On Sunday, the 22nd of July, in the evening, the sailors saw innumerable

birds going from the south-west to the north-east, which flight of birds

was a sign that land was not far off. For several successive days birds

were seen, and an albatross perched upon the admiral's vessel. Still the

fleet went on without seeing land, and, as it was in want of fresh water,

the admiral was thinking of changing his course, and, indeed, on Thursday,

the 31st of July, had commenced steering northwards for some hours, when,

to use his own words, "as God had always been accustomed to show mercy to

him," a certain mariner of Huelva, a follower of the admiral's, named

Alonzo Perez, happened to go up aloft upon the maintop-sail of the

admiral's ship, and suddenly saw land towards the south-west, about

fifteen leagues off. This land which he described was in the form of three

lofty hills or mountains. It would be but natural to conjecture that, as

Columbus had resolved to name the first land he should discover

"Trinidad," it was by an effort of the will, or of the imagination, that

these three eminences were seen first; but it is exceedingly probable that

such eminences were to be seen from the point whence Alonzo Perez first

saw land.[16]

[Footnote 16: Cape Cashepou is backed by three peaked mountains, of

which a representation is given in Day's West Indies, vol 2, p. 31.]

The sailors sang the "Salve Regina," with other pious hymns in honour of

God and "Our Lady," according to the custom of the mariners of Spain, who,

in terror or in joy, were wont to find an expression for their feelings in

such sacred canticles.

THE PEARL COAST.

The admiral's course, when he was going northwards, had been in the

direction of the Carib islands, already well known to him; but with great

delight he now turned towards Trinidad, making for a cape which, from the

likeness of a little rocky islet near it to a galley in full sail, he

named "La Galera." [17] There he arrived "at the hour of complines," but,

not finding the port sufficiently deep for his vessels to enter, he

proceeded westwards.

[Footnote 17: This point is sometimes placed at the north-east of

Trinidad; but wrongly so. It is now Cape Galeota.--See Humbolt's Examen

Critique, vol. i. p. 310.]

[Illustration: Map of THE PEARL COAST. From about 50 miles west of the

island of Margarita to just east of Trinidad and Tobago; from about 50

miles north of Grenada to 50 miles south of the Orinoco River.]

FIRST VIEW OF AMERICAN CONTINENT

The first thing noticeable as he neared these shores, was that the trees

grew well on the margin of the sea. There were houses and people,--and

very beautiful lands, which reminded him, from their beauty and their

verdure, of the gardens of Valencia as seen in the month of March. It was

also to be observed that these lands were well cultivated.

On the following morning he continued in a westerly direction in search of

a port, where he might take in water, and refit his ships, the timber of

which had shrunk, from extreme heat, so that they sadly needed caulking.

He did not find a port, but came to deep soundings somewhere near Point

Alcatraz, where he brought to, and took in fresh water. This was on a

Wednesday, the first of August. From the point where he now was, the low

lands of the Orinoco must have been visible, and Columbus must have beheld

the continent of America for the first time.[18] He supposed it to be an

island of about twenty leagues in extent, and he gave it the somewhat

insignificant name of Zeta.

[Footnote 18: The northern part of the continent had been discovered by

Sebastian Cabot, on the 24th of June, 1497.]

The same signs of felicity which greeted his eyes on his first sight of

land, continued to manifest themselves. Farms and populous places[19] were

visible above the water as he coasted onwards; with the trees flourishing

close to the sea--a sure sign of the general mildness of the weather,

wherever it occurs.

[Footnote 19: "Vido muchas labranzas por luengo de Costa y muchas

Poblaciones."--LAS CASAS, Hist. de las Indias, MS., lib. i cap. 132.]

The next day he proceeded westwards along the southern part of Trinidad,

until he arrived It the westernmost point, which he called "La punta de

Arenal;" and now he beheld the gulf of Paria, which he called "La Balena"

(the gulf of the whale). It was just after the rainy season, and the great

rivers which flow into that gulf were causing its waters to rush with

impetuosity out of the two openings [20] which lead into the open sea. The

contest between the fresh water and the salt water produced a ridge of

waters, on the top of which the admiral was borne into the gulf at such

risk, that, writing afterwards of this event to the Spanish court, he

says, "Even to-day I shudder lest the waters should have upset the vessel

when they came under its bows."

[Footnote 20: The Boca del Drago and the Boca de la Sierpe.]

COLUMBUS MISTAKES THE CONTINENT FOR ISLANDS.

Previously to entering the gulf, the admiral had sought to make friends

with some Indians who approached him in a large canoe, by ordering his men

to come upon the poop, and dance to the sound of a tambourine; but this,

naturally enough, appears to have been mistaken for a warlike

demonstration, and it was answered by a flight of arrows from the Indians.

The admiral, still supposing that he was amongst islands, called the land

to the left of him, as he moved up the gulf, the island of Gracia; and he

continued to make a similar mistake throughout the whole of his course up

the gulf, taking the various projections of the indented coast for

islands. Throughout his voyage in the gulf, Columbus met with nothing but

friendly treatment from the natives. At last he arrived at a place which

the natives told him was called Paria, and where they also informed him

that, to the westward, the country was more populous. He took four of

these natives, and went onwards, until he came to a point which he named

Punto de Aguja (Needle Point), where, he says, he found the most beautiful

lands in the world, very populous, and whence, to use his own words, "an

infinite number of canoes came off to the ships."

Proceeding onwards, the admiral came to a place where the women had pearl

bracelets, and, on his enquiring where these came from, they made signs,

directing him out of the Gulf of Paria towards the island of Cubagua. Here

he sent some of his men on shore, who were very well received and

entertained by two of the principal Indians. It is needless to dwell upon

this part of the narrative. Very few of the places retain the names which

the admiral gave them, and, consequently, it is difficult to trace his

progress. He began to conjecture, from the immense amount of fresh water

brought down by the rivers into the Gulf of Paria, that the land which he

had been calling the island of Gracia was not an island, but a continent,

of which fact he afterwards became more convinced. But little time was

given him for research of any kind. He was anxious to reach Hispaniola, in

order to see after his colonists there, and to bring them the stores which

he had in charge; and so, after passing through the "Boca del Drago," and

reconnoitring the island of Margarita, which he named, he was compelled

to go on his way to Hispaniola. We are hardly so much concerned with what

the admiral saw and heard, as with what he afterwards thought and

reported. To understand this, it will be desirable to enter somewhat into

the scientific questions which occupied the mind of this great mariner and

most observant man.

THE ADMIRAL'S REASONING ABOUT THE CONTINENT.

The discovery of the continent of America by Columbus, in his third

voyage, was the result of a distinct intention on his part to discover

some new land, and cannot be attributed to chance. It would be difficult

to define precisely the train of ideas which led Columbus to this

discovery. The Portuguese navigations were one compelling cause. Then the

change, already alluded to, which Columbus had noticed in his voyages to

the Indies, on passing a line a hundred leagues west of the Azores, was in

his mind, as it was in reality, a circumstance of great moment[21] and

significance. It was not a change of temperature alone that he noticed,

but a change in the heavens, the air, the sea, and the magnetic current.

[Footnote 21: It is the opinion of HUMBOLDT, as mentioned before, that

the celebrated division, made by Alexander the Sixth between the

Castilian and Portuguese monarchs, was adopted in reference to these

phenomena which Columbus had noticed: and, if the line of no variation

were a "constant," no better marine boundary could well be suggested.]

In the first place, the needles of the compass, instead of north-easting,

north-wested at this line; and that remarkable phenomenon occurred just

upon the passage of the line, as if, Columbus says, one passed a hill.

Then, the sea there was full of sea-weed like small pine-branches, laden

with a fruit similar to pistachio nuts. Moreover, on passing this

imaginary line, the admiral had invariably found that the temperature

became agreeable, and the sea calm. Accordingly, in the course of this

voyage, when they were suffering from that great heat which has been

mentioned, he determined to take a westerly course, which led, as we have

seen, to his discovering the beautiful land of Paria.[22]

[Footnote 22: Las Casas, who had other authentic information about this

voyage besides the manuscripts of Columbus, says, that the admiral

intended to have gone southwards, after he had taken a westerly course,

on quitting the place where he was becalmed. Had he done so, which the

state of his ships would not permit, he might have been the discoverer

of Brazil.]

PECULIAR THEORY OF THE SHAPE OF THE EARTH.

Now Columbus was one of those men of divining minds, who must have general

theories on which to thread their observations; and, as few persons have

so just a claim to theorize as those who have added largely to the number

of ascertained facts (a privilege which they generally make abundant use

of), so Columbus may well be listened to, when propounding his explanation

of the wonderful change in sea, air, sky, and magnetic current, which he

discerned at this distance of a hundred leagues from the Azores.

His theory was, that the earth was not a perfect sphere, but pear-shaped;

and he thought that, as he proceeded westwards in this voyage, the sea

went gradually rising, and his ships rising too, until they came nearer to

the heavens. It is very possible that this theory had been long in his

mind, or, at any rate, that he held it before he reached the coast of

Paria. When there, new facts struck his mind, and were combined with his

theory. He found the temperature much more moderate than might have been

expected so near the equinoctial line, far more moderate than on the

opposite coast of Africa. In the evenings, indeed, it was necessary for

him to wear an outer garment of fur. Then, the natives were lighter

coloured, more astute, and braver than those of the islands. Their hair,

too, was different.

Then, again, he meditated upon the immense volume of fresh waters which

descended into the Gulf of Paria. And, in fine, the conclusion which his

pious mind came to, was, that when he reached the land which he called the

island of Gracia, he was at the base of the earthly Paradise. He also,

upon reflection, concluded that it was a continent which he had

discovered, the same continent of the east which he had always been in

search of; and that the waters, which we now know to be a branch of the

river Orinoco, formed one of the four great rivers which descended from

the garden of Paradise.

Very different were the conjectures of the pilots. Some said that they

were in the Sea of Spain, others, in that of Scotland, and, being in

despair about their whereabouts, they concluded that they had been under

the guidance of the Devil. The admiral, however, was not a man to be much

influenced by the sayings of the unthoughtful and the unlearned. He

fortified himself by references to St. Isidro, Beda, Strabo, St. Ambrose,

and Duns Scotus, and held stoutly to the conclusion that he had discovered

the site of the earthly Paradise. It is said, that he exclaimed to his

men, that they were in the richest country in the world.

