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 COLUMBUS 
 
 AEB eng f iMis 
 
 " LOMO IN VAIN 
 HIS SPIRIT BBOODSD O'ZS. TH3 ATiAilTIC MAIJI ! 
 WHZIT SUDDSN. AS CP.SATIOIT BUP^T FROM NOnGHT, 
 STRANCJ A XETT VrOBLD THROUGH HIS STTJPBKDO'CS XnOTJGHI.' 
 
 Montgomery. 
 
 yROM THE LONDON RELIGIOUS TRACT SOCIETY'S EDITION. 
 
 ALBANY: 
 ERASTUS H. PEASE, 
 
 SABBATH SCHOOL AND TRACT DEPOSITORY; 
 
 No. 82 State Street. 
 
 1844.
 
 ALBANY : 
 J. MUNSELI, PRINTER, STATE STRKKT.
 
 CONTENTS 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 Difficulties of early Navigation — Invention of the 
 Mariner's Compass — The Enterprises of the 
 Portuguese — Christopher Columbus - 8 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 Early Life of Columbus— His Maritime Pursuits — 
 The Energy and Perseverance of his Charac- 
 ter — Speculations in reference to Land beyond 
 the Atlantic, 17 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 Object of Portuguese Enterprise — Travels of Mar- 
 co Polo— Application of Columbus to the Court 
 of Portugal— The Visit of his Brother Bartholo- 
 mew to England — Patronage of his Plan by 
 Queen Isabella, 25
 
 IV. CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 Treaty between Columbus and Ferdinand and Isa- 
 bella — Preparations for his first Voyage — Cir- 
 cumstances of it — Discovery of Land, - • 44 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 Landing on the Great Bahamas — The Island nam- 
 ed San Salvador — Visit to Cuba — Pinzon leaves 
 Columbus, • - 57 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 The Visit of Columbus to Hispanioki — Interesting 
 Incidents — Friendship of the Chief Guacana- 
 gari — Columbus leaves some of his Companions 
 on the Island and returns to Spain — A fearful 
 Hurricane — He lands in Portugal, - • 65 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 Columbus enters the Harbor of Palos — His Jour- 
 ney to Barcelona — Splendid reception by the 
 Sovereigns — Views taken of his Discoveries — 
 Mortification and Death of PinzoHj . • 84 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 Preparations for a Second Voyage — Application 
 to the Pope — Dissatisfaction of Portugal with 
 the Enterprise of Spain — Departure of Colum- 
 bus and his Fleet, 94
 
 CONTENTS. Ti 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 Second Voyage of Columbus — Discovery of vari- 
 ous Islands — Return to Hispaniola — Its His- 
 tory during his Absence — Conspiracy against 
 Columbus — Examination of the Island, - 102 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 Voyage of Columbus — He meets unexpectedly his 
 brother Bartholomew — Accusations against the 
 Admiral — He proceeds to Spain — Conduct of 
 Bartholomew during his Absence, - • 111 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 Appearance of Columbus at Court — Another 
 Voyage — Discovery of America — Voyages of 
 the Cabots — Discoveries of the Portuguese — 
 Voyage of Ojeda and Vespucci, - - - 125 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 Columbus arrives at Hispaniola — "Wretched State 
 of the Colony — Conspiracy against Columbus — 
 He is arrested and carried in Fetters to Spain, 145 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 The Reception of Columbus at Court — Another 
 Voyage — Various Calamities — His return to 
 Spain — His Sickness. Death and Burial — Re-
 
 VI. CONTENTS. 
 
 flections — His Son becomes Viceroy — Cabals 
 against him — Death of the Adelantado — Death 
 of Ferdinand — Former State of the Natives of 
 Hispaniola — Cruel Oppression — Death of Die- 
 go — The Inquisition, - ■ - . . 156
 
 COLUMBUS AND HIS TIMES. 
 
 CHAPTER I, 
 
 DIFFICULTIES OF EARLY NAVrGATION — IKVENTIOS OF THE MAPa- 
 NER'S compass — THE ENTERPRISES OF THE PORTCQUESE — 
 CUR15T0PUER COLUMBT;S. 
 
 In early times, the efforts of navigators were 
 very inconsiderable ; their voyages consisted 
 chiefly in a timid creeping along the coast, 
 and rarely did they venture beyond sight of 
 land. The hght of the sun by day, and of 
 the stars by night, was their only guide; 
 and its absence, as in the voyage of the 
 apostle Paul from Cesarea to Rome, was 
 productive of great perplexity and alarm. 
 This infancy of the art of navigation con- 
 tinued for ages; but at length the means
 
 8 COLUMBUS AND HIS TIMES. 
 
 were found by which its maturity was se- 
 cured. To adopt the words of Montgomery : 
 
 " LoDg lay the ocean paths from man concealed ; 
 Light came from heaven — the magnet was revealed^ 
 A surer star to guide the seaman's eye 
 Than the pale glory of the northern sky ; 
 Alike ordained to shine by night and day, 
 Through calm and tempest with unsetting ray ; 
 Where'er the mountains rise, the billows roll, 
 Still with strong impulse turning to the pole ; 
 True as the sun is to the morning true. 
 Though light as film, and trembling as the dew." 
 
 The discovery of the wonderful property of 
 the magnet, by which a needle is made to 
 point to the poles of the earth, was a new 
 era in the history of navigation. The ap- 
 plication of this power to its progress was 
 immediately perceived, and the mariner's 
 compass, now so familiar, was at once con- 
 structed. The north and the south could be 
 found easily by this instrument, with suffi- 
 cient accuracy, in every place and at all 
 seasons, though the day were cloudy and the 
 night were dark ; and thus the domain of the 
 ocean was opened to mankind. 
 
 But though the use of the compass, which 
 was first employed by the Italians, might 
 enable them to perform more safely and
 
 ENTERPRISES OF THE PORTUGUESE. ^ 
 
 speedily the short voyages to which they were 
 accustomed, nearly half a century elapsed 
 before they ventured into any seas which 
 they had not previously visited. The mari- 
 time excursions which were taken, were those 
 of pirates, or of private commercial enter- 
 prise ; and at the beginning of the fifteenth 
 century, there was little, if any, advance in 
 the state of navigation prior to the downfal 
 of the Roman empire. 
 
 An all-wise providence at length put an 
 end to this torpid condition, and gave to 
 Portugal, one of the smallest and least pow- 
 erful of the kingdoms of Europe, the honor 
 of taking the lead. Various circumstances 
 tended to this result. The hostilities carried 
 on for several centuries against the Moham- 
 medans, had diffused among the European 
 nations, during the middle ages, a martial 
 and adventurous spirit, and for this the Por- 
 tuguese were specially distinguished. The 
 ardor they thus manifested was increased by 
 peculiar events in their own history. As, 
 too, Portugal was a maritime state, having 
 many commodious harbors, and the people
 
 10 COLUMBUS AND HIS TDIES. 
 
 having made some progress in the knowledge 
 and practice of navigation, it was natural 
 that they should seek to gain distinction on 
 the sea by their enterprises. 
 
 John I., vi-ho obtained a crown to which 
 he had no right, in order to employ the rest- 
 less spirit of his subjects, which he saw was 
 absolutely necessary, assembled a numerous 
 fleet at Lisbon, to attack the Moors settled 
 on the coast of Barbary. He also sent a 
 few vessels to sail along the western shore 
 of Africa, bounded by the Atlantic ocean, 
 and to discover the unknown countries situ- 
 ated there. Nor was this expedition without 
 success. Its navigators doubled Cape Non, 
 beyond which their predecessors had never 
 ventured to sail, and proceeded onwards a 
 hundred and sixty miles, to Cape Bajador : as, 
 however, they saw its rock}^ cliffs, stretching 
 far into the Atlantic, they shrunk from ven- 
 turing round it, and returned to Lisbon. 
 
 This inconsiderable voyage, and the fortu- 
 nate issue of the expedition against the 
 Moors, increased the passion for discovery. 
 It was further augmented by the efforts of
 
 ENTERPRISES OF THE PORTUGUESE. 11 
 
 one master mind. This was prince Henry 
 of Portugal, son of John I. and PhiUippa of 
 Lancaster, sister of one of the sovereigns of 
 England, Henry IV. He presents an in- 
 stance of the important results arising from 
 long-continued and careful reflection ; and 
 while he is described as a prince "full of 
 thoughts of lofty enterprise," his benevolence 
 it has been said, justly entitled him to as- 
 sume a motto for his device, that described 
 the quality by which he wished to be distin- 
 guished, "the talent of doing good, as the 
 only one worthy the ambition of princes." 
 Happily this power is not confined to distin- 
 guished rank. Every faithful follower of the 
 Redeemer bears some resemblance to his 
 Lord, whose " meat it was to do the w^ill of 
 his heavenly Father." He takes his station 
 among those who are ^ the salt of the earth,' 
 and Uhe lights of the world.' Richly blest 
 in his own soul, he becomes a blessing to 
 others. Nor shall " a cup of cold water given 
 in the name of a disciple" lose its reward. 
 
 Henry fitted out a single ship, directing its 
 commander to double Cape Bajador, and 
 2'
 
 12 COLUMBUS AND HIS TIMES. 
 
 thence to steer towards the south. To do so, 
 according to the mode of navigation which 
 at that time prevailed, would have been very 
 difficult, if not absolutely impossible, but a 
 squall of wind suddenly drove the mariners 
 out to sea, and w^hen they only expected to 
 perish, landed them on an unknown island. 
 This they named Porto Santo, and joyfully 
 returning to Portugal with the tidings of their 
 discovery, were received by Henry with ap- 
 plause and honor. 
 
 In the course of the following year, he 
 sent the same commanders, accompanied by 
 Bartholomew Perestrello, to take possession 
 of the island, and in doing so, they were led, 
 it is affirmed, to the discovery of Madeira. 
 A bolder navigation now followed, and in 
 the space of a few years, the Portuguese ad- 
 vanced within the tropics, discovered the 
 river Seneg^al, and all the coast extendincr 
 from Cape Blanco to Cape de Verd. 
 
 Some remarkable circumstances attended 
 on this enterprise. That the direct rays of 
 the sun operated powerfully, was an opinion 
 derived from antiquity, and this was con-
 
 ENTERPRISES OF THE PORTUGUESE. 13 
 
 firmed by their own observation. As far as 
 the river Senegal, they had found on the 
 coast of Africa, a people nearly resembling the 
 Moors of Barbary, but on advancing to the 
 south of that river, they observed the dark 
 hue, the short curled hair, and the thick lips, 
 now commonly known as marking the negro 
 race. This difference they ascribed to the 
 influence of heat, and they began to dread 
 that if they advanced still further, its effects 
 would appear more violent ; nor were there 
 wanting those who w^ere disposed to exag- 
 gerate such dangers, and to gather from 
 them various objections to further discovery. 
 Henry was not, however, to be moved by 
 the dictates of ignorance, envy, or a cold and 
 timid prudence, even assuming, as they did, 
 the air of patriotism. Instead of slackening 
 his efforts, he pursued them with fresh ardor, 
 but at the same time employed means to re- 
 press opposition, which strikingly show the 
 spirit of the age. The thick darkness of 
 popery w^as then spread over Europe — the 
 darkness of ignorance, error, and supersti- 
 tion. The pope of Rome was in consequence
 
 14 COLUMBUS AND HIS TIMES. .- 
 
 considered the source of all civil, as well as 
 ecclesiastical power. At his word some 
 were exalted, and others humbled to the dust. 
 That this statement may be duly verified, let 
 the reader observe the bull of Pope Sixtus V. 
 against Henry, king of Navarre, and the 
 prince of Conde, remembering that words to 
 the same effect might be quoted of earlier 
 and of later date : — " The authority commit- 
 ted to St. Peter and his successors, by the 
 transcendant power of the King Eternal, ex- 
 ceeds all the powers of earthly kings and 
 potentates. It passes uncontrollable senten- 
 ces upon them all ; and if it find any of them 
 resisting the ordinances of God, it takes 
 more summary vengeance upon them and 
 hurling them from their throne, debases them, 
 as the ministers of aspiring Lucifer, whatever 
 may be their power, to the lowest abysses of 
 the earth." What a fearful manifestation is 
 here of the power of " the man of sin !" 
 
 Yielding to the authority assumed by the 
 pope, Henry represented to him, in pompous 
 terms, his own piety and zeal, in discovering, 
 during a long course of years, countries for-
 
 ENTERPRISES OF THE PORTUGUESE. 15 
 
 merly unknown, the inhabitants of which he 
 described as wandering in heathen darkness, 
 or led astray by the dekisions of Mohammed, 
 and consequently ignorant of the religion 
 which he considered as true. He therefore 
 besought the pope to confer on the crown of 
 Portugal, a right to all such countries as 
 were thus discovered, and to forbid all the 
 powers over whom he ruled, under the high- 
 est penalties, to molest his people in so doing, 
 or even to settle in any of the countries that 
 might thus be made known. He promised, 
 moreover, that in all their expeditions, their 
 chief object should be to establish the au- 
 thority, and increase the subjects of the pope. 
 Eugene IV., to whom this appeal was made, 
 eagerly complied with its request, applauded 
 the efforts w^hich the Portuguese had made, 
 exhorted them to continue their enterprises, 
 and granted them an exclusive right to all 
 the countries they should discover from Cape 
 Non to the continent of India. 
 
 The absurd and monstrous grant thus 
 made, added, of course, to the prevailing en- 
 thusiasm, but it was checked by the death of
 
 16 COLUMBUS AND HIS TIMES. 
 
 Prince Henry, whose knowledge and patron- 
 age had so greatly contributed to the results 
 already secured. These, however, were not 
 so great as might be supposed. During his 
 life, the Portuguese, in their utmost progress 
 towards the south, did not advance within 
 five degrees of the equinoctial line ; and after 
 their continued exertions for half a century, 
 hardly fifteen hundred miles of the African 
 coast were discovered. Still the path was 
 opened to far greater success. 
 
 The fame of the discoveries made by the 
 Portuguese was spread over Europe. Many 
 foreigners were in consequence allured into 
 their service, and among them was Christo- 
 pher Columbus, the man 
 
 " by Heaven designed 
 
 To lift the veil that covered half mankind." 
 
 According to the genius of the Castilian lan- 
 guage, it is said he called himself Crestoval 
 Colon. The family name Colombo, was 
 Latinized into Columbus, and in this form it 
 has been adopted in the English language.
 
 / CHAPTER 11. 
 
 EARLY LIFE 07 COLUMBUS— HIS MARITIME PURSUITS — THE ENERGY 
 AND PERSEVERANCE OF HIS CHARACTER — SPECULATIONS IN RE- 
 FERENCE TO LAND BEYOND THE ATLANTIC. 
 
 The early circumstances of ChristopHer 
 Columbus are involved in much obscurity. 
 Several claims have been advanced in behalf 
 of different places for the honor of having 
 given him birth, but it appears most probable 
 that this distinction belongs to the ancient 
 city of Genoa, once named the superb, but 
 now presenting only a shadow of her former 
 greatness. Columbus was born about 1435, 
 or 1436. Considerable doubt has also pre- 
 vailed in reference to his lineage. "I am 
 not," he writes in one of his letters, " the 
 first admiral of my family ; let them call me 
 what they may. After all, that most prudent
 
 18 COLUMBUS AND HIS TIMES. 
 
 king, David, was first a shepherd, and was 
 afterwards chosen king of Jerusalem ; and I 
 am a servant to the same Lord who raised 
 him to so great a dignity." His family are 
 supposed by some to have ranked among the 
 most distinguished nobility of Placenza, but 
 to have lost their estates during the wars of 
 Lombardy, and to have endeavored to repair 
 their fortunes by maritime adventures. It 
 does not appear, however, that either he or 
 any of his contemporaries knew that there 
 had been any nobihty in his family ; and his 
 son Fernando, who wrote his history, rising 
 superior to such imaginations, says, "I am 
 of opinion that I should derive less dignity 
 from any nobility of ancestry, than from be- 
 ing the son of such a father." Columbus 
 appears, indeed, to have descended from pa- 
 rents in respectable, but humble life, his 
 father being a wool-comber ; an occupation 
 in which the wool, as it is taken from the 
 back of the sheep, is prepared for spinning. 
 
 It is too often supposed that great success 
 in life is to be traced to fortunate circum- 
 stances, as they are miscalled, rather than to
 
 MARITIME PURSUITS OF COLUMBUS. 19 
 
 the personal qualities and efforts of those who 
 €njoy it. This error, which consideration 
 and inquiry would refute, is amply exposed 
 in the life of Columbus. It shows us a mind 
 energetically and constantly employed, and 
 thus obtaining advantages which would not 
 otherwise have been secured, or have been 
 allowed to pass by imimproved. 
 
 In early life, he was sent to Pavia, the 
 chief seat of learning in Italy, where his 
 faculties, which had already yielded much 
 promise, w^ere still further employed and im- 
 proved. The science which treats of the 
 construction, arrangement, and figure of the 
 earth, called cosmography, from two Greek 
 words, meaning " to write about the world," 
 engaged his chief attention. He gave him- 
 himself therefore particularly to geometry 
 and astronomy ; and learned to draw, that he 
 might not only be able to trace the outhnes 
 of countries, but fill them up with their ap- 
 propriate features. The means of improve- 
 ment which he thus possessed were, however, 
 but scanty, and of short continuance. He 
 left the university of Pavia while yet very
 
 20 COLUMBUS AND HIS TIMES. 
 
 young; and according to his own account, 
 he began to navigate the sea at fourteen 
 years of age. 
 
 About the year 1473, he was captain of a 
 ship-of-war, in the service of the king of 
 Naples, and afterwards made several voyages 
 in the Mediterranean to the east and west of 
 Genoa. Subsequently to this, he went to 
 Lisbon, at a time when Portugal was famous 
 for her discoveries, and a great number of 
 Italians, especially Genoese, resorted thither. 
 The knowledge and maritime ardor of these 
 people tended, as has already appeared, to 
 the advancement of geographical science. 
 
 Columbus entered fully into the spirit of 
 the progress thus secured. He made a voy- 
 age to the north, in which he says he " navi- 
 gated one hundred leagues beyond Thule, the 
 southern part of which is seventy-three de- 
 grees distant from the equator, and not sixty- 
 three, as some pretend ; neither is it situated 
 within the line which includes the West of 
 Ptolemy, but is much more westerly." The 
 island he thus visited is generally supposed 
 to be Iceland. He also undertook voyages
 
 HIS MARITIME PURSUITS, 21 
 
 to England, to Guinea, and to the Islands in 
 the Western Ocean, belonging to Spain and 
 Portugal. Unlike those who appear to pass 
 from place to place with their eyes closed, or 
 if open, to spend a dreamy existence without 
 observation and without effort, he kept his 
 powers actively and constantly engaged. 
 Not only was he intent on observing what- 
 ever came within his view, but he compared 
 what he noticed with what had already been 
 recorded. He also constructed globes and 
 drew maps, with the greatest care, impro\-ing 
 his mind and increasing his knowledge by all 
 the means in his power. If, therefore, he 
 became, as he did, the most experienced na- 
 vigator of his time, he only reaped that which 
 he sowed, and plucked fruit from the trees he 
 had diligently cultured. 
 
 On his marriage, while at Lisbon, with a 
 lady of good family. Donna Philippa, the 
 newly wedded pair w^ent to live with the 
 mother of the bride. Seeing Columbus much 
 given to cosmography, she stated that her 
 late husband, Bartholomew Perestrello, had 
 been employed with others in maritime dis-
 
 22 COLUMBUS AND HIS TIMES. 
 
 covery in the service of the king of Portugal. 
 She gave him also the journals and sea-charts 
 left by her husband, and from them he ascer- 
 tained the course taken by the Portuguese in 
 the discoveries they had made, and also the 
 circumstances which they found adverse or 
 favorable. 
 
 His attention to these new treasures gave 
 fresh ardor to his mind; and as he studied 
 the maps and read the descriptions of the new 
 countries which Perestrello had seen, he ear- 
 nestly desired to visit them. He therefore 
 made a voyage to Madeira, according to some 
 writers, and traded for several years with 
 that island, with the Canaries, the Azores, 
 the settlements in Guinea, and various other 
 places discovered by the Portuguese on the 
 continent of Africa. 
 
 The experience acquired by Columbus in 
 visiting almost every part of the globe with 
 which there was any intercourse by sea, was 
 of great value. With him, however, increas- 
 ed ability was valued as the means of attain- 
 ing higher objects. Intent on the schemes 
 which had already issued in discovery, and
 
 ENERGY OF HIS CHARACTER. 23 
 
 on the modes in which it had been effected, 
 he gradually formed the idea of improving 
 the plans which had been laid down, and of 
 making discoveries which had hitherto been 
 attempted in vain. 
 
 The existence of land beyond the Atlantic 
 which w^as not discredited by some of the 
 most enlightened ancients, had become matter 
 of common speculation at the close of the 
 fifteenth century. A singular proof of this 
 popular belief has been given in a passage of 
 the Florentine poet Pulce, a man of letters, 
 but not distinguished for scientific attainments 
 beyond his day. It is remarkable not only 
 for the knowledge it implies of cosmography, 
 but for its allusion to facts in physical science 
 not established till more than a century later. 
 One speaker alluding to the vulgar supersti- 
 tion respecting the Pillars of Hercules, thus 
 addresses his companion : 
 
 " Know that this theory is false ; his bark 
 The daring marinerjshall urge far o'er 
 The western wave, a smooth and level plain, 
 Albeit the earth is fashioned like a wheel. 
 Man was in ancient days of grosser mould, 
 And Hercules might blush to learn how far 
 Beyond the limits ho had vainly sot, 
 3*
 
 24 COLUMBUS AND HIS TIMES. 
 
 The dullest sea-boat 8oon shall wing her way. 
 
 Men shall descry another hemisphere, 
 
 Since to one common centre all things tend ; 
 
 So earth, by curious mystery divine, 
 
 Well balanced, hangs amid the starry spheres. 
 
 At our antipodes are cities, states. 
 
 And thronged empires, ne'er divined of yore. 
 
 But see, the sun speeds on his western path 
 
 To glad the nations with expected light !"
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 OBJECT OF PORTUGUESE ENTERPRISE — TRAVELS OF MARCO POLO — 
 APPLICATION OF COLUMBUS TO THE COURT OF PORTUGAL — THE 
 VISIT OF HIS BROTHER BARTHOLOMEW TO ENGLAND PATRON- 
 AGE OF HIS PLAN BY QUEEN ISABELLA. 
 
 There was one point aimed at in all the 
 siavigations of the Portuguese from an early 
 period — it was to find out a passage by sea 
 to the East Indies. The fertility and riches 
 of India had been known for many ages. 
 The steady progress of general society in the 
 w^est cr^ed an increased demand for the 
 varied products of the east. To supply it by 
 the precarious importations of disabled war- 
 riors, or wandering pilgrims from the Holy 
 Land, was no longer possible. A regular 
 European channel of communication with the 
 east became necessary, and such a one had
 
 26 COLUMBUS AND HIS TIMES. 
 
 been opened in the central peninsula of Italy. 
 Various cities struggled to secure, each one 
 for itself, the golden advantages of the eastern 
 trade. At length, Venice, once poor, mean, 
 and obscure, appeared in state, " throned on 
 her hundred isles, a ruler of the waters and 
 their powers." And how, it has been asked, 
 came she to be thus rob'd in purple, and so 
 luxuriously magnificent, that of 
 
 " her feast 
 
 Monarcbs partook, and deemed their dignity increased ?"" 
 
 And to this it has been replied, because the 
 exhaustless East had 
 
 ♦' Poured into her lap all gems in sparkling showers." 
 
 As yet, however, the great routes to be tra- 
 versed by the produce of India, lay along 
 the Red Sea, the Caspian, or the Euphrates. 
 The chief intermediate marts, were Alexan- 
 dria, St. Jean d'Acre, or Constantinople, and 
 over these Venice obtained unlimited com- 
 mand. "What was then to be done ? No 
 alternative appeared but to attempt to open 
 some new communication with a part of the 
 earth which, in the overruling providence or
 
 OBJECT OF PORTUGUESE ENTERPRISE. 27 
 
 God was made to advance the civilization of 
 western Europe, while from this portion of 
 the globe the gospel has been sent to India, 
 announcing the riches which are pure, satis- 
 fying and eternal. 
 
 " Heaven speed the canvass, gallantly unfurled 
 
 To furnish and accommodate the world ; 
 
 To give the pole the produce of the sun, 
 
 And knit the unsocial climates into one. 
 
 Soft airs and gentle heavings of the wave 
 
 Impel the flset, whose errand is to save, 
 
 To succor wasted regions, and replace 
 
 The smile of Opulence in Sorrow's face. 
 
 Let nothing adverse, nothing unforseen. 
 
 Impede the bark that ploughs the deep serene. 
 
 Charged with a freight transcending in its worth 
 
 The gems of India, nature's rarest birth ; 
 
 That flies, like Gabriel on his Lord's commands, 
 
 A herald of God's love to pagan lands." 
 
 If, however, the vast wealth of Venice, 
 arising from a monopoly of the eastern trade, 
 was beheld with envy by all nations, it was 
 not easy to find out a way by which com- 
 mercial advantages might be obtained by the 
 people of other cities. Intent as the Portu- 
 guese were on discovering a new route, they 
 searched for it only by steering towards the 
 south, in hope of reaching India after they 
 had sailed round the farther extremity of
 
 28 COLUMBUS AND fflS TIMES. 
 
 Africa, by turning to the east. Such a course 
 was, however, unknown ; if even it were dis- 
 covered, the enterprise was one of great dif- 
 ficulty, and the result was very uncertain. 
 Columbus was therefore naturally led to con- 
 sider whether a shorter and more direct pas- 
 sage to India might not be found out. 
 
