse of the At lantic. They believed in the old error, that the imagi nary circle called the torrid zone, which girdles the earth at the equator, was a region of impassable heat, com pletely severing the two hemispheres. And they had a superstitious notion, that whoever doubled Cape Bojador would never return. 4. Prince Henry called in the aid of the most eminent men of science to dispel these errors. He established a naval college and observatory ; introduced tpeat improve ment in maps and charts, and in the use of the mariners* compass, and pushed the discoveries of his nation be yond the region of the tropics, quite to Cape de Verde. 5. He obtained, also, a bull or ordinance from the Pope, giving the crown of Portugal sovereign authority over all the lands it might discover in the Atlantic, to India inclusive. 6. Henry died before he had accomplished the great object of his ambition ; but he had lived long enough to behold, through his means, his native country in a grand career of prosperity. He has been well described, as " full of thoughts of lofty enterprise, and acts of generous spirit." He bore for his device the magnanimous motto, " the talent to do good," the only talent worthy the am bition of princes. 7. The fame of the Portuguese discoveries drew the learned, the curious, and the adventurous, to Lisbon. Amoi/g the rest, Columbus arrived there about the year 1470. He was at that time in the full vigour of man hood, and here it may not be improper to draw his por trait, according to the minute descriptions given of him by his contemporaries. 8. He was tall, well formed, muscular, and of an ele vated and dignified demeanour. His visage was long, and neither full nor meagre ; his complexion fair and freckled, and inclined to ruddy ; his nose aquiline ; his cheek bones were rather high ; his eyes light gray, and apt to enkindle ; his whole countenance had in air of OP COLUMBUS. 9 authority. His hair, in his youthful days, was of a light colour, but care and trouble soon turned it gray, and at thirty years of age it was quite white. 9. His temper was naturally irritable, but he subdued it by the magnanimity of his spirit, so as to conduct himself always with a courteous and gentle gravity. Towards strangers he was engaging and affable, and his amiable manners in domestic life won him the love and devotion of his household. 10. He was moderate and simple in diet and apparel ; eloquent and animated at times in discourse, but always temperate in language, avoiding oaths and all profane expressions. 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 lefty and solemn enthusiasm with whicli his whole character was strongly tinctured. 11. While at Lisbon, he was accustomed to attend re ligious service at the chapel of the Convent of All Saints. Here he frequently obtained a sight of a young lady, named Felipa, who resided in the convent. She WPS the daughter of an Italian cavalier, lately deceased, B<\rto- lomeo Moiiis de Palestrello, who had been a distinguish ed navigator in the service of Prince Henry, and had colonized and governed the island of Porto Santo. 12. A romantic attachment took place between Co lumbus and this young lady, which ended in marriige. It was a match of mere affection, for neither of them could boast of fortune, and Columbus was obliged to em ploy himself in making maps and charts for the support of his family. 13. This connexion brought him more than ever into the sphere of discovery. His wife s sister was married to Pedro Correo, a navigator of note, between whom, and Columbus, there were frequent conversations about the recent discoveries on the African coast, and the popu lar theme, the discovery of a route by sea to India. His mother-in-law also related to him all that she knew of the voyages and discoveries of her late husband, and put his charts and journals into his possession. 14. He thus obtained a knowledge of the routes and 10 LIFE AND VOYAGES leading ideas of the Portuguese discoverers. Being, moreover, naturalized in Portugal, he was permitted to sail in some of the expeditions to the coast of Guinea ; and at one time resided in the recently colonized island of Porto Santo, where his wife had inherited some little property, and where she gave birth to a son, whom he named Diego. 15. It was a period of great excitement with all con cerned in maritime affairs. The recent discoveries had inflamed their imaginations, and given birth to rumours of all kinds, concerning unknown islands, hidden in the wastes of the Atlantic, arid casually seen by mariners. Alany of these were mere fables ; many had originated, doubtless, in the self-delusion of sailors, who beheld distant land in those summer clouds which lie along the horizon. 16. The most singular delusion of the kind, is that re corded of the inhabitants of the Canaries. They ima gined, from time to time, that they beheld a vast island iii the west, with lofty mountains and deep valleys. It made its appearance in the clearest weather, and so dis tinctly, that expeditions were fitted out in search of it. The fancied island, however, faded on their approach, and was never to be found ; yet, it still continued occa sionally to cheat the eye, and is actually laid down in old maps, under the name of St. Bran dan, or St. Borondon. 17. Columbus participated largely in the excitement of the age. Every tale and rumour, that bore upon the popular theme, was notod down by him with curious care. His voyages along the coast of Guinea ; his residence at Porto Santo and his occupation in making maps and charts, led him more and more to speculate upon the great problem of a route by sea to India. 18. While others, however, thought only of Reeking it by keeping along the coast of Africa, his daring mind con ceived the idea of turning his prow directly west, leaving the old world behind him, and steering boldly for the shores of Asia across the untraversed waste of the Atlan tic. Having once conceived this idea, it is interesting to notice from what a mass of facts, and fictions, and speculative theories, the grand project^ of discovery was wrought out by the strong workings of his vigorous mind, OP COLUMBUS. 11 CHAPTER III. Grounds on which Columbus founded his theory. 1. COLUMBUS set it down as a fundamental principle, that the earth was a terraqueous globe ; and that not more than two thirds of its circumference from east to west, had been discovered. The third part, which remained unexplored, he supposed to be filled up by land, to balance the continents in the hemisphere already known. 2. This land he supposed to be a continuation of the continent of Asia, or India, as it was generally called. The ancients, though they knew little of India beyond the Ganges, had asserted that it stretched on eastward to the distance of four months journey in a straight line. In the fourteenth century, also, one Marco Polo, a Vene tian, travelled to the remotest parts of the east, and gave an account of their extent, that seemed to confirm the assertions of the ancients. 3. Adopting an opinion of Alfraganus, a learned Arabian, that the circumference of the earth was less than was generally imagined, Columbus concluded, that, if Asia extended as far eastward as was represented, it must approach the western shores of Europe and Africa, and the intervening space of ocean must be of moderate extent. 4. Several facts tended to confirm this idea. A Por tuguese pilot, who had sailed farther to the west t^an was customary, picked up a piece of wood carved in an unknown fashion, and drifting from that quarter. Re^-ds, also, of an immense size, such as were said to grow mly in India, floated to the Azore islands from the w^st. Above all, a canoe with the dead bodies of two rpen, differing in features and complexion from any known race, had been cast by westerly winds upon those islands. 5. These and other facts of similar import, strengthen ed his conviction that the shores of India were within a navigable distance, directly west, and might easily be attained by sailing in that direction. 6. The work of Marco Polo had a powerful effect in producing this conviction, and deserves particular men- 12 LIFE AND VOYAGES tion, as furnishing 1 a key to many of his plans and ideas. That traveller gave magnificent accounts of the maritime regions of the extreme east. The province of Mangi near Cathay, and the cities of Cambalu and Kinsay, since found to be maritime provinces of China, but at that time under the dominion of the Grand Khan of Tartary. 7. He mentioned also an island about fifteen hundred miles at sea, which he- called Cipango, and which is sup posed to be Japan. He described it as abounding in spices and precious stones, and so rich in metals that the palace of the king was covered with plates of gold. 8. The project of Columbus was to sail directly west for this island of Cipango. There he would pause, re fresh, and refit, and would then prosecute his voyage to the snores of Mangi and Cathay, in the opulent dominions of the Grand Khan. In fact, throughout all his voyages, he was continually in search of those golden regions, and fancying himself on the point of arriving at them. 9. From this general view of the theory of Columbus, it will be perceived that he was emboldened to his great enterprise by two happy errors : the imaginary extent of Asia to the east, and the supposed smallness of the earth. Had he not been encouraged by such belief, he would hardly have attempted to traverse a waste of wa ters, immeasurable perhaps in extent, and where he might perish before he could reach the opposite shore. 10. When Columbus had once formed his theory, it be came 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 religious sentiment mingled with his thoughts, and gave them a tinge of superstition, but of a sublime and lofty kind. 11. He looked upon himself as standing in the hand of heaven, chosen from among men for the accomplish ment of a high purpose ; he read, as he supposed, his contemplated discovery foretold in. Holy Writ, and shadowed forth darkly in the prophecies ; wherein it was declared, that the ends of the earth should be brought together, and all nations, and tongues, and languages, united under the banner of the Redeemer. OF COLUMBUS. 10 CHAPTER IV. Events in Portugal relative to Discovery. Propositions of Columbus to various courts. 1. THE project of discovery conceived by Columbus was too important an enterprise for an individual, and required the patronage of some sovereign power. Such, however, was difficult to be obtained. Navigation was still too imperfect for so perilous an undertaking, though the compass had been introduced into general use, yet mariners rarely ventured out of sight of land. A voyage into the unknown wastes of the ocean in search of some imagined land, seemed as extravagant a project then, as it would, at the present day, to launch forth in a balloon into the regions of space in quest ot some distant star. 2. Several years elapsed, therefore, without any de cided effort on the part of Columbus to carry his design into execution. During this interval he made a voyage into the northern seas, beyond the Ultima Thule of the ancients, penetrated the polar circle, and convinced him self that the frozen zone was habitable. 3. At this juncture, John II. ascended the throne of Portugal. He was anxious to carry into effect the splendid idea of his grand uncle Prince Henry, to cir cumnavigate Africa, and bear the Portuguese flag into the Indian seas. Under his patronage, the attention of men of science was again directed to the improvement of navigation, and the result of a conference of the most ex perienced astronomers was, the application of the astro labe to maritime purposes. 4. This instrument possessed the essential advantages of the quadrant, into which it has since been modified. The project of Columbus was thus divested of its most hazardous character, for science had furnished a sure guide for discovery across the trackless ocean. Accord ingly, it was shortly after this event that Columbus was emboldened to seek an audience of the king of Portugal, and lay before him his great scheme of seeking India by a voyage to the west. 2 14 LIFE AND VOYAGES 5. King John gave him an attentive hearing, and, be ing struck with his scheme, referred it to a junto of men of science. It was treated by them with contempt, as extravagant and visionary. The king was not satisfied witii their decision. He desired the opinion of his privy counsellors, among whom were some of the most learned men of the kingdom. Their opinion was equally unfa vourable with that of the junto. 6. Certain of the counsellors, however, seeing that the king still retained an inclination for the enterprise, de vised a plan by which it might, be secretly put to the test, without publicly committing the dignity of the crown, in what they considered a mere fantasy. Procuring from Columbus a detailed plan of his proposed voyage, and the charts by which he intended to shape his course, they privately despatched a caravel, or small vessel, to pursue the designated route. 7. The caravel took its departure from the Cape de Verde islands, and stood westward for several days. The wea,ther grew stormy ; the pilots, having no zeal to sti mulate them, and seeing nothing but a waste of wild tumbling waves still extending before them, lost ail courage, and returned to Lisbon, ridiculing the project as extravagant and irrational. 8. When Columbus learnt the unworthy attempt that had been made to defraud him of his enterprise, he re nounced all further negotiation with the crown of Portu gal. The death of his wifr having dissolved the tie which bound him to the land, he took with him his son Diego, then a mere child, and turned his back upon a country which had treated him with so little faith. 9. He now repaired to his native country Genoa, where he revisited his aged father, and made such ar rangements for his support as his limited purse afforded. And here it ought to be mentioned to his honour, that, during all the time of his residence in Portugal, he had contrived out of his scanty means, to succour his indigent parent, and to educate his younger brothers. 10. While at Genoa, he made his propositions to the government. The republic, however, was in a state of decline, and embarrassed by ruinous wars. Nations, like OP COLUMBUS*. 15 individuals, lose their enterprise, in times of adversity, when it is most needed. Thus Genoa, broken in spirit, rejected a scheme which, if adopted, might have elevated her to tenfold splendour, and perpetuated the golden wand of commerce in the grasp of Italy. 11. The next application of Columbus was to the re public of Venice, but here he met with no better success. He then engaged his brother Bartholomew to sail for England, to lay his propositions before Henry VII. , whom he had heard extolled for his wisdom and munificence. For himself, he sailed for Spain, where he arrived in great poverty ; thus in a manner begging his way from court to court, to offer to princes the discovery of a world. CHAPTER V. First arrival of Columbus in Spain. Characters of the Spanish Sovereigns. 1. THE first trace we have of Columbus in Spain, is striking and peculiar. About half a league from the little port of Palos, in Andalusia, on a solitary height overlooking the sea coast, and surrounded by a forest of pine trees, there stood, and stands at the present day, an ancient convent of Franciscan friars, called the convent of Santa Maria de Rabida. 2. A stranger travel] ing on foot, accompanied by a young boy, stopped one day at the gate, and asked of the- porter a little bread and water for his child. That stranger was Columbus, accompanied by his young son Diego. 3. While they were partaking of this humble refresh ment, the guardian of the convent, Juan Perez de Mar- chena, happened to pass by. He perceived from the air and accent of Columbus that he was a foreigner, and being interested by his appearance, entered into conver sation with him. 4. Learning the singular object of his travels, he de tained him as his guest, and invited a scientific friend LIFE AND VOYAGES Garcia Fernandez, a physician of Palos, and several veteran mariners of the neighbourhood to confer with him. They all became converts to the theory of Columbus. 5. One Martin Alonzo Pinzon, the head of a wealthy family of experienced navigators in Palos, offered to de fray the expenses of Columbus to court, and, if his enter prise should be adopted by the sovereigns, to engage in it with purse and person. 6. To ensure him a ready and favourable hearing, the worthy friar Juan Perez, gave him a letter to the queen s confessor, Fernando de Talavera, a priest of great political influence, and promised, in the mean time, to maintain and educate his son Diego at the convent. 7. Thus aided and encouraged, he set out in the spring of 1486, to seek the countenance of the Spanish sove reigns, who at that time were assembling their forces at Cordova, for a campaign against the Moorish kingdom of Granada. And here it is proper to give a brief descrip tion of these princes, who performed such an important part in the events of this history. 8. Ferdinand and Isabella had separate claims to sovereignty, and held separate councils, in virtue of their .separate kingdoms of Arragon and Castile. They were said, therefore, to live together, not like man and wife whose estates are in common, under the orders of the husljand, but as two monarchs strictly allied. 9. So happily united were they, however, by common views and interest, and by a great deference for each other, that this double administration 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. 10. Ferdinand possessed a clear and comprehensive genius, and great penetration. He was equable in tem per, indefatigable in business, and a great observer of men. It has been said, however, and apparently with reason, that l?j was bigoted in religion, and craving rather than magnanimous in his ambition ; that he made OP COLUMBUS. 17 war less for glory than for mere dominion ; and that his policy was cold, selfish, and artful. 11. Isabella 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 countenance, and a singular modesty, gracing, as it did, great firmness of purpose and earnestness of spirit. Though strongly attached to her husband, and studious of his fame, yet she always maintained her distinct rights as an allied prince. 12. She exceeded him in beauty, personal dignity, acuteness of genius, and grandeur of soul. Combining the active and resolute qualities of man with the softer charities of woman, she mingled in the warlike councils of her husband, and, being inspired with a truer idea of glory, infused a more lofty and generous temper into his subtle and calculating policy. 13. 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 councils in encouraging literature and the arts. Such was the noble minded 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 Spam. 1* COLUMBUS arrived at Cordova, at a most unpro- pitious moment for his suit. The monarchs were in all the bustle of military preparation. The court was like a camp ; every avenue was crowded by warlike nobles and hardy cavaliers, with their splendid retinues, and household troops. Every body was engrossed by the- opening campaign. 2. Even the priest, Fernando de Talavera, to whom Columbus brought his letter of recommendation, and on whom he reckoned as a patron and protector was 2* 18 LIFE AND VOYAGES completely taken up with military concerns. He listened but coldly to Columbus, regarding his plan of discovery as extravagant and impossible. 3. The campaign opened almost immediately; the king took the field in person ; the queen was part of the time present in the camp, and continually occupied by the hurrying concerns of the war. Under such circum stances, Columbus found it impossible to obtain a hearing. 4. Humiliation was added to disappointment. He had to endure the ridicule of the light and supercilious. Some scoffed at him as a dreamer, others as an adven turer ; the very children were taught to consider him a madman, and pointed at their foreheads as he passed. 5. Indeed, the slender interest on which he founded his hopes of royal patronage, merely, " the letter of a gray friar," and the simple and poor apparel in which his indigence compelled him to appear, formed a prepos terous contrast in the eyes of the courtiers, with the magnificence of his speculations. He waited patiently, however, in the hope of a more favourable opportunity to urge his suit, and in the mean time supported himself by making maps and charts. 6. While thus lingering in Cordova, he became attach ed to a lady of that city, of noble family, named Beatrix Enriquez. Like most of the circumstances of this part of his life, his connexion with her is wrapped in obscu rity, but appears never to have been sanctioned by mar riage. She was the mother of his second son Fernando, who became his historian, and whom he always treated on terms of perfect equality with his legitimate, son Diego. 7. By degrees the attention of men of reflection began to be drawn to this solitary individual, who, almost un supported, was endeavouring to make his way, with so singular a proposition, to the foot of the throne. Who~ ever conversed with him, was struck with the dignity of his manners, the earnest sincerity of his discourse, and the force of his reasoning. 8. Among- the warmest of his proselytes was, Alonzo de Quintanilla, comptroller of the finances of Castile, who received him as a guest into his house. Above OF COLUMBUS. 19 all, he was fortunate in securing- the countenance of Pedro Gonzalez de Mendoza, archbishop of Toledo, and grand cardinal of Spain. This was a man of great talents and endowments, who was consulted by the sove reigns on all occasions of consequence, and possessed such influence over them, as to be facetiously called the third king of Spain." Through the mediation of the grand cardinal, the long sought for audience of the king was at length obtained. 9. Columbus appeared in the presence of the monarch with modesty, yet self-possession. His mind was eleva ted by the importance of his errand ; for he felt, as he afterwards declared, animated as if by a sacred fire from above, and considered himself an instrument in the hand of heaven to accomplish its grand designs. 10. Ferdinand was too keen a judge of men not to appreciate his character. He perceived, also, that his scheme had scientific and practical foundations, and might lead to discoveries far exceeding those which had shed such glory upon Portugal. He ordered Fer nando de Talavera, the prior of Prado, to assemble the ablest men of science of the kingdom, to hold a con ference with Columbus, and report their opinion as to the merits of his theory. 11. Columbus now considered the day of success at hand ; he had been deceived by courtiers, and scoffed at by the vulgar and the ignorant ; but he was now to appear be fore the most learned and enlightened men, elevated, as he supposed, above narrow prejudice and selfish interest. From the dispassionate examination of such a body of eages, he could not but anticipate a triumphant verdict. CHAPTER VII. Columbus before the Council at Salamanca. 1. THE interesting conference took place at Sala manca, the great seat of learning in Spain. It was held in the dominican convent of St. Stephen, the most scien- 20 LIFE AND VOYAGES tific college in the university. The hall of the old convent presented a striking spectacle ; a simple manner standing forth before an array of collegiate sages, learned friars, and august dignitaries of the church, maintaining a novel theory, by the aid of natural eloquence, and, as it were, pleading the cause of the new world. 2. The greater part of this learned junto, it would ap pear, earn a preposssssed against him, as men in place and power are too apt to be against poor applicants. There is always a proneness to consider a theorist under examination as a kind of delinquent or impostor, upon trial, who is to be detected and exposed. 3. Columbus too, was but little fitted to win favour in scholastic eyes ; an obscure navigator, member of no learned institution, destitute of all the trappings, anr titles, and diplomas, which sometimes give oracular au thority to dulness, and depending merely upon the force of natural genius. 4. Some of the assembly considered him an adventurer.; or, at best, a visionary ; others scornfully observed, that, after so many profound philosophers had occupied them selves in geographical investigations, and so many able navigators had been voyaging about the world for ages, it argued great presumption in an ordinary man to sup- pose there remained so vast a discovery for him to make. 5. Several of the objections opposed by this learned body will appear glaringly absurd at the present day. Thus the very idea of antipodes, and of the globular form of the earth, was scouted on the authority of one of the ancient fathers of the church. 6. " How absurd," said he, "to believe that there are people with their feet opposite to ours ; who walk with their heels upward and their heads hanging down ; that there is a part of the world in which all things are topsy turvy ; where the trees grow with their branches down ward, and where it rains, hails, and snows upward ! The idea of the roundness of the earth," he adds, " was the cause of inventing this table ; for when philosophers have once erred, they go on in their absurdities, defending one with another." 7. These objections, which may excite a smile in the OP COLUMBUS. 21 present enlightened age, were excusable at the time, con sidering the imperfect state of knowledge. The rotundi ty of the earth was as yet a mere matter of speculation ; no one could tell whether the ocean was not too vast 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 making the circuit of it, and of standing on opposite sides, would be manifest. 8. But beside these and many other scientific objec tions, others of a graver nature were urged, partaking of the bigotry of the age, and savouring more of the cloister than the college. These went to prove that the theory under discussion was incompatible with the historical foundations of the Christian faith, and in open contradic tion to certain specified passages of the Bible. 9. Columbus in the outset of the conference had been daunted by the greatness of his task, and the august na ture of his auditory ; but he was sustained by what he considered a divine impulse, and he was of an ardent tem- perament,that became heated in action by its own generous fire. All scientific objections he cooiy combated by his own knowledge and experience, but at the scriptural objections, his visionary spirit took fire. 10. We are told of his commanding person, his ele vated demeanour, his kindling eye, and the persuasive tones of his voice. How must they have given force to his words, as, casting aside his maps and charts, he met his opponents upon their religious ground, pouring forth those magnificent texts of scripture, and those mysterious predictions of the prophets, which he con sidered types and annunciations of the sublime discovery which he proposed ! 11. Many of his hearers, in fact, were convinced by his reasoning, and warmed by his eloquence ; the majority, however, with the inert bigotry, and pedantic pride of cloistered life, refused to yield to the demonstrations of an obscure and unlearned foreigner, and, though the board held several subsequent conferences, it came to no decision. 12. For several years Columbus was kept in suspense^ following the movements of the sovereigns in their ex- 22 LIFE AND VO If AGES peditions against the kingdom of Granada, and was thus present at some of the most striking scenes of this wild, rugged, and mountainous war. In one of the severest campaigns, he is said to have distinguished himself by his personal prowess. His expenses, while thus follow ing the court, were defrayed by the sovereigns, and hopes were continually given that his suit would be attended to ; but the tempest of warlike affairs, which hurried the court from place to place, swept away all matters of less immediate importance. 13. At length, in the winter of 1491, when the sove reigns were about to depart on another campaign, Co lumbus, losing all patience, pressed for a decisive reply. The learned counsel of Salamanca being, in consequence, called upon to report their decision, informed the sove reigns that the majority of their body condemned the scheme as vain and impossible, and considered it unbe coming such great princes to engage in an undertaking of the kind, on such weak grounds as had been advanced. 14. Notwithstanding this decision, the sovereigns still held out hopes, that, after the war should be concluded, they would be inclined to treat about the matter ; but Co lumbus gave up all hope of countenance from the throne, and turned his back upon Seville, indignant at the delays and disappointments he had experienced. CHAPTER VIII. Columbus seeks patronage amongst the Spanish Grandees. Returns to the convent of La Rabida. Resumes his negotiations with the Sovereigns. [1491.] 1. COLUMBUS now sought t6 engage the patronage of the Dukes of Medina Sidonia, and Medina Celi. Both were powerful Grandees, whose principalities lay on the sea board, where they had ports, and shipping, and troops, and mariners, at their command. He had many inter views with them severally, and was flattered by both with hopes of success, but "both finally disappointed him. OF COLUMBUS. 23 2. He then determined to repair to Paris, having 1 received a favourable reply to an application which he had made by letter, to the king of France. He departed, therefore, for the convent of La Rabida, to take thence his eldest son Diego, and leave him with his other son at Cordova. 3. When the worthy Friar Juan Perez beheld him ar- ive once more at the gate of his convent, humble in garb, and cast down in spirit, he was greatly moved ; but when he found that he was about to seek the employ of another government, his patriotism took the alarm. 4. He hud been confessor to the queen ; a sacred office which gives a priest an almost pa.ternal privilege of advising. Availing himself of this, he wrote to Isabella, strongly vindicating the scheme of Columbus, and con juring her not to reject an enterprise so glorious for Spain. 5. This letter was despatched by an honest pilot of the neighbourhood ; and Columbus was persuaded to await the reply. It arrived in the course of a fortnight, and was extremely encouraging. The queen thanked Juan Perez for his timely services, and requested him to repair immediately to the court, that she might confer with him ; while Columl~ Js should remain at the convent until further order? 6. Before midnight, trie ^arm hearted friar had saddled lis mule and departed. So v-ffuctual were his intrrces- sions, that in a short time, Columbus received a sum mons to court, and money to enable him to appear there in befitting style. He accordingly exchanged his thread-bare garment for one of more courtly t xture, and, purchasing a mule, set out, reanimated with fresh hopes, for the camp at Santa Fd, before Granada. 7. He arrived in time to witness the memorable sur render of that capital to the Spanish arms. He beheld Boabdil, the last of the Moorish kin-s, sally forth from the Alhainbra, and yield up the keys of that favourite 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 Emission. The air resounded with shouts of joy, with ongs of triumph, and hymns of thanksgiving. Oa 24 LIFE AND VOYAGES every side were beheld military rejoicings and religions oblations. 8. 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 in difference, almost with contempt, the conclusion of a conquest which swelled all bosoms with jubilee, and seemed to have reached the utmost bounds of desire. That man was Christopher Columbus." 9. The moment had now arrived, however, when the monarchs stood pledged to attend to his proposals. They kept their word, and persons of confidence were appoint ed to negotiate with him. At the very outset, how ever, unexpected difficulties arose. Columbus demanded that he should be made Viceroy and Admiral of all the countries he should discover, and receive one tenth of all the gains. 10. The courtiers were indignant at a demand of such titles and privileges, by one whom they regarded as a needy adventurer. One sneered at him, as devising a selfish bargain, wherein he had every thing to gain and nothing to lose. Upon this Columbus promptly offered to be at one eighth of the cost, provided he were ensured an eighth of the profits. 11. His terms, however, were pronounced inadmissi ble, and others more moderate were suggested in stead ; but Columbus refused to cede the least point, either of profit or dignity, and the negotiation was broken off. 12. It is impossible not to admire the great constancy of purpose and loftiness of spirit here displayed by Co lumbus. Though so large a portion of life had worn away in fruitless solicitings, during which he had expe rienced poverty, neglect, ridicule, and disappointment ; though there was no certainty that he would not have to enter upon the same career at any other court ; yet no thing could make him descend to terms which he con sidered beneath the dignity of his enterprise. OF COLUMBUS. 25 13. Indignant at the repeated disappointments he had experienced in Spain, he now determined to abandon it for ever, and, mounting his mule, sallied forth from Santa Fe, on his way to Cordova, with the intention of imme diately proceeding from thence to France. 14. The friends of Columbus beheld his departure with despair : two of them, Luis de St. Angel, and Alonzo de Quintanilla, resolved to make one last effort in the cause. Hastening to the queen, they once more vin dicated the enterprise, with the courage and eloquence which honest zeal inspires, and implored her to secure the glorious prize, before it was too late. 15. The generous spirit of Isabella was roused by this last appeal. She was eager for the enterprise ; but she remembered that king Ferdinand looked coldly upon it, and that the royal treasury was drained by the war. Her suspense was but momentary. " I undertake it," said she, " for my own crown of Castile, and will pledge my jewels to raise the necessary funds." 16. This was the proudest moment in the life of Isa bella ; it stamped her renown for ever as the patroness of the discovery of the New World. Her generous of fer to pledge her jewels was not claimed ; St. Angel, who was receiver of the church revenues of Arragon, promised to advance the requisite money, as a loan, from his official treasury. 17. A courier was sent in all haste to call back Colum bus. He was overtaken at the bridge of Pinos, about two leagues from Granada ; but hesitated to return and subject himself to further delays and disappointments. When he understood, however, that Isabella had pledged her word to undertake the enterprise, every doubt was dispelled ; he turned the reins of his mule, and hastened back joyfully to Santa Fe, confiding implicitly in the noble probity of that princess. 26 LIFE AND VOYAGES CHAPTER IX. Arrangements with the Spanish Sovereigns. Prepares tions for departure. [1492.] 1. On arriving- at Santa Fe, Columbus was admitted immediately to the presence of Isabella, and the benignity of his reception atoned for all past neglect. Through deference to the zeal she had thus suddenly displayed, the king yielded his tardy concurrence ; but Isabella was the soul of this grand enterprise. 2. A perfect understanding being now effected with the sovereigns, articles of agreement were drawn up, to the following effect : 1. That Columbus should have, for himself during his life, and his heirs and successors for ever, the office of high admiral in all the seas, lands, and continents, he might discover, with similar honours and prerogatives to those enjoyed by the high admiral of Castile, in his district. 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. 4. That he, or his lieutenant, should be the sole judge of all causes and disputes arising out of traffick between those countries and Spain. 5. That he might then, and at all after times, con tribute an eighth part of the expense of expeditions to sail to the countries he expected to discover, and should receive in consequence an eighth part of the profits. 3. These capitulations were signed by Ferdinand and Isabella, at the city of Santa Fe, in the vega or plain of Granada, on the 17th of April, 1492. All the royal documents, issued in consequence, bore equally the sig natures of Ferdinand and Isabella, but her separate crown of Castile defrayed all the expense. OF COLUMBUS. 27 4. One of the great objects held out by Columbus in his undertaking, was the propagation of the Christian faith. He expected to find barbarous and infidel nations in the unknown parts of the east, and to visit the terri tories of the Grand Khan, whose conversion had in for mer times been an object of pious missions. The sove reigns concurred with him in these ideas, and, when he afterwards departed on his voyage, they actually gave him letters addressed to the Grand Khan of Tartary. 5. Nor did his religious zeal stop here. He earnest ly proposed that the profits which might arise from his discoveries, might be consecrated to a crusade to rescue the holy sepulchre at Jerusalem, from the power of the infidels. In fact, this pious but romantic enterprise was a leading object of his ambition throughout his subsequent life, and he considered his great discovery but as a dis pensation of Providence, to furnish means for the re covery of the Holy Sepulchre. 6. The agreement with the sovereigns being concluded, Columbus was empowered to fit out three ships for the enterprise. The only restriction put upon his voyage was, that he should avoid the coast of Guinea, and all other places included in the recent discoveries of Portugal. 7. The port of Palos de Moguer was fixed upon as the place of ernbarcation. The community of that town were under obligations, for some misdemeanour, to serve the crown for one year with two caravels. Columbus received an order upon the authorities of Palos, to fit these caravels for sea within ten days, and to place them and their crews at his disposition. 8. Orders were issued also, commanding the inhabi tants of the sea-board of Andalusia, to furnish all sup plies and assistance to the expedition, at reasonable rates, and threatening all such as should cause any im pediment with severe penalties. 9. As a mark of particular favour to Columbus, Isa bella, before his departure from the court, appointed his son Diego page to Prince Juan, the heir apparent, an honour granted only to the sons of persons of distinguished rank Thus gratified in his dearest wishes, Columbus took 28 LIFE AND VOYAGES leave of the court on the 12th of May, and set out joyfully for Palos. 10. Let those who are disposed to faint under dif ficulties in the prosecution of any great and worthy un dertaking remember, that eighteen years elapsed after Columbus conceived his enterprise, before he was en abled to carry it into effect ; that the most of that time was passed in almost hopeless solicitation, amidst pover ty, neglect, and taunting ridicule ; that the prime of his life had wasted away in the struggle ; and that, when his perseverance was finally crowned with success, he was about fifty-six years of age. His example should teach the enterprising never to despair. 11. Columbus was received with open arms by Juan Perez, at the convent of La Rabida. The zealous friar accompanied him to the parochial church of St. George, in Palos, where the royal order for the caravels was read by a notary public, in presence of the authorities of the place. 12. Nothing could equal the astonishment and horror of the community, when they learnt the nature of the expedition, in which they were ordered to engage. All the frightful tales and fables with which ignorance and superstition are 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. 13. Repeated mandates were issued by the sovereigns, ordering the magistrates of Palos, and the neighbouring 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 altercations took place, but nothing of consequence was effected. 14. At length Martin Alonzo Pinzon, the wealthy and enterprising navigator already mentioned, stepped for ward in the cause. He was joined by his brother Vi cente Yafiez Pinzon, who was likewise an able navigator. They supplied Columbus with funds to pay the eighth OF COLUMBUS. 29 part of the expense, which he had engaged to advance ; and furnished two of the vessels required. They, more over, agreed to sail in the expedition. 15. The example and persuasions of the Pinzons had a wonderful effect ; for they were related to many of the seafaring people of the neighbourhood, and had great in fluence among them. Many of their relations and friends agreed to embark, and the two vessels were ready for sea within a month. 16. The third vessel was slower in its equipment. It had been pressed into the service against the will of the owners and the crew, who were strongly repugnant to the voyage. These people did all they could to throw obstacles in the way of the voyage, and prevent the sail ing of the ships, so that Columbus had to use harsh and arbitrary measures with them. At length all difficulties were vanquished, and, by the beginning of August, the vessels were ready to sail. 17. After all the objections made by various courts to undertake this expedition, it is surprising how inconside rable was the armament required. Two of the vessels were light barques, 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. 18. 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, Francisco Martin, as mate or pilot. The other, called the Nina,* had latine sails, and was commanded by Vicente Yafiez Pinzon. The whole number of per sons embarked was one hundred and twenty. 19. 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 Cie officers and crews, committing themselves, with devout ceremonials, to the especial guidance and protection of heaven, in this perilous enterprise. "* Pronounced Ninya. The fi is always pronounced as if followed by p. 3* 30 LIFE AND VOYAGES 20. A deep gloom was spread over the whole commu nity of Palos, for almost eveiy one had some relation or friend on board of the squadron. The spirits of the sea men, 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 lamen tations, as of men they were never to behold again. CHAPTER X. Events of the first Voyage. 1. IT was early in the morning of Friday the 3d of August, 1492, that Columbus put to sea, steering for the Canary Islands, from whence he intended to strike due west. 2. As a guide by which to sail, he had a chart, on which the coasts of Europe and Africa were laid down as known to geographers ; and opposite to them were placed the shores of Asia, -according to the description of Marco Polo ; with the intervening island of Cipango, (or Ja pan,) at which Columbus expected first to arrive, as at a resting place. 3. On the third day after setting sail* the Pin ta made signal of distress, her rudder being broken and unhung. Columbus was much disturbed at the occurrence. He suspected it to have been done through the contrivance of the owners, and feared further difficulties from that quarter. 4. For three weeks he cruised among the Canary islands, in hopes of finding some other vessel to replace the Pinta ; but not meeting with any, he had her repair ed, and furnished with a new rudder. 5. While making these repairs, and taking in wood and water, news came that three Portuguese caravels had been seen hovering off the island of Ferro. Colum bus, who was tremblingly alive to any thing that might impede his expedition, feared that those vessels might be sent in pursuit of him by the king of Portugal. OF COLUMBUS. 31 5. Eager to get far upon the ocean, out of sight either of land or sail, he put to sea early on the morning of the 6th of September, but for three days was tantalized by a profound calm, which detained him within a short distance of the island. At length, on the 9th, a breeze sprung up with the sun, and in the course of the day, the heights of Ferro gradually faded from the horizon. 7. 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 every thing dear to the heart of man country, family, friends, life itself; before them every thing was chaos, mystery, and peril. Many of the rugged seamen shed tears, and some broke into loud lamentations. 8. Columbus tried to soothe them by splendid accounts of the countries he expected to discover ; promising them riches, estates, and all manner of delights ; nor were these promises made for purposes of deception, for he certainly believed he would realize them all. 9. Foreseeing that the vague terrors already awaken ed would increase the farther they thought themselves from land, he determined to keep his crews ignorant of the real distance they advanced. He kept, therefore, two reckonings of the sailing of the ships ; one private and correct, for his own use ; the other open to general inspection, in which a number of leagues was subtracted from each day s progress. 10. When about one hundred and fifty leagues west of Ferro, they fell in with a part of a mast of a large ves sel, and the crews, easily dismayed by every portent, looked with a rueful eye upon this fragment of a wreck, drifting ominously at the entrance of these unknown seas. 11. On the 13th of September, in the evening, Co lumbus, for the first time, noticed the variation of the needle, a phenomenon which had never before been re marked. He at first made no mention of it, lest his peo ple should be alarmed ; but it soon attracted the attention of the pilots, arid filled them with consternation. 12. 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 trackless ocean 1 32 LIFE AND VOYAGES Columbus tasked his science and ingenuity for reasons with which to allay their terrors. 13. He told them that the direction of the needle was not to the polar star, but to some fixed and invisible point. The variation, therefore, was not caused by any fallacy in the compass, but by the movement of the north star itself, which, like the other heavenly bodies, had its changes and revolutions, and every day described a circle round the pole. The high opinion they entertained of Columbus as a profound astronomer gave weight to his theory, and their alarm subsided. 14. 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 adjoining 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. 15. Columbus in his journal perpetually rec-urs 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. 