Columbus did not forget to claim, with all due formalities, the possession

of this approach to Paradise, for his employers, the Catholic Sovereigns.

Accordingly, when at Paria, he had landed and taken possession of the

coast in their names, erecting a great cross upon the shore, which, he

tells Ferdinand and Isabella, he was in the habit of doing at every

headland, the religious aspect of the conquest being one which always had

great influence with the admiral, as he believed it to have with the

Catholic monarchs. In communicating this discovery, he reminds them how

they bade him go on with the enterprise, if he should discover only stones

and rocks, and had told him that they counted the cost for nothing,

considering that the Faith would be increased, and their dominions

widened.

GRACEFUL REARING OF NATIVES; BEAUTY OF THE LAND.

It was, however, no poor discovery of mere "rocks and stones" which the

admiral had now made. It will be interesting to see his first impressions

of the men and the scenery of this continent which he had now,

unconsciously, for the first time, discovered. He says, "I found some

lands, the most beautiful in the world, and very populous." The lands in

the island of Trinidad he had previously compared to Valencia, in Spain,

during the month of March. It is also noticeable that he had observed that

the fields were cultivated. Of the people, he says, "They are all of good

stature, well made, and of very graceful bearing, with much and smooth

hair;" and he mentions that on their heads they wore the beautiful Arab

head-dress (called keffeh), made of worked and coloured handkerchiefs,

which appeared in the distance as if they were silken.

The description given by Columbus of the natives whom he encounters in his

voyages is almost always favourable. Indeed, the description of any man or

thing depends as much on the person describing, as on the thing or person

described. Those little differences in look or dress, which excite the

ready mockery of the untravelled rustic, appear very slight indeed to the

man who, like Columbus or Las Casas, has seen many lands, and travelled

over many minds. The rude Spanish common soldier perceived a far greater

difference between himself and the Indian, than did the most accomplished

man who visited the Indies, when he made to himself a similar comparison.

Occasionally, in a narrow nature, however cultivated, the commonest

prejudices hold their ground; but, in general, knowledge sees behind and

beyond disgust, and suffices to conquer it.

THE EARTHLY PARADISE.

Columbus, however, found the men, the country, and the products, equally

admirable. It is somewhat curious that he does not mention his discovery

of pearls to the Catholic monarchs, and he afterwards makes a poor excuse

for this. The real reason I conjecture to have been a wish to preserve

this knowledge to himself, that the fruits of this enterprise might not be

prematurely snatched from him. His shipmates, however, were sure to

disperse the intelligence; and the gains to be made on the Pearl Coast

were, probably, the most tempting bait for future navigators to follow in

the track of Columbus, and complete the discovery of the earthly Paradise.

ILLNESS OF COLUMBUS.

Of the delights of this Paradise Columbus himself was to have but a slight

and mocking foretaste. He had been constantly ill during the voyage,

suffering from the gout and from an inflammation in his eyes which

rendered him almost blind. His new colony in Hispaniola demanded his

attention, and must often have been the cause of anxious thought to him;

and the grave but glowing enthusiast made his way to St. Domingo, and

afterwards returned to Spain, to be vexed henceforth by those mean

miseries and small disputes which afflicted him for the remainder of his

days--miseries the more galling, as they were so disproportionately small

in comparison with the greatness of such a man, and with the aims and

hopes which they effectually hindered.

CHAPTER X.

SLAVES AND LOGWOOD; PLAN OF SLAVE BARTER.

It was on the 30th of August, 1498, that Columbus arrived at Hispaniola,

where he found the state of his colony far from cheering, the defection of

Roldan and his followers having put everything into confusion. The admiral

supposed at first that the enmity of Roldan's party was chiefly directed

against his brother, the Adelantado, and the admiral hoped that, now he

had arrived, some agreement would speedily be concluded with Roldan, of

which he might inform the catholic sovereigns by the vessels which he

purposed to send back immediately to Spain. This was very far, however,

from being the case. These vessels, five in number, left the port of St.

Domingo bearing no good news of peace and amity amongst the Spaniards, but

laden with many hundreds of Indian slaves, which had been taken in the

following manner. Some cacique failed to perform the personal services

imposed upon him and his people, and fled to the forests; upon which,

orders were given to pursue him, and a large number of slaves were

captured and put into these ships. Columbus, in his letters to the

sovereigns, enters into an account of the pecuniary advantage that will

arise from these slave-dealing transactions, and from the sale of logwood.

He estimates, that "in the name of the sacred Trinity" there may be sent

as many slaves as sale could be found for in Spain, and that the value of

the slaves, for whom there would be a demand to the number of four

thousand, as he calculated from certain information, and of the logwood,

would amount to forty cuentos (i. e. forty million maravedis). The number

of slaves who were sent in these five ships was six hundred, of which two

hundred were given to the masters of the vessels in payment of freight. In

the course of these letters, throughout which Columbus speaks after the

fashion of a practised slave-dealer, he alludes to the intended adoption,

on behalf of private individuals, of a system of exchange of slaves for

goods wanted from the mother country. The proposed arrangement was as

follows:--The masters of vessels were to receive slaves from the

colonists, were to carry them to Spain, and to pay for their maintenance

during the voyage; they were then to allow the colonists so much money,

payable at Seville, in proportion to the number of slaves brought over.

This money they would expend according to the orders of the colonists, who

would thus be able to obtain such goods as they might stand in need of. It

was upon the same occasion of writing home to Spain that the admiral

strongly urged upon the Catholic Sovereigns that the Spanish colonists

should be allowed to make use of the services of the Indians for a year or

two until the colony should be in a settled state, a proposal which he did

not wait for their highnesses' authority to carry out, and which led to a

new form of the repartimiento. But this brings us back to Roldan's story,

being closely connected with it.

CONTENTION WITH ROLDAN.

After great trouble and many attempts at agreement, in which mention is

more than once made of slaves, the dispute between Roldan's party, rebels

they might almost be called, and Columbus, was at last, after two years'

negotiation, brought to a close. Roldan kept his chief-justiceship; and

his friends received lands and slaves. It brings to mind the conclusion of

many a long war in the old world, in which two great powers have been

contending against each other, with several small powers on each side, the

latter being either ruined in the course of the war, or sacrificed at the

end. The admiral gave repartimientos to those followers of Roldan who

chose to stay in the island, which were constituted in the following

manner. The admiral placed under such a caciqne so many thousand matas

(shoots of the cazabi), or, which came to the same thing, so many thousand

montones (small mounds a foot and a half high, and ten or twelve feet

round, on each of which a cazabi shoot was planted); and Columbus then

ordered that the cacique or his people should till these lands for

whomsoever they were assigned to. The repartimiento had now grown to its

second state--not lands only, but lands and the tillage of them. We shall

yet find that there is a further step in this matter, before the

repartimiento assumes its utmost development. It seems, too, that in

addition to these repartimientos, Columbus gave slaves to those partizans

of Roldan who stayed in the island. Others of Roldan's followers, fifteen

in number, chose to return to Spain; they received a certain number of

slaves, some one, some two, some three; and the admiral sent them home in

two vessels which left the port of St. Domingo at the beginning of

October, 1499.

THE QUEEN'S ANGER; PARTIAL RELEASE OF SLAVES.

On the arrival in Spain of these vessels, the Queen was in the highest

degree angered by the above proceedings, and said that the admiral had

received no authority from her to give her vassals to anyone. She

accordingly commanded proclamation to be made at Seville, Granada, and

other places, that all persons who were in possession of Indians, given to

them by the admiral, should, under pain of death, send those Indians back

to Hispaniola, "and that particularly they should send back those Indians,

and not the others who had been brought before, because she was informed

that the others had been taken in just war." The former part of this

proclamation has been frequently alluded to, and no doubt it deserves much

praise; but from the latter part it is clear that there were some Indians

who could justly, according to Queen Isabella, be made slaves. By this

time, therefore, at any rate the question had been solved, whether by the

learned in the law, theologians and canonists, I know not, but certainly

in practice, that the Indians taken in war could be made slaves. The whole

of this transaction is very remarkable, and, in some measure,

inexplicable, on the facts before us. There is nothing to show that the

slaves given to Roldan's followers were made slaves in a different way

from those who had been sent over on former occasions, both by the admiral

and his brother, for the benefit of the crown. And yet the Queen, whom no

one has ever accused of condescending to state craft, seems to deal with

this particular case as if it were something quite new. It cannot be said

that the crown was favoured, for the question is put upon the legitimacy

of the original capture; and to confirm this, there is a letter from the

Sovereigns to one of their household, from which it may be inferred,

though the wording is rather obscure, that they, too, gave up the slaves

which had come over for them on this occasion.

Every body would be sorry to take away any honour from Isabella; and all

who are conversant with that period must wish that her proclamation could

be proved to have gone to the root of the matter; and that it had

forbidden the sending Indians to Spain as slaves, on any pretext whatever.

THE ADMIRAL'S ENEMIES WORKING AT COURT.

To return to the affairs of Hispaniola. Columbus had now settled the

Roldan revolt and other smaller ones; he had now, too, reduced the Indians

into subjection; the mines were prospering; the Indians were to be brought

together in populous villages, that so they might better be taught the

Christian faith, and serve as vassals to the crown of Castile; the royal

revenues (always a matter of much concern to Columbus) would, he thought,

in three years amount to sixty millions of reals; and now there was time

for him to sit down, and meditate upon the rebuilding of the temple of

Jerusalem, or the conversion of Cathay. If there had been any prolonged

quiet for him, such great adventures would probably have begun to form the

staple of his high thoughts. But he had hardly enjoyed more than a month

of repose, when that evil came down upon him, which "poured the juice of

aloes into the remaining portion of his life."

The Catholic sovereigns had hitherto, upon the whole, behaved well to

Columbus. He had bitter enemies at court. People were for ever suggesting

to the monarchs that this foreigner was doing wrong. The admiral's son,

Ferdinand, gives a vivid picture of some of the complaints preferred

against his father. He says, "When I was at Granada, at the time the most

serene Prince Don Miguel died, more than fifty of them (Spaniards who had

returned from the Indies), as men without shame, bought a great quantity

of grapes, and sat themselves down in the court of the Alhambra, uttering

loud cries, saying, that their Highnesses and the admiral made them live

in this poor fashion on account of the bad pay they received, with many

other dishonest and unseemly things, which they kept repeating. Such was

their effrontery that when the Catholic king came forth they all

surrounded him, and got him into the midst of them, saying, 'Pay! pay!'

and if by chance I and my brother, who were pages to the most serene

Queen, happened to pass where they were, they shouted to the very heavens

saying, 'Look at the sons of the admiral of Mosquitoland, of that man who

has discovered the lands of deceit and disappointment, a place of

sepulchre and wretchedness to Spanish hidalgoes:' adding many other

insulting expressions, on which account we excused ourselves from passing

by them."