 Here, then, was full scope for all the en- 
 ergies of his mind, all the knowledge he had 
 acquired, and all the experience he had gain- 
 ed; and to this one point they were all de- 
 voted. Some faint ideas that the shape of 
 the earth was globular, had obtained among 
 men of science, from observing eclipses of the 
 moon. This fact, it may be observed, oc- 
 curs, on an average, about twice every year, 
 a dark shadow moving; across the face of that 
 orb, obscuring her Hght, and giving her the 
 appearance of tarnished copper. Sometimes 
 this shadow covers only a small portion of 
 her surface ; at others, the whole of it, for 
 an hour or two, and its margin always forms 
 a segment of a circle. This effect is pro- 
 duced by the shadow of the earth falling on 
 the moon, when the sun, the earth and the
 
 OBJECT OF PORTUGUESE ENTERPRISE. 29 
 
 moon, are nearly in a straight line, and can 
 only happen at the time of the full moon. 
 
 The rotundity of the earth being thus sug- 
 gested by the form of the shadow cast on the 
 surface of the moon, some advance had been 
 made on the ignorance of former times ; in 
 addition to which, the comparative magni- 
 tude of the globe had been pretty clearly es- 
 tabhshed. It Avas therefore plain that a bar- 
 ren waste of waters must occupy the greater 
 portion of the earth westward, or in explor- 
 ing it, some continents counterbalancing those 
 already known would be found. A sense of 
 the wisdom and benevolence of the great 
 Creator, deepened, in some instances, the im- 
 pression of such views, and led to the ex- 
 pectation that there were dwelhngs for man 
 scattered over regions hitherto unknown to 
 the rest of the human race. 
 
 Other circumstances occurred to sustain 
 this hope. All the eastern travellers had 
 asserted, that there were such countries 
 stretching indetinitely beyond those which 
 they could reach. Among these was Marco 
 Polo, a Venitian. When this enterprising
 
 30 COLUMBUS AND HIS TMES. 
 
 man and his two brothers returned to their 
 native city, so altered were they by time, 
 cHmate, and association with foreigners, that 
 they were strangers even to their kindred. 
 As they were long supposed to have been 
 dead, some members of their family had taken 
 possession of their dwelling-house, and it was 
 with great difficulty they could show that 
 they were its lawful proprietors. A singular 
 expedient was adopted to make known their 
 return, and the results of their journeys. An 
 invitation was sent to all their friends and 
 connexions to a splendid entertainment, and 
 on the company being assembled, the three 
 travellers entered, richly clad in robes of 
 crimson satin, which at the commencement 
 of the feast were changed for similar ones of 
 crimson damask, while the former were di- 
 vided among the attendants. At the removal 
 of the first course, they distributed the damask 
 robes in like manner, and put on dresses of 
 crimson velvet; and when the feast was 
 ended, they changed their splendid garments 
 for plain robes, hke those worn by their 
 guests. The company wondered at what
 
 TRAVELS OF MARCO POLO. 31 
 
 was intended; but when the cloth was re- 
 moved, and the servants withdrawn, Marco 
 Polo brought forth the three coarse garments 
 in which they had returned from their travels, 
 and the seams and linings being ripped up, a 
 quantity of diamonds, rubies, sapphires, and 
 other precious stones, appeared to view. The 
 company were exceedingly struck by what 
 they deemed a countless treasure, and soon 
 loaded their hosts with congratulations on 
 their wealth and nobility. 
 
 A powerful impression must have been 
 produced on the minds of his contemporaries 
 by Marco Polo's account of the kingdoms of 
 Cathay and Cepango. He spoke of the im- 
 mense wealth, population, and industry of 
 China ; the Tartar mas^nificence of Kublai 
 Khan ; the countless hordes submissive to his 
 authority ; the numerous islands of the Indian 
 seas, rich in natural productions, though 
 hitherto but little known, and three other 
 islands of the east beyond China. A new 
 world was, in fact, exposed to view, by one 
 intimately acquainted with most of the coun- 
 4
 
 32 COLUMBUS AND HIS TIMES. 
 
 tries he described, and enjoying the pecuhar 
 advantasres of official rank. 
 
 Called on continually to narrate the his- 
 tory of his travels, Marco Polo at length 
 committed them to writing. He treats most 
 fully of China, and the court of Kublai Khan. 
 One of the palaces of the latter he describes 
 as of mars'ellous ait and beauty, ornamented 
 •with marble and a variety of rare stones. 
 On one side of this edifice, and only to be 
 entered through the palace, was an enclosed 
 park, sixteen miles in circuit, in which were 
 meadows, groves, and rivers, the land being 
 well stocked with red and fallow deer, and 
 various other animals. In the middle of the 
 W'Oods of this park was a superb kiosk, or 
 summer-house, supported by pillars, richly 
 gilt. The roof w^as formed of bamboo cane, 
 sixty feet long, also gilt. The building was 
 supported on every side like a tent, by more 
 than two hundred strong silken cords, and 
 the whole was so constructed that it might 
 be readily taken down and set up again. 
 The Grand Khan is described as ha\ing a 
 stud of horses and mares, all pure white.
 
 TRAVELS OF MARCO POLO. 33 
 
 nearly ten thousand in number ; of the milk 
 of which none were permitted to drink, but 
 the descendants of Zingis Khan, except one 
 family, who were thus favored on account of 
 their martial achievements. 
 
 Kublai Khan is said to have always resided 
 on the north-eastern border of Cathay, the 
 Pekin of the present day. A new city w^as 
 afterwards built on the southern side of the 
 river; and on the southern side of the new 
 city was the grand palace of the sovereign. 
 A British writer. Sir George Stanton, speaks 
 with equal admiration of the style and archi- 
 tecture of the imperial palace. He says : " A 
 hall was made opposite the treble gates, 
 which are nearly in the centre of this north- 
 ern side of the palace wall ; it appeared to 
 enclose a large quantity of ground. It was 
 not level, like all the lands without the wall, 
 some of it was raised into hills of steep as- 
 cent ; the earth taken to form them left deep 
 hollows, now filled with water. Out of these 
 artificial lakes, of which the margins were 
 diversified and irregular, small islands rise, 
 with a variety of fanciful edifices interspersed
 
 34 COLUMBUS AND HIS TIMES. 
 
 with trees. On the hills, of different heights, 
 the principal palaces of the emperor were 
 erected. On the summit of the loftiest emi- 
 nences were tall trees surrounding summer 
 houses, and cabinets contrived for retreat and 
 pleasure. The whole had somewhat the ap- 
 pearance of enchantment." 
 
 Accounts so exciting as those of Marco 
 Polo, greatly contributed to the speculations 
 of this period. In proportion as the regions 
 thus described stretched eastward, it was 
 reasonable to conclude that they would be 
 approaching to the western shores of the 
 known world. Pieces of carved timber had 
 been picked up by the Portuguese naviga- 
 tors, and, among the rest, by the brother-in- 
 law of Columbus — pieces driving before a 
 westerly wind. Canes, trees, and other ve- 
 getable productions, unknown to Europe and 
 Africa, had often floated to the Azores from 
 the same quarter ; and at one time the dead 
 bodies of two men, with singular features, 
 resembling neither Europeans nor Africans, 
 were cast ashore there. 
 
 Weighing carefully the information he
 
 TKOPOSALS TO THE SENATE OF GENOA. 35 
 
 collected, Columbus arrived at the conclusion 
 that the shortest and most direct course to 
 the remote regions of the east, would be to 
 sail due west. Some eminent writers among 
 the ancients sanctioned the views he enter- 
 tained, but not satisfied with his own argu- 
 ments or theirs, he was desirous to test their 
 accuracy by consulting w^ith those who were 
 able to afford him assistance. Among these 
 he apphed to Paul Toscanelli, a distinguished 
 and learned physician of Florence, who 
 warmly approved his projects, and encour- 
 aged Columbus to persevere in the enter- 
 prise. 
 
 Perfectly satisfied with the accuracy of 
 his conclusions, he was now impatient to set 
 out on a voyage of discovery. But patronage 
 w^as needed, and to secure it was the first 
 step to be taken. The affection he bore to- 
 wards his native country, from which he had 
 long been separated, led him to wish that it 
 might reap the fruhs of his laborious efforts, 
 and of all the perils to which he might be 
 exposed. He therefore laid his plan before 
 the senate of Genoa, offering to sail in quest
 
 36 COLUMBUS AND HIS TDIES. 
 
 of the new regions he hoped to discover, 
 under the banner of that repubhc. But his 
 long absence had left them in ignorance of 
 his extraordinary abilities; and though a 
 maritime people, yet but little accustomed to 
 distant voyages, they were unable to appre- 
 ciate his designs. They therefore considered 
 him a vain projector, thoughtlessly rejected 
 his patriotic proposal, and lost an opportunity 
 which was not again presented. Nor is this 
 a solitary case. It has often happened in the 
 histories of individuals ; allowing favorable 
 circumstances to pass unimproved, they have 
 returned no more. There is, however, a still 
 greater infatuation : it is that of neglecting 
 religious advantages; the consequences of 
 which are described in the lamentation of 
 multitudes : " The harvest is past, the sum- 
 mer is ended, and we are not saved !" 
 
 As one long established in the dominions 
 of John n. king of Portugal, Columbus made 
 the next overture to him, with every prospect 
 of success. That monarch succeeded his 
 father Alphonso, under whom the spirit of 
 discovery had languished ; but he promoted
 
 TREACHERY OF THE PORTUGUESE COURT. 37 
 
 it with all the ardor of his grand-uncle 
 Prince Henry, and with superior power. In 
 Portugal, the personal qualities, as well as 
 the professional skill of Columbus, were well 
 known, and his fellow-subjects were prepared 
 to favor his appeal. His hopes must have 
 risen high as he contemplated his circum- 
 stances. 
 
 Most gracious too, was his reception by the 
 king, who referred his plan to two eminent 
 cosmographers, and his own confessor, whom 
 he was accustomed to consult in all such 
 matters. But unhappily, these persons had 
 been the chief directors of the Portuguese 
 navigations, and had advised to search for a 
 passage to India by steering in a directly op- 
 posite course to that marked out by Colum- 
 bus. To condemn themselves, and admit his 
 superiority, was too much ior them to accom- 
 plish ; and after annoying him with much 
 captiousness, they deferred a final decision 
 on his scheme. Meanwhile they advised the 
 king secretly to dispatch a vessel in the di- 
 rection he proposed to take, thus perfidiously 
 to rob him of his proper reward. To his
 
 38 COLUMBUS AND HIS TIMES. 
 
 great discredit, the monarch yielded to this 
 base design ; but the commander of the ves- 
 sel was not a Columbus ; and, dispirited by 
 contrary winds, and a sea in which he could 
 descry no land, he returned, denouncing the 
 attempt as extravagant and perilous — an 
 issue deserved by its base projectors. 
 
 Naturally indignant on the discovery of 
 this flagrant treachery, Columbus determined 
 to leave a nation who could be chargeable 
 with it, and instantly quitting the kingdom, 
 proceeded to Lisbon, taking with him his son 
 Diego. The circumstances of Spain were by 
 no means encouraging to his project. Its 
 people had beheld the progress of discovery 
 among the Portuguese, but without any dis- 
 position to imitate their career. They were al- 
 so engaged in a dangerous war with Granada, 
 the central seat of Moorish power and mag- 
 nificence, in which they found an ample field 
 for their energies. 
 
 For Columbus to make rapid progress in 
 carrying into effect a new design, was abso- 
 lutely impossible, and to make any was also 
 uncertain ; he therefore despatched his brother
 
 JUAN PEREZ. 39 
 
 Bartholomew to negotiate with Henry VII. 
 of England, who was considered one of the 
 wisest and richest princes in Europe, while 
 he resolved to propose his plan in person to 
 Ferdinand and Isabella, who governed at that 
 time the united kingdoms of Castile and 
 Arragon. 
 
 At this period his circumstances were ex- 
 ceedingly depressed. On his first arrival in 
 Spain he had but little reason to expect they 
 would be otherwise. In Adalusia there is a 
 little sea-port, called Palos, and about a half 
 league from the town there stands now, as 
 there stood then, an ancient convent of Fran- 
 ciscan friars. One day, it is said, a stranger 
 on foot, accompanied by a boy, stopped at 
 the gate, and asked for his child a little bread 
 and water. The favor was granted, and the 
 prior, or chief of the convent, Juan Perez, 
 became interested in the stranger, and heard 
 his story. That wayfaring man was Colum- 
 bus — that child, Diego. 
 
 To this interview much was owing. Juan 
 Perez was able to appreciate the designs of 
 his guest, and in various ways encouraged
 
 40 COLUMBUS AND HIS TIMES. 
 
 him in his enterprise. Through no other 
 channel was aid either imparted or promised. 
 No accounts arrived from his brother Bartho- 
 lomew to soothe his disappointments, and 
 thus his sufferings were increased. Unhap- 
 pily, his brother had fallen into the hands of 
 pirates, who stripped him of all that he had, 
 and kept him as a prisoner for several years. 
 Escaping at length, he arrived in London, 
 but so great was his poverty, that he was 
 obliged to employ himself for a considera- 
 ble time in drawing and selling maps, — 
 that he might purchase a dress in which to 
 appear at court. He then laid the proposals 
 entrusted to him before the sovereign, who 
 received them with considerable approbation. 
 Thus ignorant of what was occurring, and 
 too poor to undertake any enterprise, Colum- 
 bus might be expected highly to value a let- 
 ter which Juan Perez granted him to Fer- 
 dinand de Talavera, the confessor to the 
 queen. But the time of his arrival with it at 
 Cordova, was very unfavorable. The court 
 was hke a military camp, and warlike mea- 
 sures of unusual vigor were considered ne-
 
 QUEEN ISABELLA. 41 
 
 cessary. Ferdinand and Isabella were alike 
 engaged in conducting them, and Talavera 
 was not only absorbed in military affairs, but 
 unfriendly to the cause of Columbus. 
 
 In the absence of the sovereign, Columbus 
 continued at Cordova, supporting himself, it 
 is said, by designing maps and charts. For 
 about six years from the time of his arrival 
 in Spain, he kept his great object in view ; 
 and amidst the ridicule with which he was 
 often assailed, gradually gained friends by 
 the evident sincerity of his conversation, and 
 the dignity of his manners. One of these 
 at length, on the fall of Granada taking 
 place, urged his plans most earnestly on the 
 attention and regard of the queen, and far 
 from being displeased, Isabella was moved by 
 his honest eloquence. Refusing to listen any 
 longer to cold and timid counsellors, she gave 
 way to the natural impulses of her own mind. 
 " I will assume the undertaking," she said, 
 " for my own crown of Castile, and am ready 
 to pawn my jewels to defray the expenses of 
 it, if the funds in the treasury shall be found 
 inadequate."
 
 42 COLUMBUS AND HIS TIMES. 
 
 The motives which led Isabella to this de- 
 claration were manifestly various. She pos- 
 sessed many noble qualities, and at the same 
 time could not be indifferent to the increase 
 of wealth and the extension of empire. One 
 feeling, however, had certainly great influ- 
 ence, if not absolute predominance — a desire 
 to diffuse the religion she professed. Most 
 zealous was she in the service of the church 
 of Rome, presenting an example well worthy 
 of imitation on behalf of the pure faith which, 
 derived from the word of God, and accom- 
 panied by the power of his Holy Spirit, shall 
 ultimately triumph over the errors by which 
 she was unhappily ensnared, in common with 
 multitudes at that period, and in every subse- 
 quent age. Well may every devout mind 
 give utterance to the prayer : 
 
 Father of eternal grace, 
 Thou hast lov'd man's rebel racc^ 
 Let thy will, through Christ thy son, 
 As in heaven, on earth, be done. 
 
 Here in vain thy law is known, 
 Heard in thunder, graved on stone ; 
 By thy grace thy will impart, 
 Write thy law on every heart.
 
 QUEEN ISABELLA. 43 
 
 Let thy reconciling word 
 By all tribes of men be heard j 
 Give the new creation birth, 
 Let thy will be done on earth.
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 TmiATT BETWEEN COLUMBUS AND FERDINAND AND ISABELLA — 
 PREPARATIONS FOR HIS FIRST VOYAGE — CIRCUMSTANCES OF IT — 
 DISCOVERY OF LAND. 
 
 Columbus had good reason to rely on the 
 probity of queen Isabella ; but though she was 
 now favorably disposed towards his cause, 
 Ferdinand was differently affected. He was 
 indeed still opposed to the plans which were 
 thus sanctioned. Seventeen thousand florins 
 were advanced from his treasury towards 
 their accomplishment, but for this sum he took 
 care to be indenmified. The feeling he thus 
 displayed continued, as we shall see hereafter 
 long to operate. 
 
 Little further delay now occurred, and Co- 
 lumbus succeeded in effecting a treaty with 
 the sovereigns, which was signed on the 17th 
 of April, 1492, on the five following condi-
 
 TREATY WITH ISABELLA AND FERDIN.\ND. 45 
 
 tions, in virtue of which he afterwards sailed 
 on his first voyage. 1. Spain, as mistress of 
 the ocean, granted to Columbus the dignity 
 of her high-admiral in all the seas he might 
 discover, with the same power and preroga- 
 tives which belonged to the high-admiral of 
 Castile, within his jurisdiction ; reserving the 
 office also to his heirs for ever. 2. Colum- 
 bus and his family were in like manner to 
 enjoy the title of viceroy of Spain in all isl- 
 ands and continents he should now first ex- 
 plore : and should separate governors be re- 
 quired for particular districts, he was to choose 
 three candidates, out of which the Spanish 
 court was to select one to the office. 3. The 
 tenth of all customs and profits whatsoever, 
 accruing from the new discoveries was to be 
 secured to the high-admiral. 4. He was to 
 be the highest legal appeal in all suits re- 
 specting any commercial transactions in the 
 countries discovered. 5. The admiral was 
 to advance one-eighth part of the first ex- 
 penses of the voyage, and of opening the 
 commerce with the new countries, which he 
 w^as to be repaid out of the first profits that 
 might accrue from them.
 
 46 COLUMBUS AND HIS TIMES. 
 
 The advantages thus presented to the view 
 of Columbus, were all to be traced to the intel- 
 ligence and energy of Isabella, without whose 
 strenuous support they would never have been 
 obtained. One token of her special favor 
 deserves to be added. The queen issued a 
 letter-patent, appointing his son Diego page 
 to Prince Juan, the heir-apparent — an honor 
 bestowed only on the sons of persons of dis- 
 tinguished rank, and also granting an allow- 
 ance for his support. 
 
 The feelings of Columbus at this period 
 admit of no adequate description. Eighteen 
 years chiefly passed in poverty and neglect, 
 amidst alarms, and hopeless appeals, and bit- 
 ter ridicule, had now elapsed since he had 
 conceived the plan which was about to be 
 tried. How many would have relinquished 
 such a design for ever, after enduring but a 
 small part of the trials he calmly suffered ! 
 His success was the reward of energetic and 
 persevering toil ; and while his example con- 
 demns the multitude, who even in a good 
 cause are timid and slothful, it encourages 
 all to go forward, and to consider nothing
 
 PEEPARA.TION FOR DEPARTURE. 47 
 
 done, while any thing remains to be accom- 
 plished. 
 
 One element of the character of Columbus 
 will appear as entitled to special remark. 
 He was a zealous member of the church of 
 Rome, which setting aside as it does the me- 
 diation of the Son of God as the only founda- 
 tion of the sinner's hope, and placing in its 
 stead the quicksand of human merit, urges 
 its adherents to various acts, as means of 
 purchasing the divine favor. Here a great 
 and ruinous error is discoverable : many things 
 may be done apparently, but not truly, good, 
 because the mind is still unenlightened, and 
 the heart unrenewed by the Holy Spirit. 
 He who really believes in Christ will be care- 
 ful to maintain good works. 
 
 A disregard of this distinction, arising in 
 that church from the substitution of the vain 
 traditions of men for the pure word of God, 
 has to a fearful extent engendered gross su- 
 perstition. Impelle I by this principle, some 
 have been led to torture their bodies, others 
 to give largely of their substance, and others 
 to engage in arduous services, but all with
 
 48 COLUMBUS AND HIS TIMES. 
 
 the expectation that the favor of Heaven 
 would be by such means ensured. Of the 
 latter class was Columbus, as is clearly ap- 
 parent in the whole tenor of his life. 
 
 The time for which he had anxiously look- 
 ed and patiently labored and suffered had 
 now arrived. The stranger who had appear- 
 ed with his son, asking in necessity the 
 humblest fare, proceeded to Palos with a 
 bounding heart. There the ships of which 
 Columbus was appointed by Isabella to take 
 command, were fitted out. Juan Perez re- 
 sided in its neighborhood, and by the influ- 
 ence of this ecclesiastic, as well by his own 
 efforts, he raised among its inhabitants the 
 money he was bound by treaty to advance, 
 and engaged some of them as companions in 
 his voyage. The chief of these, were three 
 brothers, named Pinzon, of great experience 
 in navigation, and of considerable wealth, 
 who were willing to venture their lives and 
 fortunes in his perilous expedition. No little 
 difficulty, however, preceded this result. Pa- 
 los had been filled with horror when its in- 
 habitants were aware of the nature of the in-
 
 SETTING SAIL FROM PALOS. 49 
 
 tended expedition, and formidable obstacles 
 had attended it at every step. 
 
 And what, it may be asked, was the arma- 
 ment that was now prepared ? It consisted 
 of only three vessels, the largest of no con- 
 siderable burden, the other two mere caravels 
 or light vessels without decks, scarcely supe- 
 rior to large boats. They were victualled 
 for twelve months, and had on board ninety 
 men, chiefly sailors, together with a few ad- 
 venturers, and some gentlemen of the court, 
 appointed by Isabella to follow ColumbiLS. 
 A mind less energetic and sanguine than his 
 might well have shrunk from engaging in a 
 formidable enterprise with such a fleet ; to 
 explore seas altogether unknown, with no 
 knowledge of their tides and currents, no 
 chart for his guide, and no acquaintance with 
 the perils of his course, or the means by 
 which they might be averted. 
 
 Connected, as has already been seen, with 
 the Roman Catholic church, in a country and 
 at a time in which popery was dominant, and 
 avowedly engaged in an effort for its diffusion, 
 he would not embark without engaging in
 
 50 COLUMBUS AND fflS TIMES. 
 
 services which he considered incumbent and 
 appropriate. Accompanied by all the per- 
 sons under his command, he marched in pro- 
 cession to the monastery of Rabida: there 
 they made confession of their sins to the 
 priest, were told by him that they were ab- 
 solved, received the consecrated wafer, and 
 offered their prayers for the success of their 
 enterprise. Taking the views we do of such 
 'services, we cannot but regret that Columbus 
 and his companions were not guided by a 
 pure light ; at the same time there is cause 
 to deplore that others who might enjoy it, and 
 who enter on the weightiest engagements 
 with no solemnity or devotion of feeling, are 
 condemned by the conduct which has now 
 been described. 
 
 Columbus hoisted his flag on board of the 
 largest ship, the Santa Maria ; the second, 
 called the Pinta, was commanded by Martin 
 Alonzo Pinzon, accompanied by his brother, 
 Francisco Martin, as pilot ; the third, called 
 the Nina, was commanded by the third of 
 the brothers, Vincent Janez Pinzon. A little 
 before sunrise the squadron set sail, but it
 
 SETTING SAIL FROM PALOS. 51 
 
 was in melancholy circumstances. Gloom 
 pervaded the little town of Palos, for most 
 of its inhabitants had some relative or friend 
 on board; and in the vessels also, many were 
 concerned for the sorrows and fears of those 
 who were left behind, and felt apprehensions 
 of voyaging they knew not whither. 
 
 The day after, the rudder of one of the 
 smaller vessels broke loose ; and to a super- 
 stitious crew, this was a sure omen of failure 
 and calamity. They arrived, however, at 
 the Canary Islands, for which their command- 
 er had steered directly, without injury, but 
 with sufficient proof that their vessels were 
 ill-fitted for a long and perilous navigation. 
 Here, however, they were refitted, so far as 
 was practicable, and proceeded on their way. 
 
 On losing sight of these islands, many of 
 the sailors became exceedingly dejected and 
 dismayed, shedding tears and beating on their 
 breasts, as if they were to perish in their wan- 
 derings. Columbus promptly endeavored to 
 soothe them by prospects of great wealth a- 
 waiting their enjoyment in the regions to 
 which they were proceeding. As other diffi-
 
 62 COLUMBUS AND HIS TIMES. 
 
 culties arose, he met them with other expe- 
 dients. Conckiding that the length of the 
 voyage might excite their alarm, he told them 
 that they had advanced only fifteen leagues 
 -when they had actually run twenty ; and he 
 employed the same device of short reckoning 
 during the whole voyage. In like manner, 
 when they felt apprehensive on observing 
 that the magnetic needle varied towards the 
 west, he declared that it did not point to the 
 polar star, but to an object that was invisible. 
 For such devices he has received commenda- 
 tions, as showing his ability to control others. 
 But let it be remembered, thnt though it is a 
 tenet of the Romish faith that the end sanc- 
 tifies the means, it is one which is absolutely 
 indefensible. 
 
 Only let it be assumed, that deception may 
 be lawfully employed in a single case, and 
 the way is opened for its adoption whenever 
 any end that appears to be desirable is like- 
 ly to be accomplished by such means. The 
 highest authority declares, that " he that of- 
 fendeth in one point is guilty of all." The 
 only security against universal falsehood is, 
 therefore, the invoilable maintenance of truth.
 
