The Natives are Subjugated—Columbus is Traduced in Spain—He Returns to
Europe and Suffers Many Hardships on the Voyage
With the two armies confronting one another the time had come which must
decide for either the lives of the Spaniards or the freedom of the
natives. Upon the one side were a hundred thousand Indians, armed with
clubs, spears, and arrows, the latter tipped with bone or flint. Upon
the other were only two hundred infantry and twenty cavalrymen,
supported by a small force of Indians under the command of Guakanahari.
The contrast was great, but what the Europeans lacked in numbers they
made up in the science of war, as well as in their weapons, horses, and
hounds—that hunted Indians as if they were game. The risk was equally
great on both sides and the issue of the battle apparently uncertain.
Columbus attacked the Indians fiercely. The roar of musketry, the
neighing of horses, and bellowing of the hounds so bewildered the
savages that after a brief and unorganized resistance they took to
flight. Some of them fell by the sword, others were trampled upon by the
horses or torn by the hounds, while others were taken prisoners. The
rest fled to the forest. Thus was it decided that these innocent people
should bow their necks to the yoke of European slavery. Columbus lost no
time in taking advantage of his victory. He traversed the whole region
and wherever he went established his authority without a shadow of
resistance. In a few months the entire populous island was under Spanish
rule.
Margrite and Buil, the two deadly enemies of Columbus, meanwhile had
reached Spain. He knew that they would spare no pains to belittle his
services in every way they could and to convince the suspicious King of
Spain that the discoveries made by him were of very small account. He
saw a storm coming which would certainly overwhelm him if he did not
take measures to avert it. The only means of doing this was to send the
Spanish Court some conspicuous proof of the wealth which he had promised
would accrue from his discoveries; and to place himself in a position to
furnish such proof, he found it necessary to make extortionate demands
upon the poor Indians for contributions. He ordered that the islanders
living in the gold region should bring to him quarterly a certain
quantity of gold-dust and all the others twenty-five pounds of cotton
wool. This was more than the poor people could furnish. As they had been
accustomed from youth to a life of idleness, it became unendurable for
them to search for gold and gather cotton wool day after day like
slaves. Their sustenance was growing scarcer each week and yet the
Europeans cruelly drove them to their tasks. As they could not furnish
what was demanded of them, even with their utmost exertions, they
determined to carry out a plan possible only for those in a desperate
condition. Counting upon the gluttony of the Europeans, they thought it
feasible to compel them to leave the island if they stopped planting
maize and cassava. They unanimously destroyed their crops and fled into
unapproachable mountain places, where they subsisted upon fruits and
wild turnips, but the unfortunates were soon the victims of their own
scheme. They quickly felt the pangs of that hunger which they thought
would overcome their oppressors. Some of them were swept away in a
lamentable manner, others were carried off by contagious diseases, and
the remainder were so exhausted that they could not bear the burdens
imposed upon them. As far as the Spaniards were concerned they did not
suffer much from this desperate scheme, for by their own exertions and
by the arrival of subsistence from Europe they were protected from utter
want. The hope of the poor natives, that they might survive the
intruders, perished.
In the meantime the storm which Columbus saw rising in the distance at
last burst upon him. Margrite and Buil had so belittled the importance
of his discoveries and pictured his accomplishment in such odious colors
that the Spanish Court lost its confidence in him. The King decided to
send a representative to the West Indies to investigate affairs and
report. This man, Juan Aguado, was far from having the ability or
insight to discharge such a duty. Puffed up with his new importance,
Aguado came to Hispaniola and hastened to impress the Admiral with his
dignity. He met Columbus in a most contemptuous manner and invited
all—Spaniards as well as natives—who had any complaints to make, to
appear before him. He eagerly seized upon every charge which the
discontented brought against Columbus, without inquiring into its truth
or falsity, so that he might collect a mass of individual complaints
which should exhibit the man whom he hoped to destroy in the worst
possible light. Columbus, as we know, could endure much, but this new
affliction bore heavily upon him. He resolved to go to Spain at once and
make a personal explanation to the King and Queen, leaving the issue to
their sense of justice. In pursuance of his plan he appointed his
brother Bartolomeo as _adelantado_, or governor of the island, during
his absence, and a certain man, named Roldan, to have military command.
This was unfortunate as the latter was an unprincipled adventurer.
On the tenth of May[19] Columbus left the island with two new vessels
and two hundred and twenty men. To make as speedy a voyage as possible
he steered in a direct course for Spain. He did not know how much this
would prolong the voyage. He had to learn by unfortunate experience what
every seaman now knows, how uncertain the trade-winds make such a
course. It is well known now that vessels returning from the West
Indies, in order to evade these contrary winds, must steer farther
north. He soon discovered the difficulties of the course he had selected
but, as he was not accustomed to yield to obstacles, he pushed on all
the more resolutely. His voyage was so greatly protracted, however, that
after three months he had little prospect of reaching its end. His
troubles were still further increased by the diminution of his supplies,
and at last his crew were reduced to a very small portion of bread.
Hunger at last made them so furious that they were resolved to slaughter
the Indians on board or, if that were not allowed, to throw them
overboard so that the rest might have enough to eat. In this crisis
Columbus once more showed that humane feeling which was always
characteristic of him. He firmly refused to permit it and explained to
them that these unfortunate Indians were their companions, sharers in a
common necessity, and had as much right to food as themselves. By these
and similar representations he appeased them temporarily. Before they
had time to renew their inhuman demands Heaven itself interposed and
ended all troubles. The coast of Spain was in sight!