16. 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 washed from the land. On one of the patches was a live crab. They saw also a white tropical bird, of a kind which never sleeps upon the sea ; and tunny fish played about the ships. 17. As they advanced, various other signs gave ani mation 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 imagination 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. 18. Columbus sounded occasionally with a line of two hundred fathoms, but found no bottom. Martin Alonzo OF COLUMBUS. 38 Pmzon, as well as others of his officers, and many of the seamen, were often solicitous for Columbus to alter his course, aad steer in the direction of these favourable signs ; but he persevered in steering 1 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. 19. Notwithstanding the precaution which had been taken to keep the people ignorant of the distance they sailed, they gradually became uneasy at the length of the voyage. They had advanced much farther to the west than ever man had sailed before, and though already beyond the reach of succour, were still pressing onward and onward into that apparently boundless abyss. 20. Even the favourable wind, which seemed as if providentially sent to waft them to the new world with bland and gentle breezes, was conjured by their fears into a source of alarm. They feared that the wind in these seas might always prevail from the east, and if so, would never permit their return to Spain. 21. 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 ex hausted by their flight. 22. On the following day there was a profound calm. The sea, as far as the eye could reach, was covered with those submarine weeds which are detached by currents from the bottom, of the ocean, so that it had the appear ance of a vast inundated meadow. 23. The seamen now feared that the sea was growing shallow, or might have snoals, and rocks, and quick sands. They dreaded lest, their vessels should be stranded as it were, in mid-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 34 LIFE AND VOYAGES alarm, by sounding with a deep sea-line, and finding- no bottom. 24. For three days there was a continuance of light summer airs, from the southward and westward, and the sea was as smooth as a mirror. The crews now became uneasy at the calmness of the weather. They observed that 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 east, and even those had not power to disturb the torpid stillness of the ocean : there was a risk, there fore, either of perishing amidst shoreless waters, or of being prevented, by contrary winds, from ever returning to their native country. 25. Columbus continued, with admirable patience, to reason with these absurd fancies, but in vain ; when for tunately there came on a heavy swell of the sea, unac companied 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, regard ed with astonishment by the mariners, and dispelled the imaginary terrors occasioned by the calm. 26. The situation of Columbus was daily becoming more and more critical. The impatience of the seamen rose to absolute mutiny. They exclaimed against him as an ambitious desperado, bent upon doing something extravagant to render himself notorious. 27. What obligation bound them to continue on ? They had already penetrated into seas where man had never before adventured. Were they to sail on until they should all perish, or return with their frail ships be impossible ] Who would blame them should they consult their own safety ] The admiral was a foreigner, without friends ; his scheme had been condemned by the learned ; there was no party in his favour, and many who would be grati fied by his failure. 28. Some even went so far as to propose, that they should throw him into the sea, and give out that he had fallen overboard while contemplating the stars with his astronomical instruments. Columbus was not ignorant of these cabals, but he kept a serene and steadfast caiuim OF COLUMBUS. 35 tenance, soothing some with gentle words, stimulating the pride or the avarice of others, and openly menacing the most refractory with punishment. 29. On the 25th of September, new hopes arose to divert the public discontent. Martin Alonzo Pinzon, mounting on the stern of his vessel, shouted, " Land ! land ! Sefior, I claim the reward." There was, indeed, such an appearance of land in the south-west, that Co lumbus himself was persuaded of the fact. 30. Throwing himself upon his knees, he gave thanks to God, and all the crews joined in chanting Gloria in excelsis. Altering the course of the ships, they stood all night for the promised shore, but the morning light put an end to their hopes as to a dream ; the fancied land proved nothing but an evening cloud, and had vanished in the night. 31. By the 7th of October, they had come seven hun dred and fifty leagues, the distance at which Columbus had computed to find the island of Cipango. Signs of land had multiplied for several days past. There were now great flights of small field birds to the south-west, which seemed to indicate some neighbouring land in hat direction, were they were sure of food and a rest- ing-place. 32. Yielding to the solicitations of Martin Alonzo Pinzon, and his brothers, Columbus, on the evening of the 7th, altered his course to the west south-west. 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 clamours, and insisted upon abandoning the voyage. 33. Columbus endeavoured to pacify them by gentle words and liberal promises ; but, finding these only in creased 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, Imp- pen what might, he was determined to persevere, until, by the blessing of God, he should accomplish the enterprise. 36 LIFE AND VOYAGES 34. He 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 {ticked up, also, a reed, a small board, and, above all, a staff artificial ly carved. All gloom and murmuring was now at an end, and throughout the day each one was on the watch for the long-sought land. 35. In the evening, when, according to custom, the mariners had sung the vesper hymn to the virgin, Co lumbus made an impressive address to his crew, pointing out the goodness of God in thus conducting them by soft and favouring breezes across a / tranquil ocean to the promised land. 36. He expressed a strong confidence of making land that very night, and ordered that a vigilant look-out should be kept from the forecastle, promising to whom soever should make the discovery a doublet of velvet, in addition to the pension to be given by the sovereigns. 37. The breeze had been fresh all day, with more sea than usual ; at sunset they stood again to the west, and were ploughing the waves at a rapid rate, the Pinta keeping the lead from her superior sailing. The greatest animation 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 stern of his vessel, where he maintain ed an intense and unremitting watch. 38. Suddenly, about ten o clock, bethought he beheld * light glimmering at a distance. Fearing that his eager hopes might deceive him, he called to one of his officers named Pedro Gutierrez, and demanded whether he saw a light in that direction ; the latter replied in the affirma tive. Columbus, yet doubtful whether it might not be some delusion of the fancy, called Rodrigo Sanchez of Segovia, and made the same inquiry. By the time the latter had ascended the round-house, the light had dis appeared. 39. They saw it once or twice afterwards in sudden OF COLUMBUS. 37 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 uncer tain 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. 40. .They continued on their course until two in the morning, when a gun from the Pinta gave the joyful sig nal of land, which was first descried by a mariner named Rodriguez Bermejo.* It was soon after clearly seen about two leagues distant, whereupon they took in sail, and laid to, waiting impatiently for the dawn. 41. The thoughts and feelings of Columbus in this little space of time must have been tumultuous and in tense. At length, in spite of every difficulty and danger, he had accomplished his object. The great mystery ot 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. 42. 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 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 the balmy air the fragrance of aromatic groves. The moving light which he had beheld, proved that it was the residence of man. 43. But what were its inhabitants 1 Were they like those of other parts of the globe ; or were they some strange and monstrous race, such as the imagination in those times 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 1 44. A thousand speculations of the kind must have * Pronounced Bcrmcho. 4 38 LIFE AND VOYAGES swarmed upon him, as he watched for the night to pass away ; wondering whether the morning light would re veal a savage wilderness, or dawn upon spicy groves, and glittering fanes, and gilded cities, and all the splen dours of oriental civilization. CHAPTER XI. First landing of Columbus in the New World. Cruise among the Bahama Islands. Discovery of Cuba and Hispaniola. [1492.] 1. 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. It 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 ges tures, appeared lost in astonishment at the sight of the ships. 2. Columbus made signal to cast anchor, and to man the boats. He entered his own boat, richly attired in scarlet, and bearing the royal standard. Martin Alonzo Pinzon, and Vincente Yafiez his 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 Span- nish initials of the Castilian monarchs, Fernando and Ysabel. 3. As they approached the shores, they were delight ed by the beauty and grandeur of the forests ; the variety of unknown fruits on the trees which overhung the shores ; the purity and softness of the atmosphere, and the crystal transparency of the sea. 4. On landing, Columbus threw himself upon his knees, kissed the earth, and returned thanks to God with tears of joy. Then rising, he drew his sword, dis played the royal standard, and took possession in the Landing of Columbus. OF COLUMBUS. 39 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 vice roy, and representative of the sovereigns. 5. His followers now burst forth into the most ex travagant transports, some embracing him, others kissing his hands. Those who had been most mutinous and turbulent, were now most devoted. Some begged favours of him, as of a man who had already wealth and honours 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 obe dience to his commands. 6. The natives, when, at the dawn of day, they had beheld the ships hovering on the coast, had supposed them some monsters, which had issued from the deep during the night. Their veering about, without any apparent effort, and the shifting and furling of their sails, resembling huge wings, filled them with astonishment. 7. When they beheld the boats approach the shore, and a number of strange beings, clad in glittering steel, or raiment of various colours, landing upon the beach, they fled in affright to the woods. Finding, however, that there was no attempt to pursue or molest them, the} gradually recovered from their terror, and approached the Spaniards with great awe, frequently prostrating themselves, and making signs of adoration. 8. During the ceremony of taking possession, they remained gazing, in timid admiration, at the complexion, the beards, the shining armour, .and splendid dress of the Spaniards. The admiral particularly attracted their at tention, from his commanding height, his air of authority, his scarlet dress, and the deference paid to him by his companions. 9. 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 confiding simplicity and gentleness, submitted to their scrutiny with perfect acquiescence. 10. The wondering savages were won by this benig- 40 LIFE AND VOYAGES ttity ; they now supposed that the ships had sailed out of the crystal firmament which bounded their horizon, or had descended from above, on their ample wings, and that these marvellous beings were natives of the skies. 11. The people of the island were no less objects of curiosity to the Spaniards, differing, as they did, from any race of men they had ever seen. They were en tirely naked, of a moderate stature, well shaped, of a copper hue, with agreeable features, lofty foreheads, and fine eyes. Their hair was coarse and straight ; they had no beards, and were painted with a variety of colours. 12. They appeared to be a simple and artless people, 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. Columbus distributed among them coloured caps, glass beads, hawk s bells, and other trifles, which they received as inestimable gifts, and, de corating themselves with them, were wonderfully de lighted with their finery. 13. The island was called by the natives Guanahani, and is one of the Bahama islands. Columbus supposed it to be at the extremity of India, and therefore called the inhabitants Indians, an appellation which has since been extended to all the aboriginals of the new world. 14. The Spaniards remained all day on shore, refresh ing themselves among the beautiful groves, and returned to their ships late in the evening, delighted with all they had seen. 15. On the following morning, at daybreak, some of the natives came swimming off to the ships, and others in canoes, formed of a single tree, and capable of holding from one man to the number of forty or fifty. They had little to offer, in return for trinkets, except balls of cotton yarn, domesticated parrots, and cakes of a kind of bread called cassava, made from the yuca root, which consti tuted a principal part of their food. 16. The avarice of the discoverers was awakened by perceiving 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 OP COLUMBUS. 41 a king resided in that quarter, who was served in great vessels of gold. 17. He interpreted every thing according to his pre vious ideas derived from the work of Marco Polo, and supposed the rich island to the south to be Cipango, and the king who was served out of golden vessels, to be its monarch, whose palace was said to be covered with plates of gold. As soon, therefore, as he had taken in a supply of wood and water, he set sail in quest of this opu lent island ; taking seven of the natives with him to ac quire the Spanish language, and serve as interpreters and guides. 18. He now beheld a number of beautiful islands, green, level, and fertile, which he supposed to be part of the Archipelago described by Marco Polo as stretching along the coast of ^sia, and abounding with spices and odoriferous trees. 19. The inhabitants approached the Spaniards with offerings of fruits, and birds, and cotton, regarding them as super-human beings. When they landed in quest of water, they took them to the coolest springs, and sweet est and freshest runs, filling their casks, rolling them to the boats, and seeking in every way to gratify them. 20. Columbus was enchanted by the lovely scenery of these islands. "I know not," says he, "where first to go, nor are my eyes ever weary of gazing on the beauti ful 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 dif ferent from ours. Trees, also, of a thousand species, each having its particular fruit. 21. The fish also partook of the novelty which char acterized most of the objects in this new world, and rivalled the birds in the brilliancy of their colours. The scales of some 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. 22. Columbus was disappointed in his hopes of finding gold or spices in these islands ; but the natives continued to point to the south, and spoke of an island in that di- 4* 42 LIFE AND VOYAGES rection, called Cuba, which, the Spaniards understood them to say, abounded in gold, pearls, and spices, and carried on an extensive commerce, and that large mer chant ships came to trade with the inhabitants. 23. Columbus concluded this to be the desired Cipan- go, and the merchant ships to be those of the Grand Khan. He set sail in search of it, therefore, and arrived in sight of it on the 28th October. 24. As he approached this noble island, he was struck with 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, and taking formal possession of the island, gave it the name of Juana, in honour of Prince Juan, and to the river the name of San Salvador. 25. Columbus spent several days coasting this part of the island, and exploring the fine harbours and rivers with which it abounds. In the sweet smell of the woods, and the odour 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 heart! the song of the nightingale, a bird unknown in these countries. 26. Ever since his arrival among these islands he had experienced nothing but soft and gentle weather ; and he observed that the grass grew to the very edge of the water, as if never molested by an angry surge. He concluded, therefore, that a perpetual serenity reigned over these seas ; little suspicious of the occasional bursts of fury to w T hich they are liable, and of the tremendous hurricanes which rend and devastate the face of na ture. 27. While coasting the island, he landed occasionally and visited the villages, the inhabitants of which fled to the woods and mountains. The houses were construct ed of branches of palm-trees, in the shape of pavilions, and were scattered under the spreading trees, like tents in a camp. He found in them rude images, and wooden masks, carved with considerable ingenuity. Finding implements for fishing in all the cabins, he concluded OF COLUMBUS. 43 that the coast were inhabited merely by fishermen, who supplied the cities in the interior. 28. After coasting to the north-west for some distance, Columbus came in sight of a great head-land, to which, from the groves which covered it, he gave the name of the Cape of Palms. 29. Here, from misunderstanding the Indian names, he fancied himself on the main land of Asia, and sent two Spaniards, one of them a Jew, who understood ori ental languages, to explore the interior and seek the residence^ the sovereign. Two Indians were sent with them as guides, and they were well supplied with beads and other trinkets for travelling expenses. 30. After penetrating about twelve leagues they came to a large village of about a thousand souls. The In habitants crowded round them, examined their skins and raiment, and kissed their heads and feet in token of ad miration. Provisions were placed before them in the principal house, after which the Indians seated them selves round them on the ground, and waited to hear what they had to say. 31. The Jew found his oriental languages of no avail, and the ambassadors had to make all their communica- cations through an Indian interpreter. They found that the natives had neither gold nor spices to offer, and knew of no great inland city ; the envoys, therefore, broke up the conference and returned to the ships. 32. They brought back, however, intelligence of what doubtless appeard to them a strange and savage piece of luxury. They had remarked several Indians with cer tain dried herbs rolled up in a leaf. One end of this they put in their mouths, and lighting the other end with a fire brand, inhaled and puffed out the smoke with great ap parent enjoyment. A roll of this kind they called a to. bacco, a name since transferred to the weed itself. 33. As fast as one allusion passed away from the mind of Columbus, another succeeded. He was undeceived as to the supposed prince and his inland city, but the Indians now pointing to the eastward, repeated the words Babeque and Bohio, which he understood to be islands or provinces where the people collected gold along the 44 LIFE AND VOYAGES river banks by torch light, and wrought it into bars with hammers. 34. He accordingly ran along the coast of Cuba for two or three days, and then stood out to sea in the direc tion pointed out by the Indians to find Babeque, which he supposed to be some rich and civilized island. The wind, however, came directly ahead, so that, after seve ral attempts to keep on, he was obliged to put back to Cuba. 35. He made signals for the Pinta to do the same, but they were not attended to by her commander, Martin Alonzo Pinzon. The day closed, but Columbus con tinued to make signals during the night by lights at the mast head. They were equally disregarded. At dawn of day the Pinta was no longer to be seen. 36. Columbus was disquieted at this. Pinzon had for some time shown impatience at being under his com mand. He was a veteran navigator; and a wealthy man ; and having furnished two of the vessels, and part of the funds for the expedition, seemed to think him self entitled to as much authority and importance as the admiral. 37. Columbus considered his disappearance a wilful desertion. He feared that he intended to make a cruise by himself, or what was worse, to hasten back to Spain and claim the merit of this grand discovery. These thoughts distracted his mind, and impeded him in the free prosecution of his voyage. 38. For several days he continued exploring the coast of Cuba, until he reached the eastern end, to which, from supposing it the extreme point of Asia, he gave the name of Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. While steering at large beyond this cape, undetermined what course to take, he "descried high mountains towering above the clear horizon to the south-east, 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. 39. In the transparent atmosphere of the tropics, ob jects are descried at a great distance, and the purity of OF COLUMBUS. 45 the air and serenity of the deep-blue sky give a magical charm to scenery. Under these advantages, the beau tiful island of Hayti revealed itself to the eye as they approached. 40. 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 savannahs, 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 splendour of tropical vegetation, one of the most beautiful islands in the world, and doomed to be one of the most unfortunate. CHAPTER, XII. Coasting of Hispaniola. Shipwreck, and other Occur rences at the Island. [1492.] 1. ON the evening of the 6th of December, Columbus entered a harbour at the western end of the island, to which he gave the name of St. Nicholas. 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 harbour, which he called Conception. 2. Here the sailors caught several kinds offish similar to those of their own country ; they heard also the notes of a bird which sings in the night, and which they mis took for the nightingale, and they fancied that 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 Espanola, or, as it is com monly written, Hispaniola. 3. After various 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 beauty in triumph to the ships. She was treated with the greatest kindness, and dismiss- 46 LIFE AND VOYAGES ed finely clothed, and loaded with presents of beads, hawk s bells, and other baubles. 4. Confident of the favourable impression her treat ment, and the sight of her presents, must produce, Co lumbus, on the following- day, sent nine men, with an in terpreter, to her village which was situated in a fine valley, on the banks of a beautiful river, and contained about a thousand houses. 5. The natives fled at first, but, being re-assured by the interpreter, came back to the number of two thou sand, and approached the Spaniards with awe and trembling, often pausing and putting their hands upon their heads in token of reverence and submission. 6. The female also, came borne in triumph on the shoulders of her countrymen, followed by a multitude, and preceded by her husband, who was full of gratitude for the kindness with which she had been treated. The natives conducted the Spaniards to their houses, and set before them cassava bread, fish, roots, and fruits of various kinds ; for a frank hospitality reigned throughout the island, where as yet the passion of avarice was unknown. 7. 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 com plained of was, that they saw no signs of riches among the natives. 8. Continuing along the coast, Columbus 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 where the admiral was dining, and took his seat beside him, with a frank unembarrassed air, while two old men, who were his councillors, seated themselves at his feet, watching his lips, as if to catch and communicate his ideas. 9. If any thing were given him to eat, he merely tast ed 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. Columbus made him various presents in return, and showed him a coin bearing the likenesses of Fer- OF COLUMBUS. 47 dinand and Isabella, endeavouring to give him an idea of the power and grandeur of those sovereigns.* 10. The cacique, however, could not be made to be lieve that there was a region on earth which produced such wonderful people and wonderful things, but persist ed in the idea that the Spaniards were more than mortal, and that the country and sovereigns they spoke of must exist somewhere in tho skies. 11. On the 20th of December, Columbus anchored in a fine harbour, to which he gave the name of St. Tho mas. Here a large canoe visited the ships, bringing messengers from a chieftain named Guacanagari, who resided on the coast a little farther to the eastward, and reigned over all that part of the island. The mes sengers bore a present of a broad be]t, wrought inge niously with coloured beads and bones, and a wooden mask, the eyes, nose, and tongue of which were of gold. 12. They invited Columbus, in the name of the cacique, to come with his ships opposite to the village where he resided. Adverse winds prevented an immediate com pliance with this invitation ; he therefore sent a boat well armed, with the notary of the squadron, to visit the chief tain. He returned with favourable accounts of the ap pearance of the village, and the hospitality of the cacique. 13. Early in the morning of the 24th of December, Columbus 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. Having had no sleep the preceding night, he retired to take a little repose. 14. No sooner had he left the deck, than the steers man gave the helm in charge to one of the ship-boys, and went to sleep. The rest of the mariners on duty followed his example, and in a little while the whole crew was buried in sleep. In the meantime the treach erous currents, which run swiftly along this coast, car ried the ship smoothly, but with great violence, upon a sandbank. The boy, feeling the rudder strike, and hear ing the rushing of the sea, cried out for aid. Columbus was the first to take the alarm, and was soon followed by 48 LIFE AND VOYAGES the master of the ship, and his delinquent companions. The admiral ordered them to carry out an anchor astern* that they might warp the vessel off. 15. They sprang into the boat, but, being confused and seized with a panic, instead of obeying the com mands of Columbus, they rowed off to the other caravel. Vincente Yaiiez Pinzon, who commanded the latter, re proached them with their cowardice, and refused to ad mit them on board ; and, manning his boat, hastened to the assistance of the admiral. 16. In the mean time, the ship swinging across the stream, was set more and more upon the bank. Efforts were made to lighten her, by cutting away the mast, but in vain. The keel became 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 lay to until daylight, sending messengers on shore to inform the cacique Guacanagari of his disastrous shipwreck. 17. 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 rites of hospitality more scrupulously observed, than by this uncultured savage. He assembled his people, and sent off all his canoes to aid in unloading the wreck. The effects were landed, and deposited near his dwelling, and a guard set over them, until houses could be prepared, in which they could be stored. 18. There seemed, however, no disposition among the natives to pilfer or conceal the most trifling article. On the contrary, they manifested as deep a concern as if the disaster had happened to themselves, and their only study was how they could administer relief and consola tion. Columbus was greatly affected by this unexpected goodness. " These people," said he, to the sovereigns, " love their neighbours 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." OF COLUMBUS. 49 19. When the cacique met with Columbus, he was much moved at beholding- his dejection, and offered him every thing he possessed that could be of service to him. He invited him on shore, where a banquet was prepared for his entertainment, consisting- of various kinds of fish and fruit, and an animal called Utia by the natives, which resembled a coney. After the collation, he conducted him to a beautiful grove, where upwards of a thousand of the natives were assembled, all perfectly naked, who per formed several of their games and dances. 20. When the Indians had finished their games, Co lumbus gave them an entertainment in return, calculated to impress 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 arquebus were likewise dis charged ; at the sound of which the Indians fell to the ground, as though they had been struck by a thunderbolt. 21. When they saw the effect of the ball rending and shivering 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 confident exultation, considering themselves under the protection of the sons of heaven, who had come from the skies, armed with thunder and lightning. 22. The cacique placed a coronet of gold on the head of Columbus, and hung plates of the same metal round his neck, and dispensed liberal presents among his fol lowers. Whatever trifles were given in return were re garded with reverence as celestial gifts, and were said by the Indians to have come from Turey, or heaven. 23. When Guacanagari perceived the great value which the admiral attached to gold, he informed him, that there was a place, not far off, where it abounded ; and he pro mised to procure him, from thence, as much as he desired. This golden region, 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. 5 50 LIFE AND VOYAGES 24. Three houses had been given to the shipwrecked crew for their residence. Here, living 1 on shore, and mingling" freely with the natives, they became fascina ted by their easy and idle mode of life. They were go verned 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. 25. " 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." 26. In fact, they seemed to disquiet themselves about nothing ; a few fields, cultivated almost without labour, furnished roots and vegetables,, their groves were laden with delicious fruit, and the coast and rivers abounded with fish. Softened by the indulgence of nature, a 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. 27. 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 the Indians, and many of them, representing to the admiral the difficulty and dan ger of embarking so many persons in one small caravel, entreated permission to remain in the island. 28. Columbus granted their request, determining to found a colony. The wreck of the caravel would fur nish 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 reinforcements. OF COLUMBUS. 51 29. Guacanagan was overjoyed at finding that some of these wo-nderful 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 subjects 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. 30. In ten days the fortress was completed. It con sisted of a strong wooden tower, with a vault beneath, and the whole was surrounded by a wide ditch. It was supplied with the ammunition and mounted with the cannon saved from the wreck. Columbus gave the fortress and harbour the name of La Navidad, or The Nativity, in memorial of having been preserved from the wreck of his ship on Christmas day. 31. From the number of volunteers that offered to re- main, 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. 32. He charged the men to be obedient to their com manders, respectful to Guacanagari and his chieftains, and circumspect and friendly in their intercourse with the natives. As their safety would depend upon their united force, he warned them not to separate nor to stray beyond the territory of the friendly cacique. He enjoined it upon the officers, to employ themselves in gaining a knowledge of the island, in amassing gold and spices, and in searching for a more safe and convenient harbour. 33. Before his departure, he gave the natives another military exhibition, to increase their awe of the white men. The Spaniards performed skirmishes and mock fights, with swords, bucklers, lances, crossbows, and fire arms. The Indians were astonished at the keenness of the steeled weapons, and the deadly power of the cross bows and muskets : but nothing equalled their awe and admiration when the cannon were discharged from the fortress, wrapping it in smoke, shaking the forests with their thunder, and shivering the stoutest trees. 34. When Columbus took leave of Guacanagari, the 52 LIFE AND VOYAGES kind-hearted cacique shed many tears ; for he had been completely won by the benignity of his manners. The seamen, too, had made many pleasant connexions among the Indians, and they parted with mutual regret. 35. The sorest parting, however, was with their com rades who remained behind. 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 wistful ly after them from the beach, but who were destined never to welcome their return. CHAPTER XIII. Retwn Voyage. Violent Storms. Arrival at Portu gal. [1493.] 1. IT was on the 4th of January that Columbus set sail. On the 6th, as he was beating along the coast, with a head wind, a sailor at the mast-head cried out that there was a sail at a distance, standing towards them. To their great joy it proved to be the Pinta, which came sweeping before the wind with flowing canvass. 2. On joining the admiral, Pinzon endeavoured to excuse his desertion, by saying that he had been separated by stress of weather, and had ever since been seeking him. Columbus listened incredulously to these excuses, but avoided any words that might produce altercations, and disturb the remainder of the voyage. He ascertained, afterwards, that Pinzon had parted company intentional ly, and had steered directly east, in quest of a region where the Indians assured him he would find gold in abundance. 3. They guided him to Hispaniola, where he had been for some 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, and the rest he divided among his men, to secure their secrecy and fidelity. On leaving the river, he had carried off four Indian men and two girls, as slaves. OP COLUMBUS. 53 4. 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 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. 5. After standing for some distance further along the coast, they anchored in a vast bay, or rather gulf, three leagues in breadth, extending far inland, and bordered by the mountains of Ciguay. Here they had a sharp skir mish with the natives, in which several of the latter were slain. They were a hardy and warlike race of moun taineers, fierce of aspect, hideously painted, and their heads decorated with feathers. 6. They fought with war-clubs, bows and arrows, and swords of palm wood, so hard and heavy as to cleave through a helmet to the very brain. Several of the In dians were killed. This was the first contest with ( the people of the New World, and the first time that native blood was shed by white men. From this skirmish the place received the name of the gulf of arrows ;* it is now called the gulf of Samana. 7. Columbus lamented this conflict, and apprehended further hostilities ; but, to his surprise, the natives on the following day resumed their intercourse as if nothing had happened. The cacique, whose name was Mayona- bex, came on board with only three attendants, and throughout all their subsequent dealings they betrayed no signs of lurking fear or enmity. 8. This frank and confiding conduct, so indicative of a brave and generous nature, was properly appreciated by Columbus : he entertained the cacique with great distinc tion, and at parting made many presents to him and his attendants. This Mayonabex, in subsequent events of this history, will be found to acquit himself with valour and magnanimity, under the most trying circumstances. * El Golfo de las Fleches. 54 LIFE AND VOYAGES 9. Columbus, on leaving the bay, took four young In dians, to guide him to the Caribbean islands, situated to the east, of which they gave him very interesting ac counts, as well as of the island of Mantinino, said to be inhabited by Amazons. A favourable breeze sprang up, however, for the voyage homewards, and, seeing gloom and impatience in the countenances of his men, at the idea of diverging from their route, he gave up his inten tion of visiting these islands for the present, and made all sail for Spain. 10. The favourable breeze soon died away ; light winds from the east, and frequent calms, succeeded ; but they had intervals of favourable weather, and by the 12th of Feb ruary they had made such progress as to begin to flatter themselves with the hopes of soon beholding land. The wind now came on to blow violently ; on the following evening there were three flashes of lightning in the north-north-east ; from which signs Columbus predicted an approaching tempest. 11. It soon burst upon them with frightful violence , their small and crazy vessels were little fitted for the wild storms of the Atlantic ; ah 1 night they were obliged to scud under bare poles at the mercy of the elements. As the morning dawned, there was a transient pause, and they made a little sail ; but the wind rose with re doubled fury from the south, and increased in the night, the vessels labouring terribly in a cross sea, which threat ened at each moment to overwhelm them or dash them to pieces. 12. 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 ; but she was separated by the violence of the storm ; her lights gleam ed more and more distant, until they ceased entirely. When the day dawned, the sea presented a frightful 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. 13. Throughout a dreary day the helpless bark was driven along by the tempest. Seeing all human skill baffled and confounded, the admiral endeavoured to pro- OF COLUMBUS. 55 pitiate heaven by solemn vows. Lots were cast to per form pilgrimages and penitences, most of which fell upon himself. A vow was also made by the admiral and the whole crew, that if they were spared to reach the land they would walk in procession, barefooted, to offer up thanksgiving in some church dedicated to the Virgin. 14. The heavens, however, seemed deaf to all their vows ; the storm grew still more furious, and every one gave himself up for lost. The mind of Columbus was a prey to the most distressing anxiety. He was harassed by the repinings of his crew, who cursed the hour of their leaving their country, and their want of resolution in not compelling him to abandon the voyage. He was afflict ed, also, when he thought of his two sons, who would be left destitute by his death. 15. But he had another source of distress, more in tolerable 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 for ever in oblivion, and his name only remain as that of a desperate adventurer, who had perished in pursuit of a chimera. 16. To guard against suph a result, he wrote on parch ment 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 superscribed 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 enclosing the whole in a cask, threw it into the sea. A copy of this memorial he enclosed, in a similar manner, and placed it upon the stern of his vessel, so that, should the caravel sink, the cask might float off and survive. 17. Happily, these precautions, though wise, were superfluous ; at sunset there was a streak of clear sky in the west, the wind shifted to that quarter, and on the morning of the 15th of February they came in sight of land. 18. The transports of the crew at once more beholding the old world were almost equal to those they had expe- 56 LIFE AND VOYAGES rienced on discovering the new. For two or three days, however, the wind again became contrary, and they re mained hovering in sight of land, of which they only caught glimpses through the mist and rack. At length they came to anchor, at the island of St. Mary s, the most southern of the Azores, and a possession of the crown of Portugal. 19. An ungenerous reception awaited the poor tem pest-tossed mariners, on their return to the abode of civi lized man, far different from the kindness and hospitality they had experienced among the savages of the new world. Columbus sent one half of the crew on shore, to fulfil the vow of a barefooted procession to a 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. 20. Scarcely had they begun their prayers, when a party of horse and foot, headed by the governor of the island, surrounded the chapel, and took them all prison ers. The real object of this outrage was to get posses sion of the person of Columbus ; for the king of Portu gal, jealous lest his enterprise might interfere with his own discoveries, had sent orders to his commanders of islands and distant ports to seize and detain him wherever he should be met with. 21. Having failed in this open attempt, the governor next endeavoured to effect his purpose by stratagem, but was equally unsuccessful. Being thus baffled in his aim, and being threatened with the vengeance of the Spanish sovereigns, he released his prisoners, after two or three days detention, pretending to have acted through doubts of Columbus having a regular commission. 22. The voyagers again set sail with pleasant weather, but were soon overtaken by a tempest, which rent their sails and threatened instant distruction. The crew were again reduced to despair, and made vows of fastings and pilgrimages. The storm raged for a night and day, and rose to its utmost fury on the night of the 3d of March. The sea was wild, broken, and mountainous, the rain fell in torrents, and lightning flashed, and thunder pealed from various parts of the heavens. OF COLUMBUS. 57 23. In the first watch of this fearful night, the seamen gave the usually welcome cry of land ; but it only increased the alarm, for they were ignorant of their situation, and dreaded being driven on shore, or dashed upon the rocks. Taking in sail, therefore, they endeavoured to keep to sea as much as possible. At day-break on the 4th of March, they found themselves off the rock of Cintra, at the mouth of the Tagus. 24. 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. 25. Such were the difficulties and perils with which Co lumbus had to contend on his return to Europe : had one tenth part of them beset his outward voyage, his factious crew would have 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.] 1. The arrival of a bark in the Tagus, freighted with the people and productions of a newly discovered world, rilled all Lisbon with astonishment. For several days the river was covered with barges and boats, bearing visitors to the ship of the most distinguished rank. 2. All hung with rapt attention on the accounts of the voyage, and gazed with 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 of the king and his counsellors, by which so grand a discovery had been for ever lost to Portugal. 58 LIFE AND VOYAGES 3. Immediately on his arrival, Columbus wrote to the king of Portugal, who was at Valparaiso, about nine leagues from Lisbon, informing him of the events of his voyage, and the route he had pursued, lest the king should suppose he had been in the track of the Portu guese discoverers. On the 8th of March, he received a reply, congratulating him on his arrival, and inviting him to court. The king at the same time ordered, that any thing which the admiral required for himself or his vessel should be furnished free of cost. 4. Columbus set out reluctantly for the court, for he distrusted the good faith of the king. His reception, however, was of the most honourable kind. The prin cipal officers of the royal household came forth to meet him, and conducted him to the palace. The king re quested him to seat himself in his presence, a privilege only granted to persons of royal dignity. He welcomed him to Portugal, and congratulated him on the glorious result of his enterprise ; though secretly, he repined that this splendid enterprise had been offered to himself and refused. 5. He held repeated conversations with Columbus, and made minute inquiries as to the routes by which he had sailed, and the soil, productions, and people of the countries which he had discovered, seeming to take great pleasure in his replies. 6. The true object of these inquiries, however, was to ascertain whether the regions in question did not fall within the scope of the papal bull or ordinance, granting to the crown of Portugal all the land it should discover from Cape Non to the Indies. 7. King John suggested these doubts to his counsel lors, who ea.gerly encouraged them ; for among them were the very persons who had scoffed at Columbus as a dreamer, and his success covered them with confusion. They declared that the natives brought in the caravel answered exactly to the description of the people of that part of India granted to Portugal by the papal bull ; and that the newly discovered land clearly fell within the Portuguese territories. 8. Some endeavoured to awaken the anger of the king, OF COLUMBUS. 59 by declaring that Columbus had talked of his discoveries in an arrogant and vainglorious strain, merely to revenge himself upon the monarch for having rejected his propo sitions. 9. Others even went so far as to propose, as an effec tual means of impeding the prosecution of these enter prises, that Columbus should be assassinated. It would be an easy matter to take advantage of his lofty deport ment, to pique his pride, provoke him to an altercation, and suddenly despatch him as if in casual and honoura ble encounter. 10. Happily, the king had too much magnanimity to adopt such wicked and dastardly counsel. Though se cretly 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 hon oured 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. 11. Columbus, therefore, after being treated with the most honourable attentions, was escorted back to his ship by a numerous train of cavaliers of the court. On the way he paid a visit to the queen at a monastery 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. 12. Putting to sea on the 13th of March, he arrived safely at Palos on the 15th ; having taken not quite seven months and a half to accomplish this most momentous of all martitime enterprises. 