 DISCONTENT OF THE CREW. 53 
 
 Imminent dangers were now at hand. The 
 crew, disaffected as they had become, were 
 ready for mutiny. Columbus had observed 
 the rising tumult, and labored to repress it. 
 He succeeded in doir.g so, because they were 
 accustomed to treat him with reverence ; 
 but could they have discovered his habitual 
 practice of deceit, it would probably have 
 brought upon him a signal cha.stisement. 
 
 The restoration of order was of short du- 
 ration ; for, after seeing no object for thirty 
 days but the sea and sky, fear became predo- 
 minant, and impatience, rage, and despair,- 
 were visible on every countenance. Even 
 the officers, who had hitherto agreed with Co- 
 lumbus, and supported his authority, now took 
 part with the crew, and all required him in- 
 stantly to return to Europe. Art, so long 
 practised, was out of the question ; it only 
 remained for him to entreat that they woul^j 
 obey him for a short time longer. He did so,, 
 with many hopes of the continuance and suc- 
 cess of his enterprise. He had observed at- 
 tentively the passage of flocks of birds. The 
 sounding line, for some days, had reached the
 
 54 COLUMBUS AND HIS TIMES. 
 
 bottom, and brought up soil, showing that 
 land could not be far off. The crew of one 
 of the small vessels saw a cane floating, 
 which seemed to have been newly cut, and 
 also a piece of timber artificially carved ; 
 and the sailors of the other took up the branch 
 of a tree, bearing red berries, and perfectly 
 fresh. The clouds around the setting sun 
 wore a new appearance ; the air w^as more 
 mild and warm, and during the night, the 
 wind became unequal and variable. Colum- 
 bus was now so confident of being near land, 
 that on the evening of the 1 1th of October, 
 after public prayers for success, he ordered 
 the sails to be furled, the ships to lie to, and 
 strict watch to be kept, lest in the night they 
 should be driven on the shore. The inter- 
 val was one of suspense and expectation ; 
 but the anxiety of no one could surpass that of 
 Columbus. 
 
 " Still self possessed, 
 High on the deck he stood, disdaining rest ; 
 (His amber chain, the only badge he bore ; 
 His mantle blue, such as his fathers wore ;) 
 Fathomed; with searching hand, the dark profound; 
 And scattered hope and glad assurance round." 
 
 \f^
 
 DISCOVERY OF LAND. 55 
 
 About two hours before midnight, Colum- 
 bus observed a light at a distance, and pri- 
 vately pointed it out to Pedro Guttierez, a 
 page of the queen's wardrobe, who, calHng 
 to Salcedo, comptroller of the fleet, all three 
 saw it moving, as if carried from place to 
 place. Soon after midnight the joyful sound 
 of "Land! land!" was heard from the 
 Pinta, which always went before the other 
 ships; but frequent disappointments had pro- 
 duced a slowness of belief, and every one 
 waited with intense anxiety the return of 
 day. Welcome, beyond description, was 
 the dawn of morning, which dispelled all 
 their doubts and fears. About two leagues 
 to the north, an island was seen by all, whose 
 flat and verdant fields, w^ell-wooded, and 
 watered with many rivulets, appeared as a 
 delightful and productive country. The Te 
 Deum was now sung, as a hymn of thanks- 
 giving, amidst tears of joy and the most 
 hearty congratulations. Columbus was at 
 the same time especially remembered. Those 
 whom he commanded besought his pardon 
 for all past offences, and passing from one
 
 56 COLUMBUS AND HIS TIMES. 
 
 extreme to another, declared the man whom 
 they had so lately reviled and threatened, in- 
 spired by Heaven to accomplish a design al- 
 together unparalleled. At sun-rise, all the 
 boats were manned and armed, and rowed 
 towards the island, with their colors flying, 
 with warlike music, and with all the pomp 
 they could command. On approaching the 
 coast, they saw it covered with a multitude 
 of people, drawn together by so extraordinary 
 a sight, and expressing by their attitudes and 
 gestures the greatest astonishment. The first 
 person who landed was Columbus, attired in 
 a rich dress, and bearing in his hand a naked 
 sword. He was followed by his men, who, 
 kneeling down, kissed the ground they had so 
 long desired to see, and then, after the manner 
 of the Romish church, the fruitful source of 
 idolatry, erected a crucifix, and prostrating 
 themselves before it, offered their thanksgiv- 
 ings to God for thus prospering their voyage.
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 Landing on the great Bahama — the ist.and named san 
 salvador — visit to cuba — pinzon leaves columbus. 
 
 In proportion to the former dismay of the 
 voyagers, was the exultation which Columbus 
 and his followers now experienced. With all 
 the formalities adopted by the Portuguese in 
 their discoveries, they immediately took so- 
 lemn posession of the country for the crown 
 of Castile and Leon, a ceremony which the 
 natives looking on were, of course unable to 
 comprehend. All they witnessed, indeed, 
 w^as calculated to fill them with wonder. 
 The fair complexions of the Spaniards, their 
 dress, their arms, were all surprising, while 
 the vessels that seemed to move on the ocean 
 with w4ngs, and uttered sounds like thunder, 
 accompanied with flashes like lightning, struck 
 them with awe ; so that they concluded their
 
 58 COLUMBUS AND HIS TIMES, 
 
 guests were superior beings — the children of 
 the sun — who had descended to visit the 
 earth. 
 
 Scarcely inferior to the emotions of the na- 
 tives were those of the Spaniards. The soil 
 they traversed appeared rich, but with few 
 marks of culture. The herbs, shrubs, and 
 trees it bore, were all unlike those with which 
 they had been familiar. They felt the cli- 
 mate to be warm, though very delightful. 
 The natives were well shaped and active, 
 though not tall ; their complexion was of a 
 dusky copper color ; with features singular 
 rather than disagreeable. Their aspect gentle 
 and timid, they were without clothing, their 
 long and uncombed black hair floated on 
 their shoulders, or was bound in tresses 
 around their heads, and their faces and seve- 
 ral parts of their bodies were fantastically 
 painted with glaring colors. 
 
 At first the natives were shy, but their 
 fears were dispelled, and they soon became 
 familiar with the Spaniards, who gave them, 
 to their great joy, hawks'-bells, glass beads, 
 or other baubles, and received in return such
 
 THE GREAT BAHAMA. 59 
 
 provisions as they had, and some cotton 
 yarn, the only valuable commodity they 
 could produce. Towards evening, Columbus 
 returned to his ship ; accompanied by many 
 of the islanders in their boats, called canoes, 
 which, though rudely formed out of the trunk 
 of a single tree, they rowed with great dex- 
 terity. The parties, thus singularly brought 
 together, were alike satisfied ; the Spaniards 
 entertaining splendid expectations of the 
 results they were to reap, the natives utterly 
 ignorant of the calamities which would here- 
 after be brought on their country. 
 
 The island now discovered by the Spaniards 
 was one of the Bahamas, which form a very 
 extended and numerous group, of which five 
 hundred have been counted, (but many of 
 them are mere rocks and islets,) the group 
 being successively parallel, first to Florida, 
 then to Cuba and part of St. Domingo. The 
 first part of the New World, thus made 
 known, is called the Great Bahama. It is 
 situated above 3,000 miles to the west of 
 Gomera, from whence the squadron took its 
 departure, and only four degrees to the south 
 6*
 
 60 COLUMBUS AND HIS TIMES. 
 
 of it ; so little had Columbus deviated from 
 the course he had wisely chosen to pursue. 
 
 Assuming the title and authority of admi- 
 ral and viceroy, he called the island San 
 Salvador, employed the next day in visiting 
 its coasts, and, seeing the natives universally 
 poor, discovered that it was not the rich 
 country he expected to find. Perceiving that 
 most of the people wore in their nostrils 
 small plates of gold, as ornaments, he eager- 
 ly inquired where the precious metal was 
 obtained, and gathered from the signs that 
 were made, that it was derived from the south. 
 In hope of finding the regions of wealth he 
 had long been desiring, he took with him seven 
 of the natives, that, by learning the Spanish 
 language, they might serve as guides and 
 interpreters. 
 
 Observing several islands, he touched at 
 three of the largest, gave them the names of 
 St. Mary of the conception, Fernandina, and 
 Isabella ; but as their soil, products, and in- 
 habitants, nearly resembled those of San 
 Salvador, he soon left them. Every where 
 he mquired for gold, and as by signs he was
 
 VISIT TO CUBA. 61 
 
 still directed to the south, he speedily dis 
 covered a country, not level, like those al- 
 ready visited, but so extensive and diversifi- 
 ed, that he was uncertain whether it would 
 prove an island, or part of the continent. 
 The natives who were with him, called it 
 Cuba. 
 
 With the country in which he was, Co- 
 lumbus could not fail to be delighted. The 
 river in which he anchored was one of trans- 
 parent water, with its banks covered with 
 forests of high and wide-spreading trees in 
 all the luxuriance of a tropical clime. Some 
 were adorned with beautiful flowers ; others 
 were bearing fruits, and some exhibited, in 
 rich fertility, both fruit and flowers. The 
 trunks of the older trees were everywhere 
 covered with a thick drapery of ferns, moss- 
 es, and orchideous plants, which diffiised 
 through the air the richest ordors. Here, 
 too, were birds of brilliant plumage, and 
 tribes of insects, arrayed in splendid gar- 
 ments, which sparkle to the eye amidst the 
 pure air and clear light of such regions, like 
 so many briUiant gems. If, then, a modern
 
 62 COLUMBUS AND HIS TDIES. 
 
 visitor of one of these islands can scarcely 
 define what most excites his admiration, the 
 individual beauty and contrast of forms, 
 
 " Or that eternal spring 
 
 Which here enamels every thing," 
 
 it can exite no surprise that Columbus should 
 describe this place, which he had, at so much 
 cost, discovered, in the warmest terms which 
 his enthusiasm could employ. 
 
 At the approach of Columbus, the inhabi- 
 tants fled to the mountains. And as he re- 
 solved to stop the leaks of his vessel there, 
 he sent some Spaniards, together with one 
 of the natives of San Salvador, to view the 
 interior of the country. Having advanced 
 above sixty miles from the shore, they report- 
 ed, on their return, that the soil was richer 
 and better cultivated than any they had be- 
 fore seen ; that, besides many scattered cot- 
 tages, they had found a village, containing 
 above a thousand inhabitants^ that the peo- 
 ple, though unclothed, appeared superior to 
 those of San Salvador, and had treated them 
 with the same respectful regard and rever- 
 ence. They also stated that they had given
 
 VISIT TO CUBA. 63 
 
 them a certain root, the taste of which re- 
 sembled roasted chesnuts, and likewise a 
 singular species of corn called maize, w^hich, 
 roasted whole or ground into meal, was very 
 palatable ; that there seemed no quadrupeds 
 in the country, — except a species of dog 
 which could not bark, and a creature re- 
 sembling a rabbit, but of a much smaller size ; 
 and also, that they had observed some gold- 
 en ornaments among the people, but of no 
 great value. 
 
 Some of the natives had been induced to 
 accompany the messengers, who stated that 
 the gold of which they made their ornaments 
 was found in Cubanacan, meaning by that 
 word the middle, or inland part of the island. 
 But led by his own theory concerning the dis- 
 covery of the East Indies, and by his igno- 
 rance of their language, Columbus supposed 
 that they spoke of the Great Khan, and that 
 the wealthy kingdom of Cathay, described by 
 Marco Polo, was not very remote. 
 
 Still he did not find gold enough to satisfy 
 the avarice of his followers, or the expecta- 
 tions of the court which had sent him on its
 
 64 COLUMBUS AND HIS TLMES. 
 
 pursuit. The natives, astonished at his eager- 
 ness for this metal, as the Spaniards were at 
 their ignorance and simplicity, now pointed 
 towards the east, where an island they called 
 Hayti was situated, in which gold was more 
 abundant than with them. 
 
 Columbus ordered his vessels to proceed 
 thither ; but Pinzon the captain of the Pinta, 
 impatient to seize the treasures he supposed 
 within reach, quitted his companions, regard- 
 less of the signals of the admiral to slacken 
 sail until they should come up with him. 
 How important is it to avoid the first step to 
 an evil course ! Pinzon had now taken one, 
 the serious consequences of which will be 
 hereafter perceived.
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 THE VISIT OK COLUMBUS TO HISPANIOLA— INTERESTING INCIDENTS 
 
 FRIENDSHIP OF THE CHIEF GUACANAGARI — COLUMBUS LEAVES 
 
 SOME OF HIS COMPANIONS ON THE ISLAND, AND RETURNS TO 
 SPAIN — A FEARFUL HURRICANE — HE LANDS IN PORTUGAL. 
 
 Columbus being abandoned by the Pinta, 
 pursued his way, but being delayed by con- 
 trary winds, he did not reach Hayti, or, as he 
 called it, Hispaniola, so soon as he expected ; 
 as he could neither meet the Pinta, nor obtain 
 any intercourse with the inhabitants, who fled 
 affrighted to the woods, he soon quitted St. 
 Nicholas, as he named the first port he touch- 
 ed at, and sailing along the northern coast, 
 entered another harbor, which he called Con- 
 ception. ' : 
 
 Here his people overtook a woman who 
 was fleeing from them, and after treating 
 her with great gentleness, dismissed her with 
 such toys as they knew were most acceptable
 
 66 COLUMBUS AND HIS TLMES. 
 
 among the islanders. The sight of these 
 trinkets, and her description of the strangers, 
 banished the fears of her countrymen, and so 
 excited their desires for similar gifts, that 
 many of them repaired to the harbor. The 
 strange objects they beheld, and the gay 
 baubles they received, amply gratified the cu- 
 riosity and wishes they indulged. Like the 
 people already visited, they were without 
 clothing, ignorant of the common arts of hfe, 
 and extremely credulous, especially as they, 
 like others, considered the Spaniards descend- 
 ed from heaven. The gold, they possessed 
 in more abundance than their neighbors, 
 they readily exchanged for bells, beads, and 
 pins, the trifles by which imcivilized people 
 have at all times been easily deluded. 
 
 A cazique, or chief of the country, now 
 visited Columbus. He appeared in all the 
 pomp he could command, being carried in a 
 kind of palanquin, or litter, on the shoulders 
 of four men, and attended by many of his 
 subjects, who treated him with great respect. 
 His deportment was grave and stately, very 
 reserved towards his own people, but ex-
 
 VISIT TO HISPANIOLA. 67 
 
 tremely courteous towards Columbus and his 
 companions. He presented the admiral with 
 some thin plates of gold, and a curiously 
 wrought girdle, and received a piece of cloth, 
 several amber beads, and a flask of orange 
 flower water in return, which were very ac- 
 ceptable. Columbus also showed the chief 
 some Spanish coin, bearing the likenesses of 
 Ferdinand and Isabella, and endeavored to ex- 
 plain to him their power and grandeur. As 
 another means of impressing his guests, the 
 royal banner and the standard of the cross 
 were brought forth; but they could notbeheve, 
 in their simplicity, that such wonderful people 
 and extraordinary things belonged to any 
 part of the earth ; it appeared to them that 
 the country and sovereigns of which they 
 heard, must be in the skies. 
 
 Still intent on finding mines of gold, he 
 was directed, in answer to his urgent inqui- 
 ries to a mountainous country, called Ciboa, 
 at some distance from the sea and farther to 
 the east. Struck again by this sound, which 
 appeared to him the same with Cipango, the 
 name given to Japan by Marco Polo and 
 
 7
 
 68 COLUMBUS AND HIS TIMES. 
 
 other travelers, he directed his course east- 
 ward, fully persuaded that the countries he 
 discovered were near to the remote parts of 
 Asia. On putting into a commodious har- 
 bor, which he called St. Thomas, he found 
 that district was governed by a powerful 
 chief, one of five sovereigns among whom 
 the whole island was divided. Guacanagari, 
 as this chief was named, immediately sent 
 messengers, who, in his name, presented to 
 Columbus a mask curiously fashioned, with 
 the ears, nose, and mouth of beaten gold, 
 and also an invitation to visit him at his resi- 
 dence, some leagues towards the east. Co- 
 lumbus sent some of his officers to this prince, 
 and they returned with such favorable ac- 
 counts of the country and the people, as made 
 him impatient to see them for himself 
 
 With a tranquil sea and a fair wind, he 
 left the harbor ; and as he had been too busy 
 to sleep for the last two days, he sought re- 
 pose at midnight, strictly charging the pilot, 
 not, even for a moment, to quit the helm. 
 He, however, dreading no danger, carelessly 
 left it to an inexperienced cabinboy, and the
 
 WRECK OF THE SANTA MARIA. 69 
 
 ship, carried away by a current, was dashed 
 against a rock. The violence of the shock 
 awakened Columbus ; he ran up to the deck ; 
 there all was confusion and despair ; but re- 
 taining his presence of mind, he ordered some 
 of the sailors to take a boat and carry out 
 an anchor astern. They, on the contrary, 
 made off -towards the Nigna, w^hich was 
 about half a league distant. To lighten the 
 ship, he commanded the masts to be cut 
 down, but his orders were too late ; the vessel 
 opened near the keel, and filled with water 
 so rapidly that its loss was certain. The 
 crew were providentially saved by the aid of 
 boats from the Nigna, favored by the smooth- 
 ness of the sea. The islanders no sooner 
 heard of this disaster, than they crowded to 
 the shore, headed by their chief, and so far 
 from increasing the distress of the Spaniards, 
 sincerely bewailed their calamity with tears. 
 They also rendered them real service by put- 
 ting to sea a number of canoes, to save 
 whatever could be obtained from the wreck, 
 and assisted by so many persons, almost 
 everything of value was carried ashore.
 
 70 COLUMBUS AND HIS TIMES. 
 
 The chief took charge of them as fast as they 
 were landed ; hj his orders they were all 
 deposited in one place, and armed sentinels 
 were appointed, not only to prevent the na- 
 tives from stealing, but from too curiously 
 examining what belonged to the Spaniards. 
 On the following morning, the chief visited 
 Columbus on board the Nigna, endeavoring 
 to console him by offering all he possessed 
 to repair his loss. 
 
 Most distressing, indeed, were the circum- 
 stances of Columbus. As yet he had heard 
 no tidings of the Pinta, and concluded that 
 Pinzon had set sail for Europe, to bear the 
 intellio^ence of the discoveries that had been 
 made, and, as far as possible, to deprive him 
 of the honor and reward to which he was 
 entitled. Only one vessel remained — the 
 smallest and most crazy of the three — to 
 traverse so vast an ocean, and to carry so 
 many persons back to Spain. The mind of 
 Columbus was well-nigh overwhelmed ; but 
 it became him to lose no time in counteract- 
 ing the designs of one whom he deemed a 
 most treacherous associate. He resolved,
 
 ERECTION OF A FORT. 71 
 
 however, from the difficulty of taking so 
 many on board the Nigna, from the fertihty 
 of the country, and from the gentleness and 
 kindness of the people, to leave a part of his 
 crew on the island. He considered, too, that 
 they might learn the language of the natives, 
 study their character, examine their country, 
 wSearch for mines, and prepare for the es- 
 tablishment of the colony with which he pro- 
 posed to return. When his men heard this, 
 they approved of his design, and some even 
 voluntarily offered to be among those who 
 should remain. In an interview with the 
 chief, Columbus expressed, by broken words 
 and signs, as well as he could, some curiosi- 
 ty to learn why the islanders fled so hastily 
 at the approach of his vessels. Guacanagari 
 replied, that incmsions were often made by 
 certain people he called Caribs, who inhabit- 
 ed several islands to the south-east. He de- 
 scribed them as a fierce and warlike race, 
 who delighted in blood, and ate the flesh of 
 their unhappy prisoners ; and as it had been 
 supposed that the Spaniards were some of 
 these people, the natives, who durst not face
 
 72 COLUMBUS AND HIS TIMES. 
 
 them in battle, sought safety by retreating 
 to the most impenetrable woods. The chief, 
 while speaking of these terrific invaders, ap- 
 peared so much alarmed, and so conscious of 
 the inability of his people to repel them, that 
 Columbus felt the opportunity he had been 
 seeking had arrived for the proposal he 
 wished to make. Seizing it therefore, he 
 engaged to take the chief and his subjects 
 under the protection of the powerful monarch 
 whom he served, and offered to leave on the 
 island a sufficient force to defend them from 
 future invasion, and avenge their past wrongs. 
 Most gladly was the proposal accepted. 
 Ground was cleared for a small fort ; a deep 
 ditch was thrown around it ; the ramparts 
 w^ere fortified with palisades; and the great 
 guns saved from the admiral's ship, were 
 planted upon them. In a few days, the 
 work was completed, the natives laboring 
 diligently to erect this first instrumental means 
 for their own bondage ; and Columbus mean- 
 while endeavoring, by caresses and liberality, 
 to raise their opinions of the Spaniards to a 
 still greater height.
 
 ERECTION OF A FORT. 73 
 
 As the fortress was proceeding, the cazique 
 gave the admiral, from day to day, fresh proofs 
 of friendship and kindness. Columbus was 
 treated by him, whenever he went on shore, 
 w^ith the greatest hospitality ; the largest 
 house in the place was made ready to receive 
 him : it was strewed with palm leaves, and 
 furnished with stools of a jet-like wood ; and 
 whenever he visited it, some jewel of gold 
 was hung around his neck, or some present 
 made him of similar value. 
 
 On one occasion, Guacanagari, attended 
 by five tributary chieftains, each one bearing 
 a coronet of gold, met Columbus on his 
 landing, and conducted him with great re- 
 spect to this dwelling. Seating him on one 
 of the chairs, Guacanagari removed his own 
 coronet of gold, and placed it on the head 
 of the admiral, w^ho, in return, took from 
 his own neck a collar of fine colored beads, 
 with which he adorned that of the cazique, 
 investing him with a mantle of fine cloth, 
 which he wore, giving him also a pair of 
 colored boots, and putting a large silver ring 
 on his finger.
 
 74 COLUMBUS AND HIS TIMES. 
 
 Wishing to show the Indians how signally 
 they could punish, and destroy their foes, 
 Columbus drew up his men in order of bat- 
 tle, and made a display of the sharpness and 
 power of their weapons. Strangers to the 
 use of iron, and only acquainted with arrows 
 of reeds pointed with the bones of fishes, 
 w^ooden swords, and javehns hardened in the 
 fire, these rude people wondered and tremb- 
 led. To increase the effect he had now pro- 
 duced, he ordered the great guns to be fired, 
 and the sudden explosion struck them with 
 such terror, that they fell flat on the ground, 
 covering their faces with their hands. When 
 they beheld the effects of the bullets on the 
 trees towards which the guns had been 
 pointed, they concluded it was impossible to 
 resist men who could use such instruments, 
 and who were armed w^ith thunder and light- 
 ning against their foes. 
 
 Having thus produced the impression he 
 intended on the minds of the natives, Colum- 
 bus appointed thirty-eight of his people to 
 continue among them, under the command 
 of Diego de Arana, a gentleman of Cordova^
 
 PART OF THE CREW LEFT. 75 
 
 investing him with the same powers which 
 he had received, and providing him with 
 ample means of subsistence and defence. 
 He offered suitable advice to the commander, 
 and to those who were to obey him, promised 
 to visit them soon, and favorably to mention 
 them to their sovereign. The parting be- 
 tween the Spaniards who embarked, and 
 those who remained, was painful; but it 
 w^as relieved by mutual promises and ex- 
 pressions of good-will. At length, the se- 
 paration took place ; those on board gave a 
 parting cheer to their comrades on shore, 
 and by these it was returned with feehngs 
 it is difficult to conceive. 
 
 The leaky state of his vessel, and the 
 anxiety of his men to make know-n what they 
 had seen, urged Columbus to hasten his voy- 
 age to Europe. He had on board some of 
 the natives, whom he had taken from the 
 different islands he had discovered ; and be- 
 sides the gold, the chief object of pursuit, he 
 had specimens of the productions likely to 
 become useful in commerce, as w^ell as many 
 unknown birds and other natural curiosities.
 
 76 COLUMBUS AND HIS TIMES. 
 
 After being at sea about two days, the 
 Pinta was descried at a distance, and soon 
 after came sailing towards them. As Colum- 
 bus saw it was vain to contend with the wind 
 that was adverse, he put back into a bay, 
 and was followed by the other vessel. Pinzon 
 endeavored to find excuses for his conduct, 
 but Columbus was satisfied that it was to be 
 traced to selfish motives. Avarice had be- 
 come his ruling passion. He had obtained a 
 large quantity of gold, one half of which he 
 had kept as captain, and the other he had 
 given to his men to secure their secrecy and 
 fidehty. He had also forcibly carried off 
 four Indian men and two girls whom he in- 
 tended to sell in Spain. Not long after, they 
 arrived at the river where Pinzon had been 
 trading, when Columbus obliged him, though 
 very reluctant, to restore these persons to 
 their homes ; and they were, therefore, dis- 
 missed, well clothed, and w^ith many presents. 
 
 A little beyond the headland now known 
 as Cape Cabron, they cast anchor in a vast 
 bay, or rather gulf. On landing, the natives 
 appeared of a ferocious aspect and a warlike
 
 A FEARFUL HURRICANE. 77 
 
 character. They were hideously painted, 
 decorated with the gaudy feathers of birds, 
 and armed with various weapons. One of 
 them came on board the ship, where he 
 w^as regaled, and sent on shore with various 
 presents, in the hope of opening a trade for 
 gold with his companions. As the boat ap- 
 proached the land, upwards of fifty armed 
 savages appeared lurking among the trees, 
 but a sign from the Indian led them to lay 
 down their arms, and to come forth to meet 
 the Spaniards. 
 
