DIFFICULTIES AND DISCOURAGEMENTS.
[Æt. 59; 1495]
Margarite and Father Boyle, as has been mentioned, had sailed for Spain
while Columbus was absent on his cruise in search of China. Arriving in
Spain, they told a series of able and effective falsehoods, judiciously
seasoned with a little genuine truth. They said it gave them the
greatest pain to speak in disparaging terms of their superior officer,
but a stern sense of duty compelled them to say that the misguided
man was a liar and a scoundrel. All the Admiral’s stories of fertile
islands, rich gold-mines, delightful climate, and amiable heathens
clamoring for conversion, were without any foundation. Hispaniola was a
wretched, fever-stricken place, wholly unfit for colonization. As for
Columbus and his brother Bartholomew, they were cruel tyrants, who
required Spanish gentlemen to work and made sick men get out of their
beds, where they were comparatively comfortable, in order to engage in
ridiculous expeditions after gold that never existed. Of the two, Don
Bartholomew was perhaps the more objectionable, which was unfortunate,
inasmuch as the Admiral, having put to sea in search of more of his
worthless islands, had undoubtedly been drowned.
It must be confessed that, in one respect, Margarite and Boyle did tell
the truth. There were chills and fever in the new colony, and when
the King and Queen saw the returned colonists visibly shaking before
them, they believed in the unhealthfulness of Hispaniola and all the
accompanying lies told by the malicious and malarious complainants.
They therefore resolved to send one Diego Carillo to Hispaniola as an
investigating committee, to ascertain if there was anybody capable of
telling the exact truth about the state of affairs.
But before Carillo could sail, Don Diego Columbus arrived, and as he
brought considerable gold with him, the monarchs formed the opinion
that he had the air of a man of strict veracity. He admitted that
there was a part of the island of Hispaniola, a long distance from the
colony, where it was said that chills and fever prevailed, and he was
inclined to believe that the report was true. As for the climate of
Isabella and its vicinity, he regarded it as exceptionally healthful.
He reported that the Admiral had positively been to the mainland of
China, and regretted that he had thoughtlessly forgotten to bring back
confirmatory tea-chests.
Don Diego further assured the King and Queen that since the fortunate
departure from Hispaniola of two objectionable persons whom he would
not name, but who, he was informed, had recently arrived in Spain with
a full cargo of assorted falsehoods, the affairs of the colony had
been very prosperous. Of course, to bold and restless spirits there
was a certain monotony in swinging in hammocks all day long, and
eating delicious fruit, in a climate that was really perfect, and there
were men who even grew tired of picking up nuggets of gold; but Don
Diego was confident that, with a very few exceptions, the colonists
enjoyed their luxurious life and, on the whole, preferred Hispaniola to
Paradise.
Ferdinand and Isabella weighed the gold brought by Don Diego, and
decided to believe him. They thereupon cancelled Carillo’s appointment,
and appointed in his place Juan Aguado, a personal friend of Columbus,
who, it was understood, would go to Hispaniola in the character of a
visiting statesman, and, after examining such witnesses as Columbus
might introduce to him, would return home and make a report that would
completely satisfy the Admiral.
In spite of this apparently friendly action, they gave Columbus just
cause of complaint by throwing open the business of exploration, the
monopoly of which they had formally given to him. They authorized any
Spaniard to fit out exploring expeditions, under certain restrictions,
and to discover continents, islands, and seas, without any limitation
as to number; the discoverers to pay the Crown one third of all the
gold they might find. Columbus was greatly grieved at this, not only
because he feared that injudicious explorers would discover unhealthy
islands, and would thus bring exploration into disrepute, but because
it was a distinct breach of faith on the part of the King and Queen. As
for the gracious permission which they gave him to freight a vessel to
trade with the New World whenever any other explorer should freight one
for the like purpose, he evidently did not trust himself to express his
opinion of such a hollow mockery of his rights.
In August, 1495, Don Juan Aguado sailed for Hispaniola with a fleet
loaded with supplies and a pocket filled with a royal decree, written
on the best of parchment and ordering that the colony of Isabella
should consist of not over five hundred people. The astute monarchs
had perceived that the larger the colony might be the more numerous
and contradictory would be the complaints which the colonists would
make, and hence they resolved to limit the complaint-producing capacity
of the colony, and to render it impossible for more than five hundred
distinct accounts of the infamy of Columbus and the climate to be
brought to their royal ears.