13. The people of Palos had remained in the greatest anxiety about the fate of this expedition, in which so many of their friends were embarked. When, therefore, they beheld one of the adventurous vessels furling her sails in their harbour, from the discovery of a world, the whole community broke forth into a transport of joy, the bells were rung, the shops shut, and all business was suspended. 14. Columbus landed, and walked in procession to the c-hurch of St. George, to return thanks to God. Where ver he passed, the air rang with acclamations, and he 60 LIFE AND VOYAGES received such honours 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, cra ving- bread and water for his child at the gate of a convent ! 15. Having despatched a letter to the sovereigns in forming them of his arrival, he received an answer within a. few days, addressed to him by his titles of admiral and viceroy. They promised him still greater rewards, and urged him to come to them immediately at Barcelona, to concert plans for a second and more extensive expedition. 16. It is fitting here to speak a word of the fate of Martin Alonzo Pinzon. When separated from Colum bus in the storm, he was driven into the bay of Biscay, and made the port of Bayonne. Doubting whether Co lumbus had survived the tempest, he immediately wrote to the sovereigns, giving an account of the discovery, and requesting permission to come to court and relate the particulars in person. 17. As soon as the weather was favourable, he again set sail for Palos, and, by a singular coincidence, reached there on the evening of the day on which Columbus had arrived. It is said he feared to meet the admiral, 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 probable, for he was a man of too much resolution to yield to such a fear. 18. Whatever may have been his motive, he landed privately in his boat, and kept out of sight until the de parture 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 ar rived, forbidding his coming to court, and severely re proaching him for his conduct. This 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. 19. Let no one, however, indulge in harsh censures over the grave of Pinzon. His merits and services are entitled to the highest praise ; his errors should be re garded with indulgence. He wap one of the first in OF COLUMBUS. 61 Spain to appreciate the project of Columbus ; he aided him with his purse when poor and unknown at Palos ; he enabled him to procure and fit out ships, when even the royal mandates were ineffectual ; and finally he em- barked in the expedition with his brothers and his friends, staking life, property, every thing, upon the event. 20. He had thus entitled himself to participate largely in the glory of this immortal enterprise ; but, unfortu nately, forgetting for a moment the grandeur of the cause, he yielded to the incitements of self-interest, and was guilty of that act of insubordination which has cas* a shade upon his name. 21. Much may be said, however, in extenuation of hi* fault : his consciousness of having rendered great ser vices to the expedition, and of possessing property in the ships, and his habits of command, which rendered him impatient of control. 22. That he was a man naturally of generous senti ments and honourable 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-upbraiding for having been convicted of a mean action. His story shows how one lapse from duty may counterbalance the merits of a thousand ser vices ; how one moment of weakness may mar the beauty of a whole life of virtue ; and how important it is for a man, under all circumstances, to be true, not merely to others, but to himself. CHAPTER XV. Reception of Columbus by the Spanish Sovereigns at Barcelona. [1493.] 1. THE journey of Columbus to Barcelona was like the progress of a sovereign. Wherever he passed, the country poured forth its inhabitants, who rent the air with accla mations. In the large towns, the streets, windows, and balconies were filled with spectators, eager to gain a 6 62 LIFE AND VOYAGES 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. 2. 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 favoured climate, contributed to give splendour to the memorable ceremony of his recep tion. As he drew near the place, many of the youthful 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 tri umphs which the Romans were accustomed to decree to conquerors. 3. First were paraded the Indians, painted according to their savage fashion, and decorated with their orna ments of gold. After these were borne various kinds of live parrots, together with stuffed birds and animals of unknown species, and rare plants supposed to be of pre cious qualities ; while especial care was taken to display the Indian coronets, bracelets, and other decorations of gold, which might give an idea of the wealth of the new ly discovered regions. After this followed Columbus, on horseback, surrounded by a brilliant cavalcade. 4. The streets were almost impassable from the multi tude ; 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. 5. 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 ap pearance of the discoverer, so different from the youth and buoyancy that generally accompany roving enter prise, seemed in harmony with the grandeur and dignity of the achievement. 6. 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 nobles. Co- OF COLUMBUS. Dd lumbus arrived in their presence, accompanied by a brilliant crowd of cavaliers, among whom, we are told, he was conspicuous for his stately and commanding person, which, with his venerable gray hairs, gave him the august appearance of a senator of Rome. 7. A modest smile lighted up his countenance, show ing 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 testimonials of the admiration and gratitude of a nation, or rather of a world. 8. On his approach, the sovereigns rose, as if receiv ing a person of the highest rank. Bending on his knees, he would have kissed their hands in token of homage, but they raised him in the most gracious manner, and as signed him a seat himself in their presence ; which was con sidered a rare honour in this proud and punctilious court. 9. 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 donrnwons, and whole nations of prose lytes to the true faith. 10. When he 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. 11. The anthem of Te Deum^ chanted by the choir of the royal chapel, with the melodious accompaniments of instruments, rose in a full body of harmony, bearing up, as it were, the feelings and thoughts of the auditors to heaven. Such was the solemn and pious manner in which the brilliant court of Spain celebrated this sublime event ; offering up a grateful tribute of melody and praise, and giving glory to God for the discovery of another world. 04 LIFE AND VOYAGES 12. While the mind of Columbus was excited by this triumph, 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 dis coveries, 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 following- years. 13. It is essential to a full knowledge of the character and motives of this extraordinary man, that this visionary project should be borne in recollection. It shows how much his mind was elevated above selfish and mercenary views, and filled with those devout and heroic schemes which, in the time of the crusades, had inflamed the am- bition of the bravest warriors and most illustrious princes. 14. During his sojourn at Barcelona, the sovereigns took every occasion to bestow on him the highest marks of personal consideration. He was admitted at all times to the royal presence ; appeared occasionally with the king on horseback ; and the queen delighted to converse familiarly with him on the subject of his voyage. 15. To perpetuate in his family the glory of his achieve ment, a coat of arms was given him, in which he was allowed to quarter the royal arms, the castle and lion, with those more peculiarly assigned him, which were a group of islands surrounded by waves : to these arms were afterward annexed the motto : To Castile and Leon Columbus gave a new world.* 16. Tha pension of thirty crowns, which had been de creed by the sovereigns to whomsoever should first dis cover 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 dis appointed of what he deemed his merited reward, that he renounced his country and his faith, and, crossing into Africa, turned Mussulman ; this anecdote, however, rests on rather questionable authority. * A CASTILIA Y A LEON NUKVO MUNDO DIO COLON OP COLUMBUS. 65 17. There are never wanting base and envious minds to decry the greatest actions. At one of the banquets given to Columbus by the nobility, a shallow courtier, meanly jealous of him as a foreigner, abruptly asked whether he thought that, in case he had not discovered the Indies, there would not have been men in Spain ca pable of the enterprise. 18. Columbus made no direct reply, but, taking an egg, invited the company to make it stand upon one end. When every one had attempted it in vain, he struck it upon the table, broke one end, and left it standing on the broken part. 19. In this simple and pleasant manner he reproved the after-sagacity of this conceited courtier ; showing him, that the most perplexing things become the easiest to be done, when we are once shown the way. 20. The tidings of the great discovery of Columbus soon spread throughout the civilized world, filling every one with astonishment and delight. Men of learning and science shed tears of joy, and those of ardent imagi nations indulged in the most extravagant and delightful dreams. 21. 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 adja cent islands were in the Indian seas. They were called, therefore, the West Indies, and as the region thus dis covered appeared to be of a vast and indefinite extent, and existing in a state of nature, it received the compre hensive appellation of " the New World." CHAPTER XVI. Papal Bull of Partition. Preparations for a second Voy* age of Discovery. [1493.] 1. THE Spanish sovereigns lost no time in taking measures to secure their new acquisitions. A bull was 6* 66 LIFE AND VOYAGES obtained from the Pope, granting- them dominion over all the lands discovered, or that might be discovered, in the new world, on condition of propagating the Christian religion among the inhabitants. 2. This was in virtue of a supreme authority over all temporal things, supposed, by the zealous Christians of those days, to be vested in the Pope, as Christ s vicar on earth ; and by which he was empowered to dispose of all heathen lands to such potentates as would undertake to convert or subdue them to the Catholic faith. 3. Lest the discoveries of the Spanish should interfere with those of the Portuguese, which had likewise been secured by a papal bull, an ideal line was drawn, by or der of the Pope, from the north to the south pole, a hun dred leagues west of the Azores and the Cape de Verde islands. All land discovered to the west of this line was to belong to Spain ; all land discovered in the contrary direction was to belong to Portugal. 4. The utmost exertions were now made to fit out a second expedition. An office was established at Seville for the despatch of business, which was the germ of the royal India house. Juan Rodriguez de Fonseca, arch deacon of Seville, was appointed superintendent of In dia affairs, Francisco Pinelo treasurer, and Juan de Spria comptroller. No one was permitted to embark for the new world without a license from either the sovereigns, Columbus, or Fonseca. 5. Labourers and artisans of all kinds were engaged for the projected colony, and every thing provided neces sary for cultivating the soil, working the mines, and tra ding with the natives. 6. Bernardo Boyle, an able, but crafty, Benedictine monk, was appointed by the pope as his apostolical vicar for the new world. Twelve ecclesiastics were chosen to accompany him, charged with the religious instruction of the Indians, and provided by Isabella with all things necessary for the dignified discharge of their mission. 7. The queen considered the natives as committed by heaven to her peculiar care, and enjoined that they should be treated with the utmost kindness; and that signal punishment should be inflicted upon all who should wrong OF COLUMBUS. * 67 them. Those who had been brought by the admiral to Barcelona, were baptized with great state and solemnity, the king, queen, and prince Juan standing as sponsors. 8. The magnificent ideas entertained of the new world drew volunteers of all kinds ; men of rank, officers of the royal household, and youthful cavaliers. Some were en listed in the royal service, others engaged at their own risk and expense. Few had any distinct idea of the en terprise in which they were engaging ; but fancied they were about to have glorious adventures and golden gains, in the splendid but semi -barbarous countries of Asia. 9. Among these adventurers was a young cavalier of good family, named Alonzo de Ojeda.* He was small in stature, but muscular and well made, and of incredible strength and agility. His countenance was dark, hand some, and expressive, with a daring eye. An admira- ble horseman, a master of all kinds of weapons, he was eminently calculated for partisan service. 10. 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 youth who flocked to the new world, and became noted for many wild and perilous exploits. 11. The very first notice we have of him, is a hair- brained feat performed in presence of the queen, on the Moorish tower of the cathedral of Ssville. A great beam projected about twenty feet from the tower, at an im mense height from the ground ; along this beam Ojeda walked briskly with as much confidence as if pacing his chamber. 12. 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 giddi ness, or false step, would have precipitated him to the earth and dashed him to pieces. 13. During the fitting out of the armament, various * Pronounced Oheda. OS LIFE AND VOYAGES disputes occurred between Columbus and the newly ap pointed officers of the crown, in regard to the expenses of the expedition, and his own retinue as viceroy. Both Fonseca and Juan de Soria, were reprimanded by the sovereigns, and ordered to comply in every thing with the wishes of Columbus. 14. They were deeply mortified ; and from this trifling cause arose a bitter hostility in the breast of Fonseca, against the admiral, which every year increased in ran cour, and which his official station enabled him to grati fy in the most invidious manner. This Fonseca main tained a control of Indian affairs for about thirty years, and, in the gratification of his private resentments, heap ed wrongs and sorrows on the heads of the most illus trious of the early discoverers. CHAPTER XVII. Departure of Columbus on his second Voyage of Discovery. Arrival at Hispaniola. [1493.] 1. 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 permit ted to embark had originally been limited to one thou sand ; but many volunteers were allowed to enlist without pay, others got on board of the ships by stealth, so that eventually about fifteen hundred set sail in the fleet. 2. All were full of animation, and took a gay leave of their friends, anticipating a --prosperous voyage and tri umphant return. Instead of being regarded by the popu lace as devoted men, bound upon a dark and desperate enterprise, they were contemplated with envy, as favour ed mortals destined to golden regions and delightful climes, where nothing but wealth, and wonder, and en joyment awaited them. or COLUMBUS. 69 3. Columbus moved among the throng accompanied by his sons, Diego and Fernando, the eldest but a strip ling, who had come to witness his departure. Wherever he passed, every eye followed him with admiration, and every tongue extolled and blessed, him. Before sunrise the whole fleet was under weigh; the weather was serene and propitious, and as the populace watched their parting sails, brightening in the morning beams, they looked forward to their joyful return, laden with the treasures of the new world. 4. 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 cf Ferro, and, favoured by the trade winds, was borne pleasantly along, shaping his course to the south-west, hoping to fall in with the islands of the Caribs, of which tie 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 Do minica, from having discovered it on Sunday. 5. As the ships moved gently onward, other islands rose to sight, one after another, covered with forests, and enlivened by flights of parrots and other tropical birds, while the whole air was sweetened by the fragrance of the breezes which 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 conti nent, forming a kind of barrier between the main ocean and the Caribbean sea. 6. In one of those islands, to which they gave the name of Guadaloupe, the Spaniards first mst with the delicious anana, or pine apple. They were struck with horror, however, at the sight of human limbs hanging in the houses, and others broiling or roasting at the fife. Co lumbus now concluded that he had arrived at the islands of the cannibals, or Caribs, and he was confirmed in this belief by several captives taken by his men. 7. These Caribs were the most ferocious people of these seas ; making roving expeditions in their canoes 70 LIFE AND VOYAGES to the distance of one hundred and fifty leagues, invading 1 the islands, ravaging the villages, making slaves of the youngest and handsomest females, and carrying off the men to be killed and eaten. 8. While at this island, a party of eight men, strayed into the woods, and did not return at night to the ships. 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. 9. Alonzo de Ojeda 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 fire-arms, but with no better success. Their search was rendered excessively toilsome by the closeness and luxuriance of the forests, and by the windings and dou blings of the streams. 10. Several days elapsed without tidings of the strag glers, and Columbus, giving them up for lost, was on the point of sailing 1 , 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. 11. Some of them had climbed trees in hopes of get ting 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 sea shore, and keeping along it, came to where the fleet was at anchor. 12. After leaving Gaudaloupe, Columbus touched at other of the Caribbean islands. At one of them, a ship s boat, sent on shore for water, had an encounter with a canoe, in w r hich were a few Indians, two of whom were females. The women fought as desperately as the men, and plied their bows with such vigour, that one of them sent an arrow through a Spanish buckler, and wounded the soldier who bore it. 13. The canoe being run down and overset, they con tinued to fight while in the water, gathering themselves occasionally on sunken rocks, and managing their wea pons as dexterously as if they had been on firm ground. It was with the utmost difficulty they could be overpow- OP COLUMBUS. 71 ered and taken. When brought on board the ships, the Spaniards could not but admire their unta-med spirit and fierce demeanour. 14. One of the females, from the reverence with which the rest treated her, appeared to be their queen : she was accompanied by her son, a young man strongly made, with a haughty and frowning brow, who had been wound ed in the combat. One of the Indians had been trans pierced 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. 15. Pursuing his voyage, Columbus passed by a clus ter 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 in dented with havens. It was called by the natives Bori- quen, and is the same since known by the name of Porto Rico. After running along its beautiful coast, he arrived off the eastern extremity of Hayti, or Hispaniola. 16. Passing by the gulf of Arrows, where the skirmish had occurred with the natives, Columbus set on shore one of the young Indians who had been taken from the neighbourhood, and had accompanied him to Spain. He dismissed him finely apparelled and loaded with trinkets, anticipating favourable effects from the accounts he would be able to give to his countrymen of the power and munificence of the Spaniards, but he never heard any thing of him more. 17. Only one Indian, of those who had been to Spain, remained in the fleet, a young Lucayan, who had been baptized at Barcelona, and named after the admiral s brother, Diego Colon ; he continued always faithful and devoted to the Spaniards. 18. Continuing along the coast, Columbus landed in the neighbourhood 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. * River of Gold. 72 LIFE AND VOYAGES 19. 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. CHAPTER XVIII. Fate of the Fortress of La Navidad. Transactions at the Harbour. [1493.] 1. ON the evening of the 27th of November, Colum bus anchored opposite to the harbour of La Navidad, about a league from the land. As it was too dark to dis tinguish 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. 2. Columbus showed himself at the side of his vessel, and a light being held up, his countenance and command ing person were not to be mistaken. The Indians now entered the ship without hesitation. One was a cousin of the cacique Guacanagari, and the bearer of a present from him. 3. The first inquiry of Columbus was concerning the garrison. He was informed that several of the Spaniards had died of sickness, others had fallen in a quarrel among themselves, and others had removed to a different part of the island ; that Guacanagari had been assailed by Cao- nabo, 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 neighbouring hamlet. 4. Melancholy as were these tidings, they relieved Columbus from the painful suspicion of treachery on the part of the cacique and people, and gave him hopes of OF COLUMBUS. 73 finding some of the scattered garrison still alive. The Indians were well entertained, and gratified with presents ; on departing they promised to return in the morning with Guacanagari. 5. 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 neighbourhood. Not a canoe appeared in the harbour ; not an Indian hailed them from the land ; nor was there any smoke to be seen rising from among the groves. 6. Towards the evening, a boat was sent on shore. The crew found the fortress burnt and demolished, the palisadoes beaten down, and the ground strewed with broken chests, and the fragments of European garments. Not an Indian approached them, and if they caught a sight of any lurking among the trees, they vanished on finding themselves perceived. 7. 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 were discharged to summon any survivors that might be in the neighbourhood, but none made their ap pearance. Columbus had ordered Arana and his fellow officers, in case of sudden danger, to bury all the treasure they might possess, or throw it in the well of the fortress. The well was therefore searched, and excavations were made among the ruins, but no gold was to be found. 8. Not far from the fortress the bodies of eleven Eu ropeans were discovered buried in different places, and they appeared to have been for some time in the ground. In the houses of a neighbouring hamlet 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. 9. At length a communication was effected with some of the natives. It appeared, from their storv, that Co lumbus had scarcely set sail for Spam, when all his coun sels and commands faded from the minds of those who remained behind. Instead of cultivating the good will of the natives, they endeavoured, by all kinds of wrong. 7 74 LIFE AND VOYAGES ful means, to get possession of their golden ornaments and other articles of value, and seduced from them their wives and daughters. 10. Fierce brawls occurred between themselves, about their ill-gotten spoils, or the favours of the Indian wo men. In vain did Diego de Arana interpose his authori ty ; all order, all subordination, ail unanimity, were at an end. Pedro Gutierrez and Rodrigo de Escobedo, whom Columbus had left as lieutenants to succeed Arana in case of accident, now aspired to an equal share in the authority. 11. 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 ad herents and a number of women, and set off for the mountains of Cibao, with the idea of procuring immense wealth from its golden mines. 12. 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 fierce ness and enterprise of his nation, had made himself the most powerful cacique. The wonderful accounts of the white men had reached him among his mountains, and he feared such formidable intruders. 13. The departure of Columbus had given him hopes that their intrusion would be but temporary ; the discords of those who remained increased his confidence. No soon er, therefore, did Gutierrez and Escobedo, with their companions, appear in his dominions, than he seized them and put them to death. He then assembled his warriors, traversed the forest with profound secrecy, and arrived in the vicinity of La Navidad without being discovered. 14.. 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 Caonabo and his warriors burst upon the place with frightful yells, and set fire to the for tress and village. j 15. The Spaniards were taken by surprise. Eight were driven into the sea, and drowned ; the rest were massacred. Guacanagari and his subjects fought faith- OF COLUMBUS. 75 fully in defence of their guests, but were easily routed. The cacique was wounded in the conflict, and his village burnt to the ground. 16. Satisfied by this account, of the good faith of Gua- canagari, Columbus visited him in a neighbouring village, where he was suffering apparently from a bruise in the leg, received in the battle. He was greatly agitated on seeing the admiral, and deplored with tears the misfor tunes of the garrison. The bandages were removed from his leg by a Spanish surgeon, but no sign of a wound was to be seen, though he shrunk with pain whenever the limb was touched. 17. Many of the Spaniards looked upon his lameness as feigned, and the whole story of the battle a fabrication to conceal his perfidy. Columbus, however, 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. 18. What most amazed him was the horses. He had never seen any but the most diminutive quadrupeds, and gazed with awe at the grandeur of these noble animals, their great strength, terrific appearance, yet perfect do cility. The sight of the Carib prisoners also increased his idea of the prowess of the Spaniards, who had the hardihood to invade these terrible beings even in their strong holds, while he could scarcely look upon them without shuddering, though in chains. 19. On board the ship were several Indian women who had been captives to the Caribs. Among them was one distinguished by a certain loftiness of demeanour ; she had been much noticed and admired by the Spaniards, who had given her the name of Catalina. She particu larly attracted the attention of the cacique, who spoke to her repeatedly, with great gentleness of tone and manner. 20. A collation was served up, and Columbus endea voured by kindness and hospitality to revive their former cordial intercourse, but the cacique was evidently dis trustful and ill at ease. The suspicions of his guilt grained ground among the Spaniards. Father Boyle, in particu lar, regarded him with an evil eye, and advised the ad miral, now that he had him securely on board of his ship, 76 LIFE AND VOYAGES to detain him prisoner ; but Columbus rejected the coun sel of the crafty friar, as contrary to sound policy and honourable faith. 21. The cacique, accustomed in his former intercourse with the Spaniards to meet on every side with faces beaming with gratitude and friendship, could not but perceive the altered looks of cold suspicion and secret hostility. Notwithstanding the frank and cordial hos pitality of the admiral, therefore, he soon took leave and returned to land. 22. On the following day there was a mysterious movement and agitation among the natives on shore. The brother of Guacanagari came on board, under pre text of bartering 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. 23. At midnight, when the crew were buried in their first sleep, Catalina awakened her female companions, and 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 accus tomed to buffet with the waves, and the water was to them almost as their natural element. 24. 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 vigour of these sea nymphs, however, that they readied the land before they were overtaken. 25. Four were captured on the beach, but the heroic Catalina, with the rest of her companions, escaped in safety to the forest. Guacanagari disappeared on the same day with all his household and effects, and it was supposed he had taken refuge, with his island beauty, in the interior. His desertion gave redoubled force to the doubts heretofore entertained, and he was generally stig matized as the perfidious destroyer of the garrison. OF COLUMBUS. 77 CHAPTER XIX. Founding of the City of Isabella. Discontents of the People. [1493.] 1. THE misfortunes which had befallen the Spaniards, in the vicinity of this harbour, threw a gloom over the place, and it was considered as under some baneful in fluence, or malignant star. The situation, too, was un healthy, and there was no stone in the neighbourhood for building. Columbus, therefore, removed to a har bour 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. 2. Here the troops and persons to be employed in the colony were disembarked, together with the stores, arms, ammunition, and live stock. An encampment was formed, and the plan of a town traced out, and commenced, to which Columbus gave the name of Isabella, in honour of his royal patroness. 3. The public edifices, 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. 4. 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 con finement on board of the ships ; others from the exhala tions of a hot and moist climate, dense natural forests, and a new, rank soil. 5. 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 tcil painfully for mere subsistence, and to attain every comfort by the severest exertion ! As to gold, which they uad expected to find readily and in abundance, it was to be procured only in small quantities, and by patient and persevering labour. 7* 78 LIFE AND VOYAGES 6. All these disappointments sank deep into their hearts, their spirits flagged as their golden dreams melt ed away, and the gloom of despondency aided the rava ges of disease. Columbus himself was confined to his bed for several weeks by severe illness ; but his ener getic 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. 7. The greater part of the ships were ready to return to Spain, but he had no treasure to send with them. It was necessary to do something, however, before the ves sels sailed, to keep up the reputation of his discoveries. The region of the mines lay at a distance of but three or four days journey, directly in the interior ; he determin ed to send an expedition to explore it. 8. The person chosen for this enterprise was Alonzo de Ojeda, who delighted in all service of an adventurous nature. He set out, from the harbour early in January, accompanied by a small number of welt-armed men, several of them young and spirited cavaliers like himself. They crossed the first range of mountains by a narrow and winding Indian path, and descended into a vast plain, covered with noble forests, and studded with vil lages and hamlets. 9. The inhabitants overwhelmed them with hospital ity, 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 mountains, which locked up, as it were, the golden region of Cibao. 10. Here they saw ample signs of natural wealth. The sands of the mountain streams contained particles of gold ; in some places they picked up large specimens* of virgin ore, and stones streaked and richly impregnated with it. Ojeda himself found a mass of rude gold in one of the brooks weighing nine ounces. 11. The little band returned to the harbour, with en thusiastic accounts of the golden promise of these moun tains. A young cavalier, named Gorvalan, who had been sent to explore a different tract of country, returned with similar reports. Encouraged by these good tidings, Columbus lost no time in despatching- twelve of the ships* OF COLUMBUS. . 79 under the command of Antonio de Torres, retaining 1 only five for the service of the colony. 12. By these ships he sent home specimens of gold, and of fruits and plants of unknown and valuable species, together with the Carib captives, to be instructed in the Spanish language and the Christian faith, that they might serve as interpreters, and aid in the conversion of their countrymen. He wrote also a sanguine account of the two expeditions into the interior, and expressed a confi dent expectation of making abundant shipments of gold, spices, and valuable drugs. 13. He extolled the fertility of the soil, evinced in the luxuriant growth of the sugar-cane, and of various Eu ropean 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 accus tom themselves to the diet of the natives. 14. In his anxiety to lighten the expenses of the colo ny, and procure revenue to the crown, he recommended that the natives of the Caribbean islands, being cannibals and ferocious invaders of their peaceful neighbours, 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 Eu rope, 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. 15. Such is the strange sophistry by which upright men may deceive themselves, and think they are obey ing the dictates of their conscience, 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 his 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. 16. When the fleet arrived in Europe, though it brought no gold, yet the tidings from Columbus and his companions kept up the popular excitement. There was something wonderfully grand in the idea of building cities, extending colonies, and sowing the seeds of civil- 80 LIFE AND VOYAGES ization and of enlightened empire in this beautiful but savage world. 17. It struck the minds of learned and classical men with admiration, filling them with pleasant dreams and reveries, and seeming to realize the poetical pictures of the dden time ; when Saturn, Ceres, and Triptolemus travelled about the earth to spread new inventions among mankind. 18. But while sanguine anticipations were indulged in Europe, murmuring and sedition began, to prevail among the co]onists. Disappointed in their hopes of wealth, disgusted with the labours imposed upon them, and appalled by the prevalent maladies, they looked with horror upon the surrounding wilderness, and became im patient to return to Spain. 19. Their discontents were increased by one Firmin Cado, who had come out as assayer and purifier of metals, but whose ignorance in his art equalled his obstinacy of opinion. He insisted that there was scarcely any gold in the island, and that all the specimens brought by the natives had been accumulated in the course of several generations, and been handed down from father to son in their families. 20. At length a conspiracy was formed, headed by Bernal Diaz de Pisa, the comptroller, to take advantage of the illness of Columbus, to seize upon the ships re maining in the harbour, and to return to Spain. Fortu nately Columbus received information in time, and ar rested the ringleaders. 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 punished, but not with the severity their offence deserved. 21. This was the first time Columbus exercised the right of punishing delinquents in his new government, and it immediately caused a great clamour against him. Already the disadvantage of being a foreigner was clearly manifested. He had no natural friends to rally round him ; whereas the mutineers had connexions in Spain, friends in the colony) and met with sympathy in every discontented mind. OF COLUMBUS. 81 CHAPTER XX. Expedition of Columbus into the Interior of Hispaniola. [1494.] 1. To quiet the murmurs and rouse the spirits of his people, Columbus, as soon as his health permitted, made an expedition to the mountains of Cibao, leaving- his brother Diego in command at Isabella. He departed, on the 12th of March, at the head of four hundred men, armed with helmets and corslets, with arquebuses, lances, swords, and crossbows, and followed by labourers and miners, and a multitude of the neighbouring Indians. 2. After traversing a plain, and fording two rivers, they encamped in the evening at the foot of a wild pass of the mountains, up which there was nothing but an Indian foot-path winding among rocks and precipices, and thick forests. A number of high spirited young cavaliers threw themselves in the advance, and by aiding the pioneers, and stimulating them with promises, they soon construct ed the first road formed by Europeans in the new world, which, in commemoration of their generous zeal, was called the Pass of the Gentlemen.* 3. On the following day the army toiled up this steep defile, and arrived where the gorge of the mountain open ed into the interior. Here a glorious prospect burst upon their view. Below lay a vast and delicious plain, enam elled with all the rich variety of tropical vegetation. The magnificent forests presented that mingled beauty and majesty of vegetable forms peculiar to these generous climates. 4. Palms of prodigious height, and spreading maho gany trees, towered from amid a wilderness of variegated foliage. Universal freshness and verdure were main tained by numerous streams which meandered gleaming through the deep bosom of the woodland, while various villages and hamlets seen among the trees, and the smoke of others rising out of the forests, gave signs of a nume rous population. * El Puerto de los Hidalgos. 82 LIFE AND VOYAGES 5. 1%e luxuriant landscape extended as far as the eye could reach, until it appeared to melt away and mingle with the horizon. The Spaniards gazed with rapture upon this soft voluptuous country, which seemed to realize their ideas of a terrestrial paradise ; and Colum bus, struck with its vast extent, gave it the name of the Vega Real, or Royal Plain. 6. When the Indians beheld this band of warriors, emerging from the mountains with prancing steeds and floating banners, and glittering armour, and heard, for the first time, their rocks and forests echoing to the din of drum and trumpet, they were bewildered with astonish ment. 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 horseman dismount. 7. On the approach of the Spaniards, the Indians ge nerally fled with terror, but their fears were soon dispelled ; they then absolutely retarded the march of the army by their hospitality ; nor did they appear to have any idea of receiving a recompense for the provisions they furnished hi abundance. The untutored savage, in almost every part of the world, scorns to make a traffic k of hospitality. 8. After marching for two or three days across this noble plain, they arrived at a chain of lofty and rugged mountains, 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 contra rieties, and displayed a miser-like poverty of exterior, when teeming with hidden treasures. 9. Nothing was to be seen but chains of rocky and sterile mountains, scantily clothed with pines. The very name of the country bespoke the nature of the soil ; Ci bao, in the language of the natives, signifying 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, washed down, no doubt, from the mines of the mountains. 10. Choosing a situation in a neighbourhood that seemed to abound in mines, Columbus began to build a fortress, to which he gave the name of St. Thomas. OF COLUMBUS. 83 While thus occupied, a young cavalier, named Juan de Luxan, with a small band of armed men, explored the province, and returned, after a few days, with the most satisfactory accounts. The forests appeared to abound with spices ; the trees were overrun with vines bearing clusters of grapes of pleasant flavour ; while every valley and glen had its stream, yielding more or less gold dust. 11. The natives of the surrounding country likewise flocked to the fortress of St. Thomas, bringing gold to exchange for European trinkets, and telling of regions where it was to be found in large masses. As usual, however, these golden tracts were always in some re mote valley, or along some rugged and sequestered 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. 1. THE fortress of St. Thomas being nearly completed, Columbus left it in command of Pedro Margarite, 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 harbour ; 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. 2. 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 ; general ly speaking, however, they were mild and gentle : and here a few particulars concerning them may be acceptable. 3. They believed in one Supreme Bein^f, immortal, omnipotent, and invisible, inhabiting the ~sky. They never addressed their worship directly to him, but to in- 84 LIFE AND VOYAGES ferior deities, called zemes, or mediators. Each cacique, each family, and each indivdual, had a particular zemi as a tutelary or protecting genius ; whose image, gene rally of a hideous form, was placed about their nouses, carved on their furniture, and sometimes bound to their foreheads when they went to battle. 4. 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. They gave success in hunting and fishing ; they guided the moun tain streams into safe channels, leading them to meander peacefully through the plains ; or, caused them to burst forth into floods and torrents, inundating and laying waste the valleys. 5. The Indians were well acquainted with the medi cinal properties of plants. Their priests acted as phy sicians, curing diseases with simples, but making use of many mysterious rites ; chanting and burning a light in the chamber of the patient, and pretending to exorcise the malady, and tp send it to the sea or to the mountain They practised also many deceptions, making the idols to speak with oracular voice, to enforce the orders of the caciques. 6. Once a year each cacique held a festival in honour of his zemi, when his subjects formed a procession to the temple, arrayed with their most precious ornaments ; the young females, carrying baskets of cakes, decorated with flowers, and singing as they advanced, while the cacique beat time on an Indian drum. 7. After the cakes had been offered to the zemi they were broken and distributed among the people, to be pre served in their houses as charms against all adverse ac cidents. The young females then danced to the cadence of songs in praise of their deities, and of the heroic ac tions of their ancient caciques ; and the whole ceremony concluded by a grand invocation to the zemi to watch over and protect the nation. 8. The natives believed their island of Hayti to be the OF COLUMBUS. 85 earliest part of creation, and that the sun and moon is sued out of one of its caverns to give light to the universe. This cavern was consecrated as a 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 processions to it, with songs and dances, and offerings of fruit and flowers. 9. They ascribed to another cavern the origin of the human race. The large men, they said, issued from a great aperture ; 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, pro ducing wonderful transformations. 10. 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 plain tively in the night, bewailing his misfortune. This is the same bird which Columbus mistook for a nightingale. 11. When the human race at length emerged from the cave, they wandered about disconsolately without females, until coming near a small lake, they beheld cer tain animals among the branches of the trees, which proved to be women. On attempting to catch them, however, they were found to be as slippery as eels, so that it was with great difficulty they succeeded in se curing four of them ; and from these slippery females the world was peopled. 12. Like most savage nations, they had a tradition concerning the deluge. There once lived in the island, said they, a mighty cacique, who had but one son. De tecting his son in a conspiracy against his life, he slew him, but treasured up his bones in a gourd, as was the custom of the island. 13. Some time afterwards, the cacique and his wife opened the gourd to mourn over the remains 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. 8 86 LIFE AND VOYAGES 14. This boast unluckily excited the curiosity of five brothers, children of the same birth, prying, meddlesome fellows. Watching their opportunity when the cacique was absent, they came and took down the gourd to peep into it. 15. In their hurry they let it fall, and it was dashed to pieces ; when lo ! to their astonishment 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 overflowed the earth, and formed the ocean, leaving only the tops of the mountains uncovered, which are the present islands. 16. They had singular modes of treating the dying and the dead. When the life of a cacique was despaired of, they strangled him out of a principle of respect, ra ther than suffer him to die like the vulgar. Common people, in like situation, were extended in their ham mocks, bread and water placed beside them, and they were then abandoned to die in solitude. 17. Sometimes they were carried to the cacique, and if he permitted them the distinction, they were strangled. The body of the deceased was sometimes consumed with fire in his habitation ; sometimes the bones were retain ed, 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. 18. They had confused notions of the existence of the soul when separated from the body, and believed in ap paritions of the deceased. They had an idea that the spirits of good men after death were reunited to the spi rits of their ancestors and of those they had most loved, and were transported to a happy region, generally sup posed to be near a lake, in the beautiful province of Xa- ragua, in the western part of the island. Here they lived in shady and bloomy bowers, with lovely females, and banqueted on delicious fruits. 19. The dances to which the natives were so addicted were often of a religious and mystic nature. In these were typified their historical events and their projected enterprises, whether of war or hunting. They were per formed to the chant of ballads handed down from gene- OF COLUMBUS. 87 ration to generation ; some containing their notions of theology and their religious fables ; others rehearsing the deeds of their ancestors. These rhymes they called areytos, and sang them to the accompaniment of rude timbrels made of the shells of certain fishes, or to the sound of a drum made of a hollow tree. 20. The natives appeared to the Spaniards to be an idle and improvident race. They were impatient of all kinds of labour, scarcely giving themselves the trouble to cultivate the yuca root, the maize, and the sweet po tato, which formed their main articles of food. They loitered away existence under the shade of their trees, amusing themselves occasionally with games and dances. 