 The latter tried to purchase some of their 
 weapons, and obtained tw^o bows, but a 
 collision arose, — two of the Indians were 
 wounded, and the rest put to flight. The 
 day after, a multitude appearing en the beach, 
 Columbus sent a large and well-armed party 
 ashore, but the natives showed no sings of 
 either fear or mahce. On the contrary, the 
 chief, who was among them, sent a string 
 of shells, which the Spaniards understood 
 was a token of peace, and entering the boat 
 with only three attendants was conveyed to 
 the vessel. All appeared highly gratified
 
 78 COLUMBUS AND HIS TIMES. 
 
 with their entertainment, and as he could 
 not repeat his visit, the chieftain sent the 
 admiral his coronet of gold. 
 
 The voyage was prosperous for nearly a 
 month, but, at length, the wind began to rise, 
 and increased until there was a furious hurri- 
 cane. Columbus employed all his skill and 
 experience to save the ships ; but as they 
 were still far from land, and exposed to the 
 fury of the storm, destruction seemed inevit- 
 able. The sailors had now recourse to vows 
 and charms, and the invocation of saints, 
 vainly expecting from them deliverance. 
 "What a fearful error was this ! " There is 
 one God," says the apostle Paul, " and one 
 meditator between God and men, the man 
 Christ Jesus." But the title which Scripture 
 assigns to Christ alone, is transferred by the 
 Romish church to created beings, or, at the 
 least, is shared by them along with him. 
 Thus they are invested with a part of his 
 special dignity, and he is robbed of his 
 glory. Nor is the practice so palpably crimi- 
 nal, free from the grossest absurdity. How 
 can a merely human being be present with
 
 A FEARFUL HUKRICAXE. 79 
 
 more than one votary at a time ? And yet 
 it is supposed that thousands may be heard 
 at the same moment, and also be assisted. 
 
 Columbus now ordered a number of beans 
 equal to that of the persons on board, to be 
 put into a cap, one of them being marked 
 with the sign of the cross. Each one made 
 a vow that if he drew forth the marked 
 bean, he would go as a pilgrim to the shrine 
 of Santa Maria de Guadalupe, bearing a 
 wax taper of five pounds weight. The lot 
 fell on Columbus, the first to put in his hand, 
 and from that moment he felt bound to per- 
 form his vow. Other lots were cast in the 
 same way, in the hope, by such engage- 
 ments, of securing the favor of that God 
 who demands not Ihe outward service, but 
 the offering of the heart. 
 
 How different to the condition of these 
 superstitious mariners, are the circumstances 
 of those who have boldness to enter into the 
 holiest of all by the precious blood of Christ, 
 looking only to the atonement of an almighty 
 Saviour, and not seeking the intercession of 
 those who were men of like passions with
 
 80 COLUMBUS AND HIS TIMES. 
 
 ourselves! Truly and beautifully has our 
 poet Montgomery said — 
 
 " A sigh can waft them to His feet in prayer, 
 
 Not Gabriel bends with more acceptance tbere^ 
 
 Nor to the throne from heaven's pure altar rise 
 
 The odors of a sweeter sacrifice, 
 
 Than when before the mercy-seat they kneel. 
 
 And tell Him all they fear, or hope, or feel ; 
 
 Perils without, aad enemies within, 
 
 Satan, the world, temptation,, weakness, sin.*,. 
 
 Yet rest unshaken in his sure defence, 
 
 Invincible through his omnipotence. 
 
 * Oh ! step by step,' they cry, ' direct our way, 
 
 And give tby grace, like manna, day by dayv 
 
 The store of yesterday will not suffice ; 
 
 To-morrow's sun to us may never rise ; 
 
 Safe only, when our souls are stayed on Thee ; 
 
 Rich only, when we know our poverty.* " 
 
 In addition to feelings common to men in 
 such fearful circumstances, Columbus dread- 
 ed the loss of all knowledge of his discover- 
 ies, and of all the benefit that might accrue 
 from them, and also that he should hereafter 
 be considered as a rash and deluded adven- 
 turer, instead of receiving the honor to which 
 he was fairly entitled. In these considera- 
 tions he lost all sense of personal danger ; but, 
 anxious to preserve the knowledge of what 
 he had attempted and achieved, he wrote on 
 parchment a short account of the voyage he
 
 A FEARFUL HURRICANE, 8 1 
 
 had made, the situation and riches of the coun- 
 try he had discovered, and of the colony he 
 had left, and having wrapped it up in an oil- 
 ed cloth, which he enclosed in a cake of wax, 
 he put it into a cask carefully stopped up, 
 and threw it into the sea, in the hope that it 
 might thus be preserved, even if the ships 
 were lost. 
 
 Columbus was at no great distance from 
 the coast of Spain, when another storm arose, 
 little inferior to the former in violence, and 
 after being driven before it during two days 
 and two nights, he was compelled to take re- 
 fuge in the river Tagus. On applying to the 
 King of Portugal, he was allowed to proceed 
 to Lisbon, and though the Portuguese were 
 envious of the success of another nation in 
 an enterprise which they had considered pe- 
 culiarly their own, Columbus was received 
 with special marks of distinction. 
 
 Still there were some w^ho cherished very 
 different feelings to those which might thus 
 be supposed to be exercised. Though Co- 
 lumbus, so far from entering the Tagus by 
 choice, was compelled to take shelter in it
 
 82 COLUMBUS AND HIS TIMES. 
 
 3oreIy against his inclination, yet a Portu- 
 guese historian states that he entered Lisbon 
 with a vain-glorious exultation, in order to 
 make Portugal fee], by displaying the tokens 
 of his discovery, how much she had erred in 
 not acceding to his proposition. 
 
 Another Portuguese writer, in describing 
 this visit, says, that the king, being informed 
 of his arrival, commanded him into his pre- 
 sence, and appeared to be annoyed that the 
 discovery of Columbus had been made Avith- 
 in the seas and boundaries of his seigniory 
 of Guinea, which might give rise to disputes. 
 He also describes the king as vexed by the 
 exaggerations of the admiral, and as accus- 
 ing himself of negligence in having declined 
 the enterprise from a want of confidence in 
 it, when his assistance was first besought. 
 He then adds: "And notwithstanding the 
 king was importuned to kill him on the spot, 
 since, with his death, the prosecution of the 
 undertaking, so far as the sovereigns of Cas- 
 tile were concerned, would cease, from want 
 of a suitable person to take charge of it ; and 
 notwithstanding this might be done without
 
 RECEPTION AT PORTUGAL. 83 
 
 suspicion of the king's being privy to it, 
 (for, inasmuch as the admiral was overbear- 
 ing and puffed up by his success, they could 
 easily bring it about that his own indiscre- 
 tion should appear the cause of his death,) 
 yet the king, as he was a prince greatly 
 fearing God, not only forbade this, but even 
 showed the admiral much favor, and dismiss- 
 ed him." It is painful to record the sugges- 
 tions of such great depravity; but man, 
 wherever he is found, exhibits corruptions 
 which, unrestrained, will plunge him into the 
 most atrocious crimes. How important is it, 
 then, that every one of us should seek " a 
 new heart, and a right spirit!" May the 
 reader say in sincerity and truth — 
 
 " Redeemer of the lost, 
 Thy blood the ransom's cost, 
 
 Thy ^race afford ; 
 The faith, the virtue give, 
 On Thee, to Thee to live. 
 
 My life, my Lord. 
 
 '^ Spirit of quickening might, 
 Fountain of love and light, 
 
 Thyself impart; 
 And with thine influence sweet, 
 Most blessed Paraclete, 
 
 Possess my heart."
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 COLUMBUS ENTERS THE HARBOR OF PALOS— HIS JOURNEY TO BAR- 
 CELONA— SPLENEID RECEPTION BY THE SOVEREIGNS — VIEWS 
 TAKEN OF HIS DISCOVERIES — MORTIFICATION AND DEATH OF 
 PINZON. 
 
 On the 15th of March, 1493, exactly 
 seven months and eleven days after his de- 
 parture, the well-known vessel of Columbus 
 was observed by the little community of Pa- 
 los entering the harbor. To describe the 
 feelings now so strongly excited, is absolute- 
 ly impossible. The dwellers in that incon- 
 siderable port had experienced the most 
 stormy and disastrous winter within the re- 
 collection of the oldest mariners; and as 
 most of them had relations and friends on 
 board, imagination had long since consigned 
 them to a watery grave. 
 
 With the greatest eagerness, therefore,
 
 RECEPTION IN SPAIN. 85 
 
 they had hastened to the shore. In propor- 
 tion to the prevalence of fear, was now that 
 of their dehght ; and as they beheld not only 
 the countenances of their kindred and com- 
 panions, but abundant proofs that their en- 
 terprise had been successful, they burst forth 
 in loud acclamations of joy. 
 
 As soon as Columbus had landed, the 
 whole population accompanied him and his 
 crew to the principal church, w^here thanks- 
 givings were presented for their auspicious 
 return ; an example which it would be well 
 if those who see the wonders of God in the 
 deep would generally follow, on their return 
 from a long and dangerous voyage. 
 
 Pinzon had been separated from Colum- 
 bus during the storm, and had made the port 
 of Bayonne. Anxious to secure his own in- 
 terests, he wrote to the sovereigns, appriz- 
 ing them of the discovery he had made, and 
 requesting permission to come to court to 
 communicate the particulars of his enterprise. 
 He had felt some doubts whether Columbus 
 had survived the tempest, but, on entering 
 the harbor of Palos, he beheld his vessel
 
 86 COLUMBUS AND HIS TIMES. 
 
 riding at anchor. By a singular coincidence, 
 Columbus had gained the port in the morn- 
 ing of the same day, and at the sight, the 
 heart of Pinzon died within him. It might 
 have been otherwise ; but he had taken his 
 own course, and his villany was deservedly 
 punished. His conduct reminds us of the 
 proneness of man to change. He was one 
 of the first to aid Columbus in carrying out 
 his enterprise — he was the first to abandon 
 him. How important is the charge, " Cease 
 from man !" how desirable is it that we 
 should trust in the Lord for ever ! 
 
 Columbus was too anxious to present him- 
 self to the sovereigns, to stay long at Palos. 
 He was accompanied by several of the island- 
 ers, arrayed in the native costume, and de- 
 corated with collars, bracelets, and other 
 ornaments of gold, rudely fashioned. He 
 exhibited also considerable quantities of the 
 same metal in dust, or crude masses; and 
 among them, it is said, a lump of gold, 
 fashioned into a vessel for containing the 
 wafer used in the sacrement of the Romish 
 church. In addition to these specimens of
 
 RECEPTION IN SPAIN. 87 
 
 the precious metal, there were numerous 
 exotic plants, both aromatic and medicinal, 
 several species of quadrupeds unknown in 
 Europe, and birds, whose varieties of splen- 
 did plumage gave brillancy to the singular 
 and striking spectacle. 
 
 Multitudes collected through the country to 
 behold objects so extraordinary, and the 
 more extraordinary individual, who, in the 
 emphatic language of that period, but which 
 familiarity has deprived of its force, first ex- 
 hibited to view a "new world." As he 
 passed through the populous and busy city 
 of Seville, every window, balcony, and house- 
 top, which could afford a glimpse of him, is 
 described as being crowded with spectators. 
 
 It was the middle of April before Colum- 
 bus reached Barcelona ; at the gates of which 
 he was received by the nobility and cavaliers 
 attending the court, accompanied by the au- 
 thorities of the city. Escorted by them to 
 the royal presence, Ferdinand and Isabella, 
 who were seated, with their son Prince John, 
 under a superb canopy of state awaiting 
 his arrival, rose on his approach, and extend-
 
 88 COLUMBUS AND HIS TIMES. 
 
 ing their hands for him to salute, caused him 
 to be seated before them. These were un- 
 precedented marks of condescension to a per- 
 son of the rank of Columbus, in the ceremo- 
 nious and haughty court of Castile. But 
 the honors hitherto reserved only for rank, 
 or fortune, or military success, purchased by 
 the tears, groans, and blood, of thousands, 
 were now rendered to him, who long suppli- 
 cated aid, and could obtain no audience. 
 
 After a brief interval, the sovereigns ask- 
 ed Columbus for a recital of his adventures, 
 and he proceeded to detail them, in a manner 
 at once sedate and dignified ; but at length, 
 glowing with the warmth of his enthusiasm, 
 he enumerated the various islands he had 
 visited, expatiated on the character of the 
 climate, and described the capacity of the 
 soil for agricultural purposes, appealing at 
 the same time to the samples he had brought 
 as specimens of its natural fertility. He 
 dwelt more at large on the precious metals 
 to be found in these islands, inferring less 
 from the specimens actually obtained, than 
 from the uniform testimony of the natives to
 
 ACTS OF ATTENTION. 89 
 
 their abundance in the unexplored regions of 
 the interior. He alluded also to the wide 
 scope afforded for the influence of the doc- 
 trines, which he, in common with those 
 whom he addressed, had received. The 
 emotions of his hearers were exceedingly 
 various, as they w^ere impelled by the pros- 
 pects of ambition, the longings of avarice, 
 or a concern to diffuse the system of popery. 
 At the close of his address, the king and 
 queen, together with all present, fell on their 
 knees to offer thanksgivings, while the choir 
 of the royal chapel sang the Te Deum, as in 
 commemoration of some signal victory. 
 
 Columbus, during his residence in Barce-> 
 lona, continued to receive the most honora- 
 ble distinctions which the Spanish* sovereigns 
 could confer. When Ferdinand rode abroad, 
 he was accompanied by the admiral, w^ho 
 proceeded by his side. The courtiers also, 
 emulating their master, gave frequent enter- 
 tainments, at which he was tieated as a 
 noble of the highest class. 
 
 Among the various acts of attention he 
 received, Pedro Gonzalez de Mendoza, the
 
 90 COLUMBUS AND HIS TBIES. 
 
 grand cardinal of Spain, invited him to a 
 banquet, and had him served with the cere- 
 monies usually offered to sovereigns. A 
 courtier, dissatisfied with this treatment, ab- 
 ruptly asked Columbus whether he thought 
 other men would not have discovered the 
 Indies if he had failed. Columbus is said to 
 have made no immediate reply, but taking 
 an egg, to have invited the compa:iy to 
 make it stand on one end. All attempted to 
 do so, but in vain ; on which, striking it on 
 the table, he left it standing on the broken 
 part; thus showing, that, when he had 
 pointed out the way to the new world, it 
 was very easy to follow it. 
 
 What a contrast was presented in these 
 circumstances to those of former days ! The 
 difference is great between the stranger at 
 the convent of Rabida, and the favored one 
 of the court of Spain; but other vicissitudes 
 were afterwards to be experienced. Truly, 
 " man, at his best estate, is altogether vani- 
 ty." "Would that a full conviction of this 
 pervaded every mind !
 
 DIFFUSION OF HIS FAME. 91 
 
 " Ah ! when did wisdom covet length of days ? 
 Or seek bliss in pleasure, wealth, or praise ? 
 No : wisdom views, with an indifferent eye, 
 All infinite joys, all blessings born to die. 
 The soul on earth is an immortal guest, 
 Compelled to starve at an unreal feast ; 
 A spark that upward tends by nature's force; 
 A stream diverted from its parent source { 
 A drop dissevered from the boundless sea; 
 A moment parted from eternity ; 
 A pilgrim panting for a rest to come ; 
 An exile anxious for his native home." 
 
 The fame acquired at this time by Colum- 
 bus, was not limited to Spain or Portugal ; 
 it was diffused throughout Europe. The 
 multitude, struck with amazement at what 
 they heard, could hardly believe that a new 
 world had been discovered ; but men of sci- 
 ence, able to understand the character and 
 results of such enterprise, received the ac- 
 count of it with admiration and joy. They 
 spoke of it with great delight, and congra- 
 tulated one another on having lived at a time 
 when the boundaries of human knowledore 
 were so far extended, that mankind would 
 be led to a full acquaintance with the struc- 
 ture and productions of the globe. 
 
 Various opinions were formed as to the 
 9
 
 92 COLUMBUS AND HIS TMES. 
 
 newly- discovered countries, and the division 
 of the earth to which they belonged. Co- 
 lumbus considered, as he had done before, 
 that they should be reckoned a part of those 
 vast regions of Asia, to which had been 
 assigned the general name of India. The 
 productions of the countries he had discover- 
 ed confirmed this sentiment. In India, gold 
 was known to abound ; and the samples he 
 had gathered from the island he had ^^sited, 
 led him to believe that rich mines of the pre- 
 cious metal might there be found. There, 
 too, cotton, another production of India, 
 was common; the pimento of the islands, 
 he supposed to be a species of Indian pep- 
 per ; and he mistook a root resembling rhu- 
 barb for that valuable drug, which was then 
 supposed to be peculiar to India. The birds 
 he had brought home were adorned with the 
 same rich plumage which arrayed those of 
 India ; and the alligator of the one country 
 appeared the same with the crocodile of the 
 other. On weighing these circumstances, 
 the opinion of Columbus seems to have been 
 adopted throughout Europe ; the countries.
 
 DEATH OF PINZON. 93 
 
 which he had discovered being considered as 
 a part of India. In consequence of this no- 
 tion, the name of Indies was given to them 
 by Ferdinand and Isabella, in ratifying their 
 former ao;reement. And thouojh the error 
 was afterwards detected, and the true posi- 
 tion of the New World was ascertained, the 
 name was continued, and the appellation of 
 West Indies became familiar, as it is to this 
 day. 
 
 To the popularity of Columbus at this 
 period, there was a great contrast in the cir- 
 cumstances of Pinzon. From some motive, 
 either of shame or fear, he sought refuge in 
 privacy, waiting the reply of the sovereigns 
 to his letter. Its arrival served only to 
 increase his mortification ; for it severely re- 
 proached him for his vile conduct, and for- 
 bade his appearance at court. Most bitterly 
 did he feel this communication; it greatly 
 increased a malady from which he was suffer- 
 ing, and a few days after he died.
 
 CHAPTER Vm. 
 
 PREPARATIONS FOR A SECOND VOYAGE — APPLICATION TO THE 
 POPE — DISSATISFACTION OF PORTUGAL WITH THE ENTERPRISE 
 OF SPAIN— DEPARTCRE OF COLUMBDS AND HIS FLEET. 
 
 Preparations were now made for prosecut- 
 ing the discoveries of Columbus on a scale 
 proportioned to their supposed importance. 
 A board was established for the direction of 
 Indian affairs, at the head of which was 
 Juan de Fonseca, archdeacon of Seville, an 
 active and ambitious ecclesiastic, who was 
 afterwards raised to high episcopal office, 
 and whose ability for business enabled him 
 to control the department he thus superin- 
 tended during the whole of the present reign. 
 An office for the transaction of business was 
 instituted at Seville, and a custom-house 
 placed under its direction at Cadiz, in which 
 originated the important establishment of the 
 India House.
 
 PREPARATIONS FOR A SECOND VOYAGE. 95 
 
 The commercial regulations adopted, were, 
 however, of a narrow kind. Instead of the 
 new territories being allowed free intercourse 
 with nations, they were opened only, under 
 strict limitations, to Spanish subjects, and 
 were reserved, as forming in some way part 
 of the exclusive revenue of the crown. All 
 persons, of whatever description, were inter- 
 dicted, under the severest penalties, not only 
 from trading with, but even visiting the 
 Indies, without license from the constituted 
 authorities. And so strong and minute were 
 the regulations made, that it would seem to 
 have been impossible to evade them. 
 
 In reference to the support of the infant 
 colony, a more sagacious spirit prevailed. 
 Grain, plants, the seeds of numerous vegeta- 
 ble products, which, in the genial climate of 
 the Indies, might be desirable for domestic 
 consumption or export, were liberally afford- 
 ed. All kinds of commodities for the supply 
 of the fleet were exempted from duty. Ar- 
 tizans of every sort, provided with the im- 
 plements they needed, and miners prepared 
 for their work, were enrolled in the expedi-
 
 96 COLUMBUS AND HIS TIMES. 
 
 tioii. An ordinance somewhat arbitrary too, 
 required the owners of all vessels throughout 
 the ports of Andalusia to hold them in readi- 
 ness for the expedition, and orders were 
 issued to impress officers and men, if neces- 
 sary, into the service. 
 
 Coercion at this time appears to have been 
 unnecessary. The Spaniards, little accus- 
 tomed to naval expeditions, yet excited by 
 what they saw and heard, were impatient to 
 set out on this enterprise. Volunteers of 
 every rank solicited to be employed, allured 
 by the prospects which opened to their am- 
 bition and avarice. Ferdinand, cautious as 
 he was, and adverse to every thing new and 
 adventurous, appears to have caught the 
 spirit of his subjects. Preparations for the 
 expedition were therefore carried on with 
 great rapidity. 
 
 The gross superstition that prevailed, led 
 to an application to the pope, who was sup- 
 posed to have a right to all the kingdoms of 
 the earth, for a grant of the territories it was 
 wished to occupy. The pontiff at this tune 
 was Alexander VI.
 
 APPLICATION TO THE POPE. 97 
 
 As the pope was born the subject of Fer- 
 dinand, and was anxious to secure the pio- 
 tection of Spain, to accomplish his own 
 purposes, he promptly complied with this 
 request. The act was not only without cost, 
 but likely to prove very profitable to himself, 
 yet in the blasphemous style that was adopt- 
 ed, he, "out of pure liberality, infallible 
 knowledge, and plenitude of apostolic pow- 
 er," confirmed the Spanish monarchs in the 
 possession of all lands discovered, or here- 
 after to be discovered, by them in the West- 
 ern Ocean ; comprehending the same exten- 
 sive rights as those formerly conceded to the 
 kings of Portugal. 
 
 To prevent any confusion in the two 
 grants, it was ordered by the pope that a 
 line supposed to be drawn from pole to pole, 
 a hundred leagues to the westward of the 
 Azores, should serve as a limit between the 
 two kingdoms; and thus he granted all to 
 the east of this imaginary line to the Portu- 
 guese, and all to the west of it to the Span- 
 iards. 
 
 The motive assigned for seeking and also
 
 98 COLUMBUS AND HIS TIMES. 
 
 for granting this favor, was zeal for the pro- 
 motion of Christianity. Several friars, un- 
 der the direction of father Boyle, a Catalo- 
 nian monk, as vicar apostolic, were appoint- 
 ed to accompany Columbus, and the Indians 
 had administered to them the rite of baptism. 
 Effort was then apparent, as it often is on 
 the part of the church of Rome, to hold the 
 consciences of men in the direst bondage. 
 
 The court of Lisbon meanwhile beheld 
 with secret disquietude the increasing enter- 
 prise of its neighbors. The Portuguese had 
 been only timidly creeping along the shores 
 of Africa, while the Spaniards, boldly launch- 
 ing into the deep, had secured the possession 
 of unknown realms, which teemed, as they 
 supposed, with inestimable treasures. The 
 mortification they felt was greatly increased 
 by the reflection, that all this success might 
 have been their own, had they but accepted 
 the proposals of Columbus. 
 
 No sooner, therefore, was the success of 
 the admiral established, than John II. sought 
 some pretence to check the career of dis- 
 covery, or, at least, to secure some of its
 
 DISSATISFACTION OF PORTUGAL. 99 
 
 spoils. In his interviews with Columbus at 
 Lisbon, he intimated that the discoveries of 
 the Spaniards might interfere with the rights 
 secured to the Portuguese by the sanction of 
 the pope; but the admiral, without entering 
 into discussion, simply declared that he had 
 been instructed to steer clear of all Portuguese 
 settlements on the African coast ; and that 
 his course had been in an entirely different 
 direction. John professed himself satisfied 
 with the explanation; but the following cir- 
 cumstances will show that this was merely 
 pretence. 
 
 Soon after this conversation, he despatch- 
 ed an ambassador to Barcelona, who, after 
 dwelling on various irrelevant topics, touch- 
 ed, as it were incidentally, on what was the 
 real object of his mission. He congratulated 
 the Spanish sovereigns on the success of 
 their enterprise, alluded to the civilities of 
 the court of Lisbon to Columbus, acknowl- 
 edged the satisfaction of his master with the 
 directions to him to hold a westerly course 
 from the Canaries, and expressed a hope that 
 there would be no interference with the
 
 100 COLmiBUS AND HIS TDIES. 
 
 rights of Portugal, by any deviation to the 
 south. This was the first occasion on which 
 the existence of such claims had been inti- 
 mated. 
 
 Ferdinand and Isabella now heard that 
 John was equipping a considerable armament 
 to anticipate or defeat their recent discover- 
 ies. This led to immediate communication 
 ^^*ith the court of Lisbon, and to hastening 
 the departure of Columbus. The comple- 
 ment of the fleet was originally fixed at 
 1,200 souls, which was eventually swelled 
 to 1,500 ; and the whole squadron consisted 
 of seventeen vessels, three of them of one 
 hundred tons burden each. As soon as every 
 arrangement was complete, Columbus, who 
 was accompanied by his two sons Diego and 
 Ferdinando, dropped down the Guadalquiver, 
 and left the bay of Cadiz on the 25th of 
 September 1493, presenting a striking con- 
 trast to the commencement of his first voyage 
 only a year before. 
 
 When the fleet had weighed anchor, the 
 Spanish sovereigns immediately despatched 
 an embassy composed of two persons of dis-
 
 PLOT OF THE PORTUGUESE. 101 
 
 tinguished rank, to communicate its depart- 
 ure to the king of Portugal. After stating 
 various circumstances connected with what 
 had been done, and the security to the Span- 
 iards by the pope of the exclusive right of 
 discovery in the western ocean, they offered 
 to refer any matter of dispute to the court 
 of Rome, or any common umpire. John 
 was deeply chagrined at the departure of Co- 
 lumbus, of which he was now apprised : he 
 saw that, while he was amused with nego- 
 tiation, his rivals had acted with energy, and 
 throwing out hints of an immediate rupture, 
 attempted, it is said, to intimidate the am- 
 bassadors, by bringing them as if by acci- 
 dent into the presence of a splendid array of 
 cavalry, ready for immediate service. He 
 then vented his spleen on the embassy, and 
 treated those who composed it w^ith personal 
 disrespect. It was long before this misunder- 
 standing was adjusted.
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 SECOND VOYAGE OF COLCMBUS — DISCOVERY OF VARIOCS ISLA.VDS — 
 
 EETCRN TO HISPANnOLA— ITS HISTORY DCRIXG HIS ABSE^•CE 
 
 CONSPIRACY AGAl-NSr COLCMBCS — EXaMINaTIOX OF THE ISLAND. 
 