As Aguado was supposed to be a firm friend of the Admiral, Don Diego
Columbus decided to return with him to Isabella, which he accordingly
did, arriving some time in October. We can imagine how glad Columbus
must have been to find that his good though tedious brother’s affection
forbade him to desert his own dear Christopher. The latter was in the
interior when Aguado arrived, and that officer immediately proceeded
to astonish Don Bartholomew by putting on what Bartholomew rightly
characterized as airs. Aguado announced that he had come to put things
to rights, and that the colonists now had a real friend to whom they
could complain when insulted and oppressed by domineering Italians. As
Isabella was undoubtedly a dull place, the colonists eagerly availed
themselves of the new occupation of making complaints against Columbus
and his brother, and displayed a promptness and industry of which they
had never before given any signs. Don Bartholomew instantly sent word
to his brother that a new and alarming kind of lunatic had arrived
from Spain, with a royal commission authorizing him to raise the great
adversary of mankind, and that the sooner the Admiral returned the
better.
Columbus hastened to Isabella, where he greeted Aguado with such
overwhelming politeness that the fellow became wretchedly unhappy.
He had hoped to be able to report that Columbus had insulted him and
treated the royal commission with contempt, but he was disappointed.
He was a little cheered up, however, by a tremendous hurricane which
wrecked all the Spanish ships except one, and kept the air for a time
full of Spanish colonists, natives, and fragments of ruined buildings.
This he thought would read very well in his intended report on the
general infamy of the climate, and, despairing of obtaining anything
better, he resolved to return to Spain as soon as a new vessel could
be built. The Admiral announced that he intended to return with him, a
piece of news that greatly discontented Aguado, who foresaw that after
he had made his report concerning Columbus the latter would be entirely
capable of making a report concerning Aguado.
[Æt. 60; 1496]
About this time a young Spaniard arrived from the interior with a most
welcome story. He had run away from Isabella on account of having
nearly killed a fellow-colonist, and had met a beautiful female cacique
living on the river Ozema, near the present site of San Domingo, who
had fallen violently in love with him. From her he had learned of rich
gold-mines, and he humbly trusted that Columbus would condescend to
look at them and to overlook his little indiscretion in the matter of
his fellow-colonist. The Admiral, secretly feeling that any man who
killed one of his colonists was a benefactor of the human race, kindly
forgave him and went with him to inspect the mines, which he found to
be apparently so rich that he instantly overhauled his Old Testament
and his Geography, and decided that he had found the original land of
Ophir.
A new scientific person, who had been sent out to supersede the
worthless Fermin Cedo, was ordered to take his crucibles, transit
instruments, and other apparatus, and make a satisfactory assay of the
mines. He did so, and, being a clever man, reported to the Admiral that
the gold was unusually genuine, and that the ore would probably average
three hundred dollars to the ton. At least, that is what he would have
reported had he been a modern expert investigating mining property in
behalf of British capitalists, and we need not suppose that there were
no able assayers prior to the discovery of silver in Colorado. Columbus
read the report, expressed a high opinion of the scientific abilities
of the assayer, and ordered a fort to be built in the neighborhood of
the mines.
Carrying with him specimens of gold from the new mines, and the report
of the scientific person, Columbus sailed for Spain, in company with
Aguado, on the 10th of March, 1496. He left Don Bartholomew as Governor
during his absence, and took with him the captive chief Caonabo, either
as a specimen of the kind of heathen produced by the island, or because
he thought it might be possible to convert the chief with the help of
the many appliances in the possession of the church at home. He wisely
refrained from taking any slaves, Don Diego having informed him that
the Queen had ordered his previous consignment of five hundred to be
sent back to Hispaniola and set at liberty.
The homeward-bound fleet consisted of only two vessels, but they
met with as much head-wind as if they had been a dozen ships of the
largest size, and on the 10th of April they were compelled to stop at
Guadaloupe for water and provisions. Here they were attacked by armed
women as well as men. Several of these early American advocates of the
equality of the sexes were captured, and set at liberty again when the
ships sailed. One of them, however, improved the time by falling in
love with Caonabo, whom she insisted upon accompanying, and Columbus
consented to carry her to Spain as a beautiful illustration of the
affectionate character of the Western heathen.
It was the 20th of April when the fleet left Guadaloupe, and Cadiz
was not reached until the 11th of June. The provisions were so nearly
exhausted that during the latter part of the voyage the sailors were
almost in a state of starvation. Of course, when the provisions were
scarce and the men were put on short allowance, the prisoner Caonabo
and his affectionate female friend received their share of food, for
Columbus would never have permitted the unfortunate pair to starve.
Still, it did happen that Caonabo died on the voyage, and history is
silent as to what became of his companion.