SERIOUS DISSATISFACTION.

Unjust clamour, like the above, would not alone have turned the hearts of

the Catholic sovereigns against Columbus; but this clamour was supported

by serious grounds for dissatisfaction in the state and prospects of the

colony: and when there is a constant stream of enmity and prejudice

against a man, his conduct or his fortune will, some day or other, offer

an opportunity for it to rush in upon him.

COLUMBUS SUPERSEDED.

However this may be, soon after the return of the five vessels from St.

Domingo, mentioned above, which first told the news of the revolt of

Roldan, Ferdinand and Isabella appear to have taken into serious

consideration the question of suspending Columbus. He had, himself, in the

letters transmitted by these ships, requested that some one might be sent

to conduct the affairs of justice in the colony; but if Ferdinand and

Isabella began by merely looking out for such an officer, they ended in

resolving to send one who should take the civil as well as judicial

authority into his own hands. This determination was not, however, acted

upon hastily. On the 21st of March, 1499, they authorized Francis de

Bobadilla "to ascertain what persons have raised themselves against

justice in the island of Hispaniola, and to proceed against them according

to law." On the 21st of May, 1499, they conferred upon this officer the

government, and signed an order that all arms and fortresses in the Indies

should be given up to him. On the 26th of the same month, they gave him

the following remarkable letter to Columbus:-

"Don Christopher Columbus, our Admiral of the Ocean: We have commanded

the Comendador Francis de Bobadilla, the bearer of this that he speak to

you on our part some things which he will tell you: we pray you give him

faith and credence, and act accordingly.

"I the King, I the Queen,

"By their command,

"MIGUEL PEREZ DE ALMAZAN,"

HARSH TREATMENT OF COLUMBUS AND HIS BROTHERS

Bobadilla, however, was not sent from Spain until the beginning of July,

1500, and did not make his appearance in Hispaniola till the 23rd of

August of the same year. Their Highnesses, therefore, must have taken time

before carrying their resolve into execution; and what they meant by it is

dubious. Certainly, not that the matter should have been transacted in the

coarse way which Bobadilla adopted. It is a great pity, and a sad instance

of mistaken judgment, that they fixed upon him for their agent. I imagine

him to have been such a man as may often be met with, who, from his

narrowness of mind and distinctness of prejudice, is supposed to be high-

principled and direct in his dealings; and whose untried reputation has

great favour with many people: until, placed in power some day, he shows

that to rule well requires other things than one-sidedness in the ruling

person; and is fortunate if he does not acquire that part of renown which

consists in notoriety, by committing some colossal blunder, henceforth

historical from its largeness.

COLUMBUS SENT HOME BY BOBADILLA IN CHAINS.

The first thing that Bobadilla did on arriving at St. Domingo was to take

possession of the admiral's house (he being at the fort La Concepcion),

and then to summon the admiral before him, sending him the royal letter.

Neither the admiral nor his brothers attempted to make any resistance; and

Bobadilla, with a stupid brutality, which I suppose he took for vigour,

put them in chains, and sent them to Spain. There is no doubt that the

Castilian population of Hispaniola were rejoiced at Bobadilla's coming,

and that they abetted him in his violence. Accusations came thickly

against Columbus: "the stones rose up against him and his brothers," says

the historian Herrera, emphatically, The people told how he had made them

work, even sick men, at his fortresses, at his house, at the mills, and

other buildings; how he had starved them; how he had condemned men to be

whipped for the slightest causes, as, for instance, for stealing a peck of

wheat when they were dying of hunger. Considering the difficulties he had

to deal with, and the scarcity of provisions, many of these accusations,

if rightly examined, would probably have not merely failed in producing

anything against Columbus, but would have developed some proofs of his

firmness and sagacity as a governor. Then his accusers went on to other

grounds, such as his not having baptized Indians "because he desired

slaves rather than Christians:" moreover, that he had entered into war

unjustly with the Indians, and that he had made many slaves, in order to

send them to Castile. It is highly unlikely that these latter charges were

preferred by a single colonist, unless, perhaps, by some man in religious

orders. The probability is, that they came from the other side of the

water; and this does give considerable strength to the report, that the

displeasure of the court with respect to the Admiral's proceedings against

the Indians had to do with his removal from the government of the Indies.

If so, it speaks largely for the continued admirable intentions of the

Spanish court in this matter.

Poor Columbus! His chains lay very heavily upon him. He insisted, however,

upon not having them taken off, unless by royal command, and would ever

keep them by him, ("I always saw them in his room," says his son

Ferdinand), ordering that they should be buried with him. He did not know

how many wretched beings would have to traverse those seas, in bonds much

worse than his, with no room allowed them for writing, as was his

case,--not even for standing upright; nor did he foresee, I trust, that

some of his doings would further all this coming misery. In these

chains Columbus is of more interest to us than when in full power as

governor of the Indies; for so it is, that the most infelicitous times of

a man's life are those which posterity will look to most, and love him

most for. This very thought may have comforted him; but happily he had

other sources of consolation in the pious aspirations which never deserted

him.

We have come now to the end of Columbus's administration of the Indies.

Whatever we may think of his general policy, we cannot but regret his

removal at the present time, when there appeared some chance of solidity

in his government: though we must honestly admit, that the Catholic

Sovereigns, with such evidence as they had before them, were far from

wrong in recalling him, had it been done in a manner worthy of his and of

their greatness.

CHAPTER XI.

REACTION AT COURT.

The career of Columbus had already been marked by strong contrasts. First,

a "pauper pilot," then the viceroy of a new world; alternately hoping, and

fearing, despondent, and triumphant, he had passed through strange

vicissitudes of good and evil fortune. But no two events in his life stand

out in stronger contrast to each other than his return to Spain after his

first voyage, and his return now. He was then a conqueror; he was now a

prisoner. He was then the idol of popular favour; he was now the unpopular

victim of insidious maligners. In truth, the contrast was so startling as

to strike home to the hearts of the common people, even of those--and

there were many such--who had lost kinsmen or friends in that fatal quest

for gold which the admiral had originated and stimulated. The broad fact

was this: Columbus had given Spain a new world; Spain loaded him with

fetters in return. There was a reaction. The current of public opinion

began to turn in his favour. The nation became conscious of ingratitude to

its benefactor. The nobility were shocked at the insult to one of their

own order. And no sooner had the Sovereigns learned from Columbus of his

arrival, and of his disgrace, than they issued immediate orders for his

liberation, and summoned him to their court at Grenada, forwarding money

to enable him to proceed there in a style befitting his rank. They then

received him with all possible signs of distinction; repudiated

Bobadilla's arbitrary proceedings; and promised the admiral compensation

and satisfaction. As a mark of their disapprobation of the way in which

Bobadilla had acted under their commission, they pointedly refused to

enquire into the charges against Columbus, and dismissed them as not

worthy of investigation.

But though the Sovereigns acted thus promptly on the admiral's behalf,

there is no doubt that one of them, at least, was in no wise displeased at

his being removed from his government. At each fresh discovery, Ferdinand

had repented more and more of the concession by which Columbus was to

receive an eighth part of the profits of the newly-found countries, and to

be their governor-general. He probably apprehended that this viceroy, when

once master of the boundless wealth which was supposed to be nearly within

his grasp, would become more powerful than his master, and might finally

throw off his allegiance altogether. But here was an opportunity, without

any flagrant breach of faith, of eluding the bargain, by refusing, on very

plausible grounds of policy, to reinstate Columbus immediately in his

viceroyalty. Isabella, who had always been his firm friend, would probably

have refused to acquiesce in, any scheme for absolutely depriving him of

his rights, but it was sufficiently obvious that just at present, while

the colonists were excited against him, it would be prudent that some one

else should take the reins of government.

COLUMBUS PLEADS HIS CAUSE BEFORE THE QUEEN.

The Queen granted Columbus a private audience. He told his story with much

simple eloquence--so pathetically, indeed, that his warmhearted mistress

is said to have been moved to tears at the recital. He described the

difficulties which he had encountered and the machinations of the

enemies who had been constantly thwarting him. He pleaded that he had been

obliged to create a line of conduct for himself, having to deal with an

entirely new combination of circumstances without any precedent to guide

him. And he implored the Queen to believe that the accusations which had,

of late, poured in against him, were prompted by the disappointed ambition

and the jealousy of his enemies, and had not any solid foundation in fact.

Isabella replied in a very sensible speech, telling him that, while she

fully appreciated his services, and knew the rancour of his enemies, she

was afraid that he had given some cause for complaint. "Common report,"

she said,[Charlevoix.] "accuses you of acting with a degree of severity

quite unsuitable for an infant colony, and likely to excite rebellion

there. But the matter as to which I find it hardest to give you my pardon,

is your conduct in reducing to slavery a number of Indians who had done

nothing to deserve such a fate. This was contrary to my express orders. As

your ill fortune willed it, just at the time when I heard of this breach

of my instructions, everybody was complaining of you, and no one spoke a

word in your favour. And I felt obliged to send to the Indies a

commissioner to investigate matters, and give me a true report; and, if

necessary, to put limits to the authority which you were accused of

overstepping. If you were found guilty of the charges, he was to relieve

you of the government and to send you to Spain to give an account of your

stewardship. This was the extent of his commission. I find that I have

made a bad choice in my agent; and I will take care to make an example of

Bobadilla, which shall serve as a warning to others not to exceed their

powers. I cannot, however, promise to re-instate you at once in your

government. People are too much inflamed against you, and must have time

to cool. As to your rank of admiral, I never intended to deprive you of

it. But you must bide your time and trust in me."

THE QUEEN'S DECISION; BOBADILLA'S TYRANNY

It was arranged that the appointment of the new governor should be for two

years only, at the expiration of which period, as Isabella thought, the

administration of the colonies might be again entrusted to Columbus; while

Ferdinand doubtless considered that some pretext might be found in the

meantime for omitting to re-appoint him at all. And though Columbus may

have been told verbally that it was their Highnesses' intention to

re-instate him after the lapse of two years, it is noteworthy that the

document appointing Ovando makes no mention of any limitation of the term

of his (Ovando's) government. The words are, "that he is to be governor as

long as it is their Highnesses' will and pleasure." Bobadilla, fortunately

for the islanders, was forthwith to be superseded; for, if Columbus had

chastised them with whips, Bobadilla was chastising them with scorpions.