 The voyage of Columbus proceeded hap- 
 pily, and he soon made land. It was one of 
 the Caribbee or Leward Islands, which he 
 called Deseada, from the impatience of his- 
 crew to discover some part of the New" 
 World. He visited after this, Dominica, 
 Marigalante, Guadaloupe, Antigua, San Juan 
 de Puerto Rico, and several other islands, 
 scattered in his way, as he advanced to the 
 north-west. All these islands he found in- 
 habited by that fierce race of people, whose 
 character and expeditions rendered them the 
 terror of these seas. 
 
 As Columbus was eager to known the 
 state of the colony he had planted, and to
 
 SECOND VOYAGE OF COLUMBUS. 103 
 
 furnish it with the supphes he supposed it 
 needed, he proceeded, without any tarry- 
 ing at these islands, to Hispaniola. On 
 arriving off the station where he had left 
 his men under the command of Aran a, he 
 expected that they would receive their coun- 
 trymen with the greatest joy ; but to his 
 astonishment none of them appeared. Anx- 
 ious about their safety, and fearing some evil 
 had befallen them, he rowed directly to land, 
 but the natives who might have given him 
 information, had fled, the fort he had built 
 was entirely demolished, and tattered gar- 
 ments, and broken arms and utensils, were 
 scattered about. The loss of the garrison 
 now appeared obvious. 
 
 The Spaniards were weepincr over this 
 supposed catastrophe, when a brother of the 
 cacique appeared, and described what had 
 occurred since the departure of Columbus 
 from the island. The people he had left had 
 totilly disregarded the instructions he had 
 given them, and every one had supposed 
 himself at liberty to gratify his own desires. 
 Divided into small parties, they roamed over 
 10
 
 104 COLUMBUS AND HIS TIMES. 
 
 the whole island, with the greatest insolence 
 and rapacity, until the people, gentle and 
 timid as they were, had their patience ex- 
 hausted, and their courage roused, by in- 
 juries so great and unprovoked. 
 
 One means of summary punishment appear- 
 ed. The cacique of Cibao, whose country 
 the Spaniards chiefly infested on account of 
 the gold it contained, surprised and cut off 
 several of them while thinking themselves 
 as secure as if they had committed no evil 
 He then assembled his people and set the 
 fort on fire, in the defence of which some of 
 the Spaniards were killed, while the rest 
 perished in an arm of the sea, while striving 
 to make their escape. 
 
 What a contrast to these wretched men 
 appeared in Guacanagari ! Though their 
 exactions had been great, his fidelity was 
 unshaken ; he took arms in their behalf, and 
 in endeavoring to defend them had received 
 a wound, which confined him to his dwelling. 
 
 The Spaniards were not without suspicions 
 of the fidehty of this chief, but Columbus 
 rejected the advice w^hich several of them
 
 RETURN TO HISPANIOLA. 105 
 
 offered, to seize his person, and avenge the 
 death of their countrymen, by attacking his 
 subjects. Taking precautions against future 
 injury, he chose a situation more heahhy and 
 commodious than Navidad, the first one se- 
 lected, traced out the plan of a town in a 
 large plain near a spacious bay, and obliged 
 every person to aid in a work on w'hich their 
 common safety depended. The houses and 
 ramparts were consequently so far advanced 
 by united labor, as speedly to afford them 
 shelter and defence, and this rising city, the 
 first that the Europeans founded in the New 
 World, he named Isabella, in honor of the 
 queen of Castile. 
 
 Many difficulties were encountered in carry- 
 ing on this work, not only in common with 
 all such labors, but particularly from the cir- 
 cumstances of the Spaniards. Not a few of 
 them, from their rank in life, were unaccus- 
 tomed to bodily toil, and the minds of all 
 were excited by the exaggerated represen- 
 tations of their countrymen, who returned 
 from the first voyage, or by the mistaken 
 opinions of Columbus. He supposed that
 
 106 COLUMBUS AND HIS TIMES. 
 
 the country he had discovered was either the 
 Cipango of Marco Polo, or the Ophir from 
 which Solomon imported so many precious 
 commodities. Bat now his companions who 
 expected to reap a golden harvest without 
 toil or care, seeing that the prospect of 
 wealth was remote and uncertain, and only 
 to be obtained by slow and persevering ef- 
 forts, sunk into despondency. In vain did 
 their commander point to the fertility of the 
 soil, and to the specimens of gold daily 
 brought in from the different parts of the 
 island ; for the returns which the land might 
 yield they had no patience to wait, and they 
 despised these portions of the precious metal 
 as scanty and inconsiderable. So far did 
 discontent and disaffection spread, that a 
 conspiracy was formed, which might have 
 proved fatal to Columbus and the colony; 
 but he happily discovered it, and, seizing the 
 ringleaders, punished some of them, and sent 
 others as prisoners to Spain. Thither he 
 dispatched twelve of the ships which had 
 served as transports, with an urgent request
 
 EXPEDITION TO CIEAO. 107 
 
 for a large supply of provisions and a rein- 
 forcement of men. 
 
 As an antidote to the evils produced by in- 
 activity, Columbus determined to send seve- 
 ral expeditions into the interior of the country. 
 One detachment proceeded under the com- 
 mand of Alonzo de Ojeda, a vigilent and 
 enterprising officer, to visit the district of 
 Cibao, which was said to contain the great- 
 est quantity of gold. Columbus followed 
 him in person with the main body of his 
 troops, displaying all the military pomp he 
 could command ; marching with flying colors, 
 and martial music, while a small body of 
 cavalry paraded sometimes in front, and at 
 others in the rear. As horses had never 
 before been seen in the New World, they 
 were received with mingled feelings by the 
 Indians, who supposed that the horse and 
 the rider formed one animal, surprising in 
 speed, and irresistible in strength. 
 
 Aiming in this way to impress the natives 
 with a dread of his power, he treated them 
 also with integrity and kindness. The dis- 
 trict of Cibao proved to be what it had been 
 10«
 
 108 COLUMBUS AND HIS TIMES. 
 
 described, mountainous and uncultivated, yet 
 in every river and brook, gold in dust or 
 grains, some of which were of a considerable 
 size, might be gathered. The Indians had 
 employed no other means to obtain it ; the 
 skill of the miner and the refiner was to 
 them unknown; — but the Spaniards saw 
 enough to persuade them that beneath the 
 surface of the earth there were treasures of 
 which they hoped to be masters. To secure 
 so valuable a province, Columbus erected a 
 small fort, which he called St. Thomas, to 
 ridicule the incredulous among his followers, 
 who would not believe that the country 
 yielded gold, till they saw it with their eyes, 
 and touched it with their hands. 
 
 The natives appeared generally well dis- 
 posed towards their visitors. When any of 
 them came near a village, the most elderly 
 and venerable of the Indians, or the cacique 
 himself, came forth to meet them, and con- 
 ducting them into their habitations, seated 
 them on stools of ebony, which were curi- 
 ously carved. These appear to have been 
 seats of honor, for the natives throwing
 
 KLVDNESS OF THE NATIVES. 109 
 
 themselves on the ground, and kissing the 
 hands and feet of the Spaniards, offered them 
 fruits, and the choicest food they could pre- 
 sent. At the same time, they entreated them 
 to prolong their stay, with so much solicitude 
 and reverence, as showed that they consider- 
 ed them beings of a superior order. 
 
 The discovery of gold might be pronounc- 
 ed seasonable; for serious evils were being 
 experienced. The slock of provisions brought 
 from Europe, were either nearly consumed, 
 or rendered by the climate unfit for use ; the 
 produce obtained from the ground by the 
 natives was scarcely sufficient for their own 
 subsistence ; and the Spaniards at Isabella 
 had not the means of reaping any consider- 
 able fruit of their own industry. All were 
 therefore reduced to a scanty allowance, and 
 famine stared them in the face. Sickness, 
 at the same time, prevailed ; and, alarmed 
 at the unusual symptoms of the maladies by 
 which they were attacked, the Spaniards ex- 
 claimed against Columbus and his former 
 companions, who had allured them to a bar- 
 barous region, to be cut off by famine or
 
 110 COLUMBUS AND HIS TIMES. 
 
 disease. Several of the officers and other 
 persons of note, so far from checking, joined 
 in, these violent complaints, and father Boyle, 
 the vicar-apostolic, was one of the most tur- 
 bulent and outrageous. The address and 
 authority of Columbus were therefore called 
 into action, threats and promises were also 
 employed ; but nothing contributed more to 
 allay discontent than the hope of finding in 
 the mines of Cibao an ample compensation 
 for all that had been endured.
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 VOYAGE OP COLD.MBUS — HE MEETS D.VEIPECTEDLY HI3 BROTHER 
 BARTHOLOMEW ACCUSATION AQAINST THE ADMIRAL — HE PRO- 
 CEEDS TO SPAIN — CONDUCT OF BARTHOLOMEW DURING HIS AB- 
 SENCE. 
 
 As soon as order and peace were restored, 
 Columbus resolved to pursue his discoveries, 
 and appointed his brother Diego, with the 
 assistance of a council of officers, to govern 
 the island during his absence. He also gave 
 the command of a body of soldiers, who 
 were to visit different parts of the island, and 
 endeavor to establish the authority of the 
 Spaniards among the inhabitants, to Pedro 
 Margarita. Having giving them full instruc- 
 tions as to their conduct, he weighed anchor 
 with one ship and two small barks, and 
 during a voyage of full five months, attended
 
 112 COLUMBUS AND HIS TIMES. 
 
 by numerous hardships, he only discovered 
 the island of Jamaica. 
 
 Ranging along the southern coast of Cuba, 
 he was entangled by a great number of small 
 islands, which he called the Queen's Garden, 
 and in this unknown course among rocks 
 and shelves, he was delayed by contrary 
 winds, assailed by furious storms, and alarm- 
 ed by the thunder and lightning so very pre- 
 valent between the tropics. The necessities 
 and sufferings of his crew exposed him to 
 the most imminent peril, and on no occasion 
 w^re his skill and experience as a navigator 
 more severely tried. It cannot excite sur- 
 prise that he should acutely suffer from such 
 continued and unremitted exertion as he had 
 now to endure ; an attack of fever was fol- 
 lowed by a lethargy that deprived him of 
 sense and memory, and nearly proved fatal. 
 
 Some incidents that occurred during his 
 stay are worthy of notice. On one occasion, 
 a venerable old man, a native of Cuba, ap- 
 proached Columbus with great reverence, 
 and presenting a basket of fruit, thus ad- 
 dressed him ; " Whether you are divinities
 
 FERTILITY" OF THE COUNTRY. 113 
 
 or mortal men, we know not. You are come 
 into these countries with a force against 
 which, were we inclined to resist it, resist- 
 ance would be folly. We are all therefore 
 at your mercy; but if you are men, subject 
 to mortality like ourselves, you cannot be 
 unapprised, that after this life there is an- 
 other, wherein a very different portion is al- 
 lotted to good and bad men. If therefore 
 you expect to die, and believe with us that 
 every one is to be rewarded in a future state, 
 according to his conduct in the present, you 
 will do no hurt to those vrho do none to you." 
 
 Such is the statement made by more than 
 one credible historian. If it be asked how 
 Columbus understood the cacique, the answer 
 is, that he had carried with him to Spain, in 
 his former voyage, several of the Indians ; 
 one of whom, who remained with him, had 
 acquired the Spanish language. This man, 
 named Didacus, acted, on this and other oc- 
 casions, as a guide and interpreter. 
 
 Columbus speaks of the fertility and beau- 
 ty of the country, in one of h; s letters to 
 king Ferdinand, written from Cuba, in terms
 
 1 14 COLUMBUS AND HIS TIMES. 
 
 of the highest admiration. "There is a 
 river," he says, " which discharges itself into 
 the harbor which I have named Porto Santo, 
 of sufficient depth to be navigable. I had 
 the curiosity to sound it, and found it eight 
 fathoms. Yet the water is so limpid that I 
 can easily discern the sand at the bottom. 
 The banks of this river are embellished with 
 lofty palm-trees, whose shade gives a deli- 
 cious freshness to the air ; and the birds and 
 the flowers are uncommon and beautiful. I 
 was so delighted with the scene, that I had 
 almost come to the resolution of staying here 
 the remainder of my days ; for, believe me, 
 sire, these countries far surpass all the rest 
 of the world, in beauty and conveniency ; 
 and I have frequently observed to my people, 
 that, with all my endeavors to convey to your 
 majesty an adequate idea of the charming 
 objects which continually present themselves 
 to our view, the description will fall greatly 
 short of the reality." 
 
 On the return of Columbus to Hispaniola, 
 an event greatly contributed to his recovery, 
 of which, productive, as it was, of great joy,
 
 ARRIVAL OF BARTHOLOMEW. 115 
 
 he could not have expected — it was bis meet- 
 ing with his brother Bartholomew. Though 
 united in tender and mutual regard, they had 
 been separated for thirteen years. After 
 ending his negotiation with the court of 
 England, Bartholomew had set out for Spain, 
 by way of France, and heard, while at Paris, 
 of his brother's extraordinary discoveries and 
 preparations for a second voyage. He hast- 
 ened onwards, but the admiral had sailed 
 before he reached Spain ; here, however, he 
 was received by Ferdinand and Isabella with 
 great respect, and was persuaded by them to 
 take the command of three ships appointed 
 to bear provisions to the colony. 
 
 Most opportune was his arrival, for Co- 
 lumbus stood in the utmost need of counsel 
 and support. The relief afforded by the 
 supplies that had been sent was only tem- 
 porary, and a danger still more formidable 
 than scarcity was threatning. The soldiers 
 left under Margarita had, during the absence 
 of Columbus, thrown off all control, and 
 treated the Indians with the greatest oppres- 
 sion. These people had quietly submitted 
 12
 
 116 COLUMBUS AND HIS TIMES. 
 
 for a time to the tyranny under which they 
 groaned, but when they saw that the Span- 
 iards had built a town and surrounded it with 
 ramparts ; that they had erected forts in dif- 
 ferent places, and that they had enclosed and 
 sown several fields, it was evident to them 
 that they had come to settle there. Satisfied 
 with a handful of maize, or a little of the 
 insipid bread made of the cassida root, they 
 looked with amazement at the quantity eaten 
 by the Spaniards, and supposed that they 
 had left their own land because it did not 
 yield enough to satisfy appetites so voracious. 
 Self-preservation urged them to wish for the 
 departure of their guests, while the injuries 
 they suffered, roused their courage, and they 
 waited only a signal from their leaders to 
 fall upon the colony. 
 
 A sense of danger restored the authority 
 of Columbus, who considered it necessary to 
 have recourse to arms, which he had hitherto 
 avoided with the greatest solicitude. In 
 doing so, however, there was considerable 
 peril; the vast superiority of the natives in 
 number compensating for the want of dis-
 
 RECOURSE TO ARMS. 117 
 
 cipline, and of any weapons except those in 
 use among a barbarous people. The Span- 
 iards, too, were greatly reduced by disease, 
 two-thirds of the original adventurers being 
 dead, and many of the survivors incapable of 
 service. Columbus felt, therefore, that, in 
 circumstances so formidable, he must look 
 to the vigor and rapidity of his operations, 
 and immediately assembled his forces. The 
 mind is pained as it dwells on such a con- 
 test — a contest brought on chiefly by the in- 
 dulgence of the worst passions — a contest 
 which threatened results the most disastrous 
 and afflicting. 
 
 On the one side appeared two hundred 
 Spaniards on foot, twenty horse, and twenty 
 large dogs, the last part of the force proba- 
 bly not the least formidable and destructive 
 when employed against naked and timid In- 
 dians. On the other were all the caciques 
 of the island except one, the faithful Gua- 
 canagari, and it is said a hundred thousand 
 men. Destitute of martial skill, they took 
 their stalion in the most open plain of the 
 country; and Columbus, seeing their error,
 
 118 COLUMBUS AND HIS TIMES. 
 
 attacked them during the night, when undis- 
 ciplined troops are least capable of acting 
 unitedly, and obtained an easy victory. The 
 onset of the dogs, the force of the cavalry, 
 and the noise and havoc of the fire-arms, 
 caused the greatest consternation among the 
 Indians, who threw down their weapons and 
 fled without attempting resistance. Many 
 were slain, more were made prisoners, and 
 a considerable number were sent as captives 
 to Spain, and sold publicly at Seville as 
 slaves; the rest were so intimidated, that 
 they gave up all thoughts of further resist- 
 ance, and abandoned themseves to despair. 
 
 Columbus now employed several months in 
 marching through the island, subjecting it to 
 the Spanish government, and imposing a 
 tribute on all the inhabitants above the age 
 of fourteen. Each person who lived in the 
 districts where gold was found, was obliged 
 to pay quarterly as much gold dust as filled 
 a hawk's bell ; from those in other parts of 
 the country, twenty-five pounds of cotton 
 were demanded: and thus a regular taxation
 
 TAXATION Or< THE NATIVES. 119 
 
 of the Indians commenced, which served as a 
 precedent for still greater exactions. 
 
 The impositions that then took place were 
 contrary to the ordinary maxims of Columbus 
 himself, which he now abandoned from an 
 erroneous policy. Unfavorable accounts of 
 his conduct, and of the countries he had dis- 
 covered, had been transmitted to Spain. 
 Margarita and father Boyle, now at court, 
 did all they could to his disadvantage, in 
 order to justify their own conduct ; and the 
 archdeacon Fonseca listened with partiality 
 to every invective against him. Columbus 
 thought, therefore, that, to silence his ene- 
 mies, he must produce such a quantity of 
 gold as would establish his own assertions as 
 to the richness of the country, and encourage 
 Ferdinand and Isabella to persevere in pro- 
 secuting his plans ; and hence the course of 
 exaction on which he now entered. 
 
 But an infliction of wrong on others, though 
 it may establish our own declarations, is not 
 to be justified. Sooner than our neighbor shall 
 suffer injury, let us confess we have erred. 
 We should aim to do what is right, leaving 
 
 12*
 
 120 .COLUMBUS AND HIS TIMES. 
 
 the result. Christianity takes the highest 
 ground. It demands a constant and practi- 
 cal regard to whatever things are " true, 
 honest, lovely, and of good report." It re- 
 quires that every one who names the name 
 of Christ shall depart from iniquity. And it 
 is only to a patient continuance in well-doing, 
 that it promises " eternal life." 
 
 Toilsome, indeed, w^ere the labors required 
 by Columbus of the Indians, who had been 
 accustomed to an improvident indolence ; 
 and they determined, if possible, to starve 
 out their oppressors. They therefore sowed 
 no maize, pulled up the roots of cassida 
 which were planted, retired to the most in- 
 accessible parts of the mountains, and thus 
 reduced the Spaniards to extreme want. 
 Supplies from Europe, and the products of 
 their own ingenuity and industry, however, 
 prevented, on their part, any great loss of 
 men, while the Indians suffered from famine ; 
 and, in a few months, a large number of the 
 inhabitants perished, after enduring the most 
 acute sufferings. 
 
 The territories of Guacanagari, like those
 
 PERSECUTED BY HIS ENEMIES. 121 
 
 of the other caciques, were subjected to a 
 tribute, which the people, in common with 
 others, had felt it difficult to pay. In the 
 absence of Columbus, the Spaniards forgot 
 the sevices of that chief, and exacted harsh- 
 ly what they considered due. His freindship 
 for them had severed him from his countrymen; 
 and now those he had succored were his 
 grievous oppressors. Unable to bear these 
 accumulated woes he took refuge in the 
 mountains, and died in obscurity and misery. 
 Meanwhile, the most insidious misrepre- 
 sentations of the proceedings of Columbus 
 were made at the court of Spain, and so far 
 were they credited, that a commissioner was 
 appointed to visit Hispaniola and examine 
 his conduct. At the recommendation of his 
 enemies, Aguado governor of the bedchamber, 
 was appointed to this office, it would seem 
 rather from his obsequious regard to their in- 
 terest than for any ability to discharge his 
 trust. Elated by his appointment, he acted 
 with all the insolent self importance so com- 
 mon to vain men, eagerly listening to every 
 accusation against Columbus, and encourag-
 
 122 COLUMBUS AND HIS TIMES. 
 
 ing; the Indians to produce their grievances, 
 he fomented dissension without conferring 
 the slightest benefit. Columbus resolved, 
 therefore, to return to Spain, and lay a full 
 account of his proceedings before Ferdinand 
 and Isabella, from whose judgment he an- 
 ticipated a favorable decision against all the 
 charges of his adversaries. He committed 
 the administration of affairs during his absence 
 to his brother Bartholomew, with the title of 
 adelantado, or lieutenant-governer, and ap- 
 pointed Francis Roldan chief-justice, with 
 very extensive powers. 
 
 As experience had not yet discovered the 
 more certain and speedy course of stretching 
 to the north to fall in with the south-west 
 winds, he steered unhappily almost due east, 
 and so difficult was the navigation, that he 
 w^as three months without seeing land. His 
 provisions at length began to fail; the ad- 
 miral fared equally with the meanest sailor ; 
 and so desperate did some of the crew become 
 that some of them proposed to feed on the 
 Indian prisoners they were carrying over; 
 and others insisted on throwing them over-
 
 RETURN TO SPAIN. 123 
 
 board, to prevent their diminishing the small 
 stock of food. Columbus now displayed his 
 humanity. He represented that they were 
 entitled to their share in the common calam- 
 ity, and soon his authority prevailed, and all 
 fears were chased, by the coast of Spain 
 being visible. 
 
 Meanwhile the adelantado w^as traversing 
 the island, to levy tributes from the several 
 caciques, who manifested not only kindness 
 and submission, but sometimes a high degree 
 of politeness. Such of them as possessed any 
 gold, willingly presented all they had to the 
 adelantado ; and others who had not the means 
 of obtaining the precious metal, brought 
 provisions and cotton in great abundance. 
 Among the latter was Behechio, a powerful 
 chief, who invited him and his attendants to 
 his dominions. As they approached his 
 abode, they were met by his wives to the 
 number of thirty, carrying palm branches in 
 their hands, who received the Spaniards with 
 dance and song. They were followed by a 
 train of younger women, w^ho delivered their 
 branches with lowly obeisance to the adelan-
 
 124 COLUMBUS AND HIS TIMES. 
 
 tado, who, entering the dwelling of the ca- 
 cique, found a plentiful, and according to the 
 Indian mode of living, a splendid repast 
 already provided. As night approached, the 
 Spaniards were conducted to separate cotta- 
 ges, wherein each was accommodated with a 
 cotton hammock. Next morning, various 
 amusements took place, after which two 
 great bodies of armed Indians unexpectedly 
 appeared ; and a mock engagement ensued, 
 showing their modes of attack and defence 
 in their wars with the Caribs. For three days 
 the Spaniards were thus entertained, and on 
 the fourth, the Indians regretted their depart- 
 ure. Had they been able to judge aright, 
 they would have felt far otherwise. 
 
 • rapacious Spain 
 
 Followed her hero's triumph o'er the main, 
 
 Her hardy sons in fields of battle tried, 
 
 Where Moor and Christian desperately died ; 
 
 A rabid race, fanatically bold, 
 
 And steel'd to cruelty by lust of gold, 
 
 Traversed the waves, the unknown world explored. 
 
 The cross their standard, but their faith the sword ; 
 
 Their steps were graves ; o'er prostrate realms they trod : 
 
 They worahipp'd Mammon, while they vowed to God."
 
 CHAPTER XL 
 
 APPEARA.NXE OF COLUMBUS AT COURT — ANOTHER VOYAGE — DIS- 
 COVERY OF AMERICA — VOYAGES OF THE CABOTS DISCOVERIES 
 
 OF THE PORTUGUESE — VOYAGE OF OJEDA AND VESPUCCI. 
 
 The appearance of Columbus at court was 
 marked by the modest confidence of a man 
 who felt that he had been maligned though 
 he had performed great services ; and the 
 sovereigns, as if ashamed of receiving tri- 
 fling, or ill-founded accusations, treated him 
 with so much respect as to silence and con- 
 found his enemies. Columbus appealed to 
 the gold, the pearls, the cotton, and other 
 valuable commodities, he had brought, in 
 proof of the condition of the country; he 
 affirmed that he had secured to Spain a large 
 accession of new subjects ; he pointed out a 
 source of wealth to that country, in the rev- 
 enue he had established, and the mines he
 
 126 COLUMBUS AM) HIS TIMES. 
 
 had opened; and he intimated that all this 
 was but the prelude and earnest of more im- 
 portant discoveries. 
 
 The impression made by the admiral was, 
 as might be expected, considerable ; Isabella 
 was flattered with the idea of being the pat- 
 roness of all Columbus's discoveries, and even 
 Ferdinand was moved. The result was, they 
 determined to supply Hispaniola with all that 
 could render it a permanent colony, and to 
 provide Columbus with a fleet sufficient for 
 new enterprises. A plan was formed of a 
 regular colony, to serve as a model for others ; 
 settlers of diff'erent ranks and professions were 
 to proceed thither ; husbandmen were to 
 prevent the distresses which had been previ- 
 ously experienced ; and emigrants were, for 
 some years, to receive pay and subsistence at 
 the public expense. 
 