[Æt. 60–62; 1496–98]
The returned colonists told dismal stories of their sufferings,
but their stories were superfluous. Their wretched appearance;
the way in which they clung to the lamp-posts and shook them till
the glass rattled; and the promptness with which they rushed
into the drug-stores and demanded--each for himself, in a single
breath--“Six-dozen-two-grain-quinine-pills-and-be-quick-about-it!”
furnished sufficient evidence of the sort of climate in which they
had lived. It was useless for Columbus and his friends to say
that the appearance and conduct of the shaking colonists were due
to sea-sickness and long confinement on shipboard without proper
provisions. The incredulous public of Cadiz could not be thus imposed
upon, and the visible facts as to the colonists offset in the popular
mind the magnificent stories of the mines of Ophir which the Admiral
circulated as soon as he landed. The monarchs sent him a courteous
invitation to visit the court, but he was in great doubt as to the kind
of reception which Margarite, Father Boyle, and Aguado would prepare
for him. In order to show that he felt himself greatly humiliated
by the credence which had been given to the reports against him, he
dressed himself in a Franciscan’s coarse gown, and let his beard grow.
On his way to court he paraded some thirty Indians whom he had brought
with him, dressed principally in gold bracelets, and thereby created
the false and alarming impression on the public mind that the Black
Crook had broken out with much violence.
The King and Queen, when they saw the gold that Columbus had brought,
and read the scientific person’s certificates that it was genuine,
decided to disregard all the complaints against the Admiral. Aguado
had nothing to repay him for his long voyage, and no one would listen
to his report. It is believed that he finally published it as an
advertisement at so much a line in the local Cadiz paper, and sent
marked copies to all his friends. If so, he benefited no one but the
printers, and did Columbus no apparent injury.
[Æt. 60; 1496–98]
Columbus was promised eight ships for a third exploring expedition,
but the money was not in the treasury, or, at all events, the King and
Queen could not make up their minds to spare it. They were engaged
in two or three expensive wars and one or two difficult marriages,
and were really quite pinched for money. At last, however, they gave
Columbus an order for the amount; but before it was paid, Pedro Alonzo
Niño, who had been sent with supplies to Hispaniola, returned to Cadiz
and announced that his ships were filled with gold. The monarchs
therefore recalled their order, and in its stead gave Columbus a draft
on Niño, to be paid from his cargo of gold. Further investigation
showed that Niño had spoken figuratively, and that he had no actual
gold, but only a cargo of slaves, who, he estimated, would bring more
or less gold if sold in the market.
Meanwhile the monarchs had appropriated all their ready money for
purposes of slaughter and matrimony, and so were compelled to decline
advancing funds for the new expedition until their business should
improve.
Columbus had already lost much of his original popularity, and was
daily losing what remained. That he had discovered new countries
nobody denied; but the complaint was that he had selected cheap and
undesirable countries. The Queen, however, still admired and trusted
him, for the Admiral was a man of remarkably fine personal appearance.
She confirmed all the previous honors and privileges that had been
promised to him, which looks as if in those days a royal promise
became outlawed, as the lawyers say, in one or two years unless it
was renewed--a rule which must have greatly simplified the practice of
diplomacy. Inasmuch as there had been a vast excess of expenses over
receipts in the exploration business, Columbus was released from the
obligation to pay an eighth of the cost of every expedition, and was
given a large tract of land in Hispaniola, with the title of Duke,
which title he refused, since it was inferior in rank to his title of
Admiral.
[Æt. 62; 1498]
While waiting for the expedition to be made ready, Columbus improved
the time by making his will. In this document he committed the task of
recovering the Holy Sepulchre to his son Diego, and directed him to
save up his money by putting it in the savings bank, until he should
have enough to pay for a crusade. Curiously enough, Don Diego never
was able to accumulate the necessary sum, and the Holy Sepulchre is
still waiting to be delivered. It was wise, however, in the Admiral
to delegate this great duty to his son, and thus to free himself
from an obligation which could not but interfere with the business of
exploration. The more we can shift our burdens upon our descendants,
the better time we shall have. This is the great principle upon which
all enlightened nations base their financial policy.
Early in 1498 the royal business had so far improved that two vessels
loaded with supplies were sent to Hispaniola, and preparations were
made for fitting out a fleet of six ships and a force of five hundred
men. The five hundred men were not easily found. It was the popular
belief that chills and fever were not worth the trouble of so long
a voyage, and that there was little else to be got by serving under
Columbus. In this emergency, the sentences of criminals in the Spanish
jails were commuted to transportation to the New World, and a pardon
was offered to all persons for whom the police were looking--with the
exception of heretics and a few other choice criminals--who should
surrender themselves and volunteer to join the fleet. In this way
the required number of men was gradually obtained. In point of moral
character the expedition might have competed with an equal number
of Malay pirates or New York plumbers. We are even told that some
hardened and habitual musicians were thus carried by Columbus to the
once peaceful and happy island of Hispaniola, taking with them their
accordions and guitars. This is a blot upon the Admiral’s character
which his most ardent admirers cannot overlook.