His first object was the discovery of gold; and to secure this he took a

census of the natives, and assigned them all as slaves to the colonists. A

large proportion of the latter, as we have seen, were simply the scourings

of Spanish prisons; and the brutality with which these men treated their

wretched helots was very terrible. Some estimate of the amount of pressure

employed may be formed from the fact that, although Bobadilla had reduced

the royalty payable to the Sovereigns from one-third to one-eleventh of

the gold found, this smaller proportion produced a larger revenue. In

other words, about four times as much gold was discovered under

Bobadilla's system as under that of Columbus.

OVANDO AS GOVERNOR

But when the Sovereigns heard of the cruelties which that system involved,

they urged forward the departure of Ovando, whom they had selected as

governor, and who, to judge from his previous career, was a man eminently

fitted to rule justly and mercifully. He was well known to Ferdinand and

Isabella, having been chosen by the Queen as one of the companions for her

eldest son, Prince John. With regard to his personal appearance, we are

told that he was of moderate stature, and had a "vermilion-coloured

beard," which fact hardly conveys much to our minds; but it is added, in

general terms, that his presence expressed authority. With respect to his

mental qualifications, we learn that he was a friend to justice, an

honourable person both in words and deeds, and that he held all avarice

and covetousness in much aversion. He was humble, too, they say, and when

he was appointed Commendador Mayor of the Order of Alcantara, he would

never allow himself to be addressed by the title of "Lordship," which

belonged to that office.

HIS INSTRUCTIONS.

Previous to Ovando's departure from court, the monarchs were particular in

giving him instructions both verbal and written. Among these instructions

was one which Isabella especially insisted on, namely, "that all the

Indians in Hispaniola should be free from servitude and be unmolested by

anyone, and that they should live as free vassals, governed and protected

by justice, as were the vassals of Castile." Like the vassals in Spain,

the Indians were to pay tribute; they were also to assist in getting gold,

but for this they were to be paid daily wages. Other commands were given

at the same time for the conversion of the Indians, and to insure their

being treated kindly.

ADVICE TO OVANDO ON THE DUTIES OF A GOVERNOR.

Respecting the general government of the country, it was arranged that on

Ovando's going out, all those who received pay from the government in the

Indies, as well those who had accompanied Bobadilla as those who had come

out originally with Columbus, should return to Spain, and that a new set

to replace them should go out with Ovando. This was done because most of

these soldiers and officials had necessarily been connected with the late

troubles in the colony, and it would be a good plan to start afresh, as it

were. At the same time it was provided that no Jews, Moors, or new

converts were to go to the Indies, or be permitted to remain there; but

negro slaves "born in the power of Christians, were to be allowed to pass

to the Indies, and the officers of the royal revenue were to receive the

money to be paid for their permits." This is the first notice with respect

to negroes going to the Indies. These instructions were given in the year

1501.

On Ovando's arrival in the colony, Bobadilla was to undergo the ordeal of

a "residencia," a kind of examination well known and constantly practised

in Spain, to which Authorities were subject on going out of office--being

of the nature of a general impeachment. It is satisfactory to find, that

amongst the orders given to Ovando, there are some for the restitution of

the admiral's property, and the maintenance of his mercantile rights.

Just before Ovando took leave of the king, he received a formal lecture

upon the duties of a governor. The King, the Queen, and a privy

councillor, Antonio de Fonseca, were the persons present; and, as I

imagine, the latter addressed Ovando on the part of their Highnesses. As

it is not often that we have an opportunity of hearing a didactic

lecture on the modes and duties of government given in the presence of a

great master of that art, and probably looked over, if not prepared, by

him, we must enter the royal cabinet, and hear some part of this

discourse.

The first point which Fonseca impresses upon Ovando is, that before all

things, he is to look to what concerns the reverence of God and His

worship. Then he is to examine into the life and capacity of the men about

him, and to put good men into office; taking care, however, not to leave

all the authority in the hands of subordinates (here we may well imagine

Ferdinand nodded approvingly), to the diminution of his own power, "nor to

make them so great that they shall have occasion to contrive novelties,"

in order to make themselves greater. Also, let there be change of

authorities, so that many may have a share of profit and honour, and be

made skilful in affairs.

That he should use moderation in making repartimientos and tributes, not

overtaxing the people, which moderation would be furthered by his taking

care that his personal and his household expenses were within due bounds.

(Here, I fancy, the monarchs looked at each other, thought of their own

frugal way of living, and Isabella smiled.)

That he should not make himself judge in a cause, but let culprits be

tried in the ordinary way. Thus he will avoid unpopularity, for "the

remembrance of the crime perishes: not so that of the punishment." (This

aphorism must, I think, have been composed by Ferdinand himself. His

writing is always exceedingly concise and to the purpose.)

That he should not listen to tale-bearers, (parleros) either of his own

household or to those out of it; nor take vengeance upon anybody who had

spoken ill of him, it being "an ugly thing to believe that anybody could

speak ill of one who did ill to no one, but good to all," That it is one

of the conditions of bad governors, "moved therein by their own

consciences" to give heed to what they hear is said of them, and to take

ill that, which if it had been said, they had better not have heard.

Rather let injurious sayings be overcome by magnanimity.

That it would be good for him to give free audience to all, and to hear

what they had to say; and if their counsel turned out ill, not to look

coldly upon them for that. The same in war, or in any other undertaking:

his agents must not have to fear punishment for failure, nor calumny for

success: "for there were many persons who, to avoid the envy of their

superiors, sought rather to lose a victory than to gain it," (Here

Ferdinand ought to have looked a little ashamed, being conscious that his

own practice by no means came up to what he perceives to be noble and wise

policy in the matter.)

That he (Ovando) should look to what example he gives both in word and

deed,--governors living, as in a theatre, in the midst of the world. If he

does ill, even those who follow him in that, will not the less disesteem

him.

That although it is necessary for him to know the life of everyone, yet he

must not be over-inquisitive about it, nor rout up offences which are not

brought before him officially. "Since if all offences were looked into,

few men, or none, would be without punishment." Besides, for secret faults

men may correct themselves: if those faults are made known, and especially

if they are punished in excess, shame is lost, and men give way to their

bad impulses.

That he is to encourage those who work, and to discourage the idle, as the

universal Father does.

That, as regards liberality, he should so conduct himself, that men should

not dare to ask him for things which they would know he must deny: this

would be a great restraint upon them, and a great proof of good reputation

in a governor.

That, in fine, all that had been said consisted in this, that he was to

govern as he would be, governed: and that "it behoved him to be intent in

business, to show courage in difficulties, and management in all things,

brevity in executing useful determinations, yet not as if carried away by

passion, but always upon good counsel; considering much what a charge was

upon him, for this thought would be useful to him at all times: and above

all things he was to take heed (in order that the same thing might not

happen to him which had happened to the admiral) that when any occasion

for dealing briefly with an offence occurred, he should have swift

recourse to punishment, for in such cases the remedy ought to be like a

thunderbolt."

After reading the above, we cannot say that the Catholic monarchs were

inattentive to the government of their Indian possessions, nor can the

sagacity which directed that attention be for a moment questioned. Indeed

that sagacity is so remarkable, that it may naturally occur to the learned

reader to inquire, whether Machiavelli's "Prince" had yet been published,

and whether King Ferdinand could have read that much-abused manual of

crafty statesmen. It was, however, about twelve years after this memorable

audience granted by Ferdinand and Isabella to Ovando that "The Prince" is

alluded to by Machiavelli, and described as a small unpublished work.

HE ARRIVES AT ST. DOMINGO.

Charged with these instructions, then, Nicholas de Ovando left the port of

San Lucas on the 13th of February, 1502, to take possession of his new

government, having under him a gallant company of two thousand five

hundred persons, a large proportion of them being hidalgoes. On his way he

met with a terrible storm, in which one of his largest vessels foundered,

and he had some difficulty in reaching St. Domingo at all. This, however,

he succeeded in doing on the 15th of April, and entered at once upon the

reforms which he was commissioned to institute.

OVANDO'S ADMINISTRATION

He announced the residencia of Bobadilla, and placed Roldan under arrest.

He exerted himself to found settlements along the coast, and at first, no

doubt, he endeavoured to carry out the merciful directions which he had

received with regard to the Indians. But, like Bobadilla, he was a knight

of a religious order, with a certain narrow way of looking at things

incident to his profession, with no especial culture that we know of, and

with little originality of character. In these respects he presented a

remarkable contrast to Columbus, who was a man of various accomplishments,

large minded, enthusiastic, fluent, affectionate, inventive. And so,

whereas Columbus had always treated the natives with consideration and

humanity, Ovando soon began to rule them with a rod of iron. We must not

linger too long over his administration of what we may call Columbus's

kingdom, but there is one sad episode which it is worth while to recount,

if only to make the policy of Columbus stand out in brighter relief.

AN INDIAN RECEPTION.

When Anacaona, the Queen of Xaragua, had received the admiral's brother,

Don Bartolome, on a former occasion, the Spaniards affirmed her to be a

wise woman, of good manners, and pleasant address; and she is said to have

earnestly entreated her brother to take warning by the fate of her

husband, Caonabo, and to love and obey the Christians. As she was now to

play the hostess again, this time to Ovando, we may refer to the account

of her former reception of a Spanish governor, the Adelantado, of which

there are some details furnished by Peter Martyr.

After mentioning that the queen and her brother received the lieutenant

with all courtesy and honour, he says: "They brought our men to their

common hall, into which they come together as often as they make any

notable games or triumphs, as we have said before. Here, after many

dancings, singings, maskings, runnings, wrestlings, and other trying of

masteries, suddenly there appeared in a large plain near unto the hall,

two great armies of men of war, which the king for his pastime had caused

to be prepared, as the Spaniards use the play with reeds, which they call

Juga de Canias. As the armies drew near together, they assailed the one

the other as fiercely as if mortal enemies with their banners spread

should fight for their goods, their lands, their lives, their liberty,

their country, their wives and their children, so that within the moment

of an hour, four men were slain, and many wounded. The battle also would

have continued longer, if the king had not, at the request of our men,

caused them to cease."