21. 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 labour. 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. 22. What need was there of garnering up and anx iously providing for coming days, to men who lived amid a perpetual harvest ] What need, too, of toilfully spin ning or labouring at the loom, where a genial tempera ture prevailed throughout the year, and neither nature nor custom prescribed the necessity of clothing? 23. 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. 24. As we accompany Columbus, in imagination, ou his return over the rocky height from whence the vega first broke upon his eye, we cannot but cast back a look of mingled pity and admiration over this beautiful but devoted region. The dream of natural liberty and igno- 88 LIFE AND VOYAGES rant content was as yet unbroken, but the fiat had gone forth ; the white man had penetrated into the land ; ava rice, and pride, and ambition, and sordid care, and pining labour, were soon to follow, and the indolent paradise of the Indian was about to disappear for ever. CHAPTER XXII. Sickness and Discontent at tlie Settlement of Isabella. Pre parations of Columbus for a Voyage to Cuba. [1494. J 1. SCARCELY had Columbus returned to the harbour, when he received tidings from Pedro Margarite, that Caonabo was preparing to attack fort St. Thomas. From what he had seen of the natives, however, and of their fear of the white men and their horses, he felt little un easiness, and contented himself with sending twenty men to the fortress, and thirty more to open a road between it and the harbour. 2. His chief anxiety was about the settlement. Sick ness prevailed there, and the stock of medicine was ex hausted. Provisions grew scanty, and all hands, without exception, were put upon allowance. This caused loud murmurs, in which many in office took a part, who ought to have been foremost in supporting measures for the common safety. Among these was Friar Boyle, the Pope s Vicar, who could not brook being put on the same allowance with the commonalty. 3. Further measures of safety increased the public irritation. The flour was exhausted ; a mill must be im mediately erected to grind the corn. Most of the work men were ill. In this emergency every one in health, without distinction of persons, was called upon to work. Numbers, who prided themselves upon their rank, refused to comply, but were rigorously compelled. 4. This gave deep and lasting umbrage to the proud cavaliers in the colony, and their relatives in Spain. Co lumbus was inveighed against as an upstart foreigner, inflated with sudden authority, and eager for wealth, who, OF COLUMBUS. Ob in the pursuit of his own ends, trampled upon the dignity of Spanish gentlemen, and insulted the honour of the nation. 5. The fate, in truth, of many of the young cavaliers who had come out in this expedition, deluded by roman tic dreams, was lamentable in the extreme. Some of them had been brought up in ease and indulgence, and were little calculated to endure the hardships of the wilderness. 6. If they fell ill, their case soon became incurable. They suffered under the irritation of wounded pride, and the morbid melancholy of disappointed hope ; their sick bed was destitute of the tender care and soothing atten tion to which they had been accustomed, and they sank into the grave in all the sullenness of despair, cursing the day that they had left their country. 7. So strong an effect had the untimely and dreary death of these cavaliers upon the public mind, that many years afterwards, 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, with long rapiers and broad hats, saluting the wayfarer in stately and mournful silence, and vanishing on being accosted. Their melan choly 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. 8. Columbus was desirous of departing on a voyage to explore the coast of Cuba, but it was indispensable, be fore sailing, to place the affairs of the island in a state of tranquillity. For this purpose he determined to send all the men that could be spared into the interior, where they could subsist among the natives, and become accus tomed to their diet, while their force would overawe any hostile cacique. 9. A little army was accordingly mustered of about four hundred men, among whom were sixteen horsemen. These were to be commanded by Pedro Margarite ; who was to go from province to province, take note of the soil, climate, and productions, preserve strict order among his 90 LIFE AND VOYAGE? troops, and treat the natives with the utmost kindness and justice. 10. Ojeda set off to conduct this force to the fortress of St. Thomas, where he was to suoceed Margarite in the command. On his way he learnt that three Span iards had been robbed of their effects by five Indians, who had undertaken to carry them across a river, and that the delinquents had been sheltered by their cacique, who shared the booty. . 11. Ojeda was a quick soldier, and had a summary mode of dispensing justice. 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. 12. Columbus thought it necessary to make an exam ple of these men, to deter the natives in future from mo lesting the Spaniards that might be scattered about the island. He ordered, therefore, that they should be taken to the public square, their crime proclaimed by the crier, and their heads struck off. At the place of execution, a neighbouring cacique, friendly to the parties, interceded for the prisoners, pledging himself that the offence should not be repeated. 13. At this juncture a horseman rode into the town. He came from the fortress, and, in passing through the village of the captive cacique, had found five Spaniards in the power of four hundred Indians. He charged upon the multitude, put them to flight, wounded several with his lance, and brought off his countrymen in triumph. 14. Satisfied by this circumstance, that nothing was to be feared from this timid people, provided the Span iards conformed to the orders he had given ; and thinking the Indians had been already sufficiently punished, Co lumbus made a merit of yielding to the entreaties of the friendly cacique, and released the prisoners. 15. He now formed a junto to govern the island du ring his absence. It consisted of his brother Don Diego as president, and Father Boyle, Pedro Fernandez Coro nal, Alonzo Sanchez Caravajal, and Juan de Luxan, as counsellors. 16. Leaving in the harbour two of the largest ships, OF COLUMBUS. 91 he took with him three small vessels, fit to run into the shallow water of coasts arid rivers, and with these he set sail on the 24th of April. CHAPTER XXIII. Cruise of Columbus along the Southern Coast of Cuba. [1494.] 1. THE plan of the present expedition of Columbus 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 by following 1 its shores trusted to arrive at Mangi, and Cathay, and other rich countries, forming part of the territories of the Grand Khan, described by Marco Polo. 2. Having arrived at the eastern end of Cuba, he sailed along the southern coast, touching once or twice in the harbours. 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, offering various refresh ments, not in barter, but as free gifts. On inquiring of them for gold, they uniformly pointed to the south, inti mating that a great island lay in that direction, where it was to be found in abundance. 3. On the 3d of May, therefore, Columbus turned his prow directly south. He had not sailed many leagues before the blue summits of Jamaica began to rise above the horizon. It was two days and a night, however, be fore he reached it, filled with admiration, as he gradual ly drew near, at its vast extent, the beauty of its moun tains, the majesty of its forests, and the great number of villages which animated the whole face of the country. 4. He coasted the island from about the centre to the western end. The natives appeared to be more ingenious as well as more warlike than those of Cuba and Hayti. 92 LIFE AND VOYAGES Their canoes were constructed with more art, and orna- mei ited at the bow and stern with carving and painting. Ma ay were of great size, hollowed from trunks of the ma logany and other magnificent trees, which rise like verdant towers amidst the rich forests of the tropics. Every cacique had a large state canoe of the kind. One measured ninety-six feet in length, and eight feet in breadth, formed of a single tree. 5. ]Jeing disappointed in his hopes of finding gold in Jamaica, Columbus determined to return to Cuba. AB he was about to leo.ve the island, 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 con cern for their distress, and an ardent desire to see the home of the wonderful strangers. 6. Curiosity, and the youthful propensity to rove, at length prevailed ; he tore himself from the embraces of his friends, and took refuge in a secret part of the ship, from the tears a.nd entreaties of his sisters. Touched by this scene of natural affection, and pleased with the con fiding spirit of the youth, Columbus ordered that he should be treated with especial kindness. 7. Having steered again for Cuba, Columbus, on the 18th of May, arrived at a great cape, to which he gave the name of Cabo de la Cruz, which it still retains. Coasting to the west, he soon got entangled in a 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. 8. As the ships glided along the smooth and glassy channels which separated the islands, the magnificence of their vegetation, the soft odours wafted from flowers, and blossoms, and aromatic shrubs, the splendid plumage of scarlet cranes, flamingoes, and other tropical birds, and the gaudy clouds of butterflies, all resembled what is de scribed of oriental climes. He persuaded himself, there fore, that these were the islands mentioned by Marco Polo, as fringing the coast of Asia, and he gave the clus ter the name of the Queen s Garden. OF COLUMBUS. 93 9. Emerging from this labyrinth, Columbus pursued his voyage with a prosperous 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 colour gave token of ample depth ; to his right extended a richly wooded country, called Ornofay, with noble mountains, frequent streams, and numerous villages. 10. 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, arid 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 celebrating, with their national chants and dances, the arrival of these wonderful strangers on their coasts. 11. Animated by the delusions of his fancy, Colum bus 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 lonely coast, whose intricate channels are seldom visited, even at the present day, except by the lurking bark of the smuggler and the pirate. 12. In this navigation he had to contend with almost incredible 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, where the people wore clothing, and which he supposed must be Mangi, the rich Asiatic pro vince described by Marco Polo. 13. His crews seem to have partaken of his delusion. One day while a party on shore was employed m cutting wood arid filling water casks, an archer strayed into the forest, with his crossbow, in search of game, but soon returned, flying in breathless terror. 14. He declared that he had seen through an opening glade a man dressed in long white robes, like a friar of the order of Mercy, so that at first he took him for the 94 LIFE AND VOYAGES chaplain of the admiral. He was followed by two others dressed in white tunics reaching to their knees, and all these had complexions as fair as Europeans. Behind them were others, to the number of thirty, armed with clubs and lances. 15. Two parties were despatched, well armed, on the following morning, in quest of these people in white : the first returned unsuccessful ; the other brought word of having tracked the footprints 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. Dis mayed at the sight, they hastened back to the sea side. 16. As no tribe of Indians wearing clothing was ever discovered in Cuba, it is probable the men in white were nothing else than a flock of cranes, magnified by the fears of the wandering archer. These birds, like the flamingoes, 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 arid erectness give them, at first glance, the semblance of human figures. CHAPTER XXIV. Return Voyage. 1. FIRMLY convinced that he was coasting the shores of Asia, Columbus hoped by continuing on to arrive at tb.e Aurea Chersonesus of the ancients, doubling which, he might return to Europe by the way of the Red sea ; or, circumnavigating Africa, he might pass by the Por tuguese as they were groping along tho coast of Guinea, and, after having navigated round the globe, furl his ad venturous sails at the pillars of Hercules, the ne plus ultra of the ancient world ! 2. But, though his fellow voyagers shared his opinion that they were coasting the continent of Asia, they shrunk from the increasing perils of the voyage. The ships were strained and crazed ; the cables and rigging much worn ; the provisions nearly exhausted ; and the crews OF COLUMBUS. 95 worn out by incessant labour. The admiral, therefore, was finally persuaded to abandon all further prosecution of the voyage. 3. Before he turned back, however, he obliged the offi cers and seamen to sign a deposition, declaring their perfect conviction that Cuba was a continent, the begin ning and the end of India. This singular instrument was signed near that deep bay called by some the bay of Philipina, by others, of Cortes. 4. At this very time, a ship-boy from the mast-head might 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 different course might have been given to his subsequent discoveries. 5. Returning now towards the east, the crew^s suffered greatly from fatigue and scarcity of provisions, until they anchored one day in the mouth of a fine river, in an abun dant country, where the natives soon supplied their wants. 6. Here Columbus landed one Sunday morning to erect a cross, as was his custom in all remarkable places, in token of having brought the country under the dominion of the Catholic church. He was met by the cacique and by a venerable Indian fourscore years of age, who pre sented him with a string of their mystic beads, and a calibash filled with delicate fruit. 7. They then walked with him, hand in hand, to a stately grove on the river bank, where he had ordered grand mass to be performed. The assembled natives looked on with great reverence. When the ceremony was ended, the old man of fourscore approached Colum bus, and thus addressed him : 8. I am told that thou hast come to these lands with a mighty force, arid hast subdued many countries, spread ing great fear among the people. Be not, however, vainglorious. Know that the souls of men have two journeys to perform after they have departed from the body ; one to a place dismal, foul, and covered with dark ness, prepared for such as have been unjust and cruel to their fellow men ; the other full of delight, for such as 96 LIFE AND VOYAGES have promoted peace on earth. If, then, thou art mortal, and dost expect to die, beware that thou hurt no man wrongfully, neither do harm to those who have done no harm to thee. 9. This speech being- interpreted to Columbus, he was moved by the simple eloquence of the savage, and re joiced to hear his doctrine of the future state of the soul, having supposed that no belief of the kind existed among the inhabitants of these countries. He assured the old man that he had been sent by his sovereigns to teach them the true religion, to protect them from harm, and to subdue their enemies the Caribs. 10. The venerable Indian was astonished to learn that the admiral, whom he had considered so great and pow erful, was yet but a subject ; and when he was told of the grandeur of the Spanish monarchs, and of the wonders of their kingdom, a sudden desire seized him to see this marvellous country, and it was with difficulty the tears and remonstrances of his wife and children could dis suade him from embarking. 11. After leaving this river, Columbus stood over to Jamaica, and for nearly a month continued beating along its southern coast. Anchoring one evening in a great bay, he was visited by a cacique, who remained until a late hour conversing with the Indian interpreter, about the Spaniards and their country, and their prowess in vanquishing the Caribs. 12. On the following morning, when the ships were under weigh, three canoes issued from among the islands of the bay. In the centre one, which was large, and handsomely carved and painted, 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 officers deco rated with plumes and mantles of variegated feathers. 13. The standard-bearer stood 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 presents among the crew, and thus addressed the admiral : OF COLUMBUS. 97 14. " I have heard of the irresistible power of thy sove reigns, and of the many nations thou hast subdued in their name. Thou hast destroyed the dwellings of the Caribs, slaying 1 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 know- est the secrets of the land, and the weakness of the peo ple ? Rather, therefore, than thou shouldst take away my dominions, I will embark with all my household in thy ships, and will go to render homage to thy king and queen, and behold thy country, of which I hear such wonders." 15. When, however, Columbus beheld the wife, the sons and daughters of the cacique, and considered to what ills they would be exposed, 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 sovereigns, but dismissed him for the present, pro mising that at some future time he would return and gratify his wishes. 16. After leaving Jamaica, he coasted the whole of the southern side of Hayti, and experienced great hardships in a storm, which raged for several days. The weather having moderated, he set sail eastward, with the inten tion of completing the discovery of the Caribbee islands. 17. The fatigue, however, which he had suffered, both in mind and body, throughout this voyage, had secretly preyed upon his health ; and the late tempest had kept him in a fever of anxiety. He had shared the hardships of the commonest sailor ; nay more, for the sailor, after the labours of his watch, slept soundly, while the anxious commander had to maintain a constant vigil, through long stormy nights. 18. The moment he was relieved from all solicitude, and found himself in a tranquil sea, both mind and body sank exhausted by almost superhuman exertions. He fell into a deep lethargy, resembling death itself. His crew feared that death was really at hand. They aban doned, therefore, all farther prosecution of the voyage, and spreading their sails to a favourable breeze from the east, bore Columbus back, in a state of complete insensi bility, to the harbour of Isabella. 9 98 LIFE AND VOYAGES CHAPTER XXV. Events in Hispaniola. Insurrections of the Natives. Expedition of Ojeda against Caonabo. [1494.] 1. A JOYFUL and heartfelt surprise awaited Columbus on his arrival, in finding, at his bedside, his brother Bar tholomew, from whom he had been separated for several years. It will be recollected, that about the time of the admiral s departure for Portugal, he sent his brother to offer his project of discovery to the court of England. 2. On his way thither, Bartholomew was captured by a corsair, and met with many hardships, so that years elapsed bofore he was able to lay the proposition before king Henry VII. That monarch promptly agreed to patronise the enterprise, and Bartholomew returned to Spain in quest of his brother ; but, in the interim, Co lumbus had made his discovery, and departed on his second voyage. 3. Bartholomew was honourably entertained by the Spanish sovereigns, and despatched with three ships, freighted with supplies to rejoin his brother. He again arrived too ]ate, Columbus having departed on his cruise along the coast of Cuba. He had, therefore, awaited his return at Isabella. 4. It was an inexpressible relief to the admiral to be rejoined by this brother. His chief dependence had hitherto been upon his other brother, Diego ; but lie was mild, peaceable, and yielding, ar.d but little calculated to manage a factious colony ; Bartholomew was made of sterner stuff. 5. He was tall, muscular, and vigorous, with a com manding air, and a prompt, active, decided, and fearless spirit. He had at times an asperity of temper, and abruptness of manners, that made him many enemies ; yet, he was generous and just, free from arrogance or malevolence, and as placable as he was brave. 6. He was a thorough seaman, both in theory and practice, having been formed, in a great measure, under the eye of the admiral. He does not appear to have been OF COLUMBUS. 99 highly educated ; his knowledge, like that of his brother, being chiefly derived from a long course of varied expe rience and attentive observation, aided by the studies of maturer years. Equally vigorous and penetrating in in tellect with the admiral, but less enthusiastic in spirit and soaring in imagination, he surpassed him in the adroit management of business, and had more of that worldly wisdom which is so important in the ordinary concerns of life. 7. Columbus immediately 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. 8. Pedro Margarite, who had been left in command of the greater part of the forces, instead of proceeding, as ordered, on a military tour of the island, lingered among the villages of the vega, where he and his soldiery, by their licentious and oppressive conduct, soon roused the indignation of the natives. 9. Don Diego Columbus, with the concurrence of the council, wrote to Margarite, reprehending his conduct, and ordering him to depart on his tour. Margarite re plied in an arrogant tone, pretending to consider himself above all responsibility to Don Diego, or his council. He was supported in his tone of defiance by a kind of aristocrat] cal party composed of the idle cavaliers of the colony, who affected to consider Columbus and his bro thers mere mercenary and upstart foreigners. 10. In addition to these partisans, Margarite had a powerful ally in Friar Boyle, an intriguing man, who had conceived a violent hostility against the admiral, and had become disgusted with his mission to the wilderness. A cabal was soon formed. Margarite and Friar Boyle acted as if possessed of paramount authority ; and, taking possession of certain ships in the harbour, set sail for Spain, with their adherents. 11. The army being left without a head, the soldiers 100 LIFE AND VOYAGES roved about in bands, or singly, according to their caprice, indulging in all kinds of excess. At length the Indians were roused to resentment, and, from confiding and hos pitable hosts, were converted into vindictive enemies. 12. They slew the Spaniards wherever they could surprise them ; and Guatiguana, cacique of a large town on the Grand River, put to death ton soldiers who were quartered in his town, set fire to a house in which forty sick Spaniards were lodged, and even held a small for tress called Magdalena, recently built in the vega, in a state of siege. 13. The most formidable enemy of the Spaniards was Caonabo, the Carib cacique of the mountains. 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 to strike a signal blow, and to repeat the horrors which he had wreaked upon La Navidad. 14. The wily cacique, however, had an able enemy to deal with in Alonzo de Ojeda. In addition to what has already been said of this daring cavalier, it is worthy of note, that he had been schooled in Moorish warfare, and was versed in all kinds of military stratagems. His courage was heightened by superstition. Having never received a wound in his numerous quarrels and encoun ters, he considered himself under the special protection of the holy Virgin, and that no weapon had power to harm him. 15. He had a small painting of the Virgin, which he carried constantly in his knapsack, and would 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 Virgin either in brawl or battle ; and under favour of the Virgin he was ready for any enter prise or adventure. Such was Alonzo de Ojeda, bigoted in devotion, reckless in life, fearless in spirit, like many of the roving Spanish cavaliers of those days. 16. Having assembled ten thousand warriors, Caonabo led them secretly through the forest, thinking to surprise Ojeda ; but he "found him warily drawn up within his OF COLUMBUS. 101 fortress, which was built upon a hill, and nearly surround ed by a river. 17. He then held the fortress in siege for thirty days, and reduced it to great distress. He lost many 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 re tired, filled with admiration of the prowess of Ojeda. He now urged the principal caciques 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. 18. It was divided into five domains, each governed by a sovereign "cacique, having many inferior caciques tributary 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. 19. 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. 20. Three ofthese sovereign caciques readily entered into the league with Caonabo ; but he met with unex pected opposition from the fifth cacique, Guacanagari. He not merely refused to join the conspiracy, but enter tained a hundred Spaniards in his territory, supplying all their wants with his accustomed generosity. His refusal prevented the conspiracy from being carried into immediate effect ; but it drew upon him the hatred and hostility of his fellow caciflues.. 21. Such was the critical state to which the affairs of the island had been reduced, during the absence of Co^ lumbus. Immediately on his return, Guacanagari visited him, and revealed the designs of the confederate caciques, 9* 102 LIFE AND VOYAGES offering to lead his subjects to the field, and to fight by the side of the Spaniards. Columbus was rejoiced to have all suspicion of his good faith thus effectually dis pelled. Their former amicable intercourse was renewed, and the chieftain ever continued to evince an affectionate reverence for the admiral. 22. Columbus trusted that the plans of the caciques might easily be disconcerted. He immediately sent a small force, who drove Guatiguana from before Fort Magdalena, ravaged his country, and slew many of his warriors, but the chieftain made his escape. 23. As he was tributary to Guarionex, the sovereign of the royal vega, care was taken to explain to that pow erful cacique, that this was an act of individual punish ment, not of general hostility. Guarionex was easily soothed and won to friendship ; and Columbus prevailed upon him to give his daughter in marriage to the Indian who had been baptized in Spain by the name of Diego Colon, and who was devoted to the Spaniards. Pie gain ed permission from him also to erect a fortress in the midst of his territories, which he named Fort Con ception. 24. The most formidable enemy remained to be dis posed of, which was Caonabo; to make war upon this fierce and subtle chieftain in his wild woodland territory, and among the fastnesses of his mountains, would be a work of time and peril. Yet the settlements would never be safe from his daring enterprises, nor could the mines be worked with security, as they lay in his neighbour hood. While perplexed on this subject, Columbus was relieved by a proposition of Alonzo de Ojeda, who un dertook to bring the Carib chieftain either a friend or captive to the settlement. 25. Choosing ten bold and haray followers, well arm ed and well mounted, Ojeda plunged into the forest, and making his way above sixty leagues into the wild terri tories of Caonabo, appeared fearlessly before the cacique in one of his most populous towns, professing to come on an amicable embassy from the admiral. He was well received by Caonabo, who had tried him in battle, and had conceived a warrior s admiration of him. OP COLUMBUS. 103 26. His dauntless deportment, great personal strength and agility, and surprising adroitness in all manly and warlike exercises, were calculated to charm a savage, and soon made him a favourite with Caonabo. He used all his influence to prevail upon the cacique to repair to Isabella, and enter into a treaty with Columbus, offering him, as an inducement, the befl of the chapel at the har. bour. 27. This bell was the wonder of the island. When its melody sounded through the forests, the Indians noticed that the Spaniards hastened from all parts to the chapel. At other times, when it gave the vesper peal, they be held the Spaniards pause in the midst of their labours or amusements, and, taking off their hats, repeat a prayer with great devotion. 28. They imagined, therefore, that this bell had some mysterious power ; that it had come from " Turey," or the skies, and was the zemi of the white men ; that it talked to them, and they obeyed its orders. Caonabo longed to see this bell, and when it was proffered to him as a present of peace, he found it impossible to resist the temptation. 29. He agreed to visit the admiral at the harbour ; but when the time came to depart, Ojeda beheld with sur prise a powerful army ready to march. He remonstrated on taking such a force on a mere friendly visit ; to which the cacique proudly replied, " that it was not befitting a great prince like him to go forth scantily guarded ." Oje da feared some sinister design, and resolved to outwit the cacique. 30. As the army had halted one day near a river, he produced a set of manacles of* polished steel, which he pretended were ornaments worn by the Castilian mon- archs on high festivities. He proposed that Caonabo should be decorated with them, mounted on the horse of Ojeda, and conducted back in state to astonish his subjects. 31. The cacique was dazzled with the splendour of the shackles, and pleased with the idea of bestriding cne of those tremendous animals so dreaded by his countrymen. After bathing in the river, he mounted behind Ojeda, and 104 LIFE AND VOYAGES the shackles were adjusted. The Spaniards then pran ced among the astonished savages, and made a wide sweep into the forest, until the trees concealed them from sight. Then drawing their swords, and closing round Caonabo, they threatened him with instant death, if he made the least noise or resistance. 32. Having bound him with cords to Ojeda, to prevent his falling or effecting an escape, they put spurs to their horses, dashed across the river, and made off through the woods with their prize. After a long, rugged, and per ilous journey, they entered Isabella in triumph; Ojeda bringing the wild Indian chieftain bound behind him. 33. The haughty Carib met Columbus with a lofty and unsubdued air, nor could he ever be brought to show him any submission. If the admiral entered his prison, though every one else rose to salute him, the cacique remained seated. On the contrary, if Ojeda entered, though small in stature and destitute of state, he rose and paid him the greatest reverence. 34. Being asked the reason of this, seeing that Colum bus was the commander and Ojeda but an inferior, he replied scornfully, that Columbus had not dared to meet him in the field, but had employed Ojeda. The latter, therefore, was the warrior, and had made him prisoner : to him alone would he pay homage. 35. He never showed the least animosity against Ojeda for the artifice he had used. On the contrary, he looked upon it as the exploit of a master spirit, to pounce upon him and bear him off in this hawk like manner from the midst of his warriors ; for there is nothing an Indian more admires in warfare, than a deep laid and well executed stratagem. 36. Columbus, though struck with the natural heroism of this savage, considered him too dangerous an enemy to be left at large. He maintained him, therefore, a close prisoner in a part of his own dwelling, until he could be shipped to Spain, but treated him with great kindness and respect, OF COLUMBUS. 105 CHAPTER XXVI. Battle of the Vega. Imposition of Tribute. [1494.] 1. THE colony about this time was greatly relieved by the arrival of four ships commanded by Antonio Torres, bringing out medical aid and provisions, with various artisans and husbandmen. By the same arrival Colum bus received letters from the sovereigns, approving of all that he had done. They informed him, that their diffe rences with Portugal had been amicably adjusted, and invited him to return to Spain, or to send some able per son in his place, to attend a convention for settling the dividing line of discovery between the two powers. 2. Columbus hastened the return of the ships, and sent his brother Diego to attend the convention. He re mitted, at the same time, all the gold he could collect, with specimens of fruits and valuable plants. He also sent five hundred Indian captives, to be sold as slaves in Seville. 3. It is painful to find the glory of Columbus sullied by such violations of the laws of humanity, but the cus toms of the times must plead his apology. In the recent discoveries along the coast of Africa, the traffick in slaves had formed one of the greatest sources of profit ; and in the wars with the enlightened and highly civilized Moors of Granada, the Spaniards were accustomed to make slaves of their prisoners. 4. Tidings were now brought to the harbour that the allied caciques, headed by Manicaotex, the brother of Caonabo, had assembled their forces in the vega, to make a grand assault upon the settlement. Columbus had now recovered his health, and determined to take the field. All the efficient force he could muster, was two hundred and twenty men ; but of these twenty were horsemen. 5. There were twenty bloodhounds, also, animals scarcely less terrible to the Indians than horses, and in finitely more destructive. With this force he sallied forth from Isabella, accompanied by his brother, the Ade- 106 LIFE AND VOYAGES lantado. Guacanagari, also, joined him with his people ; but both he and his subjects were of an unwarlike character. 6. They found the enemy assembled in great force in the vega, within two days march of Isabella. The number is said to have amounted to one hundred thou sand, but this is probably an exaggeration. They were armed as usual, with clubs, stones, bows and arrows, and lances. 7. The Adelantado arranged the mode of attack. The infantry, divided into small detachments, advanced suddenly from various quarters, with great din of drums and trumpets, and a destructive discharge of fire-arms. The Indians were struck with panic. An army seemed pressing upon them from every direction. 8. In the height of their confusion, Alonzo de Ojeda charged with his cavalry, bearing down and trampling them under foot, and dealing deadly blows with lance and sword. The bloodhounds, too, were let loose, and rushed upon the naked savages, seizing them by the throat, dragging them to the earth, and tearing out their bowels. 9. The battle, if such it might be called, was of short duration. The Indians fled in every direction, with yells and howiings. Some clambered to the tops of rocks and precipices, from whence they made piteous supplications and promises of submission. Many were slain, many made prisoners, and the confederacy was, for the time, completely broken up. 10. Guacanagari was little more than a spectator of the battle. His participation in the hostilities of the white men, however, was never forgiven by the other caciques ; and he returned to his dominions, hated and execrated by his countrymen. 11. Columbus followed up his victory by marching through various parts of the island, and reducing them to subjection. He then exercised what he considered the right of a conqueror, and imposed tributes on the van quished provinces. In those which possessed mines, each individual, above the age of fourteen years, was obliged to render, every three months, the measure of a OP COLUMBUS. 107 Flemish hawk s bell of gold dust.* The caciques had to pay a much larger amount for their personal tribute. 12. In other provinces, each individual was obliged to furnish twenty-five pounds of cotton every three months. A copper medal, suspended about the neck, was a proof that an Indian had paid his tribute ; any one found with out such certificate was liable to arrest and punishment, Various fortresses were erected in the most important places, so as to keep the Indians in complete subjection. In this way the yoke of servitude was completely fixed upon the island. 13. Deep despair now fell upon the natives. 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 sud denly fallen upon them ; no prospect of return to that roving independence and ample leisure, so dear to the wild inhabitant of the forest. 14. The pleasant life of the island was at an end ; the dream in the shade by day ; the slumber, during the sultry noon-tide 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. 15. 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 labour among them. 16. Sometimes they rehearsed pretended prophecies of days of old, foretelling that strangers should come into their island, with swords capable of cleaving a man asunder at a blow, under whose yoke their race should be suddued and pass away. These ballads, or areytos, they sung with mournful tunes and doleful voices, bewail ing the loss of their liberty and their painful servitude. 17. They had flattered themselves, for a time, that the visit of the strangers would be but temporary, and that, * Equal in value to fifteen dollars of the present time. 108 LIFE AND VOYAGES 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 intended to return to Turey, or the heavens. 18. All such hope was now at an end ; and, finding- how vain was every attempt to deliver themselves from th^ir invaders by warlike means, they now endeavoured to produce a famine. For this purpose, they destroyed their fields of maize, stripped the trees of their fruit, pull ed up the yuca and other nutritious roots, and then fled to the mountains. 19. The Spaniards were indeed reduced to much dis tress, but were partially relieved by supplies from Spain. They pursued the natives to their mountain retreats, and hunted them from one fastness to another, until thou sands perished in dens and caverns of famine and sick ness, and the survivors submitted 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 trans port him from place to place on their shoulders. 20. Before passing on to other events, it may be pro per 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 exempt him from the general woes of the island. At a time when Columbus was ab sent, the Spaniards exacted a tribute from him, which his people found it difficult and distressing to pay. 21. Unable to bear the murmurs 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 upon his race, he retired to the mountains, where it is said he died obscurely and in misery. 22. An attempt has been made oy 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 them that true friendship which shines brightest in the dark days of adversity. OF COLUMBUS. 109 23. He might have acted a nobler part, in making a stand, with his brother caciques, to drive those intruders from his native soil ; but he appears to have been blind ed by his admiration of them, and his personal attachment to Columbus. He was bountiful, hospitable, affectionate, and kind-hearted ; competent to rule a gentle and un- warlike people in the happier days of the island, but un fitted, through the mildness of his nature, for the stern turmoil which followed the arrival of the white men. CHAPTER XXVII. Arrival of the Commissioner Aguado. Discovery of the Gold Mines of Hayna. [1495.] 1. WHILE Columbus was endeavouring to remedy the evils produced by the misconduct of Margarite and his followers, that recreant commander, and Friar Boyle, were busily undermining his reputation in the court of Spain. They accused him of deceiving the sovereigns and the public by extravagant descriptions of the coun tries he had discovered ; of tyranny and oppression to wards the colonists, and indignities towards Spanish gentlemen of rank. 2. These representations, being supported by many- factious idlers who had returned from the colony, and enforced by people of rank connected with the cavaliers, had a baneful effect upon the popularity of Columbus, and his favour with the sovereigns. 3. The arrival of the ships commanded by Torres, cringing accounts of the voyage along the southern. coasts of Cuba, and specimens of the gold, and the vege table and animal productions of the country, weakened in some degree these unfavourable impressions. Still it was determined to send out a commissioner to inquire into the alleged distresses of the colony, and the conduct of Columbus. 4. One Juan Aguado was appointed for the purpose. He had already been to Hispaniola, and, on returning 10 110 LIFE AND VOYAGES had been strongly recommended to royal favour by Colum bus. In appointing a person, therefore*, for whom the admiral appeared fco have a regard, and who was under obligations to him, the sovereigns thought, perhaps, to soften the harshness of the measure. 5. As to the five hundred slaves sent home in the ships of Torres, Isabella ordered a consultation of the clergy to determine whether, having tx-en taken in warfare, their sale as slaves would be justifiable in the sight of God. Much difference of opin on 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. 6. Juan de Aguado set sail from Spain towards the end of August with four caravels freighted with supplies, and Don Diego Cclurnbus returned in this squadron to Hispaniola. Aguado was ono of those weak men whose heads are turned by the least elevation. At the time of his arrival, the admiral was absent in the interior of the island, and the Adelantado commanded in his place. 7. Aguado treated the latter with great insolence and contempt, refusing to show him the commission under which he acted, and conducting himself as if the govern ment had been transferred into his hands. Proclaiming his letter of credence by sound of trumpet, he arrested various public officers, and invited every one to come for ward boldly and state his wrongs and grievances. 8. He even intimated that the admiral was keeping at a distance through consciousness of guilt, and threaten ed to set off at the head of a body of horse to arrest him. The whole community was in confusion : the downfall of the famil y of Columbus was predicted : some thought the admiral would lose his head. 9. The news of the arrival, and of the insolent con duct of Aguado, reached Columbus in the interior of the island, and he immediately hastened to Isahella to give him a meeting. As every one knew the lofty spirit of the admiral, and his jealous maintenance of official dig nity, a violent explosion was anticipated at the interview. 10. The natural heat and impetuosity of Columbus, OF COLUMBUS. Ill however, had been subdued by a life of trials, and he had learnt to bring his passions into subjection to his judg ment ; 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. 11. He received Aguado, therefore, with the most grave and punctilious courtesy, ordered his letter of cre dence 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. 1*2. 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 lurk ing ill will, now hastened to give it utterance ; every one who ha.d by negligence or crime incurred the wholesome penalties of the laws, was loud in his clamours of oppres sion ; and all the ills of the colony, however produced, were ascribed to the mal-administration of the admiral. 13. Aguado listened to every accusation with ready credulity, and having collected information sufficient, as he thought, to ensure the ruin of the admiral and his bro thers, prepared to return to Spain. Columbus resolved to do the same ; for he felt that it was time to appear at court, and vindicate his conduct from the misrepresenta tions of his enemies. 14. When the ships were ready to depart, the island was swept by one of those awful whirlwinds which occa sionally rage within the tropics, and which were called hurricanes by the Indians, a name which they still retain. Three of the ships at anchor in the harbour were sunk, with all who were on board ; others were dashed against each other, and driven mere wrecks upon the shore. 15. The Indians were overwhelmed with dismay, for never in their memory, or in the traditions of their ances tors, had there been 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 is and. 16. The departure of Columbus, and of Aguado, was 112 LIFE AND VOYAGES delayed until one of the shattered vessels could be re paired, and another constructed out of the fragments of the wrecks. In the mean time, an important event oc curred. 17. A young Arragonian, named Miguel Diaz, in the service of the Adelantado, having wounded a companion in a quarrel, fled from the settlement, accompanied by five or six comrades. Wandering about the island, they carne to an Indian village, on the banks of the Ozema, where the city of San Domingo is at present situated. 18. The village was governed by a female cacique, who conceived a strong affection for the young Arrago nian, and they lived for some time very happily together. At length the remembrance of his country and his friends began to haunt the mind of the Spaniard ; he longed to return to the settlement, but dreaded the austere justice of the Adelantado. 19. His Indian bride observing him frequently lost in gloomy thought, drew from him the cause of his melan choly. Fearful that he would abandon her, and knowing the influence of gold over the white men, she informed him of certain rich mines in the neighbourhood, and urged him to persuade his countrymen to remove to the fertile banks of the Ozema, promising that they should be hospi tably received by her nation. 20. Diaz hastened with this intelligence to the settle ment, flattering himself that it would make his peace with his commanders. He waG not mistaken. iVo tidings could have come more opportunely, for if true, they would furnish the admiral with the best means of re-establishing himself in the favour of his sovereigns. 21. The Adelantado was immediately despatched with Diaz and his Indian guides, to ascertain the truth. He soon returned with rich specimens of gold, which he had found in great quantities on .the banks of a river called the Hayna ; and he told of excavations where it appear ed as if mines had been worked in ancient tim^s. 22. Columbus was overjoyed at the sight of the speci mens, and surprised to hear of the excavations, as the Indians possessed no knowledge of mining, and merely picked up the gold from the surface of the soil, or the OP COLUMBUS. 