 As it was foreseen that few persons would 
 willingly settle in a country the climate of 
 which had been fatal to many of their coun- 
 trymen, Columbus proposed to transport to 
 Hispaniola such malefactors as had been con- 
 victed of capital, but not the most atrocious
 
 COLONIZATION OF HISFANIOLA. 127 
 
 crimes, and to condemn some of the offenders 
 usually sent to the galleys, to labor in the 
 mines. The advice thus hastily given, was 
 inconsiderately adopted, and the consequences 
 were exceedingly pernicious. 
 
 Though the royal approbation was readily 
 given to all the measures he proposed, there 
 were delays in carrying them out sufficient 
 to have w^earied all ordinary patience, attri- 
 butable to various causes, but chiefly to the 
 malicious arts of his enemies. By the aid of 
 Fonseca, now promoted to the bishopric of 
 Badjados, they raised so many obstacles, that 
 a year elapsed before he could procure two 
 ships to carry over a part of the supplies des- 
 tined for the colony, and almost two years 
 were spent before a squadron of six ships only^ 
 indifferently fitted for the service was equip- 
 ped. 
 
 As Columbus was fully persuaded that the 
 fertile regions of India lay to the south-west 
 of the countries he had discovered, he proposed 
 to stand directly south from the Canary, or 
 Cape de Verd Islands, till he came under the 
 equinoctial line, and then stretch to the west, 
 13
 
 128 COLUMBUS AND HIS TLMES. 
 
 befo re the favorable wind which blows in- 
 variably between the tropics. From the Ca- 
 nary Islands he despatched three vessels with 
 supplies for Hispaniola ; and, proceeding on 
 his way, no remarkable occurrence took place 
 until they arrived within five degrees of the 
 line. There they were becalmed, and Ihe 
 heat was so excessive, that many of their wine 
 casks burst, the liquor in others was sour, 
 and their provisions became corrupt ; and 
 the Spaniards, who had never been so far 
 south, were afraid that the vessels woukl take 
 fire. Some relief was afforded by a season- 
 able fall of rain, but still it was inconsiderable, 
 and the admiral was so much exhausted, that 
 he became very ill. He yielded, therefore, to- 
 the urgent requests of his crew, and altered 
 his course, to reach some of the Caribbee 
 Islands, where he might refit, and be supplied 
 with provisions. 
 
 At length the man stationed in the round 
 top, surprised those on board, with the joyful 
 cry of " Land !" Standing towards it, they 
 discovered a considerable island, which Co- 
 lumbus called Trinidad, a name it still retains.
 
 TRINIDAD THE ORONOCO. ] 29 
 
 It lies in the coast of Guiana, near to the 
 mouth of the Oronoco. 
 
 The Oronoco rolls towards the ocean such 
 a vast body of water, and rushes into it with 
 such impetuous force, that when it meets the 
 tide, which rises to a great height on that' 
 coast, a surprising and formidable swell and 
 agitation of the waves is occasioned. In 
 these adverse currents, and tempestuous waves? 
 Columbus was entangled before he could con- 
 ceive of danger, and it was with the greatest 
 difficulty he escaped through a narrow strait. 
 As soon as he was able to reflect on an ap- 
 pearance so extraordinary, he justly concluded 
 that so vast a body of water could not be sup- 
 plied by any island, but must flow through a 
 country of immense extent, and therefore that 
 he had now arrived at the continent he had so 
 long wished to discover. Animated by this 
 conclusion, he stood to the west along the 
 coast of these provinces, since known by the 
 name of Paria and Cumano, and landing in 
 several places, found that the people resembled 
 those of Hispaniola in appearance and manner 
 of life. They seemed to possess a better un-
 
 130 COLUMBUS AND HIS TIMES. 
 
 derstanding and greater courage than the in- 
 habitants of the other islands, and wore, as 
 ornaments, small plates of gold, and pearls of 
 considerable value, which they willingly ex- 
 changed for European toys. The country 
 produced quadrupeds of various kinds, and a 
 greater variety of fowls and fruits. 
 
 The shattered condition of the ships, the 
 scarcity of provisions, his own infirmities, and 
 the impatience of his crew, prevented his 
 pursuing his discoveries further, and made it 
 necessary to bear away for Hispaniola. On 
 his way thither, he discovered the islands of 
 Cubagua and Margarita, which afterwards 
 became remarkable lor their pearl fisheries. 
 
 Much as been written with ability and 
 zeal, to show that the American continent 
 was discovered by different persons ; but for 
 these various and conflicting statements there 
 is no space in the present volume. There 
 can, however, be no doubt, that it had con- 
 tinually been visited by the Northmen, dur- 
 ring the four preceding centuries, from Mel- 
 ville Sound down to Virginia. A few par- 
 ticulars in reference to others, as more par-
 
 THE CABOTS. 131 
 
 ticularly connected with " the times of 
 Columbus," must now be given. It has 
 ah'eady been stated, that his brother Bar- 
 tholomew visited England for the purpose 
 of laying his plans before the ruling monarch, 
 Henry VII., who, notwithstanding his cau- 
 tious and penurous habits, appears very 
 readily to have closed with the proposition. 
 Before, however, Bartholomew returned to 
 Spain, his brother, under the auspices of Isa- 
 bella, had sailed on the voyage, from which 
 he returned in triumph. 
 
 Henry, though he had missed this first 
 prize, was disposed to encourage those who 
 were inclined to embark in the brilliant ad- 
 venture, and an offer was soon made to him 
 from a respectable quarter. It is a singular 
 fact, that Englishmen, who have since be- 
 come so distinguished for their maritime 
 power, did not venture at that period to un- 
 dertake distant voyages, except under the 
 guidance of Italians, whose vessels are now 
 never seen beyond the Mediterrnnean. En- 
 couraged by the rising spirit of the nation, 
 John Cabot, a Venetian, came over w4th his 
 13*
 
 132 COLUMBUS AND HIS TIMES. 
 
 three sons to settle in England, and by him 
 a plan for a western voyage, to undertake 
 the discovery of lands and regions unknown, 
 was presented to the sovereign. 
 
 The Cabots were allowed, in consequence, 
 to carry out ships and men, at their own 
 expense, with an ample commission. They 
 were empowered to discover all the parts, re- 
 gions, and bays, of the eastern, western, and 
 northern seas. They were to fix the royal 
 banners of England in any city, castle, town, 
 island, or firm land, which might be by them 
 discovered. John and his sons, their heirs 
 and assignees, w^ere to conquer, occupy, and 
 rule the said cities, castles, towns, islands, and 
 firm lands, as governors and lieutenants un- 
 der the king, and no one was to approach or 
 inhabit the said places or buildings without 
 their permission. They were to enjoy the 
 exclusive trade of these newly discovered re- 
 gions, being only bound to bring all their pro- 
 ductions to the port of Bristol. These goods 
 were to be exempt from all the ordinary du- 
 ties of customs ; but a fifth part of the net 
 profits arising from the sale was to be paid 
 over to the king.
 
 CHART OF CABOT." 133 
 
 With this warrant, Cahot set sail, and on 
 the 24th of June, 1497, saw land, which he 
 called Prima Vista, but to which the English 
 have since given the name of Newfoundland. 
 He afterwards sailed a considerable extent of 
 coast, both to the north and south ; when 
 finding a continuous range of coast, and no 
 opening to the westward, he returned to Eng- 
 land. 
 
 In this voyage we observe, therefore, the 
 first discovery of the American continent of 
 that period ; for it was not till the third voy- 
 age of Columbus, in the following year, that 
 he saw the coast of South America, where 
 the Oronoco pours its vast flood into the ocean. 
 It is remarkable that while the Spanish dis- 
 coverers found many historians, not a single 
 narrative should exist of this memorable voy- 
 age. The most authentic document is con- 
 tained in a writing made in a map drawn by 
 Sebastian Cabot, and engraved by Clermont 
 Adams, which was kept in London, and of 
 which it is said there were copies in the 
 houses of many of the old merchants. It is 
 Y£r}' brief, and merely states the discovery of
 
 134 COLUMBUS AND HIS TIMES. 
 
 Newfoundland, and some particulars respect- 
 ing it. It describes the land as barren, and 
 in consequence filled with white bears and 
 stags of an unusual size, and the waters as 
 abounding in fish. It also mentions that the 
 natives are clothed in the skins of wild beasts, 
 on which they set a great value ; and that in 
 war, they used bows, arrows, darts, w^ooden 
 clubs, and slings. 
 
 This chart is said to have been preserved, 
 at one time, in the queen's private gallery at 
 Whitehall, but to have been afterwards de- 
 stroyed by fire. The only other meagre tes- 
 timony is that^of one who saw three natives 
 brought over by the Cabots from Newfound- 
 land. These he describes as " clothed in 
 beasts' skins," as eating raw flesh, and as 
 speaking a language which no one could un- 
 derstand. Two years after he saw them 
 dressed like Englishmen, in Westminster 
 Palace, "which," he says, " that time I could 
 not discern from Englishmen, till I was learn- 
 ed what they were ; but, as for speech, I 
 heard none of them utter one word." 
 
 These are the only records preserved by
 
 SEBASTIAN CABOT. 135 
 
 England of her earliest and one of the most 
 illustrious maritime adventurers. It appears 
 that John Cabot soon died ; and Sebastian, 
 the most intelligent of his sons, finding no 
 sufficient encouragement or honor in England, 
 repaired to Spain, where the ardor of discov- 
 ery still continued. He was readily received 
 by the sovereign of that country, and sent to 
 the coast of Brazil, where he made the im- 
 portant discovery of the Rio de la Plata. He 
 became the most eminent person of his age 
 for the sciences connected with his favourite 
 pursuits, the construction of maps, geography, 
 navigation ; and when unfitted by age for the 
 active exertions of a sea-faring life, he was 
 the guide and director of others, and obtained 
 the honorable title of Piloto, Mayor of 
 Spain. 
 
 On the accession of Ed ward VI to the throne 
 of England, the nation at last caught the 
 spirit of maritime adventure. Cabot was in- 
 vited back to this country, and constituted 
 Grand Pilot of England, with an ample 
 salary. In this capacity he formed a plan, 
 and drew up the instructions for an expedition,
 
 136 COLUMBUS AND HIS TIMES. 
 
 sent under Sir Hugh Willoughby and Chan- 
 cellor, to attempt the discovery of India by 
 the north-east. With all his knowledge, and 
 in the course of a long life, Sebastian never 
 committed to writing any narrative of the voy- 
 age to North America. The curious on the 
 continent, however, obtained in conversation 
 with him various particulars which gave a 
 general idea of the extent and tenor of his 
 discovery. From this it appears that the Ca- 
 bots, like Columbus, made their cheif object 
 the reaching of Cathay, and the golden re- 
 gions of India, which had still attached to 
 them all the European ideas of wealth. 
 Sebastian proceeded first to the north, in the 
 hope, that by turning on that side, the bound- 
 ary of the continent, he might find himself in 
 the expanse of ocean which led to the eastern 
 regions. He reached the latitude of about 
 fifty-six degrees ; but finding the sea encum- 
 bered with floating ice, and the coast tending 
 back to the eastward, he was either discou- 
 raged, or as some say overpowered by a 
 mutiny of the sailors, perhaps both causes. 
 Retracing his course, and reaching his former
 
 VOYAGE OF CABOT. 137 
 
 point, he thence proceeded to the south-ward, 
 still keeping the same object in view ; but 
 though this, like the former coast, tended 
 steadily to the westward, it appeared as un- 
 broken, and gave as little hope as ever of the 
 passage to find which had been his chief object. 
 Worn out with so long a voyage, for that age, 
 he returned to England. In this southern 
 course, he stated himself to have reached the 
 latitude of Gibraltar, and the longitude of 
 Cuba, which would place him near the en- 
 trance of the Chesapeakes. 
 
 Once, as has already been seen, the efforts 
 of navigators were limited and timorous ; but 
 the compass had gradually wrought a mighty 
 change. 
 
 " Then man no longer plied with timid oar 
 
 And failing heart, along the windward shore ; 
 
 Broad to the sky, he tamed bis fearless sail, 
 
 Defied the adverse, wooed the favoring gale ; 
 
 Bared to the storm his adamantine breast, 
 
 Or soft on ocean's lap lay down to rest ; 
 
 While free, as clouds the liquid ether sweep, 
 
 His wliite-winged vessels coursed the unbounded deep ^ 
 
 From clime to clime the wanderer loved to roam, 
 
 The waves his heritage, the world his home." 
 
 During the occurence of the events which 
 have now been detailed, the spirit of dis^
 
 138 COLUMBUS AND HIS TIMES. 
 
 covery was not allowed to slumber among: 
 the Portuguese. Emanuel, who inherited the 
 enterprising genius of his predecessors, pur- 
 sued their plan of opening a passage to the 
 East Indies by the Cape of Good Hope ; and 
 soon after his accession to the throne, equip- 
 ed a squadron for the voyage. The command 
 of it was committed to Vasco de Gama, a 
 man of noble birth, and of prudence and 
 courage, which fitted him for the station.- 
 Setting sail from Lisbon, and standing to- 
 wards the south, he had to struggle for four 
 months, before he could reach the Cape of 
 Good Hope. His difficulties arose from the 
 little acquaintance at that period with the 
 course of the trade winds, and monsoons,, 
 which render navigation in the Atlantic, as 
 well as in the sea that separates Africa from 
 India, at some seasons easy, and at others dan- 
 gerous and almost impracticable. Another 
 time would have been more propitious ; but 
 when the violence of the winds began to a- 
 bate, Gama doubled the formidable promon- 
 tory of the Cape, so long the boundary of 
 navigation. He now directed his course to-
 
 SUCCESS OF GAMA. 139 
 
 wards the north-east, along the African coast, 
 touched at several ports, and, after various 
 adventures, he came to anchor before the city 
 of MeHnda. 
 
 In the vast countries which extend along- 
 the coast of Africa, from the river Senegal 
 to the confines of Zanquebar, the Portuguese 
 had found a race of men, rude and uncultured, 
 strangers to letters, arts, and commerce ;. and 
 differing no less in their features and com- 
 plexion, than in their manners and institu- 
 tions, from the inhabitants of Europe. As 
 they advanced beyond this point, they observ- 
 ed, to their great joy, that the human form ap- 
 peared gradually to improve ; the Asiatic fea- 
 tures began to predominate, marks of civili- 
 zation were obvious, and commerce was car- 
 ried on. 
 
 At that time several vessels from India were 
 in the port of Melinda, and Gama now pur- 
 sued his voyage, with almost absolute certain- 
 ty of success. Conducted by a Mohammedan 
 pilot, he arrived at Calicut, on the coast of 
 Malabar. 
 
 The view he now had of the populousness,, 
 14
 
 140 COLUMBUS AND HIS TIMES. 
 
 the industry, the civilization, and the arts of 
 the country he visited, far surpassed his ex- 
 pectations ; but his squadron was feeble, like 
 all those who fitted out for early discoveries, 
 consisting only of three vessels, of neither 
 force nor burden adequate to the service. Not 
 having, therefore, sufficient power to attempt 
 a settlement, nor proper commodities for com- 
 merce, he hastened back to Portugal, with ti- 
 dings of a successful voyage ; the longest and 
 most difficult that had ever been made since 
 the invention of navigation. 
 
 The success of Vasco de Gama induced 
 the king of Portugal to fit out a fleet not 
 only adapted to carry on trade, but to attempt 
 conquest. The command of it was given to 
 Pedro Alvarez Cabral, who, to avoid the coast 
 of Africa, where he was certain of meeting 
 variable breezes, or frequent calms, which 
 might retard his voyage, stood out to sea. 
 The consequence of this was very remarka- 
 ble ; for he kept so far to the west, that, to 
 his surprise, he found himself on the shore of 
 an unknown country, in the tenth degree be- 
 yond the line. He at first supposed it was
 
 TOYAGES or OJEDA AND VESPUCCI. 141 
 
 seme island in the Atlantic Ocean, hitherto 
 unobserved ; but proceeding along its coast 
 for several days, he was gradually led to be- 
 lieve that a country so extensive formed a 
 part of some great continent. His conclu- 
 sion was correct ; the country he thus acci- 
 dentally reached being that province of South 
 America, now known by the name of Brazil. 
 Here Cabral landed, and, thinking very high- 
 ly of the fertility of the soil and the salubri- 
 ousness of the climate, he took possession of 
 it for the crown of Portugal, and despatched 
 a ship to Lisbon with the tidings. 
 
 Spain was at this time the scene of consid- 
 erable activity. Private adventurers, allured 
 by the magnificent descriptions of Columbus, 
 as well as by his specimens of wealth, offer- 
 ed, at their own risk, to fit out squadrons, and 
 go in quest of new countries. One of the 
 first propositions of this kind was made by 
 Alonzo de Ojeda, who accompanied Colum- 
 bus in his second voyage. The merchants of 
 Seville, confiding in his rank and character, 
 undertook to equip four ships, if he could ob- 
 tain the royal license, a favor easily secured ;
 
 142 COLUMBUS AND HIS TIMES. 
 
 and, without consulting Columbus, or consid- 
 ering his rights, Ojeda was allured to set out 
 for the new world. To direct his course, the 
 bishop of Badajoz gave him the admiral's 
 journal of the last voyage, and his charts of 
 the countries he had discovered. Adhering 
 servilely to the route previously tal<:en, he ar- 
 rived on the coast of Paria, traded with the 
 people, and, standing to the west, ranged a- 
 long a considerable extent of coast beyond 
 that on which Columbus had touched. In do- 
 ing so, he carried off numbers of the natives, 
 and on arriving at Cadiz, having his ships 
 crowded with captives, he sold them as 
 slaves. It is said, however, that when all 
 the expenses of the expedition w^ere deducted, 
 there were not more than fifteen hundred dol- 
 lars to be divided among fifty-five adventurers. 
 Ojeda was accompanied in this voyage by 
 Amerigo Vespucci, who seems to have acquired 
 so much influence that he was willingly allow- 
 ed to have a chief share in directing the voy- 
 age. On his return, he had the address so 
 to frame his narrative, as to make it 
 appear that he had first discovered America.
 
 GRANDEUR OF AMERICA. 143 
 
 As this was the first published account, it 
 was calculated to gratify the passion for 
 what is new and marvellous ; and being ra- 
 pidly circulated was read with admiration. 
 The country of which Amerigo was supposed 
 to be the discoverer, came gradually to be 
 called by his name. 
 
 Within the last few years, a collection 
 of voyages has been issued by Navarette, con- 
 taining, among other things, the original 
 letters recording the voyages of Vespucci to 
 America, illustrated by all the authorities and 
 facts that could be collected by an indefatiga- 
 ble writer. This mass of evidence shows 
 clearly that Columbus is entitled to the honor 
 of discovering the southern continent, as well 
 as the islands of the western hemisphere. 
 
 The discovery of America has had a most 
 powerful influence in calling forth the ener- 
 gies, and modifying the condition, of Europe- 
 an nations. America greatly differed from the 
 w^orld with which the eyes of its discoverers 
 had been familiar. Nature appeared in sav- 
 age and primaeval grandeur, having no trace 
 of the results of art and culture to which 
 14'
 
 144 COLUMBUS AND HIS TIMES. 
 
 Europe owes its fame and aspect. Nearly 
 its whole surface was covered by a forest 
 which no human hand had planted. Every 
 object was on a noble and subhme scale. 
 Its mountains w^ere more lofty and extended 
 than those of the old world Rivers, travers- 
 ing the entire breadth of the continent, pour- 
 ed such a profusion of waters, that streams, 
 considered great in Europe, ranked here only 
 as creeks and rivulets. Man was a still more 
 singular object than the region which he oc- 
 cupied — a stranger to art, to science, and 
 even to the rude forms of social existence.
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 COLT'MBUS ARRIVES AT HISPaNIOLA — WRETCHED STATE OP THE 
 
 COLONY — CONSPIRACY AGAINST COLUMBUS HE IS ARRESTED AND 
 
 CARRIED IN FETTERS TO SPAIN. 
 
 On arriving at Hispaniola, Columbus was 
 greatly reduced by sickness and fatigue ; but 
 the state of the colony forbade all propects 
 of repose. The adelantado, according to his 
 advice, had removed the colony to a more 
 commodious station on the opposite side of 
 the island, and laid the foundation of St. 
 Domingo, long the most considerable town 
 in the new world. 
 
 On the establishment of the new settle- 
 ment, the adelantado marched into those parts 
 which had not before been visited or reduced 
 to obedience ; and the people, unable to re- 
 sist, submitted every where to the tribute he 
 imposed. The burthen soon became intole-
 
 146 COLTJMBUS AND HIS TIMES. 
 
 rable ; they took arms against their oppress- 
 ors, but these insurrections were soon brought 
 to an end. 
 
 At this time, a mutiny really alarming 
 broke out among the Spaniards ; the leader 
 of it being Francis Roldan, whose office re- 
 quired him to be the guardian of order and 
 tranquility, but whose thoughtless ambition 
 plunged him into this desperate measure. 
 He accused Columbus and his brothers of 
 arrogance and severity, asserted that they 
 aimed at founding an independent dominion, 
 and represented it as unworthy of Castillians 
 to continue the passive slaves of three Gene- 
 vese adventurers. These insinuations had 
 with the Spaniards considerable weight; a 
 number of them chose him as their leader, 
 and taking arms against the adelantado and 
 his brother, seized the king's magazine of 
 provisions, and endeavored to surprise the 
 fort at St. Domingo, but in this they were 
 foiled by the courage and vigilance of Don 
 Diego. Compelled to retire to the province 
 of Xaragua, they not only disclaimed the
 
 WRETCHED STATE OF ST. DOMINGO. 147 
 
 authority of the adelantado, but excited the 
 Indians to throw off the yoke. 
 
 Columbus landed at St. Domingo in this 
 distracted state of the colony, and was as- 
 tonished at finding that the three vessels he 
 had despatched from the Canaries had not 
 arrived. From the violence of currents, and 
 the unskilfulness of the pilots, they had been 
 driven a hundred and sixty miles to the west 
 of St. Domingo, and compelled to take shel- 
 ter in a harbor of the very province to which 
 the mutineers had repaired. Roldan care- 
 fully concealed from the commanders of the 
 ships his insurrection; and, making every 
 effort to gain their confidence, persuaded 
 them to set on shore a considerable part of 
 the new settlers they had brought over, that 
 they might proceed by land to St. Domingo. 
 The refuse of the jails of Spain, to whom 
 idleness, licentiousness, and deeds of violence 
 were familiar, required but few arguments to 
 espouse the cause of Roldan, and they eager- 
 ly returned to a course like that to which 
 they had been accustomed. The command- 
 ers of the vessels saw when it was too late
 
 148 COLUMBUS AND HIS TIMES. 
 
 their imprudence in disembarking so many 
 of their men, stood away from St. Domingo, 
 and reached the port a few days after the 
 admiral ; but their stock of provisions, wast- 
 ed during so long a voyage, brought little 
 relief to the colony. 
 
 Roldan, aided by a band of such bold and 
 desperate associates, became extremely form- 
 idable, and no less extravagant in his de- 
 mands; but Columbus, though enraged at 
 his ingratitude, and exasperated at the inso- 
 lence of his followers, delayed to take the 
 field. He dreaded the breaking forth, and 
 the bitter consequences of a civil w^ar; and 
 he determined to negociate rather than fight. 
 
 A seasonable proclamation, offering a free 
 pardon to such as would return to obedience, 
 impressed the minds of some of the mutineers. 
 Engaging to grant to all who should desire 
 it the liberty of returning to Spain, he al- 
 lured all those unfortunate adventurers, who, 
 from sickness and disappointment, — were 
 disgusted with the country. Promising to 
 reinstate Roldan in his office, he soothed his 
 pride j and, complying with most of his de-
 
 ROLDAN'S INSURRECTIO>f. 149 
 
 mands in behalf of his followers, he satisfied 
 their avarice. Thus, after many tedious ne- 
 gotiations, but gradually and without blood- 
 shed, he put an end to this dangerous con- 
 federacy, and restored the appearance of 
 order and tranquility. 
 
 Lands were now allotted to the mutineers 
 in different parts of the island, and the Indi- 
 ans settled there were appointed to cultivate 
 a certain portion of new ground for the use 
 of their masters. This arrangement substi- 
 tuted labor for the payment of tribute, but 
 it brought heavy calamities on that unhappy 
 people. It also prevented Columbus from 
 prosecuting his discoveries on. the continent, 
 as self-preservation compelled him to keep 
 near him the adelantado and the sailors whom 
 he intended to employ in that service. As 
 soon as he could, he sent some of his ships 
 to Spain, with a journal of his voyage, a 
 description of the new countries he had dis- 
 covered, a chart of the coast along which he 
 had sailed, and specimens of the gold, pearls, 
 and other valuable or curious productions 
 which he had obtained from traffic with the
 
 150 COLUMBUS AND HIS TIMES. 
 
 natives. He described, at the same time, 
 the insurrection in St. Domingo, and propos- 
 ed several regulations for its better govern- 
 ment. Roldan and his associates did not 
 neglect to send to Spain, by the same ships, 
 a defence of their conduct, and various accu- 
 sations against the admiral and his brothers ; 
 and unhappily the latter gained most credit, 
 and produced unexpected effects. 
 