OVANDO VISITS XARAGUA.

At this time, in the year 1503, some of Roldan's former partizans were

settled in the province of Xaragua, and were a great trouble to the

colony. Herrera says, in a quiet sarcastic way, "they lived in the

discipline they had learnt from Roldan;" and the governing powers of

Xaragua found them "intolerable." He also adds that Anacaona's people were

in policy, in language, and in other things superior to all the other

inhabitants of the island. As might be expected, there were constant

disturbances between these Spaniards and the adjacent Indians; and the

Spaniards took care to inform the governor that their adversaries, the

Indians of Xaragua, intended to rebel. Perhaps they did so intend. Ovando

resolved, after much consultation, to take a journey to Xaragua. It must

be said, in justice to Ovando, that this does not look as if he thought

the matter were a light one. Xaragua was seventy leagues from St. Domingo.

The governor set out well accompanied, with seventy horsemen and three

hundred foot soldiers.

HIS RECEPTION BY ANACAONA.

Anacaona, who had some suspicion of his intentions, summoned all her

feudatories around her "to do horour" to him, when she heard of his

coming. She went out to meet Ovando with a concourse of her subjects, and

with the same festivities of singing and dancing as in former days she had

adopted when she went to receive the Adelantado. Various pleasures and

amusements were provided for the strangers, and probably Anacaona thought

that she had succeeded in soothing and pleasing this severe looking

governor, as she had done the last. But the former followers of Roldan

were about the governor, telling him that there certainly was an

insurrection at hand, that if he did not look to it now, and suppress it

at once, the revolt would be far more difficult to quell when it did break

out. Thus they argued, using all those seemingly wise arguments of

wickedness which from time immemorial have originated and perpetuated

treachery. Ovando listened to these men; indeed he must have been much

inclined to believe them, or he would hardly have come all this way. He

was now convinced that an insurrection was intended.

PRETENDED TOURNAMENT; MASSACRE OF INDIAN CHIEFS.

With these thoughts in his mind, he ordered that, on a certain Sunday,

after dinner, all the cavalry should get to horse, on the pretext of a

tournament. The infantry, too, he caused to be ready for action. He

himself, a Tiberius in dissembling, went to play at quoits, and was

disturbed by his men coming to him and begging him to look on at their

sports. The poor Indian queen hurried with the utmost simplicity into the

snare prepared for her. She told the governor that her caciques, too,

would like to see this tournament, upon which, with demonstrations of

pleasure, he bade her come with all her caciques to his quarters, for he

wanted to talk to them, intimating, as I conjecture, that he would explain

the festivity to them. Meanwhile, he gave his cavalry orders to surround

the building; he placed the infantry at certain commanding positions; and

told his men, that when, in talking with the caciques, he should place his

hand upon the badge of knighthood which hung upon his breast, they should

rush in and bind the caciques and Anacaona. It fell out as he had planned.

All these deluded Indian chiefs and their queen were secured. She alone

was led out of Ovando's quarters, which were then set fire to, and all the

chiefs burnt alive. Anacaona was afterwards hanged and the province was

desolated.

Humanity does not gain much, after all, by this man's not taking the title

of "Lordship" which he had a right to.

Finally, the governor collected the former followers of Roldan in Xaragua,

and formed a town of their settlement, which he named "the city of the

true peace" (La villa de la vera Paz), but which a modern chronicler well

says might more properly havc been named "Aceldama, the field of blood." I

observe that the arms assigned to this new settlement were a dove with the

olive-branch, a rainbow, and a cross.

FERDINAND'S LETTER TO COLUMBUS

But it is time to return to Columbus, who in the mean time was chafing at

the inactivity which had been forced upon him. His was a restless spirit,

perhaps too restless for an organizer, who ought to possess an

inexhaustible amount of patience, and to be able to wait as well as to

labour. He had formed a theory that some strait existed through which a

passage might be made from the neighbourhood of St. Domingo to those

regions in Asia from which the Portuguese were just beginning to reap a

large profit, and which must be very near that home of the gold which had

always occupied his thoughts. He pressed the Sovereigns to provide him

with ships for an expedition having for its special object the discovery

of this strait; and on the occurrence of some delay as to the equipment of

vessels for the purpose, he seems to have written to Ferdinand,

reproaching him with the treatment which he had received, and with the

want of confidence manifested towards him now. To this Ferdinand answered

in a letter which was certainly well calculated to soothe the Admiral's

indignation. It was to the following effect, "You ought to be convinced of

our displeasure at your captivity, for we lost not a moment in setting you

free. Your innocence is well known; you are aware of the consideration and

friendship with which we have treated you; the favours which you have

received from us shall not be the last that you will receive; we assure to

you your privileges, and are desirous that you and your children may enjoy

them. We offer to confirm them to you again, and to put your eldest son in

possession of all your offices, whenever you wish....We beg you to set out

as soon as possible."

NEW ENTERPRISE.

On the 9th of May the preparations were complete, and Columbus set sail

from Cadiz with his brother, Don Bartholomew, and his second son,

Fernando. As an instance of the admiral's chivalrous love of adventure, it

may be mentioned that upon hearing that the Portuguese fortress of

Arzilla, on the African coast, was besieged by the Moors, he first

proceeded thither, quite voluntarily, to its relief. When he reached it,

however, he found that the siege had been raised; and his services were

not, therefore, called into requisition.

COLUMBUS REFUSED SHELTER; DESTRUCTIVE TORNADO.

After a singularly prosperous voyage, he reached Martinique on the 13th of

June. His instructions from the Sovereigns expressly interdicted him from

visiting St. Domingo; but, on finding that his largest ship required some

repairs to make her seaworthy, he boldly disregarded the prohibition, and

sent a boat to ask Ovando to furnish him with another vessel in place of

the damaged one, and to allow his squadron to take refuge in the harbour

during a hurricane which he foresaw to be imminent. Ovando refused both

requests. His commission set forth that Columbus was not to visit the

island; and the contingency of hurricanes was not provided for. Besides,

the governor believed that this prediction of a hurricane was a mere

pretext of the admiral's for obtaining admission to the harbour. To an eye

unaccustomed to tropical changes, the weather appeared to be "set fair."

Scarcely a ripple passed over the sea; scarcely a breath stirred the

luxuriant foliage on shore. Ovando repulsed with scorn the admiral's

suggestion that, at any rate, the departure of the fleet for Spain should

he delayed. This fleet was the richest in cargo that had ever left the

islands. It contained all the gold which had been wrung out of the natives

by Bobadilla's harsh measures. Of one nugget, especially, the old

chroniclers speak in the most glowing terms. According to them, it was the

largest piece of virgin gold ever discovered. It had been found

accidentally, by an Indian woman at the mines, while listlessly moving her

rake to and fro in the water one day during dinner time. Its value was

estimated at 1,350,000 maravedis;[About 416 English Pounds] and in the

festivities which took place on the occasion, it was used as a dish for a

roast pig, the miners saying that no king of Castile has ever feasted from

a dish of such value. We do not find that the poor Indian woman had any

part in the good fortune. Indeed, as Las Casas observes, she was fortunate

if she had any portion of the meat, not to speak of the dish. Bobadilla

had purchased the nugget for Ferdinand and Isabella, and had shipped it

with other treasure valuable enough to go a long way towards compensating

the sovereigns for all their expenditure on the new colony--if the fleet

could only reach Spain in safety.

But on the second day after its departure the Admiral's prediction became

terribly verified. A tornado of unexampled fury swept over the seas; and

those on shore could judge of the fate that was likely to befall the

unfortunate squadron, as many of the buildings and trees on the island

were levelled with the ground by the force of the tempest. Of all the

ships, only one--and that the frailest of the fleet--was able to

accomplish the voyage to Spain. A few vessels managed to return, in dire

distress, to the island; but by far the greater number foundered at sea.

The historians of the period do not fail to remark that, while the ship

which reached Spain safely was the one carrying the admiral's property, a

special providence decreed that his enemies--Bobadilla, Roldan, and their

associates in cruelty and plunder--should perish with their ill-gotten

gains.

Like Cassandra, Columbus witnessed the discomfiture of the disbelievers in

his prophecy: like her he was denied the right of sanctuary upon the

occurrence of the disaster which he had foretold. Repulsed from port by

Ovando, however, the admiral sailed along the coast, and succeeded in

bringing his own ship under the lee of the land when the storm came on.

But the three other caravels were in no little danger (particularly the

disabled one, which was commanded by the Adelantado), and some days

elapsed before the little squadron was re-united in the port of Azua, to

the west of San Domingo.

JAMIAICA PASSED.

Thence he proceeded to Jaquimo, on the extremity of the same coast, and

after refitting his ships, set sail for Jamaica on the 14th of July, 1502.

Passing that island, he met with light and varying winds, and contrary

currents, in the archipelago of reefs and keys which he had previously

named the Queen's Garden.

INSUBORDINATION OF CREWS.

For about nine weeks he made so little progress that his crews began to

clamour for the abandonment of the expedition. The ships were worm-eaten

and leaky. Provisions were running short. The seamen had seen their

commander thrust away from what might be called his own door; and the

sight of his powerlessness had strengthened their independence until it

amounted to insubordination. Fortunately, however, before the discontent

broke out into open mutiny, a breeze sprang up from the east, and the

admiral easily persuaded his unruly crews that it was better to prosecute

their voyage than to remain beating about the islets waiting to return

home.

They were soon gladdened by the sight of the pine-clad slopes of the

little island of Guanaja, lying about forty miles from Truxillo, on the

coast of Honduras. Here there appeared a canoe, much more like the ships

of the old world than any they had seen before, manned by twenty-five

Indians who had come from the continent on a trading voyage among the

islands. Their cargo consisted of cotton fabrics, iron-wood swords, flint

knives, copper axe-heads, and a fruit called by the natives cacao, to

which the Spaniards were now introduced for the first time, but the merits

of which, as a beverage, they were not slow to appreciate. The admiral

treated these people with much kindness, and won their confidence at once

by presenting them with some of the glittering toys which never failed to

dazzle a barbarian eye.

AN INDIAN PILOT.