113 beds of the rivers. The circumstance gave rise to one of his usual veins of visionary speculation. 23. He had already surmised that Hispaniola might be the ancient Ophir ; he now fancied he had discovered the identical mines from whence King Solomon had pro cured his great supplies of gold for the building of the temple of Jerusalem. He gave orders that a fortress should be immediately erected in the vicinity of the mines, and that they should be diligently worked ; and he now looked forward with confidence to his return to Spain, the bearer of such golden tidings. 24. It may not be uninteresting to mention, that Mi guel Diaz remained faithful to his Indian bride, who was baptized by the name of Catalina. They were regularly married, and had two children. CHAPTER XXVIII. Return of Columbus to Spain. Preparations for a third Voyage. [1496.] 1. THE new caravel being finished, and the shattered one repaired, Columbus embarked in one, and Aguado in the other. Don Bartholomew remained in command of the island, with the title of Adelantado. The vessels were crowded with two hundred and twenty -five passen gers, the sick, the idle, the profligate and factious of the colony. Never did a more miserable and disappointed crew return from a land of promise. 2. There were thirty Indians also on board, and among them the once redoubtable Caonabo, together with one of his brothers, and a nephew. The admiral had pro mised to restore them to their country and their power, after having presented them to the sovereigns ; trusting by kind treatment, and a display of the wonders of Spain, to conquer their hostility, and convert them into impor tant instruments for the quiet subjugation of the island. 3. Being as yet but little experienced in the naviga tion of these seas, Columbus, instead of working up to 10* 114 LIFE AND VOYAGES the northward, so as to fall in with the track of westerly winds, took an easterly course on leaving the island. His voyage, in consequence, became a toilsome and te dious struggle against the trade winds and calms which prevail between the tropics. Though he sailed on the 10th of March, yet on the 6th of April he was stilHn the vicinity of the Caribbee islands, and had to touch at Gaudaloupe to procure provisions. 4. Here skirmishes occurred with the fierce natives, both male and female ; for the women were perfect amazons, of large and powerful frame and great agility. Several of the latter were taken prisoners. Among them was the wife of a cacique, a woman, of a proud and reso lute spirit. 5. On the approach of the Spaniards she fled with an agility that soon distanced all pursuers, excepting a na tive of the Canary islands, noted for swiftness of foot. She would have escaped even from him, but perceiving that he was alone, and far from his companions, she sud denly turned upon him, seized him by the throat, and would have strangled him, had not the Spaniards arrived and taken her, entangled like a hawk with her prey. 6. When Columbus departed from the island, he dis missed all the prisoners with presents. The female cacique alone refused to go on shore. She had conceived a passion for Caonabo, having found out that he was a Carib, and she had been won by the story, gathered from the other Indians, of his great valour and his misfortunes. In the course of the voyage, however, the unfortunate Caonabo expired. 7. The fate of this savage chieftain affords, in a nar row scale, a picture of the fallacy of human greatness. When the Spaniards first arrived on the coast of Hayti, their imaginations were inflamed by rumours, representing him as a magnificent prince among the mountains, the lord of the golden house, the sovereign of the mines of Cibao ; but a short time had elapsed, and he was a naked and moody prisoner on the deck of one of their caravels, with none but one of his own wild native heroines to sympathize in his misfortunes. 8. All his importance vanished with his freedom; OF COLUMBUS. 115 scarce any mention is made of him during 1 his captivity ; and with innate qualities of a high and heroic nature, he perished with the obscurity of one of the vulgar. He maintained, however, his haughty nature to the last, for his o^ath is principally ascribed to the morbid melancholy of a proud and broken spirit. 9. Columbus left Guadaloupe on the 20th of April, still working his way against the whole current of the trade winds. By the 20th of May, every one was put on an allowance of six ounces of bread, and a pint and a half of water. By the beginning of June there was an ab solute famine on board, and some proposed that they should kill and eat their Indian prisoners, or throw them into the sea as so many useless mouths. Nothing but the absolute authority of Columbus prevented this last counsel from being adopted. 10. On the llth of June the vessels anchored in the bay of Cadiz. The populace crowded to witness the landing of the gay and bold adventurers, who had sailed from this very port animated by the -most sanguine expectations. 11. Instead, however, of a joyous crew, bounding on shore, flushed with success, and rich with the spoils of the golden Indies, a feeble train of wretched men crawled forth ; who carried in their yellow countenances, says an old writer, a mockery of that gold which had been the object of. their search ; and who had nothing to relate of the new world but tales of sickness, poverty, and dis appointment. 12. The appearance of Columbus himself was a kind of comment on his fortunes. Either considering himself in disgrace with the sovereigns, or having made some penitential vow, he was clad in the habit of a Francis can monk, girded with a cord, and he had suffered his beard to grow like the friars of that order. 13. But however humble he might be in his own per sonal appearance, he endeavoured to keep alive the pub lic interest in his discoveries. On his way to Burgos to to meet the sovereigns, he made a studious display of the coronets, collars, bracelets, and other ornaments of gold, which he had brought from the new world. He carried 116 LIFE AND VOYAGES with him, also, several Indians, decorated with glittering- ornaments, and among them the brother of Caonabo, on whom he put a massive collar and chain of gold, as cacique of the golden country of Cibao. 14. The reception of Columbus by the sovereigns was different from what he had anticipated, for he was treated with distinguished favour ; nor was any mention made either of the complaints of Margarite and Boyle, or the judicial inquiries conducted by Aguado. The sovereigns were too conscious of his great deserts, and of the ex traordinary difficulties of his situation, not to tolerate what they may have considered errors on his part. 15. Encouraged bv the interest with which they listen ed to his account of his recent voyages, Columbus now proposed a further enterprise, by which he promised to make yet more extensive discoveries. All he asked was eight ships, two to be despatched to Hispaniola with supplies, the remaining six to be put under his command for the voyage. 16. The sovereigns readily promised to comply with his request ; but the resources of Spain at this moment were tasked to the utmost by widely extended operations, both of war and amity, which drained the treasury and engrossed the thoughts of the sovereigns. 17. It was not until the spring of 1497 that Isabella could find leisure to enter fully into the concerns of the new world. She then took them up with a spirit that showed she was determined to place them upon a sub stantial foundation. 18. As the expenses of the expeditions had hitherto exceeded the returns, Columbus was relieved of his eighth part of the cost of the past enterprises, and allowed an eighth of the gross proceeds for the next three years, and a tenth of the net profits. 19. He was* allowed also to establish a mayorazgo in his family, that is to say, a hereditary estate, devolving to the eldest son. In availing himself of this privilege, he enjoined it upon his hereditary successors never to use any other title in signature than simply "The Admiral." 20. The titles and prerogatives of Adelantado were OF COLUMBUS. 117 likewise conferred upon Don Bartholemew, though the king had at first been displeased with Columbus for in vesting his brother with dignities which were only in the gift of the sovereign. 21. The precise number of persons was fixed who were to be sent to Hispaniola, among whom were seve ral females ; regulations were made for their payment and support, and for the distribution of lands among- them. The greatest care was enjoined, likewise, by Isa bella, in the religious instruction of the natives, and the utmost lenity in collecting the tributes impodod upon them. With respect to the government of tLe colony, also, it was generally recommended that there should be a disposition to indulgent and easy rule. 22. When every intention was thus shown on the part of the crown to despatch the expedition, unexpected difficulties arose on the part of the public. The charm was dispelled, which had once made every adventurer crowd into the service of Columbus"; the new world, in stead of a region of wealth and enjoyment, was now con sidered a land of poverty and disaster. 23. To supply the want of voluntary recruits, there fore, Columbus proposed to transport to Hispaniola, for a limited term of years, all criminals condemned to banish ment or the galleys, excepting such as had committed crimes of an atrocious nature ; a pernicious measure, which proved a fruitful source of misery and disaster to the colony. 24. Notwithstanding all these expedients, it was not until the beginning of 1498 that the two ships were de spatched to Hispaniola, under the command of Pedro Fernandez Coronal. A still further delay occurred in fitting out the six ships that were to bear Columbus on his voyage of discovery. 25. His cold-blooded enemy Fonseca, who was now bishop of Badajoz, having the superintendence of Indian affairs, was enabled to impede and retard all his plans. The various officers and agents employed in the concerns of the armament, were most of them dependents and minions of the bishop, and sought to gratify him, by throwing all kinds of difficulties in the way of Columbus, 118 LIFE AND VOYAGES 26. The insolence of these worthless men harassed him to the last moment of his sojourn in Spain, and fol lowed him to the water s edge. The most noisy and presuming was one Ximeno de Breviesca, treasurer of Fonseca, a converted Jew or Moor, and a man of impu dent front and unbridled tongue. 27. As Columbus was on the point of embarking, he was assailed by the insolence of this Ximeno. Forgetting, in the hurry and indignation of the moment, his usual self-command, he struck the despicable minion to the earth, and spurned him with his foot, venting in this un guarded paroxysm the accumulated griefs and vexations which had long rankled in his heart. 28. This transport of passion, so unusual in his well- go vurned temper, was artfully adduced by Fonseca, and others of his enemies, as a flagrant instance of vindictive temper, and a corroboration of the charges of cruelty and oppression sent home from the colony. 29. Columbus himself foresaw the invidious use that would be made of it. It would be difficult to make, with equal brevity, a more direct and affecting appeal than that contained in one of his letters, wherein he alludes to this affair. He entreats the sovereigns not to let it be wrested to his injury in their opinion ; but to remember, when any thing should be said to his disparagement, that he was " absent, envied, and a stranger." CHAPTER XXIX. Discovery of Trinidad and the Coast of Pdria. Arrival at San Domingo. [1498.] 1. ON the 30th of May, Columbus set sail from the port of San Lucar de Barrameda, with a squadron of six vessels, on his third voyage of discovery. From various considerations, he was induced to take a different route from that pursued in his former expeditions. He had been assured by persons who had traded to the east, that the rarest objects of commerce, such as gold, pre- OF COLUMBUS. 119 cious stones, drugs, and spices, were chiefly to be found in the regions about, the equator, where the inhabitants were black, or darkly coloured ; and that, until he arrived among people of such complexions, it was not probable he would find those articles in great abundance. 2. Columbus recollected that the natives of Hispaniola had spoken of black men who had once come to their island from the south, the heads of whose javelins were of guanin, or adulterated gold. The natives of the Ca- ribbee islands, also, had informed him that a great tract of the main land lay to the south ; and in his preceding voyage he had remarked that Cuba, which he supposed to be the continent of Asia, swept off in that direction. 3. He proposed, therefore, to take his departure from the Cape de Verde islands, sailing to the south-west until he should come under the equinoctial line, then to steer directly westward, with the favour of the trade winds. 4. Having touched at the islands of Porto Santo and Madeira, to take in wood and water, he continued his course to the Canary islands, from whence he despatched three of his ships direct for Hispaniola, with supplies for the colony. With the remaining three he prosecuted his voyage towards the Cape de Verde islands. The ship in which he sailed was decked, the other two were merchant caravels. 5. On the 5th of July, he took his departure from the Cape de Verde islands, and steered to the south-west until he arrived, according to his observations, in the fifth degree of north latitude. Here the wind suddenly fell, and a dead sultry calm succeeded. The air was like a furnace, the tar melted from the sides of the ships, the seams yawned, the salt meat became putrid, some of the wine and water casks burst, and the mariners lost aD strength and spirits. 6. For a part of the time, the heavens became over cast, and there were drizzling showers, but the atmos phere was close and stifling. A continuation of this Weather, together with the remonstrances of his crew, and his extreme suffering from the gout, ultimately in duced Columbus to alter his route, and stand to the north-west, in hopes of falling in with the Caribbee 120 LIFE AND VOYAGE islands, where he might repair his ships, and obtain wa ter and provisions. 7. After sailing- some distance in this direction, the ships all at once emerged into a genial atmosphere ; a pleasant cooling breeze played over the sea, and gently filled their sails ; the sky became serene and clear, and the sun shone forth with all its splendour, but no longer with a burning heat. 8. On the 31st of July, when there was not above a cask of water remaining in each ship, a mariner, named Alonzo Perez, descried, from the mast-head, three moun tains rising above the horizon : as the ships drew nearer, these mountains proved to be united at the base. Co lumbus, therefore, from a religious association of ideas, gave this island the name of La Trinidad, (or the Trini ty,) which it continues to bear at the present day. 9. Shaping his course for this island, he coasted along the southern shore, and beheld land to the south, stretch ing to the distance of more than twenty leagues. It was that low tract of coast intersected by the numerous branches of the Orinoco ; but the admiral, supposing it to be an island, gave it the name of La Isla Santa ; little imagining that he now, for the first time, beheld the main land which had been the object of his earnest search. 10. For several days he coasted the island of Trinidad, and explored the great gulf of Paria, which lies behind it, fancying himself among islands, and that he must find a passage to the open ocean, by keeping to the bottom of the gulf. During this time, he was nearly swept from his anchors and thrown on shore by a sudden rush and swell of the sea, near Point Arenal, caused, as is sup posed, by the swelling of one of the rivers which flow into the gulf. He landed on the inside of the long pro montory of Paria, which he mistook for an island, and had various interviews with the natives, from whom he procured great quantities of pearls, many of a fine size and quality. 11. There were several phenomena that surprised and perplexed Columbus in the course of his voyage along this coast, and which gave rise to speculations, some in genious and others fanciful. He was astonished at the OF COLUMBUS. 121 vast body of fresh water continually flowing- into the gulf of Paria, so as apparently to sweeten the whole surround ing 1 sea, and at the constant current which set through it, which he supposed to be produced by some great river. -12. He remarked, with wondering, also the difference between the climate, vegetation, and people of these coasts, and those of the same parallel in Africa. There the heat was insupportable, and the land parched and sterile ; the inhabitants were black, with crisped wool, ill shapen, and of dull and brutal natures. 13. Here, on the contrary, although the sun was in Leo, he found the noon-tide heat moderate, the mornings and evenings fresh and cool, the country green and fruit- ful, covered with beautiful forests, and watered by innu merable streams and fountains ; the people fairer than even those in the lands he had discovered further north, with long hair, well proportioned and graceful forms, lively minds, and courageous spirits. 14. In respect to the vast body of fresh water, he made one of his simple and great conclusions. Such a mighty stream could not be produced by an island ; it must be the outpouring of a continent. He now suppo sed that the various tacts of land which he had beheld about the gulf were connected together, and continued to an immense distance to the south, far beyond the? equator, into that hemisphere hitherto unknown to civ ilized man. 15. As to the mild temperature of the climate, tho fresh verdure of the country, and the comparative fair ness of the inhabitants, in a parallel so near to the equa tor, he attributed it to the superior elevation of this part of the globe ; for, from a variety of circumstances, inge niously but erroneously reasoned upon, he inferred, tiiat philosophers had been mistaken in the form of the earth, which, instead of being a perfect sphere, he now con cluded to be shaped like a pear, one part more elevated than the rest, rising into the purer regions of the air, above the heats, and frosts, and storms of the lower parts of the earth. 16. He imagined this apex to be situated about the equinoctial line, in the interior of this vast continent, 11 122 LIFE AND VOYAGES which he considered the extremity of the east ; that on this summit, as it were, of the earth, was situated the terrestrial paradise ; and that the vast stream of fresh water, which poured into the gulf of Paria, issued from the fountain of the tree of life, in the midst of the garden of Eden. 17. Extravagant as this speculation may seem at the present day, it was grounded on the writings of the most sage and learned men of those times, among whom the situation of the terrestrial paradise had long been a sub ject of discussion and controversy, and by several of whom it was supposed to be on a vast mountain, in the remote parts of the east. 18. Columbus would gladly have followed up his dis covery, not doubting but that the country would increase in the valae of its productions as he approached the equa tor. The sea-stores of his ships, however, were almost exhausted, and the various supplies with which they were freighted for the colony were in danger of spoiling. 19. He was suffering also extremely in his health. Besides the gout, which had rendered him a cripple for the greater part of the voyage, he was afflicted by a com plaint in his eyes, caused by fatigue and overwatching, which almost deprived him of sight. He determined, therefore, "to hasten to Hispamola, intending to repose there from his fatigues, and recruit his health, while he should send his brother, the Adelantado, to complete this important discovery. 20. On the 14th of August, therefore, he left the gulf, by a narrow strait between the promontory of Paria and the island of Trinidad. This strait is beset with small islands, where the current is so compressed as to cause a turbulent sea, with great foaming and roaring, as if rushing over rocks and shoals. The admiral conceiv ed himself in imminent danger of shipwreck, when pass ing through this strait, and gave it the name of La Boca del Drago, or the Mouth of the Dragon. 21. After reconnoitering the coast to the westward, and convincing himself of its being a continent, he bore away for Hispaniola, for the river Ozema, where he had instructed his brother to form a settlement in the neigh- OF COLUMBUS. 123 bourhood of the mines. He arrived, haggard, emaciated, and almost blind, and was received with open arms by the Adelantado. CHAPTER XXX. Administration of the Adelantado. 1. COLUMBUS had anticipated a temporary repose from his toils on arriving at Hispaniola ; but a new scene of trouble and anxiety opened upon him, which was destined to affect all his future fortunes. To explain this, it is necessary to state the occurrences of the island during his long detention in Spain. 2. When he sailed for Europe in March, 1496, his bro ther, Don Bartholomew, immediately proceeded to ex ecute his instructions with respect to the gold mines of Hayna. He built a fortress in the neighbourhood, which he named St. Cristoval, and another not far off , on the eastern bank of the Ozema. This last fortress was called San Domingo, and was the origin of the city which still bears that name. 3. Having garrisoned these fortresses and made ar rangements for working the mines, the indefatigable Adelantado set out to visit the dominions of Behechio, which had not as yet been reduced to obedience. This cacique, as has been mentioned, reigned over Xaragua, a province comprising almost the whole of the west end of the island, including Cape Tiburon. It was one of the most populous and fertile districts. 4. The inhabitants were finely formed, and had a noble air, a more agreeable elocution, and more soft and grace ful manners, than the natives of the other part of the island. The Indians of Hayti generally pkced their elysium, or paradise of happy spirits, in the delightful valleys that bordered the great lake of Xaragua. 5. With Behechio resided his sister, the widow of the late formidable Caonabo, one of the most beautiful females in the island, of great natural grace and dignity, and su- 124 LIFE AND VOYAGES perior intelligence. Her name was Anacaona, which in the Indian language signified Golden Flower. She had taken refuge with her brother, after the capture and ruin of her husband, but appears never to have entertained any vindictive feelings against the Spaniards. On the contrary, she counselled her brother, over whom she had great influence, to take warning by the fate of her hus band, and to conciliate their friendship. 6. 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. 7. Thirty young females, of the cacique s household, beautifully formed, came forth to meet them, waving palm branches, and dancing and singing their areytos or tra ditionary ballads. When they came before Don Bar tholomew, they knelt and laid their palm branches at his feet. 8. After these came the beautiful Anacaona, reclining on a litter, borne by six Indians. She was lightly clad in a robe of various coloured cotton, with a garland of red and white flowers round her head, and wreaths of the same round her neck and arms. She received the Ade lantado with that natural grace and courtesy for which she was celebrated. 9. For several days Don Bartholomew was entertained by the cacique and his sister with banquets, national games and dances, and other festivities ; then, having arranged for a periodical tribute to be paid in cotton, hemp, and cassava bread, he took a friendly leave, and set out with his little army for Isabella. 10. He found the settlement in a sickly state, and suf fering from a scarcity of provisions ; he distributed, therefore, all that were too feeble to labour or bear arms into the interior, where they might have better air and more abundant food ; and at the same time he established a chain of fortresses between Isabella and San Domingo. OF COLUMBUS. 125 11. Insurrections broke out among the natives of the vega, caused by their impatience of tribute, by the out rages of some of the Spaniards, and by a severe punish ment inflicted on certain Indians for the alleged viola tion 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. 12. By some means the garrison received intimation of the conspiracy. They immediately wrote a letter to the Adelantado imploring prompt assistance. How to convey the letter in safety was an anxious question, for the natives had discovered that these letters had a won derful power of communicating intelligence, and fancied that they could talk. 13. An Indian undertook to be the bearer of it. He enclosed it in a staff, and set out on his journey. Being intercepted, he pretended to be dumb and lame, leaning on his staff for support. He was suffered to depart, and limp ed forward until out of sight, when he resumed his speed, and bore the letter safely to San Domingo. 14. 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 punished two caciques, the principal conspirators, with death, and pardoned all the rest. Finding, moreover, that Guario nex had been chiefly incited to hostility by an outrage committed by a Spaniard on his favourite wife, he inflict ed punishment on the offender. 15. The heart of Guarionex was subdued by the unex pected 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. 11* 126 LIFE AND VOYAGES 16. About this time, receiving information from Be- hechio, cacique of Xaragua, that his tribute in cotton and provisions was ready for delivery, the Adelantado march ed there, at the head of his forces, to receive it. So large a quantity of cotton and cassava bread was collect ed together, that Don Bartholomew had to send to the settlement of Isabella for a caravel to be freighted with it. 17. In the mean time, the .utmost kindness was lavish ed upon their guests by these gentle and generous peo ple. The troubles which distracted the other parts of devoted Hayti had not yet reached this pleasant region ; and when the Spaniards regarded the fertility and sweet ness of the country, bordering on a tranquil sea, the kindness of the inhabitants, and the beauty of the women, they pronounced it a perfect paradise. 18. When the caravel arrived, it was regarded by An- acaona and her brother with awe arid 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 caravel fired a salute. At the sound of the cannon, and the sight of volumes of smoke, bursting from the sides of the ship and rolling along the sea, Anacaona, overcome with dis may, fell into the arms of the Adelantado, and her at tendants would have leaped overboard, but were reassured by the cheerful words of Don Bartholomew. 19. As they drew nearer the vessel, several instruments of martial music struck up, with which they were greatly delighted. 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. 20. While the Adelantado was thus absent quelling insurrections, and making skilful arrangements for the prosperity of the colony, new mischiefs were fermenting :n the factious settlement of Isabella. The prime mover OF COLUMBUS. 127 was Francisco Roldan, a man who had been raised by Columbus from poverty and obscurity, and appointed alcalde mayor, or chief judge of the island. 21. He was an uneducated man, but of strong natural talents, great assiduity, and intrepid impudence. He had seen his benefactor return to Spain, apparently un der a cloud of disgrace, and, considering him a fallen man, began to devise how he might profit by his down fall. He 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 by dexterous management to work his way into a command of the colony. 22. For this purpose he mingled among the common people, threw out suggestions that the admiral w r as in disgrace, and would never return ; railed at the Ade lantado and Don Diego as foreigners, who took no in terest 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. 23. By these seditious insinuations, he exasperated 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. 24. When the caravel returned from Xaragua, laden with provisions, it was dismantled by order of Don Diego, and drawn up on 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 one from returning in it to Spain, to repre sent the oppressions under which they suffered. He ad vised them to launch and take possession of the vessel, as the only means of regaining their independence. 25. Don Diego, who was of a pacific nature, and defi cient in energy, endeavoured to divert Roldan from his schemes by sending him with a small force to overawe the Indians of the vega ; but it was only putting weapons in the hands of rebellion. 128 LIFE AND VOYAGES 26. Roldan found himself at the head of seventy well armed and resolute men, disposed to go all lengths wit i him. He made friends and partisans also among the discontented caciques, and then, throwing off the mask, openly set the Adelantado and Don Diego at defiance. 27. They had no authority, he said, from the crown, but had been appointed by their brother, the admiral, who was himself in disgrace. For his own part, he always pretended to act in his official capacity, and from loyal motives. Having endeavoured repeatedly to launch the caravel, but in vain, he broke open the royal stores and supplied his followers with arms, .clothing, and provi sions ; every outrageous act of the kind being accompa nied with shouts of " Long live the King." 28. He now marched off to the vega, and attempted to surprise and get possession of Fort Conception. He was happily foiled by its commander, Miguel Ballester, a stanch old soldier, both resolute and wary, who kept Roldan at bay, and sent tidings of his danger to Don Bartholomew. 29. The Adelantado threw himself with what forces he could collect, into the fortress, where he was held in a state of siege by Roldan, who had gained popularity among the Indians and the dissolute Spaniards, by re presenting himself as the redresser of wrongs, and cham pion of the injured. 30. The affairs of the island were now in a lamenta ble situation. The Indians ceased to send in their tri butes, and threw off allegiance to the government. Rol- dan s band daily gained strength, and ranged insolently about the country ; while the Spaniards, who remained loyal, fearing conspiracies among the natives, kept under shelter of the forts. Munitions of all kinds were rapidly wasting, and the spirits of the well-affected were sinking into despondency. The Adelantado himself remained shut up in Fort Conception, doubtful of the fidelity of his own garrison, and secretly informed of plots to capture or destroy him, should he venture abroad. 31. At this critical juncture, the arrival of two ships, under command of Pedro Hernandez Coronal, at the port of San Domingo, with troops and provisions, strengthen. OF COLUMBUS. 129 ed the hands of Don Bartholomew. The royal confir mation 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 favour at court, and on the point of coming out with a powerful squadron, struck consternation into the rebels. 32. The Adelantado immediately hastened to San Do mingo, 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 obedience. 33. When Coronal approached the encampment of the rebels, he was opposed in a narrow pass by a body of archers with their crossbows levelled. " Halt there, trai tor!" cried Roldan, "had you arrived eight days later, we should all have been united." It was in vain that Coronal endeavoured 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 con federates wrote letters to that effect to their friends in San Domingo. 34. When Coronal returned with accounts of Rol dan s contumacy, the Adelantado proclaimed him and his fol lowers traitors. That shrewd rebel, however, did not suffer his men to remain within the reach either of pro mise or menace. He proposed to them to march off, and establish themselves in the remote province of Xaragua. 35. In this delightful region, emancipated from the iron rule of the Adelantado, and relieved from the ne cessity of irksome labour, they might lead, he said, a life of perfect 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 irresistible 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, where he was kindly received by the natives. 130 LIFE AND VOYAGES 36. Scarcely had the rebels departed, when fresh in* eurrections broke out among- the Indians of the vega. The cacique Guarionex, moved by the instigations of Roldan, entered into a new league to destroy the Span iards. The plot exploded before its time, and was de feated ; and Guarionex fled to the mountains of Ciguay, with his family, and a small band of faithful followers. 37. 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 Sama- na, 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 cara vel of the admiral, the day after the skirmish. It was to this same cacique, named Mayonabex, that the fugitive chieftain of the vega applied for refuge, and he received a promise of protection. 38. Indignant at finding his former clemency of no avail, the Adelantado pursued Guarionex to the moun tains at the head of ninety men, a few cavalry, and a body of Indians. They had to climb rocks, wade rivers, and make their way through tangled forests, almost imper vious to men, encumbered with targets, crossbows, and lances. Ambushes of Indians, also, would rush forth with furious yells, discharge their weapons, and take re fuge again among rocks and thickets, where it was in vain to follow them. 39. Don Bartholomew arrived, at length, in the neigh bourhood of the residence of Mayonabex, and sent a mes senger, demanding the surrender of Guarionex, promising friendship in case of compliance, but threatening fire and sword, in case of refusal. 40. " Tell the Spaniards," said the cacique, in reply, "that they are tyrants, usurpers, and shedders of inno cent blood, and I desire not their friendship. Guarionex 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." 41. The cacique adhered to his promise with admira ble faith. His villages were burnt, his territories were ravaged, himself and his family driven to dens and caves OP COLUMBUS. 131 of the mountains, and his subjects assailed him with clamours, 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. 42. For three months the Adelantado hunted these caciques among the mountains, during which time he and his soldiers were almost worn out with toil and hun ger, and exposures of all kinds. The retreat of Mayoim- bex was at length discovered. Twelve Spaniards, dis guising themselves as Indians, and wrapping their swords in palm leaves, came upon him secretly, and sur prised and captured him, with his wife and children, and a few attendants. 43. The Adelantado returned, with his prisoners, to Fort Conception, where he afterwards released them all, excepting the cacique, whom he detained as a hostage for the submission of his tribe. 44. The unfortunate Guarionex still lurked among the caverns of the mountains, but was driven, by hunger, to venture down occasionally into the plain, in quest of food. His haunts were discovered, he was waylaid and cap tured by a party of Spaniards, and brought in chains to Fort Conception, where he anticipated death from the vengeance of the Adelantado. 45. Don Bartholomew, however, though stern in his policy, was neither vindictive nor cruel ; he contented himself with detaining him a prisoner, to ensure the tran quillity of the vega ; and then returned to San Domingo, where, shortly afterwards, he had the happiness of wel coming the arrival of his brother, the admiral, after a separation of nearly two years and a half. CHAPTER XXXI. Rebellion of Roldan. [1498.] 1. ONE of the first measures of Columbus, on his arri val, was to issue a proclamation, approving all the mea- 132 LIFE AND VOYAGES sures of the Adelantado, and denouncing- Roldan and his associates. A circumstance had occurred to add to the party and resources of that turbulent man. 2. The three caravels freighted with supplies, which had been detached by Columbus when at the Canary Islands, having 1 been carried far west of their reckoning by the currents, arrived on the coast of Xaragua. Rol- dan went on board, and, pretending to be in command at that end of the island, succeeded in procuring a supply of arms and military stores : numbers of the crews, also, on being landed, deserted to the rebels, who received them with shouts of exultation. 3. Discovering, though too late, the real character of these men, and fearing further desertions, the comman ders of the ships immediately put to sea. One alone, named Carvajal, remained behind, and passed some days with the rebels, endeavouring to recal them to their alle giance. He represented to them that Columbus was on his way from Spain with additional forces, and would have the means of punishing them for their past conduct. 4. His representations had their effect. Roldan pro mised to repair to the neighbourhood of San Domingo, the moment he heard of the arrival of Columbus, that he might be at hand to state his grievances, and effect an amicable arrangement. He kept this promise, and Co lumbus had scarcely arrived, before the rebels began to assemble in the village of Bonao, about twenty leagues from San Domingo, -making their head quarters at the house of one of the ringleaders, named Pedro Reguelme. 5. The admiral immediately sent an offer, of full par don to Roldan, on condition of his return to duty ; and proclaimed a free passage to all who wished to return to Spain, in five ships ready to put to sea. His offer of pardon was treated with contempt, and demands were made of the most arrogant nature. 6. The admiral was disposed to march at once against the rebels, and bring them to obedience by force of arms. On mustering the men of San Domingo, however, not above seventy appeared ; and of these above thirty ex cused themselves from serving, under various pretexts. OF COLUMBUS. 133 The true reason was, that most of them had relatives or friends among the rebels. 7. Columbus now hastened to despatch the five ships to Spain, in which he gave free passage to all who were discontented and wished to return home. By these ships he informed the sovereigns of the rebellion ; and, as Roldan pretended that it was only a quarrel between him and the Adelantado, Columbus begged that the matter might be investigated by impartial persons. He also en treated, that a man learned in the law might be appoint ed as judge over the island. Roldan and his friends also wrote by these ships, endeavouring to justify their con duct by charging Columbus and his brothers with injus tice, oppression, and various abuses. 8. The ships being despatched, Columbus resumed his negotiations with the rebels. The burden of their complaint having been the rigorous rtile of his brother, he tried the alternative of lenient conduct. He wrote in conciliating terms to Roldan, reminding him of past kind nesses, and entreating him, for the sake of his own repu tation, which stood well with the sovereigns, to return to his duty. He, moreover, invited him and his companions to come and treat with him at San Domingo, pledging his word for their security. 9. Meetings took place, but without beneficial result. Agreements were made and faithlessly broken by the rebels, who felt their power, and increased in the inso lence of their demands. 10. In the midst of his perplexities, Columbus receiv ed from Spain a reply to the letter he had written on the subject of the rebellion. It was penned by his invidious enemy the Bishop Fonseca, and was of the most ungra cious tenor, informing him that the matter must remain in suspense until it could be investigated by the sovereigns. 11. This cold reply had a disheartening effect upon Columbus, while it increased the confidence of the rebels, who saw that his complaints had little weight with the government. In their subsequent negotiations, Roldan conducted more like a conqueror exacting terms, than a delinquent seeking pardon. 12. The mind grows wearied with recording, and the 12 134 LIFE AND VOYAGES generous heart must burn with indignation in perusing", the story of this ineffectual struggle of a man like Co lumbus in the toils of contemptible miscreants. 13. Surrounded by doubt and danger, a foreigner among a jealous people, an unpopular commander in a mutinous island, distrusted and slighted by the government he was seeking to serve, he knew not where to look for faithful advice, efficient aid, or candid judgment. He was fear ful, too, of seditions among his own people, who talked of following the example of the rebels, and seizing upon the province of Higuey. 14. Thus critically situated, he was gradually con strained to sign a humiliating capitulation with the rebels ; giving them portions of land in different parts of the island, and Indian slaves taken in the wars. 15. 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 them in cultivating their lands. These levies of free Indians, as labourers, were called repariimientos, and were afterwards generally adopted and shamefully abused throughout the Spanish colonies, to the great oppression and misery of the natives. 16. Several of the partisans of Roldan returned to Spain in two caravels that were subsequently fitted out. Some of them took home a number of the Indian slaves that had been granted them by capitulation; oilers se cretly carried away the daughters of caciques, whom they had beguiled from their homes and families. These misdeeds of profligate men, it will be found, wern after wards wrested to matters of accusation against Columbus. 17. If Roldan was careful to obtain extravagant terms for his followers, he was not more modest in his demands for himself. His first stipulation was, that he should be reinstated in the office of alcalde mayor, or chief judge. His next, that certain lands in the vicinity of Isabella should be restored to him. Then, that he should have grants of a royal farm situated in the vega, and extensive tracts of land in Xaragua, with cattle and live stock be longing to the crown, and repartimientos of Indians. 18. One of the first measures of Roldan as alcalde OF COLUMBUS. 135 mayor, was to appoint his active confederate Pedro Re- g-uelme alcalde of Bonao. Columbus was highly dis pleased at this assumption of a power not vested in his office. His suspicions were aroused, too, on hearing that Reguelme, under pretext of erecting a farm house, was building a strong edifice on a hill, capable of being converted into a fortress ; and he sent peremptory orders for him to desist from the construction of it. CHAPTER XXXII. Visit of Ojeda to the West End of the Island. Conspi racy of Moxica. [1499.} 1. 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 dye woods, and carrying off the natives for slaves. They were commanded by Alonzo de Ojeda, the same cavalier who had distinguished himself by the capture of Caonabo. 2. 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. 3. Roldan gladly undertook the enterprise. He set sail with two caravels, anchored in the neighbourhood of Ojeda, and, landing secretly with four and twenty reso lute followers, surprised that cavalier at an Indian village several leagues from his ships. He demanded a sight of his commission, and his reason for visiting that remote part of the island, and cutting dye wood, without first reporting himself to the admiral. 4. Ojeda replied, that his commission was on board of 136 LIFE AND VOYAGES his ship ; that he had been on a voyage of discovery, and had put in there in distress to repair his ships and obtain provisions ; but that as soon as these matters were ac complished, he should pay his homage to the admiral. With this reply Roldan was satisfied, and, after visiting the ships, returned to San Domingo. 5. The truth was, that Alonzo de Ojeda had been at court when the despatches arrived from Columbus giving account of his discoveries on the coast of Paria. Being a favourite of Bishop Fonseca, who was always more prone to patronize loose adventurers than high minded discoverers, and who was disposed to do any thing that might impair the glory of Columbus, he easily obtain ed copies of the charts and maps sent home by the admiral. 6. Being thus acquainted with the route he had pur sued in his last voyage, he thought to follow it out, to explore the pearl coast, and finish what Columbus had begun. The bishop readily granted him the requisite license. This document was never signed by the sove reigns, and was in violation of their express agreement with the admiral. 7. In this expedition sailed Americus Vesputius,* a Florentine merchant, who afterwards published an ac count of his voyages. By the pretension of this man, or the errors or frauds of others, his name has been given to the whole of the new world : an honour which was due alone to Columbus. 8. Ojeda had ranged along the southern continent from two hundred leagues east of the Oronoco to the Gulf of Paria. He had visited the coasts and islands in the vicinity, and trafficked with the natives for pearls and gold. He had touched at the Caribbee islands, fought with the natives, and brought away many cap tives to be sold as slaves in Spain, He had then sailed for Hispaniola to obtain provisions, and had there met with Roldan. as has been mentioned. 9. When the ships of Ojeda were again ready for sea, instead of sailing for San Domingo, as he had promised, * This name in Italian is written Amerigo Vespucci. The latter word is pronounced Vespuchy. OF COLUMBUS. 137 he steered for the coast of Xaragua. His arrival pro duced brawls arid tumults among many of the late rebels, who were quartered in that province. Some of them were for placing Ojeda at their head, and marching against Columl.us, to compel the redress of pretended grievances. Others demurred, and quarrels took place in which several were killed. 10. In the midst of this confusion, Roldan arrived in the neighbourhood with a band of resolute followers. Some of the residents joined him. A long course of maneuvering took place between these well matched adversaries, each wary of the other. Ojeda was at length obliged to abandon the coast, and made sail for some other island, to complete a cargo of Indian slaves. 