 Great difficulties still attended the course 
 of Columbus. Though the pacification with 
 Roldan broke the union and weakened the 
 force of the mutineers, yet several of them 
 continued in arms, and refused to submit to 
 the admiral. He and his brother were there- 
 fore obliged alternately to take the field in 
 order to check their incursions, or to punish 
 their crimes, and constant occupation and 
 disquiet prevented his giving due attention 
 to the plots of his enemies in Spain. A con- 
 siderable number of the most dissatisfied had 
 returned with the ships which he despatched 
 from St. Domingo, their disappointments 
 having inflamed their rage, and their poverty 
 and distress exciting compassion. They an-
 
 FRANCIS DE BOBADILLA. 151 
 
 noyed Ferdinand and Isabella incessantly 
 with memorials filled with the detail of their 
 grievances and their charges against Colum- 
 bus ; and whenever the sovereigns appeared 
 in public, clamorously demanded the redress 
 of their wrongs. They insulted the admiral's 
 sons whenever they met them ; and as these 
 endeavors were seconded by the secret, but 
 more dangerous insinuations of the courtiers,- 
 who had always thwarted his schemes, they 
 were the more formidable. 
 
 Ferdinand was disposed to listen partially 
 to these accusations. The remittances fell 
 far short of the expenses of the armaments, 
 and the honor of the discovery, with a pros- 
 pect of remote commercial advantage, was 
 the only return for the' efforts that had been 
 made. This was not enough to satisfy the 
 mind of Ferdinand ; he considered, therefore, 
 that Spain had lost by the enterprise of Co- 
 lumbus ; and imputed it to his misconduct 
 and incapacity for government, that a coun- 
 try abounding in gold, had yielded nothing 
 of value to its conquerors. Even Isabella 
 began to suspect that a disaffection so gene- 
 15
 
 152 COLUMBUS AND HIS TIMES. 
 
 ral must have been caused by real grievances, 
 and the bishop of Barlajoz encouraged and 
 confirmetl these suspicions. 
 
 The yielding of the queen led to a fatal 
 resolution against Columbus. Francis de 
 Bobadilla was appointed to inquire into the 
 conduct of the admiral, and if he should find 
 the charges proved, to supersede him, and 
 assume the government of St. Domingo. As 
 it was thus the interest of the judge to find 
 Columbus guihy, so it was impossible for him 
 to escape «_ondemnation. Totally disregard- 
 ing all he had done and was doing:, Bobadilla 
 determined, as soon as he landed, to treat 
 him as a criminal. He took possession of 
 the admiral's house during his absence, and 
 seized his effects as if his guilt were fully 
 proved. He rendered himself master of the 
 fort, and of the king's stores, by violence ; 
 he required all persons to acknowledge him 
 as chief governor, and set at liberty all who 
 W'ere confined as prisoners. He also sum- 
 moned Columbus before him to answer for 
 his conduct, transmitting him, at the same 
 time, a copy of the royal mandate by which
 
 COLUMBUS A PRISONER. 153 
 
 he was enjoined to yield him implicit obedi- 
 ence. 
 
 Columbus though deeply affected by such 
 treatment from his sovereigns, submitted to 
 their will with a respectful silence, and re- 
 paired directly lo the court of his partial and 
 violent judge. Bobadilla, without admitting 
 him into his presence, ordered him instantly 
 to be arrested, laden with chains, and hurried 
 on board ship. Conscious of his own in- 
 tegrity, the admiral yielded to so afflictive a 
 reverse with a dignified composure. There 
 was no sympathy to mitigate his suffering-s ; 
 for Bobadilla made himself so popular by va- 
 rious favors, that the Spaniards, whom indi- 
 gence or crime had chiefly impelled to aban- 
 don their country, expressed the most inde- 
 cent satisfaction at the imprisonment and dis- 
 grace of Columbus. From among these per- 
 sons Bobadilla collected materials, however 
 inconsistent and improbable, for a charge 
 against him, and, rejecting no source of in- 
 formation however infamous, transmitted the 
 result to Spain. 
 
 At the same time, he ordered Columbus
 
 154 COLUMBUS AND HIS TIMES. 
 
 with his two brothers to be carried thither in 
 fetters, and, that they might not have the 
 smallest comfort from intercourse, confined 
 them in different ships. One idividual is, 
 however, worthy of remembrance for the sym- 
 pathy which he displayed for the admiral; 
 this was Alonzo de Valejo, the captain of the 
 vessel in which he was confined. As soon 
 ^s he was clear of the island, he approached 
 his prisoner with great respect, and offered 
 to release him from the fetters with which 
 he was unjustly loaded, " No," replied Co- 
 Jumbus, " I wear these irons in consequence 
 of an order from my sovereigns. They shall 
 find ngie as obedient to this as their other in- 
 junctions. By their command I have been 
 confined, and their command alone shall set 
 ipe at liberty. 
 
 Distressing, indeed, were now the circum- 
 stances of Columbus. He was greatly in 
 need of consolation. Well would it have 
 been for him, if under the guidance of Divine 
 truth, he had been led to God as a Father, 
 through the redemption of our Lord Jesus 
 Christ, and had thus been enabled to say : —
 
 COLUMBUS A PRISONER. 155 
 
 " When galh'rinp clouds around I view, 
 And days are dark, and friends are few, 
 On Him I lean, wlin not in vain, 
 Experienced every human pain : 
 He sceft my griefs, allays my fears, 
 And counts and treasures up my tears. 
 
 If wounded love my bosom swell, 
 Deceiv'd by those I prized too well. 
 He shall his pitying aid bestow, 
 Who felt on earlh severer woe ; 
 At once betrayed, denied, or fled, 
 By those who shared his daily bread. 
 
 When vexing thoughts within me rise, 
 And sore dismayed my spirit dies ; 
 Yet he who once vouchsaf'd to bear 
 The sick'ning anguish of despair, 
 Shall sweetly soothe, shall gently dry 
 The sorrowing heart, the sti earning eye. 
 
 And oh ! when I have safely past 
 Through every conflict but the last. 
 Still, still, unchanging, watch beside 
 My painful bed — for thou hast died ; 
 Then point to realms of cloudless day, 
 And wipe the latest tear away." 
 
 15«
 
 CHAPTER Xm. 
 
 THB RECEVTION Of C0LUMBU3 AT COrRT — ANOTHER VOYAGE — 
 
 VARiocs Calamities — his return to spain — his sickness, 
 
 DEATH, AND BCRlAL — REFLECTIONS — HIS SON BECOMES VICEROY 
 
 — CABALS AGAINST HIM — DEATH OF THE ADELaNTADO — DEATH 
 OF FERDINAND — FORMER STATE OF THE NATIVES OF HISPaNIOLA 
 
 — CRUEL OPPRESSION — DEATH OF DIEGO — THE INQDISITION. 
 
 The voyage to Spain was extremely short, 
 and Ferdinand and Isabella began to reflect 
 on the impression that would be made on 
 Europe to their disadvantage by the disgrace 
 and bondage of their prisoner. Ashamed of 
 their conduct, and anxious to repair the in- 
 jury they had done, they set him at liberty, in- 
 \ited him to court, and remitted him money 
 to appear there in a manner suited to his 
 rank. On entering the royal presence, he 
 threw himself at the feet of his sovereigns, 
 remained for some time silent from the vari- 
 ous feelings by which he was agitated, and
 
 RECEPTION AT COURT. 157 
 
 at length gave the most satisfactory account 
 of his own integrity, and evidence no less 
 clear of the malice of his enemies. Ferdin- 
 and treated him with decent ci\ility, and 
 Isabella with tenderness and respect. They 
 both expressed their sorrow for w^hat had 
 happened, disavowed their knowledge of it, 
 and united in promising him future favor and 
 protection. In order to free themselves from 
 suspicion, they instantly degraded Bobadilla ; 
 but they did not reinstate Columbus as vice- 
 roy of the countries he had discovered. An 
 illiberal jealousy led them to fear trusting a 
 man to whom they were so highly indebted. 
 They retained him at court under various 
 pretexts, and appointed Nicholas de Ovando 
 governor of St. Domingo. 
 
 Columbus was deeply affected by this new 
 injury which came from those who seemed 
 to be employed in relieving his sufferings. 
 He could no longer conceal the feelings of 
 his bosom. Wherever he w^ent, he carried 
 about with him the fetters with which he 
 had been loaded ; they were constantly hung
 
 158 COLUMBUS AND HIS TIMES. 
 
 up in his chamber, and he ordered that, when 
 he died, they should be buried in his grave. 
 
 On the arrival of the new governor, with 
 a powerful reinforcement to the colony, Bo- 
 badilla resigned his charge, and was required 
 instantly to return to Spain to answer for his 
 conduct. Roldan and the other leaders of 
 the mutineers were commanded to leave the 
 island at the same time. A proclamation 
 was issued, declaring the natives to be free 
 subjects of Spain, from whom no service 
 was to be exacted unwillingly, or without 
 just payment for their labor. Various regu- 
 lations were also made, tending to suppress 
 the licentious spirit of the Spaniards, which 
 had been so fatal to the colony ; and, to es- 
 tablish a reverence for law, and to limit the 
 exorbitant gain which private persons were 
 supposed to make by working mines, it was 
 ordered that all the gold should be brought 
 to a public smelting-house, and one-half de- 
 clared the property of the crown. 
 
 While these measures were taken, Co- 
 lumbus was appealing to the court of Spain 
 for a just settlement of his own claims. He
 
 LAST VOYAGE OF COLUMBUS. 159 
 
 demanded, according to the original capitu- 
 lation, to be reinstated as viceroy over the 
 countries he had discovered ; but Ferdinand 
 considered such a concession extravagant 
 and impolitic, and was afraid of entrusting a 
 subject with such a jurisdiction. He awak- 
 ened in Isabella the same suspicions ; and 
 thus, after attending as a suitor at court for 
 two years, Columbus found that his appeals 
 were in vain. 
 
 Still he was not discouraged from pursuing 
 the great object which first excited his gen- 
 ius, and urged him to attempt discovery — a 
 new passage to the East Indies. He enter- 
 tained an idea that beyond the continent of 
 America there was a sea extending thither, 
 and he hoped to find some strait or neck of 
 land by which a communication might be 
 opened with it and the part of the ocean al- 
 ready known. He very happily conjectured 
 that this strait or isthmus, was situated near 
 the gulf of Darien ; and, as if he were young 
 again, he offered to undertake a voyage by 
 which the grand scheme he proposed from 
 the beginning to accomplish might be com-
 
 160 COLUMBUS AND HIS TIMES. 
 
 pleted. Ferdinand and Isabella were dispos- 
 ed to regard this proposal favorably, not 
 merely from feelings they indulged in refer- 
 ence to Columbus, but from the recent suc- 
 cesses of the Portuguese in the east. Fer- 
 dinand was even roused by the opening pros- 
 pect, and warmly approved of the undertak- 
 ing- ^ 
 
 Prior to his embarkation, Columbus, op- 
 pressed with growing infirmities, and per- 
 haps a sense of the dechne of popular favor, 
 discovered unusual depression. He even 
 talked of resigning the task to his brother. 
 " I have established," he said, " all that I 
 proposed — the existence of land beyond the 
 west. I have opened the gate, and others 
 may enter in at their pleasure; as indeed 
 they do, arrogating to themselves the title of 
 discoverers, to which they can have but little 
 claim, following, as they do, in my track." 
 
 Interesting as this voyage was, Columbus 
 could only procure four small barks, of which, 
 however, he did not hesitate to take the 
 command. Accompanied by his brother 
 Bartholomew, and his second son Ferdinand,
 
 SHIPWRECK OF BOE.IDILLA. 161 
 
 he sailed from Cadiz, May 9, 1502, and 
 touched, as usual, at the Canary islands, 
 from whence he proposed to have stood out 
 directly for the continent. But his largest 
 vessel was so unfit for service, that he bore 
 away to St. Domingo, in hopes of exchang- 
 ing her for some ship of the fleet that had 
 carried out Ovando; and, on arriving there, 
 found eighteen of these vessels ready laden, 
 and about to proceed to Spain. Columbus 
 acquainted the governor with his circum- 
 stances, and. anticipating the approach of a 
 violent hurricane, asked that he might ex- 
 change his vessel for another, and advised 
 the delay of the departure of the fleet for a 
 few days. Ovando refused his request, de- 
 spised his counsel, and actually denied him 
 admittance into a country of which he had 
 discovered the existence, and acquired the 
 possession. 
 
 The fleet set sail for Spain. On the follow- 
 ing night the hurricane came on with fearful 
 violence. Of eighteen ships two or three only 
 escaped ; and in the general wreck perished 
 Bobadilla, Roldan, and the greater part of
 
 162 COLUMBUS AND fflS TIMES. 
 
 those who had been most active in persecuting 
 Columbus, and oppressing the Indians. All 
 the wealth they had acquired by injustice and 
 cruelty was swallowed up, illustrating the 
 saying of the prophet : " As the partridge 
 sitteth on eggs, and hatcheth them not, so 
 he that getteth riches, and not by right, shall 
 leave them in the midst of his days, and at 
 his end shall be a fool." Jer. xvii., 11. 
 
 The precautions taken by Columbus were 
 the means of saving his little squadron. After 
 a tedious and dangerous voyage, he discovered 
 Guanaia, an island not far from the coast of 
 Honduras. Some inhabitants of the conti- 
 nent, who arrived in a large canoe, appeared 
 to be a more civilized people and to have made 
 greater progress in the knowledge of the use- 
 ful arts, than any he had before discovered. 
 In reply to the inquiries made by the Spaniards 
 witli their usual eagerness, for the places 
 where the Indians obtained their gold which 
 they wore for ornament, they were directed 
 to countries situated in the west, in which 
 gold was said to be abundant. Instead of 
 steering in quest of regions so inviting, which
 
 ATTEMPT TO COLONISE VERAGUA. 163 
 
 would have conducted him along the coast 
 of Yucatan to the rich empire of Mexico, Co- 
 lumbus bore away to the east, towards the 
 gulf of Darien, intent on his favorite scheme. 
 He thus discovered all the coast of the conti- 
 nent, from Cape Gracias a Dios, to a harbor 
 which he called, from its beauty and security, 
 Porto Bello. He searched in vain for a strait 
 through which he expected to make his way 
 Into an unknown sea : and though he ad- 
 vanced into the country, he did not penetrate 
 so far as to cross the narrow isthmus which 
 separates the gulf of Mexico from the great 
 southern ocean. So dehghted, however, was 
 he with the fertility of the country, and its 
 apparent wealth, that he resolved to leave a 
 small colony in the province of Veragua, un- 
 der the command of his brother and to return 
 to Spain, to procure all that was necessary 
 for a permanent establishment. 
 
 The ungovernable spirit of the people un- 
 der his command, however, deprived Colum- 
 bus of the honor of planting the first colony 
 on the continent of America. Their insolence 
 and rapacity provoked the natives to take 
 16
 
 164 COLUMBUS AND HIS TIMES. 
 
 arms ; and as these were more hardy and 
 warhke than the islanders, they cut off some 
 of the Spaniards, and obliged the rest to 
 abandon the station as untenable. This re- 
 pulse (the first that had been met with from 
 the American nations) was followed by a 
 succession of disasters to which navig'ation is 
 exposed Furious hurricanes, with violent 
 storms of thunder and lightning, threatened 
 the leaky vessels with destruction, while the 
 discontented crew, destitue of provisions and 
 exhausted with fatigue, were unwilling or 
 unable to execute the commands of Colum- 
 bus. One of his ships perished; another 
 was necessarily abandoned as unfit for service, 
 and with two that remained he quitted that 
 part of the continent, which he named, in 
 his anguish, the coast of Vexation, and bore 
 away for St. Domingo. 
 
 In this voyage, new distress awaited Co- 
 lumbus. A violent tempest drove him back 
 from the coast of Cuba ; his ships fell foul of 
 one another, and were so much shattered, 
 that with the utmost difficulty they reached 
 Jamaica ; where he was obliged to run then^
 
 VIOLENT TEMPEST. 165 
 
 aground, to prevent them from sinking. The 
 measure of calamity seemetl now to be full. 
 Cast ashore on an island, at a considerable 
 distance from the only settlement of the 
 Spaniards in America, his ships were ruined 
 beyond the possibility of being repaired. 
 His active mind now suggested the only ex- 
 pedient which afforded any prospect of de- 
 liverance. Availi*-g himself of the kindness 
 of the natives, who, considering the Span- 
 iards were beings of a superior nature, were 
 eager to reheve their wants, he obtained two 
 canoes, each formed of the trunk of a tree, 
 hollowed with fire. In these wretched boats, 
 ^lendez, a Spaniard, and Fieschi, a Genoese, 
 and two gentlemen particularly attached to 
 Columbus, bravely offered to set out for St. 
 Domingo, a voyage of above thirty leagues. 
 They accomplished their design in ten days, 
 after encountering incredible dangers, and 
 enduring such fatigues, that several of the 
 Indians who accompanied them sunk under 
 their sufferings, and died. 
 
 Pitiable as was their condition, the atten- 
 tion paid to them by the governor of the
 
 166 COLUMBUS AND fflS TIMES. 
 
 colony was neither such as their courage de- 
 served nor the distress of the persons from 
 "whom they came required. Jealous of Co- 
 lumbus, Ovando was afraid of allowing him 
 to set foot in the island he governed; his 
 heart was therefore absolutely insensible, and 
 Mendez and Fieschi spent eight months in 
 soliciting relief, without any prospect of ob- 
 taining it. The feehngs of Columbus and 
 his companions during this interval were ex- 
 ceedingly various. At first, the hope of 
 speedy deliverance cheered even the despond- 
 ing ; after some tnne, the more timorous be- 
 gan to expect that the effort had failed ; at 
 length, the last hope of the most sanguine 
 was quenched; and despair, heightened by 
 disappointment, settled in every breast. 
 
 The seamen, now transported with rage, 
 rose in open mutiny, threatened the life of 
 Columbus, as the author of all their calami- 
 ties, seized ten canoes which he had purchas- 
 ed from the Indians, and, despising alike re- 
 monstrance and entreaty, made off with them 
 to a distant part of the island. Other evils 
 arose from the natives; for as their industry
 
 MUTINY OF THE SEAMEN. 167 
 
 was not greater than that of their neighbors 
 in St. Domingo, like them, they found the 
 burden of supporting so many strangers in- 
 tolerable. Provisions were brought in with 
 reluctance, threats were held out of their be- 
 ing withdrawn altogether ; a resolution which 
 must have been fatal to the Spaniards. Such 
 a combination of difficulties was truly formi- 
 dable. 
 
 To relieve himself from difficulty, Colum- 
 bus, as he had often done before, resorted to 
 artifice, availing himself of his skill in as- 
 tronomy, by w^hich he knew there would 
 shortly be a total eclipse of the moon. On 
 the day before it was to happen, he assem- 
 bled all the principal persons in the district, 
 and, after reproaching them for their fickle- 
 ness in withdrawine; their affection and as- 
 sistance from men whom they lately revered, 
 made a powerful appeal to their fears. He 
 told them that the Spaniards were the ser- 
 vants of the great Spirit, who dwells in 
 heaven, who made and governs the world ; 
 that he, offended at their refusal to support 
 men w^ho were the objects of his special fa- 
 16«
 
 168 COLUMBUS AND HIS TIMES. 
 
 vor, was prepared to punish their crimes with 
 exemplary severity. He declared that, on 
 that very night, the moon should withhold 
 her hght, and appear of a bloody hue, as an 
 emblem of the vengeance they were about to 
 endure ; some listening with careless indiffer- 
 ence, and others with credulous surprise. 
 But when the moon began gradually to be 
 darkened, and at length appeared of a red 
 color, all were struck with astonishment. 
 They ran to their houses, and returned instant- 
 ly, laden with provisions, to Columbus, 
 threw them at his feet, conjuring him to en- 
 treat the great Spirit to avert the destruction 
 with which they were threatened. Colum- 
 bus appeared to be moved by their entreaties, 
 promising to comply with their request ; the 
 moon, of course, soon recovered its splendor, 
 and from that day the Spaniards were plen- 
 tifully supplied. 
 
 The mode adopted by Columbus in this 
 instance, has often been praised for its inge- 
 nuity-, but, in accordance with the principles 
 laid down in a former page, it ought to be 
 pronounced highly censurable, as entirely at
 
 ERROR OF COLUMBUS. 169 
 
 variance with the truth and sincerity that 
 should be invariably maintained. It is also 
 worthy of remark, that the plea of necessity 
 which some might consider should be urged 
 in behalf of this device, has absolutely not 
 the slightest foundation. Shnply availing 
 liimself of his knowledge, and announcing 
 what would be, but of Avhich to an ordinary 
 mind there was not the slightest intimation, 
 he would have gained his object, his superi- 
 ority would have been established, and even 
 savages would have pronounced him the 
 friend of the great Spirit. Be it ours never 
 to do evil that good may come ; and in every 
 time of trial, as well as in the season of ease 
 and prosperity, to take the word of God as 
 our only guide. 
 
 *' O child of sorrow, be it thine to know 
 That Scripture only is the cure of woe 1 
 That field of promise, how it flings abroad 
 Its perfume o'er the Christian's thorny road ! 
 The soul, reposing in assur'd beliff. 
 Feels herself happy amidst all her grief, 
 Forgets her labor, as she toils along, 
 W'eeps tears of joy, and bursts into a song." 
 
 Havins: re-embarked with his shattered 
 crew in a vessel freighted at his own ex- 
 pense, Columbus was driven, by a succession
 
 170 COLUMBUS AND HIS TIMES. 
 
 of frightful tempests, across the ocean, until, 
 on the 7th of November, 1504, he anchored 
 in the little port of St. Lucar, twelve miles 
 from Seville. In this quiet haven he hoped 
 to find repose for his broken constitution, 
 and a balm for his wounded spirit, and to 
 obtain a speedy restitution of his honors and 
 emoluments from the hand of Isabella ; but 
 at this time the queen was on her death-bed, 
 and in a very few days he heard she was no 
 more. 
 
 In the midst of the deep affliction he suf- 
 fered on the loss of the queen, he was dis- 
 abled by the gout, to which he had long 
 been subject, from undertaking a journey to 
 Segovia, where the couit was. He lost no 
 time, however, in laying his situation before 
 the king, through his son Diego, who was 
 attached to the royal household. He urged 
 his past services, the original terms of the 
 capitulation, their infringement in almost 
 every paiticular, and his own necessitous 
 condition ; but he had to complain of great 
 inattention. At length, he was able to pre- 
 sent himself before the monarch. Ferdinand
 
 DEATH OF COLUMBUS. 171 
 
 received him Avith the outward marks of 
 courtesy and regard, and assured him that 
 *' he fully estimated his important services ; 
 and far from stinting his recompence to the 
 precise terms of the capitulation, intended to 
 confer more ample favors on him in Castile." 
 
 What assistance Columbus received at this 
 time from the crown, or whether he received 
 any, does not appear. He continued to re- 
 side with the court, and accompanied it in its 
 removal to Valladolid. At length he wrote 
 to a friend from his bed of sickness : " It ap- 
 pears that his majesty does not think fit to 
 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 necessities." His health now rapidly 
 sunk, but his mental vigor was not impaired 
 by the ravages of disease ; and, having made 
 his will, he died, with little apparent suffer- 
 ing. May 20, 1506. 
 
 The superstition which beclouded the mind
 
 172 COLUMBUS AND HIS TIMES. 
 
 of Columbus often forces itself on our atten^ 
 tion. He believed his great discovery was 
 announced in the prophecies of Isaiah and 
 the book of .Revelation. He identified the 
 mines of Hispaniola with the golden quarries 
 w^hich supplied Solomon with the materials 
 for the temple. He fancied he had discover- 
 ed the site of the garden of Eden in the new- 
 ly found reigon of Paria. But his greatest 
 extravagance was his project of a crusade 
 for the recovery of the holy sepulchre, which 
 he cherished from the first hour of his dis- 
 covery, urged almost earnestly on the sove- 
 reigns, and provided for in his will. 
 
 His remains, first deposited in the convent 
 of St. Francis, at Valladolid, were, six years 
 later, removed to the Carthusian monastery 
 of Las Cuevas, at Seville, where a costly 
 monument was raised over them by Ferdin- 
 and. In the year 1436, they were transport- 
 ed to the island of St. Domingo ; and on the 
 cession of that island to the French, in 1795, 
 were again removed to Cuba, where they 
 rest in the cathedral church of its capital. 
 
 In closing this sketch of a very remarkable
 
 TRUE RICHES. 173 
 
 person, the mind is impressed by the vanity 
 which marks the objects men are so intent 
 on pursuing. It is a singular fact, that Co- 
 lumbus considered, even to the last, that he 
 had merely opened a new way to the ancient 
 resorts of successful commerce, and had dis- 
 covered some of the w^ild regions of the east. 
 Of the real character and probable results of 
 his discovery of America, he had no idea. 
 The honors and emoluments which were 
 properly his due he did not possess. 
 
 How frequently does man appear walking 
 in a vain shew, and disquieting himself in 
 vain ! Disappointment often attends his fa- 
 vorite plans and his most strenuous efforts ; 
 and even when he succeeds, how small is 
 the product ! Miserable at best, was the re- 
 w^ard for the toils and sufferings of Colum* 
 bus. 
 
 What a contrast to his circumstances ap- 
 pears in those of the believer in our Lord 
 and Saviour Jesus Christ. Numbered among 
 " the wise," he " inherits substance ;" he 
 has " gold tried in the fire that he may be 
 rich," and to him is granted the honor that
 
 174 COLUMBUS AND HIS TIMES. 
 
 cometh from God. He has not to complain 
 of disappointed expectations, of mortified de- 
 sires, of the violation of solemn engagements, 
 but to acknowledge that the Sovereign to 
 whom he renders a happy and grateful ser- 
 vice, is able to do for him " exceeding abun- 
 dantly above all that he can ask or think." 
 He has in possession a peace that passeth all 
 understanding, and in prospect, " a far more 
 exceeding and eternal weight of glory." 
 