One old Indian, whom Columbus selected as apparently the most intelligent

of the band, consented to accompany him as pilot, and indicated, by signs,

his knowledge of a land, not far distant, where there were ships, and

arms, and merchandize, and, in fact, all the marks of civilization which

were displayed to him by the Spaniards themselves, and with which he

professed to be perfectly familiar. Whether he intended to mislead

Columbus, or whether, like most of his race, he was merely proud of being

impassive, and of being able to repress all indication of astonishment at

startling novelties, it is certain that his demeanour and his signs were

interpreted by the admiral to indicate an acquaintance with a country,

rich and civilized, lying towards the east; which country could, of

course, be no other than the long sought-for kingdom of the Grand Khan.

Had Columbus, in pursuance of his first intention, steered to the west, a

few hours would have brought him to the coast of Yucatan; and the riches

of Mexico would have rewarded his discovery. But this savage, like his

evil destiny, crossed his path at the critical moment, and turned him from

the road to fortune.

CAPE GUACIAS A DIOS.

Steering along the coast of Honduras, on the 12th of September, he reached

Cape Gracias a Dios, to which he gave this name in pious thankfulness for

the southerly turn taken by the land at that point, so that the east

winds, which had hitherto obstructed him, were now favourable to his

course along the coast. A month later he entered several bays on the

Isthmus of Panama, where he was able to procure provisions and to refit

his vessels, but failed to obtain any intelligence either of the kingdom

of the Khan, or of the strait which he fancied would lead him there. The

natives whom he encountered were generally disposed to be friendly; but,

in one instance, when the depth of water in a creek obliged him to moor

his vessels close to the shore, an attack of the Indians was only repulsed

by the use of artillery, the thunder and lightning of which seemed always

to possess, in the eyes of the savages, a supernatural and therefore awful

character. On another occasion, when a conference was held with one of the

tribes, great alarm was caused by a notary, who attended to take notes of

the conversation. The savages had never before seen the operation of

writing; and they regarded it as a spell which was to have some magic

effect upon them, and which they must neutralize by various mystic

fumigations which they believed to act as counter-charms. "They were

themselves skilled sorcerers," says Columbus,--whose credulity in such

matters was only that of his age.

EASTERLY COURSE ABANDONED; THE BETHLEHEM RIVER.

It was not until the 5th of December that the admiral could resolve to

abandon his easterly course, although the conviction had been gradually

forcing itself upon him that the condition of his ships was such as to

render a prosecution of his voyage almost impossible. He had scarcely

turned back, intending to found a settlement on the river Veragua, before

he encountered a storm which tried his worm-eaten caravels very severely.

The thunder and lightning wore incessant; the waterspouts (the first they

had seen) threatened to engulph them; huge crests of waves burst in

phosphorescent floods over them; and their escape, if we consider the

smallness of the caravels, and the force of a tropical cyclone, was little

less than miraculous. At last, after eight days' tossing to and fro, the

admiral gained the mouth of a river, which he named the Bethlehem, because

he entered it on the day of the Epiphany.

A SETTLEMENT FORMED.

In this neighbourhood there was a powerful cacique, named Quibia, whose

territory contained much gold, and with whom, therefore, the Spaniards

were anxious to treat. But he outwitted them. Offering to supply them with

guides to conduct them to his gold mines, he really sent them, not to his

own mines, but to those of a rival cacique, of Urira. Here, however, they

succeeded in acquiring, by barter and by actual discovery, large

quantities of the precious metal, which seemed to be so abundant, that the

admiral made sure that he had come to the very Aurea Chersonesus from

which Solomon had obtained the gold for the temple at Jerusalem. He had

seen more signs of gold here in two days, he said, than he had seen in St.

Domingo in four years. His first step was to form a settlement to provide

a depot for the gold which might be collected. A convenient site was found

near the mouth of the river Bethlehem, and by the end of March the

Adelantado had built a village of huts, in which it was proposed that he

should remain, with about eighty followers, while Columbus returned to

Spain for supplies.

ATTACK BY INDIANS.

But rumours soon reached the Adelantado of a projected attack on the

settlement by the natives, and he took measures to seize Quibia in his own

palace. The Indians, dismayed at the capture of their cacique, offered

large quantities of gold for his ransom, but the Adelantado preferred to

keep him as a hostage for peace. However, as he was being conveyed down

the river, on board one of the boats, he managed, although bound hand and

foot, and in the custody of one of the most powerful of the Spaniards, to

spring overboard and to make his escape, swimming under water to the

shore. Henceforward, as might have been expected, there was war to the

knife between the natives and the settlers. An attempt was made to burn

down the village by means of blazing arrows. A boat's crew of eleven

Spaniards, who had proceeded some distance up the river, were attacked by

savages in canoes, and only one man escaped to carry to the settlement the

news of the massacre of his companions.

SETTLEMENT ABANDONED.

The admiral, with three of the caravels, was in the offing, awaiting a

wind favourable for his departure, but the dry weather had made the river

so shallow that it was impossible for the caravel left with the settlers

to cross the bar, and as they had no boat strong enough to weather the

surf, it seemed impossible for them to carry to him tidings of their

condition. They were in despair; for if they were left, they knew that

they were left to perish. The admiral, on his part, had become uneasy, not

knowing that their failure to communicate with him was owing to the fact

that their only seaworthy boat had been destroyed by the Indians. His own

boats were small and scarcely weathertight. But some of Quibia's family

who had been taken on board the squadron as prisoners, had made their

escape by swimming to the shore, three miles off; and this feat encouraged

a bold pilot of Seville, named Ledesma, who was on board the admiral's

caravel, to attempt a similar exploit. Never was bearer of reprieve for

the condemned more welcome. Ledesma communicated with the Adelantado, and

conveyed to the admiral intelligence of the desperate state of affairs.

The result was, that when in a few days the wind moderated, all the

settlers were taken on board the squadron, which now only consisted of

three ships, as it was found necessary to abandon the caravel which had

been left inside the harbour bar.

And there was no time to spare. The rough weather had severely tried the

crazy and worm-eaten vessels; and anxiety and want of rest were having

their effect on Columbus. Making his way first to Porto Bello, where he

was obliged to leave another caravel as no longer seaworthy, on the 31st

of May he quitted the coast at a point on the west of the Gulf of Darien,

and steered northward towards Cuba. A collision between his two remaining

ships rendered them still more unfit to cope with the squalls and breakers

of the Archipelago; but at last, in the middle of June, with his crews in

despair, nearly all his anchors lost, and his vessels worm-eaten so as to

be "as full of holes as a honey-comb," he arrived off the southern coast

of Cuba, where he obtained supplies of cassava bread from friendly

natives.

CHAPTER XII.

Failing to make head against the wind so as to reach Hispaniola, Columbus

shaped his course for Jamaica, and there, in the harbour which he had

named Santa Gloria on his former visit, his voyage was perforce brought to

a conclusion. As his ships could not float any longer, he ran them on

shore, side by side, and built huts upon the decks for housing the crews.

Such a habitation, like the Swiss lake dwellings, afforded remarkable

advantages of position in case of attack by a hostile tribe.

SUPPLY OF PROVISIONS.

The admiral's first care was to prevent any offence being given to the

aborigines which might give cause for such an attack. Knowing, by sad

experience, the results of permitting free intercourse between the

Spaniards and the natives, he enforced strictly a rule forbidding any

Spaniard to go ashore without leave; and took measures for regulating the

traffic for food so as to prevent the occurrence of any quarrel. Diego

Mendez, who had been his lieutenant, and had shown himself the boldest of

his officers throughout this voyage, volunteered to proceed into the

interior of the island to make arrangements for the periodical supply of

provisions from some of the more remote tribes, as it was certain that the

sudden addition to the population would soon exhaust the resources of the

immediate neighbourhood. This service Mendez performed with great

adroitness, and a regular market was established to which the natives

brought fish, game and cassava bread, in exchange for Spanish toys and

ornaments.

A MESSENGER SENT TO OVANDO; REMARKABLE DESPATCH TO THE SOVEREIGNS.

Although the Spaniards were thus secure from starvation for the present,

their position was most critical. The journey to the easternmost extremity

of Jamaica would probably not be unattended with difficulty and danger,

for it must be effected through the midst of Indian tribes, hostile to

each other, and therefore probably not unanimous in being friendly towards

strangers. But the most formidable obstacle to communication with the

government of Hispaniola was the strait of forty leagues' breadth, full of

tumbling breakers and rushing currents, which separated the two islands.

However, it was necessary that the attempt should be made; and Diego

Mendez, though he considered it to be "not merely difficult, but

impossible, to cross in so small a vessel as a canoe," volunteered for the

service, after all the other Spaniards had declined to undertake it. He

was to be the bearer of a letter from the admiral to Ovando, asking him to

send a vessel to release the castaways from their imprisonment, and of a

despatch to the Sovereigns, giving a detailed account of the Admiral's

voyage and a glowing description of the riches of Veragua. This despatch

is very characteristic of the writer, bearing, as it does, the marks of

strong enthusiasm, of almost fanatical superstition, of confidence in the

midst of despair, and of exultation in the face of ruin. Describing his

reflections during the storm at the mouth of the river Bethlehem, he

breaks into the following rhapsody, which, probably in perfect good faith,

dwells on the contrast between the goodness of God and the bad faith of

man, in a way which ought to have touched Ferdinand nearly. It is worth

quoting at full length, as an example of the wild fervour of a rapt

enthusiast.

"Wearied and sighing," writes Columbus, "I fell into a slumber, when I

heard a piteous voice saying to me, 'O fool, and slow to believe and serve

thy God, who is the God of all! What did He more for Moses, or for His

servant David, than He has done for thee? From the time of thy birth He

has ever had thee under His peculiar care. When He saw thee of a fitting

age, He made thy name to resound marvellously throughout the earth, and

thou wert obeyed in many lands, and didst acquire honourable fame among

Christians. Of the gates of the ocean sea, shut up with such mighty

chains, He delivered to thee the keys; the Indies, those wealthy regions

of the world, He gave thee for thine own, and empowered thee to dispose of

them to others, according to thy pleasure. What did He more for the great

people of Israel, when He led them forth from Egypt? Or for David, whom,

from being it shepherd, He made a king in Judaea? Turn to Him, then, and

acknowledge thine error: His mercy is infinite. He has many and vast

inheritances yet in reserve. Fear not to seek them. Thine age shall be no

impediment to any great undertaking. Abraham was above a hundred years

when he begat Isaac; and was Sarah youthful? Thou urgest despondingly

for succour. Answer! Who hath afflicted thee so much, and so many times,

God, or the world? The privileges and promises which God hath made to thee

He hath never broken,[23] neither hath He said, after having received thy

services, that His meaning was different, and to be understood in a

different sense. He fulfils all that He promises, and with increase. Such

is His custom. I have shown thee what thy Creator hath done for thee, and

what He doeth for all. The present is the reward of the toils and perils

thou hast endured in serving others.' I heard this," adds Columbus, "as

one almost dead, and had no power to reply to words so true, excepting to

weep for my errors. Whoever it was that spoke to me finished by saying,

'Fear not! All these tribulations are written in marble, and not without

cause.'"