11. The followers of Roldan took great merit to them selves for their unwonted loyalty in driving Ojeda from the island ; and, like all reformed knaves, expected that their good conduct would be amply rewarded. Looking upon their leader as having every thing in his gift, they requested him to share among them the fine province of Cahay, adjoining to Xaragua. 12. Roldan, who was now anxious to establish a cha racter of adherence to the law, declined acceding to their wishes, until sanctioned by the admiral ; but, to soothe their rapacity, he shared among them the lands which had been granted to him in Xaragua. While he was re maining in this neighbourhood, other troubles broke out, and from somewhat of a romantic cause. 13. A young cavalier of noble family, but headstrong passions, named Hernando de Guevara, cousin to Adrian de Mosica, one of the ringleaders of the late rebellion, was banished from San Domingo for licentious conduct, and s;nt to Xaragua, to embark in the ships of Ojeda, but arrived after their departure. 14. He was favourably received at the house of the female cacique Anacaona ; and became enamoured of her daughter Higuenamota, who was just grown up, and greatly admired for her beauty. Guevara possessed an agreeable person, and winning manners, and his endear ments soon won the heart of the simple Indian girl. 15. Ariacaoria favoured his attachment ; especially as 12* 138 LIFE AND VOYAGES he sought her daughter in marriage. Roldan was him 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 ofCahay. 16. The latter soon returned, concealed himself in the dwelling of Anacaona, and fomented a conspiracy 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 with seven of his accomplices were arrested, and sent to the fortress of San Domingo. 17. When Adrian de Moxica heard that his cousin Guevara was arrested, and that too by his former con federate Roldan, he was highly exasperated. He hasten ed to the old haunt of rebellion at Bonao, where he was seconded by Pedro Reguelme, the newly appointed al calde. They went round among their late fellow rebels, and soon mustered a daring body of 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. 18. Columbus was at Fort Conception, with an incon siderable force, when he heard of this dangerous plot. He saw that his safety depended upon prompt and vigor ous measures. Taking with him but six or seven trusty servants, and three esquires, all well armed, he came sud denly upon the conspirators in the night, seized Moxica and several of his principal confederates, and bore them off to Fort Conception. 19. Resolving to set an example that should strike terror into the factious, he ordered that Moxica should be hanged on the top of the fortress. The latter entreat ed to be allowed a confessor. A priest was sent for. 20. The miserable culprit, who had been so daring in rebellion, 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. In stead of confessing his own sins, he began to accuse others, until Columbus, losing all patience, i^ his min- OF COLUMBUS. 139 gled indignation and scorn, ordered the dastard wretch to be flung from the battlements. 21. This act of severity was promptly followed up. Pedro Reguelme was taken with several of his compeers, in his ruffian 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 Ade- lantado, seconded by Roldan, and hunted out of ah 1 their old retreats. 22. Thus in a little while the power of faction was completely subdued. The troubles and dangers which had surrounded Columbus seemed breaking away, and or der coming out of confusion. He now looked forward to the prosecution of his grand enterprises, the exploring the coast of Paria, and the establishment of a pearl fishery in its waters. 23. How illusive were his hopes ! at this very ron. ment events were maturing that were to overwhelm him with distress, strip him of his honours, and render him comparatively a wreck for the remainder of his days. CHAPTER XXXIII. Intrigues against Columbus in the Spanish Court. Ap pointment of Bobadilla as commissioner. His arrival at San Domingo. [1500.] 1. WHILE Columbus was involved in a series of dif ficulties in Hispaniola, his enemies were but too success ful in undermining his reputation in the court of Spain. The bishop Fonseca, and others, who had frequent access to the sovereigns, were enabled to place every thing urged against him in the strongest light, while they destroyed the force of his vindications. 2. Every vessel from the new world carne freighted with complaints and calumnies ; it was even alleged, that Columbus intended to cast off allegiance to Spain, and either make himself sovereign of the countries he had discovered, or yield them into the hands of some 140 LIFE AND VOYAGES other power ; a slander, which, however extravagant, was calculated to startle the jealous mind of Ferdi nand. 3. Every repining man who returned from the colony with real or fancied claims for arrears of pay, or losses sustained, was secretly instigated to beset the king in person. A gang of 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 appeared in public, clamouring for their pay. 4. About fifty of them assembled one day in the main court of the Albambra, whining and complaining under the windows of the royal apartments, and holding up bunches of grapes as the faieag;re diet to which they were reduced by the cruel deceits of Columbus. The two sons of the admiral, who were pages to the queen, happening to pass by at the time, they followed them with imprecations. " There go," cried they, "the whelps of him who discovered the land of vanity and delusion ; the grave of Spanish cavaliers !" 5. The incessant repetition of falsehood will gradually wear its way into the most candid mind. Isabella her self began at length to doubt. Columbus and his bro thers, though upright, might be injudicious, and mis chief is oftener produced in government through error of judgment than iniquity of design. Isabella doubted, but the jealous Ferdinand felt convinced. 6. He had never regarded Columbus with real cordiali ty ; 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. 7. At this juncture arrived the two caravels with some of the late followers of Roldan. Beside the slaves which Columbus had been obliged to grant them by the articles of capitulation, several of them, as has been re lated, had secretly brought off the daughters of caciques whom they had seduced from their homes. Some of these were in a state of pregnancy, others had new born OF COLUMBUS. 141 infants. These wrongs were said to -have been all au thorized by Columbus. 8. The sensibility of Isabella as a woman, and her dignity as a queen, were instantly in arms. " What right," exclaimed she, indignantly, " has the admiral to give away my vassals V 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 reship- ped to Hispaniola. 9. Unfortunately for Columbus, at this very juncture, in one of his letters, he advised the continuance of In dian slavery for some time longer, as a measure impor tant to the welfare of the colony. This contributed to heighten the indignation of Isabella, and induced her no longer to oppose the sending out a commissioner to in vestigate his conduct, and, if necessary, to supersede him in command. 10. The person chosen for this most momentous of- fice was Don Francisco de BobadiUa, an officer of the royal household, and commander of the military and re ligious order of Calatrava. He is represented by some as a very honest and religious man ; by others, and with apparent justice, as needy, passionate, and ambitious three powerful objections to his acting as judge in a case where the utmost caution and candour were re quired, and where he was to derive wealth and power from the conviction of one of the parties. 11. Bobadilla arrived at San Domingo on the 23d of August, 1500. Before entering the harbour, he learnt 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. 12. Among these were Pedro Reguelme, the factious alcalde of Bonao, and Fernando de Guevara, the young- cavalier, whose passion for the daughter of Anacaona had been the original cause of the rebellion. As the ves* 142 LIFE AND VOYAGES sels entered the river, Bobadilla beheld on either bank a gibbet, with the body of a Spaniard hanging on it. He considered all these circumstances as conclusive proofs of the alleged cruelty of Columbus. < 13. 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 to have the first telling of their story ; and their accounts, of course, were generally unfavourable to the admiral. In fact, before Bobadilla landed, if not before he arrived, the culpability of Columbus was decided in his mind. 14. He acted accordingly. He made proclamations at the church door, in presence of Don Diego and the other persons in authority, of his letters patent, authori zing him to investigate the rebellion ; and demanded that Guevara, Reguelme, and the other prisoners, should be delivered up to him, with the depositions taken in their cases. 15. Don Diego declared he could do nothing of the kind without the authority of the admiral, and requested a copy of the letters patent, tlmt 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 governor. 16. On the following day, therefore, he caused another royal patent to be read, investing him with the govern ment of the islands, and of Terra Firma ; an authority which he was only to have assumed on absolute proof of the delinquency of Columbus. This letter being read, he again demanded the prisoners, and was again refused ; Don Dieo-o observing, that they were held in obedience to the admiral, to whom the sovereigns had granted let ters of a higher nature. 17. Bobadilla now produced a mandate from the crown, ordering Columbus and his brothers to deliver up all for tresses, 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. OF COLUMBUS. 143 18. 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 popularity, Bobadilla again demanded the prisoners, and receiving the same reply, he proceed ed to the fortress, and made a formal demand of them of the Alcayde Miguel Diaz. The latter refued to surren der them to any one but the admiral. 19. Upon this, Bobadilla 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 myrmidons put up ladders to scale the walls. The fortress, having no garrison, was easily car ried, and the prisoners wore borne off in triumph, and given in custody to an algiiazil. 20. Such was the entrance into office of Francisco de Bobadilla, and he continued his career in the same spirit. He took up his residence in the house of Columbus, seized upon his arms, gold, piate, jewels, horses, books, and most secret papers ; paying out of the property thus seized the wages of those to whom the admiral was in arrears, and disposing of the rest as if already confiscated to the crown. 21. He even hinted that he was empowered to send Columbus home in chains, and declared that neither he, nor any of his lineage, would ever again be permitted to govern the island. To increase his favour with the peo ple, he proclaimed a general license for twenty years, to seek for gold, paying merely an eleventh *o government, instead of a third, as formerly. CHAPTER XXXIV Columbus arrested and sent to Spain. 1. COLUMBUS was at Fort Conception in the Vega when he heard of the high handed proceedings of Boba dilla. He at first considered him some rash adventurer like Ojeda, but rinding that he acted under royal au- 144 LIFE AND VOYAGES thority, he supposed him some person in commission, like Aguado, who was transcending his powers. He wrote a temperate letter to him, therefore, cautioning him against his precipitate measures, and issued counter proclamations^ nullify those which were disturbing the island. 2. Bobadilla, in reply, sent him a copy of the royal letter of credence, commanding his implicit obedience to whatever he should enact, and, in virtue of this docu ment, commanded him to appear before him immediately at San Domingo. 3. A vulgar rumour circulated among the populace that Columbus intended to resist his authority, and was enlisting the caciques of the vega under his banner. Bobadilla believed, or affected to believe this rumour, He mustered the troops, and made a bustle of military preparation ; then arresting Don Diego, he threw him in irons and confined him on board of a caravel, without assigning any reason for such treatment. 4. In the mean time Columbus, with his wonted loy alty, yielded implicit obedience to the cruel letter of his sovereigns, though it struck at once at the root of his well earned dignity and power, and put him under the control of Bobadilla. Without hesitation or demur, he obeyed the summons of this shallow man, and ap peared almost unattended at the gates of San Domingo. No sooner did Bobadilla hear of his arrival, than he gave orders to put him also in irons, and to confine him in the fortress. 5. This outrage to a person of such venerable appear ance, and eminent merit, seemed for a time to shock even his enemies. When the irons were brought, every one present shrunk from the task of putting them on him, either out of a sentiment of compassion at so great a re verse of fortune, or out of habitual reverence for his per son. To fill the measure of ingratitude meted out to him, it was one of his own servants that volunteered to rivet his fetters. 6. Columbus conducted himself with characteristic magnanimity under the injuries heaped upon him. There is a noble scorn which swells and supports the heart, and Columbus in Chains. OF COLUMBUS. 145 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. 7. 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 assu rance, he bore all present indignities in silence. 8. He even wrote a letter to the Adelantado, 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, and hastened peace- full v to San Domingo, where he experienced the same treatment with his brothers, being put in irons, and con fined on board of a caravel. 9. They were kept separate from each other, and no communication permitted between 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 proceed ings that were instituted against them. 10. The 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. Even the late tumults were turned into matters of accusation, and the rebels admitted as evidence. 11. The well-merited punishments inflicted upon cer tain of ths ringleaders were cited as proofs of a cruel and sevengeful disposition, and a secret hatred of Spaniards. Guevara, Reguelme, and their fellow convicts, were dis charged almost without the form of a triaJ. Roldan, 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. 12. San Domingo now swarmed with miscreants, just delivered from the dungeon and the gibbet. Every base spirit which had been overawed by Columbus and his 13 146 LIFE AND VOYAGES brothers when in power, now hastened to revenge itself upon them when in chains. The most injurious slanders were loudly proclaimed in the streets, libels were posted up at the corners, and horns blown in the neighbourhood of their prisons, to taunt them with the exultings of the rabble. 13. Bobadilla had now collected testimony sufficient, as he thought, to ensure the condemnation of the prison* ers, and his own continuance in command. He deter, mined, 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. 14. The charge of conducting the prisoners to Spain was given to Alonzo de Villejo,* an officer in the employ of Bishop Fonseca, who is supposed to have been the secret instigator of all these violent proceedings. 15. Villejo, however, was a man of honourable charac ter, and generous feelings, and showed himself superior to the low malignity of his patron. 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 de spondency, fearing that he should be sacrificed without a hearing, and that his name would go down to posterity sullied with imputed crimes. 16. Seeing the officer enter with the guard, he thought it was to conduct him to the scaffold. " Villejo," said he mournfully, " whither are you taking me V " To the ship, your excellency, to embark," replied the other. " To embark !" echoed the admiral. " Villejo, do you speak the truth ]" " By the life of your excellency," re plied the honest officer, " it is true !" With these words the admiral was comforted, and felt as one restored from death to life. 17. The caravels set sail early in October, bearing off Columbus 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. * Pronounced VUlebo. OF COLUMBUS. 147 18. Fortunately the voyage was favourable 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 An dreas Martin, the master of the caravel, always treated him with profound respect and assiduous attention. They would have taken off his irons, but to this he would not consent. 19. " No," said he, proudly, "their majesties command ed 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 or der them to be taken off, and I will afterwards preserve them as relics and memorials of the reward of my services." 20. " He did so," adds his son Fernando, in his his tory ; " 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. [1500.] 1. THE arrival of Columbus, a prisoner, and in chains, produced a general burst of indignation in Cadiz, which was echoed throughout Spain. No one stopped to rea son on the subject. It was sufficient to be told that Co lumbus was brought home in chains from the world he had discovered. 2. On the arrival of the ships at Cadiz, Columbus sent off privately by express a long letter, to a lady of the court, high in favour with the queen. It contained an ample vindication of his conduct, couched in eloquent, and dignified, and touching language. When it was read to the noble-minded Isabella, her heart was filled with mingled sympathy and indignation. 148 LIFE AND VOYAGES 3. Ferdinand joined with his generous queen, in rep- rebating the treatment of the admiral. Without wait ing to receive any documents from Bobadilla, they sent orders 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 ietter at the same time, expressing their grief at all that he had suffered, and inviting him to Granada. 4. Columbus appeared at court, not as a man ruined and disgraced, but richly dressed, and with an honoura ble retinue. He was received with unqualified favour and distinction. When the queen beheld this venerable man approach, and thought on all he had deserved, ana all that he had suffered, she was moved to tears. 5. Columbus had endured with lofty scorn the in- iuries and insults of ignoble men ; but, when he found himself thus kindly received, and beheld tears in the be nign eyes of Isabella, his long suppressed feelings burst forth ; he threw himself upon his knees, and for some time could not utter a word for tears and sobbings. Fer dinand and Isabella raised him from the ground, and en deavoured to encourage him by the most gracious ex pressions. 6. As soon as he regained his self-possession, he en tered into an eloquent and high minded vindication of his conduct : but 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 them selves to the world, from the charge of ingratitude to wards their most deserving subject. 7. They expressed their indignation at the proceedings of Bobadilla, which they disavowed, as contrary to his instructions ; and they promised that he should be im mediately dismissed from his command, and the admiral reinstated in all his privileges and dignities, and indem nified for the losses he had sustained. 8. Columbus now expected, of course, to be immedi ately sent back in triumph to San Domingo, as viceroy and admiral of the Indies ; but in this he was doomed to experience disappointment. Ferdinand, however he OF COLUMBUS. 149 might 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. 9. 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 magnitude of the countries over which they would be exercised. Recent discoveries, made by various individuals, put it beyond a doubt that these countries must be inexhaustible in wealth, as they appeared to be boundless in extent. 10. Yet over all these Columbus was to be viceroy, with a share in their productions, and in 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 discovery, instead of increasing his feeling of grati tude to Columbus, seemed only to make him repine at the growing magnitude of his reward. 11. Another grand consideration with the monarcn was, that Columbus was no longer indispensable to him. He had made his great discovery ; 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, there fore, confer princely dignities and prerogatives for that which men were daily offering to perform gratuitously ? 12. Such, from his after conduct, appears to have been the jealous and selfish policy which actuated Ferdinand in forbearing to reinstate Columbus. Plausible reasons, however, were given for delaying his re-appointment. 13. It was observed that the elements of those factions which had recently been in arms yet existed in the island, and might produce fresh troubles should Columbus return immediately. It was represented as advisable, therefore, to send some officer of talent and discretion to supersede Bobadilla, and to hold the government for two years, by 13* 150 LIFE AND VOYAGES which time all angry passions would be allayed, and tur bulent individuals removed. Columbus might then re sume the command, with comfort to himself, and advan tage to the crown. With this arrangement the admiral was obliged to content himself. 14. 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 mo dest look, yet a tone of authority ; fluent in speech, cour teous in manners, prudent, just, temperate, and of great humility. 15. He appears, from his actions, however, 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. 16. While the departure of Ovando was delayed by various circumstances, every arrival brought intelligence of the disastrous state o/ the island, under the adminis tration 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 predecessors had split, he had, at the very outset, relaxed the reins of justice and morality, and, of course, had lost all command over the community. 17. One dangerous indulgence called for another, and each was ceded in its turn. He sold the farms and es tates of the crown at low prices, and granted universal permission to work the mines, on paying only an eleventh of the produce to government. 18. To prevent any diminution in the revenues, it be came necessary to increase the quantity of gold collect ed. He enforced, therefore, the regulations by which the caciques were obliged to furnish parties of their sub jects to \vork 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, reduced them into classes, and distributed them, according to his favour or caprice, among the colonists. 19. His constant exhortation to the Spaniards was, to OF COLUMBUS. 151 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 fiver been pro duced by the third, under the government of Columbus. 20. In the mean time, the unhappy Indians sunk under the toils imposed upon them, arid the severities by which they were enforced. A capricious tyranny was exercised over them by worthless men, numbers of whom had been transported convicts from the dungeons of Castile. These wretches assumed the tone of grand cavaliers, and in sisted upon being attended by trains of servants : they took the daughters and female relatives of caciques for their servants or their concubines. 21. 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. 22. 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 humour, they would inflict blows and lashes, and even death itself. 23. 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 empow ered to assume the command immediately on his arrival, and to send home Bobadilla by the return of the fleet. Hispaniola was to be the metropolis of the colonial gov ernment, which was to extend over the islands and Terra Firma. 24. Ovando was to correct the late abases, to revoke the improper licenses granted by Bobadilla, to lighten the burdens imposed upon the Indians, and to promote 162 LIFE AND VOYAGES their religious instruction. He was, at the same time, to ascertain 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 allowed a resident agent in the island, to attend to his affairs, to which office he immediately appointed Alonzo Sanchez de Carvajal. 25. Among various decrees on this occasion, we find the first trace of negro slavery in the new world. Permis sion was given 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 tune been carried on by the Spaniards and Portuguese. 26. The fleet appointed to convey Ovando to his go vernment, was the largest that had yet sailed to Ihe new world, consisting of thirty sail, of various sizes, provided with all kinds of supplies for the colony. Twenty-five hundred souls embarked, many of them persons of rank, with their families. 27. Ovando was allowed a brilliant retinue, a body guard of horsemen, and the use of silks, brocades, and Erecious stones, at that time forbidden by the sumptuary LWS of Spam. Such was the style in which a favourite of Ferdinand, a native subject of rank, was fitted out to enter upon the government withheld from Columbus. CHAPTER XXXVI. Propositions of Columbus for a Crusade. His prepara tions for a fourth Voyage. [15001501.] 1. COLUMBUS remained in the city of Granada up wards of nine months, endeavouring to retrieve his af fairs from the confusion into which they had been thrown. During this 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 thou sand horse, for the recovery of the holy sepulchre. 2. The time had elapsed, the vow remained unfulfilled OF COLUMBUS. 153 and the expected treasures that were to pay the army had never been realized. Destitute, therefore, of the means of accomplishing his pious purpose, he considered it his duty to incite the sovereigns to the enterprise. He set to work, therefore, with his accustomed zeal, to pre pare arguments for the purpose. 3. Aided by a Carthusian friar, he collected into a manuscript volume all the passages in the sacred scrip tures and in the writings of the fathers, which he conceiv ed to contain mystic portents and prophecies of the dis covery of the new world, the conversion of the gentiles, and the recovery of the holy sepulchre ; three great events which he considered as destined to succeed each other, and to be accomplished through his agency. 4. He prepared, at the same time, a long letter to the sovereigns, written with his usual fervour of spirit and simplicity of heart, urging them to set on foot a crusade for the conquest of Jerusalem. It is a singular compo sition, which lays open the visionary part of his charac ter, and shows the mystic and speculative reading with which he was accustomed to nurture his solemn and soar ing imagination. 5. At length his thoughts suddenly returned, with re newed ardour, to their wonted channels, and he conceived a leading object for another enterprise of discovery. 6. Vasco de Garna 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 mer chandise 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 upon Portugal. 7. 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. According 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 considered a part of the Asiatic continent, stretched onward towards the 154 LIFE AND VOYAGES same point. The currents of the Caribbean sea must pass between these lands. 8. 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 calldd the Isth mus of Darien. Could he but discover such a passage, 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 labours. 9. He unfolded his plan to the sovereigns, and, though it met with some 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, 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. CHAPTER XXXVII. Columbus sails on his fourth Voyage. Events at the Island of Hispaniola. His search after an imaginary Strait. [1502.] 1. AGE was rapidly making its advances upon Colum bus, when he undertook his fourth voyage of discovery. He was now about sixty-six years old. His constitu tion, originally vigorous in the extreme, had been impair ed by hardships in every clime, and by the mental suf ferings he had undergone. 2. 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 ardour, on the most toilsome and adventurous of enterprises. In this arduous voyage he was accompanied by his brother Don Bartholomew, who commanded one of the vessels, and by his son Fernando, then in his fourteenth year. OP COLUMBUS. 155 3. Columbus sailed from Cadiz on the 9th of May. 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. 4. After touching at the Canaries, he had a prosperous voyage to the Caribbee islands, arriving on the 15th of June at Mantinino, at present called Martinique. One of his vessels proving a dull sailer, he bore away for His- paniola, to exchange it for one of the fleet which had re cently taken >ut Ovando. 5. He arrived off the harbour of San Domingo at an unpropitious moment. The place was filled with the most virulent of hi* enemies. The fleet which had brought out Ovando lay in the harbour 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. 6. Bobadilla was to embark in the principal ship, on board of which he had put an immense amount of gold, 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 sove reigns 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 by the followers of Roldan, and other adventurers , the wealth gained by the suffer ings of the unhappy natives. 7. On arriving at the mouth of the river, Columbus sent an officer on shore to explain the purpose of his visit, and request permission to shelter his squadron in the river, as he apprehended an approaching storm. His request was refused by Ovando. 8. He then sent a second message, entreating that the sailing of the fleet might be delayed, as there were in dubitable signs of an approaching tempest. This request was as fruitless as the preceding ; the weather, to an 156 LIFE AND VOYAGES inexperienced eye, was fair and tranquil, and the warn- ing of the admiral was treated with ridicule, as the pre diction of a false prophet, 9. Columbus retired from the river, indignant at being refused shelter in the very island which he had discover ed. Feeling confident that a storm was at hand, he kept close to shore, thinking to shelter himself in some wild bay or river of the island. 10. In the mean time, the fleet of Bobadilla stood out confidently to sea. Within two days the predictions of Columbus were verified. One of the tremendous storms which sweep those latitudes, gathered up and began to blow. The little squadron of Columbus remained for a time tolerably well sheltered by the land ; but the tem pest increasing, and the night coming on with unusual darkness, the ships lost sight of each other, and were separated. 11. The admiral still kept close to the shore, and sus tained 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 ship wreck, and giving up each other as lost. The Adelan- tado, who commanded the worst vessel of the squadron, ran the most imminent hazard, and nothing but his con summate seamanship enabled him to keep her afloat. At length, after various vicissitudes, they all arrived safe at Port Hermoso, to the west of San Domingo. 12. 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 swallowed up with all its crew, and with the celebrated mass of gold, and the principal part of the ill-gotten trea sure 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 en abled to continue her voyage to Spain. 13. 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. 14. Both Fernando Columbus and the venerable his torian Las Casas looked upon this event as one of those OP COLUMBUS. 157 awful judgments which seem ? at times, to deal forth tem poral 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. 15. 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 conjured up this storm by magic spells, for the destruction of his enemies. 16. The evils, however, 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. 17. After repairing the damages sustained by his ships in the storm, Columbus steered for Terra Firma, and on the 30th July arrived at the island of Guanaga, on the coast of Honduras. Here he met with a canoe of im mense size, paddled by twenty-five Indians, on board of which sat a cacique, with his wives and children, under an awning of palm leaves. 18. In the canoe 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 colours ; and many other articles which indicated u superior degree of art and civilization than had hitherto been discovered in the new world. The Indians inform ed the admiral that they had come from a rich, cultiva ted, and industrious country, situated to the west, and urged him to steer in that direction. 19. 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 dis coveries would have shed fresh glory on his declining 14 158 LIFE AND VOYAGES age, instead of its sinking amidst gloom, neglect, and disappointment. 20. The admiral, however, was intent upon discover ing the supposed strait that was to lead him to the Indian Ocean. He stood, therefore, southwardly for some moun tains which he descried not many leagues distant, and made Cape Honduras, and from thence proceeded east- wardly, beating against contrary winds, and struggling with the currents which sweep that coast. 21. 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 rig ging were rent, and the provisions damaged by the rain and the leakage. The sailors were exhausted with fa tigue, and harassed with terror. Several times they con fessed their sins to each other, and prepared for death. 22. During a great part of this time, Columbus suffer ed extremely from the gout, and his complaint was ag gravated by watchfulness and anxiety, so that at tunes he thought his end approaching. His illness did not prevent his attending to his duties ; he had a small cabin or round house constructed on the stern, from whence, even when confined to his bed, he could keep a look out, and regulate the sailing of the ships* 23. At length, after struggling for upwards of forty days to make a distance of about seventy leagues, he ar rived, on the 14th of September, at a cape where the coast made a sudden bend, and turned directly south. Doubling this cape, he had immediately an easy wind, and swept off with flowing sail, in conseqjuence of which he gave it the name of Gracias a Dtos, or Thanks to God. 24. For three weeks he continued coasting what is at present called the Mosquito shore, in the course of which a boat with its crew was swallowed up by the sudden swelling of a river. He had occasional interviews with the natives, but a. mutual distrust prevailed between them and the Spaniards. 25. The Indians were frightened a.t seeing a notary of the fleet take out pen, ink, and paper, and proceed to write down the information they were communicating ; they supposed he was working some magic spell, and to OF COLUMBUS. 159 counteract it, they scattered a fragrant powder in the air, and burnt it so that the smoke should be borne to wards the Spaniards. 26. The superstitious seamen looked upon these coun ter charms with equal distrust. They suspected the people of this coast to be great enchanters, and that all the delays and hardships they had experienced were in consequence of the ships bein.g under some spell, wrought by magic art. Even Columbus, and his son and historian Fernando, appear to have been tinctured with this super- stition, which indeed is characteristic of the age. 27. On the 5th of October, Columbus arrived at what is at present called Costa Rica (or the Rich Coast.) 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. 28. In sailing along these coasts, he received repeated accounts of a great kingdom in the west, where he under stood the Indians to say, there were seaports and ships armed with cannon ; where gold was so plenty, that the inhabitants embroidered their garments and embossed their furniture with it ; beside wearing it in coronets, bracelets, and anklets ; and where they were armed with swords, bucklers, and cuirasses, and were mounted on horses, like the Spaniards. 29. These were evidently rumours of the distant king dom of Mexico, imperfectly interpreted to Columbus, and shaped and coloured 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 lead ing into the Indian Sea which washed its shores. 30. With these erroneous ideas, Columbus continued to press forward in search of the imaginary strait, con tending 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 blast of 160 LIFE AND VOYAGES conchs, and on landing, the shores would be lined with warriors armed with clubs, and lances, and swords of palm wood. 31. At length, having discovered and named Porto Bello, and continued beyond Cape Npmbre de Dios, Co lumbus arrived at a small and narrow harbour, to which he gave the name of El Retrete, or The Cabinet. Here he was induced to give up all further attempt to find the strait. His ships were pierced in all parts by the worms, and his seamen disheartened by adverse winds and currents. 32. They considered themselves still under an evil spell worked by the Indian sorcerers, and the comman ders remonstrated against forcing their way any farther, 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. CHAPTER XXXVIII. Return to the Coast of Veragua. Contests with the Natives. [1502.] 1. ON the 5th of December, Columbus returned west ward in search of the gold mines of Veragua. He had not proceeded far, when the wind became so variable and furious as to baffle all seamanship. For nine days the vessels were tossed about, at the mercy of a raging tem pest. The sea boiled at times like a cauldron ; at other times it ran in mountain waves, covered with foam. 2. For a day and night the heavens glowed like a fur nace, 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 com panions. During the whole time there was such a deluge of rain, that the seamen were almost drowned in their open vessels. 3. In the midst of this wild tumult of the elements, the OP COLUMBUS. i61 ocean in one place became strangely agitated. The wa ter was whirled up into a kind of pyramid, or cone, while a livid cloud, tapering- to a point, bent down to meet it. Joining together, 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. 4. The affrighted mariners despaired of averting the danger by human means, and began to repeat certain passages from St. John the Evangelist. The waterspout passed dose by their ships without injuring them, and they attributed their escape to the miraculous efficacy of their quotations from the scriptures. 5. An interval of calm succeeded, but the tempest-tost mariners looked upon it as deceitful, and beheld with alarm great numbers of sharks, roaming about the ships. Among the superstitions of the seas is the belief that these voracious fish have not only the faculty of smelling dead bodies at a distance, but keep about vessels which have sick persons on board, or which are in danger of being wrecked. 6. For three weeks longer they continued to be driven to and fro, endeavouring to make a distance of merely thirty leagues, insomuch that Columbus gave this line of sea-board the name of The Coast of Contradictions.* At length, to his great joy, he arrived on the day of Epiphany (the 6th of January) en the coast of Veragua, and anchored in a river to which, in honour of the day, he gave the name of Belen or Bethlehem. 7. The natives of the neighbourhood manifested the same fierce and warlike character that generally pre vailed along the coast, but were soon conciliated. The Adelantado, with a band of men well armed, explored the surrounding country, and particularly the neighbour hood of the Veragua, where there were gold mines. 8. Quibian the cacique of that province, was a stern warrior, cautious and taciturn, of tall and powerful frame. He descended with a numerous train from his village, which was situated on a hill, and met the Adelantado on * La costa de los Contr astes. 14* 162 LIFE AND VOYAGES the bank of the river, seating himself on a great stone which his attendants drew out of the stream. Though jealous of the intrusion of the Spaniards, he received them with courtesy, for the lofty, vigorous, and iron form of the Adelantado, and his resolute demeanour, were calculated to inspire awe and respect. 9. He readily furnished Don Bartholomew with guides, who took him about six leagues into the interior, among magnificent foresis, where the soil appeared to be im pregnated with gold, and the Spaniards collected a con siderable quantity from the surface. They conducted him also to a high hill, commanding a vast prospect, and assured him that the whole country, for twenty days* journey westward, abounded in gold. 10. The reports brought by Don Bartholomew of these golden tracts, and the rumours of a rich and civilized kingdom in the interior, produced a new illusion in the mind of Columbus. He fancied that he had actually ar rived at the Aurea Chersonesus, (or golden peninsula) of the ancients, from whence, according to Josephus, the gold had been procured for the building of the temple of Jerusalem. 11. Here then, the admiral determined to found a colony, which he trusted would become the emporium of this golden region. The Adelantado agreed to remain here with eighty men, while the admiral returned to Spain for reinforcements. 12. They immediately proceeded to carry their plan into operation. Houses of wood, thatched with palm leaves, were erected on the high bank of a creek, about a bow-shot 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. 13. The houses being sufficiently finished to be habi table, the admiral prepared for his departure, but the river 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 OF COLUMBUS. 163 surf. He was obliged, therefore, to wait until the rains should again swell the river. 14. In the mean time, one Diego Mendez, chief notary of the armament, a man of zeal and spirit, and of a shrewd prying character, and zealously devoted to the admiral, suspected from some movements among the Indians, a hostile design on the part of the cacique of Veragua. Accompanied by a single companion, he penetrated as a spy to the very residence of Quibian, which was situated on the crest of a hill, and surrounded by three hundred heads, on stakes ; dismal trophies of enemies vanquished in battle. 15. The cacique was suffering from a wound in the leg by an arrow. Mendez showed a box of ointment, and pretended to have come to cure him, but found it impos sible to gain admittance. He saw enough, however, to convince him that an attack was about to be carried into effect, and that it was merely delayed by the wound of the cacique ; he hastened back, therefore, to Columbus with the intelligence. 16. An Indian interpreter corroborated the report of Mendez. He informed the admiral that Quibian intend ed to come secretly at the dead of the night, with all his warriors, to set fire to the ships and houses, and massacre the Spaniards. 17. The Adelantado immediately determined upon a counterplot. Taking with him seventy-four men, well armed, he ascended the Veragua in boats, and landed in the night at the village of the cacique. 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, at the discharge of an arquebus to rush up and surround the house. 18. The cacique, hearing of his approach, came forth, and seating himself in the portal, desired him to advance singly. Don Bartholomew complied, ordering Diego Mendez and his four companions to remain at a little distance, but to rush to his aid at a concerted signal. He addressed the cacique by means of an interpreter, inquired about his wound, and, pretending to examine it, took him by the arm. 164 LIFE AND VOYAGES 19. This was the signal, at which four of the Span- lards rushed forward, the fifth discharged the arquebus. 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, Quibian was overpowered, and bound hand and foot. 20. In the mean time, the main body of the Spaniards surrounded the house, and captured the wives and chil dren of the cacique, and several of his principal subjects. The prisoners were sent off to the ships, while the Ade- lantado, with a part of his men, remained on shore to pursue the Indians who had escaped. 21. The cacique was given in charge to Juan Sanchez, the principal pilot of the squadron, a sturdy and powerful seaman. He was cautioned to be on his guard, as the cacique was crafty and vigorous. " If he escapes from my clutches," replied Juan Sanchez, vauntingly, " I will give you leave to pluck out my beard, hair by hair." 22. On arriving at the boat, he tied his prisoner by a strong cord to one of the benches. As they proceeded down the^river, Quibian complained of the painfulness of his bonds. Sanchez loosened the cord, therefore, from the bench, but kept the end of it in his hand. The wily Indian watched his opportunity, and. plunged suddenly into the water, and the pilot ha d to let go the cord, lest he should be drawn in after him. 23. The darkness of the night, and the bustle which took place in preventing the escape of the other prison ers, rendered it impossible to pursue the cacique, or even to ascertain his fate. Juan Sanchez hastened to the ships with the residue of tne captives, deeply mortified at being thss outwitted by a savage. CHAPTER XXXIX. Disasters of the Settlement. [1503.] 1. SATISFIED that the vigorous measure of the Ade- lantado had struck terror into the Indians, and crushed OF COLUMBUS. 165 their hostile designs, Columbus took advantage of a swell ing of the river, to pass the bar with three of his caravels, leaving the fourth for the use of the settlement. He then anchored within a league of the shore, until a favourable wind should spring up for Hispaniola. 2. The cacique Quibian had not perished in the river, as 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 deso late ; and to complete his despair, he saw the vessels standing out to sea, bearing away his wives and children captives. 3. Furious for revenge, he gathered together a. great number of his warriors, and assailed the settlement when the Spaniards were scattered and off their guard. The Indians launched their javelins through the roofs of the houses, which were of palm leaves, or hurjed them in at the windows, or thrust them between the logs which composed the walls,and wounded several of the Spaniards. 4. 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. 5. 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, the boat ascended about a league above the village, to a part of the river oversha dowed 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 only sought to shelter themselves with their bucklers. 6. The captain, Diego Tristan, though covered with 166 LIFE AND VOYAGES wounds, endeavoured 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 over board, dived to the bottom, swam mider water, and es caped unperceived to shore, bearing tidings of the mas sacre to the settlement. 