Columbus is Graciously Received by Ferdinand and Isabella—His Enemies
Unable to Shake their Confidence in Him—The Third Voyage in
1498—Discovery of the Island of Trinidad at the Mouth of the Orinoco
Serenely conscious of the value of his services, but with that modesty
which is characteristic of all noble spirits, the calumniated
world-discoverer approached the throne of his sovereign to establish his
innocence of the false accusations made against him. But it was not
necessary for him to defend himself, for his mere countenance impressed
his royal judges at once with the esteem in which they had previously
held his services, as well as with shame for their own credulity. As
soon as he had shown them a part only of the valuable products he had
brought with him, all their suspicions vanished and they strove to
compensate him by every mark of honor. All that Columbus now proposed
was granted, the rights which he already held in the newly discovered
countries were confirmed, and new ones added. His most urgent desire was
the secure establishment of the colony he had founded at Hispaniola and
to procure as many men for this purpose as he considered indispensable.
Besides this he wanted a sufficient number of farm laborers and artisans
of every kind so that he might be able to meet all the requirements of
the colony.
Unfortunately it was not easy to find many Spaniards who were ready to
sail with the Admiral to the New World, for many of the emigrants had
returned home and were not as enthusiastic over the new countries as
they might have been. The gold there could be obtained only by working
for it and these Spaniards did not like to work. Besides this the
climate of Hispaniola was not agreeable to many of them. They had come
back with bleached and yellow skins and satirically said that they
brought back more gold in their faces than in their pockets. To procure
men for the settlement of Hispaniola, Columbus advised that the prisons
should be opened and that convicts sentenced to death or the galleys
should be sent to Hispaniola where they could be useful in the adjacent
mines. An order was at once issued to courts of justice in Spain that
all such criminals should be sent to the West Indies. In this way
Columbus conveyed to the New World many bad persons who naturally gave
him much trouble.
Notwithstanding the issue of the royal order that Columbus should be
provided with everything he asked, the equipment of the fleet progressed
very slowly, for the money promised him could not be raised at once and
those opposed to the undertaking put many obstacles in his way, which
retarded the progress of the business. At last, however, two freight
vessels left for Hispaniola in January, 1498, but Columbus had to wait
until the thirtieth of May before he could weigh anchor with six vessels
deficiently manned. He had now determined to take an entirely new
course, hoping to discover the real Indies. With this purpose in view,
after he reached the Canary Islands he sailed in the same direction to
the island of the Green Cape, which the Portuguese had discovered.
Immediately after leaving the Canaries he sent half of his vessels
directly to Hispaniola to take fresh provisions to the colony and
ordered their captains to make the voyage as quickly as possible. After
passing the island of the Green Cape, which is called the Salz Island,
he anchored near a small, barren one where the Portuguese sent their
lepers to be cured. Upon this small island there are multitudes of
turtles which swim there from the African coast to lay their eggs in the
sand. These animals are very easily caught. When placed upon their backs
they cannot move. It had been found that to eat their flesh and wash in
their blood was a sure cure for leprosy, so those afflicted with that
disease were sent there to be healed. Besides these turtles there was an
immense number of goats upon this island, which had sprang from eight
goats once brought there by a Portuguese. There was neither tree nor
stream on the island and the poor lepers were forced to drink foul rain
water which collected in holes. There were at that time only seven of
them on the island.
From there Columbus steered to the southward until he reached the
equator, where his fleet was becalmed. The sun’s rays beat down upon
their heads fiercely and they could find no shelter from its blazing
heat. The wine-casks split, all the water aboard was foul, the
provisions rotted, the vessels themselves grew so hot that the
despairing sailors expected every instant they would take fire. Besides
his own troubles and the despair of his exhausted companions, he was
afflicted by gout, induced by his anxiety and sleeplessness. He lay
racked with pain, troubled with anxiety over the dangerous condition of
his vessels, tormented with the heat, without the comfort of a drink of
fresh water. At last the heavens had pity upon him and sent such an
abundant rain that the men could hardly remain upon deck. It did not
greatly abate the terrible heat, but they secured a supply of fresh
water, and, as the calm disappeared, hope once more arose in their
half-lifeless breasts. They eagerly implored him not to persist in
sailing farther south and this time he yielded and took a southwesterly
course.
After sailing several days in that direction, upon the first of August,
1498, the welcome shout of “Land, land!” was heard from the mast-head.
It was heavenly music in the ears of the hungry and exhausted seamen who
had been tossing about so long. The island which they observed was
covered with three hill-tops and so Columbus named it Trinidad, which
name it still bears. It lies not far from the mouth of the Orinoco
River, which empties into the sea with such force that the fleet was
very unsafe. The waves dashed and broke against them fiercely and one
vessel had the misfortune to be caught in this mighty wave rush, and for
a time was in great danger of being destroyed. Finding himself in the
midst of a terrible battle of the waves which tossed his vessels up and
down, to the right and left, as if they had been feathers, he had to
exert all his skill to escape from this dangerous spot through a channel
which had such a cruel aspect that he named it La Boca del Drago (the
Dragon’s Throat).
Columbus was now fully convinced he had reached the mainland, for no
island could contain such a mighty river as the Orinoco. He steered
still farther to the west along the coast and landed at different
places. He found that the natives of this country had many of the
characteristics of those in Hispaniola, only they were more intelligent
and courageous and were of whiter skin. They were also decorated with
gold ornaments and costly pearls, which they willingly exchanged for
European trifles. One of them came to Columbus upon one occasion without
any attendants, while he was on shore seeking fresh air as a relief from
his ailment. He boldly approached the Admiral’s camp, removed his red
silk cap, and placed a gold crown on his head in its place. Columbus
decided the native must be a cacique and took pains that he should be
properly treated.
These Indians wore a soft woollen cloth wound about the head, and their
bodies from the waist to the knee were covered with a similar cloth.
They had long but well-kept hair and their weapons were shields, bows,
and arrows. Columbus would gladly have remained there long enough to
ascertain something of the nature of the inland country but the wretched
condition of his vessels and his continued indisposition forced him to
abandon further investigation and sail to Hispaniola. Upon this voyage
he discovered the island of Margarita, which has become so famous for
its pearl fisheries.
Worn out with illness and the incessant strain upon him, he at last
reached the colony, to take a long rest from his cares and troubles.