[Footnote 23: A sarcasm to "catch the conscience of the king."]

RELIGIOUS ENTHUSIASM.

"Though this be madness, there is method in it;" but still, the whole

character of Columbus forbids us to assume that this alleged vision was

merely an ingenious device for remonstrating with the Sovereigns. It must

not be forgotten that in those times the popular belief as to such matters

was very different from that which obtains now; and that Columbus was as

credulous as his contemporaries on the subject of the supernatural. It was

easy for an imagination like his to be wrought upon so as to give to "airy

nothings," to the "thousand phantasies that crowd into the memory," the

character of special revelations from heaven. In this very despatch his

religious fervour is displayed again and again. Jerusalem, according to

the prophecy, was to be rebuilt by the hand of a Christian. He would be

that Christian. Prester John, so said tradition, had asked for

missionaries to instruct him in the true faith. He would conduct them to

the kingdom of this unknown potentate. Then he goes on to deplore his own

hard case; "surrounded by cruel and hostile savages; isolated, infirm,

expecting each day will be my last; severed from the holy sacraments of

the Church, so that my soul, if parted here from my body, must be for ever

forgotten....If it should please God to deliver me hence, I humbly

supplicate your majesties to permit me to repair to Rome, and perform

other pilgrimages." Columbus, then, being really convinced of the fatal

consequences of not being within reach of formal communion with the

Church, must have felt that he was risking more than his mere bodily life

when he wandered into those unknown countries; that he staked both body

and soul on his success.

CAPTURE OF MENDEZ; ESCAPE AND SAFE ARRIVAL.

Laden with these despatches, Mendez and a Spanish comrade set out along

the coast in a canoe manned by six Indians. The party arrived safely at

the easternmost Cape of Jamaica (now called Point Morant); but while

awaiting calm weather for crossing the strait to Hispaniola, they were

attacked by a tribe of savages, who overpowered them by sheer force of

numbers, and carried them off as captives. The beads and toys, however,

which Mendez had taken with him to barter with the natives, were too

attractive not to claim the chief share of the attention of his

conquerors; and while they were settling the division of the spoil he

managed to effect his escape to his canoe, and to return in it in safety

to Santa Gloria. As soon as a second canoe could be procured, Mendez was

ready to make a second attempt, but on this occasion he stipulated that he

should be accompanied to the easternmost point of Jamaica by a force

sufficient to protect him from the hostile tribes. Accordingly, on the 7th

July, 1503, the Adelantado, with an armed escort, proceeded along the

shore; while Mendez, with six Spaniards and ten Indians, in one canoe, and

Fieschi (a Genoese, who had commanded one of the caravels), with a like

number in the other, made their way by sea to Point Morant.

After waiting a short time for fine weather, the two canoes started for

Hispaniola, and reached a little island called Navazza on the third day,

both Spaniards and Indians having suffered terribly from the want of

water, with which they were insufficiently supplied. Another day's labour

at the oar brought them to Cape Tiburon, where Mendez left his companions

and proceeded alone to St. Domingo. Here he was informed that the governor

had left for Xaragua; and thither he made his way alone, through fifty

leagues of wild forest country, to represent to Ovando the necessity of

sending relief to the admiral, and that speedily. Ovando seems to have

temporized. He dreaded the return of Columbus, as likely to excite the

seditious to a revolt against his own government. And so far from taking

active steps in the matter himself, it was only with reluctance that he

authorized Mendez to proceed to St. Domingo to purchase a caravel on

behalf of Columbus, in which Fieschi might return to Santa Gloria, and

bring him off.

SUSPENSE OF THE ADMIRAL; MUTINY OF PORRAS.

Meanwhile, month after month passed by, and the unfortunate castaways at

Santa Gloria had no tidings from Hispaniola, and were even ignorant

whether their messengers had succeeded in reaching that island. At last,

in January, 1504, the murmurs against the inaction of Columbus broke out

into open mutiny. Francesco Porras, the captain of one of the caravels,

headed the mutineers, and going to the admiral, who was confined to his

bed by the gout, told him that he, the admiral, evidently was afraid to

return to Spain; but that the people had determined to remain no longer to

perish, and intended to depart at once. On this there arose shouts from

the followers of Porras, "To Castile! We follow!" The admiral made a

temperate speech, pointing out the danger of attempting to leave the

island in mere canoes, and the absurdity of supposing that he had not a

common interest with them in all respects. But Porras was as persistent in

his desire to go, as Columbus in his determination to stay; and, taking

possession of the canoes which had been purchased from the natives, the

mutineers set out on their journey towards Hispaniola, leaving the admiral

and his brother with scarcely any adherents except those whom sickness

incapacitated for undertaking the journey.

BAD CONDUCT OF MUTINEERS.

The progress of Porras and his followers through the island was marked by

a series of outrages on the natives which completely neutralized the

effect of the admiral's conciliatory policy. They seized forcibly on

whatever provisions could be found, and mockingly referred the owners to

Columbus for payment. Three attempts to cross over to Hispaniola failed in

consequence of rough weather. On one occasion the canoes were in so much

danger of being swamped that the Spaniards cast everything on board into

the sea; and, as this did not lighten the canoes sufficiently, they then

proceeded to force overboard their unfortunate companions, the Indians,

who swam after them for a long time, but sank one by one, being prevented

by the swords of the Spaniards from approaching. Abandoning, as hopeless,

their design of reaching Hispaniola, the mutineers then proceeded to roam

over the island, quartering themselves on the Indians, and committing

every possible excess.

Of course the influence of this conduct on the relations between Columbus

and the natives, was soon apparent. The trinkets and beads, which had once

been so precious in their eyes, had first lost the charm of novelty, then

the value of rarity. The circulating medium became so depreciated that

provisions were scarcely procurable. And, similarly, the personal

veneration which the natives had first evinced for the white men, had

given way to contempt and to hatred, when familiarity had shown how

worthless were these "superior beings." The Indians refused to minister to

their wants any longer; and famine was imminent.

ECLIPSE PREDICTED BY COLUMBUS.

But just at this last extremity, the admiral, ever fertile in devices,

bethought him of an expedient for re-establishing his influence over the

Indians. His astronomical knowledge told him that on a certain night an

eclipse of the moon would take place. One would think that people living

in the open air must be accustomed to see such eclipses sufficiently

often, not to be particularly astonished at them. But Columbus judged--and

as the event proved, judged rightly--that by predicting the eclipse he

would gain a reputation as a prophet, and command the respect and the

obedience due to a person invested with supernatural powers. He assembled

the caciques of the neighbouring tribes. Then, by means of an interpreter,

he reproached them with refusing to continue to supply provisions to the

Spaniards. "The God who protects me," he said, "will punish you. You know

what has happened to those of my followers who have rebelled against me;

and the dangers which they encountered in their attempt to cross to Haiti;

while those who went at my command,[24] made the passage without

difficulty. Soon, too, shall the divine vengeance fall on you; this very

night shall the moon change her colour and lose her light, in testimony of

the evils which shall be sent upon you from the skies."

[Footnote 24: This was a gratuitous assumption: as the admiral had as

yet no tidings of the success of Mendez.]

RESULT OF PREDICTION.

The night was fine: the moon shone down in full brilliancy. But, at the

appointed time, the predicted phenomenon took place, and the wild howls of

the savages proclaimed their abject terror. They came in a body to

Columbus, and implored his intercession. They promised to let him want for

nothing if only he would avert this judgment: as all earnest of their

sincerity they collected hastily a quantity of food, and offered it at his

feet. At first, diplomatically hesitating, Columbus presently affected to

be softened by their entreaties. He consented to intercede for them; and,

retiring to his cabin, performed, as they supposed, some mystic rite which

should deliver them from the threatened punishment. Soon the terrible

shadow passed away from the face of the moon; and the gratitude of the

savages was as deep as their previous terror. But, being blended with much

awe, it was not so evanescent as gratitude often is; and henceforward

there was no failure in the regular supply of provisions to the castaways.

DESPATCH FROM OVANDO.

Eight months had passed away without any tidings of Mendez, when, one

evening there hove in sight a small caravel which stood in towards the

harbour of Santa Gloria, and anchored just outside. A boat which put off

from the caravel brought on shore her commander, a certain Diego de

Escobar, whom Columbus recognized as a person whom he had sentenced to be

hanged as it ringleader in Roldan's mutiny, and who had been pardoned by

Bobadilla. The proceedings of this person--whose reprieve must have now

seemed to the admiral particularly injudicious--were singular enough.

Standing at a distance from Columbus, as if the admiral had been in

quarantine, he shouted, at the top of his voice, a message from Ovando, to

the effect that he (the governor) regretted the admiral's misfortunes very

keenly, that he hoped before long to send a ship of sufficient size to

take him off. He added, that in the meantime, Ovando begged him to accept

a slight mark of his friendship. The "slight mark of his friendship"

was--a side of bacon, which, with a small cask of wine and a letter from

Ovando he delivered to the admiral; and rowed off as fast as possible. The

whole scheme of this visit, which was probably planned by Ovando with the

object of ascertaining the real condition and designs of Columbus, was in

the last degree insulting to him and tantalizing to his companions, with

whom D'Escobar would not permit any communication to be held. However, the

admiral wrote a civil reply to Ovando, describing piteously the hardships

of his condition, and disclaiming any ulterior design with regard to the

government of Hispaniola. Carrying this missive, D'Escobar set sail at

once, and was out of sight, on his return voyage, before the morning of

the day after his arrival.

OVERTURES TO MUTINEERS.