7. The Spaniards were so alarmed at the dangers 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. 8. A high sea and boisterous surf also prevented their sending off a boat to the admiral, with intelligence of their danger. While thus cut off from all retreat or succour, horrors increased upon them. The mangled bodies of Diego Tristan and his men came floating down the stream, and drifted about the harbour, with flights of crows and other carrion birds feeding on them, and hover ing, and screaming, and fighting about their prey. 9. In the mean time, the dismal sound of conchs and war drums was heard in the surrounding forests, showing that the enemy was augmenting in number, and preparing for further hostilities. The Adelantado 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 embrasures, in which were mounted a couple of fal conets, or small pieces of artillery. 10. 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 de spondency to the time when their ammunition would be exhausted, or they should be driven forth by hunger to seek for food. 11. While the Spaniards were exposed to such immi nent peril on shore, great anxiety prevailed on board of OP COLUMBUS. 167 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 in telligence. 12. A circumstance occurred to increase their anxiety. The Indian prisoners were confined in the forecastle of one of the caravels. In the night they suddenly burst open the hatch, and 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 cords, which lay about in their prison, and in the morning were all found dead. 13. The admiral feared that those who had got to shore would stimulate their countrymen to vengeance. Still it was impossible to send a boat on shore. At length one Pedro Ledesma, a man of great strength and reso* lution, being taken in the boat to the edge of the surf, plunged into the sea, swam to shore, and brought off in telligence of all the disasters that had happened. 14. He found the Spaniards 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 caravel, 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. 15. The admiral was deeply afflicted at what had hap pened. There appeared no alternative but to embark all the people, abandon the settlement for the present, and return at a future day, with a force competent to take secure possession of the country. The high wind and boisterous waves still prevented communication, 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. " 16. Every hour increased the anxiety of the admiral. Days of constant perturbation, and nights of sleepless anguish, preyed upon a constitution broken by age and 168 LIFE AND VOYAGES hardships. Amid the acute maladies of the body, and the fever of the mind, he appears to have been visited by partial delirium. 17. In the silence of the night, when, wearied and sighing, he had fallen into a slumber, he thought he heard a voice reproaching him. " Oh fool, and slow to believe thy God !" exclaimed the voice, " what did he more for Moses, or for his servant David 1 From the time that thou wert born he has ever taken care of thee. When he saw thee of a fitting age, he made thy name to resound marvellously throughout the world. 18. " 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 honourable fame among Christians. 19. " Thou dost call despondingly for succour. An swer ; who has afflicted thee 1 God, or the world ] The privileges and promises which God has made thee, he has never broken. He fulfils all that he promises, and with increase. 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. 20. Such is the vision which Columbus circumstan tially relates in a letter to the sovereigns. He had a solemn belief that he was a peculiar instrument in the hands of Providence, which, together with a deep tinge of of superstition, common to the age, made him prone to mistake every striking dream for a revelation. The words here spoken by a supposed voice, are truths which dwelt upon his mind, and agitated his spirit in his waking hours ; it was natural, therefore, that they should recur vividly in his feverish dreams. 21. Immediately after the supposed vision, and after nine days of boisterous weather, the wind subsided, the sea became calm, the Adelantado and his companions were rescued from their perilous situation, arid embarked on board of the ships. Every thing of value was likewise OF COLUMBUS. 169 brought on board, and nothing remained but the hull of the caravel, which could not be extricated from the river. Diego Mendez was extremely efficient in bringing oif the people and the property ; and, in reward of his zeal and services, the admiral gave him the command of the cara vel vacant by the death of the unfortunate Diego Tristan. CHAPTER XL. Voyage to Jamaica. Transactions at that Island. [1503.] 1. TOWARDS the end of April, Columbus set sail from the disastrous coast of Veragua. Continuing along the coast eastward, he was obliged to abandon one of the caravels in the harbour of Porto Bello, being so pierced by the worms that it was impossible to keep her afloat. He then proceeded about ten leagues beyond Point Bias, near to what is at present called the gulf of Darien. Here he bade farewell to the main land, and stood north ward, on the first of May, in quest of Hispaniola. 2. Notwithstanding all his precautions, 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 suffered excessively from hunger and fatigue. 1 They were crowded into two caravels, little better than mere wrecks, and which were scarcely kept afloat by incessant labour at the pump. .,*;, 3. A violent storm on the coast of Cuba drove the vessels upon each other, and shattered them to such a degree, that the admiral gave up all further attempt to navigate them to Hispaniola, and stood over, in search of a secure port, to the island of Jamaica. Here, on the 24th of June, he anchored in a harbour, to which he gave the name of Port San Gloria. 4. Seeisg that his ships were no longer sea-worthy, and were in danger of foundering even in port, Colum bus ran them aground, within bowshot of the shore, where they were fastened together side by side. They soon 16 170 LIFE AND VOYAGES 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. 5. No one was permitted to go on shore without especial license, and the utmost precaution was taken to prevent any offence being given to the Indians, who soon swarmed to the harbour with provisions, as any ex asperation of them might be fatal to the Spaniards in their present forlorn situation. Two persons were ap pointed to superintend all bargains, arid the provisions thus obtained were divided every evening among the people. 6. As the immediate neighbourhood, however, might soon be exhausted, the zealous and intrepid Diego Men- dez made a tour in the interior, accompanied by three men, and made arrangements for the caciques at a dis tance to furnish daily supplies at the harbour, in exchange for European trinkets. He returned in a canoe which he had purchased from the Indians, and which he had freighted with provisions, and through his able arrange ment the Spaniards were regularly supplied. 7. 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, and there was no hope of a chance sail arriving to his relief, on the shores of a savage 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 character. 8. " Diego Mendez, my son," said the venerable admi* ral, " of all those who are here, you and I alone know the great peril in which we are placed. We are few in number, and these savage Indians are many, and of fickle and irritable natures. On the least* provocation they may throw firebrands from the shore, and consume us in our straw-thatched cabins. 9. * The arrangement which you have made for pro visions, and which at present they fulfil so cheerfully, OP COLUMBUS. 171 they may capriciously break to-morrow, and may refuse to bring us any thing ; nor have we the means of com pelling them. I have thought of a remedy, if it meets your views. In this canoe which you have purchased, some one may pass over to Hispanic-la, and procure a ship, by which we shall all be delivered from this great peril. Tell me your opinion on the matter." 10. Senior," 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 between islands where the sea is impetuous arid seldom in repose. I know not who there is would venture upon so extreme a peril." 11. 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, " Senior," said he, " I have many times put my life in peril to save you and my comrades, arid God has hitherto preserved me in a miraculous manner. There are, nevertheless, murmur- ers, who say that your Excellency intrusts to me every affair wherein honour 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 propose this enterprise, to see if any one will undertake it, which I doubt. If all decline, I will then come for ward and risk my life in your service, as I have many times done already." 12. The admiral willingly humoured the wishes of the worthy Mendez. On the following morning tfie crew was assembled, and the proposition made. Every one drew back, pronouncing it the height of rashness. Upon this Diego Mendez stepped forward. " Senior," said he, " I have but one life to lose, yet I am willing to venture it for your service, and for the oad of all here present ; and I trust in the protection of God, which I have expe rienced on so many other occasions." 13. Columbus embraced this zealous follower, who im mediately set about preparing for the expedition. Draw- 172 LIFE AND VOYAGES ing his canoe on shore, he put on a false keel, and nailed weather-boards 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 pro visions for himself, a Spanish comrade, and six Indians. 14. In the mean while, Columbus wrote a letter to Ovan- do, governor of Hispaniola, begging that a ship might im mediately be sent to bring him and his men to Hispanio la ; and he wrote another to the sovereigns, entreating for a ship to convey them from Hispaniola to Spain. 15. 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. 16. What an instance of soaring enthusiasm and irre pressible enterprise is here exhibited ! At the time he was indulging these visions, and proposing new and ro mantic enterprises, he was broken down by age and in firmities, racked by pain, confined to his bed, and shut up in a wreck on the coast of a remote and savage island. 17. The despatches being- ready, Diego Mendez em barked with his Spanish comrade and his six Indians, and coasted the island eastward. Their voyage was toil some and perilous. When arrived at the end of the island, they were suddenly surrounded and taken prison ers by the Indians, who carried them three leagues into the interior, where they determined to kill them. 18. 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 es caped, regained his canoe, and made his way back to the harbour in it, alone, after fifteen days absence. 19. Nothing daunted by the perils and hardships he had undergone, he offered to depart immediately on a second attempt, provided he could be escorted to the end of the island by an armed force. His offer was acc-ept- ed, and Bartholomew Fiesco, a Genoese, who had com manded one of the caravels, and was strongly attached OP COLUMBUS. . 173 to the admiral, was associated with him in this second expedition. 20. Each had a canoe, with six Spaniards and ten In dians under his command. On reaching Hispaniola, Fiesco was to return immediately to Jamaica, to bring tidings to the admiral of the safe arrival of his messen ger ; while Diego Mendez was to proceed to San Do mingo, and, after purchasing and despatching a ship, was to depart for Spain with the letter to the sovereigns. 21. All arrangements being made, the Indians placed in the canoes a supply of cassava bread, and each his calabash of water. The Spaniards, beside their provi sions, 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 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, arid the evening hid them from his vi-ew, and then returned to the harbour. CHAPTER XL1. Mutiny of Porras. Eclipse of the Moon. Stratagem of Columbus to procure supplies from the Indians. [1503.] 1. DAY after day, and week after week, did the poor Spaniards keep a wistful look out upon the sea, for the expected return of Fiesco, flattering themselves that every canoe, gliding at a distance, might be the harbin ger of deliverance. 2. Months elapsed, however, without his arrival, and they began to fear that he and Mendez had perish- ed. Enfeebled by past sufferings, present confinement, and low diet, they became extremely sickly ; and their maladies were heightened by anxiety and suspense. Some gradually sank into despondency ; others became peevish and impatient, and, in their unreasonable heat, railed at their venerable and infirm commander as the cause of all their misfortunes. 15* 174 LIFE AND VOYAGES a 3. Among the officers of Columbus were two brothers, Francisco and Diego Porras ; the first a captain of a caravel, the other, notary and accountant general of the expedition. They were vain and insolent men, who had been appointed by Columbus to gratify their relative, the royal treasurer Morales. Like many others whom the admiral had benefited, they requited his kindness with the blackest ingratitude. 4. Mingling with the people, they assured them that Columbus had no intention of returning to Spain, having in reality been banished thence by the sovereigns. His- paniola, 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. By these and other insidious suggestions, thSy gradually prepared the people for revolt. 5. On the 2d of January, Francisco Porras suddenly entered the cabin where Columbus was confined to his bed by the gout, reproached him vehemently with keep ing them in that desolate place to perish, and accused him of having no intention to return to Spain. The ad miral raised himself in bed, and, maintaining his calm ness, endeavoured to reason with the traitor ; but Porras was deaf to all argument. " Embark immediately, or remain, in God s name !" cried he, with a voice that re sounded all over the wreck. " For my part, I am for Castile ! those who choose may follow me !" 6. This was the signal. "For Castile ! for Castile !" was heard on every side. The mutineers sprang up on 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. 7. Columbus 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 sal lied forth lance in hand, and planted himself in a situa tion to take the whole brunt of the assault. It was with the greatest difficujty that several of the loyal part of the crew could restrain his fury, and prevail upon him to re linquish his weapon, and retire to the cabin of his brother. 8. The mutineers, being entirely unopposed, took ten OF COLUMBUS. 175 canoes, which the admiral had purchased from the In dians ; others, who had not been concerned in the mutiny, 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 lamen tations, and would gladly have accompanied them, had their strength permitted. 9. Porras coasted with his squadron of canoes to the eastward, landing occasionally and robbing the natives, pretending 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. 10. The Spaniards had scarcely proceeded four 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. 11. The danger still continuing, they drew their swords, and compelled most of the Indians to leap into the sea. The latter were skilful swimmers, but the dis tance to land was too great for their strength ; if however they at any time took hold of the canoes to rest them selves and recover breath, the Spaniards, fearful of their overturning the slight barks, would stab them or cut oif their hands. Some were thus slain by the sword, others sank exhausted benea.th the waves ; eighteen perished miserably, and none survived but a few who had been retained to manage the canoes. 12. Having reached the shore in safety, Porras and his men waited until the weather became favourable, and then made another effort to cross to Hispaniola, but with no better success. They then abandoned the attempt in despair, and returned westward, roving from village to village, and living upon the provisions of the Indians, which they took by force if not readily given. If the na tives 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, 176 LIFE AND VOYAGES and bent upon gaining a tyrannical sway over their island. 13. In the mean time, Columbus, left in the wreck with a mere handful of srck and desponding men, exerted himself to the utmost to restore them to health and spirits. He ordered that the small stock of biscuit which remained, and the most nourishing provisions fur nished by the Indians, should be appropriated to the in valids : 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 rewarded. In this way, by kind and careful treatment and encouraging words, he succeeded in rendering them once more fit for service. 14. Scarcely, however, had the little garrison recover ed from the shock of the mutiny, when it was menaced by a new and appalling evil. The Indians grew negli gent in furnishing provisions. The European trinkets, once so inestimable in their eyes, had sunk in value, by becoming common. Many of the caciques were incensed by the conduct of Porras and his followers, which they supposed justified by the admiral ; others were secretly instigated by the rebels to withhold supplies, in hopes of starving Columbus and his people, or of driving them from the island. 15. The horrors of famine began to threaten, when a fortunate idea presented itself to Columbus. From his knowledge of astronomy, he ascertained that within three days then* would be a total eclipse of the moon, in the early pan of the night. He summoned, therefore, the principal caciques to a grand conference, appointing for it the day of the eclipse. 16. When all were assembled, he told them by his in terpreter, that he and his followers were worshippers of a Deity who lived in the skies ; that this great Deity was incensed against the Indians for neglecting to fur nish his faithful worshippers with provisions, and intend ed 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 be- The Eclipse of the Moon. OF COLUMBUS. 177 hold the moon change its colour, and gradually losb its light.; a token of the fearful punishment which awaited them. 17. Many of the Indians were alarmed at the predic tion, others treated it with derision ; all, however, await ed with solicitude the coming of the night. When they beheld a black shadow stealing over the moon, and a gloom covering the face of nature, they were seized with the utmost consternation. Hurrying with provisions to the ships, and throwing themselves at the feet of Colum bus, they implored him to intercede with his God to with hold the threatened calamities, assuring him that thence forth they would bring him whatever he required. 18. Columbus retired to his cabin, under pretence of communing with the Deity, the forests and shores all the while resounding with the bowlings of the savages. He returned shortly, and informed them that the Deity had deigned to pardon them, on condition of their fulfilling their promises, in sign of which he would withdraw the darkness from the moon. 19. When the Indians saw that planet restored pre sently to its brightness, and rolling in all its beauty through the firmament, they overwhelmed the admiral with thanks for his intercession. They now regarded him with awe and reverence, as one enjoying the pecu liar favour and confidence of the Deity, since he knew upon earth what was passing in the heavens. They hastened to propitiate him with gifts ; supplies again ar rived daily at the harbour, and from that time forward there was no want of provisions. CHAPTER XLIL Arrival of Diego de Escobar at the Harbour. Battle, with the Rebels. [1504.] 1. EIGHT months had now elapsed since the depar ture of Mendez and Fiesco, yet no tidings had been re ceived of their fate. The hopes of the most sanguine 178 LIFE AND VOYAGES were nearly extinct, and many, considering themselves abandoned and forgotten by the world, grew wild and desperate. Another conspiracy was on the point of breaking out, when one evening, towards dusk, a small caravel was seen off the harbour. 2. It keot 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 Bobadilla. There was bad omen in such a messenger. 3. Escobar was the bearer of a letter from Ovando, ac companied by a barrel of wine and a side of bacon. The governor expressed great concern at the misfortunes of the admiral, and regret at not having in port a vessel of sufficient size to bring off himself and people, but pro mised to send one as soon as possible. 4. Escobar drew oft with the boat, and kept at a dis tance awaiting the admiral s reply, and holding no con versation with any of the Spaniards. Columbus wrote to Ovando, depicting the horrors of his situation, and urging the promised relief. As soon as Escobar receiv ed this letter, he returned on board of his caravel, which made all sail, and disappeared in the gathering gloom of the night. 5. The mysterious conduct of Escobar caused surprise and uneasiness among the people, but Columbus cheered them w T ith assurances that ships would soon be sent to take them away. He was secretly, however, indignant at the conduct of Ovando, believing that he had purpose ly delayed sending relief, in the hopes that he would perish on the island, and that Escobar was a spy, sent to ascertain whether he and his crew were yet in ex istence. , 6. Still he endeavoured to turn the event to advan tage, and sent two of his people to inform the rebels of the promised relief, and offer them a free pardon, and a passage to Hispaniola, on condition of their immediate return to obedience. 7. Porras received the messengers apart from his men, and accompanied solely by a few of the ringleaders. He treated the generous offer of Columbus with insolence^ OP COLUMBUS. 179 demanding, as terms of peace, that one half of the ac commodation of the shipping that should arrive should be assigned to his party ; and that, in the mean time, the admiral should share with them the sea stores and goods which remained in his possession. When these demands were objected to, he replied that, if not peaceably con- ceded, they would be taken by force ; and with this me nace he dismissed the messengers. 8. Finding that his men were moved by the offer of pardon and deliverance, he assured them these offers were mere artifices of Columbus, to get them into his power. That the pretended caravel was a phantasm conjured up by the admiral, who was deeply versed in magic. In proof of this, he adverted to its mysterious movements, arriving in the dusk of the evening, holding communication with no one but Columbus, and suddenly disappearing in the night. 9. "Had it been a real caravel," said he, "the crew would have sought to converse with their countrymen ; the admiral, his son, and brother would have embarked on board ; at any rate, it would have remained a little while in port, and not have vanished so suddenly and mysteriously." 10. Having by these and similar delusions encoiu raged them to persist in their rebellion, he inarched them one day towards the harbour, to seize upon the stores remaining in the wreck, and to get the admiral in his power. 11. Columbus heard of their approach, but being con fined by his infirmities, sent Don Bartholomew to reason with them, and endeavour to win them to obedience. The Adelantado, 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. 12. The latter cheered his followers by pointing, with derision, to the pale countenances 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 robust by living in the open air. He assured them the followers of the Adelantado were 180 LIFE AND VOYAGES mere household men, fair weather troops, who could never stand before them. 13. 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. 14. Deluded by his words into a transient glow of cou rage, the rebels did not wait to be attacked, but rushed with shouts upon the enemy. Six of them had made a league to assault the Adelantodo, but were so weh 1 receiv ed that he laid several of them dead at his feet, among whom was Juan Sanchez, the same powerful mariner who had carried off the cacique Quibian. 15. In the midst of the affray, the Adelantado was as sailed by Francisco de 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. 10. The rebels, seeing their leader a captive, fled in confusion, but were not pursued, through fear of an attack from the Indians, who had remained drawn up in battle array, gazing with astonishment at this fight between white men, but without offering to aid either party. The Adelantado returned in triumph to the wreck, with Por ras and several other prisoners. Only two of his own men had been wounded, one of whom died. 17. On the following day, the rebels sent a letter to the admiral, signed with all their names, confessing their misdeeds, imploring pardon, and making a solemn oath of obedience ; imprecating the most awful curses on their hea-ds should they break it. The admiral saw, by the ab ject nature of the letter, how completely the spirit of these misguided men was broken ; with his wonted mag nanimity he pardoned thoir offences, merely retaining their ringleader, Francisco Porras, a prisoner, to be tried in Spain for his misdeeds. OF COLUMBUS. 181 CHAPTER XLIII. Voyage of Diego Mendez to Hispaniola. Deliverance of Columbus from the Island of Jamaica. [1504.] 1. IT is proper here to give some account of the mis sion of Diego Mendez 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 di rect course ; there was no wind, the sky was without a cloud, and the sea like a mirror reflecting 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. 2. 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 ; wliile 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 companions. 3. Watching and toiling in this way through the night, they were excessively fatigued on the following day, and began to experience the torments of thirst, for the In dians, parched with heat, had already drained the con tents 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 perish ing with thirst. 4. About midday, when their strength was failing them, the commanders produced two small kegs of wa ter, which they had reserved in secret for such an extre mity. Administering a cooling mouthful occasionally, they enabled the Indians to resume their toils. They held out the hopes of soon arriving at a small island* called Navasa, 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. 5. The night closed upon them without any eight ot 16 182 LIFE AND VOYAGES the island ; tney 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 labour, 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 endeavoured 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, an cl it seemed impossible that they should live to reach His paniola. 6. The commanders, by admirable management, had hitherto kept up this weary struggle with suffering and despair ; but they too began to despond. Diego Mendez sat watching the horizon, which was gradually lighting 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, which 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 discovered it. He immediately gave the animating cry of "land." His almost expiring com panions were roused to new life, and exerted themselves with feverish impatience. 7. By dawn of day they sprang on shore, and returned thanks to God for their deliverance. The island was a mere barren mass of rocks, but they found abundance of rain water in hollow places. The Spaniards exercised some degree of caution in their draughts ; but the poor Indians, \\ hose toils had increased t he fever of their thirst, gavM way to a kind of frantic indulgence, of which several died upon the spot, and others fell dan gerously ill. 8. After reposing all day on the island, and feasting upon shell-fish gathered along the shore, they set off in the evening for Hispaniola, the mountains of which were distinctly visible, and arrived at Cape Tiburon on the following day, the fourth since their departure from Ja maica. Fiesco would now have returned to give the admiral assurance of the safe ai rival of his messenger, OF COLUMBUS. 183 but both Spaniards and Indians refused to encounter the perils of another voyage in the canoes. 9. 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. 10. He found Ovando completely engrossed by wars with the natives. The governor expressed great con cern at the unfortunate situation of Columbus, and pro- mised to send him immediate relief; but Mendez remain ed 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 ships of sufficient burden in the island to bring off Columbus and his men. 11. 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 seventy leagues, and part of his toilsome journey lay through forests and moun tains, infested by hostile and exasperated Indians. Im mediately after his departure, Ovando despatched from Xaragua the pardoned rebel, Escobar, on that reconnoi tring visit which caused so much wonder and suspicion among the companions of Columbus. 12. If the governor had really entertained hopes that, during 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 indignation, insomuch that animadversions had been made upon his conduct even in the pulpits. Diego Mendez, also, had hired and victualled a vessel at the 184 LIFE AND VOYA.GE8 expense of Columbus, and was on the point of despatch ing it. 13. The governor, therefore, exerted himself, at the eleventh hour, and fitted out a caravel, which he put un der the command of Diego de Salcedo, the agent em ployed by Columbus to collect his rents in San Domingo. These two vessels 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 confine ment to the wreck.* 14. On the 28th of June, all the Spaniards embarked, friend and foe, on board of the vessels, and made sail joy fully for San Domingo; but, from adverse winds and currents, they did not arrive there until the 13th of Au gust. Whatever lurking enmity there might be to Co lumbus in the place, it was overpowered by popular sym pathy for his late disasters. 15. The governor and the principal inhabitants came forth to meet him, and received him with signal distinc tion. He was lodged in the house of Ovando, who treat ed him with the utmost courtesy and attention ; but there were too deep causes of jealousy and distrust be tween them fcr 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. 16. Ovando assumed a right to take cognizance of all transactions at Jamaica, as happening within the limits * 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 wards upon him, and permitted him to bear a canoe in his coat of arms, as a memento of his hardy enterprise. He continued devotedly attached to 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 deathbed, he promised Mendez that he should be ap pointed principal alguazil of the island of Hispaniola. The promise, how ever, was not performed by the heirs of Columbus. Mendez was after wards engaged in various voyages of discovery, met with many vicissi tudes, and died poor. In his last will, he requested that his armorial bearing of an Indian canoe should be engraved on his tombstone, and under it the following words: u Here lies the honourable Cavalier, Diego Mendez ; who served greatly the royal crown of Spain, in the conquest of the Indies, with Admiral Christopher Columbus, of glorious memory, who made the discovery ; and afterwards by himself, in ships at his own cost. Bestow, in charily, a pater noster and an ave-maria." OF COLUMBUS. 185 of his government. He set at liberty the traitor Porras, and talked of punishing- the followers of Columbus for the deaths of tiie mutineers whom they had slain in battle. 17. Columbus, on the other hand, asserted the absolute jurisdiction given him by the sovereigns, in his letter of instructions, over all persons who sailed in his expedi tion, from the time of their departure from Spain until their return. 18. The governor heard him with great courtesy and a smiling 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 adherents 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 Ovan- do. Return of Columbus to Spain. [1504.] 1. LET us here turn for a moment from pursuing the story of the admiral, to notice some of the principal oc currences which had taken place in Hispaniola during the absence of Columbus. 2. 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 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. 3. Those hidalgos, or gentlemen, who had no servants to carry their burdens, were fain to bear them on their own backs, and lucky was he who had a Horse for the expedition, for he would be able to bring bacK the greater load of treasure. 4. They all set off in high spirits, eager who should first reach the golden land ; thinking they had but to ar- 186 LIFE ANI> VOYAOE8 rive 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 required experience to discover the veins of ore ; that the whole process of mining- was exceedingly slow and toilsome, and its re sults precarious. 5. They digged eagerly for a time, but found no ore ; growing hungry, they threw by their implements, sat down to eat, and then returned to work. It was all in vain. " Their labour," says Las Casas, " gave them a keen appetite and quick digestion, but no gold." They soon exhausted their provisions and their patience, and returned to San Domingo half famished, downcast, and despairing. Poverty soon fell upon these misguided men. Some wasted away, and died broken-hearted ; others were hurried off by raging fevers ; so that there soon perished upwards of a thousand men. 6. Ovando was reputed a man of great prudence and sagacity, and he certainly took severa 1 judicious measures for the regulation of the island and the relief of the colo nists ; but his policy was fatal to the natives. When 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 consequence was, they immediately refused to labour in the mines. 7. Ovando, in 1503, represented, that this entire lib erty granted to the natives, produced habits of idleness, profligacy, and neglect of all religion. The sovereigns permitted, therefore, that they should be obliged to labour moderately, if essential to their well-being, but that they should be paid regularly and fairly, and instructed in religion. 8. Under cover of this hired labour, thus intended for the health of soul and body, more intolerable toil was ex acted from ttyem, and more horrible cruelties inflicted, than in the worst days of Bobadilla. Many perished from hunger, or sunk under the lash ; many killed themselves in despair*; and even mothers overcame the powerful instinct of nature, and destroyed the infants at their breasts, to spare them a life of wretchedness. OF COLUMBUS. 187 9. Even those who survived the exacted terms of labour, and were permitted to return to their homes, which were often sixty and eighty leagues distant, were dismissed so worn down by toil and hardship, and so scantily furnish ed 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. . 10. "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 !" 11. The wars of Ovando were equally desolating. To punish a slight insurrection in the province of Higuey, 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, ingenious, and horrible tortures, and brought off the brave Cotabanama, one of the five sovereign caciques of the island, in chains to San Domingo, where he was ignominiously hanged for the crime of defending his ter ritory and his native soil against usurping strangers. 12. But the most atrocious act of Ovando, was the punishment he inflicted on the province of Xaragua. The exactions of tribute in this once happy and hospita ble province had caused occasional quarrels between the inferior caciques and the Spaniards : these were magni fied by alarmists, and Ovando was persuaded that there was a deep-laid plot among the natives to rise upon their oppressors. 13. He immediately 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. 14. Behechio, the ancient cacique of the province, was dead, and his sister, Anacaona, had succeeded to the government. She came forth to meet Ovando, attended by her most distinguished subjects, and her train of dam sels, waving palm branches, and dancing to the cadence of their popular areytos. All her principal caciques had 188 LIFE AND VOYAGES been assembled to do honour to her guests, who for seve ral days were entertained with banquets and national games and dances. 15. In return for these exhibitions, 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, he gave a signal, and instantly the horsemen 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. 16. About eighty caciques were surrounded in one of the principal houses, 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, fire was set to the house, and they all perished miserably in the flames. 17. 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. 18. 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, until, all being reduced to deplorable misery and abject submission, Ovando pronounced the province restored to order, and, in commemoration of his triumph, founded a town near the lake, which he called St. Mary of the True Peace.* 19. Such was the tragical fate of the beautiful Ana caona, once extolled as the Golden Flower of Hayti ; and such the 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 pas sions, they filled with horror and desolation. * Santa Maria de la Verdadera Paz. OF COLUMBUS. 189 20. These are but brief and scanty anecdotes of the ruthless system pursued, during- the absence of the ad miral, 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. 21. The system of Columbus may have borne hard upon the Indians, born and brought up as they were in untasked freedom, but it was never cruel or sanguinary. He had fondly hoped, at one time, to render them chi- lized and industrious subjects to the crown, and zealous converts to the faith, and to derive from their regular tributes a great and steady revenue. 22. 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 cultivation, the rich levels of the vegas so many " painted gardens," Lad almost all passed away, and the native princes had perished chiefly by violent and ignominious deaths. 23. " I am informed," said he, in a letter to the sove reigns, " that since I left this island, six parts out of seven of the natives are dead, all through ill-treatment and in humanity ; 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 labour imposed upon them." 24. He found his own immediate concerns in great confusion. His rents and arrears were either uncollected, or he could not obtain a clear account and a full liquida tion of them. The continual misunderstandings which took place between him and the governor, induced Co lumbus 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 crews as chose to return. 25. The greater part preferred to remain in San Do mingo : 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 exhausied 190 LIFE AND VOYAGES hi these disbursements, arid many of the men thus re lieved by his generosity had been among the most violent of the rebels. 26. On the 12th of September he set sail, but had scarcely left the harbour when the mast of his ship was carried away in a sudden squall. He embarked, there fore, with his family in the other vessel, commanded by the Adelantado, and sent back the damaged ship to port. Fortune continued to persecute him to the end of this his last and most disastrous expedition. 27. Throughout the voyage he experienced tempestuous weather, suffering at the same time the excruciating tor ments of the gout, until, on the 7th of November, his crazy and shattered bark anchored in the harbour 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. CHAPTER XLV. Fruitless solicitations of Columbus to be reinstated in his Government. His last illness and death. [1504.] 1. THE infirmities of Conumbus were too great to permit him to proceed to court, and he passed the winter at Seville, in a state of bodily and mental suffering. Care and sorrow were destined to follow him by sea and land ; and in changing the scene, he but changed the nature of his afflictions. 2. His affairs were all in confusion ; and had been so ever since his arrest by Bobadilla. His revenues arising in San Domingo were not rendered to him ; and his re cent disastrous voyage had involved him in expenses, for the greater part of which the crown remained his debtor. 3. In a letter to his son Diego he urges him to extreme economy. "I receive nothing of the revenue due to me," says he, "but live by borrowing. Little have I profited by twenty years of toils and perils, since at pre sent I do not own a roof in Spam. I have no resort but OF COLUMBUS. 191 an inn, and, for the most time, have not wherewithal to pay my bill." 4. He wrote repeatedly to the sovereigns, and em ployed the mediation of friends, to obtain the restitution of his official honours, the settlement of his accounts, and the relief of the seamen who had sailed with him in his last voyage. His letters remained unanswered, his claims unsatisfied, and a cold indifference prevailed with respect to him. Finding- the inefficacy of letters, he at tempted to set off for court in a litter ; but his increasing 1 maladies, and the inclemency of the season, obliged him to abandon the journey. 5. In the mean time, the intrigues of his enemies were prevailing. Porras, the ringleader of the late faction, had been sent home for trial, but he went at large, favoured by his relative Morales, the royal treasurer, through whose means he obtained access to people in place, and an opportunity to enlist their opinions and prejudices on his side. 6. Columbus felt deeply the slights and neglects of the cold hearted Ferdinand, and rested all his hopes of re dress on the justice and magnanimity of Isabolla. His reliance would not have been in vain, but during the time of his solicitation she had lain dangerously ill. 7. " May it please the Holy Trinity," said he, in a letter to his son, "to restore our sovereign queen to health ; for by her every thing will be adjusted that is now in confusion." Alas ! at the time he was writing that letter his noble benefactress lay a corpse ! 8. The health of Isabella had long been undermined by repeated shocks of domestic calamity. The deaths of two of her favourite children, and of her grandson and heir, together with the infirmity of intellect and conjugal unhappiness of her daughter Juana, wife of the Archduke Philip, were cruel wounds to her maternal heart. 9. The desolation which walks through palaces ad mits not the familiar sympathies and sweet consolations which alleviate the sorrows of common life. Isabella pined in state, amidst the homage of a court, surrounded by the trophies of a glorious and successful reign, and placed at the summit of earthly grandeur. 192 LIFE AND VOYAGES 10. A deep and incurable melancholy settled upon ner, which undermined her constitution, and gave a fatal acuteness to her bodily maladies. After four months of illness, she died 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. 11. "Let my body, "said she, in her will, " be interred in the monastery of San Francisco, in the alhambra of the city of Granada, in a low sepulchre, with no other monu ment than a plain stone, and an inscription. But I desire and command, that if the king, my lord, should choose a sepulchre in any church or monastery, in any other part or place of these my kingdoms, that my body be trans ported thither, and buried beside the body of his highness ; go that the union we have enjoyed while living, and which, through the mercy of God, we hope our souls will experience in heaven, may be represented by our bodies in the earth."* 12. 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 ob- eerved, the affections of conjugal love were delicately entwined with fervent religion and the most tender melancholy. 1,3. She was one of the purest spirits that ever ruled over the destinies of a nation. Had she been spared, her benignant vigilance would have prevented many a scene of horror in 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. 14. The news of the death of Isabella reached Colum bus while he was writing a letter to his son. He notices it in a postcript, written , in beautifully touching and mournful terms. 15. " A memorial," he writes, " for thee, my dear son *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 Gra nada, in which her remains are interred with those of Ferdinand. Their effigies, eculpturpd in white marble, lie side by side, on a magnificent sepulchre. The altar of the chapel is adorned with bas reliefs, repre senting the conquest and surrender of Granada. OF COLUMBUS. 193 Diego, of what is at present to be done. The principal thing is to commend affectionately, and with great devo tion, the soul of the queen, our sovereign, to God. Her life was always catholic and pious, and 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. , 16. " The next thing is, to watch and labour in all mat ters for the service of our sovereign, the king, and to en deavour to alleviate his grief. His majesty is the head of Christendom. 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." 17. During a great part of the spring Columbus was detained at Seville by his maladies. The Adelantado in the mean time, proceeded to court, to attend to his con cerns. The latter was accompanied by the admiral s younger son Fernando, then about seventeen years old. in a letter to his elder son Diego, he inculcates the strongest fraternal attachment ; alluding to his own bro thers with one of those warm and affecting touches which speak the kindness of his heart. 18. " To thy brother," said he, 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." 19. It was not until the month of May that Columbus was able to accomplish his journey to court. 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. 20. When he presented himself at court, he was made lamentably sensible of the loss of his protectress, the be nignant Isabella. He met with none of that distinguished 194 LIFE AND VOYAGES attention, that cordial kindness, that cherishing sym- pathy, which his unparalleled services and his recent suffering s had merited. Ferdinand, it is true, received him with many professions of kindness ; but with those cold, ineffectual smiles, which pass like wintry sunshine over the countenance, and convey no warmth to the heart. 