 The last hour comes, but for this he is 
 prepared ; for the evil of death there is an- 
 antidote, for its conflict a victory, 
 
 " When Bature sinks beneath diseaBe^ 
 
 And every earthly hope is fled, 
 What then can give the sinner ease, 
 
 And make him love a dying bed ? 
 Jesus ! Thy smile, bis heart can cheer ;■ 
 He's blest e'en then, if thoa art near. 
 
 The gospel- does salvation brings 
 
 And Jesns is the gospel theme ; 
 In death redeemed sinners sing, 
 
 And triumph in the Saviour's name; 
 
 * O death, whcie is thy sting ?' they cry 
 
 * O grave, where is thy victory? 
 
 Then let me die the death of those 
 
 Whom Jesus washes in his blood, 
 Who on his faithfulness repose, 
 
 And know that he indeed is God. 
 Around his throne they all shall meet, 
 And cast their crowns beneath his feet.""
 
 TRUE RICHES. 175 
 
 Reader, have you never employed this 
 language? Adopt it now. The blessings 
 of a present and eternal salvation are not 
 limited to distinguished rank, or to great at- 
 tainments in the science of this world. They 
 are connected with faith in Christ, with a 
 reliance on his atoning sacrifice, an imita- 
 tion of his example under the guidance of 
 the Holy Spirit, and zeal for the honor of 
 his name. While they may be enjoyed by 
 the wearers of coronets, they may be — they 
 are, the portion of many in humble life, and 
 all are invited, in the proclamation of the 
 gospel, to be " rich in faith," and " kings 
 and priests unto God." 
 
 " Seek then first the kingdom of God, and 
 his righteousness," and all things that are 
 desirable '• shall be added unto you." 
 
 " For the Lord God is a sun and shield : 
 
 Tbe Lord will give grace and glory : ^ '■ 
 
 No good thing will he withhold 
 
 From them that walk uprightly. 
 
 Psalm Ixxxiv. 11. 
 
 On the death of Columbus, his son Diego 
 succeeded to his rights as viceroy and go- 
 vernor of the New World, according to the 
 
 17
 
 176 COLUMBUS AND HIS TIMES. 
 
 express arrangements that were made be- 
 tween the sovereigns and his father. To his 
 talents, integrity, and urbanity, honorable 
 testimony is borne by various historians. 
 "Without delay, he appeared as the successor 
 of Columbus, and urged the restitution of 
 the offices and privileges which had been 
 suspended during the latter years of his pa- 
 rent's life. He had been, it will be remem- 
 bered, a page in the royal household, and 
 though any difficulties which might have 
 originated in ignorance of, or a partial ac- 
 quaintance with him, could not exist, yet for 
 two years he pressed his claims in vain. 
 
 As he found, at length, that an appeal to 
 generosity and equity was wholly unsuccess- 
 ful, he solicited permission to apply to the 
 courts of law ; a request too reasonable for 
 even Ferdinand to refuse. His suit, com- 
 menced in 1508, was continued for several 
 years, during which his claims were strongly 
 disputed, on various grounds ; but ultimately 
 the council of the Indies pronounced an 
 unanimous decision in his favor. The wily 
 monarch, however, used all the means he
 
 DIEGO MADE VICEROY. 177 
 
 could employ to delay the cedinoj of those 
 powers, to which Diego had thus been pro- 
 nounced fully entitled. 
 
 At length he embarked as the new admi- 
 ral, attended by his wife, Dona Maria, seve- 
 ral of his relatives, and a large retinue. He 
 commenced his rule at St. Domingo, with a 
 splendor which hitherto had been unknown 
 in the colony. The king had not granted 
 Diego the dignity of viceroy, but the title 
 w^as generally given him by courtesy, and 
 his wife was universally addressed by that of 
 vice-queen. The measures adopted by Fer- 
 dinand were, at the same time, very annoy- 
 ing, and seriously infringed the capitulations 
 repeatedly confirmed to Columbus and his 
 heirs. Factions also rose, the enemies of the 
 father becoming foes of his son ; and thus, 
 amidst a court which threw a degreee of 
 lustre over the half savage island, there was 
 not only much to be done, but also much to 
 be endured. 
 
 On the subjugation and settlement of the 
 island of Cuba, the admiral congratulated 
 the monarch on acquiring the largest and
 
 178 COLUMBUS AND HIS TIMES. 
 
 most beautiful island in the world without 
 the loss of a single man. This intelligence, 
 so pleasing to the king, was, however, ac- 
 companied by various complaints against 
 Diego. For him Ferdinand must have cared 
 but little ; but, knowing that the accusations 
 chiefly originated in envy and jealousy, he 
 sent out Don Bartholomew Columbus, with 
 instructions to his nephew, the admiral. 
 
 Bartholomew, though dishonorably detain- 
 ed in Spain by Ferdinand, who employed in- 
 ferior men in his voyages of discovery, still 
 held the office to which he had been long 
 before appointed, as adelantado of the Indies. 
 Other appointments, were now given him, 
 and among them he had the superintendence 
 of the mines which might be discovered in 
 Cuba. 
 
 Dissatisfied, and that justly, with the treat- 
 ment he received, Diego requested permission 
 to repair to court, that he might vindicate his 
 conduct. On obtaining it, he left the ade- 
 lantado with the vice-queen, and was receiv- 
 ed by Ferdinand with great honor, to which, 
 indeed, he was fairly entitled. It appears
 
 DEATH OF BARTHOLOMEW. 179 
 
 that he had succeeded in all his enterprises, 
 firmly established a pearl fishery on the coast 
 of Cubao:ua, and brought the islands of Cuba 
 and Jamaica under culture without bloodshed, 
 and acted with rectitude as a governor. The 
 accusations against him were to be traced to 
 his efforts to lessen the oppression of the 
 natives. In some respects, favor was shown 
 him ; but in others, he was treated with in- 
 justice : so that Herrera, the historian, says, 
 " Don Diego w^as always involved in litiga- 
 tions with the fiscal ; so that he might truly 
 say he was heir to the troubles of his father." 
 While he was thus defending himself at 
 home, and seeking what was justly his due, 
 his uncle, the adelantado, died, there is rea- 
 son to think, at a great age. '• He was a 
 man," says Herrera, " of not less worth than 
 his brother, the admiral ; and who, if he had 
 been employed, would have given great 
 proofs of it ; for he was an excellent seaman, 
 valiant, and of a noble mind." Ferdinand 
 appears to have detained him in Spain, not 
 only from parismony, but jealousy. He 
 doubtless fancied the family too powerful, 
 n*
 
 180 COLUMBUS AND HIS TIMES. 
 
 and that the full employment of Bartholomew 
 ■would further increase their distinction and 
 influence. Of his talents and character the 
 monarch appears to have had a high opinion, 
 and he expressed great concern at the death 
 of the adelantado. 
 
 Soon after his decease, Ferdinand was also 
 called to his last and solemn account. Well 
 would it be, did the mightiest and the mean- 
 est anticipate their summons at the tribunal 
 of God ! " For we must all appear before 
 the judgment-seat of Christ ; that every one 
 may receive the things done in his body, ac- 
 cording to that he hath done, w^hether it be 
 good or bad." 2 Cor. v. 10. 
 
 Diego obtained from the emperor Charles 
 v., the successor of Ferdinand, a recognition 
 of his innocence as to all the charges against 
 him. This was accompanied by an acknowl- 
 edgment of his rights to exercise the office 
 of viceroy and governor of St. Domingo, 
 and of all places discovered by his father. 
 He suffered, however, a diminution of his 
 authority; for a supervisor was appointed, 
 wnth power to give information against him.
 
 BEAUTY OF ST. DOMINGO. 18 1 
 
 In these circumstances, he returned to his 
 vice-royalty ; but the course he considered it 
 right to pursue, raised against hira a host of 
 enemies both in Spain and the colonies. 
 
 That the state of things at this period ex- 
 isting in St. Domingo may be understood, it 
 is necessary to recall some particulars already 
 mentioned. 
 
 It has been stated, that, when the Euro- 
 peans first visited the islands of the Avest, 
 they were believed by the simple inhabitants 
 to have descended from heaven, and it has 
 been intimated also, that the scenes witness- 
 ed in this part of the world have lamentably 
 proved the contrary. Nature appeared, in- 
 deed, in all her loveliness, adorned with 
 every form of beauty, and exhibiting the 
 richest fertility ; but, from the first period of 
 the discovery of these islands to very recent 
 days, they were degraded by the most shock- 
 ing depravity and heart-sickening misery. 
 Almost as soon as they were known, the ori- 
 ginal inhabitants became the victims of the 
 sordid avarice and wanton barbarity of their 
 invaders ; their beautiful isles resounded with
 
 1S2 COLUMBUS AND HIS TIMES. 
 
 the cries of the tortured natives, and the 
 earth was dyed with their blood. 
 
 Of this cruel oppression, St. Domingo 
 furnishes an affecting instance. Its climate, 
 like that of all tropical countries, is hot in 
 the plains and on the sea-coats, but the 
 mountainous districts of the interior are de- 
 lightfully cool and salubrious. Among these, 
 from which the name Hayti is derived, sig- 
 nifying in the language of the aborigines, 
 ^' mountainous land," and which form by far 
 the largest portion of the island, an almost 
 endless variety of hills and valleys, woods 
 and rivers, appear. From this circumstance, 
 as well as the great productiveness of its soil, 
 St. Domingo has been called the Queen of 
 the Antilles. 
 
 And yet here has been perpetrated enor- 
 mous evils. The thirst of gold, which ac- 
 tuated the Spanish adventurers, was gratified, 
 while the aborigines continued to labor in 
 the mines for their unfeeling conquerors. 
 Most tyrannical was such treatment. The 
 earth was cursed indeed for the sin of man ; 
 but had it been equally affected in every part,
 
 OPPRESSION OF THE NATIVES. 183 
 
 the natives of the Torrid Zone would have 
 felt it more than the rest of their species. 
 Incessant and arduous toil would then have 
 been pre-eminently theirs. But God has 
 mercifully interposed to prevent the endu- 
 rance of so grievous a yoke. The glowing 
 atmosphere, that renders long continued la- 
 bor so wearisome, greatly lessens the need 
 of it, by giving to the soil, with little cul- 
 ture, much more fertility than laborious till- 
 age will impart in temperate climates. Many 
 nutritious fruits, grateful to the taste, and 
 well adapted to the support of man, either 
 grow spontaneously, or, when once planted, 
 require scarcely any further toil, but yield a 
 constant and copious supply of food. To 
 doom man, then, to constant labor, is an act 
 of gross oppression, in defiance of the pro- 
 visions and purposes of the great Lord of all. 
 This tyranny, however, was chargeable on 
 the Spaniards ; and the indolent and simple 
 people, who were their victims, unaccustom- 
 ed to the laborious exertions of industry, and 
 naturally of feeble constitution, soon sunk 
 beneath their cruel toils. An early naviga-
 
 184 COLUMBUS AND HIS TIMES. 
 
 tor, named Benzoni, states, that of two mil- 
 lions of inhabitants contained in the island, 
 when discovered by Columbus in 1492, 
 scarcely one hundred and fifty were left alive 
 in 1545. Most revolting is such a statement, 
 ■which there is, unhappily, far too much rea- 
 son to believe. 
 
 And yet it was a race having the strongest 
 claims that the Spaniards inhumanly butch- 
 ered by thousands and myriads. To supply 
 the ravages of this frightful waste of life, 
 the idea was suggested of transporting negro 
 slaves from Africa, who, being of stronger 
 habit of body than the Indian natives, might 
 sustain the toils under which they had sunk. 
 
 A poet asks, as he contemplates the ne- 
 gro— 
 
 ♦' Is he not man, though knowledge never shed 
 Her quickening beams on his neglected head? 
 Is he «ot man, though sweet religion's voijCe, 
 Ne'er made the mourner in bis God rejoice? 
 Is he not man, by sin and suffering tried? 
 Is he not man for whom the Saviour died ? 
 Belie the negro's power, in headlong will, 
 Christian, thy brother thou shalt prove him still : 
 Belie his virtues ; since his wrongs began, 
 His follies and his crimes have stamp'd him Man."
 
 OPPRESSION OF THE NATIVES. 185 
 
 Having described the negro as a man, the 
 poet adds, most truly and forcibly : — 
 
 " The Spaniard found him such : the island race 
 
 His foot had spurn'd from earth's insulted face. 
 
 Among the waifs and foundlings of mankind, 
 
 Abroad he looked, a sturdier stock to find ; 
 
 A spring of life, whose fountain should supply 
 
 His channels as be drank the river dry : 
 
 That stock he found on Afric's swarming'plains^ 
 
 That spring he opened in the negro's veins ; 
 
 A spring exhaustless as bis avarice drew,. 
 
 A stock that like Prometheus' vitals gre\*' 
 
 Beneath the eternal beak his heart that lore, 
 
 Beneath the insatiate thirst that drained his gore. 
 
 Thus, childless as the Charibeans died, 
 
 Afric's strong sons the ravening waste supplied j 
 
 Of hardier fibre to endure the yoke. 
 
 And self renewed beneath the severing strotej 
 
 As grim oppression crush'd them to the tomb, 
 
 Their fruitful parent's miserable womb 
 
 Teem'd with fresh myriads, crowd'd o'er the wayee, 
 
 Heirs to their toil, their sufferings, and their graves." 
 
 Soon after the accession of laborers thus 
 gained, the mines of St. Domingo became 
 of less importance than they had been, those 
 on the continent yielding a richer supply of 
 the precious metaL This circumstance, to- 
 gether with the difficulty of making the ne- 
 groes efficient miners, induced the Spaniards 
 to divert their attention to the culture of the 
 soil. No relief, however, came from this
 
 1S6 COLOIEUS AND HIS TIMES. 
 
 change, to the victims of their awful cupid- 
 
 ity. " 
 
 ♦' Among the bowers of paradise, that graced 
 
 Those islands of the world-dividing waste, 
 
 "Where towering cocoas waved their graceful locks, 
 
 And vines luxuriant clustered round the rock ; 
 
 Where orange groves perfumed the circling air, 
 
 With verdure, flowers and fruit, for ever fair ; 
 
 Gay myrtle-foliage iracked the winding rills, 
 
 And cedar forests slumbered on the hills ; 
 
 — An eastern plant, engrafted on the soil, 
 
 Was tilled for ages with consumi ng toil : 
 
 No tree of knowledge with forbidden fruit. 
 
 Death Jn the taste, and ruin at the root ; 
 
 Yet in its growth were good and evil found — 
 
 It blessed the planter, but cursed the ground : 
 
 While with vain wealth it gorged the master's hoard, 
 
 And spread with manna his luxurious board, 
 
 Its culture was perdition to the slave, 
 
 It sapp'd his life, and flourish'd on his grave." 
 
 It may easily he supposed that the Span- 
 iards, w^ho had been used to regard the Indi- 
 ans as little, if at all, better than beasts of 
 burthen, would not estimate more highly 
 those of whom they w^ere thus possessed. 
 Had it not been, indeed, for the greater hard- 
 ihood of the negroes, and the constant sup- 
 plies obtained from the coast of Africa, the 
 wreck among them would have been as ap- 
 parent as that of their wretched predecessors.
 
 REVOLT OF THE NEGROES. 187 
 
 Meanwhile He who sitteth in the heavens, 
 was saying, " Vengeance is mine ; I will re- 
 pay, saith the Lord." One means of punish- 
 ment, to a certain extent, may be traced to 
 the conduct of these infatuated tyrants. The 
 first African revolt began in a sugar planta- 
 tion of the admiral Don Diego, where about 
 twenty slaves, joined by an equal number 
 from a neighboring plantation, got posses- 
 sion of arms, rose against their masters, mas- 
 sacred them, and then sallied forth upon the 
 country. It appears they intended to pillage 
 certain plantations, to kill the Spaniards, and 
 to increase their strength by freeing their 
 countrymen. 
 
 No sooner did Diego hear of th's revolt, 
 than he pursued the rebels, accompanied by 
 several of the principal inhabitants. Stop- 
 ping on the second day, for rest and rein- 
 forcements, on the banks of a river, one of 
 his companions, Melchor de Castro, found 
 that the negroes had ravaged his plantations, 
 sacked his house, killed one of his men, and 
 carried off his Indian slaves. Without delay, 
 herefore, the insurgents were piu-sued, rout-
 
 188 COLUMBUS AND HIS TIMES. 
 
 ed, and many were hanged on the nearest 
 trees, to deter their countrymen from revolt. 
 
 Meanwhile, the enemies of Diego, in the 
 colonies and in Spain, were actively and suc- 
 cessfully employed. He therefore received a 
 severe letter from the council of the Indies, 
 accusing him of various abuses and excesses, 
 and requiring him, under penalty of losing 
 all his privileges and titles, to restore things 
 to their former state. All persons were, at 
 the same time, commanded to conform to the 
 royal mandate, and to see it fully obeyed. 
 He was also summoned peremptorily to court, 
 to give information as to various matters at 
 issue. 
 
 On arriving in Spain, he fearlessly present- 
 ed himself before the court, and not only as- 
 serted, but completely established his inno- 
 cence. He nov/ hoped to obtain a just and 
 speedy settlement of all his claims ; but as 
 these involved a share in the profits of vast 
 and richly-productive provinces, his path was 
 still beset by delays and difficulties. A com- 
 mission was formed to examine his claims, 
 but its movements were exceedingly tardy.
 
 SICKNESS AND DEATH OF DIEGO. 189 
 
 For two years he followed the court, during 
 its migrations from Vittoria to Burgos, Val- 
 ladolid, Madrid, and Toledo. At length, the 
 emperor set out for Seville. The admiral 
 determined to follow him, though his consti- 
 tution was broken by the heavy trials of his 
 life, and he w^as wasting away under the at- 
 tack of a slow fever. His friends attempted 
 to dissuade him from such a journey in the 
 season of winter, but he persisted in his 
 course. He left Toledo in a litter, and ar- 
 rived the same day at Montalvan, about six 
 leagues distant. There his illness greatly 
 increased, and he expired the day following, 
 being little more than fifty years of age. 
 "He was worn out," says Herrera, "by fol- 
 lowing up his claims, and defending himself 
 from the calumnies of his competitors, who, 
 with many stratagems and devices, sought to 
 obscure the glory of the father and the virtue 
 of the son." 
 
 The subsequent history of St. Domingo 
 cannot now be traced. The revolt already 
 described was the precursor of another, arising 
 from the same cause. Oppression became
 
 190 COLUMBUS AND HIS TIMES. 
 
 again intoleralle ; the negroes rebelled ; nnd, 
 though in the end the insurrection was quelled, 
 a serious, and, in some respects, irreparable 
 loss was sustained by the infant colony. In ad- 
 dition to this, a horde of buccaneers, w-retches 
 utterly lawless and desperate, established 
 themselves on the small island of Tortuga, 
 and afterwards on the mainland. This band 
 of pirates carried on a most destructive war- 
 fare with the Spaniards, devasting their 
 plantations and houses, and almost annihilat- 
 ing their commerce. Nor did they confine 
 themselves to one place : on the contrary, 
 these outlaws waged with success a preda- 
 tory warfare along the whole circuit of the 
 Spanish main. These circumstances led to 
 the loss, on the part of the colonists, of a 
 part of the island, and ultimately of the 
 whole. 
 
 It may here be mentioned, as a singular 
 fact, that the emancipation of the Spanish 
 colonies in America has stripped the heirs of 
 Columbus of all their proptrty, insomuch 
 thai his last direct descendant and represent- 
 ative, the Duke of Veraguas, was reduced
 
 SPANISH INQUISITION. 191 
 
 to extreme poverty. He has since obtained 
 a pension of 24,000 dollars on the revenues 
 of Cuba and Porto Rico. 
 
 There remains now only one topic, con- 
 nected with " the times" of Columbus, to 
 which allusion can be made. The influence 
 of the church of Rome, has been clearly seen 
 throughout this volume. " Evil men and 
 seducers wax more and more," and in Spain 
 itself there was a manifestation of its gross- 
 est superstition, and its bitterest cruelty. 
 There appeared — 
 
 "The Inquisition, model most complete 
 
 Of perfect wickedness, where deeds were done — 
 
 Deeds ! let them ne'er be named — and sat and planned 
 
 Deliberately, and with most musing pains, 
 
 How, to exlremest thrill of agony, 
 
 The flesh, and blood, and souls of holy men. 
 
 Her victims, might be wrought : and when she saw 
 
 New tortures of her laboring fancy born, 
 
 She leaped for joy, and made great haste to try 
 
 Their force, well pleased to hear a deeper groan." 
 
 The tribunal, thus faithfully described, was 
 erected by the popes, for the examination 
 and punishment of those deemed heretics. 
 As soon as it was founded, orders were issued 
 to excite the princes and people of the Ro- 
 mish church to extirpate such persons. As
 
 192 COLUMBUS AND HIS TIMES. 
 
 they were thus enjoined to search into the 
 number and quahty of all who could be so 
 denominated, ajid to transmit a faithful ac- 
 count of them to Rome, they were called In- 
 quisitors. That nothing might be wanting- 
 to render this court formidable and trerticn- 
 dous, the pontiffs induced the European prin- 
 ces, not only to enact the most barbarous- 
 laws against heretics, and to commit to the- 
 flames those who were pronounced heretics; 
 by the inquisitors, but also to maintain these 
 officers in their service, and to grant them 
 their protection in the most solemn manner. 
 
 This tribunal had nearly fallen into disose 
 in the kingdom of Aragon, in the fifteeBtL 
 century, in consequence of heresy being sup- 
 posed to be extinguished in the soutk of 
 France. Towards the end of that period^ it 
 was introduced into Spain, under a new and 
 more appalling form, and there became con- 
 sohdated and permanent, and more absolute 
 and independent, than in any other country 
 of Europe. 
 
 In 1478, a bull, despatched from Rome, 
 authorized Ferdinand and Isabella to appoint
 
 SPANISH INQUISITION. 193 
 
 two or three bishops, or other dignitaries of 
 the church, to seek and discover throughout 
 the dominions of the Spanish sovereigns, all 
 apostates, heretics, and their abettors, with 
 full power to proceed against them. Isabel- 
 la, however, suspended the execution of the 
 bull for two years, desiring at the same time 
 that means should be taken to warn those in 
 peril of their dangers. At length, the re- 
 quired appointment was made. The inquisi- 
 tors established their court in the Dominican 
 convent of St. Paul, at Seville ; but the num- 
 ber of prisoners soon became so great, that it 
 was removed to the Castle of Triana, in the 
 neighborhood of that city. In the course of 
 one year, 298 persons were burnt alive in 
 Seville alone, 2,000 in other parts of Anda- 
 lusia, and 17,000 were subjected to various 
 penalties. Fearful as this statement is, it is 
 only a specimen of deeds of cruelty and 
 blood which stain the records of an institu- 
 tion most fearfully exhibiting the depravity 
 of man. 
 
 One remarkable characteristic of the Span- 
 ish inquisition was, its independence of aU
 
 194 COLUMBUS AND HIS TIMES. 
 
 other authorities. The inquisitor-general, 
 appointed for life, was proposed by the king, 
 and approved by the pope. He appointed 
 all inferior inquisitors, as well as visitors and 
 other agents. The papal bulls gave him full 
 and discretionary power in all matters of re- 
 puted heresy. Thus placed as a distinct 
 power between the king and the pope, he 
 became, in reality, independent of both. He 
 could refuse to submit to those papal decretals 
 and bulls which he did not approve, by stating 
 that they infringed on the rights of the sove- 
 reign; and he. could also evade the ordi- 
 nances of the monarch, by asserting that the 
 papal bulls forbade the inquisitors to tamper 
 W'ith the secular power, under pain of ex- 
 communication. 
 
 A strong proof of this assumed irresponsi- 
 bility appears in the trial of Carranza, arch- 
 bishop of Toledo, who had attended Charles 
 V. in his last moments, and whom neither 
 the briefs of the pope, nor the remonstrances 
 of the prelates, could save from being con- 
 fined in the prisons of the Spanish Inquisition 
 or more than seven years, without a termin-
 
 CONCLUSION. 195 
 
 ation of his trial. And when, at last, the 
 pope demanded of the Spanish inquisitor 
 and of the king, that the archbishop and the 
 papers of his trial should be sent to Rome, 
 all kinds of obstacles were thrown in the 
 way of his departure and of his final acquittal. 
 
 The Inquisition has been happily abolished 
 in our own day ; but the principles which 
 originated and long sustained it, are still in 
 operation. Soon may corrupt Christianity 
 be utterly overthrown by the power of Divine 
 truth, and the energy of the Spirit of God ! 
 
 And, as we revert to that part of the globe, 
 to which our attention has been chiefly di- 
 rected in this volume, we may add, in the 
 words of the poet : 
 
 " Nor in the isles and Africa alone 
 
 Be tlie Redoemer's cross and triumph known ; 
 
 Father of mercies, speed the promised hour; 
 
 Thy kingdom come with all restoring power; 
 
 Peace, virtue, knowledge, spread from pole to pole, 
 
 As round the world the ocean waters ndl 1 
 
 Hope waits the morning of cele>tial light; 
 
 Time plumes his wings for everlasting flight ; 
 
 Unchanging seasons have their march begun ; 
 
 IMilleniiial years are hastening to the sun ; 
 
 Seen through thick clouds, by Faith's transpiercing eyes, 
 
 The new creation shines in purer skies. 
 
 All hail ! — the age of crime and suffering ends ;
 
 196 COLUMBUS AND HIS TIMES. 
 
 The reign of righteousness from heaven descends ; 
 Vengeance for ever sheathes the afflicting sword ; 
 Death is destroyed and paradise restored ; 
 Man, rising frora the ruins of his fall, 
 Is one with God, and God is all in all." 
 
 THE END.
 
 UCSB LIBRART
 
 UC SOUTHERN REGIONAL LIBRARY FACILITY 
 
 B 000 007 851 9
 
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