This mysterious visit was by no means satisfactory to the admiral's

companions. As he alone had held communication with D'Escobar, he was free

to give them whatever account he chose of his interview; and this liberty,

it may be parenthetically observed, he did not scruple to exercise

somewhat at the expense of strict truth. He represented himself as having

refused to depart with D'Escobar, because the caravel was too small to

carry them all away, and he was determined to share their lot, confident

in Ovando's assurance of speedy succour. He made overtures for a

reconciliation to Porras, and endeavoured to persuade the mutineers to

return on board the ships. But these overtures were scornfully repulsed

and the admiral's messengers were sent back with threats of force. As for

the caravel, Porras had little difficulty in persuading his credulous

followers that it was merely an apparition which Columbus had conjured up

by magic arts; and such was the reputation for sorcery which the admiral

had acquired by his astronomical observations, that even the sight and

taste of some tangible bacon (half of that present from Ovando of which we

have heard) which he sent as a peace offering to the mutineers, failed to

convince them of the material character of the supposed phantom ship.

RESORT TO ARMS.

Soon, however, the differences between the rival parties were brought to

an issue. The Adelantado received information that Porras was planning a

descent on the ships, with the object of seizing the stores and capturing

the admiral. Resolving to anticipate this attack, he placed himself at the

head of fifty[25] devoted partisans of Columbus, and sallied out to engage

the mutineers. A furious struggle ensued; but the Adelantado performed

prodigies of valour, and his followers were better supplied with fire-arms

than the rebels; so that the latter sustained a complete defeat, and their

leader Porras was carried off as a prisoner to the ships.

[Footnote 25: It would appear from this number that either there had

been some defection from the ranks of the mutineers or that more than

half the Spaniards had remained faithful to the admiral.]

THE MUTINEERS CONQUERED.

The natives, who had been spectators of the affray, were much perplexed.

Wiser people than these poor savages have looked with sorrowful wonder on

the appeal to brute force to decide the quarrels of nations; and the

Indians, when they saw strife and death among the beings whom they had

formerly considered as heaven-descended and immortal, felt that their

estimate of these attributes ought to be lowered. But when curiosity

impelled them to examine the corpses of the Spaniards who had been killed

in the encounter, after minutely inspecting several bodies, they came to

that of Ledesma--whose name may be remembered as that of the gigantic

pilot of Seville who swam through the surf at Bethlehem to the

Adelantado's relief--who had now fallen, covered with wounds, fighting on

behalf of the mutineers. As the savages proceeded to thrust their fingers

into his wounds, Ledesma, who had fainted from pain, recovered

consciousness, and uttered a stentorian yell which put the Indians to

flight, says an ancient chronicler, "as if all the dead men were at their

heels." And as Ledesma eventually recovered, notwithstanding his having

received wounds sufficient to kill three ordinary persons, the natives

must have been inspired by a proper respect for the almost miraculous

vitality of the white men.

PORRAS A PRISONER.

The victory gained by the Adelantado was conclusive. The rebels at once

submitted to the admiral, who consented to pardon them; reserving only

their ringleader, Porras, for future punishment. It was arranged that they

should not again take up their habitation on board the ships, but Columbus

sent ashore a trusty lieutenant as their commander, and supplied them at

the same time with European articles to barter for food with the natives.

And so the two bands of castaways--one on ship and one on shore--awaited

the promised succour, with the weariness of hope deferred.

CHAPTER XIII.

It was not till the 28th of June, 1504, when just a year had elapsed since

their arrival at Santa Gloria, that the Spaniards were gladdened by the

sight of the two caravels which had been sent--one by Mendez, the other by

Ovando--to their relief. Their embarkation, as may be supposed, was

quickly effected; but adverse winds made the voyage to Hispaniola a long

one, and the two vessels did not reach St. Domingo before the 13th of

August.

CONFLICTING JURISDICTION.

Much to the surprise of the admiral, he found himself treated with the

most punctilious courtesy by Ovando, who even proceeded to the harbour,

with a numerous suite, to receive him in state upon his arrival. However,

differences soon arose as to the conflicting jurisdictions of the viceroy

and the governor; especially with regard to the case of Porras, whom

Ovando, in opposition to the admiral's wish, insisted upon releasing from

custody. Moreover he even announced his intention of instituting a general

enquiry as to the events which had taken place in Jamaica, in order to

decide whether Porras and his associates had been justified in their

rebellion. Columbus disputed the right of Ovando to take upon himself the

office of judge in such a matter; and remarked that his own authority as

viceroy must have sunk very low indeed, if it did not empower him to

punish his officers for mutinying against himself. This dispute was

unfortunate as regards the private interests of the admiral, for the

revenues arising from his property in the island had been collected under

the authority of the governor, who, upon the occurrence of this quarrel,

was easily able to raise difficulties in the way of his obtaining a fair

account of the proceeds. But he was all the more anxious to return to

Spain; and, within a month from his arrival at St. Domingo, he started

homeward in the caravel which had brought him from Jamaica.

FALLING FORTUNES.

But even in this last voyage he was forced to "make head against a sea of

troubles." His evil star was in the ascendant. Twice his vessel nearly

foundered. Twice her masts were sprung in successive tempests. His own

health was succumbing to the acute attacks of gout which had become more

and more frequent for the last few years. And so, prostrated by sickness,

nearly ruined in means, and now hopeless of encouragement from the

Sovereigns, the discoverer of the New World arrived at Seville, on the 7th

of November, 1504, in as miserable a plight as his worst enemy could have

wished.

He could scarcely expect to be received with much favour at court. He had

failed in the search for that strait leading to the kingdom of the Grand

Khan, the discovery of which had been the special object of his

expedition; he had lost his ships; he had brought home wonderful stories

of golden lands, but no gold. Porras[26] was at large, and had influence

at court, which enabled him to stimulate the existing prejudice against

Columbus.

[Footnote 26: It seems just possible that, as the original narrative of

the mutiny of Porras was written by Fernando Columbus, who would

naturally take his father's side, something is to be said for Porras

which has not been said for him by historians.]

DEATH OF THE QUEEN.

Poor, old, infirm, he had now to receive intelligence which was to deepen

all his evils. He remained at Seville, too unwell to make a journey

himself, but sent his son Diego to court, to manage his affairs for him.

The complaints of the admiral, that he had no news from court, are quite

touching. He says, he desires to hear news each hour. Couriers are

arriving every day, but none for him: his very hair stands on end to hear

things so contrary to what his soul desires. He alludes, I imagine, to the

state of the Queen's health; for, in a memorandum of instructions to his

son, written at this period, the first thing, he says, to be done is, "to

commend affectionately, with much devotion," the soul of the Queen to God.

Could the poor Indians but have known what a friend to them was dying, one

continued wail would have gone up to heaven from Hispaniola and all the

western islands. The dread decree, however, had gone forth, and on the

26th of November, 1504, it was only a prayer for the departed that could

have been addressed; for the great Queen was no more. If it be permitted

to departing spirits to see those places on earth they yearn much

after, we might imagine that the soul of Isabella would give "one longing,

lingering look" to the far West.

OPPRESSION OF THE INDIANS.

And if so, what did she see there? How different was the aspect of things

from what governors and officers of all kinds had told her: how different

from aught that she had thought of, or commanded! She had insisted that

the Indians were to be free: she would have seen their condition to be

that of slaves. She had declared that they were to have spiritual

instruction: she would have seen them less instructed than the dogs. She

had ordered that they should receive payment for their labour: she would

have found that all they received was a mockery of wages, just enough to

purchase once, perhaps, in the course of the year, some childish trifles

from Castile. She had always directed that they should have kind treatment

and proper maintenance: she would have seen them literally watching under

the tables of their masters, to catch the crumbs which fell there. She

would have beheld the Indian labouring at the mine under cruel buffetings,

his family, neglected, perishing, or enslaved. She would have marked him

on his return, after eight months of dire toil, enter a place which knew

him not, or a household that could only sorrow over the gaunt creature who

had returned to them, and mingle their sorrows with his; or, still more

sad, she would have seen Indians who had been brought from far distant

homes, linger at the mines, too hopeless, or too careless, to return.

PETITIONS OF COLUMBUS; INJUSTICE OF THE KING.

Turning from what might have been seen by Queen Isabella, had her

departing gaze pierced to the outskirts of her dominions, we have to

record the closing scene of the strange eventful history of Columbus, who

did not long survive his benefactress. Ever since his return from his

fourth voyage to the Indies, he had done little else than memorialize, and

petition, and negotiate about his rights. But Ferdinand, who had always

looked coldly on his projects, was disposed to regard his claims with

still less favour. Columbus professed himself willing to sacrifice the

arrears of revenue due to him, but urged strenuously his demand that his

son Diego should be made viceroy of the Indies, in accordance with the

terms of the grant making that dignity hereditary in his family. Ferdinand

did not refuse absolutely: the breach of faith would have been too

flagrant. But he procrastinated, and ended by referring the matter to the

significantly named Board of Discharges of the Royal Conscience, which

board regulated its proceedings by the known wishes of the king, and

procrastinated too.

The proverb, "Fear old age, for it does not come alone," was especially

applicable to Columbus, while suffering sickness without the elasticity to

bear it, poverty with high station and debt, and all the delay of

suitorship, not at the beginning, but at the close, of a career. A similar

decline of fortune is to be seen in the lives of many men; of those, too,

who have been most adventurous and successful in their prime. Their

fortunes grow old and feeble with themselves; and those clouds, which were

but white and scattered during the vigour of the day, sink down together,

stormful and massive, in huge black lines, across the setting sun.

DEATH OF COLUMBUS

Shortly after the arrival of Philip and his queen in Spain, Columbus had

written to their Highnesses, deploring his inability to come to them,

through illness, and saying that, notwithstanding his pitiless disease

(the gout), he could yet do them service the like of which had not been

seen. Perhaps he meant service in the way of good advice touching the

administration of the Indies; perhaps, for he was of an indomitable

spirit, that he could yet make more voyages of discovery. But there was

then only left for him that voyage in which the peasant who has seen but

the little district round his home, and the great travellers in thought

and deed, are alike to find themselves upon the unknown waters of further

life. Looked at in this way, what a great discoverer each of us is to be!

But we must not linger too long, even at the deathbed of a hero. Having

received all the sacraments of the Church, and uttering as his last words,

"In manus tuas, Domine, commendo spiritum meum," Columbus died, at

Valladolid, on Ascension Day, the 20th of May, 1506. His remains were

carried to Seville and buried in the monastery of Las Cuevas; afterwards

they were removed to the cathedral at St. Domingo; and, in modern times,

were taken to the cathedral at Havana, where they now rest.

THE END.

CHISWICK PRESS:--CHARLES WHITTINGHAM AND CO.

TOOKS COURT, CHANCERY LANE, LONDON.