21. Many months were passed by Columbus in painful and humiliating solicitation. He endeavoured to bear these delays with patience ; 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 anguish, he addressed one more ap peal 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. 22 " This," said he, " is a matter which concerns my honour ; as to all the rest, do as your majesty thinks pro per ; give or withhold, as may be most for your interest, and I shall be content. I believe it is the anxiety caused by the delay of this affair, which is the principal cause of my ill health." 23. This petition was treated by Ferdinand with his usual evasions ; he endeavoured to prevail upon Colum bus and his son to wave their claims to dignities in the new world, and accept, in place thereof, titles and estates in Castile. Columbus rejected all proposals of the kind with indignation. He saw, however, that all further hope of redress from Ferdinand was vain. 24. From the bed to which he was confined, he ad dressed a letter to a friend, expressive of his despair. " It appears," said he, " tha.t his majesty does not think fit tp fulfil that which he, with 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 ne cessities." OF COLUMBUS. 195 25. In the midst of illness and despondency, when both life and hope were expiring in the bosom of Colum- bus, a new gleam was awakened, and blazed up for the moment with characteristic fervour. He heard with joy of the arrival from Flanders of King Philip and Queen Juana, to take possession of their throne of Castile. In the daughter of Isabella, he trusted to find a patroness and a friend. 26. King Ferdinand and all the court repaired to Lo- redo, to receive the youthful sovereigns. Columbus sent his brother, the Adelantado, to represent him, and wrote a letter to the king and queen, lamenting his being pre vented by illness from coming in person. He expressed a hope, that he should receive at their hands a restitution of his honours and 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 witnessed. 27. Such was the last sally of his sanguine and un conquerable spirit ; which, disregarding age and infir mities, 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. 28. The Adelantado took an affectionate leave of his brother, whom he was never to behold again, and set out on his mission to the new sovereigns. He experienced the most gracious reception, and flattering hopes were given him that the claims of the admiral would speedily be satisfied. 29. In the mean time, the cares and troubles of Co lumbus were drawing to a close. The transient fire which had reanimated him was soon quenched by accu mulating infirmities. Immediately after the departure of the Adelantado, his illness increased in violence. 3<X Finding that his end was approaching, he arranged all his earthly affairs, constituting his son Diego his uni versal heir, entailing his honours 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. 196 LIFE AND VOYAGES 31. In his will he enjoined that a portion of his reve nues should be annually deposited in the bank of St. George, at Genoa, until a sufficient sum should be accu mulated 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. Other provisions were made for the foundation of churches the support of Beatrix Enriquez, the mother of Fernando the relief of his poor relations, and the payment of the most trivial debts. 32. Having thus scrupulously attended to all the claims of earth, he turned his thoughts to heaven, observing all the religious ceremonials of a devout catholic. In his last moments he was attended by his son Diego, and a few faithful followers, and he expired, with great resig nation, on the 20th of May, 1506, being about seventy years of age. His last words were, " Into thy hands, O Lord, I commend my spirit."* CHAPTER XLVL Observations on the Character of Columbus. 1. COLUMBUS was a man of great and inventive genius. The operations of his mind were energetic, but irregular. His ambition was lofty and noble, inspiring him with high thoughts, and an anxiety to distinguish himself by great achievements. 2. He aimed at dignity and wealth in the same eleva ted spirit with which he sought renown ; they were to rise from the territories he should discover, and be com mensurate in importance. The vast gains that he an ticipated, he intended to appropriate to public pur poses ; to institutions for the relief of the poor, to the foundation of churches, and, above all, to crusades for the recovery of the holy sepulchre. 3. He was tenacious of his rank and privileges, not * In manus tuas, Domine commendo spiritum meum. OP COLUMBUS. 197 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 honour." In his testament, he enjoined on his son Diego, and whomsoever after him should in herit his estates, whatever other titles might be granted by the king, always to sign himself simply " The Ad miral," by way of perpetuating in the family the source of its real greatness. 4. His concktct was characterized by the magnanimity of his spirit. Instead of ravaging the newly found coun tries like many of his contemporary discoverers, who were intent only on immediate gain, he sought to colonize and cultivate them, to civilize the natives, to subject every thing 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. 5. 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 gene rosity of his heart. The magnanimity of his nature shone forth through all the troubles of his stormy career. Though continually outraged by the seditions of turbulent and worthless men, arid that, too, at times when suffer ing under anguish of body and anxiety of mind, yet he restrained his valiant and indignant spirit, and brought himself to forbear, and reason, and even to supplicate. 6. 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. 7. His piety was genuine and fervent ; religion mingled with the whole course of his thoughts and ac tions, and shone forth in his most private and unstudied writings. Whenever he made any great discovery, he devoutly returned thanks to God. The voice of prayer 17* 198 LIFE AND VOYAGES and the melody of praise rose from his ships on discover, ing the new world, and his first action on landing- was to prostrate himself upon the earth, and offer up thanksgiv ings. Every evening the Salve Regina, and other vesper hymns, were chanted by his crew, and masses were per- formed in the beautiful groves that bordered the wild shores of this heathen land. 8. All his great enterprises were undertaken in the name of the Holy Trinity, and he partook of the holy sacrament previous 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 deportment ; his very language was pure and guarded, and free from all gross or irreverent expressions. 9. It cannot be denied, however, that his piety was mingled with superstition, and darkened by the bigotry of the age. He evidently concurred in the opin ion, that all the nations who did not acknowledge the Christian faith were destitute of natural rights ; and that the stern est measures might be used for their conversion, and the severest punishments inflicted upon them, if obstinate in unbelief. 10. In this spirit of bigotry he considered himself jus tified in making captives of the Indians, and transporting 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. 11. 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 favour 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 mari ner should err. OF COLUMBUS. 199 12. These remarks, in palliation of the conduct of Columbus, are required by candour. It is proper to show him in connexion with the age in which he lived, lest the errors of the times should be considered his individual faults. It is not intended, however, to justify him on a point where it is inexcusable to err. Let it remain a blot on his illustrious name, and let others derive a lesson from it. 13. A peculiar trait in his rich and varied character was an ardent imagination, which threw a magnificence over his whole course of thought. A poetical tempera ment is discernible 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 running streams ; the blandness of the temperature, the purity of the atmosphere, and the fra grance of the air, "full of dew and sweetness." 14. It spread a golden and glorious world around him," and tinged every thing with its own gorgeous colours. It betrayed him into visionary 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 an cients ; and such was the heroic scheme of a crusade, for the recovery of the holy sepulchre. 15. It filled his mind with solemn and visionary medi tations on mystic passages of the scriptures, and on the shadowy portents of the prophecies. It exalted his own office in his eyes, and made him conceive 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, in the silence of the night on the disastrous coast of Veragua. 16. He was decidedly a visionary, but a visionary of an uncommon kind, and successful in his dreams. The manner in which his ardent imagination and mercurial nature were controlled by a powerful judgment, and ^00 LIFE AND VOYAGES OF COLUMBUS. directed by an acute sagacity, is the most extraordinary feature in his character. Thus governed, his imagination, 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. 17. To his intellectual vision it was given to read the signs of the times, and to trace in the conjectures and reveries 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." 18. With all the visionary fervour of his imagination, its fondest dreams fell short of the reality. He died in ^ignorance 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 Solo mon, and that Cuba and Terra Firma were but remote parts of Asia. 19. What visions of glory would have broken upon his mind, could he have known that he had indeed discover ed a new continent equal to the old world in magnitude, and separated by two vast oceans from all the earth hith erto known by civilized man ! and how would his mag nanimous spirit have been consoled, amidst the afflictions of age, and the cares of penury, the neglect of a fickle public, and the injustice of an ungrateful king, could he have anticipated the splendid empires which would arise in the beautiful world he had discovered ; 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 ! 201 APPENDIX. Obsequies of Columbus. 1. THE body of Columbus was deposited in the con vent of S. Francisco, and his obsequies were celebrated with funeral pomp in the church of Santa Maria de la Antigua, in Valladolid. His remains were transported, in 1513, 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 cathedral of the city of San Domingo. But even here they did not rest in quiet. .On the cession of Hispaniola to the French in 1^95, it was determined by the Spaniards to bear them off to the island of Cuba as precious relics, connected with the most glorious epoch of Spanish history. 2. Accordingly, on the 20th of 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 coffin, 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. 3. On the following day there was another grand con vocation at the cathedral : the vigils and masses for the dead were chanted, and a funeral sermon was preached by the archbishop. After these solemn ceremonials in the cathedral, the coffin was transported to the ship, at tended 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 distinguished persons of the several orders took turns to support the coffin. 4. 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 202 APPENDIX. vessels of war in the harbour, they all paid the honours due to an admiral and captain-general of the navy. On arriving 1 at the mole, the remains were met by the gover nor of the island, accompanied by the generals of the military staff. They were then conveyed in the utmost pomp to the cathedral. Masses and the solemn ceremo nies 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. 5. 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 honourable 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 hut reflect that it was from this very port he was carried offloaded with igno minious chains, blasted apparently in fame and fortune, and taunted by the revilings of the rabble. 6. Such honours, it is true, are nothing to the dead, nor can they atone to the heart, now dust and ashes, for all the wrongs and sorrows it may have suffered ; but they speak volumes of comfort to the illustrious yet slan dered and persecuted living, encouraging them bravely to bear with present injuries, by showing them how true merit outlives all calumny, and receives its glorious re ward 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 Spa nish 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 in demnification, which has just been allowed. A pension of twenty-four thousand dollars has been assigned him on the revenues of Cuba and Porto Rico, tt 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 THE END. QUESTIONS. INTRODUCTION. Page 3. Sec. 1, 2. Was any thing certain known of the Ame rican continent before the fifteenth century? 3. What was thought of the Atlantic ? 4, 5. What were the Arabian notions concerning it ? 6. What is the object of the present work. CHAPTER I. Page 5. Sec. 1. Where and when was Columbus born ? 2. What %vas his parentage 1 What the sentiment of his son Fernando on the subject ? 3, 4. What was his education ? 5. At what age (iid he go to sea ? What was the nature of the seafaring life in those days ? Page 6. Sec. 6. Who did he first sail with ? 7. In what expe dition ? What did he do at Tunis ? 8, 9. What battle was he engaged in on the Portuguese coast ? Page 7. Sec. 10. The event of that battle? 11. What are the probable objects that led Uolumbus to Portugal 1 CHAPTER II. Page 7. Sec. 1. Who patronized modern discovery? 2. What were his ideas with respect to a route by sea to India? 3. What errors had he to struggle against 1 ? Page 8. Sec. 4. His measures to conquer them? 5. What aid did he receive from the Pope ? 6. His death, character, and motto ? 7, 8. The person of Columbus? Pa^e 9. Sec. 9. His temper and manners? 10. His diet and dress? His discourse ? His religious habits ? 11, 12. Who did he marry ? Where did he first see her? Their circumstances? 13. How did this connexion operate upon his nautical pursuits ? 14. On what expeditions did he sail ? On what island did he reside ? Page 10. Sec. 15. What were the rumours among seamen con cerning land in the Atlantc? 16. What of the island of St. Brandon ? 17. What effect had these things upon the mind of Columbus ? 18. What idea did he form respecting a new route to India? CHAPTER III. Page 11. Sec. I. What did Columbus suppose to be the form of the earth ? How much of its circumference did he suppose to be 204 QUESTIONS. discovered ? How was the remaining part filled up ? 2. What was the opinion of the ancients witli respect to India? What had Marco Polo done to confirm it ? 3. What was the opinion of Alfraganus respecting the size of the earth ? What did Co lumbus infer from that opinion ? 4, 5. What facts tended to confirm the helief in lands to the westward ? 6. What regions were described by Marco Polo ? Page 12. Sec. 7. What and where was the island of Cipango 1 8. What was the plan of Columbus in his projected voyage? 9. What errors encouraged him? 10. 11. Effect of his theory upon his conduct and character? CHAPTER IV. Page 13. Sec. 1. What difficulties impeded the project of Co lumbus? 2. Where did he sail in the interim ? 3, 4. What instru ment was introduced into nautical use under the patronage of John II. ? Its effects on navigation ? Upon the plans of Co lumbus? Page 14. Sec. 5. How was his proposition received by King John ? How by his counsellors ? 6, 7. What artifice did they resort to ? 8. How did Columbus act in consequence ? 9. Where did he next go ? How did he conduct himself towards his family ? 10. How was his proposition received by Genoa ? Page 15. Sec. 11. How by Venice? Where did he send his. brother Bartholomew ? Where did he go himself? CHAPTER V. Page 15. Sec. 1. Where is the convent of La Rabida situated? Where is the port of Palos? 2. What happened at the gate of the convent? 3. Who was Juan Perez de Marchena ? 4.. How did he act towards Columbus ? Page 16. Sec. 5. Who was Martin Alonzo Pinzon ? What -vd did he yield Columbus ? 6. To whom did Juan Perez give Colum bus a letter? 7. When did Columbus set out for the court? 8, 9. How did Ferdinand and Isabella govern their kingdoms? 10. What was the chancier of Ferdinand ? Page 17. Sec. 11, 12. What were the person and character of Isabella? 13. Her civil policy? CHAPTER VI. Page 17. Sec. 1. What was the state of the Spanish court? 2. How was Columbus received by Talavera ? Page 18. Sec. 3, 4, 5. How was" he regarded by courtiers ? by scoffers? by children? 6. What connexion did he form at Cor dova? 7, 8. What proselytes did he gain? Who obtained an audience for him with the king? Page 19. Sec. 9, 10, 11. How was he received? What was tire result of his audience ? QUESTIONS. 205 CHAPTER VII. Page 19. Sec. 1. Where did the grand conference take place ? 2, 3, 4. What were the prepossessions of the members against Columbus? 5,6. What objections were made to his theory? 7. What is the excuse for them ? Page 21. Sec. 8. Were there not religious objections ? 9, 10. How did Columbus answer them? 11. What effect had his reasoning? 12. What life did he lead during his solicitations? Page 22. Sec. 13. What was the final decision of the council of Salamanca? 14. What its effect upon Columbus? CHAPTER VIII. Page 22. Sec. 1. To what noblemen did Columbus apply ? With what success? Page 23* Sec. 2. To what court did he next turn his thoughts? 3, 4. What occurred on his revisiting the convent of La Rabi- da ? 5, 6. What was the effect of the friar s intercession with the queen ? 7. What did Columbus witness on returning to the court? Pa^e 24. Sec. 8. His appearance and conduct there ? 9, 10, 11. What were his demands on his first negotiation ? How were they received? What sneer was made respecting his terms? How did he answer it ? Why was the negotiation broken off? Page 25. Sec. 13. What was the conduct and determination of Columbus in consequence? 14. Who remonstrated with the queen? 15. What was the speech of Isabella respecting her ; ewels ? 16. Where was Columbus when called back to court? CHAPTER IX. Page 26. Sec. 1. How was Columbus received on his return to court? 2. What were the stipulations agreed upon? What ,his titles and authorities 1 What his share in the profits ? What his jurisdiction as judge? What his privileges on contributing an eighth of the expense? 3. Where and when were those articles signed ? Page 27. Sec. 4. What religious object had Columbus in his dis coveries? 5. What was his proposition concerning a crusade? 6, 7, 8. What port was fixed upon for the embarkation ? What orders were issued respecting ships and supplies ? 9. What post was given to the son of Columbus? Page 28. Sec. 10. How long had Columbus prosecuted his suit ? How old was he when he succeeded ? What should his exam ple teach? 11, 12, 13. How was the royal mandate received at Palos ? 14. How did Pinzon behave ? Page 29. Sec. 15. The effect of his conduct? 16. What of the third vessel? 17,18. What was the force of th* squadron? The nature of the ships? Their commanders? 19. The cir* cumstances of their departure ? 206 QUESTIONS. CHAPTER X. Page 30. Sec. 1. When did Columbus set sail 1 2. What was the nature of the chart by which lie sailed 1 Page 31. See. 7, 8. What was the conduct of the seamen on losing sight of land ? 11. What of the variation of the needle ? Page 32. Sec. 14. What of the trade wind ? 16, 17. What signs of land cheered the seamen ? & Page 33. Sec. 19, 20. How were they affected by the length of the voyage? 21. What of the singing of the small birds? Page 34. Sec. 24. 25. What did they apprehend from the patches of sea weeds ? What from the calmness of the sea? 26, 27, 28. What were their mutinous suggestions? Page 35. Sec. 2933. What the false alarms of land ? The ef fect of disappointments ? The firm reply of Columbus to his crew ? Page 36- Sec. 34. What dispelled all doubts? 35, 36. What was the conduct of Columbus the eve of his discovery ? His address to his crew? His arrangements for the night? 38- VVho first saw a light on shore ? Page 37- Sec 40. Who first saw land ? 41. The effect upon the feelings of Columbus ? CHAPTER XL Page 38. Sec. 1. What was the appearance of the island in the morning? 2, 3, 4. Describe the landing of Columbus. Page 39. Sec. 5. How did his followers behave ? 610. What was the idea of the natives respecting the ships and Spaniards ? their behaviour. Page 40. Sec. 11. What was the character of the natives ? 13. What was the name of the island ? How came the natives to be called Indians ? 15. What did they offer in barter y 16. What intelligence did they give concerning gold ? Page 41. Sec. 17. What were the conclusions of Columbus? 18. What did he think of the number of small islands? 22. W^hat was the first account he heard of Cuba ? What land did suppose it to be ? Page 42. Sec. 23. What were his impressions on coasting Cuba ? 27. What traces did he meet with of the natives ? Page 43. Sec. 29. What embassy did he send into the interior? 32. What strange article of luxury did the envoys meet with among the natives? Page 44. Sec. 34- What occurred during the admiral s cruise in quest of the island of Babique ? 36- What did he think of the desertion of Martin Alonzo Pinzon ? 38 How did he first discover the island of Hayti? Page 45- Sec- 40. What was the CHAPTE age 45- Sec- 2. Why did Columb 3- What interview took place with the inhabitants? he appearance of the island ? CHAPTER XII- Page 45- Sec- 2. Why did Columbus name the island Hispauiola? QUESTIONS 207 Page 46- Sec- 8. Describe the interview with the young cacique 1 Page 47. Sec. 11. What was the first overture of friendship on the part of Guacanagari ? 14- What were the circumstances of the shipwreck of Columbus ? Page 48 Sec- 17- What was the conduct of Guacanagari and his subjects ? Page 49. Sec. 19. How did the chieftain entertain Columbus? 20 What military display was made by Columbus ? Its effect on the natives ? 23- What was the first account of the gold mines of Cibao 1 Page 50. Sec. 24. What was the mode of life of the natives? 27. What effect had it upon the sailors 1 What new plan was adopted by Columbus ? Page 51. Sec. 30. What was the nature of the fort he built, and of his instructions to the garrison ? 34. What were the circum stances attending his departure ? CHAPTER XIII. Page 52- Sec- 1- How did they meet with the Pinta? 2- What was the excuse of Pinzon ? What his real motive ? 3. Where had he been ? Page 53. Sec- 4- What did Columbus do at Rio de Gracia 1 5, 6. Where was the first native blood shed by Europeans in the new world 1 7. What was the name of the cacique of Ciguay 1 8- His conduct ? Page 54. Sec- 11 17. Describe the storm on the voyage home ward. The vows made by the admiral and his crew. The precaution taken by Columbus to perpetuate the fame of his discovery in case of shipwreck. Page 55- Sec 18 What land did he first arrive at? 19 22. How was he received ? What occurred between him and the governor ? 23- At what place in Portugal did he arrive 1 CHAPTER XIV. Page 57. Sec. 1. The effect of the arrival in the Tagus ? 2. The conduct of the people 1 Page 58. Sec- 3, 4 The treatment and reception of Columbus by the king 1 ? 5, 6 What were the doubts of king John re specting the discovery ? 7, 8, 9- What was the advice of his counsellors ? Page 59. Sec. 10- How did the king treat their advice ? 12. What was the reception of Columbus at Palos ? Page 60- Sec 16 What was the fate of Pinzon? What the apologies to he made for his conduct? What the moral to be drawn from it ? CHAPTER XV. Page 61- Sec. 1. Describe the journey of Columbus to Barcelona. Page 62. Sec- 2- His arrival and entrance there ? 3- The parade 208 QUESTIONS. of his Indian rophies? 4. The appearance of the streets ? 5. What gavo s^Ok e. unity and grandeur to this spectacle ? 6. How did the sove-cj^i. receive Columbus 1 Page 63. Stv. 7 P. How did he appear in their presence 1 His looks? His c- Hid?if 9. His relation of his discoveries ? 10,11. Describe die thank giving of the sovereigns and their court. Page 64. Sec. 1*\ \\ ivt vow did Columbus make concerning the holy sepulchre? 14, 15. What honours did he receive What coat of arms am 1 motto ? 16. What concerning the pen sion for first descrying hud"? Page 65. Sec. 17. Ilelai tfie anecdote of the egg. 20, 21. What idea was entertained concerning the newly discovered land? What name did it receive ? CHAPTER XVI. Page 65. Sec. 1. What wac the nature of the bull obtained from the Pope ? Page 66. Sec. 2. In virtue of what authority ? 3. What was the line of demarcation 1 4. W ho was appointed superintendent of Indian affairs ? 6. What monk was sent as apostolical vicar 1 7. YVhat did Isabella for the Indians 1 Page 67. Sec. 8. What was the public feeling respecting the new expedition ? 9, 10. Who was Alonzo de Ojeda? His person; character 1 11, 12. His exploit"? 13. What dispute arose with Fonseca ? Page 68. Sec. 14. Its consequences ? CHAPTER XVII. Page 68. Sec. 1. Where did Columbus embark on his second voyage ? What armament ? Page 69. Sec. 3. The scene of his embarkation 1 4, 5. What islands did he discover? 6, 7. What of the Caribs and their cannibalism ? Page 70. Sec. 8. Relate the anecdote of the eight stragglers, and Ojeda s search after them. 12. Relate the conflict with the In dian canoe. The valour of the females. Page 71. Sec. 15. What was the original name of Porto Rico 7 18. What circumstance alarmed Columbus on landing on the coast of Hayti ? CHAPTER XVIII. Page 72. Sec. 1, 2. What occurred on arriving at La Navidad I 3. What was the st>ry of the Indians ? Page 73. Sec. 5. What was the appearance of the shore on the next day ? 6. What was the state of the fort 7 7. What search did Columbus make? 8. What did he discover? 9. What was the true story of the fortress ? QUESTIONS. 209 Page 74. Sec. 12. Who was Caonabo ? 14. What did he dp to the fortress ? Page 75. Sec. 16. What occurred in Columbus visit to Guaca- nagari 7 18. What most amazed the chief on board of the ship" 19. Who was Catalina? 20. What was the advice of Friar Boyle? Page 76. Sec. 23. How was the escape of Catalina? CHAPTER XIX. Page 77. Sec. 1. Why did Columbus remove the colony; and whither? 2. The name of the new town ? 3. How built? 4. The sfate of the colonists 1 Page 78. Sec. 7. Why did Columbus send an expedition to Ci- bao 1 8. The commander of the expedition 1 His route ? His success 1 11. Who sailed for Spain 1 Page 79. Sec. 12. What did he take with him? What did Co lumbus write ? 14. His advice respecting the Caribs? 15. How was it received by the sovereigns? 16. The effect in Europe of the arrival of the fleet ? Page 80. Sec. 18. What were the murmurs of the colonists ? 20. Who formed a conspiracy? How was it punished ? 21. What was the disadvantage of Columbus ? CHAPTER XX. Page 81- Sec- 1- What expedition did Columbus undertake ? 2. What road did the Spaniards make across the mountains? 3. What prospect did they see from the mountain ? Page 82. Sec- 6, 7. How did they march ? How did the Indians behave ? 8, 9- What was the appearance of the gold region ? 10. What fortress did Columbus build ? CHAPTER XXI. Page 83. Sec. 1. Who was left in command of St Thomas ? 2- . What was the character of the natives ? 3. What was their creed ? Page 84- Sec- 4- What were zemes ? 5. What were the Indian priests? 6. The festivals of a cacique in honour of his zemi? 8. The ideas of the natives respecting creation? Page 85. Sec. 9, 10. Respecting the origin of man ? 11. Of wo men ? 13. Respecting the deluge ? Page 86. Sec. 16. Their treatment of the dying and dead? 18. Their ideas of a future state ? 19. Their dances and areytos ? Page 87. Sec. 20. What was their character for industry ? 21, Why were they indolent? 23. How did they treat the Spaniards ? CHAPTER XXII. Page 88. Sec. 1. What tidings did Columbus receive after his 18* 210 QUESTIONS. return < How did he act ? 2- What was the state of the colo nists at the harbour ? What did Friar Boyle 1 3, 4. What gave offence to the cavaliers ? Page 89. Sec. 5, 6. What was the fate of these cavaliers ? 7. What superstitious story was told concerning them ? How was their fate charged to Columbus, and what did Columbus resolve to do, prior to sailing on discoveries ? 9. Who did he put at the head of his forces ? What orders did he give him ? Page 90. Sec. 10, Jl. What punishment did Ojeda inflict upon Indian thie\es? 12, 13, 14. What did Columbus with the cap tive cacique / Why did he pardon him ? What was the ex ploit of a single horseman ? 15. Whom did Columbus leave in command when he sailed ? CHAPTER XXIII. Paae 91- Sec. 1. What was the plan of Culumbus in revisiting Cuba ? 2. How was he received by the natives? 3- Why did he steer for Jamaica 1 Its aspect ? 4. What of the natives, and their canoes Page 92- Sec- 5. Relate the story of the young Indian. 7, 8. What was the queen s garden ? What did Columbus consider it ? Page 93. Sec. 9. What of Ornofay? 10. The evening regale along its coast ? 12. What made him suppose that he was in the neighbourhood of Mangi ? 13. What was the story of the archer, and the men in whfte ? Page 94. Sec. 15. What of the party sent in search of him ? 16. The probable origin of the story ? CHAPTER XXIV. Page 94- Sec- 1. What did Columbus hope to effect. by continu ing his voyage ? 2. Why was he induced to abandon it / Page 65- Sec- 3. What deposition did he require from his crew? 4. What would have been the effect had he continued on ? 6. Relate the anecdote of the old Indian and his speech. Page 96. Sec. 9. What was the reply of Columbus ? 10. What the wish of the old Indian ? 11. What the incident of the ca cique of Jamaica and his family? Page 97. Sec. 14. His speech? 15. The reply of Columbus? 16. Whither did Columbus wish to proceed ? 17, 18. What prevented him ? CHAPTER XXV. Page 98. Sec. 1. Who did Columbus find at Isabella ? 2. How had Bartholomew succeeded with henry? 4,5, 6. Describe the person of Bartholomew. His temper. Manners. Dispo- tion. His mental endowments. Page 99. Sec. 7. What title did Columbus give him ? 8. What QUESTIONS. had been the conduct of Margarite ? 9. His reply to Don Diego 1 10. Who was his ally ? Their proceedings ? 11. What was the conduct of the army ? Page 100. Sec. 12. Its effects 1 13. What was the design of Caonabo ? 14, 15. What of Ojeda and his picture of the Vir gin ? 16. What of the attack on the fortress by Caonabo 7 Page 101. Sec. 18. What were the five domains of the island ? 20. What was the plot of the caciques ? What prevented it? 21. What occurred between Columbus and Guacanagari ? Page 102. Sec. 22. What were the measures taken by Colum bus ? 24. State the expedition of Ojeda. Page 103. Sec. 27. What of the chapel bell? 30. What was the artifice of the manacles ? Page 104. Sec. 33. What the conduct of Caonabo as prisoner ? CHAPTER XXVI. Page 105. Sec. 1. What relief did Torres bring ? What letters ? 2. What did Columbus send by the ships ? 4. What did he hear respecting the Indians? With what foice did he take the field ? Page 106. Sec. 6. Where did he meet the enemy? 7. Describe the battle. 10. What of Guacanagari ? 11, 12. What tribute did Columbus enforce ? Page 107. Sec. 13, 14. Its effects upon the natives? 15. The nature of their ballads ? Page 108. Sec. 18. What measures did they take in their despair ? 19. How did the Spaniards act in consequence ? 20. What was the fate of Guacanagari ? 23. His character ? CHAPTER XXVII. Page 109. Sec. 1. Who misrepresented the conduct of Colum bus at the court of Spain ? 3. What measure was taken in con sequence ? 4. Who was Aguado 7 Page 110. Sec. 5. What was done with the slaves? 6, 7, 8. How did Aguado act on arriving ? 9, 10, 11. How did Colum bus conduct towards him? Page 111. Sec. 12. What was the effect among the people? 13. How did Aguado receive their complaints ? 14. Describe the hurricane. Pa^e 112. Sec. 17. Recite the story of Diaz. 20. How were his tidings received at Isabella ? Page 113. Sec. 23. What did Columbus infer from the mining excavations ? 24. What of Diaz and his Indian bride ? CHAPTER XXVIII. Page 113. Sec. 1. Whom did Columbus leave in command ? What kind of people returned with him ? 2. What remarkable . Indians ? 3. What Island did he touch at ? 212 QUESTIONS. Page 114- Sec- 4, 5. .What took place there ? 6. What of the female cacique and Caonabo 1 7,8. What of the fate of Cao- nabo ? Page 115. Sec. 9. What happened in the return voyage? 10. What of the crew when landing at Cadiz ? 12. What was the appearance of Columbus 1 13. His reception by the sovereigns ? Page 116- Sec. 15. What ships did he ask? 16- What caused delay? 18. What new arrangements were made with Colum bus? What title did he prefer? Page 117. Sec. 21. What arrangements for the colony? 23. What did Columbus propose with respect to criminals? 24. What delays did he experience ? From whom ? 27. Who treated him with insolence? How did he bear it 1 What was his message to the sovereigns on the subject? CHAPTER XXIX. Page 118. Sec. 1. Why did Columbus change his route in the third voyage? Page 119. Sec. 2. What had he heard of main land in the south : and its inhabitants ? 3, 4- What route did he take ? 5, 6, 7. What weather did he experience ? Page 120. Sec. 8. What island did he discover ? 9. What part of the main land ? 10. AVhat gulf did he explore ? Page 121. Sec. 14. What did he conclude from the vast body of fresh water running into the sea ? 15. What did he infer as to the shape of the earth ? 16. What as to the terrestial paradise? 18, 19. Why did he hasten for Hispaniola? 20. What strait did - he pass through? 21. At what part of Hispaniola did he arrive ? CHAPTER XXX Page 123. Sec. 1, 2. What fortress did the Adelantado build? 3, 4. Who was Behechio ? What of Xaragua? 5. Who was Anacaono ? Page 124. Sec- 7, 8. Describe the reception of Don Bartholo mew by Anacaona. 9. His entertainment at Xaragua. 10. What was the state of the settlement ? page 125. Sec. 11. What cacique rebelled in the vega ? 12. 13. The mode off-ending a letter? 14- The Adelantado s measures with the rebels? 15. Effect of his clemency on Giiarionex? Page 126- Sec. 16. What tribute did he receive at Xaragua ? 18, 19. Describe the arrival of the caravel. 20, 21- Who was Roldan ? Page 127. Sec. 22, 23. His intrigues ? 24. His proposition re- specting the caravel ? 25. What did Don Diego with Roldan i Page 128^ Sec- 26- Intrigues of Roldan among the caciques ? 7. How did he act at the public stores ? 28- His attempt on 27. QUESTIONS. 213 Fort Conception ? 30. What was the state of the island 1 31. Who arrives from Spain ? The consequences ? Page 129. Sec. 32, 33. What occurred between Roldan and Co- ronaH 35. What of Roldan and Xaragua ? Page 130. Sec. 36. What of Guarionex and Mayonebex 1 38. Relate the expedition of the Adelantado. CHAPTER XXXI. Page 131. Sec. 1. What did Columbus on his arrival ? Page 132- Sec- 2. What ships arrived at Xaragua ? What stratagem did Roldan use 1 3. What did Carvajal do ? 4. What effect had his representations? 5. What did Columbus offer 1 How was his offer treated ? 6. What of the muster at San Domingo? Page 133. Sec. 7. What did Columbus write by the ships ? 8. What measures did Columbus then pursue with the rebels ? 9. How did the rebels behave ? 10. What kind of letter was re ceived from Fonseca ? 11. Its effect t Page 134. Sec. 12, 13. The situation of Columbus? 14. What capitulations did he make 7 15. What are repartimientos ? 16. Who embarked in the caravels ? What did they take witn them ? 17. What were Roldan s terms for himself? 18. What of Pedro Reguelme 7 CHAPTER XXXII. Page 135. Sec. 1. Who arrived at Hispaniola ? 2. Who was sent against him ? 3, 4. What took place between them 7 Page 136. Sec. 5, 6. What induced Ojeda to make a voyage ? Who gave him a license? 7. Who sailed with him? 8. De scribe Ojeda s voyage. 9, 10. What took place on the coast of Xaragua ? Page 137. Sec. 11. What did Roldan s followers require ? 13, 14, 15. Relate the story of Guevara and the Indian beauty. Page 138. Sec. 16. The plot against Roldan. 17. The plot of Moxica. 18. How did Columbus act ? 19, 20, Relate the death of Moxica. Page 139. Sec. 21. What followed 7 What did Columbus look forward to ? CHAPTER XXXIII. Page 139. Sec. 1, 2. What slanders were circulated against Columbus at court? Page 140. Sec. 8. How was the king set against him? 4. What took place at the Alhambra? 5. VVhat were the doubts of Isa bella? 6. What was the determination of Ferdinand? 7. Who arrived in the two caravels ? What of the Indian slaves ? Page 141. Sec. 8, 9. What said Isabella ? How did she act? 214 QUESTIONS. ]0. Who was Bobadilla? His character ? 11. What din* he hear on his arrival ? 12. What of the rebels ? Who were in prison ? Page 142. Sec. 13. How did the public act ? 14. What were the first measures of Bobadilla? 15, 16, 17. What passed be tween him and Don Dies^o ? Page 143. Sec. 18, 19. What occurred at the fort? 20. How did Bobadilla act with respect to Columbus? 21. What license did he grant to the people ? CHAPTER XXXIV. Page 143. Seel. What did Columbus write to Bobadilla? 2. How did Bobadilla reply? 3. What rumour prevailed con cerning Columbus ? 4. How did Columbus act on receiving the letter of the sovereigns ? How was he treated on his arrival at San Domingo? 5, 6, 7. Wjio put him in irons? How did he conduct himself? Page 145. Sec. 8. What did he write to Don Bartholomew ? "The effect? 9. How were the brothers treated 1 10, 11, 12. The state of San Domingo ? Of the rebels ? Page 148. Sec. 13. What did Bobadilla determine? 14, 15, 16. Describe the scene with Villejo. 17. Describe the departure of Columbus. Page 147. Sec. 18. His treatment on his voyage ? 19. His re ply about his chains ? 20. What said his son respecting them ? CHAPTER XXXV. Page 147. Sec. 1. The effect of his arrival at Cadiz 1 2. His letter to the queen 1 Its effect ? Page 148 Sec- 3- What orders were issued by the sovereigns ? 4, 5, 6. Describe the interview of Columbus with the sovereigns. 7. What did they promise ? 8. Did Ferdinand reinstate him 1 Page. 149. Sec. 9, 10, 11. His real reasons for not doing sot 12. 13. His alleged reasons ? Page 150. Sec. 14, 15. Who was Ovando? His character ? 16, 17, 18. What, were the errors of Bobadilla? His treatment of the natives ? His exhortation to the colonists 1 Page 151. Sec. 20, 21, 22. The conduct of the colonists towards the natives ? 23. What instructions were given to Ovando 1 24. How were the affairs of Columbus to be taken care of? Page 152. Sec. 25. What of negro slavery ? 26, 27. What of the fleet and retinue of Ovando ? CHAPTER XXXVI. Page 152. Sec. 1, 2. What vow did Columbus call to mind ? Page 153. Sec. 3. What volume did he arrange ? 4. What letter did he write to the sovereigns ? 5, 6. What of Vasco de Gama and his discoveries ? 7, 8. What strait did Columbus expect to discover ? QUESTIONS. 215 CHAPTER XXXVII. Page 15-4. Sec. 1. The age and health of Columbus. 2. Who accompanied him on his voyage? 3. What was his armament ? 4. Why did he touch at Hispaniola 1 5. The state of that place on his arrival? 7, 8. What did he request of Ovando ? Page 156. Sec 9, 10, 11. The circumstances of the storm ? 12, 13. The fate of Columbus enemies? 14- The opinions of his son and of Las Casas in the matter? Page 157- Sec- 15, 16 The notions of the seamen- 17, 18- What of the Indian canoe at Guanaga ? 19- What if Columbus had steered for Yucatan 7 Page 158- Sec 20 24- What of his voyage along the coast? 25- The anecdote of the notary? Page 159- Sec- 26 What were the superstitions of the sailors? 27. What did Columbus find at Veragua ? 28,29 What were the rumours of Mexico"? 30 Conduct of the natives along this coast. 31- Where did Columbus give up his eearch after the strait ? and why ? CHAPTER XXXVHI. Page 160. Sec. 1, 2, 3. What of the weather? Of the water spout ? Page 161. Sec- 4- What charm did the sailors use? 5. What were their notions concerning sharks? 6. In what river did they anchor ? 7. What did the Adelantado ? 8. Who was Quibian? The interview with him? Page 162. Sec. 9. What did the Adelantado find in the interior? 10. What were the ideas of Columbus respecting the coast? 11, 12. His plan of founding a colony? 13. What preve.ted his sailing ? Page 163. Sec. 14, 15. Who was Diego Mendez ? How did he discover the plot of Quibian? 17. Describe the expedi.ion against Quibian. Page 164. Sec. 21. What of Juan Sanchez and Quibian ? CHAPTER XXXIX. Page 164. Sec. 1. Where did Columbus anchor? Page 165. Sec. 2, 3. What of Quibian and his assault ? 4. Wow did the Adelantado act? 5, 6. What of Diego Tristan? His fate ? Page 166. Sec. 7, 8. The state of the Spaniards on shore? 9, 10. Their measures for defence ? 11. State of the ships ? Page 167. Sec. 12. What did the Indian prisoners? 13. What of Pedro Ledesma? 14. What news did he bring from shore? 15, 16. What was the state of mind of Columbus? Page 168. Sec. 17, 18, 19. Relate his vision. 20. Was it real or imaginary ? 23. His embarkation. 216 QUESTIONS. CHAPTER XL. Page 169. Sec. 1, 2. What was the route of Columbus to Ja maica? 3. Where did he anchor ? 4. What did he do with his ships ? Pa;e 170. Sec. 5. What regulations did he make? 6. How did Diego Mendez procure supplies 1 7 11. State the conver sation of Columbus with Mendez. Page 171. Sec. 12. What said Mendez before the crew? 13. Describe his preparations for a voyage. Page 172- Sec. 14, 15, 16. What letter did Columbus write? 17, 18. Describe the adventures of Mendez. 19. Who went with him the second time? Page 173. Sec- 20. The plan of the voyage ? 21. What did the Adelantado ? CHAPTER XL1. Page 173. Sec. 1, 2. Describe the look out for the canoe of Fi- esco. The anxieties of the Spaniards. Page 174. Sec. 3. Who were Francisco and Diego Porras ? 4. What were their slanders of Columbus ? 5. The scene between Porras and the admiral ? 6. What did the mutineers ? 7. What did the Adelantado ? 8. Describe the departure of the mutineers. Page 175. Sec. 9, 10, 11. Their attempted voyage. 12. Their conduct on shore. Page 176- Sec. 13. How did Columbus act after their departure ? 14. What was the conduct of the natives ? 15- Relate the story of the eclipse. CHAPTER XLIl. Page 177. Sec. 1, 2. Who arrived at the harbour? Page 178. Sec. 3. What letter did he bring? 4. What was his conduct ? What letter did Columbus write ? 5- What did Co lumbus think of the visit of Escobar? 6. How did he act to wards the rebels ? 7. What terms were demanded by Porras ? Page 179. Sec. 8, 9. What falsehood did he tell ? 10. What at tempt did he make upon the harbour? It. What did the Ad elantado? 12, 13. What said Porras about his opponents? Page J80. Sec. 14. Describe the circumstances of the battle. Who fought with the Adelantado ? How was Porras treated? What was done to his followers ? CHAPTER XLIII. Page 181. Sec. 1. Describe the voyage of Mendez and Fiesco. What did they most suffer from ? Page 182. Sec. 7. At what small island did they touch ? 8- Where did they land in Hispaniola? QUESTIONS. 217 Page 183. Sec. 9. Where did Mendez go? JO. What was his success with Ovaud > ? 12, 13. What relief sailed for Jamaica? Page 184. Sec. 14. Describe the embarkation, 15. The recep tion of Columbus at San Domingo. 16. What differences oc curred between him and Ovando ? CHAPTER XLIV. Page 185. Sec. 1, 2. What adventurers embarked with Ovando ? 3, 4. Describe the pcene at the mines. Page 186. Sec. 5. What was the fate of the gol<? hunters ? 6, 7. What was the policy of Ovando towards the natives ? 8, 9, 10. What were its effects ? Page 187. Seo. 11. What of the province of Higuey and its ca- cifjue? How did he invade Xaragua? 14. How was he re ceived by Anacaona. Page 188. Sec, J5, 16. What stratagem did Ovando practise? Relate the massacre. 17. What was the fate of Anacaona ? 18. What the fate of her province? Page 189. Sec. 21. What had been the intention of Columbus with respect to the natives? 22. What of the five tribes and their princes? 23. What did Columbus write on the subject? 24. What was the state of his own affairs ? 25- What did he QO with his crews? Page 190* Sec. 26. State his voyage and arrival in Spain. CHAPTER XLV. Page 190. Sec? 1. What detained Columbus at Seville ? 2. Wiiat was the state of his finances? 3. What did he write U hi son Diego ? Page 191. Sec. 4- How were his letters to the sovereigns seat ed ? 5. Who was injuring him at court? 6. On whom tiid i,e relv for redress? 7, 8, 9. What had undermined the health of Isabella? Page 192. Sec. 10 Describe her decline and death. 11. What aid she enjoin in her will ? 12, 13. Her character. Her influ ence over the affairs of the new world ? 1 1 15, 16. How did Columbus receive the news of her death ? W hat did lie write to his son on the subject? Page 193. Sec. 17, 18. Repeat his exhortation to brotherfv afiec- tion. 19. How did he enter the gates of Segovia? 20. -How was he received at conn*. Page 194. Sec. 21 . What did he petition of the king ? 22. What did he say as to his own claims? 23. What did the kinsj offer him? How did Columbus treat his offer? 24. What did Co- lumhttft write to a friend ? Ptge 195. Sec. 25. What event gave him new ho pen ? 20, 27 What metfsage did he send to King Philio * 28. How was the 218 QUESTIONS. Adelantado received ? 30. Whom did Columbus constitute his heir? Whom else did he provide for? Page 196. Sec. 31. For what purpose did lie enjoin a deposit in the bank at Genoa? What other provisions dia he make ? 32. When did he die ? How oid was he at the time of his death 1 CHAPTER XL VI. Page 196. Sec. 1. What was the natuieof his genius? His ana bition? 2. What was his use of riches? 3. Why did he value rank ? What title did lie most prize ? and why ? Page 197. Sec. 4- How did he conduct as a discoverer? 5. What was his temper ? How did he govern it ? 6. How did he act towards his enemies? 7. How were his religious feelings ? Page 198. Sec. 8. What were his religious observances 1 9 What mingled with his piety ? 10. What was his error on the subject of slavery ? 11. What may be said in palliation of it? Page 199. Sec, 13. What of his imagination? 14- What specu lations did it produce? 15- Its effect on his meditations? 1(\ 17. Its effect upon his conclusions and plans? Page 200. Sec. 18. In what error did Columbus die ? 14 DAY USE RETURN TO DESK FROM WHICH BORROWED EDUCATION-PSYCHOLOGY LIBRARY This book is due on the last date stamped below, or on the date to which renewed. Renewed books are subject to immediate recall. o 1QR1 o fr" 6 ^" AUG T,T 9.1 AS General Library 04031 ?